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 GOSPEL PREACHING : 
 
 ISCBttrSf 
 
 PREACHED AT 'niE OPENING OP 'niE SYNOD 
 
 YTERIAN CHURCH, 
 
 , JUNE 12, 1868. 
 
 AITKEN, 
 
 OONOBBOATIOX, gMim's FAIXD. 
 
 0, 0. W.i 
 KING 8TBBET EAST. 
 
 
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 N«»tK.— As It ift not the pi-acticc ol" the SyjHxl of the United Prosbyteriau 
 ('hurch to re<|iieBt publication of the DlscourwH preached at the coDimeDce- 
 ment of itn successive ScsMonf. by the retiring Mt)derator«, the t'ollovrinf 
 DiBCOui-se, »K»ing one of t|iat cIjwh. wrb composed witliont <ho slightest cxpec- 
 fAtion that \l would ever be published. 
 
 Many of the Ministers Sind Eldersj howo-er. in whose hearing it was 
 'delivered, having expressed a strung desire to Imve it in a printed fonn. it 
 is in deference to that desire committed to the prcf«B. 
 
 In the course of transcriptiou from the original raanuecript.'somealtenir 
 tions bav« been made. Thes(> alterations, however, liave been, for the mosl 
 part, merely verbal ; and have in no instance been of such conseejuenee as to 
 call for iMtrticnlar specification. . W. .V>i 
 
 ■./ \ 
 
 ■If 
 \- ■ 
 
 ■!-.■■ 
 
 Smith's Famx. Julij 4. IKW, 
 
 "■J 
 
 Sm--. ■ .-y-r 
 
V 1 ,•.« 
 
 ^ i' 
 
 f 
 
 GOSPEL PREACHING. 
 
 For ChHWT 8KXT MK not to liAPTIZK, but to PrKACII tub liOrtPKL: .NOT 
 
 WITH W18DOM OF Words, I.E8T Tim Oross ok Ohriot sMon.D be 
 
 MADK <l|.' XOXB KFFK(T.— T (JOF., i: 17. 
 
 The Gospel had not yfet beea introduced into Corinth 
 when Paul, soon after his ever-memorable discourse to the 
 Athenians on Mars' Hill, proceeded thitljipr. His apostolic 
 labours in this new field were eminently successful, apd a 
 Christian Church was ere long organized 
 
 This was an event of no small moment in its bearing 
 on the advancement of the Redeemer's cause 
 
 The Corinth of that age was a city of recent growth 
 which had sprung from the ruins of the Corinth of ancitat 
 Grecian history, and which, originating in the planting ofk 
 Roman colony, had rapidly attained to a high degree of 
 prosperity. Favoured by its peculiar situation it became 
 a great seat of commerce-^the well-known Isthmus on 
 which It stood giving it the command of the intercourse by 
 land between the Peloponnesus and the regions lying to 
 the northward ; while its harbours on either side, communi- 
 catmg respectively with the Ionian and JEgeah Seas 
 received the traffic both oftheeastem and the western worlds' 
 It formed a central point in the direct line of travel between 
 imperial Rome and her Asiatic^rovinces j and its public 
 games, of which, from the early times of Hellenic indepen- 
 dence and renown, the Isthmus had been the scene, and 
 which thence accordingly derived their distinctive name 
 ^ttracted multitudes from afar to their triennialcelebration' 
 he fame of its schools o! phUosophy a»d art, moreover— " 
 

 i 
 
 L. 
 
 / 
 
 " ■ ■ ■ \ " 
 
 not inferior in reputation to those of Athens itself-madc 
 it a place of general resort for the votaries of learning. It» 
 population was of the miscellaneous character which might 
 naturally bo conjectured to belong to such a city, and while 
 consisting mainly of Greeks and Romans, contained rcpre- 
 sentatives, more or less numerous, of many different nation* 
 and tribes, among whom were included not a few of the 
 Hebrew race.' Corinth thus offered advantages for the 
 wide and rapid propagation of the Gospel such as were 
 then scarcely to be found connected with ajiy other city on 
 the face of the earth. A religion promulgated there, 
 especially a religion of such novel and extraordinary char- 
 acteristics as the Gospel, might, on all grounds of reason- 
 able calculation, be reckoned nearly sure of^commg 
 speedily known to the remotest limits of Rome's far-ex- 
 tending rule. . 
 
 The same reasons which thus rendered it desirable that 
 a CHurchofGhrist should be established in the chief city 
 of Achaia, in like manner rendered it desirable that the 
 Church there established should be one fitted by its char- 
 acter to bear unequivocal and decided testimony to the 
 excellence of the Gospel. At a very early period, however, 
 in the history of the Corinthian Church, notwithstanding 
 the illustrious ministry by which it had been founded, 
 gnevous errors and inconsistencies, appeared in it, of a 
 description only too well adapted to detract from the value 
 of its example as affecting the furtherance of the chrimp 
 
 cause... 
 
 The apostolic churches at large had difficulties to contend 
 against— difficulties both of jnterhal constitution and exter- 
 nal ciroumstance, Qf a kind placing formidable hindrances 
 in the way of the steady maintenance of their purity and 
 peace. Tfieir membership— partly Jewish, partly Gentae 
 
•comprised elements in many respects uncongenial and 
 antagonistic. The Jew and the Gentile respectively bronght 
 into them prejudices — the result of their previous training 
 — ^which, if resembling in nothing else, were alike at least 
 in obstinate tenaciousness. Low and unspiritual notions 
 of religion generally-^misconceptioHM of the relation of the 
 Gospel economy to that by which if was preceded, and 
 deep-felt reluctance to an entire abandoru^ent of the peon* 
 Uarities of the ancient system—the speculaii[ons of a vain 
 and deceitful philosophy — the differences of sects and 
 parties, and the animosities hence engendered— the abound- 
 ing wickedness, also, of an age which if paralleled <wa8 
 assuredly never exceeded in immorality and J ittkltiQusn^s 
 •r-thcse and such like causes, operating from timout and 
 within, conspired to disturb the harmony of those primitive 
 christian societies — to unsettle ^||<IU corrupt their doctrine, 
 and relax the strictness of their moral practice. 
 
 To the dangers springmg from the various sources just 
 indicated the Church in Corinth was in no ordinary measure 
 exposed ; and the consequences can be readily traced in 
 the irregularities and disorders which showed themselves 
 within its pale. Among the evils which hence arose, the 
 connection in which our text occurs leads us especially to 
 notice that schismatic spirit^to which, in the immediately 
 preceding portion of this chapter, the apostle so emphati- 
 cally refers, and "whose malignant operation the Church of 
 Christ, in all subsequent generations, even as then, has 
 had so much reason to deplore. In the Corinthian Church 
 this unhappy spirit wrought with exceeding virulence. 
 Concerning those wlio composed its fellowship only too 
 truly had it been reported to the apostle, as he felt boun# 
 to testify, "that there were contentions'lirnong them." So 
 far from exhibiting a visible agreement corresponding to 
 
 / 
 
*'*■■ 
 
 those hidden ties which form a bond <rf union %_J"** 
 intimate and hallowed among all the true disciples o^^us, 
 thoy were separated— the. persons concerning whom this^es- 
 timony was delivered— into a number of sections, each of 
 which ranked under its distinctive head. One professed to 
 hold peculiarly by Paul, another by Apollos, and a third 
 by Cephas, while a fourth, running, as it would seem, into 
 precisely the opposite extreme, declared itself to be for 
 Christ alone— in a sense, it may be pn^sumed, involving 
 an undue disparagement of those servants ofjhe Redeemer 
 whom the rest so improperly exalted. , / 
 
 The state of things thus obtaining was to the apostle an 
 occasion of deep sorrow, and it called forth his pointed 
 rebuke as dishonouring to the Saviour, and evincing a 
 gross misapprehension and perversion of the just claims of 
 the human instruments employed in the promulgation of 
 His religion. For himself, Paul utterly repudiated the 
 false honour which the misdirected regard of his friends in 
 Corinth would have conferred upon him in constituting 
 him the chief of a party, and so placing him in a position 
 of vain rivalry to certain of his fellow-labourers in the work 
 of the Gospel, and in a position 6f impious rivalry even to 
 his Blessed Master, the common Lord of all. " Is Christ," 
 he demands, « divided ?— was Paul crucified for you ?— or 
 were you baptized in the name of Paul ?" As matters had 
 fallen out it was a source of satisfaction to him to reflect 
 that only in two or three instances altogether the baptismal 
 rite had been administered by him in the Corinthian 
 Chutfch. He recalled this with satisfaction, because thus 
 he had been saved from furnishing even the semblance of 
 a pretext for the allegation which might otherwise have 
 vbeen made, that he baptised in his own name. " I thank 
 God," he exclaims, "that I baptized none of you but 
 
 
 •. ■ - ■ 
 
 
 ■ ■ 
 
 k- 
 
 
wV? 
 
 Crispus and Oaiua, and I baptized also the househbtd of 
 Stephanas ; besides, I know not whether I baptized any 
 oUier.'^ Why so very few among the Corinthians had 
 received baptism at his hands, notwithstanding the length- 
 ened period of his sojourning among them, we are not 
 particularly informed ; but this general explanation of the 
 fact is ^ivcn, that to the office to which he had been divinely 
 designated pertained a higher function — one therefore 
 entitled Jo his chief consideration. " Christ," he affirms, 
 ** sent me not to baptize, bnt to preach the Gospel ;" and 
 with respect to the mode in which the ministry which thun 
 he had received was to be fulfilled^ it is added, ^* not with 
 wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of 
 none eflfect." 
 
 In the AvordH (|^|||f($ us, therefore, we have Pauljs^ 
 account of the greaf duty of his apostolii; mission, and 
 next of the manner in which that duty must be discharged. 
 And in the sequel of this discourse, after some observations 
 on these i^rticulars in exposition of the text, we shall 
 request your attention to several remarks obviously ^sug- 
 gested by it, and having a practical bearing on the work 
 of the Christian Ministry. -. 
 
 I. First of all, then, we have in the text Paul's account ol 
 the great duty of his apostolic mission. "Christ," he der 
 dares, " sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel." 
 
 PaulV apostolic authority was an authority derived 
 directly froiri the Redeemer himself. It was Christ who 
 sent him. The circumstances, indeed, under which he 
 received his call to the apostleship differed widely from 
 those under which his fellow-apostles were called. But 
 though there were some— even in the Corinthian Church 
 founded by his instrumentality— who took advantage of ' t< 
 this difference to question the validity of his title to the ' 
 
 ^ 
 
•' : 1 .. 
 
 f- 
 
 _J_ 
 
 tpostleship ; and thouglv in nelf-abaning reniembranoo of 
 his early hostiUly to Chriil and 1 1 i», cause— while acknow- 
 ledgihg Ihal it was " as one bom out of due time" that he 
 r had seen the Lord— he felt constrained H» oonfpss himself 
 the "least ot|hc apostles," and us " not meet to be called 
 an apostle"— yVt by. the grace of God he was what he was, 
 nnd UQiic couUrndvance a more unimpeachable claim to 
 the apostolic dignity than he. . As an apostle Clirist had 
 Hcnt hiui. lie was His ambasnador— His delegate. 
 
 And hit* mi>«Mioii us thus sent, according to the represen- 
 tation here given,' was u mi*«»ion *• not to baptize, but to 
 preach the Go^«pcl." Of course this announcement is not- 
 to be taken willi-such absolute atriclness us if it were In- j 
 tended to import, that tlic fidministration of the baptismal! 
 rile was something entirely aside from the pi-opcr businessj 
 of his apostolic office. No such exclusive meaning wai^ 
 designed. Elsewhere; maktni^ use of similar pliraseolog» 
 Paul describes himself as speaking, in the ennunciation of 
 the Gospel, " not as pleasing men, hut God," the^ trier bf 
 men's hearts. Ho did not thus, however, Wish it to be 
 understood that, in preaching, the Gospel, he cared poai- 
 lively nothing whether he pleased men or not. We knciw, 
 on the contrary, that within the limits prescribed by a 
 good conscience, and for a worthy end, he was ready to 
 "become all things to all men." All he desired was, by a 
 .strongly significant form of speech, to intimate that I the 
 pleasing of men \vas to him as a thing of no account in 
 comparison of the pleasing of God. And so here— all he 
 would affirm is— in a manner of like jsignificance-^thit in 
 ^ the work of his mission, baptizing was an* inconsiderable 
 matter as compared with the preaching of the Gospel. 
 Christ sent him not so much to baptize, as rathei- un- 
 speakably rather— to preach the Gospel. In accordance 
 
 " 1 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
.y. 
 
 nbranoo of 
 le aoknow- 
 le'Mhat he 
 psn himself 
 to be called 
 hat he w&B, 
 le claim to 
 I Chriflt had 
 j^ate. 
 
 Iio roprcscn- 
 [jtizr, but to 
 •mcnl is not' 
 
 it were in- j 
 le baptismal! 
 per businessl 
 eaning waa 
 pliraseolog}'^ 
 unciation of 
 ' the^ trier of 
 ^Ish it to be 
 
 cared posi- 
 We kn<iw, 
 scribed by a 
 vas ready to 
 ed was, by a 
 ite that the 
 ) account in 
 hcre-^ajl he 
 tnce— that in 
 considerable 
 the Gospel. 
 \ rathei— un- 
 I accordance 
 
 { 
 
 with what Taui thus declares, white in the general apos- 
 folic commission, baptizing is NjMscified, it iv yet introduced 
 in such a manner ns may bo conceived to indicate itn jab- 
 ordinato importance viewed in relation to the other duty 
 . there at the same time enjoincd,r-" <io ye therefore, an^ 
 teach all nutionM, baptizing tlieui in the name of thp^ 
 Father, and of Son, and of the Holy Gliont : teaching them 
 to observe all things whatsoever I have comiuunded you." 
 In the ordinary practice, moreover, of thoMc to whom this 
 
 • commission was addressed, llit; inferior conMe<|uence at- 
 tached to baptizing would appear to have been distinctly 
 signified by this V^rvice being to u great extent devolved 
 on others. * ' ' ; 
 
 PauPs apostolic mission, then, wum a mission in >yhich 
 ° the preaching of tj^e Gospel was to have the decided pre- 
 
 * eedence of baptizing. Christ sent him not to baplize— 
 save as holding baptizing jseeondary to the |)reaohing of 
 the Gospel, an^ making that his principal concern.. Christ 
 sent him not lo baptize, but to preach the Gospel— literally, 
 to evangelize— to proclaim the good news— the glad tidings 
 of great jdyv-the good ne\vs, \\w. glad and joyful tidings, 
 that God so loved the world as to give lli» only-begotten 
 Son for its redemption— that God is In Christ reconciling the 
 world unto himself, not imputing to men their trespasses — 
 the good news, the glad and joyful tidings bi salvation to 
 our apostate i^nd ruined race— salvation with eternal glory 
 -^a salvation lit all the fulness and variety of its imperish- 
 able benefits, free and accessible to all^ — not only to them 
 that are Jews by nature, but also to sinners of the Gentiles 
 —salvation through a sufTering and crucified, a risfeii'and 
 exalted Redeemer, by faith in His name. Suchyin Paul's 
 view, was the great work which as an apostlef had be^ 
 given him to do— to publish in a sin-stricken and perishing 
 world that good news— that glad tidings of great joy, the 
 
■ ■' ■'!■ 
 
 r \ 
 
 . 1 
 
 ' I 
 
 >! 
 
 r 
 
 blcsHcdei^angclofGod'8 redeeming love. And the lepreaen- 
 talion thus giv«n i^ confirmed and illustrated by the terms 
 of the special commission, which, as we learn, from the 
 history of his conversion in hij unrivalled defence before 
 King Agrippa, he received from the Lord Jesus. ** Rise, 
 gind stand upon thy feet," was the command addressed to 
 him by the ascended Saviour,^ when arrayed in more than 
 snn-like glory, He revealed himself to him on the way to 
 Dama^us-^" for I have appeared unto thee for this pur- 
 pose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these 
 things which thou hast seen, and of those in which I wilj 
 appear unto thee ; delivering thee from the people ancj 
 from tlie Genlilos, unto whom now f send thee, tdoperf 
 their eye^ancl to turn themfrom darkness to light and from 
 ibe power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forr 
 giveness^f sins, and inheritance among them which arc 
 sanctified by faith that is in me." ■ ^ 
 
 Thus Paul was delegatod not to baptize, but to evan- 
 gelize. And how nobly was the task so allotted to |iim 
 performed! With what intense earnestness of spirit— 
 with what self-denying devotedness — with what invincible 
 fSblution^did he apply I^impelf to its execution ! .Shrink- 
 ing from no toil nor hardship— dismayed by nodilficully nor 
 danger— dauntlessly confronting sufl'ering and death in 
 their most painful and appalling forms— "appr(^ving him- 
 self as the minister of God, in much patience, in afflic- 
 tions, in necessities, in distresses, instcipes, in imprison- 
 ments, in tumults, in labours, |n watdhings, in fastings." 
 "Of the Jews," he could testify, " five times received I 
 forty stripes save oiie, thrice was I beaten with rods,* once 
 was(I stoned, thrice I auffered shipwreck, a night and a 
 ., day I have been in the deep.; in journey ings often, in 
 perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by miae 
 
,l''v 
 
 11 
 
 a imprison- 
 
 , own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the 
 city, in peril» in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, . 
 in perils among false brethren; in weariness and pain- 
 fulness, in watchings ofteii, in hunger and Ihlfst, in 
 fastings often, in cold u4®nakodncss." But "none of 
 these things, moved him^'Whrs Christian magnanimity 
 
 / bore him triumphantly tiirough them all — " neither counted 
 tic his life dear unto himself, so that he might finish bis 
 course with joy, and the ministry which he had received 
 of the Lord Jesus, to testify the (>ospel of the grace of 
 
 ... God." . ; . ■ ■ ■ .■■.-./:: :■■ ■■■.--.■ ^■^.:;^ 
 
 H, But in the text, we have an aocotint not only of iKid 
 great duty of PauPs apostolic mission^ but likewise of tlie: 
 manner in which that duty was to be discharged. Sent 
 by Christ not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel-^hc 
 must do so, "not with wisdom of words, lest the cro«» 
 of Christ should be made of none eflect." 
 
 His preaching was to be . " not with wisdom of words." 
 As to the precise meaning to be attached to this expression, 
 fhere has been some difference of opinion. Without, how- 
 ever, adverting particularly to the . various explanations 
 which have consequently been proposed, it is obvious to 
 remark, that the apostle is by no means to be understood 
 as thereby intimating that the verbal form in which the 
 truth of the GospeH i^%ht ^ set forth, was to be reckoned 
 a ime^ter of pure indiifeience. 
 
 Neither, further, is he to be understood in a sense 
 which would precbide the use of human eloquence, when 
 it might serve more efTectually to impress the truth on the 
 tni^ds of Gospel-hearers. /^ 
 
 Jfhe apostle, as we <(onceive, makes allusion in the 
 expression in questioji, to the philosophic subtleties and 
 fhetoriqalartifices current in the Corinthian schools, the 
 
 .»: 
 
 'I 
 
*-' 
 
 i» 
 
 J'. 
 
 . 1 
 
 cmploymont of wiiich, by u public speaker, however it 
 might cxcilc admiration of his own ingenuity and taste, 
 and throw a certain speciovisciribellishment around hi» 
 subject, coukr not avail in the enunciation of the truth to^ 
 render it more perspicuous or impressive, but muet, on the 
 contrary, tend to involve it in obscurity, and impair its 
 proper cflicaey. All such oratorical refinements and afTec- 
 lations* the apostle felt bound to repudiate. Sent to preach 
 the Gospel, and having no extreme dislike— any more than 
 incompetency— to draw upon the resourcea^)! human learn- 
 ing, when it could with adyantage^,:6onsecrated to that 
 holy serviqe, yet was he not to preach the Gospel with 
 wisdom- of word;?, after the rya^^iHer of the philosophers 
 and rhetoricians of the schools. 
 
 The special reason assigned is this-^"^e»t the cross of 
 Christ should be made of none effect." 
 
 Since the days of the apostle, to the cross of Christ, in 
 fabled sffbstance, and in mere unsubstantial form, a 
 blind.snperstition, given over to strong delusion to believe 
 a He, Jias attributed miraculous virtues and peculiar 
 sanctity, making it consequently the object ot an idolatrous 
 veneration. It can liardly be necessary to remark, that the 
 cross of Christ in this sense, is not that which Paul here 
 intended. Nothing, assuredly, could be more thoroughly 
 repugnant to all his deepest convictions and fedings, than 
 such a monstrous perversion of religious homage. 
 
 More than once in Scripture, by the cross is signified, 
 
 • persecutiops and sufferings incurred and submitted to in 
 thekedecmer'scafuse and for bis sake. "If any man will 
 coirie after* me,"/ were accordingly the words of Jesus, 
 "let him deny feself, and take up his cross, and follow 
 
 "me." The erosL however, in this use of the terra, is 
 
 ^'f/ 
 
 y-^a 
 
 
Id 
 
 \, 
 
 manifestly the cross of the Christinn di^iple — not the 
 cross of Him who thus prescribes the indis^nsdble condi- 
 tion of Christian disciplcship. 
 
 in the text, on the contrary, the cross spoken of, is 
 Christ's own cross. It is the sufferings which He himself 
 endured— siiflcrings issuing in the awful decease, which 
 He accomplished at Jerusalem, to which that cros£r bears 
 reference ; and it may be regarded as denoting generaily 
 the truth of scripture in relation to the sufferings of^Christ, 
 the Gospel doctrine of Christ crucified. 
 
 Conformably to thd vip\y of the cross of Christ just 
 presented, the manner in wli(ich it is here brought forward, 
 evidently implies its high and vital importance in the 
 preachlpg of the Gospel. Not with Wisdom of words 
 must the Gospel be preached, and why ?^-lest the cross of- 
 Christ should be made of none effect,ilest it should be 
 rendered vain and ineffective, lest it should be prevented . 
 frdm duly exerting its proper influence, and hindered of 
 its proper glory. . / \^ ^ 
 
 To the suflerings; of Christ on the cross pertained a 
 character strictly peculiar— these sufferings were vicarious 
 and expiatory. When He expired ot^ the tree of shante* 
 and woe, He did not die as any mere mortal might have 
 died, being appointed to so terrible a ddom— Christ cruci- 
 fied was in His death a sacrifice of dtonement fbr the^ins 
 of our fallen and tebel|!|pus rdce. Jn His cross standsr re- 
 vealed, the wondrouQo^ethod devised by ineffable love 
 and unsearchable wisdom for the salvation of sjnncrs of 
 mankind-=-a method of salvation fraught with glory to God 
 in the highest, while breathing peace and good-will to 
 men. The exhibition of this method of sajvation is indis- 
 pensable to the accomplishment of the grealt end, so fur as 
 , sinners are concerned, contemplated in th^ preaching of 
 
 A- < 
 
 T 
 
' 
 
 H 
 
 -A- 
 
 
 u ■,,■ 
 
 the Gospel. Hence the language of the apostle in a sub- 
 sequent verse of the present chapter— " after Uiat in the 
 wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it 
 pleased God by llic foolishness of preaching, (that is, ^ 
 the preaching of the cross— " to them that perish foolish- 
 ness,") to save them that believe." 
 
 To make the cross of Christ of none effect, ihercfofC, 
 was virtually to make of none effect the Gospel of man's 
 salvation altogether— thwarting and frustrating the ineffa- 
 bly gracious design fur which it was to be preached to 
 perishing sinners. With reason, then, might the apostle 
 feel himself laid under .an imperative obligation to reject 
 in his preaching the wisdom of words, as adapted to lead 
 to a consequence so disastrous. And every one conversant 
 with his writings knows how ihorpughly in keeping with 
 such an obligation was the *.pirit which he habitually 
 cherished. With what deep energy does he once and 
 again give utterance to that spirit Thus, in the com- 
 mencement of the following chapter-^" I, brethren, when 
 I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of 
 wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. Fori 
 determined not to know anything among you, save Jesns 
 Christ and Him crucified." And again in his Epistle to 
 the Galitians— " God forbid that I should glory save in 
 the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 HI. Having, in the foregoing observations endeavoured 
 to unfold the meaning of the text, we have now, as we pro- 
 posed, to request your attention h some remarks evidently 
 suggested by it, and having a practical bearing on the 
 work of the Christian Ministry. r ^ 
 
 1 . Our first remark is— that the religion of the Gospel i# a 
 religion which seeks to benefit mankind especially by 
 
 y 
 
1, save Jesas 
 
 15 
 
 meaiitt of the truth--aUacli(iiig comparativclt little weight 
 to positive rites, and fonnil observances. 
 
 Prom thQ representation given by Paul df his apostolic 
 mission, it is perfectly clear that he was ai far as possible 
 from regarding the rite of baptism as a thing of such para- 
 mount importance as it came to be reckoned in after ages, 
 and as it js by so many reckoned still. |t is manifest that 
 he recognized in , it no pepuliar virtue such as could 
 place it on a level of equality with the preaching of the 
 Gospel, still less siich as could elevate it to a position of 
 higher consideration^ And how could he have spoken of 
 it as he does if he had conceived it an indispensable pre- 
 requisite to salvation— enisuring to all made the subjects of 
 it, emancipation from the thraldom of Satan, admission 
 into the family of God, exemption from the coming wrath, 
 and an heritage in heaven .' X. . 
 
 Baptism is a sacred symbol, sind the importance of that 
 which thus it represents cannot be over-eslimatttd— namely, 
 the cleansing efficacy of the Redeemer's blood, the rege- 
 nerating grace of His Holy Spirit-— the grace which must 
 be experienced— ^the change which must be undergone, b] 
 asin|ierere he can enter into the kingdom of God. But 
 the administration of the rite determines nothing as to the 
 person to whom it is administered having pr not^hAving 
 experienced that ^ace i^od undergone ihatohai^. There 
 resideis in it no Inh^renttjiQwerJ^ooi^inunicateso precious 
 a benefit; neither is ther^ finy such connection established 
 between the outward sign knd the blessing which it dc- 
 'ISoles as that the redeption of^the former secures the bcr 
 stowal of the latter. It is a pledge, indeed, of the grace 
 signified to those for whom it is in sovereign 'mercy des- 
 tined, and in whom the conditions according to which it 
 is imparted are fulfilled. But in so far as it may be sup- 
 
 - iT.wH^Wi'"?-^, r— /"^Tl 
 
r i 
 
 4 
 
 
 l'|fe 
 
 
 
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 ^. 
 
 10 
 
 posed iitted, in itM own nature, to procure for any one 
 that grace, it is simply by means of the truth of which 
 it is emblematic — apprehended — believed ^-embraced ^- 
 truth much more clearly, fully and effectively — if not with 
 the same sensible accompaniment — presented in the 
 preaching of the Gospel. 
 
 The religion of Jesns is, in reality as little as may be, 
 a religion of positive rites and external forms. To view 
 it differently is to misconceive it in a manner as inexcusable 
 as it is apt to prove deadly. Its chief purpose, in regard to 
 sinners of mankind, is to achieve their salvation : and this 
 ^purpose it aims at accomplishing by the instrumentality of 
 the truth, received by faith into the sinner's heart, and — 
 applied by the Holy Spirit- — moulding and governing his 
 character and life. Its sacraments, can, of themselves, 
 contribute to the desired result only as symbolic exhibi- 
 tions of the truth which makes wise unto salvation. To 
 impute to them— whether baptism or the Lord's Supper — 
 ail intrinsic saving virtue— distinct from the influence of 
 the truth which they^exttbddy— is * a senseless superstition 
 and a rnpst perilous delusion-^perilous, most of all, when 
 it is reported to, as so frequently it is, as a ground of con- 
 fidence ill the extremity of a dying hour. 
 
 Let those, therefore, who are appointed to preach thcjf 
 Gospel, a^ they would not neglect a solemn duty- — tb 
 which particular circumstances may lend a special force 
 of obligation — earnestly admonish their , hearers against 
 being misled by so fatal a deception ; instructing them, as 
 among the fij^t principles of the oracles of God, that by no, 
 • mystical efficacy of sacraments, by no mere outward ob- 
 servances, are the blessings of salvation to be obtained ; 
 but that, if they would be saved^ it must be by grace 
 through faith— the faith of the truth as it is in Jesus-r 
 
" ^. 
 
 n 
 
 forming the boi^d of a living union bet\V;eett Him and the 
 believing 8ouI~^working by love, and purifying the heart 
 
 2. ,From what has just been advanced, twj are naturally 
 led, in continuation, to notice what the texl\ery evidently 
 further implies— namely, the surpassing impoWnce of the 
 preaching of the Gospel as the grand appointed instrn- 
 mentaf ity for the presentation of the truth to the minds of 
 men. ■ ■ ■ : ■ .- ' \ ' ■ 
 
 Paul, it is easy to perceive, was disposed to m^ify 
 his office us a Gospel preacher, and with a proprietknot 
 »ito be questioned. To preach the Gospel had be, ab^ye 
 all, been diyinely sent ; and thus, mainly, were sinne 
 to be instructed in that truth, the knowledge of which was 
 essential to the salvation of their souls. 
 
 Not unfrcquently we have occasion to hear preaching 
 (that is, the public enunpiation of Gospel truth, in contra- 
 distinction from all diverse and more private methods %f 
 bringing that truth under the consideration of mankind,) 
 referred to in such terms as to indicate quite another and 
 lower estimate of it than had been formed by the great 
 apostle. Preaching, we are sometimes told, constitutes 
 but a small part of a minister's appropriate work ; and we 
 are le0to infer, if we are not expressly assured, that the 
 good thus to be effected is of inconsiderable account as 
 compared with that which maybe effected by dealing with 
 sepairate individuals or by family visitation. 
 
 That there is here a grave mistake, is not to be doubted ; 
 and the mischievous tendency of such representations, as 
 affpcting the obligations both of thoS^ who preach and 
 those who hear the Gospel, is apparent at a glance. It 
 would not be difficult, from the nature of the case, to shew 
 that to Gospel preaching pertain advantages such as be- 
 long to no other mode of inculcating the truth. It is 
 
 < 
 
 
■ 
 
 ■■■'■'■ •: » 
 
 eoough, however, to observe, that, to such disparaging 
 catimates of that preaching as those to which we have 
 adverted, the Word of God gives no countenance whatever, 
 but, on the conftary, teaches us to regard it as the prin- 
 cipal means appointed by Christ for bringing the truthv 
 effectively to bear. on the souls of men. And here, as' ^ 
 every where else, it will be found,: in |he final result, that 
 "the foolishness of God is wiser tKaii men, and the weak- 
 ness of God is stronger than penu^:# 
 
 Those, therefore, who have been put in trust with the 
 Gos|)el may warrantat)ly, after the example of the apostle 
 of the Gentiles, magnify their office as Gospel preachers, 
 and should be deeply cqncerned, in this particular, to 
 acquit themselves as " good ministers of Jesus Christ"— 
 " giving attendance to exhortation, to doctrine" — " studying 
 to shew themselves approved unto God, workmen who 
 need nbt to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of 
 truth" — endeavouring, "by manifestation of the truth^ to 
 commend themselves to every man's conscience in the sight 
 of God"-— while those who would undervalue and set 
 lightly by their preaching are to be warned, that in con- 
 temning it, they "despise not man," nor man's device, but 
 God and His ordinance«~-an ordinance, the dishonouring of 
 which must involve the more aggravated a culpability— 
 that it is one instituted in unspeakable mercy^ that thereby 
 they may be brought to the knowledge of the truth and 
 be saved. ' ■ ,-/~ ■--■•• ^■ 
 
 3. We proceed to remark still further, that the great ele- 
 ment of power in the preaching of the Gospel— tjiat on 
 which its saving efficacy is mainly dependant— is it^ exlii- 
 bition of the cross of Christ. J*- 
 
 Therefore was Paul to preach the Gospel, not with wis- 
 dom of words, lest the influence of the cross shoiiiid be 
 
 ■:,1 • 
 
 '- 
 
 
 
 
 
19 
 
 dlkNjtnicted ; or lent, by tiie ascription to other, causes o( 
 salutary effects justly attributable to it alone, it should fail 
 to receive the honour rightfully its due.' 
 
 The truth in relation to Christ crucified, Christ offered 
 on the cross as an atoning sacrifice, in the room, and on 
 behalf, of sinners of mankind— this constitutes the grand 
 distinguishing truth of the Gospel. Such is the place 
 which it occupies there, that all that i» strictly peculiar to 
 the Gospel system is dependant on it; so that supposing 
 it to be thence rejected, doctrine after doctrine must neces- 
 sarily follow till nothing properly characteristic of the 
 Gospel will remain. Contemplated under this aspect^ it 
 may be compared to the central orbs in the systems Qf||$^ 
 mater|id universe which connect the various worlds revol^- 
 in^^/i^round them in harmonious and stable relations, and 
 whose annihilation invoilves the inevitable dissolution of the 
 whole scheme to which each respectively belongs. Or it 
 may be likened to the keystone which binds the arch in its 
 severai^parts into a compacit mass, but on the removal of 
 Which the fabric in which it served so essential a pu^ose, 
 being left without adequate support, falls in pieces. 
 
 Such being the position of the cross of Chrisi— -the doc- 
 trine of Christ crucified — in the Gospel system, whatever 
 influence the preaching of thie Gospel can exert must, 
 directly or indirectly, Ke^ferrible prir^^ly to , that 
 source. -'^^^ "^"^ 
 
 The great design of the Gospel with reference to sinners 
 of our lost race— as we have more than once already inti- 
 mated — is to save them. And the truth concerning Christ 
 crucified is, by emphatic pre-eminence, the truth which is 
 mighty to save. It is the truth which, intelligently appre- 
 hended, and received by faith, and believingly contempla- 
 ted, justifies the sinner, tranquillizes his guilty conscience. 
 
if- 
 
 to 
 
 brings him into a state of acceptance and peace with C^, 
 and draws forth his heart in gratitude and love to. the 
 Author of' his salvation, and wh;cb, operating in his soul 
 with the power of a new, a higher, a divine life, promotes 
 the sanctificatlon of his whole nature, and leads on to an 
 ultimate perfect assimilation to the Infinite Parity. With 
 this truth, therefore, distinguishing their preaching, f he min- 
 istering servants of Christ may go to all the world, and in 
 the Gospel so proclaimed to all nations, and kindreds, and 
 peoples, and tongues, they shall carry witff them a salvation 
 free to all and assured to every one who believcth. On the 
 other hand, this truth being abstracted from their preaching, 
 they cannot be the instruments of salvation to one solitary 
 
 soul.-:, .,■'■..;•.■■ .. t ■■ ■■ „-;" ; ' ^,.v' .■' 
 
 This i/is which imparts to the Gospel and its preaching 
 the might of a divinely adapted suitableness to the exigen- 
 cies of our spiritual condition — to' the urgent necessities 
 and wants of our fallen and degenerate nature. And the 
 history of the Redeemer's Church bears signal testimony to 
 the effective working of the power divine thence derived. 
 As tj)e records of4hat Church ymphatically demdn$tratc, it 
 is when Christ crucified has been the chief theme of 
 chriatian preaching — wlien the dross has been mo^t promi- 
 nently and conspicuonsly held (iprth — ^tbat the Gospel has 
 ever everted the gircfatest and happiest influence on man- 
 kind. We mf^ht refer, by- way of example, to the first age 
 of Christianity, when it was the highest boast of men, like 
 the apostle Paul, that they preached "a crucified Saviour, 
 glorying in thf^ cross ; and when the word preached grew 
 mightily and prevailed, being attended with a success that 
 has never since .been fully paralleled. We might also 
 refer to the time of the Reformation from Popery, when the 
 true dootrine of the oross^ after long gopcrotions, amid th« ?^ 
 
 r^ 
 
S!!-51^:« 
 
 all bat univ(>rfal corraptlons of which it had lain for the 
 most part concealed and disregarded, wan reproduced and 
 proclaimed anew, wiUi something like the primitive sim, 
 plioity and zeal, and when the word preached put forth a 
 large measure of its primitive ellioiency. And, once more, 
 we might refer to what has been accomplished in times 
 less remote in the field of missionary enterprizc — to Gospel 
 f* triumphs there achieved, serving impressively to demon- 
 strate that the cross can make its attractions felt, even 
 amid the deepest degradation of heathenism and idolatry, 
 and, when all other means have been found ineffectual, 
 can avail to soften and subdue the rudest and most stub- 
 bom naturc-^to melt the hardest and most depraved heart 
 —turning the heathen from his ** idots to serve the living 
 and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom 
 , He raised from the dead, even Jesus, who delivered us 
 from the wrath to come." > 
 
 In the preaching of the Gospel, then— the grand instru- 
 racntality appointed for the saving of sinners— the doctrine 
 of the cross, which reveals to men the way of salvation— 
 the sure but only way— ought to have that first pl^ce to- 
 which, by its unspeakable importance, it has so unques- 
 tionable a claim. And those who have been counted 
 faithful to be put into the ministry will best approve their 
 faithfulness. as Gospel preachers by giving that doctrine the 
 highest prominence. Herein imitating the example of 
 Paul, they should be able with him to say: " We preach 
 Christ crucified, unto the Jews a, 8tumbling-1>lock, 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 while those who preach' 
 the Go$peI, if they would minister grace, grace unto salva- 
 lioB, lu their heareis, are thus to preach IT; with regani to 
 
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 those who hear, it is in like manner to Christ cruciftpd thi 
 thny mnst, abov^ all, diroct their believing contemplation 
 if they would be saved. As ihere is no salvation for 
 sinneni but in Christ, so in Him there ia salvation only 
 ** through faith in Mis blood'^ — only through cflficacy of His^ 
 cross, by faith realized. 
 
 4. We have to remark once'more, that in the preaching of* 
 the Gus))cl human learninjpjpi grievously misapplied when 
 it is used in such a way M^might tend to counteract the 
 
 Inflaenco of the Redeemer's cross* _ _ „> ^ 
 
 ' This is a manifont deduction from the observations 
 immediately preceding ; not less manifestly is it implied in 
 the text. Not with wisdom of words— not in such a 
 manner as might bo sanctioned by the schools—would the 
 lipostie preach the' Gospel, lest the cross of Christ should' 
 be made of none effect. A ,j 
 
 Paul, we may feel well(||pHured,entertaiara 
 aH prejudices against learning generally ; imH^R to be 
 .conceived as undervaluing its legitimate applications. He 
 himself a man of learning) And ready, on fitting 
 to.avail himself of his attainments as suoh, But 
 yi^as t^inght in the schools of his age was a 
 
 ^^^iSI9IF9'^ ^^' HM^^ could hardly be rated too low. 
 HefPp^^are, mareover, that even a genuine learning' 
 might be ipischievously employed ; and, knowing of what 
 infinite moment it was that the cross of Christ should exert 
 the full measure pf its appropriate influence, he felt con- 
 strained to reject every mode of preaching the Gospel by 
 which that influei)^ might be impaired. Certainly nothing 
 can be imagined from which he would have shrunk with ' 
 greater abhorrence than the thought of throwing a shade 
 over the glory of the cross, in order that he might make a - 
 vain parade of his^ scholastic acqtiirismeiitB. -^ ^^ # 
 
 \^':f' 
 

 A 
 
 U if not requisite that we nhould ttlt«mpt formany to 
 L ^''how how desirable it is that those who proaoh th«» Oofi|)e) 
 should, as we have said the apostle was, be men of learn* 
 ing. Whatever oontrt)versy there might at one ttme be 
 with respect to this point, the advantage of snob qumlifioa- 
 tion is now universally admitted. Kvery true minigler of 
 Christ, however, whatever his erudition, will, litae the 
 apostle, hold all his acqoirenfients Nubtorvient to the influ- 
 ence of His. cross, and will assiduously seek that, in the 
 highest possible degree, they may contribute to the enhaitce- 
 ment of its attractions and the promotion of Hjs glory. 
 
 We have thus, as we proposed, adverted To Paul's ■c 
 <Jount of the great duty of his a|K>8tolic mission, and tbe 
 manner in which that duty was to be discharged, subjoin- 
 ing several observations, suggested by the text, having* 
 practical bearing on the work of the Christian Ministry. 
 Uik In conclusion,— let those who have been appointed t# 
 the office of ministers in the Church of Christ, be entreated 
 to cherish a deep sense of the unspeakable importance of 
 the chief function of their sacred office, namely, the preach- 
 ing of the Gospel, and of that method of salvation by di- 
 vine atoning sacrifice, irrespectively of which, their preach- 
 ing cm be productive of little benefit; and let them, with 
 all earnestness, endeavour to "make fi^ll proof of their 
 ministry," and faithfully to " keej) that which, has been 
 'icomndittcd to their trust ; avoidmg profane and vain bab- 
 blings and oppositions of science, falsely so called," "in 
 doctrine, showing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound 
 speech, which cannot be condemned, that he who is of the 
 contrary part, may be asharfted having no evil thinjr to sav 
 of them." ■, ,. , . :-':\ ^:,,i,y ' ' 
 
 .And let thdse to whom the Gospel is preached, be ex- 
 horted to lay to heart, the solemn responsibility connected 
 
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 With the possession of this high privilege, and to taite heed 
 how they hear, remembering that if th0 Gospel avails not 
 to save them, it mast entail upon them q' more awful con- 
 demnation. Let thetnj, above eill^ beware of trusting fpr'^ 
 salvatiqn to any otlielt, rnethod than that which the Gospel 
 eanction^the method of salvation, hy faith in Him who 
 baiHe our sins in I}is own body on the \j[ee, and died that 
 He might redeem us to God by His blood. " Now then, 
 we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech 
 you by us, we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled 
 to God) for He hath made Him to be sin for us who knew 
 no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in 
 
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