THE LIBRARY THE UNIVERSITY SERMON I THE NATURE OF SAVING FAITH. BY ROBERT SMITH, D. D. Pastor of a Prefbyterian Congregation, Pequea, Penfylvania, IN 2 Pet. i. I. -To them that have obtained like precious faith with us. PRECIOUS. CHRIST, the gloranfomed people. he is exhibited to N the facred oracles five objects, especially, are called The HOLY GHOST faith, the REDEMPTION of the foul is precious. The BLOOD of CHRIST, the price of our redemption, is precious blood. rious RANSOMER, is PRECIOUS to his The PROMISES of the gofpel, in which us, are great and precious promises. And, in our text, FAITH, which taketh hold of the promise of life in Chrift Jefus, is called precious faith. That is accounted precious which is of an excellent quality, especially, if it be rare.-Gold is preferred to brass, moral virtue to gold; but the faith of God's elect (which is the theme of our text) infinitely furpaffeth these, and every acquifition below the fun. It is a rare jewel indeed; for who bath believed our report? to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? And, in its operations and effects, it is moft excellent, as, we doubt not, will appear in the fequel of these discourses. What tends farther to raise the value of faving faith in our esteem, is, ift, The manner in which we are made partakers of it, namely by the gracious and fovereign disposal of heaven. Aaxeo, which our tranflation renders obtained, fignifies to get or obtain a thing by lot. But the ordering of a lot is the fole prerogative of Jehovah, who giveth the prize to whomfoever he will. So faith is not of ourselves : it is the gift of God. The peculiar donation of heaven, 2d, That the weakest real believers fhare the bleffing together with the strongest Apoftles themselves, greatly magnifieth our idea of its worth-To them that have obtained like precious faith with us. The faith of believers in common may not be equal to that of Apoftles in degree; yet, as well in its origin, objects, caufes and effects, as in the nature of its operations, it is the very fame with theirs. It is the glory of Christianity, that God revealeth the mysteries of the kingdom to babes and fucklings, while they are hid from the wife and prudent; and diftributes to the weakest babe in Chrift a fhare with Prophets and Apostles in the communion of grace.—That which we have feen and heard declare we unto you, that ye may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Fefus Chrift. Doct. Saving faith is a moft excellent donation of heaven to all who become partakers of it. In treating this fubject, I fhall, 4 I. Explain the nature of faving faith. II. Illuftrate the Excellency of it. III. Apply the whole in fome practical uses. I. I am to explain the nature of saving faith. The proper idea of faith, is a credit given to teftimony, grounded upon the veracity of the witness; which suppofeth as well a truft in the person speaking, as a belief of his word. In this, faith differeth from every other species of evidence. Agreeably to this general idea of it, we observe, that faving faith confifts in the credit the heart yieldeth to the teftimony of Chrift, and its trust in him for falvation. Some good divines have obferved, that," wherever saving faith is mentioned in the New Teftament, it generally, if "not always, fignifieth truft in a perfon, as well as the be"lief of a doctrine." " AND FIRST, faving faith confists in the credit the heart yieldeth to the teftimony of Jefus, "" THE AMEN, THE FAITHFUL TRUE WITNESS." This is fometimes called the mind's perfuafion of, fometimes its affent to, the truth of divine teftimony. This teftimony we have delivered to us in the law and the gospel, each of which is neceffary to be believed in order to falvation. By these the Spirit of Christ revealeth to our hearts the glory and will of God, which are the general objects of faith. By the gospel, particularly, Chrift is revealed to us in his mediatorial characters, or, the glory of God fhining in his face, i. e. in his perfon and mediation, which is the peculiar and direct object of faving faith;—more especially Christ as a priest, is the immediate object of faith, as juftifying. Faith in its general as well as its more fpecific nature, will neceffarily come into the description to be given of it, notwithstanding, we have it chiefly in view, to give as brief a description of its operations and effects, with the practical improvement, as may be confiftent with perfpicuity and profit. In faving faith, the heart yields its affent to the divine law as holy, just, and good. By this glafs the Holy Spirit reflects, as it were, rays of the majesty, purity, and justice of God, upon the finner's confcience. In the light thereof he reads the righteous claims of Jehovah upon him; the ftrictness of the demands of the law; the depravity of his nature and practice, with his utter inability to raise himfelf from the ruins of his fallen ftate. He tries to pay the law its due, but in vain. He finds his heart averfe to the duties it requires, and prone to the evils it forbids.-Then he tries to foften and cleanse his hard and polluted heart, that he may offer to God a more acceptable fervice; but in vain. The ftone within him will neither. break, nor melt; and the more he endeavours to wash himself, the deeper his ftain appears.-No way of relief now appears for him, but Chrift. Not daring, however, to venture to apply to the Saviour, in all his guilt and pollution, be tries to prepare himself for Christ, by working fome good difpofitions in his heart. This he alfo finds to be vain. For could one penitent figh, one holy defire, one melting impreffion of love fave him, he cannot command it. Now he is fhut up to the neceffity of coming as a totally ruined and helpless finner; therefore at the call of the gofpel, guilty and unworthy as he is, he attempts to take hold of Christ. But alas! The hand is withered, he has no power to ftretch it out.-He can as foon tear ftrong mountains from their roots, or create a world, as root out his unbelief, and create faith in his dead and barren heart. Hence, at laft, falling at the feet of his Judge and his Saviour, he cries, Lord, be merciful to me a finner! A poor, worthless, helpless, undone finner! This is true conviction of fin, or a faith faith of the law wrought in the heart by the Spirit and word of God. That fuch a faith of the law is neceffary to a true faith of the gospel, or in other words, that a conviction of fin is neceffary to induce us to flee to Chrift for falvation, is evident from many express testimonies of fcripture.--For by the law is the knowledge of fin. I was alive without the law once; but when the commandment came, fin revived, and I died. I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. The operations of faith, with the images by which they are illuftrated, clearly evince the truth of this doctrine. It is defcribed by flying to Chrift for refuge, which fupposes a fenfe of danger. It receiveth him in all his offices, which fupposes a fenfe of the need of him in all his mediatorial characters. The fame truth alfo fines with irresistible evidence from the great defigns of redemption by Chrift, which were to stain the pride of man, and magnify free grace; to humble the finner, and exalt the Saviour. That mercy might have a triumph in the faved finner's bofom, he is stung with a fenfe of his fin and guilt, and made to glory only in the Lord. One thing here merits your fpecial notice, namely, “al"though they that are regenerate and believe in Chrift, "be delivered from the moral law as a covenant of works, "fo as thereby they are neither juftified nor condemned; 66 yet it is of general use, common to them with all men, to inform them of the holy nature and will of God, and "of their duty, binding them to walk accordingly, to con"vince them of their difability to keep it; and of the fin"ful pollution of their nature, hearts, and lives, and there"by help them to a clearer fight of the need they have of "Chrift, and of the perfection of his obedience." 66 The law is of perpetual ufe to believers, not only as a rule of life, but to keep awake in their hearts a fenfe of |