A Christian Directory, Part 1: Christian Ethics

by Richard Baxter

Tempt. II. The tempter laboureth to keep God, and Christ, and heaven out of sight, that they darken not the splendour of his bait; and to hide those potent reasons from them, by which they might easily repel the temptation; so that though they are well known and sure, and Scripture be full of them, they shall none of them be ready at hand to use, when the temptation cometh; so that to them they shall be all as nothing: and this he doth by unbelief and inconsiderateness.

Direct. II. Live by faith. See that God the Father, the Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit, dwell within you, and take up your hearts, and your hopes be placed all on heaven, and that these be your very life and business; and then you will always have that at hand which may repel the tempter. A heart taken up with God and Christ, conversing in heaven, is always fortified, and prepared to meet every temptation with abhorrence. Let your souls be still possessed with as constant apprehensions of the evil of sin, the danger of sinning, the presence, authority, and holiness of God, the wrong that sin doth him, the hurt it doth ourselves and others, and what it did to Jesus Christ, as you have of the danger of fire, and water, and poison; and then the tempter will not speed.

Tempt. III. It is the great care of the devil to keep out of sight, that he be not seen himself in the temptation. As the angler keepeth himself behind the bush, and the fowler hideth himself from the birds, or else they would fear, and fly, and escape; so doth the devil use all his art, to hide himself from the sinner's observation; that the deluded soul shall little think that the devil is so near him, and hath so great a hand in the business. If the ambitious or covetous worldling saw the devil offer him the bait, and heard him say, "All this will I give thee;" he would have the smaller list to take the bait. If the devil appeared to the whoremonger, and brought him his whore, and encouraged him to his filthiness, it would cool his lust: or if he appeared to the drunkard, and presented him the cup, he would have but little list to drink. If the proud and the malicious saw the devil at their backs, rejoicing in their sin, and putting them on, it might affright them half into their wits. Therefore the great endeavour of the devil is, to persuade men that it is not he that makes the motion to them: it is such a friend, or such a neighbour, or gentleman, or minister, or wise man; it is not the devil! till the fish is caught, and the bird is in the net, and then the author of all appeareth, to kill them, and carry them away without any concealment.

Direct. III. Mark but the tendency and the manner of the temptations, and you may perceive the author. Who else is it that is so much against God, and against your everlasting happiness? Who else is it that would so abuse your reason, to prefer things temporal before things eternal, and the brutish pleasures of a corruptible flesh before the interest of immortal souls? Who else so contradicteth all the word of God? Read God's warnings, and he will tell you who it is. Take every temptation then (whoever be the messenger) as if thou sawest the devil standing by, and making the motion to thee, and heardest himself exhort thee to the sin. Suppose you saw him conducting you to the whore-house, the play-house, the ale-house, and making you entertainment as the master of the game. How then would you take it? and what would you do? Would you go, and be angry at the precise preacher that would hinder you? and would you take the devil's part? No, nature hath possessed you with a fear of him, and an enmity to him: use it for your safety. It cannot be good for you that comes from him. He hath a fouler face to appear to you in, than ever yet you saw, when you have done his work, and are where he would have you. O know with whom you have to do.

Tempt. IV. The tempter is most careful also to hide from men the nature and tendency of the temptation itself; that they shall not know that it is a temptation when they are tempted, but shall have nothing in sight but the bait which they desire. The angler doth not only hide himself from the fish, but also his rod, and line, and hook, as much as he can. The fowler covereth his nets, so that either the fish and bird shall not see the snare, or shall not know what it is, and what it is there laid for: so when the bait of pleasure, and honour, and wealth is presented by the devil, to the fornicator, gamester, proud, or covetous, they shall not see what the devil is doing now, and what a game he is playing for their souls! They shall not perceive the connexion that there is between the pleasure and the sin, and the sin and the threatening, and the threatening and the judgment, and the judgment and the everlasting punishment. When Judas was bargaining with the Pharisees, he knew not that the devil was in him driving on the match.

Direct. IV. Be wise and suspicious: blindness or fool-hardiness will lead you into the snare. Be wise, that you may know the tendency of every thing that is presented to your thoughts, and may be able to perceive a danger. Be suspicious and cautelous, that you make a sufficient trial, and go upon sure grounds, and avoid the very appearance of evil: when it is hell that you fear, come not too near. Play not as the fly about the candle: salvation is necessary; but preferment, or wealth, or liberty, or credit, or life itself are not necessary to you! Prove all things. Flatter not yourselves into the snares by foolish hopes, and judging of things as the flesh would have them to be, rather than as they are. If no danger appear, turn up all coverings, and search and see that none be hidden. The devil hath his gunpowder plots, and mines, which may blow you up before you are aware. Not only lawfulness and indifferency, but great good is the pretence for greatest evil.

Tempt. V. It is the tempter's care to bring the tempting object near enough, or draw the sinner near enough to it. The net must come to the fish, or the fish to the net. The distant fire will not burn the wood. The devil's chief confidence is in the sensitive appetite, which worketh strongliest at hand. If he get the drunkard into the ale-house, and show him the cup, he hath half conquered him already; but if he be scrupulous and modest, some one shall drink a health, or importune him, and put the cup into his hand. The thief, with Achan, shall see the bait, and the sight will work a covetous desire. The glutton shall have the tempting dishes before him, and be at a table which by variety of delicious food is fitted to become his snare; whereas if he had nothing set before him, but the poor man's simple food which hath nothing in it fit to tempt him, he might easily have escaped. The fornicator shall have his beautiful dirt brought near him, and presented to him in a tempting dress; for at a sufficient distance there had been little danger. The ambitious person shall have preferment offered him, or brought so fair to his hand, that with a little seeking it may be attained. The fearful coward shall be threatened with the loss of estate or life, and hear the report of the cannons, guns, and drums of Satan. Peter is half conquered when he is got among questioning company in the high priest's hall. Thus David, thus Lot, thus ordinarily sinners are drawn into the snare.

Direct. V. As ever you would preserve your innocency and your souls, fly as far from tempting objects as you can: I say, as you can, without distrusting God in the neglect of a certain duty. A wife, or a servant, that are bound, cannot fly; nor must we leave undone our certain duty upon an uncertain danger, which may otherwise be avoided; but keep off from the temptation at as great a distance as you can: the safest course is the best when your souls lie at the stake: if it be not necessary, plead not the lawfulness of what you do, when it is a temptation to that which is unlawful. You say, it is lawful to wear such curious ornaments, and set out yourselves in the neatest dress; but is it lawful to be proud or lustful, or to consume your time unprofitably? If not, tempt not yourselves or others to it. Keep away from the place where the snare is laid. Look first to the end before thou meddle with the beginning. Why should I eat that which I know I cannot digest, but must cast it up again? And why should I taste that which I must not eat? And why should I desire to have that set before me, and to look upon that which I must not taste? Come not near if thou wouldst not be taken. What dost thou at the ale-house with a cup before thee, if thou wouldst not be drawn to excess of drink? If thou be subject to excess in eating, make not thy own table thy temptation. Fly from the temptation as thou wouldst do from hell, or from the devil himself. See not the bait of lust, or come not near, if thou be inclinable to lust: saith Solomon, "Remove thy way far from her, and come not near the door of her house," Prov. v. 8. "For her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death, her steps take hold on hell," ver. 4, 5. "Her house inclineth to death, and her paths unto the dead. None that go to her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life," chap. ii. 18, 19. "Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death," chap. vii. 27. "Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. But he knoweth not that the dead are there: and that her guests are in the depths of hell," chap. ix. 16-18. "Lust not after her beauty in thy heart, neither let her take thee with her eye-lids.—Can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burnt? Can one go upon hot coals and his feet not be burnt?" chap. vi. 25, 27, 28. Remember that you pray daily, "Lead us not into temptation:" and if you will run into it yourselves, are not your prayers hypocritical and an abuse of God? If you would be saved from sin, you must be saved in God's way; and that is, by flying from temptations; and not drawing near, and gazing on forbidden objects, and tempting yourselves: even as God's holy means must be used by all that would come to holiness and heaven; so the devil's must be avoided by him that would escape sin and hell. But if you cannot remove far enough from the snare, then double your fear, and watchfulness, and resolution: fly with Joseph, Gen. xxxix. 12, from the sin, if you cannot go out of the house. How carefully should every foot be placed, when we know that every step we tread is among snares! Rule your senses if you cannot remove the bait: make Job's covenant with your eyes, that you look not on that which would allure, Job xxxi. 1. Let every sense have a constant watch.

Tempt. VI. The next great work of the tempter is, to give us the fairest opportunities to sin, and to remove all impediments, and show men encouraging hopes and invitations. He will show the thief which way he may steal; and show the covetous man which way he may thrive, and deceive, and overreach; and the ambitious man which way he may rise; and the fornicator how he may obtain his desire, and sin unknown; and then he tells them how easy it is; now no one seeth you; you may do it without fear or shame. It is the devil's great care to take all things out of the way that would affright, or hinder sinners; that they may have full opportunity to invite them. Therefore he is very desirous that public impediments should be all removed; especially in a godly magistrate and minister, and that the common disgrace of sinning may be taken off, and if it may be, turned against religion, or fall on them that are the greatest adversaries to sin.

Psal. ci. 3.