1 Pet. i. 15, 16. As lie which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation ; because it is written, Be ye holy ; for I am holy.
IT is thought by many, that the Gospel is un- friendly to morality : and it must be confessed, that, when stated in all its freeness and in all its richness, it bears that aspect : for it proclaims a free and full salvation to men ; and that solely by faith. It de- clares, that if men rely on their works, in any mea- sure, for justification before God, or perform them in any respect with a view to obtain justification by them, they make void the cross of Christ, and cut
160 1 PETER, I. 15, 16. [23Sf>.
themselves off from all hope of an interest in him. The Gospel authorizes us to say, that the most aban- doned of mankind are as welcome to all its benefits as the most moral ; and that " where sin has abounded, grace shall much more abound." Now, these state- ments certainly do appear open to the objection that is brought against them : for, if past sins are no bar to our acceptance with God, and moral services can- not procure it, to what purpose is it to avoid sin, or to do good works ? We may as well at once give loose to all our evil propensities, and " continue in sin, that grace may abound." Now, it is worthy of particular notice, that these were the very objections urged against St. Paul's statements11 : and he was constrained to answer them, not by weakening the force of his statements, but by obviating the objec- tions themselves ; and shewing, that the Gospel, as preached by him, both made provision for holiness, and secured it against a possibility of failure b. The truth is, that though the law, as a covenant, is super- seded by the Gospel, which introduces a better cove- nant, it is in force as much as ever, as a rule of life; and that, whilst we are without the law, in relation to its ceremonial ordinances, we are " not without law to God, but under the law to Christ," in relation to its moral power and ascendency". St. Peter shews this with peculiar force : for, speaking to persons who were called to the knowledge of Christ and of sal- vation by him, he cites out of the Levitical law the command of God respecting holiness, and applies it to Christians as still existing in all its primitive force. Without any fear, therefore, of being legal, as it is called, or of clogging the Gospel with duties not pertaining to it, I proceed to set before you,
I. The injunction given us —
Repeatedly was this command given to the Jews of oldd. Let us consider,
1. Its import —
a Rom. v. 1, 15. ° Rom. iii. 31.
c 1 Cor. ix. 21. d Lev. xi. 44. xix. 2. and xx. 7.