A Christian Directory, Part 1: Christian Ethics

by Richard Baxter

Answ. Yes, no doubt; and it is a great and wonderful mercy: and I will tell you what it is. 1. The Holy Spirit, by immediate inspiration, revealed to the apostles the doctrine of Christ, and caused them infallibly to indite the Scriptures. But this is not that way of ordinary illumination now. 2. The Holy Spirit assisteth us in our hearing, reading, and studying the Scripture, that we may come, by diligence, to the true understanding of it; but doth not give us that understanding, without hearing, reading, or study. "Faith cometh by hearing," Rom. x. 17. It blesseth the use of means to us, but blesseth us not in the neglect of means. 3. The Holy Spirit doth open the eyes and heart of a sinner, who hath heard, and notionally understood the substance of the gospel, that he may know that piercingly, and effectually, and practically, which before he knew but notionally, and ineffectually; so that the knowledge of the same truth is now become powerful, and, as it were, of another kind. And this is the Spirit's sanctifying of the mind, and principal work of saving illumination; not by causing us to know any thing of God, or Christ, or heaven, without means; but by opening the heart, that, through the means, it may take in that knowledge deeply, which others have but notionally, and in a dead opinion; and, by making our knowledge clear, and quick, and powerful, to affect the heart, and rule the life. 4. The Holy Spirit sanctifieth all that notional knowledge which men had before their renovation. All their learning and parts are now made subservient to Christ, and to the right end, and turned into their proper channel. 5. And the Holy Ghost doth, by sanctifying the heart, possess it with such a love to God, and heaven, and holiness, and truth, as is a wonderful advantage to us, in our studies for the attaining of further knowledge. Experience telleth us, how great a help it is to knowledge, to have a constant love, delight, and desire to the thing which we would know. All these ways the Spirit is the enlightener of believers.

The not observing this direction, will have direful effects; which I will name, that you may see the necessity of avoiding them.

The danger of overvaluing your young abilities or graces.

1. If you imagine that you are presently men of great understanding, and abilities, and holiness, while you are young beginners, and but new-born babes, you are entering into "the snare and condemnation of the devil," even into the odious sin of pride; yea, a pride of those spiritual gifts which are most contrary to pride; yea, and a pride of that which you have not, which is most foolish pride. Mark the words of Paul, when he forbids to choose a young beginner in religion to the ministry, 1 Tim. iii. 6: "Not a novice, (that is, a young, raw christian,) lest being lifted up (or besotted) with pride, he fall into the condemnation of the devil." Why are young beginners more in danger of this than other christians? One would think their infancy should be conscious of its own infirmity. But Paul knew what he said. It is, (1.) Partly because the suddenness of their change; coming out of darkness into a light which they never saw before, doth amaze them, and transport them, and make them think they are almost in heaven, and that there is not much more to be attained. Like the beggar that had a hundred pounds given him, having never seen the hundredth part before, imagined that he had as much money as the king. (2.) And it is partly because they have not knowledge enough to know how many things there are that yet they are ignorant of.[53] They never heard of the Scripture difficulties, and the knots in school divinity, nor the hard cases of conscience: whereas, one seven years' painful studies, will tell them of many hundred difficulties which they never saw; and forty or fifty years' study more, will clothe them with shame and humility, in the sense of their lamentable darkness. (3.) And it is also because the devil doth with greatest industry lay this net to entrap young converts, it being the way in which he hath the greatest hope.

2. Your hasty conceits of your own goodness or ability, will make you presumptuous of your own strength, and so to venture upon dangerous temptations, which is the way to ruin. You will think you are not so ignorant, but you may venture into the company of papists, or any heretics or deceivers, or read their books, or be present at their worship. And I confess you may escape; but it may be otherwise, and God may leave you, to "show you all that was in your hearts," as it is said of Hezekiah, 2 Chron. xxxii. 21, 25, 26.

3. And your overvaluing your first grace, will make you too secure, when your souls have need of holy awfulness and care, to "work out your salvation with fear and trembling," Phil. ii. 12; and to "serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear, as knowing that he is a consuming fire," Heb. xii. 28, 29. And security is the forerunner of a fall.

4. It will make you neglect the due labour and patience in the use of means, for further knowledge and increase of grace, while you think you are so well already.[54] And so you will be worse than those that are ever learning, and never come to any ripe knowledge; for you will think that you are fit to be teachers, when you have need to be taught that which you will not submit to learn. And then, "when for the time ye ought to have been teachers, you will have need to be catechised, or taught again which be the first principles of the oracles of God, as having need of milk, and not of strong meat." Mark here, how the Holy Ghost maketh time and exercise necessary to such growth as must enable you to be teachers, Heb. v. 12-14. Therefore he addeth, "but strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age; those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." Mark here, how wisdom and strength is to be expected.

5. This over-hasty conceit of your own ability, will tempt you to run into controversies, and matters that you are not fit for; and so divert you from necessary and seasonable studies.

6. It will make you over-confident of all your own opinions, and stiff in all your own conceits; too like him, Prov. xiv. 16, "The fool rageth and is confident." How many and many a time have I heard a man that understood not what he talked of, and could scarce speak sense, to plead for his opinion so confidently, as to scorn or pity the wisest contradicter, when his ignorance, and phrenetic confidence and rage, did make him a real object of pity, to men of ordinary understandings. There is a kind of madness in this disease, that will not leave you wit enough to know that you are mad.

7. It will make you also very censorious of others: this ignorant pride will make you think other men's knowledge to be ignorance, if they be not just of your fond opinions; and other men's graces to be none, if they be not of your mind and way. None are so ready as such to censure those that are better than themselves, or that they have no acquaintance with, as being but civil, moral men, or being erroneous or deluded. It is a very loathsome thing, to hear an ignorant, self-conceited fellow to talk of those that are a hundred times wiser and much better than himself, as magisterially, with a proud compassion or contempt, as if he were indeed the wise man, that knoweth not what he saith.