Secondly, The Church of Christ may be considered with respect unto its outward Profession, as constitutive of its Being, and the formal Reason of its denomination. And this is the Church Catholic visible, whereunto they all universally belong, who profess the invocation of the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours, under the limitations that shall be mentioned afterwards. And this is the visible Kingdom of Christ, which on the account of its profession, and thereby, is distinguished from that world which lieth in evil, and is absolutely under the power of Satan: And so in common use, the Church and the world are contradistinguished. Yet on other accounts many who belong unto this Church, by reason of some kind of profession that they make, may justly be esteemed to be the world, or of it. So our Lord Jesus Christ called the generality of the professing Church in his time:1 The world, saith he, hateth me; And that we may know that he thereby intended the Church of the Jews, besides that the circumstances of the place evince it, he puts it out of question by the Testimony which he produceth in the confirmation of his ⟨p. 48⟩Assertion concerning their unjust and causeless hatred; namely, It is written in their Law, they have hated me without a cause; which being taken out of the Psalms, 2was part of the Law, or Rule of the Judaical Church only. Now he thus terms them, because the generality of them, especially their Rulers, although they professed to know God, and to worship him according to his Word, and the Tradition of their Fathers, yet were not only corrupt and wicked in their Lives, but also persecuted him and his Disciples, in whom the Power and Truth of God were manifested beyond what they were able to bear. And hence a General Rule is established, that what Profession soever any men do make of the Knowledge and Worship of God, to what Church soever they do, or may be thought to belong, yet if they are wicked or ungodly in their Lives, and Persecutors of such as are better than themselves, they are really of the World,, and with it will perish, without Repentance. These are they, who receiving on them a Form or Delineation of Godliness, do yet deny the Power of it; from whom, we are commanded to turn away:
Secondly, The Church of Christ may be considered with respect unto its outward Profession, as constitutive of its Being, and the formal Reason of its denomination. And this is the Church Catholick visible, whereunto they all universally belong, who profess the invocation of the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours, under the limitations that shall be mentioned afterwards. And this is the visible Kingdome of Christ, which on the account of its profession, and thereby, is distinguished from that world which lyeth in evil, and is absolutely under the power of Satan: And so in common use, the Church and the world are contradistinguished. Yet on other accounts many who belong unto this Church, by reason of some kind of profession that they make, may justly be esteemed to be the world, or of it. So our Lord Jesus Christ called the generality of the professing Church in his time:1 The world, saith he, hateth me; And that we may know that he thereby intended the Church of the Jewes, besides that the circumstances of the place evince it, he puts it out of question by the Testimony which he produceth in the confirmation of his ⟨p. 48⟩Assertion concerning their unjust and causless hatred; namely, It is written in their Law, they have hated me without a cause; which being taken out of the Psalms, 2was part of the Law, or Rule of the Judaical Church only. Now he thus terms them, because the generality of them, especially their Rulers, although they professed to know God, and to worship him according to his Word, and the Tradition of their Fathers, yet were not only corrupt and wicked in their Lives, but also persecuted him and his Disciples, in whom the Power and Truth of God were manifested beyond what they were able to bear. And hence a General Rule is established, that what Profession soever any men do make of the Knowledge and Worship of God, to what Church soever they do, or may be thought to belong, yet if they are wicked or ungodly in their Lives, and Persecuters of such as are better than themselves, they are really of the World,, and with it will perish, without Repentance. These are they, who receiving on them a Form or Delineation of Godliness, do yet deny the Power of it; from whom, we are commanded to turn away:
- 1John. 15. 18, 19, 25.
- 2Ps. 35. 19
