The Christians labour and reward, or, A sermon, part of which was preached at…

1 Cor. 15.58. For as much as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

WHAT Luther said of Justification by Faith, that may we concerning the Resurrection of the dead, Articulus est Ecclesiae stantis, aut cadentis; it is an Article with which the Church standeth or falleth; Yet so foul an error had taken the head of some Members in the Church of Corinth, as to deny this grand Truth, which St Paul calls in another place,¹ one of the principles of the Doctrine of Christ: how say some among you, there is no Resurrection of the dead? v. 12. ⟨p. 2⟩And, is it not strange, that such who professed to believe the Resurrection of Christ should deny their own! but much more, that any in the Church of Corinth (especially in those early days) should have such a darkness found upon their minds, who stood so near the rising Sun? and that while St Paul himself was yet alive, who had planted this Church; by this we see, though Truth is errors elder, yet error is not much Truths younger. Though the Gospel-Church was purest in the Primitive times, yet it soon began to corrupt in its Members. Not unapt therefore was his saying, who compared (in this respect) the gathering of Churches to the gathering of Apples, which when first gathered, may appear all fair and sound, but then within a while, some amongst them begin to speak, and others to discover their rottenness. No doubt this Church of Corinth, and so others gathered by the rest of the Apostles, appeared in their Members very sound in the faith, and ⟨p. 3⟩fair in their lives at their first embracing of the Gospel; yet some we see did thus soon discover corruption in both. Now to recover the tainted, and especially to preserve the sound from this dangerous infection, the Apostle sets himself to defend this Article of our Faith, well knowing, that this was a blow made at the root of Christianity; which must needs fall to the ground, if this cannot be maintained; and he doth it with such invincible arguments, that if any Heretic shall now deny it, the reason cannot be deficiency in the proof here given, but rather a criminous conscience in himself, which makes him on his own defence, deny a Resurrection, for fear of the Judgment which attends it.