_CHRISTIANITY calleth all men to a state of self-denial and mortification._
I. It would be strange to suppose, that mankind were redeemed by the sufferings of the Son of God, to live in ease and softness themselves, without any suffering or cross at all!
Are we not all to die? Does God then unmake and dash our very form into pieces; and can we think that a life of pleasure and self-indulgence can become us under such a sentence?
II. *_If any man will come after me_, saith Christ, _let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me_.
To shew that this belongs to all Christians, St. _Luke_ saith, _He said unto them_ All: St. _Mark_ hath it thus; _and when he had called the people unto him, with his disciples also, he said unto them_.
Let us now suppose that Christian churches are full of _fine, gay_ people, who spend their time in all the pleasures and indulgences which the spirit of the world can invent.
Can it be said of such, that they are _denying themselves, and taking up their cross daily_? May they not with as much regard to truth be said, to live _in sackcloth and ashes_? Or can they who live in all the scenes of pleasure be said, to be _working out their salvation with fear and trembling_? May they not as justly be said, to be walking bare-foot to _Jerusalem_?
III. Several instances of this self-denial and daily cross, are to be seen in the following words.
_Ye have heard that it hath been said, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I say unto you, that you resist not evil; but whosoever will smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; and if any man will sue thee at the law and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also: and whosoever shall compell thee to go with him a mile, go with him twain._
We are to deny ourselves then in not demanding _an eye for an eye, or a tooth for a tooth_. We are to take up our daily cross, by _turning our cheek_ to the smiter, and suffering such ill usage as we could prevent by resistance.
We are to take up the cross of one injury after another, rather than revenge ourselves.
The words that deliver this doctrine are so plain and express, that they need no illustration: And it is as plain, that they equally belong to all Christians of all ages. The manner of our Saviour’s delivering them, puts it out of all question, that these were to be the perpetual marks of his followers.
_Ye have heard that it hath been said, an eye for an eye_, &c. _But I say unto you that ye resist not evil._
It was not possible for our Lord to express himself in a more authoritative manner, or to shew us more plainly, that he was here acting as the great lawgiver of Christians, and delivering perpetual laws to all his disciples. Nor is it possible for any one to evade the literal meaning of these doctrines, but by such a way as must destroy the sense of any other part of scripture.
IV. If it could be shewn that we are not obliged by the plain doctrine of these passages, it might as well be shewn that the next doctrine, _But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you_, does not oblige us in the plain and literal sense of the words.
For both the passages are supported by the same authority expressed in the same manner, _I say unto you_. These virtues are likewise necessary to one another: we cannot thus love and do good to our enemy, unless we are thus patient under sufferings, and deny ourselves all instances of anger and resentment at them.
V. If these doctrines seem grievous, they can only seem so to such as have wrong notions of human life.
Too many imagine this life to be something that is valuable for its own goods; and look upon religion as something that is added to it, to make a worldly life more easy, regular and happy: And so embrace religion only as it complies with the ease and order of that way of life in which they live.
Our Saviour has fully confuted this opinion, by teaching us, that there is but _one thing needful_. If then we can take his word, the grievousness of self-denial is struck off at once.
For what though meekness and patience may make us sufferers; yet if by such sufferings we lose only such things as are _not needful_ for us, where is any ground for complaint?
VI. But farther, such sufferings not only do us no real hurt, but they are blessings and matter of solid joy.
_Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil of you ♦falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven._
♦ ‘falsly’ replaced with ‘falsely’
Christ does not comfort us in this, as if it were an _hard_ or _melancholy_ state, which we _must_ bear, because it is made easier by patience. But he looks at it in quite another view, not as needing comfort, but affording matter of congratulation.