The Doctrine of Justification by Faith

That the Faith which he intends and describes, is altogether useless unto the end pretended to be attainable by it; namely, Salvation, he proves in an instance of, and by comparing it with the love or charity of an alike nature, v. 15.16. If a Brother or Sister be naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto him, depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled, notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body, what doth it profit? This love or charity is not that Gospel Grace which is required of us under that name; For he who behaveth himself thus towards the poor, the love of God dwelleth not in him, 1 Joh. 3.17. whatever name it may have, whatever it may pretend unto, whatever it may be professed or accepted for, love it is not, nor hath any of the ⟨p. 575⟩effects of love; is neither useful nor profitable. Hence the Apostle infers, v. 17. Even so Faith, if it hath not Works, is dead being alone. For this was that which he undertook to prove, not that we are not justified by Faith alone without Works before God, but that the Faith which is alone without Works, is dead useless and unprofitable.

Having given this first evidence unto the conclusion which in Thesi he designed to prove, he reassumes the question and states it in Hypothesi, so as to give it a more full demonstration, v. 15. Yea a man may say thou hast Faith, and I have Works, show me thy Faith without thy Works, (that is, which is without Works, or by thy Works) and I will show thee my Faith by my Works. It is plain beyond denial, that the Apostle doth here again propose his main question only on a supposition that there is a dead useless Faith which he had proved before. For now all the enquiry remaining is how true Faith, or that which is of the right Gospel kind, may be showed, evidenced or demonstrated, so, as that their folly may appear, who trust unto any other Faith whatever [Greek or Hebrew], Evidence or demonstrate thy Faith to be true by the only means thereof, which is works. And therefore although he say, thou hast Faith, that is, thou professest and boastest that thou hast that Faith whereby thou mayest be saved, and I have Works, he doth not say, show me thy Faith by thy Works, and I will show thee my Works by my Faith, which the Antithesis would require, but I will show thee my Faith by my Works, because the whole question was concerning the evidencing of Faith and not of Works.