being "without natural affection:" asopres son meaning instinctive kindness. From these two instances it appears, that even the Gentiles, "who changed the truth of God into a lie," were not naturally reprobate; that they might have retained God in their knowledge had they chosen, and that affection was a principle of their nature; and therefore other virtuous qualities.

EPHES. ii. 3. And were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

Not by natural or inherited sin, but by actual and acquired sin, transforming the disposition; for the manner of their being the children of wrath, or creatures deserving of wrath, is explained in the context, by "being dead in trespasses," and "in time past walking according to the course of this world." Nor has the word "children" any reference to "posterity," as if the children of Adam and inheritors of his sin were meant. We meet with "children of light," "children of promise," "children of disobedience."

Paul in another place observes, Rom, ii, 14, "When the Gentiles which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these having not the law, are a law unto themselves." It is then evident that they can by nature do the things contained in the law. The passage, Eccles, vii. 29, "God hath made man upright, but they have sought out many inventions," is a direct refutation of original or inherent sinfulness.

GEN. XV. 6. And he [Abraham] believed in the LORD, and he counted it to him for righteousness.

These words are understood to mean that God imputed to Abraham Christ's righteousness, because of his faith in the vicarious merit of Christ. For this there is not a shadow of foundation. It is not even the promise of Christ that is directly in question. The promise which Abraham is here

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stated as believing, was that which is described as against hope," that he should yet in his old age have a son, and that his seed should be like the stars of heaven for number. The promise of one from his seed, "in whom all the generations of the earth should be blessed," was given on a different occasion, in reward for Abraham's obedience in offering up Isaac. Gen. xxii. 18, "And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because thou hast obeyed my voice." A reward of Abraham's righteousness IN ACT.

The Scripture teaches, that "all men have sinned and come short of the glory of God," and that the works of our imperfect righteousness are not in themselves CLAIMS to the favour of God: for that GOD SAVED us, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his MERCY,' Rom. iv. 2, "If Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not before GOD.”

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Paul, however, explains the "counting for righteousness," not by Abraham's having no righteousness in himself, or by human righteousness being altogether worthless because imperfect, but by God's choosing that his favour should be FREE: not in reward of special works of righteousness, but of his free bounty. Rom. iv. 4, "To him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on HIM that justifieth the ungodly [not Christ, but GOD] his faith is counted for righteousness.' Of what faith Paul speaks is shown from the same chapter, ver. 18, 21, 22, "Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations. Being fully persuaded that what HE had promised he was able to perform, and therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness." What was imputed? The righteousness of Christ through faith? No-but the strength of belief in the promises of God: ver. 24, 25, "To

us also it shall be imputed, if we believe on HIM that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification."

This is the same faith imputed to Abraham as righteousness: it is not, therefore, a faith in the vicarious merit of Jesus, but in the promise of God, who raised him from the dead. Jesus, in being obedient to death, came under the "condemnation which passed on all men, even upon those who had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression." He was therefore "made sin for us:" not instead of us, but for our sake or benefit; and was thus "delivered for our offences;" and he was raised, that God in his risen Son might declare us justified, both by our reprieve through the mortal judgment passed on sin, and from the influential effect of the resurrection, the dying to sin and living to righteousness. In Rom. v. 19, "As by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners [subject to the mortal penalty of sin], so by the obedience of one [to the death of the cross] shall many be made righteous." That is, they were sinners by imputed sin, and righteous by imputed righteousness, in the sense of being in the state of sinners under the condemnation of death, and being in the state of righteous persons under the immortality revealed in Christ's resurrection; and in this sense, not in that of Christ's blood pacifying God, it is said, Col. i. 14, "In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins;" and Col. i. 20, "And (having made peace through the blood of his cross), by him to reconcile all things to himself, by him, I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven [Gentiles or Jews]." It is God who makes peace, not who is pacified; it is God who reconciles all things to himself, by Christ, not Christ who reconciles God to us; it is by the blood of the cross that we are brought

from under the natural death which was the sentence passed on sin, and from under the spiritual death of unrighteousness, into a state of immortality and spiritual life. Rom. viii. 10, "If Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the spirit is life, because of righteousness.'

JOHN iii. 14, 15. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wil derness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.

They who looked on the brazen serpent, when bitten by asps, were healed and lived. Death, in Genesis, is described as a bruising: the resurrection is therefore healing. "As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive:" 1 Cor. xv. 22. "Because I live, ye shall live also:" John xiv. 19. "If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain: ye are still in your sins [under the curse of death]:"1 Cor. xv. 7. If the "being in their sins" had reference to an expiatory sacrifice in Christ, the Apostle would have said, "If Christ hath not died;" but the reference is to his "resurrection."

EPHES. ii. 8, 9, 10. By GRACE are ye saved, through faith; not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are HIS workmanship, CREATED in Christ Jesus unto good works.

This is so far from being corroboratory of imputed righteousness and vicarious merit, that it is subversive of them: we are saved by favour, through the same faith in God's declarations which was imputed to Abraham for righteousness, and not a faith in Christ's substituted righteousness. We are saved, like Abraham, of God's FREE bounty, not of debt, nor through the merit of works, which are not our own: since GOD CREATED us to them, by calling us to repentance through Christ Jesus, and setting him forth as our example. The workmanship of righteous persons, or their new creation in holiness, is here ascribed, not to any thing of

vicarious merit in Christ, but to the favour of GOD, who made them new creatures through Christ, his instrument.

Though we have not "wherewith to glory before God in works of which he is the original author, as creating us to them, it is notwithstanding in these works that our being new creatures is shown, and not in the substituted works or merits of Christ. James ii. 14, 21, 23, 24, "What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered his son upon the altar? And the Scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only."

James refers to the same trial of faith as Paul; who, also in Heb. xi. 1, defines faith, "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." The faith, therefore, dwelt upon by Paul and James, has no relation whatever to a belief in vicarious merit or satisfaction for sin, but in the promises of God. Faith in the blood of Christ is faith in the resurrection by which he was declared the Son of God, and by which assurance was given that God by Christ would raise us up also from the dead and judge the hearts of men by 66 THE MAN whom HE HAD ORDAINED." If James had intended to speak of a faith in Christ's imputed righteousness, his opinion would still be at variance with modern orthodoxy; which pronounces that " we are justified by faith ALONE."

The ambiguity of the term works, used sometimes in a ceremonial and sometimes in a moral sense, is one strong hold of Antinomianism.