In the letter to the christians of Galatia he aims to bring them back from depending on their obedience to the moral and ceremonial laws, to a reliance upon Christ for salvation, he declares that “by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified” in the sight of God; and that christians are “dead to the law,” “seek to be justified by Christ,” and “live by the faith of the Son of God.” He asserts “if righteousness come by the law then Christ is dead in vain.” He charges the Galatians with folly. After having heard, seen, and experienced the doctrines of the Gospel, its extraordinary and ordinary spiritual powers, to go back to dead works would argue something like fascination. And then to show that the Gospel mode of justification by faith was not peculiar to the Gospel he quotes from the book of Genesis these words; “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” The apostle James reprehends such as profess to be believers and yet are not careful to maintain good works; such professions of faith are less credible than the fruits of holiness; “show _me_ thy faith without thy works, and I will show _thee_ my faith by my works.” Faith without works he pronounces to be dead, not merely inoperative, but destitute of a living principle. He then introduces Abraham’s example of offering up Isaac as a proof of his faith; this work being a manifest effect of his faith in God, justifies, in the sight of all men, his character as a believer, “and the scripture” he says “was _fulfilled_ which saith Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness.” The offering up of Isaac, having taken place several years after it had been said that “Abraham believed God,” was an undeniable evidence of the truth, and a fulfilment, of that scripture. Abraham’s faith here mentioned has been understood as implying both the act of believing God’s promises and his yielding to the call of God by emigrating, &c.[54] which faith, and its fruits, though an imperfect righteousness, was, it is alleged, by the favour of God accepted as a justifying righteousness. But the apostle here contrasts faith with works, and denies a justification before God to be attainable by our obedience, consequently his introduction of Abraham’s justification by his good deeds would have destroyed his own argument. Others[55] understand Abraham to have been justified on the account of the mere act of believing: and this has been confined to his faith in the one promise of a numerous posterity. That the Lord[56] “in judging Abraham will place on one side of the account his duties, and on the other his _performances_, and on the side of his performances he will place _his faith_, and by mere favour value it equal to a complete performance of his duty, and reward him as if he were a perfectly righteous person.”