nothing was able to seperate them from the love of God in Christ Jesus And they had known and believed the love that God had to them John 16. 27. Rom. 5. 5. Rom. 8. 39. 1 John 1. 3. 1 John 4. 16. And thus you in whom abomination reigns are proved to be no church of Christ for where abomination doth reign there Christ doth not reign but such were they who sent a Message after him saying We will not have this man to reign over us who must be brought and slain before his face And where Christ doth not reign there his Statutes and his Ordinances are not known but every one walketh and worshippeth according to the imagination of his own heart and every one doth that which is right in his own eyes even as they did when there vvas no King in Israel and the Statutes and Ordinances vvhich you follow and plead for are the dictates of the man of sin vvhich bears rule in you yea even from the abomination vvhich is set up where it ought not to stand vvhich makes desolate do you receive them and not from Christ vvho is the Head King and Law-giver to his Church and People and in this state vvhilst abomination reigns and is head in you vvhat ever you profess or vvhat ever you practise it is all abomination to the Lord For the prayers of the wicked or those in vvhom abomination reigns are abomination to the Lord and vvhilest that vvhich is abominable in the sight of the Lord rules and is head in you all that proceeds from you yea even your best performances though they may in outward appearance seem to be the same vvith the people of God or Church of Christ and like that vvhich the people of God and Church of Christ did practise according to Scripture-Testimony yet it all stinks in the nostrils of the Lord and is an abomination in his sight for who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean not one And surely you in whom abomination reigns are unclean in the eyes of our God for he is of purer eyes then to behold iniquity And therefore vvhilst abomination reigns in your Churches and in your souls call not your selves Ministers of Christ nor Churches of Christ nor do not say you plead for and follow his Ordinances for the Church of Christ hath an Altar whereof you have no right to eat neither can you taste of the Supper of the Lord neither have you any part or lot in this matter for your hearts are not upright before the Lord neither into the City of our Solemnity may you enter for into that City can in no wise enter any thing that defiles or worketh abomination or loves or makes a lye You complain in your Epistle of a light Spirit living short of the true sight and sence of Gods Majesty in his Churches and among his Saints By vvhich also it appears you are not the Church of Christ neither is that light Spirit of vvhich you complain the Spirit of God but it was otherwise vvith the Church of Christ of vvhich the Scriptures declares for they had received the Spirit of Truth vvhich vvas not a light spirit by which they were led into all truth and had the true sight and sence of Gods Majesty amongst them and did not live short thereof but beheld his glory and were made glad with the favor of his countenance which was lifted up upon them Psal. 89 15. Psal 21. 6 Acts 2. 28. John 14. 16 17. 1 Cor. 2 12. Gal. 4. 6. 1 Ioh. 3. 24. your spirit is a spirit of blindnes by your own confession so that you cannot perceive the things that pertain to the Kingdom of God but you are without the true sight sence thereof so you are walking in the dark paths and going on in the broad way which leadeth to destruction but the church of Christ did walk in the light of the Lord the spirit by which they were led and guided led them out of darkness into the marvelous light of the Lord and guided their feet into the paths of peace as the Scriptures doth witness 2 Cor. 4. 6. Ephes. 5 8. 1 Thess. 5. 4 5. 1 Pet. 2 9. And thus you who are led and guided by a light spirit that lives short of the true sight and sence of Gods Majesty in his Churches and among his Saints are not the Church of Christ but are under chains of darkness and the god of this world hath blinded your eyes Now you seem to confess that Gods Majesty is to be seen in his Churches and his presence to be enjoyed by his people and among his Saints and if so then you who live short of the true sight and sence of his Majesty which is seen in his Church and do not behold the glory of his presence which his Saints doth see and behold and which is amongst them I say Then you are not of that number who are indeed his Church and Saints but you live short of the true sight and sence of that glory and excellency which they behold and are made partakers of and in this state of ignorance and blindness you are groping but cannot find the door and you call evil good and good evil you put darkness for light and light for darkness you call your own fancies and imaginations Ordinances of Christ and the light of Christ which is spiritual and shines in the hearts of his people by which they have the true sight and sence of Gods Majesty amongst them this you call fancy and imagination and your own inventions you set up as an Altar to the unknown God and you worship you know not what but of the true God and his Worship you are ignorant for his voice at any time you have not heard nor his shape you have not seen and of the true Christ and his Ordinances you are unsensible and his body which is spiritual you cannot discern and therefore though you boast that it is the Ordinances of Christ you plead for and follow as Church-fellowship in breaking of Bread and Prayers c. yet you are discovered to be of that number that are unworthy to partake of the Supper of the Lord and of the Ordinances of Christ for you being out of the true sight and sence of Gods Majesty in his Churches and amongst his Saints you are out of the discerning of the Lords body which is spiritual and therefore instead of partaking of the Ordinances of Christ you eat and drink to your selves damnation not discerning the Lords body Again you complain in the said Epistle of a wretched worâ—â—y spirit which plucks the Saints down from their excellency and leaves blackness upon you which renders you uncomely c. Which doth also manifest you to be no Church of Christ for the spirit which is in them doth build them up and not pluck them down and doth beautifie them and not render them uncomely and it causeth them to excel
no fellowship You further say in the said Epistle The world as a Canker doth eat out your affections to the Lord Jesus Which doth also prove you to be no Church of Christ but to differ from them For the Church of Christ had their affections set on Christ and the Minister of Christ said If ye be risen with Christ seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God Set your affections on things above not on things on the earth And he saith If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ let him be Anathema maranatha And such who are accursed are no Church of Christ And he said Who shall seperate us from the love of Christ And he was perswaded That neither death nor life nor Angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor heighth nor depth nor any other creature should be able to seperate them from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus And the World had not eaten out their affections to Christ Jesus and this was their confidence That nothing could alienate their affections from him And Iohn said Love not the world neither the things that are in the world if any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him and he saith Every one that loveth him that begat loveth him that is begotten of him Col. 3. 1 2. 1 Cor. 16. 22. Rom. 8. 35 38 39. 1 Iohn 2. 15 1 Iohn 5. 1. But you say your affections to the Lord Jesus are eaten out by the World as by a canker therefore the love of the Father is not in you but the god of this World hath blinded your eyes and being in love with the World you are in the enmity against God for the friendship of the World is enmity to God And the World being thus set in your hearts you cannot find out the beginning nor know the end of the Work of God but are without the true sight and sence of his Majesty and without the sence of his Work in your souls and in your Churches and although you may think you are rich and encrease in goods because you call your selves Churches of Christ and because you have heaped up together a bundle of unprofitable carnal Ordinances according to your own imaginations in imitation of the Church of Christ wch you call the Ordinances of Christ which you plead for and follow yet in as much as your affections to the Lord Jesus are eaten out by the love of the World and you pluckt down from your excellency by a wretched worldly spirit you thereby appear to be no Church of Christ neither do you nor can you partake of his Ordinances which are spiritual but are upon tryal found to be miserable and wretched and poor and blind and naked Likewise you say in your said Epistle That this Iniquity hath been apparently written on your fore-heads To which I say You are thereby apparently known to be no Church of Christ but to differ from them For their Father's Name is written on their Fore-heads not Iniquity And the Lord caused his mark to be set on the fore-heads of all that did sigh cry for the abominations that were committed by them whose iniquities were exceeding great and the servants of the Lord Church of Christ did receive the seal of the living God in their Fore-heads upon them is written the Name of God and the Name of the City of God and the new Name and such see his Face and his Name is written in their Fore-heads and not Iniquity Ezek 9. 4. Rev. 7. 3. 3. 12. 22 4. And these are redeemed from iniquity and their garments washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb For where Iniquity is apparently written there the Fathers Name is not written and where the Fathers Name is not written and his mark received they are not the Church of Christ For Holy and Reverend is his Name and holiness becomes the House of the Lord which is his Church for ever and his mark is Christs righteousness with which his Church is covered and adorned and his Seal is the holy Spirit of Promise by which they are sealed to the day of Redemption But you on whose Fore-heads Iniquity is so apparently written your gathering together is not into the Name of the Lord which is a strong Tower to the righteous who run in thither and are safe neither are you covered with Christs Righteousness nor sealed with his holy Spirit neither is his mark upon you or his Name written on your Fore-heads but your iniquity is marked before the Lord and Iniquitie being your Mark thereby you are plainly known to be of that number that worship the Beast and his Image and his Name you bear and his mark is on your Fore-heads and whilst you bear this mark so apparently on your Fore-heads to wit Iniquitie you ought not to make mention of the Name of the Lord for he that nameth the Name of the Lord should depart from iniquitie else it would be said unto you Depart hence I know you not ye workers of Iniquity although you may say with them We have eaten and drunk in thy presence and we have pleaded for and followed thy Ordinances Yet I say Notwithstanding this plea if Iniquitie be your mark you must depart with the workers of iniquitie Also you say in your said Epistle That this sin eats out all the divine sweetness of regenerating and sanctifying Grace And by this also it appears that you are no church of Christ For if that be eaten out by sin which should regenerate you then are you unregenerate and if unregenerate then no church of Christ For the church of Christ are regenerated and born again not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible by the Word of God and saved by the washing of regeneration and by the renewing of the Holy Ghost and sin had not eaten out that which should regenerate them wch was the Grace of God for they were quickened together with Christ and saved by Grace Tit. 3. 5. 1 Pet. 1. 24. Eph. 2. 5. Again if that be eaten out by sin which should sanctifie you then are you unsanctified and if you are unsanctified then surely you are no church of Christ for the church of Christ were washed sanctified justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus by the Spirit of God they said they were sanctified by the will o God through the offring of the bodie of Jeâ—us Iude did write to them that were sanctified by God the Father c. 1 Cor. 6. 11. Heb. 10. 10. Iude 1. And thus you being unregenerated unsanctified you cannot enter into Gods Kingdom for except a man be born again he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God but he which is unregenerate is not born again and therefore cannot enter into the Kingdom of God And without holiness no man can see the
Lord but he that is unsanctified is without holiness and therefore cannot see the Lord And so though Grace hath abounded towards you yet it seems your sins hath much more abounded in so much that sin hath overcome you and eaten out all the Divine sweetness of regenerating and sanctifying Grace but with the church of Christ it was otherwise for though there was a time in which sin had abounded yet Grace had much more abounded in them so that by Grace they were saved from sin and were become dead to sin and alive unto righteousness and had their fruits unto holiness and the end everlasting life And so by all these particulars of which you have confest your selves to be guilty it is evident that you are neither Ministers nor churches of Christ but on the contrary it plainly appears that you very much differ from them And also there are many other particulars exprest in the said Tiverton Epistle of which you confess your selves to be guilty which time would even fail me to insist upon whereby I could further and more fully and largely prove that you are neither Ministers nor churches of Jesus Christ some of which are as followeth That coldness and deadness is upon your selves and upon the churches formality in holy duties indifferencie and a Laodicean spirit is sallen in upon you that you have been drawing iniquitie with cords of vanitie that there is amongst you personal iniquitie congregational iniquitie national iniquitie familie iniquitie closet iniquitie that you are without soundness from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot full of bruises and putrified sores and the crown is fallen from your head by reason of your iniquities that you have but as it were played with God and not trembled in his presence but have been wanton before him and without the terror of his Maiestie and â—â—at you have delighted to confess and to word it out with the Lord and being gone away presentlie forgot what manner of men and women you were thought no more on your prayers and so confess that you have often mocked God that the World doth eat out your time your strength your zeal and that in the lap of this Dalilah whilst asleep your locks have been cut off and you are but as other men that Satan hath shewed you the Kingdoms of the world and this hath bewitched you and alienated your minds from the Lord that you are remiss in meetings and that you neglect the poor Saints Ministers of Christ whose dailie complaints and addresses you say are living monuments of this reigning abomination That you are cruel to servants and children exacting all their labours and takes no time to counsel or instruct them whereby their souls might be the better for you that slavish fear hath stopped your mouths until the mouth of this Iniquitie hath almost devoured your poor churches That these evils are so deeplie rooted in your hearts that it is hard to get them out that they have wrested all weapons out of your hands that have been formed against them so that you have laboured in vain and that which you have brought forth hath been to little purpose Several other such like things as these you confess your selves and your churches to be guilty of in the said Tiverton Epistle To all which I say If you are indeed guiltie of all these reigning abominations and apparent iniquities according to your confession then assuredlie may I conclude That you are neither Ministers nor churches of Christ and that the Ordinances which you practise are not the Ordinances of Christ but the Ordinances of the man of sin which is exalted and bears rule in you for of these abominations and apparent iniquities the church of Christ was never guiltie as hath been proved And if you say you are not guiltie thereof according to your confession then is this confession of yours a most abominable piece of hypocrisie wherein you have even mocked God as you say you have done often which will render you no less culpable of his fierce wrath and heavy indignation then the former And thus are your skirts discovered your deeds brought to light you weighed in an Equal Ballance â—nd true judgment pass'd upon you and therefore although you call your selves churches of Christ Ministers of Christ yet your presumption is hereby discovered who call your selves churches of Christ and are not as their blasphemie was known who said they were Jews and were not and you with them are found lyars And although you boast of the Ordinances of Christ and say it is his Ordinances you follow and plead for according to the Scriptures and would seem to deck your selves with precious Stones and Pearls yet whilst these abominations reign in you and such iniquities so apparentlie written upon you your Name is Mysteris Babylon the Mother of Harlots and Abomination of the Earth a Synagogue of Satan a habitation of Devils a hold of every foul Spirit and a cage of every unclean and hateful Bird And therefore though Joab flie to lay hold on the horns of the Altar yet from thence he must be taken because he is a man of blood and so on his head must the blood of Abner be charged and rest for ever that Davia and his house may be clear before the Lord for ever And thus the Spiritual Man which is Christ the true light with his Ordinances and Administrations which are spiritual are exalted above the man of fin and above his Ordinances which are weak and unprofitable and which doth not make the comers thereunto perfect and above that imagined false Christ which doth not save his people from their sins and above that Justification which justifies people in their sins and above that blood which doth not reach to the purging of the conscience from dead works and above that faith which doth not purifie the heart and give victory over the world and above that baptism which is not by one spirit into one body whereby sin and transgression reigning abominations and apparent iniquities are washed away and above that Church-fellowship which is not with the Father and with the Son and with the Assembly of the first-born and with the spirits of just men made perfect and above that Bread which is not the Body of Christ and above that cup which is not the cup of blessing of consolation and salvation even the Communion of the Blood of Christ the spiritual Rock of which the Israel of God drunk And above those Prayers which are but lip-labour which are so soon forgotten and no more thought upon and wherewith God is so often mocked which comes not from a pure heart and holy hands lifted up without wrath and doubting and above that Worship which stands in the will of man in conformity to a Rule or Law without them not being thereunto led by the Spirit of the living God whose Worship is spiritual and who will be worshipped in the
ver. 12 13 14. which T. C. mentioneth where the Apostle saith The night is far spent the day is at hand let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the Armor of light let us walk honestly as in the day not in rioting and drunkenness not in chambering and wantonness not in strike and envying but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ c. Doth the Apostle here charge them with walking dishonestly because he exhorts them to walk honestly Nay assuredly for he saith to them I am perswaded of you my Brethren that ye also are full of goodness fill'd with all knowledge c. Rom. 15. 14 And if they were full of goodness then there was no room for dishonesty and rioting and drunkenness chambering and wantonness strife and envying are works of the night and of darkness but he saith The night is far spent the day is at hand let us put on therefore the Armor of light Now if they had not been come to the day how could they put on the Armor of light And if they were come to the day then the night was past and the works of darkness put off this exhortation he gave unto them to stir up their pure minds by way of remembrance as the Apostle Peter did likewise who said Wherefore I will not be negligent to put ye alwayes in remembrance of these things though ye know them and are established in the present truth 2 Pet. 1. 12. And so this proves nothing at all for T. C. that the church of the Romans were guiltie of the same or as great sins and abominations as is mentioned in the Tiverton Writing And as touching the church at Corinth although the Apostle did write to them concerning Fornication yet he doth not say that such Fornicators were of the church of Christ neither doth he tollerate them though T. C. saith that Fornication was tollerated amongst them but doth exhort the church of Christ when they were gathered together in the spirit and power of the Lord Jesus Christ to deliver such to Satan and bids them to have no fellowship with such nay not to companie with such nor to eat with such especially if any such were called a Brother that was a Fornicator or covetous or an Idolater or a Railer or a Drunkard or an Extortioner but they were to put away from among them that wicked person 1 Cor. 5. chap. And surely this was not to tollerate them as T. C. hath affirmed For although such might creep in amongst them as Jude saith in his Epistle ver. 4. That there were certain men crept in unawares who were before ordained to this condemnation ungodly men turning the Grace of God into laciviousness yet these ungodly men were none of the church of Christ for though they might creep in amongst them yet they were not of them and such Iohn saw and said of them They went out from us Mark They went out Therefore they had been in or had crept in They went out from us that they might be made manifest that they were not of us 1 Ioh. 2. 19. And the Apostle did say to the church of Christ at Corinth That neither Fornicators nor Idolators nor Adulterers nor Effeminate nor abusers of themselves with mankind nor Thieves nor Covetous nor Drunkards nor Revilers nor Extortioners shall inherit the Kingdom of God And if they shall not inherit the Kingdom of God then assuredly they are not the church of Christ and this would be but small advantage to T. C. and his Brethren in iniquitie if they could shelter themselves under such Fornicators Idolaters Railers Drunkards Revilers c. and cover themselves with the Name of the church of Christ whilst as wicked and as abominable in the sight of God as the worst of them I say This covering would be of small advantage to them seeing the portion of such is to be shut out of God's Kingdom And the Apostle makes a noted distinction between the church of Christ and such wicked persons saying And such were some of you mark They had been such but saith he Ye are washed but ye are sanctified but ye are justified in the Name of the Lord Iesus and by the Spirit of our God 1 Cor. 6. 9 10 11. And this shews your blindness that you cannot make a distinction between such ungodlie sinners here spoken of and the church of Christ you may trulie say that you live short of the true sight and sence of God's Majestie in his churches and among his Saints who are thus blind that you cannot distinguish between a member of the church of Christ and a Fornicator especiallie where the Scripture hath made such a noted distinction Might not T. C. as well have instanced Iudas for a Member of the church of Christ as these Fornicators and unclean persons Yea rather for the Disciples were not for bid to keep him companie nor forbid to eat with him nor bid to excommunicate him as the church of Christ was those before-mentioned and therefore his being tollerated amongst the Disciples might better have served for your purpose from his example to endeavour to perswade people that you are and may be accounted a church of Christ notwithstanding your great abominations confess'd in your Tiverton Epistle trulie your blindness may even be felt and if you were not quite insensible you might blush and be ashamed of your gross ignorance But T. C. saith The Apostle did not unchurch them as the Enemies of Christ do in these dayes Take notice Reader Did not he unchurch those whom he delivered to Satan and those whom he commanded the church of Christ to have no fellowship with or not to company with them nor to eat with them but were commanded to put away from amongst themselves such wicked persons Is not this to unchurch them according to T. C. his own expressions What doth he call unchurching if this be not to unchurch them He saith The Churches of Galatia were so deeply corrupted that the Apostle wondered they were so soon removed to another Gospel c. yet notwithstanding saith he he owns them to be the churches of Galatia and wisheth Grace and Peace to them c. To which I say If the churches of Galatia were removed from the Gospel of Christ which is the power of God then the churches of Galatia were not the churches of Christ no more then the churches of the Anabaptists in whom such abomination reigns are the churches of Christ neither doth his owning them to be the churches of Galatia prove them to be the churches of Christ any more then T. S. his calling you the churches of the Anabaptists proves you to be the churches of Christ And whereas he saith he wisheth Grace and Peace to them and endeavours their reformation I say Your reformation likewise hath been endeavoured by the servants and messengers of the Lord whose counsel ye have rejected and Grace hath been tendered and hath appeared