An answer to the discourse of Mr. William Sherlock, touching the knowledge of Christ,…

it is not in our power to do otherwise, all that such discourses as these can do, is either to make men hypocrites to pretend to do what they cannot do, or to make honest men, who cannot thus cheat and delude themselves, despair of their Salvation, because they cannot find themselves contented without Salvation, that Christ without Salvation cannot satisfy them. It is true, when men set up self in opposition to God; when self-love te••••s them to disobey God, to despise his Counsels, to renounce their Faith and Religion: This is a very vicious and mistaken self-love: Such men neither love themselves nor God in a proper sense, because it is our interest as well as our duty to obey God; such men are Idolaters, because they set up self above God, and in opposition to him: But when our love to our selves teaches us to love God, and in all things to submit to his will and pleasure: We do as we ought to do, they who separate our love to God, from our love to our selves, from the care of our Salvation, do plainly declare, that they ⟨p. 606⟩neither understand the nature of man, nor the Gospel of Christ.

it is not in our power to do otherwise, all that such discourses as these can do, is either to make men hypocrites to pretend to do what they cannot do, or to make honest men, who cannot thus cheat and delude themselves, despair of their Salvation, because they cannot find themselves contented without Salvation, that Christ without Salvation cannot satisfie them. It is true, when men set up self in opposition to God; when self-love te••••s them to disobey God, to dispise his Counsels, to renounce their Faith and Religion: This is a very vitious and mistaken self-love: Such men neither love themselves nor God in a proper sence, because it is our interest as well as our duty to obey God; such men are Idolaters, because they set up self above God, and in opposition to him: But when our love to our selves teaches us to love God, and in all things to submit to his will and pleasure: We do as we ought to do, they who separate our love to God, from our love to our selves, from the care of our Salvation, do plainly declare, that they ⟨p. 606⟩neither understand the nature of man, nor the Gospel of Christ.