Selected quad for the lemma: faith_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A40082
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Libertas evangelica, or, A discourse of Christian liberty being a farther pursuance of the argument of the design of Christianity / by Edward Fowler ...
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Fowler, Edward, 1632-1714.
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1680
(1680)
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Wing F1709; ESTC R15452
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145,080
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382
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offend any I shall be sorry for it but must withal take leave to tell the offended that it is an Evidence of exceeding great Weakness not to say worse to be Angry with those who endeavour in the Spirit of Meekness to convince us of our Dangerous Mistakes But such is the Fate of Conscientious opposing Popular and Prevailing Errors that it seldom meeteth with better success than kindling the Passions and sharpening the Tongues and Pens too of those who are most obliged to be thankful for it But Wisdom is justified of her Children But however it be taken it was never more seasonable nor ever scarcely so Necessary to do our utmost towards the rectifying of Peoples Apprehensions about matters of this nature when our Contentions and Animosities about little things mostly things very little in themselves and so great a Defection from our Church merely upon the account of such things as are no where condemned by the Law of God nor are opposed by any express or plain Text but by exceedingly laboured and far fetch'd Consequences have given our Adversaries such Advantage against us and do them far greater service than all their open Attempts or secret wicked Plots and Conspiracies through the infinite Goodness of God to us have hitherto done God Almighty grant that that saying be not to be applied to us ere long which was used of our Predecessors the Britains when their intestine Quarrels had occasioned their being Vanquish'd by the Romans viz. Dum singuli pugnant Vniversi vincuntur While they severally contend and quarrel with one another they are all overcome by a Common Enemy I must confess when I consider what Excellent Treatises have of late been published fraught with Unanswerable and the most convincing and affecting Arguments to perswade our Brethren of the Separation to ease us in a great measure of our Fears of Popery or Confusion by Returning to the Communion of that Church wherein most of them were Baptized and when withal I observe what little Success those Treatises have had I have as faint hopes as can be that so small an endeavour as this should do any Service But however it is some satisfaction to my Mind to express my Good Will But we are told by some that we may thank the Church of England if ever the Pope be again our Master and particularly that Principle of Hers we have been now defending viz. that Imposing of Indifferent things in the Worship of God is no Violation of Christian Liberty And that this Principle will open a door to Popish Conformity if we should be once more so unhappy as to be brought into Subjection to the Roman Yoke To these I Reply in the First place That 't is unconceiveable how any thing but Malice or the thickest Ignorance can charge the Church of England with serving the Interest of the Popish Religion For is any thing more Notorious than that almost all the opposition that hath either heretofore or of late been made against Popery hath been by the Bishops and the other Clergy of this Church To say nothing of what the Separating Party have done though not upon that Design to promote Popery which would be as large as unpleasant a Theme to insist on what have they done in defence of the Reformed Religion against Popery Have they all of them put together done the half quarter part of that Service in this kind that One Excellent Dean of our Church hath done Truly I much doubt it And I think I may adventure to say that all the Reformed Churches together can hardly shew of their own so many Learned and Judicious Treatises against the Body and the several Parts of Popery as our single Church can shew of Hers. Again Is any thing better known than that the Priests and Jesuits and Popish Faction do at this time spit all their Venome and bend all their Force against the Church of England and indeed always have done This sheweth that they are well aware though so many among our selves will not acknowledge it but would have the World think the directly contrary that our Church is the most Formidable of all their Adversaries In short Who needs Arguments to convince him that the Church of England is at present our onely Bulwark against Popery As ever since the Reformation she hath been acknowledged by our Brethren beyond Sea to be the strongest and most impregnable upon several accounts But Secondly as to this Principle of our Church that Imposing of Indifferent things in the Worship of God is no Violation of Christian Liberty it is a most weak and ignorant furmise that it should in the least befriend Popery Those little understand what Popery means that think thus For First There is nothing more plainly demonstrable than that many of those things which are imposed by the Roman Church are far from being Indifferent in their own nature but the grossest Corruptions as contrary to the Doctrine and Practice of the first Ages of the Church and which is far more as contrary to the Laws of God and our Saviour Christ as is Darkness to Light I have given a Catalogue in the Design of Christianity of the chief of these with Remarks upon them and thither I refer the Reader that needs satisfaction Secondly Other of Her Impositions which are Indifferent in themselves are made to change their Nature by the Notion under which they are enjoyned by her That Church enjoyns no Indifferent things as such as ours doth all she imposeth as appears by her 34 th Article but as made necessary by Divine Authority She pretending to the Infallible Guidance of the Holy Ghost in all Her Decrees and Constitutions And therefore expects your Receiving them as you do the Holy Scriptures with a Divine Faith and the self-same awful Regard and Reverence I might add too that several of her Rites and Ceremonies are imposed under a most Superstitious notion either as Sacraments conveying Grace or as having some special Virtue in them to atone the Divine Majesty or to scare away the Devil c. Thirdly It is my opinion too that though their Ceremonies were never so innocent in themselves yet the Multitude of them doth make them in the lump to cease to be Indifferent My reason is because it is unconceiveable to me but that so great a Number must needs so employ the Mind in the Worship of God as that it is not possible to be intent thereupon and consequently must frustrate at least in a great measure the Design of Worship But this is no Reason to a Papist who cannot be thoroughly so and acknowledge the necessity of exercising the Mind in Divine Worship For his Holy Mother hath taught him this mad and impious Doctrine That the Sacraments confer Grace ex opere operato from the work Done and so are differenced from those of the Old Testament they conferring Grace ex opere operantis from the work of the Doer as also that a mere general
contradict them Secondly As our Saviour and his Apostles do so express the Persons for whom he died as that they must necessarily be the Universality of Mankind so we learn from S. Paul that the Remedy by Christ is of equal extent with the mischief occasioned by Adam That the Sore is not so broad but the Plaister is every whit as broad Rom. 5. 18. Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation even so by the Righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men to justification of life Can anything be said plainer than this is in these words viz. That as many as fell by the Transgression of Adam were designed to be recovered by the Righteousness of Christ But it is Objected that it follows in the 19. ver that By the obedience of one shall Many he made Righteous As our Saviour himself saith This is the New Testament in my bloud which was shed for Many for the Remission of Sins But that this is a Strange objection will appear by comparing the latter part of that 19. ver with the former For as by one mans disobedience Many were made sinners So that as many were put into a possibility of being justified by the Righteousness of Christ and we do not desire that more should as were made Sinners or made liable to condemnation by the Disobedience of Adam And by this means the Reign of Grace to Eternal life was designed to be no more limited than was the Reign of Sin to death As it follows in the 21. ver That as Sin hath reigned unto death even so might Grace reign through Righteousness unto Eternal life by Iesus Christ our Lord. And it is not to be wondered at that the word Many should signifie All for it is well known that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Many or the Many is used in other Greek Authors to signifie all as well as in the New Testament So that these Texts do most necessarily and plainly speak thus much That none that hear the Gospel shall fall short of Salvation but through their Unbelief and Disobedience their wilful rejecting the Remedy offered them Nor any neither that never heard the Gospel merely for the Transgression of their first Parents but only for their own Sins I mean their wilful disobedience to that light they have And that none to whom the Gospel is preached are excluded from Salvation by Christ is manifestly implied in those words of our Saviour Iohn 3. 14. As Moses lifted up the Serpent in the Wilderness even so must the Son of man be lifted up that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life As the Brazen Serpent was erected for the Cure of all that were stung by the Fiery Serpent none excepted but such as would not look up to it for that end So none shall be shut out from the benefit designed by the Son of man's being lifted up upon the Cross but such as will not believe that is apply themselves to him in that way which he hath appointed for the obtaining of it And though our Saviour saith ver 19. of that Chapter that This is the condemnation that a light is come into the World Yet he immediately explains himself in the following words and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil Or Mens being condemned by the occasion of his coming is to be imputed to their Rejecting him and so refusing to comply with the most reasonable terms of his New Gracious Covenant not to his or his Father's design in his Coming For he saith Iohn 12. 47. I came not to judge the World but to save the World Thirdly We are assured that Christ died even for those that perish The Apostle saith 1 Cor. 8. 11. If any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the Idols Temple shall not the Conscience of him that is weak be imboldened to eat those things which are offered to Idols and through thy knowledge shall the weak Brother perish for whom Christ died Here it is supposed that a man may perish for whom Christ died And consequently that he died for Reprobates themselves that is those that have made themselves so for if Christ died for all there can be no other Reprobates Again Rom. 14. 15. Destroy not him with thy meat for whom Christ died And the Author to the Hebrews expresly preacheth this Doctrine Chap. 10. 29. Of how much sorer punishment suppose ye shall he be thought worthy who hath trodden under foot the Son of God and hath counted the bloud of the Covenant wherewith he was Sanctified or Consecrated an unholy thing S. Peter likewise asserts the same 2 Epist. 2. 1. But there were false Prophets also among the People even as there will be false Teachers among you who privily will bring in damnable Heresies even denying the Lord that bought them and bring upon themselves swift destruction So that these vile wretches were not destroyed because Christ did not redeem them for they are said to be bought or redeemed by him as well as others but they brought upon themselves swift destruction Lastly If this Doctrine be false that Christ died for all then none are or can be condemned for not Believing in him notwithstanding that the condemnation of men is so continually ascribed thereunto For 't is a plain case that those for whom Christ did not die can be no more obliged to believe in him than the Devils are And to say that any are condemned for not doing that which it was not their duty to do will I hope be acknowledged the grossest absurdity This little in comparison of what might be said to demonstrate the truth of this Great Article of our Faith is much more than barely sufficient to give us an undoubted assurance of it The truth is the Sun doth not shine more bright in the Firmament than doth this Doctrine in the New Testament And I know nothing we can be assured of upon Scripture Authority if this be False or Uncertain I verily believe that there are few of the Greatest Points of our Christian Faith but may as plausibly be objected against as this Doctrine from Scripture 'T is said indeed by our Saviour Iohn 10. 5. I lay down my life for my sheep But did he ever say I lay down my life for none but my sheep If he had we must have concluded either that the whole World are his Sheep or that which is far worse that he said and unsaid and contradicted himself and so destroyed the Foundation of our Faith and Hope But in saying He laid down his life for his sheep his meaning was that those who obeyed his voice should receive the benefit of his death and such Sheep he would have all to be For as we have seen in 1 Tim. 2. 4. He would have all men to be saved and to come to the acknowledgment of the truth Again our Saviour saith that He