such consequence as this. And therefore have searched very narrowly into the true nature and notion of it, that so I might both satisfy myself, and certify you, what that is which the Apostle here, and the Gospel all along, calls "believing in Jesus Christ;" or what that faith really is, whereby alone our persons can be justified, and our souls saved. Which being my only design, I shall not trouble you with impertinent discourses concerning any other kinds of faith, as they are usually termed; as an historical faith, a temporary faith, a faith of miracles, or the like. For whether these be distinct species of faith or no, be sure it is acknowledged by all, that such a faith as riseth no higher than what is meant by those expressions, can never bring a soul to Heaven. And therefore I shall not discourage your attention with treating of them, but shall speak only of that faith, of such a believing in Jesus Christ, whereby the Apostle here tells us we may be saved; which is therefore commonly called a justifying or saving faith.

Now, making diligent inquiry into the true nature of this faith, I find two very dangerous opinions concerning it: the one is of the Socinians, the other of the Papists; which I should not mention (because I love not to trouble either you or myself with controversies), but that they are both of very pernicious consequence, and as much contrary to the true nature of faith, as they are to one another. And if any of you should be prepossessed with either of these two extreme opinions, it will be very hard and difficult to reconcile you to the true one.

First, therefore, the Socinians, together with the Samosatenians hold, that justifying or saving faith is nothing else but obedience sincerely performed to the law of God; so that good works are not the fruit of faith, but constitute the very form and essence of it. But this directly contradicts the very notion of faith in general, which the Apostle describes to be the "substance of things hoped for, and the [Heb. 11. evidence of things not seen;" which cannot possibly be said 1.] of obedience without manifest absurdity. And, besides that, the Scripture all along distinguisheth betwixt faith and obedience as two distinct things, as where our Saviour saith, "Repent and believe the Gospel;" where repentance doth Mark 1. 15.

SERM. plainly comprise under it, not only our aversion from sin, CXXXIII. but likewise our conversion unto God, and by consequence

sincere and universal obedience to all His laws and commands; and yet it is plain, that our Saviour here enjoins us to believe His Gospel, as a distinct duty from our repentance, or obedience to the law. And the Apostle reckons 1 Cor.13.13. up" faith, hope, and charity," as three distinct graces. But [Rom. 13. elsewhere the same Apostle tells us, that "love, or charity, iv.]

is the fulfilling of the whole law:" and therefore nothing can be more plain, than that faith was really a distinct thing from obedience in the Apostle's account. Indeed, they differ as much as the cause and effect do: for faith is the instrumental cause whereby we are enabled to perform obeActs 15. 9. dience, for it is by it that our hearts are purified; yea, and they have different objects too; for obedience respects only the commands, but faith looks only to the promises of God made to us in Jesus Christ. Hence, although faith be always accompanied with obedience and good works, so as that it can never be without them, yet in the matter of our Rom. 3. 28; justification, it is always opposed against them by St. Paul. Gal. 2. 16. And indeed to look to be justified by such a faith which is

the same with obedience, or which is all one, to be justified by our obedience to the law of God, is to take off all our hopes and expectations from Christ, and to place them upon ourselves, and our own performances. So that we may thank ourselves, and not Christ, or at least we may thank ourselves, as well as Christ, if our sins be ever pardoned, or our persons justified before God. And therefore, this notion of faith overthrows the very basis and foundation of the Christian religion, making our Salvation to depend altogether upon our obedience, without any respect at all to Christ.

But there are two or three places of Scripture, which they would persuade the world, do very much favour their opinion; such especially where mention is made of the Rom. 1.5; "obedience of faith." But such places are so far from proving that opinion, that they quite overthrow it for if it be the obedience of faith, it cannot be faith itself; though, to speak truly, faith here is not that fides quâ creditur, that faith whereby we believe; but the fides quæ creditur,

ch. 16. 26.

1 Pet. 1. 22.

the doctrine of faith which is believed. So that the obedience of faith is that obedience which the doctrine of faith, or the Gospel, requires; which is therefore called elsewhere "the obedience of Christ," and the "obedience of the 2 Cor. 10. 5. truth;" not subjectively, as if Christ or the truth were the subjects of our obedience, but objectively, because our obedience is performed to Christ, and His truth, and so to the faith which He requires of us. And in that sense, I confess, there is obedience in every act of faith, because he that believes obeys the command of Christ, enjoining him to believe. But this is only one act of obedience to one particular command; and therefore cannot with any show of reason be called obedience in general; which comprises under it an universal conformity of all our lives and actions to all the laws and commands of God. Neither indeed is it the rò credere, that obedience which we perform to Christ, by believing in Him: it is not this, I say, whereby we can be justified or saved: for then our justification and Salvation would be wholly ascribed to something within ourselves, and not to Christ; or, in plain terms, we should be justified by our own merits, and not by His: which plainly contradicts the whole tenour of the Gospel, and the grand design of Christ's coming into the world, and of all that He hath done or suffered for us. And therefore, all things considered, although, as I shall prove anon, true faith can never be separated from good works, or, as they call it, from obedience; yet it is plainly another, and a distinct thing from it, and cannot be confounded with it, without manifest prejudice to Christ, and contradiction to His Gospel.

The other false and erroneous opinion concerning faith is that of the Papists, who confidently assert, that it is sufficient for Salvation, if a man hath but such an implicit faith, whereby he becomes a son of the Catholic Church; and believes as she believes, whether he knows what she believes or no: which is such a monster of faith, for a man to believe he knows not what, that it may justly be termed atheism or irreligion, rather than faith: for all faith supposes an assent to something which is known to be testified by another but an implicit faith, as they call it, supposes

SERM. nothing particularly known to be so testified; and so there CXXXIII. is nothing of faith in it, because it hath no particular object

which it assents to: for he that believes only as the Church believes, without knowing what that is, such a one believes nothing that he knows of; and so hath indeed no faith at all of his own, whereby he can be saved; and therefore, if he ever be saved, it must be by the faith of another, yea, of many others, even of the Catholic Church, though he doth not know what that is neither, only he believes it to be the Church of Rome. And therefore such a one may be said indeed to believe in the Pope, or in the Church, but he can never be said to believe in Christ, as the Apostle here enjoins the gaoler to do: he doth not bid him believe as the Church believes, nor believe as the Apostles believe, but "believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."

But to this the Papists object, that if an implicit faith be not sufficient to Salvation, then it is necessary for a man to know, and clearly to understand, all the mysteries in the Gospel, before he can believe them; but that is impossible for any man to do. But this, the main prop, yea, chief foundation whereupon they build their implicit faith, will be easily removed, if you do but consider, that the knowledge requisite to a true faith is not such a comprehensive knowledge whereby a man clearly understands the things he believes, as they are in themselves; for that would not be properly faith, but science or vision, which can never be expected until we come to Heaven; but such a knowledge whereby we know such mysteries to be revealed by God, and so they are the proper objects of a Divine faith, because testified by Divine authority. So that it is not the reason of the thing, but the testimony of God, that induceth us to believe. And did the Papists mean no more than this, that it is not necessary for a man to know the reason of the thing in order to his believing of it, we should easily grant it: for no man can possibly understand the reason of all the Gospel mysteries. And therefore, the Socinians err as much on the one hand, as the Papists do on the other: for, as the Papists hold, that no knowledge at all is necessary to a saving faith, not so much as to know such things to be

revealed and testified by God; so the Socinians, on the other hand, they plead for such a knowledge as is fetched from the inward reason of the thing; such as we have by reason and demonstration in philosophical matters. And this is the reason they deny the Sacred Trinity, the Divinity and incarnation of Christ, together with the meritoriousness and efficacy of His death and passion; because they would make reason the only judge of these great mysteries. And because they cannot comprehend them, therefore they will not believe them; and by consequence act not like Christians, but philosophers, searching out the internal principles and reasons of things: whereas the Christian faith requires us to believe what God saith, only because He saith it, without ever troubling our heads with the reasons of it; which be sure we shall never perfectly understand whilst we are here below. But though it be not necessary for us to know the reason of what God saith, yet it is necessary for us to know that He saith it; otherwise how is it possible for us to believe it because He saith it, if we do not know whether ever He said it or no?

This, therefore, is that knowledge which is necessary to true faith, even that we know such and such things to be attested by God, without which our faith will be but a mere implicit faith, and so no true faith at all.

For, that such a knowledge as this is absolutely necessary to true faith, you will all grant, if you do but consider, first, the Apostle's words, "How shall they believe in Him of Rom. 10.14. Whom they have not heard?" From which words nothing can be more plain, than that, in order to our believing in Christ, it is indispensably necessary that we first hear of Him; and so know what is asserted by God, and so what is to be believed by us concerning Him. Hence the same Apostle tells us, that "faith cometh by hearing," because Rom.10.17. hearing the word of God is the ordinary means whereby we come to the knowledge of those things which we ought to believe whereas if an implicit faith could bring a soul to Heaven, if a man could be saved, although he be altogether ignorant of Him by Whom alone he can be saved if so, to what end were the Scriptures written? Wherefore are they preached? For what need you read