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ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A26965 The nonconformists plea for peace, or, An account of their judgment in certain things in which they are misunderstood written to reconcile and pacifie such as by mistaking them hinder love and concord / by Richard Baxter. Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691. 1679 (1679) Wing B1319; ESTC R14830 193,770 379

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must with very great concern profess that if the Churches of the lowest sort Parochial be but indeed made true Churches such as Christ by his Apostles instituted and not only Parts of a Diocesan Church as if that were the lowest ra●k And if these particular Churches have but Pastors that have the power of the Keys in those Churches and all that the scripture maketh essential to the Offic●r which was then set over eve●y such particular Church And if the Discipline instituted by Christ himself be but made possible and seasible in such Parochiall Churches yea if we that were trusted by our calling with the mysteries of God may not be forced our selves to administer the Sacraments against our own knowledge consciences and against our consciences and knowledge of mens cases to pronounce men absolved or excommunicate upon other mens decrees or to pronounce the notoriously wicked to be saved and to deny worthy Christians the seal of Christs Covenant nor their infants their visible Christianity by baptism we say might we but have this much we should be so far from using the Controversie about the Divine Kight of Episc●pacy as a distinct Order from Presbyters to any schism or injury to the Church that we should thankf●lly contribute our best endeavours to the concord safety peace and prosperity thereof And might we but also be freed from Swearing Subscribing Declaring and Covenanting unnecessary things which we take not to be true against our consciences and from some few unnecessary Practices which we cannot justifie we should joyfully serve the Church in our publick Ministry though it were in poverty and rags But of so great a mercy experience hath made our hopes from men to be very small And the reason of the thing maketh our hopes as small of the happiness of the Church of England till God shall unite us on these necessary terms SECT VI. 3. What Separation and what Gathering of Assemblies or Churches is unlawful and what lawful I. THough some mens abuse of the word Schism and calling mens duty to God by that name hath proved a great temptation to many to take it but for a word of Passion or of no certain or odious signification even as the Papists abuse of the word Heresie and Heretick hath been to others yet the evill of true Shism and the odium that God layeth on it in the Scripture should move all Christians to fear the thing and use the name with the disgrace that it truely importeth without misapplication and to avoid all guilt of so great a sin II. There are several sorts and degrees of Schism which greatly differ from each other Its one thing to divide from a Church and another to cause divisions or factions in it It s one thing to divide our selves from it and another to cause others to divide It s one thing to draw men away by words and another to drive them away by laws or execution by unjust excommunication or by violent persecution It s one thing to tempt away or drive away a single person or a few and another thing to draw or drive away multitudes It s one thing to separate from the Universal-Church and another from a particular Church or a few only It s one thing to separate from the species of particular Churches and another from some individuals only It s one thing to separate from the Churches of Christs institution and another to separate only from those of mens institution It s one thing to separate from such as men make lawfully and another from such only as they make without authority and sinfully And here separating from one whose sinful constitution is traiterous against Christs prerogative as the Papal Universal Usurpation much differeth from separating from one whose constitution though sinful is of no such perniciousness It is one thing to deny total Communion and another to separate but secundum quid for some act or part And that is either a great and necessary part or some small or indifferent thing or ceremony It is one thing to separate Locally by bodily absence and another mentally by Schismaticall principles It is one thing to separate from a Church as accusing it to be no Church of Christ and another to separate from it only as a true Church but so Corrupted as not to be Communicated with It s one thing to judge its Communion absolutely unlawful and another only to forsake it for a better which is preferred It s one thing to depart willfully and another to be unwillingly cast out It s one thing to depart rashly and in hast and another to depart after due patience when reformation appeareth hopeless It is one thing to remove upon religious reasons and another upon Civil or Domestical or Corporal It is easy for a confounded head to pass over all such distinctions and with unjust and confounding censures to reproach others as Schismaticks in the dark before he knoweth what schism is being guilty of Schism in his very accusations But sober Christians must be discerners and know that confusion is an Enemy to truth and love and justice III. I The Union of the Church Universal is in the seven things mentioned by Paul Eph. 4. 3. 4 5. 6. viz. One Body One Spirit of faith and Love One Hope of Glory One Lord One faith or Creed One Baptismal Covenant One God and Father of all He that separateth from this Church directly is an Apostate Uisibly if from its Essential profession and invisibly if only from the inward sincerity of faith consent and Love This is damning separation And if he separate but from some one Essentiall article of faith or duty it is that which is most usually and strictly called Heresie of which we are now to speak no further IV. 2. To make Factions Parties Contentions and Mutinies in a true Church of Christ or in any Community of Christians yea or but in families in the Universal Church is a great sin in all that are the true culpable Causes of it and are not only the involuntary occasions by unavoidable accidents V. 3. To separate from all the particular Churches in the world as if they were no true Political Churches of Christ as those called Seekers do who say that the Ministry Scripture and Churches are lost in the wilderness is a very heinous sin though such as do so renounce not their Baptism or the Church Universal VI. 4. To separate from most or many Churches by so unchurching them is far worse than to separate from few or one it being a greater wrong to Christ and men VII 5. To separate from one upon a reason that is known to be common to all or most or many is virtually to separate from all or most or many VIII 6 To separate from a true Church accusing it to be no true Church is a greater injury and sin caeteris paribu● than to separate from it only on an unjust accusation or culpability consistent with a true
We are agreed that to commit a sin by passion or sudden surprize is not so wicked as to do it on deliberation Nor is the doing it only so bad as undertaking to justifie it and encourage others to do the like XVIII We are agreed that God is jealous about holy things and that wilful corrupting his Church worship or discipline to the disgrace of religion and encouragement of wickedness is a heinous sin Especially to Approve such things XIX We are agreed that to make a deliberate Covenant that I will sin against God and to subscribe and declare this is a heinous aggravation of the sin e. g. When the high places were kept up in Judea if any had Covenanted to keep them up and purposed to transgress the wilfulness had been the greatness and dangerous signification of such sinning XX. We are agreed that Repentance is Gods condition of forgiveness and that for a man to resolve and Covenant to sin and to profess it openly to all the Church and that oft times and so to renounce Repentance is alas XXI Most sober Christians are agreed that Christians should be united upon the terms which Christ himself hath made in the baptismal Covenant and in their obedience to his Laws and that Papall Usurpations and imposing of things unnecessary as necessary to Union Communion or Ministration hath been the great cause of Schisms through the Christian world for about 1000 years at least And that they who will still obey such dividing Imposers do continue Schisms in the world by encouraging the causes of them XXII We are on both sides agreed that it were heinous hypocrisie and prophaneness if we should make our sacred Ministerial work the pretended reason for our sinning and should swear declare or subscribe that which we take to be false and do that which we take to be sin that we may have leave to preach against sin in others and so offer God a Sacrifice of iniquity and put a beam into our own eye that we may have leave to Preach against the mote that is in our brothers eye XXIII We are afraid of making Separatists and Anabaptists and tempting men to avoid us as scandalous men XXIV We are afraid lest by such wilful sin we should by a carnal interest to defend what we have once done be tempted to impenitence and to persecute the just XXV We are agreed that they that will run into willful heinous sin as they deserve to be forsaken of God so they cannot expect such a blessing on their Ministry as Conscionable upright men may do XXVI It is agreed that the ancient Christian Pasters Preached against the will of Princes for 300 years and after that against the will of Christian Princes Constartius Valens Theodosius Junior Vaientinian c. And not only Apostles said that God was to be obeyed rather than men but such as Timothy who was ordained by man were charged before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who will judge the living and dead at his appearing and Kingdom to preach the Gospel and be instant in season c. XXVII We are agreed that the Children of Christians when they grow up know no more of God of Heaven of Christ without teaching than the Children of Heathens do And therefore that the opening and applying the Gospel is needful in England as well as in America XXVIII It is so far from saving unbelievers or ungodly persons that they are the Children of Christians and in the visible Church that it maketh their case more miserable if not worse than that of Sodom and Gomorrah XXIX As of old every single Church had usually many Presbyters and Deasons with the Bishop so it is undeniable that many of our Parishes have work enough for many Ministers and only want of maintenance is pretended for our present paucity with the want of worthy men XXX It is granted us that to alienate consecrated persons from the holy Ministry causlesly is greater Sacriledge than to alienate consecrated Lands Goods or Temples which are but means to the use of the said Ministry We are not here accusing our silencers of this heinous Sacriledge Their Righteous Judge and ours will quickly pass the final sentence But we dare not we will not sacrilegiously silence and alienate our selves lest we forsake our Lord and betray mens souls and be doomed as the slothful servant that hid his talent Mat. 25. and bring down more plagues upon the Land We fear when we read 1 Thes 2. 15 16. the signs that wrath was come to the utmost on the Jews even their forbidding men to preach the Gospel of salvation lest we should contribute to such a dreadful desertion of this Land SECT XVII The Case of the Ministers since they were silenced and their Practice with the Peoples WE humbly crave of those narrow Seers who venture to censure the generality for somewhat which they dislike in some persons that are neerest to themselves that they would truly understand the case and practice of their Brethren before they any further in Sermons and Writings provoke the Magistrate to execute the Laws upon them as Schi●maticks Seditious or what accusation is readiest at hand I. That the elder sort of the Nonconformists are ordained by Bishops and most of the rest by such Pastors of Churches of Cities Corporations and other Parishes associate as the times then allowed and that in this Ordination be the Ceremonious part right or wrong they are all by Consent or Covenant devoted to the sacred Ministry and that not for a time as hirelings but for life this is denied by none that we know of II. It is known to all Faithful Ministers and others who converse with the common sort of men that a great part of the people of England are ignorant of the very Essentials of Christianity and a great part dull and worldly neglecters of all serious religiousness and a great part sen●ual drowned in filthy fleshly sins Besides the ignorance weakness and unwarrantable opinions and passions of many that are more seriously religious than the rest And that it is a hard work to cure one ignorant erroneous vitious soul And each one is precious and not to to be left in sin as desperate considering the everlasting consequents III. It is certain that most great Parishes especially in Cities and great Towns have more souls which call for Ministerial help than Conformists and Nonconformists if they lovingly joyned are able well to afford necessary help to IV. The Ministers that dwell in Cities or Corporations when they were cast out did quietly surrender Temples and Tythes But many of their people claimed the continuance of their Relation and Ministry and many professed that they could not trust their souls to the Pastoral guidance and care of many of those who were placed in the Temples in their stead and charged the neglect of their souls on such as refused V. The Bills of Mortality shew us that the 7 Parishes within the walls of