Now very many persons see the base tricks, deceits, thefts, and greediness with which the indulgence traffickers have heretofore mocked and beguiled us, and yet they do not see the very fountain of the impiety itself. As a consequence, it behooves us . . . Continue reading →
merit
Witsius On Merit
I.I.XV. In the covenant of works, man is considered as working, and the reward to be given as of debt; and therefore man’s glorying is not excluded, but he may glory as a faithful servant may do upon the right discharge of . . . Continue reading →
Machen: The Key Verse Of Galatians
“I do not make void the grace of God; for if righteousness is through the law, then Christ died in vain” (Galatians 2:21) “I do not make void the grace of God,” says Paul in concluding the report of his speech to . . . Continue reading →
It Was A Covenant Of Works, Not A Covenant Of Grace
. . . though this flattening of the covenant relationship throughout the course of history, before and after the fall, may have a superficial appeal, it has huge implications for the way we interpret the respective “work” of Adam and Christ, the . . . Continue reading →
Christ’s Merits Affirmed And Ours Denied In The Reformed Confessions
Christ’s Merit For Us Affirmed “only for the sake of Christ’s merits” (Heidelberg Catechism 21) “for the sake of Christ’s merits” (Heidelberg Catechism 84) “if they did not rest on the merit of the suffering and death of our Savior” (Belgic Confession, . . . Continue reading →
Ursinus On Christ’s Merits And Sola Fide
1. Because we are justified by the object of faith alone, that is by the merits of Christ only, without which we can have no righteousness whatever: for we are justified for Christ’s sake. Nothing but the merit of Christ can be . . . Continue reading →
Turretin On Merit In The Covenant Of Works
V. The covenant of nature is that which God the Creator made with innocent man as his creature, concerning the giving of eternal happiness and life under the conditions of perfect and personal obedience. It is called “natural,” not from natural obligation . . . Continue reading →
Witsius: Don’t Confuse The Covenant Of Works With The Covenant Of Grace
XXV. Such a perfect observance of the laws of the covenant, up to the period which God had fixed for probation, had given man a right to the reward. Not from any intrinsic proportion of the work to the reward, as the . . . Continue reading →
J. H. Heidegger: Christ Condignly Merited As The Second Adam
9.3 The Covenant Of Works The covenant of works is the pact of God initiated with the uncorrupted Adam, as head of the whole human race, in which He stipulated from man perfect obedience to the law, promised eternal, heavenly life for . . . Continue reading →
Hodge On Adam, Christ, Conditions, And Merit
The condition of the covenant of grace, so far as adults are concerned, is faith in Christ. That is, in order to partake of the benefits of this covenant we must receive the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God in . . . Continue reading →
A. A. Hodge: Adam Would Have Merited
As to the relation of good works to rewards, it may be observed—(1.) The word merit, in the strict sense of the term, means that common quality of all actions or services to which a reward is due in strict justice on . . . Continue reading →
Rutherford: Meritorious Works For Adam And Christ But Grace For Us
Christ gave perfect obedience as man to the Covenant of Works, and he did merit as man, by the law of works, life eternal, the way that Adam should have merited life eternal, so he had never fallen…. Continue reading →
Heidelberg 63: Rewards Merited For Us By Christ And Given Freely To Believers
When the medieval church thought about rewards, it thought about merit. They distinguished between two kinds or aspects of merit. That which we most frequently discuss was called “condign merit” (meritum de condigno). Condign merit is intrinsically worthy. The second category was “congruent . . . Continue reading →
Perkins: Christ Did Not Obey And Die To Make Our Works Meritorious
Objection 2. Christ by His death, merited that our works should merit life everlasting. Answer. That is false. All we find in Scripture is that Christ, by His merit procured pardon of sin, imputation of righteousness, and life everlasting. And it is . . . Continue reading →
Second Council Of Orange On Man’s Ability To Do Good
CANON 18. That grace is not preceded by merit. Recompense is due to good works if they are performed; but grace, to which we have no claim, precedes them, to enable them to be done. CANON 19. That a man can be . . . Continue reading →