the cause of enthusiasm, rather than that of Evangelical truth: at the fame time I feel myself bound to do justice to fome other parts of his work, which feem purposely designed to guard against such abuse. But you go on to fay, that Mr. WILBERFORCE, when speaking of faith, (as well as the church of England) always means, that" it is the first radical grace of the Holy Spirit, which takes place in the heart of a finner, and which brings with it pardon, reconciliation, and repentance, and never can exift, without producing the radical fruits of holiness." Page 45. The church of England no where, that I know of, fpeaks the language that you make her and Mr. WILBERFORCE fpeak, in the paffage before us. She no where describes faith (abftractedly taken) as never. exifting, without producing the Evangelical fruits of holinefs. In our liturgy, repentance, faith, and obedience, are represented as diftinct things; and confe quently not fo neceffarily connected, that one may not exift, in fome degree, without the other. In our church catechifm repentance and faith are feparately described; the one implying" the forfaking of fin; the other, the fedfaft belief of the promises of GoD made in the facrament of baptifm." But to these pre liminaries of man's falvation, if they may be fo

called, must be alfo added the fruits of obedience to the holy will and commandments of GOD, which Christians are enabled to bring forth by the affiftance of the Holy Spirit, on the proper use of the means of grace appointed for that purpose. In page 44, you have brought two quotations, one from ST. AUGUSTINE, the other from Bishop BEVERIDGE, to prove in your fenfe, what I venture to say those great men never meant should be proved from them, namely, that good works are the effect of justification, and not the qualification for it. It is unneceffary to detain you on this beaten ground, becaufe, I truft, it has already been made appear, that good works are to be seen in both lights; as the effect of justification, and the qualification for it; as both following after justification in one fenfe, and going before it in another. Good works follow after man's first justification, because man can do no good works, before he is brought acquainted with the principle, upon which alone good works can be done: in that sense, they may be confidered as an effect, proceeding from a cause. But good works must also go before man's final juftification, otherwise man can perform no good works at all: in that fenfe, they may be confidered as a qualification, preparatory to an event.

Without oppofing, therefore, what I conceive to bé
the sense of those great men, to whose authority you
appeal, I decidedly protest against the conclufion you
have drawn from them. *There is no proteftant a
but believes faith, repentance, and univerfal obedi
ence, are neceffary to the obtaining God's favour,
and eternal happiness. This being granted, the reft
is but a fpeculative controversy, a question about
words, which would quickly vanish, but that men
affect not to understand one other. There is no
protestant but requires to justification, remiffion of
fins; and to remiffion of fins, they all require repent-
ance; and repentance, I prefume, may not be denied
the name of a good work, being indeed, if rightly un-
derstood, and according to the fenfe of the word in
fcripture, an effectual converfion from all fin to all
holinefs. They have great reafon to believe the
doctrine of juftification by faith only, as a point of
great weight and importance, if it be rightly under
ftood; that is, they have reason to esteem it a prin-
cipal and neceffary duty of a Chriftian, to place his
hope of justification and falvation, not in the perfection
of his own righteousness, which, if it be imperfect,

VOL. II.

* See CHILLINGWORTH, fol. page 32, 33

I I

belo.

will not justify, (I should rather fay, not in his own righteousness, which, being imperfect, cannot justify) but only in the mercies of GOD, through CHRIST'S fatisfaction; and yet, notwithstanding this, nay the rather for this, may preferve themselves in the right temper of good Christians, which is a happy mixture and fweet compofition of confidence and fear. If this doctrine be otherwise expounded, I will not undertake the justification of it; only I will fay, that I never knew any protestant such a solifidian, but that he did believe these Divine truths-That he must make his calling certain by good works; that he must work out his falvation with fear and trembling ;—and that while he does not fo, he can have no well-grounded hope of falvation. I fay, I never met with any one, who did not believe these Divine truths; and that with a more firm and with a more unshaken affent, than he does that himself is predeftinate; and that he is justified, by believing himself justified. I never met with any fuch who, if he faw there was a neceffity to do either, would not rather forego his belief of thefe doctrines than the former: thefe which he fees difputed, and contradicted, and opposed with a great multitude of very potent arguments; than those which, being the exprefs words of fcripture, whofo

ever fhould call in queftion, could not with any modefty pretend to the title of Chriftian."

The idea, that where the root exifts, the proper fruit will be produced, is contradicted by fact and experience. All trees in a living state do not produce fruit. Faith, though not in an actually dead state, may be alive to no faving purpose. In our Saviour's parable of the fig-tree, the lord of the vineyard is described as coming three years feeking fruit, and finding none. Had the tree been actually dead, no fruit could have been expected from it; but because its root did exift, the tree was alive, and the branches unfruitful, therefore was the fentence pronounced against it. The general tenour of scripture accords with this figurative representation of the state of the Jewish nation, which authorises us to difcriminate between fruitful and unfruitful faith; to the want of which neceffary discrimination, all the disputes on this fubject are to be attributed.

The doctrine of faith without works has indeed of late years been put out of countenance: but though it does not appear fo openly among Christians as it once did, it is ftill, I fear, making its way in difguife. A doctrine nearly related to it is at this day propagated, incompatible, if I understand it, with the grand