A Treatise of Family Instruction, Chapter 4 · Section 15
SECT. 15. Only ſuch as are called of God, are to take upon them the work of the Miniſtry. Family-Inſtruction will not bring the Miniſtry into contempt.
Object. 15 IF every man ſhould take upon him to teach and inſtruct his Family, this would be the way to make every man turn Preacher, and would cauſe the Miniſters of the Word to be ſlighted and deſpiſed; and this makes us not only forbear this work our ſelves, but alſo to diſlike it in others; becauſe we would not have any take upon them the work of the Miniſtry but ſuch as are called to it, and we would not have the publick Miniſtry brought into contempt.
Anſw. 1. Family-Inſtruction and the work of the Miniſtry, are two diſtinct works; The one belongs to every Maſter of a Family, the other belongs only to ſuch as are called and ſent forth by God to preach the Goſpel, Rom. 10.15. How ſhall they preach except they be ſent? And God hath not called all men to the work of the Miniſtry, 1 Cor. 12.28, 29. God hath ſet ſome in the Church, firſt Apoſtles, ſecondarily Prophets, thirdly Teachers— Are all Apoſtles? Are all Prophets? Are all Teachers? We may learn from this Text, 1. That none are to be Teachers in the Church, but thoſe whom God ſets there: 2. That God doth ſet ſome, not all, to be Teachers in the Church. Under the Law no man was to take the Office of the Prieſthood without a call from God, Heb. 5.4. And no man taketh this honour unto himſelf, but he that was called of God, as was Aaron. Yea, God made it death for ſuch as were not called to intermeddle with the Prieſts Office, Numb. 18.7. Thou and thy Sons with thee ſhall keep your Prieſts Office, for every thing of the Altar, and within the Vail, and ye ſhall ſerve— And the ſtranger that cometh nigh, ſhall be put to death. What work our Lord Jeſus did in and for the Church of God, he did not do it without a Call: Heb. 5.5. So alſo Chriſt glorified not himſelf to be made an high Prieſt, but he that ſaid unto him, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. And God hath ordained under the Goſpel that every man ſhould improve thoſe gifts which he hath diſtributed to him, within the ſphere and compaſs of his Calling, 1 Cor. 7.17. As God hath diſtributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, ſo let him walk, and ſo ordain I in all Churches. Thoſe works which are in themſelves good works, become ſinful when they are done by thoſe that have no call to do them, and inſtead of being rewarded, they have been puniſhed by the Lord. To burn Incenſe upon the Altar of Incenſe, was a very good and acceptable work. David wiſheth that his Prayer might be like Incenſe, Pſal. 141.2. Let my Prayer be ſet before thee as incenſe: Yet when Ʋzziah undertook to burn Incenſe, who had no Call to do it, it is called a Tranſgreſſion, and he was puniſhed with Leproſie all his days, 2 Chron. 25.18, 21. It appertaineth not unto thee, Ʋzziah, to burn incenſe unto the Lord, but to the Prieſts the Sons of Aaron, that are conſecrated to burn incenſe, go out of the Sanctuary, for thou haſt treſpaſſed; neither ſhall it be for thine honour from the Lord God: And Ʋzziah the King was a Leper unto the day of his death. The more knowledge any man hath of the Scriptures, the leſs fear there is of his taking upon him the work of the Minſtry without a Call from God, (what this Call is, and how a man may diſcern when he hath it, would be too great a digreſſion, if I ſhould here undertake the explanation thereof) becauſe the Scriptures are ſo full, ſo plain, ſo expreſs in this point, That only they that are called of God ſhould take upon them the work and Office of the Miniſtry. So that this Objection, Every man will turn Preacher if he take upon him to inſtruct his Family in the knowledge of the Scriptures, is of no force to hinder this work of Family-Inſtruction.
2. Neither will the training up our Families in the knowledge of the Scriptures, cauſe the Miniſtry or Miniſters of Gods word to be ſlighted; but on the contrary, the more our Children and Servants are acquainted with the Scriptures, the more they will prize and reverence the Miniſters of Chriſt, for the Scriptures do teach us to eſteem very highly of Chriſts Miniſters, 1 Theſ. 5.12, 13. We beſeech you, Brethren, to know them that labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admoniſh you, and to eſteem them very highly in love for their works ſake: Rom. 10.15. How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Goſpel of Peace, and bring glad Tydings of good things. 1 Tim. 5.17. Let the Elders that rule well, be counted worthy of double honour, eſpecially they who labour in the Word and Doctrine. They are ſtiled Chriſts Embaſſadors, 2 Cor. 5.20. Now we are Ambaſſadours for Chriſt. And who are more honoured than the Embaſſadours of an Earthly Prince? The Scriptures ſhew what a great ſin it is to deſpiſe the Miniſters of Chriſt; the Lord Jeſus counts himſelf and his Father deſpiſed, when they are deſpiſed, Luke 10.16. He that heareth you, heareth me; and he that deſpiſeth you, deſpiſeth me; and he that deſpiſeth me, deſpiſeth him that ſent me: 1 Theſ. 4.8. He that deſpiſeth, deſpiſeth not man but God, who alſo hath given unto us his holy Spirit. So that the training up of our Families in the fear of God, and knowledge of the Scriptures, will be ſo far from cauſing them to ſlight the Miniſters of Chriſt, or the Miniſtry of the Word, that it will cauſe them to reverence and eſteem them.