A Christian Directory, Part 1: Christian Ethics

by Richard Baxter

5. Nay, thou deridest men for doing but some part of their duty, and discharging but a little of their debt. For the holiest man whom thou deridest for doing too much, doth less than what he ought to do. Thou knowest that the best of men do love God and serve him less than he deserveth; and that the carefullest come short of the perfect keeping of his laws; and yet wilt thou scorn men for doing so much, when they know, and thou confessest, that they do too little? Could they do all, they did but their duty, Luke xvii. 10.

6. Thou scornest men because they will not set up themselves, their own wit, and will, against their Maker. God hath commanded them to "give all diligence to make their calling and election sure," 2 Pet. i. 10; and to "strive to enter in at the strait gate," Matt. vii. 13; and "day and night to meditate in his law," Psal. i. 2; and to love him with all their heart and might; and to "pray continually," 1 Thess. v. 17. And thou deridest men for obeying these commands! Why, what wouldst thou have us do, man? should we tell God that we are wiser than he? and that he shall not have his will, but we will have our own? and that we know a better way than he hath appointed us? and that he is mistaken, and would deceive us by his laws? Wouldst thou have men thus to be voluntarily mad, and profess themselves open rebels against God?

7. Thou scornest men because they trust him that is truth and goodness itself. We cannot imagine that he can deceive us by his word, or that he maketh any law for us that is not good, or requireth any duty of us that shall be to our hurt, or that we shall be losers by.[551] And therefore we resolve to obey him as carefully as we can, because we are confident that goodness itself will not abuse us, and truth itself will not deceive us: and is this a matter to be scorned for? should not children trust their father?

8. Thou deridest men for not sinning against their certain knowledge and experience. They know that a holy life is best, though thou dost not; they know the reasonableness of it; they know the sweetness of it; they know the necessity of it.[552] And must they renounce their own understandings? must they be ignorant because thou art ignorant? and put out their eyes because thou art blind? Is it a crime for men to be wiser than thou? and that in the matters of God and their salvation? They have tried what a holy life is, and so hast not thou. They have tried what a life of faith and obedience is: and must they renounce their own experience? Must they that have tasted it say honey is bitter, because thou that never didst taste it sayest so? Alas, what unreasonable men have we to deal with!

9. Thou opposest and scornest men for loving themselves; yea, for loving their soul, and taking care of its health and welfare. For how can a man truly love himself, and not love his soul which is himself? And how can a man love his soul, and not prefer it before the low concernments of his flesh? and not take the greatest care of its greatest everlasting happiness? Can a man truly love himself, and yet damn himself, or lose the little time in which he must, if ever, work out his salvation? You will not scorn him that is careful of your children, or your very cattle? You love them, and therefore are careful of them yourselves. And shall not he that loveth his soul be careful of it? To love ourselves is natural to us as men: and how shall he love his neighbour that loveth not himself?

10. Thou scornest men because they love heaven above earth, and because they are desirous to live for ever with God and all the holy hosts of heaven. For what is it that these men do so diligently, but seek to be saved? What do they but "seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness?" "and labour for the meat" that perisheth not, John vi. 27; and lay up their "treasure in heaven," Matt. vi. 20; and set their "hearts there," ver. 21; "and seek the things that are above, and have their conversation in heaven," Col. iii. 1-3; Phil. iii. 19, 20. And if it be so scornful a matter to seek for heaven, sure thou never thinkest of coming to heaven thyself; unless thou think to come thither by scorning at the seekers of it.

11. Thou deridest men because they are unwilling to be damned, and unwilling to do that which they know would damn them; or to neglect that without which there is no hope of escaping hell. They believe the threatenings of God, and therefore they think no pains too great to escape his wrath. They think a holy life is both a necessary and an easy way to prevent everlasting torment: but if thou think otherwise, keep thy opinion till grace or hell shall make thee wiser; and mock not at a man that will not play with his own damnation, and leap into hell as desperately as thyself.

12. Thou deridest men because they will not be the voluntary destroyers of themselves. Were it not enough for thee to betray them unto others? or to murder any of thy neighbours thyself? but thou must wish them to do it with their own hands, and deride them if they will not? O cruel monster! that wouldst wish a man to lie in the fire of hell for evermore! and to go thither wilfully of his own accord! which is ten thousand times worse than to wish him to cut his own throat. Dost thou say, God forbid! I desire no such thing. Why, man, dost thou do thou knowest not what? Doth not he tempt a man to be hanged, that tempteth him to kill and steal? When the righteous God hath unchangeably determined in his law, that "without holiness none shall see God, and that Christ shall come in flaming fire to render vengeance to them that obey not his gospel, and that all they shall be damned that obey not the truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness;"[553] when God hath resolved that hell shall be the wages of ungodliness, dost thou not desire them to damn themselves, when thou desirest them to be ungodly? If thou believe that there is any hell at all, then tell me what it is possible for any man to do, to murder his soul and damn himself, but only to be ungodly? If this way do it not, there is no danger of any other. Tell me, dost thou think the devil deserveth to be called a murderer of souls? If not, it seems thou wilt openly take the devil's part; but if he do deserve it, then the reason of all the world be judge, whether that man deserve it not much more, that will do much more against himself, than the devil ever did or can do? The devil can but tempt, but thou wouldst have men do the thing that he tempts them to, and actually to sin, and neglect a holy life. And which is the worse, he that doth the evil, or he that only persuadeth them to it? If the devil be called, "Our adversary, that like a roaring lion goeth about night and day seeking whom he may devour," 1 Pet. v. 8, what should that man be called that doth far more against himself, than all the devils in hell do against him? Sure he is a devourer or destroyer of himself. Tell me, thou distracted scorner! is the devil's work, thinkest thou, good or bad? If it be good, take thy part of it, and boast of it when thou seest the end. If it be bad, (to deceive souls and entice them to sin and hell,) why wouldst thou have men do worse by themselves? He that sinneth doth worse than he that tempteth. Tell me, what way doth the devil take to do men hurt, and damn their souls, but only by drawing them to sin? He hath no other way in the world to undo any man, but by tempting him to that which thou temptest men to; even to sin against God and to neglect a holy life. So that it is plain that thou scornest and opposest men because they will not be worse than devils to themselves.

13. Moreover thou opposest men for not forsaking God! What is it to forsake God, but to refuse to love, and honour, and obey him, as God? He hath told us himself that "he that cometh to God must believe that God is, and that he is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him," Heb. xi. 6. And is it not this diligent seeking him that thou deridest? It is plain then that thou wouldst scorn men away from God, and have them forsake him as thou hast done.

14. Thou scornest men for not being hypocrites; because they will be that in good earnest which thou hypocritically callest thyself, and wouldst be thought. Thou callest thyself a christian; and what is it but for being serious christians that thou deridest them? Thou takest on thee to believe in God; and what is it but for obeying and serving God that thou deridest them? Thou takest on thee to believe the Scripture to be the word of God; and what is it but for following the holy Scriptures that thou deridest them? Thou sayest thou believest the communion of saints; and deridest them that hold the communion of saints in practice. Thou sayest thou believest that Christ shall judge the world; and yet scornest them that are serious in preparing for his judgment. Thou prayest that God's name may be hallowed, and his kingdom come, and his will be done on earth as it is in heaven; and yet thou deridest them that hallow his name, and are subjects of his kingdom, and endeavour to do his will. O wretched hypocrite! And yet that tongue of thine pretendeth that it is their hypocrisy for which thou hatest and deridest them, when thou dost it because they be not such blind and senseless hypocrites as thyself! Can there be grosser hypocrisy in the world, than to hate and scorn the serious practice of thy own profession? and the diligent living according to that which thy own tongue professeth to believe? If thou say that it is for doing too much, and being too strict, I answer thee, if it be not the will of God that they do, though I would not deride them, I would seek to change them as well as thou! But if it be the will of God, then tell me, dost thou think they do more than those that are in heaven do? or do they live more strictly than those in heaven? If they do, then oppose them and spare not. If not, why prayest thou that God's will may be done on earth as it is in heaven?