SERMON I. THE SOVEREIGNTY OF JESUS CHRIST IN THE CHURCH. ROMANS xiv. 7, 8. None of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For, whether we live, we live unto the Lord; or, whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore or die, we are the Lord's. THES HESE words are a general maxim, which St. Paul lays down for the decision of a particular controversy. We cannot well enter into the apostle's meaning, unless we understand the particular subject, which led him to express himself in this manner. Our first reflections, therefore, will tend to explain the subject, and afterward we will extend our meditations to greater objects. We will attend to the text in that point of view, in which those christians are most interested, who have repeatedly engaged to devote themselves wholly to Jesus Christ: to consecrate to him through life, and to commit to him at death, not only with submission, but also with joy, those souls, over which he hath acquired the noblest right. Thus shall we verify, in the most pure and elevated of all senses, this saying of the Apostle; none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For, whether we live, we live unto the Lord; or, whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore or die, we are the Lord's, St. Paul proposed in the text, and in some of the preceding and following verses, to establish the doctrine of toleration. By toleration, we mean, that disposition of a christian, which, on a principle of benevolence, inclines him to hold communion with a man, who, through weakness of mind, mixeth with the truths of religion some errors, that are not entirely incompatible with it; and with the new testament worship some |