SERMON XIII.

Sixth Sunday after Epiphany.

1 JOHN iii. 7.

Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness

is righteous.

HESE words are found in that portion of Scrip

THESE

ture which the Church has appointed to be read in the Epistle in the Communion Service of this day. The Word of God tells us that for the sake of Christ's sacrifice and atonement on the Cross, there is salvation for every righteous man. The words ordered to be read to-day, and which, therefore, I have taken for my text, tell us what a righteous man is, -one who does righteousness; and it is in consequence of such texts, as well as in obedience to common sense, that all full and true preachers of God's Word cease not to press upon their congregations the great, and indeed the difficult, duty of good works. They urge upon them obedience to God's commandments, good living, followed out in faith, as the course absolutely necessary to salvation.

However, there are persons with less knowledge than zeal, and sometimes with less charity than

N

either, who are not afraid to thwart the ministry of Christ's servants, and if they might, to "make their word return unto them empty," by bringing against them the condemning charge, that in this teaching they do not preach the Gospel.

Now that it may be so in some few cases, I am not about to deny, because sermons are not, like our other fixed and written services, "rooted and founded" in Scripture beforehand, once and for all, and so not to be put asunder from it again: and in so large a body of men as the priesthood of Christ's Holy Catholic Church in this kingdom doubtless some will be found less taught, less thoughtful, less careful than the great body of the clergy, and therefore what teaching may proceed from these must have less spirituality about it, and may fall short of the Gospel teaching, either in amount or in truth. This is unavoidable, because of the frailty which is in all mankind; and it is one very powerful reason why we should value sermons less than all our other services.

Nevertheless the accusation that the Gospel is not preached by the priesthood of the English Church in Christ Jesus, is, for vastly the most part, without any foundation at all; and such a sentence is altogether unjustifiable when it is pronounced on such a ground as this,-namely, that not contenting ourselves with teaching doctrine, we dwell also on the duties of Christians; in other words, that we preach the necessity of good works,—that is, righteousness,

-as well as the necessity of a sound faith. Now as you may possibly hear this rash and sweeping condemnation fearlessly pronounced against your ministers, and may perhaps be troubled by it in mind, for we all know how easy it is to stir up painful doubts and misgivings, under the pretence of great concern for God's honour and for the welfare of the souls of men: moreover, as you may not clearly understand how far faith, and how far "righteousness," are severally to be considered as actually leading us to salvation in Jesus,-let me endeavour, under God's blessing and aid, to make these questions as clear to your minds as they ought to be.

First, then, let us ask, What is faith? and instead of resting at once upon the Apostle's definition of it, that it is, namely, "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen," let us consider how it looks under the still clearer light of practice, by turning to the Book of Genesis, and reading the single history of the "father of the faithful." For beyond all doubt this history is recorded for the very purpose that they who seek their safety in the spirit of faith, and who therefore are deeply interested in understanding the meaning of the word, may behold it in this history plainly and distinctly set forth, and may be able to feel and say, "This is saving faith." Taking the life of Abraham as our foundation, and adding to it also other Scriptures, whether they be

a Heb. xi. 1.

either, who are not afraid to thwart the ministry of Christ's servants, and if they might, to "make their word return unto them empty," by bringing against them the condemning charge, that in this teaching they do not preach the Gospel.

Now that it may be so in some few cases, I am not about to deny, because sermons are not, like our other fixed and written services, "rooted and founded" in Scripture beforehand, once and for all, and so not to be put asunder from it again: and in so large a body of men as the priesthood of Christ's Holy Catholic Church in this kingdom doubtless some will be found less taught, less thoughtful, less careful than the great body of the clergy, and therefore what teaching may proceed from these must have less spirituality about it, and may fall short of the Gospel teaching, either in amount or in truth. This is unavoidable, because of the frailty which is in all mankind; and it is one very powerful reason why we should value sermons less than all our other services.

Nevertheless the accusation that the Gospel is not preached by the priesthood of the English Church in Christ Jesus, is, for vastly the most part, without any foundation at all; and such a sentence is altogether unjustifiable when it is pronounced on such a ground as this,-namely, that not contenting ourselves with teaching doctrine, we dwell also on the duties of Christians; in other words, that we preach the necessity of good works,-that is, righteousness,

-as well as the necessity of a sound faith. Now as you may possibly hear this rash and sweeping condemnation fearlessly pronounced against your ministers, and may perhaps be troubled by it in mind, for we all know how easy it is to stir up painful doubts and misgivings, under the pretence of great concern for God's honour and for the welfare of the souls of men: moreover, as you may not clearly understand how far faith, and how far "righteousness," are severally to be considered as actually leading us to salvation in Jesus,-let me endeavour, under God's blessing and aid, to make these questions as clear to your minds as they ought to be.

First, then, let us ask, What is faith? and instead of resting at once upon the Apostle's definition of it, that it is, namely, "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seena," let us consider how it looks under the still clearer light of practice, by turning to the Book of Genesis, and reading the single history of the "father of the faithful." For beyond all doubt this history is recorded for the very purpose that they who seek their safety in the spirit of faith, and who therefore are deeply interested in understanding the meaning of the word, may behold it in this history plainly and distinctly set forth, and may be able to feel and say, "This is saving faith.” Taking the life of Abraham as our foundation, and adding to it also other Scriptures, whether they be

a Heb. xi. 1.