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A40716
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The necessity of keeping our parish-churches argued from the sin and danger of the schisms in the Church of Corinth and of the present separations : in a sermon before the honourable judges, at the last assizes, held at Exeter / by Francis Fullwood.
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Fullwood, Francis, d. 1693.
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1672
(1672)
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Wing F2510; ESTC R35475
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15,123
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33
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condemn'd by the reason and practice of all Churches yea of all kind of Nonconformists the late Presbyterians the old Puritans and the very Independents themselves in New-England as might easily be made to appear And if our Brethren concern'd examine their own late Principles and the little reason they had to forsake them I fear they will hardly escape Self-condemnation But I desire it may be heeded that I here speak not of the point of Liberty but of Law and Conscience Of the Schism charged upon the Corinthians particularly in their preferring some Pastors to the sleighting of others YOu have heard what Schism in general is and how notoriously the present Separation is guilty of it Let us now consider the particular Schisms in the Church of Corinth and the agreeableness of ours with these The Corinthians seem to be charged with a threefold Schism 1. In preferring some Teachers to the sleighting of others 2. Refusing to observe the lawful Customs of their own Church 3. Dividing in the Communion of it The first we find 1 Cor. 1. 10. Now I beseech you brethren let there be no Divisions or Schisms Gr. among you it hath been declared to me that there are contentions among you vers 11. Now what were these Schisms and Contentions Why every one saith I am of Paul I of Apollo I of Cephas and I of Christ one not liking to hear any but solid Paul another any but zealous Peter a third any but eloquent Apollos and a fourth would hear none but wait for the Inspirations of Christ himself Thus we see we may be guilty of Schism not only by refusing all Ministeries but by having Itching ears and heaping up Teachers to our selves and by a partial preferring some kind of Teachers to the sleighting of others with pretenses of Edifying better by them This too palpably argues a renouncing and disobedience of our own Pastors that notorious Donatist In Causa Ceciliani Episcopi cui crimina objecerunt sâ— ab Ecclesiâ Catholicâ diviserunt Aug. To. 2. Ept. 50. Ecclesia propter quemlibet hominem relinquere non debâ—mus ibid. Epis ad Pupâ—â— anum vid. etjam Epi. 1. ad Cornelium Schism branded by the most eminent Fathers in the Primitive Ages of the Church as before was noted and Mr. Hales tells us that the peoples partial preference of some Bishops before others hath been the general cause of Schism in most Ages yea he adds that he that reads St. Cyprian would imagine that that Father thought there was no other Schism but this Hear him in one place for the rest unde enim Schismata c. whence do Schisms and Heresies arise but when the Bishop who is one and governs the Church is contemn'd by the proud presumption of certain persons and the Man that is honoured Dignatione Dei Indignis hominibus Judicatur is judged by unworthy men Now are not our New Churches Schismatical enough for this Cause also Is it not respect of Persons that draws our people from us to hear their New or Old Teachers The Preachers say indeed they must take care of their own old Flocks and the people say they must hear their old Ministers But besides what we have said to this already we must say the cheat is too manifest For how few of their old Ministers are left that will preach unto them Many are dead many conform and some are honest and modest and like not to be Independents and gather Churches And very few of these few that are left and do take this liberty are to be found near their old places except they are such as were ejected out of the best of our Towns But the Non-Conformists are godly zealous and painful Preachers And what is this but to intimate that we are not so though thanks be to God you cannot say it especially in the Parishes where your Godly Preachers would gather their Churches But my brethren is not this to say I am of Paul c. Deceive not your selves this is not your vertue or your strength or spiritualness above others but indeed your Sin and Schism your weakness and your flesh The Apostle saw though you cannot envying strife and faction in these and such like pretences I write unto you saith he not as unto spiritual but as carnal and Babes for ye are yet carnal For whereas there is envying and strife and Divisions or Factions among you are ye not carnal and walk as men And all this he proves after this manner for while one saith I am of Paul and another I am of Apollo are ye not carnal 1 Cor. 3. 1 2 3 4. Yet you may not escape thus Your practice hath a double Aggravation beyond theirs 1. The Preachers in Corinth were all of one kind of Ordination and Pastors of the same Church and did not at all countenance this partial respect of their own gifts but rather reprove it as you have heard the Apostle who was one of them So that there was no Schism or difference among the Pastors and St. Hierom's great In. cap. 3. ad Titum Cause of Schism was wanting who tells us that it Separates from the Church propter Episcopalem dissensionem But you Separate from us and adhere to such as are no allowed Pastors of our Church either by Presentation Institution Induction or for the most part of them Ordination it self and we have cause to fear that our Differences are made not only by the people but chiefly by the Teachers Secondly Paul Apollo and Cephas as they were Ministers of the same Church and at unity among themselves so they had all the same Mode of Worship the same Government and Discipline as well as Doctrine But now as you forsake your true Pastors so you make new Churches of another Ministry Worship and Government and quite of another Constitution and where is your Sobriety to run thus upon a Total Separation from us What think ye are ye not carnal and walk as men in the Apostles Logick Yea I say ye are children and driven of the wind and tossed The Second Sort of Schism viz. sleighting lawful Usages THese Corinthians were further blamed with a sleighting the Customs of the Church for the Apostle having in the beginning of this Chapter minded them of the Decency of some particular Circumstances of Worship he at length enforceth their observance by an Argument from Custom in the Churches of God v. 17. But perhaps though this be a fault some may think it not always so great a fault as to be called Schism especially when men keep their Church Yet it may not be amiss to observe that Beza placeth the nature of Schism in this very thing a leaving the Church for the sake of some external Rites And I see not how our new Churches can be excused in this point For do they not take offence at our Rites and Ceremonies Do they not plead this offence and this only or chiefly for their Separation Though our Rites
of division and Schism in the Church Yea herein not only our own Pastors of the Church of England but the very Nonconformists which were easy to manifest by the writings of the Puritans against the Brownists heretofore and more lately of the Presbyterians against the Independents and other Sectaries have led me the way So that if I prove that thing to be Schism which I speak against and that Schism such as is of fearful consequence to the Church of God I doubt not of your kindness to pardon me if I shall use that boldness in my way of Arguing that in other Cases might not so well become me in so great so grave so Learned and so Honourable an Audience And with this Confidence I shall now enter the lists Of Schism in general and the Application of it to the present separation We are to lay our foundation in the right notion of Schism to that end we shall shew you first the nature of schism in general and then the nature of that schism of which the Corinthians were guilty still making application to the present Separation as we pass along For the first that we may understand what Schism in general is we must know that it is agreed by all that have formerly written about it that the nature of it lies in practice and not in opinion farther than the opinion concerns the practice Indeed the words Heresie and Schism sound the same Accommodatum est ad signif separationâ—m qua quis separat ab ecclesiâ Isodor 8. Etym. cap. 3. thing in the Text and some other places of holy Scripture but after ages found reason to distinguish them by confining Heresie to error in Faith and schism to error in practice and that practice peculiarly such as is a breach of unity in the Church as S. Austine and S. Hierom teach what ever our opinions otherwise be Schisma à Scissurâ vocatur schism is a rent therefore the Holy Scriptures express it by causing divisions separating our selves forsaking the Assemblies heaping up teachers to our selves and drawing Disciples after us and the like Ignatius and S. Cyprian soon after define schism Cyprian Epist ad Pupuen Tertul. adv Haer. lib. 1. c. 5. Irenae lib. 4. c. 43. adv Haer. Chrysost in Ep. ad Eph. Hom. 2. by a renouncing or not obeying or submitting to our lawful Guides Bishops and Presbyters And with Tertullian S. Austin S. Jerom and the rest of the Fathers schism is a breach of Vnity by a Separation from the Church and errecting Altar against Altar But when things of this nature had past a more through examination it was at length concluded that there might happen to be a just cause of separating from a true Church and hence schism came to a more accurate and stated definition and now it seems to be agreed on by all at least Protestants That Schism is an unlawful Definition of schism and unwarrantable or causeless rending or dividing the Church of God Schism is dividing the Church therefore such as are said to be guilty of it are supposed to be or Ex communi sensu supponit eum qui separatur fuisse unitum ut Scissura c. Lud. d. la cand in Tertul. bound to be members of the Church thus divided Again 't is an unlawful unwarrantable and causless dividing therefore it must be either without just ground or at least without due counsel and advice if the cause be just According to Cameron and others Schisma est secessio ab Ecclesia vel injusta vel temeraria schism is either an unjust or a rash separation from the Church Once more It is also generally agreed That there can be no just cause of separation from a true Church while we may lawfully Communicate with it that is while we may do so without sinning So that schism is a refusing to communicate with such a Church It is as weakly as needlesly said of some that a not having actual communion with a particular Church is not schism Who ever dream'd it was yet a refusing to Communicate or as Ames saith well a Schisma in tantum separaâ— ab Ecclesia in quantum renuntiat Communioni Am. renouncing Communion with any Church especially our own while we may continue it without sinning this I say is schism and indeed generally acknowledged to be so in that all parties concern'd in the controversie put it to this sole issue whether the conditions of Communion be lawful that is whether we may Communicate without sin And indeed as nothing is better than unity but duty so nothing is worse than division or breach of unity especially in the Church of God but sin Schism then is such unlawful breach of unity and only a breach of charity as an effect of it And all causeless separation is such unlawful breach both of unity and Charity and such separation is causeless when we may Communicate without sin and consequently is schism beyond all exception As there is little difference about the definition Distinctions of schism of schism so less about the distinctions or modes of it We every where find it said to be Partial when we causelesly refuse to Communicate with a true Church in some ordinances only Total when in all It is negative when we simply separate positive and formal when the separated gather new Churches and set up Altar against Altar And now we have the foundation laid not on the narrow principles of a party but in its full latitude according to the Scriptures and the Church of God And I dare even challenge you to shew me one good Authour of any perswasion that hath written purposely of this point that contradicts me in any one particular of the premises I am sure the worst of the separatists doe not for that they generally excuse their separation by this plea that our Churches are null or they cannot joyn with us without sin The Application Give me leave then so far to apply this Doctrine of schism to the present practice and now judge righteously Is not the present general separation from our Churches in the language of the Scripture a causing divisions a separating themselves a forsaking our Assemblies a going out from us a heaping up new Teachers and a drawing Disciples after them Do they not in the words of the Fathers renounce our Bishops and Presbyters break the unity of the Church separate from it and set up Altar against Altar Do they not doe this rashly without due advice unjustly without sufficient ground Do they not thus rashly and unjustly separate from a true Church not only in part but wholly not only negatively but positively and run upon formal schism in the Reformed and Presbyterian Dialect by renouncing our Communion and gathering new Churches under new Ministers government and manner of worship Who can deny it who dare defend it Object Keek close to the Argument and there are but two things that can possibly be objected either