dead works, or those which are not holy, or genuine acts o obedience, cannot procure justification. But as this false opinion is not much insisted on at present, at least among Protestants, it may be dismissed without further discussion, with this single remark, that it will be demonstrated in the sequel, that the most holy obedience of the most holy men forms no part of that righteousness by which they are justified in the sight of God; and this will show that all the works of men of every kind are excluded in the business of a sinner's justification.

SECTION V.

THE ACT OF FAITH IS NOT THE RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH IS THE GROUND OF OUR JUSTIFICATION IN THE SIGHT OF GOD.

The theory of justification which considers the act of believing the ground of our acceptance with God is, perhaps, the most plausible of any of the erroneous schemes of justification, for the single reason that it has the appearance of scriptural support. This is pure Arminianism, as held and inculcated by Arminius himself; also by Limborch, and by Whitby. The foundation of this theory is found in Gen. xv. 6. "And he, (Abraham) believed in the LORD, and he counted it to him for righteousness.' Which is cited by Paul when discoursing on justification. "For what saith the Scripture, Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness." This theory has the advantage too of seeming to agree with those texts which assert that we are justified by faith. The great difficulty in this plan of justification is, that it represents God as reckoning or imputing for righteousness, that which is not a righteousness, commensurate with the demands of the law. This they say he does by a gracious acceptation; receiving in favour, that, as a complete righteousness, which considered in itself, is not such. That a single act, and that an imperfect one, should be judged to be a complete justifying righteousness, is to ascribe to God an erroneous judgment; or, as grounding his judicial acts upon a supposition acknowledged to be false, which is a doctrine that never can be admitted. It is inconsistent both with truth and righteousness. It is maintained, indeed, that Christ by his death has merited the right of establishing a new cove nant upon terms adapted to the present condition of men; for they hold, that the power of believing in Christ was not lost

by the fall, as not being a blessing included in the first cove nant. But if the sinner may be justified before God by a single act of faith, instead of a perfect obedience to the law, why might not that have been done without resorting to so costly a sacrifice? The death of Christ, however meritorious, can never render it proper in the divine government, to consider things different from what they really are.

It is also a solid objection to this theory, that while Paul sets up an entire opposition between faith and works, faith according to Arminius, is the greatest of all works, being, in fact, a substitute for all obedience. If faith itself is our justifying righteousness, then it justifies as a work as truly as any other works could. And as the express design of this gratuitous method of justification was utterly to exclude boasting, upon this theory that end cannot be attained; because if a man is justified on account of the act of believing, and that act he can perform by the power of free will, he has as much ground of boasting as he could possibly have, if he had been justified by other works.

It is also an objection that the faith of God's elect being exceedingly different in strength, it would seem to follow, that those believers who exercised a strong faith would possess a more perfect justification than those who had a true but feeble exercise of faith. On account of these difficulties, and to take advantage of what is said in Scripture of justification by works, the modern Arminians have abandoned the scheme so far as it confines the righteousness which is the ground of our justification to faith alone; and under the name faith, or in connexion with it, include the whole of evangelical obedience.

SECTION VI.

JUSTIFICATION IN THE SIGHT OF GOD IS NOT BY EVANGELICAL OBEDIENCE IN WHOLE, OR IN PART.

By evangelical obedience is meant that obedience which flows from a genuine faith, or those good works which are the fruit of regeneration.

We are ready to admit; yea, we strenuously maintain, that such obedience is connected with justification, and furnishes the only Scriptural evidence that we are in a justified state. But two things may be inseparably conjoined, as blessings of the covenant of grace, and yet, may be perfectly distinct. It would, in our opinion, be much nearer the truth to

say, that evangelical obedience was the fruit and consequence of our justification, than that evangelical obedience is the condition of our justification. The truth is, our persons must be accepted in Christ before we can perform any evangelical works; and these works when performed, can only be accepted as the sincere obedience of those whose persons are already accepted in Christ; that is, who are already justified. Besides the positive testimonies of the word of God, that justification is not by the deeds of the law, nor by works of righteousness which we have done, there are two fatal objections to this theory of justification; the first has already been Drought into view; and if justification takes place when the sinner believes, it is manifestly unanswerable. It is, that we are fully justified before we have performed one act of evangelical obedience, except believing in Christ. That which comes after and proceeds from another thing, can never be its

cause.

The other objection is equally conclusive, which is, that our evangelical obedience in this life is always imperfect, and an imperfect righteousness never can be the ground of a sentence of justification, pronounced by an infinitely righteous Judge.

To which may be added what has been already observed, that this theory destroys the strong opposition which Paul institutes between works and faith. According to this scheme, justification is as much by works as it can be on any other. Paul declares that it is not by the deeds of the law-not by works of righteousness which we have done. To him that worketh, the reward is not reckoned of grace but of debt."We are justified freely, by grace, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus," therefore not by our own evangelical obedience. And by this scheme, all boasting is not excluded, as the ground of our justification is, our own works.

The adherence to a covenant of works, under which man was created, is so strong, that it is exceedingly difficult to induce him to seek life in any other way. Reason seems to dictate, that this must be the method of acceptance, to obey and live; and conscience, unenlightened by grace, urges to the same course. Every man, when first awakened, is ready to inquire, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" And it is necessary in order to convince men of their helplessness, to urge the demands of the law; to tell sinners, as our Saviour did the rich, young ruler, keep the commandments." We need not be surprised, therefore, that men guided by carnal reason, and whose pride is not sufficiently humbled, turn

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themselves every way to avoid the necessity of receiving the humbling doctrine of salvation by grace, without any depen dance on their own works, legal or evangelical.

The objections which have been urged against evangelical obedience, as our justifying righteousness, have been attempted to be evaded by some one of the following methods.

First, by maintaining that there is a twofold justification; the first by faith, when the sinner believes; the second by works, when he has performed them; and especially, when he is judged according to his works, at the last day. But if our evangelical obedience is truly the ground of our justification, what is called the first justification is no justification at all. How can a man be justified until the obedience is rendered which constitutes his justifying righteousness? If a man become truly justified in the sight of God, he needs no second justification. As the sentence of justification includes a full pardon and acceptance of the person, what more in the way of justification can he want, or possess?

There may be, and is, a manifestation of the justified state of the believer, both in this world before men, when he shows his faith by his works; and at the day of judgment, when his works of piety and mercy shall be brought forth to view, to prove that he is one of Christ's brethren; and that his future reward may be equitably apportioned according to the number and excellence of the good works performed in the body. But I repeat it again, there cannot be a twofold justification of the sinner, unless the first should be annulled; because it comprehends every thing, if it be a true justification, which can be included in this act. When a man is pardoned, and adopted as a child of God, and made an heir of the heavenly inheritance, and a joint-heir with Christ, how can he, as to the law, and as to his title to eternal life, receive any thing more by a second justification?

This being a plain case, and not easily got over, some have said that we were justified by faith, and kept in a justified state by good works. But this is a way of talking so foreign to the Scriptures, and resorted to by so few in our days, that we have no need to stop to refute it.

A more consistent method of evading the difficulty is to maintain, as is done by Dr. Macknight, that there is properly no such thing as justification before the day of judgment; and when the word is used in relation to the present state, it is to be understood as not employed in its strict and proper Now this is consistent. The only objection to the theory is, that it is as directly contradictory to the whole

sense.

tenor of Scripture, on this subject, as any thing can be Never for the sake of a consistent theory did any man set himself in opposition to a greater array of plain and pointed texts. There is no system which was ever conceived, that may not as easily be sustained as this. Where, according to this scheme, are the high and glorious privileges of true Christians, of which the apostles speak in terms so exalted? But we will not condescend to reason this point. It carries its own refutation on its front, and therefore needs none from us; and accordingly has had few advocates. Since we have mentioned the peculiar opinion of this learned man, we will further observe, that by works of law by which no flesh can now be justified, he understands, a perfect obedience to the law, which none can now perform; but by faith, as opposed to this perfect obedience, he understands, a gratuitous justification, on account of our imperfect obedience; the former would be meritorious; but this being only a sincere but imperfect obedience can give no claim, on the ground of merit; and therefore the counting this as a righteousness, is a matter of grace or favour, because it might have been withheld.*

The whole force of the objection against a sentence of justification being founded on an imperfect righteousness, lies against this scheme; and the argument need not be repeated.

To obviate this objection, which every one that understands the terms, must admit to have decisive force, two methods have been resorted to; or perhaps, they may both be reduced to one. It has been supposed, and is now strenuously maintained by a large society who deny the imputation of Christ's righteousness as the ground of a sinner's justification, that the law of innocence, or the law given to Adam and to angels, in a state of integrity, is not now in force; but that a milder law, better adapted to the fallen condition of man, has been introduced by Christ, the Mediator: so that now under the Gospel, the old moral law is not the rule of judgment in the justification of a sinner, but God, through the grace of Christ, accepts of obedience to the evangelical law, or "law of liberty." Our first remark on this scheme is, that it is repugnant to first principles in theology. The moral law is in principle and in the nature of the obedience which it requires, immutable. This law arising out of the relations which subsist between God and his accountable creature, can never be abrogated, nor changed; unless you

*See Dr. Macknight's Essay on Justification, prefixed to his Translation of the Epistle to the Galatians.