You object, 2. “St. Paul says, that faith made perfect by love, St. James, that faith made perfect by works, is the condition of salvation.” You mean final salvation. I say so too: but this also is beside the question.
You object, 3. That the belief of the gospel, is called the obedience of faith, Romans i. 5. And 4. That what Isaiah terms believing, St. Paul terms obeying. Suppose I grant you both the one and the other, what will you infer?
You object, 5. That in one scripture our Lord is stiled The Saviour of them that believe: and in another, The author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him. 6. That to the Galatians St. Paul writes, Neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but faith which worketh by love: and to the Corinthians, circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping the commandments of God. And hence you conclude, “There are several texts of scripture, wherein unbelief and disobedience are equivalently used.” Very true: but can you conclude from thence, that we are not saved by faith alone?
11. You proceed to answer some texts which I had quoted. The first is Ephesians ii. 8. By grace ye are saved, through faith. “But (say you) faith does not mean here, that grace especially so called, but includes also obedience.” But how do you prove this? That circumstance you had forgot: and so run off with a comment upon the context; to which I have no other objection, than that it is nothing at all to the question.
Indeed some time after you add, “It is plain then that good works are always, in St. Paul’s judgment, joined with faith.” (So undoubtedly they are, that is, as an effect is always joined with its cause) “And therefore we are not saved by faith alone.” I cannot possibly allow the consequence.
You afterwards cite two more texts, and add, “You see mere faith cannot be a condition of justification.” You are out of your way. We are no more talking now of justification than of final salvation.
In considering Acts xvi. 31. Believe in the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved. You say again, “Here the word believe does not signify faith only.—Faith necessarily produces charity and repentance; therefore, these are expressed by the word believe.” i. e. Faith necessarily produces holiness. Therefore holiness is a condition of holiness. I want farther proof. That Paul and Silas spake unto him the word of the Lord; and that his faith did in the same hour work by love, I take to be no proof at all.
You then undertake to shew, that confessing our sins, is a condition of justification, and that a confidence in the love of God, is not a condition. Some of your words are, “This, good Sir, give me leave to say, is the greatest nonsense and contradiction possible. It [♦]is impossible you can understand this jargon yourself, and therefore you labour in vain to make it intelligible to others. You soar aloft on eagle’s wings, and leave the poor people to gape and stare after you.”
[♦] “it” replaced with “is”
This is very pretty, and very lively. But it is nothing to the purpose. For we are not now speaking of justification: neither have I said one word of “the condition of justification” in the whole tract to which you here refer.