life unfruitfully and idly, after that we are baptized or justified, not caring how few Good Works we do to the glory of God, and profit of our neighbours (h)." Faith in several parts of the New Testament, and especially in the 11th chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, is attributed to persons who lived prior to the times of the Gospel (i); but my present business is to inquire into its signification when applied to Christians. In writing to the Corinthians, St. Paul says, "Though I have all Faith, and have not Charity, I am (h) Part the 3d. (i) It is said in this chapter, that "without Faith it is impossible to please God," v. 6: By Faith must be here meant, not Faith in Christ exclusively, but a species of Faith, varying in different men according to the different means afforded them of knowing and practising their duty. For in this chapter we find Faith, a Faith pleasing to God, attributed to a great variety of persons living at very different times and under different dispensations, from Abel the son of Adam, to David and the Prophets under the Jewish œconomy. The Gentiles" were a law unto themselves," and their Faith consisted in believing that a compliance with that law was acceptable to the Deity. The efficacy however of this Faith, whether in the Patriarchs, the Jews, or the Gentiles, must still be derived from the merits and through the mediation of Jesus Christ, who died for the sins of the whole world. Thus it appears that 3 I am nothing (k);" and to the Ephesians he says, By grace are ye saved through Faith (1)" in the former passage, Faith is declared to be an useless qualification; in the latter, nothing less than the power of attaining eternal Salvation is ascribed to it through the grace of God. An useless Faith, and a saving Faith, cannot be the same; and consequently the word is used by this inspired writer in different senses. The Faith, which a man may possess, and yet be "nothing," is a bare belief of the truth of the Gospel, without any love or gratitude to God for the blessings it conveys, or any practical regard to the duties it enjoins. The Faith, which is the means of Salvation, is that belief of the truth of the Gospel, which produces obedience to its precepts, and is accompanied by a firm reliance upon the merits of Christ. That there is a species of Faith which is of no value, we learn also from St. James, "Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone (m):" and the same conclusion may be drawn from St. Peter's exhortation to his converts, to "add to their that no human being was ever born into the world, and arrived at the age when he had the full use of his reason, who had it not in his power to please God. Calvin acknowledges that the word Faith is used in Scripture in Lib. 3. cap. 2. sect. 13. various senses. (k) 1 Cor c. 13. v. 2. (1) Eph. c. 2. v.8. their Faith, virtue, temperance, and charity,” and from his declaration, that "he that lacketh these things is blind, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins (n)." Our 12th Article speaks of a "true and lively Faith," which epithets imply that there is a Faith which is not true and lively; and our Homilies are very full in their discrimination between these two sorts of Faith. It will be sufficient to quote the following passage: "It is diligently to be noted, that Faith is taken in the Scripture two manner of ways. There is one Faith which in Scripture is called a dead Faith, which bringeth forth no Good Works; but is idle, barren and unfruitful... And this Faith is a persuasion and belief in man's heart, whereby he knoweth that there is a God, and agreeth unto all truths of God's most holy word contained in the Holy Scripture, so that it consisteth only in believing in the word of God, that it is true...This dead Faith therefore is not that sure and substantial Faith, which saveth sinners. Another Faith there is in Scripture, which is not, as the foresaid Faith, idle, unfruitful, and dead, but worketh by charity (as St. Paul declareth ch. 5. Gal.) (o) which, as (n) 2 Pet. c. I. v. 5, &c. the (0) Faith which worketh by love," v. 6. The words Charity and Love were formerly used in the same sense. the other vain Faith is called a dead Faith, so may this be called a quick or lively Faith. And this is not only the common belief of the Articles of our Faith, but it is also a true trust and confidence of the mercy of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and a steadfast hope of all good things to be received at God's hand... And this Faith is not without the love of God and of our neighbours, nor without the fear of God, nor without the desire to hear God's word, and to follow the same in eschewing evil and doing gladly all Good Works (p)." By attending to this limited sense of the word Justification, and to the two-fold meaning of the word Faith, when applied to Christians, we shall be able to understand and reconcile all the passages, both in Scripture and in our Public Formularies, in which these words occur. It has been already intimated, that the subject of Justification is mentioned in several of the Apostolical Epistles, but it is discussed at the greatest length (p) Homily, "Of the true and lively Faith." Fides illa, cui tot et tanta tribuuntur in Novo Testamento, pro unica ac simplici virtute nequaquam sumenda est. Suo enim ambitu omnia Christianæ pietatis opera comprehendit. Ubicunque autem accipitur ut opus per se distinctum, atque ab aliis omnibus virtutibus disjunctum, tantum abest ut ei primas tribuat Spiritus Sanctus, ut post charitatem fere tertio loco ab ipso Paulo collocetur. 1 Cor. c. 13. Bull Harm. Apost. p. 11. length in the Epistle to the Romans. St. Paul, after shewing that all mankind, both Jews and Gentiles, were equally under sin, and liable to condemnation and punishment by that God whose laws they had violated, declares, “Now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God, which is by Faith of Jesus Christ unto all, and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through Faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time, his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works?-Nay: but by the law of Faith. Therefore we conclude, that a man is justified by Faith without the deeds of the law (q)." The general doctrine of Justification thus stated, may be resolved into these three parts: First, The meritorious cause on account of which we are justified: Secondly, The condition to be performed (9) Rom. c. 3. v. 21-28. by |