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his Holy Spirit, whose temple we are, might reside in, and sanctify our hearts, and impart to us wisdom and righteousness, to be practically displayed in our lives. And since without this holy guidance our own feeble and depraved nature could never bring forth what the Apostle calls "the fruits of the Spirit," nor follow the steps of Christ, this may well be called the righteousness of Christ," or the "righteousness of God in Christ." For "if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his :" "if any man keep my saying, my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode in him." "Little children," says the Apostle John, "let no man deceive you; he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous." "They that are Christ's," says Paul, "have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts;" "if we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." "If ye, through the Spirit, do mortify the deeds of the flesh, ye shall live; for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."

f See Whitby on this subject.

4. From the consideration then of these passages of Scripture which have been adduced, as well as of many more to the same purpose which might be appealed to if needful, I cannot but conclude that that system of imputed sin and righteousness, which I have been considering, is altogether fanciful and groundless. It has indeed at first sight a sort of compactness, coherency, and consistency of parts, which gives it, till closely scrutinized, an air of plausibility; but this very circumstance should, in any case, put us the more carefully on our guard; for there is no more common error in many departments of study, and especially in theology, than the prevalence of a love of system over the love of truth." Men are often so much captivated by the aspect of what seems to them a regular, beautiful, and well-connected theory, as to adopt it hastily, without inquiring, in the outset, how far it is conformable to facts or to scriptural authority; and thus, often on one or two passages of Scripture, have built up an ingenious and consistent scheme, of which the far greater

8 Seduced by the "Idola Theatri" of Bacon. See Note ", p. 219.

part is a tissue of their own reasonings and conjectures.h

The whole subject indeed of justification has been involved in great, and, I cannot but think, needless, perplexity, by the practice formerly alluded to (Essay III.) of first affixing (which may be allowable) a strict technical sense to each of the principal words that have been employed in Scripture, and then (which is not allowable) interpreting the word, whenever it is found in the Sacred Writers themselves, according to such precise definition; instead of

h I would not be thought to appeal to our Articles, or to any other human work, as decisive on such a point. But it is worth considering by those members of our Church who regard this doctrine as the key-stone of Christianity, that the Articles, though insisting on justification through Christ, make no allusion to the imputation to believers of his good works. The expression is, "propter meritum," &c.

i Perhaps, however, it would have been better if, from the very first, no scriptural terms had been introduced into systems of theology. Some have objected to the word

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Trinity," and a few others, on the ground that they are not found in Scripture: this appears to me their chief recommendation; since in this case all danger is effectually avoided of misinterpreting Scripture in the way I am describing. As it is, one of our best safeguards against this danger would be, to vary from time to time the language of our expositions of Scripture doctrines.

regarding their works as popular, not scientific, and seeking for the meaning of their expressions, in each case, from the context.

Thus, in the present instance, if three or four perhaps of those who are accounted sound divines, should be consulted as to the doctrine of Justification, it is not unlikely they would give as many different accounts of it. All would agree as to the importance of the doctrine; but some perhaps would lay down two Justifications, others, only one; and among these there would be found great discrepancies; and yet all probably would be found, in their general views of the Christian scheme, to arrive at nearly the same practical results. It is hardly to be supposed indeed that there can be so much difficulty (to the unlearned, impossibility) as this discrepancy would seem to imply, in ascertaining from Scripture, "what we must do to be saved." And is there not therefore ground to suspect that many divines have been unconsciously involved in embarrassing disputes about words, from expecting in the Sacred Writers a more scientific accuracy and uniformity of language than they ever aimed at ?*

See Hampden's Bampton Lectures. Lect. 1.

When one of the Apostles speaks to men of the condemnation for sin, from which they were to seek a way to escape, he naturally uses the word Sixaidonvau, to be "justified," in the sense of acquittal;-their "not having their trespasses imputed to them." (Acts xiii. 38, 39. Rom. iii. 25. Rom. v. 9.) When again he alludes to the defilement of sin, analogous to the ceremonial impurities which, under the Levitical Law, excluded men from partaking of its sacred ordinances, he as naturally uses 'justified" to signify their being accounted clean,-regarded as God's holy people, and admitted without profanation to approach Him, in the spiritual service of the

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1 See A. Knox's Remains, [vol. i. p. 276,] where he points out that the use of the word dikatorven by the Apostle (denoting, like the other words in συνη, a moral habit) instead of δικαιωσις, in those passages where he is, by some, understood to be speaking of another's righteousness, imputed to us, plainly indicates that this was not his meaning.

The coincidence in this point between Mr. Knox and myself, has led some to imagine that my notions must have been, directly or indirectly, derived from him. But this Essay was published some years before I even knew of the existence of him or any of his friends. My views were no more borrowed from him, than his from me; but both from a common

source.