Part 11 (1/2)

It is a dark omen when professors paliate their errors and deviations from duty, by pleading those of saints of old. Those saints erred; but they did not long continue in sin--”When they thought on their ways they turned by repentance.” Neither did they flatter themselves in allowed wickedness.

If any allege the sins of former saints in excuse for their own, they allege not that which distinguished them as saints, but that which they retained as sinners--not that which they possessed of the image of G.o.d, but that which remained to them of the image of Satan. This they may have in full, and yet be of their father the Devil. And such is the sad state of those who allowed serve sin, under whatever pretence.

Those who are born of G.o.d, favor the thing which are of G.o.d. Sin is odious in their view. They long for freedom from it--”Oh wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”

The saints wish for heaven, not only that they may see ”their father who is in heaven,” and the divine Redeemer, ”who loved them and gave himself for them;” but because there ”the spirits of the just are made perfect”--because there they expect to be holy as G.o.d is holy-- because there, to be ”satisfied with G.o.d's likeness, and rejoice always before him.” May G.o.d give us this temper, and keep us to his kingdom, for his mercy's sake in Christ. Amen.

SERMON XI.

General Character of Christians.

Galatians v. 24.

”And they that are Christ's have crucified the Flesh, with the Affections and l.u.s.ts.”

St. Paul is supposed to have been the first herald of gospel grace to the Galatians; and they appear to have rejoiced at the glad tidings, and to have received the bearer with much respect. But after his departure, certain judaizing teachers went among them, and labored but too successfully, to alienate their affections from him, and turn them form the simplicity of the gospel.

The malice and errors of those deceitful workers, and the mischief which they occasioned at Galatia, caused the writing of this epistle: which, like the other writings of this apostle, reflects light on the gospel in general, while it served to correct the mistakes of those professors of Christianity, and guide their erring footsteps into the way of peace and truth.

It is not our design to enter into the controversy between this inspired teacher, and his enemies. We are only concerned to understand him, and shall receive his instructions as communicated from above.

The primary design of this epistle was to refute those false teachers who urged circ.u.mcision, and the observance of sundry parts of the Levitical code, which had been abrogated by the gospel. This appears to have been a leading error of those anarchists. That the apostle did not lay the intolerable burdens of the Mosaic ritual, on the professors of Christianity, was made the ground of a charge against him. St. Paul defended himself by evincing the errors of his opponents, shewing that Christians are made free from the ceremonial law; and that their justification before G.o.d is not in virtue of any obedience of their own, to either the ceremonial, or the moral law, but of grace through faith in Christ.

In the former part of the epistle, he shows the impossibility of justification in any other than the gospel way--especially in that way, to which those false teachers directed--shews that they subverted the gospel, and rendered Christ's sufferings of no effect--”By the works of the law, shall no flesh be justified--If righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” *

* Chapter ii. 16, 21.

We conceive these to be obvious truths, and wonder that they should be matter of doubt, or dispute, among those who are favored with revelation, and receive it as given of G.o.d. Perfect obedience is evidently the demand of the divine law, and condemnation is denounced against the breakers of it. ”This do, and thou shalt live, but the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” * But none of our race keep the law.

”There is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good and sinneth not.”

The scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise ”by faith of Jesus Christ, might be given to them that believe.” Mankind are ”shut up to the faith in Christ..” This is the way in which G.o.d ”hath mercy on whom he will have mercy. He that believeth shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be d.a.m.ned.” Therefore the hope of the apostle, in the way of faith, while discarding hope in any other way.

”Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ; even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the Faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law.”

* Lev. xviii. 5. Ezek. xviii. 4.

From the reasoning of the apostle, the false teachers at Galatia seem not to have urged obedience to the whole law. Circ.u.mcision they taught to be indispensible. St. Paul allures them, that if they were under obligation to receive circ.u.mcision, they were equally obliged to keep the whole law; and that they bound themselves to this by submitting to be circ.u.mcised--that if they reverted to the law, and placed their dependence on their obedience to it, they renounced the grace of Christ, and would not be benefited by it.

”Behold, I Paul, say unto you, that if ye be circ.u.mcised. Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that it is circ.u.mcised, that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. Christ is become of none effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law, ye are fallen from grace,”

While such was the state of those who followed the judaizing teachers, those who retained the gospel as taught by the apostle, had another hope--a hope which would not make ashamed--a hope in divine grace through faith in Christ--”We through the spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Jesus Christ neither circ.u.mcision availeth any thing, nor uncirc.u.mcision; but faith which worketh by love.”

Such is every Christian's hope before G.o.d. He ”counts all things to be loss and dung that he win Christ; but the righteousness which is of G.o.d by faith.”

But while St. Paul was exhibiting and urging these important truths, on the wavering Galatians, he foresaw, that it would be objected, that the scheme which he advanced, tended to licentiousness--that if men might be saved by faith without the works of the law, they might indulge themselves in sin--that this would render Christ the minister of sin. The same objection appears to have been made at Rome, where a faction existed similar to this at Galatia. This consequence the apostle rejected with abhorrence. ”Do we then make void the law through faith? G.o.d forbid: Yea we establish the law.”

The Levitical code included both the ceremonial and the moral law.

Though St. Paul declares justification unattainable by obedience to either or to both, he did not set aside the moral law, as no longer obligatory, as he did the ceremonial. This latter had answered the ends of its appointment, and was abolished by fulfillment. It was only a shadow of good things to come, and fled away before that of which it was a shadow. Christ had therefore blotted it out and taken it away.