A VINDICATION OF TRUTH As held forth in a Book ENTITULED LOVE TO THE LOST From the Lies Slanders and Deceits of T. HIGGENSON in a Book called A Testimony to the true Iesus But he is discovered to hold forth another Iesus then what the Scriptures hold forth or the Saints witness I. N. LONDON Printed for Giles Calvert and are to be sold at the Black-Spread-Eagle at the West End of Pauls 1656. A Vindication of Truth as held forth in a Book entituled Love to the Lost Friend THou sayes thou shall present a veiw of that Spirit that is in the Quakers having obtained a more perfect understanding of that way and sum of our faith and profession which thou sayes is come forth signed by James Naylor And this thou sayes thou wilt do in love to us To which I say that which is come forth by James Nayler was presented already and hadst thou been able to have said something against it as by me presented and proved it in plainness not to have been the faith and spirit that was in the holy men of God then hadst thou done something to purpose But in that thou hast left what truth I presented and instead thereof hast presented a heap of falshoods and deceits out of thy own bosom as like my words as thou well could make a lie to the truth And hast made people beleive thou hast disproved something of mine when thy work hath but been to fight with thy own falshood and so confound thy self instead of confuting me This makes it appear that thou art not perfect in thy understanding of our way and spirit the sum of our faith and profession or else wickedly ignorant that thou mayst take occasion to cast thy reproach upon us and the truth and faith we profess Indeed who reads my book and thy slanders gathered from thence as thou pretends will say the later is the more like seeing thou hast so often repeated over thy own wicked slanders fathering them on me which hath no footing at all in my book As that I deny the person of Christ the death of Christ the bloud of Christ the once offering of Christ for all c. that I say the light in every man is God and Christ and Redemption is the baptism of Christ is Gods Righteousness and many such like abominable lyes never spoken by me which thou often over accusest me that I say so that any moderate man may wonder that ever any who have but a shew of religion should be so void of the fear of God or have so little bridle for the tongue as thou hast shewed in this thy work But that conceit thou hast of being justified before thou wast born and before either faith or works hath given thee such a dispensation as that thou matters not much what thou sayest being justified beforehand nought thou dost can condemn thee Christ hath born away all thy sins before thou was begotten or born and thou shalt never bear them nor they be charged upon thee a principle of wickedness called faith to cheat the soules of people and keep them bold in their sins at which all that knows the righteousness of God and his terrors against sin may weep to think on And in all which instead of discovering our spirit thou are discovered thy spirit and foundation but what is come forth signed by James Nayler stands as it was thy lies being taken away which some of them I shall lay open with thy confusions thereupon as to the later part of thy book which pretends an answer to my writing in Love to the lost The other part though a heap of confusion I shall not much meddle with as to answer the substance thereof falling within the other part nor shall I write much to any of it truth is tryed and stands not by words So to the first particular as followeth First Concerning the fall of man ANd in this thou tels of the sum of things spoken by me but sums up thy own lies amongst it not having matter from my words to accuse me with Doth my words say that Gods own Wisdom and Spirit remains in faln man but as a captive and that that was his fall or do I say that by looking and turning not to any thing without but to that of God lying under and covered within him and that that is the bloud of the Cross and his redemption Art not thou ashamed instead of answering to my words to become an accuser openly had it not been thy wisdom rather to have been silent if thou durst not have entred upon my words as they stand then to have made thy self way with lies and then to disprove thy lies thy self And not any thing that I have said dost thou appear against onely in thy seeming answer or mist which thou casts thou adds more lies saying that I say that there is that in the natural man which being turned into and followed can redeem and make attonement a thing never spoken by me nor never entred into my heart for it is in the spiritual man that the attonement is made and not in the natural Thou further sayes That the obedience of Christ was not the righteousness of one which is as false concerning Christ as the other concerning me as whoever reads Rom. 5. 18 19 shall read there in plain words Other things thou sayes As that we are not made righteous by looking back and turning to the first Adam c. A thing never spoken by me nor intended onely thou dost disprove thy own deceitful slander cast on my words and so in the most places of thy book which I shall not much mention seeing they touch not my words as he that reads my words may see not one sentence of mine hast thou disproved in this answer Thou adds a piece of false doctrine which I shall discover Thou sayes by looking out of everything in man to the second Adam I say he whose eyes is without and not within cannot see the second Adam for he cannot be seen but by revelation and in spirit he is known and seen since his ascention and hath been to all his as these Scriptures will plainly prove Galat. 1. 16. Col. 1. 27. And I demand of thee and all thy generation to make it appear how the second Adam is now seen but in the spirit by faith within till then blame me not for saying this of thine is false doctrine I know there is a sort of you who have conceited a carnal sight and have run in your carnal expectations from year to year therein till you are become spiritually blind but if that be it thou here intends thou must reckon thy self for the present amongst those who have neither seen him nor known him who denies his revelation in spirit and so being intruding into that which the eye hath not seen no marvel though thou speak so darkly of him as thou dost in this thy book and would lead men from the
the flesh hast thou not here wholly excluded the light of Christ as to be exercised therein for freedom and perfection before thou did but deny it Within but now thou hast denied all light whatsoever both from within and without for bringing to freedom or perfection so that henceforth all that will own thy doctrine must beleive to be perfected in the dark for all light whatsoever thou hast excluded so that a Christ without light must now be beleived by all that own thy faith or doctrine and indeed it suits well with thy practise witness thy many lie in thy book which are not works of the day Further thou sayes That the light within every man is not the way to the Spirit of Christ which I need not think strange seeing thou hast denied all light Also thou sayest That the works of the Law and the waiting of the Light within are all one if any man will beleive thy blind testimony Thou sayest That principle may lead to a spirit of activity for God in the contemplations of him as a pure and holy God but it is a far other principle that is Christ crucified for us and the faith of him that leads unto that Spirit of peace And so by thy doctrine there are two principles that leads to God the one far off the other But must we beleive this because thou sayest it when not one of the holy men of God thou canst instance who ever said that that Spirit that led to contemplations of the pure God was a far other principle than that of Christ that leads to peace Christ saith No man knoweth the Father but he to whom the Son reveals him Math. 11. 27. But thou sayes It s a far other principle that brings to contemplations of a pure God That blind spirit of thine clearly showes what thou knows of contemplations with God who denies the principle of Christ to lead thereto but it is like the rest of thy blind stuffe who would make people beleive that the light of Christ leads to blot out the the healing in the person of Christ surely a blinder peice of work hath not been seen but it must needs be so with thee who hath denied all light and art fighting against it Concerning error heresie c. HEre thou tels us thy former lie over again saying that I say That the light within every man is the spirit of truth and then thou tels how thou hast disproved it before and so flaidly fals into another discourse not at all to the purpose as to my words yet adds another lie saying That we beleive in God as by the light in men redeeming from sin but not as in the man Jesus having done it already and that we deny the witness of the Son and that we have neither Son nor Father which is but thy threefold cord of wickedness Thou adds another in thy conclusion and sayes It is not an errour to divide from the light within so by thy doctrine we may divide from the spiritual light of Christ and not erre but how shouldest thou count it an error to divide from the light within who hast excluded all manner of light within and without also whatever to be exercised in as the way to perfection If it be not an error to divide from the light then it must be an error to divide from the darkness for there is but these two and the one must needs be an error But it is easily seen whose word thou drives who art set to oppose the light such a work as none of Gods was ever found in wert thou not blind thou might suspect thy self who cannot produce one of thy faith in the Scripture Concerning Faith IN this accusation also is two lies first that I say that the light in every man is Gods righteousness perfection Secondly thou sayes I say not a word of the faith in the person of Christ or the operation of God in him for us The first never spoken of by me To the second my words are these That the living faith is in Christ Jesus and that true faith layes hold on Gods Righteousness and by it comes to be created in Christ Jesus unto good works Gods workmanship Is this not a word of the person of Christ nor the operation of God in him Can one own Christ Jesus and deny faith in the person of Christ Or can one witness Gods workmanship in him and not one word of the operation of God in him Oh shameless man how doest thou bend thy tongue for lies and slanders Further thou sayest that the scope of our doctrine in the height and depth of it seems plainly this that a measure of the eternal divinity is in every man by turning where unto out of all sayings operations Scriptures or Christ without the same doth purge away sin and redeems unto God All which is no more but thine own wickedness heaped up from thy foregoing lies Then thou comest to thy doctrine And that is to look away from all voice of conscience within and from all things in the heart whether good or evil and to look to Jesus with out though we be in bondage and this thou sayes is to receive the righteousness of Christ by faith But where doest thou receive this righteousness or with what is it seen or what effect hath it seeing thou hast denied all voices in the conscience all things in the heart and conclude the creature in bondage they are blind indeed who cannot see this righteousness of thine thou lookest too without any thing in the heart or conscience to be but meer imagination a talk of righteousness which thou hast not in thee And in thy next having forgot thy doctrine sayes That by him all that beleive are justified from all things by the Law of the Spirit according to the Conscience from which they could not be justified by the Law of Moses And also saves That the answer of a good Conscience in the resurrection of Jesus will be found to be that which saves before God and brings forth the true glory within What confusion is here Must all voices of the conscience be denied and yet justified by the Law of the Spirit according to the Conscience and saved by the answer of a good Conscience and must we be justified by the law of the Spirit and the works of the Law written within be denied and called the flesh and must we be set free and justified from all these things by the Law of the Spirit and the answer of a good Conscience and yet in bondage And after thou hast said We must be justified by the Law of the Spirit according to the Conscience and saved by a good Conscience then thou confutes that again and saith The Law in the Conscience which is holy just and pure is the same with the Covenant of works and sayes how holy and pure soever it be it shall not preserve blameless Was there ever such a heap of
I ght within a thing by me never spoken or written Secondly thou sayes That nothing is said by me of Christ manifest in flesh or his crucified body or righteousness that way Poor man how hath wickedness over-run thee to add lie to lie Are not these my words That Righteousness that God accepteth is but one which is his own perfectly fulsilled and manifest in the world in Jesus Christ the Light and Savi ur thereof and that none inherits it surther than they receive the Son of righteousness And is this nothing of Christ but it is no new thing to me to see the refuge of lies with that spirit which now opposeth nor for me to be called a Railer because I will not either say they are truths or find out some finer name to call them than lies But to leave them and go on to thy doctrine thou sayes We are justified without works onely through faith which is as false as the Scripture is true for faith the Apostle Ye see then how that by works a man is justified and not by faith onely James 2. 24. And Christ faith By thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned Math. 12. 37. And not the hearers of the Law but the doers are just before God Rom. 2. 13. Now if these Scriptures be true then thine is false but such is thy blindness that because the Scriptures doth exclude the works of the Law for justification therefore thou wilt exclude the works of faith which are wrought in God also A fine easie way to salvation and well pleasing to you that love your lusts but that neither God nor Scripture knows it nor the Saints practise Further thou sayes He that can but beleive this is perfectly purged and there is no more conscience of sin though yet the feeling of sin I say what is thou now intends feeling of sin but make no conscience Is not this plain Ranting to commit sin and feel it and make no conscience of it this indeed is the ready way to murther the Witness to stop the ear at his reproof and to make shipwrack of a tender conscience and so in time to get it seared and so no more conscience of sin do what you will do but imagine all is pardoned past present and to come let the light in the conscience say what it can hope against hope sayest thou The Righteousness of Christ is a covering upon sin c. I say I know who repents and turns to him he doth But doth Christs Righteousness cover sin to come and whilst men are committing it one day thou wilt find that it is not covered but thou that hast seared thy conscience it will appear when thou shalt cease to deal treacherously with the witness that would have dealt truly with thee but how is Christs Righteousness a covering on thy sin when thy sin is in thy heart and thy cover no nearer than above the Stars If ever God look down upon the earth thou wilt be found naked and the day is upon thee look to it thy Ranting faith hath not long to last and thy cover will be but deceit wo to thee that art covered and not with the Spirit Concerning the word IN this like the rest thou enters with a lie saying That we say the light within all men is the word not minding at all to speak truth thou tels of sin being covered but the liar is openly seen and shames not And when thou hast made one lie thou infers another from it If the Light within every man be the Word then all ages have had the Gospel in equality c. Then thou adds another as false as the rest saying That Truth sayes the Light is the remaining sparkles of the Law and represents God onely under a vail When Truth saith the Life is the Light of men and this is that true Light that lighteth every man that comes into the world John 1. And Christ saith I am the Light of the world he that follows me shall not abide in darkness but shall have the light of life John 8. 12. And the Saints came to the knowledge of God in the face of Jesus by the light within and this was not onely under the vail which was in the face of Jesus 2 Cor. 4. 6. though vailed to thee who denies the light of the Spirit and sayeth truth sayes it when truth denies thee therein nor hast thou one Scripture that saith so And when thou hast shewed thy Spirit by thy works then thou art forced to confess him to be within his in spirit the word of revelation yet would make two words a word of Reconciliation and a word of Revelation and in dividing this word in to two thou confounds thy self First thou sayes these two are not one without the other then thou sayes the one must finish his work before the other could come and such blind muddy stuffe thou art bewing in but what I write in my book stands as it was Yet thou adds two lies more the first is That we beleive not the word of Reconciliation which thou cals thy first word which is false for though we beleive not two words yet we beleive that one word which is the word of Reconciliation and Revelation and there is not another Thy second lie is of the Light in saying it knows Christ in neither Concerning worship IN this thou sayes that I affirm that the Spirit of Life from God wherein is the mind will and love of God the name power and wisdom of Christ wherewith alone God can be acceptably worshipped is in every man A thing that never entred into my heart but surely friend thou matters not what thou sayes thus to add thy wickedness and false accusations because I say none must follow the traditions of others but as every creature is moved by the presence of the living God do I therefore say that the spirit of God is in every man this conclusion is more wickedness than weakness But to thy doctrine Thou sayes The word of faith sayes that the Law without or Spirit in every man that sayes do this and live are the vail c. I say where doth the word of faith say that the Spirit within is a vail or where doth it call the Spirit within the Law without thou must find a new word for this for the true everlasting Word saith not so but faith There is a spirit in man and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding Job 32. 8. but doth not say that that Spirit of God is the vail of which Spirit I am speaking whatever thou pervert it to but is all thy spiritual teaching come to this that the Spirit in which God will be worshipped becomes a vail and that to abide in any law or light whatsoever either from within or without and to be exercised therein as to be redeemed or perfected thereby this they say is to worship God as in
and salvation and that he will judge the works of the Law as well as the lusts of the flesh and that the spirit of Christ in his people shall judge both Angels and mens spiritual and fleshly wickness To which I say Some of this is truth and we shall try the rest First What work of the Law is it that God will judge doest thou intend that law by which thou confessed before all that believe are justified from that from which they could not be justified by the Law of Moses If thou intend that Law I deny thy doctrine for the works of that Law of the Spirit of life by which we are justified are the works of Christ where with he fulfils the Law in his Saints and so are works of the Spirit and shall never come into judgement and if thou mean not that Law to me it matters not I shall not contend with thee about any other of thy imaginations And whereas thou tels of Christs coming forth in this age in righteousness and salvation and to judge and that it is the Spirit of Christ in his People that must be the Judge both of Angels and men in this his appearance Hast not thou in the rest of thy Book as much as in thee lies done what thou canst to oppose this his appearance who hast all along denied any thing within to be looked unto for righteousness salvation and judgement yea and ere thou get out of the same thing thou art contradicting it again and sayes Law or form or light within are the principles of judgment with most But sayest thou It is a small thing for the spiritual man to be judged by any of these What confusion is this of thine thou bringest forth in opposition to the light Must the Spirit of Christ in his people judge both Angels and men spiritual and fleshly and yet thou speaks scornfully of the light within and thrusts it in with law and form to make it odious It seems thou canst not endure that the Spirit of Christ should be called light in his people it must be darkness there it seems or else not owned by thee Another lie thoutels of John saying That he did not call to the light within every man and sayest no Prophet spake of him by the light c. But it seems thou hast not much read the Prophets or else art wickedly ignorant for all that read them may find them prophesying of a Covenant of light and John saith who saw him this is the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world Concerning Perfection ANd after thy usual manner thy first work is a lie saying That my principal matter is that perfection is that gift or light in every man Another lie is that I say Imperfection came in by the ministry of Antichrist When the matter of my words are That God and Christ is perfection and doth not say the gift is perfection yet I own that every gift of God is perfect yet God himself the perfection of all I also say that imperfection came in by the Devil and maintained by his Ministers who uses all means to supplant truth where it is and to keep up imperfection in the world And thy lies being taken away the truth stands untouched though many words thou usest yet dare not deny what I have written in the least particular Onely thou asks some questions which thou hast raised out of thy own brain not at all what I say Thy Questions are first Was Christ in the flesh no more than a Preacher or example of perfection 2. Was that fulness of the Godhead in him no more than such a light as God hath set up in every man 3. Or was his bearing of our sins and the wounds for our iniquities no more but to shew how we should bear them in our selves I say Yes He was more than all these three for he in himself alone wrought redemption broke through all difficulties opened the way of life for all Creatures became a Sacrifice acceptable to the Father and triumphed openly over death the grave and hell and much more that may be spoken of him which he did in his own person and not onely so but is now an everlasting offering from generation to generation an everlasting light preached in every Creature whereby they may receive the faith which without it they cannot whereby to see him in themselves appearing from heaven in Spirit as Leader and Teacher Judge and Law-giver and in his light to lead and his life to strengthen all that beleive in the same way wherein he walked in his own person who left an example when he ascended for all to follow which will be saved which none can follow nor be saved but who are led by his light and quickened by his Spirit within them though they talk never so much of him at Jerusalem without them And this is that which the Devil is an enemy to to wit that Christ should be owned in the hearts of any as Leader Teacher King and Law-giver and with his light to enlighten every dark part thereof so that every motion of God is seen and received and every motion of the Devil is seen and resisted even unto blood here is little hope for the Devils Kingdom where this light is received and followed there the soul is redeemed from the deeds of the devils darkness therefore he sets on work all his instruments wherein he hath any interest to cry out against this light within for if this light shine in the heart then his seat must be discovered and the knowledge of God seen in the face of Jesus and as any come to know God in the light they will be led out of his service so you stand up from all Quarters who wear his dark livory crying out against the light of Christ within charging all not to hearken to any voice within nor mind any thing there good nor bad that he may keep that place for his kingdom And to him you are faithful to the uttermost of your power who are all gathered together in this day of battel to fight against the Light of which thou art not the least who cryest out against all light whatsoever either from within or without for any to be exercised in for freedom from sin But are you not blind above all that ever was before you who have so many Scriptures declaring the Lambs war against all sorts of Spirits yet never find them warring against the Spirit of light but with that Spirit of light in them did they make warr against the Prince of darkness and all his dark principles in his children Foolish men how long will it be before you look at your feet and what way you are going and try your selves whose message you carry who are preaching that which none of you have seen for salvation The Saints message was the light both for fellowship and to lead to the bloud of cleansing John 1. 6 7.
Christ are one thing from the beginning of the world in Christ in whom ever he is according to its several measure and ends but if thou intend Creature works though the most refined that ever was I utterly deny them and thy accusation as false like the rest and so having cleared the truth from thy slanders and set it where it was I shall come to thy doctrine And thou speaks of the everlasting onely righteousness upon all that beleive and that it is as a spiritual heaven large enough to take in and cover the second creation I say that is true But what is that to thee that art in the first creation It doth not cover thee thy wickedness is seen thy lies are laying open thy nakedness appears and thy folly to all men Onely thou sayest thou reckonest thy self to be so though it be not so felt I say I know it there were ever a generation that justified themselves but were not just before God and thine will be found no other who reckons thy self justified by that which thou hast neither seen felt nor handled And thou sayes Thou thinks it necessary to give warning that all approaches unto or converses with the Majesty and glory of God by any redemption or operation of whatsoever spirit or light within where the redemption in the person of Christ is excluded To which I say Thou shews thy dark busie mind and what thou knows of approaches to God or converses with his majesty and glory who imagines that that can be where the redemption of Christ is excluded Thou sayes But if any ask how thou art redeemed while sin is in thee thou sayest the Father he laid your sins upon Christ to take them away and the Spirit bears witness that all things are finished I say that is true where repentance and faith is where by the creature denies himself and comes to Christ there Christ takes the sins away But thy sins are there yet and thou a servant thereof and the Spirit bears witness in the conscience against thee for it and the best way thou hast to peace is to stifle the witness of the Spirit in thy conscience and exhort others not to heed it Thou sayes Through faith thou receives Christ into thy self and thou art received into him and through this oneness art made righteousness life and light But how oft hast thou denied this or any thing within to be looked unto Art thou now become righteousness life and light thy self and was condemning it as great error in me in thy last to witness good works in Christ Art thou become righteousness thy self light and life and wilt thou not allow another to testifie the works of Christ in him Thy charity is either selfish or thou knows not what thou sayes and ere thou go out of that page thou contradicts it thy self again denies redemption by the operation of that Spirit that is within us so that which makes thee righteousness life and light by thy doctrine cannot work redemption and thus thou tottereth to and fro having undertaken a business and would seem to say something and so being out of the light makes up a heap of confusion And as thou begins with a lie so thou ends saying That I say that all the works and measures performed by the Creature in obedience to the light within do but all compleat the one work of the Creature redemption And when thou hast told this falshood thou sets down a story of Luther wherein he divides Abraham and his righteousness as far a sunder as between heaven and earth So to answer thee and thy story I shall produce one plain Scripture from James 2. from the 14. to the end of the Chapter Was not thou even now telling of being made righteousness into thy self and now brings a story to divide Abrahams righteousness as far from him as heaven from earth and much such staggering thou makest but the end of all is to keep righteousness out of the door that thy master may have liberty within Concerning Election and Reprobation ANd this thou begins to lay a foundation with a lie and what thy building is like to be may be easily judged Thou sayeth I say That the light in every man which reproves of sin is Christ And when thou hast told that lie and denied it again then thou confessest what I say that Christ is the elect seed but dare not say that any one is elected who is not in that seed onely thou tels a blind story that thou was redeemed before thou was born but art yet a servant of the devil who was a liar from the beginning and his works thou art doing onely thou conceits thou art redeemed and such a redemption the prophanest I know in the Nation claims it with thee upon the same ground and hath as good right as thou hast for any thing yet thou hast made manifest Concerning the new Birth HEre thou sets on work in thy old manner as one that cannot cease from sin First Thou chargeth me to say That by abiding in the seed or light within every man thereby the old man is put off with his deeds Secondly That I call the light the eternal Spirit Thirdly That I make the body and bloud of Christ no more but a figure of the body and bloud within that is the light within all men Fourthly And that my end is to press through unto God by an Atonement and mediation to be made in our bodies that is obedience to the light within And when thou hast told these four horrible lies on me then thou goes on in thy doctrine but dare not gain say one word of what I have written but runs into thy old confusion and sayes The new Creature is not a Jew seeking salvation in the letter or Conscience nor a Gentile worshipping God by the light and sayes the worlds light is a candle from the Lord saying do this and live And divers more such confusions which hath no truth in them neither hast thou any proof for them with sundry accusations and slanders thou goes on which are nothing to the purpose as to the thing in hand and having forme ly denied them I shall not here rake in them but let them not with thee Then thou speaks of persecution thou sayest They that followed after the Spirit and teachings thereof were alwayes persecuted by the children of the letter Where thou might read thy self were not thou blind who art breathing out all these lies against us for owning Christ his light within us for our teacher guide for which thy mischeivous mind would make people believe we deny the person of Christ because we own him in spirit when in truth none can own his person but who sees him in the light the rest are the children of the letter and hath no ministration else to know Christ by who can imagine from the History but are void of the Mystery which is held in a pure
should be loath to have to do with any one of thy opinion I am sure no Ranter hath a larger Thou tels a story of being dead in Christ unto the first Adam with all his deeds and all the evils that came in by him And as thou beholds Christ thou art changed into the same Image from glory to glory I say if lying and deceit be a deed of the first Adam then I say thou art alive to that and it raigns in thee And whereas thou sayes As thou beholds him thou art changed into his Image c. I say even so for thou who hast denied him in thee never beheld him and so art the same thou wast and deceit is thy glory and from one deceit to another is thy charge And thou that was pure before thou wast born and sayes that is thy state thou stands in what needs thou any more changing Another way thou would take to defraud the Scripture that thereby thou mayest keep any from looking for washing or justifying now sayes thou When it is said we are justified by God and by Grace by the name of Christ by the Spirit of our God we are to understand that these went out against our sins in the bloud of Christ and so would make all these of no use now in our age as to sanctifie now but who reads the Saints testimony 1 Cor. 6. 11. may find that they was washed sanctified and justified after they had sinned and not before as thou imagins thou wast before thou was born and so thy washing so far before hand leaves thee filthy still but they was washed from their filthiness and knew no liar nor false accuser must enter into the Kingdom of Heaven how clear soever they was before they was born and before they were a washing and justification thou so much boasts on but its clear they and thou art not of one justification for theirs was present thine before thou wast their 's by faith thine before faith their 's by the spirit thine by imaginations without either spirit faith or knowledge Concerning Christ Jesus THis is the first Charge that is made up of truth And thou sayes my faith is That Christ humbled himself and became obedient unto death that he might become a living example c. And this thou opposes as an error which are the words of Scripture And though thou have said true in thy first charge yet it must not pass without a lie in thy answer that is as though I had said That the mystery of faith is become no more with us than a lofty imagination of reason when there is not one word by me to that purpose but thy own vomit cast out upon us to make the truth odious which thou canst not otherwise disprove So thou adds a confusion or two and leaves what I have said as it was First thou sayes Not the light within is that which leads to Christ Jesus and so would make Christ a liar like thy self John 8. 12 And then thou sayes It must be known by the Spirit and so makes thy self a liar if the Spirit be light within which none that ever knew it will say otherwise of it Thou sayes also That the Scriptures are the Image of Christ A thing they may beleive that will for ought thou proves of it Thou asks Would the light within have shewed you the Atonement c I say the true Atonement it will and no other thing can shew it to every particular person but thy atonement that was before thou was born and is yet in thy sin it will not it shews no such lies but blind man may not all that have any experience of atonement see what thy atonement is that is not seen within hadst thou been reconciled to God in thy heart and spirit the liars mouth had been stopt but if thou should own such an atonement thou would lose thy Masters service But didst thou know what atonement or unity with God is thou could not feed thy self with lies taking conceits for atonement while that of God within in thy Conscience condemns thee but thy atonement would be to see the light of his countenance shining in thy heart in the face of Jesus and see him speak peace who wounds Concerning the Ministry of Christ THis Charge is true also That I say The Ministers of Christ have the word in them that they preach not for hire that they are persecuted c. and this thou likes not for truth And to oppose it thou sayes first I say rightly but Ministers of Righteousnesness are of Satan or of Christ zealously to affect to preach frecly suffer labour stripes imprisonments c. I say Are Ministers of Righteousness of Satan and do the Ministers of Satan preach freely c Then take notice that thou liar and hireling never yet came so far as a Minister of Satan in thy own account and thus instead of weighing us thou hast weighed thy self and all thy brethren the Parish Masters with thee and art found wanting of Ministers of Satan for shame now cease calling your selves Ministers of Christ if by your fruits you may be known and Christ hath said you must Math. 7. 16 20. but this thou denies and sayes Nay by their spirits they must be judged and their spirit by their words So the Devil would come in for a Minister who can get words enough but fruits he cannot therefore he loves not that trial Thou further sayes Thou art jealous that we are Ministers of darkness Yet not so dark but we can through the light of Christ see the Devils deceits and that 's thy punishment at present Concerning Free-Will THis Charge is falsly made up not as I have spoken all the words in it yet somewhat of truth there is in it First The light within which reproves the evill deeds is the will of God by which will we are sanctified That in every man which shews sin and reproves for it is free grace This light in every man is Free Will Which is utterly false for I have not said that every man that sees this light hath Free-will but with the light he may see the will of God which is free from his own will but none hath Free-will but who denies their own wils Thy answer is That if the first be so then is the death of Christ of none effect So that by thy doctrine if it be the will of God that men should be reproved of sin by the light of Christ and if it be by the will of God that we are sanctified and saved for that is the thing I affirm then Christ died in vain this is thy consequence so I shall prove what I affirm and then see all men what thy doctrine of consequence is That it is the will of God that all men should be reproved for their evil deeds by the light read Ephesians 5. 13. John 16. 8. And that by the will of God we are sanctified and saved Hebrews 10.
him which is his Seat and Kingdom in this world wherein alone he is known onely in the hearts of his people without which none knows him nor are reconciled to God by him and this is not to deny his Person but to exalt him as King in the heart and conscience for ever for he is worthy whose Kindom is righteousness I know what Christ did in his own person and do own and believe it and that righteousness he therein wrought and how therein he became the onely way to the Father the Truth and the Life and the Light of all the world set up for ever to lead to God and that therein he is the first and the last and there is none besides him with the Father an Advocate Mediator and Intercessor given of the Father into the world to that end that all men through him might be believe and be saved this I own and know and much more But that any can be saved by him without faith and obedience to him and walking in him who is the Way Light and Life onely by thinking they believed what he did at Jerusalem that I deny and that faith which is without works is no more than what the Devils hath which will not save them nor any else but in him is the Redemption not in a talk of him and he that is in sin is not in him for he that abides in him sins not nor hath any the benefit of what he is to a believer but as they receive his light that shews them sin and so turn to him by repentance till then what he is in his own person or hath done is so far from saving any that it is their condemnation that he is come a light into the world and they still walk in darkness and not in him And also whatever the Scripture doth declare of him I own and so do all who in the light dwell from which the letter was given forth and therefore be ashamed of thy lies that thou hast cast upon us in this part of thy book also which are not worth answering being most of them answered and denied in my answer to the other part of thy book to which also thou hast added in this such things as never entred into our hearts to do nor speak which thou most falsly accusest us withal as that we say That the Light which enlightens every man accusing of sin is Christ and God the Eternal and Just One and so the Redeemer and Saviour and the all to be known and believed That the returning into the Light again Man is restored and redeemed as at the beginning When we say It s the Light that leads to the bloud of cleansing c. 1 John 1. 6 7. That this Light as condemning of sin is the bloud and death of the cross the resurrection and second coming of the Son of God That the Law and Gospel Faith and Obedience Death Resurrection Redemption Justification and Sanctification are not things distinct but one and the same within us That we deny the Person of Christ as the object of Faith That we deny Faith it self as the evidence of things not seen That we affirm in effect that Christ is divided That we affirm that Paul and every Christian are crucified and made an offering for himself That we say the Light in every man is Christ the Redeemer That the Law from which Christ came to deliver us is called and worshipped by us as the Redeemer and Spirit That the Quakers say that Christ took on him our nature but not our judgment and sin That Christ died at Jerusalem but as an example but not as a Sacrifice That he did not the work by himself at once but onely shewed the way That we reckon Christ to be such a one as was the Priest and Levite that passed by the wounded man That we deny the dead body and flesh of Christ to be the onely way into the inward life That nothing will serve us but to tear out of your faith and knowledge and profession the bloud of atonement redemption and reconciliation by that our sacrifice once for ever That we deny that Christ in the body of his flesh through that obedience to death be crucified our old man purged away sin made reconciliation for iniquity and perfected for ever all that are sanctified Which thing we do not deny to all that are sanctified but to you who are yet in your sins we do else we should lie as you do That we agree with the Papists in this that works or obedience to some Law or Rule is the way to redemption perfection and God That we deny the Jesus that died and therein by bloud and spirit perfected us for ever by himself That we affirm that God requires the same obedience of our selves as he did of Christ and so we conclude we must be justified by the works of the Law slandering us that we teach Christ onely as an Allegory That we make faith void and the bloud of Christ of none effect And divers more deceits out of thy own blind heart hast thou made up into lies and laid upon us as though we said them when they are but thy own blindness of heart and wilful wickedness in all which it is clearly seen that thou dost not mind any thing of God in thee to guide thy tongue or to lead thee to do as thou wouldest be done by And therefore because thou hast rejected the light of Christ and set thy self by thy lies to oppose it therefore art thou given over to blindness of heart and to make lies thy covering and as thou hast chosen them against the light so shalt thou be filled therewith and covered with thick darkness so into thy bowels be they returned and the truth cleared And as for thy whole work it is judged by all who have the knowledge of the life of God and its workings in them and who hath a love to Righteousness such as know his work and who it is as works it will not change that faith that reveals the workings of redemption and freedom from every particular sin in their measures daily and peace thereby from condemnation by the presence of him that works all their works in them such will not change their faith for a fancy of what thou imagines was done for thee thou knows not when where nor doth the effects thereof appear further than a talk with all the world Onely thy doctrine will be acceptable to such as would be saved but the way of God is too strait who likes not to bear the Cross by which living Redemption is now wrought a Redemption in a talk is very pleasing to such that they may live with the world while they live and be separated from them when they die Also such as have got a wound from the Lord in their hearts and consciences for their selfish wicked wayes to such thy salve of justification from sin before they commit it