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النشر الإلكتروني

192

LETTER XVIII.

On Justification by Faith.

HERE again, my dear friend, we enter controverted ground: and on such ground, indeed, you must expect to find me, nearly till we terminate our correspondence. This, however, does not arise from any obscurity in the subjects themselves, or from the vagueness of the terms in which they are revealed; but rather from the natural aversion of the unenlightened human mind to receive religious truth in the way God has been pleased to communicate it, and from that peculiarity of the Christian system which requires that "the lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the "haughtiness of men bowed down," in order that "the Lord alone may be exalted." (0)

It is the humiliating fact, that "all have sinned " and come short of the glory of God," (p) that renders the Christian Religion necessary. Or, in other words, it is because " by the works of the law no "flesh living can be justified," that the new dispensation was requisite. If obedience be at all times our duty, in what way can present repentance release us, as some would argue, from the punishment of former transgressions? Can repentance annihilate what is past? Or can we do more, by present obedience, than (0) Is. ii. 11.

(p) See pp. 3, 43-48, of this volume.

acquit ourselves of present obligation? Or does the contrition we experience, added to the positive duties we discharge, constitute a surplusage of merit, which may be transferred to the reduction of our former demerit? "We may as well affirm," says a learned divine, "that our former obedience atones for our " present sins, as that our present obedience makes " amends for antecedent transgressions!" No man can discharge an old debt merely by taking care to incur no fresh ones: and, in like manner, since sin is a debt to Divine justice (which demands undeviating rectitude and holiness), when once incurred it would not be cancelled merely by abstaining from sin in future;-supposing it were possible (which I am not inclined to admit) that sin could be entirely avoided without the aid of that restraining and invigorating principle which is implanted in the heart of a sincere believer on his conversion. (q) The question, then, to which not merely every philosophical inquirer, but every man who is interested about his eternal welfare, must be solicitous to receive a satisfactory answer is, "How shall God be just, and yet the justifier of the " ungodly?" To this question the New Testament happily furnishes a most explicit reply. "For when

(g) As the due consideration of that branch of the argument which fixes the guilt of sin upon every individual, however he may have escaped all the grosser vices, would draw me too far from my present purpose, I beg to refer to ch. 5, of that valuable work, Dr. Doddridge's " Rise " and Progress of Religion," and to section 7 of the excellent Hooker's Discourse on Justification: and, for a striking proof of the practical necessity of the entire doctrine of the Trinity, to the first part of Bishop Beveridge's "Private Thoughts."

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"we were yet without strength, in due time Christ "died for the ungodly." (r) And how were the ungodly to avail themselves of the benefit resulting from the death of Christ? The scriptural reply is, " by faith." "By him (Jesus) all who believe are "justified from all things, from which they could not " be justified by the law of Moses." " Being justified "freely by his grace through the redemption that is "in Christ Jesus." "Man is justified by faith, with" out the works of the law." " He saved us not by " works of justification, but according to his mercy." " By grace are ye saved through FAITH, not of your"selves, it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any " man should glory." "Wherefore, being justified by "faith, we have peace with God through our Lord "Jesus Christ." (s)

Such being the main tenour of the declarations in the New Testament, it is no wonder that the doctrine of justification by faith should in all ages have obtained a very general reception, or that infidels and others should in all ages have disputed it. "You tell "sinners (says Celsus), not to examine, but to believe; " and their faith will save them;" which is just the language that it might be expected an uncandid opponent would adopt. (t) Our Reformers, whose views of most doctrinal points were remarkably clear and

(r) Rom. v. 6.

(s) Acts, xiii. 39. Rom. iii. 24, 28. Tit. iii. 5. Eph. ii. 8, 9. Gal. ii. 16. Rom. v. 1.

(t) Orig. con. Cels. p. 8. Ed. 1658. Bellamy's ed. p. 67.

extensive, furnish us with abundant evidence, not of their opinions alone, but of those of much earlier writers, as to the subject before us.

"After this wise (say they) to be justified only by this " true and lively faith in Christ, speak all the old and " ancient authors, both Greeks and Latins; of whom " we will specially rehearse three, Hilary, Basil, and "Ambrose. St. Hilary saith these words plainly " in the ninth canon upon Matthew; 'Faith only "justifieth." And St. Basil, a Greek author, writeth "thus: This is a perfect and whole rejoicing in God, "when a man advanceth not himself for his own " righteousness, but acknowledgeth himself to lack " true justice and righteousness, and to be justified by " the only faith in Christ.'

"These be the very words of St. Basil; and St. "Ambrose, a Latin author, hath these words: 'This " is the ordinance of God, that they which believe in " Christ shall be saved without works, by faith only, " freely receiving the remission of their sins. Con" sider diligently these words, 'without works by faith "only freely we receive the remission of our sins.' "What can be spoken more plainly than to say, that "freely without works, by faith only we obtain remis"sion of our sins? These, and other like sentences, " that we be justified by faith only, freely, and without " works, we read oft-times in the best and most ancient "writers: as, beside Hilary, Basil, and Ambrose, " before rehearsed, we read the same in Origen, St. "Chrysostom, St. Cyprian, St. Augustine, Prosper, "Oecumenius, Proclus, Bernardus, Anselm, and " many other authors, Greek and Latin. Neverthe-> " less, this sentence, that we be justified by faith only, " is not so meant of them that the same justifying " faith is alone in man, without true repentance, hope, "charity, dread, and the fear of God, at any time " and season. Nor when they say that we should be "justified freely, do they mean that we should or " might afterwards be idle, and that nothing should " be required on our parts afterward: neither do they " mean so to be justified without good works, that we " should do no good works at all, like as shall be more " expressed at large hereafter. But this saying, that " we be justified by faith only, freely, and without "works, is spoken to take away clearly all merit of " our works, as being unable to deserve our justifica"tion at God's hands, and thereby most plainly to "express the weakness of man and the goodness of "God; the great infirmity of ourselves, and the "might and power of God; the imperfection of our " own works, and the most abundant grace of our " Saviour Christ; and therefore wholly to ascribe the " merit and deserving of our justification unto Christ " only, and his most precious blood-shedding. This "faith the holy Scripture teacheth us; this doctrine "all ancient authors of Christ's church do approve; " this doctrine advanceth and setteth forth the true "glory of Christ, and beateth down the vain-glory of "man; this, whosoever denieth, is not to be accounted "for a Christian man, nor for a setter forth of "Christ's glory; but for an adversary to Christ and " his Gospel, and for a setter forth of men's vain-glory

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