Strictly taken, is right worship or devotion; but in general it imports the whole of practical religion, 1 Timothy 4:8 . 2 Peter 1:6 . It is difficult, as Saurin observes, to include an adequate idea of it in what is called a definition. "It supposes knowledge, veneration, affection, dependence, submission, gratitude, and obedience; or it may be reduced to these four ideas; knowledge in the mind, by which it is distinguished from the visions of the superstitious; rectitude in the conscience, that distinguishes it from hypocrisy; sacrifice in the life, or renunciation of the world, by which it is distinguished from the unmeaning obedience of him who goes as a happy constitution leads him; and, lastly, zeal in the heart, which differs from the languishing emotions of the lukewarm." The advantages of this disposition, are honour, peace, safety, usefulness, support in death, and prospect of glory; or, as the apostle sums up all in a few words, "It is profitable unto all things, having the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come, " 1 Timothy 4:8 . Saurin's Serm. vol. 5: ser. 3. Eng. trans.; Barrow's Works, vol. 1: p. 9.; Scott's Christian Life: Scougall's Life of God in the Soul of Man.
Despite a stated reliance on the plain meaning of the Bible and the dictates of common sense, Buck's Theological Dictionary, first published in London in 1802, seeks to provide a textual basis for the evangelical community. By combining brief essays on orthodox belief and practice with historical entries on various denominations, Buck provided an interpretive lens that allowed antebellum Protestants to see Christianity's almost two millennia as their own history.Wikipedia
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