St. James uses the Words Faith and Works in that Sense which is most natural and obvious in that Sense wherein Common Readers were most like to understand them Whereas St. Paul's Epistles I mean those wherein he handles this same Subject being written with another Design as I shall shew bereafter it may well be supposed that he having in his writting them an Eye to his main Design which was to shew the Necessity of embracing the Christian Faith and the no Obligation that lay upon Christians from the Ceremonial Law of Moses was more careless in his other Expressions as not fearing that any Person instructed in the Christian Religion wou'd ever so grosly misunderstand and pervert his Words as to think that be intended to give Encouragement to a lewd and dissolute Life But this nevertheless some did think at least they pleaded St. Paul's Authority for it That if Men did but believe aright it was no great matter how they liv'd Against these therefore our Apostle St. James sets himself in this Chapter and shews at large that Christianity did not consist only in a true and orthodox Faith that a bare Belief in Christ or of the Truths of the Gospel without bringing forth Fruits in our Life and Conversation answerable to such a Belief would be in no wise sufficient to justifie or save us And that in writing this he had an Eye to what St. Paul had written before upon the same Subject is farther probable because he makes use of that very Instance of Abraham to prove the Necessity of good Works together with Faith which St. Paul had before brought against the Jews to shew the sufficiency of Faith alone without Works that it without those Ceremonial Observances which they would have press'd upon all other Christians and which they laid more stress upon and did put more Confidence in than in the weightier Matters of the Law Justice Mercy and Fidelity This Epistle of St. James therefore being written after St. Paul's Epistles and so very probably with a Design to explain them where they had been misunderstood it is reasonable to take for granted that what St. James here plainly asserts touching the necessity of good Works together with Faith is the Sense of St. Paul altho' we cou'd not easily bring St. Paul's Words to it Especially if it be considered farther in the Third Place 3. That tho' this Epistle of St. James had been never written nay tho' there had not been one plain Text in the whole Bible expresly asserting the Insufficiency of a meer Belief or of an empty fruitless Faith yet we could not understand those Passages of St. Paul wherein he so much magnifies Faith and decries Works in any other Sense than what St. James here plainly teaches without making those Passages in St. Paul to evacuate all the rest of the Bible and to contradict the whole Design of the Gospel For there is never a Page hardly a Verse in the whole Bible wherein the Nature of that Covenant which God hath made with Mankind is spoken of which doth not either in express Words or by plain Consequence contradict and disapprove that wild Notion of being saved only by a bare Belief tho we take no care to lead our Lives suitable to our Belief Now this is the Method that we observe in the Reading of other Books we consider the Scope and Design of the whole and judge of the Sense of particular Passages with Reference to that And if there be any single Passage which we apprehend not the meaning of or which at the first Reading seems to have another Meaning than is agreeable to the Author's main Design we build nothing upon such a Passage but wait a while to see if the Author will not elsewhere explain himself And if he does not and if at last we can't discern how that Passage can without somewhat straining the Words be reconcil'd with others we conclude however and take for granted that the Author if he appears to be a Person of Judgment is consistent with himself and consequently that in that Passage however the Words of it may sound he did not mean to thwart and contradict all the rest of his Book An this is the Case here for the Design of our Saviour's coming into the World was to make Men Holy all that he did and taught and suffer'd had a tendency to effect this Design and his whole Gospel is in a manner made up of Precepts and Exhortations and Encouragement to Godliness and Virtue and of severe Threatnings against all manner of Sin Rom 1. 18. The Wrath of God is therein reveal'd from Heaven against all Ungodliness and Vnrighteousness of Men who hold the Truth in Unrighteousness these things are plain and undeniable this is manifestly the Scope and Design of the whole Bible And therefore altho' some few Passages in St. Paul's Writings shou'd in their most obvious meaning seem to imply the contrary to this it wou'd be reasonable however to believe and assert the indispensible Necessity of an Holy Life together with an Orthodox Belief rather than upon them alone to ground the Doctrine which if true wou'd plainly evacuate all the rest of the Bible and perfectly thwart and contradict the whole Design of the Gospel And this I think a sure Ground for them to go upon who have not leisure to study the point or who after all their study are not able clearly to discern how these two Apostles may be fairly reconciled in their seemingly contradictory Assertions one saying That we are justify'd by Faith and the other That we are justify'd by Works and not by Faith only Which Difference nevertheless I believe it is not so hard a Matter to reconcile as at the first sight it may appear to be the seeming Contrariety between them lying as I suppose only in their using in different Senses the Words Justify Faith and Works Every one of which Words is capable of and is very often in Scripture us'd in different Senses For I. As to the Word Justify not to trouble you with the Etymology of it which is but an uncertain way of knowing the common Acceptation of a Word nor yet with the Sense which Heathen Writers have us'd the Word in from whence we cannot with certainty collect in what Sense the Sacred Writers do use it it may be sufficient to observe That the most obvious and usual Signification thereof in Holy Scripture is to receive to Mercy to absolve and acquit from former Transgressions When God justifies a Man it is by forgiving him his Trespasses and accepting esteeming and rewarding him as a Righteous Person altho' he is not really and strictly such And thus St. Paul himself seems to expound the Word in Rom 3. 25. Being justify'd freely by his Grace through the Redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation thro' Faith in his Blood to declare his Righteousness for the Remission of Sins that are
Judgment it will be easy to understand all those Places wherein he attributes this to Faith only in a Sense very agreeable to the Doctrine which St. James here teaches it will be easy then to understand what St. Paul means Rom. 4. 5. where he says That God justifies the Ungodly then I say that Passage which hath been thought the strongest will appear to be no Objection at all against St. James's Doctrine the meaning thereof being only this That the Grace of God in Christ Jesus is so large as that he do's not refuse even the vilest and greatest Sinners but readily accepts them to Favour upon their Belief of the Gospel and closing with the Terms of it And there will be then no difficulty at all in understanding how Abraham was justify'd by Faith only according to St. Paul and how he was justify'd by Works that is not by Faith only as St. James expresly affirms he was at the 21st Verse of this Chapter For the Case was thus Upon his giving a fall and hearty Assent to the Truth of the Divine Promises he was immediately receiv'd into God's Favour and Acceptance even before the Sincerity of his Faith has been actually try'd by his Obedience Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for Righteousness Rom. 4. 3. so that he was then in a justify'd state And yet if after this he had declin'd to leave his Country and his Father's House or even to sacrifice his Son at God's Command he wou'd by this Disobedience have fall'n from that state of Divine Favour and not have been finally justify'd by God but then all his former as well as his later sins which had been once remitted to him with a temporary and conditional Remission upon his first entring into the Covenant of Grace by Faith by virtue of which Remission he was while he continu'd in the Covenant a justify'd Person wou'd nevertheless have been imputed to him and he condemn'd for them if he had afterwards swerv'd from his Obedience In short therefore the Justification which St. Paul generally speaks of is that whereby we are made Heirs of Salvation as he himself explains it in the afore cited Text Tit. 3. 7 That being justify'd by Grace we shou'd be made Heirs according to the Hope of eternal Life but the Justification which St. James speaks of is that by which we are actually admitted into the Possession of this Inheritance And therefore tho' in order to the first Justification nothing more be necessary but only that we close with and accept of those Terms of Reconciliation which God offers to us Yet in order to the Second Justification it is moreover necessary that we shou'd make good that Covenant which we before entred into or else tho' we are already justify'd in St. Paul's Sense that is are now already by our embracing and believing and professing the Gospel in such a Capacity and Likelihood of obtaining eternal Life as an Heir is of enjoying his Father's Estate we shall never be justify'd in St. James's Sense that is we shall never actually possess and enjoy the Estate but notwithstanding our present Heirship shall at last be cast off and disinherited for our Disobedience And this Observation concerning the different Senses wherein these two Apostles do sometimes use the Word justify may I suppose be alone sufficient to reconcile them in most if not in all those Passages wherein they seem to differ But II. The Word Faith or Belief which they do both use in treating of this Subject is likewise a Word capable of and frequently in Scripture us'd in different Senses and I believe it may easily be made appear that in those Places wherein St. Paul attributes so much to Faith wherein he is thought to declare that that is the only Condition of our final Justification and admittance into the Promis'd Inheritance he means quite another thing by Faith than St. James does when he says that that alone is not sufficient even all that St. James means by Faith and Works too I will not trouble you now with all the Significations in which the Word Faith or Belief is us'd in Holy Scripture but shall take notice only of two which I suppose most applicable to the Case in Hand 1. The First Sense of it which I shall take notice of is that which indeed is the most obvious and proper meaning of the Word that is when by Faith is meant An assent of the Mind to the Truth of some Reveal'd Proposition And this Sense St. James uses the Word By that Faith which being without Works he says is not sufficient to justifie or save us he plainly means nothing more than only a Belief of those Truths which are reveal'd in the Gospel And the Case that he puts in this That a Man believe there is a God and that those things which he has reveal'd are true and that all his Promises and Threatnings shall be made good but nevertheless takes no care to live well and in this case he says that such a Faith as this is an empty dead Faith and that it will be of no real advantage to us any more than it is to the Devil's who believe all these Truths as firmly as we can do but without any Benefit to themselves because the Promises being not made to them they are not thereby incited to the doing of good But the Promises are made to us and therefore it can hardly be conceived it is scarcely to be supposed that any Man that firmly believes all the Truths of the Gospel and considers his own Interest therein should nevertheless allow himself in a wicked Life Faith is naturally such an active lively and working Principle that it can hardly fail to shew it self by its Effects 2. An for this Reason Secondly the word Faith which most properly signifies nothing but the Cause or Principle is oftentimes in Scripture put to signifie both the Cause and the Effect too that is both a Belief of the Gospel-Truths and also a Life led answerably to such a Belief And in this large and comprehensive sense 'tis clearly evident St. Paul does use the word in divers places and especially in those Epistles where he treats of Justification by Faith as may appear from his oftentimes using of the Words and Phrases instead of the single word Faith For what he sometimes calls Faith he at other times in those same Epistles calls the Law of Faith and the Obedience of Faith Rom. 3. 27. 1. 5. 16. 26. And in Rom. 10. 16. he most clearly explains his own meaning to be to include and comprehend Obedience in the word Faith whenever he attributes so much to Faith But they have not all obeyed the Gospel for Esaias saith Lord who hath believ'd our Report In which words the same thing is plainly meant by obeying the Gospel and believing the Report of the Preachers of it from whence it clearly appears That the Faith or Belief which he so much
St. Paul and St. James Reconcil'd A SERMON Preach'd before the Vniversity of Cambridge At St. Mary's Church on COMMENCEMENT-SVNDAY In the Afternoon June 30. 1700. St. JAMES II. 24. Ye see then how that by Works a Man is justify'd and not by Faith only By Offspring Blackall D. D. Chaplain in Ordinary to Her Majesty The Fourth Edition London Printed by H. Hills in Black-fryars near the Water-side For the Benefit of the Poor St. JAMES II. 24. Ye see then how that by Works a Man is justify'd and not by Faith only IF it was an usual thing to take two Texts to a Sermon I Wou'd subjoyn to the Words which I have now read to you those in Rom. 3. 28. or some other Text of some of St. Paul's Epistles to the same purpose Therefore we conclude that a Man is justify'd by Faith and I wou'd read them both together as the Theme or Subject whereon I intend to discourse at this time For this is indeed my present Design not to handle these Words of St. James by themselves that is as laying down a Notion of Justification to appearance contrary to what St. Paul teaches in that other Text But to shew that St. Paul and St. James tho' they differ in Words and Expressions do yet really both teach the same Doctrine That neither doth St. Paul in excluding Works from having any thing to do in our Justification mean to exclude such Works as St. James here declares to be necessary neither on the other side doth St. James in asserting the Necessity of good Works together with Faith and as the effects of it mean to attribute more to them than St. Paul does But before I proceed to shew how these two Apostles may as I think be fairly reconcil'd it may not be amiss to premise this one thing viz. That if that Solution of this Difficulty which I shall by and by propose should not seem clear and Satisfactory and if we cou'd not think of any other way whereby these two Divine Writers might to our Apprehension be reconciled together and made to speak the same thing it wou'd nevertheless in that case be reasonable to stick to the Words of St. James in their strict and most natural Signification and to suppose that St. Paul is to be interpreted by him rather than he by St. Paul and consequently to take for granted that the Doctrine which we are here taught in express Words by St. James viz. that Works are necessary as well as Faith to render us such as God will approve of and justify at the last Day is undoubtedly true altho' we cou'd not tell which way St. Paul's Words might be fairly interpreted in the same Sense This I say appears reasonable upon several Accounts As namely 1. Because we have an express Testimony of Scripture that in St. Paul's Writings there are some things hard to be understood which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest to their own Destruction 2 Pet. 3. 16. And 'tis probable that those Places wherein he treats concerning Justification by Faith only may be reckon'd in that Number And this St. Augustin say expresly viz. That the chief Difficulty of all in St. Paul s Epistles is his so much Commendation of that Faith which he says does justify by which ignorant Men understanding nothing else but only an Assent of the Mind to the Truths of the Gospel which indeed is the prime and most proper Nation of the Word to thence infer that a good Life is not necessary to justify and save a Man And indeed if St. Peter had not made this Observation concerning the Obscurity of some of St. Paul's Writings 'tis nevertheless no more than what every one that reads the Bible must needs observe viz. that the Epistles of St. Paul especially where he handles Controversy are the hardest to be understood except perhaps the Prophesies that are not yet accomplish'd of any parts of the New Testament And on the other side it is no less obvious to be observ'd that the Epistle of St. James and this Chapter of it in particular is to appearance very plain and clear and that both in the Conclusion which it lays down viz. that we are justify'd by Works and not by Faith only and also in the Arguments whereby this Conclusion is made good from the 14th Verse of this Chapter to the end Now if the Case be thus as it plainly seems to be nothing can be more unreasonable than to interpret this Place of St. James by those of St. Paul that is a plain Place by an obscure one and on the other side nothing can be fairer than when we meet with any crabbed or difficult Place in any Author to see whether his meaning be not elsewhere express'd more clearly and if it be to conclude that the intricate Place at the same meaning with the plain one altho' we know not how well to reconcile the Words and Phrases thereof to it And this is the Case here For tho' St. Paul and St. James were different Writers yet the Author of both their Epistles was the same viz. the Holy Spirit of God by whose Inspiration they both wrote Their Writings are consequently both of them Parts of that one everlasting Gospel by which God will judge the World and they do both of them contain only in different Expressions the Articles of the same Covenant between God and us it is reasonable therefore in this Case to observe the same Method that we do in other the like Cases viz. to put such a Sense and Interpretation on any difficult or ambiguous Passage that we meet with any where therein as to make it agree to and consist with those other Passages in the same Book or Writing which seem to be more plainly expressed and of the meaning of which there can be less Dispute 2. Another Reason why I think if we could not easily reconcile St. Paul with St. James we ought rather to embrace the Literal Sense of St. James than that of St Paul and to conclude with him that good Works are necessary to our Justification and Salvation as well a Faith is because as is observ'd by several of the Ancients this Epistle of St. James as likewise the first of St. John the Second of St. Peter and that of St. Jude was written on purpose to rectifie the Mistakes that some had fallen into through their Misunderstanding of some of St. Paul's Writings v. Gret in Jam. 2. 21. Now if this be so we may reasonably conclude that St James designing this Discourse of his concerning Faith and Works as a Commentary upon or an Explication of wat St. Paul had written before upon the same Subject was very careful to avoid all that Obscurity and Ambiguity of Expression which had occasion'd the Writings of St. Paul to be so grosly misunderstood and wrested to such ill purposes as St. Peter observes they had been by some ignorant and perverse Men and consequently that
past through the forbearance of God In which Text being justify'd and having our Sins remitted seem'd to be us'd as Terms of the same Signification And the Psalmist meaning to describe the Blessedness of a justify'd Person thus expresses it Blessed are they whose Iniquities are forgiven and whose Sins are cover'd Psalm 32. 1. 2 Blessed is the Man to whom the Lord will not impute Sin Rom. 4. 5 6. 7 8. And indeed this is all the Justification that Sinful Men and such all Men are are capable of For being in truth Sinners they can't by a Just God be acquitted as Innocent They can therefore be justify'd no other way but by having their Sins forgiven them and by being receiv'd to Mercy for if God should enter into strict Judgment with us no Man living cou'd be justify'd in his Sight as the Psalmist says Psal 143. 2. To justify therefore in the common Scriptural Notion of it is to absolve from Guilt to discharge from Punishment and accordingly it is frequently in Scripture oppos'd to Condemnation It is God that justifyeth says the Apostle who is he that Condemneth Rom. 8. 33 34 And in another place Being justify'd by his Blood we shall be saved from Wrath through him Rom. 5. 9. Now taking the Word in this Sense there is a two fold Justification First When we take upon us the Profession of the Christian Religion in Baptism for then our past Sins are forgiven us then we are receiv'd into a Covenant of Grace and Pardon But this is not a full Justification for our Sins are not then clearly pardon'd and forgiven because they may after this be still imputed to us and so they will be in case we afterwards do either in Profession or in Works deny that Faith which we then take upon us Our Second therefore and our compleat and final Justification is not till the great Day of Judgment when God will for ever acquit from the Guilt and free from the Punishment of all their past Sins all those who continu'd faithful to that Covenant which they entred into with God at their Baptism Supposing therefore at present that St. Paul and St. James do by Faith and Works both mean the same things Yet if they do not both speak of the same Justification if St. Paul when he speaks of Justification by Faith means the First Justification which is dispensed to us in Baptism and St. James when he affirms that we are justify'd by Works and not by Faith only means the Second and Final Justification at the last Day there is plainly no manner of Contrariety between them For it may be true thunt in order to our being admitted into the Covenant of Justification and Pardon nothing more may be required but only that we firmly believe and embrace the Christian Religion and accordingly we may observe that as previous Disposition to Baptism nothing else seems to be requir'd but only that we should believe the Gospel and in Profession renounce our former Sins according to that of St. Philip to the Eunuch Acts 8. 37. If thou believest with all thine Heart thou mayst be baptiz'd and yet it may be true too that our being put into a justify'd state by Baptism will in the event be no advantage to us but rather only increase our Condemnation unless afterwards we continue true and faithful to that Profession which we then take upon us and are careful to perform our part of that Covenant which we then enter into with God Now I say this last seems to be what St. James affirms and the first all that St. Paul teaches at least in many of those Places where he says we are justify'd by Faith For that by the Justification which St. James speaks of when he says We are Justify'd by Works and not by Faith only he means our Final Justification at the great Day upon which that Salvation will immediately be bestow'd upon us which at our Baptism was only promis'd and assur'd to us upon certain Conditions is evident by his using Justification and Salvation in this Dispute as Terms equivalent For thus he expresses the Doctrine of the Text in the 14th Verse where he first begius to handle the Subject What doth it profit my Brethren if a Man say he hath Faith and have not Works can Faith save him It is plain that he means the same thing there by being sav'd that does in the Text and other Verses of this Chapter by being justify'd and consequently that by Justification in this Discourse of his concerning Faith and Works he means that Final Justification upon which Salvation is immediately consequent And on the other side that St. Paul in very many at least if not in all those Places wherein he attributes Justification to Faith only without Works means therefore only our first Justification that is our being admitted into the Covenant of Grace and being put into a justify'd state by Baptism will I suppose be no less evident if these two things be consider'd 1. That in many places he speaks of Justification as a thing past which he cou'd not do if he had meant the same thing by Justification that St. James does For thus writing to the Corinthians he says 1 Cor. 6. 11. Ye are or ye have been justify'd in the Name of the Lord Jesus And Rom. 6. 1. speaking of himself and other Christians that were then living and consequently not finally justify'd in St. James's Use of the Word he says that being justify'd by Faith they had Peace with God And upon this he grounds their Hope that they should also if they continu'd in Faith be finally justify'd by God at the last Day ver 9. For if while we were Sinners Christ dy'd for us much more then being now justify'd by his Blood we shall be sav'd from Wrath thro' him 2. It may be also further observ'd That in many places he expresly joyns Justification with Baptism as an Effect or Concomitant of it as in Tit. 3. 5 7. Not by Works of Righteousness which we have done but according to his Mercy he sav'd us by the washing of Regeneration and renewiug of the Holy Ghost that being justify'd by his Grace we shou'd be made Heirs according to the Hope of Eternal Life and in 1 Cor. 6. 11 Such were some of you but ye are wash'd but ye are sanctify'd but ye are justify'd they were justify'd it seems at the same time that they were wash'd that is at their Baptism when they openly and solemnly renounc'd those wicked Works which they had formerly liv'd in and took upon them the Profession of the Christian Faith Now therefore if this be granted which seems to be very probable That St. Paul generally means this by Justification viz. only our being admitted into a State of Grace and Favour with God at our Baptism in which State if we continue by persevering in Faith and Obedience we shall at last be justify'd and acquitted finally in the great