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
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
A Sermon Preached vpon Sunday beeing the twelfth of March Anno. 1581. within the Tower of London In the hearing of such obstinate Papistes as then were prisoners there By William Fulke Doctor in Diuinitie and M. of Penbroke Hall in Cambridge Imprinted at London by Thomas Dawson for George Bishop 1581. A Sermon preached by M. D. Fulke THe place of Scripture which I haue chosen to speake of at this time and vpon the present occasion is written in the 17. Chapiter of the Gospel after Saint Iohn and the 17. verse of the same being part of the wordes of our Sauiour Christ vnto his heauenly Father in that most vehement and heauenly prayer which hee maketh for his disciples and his whole Church a litle before his Passion Iohn 17. Sanctifie them in thy trueth thy word is the trueth AFter that our Sauiour Christ had accomplished his office of preaching and sealed the doctrine of his redemption by institution of his holie Supper finally as it were taking his leaue of teaching his Apostles had instructed them of pacient bearing of his Crosse by setting foorth such comforts whereunto they should leane and by promising the comming of his spirite lifted them vp to a better hope then the present miseries did portende discoursing of the glorie and Maiestie of his kingdom wherof they should be partakers as is conteined at the full in the thrée Chapiters going immediately before The Euangelist declareth in the beginning of this seuenth Chapiter howe hée conuerteth himselfe to prayer that this his most heauenly doctrine might be made effectuall first in the heartes of his Apostles which then were his hearers and afterwarde in all true members of his Churche which by their Ministerie shoulde bée gathered in his name Wherfore among other requestes that hée maketh for his Disciples in this prayer this is one especially that his father would sāctifie them in his truth which is his holie worde the only outwarde witnesse of his will which is as much in effect as that it woulde please his Maiestie of his infinite goodnesse and for his sake who sanctified him selfe for them to be a sacrifice propitiatorie to dedicate them vnto his father to consecrate or hallowe them by his holie spirite vnto him selfe as his chosen and peculiar possession according to that most holy trueth which hée hath reuealed in his worde and doctrine of saluation conteined in the Gospell of his sonne that béeing truely vnited vnto him hée may be glorified in them and they made by him partakers if eternall felicitie Sanctifie them O Father saith hée in thy truth thy worde is the trueth There are two speciall reasons why our Sauiour Christ commendeth his Disciples vnto the holie and sanctifying protection of God his heauenly Father the one conteined in the verse going immediately before the other in the verse that followeth immediatly the one being the great daunger they stood in the other the great and high office also that they were called vnto Concerning the former he said they are not of the world euen am I am not of the worlde In that they were not of the worlde it could not be auoided but that they should be hated of the world as he said also in expresse wordes They therefore that shoulde be hated of all the worlde had néede to bée mightily protected They that had so many enemies must needes haue a strong defender and where should they haue any rest that had all the worlde against them but in God who is greater then the worlde And therefore in consideration of that great perill they were in which must remain in the world although they were not of the worlde although they were hated and persecuted of the worlde our Sauiour Christ committeth them in this prayer to his fathers holie tuition Forasmuch as they are not of the worlde but inheritours of heauen Sanctifie them in thy trueth Againe cōsidering how waightie a charge is laide vpon them as hée sheweth in the nexte verse As thou hast sent mée into the world so haue I sent them into the world hée desireth his Father to make them able to execute that charge saying Sanctifie them in thy trueth thy worde is the truth As though hée should say Knowing that they are men in whom naturally dwelleth the spirit of errour and not of trueth and yet such men as I haue chosen to testifie vnto the worlde the same trueth which thou O heauenly Father hast sent vnto them by mée I confesse they are not able of them selues to know the trueth to speake the trueth to loue the trueth for that mueterate corruption that beareth the sway in all the children of Adam therfore I beséech thee holy Father to sanctifie them in thy trueth euen in thy holy word which is the witnesse and expresse declaration of thy reuealed trueth that by thy sanctification they may be renued in the inner man to will and loue those things which thou commaundest by thy trueth they may be deliuered from errour blindnesse and ignoraunce in which they are holden Captiues and by thy holy worde they may be instructed from time to time that no forgetfulnesse of thy truth do take them but hauing recourse alwayes vnto it as to a light shining in a darke place they may be méete to accomplish the work of so high a calling And this is generally the summe and effect of the wordes of our Sauiour Christ in this his praier Sanctifie them in thy trueth thy word is the trueth But that I may speake of them more particularly I will diuide my Treatise vpon this text into two parts In the former I wil set foorth the request of our Sauiour Christ vttered in these wordes Sanctifie them in thy trueth in the other the exposition whiche hée maketh of the trueth when hée saieth Thy word is the trueth Concerning the request which hée maketh for their sanctification wée haue to cōsider first that it is neither lawfull nor possible for any man to haue any accesse vnto God to stand before his presence to looke for any benefit at his hands without true holinesse For the Lorde béeing holie abhorreth all that is prophane polluted and defiled testifiyng both by Moses and by the Apostle Peter that if wée will approch or come neare vntoo him wée must be sanctified wée must be holie be you holie or sanctified saieth the Lorde for I am holie According to him which hath called you which is holie be you holie saieth the Apostle To shewe that sanctification is necessary the Lorde ordeined all the sanctifying rites of the lawe by which the Tabernacle the Altar the Priestes the sacrifices and all the people were first sanctified and made holie before they coulde be accepted of him to be the Lordes Tabernacle his Altar his Priestes his sacrifice his people Yea this light of God shined euen in the darknesse of naturall vnderstanding so that without reuelation from heauen the Gentiles acknowledged that no man coulde come neare
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
holy scripture therfore the booke of the lawe of Moses was perfect and sufficient for the instruction of that people And what sayeth our Sauiour Christ vnto the Saduces which receiued no parte of the olde Testament but only the fiue bookes of Moses Doeth hée not say they erred because they knowe not the Scriptures and power of God And what Scripture but the scripture of those fiue bookes out of which hée doeth so pithily and effectually prooue the article of the resurrection of the dead that hée stopped the mouthes of those obstinate and arrogant heretikes And who doubteth but euen as that one article of the resurrection was by our Sauiour Christ so substantially prooued so all other articles of Christian beliefe by that diuine wisedome of his might as necessarily bée concluded out of those fiue bookes of Moses This alwayes is to bée remembred that it was neither necessarie nor conuenient for the Church of those times vnto which these bookes alone were committed to vnderstand or know these articles of our beléefe so plainly so distinctly so largely as they were after reuealed by the Prophets especially by the scriptures of the new Testament But that al necessary points of saluatioÌ„ euery thing there to belonging was sufficiently perfectly set foorth in those scriptures which the wisdom of God thought to be conuenient for their instruction So y e they shoulde not depend vpoÌ„ the vncertain credit of meÌ„ but alwaies haue the touchstone of Gods word contained in his holy writing inspired by his spirit to trye examine all doctrines teachers thereby But now y e wée haue shewed that the holie scripture is a sufficient most pleÌ„tifull testimony of the word of God let vs sée what other witnes of Gods word the Papists woulde thrust vpon vs. The word of God say they beside y â— which is contained in the scriptures is continued also partly by tradition partly is reuealed by the sentence and oracle of the church of the chiefe shepheard therof which is the Pope all which is of equall authoritie and certaintie with that which is contained in the holie scriptures And first concerning tradition the scripture it selfe doth testifie that it is to be receiued whether it be by writing or vnwritten For so the Apostle coÌ„maundeth the Thessalonians saying Hold fast the traditioÌ„s which you haue learned whether it be by word of mouth or by our Epistle So say they the scripture it self commandeth vnwritten verities traditions beside the scripture to be holden fast and not to bée despised therefore the scripture alone is not sufficient to teache vs the worde of truth but we must also leane vnto vnwritten traditions There is no Papist almost that openeth his mouth or setteth his pen to paper to defend tradition but this is the principall bulwarke to maintain vnwritten verities receiued by tradition A sore place I promise you Out of which if you will gather rightly you must thus coÌ„clude Saint Paul had taught the Thessalonians partly by preaching and partly by writing and taught the truth in both necessary to be reteined therfore the holy scripture doth not contain al doctine néedful vnto saluation Or thus S. Paule in one or two Epistles had not comprehended all necessarie truth therefore all necessary truth is not comprehended in all the bookes of the scripture For hée speaketh not of traditions that were no where written but not written in his Epistle Signifying whatsoeuer hée did deliuer vnto them either by worde of mouth or by his Epistle was the truth of GOD whiche they were bounde to beléeue and yet hée deliuered nothing for any doctrine of saluation vnto them but that whiche hée confirmed by the scriptures of the olde Testament as it is manifest by y e which S. Luke reporteth of their neighbours the Berthaeans which dayly searched the scriptures if those thinges which Saint Paul taught were eueÌ„ so Wherfore this place doth nothing fauour vnwritten traditions y t are altogether beside the holie scripture but only such as are not contained in the first second Epistle to y e Thessalonians but were preached by S. Paul and tried by the scriptures The strongest bulwarke being thus rased made euen with the ground what force can there bée in their other féeble fortresses why do you so exclaime against tradition vnwritten veritie striue so much for your Castle of only scripture say they know you not that the Churche of God continued more then two thousand yeares without any worde of the Bible written how was the word of God then continued but by vnwritten traditioÌ„ There is not therfore such necessitie of the scriptures seeing y e church could so long continue the pillar stay of truth without theÌ„ but y e nowe hauing the scriptures for witnesse of some parte of Gods word shée may coÌ„tinue the rest y â— is necessary for the instruction of Gods people by tradition only w t out the scriptures Heere is a godly shew for traditioÌ„ but indéed nothing els but a vain shew w tout any pithe of matter yea containing manifest vntruth false matter For the word of God was not so long coÌ„tinued only by traditioÌ„ of men but by a much more certain testimony of truth namely by diuine reuelatioÌ„ from god which was renued in euery age y t the word of God might not stand vpon the bare credite of men or be left to the vnsure deceiueable deliuery of men from hand to hand but be euermore confirmed by heauenly oracle that y e Church might be certaine not to be carried away by vntrue reports of deceueable men but to depend alwaies vpon the mouth of god For in al that time the lord had a regard that his people should not be like children wauering carried about with the wind of euery doctrine by the deceit of men and by their craftinesse which haue a methode of errour as the Apostle saith of the church of Christ since his ascention therfore hée did in all generations beside the tradition and deliuerie of the doctrine of truth from the parentes to their children posteritie sâ—â—rre vp Prophets Preachers coÌ„firmed by extraordinary wonderful reuelatioÌ„s and gifts of his holy spirite which testified of that truth word of God that was continued by tradition y t it should neither bée doubted of among so many errors as Satan raysed vp nor be corrupted either by the subtletie of the deuil or by the infirmitie forgetfulnes of men Wherefore the tradition being thus coÌ„tinued coÌ„firmed was not a bare traditioÌ„ deliuery of meÌ„ such as the Papists would draw vs vnto from the holie scriptures but a most certaine and vndoubted testimony of Gods word his truth such as he in wisdome did sée to be most coÌ„uenient for his church in that season Beside this heauenly diuine reuelation which alwaies waighted vpon Gods word in those times continued by tradition
The very tradition it self was farre vnlike to the pretended tradition of the Papists For the Lord God who in that time would haue his holy word to be preserued from generation to generation by tradition without writing committed the same to faithfull witnesses whose liues he enlarged vnto so many yeares as we read of in the holic scriptures not only for propagation of their kinde but also and especially that they might continue the doctrine of his word which he had deliuered vnto them vnto many generations to a long posteritie after them For this cause Adam liued 930. yeares Seth 912. yeares Methusalach 969. Noach 950. yeares So that Adam which first receiued the doctrine of GOD both of the lawe the Gospell and also the external forme of worshipping god by sacrifice which hée taught his sonnes insomuch that Abell by fayth offered an acceptable sacrifice vnto God which coulde not bée without hearing of the worde of God as the holie Ghost witnesseth continued a faithfull witnesse and teacher of the same doctrine vnto many thousandes of his posteritie by the space of 930. yeares beside his godly sonne Seth and other of his after commers And whereas by the wicked generation of Cain the true inuocation of God was prophaned in the dayes of his Nephew Enoch which vngodly broode dayly increased in wickednes corrupting many euen of the posteritie of Seth. The Lorde stirred vp an extraordinarie Prophet Enoch to confirme the true doctrine taught by Adam Seth Enoch and other of his godly posteritie and tooke him our of the worlde miraculously both to confirme the faithfull in the hope of the resurrection and to confound the reprobate that despised his holy correction and discipline Now let vs consider the certaintie of this tradition Noach was 600. yeare olde before the Lord God sent the floode to destroye those impudent contemners So that of his father Lamech and of his granfather Methushalech which might sée and heare The first of the worlde Adam which Seth Enoch and all the godly Patriarkes that were before him did receiue the doctrine of Gods worde as it was deliuered by God himselfe vnto them without any addition or corruption Besides that Noach which receiued the tradition but from the second mouth of them which receiued it from the mouth of God is againe confirmed with diuine reuelation with whom and his posteritie the couenant of God is againe renewed so that it appeareth howe for the space of a thousande and sixe hundred yéeres the worde of God and doctrine of saluation was continued in the church by tradition without any danger or doubt of corruption from Adam to Noach Nowe let vs sée howe this tradition was maintained after the flood vntill the time of Moses which was the first writer of the Canonicall Scripture First it is certaine by the computation of the age of Sem the sonne of Noach who was one of them that were preserued in the Ark and with whom the couenant was renewed that hée liued vnto the time of Abraham yée vntill Isaac was 50. yéere olde more for hée liued 502. yéeres after the flood So that all this time there continued a faithfull and credible witnesse of the worde of God and historie of the world restored of whoÌ„ the people might learne the certaintie of the doctrine without any perill or doubt of corruption But when the Lorde called Abraham and seuered him and his posteritie for his peculiar people and chosen congregation and that the age of man was nowe contracted and drawne vnto a much shorter time of life that the certeintie of his heaueÌ„ly truth should not be committed to vncertaine tradition of many generations hée renewed his couenaunt with Abraham Isaac and Iacob and euery one of them and confirmed the same to their children in euery age by diuine reuelation vntill it was his pleasure to record the same in the most certaine Tables of the holy Scriptures For from the death of Ioseph one of the twelue Patriarkes which liued after the comming of Iacob in to Egypt thréescore ten yéeres there passed but thréescore yéeres vntill y e birth of Moses Leui an other of the xii Patriarks liued 23. yeres after Ioseph whose daughter Iacobed was mother vnto Moses And Moses long time before hee brought the people out of Egypt receiued diuine reuelation as S. Steeuen testifieth so that hee thought his brethren shoulde haue acknowledged that God had appointed him to bee there deliuered by killing the Egyptian that oppressed them So that the certaintie of this tradition appeareth from the beginning of the worlde vnto the wriâ—ing of the holy Scriptures to haue béen confirmed in euery age by reuelation from god and by witnesses aboue all exception such as receiued the Oracles and confirmatiof them from God him selfe whose life was prolonged into such number of yéeres that the Church might neuer lacke a prophet inspired of God of whom they might hée instructed in truth of Gods worde So that the Lorde did neuer permit his worde to bare tradition of men suche as the Papistes affirme the tradition of the Apostles to haue béene whiche shoulde haue deliuered the doctrine to their successors without writing and they to their successours and so from age to age without any assurance of the fidelitie of al their successours through an hundred handes before it come vnto vs. By whiche vncertaintie of the Tradition a wyde gate is opened vnto Satan to bring in any falshood strange error to father it vpon the tradition of the Apostles As it is manifest he did in y e heresie of the ValeÌ„tiniaÌ„s Maniches Montanistes such other monstrous heresies who had none other refuge to couer y e noueltie of there strange opinions but a secret tradition beside the Scriptures according to which the Valentinians iumpe with the Papists as Irenaeus testifieth they affirmed the Scriptures were to bée interpreted not otherwise But when Irenaeus not content to confute them by Scriptures seeketh to ouerthrom them also by tradition what certaintie of truth findeth he in the traditioÌ„ of the apostles as it was receiued in his time And a man woulde thinke hée being so néere the time of the Apostles so that hee had séene them which had heard the Apostles shoulde haue had a much greater certaintie and assurance of their traditions then we can haue in these times after so many heresies corruptions alterations persecutions contentions which take away alcertaintie from such vnwritten traditioÌ„s Yet eueÌ„ this godly father Irenaeus whiles hee striueth to beare downe the Heretikes not only by scriptures but also by tradition in which they gloried was deceiued by a false and counterfet tradition contrary to the Scriptures by which it was affirmed that our sauiour Christ liued more then fortie yéeres in the fleshe And yet to iustifie this tradition hée alleadgeth for witnesses all the elders of Asia which had conuersation with S. Iohn the Disciple of our Lorde who
his father would sanctifie them in y e truth shal wée therfore say it was not possible for them to erre in any matter The Papistes will not so reason of all the Apostles for then the like would follow of all their successours And yet Christ obtained the effect of his prayer that all his Apostles were sanctified in Gods truth Yea hée prayeth not this for his Apostles and other Disciples of that time only but for all them that should beléeue in him through their preaching for all true Christians are sanctified in Gods truth that they should not erre finally frō the way of saluation But hereof it cannot be gathered that all true Christians no not after their calling to the knowledge of truth cānot erre or be deceiued in matters of faith and doctrine although they cannot continue in errour of any thing that is necessarie for thē rightly to know vnto eternall saluation Christ promiseth to sende the comforter euē the spirit of truth vnto all his Apostles to his whole church to supply y e want of his bodily presēce which should lead thē into al truth yet it were no good conclusion to gather y t none of the Church of Christ might erre in any thing as it is a sure argument that they cannot finally erre in any point necessarie to saluation Peter him selfe whose faith was specially prayed for as there was speciall cause for his greatest perill after his conuerson after he had long time exercised his Apostleship was ignorant of ignorance erred cōcerning the admission of the Gentiles into the fellowship of the gospel vntill hée was reformed by the heauenly vision Yea long after this Peter did erre in seperating him selfe from the Gentiles by dissimulation for feare of them of y e circumcision when I saw that they did not walke aright saith S. Paul according to the truth of the Gospel I said to Peter before them all I know the Papists wil say this was an error of conuersation and of fact only not an error in faith doctrine But this is a vaine deuise to escape For Peter erred not in 〈◊〉 only but in a matter of doctrine and faith also against the truth of the Gospell For he counterfaited before the Iewes for no worldly respect but because hée thought it was his duetie before God to so doe rather then to offend the Iewes And where as some of them say the Pope cannot induce any other men into error although he erre him self let thē cōsider this example of Peter who not only erred himselfe but also brought yea cōpelled others to Iudaize with him insomuch that Barnabas also was carried with them into the same dissimulation wherefore although Christ prayed for Peters faith that it might not faile yet Peter both erred induced other into error with him although being admonished by Paul he did willingly reforme his error Wherfore this matter is cleare that the establishing of Peters faith from fayling was not to priuiledge him from erring but from dispairing therfore can not extend to his successours in as much as it is but a personal benefit obtained for Peter except you wil say by analogie of the scripture that the like praier is made for euery one of gods elect which in this sence I cōfesse to be true but yet it followeth not that they are discharged of the frayletie of man in falling into error much lesse any one order of men which should be Peters successours And if wée should graunt that this priuiledge was giuen to Peter that hée shoulde not erre and so should be deriued vnto all his successours many other intricate questions and in extricable doubtes woulde grow before wee could be resolued who were Peters successours For séeing all Bishops be successours of the Apostles as Cyprian saith all Bishoppes are successours also of Peter for if you should say that none were successors of the Apostles but suche as bee ordained in those places where y e Apostles did teach it could not be truely said of Cyprian that all Bishops be successors of the Apostles But admit that they be only Peters successours that sit in Peters seat séeing the stories affirme that Peter had two seats at Antioche and at Rome why should not his successours at Antioch enioy this prerogatiue as wel as his successors at Rome That Peter was at Antioch wée finde in the scripture that hée was at Rome wée finde not but least of all that he bequeathed this priuiledge to Rome and not to Antioch Well let that also be admitted that the bishops of Rome are the only successours of Peter howe is it verified of them that their faith neuer fayled The Papistes them selues doe confesse and the stories are to many to denye that there haue beene no wickeder men on the earth then many Popes haue béen in all kind of sin and vngodlines Yea what for all y ◠say they their maners failed frō gods law but their faith neuer failed from his truth I think in déed y t many of their faithes did neuer faile for they neuer had any y t it might faile who brought foorth no fruites but of infidelitie and corruption For of such wicked persons the scripture saith y t they haue denied y ◠faith are worse thē infidels y t they which cōmit such things shall not inherit y e kingdō of Christ God Tush they say you mistake the matter we deny not but y ◠they might and did faile from the faith which worketh by loue and by which a man is iustified for many of them are damned spirites in hell Uerie well then I perceiue y t you take not faith in this palce for a sure trust in the mercyes of God by which a man is iustified and assured of eternall life but for a bare knowledge of the truth such as the Deuilles haue and tremble suche as Saint Iames calleth a dead faith which is voide of good works And did our Sauiour Christ pray that a dead fruitlesse barren and Deuils faith might cōtinue in Peters successors was this y e effect of our sauiour Christes prayer A goodly priuiledge of the Bishops of Rome that they shuld haue knowledge of the truth yet goe vnto the Deuill I know you will reply that although they through their owne defalt take no benefit by this priuiledge yet it is very necessary for the whole Church to kéepe it in vnitie of faith But that our sauiour Christ praied not for the continuance of such a fruitlesse faith it is plaine by this reason y t although Peters successours shoulde be admitted vnto the participation of this benefite yet Peter him selfe might not be excluded But what a miserable comforte was this for Peter if after his maister had shewed him in what daunger he all his fellows stood through the malice of satan which desired them to winnow or sift thē as wheat is scattered abroad in winnowing insomuch that
liued with them vntill the time of Traianus the Emperour all which affirmed that Saint Iohn deliuered the same thing vnto them Yea some of them had séene not only Iohn but other Apostles also and hearde the same things of them testified of such report What a godly shew of truth hath this tradition Yea what woulde a man require almost for greater certaintie of such a tradition then the vniforme consent of al them that had séene and hearde the Apostle of which some had hard y e other apostles also What like assurance can the Papistes make vs for their pretended traditions of the Apostles And yet this traditiō which Iraeneus aduoucheth with such shew of credit to be a true tradition is a very falshood and vntruth contrary to the Historie of the Gospell which expresly affirmeth that Christ was but 30. yéeres olde when hee began to teache in the 15. yéere of the Emperour Tiberius after which time hee liued not aboue 3. yéeres and an halfe You sée therefore what it is to leaue the holy scriptures to follow vnwritten traditions whereof what certaintie can there bée when they that liued so néere the time of the Apostles were so grossely deceiued with impudent lyes and fables and yet coloured with such shewe and appearance of credite And no maruell if Irenaeus which receiued this tradition at the second hand was beguiled with a fained vntruth whē euen they that were the schollers of the Apostles them selues coulde not agrée about their traditions which were beside their holy writinges Eusebius out of Irenaeus testifieth that when Polycarpus Bishop of Smyrna came to Rome in the time whē Anicetus was bishop there they could not agrée about the tradition of the Apostles concerning the celebratiō of Easter For neither coulde Anicetus persuade Polycarpus to alter that which hee had seene Saint Iohn and other of the Apostles to practise neither coulde Polycarpus persuade Anicetus to forsake that whiche hée had receiued of his predicessors who pretended to haue receiued the same of the Apostles Peter Paule So that when the first and immediate successors of the Apostles cannot agrée vpon their traditions What hope of certaintie can wee haue after so many generations These were both auncient fathers both godly fathers which acknowledged y t all things necessary to saluation were contained in the holy Scriptures and therefore although they coulde not agrée in the vse of a Ceremonie yet they dyd not breake Christian vnitie for that diuersitie Whereas if they had thought vnwritten Traditions necessarie as Victor that was after successor to Anicetus séemeth to haue thought they woulde not haue so brotherly communicated the one with the other as they did but rather as Victor erroniously and presumptuously tooke vpon him to excommunicate the churches of Asia that agréed not with him they woulde haue detested the one the other This story also doeth plentifully witnesse that the Bishop of Romes authoritie in the beginning of the primitiue Church was not reputed to bée a matter of such certaintie y t all mē must obey his censure and no man gainesay or thinke otherwise then hée doeth in any case of religion For Polycarpus doubteth nothing at all to dissent from Anicetus Bishop of Rome where hée thought hée had better grounde neither doeth Anicetus obiect the necessitie of obedience vnto Saint Peters chayre as the Pope nowe a daies pretendeth but when hée coulde not perswade Polycarpus to consent with him in a mat-of small importance and which is beside the holy Scripture hée is content that hée shall dissent from him both in opinion and in practise But howe farre from this modestie is y e Pope of Rome in these dayes which though hée can tollerate diuersitie of Ceremonies as the Papistes say to colour this matter yet will he not tollerate that any man shall dissent in opinion iudgemēt frō him in any of those things for which he hath no groūd out of the holy scriptures but only a counterfet falsly pretēded tradition of the apostles Well you sée by the example of Polycarpus and Anicetus that there is no certaintie in vnwritten traditions when they y ◠were the next and immediate successors of the Apostles were not resolued vpon thē but continued in contrary iudgementes of them And no maruell when Iohn him selfe testifieth that euen among the very Disciples of Christe there went a wrong tradition concerning the death of Saint Iohn which hauing no ground vpon the wordes of our sauiour Christe but being cleane contrary to the truth of the holy Scriptures was yet receiued from an vnwritten veritie vntill by the written Gospell of Saint Iohn it was plainly confuted But it will bée obiected that the auncient fathers Tertullian Epiphanius Basilius and such like doe maintaine that there were some vnwritten Traditions of the Apostles in their times which were necessary to bée obserued I answere although the auncient fathers and euen these before named doe sometime auouch the sufficiencie of y e holy scriptures yet it must bée confessed that otherwhile they ascribed too much to vnwritten traditions wherein what certaintie it was likely for them to haue you may consider by that whiche hath béene saide alreadie beside that they agrée not about their Traditions either with the papists or with vs or among themselues altogether Therefore very wisely and like an Apostolike man y e holy worthy Ignatius as Eusebius writeth when hée was trauelling through Asia towarde his martyrdome which hée suffered at Rome and in euery Citie where hée came exhorted the people to continue in the faith of the gospell to beware of heresies which thē beganne to spring and multiplie in cleauing fast to the Tradition of the apostles hée testified that the same Tradition that it might bée certaine and vndoubted was already committed to writing for by that time all the bookes of the new Testament were written And that tradition so written hée thought it necessary to bee plainly taught and set foorth vnto the people This sounde and vncorrupted iudgement of Ignatius a most auncient father next successor vnto Peter in the Church of Antiochia concerning the Apostles tradition if they which came after him had reteined they had neither so easily béene drawen into errour themselues as Papias A great admiror of tradition vnwritten was Irenaeus Tertullian and other nor giuen occasion to heretikes by alleadging the insufficiencie and imprefection of the holy Scriptures to cloke their new heresies vnder the name of auncient traditions Thus you haue hearde that the worde of truth is not to be sought in the vnwritten traditions but in the vndoubted writings of the prophets apostles vpō which foundation the Churche of Christ is builded as Saint Paule testifieth and not vpon the vncertaine reportes of forgetfull and deceiueable men Now must wée examine the tow other pretended recordes of the word of GOD. The Churche and the principall Pastor thereof which they say is