SERMON ILI. The Inward Witness to Christianity. I John v. 10 Re that believeth on the Son of God, kath the witness in himself. THE THIRD PART. MANY and glorious are the outward testimonies that God has given to our religion, both in the days when his Son Jesus dwelt on earth, nand in thetime of theministration of the apostles who followed their blessed Lord. The miracles wrought, the prophecies fulfilled, and the various glories attending the minis- tration of the gospel, conspire to confirmour faith ; each of them are evidences of the truth and divinity of this doctrine; and all of them joined together, bear such a testimony as cannot be resisted. We live now in these later days at a long distance from those seasons wherein these miracles were wrought, and wherein God appeared in so immediate a manner from heaven, to witness to the truth of the gospel of his Son ; but God has taken care to furnishevery true believer with a sufficient witness of christianity; we are not left void of evidence at this day. Ile that believeth, bath thewitness inhimself. There isan internal testimony given to the gospel of Christ in the heart of every onethat receives it in truth. There are the beginnings of that eternal life wrought in the soul, which the Son of God bestows on all believers; he that hath the Sonhath life. The spiritual life of a christian runs into eternity ; it is the same divine temper, the samepeaceful and holy qualities of mind communicated to the believer here in the days of grace, which shall be fulfilled and perfected in the world of glory ; and this is a blessed witness to thetruthof Chris- tianity; it proves with abundant evidence, that it is a religion sufficient to save souls, for the salvation is begun in every man that receives it. I shall repeat no more of the foregoing discourses, but proceed immediately to answer the last question there proposed, riz. What sort of, witness this is, which true faith gives to the gospel of Christ,, and what are the remarkable properties of this testimony. I answer, I. It is a witness that dwells more in the heart than in the head. , It is a testimony known by being felt and prac- tised, and not by mere reasoning; the greatest reasoners may miss of it, for it is a testimony written in the heart; and upon this
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