and by consequence all those Truths which have a necessary Connexion with those Articles and are implied in them and by plain Consequence are to be deduced from them It is not the doubtful and uncertain Traditions of Men nor the partial Dictates and Doctrines of any Church since the Primitive Times which are not contained in the Holy Scriptures and the Ancient Creeds of the Christian Church but have been since declared and imposed upon the Christian World though with never so confident a pretence of Antiquity in the Doctrines and of Infallibility in the Proposers of them These are no part of that Faith which we are either to profess or to hold fast because we have no reason to admit the Pretences by virtue whereof those Doctrines or Practices are imposed being able to make it good and having effectually done it that those Doctrines are not of Primitive Antiquity and that the Church which proposeth them hath no more claim to Infallibility than all other Parts of the Christian Church which since the Apostles time is none at all In a word No other Doctrines which are not sufficiently revealed in Scripture either in express Terms or by plain and necessary Consequence nor any Rites of Worship nor Matters of Practice which are not commanded in Scripture are to be esteemed any part of that Faith in Re-Religion the Profession whereof the Apostle here Commands all Christians to hold fast without wavering much less any Doctrines or Practices which are repugnant to the Word of God and to the Faith and Practice of the first Ages of Christianity of which kind I shall have occasion in my following Discourse to instance in several Particulars In the mean time I shall only observe That that Faith and Religion which we profess and which by God's Grace we have ever held fast is that which hath been acknowledg'd by all Christian Churches in all Ages to have been the ancient Catholick and Apostolick Faith and cannot as to any part or tittle of it be denied to be so even by the Church of Rome her self I proceed to the II d Thing which I proposed to consider namely how we are to hold fast the profession of our Faith or what is implied by the Apostle in this Exhortation To hold fast the profession of our Faith without wavering And I think these following Particulars may very well be supposed to be implied in it 1. That we should hold fast the Profession of our Faith against the Confidence of Men without Scripture or Reason to support their Confidence 2. And much more against the Confidence of Men contrary to Scripture and Reason and the common Sense of Mankind 3. Against all the Temptations and Terrours of the World 4. Against all vain Promises of being put into a safer Condition and groundless Hopes of getting to Heaven upon easier terms in another Religion 5. Against all the cunning Arts and Insinuations of busie and disputing Men whose Design it is to unhinge Men from their Religion and to gain Proselytes to their own Party and Faction I shall go over these with as much Clearness and Brevity as I can 1. We should hold fast the Profession of our Faith against the Confidence of Men without Scripture or Reason to support that Confidence All Religion is either Natural or Instituted The Rule of Natural Religion is the common Reason of Mankind The Rule of Instituted Religion is divine Revelation or the Word of God which all Christians before the Council of Trent did agree to be contained in the Holy Scriptures So that nothing can pretend to be Religion but what can be proved to be so One or both of those ways either by Scripture or by Reason or by both And how confident soever Men may be of Opinions destitute of this Proof any Man that understands the Grounds of Religion will without any more ado reject them for want of this proof and notwithstanding any pretended Authority or Infallibility of the Church that imposeth them will have no more Consideration and Regard of them than of the confident Dictates and Assertions of any Enthusiast whatsoever because there is no reason to have regard to any Man's Confidence if the Arguments and Reasons which he brings bear no proportion to it We see in Experience that Confidence is generally ill grounded and is a kind of Passion in the Understanding and is commonly made use of like Fury and Force to supply for the weakness and want of Argument If a Man can prove what he says by good Argument there is no need of Confidence to back and support it We may at any time trust a plain and substantial Reason and leave it to make its own way and to bear out its self But if the man's Reasons and Arguments be not good his Confidence adds nothing of real Force to them in the Opinion of Wise men and tends only to its own Confusion Arguments are like Powder which will carry and do execution according to its true strength and all the rest is but noise And generally none are so much to be suspected of Errour or a Design to deceive as those that pretend most confidently to Inspiration and Infallibility As we see in all sorts of Enthusiasts who pretend to Inspiration although we have nothing but their own word for it for they work no Miracles And all pretence to Inspiration and Infallibility without Miracle whether it be in particular Persons or in whole Churches is Enthusiastical i. e. a Pretence to Inspiration without any Proof of it And therefore St. Paul was not moved by the Boasting and Confidence of the false Apostles because they gave no Proof and Evidence of their Divine Inspiration and Commission as he had done for which he appeals to the Sense of Men Whether he had not wrought great Miracles which the false Apostles had not done though they had the confidence to give out themselves to be Apostles as well as he 2 Cor. 12. 11 12. I am says he become a fool in glorying ye have compelled me And truly the signs of an Apostle were wrought among you in all patience in signs and wonders and mighty deeds And Rev. 2. 2. Christ there commends the Church of Ephesus because she had tried them which said they were Apostles but were not and had found them liars And as we are not to believe every one that says he is an Apostle so neither every one that pretends to be a Successor of the Apostles and to be endued with the same Spirit of Infallibility that they were For these also when they are tried whether they be the Successors of the Apostles or not may be found Liars And therefore St. John cautions Christians not to believe every spirit that is every one that pretends to divine Inspiration and the Spirit of God but to try the Spirits whether they be of God because many false Prophets are gone out into the World 1 Joh. 4. 1. And therefore the Confidence of Men
might the better comprehend the true and full meaning of this Exhortation I shewed 1. Negatively what is not meant and intended by it And I mentioned these two Particulars 1. The Apostle doth not hereby intend that those who are capable of enquiring into and examining the Grounds of their Religion should not have the Liberty to do it Nor 2. That when upon due Enquiry and Examination Men are settled as they think and verily believe in the true Faith and Religion they should obstinately refuse to hear any Reason that can be offered against their present Persuasion Both these I shewed to be unreasonable and Arguments of a bad Cause and Religion And therefore neither of them can be intended by the Apostle in this Exhortation 2. I proceeded Positively to explain the meaning of this Exhortation And to this purpose I proposed 1. To consider what it is that we are to hold fast viz. the Confession or Profession of our Faith The antient Christian Faith of which every Christian makes Profession in his Baptism For of That the Apostle here speaks as appears by the Context not the doubtful and uncertain Traditions of Men nor the imperious Dictates and Doctrines of any Church not contained in the Holy Scriptures imposed upon the Christian Church tho with never so confident a pretence of the Antiquity of the Doctrines proposed or of the Infallibility of the Proposers of them And then I proceeded in the 2. Place to shew how we are to hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering And I mentioned these following Particulars as probably implied in the Apostles Exhortation 1. That we should hold fast the Profession of our Faith against the Confidence of Men without Scripture or Reason to support their Confidence 2. And much more against the Confidence of Men against Scripture and Reason and the common Sense of Mankind 3. Against all the Temptations and Terrours of the World 4. Against all vain Promises of being put into a safer condition and groundless Hopes of getting to Heaven upon easier Terms in another Religion 5. Against all the cunning Arts and Insinuations of busiy and disputing Men whose design it is to unhinge Men from their Religion and to gain Proselytes to their Party and Faction 1. We are to hold fast the Profession of our Faith against the Confidence of Men without Scripture or Reason to support their Confidence And of this I gave several Instances As in the Pretence of the Church of Rome to Infallibility without any Proof or Evidence of it either by Scripture or Miracles I mean such Miracles as are sufficiently attested For as for their Legends since the wisest among themselves give no credit to them I hope they do not expect that We should believe them or be moved by them And then their Pretence that the Church of Rome is the Mother and Mistress of all Churches which is now made an Article of their Creed And that the Bishop of Rome as Successor of Saint Peter there is by Divine Appointment the Supream and Vniversal Pastor of Christs Church And that it is necessary to Salvation for every humane Creature to be subject to him And lastly their Invocation and Worship of the Blessed Virgin and Saints departed without any Warrant or Example of any such thing either in Scripture or in the practice of the first Ages of the Christian Religion and without sufficient Ground to believe that they hear the Prayers which are put up to them 2. Much more are we to hold fast the Profession of our Faith against the Confidence of Men contrary to Scripture and Reason and the common Sense of Mankind And here I instanced in the Worship of Images the Locking up of the Scriptures from the People and celebrating the publick Prayers and Service of God in an unknown Tongue in their Doctrine of Transubstantiation their Communion in one kind and their daily repetition in the Sacrifice of the Mass of the Propitiatory Sacrifice of Christ which was offered once for all and is of Eternal Virtue and Efficacy and therefore ought not because it needs not like Jewish Sacrifices under the Law to be repeated To these Instances which I have already spoken to I shall add one or two more as namely That to the due Administration of the Sacraments an Intention in the Minister at least to do what the Church does is requisite This is expresly defined and under an Anathema upon all that shall say otherwise by the Council of Trent Sess. the Seventh Can. 11th which is to make the Validity and Virtue of the Sacraments to depend upon the Intention of the Priest or Minister So that if in the Administration of Baptism he do not intend to Baptize the Party he pretends to Baptize then it is no Baptism and consequently the Person Baptized is not made a Member of Christ's Church nor is any Grace or special Benefit conferred upon him nor is he a Christian. So likewise in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper If the Priest do not intend to Consecrate the Host then is it no Sacrament and they that receive it receive no benefit by it and which according to their Opinion is a dreadful Consequence by the words of Consecration there is no change made of the Elements into the Body and Blood of Christ and consequently they that give Adoration to the Sacrament in such cases Worship Bread and Wine for God which is Idolatry And so likewise in their Sacrament of Penance though the Priest pronounce the words of Absolution yet if he do not intend to absolve the Penitent though he be never so truly penitent and God on his part is ready to forgive him yet if the Priest do not intend to do so there is nothing done and the Man is still in his Sin So likewise in Ordination which is another of their Sacraments if the Bishop do not intend to Ordain the Man he is no Priest and all that he does as a Priest afterwards either in Administration of Baptism or the Lords Supper or the Absolution of Penitents all is vain and of no effect Nay in Marriage which they will needs have to be a Sacrament too if the Intention of the Priest be wanting there is nothing done the Contract is null'd and they that are so Married do really live in Adultery though they do not know it nor have any suspicion of it Now this is contrary to Scripture and the whole Tenure of the Gospel which promiseth the benefit and efficacy of the Sacraments to all those that perform the Conditions of the Covenant which are required on their parts and declares forgiveness of Sins to those who confess them to God and truly repent of them And there is not the least intimation given in the Bible that the Virtue and Efficacy of the Sacraments does depend upon the Intention of him that administers them or that the Forgiveness of sins is suspended upon the Intention or Absolution of the Priest but
only upon the sincere Resolution of the Penitent And surely nothing can be more absurd and contrary to Reason than that when Men have performed all the Conditions which the Gospel requires yet they should notwithstanding this be deprived of all the Blessings and Benefits which God hath promised and intends to confer upon them because the Priest hath not the same Intention So that when a Man hath done all he can to work out his own Salvation he shall be never the nearer only for want of That which is wholly out of his Power the right Intention of the Priest Besides that after all their Boasts of the safe Condition of Men in Their Church and the most certain and infallible means of Salvation to be had in it this one Principle that the Intention of the Priest is necessary to the Validity and Virtue of the Sacraments puts the Salvation of Men upon the greatest Hazard and Uncertainty and such as it is impossible for any Man either to discover or prevent unless he had some certain way to know the Heart and Intention of the Priest For upon these terms who can know whether any Man be a Priest and really ordained or not Nay whether he be a Christian and have been truly baptized or not and consequently whether any of his Admistrations be valid and we have any Benefit and Advantage by them Because all this depends upon the knowledge of that which we neither do nor can know So that when a Man hath conscientiously done all that God requires of any Man to make him capable of Salvation yet without any Fault of his the want of Intention in an idle-minded Man may frustrate all And though the Man have been baptized and do truly believe the Gospel and hath sincerely repented of his sins and lived a most Holy Life yet all this may signifie nothing and after all he may be no Christian because his Baptism was invalid And all the Promises of God to the means of Salvation which his Goodness and Wisdom hath prescribed may be of no Efficacy if the Priest do not intend in the Administration of the Sacraments to do that which God and the Church intend Now if this be true there is certainly no Church in the World in which the Salvation of Men runs so many hazards and yet all this hazard and uncertainty has its rise from a Scholastical Point which is directly contrary to all the Notions of Mankind concerning the Goodness of God and to the clear Reason of the thing and to the constant Tenor of the Gospel and which was never asserted by any of the ancient Fathers much less defined by any Council before that of Trent So that it is a Doctrine new and needless and in the necessary consequences of it unreasonable and absurd to the utmost degree The last Instance I shall mention is their Rule of Faith The Rule of Faith universally received and acknowledged by the Christian Church in all Ages before the Council of Trent was the Word of God contained in the Canonical Books of Holy Scripture which were therefore by the Church called Canonical because they were the Rule of Faith and Manners of the Doctrines to be believed and the Duties to be practised by all Christians But when the Errours and Corruptions of the Romish Church were grown to the highth and the Pope and his Council at Trent were resolved not to Retrench and Reform them they saw it necessary to enlarge and lengthen out their Rule because the ancient Rule of the Holy Scriptures would by no means reach several of the Doctrines and Practices of that Church which they were resolved to maintain and make good by one means or other As namely the Doctrine of Transubstantiation of Purgatory and of the Seven Sacracraments and the practice of the Worship of Saints and Images of the Scriptures and the Service of God in an unknown Tongue of Indulgences and the Communion in one kind and several other superstitious Practices in use among them Now to enlarge their Rule to the best advantage for the Justification of these Doctrines and Practices they took these two ways 1. They have added to the Canonical Books of the Old Testament which were received by the Jewish Church to whom were committed the Oracles of God I say to these they have added several Apocryphal Books not warranted by Divine Inspiration because they were written after Prophecy and Divine Inspiration was ceased in the Jewish Church Malachi being the last of their Prophets according to the general Tradition of that Church But because the addition of these Books did not make a Rule of Faith and Practice large enough for their purpose in imitation of the Jews in the time of the greatest Confusion and Degeneracy of that Church they added in the Second Place to their Books of Scripture which they call the written Word an unwritten Word which they call Oral Tradition from Christ and his Apostles which they declare to be of equal Authority with the Holy Scriptures themselves and that it ought to be received with the same Pious Veneration and Affection Of which Traditions They being the Keepers and Judges they may extend them to what they please and having them in their own Breasts they may declare whatever they have a mind to to have been a constant and universal Tradition of their Church tho it is evident to common Sense that nothing can be more uncertain and more liable to Alteration and Mistake than Tradition at the distance of so many Ages brought down by word of mouth without writing and passing through so many hands He that can think these to be of equal Certainty and Authority with what is delivered by Writing and brought down by Books undertakes the defence of a strange Paradox viz. That general Rumour and Report of Things said and done 1500 Years ago is of equal Authority and Credit with a Record and a written History By which proceeding of the Council of Trent concerning the Rule of Faith and Practice it is very evident that they had no mind to bring their Faith to the Ancient Rule the Holy Scriptures That they knew could not be done and therefore they were resolved to fit their Rule to their Faith And this Foundation being laid in their first Decree all the rest would afterwards go on very smoothly For do but give Men the making of their Rule and they can make good any thing by it And accordingly the Council of Trent having thus fixt and fitted a Rule to their own purpose in the Conclusion of that Decree they give the World fair warning upon what Grounds and in what Ways they intend to proceed in their following Decrees of Practice and Definitions of Faith Omnes itaque intelligant quo ordine via ipsa Synodus post jactum fidei confessionis fundamentum sit progressura c. Be it known therefore to all men in what Order and Way the Synod after having laid this
this case of Renouncing our Religion unless it be very sudden and surprizing out of which a Man recovers himself when he comes to himself as St. Peter did or the Suffering be so extream as to put a Man besides himself for the time so as to make him say or do any thing I say in this case of Renouncing God and his Truth God will not admit Fear for a just excuse of our Apostacy which if it be unrepented of and the Scripture speaks of Repentance in that case as very difficult will be our Ruin And the Reason is because God has given us such fair Warning of it that we may be prepared for it in the Resolution of our Minds And we enter into Religion upon these Terms with a professed Expectation of Suffering and a firm Purpose to lay down our Lives for the Truth if God shall call us to it If any Man will be my Disciple says our Lord let him deny himself and take up his Cross and follow me And again He that loveth Life it self more than me is not worthy of me And if any Man be ashamed of me and of my Words in this unfaithful Generation of him will I be ashamed before my Father and the Holy Angels And therefore to master and subdue this Fear our Saviour hath propounded great Objects of Terror to us and a Danger infinitely more to be dreaded which every Man runs himself wilfully upon who shall quit the Profession of his Religion to avoid Temporal Sufferings Luke 12. 4 5. Fear not them that can kill the Body but after that have nothing that they can do But I will tell you whom you shall fear Fear him who after he hath killed can destroy both Body and Soul in Hell Yea I say unto you Fear him And to this dreadful Hazard every Man exposeth himself who for the Fear of Men ventures thus to offend God These are the Fearful and Vnbelievers spoken of by St. John Who shall have their Portion in the Lake which burneth with Fire and Brimstone which is the second Death Thus you see how we are to hold fast the Profession of our Faith without wavering against all Temptations and Terrors of this World I should now have proceeded to the next Particular namely that we are to hold fast the Profession of our Faith against all vain Promises of being put into a safer Condition and groundless Hopes of getting to Heaven upon easier Terms in some other Church and Religion But this I shall not now enter upon A SERMON ON HEB. X. 23. Let us hold fast the Profession of our Faith without wavering for he is faithful that promised IN these Words I have told you are contained these Two Parts I. An Exhortation To hold fast the Profession of our Faith without wavering II. An Argument or Encouragement thereto Because he is faithful that hath promised I am yet upon the First of these the Exhortation to Christians to be Constant and Steady in the Profession of their Religion Let us hold fast the Profession of our Faith without wavering And that we might the better comprehend the true and full meaning of this Exhortation I shewed I. Negatively what is not meant and intended by it And I mentioned these Two Particulars 1. The Apostle doth not hereby intend that those who are capable of enquiring into and examining the Grounds and Reasons of their Religion should not have the liberty to do it Nor 2. That when upon due Enquiry and Examination Men are settled as they think and verily believe in the True Faith and Religion they should obstinately refuse to hear any Reason that can be offered against their present Persuasion for Reason when it is fairly offered is always to be heard I proceeded in the Second Place Positively to explain the Meaning of this Exhortation And to this purpose I proposed to consider 1. What it is that we are to hold fast viz. the Confession or Profession of our Faith The Ancient Christian Faith which every Christian makes Profession of in his Baptism Not the Doubtful and Uncertain Traditions of Men nor the Imperious Dictates and Doctrines of any Church which are not contained in the Holy Scriptures imposed upon the Christian World though with never so confident a Pretence of the Antiquity of the Doctrines or of the Infallibility of the Proposers of them And then I proceded in the Second Place to shew how we are to hold fast the Profession of our Faith without wavering And I mentioned these following Particulars as probably implied and comprehended in the Apostles Exhortation 1. That we should hold fast the Profession of our Faith against the Confidence of Men without Scripture or Reason to support that Confidence 2. And much more against the Confidence of Men contrary to plain Scripture and Reason and the common Sense of Mankind under both which Heads I gave several Instances of Doctrines and Practices imposed with great Confidence upon the World some without and others plainly against Scripture and Reason and the common Sense of Mankind 3. Against all the Temptations and and Terrours of the World the Temptations of Fashion and Example and of worldly Interest and Advantage and against the Terrours of Persecution and Suffering for the Truth Thus far I have gone I shall now proceed to the Two other Particulars which remain to be spoken to 4. We are to hold fast the profession of our Faith against all vain Promises of being put into a safer Condition and groundless Hopes of getting to Heaven upon easier Terms in some other Church and Religion God hath plainly declared to us in the holy Scriptures upon what Terms and Conditions we may obtain Eternal Life and Happiness and what will certainly exclude us from it That except we repent i. e. without true Contrition for our Sins and forsaking of them we shall perish That without Holiness no man shall see the Lord That no Fornicator or Adulterer or Idolater or Covetous Person nor any one that lives in the practice of such sins shall have any Inheritance in the Kingdom of God or Christ. There is as great and unpassable a Gulf fixt between Heaven and a wicked Man as there is betwixt Heaven and Hell And when Men have done all they can to debauch and corrupt the Christian Doctrine it is impossible to reconcile a wicked Life with any reasonable and well-grounded Hopes of Happiness in another World No Church hath that Priviledge to save a Man upon any other Terms than those which our Blessed Saviour hath declared in his holy Gospel All Religions are equal in this That a bad Man can be Saved in none of them The Church of Rome pretends their Church and Religion to be the only safe and sure way to Salvation and yet if their Doctrine be true concerning the Intention of the Priest and if it be not they are much to blame in making it an Article of their Faith I say if it be true that the Intention
of the Rule of Faith I know that the Council of Trent declares it for the Rule they intend to proceed upon and make use of for the Confirmation and Proof of their following Determinations and Decrees But did any of the ancient Councils of the Christian Church lay down this Rule and proceed upon it Did not Constantine the Emperour at the opening of the First General Council lay the Bible before them as the only Rule according to which they were to proceed and this with the Approbation of all those Holy Fathers that were assembled in that Council And did not following Councils proceed upon the same Rule Do any of the ancient Fathers ever mention any Rule of Christian Faith and Practice besides the Holy Scriptures and the ancient Creed which because it is an Abridgment of the necessary Articles of Christian Faith contained in the Holy Scriptures is by them frequently called the Rule of Faith Do not the same Fathers frequently and expresly say That the Scriptures are a perfect Rule and that all things are plainly contained in them which concern Faith and Life and that whatever cannot be proved by Testimony of Scripture is to be rejected All this I am sure I can make good by innumerable express Testimonies of the ancient Fathers which are well known to those that are versed in them By what Authority then hath the Council of Trent set up this new Rule unknown to the Christian Church for 1500 Years and who gave them this Authority The plain truth is the necessity of it for the Defence of the Errors and Corruptions which they had embraced and were resolved not to part with forced them to lengthen out the Rule the old Rule of the Holy Scriptures being too short for their purpose Thirdly Whereas they pretend that Holy Scripture as expounded by a private Spirit may not seem so favourable to some of their Doctrines and Practices yet as interpreted by Tradition which can only give the true Sense of Scripture it agrees very well with them I suppose they mean that whereas a private Spirit would be apt to understand some Texts of Scripture as if People were to search and read the Scripture Tradition interprets those Texts in a quite other Sense that People are not to be permitted to read the Holy Scriptures A private Spirit would be apt to understand St. Paul's Discourse in the 14th of the 1st to the Corinthians to be against Celebrating Prayer and the Service of God in an unknown Tongue as being contrary to Edification and indeed to common Sense For he says If one should come and find them speaking and praying in an unknown Tongue will they not say Ye are mad But now Tradition which only knows how to give the true Sense can reconcile this Discourse of St. Paul very easily with the Practice of the Church of Rome in this matter And so likewise the Epistle of St. Paul to the Colossians with the Worship of Angels and the Epistle to the Hebrews with offering the Propitiatory Sacrifice of Christ in the Mass a Thousand times every Day And to give but one Instance more Whereas a Man by his private Spirit would be very apt to understand the Second Commandment to forbid all Worship of Images Tradition discovers the meaning of this Commandment to be that due Veneration is to be given to them So that at this rate of interpreting Scripture by Tradition it is impossible to fix any Objection from Scripture upon any Doctrine or Practice which they have a mind to maintain Fourthly Whereas they pretend the Tradition of their Church delivered from the Mouth of Christ or dictated by the Holy Spirit and brought down to them and preserved by continnal Succession in the Church to be of equal Authority with the Word of God for so the Council of Trent says That the Holy Synod doth receive and venerate these Traditions with equal pious Affection and Reverence as they do the written Word of God This we must declare against as unreasonable in it self to make Tradition conveyed by Word of Mouth from one to another through so many Ages and liable to so many Mistakes and Miscarriages to be at the distance of 1500 Years of equal Certainty and Authority with the Holy Scriptures carefully preserved and transmitted down to us because this as I said before is to make common Rumor and Report of equal Authority and Certainty with a written Record And not only so but hereby they make the Scriptures an imperfect Rule contrary to the declared Judgment of the ancient Fathers and Councils of the Christian Church and so in truth they set up a new Rule of Faith whereby they change the Christian Religion For a new Rule of Faith and Religion makes a new Faith and Religion This we charge the Church of Rome with and do challenge them to shew this new Rule of Faith before the Council of Trent and consequently where their Religion was before that Council to shew a Religion consisting of all those Articles which are defined by the Council of Trent as necessary to Salvation and established upon this new Rule professed by any Christian Church in the World before that time And as they have pitch'd upon a new Rule of Faith so it is easie to see to what End For take Pope Pius IV. his Creed and we may see where the Old and New Religion parts even at the end of the Twelve Articles of the Aplostles Creed which was the ancient Christian Faith to which are added in Pope Pius his Creed Twelve Articles more defined in the Council of Trent and supported only by Tradition So that as the Scripture answers for the Twelve old Articles which are plainly contained there so Tradition is to answer for the Twelve new ones And therefore the matter was calculated very exactly when they make Tradition just of equal Authority with the Scriptures because as many Articles of Their Faith were to be made good by it and rely upon it as those which are proved by the Authority of Scripture But that Tradition is of equal Authority with the Scriptures we have nothing in the whole World for it but the bare Assertion of the Council of Trent I should now have added some other Considerations tending to confirm and establish us in our Religion against the Pretences and Insinuations of Seducing Spirits But I shall proceed no farther at present The Tenth Sermon as number'd follows THere is a mistake in Numbering of these Sermons The Tenth should be called the Ninth and so on to the end For there are but Fifteen Sermons in this Volume and should be no more A SERMON HEB. X. 23. Let us hold fast the profession of our Faith without wavering for he is faithful that hath promised THESE words contain an Exhortation to hold fast the Profession of our Faith without wavering and an Argument or Encouragement thereto because he is faithful that hath promised By the Exhortation to hold fast the
Profession of our Faith without wavering is not meant that those who are capable of examining the Grounds and Reasons of their Religion should blindly hold it fast against the best Reasons that can be offered because upon these terms every Man must continue in the Religion in which he happens to be fixt by Education or an ill choice be his Religion true or false without Examining and looking into it whether it be right or wrong for till a Man examines every Man thinks his Religion right That which the Apostle here exhorts Christians to hold fast is the Ancient Faith of which all Christians make a solemn profession in their Baptism as plainly appears from the context And this Profession of our Faith we are to hold in the following instances which I shall but briefly mention without enlarging upon them 1. We are to hold fast the Profession of our Faith against the Confidence of Men without Scripture or Reason to support that Confidence 2. And much more against the Confidence of Men contrary to plain Scripture and Reason and to the common Sense of Mankind 3. Against all the Temptations and Terrors of the World against the Temptations of Fashion and Example and of Worldly Interest and Advantage and against all Terrors and Sufferings of Persecution 4. Against all vain promises of being put into a safer condition and groundless hopes of getting to Heaven upon easier terms than the Gospel hath proposed in some other Church and Religion Lastly We are to hold fast the Profession of our Faith without wavering against all the cunning Arts and Insinuations of busie and disputing Men whose design it is to unhinge Men from their Religion and to make Proselytes to their Party and Faction But without entring into these particulars I shall in order to Establishment in the Reformed Religion which we profess in opposition to the Errors and Corruptions of the Church of Rome apply my self at this time to make a short comparison betwixt the Religion which we profess and that of the Church of Rome That we may discern on which side the advantage of Truth lies and in making this comparison I shall insist upon Three things which will bring the matter to an issue and are I think sufficient to determine every sober and considerate Man which of these he ought in Reason and with regard to the safety of his Soul to embrace And they are these I. That we govern our Belief and Practice in matters of Religion by the true ancient Rule of Christianity the Word of God contained in the Holy Scriptures But the Church of Rome for the maintenance of their Errors and Corruptions have been forced to devise a new Rule never owned by the Primitive Church nor by the Ancient Fathers and Councils of it II. That the Doctrines and Practices in difference betwixt us and the Church of Rome are either contrary to this Rule or destitute of the Warrant and Authority of it and are plain Additions to the ancient Christianity and Corruptions of it III. That our Religion hath many clear Advantages of that of the Church of Rome not only very considerable in themselves but very obvious and discernable to an ordinary capacity upon the first proposal of them I shall be as brief in these as I can I. That we govern our belief and Practice in matters of Religion by the true ancient Rule of Christianity the Word of God contain'd in the Holy Scriptures But the Church of Rome for the maintaining of their Errors and Corruptions have been forced to devise a new Rule never owned by the Primitive Church nor by the Ancient Councils and Fathers of it That is they have joined with the Word of God contained in the Holy Scriptures the unwritten Traditions of their Church concerning several points of their Faith and Practice which they acknowledge cannot be proved from Scripture and these they call the unwritten Word of God and the Council of Trent hath decreed them to be of equal Authority with the Holy Scriptures and that they do receive and venerate them with the same pious Affection and Reverence and all this contrary to the express declaration and unanimous consent of all the Ancient Councils and Fathers of the Christian Church as I have already shewn and this never declar'd to be a point of Faith till it was decreed not much above a Hundred Years ago in the Council of Trent and this surely if any thing is a Matter of great consequence to presume to alter the Ancient Rule of Christian Doctrine and Practice and to enlarge it and add to it at their pleasure But the Church of Rome having made so great a change in the Doctrine and Practice of Christianity it became consequently necessary to make a change of the Rule And therefore with great Reason did the Council of Trent take this into consideration in the first place and put it in the front of their Decrees because it was to be the foundation and main proof of the following Definitions of Faith and Decrees of Practice for which without this new Rule there had been no colour II. The Doctrines and Practices in difference betwixt us and the Church of Rome are either contrary to the true Rule or destitute of the Warrant and Authority of it and plain Additions to the Ancient Christianity and Corruptions of it the Truth of this will best appear by instancing in some of the principal Doctrines and Practices in difference betwixt us As for their two great Fundamental Doctrines of the Supremacy of the Bishop of Rome over all the Christians in the world and the Infallibility of their Church there is not one word in Scripture concerning these Priviledges nay it is little less than a demonstration that they have no such Priviledges that St. Paul in a long Epistle to the Church of Rome takes no notice of them That the Church of Rome either then was or was to be soon after the Mother and Mistress of all Churches which is now grown to be an Article of Faith in the Church of Rome and yet it is hardly to be imagined that he could have omitted to take notice of such remarkable Priviledges of their Bishops and Church above any in the world had he known they had belonged to them So that in all probability he was ignorant of those mighty Prerogatives of the Church of Rome otherwise it cannot be but that he would have written with more deference and submission to this Seat of Infallibility and Center of Unity he would certainly have paid a greater Respect to this Mother and Mistress of all Churches where the Head of the Church and Vicar of Christ either was already seated or by the appointment of Christ was designed for ever to fix his Throne and establish his Residence but there is not one word or the least intimation of any such thing throughout this whole Epistle nor in any other part of the New Testament Besides that both these pretended
Foundation of the Confession of Faith will proceed and what Testimonies and Proofs she chiefly intends to make use of for the Confirmation of Doctrines and Reformation of Manners in the Church And no doubt all Men do see very plainly to what purpose this Foundation is laid of so large a Rule of Faith And this being admitted how easie is it for them to confirm and prove whatever Doctrines and Practices they have a mind to establish But if this be a new and another Foundation than That which the Great Author and Founder of our Religion hath laid and built his Church upon viz. the Foundation of the Prophets and Apostles it is no matter what they build upon it And if they go about to prove any thing by the new parts of this Rule by the Apocryphal Books which they have added to the ancient Canon of the Scriptures brought down to us by the general Tradition of the Christian Church and by their pretended unwritten Traditions we do with Reason reject this kind of Proof and desire them first to prove their Rule before they pretend to prove any thing by it For we protest against this Rule as never declared and owned by the Christian Church nor proceeded upon by the ancient Fathers of the Church nor by any Council whatsoever before the Council of Trent In vain then doth the Church of Rome vaunt it self of the Antiquity of their Faith and Religion when the very Foundation and Rule of it is but of Yesterday a new thing never before known or heard of in the Christian World Whereas the Foundation and Rule of Our Religion is the Word of God contained in the Holy Scriptures to which Christians in all Ages have appealed as the only Rule of Faith and Life I proceed now to the 3. Thing I proposed viz. that we are to hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering against all the Temptations and Terrours of the World And this seems more especially and principally to be here intended by the Apostle in this Exhortation I shall first speak of the Temptations of the World And they are chiefly these Two the Temptation of Fashion and Example And of worldly Interest and Advantage 1. Of Fashion and Example This in Truth and Reality is no strong Argument and yet in Experience and Effect it is often found to be very powerful It is frequently seen that this hath many times too great an Influence upon weak and foolish Minds Men are apt to be carried down with the Stream and to follow a Multitude in that which is evil But more especially Men are prone to be swayed by great Examples and to bend themselves to such an Obsequiousness to their Superiours and Betters that in compliance with them they are ready not only to change their Affection to Persons and Things as They do but even their Judgment also and that in the greatest and weightest Matters even in Matters of Religion and the great concernments of another World But this surely is an Argument of a poor and mean Spirit and of a weak Understanding which leans upon the Judgment of another and is in truth the lowest degree of Servility that a reasonable Creature can stoop to and even beneath That of a Slave who in the midst of his Chains and Fetters doth still retain the Freedom of his Mind and Judgment But I need not to urge this upon considerate Persons who know better how to value their Duty and Obligation to God than to be tempted to do any thing contrary thereto meerly in compliance with Fashion and Example There are some Things in Religion so very plain that a wise and good Man would stand alone in the Belief and Practice of them and not be moved in the least by the contrary Example of the whole World It was a brave Resolution of Joshua though all Men should forsake the God of Israel and run aside to other Gods yet he would not do it Joshua 24. 15. If it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord chuse you this day whom you will serve But as for me and my House we will serve the Lord. It was well resolv'd of Peter if he had not been too confident of his own Strength when he said to our Saviour Though all Men forsake thee yet will not I. 2. Another sort of Temptation and which is commonly more Powerful than Example is worldly Interest and Advantage This is a mighty Bait to a great Part of Mankind and apt to work very strongly upon the Necessities of some and upon the Covetousness and Ambition of others Some Men are tempted by Necessity which many times makes them do ugly and reproachful Things and like Esau for a Morsel of Meat to sell their Birth-right and Blessing Covetousness tempts others to be of that Religion which gives them the prospect of the greatest Earthly Advantage either for the increasing or securing of their Estates When they find that they cannot serve God and Mammon they will forsake the one and cleave to the other This was one of the great Temptations to many in the Primitive Times and a frequent Cause of Apostacy from the Faith an eager Desire of Riches and too great a Value for them as St. Paul observes 1 Tim. 6. 9 10. But they that will be Rich fall into Temptation and a Snare and into many foolish and hurtful Lusts which drown Men in Destruction and Perdition For the Love of Money is the Root of all Evil which while some have coveted after they have erred or been seduced from the Faith and pierced themselves through with many Sorrows This was the Temptation which drew off Demas from his Religion as St. Paul tells us 2 Tim. 4. 10. Demas hath forsaken me having loved this present World Ambition is likewise a great Temptation to proud and aspiring Minds and makes many Men false to their Religion when they find it a hinderance to their Preferment and they are easily perswaded that That is the best Religion which is attended with the greatest worldly Advantages and will raise them to the highest Dignity The Devil understood very well the Force of this Temptation when he set upon our Saviour and therefore reserv'd it for the last Assault He shewed him all the Kingdoms of the Earth and the Glory of them and said to him All this will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me And when he saw this would not prevail he gave him over in despair and left him But though this be a very dazling Temptation yet there are Considerations of that Weight to be set over-against it from the Nature of Religion and the infinite Concernment of it to our immortal Souls as is sufficient to quench this fiery Dart of the Devil and to put all the Temptations of this World out of Countenance and to render all the Riches and Glory of it in comparison of the Eternal Happiness and Misery of the other World but as the very
Scripture or in the Doctrine and Practice of the Ancient Christian Church any Command or Example for the Worship of Images for the Invocation of Saints and Angels and the Blessed Virgin which do now make a great part of their Religion Nay is not the Doctrine of the Scriptures and of the Ancient Fathers plainly against all these Practices With what face then can it be said That the Church of Rome hath made a constant Visible Profession of the same Faith and Practice in all Ages from the time of Christ and his Apostles Or would the primitive Church of Rome if it should now visit the Earth again own the present Church of Rome to be the same in all Matters of Faith and practice that it was when they left it And whereas they demand of Us to shew a Visible Church from the time of Christ and his Apostles that hath always opposed the Church of Rome in those points of Doctrine and Practice which we Object to them what can be more impertinent than this Demand When they know that in all these Points we charge them with Innovations in Matters of Faith and Practice and say that those things came in by degrees several Ages after the Apostles time some sooner some later as we are able to make good and have done it And would they have us shew them a Visible Church that opposed these Errors and Corruptions in their Church before ever they appeared This we do not pretend to shew And supposing they had not been at all opposed when they appeared nor a long time after not till the Reformation yet if they be Errors and Corruptions of the Christian Doctrine and contrary to the Holy Scriptures and to the Faith and Practice of the Primitive Church there is no Prescription against Truth 'T is never too late for any Church to reject those Errors and Corruptions and to reform it self from them The bottom of all this Matter is they would have us to shew them a Society of Christians that in all Ages hath preserved it self free from all such Errors and Corruptions as we charge them withall or else we deny the Perpetual Visibility of the Catholick Church No such matter We say the Church of Christ hath always been Visible in every Age since Christ's time and that the several Societies of Christians professing the Christian Doctrine and Laws of Christ have made up the Catholick Church some parts whereof have in several Ages fallen into great Errors and Corruptions and no part of the Catholick into more and greater than the Church of Rome So that it requires the utmost of our Charity to think that they are a true tho a very unsound and corrupt Part of the Catholick Church of Christ. We acknowledge likewise that We were once involved in the like Degeneracy but by the mercy of God and pious care and prudence of those that were in Authority are happily rescued out of it and tho' we were not out of the Catholick Church before yet since our Reformation from the Errors and Corruptions of the Church of Rome we are in it upon better Terms and are a much sounder Part of it and I hope by the Mercy and Goodness of God we shall for ever continue so So that to the Perpetual Visibility of Christ's Church it is not necessary that the whole Christian Church or indeed that any Part of it should be free from all Errors and Corruptions Even the Churches planted by the Apostles in the Primitive Times were not so St. Paul reproves several Doctrines and Practices in the Church of Corinth and of Colosse and of Galatia and the Spirit of God several Things in the Seven Churches of Asia and yet all these were true Parts and Members of the Catholick Church of Christ notwithstanding these Faults and Errors because they all agreed in the Main and Essential Doctrines of Christianity And when more and greater Corruptions grew upon the Church or any part of it the greater reason and need there was of a Reformation And as every particular Person hath a right to reform any thing that he finds amiss in himself so far as concerns himself so much more every National Church hath a Power within it self to reform it self from all Errors and Corruptions and by the Sanction of the Catholick Authority to confirm that Reformation which is our Case here in England And whatever part of the Church how great and eminent soever excludes from her Communion such a National Church for reforming her self from plain Errors and Corruptions clearly condemned by the Word of God and by the Doctrine and Practice of the Primitive Christian Church is undoubtedly Guilty of Schism And this is the Truth of the Case between us and the Church of Rome And no blind talk about a Perpetual Visible Church can render Us guilty of Schism for making a Real Reformation or acquit Them of it for casting us out of their Communion for that Cause 7. And Lastly to mention no more they pretend that we delude the People by laying too much stress upon Scripture and making it the only Rule of Faith and Manners whereas Scripture and Tradition together make up the entire Rule of Faith and not Scripture Interpreted by every Mans private Fancy but by Tradition carefully preserved in the Church So that it ought to be no wonder if several of their Doctrines and Practices cannot be so clearly made out by Scripture or perhaps seem contrary to it as it may be expounded by a private Spirit but not as Interpreted by the Tradition of the Church which can only give the true Sense of Scripture And therefore they are to understand that several of those Doctrines and Practices which we Object against are most clearly proved by the Tradition of their Church which is of equal Authority with Scripture In this Objection of theirs which they design for the Cover of all their Errors and Corruptions there are several things distinctly to be considered which I shall do as briefly as I can First Whereas it is suggested That We delude the People by laying too much stress upon the Scriptures which certainly we cannot well do if it be the Word of God it ought to be considered whether They do not delude and abuse them infinitely more in keeping the Scriptures from them and not suffering them to see That which they cannot deny to be at least a considerable Part of the Rule of Christian Doctrine and Practice Doth it not by this dealing of theirs appear very suspicious that they are extreamly afraid that the People should examine their Doctrine and Practice by this Rule For what other Reason can they have to conceal it from them Secondly Whereas they affirm that Scripture alone is not the Rule of Christian Faith and Practice but that Scripture and Oral Tradition preserved in the Church and delivered down from hand to hand makes up the entire Rule I would fain know whence they learn'd this new Doctrine
of the true ancient Religion and the only true Church of God upon Earth or by the terrour of Heathen persecution which was so hot against them at that time And to this end the Author of this Epistle doth by great variety of arguments demonstrate the excellency of the Christian Religion above the Jewish dispensation and shews at large that in all those respects upon which the Jews valued themselves and their Religion as namely upon the account of their Lawgiver their High-Priests and their Sacrifices the Christian Religion had every way the advantage of them And having made this clear he concludes with an earnest exhortation to them to continue stedfast in the profession of this excellent Religion which was revealed to them by the Son of God the true propitiatory Sacrifice and the great High-Priest of their profession and into which they had solemnly been initiated and admitted by Baptism vers 19 20 21 22. Having therefore brethren boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the vail that is to say his flesh and having an high-priest over the house of God Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith that is let us sincerly serve God with a firm persuasion of the Truth and Excellency of this Holy Religion into the Profession whereof we were solemnly admitted by Baptism for that is undoubtedly the meaning of the following words having our hearts sprinkled from an evil Conscience and our bodies washt with pure water the Water with which our Bodies are washt in Baptism signifying our spiritual Regeneration and the purging of our Consciences from dead Works to serve the living God From all which he concludes Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering This refers to that solemn Profession of Faith which was made by all Christians at their Baptism and which is contained in the ancient Creed of the Christian Church called by the ancient Fathers The Rule of Faith Let us hold fast 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 let us firmly retain the same with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chap. 4. 14. Seeing then we have a great high-priest which is passed into the Heavens Jesus the Son of God let us take fast hold of our profession So here in the Text the Apostle upon the same Consideration exhorts Christians to retain or hold fast 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Confession or Profession of their hope that is the Hope of the Resurrection of the Dead and everlasting Life which was the Conclusion of that Faith or Creed whereof in Baptism they made a Solemn Profession Let us hold fast the profession of our Faith or Hope without wavering the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 inflexible unmoveable steady and not apt to waver and be shaken by every Wind of contrary Doctrine nor by the Blasts and Storms of Persecution For he is faithful that hath promised If we continue faithful and steady to God he will be faithful to make good all the Promises which he hath made to us In the words thus explained there are Two things which I shall distinctly consider I. The Exhortation Let us hold fast the profession of our Faith without wavering And II. The Argument or Encouragement used to enâ—â—â—ce it He is faithful that promised so I begin with the I. The Exhortation to be constant and steady in the Profession of the Christian Religion Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering In the handling of this and that we may the better understand the true meaning of this Exhortation here in the Text I shall do these two things 1. I shall shew Negatively wherein this Constancy and Steadiness in the Profession of the true Religion does not consist And here I shall remove one or two things which are thought by some to be inconsistent with Constancy and Steadfastness in Religion 2. I shall shew Positively what is implied in a Constant and Steady Profession of the true Religion 1. I shall shew Negatively what Constancy and Steadfastness in the Profession of the true Religion does not imply And there are two things which are thought by some to be imply'd in holding fast the profession of our faith without wavering 1. That Men should not take the liberty to examine their Religion and enquire into the Grounds and Reasons of it 2. That men should obstinately refuse to hear any Reasons that can be brought against the true Religion as they think which they have once entertained 1. That Men should not take the liberty to examine their Religion and to enquire into the Grounds and Reasons of it This I think is so far from being forbidden in this Exhortation that on the contrary I doubt not to make it appear that a free and impartial Enquiry into the Grounds and Reasons of our Religion and a thorough Tryal and Examination of them is one of the best Means to confirm and establish us in the Profession of it I mean that all Persons that are capable of it should do it and that they will find great benefit and advantage by it For I do not think that this is a Duty equally and indifferently incumbent upon all nor indeed fit and proper for all Persons because all are not equally capable of doing it There are two sorts of Persons that are in a great measure incapable of doing it 1. Children 2. Such grown Persons as are of a very mean and low capacity and improvement of Understanding Children are not fit to examine but only to learn and believe what is taught them by their Parents and Teachers They are fit to have the fear of God and the Principles of the true Religion instilled into them but they are by no means fit to discern between a true and false Religion and to chuse for themselves and to make a change of their Religion as hath of late been allowed to them in a Nation not far from us and by publick Edict declared that Children at Seven Years Old are fit to chuse and to change their Religion Which is the first Law I ever heard of that allows Children of that Age to do any act for themselves that is of Consequence and Importance to them for the remaining part of their Lives and which they shall stand obliged to perform and make good They are indeed Baptized according to the custome and usage of the Christian Church in their Infancy but they do not enter into this Obligation themselves but their Sureties undertake for them that when they come to Age they shall take this Promise upon themselves and confirm and make it good But surely they can do no Act for themselves and in their own Name at that Age which can be obligatory They can neither make any Contracts that shall be valid nor incur any Debt nor oblige themselves by any Promise nor chuse themselves a Guardian nor do any Act that may bring
is faithful that promised I Have already made entrance into these Words which I told you do contain in them I. An Exhortation to hold fast the Profession of our Faith without wavering II. An Argument or Encouragement thereto because he is Faithful that promised If we continue stedfast and faithful to God we shall find him faithful to us in making good all the Promises which he hath made to us whether of Aid and Support or of Recompence and Reward of our Fidelity to him I have begun to handle the First part of the Text viz. The Apoostles Exhortation to Christians to be constant and steady in their Religion Let us hold fast the profession of our Faith without wavering The Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which we render without wavering signifies inflexible and unmovable not apt to waver and to be shaken with every Wind of contrary Doctrine nor by the Blasts and Storms of Persecution And that we might the better comprehend the full and true meaning of this Exhortation I propounded to do these Two things 1. To shew Negatively wherein this Constancy and Steadiness in the Profession of the true Religion doth not consist And 2. To shew Positively what is implied and intended here by the Apostle in holding fast the Profession of our Faith without wavering 1. To shew Negatively wherein this Constancy and the Steadiness in the Profession of the true Religion doth not consist This I spake to the last Day and shewed at large that there are Two things which are not contained and intended in this Exhortation 1. That Men should not have the Liberty to examine their Religion and to enquire into the Grounds and Reasons of it Such I mean as are capable of this examination and enquiry which some I shewed are not as Children who while they are in that state are only fit to learn and believe what is taught them by their Parents and Teachers And likewise such grown Persons as either by the natural Weakness of their Faculties or by some great Disadvantage of Education are of a very low and mean Capacity and Improvement of Understanding These are to be considered as in the condition of Children and Learners and therefore must of necessity trust and rely upon the Judgment of others 2. This holding fast the Profession of our Faith without wavering does not imply that when Men upon examination and enquiry are settled as they think and verily believe in the true Religion they should obstinately refuse to hear any Reason that can be offer'd againg them Both these Principles I shew'd to be unreasonable and Arguments of a bad Cause and Religion I shall now proceed to explain the meaning of this Exhortation To hold fast the profession of our Faith without wavering by shewing in the Second place what it is that is implied in the constant and steady Profession of the true Faith and Religion namely That when upon due search and examination we are fully satisfied that it is the true Religion which we have embraced or as St. Peter expresses it 1st Epistle 5. 12. That this is the true Grace of God wherein we stand that then we should adhere stedfastly to it and hold it fast and not suffer it to be wrested from us nor our selves to be moved from it by any Pretences or Insinuations or Temptations whatsoever For there is a great deal of difference between the Confidence and Stedfastness of an Ignorant Man who hath never considered Things and enquired into the Grounds of them and the Assurance and Settlement of one who hath been well instructed in his Religion and hath taken pains to search and examine to the bottom the Grounds and Reasons of what he holds and professeth to believe The first is meer Wilfulness and Obstinacy A Man hath entertained and drank in such Principles of Religion by Education or hath taken them up by Chance but he hath no Reason for them and yet however he came by them he is resolved to hold them fast and not to part with them The other is the Resolution and Constancy of a Wise Man He hath embraced his Religion upon good Grounds and he sees no Reason to alter it and therefore is resolved to stick to it and to hold fast the Profession of it stedfastly to the end And to this purpose there are many Exhortations and Cautions scattered up and down the Writings of the holy Apostles as that we should be stedfast and unmoveable established in the Truth rooted and grounded in the Faith and that we should hold fast that which is good and not suffer our selves to be carried to and fro with every wind of Doctrine through the slight of Men and the cunning craftiness of those that lie in wait to deceive that we should not be removed from him that hath called us unto the grace of Christ unto another Gospel that we should stand fast in one Spirit and one Mind striving together for the Faith of the Gospel and be â—n nothing terrifled by our Adversaries and that if occasion be we should contend earnestly for the Faith which was once delivered unto the Saints and here in the Text That we should hold fast the profession of our Faith without wavering For the explaining of this I shall do two Things 1. Consider what it is that we are to hold fast namely the profession of our Faith And 2. How we are to hold it fast or what is implied in holding fast the profession of our Faith without wavering 1. What it is that we are to hold fast namely the profession of our Faith i. e. of the Christian Faith or Religion For I told you before that this Profession or Confession of our Faith or Hope as the word properly signifies is an Allusion to that Profession of Faith which was made by all those who were admitted Members of the Christian Church by Baptism of which the Apostle makes mention immediately before the Text when he says Let us draw near in full assurance of Faith having our hearts sprinkled from an evil Conscience and our bodies washed with pure Water And then it follows Let us hold fast the profession of our Faith without wavering The Profession of Faith which we made in our Baptisms and which by the Ancient Fathers is call'd the Rule of Faith and which is now contain'd in that which we call the Apostles Creed and which is called by St. Paul Rom. 6. 17. the Form of Doctrine which was delivered to them i. e. to all Christians and 2 Tim. 1. 13. the Form of sound Words Hold fast saith he the Form of sound Words which thou hast heard of me in Faith and Love which is in Christ Jesus and by St. Jude The Faith which was once delivered unto the Saints So that it is the first and ancient Faith of the Christian Church delivered to them by Christ and his Apostles which we are here exhorted to hold fast the necessary and fundamental Articles of the Christian Faith
could to the Rich Man who was in Hell concerning his Brethren that were upon Earth how they might prevent their coming into that place of Torment And he directs them to the Scriptures as the best and most effectual Means to that purpose They have says he Moses and the Prophets Let them hear them Now if in the Church of God among the Jews the same Course had been taken that is now in the Church of Rome the Rich Man might and in all Reason ought to have replyed Nay Father Abraham But they have not Moses and the Prophets nor are they permitted to Read them in a Language that they can understand And therefore this Advice is of no Vse to them And then he might with Reason have press'd him as he did that one might be sent to them from the Dead to Testifie unto them But it appears that Abraham was very positive and peremptory in this Advice and that he prefers the Knowledge of the Scriptures to any other Way and Means that could be thought of and that if this had not its Effect to perswade Men to Repentance and to preserve them from Hell he did not know any thing else that was so likely to do it For he concludes If they hear not Moses and the Prophets neither will they be perswaded the One rose from the Dead And this is the Conclusion of the Parable Which plainly shews what was the main Scope and Design of our Saviour in it namely to recommend to us the Use of the Holy Scriptures as the best and most effectual Means which the Wisdom of God hath provided for the Salvation of Mankind And now any Man would be apt to think that the declared Judgment of our Saviour in the case should go a great way even with the most Infallible Church in the World However this we must say that it is in truth a very hard case to which the Church of Rome hath reduced Men that it will neither allow them Salvation out of their Church nor the best and most effectual Means of Salvation when they are in it I might say much more upon this Head but this I hope may be sufficient The next Instance shall be in the Doctrine of Transubstantiation which is contrary to the Scriptures which after Consecration so frequently call the Elements Bread and Wine and which without Reason or Necessity puts an absurd and impossible Sense upon those words of our Saviour This is my Body which do no more prove Transubstantiation than those words This Cup is the New Testament do prove that the material Cup which was used in the Sacrament was substantially changed into the New Testament And no more than those Texts which affirm God to have Eyes and Ears and Hands do prove that he really hath so But besides the Contrariety of this Doctrine to Scripture nothing can be more repugnant to Reason It is so big with Contradictions and so surfeited of Impossibilities that it would be Endless to reckon them up And besides all this it plainly contradicts the clear and constant Evidence of Four of our Five Senses which whoever contradicts undermines the Foundation of all Certainty And then the Communion in one kind is plainly contrary to our Saviour's Institution of the Sacrament in both kinds as they themselves acknowledge And therefore the Council of Constance being sensible of this was forced to Decree it with an express Non obstante to the Institution of Christ and the Practice of the Apostles and the Primitive Church And their Doctrine of Concomitancy as if the Blood were in the Flesh and together with it will not help the matter Because in the Sacrament Christ's Body is represented as broken and pierced and exhausted and drain'd of its Blood and his Blood is represented as shed and poured out so that one Kind can by no means contain and exhibit both The next Instance is the Repetition of Christ's Propitiatory Sacrifice in the Mass so often as That is celebrated Against all Reason because the Sacrifice of Christ once offered upon the Cross was a full and perfect Propitiation for the Sins of the whole World and therefore ought not because it needs not to be again repeated for that End in any manner whatsoever And it is directly contrary to the main Scope of a great part of this Epistle to the Hebrews which shews the Excellency of the Gospel above the Law in this respect That the Expiatory Sacrifice of the Gospel was offered once for all whereas the Sacrifices of the Law were perpetually repeated Chap. 7. 27. Speaking of Christ who needs not daily as those High-priests to offer up Sacrifices first for his own Sins and then for the Peoples for this he did once when he offered up himself Chap. 9. 26. But once in the End of the World hath he appeared to take away Sin by the Sacrifice of himself And as it is appointed for all Men once to dye so Christ was once offered to bear the Sins of many And Chap. 10. 10. By the which Will we are sanctified through the Offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all And Verse the 12. But this Man after he had offered one Sacrifice for Sins for ever sat down on the right hand of God And Verse the 14. For by one Offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified There cannot be plainer Texts for any thing in the Bible than that this Propitiatory Sacrifice was never to be repeated And whereas they say that the Sacrifice of the Mass is an unbloody Sacrifice This instead of bringing them off doth but intangle the Matter more For if Blood be offered in the Sacrifice of the Mass how is it an unbloody Sacrifice What can be more bloody than Blood And if Blood be not offered how is it Propitiatory Since the Apostle lays it down for a Certain Rule That without shedding of Blood there is no Remission of Sins i. e. There can be no Propitiation for the Sins of the Living or the Dead which the Church of Rome affirms there is I might have added one or two Instances more and then should have proceeded to shew in the Third place That we are to hold fast the Profession of our Faith without wavering against all the Temtations and Terrors of the World which is more especially and principally here intended by the Apostle in this Exhortation But I shall proceed no farther at present A SERMON ON HEB. X. 23. Let us hold fast the profession of our Faith without wavering for he is faithful that promised IN these words I have told you are contained I. An Exhortation to hold fast the profession of our faith or hope without wavering II. An Argument or Encouragement thereto because he is faithful that promised I am yet upon the first of these the Exhortation to Christians to be Constant and Steady in the Profession of their Religion Let us hold fast the profession of our Faith without wavering And that we
Priledges are omitted by plain Fact and Evidence of things themselves their Supremacy in that the far greatest part of the Christian Church neither is at this day nor can be shewn by the Records of any Age ever to have been subject to the Bishop of Rome or to have acknowledged his Authority and Jurisdiction over them and the Infallibility of the Pope whether with or without a General Council about which they still differ though Infallibility was devised on purpose to determine all differences I say this Infallibility where-ever it is pretended to be is plainly confuted by the contradictory Definitions of several Popes and Councils for if they have contradicted one another as is plain beyond all contradiction in several instances then there must of necessity be an Error on one side and there can be no so certain demonstration that any one is infallible as evident Error and Mistake is of the contrary Next their concealing both the Rule of Religion and the Practice of it in the Worship and Service of God from the People in an unknown Tongue and their administring the Communion to the People in one kind only contrary to clear Scripture and the plain Institution of our Blessed Saviour and then their Worship of Images and Invocation of Angels and Saints and the Blessed Virgin in the same Solemn manner and for the same Blessings and Benefits which we beg of God himself contrary to the express Word of God which commands us to Worship the Lord our God and to serve him only and which declares that as there is but one God so there is but one Mediator between God and Man Christ Jesus but one Mediator not only of Redemption but of Intercession too for the Apostle there speaks of a Mediator of Intercession by whom only we are to offer up our Prayers which are to be put up to God only and which expresly forbids Men to worship any Image or likeness And the Learned Men of their own Church acknowledge that there is neither Precept nor Example for these Practices in Scripture and that they were not used in the Christian Church for several Ages and this acknowledgment we think very considerable since so great a part of their Religion especially as it is practised among the People is contained in these points for the Service of God in an Unknown Tongue and withholding the Scriptures from the People they do not pretend so much as One Testimony of any Father for the first 600 Years and nothing certainly can be more unreasonable in it self than to deny People the best means of knowing the Will of God and not to permit them to understand what is done in the publick Worship of God and what Prayers are put up to him in the Church The two great Doctrines of Transubstantiation and Purgatory are acknowledged by many of their own Learned Writers to have no certain Foundation in Scripture and that there are seven Sacraments of the Christian Religion tho' it be now made an Article of Faith by the Council of Trent is a thing which cannot be shewn in any Council or Father for above a Thousand Years after Christ. And we find no mention of this Number of the Sacraments till the Age of Peter Lombard the Father of the Schoolmen That the Church of Rome is the Mother and Mistress of all Churches tho' that also be one of the new Articles of Pope Pius the IV. his Creed which their Priests are by a Solemn Oath obliged to believe and teach yet is it most evidently false That she is not the Mother of all Churches is plain because Jerusalem was certainly so for there certainly was the first Christian Church and from thence all the Christian Churches in the World derive themselves that she is not tho' she fain would be the Mistress of all Churches is as evident because the greatest part of the Christian Church does at this day and always did deny that she hath any Authority or Supremacy over them Now these are the principal matters in difference betwixt us and if these Points and a few more be pared off from Popery that which remains of their Religion is the same with ours that is the true Ancient Christianity III. I shall shew that our Religion hath many clear advantages of theirs not only very considerable in themselves but very obvious and discernable to an ordinary capacity upon the very first proposal of them as 1. That our Religion agrees perfectly with the Scriptures and all points both of our Belief and Practice esteemed by us as necessary to Salvation are there contained even our Enemies themselves being Judges We Worship the Lord our God and him only do we serve We do not fall down before Images and Worship them we address all our Prayers to God alone by the only Mediation and Intercession of his Son Jesus Christ as he himself hath given us Commandment and as St. Paul doth plainly direct giving us this plain and Substantial Reason for it Because as there is but one God so there is but one Mediator between God and Men the Man Christ Jesus The publick Worship and Service of God is perform'd by us in a Language which we understand according to St. Paul's express Order and Direction and the universal Practice of the ancient Church and the Nature and Reason of the thing it self We administer the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper in both kinds according to our Saviour's Example and plain Institution and the continual Practice of all the Christian Churches in the World for above a Thousand Years 2. We believe nothing as necessary to Salvation but what hath been owned in all Ages to be the Christian Doctrine and is acknowleged so to be by the Church of Rome it self and we receive the whole Faith of the Primitive Christian Church viz. What ever is contained in the Apostles Creed and in the Explications of that in the Creeds of the Four first General Councills By which it plainly appears that all points of Faith in difference betwixt us and the Church of Rome are meer Innovations and plain Additions to the ancient Christian Faith But all that we believe is acknowledged by them to be undoubtedly the ancient Christian Faith 3. There is nothing wanting in our Church and Religion whether in Matter of Faith or Practice which either the Scripture makes necessary to Salvation or was so esteem'd by the Christian Church for the first Five Hundred Years and we trust that what was sufficient for the Salvation of Christians in the best Ages of Christianity for Five Hundred Years together may be so still and we are very well content to venture our Salvation upon the same terms that they did 4. Our Religion is not only free from all Idolatrous Worship but even from all Suspicion and probable Charge of any such thing but this the Church of Rome is not as is acknowledged by her most Learned Champions and as no Man of Ingenuity can deny And