the sad state of those who allowedly serve fin, under whatever pretence.

THOSE who are born of God, favor the things which are of God. 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 faints wish for heaven, not only that they may fee " 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 God is holy-because there, to be "fatisfied with God's likeness, and rejoice always before him." May God give us this temper, and keep us to his kingdom, for his mercy's fake in Christ. Amen.

SERMON ΧΙ.

General Character of Christians.

GALATIANS v. 24.

And they that are Christ's have crucified the Flesh, with the Affections and Lusts.

ST. PAUL is supposed to have been the first herald of gofpel 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 fuccefsfully, to alienate their affections from him, and turn them from the simplicity of the gospel.

THE malice and errors of those deceitful workers, and the mischief which they occafioned 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 ferved to correct the mistakes of those professors of Chriftianity, 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 ene. mies. 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 circumcifion, and the observance of fundry 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 burthens of the Mofaic ritual, on the profeffors of Christianity, was made the ground of a charge against him. St. Paul defended himfelf by evincing the errors of his opponents, shew. ing that Christians are made free from the ceremonial law; and that their justification before God 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 impoffibility of justification in any other than the gospel way-especially in that way, to which those false teachers directed-shews that they fubverted 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."*

We conceive these to be obvious truths, and wonder that they should be matter of doubt, or dispute, among those who are favored with reve

lation, and receive it as given of God. 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 foul that finneth, it shall die.* But none of our race keep the law. "There is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good and finneth 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 God " hath mercy on whom he will have mercy. He that believeth shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." 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."

FROM the reasoning of the apostle, the false teachers at Galatia seem not to have urged obedience to the whole law. Circumcifion they taught to be indispensible. St. Paul affures them, that if they were under obligation to receive circumcifion, they were equally obliged to keep the whole law; and that they bound themselves to this by fubmitting to be circumcifed-that if they reverted to the law, and placed their dependence on their obedience to it, they renounced the grace of Chrift, and would not be benefited by it. "Be.

111

erfe

SERM. 11.] General Character of Chriftians. 143

ivin

ft the hold, I Paul, say unto you, that if ye be circumline cised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I tefnote tify again to every man that is circumcifed, that he jut is a debtor to keep the whole law. Christ is be

nek

ave

h

come 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 followfed 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 righteoufness by faith. For in Jesus Christ neither circum. cision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcifion; but faith which worketh by love."

SUCH is every Christian's hope before God. He " counts all things to be loss and dung that he may win Christ; and be found in him, not having on his own righteousness which is of the law; but the righteousness which is of God 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 licentiouf. ness-that if men might be saved by faith without the works of the law, they might indulge themselves in fin--that this would render Christ the min. ister 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? God forbid : Yea we establish the law."