glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.-Whom God had set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his RIGHTEOUSNESS for the remission of sins. For they being ignorant of God's RIGHTEOUSNESS, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. If these passages do not convey the idea of its being inconsistent with the righteous charac ter of God to pardon and accept of sinners, in consideration of their own doings, I can conceive of no determinate idea conveyed by them. If it was becoming the divine perfections, to bring sinners to glory through a suffering Saviour, it would have been unbecoming those perfections to have brought them to glory in virtue of their own doings. If Christ were set forth to be a propitiation that God might declare his righteousness for the remission of sins, his righteousness would not have been declared in the remission of sins without it. Finally: If ignorance of God's righteousness were the reason of the non-submission of the Jews to the gospel-way of justification, there must have been, in that truth, something directly opposed to justification in any other way, and which, had it been properly understood, would have cut up all hopes from every other quarter. It was in this way that Paul, when the righteous law of God appeared to him in its true light, died as to all hopes of being accepted of God by the works of it. It was through the law that he became dead to the law, that he might live unto God. 2. The scriptures, in a great variety of language, exclude all works performed by sinful creatures as the ground of acceptance with God. In proof of this, the following passages are very express: Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man that doeth those things shall live by them. But the rightcousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise,-If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay; but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.If Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory.-Now to him that worketh is the reward reckoned not of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works.-Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law: for they stumbled at that stumbling-stone.-Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.—As many as are of the works of the law, are under the curse for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith but The man that doeth them shall live in them.-Christ is become of no effect unto you: whosoever of you are justified by the law, ye are fallen from grace.-Not of works, lest any man should boast.-Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us— that, being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. : Distinctions have been made, on this subject, between the works of the ceremonial and those of the moral law, also between the works of the law and those of the gospel; as though it were not the design of the scriptures to exclude moral duties from being grounds of justification, but merely those which are ceremonial; or if it were, yet not the evangelical duties of repentance, faith, and sincere obedience. But, whatever differences there may be between these things, they are all works; and all works of men are excluded from justification. If the foregoing passages be considered in their connexions, they will be found to respect all obedience, of every kind, which is performed by men, be it ceremonial or moral, or what it may. They teach justification by a righteousness received, in opposition to a righteousness done or performed, and which leaves no room for boasting. If we were justified by faith itself, considered as a duty of ours, or if the Law-giver had respect to any conformity to God in us, as the cause, or reason, of the sentence, there would be no meaning in such language as this: To him that WORKETH NOT, but BELIEVETH on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. The language of the Apostle to the Galatians goes not only to exclude obedience to the ceremonial and the moral law, but obedience to law in general, as the ground of justification. The reason given why the law is not against the promises, or why it cannot furnish an objection to the free grace of the gospel, is this: If there had been A LAW which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. This is equal to saying, the patient was given up, as incurable by law, before the promised grace of the gospel took him in hand: whatever, therefore, is done by the latter cannot be objected to by the former. The terms vóμos and έx vóμov, law, and by the law, in Gal. iii. 21, as observed by Dr. Guyse, show it, according to Mr. Locke's rule of interpretation, to relate to law in general, or to any or every law. But, if the works of every law be excluded, all distinctions between ceremonial and moral, or between moral and evangelical, are of no account. 3. Being justified freely by grace is itself directly opposed to being justified by works. The term grace denotes free favour to the unworthy. If God had been obliged, in justice or in honour, to have done what he has done; if the law by which we were condemned were too strict, or the penalty annexed to it too severe; if Christ, and the offer of salvation through him, were a compensation given us on account of the injury we received from our connexion with our first parents, that which is called grace, would not be grace, but debt. There is just so much grace in the gospel as there is justice in the law, and no more. The opposition between grace and works, in this important concern, is so clear in itself, and so plainly marked by the apostle, that one can scarcely conceive, how it can be honestly mistaken: If it be by grace, then is it no more of works; otherwise grace is no more grace. But, strong as the term grace is, the Apostle adds to its force. As though it were not enough for him to affirm, that we are justi fied by grace, he says, we are justified freely by his grace. There is, doubtless, a redundancy in the expression; but the design of it is to strengthen the thought. Thus, when he would forcibly express his idea of future glory, he uses a kind of tautology for the purpose, calling it a FAR MORE EXCEEDING and eternal weight of glory. We are not only justified without any desert, on our part, but contrary to it. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so are his thoughts, in the forgiveness of sin, higher than our thoughts, and his ways than our ways. They who are justified are said to receive abundance of grace, or grace abounding over all the aboundings of sin. Sin reigns over our species, subjugating them all to death: but grace conquers the conqueror, reigning through righteousness to eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord. 4. The terms used relative to gospel-justification, render it evident, that it is not our own righteousness that is imputed to us, but the righteousness of another. Abraham believed God, and it was COUNTED unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But he that believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is COUNTED for righteousness.-David also describeth the blessedness of the man unto whom God IMPUTETH righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not IMPUTE sin. The terms imputed and counted, in this connexion, are manifestly used to express, not that just reckoning of righteousness to the righteous, which gives to every man his due, but that gracious reckoning of righteousness to the unrighteous, as though he were righteous. When the uncircumcised Gentile kept the law, his uncircumcision was counted for circumcision: not that it really was such, but was graciously reckoned, in the divine administration, as if it were. When Paul, writing to Philomon concerning Onesimus, says, If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account, he did not mean, that he should treat him according to his deserts, but that he should forgive and accept him, for his sake. When faith is said to be counted for righteousness, it is as relating to Christ. The faith by which Abraham was justified had ་ immediate relation to him as the promised seed; and it is easy to perceive, in the New Testament accounts of justifying faith, a marked attention to the same thing. Abraham believed God, and it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification.-BY HIM all that believe are justified from all things.-That God might be just, and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. "It is evident," says President Edwards,* "that the subject of justification is looked upon as destitute of any righteousness in himself, by that expression, It is counted, or imputed, to him for righteousness. The phrase, as the Apostle uses it here, (Rom. iv. 5.) and in the context, manifestly imports, that God, of his sovereign grace, is pleased, in his dealings with the sinner, to take and regard that which, indeed is not righteousness, and in one that has no righteousness, so that the consequence shall be the same as if he had righteousness; and which may be from the respect that it bears to something which is indeed righteous. It is as if he had said "As to him that works, there is no need of any gracious reckoning, or counting it for righteousness, and causing the reward to follow as if it were a righteousness: for if he has works, he has that which is a righteousness in itself, to which the reward properly belongs.' 5. The rewards promised, in the scriptures, to good works, suppose the parties to be believers in Christ; and so, being accepted in him, their works also are accepted, and rewarded, for his sake. That good works have the promise of salvation, is beyond dispute. Nothing that God approves shall go unrewarded. The least expression of faith and love, even the giving of a cup of cold water to a disciple of Christ, because he belongs to him, will insure everlasting life. But neither this, nor any other good work, can be a ground of justification, inasmuch as it is subsequent to it. For works to have any influence on this blessing, they require to precede it : but works before faith are never acknowledged by the scriptures VOL. VII. * Sermon on Justification, p. 9. 41 |