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A44635 The evil of our dayes with the remedy of it : a sermon preach'd at a visitation at Rothwell in Northamptonshire, Octob. 12, 1697 / by John Howard ... Howard, John, 1647-1729? 1698 (1698) Wing H2982; ESTC R8165 19,799 29

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an Humane Judgment Spiritual things are certainly further remote from our understanding than those that are Natural and yet these Men of Reason will allow no Mystery in them while they are forc'd to acknowledge very many in the other To this we may add their rational way of Interpreting Scriptures whereby they would make those Divine Oracles appear as void of good Sense and Reason as themselves But neither these nor any other efforts of their exalted Reason want any confutation from me since they have been sufficiently baffled of late as well as formerly by several worthy Authors But it become's all true Ministers of the Gospel and indeed every good Christian that acknowledge and adore the ever-blessed Trinity together with the Infinite Wisdom Justice and Goodness of God in the Incarnation of our blessed Lord and Saviour both God and Man and that great Redemption he hath wrought for us that are sensible of Original as well as Actual Sin and what need the World had of that meritorious Sacrifice offer'd by our glorious High-Priest in his own Body upon the Cross to reconcile them to God and the imputation of his Righteousness for their Justification It becomes us I say upon all fit occasions to declare our abhorrence of such Antichristian Principles as those of the Socinians are which strike at the very foundation of our Religion and were doubtless instill●d into Mens minds by our great Adversary in order to the Destruction of it But we know it is defended by a stronger than he who will one day call this Enemy and all his adherents to an account for these things And here I cannot forbear mentioning another detestable notion of these Men or their Friends lately publish'd that there is but one Article of Faith propos'd in the New Testament as necessary to be believ'd in order to Salvation namely this that Jesus Christ is the Son of God But these discoveres don 't perceive that he who made this confession Acts 8 37. believ'd all other Articles of our Faith before and that this rightly understood does include and suppose all the rest What a strange degree of Pride and confidence is this that makes Men dare to vent new notions in Religion As if all the Learned Wise and Holy Men from the Apostles time till this Age never rightly understood the conditions of Salvation And then how will this reflect upon the Wisdom or Sincerity of the sacred Writers of the New Testament yea of the Holy Ghost himself if by them he has so obscurely deliver'd truths of this moment that they could never be rightly understood for aboue sixteen hundred years together But the design of these Men is to disparage the Holy Scriptures and therefore they deal with them as with a System of Natural Philosophy that is liable to be chang'd in every Age as new truths are discover'd or pretended so in that Science It behoves us therefore with all the Zeal of Good Christians and Faithful Ministers to represent as there may be occasion the Wickedness and danger of such Innovations and prevent as much as lies in us the growth of them amongst our People And we should do the same also against all other false Notions in Religion common in these days which I have not time now to mention I shall therefore only add something in the general concerning those lesser differences in Opinion amongst Protestants which are the causes of Divisions in the Church These I think might in a great measure be reconcil'd if they were once but rightly understood and fairly argued by the Parties concern'd in them especially if that mutual condescension could be us'd on all hands which the Rules and Interest of our Religion do require And it must be always remember'd that when we have to do with Persons Erroneous in Judgment if there be any hopes of convincing them all our arguments must be us'd with great kindness and compassion towards them that if possible we may gain upon their affections and then their Judgment will much sooner surrender to us For to accuse a Man of Errors in this kind seems most directly to reflect upon his Wisdom which Men have usually a greater opinion of in themselves than any thing else and therefore it had need be done in the softest and most obliging manner Besides this way o● de●ling with Men shews we have a respect for them and gives th●m also a greater opinion of our Piety and Wisdom as well as of our good will towards them on which accounts they will be more apt to consider our arguments and yield to them 2. We must Reprove the sins of Mens lives such as I before mention'd and all others that appear to us as the Apostle exhorts vers 11. Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness but rather reprove them This is required of all Men as a necessary act of Charity to our Neighbours Lev. 19.17 Thou shalt not hate thy Brother in thine heart thou shalt in any ●ise rebuke thy Neighbour and not suffer sin upon him But Ministers must especially do this with all Authority Tit. 2.15 and with all long-suffering 2 Tim. 4.2 Yet these Precepts do not oblige us in respect of all Men for we are Caution'd not to Reprove a Scorner Prov 9.8 That is one so harden'd in sin that he will despise the Means we use to reform him and return evil upon us for our Charity to him Such our Blessed Saviour calls Dogs and Swine and has left us this Rule concerning them Mat. 7.6 Give not that which is Holy unto the Dogs neither cast ye your Pearls before Swine lest they trample them under their feet and turn again and rent you But I think there are few that we ought to account such till we have made some trial of them and Admonish'd them according to our Saviour's Command both Privately and before Witness and if this course proves ineffectual they are to receive the Censures of the Church But we must not always Reprove Men so soon as they have sinned or we come to the knowledge of it but when we have most reason to hope for the good effect of it and in such a manner as is most suitable to the temper and condition of those we have to deal with in order to it For next to the Glory of God the main end of Reproof is the gaining of our Brother which if it can be done by a discreet use of this means the Eternal Happiness of his Soul will be secur'd the Honour of God most promoted and our own Consciences best discharged by it 3. We must shew Kindness to all evil Men as there may be occasion for it what Enmity soever they may bear to us according to our Saviour's Precept Mat. 5.44 I say unto you love your enemies bless them that curse you do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despightfully use you and persecute you and this he enjoyns as a matter of