Selected quad for the lemma: nature_n
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A42048
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The grand presvmption of the Roman Church in equalling their own traditions to the written word of God by Francis Gregory.
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Gregory, Francis, 1625?-1707.
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1675
(1675)
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Wing G1894; ESTC R13146
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76,854
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132
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turned into Hell A dismal sentence surely And what is worse the Evangelist the very Gospel tells us too They shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever What a killing word is this So terrible are these and many other Comminations which we find most plainly delivered in our Bibles that of all the Passages recorded therein these are they which man is most unwilling to believe As for our scoffing Atheist he is loath to believe that there is any such Being as an holy God to call him to a strict account in another world for what he hath done in this he will not be convinced that there is a most glorious Heaven to invite him to Holiness or a most dreadfull Hell to scare him from Sin And as for other ordinary Sinners how apt are they to create themselves a God made up of nothing else but Compassions Bowels and Mercy onely They reade indeed such and such dismal Sentences denounced in God's name by his Prophets Evangelists and Apostles but withall they look upon them but as so many 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bugbears and Scarecrows onely They cannot imagine that it is consistent with the Goodness of God no nor with his Justice neither to put such sad Threatnings of his in execution For say they what great injury doth a little Sin doe to God that he should ever think of such a strange Revenge When a man enjoys the pleasure of his Lust what harm thereby can he doe his Maker If God be not one jot the better for all our Services can he be so much the worse for our Miscarriages as to punish us so severely and that for ever Is it imaginable that for such and such Offences committed in a short space of time a God that hath proclaimed himself so Good and Gracious should revenge himself upon a poor inconsiderable worm by inflicting the most tremendious Torments and those everlasting too Yea so reasons the foolish Heart of man but what say the Wisedom and the Oracles of God These shall go away into everlasting punishment so saith one Evangelist Their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched so saith another I am tormented in this flame so writes a third Now whatever the Sinner may dream to the delusion and ruine of his immortal Soul all these Expressions and many more of a like nature are expresly delivered in our Bibles and so require our Faith we find them in the Old Testament we find them in the New and if so we are obliged most readily and firmly to believe them because both these Testaments even our Law and our Gospel are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Word the infallible Word of Christ III. Since the whole Scripture is undoubtedly the Word of Christ we are obliged to obey it in all the Commands which it contains 'T is not enough to give credit to the Holy Scripture in whatever it saith but we must also yield an universal Obedience to every thing that it doth require For as every Assertion contained in Sacred Writ as being the Word of Christ deserves our Belief in respect of his Truth and Faithfulness so every Precept delivered therein as being the Word of the same Christ expects our Obedience in respect of his absolute Sovereignty and Dominion See this in two Particulars I. Since the whole Scripture is undoubtedly the Word of Christ we must obey it in all its Positive Laws by doing whatever it doth require There are indeed many severe Commands which the Scriptures lay upon us such Injunctions hath the Law imposed and such Duties doth the very Gospel exact as are quite contrary to the corrupt Inclinations of humane Nature and consequently seem exceeding harsh to Flesh and bloud Such was that unexpected Command of God to Abraham Take thy son thine onely son Jsaac whom thou lovest and offer him up for a burnt-offering Such another was that to Moses Go up to mount Nebo and die And such is that recorded by the Evangelist If thy right eye offend thee pluck it out c. and again Sell all that thou hast and distribute to the poor c. Certainly these and many other like Commands at the very first hearing sound exceeding harsh and so severe that were they imposed by any person of but ordinary Authority man would rather hazard his displeasure then obey his will by doing that which in his own apprehension doth so much tend to his Disadvantage Should a man like our selves require us upon the first wanton Glance of our dearest Eye to pluck it out rather then run the danger of second should any man like our selves command us to lose the greatest Estate rather then deny or dissemble the smallest Truth should any worldly Power enjoyn us to lie in the flame our selves rather then cast a little Incense into it where dwells the man that would not disobey But although the matter of several Commands be so distastfull to flesh and bloud and seems so contrary to that which man is apt to count his great Interest in the world that with some little plausibility and pretences of carnal Reason it is wont to discourage and retard our Obedience yet the due consideration of that Authority Dominion Wisedome and Goodness which hath imposed these Commands even the severest of them should excite and quicken us to obey We are strictly charged to renounce the World so far at least as it stands in competition with its Maker and if this seem a difficult task let us remember who it is that hath enjoyned it We are bid to mortifie our members to crucifie our old man to subdue and kill our dearest lusts and if these and the like injunctions do not please us yet let us consider where they are recorded There is not a man amongst us but doth avouch and own Christ to be his Lord and the Scripture to be his Rule and if so since all these Commands how displeasing soever to the nature of man are imposed by this Lord and contained within this Holy Writ 't is certain that we stand obliged by all that Service and Homage we ow our Lord and by all that respect we pretend to every Sacred Text to obey even the most unwelcom Precepts by doing whatever is required in any page or line which contains 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Word of Christ 2. Since the whole Scripture is undoubtedly the Word of Christ we are all obliged to obey it in all its Negative Precepts by forbearing whatsoever it doth forbid 'T is not enough for the Servants of Christ to perform those Duties which his Laws require but we must not meddle with any Sin which they do prohibit 'T is indeed very easie to believe that there are several Prohibitions found in Holy writ that do as much oppose man's worldly Interest and crosse his corrupt Inclinations as many of its Positive Commands So licentious is the nature of man that it makes him impatient of
even in that Age that framed Epistles in the Apostles names and ascribed their false Doctrines unto them The same trick several Hereticks used in succeeding Ages Clemens Alexandrinus tells us that Basilides one of those Hereticks who were justly styled Borboritae Coenosi though he broached most detestable Doctrines yet had the Impudence to affirm that he learnt them from Glaucias whom he pretended to be the Interpreter of St. Peter 'T is also recorded that Marcion in the Second Age of the Church who was justly styled by Polycarp Primogenitus Diaboli the First-born of the Devil though he affirmed a Plurality of Gods though he denied that our Blessed Saviour was as Ignatius expresseth it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 though he denied the Verity of Christ's Humane nature and consequently the Reality of his Sufferings yet he had the face to brag that he received these abominable Doctrines from the Disciples of St. Matthias And certainly if such damnable Heresies were broached thus early and pretended to be received from Apostolicall Tradition we have no cause so easily to comply with such and such Doctrines of the Romish Church which have no warrant in the Written Word barely because they assert them to be of Divine Originall But since an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 will not doe since bare Affirmations in matters of such great Concern will not be accepted the Champions of the Roman Religion find themselves necessitated to produce some Proofs which they pretend to be Great ones too And amongst them all I meet with none that offers more fair then Bellarmine whose Pretensions are so plausible that if he prove an honest man and make good his word this whole Dispute will be over and I dare engage that the Reformed Churches will pay the self-same Respect to Traditions which the Pope and his Council of Trent do give them For thus he tells us Traditiones eas tantùm recipimus pro Apostolicis quas firmis Testimoniis Antiquorum probare possumus esse Apostolicas We receive no Traditions for Apostolicall but such alone which by the firm Testimonies of the Ancients we can prove to be such indeed The Testimonies urged by Bellarmine and other Catholicks in behalf of their Traditions are drawn from Scriptures Popes Councils and Fathers each of which we shall examine I. The Champions of the Roman Faith do pretend to prove their Traditions by several Texts of the Written Word the chief whereof are these 1. That Expression of our Blessed Saviour to his Apostles recorded by the Evangelist is one I have yet many things to say unto you but ye cannot bear them now Hence Bellarmine argueth thus Constat Dominum multa dixisse quae non sunt scripta 'T is evident that our Lord spake many things that are not written But it will be no injury to Bellarmine's reputation if we do not count him infallible since he was and would be no more then a Cardinall having begged of God as some say that he might never be Pope lest perhaps he might probably be damned too being it seems of the same mind with Marcellus the Second who said Non video quomodo qui altum hunc locum tenet salvari possit I do not see how the man that holds this high place can possibly be saved But let us view his Argument Christ said I have yet many things to say unto you but ye cannot bear them now What then The Cardinall thus infers 'T is evident that our Lord spake many things which are not written MethinKs this Consequence is not necessary nor can be proved from this Text at least I have yet many things to say unto you but ye cannot bear them now All that can be gathered from this Text is onely this That our Lord did not speak at this time several matters which he had to say to his Apostles because they were not then fit to receive them Yea but the Cardinall farther adds Illa quae promittebat Dominus se dicturum dixit haud dubiè post Resurrectionem suam Those things which our Lord promised that he himself would say without all doubt he did say after his Resurrection and that St. Luke doth testifie thus He shewed himself alive to his Apostles after his passion by many infallible proofs being seen of them forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God Whether these things which our Blessed Saviour delivered to his Apostles were afterwards recorded by them or not can neither be proved nor denied by any solid and certain Arguments except it can first be infallibly known what his several Discourses were St. Chrysostom tells us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Christ at his several Apparitions to his Disciples after his Resurrection spake words that savoured not of man but of the Spirit But whether any of these words were written this general expression of St. Chrysostome's leaves us uncertain still But mark another The Text saith He gave commandments to the Apostles But what Commands might they be were any of them written or were they all afterwards delivered to the Church by Tradition What the great one was St. Chrysostom tells us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Go and teach all nations c. and that to be sure is found upon Record But the Truth is that expression of Grotius is undeniable Multa dedit Praecepta quae hîc reticentur Christ gave the Apostles many Commands which the Evangelist in that place hath not set down but can the Romanists make it out that no Evangelist no Apostle hath set them down elsewhere I grant indeed that if Lorinus have guessed right at the Subject matter of our Saviour's private discourses with his Apostles after his Resurrection there is little or nothing of it in our Bibles for concerning Christ's talk with his Disciples this man as becomes a Jesuit indeed giveth us his Opinion thus Exposuit Authoritatem summi Pastoris Hierarchiam totam Ecclesiasticam formas ritúsque Sacramentorum ac inprimis Sacrificii Missae cultum Invocationem Sanctorum Dies festos c. He declared the Authority of the Pope the whole Hierarchy of the Church the forms and rites of the Sacraments and especially the Sacrifice of the Masse Invocation of Saints the Observation of Holy-days c. 'T is well guessed bold Jesuite but are these indeed the Doctrines which our Blessed Saviour as Bellarmine saith promised to teach his Apostles after his Resurrection are these indeed the Lessons of which Christ said to his Disciples Ye cannot bear them now The truth is neither Christ himself nor any of his Apostles could have born such Lessons at any time whatever But certain it is those Doctrines which the Apostles could not have well born before Christ's Passion and were therefore adjourned till after his Resurrection were and must needs be of another nature indeed what they were in particular cannot certainly be known Thus St. Austine Quaenam ista sunt quae Ipse