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A26845
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Non-conformity without controversie from Rom. chap. 12, ver. 2 : shewing that it is every Christian's duty to be a nonconformist to this world / by Benjamin Baxter, Preacher of the Gospel.
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Baxter, Benjamin, Preacher of the Gospel.
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1670
(1670)
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Wing B1171; ESTC R469
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49,814
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146
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to the World What comfort will the thoughts of your conforming to a sinful wicked World give you when you come to lye on your last and dying-beds What comfort will a conformity to the World reflect Oh that men would consider what will give them peace at the last Consider this you covetous Tradesmen that use false Measures and Ballances and that deal in false Wares the saying is Leight Gains make an heavy Purse but take heed they make not an heavy and accusing Conscience in the end It is the way of the World to get gain any way but never consider what the issue will be whether it will be comfort and peace at last It was the saying of a worthy Judg of this Nation to his Son when he was a dying Son I leave you but a small Estate but it was well gotten Oh that men could say so of their Estates whether great or small That they were well gotten Let the cunning covetous worldly Tradesman know That he may as well rob a man in his Shop with a mete-Yard and a pair of Ballances in his hand as a Thief doth with Sword and Pistol on the Road and although they are not alike arraigned at the Barr of Man's Tribunal yet they will be alike at the Barr of God's Tribunal And as for you prophane ones What comfort will the thoughts of your sinful pleasures delights and vanities reflect when you come to dye What pleasure will it then be to you to remember the sinful jollities and debaucheries of a fore-passed life Know this that one hour spent in communion with God will yeeld a man more solid comfort than all the days a man hath spent in the Tents of wickedness He said it that had proved it Psal 84. 10. A day in thy Courts is better than a thousand c. And let me tell you A day spent in serving God and conforming to his Will and Word doing what is well-pleasing in his sight will yeeld more comfort than a thousand spent in complying with and conforming to the sinful fashions pleasures and examples of the World Nay What sad reflections will the thoughts of such a compliance cause That proud Cardinal Wolsey when he was cast out of the favour of his Prince and was under the apprehension of approaching death said If I had been as careful of serving and pleasing God as I have been to serve and please my King he had not now forsaken me in this my misery And ere long men will wish they had been as careful in conforming to the will of God revealed in his Word as they have been to the wills of men and ways of the World and repent of it when it s too late 7. Upon comparing these together you will find That a conformity to the Rules and Examples of the Word is a Christian's Wisdom and that all Conformists to the World will at the last be found but fools as the Prophet Jer. 17. 11 saith He that getteth riches and not by right at his end shall be a fool Consider who in the end will be the veriest fools Conformists or Nonconformists to the World Deut. 4. When Moses had told the men of Israel of the Statutes of God this is one Motive he makes use of to press them to an observation of them v. 6. This will be your wisdom in the sight of the Nations Let me tell you A Conformity to the Word and a Nonconformity to the World is a Christian's Wisdom There is a day coming when those who now for not conforming to the world are accounted fools will not only be pronounced wife by the testimony of God and Christ and Angels but also by those that now esteem and call them Fools Let me tell you What is the judgment and opinion of wicked men now concerning Holiness and Holy ones will not always be their judgment they will one day be of another mind Now indeed the wisdom of God is foolishness with the world when indeed it is the wisdom of the world that is foolishness with God In the Word of God and the laws and rules which it prescribes is seen the Wisdom of God And those must needs be the wisest who conform to those Rules Conforming to the World's Rules is conforming to the World's Wisdom which indeed is conforming to the World's Wickedness and the wisest of such Conformist except they repent will ere long call themselves Fools to all Eternity Now having compared all these together tell me Whether the Rules and Examples of the Word or of the World are most worthy of your conformity Thus much for the First Secondly We come next to enquire To which you are most obliged and engaged to conform To the Word of God or to the World And here I shall put this Question to you viz. To whom you owe most whether to God or the world So I must ask you two things 1. Which hath done most for you 2. Which can do most for you 1. Which hath done most for you God or the VVorld To whom owe you your Beings VVho created you God or the world Then tell me to whom you owe your conformity To whom owe you your Redemption Who sent a Saviour into the world to dye for you and by that death to purchase pardon and peace and reconciliation and eternal salvation To whom do you owe your lives Who endued your souls with life and hath hitherto held your souls in life Or whose Mercies is it that you have not ere this been consumed Is it of the Lord's Mercy or of the World's From whom have you had protection and deliverance from dangers Whose Angels are it that have pitch'd their Tents about you God's or the World's From whom do you receive all your blessings of health wealth food raiment Is it from God or the World See by this to which you owe your conformity 2. Consider which can do most for you What can the world do for you Doth it or can it bid more for your conformity than God doth As Saul said to his Courtiers when he saw they were addicted to David's Party Can the Son of Jesse give you Vineyards or Olive-yards c. So let me ask you Can the world give you what God can All that the world can do for you doth but amount to what is temporal But can it give you that which is eternal Let me tell you It is so far from doing that that though it can give a man Honour and Riches yet it cannot give a man Contentment with them much less can it give inward comfort and peace and assurance of Eternal Glory and Happiness All this God bids for your conformity to him And now see to which you most owe your conformity Thirdly VVe are next to enquire By which you will be most advantaged whether by a conformity to God or the world To this I have spoken largely before when I shew'd you the Gain and Loss of Conformity and Nonconformity to the world
World 2. VVhat conformitie is there is you to Jesus Christ in respect of Sanctity and Holiness Though Jesus Christ be now in Heaven yet he hath left us his foot-steps of that wherein we are to tread He was one that went about doing good He was abundant in dutie and much in prayer He was so holy in the whole course of his life that he challenged any to convince him of sin He suffered wrong but did no wrong neither was guile found in his mouth He was conformable to his Father's will and it was his meat and drink to do it He was much in self-denial he denied himself in his dearest things he laid aside his own glory he laid down his own life for the salvation of poor sinners He was much in holy and heavenly discourse ever speaking of the Kingdom of heaven and taking occasion from earthly things to reflect on and discourse of heavenly things He was much in instructing counselling comforting his Disciples He stood up for the honour of his Father and defended the truth against all opposition All this and much more did he in the days of his flesh when he was on earth and therein left us an example He made a holy close of his life As he lived so he died VVhen the time of his suffering death drew near he betook himself to prayer Under his last sufferings he behaved himself meekly and patiently VVhen nailed to the Cross he prayed for his persecutors saying Father forgive them for they know not what they do VVhen he was giving up the Ghost he commended his Soul to God saying Father into thy hands I commit my spirit Thus Christians you see a short specimen of Christ's Sanctity when he was on Earth Now trie your conformitie to Jesus Christ who is now in Heaven Can you say My Pattern is in Heaven as Job said of his Witness Job 16. 19 My Witness is in Heaven Do you tread in those steps of holiness that Jesus Christ hath left which though we cannot exactly walk in yet Do you strive to come as near in imitating his Example as you can Remember Christians The world hath found out other ways than the way of Jesus Christ There is the way of Cain and Corah and Balaam and Esau and Ishmael in which the most of the world walk But the way wherein you are to walk is that way wherein Jesus Christ walked when he was on earth Christians are called to be in this World as Jesus Christ was in this World 3. In Heaven are Angels Angels of Light who are called holy Angels and are the Heavenly Courtiers These are some of the Inhabitants of the World that is to come Christians You are to try what conformitie there is in you to these heavenlie Spirits and whether you are conformable to Angels of Light or Angels of Darkness Those who are Nonconformists to this world hold some conformitie to those glorious Angels that inhabit the other world and the great and main conformitie to them stands in our doing the will of God on Earth as the Angels do it in Heaven it is one Petition in the Lord's Prayer Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven Now try your selves by this 1. They do the will of God Zealously with a great deal of heat fervency and intention of spirit and are therefore called Seraphims They are zealous for his work and zealous in his work Are you conformable to them in that 2. Angels do the will of God Chearfully with abundance of delight and joy and therefore they are said to have Harps to shew it is their Musick and Delight All the Services God puts them upon they go about with abundance of alacritie Now what conformitie is there in you to Angels in this When you go to dutie Do you go about it as Angels do about their work Remember the most of the world are never more sad and dull than when they are set about Heavenlie work and never so chearful as when they are out of God's work and freed from Heavenlie employments 3. Angels in Heaven do the will of God speedilie and are therefore said to have wings They never dispute the commands of God no sooner are they bid go but they go What Messages they are sent about what Work they are put upon they do and execute readily and speedily Now Christians How like Angels are you in doing the Lord's work on earth The way of the world is to move slowly as Pharoah's Chariots when the Wheels were pulled off But Christians if you are conformable to the Angels there is a readiness of mind in you to do the will of God You stand ready pressed for his Service and have your Loins girded up 4. Angels do the will and work of God with much self-denial They ascribe all to God and give him all the glorie and therefore are said to cast down their Crowns before the Throne and in Ezech. 1. 8. they are said to have hands under their wings as concealing their own abilities Now Christians see what conformitie there is in you to the Angels in this particular of Self-denial It 's the way of most of the world when they do any thing that is good to boast and be proud of it as the Pharisee of his fasting and duties But those that are conformable in this particular to the Angels in Heaven do nothing as of themselves and give all the glory to God as St. Paul did who said By the grace of God I am what I am and not I but the grace of God which is in me 5 Angels do the will and the work of God with abundance of love There is a sweet harmony and agreement among them in their Employments they do not cross or thwart one another they are obedient Servants to their Lord and are in love and unitie among themselves Ezek. 1. 9. we read of the Cherubims and the living Creatures that their wings joined one to another and they turned not when they went and they went every one straight forward they did not go one this way and another that way but do sweetly and mutually correspond in doing the will of God Now Christians What conformitie is there in you to Angels in this Do you sweetly conspire and agree together in serving God on Earth Oh that Christians were more Angel-like in this Remember Contention and Division is the way of the world and the way of carnal men the Apostle tells us so 1 Cor. 3. 3. While there are strifes and divisions among you are you not carnal and walk as men Now Christians I have shew'd you how the Angels in another world do the will of God and try your selves what conformitie there is in you on earth to them 4. In Heaven are the Spirits and Souls of just men made perfect These are in another world they are in Heaven they inherit the Promises and such the Apostle commands us to be followers of Heb. 6. 12. Now what