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A92921 An examination of Dr. Balyes five waies whereby he endeavours to prove the Church of Rome to be the only church of Christ wherein salvation is to be had, and the Church of England to be no true church. By Robert Seppens rector of Hingham in Norfolk. Seppens, Robert. 1679 (1679) Wing S2558A; ESTC R229928 13,895 37

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the Sacraments wherein all Scriptures Catholicks Protestants agree and yet in the very next place he undertakes to prove that faithful Preaching of Word and Administration of the Sacraments whereof this Holiness consists are no marks of the Church and this he doth by two or three Arguments Pag. 256. which if used against the fifteen marks of Bellarmines assigning would pare them all out of Roman Scutchions Now fearing he had done somthing he could not answer he comes to salve all by a new distinction of Holiness Holiness saith he may be taken two ways Pag. 267. First For an Universal purity of Doctrine and true Preaching of the Word as 't is opposite to all errors in every Dogmatical and Essential Point Secondly For a particular discerning Holiness whereby the true Preaching of the Word is opposite to all palpable and gross absurdities repugnant to the very Principles of Nature Rules of Faith and express Texts of Scripture What the meaning of this distinction is I confess I understand not nor I believe he himself if he were injoy'd to make it intelligible and justifie it by the Rules of Art I believe it would cost him more pains than the writing of his Book After he hath told us of this miraculous distinction which no man knows to what purpose he advanceth to the great works viz. To prove the Roman Church to be a True Church by those marks which are no marks We will consider saith he on our side what Doctrine it is which the Roman Catholicks do Preach and on the other side what Doctrine it is which the Protestants maintain and comparing both together observe whether of the two Preach more sincerely or faithfully For the Catholicks saith he they prescribe a strict way by Confessing of sins doing Pennance Restitution for wrong done set-times of Fasting c. But the Protestants the clean contrary If the Protestants taught all things he would make the world believe they do they were very monsters of men not fit to live in the World But we that know what we Preach as well as he proclaim to the world that we Preach Confession of sins doing Pennance Restitution for wrong done Mortification Set-times of Fasting contempt of the World Self-denyal Chastity Virginal Vidual Marital and all other things necessary to be believed and done for Salvation What if some Sectarian Zelots amongst us teach the contrary How does this concern the Church of England who in Justice stands not bound to maintain or answer for all the wild and mad opinions of them that separate from her And therefore 't is not fair dealing in this Doctor to make the world believe we hold all things contrary to sound Doctrine much worse to father upon the Church of England all the loose furious spurious Principles of all that stand in opposition to Rome What have we to do with the intemperate speeches of Luther or the new Divinity of the Lemanical Dictator who follow none but Christ and the Primitive Catholick Church But grant that the Church of England should not Preach the Doctrine of Christ so sincerely as the Roman Church does how does it follow upon this that the Church of Rome is the only True Church and the Church of England none 'T is a Rule in Logick that magis minùs non variant speciem that more or less Intention or Remission does not vary or diversifie the kind If the Church of England do Preach Christs Doctrine so sincerely as to Preach it sufficiently for mans Salvation all things necessary for mans Salvation though the Roman Church Preach it more excellently The Church of England may be a True Church still For there are degrees of the sincere Preaching and profession of Christs Doctrine One consisting in a freedom from all errours and that is not necessarily required to the being of a Church Another consisting in a freedom from all pertinacious error And 't is this last we make a note of the Church a sincerity free from all pertinacious error and in this degree of sincerity the Church of England does profess to Preach Christs Doctrine and by so doing is a True Church The second Mark that Protestants make of the True Church is the lawful Administration of the Sacraments whereby he undertakes in Cap. 30. to prove the Church of England to be no True Church At first he Scoptically mentions it calling it an Ear-mark although as wise and as learned a man as himself Alexander Ales made it so in good earnest At last he himself makes use of it to prove the Church of England to be no True Church viz. because the Church of England neither administers all the Sacraments which are Seven nor holds it necessary all should be administred nor acknowledgeth all to be Sacraments which is contrary to express Text of Scripture and the Word of God A high degree of contumacy and perversness if True and enough to stigmatize us to all Ages But if the Church of England allow all to be Sacraments that are so and the number of Seven Sacraments in that sence the Ancient Church call'd them so though amongst them two more chief and generally necessary to Salvation What degree of Heresie is this For the word Sacrament we know it is an Ecclesiastical word and in the power of the Church to impose upon what holy Signs or Ceremonies she pleaseth And if the Antient Church have thought it fitting to call those Holy Actions mention'd in the the Scripture with that name as Confirmation Holy Orders Matrimony c. we oppose it not we commend the moderation of Melancthon who thinks this no just matter of quarrel But 't is well known that the word Sacrament was used two ways by the Antients First largely for any Holy secret or sign of any Holy secret So Tertullian calls Christianity it self a Sacrament lib. 4. contra Marcion and in his Fifth Book speaking of Abrahams Sons he calls them Sacramenta figuram the Sacraments of figures and in his Book against the Jews he calls the Hatchet of Eliah Sacramentum ligni the Sacrament of the wood Somtimes strictly for a Holy secret Symbolically signifying and Sealing some Spiritual Grace and Ordained by Christ for that purpose And so they esteem'd Baptism and the Eucharist Sacraments in a more excellent manner But to go no further than the words of the Doctor p. 287. where he defines a Sacrament to be a visible sign of an invisible Grace Divinely Instituted for our Sanctification How will the Doctor by this Definition prove all the Seven to be True Proper Sacraments when Five of them want Divine Institution or matter and form Essential to Sacraments To instance in Confirmation they acknowledg themselves there is no command of Christ for it but only the Example of the Apostles The matter they say of this Sacrament is Holy Chrism Confect and made of Oyl Olive and Balm Consecrated by a Bishop the Form is the words of the Bishop I sign thee with the
do or no if he can make it out by any means that St. Augustine hath prejudged us so many hundred years ago it must needs be a fatal blow to the Church of England and this he endeavours to do by giving us St. Augustines Judgment in all or most of the particulars Controverted but how truly you shall see in the sequel St. Augustine saith he tells us plainly that the Church was built upon Peter in the first of his Retract Cap. 21. Yet in this very first place St. Augustine he knows retracts it and saith plainly by the Rock may be meant the Person whom he confessed it was not said to him Tues Petra sed tues Petrus Petra autem erat Christus quem confessus Simon Thou art the Rock but thou art Peter for the Rock was Christ whom Peter confessed and though in the following words he leaves it to the choice of the Reader to take which Interpretation he pleaseth yet by retracting of the former it appears he adhered to the latter As is made more probable by another passage of the same Father in a Sermon de verb. Dom. Serm. 13. Non me super te Petre sed te super me I am not built upon thee Peter but thou upon me and therefore in this point Pighius condemns that Father as inconstant to himself St. Augustine acknowledged the Popes Supremacy but not that unlimited Supremacy that is now challenged consisting in a Superiority over Councils jurisdiction over Kings in being Judg of all Controversies for St. Augustine himself denyed Appeals to Rome St. Augustine saith he taught the Assumption of our Blessed Lady her freedom from Original sin her vowed Chastity But in that Book de Sancta Virginit he refers us to I find mention only of her vowed Chastity which is no matter of Controversie but nothing of her freedom from Original sin and 't is well known that Opinion of the Virgins freedom from Original sin is of a later birth it being unknown in St. Bernards time nothing determined of it till the Council of Basil 1431. St. Augustine saith that the Authority of the Catholick Church is of more efficacy than the word it self and we are of his Judgment too if he be rightly understood that the Authority of the Church is of more efficacy to some in some respect to move Pagans and Infidels St. Augustine tells us 't is an Heretical thing to insist only upon Scripture and so say we we know Reason must be used to convince Heathen and Tradition to convince Hereticks St. Augustine saith that the Church cannot Err so say we if we understand by the Church the Church Universal with this limitation in Fundamentals St. Augustine The Church of Christ is Universal and so say we St. Augustine tells us that the Church Catholick must be Visible so say we St. Augustine teacheth that there are Seven Sacrament that 's false St. Augustine no where speaks of that just number neither was it ever determined till the Council of Florence nor heard of before Peter Lombard St. Augustine saith he believed Transubstantiation in effect but not in terms how does he know St. Augustine believed it in effect when he does not express so much in his terms St. Augustine teacheth us that the Sacrament is to be adored but in all the places he refers us to I can find nothing to that purpose but only upon Psalm xcvii where he hath these words Nemo carnem illam manducet nisi prius adoraverit let no man Eat that Flesh unless he first adores which I hope no good Christian will refuse to do Christ no Question ought to be adored in our approaches to that Sacrament and the Sacrament it self is venerable with all due respects to be handled and received Not to trouble my self nor you with examining all the Points of Divinity he gives us St. Augustines judgment on if St. Augustine taught the Eucharist to be a Sacrifice Confession of sins to a Priest That Orders ought not to be conferr'd but by a Bishop That 't is an Error to affirm a Bishop and a Priest to be a like in Dignity If he maintained Freewill Justification by Works That men are made Righteous by Works For that was St. Augustines Notion of Justification If he taught that good Works do Merit in some kind the difference betwixt Venial and Mortal sins Prescribed days of Fasting If he commends Monastical life The Learned of the Church of England will give their suffrage to St. Augustine in all these particulars and not betray their cause neither So you see we have received no great damage by this reference yet But if we turn over St. Augustine again and enquire out his judgment concerning the Innovations and new Doctrines maintained in the Roman Church we shall see that these Appellants themselves are condemned by St. Augustines Sentence The present Church of Rome maintains Worshipping of Images St. Augustine condemned it in his 119. Epist ad Jan. saying nulla imago ejus coli debet c. no Image of God ought to be Worshipped but that which is the same with himself and in his Book de moribus Ecclesiae Cap. 34. he hath these words Do not follow the rout of ignorant people which in the true Religion are Superstitious I know many Worshippers of Sepulchres and Pictures And upon Psalm cxii he hath a long Discourse to shew how dangerous the use of such Images is The present Church of Rome maintains that the Scriptures are imperfect and obscure in matters of Faith and good Life St. Augustine teacheth the contrary in his Book de Doctr. Christiana in those things which are plainly delivered in the Scripture are found all things which concern Faith and good Life The present Church denies the Scripture to be Judg of any Controversie St. Collat. Carthag 3. Cap. 187. Augustine summons the Donatists to the Judgment of Scripture alone in that Controversie in one place he saith the Divine Testimonies alone are sufficient to demonstrate the Church Let Divine Authority alone speak let Scripture alone be produced to which both of us owe submission And in his Book de Unitate Ecclesiae he saith Non audiamus haec dico haec dicis sed audiamus haec dicit Dominus c. Let us not hear this I say and this thou sayest but let us hear this the Lord saith There are the Lords Books let us there seek for the Church let us there discuss our cause let those things be laid aside which we produce one against another not out of the Divine Canonical Books The present Roman Church forbids people Reading of the Scripture St. Augustine exhorts his Auditors all to Read the Scriptures upon Psalm xxxiii Read the Scriptures saith he therefore God would have them written that we might be comforted The present Church of Rome hath taken away the Cup from the people in the Sacrament St. Augustine saith all the people must receive it if they will have life Quaest 57.