taketh all Christ's interest in the world, to lie in a few of their separated meetings, and shutteth up all the church in a nutshell, must needs be guilty of the foulest schisms. It is a catholic spirit and catholic principles, loving a christian as a christian, abhorring the very names of sects and parties as the church's wounds, that must make a catholic indeed. _Direct._ X. Understand well the true difference between the visible church and the world, lest you should think that you are bound to separate as much from a corrupted church as from the world. It is not true faith, but the profession of true faith, that maketh a man fit to be acknowledged a member of the visible church. If this profession be unsound, and accompanied with a vicious life, it is the sin and misery of such a hypocrite, but it doth not presently put him as far unrelated to you, as if he were an infidel without the church! If you ask what advantage have such unsound church members? I answer with the apostle, Rom. iii. 1, 2, "Much every way, chiefly because unto them are committed the oracles of God." Chap. ix. 4, "To them pertaineth the adoption and the glory and covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises." Till the church find cause to cast them out, they have the external privileges of its communion. It hath made abundance to incur the guilt of sinful separation to misunderstand those texts of Scripture that call christians to separate from heathens, infidels, and idolaters: as 2 Cor. vi. 17, "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord," &c. The text speaketh only of separating from the world who are infidels and idolaters, and no members of the church; and ignorant people ordinarily expound it, as if it were meant of separating from the church because of the ungodly that are members of it: but that God that knew why he called his people to separate from the world, doth never call them to separate from the church universal, nor from any particular church by a mental separation so as to unchurch them. We read of many loathsome corruptions in the churches of Corinth, Galatia, Laodicea, &c.; but yet no command to separate from them. So many abuse Rev. xviii. 4, "Come out of her, my people;" as if God commanded them to come out of a true church because of its corruptions or imperfections, because he calleth them out of Babylon! It is true, you must partake with no church in their sins, but you may partake with any church in their holy profession and worship, so far as you can do it without partaking with them in their sins.