to teach was the reverse of that proposition. He is to be un- derstood as saying that the observance of Jewish rites and cere- monies is not essential to salvation ; that men are not made right- eous or good by external ceremonial works, but by works morally good. This is the ground taken by Pelagians and by most of the modern Rationalists. It is only a modification of this view that men are not justified, that is, that their character before God is not determined so much by their particular acts or works, as by their general disposition and controlling principles. To be justi- fied by faith, therefore, is to be justified on the ground of our trust, or pious confidence in God and truth. Thus Wegscheider 1 says, " Homines non singulis quibusdam recte factis operibusque operatis, nee propter meritum quoddam iis attribuendum, sed sola vera fide, i. e., animo ad Christi exemplum ejusdemque praecepta composito et ad Deum et sanctissimum et benignissimum conver- so, ita, ut omnia cogitata et facta ad Deum ejusque voluntatem sanctissimam pie referant, Deo vere probantur et benevolentiae Dei confisi spe beatitatis futurae pro dignitate ipsorum morali iis concedendae certissima imbuuntur. " Steudlin,2 expresses the same view. " All true reformation, every good act," he says, " must spring from faith, provided we understand by faith the conviction that something is right, a conviction of general moral and religious principles." Kant says that Christ in a religious aspect is the ideal of humanity. When a man so regards him and endeavours to conform his heart and life to that ideal, he is justified by faith.3 According to all these views, mere ceremo- nial works are excluded, and the ground of justification is made to be our own natural moral character and conduct.
Romish Doctrine.
Secondly. The doctrine of Romanists on this subject is much higher. Romanism retains the supernatural element of Chris- tianity throughout. Indeed it is a matter of devout thankfulness to God that underneath the numerous grievous and destructive errors of the Romish Church, the great truths of the Gospel are preserved. The Trinity, the true divinity of Christ, the true doctrine concerning his person as God and man in two distinct natures and one person forever ; salvation through his blood, re- generation and sanctification through the almighty power of the
1 Institutiones Theologies, in. iii. § 155, 5th edit. Halle, 1826, p. 476.
■ Dogmatik, 2ter Theil, § 134, B, g, h; Gottingen, 1800, pp. 783, 784.
* See Strauss, Dogmatik, Tubingen and Stuttgart, 1841, vol. ii. pp. 493, 494.
136 PART III. Ch. XVII. — JUSTIFICATION.
Spirit, the resurrection of the body, and eternal life, are doctrines on which the people of God in that communion live, and which have produced such saintly men as St. Bernard, F^nelon, and doubtless thousands of others who are of the number of God's elect. Every true worshipper of Christ must in his heart recog- nize as a Christian brother, wherever he may be found, any one who loves, worships, and trusts the Lord Jesus Christ as God manifest in the flesh and the only Saviour of men. On the mat- ter of justification the Romish theologians have marred and de- faced the truth as they have almost all other doctrines pertaining to the mode in which the merits of Christ are made available to our salvation. They admit, indeed, that there is no good in fallen man ; that he "can merit nothing and claim nothing on the ground of anything he is or can do of himself. He is by nature dead in sin ; and until made partaker of a new life by the super- natural power of the Holy Ghost, he can do nothing but sin. For Christ's sake, and only through his merits, as a matter of grace, this new life is imparted to the soul in regeneration (t. e., as Ro- manists teach, in baptism). As life expels death ; as light ban- ishes darkness, so the entrance of this new divine life into the soul expels sin (i. e., sinful habits), and brings forth the fruits of right- eousness. Works done after regeneration have real merit, " mer- itum condigni," and are the ground of the second justification ; the first justification consisting in making the soul inherently just by the infusion of righteousness. According to this view, we are not justified by works done before regeneration, but we are justi- fied for gracious works, i. e., for works which spring from the prin- ciple of divine life infused into the heart. The whole ground of our acceptance with God is thus made to be what we are and what we do.
Remonstrant Doctrine. Thirdly. According to the Remonstrants or Arminians the works which are excluded from our justification are works of the law as distinguished from works of the Gospel. In the covenant made with Adam God demanded perfect obedience as the condi- tion of life. For Christ's sake, God in the Gospel has entered into a new covenant with men, promising them salvation on the condi- tion of evangelical obedience. This is expressed in different forms. Sometimes it is said that we are justified on account of faith. Faith is accepted in place of that perfect righteousness demanded by the Adamic law. But by faith is not meant the act of re- ceiving and resting upon Christ alone for salvation. It is regarded