no succession But where faith is there is libertie adoption and inheritance The 7. reason The Maior The seuenth argument from another consequent that is from sanctification and conuersion Whosoeuer are redeemed are also sanctified conuerted and regenerated according to the promise A deliuerer shall come out of Sion and shall turne away iniquities from Iacob and this is my couenant with them Sanctification and conuersion necessarily follow redemption when I shall take away their sinnes saith the Lord. Which place out of the 59. of Isaie Paul Rom. 11. applieth to the conuersion of Israel and from thence sheweth that conuersion is ioyned with deliuerance or redemption Whereto also pertaineth the saying of Iohn 1. Epistle 3. Hee that committeth sinne is of the deuill but for this cause was the sonne of God reuealed that he might destroy the workes of the deuill Whosoeuer is borne of God sinneth not He speaketh of practising righteousnes as whereby the sonnes of God were discerned from the sons of the deuill such as sinne are of the deuill such as do righteousnesse are of God thorow Christ who destroyeh in vs the workes of the deuill not onely by forgiuing sinnes but also by renewing our corrupt nature to doe the workes of righteousnes The circumstance of the words and the scope do teach this exposition and Augustine confirmeth it in Hypognosticâ— lib. 3. where withal he alleageth that which is written Heb. 9. that the blood of Christ who by his eternall spirit offered himselfe to God doth purge our consciences from dead workes to serue the liuing God See also in Zacharies song Luk. 1. vers 74. Tit. 2. vers 14. 1. Cor. 1. vers 30. Eph. 5.26 Act. 5. ver 31.74 Tit. 2. vers 14. 1. Cor. 1. vers 30. Eph. 5.26 Act. 5. ver 31. in Peters words and in his 1. Epistle 2. ver 24. but most plentifully of all Rom. 6. and 7. chapters All which places without gainsaying doe witnesse that the sanctification or renouation of a man to practise righteousnes and good workes are necessarily ioyned with the gift of redemption Here now let vs set downe the assumption The Minor which the holy Scripture and experience doe plainly and sufficiently conuince that not all men bee endued with the spirit of sanctification for their conuersion and renewing of their life It is proued Because this sanctification is not without the free giuing of the holy spirit but the world cannot receiue that spirit Ioh. 14. Further this gift consisteth herein 1. Pet. 2. Rom. 8. 7. Luk. 1. that being dead to sinnes wee should liue to righteousnesse and should serue God in his sight with holines and righteousnesse all the daies of our life And is this giuen to all men nay it properly belongeth to the sonnes of promise and of the new couenant as the Lord saith I will put my lawes in their minds and in their hearts will I write them and all shall know me Iere. 31. Heb. 8. and I will be mercifull to their sinnes and their iniquities will I remember no more Also I will giue you a new heart and a new spirit within you and I will take away your stonie heart Eze. 36. will giue you a fleshy heart and I will make you to walke in my precepts and to keepe my iudgements and ye shall bee my people and I will be your God Which things seeing they be thus we conclude also The conclusioÌ„ that redemption belongeth not to all men but to the children of the promise onely Now the aduersary two maner of waies runneth a ground about this argument Hub. thes 1089 first in that be laboureth to wrest sanctification indifferently vnto the whole progenie of men and yet alleageth no fit testimonie of Scripture to proue it which as we haue seene plainly declareth the contrarie Thes 1096. Secondly in that he either craftily depraueth the force of the argumeÌ„t or els doth not vnderstand it to wit as though froÌ„ the coherence of the double benefit of redeÌ„ption and sanctification we reasoned thus God requireth sanctification of his redeemed ones therefore the greatest part is not redeemed because it doth not practise godlines But our reasoning is not drawne from our dutie but from Gods benefit promising that he will giue to the redeemed a new heart and a new spirit and so will cause them to walke in his waies by putting and writing them in their mindes not with inke but with the spirit of the liuing God not in stony tables but in the tables of the heart The 8. reason The 8. Argument neerely agreeth with the seuenth In the redeemed ones the will also is redeemed by Iesu Christ The will is redeemed and set free in all those that be redeemed otherwise the best thing in man was not redeemed Therefore by graunting the redemption of all faithfull and Infidels it should follow that the will also in all is redeemed and healed and so free will should bee established in all whomsoeuer whereas yet they that are ignorant of Christ and beleeue not in him doe serue sinne and are not able to will or goe about any thing that is good as Luther hath notably proued in his booke de seruo arbitrio The 9. reason The 9. Argument from another consequent which is blessednes and eternall life Eternall life Eâ—â—â—â—â—lessedâ—â—s to low â—â—ose that be redeemed effectually Whosoeuer are effectually redeemed shall not perish but shall haue eternall life But the vnbeleeuers doe perish for hee that beleeueth not shall be damned Therefore the vnbeleeuers are not effectually redeemed The Maior is fully proued by these sayings Being iustified by his blood we shall now much more bee saued from wrath by him For if when we were enemies wee were reconciled to God by the death of his sonne much more now shal we be saued by his life Rom. 5. And chap. 8. Whom he iustifieth them also he glorifieth Againe If God be for vs who is against vs euen he that hath not spared his own sonne but giuen him for vs all how shall he not with him giue vs all things Who shall accuse the elect of God It is God that iustifieth Who shall condemne It is Christ who is dead yea rather who is also risen againe and maketh intercession for vs. Paul is manifestly of this iudgement that they shall neuer be damned for whom Christ dyed rose againe and maketh intercession Notably saith Ambrose Ambr. de Iacob vita beata lib. 1. cap 6. He that hath giuen vs the author of all excepteth nothing There is nothing then that we may feare can possibly be denied vs there is nothing wherein we ought to bee doubtfull of the continuance of Gods bountifulnes whose plentie hath been of so long continuance An excellent saying and of great comfort to a penitent heart if it be oft remembred and alwaies ready so that first he would predestinate then he would call and
things he ought to do hope for So according to their opinion that should only be the calling of God which is outwardly made by the word As though hee did discerne such as heare the Gospell from such as beare not and not rather the beleeuers froÌ„ such as beleeue not who said No man commeth vnto me vnlesse it bee giuen him of the father And in many places the Scripture teacheth that faith and conuersion what good worke soeuer we haue flowe from God Lament 5. Turne vs vnto thee O Lord and we shall be turned saith Ieremie Ierem. 31. Eze. 36. And it is promised in the Prophetes that the time shall come when God will write his law in their heartes and giue them a newe hart a fleshy hart and take away their stony that he will put a new spirit and the feare of him in their hartes and make vs to walke in his precepts In the Gospell also the Lord speaking of the fruit of righteousnes testifieth that we be able to do nothing without him Ioh. 15. Again ye haue not chosen me but I haue chosen you and I haue appointed you to bring forth fruite and that your fruite should remaine 1. Cor. 4. And Paul saith what hast thou that thou hast not receiued If thou hast receiued why doest thou boast as though thou hadst not receiued And expressely the same man affirmeth that repentance is the gift of God 2. Tim. 2. Gal. 5. Ephes 5. As he also reckoneth faith and all good workes to be the fruits of the spirit He testifieth also that we are created in Christ Iesus vnto good workes which God hath prepared that we should be exercised in them Ephes 1. And to take away all doubt he plainely writeth that we are elected before the foundations of the world were laid that we should be holy and blameles Therefore also the Church praieth both for Infidels and such as resist the doctrine of the Gospell that they may be conuerted vnto God also for the faithfull that they may grow in saith and perseuer therein For the things that he hath commanded to be done would not be requested of God except it were his free gifte that they were done The 2. error of the Semipelagians Other men albeit they confesse that good works and faith also according to the growth of it bee of God yet they will haue the beginning of faith to come of vs as if faith were not giuen vs of God but onely increased of him in vs by the merit of our beliefe or of our good wil and so the good will of a man should bee the cause of Gods grace and not grace the cause of our will This opinion Prosper and Hilarie attribute to the Semipelagians Epist. ad Aug. Tom. 7. or the reliques as they cal them of the Pelagian heresie And Augustine himselfe was sometime in this error as when he saith I hat we beleeue it is ours but that we do good Expos ad Rom. it is his who giues to the faithfull the holie Ghost And a little after To beleeue and to be willing is ours but to giue to the beleeuers and willers power to worke well by the holy Ghost that is Gods But he acknowledged afterward this error Lib. 1. cap. 23. passim lib. de praedest sanct and amended it in his retractions and elsewhere where he sheweth at large that not onely faith increased but also begunne in vs is Gods gift the grace of the caller preuenting our wil that we may be willing according to the sayings who first gaue to him he shal recompence him because of him Rom. 1â— Paul 1. and through him and in him are all things To you it is giuen not onely to beleeue in him but also to suffer for his sake He saith simplie to beleeue not more perfectly to beleeue Rom. 12. Like as that is to the Ro. God hath distributed to euery one a measure of faith Also to the Ephe. Yee are saued by grace through faith Ephes 2. and this is not of your selues it is the gift of God that is eueÌ„ that which I said through faith is not of our selues but is the gift of God The same Apostle saith we are not fit to thinke any thing 2. Cor. 3. as of our selues then not so much as to beleeue because to beleeue is nothing els than to thinke with assente To beleeue what it is Also chap. 4. of the 1. Epistle What hâ—st thou that thou hast not receiued and if thou hast receiued why doest thou brag Phil. 2. as though thou hadst not receiued Expressely also it is said of the will that God worketh in vs both to will and to performe of his good will his doubtles and not ours Therefore it remaineth firme that the will is preuented of God and that from him it is in â—â—â—led into vs that we doe beleeue Obiection But thou wilt say Gods giftes are giuen to such as pray and prayer presupposeth faith Therefore man of himselfe bringeth faith at the least the beginning of it that he may be capable of grace and the giftes of God Answere But the Maior is particular seeing God giueth some things euen to them that pray not as the beginning of faith other things no otherwise than by prayer And thus Augustine answereth this doubt chap. 16. de bono perseu alijs locis The 2. error of the Papists works of preparation Thirdly there be inuented of certaine men works I know not what morally good whereby a man before faith and repentance prepareth himselfe to grace yea deserueth grace de congruo of conueniencie as they speake And that would they prooue by the example of Cornelius who was endued with the knowledge of Christ while the Lorde respected his prayers and almes By these mens opinion that wicked sentence is maintained Aug. de praedest sanct cap 2. con 2. ep Pelag. lib. 1. cap. 19. which Pelagius himselfe in his episcopall iudgement in Palestine condemned albeit with an hypocriticall heart to wit that the grace of God is giuen according to our deserts Beside when the Apostle saith who hath seuered thee What hast thou that thou hast not receiued by these mens opinion I may say my worke doeth seuer me my endeuour Ephe 2. Heb. 11. and merite What that the scripture teacheth that we are all dead in offences sinnes before faith that without this it is impossible that we or our workes should please God Tell me I pray what good will had Paul and not rather a great wicked wil that breathing forth slaughter went forward destroying Christians in the horrible blindenesse of his minde By what merites of his will by what preparation of works did God conuert him from these euils to faith In like maner how many enemies of Christ dayly are drawen of a suddaine by the secert grace of God to Christ Lastly the
among other things these he mentioneth Rom. 1. Therefore that is for a recompence of their error God gaue them vp into shamefull affections and into a rebate mind to do the things that were not conuenient being full of all vnrighteousnes fornication wickednes coueteousnes c. 2. Thess 2. Because they receiued not the loue of the truth that they might be saued God sent vnto them a strong force of error that they might beleeue a lye Isa 19. God hath cast among them the spirite of error and they haue seduced Egipt And chapter 63. why hast thou made vs O Lord to erre from thy waies hast thou hardened our hearts that we should not feare thee 1. King 22. By Gods commaundement and in his iudgement a lying spirite went forth to seduce Achab by the false Prophets He doth these things after a wonderfull and vnspeakeable maner Augustine saith Augustine who knoweth how to worke his iust iudgements not onely in the bodies but also in the harts of men who maketh not euill wills but vseth them as he will seeing he cannot will any thing vniustly Cypr ser de â—rat dom in 5 petit Cyprian also vpon the petitioÌ„ Lead vs not into teÌ„ptation or as he readeth Suffer vs not to be lead c. writeth that the aduersarie can do nothing against vs vnles God before hath permitted him The diuell hath power against vs in two respects and thence is power giuen him and that that euill one hath power against vs in two respects either to punishment when we haue sinned or els to glory when wee are tryed Which thing in so many wordes welneere our Augustine expresseth De serm Dom. in monte lib. 2. Temptations saith he are made by Sathan not by his authority but by Gods sufferance either to punish men for their sins or els to proue and exercise them of Gods mercy Therefore by all these proofes a man may after a sorte perceiue Gods hardening is not only permission but also the operation of his wrath that hardening when in the Scriptures it is attributed to God signifieth not onely permission but also the operation of Gods wrath for that I may say nothing of outward things which make to the induration of reprobates the deuill himselfe who worketh mightily in the children of disobedience is so in the power of God that he doth nothing but at his commaundement God is the reuenger and not the author of sinne And this is diligently to bee marked that whether by forsaking or by any other waie that maÌ„ can shew or not shewe God who is most highly good and vnspeakeably iust doth exercise such kind of iudgements he is not the author but the reuenger of crimes while he punisheth one sin with another For we seeke for the merite of mercie saith Augustine and we find it not Ad Sixtum Epist 105. because there is none least grace should bee made of none effect if it be not giuen freely but rendred for deserts But we seeke for the merite of hardening and we find it For for good cause the whole lumpe of sin is condemned from the first beginning of it Rom. 5. and as age increaseth so wickednes thereupon groweth through a mans owne will and thereupon also damnation Therefore the Scriptures rehearse deliuering vp into euil lustes and efficacie of error and such like as the scourges of Gods wrath and the iust recompence of reward Obiection But God worketh thou saist hardnes of heart But hardnes of heart is sin for what is it els than to resist the commaundement of God as Stephen cast the Iewes in the teeth Therefore God worketh sin Answere 1 Answere First God worketh not hardnes of hart as hath been said by instilling malice but by forsaking and deliuering vp to the lusts of the hart to the deuil himselfe Answere 2 Secondly Contra Iul. pel lib. 5. cap. 3. in the Minor there is a fallacie of the accident For as Aug. teacheth the hardnes of heart as manie other things may be considered three manner of waies to wit as it is sin as it is the punishment of former sinnes Hardnes of heart taken three waies and as it is the cause of sinnes following namely when through the error of a blind heart some euill is committed And these diuerse respects concurre accidentally in one and the same worke Therefore as farre forth as hardnes whereof wee speake is a sin it is the worke of man and the deuill and it is Gods worke no otherwise than as it is apunishment For hee is the author of euery punishment of sinne whatsoeuer it be because euery punishment of sin as it is such is good because it is iust But God is not the author of sin because it is euill And God is exceeding good and iust and cannot be the author of an euill and vniust thing as it is written Thou art a God that hast no pleasure in wickednes Psalm 5. Lib. 5. Stromat And Clemens Alexandrinus citeth out of the Poet Iupiter who raigneth ouer the Gods and beholdeth all things is not the cause of euils to mortall men Hereupon dependeth an answere to an other obiection also Obiection 2 That if God hardens men they that sin They that be hardened haue no defence for it and that for two causes seeme to be made excusable For who may resist his will Answere But for two causes no place of defence or shift is left for such as be hardened First because the merit of induratioÌ„ sticketh fast in themselues as we haue seene Secondly they themselues wittingly and willingly harden their owne heart against Gods commaundement and indurate themselues as of Pharao not onely it is written that God hardened him Exod. 8. Wisd 2. but also that he hardened his owne heart And the wiseman witnesseth that the wicked erre because their own malice blindeth them For through malice they shut their owne eyes least they should see and stop their eares least they should heare like the deafe adder that stoppeth her eare Psalm 58. least she should heare the voice of the charmer CHAP. XVIII Whether God hath predestinated the infidelitie of the reprobates and sinnes in generall ANd these things of the effectes of reprobation But here further the question was wont to be asked i. Whethetr reprobates as they are said to be predestinated to suffer damnation for sins so also be predestinated to sins theÌ„selues infidelitie and others whereby they draw damnation vpon themselues or no And generally whether God predestinated any man to sin Some men surely feare not to auouch it as not repugnant vnto the trueth Anselme lib. de Concord gra lib. â—ib nor inconuenient Of which opinion is Anselme Bishop of Canterbury who was famous in the yeere 1060. for he boldlie affirmeth that there is a predestination not only of good things but may be said also to be of euill things after a sort because euill
doubt of my continuance to the end For he that beleeueth to wit continually to the end he shall be saued But if any man withdrawe himselfe my heart doth not approue him saith the Lorde Answere Vnto this exception concerning finall perseuerance ought to be opposed the cleare and vndoubted promises of God not onely of his grace for the present but also of finall perseuerance therein of all true beleeuers such as these be Him that commeth vnto me and the beleeuers come I will not cast forth Ioh. 6. Gods promises of present grace the finall perseuerance Also This is the will of him that sent me that euery one that seeth the sonne and beleeueth in him hath euerlasting life And I will raise him vp at the last day Againe Ioh. 10. I know my sheepe and they shall not perish for euer neither shall any take them out of my hand And Christs sheepe bee such as heare his voice that is doe truly beleeue Againe Ioh. 14. I will praie to the father and he will giue you another comforter that he may abide with you for euer Luke 22. And I haue praied for thee Simon Peter that thy faith faile not And he praied for all both for such as then beleeued and also for those that should beleeue afterward Rom. 8. And Paul saith To them that loue God all things worke for the best In all things we are more than conquerors through him that loued vs. God is faithfull 1. Cor. 10. who doth not suffer you to be tempted aboue your strength but will graunt with the temptation an issue that ye may be able to beare it I am perswaded Phil. 2. that he that hath begun in you this good worke will performe it euen to the day of Iesu Christ What place is here to speake as Cyprian doth of anguish and carefull thought who is fearefull and full of griefe considering these sayings but hee that lacketh faith and hope If thou be righteous and liue by faith if thou truely beleeuest in God why doest thou not securely imbrace the promise of the Lord God hath promised thee perseuerance and doest thou doubt and wauer Whereas certaine places of Scripture and examples of backsliders that are mentioned to haue had faith are wont to be alleaged to the contrary we haue answered elsewhere vnto them least we should do one thing twise The third way remaineth Three waies whereby a man may know his election The seale of the spirite in our hearts whereby God reuealeth vnto his Saints his election of them to wit by the seale of the holie Ghost in our hearts according vnto the saying Ephesians 1. After ye beleeued ye were sealed with the holy spirite of promise which is the earnest of our inheritance vntill we bee restored to libertie c. And chapter 4. Grieue not the spirite whereby ye are sealed vnto the daie of redemption 2. Cor. 1. It is God who hath sealed vs and giuen vs the earnest of the spirit in our heartes Behold the spirit of God who is giuen to all the faithfull of Christ for who so hath not the spirit of Christ Rom. 8. the same man is not his in steed of Gods seale and certaine earnest penny and who maketh vs sure of our inheritance in heauen and consequently that our names also are written in heauen in the booke of life To this ende those most sweet sentences belong whereby these metaphores are elsewhere expounded 1. Ioh. 4. Hereby we knowe that we dwell in God and he in vs that he hath giuen vs of his spirit 1. Cor. 2. We haue receiued from God the spirit that we may knowe what things are freely giuen vs of God Romans 8. If his spirit that raysed Iesus from the dead dwell in you hee that raised vp Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortall bodies by his spirit dwelling in you And there followeth in that Chapter a right golden place and very diligently to be weighed in this whole matter If ye mortifie the deedes of the body by the spirit ye shall liue saith hee For as many as are lead by the spirit of God they are the sonnes of God For he haue not receaued the spirit of bondage to feare againe but the spirit of adoption by whom we cry Abba father which spirit beareth witnesse together with our spirit that we are the sonnes of God and if sonnes then heires also euen the heires of God and coheires with Christ The Apostles demonstration is in this sort Whosoeuer are the sonnes of God shall obtaine the inheritance of the kingdome of heauen For if we be sonnes we be heires also But whosoeuer are guided by the holy spirite are the sonnes of God Therefore whosoeuer are guided by the holy spirite shall obtaine the inheritance of the kingdome of heauen The Assumption is proued three maner of wayes in the text 1. Because it is the part of the spirit of adoption to seale adoption in the regenerate for of these he speaketh Otherwise it is manifest that there be many gifts of the holy Ghost common to the godly and vngodly to the elect and reprobates 2. When he saith by whom we cry Abba Father hee proueth the same thing by the confession of the godly who call vpon God as their father as also wee are taught of the Lord in the beginning of that Christian prayer Our Father which art in heauen This the godly say and cry not so much in sound of voyce as in the intention of the heart which ariseth of that confidence that agreeth with the sonnes of God 3. Lest a man peraduenture might suspect that wee are deceiued in our confession he confirmeth the same thing by the witnesse of the holy Ghost For the spirite it selfe witnesseth that we are the sons of God that not in the eares of men as the father did wittnes of his sonne Matt. 3. but in the hart of man because elsewhereas the Apostle writeth the loue of God is spread abroad in our hearts by the holy Ghost Rom. 5. Za. 12. The witnes of the spirit is most sure and why 1. Cor. 2. Ioh. 16. Ephe. 2. who is giuen vnto vs. Whereupon he was called of the Prophet the spirite of grace because he beareth witnesse of the grace and mercy of God in our mindes And there is nothing surer than this testimonie of the spirite For the spirite of God is not deceiued Who searcheth all things euen the deepe secrets of God neither doth he deceiue because hee is true and leadeth into all trueth These things concerning the reuealing of election are gathered out of the worde of God and are euident Hub. thes 11â—6 Therefore we are falsly accused of some as though we coueted to approach vnto election without the word of God Against this slaunder we openly professe that laying aside all curiositie By Gods word onely we must seeke to finde cut our election and so Caluin and Luther