Selected quad for the lemma: church_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	heathen_a	let_v	publican_n	2,742	5	10.9981	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A76988	The arraignment of errour: or, A discourse serving as a curb to restrain the wantonnesse of mens spirits in the entertainment of opinions; and as a compasse, whereby we may sail in the search and finding of truth; distributed into six main questions. Quest. 1. How it may stand with Gods, with Satans, with a mans own ends, that there should be erroneous opinions? Quest. 2. What are the grounds of abounding errours? Quest. 3. Why so many are carried away with errour? Quest. 4. Who those are that are in danger? Quest. 5. What are the examens, or the trials of opinions, and characters of truth? Quest. 6. What waies God hath left in his Word for the suppressing of errour, and reducing of erroneous persons? Under which generall questions, many other necessary and profitable queries are comprized, discussed, and resolved. And in conclusion of all; some motives, and means, conducing to an happy accommodation of our present differences, are subjoyned. / By Samuel Bolton minister of the Word of God at Saviours-Southwark.	Bolton, Samuel, 1606-1654.	1646 (1646)	Wing B3517; Thomason E318_1; ESTC R200547	325,527	388

main of all which is 3. Judiciall and authoritative if fraternall if pastorall means are too short and insufficient to reduce an erring brother to blast restrain suppresse the spreading of errour God hath yet warranted and ordained a third means to back and strengthen all this And that I call judiciall and further authoritative Which is two-fold 1. Congregationall 2. Synodicall 1. I say Congregationall or that which is administred within the bounds of a particular Congregation For I doe not conceive that God hath left a Church or Congregation of Saints without remedies within it self to help and relieve it self under it's burthens and scandals But that a particular Church furnished with it's officers hath right and power not only to dispence Ordinances but to administer censures allowing liberty of appeals upon such who are offensive and scandalous among themselves Mat. 18.17 a Mat. 18.17 And this I conceive would not be very difficult to evidence both from Scriptures and the practice of b Cent l. 2. c. 4. p. 391. Euseb l. 3. c. 22 l. 5. c. 16. l. 3 c. 19. Zip l 3 c. 7. Whitak cont 4. q. 1. c. 1. p 519. Perk. expos in Rev. ● 20 3.7 Primitive times if it were to our purpose to travel so farre in this controversie It may seem strange to us that Christ should blame the Church of Pergamus for suffering Balaam and the Nicolaitans Revel 2.14.15 Yea and so deeply charge and reprove the Church of Thyatira for suffering Jezebel if these Churches which I take to be particular Congregations had not power to cast out their own offenders And if you say it did not belong to these Churches respectively to censure their offenders but it was immediately the work of other Churches in consociation with them I would demand why then are not other Churches blamed for their neglect as well as they And so why is not Pergamus reproved for tolerating Jezebel And Thyatira for tolerating Balaam And Smyrna for tolerating either Certainly if it had been their duty to cast them out it was their sin to tolerate them but the one is not charged upon them as their sin therefore cannot the other be evidenced to be their duty I thinke it would be a great help to reconciliation and for my part I could willingly grant that a particular Church or Congregation of Saints hath right to determine and conclude it 's own proper businesse and affairs and that it is under no obligation of Christ to goe farther then it self if there be sufficient power and skill for the concluding and determining of them Nor should they be disturbed by any in their Church-administrations P r● pol ● eccl l. 3. c. 20 p. 301 30● c. unlesse upon evident at least presumed grounds of false administrations If indeed the businesse be of common concernment and that more Churches are interessed and concerned in it or if a particular Church want power or skill to determine and conclude it 's own differences or if there have been false administrations as it may fall out or if they may be presumed to be false in such cases a community of Churches is requisite and businesses of this nature are to be transacted not by one but by a Community or Synod of Churches Of which more afterward We are now to deal only with that power which Christ hath l●ft unto a particular Congregation of Saints for the suppressing of errours and reducing of erroneous persons among themselves And I shall speak of it onely under these two branches 1. Admonition 2. Excommunication 1. They have power to admonish an erring or offending brother And that is implied in Mat. 18.17 M●t. 18.17 If he will not hear the Church let him be to thee c. He is not to be cast out till he discover his obstinacy till he will not hear if he must hear then the Church must speak It is then the office of the Church to exhort to reprove to admonish an erring brother that he doe not persist on such errours nor spread such opinions And this admonition differs from that which is fraternall nay from that which is pastorall though authoritative yet it is but concionall and doctrinall this is judiciall and in order to censure if a brother will not be reclaimed and that is the first 2. A second means in case the former be insufficient if it appear that yet after exhortation reproof admonition a man continues obstinate in his opinion and will not be reclaimed from it then may the Church proceed to censure and excommunication according to that in Mat. 18 17. If he will not hear the Church let him be to thee as a Heathen and a Publican And that is the second means viz. excommunication But now against this we have two Objections Obj. 1. Some say that this is meant of civil and personall injuries and not of spirituall scandals and offences Answ 1. If it were meant of civil and personall injuries 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 propriè significat injustiā injuriâ affi●ere aliquem 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 propriè errare aberrare peccare raro aut nunquam pro injuria afficere why should it not rather be expressed by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 then by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and so read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rather then 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and so rendred in sensu civili juridico if thy brother injure thee if he wrong thee rather then in sensu theologico if thy brother trespasse or sin against thee 2. It cannot be meant of civil and personall injuries for Christ would be no Judge of such things he professedly disclaims it when the man came to him about the dividing of his inheritance Luk. 12.14 Who made me a Judge or a divider over you As if he had said this is not my businesse it is extraneous to my place and calling I stand not in any such relation to man And if Christ would not be the Judge of such matt●rs neither would he set up any such judicatures in his kingdome besides if you look upon the coherence that which ushers in this speech of Christ it is a discourse of scandals as you see in the 6 and 7. verses and therefore if this have any consistence with the former it cannot be taken for civil injuries but spirituall scandalls besides the end here proposed is not civil but spirituall the brother is to tell him his fault for the gaining of his soul not for the gaining of reparations for wrongs If he hear thee thou hast gained thy brother not gained thy goods or good name but thy brother thou hast reclaimed him from sin and wone his soul And if you look upon the words they will tell you that the persons here judging are not considered as standing in any civil but in an ecclesiasticall capacity that will appear by that phrase Go tell the Church a name no where given in the New Testament to any civil

corporation or bench of Judges Indeed we sometimes read in the Old Testament the same word used for Chruch Psal 82.1 and an Assembly of Judges But in the New we never read that the name Church is attributed to any civil Officers And yet if it should be granted that by this word Church were here meant the Sanedrim yet it could not be concluded that this Sanedrim was a civil Court Some write of an Ecclesiasticall Sanedrim distinct from the civil which might be more probable to be understood by this Text at this time because it is not likely that the Jews now in subjection to the Romans and having by them Viceroys set over them to rule them but they would over-turn their civil government and rule them by laws of their own Besides the manner and order of their proceedings here with prayer vers 19. and in the Name of Christ vers 20. shews it to be no civil but an ecclesiasticall convention about Church censures Besides the phrases here used of binding and loosing ver 18. which are meant of judiciall opening and shutting forgiving and retaining sins they are such forms of speech as are never applied to any civil pow●r or person in a civil capacity And lastly adde to this the sentence or punishment inflicted which you see is not any civil but a Church censure Let him be to thee as are Heathen or a Publican by which is meant Church-Excommunication not licence to go sue my brother at Caesars barr Nor will that impede and hinder it from being a Church-censure because it is only expressed Let him be no thee for this word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to thee doth not hinder the generality of the sense but that it may be referred neverthelesse to the whole Church for this is an Hebraisme or Hebrew Pleonasme or superfluity of the dative case this abounding manner of speech is usuall among the Hebrews 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gen. 6.14 Gen. 12.1 Exod. 34.27 And yet the sense runs plain as if there were no dative case And so here in effect the phrase is no more then this L●t him be a Heathen or a Publican 2. Again It is said let him be to thee because he cannot be as an Heathen or Publican to me till he be so to the Church or till Church censures have passed on him there is no brother is to esteem another as a Heathen and Publican to himself before he be so judged and censured by the Church So that you see this doth not hinder this from being a Church censure because it is expressed under this phrase Let him be to thee for he cannot be so to me till he be declared so to the Church Obj. 2. But this is meant of scandal in life and conversation not scandal in opinion and judgement Answ It is meant of all sorts of scandall as well those in doctrine as those in life as well those in opinion as they in conversation Christ speaks there of all scandals and offences in generall and unlesse you will say that errour in judgement dangerous opinions such as disturb the peace of the Church and subvert mens souls are not offences and scandals to you you cannot deny but this place is meant of those kinde of scandals as well as the other against which these spirituall censures of the Church have been directed So the Apostle when he speaks of Excommunication saith 2 Cor. 10 6. That he hath in readinesse to revenge all disobedience And I hope this will be judged a part of disobedience So that you see the thing is clear that this Mat. 18.17 is taken for Church-censures Qui ●orrig●nol●nt tanquam putres corporis partes ferro excommunicationis sunt abscindi Prosper and to be exercised not only against scand●ls in life but errours in doctrine further I will yet confirm this to you by some Scriptures 1 Tim. 1.20 Holding faith and a good conscience which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwrack of whom is Hymeneus and Alexander whom I have delivered up to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme Here is Excommunication and that for Heresie So Tit. 3.10 A man that is an Heretike after the fi●st and second admonition reject knowing that such an one is subverted So Gal. 5.12 I would they were cut off that trouble you He speaks here of Excommunication and of those that were false Prophets who troubled them with circumcision pressing it as necessarie to salvation and by that perplexing the consciences of the weak brethren To establish and confirm this further you may read Rev. 2.2 where the Angel of the Church of Ephesus is commended for his zeal That he would not bear with those who called themselves Apostles and were not and in the 14. and 15. verses of that Chapter you reade the Angel of the Church of Pergamus was blamed for this reason Because thou hast there them that teach the doctrine of Balaam so hast thou also them who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans which things I hate Why should this Angel be blamed if it had not been his duty to cast them out God chargeth it upon him as his fault that they were not cast out And the like charge is laid upon the Church of Thyatira Debuit itaque non modo judi c●od rectio●is populū sibi commissu●n in orthodoxa doctrina cru●ire se● judicio coercion●s haereticos comerimere Daven Revel 2.20 I have a few things against thee because thou sufferest that wicked woman Jezebel who calleth her self a Prophetesse to teach and seduce my servants Mark you here God blames him that he suffered Why what should he have done He should say some have admonished reproved her but what if that would not do What if that were insufficient still he was no● to suffer her God blames him for suffering her So that at the least she was to be cast out to be rejected By all which it is evident that a particular Church is to cut off and cast out those who trouble them nay even those who miscarry with so much opinion of conscience as to thinke themselves Apostles and Prophets yet may be censured and cast out of the Church which is the case in Rev. 2.2 And indeed this Chapter is so cleer and full to the point that those who contend most for liberty of conscience and have written for liberty of all Sects yet they have in their writings acknowledged that Christ hath endued the Ministers of the Gospel and Governours of the Church with power to suppresse heresie and errour and the spreaders of it be they who they will though they pretend themselves to be Apostles and never so infallible yet they may be suppressed William B. Ten. c. 57. Another who writes on the same argument confesseth that the Church of Thyatira was justly taxed not only for not controlling and reproving Jezebel but also in that they permitted her to seduce weak Christians without cutting her off by