^

5 » .'^iv

.:^:

*?■

^#^«':^.... ::^^

/;;??:■

t^-cX J^y ^^ ^ ^ ^''"^^ - ''^^^

t •• • .

^y ' ^ -^

,y

Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive

in 2011 witii funding from

Princeton Tlieological Seminary Library

littp://www.arcliive.org/details/reviewofgenuinedOOtowe

^y

X

A

R E V I E

OF THE

GENUINE DOCTRINES

O F

CHRISTIANITY

[Price One Shilling and Six-pence.]

A

REVIEW

OF THE

GENUINE DOCTRINES

O F

CHRISTIANITY.

COMPREHENDING

REMARKS

ON SEVERAL PRINCIPAL

CALVINISTICAL DOCTRINES j

And fome Observations on the Ufe of

REASON IN RELIGION,

O M

HUMAN NATURE,

A N D O N

FREE AGENCY. % JOSEPH 'TOWERS.

^1*^— ^^^"^^^ ■ ■■III I I ^ I ■ ■■■ ^^^■^. I lliiMII ^

LONDON:

Printed for W. Sandby, at the Ship.oppofite St.Dunflan'a Church in Fleet-Street. M, dcc, lxiii.

[?rice One Shilling and Six-pence, j

i

[ iii J

THE

PREFACE.

^ONI'ROVERSIAL writing has

^^ beenfo multiplied in the Chrijiian world ^^ and freque7itly carried on in a manner fo little agreeable to the genuine fpirit of Chri- Jlianity^ that many fenjible perfons are apt to conceive a dijlajie again/i every produSlion of that kind. But as religion is in itfelf the moft important thing in the worlds fo it is likewife of very great i?np07-tance that men fhoidd entertain jifl notions of it. And though matters of mere opinion, as fuch, are not perhaps of very great moment ; yet a?iy notions which have a tendency to prevent the practical influence of religion on the minds of ?7im-i are certainly of very bad conjequence j end are the more da?igerous a?id prejudicial^ when they are received as facred doSirines^ and thofe who have imbibed thein are afraid to diamine them r^ith freedom and impartiality^

h z If

iv PREFACE.

IT mujl be a matter of regret, to everjk man 'who is him/elf convinced of the important

'truths of the Chrijiian revelation, who re- verences its divine author, and is cojtcerned

for the promotion of the inter ejls of his reli- gion, as a fcheme calcidated in the moft admi- rable manner to promote the caife of virtuey and the prefent and future happinefs of man- kind, to obferve the abfurd and unamiable reprejentations which are frequently given of this moji excellent injlitution. It is often fo inveloped in the abfurdities of fome of its miflaken prafeffors, that fcarce any traces of its original fimplicity and beauty are difcern-

' ible,

IT mujl however be acknowledged with pleafure, that moJi of thcfe abfurd tenets, which have long contributed to disfigure and obfcure the original doBrines of the gofpel, and which have been jheltered under the venerable nt^me of orthodoxy, - have for a confiderable time pa II, by the mofi learned and inquifitive Chrijiians of almofi every denomination, been difcardedas unfcriptural, as well as irrational. Bigotry, and a Jlavifi attachment to eflab-

blifed

preface: V

tiffed fyjlemsy to creeds and articles of faith y the inventions and devices of men, have given way to a rational and free enquiry into the real doSirines of the facred writifigs them- f elves \ by which inea?is the Chrijlian fyjiem has been better under flood, and more rational and confijlent fentiments have been ejlablified in a cmjiderable part of the Chrijlian world.

m is however to be regretted, that not- withjlanding thefe beneficial effeBs, which have been the natural refult of freedotn of enquiry, and the p?'evale?ice of more liberal fentiments, there are yet great numbers of pious wcll-mca?2i?2g Chrifiians, who are very flrongly attached to the abfurd and contradic- tory tenets of Calvinifm.

AS thefe doSlrines appear in t hen f elves (though they may 720t always produce their natural cf'eB) to be very unfavourable to the morality of the gofpel, and to the promotion of that real virtue and benevolence of hearty which it is the principal defign of Chriftianity to inculcate and promote ; as they mufl appear y upon an impartial examination, to be QQHtra^y A 3 to

vi PREFACE.

to the general tenor and defgn of the facred writings^ however they may be fortified by imaginary proofs drawn from thence ; and as the idea which they give of the Chrijiian fyftem is an abfurd and imamiable one, and fuch as hath a natural tendency to prejudice^ and in faSl frequently does prejudice^ many againji Chri/lianity, and even again/I religion itfelf', every attempt to remove fuch opinions, and to ejiablifi jufier fentiments of the religion of Jefus, mufi, if it has any effeSt^ be fer- viceable to the Chrijiian caufe.

TO obviate, therefore, fome of thofe pre- judices, which are entertained by thofe who favour Calvinijiical principles, againjl thofe more rational and confijient ideas of the Chri^ fian religion, which the free exercife of reafon, and the unprejudiced fiudy of the facred writings, naturally fuggeft ; and to give a flight fketch of that admirable fyftem, as it it really delineated in the books of the New T^eflameiit, is the defgn of this traSl.

IT may be prefumed, that an endeavour to promote fuch fentimcnts in religion, as are

hO'

PREFACE. vli

honourable to thcfupreme Creator^ and agree^ able to the dilates of reafon as well as reve- lation, though imperfe£l in itfelf will he fa^ vourably received by the Intelligent and the Candid. But how far this traB may be caU culated for fuch a purpofe, muji be fubmitted to the impartial judgnunt of the Public.

A

A

REVIEW

OF THE

GENUINE DOCTRINES

O F

CHRISTIANITY.

TI^E diverfity of fentlment which hath appeared in the Chriftian world, with refpeft to many important points of Chriftian dodrine, muft be a matter of confiderable furprize to a fpeculative obferver. It would be very natural to imagine, that in a divine revelation, intended to lead mankind to the knowledge of thofe divine truths which are necefiary to their falvation, thofe truths would be there laid down with fuch a degree of precifion and perfpicuity, that no man of moderate underftanding, who was fincerely defirous of knowing the truth, could pofTibljr A 4 xr.iiUke

10 A Review of the

miftake it. But however natural and reafonable this fuppofition may be, the fa(5l certainly is, that very different reprefentations of the Chri- stian rehgion are given by perfons who appear equally lincere in their intentions.

But as there does not appear to be any fuch real obfcurity in the revelation itfelf, when fair- ly examined, at leaft- with refpeft to the general aim and defign of it, this diverfity of opinion concerning it muft be attributed to other cauies. And it appears very evident, that a much greater uniformity of opinion, with refpedV ac leaft to the more important and eflential parts of religion, would have taken place in the Chriftian world, had men freely exercifed their own reafon in enquiring after truth, and dii- covering the real do<5lrines of revelation ; and had not been induced to hood -wink their underftandings, and receive as the ditlates of infallible truth, whatever fome particular zea- lous and over-bearing men, who have become heads and leaders of fe(5ls and parties, have thought proper to declare w^ere the only true and orthodox do(5l:rines of fcripturc. Articles of faith, creeds, &c. perhaps m.ay juftly be confidered as having hindered in a very confi- derable degree the advancement of juit notions of the doiSlrinss of the gofpel ; as by them

the

Genuine Doctrines, (f?r. it

the miftakes of feme particular men have been handed down as facred dodrines, and by that means the timely redification of fuch errors hath been in a great degree prevented. By the increafe of creeds and articles of faith, fyftems of divinity have been formed, and by them the fcriptures have been interpreted. In- ftcad of thoroughly and impartially examining what appeared to be. the genuine doftrine of the fcriptures, men have brought their own prejudices and pre-conceived notions with themj and at all events the fcriptures muft be made to tally with thefe notions, however contrary they might be to the real meaning of the facred writings, however abfurd and incon- fiftent in themfelves. Miftaken and falfe in- terpretations of fome of the more difficult and obfcure parts of the facred writings, have been adopted as efiential parts of the doctrine of the gofpel J and though perhaps contrary to fome of its mod fundamental principles, when rightly underftood, yet the reception of fome of thefe notions hath been ccnfidered as the only true criterion of foundnefs and orthodoxy. And thefe tenets have been received by many with fuch implicit aflent, that they have con- fidered it as impious to difbelieve, or even to doubt the truth of them. And indeed when once any fct of opinions can be brought to be

con-

12 ' 'A Review of tht

confidered in this light, little argument will be fufficient for their fupport ; fuperllition,- or a tod timorous piety, will, with the majo- rity, fortify them againfl all the force of reafon and of argument.

Had not, by means of this kind, a veil of obfcurity been thrown over the mofl fimple, intelligible, and rational of all religions, thofe heats, animofities, and religious contentions, with which ecclefiaftical hiltory is difgraced, could not poflibly have fubfifted in the Chri- ftian world ; and probably the prefent diftinc- tions of fedts and parties would have been in a great degree extind.

As it appears that it was the want of the free exercife of reafon, which hath been the principal occafion of the abfurd and miftaken reprefentations which have been given of Chri- Itianity; and as it is a notion ftill entertained by thofe who adhere to the dodrines in this tra(5t more particularly oppofed, that mere human reafon, (or, as it is fometimes empha^ tically called, carnal reafon) is not an adequate judge of religious matters i and that men arc not capable, by the ufe of their natural faculties' and powers, of having juft conceptions af thofe divine truths which are the objefts of

revc*

Genuine Doctrines, l£c. 13

revelation, nor of underftanding revelation itfelf, a few remarks will be offered upon that fubjed.

It is indeed no eafy matter to reafon fuc- cefsfully with thofe, by whom the decifions of reafon are not admitted. But it may be obferved, that however ready fuch perfons are to appeal from the determinations of reafon, when they make againft themfelves, they are neverthelefs willing to retain it in their fervice, as long as it can be employed with any degree of fuccefs on their own fide. They will reafon as long as they are able, in defence of their own tenets •, but when they find they are no longer defenfible on any rational principles, they then rejecft the authority of reafon. Agree- able to an obfervaiion fomewhere made, reafon is againft them, and therefore they, in their turn, are againfi reafon.

That the ufe of reafon in religion fhould have been oppofed by the patrons and adherents of papal tyranny and fuperftition, is noc at all wonderful. If ignorance cannot juftly be faid to be the mother of devotion, it is neverthelefs the mofl fuitable nurfe for fuperftition, bigotry, 'and implicit faith. It was therefore natural for ihofe in the interefi of the Roman fee, to

oppofe

14 !^ Review of the

oppofe with all their might the exercifc of reafon, as the moil dangerous enemy of their ecclefiaftical ufurpation. But that Proteftants, whofe rehgion appears to be founded on the ufe of reafon, fhould neverthelefs refufe to acknow- ledge the propriety of appeals to it in the deter- mination of rehgious controverfies, is not eafy to be accounted for.

Could we be infaUibly certain, that any do(5lrine was revealed, and any action or acHiions commanded, by the fupreme Creator himlelf i it would undoubtedly be our duty to afTent to the one, and to obey the other, whether we could difcern their probability and fitnefs, or not. Reafon itfelf would dictate this. The Deity can neither be himfelf miftakcn, nor can he deceive his creatures ; and his wifdom and his goodnefs render it impoflible that he fhould command any thing that is not fit and proper. Therefore whatever we certainly know to be taught or commanded by Hirh, reafon itfelf would teach us to believe and to obey. To objefb againfl any part of the known will of God, becaufe we do not difcern its reafonable- nefs, would be both abfurd and impious. But furely there can be no impiety in examin- ing, whether what is offered to us as a divine revelation, is really fo or not , much lefs in

cxaminins

Genuine Doctrines, &c: 15

jamming what are, and what are not, the real dodlrines of revelation itfelf. We have otherwife no fecurity againft any fpecies of delufion and impofture : but at Conftantinople we mull receive impUcitly the do6trines of the Koran, and at Rome we muft believe Tran= fubitantiation.

The warmeft friends to Chriftlanity need not be under any apprehenfion of that fuftaining any detriment by the freeft examination, pro- vided it be a candid and a fair one. The uncorrupted religion of Jefus will approve itfelf to the underftanding of every impartial and reafonable man. It is enthufiafm, bigotry, and fuperftition alone, that are endangered by the appeal to reafon ; and it is forbidden only in thofe erroneous theological fyftems, the pa- trons of which are confcious that their fchemes will not Hand the teft of reafon •, and therefore they are reduced to the necefllty of employing this fubterfuge to evade its force. Truth itfelf fears no fcrutiny. It is the diredion of the great apoftle of the Gentiles, to provs all things, and hold faji that only which is good ', He directed thofe to whom he preached,

to

» I Their. V. 21.

^6 A Review of the

to judge what he faid ; and defircd no othe» aflent to his dodlrines, than what their own unbiafTed reafon led them to. And he com- mends the Bereans in very ftrong terms, becaufe they were free enquirers -, they believed not the apoftles themfelves implicitly, but fearched the fcriptures whether thofe things were fo ''.

Indeed it is eafy to prove by many inftan- ces, that the fcriptures are very far from giving any countenance to a rejecflion of reafon. We find, on the contrary, both in the old and in the new teftament, frequent appeals to the reafon and underilanding of mankind. God himfelf is reprefented in feveral places as rea- foning with his creatures •=, Chrift often appeals to the underflandings of thofe who heard him ^. St. Paul is reprefented as reafoning with Felix the Roman governor concerning the faith in Chrift ^. The fame apoftle reafons with king Agrippa ^, with the Athenian phi lofop hers s, and with the Jews ^. And that an ability of underilanding the fcriptures, is not confined

to

* A£ls xvii. II. « Particularly in Ifaiah ch. v. 3. Xxviii. 23 — 26. Ezek. xviii. 24 — 32. and Micah vi, 2,3. " Mark viii. i7--2t. John viii. 46. ^ Afts xxiv. 24^ 75. f Ads XXVI. 8. 6 Afts svu. 16— 31. *> Afts xvii. 2, 3.

Genuine Doctrines, i^c. 17

to thofe who in feme fupernatural manner have their minds prepared for the reception of divine truths, or by fome divine irradiation are already initiated in the knowledge of them, is evident from our Saviour's own words, who dire<5ls even the unbelieving Jews to jsarch the fcrip- iures ' ; which it cannot be fuppofed he would have done, had they not been naturally capable of underftanding them. And indeed of what ufe can that revelation be, which requires another revelation to explain it ?

IxDEED the leaft reflection muft convince us, of the necefilty of our exercifing our rea- fon in reading the fcriptures. For there are many palTages in the facred writings, which, were we to uhderfland them literally, would be either unintelligible or falfe. Here then we naturally employ our reafon, as we do in all other writings, to difcover the real mean- ing of the writer. We are obliged of necef- fity thus to exercife our reafon, if we vrould in any tolerable degree underftand the fcrip- tures, or indeed any thing elfe. Why then are we forbid to ufe our reafon freely in religious enquiries r In facl, the notion that

£ reafon

jonn V. 39,

z9 A Review of tie

reafon is not a proper guide in religious mat- ters, is fo egregioufly abfurd, that any man, but one who through the prejudice of educa- tion, or fomething of that kind, has efpoufcd this ftrange dogma, muft be amazed that there fhould be any neceffity of confuting it.

Having in fome degree, it is prefumed, cftabliflied this principle, that we may with fafety and propriety take reafon as our guide, in an examination of what are the genuine do(5lrines of the gofpel ; we fhall, after a few previous obfervations, proceed to that enquiry, in that method which appears the mofl natural and rational. And this certainly muft be, to enquire what were the do(5lrines which Chrift himfelf principally inculcated upon his fol- lowers and difciples j and what it was that his apoftles appear chiefly to have inculcated upon thofe to whom they preached. For it would be very irrational (however frequently that method may have been taken) to explain thefe more intelligible parts of the new teftament, the meaning of which is fo obvious that it flrikes at the firft view, with fuch as are metaphorical and obfcure, and capable of diff^erent interpreta- tions. But it is fomewhat remarkable, that thofe who have imbibed the moft abfurd and incon- fiftent notions of Chriftianity, are particularly

fond

Genuine Doctrines, (^c. 19

fond of St. Paurs epiftles ; and read and quote them much oftener, than they do the gofpels, and other lefs controverted parts of fcripture. The reafon of which appears to be, that thefe, as being in fome places fomewhat difficult and obfcure, are better calculated to be fo explained as to countenance any favourite dodlrine, than thofe parts of fcripture which are more plain, and lefs capable of perverfion. Some fuch ufe appears to have been made of St. Paul's epi- ftles, even in the moft early ages of Chriftia- nity. St, Peter ■ obferves, that there were, in St. Paul's epiftles, fome things hard to be anderjiood, which thofe that were unlearned and unfiable ivrejied, even in his time, to their ovjn dejlru^ion ^.

In profane authors we always make ufe of thofe parts, the meaning of which is clear and evident, to explain and ilJuftrate thofe which are dark and obfcure. And it is certain that no reafon can be alTigned, why this moft rational method fhould not be taken with the fcriptures.

In our intended review of the dotflrines of

the new teftament, we fhail begin with our

B 2 Lord's

^ 2 Peter iii. 15, 16,

20 A Review of the

Lord's fermon on the mount, the longeft and moft confiderable difcourfe that we have recor- ded as preached by him. We find it compofed chiefly of moral precepts, and dire6lions for the regulation of his difciples conduift ; of exhortations to peaceablenefs, purity, forgive- nefs of injuries, candour in judging of others, refignation to the providence of God, and the practice of juftice and equity, and that exten- five benevolence which comprehended in it the love even of their enemies. Our Lord incul- cates the pradlice of thefe virtues on his difciples with peculiar emphafis and force, as the only thing that could recommend them to his favour, and on which they could place any rational depen- dance. Whofoever (fays he) heareth thefe fayings of mine^ and doeth them^ I will liken him to a wife man who built his houfe upon a rock ; and the rain defended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and heat upon that houfe, and it fell not, for it was founded on a rock ^ It is with thefe words our Saviour's difcourfe ends ; in the whole of which his defign manifeftly is, to lead them to the fincere praMice of piety and virtue ; and to a greater degree of it than was then generally pradifed by the JewiHi fcribes

and

1 Matt. vii. 24, 25.

Genuine Doctrines, ^c. 21

and Pharifees. For our Lord tells them. Except your right eojifnefs Jloall exceed the righteoufnefs of the Scribes and Pharifees^ ye floall in no cafe enter into the kingdom of heaven '".

There is not the leaft ground for the far- fetched interpretation that is fometimes given to the laft-quoted text, viz. that the righteouf- nefs there fpoken of as neceffary to quaUfy them for entering into the kingdom of heaven, was the righteoufnefs of Chrift imouted to

O J.

them. Our Lord is evidently exhorting them to perfonal righteoufnefs ; for he is throughout his whole difcourfe inculcating virtues which they themfelves were to pra6tice. His meaning evidently is, that if they would gain the favour of God, and attain eternal life, they mud: not content themfelves with a formal obfervance of the external duties of religion, and with appearing to men to be religious, as the fcribes and Pharifees, and hypocrites, that he was fpeaking of, did •, but that they muft regulate their lives by the rules of religion and virtue, not in appearance only, but in reahty, in fm- cerity and finglenefs of heart.

B 1 We

Matt. V. 20.

j2 A Review of the

yN'i find our Lord in the other parts of the gofpels enforcing the love of God and our neighbour, as the fum and fubftance of reli- gion. And he in particular reprefents the pradlice of benevolence and focial afFe<5lion, as the diftinguifhing charafleriflic of the profefTors of his religion. By this Jhall all men know that ye are my difciples^ if ye have love one to ano- ther ". And he reprefents the keeping his commandments, as the proper criterion by which they might judge of their love to him. He that hath my commandmentSy and keepetb them, he it is that loveth me **.

There is an incident of our Lord's life re- corded, in which he hath pointed out in a very flrong and beautiful manner, that nothing but doing the will of God would be a recommen- dation to his favour. It is faid that, in the midfl of one of his difcourfes, 'while he yet talked to the peopky behold^ his mother and his brethren flood without ^ defiring to fee him. Then cne faid unto him^ behf}ld^ thy mother and thy brethren ftand without defiring to fpeak with thee. But he anfwered and faid unto him that told him^ Who is my mother ? and who are my

brethren ?

n Jolmxiii. 35. o John xiv. 21.

Genuine Doctrines, i^c* 2j

Irethren ? And he Jlretched forth his hand tO' wards his difciples, and faid^ Behold my mother^ and my brethren. For whofoever Jhall do the will of my Father which is in heaven^ the fame is my brother^ and /ijier, and mother p. Giving them to underftand, in a moft expreflive man- ner, that they were more allied to him by the pra(flice of piety and virtue, than by any other relation. This is what he appears to have ta- ken every opportunity to inculcate ; for we are alfb told, that when a certain woman — lift tip her voice^ and faid unto him, Bleffed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hafi fucked i — he faid. Tea, rather bleffed are ihey that hear the word of God, and keep it "5. And in his pathetic exhortation to his difciples, a little before his crucifixion, recorded in the latter part of St, John's gofpel, he with great earnellnefs repeatedly exhorts them to perfevere in keeping his commandments, as the only proper teft of their love to him .

It is likewife very evident, that in the repre- fentations which Chrift gives of the future world, he always defcribes their final ftate as determined by their own moral chara<5ter. In

the

' Matt xli. 46 —50. ^ Luke xi. 27, 28.

24 A Review of the

the end of the world the Son of man Jhall fend

forth his angels, and they fhall gather out of his

kingdom all things that offend, and thetn which

do iniquity, and fhall caji them into a furnace of

fire: — Then fhall the righteous fhine forth as

the fun in the kingdom of their Father "■. In

another place ; at the end of the world, the

angels fhall come forth^ and fever the wicked

from among the juji ; and fhall cajl them into a

furnace of fire ^ Again \ the Son of man floall

come in the glcny of his Father, with his angels ;

and then he fhall reward every man according

to his works *. If the final ftate of mankind

was to be determined (agreeable to the tenets

of fome Chriftians) by a mere arbitrary eledion

of fome favoured individuals to eternal life,

without any refped to their own perfonal merits,

whilft the remainder of the human race were

fuffered to perifli ; or if it had been determined

by the warmth and fervency with v/hich they

had relied on the merits or rightcoufnefs of

Chrift J it would be very extraordinary, if this

was the true ftate of the cafe, that thefe repre-

fentations of Chrill, as well as thofe of the

apoflles in the other parts of the new teftament,

fhould concur in declaring, that, in the future

vv-orld,

' Matt. :dii. -^0—43. « Matt. xiii. 49, 50. VMatC. xvi. 27.

Genuine Doctrines, (s^c 25

world, men would be rewarded or punifhed according to their works.

Indeed if we take a view of all our Saviour's difcourfes, parables, and public in- llru(5lions, it will appear plainly that the general tendency of them is, to inculcate upon his dif- ciples and followers, the fincere pra(5lice of piety, humility, benevolence, and the moft exalted virtue ; and to enforce this by imprinting deeply in their minds the dodlrine of a future ftate of rewards and punifhments ; and forcibly pointing out the wifdom of facrificing our temporal to our eternal interefts, whenever they come in competition with each other. And with thefe ideas of the defign of the Chri- ftian religion, we fhall find the reprefentations given of it by the apoftles in other parts of the new teftament, perfeftly to coincide.

We are very far from finding, in the ac- counts which are given in the afls of the apoftles, of the difcourfes made by the apoilles in the promulgation of Chriftianity, any of thofe unintelligible and irrational dodtrines which have been taught in later times. Their difcourfes are intelligible, confident, and re- pugnant to no principle of reafon. St. Paul's oration to the Athenians is a ftriking inftance

of

26 A Review cf the

of this ". After having cenfured their idolatry and fuperftition, he proceeds to preach to them the true God, the Creator of the World ; and to give them jufter fentiments of him than they then appeared to entertain. He (hews the abfurdity of confidering God as confined to temples, or as a local deity -, and teaches them, that God was not to be worfhipped by men, as though he needed any thing of them ; becaufe it was from him that they received lifey and breathy and all things. He reprefents the Deity, not as a God of a particular country or people, but as the God and Father of the whole human race -, and from thence infers the abfurdity of reprefenting him by any image. Having eftablifhed thefe firfl principles of na- tural religion, he goes on to preach to them fome of the more peculiar doctrines of the Chriftian revelation. The times of this ignorance he fays, (fpeaking of the fuperllition and ido- latry which had prevailed among mankind) God wifiked at ; but now commandeth all men every where to repe?it : becaufe he hath appointed a day in zvhich he will judge the world in rigb- teoufnefs, by that man whom he hath ordained ; whereof he hath given affurance unto all men^ in

that

» hd.% xvii, 22—31.

Genuine Doctrines, £f?r. 27

that he hath raifed him from the dead. We find a ftriking difference between the method here taken by this great apoftle, and that which hath been fince taken by many modern preachers of the gofpel. The apoftle eftabUflies revelation on the foundations of natural reli- gion. He urges them to repentance, as that which it was the end and defign of Chriftianity to promote -, and as a motive to it preaches to them the do6lrine of a future ftate of retribu- tion ; in which Jefus was to prefide as the fupreme judge : and for a proof of his divine mifTion and authority, he urges his refurredlion from the dead. He fays not a fingle word of the natural incapacity of men to do any thing which could recommend them to God ; nor does he once tell them, that a reliance on the merits or righteoufnefs of Chrift would be fufficient for their falvation. Which, if they had really been fuch capital and effential doc- trines of Chrift's religion, as they have fince been reprefented to be, he certainly, when he was thus preaching the gofpel, could not pof- fibly have omitted.

When St Peter preached to the Jews, after having healed a lame man in the temple, and reprelented that miracle, which he declared to have been done by the power of Chrift, as a

proof

28 A Review cf the

proof of his divine miflion •, he adds, Repeki ye therefore J and be converted^ that your fins way he blotted out ; and concludes with telling them, that God had raifed up his fon Jefus, and fent him to blefs them, in turning away every one of them from their iniquities "■". And when Paul and Barnabas preached to the Lyftrians, their words are, JVe preach unto you^ that ye Jhould turn from thefe vanities unto the living God, which made heaven and earth, and the fea, and all things that are therein : who in times fafi fuffered all nations to walk in their own ways. ISleverthelefs he left not himfelf without witnefs, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful feafons, filling our hearts with food and gladnefs ^. In which the natural ability of man to conform to the rules of religion is clearly implied ; and alfo his abi- lity of difcerning the exiftence and charadler of the Deity by the mere light of nature.

In the account which St. Paul gives cf himfelf to Felix the Roman governor, we find the following expreflions : after the way which they (the Jews) call herefy^ fo worfhip I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are

written

w Afts Jii. 12 — 26. ^ Acls xiv. 15 — 17.

Genuine Doctrines, Cs'r. 29

written in the law and the prophets. And have hope tcjoards God^ which they them jesses alfo nllow^ that there jhall he a refurre^iion cf the deady both of the juji and unjuji : and herein do I exercife my [elf ^ to have always a confcience void of offence towards God, and towards men y. Nor when Felix fent for Paul, to hear him concerning the faith in Chrifi, is he reprefented as faying any thing about the favourite doc- trines of fome modern fyftems of divinity ; but is defcribed as reafoning of right eoufnefs^ temperance, and judgmeyit to come. And in St. Paul's fpeech for himfelf, before king Agrippa and Feftus, after reciting the manner of his miraculous converfion, he gives this account of the method in which he firft preached Chri- ftianity. I was not (fays the apoflle) difobedient unto the heavenly vifion : hut fmewed firfi unto them of Damafcus, and at Jerufalem, and throughout all the ccafis of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they fhould repent, and turn to Cod, and do works meet for repentance'*.

Indeed any man who reads the ads of the apoftles, with any degree of attention and impartiality, mull be perfectly convinced that

the

y Acl5 xxiv. 14 — 16. 5s AiSs xxvi. 19, 20.

go A Review of the

the doctrines which they taught, and thofe which have been fince taught by fome who have affected to be very clofe imitators of them, were totally different. And the ac- count which is given in the A6ls, of the converfion of Cornelius, the Roman centurion, to the Chriilian faith, is a ftrong evidence of the regard that is ever paid to fmcere piety and virtue by the Almighty ; and what little ground there is for the notion, that men cannot re- commend themfelves by their own aftions to the favour of God. It is on the contrary plainly declared in this relation, that the prayers and alms, the piety and benevolence, of a Roman officer, had fo recommended him to the divine favour, that an angel was fent to him in order to occafion his converfion to Chriftianity. For the reafon which the angel gave for his extraordinary appearance to him, was, I'hy prayers and thine alms are come up for c memorial before God ^. This eminent inftance of the attention and regard of the divine being to real piety and virtue, wherever found, fo Uruck the apoftle Peter, who had imbibed the narrow jiotions of his countrymen, that the favour of God was confined to their na-

tion.

* Ai\s X. 4»

Genuine Doctrines, ^c. 31

tion, that he opened his mouthy and faid. Of a truth I perceive that God is no refpe5fer of perfons : but in every nation^ he that fearetb him, and worketh righteoufnefsy is accepted with him.

But it is from the epiftles of St. Paul, as hath been before obferved, that fome of the ftrongeft proofs for the Calvinifrical doiRrines, and fome others which have been founded upon them, are fuppofed to be drawn. It will not fall within the compafs of this trad, to enter into a particular difcufllon of all the palTages in St. Paul's epiftles, which are urged in fupport of thefe opinions ; nor to give thofc more rational and confiftent interpretations^ which have been given by feveral excellent commentators of fuch pafTages. And indeed a proper attention to thofe parts of fcrip- ture, the meaning of which is more obvious and lefs controverted, ai^d to the general tenor of the facred writings, would carry more conviction with it, than any examination of particular texts. For when once men have been accuftomed to read any particular parts of fcripture to a certain fenfe, and to annex a certain fet of ideas to fuch and fuch phrafes, though perhaps totally foreign from the ori- ginal meaning of the v/riter, they naturally

confider

J 2 A Review of the

confider every attempt to interpret any fuch palTages to a different fenfe than that in which they have been accuftomed to underftand them, as a wrefting and perverting of them. But neverthelefs, fome general obfervations upon Zt. Paul's epiflles, and fome of the dodrines which are founded upon a mifunderftanding of them, may be ferviceable to our defign.

It fliould be remembered, in the reading of thefe epiilles, that they were written to parti- cular churches, and perfons, and on particular occafions ; and had an immediate reference in many places to fome contentions and difputes which had arifen in the primitive churches, and fome of which were peculiar to the firft ages of Chriftianity. Without a proper atten- tion therefore to the particular view and defign of the apoftle in writing each epiftle, it will be impofllble to form any clear notion of his meaning. Thefe circumftances, together with that obfcurity which naturally attends epiftolary writings of a remote age, mufl, in the very nature of the thing, make St. Paul's epiflles more difficult to be underflood than many other parts of the facred writings.

It appears that there were in the apollles time many of the Jews who had embraced

Chriftianity^

Genuine Doctrines, £s?r. 33

Chriftianiiy, but who neverthelefs were very much attached to the ceremonial law of Mofes, and who laboured to prove that it was necelTary for the Gentiles, and all the profefTors of Chri- ftianity, to conform to the Mofaic rites ''. St. Paul, in his epiflles, oppofes the notions of thefe judaizing Chriftians ; he teaches them, that all who believed in Chriflr, and embraced his religion, would receive the free remifllon of their pad fins, without any conformity to thefe ceremonial rites. But from thefe deck- rations of the apoille, that they were admitted into the Chrjftian church, and had received the remiflion of their fins, by virtue of their faith in Chrift, and without any refpeft either to their obfervance, or non-obfervance, of the law of Mofes, the ceremonial part of which was entirely abolifhed by the Chriftian difpen- fation i it hath been inferred, that it was cri- minal for men to fuppofe that their own adions would contribute to, or be the occafion of, their final juftification ; or that a conformity to the laws of religion and virtue, the praflice even of real works of righteoufnefs, would be a means of their obtaining eternal happinefs : though it is the clear and exprefs language of St. Paul himfelf, as well as of the other lacred

C writers,

^ Ad^s XV. I — 29. xxi. 20 — 25,

54 A Review of the

writers, that eternal life would be the reward of thofe, and of thofe only, who by patient continuance in well-doing fought for glory, and honour, and immortality.

All the different texts In St. Paul's cpiftles, which fpeak of faith as the caufe of man's falvation, may be very rationally and confift- ently explained, and agreeably to the general tenor of the fcriptures, without having recourfe to thofe unreafonable interpretations which are frequently put upon them. And it may he. proper to obferve, that there was, in the very nature of the thing, a particular reafon why faith (hould have been inculcated with peculiar force in the firft ages of Chriftianity. It was certainly eflentially neceflary, that at that time faith fnould be eftablifhed as a firft principle, Thofe to whom the gofpel was firft preached, muft have been previoufly convinced of the divine miftion and authority of Chrift, before they could be expe6led to obey his laws. But m later ages, and to thofe who already ac- knowledge the milTion and authority of Chrift, the practice of the duties of Chriftianity feems the principal thing to be inculcated. Though it muft be acknowledged, that exhortations to faith may notwithftanding be very pertinent dnd. advantageous to profeffed Chriftians ; for

it

Genujne Doctrine-s, (^c. 3$

St can fcarcely be imagined that fo many profefTors of Chriftianity would be inattentive to the praftice of its duties, if they were really and heartily convinced of the truth and im- portance of religion.

But there is another reafon afligned in the new teftament on which account men were required to believe, viz, that they might re- ceive remifllon of fins. Men in their prefent flate are furrounded with innumerable tempta- tions, which render it morally impofiible that they fhould be entirely free from fin -, and the greateft part of mankind do, and in all ages of the world did, fin very frequently. All have finned (fays St, Paul) and ccme Jhort of the glory of God ^. As all men, therefore, muft have been confcious of having offended their maker, in a greater or a lefs degree, and been therefore fenfible tha;t they flood in need of mercy and forgivenefs ; but could not have any certain alTurance of their being in a Hate of favour and acceptance with him ; the Almighty thought proper to fend his Son into the world, to die upon the crofs, that all thofe who would believe in him might receive remifTion of fins, and confider his death as a proof of it. The death C 2 of

' Romans iii. 23,

36 A Review of fhi

of Chrift may therefore be confidered as a memorial, and an evidence, to all mankind, of the placability of God. H^e were reconciled to God hy the death of his fan ^, It was by faith in the blood of Chriji, that God thought proper, for infinitely wife reafons, to difpenfe his mercy to mankind. But it is not therefore to be fuppofed, that the death of Chrift was a motive to induce God to the exercife of mercy. The all-gracious Parent of mankind, effentially good and merciful in his own nature, needs no inducements to be merciful to his own crea- tures. On the contrary, it is the language of fcripture, that God fo loved the worlds that HE gave his only begotten fon^ that whofoever be- lieveth in him jhould not perifh ^.

Bu T it is very certain that it could not have been the doctrine of St. Paul, that faith in Chrift would of itfelf entitle men to eternal falvation without the pradice of holinefs ; be- caufe it is the plain and exprefs language of St. Paul, and indeed of all the fcriptures, that without holinefs no man fijall fee the Lord. And it appears likewife equally clear, from St. Paul's own epiftles, that faith in Chrift would not neceffarily produce that holinefs, which

was

^ Romans v. 10. ^ Johniii. 56.

Geni)ine Doctrines, ^c. ^y

was indifpenfably neceflai y to the completioa of their lalvation ; and that the juftification which he fpeaks of their receiving, by virtue of their faith in Chrift, was not a final juftifi- cation •, nor did it, in itfelf, give them a right to eternal life j which will appear very plainly if we confider, that thofe very perfons whom he add relies as called, enlightened ^ jujlifiedy re- conciled to God^ and faved by faith in Chrill, he frequently exhorts to a conformity to the commandments of Chrift, and the laws of righteoufnefs, afluring them that without that they would have no inheritance in the kingdom of God. Be ye therefore (fays the apoftle) foUovuers of God as dear childj'-en : — for this ye kno'-jj^ that no whoremonger, nor unclean perfon, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Chriji, and of God: let no man deceive you with vain words ; for he- caufe of thefe things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of dijobedience *. Be not de- ceived : God is not fnccked ; for whatfoever a man foweth, that fioall he alfo reap. For he that foweth to the fiefh, fhall of the flefh reap corruption ; but he that foweth to the fpirit, fhall of the fpirit reap life everlafling s. From all which it is very evident, that when the

apoftle

^ Ephefians v. i— 6. e Galaiians vi. 7 — 8.

^8 A Review of the

apoftle fpeaks of their being faved by faitli- in Chrift, his meaning is not, that it intitled then^ to eternal happinefs ; but that they were by that faved from the guilt of their pafl: fins, and received into the favour of God, notwithftand- ing their former alienation from him. That on their fai-th in Chrift, they received from the free grace or mercy of God the remiftion of their paft- fins-, without their previouily doing any thing to obtain fuch remifiion •, and that if they afterwards continued in a fmcere endeavour to conform themfelve^ to the laws of Chrift, notwithftandingthofe imperfedions which are al- ways attendant on human obedience, they would finally be approved by him, and made parta- kers of that happinefs which be hath promifed to all his true difciples. That St. Paul did noG confider a real faith in Chrift as neceffarily in itfelf giving a right to eternal life is very evi- dent from his epiftles ; and it is obfervable, that fpeaking even of himfelf, (and of the reality and fmcerity of his own faith he cer- tainly could have no doubt) he fays, / keep under my bod)\ and bring it into Juhje5licn^ leji that by any means^ ivhen 1 have preached to others i I myfdf fhould be a cajtaway ^ ; in

which-

* Corinthlaas ix. 27

Genuine Doctrines, i£c. 59

which the apoflle manifeflly fpeaks of his own falvation as ccnditionaly and as depending on the difcharge of" his duty, and his adherence to tlie law5 of virtue. *' This fingle paflage *' (fays a very noble and ingenious writer) is a " full anfwer out of the mouth of St. Paul " himfelf, to all the miftakes that have been *' made of his meaning in fome obfcure ex- *' prelfions concerning grace, eleftion, and *' juftification." * It may alfo be obferved, that Chrifl himfelf reprefents perfons who had fuch a degree of faith in him, as to enable them to prophecy and work miracles in his name, who neverthelefs would be in the num- ber of thofe who would finally be rejecled by him. Not every one that faith unto me LQrd\ Lo7'd^ fjjall enter into the kingdom of heaven ; but he that doeth the will of my father ivhich is in heaven. Many will fay to me in that day, Lord^ Lord^ have we not prophefied in thy name ? and in thy name cafi out devils ? and in thy name dene -many wonderful wo7'ks ? and then will I profefs unto them^ I never knew ye : depart from me ye that work iniquity'. We have alfo a text in the epiftle to the Hebrews,

which

* Obfcrvationi on the Con'trfion ar.d Apoftkfhip of St. Paul, p. 26.

' Matthew vii. 2ir— 23.

40 A Review of the

which clearly fuppofes and exprelTes the poffi- bility of men's being finally condemned, not- withftanding their having a real faith, being enlightened by the gofpel, and even made partakers of the holy Ipirit. It is impojfible for thofe who were once enlightened^ and have tajled of the heavenly gift^ and were made par- takers of the Holy Ghojt^ and have tajled of the goad word of God^ and the powers of the world to come i if they fhall fall away, to renew them again to repentance ^. And St. Paul, in the epiftle to the ColofTians, fays ; Tou that were fometime alienated, and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled, in the body of his flefh through death, to preferve yovt holy and iinblameable, and unreproveable in his fight : if ye continue in the faith grounded and fettled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gofpel '. Plainly teaching them, that their reconciliation to God by faith in Chrift, would not iflue in their final falvation, without they continued ftedfaft in their obedience to the laws of Chrift J and that notwithftanding their pre- fent reconciliation to God by faith in Chrift, their final falvation was conditional. It is not however to be fuppofed that the profeflbrs of

Chrittianity

^ H«b. vi. 4—6. 1 Coloflians i. ti — 23.

Genuine Doctrines, i^c. 41

Chriftianity were to be entirely free frorh fin, in order to infure their final falvation : man is Turrounded with fuch innumerable temptations, that fome degree of moral imperfeftion is always attendant on humanity. And whilft we fincerely endeavour to do the will of God, our involuntary and unallowed imperfections will be forgiven by our merciful Creator. If 4iny man fin^ vse have an advocate vjith the Father^ Jefus Chriji the rigktecus "". But we muft endeavour, fincerely and uniformly, to obey the will of God j that rnuft: be the pre- vailing turn and biafs of our minds ; and without fuch a fincere conformity to the laws of our creator, we have not the leaft reafon to expeft his final approbation, nor to be made partakers of that felicity which he hath pro- mifed to beftow upon the righteous.

The phrafe, being faved hy faiths may be very rationally explained, even when it refers to man's final falvation ; though the phrafe is certainly frequently ufed in a different fenfe. For thofe who by a firm belief in the doftrines which Chrift taught, of a future flare of re- tribution, &c. are induced to refrain from, and

avoid.

I John ii. I.

4i A Review of the

avoid, the pradlice of vice, and to conform t<!>, and regulate their lives by the Jaws of piety and virtue, may, with the ftrideft propriety of fpeech, be faid to be faved by faith. Becaufe though they are not faved on account of their faith ; yet as their faith is the motive that induces them to regulate their lives by the rules of religion, they may very properly be faid to be faved by that.

It muft be acknowledged, that thofe who adhere to the Calviniftical doctrines of juftiii- cation, elecflion, &c. do neverthelefs admit the necefiity of holinefs, as fuppofing that faith will neceiTarily produce it. But it appears even from the new teftament, that men may really have faith who do not ad: in conformity to it ; and perhaps obfervation on many characters in real life would be a fufficient evidence of the pojfibility of it. And though thefe notions may be, and certainly frequently are, entertained by perfons who are fmcerely virtuous ; yet to teach men that they are incapable by their own natural powers, of fo far conforming to the laws of righteoufnefs as to attain the favour of God, muft naturally flacken their endeavours after it. And to teach them that their own actions can in no degree recommend them to the divine favour, and that they are not to

expecl

Genuine Doctrines, e:r. 43

«xpe6l any reward hereafter on account of any thing which they themfelves can do, is cer- tainly depriving men of the (Irongeft motives to a Hfe of piety and virtue ; and appears to be in a very great degree fubverting the grand defign of the Chriftian revelation.

But amongfl all the abfurd dodrines which have been pretended to be founded on St. Paul's epiftles, there does not appear to have been any \'o totally repugnant to every idea of the moral characfter of God, and againft which every fentiment of humanity fo ftrongly rebels, as that of Predeilination, St, Paul hath Ihewn, that God hath eleded or chofen fome particular nations and colkcflive bodies of men, to enjoy fome eminent religious advantages ; as the Jews the Mofaic difpenfation, and the Gentiles the Chriftian ; which they were favoured with not on account of their refpeflive merits, but en- tirely becaufe it was the will and pleafure of the Divine Being that it fhould be fo " : and which pecuHar advantages he certainly might confer, confidently with the moft perfeft ju- ftice, on whatfoever nations or bodies of people his infinite wifdom fhould fee fit. But from a

total

• Sec Romans chap. viii. ix. x. xi.

44 ^ Review of the

total mifunderftanding of the nature of the cle<5lion which the apoftle was fpeaking of, he has been thought to mean that God had arbi- trarily eleded a certain number of individuals to future happinefs, to whom the means of falvation was given ; whilft the reft were re- probated, and configned over to eternal mifery. And all that is alledged in vindication of the moral chara(5ter of the Deity, which fo much fuffers in this Ihocking reprefentation of the divine condutl, is, that mankind incurred this fentence in confequence of Adam's tranfgref- fron ; by which he and all his pofterity became obje<5ls of the divine wrath, and were fubjeded to everlafting mifery : though the fcriptures no where reprefent any thing but death being entailed on mankind in confequence of the fall. Thus the whole human race are faid to have been jujlly fubjed to eternal mifery, for an adlion committed many ages before the greater part of them exifted -, though it is the univerfal doctrine of the fcriptures, that men are puniihed only for their own works. It is faid to have been the doArine of fome of the predeftinarian writers, that " God of his own " pleafure, antecedent to all fin in the creature, " original or adual, did agree to glorify his *' fovereignty and juftice in the eternal rejec- ** tion and damnation of the greateft part of

" mankinds

Genuine Doctrines, t^c. "45

** mankind, as the end -, and in their un- " avoidable fin and impenitency, as the *' means."

Reason, revelation, and univerfal nature proclaim this truth, That God is good to all, and that his tender mercies are over all his works : but in what poflible manner can we reconcile this with thefe doftrines ? with the fuppofition, that he has devoted, by an irre- verfible decree, millions of his creatures to endlefs mifery, without even having given them a poiTibility of avoiding it ? It is in- deed amazing, that fuch a dodrine, fo totally repugnant to every idea, not only of goodnefs and mercy, but even of equity and juftice, fhould ever have been confidered as a part of that divine religion, which the Father of mercies, the God of love, hath inftituted as his laft and moll merciful difpenfation to the fons of men.

Indeed notwithftanding the abfurd and erroneous interpretations which have been given of fome parts of St. Paul's writings, they are in themfelves perfe6tly rational and confident ; and entirely agreeable to the do6lrine of Chrift and the other apoftles. It is only when fome particular detached paflages of his epiftles, are

interpreted

46 A Review of the

interpreted without a proper regard to the peculiar circumftances v/hich attended his wri- ting them, and to the whole fcope of his reafoning, that he appears to differ from them. This apoftle, in all his epiftles, inculcates the uniform pradice of virtue with great force and energy. And the account which he gives of the future judgment, perfedly agrees with that given in the gofpels. The judgment of God is according to truth : — 'ivho will render to every man according to his deeds : to them who by patient continuance in well-doings feek for glory s and honour ^ and immortality ^ eternal life : but unto them that are contentious^ and do not obey the truth, hut obey unrighteoufnefs, indig- nation and wrath -, tribulation and anguijh upon every foul of man that doeth evil ; — but glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good : for there is no refpe^ of perfons with Cod\

The epiftles of the other apoftles are atten- ded with lefs difficulty. That of St. James is almoft entirely compofed of inftrudions for the regulation of the Chriftian converfation of thofe to whom he wrote. This apoftle inculcates very

forcibly

* Romans ii. 2— ii»

Genuine Doctrines, ^c, '4.^

forcibly the necelTity of pra5fical religion ; and cautions them againft imagining that faith alone was fufficient for their final falvation. Be ye (fays he) dcers of the 'word, and not hearers only-, deceiving your own felves : — IVbat doth it profit, my brethren, though a man fay he hath faith, and hath not works, can faith fave him ? — By works a man is juflified, arid not by faith only p. And the fame apoftle re- prefents the practice of benevolence, and per- ibnal holinefs, as the fum of religion. Bure religion and undefiled before God and the Father ^ is this, to vijit the fatherlefs and widows in their affiiSlion, and to keep hi-mfelf tinfpotted from the world '^,

The two general epiftles of St. Peter are likewife compofed of perfuafives to perfonal virtue, urged chiefly from the confideration of the future judgment ; together with fome exhortations to fteadfaftnels under thofe trials to which the firft Chriftians were more pecu- liarly expofed. And, agreeable to the repre- fentations which have been before 2:iven of the defign of the gofpel, this apoftle declares the intention of it to be, to call them to glory and

virtue:

f James i. 22. and ii> 14 — 24. 1 James i. 27,

4S !/^ Review of the

virtue : and that by the gofpel-difpenfatlon are given to us exceeding great and precious promifes\ that by thefe we might be made partakers of the divine nature^ having efcaped the corruption that is in the world through luft. And in order to point out to them in what the excellency of the knowledge of Chrift confifted, after having exhorted them to faith, virtue, temperance, patience, godlinefs, brotherly kindnefs, and charity ; he adds, for if thefe things be in you^ and abound^ they make you neither barren, nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jefus Chrijt\ And the following verfe is remark- able, and feems to corroborate the interpretation that hath been before given, with refped; to fome paffages in St. Paul's epiftles, viz. that the jultification by faith which that apoftle fpeaks of, was not an gbfolute and final jufti- fication, but only a remiffion of the fins of their paft lives, previous to their converfion to Chriftianity. He (fays the apoftle) that lacketk thefe things is blind, and cannot fee far off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old Jins. And the following exprelTions of the apoftle clearly intimate, that their faith in Chrift would not of itfelf infure their final

falvation \

» 2 Peter i. 8.

Genuine Doctrin'es, i^c. 4^

fdlvation ; and that it muft be their own perlbnal adherence td piety and virtue, that muft finally complete it. Give diligence to make your calling and eleSiion jure: for if ye do thefe things ye /hall never fall : for fo an entrance fhall be minifired unto you abundantly into the everlafiing kingdom of our Lord Jefus Chrifl ^

The prafllce of righteournefs is infilled oa as the eiTence of religion with great force by the apoille John. Little children^ let r.o man deceive you : he that doeth righteoufnefs is righ- teous^ even as he (God) is righteous. — If vae fay that vje have fellovofhip with him, and walk in darknefsy ive lie, and do not the truth : but if we walk in the light,, as he is in the light, we have fellovjfkip one with another, and the blood of Jefus Chrifi his fon cleanfeth us from- all Jin : — Herein do we know that we knozv him, if we keep his commandtnents. He that faith, 1 know him, and keepeth net his com- mandments, is a liar, and the truth is net m him. But whofo keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfe5led ; hereby know we that we are in hini. — If ye know that he is D ridjtccus.

* 2 Peter i. 10, 11,

z;o A Review of the

righteous^ ye know that every one that dceth right eoujnefs^ is horn of him. In this the chih dren of God are manifejly and the children of the devil: whofoever doeth not righteoufnefs, is 7tot of God: neither he that lovetb not his Irother. St. John never intimates, that the beft aflions of men were in the fight of God of no account, and as filthy rags ; but on the contrary, aflerts that their keeping his com- mandments is a motive to the Deity to confer bleflings on them ; and that confcious integrity is a reafonable caufe to excice confidence in us towards God. Beloved^ if our hearts condemn us notj then have we confidence towards God, And whatfoever we ajk, we receive of him, becaufe we keep his commandments, ayid do thofe things that are -pleafing in his fight. The praftice of benevolence, and focial affecftion, are repeatedly and very flrongly inculcated by him, as effential to the Chriftian charadler ; and as the only proper criterion of our love to God. Beloved, let us love one another \ for love is of God -, and every one that loveth is horn of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is love. — JVhofo hath this world's good, and feetb his brother have need, and fbutteth up his bowels of com- pajjion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him ? My little children, let us not love in

wordy

Genuine DbCTiiiNES, i^c. 51

^.vord^ neither in tongue^ hut in deed, and in Pi-uth \

In the book of Revelations, we find the neceflity of keeping the commandments of God, in order to attain eternal life, clearly pointed out. Behold, I come quickly, and my re'xard is with me, to give every man according as his ivork Jhall he. — Bleffed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city ". Here is the -patience of the faints : here are they that keep the commandments cf God, and the faith of J ejus. — Bleffed are the dead ivhich die in the Lord, from henceforth ; yea, faith the Spirit, that they may reft from their lahours •, and their works do follovj them •^- And the following is the reprefentation which is given in this book of the future judgment. / farjo the dead, fmall and great, ft and before God ; and the hooks were opened : and another book was opened, which is the hook of life : and the dead were judged cut of thcfe things which ivere written in the hooks, according to their works. And the fea gave up the dead which D 2 were

t I John ii, iii, iv. '^ Revelations xxli. 12—14. *^ Revelations xiv. it, 13.

5^ -'f Review of the

%i:ere in it i and death and hell delivered up thi dead which were in them : and they were judged every man according to their works ".

Thus it appears to be the defign of the new teftament, through every part of it, to excite men to the fteady practice of piety and virtue. It appears, that the grace cf God, which hath appeared unto all men in the gofpel difpenfation, was intended to teach them, that denying ungod- linefs, and zvorldly lujis, they jhould live foberly^ right eoiijly, and godly in the prefent world y. In which it perfedlly coincides with thofe innume- rable exhortations to the pradice of righteouf- nefs, which occur in the old teftament. And the doclrine of a future ftate of retribution is ftrongly prefled and inculcated as the principal motive to this. There are other motives occa- fionally fpoken of, but this appears to be the great leading principle of the Chriftian revela- tion. The notions entertained by the Heathens of a future ftate appear to have been attended with much doubt and uncertainty i fome of them appear to have confidered it only as a poetic fidion -, and fome of their beft writers in fpeaking of it, do it in a manner that ftiews

they

^ Revelations xx. 12, 13. ^ Titus ii. 11, 12.

GENtJiNE Doctrines, i^c. 53

they rather wijhed for it, than really expeded or believed it : and even the Jews themfelves appear to have been much in the dark about it. And it is only by the gofpel, that life and, immortality hath been clearly brought to light ^; and the doctrine of a future flate of retribution plainly revealed. And it certainly is a motive, that of all others may rationally be fuppofed to a6l the mofl forcibly upon mankind. For furrounded as man is in his prefent Hate, with innumerable temptations, tending to draw him from an adherence to his duty, perhaps there is no other that can through the general tenor of life be fuppofed to a6luate him with fufficient force. When a man is abftrafted from the temptations of the world, and in his clofet, the motives to virtue which may be drawn from the nature and fitnefs of things, and the beauty of virtue, may operate with con- fiderable ftrength upon the mind ; but even upon the beft minds it iliould feem, that in an hour of fevere temptation, the firm belief of a future Hate mufl: have a much greater effeft. And thefe more refined motives to virtue would perhaps be found to operate but f^iintly at any tiine upon the bujk of mankind i for D ^ whom

* z TioiQthv i. 10.

54- -d Review of the

whom it was undoubtedly neceflfary that a divine revelation (hould be calculated. And it is acknowledged even by lord Shaftesbury, that ^^ this may be faid as to the fupport *' which this belief of a future reward and " punifliment may prove to virtue ; that as " it is capable of raifing men to virtue, who *' were at firft in a manner (Irangers to it ; fo " where men are already in a virtuous courfe, *' it may prove that which alone can lave them " from falling off from the virtue they poflefs, .*' into a licentious and vicious pradice ^.'*

Neither does the notion of men's beinsr excited to virtue, from the confideration of a future itate of retribution, necefTarily fuppofe rhem actuated merely by hope or fear, and the lefs ingenuous affections of the human mind. For, as the fame noble writer obferves, '* if ** by the thoughts of future reward, or what '^ regards another ftate, be underftood the "^ love and cefire of virtuous enjoyment, or *' of the very pradice and exercife of virtue ^-' in another life •, the expe<5lation or hope of *' this, mull not only be a great c*ncourage- '^ ment to virtue j but it appears plainly,

" " that

Inquiry concerning Virtue, B. i. Sed. 3.

Genuine Doctrines, ^c. 55

*' that the very following of virtue in hope to '' attain that fupreme happinefs which confifts ^' in the perfedion of it, is of itfelf a degree " of virtue, and a proof of the fincere love «* we have for it ^.**

As the ideas of human nature which are fug- gefted by the Calviniftical opinions, appears dilhonourable both to man, and to his great Creator -, and as the dodrine of man's free agency appears to be a matter of very confider- able importance, and without admitting which it feems impofTible to form any confiftent ideas of religion, we (hall make a few refiedions upon thofe fubjeds.

There have been many, who feem to have thought, that they could in no way better evidence their own piety, than in degradino- and vilifying human nature. It is not eafy to conceive, that it could ever have been the dictate of reafon, that there was any piety in any thing of this kind ; or that it was honour- ing God to fpeak difhonourably of his crea- tures. For reafon would rather have didated, that it was doing more honour to the Almighty P 4 Author

^ Ifei4.

^6 A Re\'iew of the

Author of nature, to form more favourable ideas of that, which, in its prefent ftate, what- ever its imperfeclions may be, is indifputably the Hobleft part of the vifible creation.

It is very evident, that the bulk of man- kind are not virtuous ; but it does by no means rrom thence follow, that they-.ane de- praved and impotent creatures, naturally prone to wickednefs, and incapable of what is good and virtuous. Even amongft the moil: diflblute part ot the hunian race, amongft thofe who indulge themfelves in the pradlice of vice witl-^i the leaft fcruple, there are difcoverable by a candid obferver many evidences of lament virr tue ; and anions really virtuous are frequently performed by chofe whofe general charafter v/ili not bear a ftri(ft fcrutiny. And indeed the acTcual exiftence of vice amongft mankind, is no proof of their being under any invincible propenfity to it ; for if w? fuppofe men free creatures, capable either of afling well or ill ; and as being in a ftate of probation, in which they have many tv^mptations to a(^ contrary to the dictates of reafon and confcience ; it will account for the exiftence of moral evil in the world, without the necefllty of fuppofing that they are by any inherent corruption of their

nature biafted towards wickednefs.

Thers

Genuine Doctrines, t^c c^j

There are many particulars obfervable in human nature, which are very unfavourable to the notion of man's being naturally a wicked creature. It may be obferved, that innocence is generally confidered as one of the charadleriftics of childhood and youth -, and that opennefs of heart, candour, benevolence,, and the focial affedions appear to operate more, and the contrary difpofitions lefs, in early life than at a later period j which feems to militate flrongly againfl the notion of man's being naturally prone to wickednefs. And perhaps, whenever difpofitions of a different kind appear to prevail in childhood and youth, the whole of it may be attributed to ill example, or the want of a virtuous education. Children, natu- rally imitative, are fond of doing thofe things which they fee done by others \ their adions are therefore very much regulated by the con- duct and behaviour of thofe about them. And we may rationally account for fuch perverfenefs and frowardnefs of behaviour, as may be fometimes difcoverable in children, without: having recourfe to the fuppofition of their being naturally biafled towards vice. For as they have in them the feeds of thofe appetites and pafllons, which, however innocent in themfelves, are vicious when not reftrained

within their proper bounds ; it is eafy to con- ceive.

'58 A Revjew ef the

ccive, that if they have ill examples fct before them, and are fulFered, while their judgment is weak and unformed, to let thefe natural appetites and paffions take a wrong diredion, thofe very children may be froward and vi- cious, who with judicious culture might have been tradable and virtuous *.

And it has often been obferved, that the firft advances to vice are made with reludlance 1 and that it is never pradifed without com- pundlion, till men have hardened themfelves by Jong habit to the praftice of it : which feems to be an evidence, that wickednefs is fo far

fron>

* It is too apparent, th;»t the important bufincfs of education, particularly with refpedt to piety and morals, is in general very much neglected, Inftead of inftil- ling deeply into the minds of youth, their dependance on, and obligations to the Deity, and thoroughly grounding them in fentiments and principles of virtue, which are the moft important points of a right educa- tion, their parents and preceptors are generally content with giving them a very flight and fuperficial view of thefe moft important I'ubjects ; whilft a much greater attention and regard is paid merely to forming their exterior behaviour. As the happinefs and ftability of any nation depends fo much on the virtue of its indi? viduals ; and as that very much depends on the method of education that prevails ; this is a point that deferves the attention of all the friends to religion, virtue, and their country.

Genuine Doctrines, ^c. 59

from being natural to man, that the pradice of it is a rebellion againft the firft dictates of his nature. It is likewife certain, that it is natural to men to applaud and admire virtue in others, as well as to approve it in them- felves. Sentiments of compafTion, of benevo- lence, and focial affecT:ion, are certainly natural to the human mind. And it may be affirmed farther, that fentiments of piety, the love and reverence of the Deity, are natural to human nature, when amiable and jull ideas of him have been inftilled and are imbibed. Inftances of difmterefted generolity and goodnefs excite gratitude and afFe<5lion to the benefadlor, by whom fuch fervices are beftowed, and fuch goodnefs difplayed. Thefe are the natural feel- ings and fentiments of humanity. And fuch fentiments naturally arife with refpeft to the Deity, when he is exhibited to the mind in a proper light.

The dodrine of man's lofmg his natural ability to practice virtue, and aptitude to reli- gion, by the fall, appears to have no real foundation in the fcriptures. They only repre- fent man as fubjed: to temporal death by the fall, and not as thereby becoming incapable of religion, and prone only to the practice of vice and impiety. And Chrift himfeJf does not

feem

6o A Review of the

feem by any means to have countenanced thefc unfavourable ideas of human nature. For wc are told, that when his difciples enquired of him who was the greateft in the kingdom of heaven, he called a little child to him, and fet him in the midft of them, and faid unto them, Except ye be converted, and become as , little children^ ye [ball not enter into the kingdom cf heaven ^. And when his difciples rebuked thofe who brought young children to him, he was much difpleafed j and faid. Suffer little children to come unto jne, and forbid them not ; for of fuch is the kingdom of heaven. Now can it be fuppofed, that Chrift would have told his difciples, that in order to enter the kingdom of heaven they muft become as little children, and that of fuch that kingdom con- fifted, if he had known them to be naturally polluted, and neceflarily prone to wickednefs ? Mud we not rather infer from thele texts, that Chrifl confidered young children as innocent, harmlefs, and teachable \ and therefore proper emblems of that mild, peaceable, innocent, and humble difpofition, which became thg difciples of the blelfed Jefus ?

There

^ Matthew xviii, 1—4.

Genuine Doctrines, t^c. 6t

There is no fort of reafon for imagining, that thofe appetites and paflions which are found in human nature, and which, when not properly reftrained and regulated, are the caufe of fin, are any confequence of the corruption of human nature. They do on the contrary appear, when under proper reltraints, to be very ufeful to mankind. And indeed, exclu- five of this, fomething of this kind appears to be neccflary to any creature while in a ftate of probation : for without fomething within themfelves, which might in fome degree prompt or excite them to a compliance with external temptations, they could not be confidered as in a Itate of trial.

The favourers of the Calviniftical opinions appear to have thought, that the reprefenting man as a weak, and naturally wicked creature, tended to promote humility, and to advance and raife our ideas of the grace and goodnefs of God in the gofpel-difpenfation. Every at- tempt therefore to give more favourable repre* fencations of man's natural difpofitions and ability, they confide i as having a tendency to derogate from the grace of God, and diminifh the glory of the goipel. And perhaps could they be convinced, that the contrary opinions had not this tendency, they might be induced

to

62 A Review of the

to examine them with more candour, and enquire with lefs prejudice and prepofTefllon, how far their own opinions are really founded on the fcriptures.

It feems to have been thought, that to aflert that man pofTefTes, by the conflitution of his nature, at leaft in his prefent ftate, an aptitude and ability to a6t virtuoully, is rai- fmg him at the expence of his Maker, and making him independent on his Creator. But this is abfolutely miftaking the point. The warmeft advocates for human nature, cannot be fuppofed to form any ideas of man's poffef- fing any abilities or powers independent of his Maker, which he did not originally derive from him \ and for the continuance of which, as well as for his exiftence itfelf, he does not abfolutely depend upon his pleafure. The queftion therefore is nor, whether man can a6l virtuoufly independent of God j (for in a cer- tain fenfe we can do nothing without him ; i. e, without his permilTion, and without his having originally given us fuitable faculties and powers) ; but whether he has not framed and fitted all men by the conftitution of their nature, in its prefent ftate, for a conformity to the laws of piety and virtue. This is certainly the light in which this point ought to be con-

fidered ;

Genuine Doctrines, l^c. 63

fidered ; and therefore, as God is as much the author and fource of all our natural faculties and powers, as he mull be fuppofed to be of any fupernatural grace, the honour of God can be in no refped lelTened by fuppofing thac man is naturally capable of praclifing religion and virtue. On the contrary, if this be not admitted, it will be found impoiiible to main- tain the honour of the Divine Being with any degree of confiftency.

Indeed the Calvlniftical notions of human nature appear contrary to the common fenfe and experience of mankind, and to every ra- tional idea of religion, as well as to the general (train and tenor of the facred writings. For amongft all mankind we find, that the per- formance of a good acfbion is applauded, and the perpetration of a wicked one condemned and cenfured ; which is a demonftration that men commonly confider one another as free agents. And that inward remorfe and difap- probation, which men feel after the commifTion of any wickednefs, unlels their confcicnces have been feared by a long courfe of iniquity, is another evidence of their pofTefling a freedom of adion ; for this can only arife from an internal confciournefs that they were capable of ading better. Were men impelled by any

invincibly

64 A Review of the

invincible propenfity in their natures to thd pradice of wkkednefs, it would be as abfurd to cenfure a man for the commiflion of a crime, as to reproach an ideot for his want of under- ilanding ; and to cenfure men for want of piety, if it confifted in any difpofitions of mind out of their power to attain, would be as unreafonable as to reproach a deaf man for riOt hearing* or a blind man for not feeing. And thefe notions of human nature are fo far from increafing our ideas of man's guilt, that they do in fadl entirely acquit him of any. For if man has it not in his power to be pious and virtuous, and yet fuffers for not being fo, he is an unhappy creature, but cannot pofTibly be a guilty one. But the juftice of the Divine Being will net admit us to form fuch a fuppo- iition. If man is to be punifhed for not pradlifing the duties of religion, we mud fup- pofe that he has it in his power to perform them V or his punifhment would be both cruel and unjuft. The very idea of a ftate of retri- bution neceffarily im^plies in it the free agency of man. Is it poffible for us to fuppofe, that the juft and righteous judge of the univerfe, who muft infallibly do right, will punifli men for not being what they are by their very nature incapable of being ? Is this agreeable to any conhftent ideas of the divine jultice r

And

Genuine Doctrines, ^c, 6^

And if it is not, can any creeds, can any human fyftems, be of fufficient authority to force our aflent to fuch a dodrine ?

The whole flrain and tenor of the facred writings appears clearly to imply the ability of man to pra(flice piety and virtue, and avoid their contraries. How otherwife can we un- derlland thofe numberlefs exhortations to virtue and piety, and dehortations from vice, with which the old and the new teftament are filled ? Do not all the threatenings of punifliment for difobedience, and promifes of reward for obe- dience, in the law, in the prophets, and in the gofpel, neceflarily fuppofe a capability in the objeds of them, of avoiding the one, and gaining the other ? For with what propriety can it be imagined, that Mofes and the pro- phets, that Chrift and his apoflles, exhorted men to the practice of thofe things which they knew they were incapable of pradifing ?

Indeed there are innumerable palTages of fcripture, both in the old and in the new teftament, that are utterly incapable of any rationnl and confiftent interpretation, upon any other fuppofition than that of man's being a free agent. In the book of Deuteronomy, chap. XXX. 15 — 20. we find Mofes making

E this

$6 A Review of the

this folemn and public declaration to the whole people of the Jews. See^ I have Jet before thee this day life and good, and death and evil j in that I command thee this day to love the herd thy Codf to ivalk in his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his Jiatutes, and his judg- ments : — / call heaven and earth to record this day againfi you, that I have fet before you life and death, bleffing and curftng : therefore chufe life, that both thou and thy feed may live : that thou mayejl love the Lord, and that thou mayeji cbey his voice, and that thou mayeft cleave unto him. What can we think of fuch a folemn declaration as this to the whole people of Ifrael, if Mofes, at the very time he was making it, had known that by the natural perverfenefs and depravity of their natures, they were really incapable of loving and obey- ing God ? Can it be fuppofed that he would have bid them chufe life (as the confequence of their obeying the commandments of God^ and called heaven and earth to witnefs that he had fet it before them, when he knew that they were naturally incapable of chufing it ? And Mofes appears, ver. ii, 12, 13, 14. of the fame chapter, to have been fo f;ir from imagining them naturally incapable of per- forming the will of God, that he plainly afierts, that as they knew the will of God,

they

Genuine Doctrines, 6?c. ^7

th<?y Gould have no excufe for not doing it y which manifeftly fuppofes it was in their power to do fo. T7jis commandme)it U!hich I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee^ neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou fhouldefl fa)\ Who JJjall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that ive may hear it, and do it ? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouthy and in thy hearty that thou mayefi do it.

The free agency of man is evidently im- plied in ^hofe pathetic expoftulations which ar& made to the Jewifh people in the prophecies of Ezekiel. Cafi away from you all your tranf^ greffwns, whereby ye have trarfgreffsd, and make you a new heart , and a new fprit ; for why will ye die, 0 houfe of IJrael ? for 1 have no -pleafure in the death of him that dieth, faith the Lord God : wherefore tu?-n ye yourfelveSy and live ye ^. They are here manifeftly fup- pofed capable of cafting from them all their tranfgrelTions, and of turning to God. The Almighty declares, / have no pkafure in the death of him that dieth. God had not been wanting on his fide : he had given them E 2 faculties

** Ezekiel xviii. 51

6s A Review of the

faculties and powers fufficient for the purpofes of religion, but they had neglected to employ them. To the fame purpofe it is faid by St. Paul, that God would have all men to be faved '. How is it pofTible to explain this, with any degree of confiftency, unlefs we confider men as free creatures. If the falvation of all men depended on the will of God, independent of their own anions -, and it was the will of God that all men Ihould be faved j what was it that could pofiibly prevent it ? God certainly might have elected, or given a fufficient degree of grace, to one man as well as to another. But if wc confider men as free agents, capable of afling either well or ill, even independent of their Maker, whilft they continue in poiTefTion of that freedom of choice which he hath origi- nally given th^m •, the difficulty then vanifhes. It is agreeable to the will of the good and merciful Father of our fpirits, that all men ihould conform themfelves to the laws of piety and virtue, and thereby qualify themfelves for the enjoyment of eternal happinefs : but as He has made them free creatures, this depends upon their own choice ; and it is from thence it arifes, that though it is the will of God that

all

« Timothy ii. /{.

Genuine Doctrines, &c. 69

all men fliould be faved, yet there are many who notwithftandfhg will not be laved. God hath done his part ; but they, being free to accept the terms of falvation or to refufe them, have not co-operated with the benevolent in- tentions of the Deity.

Any inftances which may be produced of the Almighty having influenced the adions of fome particular individuals, on extraordinary and particular occafions, are no juft argument againft the general dodlrine of the free agency of man. We know that in the natural world, as well as in the moral, there are inftances of the divine interpofuion on particular occallons j although in the ordinary courfe of divine pro- vidence, things are fiiffered to go on according to the fixed and eftablifhed laws of nature. Neither does our admitting the free agency of man, and his natural capability of religion and virtue, exclude the dodrine of dhine affifi- unce. For though men naturally poircfs fuch an ability, yet the divine being may certainly communicate any irradiations, or internal affiH- ances, which his infinite wifdom for any v/ife reafons may at any time fee fit and proper ; and which may not in the leafl interfere with their natural freedom of acflion. It appears however very certain, that we have now no

reafon

70 A Review of the

reafon to exped; aiTiftances of that fort, in the fame degree in which they were con^municated in the time of the apoftles, and in the firft age of Chriflianity. The interpofition of the Deity was at that time more apparent, and it certainly was more needful in the firft eflablilhment of the gofpel, than it can be in thefe ages. And undue pretences to divine illumination have been fuch a fource of the moll extravagant enthufiafm, that they fhould therefore by in- telligent Chriftians be very carefully avoided.

Upon the whole, it is very evident, that it is the univerfal fenfe of all mankind, in judg- ing of their own ad:ions, and thofe of other men, that they are free creatures. The very exiflence of human laws and government fup- pofes it. Without fuppofing them mafters of their own adions, they cannot be confidered as accountable for them. To reward or punilh any beings, either in the prefent or the future world, for adlions which they did not volunta- rily perform, and which they could not have avoided, would be both unjuft and abfurd. The confequence is clear and evident : either men have it in their power to obey the didlates of reafon and religion, or they have not : if they have, they are properly moral and accountable creatures, and proper objeds of

reward

Genuine Doctrines, Cs'c. yi

reward and punifhment ♦, if they have not, they cannot be accountable for their aflions, nor can they, with the lead juftice or propriety, be either punifhed or rewarded. And the whole tenor of revelation manifeftly fuppofes men to be free agents. On any other fuppO' fition, the whole fcheme of religion appears full of confufion and diforder, an inexplicable myflery : but if we admit that men are free creatures, and confequently accountable for their a<5lions, thefe difficulties vanifh, and the whole fyftem of religion appears rational, in- telligible, harmonious, and confiftent. We then naturally confider the prefent ftate as a Hate of trial ; to the very idea of which temp- tations are effential •, and future rewards and punilhments then appear natural and necef- fary.

It appears then that there is no foundation in reafon for the Calviniftical dodtrines ; and it hath been fhewn that there is as little real foundation for them in revelation •, that they are not the dodrines of fcripture, but the inventions of men ; and that the great defign of the Chriftian revelation is to promote the praflice of righteoufnefs. But how inconfiftent with this are the methods that are fometimes taken to depreciate moral virtue ? That which

the

72 A Review of the

the fcriptures invariably reprefent as one of the moll effential parts of religion, without which they could never expe<5t to be approved or accepted by God, is by many Chriftian teachers numbered (as Swift expreffes it) among the leggarly dements^

The abfurd and inconfiftent reprefentations that have frequently been given of the Chriftian fyfteni by its miftaken friends, appear to have done it more real diflervice, than all the writings of the deifts. The oppofition of the deifts hath in fome refpe<5bs been very ferviceable to Chriftianity : it hath occafioned the evidences of its divine original to be more diligently enquired into, and more clearly pointed out. And it hath fhewn that the gofpel is fuperior to all the attacks of its keeneft adverfaries. But the abfurd notions which have been pro- pagated of the Chriftian religion by many of its profeflbrs, have prevented its having its proper effecb upon many of thofe who did profefs a belief in it -, and hath been a great means of adding ftrength to the attacks of its adverfaries. For indeed many of the argu- ments of the deiftical writers are levelled, not fo much againft Chriftianity itfelf, as againfl: fome miftaken reprefentations of it : but which they, as it bsft anfwered their purpofe, thought

proper

Genuine Doctrines, ^c, 75

-proper to confider as the real dodrines of Chri- ftianity.

The religion of Jefus, when it is confi- dered diftinft from thofe abfurd additions with which nien have frequently obfcured and disfi- gured it, muft excite the approbation and the reverence of every man. Were it always reprefented in its genuine, in its native beauty, religion could never be made the fubjed; of raillery and ridicule. The Chriflian revelation exhibits the Deity in the moft endearing and engaging charadlers j as the God of love, and the father and friend of the whole human race. It teaches a piety and devotion, not confine^ either to time or place, nor compoled of fuperftitious and external rites and ceremonies ; but pure, fpiritual, and rational. It enforces the utmoft purity of heart, and the greatell fimplicity, integrity, and reditude of man- ners. And it inculcates a benevolence not confined either to feds, or parties, or countries ; but of the moft difiiifive and difinterefted kind. In fhort, it is the defign of Chri- ftianity to promote whatfoever is really noble, excellent, amiable, and praife-worthy ; what- foever can refine, perfed, ennoble, and dignify humanity.

TiTF

^4 -^ Review, ^r.'

The profeflbrs of Chriftianity lliould be very cautious of corrupting the fimplicity of the gofpel by human additions. For it fhould be remembered, that all thofe who contribute any thing towards rendering its excellency and reafonablenefs lef§ apparent, do, in faft, (how- ever different their intention may bej ftrengthen the caufe of Deifm, and fharpen thp arrows of Infidelity. ,,

■ ■■ • i

FINIS.

,iNi(f*ii<N*^

^kmi

'MB*

ffS^n^f^^c:

;i?^ ^»T

•j?^^*

^*^v

|r»^^^u\^^

't?

vjjk

^ ^Jx!!

.^-^^

^'

ft' ^

^