compatibility between the efficacy of the death of Christ, and the necessity of sincere endeavours after obedience. When the subject is properly examined, there turns out to be no such incompatibility. The graciousness of an offer does not diminish the necessity of the condition. Suppose a prince to promise to one of his subjects, upon compliance with certain terms, and the performance of certain duties, a reward in magnitude and value out of all competition beyond the merit of the compliance, beyond the desert of the performance; to what shall such a subject ascribe the happiness held out to him? He is an ungrateful man, if he attribute it to any cause whatever, but to the bounty and goodness of his prince in making him the offer; or if he suffer any consideration, be it what it will, to interfere with, or diminish his sense of that bounty and goodness. Still it is true, that he will not obtain what is offered, unless he comply with the terms. So far his compliance is a condition of his happiness. But the grand thing is the offer being made at all. That is the ground and origin of the whole. That is the cause; and is ascribable to favor, grace, and goodness, on the part of the prince, and to nothing else. It would, therefore, be the last degree of ingratitude in such a subject, to forget his prince, while he thought of himself; to forget the cause, whilst he thought of the condition; to regard every thing promised as merited. The generosity, the kindness, the voluntariness, the bounty of the original offer, come by this means to be neglected in his mind entirely. This, in my opinion, describes our situation with respect to God. The love, goodness, and grace of God, in making us a tender of salvation, and the effects of the death of Christ, do not diminish the necessity or the obligation of the condition of the tender, which is a sincere endeavour after holiness; nor are, in any wise, inconsistent with such obligation.

6

IX.

THE EFFICACY OF THE DEATH OF CHRIST CONSISTENT WITH THE NECESSITY OF A GOOD LIFE; THE ONE BEING THE CAUSE, THE OTHER THE CONDITION, OF SALVATION.

PART III.

ROMANS VI. 1.

What shall we say then? shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid.

In the last discourse I said that good works are the condition of salvation; not the cause; that the cause is no other than the gratuitous abounding mercy of Almighty God. Now, though this position was attempted to be established for the purpose of checking such a notion of merit and pretensions in ourselves, as might tend to lessen in our minds the consideration of that goodness and love to which we are above all measure indebted, and by which we are above all degrees obliged; though, I say, it was there advanced for the sake of this application, and no other, yet the proposition may be again taken up as introductory to a second important argument; namely, the discussion of the question, which every Christian must have heard of, between good works and faith.

Remarking the great stress that is laid upon faith in scripture, and the high and strong terms in which it is spoken of in certain passages of St Paul's epistles in particular, some persons, though they agreed with us in stating good works to be the condition of salvation, had at the same time alleged faith to be the cause. Now that is not so. Faith is no more the cause of salvation than good works are. The proper cause is distinct from either, being exclusively and solely the grace or voluntary bounty of Almighty God. Therefore it is mis

representing the matter to advance faith into a different predicament, as I may say, from good words, by calling it the cause, and good works the condition of salvation. In truth, they are neither of them the cause. They are both of the same nature they both hold the same place in our consideration; by which

I mean to signify, that so far as either of them are necessary, they are of importance and efficacy as conditions only. This, I think, ought to be carefully observed; for it puts us into the true way both of comprehending and of trying the question between them; which question, though in substance one, is capable of being submitted to examination under three forms.

Whether faith alone be the condition of salvation? Whether good works alone be that condition? Whether faith and good works be the condition, neither of them being, without the other, sufficient?

Now, independently of scripture texts, I know not that any one would ever have thought of making faith alone, meaning by faith the belief of certain religious propositions, to be the condition of salvation; because it would have occurred to every one, who reflected upon the subject, that at any rate faith could only be classed amongst other virtues and good qualities, and not as that which superseded all. Be its excellency, or value, or obligation ever so great, it is still a quality of our moral nature, capable of degrees, and liable to imperfections, as our other moral qualities are. Those, therefore, who contend for the sufficiency of faith alone, must found their doctrine, and we will do them the justice to allow, that they do found their doctrine, upon certain strong texts of scripture. The texts upon. which they rely are principally taken from the writings of St Paul; and they are these; Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith, without the deeds of the law.' . Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed on 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.' That no man is justified by the law, in the sight of God, it is evident; for the just shall live by faith.' • The scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.' 'For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.' 'If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.' These, no doubt, are strong texts, and it will not be wondered at, that in conjunction with other inducements, they have led many serious persons to lay such a stress upon them, as to exclude good works from being considered even as a condition of salvation; and a few perhaps to take refuge in this doctrine, as a ground of hope under a

life of continued sins. I say that these inferences are not to be wondered at, if the texts be taken by themselves. Scripture is to be compared with scripture; particular texts with other particular texts; and especially with the main tenor of the whole. The doctrine even of transubstantiation has a text to stand upon, which, taken alone, and interpreted literally, is very strong in its favor; but collated with other texts, and explained according to certain reasonable rules of interpretation, the passage is capable of being disposed of without forcing upon us any doctrine like that which had been deduced from it. Now, proceeding in this manner with the texts above cited, concerning the efficacy of faith, we take upon us to say, that whatever the writer of them meant by these expressions, he did not mean to lay it down as an article to be received by his disciples, that a man leading a wicked life, without change and without repentance, will nevertheless be saved at the last by his belief of the doctrines of the christian religion; still less did he mean to encourage any one to go on in a course of sin, expressly and intentionally comforting and protecting himself by this opinion. I repeat, that he, the apostle, could not mean to say this; because if he did, he would say what is expressly and positively contradicted by other texts of at least equal authority with his own; he would say what is contradicted by the very drift and design of the christian constitution; and would say, lastly, what is expressly denied and contradicted by himself.

First, he would say what is contradicted by other texts of scripture, and those of the very highest authority. For instance, what words can be plainer, more positive, or more decisive of this point than our Saviour's own? Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.' There can be no doubt but that they who are here introduced as crying out to Jesus Christ, Lord, Lord,' are supposed to believe in him; yet neither their devotion, nor their faith which prompted it, were sufficient to save them. Nay, farther; our Lord, in the same passage, proceeds to tell his hearers, that many will say to him in that day, 'Have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works?' It cannot be questioned but that they who do these things in Christ's name believe in Christ. Yet what will be their reception? 'I will profess unto you I never knew you.' And who are they who shall be thus repulsed and rejected? No others than the workers of iniquity. 'Depart from me, ye workers of iniqui-.

ty.' The difference between doing good and doing evil according to another declaration of our Saviour, is no less than this; They that have done good shall come forth unto the resurrection of life; they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.' Can a greater distinction be made, or expressed in words more plain? All the preceptive part of our Lord's teaching, especially his whole sermon upon the mount, may be alleged on the same side of the argument. And to substitute belief in the place of the duties there enjoined, or as an expiation for the offences there forbidden, even when persevered in, would in effect set aside the authority of the lawgiver. Why did our Lord command and forbid these things, or indeed any thing, if he did not require obedience as a condition of salvation? Again, every thing which we read concerning repentance implies the necessity of good works to salvation, and the inconsistency of bad works with salvation; for repentance is a change from one to the other, and can be required upon no other supposition than this. But of repentance we hear continually in the New Testament, and from the first to the last of the great mission of which it contains the history. John the Baptist began with it before our Saviour's own ministry commenced, and as the introduction to that ministry. His call to the Jews who resorted to his preaching was to 'repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.' That practical virtue made an essential part of what he meant by repentance is not left to be collected from the mere import of the word or nature of the subject, which yet might show it sufficiently, but is expressly by himself declared; Bring forth fruits meet for repentance; and when particular classes of men come to inquire of their teacher what they should do, his answer was a warning against those particular sins to which persons of their class and character were most liable, which is his own application of his own principle, and is, so far as the instances go, a direct and clear exposition of his meaning. All proves that a moral change, a moral improvement, practical sins, and practical virtues, and a turning from one to the other, was what he included in the awful admonition which he sounded in the ears of mankind. What his forerunner began with our Lord followed up in the same sense, and with the same design. 'Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent ye, and believe the gospel.' As our Lord preached repentance himself, nay, made it the burden of his preaching, so he sent out his apos