the written word : who will arrogate to himself the honour of haying acquired these, or of having contributed to the acqui- sition of them in the smallest degree?
It may be thought perhaps, that, because an interest in these things is obtained by faith, we may claim some honour on account of the faith which apprehends them ; which, being exercised by us, may be considered in some respects as giving us a ground of glorying before God. But this also is the gift of God, no less than the plan of salvation itself: it is not in any man by nature ; nor is it to be wrought in man by any human power: it is not the effect of reasoning: for then the acutest reason ers would be the strongest believers ; which is frequently far from being the case : it is solely the gift of God : and hence they who have believed, are said to " have believed through grace b." It is expressly said to be given usc : and when Peter declared his faith in Jesus as the true Messiah, Jesus said to him, " Flesh and blood had not revealed this truth unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." This is the true reason why many believed the testimony of Christ and his Apostles, whilst others were hardened in unbelief: those " whose hearts God opened," as he did Lydia's, received the truth ; whilst all others treated the word, either with open scorn, or secret indifference.]
2. It must be so —
[Salvation must either be of grace or of works : the two cannot be mixed together, or reconciled with each other : if it be of works in any degree, it is no more of grace d; and in whatever degree it is of works, it so far affords us an occasion of boasting; seeing that it is then a debt paid, and not a gift bestowed e.
To avoid this conclusion, some will say, that salvation may be of works, and still be also of grace; because the works being wrought in us by God, he is entitled to all the glory of them. But, granting that they are wrought in us by God, yet, inasmuch as they are our works, they afford us a ground of glorying : and, to say that they do not afford us a ground of glorying, is directly to contradict the Apostle in our text, where he says, " It is not of works, lest any man should boast." The same Apostle elsewhere says, "It is of faith, that it may be by grace f:" from both which passages it is evident, that, if it be of works, from whatever source those works proceed, it can no longer be by grace.
But here it may be asked, ' If works, notwithstanding they are wrought in us by God, afford us a ground of glorying in
b Acts xviii. 27. c Phil. i. 29. d Rom. xi. 6.
c Rom. iv. 4. f Rom. iv. 16'.