The zealous Christian taking heavenThe zealovs Christian taking heaven

1 Do not make the conversion of any scandalous sinner to be any stumbling block in your way to heaven. It was the great stumbling block in the way of the Pharisees, when they saw that Christ would eat meat with Publicans and sinners, they said, He was a friend of Publicans and sinners. Do not entertain hard thoughts of Christ, not of the ways of Christ for that. Indeed, if religion were any cloak for sin, if it did countenance and encourage men in sin, it were something; but it is that which makes of a sinner a Saint. Conversion, though it find us vile and bad, it doth not leave us so.

1 Do not make the conversion of any scandolous sinner to be any stumbling block in your way to heaven. It was the great stumbling block in the way of the Pharisees, when they saw that Christ would eat meat with Publicans and sinners, they said, He was a friend of Publicans and sinners. Do not entertain hard thoughts of Christ, not of the wayes of Christ for that. Indeed, if religion were any cloak for sin, if it did countenance and incourage men in sin, it were something; but it is that which makes of a sinner a Saint. Conversion, though it finde us vile and bad, it doth not leave us so.

2 Take heed you do not suck this poison from it, that when you hear, the worse men are before conversion, the better they will ⟨p. 66⟩be after conversion. Some, it may be, will draw this inference from it: That it is the best to be as vile and wicked as one can, for so one shall be most zealous afterward. Take heed of that. For

1 It is a great question whether God will convert thee or not; and if thou, be not converted, all thy sins will be so many cords to tie thee in hell, the aggravations of thy sin will be additions to thy torment and punishment.