So that it seems to be implyed that the Christians in those Primitive times were so zealous to preserve the Reputation of the Gospel-Ministry and the Purity of their Communion as that they were ready to receive an Accusation against an Elder sooner and on lesser evidence than against a private Member insomuch as the Apostle thought it needful to charge them not to receive an Accusation against an Elder under the legal Evidence of two or three Witnesses Moreover we see how strictly the Apostle charged Timothy that he should not use partiality in any Case of Sin to prefer one before another whether Elders as there were sometimes several in one Church or private Members Tit. 1.5 Act. 20.17 Gal. 2.11 14. but them that sinned should be rebuked before all i. e. those whose Sins could not be privately covered for want of their Repentance they whoever they were should be rebuked before all viz. so as the rebuke should reach as openly as the Sins were known and that others might also fear And therefore there is not the least Reason from Scripture for any to imagine that an Elders Sin should be more favourably dealt with than a private Members or that there is a different Rule for judging of them but that the Precepts of Christ for purging out the Leaven of Unrighteousness are to all alike Eph. 6.9 Col. 3.25 Lev. 10.1 2. Deut. 1.17 for as the Lord respecteth no Mans Person no not for Office-sake So he hath commanded us saying Ye shall not respect Persons in Judgment V. Object We ought not to leave a Church till Christ be departed from it Answer 1. If this be true then no Baptized Congregation should receive a Member from our Brethrens Communion of the Independant Churches For who can say that Christ hath left them so as not to succeed their Ministry with true Conversion of Souls and so as not to give something of his gracious presence to them and others that are sound in the fundamental Principles to Salvation who truly fear the Lord and sincerely obey him according to their Light tho' the Mist of Mens Traditions may not be clearly wiped from off their Eyes I think none can be so uncharitable and censorious as to affirm it But yet we may safely say the more we come up in our Obedience to the perfect Rule of Christ the greater our Peace and Comfort shall be and the more or the presence of God we shall enjoy in the gracious discoveries of his Eternal Love unto our Souls 2. If Christ hath not left our aforesaid Brethren and others that are not of our Communion without some gracious Manifestations of his Presence among them And if therefore according to the Objection their Members ought not to leave their Churches do not then those Baptists which plead this Argument for a mixed Communion among themselves and yet receive the Members of those Independant Churches condemn themselves thereby as Countenancers Abetters and Receivers of disorderly Persons and as such who according to this Objection have little or nothing more to say for their Separation and keeping up a distinct Church-state from them then for a private and worldly Interest And therefore away with such Pretensions for they are but a shame to us 3. If we ought not to leave a Church 'till Christ is departed from it it must be meant either of a partial or total departure If it be understood of Christ's Partial departing from a Church we must either allow it lawful for a Member to leave his present Communion when Christ hath in part forsaken that Church so as for their Declension of Spirit they are suffered to fall into such corrupt Manners erroneous Doctrine false Worship or irregular Practices which the Lord hath commanded to be purged out from among them or else that the Church it self has Power to prescribe Limits of Communion according as she shall judge without regard to the written Precepts of Christ that his presence doth bound it But as I believe no Baptized Churches will open their Mouths in favour of such an absolute Authority within themselves for that we own the Scriptures to be our Rule so it cannot be denied but that it is lawful for Members to remove their Communion to a Church which is more Pure for the same causes as a Church should withdraw their Communion from a single Member if for any cause at all But if they mean that we should not separate from a Church till Christ is wholly departed from it then it may be also argued that a Church should not withdraw their Communion from a Member till Christ be wholly departed from him Besides if a single Member should not depart from a Church till Christ be wholly departed from it then the Question is Whether Christ may be said totally to depart from a Church till at least it is manifest that she is absolutely apostatized in her Spirit from some one Article of our Christian Faith which is essential to Salvation and if till then it be unlawful for single Persons to separate their Communion from a Church of Christ than if their Church worshippeth God in a false manner so it be not in fundamentals of Salvation and maketh void a Commandment of God through Mens Traditions and are corrupted in their Morals they must still hold their Communion with such a People and it 's hard to tell how far a Church may be guilty of these Evils and not loose the Essentials to Salvation But if such a corrupt Communion ought to be held rather than a Persons Separation from it should be allowed lawful the consequents of it naturally tends to the overthrow and Extirpation of our Baptized Churches for then what Obligation of Conscience is there for Baptized Believers to set up by themselves such a Church-state which is despised and rendred obnoxious to many Christians and which is accompanied with divers discouragements and outward disadvantages more than others Besides unless it be lawful for a Member or the smaller number of a Church to separate from their corrupt Communion many Christians cannot reform nor worship God with the Church or in the Administration of all Gospel-Ordinances according to their Consciences for generally Reformers are the fewest number and if these should continue in their irregular Communion their Light will be hid and smoothered in the croud of corrupt Professors and rather put under a Bushel than on a Gospel Candlestick Mat. 5.14 15 16. to shine more clearly to those that are round about them VI. Object We are say some Persons for Charity and Union and therefore we are for Communion at the Lord's Table with Christians as such If we believe them to be but real Christians we ought to hold our Communion with them Answer 1. To our Brethren of the Congregational or Independant Churches of whom some have argued with me after the Nature of this Objection as if we were too strait in our Charity for not holding Communion with
them To whom I have this to say 1. That I think we may fairly gather from what they have published with their Confession of Faith of the Institution and Order of Churches that they do not admit any unbaptized Christians to their Communion at the Lord's Table for in Article the seventh speaking of a particular Church gathered and compleated according to the Mind of Christ In Article the eighth they say The Members of those Churches are Saints by Calling visibly manifesting and evidencing their Obedience unto that call of Christ who being further known to each other by their Confession of the Faith wrought in them by the Power of God do willingly Consent to walk together according to the appointment of Christ giving up themselves to the Lord and to one another by the Will of God in professed Subjection to the Ordinances of the Gospel So then if the Members of a compleat Church do willingly consent to walk together in professed Subjection to the Ordinances of the Gospel none that do not subject themselves to the Ordinance of Baptism in their Sence can be orderly admitted by them as compleatly quallified to their full Communion and so if they will not hold Communion with such unbaptized Persons they do not hold it as some of them pretend with Christians meerly as such but only with such Christians which are qualified with Water-Baptism to receive the Lords Supper But 2. If they own that our baptizing Persons on Confession of Faith by way of dipping is also right Baptism according to Gospel-Rule and so for this Reason they can freely hold their Communion with us Yet this is no Corrector that their Charity is more universal then ours because then they receive us not meerly on the account of their Charity but as Christians sitly qualified with Water-Baptism But the Case is different respecting us for seeing we deny their Infant-sprinkling to be true Baptism or to be of God and so they being to us as unbaptized Persons our having sull Communion with them would be not only contrary to the Light of our own Consciences but witnessed against by their practice of sprinkling for Baptism as a qualification to full Communion And therefore we have equal Reason to say that our refusing Church-Communion with them is not for want of Charity towards them as Christians any more then it is for want of it in themselves to other Christians that are not sprinkled or any ways baptized if they refuse Communion with them as some have done in their private Conference according to what is gathered as their Mind in Print before So that I see no Reason why our Brethren should in the least be offended at us for keeping our selves from their Communion when otherwise so far as I can perceive their Practice as well as our own Consciences would condemn us for so doing 3. Our aforesaid Brethren of the Independant Churches however some of their Members have in their private Converse reflected on us have fairly granted See their 28 Article of the Institution of Churches at the end of the Congregational Confession of Faith that a Person where he cannot continue in any Church without his Sin may depart from the Communion of one Church to another For they say Persons that are joined in Church-fellowship ought not lightly or without just cause to withdraw themselves from the Communion of the Church whereunto they are so joined Nevertheless where any Person cannot continue in any Church without his Sin either for want of the Administration of any Ordinances instituted by Christ or by his being deprived of his due Priviledges or compelled to any thing in Practice not warranted by the Word or in case of Persecution or upon the account of Conveniency of Habitation he consulting with the Church or the Officer or Officers thereof may peaceably depart from the Communion of the Church wherewith he hath so walked to join himself with some other Church where he may enjoy the Ordinances in the Purity of the same for his Edification and Consolation Now seeing they grant that we may leave our Communion with a Church to join our selves with some other Church where we may enjoy the Ordinances in the Purity of the same then none of them ought to blame us for not holding our full Communion with them as if they were the standard of Truth who we believe are not in the compleat Order and true Administration of all Gospel Ordinances Seeing we walk by their Rule of Communion according to our Consciences tho' we have not the same Light to walk with them 2. For any of our Baptized Brethren to plead for mixed Communion from the Obligation of universal Charity for Christians as they are such does rather betray their want of real Love Gal. 5.22 1 Joh. 4.19 for that is a Fruit of the Holy Spirit flowing first from the Faith we have in the Love of God to us which is the cause of Love in us to him 1 Joh. 5.1 and so to our Brethren which are begotten of him and then our universal Love to Christians depending on our Love to God it must consist with sincere Obedience to his Will so far as we are inlightned For this is the Love of God Joh. 14.21 23. 1 Joh. 5.2 3. that we keep his Commandments and his Commandments are not grievous And by this we know that we Love the Children of God when we Love God and keep his Commandments And therefore whatsoever Love is pretended which is inconsistent with sincere Obedience to Christ 't is rather to be suspected than counted real But in Charity I must conclude it is not for want of Love to the Institutions of Christ but for want of Light that you plead for Communion at the Lords Table with unbaptized Christians However you do thereby virtually deny your own Baptism to be essentially necessary to a regular Gospel-Church and make void that Holy Ordinance of Christ which in Obedience to him you have subjected to Besides why may you not then also say that you ought in Charity to Christians meerly as such altho' they be not yet baptized to call any gifted Christian to administer the Ordinances of Preaching Prayer and breaking Bread in the Church and in Charity to those Members that walk disorderly and break the Commandments of Christ forbear the Execution of his Ordinance of withdrawing your Church-Communion from them because you believe them still to be real Christians as if we could not Love Mens Persons unless we favour their Sins and thereby perhaps through the neglect of our Duty to them harden their Hearts therein And so under the Notion of Christian Charity the true Order of a Gospel-Church may be quite destroyed VII Object But some may think I open the door of the Church too wide and give too great incouragement for Persons to wander from Church to Church or to leave their present Communion to imbody themselves into a distinct Church-state Answer 1.
Tit. 3.10 11. after the first and second Admonition reject Knowing that he that is such is subverted and sinneth being condemned of himself Now an Heritick is one that stisly maintains false opinions against the Scriptures in matters of Faith fundamental to Salvation which tho' we should be tender of judging such Christians to be Hereticks as there is Reason to hope have more the shew in weak expressions of some such like salse Principles than a being under the Power and Conduct of them seeing the Scripture saith Jude 22. we should of some have Compassion making a difference and others save with fear pulling them out of the Fire hating even the garment spotted by the Flesh Yet our Charitable Thoughts of such Christians while they are under their cloudy Profession of such Errours tho' crouded amongst other Truths whereby they are the more concealed are no warrant nor allowance for us to hold Communion with them till we can plainly see them delivered from those Errours seeing they are clearly prohibited in the Scriptures Thirdly It is the Duty of Christians to withdraw their Communion from all disorderly Persons in false Worship or in corrupt Administrations of Gospel-Ordinances And 1. Our Lord saith The hour cometh John 4.23 24. and now is when the true Worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth For the Father seeketh such to worship him God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and in Truth From hence I observe that true Worshippers must worship the Father both in Spirit and in Truth otherwise therwise they are not true Worshippers And then if we find by the Word of Truth as we are commanded to try the Spirits whither they are of God that they are such who separate themselves 1 Joh. 4.1 Jude 19. sensual having not the Spirit or that do not worship in Truth but with erroneous Matter or in a false Manner I say then we should withdraw our Communion from such as disorderly Persons in Divine Worship Mat. 15.9 And our Lord also tells us that in vain they do worship him teaching for Doctrines the Commandments of Men. So that to keep our selves from the Guilt of vain Worship we should not by our selves Isa 29.19 nor with any others worship God after the Commandment of Men but according to Gospel-Institutions 2. The Apostle saith 1 Cor. 11.2 I praise you Brethren that you remember me in all things and keep the Ordinances as I delivered them to you On this Text Mr. Will. Kissin noteth See his Book called A Sober Discourse of right to Church-Communion in his Presace That our Translation of the Greek Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rendring it Ordinances is excepted against by some Papists who would have it translated Traditions to countenance the Romish Opinion to which saith he shall be opposed that the Greek Word signifieth indeed Tradition that is in English a Delivery viz. of Doctrines Ordinances Instructions or Institutions 2 Thes 2.15 by those Evangelical Preachers to their Auditors which is nothing else but the Doctrine of the Gospel first preached and afterwards committed to writing by the Evangelists and Apostles as standing Records to future Ages so that any Traditions besides what is written are justly to be excepted against and in matters relating to Divine Worship to be esteemed Apocryphal Now as the aforesaid Author saith What was praise-worthy in those Primitive Christians to whom the Apostle Paul writes can be no blemish but really a Duty in other Christians in after times to imitate To which I add That to corrupt the worship of God with mens Traditions contrary to the Apostolical Pattern is a Sin and Disorder to be purged out by the Church of Christ as farther appears in the next Section 3. It 's said 2 Thes 3.6 Now we command you Brethren in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ that ye withdraw your selves from every Brother that walketh disorderly and not after the Tradition which he received of us 1. This general Command to the Church of the Thessalonians appears from the following Verses to be occasioned from some particular disorders that were amongst them as Ver. 11 12 14 15. For even when we were with you this we commanded you that if any would not work neither should he eat For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly working not at all but are busie bodies Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ that with quietness they work and eat their own Bread And if any Man obey not our Word by this Epistle note that Man and have no Company with him that he may be ashamed Yet count him not as an Enemy but admonish him as a Brother But yet this instance lest us on sacred Record may give us light into other Cases for seeing we are commanded to withdraw our Communion so as to have no Company with such a disorderly Brother that through Idleness when he may have work eateth not his own Bread and is a busie body who may have this to plead against such an Act of the Church that he hath not stolen nor defrauded any but getteth his Meat from House to House amongst his Christian Friends then there is ground and command for us to withdraw our selves from all those that offend in other things of the like Nature and that are guilty of frand or deceit and wrong to any Person And that this command in Ver. 6. is general including all disorders in Manners Doctrine and false Worship and so is a Confirmation of all I have said before for proof thereof appears as followeth 1. Because in Ver. 7 8. there is a plain Intimation that the command Ver. 6. To withdraw from every Brother that walketh disorderly does respect other disorders besides the particular Case of eating other Mens Bread for nought For the Apostle saith Ver. 7 8. Your selves know how ye ought to follow us for we behaved not our selves disorderly among you neither did we eat any Mans Bread for nought Observe the Word Neither imports a different disorder to what he implyed before in Opposition to his Example So that to me it 's plain that the command in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ was to withdraw from those disorders that were contrary to the Apostles examples and which were not after the Tradition which they received of them and therefore it is a general command as was said before 2. I shall give a brief Citation of what is said on the same Text in a Book intitled Asober Discourse of Right to Church Communion in Page 5. it 's said Written by Mr. Will. Kiffin quoting 2 Thes 3.6 Now we command you Brethren in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ that ye withdraw your selves from every Brother that walketh disorderly and not after the Tradition which he received of us Which last Phrase 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Word Paradosis
considering also that his silence may be improved if we give ear to such a groundless Argument for holding Communion with grosser as well as lesser Sins we have Reason to believe that some of those Churches and Christians that were concerned in those Epistles from the Authority of some other part of the Holy Scriptures did separate themselves from those offenders that by the Laws of Christ they were not to bear in their Communion And that those Churches who suffered themselves to be polluted through the neglect of their Duty in bearing with those evils they should have purged out did thereby bring themselves under the anger and displeasure of God for it as appears in their Epistles II. Object Is from Phil. 3.15 16. Let us therefore as many as be perfect be thus minded and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded God shall reveal even this unto you Nevertheless whereto we have already attained let us walk by the same Rule let us mind the same Thing That these Words give no allowance for any to hold a corrupt Communion is very plain because the Apostle is not here arguing to prove the Resurrection of the Dead or any fundamental Article of our Faith or on any essential part of Divine Worship or of such practical Obedience as that the failure thereof is to be noted as disorderly walking But he is Treating in the preceding Verses that he had not attained but was following after the Resurrection-state of Perfection and of his pressing towards the Mark for the Prize of the high Calling of God in Christ Jesus and then it follows Let us therefore as many as be perfect be thus minded and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded God shall reveal even this unto you As if he should fay Let us therefore as many as be perfect that is 1 Cor. 3.1 1 Joh. 2.14 Heb. 5.12 13 14. 1 Cor. 2.6 as are not babes in Christ that have need of Milk but are strong Men of full Age skilful in the Word of Righteousness who by Reason of use have their Senses exercised to discern both good and evil Perfect 2 Tim. 3.17 Col. 4.12 Jam. 3.2 Eph. 3.18 19. throughly surnished unto all good Works Perfect and compleat in all the Will of God To be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the breadth and length and depth and heighth and to know the Love of Christ which passeth Knowledge that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God Now consider that as we cannot know that which passeth Knowledge but as the Apostle saith we know in part 1 Cor. 13.12 and as none but Christ was ever filled with all the fulness of the Perfection of God but of the Knowledge of his Will and Love to us in all its parts necessary to a Holy Life of Faith the true Worship of God and Eternal Life So if any came short of this kind of Perfection the Apostle told them God should reveal even this unto them And therefore the Text does not any ways prohibit a Separation from such aforesaid Errours that are noted in Holy Writ as disorders in Manners Doctrine or Worship But it containeth a comfortable Promise to those that are rather free from them that tho' they are weak in Faith and Babes in the Knowledge of Christ yet sincerely minding the some things which according to Rule they have attained to and labouring to grow in Grace 2 Pet. 3.18 and in the Knowledge of Christ they shall have in due Season a more full discovery of that perfect Love 1 Joh. 4.12 18. which casteth out fear and of the Will of God in the Revelation of the Gospel and shall be built up in their most Holy Faith from a babe-like-state to a perfect Man in Christ Jesus in some Scripture Sense So that there is nothing in the Text that implieth a Prohibition of Separation in the aforesaid Cases of corrupt Manners Erroneous Doctrine false Worship or irregular Administrations of Gospel Ordinances III. Object Is from 1 Pet. 4.8 and Math. 18.21 22. And above all things have fervent Charity among your selves for Charity shall cover a Multitude of Sins And Peter said Lord How oft shall my Brother Sin against me and I forgive him till seven times Jesus said unto him I say not unto thee until seven times but until seventy times seven from which Scriptures some may think that Christians should bear with Sins in Communion with one another and cover them all in Love Answer Our Lord himself shews plainly us what is meant by those Scriptures Luke 17.3 Take heed to your selves If thy Brother trespass against thee rebuke him and if he repent forgive him And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day and seven times in a day turn again to thee saying I repent thou shalt forgive him From whence it appears 1. That we are to rebuke our Brother for his Trespass 2. To forgive him but mind it well it must be if he return and repenteth he must turn again as well as say he repenteth and so tho' Charity should cover a multitude of Sins that are turned from and repented of yet it should cover none from the Church which ought to come under her Cognizance for our Charity should consist with our Obedience to the Procepts of Christ IV. Object It is said Rebuke not an Elder and therefore there should be a difference between dealing with an Elder of a Church and a private Member for Sin Answer 1 Tim. 4.12 The Apostle Paul in this Epistle to Timothy saith Let no Man despise thy Youth And in Chap. 5.1 2. he exhorteth him saying Rebuke not an Elder but intreat him as a Father and the younger Men as Brethren the Elder Women as Mothers the younger as Sisters with all Purity And Chap. 3.14 15. These things write I unto thee that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thy self in the House of God In these Scriptures the Apostle instructed Timothy that young Servant of Christ and in him others how they should behave themselves in reproving not only Elders but younger Brethren and Sisters that as an Elder Bishop or Pastour which is the same in Office Tir. 1.7 should not be soon angry so Timothy and others should not in an angry Spirit rebuke either Elders or younger Brethren and Sisters but rather reprove them by intreaties It 's true it 's also said Let the Elders that Rule well be counted worthy of double Honour But yet by Sin they may lose and justly forfeit their double and single Honour too Ver. 19.20 21. for it s said Against an Elder receive not an Accusation but before or as it is in our Margin under two or three witnesses Them that Sin rebuke before all that others also may fear I charge thee before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the Elect Angels that thou observe these things without preferring one before another doing nothing by partiality