SECTION III. 21 and manful in the profession of the gospel in a dangerous hour ? Are you less ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified in rthe company of infidels, or manfully to fight tinder his banner against sin, the world, and the devil, than they ? Do you teach your children these duties, and shew the necessityof practising them without the assistance .of this made on their fore- Meads? Shall we not give our brethren of the ectablished.church, occasion to charge us with hypocrisy for being so:tnuch offended at such a sign of the cross, which they use to put themselves and their .children in mind of Christ - crucified, if they see us negligent of the naine, the doctrines and the Honours of a cru- .cified Saviour? Let us make it appear then to the wo'id that we are faithful soldiers of Jesus Christ wittlout'this human badge of distinction ; shew your neighbours that you can fight with cou- rage and glory under his banner, against sin'and Satan, without !having passed under the figure of the .cross id'baptism, and that you stand in no need of the additional ceremonies of men to put l'ou or your children in mind of your duty to the,Son of God. 2. You are not required to provide godfathers and god - tnothers for yourcldldren in baptism, who `ere called sureties*, by which the infant professes to renounce the devil and all his works, and to ,believe God's holy word and keep his çommand.. meats. You are ready to imagine that the promises Of these sureties arise so high, as to give:parents 'top.jtimoh indulgence and excuse, for their own personal'.neglect of the instruction of othe child, especially when the parent himself is not;perrnitted to become-a,,surety. Yon who separate from the church ofEngland do not think it needful pr iwoperto have any sponsors, nor-dó ,You provide any such sureties for your children, and thereby You appear to lay yourselves under a strong. and public obligation to educate -them yourselves in the fear of ,God and in the faith of Christ. Now the question addressed-to ,your consciences is this, Do you take more care in the pious and christian' educaiinnof your off- spring, than your brethren :or neighbours of the parish, who have provided sureties to supply their own absence .Or defect ? Are you more diligent and more solicitors to see your , children brought up in:tite knowledge of the true .God,,and in acquaint- ance with Christ Jesus the Saviour? Are you more carotid to inform them betimes Of their duties to ;Godand their duties to men, and to train them';vup,in,al1 the necessary and important doctrines and practicesof the true religion ? Surely your brethren of the established church will have abundant reason to reprove and censure you, who renounce the aid of sureties in the educa- tion of your children, and yet take so little care of theta')our s See Dr. Calamy of Mader. Nonconf Vol. II. p. 147, 169..3701 I'li. p. .66. Lay Noococf. Ja,u6ed, p. 27. s3
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