Preface, CONTENTS. Page The Subject shown to be important, stated, and explained, Arguments to prove Faith in Christ to be the Duty of all Men who hear, or have Opportunity to hear, the Gospel, Prop. I. Unconverted Sinners are commanded, exhorted, and invited to believe in Christ for Salvation, Prop. III. Though the Gospel, strictly speaking, is not a Law, but a Message of pure Grace; yet it virtually requires Obedience, and such an Obedience as includes saving Faith, 52 Prop. IV. The Want of Faith in Christ is ascribed to Men's Depravity, and is itself represented as a heinous Sin, Prop. V. God has threatened and inflicted the most awful Prop. VI. Other spiritual Exercises, which sustain an in- separable Connexion with Faith in Christ, are represented as On Sinners being under the Covenant of Works, On the Inability of Sinners to believe in Christ, and do things On the Influence of Faith on Justification, On the alarming Situation of Unbelievers, PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. WHEN the following pages were written, (1781,) the au thor had no intention of publishing them. He had formerly entertained different sentiments. For some few years, however, he had begun to doubt whether all his principles on these subjects were scriptural. These doubts arose chiefly from thinking on some passages of scripture; particularly, the lat ter part of the second Psalm, where kings who set themselves against the Lord, and against his Anointed, are positively commanded to kiss the Son: also, the preaching of John the Baptist, Christ, and his apostles; who, he found, did not hesitate to address unconverted sinners; and that, in the most pointed manner: saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Repent, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out. And it appeared, to him, there must be a most unwarrantable force put upon these passages, to make them mean any other repentance and faith than such as are connected with salvation. Reading the lives and labours of such men as Elliot, Brainerd, and several others, who preached Christ with so much success to the American Indians, had an effect upon him. Their work, like that of the apostles, seemed to be plain before them. They appeared, to him, in their addresses to those poor, benighted heathens, to have none of those difficulties with which he felt himself encumbered. These thin led him to the throne of grace, to implore instruction resolution. He saw that he wanted both; the one to know the mind of Christ, and the other to avow it. He was, for some time, however, deterred from disclosing his doubts. During nearly four years, they occupied his mind; and not without increasing. Being once in company with a minister whom he greatly respected, it was thrown out, as a matter of inquiry, Whether we had generally entertained just notions concerning unbelief. It was common to speak of unbelief as a calling in question the truth of our own personal religion; whereas he remarked, "It was the calling in question the truth of what God had said." This remark appeared to carry in it its own evidence. From this time, his thoughts upon the subject began to enlarge. He preached upon it more than once. From hence, he was led to think on its opposite, faith, and to consider it as a persuasion of the truth of what God has said; and, of course, to suspect his former views concerning its not being the duty of unconverted sinners. He was aware, that the generality of Christians with whom he was acquainted, viewed the belief of the gospel as something presupposed in faith, rather than as being of the essence of it; and considered the contrary as the opinion of Mr. Sandeman, which they were agreed in rejecting, as favourable to a dead, or inoperative kind of faith. He thought, however, that what they meant by a belief of the gospel was nothing more than a general assent to the doctrines of revelation, unaccompanied with love to them, or a dependance on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. He had no doubt but that such a notion of the subject ought to be rejected: and, if this be the notion of Mr. Sandeman, (which, by the way, he does not know, having never read any of his works,) he has no scruple in saying, it is far from any thing which he intends to advance.* Since the first edition of this Piece made its appearance, the author has seen Mr. Sandeman's writings, and those of Mr. A. M'Lean, who, on this subject, seems to agree with Mr. Sandeman. Justice requires him to say, that these writers do not appear to plead for a kind of faith which is not followed with love, or by a dependance on Christ alone for salva ; but their idea of faith itself goes to exclude every thing cordial it. Though he accords with them, in considering the belief of It appeared to him, that we had taken unconverted sinners too much upon their word, when they told us that they believed the gospel. He did not doubt but that they might believe many things concerning Jesus Christ and his salvation; but, being blind to the glory of God, as it is displayed in the face of Jesus Christ, their belief of the gospel must be very superficial, extending only to a few facts, without any sense of their real, intrinsic excellency; which, strictly speaking, is not faith. Those who see no form nor comeliness in the Messiah, nor beauty, that they should desire him, are described as not believing the report concerning him.* He had also read and considered, as well as he was able, President Edwards's Inquiry into the Freedom of the Will, with some other performances on the difference between natu ral and moral inability. He found much satisfaction in this distinction; as it appeared, to him, to carry with it its own evidence to be clearly and fully contained in the scriptures and calculated to disburden the Calvinistic system of a num ber of calumnies with which its enemies have loaded it, as well as to afford clear and honourable conceptions of the di vine government. If it were not the duty of unconverted sin+ ners to believe in Christ, and that, because of their inability; he supposed this inability must be natural, or something which did not arise from an evil disposition: but, the more he ex amined the scriptures, the more he was convinced, that all the inability ascribed to man, with respect to believing, arises from the aversion of his heart. They will not come to Christ, that they may have life; will not hearken to the voice of the charmer, charm he never so wisely; will not seek after God; and desire not the knowledge of his ways. He wishes to avoid the spirit into which we are apt to be betrayed, when engaged in controversy,-that of magnifying the importance of the subject beyond its proper bounds: yet he seriously thinks, the subject treated of in the following pages is of no small importance. To him, it appears to be the gospel as saving faith; yet there is an important difference in the ideas which they attach to believing. This difference, with some other things, is examined, in an Appendix, at the end of this edition. * Isaiah liii. 1, 2. |