A Christian Library, Section 21 – Colophon 3
Sect. XXI.
But alas, say what can be said, carnal men (who love their sins, better then their souls) will answer all, yea, confute whatsoever can be al…, with, God is mercifull▪ Or in case that will not serve, yet they have another shift; or rather the enemy of mankinde will furnish them with an evasion, telling them that they have a strong faith, good hearts, and mean well; they repent of their sins, have as good wishes and desires as can be, are elected, hope to go to heaven as well as the best, &c. But to every of these, I answer,
First, true faith purifieth the heart, and worketh by love, consumeth our corruptions, and sanctifieth the whole man throughout, so that our faith to God, is seen in our faithfulnesse to men; our invisible belief, by our visible life.
Faith and holiness are as inseparable, as life and motion, the Sun and light, fire and heat, ice and coldnesse, the spring and greenness, the rose and sweetness, steel and hardness, crystal and clearness, pitch and foulness, honey and sweetness. Again, faith believeth the threats of the Word; together with the promises. Now thou who pretendest belief in the promises, shew me thy belief in the threatnings. For didst thou believe the truth of those menaces, which God hath denounced against unclean, covetous, ambitious, unjust, envious, malitious persons, and such like sinners: how durst thou then so wallow in these sins, that if God instead of Hell, had promised Heaven as a reward unto them, thou couldest not do more then thou doest? Why shouldest thou deceive thy self with an opinion of faith? when indeed thou believest not so much as the Devil does; for he believes [namely the threatnings of the VVord] and trembles for horror, Iam. 2. but thou goest on in sin, even mocking at the menaces, and in the infidelity of thy heart, givest them the lye, saying, no such thing shall befall thee. But Invadunt urbem somno vinoque sepultam; when they shall say peace and safety, then comes on them sudden destruction, 1 Thes. 5.3.
Though those Persecutors of Christ, and murtherers of the Lord of life, were the Devils children; as they were plainly told by truth it self, Ioh. 8.44. yet they most confidently believed, and stiffly maintained, that God was their father, verse 41. And so will the worst of men in these dayes, such as do nothing but sin, and make others sin, such as glory in, and maintain their sins.
Again, as faith is wrought by Gods spirit; so where it is wrought, it brings forth the fruits of the Spirit, mentioned, Gal. 5.22, 23. whereas presumption, as it is of the flesh, so it brings forth the fruits of the flesh, verse 19.20, 21.
But it is very easie to believe, thinks the sensualist; yes, but why? Satan troubles not such, for then he who begot this presumptuous faith in him, should be divided against himself. Nay, Satan confirms him in this his deceit. Besides, this is a sure rule, that that perswasion onelyonly, which follows sound humiliation, is faith; that which goes before it is presumption. And as Ambrose speaks, no man can repent of sin, but he that believes the pardon of sin: nor none can believe his sins are pardoned, except he hath repented. Besides, how easie a matter soever thou thinkest it is to believe: he that goes about it, shall finde it as hard a work to believe the Gospel, as to keep the Law; and onelyonly God must enable to both, and yet so far as we come short of either, so far forth we have just cause to be humbled▪ if we consider how God at first made us, and how wofully we have unmade our selves. But
Sect. XXII.
Secondly, as for their good hearts and meanings, they may think what they will, but every wise man knows, that the outward actions declare the inward intentions. A good conversion is proved by a good conversation.
There is no heart made of flesh, which at some time or other relents not; even flint and marble will in some weather stand on drops. Men may flatter God with their mouths, and with their tongues dissemble with him; when their hearts are not upright with him, Psal. 78.36, 37. and indeed they whose words and deeds are faulty and evil; and yet plead the gooodness of their hearts toward God; are like malefactors, who being convicted of theft, or the like naughtiness, by plain evidence to their faces, do appeal to the testimony of such persons for their purgation, as they know cannot be found. And in case the hearts of such men could be seen of others, as their works and words are, their hearts would appear worst of all, as they do to God, who seeth them. Nor is any evil in the mouth or hand, which was not in the heart first of all, as the stream in the fountain. And let a vicious man boast never so much of his good heart; I will as soon believe him that saith he hath the Philosophers stone, and yet lives like a begger, which two hang together like a sick mans dream.
VVe have good hearts, and mean well; alas poor ignorant souls! for every drop of wickedness that appears in the life, there is an ocean in the heart. The heart of man is deceitfull above all things: and while he thinks there is no deceit in it, even in that he is most of all deceived. Sinners are like that peremtory Sex…on, that said, howsoever the day goes, I am sure the clock goes right. So that the Spanish Proverb does every way please me; defienda me dios de mio, God defend me from my self.
Carnal men are apt to boast of the goodness of their hearts: but a mans heart is as arch a Traitor, as any he shall meet withall. We trust it too much, and know it too little, as it fared with Leah, Gen. 30.18. and Hazael, 2 Kings 8.12, 13. and Peter, Mat. 26.33. Luke 22.32. Mark 14.29. And those Iews, Acts 2.36. And all this they will acknowledge in the end; yea, prove by experience, that Heaven is full of good works, Hell of good wishes, and that the fetters which sin makes it must wear.
Sect. XXIII.
Thirdly, touching their repentance my answer is; True repentance for sin, is a turning from every sin to the contrary good. In all true repentance is a change, both in the judgement from error to truth, and in the will from evil to good, and in the affections from loving evil, and hating good; to love good and hate evil, in the whole man from darkness, to light, and from the power of Satan unto God. VVithout which change, no repentance, no being saved: The two main and essential parts of repentance are contrition or humiliation, and conversion or reformation. It is not true repentance, except humiliation and reformation go both together: for either of these single make but a half, or halting repentance. An unreformed sorrow, is but deformed: and a sorrowless reformation, is but a very sorry one. Humiliation without reformation, is a foundation without a building; and reformation without humiliation, is a building without a foundation. Iudas was grieved for murthering Christ, yet no change followed: he fell to murthering of himself. It is not possible a man should truly grieve, and be displeased for his sins; and yet continue in them without a change.
Sect. XXIV.
Fourthly, as for their assurance of salvation, it is upon as good ground as all the rest: for they slumber, and suppose themselves good Christians; their faith is but a dream, their hope but a dream, their charity but a dream, their obedience but a dream, their whole religion but a dream; and so their assurance of salvation is but a dream; they have regeneration in conceit, repentance and righteousness in conceit, they serve God well in conceit, do the works of justice and piety in conceit, and they shall go to heaven onelyonly in conceit, or in a dream, and never awake until they feel themselves in the flames of hell. Every drunken beast and blasphemer thinks to go to heaven; though none shall come there, nor once see God without holiness: which they abhor. One mindes nothing but his cups, another nothing but his coyn, a third onelyonly his Curtizan; yet all these point to meet in heaven, but this is not the way thither. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, 1. Ioh. 2.16. is a broad way, but not to heaven. Micha when he had a Levite in his house, thought that God loved him, Iudg. 17.13. It is usual with formalists, when they have the Sacrament in their belly, to think that all is well, as the Iews thought, we may put away our wives, we may swear, we may hate our enemies, we may kill the Prophets, subject the Word of God to our traditions, and follow our own wayes. Why, Abraham is our father, Ioh. 8.39. But by their leave, Christ calls them bastards, and finds out another father for them, ver. 44. Ye are of your father the Devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. Profane Libertines, such as account not themselves well, but when they are doing ill: yea, the most covetous oppressors, who may say as Pope Leo did, I can have no place in heaven, because I have so often sold it upon earth; every man of them hopes (I confess, with more confidence, then judgment) to have benefit by the Gospel; when they will not be tyed to the least tittle of the Law. But if Christ be not our King to govern us, he will neither be our Prophet to fore-warn, nor our Priest to expiate ▪ Except we forsake our sins, God will never forgive them, yea, he hath sworn by an oath, that whomsoever he redeemeth out of the hands of their spiritual enemies, shall serve him in holiness and righteousness all the dayes of their lives. Neither can it consist with his justice, to pardon such as continue in an evil course of life.
If Christ hath freed us from the damnation of sin, he hath also freed us from the dominion of sin. If with his blood he hath quenched the fire of hell for us, he hath also quenched the fire of lust in us. Christs justifying blood, is given us by his sanctifying Spirit. He being consecrated, was made the author of eternal salvation, unto all them (and them onelyonly) that obey him, Heb. 5.9. Of whomsoever a man is overcome, even unto the same he is in bondage, 2 Pet. 2.19. Have ye then no goverment of your passions, no conscience of your actions, no care of your lives? false hypocrites, ye do but abuse and profane that name, which ye unjustly arrogate.
Sect. XXV.
But yet more to convince you, you go to heaven, when in sundry particulars, you fall short of many wicked reprobates recorded in Scripture; as do but deal impartially with thy self, and tell me thou civil Iusticiary whether thou ever hadst the heart upon hearing the threatnings of the Word to relent and humble thy self with Ahab? to confess thy sins, and desire the people of God to pray for thee with Pharoah? to be affected with joy in hearing the Word, and practice many things, with Herod? to be zealous against sin, with Iehu? willingly to part with a good part of thy goods, with Ananias? to forsake the world and all thy hopes in it; to follow poor Christ, as Demas and others? to venture thy life with Alexander the Copper-smith, in cleaving to the truth? yea, it is said of Iudas himself that he repented, there is contrition; he saith I have sinned, there is confession, and he restored the money again, there is satisfaction; which is all the Papists repentance: and yet he is Iudas the son of perdition still. Now tell me? doest thou not come short of these, many such as these be wicked reprobates, and yet wilt thou please thy self in a false conceit, of thine own happiness, who comest further behind them, then they do behind true Christians? If some that have journied in the wilderness to Kadesh-barnea, shall yet never enter into Gods rest; shall those that never left Egypt? Is the stony ground reprobate? and can the highway ground be good? There are three sorts of ground mentioned, Mark 4.4, 5, 6, 7. and the very worst of them receives the seed, yet all damned, whither then shall the tempest of Gods wrath drive them, that would never yet give the Gospel a religious ear?
But vicious men, think God is all mercy (as foggie air useth to represent every object far bigger than it is) when the VVord tells us, that he is a consuming fire, and a jealous God, Deut. 4.24. Heb. 12.29. and when we shall find in Deut. 28. thrice as many curses as blessings. Doest thou expect to have him mercifull to thee, that art unmercifull, cruel, and bloody to him, to his, and thine own soul? none that have eyes in their heads and open, can be so sottish. But Sin is like the juice of poppie, called Opium; which if the quantity exceed, bringeth the patient into a deep sleep, that he never awaketh. Sinners dream they are awake, but indeed they are fast asleep; yea, with Sardis they are dead, while they think they are alive.
And indeed this misprision or mistake, this very opinion of being in ease good enough, keeps a man out of all possibility of being bettered; for what we presume to have attained, we seek not after. Yea, this conceited righteousnesse, is the onelyonly cause of all unrighteousnesse; and many a man had been good, if he had not at present so thought himself. Until Paul was humbled to the very ground; trembling and astonished, he never asked Iesus, what wilt thou have me to do. And the like of those Converts that were prickt in their hearts at Peters searching Sermon, upon their being convinced, that they were the murtherers of the Lord of Life, Acts 2.36.37, 38.
Sect. XXVI.
In the last place, touching their Election, this is an infallible truth; Whomsoever God hath appointed to salvation, to them he hath appointed the means also, which is holiness. Indeed a man may be so bold of his Predestination, as to forget his conversation; so he may dream himselfe in Heaven, and waken from that dream in Hell. Gods purpose touching the end, includes the means. Though God had promised Paul that his company should not be drowned, yet he told the Mariners, that unless they kept in the ship, they should be drowned, Acts 27.22, 23, 31. as if their safety should not be without means: Rebekah had Gods Oracle for Iacobs life, yet she sent him away out of Esaus reach. It was impossible for Herod to hurt the child Iesus, yet he must flie into Egypt.
And so I have shown in the last place, what are the conditions of the new Covenant, and to whom the promises belong; which is all that I undertook. Now if men will yet goe on, and perish in their impenitency; their blood be on their own heads, and not on mine, I have discharged my duty.
Nevertheless, least the single evidence that I bring from the Word of Truth, should not prove sufficient to gain your credence to what hath been spoken; And because examples give a quicker impression then arguments, I have one thing more to crave of thee, which is, that thou wilt also hear the confession of two parties (in the ensuing or second part of this Discourse) that were lately in thy very condition; though now by the Infinite goodness of God they have their eyes opened, and their hearts changed, to see and know, both what it is to be in the state of nature, and what to be brought into the glorious liberty of the sons of God; that so by a three fold cord, you may be drawn to accept of salvation upon Gods own terms; whereas otherwise you can no way escape his eternal wrath.
The ensuing, or second part, which I would request you to read and minde, is; A happy Conference, between a Formalist converted, and a loose Libertine, intituled, An experimental Index of the Heart.
And so much of the first Part; the second followeth.
FINIS.
Sold onelyonly by Iames Crump, in Little Bartholomews VVell-yard; and by Henry Cripps in Popes-head-Alley, At the same places there are also to be sold five and thirty other Pieces of Practical Divinity composed by the same Author. 1660.
This sheet and half, with …ower other sheets (of as considerable matter) are all to be had for a Penny, at the Black Swan by Moor… ga…e.
AN Experimental INDEX of the HEART: OR, SELF-KNOWLEDGE.
In which (As in a Looking-glasse) the civillest of men may see what need they have of a Redeemer; and that it most deeply concerns them with all speed, to sue out their pardon in Christ, and to rely wholly and only upon Free-grace, for pardon and Salvation; except they prefer an everlasting furnace of fire and brimstone in Hell, before an eternal weight of superabundant glory in Heaven, as all (most sottishly) do, that by sinne and Satan are bewitched.
Drawn up and published for the good of all, By R. Younge of Roxwell in Essex, Florilegus.
Add this as a Third Part to the Trial of true Wisdom, and those Three Fundamental Principles of Christian Religion, Intituled, A short and sure Way to Grace and Salvation.