CHAP. XIV. The Exclufion of all Sorts of Works from an Interest in Juftification. What is intended by the Law, and the Works of it, in the Epifles of St. Paul. WE fhall take our fourth argument from the express exclufion of all works whatever from our Justification before God. For this is what we affert, that no works of our own are the caufes or conditions of our. Juftification; but that the whole of it is refolved into the free grace of God, through Jesus Christ, as the mediator and furety of the covenant. To this purpose the Scripture fpeaks exprefsly, Rom. iii. 28. "Therefore we conclude, that a man is juftified by faith without the works of the law." Rom. iv. 5. "But unto him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteoufnefs." Rom, xi. 6. "If it be of grace, then it is not of works." Gal. ii. 16. " Knowing that a man is not juftified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jefus Chrift; even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be juftified by the faith of Chrift, and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law shall no flefl be juftified." Eph. ii. 8, 9. "For by grace are ye faved, through faith; not of works, left any man should boaft." Tit. iii. 5. Not by works of righteoufness which we have done, but according to his mercy he hath faved us.” These teftimonies are exprefs, and affert all that we contend for. And I am perfuaded, that no perfon, whofe mind is not prepoffeffed with notions and diftinctions of which the leaft tittle is not offered to them in thefe, or any other texts, can avoid judging, that the law, in every sense of it, and all forts of works whatever, are, in every way, and in all fenfes, excluded from Our our Juftification before God. And if fo, then it is the righteoufness of Chrift alone on which we can depend, or this matter muft ceafe for ever *. Our adverfaries are divided among themselves, as to the meaning of the Apoftle, in thefe affertions; for their plain and obvious meaning they cannot allow, without the ruin of their opinions. We shall therefore examine their various conjectures, which will discover their inconfiftency, and confirm our prefent argument. 1. Some fay, "It is the ceremonial law; or the law "as given to Mofes at Sinai, with all the works of it, "which were to be abolished, that are intended." But of all other conjectures, this is the most impertinent and contradictory to the defign of the Apostle. The law he intends, is that, whereby is the knowledge of fin, which is the moral law; "for I had not known luft, faith he, except the law had faid, thou shalt not covet. That law he intends, which "ftops the mouths of all finners, and makes all the world guilty before God," which none but the law of creation can do-That law, which brings all men under the curfe for fin-That law, which is eftablished by faith; which the ceremonial law. is not-That law, whofe righteoufnefs is to be fulfilled And the inftance he gives us of the Juftification of Abraham without the works of that law which he intends, was fome hundreds of years before the giving of the ceremonial law †. in us. 2. Others fay, "the Apostle only excludes the perfect "works required by the law of innocency." But if fo, they allow all that we plead for; namely, that it is the *So the Apostle infers, Gal. ii. 16. Yet I do not fay, that the ceremonial larv, and its works, are excluded from the Apostle's defign; for when that law was given, the obfervation of it was a part of the obedience due to the first table of the decalogue; and the exclufion of its works from our Juftification, as they were a part of moral obedience, is exclufive of all other works. But that this alone is intended is falfe. the moral indifpenfable law of God that is intended; and that by the works of it no man can be justified; yea, that all the works of it are excluded from our Juftification; for it is, faith the Apostle, without works. The works of this law, performed according to it, will justify the doers of them *; but because this cannot be done by any finner, therefore they are excluded. Granting the law intended to be the moral law, there is no fuch diftinction intimated, as that we are not justified by the perfect works of it, which we cannnot perform, but by fome imperfect works that we can perform. This is wild imagination, and foreign to the defign and exprefs words of his whole difcourfe. Their evafion is equally vain; namely," that the Apostle oppofeth Juftificati"on by faith to that of works, which he excludes :" for they would have this faith to be our obedience to the divine commands, in that imperfect manner to which we can attain; for when he excludes all fuch Juftification by the law, and the works thereof, he doth not advance in their room, our own faith and obedience; but adds, "being juftified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ," &c. 3. Some affirm, "That the works excluded are only "the outward works of the law, performed in a fervile "manner, without an inward principle of faith and "love," But this opinion is falfe and impious. For, (1.) The Apoftle excludes the works of Abraham, which were not outward and fervile. (2.) The works excluded are those which the law requires; and the law is holy, juft, and good: but a law requiring only outward works, without internal love to God, is neither holy, juft, nor good. (3.) The law condemns all fuch works as are separated from the internal principle of faith and love; for it requires, that in all our obedience we should love God with all our hearts. And the Apostle faith not that we are not justified by the works the law condemns, * Rom. ii. 15. demns, but not by them which the law commands. (4.) In reflects on the honour of God, that he, who only knows the hearts of men, and who regards them alone in duties of obedience, should give a law requiring fervile works only; for if the law intended require more, then thofe are not the only works excluded. 4. Some fay, in general, it is the Jewish law that is intended. If they mean the ceremonial law, or the law as abfolutely given by Mofes, we have already fhewed the vanity of that pretence: but if they mean the whole law, or rule of obedience given to the church of Ifrael under the Old Teftament, they exprefs much of the truth, probably more than they defigned. and the 5. Others fay, "That it is works done with a con "ceit of merit, making the reward to be of debt, and "not of grace, that are excluded:" But no fuch diftinction appears in the Apoftle's words. The Apostle excludes all works of the law, of every fort. The law requires no works with a conceit of merit; works of the law, originally, included no merit, as that which arifeth from the proportion of one thing to another in the balance of juftice; and in that fenfe only it is rejected by those who plead for an intereft of works in Juftification. The merit, which the Apostle excludes, is that which is infeparable from works; fo that it cannot be excluded, unless the works themselves be fo; and he excludes all works on this very account, that the admiffion of them would neceffarily introduce merit, which is inconfiftent with grace. 6. Some contend, that the Apostle excludes only "Works wrought before believing, in our own natural "strength, without the aid of grace." The falfehood of this notion will be fufficiently evinced in what we fhall immediately prove, concerning the law and works intended by the Apostle; but the heads of the demonstration of the truth to the contrary may be just menti Óned. (1.) The (1.) The Apostle excludes all works without diftinction; and we are not to diftinguish where the law doth not. (2.) All the works of the law are excluded, confequently all works wrought after believing by the aids of grace; for they are all required by the law, or they would be an abomination to God. (3.) The works of believers, performed by the aids of grace, are exprefsly excluded; as the works of Abraham, before mentioned, and the Apostle's own works after his converfion †. (4.) All works are excluded, which might countenance boasting; but this is done more by the good works of regenerate perfons, than by any works of unbelievers. (5.) The law required faith and love in all our works; and, therefore, if all the works of the law be excluded, the beft works of believers are fo. (6.) All works are excluded, which are oppofed to grace, working freely in our Juftification; but this, all works whatever are: hence the Apoftle excludes those works, which the falfe teachers preffed the Galatians unto; but these were works of believers, perfons by grace converted to God. 7. Some affirm, "That the Apoftle excludes all "works from our first Justification, but not from the "fecond, or, as fome fpeak, the continuation of our "Justification." But we have before examined thefe diftinctions, and found them groundless. It is evident, therefore, that men put themselves into an uncertain flippery ftation, where they know not what to fix upon, nor wherein to find any fuch appearance of truth, as to give them countenance in denying the plain and frequently repeated affertion of the Apof tle. Wherefore, in the confirmation of the prefent argument, I shall more particularly inquire, what the Apof N tle * Pfal. cxix. 35. Rom. vii. 22. + Gal. ii. 16. 1 Cor. iv. 4. Pfal. iii. 9. Eph. ii. 9. Rom. iv. 2. iii. 17. Eph. ii. 9. 1 Cor. i. 29-31. |