because the Pope it seems and no body else understands the true meaning of that Council at least is thought fit to declare it And therefore one may justly wonder at the presumption of those who after this Declaration of the Council have taken upon them to Expound the Catholick Faith and to represent that Religion to us as it is defined in that Council because if there be any Controversie about the meaning of its Definitions as there have been a great many even betwixt those who were present at the Council when those Definitions were made none but the Pope himself can certainly tell the meaning of them Now in this Creed of Pope Pius there are added to the Ancient Creed of the Christian Church twelve or thirteen new Articles as concerning Purgatory Transubstantiation the Worship of Images the Invocation of Saints the Communion in one kind and that the Church of Rome is the Mother and Mistress of all Churches and that there is no Salvation to be had out of it and several other Points all which have either no foundation in Scripture or are plainly contrary to it and none of them ever esteemed as Articles of Faith in the Ancient Christian Church for the first five hundred years and yet they are now obtruded upon Christians as of equal necessity to Salvation with the Twelve Articles of the Apostles Creed and this under a pretence of Infallibility which St. Paul tells us would not have justified an Apostle or an Angel from Heaven in making such additions to the Christian Religion and the imposing of any thing as necessary to Salvation which is not so declared by the Gospel of Christ And all that they have to say for this is That We do not pretend to be Infallible but there is a necessity of an Infallible Judge to decide these Controversies and to him they are to be referred Which is just as if in a plain matter of Right a contentious and confiâ—â—nt Man should desire a reference and contrive the matter so as to have it refer'd to himself upon a sleeveless pretence without any proof or evidence that he is the only Person in the World that hath Authority and Infallible Skill to decide all such differences Thus the Church of Rome would deal with us in Things which are as plain as the noon-day as Whether God hath forbidden the Worship of Images in the second Commandment Whether our Saviour did Institute the Sacrament in both kinds Whether the People ought not to read the Scriptures and to have the publick Service of God in a known Tongue These and the like they would have us refer to an Infallible Judge and when we ask who he is they tell us that their Church which hath imposed these things upon Christians and made these additions to the Gospel of Christ is that Infallible Judge But if she were as Infallible as she pretends to be even as an Apostle or an Angel from Heaven St. Paul hath denounced an Anathema against her for preaching another Gospel and making those things necessary to the Salvation of Men which are not contained in the Gospel of Christ The Inference from all this Discourse in short is this That we should contend earnestly for the Faith once delivered to the Saints and not suffer our selves by the confident pretences of Seducers to be removed from him that hath called us through the grace of Christ unto another Gospel The necessary Doctrines of the Christian Religion and the common Terms of Salvation are so plain that if any Man be ignorant of them it is his own fault and if any go about to impose upon us any thing as of necessity to be believed and practised in order to Salvation which is not declared to be so in the Holy Scriptures which contain the true Doctrine of the Gospel what Authority soever they pretend for it yea tho' they assume to themselves to be Insallible the Apostle hath plainly told us what we are to think of them for he hath put the Case as high as is possible here in the Text when he says Tho' We or an Angel from Heaven preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you let him be accursed I will conclude all with that Counsel which the Spirit of God gives to the Churches of Asia Revel 3. 3. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard and hold fast and Chap. 2. 10. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer be thou faithful unto the Death and I will give thee a Crown of Life A SERMON ON JOHN VII 17. If any Man will do his Will he shall know of the Doctrine whether it be of God or whether I speak of my self SINCE there are so many different Opinions and Apprehensions in the World about Matters of Religion and every Sect and Party does with so much confidence pretend that they and they only are in the truth The great difficulty and question is by what means Men may be secured from dangerous Errors and Mistakes in Religion For this end some have thought it necessary that there should be an Infallible Church in the Communion whereof every Man may be secured from the dangers of a wrong Belief But if seems God hath not thought this necessary If he had he would have revealed this very thing more plainly than any particular Point of Faith whatsoever He would have told us expresly and in the plainest terms that he had appointed an Infallible Guide and Judge in Matters of Faith and would likewise have told us as plainly who he was and where we mighâ— find him and have recourse to him upon all occasions because the sincerity of our Faith depending upon him we could not be safe from mistake in particular Points without so plain and clear a Revelation of this Infallible Judge that there could be no mistake about him nor could there be an end of any other Controversies in Religion unless this Infallible Judge both that there is one and who he is were out of Controversie But neither of these are so It is not plain from Scripture that there is an Infallible Judge and Guide in Matters of Faith much less is it plain who he is and therefore we may certainly conclude that God hath not thought it necessary that there should be an Infallible Guide and Judge in Matters of Faith because he hath revealed no such thing to us and that Bishop and that Church who only have arrogated Infallibility to themselves have given the greatest evidence in the World to the contrary and have been detected and stand convinc'd of the greatest Errors And it is in vain for any Man or Company of Men to pretend to Infallibility so long as the evidence that they are deceived is much greater and clearer than any proof they can produce for their Infallibility If then God hath not provided an Infallible Guide and Judge in Matters of Faith there is some other way whereby Men may be
be of a meaner Capacity and be willing to Learn he may by the help of a Teacher be brought to understand them without any great pains and such Teachers God hath appointed in his Church for this very purpose and a Succession of them to continue to the end of the World In a word when we say the Scriptures are plain to all Capacities in all Things necessary we mean that any Man of ordinary Capacity by his own Diligence and Care in Conjunction with the Helps and Advantages which God hath appointed and in the due Use of them may attain to the Knowledge of every Thing necessary to his Salvation and that there is no Book in the World more plain and better fitted to Teach a Man any Art or Science than the Bible is to Direct and Instruct Men in the Way to Heaven and it is every Man's fault if he be ignorant of any Thing necessary for him to believe or do in order to his Eternal Happiness III. Good Men are likewise secured from Fatal Errors in Religion by the Infallible Promise of God if so be that with honest Minds and due Diligence they apply themselves to the understanding of this Rule and make use of the Means of Instruction which God hath provided for that purpose God hath promised to Gaide and Teach the Humble and Meek that is such as are of a Submissive and Teachable Temper desirous and diligent to be Instructed in the Truth Prov. 2. 2 3 4 5. If thou incline thine Ear to Wisdom and apply thine Heart to Understanding yea if thou cryest after Knowledge and liftest up thy Voice for Understanding if thou seekest her as Silver and searchest for her as for hid Treasures then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord and find the Knowledge of God And here in the Text our Saviour assures us that If any Man be desirous to do his Will he shall know of the Doctrine whether it be of God or whether he spake of himself i. e. he shall be able to discern the Doctrines which are from God This is the Provision which God hath made for our security from Fatal Mistakes in Religion and this is in all Respects a better Security and more likely to Guide and Conduct us safely to Heaven than any Infallible Church and that for these Reasons First Because it is much more certain that God hath made this Provision which I have mentioned than that there is an Infallible Church appointed and assisted by him to this Purpose That the Scriptures are an Infallible and Adequate Rule and sufficiently plain in all Things necessary I have already proved and I add further that this was the constant Judgment of the Ancient Church and so declared by the Unanimous Consent of the Fathers of it for many Ages and that all Councils in their Determination of Faith proceeded upon this Rule 'till the Second Councel of Nice I have likewise proved That God hath provided a Succession of Pastors and Teachers in his Church to Instruct us in this Rule and that we have God's Infallible Promise for our security from dangerous Errors and Mistakes if with an honest Mind and due Diligence we apply our selves to understand this Rule and make use of the Means of Instruction which God hath provided for that Purpose But that there is an Infallible Church Appointed and Assisted by God to Declare and Determine Matters of Faith and to be an Infallible Interpreter of Scripture is not certain because there is no clear and express Text of Scripture to that purpose that any Church whatsoever much less that the Church of Rome hath this Power and Priviledge Nay I add further That it is Impossible according to the Principles of the Church of Rome that this should be proved from Scripture because according to their Principles we cannot know either which are the true Books of Scripture or what is the true Sense of Scripture but from the Authority and Infallible Declaration of that Church And if so then the Infallibility of the Church must be first known and proved before we can either know the Scriptures or the sense of them and yet 'till we know the Scriptures and the sense of them nothing can be proved by them Now to pretend to prove the Infallibility of their Church by Scripture and at the same time to declare that which are the true Books of Scripture and what is the true sense of them can only be proved by the Infallible Authority of their Church is a plain and shameful Circle out of which there is no way of escape and consequently that God hath appointed an Infallible Church is Impossible according to their Principles ever to be proved from Scripture and the Thing is capable of no other Proof For that God will Infallibly Assist any Society of Men is not to be known but by Divine Revelation So that unless they can prove it by some other Revelation than that of Scripture which they do not pretend to the Thing is not to be proved at all Yes they say by the Notes and Marks of the True Church but what those Marks are must either be known from Scripture or some other Divine Revelation and then the same Difficulty returns besides that one of the most Essential Marks of the true Church must be the profession of the true Faith and then it must first be known which is the True Faith before we can know which is the True Church and yet they say that no Man can learn the True Faith but from the True Church and this runs them unavoidably into another Circle as shameful as the other So that which way soever they go to prove an Infallible Church they are shut up in a plain Circle and must either prove the Scriptures by the Church and the Church by the Scriptures or the True Church by the True Faith and the True Faith by the True Church Secondly This Provision and Security which I have mentioned is more Humane better Accommodated and Suited to the Nature of Man because it doth not suppose and need a standing and perpetual Miracle as the other way of an Infallible Church doth All Inspiration is Supernatural and Miraculous and this Infallible Assistance which the Church of Rome claims to her self must either be such as the Apostles had which was by immediate Inspiration or something equal to it and alike Supernatural but God does not work Miracles without need or continue them when there is no occasion for them When God delivered the Law to the People of Israel it was accompanied with Miracles and the Prophets which he sent to them from time to time had an immediate Inspiration but their Supream Judicature or their General Council which they call the Sanhedrim was not Infallibly assisted in the Expounding of the Law when Doubts and Difficulties arose about it no nor in judging of True and False Prophets but they determined this and all other Emergent Causes by the standing
discern when another Gospel is preached and new Terms and Conditions not declared in the Gospel are added to the Christian Religion for if they be not able to judge of this the Apostle does in vain caution them against the seduction of those who perverted the Doctrine of Christ and endeavoured to remove them from him that had called them by the grace of Christ unto another Gospel It may perhaps be said that there was no need that they should be able to discern and judge of the Doctrines of those false Teachers it was sufficient for them to believe the Apostle concerning the Doctrines of those Seducers when he declared to them the falsehood and pernicious consequence of them But the Apostle speaks to them upon another supposition which does necessarily imply that they were able to discern and judge what Doctrines were agreeable to the Gospel and what not for he puts the Case that if he himself or any of the Apostles or an Angel from Heaven should preach to them another Doctrine contrary to that of the Gospel they ought to reject it with detestation but this doth necessarily suppose them able to judge when such Doctrines were preached and consequently that all things necessary to be believed and practised by all Christians are clearly and plainly declared in the Gospel all the Doctrines whereof are now contained in the Holy Scriptures in which all things necessary to Faith and a good Life are so plainly delivered that any sober and inquisitive Person may learn them from thence and the meanest Capacity by the help and direction of their Guides and Teachers may be Instructed in them And this is not only the Principle of Protestants but the express and constant Doctrine of the Ancient Fathers of the Church whatever the Church of Rome for the maintaining of her usurp'd Authority over the Consciences of Men pretends to the contrary And if this were not so that Men are able to discern and judge which are the Doctrines of the Gospel and what is contrary to them the Doctrine of the Gospel was in vain preached and the Holy Scriptures containing that Doctrine were written to no purpose Some things in Scripture are granted to be obscure and difficult on purpose to exercise the Study and Enquiries of those who have leisure and capacity for it but all things necessary are sufficiently plain otherwise it would be impossible to judge when another Gospel is preached which the Apostle here supposeth the Galatians capable of doing For if the Revelation of the Gospel be not sufficiently plain in all things necessary to be believed and practised then Christians have no Rule whereby to judge what Doctrines are agreeable to the Gospel and what not for an obscure Rule is of no use that is in truth is no Rule to those to whom it is obscure I proceed to the IVth Observation which is plainly consequent from those laid down before namely that since the Declaration of the Gospel and the Confirmation given to it there is no Authority in the Christian Church to impose upon Christians any thing as of necessity to Salvation which the Gospel hath not made so The Commission given by our Lord and Saviour to his Apostles was to preach the Gospel to all Nations or as St. Matthew expresses it to go and teach all Nations to observe all things whatsoever he had commanded them and this is that which we call the Gospel viz. that Doctrine which Christ commanded his Apostles to preach and publish to the World and if the Apostles themselves had exceeded their Commission and added any other points of Faith or Practice to those which our Saviour gave them in charge to teach and publish to the World they had in so doing been guilty of that which St. Paul here in the Text chargeth the false Apostles with viz. of preaching another Gospel And if the Apostles had â—o Authority to add any thing to the Gospel much less can any pretend to it since they have neither so immediate a Commission nor such a miraculous power to give testimony to them that they are Teachers come from God Now this Doctrine of the Gospel which the Apostles preached to the World is that which Christians are so often and so earnestly by the Apostles in all their Epistles Exhorted to continue in and not to suffer themselves to be shaken in mind by every wind of new Doctrine because that which the Apostles had delivered to them was the intire Doctrine of the Gospel which was never to receive any addition or alteration This is that which St. Peter calls the Holy Commandment which was delivered unto them 2 Pet. 2. 21. It had been better for them not to have known the way of Righteousness than after they have known it to turn from the holy Commandment delivered unto them speaking in all probability of those who were seduced by the errors of the Gnosticks from the purity of the Christian Doctrine delivered to them by the Apostles This likewise St. Paul calls the common Faith Titus 1. 4. and St. Jude ver 3. the common Salvation that is the Doctrine which contains the common Terms of our Salvation and the Faith w hich was once delivered to the Saints that is by the Apostles of our Lord who publish'd the Gospel once delivered that is once for all so as never afterwards to admit of any change or alteration This Faith he exhorts Christians earnestly to contend for against those several Sects of Seducers which were crept into the Christian Church and did endeavour by several Arts to pervert the Gospel of Christ and to deprave the Faith delivered by the Apostles So that the Doctrine of the Gospel publish'd by the Apostles is fix'd and unalterable and there can be no Authority in the Church to make any change in it either by taking from it or adding any thing to it as necessary to be believed or practised in order to Salvation V. It follows likewise from the foregoing Observations that there is no visible Judge how much soever â—e may pretend to Infallibility to whose determination and decision in matters of Faith and Practice necessary to Salvation Christians are bound to submit without examination whether those things be agreeable to the Doctrine of the Gospel or not When our Saviour appeared in the World tho' he had Authority enough to exact belief from Men yet because there was a standing Revelation of God made to the Jews he appeals to that Revelation as well as to his own Miracles for the truth of what he said and offered himself and his Doctrine to be tried by the agreeableness of it to the Scriptures of the Old Testament and the Predictions therein concerning him And this was but reasonable it being impossible for any Man to receive two Revelations as from God without liberty to examine whether they be agreeable to and consistent with one another In like manner the Apostles of our Lord and Saviour tho' they were guided
Roman Church That the Definitions of a General Council confirmed by the Pope are not Obligatory unless they be receiv'd by the Universal Church From whence these two great Inconveniencies will unavoidably follow Iâ— That no Man is obliged to believe such Definitions 'till he Certainly know that they are received by the Universal Church which how he should Certainly much less Infallibly know I cannot understand unless he either speak with all the Christians in the World or the Representatives of all particular Churches return back and meet again in Council to declare that the Universal Church hath received their Definitions which I think was never yet done II. It will follow that the Definitions of a General Council confirmed by the Pope are not Infallible 'till they be received by the Universal Church For if they were Infallible without that they would be Obligatory without it because an Infallible Definition if we know it to be so lays an Obligation to believe it whether it be receiv'd by the Universal Church or not And if such Definitions are not Infallible 'till they be received by the Universal Church they cannot become Infallible afterwards because if the Definitions were not Infallible before they cannot be received as such by the Universal Church nor by the meer reception of them be made to be Infallible Definitions if they were not so before But if we should pass over all these Difficulties there is a greater yet behind and that is Supposing the Definitions of General Councils confirmed by the Pope to be Infallible particular Christians cannot be secured Infallibly from Error without the Knowledge of those Definitions And there are but two ways imaginable of conveying this Knowledge to them Either by the living voice of their particular Pastors whom they are implicitely to believe in these Matters but particular Pastors are Fallible as they themselves grant and therefore their words can neither be an Infallible Foundation of Faith or an Infallible means of conveying it and it is unreasonable they say for Men that own themselves to be Fallible to require an implicit Belief to be given to them Or else the Knowledge of the Definitions of Councils must be conveyed to particular Christians by Writing and if so then there will only be an Infallible Rule but no living Infallible Judge And if an Infallible Rule will serve the turn we have the Scriptures which we are sure are Infallible and therefore at least as good as any other Rule But they say that the Definitions of Councils give us an Infallible Interpretation of Scripture and therefore are of greater advantage to us But do not the Definitions of Councils sometimes also need Explication that we may know the certain Sense of them without which we cannot know the Doctrines defined Yes certainly they need Explication as much as Scripture if there be any difference about the meaning of them and there have been and still are great Differences among those of their own Church about the meaning of them And if the Explications of General Councils need themselves to be explain'd then there is nothing got by them and we are but where we were before For Differences about the meaning of the Definitions of General Councils make as great Difficulties and Uncertainties in Faith as the Differences about the meaning of Scripture Well but the People have the living voice of their particular Pastors to explain the Definitions of Councils to them But this does not help the Matter neither for these two Reasons First Because particular Pastors have no Authority to explain the Definitions of General Councils The Council of Trent hath by express Decree reserved to the Pope and to him only the Power to explain the Definitions of the Council if any difference arise about the meaning of them So that if there be any difference about the true sense and meaning of any of the Definitions of the Council particular Pastors have no Authority to explain them and where there is no doubt or difference about the meaning of them there is no occasion for the explication of them Secondly But suppose they had Authority to explain them this can be no Infallible Security to the People that they explain them right both because particular Pastors are fallible and likewise because we see in experience that they differ in their Explications witness the Bishop of Condom's Exposition of the Catholick Faith and of the Definitions of the Council of Trent which is in many Material Points very different from that of Bellarmine and many other Famous Doctors of that Church And which is more witness the many differences betwixt Ambroâ—ius Catharinus and Dominicus Asoto about the Definitions of that Council in which they were both present and heard the Debates and themselves bore a great part in them Now if they who were present at the framing of the Definitions of that Council cannot agree about the meaning of them much less can it be expected from those that were absent Secondly This Provision which I have mentioned is likewise as good a way to prevent and put an end to Controversies in Religion so far as it is necessary they should be prevented or have an end put to them as any Infallible Church would be if there were one And this is another Reason why an Infallible Church is so much insisted upon that there may be some way and means for a final decision of Controversies which the Scriptures cannot be because they are only a dead Rule which can end no Controversie without a Living Judge ready at hand to interpret and apply that Rule upon emergent Occasions It is not necessary that all Controversies in Religion should either be prevented or decided This the Church which pretends to be Infallible cannot pretend to have done because there are manifold Controversies even in the Church of Rome her self concerning Matters of Religion which still remain undecided and in their Commentaries upon Scripture many Differences about the sense of several Texts concerning which she hath not thought fit to give an Infallible Interpretation And where their Popes and several of their General Councils have thought fit to meddle with Scripture they have applyed and interpreted Texts more improperly and absurdly than even their private Doctors And which is more in Differences about Points of Faith which are pretended on both sides to be fundamental this Church hath not thought fit to put an end to them by her Infallible Decision after two hundred years brangling about them For instance in that fierce and long Difference about the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin which on both sides is pretended to be an Article of Faith and for which contrary Revelations of their Canonized Saints are so frequently pretended and yet neither Pope nor General Council have thought fit to exert their Infallibility for the decision of this Controversie So that if their Church had this Talent of Infallibility ever committed to them they have with the slothful Servant