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boasting and the pride of man: For that faith in which there is no repentance does not oppose the pride of the human heart, but leaves man as proud as before, and with the same disposition to exalt himself, and trust in himself that he is righteous. No one who has not a heart that is truly penitent and friendly to God, will humble himself before God, and be willing to be wholly indebted to free sovereign grace for justification and redemption.*

4. If faith did not imply a right taste and disposition and true love to Christ, it would not in any manner or degree unite the sinner to Christ so as to render it fit and proper that his righteousness should be reckoned in his favour, or be any reason why such a believer should be justified, rather than another, who does not believe. It has been shewn, that in the scripture the believer is said to be in a particular relation to Christ, to be in Christ, and to put him on; to be united to him as the wife is to the husband, and the members of the body to the head; and that this union is by faith. This gives him an interest in Christ, as, on account of this union, he may with reason and propriety be considered and treated as belonging to Christ, so as to have the benefit of his worthiness and righteousness for his justification; and in this sense he is justified by faith. That faith therefore, which does not unite to Christ, cannot be justifying saving faith. No faith can do this but that which implies love, for in this all true moral union consists. That faith which is consistent with the sinner's being at heart an enemy to Christ, does in no true sense unite to him, but is consistent with the greatest, with total alienation from him, and opposition to him. Therefore, there is no more reason or fitness that the man who has such a faith should be justified by the righteousness of Christ, than he who has it not, but is in every sense an unbeliever.

"There is that in the nature of repentance, which peculiarly tends to establish the contrary of justification by works; for nothing so much renounces our own worthiness and excellency, as repentance. The very nature of it is to acknowledge our own utter sinfulness and unworthiness, and to renounce our own goodness, and all confidence in self; and to trust in the propitiation of the Mediator, and ascribe all the glory of forgiveness to him." President Edwards's Discourse on Justification by Faith alone, p. 114.

It must be still kept in mind, that faith does not bring into a justified state, because it is a good work, or out of respect to the moral goodness there is in it; but because of the natural fitness there is, that he whose heart is united to Christ, as it is by believing, should be recommended to favour, and justified by his worthiness and righteousness, to whom he is thus united, and in whom he trusts. The believing sinner is considered, when viewed in and by himself, as destitute of any thing to recommend him to favour, and as unworthy and ill-deserving, as if he had no faith, and no kind or degree of moral goodness: And must be viewed so, according to the reason of things, and the law of God; so that when he is justified, he is justified as being ungodly, because he really is so; that is, has no moral goodness, to recommend him, as the reason why he should be justified, rather than another, who has no moral goodness. In this respect all are alike, and upon equal grounds. This leads us to the true sense of the following words of the apostle Paul, "To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."*

By him that worketh not, is evidently meant one who does not attempt to work, in order to recommend himself to the favour of God by his moral goodness; is not of those who are of the works of the law, and consequently under the curse of it, notwithstanding any thing they can do; but renounces all pretence and desire to be justified in this way, by his works; but directly contrary to this, believeth on him, and receives from him, as a free, undeserved favour, justification, who gives it to all such, though they have no righteousness or works to recommend them; but are in this respect ungodly. This is evidently the Apostle's meaning; for he puts not working, and believing, in opposition to working in order to recommend themselves and render themselves worthy of a reward, so as, in this sense, to bring God into debt to them. This appears by the foregoing words, with which those are connected. "Now to him that worketh, is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him

* Rom. iv. 5.

that justifieth the ungodly, &c." By working he means the deeds, the works of the law, of which he speaks, and sets them in opposition to faith, as he does here. What is meant by working to merit a reward, has been often explained in the preceding section, and in this. Faith is opposed to this, and looks to Christ, and receives justification, pardon and righteousness, as a free, undeserved gift to the ungodly, that is, to one who has no good works, no worthiness to recommend him to the least favour, but is infinitely unworthy, guilty and ill deserving. All this is consistent with faith, implying and consisting in all that moral goodness, gospel holiness, and obedience, which, according to scripture it does, as has been shewn in the section on saving faith.

5. If moral goodness in justifying faith would recommend the believer to favour, on account of the worth in it, and render a sinner more worthy and deserving, or less unworthy and ill deserving in the sight of God, and therefore is inconsistent with justification by free grace, and consequently all moral goodness must be excluded from it; then it is equally necessary that the believer should never have any moral goodness, in order to his being saved by grace. They who would exclude all moral goodness from faith, and suppose, if it involves repentance and love, and is really a holy exercise, this moral goodness would render the sinner more deserving or less ill deserving, and so would be inconsistent with his being justified wholly by the righteousness of Christ, and saved by free grace, do suppose, at the same time, that gospel holiness and obedience is some how con nected with saving faith, and does take place, sooner or later, in the heart of every believer. But if moral goodness in those who have sinned, in itself considered, recommend to favour, and render them worthy of it; then when they attain to this they will have no more need of the righteousness of Christ, nor of free grace; but may and must trust in their own righteousness. And when they come to be perfectly holy, they may justly consider themselves as worthy of eternal life, and claim it as a debt, and not receive it as a free gift. Do not they who carefully exclude all moral goodness from saving faith, for the reason above mentioned, appear in

consistent with themselves, in this respect? It is not yet seen how those things can be reconciled.

But if what has been proved concerning the law of God, and the true state of the sinner, viz. that no possible degree of holiness and obedience, continued any length of time by the sinner, can atone for one sin; but if he once transgress the law, he falls under the curse of it, from which no moral goodness afterwards attained can deliver him, but he will forever deserve to be the subject of the displeasure of God, and condemned to eternal misery: If this be kept in view, it will appear, that whatever moral goodness he attains, it does not render him the less unworthy; and if he be pardoned and saved, it must be as much through the righteousness of Christ, and as really a free gift to him, and he as much the subject of free grace, as if he had no moral good; and the believer must receive all favours, and continue in a justified state, through life, however obedient he be; and forever, though perfectly holy, out of respect to the righteousness of Christ, and as a gift of free grace, as much as he received justification at first. And there does not appear any inconsistence or difficulty in the matter, when viewed in this scripture light.

The redeemed, when perfectly holy in heaven, will, considered in and by themselves, be as deserving of the divine displeasure and everlasting punishment, as they ever were, and will be so forever. They continue in a justified state, and in the enjoyment of the favour of God, by continuing united to Christ; and were it possible that this union between the Redeemer and them should cease, they would, they must fall under condemnation, and sink into hell. It is true, that the obedience and holiness of believers is acceptable to God, and may be rewarded, as a testimony of this, in consequence of their union to Christ, and out of respect to his atonement and worthiness, because they are united to him, and love him, who is so infinitely worthy in the sight of God. Their persons and their obedience, and offerings to God, are pleasing and acceptable to him for the sake of Christ, and because they belong to him, and are in him, and do all in his name. This is the account the scripture gives

of the matter.

"To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved."* "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God and the Father by him."† "To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious; ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer, up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God, by Jesus Christ." "Now the God of peace-make you perfect in every good work, to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ." The reason of this is, that by the atonement which Christ has made for sin, and out of respect to that, their sins are all forgiven; they are blotted out, so as not to be remembered against them.-In this respect, their guilt is cancelled and done away, which otherwise would counterbalance, swallow up, and destroy all their moral goodness. In this sense, God is reconciled to them in Christ, not imputing their trespasses unto them. And by reason of their relation to Christ, their moral goodness, in the exercise of which they cleave to Christ, and love and honour him, is more acceptable, precious and worthy in the sight of God, than it could be in any creature not so united to the infinitely worthy Redeemer. Their relation to him gives them a dignity and worthiness, which they have not in themselves, considered as separate from Christ, and renders all their holiness more acceptable and rewardable than otherwise it could be, This is expressed by Christ in the following words. "He that loveth me, shall be loved of my Father. The Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God."¶

But farther to explain the doctrine of justification by !. faith in Christ, now under consideration, it must be obreserved,

VI. Men are brought into a justified state by one, the first act of saving faith. The promise of salvation

Eph. i. 6.

† Col. iii. 17. + 1 Peter ii. 4, 5. || Heb. xiii. 21. § 2 Cor. v. 19.

John xiv. 21. xvi. 27.-See President Edwards, on Justification by Faith alone, p. 92, 93.