4198 DIRECTIONS FOR GETTING AND KEEPING not preaching Christ to their people, when they preached the dan- ger of rejecting Christ, disobeying him, and resisting his Spirit. Do these men think that it is no preaching Christ (when we have first many years told men the fullness of his satisfaction, the free- ness and,general extent of his covenant or promise, and the riches of his grace, and the incomprehensibleness of his glory, and the truth of all) to tell 'them afterwards the danger of refusing, neglect- ing and disobeying him ; and of living after the flesh, and prefer- ring the world before him; and serving mammon, and falling off in persecution, -and avoiding the cross, and yielding in temptation, and quenching the Spirit, and declining from their first hive, ande not improvingtheir talents, and not forgiving and loving their breth- ren; yea, and enemies? &c. Is none of this gospel? nor preach- ing Christ? Yea, is not repentance itself (except despairing 're- pentance) proper to the gospel, seeing the law excludeth it, and all manner of hope? Blame me not, reader, ifI be zealous against these men, that not only knew no better what preaching' Christ is, but in their iomnce 'reproach their brethren for not preaching Christ, and withal condemn Christ himself and all his apostles. Do they think that Christ himself knewnotwhat it was to preach Christ ? Or that he set us a pattern too low' for our imitation ? I desire them soberly to read'Matt. V. 'vi. vii. x. xxv: Rom. viii. iv. from the first verse to the foúrteenth, Rom.' ii. Heb. ii. iv. v. -x., and then tell me whether we preach as Christ and his apostles did. But to the objection, I answer, 1. We do set forth God's love, and the fullness of Christ, and the sufficiency of his death and satisfac- tion for all, and the freeness andextent of his offer and promise of mercy, and his readiness to welcome returning sinners: this we do first, (mixing with this the discovery of their natural misery,by sin, which must be first known ;) and next we show them the danger of rejecting Christ and his office. 2. When we find men settled un- der the preaching of free grace, in a base contempt or sleepy neg- lect of ita preferring the world and their carnal pleasures and ease before all the glory of heaven, and riches of Christ and grace, is it not time for us to say, " How shall ye escape, if ye neglect so great salvation ? Heb. ii. 3. "And of how much sorer punish- ment shall he be thought worthy,' that treads under foot the blood of the covenant ?" Heb. x. 26. 'When men grow, careless and unbelieving, must we not say; "Take heed lest, a promise being left of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it? " Heb. iv, 1. 3. }lathnot Christ led us, commanded us, and taught us this way ? " Except ye repent, ye shall all perish," was his doctrine ; Luke xiii. 3. 5. " Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature : " (what is that gospel ?) "He that believeth shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall
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