Selected quad for the lemma: doctrine_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A49318
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The reasonableness of the Christian religion a sermon preached at the visitation held at Stoakesly in Cleveland, in Yorkshire : being the first visitation of the Reverend Mr. Long, B.D. and Arch-Deacon of Cleveland / by Ja. Lowde ...
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Lowde, James.
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1684
(1684)
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Wing L3302; ESTC R14296
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20,988
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54
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differ from the Church of England as those of Deposing Princes and absolving Subjects from their Obedience of Purgatory and Prayers for the Dead and the like how these both in their own Natures and as they are managed by those that entertain them do more Naturally tend to get Riches and maintain a secular Pomp and Grandeur then to promote Piety in the lives of their Professours These are the Men who partly by their Contrariety of Doctrine partly by their loose Rules of Conscience partly by their frivolous Distinctions and Evasions have made many of the most weighty Duties of Christianity of none effect And some of these Roman Doctrines particularly that of Disobedience to and Resistance of lawful Authority has been exactly copyed out by some I cannot say of our Communion those I mean of the Separation I am no Friend to the fixing of bad Names upon any scrt of Men yet this I think I may truly say that there is more real Popery so far as it is false and dangerous in this single Opinion of resisting of Authority which is so much espoused by some of our Separatists then there is in all the Innocent Ceremonies and those other things which have occasion'd so many groundless Clamours against the Church of England Indeed this Doctrine of Resistance is too ugly to appear bare-faced in the World and therefore has always had some specious pretence or other as the Glory of God the Purity of Religion the Liberty of Conscience or the property of the Subject and all these back'd with a great many of false and Foolish Silly and dangerous Distinctions But the most modern Mask that this Opinion has appeared in of late is this that Non-Resistance say they was only a temporary Command proper only for those first and primitive Ages of the Church when Christians suffered according to the Laws of the Country but the Case was much different in after Ages when the Laws were in Favour of Religion and Christians persecuted contrary to Law I shall not need to speak much in Answer to this Argument the Weakness and Falseness of it being already fully and sufficiently shown by several Worthy Persons I shall only intimate these two things 1. To say that Passive Obedience was only a Duty Incumbent on Christians in the first Ages of the Church is an Assertion without the least Ground or Evidence of Proof for Scripture speaks of Obedience to Authority as a Constant indispensable Duty of Christianity without any Restriction or Limitation as to time or place and we must know that Scripture was intended as a Rule of Faith and Manners not only to that particular time wherein it was writ but also to all succeding Ages and it would be a great Reflection upon the Scripture as to the Perfection of it if it requir'd Non-Resistance of Authority only as a temporary Duty and yet never in the least to intimate how long it should continue thus or how we should know when the time was expired or by what Rules and Measures we should guide our selves when things came to be otherwise I hope they will not say that this is Casus Omissus in Scripture and so to be supplyed either by the Popish Additions or Euthusiastick Interpretations of later Ages But in short these mens way of arguing seems very much to resemble that of Mr. Hobb's in another Case of whom it is observ'd that he supposed Men worse then they were and from thence drew Principles to make them worse then otherwise they would be That is from the Observation of the General Depravation of Humane Nature and the Vicious Inclinations of most Men hence he unwarily drew such Conclusions as these that Violence and Oppression Self-Preservation and Interest without any respect to any higher Principles are the Prime and Fundamental Dictates ofNature and Reason in general without ever distinguishing betwixt pure and corrupted Nature or betwixt Reason truly so call'd and that which is only the Dictate of inferior Sense and Appetite So these Men from some irregular Proceedings either falsely imputed to the Christians about Julian's time or if truly yet but the Miscarriages of some particular Men yet from such premises as these would draw such false and dangerous Conclusions as should justifie and legitimate the like irregular Practises to all succeeding Ages 2. This Assertion has a very bad Influence upon several other Duties of Christianity for thus they argue where there is any Variation of Circumstances now different from what was in the Apostles times there that ceases to be a Duty now which was one then I deny not but where the thing is in its own Nature indifferent and the Reason of the Obligation depends upon the present Circumstances there the Circumstances being chang'd the Obligation ceases but it is not so in his Case Obedience to Magistrates is an Eternal Duty and that which the very Essential Constitutions and Principles of Government require of us here the Variation of some smaller Circumstances will not alter the Nature of the thing if it did we might also by the same way of Arguing prove that voluntary Charity to the Poor now is no Duty incumbent upon Christians this indeed we may say was a Duty in the first Ages of the Church because there were then no Laws in Favour of the Poor but their whole Subsistance depended upon Voluntary Contributions but the case is far otherwise now and thereforethis kind of Charity ceases now to be a Duty the weakness of this Argument I suppose easily appears to any Considerate Man at the first view For tho' there is Provision now made for the Poor by the Law yet notwithstanding there is no Law neither of God nor Man against Voluntary Charity to the Poor So tho' the Laws thanks be to God be in Favour of our Religion now yet there are no Laws neither of God nor Man in the least to encourage Rebellion or Resistance of lawful Authority for Religions sake 2. We must Preach Christ Crucified both in Opposition to some Hereticks of Old who tell us that Christ did not really and truly suffer but in Appearance only so subverting our Faith and also to some later Enthusiasts of our own Age. These seem to be offended upon the same Account that the Jews were here in the Text that is at the plainness and simplicity of the Gospel those Men think every thing Foolish that has not something of Mystery and Enthufiasm in it making all Religion to consist in airy Notions and nice Speculations these are the Religious Chymists of the Age who think they then only speak nothing to the purpose when they speak so as to be understood makeing it their great business to involve and intangle the otherwise plain and easie Doctrines of Christianity These Men pretend to make Religion a far more profound and mysterious thing then God ever made it and whenever any one Argues any thing against 'em according to the best and truest Principles of
this means he is reconciling himself to his offended Father So that Religion in the just Practice of its Precepts and due Observance of its Laws is certainly the most chearful pleasant thing in the World And thus much for the first particular that the Christian Practice doth the best secure our present Happiness here 2. It best secures our Eternal Happiness hereafter by teaching us to Act in conformity to our own Principles and by assuring us that by Holyness here we shall certainly arrive at Happiness hereafter For the Divine Providence in the very Order of Nature and the first Constitution of things has so order'd Affairs that there is a Natural and Necessary Connexion betwixt Sin and Misery and betwixt Holiness and Happiness This the very Heathens were sensible of that Holyness did either entitle a Man to Happiness or at least to a Freedome from Misery So that if an Holy Man at last prove Miserable with Reverence be it spoken he may say that it was God that made him so which we may assure our selves he never did nor will make any so without their own fault So that we must either grant That Holyness will at last bring a Man to Happiness or else assert what is impious to suppose That God ever since his first Creation of Man made it his whole business to deceive him both by those first Impressions made upon his Soul and by his after Revelations But this is so unworthy of God and contrary to all his Attributes that it can never enter into the thoughts of any sober or considerate Man to Imagine Thus have I done with the two general Parts of the Text wherein I have endeavoured to prove what the Apostle here asserts Christ to be that is the Power ofGod in Opposition to the Jews and the Wisdome ofGod in Opposition to the Gentiles And now I hope I shall not need to make any Apology for a Discourse of this Nature for Meditations upon such Subjects as these are not Matters of mere Speculation only nor are they antiquated now by the distance of time from that of the Apostles but are even still of great Concernment to the present State of Religion 'T is true indeed that we have not now Jews and Gentiles to deal withal as the Apostles had but yet we have as inveterate Enemies against Religion in general and the Protestant Religion as now by Law established in particular as the Jews and Gentiles were against the Christians And it is observable that so maliciously are they set against us and our Religion that they care not from whence they fetch their Weapons and Arguments whether from Jew or Gentile or Hell it self provided only they can by any means annoy us or get any advantage over us And sometimes they make use of the same Arguments or the same a little variously modify'd which the Jews and Gentiles did against the Christians It is therefore our great Duty and Interest rightly to understand the Grounds and Reasons of our own Religion as also the Nature and Force of our Adversaries Arguments and the Various Ways and Methods by which they make their attempts upon us This if we rightly do we shall not only thereby barely defend our selves but also with Advantage and Reputation to our Religion repell our Adversaries for I am apt to believe that the Christian Cause got more Advantage by those solid Vindications and those rational Apologies which the Apostles and Primitive Fathers made for it then it suffer'd by the Force or Malice of the Opposition Occasion being thus given it by answering the Objections to exert its own Strength and to bring forth and show the inexhausted Treasures of its own Truth Whereas on the contrary there is nothing wherein a good Cause can possibly be injur'd but only by a weak defence I shall now only make some short practical Observations from a more general review of the Words and so conclude But we Preach Christ Crucified c. Hence we may observe the great Duty and Office of a Minister of the Gospel to Preach Christ Crucified that is to declare the whole Will of God to Man as it is plainly and clearly laid down in Scripture without any Tincture of our own private Humors Interests or Inclinations nor must we arrest Scripture in favour of any Party or Faction but must with the greatest sincerity and impartiallity study to find out the true Sense of Scripture not to make a new one of our own We must Preach not only the more easie and pleasing but also the more difficult Duties ofChristianity Christ Crucified that is the Doctrine of Mortification of Passive as well as Active Obedience c. But more particularly We much Preach Christ Crucified in Opposition to three sorts of Men in the World 1. Those of the Church of Rome 2. Some later Enthusiasts of our own 3. The prophane and Atheistically inclin'd Persons of the Age. I shall not consider these in their utmost latitude for this would be too remote from our present purpose but only so far as they seem offended at the Gospel upon the same or like Accounts that the Jews and Gentiles were here against Christ Crucified so far only as they also in their several ways look upon the Cross of Christ either as a Stumbling Block with the Jews or as Foolishness with the Gentiles 1. In Opposition to those of the Church of Rome But this perhaps will seem a great Paradox to some to say that any of that Church should be offended at the Cross of Christ those who pay so much Honour and Veneration to it those who institute whole Orders of Men in Honour to the Name and in Imitation of the humble and Crucified Jesus to say that these are offended at the Cross of Christ this perhaps may be thought as great a scandal cast upon them as those which were cast either by Jew or Gentile upon Christ Crucified But yet we know 't is possible to betray Christ by that Kiss by which it is pretended to Honour him But it is not the Cross of Christ in this sense that those men are offended at but it is the Humble and Peaceable Doctrines of the Crucified Jesus those Commands of his which do not so well agree with their Interests or Inclinations The Doctrines of Loyalty and Passive Obedience of Truth Sincerity and open profession of Faith tho' with the hazard of Life these and such like are the Doctrines of Christ which these men are offended at And these Romanists like the Jews seem to be offended at that mean Appearance that Christ and his Doctrine makes in the World that is that it is not so exactly suited to maintain and bear up that Pomp Grandeur and Interest which that Church has unreasonably raised it self unto upon the Ruines of Truth and Corruption of those humble and peaceable Doctrines of Christ Crucified And it might easily be made appear how most of the Roman Doctrines those I mean wherein they