damnation and that when the Apostles and Evangelists wrote the New Testament in which they laid the same stress upon Faith that Christ himself had done before them that they I say should mean something else by the word than what it signified according to common use and yet that they should not tell us so The Writers and first Preachers of the Gospel did indeed treat of new Subjects viz. of those new Revelations of God's Will that had been lately made but when they made use of words that had a known meaning they did not depart from the received signification of those words But by Faith or believing men always understood being persuaded of the truth of some Proposition And thus Faith is described in the Scripture where it is described most fully In St. John 11.25 says our Saviour He that believeth in me though he were dead yet shall he live but this is explained v. 27. I believe that thou art Christ the Son of God that should come into the world And again John 8.24 If ye believe not that I am he ye shall die in your sins Moreover that Faith by which the Church should stand wanted nothing surely that belongs to the nature of Faith and that is thus expressed We believe and are sure that thou art Christ the Son of the living God and this because not flesh and blood but God had revealed it Thus Abraham's Faith which was imputed to him for righteousness was his accounting that God was able to raise up Isaac even from the dead And all the holy men mentioned in Heb. 11. are said to have died in faith being persuaded of the promises As to those that think there is more in the nature of Faith than this comes to they either return to this in other words or add something that doth not belong to the nature of it those that say there must be a particular application of the Promises where there is true Faith say well but then application is nothing else but a persuasion of or an assent unto a single Proposition For instance I am persuaded that God sent his Son into the world to save mankind is a general persuasion Christ came for my Salvation which is the Application is a particular one Without holiness no man shall see the Lord therefore without holiness I shall not This last is but persuasion and there is that in the former therefore Faith in both Again if resting and relying upon Christ is said to be Faith the meaning must be either that I am assured Christ will save me and this is being persuaded of the truth of that saying or else that I rely upon his Person but a Person cannot be believed otherwise than by believing something of him or something that he has said Some there are that think the nature of Faith doth consist in a certain degree of Persuasion and the Romanists tell us there must be Infallibility in it But now there is a weak as well as a strong Faith and though a greater degree of Assent is more working and powerful yet the nature of Faith is in the least Lastly some good men are apt to think that the goodness of the Will and Affections nay and Holiness of Life belongs to the nature of true Faith but this cannot be because although Faith where it is in that degree that it ought to be there as I shall shew it will produce holiness of Heart and Life and therefore Faith is sometimes spoken of in the Scriptures as comprehending those good Affections and those good Works which it causes yet sometimes they are distinguished from one another and therefore they are not the same so that when all is done the whole nature of Christian Faith doth consist in this That it is a persuasion of the Truth of those Doctrines which Christ hath made known to us Now for the second Point 2. Concerning the power and efficacy of Faith we are to consider that there are these two things attributed to it our Justification and our Holiness or Obedience to the Gospel And here we will first consider 1. What Efficacy Faith has as to the Justification of him that believes and this I shall shew very briefly and plainly in these following particulars 1. Faith may be said to be justifying or saving in that it puts a man into a good way of being justified and thus believing that Jesus is the Christ may be said to be justifying Faith because it is the first step towards Justification and believing his Precepts with his Promises and Threatnings is in this sense a more Justifying Faith because it brings a man nearer to that state in which he shall be justified But 2. If we speak of Actual Justification and continuance in God's favour then not any nor all the proper acts of Faith taken together but separate from Repentance and Obedience are sufficient for where God hath made more conditions than one necessary there the performance of all but one will not suffice and therefore where forgiveness and salvation is promised to one single condition there the presence of all the rest is supposed He that giveth a cup of cold water to a disciple in the name of a disciple shall not lose his reward but shall cold water wash away the treachery of Judas or the injustice of Pilate He that confesseth that Jesus is the Christ hath eternal life but still to be carnally minded is death He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved Nevertheless it is true that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven and therefore where nothing less than Salvation is promised to Believing and Baptism all that which in reason should follow is meant though it be not expressed 3. If we speak of final and irreversible Justification this is neither to be obtained by Faith nor Obedience without perseverance in both God doth in this Life justify true Believers but not once for all till they have fought their good fight and finished their course As the Lord in the Parable forgave his Servant and yet called him to account for his Debt when he proved cruel to his Fellow for this shewed that his pardon was but conditional So likewise says our Saviour shall your heavenly Father do unto you Now I confess what hath been said in answer to the first and second Inquiries gives no sufficient account why we are said to be justified by Faith so frequently in the Scripture but rather seems to make it more unaccountable For if there be no more in the nature of Faith than assent to Truth this seems to be a very common attainment not deserving those great things that are spoken of Faith in the Scripture Can that be the Faith by which all good men have wrought righteousness which hath been held in unrighteousness by as many wicked And then as to the power of this Faith in order to Justification Can that be the faith of God's elect which the Reprobates have as
Worship viz. all kinds of virtue and moral Goodness such as Justice and Mercy Fidelity and Truth Meekness and Patience Sobriety and Temperance and 't is true of these things as well as of Worship that without faith they cannot be performed because they are all such things as God is pleased withal and 't is said in general That without Faith we cannot please him From hence 't is plain that we are thus to understand the phrase of pleasing God when the Apostle saith Without Faith we cannot please him viz. Without Faith it is impossible a man should be a worshipper of God and a practicer of Virtue More distinctly thus Without Faith a man cannot Love God or Fear him or Trust in him or Obey him or Honour him in his Thoughts Words or Deeds Nor can he be Righteous and Charitable Meek and Humble Sober and Temperate Or in a word That without Faith 't is impossible a man should be truly Religious in his life and actions If it be enquired 2. What the Apostle means by Faith without which 't is impossible to please God let us look to the following words again and we shall find the Faith the Apostle speaks of is 1. In general a persuasion of the truth of some proposition or an assent thereunto that it is true for he saith He that cometh to God must believe that he is To believe therefore to be persuaded that this proposition is true viz. that there is a God is an instance of the Faith whereof the Apostle speaks Likewise he that cometh unto God must believe that he is a rewarder of them that seek him To believe therefore or to be persuaded of this proposition That God is a rewarder of them that seek him is an instance of that Faith of which the Apostle speaks and consequently by Faith is here meant in general a persuasion concerning any Doctrine or Proposition that it is true 2. By consequence also as to the nature of those propositions which the Apostle saith we must believe if we will please God we find more particularly that the Faith without which we cannot please God is a persuasion of the truth of those propositions which are proper arguments and motives inducing a man to do those things whereby God is pleased for the Apostle saith He that cometh unto God must believe that he is And plain it is that to believe that there is a God is a reason why men should do those things which please him He says also that he that cometh unto God must believe that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him Alike plain it is that to believe God to be such a rewarder is a reason or motive inducing a man to do those things whereby God is pleased and consequently the Faith which the Apostle speaks of is a persuasion of the truth of those Propositions or Doctrines which are proper motives or inducements to the doing of those things whereby God is pleased But hence we must not conclude that there are no other Doctrines or Propositions besides those here mentioned that are proper motives to Religion because all that the Apostle intends as I noted before is to give some particular instances to shew the truth of the general proposition Although therefore there be other Doctrines which are motives to Godliness and Vertue yet if without the belief of these a man cannot be induced to do those things which please God that was sufficient for the Apostle's purpose to prove that without Faith it is impossible to please him And that there are other Doctrines of like use with these I shall shew in due place If it be enquired 3. Whether by Impossible the Author of this Epistle means properly something that is absolutely impossible or more largely something that is exceeding difficult or highly improbable as sometimes the word is used to that purpose I answer This is to be resolved by considering also the following propositions to be believed the former of which is of that nature that it is absolutely necessary to be believed in order to Worship and Virtue viz. That there is a God Without this belief it is utterly impossible it implies a contradiction that a man should be a Worshipper of God and a practicer of Virtue But the latter of these beliefs that God is a rewarder c. is not in the same degree necessary that the former is because it does not imply a contradiction That that man who does not believe that God is a rewarder of them that seek him should be a Worshipper of God because 't is barely possible he may Worship God upon a belief that there is a God and a bare hope that he is a rewarder c. But then if we consider the woful corruption and degeneracy of Mankind and the power of those Temptations we are under 't is so utterly improbable that without this belief men should set themselves to do those things which please God that according to the usual manner of speaking it may be ranked with things impossible So that I do thus understand the Apostle as to what he says concerning the impossibility of pleasing God without Faith That there are some Doctrines so necessary to be believed in order to the practice of Religion and Virtue that it is naturally impossible a man should be a Worshipper of God and a doer of Righteousness without the belief of them and of this sort he hath given us one instance viz. That there is a God That also there are some Doctrines so necessary to be believed in order to the practice of Religion that 't is morally impossible a man should be a Worshipper of God and a worker of righteousness without the belief of them And of this sort he hath also given us one instance viz. That God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him Thus I have by comparing one part of the Text with another given you as I am persuaded the true sence of the whole and that as I hope with great clearness of truth and plainness of words And according to this Explanation the words of the Text may be interpreted according to this Paraphrase Without the belief of some such Doctrines as are proper and suitable motives to the worship of God and the practice of Virtue wherewith God is pleased it is impossible any man should fear God and work Righteousness For some Doctrines there are so necessary in order to that end that 't is impossible to conceive how a man should find himself obliged thereto without the belief of those Doctrines Some Doctrines also there are so necessary to be believed in order thereunto that without the belief of them no man finds himself encouraged to the practice of Religion For instance the Worship of God is a part of Religion without which he will not be pleased with us but it is plain that no man can be a worshipper of God without believing that there is a God because if
and that because 't is a natural Sense therefore it should not require the mortification of Lust Covetousness Envy and such inordinate Appetites because they are natural too and we find that we go down hill when we give way to them For there is a vast difference in the case for these wretched Inclinations do not grow from any necessary ingredient in our Natures they do not arise from any thing that belongs to our Essence they are no part of our original Constitution but they are the Diseases and Corruptions of our Nature which we have contracted since we came out of the hands of God But now hunger and thirst and the pain of heat or cold and the sense of bodily Evils is rooted in the very Nature of man as it was created first of all and can no more be separated from it than we can be divided from our selves And therefore there is good reason why we should be allowed to yield in this case tho not in the other If the vicious Inclinations we spake of before were truly natural all men would undoubtedly be libidinous or covetous or envious and cruel c. but all men are not so some have crucified these Affections and Lusts of the Flesh and are temperate chast just and merciful But hunger and thirst and pain all men feel alike which shews that this sense and consequently the fear of these things and the desire of ease and relief are truly natural and belong to the purity and integrity of those Natures in which God hath made us And therefore those Philosophers that would teach men to live without fear and without pain let what outward things happen to them that could happen were mere Romantick Pretenders and did by no means take the right way to guide Mankind to happiness True Religion wisely considers humane Nature and allows it to be afraid of and confesses that it cannot but feel adversity and forbids us not to decline it if prudently we can if honestly we may But if it is not to be avoided it represents to us so many Advantages that may be made of it administers so many Comforts under it as may keep the bitterness of grief from our hearts and make us patient and contented nay and thankful to God for chusing for us that wholsome tho bitter Medicine which tho we are loth to take yet we dare not refuse when it comes from his hand And what inconsistence is there between keeping off those Evils by our Prayers and Endeavours which 't is impossible for humane Nature not to recoil from and believing that when they cannot be avoided God will turn them to a greater good because it plainly appears to be his will and pleasure that we should undergo them Thus our Blessed Saviour who was never contrary to himself on the one hand bad his Disciples rejoyce and be exceeding glad when they were persecuted for righteousness sake because great was their reward in heaven and yet on the other hand when they were persecuted in one city he bad them flee to another Nay though he himself for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame he yet nevertheless testified the reluctance of Humane Nature in that Prayer Father if it be possible let this cup pass from me which yet was no ways inconsistent with his submission but made it more worthy of praise Nevertheless not my will but thy will be done Which puts me in mind of the next Point viz. That although this Doctrine does not reprove yet 't is a Rule to our Prayers and Endeavours against all the evils of this Life For instance 1. That our Prayers be with submission to the pleasure of God as well because he is infinitely wiser than we are as because he is infinitely above us And the more particular our desires are for the most part they ought to be offered with more express reservations to God's supream and wise disposal of us For it is in worldly things that that holds true We know not what to pray for as we ought and therefore we should add folly to our ignorance to desire passionately this or that when we know not what we desire and whether it would work good or evil to us if we had it And this is a Point so discernable that the wise Heathens saw it What else could Juvenal mean in saying Charior est c Man is dearer to God than to himself we led on by a blind Passion desire things and have them not because God sees how they would prove but we see no more than what is present 2. The assurance we have that all things will work together for good is a close restraint from the use of all unlawful methods in keeping off the evils of life To do evil that good may come is in it self manifestly unlawful but this is a great aggravation of it and takes away all excuse that we know evil will work for good to them that love God When we prosecute our worldly designs with Heat and Passion it happens not seldom that we strive against God's purpose to do us a greater good by a disappointment but this may pass for an excusable ignorance so long as we keep our selves within the compass of honest and lawful endeavours But when once we transgress those bounds we make our selves guilty of inexcusable sin inasmuch as we break the Commandments of God and wound our own Conscience either to obtain that which may be for our hurt or to prevent that which may be for our good In a word we may upon other accounts be satisfied that to do evil for a good end is damnable but he that knows all things shall work together for good to them that love God if He himself loves God can be under no temptation to do evil that good may come 3. And lastly this belief is a proper means of separating all our thoughts for this life from anxiety and vexation I have already said 't is a vain thing to suppose that it should reduce us to a perfect indifference about the good and evil of this World but it may and ought to temper our cares and bring us to reasonable moderation about it for by the same reason that evil must affect us with grief or fear the good which it will yield may on the other hand supply us with hope and joy and the consolation will be stronger than the affliction because the good will be greater than the evil And in the mean time our care and thoughtfulness should be the less because God himself careth for us and hath undertaken for the event Thus much concerning the consistency of the Apostles Doctrine with Endeavours and Prayers against the evils of life and the Rules which it prescribes to them 2. Let us consider how it ought to influence the judgment we make of the happy or wretched estate of men in this Life And this is that which we ought to learn from
though I was addicted to sensuality and uncleanness and to the Vices of my natural Constitution yet by the Grace of God and power of Faith I am what I am quite another man than I was by my corrupted Nature So much as there is of this in the World so much true Religion there is in it and no more and so many as there are who can thus approve themselves to God so many shall be saved and no more All other Reliefs will fail all other Foundations will ruin a man in the time of his distress they will deceive him at the hour of death or at the day of Judgement and therefore that men might not deceive themselves our Saviour concludes his Precepts and Cautions in this effectual manner Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doth them I will liken him to a wise man that built his house upon a rock And every one that heareth these sayings of mine and doth them not shall be likened to a foolish man who built his house on the sand and the rain descended and the flouds came and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell and great was the fall of it But let not that happen to us which St. James saith He that is an hearer of the word and not a doer thereof is like to a man that beholdeth his natural face in a glass and for the time knoweth himself but then goeth away and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was Which Similitude is not so much intended to expose the nature of the folly in hearing and believing and in doing nothing as to assign the reason of it i. e. If ye would not be hearers only but doers of the word take care that the convictions of Truth and the impressions which it makes upon your minds when you hear it do not slide away just as the Image of a man's Countenance which the Glass hath made in his imagination vanishes away when he turns from the Glass and he does not so well know his own as any other man's face The Doctrine of our Saviour doth represent us to our selves and sheweth us our own Actions what they are and our Consciences witness thereto while we hear those plain and powerful words of his which are laid up in the Evangelists But if we straightway forget what we are and what we should be and take no care to make his word abide in us then as the same Apostle says we shall be hearers only but not doers of the word deceiving our own selves The Eleventh Sermon JOHN VII 17. If any man will do his will he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God AMongst the many Arguments in Scripture persuading to an upright Intention and honest Conversation this in the Text is fit to be propounded and considered as being not only weighty in it self as all the rest are but adapted to allure the curious temper of man and most proper for them who are most inquisitive after knowledge and likely to be effectual with the most prudent who aim at the best knowledge For 1. The knowledge spoken of in the Text is that of the Wisdom of God or his Revelations to Mankind by Jesus Christ and it is of infinite importance to us for it concerns the welfare of our immortal Souls and this should invite us to endeavour after it through the most difficult methods that could be propounded But 2. For our great encouragement the method laid down in the Text is easy to apprehend and obvious to all Capacities it is easy likewise to put in practice it requires nothing but a willing mind If any man will do the will of God if he will but walk according to his present light if he intends to learn that he may practice he shall know 3. The Promise is universal in respect of the Object being made to all If any man will do his will no man who is capable of being sincere and honest is excluded therefore every man is concerned in the Promise the Condition is not only possible to all but being performed the Promise is sure to all therefore this method will fail no man For 4. The promise is made by him who is the way the truth and the life he himself whose Doctrine it is that we would learn and best knows that method by which we may learn it hath given us this assurance That if we make Piety and Virtue our first design we shall know 5. The Promise is universal in respect of the matter of it he shall know of the doctrine i. e. of the whole Doctrine whatsoever is necessary or greatly profitable to the end of knowledge He shall not therefore only learn in general that the Doctrine of Christianity is of God but the particular Doctrines that are so so likewise he shall know the same things better than he did before this method will confirm us and give us the best assurance it will keep us from wandring and doubting afterwards and if we shall know the Truth and know the same more perfectly then the motive is proper to be used in all Ages of the Church and we have reason to think our selves concerned in it Lastly It is yet a greater encouragement to follow this method if we consider that no man can possibly miss of Happiness in that way which our Saviour here prescribes for the attainment of the best knowledge what reason have I to take that way of arriving to sound knowledge which hath not only so great a promise to secure me that I shall not miss of that end but which undoubtedly will secure a farther end and one much better and more desirable than that the love of God and the compleat happiness of Soul and Body for ever But now although a man could by other methods arrive to knowledge yet if in the mean time he neglected to do the Will of God he doth not at all provide for his Happiness for tho he had as clear an apprehension as an Angel though he received Revelations from the mouth of our Lord himself or by the Inspiration of the Holy Ghost though he had an Infallible Guide to determine all Controversies for him and to clear up the darkness of every doubt yet if all this while he hath a perverse and vicious Will and is carried aside by wandring and unruly Affections and leads a wicked life he is certainly in a way of error as damnable as Heresy but he that arrives at knowledge this way doth thereby also secure his Salvation and Eternal Happiness which certainly is a most powerful recommendation of our Saviour's way especially if you add this consideration that it hath the advantage of all other methods by which we can hope to gain a fight understanding in Religion I know it will be objected That Impious and Profane men have apprehensions as capable of judging what is true and what is false as Good men and oftentimes their Abilities are greater