Unless such be the meaning of the Apostle, it is hard to see how there is any coherence or force in his arguments. His ob- ject is to prove that men are justified, not by works, but gratu- itously ; not for what they are or do, but for what is done for them. They are saved by a ransom ; by a sacrifice. But it is absurd to say that trust in a ransom redeems, or is taken in place of the ransom ; or that faith in a sacrifice, and not the sac- rifice itself, is the ground of acceptance. To prove that such is the Scriptural method of justification, Paul appeals to the case of Abraham. He was not justified for his works, but by faith in a Redeemer. He expected to be justified as ungodly. (Rom. iv. 5.) This, he tells us, is what we must do. We have no righteousness of our own. We must take Christ for our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. In the immedi- ately preceding chapter the Apostle had said we are justified by faith in the blood of Christ, as a propitiation for sin ; and for him to prove this from the fact that Abraham was justified on account of his confiding, trusting state of mind, which led him to believe that, although a hundred years old, he should be the father of a numerous posterity, would be a contradiction.
Besides, it is to be remembered, not only that the Scriptures never say that we are justified " on account " of faith (Sta ttiWiv), but always " by," or " through " faith (8ia or e« ttio-tco)?, or wra) ; but also that it is not by faith as such ; not by faith in God, nor in the Scriptures ; and not by faith in a specific divine promise such as that made to Abraham of a numerous posterity, or of the pos- session of the land of Canaan ; but only by faith in one particu- lar promise, namely, that of salvation through Christ. It is, therefore, not on account of the state of mind, of which faith is the evidence, nor of the good works which are its fruits, but only by faith as an act of trust in Christ, that we are justified. This of necessity supposes that He, and not our faith, is the ground of our justification. He, and not our faith, is the ground of our confidence. How can any Christian wish it to be otherwise? What comparison is there between the absolutely perfect and the infinitely meritorious righteousness of Christ, and our own imperfect evangelical obedience as a ground of confidence and peace !
This doctrine is moreover dishonouring to the Gospel. It sup- poses the Gospel to be less holy than the law. The law required perfect obedience ; the Gospel is satisfied with imperfect obedi- ence. And how imperfect and insufficient our best obedience is,
170 part m. Ch. XVII.— justification.
the conscience of every believer certifies. If it does not satisfy us, how can it satisfy God ?
The grand objection, however, to this Remonstrant doctrine as to the relation between faith and justification, is that it is in direct contradiction to the plain and pervading teachings of the Word of God. The Bible teaches that we are not justified by works. This doctrine affirms that we are justified by works. The Bible teaches that we are justified by the blood of Christ ; that it is for his obedience that the sentence of justification is passed on men. This doctrine affirms that God pronounces us righteous because of our own righteousness. The Bible from first to last teaches that the whole ground of our salvation or of our justification is objective, what Christ as our Redeemer, our ransom, our sacrifice, our surety, has done for us. This doctrine teaches us to look within, to what we are and to what we do, as the ground of our acceptance with God. It may safely be said that this is altogether unsatisfactory to the awakened con- science. The sinner cannot rely on anything in himself. He instinctively looks to Christ, to his work done for us as the ground of confidence and peace. This in the last resort is the hope of all believers, whatever their theory of justification may be. Whether Papist, Remonstrant, or Augustinian, they all cast their dying eyes on Christ. " As Moses lifted up the ser- pent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up ; that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life."
Protestant Doctrine.
4. The common doctrine of Protestants on this subject is that faith is merely the instrumental cause of justification. It is the act of receiving and resting upon Christ, and has no other rela- tion to the end than any other act by which a proffered good is accepted. This is clearly the doctrine of Scripture, (1.) Be- cause we are constantly said to be justified by, or through faith. (2.) Because the faith which justifies is described as a looking, as a receiving, as a coming, as a fleeing for refuge, as a laying hold of, and as a calling upon. (3.) Because the ground to which our justification is referred, and that on which the sinner's trust is placed, is declared to be the blood, the death, the right- eousness, the obedience of Christ. (4.) Because the fact that Christ is a ransom, a sacrifice, and as such effects our salvation, of necessity supposes that the faith which interests us in the merit of his work is a simple act of trust. (5.) Because any