A26906:418
The cure of church-divisions, or, Directions for weak Christians to keep them from being…
The cure of church-divisions, or, Directions for weak Christians to keep them from being dividers or troublers of the church with some directions to the pastors how to deal with such Christians / by Richard Baxter.
London: printed for Nevil Symmons, 1670
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.
Make not your selves judges of other mens actions, much less of their state, before you have a call, and before you have sufficient acquaintance or proof, of the person and of the case.
Very common reports and very confident presumptions, may all prove injurious and false. You may hear that such a family is profane, and that such a person hath no religion, that such a one is covetous, & such a one erroneous, &c. and when it comes to the trial, it may all prove false. However it must be as false to you, till you know, or prove it to be true: you may be ignorant of another ⟨p. 130⟩mans faults, without any faultiness of your own: But you cannot rashly censure another without being your self faulty though the matter should prove true. Justice must be observed as well in private as in public judging. As no Judge in any Civil or Ecclesiastical Court, must condemn any man without sufficient proof (which made Christ say Matth. 18. 15, 16. Take one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word may be established) so no man in his own thoughts must condemn his brother, by any rash or groundless sentence. It is safer for you to judge better of another than he is, than it is to judge worse of him than he is. In many cases it may be your duty to judge better of him than he is; because you must judge according to proof; And if the evidence or proof deceive you, it is none of your fault to be so deceived. And yet you are not hereby bound to believe a falsehood: All that you are bound to believe is, that it is probable that such a person is virtuous, innocent or sincere: And this is no falsehood: for that may be probable or likely which is not true.
VEry common reports and very confident presumptions, may all prove injurious and false. You may hear that such a family is prophane, and that such a person hath no religion, that such a one is covetous, & such a one erroneous, &c. and when it comes to the trial, it may all prove false. However it must be as false to you, till you know, or prove it to be true: you may be ignorant of another