Preaching.

On what footing does the preacher take men up in reference to the Judge of all the earth , and what is the specific that he brings home to them as adequate to meet their case ? When an uncertain sound is given on RUIN , REDEMPTION,  and REGENERATION , the sinner fails to see himself in the mirror held up to him . There is nothing to bring him into the divine presence , or to bring home the pointed address, "Thou art the man." Nothing can be named as more important than the precision with which the line is drawn between law and gospel , which was the distinctive feature of the Pauline theology , and the restoration of which was the great achievement of the reformation, which, after the long torpor of ages , brought back preaching to the place it occupied in apostolic times. Without that distinction preaching loses its edge. The law is enforced on the impenitent , and the gospel commended to the contrite . The Reformation made this distinction familiar to all men as a household word , and gave it the prominence that belongs to it .    George Smeaton. ...The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit.