Of .Ab.ftaining from the .Appearance of Evil. 409 it is God that commands, whether it be or nOt;. and to act cOntr~ry to it, Is vertually and implicicely to difobey God; becaufe we think what Confcience fpeaks, God fpeaks; and therefore ic is very fad to fall under the emangle,mems of an erroneous Confcience; for then we are under a fad necefficy of finning on both hands: If we ad: according to ic, we fin; and if we ad: not according to it we fin. We fhould therefore, above all things, heartily beg and dcfire of God who is the lord of Confcience, chat he Would rightly inform our Confcie;ces in chafe things chat ~re our Duties, tl}at. fo by g~idi~g our Lives by our ConfcienCes, we may gutde r?em alfo ac~orchng to hts W1~l. . Thefe Three Pofitions now re{peCt thofe thtngs that appear evd eo our felves; but then there are other Things that have a good Appearance unrous, char yet may have an evil Appearance to others; they may fcruple, and be offende.d at what we do, though for our own pans, we our felves are fuf!idemly fatisfied in the Lawfulnefs of it. And indeedour'I'imes(what through d1fferem Cufiarns and Inrerefis) have brought Men's Confciences alfo to fuch different fizes, chat it is urterly impoffible bur forne will condemn what others allow as lawful; yea, what others nor only allow, but ftifHy maintain to be neceffary, and our Dmy. How then fhould we behave our felves in this Cafe I What Rules muft we walk by, fo as ro keep Confciences void of offence, not only to God, but as far as is pofl1ble cowards Men alfo? In this, if any thing that belongs ro Chrillianiry, there lyes a great deal of difficulty to fi:are the Cafe aright, or aright eo pract:ife it; and the Difficulty is increafed from rhefe two Confiderations, which I Jhalllay down as general Premifes eo the following Difcourfe. Fir(! , If we give no power ro the fcrupulous J udgments of weak and render Confciences to oblige us to Duty, to abftain from what appears evil to them, then we fhall fin evidently againft the Law of Charity, and againft many Apoftolical InjunCtions and Commands, that we Jhould have refpec:t ro their Opinions and Cenfures; efpecially in Rom. 14- and in l.: Cor. chap. 8. and 10. almoft throughout. Indeed there is · fcarce any one thing belonging to Chrifiianicy that hath more Rules and Prefcripts ofrner prefcribcd by. theApoftlc to us, than that of abftaining from offending rhe weak Confciences of others. - Secondly, If we make other Mens Confciences·the Rule of ours, and if we lay down this for a Maxim, That we ought eo do nothing that appears evil ro another; This, Firft, would be utterly impoffible, fince Men are of fuch contrary Perfwafions, that if the doing of an Action appear evil to one, the omiffion thereof appears as evil to another ; fo that unlefs we can at once both do it and not do it, !Ome will unavoidably take offence at it, and be fcandalizedat us. Secondly·, This would abridge, yea, utterly deftroy all Chriftian Liberty ifl things indifferent; becaufe, if nothing :fhould be lawful that another fcruples~ then almofteverything would become finful, fince almoft every thing is fernpled by fome or other. In vain therefore is it to reckon it as our Privilege that we are freed from the Old Ceremonial L~w, and that heavy Yoke of Or.. dinances that none were able to bear, if yet Chriftian Religion brings our Confciences under the moft imperious Laws of Mens Humours, CenfUres, and o.. · pini_ons; it were far eafier to obferve all the Levitical Law from one end of it to the other, than to be bound to thofe worldly Rudiments, as the Apoftle calls them in Col. 2, 7ouch not, taft not, handle not; wear not, fpeak not, if fuch a Perfon be offended at it, and count it unlawful. , Now, from the confiderarion of thefe T"JJJo PartJculars; I !hall lay dow thi.s Fourth Pojition, concerning Abftinence from the Appearance of Evil, in refpetl: of others; and that is, if the Appearance of Evil is to others, and ilot to our felves, then in fome Cafes we are bound in Duty and Gonfcience· to ahjlain ~roi"? it, and.inothers not: WhateVer _hath.rh.e ~hew or Appearanc'e. o[ Evil in 1t, tt mufi euher be commanded, an~ fo It IS neceffary; or elfe It ts left indiff~rent and arbitrary ;_ an~ accqrdingly we may take thefe followirig Rules. Ftrfi, If fo be rho!e thmg ,that appear evil only to others, either are in themfelves, or at leaft rhey appear to ·us to be commanded, and fo neceffary we are bound not to regard ; yea; we are bound to defpife and fcorn th~ ~""f'" of all the World; if they will be offended at us for doing of that whiclt " o~r duty, let them be offended; we may in this cafe ufe the fame Plea that G g g g eh~
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