Serm. CLXV. Faith ingeneral. NewTeftament, where gins feems to be ufed in this fenfe, or very near it, Atls 17.31. Becaufe he bath appointed a day in which he will judge the world, &c. whereof he bath given aiùrance unto all men, in that be bath raifed him from the dead, 'rí5w zt i v oránv, having ofer'd faith to all men ; that is , having given us thisargument for the proof of it, that be railed Chrill from the dead. Sometimes 'tis put for the Obje& of this perfwafion, or the matter or thing whereof we are perfwaded: And thus frequéntly in the New Tefta- ment, the Gofpel, which is the obje& of our Faith, the thing which we believe, is call'd Faith. And thus you find it ufed in that Phrafe of O- bedience to the faith, that is, to the Gofpel, Ably 6. 7. Rom. r. 5. 16. 26. And in this fenfe Faith, that is the Gofpel, is frequently oppofed to the Difpenfation of the Law, Rom. 3. 27i 31. to. 6. Gal. a. 23. He that perfe- cutedus' in times pa/l, now preached) thefaith which once be defiroyed. Gal. 3. 2. the hearing of theGofpel, is call'd, the hearingoffaith ; ver. 23. Be. fore faith, came ; and ver. 25. But after that faith is come. Eph. q.. 5. There's one faith, that is, one Gofpel, whichwe believe. a Tim. 4. 6. Nourifbed up in the word offaith andof good doarine. The oppofites to Faith are Unbelief and Credulity. Unbelief, which is a not being,perfwaded of a thing, is the deficient extream; or doubting, if it prevail to a degree of Unbelief: and Credulity, which is an eafinefs to be- lieve things without any probable Argument to induce our perfwafion -, is the redundant extream. The feat or fubje& of Faith is the mind, or the heart, as the Scripture ufually calls it. With the heart man believes, that is, with the Soul: for I do not underhand any real diftin&ion of Faculties; but if you will, diftin= guifh them, the proper feat of this perfwafion is the underftanding ; the immediate effe& of it is upon the will ; by which it works upon the affe= &ions and the life. And Faith in this general notion is not oppofed to error, and knowledge, and opinion : but comprehends all thefe under it. For if a Man be 'perfwa- de of that which is falfé, he believes a lie, as the Scripture expreffeth it; a Man may be certainly perfwaded of a thing, that is, firmly believe it, which is Knowledge ; a ,Man may be probably perfwaded of a thing, that is , believe it with Tome diffidence and uncertainty , and that is Opinion. But for our better underftanding of this general notion of Faith, we will take into confederation thefe four things. I. The caufe of it, or the argument whereby it is wrought. II. The Degrees of it, and the difference of them. III. The Natural Efficacy and Operation ofit. IV. The feveral kinds of it. L We will confider the Caufe of Faith, or the Argument whereby it is wrought. Now all the Arguments whereby Faith may be wrought in us, that is a perfwafion of any thing, will I think fall under one of thefe Four Heads ;Senfe, Experience, Reafon drawn from the thing, or the Authority and Teftimony of fome Perfon. r. Senfe. Hence it is commonly Paid that feeing is believing, that is, one of the heft Arguments to perfwade us of any thing. That Faith may be wrought by this Argument, appearsboth from the Nature of the thing, no- thing being snore apt to perfwade us of any thing than our Senfes; and from feveral expreffions in Scripture. I will inftance in one for all, John 20. 8. Then went in alfo the other Difciple into the Sepulchre, and he taw, andbe- lieved. And whereas Scripture oppofeth Faith to Sight, as 2 Cor, 5.7. We walk by Faith, andnot by Sight; Heb. ri. 15. It is the evidence of things not feen; we are to underhand that only concerning a belief of the things of\ another 429
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=