NO. 78<\/b><\/p>\n
A SERMON DELIVERED ON SABBATH MORNING, NOVEMBER 22, 1855,<\/b><\/p>\n
BY THE REV. C. H. SPURGEON,<\/i><\/p>\n
AT NEW PARK STREET CHAPEL, SOUTHWARK<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cThey are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.\u201d \u2014 John 17:16.<\/i><\/p>\n
Christ\u2019s prayer was for a special people. He declared that he did not offer an universal intercession. \u201cI pray for them<\/i>,\u201d said he. \u201cI pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine.\u201d In reading this beautiful prayer through, only one question arises to our minds; Who are the people that are described as \u201cthem,\u201d or as \u201cthey?\u201d Who are these favored individuals, who share a Savior\u2019s prayers, are recognized by a Savior\u2019s love, have their names written on the stones of his precious breastplate, and have their character and their circumstances mentioned by the lips of the High Priest before the throne on high? The answer to that question is supplied by the words of our text. The people for whom Christ prays are an unearthly people. They are a people somewhat above the world, distinguished altogether from it. \u201cThey are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
I shall treat my text, first of all, doctrinally<\/i>; secondly, experimentally<\/i>; and thirdly, practically<\/i>.<\/p>\n
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I. <\/b>First, we shall take our text and look at it Doctrinally.<\/p>\n
The doctrine of it is, that God\u2019s people are a people who are not of the world, even as Christ was not of the world. It is not so much that they are not of the world, as that they are \u201cnot of the world, even as Christ was not of the world.<\/i>\u201d This is an important distinction, for there are to be found certain people who are not of the world, and yet they are not Christians. Amongst them I would mention sentimentalists \u2014 people who are always crying and groaning in affected sentimental ways. Their spirits are so refined, their characters are so delicate, that they could not attend to ordinary business. They would think it rather degrading to their spiritual nature to attend to anything connected with the world. They live much in the air of romances and novels; love to read things that fetch tears from their eyes; they would like continually to live in a cottage near a wood, or to inhabit some quiet cave, where they could read \u201cZimmerman on Solitude\u201d for ever; for they feel that they are \u201cnot of the world.\u201d The fact is, there is something too flimsy about them to stand the wear and tear of this wicked world. They are so pre-eminently good, that they cannot bear to do as we poor human creatures do I have heard of one young lady, who thought herself so spiritually-minded that she could not work. A very wise minister said to her, \u201cThat is quite correct! you are so spiritually-minded that you cannot work; very well, you are so spiritually-minded that you shall not eat unless you do.\u201d That brought her back from her great spiritual-mindedness. There is a stupid sentimentalism that certain persons nurse themselves into. They read a parcel of books that intoxicate their brains, and then fancy that they have a lofty destiny. These people are \u201cnot of the world,\u201d truly; but the world does not want them, and the world would not miss them much, if they were clean gone for ever. There is such a thing as being \u201cnot of the world,\u201d from high order of sentimentalism, and yet not being a Christian after all. For it is not so much being \u201cnot of the world,\u201d as being \u201cnot of the world, even as Christ was not of the world.\u201d There are others, too, like your monks, and those other mad individuals of the Catholic church, who are not of the world. They are so awfully good, that they could not live with us sinful creatures at ale. They must be distinguished from us altogether. They must not wear, of course, a boot that would at all approach to a worldly shoe, but they must have a sole of leather strapped on with two or three thongs, like the far-famed Father Ignatius. They could not be expected to wear worldly coats and waistcoats; but they must have peculiar garbs, cut in certain fashions, like the Passionists. They must wear particular dresses, particular garments, particular habits. And we know that some men are \u201cnot of the world\u201d by the peculiar mouthing they give to all their words \u2014 the sort of sweet, savory, buttery flavor they give to the English language, because they think themselves so eminently sanctified that they fancy it would be wrong to indulge in anything in which ordinary mortals indulge. Such persons are, however, reminded, that their being \u201cnot of the world,\u201d has nothing to do with it. It is not being \u201cnot of the world,\u201d so much as being \u201cnot of the world, even as Christ was not of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is the distinguishing mark \u2014 being different from the world in those respects in which Christ was different. Not making ourselves singular in unimportant points, as those poor creatures do, but being different from the world in those respects in which the Son of God and the Son of man, Jesus Christ, our glorious Examplar, was distinguished from the rest of mankind. And I think this will burst out in great clearness and beauty to us, if we consider that Christ was not of the world in nature; that he was not of the world again, in office; and above all, that he was not of the world in his character.<\/p>\n
1. <\/b>First, Christ was not of the world in nature<\/i>. What was there about Christ that was worldly? In one point of view his nature was divine; and as divine, it was perfect, pure, unsullied, spotless, he could not descend to things of earthliness and sin; in another sense he was human; and his human nature, which was born of the Virgin Mary, was begotten of the Holy Ghost, and therefore was so pure that in it rested nothing that was worldly. He was not like ordinary men. We are all born with worldliness in our hearts. Solomon well says, \u201cFoolishness is bound up in the heart of a child.\u201d It is not only there, but it is bound up in it, it is tied up in his heart, and is difficult to remove. And so with each of us: when we were children, earthliness and carnality were bound up in our nature. But Christ was not so. His nature was not a worldly one; it was essentially different from that of every one else, although he sat down and talked with them. Mark the difference! He stood side by side with a Pharisee; but every one could see he was not of the Pharisee\u2019s world. He sat by a Samaritan woman and though he conversed with her very freely, who is it that fails to see that he was not of that Samaritan woman\u2019s world \u2014 not a sinner like her? He mingled with the Publicans, nay, he sat down at the Publican\u2019s feast, and eat with Publicans and sinners; but you could see by the holy actions and the peculiar gestures he there carried with him, that he was not of the Publicans\u2019 world, though he mixed with them. There was something so different in his nature that you could not have found an individual in all the world whom you could have set beside him and said, \u201cThere! he is of that man\u2019s world.\u201d Nay, not even John, though he leaned on his bosom and partook very much of his Lord\u2019s spirit, was exactly of that world to which Jesus belonged; for even he once in his Boanergean spirit, said words to this effect, \u201cLet us call down fire from heaven on the heads of those who oppose thee,\u201d \u2014 a thing that Christ could not endure for a moment, and thereby proved that he was something even beyond John\u2019s world.<\/p>\n
Well, beloved, in some sense, the Christian man is not of the world even in his nature I do not mean in his corrupt and fallen nature, but in his new nature. There is something in a Christian that is utterly and entirely distinct from that of anybody else. Many persons think that the difference between a Christian and a worldling consists in this: one goes to chapel twice on a Sabbath-day, another does not go but once, or perhaps not at all; one of them takes the sacrament, the other does not; one pays attention to holy things, the other pays very little attention to them. But, ah, beloved, that does not make a Christian. The distinction between a Christian and a worldling is not merely external, but internal. The difference is one of nature, and not of act.<\/p>\n
A Christian is as essentially different from a worldling as a dove is from a raven, or a lamb from a lion. He is not of the world even in his nature. You could not make him a worldling. You might do what you liked; you might cause him to fall into some temporary sin; but you could not make him a worldling. You might cause him to backslide; but you could not make him a sinner, as he used to be He is not of the world by his nature. He is a twice-born man; in his veins run the blood of the royal family of the universe. He is a nobleman; he is a heaven-born child. His freedom is not merely a bought one, but he hath his liberty by his new-born nature. He is begotten again unto a lively hope. He is not of the world by his nature; he is essentially and entirely different from the world. There are persons in this chapel now who are more totally distinct from one another than you can even conceive. I have some here who are intelligent, and some who are ignorant; some who are rich, and some who are poor; but I do not allude to those distinctions: they all melt away into nothing in that great distinction \u2014 dead or alive, spiritual or carnal, Christian or worldling: And oh I if ye are God\u2019s people, then ye are not of the world in your nature; for ye are \u201cnot of the world, even as Christ was not of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
2. <\/b>Again: you are not of the world in your office<\/i>. Christ\u2019s office had nothing to do with worldly things. \u201cArt thou a king then?\u201d Yes; I am a king; but my kingdom is not of this world. \u201cArt thou a priest?\u201d Yes; I am a priest; but my priesthood is not the priesthood which I shall soon lay aside, or which shall be discontinued as that of others has been. \u201cArt thou a teacher?\u201d Yes; but my doctrines are not the doctrines of morality, doctrines that concern earthly dealings between man and man simply; my doctrine cometh down from heaven. So Jesus Christ, we say, is \u201cnot of the world.\u201d He had no office that could be termed a worldly one, and he had no aim which was in the least worldly. He did not seek his own applause, his own fame, his own honor; his very office was not of the world. And, O believer! what is thy office? Hast thou none at all? Why, yes, man! Thou art a priest unto the Lord thy God; thy office is to offer a sacrifice of prayer and praise each day. Ask a Christian what he is. Say to him: \u201cWhat is your official standing? What are you by office?\u201d Well, if he answers you properly, he will not say, \u201cI am a draper, or druggist,\u201d or anything of that sort. No; he will say, \u201cI am a priest unto my God. The office unto which I am called, is to be the salt of the earth. I am a city set on a hill, a light that cannot be hid. That is my office. My office is not a worldly one.\u201d Whether yours be the office of the minister, or the deacon, or the church member, ye are not of this world in your office, even as Christ was not of the world; your occupation is not a worldly one.<\/p>\n
3. <\/b>Again, ye are not of the world in your character<\/i>; for that is the chief point in which Christ was not of the world. And now, brethren, I shall have to turn some what from doctrine to practice before I get rightly to this part of the subject; for I must reprove many of the Lord\u2019s people, that they do not sufficiently manifest that they are not of the world in character, even as Christ was not of the world. Oh I how many of you there are, who will assemble around the table at the supper of your Lord, who do not live like your Savior. How many of you there are, who join our church and walk with us, and yet are not worthy of your high calling and profession. Mark you the churches all around, and let your eyes run with tears, when you remember that of many of their members it cannot be said, \u201cye are not<\/i> of the world,\u201d for they are<\/i> of the world. O, my hearers, I fear many of you are worldly, carnal, and covetous; and yet ye join the churches, and stand well with God\u2019s people by a hypocritical profession. O ye whitewashed sepulchres! ye would deceive even the very elect! ye make clean the outside of the cup and platter, but your inward part is very wickedness. O that a thundering voice might speak this to your ears! \u2014 \u201cThose whom Christ loves are not of the world,\u201d but ye are of the world; therefore ye cannot be his, even though ye profess so to be; for those that love him are not such as you. Look at Jesus\u2019 character; how different from every other man\u2019s \u2014 pure, perfect, spotless, even such should be the life of the believer. I plead not for the possibility of sinless conduct in Christians, but I must hold that grace makes men to differ, and that God\u2019s people will be very different from other kinds of people. A servant of God will be a God\u2019s-man everywhere. As a chemist, he could not indulge in any tricks that such men might play with their drugs; as a grocer \u2014 if indeed it be not a phantom that such things are done \u2014 he could not mix sloe leaves with tea or red lead in the pepper; if he practiced any other kind of business, he could not for a moment condescend to the little petty shifts, called \u201cmethods of business.\u201d To him it is nothing what is called \u201cbusiness ;\u201d it is what is called God\u2019s law, he feels that he is not of the world, consequently, he goes against Its fashions and its maxims. A singular story is told of a certain quaker. One day he was bathing in the Thames, and a waterman called out to him, \u201cHa! there goes the Quaker.\u201d \u201cHow do you know I\u2019m a Quaker?\u201d \u201cBecause you swim against the stream; it is the way the Quakers always do.\u201d That is the way Christians always ought to do \u2014 to swim against the stream. The Lord\u2019s people should not go along with the rest in their worldliness. Their characters should be visibly different. You should be such men that your fellows can recognize you without any difficulty, and say, \u201cSuch a man is a Christian.\u201d Ah! beloved, it would puzzle the angel Gabriel himself, to tell whether some of you are Christians or not, if he were sent down to the world to pick out the righteous from the wicked. None but God could do it, for in these days of worldly religion they are so much alike. It was an ill day for the world, when the sons of God and the daughters of men were mingled together: and it is an ill day now, when Christians and worldlings are so mixed, that you cannot tell the difference between them. God save us from a day of fire that may devour us in consequence! But O beloved! the Christian will be always different from the world. This is a great doctrine, and it will be found as true in ages to come as in the centuries which are past. Looking back into history, we read this lesson: \u201cThey are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.\u201d We see them driven to the catacombs of Rome; we see them hunted about like partridges; and wherever in history you find God\u2019s servants, you can recognize them by their distinct, unvarying character \u2014 they were not of the world, but were a people scarred and peeled; a people entirely distinct from the nations. And it in this age, there are no different people, if there are none to be found who differ from other people, there are no Christians; for Christians will be always different from the world. They are not of the world, even as Christ is not of the world. This is the doctrine.<\/p>\n
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II. <\/b>But now for treating this text Experimentally.<\/p>\n
Do we, dearly beloved, feel this truth? Has it ever been laid to our souls, so that we can feel it is ours? \u201cThey are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.\u201d Have we ever felt that we are not of the world? Perhaps there is a believer sitting in a pew to-night, who says, \u201cWell, sir, I can\u2019t say that I feel as it I was not of the world, for I have just come from my shop, and worldliness is still hanging about me.\u201d Another says, \u201cI have been in trouble and my mind is very much harassed \u2014 I can\u2019t feel that I am different from the world; I am afraid that I am of the world.\u201d But, beloved, we must not judge ourselves rashly, because just at this moment we discern not the spot of God\u2019s children. Let me tell you, there are always certain testing moments when you can tell of what kind of stuff a man is made. Two men are walking, part of the way their road lies side by side. How do you tell which man is going to the right, and which to the left? Why, when they come to the turning point. Now, to-night is not a turning point, for you are sitting with worldly people here, but at other times we may distinguish.<\/p>\n
Let me tell you one or two turning points, when every Christian will feel that he is not of the world. One is, when he gets into very deep trouble<\/i>. I do believe and protest, that we never feel so unearthly as when we get plunged down into trouble. Ah! when some creature comfort hath been swept away, when some precious blessing hath withered in our sight, like the fair lily, snapped at the stalk; when some mercy has been withered, like Jonah\u2019s gourd in the night \u2014 then it is that the Christian feels, \u201cI am not of the world.\u201d His cloak is torn from him, and the cold wind whistles almost through him; and then he says, \u201cI am a stranger in the world, as all my fathers were. Lord, thou hast been my dwelling-place in all generations.\u201d You have had at times deep sorrows. Thank God for them! They are testing moments. When the furnace is hot, it is then that the gold is tried best. Have you felt at such a time that you were not of the world? Or, have you rather sat down, and said, \u2019Oh! I do not deserve this trouble?\u201d Did you break under it? Did you bow down before it and let it crush you while you cursed your Maker? Or did your spirit, even under its load, still lift itself unto him, like a man all dislocated on the battle-field, whose limbs are cut away, but who still lifts himself up as best he can, and looks over the field to see if there be a friend approaching. Did you do so? Or did you lie down in desperation and despair? If you did that, methinks you are no Christian; but if there was a rising up, it was a testing moment, and it proved that you were \u201cnot of the world,\u201d because you could master affliction; because you could tread it under foot, and say \u2014 <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen all created streams are dry,
His goodness is the same;
With this I well am satisfied,
And glory in his name.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
But another testing moment is prosperity<\/i>. Oh! there have been some of God\u2019s people, who have been more tried by prosperity than by adversity. Of the two trials, the trial of adversity is less severe to the spiritual man than that of prosperity. \u201cAs the fining pot for silver, so is a man to his praise.\u201d It is a terrible thing to be prosperous. You had need to pray to God, not only to help you in your troubles, but to help you in your blessings. Mr. Whitfield once had a petition to put up for a young man who had \u2014 stop, you will think it was for a young man who had lost his father or his property. No! \u201cThe prayers of the congregation are desired for a young man who has become heir to an immense fortune, and who feels he has need of much grace to keep him humble in the midst of riches.\u201d That is the kind of prayer that ought to be put up; for prosperity is a hard thing to bear. Now, perhaps you have become almost intoxicated with worldly delights, even as a Christian. Everything goes well with you; you have loved, and you are loved. Your affairs are prosperous; your heart rejoices, your eyes sparkle; you tread the earth with a happy soul and a joyous countenance; you are a happy man, for you have found that even in worldly things, \u201cgodliness with contentment is great gain.\u201d Did you ever feel, \u2014 <\/p>\n
\u201cThese can never satisfy;
Give me Christ, or else I die.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Did you feel that these comforts were nothing but the leaves of the tree, and not the fruit, and that you could not live upon mere leaves? Did you feel they were after all nothing but husks? Or did you not sit down and say, \u201cNow, soul, take thine ease; thou hast goods laid up for many years; eat, drink, and be merry?\u201d If you did imitate the rich fool, then you were of the world; but if your spirit went up above your prosperity so that you still lived near to God, then you proved that you were a chill of God, for you were not of the world. These are testing points; both prosperity and adversity.<\/p>\n
Again: you may test yourselves in this way in solitude and in company<\/i>. In solitude you may tell whether you are not of the world. I sit me down, throw the window up, look out on the stars, and think of them as the eyes of God looking down upon me! And oh! does it not seem glorious at times to consider the heavers when we can say, \u201cAh! beyond those stars is my house not made with hands; those stars are mile-stones on the road to glory, and I shall soon tread the glittering way, or be carried by seraphs far beyond them, and be there!\u201d Have you felt in solitude that you are not of the world? And so again in company. Ah! beloved, believe me, company is one of the best tests for a Christian. You are invited to an evening party. Sundry amusements are provided which are not considered exactly sinful, but which certainly cannot come under the name of pious amusements. You sit there with the rest; there is a deal of idle chat going on, you would be thought puritanical to protest against it. Have you not come away \u2014 and notwithstanding all has been very pleasant, and friends have been very agreeable \u2014 have you not been inclined to say, \u201cAh! that does not do for me; I would rather be in a prayer meeting; I would rather be in an old broken down cow-lodge, with six old women, so long as I could be with the people of God, than in fine rooms with all the dainties and delicacies that could be provided without the company of Jesus. By God\u2019s grace I will seek to shun all these places as much as possible.\u201d That is a good test. You will prove in this way that you are not of the world. And you may do so in a great many other ways, which I have no time to mention. Have you felt this experimentally, so that you can say, \u201cI know that I am not of the world, I see it; I experience it.\u201d Don\u2019t talk of doctrine. Give me doctrine ground into experience. Doctrine is good; but experience is better. Experimental doctrine is the true doctrine which comforts and which edifies.<\/p>\n
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IV. <\/b>And now, lastly, we must briefly apply this in PRACTICE. \u201cThey are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.\u201d And, first, allow me, man or woman, to apply this to thee. Thou who art of the world<\/i>, whose maxims, whose habits, whose behavior, whose feelings, whose everything is worldly and carnal, list thee to this. Perhaps thou makest some profession of religion. Hear me, then. Thy boasting of religion is empty as a phantom, and shall pass away when the sun rises, as the ghosts sleep in their grave at the crowing of the cock. Thou hast some pleasure in that professioned religion of thine wherewith thou art arrayed, and which thou carriest about thee as a cloak, and usest as a stalking-horse to thy business, and a net to catch the honor in the world, and yet thou art worldly, like other men. Then I tell thee if there be no distinction between thyself and the worldly, the doom of the worldly shall be thy doom. If thou wert marked and watched, thy next door tradesman would act as thou dost, and thou actest as he does; there is no distinction between thee and the world. Hear me, then; it is God\u2019s solemn truth. Thou art none of his. If thou art like the rest of the world, thou art of the world. Thou art a goat, and with goats thou shalt be cursed; for the sheep can always be distinguished from the goats by their appearance. O ye worldly men of the world! ye carnal professors, ye who crowd our churches, and fill our places of worship, this is God\u2019s truth I let me say it solemnly. If I should say it as I ought, it would be weeping tears of blood. Ye are, with all your profession, \u201cin the gall of bitterness;\u201d with all your boastings, ye are \u201cin bonds of iniquity;\u201d for ye act as others, and ye shall come where others come; and it shall be done with you as with more notorious heirs of hell. There is an old story which was once told of a Dissenting minister. The old custom was, that a minister might stop at an inn, and not pay anything for his bed or his board; and when he went to preach, from place to place, he was charged nothing for the conveyance in which he rode. But on one occasion, a certain minister stopped at an inn and went to bed. The landlord listened and heard no prayer; so when he came down in the morning, he presented his bill. \u201cOh! I am not going to pay that, for I am a minister.\u201d \u201cAh!\u201d said the landlord, \u201cyou went to bed last night like a sinner, and you shall pay this morning like a sinner; I will not let you go.\u201d Now, it strikes me, that this will be the case with some of you when you come to God\u2019s bar. Though you pretended to be a Christian, you acted like a sinner, and you shall fare like a sinner too. Your actions were unrighteous; they were far from God; and you shall have a portion with those whose character was the same as yours. \u201cBe not deceived;\u201d it is easy to be so. 46 God is not mocked,\u201d though we often are, both minister and people. \u201cGod is not mocked; whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.\u201d<\/p>\n
And now we want to apply this to many true children of God<\/i> who are here, by way of caution. I say, my brother Christian, you are not of the world. I am not going to speak hardly to you, because you are my brother, and in speaking to you I speak to myself also, for I am as guilty as thou art. Brother, have we not often been too much like the world? Do we not sometimes in our conversation, talk too much like the world? Come, let me ask myself, are there not too many idle words that I say? Ay, that there are. And do I not sometimes give occasion to the enemy to blaspheme, because I am not so different from the world as I ought to be? Come, brother; let us confess our sins together. Have we not been too worldly? Ah! we have. Oh! let this solemn thought cross our minds: suppose that after all we should not be his! for it is written, \u201cYe are not of the world.\u201d O God! if we are not right, make us so; where we are a little right, make us still more right; and where we are wrong, amend us! Allow me to tell a story to you; I told it when I was preaching last Tuesday morning, but it is worth telling again. There is a great evil in many of us being too light and frothy in our conversation. A very strange thing once happened. A minister had been preaching in a country village, very earnestly and fervently. In the midst of his congregation there was a young man who was deeply impressed with a sense of sin under the sermon; he therefore sought the minister as he went out, in hopes of walking home with him. They walked till they came to a friend\u2019s house. On the road the minister had talked about anything except the subject on which he had preached, though he preached very earnestly, and even with tears in his eyes. The young man thought within himself, \u201cOh! I wish I could unburden my heart and speak to him; but cannot. He does not say anything now about what he spoke of in the pulpit.\u201d When they were at supper that evening, the conversation was very far from what it should be, and the minister indulged in all kinds of jokes and light sayings. The young man had gone into the house with eyes filled with tears, feeling like a sinner should feel; but as soon as he got outside, after the conversation, he stamped his foot and said, \u201cIt is a lie from beginning to end. That man has preached like an angel and now he has talked like a devil.\u201d Some years after the young man was taken ill and sent for this same minister. The minister did not know him. \u201cDo you remember preaching at such-end-such a village?\u201d asked the young man. \u201cI do.\u201d \u201cYou text was very deeply laid to my heart.\u201d \u201cThank God for that,\u201d said the minister. \u201cDo not be so quick about thanking God,\u201d said the young man. \u201cDo you know what you talked of that evening afterwards, when I went to supper with you. Sir I shall be damned!<\/i> And I will charge you<\/i> before God\u2019s throne with being the author of my damnation. On that night I did feel my sin; but you were the means of scattering all my impressions.\u201d That is a solemn thought, brother, and teaches us how we should curb our tongues, especially those who are so light hearted, after solemn services and earnest preachings, that we should not betray levity. Oh! let us take heed that we are not of the world, even as Christ was not of the world.<\/p>\n
And Christian, lastly, by way of practice, let me comfort thee with this. Thou art not of the world for thy home is in heaven. Be content to be here a little for thou art not of the world, and thou shalt go up to thine own bright inheritance by-and-bye. A man in travelling goes into an inn; it is rather uncomfortable, \u201cWell,\u201d says he, \u201cI shall not have to stay here many nights; I have only to sleep here to-night, I shall be at home in the morning, so that I don\u2019t care much about one night\u2019s lodging being a little uncomfortable.\u201d So, Christian, this world is never a very comfortable one; but recollect, you are not of the world. This world is like an inn; you are only lodging here a little while. Put up with a little inconvenience, because you are not of the world, even as Christ is not of the world; and by-and-bye, up yonder, you shall be gathered into your father\u2019s house, and there you will find that there is a new heaven and a new earth provided for those who are \u201cnot of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NO. 78 A SERMON DELIVERED ON SABBATH MORNING, NOVEMBER 22, 1855, BY THE REV. C. H. SPURGEON, AT NEW PARK STREET CHAPEL, SOUTHWARK \u201cThey are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.\u201d \u2014 John 17:16. Christ\u2019s prayer was for a special people. He declared that he did not offer an … Continue reading “THE CHARACTER OF CHRIST\u2019S PEOPLE.”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1425\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}