10. Love not the world nor the things of the world saith St. John to those who were in danger of being corrupted by the false Apostles through love to the world for if any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him For all that is in the world the lust of the flesh the lust of the eye and the pride of life is not of the Father but is of the world 1 John 2.15 16. Here 's a brief description of that love of the world which is disallowed by God and a snare of death to men The lust of the Eye is covetousness which is a transgression of the rule of righteousness or moderation in desiring or getting or the rule of Piety or Charity in keeping the things of this world The lust of the Flesh is a transgressing of the Laws of Sobriety Temperance and Chastity in using them And the pride of Life is a transgression of the Laws of Modesty and Humility in using undue means to draw honour and esteem from men Now then when St. John saith if any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him his meaning seems to be this that when any man lives in the breach of any of Gods Commandments in Coveting Getting Keeping or Using the things of this world that 's the man that so loves the world as that the love of the Father is not in him For as the love of God according to this Apostle consisteth in keeping his Commandments as he saith Chap. 5.3 This is the love of God that we keep his Commandments So the not loving the Father but the world consists in the breach of his Commandments in Coveting Getting Keeping or Using the friendship or the things of the world And thus the false Apostles were lovers of the world They were willing to be for God and the Gospel so long and so far as their being so did not deprive them of their worldly accommodations but wherein it did so that they could no longer serve two Masters God and Mammon without faultering with one of them then and in those particular cases when such a Competition did occur they were wont still to cleave to their worldly interest but to turn their back upon God and the Gospel For which cause they were compared to Esau and stiled prophane persons like him Heb. 12.16 For as Esau preferred so inconsiderable a thing as a mess of Pottage because of the presentness of the satisfaction he expected thereby before the far more desirable priviledges and benefits of Birth-right and Heirship because they for a great part at least were not to be received till afterwards So these lovers of and designers for this present world did chuse ease and other worldly accommodations because present rather than the better hope of eternal life because absent and to come This was the root of bitterness in the persons of Seducers against the springing up of which among the Christians the Author of this Epistle had cautioned them v. 15. At that time when the case was so that all that would live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution there was no way of retaining a profession of Christianity and their worldly ease and enjoyments too but by corrupting the Christian Religion and making it another thing than the Author of it had made it which was the thing the false Apostles laboured to bring the Christians to under delusive pretences that they might save themselves from suffering which brings me to what is next to be discoursed and that is to shew how unworthily these false Teachers corrupted the Christian Religion to attain their worldly end and base design S. 2. The next thing then which as I said I proposed to shew was how in what way and by what means the false Apostles carried on their worldly design of which I have been speaking how in particular they ordered things in their profession of Christianity so as to secure their end and to serve their design for this world In doing of which I shall shew first that to this end they corrupted the Christian Religion by their sinful mixtures Secondly that they did this and carried on their whole design for the world under a Religious pretence First they corrupted the Christian Religion on purpose to serve their design They corrupted it partly by adding other things to it which were of a contrary nature and partly by sinister and corrupt interpretations of the Christian Doctrine and of the Scriptures of the Old Testament to countenance those additions either as lawful or as necessary And thus they abused the Scriptures touching the use of the Law of Moses by misconstruction and misapplication They would be esteemed for judicious teachers of the Law when they understood not what they said nor whereof they affirmed 1 Tim. 1.7 They taught Circumcision and the observation of other Rites of the Law of Moses to be necessary to the Salvation of Christian Gentiles when their doing so served their carnal design though otherwise they made no conscience of keeping the Law themselves For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the Law but desire to have you circumcised that they may glory in your flesh said St. Paul of them Gal. 6.13 but more of this afterwards St. Peter also tells us that they wrested things in St. Paul's Epistles and other Scriptures to their own destruction They walked in craftiness and handled the word deceitfully as St. Paul reflects it upon them in 2 Cor. 4.2 and so he doth again when he saith we are not as many which corrupt the word of God 2 Cor. 2.17 By an unkindly violence which they offered to it they made it seemingly and in the eyes of weak and injudicious and credulous persons to countenance what they did in prosecution of their carnal design And although these false appearances were but slight and such as had nothing satisfying in them to an unprejudiced and discerning mind yet they would serve for demonstrations and pass for good proof with those who were willing and desirous to have those things prove true which the false Apostles pretended to be so Like as when the false Prophets of old prophesied falsly the people loved to have it so because it was for their carnal interest to have that prove true which they prophesied But this only in general But to come more particularly to the business and to shew how they corrupted the Christian Religion to save them from suffering and to compass their farther ends The sincere Christians were in great danger of suffering the loss of all the things of this world for Christ and the Gospel sake from two sorts of enemies to Christianity the unbelieving Jews and the unbelieving Gentiles To avoid which the False Apostles taught themselves first and others after somewhat to comply with these Enemies of Christianity in mixing somewhat of their Rites and Usages with it on purpose to take off the edge of that Opposition and Persecution
they used all the art they could to defend and justifie what they had done and had perswaded others to do And to render the opposition they had herein from the holy Apostles the less available in the eyes of others they sought by one means or another to disparage them and to undermine the authority and reputation they had in the hearts of the Christians And by these means they corrupted and drew away many after them and that not of the more ordinary Disciples only but probably many of those also who were become preachers of the Gospel whereof it may be Demas might be one who as St. Paul said had forsaken him and embraced this present world And indeed this Contagion spread so fast and prevailed so much that St. Paul complained saying all seek their own and not the things of Jesus Christ Phil. 2.21 Thus having given you an account of the Rise of the False Teachers in the Apostles days I shall now give you a more particular and full account of their design And their Design as I have already intimated was worldly it was to Secure and Procure a worldly corrupt interest It is not unlikely but that at the first their design in complying so much as they did with the profest enemies of Christianity was only to avoid those sufferings for the Gospel sake which the sincere Christians were exposed to and underwent both in their persons and estates But afterwards when they had carried away many by their deceits and were become the Head and ring-leaders of a Party a farther worldly advantage offered it self and came in prospect which we may well conceive they were not so dull as not to perceive nor so careless and negligent as not to pursue and that was an opportunity of Gain of making merchandize of the seduced Christians besides the opportunity of gratifying their ambition in becoming the Head of a Party As the false Prophets of old and the corrupt Priests when by prophesying and preaching pleasing things to the people they found no small benefit in the liberal gifts and rewards that course did procure were encouraged to make a trade of so doing in which respect those Prophets were said to divine for money and those Priests to teach for hire even so the false Apostles also perceiving that to be a thriving way applyed themselves to preach for Doctrine such things as pleased the unsound and timorous professors of the Gospel and so made their carnal ends on them They taught things which they ought not for filthy lucre sake as St. Paul saith and thereby subverted whole houses Tit. 1.11 They found that the preaching such loose Doctrine in point of compliance as tended to ease the professors of Christianity of the burden of persecution was very gainful it gained them many Proselytes for they came in by whole housholds we see and it gained them much of filthy lucre also For their Proselytes grew very kind to them for teaching them an easier and safer way of professing Christianity than they knew before Yea so it was that the poor deluded people became so much their servants upon account of that satisfaction they took in that new discovery that St. Paul upbraided some of them with it in these words Ye suffer if a man bring you into bondage if a man devour you if a man take of you if a man exalt himself if a man smite you on the face 2 Cor. 11.20 The design of these men to be a worldly and fleshly design is plentifully as well as plainly discovered in the Epistles of the Apostles The sincere Christians indeed ventured all their worldly concerns and sacrificed all their worldly interest upon the service of the Gospel their holy profession and their own Souls but these men as St. Paul characteriseth them were enemies to the Cross of Christ they were such as made their belly their God and minded earthly things Phil. 3.18 19. They were enemies to the great duty of taking up the Cross and suffering for Christ earthly things having more of their heart than he had These who by their pleasing doctrine aforesaid caused divisions and offences among the Christians contrary to the Doctrine which they had learned from the true Apostles were such as served not the Lord Jesus Christ whatever they pretended but their own bellies Rom. 16.17 18. And St. Peter describing them saith they had hearts exercised with covetous practises having for saken the right way and going astray followed the way of Balaam the son of Bosor who loved the wages of unrighteousness 2 Pet. 2.14 15. They ran greedily after the way of Balaam for reward as Jude hath it vers 11. And through covetousness with feigned words they made merchandise of the people whom they deluded 2 Pet. 2.3 Now in case of Persecution 't is true indeed that when Christ sent forth his Disciples as Sheep among Wolves he advised them to be wise as Serpents but innocent as Doves to use as much prudence for the avoiding of persecution as would consist with innocency Mat. 10.16 And no doubt but that the sincerest Christians were willing enough to make use of all the prudence they had to shun persecution so far as lawfully they might But yet were still careful to preserve and maintain their own innocency and integrity in all they did in that kind and not in the least to betray the Cause of Christ And therefore they could say in those suffering times This is our rejoycing the testimony of our Conscience that in simplicity and Godly sincerity not with fleshly wisdom as the false Apostles but by the Grace of God we have had our conversation in the world 2 Cor. 1.12 But the false Apostles and their followers used so much subtilty and carnal policy to avoid the Cross as that the wisdom of the Serpent did devour the innocency of the Dove They made themselves friends of the world indeed by unlawful compliance and by adulterating the Christian Religion by impure mixtures but then they thereby made themselves enemies to God as St. James saith in betraying his Truth and Cause James 4.4 By the way then we may see by what hath been said how dangerous a thing it is inordinately to desire and love the friendship of the world the accommodations of this present life it is we see that which hath betrayed multitudes otherwise in a hopeful way of Salvation into cursed and destructive Practises They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition for the love of money is the root of all evil which while some coveted after they have been seduced from the Faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows saith St. Paul speaking of those corrupt Christians whose inordinate love to the things of this world drew them into such sinful Compliances to preserve them as were inconsistent with Christianity in the truth and power of it 1 Tim. 6.9
sincere Christians as their opposites and joined with their persecutors in persecuting of them still the more to ingratiate themselves with them These were of those as I suppose that St. Paul said Preached Christ of envy and strife of contention and not sincerely supposing to add affliction to his bonds Phil. 1.15 16. Of these it was as I apprehend by the scope of the place that St. Paul said But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the spirit even so it is now Gal. 4.29 Of these St. John speaks as I take it when he saith He that saith he is in the light and hateth his brother is in darkness until now 1 John 2.9 and cautions the brethren that they be not as Cain as some false Christians were who slew his brother because his own works were evil and his brothers righteous 1 John 3.12 S. 10. Having shewed how the Christian Religion was corrupted by the false Apostles on purpose to promote their secular design I might now shew yet a little further how lamentably the Apostolical Churches were in a little time over-run with it and many of the Members thereof sowred with this Leaven as St. Paul feared they would when he said in reference to those corrupters A little Leaven leaveneth the whole lump and wisheth that they were cut off that troubled the Church Gal. 5.7 8 9. Probably this their being neither directly and wholly Christian nor Jew nor Pagan but a mixture of all to keep fair quarter with all was the crime of the Church of Laodicea in being neither hot nor cold neither fish nor flesh as we say neither Christian Jew nor Pagan but a composition of all together and yet thought themselves in a brave condition rich and increased in goods and had need of nothing Just as some of those in the Church of Corinth upon the same account thought themselves to be as St. Paul represents it in 1 Cor. 4.8 Now ye are full now ye are rich ye have reigned as Kings without us They applauded themselves in that they had found out as they thought a wiser way of being Christians than the Apostles and others had done for they as they thought could hold the faith of the Gospel and their worldly enjoyments too Whereas others which they thought more imprudent in professing the Gospel exposed themselves to the spoiling of their Goods and the loss of all things To such as these it was I conceive that St. Paul saith thus in 1 Cor. 3.18 Let no man deceive himself if any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world mark that wise in this world let him become a fool that he may be wise That is let him become such a Christian as those who by a faithful and close adherence to the doctrine and precepts of the Gospel exposed themselves to the loss of all in this world and were counted fools for so doing by the false Apostles and their adherents that he may be wise to purpose wise for the world to come So here in Revel 3.18 Christ in opposition to this carnal conceit of the Laodiceans of their being rich counsels them to buy of him Gold tryed in the fire that they might be rich in deed and not in conceit only That is as I conceive that they would not shrink at the fiery tryal as St. Peter calls it which his faithful followers patiently endured for his sake and which being endured would make them spiritually rich indeed rich in the experimental knowledge and proof of their own sincerity and fidelity to Christ and thereupon rich in their assurance of their title to the reward promised to those that overcome and consequently rich also in that consolation peace and joy which such a knowledge and experience would furnish them withal far beyond all mens worldly enjoyments could afford them when preserved with their faultring and double dealing with Christ in their profession of his Religion For as the sufferings of Christ abounded in his faithful followers so their consolation also abounded by him as those who experienced it did testifie 2 Cor. 1.5 Who therefore gloried in tribulations of that kind Rom. 5.3 And therefore well might St. Peter say that this trial of faith this proof of the goodness of faith this spiritual gold by enduring the fire is much more precious than that of Gold that perisheth though it be tried with fire 1 Pet. 1.7 And proportionably they are much more rich that have abundance of that than they that have abundance of this All this serves to demonstrate the wisdom and goodness of that counsel of Christ to the Laodiceans to buy of him Gold tried in the fire that they might be rich and not to decline doing so that they might retain their worldly riches And so doth that of buying of him white raiment to cover the shame of their nakedness By which I understand such an outward conversation in divine worship manners as is called by St. James a being unspotted of the world and as is opposed to such an one as is described by garments spotted by the flesh in S. Jude of which some professing Christianity were guilty by their compliances with the Heathen in their evil customs to curry their favors as well as to gratifie their own lusts The other part of our Lords counsel to them was to anoint their eyes with eye-salve that they might see that is make a right judgment of the nature of Christianity and see things a far off in the other world to govern themselves by their concernment in those things and not still remain like those who are blind and cannot see a far off as St. Peter describes them 2 Pet. 1.9 but govern themselves only by the sense they have of present things nigh unto them and just before them as bruit beasts do to which they are compared in that respect when it 's said In what they know naturally as bruit beasts in those things they corrupt themselves Jude vers 10. And by understanding the meaning of this counsel of Christ to them we may understand the nature of their disease to which this counsel was applied by way of remedy Their great distemper lay in two things First in their carnal compliance for fear of suffering by reason of which compliance they were neither hot nor cold neither thorow Christians nor thorow Pagans nor Jews as I said but like Ephraim of old a Cake half baked or a speckled Bird of several colours to which Israel was compared in their declined condition Secondly in applauding themselves in that they had by this means found out a way of being good Christians as they thought without exposing themselves to suffering for it and as if they had been in a happier condition than others that had not done so Whenas by that means and for that very reason they were miserable and poor and blind and naked and loathsom to Christ and ready to be spewed out of