rifying God," and adorning the doctrine of God our "Saviour;" and as profitable to our brethren, and fellow creatures, whom grace teaches us to love and to desire to profit. This is the only point in debate: whereas our opponents argue against us, under the mistaken supposition, that we undervalue good works, in themselves, and do not consider them, as any essential part of christianity. But that may be important, nay, essential, to the building, which is wholly unsuitable to be, in any degree, the foundation of it.

per

P. clxxxi. 1. 3. Our Saviour, &c.'* Would his Lordship then say, that an habitual adulterer, a thief, a drunkard, or a perjurer, will be welcomed by our Saviour, in the words here quoted; because he has ' 'formed acts of mercy to his fellow creatures, and expressly on account of those acts?' I know he would not. Some limitation therefore must be admitted, and the passage itself clearly shows, what that is. The acts of mercy are stated by the Judge to be done to him; because done to " these his brethren;" that is, not done to their fellow-creatures from any motive whatever, but from love of Christ, to those whom he owns, and will own at the day of judgment, as his brethren. "And "he stretched-forth his hands towards his disciples,

Our Saviour, in his awful description of the proceedings of the last 'judgment, not only assigns eternal life to those, who have performed acts ⚫ of mercy to their fellow creatures, but expressly on account of those acts; "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from "the foundation of the world; for I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat." "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye "have done it unto me." Is it possible to read these passages of the New Tes⚫tament, and to deny, that "works are clearly made the grand hinge on which "our justification and salvation turn," and not to be astonished that any 'person professing belief in the divine authority of the Scriptures, himself a minister of the gospel, should with marked severity inveigh against those • teachers, who make "works the grand turning point in the matter of our "salvation."

"and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For "whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in "heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mo"ther."* Not that acts of mercy, to others, performed in faith, and love to God and man, will not be gra ciously accepted and rewarded. Yet nothing "availeth "in Christ Jesus, but faith which worketh by love." The persons spoken of, in this account of the day of judgment, were professed believers; the question was, Had they the true and living "faith, which worketh "by love?" "The work of faith and labour," and liberality" of love" evidenced this to be the case, in respect of those on the right hand; the want of these fruits, 'in those on the left hand, showed that they either had no faith, or had merely a dead faith. It might be said of the former, but not of the latter, "Seest thou "how faith wrought with their works, and by works "was faith made perfect."-" Ye see then how that "by works a man is justified, and not by faith only." It might also be said, "By faith they obeyed;" "by "faith, they wrought righteousness;” “ by faith, they "obtained this good report." Salvation is wholly of the grace and mercy of God, in Christ, to believers; saving faith worketh by love; all who love Christ, love his brethren; "not in word and in tongue, but in deed "and in truth;" for they perform acts of mercy to them, as they have opportunity and ability; and so "prove the "sincerity of their love." And "God is not unright"eous to forget their work and labour of love, which "they have showed towards his name, in that they minis"tered to his saints;" but as they honoured Christ on earth, he will thus honour them, before the assembled world. The passage is perfectly conclusive against a

dead and solitary faith, and every antinomian perversion of evangelical doctrines. But surely it does not prove,

that works are clearly the hinge on which our justifi'cation and salvation turn;' or that works are the turn'ing point in the matter of salvation.' Where is such language any where to be found in Scripture, or in our articles? By grace are ye saved, through faith; and "that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God: not of "works, lest any man should boast; for we are his

workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good "works, which God hath before ordained, that we should "walk in them."* Indeed few persons, on reading the former part of this chapter of the Refutation, in which so many things are stated very differently, concerning justification and salvation;† would have expected such propositions as these towards the close of it. The necessity of good works is entirely as much established, by stating them, to be the distinguishing proof of a living faith, by which it may be as evidently known, as ' a tree discerned by the fruit:' as by making them the grand hinge on which our justification and salvation ' turn;' 'the turning point in the matter of salvation;' in diametrical opposition to the words of those articles which we all subscribe!

P. clxxxi. 1. 23. This author, &c.' The dis

* Eph. ii. 8—10. Churchman, p. 293.

† P. 100-102. 103-105. 111-114. True

This author confounds justification and salvation throughout his work, * which I have proved not to be synonymous terms, either in the apostolical epistles when applied to christians, or in the public formularies of our ⚫ church; and that he is guilty of a variety of mistatements and misrepresen*tations, by not distinguishing between the meritorious cause of our salva⚫tion, and the conditions required to be performed on our part in order to ⚫ obtain pardon and acceptance with God.' "These conditions may be in⚫ dispensable, and yet utterly destitute of merit; giving no claim from their own nature to the inestimable blessing of eternal happiness, but deriving * all their efficacy and value from the merciful appointment of God, through the merits of Christ.'

tinction between justification and final salvation, is every where implied in Mr. Overton's work, when good works are insisted on, as necessary to be performed by justified persons; even though it be not formally made. As the words 'conditions required to be performed on ' our part, in order to obtain pardon and acceptance ' with God,' are not found in Scripture, or in our authorized books; a writer may omit them, without being chargeable with mistatements and misrepresentations. His Lordship calls faith, on our part, the condition of acceptance, and distinguishes it, from the meritorious cause of justification; Mr. Overton connects faith and justification together by various other expressions: but he still distinguishes faith, from the meritorious cause of justification, even the righteousness and atonement of Christ. Repentance he would class with "the things "which accompany salvation;" and good works he would call the fruits or evidences of living faith; still, however, insisting upon the necessity of them; and clearly enough distinguishing them from the meritorious cause of our acceptance.

P. clxxxii, l. 13. But, &c. The language of Scripture fully warrants all our zeal for salvation by grace through faith' alone; if we do but carefully

• But Calvinistic ministers, with all their zeal to support the doctrine of 'salvation through faith alone, and all their anxiety to depreciate the im 'portance of moral virtue, cannot avoid the inconsistency of allowing that ' good works will in any sense be rewarded; that they are acceptable to God ⚫ in Christ; absolutely requisite in order to our meetness for God's service ' and heaven,' and that they will fix the degrees of our blessedness in eter'nity;' ' although they will not acknowledge good works to be a condition ' of salvation. If good works be not a condition of salvation, salvation may be attained without them; but it is acknowledged that a man cannot be 'meet for heaven without good works; therefore a man may attain salvation ' without being meet for heaven.'

† Mark xvi. 16. John iii. 14—16. v. 24. Acts xvi. 31-36. Rom. i. 16, 17. Eph. iii. 8.

show the nature and fruits of saving faith as distinguish. ed from dead faith; for all good works spring from faith. If assigning to good works precisely the same place, which the scriptures and our articles do, be depreciating them, we depreciate them, and not otherwise. But if any Calvinists exclude them from their' system, or do not allow them their due importance; or if they speak of them in language really depreciating, (for this is sometimes done,) the blame rests with the offending individuals: for this is no part of our system. Whether our language, on the subject be inconsistent or not, others will judge. But though we hold good works essentially necessary to salvation, when time is given for performing them: we cannot allow them to be properly a condition of salvation; and must think ourselves fully authorized to avoid this unscriptural expression. We evidently adhere to the language of Scripture, and to that of our authorized books, from which our opponents undeniably deviate. "Being

"created in Christ Jesus unto good works;" we consider the inclination and ability to love and perform good works, as an essential part of our salvation; we would therefore give thanks to the Father, who hath made "us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the "saints in light;" and we would reflect with lively gratitude on his love, who "gave himself for us, to redeem "us from all iniquity, and to purify us unto himself a

peculiar people zealous of good works."*-Health is essential to our enjoyment of life, so that without it we can enjoy nothing:-we thank God for giving us health; but it would be absurd to call health a condition of our enjoyment.

P. clxxxiii. 1. 2. If, &c.'t They, who consider

* Col. i. 12. Tit. ii. 14.

If the endeavour to maintain such a distinction as this does not deserve