est qui in Christo non est Christianus non est haec sunt profunda submersionis vestrae ne quisquam putaret saltem parvum aliquem fructum posse à semetipso se ferre non ait quia sine me parum potestis facere fed nihil potestis facere sive ergo parum sive multum sine illo fieri non potest sine quo nihil fieri potest What say you why deceive you your selves not maintainers but easters downe of freewill from the heights of pride through the voids of presumption into drowning deeps men pleasing theÌ„selvs of corrupt minds and concerning the faith reprobate for it is your sentence that man of himselfe does justice But the truth contradicts and says the branch cannot bring forth fruit of it selfe unlesse it abide in the vine If there be any sense in you bee amazed for who ever thinks hee can bring forth fruit of himself is not in the vine who is not in the vine is not in Christ who is not in Christ is not a Christian These are your drowning deeps and lest any should think that at lest he might of himselfe bring forth some little fruit hee sayes not without mee you can bring forth a little fruit but you can doe nothing Whether therefore it bee little or much it cannot bee done without him without whom nothing can be done This for our impotencie to all spirituall good For our perversnesse and proclivitie to all spirituall evill Mans will is perverse and bent to all evil see Gen. 6.5 God saw that every imagination of mans heart was only evill continually Jer. 7.5 The heart is deceitfull above all things and desperatly wicked who can know it Rom. 7.14.18 I know that in mee that is in my flesh dwelleth no good for I am sold under sin Ephes 2.5 Wee were dead in sins and 5.8 Yee were sometimes darknesse Ezek. 48.4 I know that thou art obstinate and thy neck is as an iron sinew and thy brow is brasse Zachary 7.12 They made their heart as an adamant stone lest they should heare the Law All good in man commeth only from grace The third ground that God alone works all our works in us that our Illumination ConversioÌ„ c. flows froÌ„ him alone see Ephes 2.10 Wee are his workmanship created in Christ Iesus to good works Psal 5.10 Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit with in me 2 Cor. 4.6 God who commanded the light to shine out of darknesse hath shined in our hearts Phil. 2.13 It is God who worketh in us both to will and to do of his own good pleasure Ezek. 36.26 A new heart will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you an heart of flesh and I wil put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes 1 Chron. 4.7 Who maketh thee to differ from another and what hast thou that thou hast not received Why doest thou glory as if thou hadst not received it We may see this doctrine of Scripture avowed often by all Christian Writers especially by Augustine and Bernard against the Pelagians Heare some few of their sayings The 1 tels us k Libero arbitrio male utens homo se perdidit ipsum nam cum libero peccaretur arbitrio amissum est liberum arbitrium Liberum arbitrium ad diligendum Deum primi peccati granditate perdidimus magnas liberi Arbitrii viâ—es homo cum crearetur accepit sed peccando amisit per velle malum recte perdidit posse bonum qui per posse bonum libere elegit velle malum Peccato Adae liberum arbitrium de hominum natura periisse non dicimus sed ad peccandum valere in hominibus subditis diabolo ad bene autem pieque vivendum non valere nisi ipsa voluntas hominis Dei gratia fuerit liberata ut velimus sine nobis operatur cum volumus sic volumus ut faciamus nobiscum cooperatur tamen sine illo vel operante ut velimus vel cooperante cum volumus ad bona pietatis opera nihil valemus Certum esi nos velle cum volumus sed ille facit ut veâ—imus de quo dictum est Deus in nobis operatur velle nos operamur sed Deus in nobis operatur operari hoc nobis expedit credere dicere hoc est pium hoc est verum ut sit humilis submissa confessio detur totum Deo Tutiores vivimus si demus totum Deo non autem nos illi ex parte nobis ex parte committimus Bernard Non partim gratia partim liberum arbitrium sed totum euidem hoc totum illa sed ut totum in illo sit totum ex illa Quid igitur ais agit liberum arbitrium Respondeo breviter salvatur tolle liberum arbitrium non erit quod salvetur tolle gratiam non erit unde salvetur opus hoc sine duobus esse non potest uno à quo sit altero in quo vel cui sit Deus autor est salut is liberum arbitrium tantum capax est dare illam nisi Deus nec capere vales nisi liberum arbitrium Man abusing free will lost both himselfe and it For when by free will sinne came free will was lost through the greatnesse of the first sin wee lost freedome of will to love God Man in his CreatioÌ„ received a great strength of free will but by sin did lose it by willing of evill justly have we lost power to good who by power to good freely did chuse to will evil We say not that by Adams sinne free will is lost but that in men subject to Satan it serves only for sinning and is not able to make any live well and holily except the will of man it self by the grace of God bee made free God without us makes us to will when we wil and will so that we doe hee works with us yet without him both making us to will and working with us when wee will we have no power to do any good or pious work It is certain we will when we will but hee makes us to will of whom it is said God works in us the will Wee worke but God in us works the work It is good for us both to believe and speak thus this is piety this is truth that there may be a humble and submissive confession and all be given to God Wee live more safely when wee give all to God and doe not commit our selves partly to him and partly to our selves Bernard Not partly grace and partly free will but both the one and the other is all But so that all is done in the one and all from the other What then wilt thou say does freewill I answer shortly it is saved take away free will
and Socinus under the pretext of Liberty to run licentiously into Heresies condemned in the first Oecumenick Councels On the contrary a British Arminian with the Ancients will abhor the Extravagancies of Vorstius and Socinus yet their heart is hot and inflamed after the abominations of Rome God who put Confusion in Babel hath divided Satans Kingdome against it selfe else this subtill Devill might have indangered the safety of the whole Reformed Church But while in Holland the horn of Arminianism is now brokeÌ„ out in his front long and great and in England the horne of Popery wee trust these two long black ugly hornes shall make that evill spirit both here and there so well knowne that hee shall not be able to doe so much harme any where as once was feared from him however the great Hammer that brake the necke of the beast over Sea was that Nationall Synod and the mayn hope we have to get it mastered here at this time is by the hand of our God in this present Assembly The five Arminian Arcicles For the story I will say no more but come to the Doctrines The multitude of their singularities was reduced at their own desire both in the Conference at Hage and Synod of Dort to five Articles or rather foure for Grace and Freewill are commonly disputed together The first Article concerns Predestination The state of the question in the first Article the next the Death of Christ the third and fourth Grace and Free-will the fifth Perseverance wee may adde Justification as a sixth whereon both these over Sea and their followers among us run as mad as on any of the former Concerning Election the first and chiefe part of Predestination they teach that it is posterior to Faith Works and Perseverance Arminius at the beginning made faith alone previous to Election but long since his followers and our men also joyne works yea perseverance to the end in faith and works as if God first did foresee by his eternal Prescience some men of their own Free-will assenting to his Cal in time believing and going on to the end in faith and good works and after this foresight did passe his Decree of Election to glory upon these men clothed with the named qualities But wee teach that Faith Works and Perseverance are posterior to Election that this is the cause root fountain whence all grace in us does flow that our Election hath no Antecedent cause condition or good quality on our part but flows meerly from Gods good pleasure and mercy looking upon us lying in our bloud corrupted with originall sin and in that case choosing us of his free mercy to be members of his Son to whoÌ„ hee will give grace and glory though others as good and nothing worse then wee are permitted to lie still in the masse of corruption for the glory of his mercy to us and justice towards them without any ground of gloriation to the one or complaint to the other as if any wrong were done them when they are past by Our first argument for absolute election is from Eph. 1.3 This our Doctrine of Election it is cleer from Scripture 1. see Ephes 1.3 Blessed be God who hath blessed us with all spirituall blessings in Christ according as hee hath chosen us in him that we should be holy and blamelesse before him in love having predestinated us to the adoption of children according to the good pleasure of his will Here wee are chosen to be holy and blamelesse not because wee were holy therefore we were chosen Holinesse is made posteriour to our Election Now Faith Perseverance Charity and such graces are all parts of holinesse are all fruits of the holy Spirit Here also all spirituall blessings for which God is to bee praised flows from this originall Election is the rule according to which God distributes these graces Adoption also is made a fruit of Election yea the only reason of this Election is made Gods good pleasure By this place of Scripture Augustine beat downe the Pelagians who taught an Election of foreseene works a Praedest c. 8. Praesciebat ergo ait Pelagianus qui futuri erant sancti immaculati per liberum voluntatis arbitrium ideo eos ante mundi Constitutiâ—nem elegit quia tales futuros praescivit God foresaw saith the Pelagian who should be holy unblameable by their own freewill and therefore hee did elect them before the foundation of the World because hee foresaw they would be such What answers hee to this Arminian Objection in the mouth of the Pelagians b Intucamur Apostoli verba atque videamus utrum propterea nos elegit quia sancti futuri eramus an ut essemus benedictus inquit Deus c non quia futuri eramus sed ut essemus nempe câ—â—tum est nempe manifestum est ideo quippe tales eramus futuri quia elegit ipse praedestinans ut per gratiam ejus taâ—tuâ— essemus cernitis proculdubio cernitis quanta manifestatione Apostolici eloquii defendatur haec gratia contra quam merita extollunt humana tanquam homo aliquid det Deo retribuatur ci Let us behold the Apostles words and see whether therefore hee did elect us because wee were to be holy or that wee might be such Blessed says the Apostle be God who has chosen us not because wee were to be such but that we might bee such Why the matter is certain it is manifest for we were to be such because God predestinating did choose us that wee by his grace might become such you see doubtlesse you see with what evidence of Apostolike utterance this grace is defended against which humanc merits extols it selfe as if man did give any thing to God and it were rendred to him So does the Father convince the Pelagians from these same words hee also closes the mouthes of the Semipelagians who taught that albeit works and holinesse was not prior to Election yet Faith or at least some beginnings of faith behoved on our part to go before to these thus he speaks c De dono Perseverantiae cap. 7. Audiant ipsi in hoc testâ—menâ—o praedâ—stinati secundiâ—â—ropositum ejus qâ—i universa eperatur ipsâ— ut incipiamus credâ—re operatuâ— qui universa operatur nec fides ipsa praecedit non enim quia credimus sed ut credamus elegit nos Let even these heare in this passage predestinated according to his purpose who works all things hee that works all things works also that wee begin to believe neither doth faith it selfe goe before his worke for he has chosen us that wee might believe not because we did believe Against both the whole and half Pelagians so he concludes triumphantly d Contra istam veritatis tam claram tubam quis homo sobriae vigilantisque fidei voces ullas admittat humanas Our second argument from Rom. 11.5 Against so cleare a trumpet of Truth what person
babes children youths old men of all languages of al dispositions of al trades of all professions and according to their divers inclinations innumerable ways diversified Third and fourth article stated Cōcerning the third and fourth Article of Grace and Free-will The third and fourth Article stated consider that Free-will doth denote formally the naturall faculty of mans will alone yet because the light of understanding must direct the will which of it selfe is blinde and the will illightned does command the affections and the other powers of sense and motion as her servants for this connexion and dependance which is betwixt the will and all the naturall powers of the soule the question about the power of all the naturall faculties of man in furthering his owne salvation goes usually under the title of Free will alone The question of Free will or of the power of nature I mean of all the naturall faculties in the soule of man whether understanding will affections or any other in the matter of salvation This question hath many branches but for shortnes we only touch two heads therein First how far nature can further grace salvation next how far it can hinder it In the first head sundry teach that nature alone without grace can save that numbers without the knowledge of Christ by their obedience to the Law of Nature through the direction of right reason have been saved Others ascribe not salvation directly to nature alone without grace yet they make saving grace to depend upon nature so that the right use of nature doth draw by way of merit at least by way of infallible dependance the grace of Regeneration Others goe not thus far in Pelagianisme yet they give too much to nature in the matter of salvation they teach that sin hath not taken away the power of the understanding and of the will of man to believe and obey God but only the exercise of that power that the power of mans Soul to all gracious works is not dead but bound in fetters farder that in the very first act of our cōversion not only in all posterior acts of grace God and Man Nature and Grace doe concurre as two partiall causes so that the whole effect of Conversion doth depend not only from Gods grace but also the whole of it does flow from Man Nature yea that which maketh Grace efficacious to Conversion and Salvation is not Grace but Nature alone for the concurrence of Grace is oft say they alike in these who are converted and those who are never converted in these who are saved and those who are damned in both they put a degree of grace simply equall so that the only difference which casts the ballance the only reason why the same degree of grace which is efficacious to convert and save one yet is not efficacious for these effects in another is alone in nature even in the free will of the one accepting and yielding to that degree of grace which the free will of the other made inefficacious by its own resisting and rejection thereof In the second head of natures power to hinder Grace and Salvation the most common and infamous conclusion is that the free wil of man not only hath power to reject and refuse to repell and frustrate to overcome and make of none effect the most efficacious motions of the regenerating Spirit of God but also very oft does put this power in practice hindring God when he intends to convert and save by its invincible perversnesse to obtaine that his gracious end and mercifull intention The errours of the first head the Arminians oft in word doe cast them from themselves upon the Papists yet in very deed they stumble too often upon them all The errours of the second head they deny not to be their Tenets however for confutation of all errours in both the heads let us confirme these two propositions First neither free wil nor any other naturall faculty in man hath any power at all to purchase either the beginning or midst of perfection either of grace or salvation but both grace and glory commeth alone from God that quickens nature dead in sin and makes it to worke not in the strength of it self but alone of grace Secondly that as Nature cannot further grace nor salvation so can it not hinder the Omnipotent power of the regenerating Spirit of God to call and convert and save whom ever hee hath a purpose to call convert and save For the full confirmation of the first proposition see in Scripture these 3 grounds cleerly set downe Man by his free will is not able for any spiritual good First That in no man by nature is any power at all to any spirituall good Secondly That in every man by nature not only is a simple impotencie to good but also an exceeding great inclination to all spiritual evill Thirdly What ever power to spiritual good or what ever gracious operation is found in any man the only cause of that good is from God who works it in man and makes man to worke in the strength not of humane Nature but of divine Grace For the first mans impotency see John 6.44 No man can come to mee except the Father draw him Jer. 5.23 Can the Ethiop change his skin or the Leopard his spots then may yee also doe good that are accustomed to doe evill Here is mans impotency to convert to God or change his wicked nature 1 Cor. 2.14 The naturall man receives not the things of the Spirit of God For they are foolishnesse to him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned No man can say that Jesus is the Lord 1 Cor. 12.3 2 Cor. 3.5 Not that we are sufficient of our selves to think any thing as of our selves but our sufficiencie is of God here the power to understand or thinke any good is denied to man of himself Mat. 12 34. O generation of vipers how can yee being evill speak good things 1 Cor. 14.3 No man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost Here holy and good speeches are denied to bee in the power of nature all power of good deeds is also removed Math. 7 18. A corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit John 15.5 Without me yee can do nothing Whereupon Augustine commenting confounds Pelagius thus i Quid dicitis quid vos ipsos decipitis non assertores sed praecipitatores liberi arbitrii ex alto clationis per inania praesumptionis in prosunda submersionis homines sibi placentes mente corrupti reprobi circa fidem nempe vox vestra est quod homo ex scipso facit justitiam sed veritas contradicit dicit Palmos non potest fructum ferre à semetipso nisi manserit in vire Si est in vobis ullus sensus horrete qui enim à semetipso fructum existimat ferre in vite non est qui in vite non est in Christo non