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the inspiration of his Spirit, are not pleasing to God, forasmuch as they spring not of faith in Jesus Christ; neither do they make men meet to receive grace, or (as the school authors say,) deserve grace of congruity: Yea, rather, for that they are not done as God hath willed and commanded them to be done, we doubt not but they have the nature of sin *."

Crisp. True; but I should have suspected that they had carried things rather to an extreme. There is something so awful in the thought of a human life being one unmixed course of evil; so contrary to what appears in numberless characters, whom we cannot but respect for many amiable qualities, though they do not appear to be the subjects of true religion; in a word, so discouraging to every effort for the attainment of any virtue short of real godliness, that my heart revolts at the idea.

Gai. I am willing to examine every difficulty you can advance. Before you raise your objections, however, your first inquiry, methinks, ought to be, Is it true?

Crisp. Very well; proceed then to state your evidences.

Gai. The following are the principal evidences which occur to me at present: (1.) All those passages of scripture, cited in the last Dialogue, which expressly teach it; declaring that every imagination, purpose, or desire, of man's heart, is ONLY evil CONTINUALLYthat there is none that seeketh after God-every one of them is gone back-they are altogether become filthythere is none that doeth good, no not one. - (2.) Those scriptures which declare the utter impossibility of carnal men doing any thing to please God; such as Without faith it is impossible to please God-To be car* Art. xiii. of the Church of England.

nally minded is death-because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then, they that are in the flesh cannot please God*. If they that are in the flesh did any part of their duty towards God; or if what they did were good and virtuous in his sight, so far as it goes; their minds would so far be subject to the law of God: and being such, they might and would please him; for God is not a capricious or hard master, but is pleased with righteousness wherever he sees it.-(3.) Those scriptures which speak of the whole of goodness or virtue as comprehended in love; namely, the love of God and our neighbour-Love is the fulfilling of the law-Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength, and thy neighbour as thyself. If the love of God supremely, and the love of creatures subordinately, comprise the whole of virtue, where these are wanting, virtue can have no existence. And that these are wanting in all ungodly men is evident, for they have not the love of God in them; and where God is not loved supremely, creatures cannot be loved in subordination to him; but are either disregarded, or regarded on some other account: such love, therefore, has no virtue in it, but is of the nature of sin.-(4.) Those scriptures which teach the necessity of regeneration to eternal lifeYe must be born again-Except a man be born of water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God-If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature ; old things are passed away, and all things are become new. If there were any degree of virtue in the carnal heart, or any thing that was pleasing to God, it might

* See this passage clearly illustrated, and the truth contained in it fully enforced, in two pieces in the Evangelical Magazine, for August and December, 1793, pp. 72. 239.

be cultivated and increased; and in this case, old things need not pass away, and all things become new. Reg. neration would be unnecessary; a mere reformation, or an improvement of principles already inherent in man, would suffice.-(5.) Those scriptures which promise the blessings of salvation and eternal life to every degree of righteousness or true virtue :-All things work together for good to them that Love God-Christ is the author of eternal salvation to all them that OBEY HIM -He that DOTH RIGHTEOUSNESS, is righteous-They that have DONE GOOD shall rise to the resurrection of life-He that giveth a cup of cold water to a disciple, IN THE NAME OF A DISCIPLE, or because he belongs to Christ, shall have a disciple's reward. In these passages we must observe that God's gracious declarations and promises are not made to this or that degree of goodness, but to every or any degree of it : or rather, it is not the degree, but the nature of it, that is considered in the divine promise. From hence we may certainly conclude, That unregenerate men have not the least degree of real goodness in them, or of any thing that is pleasing to God.

Crisp. I must acknowledge there is much apparent force in these arguments, and I am not at present sufficiently prepared to encounter them; but I have some strong objections in my mind, which I wish to have thoroughly discussed.

Gai. With all my heart. Consider, Crispus, the force of what has been already alleged, and let me have your objections in the strongest light in which you are capable of arranging them.

Crisp. I will endeavour to comply with your advice, and the result of it shall be the subject of a future discussion.

E2

LETTER THE FIRST.

On the Total Depravity of Human Nature.

CRISPUS TO GAIUS.

My dear Friend,

As

Cn, July 3, 1794.

S Providence has lately, by removing my situation, deprived me of the pleasure of your company, I hope that defect may be in some measure supplied by writing. The subject of our two last interviews, on the total depravity of human nature, has much occupied my attention. I feel it to be a fundamental principle in religion; it is that, take it how we will, on which almost all other principles are founded. I have objections to your ideas of this doctrine, I confess; and you desired me, when we were last together, to place them in the strongest light I was able. The principal things which have hitherto occurred to me may be reduced to the following heads:

First: The Scriptures appear to speak with approbation of some actions performed by unregenerate men, and even God himself is represented as rewarding them. It appears to have been thus in the case of Ahab, when he humbled himself; and the Ninevites, when they repented at the preaching of Jonah; as also in the case of the Young Ruler in the gospel, whom our Lord is represented as having loved; and the discreet Scribe, whom he assured that he was not far from the kingdom of heaven. Now if all the actions of unregenerate men are of the nature of sin, these must have been so; but if these were so, how are we to account for the favourable manner in which they were treated?

Secondly: The common sense of mankind unites to attribute many excellencies, and amiable qualities, to persons whom, nevertheless, we are obliged, from other parts of their conduct, to consider as destitute of true religion. Is it not right and amiable, even in the sight of God, so far as it goes, that children are dutiful to their parents, and parents affectionate to their children; that men are obedient to the laws, benevolent to the poor, faithful in their connexions, and just in their dealings? And is it not evident to universal observation that these are things which may be found in characters who, nevertheless, by other parts of their conduct, evince themselves to be strangers to true religion?

Thirdly: Every man is possessed of conscience, which bears witness to him in unnumbered instances of what is right and wrong; and this witness is known to have considerable influence even on wicked men, so as to impel them to the performance of many good actions, and to deter them from others which are evil.

Fourthly: If all the actions of unregenerate men be not only mixed with sin, but are in their own nature sinful, then whether they eat or drink, or whatever they do, they sin against God: but eating and drinking, in moderation, appear to be mere natural actions, and to have in them neither moral good, nor moral evil.

Lastly: If all the actions of unregenerate men be in their own nature sinful, surely there can be no ground for a ministerial address, no motive by which to exhort them to cease from evil and do good; nor any encouragement afforded them to comply with any thing short of what is spiritually good. It has been very common for even the advocates of salvation by

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