whole Church then at London we have now written briefely what God hath given us to see in this matter hoping that this joynt sentence of our Church confirmed by the Word of the Lord will take effect through his grace for the disswading and reclaiming of you from your Errour otherwise that you may have the less excuse in the day of Christ And God which hath taught us from our youth until now forsake us not even in our old-age and gray heads till we have declared his Gospel unto this generation and the truth thereof to so many of those that are to come as it shall please him The Doctrine which in your Letter you would maintain for the truth of God wherein you are obedient unto him you say as all others must be that truly fear his Name is That you will not willingly eat blood nor things strangled nor things offered to Idols For the abstaining from Bloud you alleadge three Reasons 1. The commandment of God to Noah Gen. 9.4 2. His commandment by Moses to Israel Deut. 12.16 Levit. 17.13,14 And 3. by the whole company of the Apostles Elders and brethren at Jerusalem to the Churches of the Gentiles Acts 15.23,28,29 From which you conclude that it remaineth firm and sure to this day as any other testimonies of holy Scripture to be observed of all the faithful till the coming of Christ After this you make answer to certain mis-alleadgings as you call them of other Scriptures against this truth And first for the commandment given to Noah you write that nothing hath been or can be said against it Whereto we answer that we have cause to doubt of your fidelity when you affirm nothing hath been said and to blame your confidence for avouching nothing can be said against the perpetuity of that commandment And for the first to free your self of suspicion we pray you send us a true and perfect Copie of all that Mr. Barrow to omit others did write unto you for there we are perswaded something hath been said against it For the later we wish you to follow the counsel of the holy Ghost that saith a Vnderstand according to sobriety and be not wise in your self considering that the Word of God b came not out from you neither came it unto you onely The abstinence from blood commanded to Noah we hold to be temporary and was then a figure for the time present but is now disannulled c for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof And that for these Reasons 1. Because the other observations of Religion in those times before the Law was given by Moses were for the outward things figures and shadows d as building of Altars offering of Sacrifices e difference of beasts clean and unclean f paying of Tythes offering of g First-fruits h Circumcision and sundry the like So that it helpeth not to say abstinence from bloud was commanded before the Law of Moses and therefore is now to continue more then it will help a Jew to say Circumcision c. was commanded before Moses Law Yea Christ himself saith i it was not of Moses but of the fathers therefore it is to continue still 2. We understand according to that small measure of light which God hath given us in those dark shadows that abstinence from blood was a figure of our sanctification and that in three respects 1. The first concerning Gods Worship and Service which that it might with the more holiness and reverence be used and regarded he would have some special things not profaned or in common use of men So he forbad the making or using of that holy Oyl wherewith his Sanctuary and Priests were anointed Exod. 30 23,31-33 and the like of that precious Perfume Exod. 30.37 Also he forbad them to eat that fat of beasts which they should burn on the altar to the Lord Levit. 7.25 And that the blood was forbidden also in this regard appeareth by Levit. 17.11 For that the soul of the flesh is in the blood and I have given it to you saith the Lord for an atonement for your souls So that the common eating of any blood might have bred in them a contempt of the price of their atonement which was in figure the blood of beasts but in truth the * blood of Christ And for as much as this sacrificing of Beasts was in Noahs time and †before it was meet in the wisdom of God when he gave them flesh to eat to debar them of the blood for the cause mentioned The second respect concerned thankfulness to God for the use of his creatures which he giveth unto the sons of men Therefore of them all the Lord reserved one principal part from himself that thereby his people might acknowledg his goodness Such was the law of all * first-fruits Deut. 26. which every man was to bring before the Lord acknowledging h his own unworthiness and Gods mercie in giving him the increase of that good land In like sort they were forbidden to do any work with their first-born bullock or sheere their first-born sheep or eat them otherwhere then before the Lord Deut. 15.19 Yea all their own first-born Children they must redeeme and the very unclean beasts they were to redeem or kill Exod. 34.19,20 Every tree that they planted for meat they might not eat thereof the first three yeares in the fourth year all the fruit was to be holy to the praise of the Lord and in the fifth year they did eat Levit. 19.23 When they eat of the bread of the land they must offer a cake of the first of the dough Num. 15.19,20 and sundry the like Accordingly do we understand the Lords minde here that giving them flesh to eat he restrayned the blood as being a thing wherein they had no interest but the Lord for that it was the soul or life that is the Chiefest part of every beast and so their restraint from blood to be an occasion for them to praise the Lord that had permitted them the flesh to eat The third respect concerned the love of men each to other that they should abstain from Cruel affections and salvage fierceness and put on the bowels of meekness gentleness compassion c. not onely towards their friends but also their enemies whereunto they were led by sundry figures and taught their duties to men by their behaviour to brute beasts Of this sort were the abstayning from any bird when they took the eggs or the Yong Deut. 22.6,7 The helping of their neighbours yea their enemies beast when it is strayed or lay under the burthen Exod. 23.4,5 Deut. 22.4 The not muzling of the oxes mouth that trod out the corn Deut. 25.4 The resting of Beasts on the Sabbath day Deut. 5. which such like And that the Lord in sparing the blood of Beasts had regard herein to the blood of men appeareth by the next words in Gen. 9.5 saying And surely I will
mention of this Doctrine of blood c. then James approveth in like manner Peters words and would not have the Gentiles troubled but onely written unto about these things and maketh the reading of Moses in the Synagogues a reason thereof so that the Jews which had been accustomed to Moses law from old time were subject to be offended with these things whose weakness was to be born withall so much as might be as the Apostles did teach by their own example for which see Acts 21.20,21,23,24 1 Cor. 9 20. 3. The Apostle Paul having occasion to deal afterwards with the Church of Corinth about one of the things here mentioned namely meats sacrificed to Idols doth plainly teach that they might eat such meats if it were not to the offence of any mans conscience making this his ground that all things were lawful for him but not all things expedient or edifying 1 Cor. 10.23 Wherefore any things sold in the shambles they might buy and eat and whatsoever was set before them at an unbelievers Table they might eat asking no question for conscience sake so that neither things sacrificed to Idols whereof he there treateth nor strangled nor blood nor whatsoever else that might be prepared at an Infidels banquet could defile them with the eating or Trouble their conscience and this he proveth by Scripture for the earth is the Lords and the plenty thereof which testimony of David if it be of weight to prove we may eat any meat as the Apostle alledgeth it to that end then may we eat things sacrificed to Idols and strangled and blood because they are a part of the plenty of the earth all which is the Lords and by Christ ours But for the offence of others he saith Eat it not And why because of him that shewed it saith he and for that other mans Conscience not thine own adding withall For why should my liberty be condemned of another mans conscience whereby he evidently teacheth that it is our Christian liberty to eat any thing even meat sacrificed to Idols which yet was one of the things forbidden in the 15 of the Acts And would we have a better expounder of that decree then an Apostle and one that was present and imployed in that business and knew well the occasion and end of such writing to the Gentiles as then was which by this his Epistle he maketh so plain as none of any Judgment need doubt what was meant Now for your Objections where first you say If it had had any jot of type or ceremony the Apostles would not have forbidden it to the Gentiles for an hour We answer that neither did they in that sence that you alledge from Gal. 2.5 which was a bringing into bondage and loosing the truth of the Gospel but in another regard for the weakness of their brethren they would did and might For Paul an Apostle writing to the Romans which were Gentiles saith We which are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weake and againe All things indeed are pure but it is evil for the man that eateth with offence it is good neither to eat flesh nor drinke wine nor any thing whereby thy brother is offended And to the Gentiles of Corinth as before is shewed he saith Eat not meat sacrificed to Idols for the conscience of him that sheweth thee And himself gave an example who because of the Jews that were zealous of the law purified himself and offered in the Temple Acts 21.24,26 which we think you will not deny were types and figures Next whereas you say touching 1 Cor. 9,20 that Paul became a Jew to the Jew c. but he became not a Jew to the Gentiles and if this thing were ceremonial he must needs be counted to become a Jew to the Gentiles contrary to his own Doctrine and practise Gal 2.5 You shew no reason of this your assertion yea the contrary is most plain in that the Commandment Acts. 15. was in the Jews behalf whom the Gentiles were to bear with according to Pauls example and with him to become Jews to the Jews that they might save and not offend them It is you rather that are become a Jew to the Gentiles whiles you thus observe and urge all Christians of the Gentiles to observe the Jewish Types and shadows Unto 1 Tim. 4.4 where Paul saith Every creature of God is good and nothing ought to be refused c. you answer that Christians liberty there is all one and the same which God gave to Noah no more nor no less when he saith Gen. 9 3. Every thing that moveth and liveth shall be meat for you It is strange that you will thus write For upon that liberty given to Noah there is presently restrayned even in express words the blood of all beasts but in this place of Paul every creature is permitted without any manner restraint either in expresse words or by any necessary Collection so that except you will deny blood to be a creature you cannot deny it to be permitted there of Paul Neither are his words drawn by us further then himself and other places of Scripture do allow for we have shewed many Scriptures that confirm this evident truth But then we must needs affirm you say that Paul in this behalf was yea yea with the rest of the Apostles in Acts 15. and by himself nay nay in his Epistles to Timothy and Titus We answer there is no need thus to affirme for he was yea yea in Acts. 15. for the weakness of his brethren as before is proved and so he alwaies continued even in his Epistles He was nay nay against observing legal Types as touching the things themselves both in the Acts of the Apostles and in his written Epistles But you that would bring us back to the ordinances of Moses and would burthen us with traditions of Touch not taste not handle not are in this your error nay nay not onely to the Epistles of Paul but also to all other Scriptures as hath been proved Finally where you alledge the coâ—firmation of that decree Act. 15. was ratified by Paul himself Act. 21. after that the Epistles of Timothy and Titus were written and thereupon would inferre that his words in those Epistles are drawe further then he intended it is before answered and proved that the decree you mention was but for the time and for the quiet of the Church and for the bearing with the Jews but the Doctrines in Pauls Epistles are perpetual and do concern the creatures themselves and our liberty in Christ to use them So that nothing which you have said can turne away the evident force of these Scriptures which as a sharp sword do wound and cut down this Jewish error which you to the hurt of your own soul and trouble of the Church have renewed in these last dayes whereof we pray God to give you a sight and Christian sorrow for