now having given you this Account of the State of the Church of Pergamos as it was represented by our Lord himself I am much mistaken if from this Authority we may not be able to justifie the Reformation of the Church of England against the most specious and popular Exceptions which they of Rome make against our Reformation And this I shall endeavour to do under these three heads First That in this Church whilst it was in Communion with and Subjection to the Church of Rome there were notorious Abuses and Errours both in Doctrine and Worship added to the Profession of the Common Faith. Secondly That upon this Supposition we might and ought to reform our selves as we have done Thirdly That the main Objections which they of the Roman Church do bring and whereby they seek to stagger those of our Communion and to fright them into their own may by this instance of the Message of Christ to the Church of Pergamos be demonstrated to be vain and fallacious and therefore by no means fit to remove us from our stedfastness First That in this Church as in all others that were in Communion with the Church of Rome there were notorious Abuses and Errours introduced into the Faith and Worship of Christians And first as in the Church of Pergamos so in these Churches there were Doctrines and Practices leading to Idolatry I wish that were all but it is not all for Idolatry it self if it be possible for us to know what it is was practised and that practice not only connived at but encouraged and commanded and of this sort were the practices of Adoring the Host Praying to Saints to dead Men and Women and Worshipping of Images contrary to the whole tenor of the Scripture providing that we should worship the Lord our God and that him only we should serve And it is very observable that when we urge them with these things they defend themselves from Idolatry by the use of such distinctions as 't is impossible for the common People to save themselves by if indeed these distinctions would do the business As for Doctrines tending to licenciousness of Life and Manners what can be more evidently such than the easie terms upon which they promised forgiveness of sins and security from Hell Confession to a Priest with attrition being reckoned sufficient to receive a Pretorial Absolution which shall be valid in Heaven as also the invention of Purgatory and the Power of the Church to shorten the pains of it by Indulgences by applying the treasure of the Churches Merits by Masses and Prayers with a great many abuses of this nature And besides all these what shall we say to their Doctrine of Transubstantiation their Half Communion their Latin Service their Sacrifice of the Mass for which there is no President or Rule in the Scriptures or in Antiquity but plain and full consent there is both of the one and of the other against them But now to all this they make one general Reply and tell us that the Church meaning the Roman Church hath not erred in these points because she cannot err at all for she is the Mother and Mistriss of all Churches and the Standard of Catholick Unity and Faith she is that One Catholick Church which cannot fail to which Christ has promised his perpetual Presence and Assistance that the gates of Hell shall never prevail against her and of which St. Paul said that she is the pillar and ground of the Truth In a word that whatsoever is by her defined is infallibly true and therefore that these Doctrines and Practices are neither damnable errors and sins nor errors and sins at all Now if indeed such promises were made to that Church we should be brought into a very great strait and not very well know whether we should believe the Scripture speaking against the Doctrines and Practices imposed by that Church or the Scripture speaking to us to believe and do as that Church requires But first of all we say that whatsoever Promises were made to the Catholick Church they do not belong only to the Church of Rome which is but a part of it and that these Promises that the gates of Hell should not prevail against the Church and that Christ would be with his Church to the end of the world amounted to no more than this that she should be preserved from so much error as would utterly destroy the Being of a Church not from all Error whatsoever but that no Promise in particular was made to the Church of Rome so much as to secure her from fundamental Errors utterly destructive of the Being of a Church especially since St. Paul writing to the Church of Rome plainly supposes that it was possible for them to be quite cut off from the Body of Christ Rom. 11.21 22. where speaking of the rejection of the Jews he hath these words For if God spared not the natural branches take heed lest he also spare not thee Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God on them which fell severity but towards thee goodness if thou continue in his goodness otherwise thou also shalt be cut off Which had been vain words if it had been impossible by virtue of any Priviledge conferred upon the See of Peter for the Church of Rome not to continue in God's goodness or it be an infallible truth that she shall not be cut off We do what we can to find the Infallibility of the Roman Church in the Scriptures but if we cannot find it there is much more reason to conclude that she hath erred because some of her Doctrines and Practices do seem to us apparently to contradict the Scripture than to believe she is infallible because she says so of her self But to this they say that we mis-interpret those Scriptures which seem to condemn what they profess and practise and in short that we cannot arrive to certainty of the true sence of Scripture without the Testimony of an Infallible Interpreter which the Church is Well for the present I will suppose this but then this will be the consequence of the Supposition that 't is impossible for that Church ever to convince me or any reasonable man of her own Infallibility by the Scriptures For when she tells me that Christ hath said Thou art Peter and upon this Rock I will build my Church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it and that the Church is the pillar and ground of truth and Lo I am with you alway even unto the end of the world she supposes that the Promise of Infallibility to her self is so plainly made that every man who has a mind to understand the truth may be certain of the true sence of the words But if I may arrive at a certain sence of these Scriptures without the Testimony of an Infallible Interpreter then why may I not be as certain of the sence of other Texts as plain as these without such an Interpreter It
And because this Exhortation is also added to the Epistle sent to the Church of Pergamos part of which I have now read to you I may also exhort you to hear or rather I need not since our Lord Jesus himself hath required you so to do St. John who had been the Founder of the Church of Pergamos was now in the Isle of Patmos banished thither for the Testimony of Jesus as he witnesseth himself chap. 1. ver 9. I John who also am your brother and companion in tribulation and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ was in the Isle that is called Patmos for the Word of God and for the Testimony of Jesus Christ. But he had committed this Church to the care of a Bishop in his absence who is here called the Angel of the Church and to whom this Epistle was directed in behalf of the Church under his care and it consists of these three general parts I. Of a Commendation II. Of a Reproof III. A Warning to Repent I. A Commendation I know thy works and where thou dwellest even where Satan's seat is and thou holdest fast my name and hast not denied my faith even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful Martyr who was slain among you where Satan dwelleth Which Commendation consists of two parts 1. That the Church of Pergamos retained the profession of the Name of Christ in all points necessary to the being of a Church for if she had parted with any point necessary she must then have ceased to be a Church but a Church she was by our Lord 's own acknowledgment and therefore by holding fast his Name and not denying his Faith we must needs understand that she had kept intire that form of sound words the Apostolical Creed which St. John had left amongst them 2. That which heightned her praise was that she had done this in such a place where there was so great Temptations to Apostacy First Where Satan's seat was i. e. where there were so many Idol-Temples that no place in Asia could shew so many as if Pergamos had been Satan's Principal Court in that part of the World. Secondly Where by consequence there was likely to be and where indeed there was a great Persecution of the Gospel under which Antipas a faithful Martyr of Jesus Christ whose Zeal and Courage was an Example to the rest was slain This is the Commendation of the Church of Pergamos that in such a place and at such a time she had held fast the Profession of the fundamental Truths of the Gospel that she had held fast the Name of Christ and had not denied his Faith. But there follows II. A Reproof But I have a few things against thee because thou hast there them that hold the Doctrine of Balaam who taught Balak to cast a stumbling-block before the Children of Israel to eat things sacrificed to Idols and to commit fornication So hast thou also them that hold the Doctrine of the Nicolaitans which thing I hate i. e. Although she had the foundation of the Faith yet within the Communion of that Church the Doctrine of Balaam and the Doctrine of the Nicolaitans was taught and practised She had suffered damnable Doctrines and wicked Practices to take place which were likely enough to endanger the subverting of the whole Christian Faith professed amongst them But more particularly 1. The Doctrine of Balaam was openly taught amongst them and that was the lawfulness of joyning with Idolaters in the Worship of their Idols for this was the Stumbling-block which Balaam laid before the Children of Israel not only drawing them to carnal fornication with the Daughters of Moab but spiritual fornication also with their Idols Now it seems there was such a grievous Persecution of the Church at Pergamos that some of that Communion to ease the Church from it taught that it was lawful to sacrifice to Idols and to have External Communion with Idolaters in their Worship to wit by eating things sacrificed to Idols pretending as we may gather from the Commendation given them in the former verse that if they did but still hold fast the Name of Christ and not deny any necessary point of his Faith their External Compliance with Idolaters in their Worship would not deserve any severe Reproof but that because they should still retain the Name and Essence of a true Church they should therefore sufficiently approve their fidelity to Christ notwithstanding their burning Incense and offering Sacrifice and giving Divine Honours by their outward Acts to that which is not God. 2. The Doctrine of the Nicolaitans was also held amongst them that is a Doctrine that tended to a licencious Life and the corruption of good Manners and it is called the Doctrine of the Nicolaitans from Nicolas the Deacon who being upbraided for doting too much upon his fair Wife to shew that he was not to be blamed upon that account made a prostitution of her to all Comers which lewd Example had it seems spread its Contagion into some of the Asian Churches especially at Pergamos where many of them held Community of Women to be lawful which was so vile and detestable a Doctrine that God is here said to hate it So that the Doctrines for tolerating of which the Church of Pergamos is here reprehended were such as grated very near upon the Foundations of Christianity the former leading to Idolatry the latter to an impure and vicious Life A very strange corruption of the State of that Church in so short a time from the first plantation of it Now III. We have in this Message of Jesus to the Church of Pergamos a warning to repent and to make haste to repent too Repent or else I will come unto thee quickly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth And what was she to repent of but of suffering those Coruptions in Doctrine and Practice to prevail in her Communion for which she was reproved before And how was she to repent but by reforming those Abuses and casting out of her Communion those that would not be reformed and returning to the Primitive Purity of her Faith and Worship and Manners And if she would not do this Jesus threatned that he would suddenly take the matter into his own hands and cut them off by the Sword of his mouth from being a Church at all who were so soon degenerated from a pure Church and it is reasonable to believe that upon this warning she did repent and reform for she was not speedily cut off as God had threatned she should be if she did not repent but continued a Church for many Ages afterwards till at length falling again into great corruptions of Doctrine and Manners she with all the other six Churches of Asia written to by our Lord fell to be no Church at all and the Temples wherein the Name of Christ was called upon are now become Turkish Mosques and so the burden of Pergamos was fulfilled And
some one occasion at least to have said Let nothing be done without the Bishop of Rome if he had known of any such Priviledge and Power conferred on him by our Lord. But if Pergamos were justifiable in removing those Corruptions which were crept into that Church without staying for the consent of the Bishop of Rome England in removing more Corruptions and of equal danger was to proceed also without his leave if it could not be had 2. As to his Patriarchal Power over this Nation it did not anciently belong to him he had it not when the Council of Nice confined him to his own Province nor when the Council of Ephesus decreed That no Bishop should presume to invade any other Province which from the beginning had not been under his or his Predecessor's Jurisdiction or if any do and make it his own by force that he should restore it And then the Church of Britain was free acknowledging no foreign Jurisdiction the Power that the Bishop of Rome gained here in after-Ages was got by fraud and held by force and was ever and anon disputed and gainsayed and over-rul'd and surely no injury was done him when that Authority was resumed which he had usurped 3. As to the Conversion of the Saxons by Austin sent hither by Pope Gregory I say it follows not if long since the Inhabitants of this Island received any benefit from Rome therefore they should in all Ages be exposed to the Usurpations of that place afterwards nor that because we once received true Religion from Rome therefore Posterity must receive also false Doctrines from thence when it should please her to send them hither But in truth Christianity had been planted here long before by St. Paul himself in all probability and that in the Reign of Tiberius before Rome her self had received the Christian Faith. And the British Bishops whom Austin found here would by no means submit to the Authority of the Roman Legate And so much for the right that this particular Church had to reform her self I come now Thirdly To consider some of those specious Pretences and Objections by which they go about to weaken the stedfastness of our People in the Communion of our Church and to draw them to theirs 1. They say How was it possible that Errours could creep into the Church of that nature with those which we charge upon them There must have been great Opposition made to any the least design of such an alteration in the State of Religion and we meet with no such account of things in History Therefore these are not Innovations but the ancient Doctrine and Practice of the Church To omit this that concerning most of their Innovations we can very nearly shew the time when they were brought in but can plainly shew that there was a time when they were not I answer It is much more easie to conceive that in a thousand years time Errour should creep into that Church by degrees and without noise than that in a Church planted by an Apostle as Pergamos was guarded by the Angel or Bishop placed there by an Apostle as Pergamos was should so soon tolerate the Doctrines of the Balaamites and Nicolaitans even while their Apostle was alive and therefore very soon after he departed from them 2. They say that the perpetual Succession of their Bishops from St. Peter is an Argument of the Succession of true Doctrine amongst them in the purity thereof but behold an Apostolical Church in which a Bishop succeeded an Apostle yet alive corrupted in her Doctrine and Worship Can they have greater can they have as great an assurance of a perpetual uninterrupted Succession after so many Ages as the Church of Pergames had before one Age was gone or does their Infallibility grow with their Succession or the farther they are removed from the beginning of the Church are they the surer still that they teach nothing but what was taught at first 3. They say we are departed from the whole Church of Christ that was visible every-where upon the face of the Earth when the Reformation was begun seeing there was then no Communion in the World nor had been long before that professed the same Doctrine in all points which the Reformation brought in Now in great liberality to admit for once that the whole visible Church had corrupted its way as the Church of Rome has done which yet is not true but I say admitting it what will then come of it That we departed from the whole Church of Christ No but that we departed from the general Errours and Corruptions of it and by that could not be said to depart from the whole Church whereof we our selves were a part unless we departed also from our selves Nay but say they this is to fall into another damnable Errour and that is that the whole Church of Christ had failed from the Earth and so that the visible Church had perished for some Ages till the Reformation brought it to life again Not so neither For we do not say that the Errours of the Church were of that nature as to make it cease to be a Church but that they were in themselves damnable and that they made the Salvation of all that were in it extreamly hazardous but yet that we hope well of those who believing the fundamental Doctrines of Christianity maintained in the Church and wanting means to discover her Corruptions served God according to their knowledge so that we do not say the Church had perished but that her Purity had been lost even as Pergamos was a Church and so acknowledged by our Lord himself because she held fast the foundation of the Creed while yet she was corrupted with notorious Errors To this according to their usual way of arguing they would reply that the case is not the same between a Particular Church as Pergamos was and the whole Visible Church from which Luther and those that followed him separated themselves But then I would answer That the case is the same as to the matter we are upon for if a particular Church though under great Errours may yet be a part of the whole Church by like reasons if the whole Church were over-spread with foul Errours it would nevertheless still remain the whole Church and there is as great an obligation to depart from those Errors in the latter case as in the former and a particular Church by departing from such Errors does no more depart from the whole Church than she did from her self 4. They pretend Antiquity for their Errors and are often asking that shrewd Question as they deem it Where was your Religion before Luther I would answer this Question with another That after the Angel of the Church of Pergamos had purged away the Corruptions of that Church Where was the Church of Pergamos before that Reformation Every one of common sence would answer It was where it is now and where it ever was since it was first a
suppose he means believing them and by a Rule by which to acquire them He must understand a Rule or means whereby to know what the Articles of the Christian Faith are and then his meaning is That those who believe the Articles of the Christian Faith must be provided of some such Rule or Means to know what they are as cannot deceive them Now whether this be in it self true or false it does not at all follow from what he had laid down before For though the Truth of Things or Propositions is so sure that as he wisely says 't is Impossible they should be false yet it does by no means follow that the Reasons upon which I believe these things must necessarily be as sure as the Truth of the Things themselves And this I make no doubt the Disputer was well aware of But because I am sensible who they are whom he designs to pervert by this Paper and for whose sake I Answer it I will explain this matter by an Instance that will bring it down to all Capacities If there was such a man as Henry the 8th It is certainly Impossible that there should be no such man but my Belief that there was such a Man is grounded upon such Reasons as do not imply an absolute Impossibility of the Contrary because it is grounded upon the Testimony of Fallible men And yet I should be very little better then a mad-man if I should entertain the least doubt that there was such a man which plainly shews that I may have sufficient Reason to believe a thing without any Evidence of the Impossibility of the contrary and this is enough to overthrow his Consequence I shall now inquire what truth there is in the Conclusion it self To which end I observe That there are two things which may be understood by those words cannot deceive them either first that the Rule it self is so plain and certain that no man who uses it can be deceived by the Rule or secondly that 't is Impossible any man should be mistaken in the Vse of it If he means the former then I shall shew him presently that we have such a Rule as he speaks of and that he hath said nothing to make us ashamed of it If he means the latter then I say it is absolutely false That those who without doubting believe the Articles of the Christian Faith must have such a Rule to know what they are as that they cannot possibly mistake in the Vse of it To make which plain to every bodies understanding I shall add another Instance easy to be Applyed If a man skilful in Arithmetick hath a great many Numbers before him and desires to know what Sum they make when they are put together he has the Rule of Addition to do it by which Rule cannot deceive him Now there are these two things to be observed farther which I think the Disputer himself will not deny first that it is in the Nature of the thing Possible that this man may be mistaken every time that he puts these several Numbers together to bring them all into one Sum but secondly that notwithstanding this Possibility of being mistaken yet after he has tryed it over and over again he may be sure without the least doubt that he has done his work right Even so we may have a Rule of Faith that cannot deceive us and though it is not Absolutely Impossible that we should be mistaken in the use of it yet we may for all that be Assured and believe without the least doubting that we have learn'd what the true Faith is by that Rule For all the World knows that it is no sufficient Reason to Doubt of any thing that the Contrary is barely Possible Pap. To a Parliamentary Protestant the Antient Fathers can't be such a Rule because they are Accounted fallible Ans We never said they were such a Rule This therefore is Impertinent Pap. Nor Counsels because they also are accounted fallible Ans This is Impertinent also for we never said they were our Rule of Faith. But we have better Reasons to give why Fathers and Councils cannot be our Rule of Faith than this that the Disputer has made for us And one is this That we cannot make them the Rule of our Faith but by so doing we must depart from the Primitive Fathers and the ancient Councils in as much as all agree That the Holy Scriptures are the Rule of Faith and they made it theirs Pap. Nor Scriptures senced by a fallible Authority because all such Interpretations may be false Ans This is the Place where I shall tell the Disputer what we beleive and why we believe it And when I have done I shall consider whether he hath said any thing in this clause to shake our Assurance We firmly believe all the Articles of the Creed into the Profession whereof we have been Baptized We moreover believe all other Doctrine that is Revealed in Holy Scriptures The Grounds of this our Faith are these That in the Holy Scriptures are Recorded those Testimonies of Divine Revelation by which the Doctrines therein contained are confirmed That these Testimonies were too notorious and Publick to be gainsaid in so much that the Doctrine built upon them could not be overthrown by the Powers of the world engaged against it That the holy Books were written by the Inspired Preachers of that Doctrine which they contain And that for this we have the Testimony of Vniversal and uncontroulable Tradition which is a thing credible of it self This is the Sum of that External Evidence upon which our Faith is grounded In assigning of which I do by no means exclude that Internal Evidence that arises from the Excellent Goodness of the Doctrines themselves which shews them to be worthy of God. Now whereas this Disputer says That these Scriptures cannot be an Infallible Rule to us because they are sensed by a fallible Authority that is because we who are fallible understand them as well as we can I answer That no man needs to be Infallible in order to the understanding of plain Scripture I who do not pretend to Infallibility am yet certain which is enough for me That I do find the Articles of the Creed in the Scriptures and many other Doctrines besides which I do understand I am sure that I know what these words of St. John signifie 1 John 2.25 And Chap. 5.3 This is the Promise that he hath promised us even eternal life And this is the love of God that we keep his Commandments and the like The Antient Fathers thought the Scriptures to be so plain that they argued out of them without pretending to an Infallible Authority of Interpretation as I will shew this Disputer when he pleases If nothing less then Infallibility will serve to understand or as he says to sense words why does this Disputer put into my hands this Paper of his which is none of the plainest neither I am sure he does
For though it was something a nice and elaborate business to observe all the Traditions yet this was much more grateful not only to fancy but to flesh and blood than to observe the Rules of true Piety by keeping the Commandments of God For instance though it was something troublesome to be washing at every turn yet if this would keep a man's mind clean it was a much easier care than to keep the heart pure v. 19. from evil thoughts murders adulteries fornications thefts false-witnessings and evil speakings which according to our Saviour's Doctrine were the things that defile the man v. 20. How was it possible but that People should be fond of believing such a conclusion as this whosoever lives in the Land of Israel and eateth his Meat in cleanness and speaks in the Holy Tongue and Morning and Evening says over his Phylacteries let him never doubt but he shall obtain Life in the World to come This was the Doctrine of the Masters and certainly they must be very unreasonable People that could not be content to go to Heaven upon such terms as these if they could be made such Fools as to believe it And truly Men are very apt to hearken to such Follies because they save them the labour of being truly good No wonder therefore that the Scribes were so universally believed and obeyed by the People inasmuch as they undertook to carry them all to Heaven infallibly by such slight and cheap performances as were required by their Tradition And in such a case as this it would cost more than ordinary pains to undeceive them our Saviour himself being constrained to repeat his Instructions over and over again to his Disciples to get these Fancies out of their heads And thus much concerning the nature of that Charge which the Pharises laid against our Lord's Disciples and concerning that which is implyed in it the zeal of the Priests and the Scribes for their Traditions and the fondness of the People that were addicted to them I proceed now to the 2. Point And that is the Answer which our Saviour made to this Charge viz. Why do ye also transgress the Commandment of God by your Tradition Which doth of itself appear to be a plain and wise way of answering their bold Question because it turned the difficulty upon them and that a thousand times a greater difficulty to say if they could by what Authority they advanced their Traditions against the Law of God and since they thought it was so heinous a fault in the Disciples not to observe their Traditions to purge themselves if they were able of a notorious fault in keeping their Traditions and teaching them to others inasmuch as their Traditions could not be kept without transgressing the commandment of God. Which general Charge our Saviour makes good also by one particular inference so plain that there was no fencing against it For God says he commanded saying Honour thy Father and thy Mother and he that curseth Father or Mother let him die the death But ye say whosoever shall say to his Father or his Mother it is a gift by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me and honour not his Father and his Mother he shall be free thus have you made the Commandment of God of none effect by your Tradition The Tradition was this that if a man had vowed never to relieve or to give any thing to such or such a Person though it were his Father or his Mother he was held by his Vow and if afterwards he should change his mind and be willing to relieve his Parents and in order thereunto go to the Priests to be dispensed with and absolved of his Vow the Priests should challenge all that he now designed to relieve his Parents withal but of his Vow he could not be released and the Money was put into the Treasury of the Temple so that if his Father or Mother came afterwards to him and asked an Alms of him he might say It is Corban or devoted to the Service of the Temple whatsoever I can have a mind to give thee and in St. Mark our Saviour concludes And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his Father or his Mother For they held him to his Vow and whatever Money he could be willing to give them afterwards being under the Religion of a Vow it became Sacred and was to go to the Temple In which most wicked Tradition they had their Ends for the Wealth of the Treasury being partly employed in the Reparation of the Temple partly for the Relief of the Poor partly for the enriching of the Priests and Levites the Pharises who were no small part of the Priests had their share in all that was brought into the Treasury By this Traditionary Doctrine and Practice they had eluded a Law of God not of lesser moment but of great moment that the transgression of it was capital and such a Law too as the light of Nature shews no less than the written word of God and therefore well might our Saviour Conclude Thus have ye made the Commandment of God of none effect by your Tradition But if it be now asked why our Saviour did not keep to that instance which the Pharises produced and answer to that but rather chose another instance The account of this I think very easie viz. That he saw it was necessary to run them down by one of the most undeniable instances that could be imagined of their contradicting the Law of God by their Traditions for the boldness of the Pharises and Priests was so excessive and the fondness of the People about these Traditions was so hard to be broken that it was necessary to make way for their conviction by such an argument as must needs make some impression upon them And when he had made an end of that he did not forget to speak directly to the point they had begun withal for ver 10. we find that he called the multitude and said unto them Hear and understand not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a Man but that which cometh out of the Mouth defileth a Man that is do not suffer your selves to be deluded by these confident Men who use their Authority to that degree as to carry you under a pretence of keeping their Traditions to the transgression of the plainest Commandments of God as I have evidently shewn in the case of the Fifth Commandment and now be willing to be instructed in that other point of pretended Tradition which they blame my Disciples for not observing and know that no Food whatsoever is unclean or unlawful in its own nature to be used nor can any Man's touch make it so nor can any of these things defile a Man's Conscience but a Man's Conscience is defiled by that which comes from his heart by evil thoughts by evil words and by actions contrary to the Command of God such as murders and adulteries c. These are the things
they all agreed together to cheat us as their Forefathers agreed to cheat them if they had not received it from theirs and so this Tradition must have come originally from Moses or else there was one Age that agreed to cheat the next in things concerning the Service of God and the Salvation of Mens Souls But after all the prettiness of this demonstration I think we have more reason to believe that this Superstition never came from Moses because our Saviour exposed it as a vain and foolish Doctrine than to believe that it did because the Jews ever since the Pharises time who were a Sect of full three hundred years standing were taught to pretend Tradition for the Innovations of the Pharises and for this amongst the rest And therefore it is a vain thing to pretend that because such and such Traditionary Doctrines were in such an Age taught without controul as necessary to Salvation they must needs have been taught so from the very first 4. That we have great reason to stick to the word of God delivered to us in the Holy Scriptures and to examine all Doctrines and Pretences by this Rule For the Holy Scriptures are indeed the Rule whereby we are to try that pretence that there is another Rule viz. of unwritten Tradition and if that other pretended Rule doth in any thing contradict the Scriptures most certainly it is but a pretended Rule and to be rejected To deal plainly this same Oral Tradition was never pretended for any good either by Jews or Christians nor made use of but to advance and protect some Doctrines or Practices that stand condemn'd by the Scriptures And therefore after so long experience had of the mischief as well as vanity of this pretence it were perhaps not unreasonable for any Christian to reject the Argument of unwritten Tradition without any more ado and to entertain no Doctrine or Practice necessary to Salvation which cannot be proved out of the Scriptures nor to entertain any thing at all that is contrary thereunto let Men talk of Tradition or any other Authority as long as they please And now I question not but this Discourse will be acknowledged to be very plain and convincing but for all that it is not certain that the Argument of it self will secure us from being deceived by the Sophistry of others if we do not take heed to the main thing of all and that is to lead such Lives as the Scriptures direct us to lead for there is no such temptation in the world to be fond of Traditionary Doctrines as to live in that manner that if the Traditionary Doctrines be not true we can have no hope of Salvation If we will live according to the Scriptures we shall have no temptation and I am sure we have no reason to believe otherwise than according to the Scriptures Let us often think that here we have no continuing place we must not always live here but that in a very little time we are to go into another World and to appear before our Judge Let us remember that this is the great argument by which the Scriptures engage us to live a sober righteous and godly life and let us consider that it is the strongest Argument in the World and be perswaded by it to do accordingly and this will above all things establish us in the Truth It is something hard to keep that man from being deceived who needs the comfort of false Principles For Men are very apt to be running for comfort where it is to be had though they cheat themselves for it Brethren the Holy Scriptures are God's Book and they are acknowledged to be so by all Christians in the World therefore I say it again and again stick to the Scriptures live according to the Scriptures and believe according to the Scriptures Make the Scriptures the Rule of your Practice and then you will need no more arguments to make them the Rule of your Faith And as many as walk according to this Rule Peace will be upon them The Eighth Sermon 1 COR. XI 19. For there must be Heresies also amongst you that they which are approved may be made manifest among you THE word Heresie did at first indifferently signifie any party distinguished from others by Opinions and Practices peculiar to it self whether those Opinions were true or false those Practices good or bad insomuch that Christianity it self was called a Sect or Heresie for some time But in time it came to be used in the worser sense and was restrained to those that distinguished themselves by the profession of false Doctrines or by unjustifiable Practices Which use of the word began soon after Christianity as far as I can find and there was this reason for it that Christianity having established one Form of Doctrine which was to be universally received there were now to be no Heresies or Sects that is no departure from the Unity of that Doctrine and every new Sect from that time forward must necessarily be in the wrong Thus also the word Schism or Division came in a little time to be restrained to that side or party by whose fault the breach of Christian Communion and Concord was made and although when a dissention and breach of Unity happens they that are not in the fault are at the same distance from those that are that the faulty are from the innocent yet the faulty were only said to be in Schism or Division Moreover it seems that Heresie and Schism were words at first used indifferently to signifie the same fault of discord and contention because breach of Charity and Communion was for the most part made by departing from Unity of Doctrine though in process of time Heresie was restrained to signifie an Error about the Faith and Schism a breach of Order and Christian Communion St. Paul doth in this place seem to mean the same thing by both words for in the foregoing verse says he I hear that there be Divisions or Schisms among you and I partly believe it that is I believe it of some of you And there he adds For there must be also Heresies among you that is Sects and Parties distinguished from one another by their peculiar Doctrines and Practices The matter about which there was a disagreement in the Church of Corinth was no less than that of the Administration of the Holy Communion that having happened so early which in the latter Ages of the Church has obtained in a much higher degree that the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper which was in great part instituted to unite the Faithful in one Body was perverted into an occasion of dividing them from one another Upon which observation St. Paul inserted this memorable saying There must be also Heresies among you that they which are approved may be made manifest There must be Heresies i. e. Parties that will contend for false Doctrines and unlawful Practices that will either take away from the Faith or add to
Rule which are so many that to have provided expresly against them all would have made the Bible a more voluminous Book than any is in the World not to say the most odd and uncouth Book that ever was seen For whoever wrote or spoke in that manner as to provide against all possible ways of being mistaken or having his words perverted According to this rate a man must not expect to make an end of a sentence in an hour and when he has done all he can his explications may be perverted too And therefore we are not to wonder if God has not provided express Cautions against all possible Mistakes and Abuses of this nature but thought good to leave a Rule of Faith and Manners and Worship which would be sufficient to guide all honest persons and lovers of Truth though not sufficient to exclude all Cavil and Abuse For this reason it was that our Saviour did not pretend that all who saw his Works and heard his Doctrines must necessarily believe in him but he required constantly a certain temper of mind consisting of Humility Sincerity love of the Truth and in a word A good and honest Heart in order to a man's being his true Disciple Common Sense and Reason was not sufficient for this purpose but there must be also a peculiar Probity or teachable Spirit a Mind ready to believe all Truth and to do all Duty These were the Sheep that would hear his Voice and the Ground that would receive his Seed and bring forth Fruit Such were the Men that would hear and understand and know of the Doctrine whether it were of God. But as for others they would make a shift to reject it with some colour for so doing or to pervert it if they once admitted it This was the first thing to be considered the temper and design of the Gospel which delivers Truth that does by no means gratifie the Lusts of Men or please their Imaginations or serve the Interest of particular persons to the disadvantage of all others and then that this Truth was delivered in that way which though it be apt to instruct and convince all honest men yet will not infallibly bear down a spirit of Contradiction Now to this we must add 2. The consideration of the general temper of mankind for whose sake the Gospel was made known viz. that it is very corrupt and exceedingly prone to Sin and therefore to Error impatient of true Vertue and Piety and therefore of true Doctrine Humane nature does affect a lawless Liberty and cannot well bear to be confined and it is so diseased that it doth not take it well to be healed it is therefore no wonder if the Remedy which God hath provided hath been so tampered withal by Men as to make it ineffectual for that purpose for which he hath sent it to us and Doctrines have been taught which give that liberty that Truth denies It was not to be expected but that if the Doctrine of Christianity should not effectually overcome those Lusts that reign in the World those Lusts would corrupt and pervert that Doctrine and bring in Heresies Ambition and Covetousness would bring in Heresies for the establishing of a worldly Power and Dominion in the Name of Christ Licenciousness would bring in Heresies for making void the Commandments of God Pride would bring in Heresies though for nothing else but a man's satisfaction and glory in drawing many people into a Party and becoming the Head of it and when they were brought in the natural inconstancy and wavering of some would carry them away from the Truth the natural stiffness and inflexibility of others would detain them in Error the very desire and love of Novelty would at first help to bring in some and in process of time the pretence of Antiquity would be every day more and more able to gain others Finally the unwillingness of most men to take pains in the search of Truth and the greater ease of depending upon the absolute Authority of others would give a farther advantage to Error which feares nothing more than an Examination and therefore discourages all persons from giving themselves so needless a trouble since they have the word of those for their security who cannot possibly mislead them considering the diseases of Humane Nature which the Doctrine of Christ doth not cure miraculously and irresistibly it could not be expected but there would be Factions and Heresies against the Truth If therefore it be thought strange that the Apostle should say There must be Heresies Let us consider that this is no more than if he had said after all the care that God hath taken to restore mankind there will be Pride and Ambition there will be Covetousness and Injustice and the love of this World there will be Luxury and Licenciousness there will be both Inconstancy and Stiffneckedness there will be Laziness and Slothfulness and Unaptness for Instruction and therefore there must be Heresies for God hath provided no infallible Remedies against Sin and Wickedness and as certainly as the Vices of the World would break out in the Church so certainly would Errors get into it by degrees and usurp the Name and Authority of Truth 'T is true that God if he pleased could absolutely have hindred it by his over-ruling Power But in this saying it is implied that he would not do so and Experience has shewn that he has not done so and we have no reason to wonder at it since he is not pleased to make all men good by an irresistible Grace for there was less reason to expect that he should make all men Orthodox by an irresistible Illumination And so I come to the second point Which concerns the reason assigned why God is pleased to permit Heresies That they which are approved may be made manifest i. e. that it may most evidently appear who are sincere and honest and who are not so for opposition to the Truth and the ways that are taken to advance Error do prove what men are at the bottom and distinguish between those that would appear all alike if the same Truth were equally professed by all The great difference that breaks out is that between the probity of some men on the one side and the falseness and hypocrisie of others on the other side which appears in these instances 1. In a more diligent search after Truth which is the effect Heresies have upon honest and godly men while they give occasion to Hypocrites to consider what is most for their ease their safety their advantage in this World whilst the several parties of Christians are each of them eagerly contending for their own ways men of honesty and sincerity find themselves obliged to examine their own persuasions more narrowly and to compare one thing with another more carefully so that if they apprehend a mistake in themselves they quit it without any more to do and come to establish themselves in the Truth upon better grounds
to the great danger of other mens Souls who were not well established in the Truth Secondly That the consequence of these Scandals would be very sad and pernicious that is that very many would stumble at them and be turned out of the right way For this must be implied in those words Wo to the World because of Offences For 1. It is no ordinary Misery or Calamity which is expressed in denouncing a Wo and this Wo must likewise refer to those that are turned aside by the Scandals and Temptations that others lay before them because if Offences were not taken as well as given it seems not easie to say why they should produce so much Sin and Misery as is implied in denouncing Wo upon their account Besides our Saviour did afterwards express the guilt and misery of those that should give Offence by itself But wo be to the man by whom the Offence cometh That is to every man that by his own Wickedness laith a Stumbling-block in his Brother's way and draws him into Sin. So that in the former part of this Verse that mischief is exprest which would come of Offences because they would be taken And then 2. it is also implied that the mischief would not only be in itself great but likewise of a very large extent for it is said Wo to the World because of Offences where by the World we cannot understand less than a very great part of Mankind who should be diverted by Offences either from receiving the Gospel at all or from entertaining it in the Purity and Power thereof There are therefore these two Heads which I am to speak to I. That Offences would certainly be given It must needs be that Offences come II. That they would do very great mischief in the World Wo be to the World because of Offences Which two Points being illustrated I intend to apply them in order to farther Instruction 1. That Offences would certainly be given It must needs be that Offences come By which words I do not understand that it was absolutely impossible but Offences must come for God has not necessitated any man to Sin but the meaning is this that it was in it self probable and that in the highest degree that Offences would come and moreover God certainly foresaw that they would arise if he did not interpose his Almighty Power to hinder them which he determined not to do And this is a sufficient ground of the certainty of the Prediction It must needs be that Offences come Now the true notion of Offence being this that it is an occasion given whereby men are either discouraged from the Profession of the Truth or encourag'd Practices in contrary to it I shall 1. lay before you some instances under this general Head And 2. shew why it was not to be expected but that Offences would be given The principal instances are such as these 1. Opposing the Gospel with outward Violence and making it the interest of men to renounce the Truth as they love their Fortunes and their Lives Of which our Saviour spake in the famous Parable of the Sower where he explained him that received the seed into thorny places to be one that heareth the word and with joy receiveth it yet hath he not root in himself and not being fortified with deep resolution he dureth but for a while for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word by and by he is offended Matth. 13.20 21. This was that Offence which our Saviour warned his Disciples of more than of any other He told them plainly beforehand That they should be delivered up to Councils and brought before Governours and be hated of all men for his Name 's sake But says he He that endureth to the end shall be saved and he that taketh not his Cross and followeth after me is not worthy of me Mat. 10. And this is in itself so great an Offence or Stumbling-block to put Men out of the right way that sometimes the general word is used to signifie this particular instance only Thus when our Saviour said Blessed is he whoever shall not be offended in me Mat. 11.6 The meaning is Blessed is he whom the Example of John the Baptist's Sufferings does not fright from being my Disciple And thus when Peter said Though all men should be offended because of thee yet will I never be offended Matth. 26.33 He explaim'd his own meaning afterward by saying Though I should die with thee yet will I not deny thee v. 35. But then 2. Doctrines that give liberty to Lust and that give ease to guilty Minds without reformation are a very dangerous Offence for they are framed at once to draw Men off from the Truth and reconcile them to wicked Practice and therefore they who are under the strongest inclinations to sin and need the most powerful restraints are most forward to receive them i. e. they who will be sure to make the worst use of them He that offers a Key to let Sinners into Heaven without Repentance and keeping the Commandments of God is sure to meet with sufficient Numbers that will not be over-forward to examine how he came by it And this is that which makes all Doctrines of this nature Offences that they are grateful to the corrupt Inclinations of Mankind not that they carry any appearance of Truth It had been long enough ere Men could have been perswaded that particular Confession of Sins to a Man in secret with a bare purpose not to do the like again will at any time suffice for the effect of Absolution if the belief of it were not as much for the ease of the People as for the advantage of the Priest Or that bodily Exercise mere external Works should either be Godliness or supply the want of it These things bear so hard against what we know of God by Reason and by Scripture that nothing but carnal Interest and a desire that they should be true could make way for them and provide them Entertainment And what Wonders that can do was too evident in the beginning of Christianity when the Gnostics seduced no small number of Disciples by giving liberty to fleshly Lusts and discharging them from all obligation to confess Christ when they were to take up his Cross 3. The mixing of Falshood with Truth is another great Offence tending to much Evil as it meets with persons disposed either to overmuch Credulity or too much Distrust By the former the false Doctrin or unlawful Practice is embraced because found in the company of Truth by the latter Truth it self suspected and perhaps thrown off because 't is disgraced with the company of Follies and Lyes Thus the Pharisees recommended their absurd Traditions to the People because in the same breath they taught them the Law of Moses Thus some of the Gentiles were ready to reject Christianity when they were made to believe it necessary for them also to observe the Mosaical Law if they would
be Christians And this is one of the common Scandals of the World that Truth is so often insincerely represented and false Doctrines propounded still by the same Authority that holds forth some necessary Truths And for this reason the Gospel does not allow but command us to use a Judgment of Discretion not to reject that which is good because it comes from the same Authority that requires evil nor to admit error because it is accompanied with truth but to prove all things and to hold fast that which is good 4. All Popular Artifices that are used to recommend either wicked Errors or Practices are also great Offences and lead many silly Souls astray of which kind the most obvious are these An external shew of Strictness and Piety without real Virtue and Godliness at the bottom of it And of this the Pharisees were the first notable instance who placing Religion in abundance of nice Observations seemed to be the most strict and devour People in the World and therefore our Saviour knowing the wickedness of their Hearts and Lives compared them to whited Sepulchres that within were full of dead went bones and all uncleanness And this Offence would be so powerful whenever it should happen that it seemed good to the Spirit to foretel it expresly 〈◊〉 That in the latter times some should depart from the Faith giving heed to seducing Spirits forbidding to Marry and commanding to abstain from Meats 1 Tim. 4.1 2 3. Another Offence of this kind when was also expresly foretold is pretending the Testimony of Miracles For says our Saviour himself There shall arise false Christs and false Prophets and shall shew great signs and wonders insomuch that if it were possible they should deceive the very elect Behold says he I have told you before Matth. 24.24 25. And thus St. Paul foretold that when that wicked one should be revealed his coming should be after the working of Satan with power and signs and lying wonders and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness I shall name but one other popular device for the supporting of Errour and that is to denounce Damnation peremptorily against all Gainsayers with which Artifice the Judaizers secured themselves against the Gentile Christians saying Except ye be circumcised and keep the law of Moses ye cannot be saved Now although every man that has a tongue may if he please lay this weight upon his Cause as to exclude all from Salvation that are not of his way and therefore the threatning be not worthy of a wise man's thought till the merits of the Cause be examined Yet it has two notable advantages that it is framed to work upon the passions of men more than upon their judgment and in most men their passion is stronger than their reason and it may be so used as to bear the World in hand that 't is not Uncharitableness but meer Pity and Tenderness to the Souls of Men that compels them to speak so harsh but so necessary a Truth And 't is a wonderful thing to observe how easie Men are to be managed when on the one side there is a positive Sentence of Damnation to work upon their fears and on the other an appearance of serious Charity to win their Affections for by this Art Men of contrary Parties have with strange success served contrary Opinions and Practices I cannot if I were willing reckon all the Offences of this kind that is popular and plausible ways of deceiving But that there would be such our Saviour did not only foretel in the general when he said It must needs be that Offences come but in particular also when he said Beware of false Prophets which come to you in sheeps-cloathing Mat. 7.15 5. To this I may add what St. Paul observes 1 Tim. 6.5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth supposing that gain is godliness That any thing may be defended as a part of Religion which makes for worldly Interest It is no such hard matter to perplex things that are plain to find colours for denying things that are evident to hide the weakness or the strength of an Argument to divert from the Cause to the Person so artificially as if the Cause went on still to lose the matter in debate to make Truth look like Errour and Errour like Truth to those that are willing to be deceived if a man is resolved to bend all his wit this way for something may be said for any thing 6. And lastly bad examples of men professing the true Religion are another most dangerous Offence Since I doubt most men are so framed as to take up their opinions more easily from Authority than from other Argument and they understand more easily the difference between good and evil Manners than between strong and weak Reasons And then they will be apt to judge of the Truth or Falshood of a way of Religion by the good or bad Fruits of Practice it brings forth in those that profess it which doubtless our Saviour intimated in those words Let your light so shine before men that others seeing your good works may glorify your Father which is in heaven But to hold the Truth in Unrighteousness is not only a Scandal to those that are in Errour confirming them in their wrong way but likewise to those that are in the way of Truth by encouraging them to Sin in like manner especially when evil examples are set by those that are particularly obliged to set none but good ones whose Place or Office Wealth or Quality makes them more conspicuous and gives others any kind of dependence upon them And because of the pernicious influence of bad examples we find St. Paul often calling upon the Christians with whom he had to do to fix their observation upon those that were good Brethren says he be followers together of me and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample For many walk of whom I have often told you and now tell you even weeping that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ. Thus I have very briefly considering the largeness of the Subject shewn what Offences were to come by laying before you the principal and most obvious Offences which we know by the Predictions of the Scripture and alas for the World by too sad experience And now I proceed to the second Point which was to consider why it must needs be that Offences should come that is why it was not to be expected but that these or such Scandals as these would be given to the World. And this Inquiry is necessary to be pursued upon this account if upon no other that it may appear that the certainty of Offences coming did not arise from any defect or fault of the Blessed Gospel of our Saviour If we consider the Harmless and Dovelike Temper of Christianity the excellency of its Design the richness of its Promises the Divinity of its Rules and Precepts the Comforts it
a malicious and hard-hearted man will be hated and he that does not Worship God shall be reproached The Vices and impieties of humane Life are enemies to our well-doing in this World affecting either our Bodies or our Estates or our Quiet or our Reputation so that the very Love of this World will teach a wise man to Live well and Religiously in appearance that he may fare the better for it here But when God sends those evils that our Piety is so far from hindring that is does expose us to them and yet we go on to Bless and Serve him this puts it out of all question that we are really and in earnest what we seem to be the Faithful Servants of God as God speaking after the manner of men said to Abraham when he offer'd up his Son Isaac Now I know that thou fearest God because thou hast not with-held thy Son thy only Son from me Thus I have laid down some Considerations very useful I am persuaded to prepare us for all the Portion of Evil which God may think fit to send upon any of us in this World that whenever any of it happens we may follow the example of Job and receive evil from God's hand as well as good But then Brethren we must remember that such things as these are to be thought of very much before or we shall be little better for them when once adversity happens For 't is not barely knowing nor hearing them but 't is much considering them that must make them Principles within us and fortifie us against all surprizes It is a great mistake that these thoughts must make us melancholly and spoil that reasonable comfort we should take in the good things which God lends us for our use For while we enjoy them without overvaluing them we have all that they are good for and they are not the less pleasant because we know of greater Blessings than they are our part is to use them thankfully while they are ours for our use and by all Prudent means as far as lawfully we can to keep off Adversity because then we may be sure that those evils which befall us without our own faults are most properly of Gods sending And so we shall feel our selves under the Power of all those reasons why we should with submission and thankfulness receive not only good but evil also at the hand of God. The Seventeenth Sermon ROM VIII Part of 34 and 35. v. It is God that justifieth who is he that condemneth THESE words signify one of these things Either that when God justifies no man will condemn but that when we are sure of pleasing him we are sure of pleasing all too or else that if he approves and justifies it is no great matter nor should we be much concerned by whom we are accused or condemned But the first cannot be the meaning that no man condemns whom God justifies For the Disciples of Christ were used in that manner that St. Paul applied this saying to their case v 36. For thy sake are we killed all the day long we are appointed as sheep for the slaughter He means therefore That if God justifies it is not considerable who condemns They were brought before the Tribunals of men where grievous things were laid to their charge yet because God saw their Innocence says the Apostle who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect They were dealt with as Malefactors yet says he Who is he that condemneth so that he supposes them to be condemned by no body in comparison because while they were condemned by men God Justified them Which offers two Points to be considered 1. That men do sometimes condemn those whom God justifies 2. That they whom God justifies have no cause to be dejected when they are condemned by men 1. That men do sometimes condemn those whom God justifies and they condemn them too for the sake of those things which he approves and lay that to their charge which he is now pleased with and will hereafter reward It was such a case which our Saviour prepared his Disciples for when he said Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and lay all manner of evil falsly against you for my sake Which began to be fulfilled as soon as ever the World took notice of them And here let us briefly consider what kind of Persons they then were and how they were used The Apostles and those that were in fellowship with them professed the sincere and uncorrupted Truth of the Gospel teaching all Purity and Virtue and whatever they received in Command from our Lord Jesus Nor will any Christian of what other Name soever pretend that there was too much or too little in their Doctrine All are agreed not only that Christianity is worthy of all acceptation but also that it was by them professed intirely and without mixture As to their manners they were Persons of the greatest simplicity easie to be known what they were given to no deceit desiring to Live in quiet because there was nothing in their Doctrine or in their way of Life to create jealousies in others It was a very great part of their Religion to deny themselves and to do good to their Neighbours They did not aim at Worldly power and greatness but instead of using that interest they had in the People to save themselves by Violence from Persecution they urged subjection to Laws and Government upon Principles of Conscience They were such kind of men and we doubt not but God justified them Let us therefore see how they were used by men by Jews and Gentiles As for the Jews it was not indeed very likely that they should be treated much better than their Master had been before And so the event shewed 't is true they made many Converts and a great part of the People cleaved to their Doctrine and fellowship but this enraged their enemies so much the more and the more numerous that Christians grew there were so many more to be hated and reviled and persecuted For 1. They were charged with Heresie and represented as a Sect that subsisted upon the Profession of new and false Doctrines For thus we find St. Paul obliged to apologize for himself before Foelix against the accusations of the Jews They cannot says he prove the things whereof they now accuse me But this I confess unto thee That after the way which they call heresie so worship I the God of my fathers believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets Acts 24.14 And have hope towards God which they themselves allow That there shall be a resurrection of the dead And herein do I exercise my self to have always a conscience void of offence towards God and men St. Paul and such as he believed all things that were written in the Law and the Prophets those very writings which the Jews themselves acknowledged to be Divine and tho to this
Faith they added the Doctrine and Practice of a good life yet they were esteemed Hereticks because they undertook to see with their own eyes and to judg for themselves instead of submitting to the Authority of the Council that had betrayed and murdered the Lord Jesus 2. They were accused of Sedition too as if they designed to make Stirs and Commotions and to alienate the people from their Governours Thus when Paul and Silas had converted a multitude of Devout Greeks and not a few of the Chief Women at Thessalonica the Jews who believed not moved with Envy took unto 'em certain lewd fellows of the baser sort and drew some of the Brethren to the Rulers crying These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also who do contrary to the decrees of Coesar saying That there is another King one Jesus Acts 17.5 6. And yet they never made one step by word or deed towards deposing Princes and changing Governments Jesus indeed who had commanded them to pay Tribute unto Caesar had also forbidden them to be of the Religion which Caesar was then of and this was drawn into an accusation of Faction and Disloyalty Thus also the same St. Paul being brought before Foelix at Jerusalem the Jews complained by Tertullian their Orator That they had found him a pestilent fellow and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes Acts 24.5 3. They concluded them under a sentence of Damnation as far as they could do it Indeed they would have it thought so impossible for a Christian to be saved that some of them after being converted to Christianity were strongly perswaded that they still ought to keep the Law of Moses and would have mingled Judaism and Christianity together as if there was no hope of Salvation out of the Synagogue Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses ye cannot be saved Acts 15.1 4. As 't is usual in such cases to damn first and then to kill they delivered the Disciples of Christ to death and pretended the service of God for it For which we may take those remarkable words of St. Paul describing the temper of the Jews then and what his own once was Says he I was taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers and was zealous toward God as ye are at this day And I persecuted them even unto the death binding and delivering into prisons both men and women Acts 22.3 4. And in chap. 26. v. 10 11. he declares That he persecuted them oft in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme and being exceedingly mad against them he persecuted them even into strange cities Such was the entertainment they had from the Jews to whom the Word of Salvation was first delivered But when it was carried amongst the Gentiles they condemned it too For 1. It was run down as if it had brought Irreligion and Atheism into the World Insomuch that the Ancient Apologists were fain in good earnest to set themselves against this absurd accusation and to shew that it was not all one to serve God at all and not to serve many Gods That there might be devotion without bowing down to Images and Religion and Worship without Idolatry and better a great deal without these things than with them 2. It was exclaimed against as a late upstart Religion that began but yesterday and was fitter to be hissed than argued out of the World. They used to ask the Christians what sort of men they could name either Greeks or Barbarians that made their Profession and had their Rites and Worship before Jesus appeared You have forsaken say they the Customs of the Fathers that had been observed of Old time in all Cities and Countries you have revolted from a Worship which has had the Tradition of all Ages and the approbation of Kings and People Law makers and Philosophers and by almost all the World till such as you appeared who are but of yesterday 3. They try to overwhelm it with the most gross and palpable untruths they gave it out that the Christians were worshippers of the Sun nay that they adored an Asses-head and sometimes a Cross They did not stick to say That in their solemn Assemblies they killed a Child and committed Incest They also upon no occasion in the world disarm'd them as a seditious and disloyal People and accused them of Treason tho none ever set better examples of Fidelity to their Governors To conclude Our Predecessors of the Primitive Church were now and then condemned to several sorts of deaths and it was often a great deal more safe to be some notorious Malefactor than to be a Christian In a word The Gospel met with that Opposition which no Religion ever did before The Gods of other Nations new Gods every day were admitted into a Temple at Rome with some Formality and without Trouble But when the Disciples of Jesus came to call men to the Worship of the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he had sent Jews and Gentiles conspired to extinguish their Religion and to blot out their name for ever insomuch that the Jews at Rome could tell St. Paul As concerning this sect we know that it is every where spoken against Those therefore whom God justifies have been and may be condemned by men Which will not seem strange to any of us if we consider what the Causes of it are For instance 1. That hatred of truth which reigns in a great part of mankind They cannot bear sound Doctrine nor can they therefore bear those that profess and practise it truth is against them and therefore they will be against the truth and all that follow it So long as Pride Lust Avarice Revenge Luxury and such things remain there will be so many causes of condemning that which God approves To which we must add 2. The inflexibleness of true Doctrine and of those that maintain it to the designs of worldly men Christianity was said to be a perfect Scheme of Religion that would suffer no additions or alterations It was stiff and would not bend to the pleasure of Priests or of States-men as all that would which the Heathens called Religion among themselves Whilst it was kept in wise and honest hands and truly represented there was no room for Cheating no Allowances for Pious Frauds no place for convenient Inventions Innovatious could not be brought into the Faith of Christians or the Substance of their Worship but they would be corruptions of both without tampering with it it could not serve the ambition of a few to the prejudice of all others And therefore while it was pure they could not bear it whose gain was their Godliness and who had been used to tell lies in hypocrifie 3. The proneness of mankind to Superstition is another cause of disapproving what God approves The true Disciples of Christ are according to their Religion for a