abolished, and that both Jews and Gentiles were henceforth to form " one body in Christ :" and, it may be said, that in this act of his, he was " building again the things he had destroyed." But again, I say, we must distinguish between an occasional conformity to a rite for the sake of removing prejudices, and an insisting on that rite as necessary. If he had told the Jews that the ceremonial law was necessary to be observed in order to their salvation, he would indeed have betrayed the cause of Christ. If he had even inculcated the observance of it as having an efficacy towards their acceptance ivith God, he would then also have betrayed the cause of Christ : because it is certain, that such an idea would have put the ceremonial law in the place of Christ, and would have made the cross of Christ of no effectf. But he merely shewed, that if, on the one hand, men were not to be saved by their observance of the law, they would not be condemned for it, provided they did not rely upon it for their justification before God. The time for the total abolition of the ceremonial law was not yet fully come : it was gradually passing away ; and, when Jerusalem should be destroyed, as it would soon be by the Romans, the whole Jewish law and polity would be swept away together. Till that period should arrive, the observance of the law was purely optional; and whether men observed it or not, they should equally be accepted, provided they acted really with a view to please and honour Godg. This was the whole that St. Paul's conduct was intended to prove ; and his proving it in the way he did, was highly acceptable to God, and profitable to the Church.]
Having shewn the propriety of his conduct, we now proceed,
III. To improve it —
Many valuable lessons we may learn from it ; a few of which we will now suggest to you.
1. Endeavour truly and simply to approve your- selves to God —
[God forbid that any thing which has been spoken should be considered as justifying dissimulation, or as countenancing a worldly temporizing spirit : no : we must act uprightly, as in the presence of the heart-searching God. We must so act, as to have " the testimony of our conscience, that with simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly zvisdom, but by the grace of God, we have our conversation in the world." The Christian should, so to speak, be a transparent character ; and should prevent, as far as possible, " his good from being evil spoken
f Gal. v. 2—4. B Rom. xiv. 2, 3, G.