priety, that believers are actually redeemed from the curse, when they are still under the curse, and must continue so, until, by a course of sincere persevering obedience, they get themselves acquitted and justified? or, how could our blessed Saviour be made a curse for us, when neither our guilt was imputed to him, nor his sufferings imputed to us? Indeed, he could not be made a curse for us in our stead, when no curse due to us was laid upon him, nor we freed from any curse by his sufferings, without procuring our deliverance, by our own sincere persevering obedience. The time would fail me, should I particularly insist upon all the various representations, by which our redemption through Christ, is held forth in scripture, and show that they are all directly contrary to this modern scheme. I shall mention but an instance or two more. We are said to be justified by his blood and reconciled to God by his death, Rom. 5. 9, 10. But can we be justified by his blood, and yet justified by our own obedience? are we reconciled to God by the death of Christ, and yet not reconciled to God, but by a continued progress of our own obedience? Is it possible the objector dare adventure to attribute that to his own obedience, which is attributed, by the spirit of God, to the blood and death of Christ? Perhaps some may consider all that has been said, to be but a play of words, and that those on both sides of the question, might be easily reconciled, if the subject were fairly represented and thoroughly investigated. But this sentiment must arise from

the greatest inattention to the present discussion. I ask, is there no difference between partaking of a free gift, on no other condition than a thankful acceptance, and having the offer of a favour on the condition of long continued services of very difficult and uncertain performance? Is there no difference between expecting justification from no righteousness of our own, but only from the righteousness of Christ received by faith.; and our supposing this alone, an insufficient foundation, and therefore looking to some righteousness of our own, as the condition of our acceptance with God? The subject has been fairly stated, and the difference is found to be just as great as between any other contradictory propositions. Upon the one hand, Christ himself has performed all the proper conditions of our justification, and freely bestows the benefit on our grateful acceptance. Whereas, on the other, Christ has not performed the conditions of our justification, but only procured for us the privilege to perform them ourselves. Upon the one hand, we are justified on account of Christ's obedience, but on the other, we are justified on account of our own obedience Upon the one side, Christ has merited justification for us, without works; on the other, Christ has merited justification for us by our works. And in fine, upon the one supposal, the first act of saving faith, gives an immediate and continuing interest in the favour of God: but on the other supposal, faith is but the introduction to that life of sincere obe

dience, which is properly the condition of our obtaining and enjoying the divine favour.

But further, this new doctrine contained in the objection, is destruction to a life of practical religion, and so cannot be agreeable to him, who 66 gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself, a peculiar people, zealous of good works." Here, charity urges me to hope that there are some, who adhere to these principles, whose hearts are sounder than their heads, and who evidence by their prayers and their lives, that their dependance, is very different from their profession. I must, nevertheless, insist upon it, that such cannot be truly holy, whose hearts and lives are conformable to the principles I am opposing.

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A holy life must proceed from a principle of holiness; vital actions are not produced but from a source and principle of life. It is necessary that we be first united to Christ, the head of influences and fountain of all holiness, and so be habitually alive to God, before we can actually live to God. All our attainments in religion without a vital principle within, will be but as a carcase without breath.

Whence it follows, that those who depend upon sincere obedience for justification, most be strangers to true holiness. inasmuch as they reject the righteousness of Christ, for that purpose, and the supplies of grace for a life of holiness from that only fountain of life. To seek justification from our sanctification, is to invert the order and method of our salvation. It is to produce the

cause from the effect-to fetch the fountain from the streams. We must be created anew in Christ Jesus unto good works, if we would walk in them. Eph. 2. 10. We must be renewed in the spirit of our mind, if we would put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness, Eph. 4. 23, 24. with many other places in scripture.

Mankind are either the children of God, or the children of the Devil. This distribution divides the whole human race, 1 John 3. 10. Now if we are the children of God, we are already in a justified state, and therefore cannot depend upon our sincere obedience for our justification: but if we are the children of the Devil, we cannot be holy, whatever pretences to sincere obedience we may make. We can conceive of an unjustified child of God, and a holy child of the Devil, with equal propriety. It is, therefore, evident that we can have no sincere obedience, until we are justified and that we cannot live a holy life while we depend upon sincere obedience for jus tification. And as these principles are opposed to a life of holiness, so they must forbid their advocates to expect the renewing and sanctifying influences of the spirit of Christ, and of course be highly destructive to the comfort of a truly religious life. If we thus flatter ourselves with this supposed sincerity, our hopes and fears must at best keep pace with our frames, and our whole life be a dreadful fluctuating between both, with respect to the grand concern before us, so replete with consequences, inconceivable and everlast

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ing; is not this to be "called to the spirit of bondage again to fear? What room can there be, upon this plan, for the spirit of adoption? How can "the spirit witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God?" How can we experience the "sealing of the holy spirit," or "the earnest of our future inheritance ?" How can we have the "full assurance of hope," or how can we "make our calling and election sure?"

But let us suppose the best that can be supposed; granted that we should make a comforting and encouraging progress in a life of sincere obedience; yet how do we know but death may seize us in an unguarded hour, and find us actually playing the hypocrite. In this case, what will become of all our religious duties and all our hopes, and what will become of our souls to all eternity?

Objection 4. "Believers sin daily, in thought word and deed; how then can we suppose that our being once justified by faith, can secure to us a remission of future sins? This evidently opens the flood-gates of licentiousness, in freeing us from a scriptural obligation to good works. We, therefore, consider it more reasonable to believe in a first and second justification. The first of which, consists in God's accepting of us as meet probationers for alvation, upon our full assent to the truth of the gospel, and our being heartily willing to take Christ's yoke upon us, and obey him. And this is the justification of which Paul speaks, that it is by faith without