The second particular, into which the point was branched, comes now to be taken into hand; and that was to mention several instances wherein especially every Christian is to express the power of a holy and righteous life. Now this I shall do under several heads.
First. The Christian must maintain the power of holiness in his contest with sin. Second. The Christian must express the power of holiness in the duties of God’s worship. Third. The Christian must express the power of holiness in his particular calling and worldly employments.
[The power of holiness is expressed in the saint’s behaviour towards sin.]
First Instance. The Christian must maintain the power of holiness in his contest with sin; and that in the particulars following.
Thou must not only refuse to commit broad sins, but shun the appearance of sin also; this is to walk in the power of holiness. The dove doth not only fly from the hawk, but will not so much as smell a single feather that falls from it. It should be enough to scare the holy soul from any enterprise, if it be but male coloratum—badly coloured. We are commanded to ‘hate even the garment spotted by the flesh,’ Jude 23. A cleanly person will not only refuse to swallow the dung-hill (he [who would] is a beast indeed), but he is careful also that he doth not get so much as a spot on his clothes as he is eating his meat. The Christian’s care should be to keep, as his conscience is pure, so his name pure; which is done by avoiding all appearance of evil. Bernard’s three questions are worth the asking ourselves in any enterprise. An liceat? an deceat? an expediat?—Is it lawful? may I do it and not sin? Is it becoming me a Christian? may I do it, and not wrong my profession? That work which would suit a mean man, would it become a prince? ‘Should such a man as I flee?’ Neh. 6:11, said Nehemiah nobly. Lastly, Is it expedient? may I do it, and not offend my weak brother? There are some things we must deny ourselves of for the sake of others. Though a man could sit his horse, and run him full speed without danger to himself; yet he should do very ill to come scouring through a town where children are in the way, that may be, before he is aware, rid over by him, and spoiled. Thus some things thou mayest do, and without sin to thee, if there were no weak Christians in thy way to ride over, and so bruise their tender consciences and grieve their spirits.
But alas! this is too narrow a path for many shaleing professors to walk in now-a-days; they must have more room and scope for their loose hearts, or else they and their profession must part. Liberty is the Diana of our times. O what apologies are made for some suspicious practices!—long hair, gaudy garish apparel, spotted faces, naked breasts. These have been called to the bar in former times, and censured by sober and solid Christians, as things at least suspicious, and of no ‘good report;’ but now they have hit upon a more favourable jury, that find them ‘not guilty.’ Yea, many are so fond of them, that they think Christian liberty is wronged in their censure. Professors are so far from a holy jealousy, that should make them watch their hearts, lest they go too far, that they stretch their consciences to come up to the full length of their tedder; as if he were the brave Christian that could come nearest the pit of sin, and not fall in; as in the Olympian games, he wore the garland away, that could drive his chariot nearest the mark, and not knock on it. If this were so, Paul mistook when he bade Christians ‘abstain from all appearance of evil,’ I Thes. 5:22. He should rather, by these men’s divinity, have said ‘abstain’ not from ‘the appearance,’ only take heed of what is in itself grossly ‘evil.’ But he that can venture on ‘the appearance of evil,’ under the pretence of liberty, may, for aught I know, commit that which is more grossly evil, under some appearance of good. It is not hard, if a man will be at the cost, to put a good colour on a rotten stuff, and practice also.
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