Children of God, and yet not distinguished from the Devil by it; and that we are faved by it, and not faved by it; that we are juftified by it without Works; and are not justified by this alone without Works? If these are not fome of the highest Contradictions, I know not what in the World either is or can be fo. The Confequence therefore is inevitable; either that thefe contrary Characters and Accounts of Faith cannot be both true, or else that it is a different Faith which thefe Apostles fpeak of. You dare not affume the former of these Confequences, and therefore must allow the latter to be neceffarily true. You must allow it to be true, that Paul speaks of one Kind of Faith, and James of another-And what Argument can now be fairly drawn from this Difcourfe of the Apostle James, but this only, that a lifelefs, fruitless, unoperative Faith won't justify or fave us? And who but fenfual Libertines ever thought that it would?-If you fuppofe James to be here fpeaking of a true lively Faith, you must fuppofe him to contradict, not only the Apostle Paul, but our blessed Lord himself, and the Holy Ghoft, in Multitudes of plain and exprefs Paffages of Scripture, which are every where difperfed through the Bible, that afcribe our Juftification before God to Faith only. Here then the controverfy is brought to a Point. And what Conclufion will you now come into? Is it not Time to give up your Scheme, and ingenuously acknowledge, that as the Apostle James is here faying nothing to the fubject before us, there can nothing be inferred from what he fays against the Doctrine which you oppofe?

It is alfo further evident, that the Apostle James, in the Context referred to, is faying nothing con trary to the Doctrine fo conftantly taught by the Apostle Paul, of our being juftij.ed before God by

Faith alone, without the Deeds of the Law, nor any Thing in favour of our Juftification before God by our own Works; this, I fay, is further evident; becaufe he is not there treating of Juftification, as it is the Relief of a guilty World, and imports the Acceptance of our Perfons before God; nor is he faying any Thing at all about this, one Way or another : But he is treating of the Juftification of our Faith, or Demonstration of the Sincerity of our Profeffion, by its proper Evidences; which Juftification, he fhews us, is by Works. Whereas the Apoftle Paul is always treating only of Juftification as it is the Relief of an awakened Sinner, and imports the Acceptance of our Perfon, when he tells us, that we are juftified by Faith without Works. I have formerly fhewn you, that though the Word Juftification (in its general Notion) has always an unvaried Meaning, and uniform Signification in Scripture, yet it is frequently applied in both these Respects. It is indeed most usually to be understood for the Acceptation of our Perfons with God, and respects our Interest in his Favour; but it fometimes alfo intends a Vindication of our Character as Believers, and fuch a Manifestation of the Sincerity of our Faith and Profeffion, by the neceffary practical Evidences, as will give them a just Estimation and Acceptance with our own Confciences, or with our Fellow-creatures. Thus the Word is ufed, Deut. xxv. 1. Job. xxxiii. 32. Luke vii. 35. Rom. iii. 4. and elsewhere. And I am now to fhew you, that the Apostle Paul underftands the Word in the former of thefe Senfes, but the Apostle James in the latter.

By Juftification the Apoftle Paul intends the Remiffion of Sins. Rom. iii. 25. Our receiving the Gift of Righteousness. Rom. v. 17. And our being

intitled.

intitled thereby to Grace here, and Glory hereafter, Rom. v. 1, 2.

But by Juftification the Apostle James intends no more than the approving ourselves found Believers, evidencing the Sincerity of our Faith, or manifefting the Truth of our Profeffion, and fo the Safety of our State. If this appears to be fo, upon a particular Examination of the Cafe, you muft own, that there is no Place for any Argument in favour of your Scheme from this Context. -Let us then confider this matter diftinctly and impartially.

It may be prefumed, that the Apostle James is not treating of the Juftification of our Perfons in the Sight of God, in that there is not one Character of fuch Juftification to be seen in his whole Dif courfe. There is nothing fpoken about our obtaining Pardon of Sin; nothing of our Perfons being made righteous in the Sight of God; nothing of our being intitled to future Glory, by the Works unto which our Juftification is afcribed. No more can therefore be proved from this Apostle, but that we are in some respect justified by Works; yet not fo juftified as to obtain Remiffion of Sins, and Reconciliation to God, or to be intitled to an Inheritance in the future Glory by our Works. For of thefe Things, or of any Thing elfe which implies them, he fays nothing at all. But this may be more fully and clearly evinced by the following Confiderations:

It is evident, in the first Place, from the Occafion of this Difcourfe, as it is reprefented to us in the first fixteen Verfes of this Chapter. They profeffed Faith in the Lord Jefus Chrift, the Lord of Glory, and yet hath respect of Perfons, making a criminal Diftinction between the Rich and the Poor, of the fame Christian Faith and Profeffion with them

themselves, as appears from the four first Verses of the Chapter. They defpifed the Poor, and thereby violated that Royal Law, thou fhalt love thy Neighbour as thyfelf. Ver. 6. 8. They refpected Perfons; they committed Sins, and were convinced of the Law as Tranfgreffors. Ver. 9. They expofed themselves to have Judgment without Mercy, if they thus fhewed no Mercy. Ver. 13.-And would fuch as thefe pretend to Faith in the Lord Jefus Chrift? What doth it profit, if a Man fay, that be hath Faith, but hath not Works? Can that Faith fave him? What Profit can that Faith be to them which leaves them fo uncharitable and unmerciful, that they can fee a Brother or Sister naked, or deftitute of daily Food, and only fay to them, Depart in Peace, be ye warmed and filled: But notwithflanding they give them not thofe Things which are needful to the Body. Ver. 14, 15, 16.—This is plainly the Occafion of this Discourse. They pretended to Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; but brought forth Fruit quite contrary to their Preten. fions. How then could they justify their Pretenfions? how could they justify their Profeflion of Faith against the Charge of Hypocrify, and prove it to be fincere and faving? They could never, in this Senfe, be juftified any Way, but in that of Evidence by a Life correfpondent to their Profeffion. Their Faith must be juftified or evidenced by their Works. I may allude to that, Ifai. xliii. 9. Let them bring forth their Witnesses, that they may be juftified. Otherways let them pretend what they would to Faith, while they lived without brotherly Love and good Works, it was but an empty Pretence, and their Profeffion wanted the proper Witneffes to justify it. Thus the Argument is natural and eafy; and the Conclufion neceffarily follows. -But then, on the other Hand, if we confider Juftification as meaning our Reconciliation to God,

and

and our perfonal Acceptance with him, the Apostle's Argument will appear very lame and defective, and the Conclufion will never follow from the Premises. For it will by no Means follow, because a lifeless, fruitless Faith, deftitute of Mercy and Obedience to the Royal Law of Love, will not justify us before God, that therefore good Works in Truth will ju ftify us before God. It will by no Means follow, because we cannot be accepted of God and faved by a falfe and unfincere Profeffion of Faith, that therefore we can be accepted of God and faved, by fuch Obedience as we are capable to perform.The Inference is therefore neceffary, that the Apoftle must be fo understood, as will fecure the Connection of his Discourse, and the Force of his Argument; which cannot be done if we confider him as fpeaking of Juftification in any other Senfe than that which I am now pleading for.

Further, that the Juftification here treated of is the Juftification of our Faith and Sincerity, but not of our Perfons, is evident likeways from the Confequence the Apostle draws from the foregoing Premifes, which he undertakes to prove and vindicate in the following Verfes; which is, Even fo Faith, if it hath not Works, is dead, being alone. Ver. 17. This is the Point which he undertakes to prove; and accordingly this is the Conclufion of the whole, when he has finished his Reafoning on the Subject. For as the Body without the Spirit is dead, fo Faith without Works is dead alfo. Ver. 26. As a breathless, fpiritle's Corpfe, that cannot act or move, is evidently dead; fo a fpeculative Belief, that does not influence a Man's Life and Actions is evidently dead: A dead Thing in itself argues a dead Soul, and is dead as to the Purposes and Offices of Gospel Faith.-We muft therefore understand all the Arguments here used to refer to this Point only. They are all brought

to