94 A CHRISTIAN CHURCH. be, if it could be found in any persons in England, who are not true christians, and how far soever it may go towards acceptance -with God in the secret of his mercy, yet it is notlhe profession of sincerity, but of christianity, that gives a person a right'to the fellowshipof a christian church : For God in his revealed word has not bid us receive all that are sincere, but all that believe or have received Christ, or all that profess to be true christians. And in this case I know no judge on earth superior to the church, withwhich communion is desired, and the officers thereof. These must determine whether the profession of christianity be credible, or no, as I have proved before under the second question. ANsw. II, Those temporal inconveniences that a man may happen to sustain among his neigbours, by being excluded from a particular church for want of true faith, are no part of that church's act in refusing him, not a necessary consequent there- of; but only a mere occasional or accidental inconvenience, to which all human affairs are subject in this imperfect state. Now this is evident, because in a heathen nation the rejection of a person from a christian church for want of such faith would be honourable, and his neighbours would like him the better for it ; though it happens in a christian nation that his neighbours may reproach him ; but still this event is no part of the church's act, who ought to love him as a man, and do all due offices of kind- ness to him, even while they cannot receive him as a true christian. ANsw. III. Though we are not to do the least hurt to any person because the doth not hold the christian faith, yet we are allowed and encouraged to love good christians better than those that are notso : We are commanded to love our enemies and do good to them that hate us ; Mat. v. 44. but we are told,. Mat. x. 41, 42. that he that doth the least benefit to a prophet or dis- ciple, as such, shall have a peculiar reward. We are in a spe- cial manner required to love the brotherhood; 1 Pet. ii. 17. to love one another; John xv, 12, 17. and to do good to all, but especially to the household offaith; Gal. vi. 10. Nor can the withholding that degree of love from an heathen, which belongs to a pious christian be justly called persecution or hardship, any more than my neighbour may complain that Ipersecute him, be- cause I do not love him so well as my brother or my father. Give me leave to add in this place, that though the temporal inconveniences of shame or disreputation is not the necessary con- sequent of an exclusion from al church for want of faith, yet these inconveniences may certainly and justly attend the exclu- sion of a person for want of good morals. And St. Paul plainly intimates it ; 1 Cor. v. 9, 10, 11. where he permits them to keep compalny with heathen fornicators, extortioners, or ido- laters, and to eat with them if they are invited; chapter x: verse
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