"He would thus be proving the point, equally dear to St Paul, that mere theoretic orthodoxy, apart from effects on the will, is valueless. He would not, in the remotest degree, be disputing the Pauline doctrine that the guilty soul is put into a position of acceptance with the FATHER only by vital connexion with the SON, and that this connexion is effectuated, _absolutely and alone_, not by personal merit, but by trustful acceptance of the Propitiation and its all-sufficient vicarious merit. From such trustful acceptance 'works' (in the profoundest sense) will inevitably follow; not as antecedents but as consequents of justification. And thus ... 'it is faith alone which justifies; but the faith which justifies can never be alone.'" [46] On St James' use of that great incident, see detached note, p. 115. [47] We see much reason, however, in the explanation which connects κατὰ σάρκα with πατέρα (or προπάτορα) ἡμῶν: "_our father according to the flesh_," our natural progenitor. [48] In the Greek, ἐπίστευσε stands first in the clause, and is thus emphatic. [49] Not that μισθὸς always gives the thought of earning as a right. It may mean merely "_result_, _issue_," however realized. See _e.g._ 2 John 8. But the context here decides the reference. [50] By the position of the name in the Greek sentence. [51] Διὰ ἀκροβυστίας: as if _passing through_ its seeming obstacle. [52] So the Greek precisely. But practically the words "_for those_" may be omitted here. [53] See Article xxv. [54] See Article xxviii. CHAPTER XI _ABRAHAM_ (ii) ROMANS iv. 13-25 Again we approach the name of Abraham, Friend of God, Father of the Faithful. We have seen him justified by faith, personally accepted because turning altogether to the sovereign Promiser. We see him now in some of the glorious issues of that acceptance; "Heir of the world," "Father of many nations." And here too all is of grace, all comes through faith. Not works not merit, not ancestral and ritual privilege, secured to Abraham the mighty Promise; it was his because he, pleading absolutely nothing of personal worthiness, and supported by no guarantees of ordinance "_believed God_." We see him as he steps out from his tent under that glorious canopy, that Syrian "night of stars." We look up with him to the mighty depths, and receive their impression upon our eyes. Behold the innumerable points and clouds of light! Who can count the half-visible rays which make white the heavens, gleaming behind, beyond, the thousands of more numerable luminaries? The lonely old man who stands gazing there, perhaps side by side with his divine Friend manifested in human form, is told to try to count. And then he hears the promise, "So shall thy seed be." It was then and there that he received justification by faith. It was then and there also that, by faith, as a man uncovenanted, unworthy, but called upon to take what God gave, he received the promise that he should be "heir of the world."