devil, and at the end of his warfare a complete and eternal deliverance from every taint of corruption. Having then found in Christ just such a Saviour as his case required, he believed on him with all his heart, he accepted him as Saviour, and by that faith he was saved. The other person might be convinced from the evident sincerity of the Apostles, confirmed by their miraculous deliverance from prison, that the story they told must be true, and therefore he might so far "believe that Jesus was the Christ;" but he might never have been convinced of sin by the Spirit of God, he might have no real sense of his guilt and danger, and therefore see no necessity for embracing Christ as his Saviour: or he might have such a dislike to the spirit and conduct, which he would hear Christ required of all his followers, as would shut the door of his heart, and make him refuse the gospel offer. This man's faith, though orthodox, would be that dead faith, which St. James tells us can never save. His continuing in sin would too clearly prove, that he was unwilling to receive Jesus as his Prophet or his King; and they, who are so, can have no interest in his Atonement or intercession as the great High Priest. A sinner must accept Jesus as "the Christ" altogether, or not at all.

This great doctrine, that there is but one way of Salvation for guilty man, namely a living faith in Jesus Christ as his Saviour, was the sum and substance of Apostolic teaching. The New Testament, as every one knows, is full of it. Some few of its declarations are as follows. "He that believeth, and is baptised, shall be saved." Mark xvi. 16. "That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John iii. 15. "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life." John iii. 36. "And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one, which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life." John vi. 40. "I am the resurrection and the lite; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth, and believeth in me, shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord; I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world." John xi 25, 27. "That through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins." Acts x. 43. "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood." Rom. iii. 25. "The Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus." 2 Tim. iii. 15. "Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation." 1 Peter i. 5.

That we

should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation." Eph. i. 12, 13. "Lest they

believe, and be saved." Luke viii. 12. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." Eph. ii. 8. "In his name shall the Gentiles trust." Matt, xii, 21. Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious; and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded." 1 Peter ii. 5. "I know whom I have believed, (or trusted,) and am persuaded, that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day" 2 Tim. i. 12.

Such are the terms used by our Lord and his Apostles, when publishing the gospel of salvation to perishing sinners, But even in the life-time of the Apostles heresies of various kinds sprung up, which compelled them to go beyond these general proclamations of the gospel, and to enter into very close argument respecting some of its details. In particular it seems to have been very difficult with the converted Jews, to set them free from a superstitious attachment to their old ritual; and with the converted Gentiles to root out all trust in their own righteousness Neither of these denied the fact of the Atonement, or that remission of sins was through the blood of Christ; but they both thought that something else was required for themselves to do, to procure the pardon of their sins, and deserve the favour of God, In each case the principle was the same,-a mixing up of grace and works, a salvation procured partly by Christ and partly by themselves, the Redeemer's Atonement with something meritorious on their part to obtain an interest in it. What the meritorious work was, which they aimed at performing-whether an observance of certain ceremonies, or of certain moral duties made no difference. There was certainly this difference, that the moral duties were required of every Christian, while the ceremonies were not; but as a ground of trust before God, as a way of salvation, one was as utterly worthless as the other, and as utterly inconsistent with the free grace of the gospel, with a complete acceptance of Christ's salvation, and with that deep sense of his own vileness, which every enlightened Christian is made to feel. The Apostles therefore, although we can generally discover from their line of argument, which part of the law their hearers were in danger of trusting in, whether moral or ceremonial, are often quite indifferent about distinguishing it accurately, inasmuch as it made no practical difference. They cut down all trust in the works of the law generally, and showed the impossibility of a fallen creature like man being saved by any part of it whatsoever.

In order fully to enter into their teaching on this subject, we must first examine the meaning of "justification," which is the word generally used in the argumentative parts of their Epistles. To justify a person is to account, consider, or pronounce him just or righteous. This is a very different thing,

you will observe, from pardoning him. If the jury bring in a verdict of "guilty" against a man, the judge may pardon him, but that does not justify him: his character is not cleared; he leaves the bar with all the stain of his guilt upon him; he has only escaped the punishment; he is still a criminal. But if the jury bring in a verdict of “not guilty," then he is justified, cleared, acquitted; he is considered and pronounced just or righteous, as far as this charge against him is concerned. Now St. Paul makes justification a necessary part of man's salvation; "Whom he did predestinate them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified." Rom. viii. 30. But how can a condemned guilty sinner like man, be justified in the sight of God? One could understand how he might be pardoned; but pardon and justification are as totally distinct as any two things can possibly be. And this is another remarkable thing about a sinner's salvation, that he is both pardoned and justified-which in any ordinary case would be impossible; pardon being a thing which can only follow condemnation, justification being a thing which can only follow acquittal. How then can we be both condemned and justified? How can the law of God pronounce us both guilty and not guilty? The simple ar swer, which Scripture gives us, is this: In ourselves we are condemned, in Christ we are justified; in ourselves we are guilty sinners, in Christ we are perfectly righteous. And therefore we are not only pardoned as sinners, but also through the merits and death of Christ justified as righteous.

This doctrine is presented to us in God's word, under the following heads. We are said to be justified by the righteousness and death of Christ, by faith, by works, by God, by grace. 1. We are justified by the righteousness and death of Christ, because by the sacrifice of himself he made a full Atonement for our sins, and because the perfect righteousness, which he wrought out for his people, is imputed to them. 2. We are justified by faith, because it is on our believing that Christ's righteousness is imputed to us, and we become interested in all the blessings of his salvation. 3. We are justified by works, because they are the fruits which a living faith always brings forth, and therefore justify now before men, and will justify at the day of judgment, our claims to being Christ's people. 4. We are justified by God, because it is he, who, as supreme judge, authoritatively pronounces us justified, in virtue of our union with Christ; and against whose decision there is no appeal: "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth; who is he that condemneth?" 5. We are justified by grace, firstly, because it was an act of stupendous grace, that God "spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for

us all," thus providing a Saviour whose blood "cleanses us from all sin," and in whose righteousness we may stand justified before God: and secondly, because it is also of free grace, that the Spirit is sent into our hearts, to convince us of sin, to lead us to the foot of the cross in penitence and faith, and thus give us an interest in the atoning sacrifice and justifying righteousness of our great Redeemer,

Perhaps the best way of arranging our proofs from scripture on this important question will be as follows:-To shew; First, That no righteousness of our own can justify us in the sight of God; Secondly, That the righteousness, which can and does justify us, is that of Christ; Thirdly, That that justifying righteousness is applied to us by faith alone; and then to examine those texts, which are thought to contradict this doctrine.

I. It must be perfectly evident to every one on a moment's reflection, from the very meaning of the word, that nothing but a perfect righteousness can justify any creature in the sight of God. For a creature to be justified before his Creator, he must be able to clear himself from any charge whatever which can be brought against him; that is, he must have perfectly fulfilled all that his Creator requires of him; he must have done every thing that he ought to do, and nothing that he ought not to do. If he fail in a single thing-he may certainly be pardoned but he cannot be justified; he cannot possibly be "justified from all things," which is the only justification that can be of the least avail, inasmuch as "whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." James ii. 10. A creature having once sinned can never be justified in himself, that is by his own righteousness, even though he should yield God a perfect obedience ever afterwards: for that obedience, however perfect, is nothing more than just what is required of him for the time being, and cannot possibly do away with his past guilt. God might promise to pardon a sinner, provided he never sinned again, but that would not justify him. A very few texts therefore will suffice, if indeed any are required, to prove that no child of Adam can be justified by any righteousness of his own; especially as we considered the subject of man's fallen nature in a preceding Lecture. "What is man,

that he should be clean; or he that is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?" Job xv. 14. "Enter not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord;" for in thy sight shall no man living be justified." Ps, cxliii. 2 "There is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not." Eccl. vii. 20. "There is none righteous, no, not one." Rom. iii. 10.

Acts xiii. 39.

"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight "Rom. iii. 20. "There is no difference; for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Rom. iii. 23. "How should man be just with God?" Job ix. 2.

II. As "no man living," therefore, can be justified by any righteousness of his own, he must have some other righteousness, and that a perfect one, imputed to him for his justification. And this, Scripture teaches us, is the righteousness of Christ, which he wrought out for all his people, as their head and representative. 'Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall all men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory." Is. xliv. 24, 25. "Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called, The Lord our righteousness." Jer. xxiii. 5, 6. "But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption; that, according as it is written, ie that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." 1 Cor. i. 30, 31. According to Unitarian interpretation, three of those things, which Jesus is said to be made unto us-righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, would all mean precisely the same; namely, that Jesus redeemed us from sin, or sanctified us, by teaching us, and setting us an example of, righteousness. But every one must see, that the apostle meant to point out the several different blessings, which we receive from Christ. is made unto us redemption, because he has redeemed us by his blood from the curse of God's broken law; he is made unto us righteousness, because he has worked out a perfect righteousness, which is imputed to us for our justification; he is made unto us wisdom and sanctification," because by his spirit he gives us heavenly wisdom and holiness of heart. "He hath made him, who knew no sin, be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. ." Cor. v. 21. Christ was not made sinful, but sin; that is, our sin was imputed to him, in order that his righteousness might be imputed to us. Hence we are not said to be made righteous by him, but made righteousness in him, which is a much stronger expression; and that righteousness, which is imputed to us, is called "the righteousness of God," because Jesus Christ was "God manifest in the flesh." Again, "For I bear them record, that they have zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto

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