Col. iii. 17. Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
SUPPOSING the existence of one Supreme Being to be acknowledged, our obvious duty towards him must be, to exercise such a dependence on him, as shall evince a consciousness, that " in him we live, and move, and have our beinga." This being what, for distinction's sake, I will call natural religion, we may see what must, of necessity, be required of us under the Christian dispensation. By the Gospel we are informed, that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Creator and Governor of the universe ; and, conse- quently, must be entitled to all that regard which, as Theists, we pay to the Supreme Being. But He is further revealed to us as the Redeemer of the world ; and, consequently, as standing in a still nearer relation to us, as our vital Head ; from whom we derive all supplies of grace and peace, and to whom we must ascribe all the blessings which we enjoy, whether in time or in eternity. What, then, is evangelical religion ? It is not an assent to certain principles, however accurate those principles may be : nor is it a practice of certain duties, however commendable those duties may be. It is a habit of mind, by means of which Christ's universal agency is acknowledged, and the whole soul goes forth to him ; receiving every thing from his fulness, and im- proving every thing for his glory.
To unfold this more clearly, I will endeavour to shew, what, under the Gospel dispensation, should be the habit of our minds,
I. In all that we do for God —
In my text, we are told to do every thing " in the name of Jesus Christ." Now, by this expression, I understand that we should do every thing,
a Acts xvii. 23.