SERMON I*. Titus 1. 16. They profess that they know God; but in works they deny, him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate. SINCE it is too obvious, that many persons are apt to satisfy themselves with the mere profession of Christianity; and to reckon that while they explicitly own the true religion they are sound christians and good protestants, without considering whether that religion carries due and suitable impressions on their hearts or not; I have therefore thought it might not be unuseful, to discourse a little from this scripture, and shew the vanity and insignificance of an empty profession, a profession which refutes and contradicts itself. To make way for what I intend from this passage of Scripture, there are a few things that it will be necessary for me to recommend to your notice. First. That this phrase, the knowing of God, is a usual expression to signify religion in general; inasmuch as it is the primary, the most deep and fundamental thing in all religion. It is, as I remember the moralist stiles it, "The foundation of foundations." Hence, from so noted and principal a part, the denomination is put upon the whole. To know God therefore, is to own him, to acknowledge him as our God; and * This Sermon is without a date; but, it is very probable, it was, preached on January 16, 1680. In the thereupon to carry ourselves suitably towards him. first commandment, which establishes the relation betwixt God and us, it is intimated, that if we will have him to be our God, we must have no other gods before him. Exod. 20. 3. And again, one of the prophets expresses it by knowing no other god but Him.. "I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt and thou shalt know no other god but me, for there is no Saviour besides me." Hos. 13. 4. The import then of the expression, is to own him as God, in relation to ourselves; and consequently to love and fear him, to hope and delight in him, and the like. All which, result from the relation betwixt him and us according to that well known observation and rule among the Hebrews; that "words of knowledge import life and sense, as consequent; as words of life and sense suppose knowledge antecedent." Secondly. This phrase imports not only natural religion, but also that which is revealed. Knowing God therefore is not to be taken so abstractedly, as though it meant no more than only to entertain the notion of the Deity, and the practice of those duties that we are led to by the light of nature; but more generally whatever duty he is pleased to enjoin also by revelation. We then know and acknowledge him as God, with respect to his sovereignty and dominion, when we are universally observant of his will; how or by what means soever it is made known to us: whether it be by natural light, or express superadded revelation. And therefore we find this expression made use of to signify religion among the Jews, while they were a peculiar people unto God. It is said, Hezekiah, a good king, "spoke comfortably to the Levites," to their hearts, according to the hebrew, "who taught the good knowledge of the Lord." 2 Chran 30. 22. That is, instructed the people in religion, according to the revelation of the mind and will of God, which was then afforded them. Thirdly. We find this phrase expressly used to signify the Christian religion in particular. And thus the same apostle uses it in another place. "Awake to righteousness and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God, I speak this to your shame." 1 Cor. 15. 34. As if he had said, "You do not know God, you do not demean and behave yourselves like those, who understand the principles of your own religion." And again, says the apostle, "After you have known God, why turn ye back to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?" Gal, 4. 9. That is, Why do you follow the gnostics in mixing judaical and pagan rites with the religion of Christ? Fourthly. We are therefore further to collect, that the apos tle does here, in this place, particularly intend the Christian religion. "They profess that they know God;" that is, they profess to be christians. For it is very evident he writes of such, as professed the only true religion. The teachers who seduced and corrupted them it is evident, were professed christians, though very corrupt and unsound ones: for they endeavoured to deprave others; not indeed as avowed adversaries to the Christian name, but as deceivers and gainsayers. It is true, the apostle said, they ought to be convinced; by which he implies that there were some common agreed principles among them, which might be the ground of such conviction. He calls them deceivers, who by cunning insinuations laboured to pervert the Christian doctrine, and to render it favourable to licentious and immoral practices. And therefore those, whom they had perverted, must be of the same stamp: not wholly of the Jewish religion, for that their teachers were not; but judaizing christians. They who lived so remote from Judea, cannot be thought to have entertained the principles of the Jewish religion entirely; nor so generally and in such numbers, as is here implied, for "many whole houses were subverted." Tit. 1. 11. Much less can we suppose the whole body of the people to be naturally Jews; for the apostle does manifestly describe them by the common national taint of that island, that is, as "liars, evil beasts, slow bellies," (Tit. 1. 12.) according to the character given of them by one of their own poets.* Thus are the people described, whom the apostle speaks of, namely, the natives of Crete, who were converted from paganism to the profession of the Christian religion, with which they mingled many of the Judaical sentiments. This therefore being premised, our way is plain and clear to the things I intend to insist upon; which are especially these two-That men may profess the true religion, and yet lead very ill lives: and-That they who do so, by just interpretation, may be said to deny the religion they profess. I propose to speak to these two observations jointly in this order. I. I shall shew what sort of profession that must be, which can be meant in such a case. II. What the persons who make it may be notwithstanding, in the temper of their spirits, and the course of their practice. III. I shall shew whence it is, that men should make profession of a religion, to which the temper of their spirits, and the course of their walking are so repugnant. And YOL. V. *Epimenides. 3 M THE VANITY OF A FORMÁL. . The vanity of such a profession, and how little it sigs to entitle persons to the reputation, or proper rewards uch a religion. . I shall shew what sort of profession that must be, which be meant in this case, or was made by such persons as the ostle speaks of. : 1. It must be understood to be, in the main, but a nomial profession. These professors indeed own the Christian ame, call themselves by it; and not only do so, but also claim the privilege of being called christians by others like those who said they were Jews, when they were not, but were of the synagogue of Satan. Rev. 2. 9. And St. Paul in the second chapter of his epistle to the Romans, speaking of these professors, uses the very same style, alluding to those who called themselves Jews, or were commonly so called by others; "Thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God," &c. but says he, in the close of that chapter, "He is not a Jew that is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew, that is one inwardly-whose praise is not of men but of God." Rom. 2. 17. 29. : 2. This profession could be only formal; that is, wholly made up of the external form of that religion to which they pretended. So in like manner, many now profess the Christian religion and make a shew or appearance of being religious by frequenting Christian assemblies; by owning themselves to be members of the catholic, or some protestant church and by wearing the badge and cognizance of such and such a party. The bare having a name, is all we can suppose to be in such a profession as this. And therefore to these professors may be applied what our Lord says to the church in Sardis; "Thou hast a name that thou art alive, when thou art dead." Rev. 3. 1. And so it is, in like manner, with all others; who content themselves with making a shew of religion, and performing such external rites, as are the distinguishing badge of the several parties of the Christian world. II. I am now to shew you what such persons may be, notwithstanding their profession, both in temper and practice; which shall be done briefly by opening the terms of the text. They may be for all that, abominable, disobedient, and to every good work reprobate; that is, in one word, inclined to all evil, and averse to all good. To these two things do these several expressions amount. 1. They are said to be uro, abominable, or shamefully addicted to all manner of evil. The word, in the original, denotes the heinousness of those practices, in which they allow |