A NOMINAL FAITH. 379 never enquires into it, looks more like grace. Good works are rather less likely to deceive always, because those who main-. taro their superiority as a doctrine, can-, not but see how far they fall themselves, in practice, short of their profession ; so far as to render it evident, that good works are, with much greater sedulity, performed by that sound class of Chris- tians, who utterly reject any confidence in the performance of them. The for- mer make salvation the easiest possible acquisition ; the other believe it to be difficult, but fancy that the difficulty is to be overcome by a few more good deeds ; which, shall we say, is the more misleading opinion ?. Yet it must be confessed, that in this age of speculative religion, many do not sufficiently insist on these indispensable indications of a true and lively faith. For, after all, are not the right actions of a consistently holy life, the most une- quivocal outward signs of an inward and
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