righteous man in the Name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous mans reward e Mat. 10. 41. doubtless he that receiveth an Apostle not only in the Name of an Apostle but as an Angel of God yea as Christ Jesus Himself shall receive a righteous mans reward i. e. Salvation meaning if he shall continue in the same mind and frame of heart unto the end as we have formerly interpreted such Promises of God by express warrant from the Scriptures themselves When he tells them that he is afraid of them lest he should have bestowed on them labour in vain Chap. 4. 11. His meaning doubtless is not that he was afraid they would lose or make shipwrack of an unsound light or Hypocritical Faith such losses whether of our own or of our Friends are no matter of fear unto us but of such a Faith which persevered in would have saved them And to forbear other passages which might readily be produced upon the same account when he speaks thus unto them Ye are abolished from Christ whosoever are justified by the Law i. e. depend upon the works of the Law for your Justification ye are fallen from Grace And again Ye did run well who hindered you that you should not obey the Truth a Gal. 5. 4 7. He clearly supposeth that they had been true Beleevers If they were now fallen from Grace which the Apostle clearly affirmeth they were by depending upon the works of the Law for their Justification it must needs follow that sometimes they were possessed of it and were the children of Grace which also their running well undeniably importeth Whereas therefore saith Musculus upon the place He saith that the Galathians ran well He commendeth their zeal and studiousness in the TRVE FAITH and Religion of Christ signifying withall that they might have attained or reached the mark of true blessedness had they persevered in that which they had well begun b Cum itaque Galatas benè cucurrisse dicit laudat illorum zelum ac studium in verâ fide ac Religione Christi significatque potuisse eos ad verae felicitatis ac salutis metam pertingere si in eo quod bene coeperant perseverâssent Qui à principiis Fidei ac spiritus boni ad per fidiam degenerant omnem suam vitam quae veniae particeps erat mortalem constituunt quales illi sunt qui cum Galatis spiritâ— quidem incipiunt tandem verò carne desinunt Idem Loc. de Peccato Sect. 5. with more of like import Let other Orthodox Expositors be consulted upon these latter together with the former passages mentioned by way of proof that these Galathians were sometimes true and sound Beleevers and they will be found to carry the sence of them to the same point On the other hand several of the said passages with some others do as plainly and pregnantly suppose that at the writing of the said Epistle unto them they were wholly alienated from Christ and had neither part nor fellowship in the great business of Justification by him They were removed from him that had called them into the grace of Christ unto another Gospel They were abolished from Christ they were fallen from Grace they did not obey the Truth Calvin upon the first of these expressions I marvel that ye are so soon removed c. writeth thus He convinceth them of a defection not only from his Doctrine but from Christ Himself For men cannot hold Christ upon any other terms then by acknowledging that by His benefit they are freed from the bondage of the Law c Arguit autem eos defectionis non à suâ Doctrinâ tantum sed à Christo Nam Christum tenere aliter non poterant quà m si agnoscerent ejus beneficio nos manumissos esse à servitate legis Upon the second Ye are abolished from Christ c. thus The meaning is if you seek for any part or piece of righteousness in the works of the Law Christ becomes nothing to you and you are aliens from Grace For their opinion was not so gross as that they thought they should be justified by the alone observation of the Law but they mingled CHRIST and the Law together otherwise PAVL should have had no ground to terrifie them with such threatenings as these What do you mean you take a course to make Christ unprofitable to you you bring His Grace to nothing Thus then we see that we cannot place no not the least part of our righteousness in the Law but we renounce CHRIST and His Grace d Sensus est si quam justiciae partem quaeritis in operibus legis Christus nihil ad vos à gratiâ estis alienati Neque enim tam crassa erat opinio ut solâ legis observatione justificari se crederent sed Christum miscebant cum Lege alioque frustra his minis territaret ipsos Paulus Quid facitis redditis vobis Christum inâ—tilem in nihilum redigitis ejus gratiam Videmus ergo non posse minimam justiciae partem constitui in Lege quin Christo ejus gratiae renuntietur Amongst several other passages looking the same way Musculus upon the former of the last-recited places commenteth in these words He had planted the Galatians and watered them diligently by preaching the Gospel of God unto them and hoped that it would so have come to pass that they would have increased in the Knowledg and GRACE OF CHRIST But whilest He thus hopeth and wisheth they are transplanted or removed from Him in whom they had been planted a Plantaverat Galatas rigaverat diligenter per Evangelij Dei praedicationem sperabatque fore ut crescereÌ„t in cognitione gratiâ Christi Dum hoc sperat optat illi ab eo in quo plantati fucrant transponuntur c. The truth is that several expressions and carriages in the Epistle are so pregnant on the one Hand to evince and prove that when time was they were true and found Beleevers and several others as pregnant as they on the other Hand to prove them at the writing hereof to have been meer nullifidians or persons voyd of all true justifying Faith that Expositors could not lightly but speak them sometimes true Beleevers whilest they had the former places before them and afterwards Persons wholly lapsed from such Faith when they had the latter The case concerning these Galatians being so evident we shall argue it no further but conclude with a brief report of M. Luthers Judgment upon it At first saith He the Galatians heard and obeyâ—d the Truth Therefore when Paul faith Who hath bewitched you He signifieth that now being bewitched by the false Apostles they had FALLEN AVVAY from and forsaken that Truth which formerly they had obeyed b Primò Galatâ— audierant obedierant veritati Ideò cum dicit quis vos fascinavit significat eos per Pseudapostolos fascinatos nunc à veritate cui
twigs or lesser branches should prove dry and sere and so be easily broken off So may a Mountain remain unmoved yea and unmovable though many handfuls of the lighter and looser earth about the sides of it should be taken up and scattered into the ayr like dust In like manner the main Body of a Discourse may stand entire in its solidity weight and strength though many particular Expressions Sayings and Reasonings therein that are more circumferential and remote from the center should be detected either of inconsiderateness weakness or untruth Yea in some cases one Argument or Plea may be so triumphantly pregnant and commanding that though many others of the same engagement should be defeated yet the cause protected by it may upon a very sober and justifiable account laugh all opposition of contrary arguings to scorn I acknowledg there are some Expressions and Passages in the ensuing Discourse as in Cap. 1. Sect. 9. and elsewhere which upon the review I my self apprehend obnoxious enough to exception yea and which had my second thoughts been born in due time should have been somewhat better secured But I trust that ancient Law of indulgence in such cases as mine which very probably may be some of your own also is of Authority sufficient in your Common-wealth to relieve me O pere in longo fas est obrepere somnum i. e. On him that sits long at work Sleep Without disparagement may creep Neither need I suspect or fear any of that unmanlike Learning amongst you which teacheth men to confute Opinions by vulgar votes and exclamations We know that this Sect or Heresie is every where spoken against i Acts 28 22 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. had no influence upon Paul to turn him out of the way of his Heresie And for those Mormolukes or Vizors of Arminianism Socinianism Popery Pelagianism with the like which serve to affright children in understanding out of the love and liking of many most worthy and important Truths I am not under any jealousie concerning you that you should suffer any such impressions from them You know that that great Enemy of the Peace and Salvation of men who of old taught the Enemies of God to put his Saints into Bears skins and Wolves skins so preparing them to be torn in peeces and devoured by Dogs hath in these latter times secretly insinuated and prevailed with many of the children of God themselves to put many of his Truths such as they like not or comprehend not into Names of Ignominy and Reproach to draw others into the same hatred and defamation of them with themselves I have somewhere observed that this method of confuting and suppressing Opinions against which men have had no competent grounds of Eviction otherwise was at first invented by the subtil Sons of the Synagogue of Rome k Divine Authority of the Scriptures page 202 203 and elsewhere shewed by several instances that it is familiarly practised by them The truth is that you have no such temptation upon you as particular and private men have to flee to any such polluted Sanctuary as that mentioned to save your Names and Reputations from the hand of any Opinion or Doctrine whatsoever For you so far I presume understand your Interest and Prerogative that for matters of Opinion and Doctrine you are invested with an autocratorical majesty like that which was sometimes given unto Nebuchadnezzar over men whom he would he slew and whom he would he kept alive whom he would he set up and whom he would he put down l Dan. 5. 19 By the joynt suffrage of your Authority your Interest of Esteem amongst men being so predominant you may slay whâ—t Doctrines what Opinions you please and what you please you may keep alive of what Tenents you please you may make the faces to shine and of what you please you may lay the honor in the dust If you will justifie who are they that will not be afraid to condemn if you condemn who will justifie Only Gods eldest Daughter Truth hath One mightier then you on her side who will justifie her in due time though you should condemn her and will raise her up from the dead the third day in case you shall slay her However if the Doctrine commended in the Discourse now presented unto you shall commend it self in your eyes also for a Truth far be it from you to hide your faces from it because at present it labors and suffers reproach in the World considering that you may very suddenly take away the reproach and partake your selves of that Honor which you shall cast upon it Should such an University as you fear the reproach of standing by a Truth Jesus Christ is not ashamed of the Bodies of his Saints living or dead though in both conditions vile and contemptible in the eyes of men knowing that he hath power in his hand to cloath them with glory and immortality when he pleaseth and that this glory when vested in them will be an high augmentation of his own Brethren unto you I may truly say with Paul to his Philippians that I have you in my heart m Philip. 1. 7 I can look upon you with an eye of good hope as a generation of men anointed by God with a spirit of Wisdom Knowledg Zeal and Faithfulness to bring on the New Heavens and the New Earth wherein Righteousness shall dwell and this by repairing the breaches and decayed places in the Body of the Doctrine of Christian Religion which since the first raising and compleating of it by Christ and his Apostles partly through the ignorance and insufficiency partly through the oscitancy and remissness of those to whom the guardianship and custody thereof have been committed by God in their successive generations hath been lamentably dismantled mis-figured and defaced and this well-nigh in all the integral and principal parts of it more or less In so much that a man who truly and clearly apprehends what this Doctrine was and yet is in her purity and native frame and shall compare it with the Systeme or Body of Divinity which under this Notion is commonly taught and held forth amongst us will hardly be able to say this is the Doctrine of Christ For whosoever shall engage himself with that diligence throughness and unpartialness of Enquiry which become those who run for so high a prize as an incorruptible Crown of Glory to consider what is ordinarily delivered and more generally received amongst us not onely in and about those great Points of Election Reprobation Redemption the efficacy and extent of the Grace of God and Perseverance of the Saints but also about many other Heads of Christian Doctrine as about Faith Justification the Sufferings of Christ the Intercession of Christ Repentance Good Works Baptism the state and condition of the Dead until the Resurrection with sundry more and shall with like diligence consider what the Scriptures teach concerning these Particulars respectively will
are justified not be glorified how can the Apostles Proof stand that all things worke together for good to those who love God which as your self acknowledged is the Doctrine or Conclusion the demonstration of the truth whereof the Apostle intends by the Producing of this golden chaine of Divine acts taking hold in a clear subordination one upon another Can all things be said to work together for good to him who never comes to be glorified but to be everlastingly condemned To this I answer That this Doctrine or saying of the Apostle All things work together for good unto those who love God is to be understood with the like Explication or graine of spirituall salt wherewith these two and a thousand more sentences in the Scriptures are to be seasoned He that believeth and is Baptized shall be saved but he that believeth not shall be damned b Mar. 16. 16 The meaning of this latter saying to proceede a notioribus ad magis ignota He that believeth not shall be damned is not this He that now or at Present believeth not let him doe all he will or can let him believe a thousand times over hereafter shall notwithstanding be damned this I say is not our Saviours meaning in that clause His meaning is cleerly enough this He that believeth not viz. and continueth an unbeliever to his dying day shall be damned But it doth not follow from hence that he that is a present unbeliever must of necessity live and die in unbelief and so be damned So that there is a sence wherein it is as true that he that believeth not may and shall be saved viz. if he repents of his unbelief and returnes to his vomit no more So to search now into the former saying when our Saviour saith He that believeth and is Baptized shall be saved his meaning is not that he who at present believeth and hath been or shall be Baptized shall be saved let him do what he will or can let him turne Apostate make shipwrack of his Faith renounce his Baptisme and the like but he that believeth and is Baptized shall be saved i. e. He that believeth and continueth a Believer or shall be found a Believer and a Man standing fast by his Baptisme and Review the 43 Sect. of this Chapter holding out his Profession with constancy unto the end shall be saved Our Saviours cleer intent in these sayings was to shew and assert in the former the blessed interest of Faith in conjunction with a Christian Profession as viz. that it gives unto Men a title and rightfulnesse of claime to Salvation in the latter the dreadfull danger and formidable Property of unbelief as viz. that it exposeth the Person in whom it abides to the vengeance of Hell fire But as it was no part of his intent to assert any inseparablenesse of unbelief from the subject thereof in the latter clause so neither did he any wayes intend to assert any such property unto Faith in the former In like manner when the Apostle layeth down this Doctrine All things work together for good unto those that love God his meaning is not either to assert the unquenchableness or unremoveableness of this affection from its present subject or to imply that whosoever is at present a lover of God is in any such Possession of that Priviledge he speaks of I meane of having all things to worke together for good unto him that in case his love to God languisheth and dieth and a contrary affection succeeds in the place thereof he can or shall never be cast out of it But his intire and cleer intent in that Position or saying of his is to shew that the love of God in what Subject or Person soever it resides and whilest it there resides doth by vertue of the gracious Decree or Will of God in that behalfe invest him with this Priviledge viz. to have all occurrences of things relating to him even afflictions and Persecutions themselves benefactors unto him To make this good he shews what God hath fully Purposed or Decreed to doe for such Men or which is the same what he hath Predestinated such men unto as viz. to a conformity with or to the Image of His own Son the Lord Christ i. e. to make them glorious and blessed in such a way or upon such terms as Jesus Christ himself who was the greatest lover of God that ever was is now become glorious unto whose glorification all things that happened unto him in this present World and more especially his sufferings joyntly contributed and wrought And for further satisfaction how by what means and degrees God actually brings these Persons viz. continuing still lovers of him to this conformity with Christ in His glory He adds Moreover whom he did thus Predestinate them He also called i. e. as was formerly interpreted a Sect. 42. of this Chapter He Purposed to call viz. to the knowledge of His Son as the Saviour of the world and calleth them accordingly in which respect they are said to be Persons called according to his Purpose Verse 28. and whom He called them He also justified i. e. Purposed to justifie and justifieth accordingly and whom He justified them also He glorified i. e. Purposed to glorifie or to bring to an actuall conformity with Christ in His glory and glorifieth them accordingly Why the purposed or intended actings of God are expressed in Scripture rather in the Preter-Perfect tense then either in the present or future is accounted elsewhere in this Discourse b Cap. 4. Sect. 29. But in all these gradations mentioned of the Counsell of God concerning the bringing of those that love him unto a conformity with Christ in His glory the same subject formally considered i. e. those that love him as such is to be understood so that in case the subject be changed under or between any of the said gradations and he for example who loved God being yet only Predestinated by God to be conformed unto Christ in glory and not called or being called and not yet justified of being justified and not yet glorified shall either before his calling though Predestinate or before his justification though called or before his glorification though justified be alienated in his affection from God and having loved him shall cease to love him and suffer an hatred of God secretly to grow upon him it is not to be conceived that God notwithstanding such a change in him should advance or carry him on by the remaining steps or gradations unto glory but that where ever this heavenly affection of his Love to God shall expire and leave him there the Counsell of God also concerning his glorification should leave him and nothing be further done or acted by him in order thereunto unlesse haply he returnes unto his former affection The Apostles intent in the passage in hand was to declare the series and tenor of Gods Counsells for the glorious benefit and good of
import they speak only of Faith of the second degree i. e. of such Faith which is not only justifying and saving in respect of the nature of it but which actually saveth and in places of the latter import that they speak only of Faith of the third and highest degree i. e. of a perfect solid rooted and groundâ—â— Faith For the Readers better satisfaction I shall exhib 〈…〉 〈◊〉 〈…〉 hors own words at large This nevertheless is to be taken intâ—â—pecial consideration that when the Illud interim maximoperé in considerationem venit quòd cum Patres fidem posse amitti eóque ex Fide haut rectè aeternaÌ„ electionem colligi posse contendunt non omnes de quacunque Fidei mensur âloquuntur cum plurimi eoruÌ„ distinguant tres Fidei gradus Quorum primus dat Fidei essentiam secundum quam justificat dicitur Fides viva atque oppositam habet Fidem mortuam ac putatitiam qualis hypocritarum Alter gradus addit durationem quâ ratione salvificat sibique oppositam habet Fidem ut vulgò loquimur quod de hominibus dicit Scriptura Fidei eorum per 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 tribuentes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sive temporariam qualis est Apostatarum Tertius gradus superaddit soliditatem dicitur perfecta solida radicata quae quocunque vitae tempore certificat hoc est ut Gregorii Magni verbis utar sic confirmat ut quis ulteriùs caedere non possit hoc de sese certissimé sciat Cui gradui opponitur Fides debilis qualis etiam multorum est Electorum Patrum loca quibus dicunt Fidem veram quidem amitti posse sed nunquam non reparari semper loquuntur de secundo Fidei gradu At illa quibus ajunt neutiquam posse amitti omninò intelligi debent de gradu tertio Cum quibus mininè pugnat quòd universi alià s dicunt multos per defectionem à Fide aeternùm perire Nam intelligunt Fidem primi gradus hoc est formaliter sive essentialiter veram sive quod idem est justificam etsi non salvificam sed justificam 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 per quam quis in praesentiâ est justus non justificam 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quaendo si veritatem finis spectemus vere justifica non est quae aliquando desinit justificare quia non alia habet promissionem vitae aeternae quam quae perseverat Gerard. Joh. Voss Hist Pelag. lib. 6. Thes 13. Fathers affirm that Faith may be lost and 〈…〉 fore that eternal Election cannot rightly be inferred from Faith they do not all speak of any measure or degree of Faith whatsoever since many of them distinguish three several degrees of Faith The first of which gives Essence or Truth of Being unto Faith in respect whereof it justifieth and is called a lively Faith opposite hereunto is a dead and putatitious i. e. an imaginary Faith which is proper to Hypocrites The next degree adds Duration or Perseverance in respect whereof it saveth i. e. becomes actually saving Opposite to this Faith is that which we commonly call Temporary attributing that unproperly unto mens Faith which the Scripture attributes to men themselves which is the Faith of Apostates The third and last degree superaddeth Solidity this Faith is termed perfect solid rooted which at any time of a mans life gives him assurance i. e. to use the words of Gregory the Great doth so confirm or strengthen that a man cannot fall afterwards and knoweth this most certainly of himself To this degree of Faith a weak Faith is opposed which is the Faith of many of the Elect. Those passages of the Fathers wherein they say That true Faith may be lost but is always recovered again always speak of the second degree of Faith But those where they say That such Faith cannot be lost must necessarily be understood of the third and highest degree of Faith Between which expressions and what they generally teach otherwise viz. That many perish eternally through a falling away from their Faith there is no repugnance For in such assertions as this they understand Faith of the first degree i. e. such a Faith which is formally and essentially true or which is the same which is justifying though not actually or in the event saving but justifying in the essence or substance of it in respect whereof a man is at present righteous or just not justifying in respect of continuance since if we consider the Truth of the end that Faith is not truly justifying which at any time ceaseth to justifie because no other Faith hath the promise of eternal life but only that which persevereth By the express tenor of these things it fully appears that the uniform and §. 5. constant opinion of all Orthodox Antiquity was that true Faith true Grace true Justification and forgiveness of sins may by security carelessness ungodliness and profaneness of life and conversation be totally and finally lost and the persons in whom they were sometimes found eternally perish As for that which some of them teach concerning the inamissibility or infallible Perseverance of such a Faith which is perfected and radicated in the Soul so throughly and to such a degree as we have heard expressed were it granted that they speak of a simple and absolute inamissibility in this kind and that their meaning is that there is an utter impossibility and not a great difficulty or improbability only that such a Faith should miscarry or no instance producible to prove that such a Faith ever did miscarry it no ways rebuketh the confidence of that Assertion which we have in this present Chapter and elsewhere in the Discourse formerly avouched viz. That a possibility of the falling away of true Saints and true Beleevers and that both totally and finally was the general and joynt Doctrine of the Primitive Christians for several ages together after Christ. The consideration whereof is abundantly sufficient to stop the mouth of that undue pretext which presumeth to say and that with confidence That the best and most conscientious men were always of this Judgment that true Grace is imperishable and true Beleevers under no possibility of miscarrying finally But of this we spake more at large in the nineth Chapter I here only add That when any of the ancient Fathers or Councils express themselves in words of any such import as this that there is or may be a Faith so raised rooted or strongly built that it cannot either totally or finally miscarry it is no ways probable that their meaning should be that there is an utter simple or logical impossibility that such a Faith should be wholy lost but that they rather speak rhetorically and would be understood of a kind of moral impossibility only which imports a great difficulty improbability or rareness of an event in which sence or notion the Scriptures themselves as knowledg hath been given elsewhere d Cap. 10. §. 28.
Doctrine onely but from Christ Himself For they could not keep their hold on Christ upon any other terms then by acknowledging that by His Benefit they were freed from the bondage of the Law d Arguit autem eos defectioniâ— non á suâ Doctrinâ tantum sed á Christo. Nam Christum tenere aliter non poterant quà m si agnoscerent ejus beneficio nos manumissos esse à servitute Legis Calv. in Galat. 1. 6. This Testimony cannot be eluded by this accustomed put off viz. that He speaks not of their falling away from true Faith but from the Doctrine of Faith or from the Profession of Faith because He saith expresly that the Apostle convinceth them of or reproveth them for falling away from Christ Himself which is every whit as much if not somewhat more then falling away from true Faith Nor can it be supposed that Himself holding that the Apostle charged them with falling away from Christ should hold that they had not thus fallen away this being no less then to charge the Apostle with charging the Galatians untruly And besides saying that they could not tenere Christum i. e. retain or keep their hold or possession of Christ but upon such and such terms He plainly supposeth that a present hold or possession of Christ may be lost Elsewhere in the same Epistle the same Doctrine goeth to wrack by the Pen of the Great Patron or Founder rather of it in these words The meaning is if you seek for any part or piece of righteousness in the Works of the Law CHRIST BECOMES NOTHING TO YOV AND YOV ALIENS FROM GRACE For their Opinion was noâ— so gross as that they thought they should be justified by the alone observation of the Law but they mingled or joyned Christ with the Law Otherwise Paul should have had no ground to have terrified them with such threatenings as these What do you mean You take A COVRSE TO MAKE CHRIST UNPROFITABLE TO YOV YOV BRING HIS GRACE TO NOTHING Thus then we see that we cannot place no not the least part of our righteousness in the Law but we RENOVNCE or bid farewel unto CHRIST AND HIS GRACE e Sensus est si quam Justiciae partem quaeritis in operibus Legis Christus nihil ad vâ—s á gratiâ alienati estis Neque enim tam crassa erat Opinio vt solâ Legis observatione justificari se crederent sed Christum miscebant cum Lege Alioqui frustrá his minis territaret ipsos Paulus Quid facitis redditis vobis Christum inuâ—â—lem in nihilum redigitis ejus gratiam Videmus ergo non posse minimam Justiciae partem constitui in Lege quin Christo ejus gratiae renuncietur Calv. in Galat. 5. 4. Renunciation hath no place but in such things which were formerly either held practised or possessed Nor can the Grace of Christ be said to be brought to nothing in reference unto any man unto whom it was never any thing He that never had or enjoyed the Grace Favor or good will of Christ cannot by any course or practice whatsoever be said to bring it to nothing i. e. wholly to deprive himself of the benefit of it The Readers patience I suppose would hardly bear a particular recitation of all the passages and sayings which with a little search might be drawn together out of the Writings of this one Author who is generally looked upon as the main Pillar of the Common Doctrine of Perseverance which yet strike at the very face of it Yea I verily beleeve that notwithstanding the great vote that is gotten up on the wing amongst us of Calvins Judgment standing for the received Opinion of Perseverance yea notwithstanding his own sometimes dis-owning or disclaiming the contrary yet there is every whit as much or rather much more to be found in his Writings of a fair and full comportance with the contrary Doctrine as with the said Doctrine of Perseverance From whence I would infer not so much the uncertainty or instability of Judgment in so worthy a man as the signal usefulness or necessity of such a Principle or Position in Christianity without the help and interposure whereof those that are enemies unto it know not how to manage many their Christian occasions or affairs otherwise The like observation we shall have occasion to take up in reference to all the other main points held forth and argued in this Treatise in opposition to vulgar Tenents presuming themselves Orthodox because vulgar At present I shall add onely one Testimony more from Calvin wherein he doth not onely or simply assert a possibility both of the total and final falling away of true Beleevers but even a frequent reduction into act of such a possibility The place is in his Commentaries upon 2 Pet. 2. For scarce every tenth man of those who have given up their names unto Christ retain the purity of Faith unto the end All in a manner degenerate and turn aside unto corruptions and being deluded by Masters or Teachers of licentiousness grow profane f Vix enim decimus quisque eorum qui Christo nomen dederunt Fidei puritatem ad extremuÌ„ usque retinent omnes ferè ad corruptelas degenerant atque á Magistris licentiae delusi profanescunt Calvin in 2 Pet. 2. 2. By men giving up their names to Christ He cannot mean baâ—e formal or loose Professors I mean such who never were other or better then these because such as these cannot be charged with a non-retainment of the purity of Faith unto the end but rather with a non-receiving of the purity of Faith Therefore He must of necessity mean sound Professors or true Beleevers and consequently affirm that there is not one of ten among these but degenerate into Principles and Practises of looseness and turn Profanelings before the end So that what Augustin said long since concerning Tertullian that being acute or sharp-witted He was sometimes overcome with a sight of the Truth contrary to His Opinion may be truly said of Calvin also His apprehensiveness was such that now and then a sight of the Truth even contrary to the standing purport of His Judgment or Opinion glanced in upon Him and overcame Him subjecting His Pen and Conscience at once for a season unto Her service however the Vision ceasing anticipated thoughts soon it's like recovered their former possession Nor was the Truth whose cause we plead too hard onely for Him who was the Antesignanus or Leader on of those who have since declared themselves Adversaries to Her so as to gain from Him frequent and large Testimonies as we have heard but hath been victorious also in the same kinde over those who followed Him in the same unhappy undertaking against Her Musculus is in several places as direct and through for a possibility of a §. 20. total and final Defection in true Beleevers as ever was Arminius Himself If any man saith He who hath obtained the
tantaruÌ„ sit viriuÌ„ ac efficaciae vt secum trahat effectum fiduciae spei charitatis omnia tandem bona opera vt prâ—sentis vitâ— infirmitas patitur Idem in Loc. Com. Class 3. c. 4. Sect. 5. From the latter words of this Testimony it plainly appears that the sence of this Author is that that trust recumbency or reliance upon God or Christ wherein the said Synod with some others placeth as it seems the essence of justifying Faith is no part of this Faith but only a necessary effect or consequent of that firm assent unto the Gospel or Word of God wherein he placeth the intire essence of this Faith as we have heard Of which unquestionable Truth I could joyn many Co-assertors unto him of approved learning and worth as Chamier Dr George Downham and others if I conceived it any ways necessary or commodious to the business in hand But I have still a considerable Reserve of Resolute Doctors to make good §. 28. against the Synod of Dort that they themselves assert and teach a possibility of a final Apostacy in persons truly justified as well as their Opposers the Remonstrants notwithstanding their heavy censure passed upon them for this Doctrine such I mean who place true justifying Faith in a certain knowledg of or firm assent unto the Word of God and consequently conclude those to be persons truly justified against some of which the said Synod doth not onely avouch and teach a possibility of their total and final defection but even a necessity also which is a strain of contest against the necessity of the Saints Perseverance higher then ever any Arminian or Remonstrant woun'd up his pen unto We therefore saith Gualter say that Faith is a certain firm assent of minde arising from the Word of God whereby we acknowledg Christ for such as the Scriptures exhibit Him unto us or hold Him forth to be a Dicimus ergo Fidem esse certum firmum animi assensum ex verbo Dei enatuÌ„ quo ChristuÌ„ taleÌ„ agnoscimus qualeÌ„ illum nobis Scripturae proponunt Gualt in Ioh. Hom. That Faith saith Melancthon which justifyeth is not onely a notice of the History but it is TO ASSENT to the Promise of God wherein Remission of Sins and Justification are freely offered for Christs sake b Sed illa Fides quae justificat noÌ„ est tantuÌ„ noticia Historiae sed est adseÌ„tiri promissioni Dei in quâ gratis propter ChristuÌ„ offertur remissio peccatoruÌ„ justificatio Melanct. in loc de Justificat And elsewhere he affirms this Faith to be AN ASSENT to every Word of God delivered to us c Fides est assensus omni verbo Dei nobis tradito Chemnitius delivers this definition of justifying Faith as more generally approved of by Protestant Divines and by himself also Faith is TO ASSENT unto the whâ—le Word of God delivered unto us and herein to the free Promise of Reconciliation granted unto us for Christ our Mediator d Fides est assentiri universo Dei verbo nobis tradito in hoc promissioni gratuitae reconciliationis donatae propter Christum MediatoreÌ„ Chemn Exam. pag. 159. Musculus observeth That in the Example of Abraham in the Scriptures this is not onely commended or taken knowledg of that He beleeved there was onely one God but that He beleeved the Promises of God e In exemplo Abrahae non hoc tantuÌ„ praedicatur quòd crediderit ille hoc tantuÌ„ unuÌ„ esse DeuÌ„ sed quod FideÌ„ habuerit promissionibus Dei Musc loc de Justif Sect. 5. clearly implying that his belief of these Promises was that Faith which justified him Zanchius reports this to be a definition of justifying Faith which Bucer and other Orthodox Divines gave Faith is the gift of God and work of the Holy Ghost in the minde of the Elect whereby they BELEEVE THE GOSPEL of Christ f Non Bucerus soluÌ„ sed etiaÌ„ alij multi definiunt saepè FideÌ„ ita vt dicant eaÌ„ esse donuÌ„ Dei opus Spiritus Sancti in Mente Electorum quo Christi Evangelio credunt Zanch. Tom. 7. pag. 352. Himself elsewhere frameth us this definition Faith is a vertue given unto us by God by which we ARE PERSVVADED that whatsoever was heretofore propounded by the Prophets and Apostles in the Name of God and is now preached unto us out of their Writings is the Word of God and beleeve and profess this whole Word as well the Law as the Gospel as the certain Word of God g Fides est virtus à Deo nobis donata quâ quicquid olim propositum fuit nomine Dei à Prophetis Apostolis nunc auteÌ„ nobis ex ipsorum Scriptis praedicatur persuasi sumus esse verbum Dei illudque totum tà m legeÌ„ quà m Evangelium vt certum Dei verbum credimus ac prositemur Zanch. Tom. 4. pag. 241. Beza affirmeth that the state of the Epistle to the Romans is to be ordered or disposed of in our Judgments thus That we are saved by God through one Christ IF WE SHALL BELEEVE THE GOSPEL h Sic disponendus est status hujus Epistolae nos à Deo per unum Christum servari si Evangelium crediderimus Beza in Rom. 1. 17. Polanus describes justifying Faith A KNOVVLEDG AND ASSENT whereby a man beleeveth all that to be true which God hath commanded to be beleeved i Fides est notitia assensus quo creditur verum esse quicquid Deus credendum praecepit Polan Partit Theolog. l. 2. p. 368. Vrsine thus Faith is a true perswasion whereby we ASSENT to every Word of God delivered unto us k Fides est vera persuasio quâ assentimur omni verbo Dei nobis tradito Ursin de Primo Praecept If thou saith Mr Tyndal the Martyr BELEEVEST THE PROMISES of God the Truth of God justifieth thee i. e. He forgiveth thee thy sins and taketh thee into Favor l Si promissionibus Dei credas veritas Dei te justificat i. e. ignoscit tibi teque in gratiaÌ„ recipit Tyndal de Christian Obed. ad Hen. 8. Give me leave to instance one Author more Dr Jo Davenant a member of those convened in the Synod at Dort quorum pars magna fuit arguing against Bellarmine the non-abolition of Faith even in the glorified condition it self of the Saints in respect of the nature habit or essence of it useth this demonstration viz. that those who are in an estate of perfect blessedness are so affected or disposed that they are willing to assent unto God not onely because of the evidence of the matter but also for the Authority of the Assertor although the thing affirmed were in it self inevident Yea and further saith that there is none of the Blessed or glorified ones but will much more readily beleeve God for the Authority of the Speaker then He that is endued with the greatest Faith amongst
have spent my Strength for nought and in vaine yet surely my judgement is with the Lord and my worke with my God And immediately before the said words thus And now saith the Lord that formed me from the Womb to be his servant TO BRING JACOB AGAIN TO HIM Though Israel be not gathered yet c. Cleerly implying that though Gods Intent and Counsell was to forme Christ from the Womb for this end and purpose viz. to bring Jacob againe to him and so to save and make Him blessed yet would it be no disparagement unto Christ nor any miscarriage or defeature of the Counsell of God herein though Iacob should not upon this account be brought againe to him or be made blessed by Christ The reason is because when it is said that God formed Christ from the Womb to bring Iacob againe to him the meaning is not that He formed Him with any such intent out of any such end or designe to bring Iacob again to Him by head and shoulders as we use to say or by a strong and irresistible hand but to bring Jacob againe c. i. e. that he might be represented and Preached unto Jacob as such a Person who had attoned their sins made their Peace with God by His Blood and had purchased grace and favour and every good thing for them at his hand in case they would repent and turne againe to him and further that he might by his Spirit especially in the Ministry of his Prophets administer unto them inward strength and frequent excitements abundantly sufficient to have brought them to a due consideration and imbracement of these great things of their Peace In this sence and in no other Christ was formed by God from the Womb to bring Iacob againe to him and thus it appears also how and in what respect God was not disappointed of his end purpose or intention in his forming of Christ nor Christ Himself any wayes disparaged notwithstanding Iacob was not actually converted or brought againe to him The Apostle Paul likewise upon the same consideration saith of Himself and other the Apostles and faithfull Ministers of the Gospell thus For we are unto God a sweet Savour of Christ in them that are saved and in them that perish a 2 Cor. 2. 15 Whereby it appeares that howsoever Gods reall Intent and Designe in sending Christ into the World was according to the frequent testimony of Scripture the Salvation and not the perishing or condemnation of Men yet he was no more defeated or disappointed of his designe herein by the perishing then by the Salvation of Men. Otherwise Christ in the faithfull Ministry of the Gospell would not be a sweet Savour i. e. matter of high contentment and satisfaction unto him as well in those who perish through unbelief as in those who are saved by believing For who can be pleased or much satisfied with or under disappointments Therefore Gods Intent of saving the World by Iesus Christ is not so to be conceived or understood as if he intended to save Men by him upon any terms or under any consideration whatsoever or without all Proviso's Limitations or Exceptions but thus he intended to save the World by him i. e. to put the World into a capacity of Salvation and to afford unto the Sons and Daughters of Men means and opportunities in abundance whereby to repent and believe and consequently to be saved So that whensoever Christ is faithfully and effectually Preached unto Men in order to their Salvation God obtaines his end and intent concerning their Salvation whether they come to be saved or no i. e. whether they repent and believe or remaine impenitent in unbelief 2. For the Phrase or manner of expression that he might be the first borne §. 50. amongst many Brethren I desire to give notice once for all for there may be frequent use of the observation in these controversies that it is frequent in Scripture to expresse a thing after the manner of an event or consequent that will or shall come to passe or follow upon such or such an occasion or means somewayes likely to produce it which yet frequently comes not to passe but only is intended or desired nay the contrary whereof many times follows and comes to passe in stead thereof According to this Dialect of Speech Moses expresseth himself unto the People thus and the Man that will doe presumptuously and not hearken unto the Priest or unto the Iudge even that Man shall die and thou shalt put away the evill from Israel and all or that all the People shall heare or may hear and feare and doe no more presumptuously b Deut. 17. 12 13. This hearing fearing and restraining of the People from doing presumptuously are mentioned if we respect the precise forme of the words as if they were such events which would alwayes follow and come to passe upon the occasion or means specified viz. the inflicting of death upon the Delinquent spoken of Yet Moses his intent was not to affirme this which had been an untruth to affirme such events as these many times failing if at any time obtained but to shew what God His intent was in commanding such severe executions to be done in such cases or rather perhaps to shew what fruits might reasonably be expected from such just severity So again in the same Chapter speaking of the King whom they should set over them and the Book of the Law And it shall be with him and he shall reade therein all the dayes of his life that he may learne to feare the Lord His God to keep all the words of this Law and these Statutes to doe them a Deut. 17. 19. These words that he may learne c. doe not import the event or effect that would certainly follow upon the duty or course prescribed but either what Gods Intentions were in Prescribing such a course or what such a course was proper and likely to effect Many other places there are of like character and import amongst which that in Present debate is to be numbred God Predestinate these and these or rather such and such to be conformed to the Image of His Son that He might be the first borne c. These words that He might be the first borne c. doe not necessarily import any event or effect which should certainly come to passe or be produced by that Act of Gods Predestination but only such an event as was intended by God in such a sence as intentions are appropriable unto him in that Act of His or which would probably follow thereupon It may yet further be demanded by way of Objection against any Explication §. 51. whatsoever of the Passage in hand which makes the golden chaine of Divine acts therein dissolveable in any link or part of it in what case or cases soever If either they who are Predestinated may not be called or they that are called may not be justified or they that