They count it easy to believe who shut all acts of self-denial quite out of their Faith; they live as they did before, it may be walk on more securely in their evil courses, from a presumptuous persuasion of mercy at last; pray God deliver us from such a Faith that gives encouragement to sin: If your Faith do not strongly incline you to a holy Life, you may be sure 'tis not right saving Faith. 'Tis a sad thing to consider how little influence the Faith of some confident Professors has upon their Lives; they are not, they will not be governed by the Faith which they profess; the Devil allows of such a profession, and 'tis all the Religion he will admit of in his followers; provided they don't touch upon the power of godliness, all forms are alike to him; and in some cases the purest and most Scriptural serve his turn best, when separated from the power of godliness, then he has some Scripture on his side, to persuade them that all is well; then he cries, The Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord are ye; settled in a ⟨p. 225⟩Church way, according to all the Rules of Discipline laid down in the Word; and is not this Religion enough to save you? Thus the Devil will sometimes give the best form its due commendation from Scripture, when it may serve as an Argument to persuade a formal Christian to sit down short of the power of Godliness; he knows God's own form will not save us then, though he would make them believe otherwise: He put the Jews upon pleading this, and possessed them that all was well, while they held to the outward form of Worship that God had appointed, which made the Lord himself so often to declare against them; and the outward forms of Worship that he had appointed, because he saw they rested in them, and played the Hypocrites under them. Let us have a care in these Gospel-times, that we do not rest in Gospel-forms only, placing the whole of our Religion in that which God has made but a part of it; and such a part, that should never be divided by us, from the Power and Spirit of the Gospel. We talk of damnable Heresies, and there are such, the Lord keep us from them; but let me tell you, you may pass (though more silently) into Hell through a formal Profession of the Truth, and have your portion with Hypocrites, who professed what you do, had the same form of Godliness that you have, but denied the power of it:
They count it easie to believe who shut all acts of self-denial quite out of their Faith; they live as they did before, it may be walk on more securely in their evil courses, from a presumptuous perswasion of mercy at last; pray God deliver us from such a Faith that gives encouragement to sin: If your Faith do not strongly incline you to a holy Life, you may be sure 'tis not right saving Faith. 'Tis a sad thing to consider how little influence the Faith of some confident Professors has upon their Lives; they are not, they will not be governed by the Faith which they profess; the Devil allows of such a profession, and 'tis all the Religion he will admit of in his followers; provided they don't touch upon the power of godliness, all forms are alike to him; and in some cases the purest and most Scriptural serve his turn best, when separated from the power of godliness, then he has some Scripture on his side, to perswade them that all is well; then he cries, The Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord are ye; setled in a ⟨p. 225⟩Church way, according to all the Rules of Discipline laid down in the Word; and is not this Religion enough to save you? Thus the Devil will sometimes give the best form its due commendation from Scripture, when it may serve as an Argument to perswade a formal Christian to sit down short of the power of Godliness; he knows God's own form will not save us then, though he would make them believe otherwise: He put the Jews upon pleading this, and possessed them that all was well, while they held to the outward form of Worship that God had appointed, which made the Lord himself so often to declare against them; and the outward forms of Worship that he had appointed, because he saw they rested in them, and played the Hypocrites under them. Let us have a care in these Gospel-times, that we do not rest in Gospel-forms only, placing the whole of our Religion in that which God has made but a part of it; and such a part, that should never be divided by us, from the Power and Spirit of the Gospel. We talk of damnable Heresies, and there are such, the Lord keep us from them; but let me tell you, you may pass (though more silently) into Hell through a formal Profession of the Truth, and have your porticn with Hypocrites, who profess'd what you do, had the same form of Godliness that you have, but deny'd the power of it:
