Acts 13.8. Companion, feeking to turn the Deputy Governour of Cyprus from the Faith; i. e. he fought to hinder him from receiving the Gospel of Jefus Chrift, or the Doctrine of Faith; fo again we are told of Aas 14. them, that they exhorted those whom they preach'd Acts 16. to, to continue in the Faith; fo, The Churches were eftablished in the Faith; and Felix heard Paul conActs 24 cerning the Faith of Chrift: And again, By Chrift

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we have received Grace and Apostleship for Obedience Rom.1.5. to the Faith among all Nations for his Name. In all

which Places, and many more, Faith can be understood only of the General Doctrine of true Chriftian Faith, that Faith, the Matter of which is contain❜d in the Gofpel, and there proposed to be believed.

I grant, that the Word Faith, in feveral Places in Scripture, fignifies that particular A&t of the Mind, by which we are fo affur'd, that God is, that Chrift is the Son of God the Saviour of the World, that he dy'd for the Sins of the World,

c. that we can no farther make any Doubt of the Truth of these Principles; I allow again, that fometimes, but very rarely, Faith fignifies the bare Perfuafion of the Mind, and its Refolution upon fuch a Perfuafion in a doubtful Cafes fo in the Verfe immediately before the Text we are now confidering. Haft thou Faith? Have it to thy felf before God. By which the Apoftle means no more than this; Art thou perfuaded, or haft thou entertain'd fuch an Opinion, as may feem new, and different from what others have entertain'd in the Cafe? Keep thy Opinion to thy felf, and make no Disorders in the Church of God by publishing it; a good Leffon that, by the Way, for fuch as are fo

industrious to make Profelytes to those of the Separation.

But in interpreting Scriptures this to me seems a Rule to be by no Means departed from, viz. that where any Expreffion in God's Holy Word may agreeably to moft other Paffages in the fame Word, be understood in a plain, easy and uncontroverted Way, fo as to exprefs a Doctrine univerfally and confeffedly true, there we are not to expound any fuch Expreffion to a dubious and controverted Senfe. And, according to this Rule, I have offer'd fuch a Doctrine from this often abus'd Text,as all Perfons unanimously agree in; a Doctrine fuitable to the Defign of the whole Chapter, and indeed to the general Import of the whole Book of God, viz. That whatsoever is not agreeable to the Doctrine of Faith, or of the Gospel of Jefus Chrift, that is Sin. And I have juftly deferted that Sense of the Words, which every understanding and confiderate Perfon has fomething to object againft And that Faith, which is mention'd in the first Verse of this Chapter, has the fame Signification, Him who is weak in the Faith receive ye, but not to doubtful Difputations, i. e. If any Man has given a general Credit to the Hiftory of the Gospel, tho' he has not attained to the Knowledge of its more myfterious Parts in their utmoft Extent, yet admit him and encourage him as a Believing Brother, as one who is in the Way to perfect Chriftianity, but don't entertain him with Difputes of fuch a Nature, as may ferve only to perplex and confound him, but, as truly charitable, to inftruct and inform him in thofe farther Particulars contain'd in the Gofpel, of which he is yet ignorant.

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I know, it is the unhappy Endeavour of fome Perfons, as much as in them lies, to confound that Faith which implies a Syftem of what we believe; That Faith, which is the A&t by which we believe; a Fiduciary or confident Refolution and Confcience, as if all these were but one and the fame Thing: And fo the Man who fays, He must not do any thing against his Confcience; he who declares, He must be fatisfy'd better in his Mind, before he can do fuch or fuch a Thing propofed to him; He who wants Faith to difcern Chrift in his Ordinances; and he who

concludes it his Duty, never to act any thing contrary to the Doctrine of the Gospel of Chrift, every one of these alledges this Text, Whatfoever is not of Faith is Sin, in his own Defence, which Text yet can really reach only one of their Cafes, and that the laft; unless we have a Mind with those of the Church of Rome, to make the Word of God a Leaden Rule indeed, fit to be interpreted any way, and to any Sense we please.

Nor can I deny,but that many Persons of great Eminence in our own Church have favour'd this Confufion too much. The Notions of a scru pulous, an Opining or Doubtful, and of an erroneous and tender Confcience, tho' they are Things of which the Holy Scriptures know nothing at all, have fo loaded them with unhappy Prejudices, that they have been unable to difcern their own Miftakes in many Cafes before them, and which have been grounded upon thefe originally confus'd Notions of Things. For a Mind fcrupulous, opining, doubtful, erroneous, tender, or the like, are not each a feveral Species of Confcience, and they are the feveral Difficulties we are to get over, before we can

come

come to have a Confcience truly and properly fo call'd, in any thing whatfoever. From whence too it will appear, that thofe, which we call Cafes of Confcience, are only improperly and abufively fo named; for they are really nothing but Cafes of Ignorance, or Cafes difputable and controverted, which Ignorance being once better inform'd, and which Difputes and Controverfies being rightly and intelligibly determin'd, then Confcience takes Place: And fo its true indeed, that we are not to act against Confcience: For when a Man, by laying the Action propos'd to the Infallible Rule given, comes certainly and fully to know, that fuch or fuch an Action is a Sin, or an actual Trespass against the Rule given, when its impoffible he fhould be mistaken in his Judgment in the Cafe, whatever he may be in the Practice; and yet prefumes to do that very thing,that Man fins against his Confcience; and he who really fins against his Confcience, is not very far from the Sin against the Holy Ghoft. It's true we are obliged to feek for Satisfaction in all our Doubts in Matters of Religion, we are to endeavour to improve in Fa th, and in all Divine Knowledge, that we may be the better prepar'd to perform our Chriftian Duties, but the Text before us, What foever is not of Faith is Sin, has no Relation to these Matters: Nor yet will any Pretences to unfatisfy'd Scruples, nor any Weakness in our Faith, or Deficiencies in our Knowledge excufe us at all from performing our Duties, where they are known and certain, and plainly laid before us.

If yet any Man, who feparates from the lawfully establish'd Church of England, upon Account of fome unaccountable Doubts and Scruples,

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will

will defend himself by pleading, that he cannot communicate with it, because he is not fatisfy'd in every Particular, and that whatsoever is not of Faith is Sin; Let fuch a Perfon give me a clear and positive Answer to a Cafe or two as related in Scripture; When Hezekiah King of Judah defign'd to obferve the long neglected Feast of the Paffover, in a folemn and religious Manner, He confulting with his Princes and others, pub2 Chron. lifh'd his Decree to have it kept on the Fourteenth Day of the Second Month; Now the Law given concerning that Feaft by God Himself, was, that It should be kept on the Fourteenth Day of the firft Month, that being the particular Time, when the destroying Angel, by God's CommiffiDeut. 16. on, fmote all the Firft-born of Egypt, but pass'd over the Dwellings of the Ifraelites. This was the ge

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neral Law. But becaufe fome Difficulties might happen to fome particular Men, which might make them incapable of paying a Literal Obedience to this Command, there was farther given Numb. 9. this Relaxing Order, that If any Man fhould be unclean by reafon of a dead Body, or should be upon a Fourney afar off, he should keep it on the Fourth Day ver. 13. of the Second Month. But then it follows, The Man who is not clean, and is not in a Journey, and forbeareth to keep the Paffover, even that Same Soul fhall be cut off from his People, becaufe he brought not the Offering of the Lord in his appointed Seafon, i. e. On the Fourteenth Day of the First Month. Now fince Hezekiah confulted his Princes, and the whole Congregation, and yet those who were legally clean, and were at that very Time refident at Jerufalem, did not obferve the ftrict Command of celebrating the Paffover on the Fourteenth Day of the First Month, can

fuch