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A70206
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A sermon on Acts xxviii, 22 shewing, that the Christian religion is not a sect, and yet that it is every where spoken against / by Matthew Henry ...
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Henry, Matthew, 1662-1714.
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1699
(1699)
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Wing H1476; ESTC R19814
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33,478
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57
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that they keep up some secret Haunts of Sin under the cloke and covert of a specious Profession when they that profess the Christian Faith lick up the vomit of Heathen and allow themselves in those things that are contrary to the Light and Law even of Natural Religion This is that which opens the mouths of the Adversaries to speak reproachfully of that Religion the Profession of which is made to consist with such vile Practises which cannot possibly consist with the Power of it This makes People ready to say as that Mahometan Prince did when the Christians had broke their League with him O Jesus are these thy Christians Or as the complaint was upon another occasion Aut hoc non Evangelium aut hi non Evangelici Either this is not Gospel or these are not to be call'd Professors of the Gospel If Ministers give offence in any thing not they only but their Ministry will be blamed Nay if Servants Christians of the lowest rank and figure if they be unfaithful and disobedient to the Government they are under the Name of God and his Doctrine is likely to be blasphemed Let us therefore who profess Relation to the Eternal God and Dependance upon the Blessed Jesus and a Regard to the Holy Scriptures as we tender the Reputation of our Religion walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing Let us Order our Conversation so in every thing as that we may adorn the Doctrine of God our Saviour While we are call'd by so good a Name let us not dare to do an ill thing The Disciples of Christ are as a City upon a Hill and have many eyes upon them and therefore have need to behave themselves with a great deal of Caution and to abstain from all appearance of evil Let us not do any thing that is unjust or unbecoming us nor allow our selves in that which we know the Gospel we profess doth by no means allow of lest we be to answer another day for all the Reproach of Religion which we have occasion'd How light soever we may make of this now we shall find that it will greatly enflame the Reckoning shortly when God will affect the Honour of his own Name and will be glorified upon those by whom he was not glorified In consideration of this let us see to it that we have our Conversation honest among the Adversaries of our Religion that they who speak against us as Evil doers may by our Good Works which they shall behold be brought to glorify God and to entertain good thoughts of Religion or at least that we may with well-doing put to silence the ignorance of foolish Men. Our Religion I am sure is an Honour to us let not us then be a Dishonour to it Sixthly If there be those every where that speak against Religion and Godliness let us then as we have opportunity be ready to speak for it Every Christian should be both a Witness and an Advocate for his Religion and the rather because it is so much oppos'd and contradicted Next to our Care not to be a Shame to the Gospel should be our Resolution not to be asham'd of the Gospel You are Subpaena'd by the King of Kings to appear for him in the World Ye are my Witnesses saith the Lord Isa 43.10 Do not betray this Cause then by declining your Testimony how much soever you may be brow-beaten and confronted Say with a holy boldness as Elihu Job 36.2 Suffer me a little and I will shew you that I have yet to speak on God's behalf You hear what is daringly said against God how his holy Name is trampled upon and abus'd his Truths contradicted his Word and Ordinances vilified and have you never a word to say for him Is our Lord Jesus appearing for us in Heaven pleading our Cause there pleading it with his own blood and shall not we be ready to appear for him on Earth and plead his Cause though it were with the hazzard of our blood As it is then a time to keep silence when we our selves are spoken against I as a Deaf Man heard not so it is then a time to speak when God is spoken against and the Honour of our Religion lies at stake and at such a time we must take heed Jest by a cowardly silence we wrong so J st a Cause as if we were either asham'd or afraid to own it Wisdom's Children should take all occasions to justify Wisdom and vindicate it from the aspersions that are cast upon it Read the doom of him that is asham'd of Christ and of his Words in this adulterous generation Mark 8.38 Of him shall the Son of Man be asham'd when he comes in the Glory of his Father Not confessing Christ when we are call'd to it is in effect denying him and disowning Relation to him and they who do so except they repent as Peter did will shortly be denied and disowned by him If we should with an angry countenance at least drive away a backbiting Tongue that reproacheth our Brother much more a Blasphemous Tongue that reproacheth our Maker Should we hear a near Relation or a dear Friend in whose Reputation it is natural to us to reckon our selves sharers spoken against and slander'd we would readily appear in his Vindication and have we no resentments of the Contempt and Contumely cast upon Religion Can we sit by contentedly to hear God and Christ and the Scripture and serious Godliness reflected upon and have we nothing to say in their behalf Common equity obligeth us to be the Patrons of a just but wronged Cause And that we may not think our selves discharged from this Duty by our inability to defend the Truths and Ways of God and so make our Ignorance and unskilfulness in the word of Righteousness an excuse for our Cowardise and want of Zeal we ought to take pains to furnish our selves with a clear and distinct knowledge of the certainty of those things wherein we have heen instructed We must labour to understand not only the Truths and Principles but the Grounds and Evidences of our Religion that we may be able to give an Answer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an Apology to every Man that asks us a Reason of the Hope that is in us How industrious are the prophane Wits of the Age to find out something to say against Religion and should not that quicken us to provide our selves with the Armor of Righteousness both on the right hand and on the left aiming at the Riches of the full assurance of Vnderstanding And if we do as there is occasion with Humility and Sincerity and from a principle of Zeal for God and his Honour appear in Defence of Religion and its injur'd Cause we may doubtless take encouragement from that promise Mat. 10.19 It shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak God will own those that own him and will
perfective of and no way repugnant to the Light and Law of Natural Religion Is that a Sect which gives such mighty Encouragements and Assistances to those that in every Nation fear God and work Righteousness Acts 10.34 Is that a Sect which tends to nothing else but to reduce the revolted Race of Mankind to their Ancient Allegiance to the great Creator and to renew that Image of God upon Man which was his Primitive Rectitude and Felicity Is that a Sect which proclaims God in Christ reconciling the World unto himself and recovering it from that degenerate and deplorable State into which it was sunk Is that a Sect which publisheth Good-will towards Men and Christ the Lamb of God taking away the Sins of the World Surely that which concurs so much with the uncorrupted and unprejudiced Sentiments and conduceth much more to the true and real Happiness of all Mankind cannot be thought to take its rise from such narrow Opinions and private Interests as Sects ow their Original to 2. True Christianity hath a direct tendency to the Vniting of the Children of Men and the gathering of them together in one and therefore is far from being a Sect which is suppos'd to lead to Division and to sow Discord among Brethren The Preaching of the Gospel did indeed prove the occasion of Contention Our Saviour foresaw and foretold it would be so Luke 12.51 52 53. that his Disciples and Followers would be Men of strife in the same sense that the Prophet was Jer. 15.10 not Men striving but Men striven with but the Gospel was by no means the Cause of this Contention for it was intended to be the Cure of all Contention If there be any who under the Cloak and Colour of the Christian Name cause Divisions and propagate Feuds and Quarrels among Men let them bear their own Burthen but it is certain that the Christian Religion as far as it obtains its just Power and Influence upon the minds of Men will make them Meek and Quiet Humble and Peaceable Loving and Useful Condescending and Forgiving and every way Easy and Acceptable and Profitable one to another Is that a Sect which was introduced with a Proclamation of Peace on Earth That which beats Swords into Plow-shares and Spears into Pruning-hooks Or was he the Author of a Sect who is the Great Creator of Vnity and who Died to break down partition Walls and to slay all Enmities that he might gather together in one the Children of God that were scattered abroad Was he the Author of a Sect who came into the World not to destroy Mens Lives but to save them and who taught his Followers not only to love one another but to love their Enemies and to count every one their Neighbour that they could be any way serviceable to 3. True Christianity aims at no Worldly Benefit or Advantage and therefore must by he means be call'd a Sect. Those that espouse a Sect are suppos'd to be govern'd in it by their secular Interest and to aim at Wealth or Honour or the gratification of some base Lust The Pharisees proved themselves to be a Sect by their Thirst after the praise of Men and their greedy devouring of Widows Houses But the Professors of Christianity have not only been taught by the Law of their Religion to live above this World and to look upon it with a Holy Contempt but have been expos'd by their Profession to the Loss and Ruine of all their secular Comforts and Enjoyments Are those to be accounted politick and designing Sectaries that have for Christ chearfully suffered the loss of all things Is that a Sect which instead of prefering a Man to Honour or raising him an Estate lays him open to Disgrace and Poverty renders him obnoxious to Fines and Forfeitures Banishments and Imprisonments Racks and Tortures Flames and Gibbets which were the common Lot of the Primitive Christians Caesar Vaninus a sworn Enemy to the Christian Religion and one who was industrious in searching out Objections against it own'd he could find nothing in it that savour'd of a Carnal and Worldly Design No it hath always approv'd it self a Heavenly Calling and the strictest Professors of it even their Enemies themselves being Judges have had their Conversation in the World in Simplicity and Godly Sincerity not with Fleshly Wisdom Very unjustly therefore it is called a Sect. As to this therefore suffer a Word of Caution and Exhortation 1. Let us take heed lest our Profession of Religion degenerate into any thing which may make it look like a Sect. Christianity as it was instituted by Christ is not a Sect let not Christians then be Sectaries We make our Profession of Religion a Sect when we monopolize the Church and its Ministry and Sacraments and spend that zeal in matters of doubtful Disputation which should be reserved for the weightier matters of the Law When we place our Religion in Meats and Drinks which should be placed in Righteousness and Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost When we profess Religion with a Conceit of our selves and a Contempt of others and with any Worldly secular Design when we sacrifice the common Interests of Christ's Kingdom to the particular Interests of a Party and in a word when our Profession is tainted with the Leaven of the Pharisees which is both sowring and swelling then it degenerates into a Sect. Let us therefore adhere to the sure and large Foundations and be acted by a Principle of Love to and so maintain Communion with all that in every place and under every Denomination call on the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord both theirs and ours Let us be Modest in our Opinions Charitable and Candid in our Censures Self-denying in all our Converse Acting always under the Influence of that Wisdom that is from above which is first Pure then Peaceable gentle and easy to be intreated full of Mercy and good Fruits without Partiality and Hypocrisy that by this well-doing we may put to silence the Ignorance of those who call Religion a Sect. 2. Let us not be deterr'd from serious Godliness or any of the Instances of it by the invidious Name of a Sect which is put upon it If a strict and sober and circumspect Conversation a conscientious Government of our Tongue Praying and singing Psalms in our Families a religious Observation of the Lord's Day a diligent Attendance upon the Means of Grace joyning in religious Societies for Prayer and Christian Conference and endeavouring in our places the Suppression of Profaness and Immorality if these and the like be call'd and counted the Marks and Badges of a Sect let us not be moved at it but say as David did 2 Sam. 6.22 If this be to be vile I will be yet more vile If the Practice of Piety be branded as a Sect it is better for us to come under the reproaches of Men for following it than