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THE

TRUE BELIEVER'S DEFENCE,

AGAINST

CHARGES PREFERRED BY TRINITARIANS,

FOR NOT BELIEVING IN

THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST, THE DEITY OF CHRIST,

THE TRINITY, &c.

BY CHARLES MORGRIDGE,
Minister of the First Christian Church in New-Bedford.

BOSTON:

BENJAMIN H. GREENE, 124 WASHINGTON-STREET.

1837.

C 1291.23.30

HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY

1865. April 5.
Gift of

Chas. Christopher Follen,
of Brookline,
gb. 6. 1849.)
Through

of

Wm. Parsons Atkinson.
(96. 6. 1838.)

Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1837,

By CHARLES MORGRIDGE,

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.

Printed by
J. C. PARMENTER,
New-Bedford.

TO THE READER.

A few months since, I was requested to furnish, for publication, a copy of a discourse delivered at the dedication of a Christian Chapel. As I preached extempore, and without notes, I felt that I had a sufficient apology for not complying with the request. About a month after, I was called upon by the same committee, and vehemently urged to furnish a copy. My reluctance, which before seemed invincible, gave way; and I commenced preparing the manuscript. At this time I thought of publishing only a sermon. The work, however, multiplied upon my hands; and the result is, I have made a book. More than half the following pages were written after the printer commenced. During which time, my pastoral labors were considerably greater than ordinary.

By laying aside the form of a sermon, I have felt myself freed from some embarassment; and have taken the liberty to extend the argument more in detail. I hope my friends, by whose request I have been induced to appear before the public, will excuse the alterations which have been made, and the extension of the argument.

NEW-BEDFORD, March, 1837.

THE

TRUE BELIEVER'S DEFENCE.

SECTION I.

DESIGN OF JOHN'S GOSPEL.

JOHN XX. 31.

"But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

I begin with this text, because it decides upon four important points of controversy, which, for ages, have' divided and distracted the Church.

First, it decides what we must believe, concerning our Lord Jesus Christ, in order to be saved. Some require us, at our peril, to believe that Jesus Christ is God; others, that he is equal with God; and others, that he is very God and very man. To the true penitent, who utters, with a full and bursting heart, the important inquiry, What must I do to be saved? it is infinitely sweet to turn away from the vain and contradictory speculations of men, to the pure Word of God-to the words of our text, which unequivocally promise life to all who religiously believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

Secondly, our text decides for what purpose John wrote his Gospel. It is contended that his object was to prove, what is called in the Schools, the proper Deity of Christ. This is inferred particularly from the first verse of the

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