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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A57955	A vindication of the baptized churches from the calumnies of Mr. Michael Harrison, of Potters Pury in Northampton-shire. Being an answer to his two books, intituled, Infant baptism God's ordinance. By William Russel, M.D. A lover of primitive Christianity.	Russel, William, d. 1702.	1697 (1697)	Wing R2360A; ESTC R218555	79,105	138

and the fruits of it are offered to one as well as another But it is true that it was never the intent of his Mind to pardon and save any that would not by Faith and Repentance be converted And in the next page he saith If there be any man that cannot reconcile this truth with the Doctrine of Predestination or the actual damnation of the Wicked that 's his own Ignorance he hath no pretence left to deny or question therefore the truth of the point in hand for this is confirmed by the Oath of God Ezek. 33.11 and therefore must not be distorted to reduce it to other points but doubtful points must rather be reduced to it and certain Truths must be believed to agree with it tho' our shallow Brains do hardly discern the Agreement Thus far Mr. Baxter and now let him rail at him if he pieases for we have given him no occasion but Mr. Baxter hath assigned the ignorance of Mr. Harrison to be the cause But saith Mr. H. The Fourth Error the Anabaptists hold is That a Person truly justified and sanctified and so a branch in Christ united to him may yet fall away and be eternally damned and cites part of the 18th Artitle of the fore-mentioned Confession Answ I will therefore deal impartially and recite the whole Article with the Scri●●●●●… at large and then the World will see that his peevi●hness against us is without any just cause Article 18th That such who are true Believers even Branches in Christ the Vine and that in his Account whom he exhorts to abide in him John 15.1 2 3 4 5. I am the true vine and my Father is the Husbandman every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away and every branch that beareth fruit be purgeth it that it may bring forth more fruit Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you abide in me and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit of it self except it abide in the vine no more can ye except ye abide in me I am the vine ye are the branches he that abideth in me and I in him the same bringeth forth much fruit for without me ye can do nothing or such who have Charity out of a pure heart and of a good Conscience and of Faith unfeigned 1 Tim. 1.5 Now the end of the Commandment is Charity out of a pure heart and of a good Conscience and of Faith unfeigned may nevertheless for want of Watchfulness swerve and turn aside from the same v. 6 7. From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling desiring to be Teachers of the Law understanding neither what they say nor what they affirm and become as withered branches cast into the fire and burned John 15. 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 But such who add unto their faith virtue and to virtue knowledge and to knowledge temperance c. 2 Pet. 1.5 6 7. Such shall never fall Ver. 8 9 10. For if these things be in you and abound they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ But he that lacketh these things is blind and cannot see afar off and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins Wherefore the rather Brethren give diligence to make your Calling and Election sure for if ye do those things ye shall never fall 'T is impossible for all the false Christs and false Prophets that are and are to come to deceive such for they are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation 1 Pet. 1.5 I have often wished that all Creeds had been delivered only in the Words of Holy Scripture that it might have prevented those vain Janglings which the World hath been filled with about them and herein I have my Hearts desire in this Article For the Reader may observe that it is delivered in the plain positive and express words of Scripture And yet Behold the fury of this Man's unbridled passion For he hath no sooner recited the Words of the Article but he crys out Abominable Doctrine false dangerous and uncomfortable Doctrine doth this man pretend to be a Gospel-minister and yet dare thus let fly his Rage and Malice against Christ himself and his Blessed Apostles Oh! what a pass is this World come to I shall say no more to such horrid Trifling as this for all he says against us is a stone flung at the head not of the general Anabaptists as he saith but at the head of Christ and his Ambassadours I pray God give him Repentance for it that he may recover himself out of the snare of the Devil who leads him captive at his Will He proceeds in his false Accusations against us and saith that the fifth Error of the Anabaptists is They disown all Ministers Christians and Churches of Christ to be any Ministers Churches or Christians at all but only such as are gathered in their way that is by dipping And for this he quotes part of the 11th Article which is misprinted in his Book the 14th Article I must be forced to recite the whole Article because of his false Representation of it but that is a small thing in his Eyes to belye the Baptists and abuse them for his Book is full of such Railery Article 11th of our Confession of Faith That the right and only way of gathering Churches according to Christ's appointment Mat. 28. 19 23. is first to teach or preach the Gospel Mark 16.15 16. to the Sons and Daughters of Men and then to baptize that is to dip in the Name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit or in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ such only of them as profess Repentance towards God and Faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ Acts 2.38 Acts 8.12 Acts 18.8 And as for all such who preach not this Doctrine but instead thereof that Scriptureless thing of Sprinkling of Infants falsly called Baptism whereby the pure Word of God is made of noue effect and the New-Testament way of bringing in Members into the Church by Regeneration cast out when as the Bond-woman and her Son that is to say the Old Testament-way of bringing in Children into the Church by Generation is cast out as saith the Scripture Gal. 4.22 23 24 30. Mat. 3.8 9. All such we utterly deny forasmuch as we are commanded to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of Darkness but rather to reprove them Eph. 5.11 This is the Article he quarrels with and by the Grace of God we will abide by it as the true Way and Order of planting a right Gospel-Church Now pray Observe how this Man doth abuse us 1. In that here is nothing spoken of in this Article but the right way of gathering Churches according to Christ's appointment and we only deny them to

My God my God why hast thou forsaken me And what great torture some of the blessed Martyrs have endured is not unknown This therefore I take to be meaning of those words I will close this in the words of a Learned Protestant Writer J. G. I shall saith he say no more of this Baptism but only leave this Note That every suffering is not the Baptism of suffering but only great and deep sufferings unto blood and death Hence the Ancients call it the Baptism of Blood in opposition to a lesser degree or measure of suffering being dipped and plunged into afflictions So Wilson's Dictionary And still this carries the signification of the Word with it Some conceive this phrase to be borrowed from such places in the Old Testament as these Psal 42.7 Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy water spouts all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me Psal 69.1 2. Save me O God for the waters are come in unto my Soul I sink in deep mire where there is no standing I am come into deep waters where the floods overflow me Psal 88.7 Thy wrath lyeth hard upon me and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves Selah Ezekiel 26.19 For thus saith the Lord God when I shall make thee a desolate City like the Cities that are not inhabited when I shall bring up the deep upon thee and great waters shall cover thee In the next place Mr. H. proceeds to speak of the Baptism of the Holy Ghost and of Fire for which he cites Mat. 3.11 He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire Now I perceive Mr. H. is as much mistaken in the true Notion about this Baptism as he is in the other two and indeed 't is common for one Error to follow another at the heels What need therefore have Christians in general and more especially those that are Ministers who are Guides to others to be very cautious of admitting any thing for truth but what they have good Authority for from the Word of God The Lord pour out of his Spirit to give us more light and to make us all sincere I find by his citing these Texts in Isa 52.15 Ezek. 36.25 and Heb. 10.22 that it is his Opinon That Regeneration wrought in the Soul by the Spirit is the Baptism of the Holy Ghost and of Fire For saith he the giving of the Spirit is expressed by sprinkling Now for my part I am quite of another mind for as I do not believe that any were baptized with that Baptism from the beginning of the World to the coming of the Messiah so neither do I think that any have been baptized with it since the miraculous Gifts of the Spirit did cease after the Apostle's days And to make it appear that it 's more than only the sanctifying Graces of the Spirit I might recite the Opinions of divers learned Men I shall content my self with what is already prepared to my Hand by a Learned Pen whose Words are these That this Phrase hath a further meaning in it see Wilson's Dictionary Also the Learned Cameron and Dr. Hammond on this place viz. Mat. 3.11 who both refer and that rightly this for the further opening of it unto Acts 2.3 4. There appeared unto them cloven Tongues like as of fire and it sat upon each of them and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other Tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance So that this Baptism of Fire hath clearly reference unto and was fulfilled in this extraordinary appearance of the Spirit like as of fire That this was the Baptism of the Spirit promised Mat. 3. and Luke 3. appears further by Acts 1.4 5. The Apostles being assembled together Christ commanded them that they should not depart from Hierusalem but wait for the promise of the Father which saith he ye have heard of me For John truly baptized with water but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence Which was accordingly fulfilled Acts 2. See also Acts 11.15 16. the Case of Cornelius as reported by Peter As I began to speak the Holy Spirit fell on them as on us at the beginning viz. in Acts 2. before-mentioned Then remembred I the Word of the Lord how that he said John indeed baptized with water but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit This Baptism of the Holy Spirit and Fire is first called a pouring out of the Spirit in the Old as in Joel 2.28 29. and the Baptism thereof in the New Testament Acts 2. as borrowing its phrase from the Baptism of Water Mat. 3.11 still carrying the signification of the word with it both terms to wit a pouring forth of the Spirit and Baptism in opposition to a sprinkling or dropping of the Spirit in the ordinary measures thereof Moreover The account we have of it Acts 2.2 proves it And suddenly there came a sound from Heaven as of à rushing mighty wind and it filled all the house where they were sitting And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire and it sat upon each of them and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost c. From whence I observe the resemblance it had to the Baptism of Water For 1. They were filled with it 2. It sat upon each of them 3. The House was filled therewith So that it was not only about them but it covered or overwhelm'd them even as the water doth in Baptism 4. All that were baptized with this Baptism had the Gift of Tongues 5. It is to be observed that the Spirit was not thus given before For they were all amazed at it and said one to another what meaneth this Ver. 12. and this did agree with that promise of our Saviour John 7.37 c. This spake he of the Spirit which they that believe on him should receive for the Holy Ghost was not yet given because that Jesus was not yet glorified From hence I infer It could not be the ordinary Gifts of the Spirit with the sanctifying Graces thereof for this the Apostle had before his death but such an eminent pouring forth which is called the Baptism of the Spirit by which they received the Gift of Tongues and Prophesie by which they were endued with power from on high to execute their Masters Commission Mat. 28.19 20. Mark 16.15 To go into all the World and preach the Gospel to every Creature This they did not receive till that wonderful pouring of it out upon the day of Pentecost Acts 2. it was a Gift reserved till that time to put a Glory upon the Messiah in the presence of those who had been his Murderers By this time I hope Mr. H. is satisfied of his Ignorance about points of such Importance as these are I wish with all my Soul that he were a Man of that meekness of Spirit which he ought to be so as to be willing to learn the truth as it

he had known how and then it should have run thus All such as are by Nature Children of Wrath are liable to the Condemnation of Hell All Infants are by Nature Children of Wrath Ergo All Infants are liable to the Condemnation of Hell which is the thing I suppose he meant And then I deny his minor Proposition and let him prove it if he can As for his Text he brings for probation thereof I deny that Infants are either expressed or intended therein For the design of the Apostle in that place is to set before them what a miserable condition they had been in before Conversion by their own personal transgressions viz. Dead in trespasses and sins who in times past walked according to the course of this world according to the prince of the power of the Air the Spirit that now worketh in the Children of Disobedience Among whom also we all had our Conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh fulfiling the desires of the flesh and of the mind and were by nature i. e. by the corrupt and fleshly Inclinations that were within us Children of wrath even as others Meaning thereby other Gentiles who were still in an unregenerate Estate wallowing in their Iniquities So that as Infants are not here exprest neither can they be intended as being free from all personal transgressions and not capable to transact those Evils there spoken of I shall now offer some Reasons why I do not believe that any Infants dying in their Infancy shall be tormented for ever in Hell-fire 1. Because there is no such thing exprest either in the Threatning or Sentence Gen. 2.17 Gen. 3.17 18 19. as I have already shewed 2. Because God himself hath disclaimed such an Opinion as Erroneous and declared the contrary Ezek. 18.2 3 4 20. 1. Hear what the first Founder of your Sect from whence you have your denomination viz. John Calvin saith upon this Subject speaking of all others besides the Elect so many Nations of Men together with their Infants were involved without remedy in eternal punishment by the fall of Adam for no imaginable reason but that so it seemed good in the sight of God Calvin's Instit l. 3. cap. 23. Sect. 7. 2. Hear what God saith in the fore-mentioned place The soul that sinneth shall dye the Son shall not bear the iniquity of the Father this must intend eternal punishment for as to temporal punishment Children do often suffer for their Fathers faults and we all suffer for the fault of Adam both temporal Miseries and Death it self But whereas these People of Israel had such a blind Notion as that of Mr. H. That the Fathers had eaten sowre grapes and the Childrens Teeth were set on edge God tells them As I live saith the Lord God ye shall not have occasion any more to use this Proverb in Israel for the Son shall not bear the Fathers iniquity the soul that sinneth it shall dye 3. Because the Lord who best knew hath declared that Infants belong to the Kingdom of Heaven Mat. 19.14 4. I will add to these the Opinion of the Learned Poole that he would rather believe that all Infants dying in their Infancy were elected than conclude that any of them were damned and his reason was because as no man knew the contrary so they ought not to affirm what they did not know But I suppose Mr. Poole must be a blasphemous Heretick in Mr. H's Opinion as well as the poor Anabaptists But it 's our mercy he is not to be our Judge in the Great Day The 2d Heresie or Error this man of might charges us with is 2. That Christ dyed alike for all men and that all Persons in the World c. This doth necessarily divide it self into two General Parts 1. That Christ dyed alike for all men 2. That all Persons in the World are by the Death of Christ put into a Capacity of Salvation I shall answer to both of them distinctly 1. That Christ dyed for all men I do with the Pen-men of the Holy Scripture affirm and that it 's a great and fundamental Truth this appears from these following positive assertions 1 Tim. 2.6 He gave himself a ransom for all 2 Cor. 5.14 15. He dyed for all Heb. 2.9 He tasted death for every man 1 Tim. 4.10 Who is the Saviour of all men 1 John 2.2 He is a propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world So that to deny this is to deny the very express words of Scripture And therefore Mr. Harrison being aware of this hath owned it to be true in some sence but not content with this he puts in the word alike thinking to puzzle us with that and lays down some Arguments to prove he did not dye for all alike and thinks we are obliged to prove it I answer It 's an Unscriptural term a man of Straw of his own setting up for in all our Confessions of Faith that I remember to have been published there is not the word alike to be found in any of them As for that last he refers to printed 1691. the words are these Article 3. That Christ freely gave himself a ransom for all tasting death for every man a propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole World So that the word alike is not by them inserted And it being a term of Art of his own Coyning I return it to the mint from whence it came The Question therefore betwixt us is this not whether Christ dyed for all men for that he owns but whether all persons in the World are by the death of Christ put into a capacity of Salvation This he denyes and we affirm Article 4. Of the aforesaid Confession of the Baptists they have these express words No man shall eternally suffer in Hell that is the second death for want of Christ that dyed for them but as the Scripture saith for denying the Lord that bought them 2 Pet. 2.1 or because they believe not in the Name of the only begotten Son of God John 3.18 Unbelief therefore being the cause why the just and righteous God will condemn the Children of Men it follows against all contradiction that all men at one time or other are put into such a capacity as that through the Grace of God they may be eternally saved 1. The Scriptures of Truth do affirm this in as plain words as a matter of this kind can well be exprest John 3.14 15 16 17. here is set down the design of God in the Gift of Christ for the World 1. Negatively that they should not perish that God sent not his Son to condemn the World 2. Affirmatively That whosoever believeth in him should have eternal life and everlasting life and that the World through him might be saved And in 1 Tim. 2.4 speaking of God our Saviour he saith who will have all men to be

on purpose to damn them as the Calvinists say And this leads me to the Second Reason for he triumphs over us in this saying Thus this rotten Pillar of universal Grace is overthrown His 2d is this He denyes that God hath afforded every person in the Visible Church sufficient Grace for their Conversion To make it out he insists upon three things necessary in order to Conversion 1. That a Person sit under the Ministry of the Word faithfully preached Multitudes saith he in the visible Church do not enjoy a faithful Ministry some none at all others only such as are sent in Judgment that dawb with untempered Mortar c. Answ What visible Church must this be that he speaks of What a Church and have no Preacher and others Churches that have Preachers sent to them in Judgment only This cannot be the Church of Christ but the Synagogue of Satan For Christ hath promised to be with his Church by his Spirit alway even to the end of the World But will he charge all this upon God I know that when some Persons have sinned away all their Mercies and the Grace offer'd them then he doth sometimes give them up to strong Delusions to believe Lyes as is the case of the Papists and others but he charges the fault upon themselves because they did not receive the love of the Truth that they might be saved but took pleasure in Unrighteousness It would therefore be horrid wickedness for any that professes Christianity to charge God with being the cause of this when he hath declared their Destruction is of themselves 2. He saith They cannot be converted except their Consciences be awakened and stirr'd under the Ministry of the Word c. Persons may sit under the best Ministry and yet never be thus convinced Now that we may know where he hath a Mind to lay the blame he insinuates it in saying this Conviction is only from the Holy Spirit who bloweth where he listeth Answ A●●ho ' I acknowledge that no Man is converted without the Operation of the Holy Spirit yet I am far from thinking that the reason why they are not converted is because the Holy Spirit doth not operate with the Word but it is because they resist the motions and striveings thereof God's Spirit did strive with the Old World but they resisted it and perished by the Flood And as Stephen saith Acts 7. 51. Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost as your Fathers did so do ye Now Stephen was better skilled in these matters than Mr. H. for he justifies God and charges it upon them as being a stiff-necked and obstinate People uncircumcised in Heart and Ears But 3ly saith he There must be a divine powerful drawing of the Soul to Christ by the Spirit which he calls an irresistible power which he also saith is not afforded to all that sit under the Gospel-Ministry and they cannot come to Christ without it Answ That the Divine Power is in it self irresistable I grant but that is not here the Question But whether that power be exerted in an irresistable way which was the thing he should have proved if he had spoken ad rem but that he seldom does And I have already proved that the Spirit in its Operations upon the Souls of Men hath often been resisted However the Man crys ●ictory and saith This Anabaptistical Doctrine of Universal Grace is but a lying Invention of their own c. which I will put up among the rest of his Railery for it deserves no better Treatment As for what he says that Free-will is the consequence of our Opinion I may truly ●●y by a figure in Rhetorick that he is a profound man for drawing of Consequences But to the point in Hand The Words in the 4th Article of our Confession which he refers to are these Unbelief therefore being the cause why the just and righteous God will condemn the Children of Men it follows against all contradiction that all Men at one time or other are put into such a capacity as that through the Grace of God they may be eternally saved John 1.7 Acts 17.30 Mark 6.6 Heb. 3. 10 18 19. 1 John 5.10 John 3.17 Now there is not one word of Free-will in those words as quoted by himself nor yet in the whole Articles in that Confession so that he quarrels with his own shaddow and not with us for we say through the Grace of God But suppose we had let fall such Words as his Friend Mr. Baxter hath used about Free-will in his Call to the Vnconverted Oh! what a noise would he have made about our Ears His Words are these 1. In his Presace And for the point of Free-will which you harp so long upon Divines are not so much disagreed about it as you imagine Augustine as well as Pelagius Calvin as well as Arminius the Dominicans as well as the Jesuites all do generally maintain that Man hath Free-will No man of Brains denyeth that a Man hath a Will that is naturally free it 's free ●●●m Violence and it 's a Self-determining principle In page 31. We are commanded to tell you what thoughts of Kindness God hath towards you and how happy how certainly and unspeakably happy you may be if you will page 32. I do here in the Name of the Lord of Life proclaim to you all that hear me this day to the worst of you to the greatest to the oldest Sinner that you may have Mercy and Salvation if you will but turn there is Mercy in God there is sufficiency in the Satisfaction of Christ the promise is free and full and universal you may have Life if you will but turn page 90. If nothing will serve turn but Men will yet refuse to turn we are next to consider who it 's long of if they be damned And this brings me to the last Doctrine which is That if after all this Men will not turn it is not long of God that they are condemned but of themselves even of their own Wilfulness They dye because they will dye that is because they will not turn if you will go to Hell what Remedy God here acquits himself of your Blood it shall not lye on him if you be lost pag. 102. But you seem to intimate all this while that Man hath Free-will his Answer is The Dispute about Free-will is beyond your Capacity I shall therefore now trouble you with no more than this about it your Will is naturally a free that is a self-determining Faculty but it is vitiously inclined and backward to do good but that is the wickedness of it which deserveth the punishment your disability is your very unwillingness it self which excuseth not your sin but maketh it the gre●●er page 44. And think not to exte●●ate I by saying that it was only for his Elect for it was thy sin and the sin of all the World that lay upon our Redeemer and his Sacrifice and Satisfaction is sufficient for all