PAUL AND JAMES RECONCILED. 389
suppose that this pernicious conceit was imbibed by them from the poisonous opinions that some had then divulged, according as the apostle Paul foretold that it would come to pass, 2 Tim. iv, 1-4 : for it is generally conceived that Simon Magus and his followers had by this time infected the minds of many with their abominations; and amongst them this was one, and not the least pernicious, that by faith was intended a liberty from the law and unto sin, or unto them that had it, the taking away of all difference between good and evil ; which was afterward improved by Basilides, Valentinus, and the rest of the Gnostics. Or, it may be, it was only the corruption of men's hearts and lives that prompted them to seek after such a countenance vinto sin. And this latter I judge it was. There were then among professed Christians, such as the world now swarms withal, who sup- pose that their faith, or the religion which they profess, be it what it will, shall save them, although they live in flagitious wickedness, and are utterly barren as unto any good works or duties of obedience. Nor is there any other occasion of what he writes intimated in the epistle ; for he makes no mention of seducers, as John doth expressly and frequently, some while after. Against this sort of persons, or for their conviction, he designs two things, — First, In general, to prove the necessity of works unto all that profess the gospel or faith in Christ thereby. Second, To evidence the vanity and folly of their pretence unto justification, or that they were justified and should be saved by that faith that was indeed so far from being fruitful in good works, as that it was pretended by them only to countenance them- selves in sin. Unto these ends are all his arguings designed, and no other. He proves effectually that the faith which is wholly barren and fruitless as unto obedience, and [by] which men pretended to counte- nance themselves in their sins, is not that faith whereby we are justi- fied, and whereby we may be saved, but a dead carcase, of no use nor benefit ; as he declares by the conclusion of his whole dispute, in the last verse of the chapter. He doth not direct any how they may be justified before God, but convinceth some that they are not justified by trusting unto such a dead faith ; and declares the only way whereby any man may really evidence and manifest that he is so justified indeed. This design of his is so plain as nothing can be more evi- dent ; and they miss the whole scope of the apostle who observe it not in their expositions of the context. Wherefore, the principal design of the apostles being so distant, there is no repugnancy in their assertions, though their words make an appearance thereof; for they do not speak " ad idem," nor of things " eodem respectu." James doth not once inquire hoAV a guilty, convinced sinner, cast and condemned by the law, may come to be justified before God ; and Paul speaks to nothing else. Wherefore, apply the expressions of
390 ON JUSTIFICATION.
each of them unto their proper design and scope, — as we must do, or we depart from all sober rules of interpretation, and render it im- possible to understand either of them aright, — and there is no dis- agi-eeraent, or appearance of it, between them.
(2.) They speak not of the same faith. Wherefore, there can he no discrepancy in what one ascribes unto faith and the other denies concerning it, seeing they understand not the same thing thereby; for they speak not of the same faith. As if one affirms that fire will burn, and another denieth it, there is no contradiction between them, whilst one intends real fire, and the other only that which is painted, and both declare themselves accordingly. For we have proved before that there are two sorts of faith wherewith men are said to believe the gospel, and make profession thereof; as also that that which belongs unto the one doth not belong unto the other. None, I suppose, will deny but that by "faith," in the matter of our justifica- tion, St Paul intends that which is xvpiog, or properly so called. The " faith of God's elect," " precious faith," " more precious than gold," " the faith that purifieth the heart, and worketh by love," " the faith whereby Christ dwelleth in us, and we abide in him, whereby we live to God," " a living faith," is that alone which he intend eth. For all these things, and other spiritual effects without number, doth he ascribe unto that faith which he insisteth on, to be on our part the only means of our justification before God. But as unto the faith intended by the apostle James, he assigns nothing of all this unto it; yea, the only argument whereby he proves that men cannot be saved by that faith which he treats of, is that nothing of all this is found in it. That which he intends is, what he calls it, a dead faith, a carcase without breath, the faith of devils, a wordy faith, that is no more truly what it is called, than it is true charity to send away naked and hungry persons without relief, but not without derision. Well may he deny justification in any sense unto this faith, however boasted of, when yet it may be justly ascribed unto that faith which Paul speaks of