, and of faith unfeigned," 1 Tim. i.
5. If this were duly pondered, I do believe it would fill all hearts with
astonishment, and faces with confusion, that they neglected the weightier
matters of the law, and over stretched some other particular duties, to
fill up the place of this, which is the end, the fulfilling of the law. It
appears by this that charity is a cream of graces. It is the spirit and
quintessence extracted out of these cardinal graces, unfeigned faith, a
good conscience, a pure heart. It is true, the immediate end of the law,
as it is now expounded unto us, is to drive us to believe in Jesus Christ,
as it is expressed, Rom. x. 4. "Christ is the end of the law for
righteousness to every one that believeth." But this believing in Christ
is not the last end of it. Faith unfeigned in a Mediator is intentionally
for this, to give the answer of a good conscience in the blood of Christ,
and to purify the heart by the water of the Spirit, and so to bring about
at length, by such a sweet compass, the righteousness of the law to be
fulfilled by love in us, which by divine imputation is fulfilled to us.
Now consider the context, and it shall yield much edification. Some
teachers (1 Tim. i. 4.) exercised themselves and others in endless
genealogies, which, though they contained some truth in them, yet they
were perplexing, and brought no edification to souls. Curiosity might go
round in such debates, and bewilder itself as in a labyrinth, but they did
rather multiply disputes than bring true edification in the faith and love
of God and men. Now, says he, they do wholly mistake the end of the law,
of the doctrine of the scripture. The end and great purpose of it is love,
which proceeds from faith in Christ, purifying the heart. This is the sum
of all, to worship God in faith and purity, and to love one another. And
whatsoever debates and questions do tend to the breach of this bond, and
have no eminent and remarkable advantage in them, suppose they be
conceived to be about matters of conscience, yet the entertaining and
prosecuting them to the prejudice of this, is a manifest violence offered
to the law of God, which is the rule of conscience. It is a perverting of
scripture and conscience to a wrong end. I say then, that charity and
Christian love should be the moderatrix of all our actions towards men.
From thence they should proceed, and according to this rule be formed. I
am persuaded if this rule were followed, th