4 INWARD WITNESS TO .CHRISTIANITY. inward witness; which we shall endeavour to explain, by consi- dering these three things : I. What believing on the Son of God means. lI. What this inward witness is, that faith gives to christianity. III. What sort of witness it is, and haw it exceeds other testimonies in several respects. And, Lastly, We shall make some inferences. I. What is meant in mytext by believing on theSon of God? I answer briefly under these twoheads. It is, I. A believing Jesus Christ to be the Saviour of the world. -2. A trustinChrist Jesus as our Saviour. 1. It is a believing Jesus Christ to be the Saviour of the world; and in this manner it is often expressed by our apostle in these epistles : a belief thatJesus Christis the Messiah, who was foretoldby allthe prophets, and represented by all the types and shadows of the Old. Testament. This usually includesa belief of the most important things that are related in the gospel con- cerning his person; suchas these, that he is true God and true man, i. e. that God and man are united in him ; that he was the Son of God before all ages, and the son of man born in time. That he was the seed of David after the flesh, but declared to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection front the dead; Rom. i. 3, 4. That he is that eternal Word, who in the'beginning was with God, and was God, andwho was in due time made flesh and tabernacled.among us, as in John i. 14. This is that mystery of godliness which we must believe, God manifest in the flesh; 1 Tim. iii. 16. It implies Also our belief of his doctrine, as well as of the divinity and humanityunited in his person; viz. That we'are all sinners condemned by the law of God; enemies to God in out minds, transgressors in our lives, and exposed to eternal death: That the divine law is so strict, so perfect, so holy, and so just that no mere mansince the fall can fulfil it, nor yet can excuse 'or free himself from the condemnation of it: That Christ him- self came to fulfil this law, as he tells us in Mat. v. 17, 18. That he came not only to perform the duties of it by an active obedience, but to put himself under the curse and condemnation forour sakes. Which the apostle to the Galatians expresses in this language, that in thefulness of time he was made under the law tobecome a cursefor us, thatwe who are under the law might be redeemed from the curse, and receive a blessing; Gal. iii. 13. and iv. 5. That he died for our ofences, that he rose againfor our justification; and that the has received the spirit of holiness, which he sends into our sinful natures, to form us fit for that heavenly inheritance whichhe hath purchased for us by his death. That without this purification of our natures, we can have no hope of heaven, for wit /lout repentance and holiness no man shall see
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