him, or believing on his name. 6. Hereby we are entitled to the heavenly inheritance; have power to become the Sons of God, wherein our adoption is afferted, and our Juftification included. From hence we argue-That nothing more is required to the obtaining a right and title to the heavenly inheritance but faith alone in the name of Chrift: the receiving of Chrift as the ordinance of God for Juftification and Salvation.

JOHN III. 14-18.

"AND as Mofes lifted up the serpent in the wildernefs, even fo must the Son of man be lifted up: That whofoever believeth in him fhould not perish, but have eternal life. For God fent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be faved. He that believeth on him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

From these words we may obferve: 1. It is of the Juftification of men that our Saviour speaks-" He that "believeth is not condemned," &c. 2. The means of attaining this condition is believing only, which is thrice. afferted. 3. The nature of this faith is declared, byIts object, the Son of God-The Special confideration wherein he is the object of faith, namely, as he is the ordinance of God, given, propofed, and fent of the Father; and-The Special act, included in the type, whereby the defign of God in him is illuftrated; and this was looking to the brazen ferpent by those who were ftung with fiery ferpents: anfwerable to which is our faith in Chrift unto Juftification.

Not to add more particular teftimonies, which are multiplied to the fame purpose in this Evangelift, the fum of his doctrine is this :

"That the Lord Jesus Christ was the Lamb of God, "which takes away the fin of the world by the facrifice of ❝ himself-That to this end he fanctified himself, that "those who believe might be fanctified, or perfected for "ever, by his own offering of himself :-That in the "Gospel he is propofed, as lifted up and crucified for

us, as bearing all our fins in his own body on the "tree-That by faith in him, we have adoption, juf"tification, freedom from judgment and condemna"tion, with a right and title to eternal life :-That "those who believe not are condemned already, because "they believe not on the Son of God." And this is the substance of the chriftian faith in this matter ; which often we rather obfcure than illustrate, by debating the confideration of any thing in our Juftification, but the grace and love of God, the perfon and mediation of Chrift, with faith in them.

CHAP. XVIII.

The Nature of Juflification, as declared in the Epiftles of St. Paul; in that to the Romans especially. Chap. iii.

THAT

HAT the doctrine of Juftification is purposely declared and vindicated by St. Paul, in his Epistle to the Romans, cannot modeftly be denied. The late exceptions of fome, "that it is found only in his wri

tings, and that they are obfcure and intricate," are both falfe and fcandalous to the chriftian religion. He wrote as he was moved by the Holy Ghost." And as the matter he delivered was facred truth, requiring our faith and obedience, fo the manner in which he declared it was fuch as the Holy Ghost judged most expedient for the edification of the church. And as he

faid

faid himself with confidence, that "if the Gospel he preached was hid, it was hid unto them that are lost ;" fo may we say-That if what he writes concerning our Juftification feems to us obfcure or perplexed, it is from our prejudices, corrupt affections, or the weakness of our understandings at beft, and not from any defect in his manner of declaring it. Rejecting therefore all fuch perverfe infinuations, and acknowledging "that we know but in part," we fhall humbly inquire into the bleffed revelation of this great mystery, as declared in this epistle.

The Apostle first proves that all men are finners, and guilty before God; and hence arifes an inquiry, How any of them come to be justified before God? And as Juftification is a fentence upon the confideration of a righteousness, the grand question is-What is that righteousness? And he exprefsly affirms, that it is not the righteoufnefs of the law, nor of the works of it, but the righteoufnefs of God, as opposed to it *: and this he defcribes by the three following properties.

1. It is without the law, ver. 21. feparated in all its concerns from the law; not attainable by it, nor by any works of it. Whatever is, or can be performed by us, in obedience to the law, is rejected from this righteousness of God, or procuring it to be made our own.

2. It is witnessed by the law and the prophets; by which diftinction it is evident that he means the books of Moses; and in them teftimony is given to the righteousness of God, in four ways. (1.) By fhewing the neceffity of it, in the account there given of our apostasy from God; for by the entrance of fin, our own righteousness went out of the world; fo that another righteousness must be introduced, or all relation of love and favour between God and man muft ceafe for ever. (2.) In the way of recovery generally declared in the first promise of the bleffed Seed; for he alone was "to make

Chap. i. 17. iii, 21, 22.

an

an end of fin, and bring in everlasting righteousness." (3.) By excluding any other righteoufnefs, by the threatenings of the law, and the curfe which attends every tranfgreffion of it; whereby it was evident that another righteoufnefs must be provided, which would anfwer and remove that curfe. (4.) In the prefiguration of the way whereby this righteoufnefs was to be wrought; namely, by various facrifices, efpecially the great anniversary facrifice on the day of expiation, wherein all the fins of the church were laid on the head of the facrifice, and fo carried away.

3. It is received by faith alone. "The righteousness of God which is by faith of Jefus Chrift, unto all, and upon all them that believe; forthere is no difference," ver. 22. Faith is fo the only way and means whereby it comes "upon us," or is communicated to us, that it is to all who have this faith, and only to them, and that without difference on the confideration of any thing elfe besides.

The Apostle next proceeds to declare the nature of our Juftification in all the caufes of it, ver. 24-26. "Being juftified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Chrift Jefus, whom God hath fet forth to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remiffion of fins that are paft, through the forbearance of God. To declare, I fay, bis righteoufnefs, that he might be juft, and the justifier of them that believe in Jefus." In this paffage, the principal efficient cause is firft expreffed with a peculiar emphafis; being juftified freely- by his grace." Thefe expreffions are put together, to give the greater emphafis to his affertion. The one denotes the principle from which our Juftification proceeds, namely, grace; the other the manner of its operation, it works freely; which is added to exclude all confideration of

any

any thing in us as the cause or condition of our Juftifi cation *.

The means, on our part, whereby according to the ordination of God we receive, or are made partakers of God's righteoufnefs, is by faith alone; nothing else is propofed, nothing elfe is required to this end.

The Apoftle then draws the following inferences from this doctrine, which alfo further illuftrate the meaning of his words.

1. Baafting is excluded; ver. 27. It is evident from hence, and from what he affirms concerning Abraham, chap. iv. 2. that a great part of his controverfy about Juftification was, whether it admitted of boafting or not? The Jews, it is well known, placed all their hopes in their privileges and their righteousness, of which they thought they might boaft; and wherever refpect is had to any condition or qualification in one more than another, it affords a foundation for boafting; but in evangelical Juftification, no fuch boafting in any kind. can be admitted: wherefore there is no place for works therein; for if there were, boafting must be admitted.

2. He infers, ver. 28. " that a man is justified by faith without the works of the law." If we are justified freely through faith in the blood of Chrift, that faith which hath the propitiation of Chrift for its special object, can take no other grace nor duty into partnership with it therein and being so justified, as that all boasting, neceffarily refulting from any diftinguishing graces

:

or

The Roman Church pretends, that by "the grace of God," the internal inherent grace of God is intended; but they have nothing to prove it, but that which overthrows it, namely, "that it is added to freely," which were needlefs if it fignify the free favour of God; but the grace of God in this fubject every where fignifies his goodness, love, and fa. vour, (fee Rom. v. 15. Eph. ii. 4, 8, 9. 2 Tim. i. 9. Tit. iii. 41 5.) and the word freely is connected with it to give the greater force to the expreffion, fo as to exclude all works of our own, all conditions, preparations, and merit.