Of Ah.ftaining from .the Appearance of Evii. from the Apojlle, if he fay ro you. 1 Cor. xo. 28 . !( PnJ one {ay t~ Jorqhi~ 1JJ1U ojftre'd to Uols, tat not; But if they take offence, an~ w11l nor mha.ke tt known, tHe <{: f:. as it refis in their own bofom, fo !hallu lye on t CJr ow~ heads, and we fh~i'be guiltlefs; andthar'sth~firfiLimit~tion. We.are not bound to abj/Jlin from things lawful in chemfelves, though t~ey carry tn the~ an appearance of Evil towards others; if there be no probable grounds to conJetl:ure that they will be offended at them. . . • Second/)', We mufi confider whethe:~r~or.rhe A~tionrhatwe do,whi~h.:inorher rakes ofjtnce ar,be as indifferent to us,as tt ts mdiffirent m.refpeet of 9:od,that ts, Whe', ther it be of great conveniency,or of grear .imporrance and concermnent td us; if 'it be.not of fuch convenience and impor~an.ce, , then the R_ule.o! Cha:iry.ohligeth us to abftaih from it. There are tbofe thtngs that are nJdiffermt tn ref_pea: bf God, that yet may not be indi_ift~entin refpectof us; becaule r~ey ~~Y, · rl,Ot ~e 'Of great co'nCernment unto us; tf It be fo_, then we. ought to o~fer~e thts ~e~od, as long aSwe may without _any notableu:convem~ncy: ~e muft .abffat? 1froln. thefe things, indeavouring m the mean nme to~fat!stie the1: JJ..cubts, and 1nforfit their Con[cimcu of the Lawfulnefs of -that wherewuh they are offended. THfs Rule the Apoft/e lays~ow.nforus, Rom. 15. 2. Le~ every onefuk to flea[t his Neighbour for his g;oqd to ediftcattm. We-ough~ to abftam from thofe thmgs thar.rretn:. different in refpect of God, and yer of Importance umo us from the exceptions of others fo long as we have no notable inconveniency accruing to ourfelves thereby, 'endeavouring alfo to inform them of the law~ulnefs of them. But wh11t if thq continue fcrupulous, ~nd contemn lnformatum:)l refo/p.ing nqt to be {a- Objef/. tiified with a"J Rta{ons that ?Vt can produce, ?vhat muff ?Vt de in this Ctt{t ? r 1 Truly it ceafeth now from being any longer an olf.mce to a weak Brother, An[,. and becomes a g roundlefs offence taken up by a peevtfh,froward and malicious Perfon; and certainly in this cafe no Man is bound to abftain from that which is !a?vful, though he may giv~ offence to fU:ch an one_; efpec.ially if it be,.offno... me m: an1 d concernment to htm : As for mfiance; tf any be unfatisfied of che lawfulnefs of another Man's Calling and Profeffion, as at this day tl1e Socinians are unfads fied of the lawfulnefs of Warlike and Military Employ'fhmts; if they will not De fatisfi eJ when fufficient Reafons are alledg'd to jufiifie it, we are not bound in this cafe to quit our Callings ; for they are Matters ot Concernment to us; but we are bound rather to neglect their Cenfures, as proceeding fl'tlm Malice and Spite. But ?vbaf if ~tber: flit/ c.tmtim" un{~tisfied, ~ot o~tt of. Pride and Malice, but cut 0j0bjetl. Weakm{s, as bemg •nfuJfictetJt to recetve that mformatzon from us that we give them, and cPnnot cotJceive of the rlepth of our Reaf6ns and Arguments for the jujlifjing if [uch tmd{ttch .Allirms, what JIJ(I/1. ?ve do in th(!t Cafe? . To this I anfwer in the Third place; We are not bound to abfiain from what Anfw• they are offended ar, unlefs they produce feme probable Grounds and Reafons for ch~ir O_ffences. It i~ not enoug~ to oblige our Confciences,that they tell us they unagme fuch a thtng to be evtl, unlefs they fhew feme Grounds for their Imagination ; nor is it here required, that the Grounds they produce fhould be demonfirative; but it is enough if they be probable Grounds, though they 3 .. tnount not to prove the things that appear evil to them, to be in themfelves evil; yet if they prove thefe things carry in them a probable prefumption of evil, this is fufficient to oblige us to abftain from them. Hereupon it Was that the Apoftle forbid the Corintbiam to eat Meat offered unto Idols; if any took offence at that Meat, others were not to eat thereof in their prefence and comp;my and that becaufe their offence had fome probable /hew of Reafon to judge that'they thought they had too much communion with !dolt, becaufe they did eat of chafe things that were Jacrifi<td to them : And upon this ground the Apojlle himlelf refolves,in Cor. 8. ult. ~hat if Meat m_ade his Brother to offend, ht?uouldeat noF/ejiJ?uhile the WorlJ flood; chat ts, ( as I rake lt) no Fltjh o./fereJ to Idols; for that is the Subject of which he had been treating all along that Chapt.,., Though it waSlawful in it felf confidered, yet becaufe the weak had probable Grounds and Reafons to fhew why Flep, offered to Idols might not he eaten, therefore he would abfhin from it whilfi the W, orld ~ood. And (o in like.~anner, if any except agau~fi what we do, and bnng thts Reafon for tt, That tt ts too like the Cufrom of wtcked Men, that none do thus and thus but the generality of the loofer 2nd pre-
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