WHY the Christian should labour for an established judgment in the truth 2/2

Three characters you may observe among those who are most commonly seduced.  1. They are called ‘simple’ ones—‘By good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple,’ Rom. 16:18, such who mean well, but want wisdom to discern those who mean ill—in cautious ones, that dare pledge every­body, and drink of any one’s cup, and never suspect poisoning.  2. They are called ‘children’—‘Be no more children, tossed to and fro, with every wind of doctrine,’ Eph. 4:14.  Now children are very credulous, prone to believe every one that gives them a parcel of fair words.  They think anything is good, if it be sweet.  It is not hard to make them eat poison for sugar.  They are not swayed by principles of their own, but by those of others.  The child reads, con­strues, and parses his lesson as his master saith, and thinks it therefore right.  Thus as poor creatures that have little knowledge of the word themselves, they are easily persuaded this or that way, even as those of whom they have a good opinion please to lead them. Let the doctrine be but sweet, and it goes down glib. They, like Isaac, bless their opinions by feeling, not by sight.  Hence many poor creatures applaud them­selves so much of the joy they have found since they were of this judgement and that way.  Not being able to try the comfort and sweetness they feel by the truth of their way from the word, they are fain to believe the truth of it by their feeling, and so, poor creatures, they bless error for truth.  3. They are such as are ‘unstable’—‘beguiling unstable souls,’ II Peter 2:14, such as are not well grounded and principled.  The truth they profess hath no anchor-hold in their under­standing, and so they are at the mercy of the wind, soon set adrift, and carried down the stream of those opinions which are the favourites of the present time, and are most cried up—even as the dead fish with the current of the tide.

           Reason Third. We are to endeavour after an established judgment in the truth, because of the universal influence it hath upon the whole man.

1. Upon the memory,which is helped much by the understanding.  The more weight is laid on the seal, the deeper impression is made on the wax.  The memory is that faculty which carries the images of things.  It holds fast what we receive, and is that treasury where we lay up what we desire afterward to use and converse with.  Now, the more clear and cer­tain our knowledge of anything is, the deeper it sinks, and the surer it is held by the memory.
2. Upon the affections.Truth is as light, the more steady and fixed the glass of the understanding is, through which its beams are darted upon the affections, the sooner they take fire—‘Did not our hearts,’ saith the disciples, ‘burn within us, while he opened to us the Scriptures?’ Luke 24:32.  They had heard Christ, no doubt, preach much of what he said then, before his passion; but never were they so satisfied and confirmed as now, when Scriptures and understanding were opened together, and this made their hearts ‘burn.’  The sun in the firmament sends his influence where he doth not shed his beams, I mean into the bowels of the earth, but the Sun of righteousness imparts his influence only where his light comes.  He spreads the beams of truth into the understanding, to enlighten that; and while the crea­ture sits under these wings, a kindly heart-quickening heat is begotten in its bosom.  Hence we find that even when the Spirit is promised as a comforter, he comes as a convincer, John 16:13—he comforts by teaching.  And certainly, the reason why many poor trembling souls have so little heat of heavenly joy in their hearts, is because they have so little light to understand the nature and tenure of the gospel-covenant.  The farther a soul stands from the light of truth, the father he must needs be from the heat of comfort.
3. An established judgment hath a powerful in­fluence upon the life and conversation.The eye directs the foot.  He walks very unsafely that sees not his way, and he uncomfortably that is not resolved whether right or wrong.  That which moves must rest on something that doth not move.  A man could not walk if the earth turned under his feet.  Now the principles we have in our understanding are, as it were, the ground we go upon in all our actions; if they stagger and reel, much more will our life and practice. It is as impossible for a shaking hand to write a straight line, as for an unfixed judgement to have an even conversation.  The apostle joins steadfastness and unmovableness with ‘abounding in the work of the Lord,’ I Cor. 15:58.  And if I mistake not, he means chiefly in that place, a steadfastness of judgment in the truth of the resurrection, which some had been shaking.  It is not the many notions we have, but the establishment we have in the truth, that makes us strong Christians; as he is a strong man whose joints are well set together and knit—not he who is spun out at length, but not thickened suitable to his height. One saith well, ‘Men are what they see and judge; though some do not fill up their light, yet none go beyond it.’  A truth under dispute in the under­standing is, as I may so say, stopped in the head; it cannot commence in the heart, or become practicable in the life.  But when it passeth clearly there, and upon its commendation is embraced in the will and affections, then it is held fast, and hath powerful ef­fects in the conversation.  The gospel, it is said, came to the Thessalonians ‘in much assurance,’ i.e.evidence of its truth, I Thes. 1:5.  And you see how prevalent and opera­tive it was: ‘Ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost,’ ver. 6. They were assured that the doctrine was of God, and this carried them merrily through the saddest afflictions which attended the same.

WHY the Christian should labour for an established judgment in the truth 1/2

           I shall content myself with three reasons.  The first taken from the damning nature of false doctrine; the second from the subtlety of seducers to draw into false doctrine; and the third from the universal influence that an established judgment hath on the whole man, and whole course of a Christian.

           Reason First. From the damning nature of false doctrines.  They hunt for the precious life of souls, as well as any other sin.  An imposthume in the head proves oft as deadly as one in the stomach.  A corrupt judgment in foundation-truths kills as sure as a rotten heart.  Indeed, it proceeds thence.  Jezebel’s children are threatened to be to be ‘killed with death,’ Rev. 2:23.  And who are her children, but her disciples, that drink of her cup of fornication and embrace her cor­rupt doctrines?  But sure this is not believed by some, who, though very strict in their lives, and seem as tender in matter of morality as Lot was of his guests, yet are very loose in their principles and judgements, exposing them, as he his daughters, to be defiled with any corrupt doctrine that comes to their door.  They would make us think, that here men played but at small game, and their souls were not at stake, as in other sins.  As if there were not such a question to be asked at the great day—what opinions we held? and whether we were sound in the faith?—in a word, as if false doctrines were but an innocent thing, not like the wild gourd which brought death into the prophets' pot, II Kings 4:39, 40—turning wholesome food, with which it was mingled, into baneful poison—but rather like herb-john in the pot, that does neither much good nor hurt.  Yea, there be some that speak out, and tell us a man may be saved in any religion, so he doth but follow his light.  And are not these charitable men?  Because they would have the company as few as may be that are damned, [they] make as many roads to heaven as the Scripture tells us are ways to hell?  This is contrary to the teaching of Christ, who tells us of no other way but by him to life.  ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life,’ John 14:6.  It is point blank against St. John, who tells us of but one doc­trine, and that the doctrine of Christ, and that he that holds not this to be marked out for a lost man. ‘Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doc­trine of Christ, hath not God,’ II John 9, 10.  And how far, I pray, is that man off hell that hath not God? Him that hath not God before he dies, the devil shall have when he dies.  Well, sirs, the time is coming, yea it hastens—what favour and kindness soever corrupt doctrines find here at man’s hand—wherein the obstinate heretic shall receive the same law at Christ’s hands with the impenitent drunkard.  You may see them both under the same condemnation, as they stand pinioned together for hell, Gal. 5:20, 21, ‘I tell you now,’ saith the apostle, ‘as I have told you in time past, that they which do such things, shall not inherit the kingdom of God.’  And see, I pray, if you cannot find the heretic’s name amongst them?  Ignorance in fundamentals is damning, surely then error in fun­damentals much more. If a pound weighs down the scale, there is no doubt then but a stone-weight will do it.  If the less sin presseth down to hell, how can we rationally think that the greater should escape it? Error stands at a farther distance from, yea at a fuller contrariety to, truth than ignorance.  Error is ignor­ance with a die on it.  He that eats little or nothing must needs die, much more he that eats rank poison. The apostle doth not only tell us of ‘pernicious ways,’ and ‘damnable heresies,’ but he tells us they ‘bring swift destruction’ upon those that hold them, II Peter 2:1, 2.  I pray observe what an accent he lays on the destruction that comes by these corrupt doctrines, he calls it ‘swift destruction.’  All rivers find their way at last to the sea from whence they sprang, but some return with a swifter stream, and get sooner to it, than others.  Would any make it a shorter voyage to hell than ordinary, let him throw himself but into this stream of corrupt doctrine, and he is not like to be long in going.

           Reason Second. Because impostors are so sub­tle, it therefore behoves the Christian to establish and strength­en his judgment in the truths of Christ.  They are a generation of men skilful to destroy the faith of others.  There is an erudita nequitia in the world, as one calls it, a learned kind of wickedness, that some have to corrupt the minds of men.  The Spirit of God sets them out to life, sometimes comparing them to merchants, who can set a gloss upon their false ware with fine words; they are said, II Peter 2:3, ‘with feigned words’ to ‘make merchandise’ of souls—sometimes to hucksters, that blend and dash their wine with water, II Cor. 2:17—some­times to cheating gamesters, that have a sleight of hand to cog the die, Eph. 4:14—yea, to witches themselves: ‘Who hath bewitched you?’ saith the apostle, Gal. 3:1. Strange things have been done in our days on those that God has suffered them to prac­tice their sorcery upon; and what counter-charm bet­ter than an established judgment?  It is observable that in II Tim. 3:8, where the apostle compares the seducers of that present age to those sorcerers Jannes and Jambres, that resisted Moses, and shows what kind of persons they were that fell into their snare —such as though ‘ever learning,’ yet never came ‘to the knowledge of the truth,’ ver. 7, he then turns to Timothy [with the words], ‘But thou hast fully known my doctrine,’ ver. 10.  As if he had said, I am out of fear for thee;—thou art better grounded in the doc­trine of the gospel, than to be thus cheated of it.  In­deed, those whom seducers lie in wait for, are chiefly weak unsettled ones; for as Solomon saith, ‘In vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird,’ Prov. 1:17. The devil chose rather to assault Eve than Adam, as the more likely of the two to be caught; and ever since he takes the same course.  He labours to creep over where the hedge is lowest, and the resistance likely to be weakest.