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which each person has made, or thinks he has made, in religion; every one fixing his own standard, and so drawing the line as to include himself within the number of God's elect. They are children of God, because,

1. They have committed no gross sin

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[Be it so they have kept within the bounds which the world prescribes for our moral and religious conduct: but is this sufficient to prove them children of God? Yea, rather, does not the complacency which they feel in consequence of this partial obedience prove them indisputably to be children of the devil? What is, in fact, the language of their hearts? Is it not this? It is needless to love and serve God: to obey his law is quite superfluous: all that we need to do, is, to abstain from gross sin: if we do that, we need not alarm ourselves about the displeasure of God: we are in no danger of perishing we need not trouble ourselves about a Saviour: we have all the righteousness that God requires, and may look forward with confidence to our final acceptance with him.' Yes, this, I say, is the language of their hearts and I leave you to judge how far such a state of mind can be an evidence of their being children of God. In truth, all the gross sins that they could possibly commit would not more clearly prove them children of the devil, than this impiety: the weight and number of their sins indeed might be increased; but, as a test, nothing can be more decisive of their state, than such vain confidence as this.]

2. They approve of the doctrines of the Gospel

[It matters little what doctrines we embrace, unless they operate to the renovation of our souls. Our Lord intimates that many will express a considerable degree of zeal in his cause, preaching his Gospel, and casting out devils in his name, who yet will be rejected by him at last, because they did not experience any sanctifying efficacy from his Gospel; "their saying, Lord, Lord, will not avail them any thing, because they did not the will of his heavenly Father." Indeed a knowledge of the Gospel tends rather to aggravate the guilt of those who do not practically embrace it; because they sin against greater light, and against the convictions of their own conscience. The Jews were filled with zeal for the law of Moses, and were ready to put our Lord to death for supposed violations of it: but were they therefore children of God? No: though they pretended such high respect for the law, they did not themselves keep the law, as our Lord told them; and that very law would condemn them in the last day. It is plain therefore that an

assent to any system of divine truth can never be an adequate test of our relation to God.]

3. They have experienced a change both in their views and conduct

[This comes to nearly the same point as the two preceding: for the circumstance of our having formerly been more erroneous in our views, or more vicious in our conduct, can never make us right, if we stop short of that change which God requires. It is true that a reformation of our life seems to manifest the operation of divine grace, and in that view to sanction a confidence that we are children of God: but Herod still continued a child of the devil, notwithstanding, in compliance with John's admonitions, "he did many things." The stony-ground hearers are represented as experiencing a great and joyful change; and the thorny-ground hearers even bring forth fruit, and continue to do so to their dying hour; yet neither the one nor the other are acknowledged by God as his children, because they "bring not forth fruit unto perfection."]

4. But view, in opposition to all these tests, the one which our Lord proposed to the Jews

[That is perfect and complete; and will decide the point beyond all possibility of mistake. Let it only be clearly ascertained that we love Christ, and our relation to God will be unquestionable: for though it may be said, that the love of Christ is not of itself a performance of all our duty; yet it must be said, on the other hand, that it is a principle which will yield universal obedience: nor is it possible to have a true love to Christ in our hearts without loving, and longing to fulfil, the whole will of God. Whilst therefore the tests which men adopt for themselves are universally defective and fallacious, this is perfectly adequate to the end proposed: for no man can be a child of God who cannot abide that test; nor can any man be a child of Satan, if the love of Christ be found in his heart.]

Let us then proceed to,

III. Try ourselves by it-

The inquiry is simple: Do we love,

1. His person?

"To them that believe, he is precious;" "fairer than ten thousand, and altogether lovely." Is he so to us? Have "we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father?" Have we seen him to be "the brightness of his Father's glory, and the express image of his person?" Have

we seen concentered in him all divine and human excellence, so as to be constrained to say, "Who is like unto Thee? And do we "account all things but dung for the excellency of the knowledge of him?" If we love him aright, our love to him must infinitely exceed all creature-attachment: life itself must have lost its value, in comparison of his will and his glory. To say, "My beloved is mine, and I am his," must be the summit of our ambition, more in our estimation than ten thousand worlds. Inquire then whether this be indeed the habit of your minds? The splendour of the sun eclipses the feebler radiance of the stars: and in like manner will the glory of the Sun of Righteousness, if it be indeed beheld by us, cause all sublunary glory to vanish from before our eyes.]

2. His ways?

["He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me," saith our Lord himself. We know how strongly even creature-affection will operate to make us consult the wishes, and perform the will, of the object beloved: and the love of Christ will assuredly operate in the same manner: it will "constrain us to live, not to ourselves, but unto Him who died for us and rose again." His commandments, whatever self-denial they may require, will never appear grievous; but we shall account his service to be perfect freedom. In proportion as "God enlarges our hearts," it will be our delight to "run the way of his commandments." How is it then with us in this respect? Are we panting after higher degrees of holiness, and labouring with augmented diligence to do whatsoever will be pleasing in his sight? Are we "forgetting what is behind, and reaching forward to that which is before," accounting nothing attained whilst any thing remains to be attained, and longing to "stand perfect and complete in all the will of God?" This, this is the fruit of love: and if we say that we love Christ whilst we are strangers to this frame, "we are liars, and the truth is not in usb."]

3. His salvation?

[It cannot fail but that, if we love Christ, we must love that glorious plan of salvation which he has revealed to us, "and glory above all things in the cross of Christ:" there will appear a suitableness in it, a perfect correspondence with all our wants and necessities. The atonement which Christ has offered for us will be regarded with wonder and admiration, as the most mysterious fruit of divine wisdom, and the most stupendous effort of divine love. The opening made by it for the harmonious exercise and united display of all the divine

b 1 John ii. 4.

perfections will fill the soul with rapture, and constrain it to vie with all the hosts of heaven in singing, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing: therefore blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever."]

4. His glory?

[We shall not be indifferent to this, if we love him in truth: we shall wish that his name may be known, his salvation enjoyed, and his glory be exalted, throughout all the earth. As those who preceded his advent longed for his appearance upon earth, so shall we long for his fuller manifestation to the world, that heaven itself may be brought down to earth, and all the kingdoms of the world be his undivided empire. It will grieve us to see that any of the human race are ignorant of him, and that he is dishonoured by so many of those who enjoy the light of his Gospel: and we shall be praying from our inmost souls, "Thy kingdom come; thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." If we can do any thing for the conversion of Jews or Gentiles, we shall gladly exert ourselves to the utmost; if by any means we may be the honoured instruments of extending his dominion, even though it should be only over the soul of one single individual.

What now does conscience say to these things? Have we indeed the love of Christ in us; and does it extend thus to every thing relating to him, his person, his ways, his salvation, his glory?]

ADDRESS

1. To those who can stand this test

[Happy indeed are ye, who, when Christ puts the question to you, "Lovest thou me?" can answer, "Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee." Ye assuredly are children of God; and, "if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ" Yet remember, that your evidence of this relation exists only in proportion as the love of Christ reigns in your souls. If any sin whatever have dominion over you, your evidence is destroyed, or rather, it is evident you are not the Lord's. This is so strongly asserted by God himself, that we would wish you never for one moment to lose sight of it, lest your presumption be like that of the Jews, and issue, like theirs, in everlasting ruin.]

2. To those who are condemned by it—

[These, alas! are the great majority of the Christian world. If the love of self, or the love of the world, had been the test of

c 1 John iii. 6-10.

our relation to God, then would he have had many children amongst us, whose evidence would be clear, and their claim indisputable. But we must stand or fall by another test, even by that proposed by our Lord himself". See then what ye have to do. You have not to fulfil the whole law in order to become children of God; (that were indeed a hopeless case :) but to get the love of Christ in your hearts. And can you feel any backwardness to that? Methinks, the difficulty should be to refrain from loving him. Only think who he is; and what he has done and suffered for you: think what excellencies unite in him, and how great will be the comfort of loving him: think how willing he is to reconcile you to God, and to bring you into the family of heaven. Only believe in him, love him, and give yourselves to him; and all shall yet be well with you, both in time and eternity.]

d Compare 1 Cor. xvi. 22.

MDCLVI.

UNBELIEF TRACED TO ITS SOURCE.

John viii. 46. If I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?

ONE would reasonably suppose, that if Almighty God were to become a man, and to labour for the instruction of his creatures in a way of daily and familiar intercourse, and were to confirm his testimony by miracles without number, it would be impossible for men to withstand the influence of his word. But the experiment has been made; and men have shewn a degree of perverseness, of which one could scarcely have conceived them capable. Sometimes they would endeavour to justify their opposition, by accusing our Lord Jesus of violating the law of Moses. But they were invariably put to shame; the falsehood and malignity of their charges being exposed by him with unanswerable force and demonstration. It was to opponents of this description that he addressed the words before us: "Which of you convinceth me of sin? And, if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?"

From these words, I will take occasion to mark, I. The prevalence of unbelief

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