lost condition none but such as are wounded will look for and highly prize the Physician to cure their poore soules Now this Grace of Repentance is purchased by Christ and admitted to poore Sinners through him and to be preached in his Name and it is wrought in the hearts of the Elect by the holy Ghost through the free grace of God and is not wrought or produced by any power that is in the creature For the truth is we are all passive in every thing that concernes our salvation we cannot repent unlesse God give us repentance we cannot beleeve unlesse God give us faith to beleeve And therefore I doe the more wonder at the Author that hath so much urged Faith and believing and yet never tells us how this so precious Faith is wrought or how wee may attaine thereunto but speakes of it as if it were in our own power I acknowledge freely that Repentance is wrought by the Word preached and Faith also But yet it is the Lord that works by the means and without which all would be unprofitable and so all is of free Grace for there is no worke that we can doe before Justification or after Justification can merit any grace for us before God Ephes 2.10 for we are his workmanship created in Jesus Christ c. And whatsoever gift of grace any man receives it is from the free bounty and grace of God in Christ And every gift so received is to be put forth by us to the glory of our God and the good of our brethren And to so forth to all men the goodnesse of our God towards us through Christ by way of thankfulnesse for mercy received and to no other end whatsoever And thus you may see I am no enemy to the doctrine of Free Grace nor to the Teachers thereof if they publish only the truth thereof without running into by wayes for feare of something which they need not if they did truly understand the truth But I desire above all things to advance the Free grace of God in Christ and by Gods help will doe it And now because the Author hath so much spoken of Faith and of beleeving yet hath not told us what this Faith is I will Christian Reader for thy help and the Authors information for downe what this precious Faith is for other Faith 's mentioned in Scripture I let passe This only is to our purpose at this time and I suppose may be thus defined To be a gracious worke of Gods Spirit wrought in the hearts of such as are Penitent wherby they are assured in their soules of the free pardon and remission of all their sins and of peace and reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ Rō 5.1 This is that speciall faith which none but the Elect are partakers of and therefore called the faith of Gods elect other faiths are common to all this only to the redeemed in Christ and this faith is never given to any but to the repentant only And this repentance and this faith are the parts of Regeneration the new birth from above spoken of by our Lord Christ John 3.5 Water and the Spirit The first prepareth the other purgeth and without which work no man shall enter into the Kingdome of heaven according to that eternall decree never to be called back which saith Except a man de borne againe of Water and the Spirit be cannot enter into the Kingdome of heaven I wonder the Author could not see this or if hee saw it would not so much as mention it in the bringing of a poore sinner home to Iesus Christ but presseth men to believe as if Faith were in mans power whereas indeed it is the gift of God Ephes 2.8 Mortification of sin and Sanctification or newnesse of lise doth alwayes follow the Justification of a sinner by faith and are some of the fruits proceeding from one that is justified and reconciled unto God through Iesus Christ for they must be first ingrafted into Christ before they can bring forth fruit in him Now the parts of Regeneration Repentance and Faith are but the ingrafting and no part of the fruit the Fruit alwayes follows the ingrafting and these are no part of Repentance if truly considered for every grace of the Spirit may be clearly distinguished each from other by the Scriptures and must not be confounded together as the manner of some is to doe who would make Repentance to consist of Mortification to sinne and newnesse of life nay some have said that Repentance consists of Faith also and so they make a great confusion and are never able to find out the truth For though Repentance doth continue in a time beleever and justified person so long as he lives here for he sins daily and therefore must repent daily And it is required of them Ephes 6.15 that they should have their feet shod with the preparation of the Gospell of peace namely Repentance yet is Repentance truly to be distinguished from other the effects of the spirit as Faith Hope Patience Love and Ioy and not to be confound one with another as some doe And by the way let this bee considered that howsoever Christ hath wrought perfect Redemption for us yet the application and the making this Redemption effectuall unto us is done by the holy Ghost every one in the undivided Trinity having his speciall worke appropriated unto him to make perfect the salvation of poore Sinners which severall workes must of necessity be distinguished And take notice of this that this speciall Faith that justifieth the beleever apprehending the grace of God in Christ is alwayes grounded upon some speciall promise in Scripture For there cannot bee this speciall faith in any soule where there is not first a promise And the promises as I have said are made only to the Penitent the broken-hearted the mourners such as are heavy laden c. Christ calls only such to him And the holy Spirit of God doth never write the Covenant of Peace with God in other hearts but only in the broken and contrite heart namely the repentant soule and they only can and doe beleeve with this speciall Faith for none else can worke that worke to beleeve in him whom God hath sent John 6.29 but only such poore soules for where there is no promise there can be no faith for though faith be the ground of things hoped for yet there must be a promise to ground that Faith on For though Abraham beleeved beyond hope yet he had a promise first made unto him by a faithfull God And therefore I pray the Christian Reader to observe what I have before set down for it is not our beleeving till wee be perswaded that we do beleeve for as I have said before so I say againe there must be first a promise for such poore Sinners to lay hold on then they finding themselves to be such penitent and broken hearted to whom the speciall promises do pertain the holy
A MANIFEST AND BREIFE DISCOVERY Of some of the Errours contained in a Dialogue called the Marrow of Moderne Divinity Wherein is shewen especially the Authors errour in the manner of the Iustification of a Sinner and the Truth cleared from all the falshoods contained in that Booke concerning the same with some other of his Errours Iude the 3. Contend for the Faith which was once delivered to the Saints 2. Epistle of John verse 9. whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the Doctrine of Christ hath not God he that abideth in the Doctrine of Christ he hath both the Father and the Sonne LONDON Printed by T. W. for Joshua Kirton and are to be sold at his shop at the signe of the White Horse in Pauls Church-yard 1646. To the Christian Reader that desires to know the wayes of God in the Gospell touching the way that he hath set forth to bring Poore Sinners to Christ to be justifyed by him and desires to walke therein Grace and Peace c. CHristian Reader there came lately to my sight a Booke called the marrow of moderne divinity which when I had read the title page my heart rejoyced within me hoping that now God had stirred up some man to compose the differences that are betweene the legalist and the Antinomist they both erring from the truth which was the thing I exceedingly desired But after I had read it over two or three times and considered well of it I found I was much deceived in my expectation And then I began to wonder that this Booke should come to the third Edition and be received so generally I finding so many mistakes in it especially in the manner of the Iustification of a Sinner wherein be hath gone the direct way with the Antinomist Therefore I could not chuse but set my selfe to worke to vindicate the truth of God seeing others are silent herein and according to my poore ability to set forth the truth which I have beene taught of God I doe not intend to write of all his mistakes for that were too great worke for me but only of some of them and breifly also except one which I cheifly intend I know not the Author but by his Booke nor ever heard so much as his name Therefore I cannot doe this in any spleene towards him nay this I will say for him he hath set downe many excellent truths and hath shewed himselfe a painfull and laborious man in collecting the opinions of so many Divines yet if he erre from the truth I hold my selfe bound to let him and others know his errour and I deale no otherwise by him then I desire to be dealt withall my selfe If I erre from the truth for it is the glory of God and his truth that I seeke above all if my heart deceive me not Christian Reader I beseech the seriously to consider of the exceptions here taken by me and weigh them by the Scriptures and if there be truth in them receive them with meekenes of Spirit I shall be breife in the examination of the Booke for my ability of body will not serve me to be so large as otherwise I would the Lord give thee wisdome to understand his truth and a willing heart to obey and yeild unto it And so now I direct my selfe to the Author of the Booke commending thee to the Grace of God I remaine Thy Poore servant in the Lord Jesus Christ I. A. A manifest and breife discovery of some of the errours contained in a dialogue called the marrow of moderne divinity HAving of late read over your Booke called the marrow of moderne divinity and by often perusall thereof found many things in it which I conceive is not truth I have presumed in the defence of the truth which I have learned out of the Scriptures to examine some things delivered by you in your Booke not doubting but you will be ready to hearken to the truth from any that shall make it appeare unto you I shall take some small exceptions at divers things therein because I intend one speciall thing which is the greatest matter of all and wherein any one being deceived the greatest damage consists But before I come to that which I cheifly intend I take notice of some things in the fourth page of your Booke you say the new Testament mentions a threefold law you might have added more if you had pleased what say you to the law of the Spirit of life Rom. 8.2 It is very necessary for us to consider how you have distinguisht the law of workes and the law of Christ for you say the ten Commandements may be said to be the matter of the law of workes or the matter of the law of Christ You have here made a distinction that neither the Scriptures set forth nor any Authour that ever I heard of But to answer you directly the law of the ten Commandements is all one and the same not differing in it selfe but is a holy just and perfect law proceeding from a holy God and binds all men to the obedience of it and condemns every transgression against it yea the most holyest man and he that is in greatest favour with God if he transgresse it condemns him as justly as the most ungodly wretch living But the difference lyes in this That the one namely true beleevers are justified by Christ from the Curse and penalty of the law and unbeleevers lye under the condemning power penalty and curse of the law But you and I differ only in your distinction for I doe not find throughout all the New Testament that the law of the ten Commandements are called the law of Christ There are other lawes of Christ as the law of grace the law of Faith or beleiving in him and many other Commandements or lawes of Christ which are not contained in the law of the ten Commandements and so are none of the matter thereof As for the text Gallat 6.2 It is set downe by the Apostle as one speciall law of Christ to beare one anothers burden But this will not prove your assertion that the law of the ten Commandements is the matter of the law of Christ I meane as he is the Mediator of the New Covenant Yet doe I not deny but that the law of the ten Commandements may be a rule and direction to true beleivers to walke by yet beleevers doe not worke by any compulsion of that law but after a more free way of love unto God and Christ arising from the love of God in Christ unto them the love of God constraine them to holinesse of life to labour to honour God And the Apostles generally doe urge and presse beleevers to holinesse from the free grace of God and from the mercies of God extended towards them in Iesus Christ as we may see Titus 2.11.12 Romans 12.1 The law of the ten Commandements is an absolute perfect holy and just law yet it setts not forth Christ neither is faith required therein
first is the publication or preaching of the Gospell to all sortes and conditions of people whereby Christ is set forth to have taken our nature upon him and in our nature hath suffered death and payd the ransome for sin and is risen again assended into Heaven and sitteth at the right hand of God in Majesty and Glory and shall come again at the end of this world to judge all men with many more excellent things which the Scriptures set forth Which generall truthes are beleived by thousands that never enjoy the speciall benefit which beleife is very fitly called by Divines Historicall Faith and they beleevers Secondly there is a more speciall preaching of the Gospell of Christ and that is to certaine persons distinguished from the generall sort of beleevers although they beleeve the same generall truths with the other by certaine quallifications which the Scriptures set forth unto us as the poore in spirit the morners the broken harted namely the repentant And to such only is Christ sent unto Esay 61.1.2.3 to heale comfort their poor souls and such Christ invites to come unto him and he invites to other but such as labour and are weary and heavy laden unto such only Christ hath promised rest Math. 11.28 and to such poor soules only is Christ sent and they and non but they can beleive in him and enjoy the speciall grace and favour of God through Christ And yet the free grace of God in Christ is not any way lessened but runnes out freely to poore sinners For I pray you consider who it is that workes these preparations or qualifications in the Elect. Is it not the Lords own worke to take away the stony heart to give a heart of flesh Is it not of his free goodnes that doth so prepare their hearts fit them to receive his speciall promise of grace and mercy in Christ The ground of the heart must be tilled before that pretious seed be sowne in it ye must not sow among thornes but in the ground fitted and prepared It is not in mans power to prepare his heart by any naturall power left in him no more then a dead man can raise himselfe but it is only the worke of God himselfe So that though we come to Christ with these qualifications before spoken of yet we bring nothing of our owne but that which God hath wrought in us neither is the grace of justification given to any for the worthines of repentance but only for the truth of the promiser who hath promised pardon mercy and peace only to such as are so prepared by him and to no other And that there is a preparation to the justification of a Sinner and to the receiving of Christ the Scriptures are manifest Iohn the Baptist was sent to prepare the way of the Lord to make ready a people to receive the Lord Christ and what was his Ministery but the Baptisme of repentance And that repentance is a preparation to Faith or to the justification of a Sinner and must of necessity be before that Faith that justifyeth and giveth assurance of the forgivenes of Sinne and peace and reconciliation with God is manifest But because it is denyed by many in these dayes I will give you a few reasons for the proofe thereof But first least I should be mistaken I will set downe in a short definition what true repentance is a thing altogether omitted by this Authour neither hath he told us what Regeneration is nor whereof it consisteth which are the maine things that tend to the making of a Christian and true Beleever I say that repentance may be thus breifely and truly defined Repentance is a powerfull worke of Gods Spirit wrought in the hearts of such as shall be saved whereby the heart is broken and turned from all the pleasing delights of Sinne into a great feare and sorrow for them and confession of them unto God and into an exceeding desire of pardon peace and reconcilliation with God Luke 15. you may see all the parts of repentance in the prodigall Sonne And let the Authour take notice that it is a worke of Gods Spirit it is no mony of our owne This repentance here laid downe is a worke of the Gospell yea the beginning of the Gospell Marke 1.1 It is no legall worke wrought by the law for I know neither legall repentance nor legall Faith which some men talke of very much I know the law of the ten Commandements admitts of no repentance neither doth it receive Faith in Christ And now I come to the reasons to prove that God doth allwayes worke repentance in them whom he hath a purpose to save for ever before he bestow on them that Faith which doth justifie or assure them of the pardon of their Sinnes in the blood of Iesus Christ First reason is from the constant and unchangeable order the Holy Ghost hath observed throughout the Scriptures in requiring repentance and Faith alwayes requiring repentance in the first place Marke 1.15 Math. 3.2 Luke 3.3 Acts. 2.38 and the 3.19 So that I inferre hence the Holy Ghost alwayes requiring it in the first place it is that worke which he pleaseth first to worke Second reason because untill we have true repentance wrought in us we have no right unto any speciall promise for the speciall promises of grace mercy are made only to the penitent and broken hearted to such as mourne Esay 6.1.2.3 and Acts. 3.19 Therefore before repentance we cannot have faith in any of those speciall promises Third reason Because no man before he have repentance truly wrought in him can receive the forgivenes of his Sins For repentance is required that men may have their Sinnes done away Acts. 3.19 And therefore forgivenes of Sinne following repentance in the worke of it it doth necessarily follow that Faith doth follow repentance Acts. 2.38 For justifying Faith doth alwayes bring with it to the soule the forgivenes of Sinnes Fourth reason Whosoever is justified by Faith is at Peace with God Rom. 5.1 But no man is at Peace with God untill he have truly repented and his Sinnes done away therefore no man is justified by faith untill he have truly repented I do not say that Repentance is the condition required in our parts to our justification as being our owne worke But yet I affirme that it is that way which God doth alwayes take in the conversion of poore sinners unto himselfe First to humble them by making them see their misery and lost condition and to cause them to seeke with strong desires after grace and favour purchased by Christ for such poore penitent soules and none else shall ever obtaine that grace and favour with God through Christ For Christ calls none but such unto him neither ought any Minister to apply the promises of mercy to any other but such as are weary heavy laden mourne and earnestly desire mercy and pardon of sin through the apprehension of their misery and
Ghost in his good time doth perswade the heart and evidence to the soule his peace and reconciliation with God and his interest in the promise of Grace through Christ Faith is the gift of God to you it is given to beleeve It is not in mans power to beleeve Beleeve it for a truth no man can possibly beleeve to justification of life nor shall ever rejoyce with the Bridgroome that hath not first mourned with the mourner I wonder these things should be unknowne to men in these dayes and that so much confusion should be amongst them in the matter and manner of the justification of a Sinner So that we cannot certainly learne by them what repentance is not what Faith is nor how it is wrought in the heart Some teaching outward dutyes and obedience to the law to the begetting of Faith and rejoycing therein that they are called legall Preachers as I my selfe have heard Others againe would be so fame from them that they will teach only as they pretend the Gospell-way and that they will do by teaching only beleeving And as for repentance the beginning of the Gospell they will not mention or very little and that then it followes justifying Faith and never goes before it and what is their reason Because say they the Gospell setts forth free Grace and requires no act of ours at all but only beleeving Well then beleeving is an act of ours here is something for us to doe But I would know of them whether beleeving to life be in their power The Apostle saith to you it is given to beleeve and that Faith is the gift of God Then there is no power in us to beleeve the very act of beleeving is of free grace And so is repentance of free grace God is the giver of repentance as well as Faith Acts. 11.18 2. Tim. 2.25 For although repentance be wrought in us and we act it yet it is God that gives it and it is nothing else but the free grace of God to perpare the hearts of Sinners for the receiving of the forgivenes of Sinnes and peace and reconciliation with God by Faith in the Lord Iesus Christ All the Prophets in the old Testament have called for repentance in the first place that so they might be prepared to receive mercy Iohn the Baptist Preached it to prepare them to receive the Lord Christ Our Saviour himselfe Preached it in the first place before beleeving The Apostles Preached it before Faith in Christ to the forgivenes of Sinnes The very truth is that the same way which was formerly to others the same way to salvation is for us now and we must goe the same way that they went which were before us new wayes are dangerous We must not looke for a nearer way to Heaven then the Saints and people of God have gone before us and though it be a narrow and a straight way yet it is a sure way it leads to happines Page 113. I may also justly except against his exposition on the 11. to the Hebrewes verse 6. without Faith it is impossible to please God that is saith he As Calvin saith whatsoever a man thinketh purposeth or doth before he be reconciled to God in Christ is accursed and not only of no value to righteousnes but of certaine deserving to damnation I must confesse I am amazed to thinke such things should be published I honour the memory of that Holy Man Mr. Calvin yet if it were his opinion I must needs say it was an errour in him for there be many things done by men before reconciliation with God that are not Sinne. For Sin is the transgression of some law but what law forbids a man to heare and read the Scriptures may it is commanded by Christ himselfe search the Scriptures Io. 5.39 Men may Sin and doe Sin in hearing and reading the word but the worke it selfe is no Sin For we must distinguish between the worke and the manner of the doing it It is no Sin for a man to humble his soule in seeking mercy and grace and favour with God which must be done before we can come to that Faith which makes our persons acceptable to God and we well pleasing unto him through Christ as Enochs Person was And indeed it is impossible our persons should be accepted or we become pleasing to God by any other way then by Faith in Christ And the reason is rendred by the Apostle in the words following For he that commeth to God must beleeve that he is a rewarder of them that dilligently seeke him which is a lesser degree of Faith then that which makes us to become pleasing in his sight through Christ Iesus Nor can we truly say that all the actions of unregenerate men are Sinne Ahabs repentance was not Sin it was no breach of any law of God nay God takes notice of it and bids the Prophet to take notice of it yea and rewards him for it in deferring the judgement pronounced but he never rewards any man for Sin but denounceth judgement against them Thus have I endevoured to pick out some of the Bones that the Authour hath left in amongst the marrow of moderne divinity and I hope I have performed it with plainnes and I have done it after a loving manner without malice to the Authour whom I know not nor yet could ever perfectly heare of by any man But that which I have writ is in the defence of the truth so much oppugned by the Authour which truth is deare unto me and so should be to all Gods people I must confesse and doe it freely that I love the Authour and am perswaded of the truth of many things delivered by him in his Booke and for which grace bestowed on him I blesse God and pray the Lord for a further increase upon him but the truth I value above all I find the Booke commended by worthy Divines whom I honour but yet my Faith is not to depend upon man but only upon the Scriptures the written word of God And I desire that this which I have written may be tryed by that touch stone and none else And then I am confident it will be found truth when that opinion of the Antinomians maintained by this Authour will be found an errour For he hath directly gone along with them in this thing namely that there is no Evangelicall preparations to Faith in Christ which is the maine thing I have now disproved and have I hope sufficiently proved that there must be such preparations to Faith in Christ And it is impossible for any other to beleeve in Christ to the saving of the soule but only such as are so prepared Christ himselfe saith non can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him Iohn 6.44 Errour is very dangerous especially in the foundation and principles of the Doctrine of Christ whereof repentance and Faith are two of the maine Heb. 6.1 And therefore with great care to be looked into and to be truly knowne and how they are to be distinguished from other the effects of the Spirit Christian Reader what I have done herein I commend unto thy wisdome and I desire the Lord to give both thee and me such understanding in the truth and wayes of God that we may not be carryed away with every wind of Doctrine from the truth to the errours of these times Now to him that is able to keepe and preserve us in his truth be all praise honour and glory through Christ Iesus for ever Amen Iames. 2.1 My Brethren have not the Faith of our Lord Iesus Christ the Lord of glory with respect of persons FINIS