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READER!

ARE YOU

ASHAMED OF CHRIST,

AND OF

HIS WORDS?

ARE YOU

ASHAMED OF CHRIST?

"For whosoever shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, of him shall the. Son of man be ashamed when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Fath er's, and of the holy angels."-Luke ix. 26.

THE Bible recognises two kinds of shame; one is the effect of "repentance towards God;"* the other is produced by that pride which not only lives but reigns in the heart of every unconverted child of Adam. The former kind is illustrated, Dan. ix. 8. O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee: the latter kind, is denounced by our Lord Jesus Christ, Luke ix. 26: For whosoever shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels. Pride, the parent of the shame denounced by our Lord, is the great enemy of God in

Acts xx. 21.

the human heart; and whilst it reigns there, in vain may Christ" stand at the door and knock,"* for the strong man will not permit his admission, lest he should spoil his goods. Reader! is this your case? Does not the consideration appal you, that that pride, which exalteth itself against every thing that "is called God," should exclude the Lord Jesus Christ from your heart; should prevent the renewing influences of his Spirit, and the application of his blood (which cleanseth from all sinf) to your conscience? 'But this is not the whole amount of the evil. Unless the pride which reigns in your heart be crucified, you will continue ashamed of Christ and of his words until death overtakes you, and then you must be turned into hell with all the nations that forget God.§ But why will you continue the slave of pride, when "without money and without price," you may become the "free man" of Christ? Has not pride destroyed the lives of millions of our race? May we not with fear and trembling suggest the apprehension, that multitudes of souls are now involved in "the blackness of darkness for ever,"** because they were ashamed of Christ and of his words? Pride has desolated the very garden of God, and crucified God's only begotten Son, notwithstanding which, you prefer obedience to it "and the pains of hell for ever," rather than the cross of Christ, and the blessings which accompany it, "righteousness and

* Rev. iii. 20.
§ Ps. ix. 17.

** Jude 17.

† 2 Thess. ii. 4.
Isa. lv. 1.

+ 1 John i. 7.

1 Cor. vii. 22.

peace and joy in the Holy Ghost."* Does not your conscience admonish you as you read this, that pride makes you ashamed of Christ? Neither feign nor conjure nor concert excuses: confess your guilt, and repent of it, and thus pursue a course worthy of an immortal being. With pride reigning in your heart, heaven can never be your portion, and God has revealed to man no manner in which it can be crucified, save on the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, upon which every christian indeed is crucified to the world and the world is crucified to every christian.† But why are you ashamed of the cross? Would you writhe under the sneers and taunts of your ungodly acquaintances? Now all who would live godly in Christ Jesus, are warned that they may expect persecution, and it is a merciful discipline by which God's children are made humble: but let the scoffer continue to scoff, it can do you no real injury, and cannot long continue; for very soon his eye will become glazed, his brow will be horribly ravaged, and his tongue will be as quiet as silence itself, and as clammy as a grave-worm. Moreover, the reproaches of the enemies of God cannot annoy you long, for they will not reach your ear when it is so "dull and cold" that it cannot be grated by the screaking of a coffin screw within a few inches of its drum. Oh! where will you be then? If you continue ashamed of Christ, your place will certainly be the lake that "burneth with fire and brimstone,"§ and your com

* Romans xiv. 17.

2 Tim. iii. 12.

† Gal. vi. 14.
§ Rev. xxi. 8.

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