Transcribed from the [1850] edition by David Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org THE BELIEVER NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL. * * * * * THE SIXTH ANNIVERSARY SERMON OF THE Church of England Young Men’s Society, PREACHED IN ST. BRIDE’S CHURCH, FLEET STREET, ON TUESDAY EVENING, APRIL 23, 1850, BY THE REV. EDWARD HOARE, M.A. INCUMBENT OF CHRIST CHURCH, RAMSGATE. * * * * * “_For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ_: _for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth_.”—Romans i. 16. * * * * * THERE is nothing more strange than human nature. It is afraid where no fear is: yet bold in the midst of danger. It is ashamed where there is no disgrace; and yet shameless, when it ought to be abased, even to the dust. It is proud of things which do it no honour, and yet ashamed of gifts which are the wonder and admiration of the saints in heaven. If a man is possessed of great intellectual attainments, he is never found to be ashamed of them! If he is successful in the accumulation of wealth, he is never known to be ashamed of that; if he is remarkable for worldly wisdom, he is never tempted to be ashamed of that; nor, if he deduces his pedigree from a long line of ennobled ancestry, does he show any tendency to be ashamed of that. But if, on the other hand, he be made partaker of the highest gift that the world has ever known—the gift of the grace of God in his heart—the most blessed and glorious gift within the reach either of man or angel—then, strange to say! such is the folly of human nature, that he is strongly tempted to be ashamed of that; ashamed of the deep emotions which the Spirit of God has kindled within his soul, ashamed of that which, in the secrets of his own heart, he acknowledges to be his hope, his joy, his salvation, and his glory.