cp»s an act required of us in point of duty ^ to a blessing consequent by 'virtue of a promise ? Such a thing, whatever it be, hath the nature of a condition, inasmuch as it is antecedent to the benefit of the promise; and the mercy or benefit granted, is suspended until it be peribrmed. The question is not, whether there be any intrinsical wortli or value in the thing so required, to oblige the disposer to make or perform the grant or promise, but merely that it be antece- dent to the enjoyment of the benefit ; and that the disposer of the benefit do suspend the benefit until it be performed? Thus an act or duty of ours, which has nothing at all of merit in it, or answer- able value to the benefit it relates to, may be in a proper sense a condition of the said benefit. " For what is a condition in the true notion of it, but * the suspension of a grant until something future be done?'^ " Or, -|-as others to the same purpose. The adding of words to a grant, for the future, of a suspending quality, according to which the disposer will have the benefit he disposeth to be regu- lated ?'' This properly is a condition, though there be nothing of equivalent value or merit in the thing required.
And such your brethren, in their narrative, page 14. do acknow- ledge faith to be, when they assert none can be actually reconciled, justified, or adopted, till they are really implanted into Jesus Christ by faith ; and so, by virtue of this their union with him, have these fundamental benefits actually conveyed unto them ; which contains the proper notion of the condition we contend for.
And such a condition of salvation we assert faith to be in the new covenant grant ; that is to say, the grant of salvation by God in the gospel-covenant is suspended from all men, till they believe, and is due by promise, not merit, to them as soon as they do truly believe. The notes or signs of a condition given by civilians, or moralists, are such as these, If fnot, unless, but if except, only, and the like. When these are added in the promise of a blessing or benefit for the future, they make that promise conditional ; and your grammar (according to which you must speak, if you speak properly and strictly) will tell you, that *SV, sin, modo, dum, dummodo, are all conditional particles; and it is evident, that these conditional particles are frequently insert- ed in the grants of the blessings and privileges of the New Testament. As for example; Mark ix. 23. n h-ovaccn ^/^^^(ya/, " If thou canst be- lieve."" Acts viii. 37. a -t/? gye/g sg oXt;? rTj^zagS/a;, " If thou believest with thy whole heart thou may est,'' &;c. Rom. x. 9. (*^/ ?«"> " That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth, and believe witli thy heart,"" &c, thou shalt be saved."" Mat. xviii. 3. £«(/ /x/j, " Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."- Mark v. 36. /xovo^, *' Only believe."" Mark xi. 26. e^ ^ ax*
• Conditio est suspcmiQ alicujiu dispositionist tantisper dumaliquidfuturimjiat. Navarr* Enchirid. 482.
f Est verborum adjcctio infuturum sitsjiendentium^ fccundum quam disj^onens mdt dis* puiUum regulari.
350 A REPLV to MR. CARy's solemn CALt.
*« But if ye forgive not," &c. Mith multitudes more, which are all conditional particles inserted in the grants of benefits.
(2.) Having shewn you what the nature of a condition is, I shall, I hope, make it plain to you, that Jhith is such a condition in the gospel-grant of our salvation ; for we find the benefit suspended till this act of faith be performed ; John iii. 36. " He that believeth on the Son, hath everlasting life ; and he that believeth not the Son, shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." And most plainly, Rom. x. 9. having she^vn before what the condition of legal righteousness was, he tells us there what the gospel-condition of sal- vation is ; " The righteousness which is of faith, speaketh on this wise ; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and sh alt believe in thy heart, that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." I ask you, sir, whether it be possible to put words into a frame more lively expressive of a condition than these are.? Do but compare Mark xvi. 16. " He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth not, shall be damned:" Do but compare, I say, that scripture-phrase with the words of Ja- cob's sons, which all allow to be conditional, Gen. xliii. 4, 5. " If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down ; but if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down ;" and judge whether the one be not as conditional as the other : more particularly.
If we cannot be justified or saved till we believe, then faith is the condition on which those consequent benefits are suspended.
But we cannot be justified or saved till we beheve ; Ergo.
The sequel of the major is evident ; for, as we said before, a con- dition is the suspension of a grant till something future be done. The minor is plain in scripture ; Rom. iv. 24. " Now it was not written for his sake alone, that righteousness was imputed to him ; but for our sakes also, to whom it shall be imputed if we believe." Otg fnXXsi Xoy/^sff^a/, Quibus futurim est ut imputetur, to whom it shall come to pass, that it shall be imputed, if we believe : And Acts x. 43. *' Whosoever believeth on him, shall receive remission of sins." John iii. 36. " He that believeth not, shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him ;" with multitudes more. Now, sir, lay seri- ously before your e^^es such scriptures as these, that promise salva- tion to believers, and threaten damnation to all unbelievers, as Mark xvi. 16. doth, and then give a plain and clear answer to this ques- tion; either the positive part of that text promises salvation absolutely to men, whether they believe or believe not, and consequently un- believers shall be saved as well as believers ; and the negative part threatens damnation absolutely to sinners, as sinners ; and conse- quently all sinners shall be damned, whether they believe or not : or else, if you allow neither to be absolute, but that none can be saved till they believe, nor any damned when they do believe; is not that a conditional promise and threatening ?
A EEPLY TO MR. CAHy's SOLEMN CALL. 351
If God's covenant with Abraham, Gen. xii. 2, 3. and that Gen. xvii. 2, 3. were (as you say) pure gospel-covenants of grace, and yet in both some things are required as duties on Abraham's part, to make him partaker of the benefits of the promises ; then the cove- nant of grace is not absolute, but conditional.
But so it was in both these covenants ; Ergo.
The minor only requires proof; for which let us have recourse to the places, and see whether it be so or not.