PREFACE.

It is a question, more boldly than accurately debated by many, 'Whether a man may not be saved in any religion, that is faithful to the principles of it by serious, diligent practice?' The true solution is this: religion is that which men hold and do to serve and please God. 1. If men make themselves a religion of serving idols or devils instead of God. 2. Or if they place their service to God himself in things that are evil (as what evil is there that some men have not brought into their religion, and fathered upon God?) the more diligent such men are in their religion, the more they sin. 3. Or if they make themselves a religion of irrational, ludicrous ceremonies, their greatest diligence in this will not save them. 4. Or if they hold all the essentials of the true religion, except some one, it cannot save them while one thing is wanting which is essential to that religion, and so necessary to salvation (which is the case of real heretics): for they are not indeed of that religion, if they want that which is essential to it. 5. Or if they hold all that is essential to the true religion only notionally, and hold any thing with it practically, which is contradictory and inconsistent with it, the soundness of the notional belief will not save them from the mortal poison of their practical heresy or error.

But, 1. Whosoever holdeth all that is necessary to salvation, and is serious and diligent in living according thereunto, shall be saved, whatever error he holdeth with it. For if he be serious and diligent in the practice of all things necessary to salvation, he hath all that is necessary to salvation, viz. In belief and practice; and it must needs follow, that his errors are either not contradictory to the things necessary which he holdeth and practiseth, or that he holdeth not those errors practically but notionally, as an opinion, or uneffectual cogitation in a dream, which provoketh not to

action and in such a case the error keepeth no man from salvation.

What is necessary to be believed by them that never hear the Gospel, it so little concerneth us to know, that God hath not thought meet to make it so plain to us, as things that more concern ourselves. But as it is certain, that without the atonement, satisfaction, and reconciliation made by Christ, and without new terms of grace to be judged by, and without his grace for the performance of their part, no man can be saved (that hath the use of reason), so there is so much knowledge necessary to salvation, as is necessary, to engage the heart to love God above all, and sincerely to obey his revealed will, and to prefer the life to come before the transitory pleasures of this life. Now if any man can prove to me, that those that never heard the Gospel, can thus love God, and the life to come, and obey sincerely, without the knowledge of the person, life, death, resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the declaration of the attractive love and goodness of God in him, and in the work of our redemption, then I should believe that such negative infidels may be saved; for God cannot damn a sanctified soul, that sincerely loveth him. But if the discovery of the love of God in our redemption be so necessary a moral means to engage the heart (now corrupted by sin and creature-love) to the true love of God, that this love cannot be wrought without it; or if Christ give not his Spirit to produce the love of God in any but those that hear the Gospel, and believe in him, then no such persons can be saved by their religion. For Christ is the way to the Father, and no man cometh to the Father but by him; and the love of God is absolutely and of itself necessary to salvation; and faith in Christ is so far necessary to salvation, as it is necessary to bring men to the love of God, as pardoning sin and reconciled to them.

But if any should never so confidently conclude, that some that hear not of Christ may be saved, yet he must needs confess that the want of this clear and great discovery of the love and goodness of God, in his pardoning grace, and of the glorious life which he hath prepared for us, must needs make the love of God a very rare and difficult thing, and consequently their salvation rare and difficult, in comparison of ours.

The Christian faith, is, 'The believing an everlasting life of happiness to be given by God (with the pardon of all sin) as procured by the sufferings and merits of Jesus Christ, to all that are sanctified by the Holy Ghost, and do persevere in love to God and to each other, and in a holy and heavenly conversation.' This is saving faith and Christianity, if we consent as well as assent. All that was necessary to salvation to be believed, was formerly thought to be contained in the creed, and that was the test or symbol of the Christian faith; and the Christian religion is the same, and hath the same rule, and test, and symbol in all ages. But since faction and tyranny, pride and covetousness became the matters of the religion of too many, vice and selfish interest hath commanded them to change the rule of faith by their additions, and to make so much necessary to salvation, as is necessary to their affected universal dominion, and to their commodity and carnal ends. And since faction entered, and hath torn the church into many sects (the Greek, the Roman, the Armenian, the Jacobites, the Abassine, and many more), it seemeth meet to the more tyrannical sect to call these several religions, and to say that every man that differeth from them in any of their opinions or addition, which they please to call articles of faith, is of another religion.

* And if the word 'Religion' be taken in this sense, and if all that agree in one Christian religion, are said to be of as many religions, as different opinions, in points that some call necessary, then I answer the question thus. He is the true Catholic Christian that hath but one, even the Christian religion and this is the case of the Protestants, who casting off the additions of Popery, adhere to the primitive

* And yet when they have divided the church, and damned the greatest part of Christians, and raged with fire and sword against the brethren, they confess themselves that it is no point of faith at all, that it is of Divine right, that the Bishop of Rome is St. Peter's successor, and not only of human right. And must the church be divided, and most be damned for not believing or submitting to a human ordinance? If we be of many religions, is not Popery then a human religion? The very words of Smith Bishop of Chalcedon, the chief of the English Popish clergy are these, "Survey" chap v. To us it sufficeth that the Bishop of Rome is St. Peter's successor, and this all the fathers testify, and all the Catholic Church believeth; but whether it be 'jure divino,' or 'humano,' is no point of faith.' And how do their laics here know what is a point of faith, but by the testimony of their priests?

simplicity and unity: if Papists, or any others, corrupt this religion with human additions and innovations, the great danger of these corruptions, is, lest they draw them from the sound belief and serious practice of that ancient Christianity, which we are all agreed in: and (among the Papists, or any other sect) where their corruptions do not thus corrupt their faith and practice in the true essentials, it is certain that those corruptions shall not damn them. For he that truly believeth all things that are essential to Christianity, and liveth accordingly with serious diligence, hath the promise of salvation: and it is certain, that what error that man holdeth, it is either not inconsistent with true Christianity, or not practically, but notionally held, and so not inconsistent as held by him; for how can that be inconsistent which actually doth consist with it?

If a Papist or any other sectary do seriously love God, and his brother; and set his heart upon the life to come, and give up himself to the merits and grace of Jesus Christ, and the sanctification of the Holy Spirit, to be fitted for that glory, and liveth by faith above the world, and mortifieth the desires of the flesh, and liveth wilfully in no known sin, but presseth after further degrees of holiness, I doubt not of the salvation of that person; no more than of the life of him that hath taken poison but into his mouth and spit it out again, or let down so little as nature and antidotes do expel; but I will not therefore plead for poison, nor take it, because men may live that thus take it.

Having answered this great question, reader, I am now come up to the subject of my following discourse, and to tell thee that though it be a great question whether serious diligence in a corrupt religion will save a man, it is past all question, and agreed on by all sides, that no religion will save a man, that is not serious, sincere, and diligent in it. If thou be of the truest religion in the world, and art not true thyself to that religion, the religion is good, but it is none of thine. Objectively thou art of a true and good religion, the things in themselves are true and good, but subjectively thou art sincerely of no religion at all; for if thou art not serious, hearty, and diligent in it, it is certain that thou dost not truly entertain it, and make it thine; but it is thy books that have the true religion, or thy tongue, or fantasy,