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from juftification are again reftored to it?"The grant of repentance, Lays the fixteenth article, " is not to be denied to fuch as fall into fin after baptism. And they are to be condemned which deny the place of forgiveness to fuch as truly repent." Though repentance only is here mentioned, yet faith is manifeftly fuppofed, and the truth is that the conditions of this reftoration are exactly the fame as thofe of being juftified at firft, viz. repentance and faith: That this is the fentiment of the church appears, both from her always requiring confeffion of fins before abfolution, and from the forms of abfolution themselves. "He pardoneth and abfolveth all them that truly repent and unfeignedly believe his holy gofpel." "Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, who, of his great mercy, hath promised forgiveness of fins to all them, that with hearty repentance and true faith turn unto him, &c." To thefe proofs we may add the following paffage from the Homily on falIvation, in which the fame doctrine is expreffed moft luminously: They, which in act or deed do fin after their baptifm, are washed by Chrift's facrifice from their fins, when they turn again to God unfeignedly." (Pp. 16-19.)

Nor does the church, without good reafon, confider repentance, as well as faith, to be a condition of juftification: for the fcripture does the fame. Our Saviour himself began his preaching by faying, "repent ye and believe the gospel." St. Peter, too, when the people afked him what they fhould do, replied, "repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jefus Chrift, for the remission of fins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghoft." If repentance be not here expressly made a condition of justification, it is not easy to say what a condition is.

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"You may, however," fays this learned and logical divine, "ftill think that your opinion is fupported by the XIth article. You fay, p. 218. when the church is treating directly on the means, or condition, or, whatever it is called by which we obtain juftification, the fays, It is by FAITH ONLY, BY FAITH WITHOUT WORKS; by faith at it is perfectly diftinct from obedience to the law.' This reference to what the church is fuppofed to fay on the means or condition of jultification, is evidently to what is contained in the XIth article. But what will you think, when you find, as I undertake to fay is true, that the X1th article treats entirely of the meritorious cause of justification, and fays nothing of the means or condition." (Pp. 20, 21.) In order that this may be diftinctly feen, Mr. Pearfon compares the meaning of St. Paul in the celebrated paffage (Rom. iii. 28.) on which the article is built, with that of St. James; and the refult of the comparifon is as follows:

When St. Paul fays, that "a man is juftified by faith without the deeds of the law" he is fpeaking of the meritorious caufe of juftification. We are juftified by the Chriftian religion, or by the Chriftian difpenfation (for which, as being the object of faith, the word faith itfelf is put by a figure); that is, we are juftified by the merits of Chrift alone, to the exclufion of all other meritorious caufes. What

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St. Paul

St. Paul here expreffes by being "juftified by faith," he elsewhere expreffes thus being "juftified by the faith of Chrift.” (Gal. ii. 16.) This laft expreffion, Mr. Pearfon, thinks, may, perhaps be more readily allowed to fignify "the Chriftian religion." We ourselves have no doubt that this is its fignification. "You, at leaft, Sir," fays our author, "who feem difpofed to lay fufficient ftrefs on prepofitions, will hardly deny that the faith of Chrift' may be somewhat different from faith in Chrift." The words, in the original, were, in truth, remarkable: ἀδικαιῦται άνθρωπος ἐξ έργων νομα, ΕΑΝ ΜΗ ΔΙΑ πις ως Ιησε Χρις: "A man is not juftified by the works of the law, EXCEPT (or UNLESS) through the faith of Jefus Chrift." We are much mistaken if these words do not teach the important doctrine that the Jewish law furnifhed no juftification, but as prefigurative of the gospel of Chrift. St. Paul, however, in other places, expreffes the fame thing which is expreffed in Rom. iii. 28, without any mention of the word faith: thus, juftified by Christ (Gal. ii. 17.)," and "juftified by his grace (Tit. iii. 7.)." In either cafe, both where faith is mentioned, and where it is not, the meaning of St. Paul is precisely the fame with that of St. Peter, when he fays, "Neither is there falvation in any other for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be faved." (Acts iv. 12.)

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When St. James (ii. 24.) fays that "by works a man is justified, and not by faith only," he is fpeaking of the conditional caufe of juftification, and of continuing in a ftate of falvation, fo as at laft, to be actually faved. This appears from the question, "Can faith fave him ?" And what he maintains is, that no faith can do this but such as produces good moral conduct. The feeming difference, then, between St. Paul and St. James, is wholly owing to their fpeaking of different fubjects. For St. Paul is fpeaking of the meritorious cause of our being admitted into a state of falvation, while St. James is fpeaking of the conditional caufe of our continuing in a ftate of falvation, and of being finally faved. "When St. Paul," as Mr. Pearfon obferves, "is fpeaking of the conditional caufe of our continuing in a fate of falvation and of being faved, he ufes a language perfectly confonant to that of St. James. See Rom. ii. 6-16. the whole of Rom. vi. the whole of Rom. viii. Gal. v. 16, to the end, and innumerable other - paffages of his epiftles." (Pp. 19-25.)

In the XIth. Article, the doctrine of the Juftification of Man” is defcribed by two different modes of expreffion, which are plainly equivalent to one another. The firft is: "We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift by faith, and not for our own works or defervings." That this expreffion relates to the meritorious caufe of man's juftification is univerfally allowed. But the fecond, "we are juftified by faith only,' muft relate to the fame fubject exactly, as appears by the ufe of the word "wherefore:" for, otherwife the article would reafon inconiequentially. The meaning of both is precifely that of St. Paul, when he fays that "a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law;"

that

that is, by the merits of Chrift alone, to the exclufion of all other mɛritorious caufes whatsoever. The fame conclufion is moft evident from the Homily, the great object of which is to establish the doctrine that Chrift is the fole meritorious cause of our juftification; and with this view it is that the Article refers to it. But when the Homily comes to mention faith as a condition, it exprefsly fays that "faith doth not shut out repentance, hope, love, dread, and the fear of God, To BE JOINED WITH FAITH, in every man that is juftified; but it shutteth them out from the office of juftifying." Thefe graces then are not fhut out as conditions, but as meritorious caufes; and, in this refpect, faith, as a grace or virtue, is equally fhut out: for, fays the Homily, "In that refpect of merit and deferving, we forfake, as it were, altogether again, faith, works, and all other virtues." The Homily, it is farther to be obferved, treats, not of juftification only, but alfo of falvation, that is, of retaining our juftification, and of being finally Javed. And when it comes, in the third part, to mention what is required for this purpose on the part of man, or, in other words, the conditions of Salvation, it adds, as St. James does, good works to faith. "Our office is not to pass the time of this prefent life unfruitfully and idly, after that we are baptized or juftified, not caring how few good works we do, to the glory of God, and the profit of our neighbours. Much lefs is it our office, &c." The force of this deduction we deem impregnable; and we cannot help thinking that Mr. Pearson is right in the obfervation with which he concludes it.

"When, therefore, p. 198, expreffing your opinion of the condition of justification in the words of the Article, but departing, as I conceive, from its meaning, you declare, in the name of yourfelf and your friends, that, ‘if you cannot prove, beyond all reafonable room for controverly, that this is the unequivocal opinion of our Church and Reformers, you will renounce your claim to churchmanship for ever,' you make a declaration for which, probably, your friends will not think you much entitled to their thanks." (Pp. 25-28.)

Our author having confidered the conditions of being juftified at firft, and of being restored to a juftified state, after falling away from it; which conditions we have feen to be repentance and faith, the only remaining enquiry is, "What are the conditions of continuing in that ftate, and being finally faved?" But this part of the fubject, he fays, he has anticipated, and has, therefore, little more to do than to add, in pofitive terms, that thefe conditions are faith and good works. He thinks it proper, however, to recal our attention to the Baptismal vow, which contains the conditions of all the three. The last part of that vow, according to the explanation of it in the Catechifm, is a promise to observe the Ten Commandments, as comprehending our duty to God, our neighbour, and ourselves. The performing of this promife, or the leading of "a pure and holy life," is declared, in the form of daily abfolution, a condition of our continuing in a state of falvation, and of "coming, at the last, to God's eternal joy, through

Jefus

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Jefus Christ our Lord." The fame condition is plainly expreffed in the Abfolution in the Communion Service; and the cause of its omiffion in the Abfolution at the Vifitation of the Sick is, probably, that no opportunity for the farther performance of good works is fuppofed.

"The cafe is," fays this difcriminating writer, "that when we look back to time past, the conditions of juftification are faith and repentance; when we look forward to time to come, the conditions are faith and good works: which is much the fame as faying that we are always to perform our duty to the best of our power, but never to think that we have performed it as we ought. How, then, it can be faid, confiftently with an agreement in the fentiments of our Church, that good works do not form a part of the conditions of either juftification or falvation, I am entirely at a lofs to underftand. Surely, it will require a work not lefs in bulk than The True Churchmen ascertained,' to fhew, beyond all reasonable room for controverfy,' that those performances, without which any proposed reward cannot be obtained, are not, properly and truly, called a condition of obtaining it." (Pp. 28-33.)

Mr. Pearfon fums up, in a very neat and perfpicuous manner, the amount of his inquiries into the doctrine of juftification by faith. His conclufions, we are fully perfuaded, are, as he himself thinks them, "agreeable both to the fenfe of Scripture and the doctrine of our Church." They are contained in the following definition, and propofitions:

Juftification is the being accounted righteous before God."

"PROPOSITIONS.

1." The confequence of our being juftified at any time, during the pre fent life, is that we are admitted into a state of salvation. This, by fome divines, is called our first juftification.

2." The confequence of our being juftified, at the last day will be, that we shall be saved, or made partakers of salvation. This, by fome divines, is called our last or final justification."

3. The fole meritorious caufe of our being juftified at ary time, and of' our being finally faved, is Jefus Chrift."

4. "The conditions of our being at first juftified, or of being admitted into a state of falvation, are repentance and faith."

5. "The conditions of our continuing in a state of salvation, and of being finally faved, are faith and good works.

6." The conditions of being restored to a state of falvation, after having fallen away from it, are the fame as those on which we are first admitted into it, namely, repentance and faith."

7." The means or instrument, by which we are at first admitted into a ftate of falvation, is the facrament of baptism."

8. "The means or instruments, by which we are continued in a state of falvation, are prayer, the hearing or reading of the Scriptures, and the participation of the facrament of the Lord's Supper; including the affiftance of the grace which is promifed to the ufe of them." (Pp. 33-35.)

We

We have thus given a very faithful and full analysis of this excellent and interesting pamphlet, which, we venture to fay, will be allowed, by every unprejudiced mind, to have fettled the much difputed point of juftification by faith, "beyond all reasonable room for controverfy." But, although we are perfectly satisfied that Mr. Pearfon's arguments can never be confuted, yet we do not expect that they will have great effect on our Calvinistic, evangelical, "True Churchmen." While these gentlemen retain their fundamental dogma of UNCONDITIONAL AND ARBITRARY DECREES, the fuftaining link on which every one of their peculiar tenets is fufpended, it is impoffible that any one of these tenets fhould be relinquished by them. We cannot, however, conclude without obferving, that notwithstanding Mr. Overton's pompous difplay, in the preface to his work, of the care with which he has guarded against the "iniquity of quotation," not a fingle writer has appeared againft him (as far as our knowledge reaches) who has not convicted him either of fome unfair quotations, or of some grofs and palpable mifrepresentation of the authors to whom he refers. Mr. Daubeny, in particular, has proved against him numerous inftances of both. On this fubject Mr. Pearson, with that mild and charitable politenefs which is natural to him, expreffes himself thus:

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"In general, I am not difpofed to deny you the praife of candour. With respect to this, however, and for the fake of thofe of your readers who are likely to be influenced by the authority of the writers whom you quote, I think it neceflary to oblerve that your reprefentation of their fentiments is not always to be implicitly received. You have not, I think, fo carefully guarded against the iniquity of quotation,' as you feem to have intended. I fhall be content with giving an inftance or two of this. In p. 131, you fay, Profeffor Hey fuggefts a doubt whether the diforderly propenfities of man were owing to Adam's tranfgreffion.' This, which, I believe, is your first quotation from Dr. Hey's work, gives the idea that Dr. Hey himself entertains fuch a doubt. But Dr. Hey only fays, 'I fhould rather think, that the intention of the compilers was, to leave men a liberty of affenting, who fhould doubt, whether the diforderly propenfities of man were owing to Adam's tranfgreffion.' Norr. Lect, Vol. III. p. 152. Again, in p. 260, with a reference to the Norrifian Lectures, you fay, 'We dare not suggest our doubts whether all men may not be happy ultimately.' Hence allo it might be concluded that Dr. Hey entertains these doubts. Whether he does or not, I do not pretend to fay. I contend, however, that this does not appear from his words, but rather that the contrary appears. His words are, It is owing to the moderation of our Church, that we are not called ppon to fubfcribe to the eternity of Hell's torments: nay, we are not required even to condemn those, who prefume to affirm, that all men will be finally faved, though that was required in the laft Article of Edward VI. and I think reasonably,' Norr. Leci, Vol. II. p. 390." (Pp. 35-37.)

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