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A92921 An examination of Dr. Balyes five waies whereby he endeavours to prove the Church of Rome to be the only church of Christ wherein salvation is to be had, and the Church of England to be no true church. By Robert Seppens rector of Hingham in Norfolk. Seppens, Robert. 1679 (1679) Wing S2558A; ESTC R229928 13,895 37

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the Sacraments wherein all Scriptures Catholicks Protestants agree and yet in the very next place he undertakes to prove that faithful Preaching of Word and Administration of the Sacraments whereof this Holiness consists are no marks of the Church and this he doth by two or three Arguments Pag. 256. which if used against the fifteen marks of Bellarmines assigning would pare them all out of Roman Scutchions Now fearing he had done somthing he could not answer he comes to salve all by a new distinction of Holiness Holiness saith he may be taken two ways Pag. 267. First For an Universal purity of Doctrine and true Preaching of the Word as 't is opposite to all errors in every Dogmatical and Essential Point Secondly For a particular discerning Holiness whereby the true Preaching of the Word is opposite to all palpable and gross absurdities repugnant to the very Principles of Nature Rules of Faith and express Texts of Scripture What the meaning of this distinction is I confess I understand not nor I believe he himself if he were injoy'd to make it intelligible and justifie it by the Rules of Art I believe it would cost him more pains than the writing of his Book After he hath told us of this miraculous distinction which no man knows to what purpose he advanceth to the great works viz. To prove the Roman Church to be a True Church by those marks which are no marks We will consider saith he on our side what Doctrine it is which the Roman Catholicks do Preach and on the other side what Doctrine it is which the Protestants maintain and comparing both together observe whether of the two Preach more sincerely or faithfully For the Catholicks saith he they prescribe a strict way by Confessing of sins doing Pennance Restitution for wrong done set-times of Fasting c. But the Protestants the clean contrary If the Protestants taught all things he would make the world believe they do they were very monsters of men not fit to live in the World But we that know what we Preach as well as he proclaim to the world that we Preach Confession of sins doing Pennance Restitution for wrong done Mortification Set-times of Fasting contempt of the World Self-denyal Chastity Virginal Vidual Marital and all other things necessary to be believed and done for Salvation What if some Sectarian Zelots amongst us teach the contrary How does this concern the Church of England who in Justice stands not bound to maintain or answer for all the wild and mad opinions of them that separate from her And therefore 't is not fair dealing in this Doctor to make the world believe we hold all things contrary to sound Doctrine much worse to father upon the Church of England all the loose furious spurious Principles of all that stand in opposition to Rome What have we to do with the intemperate speeches of Luther or the new Divinity of the Lemanical Dictator who follow none but Christ and the Primitive Catholick Church But grant that the Church of England should not Preach the Doctrine of Christ so sincerely as the Roman Church does how does it follow upon this that the Church of Rome is the only True Church and the Church of England none 'T is a Rule in Logick that magis minùs non variant speciem that more or less Intention or Remission does not vary or diversifie the kind If the Church of England do Preach Christs Doctrine so sincerely as to Preach it sufficiently for mans Salvation all things necessary for mans Salvation though the Roman Church Preach it more excellently The Church of England may be a True Church still For there are degrees of the sincere Preaching and profession of Christs Doctrine One consisting in a freedom from all errours and that is not necessarily required to the being of a Church Another consisting in a freedom from all pertinacious error And 't is this last we make a note of the Church a sincerity free from all pertinacious error and in this degree of sincerity the Church of England does profess to Preach Christs Doctrine and by so doing is a True Church The second Mark that Protestants make of the True Church is the lawful Administration of the Sacraments whereby he undertakes in Cap. 30. to prove the Church of England to be no True Church At first he Scoptically mentions it calling it an Ear-mark although as wise and as learned a man as himself Alexander Ales made it so in good earnest At last he himself makes use of it to prove the Church of England to be no True Church viz. because the Church of England neither administers all the Sacraments which are Seven nor holds it necessary all should be administred nor acknowledgeth all to be Sacraments which is contrary to express Text of Scripture and the Word of God A high degree of contumacy and perversness if True and enough to stigmatize us to all Ages But if the Church of England allow all to be Sacraments that are so and the number of Seven Sacraments in that sence the Ancient Church call'd them so though amongst them two more chief and generally necessary to Salvation What degree of Heresie is this For the word Sacrament we know it is an Ecclesiastical word and in the power of the Church to impose upon what holy Signs or Ceremonies she pleaseth And if the Antient Church have thought it fitting to call those Holy Actions mention'd in the the Scripture with that name as Confirmation Holy Orders Matrimony c. we oppose it not we commend the moderation of Melancthon who thinks this no just matter of quarrel But 't is well known that the word Sacrament was used two ways by the Antients First largely for any Holy secret or sign of any Holy secret So Tertullian calls Christianity it self a Sacrament lib. 4. contra Marcion and in his Fifth Book speaking of Abrahams Sons he calls them Sacramenta figuram the Sacraments of figures and in his Book against the Jews he calls the Hatchet of Eliah Sacramentum ligni the Sacrament of the wood Somtimes strictly for a Holy secret Symbolically signifying and Sealing some Spiritual Grace and Ordained by Christ for that purpose And so they esteem'd Baptism and the Eucharist Sacraments in a more excellent manner But to go no further than the words of the Doctor p. 287. where he defines a Sacrament to be a visible sign of an invisible Grace Divinely Instituted for our Sanctification How will the Doctor by this Definition prove all the Seven to be True Proper Sacraments when Five of them want Divine Institution or matter and form Essential to Sacraments To instance in Confirmation they acknowledg themselves there is no command of Christ for it but only the Example of the Apostles The matter they say of this Sacrament is Holy Chrism Confect and made of Oyl Olive and Balm Consecrated by a Bishop the Form is the words of the Bishop I sign thee with the