gracious scheme, and that nothing else should
If for our jiis/ijicatio7i it be essential, and sufficient, that we be united to Christ — one with Christ— found in Chiist — does not the act whereby we take him for our de- fence against that wrath which we feel that we have earned — whereb}', abjuring all self-dependence, we cast ourselves upon God's free mercies in the Redeemer, with a full sense of our guilt and our danger, but in a full reliance upon the efficacy of all that he has wrought and endured ; does not this act, whereby we cleave to him, and, as far as in us lies, become one with him, seem the fit act whereunto to annex the full enjoyment of all those inestimable benefits which, how- ever dearly purchased they were by him who bought them, were designed to be, with respect to us upon whom they are bestowed, emphaticalh' fi'ce ? With less than this, our part in the procedure would not have been, what it was manifestlj' designed to be, in- telligent and voluntary ; vrith more, it might seem to Le meritorious. "Whereas fa'dh imites all the advan- tages that we ought to look for in the instrument whereby we were to \ay hold on the blessings thus freely offered to us : it makes us voluntary recipients of them, and yet does not seem to leave, even to the deceitfulness of our own deceitful hearts, the power of ascribing to ourselves any meritorious share in pro- curing them" (p. 119-121).
The relation of faith to works, and the question of the apparent difference l>etween the doctrine of Paul and that of James on this point, will be treated in our article Wokks. We only remark here that the Pro- testant theology (as has been abundantly shown in the extracts alreadj' given) holds that true faith always manifests itself by love and good works (see A iigsburg Confession, Apology^ c. iii) ; any other faith is mere be- lief, or what St. James calls "dead faith." The mi- nor differences among Protestants as to the nature of faith depend chiefly upon differences as to the nature of justification. See Justification.
See, besides the works alread}' cited, Edwards, Works (N. Y. edit., 4 vols. 8vo), i, 110 ; ii, 601 ?q. ; iv, G4 sq. ; Waterland, Works (Oxf. 1843), vi, 23-29; Pearson, On the Creed, art. i ; Wardlaw, S;istemat,ic Theology (Edinb. 1857, 3 vols. 8vo), ii, 728 sq. ; INIartcnsen, Cliristian Dogmatics (Edinb. 18G0, 8vo), p. 37, 308 sq. ; Knapp, Christ /an Theology, § 121 sq. ; Browne, C» 39 Articles (N. Y. 18G5), p. 308 sq. ; Burnet, 6>« 39 Articles, art. xi ; Nitzsch, Chrlstliche Lehre, § 143 ; Monsell, Religion of Redemjdion (Lond. 18G7, Svo), p. 219 sq. ; Bohmer, Christl Dogmntik (Breslau, 1840), i, 4 ; ii, 259 sq. ; Per- rone (^Wmn.C), Pr(n!ecliones Theologicre (cd. INIigne, 2 vols.), ii. 1414 sq. ; Mohler (R. C.\ Symbo/ism (N. Y. 1844), bk. i, ch. iii, § 15, IG ; Buchanan, 0» Justif cation (Edinb. 18G7, Svo), p. 3G4 sq. ; Hare, Victory of Faith (reviewed in Bibliotheca Sacra, July, 18G0, art. ii) ; Lepsius, Pinilin. Rechferiignngs'ehre (I.eips. 1853, 8vo), p. 94 sq. ; Usteri, Ptuilin. Lehrbegiif {7Air. 1824, Svo) ; Ritschl, AltkathA. Kirche (Leips. 1857, Svo), p. 82 sq. ;
Schulz, Die Christliche Lehre v. Glaubcn (Leips. 1834, Svo); Cobb, Philosophy of Faith (Nashville) ; Neander, Kutholicismus u. Protestantismns (Berlin, 18G3, Svo), p. 131-14G; Hasc, Protectant. Polemik (Leips. 1SG5, Svo), p. 242 sq. ; Baur, Katholicismus vnd Protestantismus (Tubingen, 1836, Svo), p. 259-264; 'EWioti, Delineation of Romanism, book i, chap, ii ; Baur, Dogmengeschichte (Leips. 1867, 3 vols. Svo), iii, 200 sq. ; Cunningham, Historical Theology, chap, xxi ; Beck, Dogmengescliu hte (Tiibingen, 1864, Svo), p. 3G4-369. Sec also Justifi- cation ; S.VXCTIFICATION.
FAITH, ACT OF. See Auto da F^,
FAITH, ARTICLES OF. See Articles, and
FUNDAJIENT.VL.
FAITH AND WORKS. See Works.
FAITH, CONFESSIONS OF. See Confessions OF Faith.
FAITH, FUNDAMENTAL ARTICLES OF. See Fundamental.
FAITH, RULE OF. I. Regida Fidei.—ln the early Church the summary- of doctrines taught to catechu- mens, and to which they were required to give their assent before baptism, was called in Greek ttiotic, the faith ; 'iipoc TtiartojQ, the limit or determination of the faith; tKi;o(jtQ Triar(i.oc,e.rpositi(m of the faith; Kavm', rule; and in Latin, Regida fdei, rule of faith. This term was afterwards applied to the Apostles' Creed. See Creed, Apostles'; Regula Fidei.
II. From the ancient usage, the phrase has been adopted (not very aptly) in modern theology to denote (1) the true source of our knowledge of Christian truth : and (2) the criterion or standard of Christian doctrine. Protestants find this rule in the Scriptures alone ; the Greek and Roman churches, and some An- glicans, find it not only in Scripture, but also in the Church, as the authorized (inspired) interpreter of Scripture, whose interpretations are embodied in tra- dition. The supreme authority, according to the Ro- manists, lies in tradition, and in the pfipe as its living expounder. Some of the mystics and the Qui.kcrs make the "inner light" the supreme rule: thus Rob- ert Barclay says that the highest source of knowledge — divine revelation and illumination — is something in- ternal, trustworthy, and self-evident, whiih ccmm;;nds reason to acce])t it liy the indwelling evidence. The Rationalists make reason the final arbiter, and the mind of man the measure of truth.