One of the chief blessings in my life is the ability to read and comprehend the English language with some degree of proficiency, even though I don't speak well.
Take this paragraph (1689.11.2) on Justification from the London Baptist Confession of Faith for example.
Paragraph 1 states in no uncertain terms that faith is completely excluded from God's free and gracious act of justifying sinners in their state of condemnation and death.
Paragraph 2 states in no less uncertain terms that faith is an effect of justification.
Here is the full paragraph:
"2. Faith thus receiving and resting on Christ, and his righteousness, is the (f) alone instrument of justification: yet it is not alone in the person justified, but is ever accompanied with all other saving Graces, and is no dead faith, (g) but worketh by love."
It is plainly stated that faith - which enables a man to receive and rest on Christ and His righteousness - is in the person JUSTIFIED (the how of it, read Paragraph 1) but not alone, it is always accompanied with all their saving graces.
It is also no less plainly stated that faith - which enables a man to receive and rest on Christ and His righteousness - is one of the saving graces; saving graces are the effects of the salvation freely and sovereignly applied to an elect, dead in trespasses and sins, at his effectual calling (see 1689.10) to grace and salvation.
The saving graces are worked by the Spirit of adoption - who was given to dwell in those freely justified and regenerated and adopted - in the children of God; faith is one such saving grace, which enables the JUSTIFIED person to receive and rest on Christ and His righteousness.
Gal 5 - KJV
22 ¶But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,2 3 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
This Scripture is an adequate reason and proof of "yet it (faith) is not alone in the person justified, but is ever accompanied with all other saving graces" - graces worked within the justified, regenerated and adopted, i.e, God's children, by the indwelling Spirit of God.
Faith is exercised by the JUSTIFIED; faith is not exercised by an un-justified person (under the condemnation of sin) in order to be justified by God. The latter is a fable, the lie of the devil.
It's stated that faith... is the ALONE instrument of justification. Many who are addicted to sound bite take this to mean the popular "sola fidei", justification by God is through faith alone, thus contradicting everything clearly stated in Paragraph 1.
Faith - which receives and rest on Christ and His righteousness - is the alone instrument of justification means that receiving and resting on Christ and His righteousness is the ALONE means to evidence, to manifest, to demonstrate that one has been freely justified by God BASED SOLELY on Christ and His righteousness. Faith as an instrument to EVIDENCE that one has been freely justified by God; faith as an instrument exercised by the unjustified to be justified by God is the lie of the devil, the popular "sola fidei" of the protestant reformation.
The old school particular Baptists stated this gospel truth,
"The reason why any are justified IS NOT because they have faith; but the reason why they have faith IS because they are justified."
Can the matter be stated any plainer? Yet the new school RBs and Calvinists believe the EXACT opposite because they have swallowed the lie of "sola fidei" hook, line and sinker.
O Lord, open their eyes. Amen.
