lieve. No Man can be Religious that doth not believe these two things. Sermon First, The Principles of natural Religion; that there is a God; that his Soul is immortal; and that there are future Rewards. Secondly, That the Scriptures are the Word of God; or, which comes all to one, that the Doctrine contained in them is a Divine Revelation. Therefore whoever would perfwade men to be Religious, he must begin here; and whoever would improve men in Religion and Holinefs, he muft labour to ftrenghthen this Principle of Faith. Faith is the Root of all other Graces; and they will flourifh, or decay, according to the degrees of our Faith. Now he that would perfwade a Man, or prevail with him to do any thing, must do it one of these three ways; either by Entreaty, or Authority, or Argument; either he must entreat him as a Friend, or command him as Subject to him, and under his Power, or convince him as a Man. Now he VI. that should go about to entreat men Volume to believe any thing, or to charge XII. them fo to do, before he hath convinc'd them by fufficient Arguments, that it is reasonable to do fo, would, in my opinion, take a prepofterous courfe. He that entreats or chargeth a Man to do any thing, fuppofeth that he can do the thing if he will: but a Man cannot believe what he will; the Nature of a human Understanding is fuch, that it cannnot affent without Evidence, nor believe any thing to be true, uniefs it fee reafon fo to do, any more than a Man can see a thing without light. So that if the deareft Friend that I have in the World, fhould beg of me with the greatest importunity; or any Man that hath the greatest Authority over me, fhould lay his fevereft Commands upon me to believe a thing, for which I fee no reafon, I could not do it; because nothing can command affent, but Evidence. So that he that would perfwade men to believe either the Principles of Natural Religion, or any Divine Revelation, must convince them of the truth of them: for it is unreasonable to defire a Man Man to believe any thing, unless I give him good reafon why he fhould. And this being the proper courfe which is to be taken, there are two forts of Perfons to whom I fhall apply my 'felf in this Exhortation : those who do not believe these things; and those who are perfwaded of them: to the former, in order to the begeting of Faith in them; to the latter, in order to the ftrengthning and confirming of their Faith, Those who do not believe, are of two forts: either fuch as do pofitively disbelieve these things, and make it their business to arm themselves against them with all the Arguments they can; who are fo far from believing a God, or any Divine Revelation, that they endeavour to perfwade themselves of the contrary, that there is no fuch thing; or else they are fuch as are indifferent about thefe matters. They have received the Principles of Religion by their Education, and they have nothing to fay against them, nor for them; they M 3 never Sermon VI. never confider'd them, nor the proVolume per confequences of them; they neiXII ther believe, nor disbelieve them up. on any reasonable account. Now all these are to be dealt withall in the fame way for whatever will convince the Disbeliever, will much more perfwade the indifferent, and confirm the weak. For Faith is to be ftrengthned by the fame Arguments by which it is wrought. Therefore I fhall apply my felf to convince Unbelievers; and every one may apply those Arguments which I ufe to this purpofe,for the ftrengthning of their own Faith. But before I come to thofe Arguments, I intend to offer for the conviction of thofe who do not believe, I think it convenient to endeavour, if poffible, to remove a violent, and I think unreasonable prejudice which men have received against all those who endeavour to make Religion reafonable. As if Bellarmine had been in the right, when he faid "That "Faith was rather to be defined by 66 ignorance than by Knowledge. The plain Sermon plain English of which is, that it is for want of Understanding that men believe the Gofpel; and if the World were but a little more knowing and wife, no body would be a Chriftian. I know not how it comes to pass, whether through the artifice of the Popish party, who hate the light, left it should reprove them, and make them manifeft; or thro' the Ignorance of too many well-meaning Proteftants; I fay, I know not how it comes to pafs, but fo it is, that every one that offers to give a reafonable account of his Faith, and to establish Religion upon rational Principles, is presently branded for a Socinian; of which we have a fad Inftance in that incomparable Perfon Mr. Chillingworth, the glory of this Age and Nation, who for no other caufe that I know of, but his worthy and fuccefsful attempts to make Chriftian Religion reasonable, and to discover thofe firm and folid foundations upon which our Faith is built, hath been requited with this black and odious Character, But if this be Socinianifm, for a Man to enquire into the Grounds and Reasons of Chriftian Religion, and to endeavour to M 4 give VI. |
