LETTER XI.

Wherein the Moravian and Antinomian Doctrine of Juftification,

in fome of its peculiar points, is confidered and refuted.

IT

SIR,

T is true, that I do agree with the Antinomians and Moravians in this, that "The righteouf"nefs of our Lord Jefus Chrift is the alone matter "of our juftification before God." But I am, notwithstanding, very far from agreeing with them in the whole of their doctrine on that important article of a finner's juftification by faith in Chrift.

The perfon you have converfed with has impofed upon you, in pretending, that "they and we are "of the fame fentiments with refpect to the doc"trine of juftification."-In compliance with your demands, I fhall therefore endeavour to fhew you, "What is the difference between them and those "of our profeffion, in this great point; and what "are the reafons of our differing from them."-I prefume, you do not expect from me a particular detection of all the Moravian and Antinomian errors; this would require a larger volume than I have lei. fure to write, or you would have patience to read. I fhall therefore limit myself to the fubject which you have propofed.

There are these two things, especially in the doctrine of our juftification by faith, which are to be condemned as moft dangerous errors in the fects you speak of. The firft is, their notion of the nature of a faving faith. The fecond is, the part which they affign to faith in our juftification. It is neceffary, in order to set the affair in a proper light, that I be something particular upon each of these.

The

The first thing then to be confidered is their notion of the nature of a faving faith: This they fuppofe to confist in a joyful perfuafion of our intereft in Chrift, and of our title to his purchased falvation. And accordingly Count Zinzendorff frequently gives us this view of a faving faith. Believe then (fays he) that Jefus has atoned and paid a ransom for you all; and that you may experience it this very moment; and know that ye have been healed by his wounds and by his stripes *.—And the Antinomians in general agree with him in this, that faving faith confifts in a comfortable perfuafion of our perfonal intereft in the Lord Jefus Chrift..

But then, on the contrary, you may perceive, by what I have written to you on this fubject, that I do not fuppofe this perfuafion to enter into the definition of a faving faith; nor to be any part of it. It is what a true believer may want; and an unbelieving and impenitent finner may entertain in an high degree.

This is an affair of vaft confequence, and therefore deferves a more diftinct and particular confideration than I can now have opportunity for. I fhall however attempt to fet it in as plain and familiar a light as I can. In order to this, it will be proper (previous to my reafoning against this wild opinion) to premise these obfervations:

1. That believers may have good fatisfaction of their fafe eftate, and full perfuafion of their intereft in Chrift, from their experience of a work of grace in their hearts; and from the fruits of faith in their affections and converfations. It is juft reafoning, from the nature of the fruit, to the quality of the tree that bears it. If therefore a man finds in himfelf an habitual, predominant defire after the Lord Jefus Chrift, as the portion of his foul, and the foundation

* Difcourfes on the Redemption of Man, p. 120.

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foundation of his hope; if he feels his fins to be the burden of his foul, what he hates without referve, what he ftrives, watches, and prays against, and never willingly and deliberately indulges; if he delights himself in the Lord, in near approaches to him, and communion with him in his ordinances; if he knows it to be the bent and difpofition of his foul, to approve himself to God in a life of spiritualmindedness, and in all holy conversation and godlinefs, in felf-denial, in piety towards God, in righteousness and charity towards men: Though he may yet groan under many disallowed imperfections, he nevertheless may be, and ought to be perfuaded of his intereft in Chrift; and give the praife and glory of thefe divine influences upon his foul to the bleffed Author of them; this is the or. dinary and standing evidence to the children of God, of the fafety of their state.-By this they have a comfortable and joyful perfuafion, that he who has begun a good work in them, will perform it to the day of Chrift.-By this the children of God are manifeft, both to themselves and others.

In

this fenfe, then, I do not deny to believers a perfuafion or manifestation of their own good estate. This perfuafion is, what they fhould by no means contentedly reft fhort of. It is greatly needful, not only to their comfort and hope, but to their ferving God with the difpofitions becoming children, with enlargement of foul, and with cheerfulness and delight. But then you must remember, that this perfuafion is not faith; but arifes from the fruits and effects of faith upon the foul, and is what may (fometimes at leaft) be wanting in the best of the children of God.-I must still further obferve,

2. That God is fometimes pleased, in a more Special and peculiar manner, to shed abroad his love in the hearts of believers, by his holy Spirit, with

fuch

fuch fuperior light and evidence, that their gracious fincerity, fo confequently their intereft in Chrift, and their title to the eternal inheritance, can at fuch times be nowife doubtful and questionable to them. The Spirit of God witnesseth with their Spirits, that they are his children; and they are fealed with the holy Spirit of promife.-In this cafe, as in the other before mentioned, their comfortable perfuafion of their interest in Christ arifes from an evident difcovery of the exercise of the graces of his bleffed Spirit. Herein this joyful perfuafion in both cafes agrees, that it is reasonable and well-grounded. The Spirit of God never perfuades the foul to be-lieve a truth without, its proper evidence; nor causes the believer to rejoice without rational grounds and motives. But then this latter perfua,fion differs from that before mentioned, in these following refpects :-It is produced in the foul with an incomparably stronger and clearer light.-In the other cafe, fatisfaction is obtained by a series of reafoning, reflection, and felf-examination, diftinctly confidering the Scripture-rule, and comparing it with the ftate, circumftances, and fettled habit of the foul. Whereas, in this cafe, the foul has fo clear a view, and confciousness of its prefent exercife of faith in Chrift, and love to God, that all clouds are difperfed, all mifts and darkness vanifh; and there is no room left for doubts and mifgiving thoughts But the foul fees itself safe in the hands of Chrift; and can reft there with the greatest alacrity and pleasure.-Moreover, as this perfuafion, which I am now fpeaking of, makes its way into the foul with much greater light, fo it has a much quicker and more fudden production. The foul is not exercised, in this cafe, for months or years together, with difficult inquiries into its own ftate; but at once, before it is aware, overcomes all its

fears,

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fears, by feeling the poffeffion and influence of the graces and confolations of the Spirit of God.-I may yet add, that this perfuafion is accompanied with fuch unspeakable joy, as thofe (even believers themselves) cannot have any idea of, who have not thus tafted that the Lord is gracious. The divine light, mines into the foul with a tranfporting and ravishing energy, till it is as it were loft in a joyful aftonishment. By this the world vanishes out of fight, and death itfelf lofes its terrors; by this the martyrs have been enabled to fing in the flames, and most joyfully to triumph over all that is most frightful and diftreffing to nature.-To which I may alfo add, that this joyful perfuafion, of which I now speak, has a transforming efficacy on the foul, who is the happy fubject of it. It purifies the heart, and promotes conformity to God: It humbles the foul to nothing in its own eyes; bows it to an abfolute fubjection to the will of God, and excites in it the moft vigorous exercife of the graces of the Spirit, and the duties of Christianity: Effects, which at least are not fo fenfibly produced, and in fuch a degree, by the fatisfaction which the foul obtains of its own good state, in the method first mentioned. -I have infifted the longer upon thefe heads, to obviate all misapprehenfions of what I have yet to offer: And to the fame purpose I must add once

more,

3. That we can have no other claim to acceptance with God, but by the righteousness of Chrift imputed to us, and received by faith; and therefore, that we can have no juft perfuafion of our being in favour with God, but from our intereft in, and dependence upon, his righteousness, as the matter of our juftification. It is only on account of what Chrift has done and fuffered for us that we are juftified before God, and intitled to eternal falva