By tradition from their fathers, and on the credit of their teachers, they avowedly believe in CHRIST, and call themselves Chriftians; without having ever examined, or understood what they have been taught, and profeís to believe; whose lives and converfations being fottifh, covetous, and and profane, give the lie to their profeffion, and prove to a demonftration that their faith is but the faith of devils, because it is not productive of good works. This customary, traditional, and dead faith, is common and notorious among the illiterate, and lower clafs of people; who had they been born in Turkey, would have been Mahometans; and in Perfia, or India, Pagans: Hence also, amongst the more inquifitive, and learned in Europe, there are not a few that renounce the Chriftian faith, and are not ashamed to declare themselves infidels.

Thus many who were profeffedly protestants in the reign of Edward the Sixth, turned papists in Queen Mary's reign, and again became protestants under Elizabeth: thefe men plainly fhewed that their faith was not of GOD, nor was their religion any fettled principle in the heart, but a bare profesfion founded on cuftom, and the manner of the times.

2. An

2. Another dangerous error is this, when faith is fuppofed to be a conditional work, which God hath left for us to do, and requires on our part the performance of it, that we may be justified.True it is, that no man can please Gop, nor be juftified in his fight without faith: But it is alfo true, that faith is not our work, but the work of God; which when he hath wrought, we then believe, or exercife faith on JESUS CHRIST; but it is not a conditional work left for us to perform: They therefore greatly err who affirm that faith is the condition or CAUSE of our juftification.

Some indeed very excellent writers, and eminent Chriftians, have confidered faith as the condition of our juftification; but not as a work wrought by us, nor as the cause thereof: For they that thus confider it, depend upon their own faith, instead of depending upon CHRIST; and in the room of trufting in CHRIST's obedience and righteousness for their juftification, they trust in their own work of faith. These perfons also are apt to imagine, and maintain that faith itself is their righteouf nefs, upon the very fame reafon and principle that the papists affirm the bread and wine in the Lord's Supper to be the fubftantial body and blood of Chrift: But the Scripture, on the contrary, maintains that CHRIST is our righteousness; He is made of God

righte

righteousness unto us: and faith is nothing but a believing this word of God, or trufting in CHRIST that we may be juftified, and faved according to the promise.

If that faith whereby we are justified be a work of ours, which comes within the compafs of human ability to perform, it could not be of grace; but the Scripture teftifies that it is of faith that it might be by grace; And again, we are justified freely by his grace thro' the redemption which is in Chrift's bloodt. And if faith itself were our juftifying righteousness, it must have fulfilled the law, and endured its curfe for us, and confequently faith must be a perfon: but neither of these are true: for Chrift, the Object, Author and Life of our faith, hath done and fuffered all that God's law required of us, and is therefore our juftifying righteousness before GOD, which we thro' grace believe, rejoicing in CHRIST as the Lord our righteousness

3. Some perfons have erroniously reprefented felt confolations, joys, and extacies of foul for the faith of the Gofpel.Many from hence have miftaken a tranfient joy, or fenfible delight in the affections, for true faith But this is not the faith of CHRIST; for many who have felt great joys, and made their boast of them,

Q4

+ Rom. iii. 24.

↑ Jer. xxiii. 6.

have

have plainly fhewed by their after words and actions, that they neither understood nor loved the falvation of God, which is in CHRIST JESUS Our Lord.

There is a twofold joy, among religious profeffors:

1. That which is carnal, entirely founded in a mifapprehenfion, and deceitful imagination of the mind. In this cafe, the foul conceits itself to be where it is not, and what it is not. Hence, fome for a time have fancied themselves to be in CHRIST, and that their fins were pardoned; who afterwards have themselves acknowledged, and by their actions proved to others that they were grofly deceived. This joy is tranfient, and brings forth no fruit unto perfection; for the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment.-This therefore cannot be the joy of the Lord, because it glories not in him, nor lives unto him. Thus the ftony ground bearers received the word with joy, but they had not in their hearts the faith of God's elect.

2. There is a joy which arifes from an underftanding, and heart-felt perception of the love of God to perishing finners thro' CHRIST JESUS.This joy is a fruit of faith and of the HOLY GHOST, and therefore is not faith itself. The joy also of the children of GoD, is not a rejoicing

Gal. v. 22.

in

in what I have done, nor because I am better than others; but the true believer glories and rejoices only in the Lord; and from a consciousness of his own justified state, and interest in CHRIST thro' grace, he rejoices in GOD, to the praise of his glory.

Again; fome perfons have reprefented faith to be a certain knowledge or perfuafion that a man's fins are forgiven him; and that Chrift died for him in particular. But it is clear that this alfo is a mistaken notion of faith, and productive of many evils.For,

There are fome which affirm this of themselves, who in their lives and converfations are earthly, fenfual, devilish; confequently their faith must be a dead faith, because it hath no good works following it. For, if we say that we have fellowship with Chrift, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth: And again, be that faith I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

Moreover, I cannot find that the Scripture any where thus describes, or defines faith: But, according to God's word, faith is a believing with the

↑ 1 Cor. i 31.

† John i. 6.