Vermont telegraph. [volume] (Brandon [Vt.]) 1828-1843, 1837-02-15

ana not the religion OF preference, found
ed on love to God. The individual in.
tends to put off his sins he purposes t1
obey God and be religious; but his pur.
pose does not grow out of love to God
but out of hope and fear. 1t is easy tc
see that purpose, founded on sue b con
siderations, is very different from a pur,
pose growing out Of love. But the reli.
gion of the gospel is not a purpose mere
ly, but an actual preference, growing Out
of love.
Again, there is a class Of legalists that
depend on Christ, but their dependence is
not gospel dependence, because the works
which it produces are works of law that
is, from hope and fear, not from love-
Gospel dependence may produce, perhaps
the very same outward works, but the mo
tives are radically different The legal.
list drags on painful, irksome, moral, and
perhaps, outvardly, religious life. The
gospel believer has an affectionate conf
dence in God, which leads him to obey
out of love. His obedience is prompted
by his own feelings: Instead of bein g
dragged to duty, he goes to it cheerfully
because he loves it, and doing it is de.
light to his soul.
There is another point The legalsl
expects to be justified by faith, but he has
not learned that he must he sanctifed by
! faith. Iproeose to examine this point an
other time, in full. Modern legalists dc
not expect to be justified by works; they
know these are inadequate-they know
that the way to be saved is by Christ
But they have no practical belief that just
ifcation by faith is only true, as sancti6-
cation by faith is true, and that men are
justified by faith only, as they are first
sanctifed by faith. And therefore, while
they expect to be justified by faith, they
set themselves 10 perform works that are
works of law.
Again: Iwish you TO observe that the
two classes may agree in these points -
the necessity Of good works. and, theoret-
icalIy, in what constitutes good works -
that is, obedience springing from love to
God And further, they may agree in
aiming TO perform good works ofthis kind
But The difference lies here; in the differ
ent influences to which they look, to ena-
BILE them to perform good works. The
considerations by which they expect their
minds to be effected, are different. They
look to different sources for motives. And
the true Christian alone succeeds in actu-
ally performing good works. The legal
list, aiming to perform good works, inhu-
enced by hope and fear, and selfish re-
gard 10 his own interest, obeying the voice
of conscience because he is afraid to do
otherwise, falls entirely short of loving
God with all his heart, and soul, and
strength. The motives under which he
acts have no tendency to bring him to the
obedience of love The true Christian,
on the contrary, so appreciates God, so
perceives and understands Gods charac-
ter, in Christ, as begets such an affection
ate confidence in God, that he finds it ca
sy to obey from love. Instead of finding
it, as hymn has strangely represented,
"Hard to obey, and harder still to love-"
he finds it no hardship at ALL The COM
mandments are not grievous The yoke
is easy, and the burden light And he
finds the ways of wisdom to be ways of
pleasantness, and all her paths to be peace.
Is it so with most professors of religion ?
Is it so with YOU2 Do you feel, in your
religious duties, constrained by love =
Are you drawn by such strong cords oil
love, that it would give you more trouble
to omit duty than to obey? Do your at
fections flow out in such strong current
to God that you cannot but obey2 How
is 1t with those individuals ~ ho find it
hard to obey, and harder still 10 love ?"
What is the matter2 Ask that wife who
loves her husband, if she finds it hard, to
try to p lease her husband! Suppose she
answers, in solemn tone, 20 yes, find
it hard to obey and harder still to love my
husband" what would the husband think
What would any one of you who are pa
rents say, if you should hear one Of your
children complaining. Il find it hard
to obey my father, and harder still to love q
The truth is there is a radical defect in the
religion, of those people who love such
expressions and live as if they were true.
Ifany ofyou find religion painful thing
rely on it, you have the religion OF Jaw
Did you ever find it painful thing 70 do
what you love to do? No. 1t apleas.
, IRE to do. it. The religion of the gospel
! is no labor to them that exercise it. 1t is
the feeling ofthe heart. Whatwould you
do in heaven, if religion is such painful
thing here? Suppose you were taken 10
heaven and obliged to grind out Just Sc
much religion. every. week, and month
and year, to eternity. What sort of a
heaven would it be to you2 Would it be
heaven, or would it be hell2 fyou were
required to have ten thousand times al
much asyou have here, and your. whole
Life were to be filled up with this, and no
thing, else to do or enjoy bpt an cterna
round of just such duties, would not he'll
itself be a respite to You2..