THE CHRISTIAN INVESTIGATOR, AND EVANGELICAL REFORMER; For the Promotion of sound Religious Knowledge, and the Inculcation of Temperance and Peace, and of the whole Religion of Christ. No. 2. AUGUST 7, 1841. VOL. 1. THE CONDITIONS OF SALVA TION. Our desire, in the present article, is to explain a number of those words and phrases, which are employed in the Sacred Scriptures to express the conditions of our acceptance with God, and of our eternal salvation. The conditions of salvation are expressed in Scripture in a great variety of ways. Our salvation is most frequently represented as depending on faith in Christ, or on obedience to his Gospel. On some occasions our salvation is represented as depending on our receiving Christ, or on our coming to Christ. Then again, in other portions of Scripture we are taught that we cannot be saved unless we are born again, or made new creatures: while in other places our salvation is represented as depending upon our denying ourselves, and taking up our cross; or upon our denying all ungodliness and worldly lusts, and living soberly, righteously, and godly. The minds of some individuals, in reading the Sacred Scriptures, are perplexed with this variety of expression. It appears to them as if the Scriptures were not exactly consistent with themselves; as if they made the salvation of men to depend at one time, on one thing, and at another time, on another thing: and they are at a loss how to proceed so as to make their salvation sure. It is our desire to meet the case of such individuals: it is our wish, by explaining a number of the expressions employed by Scripture in stating the conditions of salvation, to enable them to see clearly what it is that God requires of them. One of the commonest expressions employed in the New Testament to describe the conditions of salvation is that of faith. "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; he that believeth not shall be damned." "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life." "These things are written," saith John, "that ye should believe that Jesus is the Christ; and that believing ye should have life through him.” 'Being justified by faith," says the Apostle Paul, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Our first endeavour must therefore be, to explain the nature of saving faith to show what that belief in Christ is, on which our salvation is made to depend. 66 That faith by which a man is justified or saved includes three things: 1. A belief of Gospel truth, 2. Submission to Gospel authority, and 3. Reliance upon Gospel promises. The faith by which we are justified and saved includes, in the first place, a belief of Gospel truth. The Gospel reveals to us the character of God, it unfolds the mysteries of his providence, it makes us acquainted with our origin and our nature; it reveals to us the plan of redemption; gives us a view of the Redeemer's character, and a history of his redeeming work; it brings life and immortality to light; placing in the most affecting view the solemn subjects of a future judgment, the resurrection of the dead, the future happiness of the righteous, and the eternal punishment of the wicked. The first part of that faith by which we are saved consists in a belief of those doctrines; in the reception of these doctrines of the Gospel as true. The faith by which we are saved, includes, in the second place-a submission of the soul to Gospel authority. The Gospel is not only a statement of facts and truths, but a system of laws. It not only teaches us what is the character of God, but it requires us to love and serve him: it not only brings to light life and immortality, but teaches us how we ought to live on earth in order to secure eternal life. It requires us to deny ourselves,-to resign the government of ourselves into the hands of God, and no longer to do our own will, but the will of him that formed us. It calls on us to deny ourselves of all ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. It prescribes the whole of our duty, both towards ourselves, our Maker, and our fellow-men. And to submit to the will of God as therein revealed, to yield ourselves to his authority, -to place ourselves under his laws, with the determination to be governed by them, is the second part of true faith, the second step in the way of salvation. Without this, a belief of Gospel truths can avail us nothing. The faith which "availeth" as the Apostle speaketh, the faith which brings salvation, is a "faith which worketh by love,"a faith which destroys our natural selfishness, and awakens in the mind love to God and love to man,faith which sanctifies,-which produces such an effect upon the soul as to bring it into full subjection to the will of God. The Redeemer teaches plainly that no faith can secure our acceptance with God, and our admission into eternal life, but such a faith as leads us to do God's will. "Not every one that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall -a enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my father which is in heaven." Hence also, in concluding his sermon on the Mount, in which he had declared and unfolded the great principles by which God would have mankind to be ruled, he said, "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken to a wise man, which built his house upon a rock; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell and great was the fall of it." And in every case when men, who believed the truth, came to ask the Redeemer what they should do to inherit eternal life, the Redeemer gave them, in effect, the same directions. When persons, who did not yet believe the truth, came to ask what they should do to work the works of God (John vi. 28), Christ said to them, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." when Nicodemus, who already believed Christ to be a teacher come from God, and who, of course, regarded his doctrines as true, came to him, the Saviour spake differently, saying, "Except a man be born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." And when the young man came (Matt. xix. 16.) and asked the Saviour "What good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?" The Saviour answered, "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." And this was his uniform doctrine. But And this was the doctrine of the Apostles. This doctrine is taught by the apostle James, in the second chapter of his Epistle, where he says, with the greatest plainness, "What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith [a belief of the truth], and have not works? Can faith a mere belief of the truth] save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; while at the same time ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well, [so far as thou goest; but it is not enough to salvation, for] the devils also believe and tremble." They not only believe the truth, but their faith has such an effect upon them, as to make them tremble, yet still it secures to them no advantage. And so will it be with you, my friends. If you should believe every fact and every statement of truth recorded in the whole of the Sacred Scriptures, if your belief did not subdue your soul, and bring you into full subjection to the will of God, it could do nothing towards securing your salvation. You may believe; you may be alarmed; you may feel troubled; you may tremble; you may weep; yet all this is nothing unless you also acknowledge the authority of God, and bow yourselves to his will. Your faith may throw you into an agony; may render you unable to sleep by night; and it may hang around you clouds of melancholy gloom by day, but all will be unavailing, without a hearty surrender of the soul to the will of God. Thou must know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead! Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works his faith was made perfect? And then it was -when his faith thus led him to yield obedience to God's commands -that 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. For as the body without the soul is dead, so faith without works is dead also. Hence the Apostle Paul, in his Epistle to the Romans, x. 10., tells us, that with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and that with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. He teaches us that the faith which availeth to our salvation, is a faith that worketh by love, and that nothing can secure the blessings of salvation without a new creature, and keeping the commandments of God. Submission of soul to the will of God, and obedience to a word, entered into the faith of those worthies that are mentioned in the eleventh chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews. In every case, we see a belief of the truth and obedience to the will of God united. We see it in the case of Abel. Abel not only believed what God taught him, but under the influence of this faith, he did what God commanded. Hence the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews says, By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous. The works of Cain were evil, and the works of Abel were righteous; and this was the reason why the sacrifice of Cain was rejected, and the sacrifice of Abel accepted. We see the same principle exemplified in the case of Noah. By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his house; by doing which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. Here the whole process of salvation is seen. God speaks, and foretels a flood; Noah believes, and his belief awakens his fears. Along with the declaration respecting the coming flood, God gives to Noah a direction to prepare an ark, and Noah prepares an ark forthwith! God assures Noah that in so doing he shall be saved; Noah trusts in God, and he is saved accordingly. And so with Moses. By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharoah's daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. Heb. xi. 24. He not only believed what God had said respecting his people, but he resolved to cast in his lot with them, and in obedience to God's will to look for a share of the blessings promised to them. In this same way must a belief in God's truth work upon our hearts, if we would be accepted of God and saved. It must not only excite our hopes and fears, but it must bend our wills; it must lead us to renounce our sins, and to submit our necks to the yoke of Christ. It was in this way that those who first believed the Gospel looked for salvation. Hence, when the inhabitants of Samaria believed the Gospel preached by Philip, as an avowal of their determination to live in newness of life, they were baptized all of them, both men and women. And when the Gospel was preached at Antioch, those who were wishful to be saved, not only believed, but turned to the Lord. Acts xi. 21. And such must be the case with all who would obtain the salvation of the Gospel they must not only be lieve Christ's doctrine, but they must be born again: they must be converted, and become as little children: they must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Jesus Christ. This is the second thing which is included in saving faith. and with this faith, it is impossible that a man should miss of salvation. Some speak of saving faith as if it consisted of only one of those particulars. Some speak of it as consisting in a bare belief and acknowledgment of the truth of the Gospel; others speak of it as if it consisted merely in a sure trust and confidence in Jesus Christ; and others speak as if it did not matter much what a man believed, provided he paid respect to his outward general conduct: but they are all wrong. Those who make faith to consist in nothing more than a bare belief of Gospel truth, are mere opinionists; those who think nothing of importance but attention to the outside duties of religion, are but a kind of Pharisees; while those who make the whole of saving faith to consist in relying on Jesus Christ, are antinomians. If we would be true Christian believers, we must have all these things in one: we must receive the doctrine of the gospel as true; we must submit to its requirements as right; and we must rely with confidence on all its promises of blessings. When a man has gone thus far, when he truly believes the Gospel, and submits his soul to Gospel authority, the next thing is, to rely on Gospel promises. The Gospel not only de- The man who thus believes is clares certain truths, and inculcates saved. He is accepted of God, and certain duties, but also promises nu- if he continues thus to believe, he merous blessings to those who rightly will be saved for ever. Whosoever receive it. It promises pardon of sin, receives the truth, and lives in suband acceptance with God, and adop- jection to the will of God, and tion into God's family: it promises relies on the promises which God the assurance of God's favour, peace has given, shall obtain every blessing of mind, joy in the Holy Ghost, con- of the new and better covenant, both solation in affliction, support and in this world and in the world to comfort in temptation, light to direct come. He will obtain the forgiveour steps in times of doubt and dark- ness of sin; he will be admitted into ness, and strength to enable us to do the family of God; he will be blessand suffer all the will of God. It ed with an assurance of the divine promises the victory over death, a favour; his soul will be transformed resurrection to a better life, and all into the divine image; the love of the glories and pleasures of the eter- God will be shed abroad in his heart; nal world. The third part of the he will have free access to the throne work of faith is to rely on those of grace; he will be delivered from promises, and to expect to receive all the fear of death; he will be dethose blessings at the hands of God. livered from anxiety respecting his These three things-a belief of Gos- earthly lot; he will be delivered pel truth, submission to Gospel au- from the fear of man; he will have thority, and reliance upon Gospel a peace that passeth all understandpromises, make up the whole of ing, and a joy unspeakable and full true saving faith. Nothing can be of glory; he will be enabled to glory added, and nothing can be with- in tribulation; to count it all joy drawn. Without this faith entire, when he falls into divers trials; it is impossible to obtain the salva- he will be blessed with a good hope tion and consolations of the Gospel; of eternal life; and after living in the enjoyment of innumerable blessings on earth, he will be welcomed to the enjoyment of a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory in the world to come. But nothing less will bring salvation to a man that lives under the full light of the Gospel dispensation. However correct a man's notions of Gospel doctrine may be, and however strong his convictions of their truth; all will be of no use to him, unless his soul be brought into subjection to the will of God. And though a man may rely on Christ, and trust in the promises of the Gospel, he will be never the nearer to salvation, if he still clings to his own will, and refuses to give up his soul in humble obedience to the will of God. The man who has not surrendered his soul to the will of God, has no right to rely on Christ; he has no right to claim the promises of the Gospel. To rely on Christ, while our hearts stand out against the will of God, is great presumption. If we would rely on Christ to any purpose, we must both welcome the truths of the Gospel to our hearts, and give up ourselves to God, with a full determination to do all his will. Such is the nature of that faith by which we are saved. It will be seen from the preceding statements, that true saving faith includes the whole of Christianity, and that, in the language of the New Testament, to be saved by faith, is, in effect, the same as to be saved by becoming sincere Christians. We know that the word faith is frequently used in the New Testament to signify simply the belief of the truth, but at other times, it is plainly used to signify the full subjection of the soul to God, and the confident reliance of the soul on Gospel promises. And even when faith is used to signify no more than a mere belief of Gospel doctrine, it is, when used to express the condition of our salvation, frequently accompanied with such expressions as show us that a belief of the truth does not save us, except so far as it produces in our souls subjection or obedience to the will of God. There is not a passage in the whole New Testament to warrant any one to expect salvation by merely believing the Gospel to be true, or by carelessly relying on Jesus Christ; there is not a passage in the whole New Testament to authorize any one to ex pect salvation, who does not believe with such a faith as includes in it the germs, the elements, the soul and substance, of the whole religion of Christ, or which is not of such a character and energy as to renovate the soul and to transform the life. And then it is that faith secures to man the forgiveness of sin, and acceptance with God, when its power is such as to restore man to the spirit of obedience-when its power is such as to destroy self-will, and bring the whole soul into subjection to the obedience of Christ. Receiving Jesus Christ, is exactly the same thing as believing on him. This is manifest from the words of John, in the first chapter of his Gospel. "He came to his own, but his own received him not; but to as many as did receive him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God; even to as many as believed on his name." Here it is plain that receiving Christ, and believing on Christ's name, are used to signify the same thing. And the plain meaning of the words receiving Christ, may make this still more manifest. Christ is a teacher; and to receive him is to place ourselves under his instructions and to receive his lessons. Christ is a king; and to receive him is to acknowledge his authority, and to place ourselves under his government, with the determination to live according to his laws. Christ is a priest, who by his sufferings and death has become a propitiation for our sins, and the author of eternal salvation to all that obey him; and to receive him is to trust in him for the pardon of our sins, and for the bestowment of every blessing needful to our salvation. But this amounts exactly to the same thing as what we have previously stated to be included in saving faith. Receiving Christ as our teacher, is exactly the same as believing the doctrines of the Gospel. Receiving Christ as our king, is the same as submitting our souls to Gospel authority; and receiving Christ as our priest, is the same as relying upon him, or trusting in Gospel promises. And as one part of faith will not save us without the other, so a partial receiving of Christ will not save us. It is not enough to |