Selected quad for the lemma: christian_n
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A42261
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A perswasive to communion with the Church of England
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Grove, Robert, 1634-1696.
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1682
(1682)
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Wing G2152; ESTC R13941
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28,017
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46
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as you are called in one hope of your Calling one Lord one Faith one Baptism one God and Father of all And how pathetically does the same Apostle exhort us again to the same thing by all the mutual endearments that Christianity assords If there be therefore any Consolation in Christ if any Comfort of Love if any Fellowship of the Spirit if any Bowels and Mercies fulfil ye my joy that ye be like minded having the same love being of one accord of one mind These vehement Exhortations to Peace and Concord do strictly oblige us to hold Communion with that Church which requires nothing that is Unlawful of us The Church of Rome will not admit us unless we profess a belief of Transubstantiation and Purgatory and a certain kind of Infallibility no body knows where unless we will worship the Host and Saints and Images and do many other things directly repugnant to the Word of God We cannot therefore Communicate with her unless we should partake of her gross and superstitious Errours But the Church of England does not exact any thing from us that God has forbidden therefore we may Communicate with her without Sin and if we may it must be a Sin in us if we do not do it Certain it is that every causless Separation is a very great one so great that some of the Antients have thought it is not to be expiated by the Blood of Martyrdom and I know no Cause sufficient to defend our leaving a Communion but a necessity of being involved in Sin if we should remain in it Now since it must be confessed that Schism is a very grievous Sin we had need be well assured that we have just occasion for it before we withdraw from the Communion of a Church and if we have rashly withdrawn we are bound to return without delay Then we may consider farther that all Christians are â—bliged to endeavour as much as they can to avoid all differences of Opinion that may occasion Quarrels and Contests among them This will appear from that passionate Intreaty and Admonition which the holy Apostle gave the Corinthians when they were in danger of being rent into several Factions upon misunderstandings and emulations not much unlike unto ours Now I beseech you Brethren by the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ that ye all speak the same thing and that there be no Divisions among you but that ye be perfectly joyned together in the same mind and in the same judgment Such an Universal agreement and harmony in the Church is very desirable and every one is bound to promote it And the first step that can be made towards this happy Concord in Opinion and Affections is to dispose our minds to a calm and teachable Temper to be always ready to acknowledg the force of an Argument though it contradict our former Perswasions never so much to be grieved at the Animosities and uncharitable Contentions which a diversity of Judgment is wont to produce to follow after the things which make for Peace to be desirous to see an end of these unchristian Divisions and glad of every Opportunity that may bring us nearer to one another and think we have gained a glorious Victory when we have overcome any mistake that kept us at a distance from our Brethren This is a generous and truly Christian disposition and that which has an immediate tendency towards the reconciling all manner of Differences On the other side there can be little hopes that men should ever agree wheâ— they seem resolved to maintain the point in Controversie whatever it is when they do not study to be Satisfied but to cherish their Scruples and hunt abouâ— for New ones when their old Objections are fully answered This is a most perverse and untractable Humour which takes away all possibility of a good Accord For while either of the Dissenting Parties is thâ—â— unwilling to be Convinced and searches after Exceptions there will never be wanting some Cavil or otheâ— that must be sure to serve them to perpetuate the Dispute But 't is a shrewd Sign we esteem our Cause littlâ— better than Desperate when after the Weapons we began the Fight with are wrested from us we snatch up any thing that comes next to hand to throw at our Adversary This Obstinacy does not well become us In all our Debates our aim should be to find out the truth and not to triumph over our Antagonist All sober Christians especially where the Peace of the Church is concerned should always strive to bring the Controversie to a happy issue and composure and not seek for Pretences to widen the breach And then we might all join in Praising and Glorifying of God and be reâ—tored again to that blessed estate they were in at the â—â—rst Preaching of the Gospel when the Multitude of â—â—em that believed were of one heart and of one soul and â—â—ntinued stedfastly in the Apostles Doctrine and Fellowâ—hip and in breaking of Bread and in Prayers These â—ew Considerations I have now mentioned might be â—omething useful to the procurement of such a holy and â—eavenly Peace in all Christian Societies throughout the World And if we were but careful never to be byassed by Passion or Interest if our greatest Zeal and Concern â—ere placed upon the more Weighty and Substantial matâ—â—rs of Religion if we should seriously consider how â—rievous a Sin it is to Separate from a Church without â—ny just cause and if we were disposed to Peace and â—illing to have our Doubts and Scruples satisfied I â—â—ink most of the Prejudices against the Church of Engâ—â—nd might be easily removed and we might all joyn in â—â—e same Communion to the Glory of God and the â—â—y and Comfort of all good Protestants and the Conâ—â—sion of those that design to swallow us up and have 〈◊〉 other hopes of prevailing but by the help of those â—â—fferences which for that end they have a long time â—â—st studiously fomented amongst us Let not our unreasonable Fears and groundless Jealousies encourage their Attempts with too great a probability of Success It would be a sad addition to our Miseries if the Guilt and Shame of them too might be laid to our Charge With what remorse should we reflect upon it when the heat of our Passion was over if the Protestant Profession should be farther endangered and the Agents of Rome get greater Advantages daily by those Distractions which have been secretly managed by them but openly carried on and maintained by our selves With what face should we look to see our Enemies not only triumphing over us but mocking and deriding us for being so far imposed upon by their cunning as to be made the immediate instruments of our own ruin But God Almighty in his wise and gracious Providence so consound all their Devices that tend to the subversion of the Truth and so Unite and Compose our Differences that hereafter we may have no just occasion to fear either
all of them together are of force enough to move an unprejudiced Person to forsake her Communion It may not be done upon the account of Liturgy Ceremonies Scandal mixt Communion or out of hopes of greater Edification I might have easily inlarged upon all these particulars but the compass of my present Design would not allow it And I have some hopes that these and other points in difference may be handled by others to better advantage and to the satisfaction of those that are not yet convinced and to the happy settlement of a lasting Peace and Vnion among all the Members of this divided Church God grant that all our indeavours may tend this way and that the Divine Goodness may make them Successful If these Papers should chance to fall into the hands of any one of those that have Separated from us I would intreat him not to be Offended at them but to look upon the Author as a well-meaning Man that was willing to throw a little Water upon the common flame that is like to consume us They were not written I am sure with any bitterness of Mind or Expression but out of meer pitty to see a poor lamentable distressed Church languishing away and ready to perish by desperate Wounds and Convulsions within her own Bowells Such sad and Melancholy thoughts as these apprehensions must needs occasion could scarce be vented in angry and provoking Language But some are so tender of the Opinions they have taken up that whether true or false they cannot indure to have them touched They are impatient of the calmest Opposition and when you offer any thing to perswade them though it should be to brotherly Love and Peace among Christians they suspect you for an Enemy and think that you come to set traps in their way to insnare their Consciences But I hope this short Discourse will not be incountered by any such Prejudice but that it may be perused with the same Impartiality that it was written On this presumption I shall be bold to exhort all those that now Dissent to a Brotherly Vnion upon such motives and arguments as the Gospel suggests and make for the Credit and Safety of the Protestant Religion It will be readily acknowledged by every so ber and intelligent men that Peace and Amity and a good Correspondence betwixt the several Members of which they consist is the only Beauty Strength and Security of all Societies and on the contrary that the nourishing of Animosities and running into opposite Parties and Factions does mightily weaken and by degrees almost unavoidably draw on the Ruin and Dissolution of any Community whether Civil or Sacred Concord and Union therefore will be as necessary for the Preservation of the Church as of the State It has been known by too sad an Experience as well in ours as other Ages what a pernicious Influence the intestine Broils and Quarrels among Christians have had They have been the great stumbing Block to Jews Turks and Heathens and the main hinderance of their Conversion they have made some among our selves to become Doubtful and Sceptical in their Religion they have led others into many dangerous Errours that shake the very Foundations of our Faith and some they have tempted to cast off the Natural sense they had of the Deity and imboldened to an open and professed Atheism These are some of the most usual Fruits which the unhappy Differences in the Church are wont to produce over and above the particular Unkindnesses and uncharitable Feuds which they commonly beget among Christians of the same Perswasion as to all substantial and weighty matters of Belief And it were a thing very desirable in all respects that these at least should be all firmly United in the same holy Communion They that have the same Articles of Faith and hope to meet in the same Heaven through the Merits of the same Lord should not be afraid to come into the same Assemblies and join seriously in sending up the same Prayers and participating of the same Sacraments Besides the many strict Precepts and other strong Obligations which we have unto this our Saviour Died that he might gather together in One the Children of God that were scattered abroad And should we not then contradict this end of his Death if we should set those at Strife and Variance which he intended to Vnite Nay might we not be said in some sort to Crucifie the Son of God afresh if we should Mangle and Divide any sound and healthful part of that Body of which he owns himself to be the Head If indeed our Church did require us to make profession of any false and erroneous Opinions if in the external Order and Worship we were injoined to do any thing contrary to any Divine Command we were bound in such Instances to withdraw from her But if her Doctrine be highly approved by most of our Dissenting Brethren and her Discipline and Service such as is not any way inconsistent with any Law of God then we are indispensably ingaged to join in Communion with her For as has been intimated several times and it cannot be inculcated too often Nothing but the Unlawfulness of Communicating can make a Separation Lawful But if it be resolved that the Church of England must be forsaken notwithstanding that neither her Doctrine nor Discipline can be justly condemned it would yet be convenient to bethink our selves what might be the most advisable to be done after we had left it Whether we should set up another way of Administration in the room of it Or whether every one should have the Liberty of following that which he fancied the best If we are for the setting up another way it must be either Presbytery or Independency For if there should be any other new Forms of Government they are not yet of Reputation enough to be put in Competition with these two great Pretenders to Divine Right And Presbytery which had once the fairest hopes of establishing it self is now grown weak and inconsiderable in comparison of what it was and those few which would still be thought of that Perswasion are manifestly departed from their own Principles and are fain to support themselves by Gathered Assemblies which they were not wont to allow Independency therefore seems at this time to be the prevailing way but their manner of Gathering Members and Associating themselves into particular Congregations their holy Band special Agreement or Covenant which they make essential to the Constituting of a Church are things which have not the least foundation in the holy Scriptures neither were they ever Countenanced by the practice of any Orthodox Christians in former Ages But put the case we should admit of either of these Forms of Discipline and Government we should be as far if not farther from being Vnited than we are now For they have both been known to have been very rigorous Imposers wherever they have had the Power of Commanding and as they have sometimes been