Sermon 21. Christ's People-Imitators of Him

(No. 21)

Delivered on Sabbath Morning, April 29, 1855, by the

REV. C.H. SPURGEON

At Exeter Hall, Strand.

"Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled;and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus."-Acts 4:13.

BEHOLD! what a change divine grace will work in a man, and in how short a time. That same Peter, who so lately followed hismaster afar off, and with oaths and curses denied that he knew his name, is now to be found side by side with the loving John, boldly declaringthat there is salvation in none other name save that of Jesus Christ, and preaching the resurrection of the dead, throughthe sacrifice of his dying Lord. The Scribes and Pharisees soon discover thereason of his boldness. Rightly did they guess that it rested not in his learning or his talents, for neither Peter norJohn had been educated; they had been trained as fishermen; their education was a knowledge of the sea-of the fisherman'scraft; none other had they; their boldness could not therefore spring from the self-sufficiency of knowledge, but from theSpirit of the living God. Nor did they acquire their courage from their station; for rank will confer a sort of dignity upona man,and make him speak with a feigned authority, even when he has no talent or genius; but these men were, as it says in theoriginal text, idiotai, private men, who stood in no official capacity; men without rank or station. When they saw the boldness of Peter and John,and perceived that they were unlearned and private individuals, they marveled, and they came to a right conclusion as to thesource of their power-they had been dwelling with Jesus. Their conversation with the Prince oflight and glory, backed up, as they might also have known, by the influence of the Holy Spirit, without which even thateminently holy example would have been in vain, had made them bold for their Master's cause. Oh! my brethren, it were wellif this condemnation, so forced from the lips of enemies, could also be compelled by our own example. If we could live likePeter and John; if our lives were "living epistles of God, known and read of all men;" if, whenever we were seen, men wouldtakeknowledge of us, that we had been with Jesus, it would be a happy thing for this world, and a blessed thing for us. Itis concerning that I am to speak to you this morning; and as God gives me grace, I will endeavor to stir up your minds byway of remembrance, and urge you so to imitate Jesus Christ, our heavenly pattern, that men may perceive that you are disciplesof the Holy Son of God.

First, then, this morning, I will tell you what a Christian should be; secondly, I will tell you when he should be so; thirdly, why he should be so; and then fourthly how he can be so.

I. As God may help us then, first of all, we will speak of WHAT A BELIEVER SHOULD BE. A Christian should be a striking likenessof Jesus Christ. You have read lives of Christ, beautifully and eloquently written, and you have admired the talent of thepersons who could write so well; but the best life of Christ is his living biography, written out in the words and actionsof his people. If we, my brethren, were what we profess to be; if the Spirit of the Lord were in theheart of all his children, as we could desire; and if, instead of having abundance of formal professors, we were all possessorsof that vital grace, I will tell you not only what we ought to be, but what we should be: we should be pictures of Christ,yea, such striking likenesses of him that the world would not have to hold us up by the hour together, and say, "Well, itseems somewhat of a likeness;" but they would, when they once beheld us, exclaim, "He has been with Jesus; he has been taughtof him; he is like him; he has caught the very idea of the holy Man of Nazareth, and he expands it out into his very lifeand every day actions."

In enlarging upon this point, it will be necessary to premise, that when we here affirm that men should be such and such athing, we refer to the people of God. We do not wish to speak to them in any legal way. We are not under the law, but undergrace. Christian men hold themselves bound to keep all God's precepts; but the reason why they do so is not because the law is binding upon them, but because the gospel constrains them; they believe, that having beenredeemed by blood divine; having been purchased by Jesus Christ, they are more bound to keep his commands, than they wouldhave been if they were under the law; they hold themselves to be ten thousand fold more debtors to God, than they could havebeen under the Mosaic dispensation. Not of force; not of compulsion; not through fear of the whip; not through legal bondage;but through pure, disinterested love and gratitude to God, they lay themselves out for his service, seeking to be Israelitesindeed, in whom there is no guile. This much I have declared lest any man should think that I am preaching works as theway to salvation; I will yield to none in this, that I will ever maintain-that by grace we are saved, and not by ourselves;but equally must I testify, that where the grace of God is, it will produce fitting deeds. To these I am ever bound to exhortyou, while ye are ever expected to have good works for necessary purposes. Again, I do not, when I say that a believer shouldbe a striking likeness of Jesus, suppose that any one Christian will perfectly exhibit all the features of our Lord andSaviour Jesus Christ; yet, my brethren, the fact that perfection is beyond our reach, should not diminish the ardore of ourdesire after it. The artist, when he paints, knows right well that he shall not be able to excel Apelles; but that does notdiscourage him; he uses his brush with all the greater pains, that he may, at least in some humble measure, resemble the greatmaster. So the sculptor, though persuaded that he will not rival Praxiteles, will hew out the marble still, and seek tobe as near the model as possible. Thus so the Christian man; though he feels he never can mount to the heights of completeexcellence, and perceives that he never can on earth become the exact image of Christ, still holds it up before him, and measureshis own deficiencies by the distance between himself and Jesus. This will he do; forgetting all he has attained, he will pressforward, crying, Excelsior! going upwards still, desiring to be conformed more and more to the image of Christ Jesus.

First, then, a Christian should be like Christ in his boldness. This is a virtue now-a-days called impudence, but the grace is equally valuable by whatever name it may be called. I supposeif the Scribes had given a definition of Peter and John, they would have called them impudent fellows.

Jesus Christ and his disciples were noted for their courage. "When they saw the boldness of Peter and John, they took knowledgeof them, that they had been with Jesus." Jesus Christ never fawned upon the rich; he stooped not to the great and noble; hestood erect, a man before men-the prophet of the people; speaking out boldly and freely what he thought. Have you never admiredthat mighty deed of his, when going to the city where he had lived and been brought up? Knowingthat a prophet had no honor in his own country, the book was put into his hands (he had but then commenced his ministry),yet without tremor he unrolled the sacred volume, and what did he take for his text? Most men, coming to their own neighborhood,would have chosen a subject adapted to the taste, in order to earn fame. But what doctrine did Jesus preach that morning?One which in our age is scorned and hated-the doctrine of election. He opened the Scriptures, and began to read thus:"Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great faminewas throughout all the land; but unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sodom, unto a woman that wasa widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus, the prophet; and none of them were cleansed, saving Naaman,the Syrian." Then he began to tell, how God saveth whom he pleases, and rescues whom he chooses. Ah! how they gnashed theirteeth upon him, dragged him out, and would have cast him from the brow of the hill. Do you not admire his intrepidity?He saw their teeth gnashing; he knew their hearts were hot with enmity, while their mouths foamed withe revenge and malice;still he stood like the angel who shut the lions' mouths; he feared them not; faithfully he proclaimed what he knew to bethe truth of God, and still read on, despite them all. So, in his discourses. If he saw a Scribe or a Pharisee in the congregation,hedid not keep back part of the price, but pointing his finger, he said, "Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites;"and when a lawyer came, saying, "Master, in speaking thus, thou condemnest us also;" he turned round and said "Woe unto you,lawyers, for ye bind heavy burdens upon men, while ye yourselves will not touch them with so much as one of your fingers."He dealt out honest truth; he never knew the fear of man; he trembled at none; he stood out God's chosen, whom he had anointedabove his fellows, careless of man's esteem. My friends, be like Christ in this. Have none of the time-serving religionof the present day, which is merely exhibited in evangelical drawing-rooms,-a religion which only flourishes in a hot-bedatmosphere, a religion which is only to be perceived in good company. No; if ye are the servants of God, be like Jesus Christ,bold for your master; never blush to own your religion; your profession will never disgrace you; take care you never disgracethat. Your love to Christ will never dishonor you; it may bring some temporary slight from your friends, or slanders from yourenemies; but live on, and you shall live down their calumnies; live on, and ye shall stand amongst the glorified, honoredeven by those who hissed you, when he shall come to be glorified by his angels, and admired by them that love him. Be like Jesus, very valiant for your God, sothat when they shall see your boldness, they may say, "He has been withJesus."

But no one feature will give a portrait of a man; so the one virtue of boldness will never make you like Christ. There havebeen some who have been noble men, but have carried their courage to excess; they have thus been caricatures of Christ, andnot portraits of him. We must amalgamate with our boldness the loveliness of Jesus' disposition. Let courage be the brass, let love be the gold. Let us mix the two together; so shall we produce arich Corinthian metal, fitto be manufactured into the beautiful gate of the temple. Let your love and courage be mingled together. The man who isbold may indeed accomplish wonders. John Knox did much, but he might perhaps have done more if he had had a little love. Lutherwas a conqueror-peace to his ashes, and honor to his name!-still, we who look upon him at a distance, think that if he hadsometimes mixed a little mildness with it-if, while he had the fortitier in re, he had been also suaviter inmodo, and spoken somewhat more gently, he might have done even more good than he did. So brethren, while we too are bold, letus ever imitate the loving Jesus. The child comes to him; he takes it on his knee, saying, "Suffer little children to comeunto me, and forbid them not." A widow has just lost her only son; he weeps at the bier, and with a word, restores life tothe dead man. He sees a paralytic, a leper, or a man long confined to his bed; he speaks, they rise, and are healed. Helived for others, not for himself. His constant labors were without any motive, except the good of those who lived inthe world. And to crown all, ye know the mighty sacrifice he made, when he condescended to lay down his life for man-whenon the tree, quivering with agony, and hanging in the utmost extremity of suffering, he submitted to die for our sakes, thatwe might be saved. Behold in Christ love consolidated! He was one mighty pillar of benevolence. As God is love, so Christis love.Oh, ye Christians, be ye loving also. Let you love and your beneficence beam out on all men. Say not, "Be ye warmed, andbe ye filled," but "give a portion to seven, and also to eight." If ye cannot imitate Howard, and unlock the prison doors-ifye cannot visit the sad house of misery, yet each in your proper sphere, speak kind words, do kind actions; live out Christagain in the kindness of your life. If there is one virtue which most commends Christians, it is that of kindness; it is tolove the people of God, to love the church, to love the world, to love all. But how many have we in our churches of Crab-treeChristians, who have mixed such a vast amount of vinegar, and such a tremendous quantity of gall in their constitutions, thatthey can scarcely speak one good word to you: they imagine it impossible to defend religion except by passionate ebullitions;they cannot speak for their dishonored Master without being angry with their opponent; and if anything is awry, whetherit be in the house, the church, or anywhere else, they conceive it to be their duty to set their faces like flint, andto defy everybody. They are like isolated icebergs, no one cares to go near them. They float about on the sea of forgetfulness,until at last they are melted and gone; and though, good souls, we shall be happy enough to meet them in heaven, we are preciousglad to get rid of them from the earth. They were always so unamiable in disposition, that we would rather live an eternitywith them in heaven than five minutes on earth. Be ye not thus, my brethren. Imitate Christ in you loving spirits; speakkindly, act kindly, and do kindly, that men may say of you, "He has been with Jesus."

Another great feature in the life of Christ was his deep and sincere humility; in which let us imitate him. While we will not cringe or bow3(far from it; we are the freemen whom the truth makes free;we walk through this world equal to all, inferior to none)3yet we would endeavor to be like Christ, continually humble. Oh,thou proud Christian (for though it be a paradox, there must be some, I think; I would not be so uncharitable as to say thatthere are not somesuch persons), if thou art a Christian, I bid thee look at thy Master, talking to the children, bending from the majestyof his divinity to speak to mankind on earth, tabernacling with the peasants of Galilee, and then-aye, depth of condescensionunparalleled-washing his disciples' feet, and wiping them with the towel after supper. This is your Master, whom ye professto worship; this is your Lord, whom ye adore. And ye, some of you who count yourselves Christians, cannot speak to a personwho is not dressed in the same kind of clothing as yourselves, who have not exactly as much money per year as you have.In England, it is true that a sovereign will not speak to a shilling, and a shilling will not notice a sixpence, and a sixpencewill sneer at a penny. But it should not be so with Christians. We ought to forget caste, degree, and rank, when we come intoChrist's church. Recollect, Christian, who your Master was-a man of the poor. He lived with them; he ate with them. Andwill ye walk with lofty heads and stiff necks, looking with insufferable contempt upon you meaner fellow-worms? What areye? The meanest of all, because your trickeries and adornments make you proud. Pitiful, despicable souls ye are! How smallye look in God's sight! Christ was humble; he stooped to do anything which might serve others. He had no pride; he was anhumble man, a friend of publicans and sinners, living and walking with them. So, Christian, be thou like thy Master-one whocanstoop; yea, be thou one who thinks it no stooping, but rather esteems others better than himself, counts it his honorto sit with the poorest of Christ's people, and says, "If my name may be but written in the obscurest part of the book oflife, it is enough for me, so unworthy am I of his notice!" Be like Christ in his humility.

So might I continue, dear brethren, speaking of the various characteristics of Christ Jesus; but as you can think of themas well as I can, I shall not do so. It is easy for you to sit down and paint Jesus Christ, for you have him drawn out herein his word. I find that time would fail me if I were to give you an entire likeness of Jesus; but let me say, imitate himin his holiness. Was zealous for his master? So be you. Ever go about doing good. Let not time bewasted. It is too precious. Was he self-denying, never looking to his own interest? So be you. Was he devout? So be youfervent in your prayers. Had he deference to his Father's will? So submit yourselves to him. Was he patient? So learn to endure.And best of all, as the highest portraiture of Jesus, try to forgive your enemies as he did; and let those sublime words ofyou Master, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," always ring in your ears. When you are prompted torevenge; when hot anger starts, bridle the steed at once, and let it not dash forward with you headlong. Remember, angeris temporary insanity. Forgive as you hope to be forgiven. Heap coals of fire on the head of your foe by your kindness tohim. Good for evil, recollect, is god-like. Be god-like, then; and in all ways, and by all means, so live that your enemiesmay say, "He has been with Jesus."

II. Now, WHEN SHOULD CHRISTIANS BE THUS? For there is an idea in the world that persons ought to be very religious on a Sunday,but it does not matter what they are on a Monday. How many pious preachers are there on a Sabbath-day, who are very impiouspreachers during the rest of the week! How many are there who come up to the house of God with a solemn countenance, who jointhe song and profess to pray, yet have neither part nor lot in the matter, but are "in the gall ofbitterness and in the bonds of iniquity!" This is true of some of you who are present here. When should a Christian, then,be like Jesus Christ? Is there a time when he may strip off his regimentals-when the warrior may unbuckle his armor, and becomelike other men? Oh! no; at all times and in every place let the Christian be what he professes to be. I remember talking sometime ago with a person who said, "I do not like visitors who come to my house and introduce religion; I think we oughtto have religion on the Sabbath-day, when we go to the house of God, but not in the drawing-room." I suggested to theindividual that there would be a great deal of work for the upholsterers, if there should be no religion except in the houseof God. "How is that?" was the question. "Why," I replied, "we should need to have beds fitted up in all our places of worship,for surely we need religion to die with, and consequently, every one would want to die there." Aye, we all need the consolationsof God at last; but how can we expect to enjoy them unless we obey the precepts of religion during life? My brethren,let me say, be ye like Christ at all times. Imitate him in public. Most of us live in some sort of publicity; many of us are called to work before our fellow-men every day. We are watched;our words are caught; our lives are examined-taken to pieces. The eagle-eyed, argus-eyed world observes everything we do,and sharp critics are upon us. Let us live the life of Christin public. Let us take care that we exhibit our Master, and not ourselves-so that we can say, "It is no longer I thatlive, but Christ that liveth in me." Take heed that you carry this into the church too, you who are church-members. Be like Christ in the church. How many there are of you like Diotrephes, seeking pre-eminence?How many are trying to have some dignity and power over their fellow Christians, instead of remembering that it is the fundamentalrule of all our churches, thatthere all men are equal-alike brethren, alike to be received as such. Carry out the spirit of Christ, then, in your churches,wherever ye are; let your fellow members say of you, "He has been with Jesus."

But, most of all, take care to have religion in your houses. A religious house is the best proof of true piety. It is not my chapel, it is my house-it is not my minister, it is my home-companion-whocan best judge me; it is the servant, the child, the wife, the friend, that can discern most of my real character. A goodman will improve his household. Rowland Hill once said, he would not believe a man to be a true Christian if his wife, hischildren, theservants, and even the dog and cat, were not the better for it. That is being religious. If your household is not thebetter for your Christianity-if men cannot say, "This is a better house than others," then be not deceived-ye have nothingof the grace of God. Let not your servant, on leaving your employ, say, "Well, this is a queer sort of a religious family;there was no prayer in the morning, I began the day with my drudgery; there was no prayer at night, I was kept at home alltheSabbath-day. Once a fortnight, perhaps, I was allowed to go out in the afternoon, when there was nowhere to go where Icould hear a gospel sermon. My master and mistress went to a place where of course they heard the blessed gospel of God-thatwas all for them; as for me, I might have the dregs and leavings of some overworked curate in the afternoon." Surely, Christianmen will not act in that way. No! Carry out your godliness in your family. Let everyone say that you have practical religion.Let it be known and read in the house, as well as in the world. Take care of your character there; for what we are there,we really are. Our life abroad is often but a borrowed part, the actor's part of a great scene, but at home the wizard isremoved, and men are what they seem. Take care of you home duties.

Yet again, my brethren, before I leave this point, imitate Jesus in secret. When no eye seeth you except the eye of God, when darkness covers you, when you are shut up from the observation of mortals,even then be ye like Jesus Christ. Remember his ardent piety, his secret devotion-how, after laboriously preaching the wholeday, he stole away in the midnight shades to cry for help from his God. Recollect how his entire life was constantly sustainedby freshinspirations of the Holy Spirit, derived by prayer. Take care of your secret life; let it be such that you will not beashamed to read at the last great day. Your inner life is written in the book of God, and it shall one day be open beforeyou. If the entire life of some of you were known, it would be no life at all; it would be a death. Yea, even of some trueChristians we may say it is scarce a life. It is a dragging on of an existence-one hasty prayer a day-one breathing, justenough to save their souls alive, but no more. O, my brethren, strive to be more like Jesus Christ. These are times whenwe want more secret prayer. I have had much fear all this week. I know not whether it is true; but when I feel such a thingI like to tell it to those of you who belong to my own church and congregation. I have trembled lest, by being away from ourown place, you have ceased to pray as earnestly as you once did. I remember your earnest groans and petitions-how you wouldassemble together in the house of prayer in multitudes, and cry out to God to help his servant. We cannot meet in suchstyle at present; but do you still pray in private? Have you forgotten me? Have you ceased to cry out to God? Oh! my friends,with all the entreaties that a man can use, let me appeal to you. Recollect who I am, and what I am-a child, having littleeducation, little learning, ability or talent; and here am I called upon week after week, to preach to this crowd of people.Willye not, my beloved, still plead for me? Has not God been pleased to hear your prayers ten thousand times? And will yenow cease, when a mighty revival is taking place in many churches? Will ye now stop your petitions? Oh! no; go to your houses,fall upon your knees, cry aloud to God to enable you still to hold up your hands like Moses on the hill, that Joshua belowmay fight and overcome the Amalekites. Now is the time for victory; shall we lose it? This is the high tide that will floatus overthe bar; now let us put out the oars; let us pull by earnest prayer, crying for God the Spirit to fill the sails! Ye wholove God, of every place and every denomination, wrestle for your ministers; pray for them; for why should not God even nowput out his Spirit? What is the reason why we are to be denied Pentecostal seasons? Why not this hour, as one mighty band,fall down before him and entreat him, for his Son's sake, to revive his drooping church? Then would all men discern that weareverily the disciples of Christ.

III. But now, thirdly, WHY SHOULD CHRISTIANS IMITATE CHRIST? The answer comes very naturally and easily, Christians shouldbe like Christ, first, for their own sakes. For their honesty's sake, and for their credit's sake, let them not be found liars before God and men. For their own healthfulstate, if they wish to be kept from sin and preserved from going astray, let them imitate Jesus. For their own happiness'sake, if they would drink wine on the lees wellrefined; if they would enjoy holy and happy communion with Jesus; if they would be lifted up above the cares and troublesof this world, let them imitate Jesus Christ. Oh! my brethren, there is nothing that can so advantage you, nothing can soprosper you, so assist you, so make you walk towards heaven rapidly, so keep you head upwards towards the sky, and your eyesradiant with glory, like the imitation of Jesus Christ. It is when, by the power of the Holy Spirit, you are enabled to walkwithJesus in his very footsteps, and tread in his ways, you are most happy and you are most known to be the sons of God. Foryour own sake, my brethren, I say, be like Christ.

Next, for religion's sake, strive to imitate Jesus. Ah! poor religion, thou hast been sorely shot at by cruel foes, but thou hast not been wounded one-halfso much by them as by thy friends. None have hurt thee, O, Christianity, so much as those who profess to be thy followers.Who have made these wounds in this fair hand of godliness? I say, the professor has done this, who has not lived up to hisprofession; the man who with pretences enters the fold, being naughtbut a wolf in sheep's clothing. Such men, sirs, injure the gospel more than others; more than the laughing infidel, morethan the sneering critic, doth the man hurt our cause who professes to love it, but in his actions doth belie his love. Christian,lovest thou that cause? Is the name of the dear Redeemer precious to thee? Wouldst thou see the kingdoms of the world becomethe kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ? Dost thou wish to see the proud man humbled and the mighty abased? Dost thou longfor the souls of perishing sinners, and art thou desirous to win them, and save their souls from the everlasting burning?Wouldst thou prevent their fall into the regions of the damned? Is it thy desire that Christ should see the travail of hissoul, and be abundantly satisfied? Doth thy heart yearn over thy fellow-immortals? Dost thou long to see them forgiven? Thenbe consistent with thy religion. Walk before God in the land of the living. Behave as an elect man should do. Recollectwhat manner of people we ought to be in all holy conversation and godliness. This is the best way to convert the world;yea, such conduct would do more than even the efforts of missionary societies, excellent as they are. Let but men see thatour conduct is superior to others, then they will believe there is something in our religion; but , if they see us quite thecontrary to what we avow, what will they say? "These religious people are no better than others! Why should we go amongstthem?"And they say quite rightly. It is but common-sense judgment. Ah! my friends, if ye love religion for her own sake, beconsistent, and walk in the love of God. Follow Christ Jesus.

Then, to put it in the strongest form I can, let me say, for Christ's sake, endeavor to be like him. Oh! could I fetch the dying Jesus here, and let him speak to you! My own tongue is tied this morning,but I would make his blood, his scars, and his wounds speak. Poor dumb mouths, I bid each of them plead in his behalf. Howwould Jesus, standing here, show you his hands this morning! "My friends," he would say, "hehold me! these hands were piercedfor you; and lookye here at this my side. It was opened as the fountain of your salvation. See my feet; there entered the cruel nails.Each of these bones were dislocated for your sake. These eyes gushed with torrents of tears. This head was crowned with thorns.These cheeks were smitten; this hair was plucked; my body became the centre and focus of agony. I hung quivering in the burningsun; and all for you, my people. And will ye not love me now? I bid you be like me. Is there any fault in me? Oh! no. Yebelieve that I am fairer than ten thousand fairs, and lovelier than ten thousand loves. Have I injured you? Have I notrather done all for your salvation? And do I not sit at my Father's throne, and e'en now intercede on your behalf? If ye loveme,"-Christian, hear that word; let the sweet syllables ring forever in your ears, like the prolonged sounding of silver-tonedbells;-"if ye love me, if ye love me, keep my commandments." Oh, Christian, let that "if" be put to thee this morning. "Ifyelove me." Glorious Redeemer! is it an "if" at all? Thou precious, bleeding Lamb, can there be an "if?" What, when I seethy blood gushing from thee; is it an "if?" Yes, I weep to say it is an "if." Oft my thoughts make it "if," and oft my wordsmake it "if." But yet methinks my soul feels it is not "if," either.

"Not to mine eyes is light so dear,

Nor friendship half so sweet."

"Yes, I love thee, I know that I love thee. Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee," can the Christiansay. "Well, then," says Jesus, looking down with a glance of affectionate approbation, "since thou lovest me, keep my commandments." O beloved, what mightier reason can I give than this? It is the argument of love andaffection . Be like Christ, since gratitude demands obedience; so shall the world know that ye have been with Jesus.

IV. Ah! then ye wept; and I perceive ye felt the force of pity, and some of you are inquiring, "HOW CAN I IMITATE HIM?" Itis my business, then, before you depart, to tell you how you can become transformed into the image of Christ.

In the first place, then, my beloved friends, in answer to your inquiry, let me say, you must know Christ as your Redeemerbefore you can follow him as your Exemplar. Much is said about the example of Jesus, and we scarcely find a man now who doesnot believe that our Lord was an excellent and holy man, much to be admired. But excellent as was his example, it would beimpossible to imitate it, had he not also been our sacrifice. Do ye this morning know that his blood wasshed for you? Can ye join with me in this verse,-

"O the sweet wonders of that cross,

Where God the Saviour lov'd and died;

Her noblest life my spirit draws

From his dear wounds and bleeding side."

If so, you are in a fair way to imitate Christ. But do not seek to copy him until you are bathed in the fountain filled withblood drawn from his veins. It is not possible for you to do so; your passions will be too strong and corrupt, and you willbe building without a foundation, a structure, which will be about as stable as a dream. You cannot mould your life to hispattern until you have had his spirit, till you have been clothed in his righteousness. "Well," say some,"we have proceeded so far, what next shall we do? We know we have an interest in him, but we are still sensible of manifolddeficiencies." Next, then, let me entreat you to study Christ's character. This poor Bible is become an almost obsolete book,even with some Christians. There are so many magazines, periodicals, and such like ephemeral productions, that we are in dangerof neglecting to search the Scriptures. Christian, wouldst thou know thy master? Look at him. There is a wondrous powerabout the character of Christ, for the more you regard it the more you will be conformed to it. I view myself in the glass,I go away, and forget what I was. I behold Christ, and I become like Christ. Look at him, then; study him in the evangelists,studiously examine his character. "But," say you, "we have done that, and we have proceeded but little farther." Then, inthe next place, correct your poor copy every day. At night, try and recount all the actions of the twenty-four hours,scrupulously putting them under review. When I have proof-sheets sent to me of any of my writings, I have to make thecorrections in the margin. I might read them over fifty times, and the printers would still put in the errors if I did notmark them. So must you do; if you find anything faulty at night, make a mark in the margin, that you may know where the faultis, and to-morrow may amend it. Do this day after day, continually noting your faults one by one, so that you may better avoidthem.It was a maxim of the old philosophers, that, three times in the day, we should go over our actions. So let us do; letus not be forgetful; let us rather examine ourselves each night, and see wherin we have done amiss, that we may reform ourlives.

Lastly, as the best advice I can give, seek more of the Spirit of God; for this is the way to become Christ-like. Vain areall your attempts to be like him till you have sought his spirit. Take the cold iron, and attempt to weld it if you can intoa certain shape. How fruitless the effort! Lay it on the anvil, seize the blacksmith's hammer with all you might, let blowafter blow fall upon it, and you shall have done nothing. Twist it, turn it, use all your implements, butyou shall not be able to fashion it as you would. But put it in the fire, let it be softened and made malleable, thenlay it on the anvil, and each stroke shall have a mighty effect, so that you may fashion it into any form you may desire.So take your heart, not cold as it is, not stony as it is by nature, but put it into the furnace; there let it be molten,and after that it can be turned like wax to the seal, and fashioned into the image of Jesus Christ.

Oh, my brethren, what can I say now to enforce my text, but that, if ye are like Christ on earth, ye shall be like him inheaven? If by the power of the Spirit ye become followers of Jesus, ye shall enter glory. For at heaven's gate there sitsan angel, who admits no one who has not the same features as our adorable Lord. There comes a man with a crown upon his head,"Yes," he says, "thou hast a crown, it is true, but crowns are not the medium of access here." Anotherapproaches, dressed in robes of state and the gown of learning. "Yes," says the angel, "it may be good, but gowns andlearning are not the marks that shall admit you here." Another advances, fair, beautiful, and comely. "Yes," saith the angel,"that might please on earth, but beauty is not wanted here." There cometh up another, who is heralded by fame, and prefacedby the blast of the clamor of mankind; but the angel saith, "It is well with man, but thou hast no right to enter here." Thenthereappears another; poor he may have been; illiterate he may have been; but the angel, as he looks at him, smiles and says,"It is Christ again; a second edition of Jesus Christ is there. Come in, come in. Eternal glory thou shalt win. Thou art likeChrist; in heaven thou shalt sit, because thou art like him." Oh! to be like Christ is to enter heaven; but to be unlike Christis to descend to hell. Likes shall be gathered together at last, tares with tares, wheat with wheat. If ye have sinned withAdam and have died, ye shall lie with the spiritually dead forever, unless ye rise in Christ to newness of life; thenshall we live with him throughout eternity. Wheat with wheat, tares with tares. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: whatsoevera man soweth, that shall he also reap." Go away with this one thought, then my brethren, that you can test yourselves by Christ.If you are like Christ, you are of Christ, and shall be with Christ. If you are unlike him, you have no portion in the greatinheritance. May my poor discourse help to fan the floor and reveal the chaff; yea, may it lead many of you to seek tobe partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, to the praise of his grace. To him be all honor given! Amen.