DIRECTIONS ABOUT THE PROFESSION OF OUR RELIGION TO OTHERS.
_Direct._ I. Understand first how great a duty the profession of true
religion is, that you may not think as some foolish people, that every
man should conceal his religion, or keep it to himself.[41] Observe
therefore these reasons following which require it.
1. Our tongues and bodies are made to exercise and show forth that
acknowledgment and adoration of God which is in our hearts. And as he
denieth God with the heart who doth not believe in him and worship him
in his heart, so he denieth God imputatively with his tongue and life,
who doth not profess and honour him with his tongue and life; and so
he is a practical atheist. Isa. xlv. 23-25, "I have sworn by myself,
the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not
return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
Surely shall one say, In the Lord have I righteousness and
strength--In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and
shall glory." So Phil. ii. 9-11, "Wherefore God also hath highly
exalted him, and given him a name above every name, that at the name
of Jesus every knee should bow--and that every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Isa. xliv.
5, "One shall say, I am the Lord's; and another shall call him by the
name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the
Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel."
2. The public assemblies, and worship of God, are purposely appointed
by him, that in them we might make open profession of our religion. He
that denieth profession, denieth the public faith and worship of the
church, and denieth baptism and the Lord's supper, which are
sacraments appointed for the solemn profession of our faith.
3. Our profession is needful to our glorifying God. Men see not our
hearts, nor know whether we believe in God or not, nor what we believe
of him, till they hear or see it in our profession and actions. Paul's
life and death was a profession of Christ, that in his "boldness
Christ might be magnified in his body," Phil. i. 20. Matt. v. 14-16,
"Ye are the light of the world: a city that is set on a hill cannot be
hid. Neither do men light a candle to put it under a bushel, but on a
candlestick, and it giveth light to all that are in the house. Let
your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and
glorify your Father which is in heaven."
4. Our profession is the means of saving others: that which is secret,
is no means to profit them. They must see our good works that they may
glorify God, Phil. i. 12-14.
5. God hath required our open and bold profession of him, with the
strictest commands, and upon the greatest penalties. 1 Pet. v. 3,
"Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and be ready always to give an
answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in
you with meekness and fear." Rom. x. 9, 10, "If thou shalt confess
with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thy heart that God
hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved: for with the heart
man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is
made unto salvation." Mark viii. 38, "Whosoever shall be ashamed of me
and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also
shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his
Father with the holy angels."[42]
_Direct._ II. Next, understand what it is in religion that you must
principally profess.[43] It is not every lesser truth, much less every
opinion of your own, in which you are confident that you are wiser
than your brethren. This is the meaning of Rom. xiv. 22, "Hast thou
faith? have it to thyself before God." By "faith" here is not meant
the substance of the christian belief, or any one necessary article of
it. But a belief of the indifferency of such things as Paul spake of,
in meats and drinks. If thou know these things to be lawful when thy
weak brother doth not, and so thou be wiser than he, thank God for thy
knowledge, and use it to thy own salvation; but do not proudly and
uncharitably contend for it, and use it uncharitably to the danger of
another's soul, much less to the wrong of the church and gospel, and
the hinderance of greater truths. 2 Tim. ii. 14, "Of these things put
them in remembrance," (that is, of the saints' hope in God's
faithfulness,) "charging them before the Lord that they strive not
about words to no profit, but the subverting of the hearers." Yet "for
the faith we must earnestly contend," Jude 2, 3. 2 Tim. ii. 23, 24,
"But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do
gender strife. And the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be
gentle to all men."
But that which is the chiefest matter of our profession is, The being
and perfections of God himself; his love to man, and power over him,
and man's subjection and obligations unto God; the person, and office,
and works, and benefits of our Redeemer, with all the duty that we owe
to him in perfect holiness, and all the hopes that we have in him; the
happiness of the saints, the odiousness of sin, and the misery of the
wicked. These, and such as these, are things that we are called to
profess; yet so as not to deny or renounce the smallest truth.
_Direct._ III. Understand also the manner how we must make profession
of religion. 1. There is a professing by words, and a professing by
actions. 2. There is a solemn profession by God's public ordinances,
and an occasional or privater profession by conference, or by our
conversations. And all these ways must religion be professed.
_Direct._ IV. Understand also the season of each sort of profession,
that you omit not the season, nor do it unseasonably. 1. Profession by
baptism, Lord's supper, and church assemblies, must be done in their
season, which the church guides are the conductors of. 2. Profession
by an innocent, blameless, obedient life is never out of season. 3.
Profession by private conference, and by occasional acts of piety,
must be when opportunity inviteth us, and they are likely to attain
their ends. 4. The whole frame of a believer's life should be so holy,
and heavenly, and mortified, and above the world, as may amount to a
serious profession that he liveth in confident hope of the life to
come, and may show the world the difference between a worldling and an
heir of heaven; between corrupted nature and true grace. The
professors of godliness must be a peculiar people, zealous of good
works, and adorned with them.[44]
_Direct._ V. Take special care that your profession be sincere, and
that you be yourselves as good as you profess to be. Otherwise, 1.
Your profession will condemn yourselves. 2. And it will dishonour the
truth which you deceitfully profess. There can scarce a greater injury
befall a good cause, than to have a bad and shameful patron to defend
it. Rom. ii. 3, "And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them
which do such things, and dost the same, that thou shalt escape the
judgment of God." Verse 23-25, "Thou that makest thy boast of the law,
through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? For the name of God is
blasphemed among the gentiles through you--."
_Direct._ VI. Let not your profession be so much of your own sincerity
as of God and his excellencies: boast not of yourselves, but of God
and Christ, and the promise, and the hope of true believers; and do it
to God's praise, and not for your own. Be sure that in all your
profession of religion, you be seeking honour to God, and not unto
yourselves. And then in this manner he that doubteth of his own
sincerity, yet may and must make profession of Christ and true
religion; when you cannot proclaim the uprightness of your own hearts,
you may boldly proclaim the excellencies of religion, and the
happiness of saints.
_Direct._ VII. Live upon God alone, and trust his all-sufficiency,
and abhor that pusillanimity and baseness of spirit which maketh men
afraid or ashamed openly to own the truth. Remember the example of
your Lord, who before Pontius Pilate "witnessed a good confession," 1
Tim. vi. 13; who came "for this end into the world, to bear witness to
the truth," John xviii. 37. Fear not the face of man, whose breath is
in his nostrils, and is perishing even while he is threatening.[45] If
thou believe not that Christ can secure thee from the rage of man,
thou believest not indeed in Christ. If thou believe not that heaven
will satisfy for all that by scorns or cruelties thou sufferest from
sinners, thou hast not indeed the hope of a believer. And no wonder if
thou profess not that which thou believest not. But if thou believe
that God is God, and Christ is Christ, and heaven is heaven, and the
gospel is true, thou hast enough in thy belief to secure thee against
all the scorns and cruelties of man, and to tell thee that Christ will
bear thy charges, in all that thou sufferest for his sake. Oh what
abundance are secretly convinced of the truth, and their consciences
bear witness to the wisdom of the saints, and a holy life; and yet
they dare not openly own and stand to the truth which they are
convinced of for fear of being mocked by the tongues of the profane,
or for fear of losing their places and preferments! O wretch, dost
thou not tremble when thou art ashamed of Christ, to think of the day
when he will be ashamed of thee? Then when he comes in glory none will
be ashamed of him! Then where is the tongue that mocked him and his
servants? Who then will deride his holy ways? Then that will be the
greatest glory, which thou art now ashamed of. Canst thou believe that
day, and yet hide thy profession, through cowardly fear or shame of
man? Is man so great, and is Christ no greater in thine eyes than so?
If he be not more regardable than man, believe not in him: if he be,
regard him more; and let not a worm be preferred before thy Saviour.
_Direct._ VIII. If any doubt arise, whether thou shouldest now make
particular profession of the truth, (as in the presence of scorners,
or when required by magistrates or others, &c.) let not the advice or
interest of the flesh have any hand at all in the resolving of the
case; but let it be wholly determined as the interest of Christ
requireth. Spare thyself when the interest of Christ requireth it; not
for thyself, but for him. But when his interest is most promoted by
thy suffering, rejoice that thou art any way capable of serving
him.[46]
_Direct._ IX. Though sometimes a particular profession of the faith
may be unseasonable, yet you must never make any profession of the
contrary, either by words or actions. Truth may be sometimes silenced,
but a lie may never be professed or approved.
_Direct._ X. If any that profess christianity reproach you for the
profession of holiness and diligence, convince them that they
hypocritically profess the same, and that holiness is essential to
christianity: open their baptismal covenant to them, and the Lord's
prayer, in which they daily pray that God's will may be done on earth
even as it is in heaven, which is more strictly than the best of us
can reach. The difference between them and you is but this, whether we
should be christians hypocritically in jest, or in good earnest.
[41] Nemo jam infamiam incutiat; nemo aliud existimet: quin nec fas
est ulli de sua religione mentiri. Ex eo enim quod aliud a se coli
dicit quam colit, et culturam et honorem in alterum transferendo, jam
non colit quod negavit: dicimus, et palam dicimus et vobis
torquentibus lacerati et cruenti vociferamur, Deum colimus per
Christum. Tertul. Apolog. c. 11.
[42] 2 Tim. ii. 12; Matt. x. 32, 33; Luke ix. 26.
[43] 1 Cor. viii. 1; 2 Cor. x. 8; Rom. xv. 2; 1 Tim. i. 4; Tit. iii.
9.
[44] Tit. ii. 14; 1 Tim. ii. 10.
[45] The Arians under Valens, and the Vandals, still silenced the
orthodox preachers and forbad their meetings, and yet the people
adhered to their pastors and kept their meetings, while they could.
Sæpius prohibitum est ut sacerdotes vestri conventus minime
celebrarent, nec sua seditione animas subverterunt christianas.
Præcept. Hunner. in Victor. Utic. p. 414.
[46] Matt. x. 18, 23, 32, 33, 38, 39; xii. 14, 15; xiv. 13; John x.
39; Heb. xi. 27; Acts ix. 25.