Three Practical Essays, Essay 2 · Chapter 4
CHAP. IV. A Digression concerning the Doctrine of Faith and Works, delivered by St. Paul in his Epistle to the Romans, and in that to the Galatians.
1. THere is but one thing, that I know of, that can with any colour be urged against this Notion of true Religion which I have now laid down: And that is the Doctrine of Faith and Works, delivered by St. Paul in his Epistle to the Romans, and in that to the Galatians. Which because it is a Doctrine of the greatest Importance, and liable to be misinterpreted to countenance the most pernicious Errors; I shall therefore in this Chapter, by way of Digression, endeavour to give a brief Account of the Occasion of the writing these two Epistles, and to explain the Doctrine delivered therein.
2. Before the coming of Christ, the Jews we know were the peculiar People of God, selected out of all the Nations of the Earth to be the Standard of true Religion, and to be the People among whom God would chuse to place his Name. To them were committed the Oracles of God, Rom. 3. 2. To them pertained the Adoption, and the Glory, and the Covenants, and the giving of the Law, and the Service of God, and the Promises; whose are the Fathers, and out of whom according to the flesh Christ came, who is over all God blessed for ever, Rom 9. 4, & 5. that is; with them were intrusted the Revelations of the Will of God, the Law and the Prophecies: To them was granted the peculiar Honour and Privilege, that they should be accounted the Sons or People of God, and that they should be accordingly under the more *foreign. Deut. 32. 8.peculiar Care and Protection of his Providence: Among them was the Ark and Temple of God, the Shecinah or Glorious Presence of the Divine Majesty; In Judah was God known, his Name was great in Israel: In Salem also was his Tabernalce, and his dwelling place in Sion: With them God entered solemnly into Covenant, that he would be their God and they should be his People, and confirmed this Covenant with the Sacramental Seal of Circumcision, and with sprinkling of Blood. To them God himself prescribed a Law or Form of Worship in a wonderful and miraculous manner; and their Polity also was of Divine Institution and Appointment; God shewed his Word unto Jacob, his Statutes and his Judgments unto Israel: He did not deal so with any other Nation, neither had the Heathen knowledge of his Laws. Lastly, They were the Posterity of those Patriarchs, to whom God had so often promised and sworn by himself, That in their Seed should all the Nations of the Earth be blessed; and among them was born that Messias, of whom so great things had been Prophesied, and who was therefore the expectation of all the Ends of the Earth. These were the great and glorious Privileges, which by the peculiar Favour of God, the Nation of the Jews enjoyed before the preaching of the Gospel; these were the Grounds upon which that People so highly valued themselves, above the rest of Mankind: And most justly might they have done so, with an humble and thankful acknowledgment of the Mercy and Favor of God: But they look'd upon these high Privileges, not as the free Gift of God, but as a Right and Propriety, to which they only had a just Claim, who could reckon their Descent from Abraham and the Patriarchs: All other Nations in the World they look'd upon with the utmost Scorn and Contempt, as Aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel, Strangers to the Covenant of Promise, and scarce worthy of the Protection of the Divine Providence▪ The Establishment of their Law and Ceremonies they imagined to be such, as was designed by God to continue for ever; and the Promises contained in the Law and the Prophets they thought to belong so peculiarly to themselves, that they would not believe any other People could ever come to be partakers of them. When the Messiah himself should appear, they were persuaded that he was to establish an everlasting Kingdom over the Jewish Nation only, and so become indeed the Wonder and Amazement, but not the Salvation of the Gentiles. This Opinion was so firmly rooted among them in our Saviour's time, that even those who believed in his Name, and were convinced that his Kingdom was not to be a Temporal but a Spiritual Kingdom, did yet imagine that the Jews only were to be admitted to be Subjects of this his Spiritual Kingdom, and that the Gospel was not to be preached to the Gentiles: Till St. Peter having an express Command from Heaven not to count any Man common or unclean, as you may read Acts 10. went and preached the Gospel to Cornelius the Centurion; and his Preaching being seconded by the miraculous effusion of the Holy Ghost upon the Gentile Converts, convinced them that God was of a truth no respecter of Persons, but that he had unto the Gentiles also granted Repentance unto Life. Act. 10. 34.The great Mystery of the receiving in of the Gentiles being thus discovered, and God having himself declared by such a remarkable Miracle, that in every Nation he that feareth God and worketh Righteousness is accepted of him; there immediately arose a question whether those who by being converted to Christianity were admitted into the Number of the elect People of God, and thereby became partakers of all the Privileges which had hitherto been confined to the Jewish Nation, were not thereupon obliged to become Proselytes also to the Jewish Law. The converted Jews, who had not yet laid aside their old Prejudices, but retained an extreme fondness for their Ceremonial Law, contended most earnestly, that *foreign ▪ Euseb. Hist. Lib. 3. c. 21.it was necessary that the Jewish Religion should be continued together with the Christian, teaching the Brethren every where, and saying, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved, Acts 15. 1. Upon this, the Apostles and Elders which were gathered together at Jerusalem, held a Consultation; where St. Peter having delivered it as his Opinion, That since God himself had born witness to the Gentiles, by giving them the Holy Ghost, 'twould be no better than tempting God, to put a Yoke upon their Necks, which neither themselves nor their Fathers had been able to bear; they immediately agreed to write unto them, that they did not think it necessary to lay upon them any such Burden; as you may see at large, Acts 15. And now the Question being decided by such an authoritative Sentence as this, It seemed good unto the Holy Ghost, and to us the Apostles and Elders▪ &c. one would have thought there should have been no more Debate about this Matter: But the restless Jews, moved with envy that the Gentiles should be admitted into the Number of the elect People of God as well as themselves, persisted still in their Obstinacy notwithstanding this positive Determination, persuading the Gentile Converts that they must needs observe the Law of Moses, and constraining them to be circumcised; insomuch that St. Paul, who as far as he could lawfully, conformed himself to the Humours of all men, that he might by all means gain some, was forced to circumcise Timothy at Derbe, because of the Jews that were in those quarters, Acts 16. 3. Though at other times, as being the Apostle to whom was especially committed the preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles, he always earnestly exhorted his Gentile Converts to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ had made them free; and particularly, his Epistle to the Romans, and that to the Galatians, were written upon this very Occasion; as will be evident to any one, who shall impartially consider the Matter.
3. For that there are abundance of Passages in these Epistles, which so evidently relate to this Controversie, that they cannot possibly be interpreted to any other Sense, is manifest from but cursorily reading the Epistles themselves. A great part of the Epistle to the Romans is professedly about the casting off the Jews, and the coming in of the Gentiles; particularly the 9th, 10th and 11th Chapters: And the 14th Chapter is wholly spent in shewing the unnecessariness of the Jewish observation of Days, and distinction of Meats; One Man esteemeth one day above another, another esteemeth every day alike, Verse 5. and I know and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of it self; but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean, Verse 14. and so on. In the Epistle to the Galatians, the Apostle tells his Gentile Converts, that he was amazed they should so soon be drawn away from the Truth, by some that troubled them and would pervert the Gospel of Christ, Chap. 1. ver. 7. He gives them warning, that the reason why those perverters of the Gospel persuaded them to Judaize, was only that they might make a fair shew in the Flesh; they constrain you, says he, to be circumcised, only lest they should suffer persecution for the Gross of Christ; For neither they themselves, who are circumcised, keep the Law, but desire to have you circumcised that they may glory in your flesh, Ch. 6. Ver. 12, & 13. He assures them that in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new Creature, Ch. 6. ver. 15. He urges them earnestly to stand fast in their Christian Liberty, and not to be intangled again with the yoke of Bondage, protesting that if any man would be circumcised, Christ should profit him nothing, but he should become a debtor to fulfil the whole Law, Ch. 5. ver. 1. He tells them also how he openly rebuked St. Peter at Antioch for withdrawing and separating himself from the Gentiles, for fear of them which were of the circumcision, Ch. 2. Ver. 12. All which, and many other the like Passages, do so evidently refer to that Controversie, Whether the Jewish Religion was to be mixed with the Christian, or no, that I know not whether any one ever attempted to interpret them to any other Sense.
4. And that those other Parts also of these Epistles, which have by some been otherwise interpreted, ought indeed to be understood wholly to relate to the same Controversie, appears sufficiently from the Apostles way of arguing. For according to any other Interpretation, the Terms, which the Apostle makes use of, are improper; and his reasoning is hard, intricate, and not concluding. As is sufficiently evident from the difficulty that some Expositors have met with, to vindicate St. Paul from thwarting the main Design of the Gospel, from contradicting the express Words of some other of the Apostles, and also from contradicting himself. But if these whole Epistles be understood to refer to that Question, Whether the Christian Religion be alone sufficient to Salvation, or whether it be necessary to observe together with it the Ceremonies also of the Jewish Law; the Terms, which the Apostle uses, are most apt and proper; and his Reasoning is most easie, strong and conclusive: As will most evidently appear from a brief view of them both.
5. The design then of the Apostle being on one hand to magnifie the Christian Religion, by setting forth its sufficiency to Salvation; and on the other hand, to demonstrate the insufficiency and unnecessariness of the ceremonial observances of the Jewish Law; the Terms which he all along makes use of to express the Christian and Jewish Religion by, are such as may best serve to set forth the excellency of the one, and diminish the opinion which Men had taken up of the necessity of the other. Thus because the first and most fundamental Duty of the Christian Religion, is believing in God, and believing that most perfect Revelation of his Will, which he has made to Mankind by our Saviour Jesus Christ; whereas on the contrary, the principal part of the Jewish Religion, or at least of that Religion which the Judaizing Christians so earnestly contended for, was an anxious observance of the burdensome Ceremonies of the Mosaick Law; therefore the Apostle calls the Christian Religion Faith, and the Jewish Religion the Law. Thus in the Epistle to the Romans, ch. 3. ver. 28. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by Faith, without the deeds of the Law; that is, It clearly appears from what has been already said, that Obedience to the Christian Religion is sufficient to justifie a Man, without observing the Ceremonies of the Jewish: And ver. 31. Do we then make void the Law through Faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the Law; that is, Do we then, as some Men object, by our preaching up the Christian Religion make void the Law of God, or that Revelation of his Will which he made to the Jews? No, we are so far from that, that by introducing Christianity we establish, confirm, and perfect the moral and immutable part of the Law much more effectually, than the Jewish Ceremonies were able to do. Thus likewise in the Epistle to the Galatians, ch. 3. ver. 2. This only would I learn of you. Received ye the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by the hearing of Faith? Or, as 'tis expressed, ver. 5. He that ministreth to you the Spirit, and worketh Miracles among you, doth he it by the works of the Law, or by the hearing of Faith? that is, I appeal unto your selves, who contend so earnestly for the necessity of keeping up the Jewish Ceremonies; was it by your observing the Rites of the Jewish Religion that ye received the Gifts of the Holy Ghost, or by your being converted to the Christian? So also, ver. 24. The Law was our School-master to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by Faith; that is, The Jewish Dispensation was appointed by God in condescention to the weakness of that People, to fit them by degrees for the reception of the Christian: And ch. 2. ver. 15. The Apostle having rebuked St. Peter openly, for withdrawing himself from the Gentiles at Antioch, adds, 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; that is, If we our selves, who were brought up in the Jewish Religion, being convinced that that Religion was not able to justifie us in the sight of God, have thought fit to forsake it and imbrace the Christian Religion, in hopes to be justified thereby, how much less reason have you to compel the Gentiles, who were never brought up in the Jewish Religion, to conform themselves to the Customs of the Jews, after their Conversion to Christianity?
6. Again, because the Christian Religion teaches us to expect Salvation not from our own Merits, but from the Grace of God, that is, according to the Terms of that new and gracious Covenant, wherein God has promised to accept of Sincerity instead of perfect Obedience; whereas on the contrary, the Jews depended upon their exact performance of the Works of the Law; therefore the Apostle calls the Christian Religion Grace, and the Jewish Religion Works. Thus in the Epistle to the Romans, ch. 11. ver. 5. So then at this present time also, there is a remnant according to the election of Grace; that is, tho' the Jewish Nation having rejected the gracious offer of the Gospel, are thereupon rejected from being the People of God, yet has God reserved to himself a Remnant from among them, even those who have embraced the Christian Religion; And if by Grace, then is it no more of Works; that is, and if it be upon account of their having embraced the Christian Religion, that they are reckoned the peculiar People of God, then is not this Privilege any longer annexed to the Professors of the Jewish Religion; otherwise Grace is no more Grace; that is, otherwise the Christian Religion is in vain, and not, what it pretends to be, the Grace of God: Thus also, ch. 6. ver. 14. Sin shall not have the dominion over you, for ye are not under the Law but under Grace; that is, ye are not under the Jewish Religion, but under the Christian. So likewise in the Epistle to the Galatians, ch. 5. ver. 4. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the Law, ye are fallen from Grace; that is, whosoever will needs retain the Jewish Religion, he takes upon him to fulfil the whole Law, forsaking the gracious Dispensation of the Christian Religion, and therefore Christ shall be of no effect unto him.
7. Again, because the Duties of the Christian Religion are almost wholly Moral and Spiritual, respecting the inward disposition of the Heart and Mind; whereas on the contrary, the Ceremonies of the Jewish Law were for the most part external, and as the Apostle to the Hebrews calls them, Carnal Ordinances, respecting chiefly the outward purification of the Body; therefore the Apostle calls the Christian Religion Spirit, and the Jewish Religion Flesh. Thus in the Epistle to the Romans, ch. 8. ver. 3, & 4. For what the Law could not do, in that it was weak through the Flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful Flesh, and for sin condemned sin in the Flesh; that the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the Flesh, but after the Spirit; that is, whereas the Jewish Religion, because of its outward and carnal Ordinances, was weak and insufficient to make Men truly Righteous; God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful Man to offer up himself a Sacrifice for the Sins of Mankind, established the Christian Religion, which purifying throughly the whole Heart and Mind, and purging the Conscience from dead Works, might through the Grace and Mercy of God avail to justifie Men from all things, from which they could not be justified by the Law. Thus also in the Epistle to the Galatians, ch. 3. ver. 3. Are ye so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the Flesh? that is, Are ye so foolish as to think, that after ye have embraced the Truth of the Christian Religion, you can become yet more perfect by observing the Ceremonies of the Jewish Law?
8. These are the Terms which the Apostle expresses the Christian and Jewish Religion by in these Epistles: And according to this Interpretation, the substance of both these Epistles may clearly be resolved into certain Arguments, by which the Apostle plainly and strongly proves, against the Judaizing Believers, that Obedience to the Christian Religion is sufficient to Salvation, without observing the Ceremonies of the Jewish.
9. His first Argument is this. The Jewish Religion having proved insufficient to make Men truly good, as the Natural Religion had before done, there was a necessity of setting up another Institution of Religion, which might be more available and effectual to that End; now the setting up a new Institution of Religion necessarily implying the abolishing of the old, it follows that Christianity was not to be added to Judaism, but that Judaism was to be changed into Christianity, that is, that the Jewish Religion was from thenceforward to cease, and the Christian Religion to succeed in its room. This Argument the Apostle insists upon in the 1st, 2d, 5th, 6th and 7th Chapters to the Romans, and in the 1st and 4th Chapters to the Galatians. In the 1st and 2d Chapters of the Epistle to the Romans, he shows that the Jewish Religion had proved insufficient to make Men truly Holy, as Natural Religion had also done: In the 5th and 6th Chapters of that Epistle to the Romans, and in the 1st to the Galatians, he gives an account of the Institution of the Christian Religion, as more available to that End; in the 7th Chapter to the Romans he shews that this new Institution of Religion necessarily implies the abolishing of the old one; and this he does from the similitude of a Womans being bound by the Law to her Husband so long as he lives, but if her Husband be dead, she is free from the Law of her Husband; which Similitude he applies, ver. 4. Wherefore my Brethren ye also are become dead to the Law by the Body of Christ, that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God: In the 4th Chapter to the Galatians, he proves the same thing from the Similitude of a young Heirs being under Governors or Tutors, ver. 1. I say that the Heir, as long as he is a Child, differeth nothing from a Servant, tho' he be Lord of all; but is under Tutors and Governors, until the time appointed of the Father; even so we, when we were Children, were in bondage under the elements of the World: But when the fulness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a Woman, made under the Law, to redeem those that were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption of Sons; that is, The Jewish Law was an Institution of Religion adapted by God in great Condescention to the weak Apprehensions of that People; but when the fulness of time was come, God sent his Son Jesus Christ to institute a more perfect Form of Religion, after the settlement of which in the World, the former Dispensation was to be disannulled, for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof.
10. The second Argument, by which the Apostle proves that the Christian Religion is sufficient to justifie a Man, without mixing therewith the Rites of the Jewish, is this: The Summ and Essence of all Religion, is Obedience to the moral and eternal Law of God; since therefore the Ceremonies of the Jewish Law were instituted only for that very reason, that they might promote this great End, and prepare Mens Hearts for the reception of that more perfect Institution of Religion, wherein God was to be worshipped and obeyed in Spirit and in Truth; 'tis manifest, that when this more perfect Institution of Religion was settled, the former, which was designed for no other reason but to be a preparatory to this, must be abolished. This Argument the Apostle insists on in the 2d Chapter to the Romans, and in the 3d to the Galatians: In the 2d to the Romans he shows, that every Institution of Religion, and particularly the Jewish, was no otherwise of any esteem in the sight of God, than as it promoted that great end of Obedience to his Moral and Eternal Law: For Circumcision, saith he, verily profiteth if thou keep the Law; but if thou be a breaker of the Law, thy Circumcision is made Uncircumcision; Therefore if the Uncircumcision keep the Righteousness of the Law; shall not his Uncircumcision be counted for Circumcision? And shall not Uncircumcision, which is by nature, if it keep the Law, judge thee who by the Letter and Circumcision dost transgress the Law? For he is not a Jew which is one outwardly, neither is that Circumcision which is outward in the flesh; But he is a Jew which is one inwardly, and Circumcision is that of the heart in the spirit and not in the letter, whose praise is not of Men but of God, v. 25. to the end. In the 3d to the Galatians he argues, that the Jewish Religion having been thus instituted only to prepare Men for that Obedience to the Eternal Law of God, which was to be the sum and essence of the Christian Religion; it follows that when this latter and more perfect Institution took place, there was no need of continuing the former: The Law, saith he, was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come, to whom the Promise was made, v. 19. And v. 23. Before Faith came we were kept under the Law, shut up unto the Faith which should afterward be revealed; Wherefore the Law was our School-master to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by Faith; But after that Faith is come, we are no longer under a School-master.
11. The Third Argument which the Apostle makes use of to prove that those who were converted to the Christian Religion, were not bound any longer to observe the Jewish, is this: The Religion of Abraham was such a Religion, as was acceptable to God, and available to Justification; But now the Religion of Abraham was the same with the Christian Religion, consisting only of Faith and Obedience without the works of the Jewish Law; (For the Scripture saith expresly, that the Gospel was Preached before unto Abraham, and that his Faith was reckoned unto him for Righteousness, when he was not in Circumcision, but in Uncircumcision;) It follows therefore, that the Faith and Obedience of the Christian Religion shall be imputed unto us for Righteousness, without the works of the Jewish Law. This Argument the Apostle largely and strongly insists upon in the whole 4th Chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, and in the 3d to the Galatians, as you may there read at large.
12. The fourth and last Argument, by which the Apostle proves that the Christian Religion is sufficient to Salvation without retaining the Jewish, is this: The Posterity of Abraham were the Elect and the peculiar People of God; But by the Posterity of Abraham is not meant strictly those who descend from Abraham according to the flesh, but the Children of the Promise, (that is, as many as are of the Faith of Abraham,) shall be counted for the Seed: The true Religion therefore and Service of God, is not confined to the Jewish Nation, who are the Posterity of Abraham according to the flesh, but the Gentiles also which believe, have attained to Righteousness, even the Righteousness which is of Faith; that is, those of all Nations, as well Gentiles as Jews, who embrace the Christian Religion, which is the same with the Religion of Abraham, shall be justified with faithful Abraham. And this Argument the Apostle insists upon in the 9th, 10th, and 11th Chapters of the Epistle to the Romans, and in the 4th to the Galatians.
13. This is the Sum of the Arguments, which the Apostle makes use of in these two Epistles, to prove against the Judaizing Christians, that there was no necessity of retaining the Jewish Religion together with the Christian. And from the largeness, clearness, and strength of these Arguments, 'tis evident that the determination of this Question is indeed the principal scope and design of the Apostle in these Epistles. For nothing can be more absurd than to suppose, that the Apostle should most strongly and largely demonstrate a thing, which was not really the design of his discourse; or that on the other hand he should make a thing the professed Subject of his discourse and yet prove it by such intricate and obscure Arguments, as the wisest and cunningest of Men should never be able to reconcile, either with the rest of the Scripture, or with themselves.
14. We must not therefore so understand any passages in these Epistles, as if the Apostle designed to magnifie one Christian Virtue in opposition to all or any of the rest; but only that he would set forth the Perfection of the Virtues of the Christian Religion, without the Ceremonies of the Jewish. Thus when he tells us that we are justified by Faith without Works, we must not interpret it of the Faith of the Christian Religion, in opposition to the Works of the Christian Religion, but of the Faith of the Christian Religion, in opposition to the Works of the Jewish. For so the Apostle himself most expresly explains it, Gal. 5. 6 In Christ Jesus neither Circumcision availeth any thing, nor Uncircumcision, but Faith which worketh by Love; that is, it matters not whether a Man observes the Works of the Jewish Religion or no, if he maintains but the Faith, and the Obedience of the Christian. But as to the Works of the Christian Religion, the same Apostle every where urgeth their necessity, and particularly the five last Chapters of the Epistle to the Romans are a most earnest exhortation to be fruitful therein.
15. From which it follows most evidently, that there is no contradiction between St. Paul and St. James, when the one says that a Man is justified by Faith without Works, and the other saith that Faith without Works cannot justifie. For the one speaking professedly of the Works of the Jewish Religion, and the other of the Works of the Christian, 'tis plain that the Faith of the Christian Religion may avail to justifie a Man without the Works of the Jewish Religion, (which is the Assertion of St. Paul;) tho' it cannot do so without the Works of the Christian Religion, (which is the Assertion of St. James.) The Faith of Abraham, saith St. Paul, was accounted to him for Righteousness; that is, his Faith was accepted without Circumcision, and without observing the external Rites of the Law: But it was by Works, saith St. James, that Abraham our Father was justified; that is, it was by real *foreign. Clem. ad Cor. 1. foreign. Euseb. Hist. l. 1.Obedience to the moral and eternal Law of God, such as is now required by the Christian Religion, that his Faith was made available to Justification. So that there is no other difference between these two great Apostles, than as if a Man should say, That believing the Christian Religion is sufficient to Salvation, without obeying the Jewish Religion, but that it cannot be so without obeying the Christian.
16. From all which 'tis plain, that the Doctrine of St. Paul concerning Faith and Works, delivered in his Epistles to the Romans and Galatians, is so far from contradicting what I have laid down in the foregoing Chapter, concerning the True Notion of Religion in general, (namely that the Essence and End of all true Religion is Obedience to the Moral and Eternal Law of God,) that on the contrary nothing does more clearly and more strongly confirm it.