Jean Croiset

“ And yet, O my God, can I be without Fear? This Want of saving Fear should make me fear all things; I am certainly lost if I be not afraid of being lost, and can I fear anything so much as Eternal Perdition? ”

“ These are not Counsels only, they are the Maxims of Jesus Christ; the irrevocable Laws, and indispensable Conditions of Salvation, which is not promised to the Knowledge, but to the Observation of them; to so exact an Observation, that the Neglect of any one damns us to Eternity: Let us now call to Mind at what rate Men Live, and then judge whether many can be Saved. Let us examine ourselves, and see whether we have any Reason to hope to be of that little Number. ”

“ Now-a-days Men content themselves with some outward Appearances of Religion, with a Shew of Virtue; every Man makes to himself a false System of Conscience, with which he rests satisfied as to what concerns his Salvation ”

“ Is not the general Example the Rule of most Men's Actions? Who look upon it as a Maxim that we must act like Men while we live among Men; but we must act like Christians if we will be Saved: We must lead a Christian Life in the midst of those who have only the Name.
'Tis likewise certain, that the Work of Salvation is our greatest Business; that we are sent into the World for this End alone; that we must employ our whole Lives in it, and that, after all, we cannot be sure of it; yet how few Christians do indeed make this their great and only Business?
We can never be Saved without Final Grace ”

“ I confess that I have hitherto walked in the broad Way, but behold, O Lord, I will now go into the narrow Way, and will strive with all my might to enter into the strait Gate.
Let others run in Crowds to Hell: were there to be but One saved in this Place I am resolved to be he, and I depend on thy Grace; I know it is my own Fault if I be not One of the Elect. ”

“ It is an Article of Faith, that neither the Proud, the Covetous, the Deceiver, the Slanderer, nor the Unchaste, shall ever enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; he that enters there must either have always preserved this Innocence, or recovered it by a sincere Repentance; and do we find many who offer continual Violence to their Inclination? ”

“ The Pharisees had all the Appearances of Piety, they were extremely Mortified and their Lives were unblameable in the Sight of Men; and yet if our Virtue be not more Solid, and more Perfect than theirs, we shall never enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
'Tis a great Matter to stifle our Revenge, it is yet greater to forgive Injuries, but this is not sufficient to obtain Salvation; if we would be Saved, we must love even those who Persecute us. It is not enough to abhor all wicked Actions, we must abhor the least ill Thought; we are not only obliged not to covet our Neighbor's Goods ”

“ Consider that the Number of those who shall be Saved is very small, not only in Comparison of above Two Thirds of Mankind, who live in Infidelity; but even in Comparison of that vast Multitude, who are lost in the true Religion. There are few Doctrines of our Faith more clearly revealed than this; strive to enter in at the Strait Gate, (saith our Saviour) for wide is the Gate, and broad is the Way, that leadeth to Destruction, and many there be that go in thereat; but strait is the Gate, and narrow is the Way, that leadeth to Life, and few there be that find it. ”

“ If believing were sufficient, the Number of the Predestined would not be small; if we had Liberty to live as we pleased, we should make no Difficulty of believing anything; but Faith without Works is dead. ”

“ It is an Article of Faith, that unless we be like our Redeemer we cannot be Saved; to be like him we must conform our Wills to his, we must hate what he hates, and love what he loves: Are there many who resemble this great Pattern? ”

“ Solomon the wisest of Men, hath with all his knowledge left us in doubt of his Salvation and an infinite Number of Christian Heroes, who were exemplary for their Piety during the greatest Part of their Lives have fallen at last. Their too much Security hath ruined them in the End of their Lives, and they are damned with all the pretended Merits. ”

“ We must profess ourselves openly to be Followers of Christ; is not the greatest Part of Mankind ashamed of that Profession? If we would be Saved we must either Actually, or in Affection, renounce the World, and all we have in it, and bear our Saviour's Cross daily. ”

“ Surely, unless we take Pleasure to deceive ourselves, we must own that he who believes little of what he ought to do, is in a much better Condition than the Man who does little or nothing of what he believes. ”

“ We sacrifice our Goods to preserve ourselves from Shipwreck; a Merchant makes a Difficulty to throw his most precious [property,] the Fruits of many Years Labour, overboard to save himself; but we will rather hazard all than part with anything to secure us from Damnation. ”

“ And the Apostle speaking by the Spirit of Christ, compares the Body of Christians to those who run a Race, where many run, but one only gains the Prize; to whom he likens those that are saved. And to let us see that he speaks of Believers, he cites the Example of the Israelites ”