But by their fruits ye shall know them.  By their fruits in the world at large, if you have eyes to see it.  By their fruits in your own lives, if you give yourselves up to listen to their false doctrines, for you will surely find, that, in the first place, they will not make you honest men.  They will not teach you to be just and true in all your dealings.  They will not teach you common morality.  No, my friends, it is most sad to see, how much preaching and tract-writing there is in England now, which talks loud about Protestant doctrine, and Gospel truths, while all the fruit of it seems to be, to teach men to abuse the Pope, and to fancy that every one is going to hell, who does not agree with their opinions; while their own lives, their own conduct, their own morality, seems not improved one whit by all this preaching.  And yet men like such preaching, and run to hear it.  Of course they do; for it leaves them to behave all the week as if there was no Law of God, if only they will go on Sundays, and listen to what is called, I fear most untruly, the Gospel of God; leaves them, on condition of belonging to some particular party, and listening to some favourite preacher, free to give way to their passions, their spite, their meanness; to grind their servants, cheat their masters, trick their customers, adulterate their goods, and behave in money-matters as if all was fair in business, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ had nothing to do with common honesty; and all the while,

Compound for sins they are inclined to. 
By damning those they have no mind to.

My friends, these things ought not so to be.  There is a Gospel of God, which preaches full forgiveness for the sake of Jesus Christ, to all who turn from their sins.  But there is a Law of God, likewise, which executes sure vengeance against all who do not turn from their sins; be their professions as high, or their doctrines as correct as they may.  A law which is in the Gospel itself, and says, by the mouth of the Apostle St. John, ’Little children, let no man deceive you:  he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as God is righteous’—­he—­and not he who expects to be saved by listening to some false preacher who teaches his congregation how to go to heaven without having thought one heavenly thought, or done one heavenly-deed.

Yes.  There is an eternal law of God, which people are forgetting, I often fear, more and more, in England just now.  I sometimes dread, lest we should be sinking into that hideous state of which the old Hebrew prophet speaks—­’The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so:  and what will ye do in the end thereof?’ What, indeed; if people are to be taught more and more, that religion is a matter merely of doctrines and fancies and feelings, and has nothing to do with common morality, and common honesty, and common self-control and improvement of character and conduct?