Bishops of Rome do succeed St. Peter in such a Supreme Power and Authority and are now the Head of all the Christian Church is not consistent with the sacred Scriptures but directly contrary to them This is proved by what hath been said already For if St. Peter had no such Universal Power and Authority over the Apostles and all the Church as it is clear that he had not then the Roman Bishops have no ground to pretend to succeed him in such a supreme Power and Authority This is altogether vain seeing there is no truth in the former And there is no proof at all that they should be St. Peter's Heirs and Successors and be the only Masters of that Power and Authority which he had in the Church And how then can they assume such an Universal Power and Authority which he had not Heb. 5.4 And no man taketh this honour unto himself saith the Apostle but he that is called of God as was Aaron And how then can the Bishops of Rome justly assume to themselves such a supreme and universal Power over all the Church till they can shew some Divine Commission for it And for such Authority they have no Plea nor Colour from the sacred Word of God There is no clear place in the sacred Scriptures to prove that ever St. Peter was at Rome and he wrote no Epistle to them to confer any Power upon them and in those Epistles that he wrote he makes no mention of any such Power and supreme Authority that they were to have St. Peter was chiefly the Apostle of the Jews as St. Paul sheweth Gal. 2.7 And how then can the Roman Gentiles pretend that all his Power is devolved upon them St. Peter was much at Jerusalem and the Bishops of that place might have had a better Title to be his Successors in a higher manner than others if any were to have been so than the Bishops of Rome can have because he was chiefly and primarily the Apostle of the Jews St. Peter was also at Antioch some time Gal. 2.11 And the Bishops of that place may alledg as good a Plea to be his Successors as the Bishops of Rome can Again St. Paul writes an Epistle to the Romans and several Epistles from Rome but no intimation in them that the Bishops of that place only were to be St. Peters Successors and to have an universal Power and Authority over the whole Church And from hence we may see that St. Paul knew nothing of any such universal Power that the Roman Bishops were to have For if he had known that our blessed Lord had designed them to be the Universal Pastors over all the Church we may be sure that he would not have been wanting to have instructed the Churches to which he wrote in this great Point of Duty and to have let them know where the Supreme Power of the Church was lodged that they might have had recourse to it in all weighty Concerns The Apostle commandeth Christians Heb. 13.17 To obey them that have the Rule over them and to submit themselves but not a word of obeying the Roman Bishop nor any regard that is to be had to him more than to another Again if any place should have been Invested with such a Supreme Power over all the Christian Church we may well conclude that Jerusalem should have been the place For more is said of that place tending this way than of any place in the whole World besides This is the place that is renowned above all others in the sacred Word of God and the Bishops of this place might have pleaded the most of all for a Divine Right of Governing the Universal Church of Christ For this was the Holy City as St. Matthew calls it Matt. 4.5 This was the City of the Great King as our Saviour himself calls it Matt. 5.35 Neither by Jerusalem saith he for it is the City of the Great King This was the City of the Lord of Hosts the Great King of all Kings This was the place where Christ the Great Shepherd of all did exercise the Power that God the Father gave him over all the Church and for whose sacred Temple he shewed so much Zeal and was so much concerned Mar. 11.15 Within the jurisdiction of this City and among the Jews who had a dependence upon this City as their great Metropolis did our Lord do all his Miracles and exercised his Pastoral Office This was the great Metropolis of the whole World and here had Almighty God recorded his Holy Name Psal 87.2 3 The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob Glorious things are spoken of thee O City of God Great Matters were spoken and predicted of this City This was to be the City of Truth Zac. 8.3 Thus saith the Lord I am returned unto Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem and Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth and the Mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy Mountain This was the place from whence the Law was to go forth according to the predictions of the Prophets Isa 2.3 And many people shall go and say Come ye and let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord to the House of the God of Jacob and he will teach us of his ways and we will walk in his paths For out of Zion shall go forth the Law and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem And Micah 4.2 For the Law shall go forth of Zion and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem From this place was the Law and Word of God to go forth This is the place where God is said to dwell for ever and he promiseth to cloath her Priests with Salvation Psal 132.13 14. For the Lord hath chosen Zion he hath desired it for his habitation This is my Rest for ever And ver 16. I will also cloath her Priests with Salvation This is said of this place and the Priests thereof Here the Holy Ghost came down upon the Apostles on the day of Pentecost Acts 2. Here was held the first Council Act. 15. And St. James that was Bishop of Jerusalem was President of this Council of Apostles and Elders And if all this and much more be said of this place in the Word of God we may be sure that Jerusalem should have been the place of Supremacy and Power over all the Church if any place should have been so We may be sure that the Bishops of this place should have been the Universal Head of the Church if there should have been any such Head For more may be said for a Divine Right of Ruling over all the Church for Jerusalem than for any place in the whole World besides But seeing Jerusalem has no such Superiority and doth not exalt it self over all other places we may be sure that no other place ought to do so For Rome or any other place cannot stand in Competition with it for Superiority or urge
The Contrariety of POPERY TO THE Blessed Word of GOD Wherein may be seen that the DOCTRINE and PRACTICE OF THE Church of Rome Are not consistent with the SACRED ORACLES OF THE Old and New Testament Very fit now to be seriously minded by all Good PROTESTANTS when we have such Warnings of the Approach of Popery Written by DIGBY BULL M. A. and late Rector of Sheldon in Warwick-shire LONDON Printed for the Author and are to be Sold by J. Whitlock near Stationers-Hall 1695. I. The Fundamental Doctrine of the Romish Church That the blessed Apostle St. Peter was the Head and Governour of all the Apostles and of all the Church is not consistent with the sacred Scriptures but is flat contrary to them THIS grand Position of the Church of Rome whereupon all their pretended Power and Authority is built is altogether groundless and false and not consistent with the blessed Word of God as we may see by a multitude of places First We may see That the places of Scripture which are urged upon this account have no force at all to prove that St. Peter was the Universal Head and Governour of the Apostles and of the Church Great Matters are spoken of St. Peter but nothing at all that will prove this Matt. 16.18 Saith our blessed Lord to him Thou art Peter and upon this rock will I build my Church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it But this doth not prove that St. Peter was to be the sole Foundation of the Church and it is clear by other places of Scripture that this is not the meaning of this place For in this Similitude wherein the Church is compared to a Building Jesus Christ our blessed Lord is the sole and only Foundation and none can pretend to be a Foundation in such a high manner as he is so And this the Apostle St. Paul hath plainly taught us 1 Cor. 3.11 For other Foundation can no man lay than that is laid which is Jesus Christ Here when some were pretending to be of Paul and some of Apollos the Apostle doth positively affirm That Christ Jesus is the Foundation upon which the Christian Church was to be built and neither Paul nor Apollos nor Cephas or Peter are to stand in competition with him in this respect And when the Foundation is attributed to the Apostles they are mentioned together and Christ is called the chief Corner-stone Ephes 2.20 saith St. Paul And are built upon the Foundation of the Apostles and Prophets Jesus Christ himself being the chief Corner-stone And in St. John's holy Jerusalem the Apostles are all equally concerned Rev. 21.14 And the Wall of the City had twelve Foundations saith he and in them the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb. The Apostles we see are all concerned in the Foundation of the Christian Church and it was to be built upon them all as Ministers in this Spiritual Building and in respect of the Doctrine and Foundation of Christ which they laid and St. Peter alone is not the Foundation of the Christian Church And not only St. Peter but others also are mentioned as Pillars of the Church Gal. 2.9 saith St. Paul And when James Cephas and John who seemed to be pillars perceived the grace that was given unto me James and John here are accounted as Pillars of the Church as well as Cephas that is Peter It is plain we see that St. Peter was not appointed to be the sole Foundation of the Christian Church and that nothing can be fairly urged from these words of our Saviour to him to prove him to be the Universal Head of the Church Again our blessed Saviour promiseth to St. Peter the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven and power of binding and loosing Mat. 16.19 And I will give unto thee saith he to Peter the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven Here we see that very great Power indeed is promised to St. Peter but yet this doth not at all prove him to be the Universal Head over all the Church For this seems not to be an actual Grant of this Power but only a Promise and the actual conferring of this Power doth clear this matter That it was not granted to St. Peter alone but to all the Apostles This may be clearly seen by these places Matt. 18.18 Verily I say unto you saith our Lord whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven Here the Power of Binding and Loosing the same Power that St. Peter was to have is as firmly ratified and confirmed to all the Apostles as it is to St. Peter and he could pretend to no Power above his fellow Apostles And after our Saviour's Resurrection immediately before his ascension to Heaven when he most solemnly invested the Apostles with this Power he equally gave it to them all Joh. 20.21 23. Then said Jesus to them again Peace be unto you As my Father hath sent me even so send I you And when he had said this he breathed on them and said unto them Receive ye the Holy Ghost Whose soever sins ye remit they are remitted unto them and whose soever sins ye retain they are retained Here we see this Power is actually and solemnly settled upon them all And the Commission is large bearing a correspondence with that which God the Father gave him As my Father hath sent me even so send I you in the plural number And the Commission is Universal Whos 's soever sins ye remit This great Power then we see plainly is actually settled upon them all and none hath a greater share of it than his Fellows And when St. Peter said unto our blessed Saviour in behalf of himself and his Fellows Matt. 19 27 28. Behold we have forsaken all and followed thee what shall we have therefore Our Saviour returned this answer And Jesus said unto them Verily I say unto you that ye which have followed me in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his Glory ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve Tribes of Israel And saith he Luke 22.29 30 And I appoint unto you a Kingdom as my Father hath appointed unto me That ye may eat and drink at my Table in my Kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve Tribes of Israel Here we see that it is equally granted to them all to sit upon Thrones and to judge the twelve Tribes of Israel And these places are understood to respect the Power that they were to have to govern Christ's Church here upon Earth after his departure to Heaven It is clear then that our blessed Saviour gave and left St. Peter no more Power and Authority than he did the rest of the holy Apostles Again the Care of Christ's Flock is
St. Peter's Joh. 19 26 27. When Jesus therefore saw his Mother and the Disciple standing by whom he loved he said unto his Mother Woman behold thy Son Then said he to the Disciple behold thy Mother And from that hour that Disciple took her to his own home Here we see that our blessed Saviour recommended his dear Mother to the Care of St. John and not of St. Peter and yet it is highly probable that this Care would have been committed to him if he alone was to have been Christ's Vicar General This Care wherein our Saviour was concerned when he was expiring upon the Cross had been very fit to have been committed to him if his Power and Authority had been greater than the rest But yet St. Peter we see took not the Care of her nor was he intrusted with it In matters of Trespass and Wrong our blessed Saviour orders that an offended and injured Brother should go and admonish the offending Brother alone And if that would not do that he should take with him one or two more to convince him of his fault And if this proved ineffectual that he should then tell it to the Church that they might judge of it but orders no appeal to St. Peter in this case Matt. 18.15 If thy brother shall trespass against thee go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone If he shall hear thee thou hast gained thy brother But if he will not hear thee then take with thee one or two more that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established And if he shall neglect to hear them tell it unto the Church But if he neglect to hear the Church let him be unto thee as an Heathen man and a Publican Here in Matters of Injury and Wrong the last Appeal that our blessed Saviour orders is to the Church And if an offending Brother will not hear the Church we are to have no more to do with such And if our Saviour had left a Supreme Power with St. Peter and constituted him the sole Determiner of all Controversies and Matters in debate he sure would have ordered that Appeal at last should have been made to him that he might have put an end to the Matter in dispute and might have quieted men's minds But here is no such thing and yet our blessed Saviour had great occasion here to mention St. Peter's supreme Power and Authority if he had granted him any such thing which clears the matter more that St. Peter was not at all before the rest in Authority and Power And immediatly upon this our blessed Saviour subjoins these words Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven v. 18. Again our blessed Lord hath sufficiently shewed that no one of his Disciples was to exalt himself above the rest and to Domineer and Lord it over them He forewarned them that they should not be called Rabbi because they were all Brethren and of an equal Rank and Order Matt. 23.8 But be not ye called Rabbi saith our Lord to them for one is your Master even Christ and ye are all brethren And when there was a strife among them which of them should be the greatest our Saviour expresly tells them that it should not be so amongst them as it was among the Gentile Kings that one of them should exercise Lordship and Dominion over the rest Luk. 22.24 And there was also a strife among them which of them should be accounted the greatest And he said unto them The Kings of the Gentiles exercise Lordship over them and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors But ye shall not be so but he that is greatest among you let him be as the younger and he that is chief as he that doth serve Here we see that there was a strife among them which of them should be the greatest and this shews that our Saviour had exalted none of them above his Fellows For if he had done so this Dispute would have ceased and they would have all acquiesced and sat down contented with what their Lord and Master had done and have accounted St. Peter the chief if our Saviour had made him so But our Saviour having determined nothing in this matter they fall to strife about it And at this time he grants no Pre-eminence to St. Peter above the rest which sure he would have done if he had intended that St. Peter should have been the Head of them all But instead of this he expresly tells them that no one of them should Lord it over the rest as the Gentile Kings exercised Lordship over the Gentiles It is plain then That our blessed Saviour granted to St. Peter no Superiority and Authority over the rest of the Apostles Thirdly We find no footsteps of any Superiority and Power over the rest of the Apostles that ever St. Peter claimed or pretended to He arrogated no such Supreme Authority over the rest but shews a more humble Mind as it became a Disciple and an Apostle of such a Master of Humility and Condescension as our blessed Saviour was He stiles himself a Servant and an Apostle of Jesus Christ in his Epistles and gives himself no Title of Superiority 1 Pet. 1.1 Peter an Apostle of Jesus Christ to the strangers And 2 Pet. 1.1 Simon Peter a Servant and an Apostle of Jesus Christ He exhorts the Elders to feed the Flock of God among them and saith that he also is an Elder assuming no other Title to himself but what he gave them 1 Pet. 5.1 The Elders which are among you I exhort who am also an Elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ He joins himself with the rest of the Apostles and saith the Commandment of us the Apostles and asserts no Authority of his above theirs 2 Pet. 3.2 That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy Prophets and of the commandment of us the Apostles of the Lord and Saviour He pretends here no more but to be of the same level with the rest of the Apostles and assumeth no Authority above them He disswadeth the Elders from Lording it over God's heritage 1 Pet. 5.2 Feed the flock of God saith he which is among you taking the oversight thereof not by constraint but willingly not for filthy lucre but of a ready mind Neither as being Lords over God's heritage but being ensamples to the flock From filthy Lucre and Lording it over the Flock he dissuades them and we may be sure that he set them no ill Example herein He affirmeth our blessed Saviour to be the chief Shepherd and enforceth his Exhortation by the Crown that they should receive from him and doth not urge any supreme Authority of his own v. 4. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear saith he ye shall receive a Crown of Glory that fadeth not away Such is his carriage and demeanor and there is no appearance of any Superiority
and Authority that he usurped or claimed over the rest of the Apostles Fourthly We may plainly see by the Acts of the Apostles and by the Epistles of St. Paul that St. Peter had no Power nor Authority over the rest of the Apostles When the Apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Gospel they sent Peter and John to them to confirm them therein and that they might receive the Holy Ghost Acts 8.14 Now when the Apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God they sent unto them Peter and John Here we see that St. Peter as well as St. John is sent by the Apostles to these new Converts at Samaria And herein they act as Ministers under the Apostles For as our Lord saith Joh. 13.16 He that is sent is not greater than he that sent him And hereby we see that St. Peter was not accounted their Superior no more than St. John The right hands of Fellowship were given to Paul and Barnabas by James and John and Peter himself too Gal. 2.9 And when James Cephas and John saith St. Paul who seemed to be pillars perceived the grace that was given unto me they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship that we should go unto the Heathen and they unto the Circumcision Barnabas and Paul are not commanded by them as Ministers under them but taken into Fellowship with them and this is done by James and John as well as Peter and they are to take care of the Church of the Gentiles as the other were to take care of the Church of the Jews And this shews that St. Peter was not then accounted the Head of the Apostles And St. Paul we may see withstood St. Peter at Antioch Gal. 2.11 But when Peter was come to Antioch saith St. Paul I withstood him to the face because he was to be blamed And ver 14. But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the Gospel I said unto Peter before them all If thou being a Jew livest after the manner of Gentiles and not as do the Jews why compellest thou the Gentiles 〈◊〉 live as do the Jews St. Paul here shews that he knew of no Power and Superiority that St. Peter had over him and over the whole Church to be an Universal Head thereof Again St. Paul tells the Corinthians that he was in nothing behind the very chiefest Apostles 2 Cor. 11.5 For I suppose saith he I was not a whit behind the very chiefest Apostles And 2 Cor. 12.11 saith he For I ought to have been commended of you For in nothing am I behind the very chiefest Apostles St Paul doth here clearly prove to us that St. Peter had no Power and Authority over all the Apostles For he mentions the chiefest Apostles in the plural number which shews that St. Peter alone was not exalted above all the rest and he affirms that he himself was not their Inferior Again where St. Paul reckons up the Orders of Men that God had constituted and appointed in the Church he plainly shews that St. Peter was not the Head of the Apostles and placed in an Order above them For he shews that the Apostles in general are the first Order of Men in the Church 1 Cor. 12.28 And God hath set some in the Church saith he first Apostles secondarily Prophets thirdly Teachers And Ephes 4.11 saith he And he gave some Apostles and some Prophets and some Evangelists and some Pastors and Teachers For the perfecting of the Saints Apostles are the first that our blessed Saviour hath set and appointed in his Church as the Apostle here plainly shews and St. Peter was not set up as a Head above them all And we may see that St. Paul acted as wholly independent upon St. Peter He ordained Timothy Bishop of Ephesus and gave him Instructions and Commands how to carry himself and what Persons he should ordain 1 Tim. 3. And he gave him a solemn Charge to observe what he had written to him 1 Tim. 5.21 I charge thee saith thee before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect Angels that thou observe these things without preferring one before another He gave him Instructions and Commands and this solemn Charge to obsrve them but here is no mention of any Power derived from St. Peter or any account to be rendred to him He also ordained Titus Bishop of Crete and gave him Instructions how he should carry and demean himself Tit. 1.5 For this cause saith he left I thee in Crete that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting and ordain Elders in every City as I had appointed thee Titus was to walk according to his Instructions and as St. Paul had appointed him and without any regard at all to St. Peter And St. Paul of himself without any Power or Direction from St. Peter gave Orders and Commands in all Churches where he came and planted the Gospel 1 Cor. 7.17 But as God hath distributed to every man saith he as the Lord hath called every one so let him walk and so ordain I in all Churches It is not St. Peter but St. Paul himself that doth thus ordain in all Churches And 1 Cor. 16.1 saith he Now concerning the Collection for the Saints as I have given order to the Churches of Galatia even so do ye And he sheweth that the Care of all the Churches lay upon him 2 Cor. 11.28 It is plain that St. Paul acted without any dependence upon St. Peter and that the Gospel of the Uncircumcision was committed unto him as the Gospel of the Circumcision was to St. Peter Gal. 2.7 In the Divisions at Corinth some affirmed themselves to be the Disciples of Paul and others of Apollos which shews that they knew nothing of St. Peter's being the Head over all the Church and had been instructed in no such point of Doctrine 1 Cor. 1.12 Now this I say that every one of you saith I am of Paul and I of Apollos and I of Cephas and I of Christ Is Christ divided was Paul crucified for you or were ye baptized in the Name of Paul And these Divisions St. Paul blamed and affirmeth that they were the Ministers of Christ and the Gospel and instructs them in no Supremacy of St. Peter's 1 Cor. 3.3 For ye are yet carnal saith he for whereas there is among you envying and strife and divisions are yet not carnal and walk as men Who then is Paul and who is Apollos but ministers by whom ye believed even as the Lord gave to every man By these and such places it is clear that St. Peter was not exalted above the rest of the Apostles and that this Position and Doctrine of the Church of Rome That St. Peter was the Head and Governor of all the Apostles and of all the Church is not consistent with the sacred Scriptures but directly contrary to them II. Their Position and Doctrine That the
recommended to St. Peter Joh. 21 15-17 Jesus saith to Simon Peter Simon Son of Jonas lovest thou me more than these He saith unto him ye Lord thou knowest that I love thee He saith unto him Feed my Lambs He saith to him again the second time Simon Son of Jonas lovest thou me He saith yea Lord thou knowest that I love thee He saith unto him Feed my Sheep And so a third time But this doth not prove that St. Peter had any Power and Authority granted him over the rest of the Apostles by our blessed Saviour And we may see that our blessed Saviour hath recommended the Care of his Church to all the Apostles and commanded them all to preach the Gospel and to baptize Matt. 28 18-20 And Jesus came and spake unto them saying All Power is given unto me in heaven and in earth Go ye therefore and teach all Nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you Here our Saviour tells his Apostles that all Power was given him in Heaven and in Earth and therefore because he had received this full Power he sends them all forth with Power to preach and baptize and grants not this Commission to St. Peter alone And Mar. 16.15 And he said unto them Go ye into all the World and preach the Gospel to every Creature The same Commission we see is granted to them all indifferently without any manner of prelation And accordingly they all went about the execution of it ver 20 And they went forth and preached every where the Lord working with them And St. Paul tells us that the Gospel of the Uncircumcision that is of the Gentiles was committed unto him in like manner as the Gospel of the Circumcision that is of the Jews was committed to St. Peter Gal. 2.7 But contrarywise saith St. Paul when they saw that the Gospel of the Uncircumcision was committed unto me as the Gospel of the Circumcision was unto Peter And saith he in the following verse v. 8 For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the Apostleship of the Circumcision the same was mighty in me towards the Gentiles Thus we see that St. Paul had the same Commission to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles that St. Peter had to preach it to the Jews and that God wrought Wonders by him for the Conversion of the Gentiles as he did by St. Peter for the Conversion of the Jews which farther shews that the sole Care of the Church was not committed to St. Peter alone It is manifest then that by these words Feed my Lambs and feed my Sheep no Superiority and Authority is granted to St. Peter over the rest of the Apostles Again St. Peter seems sometimes to be the Mouth of the Apostles and the chief Speaker amongst them But this can argue no Superiority over them because St. James seems in a more eminent manner to do so than he And passeth Sentence in the whole Assembly of the Apostles and Elders when St. Peter himself also was present For in that remarkable Synod at Jerusalem when the Apostles and Elders came together to consider of this matter viz Whether it was needful that the Gentiles should be circumcised after the manner of Moses or not and after St. Peter had declared how God shewed his approbation of them by granting them the gift of the Holy Ghost St. James here seems to be the Chair-man and President of this Assembly and gives the definitive Sentence which was followed by them all Acts 15 13-20 And after they had held their peace James answered saying Men and Brethren hearken unto me Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles to take out of them a People for his Name And to this agree the words of the Prophets Wherefore my sentence is That we trouble not them which from among the Gentiles are turned to God But that we write unto them that they abstain from pollutions of Idols and from fornication and from things strangled and from blood In this eminent manner doth St. James and not St. Peter pass Sentence in this Assembly of the Apostles and Elders And this we see is followed by them all ver 22-29 Then pleased it the Apostles and Elders with the whole Church to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas St. James was President here and chief Speaker in a more eminent manner than ever we read that St. Peter was and it may as fairly be argued that he was Superior in Authority as it may that St. Peter was so Again St. Peter is oft named first in the Catalogues of the Apostles in the Gospels But this can be no good argument to prove that he had a Superiority over them In all Catalogues some one must be named first and for his Age or because he was an active and forward man among the Apostles or for some such reason St. Peter may be first named But to shew that nothing of Superiority can be proved from hence we may see that St. Paul useth no such constant order Gal. 2.9 It is James Cephas and John where Cephas which is another name of Peter is set after James And 1 Cor. 1.12 he nameth Paul and Apollos before him And so 1 Cor. 3.22 This Priority of Order in the Gospels will prove nothing of Superiority that he had over them These are the chief places of Scripture that are urged to prove that St. Peter was the Head and Governor of the Apostles and had Authority over them But any impartial Reader may see that these places will prove nothing at all to this purpose parallel places shewing as much concerning the rest of the Apostles Secondly We may see by other places in the Gospels that St. Peter was not made the Head and Governor of all the Apostles and of all the Church and that none of them was to be such a Head and Governor of all the rest It was not St. Peter but St. John that was the beloved Disciple above the rest and whom our blessed Lord favoured most and admitted to a greater familiarity than the rest And if any was to have been set over the rest it may seem probable that our blessed Saviour would have bestowed that Honour and Dignity upon his beloved Disciple Joh. 21.7 That Disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter And Joh. 13.23 24. Now there was leaning on Jesus bosom one of his Disciples whom Jesus loved Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake St. John is the beloved Disciple as we may see by the end of his Gospel And St. Peter himself had recourse to him desiring him to ask our Lord concerning this matter when he was fearful to ask him himself And when our blessed Lord was upon the Cross he recommended his Mother to St. John's Care and not to
any thing out of the sacred Oracles to countervail what is said of it Again we may see that it is an impossible thing for one spiritual Pastor to superintend and overlook the Affairs of the whole Church and to do it in such a Christian manner as it ought to be done There is no more likelihood that one Bishop should Rule and see to the whole Church than that one Temporal Prince should govern the whole World which hath never yet been done since it hath been overspread with Inhabitants It is altogether impossible for one Pastor to take Care of the Church that is scattered into the four quarters of the Earth and to administer Assistance to places a thousand or perhaps four or six thousand miles from him To such he can be nothing but an Inutile Pondus and hinder them of that speedier Help and Succour which otherwise they might have by having Pastors of their own that could act without waiting for his tedious Commissions And it is clear that particular and National Churches had Power to govern themselves without any dependance at all upon the Church of Rome The Epistles to the Corinthians do shew that they had Power to govern their own Church according to St. Paul's Direrections and Commands 1 Cor. 5.12 Do not ye judge them that are within saith the Apostle And by the Power of Christ were they to deliver over the Incestuous Person to Satan ver 4 5 In the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ saith St. Paul when ye are gathered together and my spirit with the Power of our Lord Jesus Christ To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus In this weighty Matter which was to be done in such a solemn manner there was no need of any Authority from St. Peter or Rome but they might act of themselves with the Power of Christ And saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 14.40 Let all things be done decently and in order By this Chapter and other places in his Epistles to the Corinthians we may clearly see that St. Paul doth give them full Power to govern and rule their own Church without any dependance at all upon Rome or any other Church And the Epistles to Timothy and Titus do plainly shew that they had Power to do so too And our Lord as I have shewed before hath expresly declared that no one of his Disciples should Lord it over the rest as the Kings of the Gentiles did Matt. 20.25 And this plainly shews that all the Pretences of the Roman Church of this kind are vain and groundless and not at all consistent with the Gospel of Christ But farther It is our Lord's Prerogative and Peculiar to be the Chief Shepherd and the Universal Head of all the Church and those that do assume such a Title invade his Prerogative and Right This the Apostles shews that our blessed Saviour Christ is the Supreme Head of the Church and the Chief Shepherd thereof Ephes 1.20 Which he wrought in Christ saith the Apostle when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places far above all Principality and Power And hath put all things under his feet and gave him to be the Head over all things to the Church which is his Body And saith he Ephes 5.23 For the husband is the head of the Wife even as Christ is the Head of the Church And again Col. 1.18 And he is the Head of the Body the Church who is the beginning the First-born from the dead that in all things he might have the preeminence And St. Peter sheweth that Christ is the Chief Shepherd 1 Pet. 5.4 And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear saith he ye shall receive a Crown of glory that fadeth not away And he tells the dispersed Jews to whom he wrote that they ought not to Lord it over God's Heritage ver 3. Neither as being Lords over God's heritage but being ensamples to the flock We see that no Bishops are to Domineer over the Church and that it is our Lord 's Right and Peculiar to be the Head and chief Shepherd of the Church and that no one ought to invade this Right and Prerogative of his And no one ought to be forward to give such Supremacy and Preeminence to any earthly Bishop and think it a light thing to do so Lastly Those that keep not the Doctrine of the Gospel pure and uncorrupt but fall to gross Errors and Heresies can be no true Governors of the Church at all much less the supreme Governors thereof This the sacred Scriptures plainly shew A Bishop must be blameless saith St. Paul Tit. 1 7-9 as the Steward of God Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught that he may be able by sound Doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers And such men as act flat contrary to the Gospel of Christ do make void their Authority Matt. 5.19 saith our blessed Saviour Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least Commandments and shall teach men so he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven And Joh. 15.6 If a man abide not in me he is cast forth as a branch and is withered and men gather them and cast them into the fire and they are burned No one must pretend to be a Pastor under our blessed Lord that doth not carefully observe his Doctrine and Commands but must then expect to be cast out like a withered branch that is to be cast into the fire and burned And St. Paul sheweth that an Apostle or an Angel that should pretend to come from Heaven which should preach contrary to the Doctrine of the Gospel is not to be heard and heeded but to be accounted accursed Gal. 1.8 But tho' we saith he or an Angel from Heaven preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you let him be Accursed As we said before so say I now again if any man preach any other Gospel unto you than that ye have received let him be accursed But it is plain by these Papers that Popery is another Gospel in that they make the Pope the supreme Head of the Church and allow him a Power to over-rule and disannul the sacred Commands of our blessed Lord at his own pleasure and to set up his own Commands in the room of them And how can the Bishops of Rome then that establish another Gospel and whom the Apostle here pronounceth accursed for so doing How can they I say be any Pastors at all of Christ's Church And what good Christian then that is zealous for our blessed Lord and his sacred Commandments can comply in such a sinful Religion as Popery is And saith St. John 2 Joh. 9 Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God If there come any unto you and bring not this Doctrine receive him not
not trouble themselves with the Divine Laws and Commands of Almighty God but that they must mind the Commands of the Romish Church and take great care to keep them If this be not sinning with an high hand let any Man of reason and understanding judge This sure looks like that Man of Sin 2 Thess 2.6 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped so that he as God sitteth in the Temple of God shewing himself that he is God And if Saul was rebuked as a Rebel against God because he did not execute all God's Command 1 Sam. 15.22 well may the Romish Church be deemed such that is so far from keeping God's Commands that it doth set it self industriously to keep all others from keeping of them And they may justly fear that that Wo of our Saviour that he denounced against the Scribes and Pharisees may light upon them also Matt. 23.13 But wo unto you Scribes and Pharisees hypocrites for ye shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men for ye neither go in your selves neither suffer ye them that are entring to go in This seems to be their practice and they have just cause to fear this Doom And their Practice in imposing a blind Belief upon their Proselytes and Members requiring them to believe as their Church believeth without examining is not agreeable with the sacred Word of God We are to examine things by the Word of God and not to take all for Truth and Right that Seducers and others would impose upon us for such This is peculiar to the brute Beasts to be led wholly by the guide and conduct of Man and never to consider whether the things be Good or Evil Right or Wrong that they do But Men of all Ranks are endowed with Reason and Understanding and are made Masters of their own Actions and every one of us must give an account of himself to God Rom. 14.12 and therefore they are not to be led thus blindfolded by others like Beasts that are void of reason And the sacred Scriptures which are to be our Rule of Faith and Obedience do shew that we ought not to be led so blindly by others This our blessed Lord sheweth Matt. 23.8 9 But be not ye called Rabbi saith he for one is your Master even Christ and all ye are brethren And call no man your Father upon the earth for one is your Father which is in Heaven No one is to take upon him to be our Master in such a high manner as our blessed Lord is so And we are to own no one for our Father in such a high manner as God is so to command our Faith and Obedience in such a high manner as he may and we are to account no one our Father in any way of competition with him And the Apostles themselves disclaimed the having any dominion over Men's Faith as St. Paul sheweth 2 Cor. 1.24 Nor for that we have dominion over your faith but are helpers of your joy The Apostles claimed no such Power over Men to make them believe what they pleased but only what God required them to believe And we are often told both by our blessed Lord and the Apostles that there would come Impostors and Deceivers and are warned to have a great care that we be not seduced by their Heresies and Errors And this plainly shews that we are not to be led blindly by others but to examine every thing carefully by the sacred Scriptures Matt. 7.15 Beware of false Prophets which come to you in sheeps clothing but inwardly they are ravening Wolves saith our Lord. And saith the Apostle Acts 20.29 For I know this that after my departing shall grievous Wolves enter in among you not sparing the flock Also of your own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things to draw away Disciples after them Therefore watch And 1 Tim. 4.1 Now saith the Apostle the Spirit speaketh expresly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of Devils speaking lyes in hypocrisie And saith St. Peter 2 Pet. 2.1 But there were false Prophets among the people even as there shall be false Teachers among you who privily shall bring in damnable Heresies And Rev. 2.9 saith our Saviour by St. John And I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews and are not but are the Synagogue of Satan And ver 20. Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee because thou sufferest that Woman Jezebel which calleth her self Prophetess to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication and to eat things sacrificed unto Idols And Rev. 3.9 Behold I will make them of the Synagogue of Satan which say they are Jews and are not but do lye And again Rev. 18.4 And I heard saith St. John another voice from Heaven saying Come out of her my people that ye be not partakers of her sins and that ye receive not of her plagues By all these frequent Warnings and such like to have a care that we be not seduced by false Prophets and Teachers it doth plainly appear that it is our duty not to be led blindfoldly as the Romish Church would have us but to be very circumspect and careful who and what we give credit to And some of these places as I have shewed do respect the Romish Church and do particularly warn us against the Errors thereof And we are also cautioned by our blessed Lord and the Apostles to be very circumspect and careful herein and not to let Men impose upon us what they please Mar. 4.24 And he said unto them Take heed what you hear And Luk. 8.18 Take heed therefore how ye hear And saith St. Paul 1 Thess 5.21 Prove all things hold fast that which is good And saith St. John 1 Joh. 4.1 Beloved believe not every spirit but try the spirits whether they are of God And saith St. Paul Ephes 5.6 Let no man deceive you with vain words By these and such Admonitions and Exhortations we see that it is our duty to try and examine all things well before we believe and practise them and not blindly to believe and follow others in matters of weight and moment And we may see that when people believe and follow a false Prophet or a false Guide it is at their own Peril and Hazard and that this will not excuse them and free them from the danger that they run in going a wrong way And this also will clearly prove to us that we are to look well to our selves and not to be led blindly by others without proof from the Word of God The People that heeded the false Prophets did it to their sorrow Jer. 14.16 And the people to whom they prophesie shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the Famine and the Sword and they shall have none to bury them And they that follow a blind Guide are like to speed as he doth
to the great Commandment Exod. 20.3 Thou shalt have no other Gods before me For this is to make and have a multitude of Gods before him And saith Moses Deut. 11.28 And a Curse if ye will not obey the Commandments of the Lord your God but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day to go after other Gods which ye have not known And Deut. 28.14 And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day to the right hand or to the left to go after other Gods to serve them But here is a new Breed of God's brought up and which is a deplorable thing by such as pretend to be the Disciples of the blessed Jesus who came to teach us to worship and serve God alone in spirit and truth God hath declared that he will not give his glory to another Isa 42.8 And therefore we must not give his Glory and sacred Rights to the consecrated Elements in the Lord's Supper Our blessed Saviour hath told us that we must worship and serve God only in a Religious manner Matt. 4.10 and Luk. 4.8 And therefore we must be careful to keep this great Commandment and not be so profane as to fall down and worship the bread that we eat St. Paul chargeth this upon the Heathen as a grievous Crime Rom. 1.25 That they changed the truth of God into a lye and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator who is blessed for ever Amen And we must not now run into the like Crime when we have so clear a Light shining before us For if we do we shall be greater sinners in so doing than the Heathens were By these and many other places we may see that this is contrary to the blessed Word of God and gross Idolatry to fall down and worship the Bread and Wine in the Sacrament and to make Idols of them From all such Idols must we keep our selves as St. John hath commanded us 1 Joh. 5.21 if we would not have our part in the Lake which burneth with fire and brimstone wherein we are told that Idolaters shall have their part Rev. 21.8 IX Their pretending to sacrifice and offer up Christ to God the Father for the Quick and Dead is not agreeable to the sacred Word of God We are taught in the sacred Scriptures That Christ hath offered up himself once for all and hath purchased Eternal Redemption for us and that there is no need that he should be offered up again for our Salvation Heb. 9.12 saith the Apostle But by his own blood he entred in once into the holy place having obtained Eternal Redemption for us And ver 25 26. Nor yet that he should offer himself often as the high Priest entereth into the holy place every year with the blood of others For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world but now once in the end of the World hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself And ver 28. So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many Christ was not to offer himself often as the high Priest offered every year but one offering was sufficient and by it hath he put away our sins and obtained eternal Redemption for us and there is no more need of his suffering again And saith the Apostle Heb. 10.10 By the which Will we are sanctified thro' the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all And ver 12. But this man after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever sat down on the right hand of God And ver 14. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified By one offering hath our Saviour perfected and compleated his work of our Redemption and there is now no more need of his being offered again and it is but a vain thing to pretend to more offerings of him and to pretend that the Bread is his real Body We are taught that Christ is to dye no more and therefore he cannot be sacrificed and offered up to God the Father in the Mass-service Rom. 6.9 10 saith the Apostle Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dyeth no more death hath no more dominion over him For in that he dyed he dyed unto sin once but in that he liveth he liveth unto God Christ we see is no more to dye and return under the power and dominion of death again and therefore it is a great piece of vanity and wickedness to pretend to sacrifice and offer him up to God the Father for the sins of men We are redeemed with the precious Blood of Christ 1 Pet. 1.18 and without shedding of blood there is no remission of sins Heb. 9.22 And how then can the Mass-sacrifices signify any thing It was a very sinful Crime in those that put the Son of God to death And how then can it be deemed an acceptable service to God in those that pretend to act it over again This is a grand piece of impiety for men to pretend that they have such Power over the blessed Son of God as to sacrifice and offer him up here at their own pleasure whenas we are assured by the sacred Scriptures the word of Truth That Christ is in Heaven at the right hand of God X. Their keeping the Cup in the Sacrament from the Lay-people is not agreeable to the sacred Scriptures Our blessed Saviour gave the Cup in the Sacrament to all and commanded that all his Disciples should drink of it Matt. 26.27 And he took the Cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying Drink ye all of it Here our Saviour commandeth that all his Disciples should drink of the Cup and his Command is as positive and clear as well can be And Luk. 22.17 And he took the Cup and gave thanks and said Take this and divide it among your selves This we see is no less to be divided among them all than the bread was And St. Mark tells us that they all drank of it Mar. 14.23 And he took the Cup and when he had given thanks he gave it to them And they all drank of it This is the plain and positive Command of our Saviour that all without any exception should drink of the Cup in the Sacrament and this we see all his Disciples did And St. Paul doth plainly shew that all are to drink of it that partake of the bread 1 Cor. 11.26 For as aften as ye shall eat this Bread and drink this Cup Whosoever shall eat this Bread and drink this Cup of the Lord unworthily But let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that Bread and drink of that Cup. This we see is the Apostle's command that every one after due examination should both eat of the Bread and drink of the Cup The keeping the Cup in the Sacrament from Lay-persons we see is flat contrary to the positive and express Command
a wicked thing it is to pretend to pardon them before they are so Isa 55.7 saith the Prophet Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon Upon this condition of repenting and forsaking of sin and returning to God he will pardon but not else And this God sheweth Ez. 18.21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed and keep all my statutes and do that which is lawful and right he shall surely live he shall not dye And ver 24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness and committeth iniquity and doth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doth shall he live all his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned In his trespess that he hath trespassed and in his sin that he hath sinned in them shall he die Here we see ver 20 that the soul that sinneth must die and not be pardoned except he repent but upon repentance and amendment here is mercy and pardon to be had but not without it And saith our Saviour Luke 13.3 Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish And Luk. 24.47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his Name among all Nations Repentance is to be preached to all as the condition of pardon and remission of sins And saith St. Peter to Simon Magnus Acts 8.22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness and pray God if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee This was the way that St. Peter prescribed to have his sins forgiven viz. to repent and humbly to pray to God for pardon and forgiveness And he hath set us no example of selling of pardons but the quite contrary And he hath shewed us that Spiritual Gifts and Powers are not to be sold and bought for Money Ver. 18 And when Simon saw that thro' laying on of the Apostles hands the Holy Ghost was given he offered them money saying give me also this power that on whomsoever I lay hands he may receive the Holy Ghost But Peter said unto him thy money perish with thee because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money The gifts of God are not to be bought with Money And from hence it doth appear that the Pardons of men's sins ought not to be sold for Money and that such Pardons are but miserable Deceits to the poor deluded Souls that buy them And saith our Saviour to his Apostles when he sent them forth Matt. 10.8 Heal the sick cleanse the lepers raise the dead cast out devils Freely ye have received freely give This is the Command of our blessed Lord that his gifts should be freely communicated to all persons that were capable of them and well qualified for them and not sold in such a covetous manner for sinful gain And saith St. Peter 1 Pet. 1.18 For as much as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation But with the precious blood of Christ or of a lamb without blemish and without spot It is this Blood that hath redeemed us and this Blood and not silver and gold must procure us the pardon of our sins By these places without drawing a multitude more together here which might be alledged to this purpose it is plain that the Popish way of selling pardons is not at all agreeable to the sacred Scriptures but contrary to them XIV The Practice of the Romish Church in deposing and dethroning of Emperors Kings and Princes and turning them out of their Empires Kingdoms and Dominions and absolving their Subjects from their Oaths of Allegiance and from all Fidelity and Obedience to them is directly contrary to the Word of God This is very great wickedness to turn Princes out of all their Rights and Dominions and to tolerate Rebellion Perjury and Regicide and such black and bloody Crimes and to involve whole Kingdoms in dismal War and Blood This is not to act like a Servant of Christ the Prince of Peace to turn whole Kingdoms thus into Disorder and Confusion and to set men to kill and destroy one another and to command them to commit such wicked things as these and to violate the sacred Commands of God to the contrary The High Priests among the Jews were subject to their Kings and Princes and did not Lord it over them at this rate Aaron was subject to Moses tho' the younger Brother because he was the supreme Magistrate among them David and Solomon and the rest of the Kings of the Jews did Rule as Supreme Governors and the High Priests were subject and obedient to them And we read not that ever our blessed Lord and his Apostles did depose and dethrone any Kings and Emperors because they would not presently submit to them or gave any command that they should be deposed and removed upon any such account We cannot find that ever the blessed Jesus and his Apostles set such a wide gate open to sin and wickedness and gave men liberty to practise what Villanies they pleased against their Soveraign and the Lord 's Anointed tho' an unbeliever We cannot see that they have made Perjury and Murder lawful upon any account much less the murdering of a King But we may see that such practice is strictly forbid by the Gospel Our Saviour hath commanded that Caesar should have his dues Matt. 22.21 Render therefore unto Caesar saith he the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things which are God's Caesar was not to be dethroned but to have his Dues tho' a Heathen And the Apostles strictly enjoyn and command obedience to Kings and all supreme Governors Rom. 13.1 saith St. Paul Let every soul be subject unto the higher Powers for there is no Power but of God the Powers that be are ordained of God Whosoever therefore resisteth the Power resisteth the Ordinance of God and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation And ver 5. Wherefore ye must needs be subject not only for wrath but also for conscience sake Here is a positive and strict Command that all men whatsoever should be subject to the supreme Power and no less than Damnation is threatned to them that resist and rise up against lawful Authority and Government And saith St. Peter 1 Pet. 2.13 Submit your selves to every Ordinance of man for the Lord's sake whether it be to the King as supreme or unto Governors as unto them that are sent by him To the King and Governors in all things that are good and lawful doth St. Peter command us to be subject and obedient And saith St. Paul to Titus 3.1 Put them in mind to be subject to Principalities and Powers to obey Magistrates to be ready to every good work By these and such places it doth plainly appear that all