wise in time XV. Think well what manner of Men these were whose Names are now honoured for their Holiness What manner of Life did St. Peter and St. Paul St. Cyprian St. Augustine and all other Saints and Martyrs live Was it a Life of fleshly Sports and Pleasures Did they deride or persecute a Holy Life Were they not more strictly Holy than any that thou knowest And is he not self-condemned that honoureth the Names of Saints and will not imitate them XVI Think what the difference is between a Christian and an Heathen You are loath to be Heathens or Infidels But do you think a Christian excelleth them but in Opinion He that is not Holier than they â—s worse and shall suffer more than they XVII Think what the difference is between a Godly Christian and an Ungodly Do not all the Opposers of Holiness among us yet speak for the same God and Christ and Scripture and profess the same Creed and Religion with those whom they oppose And is not this Christ the Author of our Holiness and this Scripture the Commander of it Search and see whether the difference be not this that the Godly are serious in their Profession and the Ungodly are Hypocrites who hate and oppose the practise of the very things which themselves profess whose Religion serveth but to condemn them while their Lives are contrary to their Tongues XVIII Understand what the Devil's Policy is by raising so many Sects and Factions and Controversies about Religion in the World Even to make some think that they are religious because they can prare for their Opinions or because they think their Party is the best because their Faction is the Greatest or the Least the Uppermost or the suffering Side And to turn holy edifying Conference into vain Jangling and to make Men Aâ—heists suspecting all Religion and true to none because of Mens diversity of Minds But remember that Christian Religion is but One and a thing easily known by its ancient Rule and the universal Church containing all Christians is but One. And if carnal Interest or Opinions so distract Men that one Party saith We are all the Church and another saith It is we as if the Kitchin were all the House oâ— one Town or Village all the Kingdom Wilt thou bâ—â— mad with seeing this Distraction Hearken Sinner all these Sects in the Day of Judgment shall concur 〈◊〉 Witnesses against thee if thou be Unholy because however else they differed all of them that are Christians professed the Necessity of Holiness and subscribed to that Scripture which requireth it Though thou canst not easily resolve every Controversie thou mayst easily know-the true Religion it is that which Christ and his Apostles taught which all Christians have professed which Scripture requireth which is first pure and then peaceable most Spiritual Heavenly Charitable and Just XIX Away from that Company which is sensual and an Enemy to Reason Sobriety and Holiness and consequently to God themselves and thee Can they be wise for thee that are foolish for themselves or Friends to thee that are undoing themselves or have any pity on thy Soul when they make a Jest of their own Damnation Will they help thee to Heaven who are running so furiously to Hell chuse better Familiars if thou wouldest be better XX. Judge not of a holy Life by hearsay for it cannot so be known Try it a while and then judge as thou findest it Speak not against the things thou knowest not Hadst thou but lived in the Love of God and the lively belief of endless Glory and the Delights of Holiness and the Fears of Hell but for one Month or Day and with such a Heart Hadst cast away thy sin and called upon God and ordered thy Family in 〈◊〉 holy manner especially on the Lord's Day I dare boldly say Experience would constrain thee to justifie a holy Life But yet I must tell thee it is not â—rue Holiness if thou do but try it with Exceptions and Reserves If therefore God hath convinced thee that this is his Will and Way I adjure thee as in his dreadful Presence that thou delay no longer but resolve and absolutely give up thy self to God as thy Heavenly Father thy Saviour and thy Sanctifier and â—ake an everlasting Covenant with him and then he and 〈◊〉 his Mercies will be thine his Grace will help thee â—nd his Mercy pardon thee his Ministers will instruct â—hee and his People pray for thee and assist thee his Angels will guard thee and his Spirit comfort thee and when Flesh must fail and thou must leave this World thy Saviour will then receive thy Soul and bring â—t into the participation of his Glory and he will raise â—hy Body and justifie thee before the World and make â—hee equal to the Angels and thou shalt live in the â—ight and Love of God and in the Everlasting Pleasures â—f his Glory This is the end of Faith and Holiness But 〈◊〉 thou harden thy Heart and refusest Mercy everlasting Wo will be thy portion and then there will be no remedy And now Reader I beg of thee and I beg of God on my bended knees that these few words may sink into thy Heart and that thou wouldest read them over and over again and bethink thee as a Man that must shortly die Whether any deserve thy Love and Obedience more than God and thy thankful Remembrance more then Christ and thy Care and Diligence more than thy salvation Is there any Felicity more desirable than Heaven or any Misery more terrible than Hell or any thing so regardable as that which is everlasting Will a few days fleshly Pleasures pay for the loss of heaven and thy immortal Soul or will thy Sin and thy Prosperity be sweet at Death and in the Day of Judgment As thou art a Man and as ever thou believest that there is a God and a World to come and as thou carest for thy Soul whether it be saved or damned I beseech thee I charge thee think of these things think of them once a day at least think of them with thy most sober serious Thoughts Heaven is not a May-game and Hell is not a Flea-biting Make not a jest of Salvation or Damnation I know thou livest in a Distracted world where thou mayest hear some laughing at such things as these and scorning at a Holy Life and fastning odious Reproaches on the Godly and merrily drinking and playing and prating away their Time and then saying that they will trust God with their Souls and hope to be saved without so much ado But if all these Men do not change their minds and be not shortly down in the Mouth and would not be glad to eat their Words and wished that they had lived a holy Life though it had cost them Scorn and Suffering in the World let me bear the shame of a Deceiver for ever But if God and thy
the Bellows of Sedition or Rebellion or of an envious hurtful Zeal or a snare for the Innocent or a Pistol to shoot at the Upright in Heart These are not they that have been the shame of their Profession the hardning of Ungodly Men and Infidels and that have caused the Enemies of the Lord to blaspheme If any Man will make a Religion of or for his Lusts of Papal Tyranny or Pharisaical Formality or of his private Opinions or of proud censoriousness and contempt of others and of Faction and 〈◊〉 warrâ—ntable Separations and Divisions and of standing at a more observable distance from common Professors of Christianity than God would have them or yet of pulling up the Hedg of Discipline and laying Christ's Vineyard common to the Wilderness the Storm is coming when this Religion founded on the Sand will fall and great will be the fall thereof When the Religion which consisteth in Faith and Love to God and Man in mortifying the Flesh and crucifying the World in Self-denyal Humility and Patience in sincere Obedience and faithfulness in all Relations in watchful Self-Government in doing Good and in a Divine and Heavenly Life tho' it will be hated by the ungodly World shall never be a dishonour to your Lord nor deceive or disappoint your Souls A Short Catechism Quest 1. WHat is the Christian Religion Answ The Christian Religion is the Baptismal Covenant made and kept wherein God the Father Son and Holy Ghost doth give himself to be ouâ— reconciled God and Father our Saviour and Sanctifier and we believingly give up our selves accordingly to him renouncing the Flesh the World and the Devil Which Covenant is to be oft renewed specially in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper Quest 2. Where is our Covenant-part and Duty fullier opened Answ 1. In the Creed as the Sum of our Belief 2. In the Lord's Prayer as the Sum of our Desires 3. And in the Ten Commandments as given us by Christ with the Gospel-Explications as the Sum of our Practice Which are as followeth The CREED I Believe in God the Father Almighty Creator of Heaven and Earth And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord which was conceived by the Holy Ghost born of the Virgin Mary suffered under Pontius Pilate was Crucified dead and buried he descended into Hell The third day he arose again from the Dead he ascended into Heaven and sitteth on the right Hand of God the Father Almighty from thence he shall come to Judg the Quick and the Dead I believe in the Holy Ghost the Holy Catholick Church the Communion of Saints the Forgiveness of Sins the Resurrection of the Body and the Life Everlasting Amen The LORD'S Prayer OUR Father which art in Heaven Hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily Bread And forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation but deliver us from Evil for thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory for ever Amen The Ten Commandments I. I Am the Lord thy God which have brought thee out of the Land of Egypt out of the House of Bondage Thou shalt have no other Gods before me II. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven Image or any likeness of any thing that is in Heaven above or that is in the Earth beneath or that is in the Water under the Earth thou shalt not bow down thy self to them nor serve them For I the Lord thy God am a jealous God visiting the iniquity of the Fathers upon the Children unto the third and fourth Generation of them that hate me and shewing Mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my Commandments III. Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain For the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his Name in vain IV. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy six days shalt thou labour and do all thy Work but the seventh Day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God in it thou shalt not do any Work thou nor thy Son nor thy Daughter thy Man-servant nor thy Maid-servant nor thy Cattel nor the Stranger that is within thy Gates For in six days the Lord made Heaven and Earth the Sea and all that in them is and rested the seventh Day wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath-Sabbath-Day and hallowed it V. Honour thy Father and thy Mother that thy Days may be long upon the Land which the Lord thy God giveth thee VI. Thou shalt not Kill VII Thou shalt not commit Adultery VIII Thou shalt not Steal IX Thou shalt not bear false Witness against thy Neighbour X. Thou shalt not covet thy Neighbour's House thou shalt not cover thy Neighbour's Wife nor his Man-servant nor his Maid-servant nor his Ox nor his Ass nor any thing that is thy Neighbour's Quest 3. Where is the Christian Religion most fully opened and entirely contained Answ In the Holy Scriptures especially of the New Testament Where by Christ and his Apostles and Evangelists inspired by his Spirit the History of Christ and his Apostles is â—ufficiently delivered the Promises and Doctrine of Faith are perfected the Covenant of Grace most clearly opened and Church-Offices Worship and Discipline established in the understanding whereof the strongest Christians may increase whilst they live on Earth The explained Profession of the Christian Religion I. I Believe that there is one GOD an infinite Spirit of Life Understanding and Will perfectly Powerful Wise and Good The Father the Word and the Spirit the Creator Governour and End of all things our absolute Owner our most just Ruler and our most gracious Benefactor and most amiable Good II. I believe that Man being made in the Image of God an imbodied Spirit of Life Understanding and Will with holy Viâ—acity wisdom and Love to know and love and serve his Creator here and for ever did by wilful finning fall from his God his Holiness and Innocency under the Wrath of God the Condemnation of his law and the Slavery of the Flesh the World and the Devil And that God so loved the World that he gave his only Son to be their Redeemer who being GOD and one â—ith the Father took our Nature and became MAN being conceived by the Holy Ghost born of the Virgin Mary called Jesus Christ who was perfectly holy sinless fulfilling all Righteousness over came the Devil and the World and gave himself a Sacrifice for our Sins by suffering a cursed Death on the Cross to ransom us and reconcile us unto God â—nd was buried and went among the Dead the â—hird Day he rose again having conquered Death And he fully established the Covenant of Grace that â—ll that truly repent and believe shall-have the love of the Father the Grace of the Son and the Comâ—union of the Holy Spirit and if they love God and â—bey him sincerely to the
THE Grand Question RESOLVED What we must do to be SAVED INSTRUCTIONS FOR A Holy Life BY The Late Reverend Divine Mr. RICHARD BAXTER Recommended to the Bookseller a few days before his Death to be immediately Printed for the good of Souls Acts 16. 30. Sirs What must I do to be Saved LONDON Printed for Tho. Parkhurst at the Bible and Three Crowns in Cheap-side 1692. The Great Case Resolved How to be certainly SAVED Instructions for a Holy Life I. The Necessity Reason and Means of Holiness II. The Parts and Practice of a Holy Life For Personal Direction and for Family Instruction With two short Catechisms and Prayers Reader IGnorant Persons cannot remember long and many words nor understand a brief stile and few words This maketh it impossible to write a Catechism that shall not be unsuitable either to the Understanding or the Memory of such I must therefore desire the Teacher to make up this unavoidable Defect by opening the 〈◊〉 especially of the Catechisms to the Children and Servants when they have learned and say the words Read the Instructions often to them and press all as you go on their Affections For the bare words without a present Guide may â—â—e be all lost I. The Necessity Reason and Means of Holiness 1. To keep up the Resolutions of the Converted And 2. To instruct those in Families that need them THough the saving of Souls be a matter of unexpressible Importance yet the Lord have mercy upon them What abundance are there that think it not worthy of their serious Enquiry nor the reading of a good Book one hour in a Week For the sake of these careless slothful Sinners I have here spoken much in a little room that they may not refuse to read and consider so short a Lesson unless they think their Souls worth nothing Sinner as thou wilt shortly answer it before God deny not to God to thy self and me the sober pondering and faithful practising these few Directions I. Begin at home and know thy self Consider what it is to be a MAN Thou art made a nobler Creature than the Brutes They serve thee and are governed by thee and Death ends all their Pains and Pleasures But thou hast Reason to rule thy self and them to know thy God and â—oresee thy End and know thy way and do thy Duty Thy Reason and Free-will and Executive Power are part of the Image of God upon thy Nature so is thy Dominion over the Brutes as under him thou art their Owner their Ruler and their End But thy Holy Wisdom and Goodness and Ability is the chief part of his Image on which thy Happiness depends Thou hast a Soul that cannot be satisfied in Knowing till thy Knowledge reach to God himself Nor can it be disposed by any other Nor can it or the Societies of the World be well governed according to its Nature without regard to his Soveraign Authority and without the hopes and fears of Joy and Misery hereafter Nor can it be happy in any thing but seeing and loving and delighting in this God as he is revealed in the other World And is this Nature given thee in vain If the Nature of all things be fitted to its Vse and End then it must be so with thine II. By knowing thy self then thou must needs know that there is a GOD and that he is thy Maker and infinite in all Perfections and that he is thy Owner thy Ruler and thy Felicity or End He is mad that seeth not that such Creatures have a Cause or Maker and that all the Power and Wisdom and Goodness of the World is caused by a Power and Wisdom and Goodness which is greater than that of all the World And who can be our Owner but He that made us And who can be our highest Governour but our Owner whose infinite Power Wisdom and Goodness maketh him only fit thereto And if he be our Governour he must needs have Laws with Rewards for the Good and Punishments for the Bad and must Judge and Execute accordingly And if he be our Chiefest Benefactor and all that we have is from him and all our Hope and Happiness is in him nothing can be more clear than that the very Nature of Man doth prove that in Hope of future Happiness he should absolutely resign himself to the Will and Disposal of this God and that he should absolutely obey him and that he should love and serve him with all his Power It being impossible to Love Obey and Please that God too much who is thus our Cause our End our All. III. By knowing thus thy self and God it is easie to know what Primitive Holiness and Godliness is Even this hearty entire and absolute resignation of the Soul to God as the infinite Power Wisdom and Goodness as our Creator our Owner Governour and Felicity or End fully submiting to his Disposals obeying his Laws in hope of his promised Rewards and fear of his threatned Punishments and loving and delighting in himself and all his Appearances in the World and desiring and seeking the endless sight and enjoyment of him in heavenly Glory and expressing these Affections in daily Prayer Thanksgiving and Praise This is the Vse of all thy Faculties the End and Business of thy Life the Health and Happiness of thy Soul This is that Holiness or Godliness which God doth so much call for IV. And by this it is easie to know what a state of Sin and Ungodliness is Even the want of all this Holiness and the setting of carnal Self instead of GOD. When Men are proudly Great and Wise and Good in their own Eyes and would dispose of themselves and all their Concernments and would rule themselves and please themselves according to the fleshly appetite and Fancy and therefore love most the Pleasures and Profits and Honours of the World as the Provision to satisfie the desires of the Flesh and God shall be no â—urther Loved Obeyed or Pleased than the Love of Fleshly Pleasure will give leave nor shall have any thing but what the Flesh can spare This is a Wicked a Carnal an ungodly State though it break forth in various ways of Sinning V. By this Experience it self may tell you that most Men yea all till Grace renew them are in this ungodly miserable State Though only the Scripture tells us how this came to pass Though all are not Fornicators nor Drunkards noâ— Extortioners nor Persecuâ—ors nor live not in the same way of Sinning yet Selfishness and Pride and Sensuality and the love of Worldly Things Ignorance and Ungodliness are plainly become the common Corruption of the Nature of Man so that their Hearts are turned to the World from God and filled with impiety filthiness and injustice and their Reason is but a Servant to their Senses and their Mind and Love and Life is Carnal and this carnal Mind is Enmity to the Holiness of God and