was done "freely" and gratuitously, without any merit in us, any claim on our part, when we were all sinners, when the whole world was guilty in the sight of God, and must otherwise have perished everlastingly. "Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay, but by the law of Faith." Boasting cannot be excluded by the law of works, that is, by the Law of Moses, because in that dispensation God sent no one to be "the propitiation for our sins (t);" no one "gave himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God (u);" there is no " Mediator between God and men (r);" and therefore if the works of the Mosaic law do justify, it must be on account of their own merit, and the performance of them must (t) i John, c. 4. v. 10. (u) Eph. c. 5. v. 2. (x) 1 Tim. c. 2. v. 5.-Upon the subject of "the Efficacy of the Mosaic Atonement as applied to cases of Moral Transgression," vide Dr. Magee's Discourses, V. 1. p. 308. The learned author admits that "the blood of bulls and of goats could not take away sins,” "but as connected, in the eye of Faith, with that more precious blood-shedding which can purge the conscience from dead works to serve the living God." If therefore we consider the Mosaic Dispensation as independent of the Christian, if we suppose Moses to have delivered the law to the Jews, and Christ not to have died for the sins of mankind, the legal sacrifices would have had no atoning power with respect to moral guilt. The efficacy of all propitiation for sin is derived from the merits and sufferings of Christ. must be attended with a ground for boasting. It is otherwise with "the law of Faith," or the Gospel of Christ, where boasting is excluded by denying merit to Faith, and by referring all merit to Christ, from whose death the justifying efficacy of Faith is wholly derived. This is a fundamental difference between the two Covenants, the law of works and the law of Faith, the Dispensation. of Moses and the Gospel of Christ. The Jews proudly boasted of the observance of their external ordinances as constituting merit, and conferring right to the favour of God; but Christians are taught, after they have done all, to confess themselves unprofitable servants, and to rely humbly and solely upon the merits and mediation of their Blessed Redeemer for acceptance at the Throne of Grace. "The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all (y);" "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body (z);" "He was made sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (a);" "Of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption (b):" There is, as it were, a mutual transfer of the sins of men to Christ, and of Christ's righteousness to men; so that God no longer (y) Is. c. 53. v. 6. (z) 1 Pet. c. 2. v. 24. (b) 1. Cor. c. I. v. 30, longer "imputeth their trespasses unto them (c), and he is "the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus (d)." Christ being himself" without sin," voluntarily underwent the punishment due to sin; and we enjoy the benefits of his righteousness and passion, in being "reconciled to God (e)," and made "heirs of salvation (f).” Every individual of the human race having violated the commands of God, no one could be justified upon the ground of his works; no man could claim Justification as a debt due to his unvaried observance of the law under which he lived. Had there been such an unvaried observance in any one, it would have given him a title, upon the ground of strict justice, without any grace or favour, to the sentence of Justification (g). And (c) 2 Cor. c. 5. v. 19. (d) Rom. c. 3. v. 26. (e) 2 Cor. c. 5. v. 20. (f) Heb. c. I. v. 14. "God gives us all these benefits of the New Covenant as certainly for the sake of Christ and his righteousness, as if we had satisfied him, and merited them ourselves; and thus far Christ's righteousness is ours in its effects, and imputed to us, in that we are thus used for it, and shall be judged accordingly." Allen, Preface to the two Covenants. (g) It has been observed, that Justification is a forensic term. We are to suppose a moral agent called before a competent tribunal, to answer whether he has abeyed the laws which were prescribed to him as the rule And this is what St. Paul means, when he says, "to him that worketh, is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt (h)." Uniform obedience being the duty of every man, a single transgression would destroy the right to Justification, and “in many things we offend all (i)." Since then Justification is due to no one on the ground of works, or uniform obedience, to whomsoever Justification is granted, it must be an act of grace. It rested with God to declare upon what condition he would grant this act of grace, and we have seen that it pleased him to appoint Faith in Christ as this condition; and therefore, as St. Paul says in the next verse, "to him that worketh not, (that is, who has not by his works obeyed the law under which he formerly lived) but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his Faith is counted for righteousness (k);" and soon after he says, "Therefore it is of Faith, that it might be by grace (1)" Faith then stands in the place of righteousness, or uniform obedience; and through the rule of his conduct: if upon examination it shall appear that he has obeyed the laws, he has a right to the sentence of Justification; but if it shall appear that he has not obeyed them, he is subject to the sentence of condemnation. Strictly speaking, reward is not included in the idea of Justification. (h) Rom. c.4. v. 4. (i) Jas. c. 3. v. 2. (k) Rom. c. 4. v. 5. (1) Rom. c. 4. v. 16. "If the mercy of God obtains for the transgressor that Justification as an act of grace, which his own uniform obedience, had it taken place, would have obtained for him as a debt of justice, but which he could not claim, because he had not been uniformly obedient. And this is what St. Paul means, when he says, If by grace, then is it no more of works, but if it be of works, then is it no more grace (m):" if it be an act of justice, in consequence of a man's works, or uniform obedience, it is not an act of grace; and if it be an act of grace, it is not in consequence of his works. A claim from works, and grace through Faith, are incompatible. A man cannot obtain Justification upon both grounds, works and grace; in the one case he would have fulfilled the law, in the other case he would not have fulfilled it. We find the same doctrine, as far at least as the condition of Justification is concerned, clearly asserted in the Epistle to the Galatians, "A man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the Faith of Jesus Christ; even we (that is, even we Jews, who were born under another Covenant with God) have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the Faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified (n)." No man is justified (m) Rom. c. 11. v. 6. (n) Gal. c. 2. v. 16. I |