Chr. How dost thou believe?
Ignor. I believe that Christ died for sinners; and that I shall be justified before God from the curse through his gracious acceptance of my obedience to his law. Or thus: Christ makes my duties, that are religious, acceptable to his Father by virtue of his merits; and so shall I be justified.
Chr. Let me give an answer to this confession of thy faith:—
1. Thou believest with a fantastical faith; for this faith is nowhere described in the Word.
2. Thou believest with a false faith; because it takes justification from the personal righteousness of Christ, and applies it to thy own.
3. This faith maketh not Christ a justifies of thy person, but of thy actions; and of thy person for thy actions' sake, which is false.
4. Therefore this faith is deceitful, even such as will leave thee under wrath in the day of God Almighty: for true justifying faith puts the soul, as sensible of its lost condition by the law, upon fliyng for refuge unto Christ's righteousness (which righteousness of his is not an act of grace by which he maketh, for justification, thy obedience accepted with God, but his personal obedience to the law, in doing and
suffering for us what that required at our hands): this righteousness, I say, true faith accepteth; under the skirt of which the soul-being shrouded, and by it presented
spotless before God, it is accepted, and acquitted from condemnation.
Ignor. What would you have us trust to what Christ in his own person has done without us? This conciet would loosen the reins of our lusts, and tolerate us to live as we list; for what matter how we live, if we may be justified by Christ's personal righteousness from all, when we believe it?
Chr. Ignorance is thy name, and as thy name is, so art thou: even this thy answer demonstrateth what I say.
