damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction."

The false teachers are often referred to with the view of warning believers against their erroneous doctrine. It is in this aspect that the Apostle John exhorts, 1st John iv. 1-3, "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God; every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." This passage obviously sanctions the grand Protestant principle of the right of private judgment, authorizing, nay, commanding us, like the good Bereans of old, to "search the Scriptures, whether these things are so." Both ministers and people must refer to the same unerring standard of truth, and every statement from the mouth of weak, erring man must be rejected, unless it can be borne out by-Thus saith the Lord.

It is not, however, to the doctrine of the false teachers that our blessed Redeemer seems in this passage chiefly to refer, but to their character and conduct. They are spoken of as hypocrites, "coming in sheep's clothing, while inwardly they are ravening

wolves." The expression, "sheep's clothing," is used to denote the coarse, simple dress of the ancient prophets. Accordingly, the prophet Zephaniah uses a similar expression in speaking of false prophets, "they wear a rough garment to deceive ;" and our Lord says of the Scribes, "they love to walk in long robes." The intention of our Lord, obviously, is to describe these teachers as assuming the garb and appearance of the prophets of God, while inwardly they are seeking only their own advantage, and their own honour among men. They "seek the praise of men, and not the honour that cometh from God only." Such men are not harmless, they are deeply injurious to the sheep of Christ. They are ravening wolves, seeking the fleece and not the flock-tearing and devouring the flock of Christ-"greedy dogs, that cannot have enough."

Our blessed Lord lays down a test by which such false teachers may be known.

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Vv. 16-18. "Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit ; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit; neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit." In judging of a tree you may be deceived by the appearance of its bark, and its leaves, and its branches, and its blos

soms, but "by their fruits ye shall know them." This is the test of the quality of the tree. And by this test Jesus wishes that all His ministers and all His people should be tried. The fruits that grow upon a tree of the Lord's planting are the fruits of the Spirit of God, which are plainly laid down in Gal. v. 22-24: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts." In proof of the accuracy of the test which Jesus proposes He appeals to the common experience of men. We expect the fruit invariably to correspond with the nature of the tree. "Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?" And our Lord assures us that, in this instance, the experience of men is founded on a sound principle. For "every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit; neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit." The fruit of the tree is its natural produce; and if the heart of a man has been really renewed by the Spirit of God, the fruits of righteousness will be brought forth, to the praise and the glory of Christ. But if any man, whether an office-bearer or a private member of the Church of Christ, be destitute of the grace of God in his heart, the fruits will speedily manifest themselves in

in the members warring against the law of the mind, and bringing it into captivity to the law of sin and of death." The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, all exercise their ascendency in the soul. Our tendency to evil and our aversion to good, are naturally so strong, that we are compelled to subscribe to the truth of the apostle's statement, "The carnal mind is enmity against God; it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." And even after the enmity of the heart has been slain, how many obstacles are there to the progress of sanctification in the converted soul! Pride, prejudice, evil passions, wicked inclinations, unhallowed desires, all operate powerfully in retarding the work of grace, and make the experience of Paul familiar to every child of God; Rom. vii. 15-19: "For that which I do I allow not for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do." Thus it is that "the gate is strait," and "the road is narrow" through the deceitfulness. and desperate wickedness of the human heart. And we remark,

2. That in connection with the natural state of the heart, the appointed road to heaven is difficult. The commencing process, that of conversion, is so completely opposed to the carnal nature that violence must be done to the strongest tendencies of the human heart. "Except we be converted, and become as little children, we cannot enter the kingdom of God." So complete is the change that it is termed a turning from darkness unto light, from death unto life, from the power of Satan to the service of God. And as conversion is difficult, repentance is painful, the mortification of sin requires strenuous exertion. It is no easy matter to cut off a right hand and to pluck out a right eye, that we may enter into life. And how arduous the work which is set before the man that follows Christ! He must "deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Jesus." He must be engaged in a daily and hourly process of dying unto sin and living unto righteousness. He must be crucifying "the flesh, with its affections and lusts." He must "resist even unto blood, striving against sin." be seeking to grow in grace, and to "perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord." And further,

He must ever

3. The powerful opposition to which the Christian is exposed increases the difficulty. The enemies of the believer are numerous and powerful. The devil, who is emphatically styled the Tempter-the world, with its manifold allurements-and the flesh, with its