Senn. ICLXXII, Of the Chri/iian Faith,. 8z'c, 475 Doctrine, and to imitate the Example of his Life ; and will expel Salvation, that is. the Pardon of his Sins, and Eternal Life from no other ; becaufe he is verily pertwaded he is a Teacher, and a Saviour tent fromGod, that his Doûrine is true, and his Satisfaction available, and that the Rewards which he bath pro- mifed to thofe who believe and obey him, and the Punifhments which he hath threatned to the Unbelievers and Difobedient, shall all certainly be fulfilled and aecomplifh'd. All this is included in believing that 7efus is the aria, the Son of God. So Chrirdan Faith, or the Faith of the Gofpel, contains plainly in it thefe particulars. X. An affent ofthe Underfianding to this Truth, That 7efus Clirihl the Sonof God, was a Perfon Commiffron'd from Heaven, and employed by God to bring Men to Eternal Happinefs. And this Fundamental îs neceffary to all the Subfe- quent Ads of Faith, and that upon which they depend. 2. An aflent of the Underftanding to the Truth of all thofe things which this Perfon delivered to the World. So that if he tells us, that his Death path made Expiation for the Sins of Men, upon die conditions of Faith and Repentance and Obedience, and. that Gad by him doth command the World to do Inch and filch things, and in cafe of Obedience will confer filch and filch Rewards upon Men, but in cafe of Difobedience will infli& fuch Punifhments upon them ; we are to believe all this to be true ; becaufe the Perfon whoacquainted us with thefe things was fent byGod, and imploy'd fromHeaven upon this Meffage. 3. And confequently, a relying and depending upon him, and no other, for the conferring of thefe Benefits, and making, good thefe Promifes to us. '4. Obedience to all his Laws and Commands becaufe believing them to be from God, we cannot but afrent to them as good, and as laying an Obligation upon us to yield Obedience to them : and if we do not Obey them, we are pre fumed to Disbelieve them; for if we did truly and heartily believe them to be the Commands of God, we would obey them. Now. that Obedience:of Heart and Life to the Precepts and Commands of the Gofpel, as well as an Affent of the underftanding to the Truth of the Gofpel- Revelation, and a trufting and relying upon the Merits of Chrilt, is included iii the Scripture notion of Faith, will evidently appear to any that will confider thefe Texts. Rom. 1, 5. By whom we have receivedGrace and Apofllefhip for obeli.; one to;the Faith among all Nationsfor his Name 9 where the Belief of the Gofpel is called the Obedience of Faith. Rom. so. 16. But they have not all obeyedthe Gofpel:. for Efaias faith, Lord, who hath believed our report ? But if Faith do not include Obedience, how could he prove that there were flame that did not obey the Go- fpel,.becaufe Ifaiah faid, there werefome that did not believe it ? And fo likewife by comparing, s Tim. 4. to. where he is Paid to be.the Saviour of them that be- lieve, with Heb. q. 9. where he is Paid to be the Author ofEternal Salvation unto all them that obey him. As alfo by comparing, Gal. 5. 6. where it is laid, For in 5tefus Chrifl, neither Circumcifron availeth any thing, nor'Uncircumcton t but Faith which worketh by love, with s Cor. 7. 19. Circumcifon is nothing, and Vncircum.. gigot is nothing: bot the keeping of the Commandments of God. And fo likewife by thofe Texts, where unbelief and Difobedience are equivalently ufed. I will but mention one, Heb. 3. Ix. The Apoftle, from the Example of the Ifraelites, cau- tions Chrifians againft Unbelief, Take heed, brethren, le/1 there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. And repeating the fame Caution in the next Chapter, at the s t. verf, he varies the Phrafc a little, Left any Man fall after the fame example of Difbedience g the ward is ú7rctOsitts, which in deed pur Tranflators render 'Unbelief, but that confirms that which I bring it for,, that Difobedience and Unbelief are the fame. And fo likewife we find Faith and Difobedience oppofed frequently in Scripture. John 3. 36. He that believeth on the Son, bath everlafling Life o and he that believeth not the Son, fiall net fee Life. In the Greek it is, he that obcyeth not the Son, as you will fee in the Margin of the Bible. t Pet. 2. y. Vnto you therefore whichbelieve he is precious r but unto them which le difoledient, the _lone which the builders difallowed; the fame is made the head of the corner. And this doth likewife appear in all thofe Tuts; wherein Bt.e& PPP a pentanes/ i
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