Having showed you what it is to take heed to ourselves, I shall next lay before you some motives to awaken you to this duty.

1. Take heed to yourselves, for you have a heaven to win or lose, and souls that must be happy or miserable for ever; and therefore it concerneth you to begin at home, and to take heed to yourselves as well as to others. Preaching well may succeed to the salvation of others, without the holiness of your own hearts and lives; it is, at least, possible, though less usual; but it is impossible it should save yourselves. ‘Many will say in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?’ to whom he will answer, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
2. Take heed to yourselves, for you have a depraved nature, and sinful inclinations, as well as others. If innocent Adam had need of heed, and lost himself and us for want of it, how much more need have such as we! Sin dwelleth in us, when we have preached ever so much against it; and one degree prepareth the heart for another, and one sin inclineth the mind to more. If one thief be in the house, he will let in the rest; because they have the same disposition and design. A spark is the beginning of a flame; and a small disease may cause a greater. A man who knows himself to be purblind, should take heed to his feet. Alas! In our hearts, as well as in our hearers, there is an averseness to God, a strangeness to him, unreasonable and almost unruly passions! In us there are, at the best, the remnants of pride, unbelief, self-seeking, hypocrisy, and all the most hateful, deadly sins. And doth it not then concern us to take heed to ourselves?
3. Take heed to yourselves, because the tempter will more ply you with his temptations than other men. If you will be the leaders against the prince of darkness, he will spare you no further than God restraineth him.
4. Take heed to yourselves, because there are many eyes upon you, and there will be many to observe your falls. You cannot miscarry but the world will ring of it. The eclipses of the sun by day are seldom without witnesses. As you take yourselves for the lights of the churches, you may expect that men’s eyes will be upon you.
5. Take heed to yourselves, for your sins have more heinous aggravations than other men’s.

1. Your are more likely than others to sin against knowledge, because you have more than they; at least, you sin against more light, or means of knowledge.
2. Your sins have more hypocrisy in them than other men’s, by how much the more you have spoken against them.
3. Your sins have more perfidiousness in them than other men’s by how much the more you have engaged yourselves against them. Besides all your common engagements as Christians, you have many more as ministers.

That is just a sample of Richard Baxter’s work. When you get off your face and find you can’t locate his work contact us and we will help.

Bill