Scripture is quite clear that 'faith without works is dead.' But faith, accompanied by works, is such an ornament and testimony to faith that, according to Paul, 'adorns the doctrine of God in all things' (Titus 2:10). It is this text of Scripture that Vincent Alsop, a Puritan pastor, exposits in this treatise. We are not to alter the doctrines of God; we will never improve upon them, but we may and do adorn them with our holy lives and godly conduct. That is practical godliness. Says Alsop: 'The harmony of the Christian religion has been disordered, its beauty blemished, and much filth thrown in its face...by the unsuitable professions of those who profess it. In short, it has been wounded in the house of its friends.' |
