hée had written that Timothie might know be able to instruct the church of God that it might be the piller of truth not that the church as the piller of truth should instruct him For Timothie was to teach the truth of Gods worde vnto the church y t the church might be the piller of truth he was not to learne of y e church as of a teaching piller in which sense Iames and Peter Iohn are called pillers And no doubt but they wer pillers of y e church and of the truth yet they were not priuiledged thereby but that they might erre in some parte as the errour of Peter is declared in the same place Againe it is certaine that the Apostle in saying the church is the piller and stay of truth speaketh of the church of Ephesus in which hée had lefte Timothie And the same is true of euerie particular church of God in any place that it is the house of God the piller and stay of truth so long as it is the church of the liuing God For hée teacheth not Timothie by this writing how to be conuersant in the whole vniuersall church of Christ but namely in that particular church vnto which Saint Paule hoped to come vnot him and by example thereof in any other particular church wheresoeuer vpon like occasion hée should be placed by the Apostle Now the papists them selues doe confesse that euery particular church may erre but it is the catholike and vniuersall church which they say can not erre But séeing that whiche the Apostle here speaketh is principally spoken of a particular Church and is true of euerie particular Church that it is the piller and stay of truth as well as of the vniuersall and Catholike Church The catholike church is no more priuiledged from erring by this texte of scripture then any particular Church in the worlde But this question of the Church is so intricate and vncertaine among the Papists themselues that although they holde this as a principle that the Church can not erre yet they can not define what they meane by the Church in this proposition For if you aske them whether you meane by the Church all and euerie member of the bodie they will deny it Where shal we then haue the determination of the truth many doubtfull cause They will answere of the generall Councell which is the Catholike Church represented But here if they are not resolued what maketh the generall Councell For some holde that the Councell is aboue the Pope and may determine without him against him Other hold that the pope is aboue the councell and that the councell may determine nothing either against him or without him But contrariwise that the Pope without the councel hath al lawes right and truth in the closet of his brest so that hée may determine of any doubt and that all men are bound to beléeue his determination as procéeding from him which can not erre The most of our english Papistes at this time doe holde that the Pope is aboue the Councell and that the determination of the Councell without the Popes approbation is nothing to build vpon So that when they haue prated neuer so long of the authoritie of the Church the ende of all the talke commeth to this point that the Church is not all the faithfull but the generall Councell only the Councel is not all the Prelates but the Pope only without whom they can determine no truth and who without them may determine all truth can determine no errour So that against this secte of Papistes it shall be sufficient to prooue that the Popish Church may erre if I can prooue that the Pope which is the only piller and stay of truth therein may erre But séeing wée knowe the Pope to be a meere mortall man howsoeuer some of them haue made him more theÌ„ a man yea a GOD aboue all Gods some neither GOD nor man but a newter betwéene both as if any of them will deny I can bring their owne sayinges to their shame and séeing the scripture pronounceth of euerie man which is but a man that hée is a lyar and that God only is true let vs consider what impudent shifte they haue to iustifie their Pope from errour that God only should not bée true Some of theÌ„ say the Pope may erre as a man but not as a Pope other say the Pope may erre as Pope also but not in matters of faith others séeme to say if they durst speake out that the Pope may erre also in faith but not to induce any maÌ„ into a false faith by his error Thus are they at variance among them selues and mince the matter so small y t at length it coÌ„meth to as good as nothing at all that they brag of the spirit of truth giuen to the Pope in suche measure that hée cannot erre But how do they assure them selues that the Pope hath such a priuiledge that hée cannot erre in matters of faith Our Sauiour Christ say they praied for Peter thâ—t his faith should not faile willing him after his conuersion to confirme his brethren And what in Gods name maketh this to prooue that the Pope cannot erre Yes forsooth hée prayed for Peter that is for him all his successors because he was the rocke of the church that none of their faith might faile that is they might not erre This is a very strange interpretation For the naturall sense of that place is manifest by that hée said before Simon Simon behold satan hath desired to winow you as wheat But I haue prayed for thée that thy faith should not faile By whiche wordes hée signifieth that the desire of Satan was vtterly to disperse the Churche that it might neuer bee gathered together and Peter was in greatest daunger of all the Apostles through his shamefull and cowardly deniall and forswearing of his maister howbeit hée declareth that hée hath obtained by his prayer that Peters faith should not be altogether quâ—nched but that hée shoulde by repentance take holde of Gods mercy and be restored willing him after his conuersion and experience of Gods mercy to strengthen his brethren which likewise were weake in fayth though none so néere to falling away as hée So that the effect of Christes praier was that Peter through the greatnes of his sinne should not dispaire of forgiuenesse but by faithfull repentance bée renued and conuerted not that Peter should neuer erre in his owne person and much lesse that none of Peters successors should erre in any master of faith which thing by no logike in the worlde can possibly be concluded out of this place For what kinde of reasoning is this Christ prayed that Peters fayth should not faile Ergo Peter had suche a prerogatiue by Christes prayer that hée could not erre neyther hée nor any of his successours Christ prayed not only for Peter but for all his Apostles in this my text praieth for them all that
and by is contrarie vnto trueth and often times vnto it selfe The worde of God written saieth expresly Thou shalte not make to thy selfe in the vse of religiō because it is a commandement of the first Table Any grauen image or likenesse of any thing thou shalt not fall downe to them and worship them This notwithstanding the Papistes will beare vs in hand the worde of God vnwritten saieth the contrary thou shalt make to thy selfe grauen images for religion thou shalt fal downe to them and worship them The Scripture telleth vs by a cléere renelation of the spirit that it was the doctrine of Diuels to forbidde meate and marriage for holinesse and religion The Papistes tell vs that it is the Churches authoritie which is equal with the scriptures which forbiddeth meats marriage The trueth written saith Drinke yée all of this they dranke all of it Let a man examin himself and let him eate of this bread drinke of this cup But the vnwritten veritie of the Papists saith in the Constantian councell The laye people shall not drinke of that cuppe at all but the Priestes only These contradictions cannot possibly bée both true wherfore wée must néedes hold it for an vndoubted principle y t whatsoeuer is contrary to the word of god writtē is not the worde of God because it is not true For although Papists are not so courteous to the holy scriptures to acknowlege that they are perfect and doe containe at the full all truth neccssary for vs to bée knwne for our saluation yet nature her selfe denieth vnto them this horrible absurditie that any thing contrary to truth shoulde bée true Seeing therefore they dare not for shame say the scripture is vntrue let them bée ashamed to auouch any thing for truth which is contrary to the Scripture And albeit it were as they say that they had another worde of God beside that which is written in the bookes of the Canonicall Scripture yet were it madnes to make it contrary to the Scripture and blaspemie to make it of greater authorie then then the Scripture For the worde of God howe euer it bée expressed is alwayes of equall authoritie Therfore to boast of suche a worde of God vnwritten as shoulde bée of authoritie to abrogate the worde of GOD written or to controul the same or to dispēse with any commaundement of the same otherwise then the same written word alloweth is a blasphemous bragge of satanicall pride and can bée no suer testimonie of y e truth of Gods worde Such is the presumptuous boasting of the Papistes concerning the authorie of their tradition of their church of their Pope which they aduance so highly as y t they bée of power to change what pleaseth them in the worde of God written to dispose with what preceptes they list yea euen those that nature her self will not dispense withall which brag what other thing doth it import but that they haue a worde of God in their tradition Church or Pope which is of greater authoritie then the word of God writtē in the holy scriptures which is plain in that they challenge authoritie not only of interpreting of Scriptures as they liste against grāmer against the propertie of the tongue against reason against y e scripture it selfe in other places against the plaine circūstāces of the same places but also to giue credit alowāce euer to y e holy scriptures thēselues w t should haue no credite of thēselues but by meanes of their approbation and authoritie which is so great that it is of power to giue equall credite vnto y e Apocrifall writings of men which the holy Scriptures inspired of God vpon which ground they haue receiued into the Cannon of the holy Scriptures the Apocrifall bookes of Ecclesiasticus Tobye Iudith Machabees and such like to bée of equall authorie and credite with the bookes of the Lawe the Prophetes and the Psalmmes and with the Gospels and Epistles of the new Testament although they confesse that the Church of God before the incarnation of Christ did alwaies take them for the Apocrifall and none otherwise were they taken of the Churche of Christe for many hundred yeeres after his passion But this is to farre out of square that they are not content most iniuriously to accuse the holy Scriptures of imperfection and vnsufficiencie but they will glory of Gods worde to be in their possession of greater authoritie then that which is contained in the holy scriptures Well let that passe and let vs sée whether wee haue not sufficient testimonie in the holy Scriptures to prooue that they are perfect and sufficient and that the word of trueth contained in them is a full and absolute rule of all doctrine necessarie to eternall saluation The Lorde by Moses chargeth that only which hée commaunded Moses did write to bée practised Therefore the worde written was a sufficient instruction for any thing that shoulde bée doone to the pleasure of GOD and peoples saluation Also hée forbiddeth them to adde any thing to it or to take any thing from it which hée had deliuered in writing wherefore there was no want there was no superfluitie in that written worde The Prophet Dauid in an hundred places of his Psalmes extolleth the vtilitie sufficiencie and perfection of the same lawe of God written Euery verse almost of the 119. Psalme doth set out the excellencie of that doctrine The prophet Esay sheweth y t the people of god for al questiōs must resort to the law and to the testimonie The Prophet Malachy which was the last of the Prophets that god sent to teach by reuelation extraordinary referreth the people vnto y e law of Moses as sufficient to direct them vntill the comming of Christe Abraham in the parable of Luke 16. sendeth the rich mans fiue brethren vnto the Lawe and Prophets as sufficient to teach them that they come not into the place of torments Our Sauiour Christ himself willeth the Iewes and all them that will know him to search the Scriptures Search the scriptures saith he for in them looke to haue eternall life the same are they that beare witnesse of me But perhaps you wil say they were deceiued in that they thought to attaine eternall life by the doctrine of the scriptures as alone being sufficient Thē heare what our sauiour Christ affirmeth in this samepraier This is eternall life y t they may know thee the only true God Iesus Christe whom thou hast sent But the knowledge of God Christ are sufficiently to bée learned out of the holy scriptures therfore y e doctrine of the holy scriptures is sufficiēt to the attaining of euerlasting life S. Paul saith y t what thinges soeuer are written before they are writtē for our learning y t through patience and comfort of the scriptures wée might haue hope This is little to the purpose will some Papist say that all the scripture is for our learning séeing it
the Pope Concerning the Church the Apostle seemeth to giue a cléere testimonie that the answere thereof is an infallible Oracle of Gods worde when he saith It is y e piller and stay of truth whereof it may bée inferred that the Church alone whiche as the holy Scriptures is sufficient to vpholde and stay the truth that it should neuer faile nor decay in the worlde Much rather when it hath the assistance of the Scriptures in some part is the Church able to maintaine an other part of truth without the Scriptures After this maner the Papistes reason out of this text to prooue that all truth is not conteined in the holy Scriptures But this is a very féeble kinde of reasoning For graunting that the Church is y e piller and the stay of truth as it is in déede it followeth not thereof that it vpholdeth any truth which is not comprehended in the holy Scriptures But contrariwise séeing it hath béen plētifully prooued that all true doctrine is taught in the holy Scriptures euen to the perfection of the man of God it followeth that the Church is the piller and stay of that true doctrine which is taught in the Scriptures and not of any truth beside the Scriptures For when all truth is taught in the scriptures it followeth that whatsoeuer is not taught in the Scriptures is not truth But if this be y e proper note of y e Church to bee the piller of truth say they it is prooued thereby that the Churche cannot erre so that if it set foorth any thinge beside the Scriptures the same muste needes bée true I answere this Sophistrie is already confuted for it it bée graunted that the Church cannot erre as in matters necessary to saluation the whole Churche of God cannot erre to continue therein it is because the Church cannot depart from the doctrine contained in the Scriptures which are able to make a man wise vnto saluation But admit it were graunted that the Churche cannot erre at all what shoulde that auaile the Papistes verily nothing but to prooue that they are not the Churche For if this be a proper inseparable note of the Churche that it cannot erre what companie soeuer doth erre is not the Churche But the Papistes whose doctrine containeth so grosse contradiction of the worde of GOD doe shamefully and abhominably erre from the truth therefore the Popishe faction is not the Church which is the piller and stay of truth Thou shalt make no images for religion saith the worde of God Thou shalt make some images for religion saith the Popish Churche Thou shalt not fall downe to them nor worship them saith Gods commaundement Thou shalt fall downe and worship them saith the popish Sinagogue Thou shalt worship the Lorde thy God him only shalt thou serue saith our Sauiour Christ. When hée was tempted to fall downe and worship the Diuell not as GOD but as Gods Minister to whom the kingdomes of the worlde were committed to dispose The Pope saith thou shalt worship and serue other beside the Lorde thy God so thou worship them not and so thou serue them not as Gods I might runne ouer a whole hundreth of contradictions which the papistes doe holde and teach contrary to the worde of truth written in the Scriptures by which it is more then manifest that they holde and teache damnable errours therefore they are not the Churche of the liuing God which is the piller and stay of truth at the least wise in matters necessary to eternall saluation But let vs sée whether the Apostle by these wordes intended to priuiledge the Churche of God from all possibilitie of erring in any matter albeit the Church should departe from the certaine direction of the holye Scriptures in any thing Firste it muste bee remembred that Saint Paule in the Chapter 1. Timothie 3. describeth the persons and offices of Christian Bishoppes and Deacons which doone he addeth immediatly These thinges doe I write vnto thée hoping to come vnto thee shortly but if I tarry long that thou mayst knowe howe it behoueth thée to bée conuersant in the house of God whiche is the Churche of the liuing God the piller and stay of truth In which wordes wée haue to note first that the Apostle hath written briefly that which hée purposed if they met shortly more at large to set foorth and confirme Secondly that if he were disapointed so that hée coulde not come shortly that Timothie might haue a sufficient direction howe to behaue himselfe for ordering of the Church of god in appointing the ministers of the same By which it is manifest that this which hée speaketh of the piller and stay of the truth is meant in respect of the Pastors and Teachers of the Churche by whom the truth of heauenly doctrine is vpholden and continued in the worlde which without their ministery woulde vtterly fall to the grounde and decay For euen as hée writeth to the Romans séeing faith commeth by hearing of Gods word of them that are sent of faith commeth inuocation and from thence saluatiō if none be sent there can be no preaching no hearing no faith no innocation no saluation So the Church of the liuing God in respect of the faithfull Ministers of the same which teach the truth to the saluation of Gods people in which respect they are said to saue themselues and them that heare them is rightly called the piller and stay of truth which Ministery if it be taken away the truth also is taken away Euen as the remoouing of the Candlesticke in the reuelation signifieth the ouerthrowe of the Church of Ephesus vnto whom it is threatned if they doe not repent The Candlesticke which signifieth the Church vpholdeth the light of the gospell by the continual preaching of the Ministers thereof so is it a piller and stay of the truth so long as preaching of the Gospell is continued which if it cease then followeth darknes blindnes ignorance errour and destruction This is the true and plaine meaning of the Apostle where hée saith The church is the piller and stay of truth Not that it is vnpossible for the church to erre at any time or in any matter or that the determination of y e church without the scripture is a sufficient testimony of Gods worde or of the truth in any cause as the Papists maintaine For Paule instructeth Timothy by writing howe hée ought to behaue him selfe in the Church of God which is the piller stay of truth although hée should haue no further conference with him in the matter These thinges doe I write vnto thée saith he y t thou maist know so forth whereas if in calling the church the piller of truth hée had meant that the church without the scripture was able to haue instructed him hée would haue said If any thing want in my writing thou maist aske the determination of the church which is the piller and stay of truth But S Paul saith that