Selected quad for the lemma: christian_n
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A26912
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A defence of the principles of love, which are necessary to the unity and concord of Christians and are delivered in a book called The cure of church-divisions ... / by Richard Baxter ...
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Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.
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1671
(1671)
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Wing B1239; ESTC R263
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150,048
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304
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Passions than the Independents both because they are most charged with them and with all our Sects and Confusioâ—â— and because they are not the least in danger of them And that the New England Churches are against the Separation which hath been commonly known by the name of Brownisme I will give you these following evidences 1. Even Mr. Robinson himself a part of whose Church began the Plantation at Plimouth though he was one of those that was called a Semi-separatist yet hath written for the lawfulness of hearing in our English Conformable Parish Churches And in his Letter to his people in New-England in Mortons Memorial he hath these honest observable passages How imperfect and lame is the work of grace in that person who wants Charity to cover a multitude of offences Neither are you to be exhorted to this grace only upon the common grounds of Christianity which are that persons ready to take offence either want Charity to cover offences or wisdom duely to weigh humane frailties or lastly are gross though close hypocrites as Christ our Lord teacheth Mat. 7. 1 2 3. As indeed in my own experience few or none have been found which sooner give offence than such as easily take it neither have they ever proved sound and profitable members in societies who have nourished this touchy humâ—ur To these he addeth special Reasons from themselves Mr. Browne accusing the Ministers as being Separatists and would be Anabapists c. The Ministers answered that They were neither Separatists nor Anabaptists they did not separate from the Church of England nor from the ordinances of God there but only from the corruptions and disorders there c. Old Mr. Wilson Pastor of Boston being desired by all the Elders of the Churches assembled at his house that on his dying bed he would solemnly declare to them what he conceived to be those sins which provoked the displeasure of God against the Countrey told them that he had long feared these sins following as chief among others which God was greatly provoked by 1. Separation 2. Anabaptisme 3. Corahisme when people rise up as Corah against their Ministers and Elders as if they took too much upon them when indeed they do but Rule for Christ and according to Christ yet it is nothing for a brother to stand up and oppose without Scripture or reason the doctrine and word of the Elder saying I am not satisfied c. And hence if he do not like the Administration be it Baptisme or the like he will then turn his back upon God and his Ordinances and go away c. And saith he for our neglect of baptizing the children of the Church those that some call Grand-children I think God is provoked by it 4. Another I take to be the making light of and not subjecting to the Authority of Synods without which the Churches cannot long subsist And so for the Magistrates being Gallio like not caring for these things or else not using their power and authority for the maintenance of the Truth and Gospel and Ordinances c. Morton p. 133. 184. And among the Poems there recorded of him this is part Firm stood he 'gainst the Familist And Antinomian spirit strong He never lov'd the Separatist Nor yet the Anabaptists throng Neither the Tolerators strein Nor Quakers spirit could he brook Nor bow'd to the Morellian train Nor childrens right did over-look p. 186. And Pag. 195. in the Poems on their famous Mitchell it followeth The Quaker trembling at his thunder fled And with Caligula resum'd his bed He by the motions of a nobler spirit Clear'd men and made their Notions swine inherit The Munster Goblin by his holy flood Exorcis'd like a thin Phantasma stood Brown's Babel shatter'd by his lightning fell And with confused horror pack'd to Hell Let not the brazen Schismatick aspire Lot's leaving Sodom left them to the fire But the fullest evidence is the work of the New-England Synod 1662. who determined of two great points of Church-practice so as greatly tendeth to reconcile them to all the moderate Presbyterians and other peaceable Christians The one is 2. That Members of the visible Church according to Scripture are confederate visible believers in particular Churches and their Infant-seed that is Children in minority whose next Parents one or both are in Covenant The Case of Christians that are of no particular Church is not here medled with 3. And that The Infant-seed of such when grown up are personally under the Watch Discipline and Government of the Church 4. That these adult persons are not to be admitted to full Communion meerly because they are and continue members without such further qualifications as the Word of God requireth thereunto 5. That Church-Members who were admitted in minority understanding the doctrine of Faith and publickly professing their Assent thereto not scandalous in life and solemnly owning the Covenant before the Church wherein they give up themselves and their Children to the Lord and subject themselves to the Government of Christ in his Church their children are to be baptised As to the points themselves having written a Treatise on the subject under the name of Confirmation and therein distinctly shewed my Opinion in reconciling terms though it may seem stricter than these propositions and more inclining to the dissenters in some things I shall say nothing of it here But by this it is visible that the New-England Synod do not only exclude the practice of Gathering Churches out of Churches which was the great contest in England between the Assembly and the Congregational party but they provide that not so much as any particular persons that were Baptized in their Churches in Infancy shall be made Church-members de novo unless by removing from one Church to another but shall be accounted members till they apostatize notoriously or are Excommunicated And so shall their children after them succeed by the way of Baptism into the Church and they will have no other ordinary Church-door but Baptism And so gathering Churches of Baptized persons will cease unless it be in a ravelled state when the old Churches being dissolved believers are to embody themselves anew And Mr. Davenport and a few more seeing that by this way their Churches would fall into the way of England and other Churches by a succession of Members growing up from Infancy and not by making them up of new Adult enterers as the Anabaptists do did oppose himself by writing against the Synod which by some of them is largely Answered Wherein they tell us that there were nâ—t ten in a Synod of above seventy that did in any thing Vote on the Negative and not above three against the third Proposition which carryeth the Cause They frequently disclaim Separation They cite Allen and Shephard p. 33. as advising for the Reformation of such Churches as our Parishes that they be acknowledged true Churches and then called to Repentance and Reformation and a select number of those that agree to it
with If none of all this be there I hope your Patience is not very hard put to it if I do but intreat you to repent if you have said that of it which is untrue whoever told you so or at least not to proceed in untruths when you are so often warned of them 7. Do you think that it was done like tender conscienced Christians for so many to say that I write against your meetings yea that I conformed my self And this before ever they saw my book or ever spake with man that saw it And that men dare yet continue such sayings while the book is visible to prove them false and revile against it when they confess that they never read it Is this the fruit of the spirit of Christ But give me leave after these expostulations to come a little nearer to your objection and to tell you openly where we differ 1. You would have me speak for Love and Unity among the Nonconformists And I know no man that hath done it more frequently and more openly than I have done having these 24 years been offering or publishing terms of peace But God forbid that ever I should be of their opinion if there be any such who think that our union must be only with a Party and not with the whole Church of Christ or that we must Love none or seek peace with none but thâ—se that are in such points of our own opinion I am united first to Christ and the universal Church and consequently to all the parts as such though in divers degrees as they differ themselves in their Conformity to Christ. 2. I beseech you endure me with patience to tell you that I never took either the Non-conformists alone or the Conformists to be the whole Church of Christ or to be his only people in this Land nor the only faithful Ministers of the Gospel Bâ—ethren let not wrath and the faults of some deceive us to become injurious to others or to deny them Love and Iustice because that many of their opinion are bad Where in all the world do you know a Kingdom where the greater part are not too bad and where those that are of the Rulers Religion be it never so right do not comply with it to serve their flesh The Low Countries have no Bishops nor Ceremonies nor no such Liturgie as most are offended at with us but are under the Presbyterian Government And yet what the Commâ—n sort are there and in other such Countries I need not tell you Forgive me for telling you that if you know no godly persons Ministers or others of the Episcopal way I do and long have done And as my acquaintance increaseth I know more and more You that take me to be so bad as the Antidote describeth me will think it no great commendation to them that I profess to know those of them whom I take to be much better than my self Therefore I will say a greater word that I know those of them whom I think as godly and humble Ministers as most of the Nonconformists whom I know I doubt not but there are many hundred Parish Ministers who are no Persecutors nor ever consented to Persecution who Preach holily and live holily though I could wish that they were more And what reason have you to charge any other mens sins on them I am not ignorant what may be said to make them consequentially partakers But I must say this in answer to all that if God will charge undiscerned consequences upon them and us there will none of us all be found meet for Church Communion or for heaven I am judged by your selves to be too censorious of you and too sharp in telling you of that which I doubt not to be your sin why then are you so offended with me for being no more censorious and sharp towards others was I ever thought to be kinder to them than to you Is not every man naturally most favourable to those of his own opinion Is it Conformity or Non-conformity which I have most defended Is it as a Conformist or a Nonconformist that I have been judged and used these 33. years It is they that have lately written reproachfully against me It is they that have I need name no more But for the Non-conformists I must bear witness of their kindness to me that they never rejected me never forbad me to preach but one Sermon nor except particular angry parties whom I wrote against they never denyed me their good word What then can you think should draw me to be too sharp against them and too favourable to the other I look for no worldly advantage or benefit from them Surely be that is apt to be too sharp is liker to be so against dissenters from whom he suffereth than against those that have ever been his friends But truth is truth and the wisdom from above is without partiality and without hypocrisie Do but mark how both parties justifie me while both condemn me though I am too Conscious of my faultiness to justifie my self The one side think that I am not half sharp enough against the Anabaptists Sâ—pâ—ratists and Independents And you that I now write to think that I am not half sharp enough against the Conformists so that one side doth not only justifie me from the charge of câ—nsâ—â—iousness or sharpness against the other but blame me for the contrary and are angry with me that I am no sharper But Gods judgement of us all is right and his seal is sure The Lord knoweth who are his whoever shall deny it God will not judge of upright Christians as they judge of themselves when they unjustly accuse themselves Much less according to the judgement of their adversaries Brethren I think verily that I have as much to say against conformity as it is required of us Ministers as most of you that are most angry have And yet I tell you again that I believe there are many hundred Godly Ministers in the Parish Churches of England and that their Churches are true Churches and that I think not my self worthy to be compared with Mr. Bolton Whately Fenner Dr. Preston Sibbes White Field Uâ—her Jewel and abundance other old Conformists And you might forgive me if I compare them with your selves and if I again profess to you that if they were all alive and used now the same Liturgy and Ceremonies as they did then I could not find in my bea rt to think their Communion in Prayer and Sacrament to be unlawful nor to censure that man as injurious to the Church who should write to perswade others not to separate from them on that supposition I am sure the Assembly of Divines that sate heretofore at Westminster were so conformable when they went thither that I never heard of five Non-conformists among them besides the five dissenting brethren Their judgement was as Mr. Sprints that Confâ—rmity was lawful in case of necessity rather than to be deprived of