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A25449
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Animadversions upon a sheet of Mr. Baxters entituled An appeal to the light, printed 1674 for the farther caution of his credulous readers.
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1675
(1675)
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Wing A3202; ESTC R34208
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9,926
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18
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if I wrong Him in the least nay I durst almost did not the Thing seen too shamefull to be confess'd appeal unto Himself However if I am mistaken I shall be heartily glad to know it but then to convince me He must bring some better Light then shines in His Appeal Pag. 3. He has discover'd a new and wonderful kind of Justification we must be Justified saies He by our Faith against the charge of Infidelity and by our Repentance against the charge of Impaenitency by our Love Holiness and Sincerity against the charge if Final unholiness rebellion and being Hypocrites Is not this a pretty fort of Justification 1. Unknown to S. Paul who alone of all the Inspired writers has ex professo and so largely tread of this Doctrine He tells us of no Justification but by Faith without workes and from Mr Baxter we have a particular-Particular-Justification for every particular Grace than can be nam'd for we must not suppose Him to exclude any His reason being the same for all The Apostle therfore by this Rare Divinity might have said Being Justified by Patience Chastity Temperance Frugality c. as well as being Justified by FAITH nay He ought to have said so if He would be Faithful to his Trust and to the Souls of men 2. This Justification gives no more to Faith then to any other Consequent Grace point blank contrary to S. Paul and to the Doctrine of the Reformed Churches particularly that of the Church of England as I have elsewhere prov'e as plain as words can do it 3. If we are Justified by Faith only from Infidelity and from every other Sin respectively by its opposite Grace and vertue how shall we understand Him who is THE TRUTH when He tells us so often to this effect He that BELIEVETH shall be Sav'd and what means S. Paul to assure us that being Justified by Fatih we have peace with God For if Faith Justify us only against the charge of Infidelity and every other Grace be requir'd to Justify us against its opposite Sin then it cannot be true at least universally as the words are intended that He who believeth shall be sav'd and have peace with God no more then that a Felon shall be acquitted at the Assizes and freed from fear who is found not guilty of one Inditement and has twenty more to plead to We are sent to no garment to cover our Iniquities from the Eye of Divine Justice but the Robe of Christs Righteousness put on by Faith alone a Robe without seam or patch no Linsey-wolsey stuff admitted there But the Defence He makes for Himself against a City Report is very considerable and as cleer as midnight Pag. 5. He tells us how it was reported that He should saey the Difference between us and Papists was but in words I hope He would not do so but what saies He to it for now it concerns Him to speake Why truly as to the Business against his Libertines Antinomians S. Paul and the Reformed Churches in the point of Justification wherein His Appeal seems chiefly if not solely concern'd I can find nothing but a general Complement to his Reporters an Information how dear He has bought his knowledge a Prophecy that He may shortly Dy with an Information of Preferments offer'd This in effect is All to the Defence He makes to a Charge of that moment Let every one be satisfied by his own eyes Only He complains that some Distinctions and Instances of His were left out in the Report Now observe how He Courts the LIGHT to which He appeals Let any man read the beginning of his 4th Section where indeed He distinguishes between Popish Points some of meer Interest and some arising from the Difficulty of the matter and the weakness of human understanding of the former He gives us also some Instances as the Papal power Indulgences Purgatory c. Of the latter not one that is either usually or properly call'd Popish but such as are canvass'd by the Remonstrants and their Antagonists as well as the Jesuits and so smooths off the business and All is well But not a word all this while of his Libertine Points Justification by Faith c. Not the least direction where we shall bestow these whether amongst the Interest or the Difficulty-matters No no There is a Time for All Things This is Mr Baxters APPEAL to the LIGHT And whereas He concludes with this bold Perswasion that few Ministers of Christ in England will prove so weak as to propagate what He condemns and call's Errours 't is an immodest Bravado highly injurious to the Vertues and Learning of the MINISTRY OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND as if They were generally in such a Readiness to forsake the Banner of their own Church with All Her Renowned Captains to fight under the Colours of a single Mr BAXTER FINIS Courteous Reader By some unfortunate mistake in my Absence my Answer to Mr Baxters Quotations for his new Original Sin have wholy escap'd the Press It should have enter'd pag. 20. after lin 14. which therefore I am necessitated to peece here at the end and referr all to your favourable Construction From pag. 12 to 21. I find you very busie in smoothing your way where none can easily stumble to prove some Interest of children in their wicked Progenitors Sins a thing never question'd by me nor by any man else I think who owns the Authoritie of the second Commandment so that I am not the man you combate though your Credulous Readers must upon your word beleive the contrarie All 's but the shadow of your Fancie and the Itch of your Pen to fall upon me I charge you with a new Secondarie Original Sin whose pedigree is not from Adam I engage not a syllable farther And now let us advance to your Proofs and observe the issue Tertullian leads your Van but neither He nor any of the rest strike one stroke in your Cause Pag. 22. I cannot in Reason exspect that He should so much as use the word Original when applyed to Sin for If I mistake not it came not in on that account till about Austin's time in his famous warrs with the Pelagian However if we can find the Thing this Secundary Original Sin all 's well enough I am for no meer Logomachies All that can be forc'd from that Quotation must lye in the single clause of Quanquam si Evangelium veritatis accipias c. which in English sounds thus Allthough if you own the Truth of the Gospel you will find to whom appertains the sentence of visiting the Iniquities of the Fathers upon the children namely to Them who were to bring this Doom upon themselves His blood be upon us and upon our children Now This is very farr from curing any Admiration of mine as you seem to promise me save that of giving your selfe the Trouble to quote Him so little to the purpose Pag. 21. For He proves nothing in contest between Us