affecting moral parts of that gospel which they have engaged before
God to deliver; and above all, when crimes, as I am verily
persuaded have been, are, and must be, the consequence of such
public preaching,--leaving others to "stand or fall" to their own
God; I shall be guided by my own understanding, and the plain Word
of God, as I find it earnestly, simply, beautifully, and divinely
set before me by Christ and his Apostles; and so feeling, I shall
as fearlessly deliver my own opinions, being assured, whether
popular or unpopular, whether they offend this man or that, this
sect or that sect, they will not easily be shaken.

I might ask, why did St Paul add, so emphatically, "these three,"
when he enumerated the Christian graces? Doubtless, because he
thought the distinction very important. Why did St Peter say, "Add
to your faith virtue"? Because he thought it equally important and
essential. Why did St John say, "Christ died for the sins of the
whole world, and not for ours only"? Because he thought it equally
important and necessary.

Never omitting the atonement, justification by faith, the fruits of
the Spirit, and never separating faith from its hallowed
fellowship, we shall find all other parts of the gospel unite in
harmonious subordination; but if we shade the moral parts down,
leave them out, contradict them, by insidious sophistry, the
Scripture, so far from being "rightly divided," will be discordant
and clashing. The man, be he whom he may, who preaches "faith"
without charity; who preaches "faith without virtue," is as
pernicious and false an expounder of the divine message, as he who
preaches "good works," without their legitimate and only
foundation--Christian faith.

One would suppose, from the language of some preachers, the
"civil," "decent," "moral" people, from the times of Baxter to the
present, want amendment most. We all know that mere morals, which
have no Christian basis, are not the gospel of Christ; but I might
tell Richard, with great respect notwithstanding, for I respect his
sincerity and his heart, that, at least, "decent," and "civil," and
"moral" people,[3] are not worse than indecent, immoral, and
uncivil people; and when there are so many of these last, I think a
word or two of reproof would not much hurt