The Works of Dr. John Tillotson, Late Archbishop of Canterbury. Vol. 06
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The Works of Dr. John Tillotson, Late Archbishop of Canterbury. Vol. 06. Author(s): Tillotson, John, (1630-1694) Publisher: Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library i Contents Title Page. 1 Prefatory Material. 3 Contents to Vol. IX. 3 Sermons. 5 Sermon CXVII. The Prejudices Against Christianity Considered. 6 Sermon CXVIII. The Prejudices Against Jesus and His Religion Considered. 20 Sermon CXIX. Jesus the Son of God, Proved by His Resurrection. 31 Sermon CXX. The Danger of Apostacy from Christianity. 40 Sermon CXXI. Christ the Author, and Obedience the Condition of Salvation. 54 Sermon CXXII. The Possibility and Necessity of Gospel Obedience, and Its 66 Consistence with Free Grace. Sermon CXXIII. The Authority of Jesus Christ, with the Commission and Promise 79 Which He Gave to His Apostles. Sermon CXXIV. The Difficulties of a Christian Life Considered. 92 Sermon CXXV. The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. 107 Sermon CXXVI. The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. 120 Sermon CXXVII. The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. 134 Sermon CXXVIII. The Children of This World Wiser Than the Children of Light. 145 Sermon CXXIX. Concerning the Perfection of God. 158 Sermon CXXX. Concerning Our Imitation of the Divine Perfections. 167 Sermon CXXXI. The Happiness of God. 181 Sermon CXXXII. The Unchangeableness of God. 191 Sermon CXXXIII. The Knowledge of God. 200 Sermon CXXXIV. Of the Knowledge of God. 211 Sermon CXXXV. The Wisdom, Glory, and Sovereignty of God. 223 Sermon CXXXVI. The Wisdom of God in the Creation of the World. 234 Sermon CXXXVII. The Wisdom of God in His Providence. 242 ii Sermon CXXXVIII. The Wisdom of God in the Redemption of Mankind. 253 Sermon CXXXIX. The Justice of God in the Distribution of Rewards and 264 Punishments. Sermon CXL. The Truth of God. 275 Sermon CXLI. The Holiness of God. 286 Sermon CXLII. Of Doing Good. 296 Sermon CXLIII. The Goodness of God. 308 Indexes 316 Index of Scripture References 317 Greek Words and Phrases 321 Latin Words and Phrases 324 Index of Pages of the Print Edition 328 iii This PDF file is from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library, www.ccel.org. The mission of the CCEL is to make classic Christian books available to the world. • This book is available in PDF, HTML, and other formats. See http://www.ccel.org/ccel/tillotson/works06.html. • Discuss this book online at http://www.ccel.org/node/3997. The CCEL makes CDs of classic Christian literature available around the world through the Web and through CDs. We have distributed thousands of such CDs free in developing countries. If you are in a developing country and would like to receive a free CD, please send a request by email to [email protected]. The Christian Classics Ethereal Library is a self supporting non-profit organization at Calvin College. If you wish to give of your time or money to support the CCEL, please visit http://www.ccel.org/give. This PDF file is copyrighted by the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. It may be freely copied for non-commercial purposes as long as it is not modified. All other rights are re- served. Written permission is required for commercial use. iv Title Page. Title Page. THE WORKS I OF DR. JOHN TILLOTSON, LATE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY. WITH THE LIFE OF THE AUTHOR, BY THOS . BIRCH, M.A. ALSO A COPIOUS INDEX, AND THE TEXTS OF SCRIPTURE CAREFULLY COMPARED. IN TEN VOLUMES.—VOL. VI. 1 Title Page. LONDON: PRINTED BY J. F. DOVE, ST. JOHN’S SQUARE; FOR RICHARD PRIESTLEY, HIGH HOLBORN. 1820. II III 2 Prefatory Material. ContentsPrefatory to Material. Vol. IX. CONTENTS TO VOL. VI. SERMONS. Page CXVII. CXVIII.—The Prejudices against Christianity con- 1. 27 sidered, &c. CXIX.—Jesus the Son of God, proved by his Resurrection 48 CXX.—The Danger of Apostacy from Christianity 65 CXXI. CXXII.—Christ the Author, and Obedience the 92. 114 Condition, of Salvation, &c. CXXIII.—The Authority of Jesus Christ, with the Commis- 137 sion and Promise which he gave to his Apostles CXXIV.—The Difficulties of a Christian Life considered 161 CXXV. CXXVI. CXXVII.—The Parable of the rich Man and 189. 213. 239 Lazarus CXXVIII.—The Children of this World wiser than the 259 Children of Light CXXIX. CXXX.—Concerning the Perfection of God, &c. 283. 299 CXXXI.—The Happiness of God 335 CXXXII.—The Unchangeableness of God 344 CXXXIII. CXXXIV.—The Knowledge of God 360. 381 CXXXV.—The Wisdom, Glory, and Sovereignty of God 403 CXXXVI.—The Wisdom of God in the Creation of the 423 World CXXXVII.—The Wisdom of God in his Providence 438 IV CXXXVIII.—The Wisdom of God in the Redemption of 459 Mankind CXXXIX.—The Justice of God in the Distribution of Re- 478 wards and Punishments 3 Contents to Vol. IX. CXL.—The Truth of God 499 CXLI.—The Holiness of God 519 CXLII.—Of doing Good 537 CXLIII.—The Goodness of God 559 1 4 Sermons. Sermons. SERMONS 5 Sermon CXVII. The Prejudices Against Christianity Considered. Sermon CXVII. The Prejudices Against Christianity Considered. SERMON CXVII. THE PREJUDICES AGAINST CHRISTIANITY CONSIDERED. And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me.—Matt. xi. 6. I HAVE from these words1 propounded to consider two things. I. Those prejudices and objections which the world had against our Saviour and his re- ligion at their first appearance; as also to inquire into those which men at this day do more especially insist upon, against the Christian religion; and to shew the unreasonableness of them. II. How happy a thing it is to escape and overcome the common prejudices which men have against religion. I have entered upon the first of these; the prejudices which the world had against our Saviour and his religion. When this great teacher of mankind came from God, though he gave all imaginable testimony and evidence that he was sent from heaven, yet the greatest part of the world, both Jews and gentiles, were mightily offended at him, and deeply preju- diced against him and his doctrine; but not both upon the same account. I have already given you an account of the chief exceptions which the Jews made against our Saviour and his doctrine, and have shewn the unreasonableness of them. 2 I proceed now to consider the principal of those exceptions, which the gentiles and heathen philosophers took at our Saviour and his doctrine. I shall mention these four: First, That Christianity was a great innovation, and contrary to the received institutions of the world. Secondly, They objected against the plainness and simplicity of the doctrine. Thirdly, That it wanted demonstration. Fourthly, That the low and suffering condition of our Saviour was unsuitable to one that pretended to be the Son of God, and to be appointed by him for a teacher and reformer of the world. These are the chief exceptions which the heathen, and especially their philo- sophers, took at our Saviour and his doctrine. First, That the Christian religion was a great innovation, and contrary to the received institutions of the world; and consequently that it did condemn the religion which had been so universally received and established in the world by so long a continuance of time. And no wonder if this made a great impression upon them, and raised a mighty prejudice in the minds of men against the Christian religion; no prejudices being so strong as those that are fixed in the minds of men by education: and of all the prejudices of education, none so violent 1 See Sermon CXVI. Vol. V. p. 554. 6 Sermon CXVII. The Prejudices Against Christianity Considered. and hard to be removed, as those about religion; yea, though they be never so groundless and unreasonable. “Hath a nation changed their gods, which yet are no gods?” Intimating to us, that men are very hardly brought off from that religion which they have been brought up in, how absurd soever it be. When Christianity was first propounded to the heathen 3 world, had men been free and indifferent, and not prepossessed with other apprehensions of God and religion, it might then have been expected from them, that they should have entertained it with a readiness of mind proportion able to the reasonableness of it. But the case was quite otherwise; the world had for many ages been brought up to another way of worship, and inured to rites and superstitions of a quite different nature. And this sways very much with men; Sequimur majores nostros, qui feliciter sequuti sunt suos; as one of the heathens said in those clays; “We follow our ancestors, who happily followed theirs.” Men are hardly brought to condemn those opinions and customs in religion, which themselves and their forefathers have always embraced and followed. And wise men especially are loath to admit so great a change in a matter of so great concernment as religion is. So that this must be acknowledged to have been a considerable prejudice against the Christian religion at its first appearance. But yet, upon a thorough examination, this will not be found sufficient in reason to withhold men from embracing Christianity, if we consider these four things: 1. No prudent person thinks that the example and custom of his forefathers obligeth him to that which is evil in itself, and pernicious to him that does it; and there is no evil, no danger, equal to that of a false religion; for that tends to the ruin of men’s souls, and their undoing for ever. A man might better allege the example of his forefathers to justify his errors and follies in any other kind than in this, which is so infinitely pernicious in the consequences of it.