But a man may here ask whether it be not as necessary to salvation to believe that God is Omnipotent Creator of the world;that Jesus Christ is risen;and that all men else shall rise again from the dead at the last day;as to believe that Jesus is the Christ.To which I answer,they are;and so are many more articles;but they are such as are contained in this one,and may be deduced from it,with more or less difficulty.For who is there that does not see that they who believe Jesus to be the Son of the God of Israel,and that the Israelites had for God the Omnipotent Creator of all things,do therein also believe that God is the Omnipotent Creator of all things?
Or how can a man believe that Jesus is the king that shall reign eternally,unless he believe him also risen again from the dead?For a dead man cannot exercise the office of a king.In sum,he that holdeth this foundation,Jesus is the Christ,holdeth expressly all that he seeth rightly deduced from it,and implicitly all that is consequent thereunto,though he have not skill enough to discern the consequence.
And therefore it holdeth still good that the belief of this one article is sufficient faith to obtain remission of sins to the penitent,and consequently to bring them into the kingdom of heaven.
Now that I have shown that all the obedience required to salvation consisteth in the will to obey the law of God,that is to say,in repentance;and all the faith required to the same is comprehended in the belief of this article,Jesus is the Christ;I will further allege those places of the Gospel that prove that all that is necessary to salvation is contained in both these joined together.The men to whom St.Peter preached on the day of Pentecost,next after the ascension of our Saviour,asked him,and the rest of the Apostles,saying,"Men and brethren,what shall we do?"To whom St.Peter answered,"Repent,and be baptized every one of you,for the remission of sins,and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."Therefore repentance and baptism,that is,believing that Jesus is the Christ,is all that is necessary to salvation.Again,our Saviour being asked by a certain ruler,"What shall I do to inherit eternal life?"answered,"Thou knowest the commandments,Do not commit adultery,Do not kill,Do not steal,Do not bear false witness,Honour thy father and thy mother":which when he said he had observed,our Saviour added,"Sell all thou hast,give it to the poor,and come and follow me":which was as much as to say,rely on me that am the king.Therefore to fulfil the law,and to believe that Jesus is the king,is all that is required to bring a man to eternal life.
Thirdly,St.Paul saith,"The just shall live by faith";not every one,but the just;therefore faith and justice (that is,the will to be just,or repentance)are all that is necessary to life eternal.And our Saviour preached,saying,"The time is fulfilled,and the kingdom of God is at hand;repent and believe the Evangel,"that is,the good news that the Christ was come.Therefore to repent,and to believe that Jesus is the Christ,is all that is required to salvation.
Seeing then it is necessary that faith and obedience (implied in the word repentance)do both concur to our salvation,the question by which of the two we are justified is impertinently disputed.
Nevertheless,it will not be impertinent to make manifest in what manner each of them contributes thereunto,and in what sense it is said that we are to be justified by the one and by the other.And first,if by righteousness be understood the justice of the works themselves,there is no man that can be saved;for there is none that hath not transgressed the law of God.And therefore when we are said to be justified by works,it is to be understood of the will,which God doth always accept for the work itself,as well in good as in evil men.And in this sense only it is that a man is called just,or unjust;and that his justice justifies him,that is,gives him the title,in God's acceptation of just,and renders him capable of living by his faith,which before he was not.So that justice justifies in that sense in which to justify is the same as that to denominate a man just;and not in the signification of discharging the law,whereby the punishment of his sins should be unjust.
