A guide to godliness or a Treatise of a Christian life showing the dutiesA guide to godlynesse or a Treatise of a Christian life shewing the duties

Secondly, it is the property of a good conscience, with all care and circumspection to keep it self clear both before God and men; before ⟨p. 83⟩God, from faultiness and sin; before men, from offensiveness and all appearance of evil. According to the example of the Apostle, Who herein ¹exercised himself, to have always his conscience void of offence, towards God and towards men. So that a good conscience thinketh it not sufficient, to ²have Gods approbation with contempt of mans, when as they will lawfully stand together: for it is an offence in our neighbours, when they give false testimony of us, and an offence to them, when we make them to stumble by our evil example, drawing them on to the practice of that evil, the appearance whereof they see in us; from both which, Christian charity should restrain us. Yea it is hurtful also unto our selves in losing our good name, which is to be preferred before riches; and though we keep this precious ointment for our inward comfort, yet we lose the benefit of that beauty, which it outwardly causeth, and the sweet odour of it, at least so far forth as we have it reflected upon us by others commendation. Much less doth it rest contented with mans approbation, when it is disallowed of God: for when they can say no evil of us, nor we by our selves, yet are we not thereby justified, seeing it is the Lord that judgeth us, who is greater then our hearts; and therefore as it desireth mans approbation, so only thus far forth as it will stand with Gods allowance, according to the example of the Apostle, who commended himself to every mans conscience, in