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A19551
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A sermon of sanctification preached on the Act Sunday at Oxford, Iulie 12, 1607. By Richard Crakanthorp Doctor of Diuinity.
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Crakanthorpe, Richard, 1567-1624.
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1608
(1608)
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STC 5982; ESTC S109018
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32,903
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41
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cause to cut them off for euer Thou shouldest not haue beholden the day of thy brother when he was made a stranger thou shouldest not haue reioiced in the day of their destruction nor haue spoken proudly in the day of affliction neither shouldst thou haue looked on their affliction in the day of their destruction but as thou hast done it shall be done to thee thy reward shall be vpon thine owne head I might adde heereto a further iudgement of God mentioned in the Apostle Whosoeuer hateth his brother is a manslayer yee know that no manslayer hath eternall life abiding in him But hauing spoken thus much concerning that brotherly charitie and peace which wee ought to haue one towards another I would gladly adde somewhat of that peace which we all iointly owe vnto the Church of God Of this peace the prophet Dauid saith O pray for the peace of Ierusalem they shall prosper that loue thee Peace be within thy wals Of this the Apostle saith I beseech you marke them diligently which cause diuision and offences contrary to the doctrine which yee haue receiued and auoid them for they that are such serue not the Lord Iesus for God is not the authour of diuision but of peace in all churches Of this Dionysius that ancient Bishop excellently writ to Nonatus when hee began his schisme as you may see in his epistle set downe by Eusebius in his 6. booke and 44. chap. If you Nonatus haue gone vnwillingly as you pretend from the Church shew it by your voluntary and willing returning to the Church againe Oportebat quidem nihil non ferre ne ecclesia Dei scâ—nderes you should haue borne with whatsoeuer rather then haue made a rent in the Church of God It is a more glorious martyrdome to suffer for auoiding a schisme then for auoiding the sinne of Idolatry In the one you suffer martyrdome but for one soule in the other you suffer for the whole Church of God Thus said Dionysius Of this Gregorie Nazianzen was so studious and zealous that when the Church at Constantinople began to be diuided as he supposed by occasion that he possessed that sea he openly said and his speech was much more commendable then his fact Si propter me ista tempestas If this stirre and tempest be for my sake take me cast me into the sea that the storme may cease and the Church may enioy her calme as Ruffinus reports in his 2. booke 9. chap. To this S. Cyprian at large perswaded in his booke de vnitate ecclesia Let no man thinke saith he that the good will depart from the Church Triticum non rapit ventus sed paleas It is not wheate but chaste which the winde blowes away Those can neuer abide in God that will not abide in the vnitie of the Church of God Though such giue their bodies to be burned or to be deuoured of wilde beasts Non est illa corona fides sed poena persidiae That is no crowne of their saith but a punishment for their perfidiousnesse Occidi talis potest coronari non potest A man may happily be killed but neuer crowned in a schisme Of this Martianus though no good bishop most passionately said when Sabbatius whom he had formerly ordained Presbyter began to make a tumult and diuision in the Church Multa satius â—â—â—sset It had beene much better and I wish rather I had laid my hands vpon thornes then imposed them vpon the head of this troublesome Sabbatius as Socrates relates in his 5. booke and 20 chap. For preseruing this peace Polycarp and other ancient bishops were so carefull that though they diâ—fered in iudgement about some rites and smaller matters yet neuer for that cause would they breake the vnitie of the Church or make a separation one from another as Eusebius declares in his 5. booke and 23. chap. Friuolum enim quidem meritò indicarunt consuetudinis gratia a se mutuò segregari eos qui in praecipius religionis capitibus consâ—ntirâ—nt saith Zozomen in his 7. booke and 19. chap speaking of Polycarp and Victor They iudged it friuolous and childish and indeed not without cause to disagree and make a separation for customes ceremonies when they did agree in the substance chiefe points of Religion For this S. Austen so earnestly pleads besides many other places thorowout his whole 7. bookes De Baptismo contra Donatistas that I suppose the diligent perusall of those bookes would easily perswade a man that is not too much led with a partiall or sâ—lfe conceit to do much and to suffer much more for the vnitie and peace of the Church of which hee thus saith Omnia bono pacis vnitatis esse toleranda That all things must be borne with for peace vnities sake cause him euer to shun yea detest a rent or schisme in the church of which he againe saith and prooues it in his 2. booke and 8. chap. That the sinne of schisme is more hainous then is the sin of Idolatry and more peremptorily in his 1. booke contra epist. Parmen 4. chap. sacrilegium schismatis omnia scâ—lera supergreditur there is no sin no sacriledge nor robbery so great as is this to rob Gods Chuch of her vnitie and peace But because I hasten to say somwhat of the other points which remaine I will not go forward in this so large and spatious a field but conclude this whole point of peace partly with those words of our Sauiour Haue salt in your selues and haue peace one towards another partly with the words of the Apostle Finally brethren fare yee well be of one mind liue in peace and the God of loue and peace shall be with you And this be spoken of the title that is here giuen to God that he is called The very God of peace Sanctifie you throughout that your whole spirit and soule and bodie may be kept blamelesse The maner of our sanctification which was the third generall point I proposed is heere set downe which is that it must be totall and intire that both our vnderstanding reason which is meant by the spirit and our will and affections which are meant by the soulâ— and our externall and outward actions which are meant by 〈…〉 may all be holy and so wee whollie sanctified in the sight of God By which integritie of sanctification the Apostle meanes not any such perfection of santitie as is voide of all sinne for the Scripture euerie where doth witnesse that no such sanctitie is to be expected or hoped for while we carry about thâ—se bodies of sinne The Apostles confesse plainly of themselues and such as are most righteous in this life In many things we sinne all And if we say we haue no sinne we make God a lyar and his word is not in vs. This was the prerogatiue of Christ alone that he knew no sinne and in all
birth a quickning or regeneration to teach vs that as in our naturall birth and first creation we are no agents at all to giue life will or motion to our selues but all proceeds from him who breatheth life into a liuelesse body right so in our new birth or new creation which is our conuersion vnto God we which to grace are whollie dead cannot poâ—â—iblie be any agents to giue either a spirituall life and quickning or will or motion vnto our selues but all proceeds onely from that spirit of grace by which being first spiritually reuiued and quickned we are then made both willing and able to performe the workes of grace And like as iron of it selfe being a dead and dull mettall hath no other motion nor inclination at all but onely to the earth and centre yet when it is once touched with the loadstone it then directs all his course and motions toward the pole in heauen nor euer can rest till it point thereat Euen so it is in vs we of our selues in this our depraued nature being in all spirituall actions like iron of a very hard and besides of a dull and dead metall all the motions affections and inclinations both of our minde and will bâ—nd onely to the earth and to base and earthly desires but when once our hearts are touched with Gods spirit as with a loadstone and wee anointed with that sacred vnction of which the Apostle saith that it is Hâ—lie then by the force and diuine vertue and vigour thereof both our selues our wils and actions are conuerted and turned towards God and toward heauen and bend to Christ Iesus as to the onely Cynosure and that celestiall pole whereby we are directed in this our short but very troublesome and tempestuous pasâ—age till we arriue at our last and best hauen in Gods kingdome and in heauen All which God most cleerely expresseth to be his owne worke and in no part ours Ezek. 36. A new heart will I giue you and a new spirit will I put within you and I will take away your stonie heart and I will giue you an heart of flesh and I will cause you to walke in my statutes to keepe my iudgements and to doe them The giuing of a new spirit to quicken of a new heart to will and desire the changing of our stonie and as S. Austen cals them inflexible hearts into pliable and teachable hearts of flesh the making of vs to walke in his statutes and to do them all this God challengeth wholly to himselfe alone leauing nothing in this whole worke for vs but only that excellent confession of S. Cyprian so often commended by S. Austen In nullo gloriandum est quia nihil est nostrum we must boast our selues of nothing because nothing is our owne but all is the gift and worke of God As for the maner of this working of God in our hearts though I may not in this straitnesse of time at large staie to vnfolde it yet suffer me in this place especially though but in few words to touch the same the rather because hereon in my opinion depends the very point and maine issue of the whole controuersie twixt vs and them For it is most iniurious to the grace of God which they teach that in our conuersion Gods grace is onely excitans gratia as if by it we were only awakened out of some slumber or sleepe in sinne The efficacy of which grace consists as they suppose in those motions inducements and suggestions which God proposeth to our vnderstanding that our reason being enlightned and enformed thereby our will of it selfe without any further agencie or speciall worke of God may at his owne choice freely yeeld or denie assent thereto This Bellarmine at large declareth in his first booke De gra lib. arbitr and in diners chapters thereof where in the whole scope of his treatise hee sheweth that God in our conuersion is no Physicall but onely a morall cause and agent which works suadendo hortando corsulendo as he saith by aduising exhorting proposing perswasions vnto vs as if a man should perswade his friend to some iourney or voyage which he were able to vndertake but onely vnwilling till he were induced thereto by some reasons which is Bellarmines owne comparison And to omit other citations in his 6. booke 15. chap. and 8. proposition he expresly saith Gratia dei quantumuis essicax nihil est aliud nisi suasio quae non determinat voluntatem sed inclinat per modum proponentis obiecti the grace of God how effectuall soeuer it be is nothing els but a suggestion and motion which doth not determine the will but incline it by proposing obiects vnto it I will heere omit what before out of the Scripture is declared that Gods grace in our conuersion is not onely an excitant but a viuificant grace whereby we are not wakened but reuiued and quickned as the Apostle saith from the death of sinne as also that it is not onely an alluring or perswading but an attracting and drawing grace as both Christ himselfe witnesseth None can come to me except the father draw him and his Church acknowledgeth Draw me and we will run after thee Of which drawing S. Ierome truely obserues handling those words of our Sauiour in his 3. booke aduersus Pelagianoâ— frangit superbientem arbitrij libertatem this doth ouerthrow the arrogant freedome of our wil for he that is drawen comes not of his owne will sed aut retrectans tardus aut inuitus adducitur but either with strugling or vnwillingly is hee brought vnto Christ. But to omit these S. Austen is most cleere and pregnant in refuting these new Romish but in verie deed old Pelagian fancies In his first booke against Pelag. and Celest. 10. chap. he first shewes how Pelagius with these very answers of Bellarmine shifted off that testimony of S. Paul It is God that worketh in vs to will he works it said Pelagius when by reuealing wisedome in desiderium Dei stupentem susâ—itat voluntatem he awakens and stirres vp our stupid will to the desire of God when he enflames vs with proposing the promises of future glory rewards and when he doth suadâ—re omne bonuÌ„ aduise and counsell vs vnto all goodnesse Thus said Pelagius Sed nos eam gratiam nolumus saith S. Austen but this is not that grace which the Scripture which we do teach for it is not enough that the promises be proposed vnlesse they be beleeued nor that wisedome be reuealed vnlesse it be loued nec suadetur solum omne quod bonum est verùm persuadetur neither doth Gods grace in our conuersion onely counsell and perswade vs vnto good but it makes a man effectually to yeeld vnto Gods motions and perswasions and in the 24. chap. speaking of this very worke of God which is as he there saith inward and hidden he addes mirabili ac