oufness, cannot juftify us confiftently with the rectoral holiness of God.

I may add, it cannot be agreeable to the truth of God that we should be juftified by any righteousness which will not fully anfwer the demands of the moral law. God has pronounced every one curfed, who continues not in all things written in the book of the law, to do them. If therefore we have not a full conformity to all things written in the book of the law, if we have not a perfect obedience to its precepts, nor a full fatisfaction for the violation of them to plead in our favour, then either we must lie under the curfe, or God must break his word. The latter you dare not suppose; and the former is, in its nature, abfolutely inconfiftent with our juftification.

I know of but one anfwer, that can with any colour of reafon be made to thefe arguments; and that is, that Chrift's fulfilling the law for us is our legal righteousness; as freeing us from the rigorous demands, and from the curfes of the moral law: But that our faith, including fincere obedience in its nature, is our evangelical righteousness, whereby we ourselves perfonally fulfil the gospel, and are hereby juftified before God. According to this diftinction, Chrift's righteousness is the matter or ground of our juftification, taken negatively, as it lies in abfolving us from the curfe of the law, and declaring our fins forgiven; but our own righteoufnefs is the matter or ground of our juftification, confidered pofitively, as it lies in pronouncing us righteous, and fo entitled to the bleffing.-Now the leaft that can be faid against this notion, is, that it eclipfes the honour of Chrift, as the Lord our Righteoufness, and leaves man whereof to glory.-But the confideration of this will of course bring me to the laft thing I proposed in answer to your objection.

If your own conftruction of thofe paffages in the fourth chapter to the Romans were granted, and faith, as including evangelical obedience in it, is imputed to us for righteousness, yet this would make nothing against our juftification by the imputed righteousness of Chrift. For allowing that faith be our perfonal evangelical righteousness, and that as fuch it will justify us, or render us acceptable to God as far as it goes, we muft yet have Chrift's righteoufnefs imputed to us, or elfe lie under the curfe of the moral law, as I have already proved.

If faith, including fincere obedience in it, be imputed to us for righteousness, this our perfonal righteousness must be imputed to us; not for what it is not, but for what in truth it is; that is, an imperfect righteousness. God cannot judge that to be perfect, which is really imperfect; for his judgment ever is according to truth: And a weak, imperfect faith (as that of the beft is) cannot conftitute a perfect righteoufnefs.Whence it follows, that we cannot on account of this our perfonal righteoufnefs be effectually and thoroughly juftified; we cannot be perfectly acquitted from guilt and condemnation; we cannot be entitled to complete happiness and eternal life, by virtue of our own righteousness; and therefore it is of the last neceffity that we have fome other and better righteoufnefs, even a perfect one, to plead; or elfe we must perish eternally.At leaft, we cannot at prefent be justified on the foot of our own righteoufness, so long as we are in this imperfect ftate, but must wait for juftification of life, as a diftant future benefit, not to be received till we are made perfect in holiness. Whereas, by the whole current of Scripture it appears, that justification is a prefent benefit, taking place in the life which now is. Believers have not a mere promise, that they

Shall

fhall be justified; but fuch are, in the most exprefs terms, reprefented in Scripture as already juftified, as actually pardoned and made accepted in the Beloved, as paffed from death to life, and reinftated in God's fpecial favour; fo that there is now no condemnation to them, but they are now the heirs of falvation.

Thus, Sir, I have given you some of the reafons I have against your Author's interpretation of those paffages in the fourth chapter to the Romans. Many other arguments might be added further to illuftrate the truth; and to refute all pretences of this kind. But I am afraid I have been already too tedious; and I hope, what is already said may prove fufficient for your fatisfaction.

You defire me "to give a brief view of my fen"timents of thofe paffages; and to fhew you, în "what fenfe I understand faith to be imputed to us "for righteoufnefs. You tell me, that you cannot "understand how faith's being imputed to us for righteousness can intend that Chrift's righteousness "is imputed to us."

The common interpretation of these paffages by our Proteftant divines, from the beginning of the Reformation, is, that faith is imputed for righteoufnefs, not fubjectively, or as it is an act of our own, and our own perfonal righteousnefs; but objectively, or as it hath respect to its object, and apprehends the righteousness of Chrift; that is, as faith is the band of union between Chrift and the foul, and interests us in him, and his justifying righteousness, it is imputed to us for righteoufnefs: Thus, it is the righteoufnefs of faith, as faith is the term or mean of our intereft in Chrift's righteoufnefs: And yet it is the righteousness of Chrift, as he was the immediate fubject and author of it, or as it was wrought out by him.-Our faith is in a like manner faid to be

the

the faith of Jefus Chrift, (Rom. iii. 22.), as Christ's righteousness is here faid to be the righteousness of faith. Our faith is not called the faith of Chrift, as it is his perfonal act, (Chrift does not believe for us), but as it receives the Lord Jefus Chrift, and gives us an interest in him. Nor is our faith our righteoufnefs, as it is our perfonal act, (our faith has not fulfilled the law, nor anfwered the demands of vindictive juftice), but itfis our righteoufnefs, as it interefts us in what Christ hath done and fuffered for us, whereby the law is fulfilled, and justice satisfied. In the former cafe the object is put for the act; the faith of Chrift, for believing in Chrift.-And there can no reafon be given, why with the fame propriety, in the latter cafe, the act may not be put for the object; the righteousness of faith, for righte oufnefs by or through faith; and why faith may not be counted for the righteousness obtained by believing. It is remarkable, that the Apostle expressly fpeaks of faith in this view, every where else befides this context; and therefore he ought to be here also understood in this sense, to make his doctrine confiftent. In this sense, faith is our juftifying righteoufnefs, as a condemned malefactor's accepting his Prince's pardon is his deliverance from execution or as a beggar's accepting an alms is his preservative from ftarving. As in these cafes it is not the act of receiving, but the benefit received, that is the preservation; fo in that cafe it is not the act of receiving Chrift, but the benefit received by faith, that is the believer's righteousness.

"

But you cannot understand how faith's being imputed to us for righteousness, can intend that "Chrift's righteousness is imputed to us."-Well then, let it be even fuppofed, that faith is here taken fubjectively; and that it was Abraham's faith itself, confidered as an act of his own, that was im

puted

;

puted to him. It may notwithstanding be fet in fuch a view, as will fecure the truth of the doctrine I am pleading for, if the text be confidered as it is in the original. His faith was imputed UNTO righteoufnefs, (eis dixadoun), That is, as he was reckoned, judged or esteemed of God to be a found believer; fo the faith which was imputed or reckoned to him was unto righteoufnefs; was inftrumental to his attaining of righteoufnefs; was the means, that, by the righteousness of One, the free gift came upon him, unto juftification of life; or, in other words, was the means of his intereft in that righte oufness of Chrift, by which he was juftified. In this fenfe, the imputation refpects his faith, and intends an approbation and acknowledgment of it as true and fincere, and effectual to its proper purposes. He was approved of God, as having a true and found faith, a faith effectual, as an applying means unto righteousness, and thereby unto juftification; a faith, which interested him in Chrift and his righteoufness, and thereby intitled him unto acceptance with God, and eternal life.--He was judged to be such a believer as to have a right, according to the terms of the covenant of grace, to have righteoufnefs imputed to him, without works, as it is expreffed in ver. 6.-According to this view of the cafe, imputation is confidered in this context in both fenfes before explained. Abraham was reckoned or efteemed a true believer; in confequence whereof, a justifying righteoufnefs was imputed to him, even the righteoufnefs of God without the law.

I think, I have before fufficiently proved to you, that we are justified by the righteousness of Chrift received by faith, and cannot be juftified by any perfonal inherent righteoufness of our own. This has been illuftrated from the nature of things, and confirmed by full and plain Scripture teftimony;

and