xia nemal good with no further fear of filtre To 20, my most fearly beloved. I even in this letter, pe the same exhortation which the apostle addresses to us 1, 105 21 dink of yourselves more highly than you ought a fink; but to think sherly, accoring as God hath deal to very man the measure of th 5 Mark wall the counsel which the Holy Ghost gives us sy Siemen: * Make straight paths for thy feet, and order 27 vya wight Tam not aside to the right hand nor to the Le bus sum vay thy foot from the evil way: for the Lord kaoven the ways on the right hand, bus those on the left are He will make thy ways straight, and will direct sy steps in peace." Now consider, my brethren, that in these words of Ely Scripture, if the will were not free to choose, is would not be said, "Make straight paths for thy fees, and wder thy ways; turn not aside to the right hand, nor to the left? Nor yet, were this possible for us to achieve wishors the grace of God, would it be afterwards added, “ He will make thy ways straight, and will direct thy steps in peace." 6. Decline, therefore, neither to the right hand nor to the lefs, although the paths on the right hand are praised, and those on the left hand are blamed. This is why he added, "Tm away thy foot from the evil way,"-that is, from the left-hand path. This he makes manifest in the following words, szying, "For the Lord knoweth the ways on the right hand; but those on the left are perverse." In those ways we onght surely to walk which the Lord knows; and it is of these that we read in the Psalm, "The Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish;”3 for this way, which is on the left hand, the Lord does not know. As He will also say at last to such as are placed on His left hand at the day of judgment: "I know you not.” Now what is that which He knows not, who knows all things, both good and evil, in man? But what is the meaning of the words, "I know you not," unless it be that you are now such as I never made you? Precisely as that passage runs, which is spoken of the Lord Jesus Christ, that "He knew no sin."3 2 Prov. iv. 26, 27 (Sept.). 1 Rom. xii. 3. 5 2 Cor. v. 21. 3 Ps. i. 6. LET. II.] OUR OWN WILL INSUFFICIENT. 11 And, How knew it not, except that He had never made it? therefore, how is to be understood the passage, "The ways which are on the right hand the Lord knoweth," except in the sense that He made those ways Himself,—even "the paths of the righteous," which no doubt are "those good works that God," as the apostle tells us, "hath before ordained that we should walk in them" ?1 Whereas the left-hand ways-those perverse paths of the unrighteous-He truly knows nothing of, because He never made them for man, but man made them for himself. Wherefore He says, "The perverse ways of the wicked I utterly abhor; they are on the left hand." 7. But this is the answer we get: Why did He say, "Turn not aside to the right hand, nor to the left," when he clearly ought rather to have said, Keep to the right hand, and turn not off to the left, if the right-hand paths are good? On what principle do we think so, except this, that the paths on the right hand are so good that it is not good to turn off from them, even to the right? For that man, indeed, is to be understood as declining to the right who chooses to attribute to himself, and not to God, even those good works which appertain to right-hand ways. Hence it was that after saying, "For the Lord knoweth the ways on the right hand, but those on the left hand are perverse" (as if the objection were raised to Him, Wherefore, then, do you not wish us to turn aside to the right ?), He immediately added as follows: "He will Himself make thy paths straight, and will direct thy ways in peace." Understand, therefore, the precept, "Make straight paths for thy feet, and order thy ways aright," in such a sense as to know that whenever you do all this, it is the Lord God who enables you to do it. Then you will not turn off to the right, although you are walking in right-hand paths, not trusting in your own strength; and He will Himself be your strength, who will make straight paths for your feet, and will direct your ways in peace. 8. Wherefore, most dearly beloved, whosoever says, My own will suffices for me to perform good works, declines to the right. But, on the other hand, they who think that a good way of life should be forsaken, when they hear God's grace 1 1 Eph. ii. 10. preached up so intensely as to lead to the supposition and belief that it of itself turns men's wills from being evil to becoming good, and it even of itself guards and keeps them after it has turned them, and who, as the result of this opinion, go on to say, "Let us do evil that good may come,"1-these persons decline to the left. This is the reason why he said to you, "Turn not aside to the right hand, nor to the left;" in other words, do not uphold free-will in such wise as to attribute good works to it without the grace of God, nor so defend and maintain grace as if, by reason of it, you may love evil works in security and safety,-which may God's grace itself avert from you! Now it was the words of such thinkers as these which the apostle had in view when he said, "What shall we say, then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound ?"2 And to this cavil of erring men, who know nothing about the grace of God, he returned such an answer as he ought in these words: "God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein ?" Nothing could have been said more succinctly, and yet to the point. For what more useful gift does the grace of God confer upon us, in this present evil world, than our dying unto sin? Hence he shows himself ungrateful to grace itself who chooses to live in sin by reason of that whereby we die unto sin. May God, however, who is rich in mercy, grant you both to think soundly and wisely, and to continue perseveringly and progressively to the end in every good determination and purpose. For yourselves, for us, for all who love you, and for those who hate you, pray that this gift may be attained,pray earnestly and vigilantly in brotherly peace. Live unto God. If I deserve any favour at your hands, let brother Florus come to me. ON GRACE AND FREE-WILL. IN THIS TREATISE THE AUTHOR TEACHES US NOT TO MAINTAIN GRACE BY DENYING FREE-WILL, NOR FREE-WILL BY DENYING GRACE; FOR THAT IT IS EVIDENT FROM THE TESTIMONY OF SCRIPTURE THAT THERE IS IN MAN'S WILL AN INHERENT LIBERTY OF CHOICE; THAT THERE ARE ALSO IN THE SAME SCRIPTURES INSPIRED PROOFS GIVEN OF THAT VERY GRACE OF GOD WITHOUT WHICH WE CAN DO NOTHING GOOD. AFTERWARDS, IN OPPOSITION TO THE PELAGIANS, HE PROVES THAT GRACE IS NOT BESTOWED IN PROPORTION TO OUR MERITS. HE EXPLAINS HOW ETERNAL LIFE, WITH WHICH GOOD WORKS ARE RECOMPENSED, IS REALLY OF grace. HE THEN GOES ON TO SHOW THAT THE GRACE WHICH IS GIVEN TO US THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST IS NEITHER THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE LAW, NOR NATURE, NOR SIMPLY REMISSION OF SINS; BUT THAT GRACE ITSELF MAKES US FULFIL THE LAW, AND CAUSES NATURE TO BE LIBERATED FROM THE DOMINION OF SIN. HE DEMOLISHES THAT VAIN SUBTERFUGE OF THE PELAGIANS, TO THE EFFECT THAT GRACE, ALTHOUGH IT IS NOT BESTOWED ACCORDING TO THE MERITS OF GOOD WORKS, IS YET GIVEN IN PROPORTION TO THE DESERTS OF THE ANTECEDENT GOOD-WILL OF THE MAN WHO BELIEVES AND PRAYS. HE INCIDENTALLY TOUCHES THE QUESTION, WHY GOD COMMANDS WHAT HE MEANS HIMSELF TO GIVE, AND WHETHER HE IMPOSES ON US ANY COMMANDS WHICH WE ARE UNABLE TO PERFORM. HE CLEARLY SHOWS THAT THE LOVE WHICH IS INDISPENSABLE FOR FULFILLING THE COMMANDMENTS IS ONLY WITHIN US FROM GOD HIMSELF. HE POINTS OUT THAT GOD WORKS IN MEN'S HEARTS TO INCLINE THEIR WILLS WHITHERSOEVER HE WILLETH, EITHER TO GOOD WORKS ACCORDING TO HIS MERCY, OR TO EVIL ONES IN RETURN FOR THEIR DESERTS HIS JUDGMENT, INDEED, BEING SOMETIMES MANIFEST, SOMETIMES HIDDEN, BUT ALWAYS RIGHTEOUS. LASTLY, HE TEACHES US THAT A CLEAR EXAMPLE OF THE GRATUITOUSNESS OF GRACE, NOT GIVEN IN RETURN FOR OUR DESERTS, IS SUPPLIED TO US IN THE CASE OF THOSE INFANTS WHICH ARE SAVED, WHILE OTHERS PERISH THOUGH THEIR CASE IS IDENTICAL WITH THAT OF THE REST. CHAP. 1. [1.]—The occasion and argument of this work. ITH reference to those persons who preach up the W liberty of the human will, and maintain it with such pertinacity as boldly to deny, and endeavour to do away with, that grace of God which calls us to Him, and delivers us from the evils we have deserved, whereby also we obtain the meritorious qualities which lead to everlasting life, we have already said a good deal in discussion, and committed it to writing, so far as the Lord has vouchsafed to enable us. But since there are some persons who [take the opposite course, and] so defend God's grace as to deny man's free-will, or else suppose that free-will is denied when grace is defended, I have determined to write some thoughts on this point to your love, my brother Valentinus, and the rest of you, who are serving God together under the impulse of a mutual charity. Now it has been told me concerning you, brethren, by some members of your brotherhood who have visited us, and are the bearers of this communication of ours to you, that there are dissensions among you on this subject. This, then, being the case, dearly beloved, I counsel you not to be disturbed by the obscurity of this question, and to thank God for such things as you understand; but as for all which is beyond the reach of your mind, pray for understanding from the Lord, observing, at the same time, peace and charity among yourselves; and until He Himself lead you to perceive what at present is beyond your comprehension, walk firmly on the ground of which you are sure. This is the advice of the Apostle Paul, who, after saying that he was not yet perfect,1 a little later adds, "Let us, therefore, as many as are perfect, be thus minded,””—meaning perfect to a certain extent, but not having attained to a perfection sufficient for us; and then immediately adds, "And if, in any thing, ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereunto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule." 3 For by walking according to our present attainments we shall advance to further stages of knowledge,—God revealing to us [degrees of truth] if we have other views about it [in our immature minds at present], provided we do not give up what portions thereof He has already revealed to us. CHAP. 2. [11.]—He proves the existence of free-will in man from the precepts addressed to him by God; these precepts are given that there may be no excuse from ignorance. Now He has revealed to us, through His Holy Scriptures, that there is in man's will a liberty of choice. But how He 1 Phil. iii. 12. Phil. iii. 15. 3 Phil. iii. 16. |