246 CHRISTMAS DAY. death we would hope to come tr It is a fundament that we shall be sa RRISTAL rnal life, If any man low me; and servants be." vill my Father n all sincerity and Christ, that you may serve him with fidelity, with constancy in the life of he has given you an example; he appears, you shall also appear glory, and be highly honoured of his mise only is the But wha' we ma that who will take a pleasure in exalting the friends and disciples of his beloved Son. sh Let every one that nameth the name of Christ, from iniquity," says the apostle. depart I wish, in conclusion, to address a few words to two classes of persons, both of whom are desirous of serving Christ, but yet are in such opposite states of mind on the subject of salvation, that the one need to be rebuked, while the other requires a word of consolation. The former are the self-confident and selfrighteous, persons who are in the habit of estimating their hope of heaven solely by the advances which they think they have made in holiness, and never seriously refer to Christ as the author of their salvation. I do not speak of those suaded themselves that the gospel doctrine as that of the atone h em I will only remark by the principles they ought to ich every knee shall bow, er instead of JESUS, since they viour, they hope to save themselves. those who have no thought of delibe denying the doctrine, but who do not praccally confess it, who do not entertain a lively feeling of its truth or importance in their hearts, who do not build their religion upon that foundation. To them I say, remember the name of him whom you call Lord and Master, and whom you wish to serve as such-it is JESUS; you are followers not of a mere teacher, or prophet, or lawgiver, but a SAVIOUR; you must therefore accept him in his true character, you must be persuaded of your need of him as a Saviour, you must believe in him as a Saviour, you must love him as a Saviour, you must put your whole trust in him as a Saviour, you must approach God through him as a Saviour. It is by no means sufficient merely to acknowledge that he is so described in the scriptures, and then to endeavour to work out your own salvation independently of him, however sincere your piety and however earnest your devotion may be; faith in him, not choose him for your master) is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord." "If any man serve me (says Christ,) let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servants be." "If any man serve me, serve me, him will my Father honour." Pray, therefore, with all sincerity and earnestness, for the spirit of Christ, that you may be enabled evermore to serve him with fidelity, and to follow him with constancy in the life of holiness, of which he has given you an example; and then when he appears, you shall also appear with him in glory, and be highly honoured of his Father, who will take a pleasure in exalting the true friends and disciples of his beloved Son. "Let every one that nameth the name of Christ, depart from iniquity," says the apostle. I wish, in conclusion, to address a few words. to two classes of persons, both of whom are desirous of serving Christ, but yet are in such opposite states of mind on the subject of salvation, that the one need to be rebuked, while the other requires a word of consolation. The former are the self-confident and selfrighteous, persons who are in the habit of estimating their hope of heaven solely by the advances which they think they have made in holiness, and never seriously refer to Christ as the author of their salvation. I do not speak of those who have persuaded themselves that the gospel contains no such doctrine as that of the atonement for sin; of them I will only remark by the way, that upon their principles they ought to reject that name at which every knee shall bow, and use some other instead of JESUS, since they admit of no Saviour, they hope to save themselves. I speak of those who have no thought of deliberately denying the doctrine, but who do not practically confess it, who do not entertain a lively feeling of its truth or importance in their hearts, who do not build their religion upon that foundation. To them I say, remember the name of him whom you call Lord and Master, and whom you wish to serve as such-it is JESUS; you are followers not of a mere teacher, or prophet, or lawgiver, but a SAVIOUR; you must therefore accept him in his true character, you must be persuaded of your need of him as a Saviour, you must believe in him as a Saviour, you must love him as a Saviour, you must put your whole trust in him as a Saviour, you must approach God through him as a Saviour. It is by no means sufficient merely to acknowledge that he is so described in the scriptures, and then to endeavour to work out your own salvation independently of him, however sincere your piety and however earnest your devotion may be; faith in him, not simply as a messenger of God's will, but as a Saviour, must be settled in your hearts as the source and root of all your religion; and this is necessary, not only as being an honour due to him for the great work which he has accomplished on your behalf, or due from you because you enjoy the inestimable benefit of that work, but also as being the most powerful and efficacious motive of Christian practice. For the necessity of our having such a Saviour is the most decisive proof of our corruption, the most persuasive argument to humility and repentance, and the fact, that he was actually sent into the world to die for our sins, is the most convincing evidence of the holiness of God, and therefore of the necessity of holiness in us; of the love of God, and therefore of our great obligation to love him for his goodness, and our fellow creatures for his sake. Cast away therefore all your confidence in yourselves, for you will never possess the true Christian spirit, nor live the true Christian life, nor entertain a well grounded hope of heaven, if you endeavour to work out your salvation in self-dependance, and consider the works of righteousness you have done, or shall do, as the only ground of security. But receive Christ as a Saviour, trust in him alone as able to render all your own services acceptable with God, and then your repentance, |