Baptisme commonly called Concupiscence was neuer a sinne properly but onely the materiall part of sinne the formall and principall part of it consisting in the depriuation of Originall iustice and a voluntary auersion from the lawe of GOD the which is cured by the Grace of GOD giuen to the baptised and so that which was principall in Originall sinne doth not remayne in the regenerate neither doth that which remayneth make the person to sinne which was the second point vnlesse he willingly consent vnto it as hath beene proued heretofore it allureth intiseth him to sinne but hath not power to constrayne him to it as M. PERKINS also himselfe before confessed Nowe to the third and intangleth him in the punishment of sinne howe doth Originall sinne intangle the regenerate in the punishment of sinne If all the guiltines of it be remoued from his person as you taught before in our Consent Mendacem memorem esse oportet Either confesse that the guilt of Originall sinne is not taken away from the regenerate or else you must vnsay this that it intangleth him in the punishment of sinne nowe to the last clause that the reliques of Originall sinne make a man miserable a man may be called wreatched and miserable in that he is in disgrace with God and so subject to his heauy displeasure and that which maketh him miserable in this sence is sinne but S. Paul taketh not the word so here but for an vnhappy man exposed to the danger of sinne and to all the miseries of this world from which we should haue beene exempted had it not beene for Originall sinne after which sort he vseth the same word 1. Cor. 15. If in this life onely we were hoping in Christ we were more miserable then all men not that the good Christians were farthest out of Gods fauour and more sinnefull then other men but that they had fewest worldly comforts and the greatest crosses and thus much in confutation of that formall argument Now to the second Infantes Baptised die the bodely death before they come to the yeares of discretion but there is not in them anie other cause of death besides Originall sinne for they haue no actuall sinne Rom. 5. Rom. 5. and death is the wages of sinne as the Apostle saith death entred into the world by sinne Answere The cause of the death of such Innocentes is either the distemperature of their bodies or externall violence and God who freely bestowed their liues vpon them may when it pleaseth him as freely take their liues from them especially when he meanes to recompence them with the happy exchaunge of life euerlasting True it is that if our first parentes had not sinned no man should haue died but haue beene both long preserued in Paradise by the fruit of the wood of life and finally translated without death into the Kingdome of heauen and therefore is it said most truely of S. Paul death entred into the world by sinne Rom. 5. But the other place Rom. 6. the wages of sinne is death is fouly abused for the Apostle there by death vnderstandeth eternall damnation as appeareth by the opposition of it to life euerlasting and by sinne there meaneth not Originall but Actuall sinne such as the Romans committed in their infidely the wagis where of if they had not repented them had bin hell fire now to inferre that Innocents are punished with corporall death for Originall sinne remayning in them because that eternall death is the due hire of Actuall sinne is either to shewe great wante of judgement or else very strangelie to preuert the wordes of Holy scripture Let this also not be forgotten that he himselfe acknowledged in our Consent that the punishment of Originall sinne was taken away in Baptisme from the regenerate howe then doth he here say that he doth die the death for it M. PERKINS third reason That which lusteth against the spirite and by lusting tempteth and in tempting intiseth and draweth the hart to sinne is for nature sinne it selfe but concupiscence in the regenerate is such ergo Answere The first proposition is not true for not euery thing that intiseth vs to sinne is sinne or else the Apple that allured Eue to sinne had beene by nature sinne and euery thing in this world one way or an other tempteth vs to sinne according vnto that of S. Iohn All that is in the world 1. Epl. 2. is the Concupiscence of the flesh and the Concupiscence of the eyes and Pride of life So that it is very grosse to say that euery thing which allureth to sinne is sinne it selfe and as wide is it from all morall wisedome to affirme that the first motions of our passions be sins For euen the very heathen Philosophers could distinguish betweene sodaine passions of the minde and vices teaching that passions may be bridled by the vnderstanding and brought by due ordering of them into the ring of reason and so made vertues rather then vices And that same text which M. PERKINS bringeth to perswade these temptations to be sinnes proues the quite contrary God tempteth no man but euerie man is tempted Iacob 1. when he is drawen away by his owne concupiscence and is allured afterward when concupiscence hath conceaued it bringeth forth sinne Marke the wordes well First Concupiscence tempteth and allureth by some euill motion but that is no sinne vntill afterward it doe conceiue that is obtayne some liking of our will in giuing eare to it and not expelling it so speedely as we ought to doe the suggestion of such an enemie the which that most deepe Doctor Saint Augustine sifteth out very profoundly in these wordes Lib. 6. in Iul. cap. 5. When the Apostle Saint Iames saith euery man is tempted being drawne away and allured by his Concupiscence and afterward Concupiscence when it hath conceiued bringeth forth sinne Trulie in these wordes the thing brought forth is distinguished from that which bringeth it forth The damme is concupiscence the fole is sinne But concupiscence doth not bring sinne forth vnlesse it conceiue so then it is not sinne of it selfe and it conceiueth not vnlesse it drawe vs that is vnlesse it obtayne the consent of our will to commit euill The like exposition of the same place and the difference betweene the pleasure tempting that runneth before and the sinne which followeth after Vnlesse we resist manfully may be seene in S. Cirill Lib. 4. in Iohan. ca. â—1 so that by the iudgement of the most learned auncient Fathers that text of S. Iames cited by M. PERKINS to proue concupiscence to be sinne disputeth it very soundly to that reason of his Such as the fruit is such is the Tree I answere that not concupiscence but the will of man is the Tree which bringeth forth either good or badde fruit according vnto the disposition of it concupiscence is onely an intiser vnto badde Lib. 5 con Iulianum cap. 3. But S. Augustine saith That concupiscence
inherent in the soule of Man any such grace of God as doth cleanse it from sinne and make the man just in his sight is with them to raze the foundation of Religion and to make Christ a Pseudochrist wherein I knowe not whether they be more enuious against the good of Man then they are injurious eyther to the inestimable value of Christes bloud as though it coulde not deserue any better estate for his fauourites or vnto the vertue and efficacie of the holy Ghost as not being able by likeliehood to purge mens soules from sinne and endue them with such Heauenlie qualities I omitte the disgrace thereby donne to the Blessed God-head it selfe making the Holie of Holies rather willing to couer and cloake our iniquitie then to cure it And contrarie to his infinite goodnes to loue them whom he seeth defiled with all maner of abhominations Vnto these paradoxes impious against God and slaunderous to Man If it will please your Majestie to adde the prophane carnallity of some other points of the Protestant Doctrine you will doubtles in short time loath it As for example That it is as good godlie by eating to feede the body as to chastize it by fasting That it is as holy to fulfill the fleshly desires of it by Mariage as by Continencie to mortifie them yea that it is flatte against the word of GOD to vowe Virginitie And also contrarie to his blessed will to bestowe our goodes on the poore and to giue our selues wholy to prayer and fasting All which this Aduocate of the English Congregation teacheth expreslie Pag. 132. 162. 166. Is this the purity of the Gospell Or is it not rather the high way to Epicurisme and to all worldly vanity and iniquitie I need not joyne hereunto that they teach it to be impossible to keepe Gods Commaundements and therefore in vaine to goe about it And farther that the best worke of the righteous man is defiled with sinne Wherefore as good for him to leaue all vndone as to doe any Nay if this position of others were true it would followe necessarily that all men were bound vnder payne of damnation neuer to doe any good deede so long as they liue for that their good deede being stayned with sinne cannot but deserue the hyre of sinne which according to the Apostle is Death euerlasting If your Majesties important affaires Rom. 6. would once permitte you to consider maturely of these impieties and many other like absurdities wherewith the Protestant Doctrine is stuffed I dare be bold to say that you would speedely either commaund them to reforme themselues and amend their errors or fairly giue them their Congie I will close vp this my second reason with this Epiphoneme That it is impossible for a Protestant firmely cleauing to the groundes of his owne Religion to hope for anie saluation For they doe and needes must graunt that no man can be saued without a liuely faith and also that a liuely faith cannot be without charity for otherwise it were dead Now then to the purpose No Protestant can haue charity for as witnesseth S. Iohn 1. Epis cap. 5. 3. This is the charitie of God that we keepe his commaundements But it is impossible according to the Protestants to keepe the commaundements therefore also impossible to haue charity Which is the fulnes of the lawe Rom. 13. consequently impossible to haue a liuely faith which cannot be without charity And so finally through want of that liuely feeling faith whereby they should lay hold on Christs righteousnes to hale and apply that vnto themselues they can haue no hope at all of any fauour and grace at Gods handes Without which they must needes assure themselues of eternal damnation in steede of their pretended certayntie of saluation To these two argumēts gathered out of the treatise following I adde a third collected from these your owne memorable wordes related in the aboue named conference viz. Are we nowe come to that passe Pag. 69. that we must appeache Constantine of Poperie and superstition Which argueth that your Majestie judgeth them to haue litle regard of either piety or ciuility that would admit such a thought into their mind as that the first Christian Emperour our most renowmed countriman should be nousled brought vp in superstitiō wherein your Majestie hath great reason for he was most carefully instructed taught the Christian Religion by such holy Confessors whose sincerity in faith had bin tried in the hotte furnace of many strange persecutions And he farther had the good happe to see and heare together in the first generall Councell of Nice many of the holiest and best learned Bishops of Christendome Therefore is it most vnlikely that so Royall a Person deuoted to Religion and hauing so good meanes to attayne to the perfect knowledge thereof as no man could haue better should neuerthelesse in the purest time of it be mis-ledde into errour and superstition If then it may be proued that this most Christian Emperor the glittering ornament of our noble Iland did beleeue such articles of the present Roman Church as the Protestants teach not to be beleeued Will not your Majestie rather joyne in faith with so peerles a Prince who by the consent of all antiquity was for certayne right well enformed then with these whome doubtles most men deeme to be pittifully deceiued Nowe that Constantine was of the same opinion in matter of Religion with the present Church of Rome may euidently be gathered out of this that followeth First he was so affectionate vnto the signe of the Crosse that he would haue it gloriously appeare both abroade in his banners and at home in his Pallace Euseb de vita Constan lib. 3. cap. 2. Lib 2. c. r 4. Lib. 4. c. 26. and in the middest of the Citie of Rome with this Poesie In this signe of saluation I haue deliuered the Cittie With it also he blessed his visage With fasting and other corporall affliction he chastized his body that he might please God He with incredible admiration honoured professed Virgins and made lawes in their fauour Ibidem lib. 3. cap. 47. alibi Chry. hom 66. ad pop Antioch He builded many Churches in honour of the Apostles and Martirs And as S. Chrysostome recordeth He that was reuested in purple went to embrace the Sepulchres of S. Peter and S. Paul and all Princely state laide aside stood humbly praying vnto the Saints that they would be intercessors for him vnto God He farther tooke order for the burying of his owne body in the middest of the Tombes of the twelue Apostles that after his death he might be partaker of the prayers Euseb in vita Const lib. 4. ca. 60. Ibid cap. 71. which should be there offered in the honour of the Apostles Neither was he frustrated of his holy desire for as it followeth in the 71. Chapter of the same booke at his funerals the people joyning with the
that he when he commendeth grace denyeth free will Lib. 4. con Iul. c. 8. Much lesse would I say that which thou lyingly dost affirme me to say free will to be denied if grace be commended or grace to be denied if free will be commended Nowe in fewe wordes I will passe ouer the objections which he frameth in our names But misapplieth them First Obiection That man can doe good by nature as giue almes doe Iustice speake the truth c. And therefore will them without the helpe of grace This argument we vse to proue libertie of will in ciuill and morall matters euen in the corrupted state of man and it doth demonstrate it and M. PERKINS in his third cōclusion doth graunt it And his answere here is farre from the purpose for albeit saith he touching the substance of the worke it be good yet it faileth both in the beginning because it proceedes not from a pure hart and a faith vnfeigned and also in the end which is not the glory of God Answere It faileth neither in the one nor other for that almes may issue out of a true naturall compassion which is a sufficient good fountayne to make a worke morally good faith and grace to purge the hart are necessary only for good and meritorious workes Againe being done to relieue the poore mans necessity GOD his Creator and Master is thereby glorified And so albeit the man thought not of GOD in particuler yet GOD being the finall end of all good any good action of it selfe is directed towardes him when the man putteth no other contrary end thereunto 2. Obiection God hath commaunded all to beleeue and repent therefore they haue naturall free will by vertue whereof being helped by the spirit of God they can beleeue The force of the argument consisteth in this that GOD being a good Lord will not commaund any man to doe that which he is no way able to doe Ans M. PERKINS answereth in effect for his wordes be obscure that GOD commaundeth that which we be not able to performe but that which we should doe Then I hope he will admitte that he will enable vs by his grace to doe it or else how should we doe it God surely doth not bind vs by commaundement to any impossible thing he is no tyrant but telleth vs that his yoke is sweete and his burthen easie Mat. 11. And S. Iohn witnesseth that his commaundements are not heauy Ioh. 5. He was farre off from thinking that GOD would tie any man by lawe to doe that which he was altogether vnable to performe This in the end M. PERKINS himselfe approueth 3. Ob. If man haue no free wil to sin or not to sin then no man is to be punished for his sinnes because he sinneth by a necessitie not to be auoyded He answereth that the reason is not good for though man cannot but sinne yet is the fault in himselfe and therefore is to be punished Against which I say that this answere supposeth that which is false to wit that a man in sinne cannot choose but sinne For by the helpe of God who desireth all sinners conuersion 1. Pet. 3. and thereunto affordeth grace sufficient a sinner in a moment may call for grace and repent him and so choose whether he will sinne or no and consequently hath free wil to sin or not to sin And that example of a bankerupt is not to purpose for he cannot when he will satisfie his creditours who content not themselues with his repentance without repay of their money as God doth Nowe concerning the force of this argument heare Saint Augustines opinion De duab animab contr Manich. in these wordes Neither are wee here to search obscure books to learne that no man is worthy of disprayse or punishment which doeth not that which he cannot doe for saith he doe not shepheardes vpon the downes sing these thinges doe not poetes vpon the stages acte them Doe not the vnlearned in their assemblies and the learned in their libraries acknowledge them Doe not maisters in the scholes Prelats in the pulpits finally al mankind throughout the whole world confesse and teach this to wit that no man is to be punished because he did that which he could not choose but doe Should he not then according to S. Augustines censure be hissed out of all honest companie of men that denieth this so manifest a truth confessed by all Mankinde How grosse is this heresie that so hoodeth a man and hardneth him that be he learned yet he blusheth not to deny roundly that which is so euident in reason that euen naturall sence doth teach it vnto sheepheards God of his infinite mercie deliuer vs from this straunge light of the newe Gospell CHAPTER 2. OF ORIGINALL SINNE OVR CONSENTS M. PERKINS FIRST CONCLVSION Pag. 28. THEY say naturall corruption after Baptisme is abolissed and so say we but let vs see how farre forth it is abolissed In originall sinne are three thinges First the punishment which is the first and second death second guiltines which is the binding vp of the creature vnto punishment third the fault or the offending of God vnder which I comprehend our guiltines in Adams first offence as also the corruption of the hart which is a naturall inclination and pronesse to any thing that is euill or against the law of God For first we say that after Baptisme in the regenerate the punishment of Originall sinne is taken away Rom. 8.1 For there is no condemnation saith the Apostle to them that are in CHRIST IESVS For the second that is guiltines we further condescend and say that it is also taken away in them that are borne anewe For considering there is no condemnation to them there is nothing to binde them to punishment Yet this caueat must be remembred namely that the guiltines is remoued from the person regenerate but not from the sinne in the person But of this more hereafter Thirdly the guilt in Adams first offence is pardoned And touching the corruption of the hart I auouch two thinges First that the very power and strength whereby it raigneth in man is taken away in the regenerate Secondly that this corruption is abolished as also the fault of euerie actuall sinne past So farre forth as it is the fault and sinne of the man in whome it is In deede it remaines till death and it is sinne considered in it selfe so long as it remaines but it is not imputed to the person And in that respect is as though it were not it being pardoned Hitherto M. PER. Annotations vpon our Consent First we say not that the punishment of Originall sinne is in it or any part of it but rather a due correction and as it were an expulsion of it this is but a peccadilio but there lurketh a Serpent in that caueat that the guiltines of Originall sinne is remoued from the person regenerate but not from the sinne in the
for the mastery 2. Tim. 2. is not crowned vnlesse he striue lawfully It is also resembled vnto places of honour Math. 25. Ioh. 14. Mat. 13. 1. Ioh. 3. I will place thee ouer much And I goe to prouide you places Grace is also in many places of Scripture compared to seede For the seede of God tarrieth in him But a little seede cast into good ground and well manured bringeth forth abundance of corne Briefly then such equality as there is betweene the well deseruing subject and the office betweene him that striueth lawfully and the crowne betweene the seede and the corne is betweene the reward of heauen and the merit of a true seruant of God And thus much of M. PERKINS first Argument more indeede to explicate the nature and condition of merit then that his reason nakedly proposed did require it Exod 20. His second testimony is God will shewe mercy vpon thousandes in them that loue him and keepe his commaundements Hence he reasoneth thus Where reward is giuen vpon mercy there is no merit but reward is giuen vpon mercy as the text proueth ergo Answere That in that text is nothing touching the reward of heauen which is now in question God doth for his louing seruants sake shewe mercy vnto their children or friends either in temporall thinges or in calling them to repentance and such like but doth neuer for one mans sake bestowe the kingdome vpon another vnlesse the party himselfe be first made worthy of it That confirmation of his that Adam by his continuall and perfect obedience could not haue procured a further increase of Gods fauour is both besides the purpose and most false for as well he as euery good man sithence by good vse of Gods gifts might day by day encrease them And that no man thinke that in Paradise it should haue bin otherwise S. Augustine saith expresly That in the felicity of Paradise righteousnes preserued should haue ascended into better In Inchir cap. 25. And Adam finally and all his posterity if he had not fallen should haue bin from Paradise translated aliue into the Kingdome of heauen this by the way Nowe to the thirde Argument Rom. 6. Scripture condemneth merite of workes The wages of sinne is death True But we speake of good workes and not of badde which the Apostle calleth sinne where were the mans wittes but it followeth there That eternall life is the grace or gift of God This is to purpose but answered 1200. yeares past by that famous Father S. Augustine in diuers places of his most learned workes I will note one or two of them First thus here ariseth no small doubt De gra li. arb c. 8. which by Gods helpe I will now discusse For if eternall life be rendred vnto good workes as the holy Scripture doth most clearely teach note how then can it be called grace when grace is giuen freely and not repaide for vvorkes and so pursuing the pointes of difficulty at large in the end resolueth that eternall life is most trulie rendred vnto good workes as the due rewarde of them but because those good workes could not haue beene donne vnlesse God had before freely through Christ bestowed his grace vpon vs therefore the same eternall life is also truly called grace because the first roote of it was Gods free gift The very same answere doth he giue where he hath these wordes Epist 106. Eternall life is called grace not because it is not rendred vnto merittes but for that those merittes to which it is rendred were giuen in which place he crosseth M. PERKINS proportion most directly affirming that S. Paul might haue said truly eternall life is the pay or wages of good vvorkes but to holde vs in humility partly and partly to put a difference betweene our saluation and damnation choose rather to say that the gift of God was life eternall because of our damnation we are the whole and only cause but not of our saluation but principally the grace of God the only fountayne of merit and all good workes Now to those textes cited before about justification Ad Eph. 2. We are saued freely not of our selues or by the workes of righteousnesse which we haue donne Ad Tit. 3. I haue often answered that the Apostle speakes of workes donne by our owne forces without the helpe of Gods grace and therefore they cannot serue against workes donne in and by grace Now to that text which he hudleth vp together with the rest although it deserued a better place being one of their principall pillers in this controuersie It is The sufferings of this life are not worthy of the glory to come Rom. 8. The strength of this objection lyeth in a false translation of these words Axia pros tein doxan equal to that glory or in the misconstruction of them For we graunt as it hath beene already declared that our afflictions and sufferinges be not of equall in length or greatnes with the glory of heauen for our afflictions be but for the short space of this life and they cannot be so great as will be the pleasure in heauen notwithstanding wee teach that this shorter and lesser labour imployed by a righteous man in the seruice of GOD doth meritte the other greater and of longer continuance and that by the said Apostles playne wordes for saith he 2. Cor. 4. That tribulation which in this present life is but for a moment and light doth worke aboue measure exceedingly an euerlasting weight of glory in vs. The reason is that just mens workes issue out of the fountayne of grace which giueth a heauenly value vnto his workes Againe it maketh him a quicke member of Christ and so receiuing influence from his head his workes are raised to an higher estimate it consecrateth him also a temple of the holy Ghost 2. Pet. 1. and so maketh him partaker of the heauenly nature as S. Peter speaketh Which addes a worth of heauen to his workes Neither is that glory in heauen which any pure creature attayneth vnto of infinite dignity as M. PERKINS fableth but hath his certayne boundes measure according vnto each mans merittes otherwise it would make a man equall to God in glory for there can be no greater then infinite as all learned men doe confesse M. PERKINS 4. reason Whosoeuer will meritte must fulfill the whole law for if we offend in one commandement we are guiltie of the whole lawe but no man can fulfill the whole lawe ergo Answere I denie the first proposition for one good worke done with his due circumstances doth bring forth merite as by all the properties of meritte may be proued at large and by his owne definition of meritte set downe in tne beginning Now if a man afterward fall into deadly sinne he leeseth his former meritte but recouering grace he riseth to his former meritte as the learned gather out of that saying of our Sauiour in the