Vers. 35, 36.] sermons upon matthew xxv. 63
one Cometh appealing to justice : ' The pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust,' &g. ; ' I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.' The other cometh crying out grace : ' The publican, standing afar ofif, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, Grod be merciful to me a sinner.' The sinner is justified, not the worker. In short, to prevent all mis- takes—
[1.] Our Avorks, whatever they are, either works of love to God or man, and the good use of external means or common grace, are not the moving cause or inducement to incline God to give us Christ, or the grace of faith, or work of conversion before others ; but this is the mere work of grace, or the mercy and good pleasure of God : Titus iii. 5, 6, ' Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but accord- ing to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost ; which he shed on us abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Saviour.'
[2.] Works, both before and after conversion, are not that right- eousness, nor any part of that righteousness, by which sin is expiated, or the wrath of God appeased, or whereby we are reconciled to God, and do originally obtain a right to eternal life ; this is only ascribed to the merit of Christ : Kom. iii. 24, 25, ' Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.' The merit is in Christ's blood, Christ's obedience, his ransom and meritorious price.
[3.] Our works, or what we do to fulfil the law of God, are not that instrument by virtue of which we apply the merits of Christ to our- selves, or receive that righteousness by virtue of which we are recon- ciled to God. Our interest in the merits of Christ, our right to par- don of sin and grace, doth not arise from works, but merely faith, Kom. iii. 22; so that in the plea of justification, or our suit for the pardon of sin, we must renounce all our good works, and wholly rely on the merits of Christ, giving up ourselves to do the will of God. Abate this, and then works indeed come in as the fruits of faith, as evidences of eternal life and the way to glory.
2. The carnal gospeller is the other person we have to do with ; and to him we say —
[1.] That no man can maintain his comfort, and faithfully rely upon Christ's merits, but he that is faithful in doing his Father's will. No other faith is allowed by the scriptures for sound in the judgment of our consciences but such a faith : Gal. v. 6, ' For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith which worketh by love.' No other faith will be approved by Christ for sound at the last day : Mat. vii. 21, ' Not every one that saith unto me. Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven ; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.'
[2.] That the doing of some good works cannot excuse men for the omission of others which be as necessary ; we must not do one act of charity only, but all. Many acts are reckoned up of one kind, to imply
64 SERMONS UPON MATTHEW XXV. [Ser. XXII,
all the rest ; not only fed, but clothed ; not only clothed, but visited. Therefore, besides the goodness of the work which we are bound to do, there must be a uniformity in them. There are good worlcs of divers kinds, many works of the same kind. To prophesy in Christ's name is a good work ; to cast out devils would seem to us more excellent than these mentioned; as the workers of iniquity : Mat. vii. 22, 'Many will say unto me in that day. Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works? ' Ver. 23, ' Then will I profess unto them, I never knew you ; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.' Then there are many works of the same kind ; we must not only visit, but clothe ; not once, but often. The same faith which inclineth our hearts to works of one kind, will incline them to every kind ; for they all stand by the same authority, and it is not agreeable with sincerity to balk any of them.
[3.] These works must be done so heartily as that it may appear we have denied all for Christ, and love him above all ; or that it may appear they are fruits of faith and love. The parting with worldly goods implieth our hearts must be loosened from the love of temporal things ; and the visiting of Christ in prison, which may be for right- eousness' sake, implieth our victory over our fear of danger ; otherwise it argueth our faith is weak and our love is cold, and so not sincere, not prevailing over us in such a degree as will argue sincerity. There is ' faith unfeigned,' 2 Tim. i. 5, and ' loving in deed and truth,' 1 John iii. 18. ' Faith unfeigned,' as when temporal things seem nothing to us, and are easily parted with ; and ' love in deed and in truth,' is to relieve our brethren with our goods, yea, to give our lives for them if need be, as appeareth ver. 16, 17. But alas! love in most christians is cold ; it will neither take jxains, nor be at charge, much less lay down life for them, as Christ did for us ; do little to maintain, comfort, or support Christ's servants in distress.