Christum negarent in carne venisse qui non putarent Jesum esse filium Dei. Tertull. de praescript Heret 33. Antichrists by St. John Little children saith he it is the last time and as you have heard that Antichrist should come even now there are many Antichrists whereby we know that it is the last time of which our Lord spoke And least any should think that these Monsters of Heresie and Sorcery which afflicted the primitive Church were not Christians it follows They went out from us but they were not of us for if they had been of us they would have continued with us but they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us And so in his 2. Ep. saith he Many deceivers are entred into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh this is a deceiver and an Antichrist and then knowing in what danger the faithful were of being seduced by them saith he by way of Caution to them Look to your selves that ye lose not those things which ye have wrought but that ye receive a full reward by enduring to the end So to see the sad estate of the primitive Church more fully out of St. Paul's Writings he saith in his 2. Ep. to Timothy This know that in the last days perillous times shall come for men shall be lovers of their own selves covetous c. having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof from such turn away for of this sort are they which creep into houses and lead captive silly women c. Now as Jannes and Jambres the Aegyptian Sorcerers withstood Moses so these resist the truth men of corrupt minds and reprobate concerning the faith But besides the Simonians or Gnostick Hereticks who divided the primitive Church and formed themselves into separate Sects there are evident footsteps in the New Testament of many other Divisions and Schisms So in the Church of Rome it self there were many schismatical Members as we find by the words of the Apostle I beseech you Brethren saith he unto the Romans mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which you have receiv'd and avoid them for they that are such serve not the Lord Jesus but their own belly and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple So in his 1. Ep. to the Corinthians how often doth he charge them with envying strife and divisions while one said he was of Paul another that he was of Apollos and a third that he was of Cephas or St. Peter So in the Text I cited before I hear saith he that there be divisions among you and truly these Divisions notwithstanding all his Authority and Doctrine to the contrary were come to such an height that we find him in the 11th Chapter using the very same Apologue for substance to perswade the to peace and unity and submission to their Superiors that Menenius Agrippa used to appease the seditious Commons of Rome and perswade them to return to their obedience to the Senate As the Body saith he is one and hath many members and all the members of that one Body being many are by union made one Body so also is the Church of Christ with much more to that purpose At the same time also there was many among them that denied the * Paulus in primd ad Corinthios not at negatores dubitatores resurrectionis Haec opinio propria Sadducaeorum partem ejus usurpat Marcion Apelles Valentinus Tertull. depraescript Haeret. 33. Resurrection or doubted of it which the Roman Catholicks which are so ready to note our Schisms and Heresies will not deny to be down-right Sadducism Let them hear the Apostle arguing against it If Christ be preached that he rose from the dead how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead for if there be no resurrection of the dead then is not Christ risen and if Christ be not risen then is our preaching vain and your faith vain yea and we are found false witnesses of God. In his ad Ep. to them we find him telling them of false Apostles and deceitful workers that were then among them who transform'd themselves into the Apostles of Christ These counterfeit Apostles had got a mighty esteem and interest among the people for it was in reference to them that he said Ye suffer if a man bring you into bondage to the Jewish Ceremonies if a man devour you if a man take money of you if a man exalt himself over you and smite you as it were on the face And that they should not think it strange that such fair pretenders to the Apostolical Office should be false Apostles Marvel not at this saith he for Satan himself is transformed into an Angel of light and therefore it is no great thing if his Ministers also be transformed as the Ministers of righteousness In his Ep. to the Galatians we find they had those among them whom the Apostle wished out off because they had perverted the Gospel with ‖ Et ad Galatas scribens invehitur in observatores defensores circumcifionis legis Hebionis haeresis est Tertul. ibid. Judaism and so bewitched the people with an opinion of the necessity of Circumcision and other legal Rites that they had brought them from the Gospel which the Apostle preached into another Gospel which gave him occasion to say If we or an Angel from heaven preach any other Gospel unto you then that which we have preached let him be accursed In his Ep. to the Colossians he bids them beware least any man should spoyl them through vain philosophy after the tradition of men after the rudiments of the world and not after Christ and prays them to take care that no man beguiled them in a voluntary humility and worshipping of * Simonianae autem magiae discipiina Angelis serviens utique ipsa inter Idololatrias deputabatur Tertull. de praescrip Haeret. 33. Angles intruding into those things which he had not seen and vainly puft by his fleshly mind In his 1st Ep. to Timothy he tells him That the Spirit saith expresly that in the latter time some shall depart from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils speaking lies in hypocrisie having their conscience seared with a hot iron forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from meats which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth In that Ep. he also charged him to hold the faith and a good conscience which saith he some having put away concerning the faith have made shipwrack of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus whom I have delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme And again O Timothy avoid profane and vain bablings and opposition of science falsly so called which some professing have erred concerning the faith In his 2d Ep. to Timothy
the least to the greatest give heed unto him as the great power of God Though he renounced the Devil at his Baptism yet he kept fast hold of his Soul by this evil Affection which was the gall of bitterness that poisoned his mind the bond of iniquity whereby Satan held him when he made him the first of his Apostles the first of those very Antichrists who in that Age of Miracles came after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders to deceive if it were possible the very Elect. The fourth sort of Instruments which Satan employs in making Divisions and Schisms are covetous men who love to be at the Head of a Sect or Party because it is the ready way to get a good Maintenance and become rich There were such as these in the Apostles days as is plain from that notable passage 1 Tim. 6.5 where he mentions perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth supposing that gain is Godliness and from such saith he withdraw thy self for we brought nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out There were such men as these in the Church of Corinth who made Parties among the People for their own ends which gave the Apostle occasion to rebuke them in words to this effect * 2. ep cap. II. ver 19 20 As wise as you think your selves to be you do with pleasure bear with fools nay ye suffer worse then fools for you love men that bring you into bondage you love men that devour you and take Presents of you nay you love them best that insult over you and as it were smite you on the face So St. Jude tells us That the Gnostical Hereticks ran greedily after the Error of Balaam for reward And in the Apostle's Epistle to Titus we find him forewarning him of certain unruly and vain talkers and deceivers whose mouths saith he must be stopped who subvert whole houses teaching things which they ought not for filthy lucres sake So †2 Mand. 12.2 St. Hermas who was St. Paul's Scholar and wrote not long after him speaks of false Spirits in his Time who received Reward for their Divination and if they do not receive saith he they do not continue long to prophesie So ‖ Euseb H. E. l. 5. c. 18. Montanus the Heretick and false Prophet after he had gathered a great concourse of People together at the Place which he called the New Jerusalem he appointed Collectors of Money who under the Name of Offerings took Gifts and Presents of the People and his pretended Prophetesses took not only Gold and Silver but fine Cloaths by way of Present nay saith Apollonius those who are called Prophets among the Montanists take Money not only of the rich but of the poor and Orphans and Widows and therefore saith he either let them deny that their Prophets take Money which we will prove by an hundred Testimonies or else let them deny that they are true Prophets because they take Gifts So I shewed in the first Chapter that Natalis the Confessor was hired with Money to be a Bishop of that schism in Rome which taught that Christ was a meer man saith the Historian of him Being tempted with the Bait of Primacy among those of that Sect and of filthy Lucre which is the destruction of many men he was scourged all night long by the holy Angels and rose betimes in the morning and having put on Sackcloath and Ashes he went in great hast and with tears in his eyes cast himself down before Zephyrinus the Bishop and fell down not only before the feet of the Clergy but of the Laity also and after much entreaty and shewing the Stripes which he had received when he was a Confessor he was admitted into the Communion of the Church Before he was beaten by the Angels our Lord frequently admonished him of his Sin by Visions in his Sleep being unwilling that a Confessor for Christianity should perish in Heresie and Schism but the love of Preheminence and Money so bewitched him that he was fain to use severer Methods with him and give him a Thorn in the Flesh before he would repent He was constrained to lash him out of the Circle in which he stood enchanted by the Devil and as it were by force and violence break the double Chain of Ambition and Convetousness with which he had bound himself to Satan and save him by a Miracle as great as his Sin. The last sort of men by which the Devil propagates and promotes Divisions and Schisms are contentious and litigious men as it is written by the Apostle If any man be contentious we have no such custom nor the Churches of God. I confess there is a contentious Disposition which is the effect of Ambition and so is co-incident with the third particular Cause which I assigned of Heresie and Schism but then there is a contentious Disposition of another sort which proceeds from a sophistical disputatious Humour and a little sort of pride in men that makes them love to oppose and contradict every thing for contradictions sake This contentious Humour is most visible in men who are hot and cholerick and it naturally puts them upon Controversies and Disputes and maintaining Paradoxes and calling received Doctrines into question and opposing things that are established and rather then sit down and be quiet it will be opposite to it self and be against that for which it was before This restless unquiet sort of Spirit hath bred much mischief in all Societies but especially in the Church of God. It seems to me to have been the Temper of the Elder Arius who as the * Socrat. l. I. c. 5. Historian tells us was expert in Logical Subtilties and †Ex 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 out of a contentious humour opposed his Bishop discoursing a little too curiously about the mystery of the holy Trinity If this litigious humour at any time happen to be for the Truth it is not out of love to Truth but with a design to oppose others as we read of some who preached the Gospel not out of good intent but meerly to oppose the Apostle Some indeed saith he preach Christ of meer envy and strife and some also of good will the one preach Christ of contention not sincerely supposing to add affliction to my bonds but the other of love knowing I am set for the defence of the Gospel To conclude this litigious Humour is expressed in Greek by a word which signifies the love of Contention because it is the delight and pleasure of contentious men to be of a Party and live in the dust of Controversie they are no longer easie and happy than they are engaged in some Quarrel And therefore saith they are engaged in some Quarrel And therefore saith Theophylact on Galat. 5.20 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. All Heresie proceeds from the love of Contention and the contentious
our Church I confess it is very good Policy to divide us that they may weaken us but then it should be remembred that no Humane Policy nor the greatest Advantage that can follow upon it can justifie the Dividing of any Church though never so Heretical by inventing new Doctrines The Catholicks formerly durst take no such course to divide the Arians they remembred that Anathema which St. Paul laid upon the Apostles themselves and the very Angels of Heaven if they should teach any other Doctrine and I wish for the Honour of Christianity others would do so too CHAP. V. Of the Cure of Schisms and Divisions AFter this Enquiry into the Causes of Schisms and Divisions and more particularly into those of our own Country I proceed to say something concerning the Prevention and Cure of them where to keep close to the design of my Apology for the Church I must declare upon a serious reflection of what I have hitherto written that I know no sure and infallible way that is lawful of preventing them where they are not or of curing them where they are First then I know no sure way that is lawful of preventing of them but some unlawful ways I confess there are which are inconsistent with the Design of the Gospel and the Rules of Christian Charity but then the Remedy in such cases is worse than the Disease and accordingly we see that the state of Christianity is much more deplorable in some Countries where Divisions are prevented by such methods than in England where no such methods have been taken to prevent them but of lawful and justifiable means which are consistent with the reputation and well-being of Christianity I believe there are none that will absolutely prevent Divisions and Schisms I confess Humane Fore-sight and Diligence may by God's blessing prevent them in a great measure but it will not always nor altogether do so But as Diseases will happen to the Natural Body notwithstanding all the care and endeavours to prevent them So Divisions and Schisms will happen to the Body Politick of Christ and all the Parts and Members of it notwithstanding all that man can lawfully do to prevent them as is evident from the state of the Church while it was governed by the Apostles For they were most holy most wise and most vigilant Pastors and therefore the greatest holiness and wisdom of the most vigilant and diligent Pastors are not sufficient to preserve Unity and prevent Schism Nor are Miracles joyned with the Sanctity and Endeavours of the most vigilant Pastors able to prevent it for the Apostles and their Assistants wrought Miracles and yet in the miraculous age of the Apostles there were Heresies and Schisms even in Churches where God bore them witness with Signs and Wonders and divers Miracles and Gifts of the Holy Ghost Nay Miracles are so far from having a Soveraign Vertue to prevent Schisms that in the Church of Corinth which abounded with miraculous Gifts there were Envyings Strifes Contentions and Divisions Nay as I shewed in the First Chapter many of those who had he gift of Miracles in the Apostles time wilfully fell away from Christianity to which they had born witness and did thereby despite unto the Spirit of Grace And as Miracles joyned with the utmost Sanctity Wisdom and Diligence of Pastors are not sufficient to prevent Divisions so neither is Infallibility added to all the rest for the most holy the most wise and most vigilant Apostles were all infallible Judges certainly endow'd by God with the personal Gift of Infallibility and yet in their time there were as many and as great Heresies and Schisms as perhaps have been since in any age of the Church To use some of the emphatical words of another Author every one of them was such a Judge of Matters Spiritual from which there needed no Appeal every one of them had Authority and Ability to Interpret the Scriptures and decide in Matters of Conscience and yet there were as many Controversies and Differences about Matters of Conscience and Religion then as are now to be seen in England or herhaps any other Country of the Christian World. Do what the Apostles of the Circumcision or Vncircumcision could they could not prevent the Enemy from sowing of Tares nor the Tares from growing up to the great prejudice and detriment of the Wheat Heresies and Offences would come notwithstanding the Infallibility of S. John who lay in our Lord's Bosom and of S. James who was his Brother and of S. Paul who was rapt into the third Heaven and of St. Peter to whom Christ said Thou art Peter and upon this Rock I will build my Church The R. Cs. may see from this little which I have said that if they had an infallible Judge his Infallibility would be no certain Remedy against Heresies and Schisms if they had no other ways that would not hinder but that Divisions might multiply among them as much as in the days of the Apostles or as much as they are now multiplied in England where the Church professeth to have no infallible Judge I say if they had an infallible Judge his Infallibility would not be able to secure them against Divisions but alas they have no infallible Judge for though they are all agreed that their Church is infallible yet they differ about the Seat of the Infallibility they cannot tell us for certain where it is lodged and truly to have an Infallible Judge and not to know who or where he is is in effect to have none at all What then is there no certain way of preventing Heresies and Schisms Certainly there is no lawful way certain which Consideration alone methinks might be Apology enough for the Church of England against the reproach which she now suffers upon the account of the English Heresies and Schisms And as there is no certain way of preventing Heresies and Schisms where they are not so there is no certain way of curing them where they are Provincial and General Councils where all emergent Differences may be freely and fairly debated have by experience been found to be the best means which God hath been pleased to bless with success but tho' they are very good means and have often proved very successful yet as we learn from the History of Councils they are not always infallible Remedies as is evident from the first General Council in which the Apostles and Elders and Brethren met at Jerusalem to determine whether or no it was needful for the Gentile Christians to be Circumcised and keep the Law of Moses St. Peter after much Dispute on both sides first stood up and declared That to oblige the Gentile Disciples to the Mosaical Observances was to put a Yoak upon their Necks which neither the Jews nor their Fathers were able to bear then James having first heard Barnabas and Paul declared it was his sentence that the Gentile Christians should be troubled with no more Jewish Observances but to