8. That faith comes by hearing, when a man believes those things to be true which are Divinely revealed, and believes in the promises of God. That faith is the beginning of man's salvation, the foundation and root of all justification, without which it is impossible to please God, and enter into the fellowship of His children. That justification is effected by faith, hope, and charity; and that unless faith be accompanied by hope and charity, it is not living but dead, which cannot unite with Christ. That man ought to cooperate; that he has the power to approach and recede, otherwise nothing could be given unto him, for he would be like an inanimate body. That inasmuch as the reception of justification renews man, and as this is effected by the application of the merit of Christ, during man's cooperation, it follows that works are meritorious; but inasmuch as they are done from grace, and by the Holy Spirit, and as Christ alone has merited, therefore God considers His own gifts in man as meritorious; whence it follows, that no one ought to attribute anything of merit to himself.