First, To begin with the life of faith as to justification, or those pro- mises wherein Jesus Christ and his righteousness is offered to us for the j)ardon of our sins and our acceptance with God. Here I shall do three things : —
1. Prove that justification is one main or chief part of the life of faith.
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2. I sliall show you how we live by faith, or what is the work of faith in order to justification.
3. What we must do that we may so live.
1. That this is a main part of the life of faith.
[1.] It is included in the expression, as it is applied and expounded by the apostle. I shall bring two places : Rom. i. 17, ' For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith ; as it is written, The just shall live by faith.' He giveth a reason why he was not ashamed of the gospel, because of that great blessing revealed in it, the righteousness of God ; that righteousness which God imputeth without the works of the law, by virtue of which we are accepted with God ; and how doth he prove it, that there is such a righteousness of God ? He proves it by that saying, ' It is written, The just shall live by faith.' The other place is Gal. iii. 11, ' But that no man is justified by the law in the sigiit of God is evident ; for the just shall live by faith.' So that we cannot handle living by faith, unless we take in this branch.
[2.] There are many promises made of this benefit. Now it is faith that receives the promises : Jer. xxxi. 34, ' I will forgive their iniquities, and will remember their sins no more.' Now, wherever there is a promise there must be faith ; for as the law, with its threatenings to the fallen creature, is the strength of sin — 1 Cor. xv. 56, ' The streugth of sin is the law,'— so the gospel, with its promises, is the strength of faith ; and therefore our comfort thence ariseth. If we would live and act comfortably on the promises, we must live by faith.
[3.] Because there is a daily use of faith for the continuance and the increase of the sense of this benefit, therefore this is a great part of our living by faith. It is said, Rom. i. 17, tliat 'the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith ; ' from first to last, from one degree of faith to another; not only the beginning of justification is by faith, but the whole progress of it. Many think that this kind of faith on God's free justifying grace in Christ is necessary to give us comfort at our first conversion, as if then it had finished all it should or could do ; at other times faith is laid aside, unless we fall into some notable decay, or may be plunged into some deep doubts, or fall into some great offences, or be exercised with some sharp afflictions, when we are forced, as it wei-e, to begin all again. Oh, no ! there is a continual use of it ; for faith is not only obstetnx, the midwife to the new birth, but nutrix, the continual nurse and cherisher of it, and of all the comfort and peace that we have thereby ; it is still necessary to our communion with God, and continuance and increase of comfort , for as soon as we take off our eye from Christ, the remembrance of former sins will trouble and vex the conscience. And therefoi'e we must every day humble ourselves for sin, and seek pardon, and cry out with David, Ps. cxliii. 2, ' Enter not into judgment with thy servant, 0 Lord, for in thy sight no man living shall be justified ;' as not the greatest sinner, so not the best saint, neither before regeneration nor after. There is no other way of maintaining comfort but by flying to grace, and seeking favour and pardon according to the new covenant. Yea, those evils mentioned before, as notable decays, great offences, deep doubts, sharp afflictions, they are all occasioned by the discontinuance of the exercise
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of faith, and because we do not cherish a warm sense of the love of God in pardoning our sins for Christ's sake. The more we keep the grounds of comfort in constant view, the more uniform and even we are in our course of walking with God , as tire once kindled is better kept burning than when it is often quenched and often kindled again. And therefore this should be our daily ta.sk, to live by faith with respect to justification.
[4.] Because tliis is the ground of all other parts of the life of grace, take it either for the life of sanctification, or our present living to God, or take it for the life of glory, or our living with God hereafter.
(1.) It is the way to the life of sanctification, or our present living to God and converse with him. Take it either for his influences upon us, or our duty to him , for Christ lives in us by his Spirit, and we live in him by taith, as Christ liveth in us by his Spirit, and we receive his influences. The holy God will have no communion with us while the guilt of sin standeth in the way: Isa. lix. 2. ' Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you.' Sin, and nothing but sin, doth raise up a wall of separation between us and God ; poverty, sickness, reproaches, these are evils, but none of these shall separate us from the love of God in Christ ; but sin breedeth a strangeness between us and God ; so that till sin be taken away, there can be no communion between God and us, and we are cut off from the blessed influences by which the life of grace might be main- tained : Jer. v, 25, ' Your sins have withheld good things from you.' Till sin be removed, the cock is, as it were, turned, and the course of the blessing stopped. But take it for our acting grace, and living to God ; we are careless of cur duty unless we be interested in this benefit ; the more love we have to God, the more sense we have of his pardon- ing mercy ■ Ps. cxxx. 4, ' There is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.' We can neither have hand nor heart to serve and obey God without this encouragement ; the more we believe him to be gracious, the more we fear to otfend him ; and by experience none are so cautious of sin, as those that seek after daily pardon. Who is more careful not to run into new arrearages than he that desireth to have his debts paid and cancelled and blotted out ? So they that are solicitous to make even reckoning between God and their souls are most cautious that they do not interrupt their peace with new sins ; and whilst they plead so hard for mercy, they have the greater sense of duty and obedience. So that we cannot carry on the life of sanctification without looking after the life of justification.