Roots by the River

by Richard Baxter, excerpted from The Reformed Pastor (1656) Many a tailor can go in rags while making costly clothes for others. Many a cook may scarcely lick his fingers when he has prepared the most sumptuous dishes for others to eat. Believe it, brethren, that God never saved any man for being a preacher. Nor did he reject a man because he was not an able preacher. He saved a preacher because he was a justified and sanctified man. Take heed, therefore, to yourselves first. See to it that you be the worshiper which you persuade your hearers to be . Make sure first that you believe what you persuade others daily to believe.   Make sure you have heartily entertained the Christ and the Holy Spirit in your own soul before you offer Him to others. He that bids you love your neighbor as yourself implied that you should love yourself instead of hating and destroying yourself—and others, too. O dear brothers, what men then should we be in skill, in resolution, and in unwearied dili...