Rom. x. 10. SER M. with his mouth the Lord Jefus to be the Son of God; and VII. in his heart believes that God raised him from the dead, fhall be faved. Laftly, being juftified; for, St. Paul adjoins, a man believeth (in the manner before mentioned) to righteoufnefs; and with the mouth confeffion is made to falvation. So we fee, that the chief of those excellent benefits, to the procuring of which faith (however understood) is any wife conducible, or requifite, do belong to the perfuafion concerning evangelical truths. We may also obferve in the hiftory concerning our Lord, and his Apoftles' proceedings toward perfons, whom they had converted to Christianity, and did admit to a participation of the privileges thereof, that no other faith was by them required in order thereto : upon fuch a perfuafion appearing, they received them into the church, baptized them, pronounced unto them an abfolution from their fins, and a reception into God's favour. This was the faith of Martha, which gave her inJohn xi. 26. tereft in the promise of eternal life: Every one (faid our Saviour to her) living, and believing in me, fhall never die: Doft thou believe this? She faith unto him, Yes, Lord, I have believed that thou art the Chrift, the Son of God, which should come into the world. This was the faith, for which our Saviour commends St. Peter, Matt. xvi. and pronounces him happy. Upon appearance of this faith, St. Peter baptized and admitted into the church, the three thousand perfons whom he had John vi. 69. converted. (Then, fays the text, they who gladly (or ἀποδεξάμενοι Willingly) received his word (that is, were perfuaded Ayor of the truth of that doctrine, which is before fet A&ts ii. 41. down concerning our Lord) were baptized; and the A&ts viii. fame day were added (to the church) about three thou 16, 17. 12. fand fouls.) Upon the like faith the Samaritans were baptized, (ὅταν ἐπίσευσαν τῷ Φιλίππῳ, when they gave credence to Philip's doctrine.) And upon the fame account did the fame Evangelift fay it was lawful to Ats viii. baptize the Eunuch, and accordingly did perform it: If, faith Philip, thou believeft with thy whole heart, it is 37, 38. lawful, Acts xvi. xvii. 11, 12. lawful, (or thou mayeft be baptized.) He anfwering s ER M. faid, I believe that Jefus Chrift is the Son of God. So he VII. baptized him. This was the faith, upon which St. Paul. baptized Lydia, when she had yielded affent unto (10 14, 15. προσέχειν doth import in the Acts; not only προσέχειν V to yield attention, but goriyev is to give affent unto) the things Spoken by St. Paul. Thus alfo of those Jews in another place of the Acts, when St. Paul had A&s xvii. opened, and alledged, out of the Scriptures, that Chrift 3,4 was to fuffer, and to rife again from the dead, and that Jefus was the Chrift, it is faid, τινὲς ἐξ αὐτῶν ἐπείσθησαν xai spocenλngwInoav, were perfuaded, and conforted with Paul and Silas, (that is, were received into Chriftian communion with them.) The fame is intimated in Acts ix. 20. other paffages of the apoftolical history; by all which xvi: 32. it appears, that the Apostles' method was to declare and inculcate the main points of the Chriftian history and doctrine, attefting to the one, and proving the other by teftimonies and arguments proper to that purpose; and whoever of their hearers declared himfelf perfuaded of the truth of what they taught, that he did heartily affent thereto, and refolved to profess and practife accordingly, him, without more to do, they presently baptized, and inftated him in the privileges appertaining to Chriftianity; or (in St. Paul's language) did juftify them, according to their fubordinate manner, as the minifters of God. And thus did the primitive church practife after the Apoftles; as Juftin the Martyr fully relates of it:-o v πσθῶσι, καὶ πιςεύωσιν ἀληθῆ ταῦτα τὰ ὑφ ̓ ἡμῶν διδασκόμενα, καὶ λεγόμενα εἶναι, καὶ ποιεῖν ὅτως δύνασθαι ὑπισχῶνται, &c.-ἄγονται ὑφ ̓ ἡμῖν ἔνθα ὕδωρ ἐςὶ, καὶ τρόπον ἀναγεννή σεως, ὃν καὶ ἡμεῖς αὐτοὶ ἀνεγεννήθημεν, ἀναγεννῶναι Αροί. 2. Whoever, faith he, are perfuaded, and do believe thefe things by us taught, and Jaid to be true, and undertake that they can live fo according to them;—are brought thither, where water is, and are regenerated after the fame manner as we have been regenerated. I farther add, that even this faith is expreffed to be the effect of 17. 2 Cor. iv. 6. SBR M. of divine grace and infpiration; for when St. Peter VII. had confeffed that Jefus was the Chrift, the Son of the living God, our Saviour tells him, that flesh and blood Matt. xvi. had not revealed that unto him, but his Father in hea1 Cor. xii. ven; and, No man, St. Paul tells us, can call Jefus 3. ii. 10. Lord, but by the Holy Ghoft: and, Every Spirit, which 2 Pet. i. 19. confeffeth Jefus Chrift to have been come in the flesh, is of 1 John iv. 2. God, faith St. John. So that even this is a faith, in respect to which the Holy Ghoft is called the Spirit 2 Cor. iv. of faith, which is the fruit of the Spirit, and the gift Gal. v. 22. of God; that which no man can have without God's Phil. i. 29. drawing him, and teaching him; No man can come John vi. 44, unto me, except the Father, that hath fent me, fhall draw (Eph. i. 17, 18.) 13. Eph. ii. 8. 45. Acts xvi. 14. him (ixxúσn duróv.) Every one that hath heard from the Father, and hath learned, cometh unto me: to which it is ordinarily required, that God should open the heart, as he did Lydia's heart, to attend and affent unto what St. Paul taught: neither doth the Scripture, as I conceive, attribute any thing unto faith, which doth not agree to this notion. We might laftly adjoin, that this was the common and current notion of faith among the ancient Chriftians; neither do we, I fuppofe, meet with any other in their writings; all which things do abundantly confirm the truth thereof. 5. But I muft farther obferve particularly, (in correfpondence to what was before more generally obferved,) that this faith doth not only denote precifely and abftractedly fuch acts of mind, fuch opinions and perfuafions concerning the truth of matters fpecified, but doth alfo connote band imply (indeed comprehend according to the meaning of those who use the word) fuch acts of will, as, fuppofing those perfuafions to be real and complete, are naturally. b Salv. de Provid. iv. 1. Cum hoc fit hominis Chriftiani fides, fideliter Chrifti mandata fervare, fit abfque dubio, ut nec fidem habeat qui infidelis eft, nec Chriftum credat, qui Christi mandata conculcat, &c. confequent Vid. A&tsix. 35. xiv. 15. xxvi. 18. A&ts v. 3 32. vi. 17. xvi. 16. 13. confequent upon them, and are in a manner neceffa- S E R M. rily coherent with them; a firm refolution con- VII. ftantly to profefs and adhere unto the doctrine, of which a man is fo perfuaded; to obey all the laws and precepts, which it contains; forfaking in open profeffion, and in real practices, all principles, rules, cuftoms inconfiftent with thofe doctrines and laws; that which is called converfion, or returning to the Lord, (that is, leaving a courfe of rebellion, and difobedience to thofe laws, which the Lord in the Gospel commands, and refolvedly betaking themselves to the obfervance of them,) πολύς τε ὄχλος πιςεύσας ἐπέ- Αθς xi. 21. speßev izì tòv Kúpiov, a great multitude, it is faid, believing did return unto the Lord; their faith did carry with it fuch a converfion. Hence this faith is ftyled Jag Oe, to obey God's command; inaxy τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ, to obey the Gopel; ὑπακέειν τῇ πίσει, το obey the faith ; υποταγὴ τῆς ὁμολογίας εἰς τὸ εὐαγγέλιον, 2 Cor. ix. (fubjection of profeffing the Gospel of Chrift,) with purpose as xi. 23. of heart to adhere unto God; ftipulation of a good con- 1 Pet. iii. fcience toward God, (that which St. Peter intimates, as a neceffary concomitant of baptism, it being a fincere undertaking, and engaging one's felf to obey God's commandments;) in fine, to repent; which is either adequately the fame thing with faith, or included therein, according to the apoftolical meaning of the word; for that remiffion of fins, which is sometime made the consequent of faith, is otherwhere expressly annexed to repentance: the fum of the Gospel our Saviour himself expreffes by the preaching in his name repentance, and remiffion of fins in all nations: and, Luke xxiv. Repent, (St. Peter preached,) and let every one of you As ii. 38. be baptized: and, Repent, (faid he again,) and return, iii. 19. xvii, that your fins may be blotted out: and, Then to the Gen 30. xi. 18. tiles (fay thofe in the Acts) hath God given repentance unto life; which fignifies the fame with that other expreffion concerning the fame perfons, God's having A&s xv. 9. purified their hearts by faith; in which places I take repentance to import the fame thing with faith; being VOL. I. K in 21. 47. 37. Heb. x. 22, 12. Thef. i. 5. ii. 5, 7. iv. 12. 7. 26. Matt. xiv. SER M. in effect nothing elfe, but fincere embracing Chriftian VII. religion. Now the word faith is thus extended (beyond its natural and primary force) to comprehend fuch a compliance of will, or purpose of obedience, because this doth naturally arife from a perfuafion concerning the truth of the Gospel, if it be real and ftrong enough, in that degree, which Christianity requires, and fuppofes to the effects mentioned in the Rom. x. 9. Gofpel; if it be iv T xapdía, in the heart, (or a hearty faith,) as St. Paul fpeaks; if it be fuch as Philip exActs viii. acts of the Eunuch, a belief i dans τns nagdías, from the whole heart; if it have that due plerophory, that 23. vi. 11, ftability, that folidity, which the Apostles fpeak of; for a weak, faint, flight, ill-grounded, ill-rooted opiCol. i. 23. nion concerning the truth of the Gofpel, (such as those in another cafe had, whom our Saviour re2 Cor. viii. buked with a rí dunoi ise, óλiyóπ1501; why are ye fearMatt. viii. ful, Oye fmall in faith? fuch as St. Peter had, when our Saviour faid to him, ὀλιγόπισε, εἰς τί ἐδίσασας; Ο thou of fmall faith, why didft thou doubt? which faith could Matt. xiii. not keep them nor him from finking; not fuch as thofe had, who heard the word, and gladly received it; but wanted root, fo that, when perfecution or affliction did arife for the word, they were prefently fcandalized; not fuch a faith as thofe many rulers had, who are faid to have believed in Jefus, but for fear of the Pharifees did not confefs him; not fuch as Simon Magus had, who is faid to have believed Philip, but to no good effect, because his heart was not right before God; he having not thoroughly refolved to obey the Gospel; not fuch as Agrippa had, whom St. Paul had almoft perfuaded to be a Chriftian)-these forts of faith are, in comparison to that we fpeak of, but equivocally fo called it includes a firm refolution to perform carefully all the duties enjoined to Chriftians, to undergo patiently all the croffes incident to Chriftianity; it is the fame with becoming a disciple of Chrift, which a man cannot be without renouncing all other interefts Matt. x. 38. and concernments, without denying one's felf, forfaking 31. 20. John xii. 42. A&ts viii. 12, 21. Acts xxvi. 28. zi. 29. all |