Many will fay unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, 7 Mat. 21, have we not prophefied in thy Name, and in thy 22, 23. Name caft out Devils, and in thy Name done many wonderful Works: and then will I profefs unto them, I never knew you, depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

What fhall we fay then to this matter? both these Propofitions must be allowed to be undoubtedly true: We are justified by Faith, we are faved by Grace, without the Works of the Law; and we fhall be judged according to cur works, and shall receive what we have done in this body, whether good or evil. That is, we are juftified by Faith, juftified freely by Grace, through the Redemption which is in Chrift Jefus, and through Faith in his Blood, and yet fhall be condemned at the laft Judgment, if we live wickedly. This is a matter of very great confequence to be plainly ftated, because a great many Chriftians encourage themselves in fin with vain hopes, and eternally perith by prefumptuous Faith and Reliance on Chrift.

I. Now in the first place, that whatever miftakes, or misapprehenfions Men may have about the Nature of Faith and Justification, may not endanger their Souls by encouraging them in Sin, I obferve, that we must reconcile the Doctrine of Juftification by Faith without Works, to our being judged by our Works, not expound away the Doctrine of our being judged according to our Works, to reconcile it to our Notions of Juftification by Faith. And there are manifeft Reasons for this.

1. Because it is exprefly taught in Scripture, that we fhall be judged by our Works, as it is, that we are juftified by Faith, and therefore we must not oppofe our Juftification by Faith, to our being judged by our Works: For that is not to expound Scripture, but to confute one Scripture Doctrine by another; to prove that we fhall not be judged by our Works, though the Scripture fays we fhall, because the Scripture alfo teaches, that we are juftified by Faith without Works. Now if it be allowable to reject any Scripture Doctrine, or to confute one Doctrine by another, we may with as good reafon confute them both by each other, and believe neither; for if they can't be reconciled, but we must deny one, our being judged by our Works does as plainly prove, that we are not juftified by Faith without Works, as Juftification by Faith proves that we fhall not be judged by our Works: We must diftinguish between expounding and reconciling Scripture, and confuting it, and therefore whatever we believe about Juftification by Faith, we must still confefs, we shall be judged by our Works.

For 2. There is great reafon to expound Juftification by Faith, by our being judged by Works; because when we are told in Scripture, That God will render to us according to our Deeds, that every man must receive the Things done in bis Body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Thefe are plain proper Expreffions, without any Figure or Metaphor in them, and therefore are capable of no other fenfe, than what the words at first view figni

fie. We fhall receive what we have done; if we have done good, we fhall be rewarded; if we have done evil, we shall be punished: Good Men fhall be received into Heaven; and all Wicked Men, even wicked Believers, as well as wicked Infidels, fhall be caft into Hell: this every Child understands to be the meaning of thefe Words, and no other fenfe can be made of them; and therefore fince this is fo plainly, and fo freequently taught in Scripture, whatever we believe elfe, we must believe this, if we believe the Scripture.

But now when we read of being juftified by Faith without Works, every word is capable of very different fenfes, and we know is expounded very differently by Learned Men, according to the different Hypothefis they intend to ferve by it: And then we must confefs, it is not fo certain, what is meant by Juftification by Faith without Works, as what is meant by being judged according to our Works: At leaft fo much must be allowed, that we must prefer that fenfe of Juftification by Faith, which agrees with our being judged by our Works, before any other Interpretation, which contradicts or overthrows this plain fenfe of a Future Judgment.

As for inftance: Some by juftifying, underftand making juft and righteous; that to juftifie the ungodly, is to make a Wicked Man good by the Power and Efficacy of Faith but then to juftifie the ungodly without the Works of the Law, or to make a wicked Man good without good Works, does not found very well; and therefore others more reason

ably, and more agreeably to Scripture, underftand justifying in a forenfick fenfe, for abfolving, acquitting, declaring and accounting Men juft and righteous, and treating them as fuch; that is, imputing Righteousness to them, though in a ftrict and proper fenfe they are not inherently righteous: And then this forenfick Juftification may either fignifie our being justified at Baptifm, when by the Profeffion of our Faith in Chrift we are incorporated by Baptifm into Chrift's Church,and are made the Members of his Myftical Body, and have all our Sins washed away in his Blood, and come pure and innocent out of the Laver of Regeneration; and thus the moft ungodly Sinners are juftified by Faith in Baptifm, without Works, or any antecedent Righteoufnefs of their own; or elfe this Juftification may be extended to the Future Judgment; that at the laft Day of Account we fhall be juftified, acquitted, abfolved, rewarded, by Faith without Works; but this does not agree very well with our being judged, and receiving, according to our Works: The Scripture exprefly teaches, that we are juftified by Faith without Works, and that we fhall be judged by our Works; but never faith we fhall be judged by our Faith; which feems to make a great difference between being. juftified, and being judged: For if we are juftified without Works, and judged by our Works, juftified by Faith without Works, but not judged, not acquitted and rewarded by Faith without Works, to be juftified, and to be judged, cannot fignifie the fame thing.

Thus

Thus when we are faid to be justified by Faith, fome by Faith understand fuch a firm and ftedfaft belief of the whole Gofpel, of, all that concerns the Perfon and Mediation of Chrift, the Expiation of his Blood, his Refurrection from the Dead, and. Interceffion for us in Heaven, his Laws, his Promifes, and Threatnings, as renews and fanctifies our Nature, governs our Lives, conquers the World, fubdues the Flesh to the Spirit, and makes us truly Divine and God-like Creatures, the Sons of God, not meerly by external Relation, but by a participation of his Nature.

Now this Notion of justifying Faith, that we fhall be juftified by a living, working Faith, is very reconcilable with being judged by our Works; for if we cannot be juftified by Faith without Works, ifno Faith can juftifie, but that which is fruitful in all good Works, then we may be judged by our Works, fince Holinefs is effential to a juftifying Faith.

Others by a juftifying Faith understand a Reliance and Recumbency on Chrift for Salvation; a receiving and embracing Chrift, and rowling their Souls on him, as they are pleafed to exprefs it; which, when taken out of Metaphor, can fignifie no more, than to hope and truft in Chrift, that he will fave them, and to be willing to be faved by him without any Works and Righteoufnefs of their own. Now if the bare Act of relying on Chrift would juftifie and fave Men, I cannot fee, how fuch Believers fhould be judged by their Works, though Infidels may: But this Antinomian Conceit of juftifying Faith, is not fo plain and certain, as it is Z4

that