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 Third Edition LONDON Printed and Sold by Hen. 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. iii. 28. or some other Text out 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 S. Paul is to be interpreted by him rather than he by S. 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. iii. 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 says 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 Notion of the Word do 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 Autho to see whether his meaning be not elsewhere express'd more clearly and if it be to conclude that the intricate Place hath 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. Grot. 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 what 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 St. James uses
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. iv 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 full 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. iv 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. iii. 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 shal 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 assages 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 〈◊〉 â—â—gnifications in which the Word Faith or Belief is us'd in Holy Scripture but shall take no ice 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 in 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 is this That a Man believes 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. And 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 othe Words and Phrases instead of the single word Faith For whhat he sometimes calls Faith he at other times in those same Epistles calls the Law of Faith and the Obedience of Faith Rom. iii. 27. i. 5. xvi 26. And in Rom. x. 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 magnifies
that h s main Design was to oppose one or other of them in all those Places wherein those Passages are found which so much magnifie Faith and vilifie Works which are especially the Epistles to the Romans and Galatians will I suppose readily appear to any one that shall attentively read them over and I think it will be impossible to make out the Context or to shew how those places do at all tend to the carrying on these Designs if we take the words Faith and Works in any other Sense than I have before said St. Paul does use them in But Secondly That the Apostle St. Paul did not intend to exclude such good Works as St. James here requires viz. Obedience to the Precepts of the Gospel from being necessary to our final Justification at the great day will yet further and more plainly appear if in reading over those Epistles we do but observe the several Cautions that are here and there intermix'd as it were on purpose to prevent our putting such an Interpretation upon his Words And first in the Epistle to the Romans in Chap. ii Ver. 6. he tells us plainly that God will render to every Man according to his Works Tribulation and Anguish upon every Soul of Man that doth evil and Glory Honour and Peace to every Man that worketh good Which Passage would be very odly put in in a Discourse wherein he was proving the sufficiency of Faith alone for Justification if thereby he had meant such a Faith as might be without good Works But in the 13th Verse of that Chapter he contradicts that Opinion most expresly Not the Hearers of the Law says he shall be just before God but the Doers of the aw shall be justify'd It seems then that St. Paul's Justification by Faith only was not a Justification without Works the Faith that he there speaks of must needs therefore be such a Faith as includes Works in it The Doers of the Law shall be justified And so again Chap. iii. V. 21. after he had said that both Circumcision and Uncircumcision must be justify'd by Faith and that they could not be justify'd any other way that they might not take Faith in such a narrow sense as to exclude good Works he adds Do we then make void the Law through Faith God forbid Yea we establish the Law And to the same purpose again Chap. vi Ver. 1. What shall we say then shall we continue in Sin that Grace may abound God forbid How shall we that are dead to Sin live any longer therein And again Ver. 15. What then shall we sin because we are not under the Law but under Grace God forbid And lastly to name no more in the viiith Chapter of that Epistle Ver. 1. when he was come to the Conclusion of this Controversy having shewn at large the insufficiency of all other ways and the absolute necessity of accepting the Gospel Truths in order to Justification he goes on to shew the Blessedness of those who believ'd in Christ in these words There is therefore now no Condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus But then lest they should mistake him and think that a bare Belief in Christ or the profession of his Religion only was enough to entitle them to this Blessedness he adds who walk not after the Flesh but after the Spirit The like Care he has also taken in his Epistle to the Galatians where he handles this Controversy again with a special respect to the Jewish Law where we may observe that to prevent all Misunderstanding of what he had delivered touching the sufficiency of Faith without Works he takes frequent occasion to declare his meaning to be only to exclude the Works of the Law not the obedience of the Gospel Particularly in the two last Chapters he is very large in explaining what kind of Liberty he had been before pleading for Stand fast therefore says he in the Liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and be not entangled again with the Yoke of Bondage Galat. v. 1. And what Bondage he meant appears in the next Verse Behold I Paul say unto you that if you be circumcised Christ shall profit you nothing that is if you still trust to be sav'd by your Jewish Observances you disclaim and renounce the Covenant which Christ hath made for you and so can expect no benefit from it Whosoever of you says he are justify'd that is hope to be justify'd by the Law ye are fallen from Grace For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of Rightoousness by Faith We that is We Christians no less than you Jews do wait for the Hope of Righteousness that is for a Reward of our Righteousness But then it is not such a Righteousness as yours a Righteousness consisting in the observation of Rites and Ceremonies but thro' the Spirit that is by a Spiritual Righteousness and 'tis by Faith that is 'tis such a Righteousness as is wrought in us by Faith that is by our Belief of the Gospel of Christ For says he Ver. 6. in Christ Jesus neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor Uncircumcision but Faith not any Faith but Faith which worketh by Love or Faith which is made perfect by Love Which words he repeats again in Chap. vi V. 15. only instead of Faith putting in another Word not so ambiguous In Christ Jesus neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor Uncircumcision but a new Creatuse And the same Apostle in another parallel place in another of his Epistles puts it out of all doubt what he means in the first of these places by Faith when he expresses the same by Obedience Circumcision is nothing and Uncircumcision but the keeping the Commandments of God 1 Cor. vii 19. And now by all that hath been said I suppose it sufficiently 〈◊〉 that by Faith St. Paul means something more than only a bare belief Gospel Truths when he makes it the sole Condition of Justification and that 〈◊〉 Works he does not mean Works of Evangelical Obedience when he excludes them from being necessary in order to it So that Paul does not any more than St. James exclude such good Works as are the natural Effects of true lively and Christian Faith from being necessary together with Faith under to our full and final Justification at the last day And from all that hath 〈◊〉 been said I think it appears that St. Paul and St. James agree very well together which was the point that I propos'd to make good St. James indeed says here that Faith alone or a bare Belief of the Gospel will not do without Works answerable to our Belief Ye see how that by Works a Man is justify'd and not by Faith only St. Paul on the other side says that 〈◊〉 are justify'd by Faith but tho' this manner of Expression be different from and in the Letter seemingly contradictory to St. James's meaning is plainly the same He affirms indeed that we are justified by Faith but 〈◊〉 as I have shewn he means the same thing by Faith that St. James does by Faith and Works too he mans such a Faith as a Abraham's was for that is his Example as well as St. James's he means such a Faith as however it is try'd approves it self by a ready Obedience as Abraham's did and the Works which he rejects as useless and unnecessary or as not sufficient are not such as Abraham's were the Fruits of a lively Faith but either meer ritual Observances or else such Works as though materially good are not done out of a good and virtuous Principle In a word he opposâ—â— Faith his justifying and saving Faith not to Evangelical Obedience but either to unsinning Obedience by which none can be justify'd because all are Sinners or to an Opinion of Merit which there can never be any Ground for or lastly to the Rites and Ceremonies of Moses's Law which Law he shews was not then obliging and so cou'd not be the Condition of Justification The use we shall make of what hath been said upon this Subject is this we should be hereby incited to the diligent performance of that whole Condition that according to the Doctrine taught by both these Apostles is requir'd of us in order to Salvation which is not only to believe in Christ and to make prefession of the Christian Faith but likewise to live as becomes the Gospel of Christ and to bring forth plenteously all the fruitful of Righteousness And this likewise St. Peter teaches in his 2d Epistle i. 5. c. with whose Words I shall conclude Besides this giving all diligence add to your Faith Virtue and to vir ue knowledge and to knowledge temperance and to temperance patience and to patience godliness and to godliness Brotherly kindness and to bro herly kindness Charity For if these things be in you and abound they make you that you shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ But he that lacketh these things is blind and cannot see afar off and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old Sins Wherefore the rather Brethren give diligence to make your Calling and Election sure for if ye do these things ye shall never fall For so an entrance shall be ministred unto you abundantly into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Which God of his infinite Mercy grant for the sake of the same our Lord Jesus Christ To whom c. FINIS
the forbearance of God In which Text being justify'd and having our Sins remitted seem'd to be us'd as Terms of he 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 Psal xxxii 1 2. Blessed is the Man to whom the Lord will not impute Sin Rom iv 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 cxliii 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. viii 33 34. And in another place Being justify'd by his Blood we shall be sav'd from Wrath through him Rom. v. 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 that 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 a 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 viii 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 begins 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. vi 11 Ye are or ye have been justify'd in the Name of the Lord Jesus And Rom. vi 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. iii. 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 renewing 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. vi 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 Judgment it
in that Epistle is not an idle ineffectual Belief but such a Faith as makes Men to be obedient Forasmuch therefore as the Faith which St. Paul speaks of when he says we are justify'd by Faith includes in it all that St. James means by Faith and Works too it is plain That tho' we suppose that they do both use the word justifie always in the same sense there is not however any Contrariety in their Doctrines altho' one says that we are justify d by Faith and the other that we are justify'd by Works and not by saith only But 3. There is also an ambiguity in the word Works and it is not improbable nay I suppose I shall make it very plain that these two Apostles S. Paul and S. Jam. in their several Discourses upon the Subject of Justification do likewise use this Word in very different Senses and that St. Paul when he excludes Works do's not mean the same by Works that St. James do's when he affirms that we are justify'd by Works and not by Faith only And if St. James by Works when he affirms them to be necessary together with Faith means those Works of Piety Justice and Charity and other Moral Duties which are required in the Gospel as to any one that reads the former part of the Chapter it will be evident that he do's and on the other side if St. Paul when he excludes Works means by Works only either those materially good Works which Men might do without the Grace of the Gospel or the Merit of good VVorks or else those Ritual Observances which were requir'd by the Ceremonial Law of Moses then tho' their VVords and Expressions be different yet their Sense may be the very same Now concerning this place in St. James I think there can be no Dispute he plainly takes both Faith and VVorks in the most proper and usual acceptation of the words By Faith when he affirms that Faith alone is not sufficient he plainly means a meer Belief of the Truths of the Gospel and by VVorks when he affirms that they are necessary together with Faith he plainly means such a sort of Life and Conversation as the Belief of the Gospel Truths is naturally apt to produce a Conversation becoming the Gospel of Christ And both these he affirms to be necessary in order to our final Justification at the last day And on the other side St Paul if at any time he speaks of the same Justification that St. James do's means by Faith when he says we are justify'd by that only all that St. James means by Faith and VVorks too as hath been shewn already and by Works when he says we are justify'd by Works he means only either the Merit of good VVorks or such VVorks as might be done by unregenerate Men without the Grace of the Gospel or else the Ritual Observances of the Mosaical Law And that he uses the VVords in these Senses and do's not mean to exclude from being a condition of our final Justification that hearry Obedience to the Precepts of the Gospel which a firm Belief of the Truths of it is naturally apt to produce will further appear if these two things be considered 1 The occasion and design of those Discourses of St. Paul wherein Faith is so much magnified and VVorks are set so light by And And 2 The several Cautions that are here and there intermix'd in those Discourses as it were on purpose to prevent our mistaking his meaning and thinking that we may be sav'd by Faith alone without a good Life 1. We may consider the Occasion and Design of those Discourses of S. Paul wherein Faith is so much magnify'd and Works are set so light by and which consequently do seem most to contradict the Doctrine here taught by St. James And I premise this first of all That none of St. Paul's Epistles seem to have been written as if they were intended to comprehend the whole Christian Religion they rather suppose Christianity already planted in those Places to which his Epistles are directed It was not consequently his Intention in every Epistle that he wrote to teach all the Principles of the Doctrine of Christ and to lay again the foundation of Repentance from dead Works and of Faith towards God Heb. vi 1. for all this had been done before those same Apostles by whose Ministry they had been converted and baptiz'd having also then according to the Commission given them by Christ taught them to observe all things whatsoever our Lord had commanded As such therefore the Apostle consider'd the Persons to whom he wrote viz. as true Disciples of Christ as Persons that had before been taught to obey as believe the Gospel and so had no fear upon him that by his using the Word Faith or Works in an uncommon Sense and yet in such a Sense as the Controversy he was handling led him to use them in they to whom he wrote wou'd ever be in danger of embracing an Opinion so contrary to the first Principles of the Christian Religion as it plainly was to think that they might be saved only by believing without obeying the Gospel The main design then I say of most of St Paul's Epistles I mean of the Controversial Parts of them seems to be to furnish the Christians to whom he wrote with Answers to those Objections which the Enemies to Christianity among whom they liv'd did make against it And most of the Churches to which these Epistles were directed were made up chiefly of Gentile Converts with whom nevertheless there were some Jewish Converts also intermix'd but the far greatest part of the Inhabitants of those places were profess'd Jews or Gentiles who tho' both zealous each for their own way and against each other yet readily joyn'd their Forces together as against a common Enemy to hinder the growth and spreading of Christianity So that St. Paul had three sorts of Adversaries to deal with viz. the Gentiles the Jews and the Judaizing Christians The Gentiles who had been long bred up under the Institution of their Philosophers and by their good and wholsom Precepts of Morality were in a good readiness and disposition to embrace the Gospel which in general commanded little more than they were taught before their own Philosophers only requiring a stricter and more perfect observance of those Rules and adding new Motives and Encouragements to it from the plain Revelation of a future state of Rewards and Punishments of which before the coming of Christ Men had but an obscure Notion and very slender Assurance The main Objection therefore which these had to make against St. Paul was that he took as they thought a great deal of pains to little purpose in going about to establish a new Belief and a new Profession of Religion among them seeing that al to Practice they had been taught all the same things in substance by their own Philosophers so that consequently they thought he might have spared his labour