1 Cor. X. 15. 7 S2)eak as to wise men; judge ye lohat I say.
IF there be any one question of more importance than all others, it is this, " How shall a man be just with God?" Many errors in relation to other points may be entertained in the mind, and yet our final salvation not be affected by them : but an error in reference to this undermines the foundation of our hopes, and will involve our souls in everlasting ruin. We are anxious therefore to state, with all the preci- sion in our power, what we apprehend to be the doctrine of the Holy Scriptures respecting the grounds of a sinner's acceptance before God. And here we are peculiarly solicitous to bespeak your candour; because there are in the world so many misconcep- tions, not to say, misrepresentations also, of the views of those who maintain the doctrine of justification by faith only.
It is thought by some, that we make faith to con- sist in a strong persuasion of the mind that we are in the favour of God : but we are far from entertaining any such opinion. Whatever is founded on a mere persuasion of our own minds, is a baseless fabric, a fatal delusion. The only warrant for a sinner's hope, is the written word of God : and that word is the same, whether it come suddenly to our minds, and excite in us an assurance of our interest in it, or be brought more gradually to our view, and be received with fear and trembling. The promises made to re- penting and believing sinners are, I say, independent of any frames or feelings of ours ; and are the only legitimate ground of our hope in God : and a simple reliance on them, and on Christ as revealed in them, we c'dW faith.
What we mean by hem^ justified by faith, we shall also explain in few words.
We all, as sinners, are obnoxious to the wrath of God : but the Lord Jesus Christ is set forth in tlie