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is born of God cannot commit sin." And this brings the comparisons before us between the covenant Head and the members. "He who knew no sin" could commit no sin. That portion of the present existence of Christians which I have called the new nature, the spiritual existence, the life of God in the soul, is "born of God," and "cannot commit sin." It is this which has stumbled many a weak child of God. He says, "I am not born of God, because I can commit sin "-losing sight of the fact, that old Adam nature is not born of God. It is still the flesh; and “ that which is born of the flesh is flesh," while" that which is born of the Spirit is spirit;" and that holy life which is implanted in the soul of every real Christian, every living member of the Church of God, is designated by another name, and set forth in Scripture as a third principle. In our unregeneracy we come into the world with a body and a soul; but by our regeneration we possess body, soul, and spirit. And this spiritual existence brings us into comparison with our glorious Head, who says, They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." They have a holy life; yea, Christ Himself is in them "the hope of glory." "I in them, and thou in me." Does not that holy life, think you, dwell in every true believer?

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Moreover," they are not of the world," for their interests are mutual, and the world has no interest in them. The believing family of God will always find their personal interest blended with Christ's, their comfort coupled with His honour, their activity bringing forth daily fruitfulness and gratitude to Him that inspired it, as well as affording them evidence that they have a portion of that zeal which was said to have "eaten Him up," for the sake of the cause of the Lord of Hosts. Their affection is borrowed from Him, or rather received as a gift; and the love they have to one another, which they are exhorted to put forth "with pure hearts fervently," is Divine, spiritual, not a mere carnal affection. I see nothing objectionable in the common idea of our loving one another as mere human beings; and if there were this only it would keep men from a great deal of mischief; but we must have something higher than this among the followers of the Lamb; the love of the Father, the love of Jesus, the love of the Spirit, "shed abroad in the heart" by power Divine, blazing and flaming wider and wider, till it comprehends all who are travelling with us to the world of glory. Oh, the importance of this statement, "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world."

Moreover, our precious Christ told His disciples repeatedly, that His interest did not lie here-that His kingdom was "not of this world," but that He had a higher, and better, and more glorious inheritance. They can live and act in character, and are "not of the world, even as He is not of the world." I would have my hearers look well to this point. When did Jesus, while on earth, pursue matters of worldly gain with unrestrained eagerness? When did He thirst after or accept of the paltry honours, such as titles and names, that are thought of so much consequence among men? When did He desire the most splendid house or palace that He could obtain for His residence? "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air bave nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head." And now I hear Him saying, "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." Oh! for a weaning from things terrene, to follow

the example of our precious Lord, so as to tread in His steps; for "He hath left us an ensample," said the Holy Ghost, "that we should tread in His steps."

Again, when did Christ exercise anything like revenge in consequence of the insults and injuries that were heaped upon Him from the world? Hear the meek and lowly Lamb, who had "all power in heaven and earth." When the inhabitants of a village of the Samaritans would not receive Him, and His disciples asked Him whether they should call down fire from heaven to consume them! "Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of." There was no vengeance dealt out on that occasion; yet He here appeals to the Father, "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world."

Follow up these inquiries, founded upon the character He sustained in His ministry on earth, and take a view of His religion, His service of the living God. "Not of the world." Now I want to warn you upon this point more than on any other. I do not imagine that my hearers are among those indecent and worse than beastly beings that herd with drunken and thieving profligates; no being of common decency can need a warning on that particular; but I come to the religion of the world. And how did Christ treat it? Did He join in with their service? No. Did He approve of their priestly arrogance? No. Did He study how to accommodate matters to the carnal caprice of those around Him? No; but He boldly stood forth and told His disciples that they were the children of their Father in heaven; and then turned round upon the Pharisees and said, "Ye are of your father the devil." Moreover, the glorifying of Jehovah's name was the business of His whole life. Is it ours? Still further, His own ease and comfort were the last things He thought of. "I must be about my Father's business." Oh! the vast importance of understanding this language. "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world."

I told you that this part of our subject should be a living example, and I am setting before you the brightest one ever known upon earth. Look a little more closely at the precious Redeemer, while tabernacling here below. "Not of the world"-its customs, its fooleries, its entertainments, its ribaldries, its frivolous amusements; was He ever at them? One of our old poets inquires

"Was Christ a gamester? When was He

At cards or dancing found?

Was music found upon the ground
Where He five thousand fed ?"

All those paltry things my Master was never seen at, my Master knew nothing of the practice of them-He utterly rejected them; His life was one laborious, persevering effort to "finish the work the Father gave Him to do," and He seemed not to have one desire to stay on earth a moment after that was done; and therefore He said, "I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do, and now I come to thee." Oh! beloved, my soul longs after that very spiritthat so long as there is anything for me to do on earth I may be willing to stay, but directly it is done I may be permitted to go to my Father. "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world."

Let me further add, that they are owned, both by friends and foes, in this very sense. Not only was He loved by His own followers, but

even when they were called before the tribunals, the lookers on were obliged to "take knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus." And therefore He says, "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." I should like again to appeal to the consciences of my hearers, and to ask them seriously the question-" Will worldlings mark something about you, before they have been in your company half an hour, which will lead them to say, 'What kind of being have I come in contact with? There is something different in the look of this man, something different in the tone of his voice, something different in the line of conduct he pursues; there is certainly some secret about him.' And, by-and-bye, when the man begins to talk a little about his Master, Oh!' they say, he is one of those Methodists, one of those Dissenters, one of those hyper-Calvinists.'" This is just what I want to maintain, "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." His name was despised, and reproached, and reviled. What for? For His zeal and love for His Father's glory. Let us act in the same manner ourselves, that we may indeed be recognized by the world around us.

Then surely the Church will own us, if we are "not of the world; even as Christ is not of the world." When persons propose themselves to me for church-membership I am always very anxious to ascertain, not only that they really understand the theory of truth, not only that they admit and acknowledge the statements made from the pulpit to be correct, but that they are recognized in the world, that they are owned among Christians, that they are owned as brothers and sisters in the Lord by the Church, who, though advanced in the Divine life, are glad to nurse little babes, simply because they are alive. If we have a still-born babe, we put him in a coffin and bury him we do not care about nursing him. With regard to

a great number of professors, they have no life, and therefore we do not care about nursing them; but wherever there is life the children of God will be glad to own it. In the souls of all that God, by His Spirit, brings to Jesu's feet, there is a certain something, though I cannot describe it, which, though they may never have seen each other before, entwines their hearts, and "knits together," as the apostle says; and the more it is developed, the more will brotherly love and affection be realized between the parties.

Now just pass on to remark, that the believer will not go on far before the world finds him out. We wondered why they were so Methodistic-why they did not visit balls, and fairs, and playhouses, and card parties. Now it has come out; they go to chapel, they read their Bible, they fall on their knees before God. "Not of the world, even as I am not of the world." And, remember, the powers of darkness will be forced to own it. Only first mark how they will have lost their employment. While men are in an unregenerate state, the powers of darkness are always prowling about, "like roaring lions, seeking whom they may devour," and tormenting their poor victims till many of them come to an untimely end. But the regenerate are plucked out of the fire-the prey is taken from the mighty-the lawful captives are delivered, and the baffled powers of darkness are something like the poor devils that Jesus cast out, not knowing where to go, and at last obtaining permission to go into a herd of swine.

Once more, they shall be owned at last. Oh, solemn, overwhelming contemplation! "The dead, small and great, shall stand before God.

Jehovah Jesus, upon His judgment throne, shall appear, to separate the sheep from the goats. Methinks I can anticipate His smile, and almost hear His voice, looking with Godlike delight upon His ransomed throng, and appealing to His Father, "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." Angels would echo it, if allowed to speak, and probably do so in their songs: "They are not of the world," we ministered to them on earth. The world, in anguish, may hear the sound of His voice, saying, "Depart;" but these, whom He distinguishes and separates by His grace, shall hear His invitation, "Come, ye blessed;" and then the presentation, "Here am I, and the children whom thou hast given me.'

III.-Let us now proceed to the third division of our subject-the deep obligations involved in this sacred statement. What! can I really discover evidence, and make my appeal to the heavenly Majesty, "Lord, thou knowest I am not of the world, for thou hast separated me from it?" Then let it be my daily, anxious, constant, watchful care, never to disgrace and degrade my high and holy distinction. I presume such a word of advice would be readily received if any dignified character (say a nobleman) were to take a beggar from the dust, or the poor from the dunghill, clothe him like himself, educate him like himself, feed him like himself, treat him in all things like himself, and set him among princes. And yet this is what God has done for you and me, beloved, according to His own word that I have cited; because, as we showed last Lord's Day, our Christianity is a princely Christianity. Shall we degrade our heavenly Father? Shall we lower our tone of spiritual decision and distinction for God? Shall we be found unnecessarily associating with the enemies of God? Shall we not rather cry out, "Unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united?" Shall we approach a dangerous precipice, down which many have been hurled and have lost their lives? Shall we parley with carnal professors and worldly-minded persons, for the sake of their good word, or any sinister advantage to ourselves? God forbid! Shall we spare time, which ought to be consecrated and devoted to God, for the flippant toys and carnal gratifications in which the worldly spend most of their time? God forbid! Let them go to their news—let me go to my Bible; let them go to their tavern-let me go to my closet; let them go to their theatre-let me go to the house of God; let them go thirsting after gain, honestly or dishonestly -let me "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness," and "lay up treasures in heaven, where neither moth can corrupt, nor thieves break through and steal." Do you not mark, beloved, from these two or three contrasts, the vast importance of never degrading our high and holy distinction? Shall it ever be said of one of my hearers-God forbid!"I saw him or her at Grove Chapel, last Lord's Day evening; and I saw him or her at Covent Garden Theatre an evening or two following?" I would never say, in such a case, "You are not of the world, even as Christ was not of the world." Oh, for decision for God! Oh, for that high and holy distinction urged in the precious Word of God, to be thirsted after and maintained by us! "Be ye holy, even as He which hath called you is holy." Seeing we look for such things as I have just hinted at, "what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness?" My soul desires most earnestly to make some advancement in these points for myself:

"I would be dead to things terrene,
And live alone on things unseen."

The follies and vanities of the wilderness suit our fleshly hearts very well, but they are awfully dangerous to spiritual growth; and all approximation to the world's spirit, and habits, and manners in religion, must deteriorate the enjoyments, and comforts, and evidences of the children of God.

Follow on a step further. There is an infinite obligation lying on you and me, beloved, if we are, like Christ, "not of the world," to embrace His doctrines, and not the world's. I will not detain you to give a list of them; only just mark this thing, they all centre in the sovereignty of God, whereas the world's religion always centres in the sovereignty of man. Now I want every doctrine, every principle of faith that we account our creed, to centre in the sovereignty of God, to the rejection of the sovereignty of man. Down with free-will pretensions, exalt the Lord only, and let Him wear the crown, and have all the glory. The grand principles taught by our beloved Lord, extorted from the multitude around the confession, "He spake as never man spake." Moreover, He "taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." His was a very different religion to that of the scribes and Pharisees. In one instance He contrasts Himself with them, as regards their doctrines, when He refers to the manner in which they expounded Moses' law. "It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement; but I say unto you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery; and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery." And so He goes on to "Ye say in this wise, and I say in that wise." Is it true that you are not of the world, even as He is not of the world? Then is it true that you have embraced His doctrines? Every heresy embraced by a Christian degrades his high and holy distinction.

say,

Every other doctrine preached by Christ and by His apostles will be seen to emanate from Divine sovereignty; all the offices of Christ were appointed by Divine sovereignty in the ancient settlements of the Divine mind, and exercised in His Church in the most sovereign manner. All the operations of the Holy Ghost throughout His entire ministry are with absolute sovereignty, irrespective of creature merit or demerit; yea, without consulting the creature's will. Hence the solemn challenge which the prophet Isaiah is directed to give to all proud free-willers, "Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or, being His counsellor, hath taught Him? With whom took He counsel, and who instructed Him and taught Him knowledge, and showed to Him the way of understanding?" Surely that man must be blinded and hardened indeed who does not see absolute sovereignty here, and stand ashamed at ever having cherished one murmuring thought against it. Every convinced, regenerated sinner is a living monument of the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit's ministry, and every comfort received by him in the after stages of his Christian experience, bears testimony to the same fundamental doctrine.

Moreover, the doctrine of personal election emanates from the same source; and though vain man rebels against this doctrine, because he wishes to be sovereign himself, yet if he believes the Word of God he

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