Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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A59899
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A vindication of both parts of the Preservative against popery in an answer to the cavils of Lewis Sabran, Jesuit / by William Sherlock ...
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Sherlock, William, 1641?-1707.
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1688
(1688)
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Wing S3370; ESTC R21011
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87,156
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120
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dispute much about Purgatory let him only ask a Popish Priest How the Doctrine of Purgatory can be reconciled with that stupendious love of God declared to penitent Sinners in his Son Jesus Christ For it is a contradiction to the Notion of Goodness among men to inflict such terrible punishments in meer Grace and Love even when the sin is pardoned and the Sinner reconciled and no longer in a state of discipline and trial This is the force of the Argument and here the Jesuite if he likes it may try his skill Secondly Another Argument I urged against Purgatory was this that it destroys or weakens that security the Gospel hath given Sinners of their Redemption from the Wrath of God and the just punishment of their Sins And that upon two accounts 1. As it destroys mens hopes in the Merits of Christ and the Atonement and Expiation of his Blood. For if the Blood of Christ does not deliver us from the punishment of Sin what security is this to a Sinner Yes you 'll say Christ has redeemed us from eternal though not from temporal punishments and therefore penitent Sinners shall not be eternally damned This he puts down as a Mis-representation p. 67. and says p. 73. That Christ truly obtained remission from all temporal as well as eternal pain and that whoever is regenerated by Baptism he not only is not adjudged to eternal torments but neither doth he suffer after death any Purgatory pains if he die in that state of recovered innocency This I grant they own that unless men sin after Baptism they are neither in danger of Hell nor Purgatory and yet it is evident they deny that Christ has expiated the temporal punishments due to sin either in this World or in Purgatory for if he had there were an end both of the Popish Sacrament of Penance and Purgatory and if Christ by his death had expiated the temporal punishments of sin I would desire to know why the temporal punishment of sin is not as well remitted by the Sacrament of Penance as by Baptism since the expiation of Christ's Blood as they pretend is applied to us in both and therefore this is a meer fallacy for though a Sinner in Baptism is delivered from all punishment due to sin yet he is not in a proper sence delivered from what they call the temporal punishment of sin for there was no such punishment due to sin before Baptism Hell not Purgatory is the punishment of all sin before Baptism and therefore a baptized Person is delivered by Christ from Hell which is the only punishment due to Sins before Baptism and if he die before he commits any actual sin after Baptism he escapes Purgatory and goes immediately to Heaven not because Christ's death has delivered him from the temporal pains of Purgatory but because he had done nothing to deserve it For what they call the temporal punishment of sin is only the pains of Penance and no man is capable of the Sacrament of Penance who is not a baptized Christian and yet Purgatory is of the same nature with the pains of Penance for there men compleat the expiation of their sins by enduring the pains of Purgatory which was wanting to perfect their Penance in this World. And therefore Baptism does not remit the temporal punishment of sin because there is none due till men sin after Baptism it can no more remit the temporal pains of Purgatory than the temporal pains of Penance which none but a baptized Sinner is obnoxious to and therefore it is false according to their Doctrine to say That Christ obtained remission from all temporal as well as eternal pain unless they will say that Christ obtained remission of the pains of Penance and then farewel Penance and Purgatory together And this very bottom our Jesuite sets it on p. 75. where he tells us Those who say that it were a greater mercy in God to remit all the punishment due to sin blame Christ for Preaching Penance and account him on that score less merciful which justifies what I said that the pains of Purgatory answer the pains of Penance and therefore this temporal punishment of sin was not expiated by the Death of Christ no more then Penance is and when he can prove that Christ Preached such Penance as this we will acknowledge Purgatory But to return I desired to know how any man can be satisfied from Scripture that Christ by his death has delivered us from eternal punishments if he have not delivered us from the temporal punishments of sin in the next World. For if those Texts which prove our Redemption by the Death of Christ do not prove that Christ has redeemed us from the whole punishment dâ—e to sin in the next World they prove nothing and then there is not one place of Scripture to prove that Christ has redeemed us from eternal punishments For if Christ's dying for our sins making atonement for sin being a propitiation through faith in his blood if remission and forgiveness of sins being justified having peace with God being reconciled to God and saved from wrath do not signifie taking away the punishment of sin I desire one Text to prove that a Sinner who is pardoned and justified shall not be eternally punished for sin and if they do signifie taking away the punishment of sin how can a Sinner who is pardoned and justified be punished for his sins so that these Scriptures either prove that there is no Purgatory or they cannot prove that we shall be delivered from Hell. This Argument he slightly mentions p. 69 but has so much wit as to say nothing to it I asked farther whether there are two kinds of punishments due to sin temporal and eternal of such a distinct nature that the promise of forgiveness does not include both nay that God cannot forgive both that God can only forgive eternal punishment but the Sinner himself must endure the temporal If this were the case I would grant the promises of forgiveness could extend only to eternal punishments but if the Curse of the Law be eternal death and all other punishments are only parts of the Curse and a partial execution of it then to forgive eternal punishments must include the forgiveness of temporal punishments as parts or branches of it and this I shewed was the case here that there is no other threatning in all the Gospel against sin but eternal death and therefore all other punishments are inflicted by vertue of this Law as included in it and consequently he who is delivered from this Curse of the Law from eternal punishments is delivered from the whole punishment due to sin though not from correction and discipline which is not properly the Curse of the Law nor the Wrath of God. A little piece of this he cites p. 69 but without an answer In his following harangue indeed for Purgatory he endeavours to prove by some examples of God's punishing those whose sins were forgiven and
by some Sayings of the Fathers that after the guilt of sin is forgiven there remains an obligation to undergo punishment but these have been answered often enough and are no Answer to the Argument of the Preservative and therefore I am not concerned about them I asked farther why they call Purgatory which is a place of punishment in the other World a temporal punishment which is an abuse of the Language of Scripture which makes this World temporal and the next World eternal The things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal and therefore temporal punishments signifie the punishments of this World but the unseen punishments as well as the unseen rewards of the next World are eternal which is a demonstration that there is no Purgatory unless it be eternal This he thus repeats p. 69. The things which are seen that is of this World are temporal but the things which are not seen that is of the next World are eternal This is a demonstration that there is no Purgatory which is both to conceal the force of the Argument and to pervert it for he should at least have added there is no Purgatory unless it be eternal But his answer to this is extremely pleasant p. 76. St. Paul never taught that all things that are not seen or of another World are eternal or else God would be eternally judging and so never rewarding his Servants or punishing his Enemies But it is plain the Apostle by things that are seen or not seen signifies things which are to be enjoyed or suffered by us not any transient Acts of God or Creatures and thus if there be any such thing as Purgatory in the other World it must be eternal To this I added The state of the next World is called either life or death eternal life or eternal death Those who believe in Christ shall never die Now I desire to know the difference between living and dying and perishing in the next World. For bad men do not cease to be nor lose all sense in the next World no more than good men and therefore life can only signifie a state of happiness and death a state of misery Now if good men must not perish must not die in the next World they must not go to Purgatory which is as much perishing as much dying as Hell though not so long This he thus recites p. 69. Who believes in Christ shall never die therefore good men must not go to Purgatory which is as much perishing and dying as Hell but not so long Which you see is still to conceal the force of the Argument but the comfort is he says nothing against it unless his repeating it must pass for a confutation But he immediately adds as if it were in the same period otherwise Purgatory may be everlasting life for all I know and so the pains of it eternal But this is several periods off In summing up this Argument I inquired how a Papist who believes a Purgatory-fire wherein he shall be tormented God knows how long for his sins can prove that a penitent sinner shall not be damned for his sins After other proofs which I thought it was reasonable for them to urge and I am sure they can urge no better I alledged this in their behalf that Christ has promised that those who believe in him shall not perish but have everlasting life and that proves that the pains of Purgatory cannot be for ever for then Christ could not perform his promise of bestowing everlasting life on them To this I answer So I confess one would think and so I should have thought also that when Christ promised that such believers should not perish and should never die that he meant that such men should not go to Purgatory but if falling into Purgatory he not perishing and not dying it may 〈◊〉 â—verlasting life too for ought I know and then the pains of Purgatory may be eternal I hope the Reader is by this time sensible how easie it is to render any Discourse ridiculous by taking half Sentences and joyning those passages together which have no connexion and dependance I observed farther That the Doctrine of Purgatory destroys our hope and confidence in the mediation of Christ as it represents him less merciful and compassionate or less powerful than the necessities of sinners require him to be 1. As for his Compassion It is no great sign of tenderness and compassion to leave his Members in Purgatory-fire which burns as hot as Hell. Could I believe this of our Saviour I should have very mean thoughts of his kindness and not much rely on him for any thing it is a wonderful thing to me that when a merciful man cannot see a Beast in torment without relieving it it should be thought consistent with the mercy and compassion of our Saviour to see us burn in Purgatory for Years and Ages Part of this he repeats and I suppose thought all the World would take it for an ill saying and therefore leaves it as he found it but I shall stand to it till he confutes it 2. If it be not want of Compassion it must be want of Power in our Saviour to help us and if he want Power to deliver from Purgatory I should more question his Power to deliver from Hell for that is the harder of the two if his Blood could not expiate for the temporal punishment of sin which the Merits of some supererâ—gating Saints or the Pope's Indulgencies or the Priests Masses can redeâ—m us from how câ—uld it make expiation for eternal punishment iâ— hâ—s intâ—râ—st in the Court of Heaven cannot do the less how can 〈◊〉 do the greater This he calls a Misrepresentation and truly as he has recited it it is a very great one P. 68. That the Blood of Christ could not expiate for the temporal punishment of sin which the Merits of some supererogating Saints or the Priest's Masses or Pope's Indulgencies can redeem us from how then can that Blood make expiation for eternal punishment I say if it cannot do one which is the greater muâ—h less can it do the other which is the less he makes me say that it cannot do one which is the less and therefore cannot do the greater This is Popish Liberty of Conscience with a witness From the Doctrine of Purgatory I proceeded to the Invocation of Saints and Angels 〈◊〉 our Mediators whether this does not also disparage the Graâ—â— of the Gospel the Love of God and of our Mediator and Advocate Jesus Christ to penitent sinners Now I observed 1. with respect to God That no man can believe that God is so very gracious to sinners for the sake of Christ who seeks to so many Advocates and Mediators to intercede for him with God. To imagine that we want any Mediator with God but only our High-Priest who mediates in vertue of his Sacrifice is a reproach to the Divine Goodness This the Jesuite