1 "should bruise the serpent's head:" and forgiveness and salvation, through this Redeemer, is the grand subject of the Old Testament. "Search the Scriptures, "for in them ye think, that ye have eternal life, and "they are they which testify of me." "The testimony "of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy." Nay, the strict, rigorous, and unbending, yet "holy, just, and good "law," was delivered from mount Sinai, especially to show the people their need of this Redeemer and Salvation; which were typified, in the mercy-seat, the ark, the sacrifices, and all the worship, afterwards by divine appointment offered on mount Zion. "The gospel is "the power of God unto salvation," as fully revealing that Saviour, who was thus predicted and prefigured; as contrasted with the philosophy of the Gentiles, and the traditions of the Jewish scribes;* as distinguished from "the law which worketh wrath;"+ and as preached to the Gentiles, attended "with the Holy Ghost sent "down from heaven." But as "Abraham was justi"fied by faith," and all those eminent saints, mentioned in the eleventh of Hebrews, " through faith obtain"ed a good report;" how can it be said, that no pre'cedent dispensation could justify any man?' † Rom. iv. 15, 16. The law of Moses, * 1 Cor. i. 21-25. + 1 Pet. i. 12. || Boasting cannot be excluded by the law of works, that is, by the law ‹ Moses, because in that dispensation God sent no one to be" the propi“ tiation for our sins;” no one “gave himself for us, an offering and a sacri"fice to God;" there is no " Mediator between God and men;" 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 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 re$ ferring all merit to Christ, from whose death the justifying efficacy of faith ' is wholly derived. This is a fundamental difference between the two cove'nants, the law of works and the law of faith, the dispensation of Moses and the gospel of Christ.' as distinguished from any other law, real or supposed, in the matter of justification, will be considered hereafter. But the covenant, that was confirmed before " of God in Christ, the law which was four hundred "and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should "make the promise of none effect. For if the inherit ance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but "God gave it to Abraham by promise."" Is the "law then against the promises of God? God forbid! "for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by "the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under "sin; that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might "be given to them that believe."* This passage clearly shows, that there never was a law given to fallen man, by which life could be obtained: and that "the covenant "confirmed by God in Christ," with Abraham, was not disannulled by the Mosaick law, and the Sinaicovenant. Under the legal dispensation, Israel as a nation, was under the covenant made at mount Sinai, which especially related to temporal and national mer. cies and judgments: but individuals, if believers, were justified and saved, according to the covenant made with Abraham, by faith in the promised Redeemer; and circumcision was to them "a seal of the righteousness "of faith." If unbelievers, they remained under the curse of the violated law, and without any benefit from the promised Saviour; and all unbelievers, even under the Christian dispensation, do the same. The princi. pal appointments of the ceremonial law, were sacramental prefigurations of the way of salvation by Christ; as the Lord's supper is now a commemoration of the death of the promised Saviour. They were to believers "means of grace,' and acts of worship; acceptable to God, through the blood of Christ, who was typified by that of the sacrifices: but to unbelievers they were mere formality, or hypocrisy. Christ was the Mediator, from the first promise, given to fallen Adam;* but this was more clearly shown, by the Abrahamick covenant. Doubtless, the New Testament is a far clearer discovery of salvation, than any which preceded. "Our Saviour "Jesus Christ hath brought life and immortality to light by the Gospel." But from the beginning, all believers were saved in the same way, and in heaven they doubtless join in the same song; Worthy is the "Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God "with his blood:" Even "the Lamb slain from the "foundation of the world." The dispensation of Moses, contained the types and promises of a Saviour: but "the law of works" simply means, the require'ment and the sanction of the law.' P. cix. Note. When Christ had made the real and all-sufficient propitiation for sins; and the Gospel had been openly preached to the Jews: all who adhered to the law, and rejected the Saviour, remained under 'the Mosaick dispensation, as independent of the Chris* tian:' the legal sacrifices had lost all their efficacy: the Gen. iii. 15. (Beza.) † ricas. Discovering as by a lamp brought it. Rev. v. 8, 9. xiii. S. Upon the subject of the Efficacy of the Mosaick Atonement as applied ⚫ to cases of moral transgression,' vide Dr. Magee's Discourses, V. i. 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 pre*cious blood-shedding which can "purge the conscience from dead works "to serve the living God." If therefore we consider the Mosaick Dispensa⚫tion 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." ceremonial law became as a bond, which having been paid, is cancelled, and has no validity: its institutions were neither means of grace, acceptable acts of worship, professions of faith, nor sacramental signs of spiritual blessings; as they had before been. It is of the law, thus adhered to, after the publication of the Gospel, that St. Paul speaks in many places of the New Testament.* The efficacy of all propitiation for sin is ' derived from the merits and sufferings of Christ:' and they, who with the eye of faith' connected the legal sacrifices, with this all-sufficient atonement, received the benefit of it; but they, who after his coming, opposed these sacrifices to his atonement, could not possibly derive any benefit from them. P. cx. l. 17. "The Lord, &c.'t This passage is an excellent statement of the doctrine, concerning the mutual imputation of our sins to Christ, and of his righteousness to all true believers. P. cxi. Note 1, from Allen. God gives, &c.'‡ The same may be said of this note also. Gal. iv. 9. 24. v. 1-3. Col. ii. 16, 17. Heb. viii. 13. "The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all;" "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body;" "He was made sin for us, who knew no "sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him," "Of him are "ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us Wisdom, and Righteousness, "ard Sanctification, and Redemption." There is, as it were, a mutual trans'fer of the sins of men to Christ, and of Christ's righteousness to men; so that God no longer "imputeth their trespasses unto them," and he is "the "Justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." Cbrist 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,"s " and made "heirs of salvation."¶ 6 6 '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 accord. 'ingly.' P. cxi. Note 2. Note 2. It has, &c.'* All the credit, protection, and advantage, attached to a good citizen and loyal subject, are the reward of justification, in hu man affairs: and all the honour, and happiness, which God confers on those, who enjoy his full and everlasting favour, are the reward connected with justification, in the concerns of religion. P. cxii. 1. 1. This, &c.' This passage concedes a great deal, in the argument concerning justification. P. cxii. 1. 20. Faith then, &c.' According to this statement, it appears, that faith itself is our righte ousness; instead of forming that relation to Christ, by. which we are "made the righteousness of God in him." This is not, however, his Lordship's deliberate statement, in a subsequent (p. 147, Refutation,) part of the * 'It has been observed, that justification is a forensic term. We are to sup'pose a moral agent called before a competent tribunal, to answer whether 'he has obeyed the laws which were prescribed to him as the rule of his con'duct: 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.' This is what St. Paul means, when he says, "to him that worketh, is "the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt." "Uniform obedience being the duty of every man, a single transgression would destroy the right to justification, and " in many things we offend all." Since then justification 'is due to no one on the ground of works, or uniform obedience, to whomso'ever 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 live 1) "but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness," and soon after he says, "Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace.' 'Faith then stands in the place of righteousness, or uniform obedience: and through 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. |
