Advent, 12 Sermons

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: SERMON III. SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT. Rom. viii. 6. To be carnally minded, is death; but to be spiritually minded, is life and peace. The advent of our Lord Jesus Christ, brought life and immortality to light, revealed to miserable man, who lay in darkness and in the shadow of death, that true light by which alone we can discern the way of life, and tread the path of immortality. In former dispensations, indeed, the will of God had been declared, the mercy of God promised to the obedient, and His just wrath denounced against rebellion; the Law was given byMoses, and that law was holy, just, and good; but St. Paul asserts, it was weak, through the flesh; its promises were to those who should keep it whole and undefiled, and the weak and wayward temperament of flesh and blood is incapable of that unerring rectitude; the law therefore was found too feeble to produce righteousness in fallen man. But grace and truth came by Jesus Christ; by Him mercy and justice were reconciled; and the favour of the Almighty was extended to sinners: textit{He made intercession for the transgressors, and proclaimed the covenant textit{of peace. St. Paul, in the words of the text, clearly implies what the Scriptures every where confirm, that this act of grace will textit{not extend to textit{all: not through any limitation to the goodness of God; textit{not through any deficiency in the fulness of His grace; textit{not from any partiality in the call of the Gospel; but simply because it textit{is a textit{call, an invitation, arid textit{notan textit{irresistible decree; and therefore blind and wilful and obdurate sinners reject the call, refuse the invitation, and continue under the curse of the law, in unbelief and hardness of heart. We are all sinne...