HOPKINS, II. Saving faith, in a number of places, is represented— as consisting in the exercise of the heart, and choice of the will; this being essential to it, and including the whole." Of this description are the passages, which speak of receiving Christ, coming to him, eating his flesh and drinking his blood, calling upon his name, looking unto him, trusting in him and seeking him. "Therefore a saving belief of the truth of the gospel, supposes and implies right exercises of heart, in tasting and relishing moral beauty, and embracing it as good and excellent." The gospel is an exhibition of "the sum of all the moral beauty and excellence that is to be seen by created intelligences, in the whole universe." He who has a true discerning of this beauty, and has a renewed heart which loves Christ, the central sun of all this moral "If According to the 11th Sermon of Dr. Emmons, love is the essence of obedience, which is first created in the heart, and comprehends in its own nature all the christian graces. we turn our attention inwardly and examine the operations of our own minds, we shall be convinced that love is something very different from either perception, reason, or conscience. These are natural faculties, which do their office independently of the will.* It depends upon our perception, not upon our will, whether an object shall appear either white or black. It depends upon our reason, not upon our will, whether a proposition shall appear either good or evil. But it depends entirely upon our choice, whether we shall love either a white or a black object, either a true or false proposition, either a good or an evil action. Hence we intuitively 1 Thess. iii. 5." Inst. B. 4. ch. 1. sec. 6. "In the mean time, the Father of lights cannot be forbidden, but as he enlighteneth the bodily eyes with the beams of the sun, so he may enlighten our minds with sacraments, as with a brightness set mean between. Which property the Lord taught was in his outward word, when in the parable he calleth it seed. Mat. xiii. 4. "As we say that from seed corn both springeth, increaseth and groweth up to ripeness; why may we not say that faith taketh from the word of God both beginning, increase, and perfection?" Institution, B. 4. ch. 14., sec, 10, 11. * See Note C. at the end of this chapter. itself howsoever it be conveyed to us, is like a mirror where faith may behold God. Whether God doth therein use the service of man, or work it by his own only power, yet he doth always show himself by his word unto those, whom his will is to draw unto him: wherefore Paul defineth faith to be an obedience that is given to the gospel. Rom. i. 5." OTHERS. "True faith is not only a certain knowledge, whereby I hold for truth all that God has revealed to us in his word,but also an assured confidence which the Holy Ghost works by the gospel, in my heart; that not only to others, but to me also, remission of sin, everlasting righteousness, and salvation, are freely given by God, merely of grace, only for the sake Inst. B. 3. ch. 2. sec. 6. of Christ's merits." "We deny not in the mean time that it is the office of faith to agree to the truth of God, how oftsover, whatsoever, and in what sort soever it speaketh: but now our question is only, what faith findeth in the word of the Lord to lean and rest up on. 21. Heidelbergh Catechism, Q. "The first coming unto God, good Christian people, is through faith, wereby (as it is declared in the last sermon) we be justified before God." It is to be observed,First, that this faith does not lie dead in the heart, but is lively and fruitful in bringing forth good works. Secondly, that without it can no good works be done, that shall be acceptable and pleasant to God." Homilies of the Church of England, B. 1. Art. 4. part 1. When our conscience beholdeth only indignation and vengeance, how can it but tremble and quake for fear? And how should it but flee God, of whom it is afraid? But faith ought to seek God, and not to flee from him. It is plain therefore that we have not yet a full definition of faith, because it is not to be accounted for faith to know the will of God, of what sort soever it be but what if in the place of will, whereof many times the message is sorrowful and the declaration the branches: he that abideth Without faith "can no good work be done, acceptable and pleasant unto God; for as a branch cannot bear fruit of itself, saith our Saviour Christ, except it abide in the vine; so cannot ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, and ye are HOPKINS, glory, has saving faith. "Therefore men must have an obedient, holy disposition of heart, in order to exercise saving faith. It is with such a renewed heart that men believe unto righteousness." Syst. Vol. 2. p. 4 to 12. " III. It appears from the striptures that love is implied in saving faith, and is essential to it; so that where there is no holy love there is no true faith." "Faith which worketh by love.' (Gal. v. 6.) The apostle does not here say, that faith worketh love or produces it, as if faith preceded as the cause of love; and that love is connected with faith, and follows it, as the certain consequence and effect of it. But he says, faith worketh BY love, as some machines move by wind or water, springs or weights. He asserts that love is the life and active nature of saving faith. By this it is a loving active faith; love being the life and soul of it." "And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 'Love is the greatest, as faith and hope are comprehended in love, as the active nature, life, and essence of them." Love is the very es AND OTHERS. know, that love is a free, voluntary affection, which is entirely distinct from every natural faculty of the mind. It is neither a power nor principle of action, but rather an act, or exercise itself." That love which God requires, and which fulfils all the demands of the law, "is universal, extending to being in general, or to God and all his creatures. The righteous man regardeth the life of his beast.' The primary object of true benevolence is being simply considered, or a mere capacity of enjoying happiness and suffering pain. It necessarily embraces God and all sensitive natures." "It is therefore, the nature of true benevolence to run parallel with universal being, whether uncreated or created, whether rational or irrational: whether holy or unholy." "True love is impartial. It regards every proper object of benevolence according to its apparent worth and importance in the scale of being.' "True love is not only universal and impartial, but disinterested. Mercenary love can never form a virtuous character. This Cicero demonstrates-and all dramatic * See Note A. at the end of the chapter. CALVIN, dreadful, we put kindness or mercy ? * "Truly, so we shall come nearer to the nature of faith. For we are then allured to seek God, after that we have learned AND that salvation is laid up in store cannot approach unto him, and OTHERS. in me, and I in him, he bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." "Faith giveth life to the soul; and they be as much dead to God that lack faith, as they to the world whose bodies lack souls. With out faith, all that is done of us is but dead before God” “True faith doth give life to the works, and out of such faith come good works, that be very good works indeed." Hom. C. England. B. 1. Art. 5. part 1. All good works spring from faith in Christ. 12 and 13 Art. C. England. "Moreover, our charitie, (or love,) and our workes cannot please God if they be done of such as are not just: wherefore we must first be just, before we can love or doe any just workes. We are made just (as we have said through faith in Christ, by * Calvin was no advocate for that which is dignified with the title of "unconditional submission to the will of God" Submission to the divine will is, indeed, the indispensable duty of every rational being: but it is to be remembered, that we are not required to submit to any imaginary, or hypothetical character of Jehovah. We are to love that God who actually exists, and possesses the character attributed to him in the holy scriptures. We are to submit to his will, who has revealed himself, the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty." This is a defi nite character. To this God sinners must yield willing obedience. Did we know nothing of God, but his justice, we might submit, but it would be from fear. HOPKINSIANISM. 179 HOPKINS, AND sence of faith. "True faith implies a right taste and exercise of heart, which can be no thing but love; and the light and discerning which is essential to faith, implies disinterested benevolence." Syst Vol. 2. p. 13 to 17.* "IV. Repentance comes into the nature and essence of faith " This is evident, because, 1. The scriptures represent repentance as necessary in order to pardon. 2. Because "forgiveness of sins is promised to repentance." and "3. Because faith is represented in the scripture as the only condition of pardon and salva OTHERS. writers acknowledge." "This God himself maintains in his controversy with Satan, about the sincerity of Job." It is also taught in the 1 Cor. ch. xiii. where the apostle commends charity as seeking not her own. This true love is the fulfilling of the law, because it conforms the heart to that God, who is love. When we love perfectly, we are perfect as our Father, who is in heaven is perfect; and God can require no more of man. *The Calvinists believe that love is implied in faith, as a consequence, or fruit. Instead of considering love as a machine which is to be turned by love, as by wind or water, they compare the union of a sinner with the Lord Jesus Christ, to an ingraftment. The scion must be inserted into the good olive, before it can grow; and then, "contrary to nature," the fruit must be made to partake of the excellency of the tree, instead of being such as would naturally spring from the nature of the graft. Natu rally, the fruit is of the description of the bud, with which the vine is inoculated; but contrary to nature, God makes us partake of the vine; and after the spiritual connexion is formed, we have our “fruit unto holiness." Calvinists use the word, condition, in a different sense. They say that according to the covenant of redemption, the atonement was the only condition of pardon and salvation. Faith is represented as an instrument, or means of uniting us to Christ, instead of a condition of our mystical union with the Saviour. By faith we are made members of Christ's body, and so soon as we are thus connected with the Head, we derive spiritual life, and ability to love and act, as the limbs of the human body are moved by means of the nervous energy of the brain. Before the mystical union is formed, the heart cannot palpitate with one emotion of love. |