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A preacher of Chriſt, yet not believer in Chriſt! a miniſter of Chriſt, yet a ſervant of ſin! what monſtrous connections are theſe? "Thou therefore which teacheſt another, teacheſt thou not thyſelf? Thou that preacheſt a man ſhould not ſteal, doſt thou ſteal (e) [1]?" In ſhort, thoſe who preach Chriſtianity, without real and ſaving impreſſions of it upon their own hearts, are no better than actors upon a ſtage, where a villain often perſonates the moſt virtuous character, and where all is mere fiction. But,
II. I proceed to the ſecond thing in our method, viz. To ſhew how miniſters of the goſpel ſhould make Chriſt crucified known among the people.
1. They ſhould make him known by preaching. To this purpoſe the reverend Apoſtle of the Gentiles tells us, "After that in the wiſdom of God, the world by wiſdom knew not God, it pleaſed God by the fooliſhneſs of preaching to ſave them that believe. For the Jews require a ſign, and the Greeks ſeek after wiſdom: but we preach Chriſt crucified, unto the Jews a ſtumbling-block, and unto the Greeks fooliſhneſs; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Chriſt, the power of God, and the wiſdom of God." And in another place, "For we preach not ourſelves, but Chriſt Jeſus the Lord (f)[2]." &c. True it is, we are not apoſtles; this high title belongs not to them who are now miniſters of the goſpel; they have neither the call, nor the qualifications, nor the charge of ſuch
- ↑ (e) Rom. ii. 21.
- ↑ (f) 1 Cor. i 21, 22, 23. 2 Cor. iv. 5.
The apoſtles had four ſpecialities in their character and office. 1. They had an extraordinary call to their office. Paul ſlides himſelf "an apoſtle, not of men, neither by men, but by Jeſus Chriſt and God the Father." They took not the office upon them of their own accord nor were they called to it by the votes and ſuffrages of the people. It was a new religion they were to propagate in the world; therefore Jeſus Chriſt, the author of it, choſe a ſet of men whom he called Apoſtles, to preach it among all nations. 2. They had extraordinary qualifications for the diſcharge of that office They preached and wrote as the Holy Ghoſt inſpired them. They had the gift of tongues, which enabled them to make the goſpel known among all nations in a very ſhort time. They
