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SO4

FAITH

THE

WAY TO

SALVATION.

[SEEM.

XVIit.

love

turned

toward

God

and

things spiritual,

and their

desire and delight

fixed

upon things

divine

and

holy,

in-

stead

of

their

sensual

entertainments

of

flesh

and blood.

They

have

no

concern

about

the.

pardon of the guilt

of

sin, and restoration

to

the

favour

or image

of

God,

and

not

so

much

as

a

wish

for

the

joys

that

arise from

his love,

or

from the

blessed

presence

of

our Lord Jesus Christ

in

the

world to

come.

I

have

shewn you

therefore

in the foregoing

discourse

what

this

salvation

is,

and made

it

appear that

the gospel

is

the

power

of

God

to salvation

;

that

is,

it

is

a power-

ful

means

in

the

hand

of

the

Spirit

of

God

to

save

us

from the

guilt of

sin,

and

to give

us

a right

to

heaven;

to

save

us

from

the

power

of

sin

to

fit us

for

the business

and

the

joys,

of

heaven,

and,ensure to

us

the actual

pos-

session

of

it.

There

are

two

things

yet

remain,

to

be

considered in

discoursing

on

this

subject:

I. The

place

or

influence

that

faith,

or

believing,

bath

in

this salvation

:

for

the gospel provides this blessing

only for

believers.

It

is

called the power

of

God

to

salvation

to

every one

who

believrs:

II.

The

wide

extent of

this glorious

benefit:

It

belongs

to

every one

that

believes, Whether

Greek,

or Jew.

I

shall

treat

of

each of

these particularly.

First,

Since

the

gospel is the power

of

God

to the sal-

vation

of

them

that

believe,.

_let

us

enquire,

what place

or

influence

has

our

faith

in

this

concernment?

To

answer

this,

we

may

consider

faith

in its

various

acts or degrees

of

exercise,

as"itbegins

in assent, as

it

proceeds

to

affiance,

and

as

itis:cempleted

in

assurance;

and

shew

what influence`each

of

them

bath

in

the work

of

salVation.

1:

An

assent

to

the

"'truths

of

the gospel

must

begin

the

work

of

salvation

in

us:

"There

must

be

a belief and

inward conviction

of

our

'sinful

and 'dangerous state,

which

is

more

clearly.

revealed

udder

the

gospel,

and

that

there

is

an

Atonement ,made for

sin

by the blood

of

Christ

:

We must

believe,

that

there

is

forgiveness

to

be

'

found

vith

God, for the sake

of

this

atonement;

and

that

there

is

grace eneugh

in

our

Lord

Jesus

Christ, to

renew

our

sinful natures, and to

fit us

for heaven,

This

úsually

besets

in

the

sinner,

who is

truly

awakened,

some.