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A12351
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Gods arrovve against atheists. By Henrie Smith
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Smith, Henry, 1550?-1591.
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1593
(1593)
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STC 22666; ESTC S119953
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81,568
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135
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the keyes committed to them In all which their authority giuen vnto them from Christ hée confesseth plainely 2. Cor. 10.4 That the weapons of their warfare are not carnall but mighty through God that is spirituall Which words doo demonstrate that by their ecclesiasticall ministerie they haue cléerely no ciuill authoritie committed to them And moreouer it is manifest by the practise of the Apostles and all their precepts commaunding all Christians to obay their Rulers their Kinges and Princes yea though they were persecutors that the Apostles neuer had any such authoritie committed to them Rom. 13.1.2.3.4 1. Pet. 2.13 Tit. 3.1 And therefore it is vndoubtedly true that the Pope of Rome cannot claime it by any such authoritie Againe the Bishop of Rome can claime no more authoritie by the power of the keies or of binding and loosing than any other Bishop elsewhere may doo for the keyes that is to say the power of opening and shutting and of binding and loosing Iohn 20.22.23 were giuen to all the rest of the Apostles as well as to Peter And consequently for any Minister of the Gospell thereby to claimâ— authoritie aboue another is absurd For they bée all indifferently ioined in one commission and therefore haue al equall authoritie therefore the Bishop of Rome by vertue of the keies hath no more authority than any other Bishop hath That is to say none at all to depose Princes their duetie is rather to practise obedience themselues to them and to teach the same obedience to others as the Apostles of Christ did Yea Christ himselfe said his kingdome was not of this world Ioh. 18.36 Himself likewise refused to bée made a king Ioh. 6.15 Himselfe paid tribute vnto Caesar and commaunded others to giue the same and all other dueties of subiection and obedience vnto Caesar Math. 22.21 If hée were subiect to Caesar it is a shame for the Bishop of Rome to exalt himselfe aboue Caesar. But perchaunce the Bishop of Rome will challenge this his Soueraigne Authoritie ouer Princes by donation from Constantine or some other Christian Emperour Indéede such Fables sometimes hée is not ashamed to vtter but let it bée the strongest way for him if you will that some Christian Emperour was so foolish as to giue him his Empyre which is neither likely nor credible yet sâ—y I it was neither lawfull nor tollerable for him to take it if hee will bée a Minister of the Gospell or a Successour of the Apostles For Christ hath expressely forbidden his Apostles and in them all the Ministers of his Gospell all such dominion and ciuill iurisdiction saying thus vnto them The Kings of Nations raigne ouer them and they that be great amongst them beare rule or dominion But it shall not bee so with you Matthew 20 25.26 Marke 10.42.45 Luke 22.25 and 26. verses Which wordes bée most prohibitorie and shewe that they may not raigne like kings of Nations nor beare rule as great men in those Nations doo But they must serue in the Church and bée diligent to discharge that great charge in the Church which their Master Christ Iesus hath laide vppon them And therefore euery way the Pope of Rome hath no title but is herein an vsurper and an intruder and a notorious and odious Traitor both to God and Princes And besides all the auntient Churches haue affirmed and acknowledged the supreame authoritie of Princes aboue and ouer all both Priests and people And therefore saith Tertullian Colimus Imperatorem vt hominem à Deo secundum solo Deo minorem VVe honour the Emperour as the next man to God and inferiour to God onelie And againe hée saith that Princes are A Deo secundi post cum primi ante omnes super omnes The second to God the first next after God and before and ouer all men Optatus in like sort saith Super Imperatorem non est nisi solus Deus qui fecit Imperatorem There is none aboue the Emperour but God onelie which made the Emperour And Chrysostome saith Parem vllum super terram non habetâ— He hath no equall on earth And Gregory Bishop of Rome himselfelf affirmeth That power is giuen to Princes from heauen not onely ouer souldiers but priests And therefore I conclude that the Church of Rome which now is is not the Church which once it was but is wonderfully fallen into corruption and growne into pride both against God and his annointed Prince and consequently not onely may erre but dooth erre and that most detestably and abhominably in the highest degrée The Bishop of Rome dooth further holde that hee hath authoritie from God to forgiue sinnes therevpon hee sendeth foorth his Charters of pardon his Buls and Indulgences to such as hée meaneth to assoyle The Scribes in the Gospell could say None can forgiue sinnes but God Mar. 2.7 Iob 14.4 Esay 43.25 If therefore the Pope of Rome will take vpon him to forgiue sinnes in that sort hée dooth hée must proue himselfe to bée God otherwise his actions will not bée warranted how often in the Scriptures is it said of God that hée forgiueth iniquity and transgressions ascribing that authority only to God and to no other I néed not recite any particular places the whole booke of God is plentifull héerein I doo not denie but Ministers of the Gospell haue power to binde and to loose sinners as Christ himselfe sheweth Math. 16. but how and whome They can neither iustifie the vnrighteous whom God abhorreth nor yet condemn the godly and faithfull whome God dearely loueth In as much therefore as they cannot pardon such as God condemneth nor yet condemn such whom God acquiteth Rom. 8.33.34 it is manifest that al their power of binding and loosing sinners is limited and bounded within the compasse of Gods word which they may not passe for if they doo they goe beyond their warrant and so all that they doo will bée of no force The incredulous and obstinately wicked persons they may by warrant of Gods word pronounce condemnation against except they doo repent and to the assuredly faithfull repentant and godly persons whose centinuall care is to please God and walke in his waies they may pronounce the sentence of vndoubted and certaine saluation because the worde of God doth affirme as much and this all the binding and loosing of sinners which they haue For in all their pronunciations of pardons and forgiuenesse of sinnes they must bée sure they speak not in their own names nor their owne wils and pleasures but they must doo it in the name of God béeing first assured that it is his word will pleasure which they vtter But the Bishop of Rome obserueth not the rule of Gods word to sqare measure his pardoÌ„ by but pardoneth whom he lift as hee list as if he were a God himselfe hauing absolute power in himselfe without respect of Gods word or will to doo what he list Insomuch as Traitors rebels against God
continuall intercession cannot possiblie be the true Church 6 The Papists in words will not denie but Christ is a King which hath all power in heauen and in earth But indéed it appeareth they doe exile and banish him out of his kingdome or at least leaue him but a small portion or rather none at all for in respect that hee is a spirituall King and the King of his Church he is also as Saint Iames speaketh the only law giuer thereunto and therefore-by his lawes only the Church is to be gouerned which they cannot abide for they adde their Popish cannons constitutions and customes whereby they will haue the Church gouerned yea they wil haue these take place though they vtterly displace the word of God for the maintenance of them Secondly Christ onely is to raigne in the consciences of men and yet the Pope claimeth power to binde mens consciences by his lawes statutes and decrees Thirdly hee claimeth most traiterously to be the head of the whole vniuersall Church which title by way of prerogatiue is giuen and attributed onely to Iesus Christ to whome it onely appertaineth But before I procéed anye further herein I demaund of the Pope and Papists when by what right he their proud Pope taketh vp on him this title to be head of the Church or vniuersall Bishop ouer all the Christian world by vertue of which title he taketh vpon him to rule as he list to doe what he list First to claime it as successor to Peter is impossible for that Peter the Apostle neuer had any such title prehemince or authoritie ouer the rest of the Apostles It is true that Christ sayd to Peter after hée had confessed Christ to be that Christ the sonn of the liuing God Thou art Peter and vpon this rocke will I build my Church These wordes hitherto giue no superioritie to Peter aboue the rest only they shew that the Church is builded non super Petrum sed super Petram not vpon the person of Peter but vpon the rocke and vpon what rocke namely vppon that Christ Jesus whom Peter confesseth to bée the sonne of the liuing God For that confession of Peter concerning Iesus to bée that Christ the sonne of the liuing God is the rocke whereupon the Church is builded for as Saint Paull expoundeth and affirmeth Other foundations can no man lay but that which is laid already namely Iesus Christ And in another place hée saith expressely that that rocke was Christ And Christ himselfe affirmeth likewise that he that heareth his wordes and doth them is likened to one that buildeth his house vpon a rocke shewing thereby that he and his words Doctrine be the rocke against which the gates of hell shall neuer preuaile Agreeably whereunto speaketh Saint Paull againe when hee saieth that the Church is builded vppon the foundation of the Prophets and Apostles Christ Iesus himselfe beeing the head stone in the corner Where then shall wee finde that Peter was made Prince of the Apostles to rule ouer all the rest as the Pope now doth The Papists answeare that in the next wordes when Christ gaue vnto Peter by speaciall name the keyes of binding loosing he thereby made Peter the Pâ—ince vniuersall Bishop of the whole Church But hereunto I say that Christ therein gaue no authoritye more to Peter than to the rest that is at this time The keyes were not giuen to him nor to the rest only there was a promise that they should be giuen for the wordes be not in the present tense Do tibi I giue vnto thee But in the future tense Dabo tibi I will giue vnto thee which promise of Christ was afterward truely performed and when it was performed the keyes that is the power of binding and loosing sinners was giuen not onely to Peter but to Peter and all the rest together as Saint Iohn in his Gospell cléerely declareth and avoucheth Now because Peter was the man that gaue answeare for himselfe and the rest and so both Cyprian and Augustine doe expound and declare it And therefore neither in the promise of the keyes nor yet in the receit of the keyes by Peter did he receaue any more authoritie or superioritye than the rest of the Apostles did I grant he was called Primus because he was of the first that was called to the Apostleship or because hee was the first of all the Apostles that confessed Christ to be the Messias and Sonne of the liuing God or because hée was readiest alwaies to speake and answere But all this doth not proue that hee had authoritie ouer the rest or a larger Commission than the rest Yea the words of their Commission doe shew the contrarie namely that they had all equall authoritie for it was thus made vnto them all indifferently without putting a difference namely Goe ye and teach all Nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Sonne and of the holy Ghost teaching them to obserue all things whatsoeuer I haue commaunded you Math. 28.19.20 Runne ouer all that remaineth written and you shall finde that Peter was one of the twelue equall with the rest and their fellow but not their Lord Where was Peters superiority when Paul reprooued him to his fate Gallathians the second Chapter and the eleauenth verse when béeing accused hée pleadeth no priuiledge but for the clearing of himselfe and satisfaction of others hée aunswereth to that accusation Where was Peters authority ouer the rest when the rest sent him and Iohn into Samaria Acts the eleauenth Chapter the third and fourth verses and also in Acts the eighth Chapter and the fourtéenth verse In that hée went at their sending hée plainely sheweth that hée had no principalitie ouer them Where was his preheminence or authority when in a Councell held at Ierusalem where the Apostles were yet not Peter but Iames ruled the action and according to his sentence was the Decrée made Luke 22.25.26 c. Yea I say moreouer that when there was contention amongst the Apostles who should bée chiefe amongst the Christ told them plainely that kings of Nations might beare rule ouer their people and that great men vnder those kinges might likewise exercise authoritie ouer other but so might not they doe one ouer another Luke 25.26 c. But the greatest amongst them should be as the least as a seruant yea should bee the least and should be a seruant as it is declared in Matthew 20.25 26 and in Marke 10.42 43. If the greatest must be as the least what authoritie hath hée aboue the least For then hath the least as great authoritie as the greatest That is they bene all equall authoritie I meruaile therefore what the Pope and Papists meane contrary to the tenour of the Commission of Christ contrary to the practise of Peter himselfe and contrary to this decrée made by Christ of their equallity to say notwithstanding that Peter