for righteousness, fo will our's alfo, jew or gentile, "if we believe on him that raised up Jefus or Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our juftification:" the juftification of whom, can he mean, but those who believe as Abraham did, and not unbelievers? Again, the connexion with what follows, indicates this conftruction. For he immediately draws his conclufion, and points out the distinguifhing bleffings and privileges connected with, and flowing from, "the juftification of life" appropriate to believers, as this author allows, "therefore being juftified by faith we have peace with God," &c. v. 1. of the context and onwards. But this author fays, "he was raised again for our juftification" includes jews and gentiles, us, the whole world; and means our being brought back to a capacity of being juftified, and put into the gofpel method of juftification, by faith, p. 34. the whole world who are become guilty before God, as ch. 3. 19,20,21. "these all now (he fays) under the gofpel ftand juftified in fact by the blood of Chrift" in the fenfe above explained, p. 37. To this I object, it cannot be true of that part of the whole world, who have died in their fins. They are not in fact, in a capacity of being justified, by faith: nor are the great bleffings of justification of life, poffible to them: they will not be faved from wrath in the day of wrath, nor then be inftated in eternal life. This he allows, is appropriate to believers. Again, if this doctrine be true, what can we make of our Lord's words, "he that believeth not is condemned already, and the wrath of God abideth on him? or, what can we make of it as to the damned, when our Lord's fentence is paffed and executed upon them? they belong to the whole world of mankind, and do they in fact ftand juftified, by the blood of Chrift? either this doctrine directly contradicts that of our Saviour, or the terms juftification, condemnation, and damnation are utterly confounded. Further, juftification is a law term, and the juftified muft stand approved as righteous, by fome law or other. Upon which, I afk, by what law or rule of judgment do the unbelieving and ungodly stand juftified before God? not, by the covenant of innocency, for in this author's opinion, the pofterity of Adam had no concern in it. Not, by the law of nature, for the apoftle expressly excludes juftification by the law and by works.

Not,

Not, by the gospel conftitution, for none can be juftified according to this, but believers. There is therefore, no law or rule, by which juftification can be predicated of the unbelieving and ungodly. I would add, "a capacity of being juftified, is not justification: and a man's being put in the way to be justified, cannot denominate him, juftified: no more than a man's being in a capacity to be rich can denominate him rich; when he is in fact, wretched poor: nor any more, than a man's being under means and advantages to be a good man, can denominate him good; when in truth and fact, he is very wicked. It is not common fense, but a manifeft abuse of language.

This author introduces verfe 9th of the context, "much more then being now juftified by his blood, we fhall be faved from wrath through him," as another inftance, where juftification must be understood in his lax fenfe," of a capacity of juftification and being put in the gofpel way of being justified by faith." But why? when the apoftie is ex profeffo, drawing his inferences and conclufions from the juftification appropriate to believers, verfe firft---it is moft natural to understand it, in the fame fenfe v. 9. this author fays no, and blames Dr. Doddridge for this conftruction; for two reafons: first, because the apostle celebrates the love of God, from the character of the perfons for whom he fent his Son to die," while ungodly and finners he died for them." This doth not prove, but faith is the medium of our juftification, and that we cannot be juftified without it." For the apoftle plainly teacheth us, "this propitiation of Chrift is effectual to our juftification through faith in his blood," Rom. 3. 24,25,26. So taught the apoftle, and fo teacheth the Dr. fpeaking of juftification as the gift of God, the gift by grace," &c. he fays, "we were indeed, in the eye of God, without ftrength, enemies, ungodly, finners, when he purpofed and contrived the gofpel method of falvation."* And yet in a perfect confiftence herewith, he every where, in his fermons and notes maintains, that faith is the medium of our intereft ip Chrift, and the mean whereby we are juftified. And afferts "that no finner can have the benefit of Chrift's finifhed work, who is not a believer :" and that no man can be juftified, while he is an unbeliever." If the Dr. is right, the apoftle in this text, is fpeaking of believers only, and * Serm. p 149. † Ib. p. 165.

not

not of finners in common, as "justified by his blood." But his fecond reason, he says, "is decifive," because if we understand him in this fenfe, we shall abfolutely destroy the force of the argument, he ufes; for as falvation from wrath is one thing effentially included in that juftification, which is the refult of true faith, it would be ridiculous to argue, much more being juftified meaning hereby this juftification, we fhall be faved from wrath and adds, the word now is emphatical, p. 37His decifive reafon, is with me no reason, and what he calls ridiculous, has not the leaft impropriety, in it. Surely, when the apostle had establifhed his doctrine of juftification by faith, and proceeds by way of inference, to point out the great benefits of it; there is not the leaft impropriety in illuftrating the contents of the doctrine, itfelf. But it was highly important, that he fhould teach it plainly to the world, for who fhould teach it but the apostles? and it is his fpecial defign to do it, in the two great branches of it, v. 9 and 10. And in this view, his conclufion is drawn with the greatest propriety and force, as appears thus, Since God hath taken fuch an extraordinary meafure as to give his Son to die for us while finners and enemies, and hath bestowed the grace of faith on us, and brought us into a state of juftification of life, wherein we are intitled to reign in eternal life: "much more now (emphatical) being justified by his blood" "fhall we be faved from the wrath to come," which is an effential benefit of this juftification. And by the fame mode of arguing he proceeds in the 10th verfe to infer, the other most important privilege, contained in this juftification. "For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God, by the death of his Son, (through faith, as v. 1.) much more being reconciled, fhall we be faved by his life :" faved with a compleat falvation, by being inftated immediately in eternal life, in the great day. This is arguing with great clearness and cogency. And this conftruction is far the moft inftructive and edifying, and beft fitted to imprefs every heart with the vast importance of becoming believers; because the privileges and bleffings of this juftification are fo infinitely important, on the one hand and on the other and it is the only fense it will bear. This author fays, juftification in the 9th, and reconciliation in the 10th verfe meant the fame thing, though fignified by dif ferent

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ferent allufions, p. 39. Agreed. By reconciliation he means, fuch a rechange of ftate in finners in common, that they are put into a capacity, whereby, by becoming believers, they may attain eternal life. But this is not a being reconciled to God, nor can they be fo denominated, on that ground. It is a great impropriety and abuse of language: as much as it would be, to fay of all finners under the gospel, because they have the means, and are under a capacity of getting to heaven, that they are actually in heaven; nor is this what Paul means " by being justified and reconciled to God:" as is evident (1.) becaufe reconciliation to God, is effentially connected with juftification of life. And it is the very firft great blefling the apostle defcribes, as appropriate to believers, v. 1. "Therefore being juftified by faith, we have peace (reconciliation and friendship) with God, through our Lord Jefus Chrift." And this peace with God is every where appropriated to believers; and is faid to pass all understanding; for the importance, bleffings and comforts of it. And why this author did not bring it to view, I know not, unless he found it difficult to reconcile it with his intended construction of verfe 10th; and apprehended the difcerning reader would fee its manifeft inconfistency with it. (2dly) because the word reconciliation never means a rechange of ftate fimply, and no more. I have confulted all his texts, and find not one that will answer his purpose; that which seems most to favour it, is 1 Cor. 7. 11. "But and if the depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband." He paraphrases "reconciled" let her be rechanged, return back to her former state of living with him. But common fenfe teacheth, that more is implied and must be fuppofed in this cafe, than is contained in his paraphrafe. For what loving husband or wife ever parted and feparated from one another, without fome difference and alienation of affections in the nature of the thing, it is an unfuppofible cafe. The removal or healing of the difference, and conciliating of the affections, muft then, from the nature of the thing be prefuppofed, and be in fact comprized, in the reconciliation, whereby their state is rechanged, fo as to live together. It is needless to remark upon his other texts, a difcerning reader, will eafily fee they mean more than fimply a change of ftate. But (3dly.) what is decifive,

I

is, his construction totally deftroys the force of the apostle's reafonings, and makes his conclufion an abfolute falfhood, in fact. The apostle could not infer from the juftified, in his fenfe, "much more shall those who are put in a capacity to become believers, and attain eternal life, be saved from wrath,” because, as to all of them, who are final unbelievers, it is a falfhood, in fact they must fuffer the wrath to come, the agonies. of the fecond death, Had Paul ufed the prepofition ex or ek they would have argued, they should be delivered out of a state of wrath; but as it is, apo tes orges, his meaning is decifively clear the juftified he intends fhall not undergo the future wrath. And the fame falfe conclufion follows, from his notion of reconciliation in the 10th verfe; for all ungodly finners who are now in a capacity of being faved by faith, will not be faved with a compleat falvation in the day of judgment; as is intended in this verse, in Heb. 9. 28, and throughout his writings. And therefore his conftruction of the words juftification and reconciliation, must be as evidently falfe, as the false conclufion it would fasten upon the apoftle. Moreover, it is certain, from this conclufion, Paul draws, of " the justified by the blood of Christ,” viz, “that they shall be saved from future wrath" that believers are intended and they only for this is a privilege, appropriate to them. And it is certain from this declaration, that every individual perfon that is juftified by the blood of Christ, shall in fact be faved from the wrath to come. This is fatal to his construction of verse 18. The juftification of life is not come upon all men ; for if it was, they would (by this conclufion of the apoftle) be univerfally faved from the wrath to come. Whereas, all the finally ungodly fhall in fact endure this wrath, and fuffer the fecond death; this author being judge. Confequently, the juftification of life in this 18th verfe, muft be the fame with verse first, and which we have proved to be intended in verse 9th, and is peculiar to believers; and the all men upon whom it is come, intends all believers, whether jew or gentile, as I truft will be fully evident, before we quit the fubject. It will likewife follow, that his key of conftruction, viz. that the all men in both fides of the comparifon, between Adam and Chrift, must be univerfally the fame, is a falfe one,

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and