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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A92744	The Christian life wheren is shew'd, I. The worth and excellency of the soul. II. The divinity and incarnation of our Saviour III. The authority of the Holy Scripture. IV. A dissuasive from apostacy. Vol. V. and last. By John Scott, D.D. late rector of St. Giles's in the Fields.; Christian life. Vol. 5	Scott, John, 1639-1695.; White, Robert, 1645-1703, engraver.; Zouch, Humphrey.	1700 (1700)	Wing S2060; ESTC R230772	251,294	440

write them down in order that he might know the Certainty of those things wherein he had been instructed From whence I infer that supposing St. Luke performed what he promised his Gospel must contain a full Declaration of the Christian Religion For First by promising to give an Account of those Things which were surely believed among Christians he engaged himself to give an entire Account of Christianity unless we will suppose that there were some Parts of Christianity which the Christians of that Time did not surely believe Secondly In promising to give an Account of those Things of which he had a perfect Understanding from the first and in which his Theophilus had been instructed he also engages himself to give a compleat Account of the whole Religion unless we will suppose that there were some Parts of this Religion which St. Luke did not perfectly understand and in which Theophilus had not been before instructed Thus also St. John testifies of his Gospel Chap. 20. 31. These things are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and that believing ye might have life through his name And if it be objected that by these Things the Apostle only means the Miracles of Christ which are the Motives of our Belief and not his Doctrines which are to be believed by us this is notoriously false since by these Things St. John means his Gospel in which not only the Miracles but the Doctrines of Christ are contained and therefore in his first Epistle chap. 5. 13. he saith These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God that ye may know that ye have eternal life and that ye may believe or continue to believe on the name of the Son of God Where by These Things it 's plain he means only that Christian Doctrine which he had been teaching throughout the whole Epistle From which two Places I argue that all Things necessary to eternal Life are written because he expresly tells us that These Things were written to this end that they might beget and nourish in us that Faith by which we may obtain eternal Life but if that Faith which these written Things was designed to beget in us be not sufficient to eternal Life then were these Things written in vain and the End of writing them which was that we might obtain eternal Life by believing them was wholly frustrated but if that Faith were sufficient to eternal Life then these written Things which begot that Faith and were the Object of it must contain in them all Things necessary to eternal Life for how can they beget in us a Faith that is sufficient to eternal Life unless they propose to our Faith all Things that are necessary thereunto And thus I have endeavoured to demonstrate from Scripture it self which all agree is the Word of God and consequently the most concluding Authority in the World that the Holy Scripture is in it self a sufficient Rule of Faith and Manners to direct Men to eternal Life And if this be so I would fain know by what Warrant or Authority any Man or Church can pretend to obtrude upon the Faith of Christians any unwritten Traditions or Doctrines of Faith and Rules of Worship not recorded in Scripture as of equal Authority with those recorded in Scripture and equally necessary to the eternal Happiness of Men. For that there have been such bold Imposers in the Christian World Irenaeus assures us in the 2d Chapter of his 2d Book against Heresies where he tells us of a sort of Hereticks who taught that the Truth could not be found in the Scriptures by those to whom Tradition was unknown for as much as it was not delivered by Writing but by Word of Mouth And these Hereticks 1 De Praescrip Haeret c. 25. as Tertullian observes confessed indeed that the Apostles were ignorant and that they did not at all differ among themselves in their Preaching but said they revealed not all Things unto all Men some Things they taught openly and to all some Things secretly and to a few which secret Things were the unwritten Traditions which they sought to impose upon the Faith of Christians And how far the Church of Rome it self doth in this matter tread in the Footsteps of these ancient Hereticks is but too notorious For thus in the Preface of their Catechism it is expresly affirmed by the Council of Trent that the whole Doctrine to be delivered to the Faithful is contained in the Word of God which Word of God is distributed into Scripture and Tradition And in the Councel it self they declare and define that the Books of Scripture and unwritten Traditions are to be received and honoured with equal pious Affection and Reverence In which Words they expresly own another Word of God besides the Scripture viz. Tradition which they equalize with the Scripture it self And this is almost verbatim the very Assertion which both Irenaeus and Tertullian condemn for Heresy and as they are the same so we find they are grounded on the same Authority For those very Texts of Scripture which those ancient Hereticks urged for their Tradition are urged by Bellarmin for the Tradition of his Church Thus for their Tradition as Irenaeus and Tertullian acquaints us they urged that of St. Paul We speak Wisdom among them that are perfect and also O Timothy keep that which is committed to thy trust and again That good Thing which is committed to thee keep All which Texts are urged by Bellarmin in his 4th and 5th Books de Verbo Dei in behalf of that Tradition which the Church of Rome contends for And 't is something hard that that which was damned for Heresy in the Primitive Church should be made an Article of Faith in the present Roman Not that we do disallow of Traditions universally received in all Churches and Ages for we frankly acknowledge that what is now contained in Scripture was Tradition before it was Scripture as being first delivered by Word of Mouth before it was collected into Writing and therefore whensoever it can be made evident to us that there are any unwritten Doctrines bearing the same Stamp of Divine Authority with those that are written we are ready to recive them with the same Veneration as we do the Scriptures themselves For it is not their being written that doth authorize them but their being from God and our Saviour and his Apostles and therefore when once it 's made appear to us that Christ or his Apostles taught so and so that is sufficient to command our Assent and Submission whether it be made appear from Scripture or Tradition So that the Reason why we embrace some Doctrines and reject others is not merely because the one are written and the other not but because to us who live at so great a distance from Christ and his Apostles it can never be made so evident that what is not written was taught by

end should we read the Scripture seeing the only End of Reading is to learn the Sense of what we read which according to this Principle is not to be learnt from Scripture So that though there be no other wise End of reading the Scripture but only to learn from it what it means yet it seems for Men to read it for this End is a perfect Labour in Vain seeing it is not from the Scripture but from the Church that they are to learn the Meaning of Scripture For as for the Scripture if these Men are to be believed it is nothing but a heap of unsensed Characters so they expresly term it But what do they mean by it Is it that the Scripture consists of a company of Letters and Syllables and Words that carry with them no determinate Sense that God Almighty hath written and published a Book to the World that means nothing If so then when the Church by its infallible Authority pretends to expound the Scripture Her meaning is not to expound the Sense of it but to impose a Sense on it which was never in it for how can She expound the Sense of a Book which hath no Sense in it If the Church is to expound the Sense of Scripture the Scripture must have a certain determinate Sense in it before She expounds it for to expound the Sense of That which hath no Sense is Nonsense And if the Scripture hath a certain Sense in it antcedently to the Church's Exposition of it why do they call it a parcel of Vnsensed Characters If their Meaning be only this that the Sense of Scripture as it is delivered in Scripture is so obscure and ambiguous that without the infallible Exposition of the Church we can never be certain what it is besides that this is notoriously false the Scripture in all necessary Points both of Faith and Manners being so very plain and clear that any Man that reads it with an unprejudiced Mind may be as certain of the Sense of it as he can be of the Sense of any Writing and consequently of the Sense of any written Exposition of the Church besides this I say it is evident that whatever these Men pretend it is not meerly because of the obscurity of Scripture that they oblige Men to ground their Faith upon the Church and not upon the Scripture For they own as well as we that in many Things the Scripture is very plain and clear and yet they will by no Means allow Men to ground their Belief of these things upon the Authority of Seripture but all must be resolved into the Authority of the Church By which it is evident That if all the Scripture were as plain as the plainest Scriptures they would still contend for the Necessity of Mens relying upon the Church and not upon the Scripture and consequently that the true Reason why they contend for it is not because the Scripture is obscure but because they are resolved to advance their Church's Authority We own as well as they that where the Scripture is obscure Men ought to be guided by the Authoty of the Church which we freely allow to be the best Expositor of Scripture But the true State of the Difference between them and us is this That whereas we require plain Men to judge of plain Things with their own Understandings and all Men so far forth as they are capable to judge for themselves in Matters of Religion and not content themselves to see with the Church's Eyes where they are able to see with their own nothing will satisfie these Men but to have all Men as well Wise as Simple surrender up their Faith and Judgment to the Church and wink hard and believe what-ever the Church believes purely because the Church believes it Whatever they pretend therefore the Truth of the Case is this They will by no means allow us to believe upon the Authority of Scripture not because the Scripture is obscure though this they pretend for were it never so plain the Case would be the same but because they are sensible that this will inevitably subvert their usurped Dominion over the Faith and Consciences of Men. But we must believe upon the Authority of the Church and who is this Church I beseech you Why they themselves are this Church So that whereas God hath published a Book called the Bible on purpose to declare his Mind and Will to the World here are started up a Sort of Men that call themselves the Church who very gravely tell us Sirs You must not so much as look into this Book or if you do must not believe any one Word in it upon its own Credit and Authority For though we do confess it is the Word of God yet we are the sole Judges of the Sense of it and therefore whatsoever we decalre is its Sense how unlikely soever it may seem to you you are bound in Conscience to receive and believe it for this very Reason because wedeclare it In short you must resign up your Eyes your Faith your Reason and Vnderstandings to us and see only with our Eyes and believe only with our Faith and judge only with our Judgment and whithersoever we shall think fit to lead you you must tamely follow us without presuming to examine whether we lead you right or wrong But yet after all to induce us thus to inslave our Understandings to them they themselves are fain to appeal to Scripture and allow us in some Things to judge of the Sense of it and to believe those Things upon its Authority For no wise and honest Man will ever believe either that They are the Church or the infallible Judges of the Sense of Scripture without some Proof and Evidence and for this this they are fain to produce several Texts of Scripture such as Thou art Peter and upon this Rock will I build my Church Now supposing that to be true which is notoriously false viz. that those Texts do necessarily imply that They are the only true Catholick Church and that as such they are constituted by God infallible Judges of Scripture yet before I can believe so I must judge for my self whether this be the Sense of them or no and if I judge it is I must believe that they are the Church and infallible upon the Scripture's Authority and not theirs for their Authority is the Thing in debate and I cannot believe upon it before I believe it So then though we must believe nothing else upon Scripture Authority yet upon this very Authority we must believe that they are the Church and that they are infallible which are the fundamental Principles of their Religion that is to say we must believe as much upon Scripture Authority as will sever their turn and no more But may I be certain of the Truth of these two Fundamental Principles upon Scripture Authority or no If I may why may I not as well be infallibly certain upon the same Authority

where you find John Baptist giving the same Testimony to Christ which here he gives to the Word especially v. 27. of this Chapter Which is a plain Evidence that Christ and the Word are only different Titles of the same Person But that I may more particularly explain to you the Meaning of this Phrase I will briefly deliver my Sense of it in these following Propositions 1. That this Phrase The Word as it is by way of Eminence applied to a particular Subject is derived into the New Testament from the Theology of the Jews and Gentiles 2. That the New Testament giving no distinct Explication of it it is most safe and reasonable to fetch the Sense of it from that ancient Theology whence it was derived 3. That the Theology from whence it was derived uses it to signify a vital and Divine Subsistence 4. That therefore our Saviour to whom it is applied in the New Testament is that vital and Divine Subsistence 1. That this Phrase The Word as it is by way of Eminency applied to a particular Subject is derived into the New Testament from the Theology of the Jews and Gentiles Which will plainly appear to any one that shall consider the exact Agreement between those Titles and Characters which are given to our Saviour in the New Testament and those which the Jews and Gentiles give to the Word so often mentioned in their Theology For as for this Phrase 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Word it is very anciently used in the Writings both of Jews and Gentiles For Rab. Azariel in his Treatise of Holiness quotes it out of the Book of the Creation which was written by Rab. Abraham an ancient Cabalist who the Jews say was the Patriarch Abraham himself The Spirit saith he meaning the most High God bringeth forth the Word and the Voice and these Three are one God Thus also it is frequently used in the Chaldee Paraphrase as eminently appropriated to a Divine Person So in Isa 45.17 instead of Israel shall be saved in the Lord they read it by the Word of the Lord and Jerem. 1.8 instead of I am with thee they read because my Word is with thee and Gen. 15.1 instead of I am thy shield they read my Word is thy shield and so in sundry other places And which is very observable Psal 110.1 instead of The Lord said unto my Lord they read The Lord said unto his Word which Words our Saviour applies to himself Matth. 22.44 as being himself that Eternal Word or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 there mentioned And in the same Sense also it was very anciently used in the Writings of the Gentile Philosophy Thus Zeno as Tertullian tells us 1 Tertull. Apologet. c. 36 Pam. Hunc i.e. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Zeno determinat factitorem qui cuncta in dispositione formaverit eundemque fatum vocari Deum animum Jovis speaks of a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by which the World was made and which he calls Fate and God and the Soul of Jupiter And the ancient Orpheus as he is quoted by Clemens Alexandrinus 2 Stromat L. 5 p. 607. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 exhorts Men to behold and contemplate the Divine Word who is the immortal King of Heaven And Plato 3 Epinomis tells us that the Motions of the Stars were disposed and ordered by the Word By which it 's plain that this Phrase was used as appropriate to a Divine Person both by Jews and Gentiles long before the Writing of the New Testament And that the New Testament derived it from their Writings is apparent for that it attributes to Christ the same Titles and Characters which they were wont to attribute to the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thus as the New Testament calls Christ the Messias The Word so the Chaldee Paraphrase expresly tells us that Messias is called the Word of God Oseae cap. 7. Thus as St. Paul calls him the King immortal so Orpheus in the afore-named Place calls him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the King immortal And whereas Christ is said to be the Image of God 2 Cor. 4.4 to be the shining forth of his Glory and the express Character of his Person Heb. 1.3 Philo calls him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 4 Lib. 2 de Agricultutâ p. 169. Edit Genev. 1613. the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 5 Leg. Allegd 2. p 60. that is the Character of God and the Shadow and Image of God And Plotin That it is a Light streaming forth from God even as Brightness doth from the Sun 1 Enn. 5. l. f. c. 6. And as St. John in the first Verse of this Chapter tells us That the Word was from the beginning with God and that it was God so Philo tells us that by Prerogative of Eldership he abideth with the Father and Zeno in the aforenamed place that he is God and Plotin 2 Ibid. tells us That being the Word of God and the Image of God he is inseparably conjoined with him And whereas Christ tells us That he is the Light of the World John 8.12 the Manna which cometh down from Heaven and the Bread of Life John 6.33 35. The same Philo stiles him the Word the Light 3 Philo de Opif. mundi p. 4 5. the Manna 4 Quod det pot in s sol p. 137. the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 5 Leg. Alleg. l. 2. p. 70 71. that is the Bread and Food which God hath given to the Soul And whereas it is said that the Father is in Christ that he dwells and abides in him John 14.10 the same Author says 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 6 De Migrat Abrah p. 304. that is the Word is the House of the Father in whom he dwells Whereas Christ is said to have a Name Phil. 2.9 and to be advanced above all Principalities and Powers Eph. 1.21 Philo tells us that this Divine Word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 7 Leg. Alleg. p. 71. that is above all Worlds and the most ancient of all things that are Whereas Christ is said to be the High Priest over the House of God Heb. 10.21 Philo tells us that the World is the Temple of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 De Somniis p. 463. that is in which the First-born Divine Word is the High Priest Whereas Christ is said to be the Son of God and the First-born of every Creature Plato calls him the begotten Son of the Good 2 De Repub. l. 6. Plotin the Son of God 3 Enn. 5. l. 8. c. 12. and Philo the First-begotten Son and Word of God 4 De Somn. p. 463. Again whereas God is said to have created the World by Christ Heb. 1.2 and to have committed the Government of it to him Philo calls the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 5 De Cherub p. 88. that is the Governour