and am perswaded by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of it self but to him that esteemeth any thing unclean to him it is unclean Ver. 14. altho as to the things themselves I have a free Liberty and may follow my own Sentiments yet I am to have respect as well to my Brothers weakness as to my own freedom and because he thinks otherwise if by any indiscreer or uncharitable use of this Liberty I offend him and occasion him that is not so fully perswaded to fall away from the faith I ought not to make use of it If thy Brother be grieved with thy Meat now walkest thou not Charitably Destroy not him with thy Meat for whom Christ dyed ver 15. And this I take to be the Summ of this matter so far as it relates to the case of Scandal and of which for the present I shall desire only to remark this one thing That the means whereby the weak Brethren were really or likely to be offended in the Case I have recited were reproaching and despising the Ceremonies of the Jews tho they were really abrogated and Contemning and Slighting the weaker Christians that us'd them From whence we may briefly inferr for I shall make no further use of it that Vilifying and scorning Ceremonies and them that use them may as equally be an occasion of scandal as imposing them And St. Paul himself took such care in this matter that rather then offend the Jews he actually comply'd with a Mosaical Rite and Circumcis'd Timothy He had it seems another opinion of Christian Liberty than the stiff men of Separation they think their Liberty invaded by Impositions and they ought not to yield to their Governors because Christ hath mad them free and yet St. Paul by vertue of his Christian Liberty not to offend them he was among could use an abrogated Rite and such a one as Christ did unquestionably free us from But some men have an odd and perverse Notion of things They think they have Christian Liverty enough to break all the Laws and Injunctions of their Governours but they are streight lac'd and can find no Christian Liberty to comply with them and obedy them and this is the difference between Saint Paul and them Saint Pauls Christian Liberty gave him a Latitude and he could do any thing that was not Sin for somewhat less ends then obedience to Magistrates Circumcision he knew in it self was neither necessary nor Convenient yet he did use it for the sake and satisfaction of those people but our Libertines cry out they shall betray their Liberty in doing any thing they do not like and they will not go a Haires breadth tho it be to obey their Rulers and to promote the Churches peace But this only by the way The second place the Apostle insists on in reference to the offending our weak Brother is that from whence the Text is chosen and it is spoken to in the Eighth and Tenth Chapters of the First Epistle to the Corinthians and the Case I take to be this Some thought it lawful to eat Meat offered to Idols and the Reason they gave for it was because an Idol is nothing and so could not convey any Stain or Pollution to the Meat offer'd to it that which was nothing could not infect Gods real Creatures But since he appointed them for our use and support we might freely and indifferently use them for these ends whether they were or were not sacrificed to Idols for why should that which was nothing debar a Man of a Right which God had given him To this St. Paul answers by granting the Reason that it 's true an Idol is nothing and there is no God but one and therefore as to the things themselves they might Eat or not Eat as they found themselves disposed But there were some accidental Considerations which might make it unlawful and inexpedient and those were tho not as to the things themselves yet in reference to their Brethren For some with Conscience of the Idol unio this Hour eat it as a thing offered unto an Idol that is they take it as consecrated Meat and part of the Idol Worship and their Conscience being weak is defiled Ver. 7. those that had been newly converted from Idolatry were not so fully weaned from their old Opinions and Customes but they had as is usual in all changes some kind of Sence and Apprehension towardes their former Modes of Worship and might the sooner be brought to relapse and when they saw them that were confirmed or Eminent Christians doing the same things that Idolaters do they might be perswaded that Idolatry was not so Vain a thing and they who had yet some kind of Conscience towards an Idol might be induced to do the same and so be brought back to Idolatry from which they had but lately escaped For if any Man see thee which hast Knowledg sit at Meat in the Idols Temple shall not the Conscience of him that is weak be emboldened to eat these things that are offered to Idols and by that means having not the same Sence and estimate of things be made a formal Idolator and through thy Knowledg shall the weak Brother perish for whom Christ dyed ver 10.11 If therefore the Liberty a knowing Christian hath be thus perversely used as to become a stumbling block to the Weak If this knowledg of having a power to eat any of Gods Creatures be not directed by Love and Charity It is a sinful abusing the priviledges Christ hath purchased and instead of complying with is a direct Violation of his Will But when ye so Sin against the Brethren and wound their weak Conscience ye Sin against Christ Ver. 12. And this I conceive is the sum and full import of this place and from these two places I have mentioned we may take a full account of the Nature of Scandal from hence are two things remarkable First That a Weak Brother in a Gospel Sense is such one as has been newly converted to Christianity and who for want of Time Consideration or Instruction is not sufficiently confirm'd in the Principles of it 'T is such a one whose Christianity as yet hangs loose 't is new and unsettled he hath yet some kind of Conscience and tendency of mind to his former Ways and so he is apt to stagger to be carried away by Temptations and easily to be driven back His Religion is as it were pendulous and any thing turns the Scales Fair and gentle and prudent Behaviour may win him to a further embracing the Faith but inconsiderate indiscreet and uncharitable Methods may run him again into his former Errours and this was plainly the Case of the Weak Persons in the places I have considered and this I take to be the true Notion of a Weak Brother and I do not think there is any other Notion of it in the whole Gospel And such Person as these every good Man will think it reasonable to treat
enter into Men's Consciences to their own Judge they stand or fall But the ground of this inquiry is this They are always quarrelling at our Ceremonies always angry at and displeas'd with them and nothing we can do can perswade them to an approbation of them Now this which they take to be their offence is an undenyable Argument against it and so long as they continue in that mind they are not only not offended but it is impossible they should be so For suppose there was that real evil in them which they either do or make us believe they think there is the imposing them by the Church or the using them our selves what inconvenience soever they may bring to us can never hazard them who run from them as far as they are able Let our Ceremonies be as Anti-Christian and Idolatrous as they would have them what harm is that to those who will not so much as touch them with one of their Fingers Had these People too great an opinion of Ceremonies were they apt to worship and adore them and should our just and decent use of them bring them to this they would indeed be offended tho we had not given the occasion But now to scorn and hate them to vilifie and reproach them and all that use them and yet cry out they are offended at them is a contradiction In the Case of Meat offer'd to Idols the Strong are forbidden to eat not because the weak Brother is angry or displeas'd with so doing but for fear he should be too well pleas'd with it that is should like it so well as to do it himself and it was not because they had an ill opinion but too good opinion of an Idol for as yet they had Conscience towards the Idol and might be emboldened to eat it as part of the Idol Worship Their Weakness consisted in having too good thoughts of these things and therefore they should be forborn lest they should esteem them yet more and so be confirm'd in or return'd to Idolatry And in this Sense if our Brethren were offended they should then frequent our Assemblies and Idolize our Ceremonies and Esteem them holier than we do our selves But when they revile and clamour against them when they deride and scoff at them if there should be any hurt in them these of all Men are not like to be spoiled by our Example tho kneeling at the Sacrament should be Idolatry and the Surpliss and Common-Prayer downright Popery yet the Christianity of such cannot be endangered by them For how can they be poluted and their weak Consciences wounded by any thing they will not use These People therefore think they are offended only because they are angry and vexed and who can help it such things will be so long as there are peevish unquiet and troublesome Natures in the World but surely they ought not to hinder the Church from injoyning or us from using any thing that is decent and useful Nay this is so far from being a Scandal or any Inducement for us to forbear these things that upon this very account and for their sakes we ought to be more Zealous and Earnest in them if by any means we might bring them to some Conscience of these things if our careful discharge of our Duty might win upon them and they seeing our good works might be brought to a just regard for Authority and a right esteem for the Peace and Union of the Church For those that for matter of Rites can separate and divide have too mean Esteem of Unity and Obedience and while they see us loose and careless in our Duty it will be apt to confirm them in their Error The Weakness of our Brethren plainly consists in too much slighting Decency and Ceremonies and too little regard for Authority And an indifferency coldness or complying with them will nourish their mistakes will confirm them in their ill grounded Opinion and really offend them There is one Objection to this and that is That tho they should not be offended in Reference to the use of the Ceremonies because they do not use them yet the Ceremonies being imposed by the Church and they having such an Aversion to them are thereby prejudic'd against our Communion and so want the means of Salvation that is amongst us and by that means they may tho not by the other be offended This Objection I do not know that it is urged by any of them nor indeed can it well be by those who think they have purer Ordinances and purer Ways of Worship But what weight there is in this Objection and how far the Church in its Impositions may have regard to the Prejudices of People and whether this will relate to the Case of our present Dissenters will be spoke to under another Head 3. Supposing they are really offended yet however these two things ought to be considered First That this cannot with any Sense or Conscience be used by them that are offended 2. If the matter of Offence be in things indifferent we cannot forbear them upon the account of a weak Brother where our Liberty is already determin'd First That this cannot with any Sence or Conscience be urged by them that are offended I know they think they say something when they say they are offended but whatsoever it may be against us to be sure it is nothing for themselves For they do not consider that to be offended is a Sin as well as to offend and the weak Brother that falls is in as much danger as he that makes him For a Scandal becomes a Sin no otherwise than as it hath Relation to other Mens Sins and if it be a Sin in the remote Occasion 't is certainly so in the immediate Actor He that causes a man to forsake his Duty which is the Gospel Scandal is guilty of and punishable for the Scandal and he that does it is guilty of and punishable for the Transgression of Gods Law In short if it be a Sin to entice to temper or to provoke to Sin 't is certainly not less to act and to perform it and therefore we read in the Scandals the Gospel speaks of These that were offended were not so very Innocent nor in a very hopeful Condition But they are said to be lost to perish and to be destroyed And now is not this a hopeful Argument and can any man use it that is really offended all that he says must rebound upon himself and every clamour against us flies in his own Face for it is certainly a Duty not to be scandaliz'd as well as not to scandal and if they are offended and are sensible of it they Sin knowingly and if they know it why do they not remove their Offences and forbare to Sin For 't is certainly a very strange thing for Men perpetually to cry out They are in a fault and yet never take care to mend it But the truth is the Men that talk at this rate
Smith Mayor Martis xxv to die Novembris 1684. Annoque Regni Regis Caroli Secundi Angl. c. xxxvi THis Court doth desire Mr Wagstaffe to Print his Sermon preached before the Lord Mayor and Aldermen at the Guild-Hall Chappel on Sunday Morning last Wagstaffe A SERMON PREACHED Before the Right Honourable THE Lord Mayor AND THE COVRT of ALDERMEN AT THE Guild-Hall Chappel On November the 23d 1684. By THOMAS WAGSTAFFE M. A. LONDON Printed for Walter Kettilby at the Bishops Head in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1685. To the Right Honourable Sir JAMES SMITH Kt. Lord Mayor Of the CITY of LONDON And to the Honourable the COURT of ALDERMEN THE Ends I aim'd at in this Discourse were to do the Church right to take off unreasonable Prejudices and to perswade Men to the Communion of the best established Church in the World And the same I humbly presume were intended by your Order for the publishing it I do not apologize for the weakness though I am conscious of it yuor Commands warrant its Publication and Obedience is part of the Religion of every Member of the Church of England I therefore only add my Prayers that God would bless all Endeavours that tend to the undeceiving the People and settling them in Unity Peace and Loyalty not only for your Lordship and the Honourable Court whose Vndertakings in this kind are very remarkable but also for every good Man in the Nation Your most Obedient and Humble Servant Tho. Wagstaffe 1. COR. 8.12 When ye Sin so against the Brethren and offend their Weak Conscience ye Sin against Christ AMONG other the Reproaches laid upon the Church of England by its Adversaries one is that its Impositions are of a Scandalous Nature that it injoyns such things as are offnsieve to Weak Brethren and the very Words I have read to you are tho ignorantly yet petulantly enough applyed to Charge the Church with Sin against Christ in offending the Weak Consciences of the Brethren of the Separation as if the imposing two or three Ceremonies were as Injurious to tender minds now as eating of Meat Sacrificed to Idols in the beginning of Christianity A Charge it is of a very high Nature for seeing the power the Church is invested with is for Edification not Destruction seeing it ought to have all Tenderness and compassionate regards towards the little Ones in Christ if instead of this she only lays stumbling Blocks in their way the Church would be what her Enemies have called her an Adulterous Spouse of Christ and which btrayes the trust her Lord hath reposed in her of forwarding the Salvation of all Men under her Care But if those bethe Representations only of Ignorance or Design if in truth upon full Consideration there appears no just Ground for such a Charge It will not I conceive be unbecoming the filial Piety of a true Son to vindicate the Innocence of his Mother to wipe of those Aspertions which have been cast upon her either by the Ignorant or mistaken or by the crafty and malicious In order to this purpose I shall indeavour to do these things following First To state the Notion or Nature of Scandal or Offence as it is represented to us in the Gospel 2. To inquire whether those that urge this against us are really offended in a Gospel Sense tho the things in controversie should be as evil as they represent them 3. Suppse they were offended yet these 2. things ought to be considered First That this cannot with any Sense or Conscience be urged by them that are offended 2. If the Matter of Offence be in things indifferent we cannot forbear them upon account of a weak Brother where our Liberty is already determined 3. Tho they are not offended by us they are really offended by the Leaders of the Separation 4. The Church of England hath given no Occasion of offence to any 5. Briefly apply this to our selves First I shall indeavour to state the Notion of Nature of Scandal as it is represented in the Gospel and in doing this I shall indeavour to consider the most important Cases mentioned in the new Testament from whence only we can have it and from thence frame such a Notion as is agreeable to that Representation the Gospel makes of it There are two Cases largely spoken to by St. Paul in the Epistles one is the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Chapters to the Romans the other is the Eighth and Tenth Chapters of the first Epistle to the Corinthians Both these I shall briefly consider Of that in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth to the Romans the summ I conceive is this among the Roman Christians there were several Jewish Converts who had not yet worn out the sence of Moses's Law but thought themselves and all others also converted to Christianity in some measure under the binding power of it as to the Observation of Days Meats c. The Gentile Christians on the contrary esteem'd themselves free from all such Observations that these were on parts of the Gospel dispensation that therefore neither they nor the Jews themselves ought to have any regard or account for them and this as it usually happens in the differences of Parties and Opinions made them Contemn and Censure each other the Strong despising the Weak as too nice and superstitious and the Weak judging the Strong as prophane and neglecters of Gods Law And this was grown so high that some of the weaker sort were hereby endangered and there were fears the Jews might be discourag'd from Christianity by unseasonablly exploding those things which they knew were of divine Institution and which tho abrogated they had yet a Conscience for In this Case the Apostle adviseth not to Judge one another but Judge this rather that no man put a Stumbling Block or an occasion to fall in his Brothers way Ver. 13. the prejudices of Education and Customs especially those that had such a Sanction as those of the Jews would not be so soon worn out and the severe insisting upon or which is worse the reproachfully and contemptuously inveighing against them would rather avert and hinder new proselytes especially those of scrupulous and doubting minds then any way engage them to another Doctrine or way of Religion The Jews had been Born and Bred up under the Rites of Moses and this was part of their Religion And so soon as they had entred into Christianity presently to fall foul upon them or to treat them disdainfully and haughtily for using them would be the readiest course to drive them away And therefore too the thing be never so true tho they were never so much convinc'd that the distinction of Days and Meats c. were wholly taken away by Christ yet this ought to be mildly and meekly at least press'd in reference to those who had other perswasions concerning them and who had not sufficient growth in Christianity as to be fully instructed in the Nature and force of Christian Liberty I know saith he