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church of Corinth, even among those, who were neither Apostles nor Evangelists: and these gifts were so far from being essential to apostolic zeal, that many unworthy brethren and many false Apostles, as well as the traitor Judas, were endued with them. This we are taught, in the most express terms, by our Lord himself.

2. If any of those pastors, who make a profession of following St. Paul, are observed to publish another Gospel, or to depart from the order established by the Apostles, the world has then reason to require miracles at their hand, as a demonstration, that their doctrines are divine, and that their recent customs are preferable to those, which were formerly adopted in the church of Christ. But, if they simply proclaim that glorious Gospel, which has been already confirmed by a thousand miracles, and are observed to adopt no other method than that of the Apostles; it is absurd, in the highest degree, to insist upon miracles as the only sufficient evidences of their mission. From worldly pastors, such attestations of their sacred commission might, with propriety, be required. These are the persons, who turn aside from the beaten track of Christ and his disciples, both with respect to doctrine and discipline and these should be required, by the church, to give incontestible proofs, that their novel customs are better than those of St. Paul and the ancient Evangelists.

3. No sufficient reason can be given, why the humble imitators of St. Paul should be required to evidence their spiritual mission by extraordinary actions. On the one hand, they do but simply declare those religious truths, of which they have had the most convincing experience: and, on the other, they earnestly solicit the wicked to become partakers of the same invaluable blessing. Now the certainty of such declaration, and the sincerity of such invitation, may be solidly established upon two kinds of proof

first upon those proofs which support the Gospel in general and secondly, upon the holy conduct of those, who bear this testimony and repeat these invitations, by which they demonstrate the efficacy of their doctrine, and indisputably prove, that true christians are "dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God." That pastor, who is unable to produce the former proofs, cannot possibly be regarded as a true successor of the great Apostle and he, whose uniform conduct is insufficient to supply the latter, is no other than a false Apostle.

4. External miracles, which affect no change in the heart, nor rescue the soul from a state of spiritual blindness and death; miracles, which serve only to repair the organs of a body, that must shortly be consigned to the grave; miracles, which tend merely to modify matter, such as causing green trees to wither, withered trees to spring, and water to gush out of the flinty rock: miracles of this nature, are far less important than those, which cause the thorns of vice to wither, the seeds of grace to spring, and streams of sacred consolation to flow through those very hearts which were formerly barren as a desert, and hard as the rock, that Moses smote.

5. "If you wish for miracles," says a christian writer;" if you are anxious to experience them in "yourselves; if, in the secret of your heart, you "would become witnesses of his almighty power, by "whom that heart was formed, then ask of him "this sublime virtue [this charity] from which all "your inclinations and habits detain you at so vast a "distance, that you are in no situation to form any "just idea of it, nor even to conceive the possibility "of its existence."

6. This sublime virtue, this divine charity and these sacred consolations, which were as a well of water springing up into everlasting life, in the hearts of Christ's first disciples, may still be made to break forth in ours. The source of these inestimable

graces can never be exhausted; and the faithful, who experience in themselves this consoling miracle, stand in need of no other prodigy to establish them in the faith of the Gospel.

7. The most important miracles were those, which were wrought by the Apostles, when, as fel-. low-workers together with God, they opened the eyes of sinners, turning them "from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God." True miracles of mercy these, and memorable conversions which the word of God, in the mouths of his ministers, is continually operating in every age.

8. The charity, which is discovered by a faithful pastor, who humbly co-operates with God in the conversion of his inveterate enemies, should be regarded by the world, as the truest test of his "Apostleship. Whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; Whether there be tongues, they shall cease; but charity never faileth. And though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains," and perform the most unheard-of prodigies, " if I have not charity, I am nothing."

The preceding replies are abundantly sufficient to demonstrate the weakness of their third objection, who are the professed enemies of apostolic zeal.

CHAP. VI.

A FOURTH OBJECTION REFUTED.

THE objection here proposed has been abun dantly more prejudicial to the cause of piety, than any of the preceding. "You suppose," say formal. professors," that every pastor is called to labour for the salvation of souls, in the present day, with all

that zeal, which animated St. Paul in primitive times. But their circumstances differ in a very ma-terial way. The Apostles were commissioned to preach the Gospel, either to obstinate Jews, or ido- latrous Heathens : whereas our pastors are called to exercise their ministry among such, as have received the truth from their earliest infancy. Is it not then contrary to common sense, that the same laborious efforts should be thought necessary for the instruction of christians which St. Paul was formerly constrained to make use of for the conversion of idolaters?"

As this specious objection has been more frequently repeated, than properly refuted, it becomes necessary, in this place, to expose all its weakness, and to demonstrate, that the difference between sinners, who are baptized, and those, with whom St. Paúl had to do, is by no means in favour of indolent pastors.

1. There are found swarms of infidels and idolaters in every christian country upon earth. We need not look beyond protestant churches to discover multitudes of impious christians, who not only despise the Gospel in secret, but who even dare to make it the subject of public ridicule: men, who "have set up their idols in their hearts," and who perfectly answer the apostles' description of degenerate professors.

2. St. Paul himself sufficiently answers this very objection, as follows: "In Christ Jesus, neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature: and as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them." If there are any, who make a profession of receiving the christian faith, and who follow not this evangelical rule, the Apostle thus addresses them, with an holy warmth: "Examine yourselves whether you be in the faith; prove your ownselves; know ye not your ownselves. how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? Be not deceived: neither covetous persons,

nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the Kingdom of God."

3. Observe how the same objection is combated again in another of St. Paul's epistles. "Behold, thou art called a christian, and makest thy boast of God; and knowest his will, being instructed out of the” twofold "law" of Moses and of Christ. "Thou, that makest thy boast of this law; if thou through breaking the law, dishonourest God, the name of God is then blasphemed among the gentiles through you. Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art, that judgest" the heathen, as sinners more hopeless than thyself: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest dost the same things. And thinkest thou, O mans" that thy privileges unimproved, will assist thee to "escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness; not knowing, that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” Beware lest," after the hardness of thine impenitent heart, thou treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath."

4. If every scriptural threatening is denounced against those, who are without that holiness, which the Gospel requires, it would ill become us to flatter either ourselves or others with being the true follow. ers of Christ, merely on account of that external profession of christianity, which is generally apparent among us. Is it not undeniably evident, that such a profession, unless it be accompanied with strict ho liness, will subject us to more and heavier stripes, than if we had never known the will of our heavenly Father, nor ever acknowledged Christ as our rightful Lord? Didnotourgracious Masterhimselfonce openly manifest a greater degree of abhorrence toward the lukewarm Christian, than toward the notorious sinner? And has he not plainly declared, that myriads of righteous heathens shall be permitted to sit down in the Kingdom of God, while multitudes of

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