The Sinner's Justifying Righteousness

By John Beart

John Beart (1673-1716) was a Reformed preacher of the Gospel and biblical scholar.

In this amazing work on the sinner’s justifying righteousness, Beart covers , 1) the Law of God as a rule of duty and obedience, 2) how fallen man is utterly unable to answer the demands of the law, 3) how he is unable to fulfill such a righteousness as is required to justification, and 4) how Jesus Christ fulfilled the law on behalf of the elect.

He also covers the intricacies of how believers are made righteous only through Christ’s person, in his obedience and suffering, and that this justifying righteousness is equally imputed to all elect believers. This is accomplished by faith as an instrument. Not that faith is the matter of our justification, nor meritorious cause of it; but is used in this only as an instrument, not as a work.

This work is not a scan or facsimile, has been carefully transcribed by hand being made easy to read in modern English, and has an active table of contents for electronic versions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Puritan Publications
• Release date: Mar 23, 2014
• ISBN: 9781626630826

Book preview

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

The Sinner’s Justifying Righteousness

By John Beart

Introduced by C. Matthew McMahon

Edited by Therese B. McMahon

Copyright © 2014 by Puritan Publications and A Puritan’s Mind

Some language and grammar has been updated from the original manuscript. Any change in wording or punctuation has not changed the intent or meaning of the original author(s), and has been made to aid the modern reader.

Published by Puritan Publications

A Ministry of A Puritan’s Mind

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided by USA copyright law.

This Print Edition, 2014

Electronic Edition, 2014

Manufactured in the United States of America

ISBN: 978-1-62663-083-3

eISBN: 978-1-62663-082-6

MEET JOHN BEART

By C. Matthew McMahon Ph.D., Th.D.

Whenever there are works or treatises that define and explain justification, the Christian ought to be exceedingly hungry to devour these biblical works. Throughout the history of the church justification, the doctrine by which the church stands or falls, has been attacked by the devil time and time again. One simply needs to take a moment to peruse the history of the Reformation and the attacks made against the true church by sectaries and the Papists, and such an attack against Jesus Christ and his righteousness comes immediately into view. So it is with a hearty love of Christ’s imputed righteousness that John Beart penned this magnificent treatise on the manner in which sinners are justified and stand before God in the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Little is known about John Beart (1673-1716). He was the pastor of the church at Bury, a fiery preacher and one who contended for the doctrines of Christ’s Gospel. He says, Our God hath given us rest and liberty under a wise, just, and good king, who judges the toleration of Protestant dissenters to be agreeable to Christian charity, and necessary to the riches and trade of the Kingdom. Blessed be God, who hath heard the prayers of His people, and hath put such a thing as this in the King’s heart! Let us study what return we may make unto God, and to the glorious instrument of our new deliverance. Having preached the gospel about five years in Bury, and having his home in the town near there for three of those years, in which time his doctrine and conversation were satisfactory to the church, he was received into this church on November 26th, 1699, by a letter of recommendation from Ipswich. The Ipswich church was congregational but Beart was becoming more Presbyterian, though he had not as yet accepted covenant baptism. He has preached for some time at Ipswich but they released him seeing his desire to join himself to the Ipswich church. They did, however, write a letter to the church at Bury on his behalf which said the following:

"Whereas our dear brother, Mr. John Beart, hath signified to us that the Church of Christ at Bury hath requested him to desire his dismission from this church of Christ in Ipswich, so that he might join himself to them in order to their calling him to the pastoral office among them… Now therefore we, though very loathe to part with our said brother, yet willing that the service of our Lord Jesus, to which he may be called, should be promoted, do in the name and with the consent of this church, for the ends before mentioned, dismiss our said dear brother from that relation in which he hath for some years stood unto us as a fellow member, that he may join himself to that Church of Christ at Bury. And we do also recommend our said brother unto them in the Lord as one whose spirit and walking with us hath been in all respects such as becometh the gospel of Christ, to the glory of God and our great comfort. Signed the 16th day of November, 1699.

John Langston, Pastor.

Thomas Wyncall, Deacon

Joseph Wyatt Deacon

After the reception of Mr. Beart to the fellowship of the Bury church, he was requested several times to accept the pastorate, but, for some unknown reason, declined doing so; at length, on May 1, 1701, he stated that, after seriously considering their call, he had resolved to accept it, provided that the choice was approved of by the neighboring churches; and, as he had at that time some doubts about baptizing infants, he desired that neighboring pastors might perform this rite instead of himself. On June 12, 1701, Beart, having accepted the call to office, was ordained to it by the public election of the church, signified by the lifting up of hands, and his renewed acceptance of the office. On this the church declared their submission to him in the Lord as their pastor, and by solemn prayer with fasting separated him for the work to which the Lord had called him. There were present Mr. Petto, of Sudbury, who preached a very weighty sermon from Ephesians 4:13; Mr. Langston, of Ipswich, who preached from John 21:15-17; Mr. Stackhouse, of Norwich; and Mr. Doughty, of Soham who also prayed. These four were pastors, and in addition to them there were thirteen messengers from churches there.

Mr. Beart continued in the pastorate until the closing days of 1716, when he suddenly passed away. On January 3, 1717 the church sorrowfully records his death:

Mr. John Beart, a minister and pastor of this church of the gospel of the Lord Jesus with all faithfulness and readiness; preaching the word in season and out of season as the Lord gave him opportunity; declaring salvation alone by grace through the redemption of our Lord Jesus Christ, and not by the works of the law; dividing the word of God aright, giving to every one their proper portion; having in his lifetime printed two excellent books of great use for the good of those who read them; and having preached a sermon on the Lord’s day on Romans 3:24, to the great comfort of those that heard him; departed this life on the Thursday after, in the midst of his days, being 43 years of age; leaving a wife and five children.

On January 25, 1717 the church had a solemn meeting of prayer to seek the Lord for counsel and direction how to manage the affairs of the church so as it may be for his glory; and then and there, as many as were able and willing, contributed towards the charge of our pastor’s funeral, with great cheerfulness, to the sum of fourteen or fifteen pounds.

If one were to be remembered through history for a particular writing or work, what would it be? Mr. Beart is not remembered for a number of his fiery sermons, or his final move toward Presbyterianism. Instead, he is remembered for his work on Christ’s imputed righteousness and the sinner’s justification. Is there any doctrine more worthy of such accolades?

PREFACE

By Rev. Thomas Jones

Of all our concerns, the greatest is our eternal salvation. We should therefore seek to know with certainty how sinners are to obtain pardon of sin and peace with God. And this should be our first point of inquiry, What is the justifying righteousness of sinners? Must we ourselves provide this righteousness? Or is the righteousness of Christ, in all its benefits, made over to us by imputation, when we are brought to believe in him? Which of these two is the way of salvation? It must be one, and it cannot be both.

Now the Gospel plainly declares that Christ fulfilled the whole law, obeyed its precepts, and paid its penalties, in our room and stead, and so became the Lord our righteousness. In him we have righteousness and strength, and there is salvation in no other.

Yet nothing is more common, or more fatal, than for sinners, to go about to establish their own righteousness and refuse to, submit to the righteousness of God. This is the grand contest between sinners and the Savior, Who shall provide our justifying righteousness? And very numerous are the scheme? which men have devised to set aside the righteousness of the Savior, and to set up their own. Of all these schemes, the most common, subtle, and injurious is the following, which the writer of this treatise undertakes to refute and demolish; and which he in the following ways state:

That Christ, having satisfied the breach of the old law of works, has procured and given a new law: a law of lower terms, than the old; accepting sincere obedience, instead of that perfect obedience which the old law required. This is thecruxof their whole system.

That the whole world is under theblanketof grace; and consequently, thattheywho perish under the gospel, do perish as transgressors of the new law, and under the penalty by it,though they are also left to the condemnation of the old, in not complying with the grace held forth in the new.

That Jesus Christ did notfulfillthe precept of the law for us himself: but by his death and sufferings obtained, that our obedience should be accepted for a gospel-righteousness, and that therefore we are truly justified before God by gospel-works.

That Christ died to render the whole world solvable, or to put them in a capacity of being saved by theirfulfillingthe conditions of this new law.

That faith and repentance are not the purchase of Christ for us, but given out of the grace of election.

That the gospel is a law, even that new law which they contend for; containing precepts, and also promises and threatenings, as the sanction of those precepts. And that it says,Do this and live,in some allayed and milder sense than the first covenant.

That theCovenant of Graceis conditional, and that justification and salvation are to be sought in this way, that is, of ourfulfillingthe conditions.

They do not heartily relish the terms, Surety, and imputation, nor admit them in their full and proper sense. They abuse those texts which speak of God’s righteousness, as meaning only man’s righteousness of God’s accepting and appointing. For it seems that man’s righteousness must stand, whatever becomes of Christ’s.

They obscure and legalize the doctrines of faith and gospel works. Faith in justification must be the same as covenanting or consenting to have Christ as Lord and Savior, or as Christianity itself. That is, they consider it a duty performed by us, as a condition of our justification, and as a principle and root of all obedience. Again, that works are the