Ess. XII.] Jesus Christ the Object of our Faith.

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Supreme Being manifests himself to his creatures; it is in Christ that he provides for their salvation; it is in Christ that he restores to his favour a lost and fallen world; it is in Christ that "all the fulness of the godhead dwelleth bodily," Col. ii, 9; and hence it follows, that under the light of the Gospel dispensation, except a man believe in the Son, his belief in the Father is nugatory and unavailing. Whatever may be the empty profession-whatever the false and dangerous assurance of the mere deist, if Christianity is true, (and I am addressing those only who admit its truth,) it is evident that such a one, in rejecting the Son, rejects the Father also, and is, therefore, left in the condition of those who "are strangers from the covenants of promise"-who have "no hope," and are "WITHOUT GOD in the world:" Eph. ii, 12. This consequence, clear and reasonable as it is in itself, is stated in strong terms by an inspired writer: "Who is a liar," says the apostle John, "but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? he is antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father :" 1 John ii, 22, 23; comp. iv, 15; John xiv, 7, 9, 10.

In a former Essay I have adverted to that very remarkable feature of the New Testament, that the Lord Jesus Christ is frequently described in it as a final object of saving faith; and since, in other parts of Scripture, the doctrine is plainly advanced, that our reliance for salvation can rightly be placed only upon God, and that all dependence on the creature in order to this end is sinful and fraught with danger, I have, from these premises, deduced what I conceive to be a fair and necessary conclusion, that Jesus Christ is not a mere creature, however exalted, but one in the divine nature with the Father, and, therefore, truly God. Without entering into the further consideration of this

488 Jesus Christ the Object of our Faith. [Ess. xit. particular view of the subject (which has now been again alluded to only for the sake of clearness and consistency,) it seems indispensable to the order of the present discussion, that we should once more direct our attention to some of those numerous passages of the New Testament, which prove that the faith by which the believer in Christianity is saved, is directed personally to Jesus Christ as its object-that it is faith in the Son of God, the Saviour and Redeemer of men. When the trembling jailer at Philippi addressed to Paul and Silas his earnest inquiry-" Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"-the answer given to him was direct and explicit, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved:" Acts xvi, 30, 31. "But as many as received him," says the apostle John, "to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:" John i, 12. "To him give all the prophets witness," says another apostle, "that through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins :" Acts x, 43. These, and similar apostolic declarations, are in precise accordance with the doctrine so often preached by the Lord Jesus himself,-God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life :" John iii, 16. "Verily, verily, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life:" vi, 47. "I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die :" xi, 25, 26.

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Thus it appears, that although the saving efficacy of a living faith by no means depends on the extent of the information imparted to the believer, and may even be experienced by persons who are acquainted only with natural religion, yet, with us, to whom the Gospel is revealed, the faith which alone introduces

Ess. XII.]

We are Justified

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to a participation in the favour of the Almighty-the faith which alone is justifying in the sight of God-is "faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ." It is a reliance of the soul, on the incarnate Son, who conducts the great scheme appointed for our salvation-who in every part of that scheme is prominently presented to our attention-who was himself" delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification." The "righteousness of God," is declared by the apostle Paul to be, "by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all them that believe:" Rom. iii, 22. And, again, when he was rebuking his less faithful brother in the apostleship, he said, "We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law :" Gal. ii, 15, 16; comp. Rom. x, 1-4.

Now, as Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, so it is only in the character of sinners that we are, in the nature of things, capable of justification; for "to be justified,” in the language of Scripture, and particularly in that of the apostle Paul, usually signifies to be absolved-to be delivered by pardon from the penalty due to our past sins. "The free gift is of many offences unto justification:" Rom. v, 16. "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past:" iii, 23-25. From these premises it follows, that, in the order of the grace of God, justification precedes sanctification, and that the faith in Jesus Christ, by which the ungodly are justified, has

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through Faith in his Blood.

[Ess. XII. respect, in a very preeminent manner, to the atonement which he has made for the sins of the world. It is faith in a crucified Redeemer, or, to adopt the apostle's words, "faith in his blood," and this doctrine corresponds with the declaration of our Lord himself "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, (on the cross,) that whosoever believeth in him, (that is, I conceive, whosoever places his reliance upon him as the atonement for sin) should not perish, but have eternal life :" John iii, 14, 15; comp. Rom. v, 1, 9. While, however, the justification of the sinner, through faith in a crucified Redeemer, precedes the work of sanctification, its close and inseparable connexion with that work is evinced by the fact, that, in the economy of God's spiritual government, this very faith is the constituted means, through which we obtain the gift of the Holy Spirit. In the preceding Essay, I have endeavoured to prove from Scripture, that the channel through which the Spirit flows to man is Christ crucified; and I am now remarking, that it is through faith in Christ crucified, that we, on our parts, are enabled to receive the Spirit, and are brought under his regenerating and sanctifying influence. “Christ," says the apostle Paul, "hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles, through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith :" Gal. iii, 13, 14. “If any man thirst," cried Jesus himself, "let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water:" John vii, 37, 38; comp. ver. 39. Those only can truly be said to "eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood," whose whole reliance for salvation is placed upon him, as the sacrifice for sin;

Ess. XII.] Through this Faith we receive the Spirit. 491

and these are they who receive the "Spirit that quickeneth"-who dwell in Christ and know Christ by his Spirit to dwell in them-who, through the Spirit, are made alive unto God in this world, and, therefore, live for ever in the world to come: John vi, 53–63.

Lastly, let it ever be remembered, that the faith in Christ, which is thus frequently declared to be the means of our salvation, and which procures for us the sanctifying effusions of that Holy Spirit by whose influence it is itself originated, is not the mere conviction of our understanding, that Jesus was the true Messiah, or that he made an atonement for the sins of the world. Such a conviction, although desirable and needful, is in itself a dead faith. The devils themselves could confess that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God; and we read, that "they also believe, and tremble:" James ii, 19. Saving faith in Christ is a living and active principle, implanted by a divine hand in the soul, through which, as penitent sinners, we draw near to Jesus-accept him as our only Saviour→→ spiritually feed upon him as upon the bread of lifeand cast ourselves, without reserve, on his merits and mercies. This is that faith which "worketh by love;" and, while under the influence of that Christian grace, it fixes itself with humble confidence on Jesus as the great sacrifice for sin, it does not stop here, but embraces the Lord of glory in all his other gracious offices, as our Lawgiver, our Pattern, our Intercessor with the Father, our Sympathizing High Priest, our omnipresent Helper, our Shepherd, and our King. Finally, the believer who has been enabled thus to accept the Gospel and its mighty Author, is led along by a gentle yet powerful hand, to walk by faith in the Son of God-to live as the devoted servant of the Lord Jesus Christ-to "follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth!"