LETTER X.

Terms of Acceptance with God.

MADAM,

THERE is nothing in the whole compafs of religion and morals, of greater importance to be clearly and diftinctly known, than "the terms of accept(( ance with God," or, in other words, the means which God has appointed for the attainment of our ultimate happiness. And these are fo explicitly revealed in the fcriptures both of the old and new teftament, that no perfon of common understanding, who reads them attentively and without prejudice, can fall into any material error upon this fubject. The practice of virtue is always represented as the only means of attaining happiness, both here and hereafter. "To fear God, and keep his com"mandments; to do juftice, to love mercy, to walk "humbly with God, to deny all ungodlinefs and

worldly paffions, and to live foberly, righteously "and godlily in the world; to feek for glory, ho"nour, and immortality, by patient continuance in "well doing; in a word, to love God with all the "understanding, and with all the heart, and to love "our neighbour as ourfelves:" thefe are the clear and equitable terms of falvation, both under the old difpenfation and the new.

The apoftles indeed infiit much on faith in Chrift: and with great propriety; for their exhortations were ufually addreffed to unbelieving jews, or to heathen idolaters, whom they were defirous of introducing to the privileges and hopes of the chriftian religion. But those who already professed christianity are enjoined, not to believe, but to act confiftently with their profession, and to be “careful "to maintain good works.”

The apoftles alfo often dwell upon the sufferings of Chrift, and that for feveral reafons. The death of Jefus was the confirmation of his miffion; it was the feal of that new covenant which he came to: promulgate; it was the neceflary preliminary to his refurrection; and the public execution of the founder of this new religion being objected to its profeffors as an indelible difgrace, the firft teachers of christianity were folicitous to flew, that they were not ashamed to avow themfelves the difciples of a crucified Mafter. "They gloried in the cross "of Chrift, and determined to know nothing but Jefus Chrift, even him who was crucified."

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After having thus briefly ftated the plain and fimple doctrine of the fcriptures concerning the "terms of acceptance with God," let us now inquire into that of Mr. W. which is indeed of a very different complexion. And confidently as that gentleman afferts it, and dangerous as he reprefents it, either to difpute, or to mistake, the principles he affumes;

affumes; the fact is, that not a fingle word, no, not even a trace or a fhadow of them, is to be found in the christian scriptures.

That I may not mifreprefent his fentiments upon a subject which he regards as of the higheft moment, let him speak for himself. After having stated it, p. 117,"as a highly dangerous notion, that "fome chriftians, with little more than an indistinct "and nominal reference to him who bore our fins "in his own body upon the tree, really reft their "eternal hopes on a vague general perfuafion of "the unqualified mercy of the Supreme Being, or "ftill more erroneously rely in the main on their "own negative or pofitive merits ;" and having noticed with difapprobation, p. 119, the errors of another "clafs, who have a sort of general indetermi"nate and ill understood dependence on our bleffed

Saviour; but whofe hopes appear ultimately to "bottom on the perfuafion that they are now "through Chrift become members of a new difpen"fation, wherein they will be tried by a more lenient. "rule than that to which they must have been "otherwife fubject," he reprefents thefe errors, p. 121, "as naturally refulting from the miftaken "conception entertained of the fundamental princi"ples of christianity, as a scheme for juftifying the "ungodly, and for making the fruits of holiness the

effects, not the caufe, of our being justified and re"conciled." Among the practical confequences of

thefe errors, he mentions (p. 123) "their tendency "to prevent that deep feeling of gratitude for the "merits and interceffion of Chrift, to which we are

wholly indebted for our reconciliation to God; "and for the will and the power, from firft to laft, "to work out our own falvation; their proneness to "run into merely moral difquifitions, and their ad"vifing men to amend their ways, as a preparation "for their coming to Chrift, rather than exhort "them to throw themfelves with deep proftration "of foul at the foot of the crofs." Profeffing, p. 127, "not to enter into the niceties of controversy," he nevertheless contends, "that they who in the main "believe the doctrines of the church of England "are bound to allow, that our dependence on our "bleffed Saviour, as alone the meritorious caufe of

our acceptance with God, must be not merely "formal and nominal, but real and fubftantial. "Repentance towards God, and faith towards our "Lord Jefus Chrift, was the fum of the apoftolical · "inftructions." This faith imports, p. 128, that

we must be deeply confcious of our guilt and "mifery, and penitently fleeing for refuge to the "hope fet before us; we must found altogether on "the merit of the crucified Redeemer our hopes of "efcape from deferved punishment, and of deliver"ance from the enflaving power of fin. This muft "be our first, our laft, our only plea. "surrender ourselves up to him, to be

We are to

washed in

"his blood, to be fanctified by his fpirit," and the like.

He adds, p. 129, that "what has been required is "not the perception of a fubtle diftinction, but a "ftate and condition of heart;" and proceeds, p. 130,. to addrefs thofe "who are difpofed to believe, that "though, in fome obfcure and vague fenfe, the "death of Christ as the fatisfaction for our fins, and "for the purchase of our future happiness, and the

fanctifying influence of the spirit, are to be admit "ted as fundamental articles of our creed; yet that "these are doctrines fo much above us, that they 66 are not fuited to our capacities, and that, turn"ing our eyes from thefe difficult fpeculations, "we fhould fix them on the practical and moral "precepts of the gospel." To this objection Mr. W. replies, p. 131, that "this may not be inconfiftently "the language of the modern unitarian, but furely "it is in the highest degree unreasonable to admit "into our scheme all the grand peculiarities of chrif"tianity, and, having admitted, to neglect, and "think no more of them;" that "common sense "fuggefts, from their nature and magnitude, that

they deferve our moft ferious regard;" that "the "profane irreverence of this conduct is not more "ftriking than its ingratitude;" and "that we are "forewarned, p. 133, that God will not hold them "guiltless who are unmindful of his kindness." The fection concludes with an exhortation to exer◄