In this final part of his essay on Justification by faith in Anglican history, Bishop FA explores the “lowered market” of what might now be called “cheap grace” among late 17th and 18th century Anglican writers, a time of theological aberration from the Prayer Book norms which had earlier been set out by Richard Hooker and Lancelot Andrewes, and then the recovery of those norms by the leaders of the 18th century Evangelical revival. He concludes with a trenchant reflection on their continued importance amidst the late modern culture of the self.
III. “LOWERED MARKET”, ANGLICAN TEACHING
Hammond and many of his contemporaries claimed that the formal cause, or that which made our justification what it is, is the imputation of our faith not the imputation of Christ’s righteousness. Jesus Christ by his atonement “hath brought down the market, provided as easy bargains of bliss for us as could be imagined . . .” (Hammond’s Sermons, Library of Anglo-Catholic Theology, Pt l, pp. 113-14).Hammond and many of his contemporaries claimed that the formal cause, or that which made our justification what it is, is the imputation of our faith not the imputation of Christ’s righteousness. Jesus Christ by his atonement “hath brought down the market, provided as easy bargains of bliss for us as could be imagined . . .” (Hammond’s Sermons, Library of Anglo-Catholic Theology, Pt l, pp. 113-14).
Because our faith and our good deeds done in repentance are not perfect, Christ’s lowering of the demands makes it possible for sinners to clean themselves before they come unto Christ – which is the earlier Anglican teaching turned upside down.
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