A26906:979

The cure of church-divisions, or, Directions for weak Christians to keep them from being…

Name: The cure of church-divisions, or, Directions for weak Christians to keep them from being…
Author: Richard Baxter

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.

Richard Baxter 1615–1691London: printed for Nevil Symmons, 1670

[48], 430, [15] p. · 130k words · Wing B1234 · ESTC R1684

Title page: Internet Archive scan of the Early English Books microfilm (opens the Internet Archive in a new tab)

Directions to Pastors how to deal with those weak Christians who are… › Direction 2: DIRECT. II.Directions to Pastors how to deal with those weak Christians who ar… › Direction 2: DIRECT. II.

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.

[ Earlier:976–991 of 1,298

:976p. 329–330

Yea though we excel them in all these abilities, it will not serve turn to the ends of our Ministry, unless we also excel them in holiness and every Christian virtue. The Devil knoweth more than Ministers: And if he have a tongue to speak he wanteth not utterance. He is the most excellent and honourable, who is likest to God, and hath most of his image. And God hath more proposed himself to mans imitation in Goodness, than in Greatness: He hath not said, Be Great, for the Lord your God is Great: but [walk in the Light, as he is in the Light, 1 Job. 1. 7. and Be holy for the Lord your God is holy. 1 Pet. 1. 16. Lev. 20. 7 . & 19. 2 . & 21. 8. To be Great and Bad is to be able to do mischief: To be Learned ingenious and Bad, is to be wise to do evil, and a crafty and subtle instrument of the devil, Jer. 4. 22. It was no laudable description ⟨p. 330⟩of Elymas, Act. 13. 8, 10. [O full of subtlety and all mischiefs, thou child of the devil and enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? Satan would never transform himself into an Angel of Light, nor his ministers into the Ministers of Righteousness; nor would Pharisees and hypocrites cover oppression by long prayers, if Light, Righteousness, and long prayers, were not laudable in themselves, and necessary in the preachers of the word of God, and had not a goodness in them capable of being a cloak to their iniquity. 2 Cor. 11. 14, 15. Mat. 23. 14. God is Light. 1 Job. 1. 5. And God is Holy: If therefore Satan or any hypocrite would credit their falsehood and wickedness, they must pretend to Light and Holiness: And he that will keep up the true honour of his Ministry, and be accepted with God, and reverenced by good men; mst do it by real Light and Holiness. An ungodly Minister hath a radicated enmity to the holy doctrine which he preacheth, and to the holy duties and life which he exhorteth the people to: And how well, how sincerely, how readily, how faithfully, they are like to do the work which they are enemies to, you may easily judge. The carnal mind is enmity to God: for it is not subject to his law, nor indeed can be.

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The book

Title as printed

Author

Richard Baxter 1615–1691

Place

London

Bookseller

Nevil Symmons

Year

1670

Size

[48], 430, [15] p.

Words

130,067

Catalogue

Wing B1234 · ESTC R1684

Text

EEBO-TCP A26906

Passages

1,298

Sections

105

Title page

The cure of church-divisions, or, Directions for weak Christians to keep them from being…

DIRECT. III.

DIRECT. IV.

If others show their weakness by any unwarrantable singularities or divisions, show not your greater weakness by passions, impatience or uncharitable censures or usage of them: especially when any self-interest doth provoke you.

If others shew their weakness by any unwarrantable singularities or divisions, shew not your greater weakness by passions, impatiency or uncharitable censures or usage of them: especially when any self-interest doth provoke you.

Reformers309

Puritans1,782

Westminster Assembly24

Evangelicals36

DIRECT. III.

DIRECT. IV.

If others show their weakness by any unwarrantable singularities or divisions, show not your greater weakness by passions, impatience or uncharitable censures or usage of them: especially when any self-interest doth provoke you.

If others shew their weakness by any unwarrantable singularities or divisions, shew not your greater weakness by passions, impatiency or uncharitable censures or usage of them: especially when any self-interest doth provoke you.