TA THE SYSTEM of DOCTRINES CONTAINED IN DIVINE REVELATION. PART II. CHA P. IV. SECTION VI. Concerning Saving Faith. THERE have been, and ftill are, various and oppofite opinions in the chriftian world, and among Protestants, respecting faving faith; and very different diffinitions have been given of it. Inftead of particularly describing these, and attempting to refute any of them now, it is propofed to examine the fcriptures, and endeavour from them to find what is the nature, and what are the properties of this faith. And if in this way, which is doubtless the moft proper to be taken, a clear and fatisfactory idea of this fubject may be obtained, all erro VOL. II. B neous neous opinions refpecting it, which have been imbibed and propagated, will of course be detected.-In this view, the following things may be observed. I. SAVING faith is reprefented in many paffages of fcripture as confifting in a belief and affurance of the truth and reality of thofe things which are revealed and afferted by God in the divine oracles. Or a conviction and affured knowledge, that the gospel is true; that Jefus Chrift is the Son of God, and the Saviour of the world; and they who have this belief, affurance or knowledge, are confidered and declared to be in a state of falvation. This is the account given of faith in the moft exprefs definition of it in the Bible. "Now faith is the fubftance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not feen*." Here faith is defcribed in the general nature of it; and is faid to be that by which invifible and future things are seen as evident realities. Hence it appears, that he who realizes and is affured of the truths contained in divine revelation, has true faith, by which men believe to the faving of their fouls, which is the faith here defined, as appears from the words immediately preceding these, in the last verse of the foregoing chapter. "We are of them that believe to the faving of the foul. Now faith, &c." "Thou art the Chrift, When Peter faid to Jefus, the Son of the living God," Jefus answered and faid unto him, "Bleffed art thou, Simon Barjona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee; but my Father which is in heaven." Upon this we may observe, 1. That the faith which Peter poffeffes, is a belief and affurance that Jefus of Nazareth was indeed the Son of God, the Meffiah who was to come into the world. 2. That Chrift declares this to be faving faith, in pronouncing Peter bleffed upon this, and afferting that this faith was the effect of divine, fupernatural influences. * Heb. xi. 1. Very Very parallel to this is what St. John afferts concerning faith. "Whofoever shall confefs that Jefus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God."* This is the fame confeffion which Peter made; and this is here declared to be peculiar to a good man, a true chriftian who fhall be faved. By confeffing that Jefus is the Son of God, is meant a fincere and true declaration, of a belief and affurance of this truth. Such a belief and affurance of this truth, is the only proper ground of this confeffion, and is faving faith. Both these paffages are explained and illuftrated by the following words of this fame Apostle. "Whosoever believeth that Jefus is the Chrift, is born of God." Here a belief of this fingle propofition, Jefus is the Chrift, is afferted to be justifying, faving faith, which is peculiar to those who are born of God. The fame description of faving faith is found in the words of St. Paul, "If thou fhall confefs with thy mouth the Lord Jefus; and fhall believe in thine heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shall be saved."+ To believe that Jefus was raised from the dead, is the same with believing that Jefus is the Chrift: And this is here afferted to be faving faith. This fame faith the Eunuch poffeffed, upon which he was baptized by Philip, and admitted among the number of true believers in Chrift. "And he answered and faid, I believe that Jefus Chrift is the Son of God." Agreeably to this Chrift fays, "This is life eternal,that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hait fent."|| Here eternal life is connected with having a true idea or knowledge of God and the Saviour; or feeing their true character and believing them to be fuch as they are. This therefore must be the fame with that faith to which our Saviour fo often promises falvation 1 John iv, 15. and + Chap. v. 1. † Rom. x, 9. § Acts viii. 37 B 2 and without which he repeatedly faid, men cannot be faved. In all these paffages faith is reprefented as that by which the truth is feen, fo that the truths of the gospel become present and real to the mind, attended with an affurance of their truth and reality: And that this belief of the truth, with what it neceffarily includes, is the whole of faving faith: And is the fame thing which is elfewhere called-Coming to the light. Being in the light.+ Knowing the truth. Coming to the knowledge of the truth.§ A belief of the truth. A being illuminated. I The light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jefus Chrift, fhining in the heart.** Beholding as in a glass, the glory of the Lord.tt + II. SAVING faith, in a number of places, is reprefented in a light, which to fome, efpecially at firft view, may appear different from the defcription of it in the forementioned paffages, if not contrary to it. It is confidered and reprefented, as confifting in the exercise of the heart, and choice of the will; this being cffential to it, and including the whole. "But to as Believing on the name of Chrift, and receiving him, is mentioned as being one and the fame thing, many as received him, to them gave he power to become the fons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”++ Here receiving Chrift, and believing on him, are fynonimous expreffions, and muft mean the fame thing. But receiving Chrift is an exercise of will or choice, and is the fame thing with voluntarily embracing him, as he is offered in the gofpel. Faith in Chrift, or believing on him, is termed coming to him, as being one and the fame. "He that cometh to me, "He that cometh to me, fhall never hunger; hunger; and he that believeth on me, fhall never thirst."* As hungering and thirfting are the fame mental exercife, fo are believing on Christ, and coming to him. This is farther evident from the words following. "But I faid unto you, that ye alfo have feen me, and believe not. All that the Father give thme, fhall come to me; and he that cometh to me, I will in no wife caft out." Here Chrift fpeaks of coming to him, as the condition of falvation by him, and as directly the reverse to not believing on him, with which he charges the Jews; and therefore by coming to him he can mean nothing but faving faith, even the fame which he, in this difcourfe, repeatedly calls believing on him. It may be alfo obferved, that what Chrift here calls not believing, he in another place denotes by not coming to him. "Ye will not come unto me, that ye might have life." The charge of not coming to him, and not believing on him, is evidently the fame. that coming to Chrift, is the fame with believing on him, is confirmed from the evident fynonimous ufe of those phrafes in the words which follow thofe which have been mentioned. "And this is the will of the Father, that every one that fecth the Son and believeth on him, may have everlafting life. No man can come unto me, except the Father which hath fent me, draw him. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. Verily, verily, I fay unto you, he that believeth on me, hath everlafting live." find him fpeaking again after the fame manner. any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. that believeth on me, as the fcripture hath faid, out of his belly fhall flow rivers of living waters."** And And we "If He Faith in Chrift is denoted by eating his flesh, and drinking his blood.†† "Whosoever eateth my flesh, John vi. 35. † v. 36, 37. v. 35, 40, 47. v. 40, 44, 45, 47. 51, 53, 54, 56, 57, 58.: B 3 **John vii. 37, 38. and § Chap. v. 40. tt John vi. 50, |