. Lectures to young people:. ristians, who, in some respects, seem to beclosely conformed to the gospel standard, who, yet, inothers, exhibit so little of the spirit of Christ, as to oc-casion distressing doubts whether they are really his dis-ciples. Now, if you wrould comply with the duty en-joined in the text, you must guard against this evil. Youneed not indeed fear that you shall superabound in anyof the virtues of the gospel; but take heed that there benone in which you are deficient. Let your standard ofpiety be as elevated as it may—but let your christiancharacter rise in just and beau
. Lectures to young people:. ristians, who, in some respects, seem to beclosely conformed to the gospel standard, who, yet, inothers, exhibit so little of the spirit of Christ, as to oc-casion distressing doubts whether they are really his dis-ciples. Now, if you wrould comply with the duty en-joined in the text, you must guard against this evil. Youneed not indeed fear that you shall superabound in anyof the virtues of the gospel; but take heed that there benone in which you are deficient. Let your standard ofpiety be as elevated as it may—but let your christiancharacter rise in just and beautiful proportions. 3. The duty enjoined in the text, moreover, impliesthat you should grow in religion, not at particular timesonly, but at all times. There is, I fear, an impression too common amongyoung christians, that the religious character is to beformed chiefly from the influence of great , for instance, they are visited by severe affliction,they feel that it is a time for diligently cultivating reli-U. 230 gion ; but let the rod of God be withdrawn, and they toocommonly relapse into a state of comparative let there be a revival of religion in their immediateneighborhood—and you will see them coming forth tothe work in a spirit of humility and self-denial: but letcarelessness resume its dominion over the surrounding. multitude, and they too, in many instances, will be seensettled down to a point of freezing indifference. Theydoubt not that it is the duty of christians to make pro-gress in religion ; but they seem to imagine that, by ex-traordinary diligence at one time, they may atone for somedegree of negligence at another. Now we do not denythat there are occasions in the christians life, and amongthem those to which we have referred, which are pecu-liarly favorable to his improvement, and for which heought diligently to watch ; but the notion against whichwe protest is, that there is any period, in which he mayfold his hands in indolence
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