no sin of his own, he was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." And when he sent his disciples to go and preach this Gospel to every creature, he added, " He that be- lieveth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned."
Wh-dt shall we say then ? Shall we believe what the Lord Jesus Christ has so strongly affirmed ? or shall we believe the surmises of ungodly men, and, as St. John expresses it, " make God a liar ?" Even if there were no such strong assertions to guide us, our own reason might tell us, that God, after having given his only dear Son to die for us, wotdd never leave it a matter of indifference whether we believed in him or not : but when we find the testimonies of Scripture so plain and so express on the subject, we must conclude, that the unbelief which men so proudly and impiously justify, will issue in the ever- lasting confusion of those who indulge it.
III. The last way to which we shall direct your atten- tion, is that of cold formality.
Many who have respect for the Gospel as a system, content themselves with yielding to it a bare assent ; and persuade themselves that they receive it aright, even though they never are stimulated by it to any extraordinary exertions. As for all that zeal and love and diligence in the service of the Lord Jesus which they behold in some few around them, they account it all a needless preciseness; and they impute it, for the most part, to ostentation or vanity in those who dare to maintain it. To be regular in their attendance on public worship, to fulfil the duties of their station, and to do unto others as they would be done unto, this is enough for them, and more than this they utterly despise. Speak not to them of loving God, of living by faith on the Lord Jesus, of maintaining fellowship with him in the exercise of prayer and ' praise : speak not to them of walking as Christ walked, of bearing the cross after him, and of rejoicing that they are counted worthy to suffer for him : speak