SHINE IN bUn WORKS. 469 tians which shall live and conquer these temptations, and they will understand and regard the warning of the Holy Ghost; Rom. xvi. 17.: "I beseech you; mark them which' cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, and avoid . them," (in their sinful, dividing, offensive ways,) " for they that are such serve not the Lard Jesus," (though they may confidently think they do,) "but their own bellies," or carnal .in- terests, though, perhaps, they will not see it in themselves ; " and by good words, and fair, or flattering speeches, deceive the hearts of the simple." The word is rev ¿teáeev, hominum minime ma- lorum, no bad men, or harmless, well-meaning -men ; who, in case it be not tó mortal errors, perhaps may be, in the main, sincere, and may be saved when their stubble is burnt; but whether sin- cere or not, they are scandals in the world, and great dishonorers of God, and serve Satan when they little think -so, in all that they do contrary to,that universal love, by which God must be glorified and sinners overcome. VII, A public mind that is set upon doing good, as the work of his life; and that with sincere and evident self-denial, doth greatly glorify God in the world. As God maketh his goodness known to us by doing good, so, also, must his children do. Nothing is more communicative than goodness and love ; nothing will more certainly make itself known whenever there is opportunity. That a worldly, barren love, which' doth not help, and succor, and do good, is no true- Christian love, St. James hath told us fully in his detection of a dead and barren faith. No man, in reason, can expect that others should take him for a good man, -for something that is known to no one but himself, save only that public converse and communion must be kept up by the charitable belief of pro- fessions, till they are disproved. The tree is known by its fruits, and the fruits best by the taste, though the sight maygive some lower degree of commendation. The character of Christ's pu- rified, peculiar people, is, that they are zealous of ,good works; Tit. ii. 14. The scandalous Christian may be zealous against others, and zealous to hurt them, to persecute them, to censure them, to disparage them, and to avoid them ; but the genuine Chris- tian is zealous in loving them, and doing them all the good he can. To do a little good upon the by, and from a full table to send an alms to Lazarus at the door, yea, to give to the needy as much as the flesh can spare, without any suffering to itself, or any abate- ment of its grandeur, pomp, and pleasure in the world, will prove you to be -men not utterly void of all compassion, but it will never prove you to be Christians, nor better than infidels and heathens. Look not that -men should think you better than your fruits do manifest you to be, nor that they take you to be good for saying
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