A26901:125
The church told of Mr. Ed. Bagshaw's scandals and warned of the dangerous snares…
The church told of Mr. Ed. Bagshaw's scandals and warned of the dangerous snares of Satan now laid for them in his love-killing principles with a farther proof that it is our common duty to keep up the interest of the Christian religion and Protestant cause in the parish churches, and not to imprison them by a confinement to tolerated meetings alone / by Richard Baxter ...
London : s.n., 1672
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
No honest man can wish it, who considereth how many of the 1800 are dead already, and how few are left in most Counties of the Land, in comparison of the Congregations that need instruction? I know that it is commonly said, that God blesseth not their Ministry to the conversion of any souls, and therefore it is as good be without the Conformists. But this is foolishly spoken. For, 1. Many of them are as wise and as good men as you. 2. You have no satisfactory account what hearts are secretly wrought on by their Ministry. They come not all to you to be confessed. 3. And the worser sort of them are not worse than Judas, whom Christ sent forth. 4. And there is much done to keep up the Christian and Protestant Doctrine in soundness, against Infidelity and Popery, where few are brought to sound Conversion. And so Gods public worship, and the hopes of our Posterity are kept up. If any of you had rather that all turned ⟨p. 33⟩open Infidels or Mahometans, my soul shall not enter into your Counsels. 10. And the public Churches will be kept up some or other. If you would have the Protestant Interest in them fall, the Popery will find them as a house ready swept and garnished, and will make our latter end worse than our beginning: 11. And I am persuaded few can be so sottish as to be ignorant, that it greatly pleaseth the Papists that you are forced into corners, and hold your exercises of Religion by connivance, against Law; and much more you will gratify and rejoice them, if you could help them to get down all the Protestant interest in the Parish Churches. And do your Leaders yet think that the Papists are pleased with that which will promote the Protestant cause? 12. Many a man as wise and good as you, whose Judgment is Non-conformable, who liveth where there are no other Churches, would take it for an unspeakable loss to be deprived of the benefit of the Parish Churches. For all these reasons, though I desire Reformation, and will never swear not to endeavour it in my place and Calling; yet I will do the best I can to get the best Pastors into the Parish Churches, and to promote their reputation, and the labours of the Ministers there, and bless God for what is yet there left us; and yet will be one that shall mourn for the reproach of the solemn assemblies.
No honest man can wish it, who considereth how many of the 1800 are dead already, and how few are left in most Counties of the Land, in comparison of the Congregations that need instruction? I know that it is commonly said, that God blesseth not their Ministry to the conversion of any souls, and therefore it is as good be without the Conformists. But this is foolishly spoken. For, 1. Many of them are as wise and as good men as you. 2. You have no satisfactory account what hearts are secretly wrought on by their Ministry. They come not all to you to be confessed. 3. And the worser sort of them are not worse than Iudas, whom Christ sent forth. 4. And there is much done to keep up the Christian and Protestant Doctrine in soundness, against Infidelity and Popery, where few are brought to sound Conversion. And so Gods publick worship, and the hopes of our Posterity are kept up. If any of you had rather that all turned