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own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousness shall not be remembered, but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it. In the fcriptures of the New Testament we are exhorted to work out our own falvation with fear and trembling; to give diligence to make our calling and election fure; not to be highminded, but fear, left we also be cut off; dhe that thinketh he ftandeth is admonished to take heed left he fall. We read of fome who were once enligtened and had tafted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and had tafted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, who have afterwards fallen away, and that fo totally and finally, that it was impoffible to renew them again unto repentance. And of others we f read, who had escaped the pollution of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift, who have been again entangled therein, and overcome, whofe latter end was worse than the beginning. The great Apostle St. Paul speaks with great diffidence and doubt of his own falvation- & Brethren, fays he, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I prefs toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Chrift Jefus. And

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c Rom. xi. 20 &c. f 2 Pet. ii. 20.

again in another place, I keep under my body and bring it into fubjection, left that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a caft-away or reprobate.

b

As to the doctrine of JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH, let us fee wherein we differ. Firft then, we all hold that we are juftified freely by God's grace, that there is no merit in good works, that we are not to place our dependance, or reft our plea on any works that we have done or can do, but only on the mercy of God, and the merits of our Redeemer. And on the other hand I should hope that all, who believe the gofpel, would agree that good works are the neceffary condition both of our juftification and falvation. Whether we confider the first justification of persons received into the Christian church, - the fcripture teaches us that repentance, which confifts in ceafing to do evil, and learning to do well, is neceffary as previous to this juftification. John the Baptift prepared the way of the Lord by preaching the baptifm of repentance for remiffion of fins. The first doctrine which our Saviour himself preached was "Repent ye, and believe the gospel." And with the fame doctrine his apoftles opened their commiffiona Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jefus Chrift,

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c Luke iii. 3. d Mar. for

for the remiffion of fins."-Or if we ask what is the condition of our final justification at the day of judgment, both Chrift and his apoftles will inform us that God will then render to every man according to his works. What do you mean then by cenfuring those who look to a righteousness of their own, made up of terms, qualifications, conditions, and fuch like trumpery, for acceptance before God?" and afferting" that works are no parts or conditions of our juftification ?" Parts or conditions Are these fynonymous terms? Pray, fir, what do you understand by parts? We hold, as well as you, that justification is the act of God alone, conferred on us freely by his grace; - that our own good works have no proper efficiency in the act of our justification; have no worth or merit in them; that we have all finned, and come fhort of the glory of God, and can be juftified and faved only by faith, by a reliance on the mercies and merits of Chrift. But that good works, though imperfect and worthlefs, are yet required by God, as neceffary terms, qualifications and conditions, both of our justification and salvation, and that we cannot be justified and faved without them, you cannot deny, without denying all the scriptures from one end to the other; and contradicting the very homilies, to which you appeal. "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments," faith our Saviour. "Without holiness no man

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fhall fee the Lord," faith the Apostle. After ha ving quoted the homily, you tell us with an air of triumph-"Here is no mention of works either as conditions or as parts of justification, which, as plain as words can make it, is attributed ONLY to faith." I should wonder indeed if there were any mention of works, after the pains you have taken to suppress it, and when by your unfair method of quotation you have forced it to speak only your own language. But had you proceeded only one fentence further, you would have found the homily not fo filent on that head as you would willingly represent it to be, for it immediately follows, "And yet that faith doth not exclude repentance, hope, love, dread, and the fear of God to be joined with true faith in every man that is justified, but it excludeth them from the office of justifying: fo that although they be all present together in him that is justified, yet they justify not altogether. Nor doth that faith alfo exclude the juftice of our good works neceffarily to be done afterwards of duty towards God, (for we are most bounden to serve God in doing good deeds commanded by him in holy fcripture, all the days of our life) but it excludeth them, fo that we may not do them to the intent to be made good by the doing of them."

a Heb. xii. 14. See Bulli op. p. 509, 655 &c. • Homily of falvation, part i. c. I.

b P. 59.

NOR

NOR is your other extract lefs partial, where you have omitted the words immediately following it for very obvious reasons, because they explain the sense in which the Greek and Latin Fathers hold juftification by faith only. << a Nevertheless (fays the homily) this fentence, "that we be justified by faith only", is not fo meant by them (the fathers) that the faid justifying faith is ALONE in man, without true repentance, hope, charity, dread and the fear of God at any time and occafion; for when they fay we be juftified freely, they mean not that we should or might afterwards be idle, and that nothing should be required on our part afterwards; neither mean they fo to be juftified without our good works, that we should do no good works at all, as fhall be more expreffed at large hereafter: But this propofition, that we be juftified by faith only, freely and without good works, is fpoken for to take away clearly all merit of our works, as being insufficient to deserve our justification at God's hands, and thereby most plainly to exprefs the weakness of man, and the goodness of God; the imperfectness of our own works, and the most abundant grace of our Saviour Chrift." Thefe, fir, are the words of our church.

b

THE fame doctrine is fully expreffed in the Pia et Catholica Inftitutio; I will transcribe a paffage

a Homily of Salvation, part ii. c. 3.

b P. 61.

or

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