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light-he that believeth not shall be damned and except ye repent ye shall all perish.' This then is the accusation, founded on the Law of Grace, And if any, at that decisive day, are justly charged with the non-performance of the conditions of the Covenant of Grace;-if they have lived and died in final impenitency, unbelief and rebellion; then no further defence can be made. Condemnation must inevitably follow; and the prison of hell is the place of their everlasting abode,

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But should any be falsely accused of such non-performance ;-what are they to do? -Are they now to plead guilty? By no means. They must deny the charge; and produce their own personal righteousness, as an evidence, to refute it. I say, their own personal righteousness: for it is evident, that no other will answer the purpose. Christ never undertook to repent and believe for them. It is therefore, their own faith and repentance, sincere obedience and perseverance, which they must produce; and by these alone they are to make it evident, that they did fulfil the conditions of the new Law or Covenant of Grace, and so are interested in all its benefits.-If they can produce these, then are they evangelically righteous in themselves, and stand justified, by this evangelical righteous

ness of their own, and are acquitted hereby, not from the charge of the Law ot Works, but from the accusations founded on the Law of Grace.-They are acquitted, because they are able to shew, that they have actually performed the conditions of faith, repentance, &c.-And as this also proves that they are interested in the merits of Christ's obedience and death, they are also justified from all the charges of the first Covenant or Law of Works, by virtue of a legal righteousness, in Christ.

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Thus you see, that though we must be justified, not only in the day of conversion, but also, in the day of judgement, only by the righteousness of Christ imputed, against all accusations of the broken Law of Works, yet we can neither be justified nor acquitted from any accusation of the Law of Grace, but by our own faith, &c. which constitutes our evangelical righteousness. For these are the conditions, on which the benefits of the new Covenant are suspended. Upon the whole, I trust I have made it evident, that though the righteousness of Christ is the only thing, that can justify a sinner from the demands of the Law of Works, yet it is the last question, which will decide the doom of mankind, in the day of judgment, namely,

whether they have performed the conditions of the gospel. If they have, they are judged to life and happiness; but if not, then they are sentenced to everlasting mi

sery.

For proof, that this is the true state of the case, I would refer you to Mathew xxv. 34th verse and downwards. There you will see a particular account of the process of the final judgment. The inquiry is, whether mankind have done such and such good works, as will manifest the truth and reality of genuine faith and love. And in John's gospel, 5th chap. and 29th verse, it is written," They that have done good to the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil, to the resurrection of damnation." And Rev. xxii. 14, 15. "Behold I come quickly and my reward is with me, to give to every man according as his work shall be. Blessed are they that do. his commandments, that they may have a right to the tree of life," &c.-and the words of the text are very decisive-" Every man shall receive the things done in his own body, according to that he hath done.". Not according to what Adam hath done, or Christ hath done, but according to what he hath done, in his own body.

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From what has been said, we may learn how to construe many texts of the scrip ture, which seem, in a measure to clash. For instance; when it is said, By the deeds of the law no flesh living can be justified;" and many others of like import : we are to understand these as speaking of the Law of Works. For as this law will admit of nothing less than perfect obedience, there is no righteousness, but that of Christ, in which we can stand right, in the eye of that law. But when it is said, "That every one shall be rewarded according to his works, and according to the deeds done in his own body," &c. we are to understand these, and such like scriptures according to the constitution of the Gospel, or Law of Grace, as the rule of judgment.

We may also learn, Secondly. That they who have repented, believed, turned to God in new obedience, and have perse-. vered therein to the end of their days, shall be judged to everlasting life; not because their repentance, faith, &c. deserve or merit this but because God, in his wisdom and goodness, has been pleased, by the gracious constitution of the gospel, to make these things the condition of our interest in the benefits of Christ's death and

passion. The impenitent unbeliever, as has been observed, will be condemned, both by the law and gospel and his evil works will properly deserve, what he is condemned to suffer. But the obedient believer, though he shall be acquitted and adjudged to enjoy the heavenly happiness, does not obtain these, by the proper merit of his faith or works, but through these, as a condition, on which the purchase of the Redeemer's blood is suspended.

From what has been said, we may also learn, not only what is to be attributed to the righteousness of Christ, and what to our own righteousness; but also, that the doctrine of justification, through the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, is very far from countenancing Antinomian principles, or licentious practices. It can have no such tendency, when viewed in the light, in which I have held it forth. How can it lead to licentiousness, seeing our life, or death at the bar of God, will ultimately turn upon our having performed, or not performed the conditions of the new Law of Grace; which, as you must have seen, make such and such works so absolutely necessary for our being justified in the day of judgment, as are utterly inconsistent with any unholiness, either in heart or life?

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