Selected quad for the lemma: doctrine_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
doctrine_n	bishop_n	church_n	exposition_n	3,560	5	11.1579	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

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

world will make men embrace errour in stead of truth as you sadly see in Spira There is no cause can be sure of them whom either money or honour can buy out such men they are only this way till they can mend their wages As they say the winde it follows the abundance of exhalations so they follow that way where most abundance of profit He that will serve God for a little will serve the devil for more he will be any way where most wages may be had There are indeed four sorts of men who will never hold to truth or any cause of God 1. Ignorant persons such as know not truth we must first know and prove before we can hold fast the Apostle tels us so Prove all things and hold fast that which is good When men are ignorant and know not what is truth how can they hold to it 2. Unsound hearted persons Apostasie and hypocrisie like the Symbolicall qualities one quickly slides into the other It is an easie matter to make him an Apostate who is first an Hypocrite An Hypocrite is but an Apostate vailed and an Apostate an hypocrite revealed One vertually and in causis the other actually and in effectis 3. A lover of the world The love of money will cause to erre from the faith saith Paul Demas was a sad example of that he forsooke Christ and embraced this present world he went to be an Idol priest at Thessalonica as Dorotheus saith There is no cause can be sure of those whom either money or honour can buy out such men they are only this way till they can mend their wages 4. Cowardly and fearfull spirited men The fear of men will worke a snare Prov. 29.25 And this is one snare it will not only make men shie of truth with Nicodemus but baulk decline suppresse nay fall to errour and forsake truth A fearfull man will never be a faithfull man it s all one to trust a coward and a traitor he that is the first will quickly be made the second Fear will undoe him as it hath done many To conclude this is certaine who ever is under the command of any lust truth hath no command over him he that is given up to any sinne will quickly be given up to errour too And thus you see who those are who are in danger to be carried away with errour And how much this Nation nay every one of us are guilty of these sinnes you will know if you doe but impartially looke over them 1. We have not retained the notions of God in holy hearts 2. Nor received truths with love 3. Nor walked sutable to truths revealed 4. We have adhered to truth for partiall respects 5. We are not grounded in truth 6. We have rejected truth on corrupt grounds 7. We have been servants to the world and how just it is with God thereupon to give us up to wayes of errour I have already shewed you to conclude then if you would be established in these times let it be your care 1. To get into Covenant with God Jer. 31.34 2. Get to be his childe Isa 54.13 3. Get to be his friend Joh. 15.15 4. Get the Spirit of Christ Joh. 16.13 5. Be willing to embrace truth revealed and practise truth received Hos 6.3 Joh. 7.17 6. Be humble Psal 25.11 7. Entertain truth into thy heart 1. Truth 2. All truth 3. As truth 4. And with love of the truth 2 Thess 2.10 And thus much for the fourth Question We are now come to the fift and grand Question Qu. 5. Qu. 5. The grand Question is What may be the Examens of truth and errour I say What are the Examens of opinions or the tryals and discoveries of truth and error In the handling of this in regard it is the main of all I shall take more liberty to be larger And we shall breake this into these foure Quaeries 1. Who are to examine opinions 2. By what rule or by what touch-stone we are to examine 3. Who is to judge of them 4. By what markes or signes may a man be able to distinguish truth from errour and discover errour from truth We shall now begin with the first And that is a maine inquiry viz. 1. Who those are who are to examine And if you aske the judgement of the Papists in this point they will tell you that none are to examine or judge of opinions or controversies but only the Church that is a Synod of Bishops or an Assembly of Roman Prelates This is their tenent that what ever the Prelates doe define in cause of faith that ought to be beleeved and received of all Christians without any examination or doubt Bellarm. hath this passage * Ecclesia non potest errare in explicanda ●octrina fidei Christiani tenentur eam recipere non dubitare an haec ita se habent debet Christianus sine examine recipere doctrinam Ecclesiae the Church cannot erre in unfolding the doctrine of faith and all Christians are bound to receive their determinations without any doubt whether they be true or not A little further he saith Every Christian ought without any examination to receive the doctrine of the Church that is that doctrine those prescriptions and definitions which they shall stablish And he gives one reason because what they doe establish and prescribe to others they doe it not as teachers but as Judges He hath these words It is one thing to interpret the rule after the manner of a teacher another thing to interpret it after the manner of a Judge to the explanation of it after the manner of a teacher there is required only learning and knowledge but to the explanation of it after the manner of a judge there is required authority The doctor doth not propound his sentence as necessary to be followed but as reason doth perswade but the judge propounds it as necessary to be followed Augustine and the rest of the Fathers had but the office of teachers Aliud est interpretari legem more doctoris aliud more judicis c. Bellar. Tum doctrinam ex D●o esse sat is inrelligium cū a legitimo pastore proponi eam animad vertimus c. Greg. de Vol. but Councells and Bishops in Convention have the office of Judges thus he So that you see this is their opinion 1. That Christians are to receive all the explanations and definitions of the Church touching doctrine of Faith without any Examination and doubt 2. That the Church doth interpret the Law of God or scripture not after the manner of a Doctor or Teacher but a Judge or a Supreame and absolute Prince who requires obedience not so farre as law and reason perswades but for his authority 3. That this Church to which they give this absolute Empire over Christians is nothing else but an Assembly of Roman Bishops You see he speakes high and yet some goe farther then this One of them hath

a step-mother to sound doctrine Indeed some errours had their frownes few their blowes them that had it was not as they were errours but as the persons which held them were enemies to them This I speake the rather because men say it was better in the Bishops time then now for then there were not so many errours I say there were yea and such as were more dangerous being foundation errours such as opposed the power of godlinesse such as were flatly opposite to the offices of Christ such as were destructive to the true religion and such I know none on foot now if there were yet they had their being then and their corruption in doctrine and discipline hath been a great occasion to the breeding and begetting of them if you say though they were in that time yet they durst not appeare I may say againe in answer to that 1. There were other errours farre more dangerous that durst appeare both in Presse and Pulpit 2. Againe as those errours durst not appeare so neither was the truth suffered to appeare for one errour which they suppressed they held down many a truth if they suppressed errour they murthered truth and stifled it 3. If they suppressed any yet they reformed none It is the proper work of the discipline of Christ rather to reforme then to restraine rather to amend then to suppresse at least to reforme with restraining and to restrain together with reforming Indeed to suppresse by reforming and amending and not by silencing and smothering them which was their way and the great occasion of the swelling and not the abating of them As it is with Rivers the stopping of them doth but swell them and increase them the more it doth not any way lessen and abate them Certainly the way of Christ to deale with errours is to endeavour to reforme them to amend them to preach the word boldly to convince gainsayers to admonish to exhort to reprove to mourne over them and when nothing will doe to ej●ct them and cast them out Tit. 3.10 and when that is done not to leave them but to labour still to convince them to mourne over them Government as Christs doth not reach to crumenall or corporall punishment either to the punishment of the body or the state as I shall shew at large hereafter when I come to set down the wayes which are left us in the word to restraine to reduce men from errour Now then the way which they went silencing suspending imprisoning fining of men whipping undoing men Certainly was not the way of Christ for the reforming of errours * Suadenda fides non imponenda saith Bern. men are rather to be perswaded then commanded rather to be dealt withall by the authority of God then of man which is as nothing in heavenly things when God concurres not but this I shall speake unto at large in the last question and therfore will proceed no farther now This is the fourth ground of abounding errours in our dayes even the want of the discipline of Christ the want of regular proceedings in severall Congregations and Synods for the reforming of them 5. A fift ground is the too much connivance nay inc●uragement that they find among the people of God this is a great ground of broaching opinions We say a receiver makes a thiefe your readinesse to comply with opinions and to receive all doth give great incouragement to broach them It was that which the Prophet complained of in his time Jer. 5.31 The Prophets prophesie falsely and the Priests bear rule by their meanes and my people love to have it so and what will be the end thereof ô quam consentaneum cries one in the reigne of the Bishops how did the Prophets or those Emissaries Preachers they had sent forth prophesie falsely and how did the Priests bear rule by that meanes they held up the standing and dignity of the Bishops and how did the people love to have it so they were well enough pleased and contented with their doctrine and way We were like Issachar who thought rest was good although it was with burthen and you see now what is the end thereof Some of this may be appliable to us the Prophets Prophecie falsely and my people love to have it so there is too much connivance too much content too much pleasing among the godly themselves in variety of opinions though none under the notion of errour Indeed there is thus much good in it that things come to be debated and scanned by this we come to search upon what grounds we stand we come to sift out the truth of God which certainly never was more clearely revealed then when some errours have been the occasion to cleare it and bring it forth as I shewed before In the point of Free-grace in opposition to mans free-will in the work of conversion which had not been so fully discovered if Pelagius had not broached that errour that a man might be saved if he would So the freenesse of Gods grace in justification had not been so clearely discovered if the Papists had not broached and maintained that errour of justification by works Indeed were they undoing errours that are preached and held forth by any St Johns rule comes in Epist 2. ver 10 11. If there come any unto you and bring not this doctrine that is that Jesus is the Christ as he shews you before ver 7 8. Receive him not into your houses neither bid him God speed for he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evill deeds So then did you know any to hold forth fundamentall errours such as are the overthrow of faith or destructive to the power of godlinesse there is no countenance to be given to such you make your selves sharers with him in his fin and bring upon your selves the same guilt And therefore saith Paul Tit. 3.10 A man that is an heretique after the first and second admonition reject knowing that he that is such is subverted and sinneth being condemned of himselfe These are the rules for undoing errours Nay and were they defiling though not da●ning errours were they but sinfull though not destroying errours yet if they were evidenced to us and manifest to us to be errours we ought not to connive at them to countenance them in their way but to admonish to reprove them to exhort them and use all possible wayes left by Christ to reclaime them But now when the things held forth are but meerely opinion or if more yet they are not any way injurious to faith or hurtfull to the power and practise of godlinesse then there may be more agreement the difference of judgement should not in this case alienate affections though you are not all of one mind yet you are all of one heart and here you differ only about the way to advance Gods glory You have both cordiall affections to God and Christ you desire to bring him glory only you differ in the way one thinks

were to joyne in execution of the sentence and willing r●jection and casting him out Many others might be named but I shall wave them and come to the second 2. As you compare like places with like so unlike places with unlike viz. 6. Ioh. 53. Except ye eat the flesh of the Sonne of man and drink this blood you have no life in you whence the Papists gather a corporall feeding now compare this with the sixth Commandment Thou shalt not kill if it be such a fault to kill much more is it to eat and devour a man as Papists do conclude by their doctrine Hence Aug. saith those words ought to be interpreted figuratively otherwise they had required a horrible sinne of us 7 M. All our expositions should agree with the Analogy of faith which you reade of 12. Rom. 6. Prophesie according to the proportion of faith now the Analogy of faith is nothing else but the constant and perpetuall sentence of Scripture in the cleerest places of it of which sort are the Articles of faith the Lords Prayer the ten Commandements and what ever is repugnant to this is a false exposition now for instance that exposition this is my body by which Papists interpret this bred is changed into my body the Lutherans they say the body of Christ is under this bread both these are false they differ from the Analogy of faith 1. That tells us Christ had a body like ours and such a body as cannot lye under the accidents of bread or be together with it 2. The Analogy of faith saith Christ is in Heaven therefore not in a box with them 3. Consul Whitak Cont. 1. q. 5 c. 9. It saith Christ shall not come from Heaven till judgement therefore not from the box nor can the words of the Priest who stiles himself Creator creatoris sui make him So the Papists say we are justified by works this is also contrary to the Analogy of faith because in the Lords Prayer we begg for pardon which shewes remission an act of grace not debt 8 M. Because we are weak not able to use these means therefore we ought to make use of the best helpes reading hearing meditating conferring together with the comments and expositions of the best and most orthodox Sed vidēdum interim ne nimium illis tribuamus néve putemus illorum interpretationes recipiendas esse quia sunt ab illis profectae Whitak ibid. Esek 43.10.11 But in this take heed of tying your faith to men give not too much be content to take in the light of others but doe not shut your own eyes and give up your selves wholly to be guided by them And if you use these meanes impartially plainely without prejudice you shall be inabled to finde out the minde of God so farre as concernes your everlasting peace And that is the first direction 2. Di. Get an humble heart God hath said he reveales his secrets to the humble the humble shall know his wayes God will breake his minde to the broken in heart that is the way to finde out any truth in generall and this or that particular truth in controversy you see this in the 43. Ezek. 10 11. Shew unto the house of Israel that they may be ashamed of their iniquities and then shew them the paterne And God grant we may be an humbled people certainely it is the way to finde out the truth of God in these times of errour 3. Di. Labour to be renewed in the spirit of your minde That is another direction An unrenewed man shall never know the minde of God God will not reveale his will to those who will doe their own This is that the Apostle layes down as a preparation before he did reveale some points to them Rom. 12.2 Rom. 12.2 Be not conformed to the world but be ye renewed in the spirit of your minde that ye may prove what is that good that acceptable and perfect will of God where you see the Apostle layes down this as a necessary antecedent before we can know viz. the change of the heart and the renovation of the minde 4. Get a heart prepared for the entertainment of the truth of God upon any termes A heart that may value more of one truth of God then a world a heart that esteems truth honour truth riches truth friends truth to be all A heart that cannot deny it selfe in these things for truth or a heart byassed and drawne aside by carnall respects c. will never finde out any truth of God Sinne in the affection causeth darknes in the understanding a corrupt heart will breed a corrupt head c. sinne in the affection breeds errour and darknes in the understanding Truth is simple and none but a simple heart is fit to close with it doublenes of spirit will never close with singlenes of truth c. 5. Enquire diligently search to finde out Gods minde in this When men will take paines in searching God will shew mercy in revealing Then shall you know if you follow on to know the Lord saith the prophet Hose 6.3 Hos 6.3 Most men walke in the way of their fathers and never enquire whether it be according to God yea or no. And some men with Pilate they will slightly enquire what is truth but will not take pains to finde it And some there are who with the young man in the Gospel when they heare it they will turne their backs on it either it will not stand with their profits or pleasures and such shall never be professours of truth 6. Walke answerable to those manifestations you have walke in conformity to that measure you have received As it was with talents so here Talents not improved instead of increasing them they were taken away he that will not doe what he knowes shall not in time know what to doe If then God reveale any point of his minde to you in any thing beware lest either carnall feare or carnall respects doe cause you to smother the notions of God or detayne the truth of God in unrighteousnes Let your practice come up to your light let your walking be as large as your knowing And when God sees us faithfull in a little then will he reveale more to us when he sees you walke up to the light which he hath made known then will he reveale his whole minde to you David was a man that God would reveale his will unto and he was a man ready to doe all the will of God Act. 14. And you have a plaine Scripture for this Phil. 3.15 Let us therefore as many as be perfect that is upright be thus minded and if in any thing you be otherwise minded God shall reveale even this unto you neverthelesse whereto we have attained let us walke by the same rule let us minde the same thing And so much shall serve for the fifth great Quaery I have stood long upon it because it is of such main concernment I

forbid that any should lift up a hand against such an one I will say of such as Augustine saith to Procutianus the Donatist Such persons erring from the truth must be drawn home by milde instruction and not by cruel enforcement Spirituall weapons are most proper for such a conscience Carnall weapons will never accomplish their end this is sure A conscience that cannot be bribed cannot be frighted he that is above the favours he is above the tenours of the world too When the Emperour offered Basil great preferment to tempt him from the faith he rejects them with scorn saying Offer these things to children after he threatned him most grievously Basil contemns all and saith Threaten your purple Gallants who give themselves to their pleasures In vain are promises or threatnings to them to whom the whole world is despise d. A man truly conscientious though in an errour he is too bigg for the world to conquer morall weapons are the only way to deal with him his sufferings they doe confirm and establish yea and comfort him in stead of shaking and unsetling him in his way What ever is taken up upon conscientious grounds will not be left upon worldly discouragements if it be certainly there was no conscience in it or if any conscience it will quickly check him for it Men meerly forced from an errour certainly had either no conscience in it or if they had they injure conscience if meerly upon such grounds they doe recede from it It is therefore my earnest and vehement desire that men of conscience and such as are truly conscientious would separate themselves from those who falsly pretend conscience All march under your banner all shelter themselves under you and pretend conscience with you who are men of no conscience You that are truly godly and conscientious Come out from among them and be ye separate be not numbered up among Atheists Papists Socinians Arminians c. rid your selves of that generation who hold such destructive and soul-murthering errours and yet pretend conscience with you and we have done we will follow you no longer And thus I have done with two of the Rules to be observed in the prudentiall dispencing of this power viz. that it be dispenced with distinction of errours and with distinction of persons We come now to the third which is 3. This power is to be dispenced with distinction of penalties There are degrees of errour all errours are not alike culpable some errours are more sinfull more dangerous and destructive then others are and as all are not alike culpable so should not all be alike punishable Besides there is difference also in the persons who are in the wayes of errour some are seducers others seduced some are the promoters others but the followers some again are of proud arrogant turbulent spirits others are of meek humble conscientious and peaceable spirits all which layes down an unquestionable ground of distinction and difference to be made in the dispencing of this power Calvin layes down a three-fold distinction of errours 1. There are some saith he which ought to be tollerated and born withall by a spirit of meeknesse and are not by any means to divide and separate between brethren 2. There are others which though they deserve chastisement yet saith he Modicum castigationem sufficere gentle correction is sufficient 3. And there is a third sort of errours saith he which plucks up religion by the roots overthrows the foundations are full of blasphemies against God and carries poor souls into destruction c. And these saith he are to be cut off with the severest punishments And with this consents Bull●nger Beza against Bellius and Monfortius c. By which is evident from them that as they held a difference of errours Calv refu error M ch Servet p. 694. inter opusc so did they also affirm distinction of penalties All errours are not alike sinfull nor are all errours alike punishable Certainly there will be differences in opinions We know but in part and every one hath need of his grains of allowance otherwise the best may be found too light Frate●nam inter ecclesias evang licas cōmu●●o●e n non esse rescindendā ob diversas de questiooni●us controversis opiniones c. Davē ad frater communionem inter eccl evan ●estaur adbort Z●n●h in quart praecept Fox Acts and Mon. And it is as certain that there are some errours which are better healed by patience then by punishment And I could wish that those which may be cured by patience may never taste of any outward punishment Pity it were that things of small moment should ever divide or alienate the affections of those whom one God one Lord one faith one spirit one calling bands of so great force have linked together Certainly much in this case is to be borne withall The bonds of the brotherly communion between Churches evangelical ought not saith Davenant to be dissolved upon every difference in opinion but only for the denying and opposing fundamentals And as their communion is not to be dissolved so is not the Magistrates power to be provoked against such differences It is a pass●ge of Zanchy That those who would stir up Princes to have all p●ople Kingdoms Commonwealths which not overthrowing the fundamentals of Religion differ from them in any thing to be condemned of heresie excluded from favour driven out of their coasts those certainly are no friends either to their Princes or to the Church of Christ There is a Story in M. Fox in his Acts and Monuments taken out of Guil. de sanct Amor. whom he commends for a valiant Champion of Christ and opposer of Antichrist among other marks of false Apostles he sets down this True Apostles did not procure the indignation of those Princes with whom they were esteemed and regarded against such persons as would not receive and hear them according as we read in the life of Simon and Jude the Apostles the chief Ruler being very angry commanded a great fire to be made that the Bishops might be cast into the same and all other who went about to defame the doctrine of Christ and the Apostles but the Apostles fell down before the Emperour saying We beseech you Sir let not us be the Authours or causes of this destruction or calamity nor let us who are sent to be the preservers of men and to revive those dead through sin be killers of those that be alive Upon which the learned authour after this manner inferreth They then who have the favour of Princes and use it as an Engine against them who are contrary minded to them are no true Apostles I relate not this to give the least countenance to that licentious liberty which men take in differences in these daies Certainly this was farre from the intention of the authour nor would I have it extended beyond the bounds laid down but to caution men that they doe not devide their affections

this passage Then doe we sufficiently know that the doctrine is of God when we perceive it to be propounded to us by our lawfull Pastor especiall a Councell assenting to it And if any will not rest here in the doctrine propounded but will try further and arrogate judgement over their judges and call to question whether those things are truths which are propounded by the Church by whom the spirit of God would teach us let such an one know he doth transgresse Gods bounds and the way and manner of trying of spirits commanded of God The same man saith further It is not fit that any private man should arrogate to himselfe to judge of the doctrines or opinions of his Priest Quic simpliciter omnes jubebantur sacerdoti de rebus controversis a●●quid statuent● acquiescere Greg. Ecclesiae ministerio credimus simpliciter absolutè si ministri ecclesiae in aliquo dubio definiendo errarent populus Christianus errare posset imo deberet Stapl. because every one are simply and absolutely commanded to rest in the determinations of the Priest I will but name another who yet riseth higher We doe simply and absolutely believe the ministry of the Church And the people are so subjected to the sentences of their Pastors that if the Priest doe erre in any thing the people may and ought to erre in obedience of them So that you see if you aske the judgement of the Papists in this point you are in a poore case you are to stand to the determinations and definitions of Synods Councells without any doubt or examination whether they be true or no and that they might the better bring in this implicite faith and blinde obedience They tell you that they are infallible that you might the rather put out your owne eyes and be led by their light they tell you that they are unerring guides and in indeed if this were true the people might better shut their eyes and goe by theirs they might rather tye their boate to their ship follow the dictates definitions of them without either doubt or examination but they must believe the one that they cannot erre and then they must doe the other that is stand to all their sentences and determinations But we will passe this onely we shew you that they take away all power in any Christian man of judging or examining and prooving the doctrines which are propounded by their Councells and Bishops and doe require a blinde faith and obedience to them all saying that every particular person ought to stand to the determinations of the Church and to beleeve them to be truth because the Church hath an unerring spirit And this belief suits well with the people say they to believe as the Church believes for he that doth believe him that doth believe is not improperly said to believe though he know not what he doth believe An opinion which doth a Papistae in religione recipienda ethnicorum imo pecudū more ducūtur beast men and denude them of all reason and what is of man in them Against which Luther speaks in these words b Hoc uno scelere meritos esse Praelatos Romanenses ut ex ecclesiae coetu tanquam lupi tyranni pellerētur Tom. 2. p. 375. Qu. Who are to examine opinions For this one wicked opinion viz. that absolute dominion which they claim over the faith and consciences of men the Roman Prelates deserve to be driven out of the number of the faithfull as Wolves and tyrants And under this censure we will leave them and come to the answer of the Question Qu. Who are those who are to examine opinions You have heard what the Papists say viz. that none ought to doubt of or examine the opinions definitions and determinations of the Church Before we come to give you our answer we will premise some distinctions as touching examination 1. First then there is an examination in foro publico or externo And 2. There is an examination in foro privato or interno that is 1. There is a publike and authoritative examination 2. There is a private and Christian examination Or 1. There is an examination in reference to publike censure 2. There is an examination in reference to private settlement The first is authoritative and is that which comes up to that which Divines call judicium ministeriale or ministeriall judgement which is when many Ministers are authoritatively called convened and met together there they are not onely inquisitors and examiners of opinions but Judges that is ministeriall and subordinate Judges or determinators of doctrines and opinions and may passe censure upon such opinions as are found erroneous And of this kinde is conceived to be that great solemn convention of the Disciples and Elders Act. 15. Where there was an examination and debate of things and thereupon a passing of censure and judgement And of this kinde were those ancient and famous Councels and Synods in the Primitive times of the Church famous against those errours and heresies in those daies And this is the first kinde authoritative examination 2. The second is a private and conscientious examination of opinions in a mans own Court the Court of conscience whereby a man doth try and debate whether those things which are prescribed or those things which are preached written c. be truths and agreeable to the Word of God And this doth amount to that which Divines call judicium discretionis or the judgement of discretion in which men have power to examine debate and to passe judgement in reference to their own practice and walking Every man is not only to be an inquisitor or examiner of all opinions nay of the definitions and determinations of Councels but he is to judge of them and this he ought to doe in respect of his own practice though his judgement is not binding to others or concerns not others no further then others shall finde that there appeares truth in it Now having premised this I shall come to the answer and passing by the first leaving it to another place viz. authoritative examination We shall only deal with the second and say That every Christian who hath care of his salvation ought to examine not only private opinions but even the sentences definitions determinations of Synods of Councels and to bring all to the rule of faith the Word of God the true touchstone of doctrines and to receive them and reject them as they are conceived to be agreeable or disagreeable thereto This position that we have here laid down in answer to the question I shall 1. Cleare it by Scripture 2. Confirme it by argument And 3. Strengthen it by the testimonie of Divines against the Papists And 4. Answer objections and so goe to the second 1. I shall clear it by Scripture and you have one here in the text Mat. 24.4 Take heed that no man deceive you c. 1 Thess 5.21 Prove all things and hold fast