SERMON VIII.

THE GOOD FIGHT.

2 TIMOTHY iv. 7, 8.

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

"Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing."

THIS is the simple but conscientious declaration of the great Apostle St. Paul to his "son" Timothy in the faith, shortly before the period, when he suffered martyrdom by the command of Nero. Viewed in its entire context, it appears on the one hand to be a retrospective judgment on his Christian career; on the other, a clear prediction of the death with which he was about to glorify

God, and of that eternal and imperishable reward, which was prepared for him'.

The great persecutor of the Church of Christ received an inward conviction that his former sins were forgiven, and that as he was drawing near to his martyrdom, he would receive a crown of righteousness, as a reward for his spiritual warfare.

Some, who have professed to be commentators of the Holy Scriptures, have founded the doctrine of absolute assurance of salvation on this passage before us; but if we regard the whole tenor of the New Testament, and not a few mutilated and garbled extracts, we shall rest satisfied, that the text before us cannot bear any such interpretation. We must not forget, that St. Paul was inspired,

For shortly afterwards he alludes to the pleading or apology which he made at his first hearing, designating Nero as the Lion; so that it is clear, that this Epistle was written in anticipation of a second. At that hearing, if ecclesiastical tradition be true, his arguments were so powerful as to cause the conversion of Nero's cupbearer, on which his decapitation was instantly commanded.

and, therefore, doubtless received a revelation from Heaven, that not only assured him, of his approaching death, but also presented to his faithful eye the crown of glory. When the Apostle was in the full vigour of his strength, before the fire of his eye even began to grow dim, or his nerves to relax, though inspired, though in the especial service of His Lord and Master, though as the chosen of Heaven to propagate the doctrines of eternal life, he thus spoke, "I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." This declaration appears directly opposed to the doctrine of positive assurance of salvation. Besides, if God granted unto man an assurance of salvation, we should find, that he who possessed this knowledge would be careless respecting the means appointed for his preservation, at all events he would be open to the liability of abusing them, and thus frustrate the will of the Deity, who expects every

man to "work out his own salvation with

fear and trembling."

Having noticed the error into which some have fallen, our text suggests to us the propriety of giving a brief history of the Apostle, who wrote this most striking passage.

We have before us a man at one time most inveterate against the Gospel which Christ came from heaven on purpose to establish. The first mention of St. Paul in the Acts of the Apostles, is at the stoning of St. Stephen, when the witnesses to his martyrdom "laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul." According to the law of Moses, the witnesses were required to cast the first stone', consequently their guilt was in common with the actual murderers. This Saul, hereafter called Paul, consented unto the death of St. Stephen 2, at which time "there was a great persecution against the Church which

1

Deut. xvii. 7.

2

Acts viii. 1.

was at Jerusalem, and they (the Apostles) were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea, and Samaria, except the Apostles." Here we may observe the working of Providence. One at first might suppose, that during the persecution against the Christians, their object would have been seclusion in one place; but it was otherwise ordained, and thus good sprung out of evil. Far as the disciples were dispersed, so were the doctrines which they derived from the New Dispensation. As they were driven from city to city, the holy seed remained, and brought forth fruit abundantly, Saul, however, with an undaunted and persecuting spirit, "made havoc of the Church, entering into every house, and haling men and women, committed them to prison." In the midst, however, of his career, while he was "yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord;" while he was empowered by the High Priest, the highest authority in Jerusalem, to bring