against a good and gracious God; and this punishment is the

curse.

4. Sin is committed against the righteous law of God, the rule by which all ought to be governed. He, then, who can transgress God's law without remorse, is a rebel against the Majesty of heaven; and, consequently, deserves punishment.

5. It is a well known fact, that the more eminent the person is against whom the sin is committed, the greater is the punishment which it deserves. If, then, God is in every respect infinite, the offence committed against him must deserve infinite punishment; but a finite creature cannot bear infinite punishment any other way than by infinite duration,—that is, for ever.

6. Sin is an infinite evil,--that is, it is an evil for which the sinner himself can never make atonement; and, consequently, his sin must remain until it be taken away by Him who gave His life a ransom for many. But if this ransom is despised, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin, but a certain fearful expectation of the wrath and curse of God for evermore.

INFERENCES.

From this subject we learn,-1. That the least sin deserves death. 2. That God is righteous when he taketh vengeance. 3. That the least sin cannot be expiated but by the blood of Christ. 4. The love of God in making his Son a sin-offering for us. 5. That we have reason for ever to admire redeeming love.

Special Duties required of Man under the Gospel Dispen

sation.

Q. 85.-What doth God require of us, that we may escape his wrath and curse due to us for sin ?

To escape the wrath and curse of God due to us for sin, God requireth of us faith in Jesus Christ, repentance unto life, with the diligent use of all the outward means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption.

ANALYSIS AND PROOFS.

We are here taught,—

1. That God himself has devised a way of escape from the effects of sin. John iii. 16.-" God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

2. That faith in Jesus Christ is necessary for escaping the wrath and curse of God. Acts xvi. 31.-" Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."

3. That true repentanco is necessary for escaping the wrath and

curse of God. Luke xiii. 3.—“ Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."

4. That a diligent use of the means of grace is required of all who would escape the wrath and curse of God. Phil. ii. 12, 13. "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." See also Prov. ii. 1, 5, and viii. 34.

5. That the benefits of redemption are usually communicated to sinners by means of the ordinances. Rom. x. 14.-" How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

EXPLANATION.

Obs. 280.-Faith and repentance, and the diligent use of the means of grace, are not required to give us a right or title to eternal life, or to the possession of it; but only as the means of conveying and improving the purchased salvation, and as evidences of interest therein. See 1 Cor. i. 21.

It might, indeed, appear from the proposition stated above, that faith, and repentance, and the diligent use of the means of grace, are to be viewed as the conditions of escaping the wrath and curse of God; but it must ever be remembered, that eternal life is the gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord.-Rom. vi. 23. Faith and repentance are, indeed, absolutely necessary in order to salvation; but they are not the conditions on which God promises eternal life, or they are not the procuring cause of it; for he could have required these duties from his creatures although he had never promised them any thing at all.

In order, then, to prevent some dangerous mistakes which may be committed, and which might lead us to build our hopes of acceptance with God on a false foundation, we shall make the following remarks:

1. The only ground of pardon of sin and acceptance with God, is the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. Duties, however spiritual, by no means merit deliverance from the curse of the law, and from the wrath of God. See Rom. v. 18, 19. Salvation by grace, and a covenant of works, are quite incompatible.

2. The way of acceptance under the gospel dispensation is not a more easy way of salvation than what was known from the beginning. They who imagine that the gospel is a new law, and an easy law, to be obeyed in order to obtain life before God, must, in order to be consistent with themselves, maintain that the law is not so strict now as it was formerly; which idea is not very honourable either to the law or to the Lawgiver. In opposition to this absurd idea, it must be maintained, that the law is the same in all ages; for, saith the great Lawgiver, "One jot or one tittle shall not pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

By all that would be saved, it must be fulfilled in the person of the Surety of sinners; and he knew experimentally that the law will not depart from any of its demands, however small. Never, indeed, could it possibly do so, seeing it is the law of Him who is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever.

3. Faith, and repentance, and the diligent use of the means of salvation, are not the procuring cause of our escaping the wrath and curse of God. To suppose this to be the case, would be to make a saviour of our duties. It would be a renouncing of the satisfaction of Christ; which, doubtless, is a most dangerous and foolish imagination, See Rom. iii. 20. If deliverance can be obtained in any other way than by the obedience and satisfaction of Christ, then Christ hath died in vain-man is his own saviour --and no thanks to Christ for salvation, at least for a whole salvation. Such an opinion betrays consummate ignorance of the covenant of grace, and of the Scriptures where this covenant is revealed; and it is accompanied with the utmost danger.

Obs. 281.-Faith in Jesus Christ, and repentance unto life, are necessary in order to escape the wrath and curse of God due to us for sin.

1. Faith in Jesus Christ is necessary for the following reasons:-(1.) Because, until we believe, we are dead in trespasses and sins.-Eph. ii. (2.) Because "without faith it is impossible to please God."-Heb. xi. 6. (3.) Because faith is the hinge upon which salvation and misery turn.-Mark xvi. 16; John iii. 16, 36. (4.) Because without faith there can be no union with Christ.-2 Cor. v. 17; John xv. 4, &c. (5.) Because, by way of eminence," to believe " is the command of God.-1 John iii. 23; John vi. 29.

2. Repentance unto life is necessary, for the following reasons: (1.) Because the Scriptures enjoin it.-Acts xvii. 30; Ezek. xviii. 30, &c., and xxxiii. 11; Acts ii. 38. (2.) Because it is not only enjoined, but enjoined with certification, that whosoever doth not repent shall assuredly perish.-Luke xiii. 3, 5; Rev. ii. 5. (3.) Because there is no unrepented guilt in heaven; and, consequently, without repentance we cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven. (4.) Because Christ is exalted to bestow repentance. Acts v. 31. (5.) Repentance is necessary as a concomitant of faith. For without faith there can be no repentance, and without repentance there can be no faith.-Zech. xii. 10. Faith gives a view of what Christ is, and what he hath done, that iniquity might not be our ruin; and repentance is the suitable exercise of a soul convinced of this work of Christ in its lawroom and place.

But here it may be asked, Are not faith and repentance represented in Scripture as gifts of God? How, then, can they be required of us? Are we to conclude that we can believe and re

pent of ourselves? Or, how can God require of us what is not in our power to perform? To this we answer, that God requires of us what it is beyond our power to perform, to show us the necessity of that grace which is promised, and which Christ, as our exalted Saviour, is empowered and commissioned to bestow.Phil. i. 29; Eph. i. 19; Acts v. 31, and xi. 18; John vi. 44, and xv. 5; Jer. xiii. 23.

The connection of faith with salvation consists in this, that it is the hand which receives Christ with all the benefits of the redemption which he hath purchased for sinners.-Ps. lxviii. 31; John i. 12.

The connection of repentance with salvation consists in this, that it is the exercise which natively flows from faith in Jesus Christ; discovering that sorrow for sin without which there can be no salvation for sinners, and which is habitual in all those who shall see the kingdom of heaven; and reminding them of him who was a made a sin-offering for them, that they might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Obs. 282.-The diligent use of all the outward means by which Christ communicates to sinners the benefits of redemption, is necessary in order to escape the wrath and curse of God due

to us for sin.

The diligent use of the means of salvation is necessary for the following reasons:-1. The appointment of them shows their necessity. 2. They are necessary, because by rejecting them we ascribe folly to God, and pour contempt upon him. 3. They are necessary, because we cannot expect salvation without the due use of them; and this is an idea which is uniformly insisted on in Scripture.-Prov. viii. 33, 34; Rom. x. 17. 4. The use of them is most necessary, because we are commanded by God to make use of them. Every thing which he hath commanded is most necessary, both with respect to himself and with respect to us;-with respect to himself, to show his authority and his love; and with respect to us, to show our love to him, and our regard for his word and authority.

By a diligent use of all the outward means of grace, we are to understand, an embracing of every opportunity offered in the course of Divine providence for waiting upon God in the way of commanded duty; and a looking up to him for his blessing upon them, by which alone they can be profitable to us, or advance our spiritual concerns.-1 Cor. iii. 6, &c.

The means of grace are commonly distinguished into external and internal. The external, or outward means, are mentioned above, as those by which the benefits of redemption are communicated; and the internal means, which are produced by the use of the outward means, are faith and repentance, and the other graces of the Spirit which accompany or flow from them.

The connection of all the outward means with salvation con

sists in this, that " by them Christ communicates to us the benefits of redemption."

We may here observe, that if we regard only the mere observance of ordinances, it is in man's own power to observe them, without any supernatural grace; but to observe them with profit man of himself is utterly unable. Thus, to hear with profit, the Word must be mixed with faith; but we are told in Scripture that "faith is the gift of God." A man may read the Scriptures, may attend the house of God, may call upon his name, may converse about the concerns of his soul, may reprove sin, &c., without any special grace from on high. But there is a great difference between the observance of these means in the strength of nature, and the observance of them in the strength of new covenant grace.

INFERENCES.

From this subject we learn,-1. The importance of right views of a sinner's acceptance in the sight of God; that the ground of it is not duties, but Christ's righteousness received by faith, without which we must perish. 2. The necessity of true repentance. 3. The value of the means of salvation. 4. The necessity of seeking a blessing upon these means.

SECT. 1.-OF FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST.

Q.86.-What is Faith in Jesus Christ?

Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for salvation, as he is offered to us in the gospel.

ANALYSIS AND PROOFS.

We are here taught,

1. That faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace. John xx. 31. -"That believing ye might have life through his name." also Heb. x. 39.

See

2. That Jesus Christ is received as a Saviour by faith. John i. 12." As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." 3. That by faith we depend on Christ for salvation. Acts xv. 11.-" We believe that, through the grace of the Lord Jesus, we shall be saved."

4. That by faith we depend on Christ alone for salvation. Gal. ii. 16.- "We have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law."

5. That by faith we receive Christ as offered in the gospel. Eph. i. 13." In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel (or glad tidings) of your salvation."

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