SOME False Principles AND ERRORS DISCOVERED AND REFUTED In a short Answer to a Catechism book which is said to contain The Principles of Religion put forth by a namelesse Authour But is supposed to be the work of one Samuel Eaton a professed Minister of the Gospel among the Sect of the Independants in Cheshire But upon true examination he is found to be teaching the traditions of men for the commandements of Christ and his Principles are proved to be not according but contrary to the Spirit of God and the Scriptures By E. B. LONDON Printed for Thomas Simmons at the Bull and Mouth near Aldersgate 1659. TO THE READER THE Reason and Cause of this being sent abroad is for the better Information of all but more particularly for the good of that Assembly to whom Samuel Eaton is Minister and Pastor that they may know the truth from errour and the way of Righteousnesse from all false wayes and may turn from Idol-shepherds that destroyes the vineyard and treads it down and may come to Christ and receive him who is the chief shepherd to feed his flock with the bread of eternal life And the reason why these false principles are charged upon Samuel Eaton is this it being doubtful to some who was the Authour of that Catechism wherein these principles and doctrines was held forth John Gredley and Anne Sheeld by name was with the said Samuel Eaton and asked him if he owned that book the Catechism and he said he would maintain all in it that was his answer THe wayes of the Lord are equall and just but the wayes of the Sons of Adam are altogether corrupted and different and contrary to the wayes of Salvation And the wisedome that is of this world is foolishness with God and its end is destruction to it self and to all that walk therein And what is man that he shall prescribe a way to his Maker and who is it that will be more wise then God to set him a way how he must teach his people Therefore in vaine have men laboured and have reaped to themselves nothing but wind and confusion And in vaine have they sowen for others to reap after them whose fruit hath been emptiness and not filled the hand of the gatherer And in particular this book with which I am now dealing is the fruit of an empty Tree which cannot satisfie the hungry soul nor comfort the weary seeker for the satisfaction and comfort of the seeking hungry soul dependeth only upon the Lord and upon the bread of life that commeth down from God and the soul that eats thereof is satisfied and comforted for ever and hungers no more nor thirsts any longer but the fountaine is in him and the well springs up unto eternall life and he goes no more forth And if so be that all herein were true and sound Doctrine and were learned so as to express it over againe in words this might be and yet the soul still remaining in anguish and under sin and death though increased in the knowledg that is from below and yet in a farther ignorance of God for the wisdom of this world knows not God neither can it teach nor receive the knowledg of the things that pertaines unto life eternall but to the simple and to fools doth the Lord teach and reveal the knowledge of his kingdom and it is not received from books nor the teachings and traditions of men but by the manifestation of the eternall spirit which doth lead into all truth and reveal the mysteries of Salvation The first thing that I take notice of is this thou saist God is a Spirit and he is one in â—eing and is to be distinguished into three persons and the Father Son and holy Ghost are personall relations and if one be a person such are the other c. Ans. The Father Son and Spirit is one this we believe and know according to the Scriptures but as for thy word person that is carnall and too low a word to denominate God by who is infinite for God and the spirit hath no person nor cannot truely be distinguished into persons for a person hath relation to place time and change and is not in all places at all times at once and the Scriptures knowes no such distinction for God is is a spirit and hath no relation to one time place or alteration more then another but filleth heaven and earth and his presence is in all and over all who is blessed for ever and is infinite and without person or confined being and the Scripture no where in true translation doth denominate God Christ and the spirit by persons and personall beings nor doth distinguish them into three persons for persons are related to carnall as I have said and persons is to low too denominate God and Christ and the spirit by so thy principles are unsound and not agreeing to the spirit of God and the Scriptures And therefore not to be beleeved nor received Whereas thou saist That the one standing rule according to which God is to be sought worshipped and served is the holy Scriptures in which God hath revealed himself in all things which he would have believed and done c. Ans. It is the spirit of God that gave forth the Scriptures which spirit was and is within the saints that leadeth into all truth and teacheth to know all things and that spirit of God only is the standing rule to walk in and to walk by it was the rule to Abel Enoch Abraham and the rest of the holy Fathers that lived before any scripture was written and it was the rule to the Prophets to Christ and to the holy Apostles they all followed the spirit and walked in it and spake and wrought and acted as the spirit of God within them moved them and led them it was not the Scriptures but the sprit that gave forth the Scriptures that was the standing unchangable unerring rule of worshiping serving and obeying the Lord God and that same spirit is the standing rule to us also for the Apostle commands to walk in the spirit and that which we are to walk in is our rule and as many as are the sonns of God are led by the spirit of God and then the spirit is their rule and that guides the feet in the way of peace and in the spirit is God worshipped for they that worship him must worship him in the spirit and in the truth such he seeks to worship him for it is in the hearts of his people and within them that God reveales himself by his spirit for it is the spirit that revealeth the things of God and none knows the things of God saving by the spirit of God and that reveals God and teacheth to worship God and to serve him and the Scriptures they declare of the rule and of the revelation of God and are a declaration of all things which is to be believed and practised by the children of the
Lord so that the Scriptures are not the standing rule neither doth it teach to worship and serve God but the spirit that gave forth the Scriptures that is the standing rule in and through all generations and the spirit doth reveal the knowledge of God and how he is to be worshipped and served And thou saist the Scriptures are the word of God given by imediate inspiration of God and that they are given to all men to be read and the Scriptures are sufficient to make the man of God perfect and throughly furnished and are able to make wise unto Salvation and the Scriptures and plain and easy to be understood by the simplest and there is milke in them for babes and strong meat for persons grown up Ans. Christ is the word of God and his name is called the word of God and the word of God was in the beginning and shall endure for ever and this word is not the Scriptures and the Scriptures are not the word but the Scriptures are words of God given forth from the Word which was in their hearts that spake forth the Scriptures which were wroâ— as the holy men of God were moved by the holy Ghost and given by the inspiration of the spirit of God and the Scriptures are a declaration and a treatise of the Word that was in the beginning and shall endure for ever but the Scriptures are not the word and some of them were given to one sort of men and some of them to another and some of them to all but as for the threatnings and Judgments pronounced and the reproof of the wicked that part was not given to the Saints nor spoken to them and so not given to all and the promises to the children of the Lord and the Epistles to the Saints and them that were sanctified that part was not given spoken to the world and to the wicked who are unconverted and so not spoken to all though all may read them yet none can understand them but by the same spirit as gave them forth and who hath not the same spirit to guide them they cannot understand the Scriptures for it was given forth by the eternall spirit and the carnall wisdom that is from below and sensual cannot understand nor receive the things of the kingdom of God which is declared of in the Scriptures and so the Scriptures are not easy to be understood but are sealed from the world neither are the Scriptures without faith which thou hast left out sufficient to make the man of God perfect but the Scriptures through faith is able to make the man of God perfect and throughly Furnished this we know and beleeve and doth set the Scriptures in its right place and give it its right honour and respect and as for thee and thy generation who are erred from the spirit of truth you know not the Scriptures nor the power of God for Christ is the bread of life and the water of life in him is the milk for babes and meat for strong men and not in the Scriptures who testifie of Christ the life and in them the Pharisees thought to have eternall life but would not come to Christ the end of the Scriptures that they might have life and this is the self same state with yours of this age who thinks to have the perfecting of Salvation and the milk for babes and the meat for strong men in the Scriptures but will not receive Christ who is the perfect Salvation and the bread and water of life for all the children of the Lord who are born of the spirit and so thy Doctrines and thy principles of thy Religion are not sound nor agreeing with the Scriptures but contray and by a contrary spirit and therefore we cannot be of thy mind but doth truly Judge thee to be unlearned of the Father and knows not the way of Salvation and so thou cannot truly inform nor direct others And thou saist men are under a necessity of multiplying transgression c. Rom. 3. 12. Ephes. 4. 17. 2 Pet. 2 4. Answ. In this thou hast erred and spoken contrary to sound doctrine for there is no necessity laid upon any to commit any sin much lesse a necessity of multiplying transgression if there be a necessity who layes it on men and why is that necessity transgression is of the wicked one and who sins is of the Devill and there is no necessity for that upon any account because sin destroyes the soul and is a vexation to the Lord God and a cause of everlasting misery and for to act that there is no necessity which hath these effects and thou hast perverted the Scriptures quoted by thee to prove thy false assertion which I have set down for the Reader to peruse that all may see thou hast perverted them for they prove no such Doctrine as that there is a necessity of multiplying transgression which thou hast affirmed and brought the Scriptures to prove it which is first false doctrine uttered by three and also a perverting of the Scriptures to maintain it and this is too evils which thou hast committed in one work and because thou hast done evill it shall lie at thy dore and there I will leave it And thou saist to be Iuâ—â—â—fied is not to be really cleansed from all sin nor is it to partake of real righteousness and holines but it is to be accounted and reputed Iust and holy and not to have sin reckoned c. Ans. There is none Justified but who are in Christ and are changed and renewed and born again and such are cleansed from sin for he that is born of God sinneth not and it is he onely that is Justified and not the old man that is unchanged and committeth sin he is not Justified and who is born of God and are Justified are really cleansed and really doth partake of righteousness and holiness even of the righteousness and holiness of the Son of God and in that righteousness he is accounted righteous and in no other nor by no other way then by receiving Christ and his righteousness and being made partakers of it in their hearts for the Apostle said if Christ be not in you you are reprobates and such are not Justified nor accounted just and holy who have not Christ within them and his righteosness but who hath Christ within the hope of glory and are accounted just and righteous in the sight of God the body of sin is put off for if Christ be in you the body is dead because of sin and such are really cleansed and if he be in you you are made partakers of reall righteousness and holiness and this is the truth of the Gospell of Christ which confounds and condemnes thy false Doctrine for no man is accounted and reputed just and holy but who are cleansed from sin are in Christs for who doth commit sin are unholy and so reputed of God and sin is reckoned to them and this all
will find in the day of the Lord when he comes to Judge righteously and to give every man according to his works and not according to what he may make a shew of and profess in words though all you false daubers with untempered morter heale up the hurt of the Daughter of Sion deceitfully and cry peace peace by a false applying the Promises and words of Christ when God speakes no peace and even you and your false daubed wall will be Whirle-wind of the Lord beat down and destroy utterly and this I assert contrary to thy false doctrine and principles that none are Justified but who hath Christ in them and really partakes of holiness and righteousness and are really cleansed from sin and are born of the spirit of God and is heire of the promise of eternall life And further thou saist Iustification admitteth not of any degree and if a person be Iustified from any one sin he is Iustified from all sin as well from sins to be committed as those that are already commited and who is once a Iustified person is not unjustified upon new sin committed c. Ans. Grace and faith and truth and Christ himself admitteth of degrees or measures which are one and there are severall measures of life of light of grace and faith of sanctification and of Justification also for according as every man hath received Christ so hath he received Sanctification and Justification and no otherwise for Christ is made wisdome and Sanctification and Salvation and every one feels his Sanctification and his Justification according to the measure of the gift of Christ given to him so that there are severall measures of Justification and also a man may be Justified from one sin or some sin and not from all sin for according to every mans Sanctification so is the witness of his Justification to him and no more and if thou knowest any thing by experience thou knowest this and no man is Justified from the evill which he is to commit for that faith gives licence to sin if any committing sin shall beleeve that that sin is long since forgiven and he is Justified from it and if he shall beleeve he is Justified though he commit sin even long before he commits his sin this will be a cause to run into sin and is a gap opened by thee unto all unrighteousnesse Why if people can believe they are justified from the sins which they have yet to commit what should restrain them from running with pleasure into all unrighteousness if new sins alwaies committed do not make persons unjustified then may the sinners rejoice in their sins and take their pleasure in ungodliness this doctrine of thine is pleasant to the wicked and it is the way and principle of liberty in all sin rather then the principles to lead from sin and so thou hast shewed whose work thou art doing by strengthning the wicked in his way so that he cannot turne from sin rather then drawing him from sin and this is the Devils work And thou saist such as are justified are regenerated and sanctified and a little before thou said to be justified is not to be cleansed nor is it to partake of real righteousnesse and persons are justified from sins which they have to commit And these are contradictions and proceed out of darknesse and not from the light and thy folly and ignorance may be read by all men for who are regenerated and sanctified are cleansed and partakes of real righteousnesse and thou further saist that sanctification is a real change from sin to the purity of the Image of God and I say none are sanctified but they are justified so none are justified but who are changed into the Image of God this the trutâ— saith and wherein thou hast said contrary thou hast spoken contrary to the truth and the truth will judge thee Again thou saist sanctification is not perfect in this life the new man the spirit or law of the mind is that grace or imperfect sanctification c. Ans. Then Christ is not perfect in this life for he is made of God unto us sanctification 1 Cor. 1. 30. but we say Christ is perfect and therefore sanctification is perfect and the new man is the Image of God and is created in righteousnesse and in true holinesse but thou saist the new man is imperfect consider of thy principles when they are compared with the scriptures and see the error and wickednesse of them and the spirit and Law in the mind is the spirit of God and the Law of God in which the Apostles served God and so doth all the Saints but thou saist the spirit and Law in the mind is imperfect and this is error in the highest degree to say or signifie that the new man the Image of God that is in righteousnesse and true holinesse and the Spirit of God and the Law of God is imperfect sanctification and grace is the salvation and is Gods sufficiencie and that thou saist is imperfect also and thus thy principles of thy religion which thou walkest in thy selfe and would teach to others are abominable corrupted principles of error and contrary to the spirit of truth and to the scriptures also and no marvel that thy name is concealed for thy work deserves not a good mans name to it much more might be said to lay open further thy folly but this is sufficient to men of understanding and contrary to thee I do assert that the new man the Image of God the Spirit and Law of God in the mind is perfect grace and perfect sanctification and thou hast said the contrary and now whether thy principles of Religion or mine be the more true and whether fals let all sober men judg with the light in their conscience And thou saist the old man the flesh the body of sin the body of death is the sin that remaines in sanctified persons Ans. Who are sanctified are â—reed from the body of sin and death and hath put it off and the Law of the Spirit of life hath freed them from the flesh and from the old man for if the old man the flâ—sh the body of sin and death be in the sanctified personâ— then there is none sanctified at all and what are they sanctified freed and cleansed from if the old man the flâ—sh the body of sin and death be yee remaining in them thou speakest like an unlearned man and one that knowes not the sanctified estate but art erring in thy mind and judgment and in thy words also for we have put off the old man and are Crucified to the flesh and made free from the body of sin and death and this is our sanctification and who are remaining in these things are not sanctified but in the degeneration and hath no part yet in the kingdom of God nor in Christ Jesus but are without him in the world And thou saist the sanctification of the first day hath put an
Supper and are aseal of the Covenant also c. Ans. The supper of the Lord is the bread of eternal life the bodie and blood of Christ and who eats thereof shall never die nor hunger and thurst any more and as for bread and wine visible and carnal that is not the real Supper of the Lord and even the purest institution and practice thereof is but a representation of a thing and not the very thing and the end and substance being come the outward sign may be neglected But as for the manner and institution of that practice in the Church of England and the practise it selfe we deny to be either a sign of good past or to come but in an Idolatrous way it is leld forth and not in any true honour to God for he is thereby dishonoured for the false Church hath gotten the forme of that practice as well as of many others which the true Church once practised without the power and now doth practise many things in meer imitation and vain Idolatry and in form and tradition and without the teaching of the Spirit which sometime the true Church and the Apostles practised in the power and by the leading of the Spirit of God and what the command of God was unto them so that though you may in some things practice the very same which the Apostles did yet having not the same Spirit to lead you nor being guided thereby as the saints and the Apostles were your works are but Idolatry and formal and not accepted of the Lord but stinks in his nostrels and your covenant is outward and your seals outward your Baptism and Supper outward and carnal and while you are with zeal prosecuting your outward proformances and following them you neglect the inward and the substance which is Christ within you the hope of glory which if he be in you then the body of sin is put off and the vail is done away and the representations are done away and the substance and salvation is come and if Christ be not in you you are reprobates notwithstanding all your profession and practises of outward duties unto God without his Spirit And whereas thou hast quoted Col. 3. 10. Gal. 5. 17. Rom 7. 23. to prove that the new man the spirit or Law of the mind is called the imperfect Sanctification Ans. Hereby openly thou hast shewed thy self to be a perverter of the Scriptures and a wrester of them to thy own destruction for let but reasonable men peruse the Scriptures mentioned by thee and see if there be such a thing in them as held forth by thee that the new man the spirit or Law of the mind is called imperfect Sanctification which thou hast asserted and cited those texts to prove it but to as to the thing it self I have answered before onely this is to shew thy manner of perverting Scriptures which is the work of the evil spirit in thee and not the work of the Spirit of God And thus I have examined some part of thy principles of Religion which thou hast put forth into the world for others to learn and the error and falsness of them is laid open and how contrary to the Scriptures they are and in haste as it were I have passed over it not willing to rake into things which gave no just occasion against truth but have onely confuted a few of thy many particulars which had I narrowly sought into other things much unsoundness would have been discovered but what I have said is truly sufficient to discover unto sober persons the error of thy judgement and of thy principles and practices and of thy whole Religion and before ever thou be a true instructor of others in the way thou must first repent and believe and learn the way thy self which yet thou are ignorant of for thou hast shewed no knowledge but what is sensual and devilish and from below and meerly carnal and natural and meeting with thy book and enquiring what the Author was I was engaged to say something to it by way of Answer and to lay it to the line of judgement according to the Scriptures and it hath proved very guilty of error and perverting Scriptures and of corrupt principles and in justice I could not but condemn it and if thou shall receive the conviction of thy error and of thy false doctrines by my answer and repent it shall prove to thy good but if thou shalt be stiff-necked and harden thy heart then shall thy condemnation be the greater and thy Judgement the more just because God hath warned thee and given thee a day of visitation and shewed thee the error of thy wayes and judgement that thou mightest forsake thy transgressions and be converted and live but whether thou shalt harden thy heart and remain in error or repent or turn from it my reward is with the Lord and in him I have peace in this matter whatsoever thy mind shall be towards me in my work for I stand not to mans judgement while I cannot be convinced of error in this business and if thou shalt envy me and have wrath in thy heart towards me because I have dealt to plainly with thee in reproving of thee then thou wilt but add to thy own sin and add more wrath up in store against thy self against the time of thy judgement and a greater burden will lie upon thy conscience wherefore consider of these things and let not the day of thy visitation passe over and be shut up with the night of darkness and thou be everlastingly condemned And if thou shalt vindicate thy own false principles by answering to me again thinking to clear thy self and to reprove me that will not prove thy best way because thou wants the truth and righteousness to stand by thee and to appear bold in a bad cause will shew more wickedness then sign of repentance and if thou do answer a sound reply will further unfold the misterie of iniquitie that lyes hid in thee and be thy greater shame And as for thee and all the false Ministers God hath discovered you and you are made bare and naked and the false woman the Whore your mother her shame is discovered and her judgement is come and God is avenging us on her and great Babylon is now come into remembrance before the Lord to bring her down to the ground and you have long made a prey upon the heritage of the Lord and been spoilers thereof rather then builders of her breach and she hath been troden down and not pittied by you and as for your poor ignorant hearers they lie in thick darkness and loves to have it so and the blind hath led the blind and yet the light is arising out of thick darkness and its appearance shall be glorious to expell all your errors and that mist of darkness that doth now cover them and this light shall arise in mens consciences which shall discover the difference between every false and the right way and all that take heed to the light shall no longer sit in darkness nor in the shadow of death but their steps shall be directed in a perfect way and the glory of the Lord shall shine forth upon them and this will the Lord bring to pass and hasten his work and cut it short in righteousness for his elects sake The 21. of the 3. Mon. 1659. By a lover of thy soul and a seeker of the good and Peace of all men E. B. THE END