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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A46700	A treatise concerning the indifference of humane actions	Jeanes, Henry, 1611-1662.	1669 (1669)	Wing J509A; ESTC R34477	148,823	174

1. What remaineth then but that all be admonished in the Lord Jesus to take to heart a matter so deeply concerning them both in conscience as a duty expresly enjoined by God practised by Christ his Apostles and Saints and in consequence as befitting us as the Sonnes subjects of God as the spouse members of Christ as being needfull to defeate Satans malice to cut off his temptations unto sinne and unto discomfort for sin to avoid sinne c. in our selves Application scandals unto others unto the weak obstinate and strong If therefore there be in you any love of God any care to walke worthy of those high relations you carry to him any regard to the safety of your own soules any feare of Satan sinne or punishment any compassion over the Consciences of your poore brethren keepe a loofe from whatsoever neighbours and borders upon sinne whatsoever hath the blush and shew thereof hate as (q) Ambr. l. 6. Hexaem Ambrose exhorts not only sinne but the coate of sinne the garment spotted by the flesh Even an heathen will advise you hereunto (r) Quint. l. 2. cap. 3. Carendum non solum crimine turpitudinis verum etiam suspicione Want we inducements take we these three It will be a course First Safe and Secure Secondly Comfortable Thirdly Honourable First Safe and Secure by it sinne and Satan shall be stav'd off kept out at daggers end your own soules secured kept out of gun shot either of infection or punishment so that they shall not come nigh scarce so much as the confines either of Sinne or Hell Secondly Comfortable For what an unspeakable comfort will it be unto thy drooping soule in the houre of death or in the time of spirituall desertion when thy Conscience can truly suggest that thou hast been so abhorrent from sinne as that thou hast shunn'd whatsoever hath been homogeneall thereunto whatsoever hath look't but like unto it it must needs stop Satans mouth and make thine own triumph in the calmnesse of a cleare and good conscience Thirdly Honourable for 't will gaine thee esteeme amongst both good and bad ones with those 't will make thy name precious t will muzzle the mouthes of these when they behold such uprightnesse in thy life as that thou shunnest not only down-right irreligiousnesse to God injustice to men but even their very picture and resemblance this cannot but extort from them though never so malicious an ingenious acknowledgment that thou art a true Israelite a sincere Nathaniel in whom there is found no guile Now though our maine and first endeavour must be to keep a good Conscience yet is not the jewell or precious ointment of a good name to be in the meane while neglected our care should be to preserve that likewise unspotted St Paul Acts 24.16 professeth that he exercised himselfe to have alwaies a conscience void of offence as towards God so towards men and he adviseth us to provide things honest in the sight of all men Rom. 12.17 To walke honestly towards them that are without 1 Thess 4.12 To strive for a good report of them that are without 1 Tim. 3.7 I will but prescribe two cautions directing how we are to abstaine from the appearance of evill and then I shall have done with the generall application of the words We are to abstaine neither only nor chiefly from the appearance of evill First not only that were foule Hypocrisy of which yet there are even a generation guilty who only combate with the shadow of sinne and in the meane while embrace the body of sinne reall sinnes who abstaine from the shew of every evill worke and yet remaine reprobate to every good worke who professe destation of gaine by gaiming because they conceive it to be an appearance of theft and yet make no conscience of fraud deceit and cousenage in their dealings who stand at defiance with all shewes of uncleanesse and yet make no scruple of the grossest acts thereof Secondly not chiefly that were a great incongruity for so care of the meanes should be greater than that of the end because abstinence from the appearance of evill is enjoyned as a preservative against the evill it selfe The evils themselves therefore should cheifely be avoided the body of sin should be opposed more than the shadow than the shewes of sin The flesh should be abhorred in a higher degree than the garment spotted therewith You have seene the point prest generally as it concernes all mens abstinence from the appearance of all evils I will only crave your pardon to call more particularly First upon all men for abstinence from the appearance especially of some evills Secondly upon some men especially for abstinence from the appearance of all evills and then I will put a period to my meditations upon these words First We must decline the shewes of some evils above others of our Master our bosome evils For from them is most danger to be feared they having commonly most strengh from our natures and Satan besides knowes but too well how our tide stands he quickly acquaints himselfe with our predominant lusts and most raging corruptions and unto them especially fits and accords his temptations as (ſ) Tacitus Suetonius Agrippina when she poisoned her husband Claudius mixed the poison in the meat which he most loved Secondly some men above others are especially to decline the appearance of all evils All publick men should do so but especially we of the Ministry The high Priests and Nazarites under the Law were not to come nigh a dead body Lev. 21.11 Numb 6.6 And in imitation of them among the Romans the Priest might not touch the dead nay they might not see the dead for if a Priest pronounced a Funerall Oration 't was not without a veile drawn betwixt him and the Corps Nay a Flaminian Priest might not heare the sound of pipes used at Funerals nor come into a place where there was a grave Was theere such rituall purity under the Law such Ceremoniall strictnesse in heathenish Priests and shall there not be found an answerable degree of morall precisenesse in the ministers of the Gospell shall they be willingly within sight sent and hearing of impiety except to reprove it (t) Dr Ed. Reyn● Psal 110. As a woman big with Child for fear and danger of miscarrying forbeareth Physick violent exercise and many meats and drinks which otherwise she might freely use even so those who travell in birth with the Children of Christ are put to deny and abridg themselves of many indifferencies I will eat no flesh saith St Paul while the world standeth rather then make my brother to offend 1 Cor. 8.13 Reasons enforcing their abstinence after an especiall manner from the appearance of evill are two Because in them they occasion First greater loosenesse in bad ones Secondly more heavinesse to good ones First Greater loosenesse in bad ones Strange it is how the lower and more ignorant ranke of men will be hereby strengthned in their downright sinfull courses Nay if a Minister do but wisely and lawfully use his Christian liberty the rude vulgar will thereupon open themselves a gappe unto all licentiousnesse If he be but innocently pleasant think they we may be mad If he but sip we may carouse If he spend but some few houres in his honest and harmelesse recreations the common gamester presently concludes his mispense of both time and patrimony in gaming to be thence justifiable Secondly more heavinesse to good ones it grieves the spirits of the righteous to see them in any it wounds their soules it makes their bloods their hearts rise to behold them in a man of God It becomes not my weaknesse to advise only in mine own and others behalfe I unfainedly wish and pray that this were seriously thought upon and practised by us all that all of us in a tender regard to the reputation and honour of our high calling would walke with great surcumspection make strait steps unto our feet tread every step as nicely as gingerly as if we went among snares walked upon ropes or pinnacles I will conclude with that of Bernard to Eugenius lib. 3. de consideratione cap. 4. which though written particularly unto him may yet fittingly enough be applied to every Minister nay every Christian Interest tuae perfectionis malas res malas paritèr species d●vitare in altero conscientiae in altero famae consulis It becomes your holinesse to decline as evill things so also evill appearances in that thou consult'st for thy Conscience in this for thy fame nay indeed if it be not presumption to adde unto the Father in this thou providest both for Conscience and Fame for Conscience first for the purity for the peace of thy Conscience for the purity of thy Conscience to keep it void of offence both towards God and towards men for the peace of thy Conscience to preserve it from the violence of Satans temptations from the vexations of thine own feares and jealousies Secondly for fame so to hedg it in from scandall as that it shall be above the reach of suspicion Therefore to goe on in the words of the Father Puta tibi non licere ●●tsi alias fortasse liceat quicquid malè fuerit coloratum non sit in fama naevus malae specisi Think not for the lawfull though perhaps otherwise lawfull whatsoever shall be evill coloured In thy fame let there not be so much as a spot of evill appearance so shalt thou follow things that are of good report Phil. 4.8 and thereby quite take off all private prejudices all open calumnies against either thy person or profession However thou shalt procure the testimony and approbation of God and thine own Conscience and be presented unblameable cleare from offensivenesse before men from faultinesse before God at the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ To whom with the Father and Holy Ghost be ascribed by us and the whole Church the Kingdome the Power and Glory from this time forth for evermore AMEN FINIS

and conducing unto their edification 3. Good in regard of our selves a duty that God requireth of us And from this we may inferre that the contrary hereof is by the rule of contraries morally evill it is displeasing unto God hurtfull unto the soule of thy Brother and sinfull in thy selfe In vers 22. The Apostle prevents an objection of the strong Hast thou faith have it to thy selfe before God He speaks not of a faith saith Chrysostome that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of doctrines and tenets to wit such as are fundamentall and necessary unto salvation but of a faith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 concerning the subject matter here handled meats and dayes things indifferent a beliefe touching their lawfulnesse the strong amongst the Romans might be ready to obiect that their knowledg and perswasion of their Christian liberty in the matter controverted amounted unto a Divine faith for it was built upon a divine Revelation Each of them might say as Paul did above vers 14. I know and am perswaded by the Lord Jesus that nothing is uncleane of it selfe The Lord Jesus hath taught me this liberty now is it not fit that my practise should be agreeable unto my beliefe that I should exercise my knowledg and act according unto my judgment seeing it is so well grounded why should I forbeare the doing of that which I know to be lawfull Unto this the Apostles answer is that they should not make a vaine ostentation or unseasonable discovery of their faith that is knowledg and perswasion unto the offence of their Brother the hazard of his soule but rather in such a case conceale it and content themselves with Gods knowledg and approbation of it who seeth in secret and will reward openly Matth. 6. Hast thou faith have it to thy selfe before God This prudent and charitable management of Christian liberty the Apostle exhorts the Corinthians unto in their carriage towards their Brethren touching things offered unto Idols 1 Cor. 8.9 take heed lest by any meanes this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to them that are weake In Chapt. 10. he determineth that it was lawfull to eat things consecrated to the Idols and he instanceth in two cases 1. When they were sold in open markets vers 25. 2ly When they were made use of at private f●asts But unto this his determination he subjoyneth the exception of scandall vers 28.29 If any man say unto you this is offered in sacrifice unto idols eat not for his sake that shewed it and for conscience sake The earth is the Lords and the fulnesse thereof Conscience I say not thine own but of the others for why is my liberty judged of another mans conscience This some understand of the unbelieving Idolater others of a weake brother And indeed this practise gives an wound unto both their consciences 1. The Idolater triumphes because he thinks it an honour unto his Idol and so he is confirmed and hardned in his Idolatry And then 2ly As for the weak Brother he supposeth that the meat is so polluted by Consecration and sacrifice unto Idols as that to eat thereof is a compliance with Idolatry and therefore altogether sinfull and hereupon the eating of these meats by the strong may occasion in the weak two scandalls 1. The example of the strong may intice them unto imitation and so they will sinne against their consciences 2ly The practise of the strong may provoke them unto rash and uncharitable judgment both scandals give a great blow unto the Conscience of the weake But that the Apostle speaks of the latter scandall I am induced to think by the words following Why is my liberty judged of another mans Conscience that is why doe I needlessely indiscreetly and unseasonably expose my Christian liberty unto the rash censures of a weake Brother who may be ready to traduce it as a prophane licentiousnesse why shall I drive him upon a sin which I may prevent by a prudent and charitable forbearance of the exercise of my liberty Liberty is a thing which men out of an excessive selfe love so much overvalue as that they are very impatient of any restraint to be put upon it at all But the Restraint that Charity prompts us unto is of all others most disregarded because there is nothing almost that is so much undervalued as the precious soules of our poore Brethren and therefore we make but little conscience how thick we throw scandals in their way I shall therefore briefly propound such weighty and pressing arguments as the Apostle useth to perswade the Romans and Corinthians to abstaine from a scandalous use of their liberty in things otherwise indifferent and lawfull and they are drawn either from the nature of things indifferent or from the nature of scandall 1. From the nature of things indifferent and here the first argument is Rom. 14.17 the kingdome of God is not meate and drinke It doth not stand in indifferent things for they are neither the way to the kingdome of Glory nor our duty under the kingdome of grace They are no part of Gods worship and service no matter of Religion the weale and safety of Gods people is in no wise wrapt up in them nay many times a rigid pressing and unseasonable practice of them is a great disturbance unto the peace and a great hinderance unto the edification of the Church the kingdome of Christ A second Argument from the nature of things indifferent is the great latitude of them Though some of them be scandalous yet there will still remaine an ample field of them besides 1 Cor. 10.28 If any man say unto you this is offered in sacrifice unto idols eat not for his sake that shewed it c. the earth is the Lords and the fulnesse thereof It is as much as if he had said though ye abstaine from things offered unto idols yet there is no doubt of want no feare of pinching your bellies for you have the earth and the fulnesse thereof for your supply And from the scandall by meats we may argue in like manner touching the scandall by recreation If cards dyce tables offend thy brother there is plenty enough of other sports bowling chesse draughts c. A second sort of arguments that the Apostle insists on are taken from the nature of scandall It is a sinne against that tender love which we owe unto our brethren And when ye sinne so against the brethren 1 Cor. 8.12 And that 't is no small but a very hainous sinne the next words evince And wound their weake consci●nce The words are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 where as Beza well observeth the Antecedent is put for the consequent beating striking or smiting for the effect thereof wounding As weapons or whips wound the body so scandalls the conscience Unjustly to wound the body the face the eye of our Brother is a cruell and inhumane part but to wound so tender a piece as his conscience to wound a weake a sicklie a