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thou mayeft never be fo fairly offered again; perhaps the day of falvation may not come again to-morrow; nay, perhaps to thee to-morrow may never come. But if we were fure that happiness would come again, yet why fhould we put it off? Does any man know how to be fafe and happy to-day, and can he find in his heart to tarry till to morrow?

Now, the God of all mercy and patience give every one of us the wisdom and grace to know, and to do in this our day, the things that belong to our peace, before they be hid from our eyes, for the fake of our bleffed Saviour and Redeemer. To whom, with the Father, and the Holy Ghoft, be all honour and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

SERMON

XV.

The diftinguishing character of a good and a bad man.

I JOHN iii. 10.

In this the children of God are manifeft, and the children of the devil: Whosoever doth not righteoufness, is not of God.

T is certainly a matter of the greatest confequence to

Ius, both in order to our prefent feeace and future

happiness, truly to understand our spiritual state and condition, and whether we belong to God, and be his chil dren, or not. And it is not fo difficult as is commonly imagined, to arrive at this knowledge, if we have a mind to it, and will but deal impartially with ourselves; for the text gives us a plain mark and character whereby we may know it: In this the children of God are manifeft, and the children of the devil: Whofoever doth not righ teousness, is not of God.

From which words I fhall endeavour, by God's affift ance, to lay men open to themselves, and to reprefent VOL. I.

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to every one of us the truth of our condition; and then leave it to the grace of God, and every man's ferious confideration, to make the best use of it.

And it will conduce very much to the clearing of this matter, to consider briefly the occafion of these words. And this will beft appear by attending ftedfaftly to the main fcope and defign of this epiftle. And I think that no man that reads it with attention, can doubt, but that it is particularly defigned against the impious fect of the Gnofticks, who, as the fathers tell us, fprang from Simon Magus, and pretended to extraordinary knowledge and illumination; from whence they had the name of Gnofticks; but, notwithstanding this glittering pretence, they did allow themselves in all manner of impious and vitious practices, turning the grace of God into lafcivious nefs, as St Jude speaks of them. And that St John aims particularly at this fort of men, is very evident from the frequent and plain allufions throughout this epiftle, to thofe names and titles which this fect affumed to themfelves: as, Ep. 1, ch. ii, 4. He that faith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; and, ver. 9. He that faith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. Which paffages, and many more in this epiftle, do plainly refer to the pretences of this fect, to more than ordinary knowledge and illumination in the mysteries of religion, notwithstanding they did fo notorioufly contradict thefe glorious pretences, by the impiety of their lives, and particularly by their hatred and enmity to their fellow-Chriftians. For, as the ancient fathers tell us, they pretended, that whatever they did, they could not fin. And this our apostle intimates in the beginning of this epiftle: If we fay that we have no fin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. And they held it lawful to renounce Christianity to avoid perfecution; and not only fo, but also to join with the Heathen in perfecuting the Chriftians; which feems to be the reafon why the apostle fo often taxeth them for hatred to their brethren, and calls them murderers.

Now, to fhew the inconfiftence of thefe principles and practices with Chriftianity, the apoftle ufeth many ar guments; amongst which, he particularly infifteth upon

this, that nothing is more effential to a difciple of Chrift, and a child of God, by which titles Chriftians were com monly known, than to abstain from the practice of all fin and wickednefs: ver. 6. of this chapter, Whosoever abideth in him, finneth not: whofoever finneth, bath not feen him, neither known him: whatever knowledge they might pretend to, it was evident they were deftitute of the true knowledge of God, and his Son Jefus Chrift; and, ver. 7. Little children, let no man deceive you : he that doth righteousness, is righteous, even as he is righteous; and, ver. 8. He that committeth fin, is of the devil; and, ver.9. Whosoever is born of God, doth not commit fin. Let men pretend what they will, wickedness is a plain mark and character of one that belongs to the devil; as, on the contrary, righteousness is an evidence of a child of God: In this the children of God are manifeft, and the children of the devil, &c.

I fhall briefly explain the words, and then confider the matter contained in them.

By the children of God, and the children of the devil, are meant good and bad men; it being ufual in the phrafe of fcripture, to call persons or things which partake of fuch a nature or quality, the children of those who are eminently endued with that nature and disposttion. Thus they who are of the faith of Abraham, and do the works of Abraham, are called Abraham's children. : in like manner, thofe who in their difpofitions and actions imitate God, are called the children of God; and, on the contrary, those that addict themselves to fin and impiety, are counted of another race and defcent; they refemble the devil, and belong to him as the chief and head of that faction.

By righteoufnefs is here meant univerfal goodness, and conformity to the law of God, in oppofition to fm, which is the tranfgreffion of that law.

By being manifeft is meant, that hereby good and bad men are really distinguished; fo that every one that will examine his condition by this mark, may know of which number he is, and to what party he belongs.

I come now to the main argument contained in the words; which is, to give us a certain character and mark of distinction between a good and a bad man : EY TYTW.

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By this the children of God are manifeft, and the children of the devil: Whofoever doth not righteousness, is not of God.

In the management of the following difcourfe, I shall proceed in this method.

1. We will confider the character and mark of difference between a good and bad man, which is here laid down: Whofoever doth not righteousness, is not of God.

2. I fhall endeavour to fhew, that by this mark every man may, with due care and diligence, come to the knowledge of his fpiritual state and condition: By this the children of God are manifeft, and the children of the devil.

3. I fhall inquire whence it comes to pafs, that, notwithstanding this, fo many perfons are at so great uncertainty concerning their condition.

I. We will confider the character and mark of difference between a good and bad man, which is here in the text: Whofoever doth not righteoufnefs, is not of God; which implies likewife, on the contrary, that whosoever doth righteoufnefs, is of God. Now, in the ftrictest sense of this phrafe, he only who lives in all the commandments of God blamelefs, can be faid to do righteousness. But in this fenfe there is none that doth righteoufnefs, no, not one; and confequently none could be the children of God but the text fuppofes fome to be fo; and therefore, by doing righteoufnefs the apoftle muft neceffarily be understood to mean fomething that is fhort of perfect and unfinning obedience. So that the question is, What doing of righteoufnefs is fufficient to denominate a man a child of God, and to put him into a state of and favour with him?

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And I do not intend nicely to state this matter. It is not perhaps poffible to be done; nothing being more difficult, than to determine the very utmost bounds and limits of things; and to tell exactly, and juft to a point, where the line of difference between virtue and vice, be tween the state of a good and a bad man, is to be pla.ced and, if it could be done, it would be of no great ufe; for I take it to be no part of my bufinefs, to tell men how many faults they may have, and how little goodnefs, and yet be the children of God;. but rather to acquaint them what degrees of holiness and goodness

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are neceffary to give men a clear and comfortable evidence of their good eftate towards God; and then to perfuade them, in order to their peace and affurance, to endeavour after fuch degrees.

Wherefore, to state the business fo far as is neceffary to give men a fufficient knowledge of their condition, I fhall briefly confider who they are, that, in the apostle's fenfe, may be faid to be doers of righteousness, or not doers of it. And because the apoftle lays down the rule negatively, I fhall therefore,

In the first place, inquire who they are, that, in the apostle's fenfe, may be faid not to do righteousness.

1. They that live in the general courfe of a wicked life, in the practice of great and known fins, as injustice, intemperance, filthy and fenfual lufts, profane neglect and contempt of God and religion; fo that, by the whole course and tenor of their actions, it is plain, beyond all denial, that there is no fear of God before their eyes. Concerning these the cafe is fo very evident, that it feems too mild and gentle an expreffion, to call them not doers of righteousness.

2. They who live in the habitual practice of any one known fin, or in the neglect of any confiderable part of their known duty. For any vitious habit denominates a man, and puts him into an evil ftate.

3. They who are g⚫ity of the fingle act of a very heinous and notorious crime, as a deliberate act of blafphemy, of murder, perjury,. fraud, or oppreffion, or of any other crime of the like enormity. For though ordinarily one fingle act of fin doth not denominate one a bad man, when the general courfe of the man's life is contrary; yet the fingle acts of fome forts of fins are fo crying and heinous, and do so stare every man's confcience in the face, that they are justly efteemed to be of equal malignity with vitious habits of an inferior kind; be-caufe they do almoft neceffarily fuppofe a great depravation of mind, and a monstrous alienation from God and goodness, in the person that deliberately commits them.. And they who are guilty in any of thefe three degrees now mentioned, are most certainly not doers of righteouf nefs; and confequently it is manifeft, that they are not the children of God.

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