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ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A32900 The Christians way to heaven, or, What he must do to be saved by a divine of the Church of England. Divine of the Church of England. 1700 (1700) Wing C3962; ESTC R23847 11,729 21

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have a firm Belief of these Things and to be always ready to give an Answer to every Man that asketh you a Reason of the Hope that is in you that is to believe the Doctrines of Christianity upon rational Grounds not to stick to them only upon the Prejudice of your Education but because upon full search and enquiry you find all the Reason in the World to believe them Whenever you find any unbelieving Thought to rise up in your Minds which the Devil will never be wanting upon occasion to suggest use your utmost endeavour to shake off that ungodly Doubt by confronting it with some indubitable Truth or by getting further Information of abler Christians John 5.39 Acts 17.4 Rom. 15.4 but above all by constant reading and studying God's Word and by fervent Prayer to him to help your unbelief for you may be assured that ten to one more Infidels are made by a neglect of Reading the Scriptures and of daily Prayers to God than by all the poisoned Books and Discourses which are levelled against our Religion And I would have you observe further which is a great Argument for you to settle in your Hearts a firm Belief of all the Gospel Truths that there is hardly any wickedness which Men commit or any Sin they fall into but it proceeds chiefly from some kind of Infidelity or other because they do not rightly believe of the Providence of God or his Justice or Mercy or Veracity but have got into their Heads some fond Notion of their own concerning these Attributes which may better agree with their vitious Lives than that Idea which God has given of himself in his Holy Word Therefore be sure to be well Principled and to have true Notions of these Matters use your utmost endeavours firmly to Believe and fully to understand all that the Holy Scriptures say concerning them for this is the Foundation of all true Religion and unless this be rightly laid all the other Building which may be raised afterwards falls to the Ground and comes to nothing II. After the believing of the Gospel Truths II. Condition To a●● 〈…〉 in the next Place in order to your 〈…〉 Covenant with Christ you must leave off gross and apparent Sins For a Man whilst he lives a leud and vicious Life can have no hopes of Salvation such by the whole Tenour of the Gospel being excluded from it The Apostle St. Paul gives you a long Catalogue of such Sins as are inconsistent with Salvation Now the Works of the Flesh are manifest which are these Adultery Fornication Vncleanness Lasciviousness Idolatry Witchcraft Hatred Variance Emulations Wrath Strife Seditions Heresies Envyings Murders Drunkenness Revellings and such like of which I tell you before as I have told you in time past that they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God Gal. 5.19.20.21 Therefore if you would have any hope of going to Heaven you must leave off a wicked Course of Life you must take Care to repent of and to forsake such Sins as will shut you out from thence You cannot expect to go thither whilst you live in a State of Adultery or Uncleanness if you are not just in your dealings and do not make Satisfaction and Reparation for all the Wrongs and Injuries you have done if you live in a course of Drunkenness if you are guilty of prophane Swearing and Cursing if you live Quarelsomely and Contentiously with your Neighbours if you be proud and haughty malicious and revengeful Therefore it behoves you not only to be careful to avoid Drunkenness Incontinency and other fleshly Sins but to divest your selves of Pride and Malice and other Sins of the Mind for these spiritual Vices are as much inconsistent with a State of Christianity as the fleshly they do as much mischief in this World and make a Man as unqualified for the other and you may further take Notice that the most wicked Beings of all God's Creation I mean the Devils in Hell have no Sins of the Flesh to answer for and yet they shall undergo the most terrible Damnation for their Pride and Malice and other Sins of the Mind which too many Men do look upon in themselves at least as hardly any Sins at all III. In order to your Salvation you must take Care not only to avoid a settled Course of Wickedness or a Life of Viciousness III. Condition To avoid every single Sin we know to be such but to root out of your Hearts every single Sin ye find there There are a great many Men that for the generality live good and vertuous 〈…〉 ●ut yet there is some bosom Sin they indulge them●●●●●● 〈…〉 to part with all the rest to retain that Thus there are several who can without any great difficulty refrain from Intemperance or Covetousness or Pride or Contention so they may but enjoy their Lust To another Covetousness is the only Darling and he can be content to be chast and sober in hopes that God will excuse him from being hard and griping Mistake not God Almighty does expect to be loved with all the Mind and all the Soul and all the Strength Mat 12.30 We must perfect Holiness in the fear of the Lord. 2 Cor. 7.1 And we are taught that he who shall keep the whole Law and offend in one Point he is guilty of all James 2.10 That is he shall as effectually be damned for that one Sin unrepented of as if he had been guilty of many more Sins Therefore do not Cheat your selves and Fool your selves out of your precious Souls by thinking you shall ever go to Heaven by serving of God by halves God Almighty will either have your whole Souls or none he will never suffer you to make him a sharer with the Devil Don't think it will avail you to say it is but one Sin for that one is fatal For Sin to the Soul is like a strong Poison to the Body a drop of it is as killing as if you drank a Gallon So that upon the whole you have no way to secure your Salvation but by forsaking every known Sin though never so small in your Opinion if you know it to be Sin you must know it to be damnable and that there is no Salvation to be expected whilst you continue in it Therefore you must frequently examine your Consciences and strictly survey and look into every Corner of your Soul and whatever Sin you find there dispatch it without any Quarter and do not put it off from Time to Time as being unwilling to part with it but take the first opportunity to Repent of and amend it beg God Almighties Pardon for the former Commission of it and his Grace for the Future to avoid it IV. Condition To Practice all the Gospel Virtues IV. The next step you must make in order to be saved is to Practice the Gospel Virtues which you find laid down in Gods Word for your Christian Performance For