own peculiar residence; and then leave satan to run away with as many of the beams and pillars as he pleases. Equally contrary to sound doctrine, is, IV. The tenet of justification by works. All human righteousness is imperfect: and to suppose, that God, whose judgment is always according to truth, will, by a paltry commutation, which he every where disclaims, and which the majesty of his law forbids; be put off with not only a defective, but even a polluted obedience, and justify men by virtue of such a counterfeit (at most a partial) conformity to his commandments; to imagine, that the law accommodates itself to human depravation, and, camæleon like, assumes the complexion of the sinners with whom it has to do;-is antinomianism of the grossest kind. It represents the law as hanging out false colours, and insisting on perfection, while, in fact, it is little better than a formal patent for licentiousness; and degrades the adorable law-giver himself into a conniver at sin. Add to this, that, if God can consistently with his acknowledged attributes, and his avowed declarations, save guilty, obnoxious creatures, without their bringing such a complete righteousness as the law demands; it will necessarily follow, that God, when his hand is in, may save sinners without any righteousness at all, since the same flexibility which (as the Arminians suppose) induces God to dispense with part of his law; may go a step farther, and induce him to set aside the whole. Moreover, if our persons may be justified, without a legal (i. e. a perfect) righteousness; it will follow, on the same principle, that our sins may be pardoned without an atonement and then, farewel to the whole scheme of Christianity at once. There are two grand axioms which enter into the very foundation of revealed religion: 1. That the law will accept no obedience, short of perfect, as the condition of justification; and, 2. That ever since Adam's first offence, man has, and can have, no such obedience of his own. What then, must a sinner do to be saved? He must believe in, and rest upon, that Saviour, who was, by gracious imputation, made sin for us, that we, by a similar exchange, might be made the righteousness of God in him*. If this be the gospel scheme of salvation, the apostle's assertion will be incontestible: As many of you as are justified by the law, or seek justification on the footing of your own works, are fallen from grace †, revolted and apostatized from that gospel-system, which teaches, that men are justified by the grace of God, flowing through Christ's righteousness alone ‡. Alas! how hardly are we brought to accept salvation as a gift of mere favour! We are for bringing a price in our hands, and coming with money in our sack's mouth: notwithstanding the celestial direction is, Buy wine and milk, without money and without price §; i. e. take as absolute possession of pardon, holiness and eternal life, as if they were your own by purchase; but remember, that you, nevertheless, have them gratis, without any desert, nay, contrary to all desert, of yours. We did not bribe God to create us; and how is it possible, that we should pay him any thing for saving us? Zeuxis, the celebrated Grecian painter, used towards the latter part of his life, to give away his pictures, without deigning to accept of any pecuniary recompence. Being asked the reason, his answer was, "I make presents of my pictures, because they are too valuable to be purchased. They are above all price."-And does not God freely give us a part in the book of life, an interest in his Son, and a title to his kingdom; nay, does he not make us a present of himself in Christ; because these blessings are, literally, above all price? too great, too high, too glorious, to be purchased by the works of * 2 Cor. v. + Gal. v. 4. Rom. v. 21. § Isa. lv. 1. man? because we cannot merit them, God is graciously pleased freely to bestow them. It is equally sad, and astonishing, to observe the ingredients of that foundation, on which self-justiciaries build their hopes of heaven. First, there is a stratum of free-will; then of good dispositions ; then of legal performances: next a layer of what they term, divine aids and assistances, ratified and made effectual by human compliances; then a little of Christ's merits; then faithfulness to helps received; and, to finish the motley-mixture, a perseverance of their own spinning. At so much pains is a pharisee, in going about to establish his own righteousness, rather than embrace the Bible-way of salvation, by submitting to the righteousness of God the Son *. Now, what says the church of England, concerning the cause and manner of our acceptance with the Father? Thus she speaks, and thus all her real members believe: ARTICLE XI. Of the Justification of Man. "We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merits of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." One would imagine, this might have been enough to establish the point: but, utterly to preclude selfrighteousness from all possibility of access, the church immediately adds, "and not for our own works or deservings. "What Here, the old question naturally recurs, then becomes of good works?" The plain truth is, that, until a man is justified by faith, he can do no good works at all. ARTICLE XIII. Of Works done before Justifi cation. "Works done before the grace of Christ, and the inspiration of his Spirit, are not pleasant to God :" * Rom. x. 3. and if so, how is it possible that he should justify us on account of them?-But why are they not pleasing to God? "Forasmuch," adds the article, "as they spring not from faith in Jesus Christ." "Well but," may some say, "admitting that works done before justification do not properly recommend us to God, they may at least, qualify us for believing; and thereby be remotely a condition, sine quâ non, of justification." The church will not allow even of this. For, treating in the above article, of works prior to justification, she adds; "neither do they make men meet to receive grace." This clinches the nail; and cuts up selfrighteousness, root and branch.- -But does the church stop here? No: to put the whole matter as far beyond doubt, as words can place it, she closes her decision thus: "Yea, rather, for that they are not done as God hath willed and commanded them to be done, we doubt not but they have the nature of sin." Now, if works, wrought previous to justication are sin; it is absolutely impossible that we should be justified by works: unless sin can be supposed to recommend us to God's favour. Which, to imagine, were Antinomianism outright.What think you, V. Of the doctrine of uneffectual grace? A doctrine, which represents Omnipotence itself as wishing, and trying, and striving, to no purpose. According to this tenet, God, in endeavouring (for it seems it is only an endeavour) to convert sinners, may by sinners, be foiled, defeated, and disappointed-He may lay close and long siege to a soul, and that soul can, from the citadel of impregnable free-will, hang out a flag of defiance to God himself, and, by a continual obstinacy of defence, and a few vigorous sallies of free-agency, compel him to raise the siege. In a word, the holy Spirit, after having for years, perhaps, danced attendance on the will of man, may at last, like a discomfited general, VOL. III. Ꭰ or an unsuccessful petitioner, be either put to igno minious flight, or contemptuously dismissed, re infectâ, without accomplishing the end, for which he was sent. Can then, the Lord and giver of life; can he, who, like the adorable Son, is God of God, and God with God; shall the blessed spirit of grace, who is in glory, equal, and in majesty, co-eternal, with the other two persons of the godhead, and has all power both in heaven and in earth;-shall he, who hath the key of David; who openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth *; shall he knock at the door of the human heart, and leave it at the option of free-will to insult him, from the window, and bid him go from whence he came? Surely, men's eyes must be blinded indeed, before they can lay down such a shocking supposition for a religious aphorism; and even go so far as to declare, that unless God is vanquishable by man, "There can be no such thing as virtue or vice, reward or punishment, praise or blame!" God's The main root of the error consists greatly, in not distinguishing between the gospel of grace, and the grace of the gospel. The gospel of grace may be rejected; but the grace of the gospel cannot. written message in the scriptures, and his verbal message by his ministers, may, or may not be listened to whence it is recorded, All the day long have I stretched forth my hand to a disobedient and gainsaying people t. But, when God himself comes, and takes the heart into his own hand; when he speaks from heaven to the soul, and makes the gospel of grace a channel to convey the grace of the gospel; the business is effectually done. If God makes a change, who can turn him away ‡-Whatsoever he doth, it shall be for ever; nothing can be * Rev. iii. 7. lation of Job xi. 10. + Rom. x. 21. See the Marginal Trans |