Five Discourses, Discourse 1
DISCOURSE I. Stating the Notion of the Christian Salvation, and shewing it chiefly to consist in a deliverance from our Sins.
On Matt. 1.21. Thou shalt call his Name Jesus: For he shall save his People from their sins.
SINCE all men, who make any Pretence to Sobriety and Religion, profess themselves most earnestly desirous of Salvation; and the great Errand of our blessed Lord into the world was to purchase it, and make a tender of it to them; it may well seem strange to us, as once it did to the Apostles, that yet for all this, there are but few who shall be saved. For the far greater number of the Christian world, are impenitently wicked; they live all their days in a course of Sin, and die without amendment; and such men the Scripture assures us, in the last Judgment will not be forgiven: so, that notwithstanding all the noise that is made about Salvation, the greatest part have very little, or no share in it; it is but seldom found, tho' it be often talked of, and the generality of men seem to be as far from it, as if the Gospel had never come abroad to bring them to it.
Now one chief Reason, why so many men do at last miss of Salvation, after they have put forth such eager desires, and spent such zealous Pains upon it, is because they mistake its Nature, and understand not truly wherein it doth consist. They take it to be something else than what it is▪ and so are apt usually to hope well of it, and, to think they have attained to it, when as, alas! they are yet in a lost state, and at a very great distance from it; for altho' that Salvation which Christ dearly purchased, and which the Gospel comes to promote in us, be a Salvation from sin, as we shall see presently; yet that which men ordinarily talk off, and expect by him is nothing less. They think to be pardon'd without Obedience, and to be saved from Punishment, whilst they persevere in the Practice of their Sins. For if we come to the most profligate Sinner, altho' it be upon his Death-bed, when he is going out of the world with all his sins, and unmortified Lusts about him; yet even he, who is thus lost in sin, will still talk of his Saviour Christ, and hopes to be saved by him notwithstanding.
To prevent or redress such dangerous mistakes in a matter of so high moment, I intend in discoursing upon these words,
First, To represent to you what that Salvation is, which Christ has purchased for us. And,
Secondly, To note some particular Uses and Improvements of it.
First, I shall represent to you what that Salvation is, which Christ has purchas'd for us.
To save, is, to deliver from evil and danger; and may be extended to as many evils, as men may be delivered from. Thus every where in David's Psalms, the Deliverance of the righteous out of afflictions and troubles, is called *Psal. 37.37. Act. 27.31. 2 King. 13.5.his Salvation; and Gideon is said to have saved Israel when he rescued them out of the hands of the Midianites, Jud. 6.14.
Now as for those evils which Christ came to save us from, in our Deliverance from which consists our Christian Salvation, they are not the temporal evils and afflictions of this Life. His Kingdom was not of this world; nor is his Protection always from the evils of it; he himself was a man of sorrows, and his Church must expect to be like him, and to live under Persecutions. But they are,
First, Our sins; and consequent upon them,
Secondly, Those eternal Punishments, which are due unto us for them. Upon these accounts it is, that he is Christ the Saviour; he shall be called Jesus, or a Saviour saith the Angel, because he shall save his people from their sins.
As for the latter of these, viz. the Deliverance from eternal Death, and Helltorments, which are the Punishment that is due unto our Sins; this Christ has undoubtedly purchased for all those that are his. There remains no Condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus; saith the Apostle, Rom. 8.1. but they are passed over from death unto life, Joh. 5.24. God who should in anger exact those Punishments, is reconciled to them by the death of his Son, Rom. 5.10. so that now they are no longer under his severity as an offended Lord, but can look upon him as their Protector, and Patron, having received the Spirit of Adoption, whereby they can call him Abba, i. e. Father, Rom. 8.15.
And as for this Deliverance, from the worm of Conscience, and Pangs of Soul, from the eternal Pains of Hell, and the Horrors of Darkness, we are generally apt to think it a Deliverance indeed, and such as we have all great need of; for who is willing to live with everlasting burnings? Who would be content to roar in never ending Tortures? There is no man who believes there is such a place as Hell, but whensoever he seriously considers of it, most earnestly desires to be secured from it; and therefore among all those, who are not Atheistical or desperately loose and inconsiderate, we see there are few or none, who will not make some profession and perform some outward and easie Acts of Religion, that thereby they may quiet their own Consciences, with some confidence, altho' never so groundless, of their share in this Salvation. But then,
Secondly, As for those other evils which Christ came to save us from, viz. Our sins; men are not ordinarily so fully perswaded of their illness, nor think they have any great need to be saved from them. For their sins they dearly love and take delight in; and therefore they do not look upon it as a Salvation, but as a spoil, to have them taken from them. And yet it is most certain, that this was the great Salvation which Christ designed us, and which he became man to procure for us; he shall be called Jesus, saith the Angel▪ because he shall save his People from their sins.
Our greatest Evils are our sins, and Christ's saving is his reforming, and reducing the hearts of the sinful and disobedient to the Obedience of the Just: He saves when he makes the bold, irreligious man awful, and the proud man humble; when he possesseth the hearts of the peevish and contentious, of the envious and revengeful, with Meekness and Patience, Charity and Peace. He delivers the covetous man from his unsatiable love of riches, the carnal mind from its intemperate desire of sensual Pleasures. In one word he saves us from our own Self-will, and makes us to become entirely resign'd to the will of God.
This reformation of our hearts and lives, by rescuing us from all sinful Lusts and wicked Practices was the great Deliverance which Christ was sent to effect for us, as might be evidenced from the blessing promised to Abraham; which as St. Peter expounds it, did principally intend it; Act. 3.25, 26. from the Predictions of Prophets concerning the Messiah, which clearly foretold it, Ezek. 11.19, 20. Isa. 62.25. Jer. 32.39. from the Covenant promised to be made with the house of Israel in those days; whereof Jeremiah speaks, which in plain terms expresses it; Jer. 31.33. from the Declarations of Christ and his Apostles, who every where proclaim, that the end of his coming was to call Sinners to repentance, Mat. 9.13. To turn men from darkness to light, Act. 26.18. To redeem us from all iniquity, and purifie unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works, Tit. 2.14. and that his Gospel appears bringing Salvation in teaching us, that denying all ungodliness and worldly Lusts, we should live soberly, godly, and righteously in this present world, Tit. 2.11, 12. All these are so many direct Arguments, and clear Proofs of Christ's design to save men, by making them better, and that his Deliverance was to consist chiefly in their Reformation, and in rescuing them from the Bondage of their sins.
But in regard the Gospel of Christ is the great means of working this Deliverance, and the power of God as St. Paul calls it, to Salvation, I shall rather chuse at present to insist more particularly upon such parts of it, as are peculiarly sitted for this design, which will be the best way of demonstrating this Doctrine. And those are chiefly Three; the Precepts, the Promises, the Threatnings, which are declared to us therein.
First, I shall consider the Precepts of the Gospel; and that the great Salvation which these are designed to promote among us is this Deliverance from our sins, is plain from hence, because they do most fully, and indispensibly exact it. Never did any Laws of former Legislators, extend the compass of Vertue so wide, and advance it to such a pitch, as the Laws of Christ do; they require a more full Obedience, and a more perfect reformation, than before that time the world had ever heard of; they teach Vertue in the highest degrees, and require Obedience in all imaginable Instances; representing plainly the Nature of several sins, and discovering clearly an irregularity, and Sinfulness in several Actions, which the Gentiles, nay even the Jews themselves never dreamed of.
1. They represent the Nature of several sins, and discover an irregularity in several Actions, which by the bare Light, and Law of Nature the Gentiles never saw: They discern'd no evil in worshipping of Images, and inferiour Deities, in idolatrous Rites, and superstitious Observances; they knew no sin in hating of an Enemy, in cursing and reproaching of him, in returning his Affronts, and revenging his Injuries; Uncleanness and Lasciviousness, Fornication and Whoredoms were held generally among them to be as lawful as their Meats and Drinks; in these Actions as in several others, they had no sense of sin, nor any fears of punishment; these things as the Psalmist says, God afterwards shew'd to Jacob and declared to Israel, but as for the heathen Nations, they have not known them, Psalm 147.19, 20. but as for the Sinfulness of all these things, and the dreadful Sentence which shall be denounced upon all, who continue in these Practices, the Law of Christ is express and peremptory. He that looks upon a woman, saith our Saviour, to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart, Matt. 5.28. The works of the flesh, saith St. Paul, are manifest, Adultery, Fornication, Vncleanness, Lasciviousness; of the which I tell you, that they who do such things, shall not inherit the Kingdom of God, Gal. 5.19, 21. He who hates his Brother, saith St. John, by the Sentence of our Law, is a Murderer, 1 Joh. 3.15. and he who is angry with him without a cause; especially, if he suffer his anger to transport him into reproachful words, and contumelious Expressions, such as Fool, and Racha, or empty Fellow, He is liable, says our Saviour, to Hell fire, Matt. 5.22. Render to no man evil for evil, says our Religion, but love your enemies; bless them that curse you; do good to them that hate you; and pray for them, that despitefully use you; that so you may be perfect, and the true Children of your Father which is in Heaven, who is kind even to the unthankful, and the evil, Matt. 5.44, 45, 48. and as for the guidance and direction of all religious Worship, we are forbid to give that to any Creature whatsoever, whether Saint or Angel; Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve, Matt. 4.10.
As for all those Sins then, which the Law of Nature did not discover at all, or but very darkly, to the Heathens of old; they are almost plainly discovered to us Christians by the Law of Christ; we are shew'd Sin more plainly, and taught it more fully, because we must be reformed from it, more perfectly than ever they were.
2. The Laws of Christ discover an Irregularity, and Sinfulness in several Actions, which the Jews discern'd not under the Law of Moses; altho' they had a more perfect way to walk by, than the Heathens had, yet even their Obedience fell much short of that pitch which ours must attain to; for in several things, as the marrying of many Wives, the putting away their Wives for every cause, the praying against their Enemies, and retaliating of their Injuries; the Law it self was indulgent to them, by reason of the hardness of their hearts. And as for other things, whose Sinfulness the Law did really discover to them; they were still kept in a general Ignorance of them, thro' the corrupt Glosses, and perverse Interpretations of their Wise Men. Of these our Saviour has given us several Instances; for as for the main, and most substantial Duties of the Law; such as Justice, Mercy, and the like; they had made them needless, by an Opinion of the sufficiency, either of their Sacrifices, for which the Prophets are often reproving them, or of some cheap exterior Performances. Woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees, says our Saviour, for they pay tythe of Mint, Anise and Cummin; but omit the weightier Matters of the Law, as Judgment, Mercy and Faith; whereas these things chiefly, ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone, Matt. 23.23. They had taken off all Duty to Parents requir'd in the Fifth Commandment, by an unrighteous Vow, or Oath called Corban, of their own devising. Ye say, says our Saviour, in opposition to what God has said in the Fifth Commandment; That if a man shall say to his Father or Mother, it is Corban, i. e. a gift by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do any thing for his Father or Mother, Mark 7.11, 12. They had evacuated the Obligation, and cancelled in great part the reverence that is due to Oaths; by their corrupt Casuistry about them: Woe to you Scribes and Pharisees, says Christ, which say, whosoever shall swear by the Temple, it is nothing; or whosoever shall swear by the Altar, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the Gold of the Temple, or the gift upon the Altar, he is bound by his Oath to become a Debtor, Matt. 23.16, 18. They had undermin'd all Obligations of Conscience to Obedience towards the Roman Governours, because they were Foreigners and Heathens, and by a proud conceit of their own Freedom and Privileges, as they were Abraham's Children. For upon this account, it was they came to Christ, with that captious Question, Master, what thinkest thou, is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar or not? hoping by his Answer to have matter to accuse him, either of Disloyalty to Caesar if he denied, or of betraying the Freedoms, and Privileges of the Jewish Nation if he affirm'd it, Matt. 23.15, 16, 17.
Thus defective was the Sense of Duty, which even the Jews themselves were generally guided by under Moses's page missing if they were admitted into it, be a place of Pleasure to them. Thus for instance, if a man is wholly given up to Lust and Intemperance; if his greatest Pleasure be in Revellings and Drunkenness, in Luxury and Wantonness, in Licentiousness, Mirth and Riotous, Entertainments, he would as soon be condemned to Abstinence and Fasting, and other Religious Severities, and Self-denials here on earth, as to undergo the very same in Heaven. For there he must needs starve his eager desire, and languish in the pain of an unsatisfied Appetite, the place it self affording no such things, as would content them: In the Resurrection from the dead, says our Saviour, they neither Marry, nor are given in Marriage: That is a Fools wish, and a Mahometan's Paradise; they neither eat nor drink to sustain them, since they cannot die any more; being in these respects not like men on Earth, but equal to the Angels of God in Heaven, Luk. 20.35, 36. Again, if a man is turbulent and factious, apt to set Friends at odds, and to enflame Enmities; if his whole delight is to stir up strife, and to engage Parties; in Heaven he must live alone, for he will find no Abettors, nor Encouragers, nor after all his Labour procure so much as one adherent in that most peaceable and quiet place.
Again, if a man is ill natur'd and envious; if he mourns because others rejoyce, and grieves at the prosperity of his Neighbours; to place him in Heaven, where even the meanest Souls, whom he most contemned on Earth, are Crown'd with immortal Happiness, would be the readiest way both infinitely to heighten, and to perpetuate his Torments.
Again, if a Man's heart is full of hatred and malice, if he delights in doing mischief, and is glad at his Soul when he can work his spite, and revenge an injury; what should he do in Heaven, where there is nothing else but Mercy, Forgiveness and Love. There are none there, but who have loved, not only their Friends, but even their Enemies: they have sought the good of all the World, and have hazarded; yea, when it was needful, laid down their own Lives to confirm, or bring others to the truth and make them happy. This was the Gallantry of their Vertue then, and it is their immortal Honour and Delight now; they still reflect upon it, and always rejoyce in it; and then to make such a man as this a constant Witness of that joy, is to confute and reproach, to shame and torment him for evermore.
Again, if a man is proud and ambitious, if he give himself up to assume state, and expect attendance; if his highest aim be to be above his Brethren, and to have them submit and pay a deference, to bow and cringe to him; what delight should he take in Heaven, where he would find every Saint raised to Honour, whilst he stands off at a distance, only as a Looker on; for all the Saints in Heaven, yea, even the very meanest whom he accounted unworthy to come into his Presence here on Earth, are Christ's Brethren, and God's Heirs; they are set upon a Throne, and Crown'd with an unspeakable and immortal weight of Glory. And this all the Saints about them, whether higher or lower in Happiness and Honour, according as the degrees of their Faith and Obedience in this World have been, are infinitely pleased with. For whilst they were here on Earth, they were wont to esteem others better than themselves, Phil. 2.3. And to look every man not so much upon his own things, as the things of others, 1 Cor. 10.24. And this temper they carried to Heaven with them, where every one rejoyces with each other, and counts his Brothers Happiness his own: If this Man then were there, he would see all those exalted, whom his Pride would make low; he would see them honoured, whom he would have despised; he would grieve and envy, fret and fume alone, and find them honour'd, and himself unpitied, and contemn'd to all Eternity.
Lastly, if a man is an Enemy of God, and an hater of Religion, if it has been his Practice to vilifie God's Saints, and to deride his Ordinances, to burlesque the Holy Scriptures, or to blaspheme the Deity; what content of heart think you could it be to him, to see there is a God of utmost Majesty and Excellence, mighty and irresistible in power to reward his Saints, and as a flaming Fire to consume his Enemies? To see, that Heaven and Hell, which he boldly and securely contemn'd as fabulous, are dreadful Realities? To see what being Religious comes to, which he derided; and all good men fixt in height of Glory whom he had despised, and thence expect the miserable state of those men, who had set themselves as he had done, to laugh God's Servants out of their Religion; or out-brave himself out of his Being? Surely to such a Person, this sight of Heaven could be nothing less than the first Horrors and Amazements, the beginning and foretaste of Hell.
And thus it appears, that all the sins of Impiety towards God, of Pride, and Intemperance, of Envy, Hatred, Uncharitableness, and Unpeaceableness, which take up in a manner, the whole Compass of Transgressions, are all so many direct Hindrances, and utter Incapacities to our enjoying any Happiness in Heaven; they make us dead to all the Enjoyments, and wholly unfit for the Company of that place; For what Communication hath God with wickedness, Eccl. 13.16, 17, 18.what fellowship, saith the Apostle, hath righteousness with unrighteousness, what Communion hath light with darkness, 1 Cor. 6.14. Nay the being in Heaven with all our sins unmortified about us, would not only deprive us of all the Happiness and Pleasure of that blessed place; but it would also render it an uneasie state, and make Heaven it self become in part a Hell to us. For it would fill us as I have shown with shame and discontent, with remorse of mind, and grife of heart, with eternal Torment and Vexation.
As for this Reformation of our Lives and Natures, and Deliverance from sin, here then, it is plainly requisite and indispensiblely necessary, to fit and capacitate us for any Enjoyments of Happiness in Heaven hereafter. And this the Scriptures plainly affirm concerning it. St. Paul tells us, That the Vessels of mercy, must thro' that method of Faith and Repentance which God has prescribed, be prepared unto Glory, Rom. 9.23. And that God's delivering us from the power of darkness hath made us meet to be partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in light, Col. 1.12, 13. And our Saviour says expresly, That except we put off the old man which is corrupted by sinful Lusts, and be born again, we cannot enter into the Kingdom of God, Joh. 3.3.
This then is clear both from the Declarations of the Scripture, and the evidence of the thing, that a Life of Vertue is plainly necessary to our future Happiness; and that our being saved from sin in this World; is indispensiblely requisite to our Salvation in the next. The eternal Life of Heaven is a Life, as I have shewn, that is after the likeness and similitude of God's; a Life of unspotted Vertue, and compleat Goodness, that implies an entire Exemption, and most absolute Deliverance from all manner of sin.
This Perfection and Compleatness of it we must expect in Heaven, whereas St. Paul says, The Spirits of just men are made perfect, Heb. 12.23. But as for the Life it self, we must enter upon it, and begin it here. That Life of Vertue and Reformation, which we engage upon at our becoming Christians is that very Life which never ends, but which is to grow up to full degrees, and to be eternal in the Heavens. And therefore, the Scriptures as in respect of the full Perfection and Fruition of it, which is to be had in the next World, they are wont to speak of it as a thing future; so in respect of that more imperfect Enjoyment, which we have of it in this World, they use sometimes to speak of it as a thing possess'd here. He that believes on me, saith our Saviour, hath eternal Life, Joh. 6.47. And again, Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life, Verse 54. St. John bids them, That believe on the name of the Son of God, know that they have eternal life, 1 Joh. 5.13. And that Grace or Goodness of Spirit, which our Saviour expressed by water, Joh. 4. and which he bid the woman of Samaria to ask of him, Verse 10. he tells her, Shall be a Well of water springing up to eternal life, Verse 14.
A Life of Vertue and Obedience then, is not only a necessary Qualification for our Salvation, and eternal Life in Heaven; but in a degree it is that very Salvation and eternal Life it self; our Deliverance from our sins, is not only the way to Happiness, but in an imperfect measure it is that very Happiness, whose perfection and compleat Degrees we are bid to hope for in Heaven. The Misery that befell us all in Adam, was our falling from God's image, wherein he and all his Holy Angels are infinitely Happy; and that Happiness and Salvation which is promised to us in Christ, is our Restoration to it. So that as for the Promises of God, 'tis clear from them, that the great Salvation which they are designed for is this Deliverance from our sins; since all other promised Blessings are made to depend upon it, since it is not possible they should be had without it; nay, since this Deliverance is the chief promis'd Mercy, and even Happiness, and eternal Life it self; and as to the third part of the Gospel, I proposed to speak to viz.
Thirdly, Those Threatnings which are contain'd therein, the Salvation which they aim at, is evidently this Deliverance from our Sins, which are those very things they are all denounced to. The Gospel tho' it breath out nothing but Grace and Mercy to the Penitent, is yet the severest Dispensation that ever was to all incorrigible Men. For therein God declares himself an utter Enemy to all that will not be reformed, and that he will inflict a most terrible Punishment, and exemplary Vengeance on them; the Author of Grace and Mercy, Christ himself hath spoken it, That except we repent we shall all perish, Luk. 13.3. And St. Paul tells us plainly, That at the last Day, God will render to all that obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, and that upon every soul of man, whether he be Jew or Gentile, Rom. 2.6, 8, 9, 10. Our sins then are plainly those Evils, which the Threatnings of the Gospel would fright us from; and our Deliverance from them is that Salvation which they would enforce upon us. Their end is evidently to make us leave all evil ways, for fear least they should be inflicted on us for our perseverance in them.
As for that Salvation then, which Christ came to purchase for us, from what I have deliver'd it appears, I suppose, most evidently what it is. The Declarations of the Prophets, of Christ and his Apostles, the prime end of the Precepts, the Promises, and the Threatnings of the Gospel, the Nature of God, of Heaven and Happiness; in a word, the Design of our whole Religion, and Christianity, make it clear to us, that it is our Reformation; or, as the Angel expressed it, our Deliverance from our sins. He shall be called Jesus, because he shall save his people from their sins.
And thus having represented what that Salvation is, which Christ came to purchase for us, and shewn, I think clearly, that the great Deliverance design'd us by him, and promoted by his Gospel, is our Reformation, and a Freedom from our Sins. I proceed now,
Secondly, To note some Uses, and particular Improvements of this Discourse.
1. Then from what has been discoursed upon the Nature of the Christian Salvation we may plainly understand, what Faith, what Repentance, what Grace, what Preaching, what Ordinances are saving. For if Salvation mainly consists in our Deliverance from our Sins, as we have evidently seen it doth; then that is a saving Faith which makes us obedient; and that a saving Repentance which works our Amendment; and that is saving Grace, which enables us to a pious Practice; and that is saving Preaching, which is fitted, not to fill us with vain Delights, or learned Niceties, or abstract Speculations, or mysterious Notions, but to awaken our Consciences, and reform our Lives; and those are saving Ordinances, which are powerful and proper means of our Conversion, and vertuous Performances. This is to be the end of all the helps of Religion, and this the Excellency of all the means of Grace, that they tend strongly to make us leave our sins, and rescue us from Disobedience. Our Salvation is a Deliverance from our sins, and then any thing is saving when it delivers and frees us from them.
2. A second Use which I shall note of this Discourse, is for the Tryal of our State; to know whether we are indeed of the number of the saved or no; for if Salvation consists in our Deliverance from our sins, then they are not saved but lost men, who still live in them, and are enslaved to them. Is any man then a contemner, or prophaner of God, of his dreadful Name, or of his holy word? Doth he spend his time in Luxury and Wantonness, Pride and Covetousness? are his hands full of violence? or is he a stranger to the ways of Peace? In sine, if he doth not make it his business and care, to fear God and keep his Commandments, to be humble, chaste and temperate; to do all men Justice, and to speak the Truth, and love all, even his Enemies, and employ himself in all the instances of Duty, which must at the last and great Day be the matter of his Account, he has either no share at all, or not enough, in Christ's Salvation. The chiefest Grace which they enjoy, is the Grace of forbearance. God doth not snatch some of them away in their deplorable, nor others in their insecure Condition, but allows them time and opportunities of Reformation; and the only advice which I can give them, is to renounce their evil Courses, and to live as new men; and then they may comfortably conclude; that they are in a safe state, and are not without their part in that Salvation which Christ came to procure for them.
3. A third Use and Improvement, which I shall make of this Discourse is for the directing of our Charity; in showing what things we ought most chiefly to desire and endeavour after for our Brethren. For if our greatest Happiness, and the great Salvation which Christ came to procure for us, consist in our Deliverance from our sins, and we are to love our Brethren, as Christ loved us; then 'tis plain, that the great benefit which we are to seek for them, is their vertuous Life and Reformation. Holiness is the greatest Kindness which they can receive, or we can endeavour to promote in them: And therefore, among all those endeavours, which are very commendably used for our Brethrens good, whether in their Bodies, good Names, or Fortunes, let us still be sure to have an Eye to their highest good of all, their increase in good Living, and their Deliverance from their sins; let our greatest care be to make them better, rather than richer, and more honourable than they were. For this is true Kindness and Love indeed to show our selves most concern'd for that whereby they will be infinitely most advantag'd.
This Deliverance from their Sins then, is that which above all things, we should endeavour to procure for them; and as this should be the great aim of all our Labours for their advantage, so should it be of those more especially, which are employ'd for reclaiming them from a false Religion, or establishing them in a right one. For Repentance and Reformation are necessary to Salvation in all Parties, and must carry men (whose other errours God shall see fit to excuse, because of the Pityableness of their ignorance) to Heaven in all the Sects of the Christian World. And therefore, if we convert a man to a Party, but not to Obedience, we win a Proselyte but half way,Jam. 5.19, 20. and have not saved a soul from death, till we have reduced him, as from errour, so from sin too. In all our endeavours therefore of this sort, let us strive at least as much to win men to the Practice, as to the Profession of the truth. Let us seek as much to rectifie their hearts, as their understandings, and to get them over unto an entire Obedience unto Christ, and not only to an external Communion with our selves.
Some indeed instead of endeavouring to save, and rescue others from their sins; take a pride in inveagling, and insnaring them into sin. They will Glory in making a sober man drunk; or in corrupting a modest Vertue, and drawing it Captive at last to Acts, and places of Debauchery; and some set up to ridicule all Religion and Vertue, making them the Topicks of their Jests and Merryment, this way driving those out of all Professions, and open owning thereof, who cannot bear to be laugh'd at.
Now these men, who thus make it their business, to decoy men into sin, are not only unchristian, but base and barbarous. They betray them under a pretence of Kindness, and seek eternally to destroy them under a Mask of Friendship. They are vile Wretches and mischievous Instruments; nay I might say they are Devils, and Destroyers in the very same Sence that Christ is a Saviour: For he saves in rescuing, and delivering men from their sins, and they destroy them in entangling them therein, and making them subject to them.
And these are the Uses which I think fit to draw from the foregoing Notion, and Explication of the Christian Salvation.
And God grant, that whilst we are all talking and hoping for Salvation, we may not appear at last, to have been all the while lost men; but that we may all make it our chiefest care, to get rid of all sinful habits and wicked Courses, whilst we are in this World; that so we may be qualified for the joys of Heaven, and the Conversation of blessed Spirits, and delivered from those eternal Punishments which will be inflicted on all that are irreclamably disobedient, in the World to come, Amen.