Page:Sermons by John-Baptist Massillon.djvu/78

 Christian perfection,  you  look  upon  it  as  to  be  found  only  in  cloisters and  solitudes,  and  scarcely  will  you  deign  to  give  the  smallest attention to  our  instructions. You deceive  yourselves,  my  brethren. The individuals  who  adopt  retirement,  certainly  employ austerities, fastings,  and  watchings,  as  means  to  succeed  in  that mortification of  the  passions  to  which  we  are  all  equally  invited. They engage  themselves  to  a  perfection  of  means,  which  I  confess our state  will  not  admit  of;  but  the  perfection  of  the  end  to  which these means  conduct,  namely,  the  command  and  regulation  of  the affections, proper  contempt  of  the  world,  detachment  from  ourselves, submission  of  the  senses  and  the  flesh  to  the  Spirit,  and  renovation of  the  heart,  are  the  perfection  of  all  states,  the  engagement of  all  Christians,  and  the  covenant  of  our  baptism. To renounce this  perfection,  therefore,  by  limiting  ourselves  from choice, or  in  consequence  of  our  rank  in  the  world,  to  an  effeminate, sensual, and  worldly  life,  exempt  only  from  striking  enormities,  is to  renounce  the  Christian  calling,  and  change  the  grace  of  faith, which has  made  us  members  of  Jesus  Christ,  into  a  shameful  and unworthy indolence: — first  reason.

But were  this  state  even  not  so  dubious  for  salvation,  with  respect to  the  desire  of  that  perfection  essential  to  a  Christian  life, and which  is  extinguished  in  a  lukewarm  and  unfaithful  soul,  it would  become  so  by  the  imbecility  which  it  occasions,  and  in which  it  places  itself,  of  distinguishing  in  its  conduct  the  infidelities which  may  extend  to  guilt,  from  those  which  may  be  termed simple errors. For though  it  is  true  that  all  sins  are  not  sins which bring  death,  as  St.  John  observes,  and  that  Christian morality acknowledges  errors,  which  only  grieve  the  Holy  Spirit within us,  and  others  which  extinguish  it  altogether  in  the  soul; nevertheless, the  rules  which  it  furnishes  to  distinguish  these,  can neither be  always  certain  nor  general  at  the  moment  they  are applied; some  circumstances  relative  to  ourselves  continually change their  nature. I speak  not  here  of  those  manifest  and absolute transgressions  of  the  precepts  marked  in  the  law,  which leave no  hesitation  respecting  the  enormity  of  the  offence. I speak of a  thousand  doubtful  and  daily  transgressions;  of  hatred,  jealousy, evil  speaking,  sensuality,  vanity,  idleness,  duplicity,  negligence in  the  practice  of  our  duties,  and  ambition;  in  all  which  it is  extremely  difficult  to  define  how  far  the  precept  may  be  violated: now, I  say,  that  it  is  by  the  disposition  alone  of  the  heart  that  the measure and  guilt  of  these  faults  can  be  decided;  that  the  rules there, are  always  uncertain  and  changeable;  and  that  frequently what is  only  weakness  or  surprise  in  the  just,  is  guilt  and  corruption not  only  in  the  sinner,  but  likewise  in  the  lukewarm  and  unfaithful soul. This is  proved  by  the  following  examples  taken  from the holy  writings.

Saul, in  disobedience  to  the  order  of  the  Lord,  spared  the  king of the  Amalekites  and  the  most  precious  spoils  of  that  infidel  prince. The crime  does  not  appear  considerable;  but,  as  it  proceeded  from a fund  of  pride,  of  relaxation  in  the  ways  of  God,  and  a  vain  com-