Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
authority_n	apostle_n	scripture_n	tradition_n	2,272	5	9.2110	5	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A86928	An ansvver to Mr. Tombes his scepticall examination of infants-baptisme: wherein baptisme is declared to ingraft us into Christ, before any preparation: and the covenant of the gospel to Abraham and the gentiles is proved to be the same, extended to the gentiles children, as well as to Abrahams: together with the reason, why baptize children, is not so plainly set down in the gospel, as circumcise children, in the law, and yet the gospel more plain then the law. / By William Hussey, minister of Chislehurst in Kent.	Hussey, William, minister of Chiselhurst.	1646 (1646)	Wing H3815; Thomason E343_3; ESTC R200939	83,416	79

were vainly reported and taken up to countenance severall errors as delivered from the Apostles if some have disclaimed the proof of Scripture for childrens baptisme and held it notwithstanding lawfull from weaker grounds that doth not any way weaken the authority of Scripture and strength of reason taken from thence If any one hath proved baptisme lawfull from Apostolicall tradition that doth not hinder me or any other from proving it lawfull by Scripture neither doth the mixing it with errors in the same person make the baptisme of Infants erroneous if so all truths would quickly be turned into errors seeing few men have been without their slips which yet have not only held but defended and propagated with admiration many pretious truths Mr. Tombes would be loth if his Anabaptisme be convicted erroneous that all that he hath or shall hereafter speak should be therefore reputed erroneous by the same reason all the truths that were taught among Papists are eo nomine erroneous because they taught them and so not only the doctrine of the Trinity but the incarnation of Christ th●● 〈◊〉 of the dead were therefore erroneous because those that held 〈…〉 held likewise many other heresies and so his tenth argument 〈…〉 ●●●wered His 6 7 8 and 9. 〈…〉 neer alike and all to little purpose that I had thought wholly to 〈…〉 them but that men would have given some other construction then 〈…〉 were weak and therefore omitted I shall therefore say something of 〈◊〉 le●t men willing to be deceived should place strength where indeed there is none He telleth us in his sixth argument that Infants baptisme hath caused many inventions to support it and hath occasioned defect in Church policy but proveth none of that which he saith he only affirmeth that Infants-baptisime was supported by sureties and Episcopall confirmation and that it brought in Church-covenant as a preparation to the Lords Supper for abuses that may creep in with any duty they do not take away the goodnesse or lawfulnesse of the duty it self His seventh argument accuseth baptisme of Infants with four errors First that baptisme conferreth grace by the work done The second is regeneration The third Infants dying are saved by the faith done The fourth regenerate persons may fall from grace To these two arguments I plainly say that none of all these things are occasioned by Infants baptisme or if so men may not doubt of the goodnesse of all such things as wicked men may or will take occasion to be offended at for then Christ and the Gospel should be principally questioned the great stumbling stone and rock of offence so that occasion of offence is an argument rather of goodnesse then of fault Satan being most ready to entice us to corrupt our best actions What doth baptizing Infants imply the conferring of grace by the work done nay we say of Baptisme as Saint Paul of circumcision that is not baptisme that is outward in the ceremony but that which is of the heart but the praise of that is not of man but of God we cannot praise men for baptisme of the heart God baptizeth seeth judgeth the heart we baptise the body but leave the residue to God only in steed of Christ we teach those children that by their parents are brought to be enrolled the disciples of Christ the things that Christ hath commmanded us and tell the baptized when they come to be catechised that they must have the effect of their baptisme by faith in Christ and not by the work done What Mr. Tombes are all Pedobaptists Papists these are strange calumnies and why must Infants baptisme necessarily imply that the regenerate may fall away from grace can none of your baptized persons that are baptized being of full yeers fall away from the effect and benefit of their baptisme if that be not an heresie that such men as are judged believers by your Ministers and so adjudged fit for baptisme and baptized cannot ever after fall away from grace I know not what is I hope Religion and knowledge of God is not brought to that outward formality that all should consist in your humane judicature it seems Mr. Tombes when he baptizeth any he will promise the parties he baptizeth that they shall never fall from grace I have heard many ignorant people use this argument but that Mr. Tombes a man cried up for learning should use such an argument is admirable and strange to me and certainly by this Mr. Tombes doth plainly confute himself guilty of that opinion that baptisme doth conferre grace by the work done For he inferreth that if children may be baptized in Infancy then men may fall away from grace because many not withstanding their baptisme become wicked afterward doth not this imply that if they were baptized they were gracious if baptisme do not conferre grace by the work done how can it be inferred that such men as after baptisme turn wicked do fall away from grace Saint Paul speaking of false teachers 1 Joh. 2.19 saith of them they went from us because they were not of us not that they fell away from grace but they deserted the profession because they were not gracious but saith Mr. Tombes if baptisme be administred to Infants and they walk not according to their profession they fall from grace no such matter unlesse Mr. Tombes will say baptisme cannot be administred but to the gracious they fall from baptisme and so will many that Mr. Tombes or any the most discerning of them all notwithstanding all the caution that can be taken or else it were a most happy case to come under their hands which cannot be imagined unlesse it flow from the oper●tion of the work done some of them that passe their examination will undoubtedly be unfaithull or at least may be such for ought they can do to prevent it so that if they do deceive them and obtain baptisme then baptisme must conferre the grace or they may remain ungracious still and so notwithstanding their baptisme they cannot be said to fall away from grace which they never had though they should renounce their baptisme muchlesse by not walking answerable to the profession into which they are baptized or not behaving themselves as Disciples ought to do The eighth Argument is taken from this That baptisme of Infants hath caused many faults and abuses in discipline worship and conversation this is likewise only said nothing proved in it he reckoneth ten of these First private baptisme Secondly baptisme by women Thirdly of unborn Infants Fourthly Baptizing Infants of uncertain progeny Fifthly they that are baptized in the the name of the Lord know not the Lord Sixthly it hath brought in the admission of ignorant and prophane persons into the Church and unto the Lords Supper for who can deny rightly the right of the Church to the baptized Seventhly it p●rverteth the order of discipline that first a man be baptized and after among the catechised Eighthly the sacrament of baptisme is turned into

and Infidels may be brought to baptisme If any will bring them and assume the instruction of them in the doctrine of the Gospel I know not but they may and if Turks would part with their children to Christians I think it were a very charitable thing so to do For the promise was never so tied to Abrahams loynes neither for ought I know to any believers but to education in the family of Abraham or any other believing family But they will further say then by the same reason are they to be admitted to other benefits namely to hearing of the Word and the other sacrament Answ I say they are admitted to the residue of the Oracles of God as soon as nature or grace do make them fit for them they may have right before they can use them they are first admitted to come to Christ for a blessing before they are capable of instruction and preparation for the sacrament of the Lords Supper is charged as a duty which is no where charged on the parties to be baptized 2. That Sacrament that requireth no preparation in the subject is to be administred to every subject but baptisme is a sacrament to be administred without any preparation in the subject therefore baptisme is to be adminstred to every subject every person all nations That Sacrament that in the signe and signification is preparative to all other grace that is to be administred without any preparation of the subject but baptisme in the signe and signification is preparative to all other grace therefore it is to be administred without any preparation the major is true or otherwise there would a processe in infinitum if that which were preparative to all other graces should have preparations to that and that must have other preparations and so in infinitum The minor I shall prove out of Scripture and plain reason drawn from then Gal. 3.27 as many as are baptized into Christ have put on Christ This doth probably prove that men that are baptized are baptized into Christ which could not be affirmed if they were in Christ before baptisme they could not be said to be baptized into Chist if they had been in Christ before which if faith and repentance must be manifest before baptisme must be affirmed he that believeth and is penitent is in Christ without doubt Object But some men will say may not man believe before baptisme Reply I answer no he cannot untill Christ baptise him with the Holy Ghost Now Christ baptizeth when he pleaseth either before in or after ministeriall baptisme Object But if Christ hath baptized him before what need the Minister baptize him Reply Christs baptisme is not known to the Minister whatsoever confession of faith is made he must therefore baptize in obedience to the command of Christ and leave the baptisme of Christ to him How would the Anabaptists insult in the cleernesse of such a text And here I cannot but note a notable subtilty of the Anabaptists I will not say how common with other heretiques when they have cited a Text and put a glosse upon it without any respect to the argument of the place they presently cry the Scripture is all ours crying down all the labours of the learned that is spent though never so truly and piously For the cleering of the Text that is Tongues that is Art gives us Scripture we have the Scripture and then we can carry away the people take heed that no man spoile you through Philosophy and vain deceit and this shall serve their turn to answer all they understand not If a man tell them that Philosophy is conversant about nature and such things of reason as are too low for the things of faith and therefore have principles contrary to doctrine of faith as out of nothing nothing is made and therefore make the first matter eternall contrary to the doctrine of the creation from a privation to an habite no return that which is dead cannot live again contrary to the resurrection but Logick is without any matter of its own but teacheth men only how to find out the truth of any discourse written or spoken Oh then Logick is nothing but falacies and herein many schollers concurre with them to hide their own ignorance whereas indeed falacies be no part of Logick unlesse you will say no reason is reason it is true Logicians do mention falacies as a man may teach a young workman what faults he may commit whence some ignorant man may affirm that the skill of such a trade was only in faults as these do who only count Logick falacies and here they have such fooleries to make the world believe that reason was an Asse to their fancy that men may wonder at them they can shew how foolish a thing Logick is they can prove a sheep have eight legs two before and two behind two on the right side and two on the left My Logick can do more then his and yet we shall be both fools if we want Logick to know this is no Logick First I can prove a sheep hath sixteen legs by setting him between four men one before the sheep the other behinde him and on each side one this sheep will have four legs before one man and four behinde c. which make sixteen for relatives have no absolute nature before and behind may be the same thing in different respects the same foot is before and on the right or left side this Logick can discover well enough without the help of a fool to flout at that he knoweth not I impute not this to Mr. Tombes but to the ignorant that cry all is their own by such a wile as this as though none did regard Scripture but they and all the Scriptures were cleerly theirs what was spoken against them was against Scripture set by humane authority and tradition First in the signe it is preparative to all purity it is washing so much faith as must cause men of yeares to submit to baptisme is necessary without which the Apostles could not have baptized but faith and repentance whereby the heart should be purged that those must be had before the party may be baptized is an evacuation of the signe and frustrateth the signification it cannot be denyed that faith and repentance are required to the efficacie of baptisme but subsequent to the Sacrament the water doth sacramentally wash away sinnes so Ananias Act. 22.16 saith to Paul Why tarriest thou arise and be baptized and wash away thy sinnes Now washing doth suppose nothing in the subject but foulnesse the bloud of Christ cleanseth us from all sinne 1 John 1.7 all the vertue of the purgation is in the bloud of Christ Now can any man say that the bloud of Christ cannot purge unlesse the party be purged before if faith and repentance were required before baptisme then baptisme could not offer the bloud of Christ to purge sinne because the party were cleansed before baptisme then Ananias could not have

baptized him he may be able to prove these things by humane testimony and therefore they are of humane cognizance but who hath faith and who not no man breathing can give any testimony thereto and therefore man cannot judge But some man will say the foot doth not see because not capable for want of organs but every man is capable of faith that is not the question whether all are capable of faith I mean men of all conditions but whether faith be of humane cognizance neither is that argument of any force that faith is necessary to make Baptisme of any efficacie therefore untill the Ministers are acquainted that the persons to be baptized have faith they may not baptize them by the same rule because no humane action can be well done without faith no humane action can be required of any man by the Civill Magistrate so at one blow al humane society is destroied but man must require all duties of men that they can judge of leaving the inner part of it to the judgement of God who only can judge the heart for as the neglect of a duty is sinful so no sin so great as to enter upon the Prerogatives of God who only can judge the heart so that whatsoever is pretended from any speech of beleeving before Baptisme yet no one place where the profession of faith is required of the person to be baptized The third argument is taken from the practice of the Apostles and John the Baptist which saith he are the best Expositors of the Institution but I deny it the exposition cannot goe before the text John the Baptist that never lived to see the institution could not expound the words he never heard of but he affirmeth that baptisme cannot be administred to Infants after the same manner as the Apostles and John the Baptist did administer it for confirmation whereof he affirmeth that the Jewes did confesse their sinnes before Baptisme and the Apostles before Baptisme did require shews of faith and repentance First that they did confesse sins before Baptisme he proveth out of Mat. 3.6 they were baptized of John in Jordan confessing their sins but doth this prove that every particular person did confesse his sinnes to John the Baptist and that this confession was before Baptisme or that it was an orall confession none of all these things are necessarily drawne out of the words the words are Jerusalem and all Judea and the region round about Jordan were baptized confessing their sinnes Now I have formerly shewed that a Nation or Country or City may be said to doe a thing though the organicall part principall men only doe it Again the text saith that they were baptized confessing their sinnes implying that the act of Baptisme was a confession of sinne as a man that washeth doth by washing confesse though he say nothing that he was defiled but if an orall confession which the words do not yeeld yet whether they made their confession before or after baptisme is not said nor can be proved out of the Text neither can a precept be drawn from an historicall narration that these men did confesse their sins it is as much as it can prove that it is lawfull for those that can confesse their sins so to do but all that may be baptized must confesse their sins will no way follow For the second place Luke 3.10 that is some mistaken place He further affirmeth that the Apostles did require before baptisme shewes of faith and repentance and citeth many places out of the Acts whereas not one place that he citeth proveth any such thing that the Apostles did require any man to make any shew of his faith or repentance before baptisme it is true they teach men to believe and repent but not take any account or require them or any person to give any account to any Minister before they were baptized let that be proved and the businesse is ended to use his phrase but to give a full answer to all that can be alledged of that kinde from Scripture I say that the Apostles did indeed preach faith repentance and baptisme altogether but whatsoever was said of faith and repentance in reference to baptisme was either doctrinall or historicall what was doctrinall was without any implication of account of it what is historically related of faith and repentance cannot imply any confession or manifestation otherwise then in the very act of baptisme it self seeing it was impossible for the Apostles to baptize nations and countries and cities if no credence had been given to the doctrine of baptisme so that their declaration that they believed and were baptized might well be related by the Historian though nothing were intended but that that they were baptized For when Historians relate any fact done they take liberty to observe the necessary motives and circumstances of the fact without any other implication then that the fact was done nay had not the Holy Ghost mentioned any beleeving at all but only said that they were baptized we might have inferred from the fact without rashnesse that if Peter or Paul or any of the Apostles did baptize them that Judea Jerusalem that is the prevailing party did beleeve that there was some kinde of credit given to their doctrine that they did believe there was some kinde of good or benefit that was like to come of baptisme or otherwise they would not have endured one or two men to have baptized them but that a pro●●ssion of faith in a catecheticall way whereof the Apostles did and of duty ought to take account that is not said I hope to make appear on just occasion was not done The fourth argument is taken from the next age immediately succeding the Apostles what is said concerning that point is not argumentative it dependeth only upon humane testimony and men that give testimony thereto are partially related where their testimony is agreed upon that they did say so as they are reported yet their credit is questioned by him that disliketh their saying sometimes that part of the work out of which any thing is alledged is proclaimed spurious and that very author that we are content to alledge with honour when he speaketh for us him we bespatter and vilifie when against us so that what can be said of this kind savoreth rather of affection ostentation of reading then of argument and yeeldeth matter of concertation rather then satisfaction and therefore I leave the Reader that desireth to know more of this matter to Dr. Holmes and others that may wrestle with Mr. Tombes in this point my resolution being only to deal with him in such things as may carry shews of argument out of Scripture and so I come to the next argument The first argument is of the same nature with this that the ages that did use baptisme took it upon wrong principles as a tradition and imitation of Jewish circumcision without universall practice mixed with other errors Among Apostolicall traditions many