A man then must be righteous in a law-sense, before he can do acts of righteousness, I mean, that are such in a gospel-sense. Hence, first, you have true gospel-righteousness made the fruit of a second birth. “If ye know that Christ is righteous, know ye that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him;” 1 John ii. 29. Not born of him by virtue of his own righteous actions, but born of him by virtue of Christ’s mighty working with his work upon the soul, who afterwards, from a principle of life, acteth and worketh righteousness. And he saith again, “Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.” Upon this scripture I will a little comment, for the proof of what is urged before: namely, that a man must be righteous in a law-sense, before he can do such things that may be called acts of righteousness in a gospel-sense. And for this, this scripture, 1 John iii. 7, ministereth to us two things to be considered by us. The first is, That he that doth righteousness is righteous. The second is, That he that doth righteousness is righteous, as Christ is righteous. _First_, He that doth righteousness; that is, righteousness which the gospel calleth so, is righteous; that is, precedent to, or before he doth that righteousness. For he doth not say, he shall make his person righteous by acts of righteousness that he shall do; for then an evil tree may bear good fruit, yea, and may make itself good by doing so; but he saith, He that doth righteousness is righteous; as he saith, He that doth righteousness is born of him. So then, a man must be righteous before he can do righteousness, before he can do righteousness in a gospel-sense. Our second thing then is to inquire, with what righteousness a man must be righteous, before he can do that which in a gospel-sense is called righteousness. And, first, I answer, he must be righteous in a law-sense: that is, he must be righteous in the judgment of the law. This is evident: because he saith, “He that doeth righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.” That is, in a law-sense: for Christ in no sense is righteous in the judgment of charity only; but in his meanest acts, if it be lawful to make such comparison, he was righteous in a law-sense, or in the judgment of the law. Now the apostle saith, that “he that doeth righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.” They are the words of God, and therefore I cannot err in quoting of them, though I may not so fully as I would make the glory of them shine in speaking to them. But what righteousness is that, with which a man must stand righteous in the judgment of the law, before he shall or can be found to do acts of righteousness, that by the gospel are so called?