m the life of God
through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of
their heart.

You heard these words read in the Epistle for to-day. I cannot
expect that you all understood them. It is no shame to you that you
did not. Some of them are long and hard Latin words. Some of them,
though they are plain English enough, are hard to understand because
they have to do with deep matters, which can only be understood by
the help of God's Spirit. And even with the help of God's Spirit we
cannot any of us expect to understand _all_ which they mean: we
cannot expect to be as wise as St. Paul; for we must be as good as
St. Paul before we can be as wise about goodness as he was. I do
not pretend to understand all the text myself: no, not half, nor a
tenth part of what it very likely means. But I do seem to myself to
understand a little about it, by the help and blessing of God; and
what little of it I do understand, I will try to make you understand
also.

For the words in the text belong to you as much as to me, or to St.
Paul himself. What is true for one man, is true for every man.
What is right for one man, is right for every man. What God
promises for one man, He promises to every man. Man or woman, black
or white, rich or poor, scholar or unlearned, there is no respect of
persons with Him. 'In Christ Jesus,' says St. Paul, 'there is
neither male nor female, slave nor freeman, Jew who fancies that
God's promises belong to him alone, or Gentile who knows nothing
about them, clever learned Greek, or stupid ignorant Barbarian.'

It is enough for God that we are all men and women bearing the
flesh, and blood, and human nature which His Son Jesus Christ wore
on earth. If we are baptized, we belong to Him: if we are not
baptized, we ought to be; for we belong to Him just as much. Every
man may be baptized; every man may be regenerate; God calls all to
His grace and adoption and holy baptism, which is the sign and seal
of His adoption; and therefore, what is right for the regenerate
baptized man, is right for the unregenerate unbaptized man; for the
Christian and for the heathen there is but one way, one duty, one
life for both, and that is the life of God, of which St. Paul speaks
in the text.

Now of this life of God I will speak hereafter; but I mention it
now, because it is the thing to which I wish to bring your thoughts
before the end of the sermon.

But first, let us see what St. Paul me