[You perceive, that, as " baptized into Christ," you pro- fess to have " put on Christ." Now, then, permit me to ask, have you ever felt your need of Christ ? Have you ever been conscious of the nakedness of your soul by reason of sin ; and of the utter insufficiency of the fig-leaves of your own right- eousness to cover your nakedness ; and of the indispensable necessity of your being clothed in Christ's righteousness, in order to your acceptance before God? Have you, under a deep sense of your need of his righteousness, gone to him, and apprehended him, and put him on by faith ? and does all your hope of happiness in the eternal world arise from this thought, that God views you, not as you are in yourselves, but as you are in Christ, clothed from head to foot with his unspotted robe, and therefore standing without spot or blemish in the sight of the heart-searching God? Let but conscience return a candid answer to these inquiries, and you will have a perfect insight into your real state before God. You will then see, that, though baptized into Christ, you have never really availed yourselves of your privilege to " put him on." You are in the state of a widow, who, though entitled to a certain portion of the estate of her deceased husband, neglects to take out administration according to law : she cannot turn any part of the estate to her own account ; and must perish with hunger, even as if she had no title whatever to the estate, if she continue to neglect the appointed means of coming to the possession of it. And so must you perish under the guilt of all your sins, if you neglect to put on Christ by faith, and to cover yourselves with the robe of his unspotted righteousness. You may be as observant of the law as ever Paul was in his unconverted state : but yet will you perish for ever, as he also would have done, if you apply not to Christ, that you may " be found in him, not having your own righteousness, but the righteousness which is of God by faith in him." As for your baptism, it will avail you nothing without this : for he is not a Jew who is one outwardly ; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh : but he is a Jew who is one inwardly ; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God'." On the other hand, let me say, that if only you will believe in Christ, though you were the most ignorant of Gentiles or the most abandoned of sinners, you should be accepted in him, and be made partakers of all his blessings, both of grace and glory.]
2. To those who are Christ's in reality and truth —
[I trust there are many such among you. And what
shall I say to you? what but this? Survey the covenant
t Rom. ii. 28, 29.