94 Of Self-denial, and SujTering for Chrifl's Sake. Vol. I. to any Temporal Inconvenience and Suffering for his fake. And thus much for the Explication of the Precept here in the Text. I proceed in the III. Place, to confider the ffrid and indifpenfable Obligation of this Precept of Self denial, and fuffering for Chrift and his Truth, rather than to forfake and renounce them. If any Man will come after me, or be my . Difciple, let him deny himfelf, and take up his Croft and follow me; that is, upon thefe Terms he muff be my Difciple, in this manner he muff follow me ; and in the Text I rìention'd before, he declares again, that he that is not ready to quit all his Re- lations and even Life it felf, for his fake, ïs not worthy of him, andcannot be bis Difciple ; and whofoever doth not hear his Croft, and come after me, cannot be my Difciple ; fo that we cannot be the Difciples ofChrift, nor be worthy to be called by his Name, if we be not ready thus to deny our felves for his fake : And not only fo ; but if for fear of the Crofs, or ofany temporal Sufferings, we fhould renounce and deny him, he threatens to deny us before his Father which is in Heaven, (i. e.) to deprive us of Eternal Life, and to fentence us to Everlafting Mifery, Matth. so. 32. Whofoever (hall confefs me before men, him will I eonfefs before my father which is in Heaven : But whofoever(hall deny me before men, him will Ialfo deny before ny father which is in Heaven; and Mark 8. 38. Whofoever(hall beafhamed ofme, and of my words, in this adulterous andfinful generation, ofhim afo (hall the Son of Man be afhamed, when he cometh in the Glory of his Father, with his holy Angels ; that is, when he cometh to judge the World, they (hall not be able to ftand in that Judgment; for that by his being afhamedof them, is meant, that they íhá.11 be condemned by him, is plain from what goes before, V. 26. 27. What (hall it profit a man, if (hall gain the whole World, and lofe his own Soul ? or what (ball a man give in exchange for bis Soul? and then it follows, Ilrhofoever therefore (hall be afhamed of me and of my words. But becaufe fome have had the confidence to tell the World, that our Saviour doth not require thus much of Chriflians; but all that he obligeth us to, is to believe in him in our Heartss. but not to make any outward Profeion of his Religion, when the Magiftrate forbids it, andwe are in danger of fuffering for if ; I fhall therefore briefly examine what is pretended for fo ftrange an Affertion, and fo directly contrary, to the whole Tenor of the Gofpel, and to the exprefs Words of our Saviour. The Author of the Book called the Leviathan tells us, That we are not only not bound to confefs Chrift, but we are obliged to deny him, in cafe the Ma- giftrate require us fo to do, His Words are thefe ; What if the Sovereign for- bid us to believe in Chrifl ? He anfwers, Such forbidding is cf no effeel, becaufe Belief and Unbelief never follow Mens Commands. But what (lays he) if we be commanded by our lawful Prince to fay with our Tongues, we believe not ; mull we obey fuch Commands ? To this he anfwers, That Profegion with the Tongue is but an External thing, and no more than any other Gellure, whereby we lignifie our Obedience, andwherein a Chrian, holding firmly in his Heart the Faith of Chrili, path the fame Liberty which the Prophet Elifha allowed to ,Naaman. But what then (fays he) (hall I anfwer to our Saviour, laying, Whofoever denieth me before Men, him will I deny before my Father which is in Heaven ? His Anfwer is, This we may fay, that whaffoever a Subject is corn- pell'd to in obedience to his Sovereign, anddoes it not in order to his onMind, but the Law ofhis Country, the Aelion is not his, but his Sovereign's; nor is he that in this cafe denies Chrfl before Men, but his Governor, and the Laws of his Country. But can any Man, that in good earneft pays any degree of Reverence to our BleffedSaviour and his Religion, think to baffle fuch plain Words by fo frivolous an anfwer ? There is no Man doubts, but if the Magiftrate fhouldcommand Men to deny Chrift, he would be guilty ofa great Sin in fo doing : But if we mull obey God rather than Xen, and every Man muff give an account of hinfelf to God; how will this exude him that denies Chrift, or breaks any other. Commandment Of Cod, upon the Command of the Magiftrate? And to put the matter out of all doubt, that our Saviour forbids all that will be his Difciples, upon pain ofDamna- tion
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=