A26906:516
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.
DIRECT. XXX.
Keep in the rank of a humble Disciple or learner in the Church of Christ, till you are fit and called to be your self a Teacher.
Christ owneth no Disciples which are not in one of these two ranks; either Teachers by office upon a lawful call, or Learners who submit to be taught by others. When his Ministers have made men his Disciples, they must afterward Teach them to observe all things whatsoever he hath commanded them. Matth. 28. 19, 20. And a Learner must hear and read and discourse in a learning way, by humble asking the resolution of his doubts, acknowledging the weakness of his own understanding, and the superiority of his Teachers. This is the common ruin of raw professors, that they presently grow proud of a poor ignorant head, as if it were full of knowledge and spirituality: and while they continue Hearers, they continue not Disciples or Learners, but come with a proud and carping humour, to quarrel with their Teachers as poor ignorant men, in comparison of them; And therefore choose them a heap of Teachers according to their own opinions: And all this while they have such list to be some body and to vent their seeming wisdom, that they can hardly stay from being Teachers themselves, till they have any thing like a lawful call. Whereas if they would have kept in the rank of humble Learners till they had ⟨p. 173⟩