departing from him; that we ought to work out our falvation with fear and trembling, and to pass the time of our fojourning here in fear; and that happy is the man that feareth always with the fear of caution, which ren ders him more watchful against fin." To which I reply, That a well-grounded peace is, indeed, the fruit of righteoufnefs; but not of our own, which is polluted and im perfect, but of Chrift's; for, being justified by faith in his righteousness, which for ever fecures from all condemnation, we have peace with God through our Lord Jefus Christ True peace and comfort do not arife from the teftimony of confcience, which, being thought to be upright, fpeaks a false peace; but from the blood of Chrift, by which the heart is fprinkled from an evil confcience; and tho' then have we confidence towards God, when our hearts do not condemn us; yet our confidence in him does. not arife from the non-condemnation of our hearts, but from the freedom from condemnation, which we apprehend we have through the blood, righteoufnefs and facrifice of the Son of God. The fear, which the fcriptures referred to, fpeak of, is not a fear and dread of falling from a state of grace, and into hell-fire and everlasting damnation; but an holy, filial, reverential 9 Rom. v. I. Part III. r Heb. X. 22. R fear fear of the divine Majefty, which is confiftent with an humble dependence upon him, ftrong confidence in him, full affurance of his favour, and of final perfeverance in grace. 2. It is objected 'more particularly, "That a doctrine is not therefore true, because it is comfortable, if it be liable to just exceptions on other accounts; for very comfortable was the doctrine of the Rabbies to the Jews; of Simon Magus, and the Valentinians, to their followers; and of Antinomians, and other Solifidians to men of carnal minds; but very oppofite to, and deftructive of the doctrine which is according to Godliness." I reply; As to the doctrine of the Jewish Rabbies, Simon Magus, and the Valentinians, I have nothing to fay in the defence of; but as to those who are reproachfully called Antinomians and Solifidians, who, with the apoftle, affert, That a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law ; I know of no doctrines they hold which are oppofite to, and deftructive of that which is according to godlinefs. However, let it be obferved, that our argument does not proceed upon the comfortablenefs of the doctrine we plead for, but upon the uncomfortableness of the oppofite to it; for tho' a doctrine may not be true, which is seemingly comfortable to a carnal mind; yet that whitby, p. 483. Ed. 2. 462. Rom. iii. 28. doctrine doctrine is certainly not true, which is really uncomfortable to a fanctified heart, or which manifeftly breaks in upon the true peace and comfort of a believer, as the doc trine of the faints falling away from grace evidently does. 4 3. It is faid", "That a poffibility of falling into a very great evil, tho' it be fuch an one into which I fee daily others fall, and to which I may. be obnoxious, creates no trouble or anxiety to any man, provided he knows he cannot fall into it, unle he will and chufeth fo to do; and unless he acts contrary to all the rules of reafon and difcretion, and the strongest motives and fuffi cient means vouchfafed to avoid it." I anfwer, That if the evil is of fuch a nature, as threatens at once an entire deprivation of the grace of God, and a total and final apoftacy from him, of which there is a poffibility of a man's falling into, which he' fees others fall into, and he himself is obnoxious to; it must needs create great trouble and anxiety in one fenfible of the weakness of human nature, the ftrength of temptation, and the infufficiency of moral fuafion; if his prefervation from it depends upon his own fickle and mutable will, and the power of it, and his conformity to the rules of reafon and difcretion, under the influence of that; notwithstanding all the motives and "Whitby, p. 483, 484. Ed. 2. 462, 463. R 2 means means vouchfafed to avoid it: whereas, on the other hand, tho' there is a poffibility of falling into fuch an evil, thro' the corruption of nature, and the temptation of fatan; yet if prefervation from it is fecured by the power of God, which is promised to be engaged, and is engaged for that purpose, it creates no trouble and anxiety; tho' it puts a man upon the diligent ufe of those means, which, by the will of God, are fignified to him, and which the power of God makes use of to that end. 4. It is obferved, That this doctrine of the impoffibility of faints falling finally from grace, cannot be truly comfortable, for two fignal reafons". (1.) Because tho' it seems comfortable to a man, who thinks himself a good Chriftian, to believe he ever fhall continue fo; yet the reverse of this doctrine is as uncomfortable, viz. That he who does not fo continue to the end, let him have been never so fruitful in the works of righteousness, or in the labour of love, or in religious duties, or in a zeal for God and goodnefs, was never better than an hypocrite." To which may be replied; it is certain that fuch who have made a profeffion of religion, and drop it, and do not continue to the end, appear to be hypocrites, formal profeffors, and fuch * Whitby, p. 483, 484. Ed. 2. 462, 463. who who never received the grace of God in truth; yet it will not be eafy to prove that ever any, fruitful in the works of righteousness, which I think a man cannot be without the grace of God, did not continue to the end, or ever proved an hypocrite: nor has fuch an one, who acts from an internal principle of grace, any reafon to doubt either of his fincerity, or of his continuance in the way of righteoufnefs; for tho' he cannot prove the truth of his faith by better works than an hypocrite may do in fhew; yet he is confcious to himself of inward principles of love to God, and regard to his glory, from whence he acts, which an hypocrite is an utter ftranger to. It is, indeed, uncomfortable for a man to doubt either of his fincerity, or of his continuance in the way of righteoufnefs, and a true believer may be left to doubt of both, and yet his final perfeverance be certain; which does not depend upon his frames, but the power of God, the confideration of which may yield him relief and comfort, when the contrary doctrine muf be diftreffing. (2.) "Let men hold what doctrines they pleafe, yet, as it is with them who question Providence and a future Judgment, their impious perfuafions cannot remove their fears, arifing from the dictates of a natural confcience; so neither can mens theologi cal perfuafions remove the fears and doubtR 3 ings, |
