Meat and Drink, to do the Will of their FAATHER in Heaven."This, You will own, is practical Duty, in its moft perfect Form. And this is one Benefit of the Covenant; one of the Privileges, purchased by our great MEDIATOR. Now it feems wondrous ftrange, that the Purchafe of an Eftate for You or me, fhould be reckoned the fure Means, to deprive Us of the Poffeffion, or des bar Us from the Enjoyment.

C

How often is this weak Surmise urged as an Argument? All whose Plaufibility is owing, to a palpable Mistake, or an egregious Fallacy to a fuppofed Separation of Things, which are abfolutely infeparable; I mean, our Juftification and our Sanctification *You are a Philofopher, Therom. Try, vif You can feparate Gravity from the Stone, or Heat from the Fire. If thefe Bodies and their effential Properties, if these Caufes and their necessary Effects, are indissolubly connected; so are a genuine Faith, and a confcientious Obedience. To fuppofe them difunited, is as contrary to found Divinity; as it would be contrary to true Philofophy, if You should talk of a burning Substance that has no Warmth, or of a folid Subftance that has no Weight. Never therefore, my dear Friend, repeat this ftale Objection; never propagate this

See Ifai. xlv. 24. 1 Cor. i. 30. 1 Cor. vi. 11. Where thefe Bleffings walk Hand in Hand; and never were, never will, never can be parted. No more, than the delicious Scents, can be feparated from the beautiful Bloom, of the Rofe or Carnation. Let the Flower be expanded, and the Fragrance tranfpires. Let Juftification take Place, and, under a Senfe of this delightful Privilege, the Heart is purified; the Life is rectified; the whole Man fanctified.

ungrounded* Clamour; nor adopt a Cavil, which is altogether as unphilofophical, as it is anti-evangelical.gigo er wi bedział зon ei noiBsidO

- zied and Agus to be

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*This puts me in mind of what Theodorus replied to Philacles; who was often infinuating, that He preached licentious Doctrine; becaufe He enlarged, with peculiar tees Affiduity, upon Faith in JESUS CHRIST; and frequently chofe fuch Texts as, Believe in the LORD JESUS, and Thou shalt be faveds has wall or 19971 "I preach Salvation by JESUS CHRIST; and give me Leave to afk, You know,

vation by CHRIST mea her what Sal

"-Philocles paufed. He began to bluth; would have cluded the Queftion, and declined an Anfwer. No, faid Theodorus: You myя permit me to infift upon a Reply, Because, if it be a right one, it will justify me a and my Conduct if it be a wrong one, it will prove, that You blame You know not what, and have more Reafon to inform yourfelf, "than to cenfure others.". Ad

This difconcerted Him ftill more. Upon which Theor dorus proceeded. "Salvation by CHRIST means, only a Deliverance from the Guilt, but alfo from "Power of Sin; the latter effected by Means of the fors 66 .mer. HE gave Himself for Us, that, having refcued "Us from the Damnation of Hell, and restored Us to "the Hope of Heaven, He might, by the Faith or beof from

lieving Enjoyment of thefe Bleffings, redeem Us from "all' Iniquity." "“Go now, Philocles, and tell the "World, that by teaching thefe Doctrines, I promate "the Caufe of Licentiousness. And You will be just as "rational, juft as candid, just as true, as if You fhon'd "affirm; That, when your Houfe was in Flames, the "Firemen, by playing the Engine, and pouring in Wa"ter, burnt the Building to the Ground, and laid your "Furniture in Afhes."

The fame may be faid of thofe Writers, who, to depreciate the Truth as it is in JESUS, and to difcredit the great Duty of a Sinner, and talk of a prefump"tuous inactive Reliance on the Blood and Merits of "CHRIST." Which is mere Inconfiftency, Made up of incompatible Ideas. A pretended or hypocritical

Reliance

-Ther. We digrefs from the Point. My principal Objection is not satisfied. I was observing that, ac cording to your Manner of ftating the Affair, Salvation is no longer free, but founded upon Works. They are the Works of the Law, though CHRIST performs them. To maintain, that We are juftified by thefe Works, is to confound the Difference be tween the Law and the Gospel. mut

baafp. Though We fhould admit your Premifes, We cannot acquiefce in your Conclufion. The fame Righteoufnefs, by which We are juffified, is both legal and evangelical. Legal, in respect to CHRIST, who was made under the Law, that He might obey all its Commands. Evangelical, in refpect to Us, who work not Ourselves, but believe in the great FULFILLER of all Righteoufnefs.-This is much of the fame Nature, with that other momentous Diftinction in Divinity; Salvation is freely given, yet dearly bought. Freely given, with regard to Us; dearly bought, with regard to CHRIST: So, We are justined by Works, if You look forward to our SURETY: We are juftified without Works, if You caft a retrospective View on Qurfelves.

Theren was revolving thefe Points in his Mind. -Apafis, after a fhort Interval, renewed the Dif course. I know not, whether my Friend is yielding to my Arguments, or fearching after Objections; deliberating upon a Capitulation, or muftering his Forces for a fresh Sally. However, let

Reliance there may be. But, whenever Reliance is real, it cannot be prefumptuous, because it has GOD's Word for its Warrant; it will not be inactive, fince it is a Connection with CHRIST the living Head.

me take this Opportunity of dropping a Hint, and fuggefting a Caution.

The grand Reafon, which inclines fome People to reject this comfortable Doctrine, lies concealed, if not in an abfolute Difbelief of our LORD's eternal Glory and GODHEAD, yet in unfettled Apprehenfions of it, or an habitual Inattention to it. If our SAVIOUR was not really GOD, as fome Writers, unhappily miftaken themselves, endeavour to perfuade the World; it would be a reasonable Practice, and entirely confiftent with their Scheme, to difavow the Imputation of his Righteousnefs. Because, upon fuch a Suppofition, his Obedience was no more than bounden Duty; in which there could not be the leaft Pretence to Merit, and which could be profitable to None but Himfelf.Whereas, if We verily believe Him to be the incarnate GOD, his Submiffion to the Law becomes an Act of voluntary Humiliation. Which Circumftance, together with the transcendent Dignity of his Person, render his Obedience, not meritorious only, but inexpreffibly and infinitely meritorious.

*

As the Blood of CHRIST is called GOD's own Blood ; fo the Obedience of CHRIST was performed in the Perfon of that adorable MEDIATOR, who is GOD over all t. He acted through the whole Course of his Life, and fuffered Death at the laft, not merely as Man, but as GOD-Man; as JEHOVAH-JESUS; IMMANUEL.-Let me entreat You to remember, ever to remember this all-important Article of our Faith. And may the bleffed SPIRIT of Wifdom give Us an Understanding, to know the weighty,

* Acts xx. 28.

+ Rom. ix. 5.

weighty, the extenfive Influence of fo glorious a Truth!

X

*

Ther. Far be it from me, to derogate from the Dignity of our SAVIOUR's Perfon, or to depreciate the Merits of his mediatorial Office. Place them as high, as Words can reach; exalt them as far, as Thought can foar; I ftedfaftly believe, You will still fall fhort, unmeasurably short, of their real Worth. But this Confideration feems to increase the Abfurdity of your Notion. For, if CHRIST's Righteoufnefs, his very Righteoufnefs be imputed ; then, the true Believers are altogether as righteous, as CHRIST himfelf. Whereas, if You maintain, that his Righteoufnefs is imputed only as to its Effects,, You will keep clear of this Rock. Afp. This, I apprehend, will be like keeping clear of sed Scylla, only to fall foul upon Charybdis. It will drive Us upon a Method, which is infufficient, Usu unneceffary, and apparently abfurd.

Now

Infufficient. For, in order to Juftification, that must be imputed, which anfwere the Demands of the Law. nothing can do this, but the Righteoufnefs, the very Righteoufnefs of CHRIST. Who, by his perfect Obedience, is the End of the Law for Righteousness. Unneceffary. What are the Effects of the REDEEMER's Righteoufnefs? Pardon of Sin, and Juftification of our Perfons. When the Rightcoufnefs of CHRIST is imputed, We have Pardon, We have Juftification. Thefe therefore need not be imputed, because they are poffeffed; poffeffed, as the never-failing Effects of an Intereft in the REDEEMER's Righteoufnefs. Sanctification is another Effect or Fruit of CHRIST's Righteoufnefs. But how ftrange would it be, to talk

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of