Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A34541
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The point of church-unity and schism discuss'd by a nonconformist, with respect to the church-divisions in England.
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Corbet, John, 1620-1680.
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1679
(1679)
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Wing C6260; ESTC R37663
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30,758
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79
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that doth grosly deprave them and in great part frustrate the ends of their constitution The last and lowest point of external Unity lying in the accidental modes of Religion and matters of meer order extrinsick to 〈◊〉 essentials and integrals of Church-State the violation thereof is the least and lowest point of Schism I mean in it self considered and not in such aggravating circumstances as it may be in Those accidental Forms and Orders of Religion which are necessary in genere but left in specie to human determination are allowed of God when they are determined according to prudence and charity for Peace and Edification and accordingly they are to be submitted to Consequently it is one point of Schism to make a Division from or in a Church upon the accountal of accident Forms and Orders so determined according to Gods allowance But if any of the accidentals be unlawfull and the maintaining or practicing thereof be imposed upon us as the terms of our communion it is no Schism but Duty to abstain from communion in that case For explicitly and personally to own errors and corruptions even in smaller points is evil in it self which must not be committed that good may come In this case not he that withdraws but he that imposes causeth the Division And this holds of things sinfull either in themselves or by just consequence And herein he that is to act is to discern and judge for his own practice whether the things imposed be such For Gods Law supposeth us rational creatures able to discern its meaning and to apply it for the regulating of our own actions else the Law were given us in vain Submission and reverence towards Superiors obligeth no man to resign his understanding to their determinations or in compliance with them to violate his own conscience Persons meek humble peaceable and throughly conscientious and of competent judgment may not be able by their diligent and impartial search to see the lawfulness of things injoyned and t is a hard case if they should thereupon be declared contumacious Seeing there be several points of Unity the valuation whereof is to be made according to their different value mens judgment and estimation of Unity and Schism is very preposterous who lay the greatest stress on those points that are of least moment and raise things of the lowest rank to the highest in their valuation and set light by things of the greatest moment and highest value as indeed they do who set light by soundness of Faith and holiness of Life and consciencious observance of Divine institutions where there is not also unanimity and uniformity in unscriptural Doctrines and human ceremonies And they that make such an estimate of things and deal with Ministers accordingly do therein little advance the Unity of the Spirit or indeavour to keep it in the bond of Peace Seeing the word of God is the rule of Church Unity a breach is made upon it when other bounds thereof are set than this rule allows An instance hereof is the devising of other terms of Church-communion and Ministerial liberty than God hath commanded or allowed in his Word to be made the terms thereof Also any casting or keeping out of the Church or Ministery such as Gods Word doth not exclude from either but signifies to be qualified and called thereunto God doth not allow on the part of the Imposer such tearms of Church communion or Ministerial station as are neither Scriptural nor necessary to Peace and Edification nor are any part of that necessary order and decency without which the Service of God would be undecent nor are in any regard so necessary but that they may be dispensed with for a greater benefit and the avoiding of a greater mischief And they are found guilty of Schism that urge such unscriptural and unnecessary things unto a breach in the Church Such Imposers are not only an occasion of the breach that follows but a culpable cause thereof because they impose without and against Christs warrant who will not have his Church to be burdened nor the consciences of his Servants intangled with things unnecessary Nevertheless such unscriptural or unnecessary things if they be not in themselves unlawfull nor of mischievous consequence may be of Gods allowing as to the submitters Thereupon they are guilty of Schism who meerly for the sake of those unnecessary things yet lawfull as to their use though wrongfully urged upon them forsake the communion of the Church or their Ministerial station where things are well settled as to the substantials of Religion and the ends of Church order and when they themselves are not required to justifie the imposing of such unnecessaries Here I speak of contumacious refusers who will rather make a breach than yield But refusers out of conscience believing or with appearance of reason suspecting the said lawfull things to be unlawfull are either accquitted from Schism or guilty but in a low degree and much less culpable than the Imposers who might well forbear to impose Be it here noted that when Superiors sin in commanding a thing exempt from their authority it may be the Subjects duty to observe the thing commanded In this case the said observance is not an act of obedience for that can arise only from the Rulers authority to command But it is an act of prudence equity and charity and it is good and necessary for the ends sake and in that regard t is an act of obedience though not to the Earthly Ruler yet to God who commands us to follow Peace and maintain Unity in all lawful◠〈◊〉 and means In the judgment of the Apostle it is no slight matter to act against conscience rationally doubting or suspecting a breach of Gods Law Rom. 14. 5. Let every man be fully persuaded in his mind v. 14. To him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean to him it is unclean ver 23. He that doubteth is damned if he eat because he eateth not of Faith for whatsoever is not of Faith is sin The command of Rulers is no good security for acting against a rational doubting conscience When I am in doubt touching the lawfulness of the thing injoyned I have no certainty of being on the safer side by complying with Rulers For though in general obedience to Rulers be a certain Duty yet in the particular doubted case I cannot be certain that my compliance is right and warrantable obedience and not a breach of Gods Law Is it plain that I ought to obey the commands of Rulers in things that have Gods allowance so t is as plain that I ought not to obey their commands in things which God hath forbidden Moreover it is as plain that I ought not to act against my own conscience which as being the discerner of the will of God concerning me is of right the immediate director of my actions Indeed my conscience cannot alter Gods Law or make that which God hath made my duty to be not my duty
The point of CHURCH-UNITY AND SCHISM Discuss'd BY A NONCONFORMIST With respect to the Church-Divisions IN ENGLAND LONDON Printed for Thomas Parkhurst at the Bible and Three Crowns at the Lower end of Cheapside 1679. THE CONTENTS CHAP. I. Of the Church and its Polity WHat the Church is both in its invisible and visible state The state of the Church Catholick The state of particular Churches and their Pastors Elders or Bishops Of the partition of Churches by local bounds Of the Interests of Bishops or Pastors in any assigned circuit of Ground Of the association or combination of Churches Of a National Church Of the Interest of Civil Magistrates in the state of the Church Of a Diocese and a Diocesan Bishop Of exercising the Ministery without Subordination to a Diocesan Bishop No human power may prejudice Christs Interest in his Ministers or People All have a judgment of Discretion about their own acts CHAP. II. Of true Church-Unity The names of Unity and Schism should be rightly applied True Church-Unity is the Unity of the Spirit what is included therein True Unity is primarily of the Church in its mystical secondarily in its visible state Holy love is the Life and Soul of this Unity Church-Unity considered in three points 1. In the essentials and all weighty matters of Christian Faith and Life 2. In the essentials and integrals of Church-state 3. In the accidentals of Religion The different value of these different points of Unity The Rule of Unity is Gods Word Of the Scriptures sufficiency as a Rule thereof Of things left to human determination with the Pastors and Magistrates Interest therein The Rulers Wisdom in setling the right bounds of Unity The burden of things unnecessary not to be laid on the Churches Unity of external order is subservient to Faith and Holiness CHAP. III. Of Schism truly so called Schism is the violation of the Unity of the Spirit Separation and Schism are not of equal extent The violation of holy Love is the root of Schism Schism lies primarily in a breach made upon the Unity of the Church as mystical and secondarily as visible The highest point of Schism against the Church as visible is that which is about the essentials and weighty matters of Christian Faith and Life How both Persons and Churches may be guilty of it The next point of Schism is about the essentials and integrals of Church state This may be either against the Catholick or a particular Church Instances of both kinds The lowest point of Schism is about the accidentals of Religion How any are guilty or not guilty in this point A preposterous valuation made of the aforesaid different points tends to Schism The setting of other bounds of Unity than Gods word allows is to make a breach upon it Terms of Unity may be allowed of God as to the Submitters when they are not allowed as to the Imposers The danger of acting against conscience rationally doubting T is a false Unity that is set up to the hindrance of Faith and Holiness and not to adhere to it is no Schism but Duty Instances hereof Of the right of drawing together into new Congregations on such occasion What endeavour of Reformation is unlawfull to Subjects A difference between inimical separation and amicable necessary Segregation The objected inconveniences against the amicable Segregation answered The import of the Text Rom. 16. 17. opened CHAP. IV. Of the Schisms that were in the more ancient times of the Church and the different case of the Nonconformists in these times Of the Donatists Of the Novatians Whether the case of the present Nonconformists be the same with the case of these or any others anciently reputed Schismaticks The case of such Nonconformists as be more remote from accomodation with the Established Order The case of such of them as be more disposed to accommodation An Answer to objections against relaxing the terms of Conformity Of diverse other remarkable Schisms in the ancient times and the Nonconformists case different from theirs An appeal to Antiquity and to our Superiors CHAP. V. Of making a right estimate of the guilt of Schism and something more of the right way to Unity The great abuse of the name Schism and the bad consequence thereof The degree of the Schism to be duely considered for making an equal judgment of the guilt thereof Examples of Schismatical animosities in Worthies of ancient times Charity in censuring thence inferred True Unity is founded in true Holiness and promoted by impartiality and equity towards all real Christians and by the due exercise of true Church-Discipline and by removing the snares of Division and as by the equity and charity of Superiors so by the humility and due submission of Inferiors A Question considered about the warrantableness of submission to things not in themselves unlawfull but inexpedient Errata PAg. 2. lin 2. r. regeneration p. 12. l. 8. r. without ib. l. 16. r. and in p. 22. l. 6. r. due extent p. 25. l. 14. r. account of accidental p. 32. l. 16. r. injured Christians as are p. 33. l. 25. r. Segregation p. 42. l. 27. r. renouncing p. 47. l. 21. r. deposed The point of CHURCH-UNITY AND SCHISM Discuss'd CHAP. I. Of the Church and its Polity THe Church is a Spiritual Common-wealth which according to its primary and invisible State is a Society of regenerate Persons who are joyned to the Lord Christ their Head and one to another as fellow Members by a mystical Union through the Holy Spirit and are justified Sanctified and adopted to the inheritance of Eternal Life but according to its secondary and visible state it is a Society of Persons professing Christianity or Regeration and externally joyned to Christ and to one another by the Symbals of that Profession and made partakers of the external priviledges thereunto belonging There is one Catholick Church which according to the invisible Form is the whole company of true Believers throughout the World and according to its visible Form is the whole company of visible Believers throughout the World or Believers according to human judgment This Church hath one Head and Supream Lord even Christ and one Charter and System of Laws the Word of God and Members that are free Denizons of the whole Society and one Form of Admission or solemn Initiation for its Members and one kind of Ministery and Ecclesiastical Power This Church hath not the power of its own Fundamental Constitution or of the Laws and Officers and Administrations intrinsecally belonging to it but hath received all these from Christ its Head King and Lawgiver and is limited by him in them all Nevertheless it hath according to the capacity of its acting that is according to its several parts a power of making Secondary Laws or Canons either to impress the Laws of Christ upon its Members or to regulate circumstantials and accidentals in Religion by determining things necessary in genere not determined of Christ in specie As the