Christ, who has bought us to himself by his blood, to this very end,
that we should be a peculiar people, zealous of good works?

There is nothing more seemly in the world, than to see a Christian
walk as becomes the Gospel; nor any thing more unbecoming a
reasonable creature, than to hear a man say, I believe in Christ, and
yet see in his life debauchery and profaneness. Might I, such men
should be counted the basest of men; such men should be counted by
all unworthy of the name of a Christian, and should be shunned by
every good man, as such who are the very plague of profession.

For so it is written, we should carry it towards them. Whoso have a
form of godliness, and deny the power thereof, from such we must turn
away.

It has ofttimes come into my mind to ask, by what means it is that
the gospel profession should be so tainted with loose and carnal
gospellers? and I could never arrive to better satisfaction in the
matter than this,--such men are made professors by the devil, and so
by him put among the rest of the godly. A certain man had a
fruitless fig-tree planted in his vineyard; but by whom was it
planted there? Even by him that sowed the tares, his own children,
among the wheat; Luke xiii. 6; Matt. xiii. 37-40. And that was the
devil. But why doth the devil do thus? Not of love to them, but to
make of them offences and stumblingblocks to others. For he knows
that a loose professor in the church does more mischief to religion
than ten can do to it that are in the world.

Was it not, think you, the devil that stirred up the damsel that you
read of in Acts xvi., to cry out, "These are the servants of the most