Touching the latter, how far he will extol the peppercorn of our own works, and righteousness to justification and salvation he does not here (though afterward, he does) in express words signify. But that he means to extol them, he does enough plainly give us to understand: when he says that the purchase did not only serve to advance the value and efficacy of that grain of pepper, his meaning must be (at least) that Christ died, and by his death, has purchased to the peppercorn of man’s righteousness, a value and efficacy in part, though not only to justify us, so that our righteousness must go cheek by cheek with the righteousness of Christ to justification.
… If the adding of our righteousness to the righteousness of Christ for our justification, be an unlawful, exulting of our own, and depressing of Christ’s righteousness, then, to bring our own righteousness with the righteousness of Christ, in the least part to justify, is as truly an unlawful, depression of Christ’s righteousness, and advancing of our own, as if we had brought it in the highest degree wholly and alone to justify us: and so by his account, Christ died to make man, though not the only, yet in part, a savior of himself.
John Crandon | Mr. Baxters Aphorisms Exorized and Anthorized Or an Examination of and Answer to a Book Written by Mr. Richard Baxter, Teacher of the Church at Kederminster in Worcestershire, Entituled, Aphorisms of Justification Together with a Vindication of Justification by Meer Grace, from All the Popish and Arminian Sophisms by Which That Author Labours to Ground It Upon Mans Works and Righteousness (London, 1654), 177–78). Spelling modernized. (HT: Harrison Perkins).
RESOURCES
- Boston And Rutherford: Baxter Turned The Covenant Of Grace Into A Covenant Of Works
- Owen Defended The Imputation Of Christ’s Active Obedience Against Richard Baxter
- Richard Baxter On Initial And Final Justification Through Faith And Works
- Burying The Lead On Baxter
- Packer: Shepherd Reinvented The Neonomianism Of Richard Baxter
- N. T. Wright and Richard Baxter
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