That these two sorts of Persons are most extremely soâ—…tish 1 Such as expect to have their share in the Salvation of the Gospel without true Holiness 2. Such much more as encourage themselves by the grace of the Gospel in unholiness pag. 213. Chap. 19. The fourth Inference That a right understanding of the Design of Christianity will give satisfaction concerning the true Notion 1. Of Justifying Faith 2. Of the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness pag. 221. Chap. 20. The fifth Inference That we learn from the Design of Christianity the great measure and standard whereby we are to judge of Doctrines How we are to judge of the Truth of Doctrines pag. 227. Chap. 21. How we are to judge of the Necessity of Doctrines either to be embraced or rejected A brief discourse of the Nature of Points Fundamental How we may know whether we embrace all such and whether we hold not any destructive and damnable Errours pag. 233. Chap. 22. The sixth Inference That the Design of Christianity teacheth us what Doctrines and Practices we ought as Christians to be most Zealous for or against pag. 237. Chap. 23. The seventh Inference That the Design of Christianity well considered will give us great light into the just bounds and extent of Christian Liberty Of complying with the customes of our Country and the will of our Governours The great difference between the Mosaical Law and the Gospel as to its Preceptive part pag. 240. Chap. 24. The eighth Inference That it is the most unaccountable thing to do that which is essentially evil in defence of the Christian Religion or of any opinions presumed to be Doctrines relating thereunto The Pope and Church of Rome most prodigiously guilty in this particular And not a few of those that profess enmity against Popery too lyable also to the same charge pag. 246. Chap. 25. The Ninth Inference That it is a most unwarrantable thing for those that are the Ministers of Christ to prefer any other Design before that of making men really Righteous and Holy That this ought to be the whole Design of their Preaching That it is of as great concernment that they promote the same business by their Conversations as that they do it by their Doctrine Infinite mischiefs occasioned by the loose lives of Ministers Several Instances of Practices extremely blame worthy in Preachers of the Gospel That they ought to have a regard to the Weaknesses of Persons so far as lawfully they may That the Promoting of Holiness ought to be onely Design of Ecclesiastical Discipline pag. 252. Chap. 26. The tenth Inference That an obedient temper of mind is an excellent and necessary qualification to prepare men for a firm belief and right understanding of the Gospel of Christ. That it is so by virtue of Christ's promise That it is so in its own Nature This shewed in three Particulars viz. in that 1. It will help us to judge without prejudice concerning the Doctrines contained in the Gospel 2. It will give satisfaction concerning the main Doctrines of Christianity far excelling any that can arise from mere speculation 3. It will secure from the causes of Errour in those Points that are of weightiest importance Six causes of such Errours laid down and an Obedient Disposition of mind shewed to secure from each of them pag. 267. Chap. 27. The last Inference That we are taught by the Design of Christianity wherein the Essence Power and Life of it consisteth Instances of what kind of things it doth not consist in For what ends the several Exercises of Piety and Devotion are injoyned How God is glorified by men and by what means Whom it is our duty to esteem and carry our selves towards as true Christians That by following the Example of Christ and making his Life our Pattern we shall assure our selves that the Design of Christianity is effected in us and that we are indued with the Power of it pag. 281. The Introduction THE Accusation that Celsus and Iulian the Grand Adversaries of the Christian Religion had the impudent confidence to fasten upon it namely That it indulgeth men in and encourageth them to the practice of immorality and wickedness is so notoriously false and groundless that there is nothing truer or more perspicuously held forth in the Books that contain Christianity than that the perfectly contrary is the Great Design of it But yet notwithstanding those that shall heedfully observe the lives and actions of an Infinite number of such as call Christ their Master would be very shrewdly tempted undoubtedly to conclude that they secretly think what those Heathens had the face to publish And as for I fear I may say even most of those Professours of Faith in Christ which have escaped the scandalous and more gross pollutions of the world that man that shall take an exact survey of their conversations also and consider what matters they most busie themselves about what the designs are which they chiefly prosecute and that not onely as Men but as Christians too what things they are that exercise most of their Deal and for and against which is spent the greatest part of their Religious Heat will be strongly enclined to suspect that though they have not entertained so highly dishonourable an opinion of their Saviour as to esteem him a Patron of Vice and Wickedness yet they think so undervaluingly of Him as to judge him so mean a Friend to Holiness as that the promoting it in mens hearts and lives if it was at all a Design of His coming into the world and of the Religion He left behind Him yet it was at best but a Bye-one and that some other matters were much more in his Eye and principally intended by Him Though I will not say that the greater part of our most forward Professors have their Heads Leavened with such thoughts yet any one may dare to affirm that they behave themselves exactly as if they had And moreover I am absolutely certain that it is utterly impossible men should make such a Bustle and Stir about matters of none or but small importance to the serving or prejudicing the real Interest of their Souls and on the other hand be as Lukewarm unconcern'd and Careless in diverse things that have the most immediate and direct tendency to their Eternal Wellfare if they duly considered and had a quick sense of what was now intimated viz. That the Business that brought the Blessed Iesus by the appointment of God the Father down from Heaven and the End of His making us the Objects of such Rich and Transcendent Kindness was the destroying of Sin in us the Renewing of our depraved Natures the Ennobling our Souls with Virtuous Qualities and Divine Dispositions and Tempers and in one word the making us partakers of His Holiness And so long as there are but few that either believe or Consider that this is The End of Christianity and that alone which it directly drives at it cannot be matter of Wonder
of Conscience as there may be in it For Superstition implyeth a frightful and over-timorous apprehension of the Divine Nature and consequently a base and undervaluing conception of it as the Greek word that expresseth it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth That which makes men Superstitious is such an opinion of God as represents him a very Angry and Captious Being but yet such a one too as may be aâ—…oned and pacified by a great care and exactness in certain little matters in performances and abstinences of an insignificant and very trivial nature Now the Ancient Author of the Epistle to Diognetus therein acquaints him that the Primitive Christians were no such squeamish or conceited Creatures as to live in a different way from the people among whom they inhabited and saith that they distinguish'd themselves from their Neighbors and other folk 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 neither by civil customes nor a certain language or phrases or tone proper to themselves 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. nor that they affected to make themselves notifiâ—…d by any peculiarities that is in harmless matters as a foolish Sect among our selves and some other fanciful people now adays do I design not here so tedious a work as that of examining particulars by the Rule we have given but only to shew in the general that we may be satisfied concerning the Extent of our Christian â—…berty by well weighing the Design of Christianitâ—… and may understand what kind of things must needs be free to us under the Gospel-dispensation and what not leaving it to the Reader to make application and consider the nature of particulars by comparing them with this Rule But I presume I need not mind him that I suppose all this while that whatsoever is plainly commanded and forbidden in the Gospel must be done and forborn by him though he should not be sagacious enough to discern how every thing there commanded is serviceable or forbidden is injurious to the Design of Holiness For surely none can doubt but that they ought to understand me in what I have asserted to have this meaning onely viz. That as to those things which the Gospel speaketh nothing in particular and clearly concerning the best course we can take in order to our knowing to what Heads to refer them whether to that of things commanded or to that of forbidden or to that of Indifferent things is to examine them by this General Rule viz. the Design of Christianity But to conclude this The great difference between the Mosaical Law and the Gospel as to its preceptive part is this That by the former a vast multitude of perfectly Indifferent things were imposed and many such also prohibited But by the latter onely those things are injoyned that are in their own nature of indispensable necessity or such as are means and helps towards them And there is nothing thereby forbidden but it is so because it is evil and is not therefore evil onely because forbidden There is nothing either commanded or forbidden in our Saviour's Religion but as it is in order to our good so is it in order to such a good too as consists in the Reformation and Renovation of our lives and natures So that I say our past Discourse concerning the Design of Christianity may give us great light as to the knowledge of what kind of things we that are under the Gospel-dispensation must do and are matter of necessary duty must not do and are matter of sin and may do or leave undone without sin CHAP. XXIV The Eighth Inference That it is the most unaccountable thing to do that which is Essentially Evil in defence of the Christian Religion or of any opinions presumed to be Doctrines relating thereunto The Pope and Church of Rome most prodigiously guilty in this particular And not a few of those that profess Enmity against Popery too lyable also to the same charge EIghthly It may be plainly inferred from what hath been said of the Design of Christianity That it is the most strangely unaccountable thing for men in defence or favour of that way of Religion which they take to be most truly the Christian or of any opinions that are presumed by them to be Doctrines thereunto belonging to do that which is essentially and in its own nature evil For these act quite contrary to the Design of the Christian Religion and so consequently do what lyeâ—…h in therâ—… to spoil it and render it a 〈◊〉 and insignificant thing by the coâ—… 〈◊〉 take for the advancement of it The Pope and Church of Rome are most prodigiously guilty of this madness they doing the most plainly vicious and immoral actions imaginable to promote the Interest as they pretend of that which they call the Catholique Faith For their imposing of their own sences upon the Word of God and then Persecuting Burning and Damning men for not subscribing to theirs as to God's words can be no better than an Act of Devilish pride and barbarous cruelty It is so of the former in that it is a compelling men to acknowledge their wisdom to be such as that it may not be suspected in the least measure no not in the determination of points that are the most doubtful and disputable Nay neither in such Opinions and Practices of theirs as most apparently contradict a multitude of Texts of the holy Scriptures And moreover in endeavouring to force all men to act and think as they do in matters of Religion they with Luciâ—…erian arrogance usurp the Empire of Almighty God and sway that Scepter over mens consciences which is his peculiarly And I need not say that they are therein no whit less cruel than they are proud For what greater cruelty can there be than to inflict upon people the saddest of calamities and the horridest tortures whereof the instances are innumerable for such things as they cannot have the least cause to think they are able to help and which they have also the greatest reason to conclude they are not at all blame worthy for I say what can be greater cruelty than this is except their designing thereby to terrifie men to the owning of Doctrines and doing actions perfectly against the clearest sense of their minds and expresâ—…est Dictates of their Consciences which is an exercise of no less cruelty towards their Souls than the other is towards their Bodies And what Villanies are there which the Pope and his Proselytes have stuck at committing for the Propagation of their Religion Such as exciting subjects to take arms against their lawful Sovereigns to whom they are obliged in the bonds of most Solemn Oaths Poisoning and Sâ—…abbing of Princes the most barbarous Massacres that any History can give account of In short what Frauds and Perfidiousness what Treachery what Impostures what Peâ—…juries what Cruelties and horrid out-rages have they thought too wicked to be undertaken and persisted in for the sake of HOLY CHURCH But I would I could say that of all that are
plot to get himself some External Hallelujahs as if he had so ardently thirsted after the Lauds of Glorified Spirits or desired a Quire of Souls to sing forth his Praises Neither was it to let the world see how magnificent he was No it is his own internal Glory that he most loves and the Communication thereof which he seeks As Plato sometimes speaks of the Divine Love it ariseth not out of Indigency as created love doth but out of Fulness and Redundancy It is an overflowing fountain and that love which descends upon created beings is a free efflux from the Almighty source of love And it is well-pleasing to him that those creatures which he hath made should partake of it Though God cannot seek his own Glory so as if he might acquire any addition to himself yet he may seek it so as to communicate it out of himself It was a good Maxime of Plato 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 There is no envy in God which is better stated by St. James God giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not And by that Glory of his which he loves to impart to his creatures I understand those stamps and impressions of Wisdome Justice Patience Mercy Love Peace Joy and other Divine Gifts which he bestoweth freely upon the minds of men And thus God triumphs in his own Glory and takes pleasure in the Communiâ—…ion of it I proceed now to consider what Useful inferences may be gathered from our past discourse SECT III. An Improvement of the whole Discourse in diverse Inferences CHAP. XIV The First Inference That it appears from the past Discourse that our Saviour hath taken the most effectual Course for the purpose of subduing Sin in us and making us partakers of his Holiness Where it is particularly shewed that the Gospel gives advantages infinitely above any those the Heathens had who were privileged with extraordinary helps for the Improvement of themselves And 1. That the good Principles that were by natural Light dictated to them and which reason rightly improved perswaded them to entertain as undoubtedly true or might have done are farther confirmed by Divine Revelation in the Gospel 2. That those principles which the Heathens by the highest improvement of their Reason could at best conclude but very probable the Gospel gives us an undoubted assurance of This shewed in four instances 3. Four Doctrines shewed to be delivered in the Gospel which no man without the assistance of Divine Revelation could ever once have thought of that contain wonderful inducements and helps to Holiness The First of which hath Five more implyed in it First it appears from what hath been said to demonstrate That our Saviour's Grand Design upon us in coming into the world was to subdue sin in us and restore the image of God that consisteth in righteousness and true holiness to us That he hath taken the most effectual course imaginable for that purpose and that his Gospel is the most powerful Engine for the battering down of all the strong holds that sin hath raised to it self in the souls of men and the advancement of us to the highest pitch of Sanctity that is to be arrived at by Humane nature This as hath been shewn was the business that the Philosophy of the Heathens designed to effect but alas what a weak and inefficacious thing was it in comparison of Christ's Gospel wherein we have such excellent and soul-enobling Precepts most perspicuously delivered and moreover such mighty helps afforded to enable us and such infinitely pressing motives and arguments to excite us to the practice of them And it will not be amiss if we particularly shew what exceeding great advantages Christians have for the attaining of true Vertue and the sublimest degrees of it too in this state attainable above any that were ever vouchsafed to the world by the Divine Providence before our Saviour's descent into it And not to make a formal comparison between the Christian and best Pagan-Philosophy this not deserving upon innumerable accounts to be so much as named with that much less to dishonour the Religion of our Saviour so far as at all to compare it with any of those which were professed by Heathenish nations or that of the impostor Mahomet which as well as those in not a few particulars tends greatly even to corrupt and deprave mens natures we will discourse according to our accustomed brevity First what advantages the Gospel gives us above those which such Heathens as were privileged with extraordinary helps for the improvement of their understandings had and Secondly above those which God's most peculiar people the children of Israel were favoured with First as for those the Gospel containeth above such as the best and most refined Heathens enjoyed it will be worth our while to consider First That the good principles that were by natural light dictated to them and which reason rightly improved did perswade them to entertain as undoubtedly true or might have done are farther confirmed by Divine Revelation in the Gospel to us As That there is but one God That he is an absolutely-perfect Being infinitely Powerful Wise Iust Merciful c. That we owe our lives and all the comforts of them to him That he is our Sovereign Lord to whom absolute subjection is indispensably due That he is to be loved above all things and the main and most important particular duties which it becomes us to perform to him our neighbour and selves We Christians have these things as plainly declared from Heaven to us and as often repeated and inculcated as if there were no other way to come to the Knowledge of them but that of Revelation So that as hath been shewn in the Free Discourse pag. 88. what the Heathens took pains for and by the exercise of their Reason learnt we have set before our eyes and need but read it in order to our knowledge of it It is true for our satisfaction whether the Holy Scriptures are Divinely inspired and have God for their Author it is necessary that we employ our Reason except we can be contented to be of so very hasty and easie a belief as to give credit to things and those of greatest concernment too we know not why or to pin our faith on our Fore-fathers sleeves and so to have no better bottome for our belief of the Bible than the Turks have for theirs of the Alcoran But although it is necessary that we should exercise here our Discursive Faculty if we will believe as becomes Creatures indued with Reason yet this is no tedious task nor such as we need much belabour our brains about An unprejudiced person will soon be abundantly satisfied concerning the Scripture's Divine Authority when he doth but consider how it is confirmed and how worthy the Doctrine contained in it is of him whose name it bears Now I say this little pains being taken for the establishment of our Faith in the Holy Scripture we cannot but be at
compared with this blessed Book CHAP. XVI An Objection against the Wonderful Efficacy of the Christian Religion for the purpose of making men Holy taken from the very little success it hath herein together with the prodigious wickedness of Christendom An Answer given to it in three Particulars viz. 1. That how ill soever its success is it is evident from the foregoing Discourse that it is not to be imputed to any weakness or Inefficacy in that Religion The true Causes thereof assigned 2. That it is to be expected that those should be the worse for the Gospel that will not be bettered by it 3. That there was a time when the Gospel's success was greatly answerable to what hath been said of its Efficacy And that the Primitive Christians were people of most unblameable and Holy Lives The Gnostiques improperly called Christians in any sense The Primitive Christians proved to be men of excellent lives by the Testimonies of Fathers contained in their Apologies for them to their Enemies and by the Acknowledgments of their Enemies themselves An Account given in particular of their meek submissive temper out of Tertullian The Admirable Story of the Thebaean Legion IF it be now objected against what we have said of the admirable efficacy of the Christian Religion for the purpose of making men Holy That there is but very little sign of it in the lives of those that profess to believe it For who are more woefully lost as to all true goodness who are more deeply sunk into sensuality and brutishness than are the Generality of Christians Nay among what sort of men are all manner of abominable wickednesses and villanies to be found so rife as among them Upon which account the name of Christian stinks in the nostrils of the very Jews Turks and Pagans Beastly intemperance and uncleannesses of all sorts the most sordid covetousness wretched injustice oppressions and cruelties the most Devilish malice envy and pride the deadliest animosities the most outragious feuds dissensions and rebellions the plainest and grossest Idolatry highest Blasphemies and most horrid Impieties of all kinds are in no part of the world more observable than they are in Christendom nor most of them any where so observable And even in those places where the Gospel is most truly and powerfully preached and particularly in this our nation there is but little more to be taken notice of in the far greater number than the name of Christian nor any more of Religion than insignificant complementings of God and a mere bodily worship of him But what abominable vice is there that doth not here abound Nay where doth the highest and most daring of Impieties viz. Atheism it self so boldly shew its head as it doth here And as for those among us that make the greatest pretences to Christianity besides a higher profession a more frequent attendance on ordinances and a mighty zeal for certain fruitless opinions they have taken up and little trifles which signifie nothing to the bettering of their souls carrying on that which we have shewed is the Design of Christianity there is little to be observed in very many if not most of them whereby they may be distinguished from other people But as for the sins of covetousness pride contempt of others disobedience to authority sedition unpeaceableness wrath fierceness against those that differ in opinion from them censoriousness uncharitableness it is too obvious how much the greater part of the Sects we are divided into are guilty of most if not all of them And that which is really the power of Godliness doth appear in the conversations of but very few God knows the wickedness of those that enjoy and profess to believe the Gospel is an extremely fertile and copious Theme to dilate upon and is fitter to be the subject of a great volume if any one can perswade himself so far to rake into such a noisome Dunghil as sure none can except enemies to Christianity than to be discoursed by the bie as it is here Nor can there be an easier task undertaken than to shew that not a few mere Heathens have behaved themselves incomparably better towards God their Neighbour and themselves than do the Generality of those that are called Christians Nay I fear it would not be over-difficult to make it appear that the Generality of those that never heard the Gospel do behave themselves in several respects better than they do But I have no list to entertain my self or Reader with such an unpleasant and dismally melancholy Argument but will betake my self to answer the sad objection which is from thence taken against the truth of our last discourse 1. And in the first place let the Gospel have never so little success in promoting what is designed by it whoever considers it and what hath been said concerning it cannot but acknowledge that it is in it self as fit as any thing that can be imagined for the purpose of throughlyreforming the lives and purifying the natures of Mankind And also incomparably more fit than any other course that hath ever been taken or can be thought of So that we may certainly conclude That the depravedness of Christendom is not to be ascribed to the inefficacy of the Gospel but to other causes Namely mens gross unbelief of the Truth of it as much as they profess Faith in it their inexcusable neglect of considering the infinitely-powerful motives to a holy life contained in it of using the means conducing thereunto prescribed by it And these are inseparable concomitants and most effectual promoters of each other Every mans Inconsideration is proportionable to his Incredulity and his Incredulity to his Inconsideration And how much of carelessness is visible in mens lives so much of unbelief doth possess their hearts and so on the contrary Upon which account to believe and to be obedient and not to believe and to be disobedient are synonymous phrases and of the same signification in the New and likewise in the Old Testament Now it is a true saying of somebodie 's Contumaciae nullum posuit remedium Deus God hath provided no remedy that is no ordinary one against wilfulness And though the Gospel hath such a tendency as hath been shewn to work the most excellent effects in men yet it doth not operate as Charmes do nor will it have success upon any without their own concurrence and co-operation with it The excellent Rules of life laid down in the Gospel must necessarily signifie nothing to those that only hear or read them but will not mind them Its Promises or Threatnings can be exciting to none that will not believe and consider them Nor can the Arguments it affordeth to provoke to assent be convincing to any but those that impartially weigh them its Helps and Assistances will do no good where they are totally neglected And though there be preventing as well as assisting grace going along with the Gospel for the effectual prevailing
on mens wills to use their utmost endeavour to subdue their lusts and to acquire vertuous habits yet this grace is not such as that there is no possibility of refusing or quenching it Nor is it fit it should seeing mankind is indued with a principle of freedom and that this principle is as Essential as any other to the Humane Nature I will add that this is one immediate cause of the unsuccessfulness of the Gospel to which it is very much to be attributed Namely mens strange and unaccountable mistaking the Design of it Multitudes of those that profess Christianity are so grosly inconsiderate not to say worse as to conceive no better of it than as a Science and a matter of Speculation And take themselves though against the clearest evidences of the contrary imaginable for true and genuine Christians either because they have a general belief of the truth of the Christian Religion and profess themselves the Disciples of Christ Jesus in contradistinction from Iews Mahometans and Pagans and in and through him alone expect salvation Or because they have so far acquainted themselves with the Doctrine of the Gospel as to be able to talk and dispute and to make themselves pass for knowing People Or because they have joyned themselves to that party of Christians which they presume are of the Purest and most Reformed Model and are zealous sticklers for their peculiar forms and discriminating sentiments and as stiff opposers of all other that are contrary to them Now the Gospel must necessarily be as ineffectual to the rectifying of such mens minds and Reformation of their Manners while they have so wretchedly too low an opinion of its Design as if it really had no better And so long as they take it for granted that its main intention is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to make them Orthodox not Vertuous it cannot be thought that they should be ever the more Holy nay 't is a thousand to one but they will be in one kind or other the more unholy for their Christianity And lastly There are several untoward opinions very unhappily instilled into professors of Christianity which render the Truths of the Gospel they retain a belief of insignificant and unsuccessful as to the bettering either of their hearts or lives as infinitely apt and of as mighty efficacy as they are in themselves for those great purposes 2. Secondly Whereas it was said also that the Generality of Heathens live in diverse respects better lives than do multitudes and even the Generality of those that profess Christianity it is so far from being difficult to give a satisfactory account how this may be without disparaging our excellent Religion that it is to be expected that those people should be even much the worse for it that refuse to be bettered by it It is an old Maxime that Corruptio optimi est pessima The best things being spoiled do prove to be the very worst And according to this nothing less is to be looked for than that degenerated Christians should be the vilest of all persons And it is also certain that the best things when abused do ordinarily serve to the worst purposes of which there may be given innumerable Instances And so it is in this present case S. Paul told the Corinthians that he and the other Apostles were a savour of death unto death as well as of life unto life And our Saviour gave the Pharisees to understand That for judgement he was come into the world that those that see not might see and that those that see might be made blind that is That it would be a certain consequent of his coming not onely that poor ignorant Creatures should be turned from darkness to light but also that those which have the light and shut their eyes against it should be judicially blinded And the forementioned Apostle in the first Chapter of his Epistle to the Romans saith of those that held the truth in unrighteousness that would not suffer it to have any good effect upon them through their close adhering to their filthy lusts that God gave them up to the most unnatural villainies permitted them to commit them by withholding all restraints from them and likewise gave them over 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to a reprobate mind So that from the just judgment of God it is I say to be expected that depraved Christians should be the most wicked of all people And therefore it is so far from being matter of wonder that those that will not be converted by the Gospel should be so many of them very horribly prophane that it is rather so that all those which having for any considerable time lived under the preaching of it continue disobedient to it should not be such In the purest ages of the Church were degenerated Christians made in this kind most fearful Examples of the Divine Vengeance And so utterly forsaken of God that they became if we may believe Irenaeus Tertullian and others of the Antient Fathers not one whit better than Incarnate Devils Nor were there to be found in the whole world in those days and but rarely since such abominable and most execrable Caytiffs as they were I have sometimes admired that humane nature should be capable of such a monstrous depravation as several stories recorded of them do bespeak them to have contracted But 3. Thirdly If we must needs judge of the efficacy of the Gospel for the making men Holy by its success herein Let us cast our eyes back upon the First ages of Christianity and then we shall find it an easie matter to satisfie our selves concerning it though we should understand no more of Christianity than the effects it produced in those days For though there were then a sort of people that sometimes called themselves Christians that were as was now said the most desperately wicked Creatures that ever the earth bare yet these were esteemed by all others that were known by that name as no whit more of their number than the Pagans and Iews that defied Christ. And their Religion was a motly thing that consisted of Christianity Iudaism and Paganism all blended together and therefore in regard of their mere profession they could be no more truly called Christians than Iews or Pagans Or rather to speak properly they were of no Religion at all but would sometimes comply with the Iews and at other times with the Heathens and joyned readily with both in persecuting the Christians And in short the Samaritans might with less impropriety be called Iews than these Gnostiques Christians 'T is also confessed that the orthodox Christians were calumniated by the Heathens as flat Atheists but their only pretence for so doing was their refusing to worship their false Gods And they likewise accused them of the beastliest and most horrid practices but it is sufficiently evident that they were beholden to the Gnostiques for those accusations who being accounted Christians did by their being notoriously guilty of
them give occasion to the enemies of Christianity to reproach all the professors of it as most silthy and impure creatures I know it is commonly said that those Calumnies proceeded purely from the Heathens malicious invention but it is apparent that those vile Hereticks gave occasion to them But that the Christians were so far from being guilty of such monstrous crimes that they did lead most inoffensive and good lives doth abundantly appear by the Apologies that diverse of the Fathers made to the Heathen Emperors and people in their behalf Iustin Martyr in his Apology to Antoninus Pius hath this saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. It is our interest that all persons should make a narrow inquisition into our lives and doctrine and to expose them to the view of every one And he afterwards tells that Emperor That his people had nothing to lay to their charge truly but their bare name Christians And again That they which in times past took pleasure in unclean practices do live now that they are become converts to Christianity pure and chast lives They which used magical arts do now consecrate and devote themselves to the eternal and good God They which preferred the incomes of their money and possessions before all things else do now cast them into the common stock and communicate them to any that stand in need They which once hated each other and mutually engaged in bloody battles and according to the custom would not keep a common fire 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with those that were not of the same tribe now live lovingly and familiarly together with them That now they pray for their very enemies and those which persecute them with unjust hatred they endeavour to win to them by perswasions that they also living according to the honest precepts of Christ may have the same hope and gain the same reward with themselves from the great Governour and Lord of the world Athenagoras in his Apology saith thus to the Emperors Aurelius Antoninus and Aurelius Commodus As very gracious and benign as you are to all others you have no care of us who are called Christians for ye suffer us who commit no evil nay who as shall hereafter appear do behave our selves of all men most piously and justly both towards God and your Government to be vexed to be put to flight from place to place and to be violently dealt with And then he adds some lines after If any of you can convict us of any great or small crime we are ready to bear the most severe punishment that can be inflicted upon us And speaking of the Calumnies that some had fastened upon them he saith If you can find that these things are true spare no age no sex but utterly root us up and destroy us with our wives and children if you can prove that any of us live like to beasts c. And there is very much to the same purpose in Tertullian's Apology Where he tels the Roman Governours That they dealt otherwise with the Christians than with any other whom they accounted Malefactors For whereas they tortured others to make them confess the faults they were accused of they tortured these to make them deny themselves to be Christians And that having no crime besides to lay to their charge which carried the least shew of truth their professing themselves to be no Christians would at at any time procure for them their absolution And to this objection that there are some Christians that do excedere à regula disciplnae depart from the rules of their Religion and live disorderly here turneth this answer Desinunt tamen Christiani haberi penes nos But those that do so are no longer by us accounted Christians And by the way let me recite Rigaltius his short note upon this passage At perseverant hodiè in nomine et numero Christianorum qui vitam omnem vivunt Antichristi But those now adays do retain the name and society of Christians which live altogether Antichristian lives And proceeds he Tolle publicanos c. Take away Publicans and a wretched rabble which he musters together et frigebunt hodiernorum Ecclesiae Christianorum and our present Christian Churches will be lamentably weak small and insignificant things From these few citations out of the Apologies of the forementioned Fathers to which may be added abundance more of the same nature both out of them and others we may judge what rare success the Gospel had in the first ages and what a vast difference there is between the Christians of those and of these daies that is between the Christians that were under persecution and those that since have lived in ease and prosperity When the Christian Religion came to be the Religion of Nations and to be owned and encouraged by Emperors and Rulers then was the whole vast Roman Empire quickly perswaded to march under its Banner and the very worst of men for fashions sake and in expectation of Temporal Advantages came flocking into the Church of Christ. Nay the worse men were and the less of conscience they had the more forward might they then be so to do the more haste they might make to renounce their former Religion and take upon them the Profession of Christianity And no sooner was the Church set in the warm sun-shine of worldly Riches and Honours but it is apparent she was insensibly over-run with those noisome vermine which have bred and multiplyed ever since even for many Centuries of years in her If any shall doubt whether the forementioned Fathers might not give too good a character of the Christians whose cause they pleaded I desire them to consider whether or no it be imaginable that they should so do seeing their enemies to whom they wrote their defences of them could easily they living among them have discovered the falsity of their commendations And we find them frequently appealing to the Heathens own Consciences whether they themselves did not believe that to be no other than the truth which they said of them And moreover we have them ever and anon triumphing over them and provoking them to shew such effects of their Philosophy and way of Religion as they themselves could witness were produced by the Gospel of Christ. Nay and we have their Adversaries themselves giving them a very high Character Tertullian in his forementioned Apology saith that Pliny the second who was a persecutor of Christians wrote thus to the Emperour Trajan from the Province where he ruled under him viz. That Besides their Resolute refusing to offer Sacrifice he could learn nothing concerning their Religion but that they held Meetings before day to sing praises to Christ and God and to engage their Sect in solemn Leagues forbidding Murther Adultery Deceit Disloyalty and all other wickednesses And in a now extant Epistle of his to that Emperor we find him giving him this information viz. That some that had renounced Christianity and now worshipped his
good the forementioned charge of Idolatry and of other Impious Practices and Principles against them that it is unimaginable how it should be possible that any who are not stark-blind or resolved that they will not see should not acknowledge them And as for the elaborate tricks whereby they endeavour to justifie themselves from those Accusations and to perswade the World that they are undeserved they may doubtless whensoever they shall have a mind to it devise others no less plausible with as little pains to make forcing of Virgins no Rape lying with other folks Wives no Adultery cutting of Purses no Theft Robbing of Churches no Sacrilege and in one word they may with as little exercise of their brains invent ways to do whatsoever is most flatly forbidden in the ten Commandments without being guilty of transgressing any one of them I might proceed to instance in very many other Doctrines of the Romish Church which by what we have said of the Christian Religion we may be perfectly assured are Anti-Christian but I will onely adde two or three more As their asserting the Insufficiency of the holy Scriptures for mens salvation and denying them to be the Sole Rule of Faith and joyning with them their own paltry Traditions as equally necessary to be believed and this against the express words of S. Paul to Timothy 2 Epist. 3 Chap. where he tells him that the holy Scriptures are able to make him wise unto Salvation through faith which is in Christ Iesus And that All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for Doctrine for reproof for correction for instruction in Righteousness That the man of God may be perfect thorowly furnished unto all good works And their teaching that the Gospel is obscure and difficult to be understood even in things necessary to be believed and practised Which as it makes it greatly inefficacious for the purpose which we have proved it is designed for so doth it open a gap for vile interpretations of any part of it and exposeth it to the power of Heretiques and especially of the Romish ones to make it a mere Nose of Wax Which none can doubt that consider also therewith their Doctrine of Implicite Faith and that other upon which it is grounded viz. That of the Infallibility of their Church which as the Iesuites define is seated in the Pope's Chair But whether it be asserted that the Popes have an unerring faculty or they and their General Councils together this Doctrine being received as by them it is without the least ground for unquestionably true doth greatly hazard nay and even necessitate the betraying of men to the very worst both of opinions and practices whensoever this pretended infallible guide shall be pleas'd to propose them to them And whosoever believes it must to use the words of M r Chillingworth be prepared in mind to esteem vertue vice and vice vertue Christianity Anti-christianism and Antichristianism Christianity if the Pope shall so determine And this Doctrine without doubt is that which causeth those of the Papists to stick so fast in silthy 〈◊〉 and to persist so obstinately in their foul errours who are not detained therein by the love of gain with which their Popes and other Ecclesiasticks by the means of diverse of them are mightily enriched or by the dear affection they bear to their other lusts which they are so exactly fitteâ—… for the satisfaction of Their Doctrines being very many of them so ridiculously absurd plainly false and of such dangerous consequence I say nothing else certainly could hold the sincerer sort of Papists in the belief of them but this consideration that any one of them being let go their great Dagon of the Churches Infallibility must necessarily to the ground with it I might also instance in their Doctrine of the Dispensableness of the most Solemn Oaths which is no less destructive to Humane Society than it is to Piety And in that of the Popes power to absolve Subjects from their Allegiance to their lawful Sovereigns And to them adde a great number of Maximes of the most famous order among them the Iesuites and Resolutions of Cases of Conscience which are as wicked and destructive of a holy Life as the Devil himself can well devise But to be employed with Hercules in emptying the Augean stable would be as acceptable a work as stirring so far in this nasty Sink Whosoever shall peruse the Mystery of Iesuitism may find more than enough there to turn his stomach though it should be none of the most squeamish and quezy and to make him stand astonished and bless him that ever such loathsome and abominable stuff should come from persons that derive their name from the Holy Iesus But to hasten to the conclusion of this Chapter the most pure and holy Religion of our Saviour hath the Church of Rome defiled with as impure and unholy opinions and practices and hath taken the most effectual course not only to render it a feeble and insignificant thing for accomplishing the Design for which it was intended by the Blessed Founder of it but also to make it unhappily successful in serving the directly contrary The great Mystery of Godliness hath she transformed into a grand Mystery of Iniquity and by that means most excessively confirmed its professed enemies the Iews and Mahumetans in their enmity against it And for my own part I should not stick to say as did Averroes when he observed that the Popish Christians adored that they ate Sit anima mea cum Philosophis Let my soul take its fate with the Philosophers in the other world did I think Christianity to be such a Religion as she makes it As much as I admire it now I should then prefer that of Socrates Plato and Cicero very far before it Though I abhor so far to imitate the Papists in the Devilishly cruel uncharitableness as to pronounce them all in a state of damnation yet I dare assert with the greatest and most undoubted confidence that all that continue in Communion with that degenerated and Apostate Church run infinite hazards And moreover that it is impossible that any sincere persons should give an explicite and understanding assent to all her Doctrines but that whosoever can find in his heart to practise upon them can be nothing better than a shamefully debauched and immoral wretch Nor is it conceivable what should induce any to exchange the Reformed for the Popish Religion as too many have of late done that have but a competent understanding of both besides the desire of serving some corrupt interest And we plainly see that the generality of those that turn Apostates from the Church of England to that of Rome are such people as were a Scandal to her while they continued in her And that Atheism and Popery are the common Sanctuaries to which the most abominably vicious and profane of this Age do betake themselves CHAP. XVIII The Third Inference That these two sorts
person of the most holy Trinity must needs be false As also those that make Religion to be a mere Passive thing wholly God's work and not at all ours or that cramp men and perswade them that they are utterly void of the least ability to co-operate with the grace of God or to do any thing towards their own salvation or any way whatsoever discourage them from the diligent prosecution of Holiness or deprive us of any help afforded us towards our gaining and growth in grace either by putting a slur upon the written word in advancing above it the light within men and in Enthusiastical pretences to immediate Revelations c. Or else by teaching men to sleight any one Ordinance of the Gospel c. Or such Doctrines as tend to introduce confusion into the Church of Christ and to deprive it of all Government and Order or in short that give countenance to any Immorality whatsoever I say as sure as the Christian Religion is true and that what we have proved to be the Design thereof is so such Doctrines as these must needs be false What our Saviour saith of false Prophets is as true of most Doctrines By their fruits you shall know them we may understand whether they have any relation to Christianity or no by the Design they drive at and their evident consequences And I may adde that we may make a shrewd guess what those particular wayes and modes of Religion are which the various Sects we are cantonized into have espoused to themselves and are so fond of by the proper and most distinguishing effects of them If we perceive that they make the great sticklers for them to differ from others chiefly in unconcernednes about the most important substantial duties of Morality and in laying the greatest weight upon certain little Trifles and placing their Religion in mere externals or that the things whereby they are most peculiarly discriminated from other folk are spiritual pride and fond conceitedness of themselves and a scornful and fierce behaviour towards those that approve not of their way uncharitableness morosity and peevishness a seditious ungovernable and untameable spirit c. I say if we observe such as these to be the most distinguishing effects of their several Modes and Forms we have sufficient reason from thence alone greatly to presume that they have not the stamp of Ius Christianum upon them that they are not of Christ but of their own invention The wisdom that is from above is quite another thing and begets perfectly other kind of effects as shall be shewn hereafter But to return The Design of the Gospel is as was said the Great Standard by which we are to judge of the Truth of Opinions Those that seem to us to oppose this Design we are bound to suspect because they do so but those which apparently do this we must with heartiest indignation reject And though we should meet with some places of Scripture that at first sight may seem to favour them we may not be stumbled upon that account but be confident that whatsoever is their true meaning as sure as they have God for their Author they cannot possibly patronize any such Doctrines And lastly in examining which of two opinions is true that oppose each other and do seem to be much a like befriended by the holy Scriptures it is doubtless a very safe course to consider as impartially as we can which doth tend most to serve the great End of Christianity and to prefer that which we are perswaded doth so CHAP. XXI How we are to judge of the Necessity of Doctrines either to be embraced or rejected A brief discourse of the Nature of Points Fundamental How we may know whether we embrace all such and whether we hold not any destructive and damnable Errours SEcondly The Design of Christianity is the great measure whereby we are to judge as of the Truth so also of the Necessity of Doctrines either to be embraced or rejected First We may thereby understand in what degree we ought to esteem those Necessary to be by all received which we our selves are convinc'd of the Truth of or which of such are Fundamental Points of the Christian Faith and which not First It is plain That in the general those and those only are primarily and in their own nature Fundamentals which are absolutely necessary to accomplish in us that Design Such as without the knowledge and belief of which it is impossible to acquire that Inward Righteousness and true Holiness which the Christian Religion aimeth at the introduction of It is in it self absolutely necessary not to be ignorant of or disbelieve any of those Points upon which the effecting of the great business of the Gospel in us doth necessarily depend The particulars of these I shall not stand to enumerate because as will appear from what will be said anon it is not needful to have a just Table of them And besides any one that understands wherein the nature of true Holiness lyeth may be able sufficiently to inform himself what they are Secondly It is as evident That those points of Faith are secondarily Fundamental the disbelief of which cannot consist with true Holiness in those to whom the Gospel is sufficiently made known although they are not in their own nature such as that Holiness is not in some degree or other attainable without the belief of them And in the number of these are all such Doctrines as are with indisputable clearness revealed to us Now the belief of these though it is not in it self any more than in higher or lower degrees profitable yet is it even absolutely necessary from an external cause though not from the nature of the Points themselves viz. In regard of their being delivered with such abundant perspicuity as that nothing can cause men to refuse to admit them but that which argueth them to be stark naught and to have some unworthy and base end in so doing But we must take notice here that all such Points as these are not of equal necessity to be received by all Christians because that in regard of the diversity of their capacities educations and other means and advantages some of them may be most plainly perceived by some to be delivered in the Scriptures which cannot be so by others with the like ease And in the second place what hath been said of Fundamental Truths is applicable by the Rule of Contraries to the opposite Errours as I need not shew Now then would we know whether we embrace all the Fundamentals of Christianity and are guilty of no damnable and destructive errours among the great diversity and contrariety of Opinions that this kingdom abounds with I think I may say above all other parts of Christendom our onely way is to examine our selves impartially after this manner Am I sincerely willing to obey my Creatour and Redeemer in all things commanded by them Do I entertain and harbour no lust in my
severe enough for ungodly Ministers of the Glorious and most Holy Gospel of the Blessed Jesus I will adde one more saying of our Saviour's which he spake to his Disciples whom he was training up for the Ministry Matt. 5. 13. Ye are the Salt of the earth but if the Salt hath lost its savour wherewith shall it be salted It is thence-forth good for nothing but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of men Well I say that the Design of our Saviour and his Gospel being to make men holy those behave themselves infinitely disbecoming his Ministers and the Preachers of the Gospel that live unholily and so do all such also as was at first intimated as do not above all things endeavour the promoting and furtherance of that Design And of that number are those that are ever affecting to make people stare at their high-flown and Bum-baste Language or to please their Phancies with foolish jingles and Pedantick and Boyish wit or to be admired for their ability in dividing a hair their Metaphysical acuteness and Scholastick subtilty or for their doughty dexterity in controversial squabble And among such may those also and those chiefly be reckoned that seek to approve themselves to their Auditors to be men of Mysteries and endeavour to make the plain and easie Doctrines of the Gospel as intricate and obscure as ever they are able These are so far from endeavouring above all things to advance the Design of the Gospel that it hath not any greater enemies in the whole world than they are And to them I may adde such as preach up Free-grace and Christian Privileges otherwise than as Motives to excite to Obedience and never scarcely insist upon any Duties except those of believing laying hold on Christ's Righteousness applying the promises which are all really the same with them and renouncing our own Righteousness which those that have none at all to renounce have a mighty kindness for All which rightly understood may I grant and ought to be preached but to make the Christians duty to consist either wholly or mostly in those particulars and especially as they are explained by not a few is the way effectually to harden Hypocrites and encrease their number but to make no sincere converts Those again do nothing less than chiefly promote the business of Holiness that are never in their Element but when they are talking of the Irrespectiveness of God's Decrees the Absoluteness of his Promises the utter disability and perfect impotence of Natural men to do any thing towards their own conversion c. and insist with greatest Emphasis and Vehemence upon such like false and dangerous opinions And those may well accompany and be joyned with the foregoing that are of such narrow and therefore Unchristian Spirits as to make it their Great business to advance the petty interest of any party whatsoever and concern themselves more about doing this than about promoting and carrying on that wherein consists the chief good of all Mankind and are more zealous to make Proselytes to their Particular Sects than Converts to a Holy Life and press more exact and rigid Conformity to their Modes and Forms than to the Laws of God and the Essential Duties of the Christian Religion Such as all the forementioned have doubtless little cause to expect a well done good and faithful servant from the mouth of their Saviour at the last day their practice being so very contrary to that of his whose Ministers they profess themselves to be when he was in the world and they making Christianity so infinitely different a thing from what he made it And furthermore it is unquestionably the Duty of all the Stewards of the Mysteries of God to take special heed that they do not by over-severe insisting on any little matters and unnecessary things give their people a temptation to conclude that they lay the greatest weight upon them but so to behave themselves towards them as to give them assurance that there is no interest so dear to them as is that of the Salvation of their Souls And lastly to be so self-denying as to have a regard to the weaknesses of persons so far as lawfully and without disobeying Authority they may to prevent their departure from Communion with the Church they belong to and to use all fair and prudent ways to perswade those back again thereunto which there is any the least reason to hope are not irrecoverably gone away It being very much the interest of their souls not to continue in separation and not of theirs only but of others too in that strifes and contentions envyings and animosities are like to be kept alive and greatly to encrease while men keep at a distance from one another and where these are as it was said S. Iames hath told us there must needs be confusion and every evil work And this is no other than what the great S. Paul thought it no disparagement to him to be exemplary to us in For saith he 1 Cor. 9. 19 c. Though I be free from all men yet have I made my self a servant to all that I might gain the more And unto the Iews I became as a Iew that I might gain the Iews to them that are under the law as under the law that I might gain them that are under the law to them that are without law or observe not the law of Moses as without law that I might gain them that are without law To the weak became I as weak that I might gain the weak I am made all things to all men that I might by all means save some The summe of which words amount to this That he denyed himself in the use of his liberty to gain those who were not acquainted with the extent of it and dealt with all sorts of men in that way which he thought most probable to convert them to Christianity and keep them in the profession of it Not that he sneaked and dissembled and made weak people think that he was of their mind and so confirmed them in their mistakes and follies or had any regard to the humours of unreasonable and meerly captious people that will be finding faults upon no ground at all this must needs be unworthy of an Apostle for it is so of all Inferiour Ministers and likewise of every private Christian. And our past discourse assures us also that the promoting of Holiness in mens hearts and lives ought to be the only design of Ecclesiastical Discipline and Church Censures And 't is easie to shew that if the Laws of all Christian Churches were framed and the execution of them directed onely or above any other to the service of this Design or that no interest did sway so much with their Chief Governours as that which was and still is most dear to the Great Founder and King of the Church whom they represent and if they were willing to lose in their little and petty concerns
THE DESIGN OF Christianity QVI SEQVITUR ME NON AMBULAT IN TENEBRIS Clem. Alexandr Paedag. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 THE DESIGN OF Christianity OR A plain Demonstration and Improvement of this Proposition VIZ. That the enduing men with Inward Real Righteousness or True Holiness was the Ultimate End of our Saviour's Coming into the World and is the Great Intendment of His Blessed Gospel By EDWARD FOWLER Minister of God's Word at Northil in Bedford-shire LONDON Printed by E. Tyler and R. Holt for R. Royston Bookseller to the King 's most Excellent Majesty and Lodowick Loyd MDCL XXI Imprimatur April 17. 1671. Rob. Grove R. P. Dom. Episc. Lond. à sac Dom. To the Reader Reader WHereas there was somewhat above a Twelve-moneth since exposed to Publick view a Free Discourse between the two intimate Friends Theophilus and Philalethes which containeth an Account of some Principles and Practices of certain Moderate Divines c. together with a Defence of them I desire thee to take notice that in this Tractate is pursued the main and Fundamental Reason of that Dialogue As if thou art not a stranger to it thou mayest easily guess by the foregoing Title-page And if thou shalt please to give thy self the trouble of running over the following Pages I hope thou wilt be satisfied that the Doctrines that are chiefly maintained in that Book do most naturally result from and those which are most opposed in it are confuted by the Argument that is here insisted on If thou conceivest that in Demonstrating the establishment of Real Righteousness and True Holiness in the world to be the Ultimate Design of our Saviour's Coming and the Grand and even whole Business of the Christian Institution I have taken upon me to prove a Proposition that is as evidently and imdisputably true as any First Principle I must tell thee that I most heartily wish there were more of thy mind than I doubt there are And that I have been so far from giving my Reader any the least Temptation to suspect the Contrary that I have expresly as thou wilt see shewn That there is nothing in the whole world more clearly apparent than the Truth thereof to such as are not either through Ignorance or Wilfulness very strangely blinded or that have with any seriousness read the New Testament or but a small part of it But though this be so I may not be accused of so idley employing my self in the first Section as if I there held up a Torch to shew the Sun for I have pointed to it by its own light only that is exposed to thy View in a few leaves the summ and substance of that abundant evidence which throughout the Gospel is given us of that great Truth And whosoever shall say that to do this was needless I shall give him my unfeigned thanks would he make me sensible that I am guilty of a mistake in believing otherwise And upon that account rejoyce to be convinced that I have in that business spent time impertinently But alas it is no less undeniable that a Discourse of this nature is necessary and seasonable than that the matter thereof is true For it cannot be at all doubted that the Design of the Christian Religion is by abundance of its Professors very sadly mistaken and that though it is with infinite plainness expressed to be no other than the Reformation of our Lives and Purification of our Natures and is wholly adapted to that purpose the complaint that Tully took up of certain Philosophers viz. that they esteemed their Philosophy Ostentationem scientiae non Legem vitae a boast of science not a law of life may be applied to not a few of those that are called Christians concerning their opinion of Christianity And besides that there are diverse Opinions that too many among us are greatly fond of which make it absolutely certain that they think otherwise than they ought and have entertained unworthy notions of the Design of the Gospel it must be acknowledged that such Practices are likewise observable in the far greater part as are a Demonstration that if they have no false conception of it yet it is but little considered and therefore not thorowly believed by them And this alone is abundantly sufficient to avouch the Usefulness of my undertaking both in that and the two other Sections And till those that Profess themselves Christ's Disciples do more generally become effectually sensible as those of the first Ages were That the Mystery into which they are initiated is purely a Mystery of Godliness and that it is entirely composed of such Principles as tend throughly to instruct Man-kind in the Particulars of that Duty that the Law of their Nature obligeth them to towards their Creatour themselves and their Fellow-creatures together with the most Powerful Motives to Excite and the best means and most successful assistances to enable them to a faithful discharge of them we may never hope to out-live or to see the least abatement of that gross Superstition Fanaticism and Enthusiasm or those mad Enormities and most impious Practices which have now for a very long time sullied and most miserably defaced the beauty obscured nay and even utterly extinguish'd the glory of the Church of Christ have laid the honor w ch she was deservedly once crowned with in the very dust and bring the borridest scandal upon her holy profession and that Blessed Name she is called by But not to detain thee with a tedious Preface thou wilt have no reason to accuse me upon the account of this Discourse of starting and troubling the world with any more Controversies but mayst on the contrary be greatly assured That there cannot be taken a more effectual course to put an end to those we are at this day disturb'd with and to the pernicious effects of all whatsoever than is the right explaining and well improving of the Subject that is here handled For this is to strike at the Grand cause of them they being to be imputed to nothing so much as to the Ignorance of or Non-attendence to the Design of Christianity I will add no more but that if thou shalt please to accept this small performance as ingenuously and candidly as it is meant honestly and believe that it proceeds not from an Humour of Scribling but a sincere desire of doing some service thou wilt be but just to him who is ambitious of nothing so much as of being Instrumental towards the promoting of that most Excellent and infinitely Important Design in thy Heart and Life E. F. The Contents SECT I. That True Holiness is the Design of Christianity plainly Demonstrated CHAP. 1. The nature of true Holiness Described Pag. 5. Chap. 2. A general demonstration that the holiness described is the Design of Christianity by a Climax of seven particulars pag. 12. Chap. 3. A particular demonstration that holiness is the onely design of the Precepts of the Gospel And that they require 1. The most
extensive holiness 2. The most intensive An Objection answered pag. 18. Chap. 4. That holiness is the onely design of the promises of the Gospel shewed in two particulars And of the threatnings therein contained pag. 28. Chap. 5 That the promoting of holiness was the design of our Saviour's whole life and conversation among men both of his discourses and actions And that he was an eminent example of all the parts of vertue viz. Of the greatest freedom affability and courtesie The greatest candor and Ingenuity The most marvellous gentleness and meekness The deepest humility The greatest contempt of the world The most perfect contentation The most wonderful charity and tenderest compassion stupendious patience and submission to the Divine Will The most passionate love of God and devoutest temper of mind towards him Mighty confidence and trust in God An objection answered The most admirable Prudence pag. 36. Chap. 6. That to make men truly virtuous and holy was the design of Christ's unimitable actions or mighty works and miracles And that these did not onely tend to promote it as they were convincing arguments that he came forth from God but were also very proper to effect it in a more immediate manner pag. 8. Chap. 7. That to make men holy was the design of Christ's Death proved by several texts of Scripture And how it is effectual thereunto discovered in six particulars pag. 78. Chap. 8. That it is only the promoting of the design of making men â—…oly that is aimed at by the Apostles insisting on the doctrines of Christ's Resurrâ—…ction Ascension and coming again to Iugdement pag. 93. SECT II. Upon what accounts the business of making men Holy came to be preferred by our Saviour before any other thing and to be principally designed by him Chap. 9. Two accounts of this The first That this is â—…o do the greatest good to men And that the blessing of making men holy is of all other the greatest proved by several Arguments viz. Firâ—… that it containeth in it a deliverance from the worst of evils and sin shewed so to be pag. 99. Chap. 10. The second Argument viz. That the Blessing of making men holy is accompained with all other that are most desireable and which do best deserve to be so called particularly with the pardon of sin and God's special love And that those things which sensual persons are most desirous of are eminently to be found in that blessing pag. 108. Chap. 11. The third Argument viz. That whatsoever other blessings a man may be supposed to have that is utterly destitute of holiness they cannot stand him in so much stead as onely to make him not miserable And all evil and corrupt affections shewed to be greatly tormenting in their own nature and innumerable sad mischiefs to be the necessary consequents of yielding obedience to them pag. 115. Chap. 12. The fourth Argument viz. That holiness being perfected is blessedness it self and the glory of heaven consists chiefly in it This no new notion some observations by the way from it pag. 123. Ch. 13. The second account of our Saviour's preferring the business of making men holy before any other viz. That this is to do the best service to God An objection answered against the Author's Discourse of the Design of Christianity pag. 127. SECT III. An Improvement of the whole Discourse in diverse Inferences Chap. 14. The first Inference That it appears from the past Discourse that our Saviour hath taken the most effectual course for the purpose of subduing sin in us and making us partakers of his holiness Where it is particularty shewed that the Gospel gives advantages infinitely above any those the Heathens had who were privileged with extraordinary helps for the Improvement of themselves And 1. That the good Principles that were by natural Light dictated to them and which reason rightly improved perswaded them to entertain as undoubtedly true or might have done are farther confirmed by Divine Revelation in the Gospel 2. That those principles which the Heathens by the highest improvement of their Reason could at best conclude but very probable the Gospel gives us an undoubted assurance of This shewed in four instances 3. Four Doctrines shewed to be delivered in the Gospel which no man without the assistance of Divine Revelation could ever once have thought of that contain wonderful inducements and helps to holiness The first of which hath five more implyed in it pag. 133. Chap. 15. That the Gospel containeth incomparably greater helps for the effecting of the design of making men inwardly righteous and truly holy than God's most peculiar people the Israelites were favoured with Where it is shewed 1. That the Gospel is infinitely more effectual for this purpose than the Mostical Law was 2. And that upon no other accounts the Iews were in circumstances for the obtaining of a thorow reformation of life and purification of nature comparable to those our Saviour hath blessed his Disciples with pag. 157 Chap. 16. An Objection against the Wonderful â—…fficacy of the Christian Religion for the purpose of making men holy taken from the very little success it hath herein together with the prodâ—…gious wickedness of Christendom An Answer given to it in three particulars viz 1. That how ill soever its success is it is evident from the foregoing Discourse that it is not to be imputed to any weakness or â—…nefficacy in that Religion The true causes thereof assigned 2. That it is to be expected that those should be the worse for the Gospel that will not be bettered by it 3. That there was a time when the Gospel's success was greatly answerable to what hath been said of its Efficacy And that the Primitive Christians were people of most unblameable and holy Lives The Gâ—…ostiques improperly called Christianâ—… in any sence The Primitive Christians proved to be men of excellent lives by the Testimonies of Fathers contained in their Apologies for them to their Enemies and by the acknowledgements of their Enemies themselves An account given in particular of their meek and submissive temper out of Tâ—…rtulitan The Admirable Story of the 〈◊〉 Legion pag. 167. Chap. 17. The second Inference That we understand from what hath been said of the Design of Christianity how fearfully it is abused by those that call themselves the Roman Catholiques That the Church of Rome hath by several of her Doctrines enervated all the Precepts and the Motives to holiness contained in the Gospel That she hath rendered the means therein prescribed for the attainment therof extremely ineffectual That she hath also as greatly corrupted them Diverse Instances of the Papists Idolatry Their Image worship one Instance Their praying to Saints departed another Other Impieties accompanying it mentioned Some account of their Blasphemies particularly in their Prayers to the Blessed Virgin Their worshipping the Hoast the third and grossest instance of their Idolatry Some other of their wicked and most Anti-christian Doctrines pag. 193. Chap. 18. The third Inference
all but in that he liveth he liveth unto God that is in heaven with God Likewise reckon ye your selves to be dead indeed unto sin but alive unto God through Iesus Christ our Lord that is after the Example of his Death and Resurrection account ye your selves obliged to die to Sin and to live to the Praise and Glory of God And the same use that the Apostle here makes of the Resurrection of our Saviour he doth also elsewhere of his Ascension and session at the Right hand of God Coloss. 3. 1. 2. If ye then be risen with Christ seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth at the Right Hand of God set your Affections on things above not on things on the earth for you are dead that is in profession having engaged your selves to renounce your past wicked life and your life is hid with Christ in God c. that is and the life you have by embracing the Christian Religion obliged your selves to lead is in Heaven where Christ is So that this sheweth the Informations the Gospel gives us of these things to be intended for Practical purposes and Incitements to Holiness And Christ's Resurrection with his following Advancement we are frequently minded of to teach us this most excellent Lesson that Obedience Patience and Humility are the way to Glory and therefore to encourage us to be followers of Him to tread in his holy steps and make him our Pattern This we have in the fore cited place Phil. 2. 5 6 7 c. And Hebr. 12. 1 2. We are exhorted to lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us and to run with patience the race that is set before us looking unto Iesus the Author and Finisher of our Faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the Gross despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the Throne of God And vers 3. To consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself that is especially how he is now rewarded for it lâ—…st we be weary and faint in our Minds And that the meaning of our being so often minded of our Saviour's coming again to Iudgement is to stir us up to all holiness of conversation who can be so ignorant as not to know For we are sufficiently told that we must be judged according to our Works especially such works as the Hypocrites of this age do most despise leave to be chiefly performed by their contemned Moralists as appears from Mâ—… 25. 34. to the end of the Chapter And Lastly that is very certain which is intimated in the 123 Page of the Free Discourse Namely That all the Doctrines of the Gospel as merely speculative as some at the first sight may seem to be have a tendency to the promoting of Real righteousness holiness and are revealed for that purpose But as I did not there so neither will I here proceed to shew it in all the several instances or in any more than I have now done and that for the reason that is there given But besides I conceive that what hath been discoursed already in this Section is abundantly sufficient to demonstrate what we have undertaken viz. That to make men truly vertuous and holy is the design the main and onely design of Christianity SECT II. Upon what accounts the Business of making men Holy came to be preferred by our Saviour before any other thing and to be principally designed by him CHAP. IX Two Accounts of this The first That this is to do the greatest good to men And that the Blessing of making men Holy is of all other the Greatest proved by several Arguments viz. First That it containeth in it a Deliverance from the worst of Evils and Sin shewed so to be I Proceed in the next place to shew how it comes to pass that of all other good things the making Man-kind truly vertuous and Holy is the grand and special Design of Christianity There are these two Accounts to be given of it First This is to do the Greatest Good to Men. Secondly This is to do the Best Service to God First The Making of us really Righteous and Holy is the Greatest Good that can possibly be done to us There is no blessing comparable to that of Purifying our Natures from Corrupt affections and induing them with Vertuous and Divine qualities The wiser sort of the Heathens themselves were abundantly satisfied of the truth of this And therefore the only design they professed to drive at in their Philosophy was the Purgation and Perfection of the Humane life Hierocles makes this to be the very Definition of it And by the purgation of mens lives he tells us is to be understood the Cleansing of them from the dregs and silth of unreasonable appetites and by their perfection the Recovery of that Excellency which reduceth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to the Divine likeness Now the Blessing of making men Holy is of all the greatest First Because it contains in it a Deliverance from the worst of Evils Those are utterly ignorant of the nature of Sin that imagine any evil greater than it or so great It was the Doctrine of the Stoicks that there is nothing evil but what is turpe vitiosum vile and vicious And Tully himself who professed not to be bound up to the Placita of any one Sect of Philosophers but to be free-minded and to give his Reason it s full scope and liberty takes upon him sometimes most stiffly and seemingly in very good earnest to maintain it dispute for it But as difficult as I find it to brook that Doctrine as they seem to understand it that more modest saying of his in the first book of his Tusculan Questions hath without doubt not a little of truth in it viz. That there is no evil comparable to that of Sin Hierocles a sober Philosopher and very free from the high-flown humour and Ranting genius of the Stoicks though he would allow that other things besides Sin may be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 very grievous and difficult to be born yet he would admit nothing besides this to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 truly evil and he gives this reason for it viz. Because that certain Circumstances may make other things good that have the repute of evils but none can make this so He saith that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 well can never be joyned with any vice but so may it with every thing besides As it is proper to say concerning such or such a person 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he is well diseased he is well poor that is he is both these to good purpose behaving himself in his sickness and poverty as he ought to do but proceeds he it can never be said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. he doth injury well or he is rightly and as becomes him intemperate Now that wickedness is the greatest of evils is
own souls And therefore it could do no other than infinitely become the Son of God himself to endure the Cross and despise the shame for the joy that was set before him taking that joy in no other sence than hath been generally understood viz. for the happiness of Heaven consisting in a full enjoyment and undisturbed possession of the Blessed Deity nor is there any reason why we should enquire after any other signification of that word which may exclude this And on the other hand to be diligent in the service of God for fear of hell understanding it as a state perfectly opposite to that which we have been describing is in a like manner from a principle of love to God and true goodness as well as self-love and is no more unworthy of a Son of God than of a mere servant And thus the truth of this proposition That to make men Holy is to confer upon them the greatest of blessings by the little that hath been said is made plainly apparent CHAP. XIII The Second Account of our Saviour's preferring the business of making men holy before any other viz. That this is to do the best service to God An objection answered against the Author's Discourse of the Design of Christianity IT remains secondly to be shewn That to promote the business of Holiness in the world is to do God Almighty the best service And this will be dispatcht in a very few words For is it not without dispute better service to a Prince to reduce Rebels to their Allegiance than to procure a pardon under his Seal for them This is so evidently true that to do this latter except it be in order to the former business is not at all to serve him nay it is to do him the greatest of disservices I need not apply this to our present purpose And therefore to be sure the work of making men holy and bringing over sinners to the obedience of his Father must needs have been much more in the eye of our Blessed Saviour than that of delivering them from their deserved punishments simply and in it self considered For his love to him will be I hope universally acknowledged to be incomparably greater than it is to us as very great as ' t is None can question but that by our Apostacy from God we have most highly dishonoured him we have robbed him of a Right that he can never be willing to let go viz. The obedience that is indispensably due to him as he is our Creator continual Preserver our infinitely bountiful Benefactor and absolute Soveraign And therefore it is as little to be doubted that Christ would in the first place concern himself for the Recovery of that Right And but that both works are carried on together and inseparably involved in each other he must necessarily be very greatly and far more solicitous about the effecting of this Design than of that of delivering wicked Rebels from the mischiefs and miseries they have made themselves lyable to by their disobedience So that laying all these considerations together what in the world can be more indisputable than that our Savious chief and ultimate design in coming from Heaven to us and performing and suffering all he did for us was to turn us from our iniquities to reduce us to intire and universal obedience and to make us partakers of inward real righteousness and true holiness And we cannot from this last discourse but clearly understand that it is most infinitely reasonable and absolutely necessary that it should be so But now if after all this it be objected that I have defended a notion concerning the Design of Christianity different from that which hath hitherto been constantly received by all Christians viz. That it is to display and magnifie the exceeding riches of God's Grace to fallen mankind in his Son Jesus I answer that he will be guilty of very great injustice towards me that shall censure me as labouring in this discourse to propagate any new notion For I have therein endeavoured nothing else but a true explication of the old one it having been grossly misunderstood and is still by very many to their no small prejudice Those therefore that say that the Christian Religion designeth to set forth and glorifie the infinite Grace of God in Jesus Christ to wretched sinners and withall understand what they say as they speak most truly so do they assert the very same thing that I have done For as hath been shewn not only the Grace of God is abundantly displaied and made manifest in the Gospel to sinners for this end that they â—…ay thereby be effectually moved and perswaded to forsake their sins but also the principal Grace that is there exhibited doth consist in delivering us from the power of them Whosoever will acknowledge sin to be as we have proved it is in its own nature the greatest of all evils and holiness the chiefest of all blessings will not find it easie to deny this And besides as we have likewise shewn men are not capable of God's pardoning Grace till they have truly repented them of all their sins that is have in will and affection sincerely left them And also that if they were caPable of it so long as they continue vile slaves to their lusts that Grace by being bestowed upon them cannot make them happy nor yet cause them to cease from being very miserable in regard of their disquieting and tormenting nature in which is laid the foundation of Hell it self The free Grace of God is infinitely more magnified in renewing our Natures than it could be in the bare justification of our persons And to justifie a wicked man while he continueth so if it were possible for God to do it would far more disparage his Iustice and Holiness than advance his Grace and Kindness Especially since his forgiving sin would signifie so little if it be not accompanied with the destruction of it In short then doth God most signally glorifie himself in the world when he most of all communicates himself that is his Glorious perfections to the souls of men And then do they most Glorifie God when they most partake of them and are rendered most like unto him But because nothing is I perceive more generally mistaken than the notion of Gods Glorifying himself I will adde something more for the better understanding of this and I am conscious to my self that I cannot do it so well as in the words of the Excellent man we a while since quoted Mr. Iohn Smith sometimes Fellow of Queens College in Cambridge When God seeks his own Glory he doth not so much endeavour any thing without himself He did not bring this stately Fabrick of the universe into being that he might for such a monument of his mighty Power and Beneficence gain some Panegyricks or Applause from a little of that fading breath which he had made Neither was that Gracious Contrivance of restoring lapsed men to himself a
Christ yet this use of them was so mystical and reserved so impossible to be collected out of the letter of the Law that without a special Revelation from God the eyes of the Israelites were too weak to serve them to pierce through those dark clouds and shadows and to carry their observation to the substance So that proceeds he I conceive those Sacrifices of the Law in this respect are a great deal more beneficial to us Christians For there is a great difference between Sacraments and Types Types are onely useful after the Antitype is discovered for the confirmation of their faith that follow As for Example Abraham ' s offering of Isaac by Faith did lively represent the real oblation of Christ but in that respect was of little or no use till Christ was indeed Crucified it being impossible to make that History a groundwork of their Faith in Christ. The like may be said of the Legal Sacrifices And for a clear understanding of the direct use of this Law I refer the Reader to that Sermon Where it is fully and in my opinion as judiciously discoursed as I have ever elsewhere met with it Secondly Nor were these special Favourites of heaven upon any other accounts in circumstances for the obtaining of a thorow reformation of life renovation and purification of nature comparable to those which our Saviour hath blessed his Disciples with For though they had as we said for the substance the same Spiritual Precepts which are enjoyned in the Gospel over and above the Mosaical Law yet these were inforced by no express promises of eternal happiness or threatnings of eternal misery Nor was so much as a life to come otherwise than by Tradition or by certam ambiguous expressions for the most part of their inspired men or by such sayings as onely implyed it and from which it might be rationally concluded discovered to them As for instance in that place particularly where God by his representative an Angel declared himself to his servant Moses to be the God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Iacob from whence our Saviour inferred that Doctrine for this Reason That God is not the God of the dead but of the living And that the notices they had hereof were not very plain and clear is apparent in that there was a Sect among them viz. the Sadduces that professed to disbelieve it and yet notwithstanding were continued in the body and enjoyed the privileges of the Jewish Church But that one forecited Assertion of the Apostle 2 Tim. 1. 10. putteth this out of all question viz. That Christ hath brought Life and Immortality to light through the Gospel From whence we may assuredly gather thus much at least viz. That in the Gospel is manifestly revealed Life and Immortality which was never before made known so certainly I adde moreover that the Israelites were required to keep at such a distance from all other Nations that they could not but be by that means greatly inclined to morosity self-conceitedness and contempt of their fellow-creatures And were ever and anon employed in such services as naturally tended through the weakness of their natures to make their spirits too angry and fierce not to say cruel As for instance that of destroying God's and their enemies and sometimes their innocent children too and the cattle that belonged to them And several connivances and Indulgences they had as in the Cases of Divorce and Polygamy and Revenge which did not a little conduce to the gratifying of Sensuality and the Animal life in them All which are taken away by our Saviour Christ. These things with diverse others made it in an ordinary way impossible for those people to arrive at that height of vertue and true goodness that the Gospel designeth to raise us to And though we find some of them very highly commended for their great Sanctity we are to understand those Encomiums for the most part at least with a reference to the Dispensation under which they were and as implying a consideration of the Circumstances they were in and the means they enjoyed And thus have we shewed what a most admirably effectual course our Blessed Saviour hath taken to purifie us from all filthiness both of the flesh and spirit and to make us in all respects Righteous and Holy And how much the Christian Dispensation excelleth others as to its aptness for this purpose And from what hath been said we may safely conclude That neither the world nor any part of it was ever favored by God with means for the accomplishment of this work comparable to those which are contained in the Christian Religion So that well might S. Paul call the Gospel of Christ the power of God to Salvation that is both from misery and the cause of it Well may the weapons of the Christian Warfare be said not to be carnal and weak but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds and casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth it self against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Great reason had Clemens Alexandrinus to call our Saviour 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Instructer and School-master of Humane Nature and to say as he doth in the following words That he hath endeavoured to save us by using with all his might all the instruments of Wisdom or all wise courses and draws us back by many bridles from gratifying unreasonable appetites And Iustin Martyr speaking of the Gospel had cause pathetically to break out as he did in these words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c O thou expeller and chaser away of evil affections O thou extinguisher of burning lusts This is that which makes us not Poets or Philosophers or excellent Orators but of poor mortal men makes us like so many Immortal Gods and translateth us from this low earth to those Regions that are above Olympus And well again might the same good Father having throughly acquainted himself with the Stoick and Platonick Philosophy by which latter he thought himself to have gained much wisdom and at last by the advice of an old man a stranger having studied the Gospel thus express himself 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. I found this alone to be the safe and profitable Philosophy and thus and by this means became I a Philosopher Symplicius faith thus of Epictetus his Enchiridion That it hath 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so much of powerfulness and pungency that those which are not perfectly dead must needs come to understand thereby their own affections and be effectually excited to the rectifying of them Could he give such a Character as this of that little Book of his BrotherHeathen what can be invented by us high enough for the Gospel That as very fine a thing as it is being most apparently extremely weak and insufficient for the purpose upon the account of which he praiseth it if
revenge our selves upon you for we are so great a part of the Empire that by but departing from you we should utterly destroy it and affright you with your own Solitude and leave you more enemies than loyal Subjects And so far were they from making use of the advantages they had to deliver themselves by the way of violence That as not long after he saith to them they prayed for the Emperours and those in Authority under them for peace and a quiet state of affairs among them and as some where he adds very ready also to give them assistance against their enemies The story of the Thebaean Legion is wonderful to astonishment it consisted of just six thousand six hundred sixty and six men and all Christian. These when Maximianus Caesar went about to compel them to offer Sacrifice to the heathenish Gods at a place called Octodurum they fled to another called Agaunum when he sent after them to require them to obey that his command they drew up together into a Body and with one voice professed that they could not do it Maximianus thereupon commanded that every tenth man of them should be slain upon the place which accordingly was immediately done without the least resistance Mauritius the General of this Legion thus addressed himself to the Souldiers Quà m timui ne quisquam quod Armatis facile est c. How fearful was I lest any of you being in Arms and therefore no hard matter to do it should attempt the defending of your selves and by that means prevent a happy and most glorious death And so goes on most excellently to encourage them rather to submit to death than resist their Emperour When every tenth man was slain the Emperour repeated his command to the survivers and they all thus answered Milites quidem Caesar tui sumus c. We are it is confessed thy Souldiers O Caesar for the defence of the Roman Republique nor have we ever proved either traytors or cowards but this command of thine we cannot obey For know we are all Christians yet all our bodies shall be subject to thee c. At last Exuperius their Ensign concludes thus Non nos adversum Te Imperator armavit ipsa quae fortissima est in periculis desperatio c. Despair it self hath not armed us against thee O Emperour behold we have all our weapons in our hands and yet resist not because we had rather die innocent than live nocent And thereupon they were all put to the slaughter not a man of them once offering to defend himself You may find the Relation of this more at large taken out of Fucherius by Grotius and set down in his Book De jure Belli Pacis Origen also tells Celsus that he or any of his party were able to shew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nothing of Sedition that the Christians were ever guilty of And yet what Tertullian said of the Roman Empire in General this Father elsewhere in the same book speaketh of Greece and Barbary viz. That the Gospel had subdued all that Country and the greater part of this and had brought over to Godliness souls innumerable Thus you see how far the Primitive Christians were from the tumultuous fiery and boisterous Spirit that Christendom above all other parts of the world hath been since infested with And thus we have shewn that there was once a time God grant that the like may be again when the success of the Christian Religion in conquering mens lusts and rectifying their Natures was greatly answerable to the efficacy that it hath for this purpose And so we pass to the second Inference CHAP. XVII The Second Inference That we understand from what hath been said of the Design of Christianity how fearfully it is abused by those that call themselves the Roman Catholiques That the Church of Rome hath by several of her Doctrines enervated all the Precepts and the Motives to Holiness contained in the Gospel That she hath rendered the Means therein prescribed for the attainment thereof extremely ineffectual That she hath also as greatly corrupted them Diverse Instances of the Papists Idolatry Their Image worship one Instance Their praying to Saints departed another Other Impieties accompanying it mentioned Some account of their Blasphemies particularly in their Prayers to the Blessed Virgin Their worshipping the Hoast the third and Grossest instance of their Idolatry Some other of their Wicked and most Anti-christian Doctrines SEcondly By what hath been said concerning the Design of the Christian Religion we easily understand how fearfully it is abused by those that call themselves the Roman Catholiques Nor need we any other Argument to prove Popery to be nothing less than Christianity besides this viz. That the Grand Design of this is to make us holy and also aimeth at the raising of us to the most Elevated pitch of Holiness and is admirably contrived for that purpose But the Religion of the Papists as such doth most apparently tend to carry on a Design that is diametrically opposite thereunto To serve a most carnal and corrupt interest to give men security in a way of sinning and pretendeth to teach them a way to do at one and the same time effectually the most contrary and inconsistent works That is to deprave their natures and save their Souls and even in gratifying their wicked inclinations to lay a firm and safe foundation for eternal happiness So that if this as they pretend it alone is be the Christian Religion we must needs ingenuously acknowledge that what we said in the Introduction was by Celsus and Iulian charged upon it is no calumny but an accusation most just and well deserved For as the Church of Rome hath rendred diverse excellent Precepts of Holiness contained in the Gospel very in-effectual by making them Counsels onely not Commands and also not a few of its Prohibitions unnecessary by her Distinction of sins into Mortal and Venial understanding by Venial sins such as for the sake of which no man can deserve to lose the Divine favour and therefore making them really no sins So hath she enervated all the Evangelical Commandments both Positive and Negative and made them sadly insignificant by a multitude of Doctrines that are taught by her most Darling-sons and decreed or allowed by her self That one Popish Doctrine of the Non-necessity of Repentance before the imminent point of Death and that though the Church requireth it upon Holy-days yet no man is bound by the Divine Law to it until that time is of it self without the help of any other sufficient to take away the force of all the holy Precepts of our Saviour and to make them utterly unsuccessful to the Embracers of it And this other goeth beyond that in aptness for this purpose viz. That mere Attrition or sorrow for sin for fear of Damnation if it be accompanied with Confession to the Priest is sufficient for Salvation For as the former maketh a Death-bed-repentance onely necessary
of Persons are most extremely sottish 1. Such as expect to have their share in the Salvation of the Gospel without true Holiness 2. Such much more as encourage themselves by the Grace of the Gospel in Unholiness THirdly There is nothing we are more assured of by what hath been discoursed of the Design of Christianity than that these two sorts of persons are guilty of extreme sottishness Namely Those that expect to have a share in the Salvation of the Gospel without true Holiness And much more Those that encourage themselves by the grace of the Gospel in their Unholiness First Those that expect to have their share in the Salvation of the Gospel without true Holiness I fear me that such people are not consined within the limits of the Romish Church but that a vast number of Protestants also may be deservedly accused upon this account But by so much more sottish are these than the Papists by how much better things their Religion teacheth them than the Papists doth Though I must likewise with sadness acknowledge that too many opinions have been unhappily foisted into it that give too great encouragement to a careless life But that those which promise to themselves an interest in the Salvation purchased by Jesus Christ either from their Baptism and partaking of certain Christian priveleges or from their being of such or such a Sect and Mode of Professors or from their supposed Orthodoxy and good belief and zeal against erroneous Doctrines or from their imagining Christ's Righteousness theirs and applying the Promises to themselves or from their abstaining from the grosser and more scandalous sins or from their doing some externally good actions and have in the mean time no care to be universally obedient to mortifie every lust and to obtain an inward principle of Holiness that those I say which thus do are guilty of most egregious and stupid folly is most manifest from what hath been discoursed of the Design of Christianity For we have shewn not only that Reformation of Life from the practice and purification of heart from the liking of sin are as plainly as can be asserted in the Gospel to be absolutely necessary to give men a right to the promises of it but also that its Great Salvation doth even consist in it that Salvation from sin is the grand Design of the Christian Religion and that from wrath is the Result of this I will instance in two more Scriptures for the farther proof of this The Apostle S. Paul saith Ephes. 2. 5 c. Even when we were dead in trespasses and sins hath he quickened us together with Christ by grace ye are saved and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in Heavenly places in Christ Iesus That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding Riches of his grace in his kindness towards us through Christ Iesus For by Grace ye are saved through faith or by the means of believing the Gospel and that not of your selves it is the gift of God Where by the Salvation which the Ephesian Christians are said to have obtained and in the bestowing of which upon them the exceeding Riches of God's Grace appeared is plainly to be understood their deliverance from their former Heathenish Impieties and sinful Practices And so is it interpreted by our best Expositors Again it is said Titus 3. 5. Not by works of Righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us how saved us it follows by the washing of Regeneration Renewing of the holy Ghost Our Saviour giveth â—…ase to our Sin-sick Souls by recovering them to health And his Salvation first consisteth in curing our wounds and secondarily in freeing us from the smart occasioned by them S. Peter tells the Christians that by his stripes they were healed 1 Pet. 2. 24. It being a quotation out of Isaiah 53. 5. Clemens Alexandrinus in the second book of his Stromat hath this saying to the same purpose 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Pardon doth not so much consist in Remission as in Healing That is the pardon of the Gospel doth chiefly discover it self in curing men of their sins in delivering sinners from the power of them rather than from the mere punishment due to them By which words that learned Father declared that he looked upon the subduing of sin as a more eminent act of grace than the bare forgiveness of it Now would that man be accounted any better than a perfect Ideot who being sorely hurt should expect from his Chirurgion perfect â—…ase when he will not permit him to apply any plaister for the healing of his wound Or that being deadly sick should look that his Physician should deliver him from his pain when he will not take any course he prescribes for the removal of the distemper that is the cause of it But of far greater folly are all those guilty who will not be perswaded to part with their Sins and yet hope for the Salvation of their Souls He that looketh for this expects that which implyeth a most palpable contradiction and is impossible in its own nature to be effected It hath been fully enough shewn that mere deliverance from misery cannot possibly be without deliverance from sin and much less Eternal Blessedness in the Enjoyment of God Secondly But how excessively mad then are those which turn the grace of God declared in the Gospel into wantonness and take encouragement from the abundant kindness and good will therein expressed to wretched sinners with the more security and boldness to commit sin We read of such in the Epistle of S. Iude And God knows there are too many such in these our days But seeing it is so grosly foolish a thing for men to hope to be saved notwithstanding their living in the allowance of known sins what desperate Madness then is it to be imboldened in ungodly practices by the offers Christ makes of pardon and salvation to them These declare that they look upon the Design of Christianity not onely as different from what it hath been demonstrated it is but also as directly opposite and perfectly contrary thereunto These do not only judge their Saviour to be no friend to holiness but to be the greatest enemy likewise to it and a Minister of sin and wickedness They make him to be the very servant of the Devil in stead of coming to destroy his works They make the Christian Religion more vile by â—…ar than that of Mahomet and such a Religion as those which have but the least spark of goodness must needs abominate Shall we Sin saith the Apostle that Grace may abound God forbid Those that think they can magnifie the free-grace of God in Christ by thus doing or that they may take encouragement from it to continue in sin do make this grace unworthy of mens acceptance and no grace at all Nay they make Almighty God the greatest enemy to Mankind in sending his Son Jesus and
his Gospel among us For sin being so apparently the greatest of evils it can be no other than the highest and most significant expression of hatred to us to encourage us to the commission of it It is so far from being part of our Christian Liberty to be delivered from our obligation to all or any of the Laws of Righteousness that such a deliverance would be the most Diabolical yoke of Bondage If any man can be so silly as to object that of the Apostle Rom. 6. 14. Ye are not under the Law but under Grace Let him give himself an answer by reading the whole verse and then make ill use of that passage if he can tell how The words foregoing it in the same verse are these Sin shall not have dominion over you and these words are a proof of that assertion For ye are not under the Law but under Grace That is as if he should say It is the most inexcuseable thing for you to continue under the dominion and power of sin because ye are not under the weak and inefficacious Paedagogy of the Law of Moses but a Dispensation of Grace wherein there is not only Forgiveness assured to truly Repenting sinners but strength afforded to enable to the subduing and mortification of all sin Our Saviour hath told us expresly that he came not to destroy the Law that is the Moral Law but to fulfil it And that Heaven and Earth shall soouer pass away than that one jot or little thereof shall sail And it is absolutely impossible that our obligation thereunto should cease while we continue Men. All the duties therein contained being most necessary and natural results from the Relation we stand in to God and to one another and from the Original make and constitution of humane souls But it is too great an honour to the Doctrine of Libertinism to bestow two words upon its confutation it being so prodigiously monstrous that it would be almost a breach of Charity to judge that Professour of Christianity not to have suffered the loss of his wits that hath entertained it or hath the least favour for it supposing he hath but the least smattering in the Christian Religion It is a most amazing thing that such a thought should have any admission into the mind of such a one while he is compos mentis and not utterly deprived of his Intellectuals Our Saviour's Gospel being wholly levelled at the mark of killing all sorts of sin in us and rendering us exactly obedient to the Divine Moral and also all innocent humane Laws Let me speak to such as so shamefully abuse our incomparable Religion as to take liberty from thence to be in any kind immoral in the words of S. Paul Rom. 2. 4 5. Despisest thou the Riches of God's goodness and forbearance and long-suffering not knowing that his goodness leadeth thee or designeth the leading of thee to Repentance But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up to thy self wrath against the day of wrath and Revelation of the Righteous Iudgment of God c. CHAP. XIX The Fourth Inference That a right understanding of the Design of Christianity will give satisfaction concerning the true Notion 1. Of Iustifying Faith 2. Of the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness FOurthly From what hath been said of the Design of Christianity may be clearly inferred the True notion of Iustifying Faith and of the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness First Of Iustifying Faith We thence learn That it is such a belief of the Truth of the Gospel as includes a sincere resolution of Obedience unto all its Precepts or which is the same thing includes true Holiness in the nature of it And moreover that it justifieth as it doth so For surely the Faith which intitles a sinner to so high a privelege as that of justification must needs be such as complieth with all the purposes of Christ's coming into the world and especially with his grand purpose and it is no less necessary that it should justifie as it doth this That is as it receives Christ for a Lord as well as for a Saviour But I need not now distinguish between these two there being but a notional difference between them in this matter For Christ as was shewn as he is a Saviour designeth our Holiness his Salvation being chiefly that from the worst of evils sin and principally consisting in deliverance from the power of it I scarcely more admired at any thing in my whole life than that any worthy men especially should be so difficultly perswaded to embrace this account of Iustifying Faith and should perplex and make intricate so very plain a Doctrine If this be not to seek knots in a Bulrush I know not what is I wish there were nothing throughout the Bible less easily intelligible than this is and I should then dare to pronounce it one of the plainest of all books that ever pen wrote For seeing the great end of the Gospel is to make men good what pretence can there be for thinking that Faith is the Condition or I 'le use the word Instrument as improper and obscure as it is of Iustification as it complieth with only the precept of relying on Christ's Merits for the obtaining of it especially when it is no less manifest than the Sun at Noon-day that obedience to the other precepts must go before obedience to this and that a man may not rely on the merits of Christ for the forgiveness of his sins and he is most presumptuous in so doing and puts an affront upon his Saviour too till he be sincerely willing to be reformed from them And besides such a Relyance is ordinarily to be found among unregenerate and even the very worst of men And therefore how can it be otherwise than that that act of faith must needs have a hand in justifying and the special hand too which distinguisheth it from that which is to be found in such persons And I adde what good ground can men have for this fancy when as our Saviour hath merited the pardon of sin for this end that it might be an effectual motive to return from it And can any thing in the world be more indisputably clear than if the only direct scope that Christianity drives at be the subduing of sin in us and our freedom from its guilt or obligation to punishment be the consequent of this as I think hath been demonstrated with abundant evidence that faith invests us with a title to this deliverance no otherwise than as dying to sin and so consequently living to God are the products and fruit of it And seeing that one End and the Ultimate End too of Christ's coming was to turn us from our iniquities if the nature of Faith considered as Iustifying must needs be made wholly to consist in Recumbence and Reliance on him he shall be my Apollo that can give me a sufficient reason why it ought only to consist in Reliance on the Merits of
called Christians the Papists onely are lyable to this charge but alas it is too manifest to be denied or yet dissembled that not a few of those that profess enmity to Popery are sadly guilty though not equally with the Papists in this particular But there is nothing more certain than that for any of us to be cruel and of a persecuting spirit to be wrathful and furious to backbite and slander to be false and perfidious to be ungovernable rebellious or seditious to be uncharitable or in any kind whatsoever unjust upon the account of Religion it self is most unsufferable and inexcuseable For if it be lawful to behave our selves after this manner upon any account whatever Religion would be the most useless thing in the whole world and if this were lawful upon the account of Religion onely I will not stick to say that it would not be more useless and unprofitable than mischievous and hurtfull Nor would the Christian Religion it self be worthy our profession if it would give us leave upon any design to allow our selves in the forementioned Immoralities or in any one whatsoever But there are none it more absolutely or with greater severity forbiddeth than such as these Who is a wise man and indued with knowledge among you saith S. Iames Let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom but if ye have bitter envyings and striâ—…e in your hearts glory not and lie not against the truth that is do not boast of your Christian wisdom nor play the Hypocrites in pretending to be Spiritual this wisdom desâ—…endeth not from above is not zeal kindled from heaven but is earthly sâ—…nsual Devilish For where envy and strife is there is confusion and every evil work But the wisdom that is from above is first pure then peaceable gentle and easie to be entreated full of merâ—…y and good fruits without Partiality and without Hypocrisie And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace Iames 3. 13. to the end And S. Paul tells the Galatians Chap. 4. 22 23. That the Fruit of the Spirit is Love Ioy Peace Long-suffering Gentleness Goodness Faith Meekness Temperance And he reckoneth among the works of the â—…lesh vers 19 20 21. not onely Adlultery Fornication Uncleâ—…nness I asciviousness Idolatry Witâ—…herast Heresies Murâ—… Drunkenness Revelling but also Hatred Variance Emulations Wrath Strife Seditions Envyings and saith that they which do such things such as these as well as the â—…ormer shall not inherit the Kingdom of God And adds vers 24. that They which are Christ's have 〈◊〉 the flesh with the afâ—…ections and lusts that is all such as the foregoing And it appeareth from what hath been discoursed concerning the Design of Christianity that the gratiâ—…ication of any of these affections is so far from becoming lawful or more warrantable by being yielded to for the sake of it that it is rendered the more wretchedly foolish and unaccountable by this means For thus to do is no other than to be irreligious to promote Religion to be Un-christian to do service to Christianity and therefore to go the directest way to destroy iâ—… by the means we use for its preservation And we do our particular Opinions and Forms of Religion more Mischief in alienating the minds of others from them than their most Professed Adversaries will be able to do by all their Attempts against them by such wild and wicked expressions of zeal for them And lastly thus to do is to oppose the interest of our Religion to that of our Souls and to cast these away in the defence of that As appears from our Discourse in the second Section But what Madness is like to this CHAP. XXV The Ninth Inference That it is a most unwarrantable thing for those that are the Ministers of Christ to prefer any other Design before that of making men really Righteous and Holy That this ought to be the whole Design of their Preaching That it is of as great concernment that they promote the same Business by their Conversations as that they do it by their Doctrine Infinite Mischiefs occasioned by the loose Lives of Ministers Several Instances of Practices extremely blame-worthy in Preachers of the Gospel That they ought to have a regard to the Weaknesses of Persons so far as lawfully they may That the Promoting of Holiness ought to be the onely Design of Ecclesiastical Discipline NInthly Seeing our Saviour's grand and onely direct Design was to make men really Righteous and Holy it must needs be a most unwarrantable thing for those that are his Ministers and Representatives to prefer any other before this for those that are intrusted with the care of souls to concern themselves about any thing so much as this It is plainly their Duty to subordinate every thing they do by virtue of their Sacred Function hereunto and to imitate their Great Master all they can in the discharge of it to promote Holiness as much as lyeth in them both by their Doctrine and Conversations with all perspicuity and plainness to instruct their People in all the indisputable Doctrines of Christianity above any other and to have a special care to shew them the aptness that is in them to the furtherance of Holiness of Heart and Life And most to inculcate those upon them which have the greatest and most manifest and immediate tendency thereunto to inform them of their whole duty relating to God their Neighbour and themselves impartially to press them to the performance of them with the greatest affection and fervency and to back on their Exhortations with the most prevalent and inforcing Motives the most rational and convincing Arguments couragiously but with a discovery of tenderest compassion to sinners to reprove all sins without exception and faithfully to shew the danger of living in any one whatsoever And to do thus not onely in publique but as there is occasion in private also and readily to embrace all opportunities for that purpose Thus as hath been shewn did our Blessed Saviour spend his time and that it is the duty of his Ministers to come as near as they can in their practice to him is out of question And thus also did his immediate Successors the Apostles employ themselves as might be largly made to appear They preach'd the Word were instant both in season and out of season they reproved rebuked and exhorted with all long-suffering and Doctrine according as S. Paul charged Timothy to do in the most solemn and severe manner even before God and the Lord Iesus Christ who shall judge the quick and the dâ—…ad at his appearing and his Kingdom And that charge by parity of reason must concern the whole Clergy as well as that Bishop And as Christ and his Apostles taught men by their Lives as well as Doctrine and encouraged them to the performance of whatsoever duties they injoyned them by their own Example so it cannot but be of infinite concernment
that they might gain in this Grand one we should quickly see Christendome in most lovely and blessed Circumstances All people that have any thing of sincerity would quickly unite and agree together and as for factious Hypocrites they would be with ease supprest and put out of all capacity of doing mischief This I say might be easily shewn and plainly demonstrated but it needs not there being nothing in the world more undeniably evident CHAP. XXVI The Tenth Inference That an Obedient Temper of Mind is an excellent and necessary Qualification to prepare men for a firm Belief and right understanding of the Gospel of Christ. That it is so by virtue of Christ's promise That it is so in its own Nature This shewed in three Particulars viz. in that 1. It will help us to judge without prejudice concerning the Doctrines contained in the Gospel 2. It will give satisfaction concerning the main Doctrines of Christianity far excelling any that can arise from mere speculation 3. It will secure from the Causes of Errour in those Points that are of weightiest importance Six Causes of such Errours laid down and an Obedient Disposition of mind shewed to secure from each of them TEnthly We learn what is the best Temper and Disposition of mind to bring to the Study of Christ's Gospel in order to our firm belief and right understanding of it Seeing its Design is to make men entirely obedient and truly holy it is evident that a desire so to be is the most excellent and necessary qualification for that purpose Our Saviour saith Iohn 7. 17. If any man will do his will or is willing to do it he shall know of the Doctrine whether it be of God or whether I speak of my self That is in the first place he shall be throughly satisfied concerning the truth of the Gospel shall be abundantly convinced that the Christian Religion is no Imposture that the Author of it came from Heaven as he declared he did and was sent by God to reveal his Will Such a one when it comes to be sufficiently proposed to him shall heartily embrace the Gospel as containing the true the onely true Religion And therefore observe what he saith Iohn 8. 47. He that is of God heareth God's words ye therefore hear them not because ye are not of God That is as if he should say He that is of an obedient Temper and ambitious of doing the will of God shall receive the Doctrine which in his name I preach to him and the reason why you Iews for your parts refuse so to do is because you are insincere and hypocritical It is said Acts 13. 48. That as many of the Gentiles as were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is doubtless in this place to be rendred disposed or in a ready preparedness for Eternal Life believed That is Those which were Proselytes of the Gate who were admitted by the Iews to the Hope of Eternal Life and to have their portion in the Age to come without submitting to their whole law or any more than owning the God of Israel and observing the seven precepts of Noah as Master Mede hath learnedly and with great conviction shewn These being desirous to live Godlily and not prejudiced against the Christian Religion as the Iews generally were did then at Antioch receive the Gospel upon its first being made known to them And of this sort was Cornelius whose conversion to Christianity we read of before in the tenth Chapter Secondly and consequently this sence is also implied in the first cited words of our Saviour viz. That as he which is willing to do God's will shall know that Christ's Doctrine came from him so he shall rightly understand that Doctrine too For it would be to no purpose for him to believe the Gospel to be true if his Faith be not accompanied with an ability to pass a right judgement on the sence of it And therefore he must needs be able to distinguish between the Doctrine of Christ and that which is falsly imposed at any time upon the world as his and fathered upon him by ungodly Heretiques as well as satisfied that what he delivered in the general is the Will of God S. Iohn to this same purpose expresseth himself 1 Epistle 4. 6. He that knoweth God that is practically or is Obedient heareth us he that is not of God or is not willing to obey him heareth not us hereby know we the Spirit of Truth and the spirit of error That is by this obedient temper we are capable of distinguishing betwixt these two Spirits And I say from the Design of the Gospel that being to make men Holy it may be presumed that whosoever considereth it with a desire of being so must needs both believe it to have come from God and also be inlightened in the true knowledge of at least all the necessary Points of it and be enabled to give a particular explicite and understanding assent to them So that it shall not lie in the power of any subtile seducer to rob him of his Faith or to infect him with any Principles that are directly destructive to it or are so plainly in their consequences so as that he shall see it and make that ill use of them as to be perswaded by them to let go his hold of any Fundamental Article of the Christian Religion For our Saviour having so infinitely concerned himself for the destroying of sin in us and to make us partakers of his holiness as to aim at this above all things in all he did and suffered in the world and to make it the whole business of his Gospel we may be certain that those Honest Souls that come to the study of it with a desire of reaping this advantage by it cannot be left destitute of Christ's grace and blessing to make it successful to them for that purpose which it is impossible it should be without a thorow-belief of it and a right understanding of at least all its absolutely necessary and Essential parts This we might be assured of from that consideration though there were no Promise extant of that his grace to such well disposed people as there are diverse others besides that which we have produced But besides this a sincere desire of being obedient and holy must needs of it self very greatly dispose us for the belief and sufficient understanding of the Gospel and be very necessary in order thereunto also For First It will help us to judge without prejudice and partiality concerning it and the particular Doctrines therein contained He whose hearty desire it is to please God in doing his Will will be unbyassed in his judgement in enquiries after it He knows that he cannot make that to be Truth by thinking one way or other which was not before so and that truth will be truth whatsoever he thinks on it And therefore doth not wish that this or that may be so and then endeavour to perswade himself that it is so
the Truth that they might be saved God shall send them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 strength of delusion that they should believe a lie that they all might be damned who believed not the Truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness 2 Thess. 2 10. The forementioned particulars do of themselves lead to the most dangerous errours how much more then must they needs so do when they are backed on with the Divine Vengeance But if honesty and an Obedient temper of Soul will secure from the other causes of errour and seduction it will in so doing secure from this last So that it is manifest that a sincere desire of Righteousness and true Holiness will not fail to help men to a thorow-belief and sufficient understanding of that Book which is onely designed to indue them with it And that nothing can occasion the contrary but a wilful adhering to some one or other immorality and that this hath a very great aptness so to do So that it is not the least matter of wonder to see men of excellent wits and brave accomplishments either fall into gross errours or even into a flat disbelief of the Christian Religion As strange as this may seem to some it appears from our past Discourse that there is not any real cause of admiration in it For other endowments of as excellent use as they may be when accompanied with that of an obedient temper must needs do more hurt than good to the Souls that are adorned and graced with them when separated from it and occasion those vices that may well make way for Heresies And it is certain that an acute wit when it hath not a purified sense going along with it is so far from being a sufficient praerequisite to the right understanding of Evangelical truths that it is as notable an Engine as the Grand Deceiver can desire to make use of in order to the bringing about his mischievous designs upon the person that is Master of it So that indeed it is on the contrary rather matter of wonder that any man that hath a naughty Will should have a good Iudgement in Gospel-truths though both his natural and acquired parts should be ne'r so great And again we may without the least breach of Charity presume that whosoever to whom Christianity is sufficiently made known doth either disbelieve it or any of the Fundamentals of it his Heart is much more in fault than is his Head and that he hath darkened his Discerning faculty and greatly dimmed the Eye of his Soul by entertaining some filthy lust that sends up a thick sog and mist of vapours to it If any man teach otherwise saith S. Paul 1 Tim. 6. 3. and consent not to wholesome words even the words of our Lord Iesus Christ and to the Doctrine that is according to Godliness he is proud c. not he is weak and cannot but he is wicked and will not understand the Truth And by the way this Discourse may conduce to the no small encouragement of the weaker sort Let such be but heartily solicitous about doing God's Will and having the Design of the Gospel effected in them and they need fear that their weakness will betray them into the wrong way to Blessedness CHAP. XXVII The Last Inference That we are taught by the Design of Christianity wherein the Essence Power and Life of it consisteth Instances of what kind of things it doth not consist in For what Ends the several Exercises of Piety and Devotion are injoyned How God is Glorified by men and by what means Whom it is our duty to esteem and carry our selves towards as true Christians That by following the Example of Christ and making his Life our Pattern we shall assure our selves that the Design of Christianity is effected in us and that we are indued with the Power of it LAstly We learn from the Doctrine of the Design of Christianity wherein the Essence Power and Life of it consisteth viz. In a good state and habit of mind in a holy frame and temper of Soul whereby it esteemeth God as the Chiefest good preferreth him and his Son Jesus before all the world and prizeth above all things an interest in the Divine Perfections such as Iustice and Righteousness universal Charity Goodness Mercy and Patience and all kinds of Purity From whence doth naturally proceed a hearty complyance with all the Holy Precepts of the Gospel and sincere endeavours to perform all those actions which are agreeable to them are necessary expressions of those and the like vertues and means for the obtaining and encrease of them and to avoid the Contrary The Kingdom of God or Christianity is not meat and drink but righteousness peace and joy in the Holy Ghost as Saint Paul tells us Rom. 14. 17. That is it doth not consist in any merely external matters or bodily exercises which elsewhere he saith do profit but little And as not in such as he there meaneth viz. things of a perfectly indifferent nature and neither good nor evil so neither in such as are very good and laudable for the matter of them It is onely their flowing from an inward Principle of Holiness that denominateth any whatsoever Christian actions But such as are onely occasioned by certain external inducements and motives and proceed not from any good temper and disposition of Soul be they never so commendable in themselves bespeak not him that performeth them to be a true and sincere Christian. He is not a Iew saith the same Apostle that is one outwardly neither is that Circumcision that is outward in the flesh But he is a Iew that is one inwardly and Circumcision is that of the heart in the Spirit and not in the Letter whose praise is not of men but of God Rom. 2. 28 29. That is he onely is a true child of Abraham who in the purity of the heart obeyeth those substantial Laws that are imposed by God upon him And if no one that doth not thus might properly be called a Iew or child of Abraham much less can the name of a Christian and a Disciple of the Holy Iesus be due to him He it is evident is onely so in whom the Design of Christianity is in some measure accomplish'd And it appears from what hath been said that its Design is Primarily and immediately upon the Nature which being rectified and renewed will certainly discover it self so to be throughout the whole life For a good tree will not bring forth corrupt fruit nor a corrupt tree good fruit as our Saviour hath said Were it possible as it is not that we should forbear all outward acts of sin and yet our Souls cleave to it we could not but be destitute of the Life and Power of Christianity And should we abound never so much in the exercise of good duties if our design in so doing be to gratifie any lust and serve some carnal interest they will be so far from Christian actions that they may