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A65331 English Cretes and atheistical Christians describ'd and instanced with directions for the reformation of all, from St. Paul's Epistle to Titus, the first Bishop of Crete : wherein is intimated the sacred order, and supreme power of episcopacy in the church, with the inferior ministry : concluding all with supplemental instances, and a lamentation of the churches present miseries. T. W. 1695 (1695) Wing W117; ESTC R31986 11,495 34

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not all Pride Arrogance Ambition Avarice Intemperance and Sensuality tremble hereat Upon these Considerations then are not all Cheats Knaves and Lyars all Robbers Thieves and Murderers all Tyrants Usurpers and devouring Oppressors Are not all spiteful haughty Conceits all perverse Self-Lovers all blood-thirsty encroaching Villains all sorts of Unbelievers and Hypocrites all evil Contriving Crafty Sly or Clandestine Sinners all Debauchees Gluttons Drunkards proud Boasters with all Covetous Persons who are Idolaters and whom particularly God abhoreth Are not all these I say with the others before-mentioned such abominable disobedient and evil reprobate Wretches by leading such wicked Lives so contrary to the whole Divine Nature and to all True Religion while they profess to know God c. That they thus plainly deny their God and Saviour and commence the worst of Infidels and Atheists whatsoever Faith or Knowledge they may pretend to Now the like Instances may be made in reference to all the Sublime Truths and Injunctions of the Gospel or all the Duties of Christianity from which the generality of its Professors so grosly vary and wherein so many do deceive and are deceived but these may be reserv'd for another Season and what has been said may suffice at present for demonstration of the matter in hand So we shall now proceed to the Apostles directions for the Reformation of all and especially for the management of those false Teachers Scepticks and Seducers whom he chiefly aims at and describes here ver 10. and this he lays upon his Bishop particularly to convince such ver 9. Including withal the Offices of the inferior Ministry as I noted in the beginning of this Discourse and may regularly proceed upon having hitherto only cleared the Text at first proposed In all this Epistle it is evident says a Divine Preacher that St. Paul looks upon Titus as advanc'd to the Dignity of a Prime Ruler of the Church and entrusted with a large Diocess containing many particular Cities under the immediate Government of their respective Elders and those deriving Authority from his Ordination as was specified in ver 5. And now looking upon Titus under this qualification he addresses a long Advice and Instruction to him for the discharge of so important a Function it being the peculiar Office of every Bishop within his own Jurisdiction by Prayer and Imposition of Hands as the Apostles did to order and seperate Men for the Offices of Deacon and Elder i. e. Presbyter or Priest in the Church of Christ and in like manner to Confirm all whom the Inferior Ministers admit Members of or receive into the Church-Communion by that initiating Sacrament of Baptism as our Saviour positively Commissioned all his Ambassadors Stewards or Ministers of his Gospel upon Discipling the World Mat. xxviii 19 20. And as Philip the Deacon Baptized the Samaritans and then came the great Apostles Peter and John down from Jerusalem to Confirm them with Prayer and Imposition of Hands Act. viii And as our Bishops the Prime Successors of the Apostles after our Infant-Baptism and Pious Education upon the Promises and Solemn Vows and care of fit Sponsors c. as our Church most Charitably directs have accordingly practised from the very Primitive times which may sufficiently ease and satisfie all Sureties c. both in their Duty and discharge of their Trust and so might equally convince our Antipedobaptists and all other Gainsayers to the Laudable Antient Apostolical Orders of Infant-Baptism Confirmation c. Which with our whole excellent Constitution let us all duly and respectively observe under our Sacred Gospel-Ministry as true sound Members of the best Established Church in the World with particular Reverence of the highest Order of Episcopacy our Spiritual Hierarchy whereto alone it belongs to Govern and Preside over the whole Ecclesiastical Body There is no one thing says a learned Writer more clear and evident in the Christian Religion than that our Saviour invested the whole Apostolical Order not in St. Peter only but all the Apostles with a Supremacy of Power over his Church and that they in pursuance of this his Divine Institution ordained Bishops to succeed them in their Supremacy of Power through all following Ages That the Apostles were Superior to all other Officers in the Church is out of question and granted on all Hands and that the Bishops succeeded them is as unquestionable from all the clearest Records of Antiquity their Succession especially in the most famous Churches being deriv'd by the most Antient Writers from the Apostles themselves and was as easily and certainly know to those Men that have transmitted it to us as any learned Man may know the Succession of the Archbishops of Canterbury from the Reign of Queen Elizabeth to this time And also 't is evident that they modell'd the first Settlement of Churches according to the then present State of the Roman Empire But as this Power was at first given to the Apostles so was it equally divided among them so that every one exercis'd Supreme Power within the Bounds of his own Jurisdiction and all together in the Catholick Church or as St. Cyprian states it Epist 52. that as there was but one Church Founded by Christ throughout all the World but this Church was made up of several distinct Members so there was but one Episcopacy and that consists in the agreement and unanimous care of all Christian Bishops so that the whole Body of the Church was govern'd by the whole Body of the Apostles and their Successors but the several parts of it were allotted to the Charge of single Bishops who govern'd them with particular care but so as to have regard to the Peace and Unity of the whole This is the only Notion says my Author that this wise and good Man than whom there is not a more eminent example for both upon Record seems in all his Writings to have had of the Catholick Church and so this he improves to the utter Confutation of the Pope's Supremacy and likewise of all our Dissenters confused wild pretences resembling the Popish Legends Superstitions c. All whose presumptuous covetous Teaching creeping into Houses leading Captive silly Women deluding sinful weak Souls 2 Tim. iii. 6. with all their deceitful hypocritical or insulting rigid greedy devouring ways ought to undergo such Episcopal Judgment and Rebuke and be so silenced c. as these Sceptical lying Cretes and avaritious Jewish Deceivers whom the great Apostle here warns their proper Bishop of that he may proceed against them sharply or as himself judged too obstinate Sinners or Hereticks and Schismaticks as he did the incestuous person before 1 Cor. v. wicked Hymeneus and Alexander whom he deliver'd unto Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme 1 Tim. i. 20. This is the very power of true Excommunication which with Absolution call'd the power of the Keyes our Saviour delegated immediately to the Supreme Governors of his Church Matth. xvi 18 19. John xx 21 22 23. And thus