The Saints' Everlasting Rest - Richard Baxter

take part with the persons or causes that are good, and desire to be esteemed
among the godly; but you can never bring them to the more spiritual duties,--
as to be constant and fervent in secret prayer and meditation; conscientious
in self-examination; heavenly-minded; to watch over their hearts, words and
ways; to mortify the flesh, and not make provision to fulfil its lusts; to love
and heartily forgive an enemy, and prefer their brethren before themselves;
to lay all they have, or do, at the feet of Christ, and prize his service and
favor before all, to prepare to die and willingly leave all to go to Christ.
Hypocrites will never be persuaded to any of these. If any hypocrite
entertains the Gospel with joy, it is only in the surface of his soul; he never
gives the seed any depth of earth: it changes his opinions, but never melts
and new moulds his heart, nor sets up Christ there in full power and
authority. As his religion lies most in opinion, so does his chief business and
conversation. He is usually an ignorant, bold, conceited dealer in
controversies, rather than an humble embracer of known truth with love and
obedience. By his slighting the judgments and persons of others, and seldom
talking with seriousness and humility of the great things of Christ, he shows
his religion dwells in his brain, and not in his heart. The wind of temptation
carries him away as a feather, because his heart is not established with Christ
and grace. He never, in private conversation, humbly bewails his soul's
imperfections, or tenderly acknowledges his unkindness to Christ; but
gathers his greatest comfort from his being of such a persuasion or party. The
like may be said of the worldly hypocrite, who chokes the Gospel with the
thorns of worldly cares and desires. He is convinced that he must be
religious, or he cannot be saved; and therefore he reads, and hears, and prays,
and forsakes his former company and courses but he resolves to keep his
hold of present things. His judgment may say, God is the chief good; but his
heart and affections never said so. The world has more of his affections than
God, and therefore it is his god. Though he does not run after opinions and
novelties, like the world, yet he will be of that opinion which will best serve
his worldly advantage. And as one whose spirits are enfeebled by some
pestilential disease, so this man's spirits being possessed by the plague of a
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