Of the Reasonableness of Christian Religion, Chapter 6
CHAP. VI.
The exceptions againſt Chriſt's Commands.
Sect. 1 IT remains that I proceede to Christs Commands under the Goſpel, and ſhew the rationalneſs of them.
Sect. 2 And having done it ſo largely already on the head of Advantages, I ſhall now onelyonly deſcend to that one, againſt which our Modern Exceptions are moſt frequently made, viz.
Sect. 3 The great Fundamentall dutie of taking up the Croſſe to follow CHRIST; i. e. of approving my Obedience to CHRIST in all and every particular, even when the extreameſt danger, the loſs of my Life is like to be the Price to be paid for it.
Sect. 4 The unreaſonableneſs of this is argued and concluded from the contrarietie of it to that liberty of ſelf-defence, and to that Law of ſelf-preſervation; which nature is ſuppoſed to dictate to every man. And the ſhewing the weakneſſe of this Objection, will be a full vindication of the rationalneſs of the Precept.
Sect. 5 And this is done by putting us in minde, what is meant by Self-preſervation, and what by Nature, and what by Law. A man is made up of a Body, and a Soul, a mortal and an immortal part, and thoſe may be conſidered either ſeverally, or united: And conſequently Self-preſervation may be ſet to ſignifie any one, or more of theſe four things. Either, firſt, the preſerving that material mortal part of him from preſent hurt, or ſecondly, preſerving the immortal part of him in well, and happy being, or thirdly, preſerving the preſent union of one of theſe with the other, or fourthly, the providing for the perpetual happy union of them eternally. The firſt is the preſerving the body, and with it the estate, and liberty, and reputation, &c. from preſent loſs or diminution. The ſecond is preſerving the Soul in innocence, or virtue. The third is preſerving of this life of ours, which wee live in the naturall Body. And the fourth is providing for a joyfull Reſurrection, and an everlaſting Life attending it.
Sect. 6 Then for Nature, that may ſignifie either blinde unenlightned Nature, which ſees no more then the reflection upon it ſelf, and the Book of the Creatures, and Natural inſtincts repreſent to it; or elſe Nature, as it is enlightned by Revelation, i. e. by Gods making known ſome things in his Word, which Nature had never known, had they not been thus revealed: Such are the Doctrines of our Faith, and particularly the eternal rewards, and puniſhments which are revealed to us in the Scripture.
Sect. 7 Then for Laws, thoſe may be either abſolute, and peremptory, which yield not to any ſuperior Laws; or elſe conditional, and ſubordinate, when a ſuperior Law doth not interpoſe to the contrary.
Sect. 8 To bring all this home to our preſent diſcourſe. If by ſelf-preſervation be meant either the firſt, or the third notion of the ſelf, the preſerving my body, or my life, then though it may truly be ſaid that it is a Law of Nature, that men may, and that (when no ſuperior Law requires the contrary) they ought, and are bound to preſerve theſe imperfect mutilate ſelves, theſe bodies; yet then as there is a higher notion of a man then as that barely ſignifies his Body, his Soul being the far more excellent part of him, and the eternall union of body and Soul together, being moſt eminently the Notion, that he is concerned in, ſo there muſt be a ſuperior Law of ſelf-preſervation, then that which commands onelyonly the preſerving the Body, and though bare un-lightned Nature, that is able to look no farther then this life, doe not give any Law in this matter, yet Nature being ſuppoſed inſtructed in the Chriſtian Doctrine, that there is another life of Body, and Soul after this, to laſt for ever, muſt needs be reſolved to do it, it being impoſſible, that reaſonable Nature, when two things are repreſented ſo diſtant, as the life of a few yeers here in the midſt of ſuch ſad mixtures, and an everlaſting life hereafter in the fulneſs of all joyes, ſhould not enjoyn the preſerving of the latter, even with the contempt of the former, when the care of the former may bring any danger to the latter.
Sect. 9 The ſhort of it is, That when eternal life is in the hand of Christ to give to them, that continue obedient and constant to him, and to none elſe, and when the fearing of them which can hurt, and kill the body, the caring for, or preſerving of this preſent life, doth at any time, or in any caſe, reſiſt, or obſtruct the performance of that duty, which Chriſt then requires or expects from me; there Nature commands me to deſpiſe the leſs, and preſerve the greater; and if it be not abſolutely willing to Sacrifice the preſent to the eternall Life, and conſequently to prefer the obeying of Christ to the preſerving of this fading ſhort life, it muſt acknowledge it ſelf a blinde Heathen Nature, (that knows nothing of an eternall future life, and of him that can caſt both Body and Soul into Hell) or elſe an irrational wilde Nature, that knows theſe diſtances of finite, and infinite, and doth not thinke them worth conſidering.
Sect. 10 It is therefore my moſt charitable opinion of thoſe that object the Principle of ſelf-preſervation to the Doctrine of taking up the Croſſe, and determine us free from the Obligation of paying obedience to Chriſt, when it cannot be done without endangering of Eſtate, or Life, that they ſpeak out of their memory onelyonly, what they have read in Books of that ſupreame Law of the preſerving ones ſelf, but do not withall remember, that if that ſelf ſignified onelyonly the Body, it was the Philoſophie of them, that knew nothing of the immortality of the Soul, or the endleſneſs of an other Life, or if they were aware of the Chriſtian Doctrines of eternity, they never called the Body, that ſelf, that was to be ſo ſolicitouſly tended.
Sect. 11 And therefore it is obſervable in the firſt Ages of the Church, that thoſe Hereticks that were enemies of the Croſſe of Chriſt, that taught it to be aforeign. Euſeb. l. 4. Eccleſ. Hiſt. c. foreign. Euſeb. l. 6. c. foreign. out of Origen on Pſal. 82.indifferent and lawfull in time of Perſecution to forſwear, and renounce Chriſt, and offer Sacrifice to Idols, were a ſort of men (the Gnoſticks) that immerſt themſelves in all unnaturall filthineſs, and depended not at all on the Promiſes of another Life, and having firſt taught, that Christ did not bforeign, vid. Ignatii Ep. ad Smyrn. foreign, vid. Cyril. Hier. Catech. foreign. Non hic, nec apud homines confeſſionem putant conſtitutam, ſed in coelo. Tertul. cont. Gnoſt. c. 10.really ſuffer in the Fleſh, but onelyonly in appearance, would not be perſwaded that either hee had any cNec Deus humanum ſanguinem ſitit, nec Chriſtus vicem paſſionis, quaſi ipſe de eà ſalutem conſecuturus, expoſcit. Tertul. cont. Gnoſt, cap. 15.need of their lives, or indeed exſpected it from them, dSemel Chriſtus pro nobis obiit, ſemel occiſus, ne occideremur, ſi vicem exſpectat, num & ille ſalutem de meâ nece exſpectat? Tert. cont. Gnoſt. c. 1.being come, as they ſaid, to ſave their lives, to die, that they might not be killed. Where the miſtake was clear and viſible, that they thought they were theſe tranſitory Lives, that Chriſt came to preſerve, and not thoſe other lives, which were to be conveyed over to Eternity.
Sect. 12 The fate of thoſe Gnoſticks at that time, was very remarkable, and that which will render our irrational fondneſs of theſe bodily lives yet more irrational. Their great care was to preſerve their lives, and their prime dexterity, in order to that, to comply conſtantly with the powerful perſecutor; that was, eſpecially, with the Jews; (for though the Sword was in the Heathens hand, yet the great malice againſt the Chriſtians was in the Synagogue, from *Synagogae Judaeorum fontes perſecutionum, Terti. b. c. 10.thence ſprang all the Perſecutions.) To this end, thoſe Gnoſticks took upon them to be great zealots for the Moſaical Law of Circumciſion, and generally pieced with the Jews, and approved themſelves to them. At laſt the Roman Army comes againſt Jeruſalem, takes Jews, and Gnoſticks together, and deſtroyes them all; and ſo Chriſt was as remarkably a true Prophet in that, as in any one particular, That he that would ſave his life, ſhould loſe it, (that very temporall life, that all his compliance with the Jews was deſigned to ſave) and hee that would loſe, i. e. venture, and lay down his Life for Chriſts ſake, ſhould finde it, i. e. have it more probably preſerved, and continued to him here, then they that were moſt ſolicitous for it, and, whether he loſt or kept it here, have it reſtored to him to continue eternally.
Sect. 13 And if that promiſe of the Goſpel have truth in any ſenſe of it; then is the command no irrational command, of taking up the Croſs to follow Chriſt, when he can, if it be for thy turn, except of thy taking up the croſs, without its bearing thee, or, if he do not, can pay thee abundantly, for what thou loſeſt, reward thee with Eternity.
Sect. 14 If I could foreſee any other command of Chriſt, that could fall under our jealouſie, and cenſure: I ſhould proceede to it, and be confident of approving it exactly rational. As it is, I am at an end of my deſigned Method, and am glad it hath been contrived into ſo ſmall a compaſs, being now at leiſure to retire to my Meditations, which will, I hope, be more calm, being thus disburthened, and make it my firſt Theme to diſcourſe with my▪ ſelf, how extremely rational it is, that thoſe very turns of Providence, which have been our great temptation, and they ſay, made many Atheiſts among us, ſhould be reviewed again, and upon ſecond demurer thoughts engage, and inſtruct us all to become more Chriſtian.
Who is wiſe, and he ſhall underſtand theſe things; Prudent, and hee ſhall know them? For the wayes of the Lord are right, and the juſt ſhall walke in them, but the tranſgreſſor ſhall fall therein,
Hoſ. 14. 9.
FINIS.
End of the text · Henry Hammond, Of the Reasonableness of Christian Religion (1650)