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CHAPTER IV.

The Cross maintained by the Primitive Church.

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ILL who believed the doctrines taught by the CHAP. apostles, and were reclaimed from the open practice of vice, were received, and counted as believers, whether Jews or Gentiles, how much soever they differed in many things.

2. It was indeed a marvellous work, that brought down those Gentiles, with all their learning and wisdom, in any degree to accept of the humiliating gospel of a despised and persecuted Nazarene ;-that reclaimed them from their heathenish and lascivious practices; from a plurality of wives, to be content. ed with one wife; and from their pagan idolatry, to serve the living and true God.

3. The gospel that Christ taught, was a gospel of self-denial and mortification to a carnal nature; which is called the Cross of Christ. "He that taketh not Matt his cross and followeth after me, said Jesus, is not worthy of me."

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4. "If any man will come after me, let him deny xvi. 24 himself, and take up his cross and follow me. For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake, shall find it."

5. "If any man come to me, and hate not his fa- Luke xiv. 26,27, ther, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple."

6. Such were the precepts of the gospel taught by Jesus, and confirmed to his followers by his own daily life of self-denial and the cross. And his apostles obeyed his precepts and followed his example, denying themselves of every sensual and carnal work of the flesh as he did, and preached the same to others; which was a stumbling block to the Jews, and to the Greeks foolishness.

7. The former were superstitiously bigoted to the rites of Moses, and hated the idea of a Messiah and his kingdom, that would not bring every other nation

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CHAP. and kingdom into subjection to them. The latter were basely licentious, and rivetted to the pompous and superstitious ceremonies of their pagan gods and goddesses; and hated the piety and simplicity of the gospel.

8. A Messiah who would have tolerated mankind in licentiousness, and in shedding each other's blood, and who could have proved by miracles, that the practice of vice and every carnal pleasure, was the readiest way to heaven, would have given little or no offence to Jews nor Pagans.

9. But this was not the case: Jesus said to his kinsmen, "The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof IV. 18, are evil." And to his disciples he said, "If the 20, 20. world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you."

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10. "If ye were of the world, the world would love his own but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you."

11. The fundamental cause of all the offence in Christ and his immediate followers, and of all the persecutions against them, was their lives of virtue and self-denial, by which they were pointedly separa ted and distinguished from the children of this world.

12. To speak after the cominon manner of men, Christ Jesus himself was not married; and such of the apostles as had wives, when they came to follow Christ in the spiritual work of regeneration, had nothing more to do in the works of natural generation. And such of them as were single when they were first called to follow Christ, ever after remained so, in regard to the practice of the world. And all his real followers without exception, took up their cross, and denied themselves of every carnal gratification of the. flesh.

13. And herein the words of Christ to his Father, concerning his followers, were strictly true: "I have. given them thy word; and the world hath hated them,

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because they are not of the world, even as I am not CHAP of the world."

14. The word which Christ gave to those whom he had chosen, was, FOLLOW ME; and in following him, they walked even as he walked, and denied themselves as he did. Here was the cause of every offence, of every evil suspicion, and false construction upon their lives and conduct.

15. The Pharisees came to Jesus, tempting him, Matt and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to frut 3-12 away his wife for every cause? As though his doctrine led to a licentious variety: for they had no better esteem of it.

16. He answered and said unto them, "Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning, made them male and female; and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and cleave unto his wife; and they twain shall be one flesh? What therefore, God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. They say unto him, Why did Mo.es then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away ?"

17. From which it is plain that they did not understand him. Jesus did not refer them to the history of the stiff-necked and rebellious Jews, nor to the history of mankind in general, who after the fall had corrupted the earth; but he referred them to what was said at the BEGINNING, when man stood in a state of innocence.

18. "He saith unto them, Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, suffered you to put away your wives but from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery; and whoso marrieth her which is put away, committeth adultery."

19. By this he exposed the hidden cause of put'ting away their wives, and marrying others. His disciples understood him, and said, "If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.”

20. Jesus approved of their understanding, and manifested it to be a gift of God, by observing, "All men cannot receive this saying, save they to

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CHAP. whom it is given. For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb; and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men; and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it."

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21. Jesus knew that all men did not, and would not receive his sayings: the generality closed their eyes, lest they should see, and stopped their ears, lest they should hear, and be converted from the evil of their doings.

22. He knew that none but such as willingly denied themselves, and followed his example, of choice, were worthy to be his disciples: and therefore he never forced any to receive his sayings, nor to follow him, by any human authority whatever.

23. He felt it his duty to reprove hypocrites; and to teach those who had ears to hear, what was necessary to be done, in order to obtain the kingdom of heaven. And when he said, He that is able to receive it, let him receive it, he left it with themselves either to choose or refuse.

24. And when he said, "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple" was it either their souls or their bodies that were to be hated? In no wise. But it was that selfish disposition, and fleshly, earthly tie of a corrupt nature, which rivalled God's claim to the principal seat of man's affections. This he taught his disciples to hate.

25. He came not to destroy men's lives, but to save Bohn them. God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

26. It is clear from the circumstance of the mar riage in Cana of Galilee, to which both Jesus and his disciples were called, that he did not condemn the abap.vii. most darling practice of the world. Neither did he condemn the adulteress, although she was taken in the very act.

27. Christ Jesus was not of this world; and therefore it was not his concern, either to justify or con

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demn their conduct. His being at a marriage in CHAR Çana, and turning water into wine, was for a better purpose. As it is written, "This beginning of mi- John racles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested 11. forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.” This was the true end and design of his being there. Not to confirm the practice of the world, but to con firm the faith of his followers.

28. And what was that glory which he showed unto them, but a manifestation of his own glory, and the glory of his Father, in which he was to come with all his holy angels, at the marriage of the Lamb? Rev. For Jesus himself was not yet glorified.

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29. And his turning water into wine, was nothing less to his disciples, than a seal of the certainty of the future accomplishment of his own marriage; and a figurative manifestation of that wine which he afterwards promised to drink with them in his Father's Mat.xxvi kingdom.

So. It is therefore a mistake, among those who profess to be his followers, to suppose, that because, as they say, he graced a marriage with his presence, he thereby gave any one the more latitude for the carnal gratification of the flesh.

31. On the same mode of carnal reasoning, might it not with equal propriety be said, that because he Curned so much water into wine, after men had well drunk, he also encouraged drunkenness?

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32. When he graced with his presence the assemblies of publicans and harlots, and eat and drank with them, did he thereby encourage them in injustice and whoredom? For his enemies had no better sense of his life and conduct, who called him, A wine bibber, a Matt. gluttonous man, a friend of publicans and sinners.

33. But shall we not rather say, that he took those opportunities of being with them, in order to teach or show them, by his example, a better way of living? For he came not to call the self-righteous to repentance, but sinners.

Jesus Christ utterly refused to intermeddle in the civil or political affairs of“. this world." Man who made me a judge or a divider over you?" said he to one who applied to him for that purpose See Luke 14. The truth is, his kingdom was not o, this world; and therefore he would neither be a king nor a judge: his time was not come; and whatever those who followed the course of the world chose to do, he did not interfere to frustrate their designs.

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