to those works which go before faith that is before baptisme and are done without faith not to those that issue upon it and therfore placing that faith which alone justifieth in the profession of Christianity by Baptisme and that justification which insueth upon it not in effecting that faith but in those rightes which God alloweth him that hath it upon the account of it S. Jerome upon that of Zach. VIII 10. There was no reward for man or beast Priusquam fidem Christi quis recipiat in eo Spiritus Sancti fundamenta radicantur nullus audire poterit Est merces operi tuo Sive ille Judaeus sit sive Haereticus sive Gentilis quiequid boni operis fecerit nisi in Christi nomine fecerit mercedem sui operis non habebit Videmus Haereticorum virgines Philosophorum rigorem Judaeorum in escarum varietate observantiam tamen dicimus juxta Aggaeum quod comedant non satientur bibant non inebrientur operiantur non calescant qui mercedes congregat mittat eas in sacculum pertusum Before a man receive the faith of Christ and the foundations of the Holy Ghost be laid in him no man shall be able to hear There is a reward for thy work Be he Jew or Heretick or Gentile whatsoever good work he shall do not doing it in the Name of Christ he shall have no reward for his worke We see the Virgines of Hereticks the rigor of Philosophers the scrupulosity of Jews in diversities of meates and yet we say according to Aggai They eat and are not filled they drink and are not merry they are clothed and not warmed and he that gathers wages puts them into a purse with a hole in it Upon Galat. III. 2. Consideremus autem diligenter quid non dixerit Vtrum ex operibus Spiritum accepistis Sed adjecerit ex operibus Legis Sciebat enim Cornelium Centurionom Spiritum ex operibus accepisse sed non ex operibus Legis quam nesciebat Si enime contrario dicatur ergo sine eruditione fidei accipi Spiritus Sanctus potest nos respondebimus accepisse quidem eum Spiritum sed ex auditu fidei naturali lege quae loquitur in cordibus nostris bona quaeque facienda vitanda mala per quam dudum quoque Abraham Mosen caeteris Sanctos justificatos retulimus quam augere deinceps potest operum observatio legis quoque notitia non tamen carnalis legis quae praeterit sed spiritualis quia lex spiritualis est Neque vero quia sidem praeferimus legis opera destruimus aut dicimus secundum quosdam Faciamus mala donec eveniant bona quorum damnatio justa est Sed servituti gratiam anteponimus dicimusque quod Judaei propter metum faciunt id nos facere propter charitatem Illos cogi ad bonum nos bonum sponte suscipere Non igitur ex fide Christi licentia nascitur delinquendi sed ex dilectione fidei voluntas boni operis augetur dum bona ideo facimus non quia judicem formidamus sed quia scimus ei placere in quem credimus Now let us diligently consider that he saith not Whether have ye received the spirit by works but addeth by the workes of the Law For he knew that even Cornelius the Centurion received the spirit by workes but not by the workes of the Law which he knew not For if it be said on the other side That then the holy Spirit may also be received without the hearing of faith We will answer That he received the Spirit but by the hearing of faith and the Law of nature which sayes in our hearts that all good is to be done and evil avoided whereby we told you afore that Abraham Moses and the rest of the Saints were justified which the observation of workes succeeding may increase and knowledge of the Law but not the carnal law which is past but the Spirituall because the law is spirituall Nor do we destroy the workes of the Law because we preferre faith or say according to some let us do evil till good come whose damnation is just But we preferre Grace before bondage and say that we do for love that which Jewes do for feare That they are constrained to that good which we do of our own accord Therefore there rises no license to sinne from the faith of Christ but from the Law of Faith the lust of well doing increaseth while we do good not because we are afraide of the Judge but because we know it pleases him in whom we believe Here the difference which I make betweene workes and workes of the Law is S. Jeromes Here the righteousnesse of the Fathers under the Law of nature is ascribed to Faith out of which they submitted themselves to it as also Cornelius his title to that grace of the holy Ghost which the Gospel promiseth Here the reason is set forth why the workes of the Law justifie not because the preaching of the Gospel supposeth that the Law can effect no more then an outward and carnal obedience to the precepts thereof for fear of punishment Whereby it appeareth that those workes which justifie not are not onely those of the ceremonial Law but all that goes before the preaching of Faith whether as under Christianity or as before it according to S. Jerome The Gospel both requiring and effecting that inward and spirituall obedience which love constraineth I am not afraid after this to name the short commentary upon S. Pauls Epistles which usually goeth with S. Jeromes workes though I will suppose it to be Pelagius his upon Gal. III. 10. Quaeritur sant hoc loco si fides sola sufficiat Christiano utrum non sit maledictus qui praecepta Evangelica contemnit Sed fides ad hoc proficit ut in promitiis credulitatis accedentes ad Deum justificet si deinceps in justificatione permaneat lege permaneant caeterum sine operibus fidei non Legis mortua est fides Qui enim non credunt mandatis qui precepta Evangelica contemnunt maledictos esse servator edocuit dicens Discedite a me maledicte in ignem aeternum Et Jacobus Apostolus unius mandati transgressorem omnium reum esse ostendit Here forsoeth it is questionable whether faith alone be enough for a Christian and whether he be not accursed that shall neglect the praecepts of the Gospel But faith availeth so farre as in the beginning of belief to justifie those that come to God if they abide in justification thenceforth But without the workes of Faith not of the Law Faith is dead For that those who believe not the commandments and neglect the precepts of the Gospel are accursed even our Saviour hath taught saying Go ye cursed from me into everlasting fire And the Apostle James sheweth that he who transgresseth one commandment is guilty of all Againe upon 1 Tim. II. 15. Notandum quod sola fides ei
the plurall number the Sacraments of faith within that faith which alone justifieth But the same S. Ambrose Offic. II. 2. Habet ergo vitâ—m aternam fides quia fundamentum bonum est habent bona facta quia vir justus dictis et rebus probatur Therefore faith hath eternall life because the foundation is good And so have good works because a man is tried to be righteous by both saying and doing That is by doing as he saies By doing these works which by his Baptisme he undertakes to do S. Basil De spiritu sancto cap. 12. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For faith is perfected by Baptisme and Baptisme is founded upon faith and both are fulfilled by the same names For as we believe in the Father Son and Holy Ghost so are we baptised in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost And profession goes afore introducing to Salvation but baptisme followes sealing up our assent Not onely to the demand doest thou believe in the Father Son and Holy Ghost but when it is further demanded wilt thou be baptized upon these termes And this profession so sealed is that which saveth him that departs upon it not him that survives to falsifie it S. Chrysostom in Rom. IV. 2. Hom. VIII makes a long comparison to shew that man glorisies God more by believing then by keeping his commandments Which certainly proceedeth not not can hold in those workes that presuppose faith having in them all that whereby faith glorifyeth God and more And therefore is to be limitted to works done before faith And therefore of those workes is S. Chrysostme to be understood when he sayes as oft times he doth that a man is justified without workes by Faith or by Grace in Gal III. 12. In Rom. III. 27. Homil. VII In Ephes II. 10. Homil. IV. The reason being alwayes that of Theodoret upon Galat. III. 22. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Seripture of God convinceth both those that were afore the Law and under it as transgressors as well these of Moses Law as those of the Law of Nature Offering the salvation that is promised by faith for an antidote both for these and for those If the Law of Moses were not of force to justify much lesse the Law of Nature Now the Gospel supposeth both Jewes and Gentiles under sinne and liable to Gods wrath till the Gospel come as S. Paul in the beginning of his Epistle to the Romanes declareth Not as if no man had been saved under the Law or before it But because they who then were saved belonged not to the Law of Moses or that of Nature but to the Gospel as saved by the meanes of it So said S. Jerome afore that they were saved by the preaching of Faith under the Law of Nature And thinne was the number of them who thus were saved that it was requisite the Gospel should come least the meanes which God had used to restore man afore might seem to have been imployed to no purpose So to be saved by faith and not by workes is the same with S. Paul according to the Fathers as to be justified by being a Christian and not by being a Jew by the Gospell and not by the Law So Tertullian cont Marc. V. 3. Ejus ergo Dei erit fides in qua vivit justus cujus Lex in qua non justificatur operarius Proâ—nde si in Lege maledictio est in Fide benedictio Therefore that faith whereby the just liveth shall be the same Gods whose the Law is whereby he that worketh is not justified Accordingly if the curse come by the Law then the blessing by faith For that Faith which properly stands in oppostion to the Law is Christianity S. Hilary In Mat. Can. VIII Movet Scribas remissum ab hommine peccatum Hominem enim tantum in Jesu Christo intuebantur remissum ab eo quod Lex laxare non poterat Fides enim sola justificat The Scribes are moved that sinne should be remitted by a man For they looked upon Jesus Christ as a meere man who remitted that which the Law could not loose For Faith alone justifieth Faith onely justifieth in opposition to the Law which remitteth no sin Therefore faith is Christianity Clemens Alexandr Strom. II. To learn is to obey the commandments which is to believe God Because forsooth to professe the Faith is to undertake to live by Gods commandments Strom. IV. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He therefore playes false with God that believes not God But he that keepeth not the commandments believes not Againe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 All therefore whatsoever ye do do to the glory of God whatsoever it is permitted to do under the rule of Faith Here that part of Christianity which prescribes a Christian what he is to do what not is called the Rule of Faith Because he believes that God requires it at his hands though he undertake more then to believe it Strom. VII 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He is a believer or faithful that receives the commandments upon due consideration and keeps them Pelagius upon Rom. X. 4. Talis est ille qui in Christum credidit die qua credidit qualis ille qui universam legem implevit Such is he that believeth the day that he believeth as is he that hath fulfilled the whole Law In the day of his Baptisme that is if he lives not to transgresse it His title to heaven is as good as if he had done whatsoever the Law requireth I shewed you before that Pelag. in the matter of justification departs not from the Church Clemens of Rome S. Pauls Scholar whom I will end with in his Epistle to the Corinthians p. 13. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Abraham who was called friend was found faithful in that he became obedient to the word of God p. 40. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Wherefore was our Father Abraham blessed was it not because he did righteousnesse and truth through Faith p. 41. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They were all therefore glorified and magnified not by themselves or their owne workes or just actions which they had done but by his will And therefore we who are called by his will through Christ Jesus are not justified by our selves or our owne wisdome or understanding or workes that we have done with holinesse of heart But by faith whereby Almighty God hath justified all from the begining of the world The Fathers were not justified by their own workes but because being called by the will of God as we to Christianity through Christ Jesus they were found faithfull in doing righteousnesse truth through faith as he said of Abraham before For the workes of Faith cannot be counted our own works which we had never done had not Gods call gone afore That Faith then which alone justifieth importeth as great and as reall a change in the jugdement and resoution of him that attaineth it from unrighteous to righteous as the
them in the world to come that should heartily and faithfully serve him in this Which adding to it the profession of the Name and warrant of Christ as the Author of that contract whereby we undertake so to do is Christianity I have yet said nothing of the passage of S. James II. 14 where he disputes expresly that faith alone justifieth not but Faith with works for it seemes to make a generall argument by it self though in truth the reason which he brings that Abraham was justified by works necessarily depends upon the true reason why S. Paul saith That Abraham was justified by faith Which reason they that will not admit deserve to crucifie themselves everlastingly to find how he can be truly said to be justified by workes that is justified by faith alone without works afore were it not pitty that the Scriptures should be set on the rack to make them confesse a meaning which the words in no language by any custome of humane speech will bear For if the Faith of him that hath no good works will not save him not justifie him as the Apostle expresly affirmeth can the workes that are said to do this be said to do it Metonymicalâ—y because they are signes or effects of Faith which doeth it when it is said that faith without them doth it not And though by the way of Metonymy the property or effect of the cause may be attributed to the effect of that cause Yet when that property or effect is denied the cause and attributed to the effect will any language indure that it should be thought properly to belong to the cause which is denied it and attributed to the effect only by Metonymy that is in behalf of the cause that is denied it Is there any need to come into these straits when by saying that a man is justified by faith alone according to S. Paul meaning by undertaking Christianity a man will be obliged to say that he is justified by works also according to S. James to wit by performing that which he undertaketh unlesse you will have him justified by undertaking that which he performes not For when it is said that a man is justified by undertaking Christianity it is supposed that he undertakes it sincerely and heartily Which sincerity containing a resolution of all righteousnesse for the future justly qualifies him for those promises which overtake him in sinne so that for the present he can have nothing to justifie him but the righteousnesse of this faith alone which the Gospel tells us that God accepteth But for the time to come just ground is there to distinguish a second justification which proceeds upon the same consideration but supposes the condition undertaken to be performed from that first which though done by faith alone inferreth the necessity of making good what is undertaken that it may be available Is not this that the Apostle saith James 11. 15 16 17. If a brother or sister be naked or want daily food and one of you say to him Go in peace be warmed and fed and yet give them not things fit for his body what is he the better So also faith if it have not workes is of it self dead Where lies this comparison but in this that he who professeth Christianity but doth not according to it is like him that professeth love to his brother but relieves not his necessities And so when it followes But a man may say thou hast faith and I have workes shew me thy workes by thy faith and I will shew thee my faith by my workes For he that liveth like a Christian it is plaine he sheweth his Faith by his workes which is evidence that he professeth Christianity sincerely but he that onely professeth is yet to make evidence by his workes that his profession is sincere As for the example of Abraham the Apostles words are these Abraham our Father was he not justified by works when he offered Isaac upon the altar Thou seest that faith wrought with his workes and by works was his saith perfited And the Scripture which saith Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousnesse was fulfilled and he was called the sonne of God What is this but that which we read 1 Mac. 11. 52. Was not Abraham found faithfull in triall and it was counted to him for righteousnesse For it was counted to him for righteousnesse that not being weak in saith he considered not his own body already mortified as being a hundred years old nor the mortification of Sarahs wombe nor doubted through want of belief in Gods promise but was strengthened in faith giving glory to God and being satisfied that he is able to do what he hath promised As S. Paul saith Rom. IV. 19 20 21. And therefore much more must it needs be counted to him for righteousnesse that by faith he offered Isaac when he was tempted and that he who had received the promises offered his onely begotten sonne of whom it had been said In Isaac shall posterity be counted to thee Reckoning that God was able to raise him from the dead Whence also he received him in a parable As the Apostle saith Heb. XI 17 18 19. For here as I shewed afore it is the act of faith and not the object of it that is imputed to righteousnesse And in that obedience whereby this temptation was overcome though there was a good work yet there was an act of that faith And therefore the Apostle deservedly addeth that his faith wrought with his workes But the faith that moved him to travail after Gods promise was perfected by this work wherein that faith moved him to tender God obedience And therefore the Scripture was fulfilled which saith Abraham believed God and it was imputed to him for righteousnesse Because that which Moses had said that God counted Abraham righteous for his faith was made good and proved not to have been said without cause but that he was righteous indeed as righteous he must be whom God so accounts that obeyed God in such a triall as this So that which S. James addeth of Rahab Likewise Rahab also the harlot was she not justified by works receiving the messengers and sending them out another way How shall it agree with that of the other Apostle Heb. XI 31. Through faith Rahab the harlot perished not with the unbelievers receiving the spies in peace But by virtue of the same reason that having conceived assurance of the promises of God to his people that she might have her share in them she resolved to become one of them upon such terms as the case required wherein certainly the preservation of their spies was required So if by Faith then by Workes if by Workes then by Faith I must not leave this point till I have produced another sort of Scriptures in which the promises of the Gospel are made to depend upon workes which Christianity requireth AS namely when forgivenesse of sinners is promised upon condition that we
forgive our brethren their offences against us Mat. VI. 14. 15. Our Lord rendring a reason why he had taught his disciples to pray Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespasse against us For if it forgive men their sinnes your heavenly Father will forgive you also But if you forgive not men their Transgressions neither will your Father forgive your Transgressions And the Apostle James II. 13. to the same purpose Judgement shall be without mercy to him that sheweth not mercy And the foote of our Saviours Parable Mat. XVIII 35. So also shall your bravenly Father do to you if from your hearts yee forgive not every one his Brother their transgressions So Mar. XI 25. 26. And Luc. VI. 37. 38. Judge not and yee shall not be judged condemn not and ye shall not be condemned pardon and ye shall be pardoned give and there shall be given to you good measure crouded and shaken and runing over shall be given into your bosome for the measure that ye mete with shall be measured to you againe And againe Luk. XI 41. But give Almes according to your power and all things shall be cleane to you So Solomen Prov. XVI 6. By mercy and truth shall inquity be expiated And Daniell to Nebuchodonosor Dan. III. 5. Redeeme thy sins by righteousnesse or Almes deeds and thy iniquity by shewing compassion upon the afflicted For the verbe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 can signifie nothing but Redeem in the Caldee though there is a figure of speech in the Prophets Language intending redeem thy self from thy sinnes as I shall have occasion to say in another place and therefore t is in the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And from hence come those sayings Tobit IV. 11. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And againe Tob. XII 9. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Almes delivereth from death and suffereth not to enter into darknesse And Almes delivereth from death and purgeth away all sinne And Ecclus. III. 33. Water quencheth flaming fire and with almes shall he make prepitiation for sinnes And XXIX 15. Shut up almes in thy store houses and they will deliver thee from all afflictions And the words of the Apostle are plainest in this sense I Pet. IV. 8. Charity shall cover a many sinnes The Prophet also to the same purpose Isa I. 17. For they that make that filth which alone justifieth not to include or presuppose that condition to which Baptisme tieth Christians must needs crucifie themselves and set the Scriptures upon the rack to finde another meaning for them then the words bear By which that which God hath made due without and before any condition may turely be said to be given in consideration of it Which reason and the common sense of all men abhors But supposing that faith which onely justifieth to include the profession of undertaking Christianity as the condition upon which the promises of the Gospel are to be expected So certaine as it is that this will not be due if the condition be not fulfilled so necessary and so proper it will be to say That whatsoever that condition includeth is the consideration upon which the promise cometh though not by virtue of the thing done but by virtue of Gods tender and the Covenant of Grace and the promise which it containeth and the free goodnesse of God which first moved him to tender that promise And therefore you shall find those that suppose it not alwayes tormenting themselves to force upon the Scriptures such a meaning as the words of them doe not beare And in the last place concerning the consent of the Church though the Fathers are free in acknowledging with S. Paul justification by faith alone yet notwithstanding they are on the other side so copious in attributing the promises of the Gospel to the good workes of Christians that it may truly be said there is never a one of them from whom sufficient authority is not to be had for evidence thereof Which will amount to a tradition of the whole Church in this point In particular S. Augustine to whom appeal is wont to be made in all parts of that dispute which relateth to the Heresie of Pelagius hath so clearly and so copiously delivered the answer which I maintaine to those texts of S. Paul where he denieth that Christians are justified by the workes of the Law that those that challenge him in other points of this dispute concerning the Covenant of Grace doe not pretend to be of his mind in this Though the ground of this answer consisting in the twofold sense of the Law deserved as I conceive to be further cleared even after S. Augustine and the rest of ancient Church-writers I would therefore have the reader here to understand that I account all the rest of this second book to be nothing else but the resolution of those difficulties the answer to those objections and demandes which arise upon the determination here advanced The chief of them is that which followes in the next place How the promises of the Gospel can be said to be the effects of Gods free grace requiring our Christianity as the condition upon which they become due and not otherwise But there are also others concerning the possibility of fulfulling Gods Law by the new obedience of Christians concerning the goodnesse and perfection of it concerning the force and effect of good workes either in making satisfaction for sinne or in meriting life everlasting Which I shall allow that consideration in due time which the model of this abridgement will bear As for the sense of the Fathers evidencing the Tradition of the Church I am yet to learn that there ever was any exception alledged to infringe the consent of the Church in the necessity of good workes to the obtaining of salvation for Christians But onely the case of those who being taken away by death upon professing Christianity have not time to bring forth the fruits of it And how good workes can be the necessary meanes to procure the salvation of Christians but by virtue of that Law or condition for obtaining salvation which the Gospel now expresly enacteth and alwaies did covertly effectuate no sense of man comprehendeth For that the ancient Church agreeth in allowing the force of satisfaction for sinne to workes of Penance of Merit for the world to come to workes done in the state of Grace none of the Reformation which either disowneth or excuseth it for so doing according to the respect they have for it can make questionable And therefore though this be not the place to justifie the ancient Church in these particulars yet this is evident that those who maintaine more then my position requires do agree in that which it containes I shall therefore content my selfe for the present with producing some speciall passages of the Fathers expressing in my opinion the markes of my position and the reasons whereupon it proceeds As limiting the position between faith and workes in the matter of justifying
qui post Baptismum supervixerit non sufficiat nisi sanctitatem mentis corporis habeat quae sine sobrietate difficile custoditur It is to be noted that faith alone is not enough for him that survives after Baptisme unlesse he have the holinesse both of mind and body which without sobriety is hardly preserved Here you have S. Jeromes distinction between the works of Faith and of the Law and Baptisme the boundary of righteousnesse by Faith alone without the works of Faith And if any man be so impertinent as to suspect S. Jerome for a Pelalagian wherein he agrees with Pelagius S. Austine may perswade him that Pelagius is no Pelagian in this but speakes the sense of the Church Serm. LXXI De Tempore Quomodo fides per dilectionem operatur Et quomodo justificatur homo per fidem absque operibus legis Quomodo intendite fratres Credit aliquis percepit fidei Sacramenta in lecto mortuus est Defuit illi operandi tempus Quid dicimus Quia non est justificatus Plane dicimus justificatum credentem in eum qui justificat impium Ergo rite justificatus est operatus non est Impletur sententia Apostoli dicentis Arbitramur justificari hominem per fidem sine operibus Legis Latro qui cum Domino crucifixus est corde credidit ad justitiam ore confessus est ad salutem Nam fides quae per dilectionem operatur etsi non sit in quo exterius operetur in corde tamen illa fervens servatur Nam erant quidam in lâ—ge qui de operibus Legis gloriabantur quae fortasse non dilectione sed timore faciebant volebant se justos videri praeponi Gentibus quae opus legis non fecerant Apostolus autem praedicans fidem Gentibus cum eos qui accedebaut ad Dominum videret justificaetos ex fide utram quia crediderant bene operarentur non quia bene opetati sunt credere mererentur exclamavit securus ait Quia potest justificari homo ex fide sine operibus Legis Vt illi magis non fuerint justi qui quod faciâ—bant timort faciâ—bant Cum fides per dilectionem operetur in corde etiamsi foris non exit in opere How workes Faith by Love And how is a man justified by Faith without the workes of the Law Brethren marke how A man believes receives the Sacraments of Faith in his bed and dies wants time of working What shall we say That he is not justified Plainly we say he is justified believing in him that justifies the wicked So he is justified but wrought not The saying of the Apostle is fulfilled I suppose a man is justified by Faith without the workes of the Law The thiefe that was crucified with our Lord believed with the heart to righteousnesse and confessed to salvation with the mouth For Faith that worketh by love when there is nothing to work upon outwardly remaines neverthelesse fervent in the heart For there were those under the Law that boasted of the workes of the Law which perhaps they did not for love but for fear and would seem righteous and be preferred before Gentiles that had not done the work of the Law But the Apostle preaching the Faith to the Gentiles and seeing those who come to the Lord justified by Faith so that they did well because they had believed and not merited to believe by well doing cries out securely and sayes that a man may be justified by saith without the workes of the Law So that they who did what they did for fear of the Law rather were not righteous Whereas faith may work by love in the heart though it go not forth in any work Againe Libro quaestionum LXXXIII quaest LXXVI Si quis cum crediderit mox de hac vita discesserit justificatio fidei manet cum illo Non praesentibus bonis operibus quia non merito ad illam sed gratia pervenit Nec consequentibus quia in hac vita esse non sinitur If a man depart out of this life straight after he hath believed the justification by faith remaineth with him good workes neither accompanying because he came not to it by merit but by grace nor following because he is not suffered to live The reason being the same for which those who depart without Baptisme if not by their own fault are held to be saved In regard whereof S. Bernard Epist LXXVII thinkes that the Gospel Mark XVI 16. Having said He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved Doth not repeat He that is not baptized shall be demned But onely He that believeth not shall be demned Here the onely case in which a Christian can be saved without good workes is when time obliges him not to bring them forth And the onely reason why the workes of the Law justifie not is Because the Spirituall obedience of the Law presupposeth faith the knowledge of the Law according to the letter reaching onely to produce the outward work without that inward disposition which onely Christianity effecteth as well as requireth A thing which S. Austine in the dispute with Pelagius so often repeateth De Spiritu Litera Cap. VIII XXIX Contra duas Epistolas Plagianorum III. 2 7. De Gratia Christi peccato Originali I. 13. II. 24. De Gratia lib. arbitrio Cap. XII Origen in Rom. III. Libro III. Indulgentia namque non futurorum sed preteritorum criminum datur Igitur ut ad praepositum redeamus justificatur homo per fidem cui ad justificationem nihil conferunt opera Legis Vbi vero fides non est quae credentem justificet etiamsi quis opera habeat ex lege tamen quiâ— non sunt adificata supra fundamentum fidei quamvis videantur esse bonâ— operatorem suum justificare non pessunt si eis deest fides quae est signaculum corum qui justificantur a Deo For faith granteth indulgence of sâ—nnes past not to come He therefore is justified by Faith to returne to our purpose to whose justification workes of the Law contribute nothing But where that faith which justifieth him that believeth is not though a man have workes according to the Law yet because they are not built upon the foundation of Faith though they seeme good they cannot justifie their workers wanting Faith which is the maâ—ke of those that are justified by God The same Origen in the same book bringeth in the example of the thiefe upon the Crosse and of the woman that had been a sinner but was saved by her Faith Luke VII to the same purpose And I will not omit the wordes of S. Jerome upon that of Isa LXIV 5. All our righteousnesse is like a menstruous ragge Libro XVII In quo considerandum quod justitia quae in Lege est ad comparationem Evangelicâ— puritatis immunditia nominetur Etenim non est glorificatum quod prius glorificatum suit propter excellentem gloriam And
14. The naturall man admitteth not the things of Gods Spirit for they are folly to him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned To wit by that Spirit which Christ purchased the gift of by his Crosse And why should the Soul of man take that for folly which Gods Spirit revealeth were there not a principle bred in our nature to determine all mens inclinations to this generall resistence Againe the same S. Paul teaching them not to think of themselves what the word of God allows not 1 Cor. IV. 7. For who distinguisheth thee Or what hast thou that thou hast not received But if thou hast received it why boastest thou as if thou hadst not received it Here if it be said that the speech is of the office of Apostles and the like and the graces requisite to the discharge of them which are graces tending to the common benefit of the Church not to the salvation of those particular persons to whom they are given The answer is evident that S. Paul speakes not of those graces but of the right use of them as it appears by the beginning of the Chapter So let a man account us as ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God Now in stewards it is required that a man be found faithfull And this fidelity it is in which the Apostle appeales to God and wisheth them not to judge before God nor to think of themselves above what is written because as they have it not but from God and therefore not to boast of So they have it not to the purpose but when God discerneth and alloweth it to be in them And if it be said that it is manifest indeed by innumerable passages of the Apostles of which divers have been produced afore that the holy Ghost is granted to those that truly believe to dwell with them and to inable them to performe what they have undertaken in professing themselves Christians And before that the holy Ghost is granted indeed to those who preach the Gospel Apostles Evangelists Prophets and the like to inable them to convince the World that the Gospel which they preach comes from God and that it is to be imbraced But that it is not the holy Ghost but their own free choice that determines them to adhere to that which the holy Ghost convinceth them that they ought to adhere to I say for the present it is enough for me to shew by the Scriptures that the conviction which the Gospel tenders is from the holy Ghost the Gift whereof the obedience of our Lord Christ hath purchased There will follow enough to shew that the effect of this conviction to wit conversion is from the same grace In the mean time marke why our Lord challengeth the Pharisees and Scribes of the sinne against the holy Ghost Mark III. 28 29. All sinnes shall be forgiven the sonnes of men and blasphemies wherewith they shall blaspheme But whoso shall blaspheme against the holy Ghost hath no forgivenesse for ever but is guilty of everlasting judgement Because they said He hath an unclean Spirit Where not to dispute at present why the blasphemies against the holy Ghost cannot be remitted when all other sinnes are I challenge this to be evident in the words of the Gospell that their blasphemy against the holy Ghost consisted in this that though convicted that they were Gods works which our Saviour did yet they said that he did them by the devil I acknowledge it is the same crime when they who have tasted the heavenly gift and are become partakers of the holy Ghost and have relished the good Word of God and the powers of the World to come do fall away Heb. VI. 4 15. But with this difference that these are convict by their profession the other onely by their conscience God onely knowing that hardnesse of heart wherewith they resisted that conviction which the holy Ghost in our Lord Christ tendred These by professing themselves Christians who are promised the holy Ghost to dwell in them if their profession be sincere acknowledging that they transgresse the dictate of it Hereupon S. Stephen speaking by the holy Ghost and doing signes and miracles to convince the Jews that so he did Acts VI. 8 10. justly charges them Acts VII 51. Yâ— stiff-necked and uncircumcised in hearts and ears ye do alwaies resist the holy Ghost even ye as your Fathers And therefore our Saviour having said in one place Apâ—c III. 20. Behold I stand at the door and knock If a man hear my voice and open the doore I will come in to him and sup with him and he with me In another John XIV 23. If a man love me he will keep my Word and my Father will love him and we will come to him and make abode with him as it cannot be denied that the holy Ghost and in him the Father and the Sonne dwell in him that loves Christ no more can it be denied that Christ knockes at the door of the hearts of them that give him entrance to make them so to love him that he takes up his lodging in their hearts Adde we now to the premises the words of our Lord in the parable of the Vine John XV. 5. Without me ye can do nothing The words of the Apostle 2 Cor. III. 4 5 6. We have this confidence towards God not that we are sufficient of our selves to think any thing as of our selves but our sufficiency is of God who hath also made us sufficient ministeâ—s of the New Testament not the Leter but the Spirit Remembring what I said afore that this extends not onely to the grace of an Apostle but to the right use of it Of which right use the same Apostle 1 Cor. XV. 10. By the Grace of God I am what I am and his grace towards me was not in vaine but I laboured more then they all yet not I but the grace of God that was with me And againe of the whole businesse Phil. II. 11. 12. Wherefore my beloved work out your salvation with fear and trembling For it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do To wit by the holy Ghost which Christ sends and his influence from the beginning to the end of the work of Christianity And Ephes II. 8 9. 10. For by grace ye are saved through Faith and that not of your selves it is Gods gift not of works that no man may boast For we are his making created by Jesus Christ for good works which God hath prepared afore for us to walk in By the grace of the holy Ghost which we receive upon becoming Christians not by the works of the Law though it be also the same grace that makes us Christians by this grace are we saved Therefore S. Paul againe Phil. I. 6. Having this very confidence that he who hath begun a good work in you will compleat it unto the day of Christ Jesus And our Lord. John VI. 37 44
Covenant of Grace and by that Faith whereby we undertake that Christianity wherâ—into we are baptized they who make the office oâ— Faith in justifying no more then beleeving the Gospell to be true seeme as voide of the truth in that as those who place it in reposing trust and confidence in God upon it For as the Gospell gives sufficient ground of trust and confidence in God from the first moment that any man heares of it what state soever it is and how sinfull in which it overtakes him if we speak of confidence that we may or shall obtaine remission of sins upon condition of imbracing and performing the condition which it advanceth So if wee speake of trust and confidence in God as indeed and actually reconciled to God seeing it supposeth justification it must needes suppose that Faith which justifieth And so justifying Faith cannot be said to consist in it but by consequence of nature to produce it On the other side whereas all the works that a man can doe after he sincerely beleeves the truth of the Gospell but before he hath made profession of Christianity by being baptized cannot availe to the forgivenesse of sinne much lesse to intitle him to everlasting life according to the doctrine of the Apostles It can by no means be imagined that when they attribute justification to Faith whether alone or in opposition to workes or to the Law they doe attribute it to that Faith whereby he remains not justifyed not to that which he iâ— necessarily justifyed as soone as he hath And this is the true end of that endlesse dispute between Faith and good workes when it is questioned whether true Faith can be without Good workes or not For it is manifest that Hereticks Schismaticks and sinfull Christians doe as truely beleeve either the whole Gospell so farre as the Common salvation of Christians requireth or at least that part which their Heresy or Schisme contesteth not as a good Christian really doth It is nolesse manifest that not onely Heretickes and Schismatickes but even badde and sinfull Christians also not onely may but really have a true and reall confidence in God as to the world to come without which those that beleeve the world to come could not live and dy in that course which indeed renders them uncapable of it But the Faith which whosoever is baptized plighteth to God to professe the Faith which he hath taught to the death and to live according to it must needes either be counterfeite and so produce no effect but the damning of him that is baptized with it or produce the workes of Faith so long as it is and continues sincere And thus is the Tradition of the Church concerning justification by the good works of Christians reconciled not onely with the doctrine of the Apostles that a man is not justified by the workes that go before Christianity But also with the Tradition of the Church concerning the ingredience of Baptisme into the same work And with the doctrine of the Fathers manifestly distinguishing that true Faith which produceth good workes from that dead faith which doth not not by the accession of Love but by marks intrinsecall to the nature of it manifestly distinguishing those good workes which indeed doe justify from those which for the mind which they are done with doe not justify but for their kind might had they been done by Christians by the boundary between them which is baptisme But so that the workes themselves are but the materiall part that is the thing which the Covenant of Grace requireth But the reason and consideration in which they are accepted by God to that effect is not the influence of our free will though cured of concupiscence as cured it may be in this life and acted by Gods Spirit but the Grace of God moving him in consideration of our Lord Christs sufferinges first to publish the Gospell then to accept the profession and life of Christians according to it for a condition qualifying them for that which he promiseth by it Which is but the English of that which is commonly said that God accepteth of our workes as dipped in Christs bloud which he accepteth not if he accept them not to that effect which his Gospell promiseth having as he doth if the Gospel be true all that he accepteth not to that purpose Having said this in common as it were to both these opinions in particulare to that which I propose last or rather to the rest of it I say three things First that it may be understood two wayes To wit that this holds Either by virtue of the originall Law of God or by virtue of that dispensation in it that abatement of the penalty of it which the Gospell imports For so long as it is onely said that God infuseth into him that receives the Sacrament of Baptisme out of a resolution of Loving God above all an habit of supernatuall righteousnesse which is formally the remission of sinnes as extinguishing them by contrary dispositions and that this is the righteousnesse which he pleades to God for the reward of the world to come I say all this while it is not said whether the nature and kind of the quality thus produced oblige God to give him that happinesse of the world to come in recompense of it or whether the promise of the Gospell decreed and declared out of his meer goodnesse render that due by way of recompense which otherwise this disposition could no way claime For he that sayes that the naturall worth of the qualities here supposed claimes the reward as due by Gods justice must needes say that they justify by Gods originall Law But he that sayes by Gods promise and onely by that justice which consists in keeping promise by the Covenant of Grace Now then I say if that this opinion proceed upon first ground it is destructive to the Christian faith For I have shewed that the Gospel containes a Covenant of Grace not onely in regard of helpes of Grace to fulfill the condition which it requires which I have shewed that God grants in consideration of our Lord Christ and his obedience but also because in the same consideration he accepteth of the condition both to extinguish the debt of sinne and to intitle us to everlasting life which otherwise it inables us not to claime And both these regards I have showed belong to the Christian Faith Now he that affirmeth that the righteousnesse which God infuses into those that are baptized challengeth remission of sinnes and everlasting life or rather challengeth everlasting life because it extinguisheth sinne by Gods originall justice acknowledges indeed the Grace of God in granting those helps by which we attaine the said righteousnesse and that in consideration of our Lord Christ and his obedience But acknowledgeth not the Grace of God through Christ in accepting of it to such purpose and therein as I suppose denies the Covenant of Grace which the Gospel containâ—s Secondly I
man that comeâ— into the world with concupiscence becomes either habituated to the love of God above all things or indowed with the habituall assistance of Gods Spirit by that promise which the Gospell importeth Thus much is to be seenâ— by that which hath been said That in the justification of a sinner by Christianity which I have showed to be the condition of it there is a twofold change either implied or signified For that a man should become reconciled to God continues in the same affection to himselfe and the world as before he heard of Christ is a thing which the soâ—ereâ—t of them that dispute justification by faith alone abhorre And that a man by the Gospel should be intitled to no more then that disposition which be is changed to obligeth God to give is no lesse horrible to them that dispute justification by the works of faith And therefore besides that change in the nature and disposition of him that becomes estaâ—ed in the promises of the Gospel which justification involveth there is another change in Gods esteeme which is morall by virtue of his free promise which the change which his nature hath received signifieth not because Gods will onely infâ—rs it The former of these the Schoole insist upon and they seeme to follow S. Austinâ— in it who though he have nothing to doe with any conceit of habituall grace yet most an end attributeth the effect of justifying even before God to those inherent acts of righteousnesse whereby the grace of God translateth his enimies into that state of his grace The later though it be that which both the Scriptures and the most ancient records of the Church doe expresse yet so long as the effect of justifying is attributed to the disposition which is inherent in the soule not for the worth of it but by Gods Grace it can containe nothing either formally destructive or by consequence prejudiciall to the Faith That the one is fundamentally implyed the other formally signified in the justification of a Christian belongs rather to the skill of a divine in understanding the Scriptures then to the virtue of a Christian in holding the faith What the Church thinkes of the workes of those who believing do not yet declare themselves Christians by procuring Baptisme as it is a consideration fit for this place so is it manifest by the doubt which they make of the salvation of those that dye in that estate For though the life that they live supposing the preventing Grace of the holy Ghost to bring them to that estate must needs be ascribed to the same yet is it not as yet under the promise of reward because they are not yet under the Covenant of Grace but onely disposed to it And how good soever their life may be yet so long as it proceeds not to an effectuall resolution of undertaking Christs Crosse it is buâ— actuall and dependeth dâ— facto upon the assistance of Gods Spirit which dâ— jurâ— they can challenge no title in being not yet estated in Gods promises but onely prevented by those helps which they can claime no difference of right in from those that are not prevented with the same But he that undertakes Christs Crosse by coming to Baptisme with a good conscience obtaineth remission of sinnes adoption to be Gods Sonne and right and title to everlasting life Which adoption and which title as they are morall rights and qualities so are they meer appendences of that justification which God alloweth the Faith of those that are baptized sincerely without consideration of workes according to the doctrine of the Fathers Supposing it is true as much change as between a Christian and no Christian in him that obtaines them in which regard it is no marvaile if remission of sinnes or justification be ascribed to the said change many times in their writings For how such sayings are to be understood imports onely the signification of words not the salvation of a Christian but not importing Gods consideration of their qualities the consideration of whose works is excluded S. Augustine it is true considering this change in him that is justified which is indeed the ground upon which God accepteth of his Faith to that purpose and using the word justifying to signify the same hath occasioned the Schoole to agree in that forme of doctrine which the Council of Trent canonizeth But though he frequent the terme more then others in that sense yet can he no wayes be thought to depart from the meaning of the rest who do sometimes describe justification by the ground which it supposeth sometimes by the quality in Gods account which it signifyeth Acknowledging all of them the gift of the holy Ghost to be obtained by this faith which justifyeth of Gods free Grace indeed which onely moved him to set the Gospel on foot but as due by the promise which it containeth to abide and to dwell with him that voides not the condition upon which it is granted This grace of the holy Ghost habitually dwelling in them that have undertaken Christs Crosse to inable them to go through with the work of it as it cannot be unfruitfull in good works so are those works henceforth under the promise of reward which no workes done afore Baptisme can challenge I must not leave this point till I have said a word or two of Socinus his opinion as to this point of justifying faith For as concerning the two points premised I conceive I have showed you that it is no lesse destructive to Faith in teaching that a man is able of himself to imbrace and to fulfill all that the Gospel requires at his hands withoâ—â— any help of Gods grace granted in respect of our Lord Christs obedience Then that God accepteth what a man is so able to performe not out of any consideration thereof but of his own free goodnesse which moving him to settle such a decree moved him to send our Lord Christ to publish and assure it As for the rest of his opinion having maintained that the efficacy of all acts whether of Gods grace or of mans will toward the obtaining of the promises of the Gospel necessarily depends upon the receiving of Baptisme where the outward fulfilling of the promises of a positive precept which the onely will of him that is converted to Christianity fulfilleth not is not unavoidablely prevented by casualties which his will cannot overcome I suppose I have by that meanes showed that his opinion is destructive to Christianity because destructive to the precept of receiving Baptisme without which no man is a Christian And truly this imputation reflects upon the other extreme opinion concerning the justification of a Christian which ascribing it to believing that a man is predestinate excludes it from being necessary either as a meanes to salvation or as a thing commanded both which considerations concurre in the necessity of it supposing the premises For the necessity of that which is necessary as the meanes and the
any now unlesse the signification thereof be fuâ—ther limited by other terms which being added to it every man will allow may determine a sense utterly prejudiciall to it True it is divers have observed that the word merâ—râ— in good Latine especially of those later ages in which the Fathers writ signifies no more then to attaine compasse or purchase Arguing from thence that the workes of Christians merit heaven in their sense and language no otherwise then because they are the meanes by which we attaine it So Cassander observes that S. Pauls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Tim. I. 13. is by S. Cyprian translated misericordiam merui not intending to say that S. Paul deserved that mercy which he professes to have received of Grace But onely to signify that he found mercy and attained it But though I should grant that this word may signify no more in the language of the Fathers yet the Faith and the sense out of which it is evident that they spake will inforce that it doth signify as much as I say when they speak of our coming to heaven by our workes For having once resolved that the Covenant of Grace renders life everlasting due by Gods promise to those that lâ—ve as at their Baptisme they undertook though not for the worth of their workes yet by the mercy of God in Christ which moved him to tender such a promise he that sayes a man attaines heaven by the meanes of those workes which he lives in like a Christian sayes that those workes of his do merit heaven in the sense that I challenge For as for those that will have the workes of Christians to merit heaven of their own intrinsicke value Of those I have already said that I conceive they do prejudice the Christian â—aith in not allowing the necessity of Gods grace through Christ in accepting the condition which the Gospel requires for such a reward as the intrinsick value of it cannot deserve by Gods originall law For granting those helps of Gods grace in Christ being supernaturall and heavenly to hold proportion and correspondence with the reward of life everlasting which is the same Yet will it not follow that in all regards for the purpose in that the actions which they produce are momentany the reward everlasting which is the consideration S. Paul uses Rom. VIII 18. 1 Cor. VII 17 18. the correspondence will produce an equality of value And though the first principle of them be heavenly and supernaturall which is the help which God for Christs sake allowes yet seeing that it comes not immediately to effect but by the meanes of the faculties of mans soule infected with originall concupiscence it cannot be said that they can demand a reward correspondent to heavenly grace alone when earthly weakness concurres to imbase and allay the value of that which it produceth But as it cannot be denied that the Church of Rome in which that Order which maintainâ—s this extremity hath so great credit allowes this doctrine of merit to be taught yet can it not be said to injoine it Because there have not wanted to this day Doctors of esteem that have alwayes held otherwise Among whom I may very well name Sylvius now or lately Professor of Divinity at Doway who in his Commentaries upon the second part of Thomas Aquinas his Summe expounds that meritum de condigno which the Schoole attributes to the workes of Christians to be grounded in dignatione Dei because God vouchsafes and daignes to accept them whose they are as worthy of the reward expressing also the promise of the Gospell whereby this condescension of God is declared The Schoole Doctors found out the termes of meritum ex congruo ex condigno merit of congâ—uity and condignity Some of them because they thought That the workes of meer nature deserve supernaturall grace in regard that it is fit that God should reward him that doth his best with it That works done in the state of Grace are worth the Glory of the world to come But as the former part of the position which is planted upon these terms is rejected by many So they who onely acknowledge meritum congrui in workes done in the state of grace that is to say that it is fit for God to reward them with his kingdome say no more then that it was fit for God to promise such a reward Which whoso denieth must say that God hath promised that which it was unfit for him to promise And if the dignity of our works in respect of the reward may have this tolerable sense because God daignes and vouchsafes it The Councill of Trent which hath inacted no reason why they are to be counted merits can neither bear out these high opinions nor be said to prejudice the Faith in this point For The kingdom of God is not in word but in power if S. Paul say true And therefore though I affect not the terme of merit which divers of the Reformation do not reject Yet can I not think it so far from the truth so prejudiciall to the faith as the peevish opinions of those that allow not good workes necessary to salvation but as signes of Faith For that which necessarily comes in consideration with God in bestowing the reward which the condition he contracteth for must necessarily do though it cannot have the nature of merit because the Covenant it self is granted meerly of Grace in consideration of Christs death yet it is of necessity to be reduced to the nature and kind of the meritorious cause Nor can the glory of God or the merit of Christ be obscured by any consideration of our works that is grounded upon the merit of our Lord Christ and expresseth the tincture of his bloud The end of the Second Book Laus Deo OF THE LAWES OF The Church The Third BOOK CHAP. I. The Society of the Church founded upon the duty of communicating in the Offices of Gods Service The Sacrament of the Eucharist among those Offices proper to Christianity What opinions concerning the presence of Christs Body and Blood in the Eucharist are on foot IF God had onely appointed the Profession of Christianity to be the condition qualifying for the world to come leaving to every mans judgment to determine what that Christianity is and wherein it consists which it is necessary to salvation hee professe and what that conversation is which his salvation requireth There had been no cause why I should go any further in this Dispute But having showed that God hath appointed the Sacrament of Baptisme to be a necessary means to salvation limiting thereby the profession of Christianity which hee requireth to be deposited and consigned in the hands of his Church whom hee hath trusted for the maintaining and propagating of it I have thereby showed that hee hath appointed all Christians to live in the Communion of the Church The effect of Baptisme being to admit unto full Communion in those Offices wherewith God is
wee have received from our Lord Christ and his Apostles But if from hence any man would inferr that seeing the Sacrament of the Eucharist that is to say the body and bloud of Christ crucified there present by virtue of the Consecration is a propitiatory and impetratory Sacrifice for the Congregation there present for their relations and for the Church therefore it is so whether they proceed to receive the Eucharist or not therefore it is so whether they proceed to offer up the Eucharist present by their prayers for the necessities of the Church or not therefore it is so whether they pray with the Church or noâ— the consequence will straight appear to fail because those reasons which make it such a Sacrifice make it so in order to the receiving or to the offering of it by the prayers of the Church in behalf of the Church It is well enough known what opinions and abuses in the use and concerning the virtue of Masses had vogue under the dark time of the School though noâ— authorized by the Catholick Church For in regard the Eucharist can pretend no virtue by the nature of the work impertinent to any spiritual effect but meerly by the institution of Christ the efficacy thereof ex opere operaâ—o according to the language of those dayes and by virtue of the very â—oâ—ke was so extended as to take effect without any good motion in them thâ—t celebrate it And the intent of the Priest whose act the consecration was tâ—ken to be was thought to extend it to whom and to what he pleased And â—â—â—â— so farre from requiring that any but the Priest should communicate that even at this day it is not thought necessary by the looser sort of that side that the people should understand what the Priest does or sayes much lâ—sse assâ—t him with their devotions the intent of the Priest which the Canon it selfe alwaies extends to all that are present serving to give it virtue On the other side how hath this been taken construed As if every Mass pretended to sacrifice Christ a new who by offering himselfe once hath perfited for ever those who are sanctified as saith the Apostle Heb. X. 14. And therefore as if every Mass did challenge the virtue of Christs sacrifice upon the Cross And it is true the properties and efâ—ect of things signified are in some certain sense truly attributed to the signs But he that inlarges his Language beyond that sense may give and he that understands not the limitations requisite may take offense when there is no need Otherwise the reasons of those limitations are evident enough to save any sober and charitable men either from inflanâ—ing or taking up offenses For common sense which tells all men that what is once done can never be done again obliges them to understand an abatement in the property of that Language which attributes the sacrificing of Christ to a Priest because once done upon the Crosse it can never be done agâ—in Neither can it be in reason supposed that he who inflames the improperty of his Language intends therefore to renounce the common faith concerning the redemption of man-kind by the sacrifice of the Cross But when all derive all virtue in the Mass from it to take such Language for equalling the Mass to it will require a great lust to maintain partiality in the Church And make but once the consecrating and offering of the Eucharist for the necessities of the whole Church by the prayers of those who celebrate it to be the act of the respective assembly by the ministry of him whom the Church deputes for the purpose it will easily appear what follows For the virtue thereof will still be ex opere operato in opposition to the Sacraments of the old Old Law The spirituall intent whereof not being discerned by all because not openly preached at that time the spirituall effect of them could not be attributed to the common work but to the particular intent of those that belonged to the Gospel under the Law which is a true ground of opposition between opus operatum and opus operantis The work meerly done and done by such a one Besides seeing the truth of Christs body and blood is eaten and drunk by living faith without the Sacrament He that believes that God instituted not the Sacrament to no purpose though he abhorre to think that the effect thereof can be had without any good motion must of necessity allow the devotion which a living faith is exercised with in assisting the celebration of it an effect by virtue of that work which without it it cannot challenge As for the effect of the Prayers which it is offered with it is not to be ascribed to the quality of the Priest and therefore in that regard also it may be ascribed to the work it selfe not to the quality of him that doth it But seeing the common obligation of all Christians extendeth their Prayers to all necessities of Christs Church it will not lye in the intent either of the Priest or of the whole assembly whose act more properly it is to make it more beneficial to particular Christians then it can be thought that God accepteth the charity and devotion of particular Christians more particularly for their particular relations As for the mater of private Masses and the assistance of the people with their devotion as well as presence of an unknown tongue in Gods service of the extending of the benefit thereof to the dead Thus much being said generally here I referre the rest to their own places In fine what other reason soever can be pretended by any that shall make it his interest to maintain not to excuse the abuses of the Church of Rome why the Eucharist should be counted such a Sacrifice if it be not contained in that which hath been said will easily be wiped off by that which hath been said Those Scriptures which wee ground our selves upon when wee make the Eucharist a Sacriâ—â—ce being the onely ground to determine though not the onely means to evidence for what reason and to what purpose it is to be counted such a Sacrifice For how much regard soever wee ought to have to the consent of the Church in this point as without doubt if in any then in this without doubt the agreement and correspondence visible to common sense betweâ—n the original practice and sense of the Church and that which hath been alleged out of the Scriptures will be evidence enough of the right reason or reasons for which the Eucharist is not or is to be esteemed a propitiatory Sacrifice There is no man can thrust his nose into the writings of the Fathers even of the first times but hee shall finde the Oblations of the faithfull that are once deputed to the celebration of the Eucharist called Sacrifices in that regard This consideration therefore is not owned by them that strive most to make the Eucharist properly a propitiatory Sacrifice
who create the parties by heading the division have to look about them least they become guilty of the greatest part of soules which in reason must needs perish by the extremities in which it consisteth And the representing of the grounds thereof unto the parties though it may seem an office unnecessary for a private Christian to undertake yet seemeth to me so free from all imputation of offense in discharging of our common Christianity and the obligation of it that I am no lesse willing to undergoe any offense which it may bring upon me then I am to want the advantages which allowing the present Reformation might give me In the mean time I remaine obliged not to repent me of the resolution of my nonage to remaine in the communion of the Church of England There I find an authority visibly derived from the act of the Apostles by meanes of their successors Nor ought it to be of force to question the validity thereof that the Church of Rome and the communion thereof acknowledgeth not the Ordinations and other Acts which are done by virtue of it as done without the consent of the whole Church which it is true did visibly concurre to the authorizing of all acts done by the Clergy as constituted by virtue of those Lawes which all did acknowledge and under the profession of executing the offices of their severall orders according to the same For the issue of that dispute will be triable by the cause of limiting the exercise of them to those termes which the Reformation thereof containeth which if they prove such as the common Christianity expressed in the Scriptures expounded by the original practice of the whole Church renders necessary to be maintained notwithstanding the rest of the Church agree not in them the blame of separation that hath insued thereupon will not be chargeable upon them that retire themselves to them for the salvation of Christian soules but on them who refuse all reasonable compliance in concurring to that which may seem any way tollerable But towards that triall that which hath been said must suffice The substance of that Christianity which all must be saved by when all disputes and decrees and contradictions are at an end is more properly maintained in that simplicity which all that are concerned are capable of by the terms of that Baptisme which it ministreth requiring the profession of them from all that are confirmed at years of discretion then all the disputes on both sides then all decrees on the one side all confessions of faith on the other side have been able to deliver it And I conceive I have some ground to say so great a word having been able by limiting the term of justifying faith in the writings of the Apostles according to the same to resolve upon what termes both sides are to agree if they will not set up the rest of their division upon something which the truth of Christianity justifieth not on either side For by admitting Christianity that is the sincere profession thereof to be the Faith which onely justifyeth in the writings of the Apostles whatsoever is in difference as concerning the Covenant of Grace is resolved without prejudicing either the necessity of Grace to the undertaking the performing the accepting of it for the reward or the necessity of good works in consideration for the same The substance of Chrianity about which there is any difference being thus secured there remaines no question concerning Baptisme and the Eucharist to the effect for which they are instituted being ministred upon this ground and the profession of it with the form which the Catholick Church requireth to the consecration of the Eucharist Nor doth the Church of England either make Sacraments of the rest of the seven or abolish the Offices because the Church of Rome makes them Sacraments Nor wanteth it an order for the daily morning and evening service of God for the celebration of Festivalls and times of Fasting for the observation of ceremonies fit to create that devotion and reverence which they signify to vulgar understandings in the service of God But praying to Saints and worshipping of Images or of the Eucharist Prayers for the delivery of the dead out of Purgatory the Communion in one kind Masses without Communions being additions to or detractions from that simplicity of Gods service which the originall order of the Church delivereth visible to common reason comparing the present order of the Church of Rome with the Scriptures and primitive records of the Church there is no cause to think that the Catholick Church is disowned by laying them aside It is true it was an extraordinary act of Secular Power in Church maters to inforce the change without any consent from the greater part of the Church But if the matter of the change be the restoring of Lawes which our common Christianity as well as the Primitive orders of the Church of both which Christian Powers are borne Protectors make requisite the secular power acteth within the sphere of it and the division is not imputable to them that make the change but to them that refuse their concurrence to it Well had it been had that most pious and necessary desire thereof to restore publick Penance been seconded by the zeal and compliance of all estates and not stifled by the tares of Puritanisme growing up with the Reformation of it For as there can be no just pretense of Reformation when the effect of it is not the frequentation of Gods publick service in that forme which it restoreth but the suppressing of it in that form which it rejecteth So the communion of the Eucharist being the chiefe office in which it consisteth the abolishing of private Masses is an unsusticient pretense for Reformation where that provision for the frequenting of the communion is not made which the restoring of the order in force before private Masses came in requireth Nor can any meane be imagined to maintaine continuall communion with that purity of conscience which the holinesse of Christianity requireth but the restoring of Penance In fine if any thing may have been defective or amisse in that order which the Church of England establisheth it is but justice to compare it in grosse with both extreames which it avoideth and considering that it is not in any private man to make the body of the Church such as thâ—y could wish to serve God with to rest content in that he is not obliged to become a party to those things which he approves not conforming himself to the order in force in hope of that grace which communion with the Church in the offices of Gods service promiseth For consider againe what meanes of salvation all Christians have by communion with the Church of Rome All are bound to be at Masse on every Festivall day but to say onely so many Paters and so many Aves as belong to the hour Not to assist with their devotions that which they understand not much lesse
is to determine controversies of Faith And what obligation that determination produceth Traditions of the Apostles oblige the present Church as the reasons of them continue or not Instances in our Lords Passeover and Eucharist Penance under the Apostles and afterwards S. Pauls vail eaâ—ing blood and things offered to Idols The power of the Church in limiting these Traditions 178 CHAP. XXV The power of the Church in limiting even the Traditions of the Apostles Not every abuse of this power a sâ—fficient warrant for particular Churches to reforme themselves Heresie consists in denying something necessary to salvation to be believed Schism in departing from the unity of the Church whether upon that or any other cause Implicite Faith no virtue but the effect of it may be the work of Christian charity p. 163 CHAP. XXVI What is to add to Gods Law What to adde to the Apocalypse S. Pauls Anathema The Beraeans S. Johns Gospel sufficient to make one believe and the Scriptures the man of God perfect How the Law giveth light and Christians are taught by God How Idolatry is said not to be commanded by God 168 CHAP. XXVII Why it was death to transgress the determinations of the Jewes Consistory and what power this argueth in the Church A difference between the authority of the Apostles and that of the Church The being of the Church to the worlds end with power of the Keyes makes it not infallible Obedience to Superiours and the Pillar of truth inferre it not 175 CHAP. XXXI The Fathers acknowledge the sufficiencie 〈◊〉 â—â—â—â—rnesse of the Scriptures as the Traditions of the Church They are to be reconciled by limiting the termes which they use The limitations of those sayings which make all Christian truth to be contained in the Scriptures Of those which make the authority of the Church the ground of Faith 181 CHAP. XXXII Answer to an Objection that choice of Religion becomes difficult upon these terms This resolution is for the Interest of the Reformation Those that make the Church Infallible cannot those that make the Scriptures â—â—ear â—nd sufficient may own Tradition for evidence to determine the meaning of the Scriptures and controversies of Faith The Interest of the Church of England The pretense of Rushworthes Dialogues that we have no unquestionable Scripture and that tâ—e Tradition of the Church never changes 192 CHAP. XXXI That the Scriptures which wee have are unquestionable That mistakes in Copying are not considerable to the sense and effect of them The meaning of the Hebrew and Greek even of the Prophets determinable to the deciding of Controversies How Religion delivered by Tradition becomes subject to be corrupted 198 CHAP. XXXIV The dispute concerning the Canon of Scripture and the translations thereof in two Questions There can be no Tradition for those books that were written since Prophesie ceased Wherein the excellence of them above other books lies The chiâ—fe objections against them are questionâ—ble In those parcels of the New Testament that have been questioned the case is not the same The sense of the Church 207 CHAP. XXXIII Onely the Originall Copy can be Authentick But the truth thereof may as well be found in the translations of the Old Testament as in the Jewes Copies The Jewes have not falsified them of malice The points come neither from Moses nor Esdras but from the Talmud Iewes 218 CHAP. XXXIV Of the ancientest Translations of the Bible into Greek first With the Authors and authority of the same Then into the Chaldee Syriack and Latine Exceptions against the Greek and the Samaritane Pentateuch They are helps never thelesse to assure the true reading of the Scriptures though with other Copies whether Jewish or Christian Though the Vulgar Latine were better than the present Greek yet must both depend upon the Original Greek of the New Testament No danger to Christianity by the differences remaining in the Bible 224 The CONTENTS of the second Book CHAP. I. TWo parts of that which remains How the dispute concerning the Holy Trinity with Socinus belongs to the first The Question of justification by Faith alone The Opinion of Socinus concerning the whole Covenant of Grace The opinion of those who make justifying Faith the knowledge of a mans Predestination opposite to it in the other extream The difference between it and that of the Antinomians That there are mean Opinions p. 1 CHAP. II. Evidence what is the condition of the Covenant of Grace The contract of Baptism The promise of the Holy Ghost annexed to Christs not to Johns Baptism Those are made Christs Disciples as Christians that take up his Cross in Baptism The effects of Baptism according to the Apostles 5 CHAP. III. The exhortations of the Apostles that are drawn from the patterns of the Old Testament suppose the same How the Sacraments of the Old and New Testament are the same how not the same How the new Testament and the New Covenant are both one The free-will of man acteth the same part in dealing about the New-Covenant as about the Old The Gospel a Law 12 CHAP. IV. The consent of the whole Church evidenced by the custome of catechising By the opinion thereof concerning the salvation of those that delayed their Baptism By the rites and Ceremonies of Baptism Why no Penance for sins before but after Baptism The doctrine of the Church of England evident in this case 17 CHAP. V. The Preaching of our Lord and his Apostles evidenceth that some act of Mans free choice is the condition which it requireth The correspondence between the Old and New Testament inferreth the same So do the errors of Socinians and Antinomians concerning the necessity of Baptism Objections deferred 23 CHAP. VI. Justifying faith sometimes consists in believing the truth Sometimes in trust in God grounded upon the truth Sometimes in Christianity that is in imbracing and professing it And that in the Fathers as well as in the Scriptures Of the informed and formed Faith of the Schools 30 CHAP. VII The last signification of Faith is properly justifying Faith The first by a Metonymy of the cause The second of the effect Those that are not justified do truly believe The trust of a Christian presupposeth him to be justified All the promises of the Gospel become due at once by the Covenant of Grace That to believe that we are Elect or justified is not justifying faith 37 CHAP. VIII The objection from S. Paul We are not justifyed by the Law nor by Works but by Grace and by Faith Not meant of the Gospel and the works that suppose it The question that S. Paul speakes to is of the Law of Moses and the workes of it He sets those workes in the same rank with the works of the Gentiles by the light of nature The civil and outward works of the Law may be done by Gentiles How the Law is a Pedagogue to Christ 43 CHAP. IX Of the Faith and Justification of Abraham and the Patriarkes according to the Apostles
Of the Prophets and righteous men under the Law Abraham and Rahab the harlot justified by Workes if justified by Faith The promises of the Gospel depend upon works which the Gospel injoyneth The Tradition of the Church 52 CHAP. X. What Pelagius questioneth concerning the Grace of Christ what Socinus further of the state of Christ before his birth The opposition between the first and second Adam in S. Paul evidenceth original sinne Concupisence in the unregenerate and the inability of the Law to subdue it evict the same The second birth by the holy Ghost evidenceth that the first birth propagateth sin 66 CHAP. XI The old Testament chargeth all men as well as the wicked to be sinful from the wombe David complaineth of himself as born in sin no lesse then the Wise man of the children of the Gentiles How Leviticall Laws argue the same And temporal death under the Old Testament The book of Wisdome and the Greek Bible 76 CHAP. XII The Heresie of Simon Magus the beginning of the Gnosticks That they were in being during the Apostles time Where and when the Heresie of Cerintâ—us prevailed and that they were Gnosticks The beginning of the Encratites under the Apostles It is evident that one God in Trinity was then glorified among the Christians by the Fulnesse of the Godhead which they introduced in stead of it 80 CHAP. XIII The Word was at the beginning of all things The apparition of the old Testament Prefaces to the Incarnation of Christ Ambassadors are not honoured with the honour due to their Masters The word of God that was afterwards incarnate was in those Angels that spoke in Gods Name No Angel honoured as God under the New Testament The Word was with God at the beginning of all things as after his return 89 CHAP. XIV The Name of God not ascribed to Christ for the like reason as to creatures The reasons why the Socinians worship Christ as God do confute their limitations Christ not God by virtue of his rising again He is the Great God with S. Paul the true God with S. John the onely Lord with S. Jude Other Scriptures Of the form of God and of a servant in S. Paul 94 CHAP. XV. Not onely the Church but the World was made by Christ The Word was made flesh in opposition to the Spirit How the Prophets how Christians by receiving the Word of God are possessed by his Spirit How the title of Sonne of God importeth the Godhead How Christ is the brightnesse and Image of God 100 CHAP. XVI The testimonies of Christs Godhead in the Old Testament are first understood of the figures of Christ Of the Wisdome of God in Solomon and elsewhere Of the writings of the Jewes as well before as after Christ 112 CHAP. XVII Answer to those texts of Scripture that seem to abate the true Godhead in Christ Of that creature whereof Christ is the first-born and that which the Wisdome of God made That this beliefe is the originall Tradition of the Church What means this dispute furnisheth us with against the Arians That it is reason to submit to revelation concerning the nature of God The use of reason is no way renounced by holding this Faith 116 CHAP. XVIII The necessity of the grace of Christ is the evidence of Original sinne How the exaltation of our Lord depends upon his humiliation and the grace of Christ upon that All the work of Christianity is ascribed to the grace of Christ Gods predestination manifesteth the same 133 CHAP. XIX Evidences of the same in the Old Testament Of Gods help in getting the Land of Promise and renewing the Covenant And that for Christs sake That Christianity cannot stand without acknowledging the grace of Christ The Tradition of the Church In the Baptism of Infants In the Prayers of the Church In the decrees against Pelagius and other records of the Church 140 CHAP. XX. Wherein Original sinne consisteth What opinions are on foot That it is not Adams sinne imputed to his posterity Whether man were at the first created to a supernatural end or not An estate of meer nature but innocent possible Original sinne is concupisence How Baptism voids it Concerning the late novelty in the Church of England about Original sinne 151 CHAP. XXI The opinion that makes the Predestination of mans will by God the sourse of his freedom And wherein Jansenius differs from it Of necessity upon suppositiou and absolute The necessity of the Will following the last dictate of the understanding is onely upon supposition As also that which Gods foresight creates The difference between indifferent and undetermined 163 CHAP. XXII The Gospel findeth man free from necessity though not from bondage Of the Antecedent and consequent Will of God Praedetermination is not the root but the rooting up of Freedom and Christianity Against the opinion of Jansenius 170 CHAP. XXIII A man is able to do things truly honest under Originall sinne But not to make God the end of all his doing How all the actions of the Gentiles are sinnes They are accountable onely for the Law of nature How all men have or have not Grace sufficient to save 181 CHAP. XXIV Though God determineth not the will immediately yet he determineth the effect thereof by the means of his providence presenting the object so as he foresees it will chuse The cases of Pharoah of Solomon of Ahab and of the Jews that crucified Christ Of Gods foreknowledge of future conditionalls that come not to passe The ground of foreknowledge of future contingencies Difficult objections answered 189 CHAP. XXV The grounds of the difference between sufficient and effectual How naturall occasions conduce to supernatural actions The insufficience of â—ansenius his doctrine Of sufficient grace under the Law of Moses and Nature 202 CHAP. XXVI Predestination to grace absolute to glory respective Purpose of denying effectuall Grace absolute of punishing respective The end to which God predestinates is not the end for which he predestinates Grace the reward of the right use of Grace How much of the question the Gospel dètermines not That our indeavours are ingaged no lâ—sse then if predestination were not it determineth Of the Tradition of the Church and of Semipelagians Predestinatians and Arminians 212 CHAP. XXVII The question concerning the satisfaction of Christ with Socinus The reason why Sacrifices are figures of Christ common to all sacrifices Why and what Sacrifices the Fathers had what the Law added Of our ransom by the price of Christs propitiatory Sacrifice 233 CHAP. XXVIII Christ took away our sinne by bearing the punishment of it The Prophesie of Esay LIII We are reconciled to God by the Gospel inconsidâ—cation of Christs obedience The reconcilement of Jews and Gentiles Men and Angels consequent to the saâ—e Of purging and expiating sinne by Christ and making propitiation for it Of Christs dying for us 238 CHAP. XXIX The grant of Grace in consideration of Christ supposes satisfaction made by him for sinne Neither
is sufficient to evidence that it is the word of God which they contain This if wee can resolve in our way perhaps wee may discover ground to stand upon when wee come to the main Hee that sayes the Scriptures are to be believed for themselves exposes them to the scorn of unbelievers by tying himself to use no other reason for them least for that reason they should finde that credit which the seeking of it showes they had not of themselves Hee that sayes they are to be believed for the authority of the Church is bound to give account how wee shall know both that there is a Church which some persons may oblige And who is the Church that is who be the men whose act obliges the Church And that without alleging Scripture because hitherto wee have no reason to receive it And being but men how their Act obliges the Church which cannot be showed without showing that God hath founded a Corporation of his Church and given power to some men or some qualities or ranks of men in it to oblige the whole Which how it will be showed without means to determine the sense of the Scriptures the parties agreeing in nothing but the truth of Christianity and of the Scriptures is impossible to be said This position then induces that stop to all proceeding by reason which Logicians call a Circle When a man disputes in a round as a mill-horse grindes arguing this power to be in the Church by the Scriptures without which hee can say nothing to it and arguing the truth of the Scriptures back again by alleging the authority of the Church Which destroyes that supposition upon which all dispute of reason proceeds that nothing can be proved but by that which is better known than that which it proveth But are those that allege the spirit for the evidence upon which they receive the Scripture lesse subject to this inconvenience For is it not manifest that men may and do delude themselves with an imagination that Gods Spirit tells them that which their own Spirit without Gods Spirit conceives How then shall it discerned what comes from Gods Spirit what does not without supposing the Scriptures by which the mater thereof is discernable And is not this the same Circle to prove the truth of the Scriptures by the dictate of Gods Spirit and that by alleging the Scriptures To make the ground of this inconvenience still more evident I will here insist upon this presumption That the gift of the Holy Ghost presupposeth Christianity that is the belief and profession of the Christian Faith And therefore that no man can know that hee hath the Holy Ghost but hee must first know the truth of Christianity and of the Scriptures Not that it is my meaning either to suppose or prove in this place that whoso hath the Spirit of God doth or may know that hee hath it For that is one of those controversies which wee are seeking principles to resolve But that no man can know that hee hath the Spirit of God unlesse first hee know himself to be a true Christian That is to say that supposing for the present but not granting that a man can know that hee hath Gods Spirit and that it is Gods Spirit which moves him to believe this or that hee must first know what is true Christianity and by consequence the means to discern between true and false And this I propose for an assumption necessary to the evidencing of that which followes but not questioned by any party in the Church because it is a principle in Christianity that the Grace of the Holy Ghost is a promise peculiar to those that undertake it Who were they on whom the Holy Ghost was first bestowed Was it not the Apostles and the rest of Disciples assembled to serve God with the Offices of the Church that is to say already Christians When Philip had converted the Samaritanes came S. Peter and S. John to give them the Holy Ghost by laying on their hands till they were baptized Concerning the Disciples at Ephesus Acts XIX 1-6 there is some dispute whether they received the Holy Ghost by the imposition of S. Pauls hands by virtue of the Baptism of John which they had received before they met with S. Paul or whether they were baptized over and above with the baptisme of Christ and thereupon received the Holy Ghost by the laying on of S. Pauls hands But of this they that will have them to have been baptized only with S. Johns baptisme make no dispute that they were fully made Christians by it Can any thing be clearer than S. Pauls words Gal. II. 2-5 That by the hearing of Faith that is obeying it they had received the Holy Ghost which by the works of the Law they could not receive And 2 Cor. XI 4. If hee that cometh preach another Jesus whom wee preached not or yee receive another Spirit which yee received not or another Gospel which yee admitted not Another Jesus another Gospel inferreth another Spirit So Gal. III. 14. That the blessing of Abraham may come upon the Gentiles through Christ Jesus that yee may receive the promise of the Holy Ghost by Faith The promise of the Holy Ghost then supposeth the condition of Faith And Gal. IV. 6. Because yee are sons therefore God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts crying Abba Father Heb. VI. 6. It is impossible for those that were once inlightened and tasted the heavenly gift and became partakers of the Holy Ghost Upon inlightening that is baptisme followes the participation of the H. Ghost And seeing the resurrection of the flesh unto glory is ascribed by S. Paul to the Spirit of God that dwelt in it while it lived upon earth Rom. VIII 10 11. as the resurrection of our Lord Christ is ascribed to the Spirit of holinesse that dwelt in him without measure Rom. I. 4. John III. 34. of necessity the Holy Ghost dwelleth in all them that shall rise to glory But Baptisme assureth resurrection to glory Therefore it assureth the Holy Ghost by which they rise Nor can it be understood how wee are the Temple of God because the Spirit of God dwelleth in us 1 Cor. III. 16. but because the promise of the Holy Ghost dependeth upon that which distinguisheth Christians from other people In fine when our Saviour promiseth John XIV 23. If any man love mee hee will keep my word and my Father will love him and wee will come to him and abide with him Seeing the Father and the Son do dwell in those that love God by the grace of the Holy Ghost the gift of the Holy Ghost of necessity supposeth the love of God in them that have it And yet his discourse is more effectual Rom. VIII 1-9 That there is now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus that walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit For as hee inferreth that if any man have not the
therefore that Christians do believe for the same reasons for the which Infidels ought to believe I shall yield that it is onely the credit of Gods ancient people and of Christs Church that maâ—â—â— evidence that those miracles were truly done which I affirm to be the onely motive to believe being done at such distance of time and place from us But let not those that would learn mistake what is meant by the name of the Church For if you suppose the Church to be a Society of men whereof some by Gods appointment have power to oblige the whole then will the credit of the Scripture be resolved into the authority of the Church if the truth of those miracles on which alone the credit thereof is said to depend be grounded upon such a witnesse of the Church But my meaning is to suppose no more by the name of the Church in this place but the whole number of believers from Christ to the worlds end And so to say that there is no other reason why wee believe that such men as Moses and the Prophets as our Lord and his Apostles did such works as the Scriptures report to evidence that they came from God but the consent of all Christians that have imbraced the Gospel upon that motive Neither shall the Gospel hereby depend more upon the witnesse of man which may fail than it depends upon the witnesse of him who upon seeing what was done by our Lord and his Apostles should be moved to imbrace the Faith For though they had not taken effect with him but for the report of his eyes yet did not the force of them depend upon it Hee that considers shall finde that the consent of all believers in the whole motive of Faith more than supplies the use of our eyes in showing us sufficient reason to believe There is a distance of place as well as of time And God forbid wee should say those that never saw our Lord and his Apostles do the works for which wee believe had not sufficient reason to believe Their ears supplyed to them the use of their eyes inasmuch as experience and common sense shows that those things wherein the world agrees are no lesse certain and evident though morally than those which wee see with our eies Hee that should not traffick into the East or West-Indies or travail to Rome or Constantinople before hee had seen them must resolve not to see them The reason is because the world can have no common interest to deceive or to be deceived Much lesse could the Law of Moses least of all the Gospel of Christ have found credit the one imposing such an endlesse morosity of precepts to observe the other the Crosse of Christ had it not been originally manifest that such things were done to evidence that and this By which it appears that this reason supposes no authority in the Church founded upon the Gospel as a Society communicating in it because it supposes the same in the people of the Jewes as in the Church The authority of the Church standing upon the Gospel that which was over the Jewes on the Law whereof the one was to be removed when the other took place The reason because it referreth nothing to the Church but that intelligency which the community of mankinde furnish one another with for assurance in those things whereof all cannot be eye-witnesses by the consent of all which common reason makes to be as good evidence as our own senses And now it will not be difficult to say how the Scriptures are to be believed for themselves For inasmuch as the motives of believing are things recorded in Scripture it will be necessary to grant that the Scriptures are to be believed for themselves which are to be believed for those things which the Scriptures report But if wee be further demanded for what reason those motives which if true are sufficient to oblige all men to believe are taken to be true Hee that saies because they are recorded in the Scriptures grants that there is no reason to believe the Scriptures granting that there is no reason to believe the motives of faith but the report of those Scriptures the belief whereof supposes the truth of those motives But if wee impute the belief of that truth to the common sense of all who upon the supposition of them have submitted to Christianity and hold it wee have the whole truth of the Scripture evidenced upon such a ground as shall serve to inforce a resolution of whatsoever is questionable in Christianity upon it Whereas they who make the authority of the Church or the dictate of the Holy Ghost the reason of believing must either stand still when they are demanded the reason or give it by supposing Christianity and the Scriptures the truth whereof they pretend to prove by it which is the Circle that I spoke of afore admitting neither principle nor conclusion of discourse To confirm that which hath been said let me demand how the Writings of Homer or Virgil of Aristotle or Plato of Tully or Demosthenes of Hippocrates or Galen come to be admitted without any question for their Writings after some two thousand years more or lesse Is it not because ever since they were penned there have been those that have studied them for paterns of good Language and Oratory for the lest authors in Philosophy and Physick Because by them and through their hands they have been transmitted from age to age Is not their credit by this means so unquestionable that a man would be laught at that should ask other reason for it And yet what is this in comparison of that which is to be said for the Scriptures That all nations having starred aside to worship many Gods one people of the Jewes took upon them the worship of the onely true God according to the Lawes recorded in the books of Moses and that of so ancient time That being planted in the land of Canaan God stirred them up Prophets from age to age to keep them close to the service of their God That howsoever they kept them they alwaies professed to be under those Lawes as Gods That our Lord Jesus and his Apostles by commission from him in due time preached both Jewes and Gentiles to be rebels against God And that neither the Law of nature nor of Moses was able to free them from sin Tendering in Gods name the terms upon which all may be reconciled to God and evidencing their Commission by the works which they did in Gods name That all parts of the civil world being by that means convicted of the truth hereof undertook to professe Christianity notwithstanding the persecutions to which it was lyable and do continue in it till this time Is not this infallible evidence that wee have the very Writings of Moses and of the Prophets and Apostles and that they who left them us were sent by God seeing them admitted for Lawes to mens lives and conversations which
nothing but sufficient evidence that they came from God could have brought to passe Here if any man should say I know I have the Writings of Homer Aristotle or Tully by the Writings themselvs he might be convicted by tendering them to one that knowes nothing of Tully or Homer or Aristotle and asking him whether hee can say by those books whether they be Homers or Aristotles or Tullies Writings Bu◠he that first understands what account the world alwaies hath had their Writings in and studying them finds the marks in them may well say that hee knows the authors by their Writings So tender the Scripture in Ebrew or Greek to a savage of the West-Indies and ask him whether they be the Word of God or not who believes not in God as yet do you believe hee can tell you the truth But convict him of that which I have said how and by what means they came to our hands how they have been and are owned for Lawes to the hearts and lives of Gods people and hee will stand convict to God if hee believe not finding that written in the Books which the men own for the rule of their conversations So by the same means that all records of Learning are conveyed us are the Scriptures evidenced to be mater of historical faith But inasmuch as the mater of them had never been received but by the work of God in that regard they become mater of supernatural faith in regard of the reason moving in the nature of an object to believe as well as in regard of Gods grace moving in the nature of an effective cause I know there have been divers answers made to assoile this difficulty by those that dispute Controversies That the Scriptures authority is better known in order of nature the Churches in that order by which wee get our knowledg as Logicians and Philosophers use to distinguish between notius naturâ and notius nobis because our knowledg rises upon experience which wee have by sense of particulars and yet the general reason being once attained by that means is in some sense better known than that which depends upon it That the authority of the Scripture is the reason why wee believe but the authority of the Church a condition requisite to the same creating in the mindes of men that discreetly consider it a kinde of inferior Faith though infallible which disposes a man to accept the mater of that Faith which God onely revealeth though the reason why we believe is only the act of God revealing that which he obligeth us to believe But all this to no purpose so long as they suppose the foundation of the Church in the nature of a Corporation for the ground of admitting the mater of Faith not the credit of all believers agreeing in witnessing the motives of Faith I remember in my yonger time in Cambridge an observation out of Averrois the Saracene his Commentaries upon Aristotle which as I finde exactly true so may it be of good use That in Geometry and the Mathematicks the same thing is notius naturâ and nobis to wit the first principles and rudiments of those sciences which being evident as soon as understood produce in time those conclusions which no stranger to those studies can imagine how they should be discovered For being offered to the understanding that comprehendsthe meaning of them they require no experience of particulars with sense time brings forth to frame a general conceit of that in which all agree or to pronounce what holds in all particulars Because it is immediately evident that the same holds in all particulars as in one which a man has before his eyes The like is to be said of the processe in hand though the reason be farre otherwise Hee that considers may see that the motives of Faith assured to the common sense and reason of all men by the consent of believers are immediately the reason why wee believe the Scriptures in which they are recorded to be the Word of God without so much as supposing any such thing as a Church in the nature of a Corporation indowed with authority over those of whom it consists The consent of Christians as particular persons obliging common reason both to believe the Scriptures and whatever that belief inferres As this must be known before wee can believe the Scriptures so being known it must be if any be the onely reason why we believe either the Scriptures or that Christianity which they convey unto us And if it be the onely reason why wee believe then is it better known in order of reason as well as of sense to be true than the authority of the Church the knowledg whereof must resolve into the reason why wee are Christians And if this be true then is not the authority of the Church as a Corporation to be obliged by the act of some members so much as a condition requisite to induce any man to believe All men by having the onely true reason why all are to believe being subject to condemnation if they believe not But not if they believe not the Corporation of the Church unlesse it may appeare to be a part of that Faith which that onely reason moves us to believe Neither doth the credit which wee give to all Christians witnessing the motives of Faith to be true by submitting to Christianity in regard of them create in us any inferior Faith of the nature of humane because the witnesse of man convayes the motives thereof to our knowledg But serves us to the same use as mens eyes and other senses served them when they saw those things done which Moses and the Prophets which our Lord and his Apostles did to induce men to believe that they came from God For as true as it is that if God have provided such signs to attest his Commission then we are bound to believe So true is it that if all Christians agree that God did procure them to be done then did hee indeed procute them to be done that men might believe For so great a part of mankinde could not be out of their wits all at once Let not therefore those miracles which God hath provided to attest the Commissions of Moses and the Prophets of our Lord and his Apostles be counted common and probable motives to believe unlesse wee will confesse that wee have none but common and probable motives For what reason can wee have to believe that shall not depend upon their credit Unlesse it be the light of natural reason which may make that which they preach more evidently credible but never evidently true If these works were provided by God to oblige us to believe then is that Faith which they create truely divine and the work of God Though had all men been blinde they had not been seen and had all men been out of their wits wee might presume that they had agreed in an imposture And now it will be easie to answer the
words of S. Augustine contra Epistolam fundamenti cap. V. which alwaies have a place in this dispute though I can as yet admit S. Augustine no otherwise than as a particular Christian and his saying as a presumption that hee hath said no more than any Christian would have said in the common cause of all Christians against the Manichees Ego Evangelio non crederem saith hee nisi me Ecclesiae Catholicae moveret authoritas I would not believe or have believed the Gospel had not the authority of the Catholick Church moved mee For some men have imployed a great deal of learning to show that moveret stands for movisset as in many other places both of S. Augustine and of other Africane Writers And without doubt they have showed it past contradiction and I would make no doubt to show the like in S. Hierome Sidonius and other Writers of the decaying ages of the Latine tongue as well as in the Africane Writers if it were any thing to the purpose For is not the Question manifestly what it is that obligeth that man to believe who as yet believeth not Is it not the same reason that obliges him to become and to be a Christian Therefore whether moveret or movisset all is one The Question is whether the authority of the Church as a Corporation that is of those persons who are able to oblige the Church would have moved S. Austine to believe the Gospel because they held it to be true Or the credit of the Church as of so many men of common sense attesting the truth of those reasons which the Gospel tenders why wee ought to believe What is it then that obliged S. Austine to the Church The consent of people and nations that authority which miracles had begun which hope had nourished charity increased succession of time settled from S. Peter to the present the name and title of Catholick so visible that no Heretick durst show a man the way to his Church demanding the way to the Catholick So hee expresseth it cap. 111. And what is this in English but the conversion of the Gentiles foretold by the Prophets attested by God and visibly settled in the Unity of the Church Whereupon hee may boldly affirm as hee doth afterwards that if there were any word in the Gospel manifestly witnessing Manes to be the Apostle of Christ hee would not believe the Gospel any more For if the reason for which hee had once believed the Church that the Gospel is true because hee saw it verified in the being of the Church should be supposed false there could remain no reason to oblige us to take the Gospel for true All that remaines for the Church in the nature and quality of a Corporation by this account will be this That it is more discretion for him that is in doubt of the truth of Christianity to take the reason of it from the Church that is from those whom the Church trusteth to give it than from particular Christians who can by no means be presumed to understand it so well as they may do For otherwise supposing a particular Christian sets forth the same reasons which the Church does how can any man not be bound to follow him that is bound to follow the Church So that the reasons which both allege being contained in the Scriptures the Church is no more in comparison of the Scriptures than the Samaritane in comparison of our Lord himself when her fellow-citizens tell her John IV. 12. Wee believe no more for thy saying For wee our selves have heard and know that this is of a truth the Saviour of the World the Christ For the reasons for which our Lord himself tells us that wee are to believe are contained in the Scriptures But by the premises it will be most manifest that the same Circle in discourse is committed by them who resolve the reason why they believe into the dictate of the Spirit as into the decree of the Church For the question is not now of the effective cause whether or no in that nature a man is able to imbrace the true Faith without the assistance of Gods Spirit or not Which ought here to remain questionable because it is to be tried upon the grounds upon which here wee are seeking And therefore that Faith which is grounded upon revelation from God and competent evidence of the same is to be counted divine supernatural Faith without granting whatsoever wee may suppose any supernatural operation of Gods Spirit to work it in the nature of an effective cause which must remain questionable supposing the reason why wee believe the Scriptures But in the nature of an object presenting unto the understanding the reason why we are to believe it is manifest by the premises that no man can know that hee hath Gods Spirit that knoweth not the truth of the Scriptures If therefore hee allege that hee knowes the Scriptures to be true because Gods Spirit saith so to his Spirit hee allegeth for a reason that which hee could not know but supposing that for granted which hee pretendeth to prove To wit That the dictate of his own Spirit is from Gods Spirit Indeed when the motives of Faith proceed from Gods Spirit in Moses and the Prophets in our Lord and his Apostles witnessing by the works which they do their Commission as well as their message who can deny that this is the light of Gods Spirit Again when wee govern our doings by that which wee believe and not by that which wee see who will deny that this is the light of Faith and of Gods Spirit But both these considerations take place though wee suppose the mater of Faith to remain obscure in it self though to us evidently credible for the reasons God showes us to believe that hee saith it If any man seek in the mater of Faith any evidence to assure the conscience in the nature of an object or reason why wee are to believe that is not derived from the motives of Faith outwardly attesting Gods act of revealing it hee falls into the same inconvenience with those who believe their Christianity because the Church commends it and again the Church because Christianity commends it As for that monstrous imagination that the Scripture is not Law to oblige any man in justice to believe it before the Secular Powers give it force over their subjects Supposing for the present that which I said before that it is all one question whether Christianity or whether the Scriptures oblige us as Law or not Let mee demand whether our Lord Christ and his Apostles have showed us sufficient reasons to convince us that wee are bound to believe and become Christians If not why are wee Christians If so can wee be obliged and no Law to oblige us supposing for the present though not granting because it is not true that by refusing Christianity sufficiently proposed a man comes not under sin but onely comes not from under it but
Christianity was in force And therefore as visibly derive themselves fromt the Apostles as the corrupt Christianity of this time can derive it self from that which they planted pure from the fountain But there can be no such evidence of this point or of the whole mater in hand concerning the Corporation of the Church as the excluding of Hereticks and Schismaticks out of it S. Paul 2 Thess III. 6-14 orders them to withdraw from every brother that walkes disorderly and not according to the Tradition which saith hee yee have received from us To mark them and not to converse with them that they may be ashamed But with the excommunicate not so much as to eat 1 Cor. V. 11. So likewise having exhorted the Romanes XVI 12. to mark those that cause divisions and scandals beside the doctrine which saith hee yee have received of us to avoid them hee hath thereby given us to understand that hee would have Christians abhorr all conversation with those that declare themselves Hereticks I have in another place allowed S. Jeromes exposition of that Text of S. Paul Titus III. 9. A man that is an Heretick after the first and second admonition avoid Understanding it of Schismaticks who as it followes do condemne themselves when they voluntarily forsake the communion of the Church which other sinners are excluded from whether they will or not But considering there is no admonition against Schisme which is declared as soon as it is done as there may be against Heresie which may lurk before it is professed I count is as properly said that Hereticks condemn themselves whenâ—oever they professe to believe the contrary of that which they professed when they were made Christians as Schismaticks when they excommunicate themselves The Apostle indeed seems to use a moderate term when hee saith A man that is an Heretick after the first and second admonition avoid So the original 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is to be translated according to Cyrils Glosses where wee reade 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 excuso recuso evito which last sounds in English to avoid But in Vulcanius his Glosses evito signifies 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 To have in horror as well as to take heed and to avoid And it is to be understood that S. Paul prescribes that to Tiâ—us which hee intends all his flock should practise Supposing that being Christians they would be carefull to avoid the infection of those whom their Pastors should avoid because they counted them dangerous not to themselves but to their flock To this purpose S. Jude 22 23. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Copy at S. James reades 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 reproue some that preferre themselves before others But nothing so pertinently to the opposition between pity and terror that followes And some truly take pity on putting a difference or behaving your selves with a difference towards them others save through feare of the judgment of God or of the Church hating even the garment that is spotted with sin It appeares that the Gnosticks whom hee writes against could counterfeit themselves Christians to seduce the simple from the Faith to their Heresies Therefore Jude 11 12. They perished in the contradiction of Core They are spots in your Feasts of love banqueting with you and feeding themselves without feare And 1 Pet. II. 14 18. they are said to bait unstable soules And They bait with fleshly concupiscences through wantonnesse those that had truly escaped from them that live in error They were not afraid to communicate with Christians at their Feasts of love where the Sacrament of the Eucharist was also celebrated that they might get means and opportunity of seducing the simple to separate with them from the Church And therefore S. Jude 19. These are they who separate themselves as S. Peter saith that they perish in the contradiction of Core So then those that are curable either by pity or by terror hee exhorts them to save But when hee charges them to hate even the garmâ—nâ— thâ—t is spotted with sin hee charges them much more to abhorre the communion of those that were discovered to be uncurable For with what zele they taught to avoid the Hereticks of that time let S. John be Judge John II. 10 11. If any man come to you that brings not this doctrine but transgresses it and abides not in it as hee said just afore take him not into your house as you do them who bring testimony that they hold the Christian faith neither salute him for hee that salutes him is accessory to his evil works Certainly hee requires great demonstration of a minde detesting Heresie that affirmes those who afford them the ordinary civility of salutation to be accessory to their evil works But it is to be considered that the Apostle speaks of the Heresies which Simon Magus and Cerinthus had then set on foot when hee sayes there II John 7. Many impostors are gone out into the world who professe not Jesus Christ come in the flesh For though they wore the name of Christians yet they professed not that Jesus of Nazareth then come in the flesh was the Christ But Simon Magus and his disciple Menander both pretended themselves to be the Christ Saturninus and Basilides some of their invisible principles Valentinus one of his Aeones and likewise Marcus Cerinthus the power that came upon Jesus of Nazareth at his Baptisme and left him at his Crosse So the rest untill Cerdon and Marcion who pretending that Jesus of Nazareth was not Son of the God of Israel denied by consequence that Christ was come in the flesh S. Cyprian Epist LXXIII having disputed that these Heresies do not hold the same Father the same Son the same Holy Ghost with the Church comes down to the Marcionites strongly arguing that they who made one God of Israel anotherÌ„ the Father of our Lord Christ and his Manhood onely in appearance cannot be said to believe in Christ as Christians do Adding very plainly that they are those of whom the Apostle speaketh 1 John IV. 2. that they are of the Spirit of Antichrist and that the Spirit of Antichrist hath possessed their breasts But there is no such commentary upon S. â—ohns words as that which is related of hiâ— by Irenaeus III. 3. from the mouth of Polycarpus that hee would not indure to be in the bath with Cerinthus the enemy of Gods truth And of Polycarpus that being desired by Marcion to own him hee answered that hee did own him for â—he first-born of Satan Which actions Irenaeus thus construeth Tantum Apostoli horum discipuli habuerunt timorem ut neque verbo tenus communicarent alicui eorum qui adulteraverunt veritatem Quemadmodum Paulus ait Haereticum hominem post unam alteram correptionem devita Sciens quoniam perversus est qui est talis à seipso damnatus So great fear had the Apostles and Disciples not to communicate so farr as in words with any of those who
corrupted the truth As Paul also saith A man that is an Heretick after one reproof and a second avoid Knowing that such a one is perverted condemned by himself Where you see it is not I but Irenaeus that expoundeth those words of S. Paul to this purpose The same Irenaeus III. 4. Cerdon autem qui ante Marcionem hic sub Hygino qui fuit octavus Episcopus saepe in Ecclesiam veniens exomologesim faciens sic consummavit Modò quidem latenter docens modò verò exomologesim faciens modò verò ab aliquibus traductus in his quae docebat malè abstentus est religiosorum hominum conventu But this same Cerdon also that was before Marcion under Hyginus who was the eight Bishop many times addressing to the Church and confessing ended accordingly Sometimes covertly teaching his Heresie sometimes confessing And sometimes being detected by some in those bad things which hee taught was excluded the assembly of the Religious Tertullian de praescript cap. XXX informes us that Marcion though hee was at the first refused Penance by the Church of Rome as I shall show you out of Epiphanius yet afterwards was cast out of the Church there which supposeth him admitted afore with Valentinus the Father of another Heresie and having been received once again at the last for good and all For having obtained to be re-admitted upon this condition that hee should reduce with himself all that hee had seduced at length hee died before hee was able to accomplish the same These things coming to passe so soon after the Apostles as they did and the same course being held in separating those Heresies from the Church which sprung up in their several ages afterwards there is no room left for any pretense that the Church never had power to do that which there never was any time that shee did not do For it is to be noted that these Heads of Heresies being condemned and cast out of the Church in which they first appeared and which they attempted to divide were thenceforth disowned by all Churches being certified of the proceeding that had passed against them upon the place And therefore Vincentius Lerinensis Commentario I. expounding S. Pauls words Gal. I. 8 9. Let him be Anathema Anathema sit inquit id est separatui exclusus nè unius ovis dirum contagium innoxium gregem Christi venenatâ permistione contaminet That is saith hee let him be separated set aside shut out least the direfull contagion of one sheep with any mixture of poison stain the innocent flock of Christ And again afterwards handling the words of S. Paul 1 Tim. VI. 20. Keep that which is committed to thy trust avoiding profane novelties of words What is it to avoid With such one not so much as to eat What is avoid If any come to you saith hee and bringeth not this doctrine receive him not home nor bid him God speed Where you see these are none of my collections gathered out of the Apostles words but that exposition of them which the practice of the Catholick Church inferreth CHAP. X. Evidence of the Apostles act from the effect of it in preserving the Vnity of the Church Of the businesse of Marcion and Montanus That about keeping Easter That of the Novations of rebaptizing Hereticks of Paulus Samosatenus of Dionysius Alexandrinus and Arius Of communicatory leters and the intercourse of the Church under and after the Apostles THis is indeed the true demonstration and evidence from the effect that the will of God and not the consent of men is the ground upon which the Corporation of the Church subsisteth The whole number of Christians dispersed over all the Empire and beyond the bounds of it continued for divers hundred years in one communion and in the unity of one Church Those that indeavoured to alter the Rule of Faith or to impose such Lawes as were found by the greatest part not to stand with the end for which the Church was founded being by the consent of the whole excluded the communion of it for Hereticks and Schismaticks Hee that sayes this was not the work of God or the means of effecting it none of his declared will why should not hee say the like of Christianity Indeed since the Council of Ephesus the Churches of Mesopotamia and Assyria are fallen from the Unity of the whole since the Council of Chalcedon those of Aegypt and Aethiopia Since that the Eastern Churches under the Patriarch of Constantinople have been divided from the Western under the Pope of Rome And these from one another into so many parties since the Reformation that wee are now come to dispute whether they ought to be united or not That ever they will be is so hopelesse that no man would undertake to dispute that they should be were it possible to preserve that little of Christianity that remaines without re-uniting the Church I allege here the most eminent passages that fell out in the Church from the Apostles to Constantine to show that it is a question whether the evidence be more That by Gods appointment there was from the beginning and ought to be alwaies one Catholick Church Or the hope lesse that ever it will be so again I cannot begin with a better evidence than that of Irenaeus because it containes the effect of the aforesaid ordinances of the Apostles for the separating of the Heresies set on foot by Simon Magus and Cerinthus from the Communion of the Church that the Unity thereof might be preserved by remaining distinct from them Wee understand by reading his first book that Basilides at Alexandria Saturninus at Antiochia Valentinus first in Aegypt then in Cyprus afterwards at Rome Cerintbus in Asia and elsewhere others in several parts of the World indeavored to adulterate that Christianity which the Apostles had delivered That they were so unanimously rejected and excluded out of the society of the Church from East to West that hee is able to affirm I. 3. that though dispersed all over the world yet it preserves the doctrine once preached as if it dwelt all in one house believing the same faith as if it had the same soul and heart and preaching and teaching the same as if it had but one mouth And can common sense imagine that the remotest parts of the world could remaine united to one another separated from Heresies sprung in the remotest parts of it which they could not have intelligence of but by communication of it with those parts of it where they sprung without that continual correspondence wherein the actual communion of the Church consisteth But the words of Irenaeus are so vigorous that I cannot leave them out here as they stand in his original Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Unity therefore of the Church was visible Otherwise it had been senslesse for Irenaeus to assume it as an evidence of the truth of that Faith the unity whereof became visible by the
Christians had not sufficiently renounced Idolatry in receiving the faith or as if it were not free for them being Christians to Gods creatures which perhaps might have been sacrificed to Idols But because as I said afore the Jews had a custome not to eat any thing till they had inquired whether sacrificed to Idols or consecrated by offering the first fruits thereof which scrupulosity those who did not observe they counted not so much enemies to Idols as they ought to be which opinion of their fellow Christians was not so consistent with that opinion of Christianity which was requisite Not as if fornication were not sufficiently prohibited by Christianity but because simple fornication being accounted no sinne but meerly indifferent among the Gentiles all the professions and all the decrees that could be made were little enough to perswade the Jews that their fellow Christians of the Gentiles held it in the like detestation as themselves Now though we find that the Christians did sometimes and in most places forbear blood and things strangled and offered to Idols even where this reason ceased and that perhaps out of an opinion that the decree of the Apostles took hold of them in doing which they did but abridge themselves of the common freedom of Christians yet seeing the Apostles give no such sign of any intent of reviving that which was once a Law to all that came from Noe but forgotten and never published again it followeth that the Church is no more led by the reason of their decree then those Churches of Rome and Corinth were whom S. Paul licences to eat all meats in generall as the Romanes or things sacrificed to Idols expresly as the Corinthians excepting the case of scandall which our common Christianity excepteth setting aside the decree of Jerusalem which S. Paul alledgeth not and naming two cases wherein that scandall might fall out as excepting no other case But in all these instances and others that might be brought as it was visible to the Church whether the reasons for which such alterations were brought into the Church continued in force or not so was it both necessary and sufficient for them that might question whither they were tied to them or not to see the expresse act or the custome of the Church for their assurance For what other ground had they to assure their consciences even against the Scripture in all ages of the Church For if these reasons be not obvious if every one admit them not much lesse will every one find a resolution wherein all may agree and all scandall and dissention may be suppressed CHAP. XXV The power of the Church in limiting even the Traditions of the Apostles Not every abuse of this power a sufficient warrant for particular Churches to reforme themselves Heresie consists in denying something necessary to salvation to be believed Schism in departing from the unity of the Church whether upon that or any other cause Implicite Faith no virtue but the effect of it may be the work of Christian charity SUpposing now the Church a Society and the same from the first to the second coming from Christ by Gods appointment Let it be considered what is the difference between the state thereof under the Apostles and under Constantine or now under so many Soveraignties as have shared these parts of the Empire And let any understanding that can apprehend what Lawes or what Customes are requisite to the preservation of unity in the communion of the Church in the one and in the other estate I say let any such understanding pronounce whither the same Lawes can serve the Church as we see it now or as we read of it under Constantine and as it was under the Apostles He that sayes yea will make any man that understands say that he understands not what he speaks of he that sayes nay must yeeld that even the Lawes given the Church by the Apostles oblige not the Church so farre as they become useless to the purpose for which they are intended seeing it is manifest that all Laws of all Societies whatsoever so farre as they become unserviceable so far must needs cease to oblige And the Apostles though they might know by the spirit the state of the Church that should come after yet had they intended to give Laws to that State they had not given Laws to the State which was when they lived and gave Laws The authority therefore of the Apostles remaining unquestionable and the Ordinances also by them brought into the Church for the maintenance of Gods service according to Christianity the Church must needs have power not onely to limite and determine such things as were never limited nor determined by the Apostles but even those things also the determination whereof made by the Apostles by the change of time and the state of the Church therewith are become evidently uselesse and unserviceable to the intent for which it standeth And if it be true that I said afore that all power produceth an obligation of obeying it in some things I say not in all as afore even when it is abused in respect of God and of a good Conscienceâ— then is the act of the Church so farre a warrant to all those that shall follow it so farre even in things which a man not onely suspects but sees to be ill ordered by those that act in behalfe of it This is that which all the variety and multitude of Canons Rites and Ordinances which hath been introduced into the Church before there was cause of making any change without consent of the whole evidenceth being nothing else but new limitations of those Ordinances which the Apostles either supposed or introduced for the maintenance of Gods service determining the circumstances according to the which they were to be exercised For if there were alwayes cause since the beginning for particular Churches that is parts of the vvhole to make such changes vvithout consent of the whole as might justly cause a breach between that part and the whole then was there never any such thing as a Catholick Church which all Christians profess to believe And truly the Jews Law may be an argument as it is a patern of the same right which notwithstanding an express precept of neither adding to it nor taking from it unlesse we admit a power of determining circumstances not limited by the letter of it becomes unserviceable and not to be put in practice as may easily appear to any man that shall peruse the cases that are put upon supposition of those precepts which determine not the same Whereupon a power is provided by the same Law of inflicting capitall punishment upon any that not resting upon the determination established by those that have authority in behalfe of the whole shall tend to divide the Synagogue Iintend not hereby to say that the power of giving Law to the Church cannot be so well abused that it may at length inable or oblige parts of the Church
Valerianus de Flavigny Professor of the Ebrew in the University of Paris written in opposition to an opinion vented in the Preface to the great Bible lately published there in disparagement of the Ebrew Copy of the Old Testament Where hee shall see that opinion refuted with that eagernesse and the contrary attested by the opinions of so many Divines of so great note in the Church of Rome since that Council that no man that sees them can deny that notwithstanding the decree it is free for every man to maintain the original Copies to be authentick And truly hee that should affirm the credit of the Scripture to stand upon the decree of the present Church or upon the testimony of the Spirit must by consequence have recourse to the same visible decree or to the same invisible dictate whensoever it shall be necessary to accept or refuse the reading of any text of Scripture with that faith which if it be false the whole truth of Christianity will be forfeit What Rushworth and his possession would do to evidence what reading of the Scripture is indeed authentick when as it doth not appear what is the reading which the Church is truly in possession of let him advise For in that case hee must expresly avow the consequence of his position that the Scripture is not considerable in resolving Controversies of Faith Because the Church is not in possession of the certain reading of any Scripture For if hee say hee hath made short work in that question having discharged the Scripture of being necessary to the Church and therefore acquitted himself of any necessity to show how wee may come by true Scripture and in stead thereof and all other means of deciding Controversies in the Church established the tradition presently in possession First it will be easier for mee to verifie the short Rule of Faith by the Scriptures interpreted according to that which by records may appear to have been from the beginning of force in the Church than it will be for him to show what is the Tradition which the Church is in possession of at present And that this being showed I shall not need to fear any great danger that hee may object from the variety of reading which may be found in several Copies the necessity of salvation being secured And then in the next place to say That the Scripture is not necessary though not for the salvation of every Christian yet for the salvation of the Body of Christians which is the Church Though that faction which separation ingenders will suffer no opinion to be plausible but those which are in extreams Yet I hope the malice of Satan hath not yet debauched the ears of Christians to indure And thus as afore it was settled that the whole Scripture is received for the word of God upon the credit of Tradition so of every part and parcel of it wherein the credit of several Copies consisteth it is consequently to be said that nothing can oblige the faith of a Christian to receive it unquestionably for the word of God the Tradition whereof is not unquestionable But thus mâ—ch being settled That what was originally delivered in Greek and Ebrew is to be received for the authentick Word of God What was originally delivered in Greek and Ebrew may still remain questionable That is to say this being agreed it may still remain questionable what Copies they are that do contain that which was originally delivered in Greek and Ebrew How probable it is I need not yet say but any man of common sense must say that it is possible through the changes that time is able to produce that the translations shall prove better than the originals and that the Scriptures shall be truer read among those that have received than among those that delivered them And this is indeed the true state of the question which is now come to be disputed upon due terms as it seems To wit whether the Ebrew Copies which now wee have from the Jews and the Greek Copies of the New Testament now extant contain that Scripture which all Christians are bound to receive upon their Christianity not onely in opposition to the Vulgar Latine which the Council of Trent injoyneth and to the authority of the present Church thinking that it is concluded in that decree but in opposition to that Tradition which other ancient Copies either original or translated may and do contain and evidence In which point I shall in the first place professe as concerning the Old Testament that I finde it no inconvenience but a great deal of reason to grant that at what time those books were made up into a Body and consigned unto the Synagogue the reading which wee have received from them was not delivered as unquestionable so that it should be any prejudice to the Law of God to suspect it but as the most probable and by admitting whereof no prejudiee to the said Law could follow And the safety of this position both Jews and Christians will witnesse with mee For if the Jews rruly acknowledg and insist that their Judaism is sufficiently grounded and witnessed by the leter of the Old Testament which wee have the Christians that their Christianity is as sufficiently to be evidenced by the Copies wee have as Christianity was intended to be delivered by the Scriptures of the Old Testament Is it possible that it should be a mater of jealousie for mee to admit that in that Body of the Old Testament which the Christians have received from the Jews there may be found some passages the reading whereof was not received as unquestionable when the Body of the Old Testament was consigned to the Synagogue from whence the Church receiveth it I say not when this time was nor would I have that which I affirm here to stand upon a circumstance so disputable I do believe the Jews when they tell us of the men of the Great Synagogue after the return from the Captivity from whom and by whom the Scriptures they believe were settled and delivered to their posterity I do also believe that this Assembly might and did indure whilest the Grace of Prophets had vogue and was in force among Gods people For if I believe them when they tell mee that there was such a company of men I cannot disbelieve them that the Prophets Haggai Zachary and Malachi the Scribe Esdras the same with Malachi as they tell us for any thing I know for why should I not believe Malachi being appellative and signifying my messenger to be Esdras his surname given him from that which is prophesied Mal. III. 1 Mordecai Nehemias Josue the son of Josedok and many others of that time were of it But shall I believe that their Prophetical grace was imployed to decide the true reading of the Scripture shall I believe that a new revelation was given to notifie how every leter and syllable was to be read when neither the consequence of the mater required it
communion with or obligation of dependance one upon another either in the Rule of Faith or service of God according to it wherein they may seem elder brothers to those who have put the like principle in practice among us though without supposing any other Rule of Faith then that which every Church so constituted shall agree to take for the sense of the Scriptures Now how soon it may come into the mind and agreement of a Church so constituted to take up the profession of Socinus for the Rule of their Faith I leave them that are capable to judge if yet we have no experience of it But I have observed by reading Socinus his Book de Christo Servatore one of the first if not the first of all the Books whereby he declared his heresie that being extreamly offended at his adversaries opinion he seems to have been thereby occasioned to fall upon another extream of denying the satisfaction of Christ and so by degrees his Godhead as the only peremptory principle to destroy the satisfaction of Christ and by consequence as well that reason of the Covenant of Grace which the Church as that which his adversary maintaineth Conceiving then his error about the Covenant of Grace to have occasioned his error in the Faith of the holy Trinity I conceive I shall handle the chiefe Controversies in Religion that divide the Church at present according to the title of my Book though I maintain not the faith of the Trinity against Socinus otherwise then as the maintenance of the Covenant of Grace grounded upon the satisfaction of Christ as that upon his Godhead shall require Another reason I had because this Heresie seems to be too learned to become popular among us though branches of it may come to have vogue For though there hath been but too much either of wit or Learning imployed in framing the Scriptures to the sense of it in the chiefe points of Christianity Yet is it hard to make the vulgar understanding not onely of hearers but of teachers such as these times allow capable of that sense to which they have framed the most eminent passages of the Scriptures and the grounds of it together with the consent and agreement of the severall points of Christianity among themselves according to it Upon this consideration I charge not my selfe with the maintenance of the Faith of the holy Trinity otherwise then as the consideration thereof shall be incident to resolve the nature of the Covenant of Grace which is the first part of my purpose Therefore that a few words may propose many and great difficulties from whence it comes and what it is that renders Christians acceptabe to God sand heirs of everlasting life who as men are his enemies by sinne here and â—ubjects of his wrath in the world to come this I conceive to be the sum of what we are to inquire Concerning in the first place that disposition of mind which qualifies a man for those blessings which the Gospel tenders upon that condition which the Covenant of Grace requires and in the second place whether this disposition be brought to passe in us by the free Grace of God and the helps which it provides or by the force of nature that is by that light of understanding and that freedom of choice which necessarily proceeds from the principles of mans nature It is well enough known how great dispute there is between them that professe the Reformation and the Church of Rome whether a man be justified before God in Christ by Faith alone or by Faith and Works both speaking of actuall righteousnesse or if we speak of habituall righteousnesse by Faith and Love For though the whole Garland of supernaturall vertues concurrs to the habituall righteousnesse of Christians which is universall to all objects actions Yet seeing the reason of them all is derived from that which Faith believeth and the intent of all referred to that service of God which love constraineth where Faith and Love are named there the rest may well be understood Whether Faith alone therefore or Faith and love so much the parties must in dispite of them remaine agreed in that there is some disposition or act of mans mind required by the Covenant of Grace as the condition that qualifieth a man at least for so much of that Promise which the Gospel tendreth as justification importeth But this being supposed and granted it may and must be disputed in what consideration it qualifieth for the same Which is to make short whether the inward worth of that disposition whatsoever it shall prove to be oblige Almighty God to reward it with that which the Gospel promiseth Or whether in consideration of the obedience of Christ performed in doing the message which he undertook of reconciling Man unto God he hath been pleased to proraise that reward which is without comparison more then can be due to that disposition which he requires as the condition to qualifie us for the promise Here must I relate the position of the Socinians concerning the intent of Christs comming Not to purchase at Gods hands those helps of Grace which inable Christians to become qualified for the promise which the Gospel tendreth which the Church with S. Austin in the dispute with the Pelagians cals therefore the Grace of Christ Not to reconcile us to God in the nature of a meritorious cause his obedience being the consideration for which God accepteth that disposition which qualifies us for the promise of the Gospel as the condition upon which he tenders it But to yield us sufficient reason both to perswade us of the truth of his message as by the rest of his works so especially by rising again from the dead and also to induce us to imbrace the Gospel by assuring us of the fulfilling of that promise to us which we see so eminently performed in him by that height to which we believe him to be exalted and then having induced us to undertake the Gospel of Christ to secure us both of protection against the enemies thereof here by that power which he that went before us in it hath obtained for that purpose and of our crown at the judgement to come And all this not in any consideration of the merits and sufferings of Christ but of Gods free Grace which alone moved him to deale with us by Christ to this effect and to propose a reward so unproportionable to our performance which would not redound to the account of his free Grace if it should be thought to have been purchased either by the satisfaction of Christ in regard of our sins to be redeemed or by his merits in regard of the reward to be purchased As for the matter of Justification by Faith alone it is to be observed that Socinus is obliged by the premises to understand that Grace for which the Gospel is called The Covenant of Grace to be no Grace of Christ that is to say not given out of any
for the waters are come in even unto my soul And Let not the water-stood drown me neither let the deep swallow me up And let not the pit shut her mouth upon me And XLII 9. One deep calleth another because of the noise of thy water-pipes All thy waves and billows are gone over me Whereupon S. Paul Romans VI. 3 4 5 Know ye not that as many as have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into his death We are therefore buried with him by baptism into death that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father so we should also walk in newnesse of life For if we have been planted into the like death of his then shall we be also into the like of his rising again For when he saith again Rom. X. 7. Who shall go down into the deep to wit to bring up Christ from the dead He sheweth plainly that by the waters of the deep he understands death whereby I suppose it appears sufficiently that the water of Baptism not the fire of the Holy Ghost is the antitype to the waters of the deluge Besides the Baptism of the Holy Ghost is not called Baptism but by resemblance of the fire thereof infusing it self into all the soul as the whole body is drenched in the waters of baptism Therefore it is not called absolutely Baptism but with an addition abating the property of the sense the Baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire Therefore where the term Baptism stands without this addition or any circumstance signifying the same it cannot be understood Again the interrogating of a good conscience 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies as all men of learning agree metonymically or by Synecdoche the answer or rather the stipulation consisting of the interrogatories of Baptism and the answer returned by him that is baptized undertaking to believe and to live like a Christian For it is manifest that it Fath been alwayes the custom in the Church of God as still in the Church of England which S. Peter here shews that it comes down from the Apostles to exact of him that is baptized a solemn vow promise or contract to stand to that which he undertaketh And this it is which the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here signifies whereof he that doubts may see enough in Grotius his Annotations to make him ashamed to doubt any more When therefore S. Peter saith that Baptism saveth us not the doing away the filth of the flesh but the answer of a good conscience towards God he does not intend to distinguish the Baptism of water from the Baptism of the Holy Ghost in opposition to the same But to distinguish in the Baptism of water the bodily act of cleansing the flesh from the reasonable act of professing Christianity which being done out of a good conscience towards God he saith saveth us And that by the resurrection of Jesus Christ By vertue whereof S. Paul also saith that if we planted into the like death to Christs death we shall also be planted into the like resurrection of Christs Supposing that whosoever is baptized takes upon him the profession of Christs Crosse that is the bearing of it when his Christianity cals him to it For when our Lord saith in the Gospel I have a Baptism to be baptized with and how am I straitned till it be accomplished Luk. XII 50. And again to the sons of Zebedee Mat. XX 22. Are ye able to be baptized with the Baptism which I shall be baptized with He shews sufficiently that his Baptism is his Crosse In consideration whereof that is of undertaking to bear it out of a good conscience as Christ was raised from death to life again by the Spirit of Holinesse which dwelt in him without measure So those that are planted into the likenesse of Christs death in Baptism are promised the Grace of Gods Spirit to dwell in them and to raise them from sin here to the life of Grace and from death hereafter to the life of Glory in the world to come as I shewed you in the first Book So that S. Pauls argument proceeds not upon consideration of the Ceremony of Baptism and the naturall resemblance it hath with the duty of a Christian to rise from sin because he professes to die to it For that were to think that the Apostles have but weak argumens to inforce the obligation of Christianity with when this prime one is made to signifie no more then an indecorisne impertinence or inconsequence in signifying and professing that by our Baptism which by our lives we perform not But maketh Baptism the protestation of a solemn vow and promise to God and men and Angels to live for the future as the profession of Christians importeth And is it possible to show man overtaken in sin a more valuable consideration to expect salvation upon and therefore a stronger means to inforce the performance of what he hath undertaken then his own ingagement upon such a consideration as that We are therefore baptized with Christ unto death because we have undertaken upon our Baptism to mortifie our selves to the world that we may live to Gods service And upon that condition we promise our selves that we shall be raised from the dead again though by vertue of Christs rising again Being buried with him in Baptism wherein ye are also risen with him by faith of the effectuall working of God which raised him from the dead saith S. Paul Col. II. 12. For by obliging our selves to the profession of Christianity from a good heart and clear conscience we obtain the promise of the Holy Ghost whereby God effecteth the raising of us to a new life of righteousnesse necessarily consequent to the mortifying of sinne Besides these how many and how excellent effects are attributed to Baptism in the writings of the Apostles which without S. Peters distinction might seem strange that they should depend upon the clensing of the flesh but that they should by Gods appointment depend upon that ingagement whereby we give our selvs up to Christ for the future according to his distinction not at all For that this ingagement should not be effectuall till consigned unto the Church at Baptism cannot seem strange to him that believes the Catholick Church to be as I have shewed a corporation founded for the maintenance and exercise of that Christianity to which we ingage our selves by Baptism When the Jewes were pricked in heart to see our Lord whom they had crucified to be risen again and asked the Apostles Men and Brethren What shall we doe Acts II. 37 38. Peter saith unto them Repent and be baptized every one of you unto remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost Which if it depend upon Baptism what promise of the Gospel is there that does not To the same purpose Heb. VI. 6. It is impossible for them that have once been inlightned and tasted the heavenly gift and become partakers
or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 both which are sometimes translated in the Greek of the Old Testament 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifying confidence â—s the resolution of Horatius Cocles not giving way to the enemy is called by Polibius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and in Livy subsistere â—osteâ—â— is to stand the enemy So Heb. III. 14. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the first confidence of Christians and 2 Cor. VIII 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 confidence in bosting So Rom. III. 25. Whom God hath proposed as a Propitiatory through faith in his blood The propitiatory was set before the Israelites to assure them of Gods help according to the Law So is Christ faith the Apostle to them that have recourse to him with confidence alledging for themselves his blood shed for us So Jam. 1. 6. 7. But let him ask in faith nothing doubting For he that doubteth is like the sea waves tossed and stirred with the windes Let not such a man think that he shall obtaine any thing of God Where the efficacy of prayer is ascribed to an assured confidence of obtaining that which is desired and therefore that beliefe which according to the words of our Lord Mar. XI 23. 24. seemeth properly to consist in this assurance obtaines all prayers And not supposing S. Paul to speak of the common faith of all Christians when he faith 1 Cor. XIII 2. If I have all faith so as to remove mountaines yet as he insinuates that this is done by that particular assurance and confidence which that grace giveth him that hath it So must the conquest of the World by the common faith of Christians be ascribed to that assurance and confidence with which all Christians expect Gods promises And truly through the manifold indifference of signification which words will afford them that will use them to their purpose it cannot be denied that to believe God and to believe in God is sometimes all a thing Yet it is very hard to believe that they are intended by the Scripture to signifie alwayes the same thing being so frequently and ordinarily used with a difference For if we consider that in very many texts of the Old Testament the nature of Faith is expressed by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with the particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by which speeches trusting and confidence in some body or some thing particularly in God when the speech is of religion is signified as well by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies believing in God it will be impossible to imagine that all such expressions import no more then barely believing those things to be true which God or man sayes though sometimes believing God and believing in God may signifie all one The Apostle Hebr. XI 33 34 35. thus reckoneth the marveilous things which through faith came to passe to the Fathers of the Old Testament Who by faith subdued kingdomes wrought righteousnesse obtained promises stopped the mouthes of Lions quenched the force of fire escaped the edge of the sword recovered of infirmities prevailed in warr put to flight armies of strangers women received their dead raised againe others were beaten to death not expecting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection And can it be reasonable to impute these effects to the bare belief of Gods power or goodnesse or whatsoever else can be thought requisite for them then to believe when as that trust and confidence in God which supposeth that beliefe is both by the nature thereof nearer to these effects and apt to dispose them to undergoe those trials under which they found such deliverances For of them all we may say as the Apostle of Elias James V. 17 18. Elias was a man subject to like passions with us and he earnestly prayed that it might not raine and it rained not upon the land for three years and six moneths And againe he prayed and the heavens gave raine and the earth put forth her fruit The confidence which Elias had grounded upon Gods presence with him made him first pray for drought and then for raine which came to passe according to his saying 1 Kings XVII 1. that there should be neither dew not rain for those yeares but according to his word And so the trust which the rest there mentioned had in God to obtaine so great things as the Apostle sayes befell them that rather then the beliefe of Gods power and goodnesse or whatsoever else they were to believe chalenges so great effects to be ascribed to it I must now observe a third notion which this word faith signifies especially in the writings of the Apostles from whence this difficulty is in the first place to be derived which you shall find Hebr. X. 39. We are not of apostasy to destruction but of faith to the saving of the soul What is opposite to falling from faith but perseverance in it or what doth all this Epistle but learn the Jews that were Christians not to forsake Christianity for the persecutions raised against them by those of their kindred So here Faith is Christianity as apostasy the renouncing of it Then S. Paul when he saith that his Apostleship was for the obedience of faith in all nations Rom. I. 55. and Rom. XVI 26. that the Gospel is made known to all nations for the obedience of faith must needs signifie that submission which those that render themselves Christians do undertake for the performing of that condition whereupon the Gospel tenders everlasting life Of which he saith againe Rom. III. 27. that boasting is not excluded by the law of works but by the law of faith For every law being a condition upon which a man enjoys some benefit in some society whereof he is a part the law of faith must needs be that condition the undergoing whereof intitles all men to the common claime of all Christians which is their Christianity So when S. Paul exliorteth them Rom. XII 3. 6. to think of themselves unto sobriety according as God hath divided to every one a measure of Faith As againe If any man had the gift of Prophesie according to the proportion of faith It is manifest that his meaning in the latter text is If any man had profited so farre in Christianity that God thereupon had bestowed on him the grace of prophesying For though it is well known that God sometimes gave that grace to those whom he loved not to life as Saul and Balaam and Caiaphas and those who shall say once Lord have we not prophesied in thy Name Mat. VII 22 which notwithstanding under Christianity is limited to the profession thereof as I shewed you in the beginning yet it is as certaine that those whom God imployeth to his People and Church upon those commissions that require such graces those he useth to chuse for their proficiency in true Godlinesse The prophets of the Old Testament being so ordinarily assumed out of those that had lived in the study of godlinesse
under the discipline of the Prophets their masters that Amos VII 22. alledges it as a strange thing that God had made him a Prophet of an heardsman and that therefore he could not but do his message And is Saul among the Prophets became a riddle rather then a Proverb not to be resolved but by another question And who is the father of them that is that God the Father of all Prophets could give his Graces where he pleased without meanes 1 Sam. X. 11. 12. And therefore at the election of S. Matthias to the office of an Apostle to which this grace belonged the disciples pray Acts I. 24. Thou Lord that knowest the hearts of all shew whether of these thou hast chosen shewing the Christianity of the heart to be the foundation of that choice And when S. Paul exhorteth to think soberly of themselves according to that measure of Faith which God had divided to every one it is manifest that this measure of faith extends to all graces the thought whereof may carry a man beyond the bounds of sobriety That is a'l wherein Christianity consisteth So that the measure or proportion of Faith is the measure and proportion of Christianity which being given by God though seconded with graces which all had not he forbids them to be puffed up with Againe when the same Apostle hopeth that the faith of the Corinthians being increased should be magnified abundantly through them by his preaching the Gospel to the parts beyond them according to his own rule 2. Cor. X 15 16. What is that increase of faith but the setling of them in their Christianity which when it were done he hoped by their meanes to find accesse to preach to their neighbours I do confidently chalenge to this signification that text of S. Paul Gal. V. 6. In Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing nor uncircumcision but faith that is acted by love Because I know that no man that understands Greek can deny that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is in this place passive and because it cannot be understood without violence how faith should be acted by love but when that profession which we make at our Baptisme is performed for no other motive but that of God and his love What is then that work of the Thessalonians faith which S. Paul commendeth 1 Thes I. 3. which he prayeth God powerfully to fulfill 2 Thes II. 11. but the doing of that which they undertook to do when they were made Christians And what is the ministry of the Philipians faith Philip. II. 17. but the service which S. Paul did God in labouring to make them good Christians And what is the faith in which he would have the Corinthians to stand 1 Cor. XVI 13 Wherein He and Barnabas exhort the Churches to continue Acts. XIV 22 The bare profession of Christianity or the liabituated resolution of living according to it By which reason whensoever the profession of Christianity is signified by the name of Faith in the writings of the Apostles in which sense it stands as frequently there as in any other this habituated resolution is presupposed because upon presumption thereof men are made Christians to the Church as well as to God For that no man is really and naturally a Christian to God untill he be so legally to the Church unlesse it be when the effectuall purpose of being so is prevented by that necessity which reasonably cannot be prevented And hereupon it is that though men believe the truth of Christianity before they are made Christians by being baptized yet even in the Scriptures themselves believers and Christians are many times all one 1 Tim. V. 8. 16. If any man provide not for his owne and especially those of his houshold he hath denyed the faith and is worse then an infidell If any believer he or she have widows let them support them and let not the Church be charged VI. 2. Those servants that have believing masters let them not despise them because they are brethren but serve them the ratheâ— because they are faithfull and beloved Titus I. 6. If any man be blameless the husband of one wife having children that believe not blamed for riotousnesse or disobedience Apoc. XVII 14. They that are with the Lamb are such as are called and choice and believers And hereupon when the Apostle faith John III. 5. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 His meaning of necessity is this Beloved thou shalt do like a Christian what thou shalt do for the brethren and strangers Because no private trust but the common tye of Christianity obligeth to do good to Christian travelers of whom he speakes there And therefore Acts II. 38 44. S. Peter having said to those that were pricked in heart upon conviction of the resurrection of our Lord Repent ye and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ unto remission of sins And this being done it followeth But all the believers were together and had all things common Here I must not forget the stile and language of the most ancient Fathers of the Church who deriving from and referring all their studies to the Scriptures must needs speak in the same stile with them in matters of Christianity I do not intend therefore to say that they do not use the word Faith to signifie the belief of those things which the Gospel declareth to be true and that trust and confidence in God through Christ which the truth thereof naturally tendeth to produce Having shewed that both these conceptions are frequently signified by the terme of faith in the writings of the Apostles their masters But I say further that it is oftentimes used by them in this third sense which I spake of last to signifie Christianity that is the profession thereof presumed by the Church not to be counterseit This is very visible in Tertullian in whose language Faith and Baptisme are many times the same thing de exhortatione castitatis Cap. I. Nec secundas post sidem nuptias permittitur nosse And is not permitted to know any second marriage after Baptisme De Pudicitia Cap. XVI Quae amisso viro Fidem ingressa She who entered into the faith having lost her husband Is that became a Christian Ibid. Cap. XVIII Ante fidem post fidem Signifies before and after Baptisme Therefore in his Scorpiace Cap. VIII Talia a primordio prâ—cepta exemplâ— debitricem Martyrii Fidem ostendunt Such precepts such examples from the beginning shew that Faith is indebted in Martyrdome For it is Baptisme that obliges a Christian to Martyrdome rather then renounce the Faith So S. Cyprian following his master Epist ad Antonianum Si fidei calor praevalet If the heat of faith prevail And Deâ—opere Eleemosyna Credentium fides novo adhuc fidei calore fervebat The faith of believers was servent with the heat of faith being yet new For so Tertullian had said of Morcion in the place alledged in the first book Cont. Marc. IV. 4. In
time of persecution but the performance of it alwayes because alwayes difficult and laborious alwayes the following of Christ with his Crosse on our shoulders When the powers of the World professe Christianity then is the scandall of profession taken away because they must cherish so farre must they needs be from persecuting that which they professe But the scandall of the Crosse in performing of it remaines so much the more difficult to be avoided by how much a man is more subject to be tempted by evill example to hope for salvation without performing it Therefore as I shewed you asore those who professe to believe the truth of Christianity many times delayed their Baptisme in the Primitive Church whether as loth to retire to that strictnesse of life which it required or as sensible of their own weaknesse and desiring to finde confidence of themselves that they might walk worthy of it before they undertook it Whereupon Tertullian as I shewed you advises to deferre it till a man were setled in a state of continence or wedlock And because the reason of this delay was doubtfull therefore there remained in the Church some doubt of the salvation of those that died in this estate But to him that should resolve to wear the profession for a quality rendring him capeable of the priviledges of a Christian by the laws of Christian powers but to fulfill it no further then the law should require to him is the scandall of Christs Crosse quite voided though by as great a scandal as that which diverts from Christianity namely that of Simon Magus who became a Christian for gaine He that expressely resolves not this within himselfe but in the effect of his life and conversation hath no more regard to the reason of his Christianity then if he had expressely resolved it is necessarily of the same form and all that care not to perform what they undertake according to the ranck and degree of their negligence reducible to it But besides it is manifest that during the heat of persecution those that believed not the whole faith of a Christian that is hereticks those who for matters not concerning the Faith broke the unity of the Church that is schismaticks were many times ready to suffer death for their sect and for that part of Christianity which it allowed So far were they from dis-believing it Shall we say that any of these had in them the virtue of faith Let us consider what might move them to believe and it will appear first that they might be moved to believe that for their own sake which a Christian believes for Gods sake then that it can be no part of the virtue of Faith to believe the truth for a mans own sake and not for Gods If sensuality can move a worldly man to believe the truth so long as the advantages of the world attend it well may it be said to be the grace of God that gives him sufficient reason to believe supposing for the present not granting that these reasons are the helps of Gods free grace to bring men to believe but that he sets himself in Gods stead in believing that for his own advantage which he should believe out of obedience to God and for his service is not grace but wickednesse be it never so true never so holy that he believes He that dis-believes part of that which it is necessary to salvation to believe he that breakes the unity of the Church upon true grounds though not necessary for who can make a sect without some pretense in our common Christianity he hath the fulfilling of his own will and singularity for his reward and cannot claime that faith to be a grace of God which God rewardeth not Nor is this to say that the least beginning of Faith is to be had without Gods Grace supposing for the present but not granting that the worke of Salvation is the work of Gods praeventing Grace from the very beginning of it But that there may be a reall beleefe of Christian truth in the understanding of him that hath no part of good will to be a true Christian The Vâ—article of the Councill of Orange providing only Initium fidei ipsumque credulitatis affectum That the beginning of Faith and the very inclination to beleeve be thought to come Per inspirationem spiritus sancti corrigentem voluntatem nostram ab infidelitate ad fidem ab impietate ad pietatem By inspiration of the Holy Ghost correcting our Will from unbeleefe to faith from ungodlinesse to godlinesse For though when first a man is shewed reason to beleeve both these reasons and the least inclination to follow them be ascribed to Gods Grace because the scandall of the Crosse is to be overcome to which all that inclination tendeth yet when that scandall is voided by falling upon as great the assent of the understanding remaines the effect of humane discourse upon the sufficience of reasons proposed all the goodnesse that otherwise must have been ascribed to Gods Grace in the inclination of the will being void and dead And all this though properly said of those that are converted to Christianity at yeares of discretion seeing the difference between the cases is punctually true in them that are bred Christians supposing them to have the Grace of the Holy Ghost by being baptized infants and to have destituted the same afterwards The beleefe that remaines in them being meerly the effect of humane discourse upon the motives of Faith which are indeed helpes of Grace without us without any respect of submission to the will of God for the effect of them within us which who giveth cannot be so wanting to the Grace of God as we suppose these But this being said I shall now leave it to the Reader to judge whether this may have been the occasion or upon what other occasion it may be thought to have come to passe that in the Doctrine of the Schoole the inward act of beleeving without the inward resolution of outwardly professing hath been taken for the whole virtue of Faith I say without including that inward resolution of the heart whence that outward profession proceedeth when it is true and is alwaies presumed by the Church to proceed when the contrary appeares not And that from hence have proceeded the disputes concerning faith without forme which they will have to be that dead faith without works which S. James II. 17 19 20. compareth with the faith of devils that believe and tremble And faith informed by the love of God which they will not have to adde any thing to the nature of it so that it shall consist in any thing else then in believing the truth of the Gospel but to qualifie it to justifie him that before was a sinner to God as containing in it all the righteousnesse of a Christian But though at the present I determine not what is true in this position what not I must determine as to the point in
to depend upon the consequence of it No more can Christianity allow the assnrance of this truth I am justified supposing it to be true to be the ground why it is true And if any man say that justifying faith is not the assurance of this truth I am justified but of this truth I am â—redestinate to life the reason being Because the obedience of Christ appointed for the salvation of the elect alone is imputed to him once for all to life not onely for the present to righteousnesse can any reason be given why this reason should not take effect from everlasting but depend upon the knowledge of it wherein justifying faith is said to consist For if the onely consideration that intitles him to the promises of the Gospel be the obedience of Christ why shall not that right take place from the same date from which the consideration tendered for it takes place Why should not the opinion of the Antinomians at least that which I make to be ground of that Heresie take place rather then this of Presbyterians For both of them being equally destructive to the Gospel of Christ that which agrees best with it self the several assumptions whereof are most consistent with and consequent to one another is doubtlesse the more receivable Now whether we make justification granted from everlasting to the elect for whom alone Christ was sent to go before faith as the object goes before the knowledge and assurance of it Or whether we make it to depend upon faith though passed meerely in consideration of the obedience of Christ deputed for the salvation of the elect alone there will remaine no obligation upon the elect to performe any obedience to God being intitled to and assured of salvation afore it and without it For the Gospel is the last Law of God derogatory to any declaration of his will antecedent to it and not suffering any other to take place further then is provided by it So that supposing that God hath published salvation to the elect meerly in consideration of Christ without requiring any terms at their hands Well may it be said that notwithstanding he may determine them to do those things which he would have them do that shall be saved But it cannot be said that he can oblige them to any condition to be performed of their free choice Or consequently that there can remaine any difference between good and bad in the doings of them who are free from all obligation to the meanes because intitled to the end without them And truly it is more modesty to say that the actions of the elect to which God determines them upon these terms are not good then to say as by consequence it must be said that the actions of the reprobates are bad which upon these terms are not their actions but Gods nor imputable to any will of theirs but to his But this inconvenience being unavoidable whether we make justification to depend upon that faith which consists in assureing us of the same and that is to make an object to depend upon the act which it produceth or that faith to depend upon it as included in predestination to liâ—e both of them being destructive to Christianity it is but a poor plaister by contradicting a mans self to seem to salve so great an inconvenience And truly t is much to be wondered at how those that professe nothing but Scripture could ever perswade themselves of an imagination for which there is nothing to be alledged out of the whole tenor of the Scriptures Whatsoever can be produced out of the Old Testament for that trust which the people of God might or ought to have in God for the obtaining of his promises whatsoever out of the New for that peace and security with which Christians may and ought to expect the world to come supposing but not granting all that can be pretended thereby do but demand where it is said that a man hath this trust this peace this security by having it and all will be mute And therefore having shewed that the trust and peace of a Christian supposeth that ground upon which he is justified I will spend no more words to shew that the knowledge and assurance of justification or predestination supposes the being of it and that the ground whereupon it takes place CHAP. VIII The objection from S. Paul We are not justified by the Law nor by Workes but by Grace and by Faith Not meant of the Gospel and the workes that suppose it The question that S. Paul speakes to is of the Law of Moses and the Workes of it He sets those workes in the same rank with the workes of the Gentils by the light of nature The civil and outward workes of the Law may be done by Gentiles How the Law is a Pedagogue to Christ THE last reason whereby I prove my intent consists in the assoiling of that Objection which is alledged from the disputes of S. Pauls Epistles arguing that a Christian is not justified by the Law or by the works of the Law and therefore by Grace and by Faith For he that is justified by ingaging himself to professe Christianity and to live according to the same must needs be justified by performing his ingagement Unlesse a man would say that he is justified by making a promise which he never observeth and which it concerns him not to keep being once justified by making of it And truly having said that God admits a man into the state of his Grace in consideration of the act of undertaking this profession I do not onely grant but challenge for my privilege to maintaine that he hold him in the same state in consideration of the act or acts whereby he performes the same And therefore to the Objection I returne this in generall That I do not grant any man to be justified by any thing that supposes not of the Gospel of Christ since the publishing of it That is not by such works as can be done by him that hath not yet admitted and imbraced the Gospel of Christ and that by virtue of that Grace of God which sets on foot the Covenant of Grace For the Law going before the Gospel and being unable to produce that obedience which God would accept in lieu of the World to come further then as containing in it self the Gospel and the effects of it It is manifest that righteousnesse cannot be attributed to the Law nor the works of the Law And yet if we consider that the Gospel it self is a law of God whereby he ties at least himself to certain rerms upon which he declares that he will be reconciled with his enemies There is no reason to understand when S. Paul sayes that a man is not justified by the Law or the works of the Law that he meanes to deny a Christian to be justified by doing according to the Gospel which is the law that God pretends to introduce in stead of that law by which the
Apostle denies any man to be justified For all Christianity acknowledges that the Gospel is implied in the Law neither could the justification of the Fathers before and under the Law by Faith be maintained otherwise And therefore it is no strange thing to say that under the Law there were those that obtained that righteousnesse which the Gospel tendereth though not by the Law but by the Gospel which under the Law though not published was yet in force to such as by meanes of the Law were brought to embrace the secret of it But it cannot there-therefore be said that they were justified by the Law or by the works of it but by Grace and by Faith though the Law was a meanes that God used to bring them to the Grace of Faith And therefore when the Apostles inferences are imployed to fortifie this argument To wit that if a Christian be justified by works depending upon the Covenant of Grace then he hath whereof he may glory which Abraham that was justified by Faith had not Then hath he no meanes to attain that peace and security which the Gospel tendereth all having the conscience of such works as do interrupt it I do utterly deny both consequences For I say that the works that depend upon the Gospel are neither done without the Grace of God from whence the Gospel comes neither are they available to justify him whom the Gospel overtakes in sinne of themselves but by virtue of that Grace of God from whence the Gospel comes Now I challenge the most wilfull unreasonable man in the world to say how he that sayes this challenges any thing whereoâ— he may glory without God who acknowledges to have received that which he tenders from Gods gift and the promise which God tenders in lieu of it from his bounty and goodnesse To say how a man can be more assured that he is in the state of Gods grace then he can be assured of what himself thinks and does For not to decide at present how and how farre a man may be assured of Gods grace whatsoever assurance can be attained must be attained upon the assurance which a man may have of his own heart and actions and that as S Paul saies 1 Cor. 11. 10. No man knows what is in a man but the Spirit of a man that is in him For if it be said â—hat this assurance is from the Spirit of God and therefore supposes not so much as the knowledge of our selves I must except peremptorily that which I premised as a supposition in due place that no man hath the Spirit of God but upon supposition of Christianity And therefore no man can know that he hath the Spirit of God but upon supposition that he knows himself to be a good Christian otherwise it would be impossible for any man to discern in himself between the dictates of a good and bad Spirit seeing it is manifest that among those that professe Christianity many things are imputed to the Spirit of God which are contrary to Christianity Now of the sincerity of that intention wherewith a man ingages to live like a Christian a man may stand as much assured as he can stand assured of his own confidence in God or that he doth indeed believe himself to be predestinate to life And therfore it is no prejudice to that security and peace of conscience which the Gospel tendereth that it presupposeth this ingagement and the performance of it This answer then proceedeth upon these two presumptions That the grace of Christ which is the grace of God through Christ is necessary to the having of that faith which alone justifieth Which the heresy of Socinus denies with Pelagius And that it justifieth not of it self but by virtue of that grace of Christ that is the grace which God declares in consideration of his obedience These presumptions it is not my purpose to suppose gratis without debating the grounds upon which they are to be received having once purposed to resolve wherein the Covenant of Grace stands But I must have leave to take them in hand in their respective places and for the present to dispatch that which presses here which is to shew that the intent of S. Paul and the rest of the Scriptures which he expounds most at large is this That a Christian is not justified by the Law of Moses and those works that are done precisely by virtue thereof not including in it the Gospel of Christ but by undertaking the profession of Christianity and performing the same which is in his language by faith without the workes of the Law and therefore consequently by those workes which are done by virtue of this faith in performance of it And first I appeale to the state of the question in S. Pauls Epistles what it is the Apostle intends to evict by all that he disputes And demand who can or dare undertake that he had any occasion to decide that which here is questioned upon supposition that a Christian is justified by the Covenant of Grace alone which the Gospel tendereth Whether by Faith alone which is the assurance of salvation or trust in God through Christ Or by Faith alone which is the undertaking of Christianity and living according to the same For it is evident in the Scriptures of the Apostles how much adoe they had to perswade the Jewes who had received Christ that the Gentiles which had done the like were not bound to keep the Law which they it is evident did keep These had no ground had they understood from the beginning of their Christianity that their righteousnesse and salvation depended not upon the keeping of it under the Gospel of Christ It is evident that the trouble which Jewish Christians raised in the Churches to whom those Epistles are directed which dispute this point fullest upon occasion of this difficulty was the subject and cause of directing the same What cause then can there be why these Epistles should prove that a Christian is not justified by such works as suppose the Covenant of Grace when as the disease they pretend to cure consists in believing to be justified by the works of Moses Law which supposeth it not For it is evident that had it been received as now that Moses Law is void the occasion of this dispute in these Epistles had ceased what ever benefit besides might have been procured by them for succeeding ages of the Church Is it not plain that the pretense of S. Paul in the Epistle to the Romanes is this that neither the Gentiles by the Law of Nature nor the Jewes by the Law of Moses can obtaine righteousnesse or avoid the judgement of God and therefore that it is necessary for both to imbrace Christianity He that reades the two first chapters cannot question this In the fourteenth chapter together with the beginning of the fifteenth you shall find him resolving upon what terms these two sorts of Christians were to converse with one another And
through the body of it upon what grounds the Gentiles are invited to the Covenant of grace which the Jewes began then to refuse This being the businesse of the Epistle the drift of it is manifest whether righteousnesse and salvation come by the Law or the Gospel by Judaisme or by Christianity The subject of the Epistle to the Hebrews is this The Jews being priviledged by the laws of the Empire in the exercise of their Religion disclaiming those of their nation that had professed Christianity found means by the power of the Romanes to constrain them by persecution to return to Judaisme The question is whether they can obtaine salvation turning Jews againe which they perswade themselves they might obtaine being such before they imbrace Christianity That this is the question let him that will take the paines to compare the proposition of it in the the beginning of the II. Chapter and the reasons which it is pursued with untill the sixth with the conclusion of the dispute in the thirteenth Considering also that discourse which followes of the intent and effect of the Law Let him I say give sentence If he refuse me I will be bold to say of him That no man is so blind as he that will not see With the Churches of Galatia when S. Paul writ to them the case was somewhat otherwise It is manifest that they consisted partly of Gentiles partly of Jews The words of the Apostle require it Gal. IV. 8 9. But then truly not knowing God ye served those which indeed are no Gods But now having known God or rather being known of God how turn ye back to those weak and beggerly elements to which ye desire to be in bondage againe For neither could they serve those that were not Gods indeed unlesse Gentiles nor unlesse Jewes returne to those elements It is manifest that to avoid persecution for the profession of Christianity those whom S. Paul writes against would have them be circumcised and so conforme themselves so farre to the Law that those who raised that persecution might be satisfied at their hands Those that would make a fair shew in the flesh constraine you to be circumcised onely that they may not be persecuted with the Crosse of Christ For neither themselves that are persecuted do keep the Law But would have you circumcised that they may glory in your flesh Saith S. Paul Gal. VI. 12 13. And againe Gal. V. 11. But I brethren if I still preach circumcision why am I still persecuted For then the scandall of the Crosse is void And is not the question then between the Law and the Gospel between Judaisme and Christianity whether of them intitles to salvation and righteousnesse And shall the excluding of the Law exclude those works which suppose Christianity or rather include what ever the Gospel includes or inferres Consider what opinion the Jews had then entertained to alienate them from Christianity then and to divide them from it ever since So long as the nation stood it is manifest how much adoe there was to hold them to the worship of the true God which was the ground of that Law by which they held the Land of promise Being carried to Babylon and seeing the menaces of the Law come to passe and revolving within themselves those things which Isaiah and other Prophets had preached against the worship of Idols upon that occasion it seems but certaine it is they never departed from the worship of one true God afterward But then with the study of his law after their returne from captivity came in a curioâ—ity of learning and keeping all punctillos which the observation of it could require As supposing the wisdom of the Nation which the Law it self magnifieth Deut. IV. 6 8. together with their righteousnesse and holynesse to consist in these niceties Whereas this was indeed but the civile and outward observation of those precepts of the externall worship of one God and civil conversation among themselves to which the civil happiness of the land of promise was tied as I shewed in the first book Hereupon our Lord to his disciples Mat. V. 10. Vnlesse your righteousnesse exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdome of heaven And again to shew that the disease began long afore though then it was come to the height he reproves his hearers with these words which the Prophet Esay had charged upon his time Es XXIX 13. In vain they worship me teaching for doctrines the Traditions of men Mat. XV. 9. Mar. VII 7. Where he instanceth in the washing of cups and pots according to the Law of brasse vessels and beds of the hands before meat and after they came from market according to the tradition of the Elders which the Apostle 1 Pet. I. 18. calls their vain conversation delivered from their fathers This is manifestly that righteousnesse whereof S. Paul sayes Rom. X. 3. That the Jewes not knowing the righteousnesse of God and willing to establish their own righteousnesse were not subject to Gods righteousnesse For as it is evident that not to be subject to the righteousnesse of God is neither more nor lesse then to refuse the Gospel of Christ So their own righteousnesse which they would establish in opposition to the same must needs be that righteousnesse which they might be possest of by virtue of the Law And indeed it is not possible to imagine that the Jewes should so punctually and superstitiously reverence all these nice observations traditions and customes which the Scribes and Pharisees brought in to limit the generality of Moses Law and to determine every clause circumstance and tittle according to which it should be observed which now that vast bulk of their Talmud containes if they did not thinke that true wisdome and righteousnesse before God is placed in the nice keeping of these curiosities Nor can it be doubted that the undervaluing of them by reason of Christianity is that which first occasioned them to take offence at the Gospel and to this day maintaines them in contradiction to it It can therefore by no meanes be doubted that this is the Law and therefore the workes which S. Paul means when he argues that we are not justified by the Law nor the workes of the Law but by grace and by Faith For it is most manifest that he instances diverse times in those precepts which are not of the law of nature nor can the workes of them be counted to belong to the inward obedience of God and his worship in Spirit and truth But meerely formes which God had tied them up to his service with that they might have no occasion to seek after strange Gods And customes whereby he had so limited their civil conversation to one another that being divided thereby from other nations they might have no occasion to learn their Gods So S. Paul Gal. IV. 9. 10. But now having known God or rather being known of God
how turn ye back againe to those weake and beggarly rudiments to which ye desire to be in bondage againe Ye observe dayes and monthes and seasons and yeares For the observation of legall Festivals according to the moneths and seasons of the yeares is indeed obedience to that God by whose Law the difference is made But when their conceits of themselves transports them to imagine that God esteems them for these things whereby he hath differenced them from other nations and that it cannot stand with that esteem that he should receive the Gentiles into favour upon undertaking that spirituall obedience which Christ publisheth not tying that to the same Worthily are they called by the Apostle weak and beggerly rudiments that did onely prepare them to this obedience by tying them to the true God and his outward service And is not the precept of circumcision in the first place which obliges to all the precepts and intitles to all the promises of this nature Hear S. Paul to the Philipians III. 3. 6. among whom this leaven began to spread◠We are the circumcision saith he that serve God in the Spirit and glory in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh Though I have confidence in the flesh also If any other man seem to have confidence in the flesh I more Circumcised the eighth day of the race of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin an Hebrew of Hebrews also concerning the Law a Pharisee as concerning zeal one that persecuted the Church as concerning righteousnesse that is by the law blamelesse Are not all these priviledges of that nation by virtue of Moses Law and of circumcision which obliges to it And is not that confidence of righteousnesse which is by the Law which S. Paul disclaimes though he claime as good a title to it as any Jew beside I say is not that it which moved the Jews out of zeal to the Law to persecute the Church And can that righteousnesse which moveth to persecute Christianity be thought to presuppose it Therefore what S. Paul meanes by confidence in the flesh we must learn from the Epistle to the Hebrews IX 9. 10. Where the tabernacle is called a Parable or figure for the then present time in which gifts and sacrifices were offered which could not profit him that ministred as to conscience being onely imposed upon meates and drinkes and severall Baptismes and righteousnesses of the flesh untill the time of reformation came Where 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are those carnall and bodily rites which obtaine that carnall righteousnesse which answereth the carnall and earthly promises of the Law and were mistaken by them for meanes of obtaining resurrection unto life and the world to come which under the Law so given they had neverthelesse just cause to expect though not in consideration of such observations Another argument hereof we have from S. Paul which to me seems peremptory in that he opposeth that grace and faith whereby Christians are justified to those works which Gentiles by the Law and light of nature were able to do Which works certainly do not suppose Christianity Ephes II. 8 9. For by grace are ye saved through the Faith and that not of your selves it is Gods gift Not of workes least any man should glory There is nothing moremanifest then that the Church of the Ephesians when S. Paul wrote this Epistle was gathered of those that had been Gentiles as you may see by Ephes II. 11 12. III. 1 6. Wherefore when S. Paul sayes to them being presently Christians that they were not saved by works least they should glory it is manifest that his meaning is that their conversation before the Gospel came could not move and oblige God to provide them the meanes of Salvation which it tendereth Againe S. Paul exhorting Timothy to suffer hardship for the Gospel according to the power of God who saith he hath saved us and called us with an holy calling not according to our works but according to his own purpose and the grace that is given us in Christ Jesus before everlasting ages 2 Tim. I. 9. speaketh of the same Ephesians whose Pastor Timothy was at that time But most fully Titus III. 4 7. But when the goodnesse and love to men of God our Saviour appeared not of workes which we had done in righteousnesse saved he us but according to his own mercy by the laver of regeneration and renewing of the holy Ghost which he shed upon us richly through our Saviour Jesus Christ that being justied by his grace we might become heirs of everlasting life according to hope For that those whom Titus had in charge were Christians converted for the most part of Gentiles appeares by the Apostles words Titus I. 10. For there be many and those rebellious vaine talkers and cheaters especially they of the circumcision whose mouthes must be stopped And in the words that goe next afore the passage alledged there is a lively description of the conversation of the Gentiles For of Jewes he could not have said We also were once foolish disobedient wandring out of the way in slaved to divers lusts and pleasures living in malice and envy hatefull and hating one another Titus III. 3. Seeing then that it concerns the Gentiles as well as the Jews which the Apostle argues that men are not justified by works but by grace and by faith it is manifest that he meanes such works as the Gentiles might pretend to no lesse then the Jews and that while they were Gentiles because he speakes of that estate in which the Gospel overtook them And therefore when S. Paul denies that men are justified by works he meanes those works which men are able to do before they are acquainted with the preaching of the Gospel whether by the light and Law of nature or by the meere instruction of Moses Law For though the law of Moses containe in it many morall precepts of true and inward and spirituall obedience the observation whereof is indeed the worship of God in Spirit and in truth Yet we must consider that the same precepts are part of the law of nature written in the hearts even of Gentiles And we must consider further that these precepts may be obeyed and done two severall wayes First as farre as the outward work and the kinde and object of it goes and further as farre as the reason of it derived from the will and command of God and the intention thereof directed to his honour and service Which purpose of heart cannot be in any man but him that loves God above this world making him the utmost end of all his actions I say then that of those morall precepts of Moses law which are parts of the law of nature the outward and bodily observation goes no further then the observation of other rituall and civil precepts of the same law And therefore is to be comprised in the account of those works of the Law by which S. Paul denies deservedly that we
are justified before God But the inward and Spirituall observation of them at least the purpose and intention of it as it depends upon the grace of Christ which the Gospel publisheth so must it necessarily be included in that faith which in opposition to the works of the Law qualifies Christians for those promises which the Gospel tendereth But that which must remove all doubt of the Apostles meaning in this point must be the removing that difficulty which held the Jewes then and still holds them in the opinion of obtaining righteousnesse and salvation by the Law For certainely could S. Paul have perswaded them that the ancient Fathers from the beginning of whose salvation theyh could not doubt though under the Law yet obtained not salvation by the law but by the Gospel it had been an easie thing for him to have perswaded them to it The Apostles intent therefore is to perswade them to that which because it was hard to perswade them to therefore they continued Jewes and refused to become Christians Now let us suppose that which I have premised that the Law expressely covenanteth onely for the worldly happinesse of that people in the land of promise requiring in lieu of it onely the outward and civil observation of the law But the summe of that outward observation thereof which is expressely covenanted for consisting in the worship of one God whose providence in the particular actions of his creatures it presupposeth maintaining also a Tradition of the immortality of mans soul and of bringing all mens actions to account shall not all that are born under this Law stand necessarily convict that they owe this God that inward and spirituall obedience wherein his worship in Spirit and truth consisteth And seeing the same God tenders them terms of that reconcilement and friendship which maintaines them in that state of this world whereby they may be able and fit to render him such inward and spirituall obedience punctually making good the same to them Have they not reason enough to conclude that they shall not faile of his favour and grace so long as they proceed in a course of such obedience How much more having the examples of the ancient Fathers the doctrine which they delivered by word of mouth the instructions of the Prophets whom God raised up from time to time to assure them that this was that principall intent of Gods law though it made the least noise in it how much more I say must they needs stand convict both of their own obligation to tender God this obedience and also that tendring it they could not faile of Gods favour toward them even as to the life to come Though this cannot be said to be the Gospel of Christ because it containeth not the dispensation of his life in the flesh nor the expresse tender of the life to come in consideration of the profession of his Name and of living according to his doctrine Yet if it be truly said that the Gospel is implied and vailed in the Law either this signifies nothing or this is the thing that it signifies For upon this ground it is manifest that there was alwayes a twofold sense and effect of Moses Law and by consequence a twofold law By virtue of which difference whereas it is said Heb. VII 16. That the legall Priesthood stood by the law of a carnall precept And the precepts thereof are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as I said afore And the blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of the red heifer are said to sanctifie to the cleansing of the flesh Heb. IX 10. 13. On the other side S. Paul saith that the Law is spirituall and that the commandment was given to life and therefore discovers concupiscence to be sinne Rom. VII 7 10 14. And S. Steven saith to his people of Moses that he received living oracles to give unto us Acts VII 38. And S. Paul of himself and his fellow Apostles delivering the doctrine of the Gospel Which things we speak saith he not with words taught by mans wisdome but taught by the holy Ghost comparing spiritual things with spiritual things 1 Cor. II. 13. that is the spiritual things which the Gospel expresseth with the same spiritual things implied by the law As I shewed afore that the same S. Pauls meaning is that the man of God is perfectly furnished to every good work when he is able to make the Scriptures of the Old Testament usefull to instruct reprove teach and comfort Christians in Christianity 2 Tim. III. 16 17. And truly whatsoever is said in the writings of the Apostles or the sayings of our Lord Christ supposing the difference between that which is Spirituall and that which is carnall or literall in the Scriptures must be expounded upon this ground of the Apostle that all the promises of God are yea in Christ and in him amen as S. Paul saith 2 Cor. I. 20. That is to say that the temporall promises of Moses law were intended for and fulfilled in the eternall promises of Christs Gospel For upon this ground there is a Jew according to the letter and a Jew according to the Spirit that is a Christian Rom. II. 28 29. There are sons according to the flesh and sons according to promise Rom. IX 8. and he that was born of the bondmaide was born according to the flesh and persecuted him that was born of the free woman according to the Spirit Gal. IV. 23. 29. For this reason it is said That the Fathers all eat the same spirituall meat and drank the same spirituall drink as we Christians do For they drank of the spirituall rock that followed them which rock was Christ 1 Cor. X. 3 4. Because as Christianity was intended by the law so was Christ by the figures of the law neither is there any other reason to be given why the letter killeth but the Spirit quickneth as S. Paul affirmeth 2 Cor. III. 6. but this Because as the law in the literall sense provides no remedy for those that fall into Capitall crimes but leaves them to the justice of the law So the Spirituall sense of it was not available to bring men to life though available to convict them of sinne So that the Jews whom S. Paul pursueth as guilty of sinne by the conviction of the law stand noverthelesse convict that they were never able however convict of sin to attain righteousnesse by the help of it alone and therfore that they are no lesse obliged to have recourse to the Gospel and to imbrace Christianity then the Gentiles themselves who had no other pretense to avoid the judgement of God which the Gospel publisheth This is the intent of S. Paul in the first chapters of his Epistle to the Romanes which he recapitulates in this generall inference Rom. III. 9. We have pleaded before that Jewes and Gentiles both are under sinne And againe Rom. XI 32. God hath shut up all under disobedience that he might have
having received the promises but having seen them afarre of and being perswaded and having saluted them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims upon earth for they who say such things declare that they seek a country And had they been mindfull of that which they were come out from they might have had time to turn back But now they desire a better that is an heavenly Whereupon God is not ashamed to be called their God For he had prepared them a City And againe 39 40. These all being witnessed by faith received not the promises God having provided some better thing for us that they might not be perfected without us Where it is plaine that they according to the Apostle expected the kingdom of heaven by virtue of that promise which is now manifested and tendered and made good by the Gospell whereof our Saviour saith John VIII 98. Your father Abraham leaped to see my day and saw it and rejoyced And againe Mat. XIII 17. Verily I say unto you that many Prophets and righteous men have desired to see the things ye see and have not seen them and to hear the things ye hear and have not hard them CHAP. IX Of the Faith and Justification of Abraham and the Patriarkes according to the Apostles Of the Prophets and righteous men under the Law Abraham and Rahab the harlot justified by workes if justified by Faith The promises of the Gospel depend upon works which the Gospell injoyneth The Tradition of the Church HAving thus shewed that the interest of Christianity and the grounds whereupon it is to be maintained against the Jewes require this answer to be returned to the objection it remaines that I shew how the apostles disputations upon this point do signify the same Of Abraham then and of the Patriarches thus we read Heb. XI 8 10. By faith Abraham obeyed the calling to go forth unto the place he was to receive for inheritance and went forth not knowing whither he went By faith he sojourned in the land of promise as none of his own dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob heirs with him of the same promise For he expected a City having foundations the architect and builder whereof is God Is it not manifest here that both parts of the comparison are wrapped up in the same words which cannot be unfolded but by saying That as Abraham in confidence of Gods promise to give his posterity the land of Canaan left his country to live a stranger in it So while he was so doing he lived a pilgrim in this world out of the faith that he had conceived out of Gods promises that he should thereby obtaine the world to come And is not this the profession of Christians which the Apostle in the words alledged even now declareth to be signified by the pilgrimages of the Patriarchs And is not this a just account why they cannot be said to have attained the promises by the law but by faith Therefore that which followeth immediately of Sarah must needs be understood to the same purpose By faith Sarah also her self received force to give seed and bare beside the time of her age because she thought him faithfull that had promised Therefore of one and him mortified were born as the stars of heaven for multitude and as the sand that is by the sea shore innumerable For S. Paul declareth Gal. III. 16. IV. 22 Rom. IX 7 8 9. that the seed promised Abraham in which all the nations of the earth shall be blessed is Christ and the Church of true Spirituall Israelites that should impart the promise of everlasting life to all nations And this promise you saw even now that Abraham and the Patriarchs expected Sarah therefore being imbarked in Abrahams pilgrimage as by the same faith with him she brought forth all Israel according to the flesh so must it needs be understood that she was accepted of God as righteous in consideration of that faith wherewith she traveled to the world to come Neither can it be imagined that S. Pauls dispute of the righteousnesse of Abraham by faith can be understood upon any other ground or to any other effect then this What then shall we say that Abraham our father got according to the flesh saith he Rom. IV. 1-5 For if Abraham was justified by works he hath whereof to glory but not towards God For what saith the Scripture Abraham believed God and it was imputed to him for righteousnesse But to him that worketh the reward is not reckoned according to grace but according to debt But to him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth the wicked his faith is imputed for righteousnesse The question what Abraham found according to the flesh can signifie nothing but what got he by the Law which is called the flesh in opposition to the Gospel included in it which is called the Spirit Did he come by his righteousnesse through the Law or not For had Abraham been justified by works that should need none of that grace which the Gospel tendreth for remission of sinnes well might he glory of his own righteousnesse and not otherwise For he that acknowledges to stand in need of pardon and grace cannot stand upon his own righteousnesse Now Abraham cannot so glory towards God because the Scripture saith that his faith was imputed to him for righteousnesse which signifies Gods grace in accepting of it to his account not his claime as of debt Whereupon the Apostle inferreth immediately the testimony of David writing under the Law in these words As David also pronounceth the man blessed to whom God imputeth righteousnesse without works Blessed are they whose iniquities are remitted and whose sinnes are covered Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not sinne What can be more manifest to shew that the Apostle intends no more then that the Fathers pretended not to be justified by those workes which claimed no benefit of that Grace which the Gospel publisheth Especially the consequence of Davids words being this Psal XXXII 2. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not sinne and in whose spirit there is no guile For the Prophet David including the spirituall righteousnesse of the heart in the quality of him to whom the Lord imputeth righteousnesse without works the Apostle must be thought to include it in the Faith of him to whom the Lord imputeth it for righteousnesse Now when S. Paul observeth in Moses that Abraham believed God and it was imputed to him for righteousnesse Upon the promise of that posterity which he expected not Gen. XV. 6. It cannot be said that Abraham had not this faith afore Or that it was not imputed to him for righteousnesse till now Because the Apostle to the Hebrews hath said expresly that he had the same faith and to the like effect ever since he left his country to travail after Gods promises And certainly it was but an act of the same Faith to walk after the rest of those
promises whereby it should please God further to declare the purpose for which he brought him from home That faith therefore which was imputed for righteousnesse to Abraham not as the Jewes challenge righteousnesse by doing the Law but as Christians expect it by remission of sinnes includes in it an ingagement of travailing that way that God points out to the land of promise upon the account whereof that faith which was imputed to the Patriarchs for righteousnesse proceedeth Now when S. Paul proceedeth further to argue that this imputation of Abrahams faith to righteousnesse came to passe while he was yet uncircumcised and no way subject to the law and that by virtue of Gods promise which proceeded upon consideration of this righteousnesse and not of the law the title of his inheritance stood which promise he argueth further Gal. IV. 18 19. that the Law coming four hundred and thirty yeares after could nothing derogate from I challenge all the world to say how all this inferrs any more But that the righteousnesse of Abraham comes not by virtue of the Law by doing whereof the Jewes pretend righteousnesse but by Gods free promise whereby Christians expect remission of sinnes To the same effect therefore S. Paul concludes Rom. IV. 23 24. But it was not written because of him alone that it was imputed to him but because of us who believe in him that raised up our Lord Jesus from the dead to whom it is to be imputed For the example of Abrahams faith in the promise of God to give him such a posterity by Sarah and that it was imputed to him for that righteousnesse whereby he became qualified for the promises upon which he left his country is written for the instruction of Christians upon this account Because so sure as we believe that the New Testament was intended by the Old so certaine we are that the faith whereby we undertake to follow God and the way to the world to come which he by Christ points us out qualifies us for the same But he that will have S. Paul upon these reasons to inferre that Christians are justified by believing that they are predestinate or by trusting in God not supposing that trust grounded upon that obligation which our Baptisme professeth in plain terms he makes S. Paul use arguments that do not conclude For if Abraham cannot bragge of his righteousnesse before God because of Gods account not of debt If David count happiness not to stand upon any title of purchase but by remission of sins If faith were reckoned to Abraham for righteousnesse before he was circumcised If the inheritance were due by virtue of Gods promise Then that righteousness which intitles Christians to the world to come stands by virtue of the Gospel which publisheth remission of sins to all whom it overtakes in unrighteousnesse and by Gods grace in acceping their undertaking of Christianity and living according to it as qualifying them for everlasting life not by doing the law without having recourse to that meanes which the Gospel tendereth for remission of sinnes and right to the world to come But it is in vaine to inferre from any of those assumptions Therefore Christians are justified by that faith in which no obligation of bearing Christs crosse or any consideration thereof is included With this which hath been said of that faith whereby Abraham was justified let us compare that which follows of the faith of Moses Heb. XI 24 25 26. By faith Moses growing great refused to be called Pharaohs daughters sonne chusing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God then to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a time counting the reproach of Christ greater riches then the treasures of Egypt Because he looked upon the reward to be rendred The faith by which Moses was justified consists in this that he renounced his quality in the Court of Egypt that he might have a share in the promises made to Gods people And this the Apostle justly calls undertaking the reproach of Christ because it was the same thing in effect to the people of God then as now is the bearing of Christs crosse which Christians at their Baptisme professe and because the promises which the Fathers looked after are fulfilled in Christ as I shewed afore And herewith let us compare the faith of Enoch Heb. XI 5 6. By faith Enoch was translated not to see death and was not found because God had translated him for before his translation he is witnessed to have pleased God But without faith it is impossible to please God For he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he rewardeth those that seek him Well may we conclude from hence that Enoch was not justified by the Law nor by the works of it but by that perswation upon which he sought God as Christians by obliging themselves so to do not by that faith which includeth not nor supposeth any resolution and obligation so to do Compare now herewith the conclusion of the whole dispute concerning the righteous men and Prophets under the Law Heb. XI 32. 37. And what shall I say more For the time will saile me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Sampson and Jephtah and David and Samuel and the Prophets Who by faith conquered kingdomes wrought righteousnesse obtained promises stopped the mouthes of Lions quenched the force of fire escaped the edge of the sword recovered of weaknesse became strong in war put to flight armies of strangers women received their dead raised to life againe others were tortured to death not expecting deliverance that they might obtaine a better resurrection others had triall of mockings and scourgings and besides of bonds and imprisonment were stoned sawne asunder tempted died slain by the sword went about in sheeps and goats skins in want afflicted distressed wandring in deserts and mountaines and caves and holes of the earth Will this conclude that all these were justified by that faith which neither includeth nor presupposeth a resolution and obligation to righteousnesse who out of the hope of Gods promises to his people acted against the enemies thereof or suffered for righteousnesse the same things in that state of Gods people which Christians now suffer and do for the profession of Christs Crosse into which they are baptized In fine the whole dispute of the Apostle here and of S. Paul in so many of his Epistles concerning faith and the righteousnesse that Christians have by it is the same with that which the Fathers of the Church maintained against the Jews that Christianity is more ancient then Judaisme That as the Fathers before the Law obtained not that right which both Christians and Jews allow them to the promises of the world to come by the works of the Law So the Prophets and righteous men under the Law had not that hope by doing it but by the assurance which under the dispensation of the Law they had conceived as of reason they ought that God would not faile
by and by Si quis igitur post Evangelum Christi adventum filii Dei Paedagogae Legis observat ceremonias audiat populum consitentem quod omnis illa justitia panno sordidissimo comparetur cui Esther diadema suum quod erat regiae potestatis insigne comparat Where it is to be considered that the righteousnesse which is in the Law in comparison of the purity of the Gospel is called uncleannesse For that which was counted glorious is not glorious in regard of that glory that excelleth And If any man then after the Gospel of Christ and the coming of the Sonne of God observe the ceremonies of that Pedagogicall Law let him hear the people confesse that all that righteousnesse is comparable to a most filthy ragg◠Wherewith also Ester compares her diadem though the ensigne of Royall Power The Prophet brings in the Synagogue confessing it self destitute of righteousnesse The Apostles shew that the Church onely furnisheth that righteousnesse through faith which the Synagogue by the Law cannot have And shall we say that S. Jerome abuses the Prophet in limitting that uncleannesse which the Prophet acknowledgeth even in their righteousnes to that which is to be had by the Law For though he name onely the workes of the Ceremoniall Law yet is all the righteousnesse that is to be had by the learning of the Letter of the Law of the same nature not attaining to be done with that disposition of the heart which onely the Gospel produceth O Ecumenius upon James II. 14. speaking the sense of some Fathers hath expressed all the points of my position in these tearmes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But some of the Fathers have thus judged of this businesse For they say that distinguishing Abraham by times he is the patterne of both Faiths Whereof one going before Baptisme requires no Workes but onely Faith and the profession of salvation and the word whereby we are justified believing in Christ The other is coupled with workes So the Spirit that spoke in the Apostles shewes no contrariety The one justifying him that approcheth by profession alone in case he presently depart this life For such a one hath no workes but the cleansing of Baptisme is to him a sufficient passeport to salvation The other demanding of him that is already baptized that he should shew good workes He had proposed before another way of reconciling the Apostles by distinguishing severall significations in the terme of Faith which in that effect and consequence falls in with this S. Gregory In Evang. Hom. XIX Quod cum it a sit fidei nostre veritatem in vitae nostre consideration◠debemus agnoscere Tunc enim veraciter fideles sumus si quod verbis promittimus operibus complemus In die quippe baptismi omnibus nos antiqui hostis operibus atque omnibus pompis abrenunciare promisimus Itaque unusquisque ad considerationem suam mentis oculos reducat si servat post baptismum quod ante baptismum spopondit certus jam quia fidelis est gaudeat Which seeing so it is we are to acknowledge the truth of our faith in the consideration of our life For then are we truly faithfull or believers if we accomplish by workes what we promise by words For at the day of our Baptisme we promise to renounce all the workes and all the pompes of our ancient foe Let every man therefore turne the eyes of his minde to the consideration of himself and if he observe after baptisme that which he promised before baptisme being now assured that he is faithfull or a believer let him rejoyce He ascribeth that justification which requireth good workes to the fulfilling of that promise which our Baptisme presupposeth To the same purpose the commentary upon S. Pauls Epistles that goes under S. Ambrose his name upon Rom. III. 8. Manifeste beati sunt quibus sine labore vel opere aliquo remittuntur iniquitates peccata teguntur nulla ab his requisita poenitentiae opera sed tantum ut credant By and by Quemadmodum autem ad paenitentium potest pertinere personam cum dicit Beati quorum tectasunt peccata Cum constet paenitentes labore ac gemitu peccatorum remissionem acquirere Aut quomode Martyrio congruit quod dicit Beatus vir cui non imputabit dominus peccatum Cum sciamus gloriam martyrii passionibus pressaris acquiri Propheta autem tempus foelix in adventu servatoris praevidens beatos nominat quibus sine labore vel aliquo opere per lavacrum remittuntur teguntur non imputantur peccata Manifestly they are happy whose iniquities are remitted and whose sins are covered without the labour of any work not requiring of them any paines of Penance but onely to belivee And But how can it belong to the person of Penitents when he saith Blessed are they whose sins are covered Seeing it is manifest that Penitents attain remission of sins by labour and grones Or how agrees that which he saith with Martyrdome Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin Seeing we know that the glory of Martyrdome is attained by sufferings and pressures But the Prophet foreseeing a happy time at our Saviours coming names them blessed whose sins are remitted and covered and not imputed by the laver of Baptisme without the labour of any work Whether or no this opposition between remission of sins which Baptisme alone and that which Penance and Martyrdome giveth he pertinently here alledged and like a Divine for Baptisme is the undertaking of Martyrdome if God require it and Penance is the voluntary undergoing of it when sin requireth it evident it is that Baptisme is here the boundary of that justification which faith alone promiseth And upon Heb. IV. 16. he saies that God gives requiem sempiternam fidem habentibus eam tamen quae per dilectionem operatur non credentibus poenam perpetuam Ne forte relicta pollicitatione quam dedimus Deo in baptismo iterum revertamur ad opera infidelitatis quae abdicamus coram multis testibus Everlasting rest to those who have faith but that which worketh by love perpetuall paine to those who believe no. Least peradventure abandoning the promise which we made to God at our Baptisme we return againe to the works of infidelity which we renounce before many witnesses Where the damation of a Christian is imputed to the transgressing of that promise which he makes to God in Baptisme And the true S. Ambrose when he saies lib. 1. Epist 1. Nec enim fides sola ad perfectionem satis est nisi etiam baptismatis adjiciatur gratia sanguinem Christi redemptus accipiat For neither sufficeth faith alone to persection unlesse the grace of baptisme be added and be that is redeemed receive the blood of Christ Cleerly compriseth the Sacrament of Baptisme after which the baptized alwaies received the Eucharist in the ancient Church whereupon S. Augustine afore mention Sacramenta fidei in
difference between the Law of all righteousnes and the Law of all unrighteousnes signifieth For upon other terms can no man professe himself a Christian And as great and as reall a change it is that succeeds upon that change between the relation which he that is so changed did hold towards God afore and now holds afterwards as the difference between the heir of Gods wrath and of his kingdome importeth But supposing that change which justifying faith importeth already in being that change which the effect of it in justifying importeth is of necessity meerly morall and consisteth onely in the difference between that remission of sinnes and Gods kingdome which the promise of his grace and the debt of punishment which the sentence of his justice declareth Whether therefore justifying faith be Gods work or not which here I dispute not because here I cannot resolve for the cause of it the effect of it in justifying which here I debate will signify no more then an attribute due by right to him that hath it upon Gods promise importing no change in him but that which it supposeth how much soever it import his salvarion that his relation to God be so changed For I may safely here suppose that which the title of this dispute and the very name of the Covenant of Grace attributed to the Gospel of Christ involveth That Faith justifyeth not by virtue of the work naturally but morally by that will and appointment of God by virtue whereof the Covenant of Grace standeth And this necessarily holds in the sense of the Church when it ascribeth justification to faith alone in opposition to the workes of the Law A necessary consequence whereof is this That the forgivenesse of our sinnes will presuppose and require of us that we forgive others their offenses against us Because we hold the forgivenesse of our sinnes by the title of our Christianity Whereof seeing it is one point that we forgive other men their offenses against us of necessity failing of the condition required on our part we faile of the promise tendered of Gods Therefore the Fathers also as the Scriptures afore attribute remission of sinnes to Charity to almes deeds and to forgiveing of offenses against us Clemens in his Epistle to the Corinthians p. 65. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Happy were we if we did do the commandments of God in the concord of Love that our sinnes might be forgiven us through Love The Apostolicall constitutions VII 13. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 If thou hast give by thine own hands that thou mayest act to the redemption of thy sinnes For by almes and truth sinnes are purged away Lactantius VI. 12. Magna est misericordiae merces cui Deus pollicetur peccata se omnia remissurum Si audieris inquit preces supplicis tui ego audiam tuas Si misertus laborantium fueris ego in tuo labore miserebor Si autem non respexeris nec adjuveris ego animum contra te geram tuisque te legibus judicabo Great are the wages of mercy which God hath promised that he will remit all sinnes If thou hearest saith he the prayers of thy suppliant I also will hear thine If thou takest pitty on them that are in paine I also will take pitty upon thy paine But if thou respect not nor help them I also will carry a mind against thee and judge thee by thine owne Law S. Chrysost Tomo VI. Orat. LXVII 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But there is another way of cleansing sinne not inferiour to this not to remember the malice of enemies to containe wrath to remit the sinnes of fellow-servants For so those which we have done against our Lord shall be forgiven us Behold also a second way to purge sinnes For if ye forgive saith he And by and by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But if you will learn a fourth I will name almes For it hath great force and not to be expressed For to Nabucodonosor being arived at all kinde of wickednesse and going over all goodnesse Daniel saith Redeem thy sinnes with almsdeeds and thy transgressions with pittying the poor To the same purpose the same S. Chrysost makes forgiving of injuries giving thanks in affiction mercy in helping our neighbours the cure for sinne as well as humility confession and prayer In 2 ad Corinth Hom. II. Because thereby a Christian retires to his promise in Baptisme expecting remission only from Gods promise in the same So also In Epist ad Rom. Hom. XXV S. Ambrose De poenitentia II. 5. David beatum praedicavit illum cui peccata per Baptismum remittuntur illum cujus peccata operibus teguntur David proclaimes for blessed both him whose sinnes are remitted by Baptisme and him whose sinnes are covered with workes So charity covers many sinnes done after Baptisme Caesarius of Arles Homil. I. Quoties infirmos visitamus in carcerem positos requirimus discordes ad concordiam revocamus indicto in Ecclesia jejunio jejunamus hospitibus pedes abluimus ad vigiliâ—s frequentius convenimus eleemosynam ante ostium praetereuntibus pauperibus damus iniâ—icis nostris quoties petierint indulgemus istis operibus his similibus minuta peccata quotidie redimuntur As oft as we visit the sick seek those that are put in prison reduce those that fall out to agreement fast when a fast is published in the Church wash the feet of strangers assemble more frequently to wakes give almes to the poor that go by the doore pardon our enemies as oft as they demand by these works and like to these small sinnes are every day redeemed S. Austine Libro L. Homil. Hom. L. Cap. VIII Non enim ea dimitti precamur quae jam in Baptismo dimissa sunt nisi dimissa credimus de ipsa fide dubitamus sed utique de quotidianis peccatis hoc dicimus pro quibus etiam sacrificia eleemosynarum jejuniorum ipsarum orationum supplicationum quisque pro suis viribus offerre non cessat For we pray not for the pardon of those which are already pardoned in Baptisme which if we believe not that they are pardoned we call the faith it self in doubt But this forsooth we speak of daily sinnes for which also no man ceaseth to offer according to his power the sacrifices of almes and fasting and even of prayers and supplications S. Gregory In Psalm II. Poenitent Habent enim sancti viri aliquid quod in hac vita operire debeant Quia omnino est impossibile ut in loquutione aut etiam in cogitatione nunquam delinquant Student igitur viri Dei oculorum linguae culpas tegere meritis vita student pondere bonorum operum premere immoderata verborum For holy men have something in this life which they ought to hide Because it is altogether impossible that in speech or at least in thought they should never faile Therefore the men of God study to cover the faults of the eyes and tongue
work of our Christianity and therefore to every part of it and by consequence that this grace is not given us in consideration of any thing that we are able to do towards the obliging of God to bestow it upon us But I will not take upon me to inflame this abridgment with rehearsal of the testimonies of Church Writers that went afore Pelagius in both these points The testimonies of Fathers that went afore him which S. Augustine hath produced are enough to put those to silence which would have originall sin to be a devise of his But Vossius in his History of the Pelagians having comprised as well these as the rest concerning originall sin libro 11. parte 1. Thes VI. and those which concern the necessity of Grace libro III. parte I. Thes I. II. it will not be to the purpose to do any part of that which hath been sufficiently done already over again To me indeed it seems very considerable that Pelagius acknowledging for Grace first free Will and the Law which teacheth the difference between good and bad after that for the Grace of Christ his doctrine and example first then the illumination of the mind by the Holy Ghost Yet alwaies maintained that man without the help of Grace is able to love God above all to keep his Commandments and resist the greatest temptations to the contrary And in all these points was condemned by the Church as you may see there libro III. parte II. Thes I-VIII For certainly there is a vast difference between the doctrine of Gods Laws absolutely necessary to the doing of his Will even for Adam in the state of innocency and the preaching of the Gospell convincing mankind that they are under Gods wrath by sin tendering pardon to them that imbrace it assuring of everlasting life or death according as they observe the profession of it and shewing the way by our Lords example All which the Scriptures ascribe to the coming of Christ as granted in consideration of it How much more when he granteth the illumination of the Holy Ghost to shew what is to be done must he needs transgress his own position which saith that there is no difference between that state in which we are born and that which Adam was made saving his example but the difference between a man and a Babe For were we born as Adam was made what needed Christ to have purchased by his death the gift of the Holy Ghost to enlighten us inwardly in doing that which without it man is born able to do And having granted the reasons and motives upon which Christians act as Christians to be shewed them both outwardly and inwardly by the Grace of Christ to deny the necessity of the sayd Grace to the acts which proceed from the same can have no excuse but one that Christ came only to evidence the truth of his message leaving the embracing or rejecting of it to every mans choyce Which to maintain if Socinus was fain to make our Lord Christ a meer man that there might be no more in his rising after death then a miracle to assure it Pelagius acknwledging the Trinity will be streightned by S. Pauls consequence If righteousnesse come by the Law then is Christ dead in vain supposing the death of Christ to bring that help of Grace which a miracle by evidencing the truth of the Gospel doth not And seeing God could not be moved by any thing that man could do to give our Lord Christ and the helps which his coming bringeth with it there will be no more left for Pelagius to say But that these helps are not granted of Grace but received by the works which men prevent it with The foundation therefore of the Christian Faith consisting in Gods-sending our Lord Christ of his pure free grace by vertue whereof all the effects of it are works of the same Grace Necessary it was that Pelagius should be condemned for the denying of the necessity of Grace to all acts of Christianity and for affirming that Grace is given according to mans merits as you see there Thesi IX XI that he was Both upon the doctrine of S. Paul premised afore that God was not moved by the works either of Jews or Gentiles to send them those helpes to salvation which the Gospel tendreth Nevertheless the preaching of the Gospel and all the help which it bringeth toward the imbracing of it is no less the Grace of Christ because Pelagius was forced for the better colouring of his Heresie to acknowledge it Onely it is not therefore to be sayd that it is all the help which the Grace of God by Christ furnisheth toward that salvation which Christianity tendreth But to be left to further dispute what further help is granted by God before and without any consideration of mans merit to bring to effect those acts in which the discharge of our Christianity consisteth Excluding therefore the pretense of Pelagius that Moses before the godly Fathers pleased God by the meer strength of nature and that salvation was to be had under the Law by the same Besides the good works of the Gentiles wherewith God was pleased according to Pelagius whom the Church condemned in this Article also as you may see there Thes X. And truly Pelagius acknowledging the Gospel to be no more then the declaration of that Will of God by which man is to be saved after Christ as the Law before Christ utterly overthroweth the plea of the Church derived from the Apostles that the Fathers were saved by faith before and under the Law that the New Testament was in force under the Old by vertue of that commerce which God by his word which afterwards being incarnate was our Lord Christ held with the Fathers His Spirit as naturally planted in the word going along to procure the efficacy of it Whereas Socinus though he acknowledgeth the difference between the literal and mystical sense of the Law yet making our Lord Christ a meer man the vertue of whose death could not extend to the salvation of those who lived afore his coming destroyeth the ground of that which he acknowledgeth This supposition that Christianity is more ancient then Judaâ—sme being necessary to the maintaining of the Church against the Synago ue Which is verified by Gods designing of a Church for the spouse of his Sonne before the Fall figured by the marriage between Adam and Eve according to S. Paul Ephes V. 22-33 But presently after the Fall that Word which being incarnate in our Lord Christ having declared enmity betwen the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent saying It shall break thy head and thou shalt bruise the heel of it The first Adam became the figure of the second according to the same S. Paul Rom. V. 14. Whereupon the Spirit of the second Adam in those Preachers of righteousnesse to whom the Word of God came in that Angel whom the Fathers worshipped for God strove form
thence forth to recover man from the labor of sinne to which when he became mortall he was condemned to Paradise from whence he had been expulsed And therefore our Lord Christ according to S. Peter 1 Pet. IV. 18 19 20. going out of the world by that Spirit whereby he was made alive when he had been put to death in the flesh to wit speaking in his Apostles preached to the Spirits in prison that had been disobedient in the days of Noe Converting the Gentiles by the gift of his Spirit granted upon his sufferings who had refused the same in Noe the Preacher of righteousnesse 1 Pet. II. 5. When God said My Spirit shall no more strive with man Gen VI. 2. For the pilgrimage of the Patriarchs the Promise of the Land of Canaan the Law given by Moses was all but the further limitation and rule of that outward and civile conversation under which the traffique of Christianity was then driven by Prophets who spake by Gods Spirit This Reason Socinus being obliged to miskenne by making our Lord Christ a meer man cannot give that account of the grace of Christ before his coming which the Church doth Acquiting thereby my position That the Law covenanteth expresly onely for the Land of Promise of all suspicion of compliance with his intentions By this you see that Pelagius and Socinus both are carried out of the way of Christianity because they will not acknowledge the decay of mankind by the fall of Adam and the coming of Christ to repair it But those of Marseilles and the parts adjoyning in France that formalized themselves against S. Augustines doctrine of Predestination and effectuall Grace freely and heartily acknowledging Originall sin seem to have justified only upon the true interest of Christianity in that free will which the Covenant of Grace necessarily supposeth though mistaking their way out of humane frailty they failed of the truth though they parted with Pelagius They made faith or at least the beginning of faith and of will to beleive to repent and to turn unto God the work of free will in consideration whereof God though no way tied so to do grants the help of his Grace and Spirit to performe the race of faith Most truly maintaining according to that vvhich hath been professed in the beginning of this book that the act of true Faith is an act of mans free will which God rewardeth with his free Grace To wit with the habituall gift of his spirit inabling true believers to go through with that Faith which thereby they undertake as I have shewed you both these elsewhere Most expresly acknowledging the preaching of the Gospel going before in which whatsoever help the coming of our Lord Chirst hath furnished to move and winne the world to believe is involved But miskenning the grace of the Gospel granted by God in consideration of his obedience to make him a Church that might honour him for it If Pelagius acknowledged no more in the coming of Christ then to make his message appear to be true so that the imbracing of it might oblige God to grant his grace by preventing it with an act of free will complying with it The reason was not because this very tender being the purchase of our Lord Christs free obedience could be subject to any merit of man But because he was engaged to maintaine that we are borne in the same estate in which Adam was made needing nothing but Gods declaration of his will and pleasure towards the fulfilling of it But for them who acknowledge the decay of our nature by the fall of Adam and the coming of our Lord to repair the breaches of it to ascribe the grace which God furnisheth those that believe with for the performing of that which by believing they undertake to the act of freewill in believing which themselves acknowledge to be prevented by so many effects of Christs coming as the preaching of his Gospel necessarily involveth and which the Scriptures so openly acknowledge to be prevented by the Grace of his Spirit purchased by his sufferings must needs argue a great deal of difficulty in the question which the worse divines they appear must needs justifie them to be much the better Christians And indeed there is great cause to excuse them as farre as reason will give leave in a case wherein the Fathers that went afore Pelagius seem to be ingaged with them For it is ordinary enough to read them exhorting to lay out the indeavovrs of free will expecting the assistance of Gods Grace to the accomplishment of that which a man purposes And besides S. Augustine who acknowledges that before the contest with Pelagius he did think faith to be the act of free will which God blesseth with Grace to do as he professeth It cannot be denied that S. Jerome so great an enemy to the Pelagians with some others have expressed that which amounts to it But it is true on the other side that the same Fathers do frequently acknowledge the beginning as well as the accomplishment of our salvation to the grace of God Which is not onely an obligation so to expound their sayings when they set free will before grace as supposing the cure thereof begunne by Grace But also a presumption that those who expresse not the like caution are no otherwise to be understood Especially supposing expresly the motives of faith provided by the holy Ghost granted in consideration of our Lords sufferings in virtue whereof the resolution which is taken for the best must of necessity proceed though by the operation of the same Spirit whereby they are advanced and furnished It is therefore no doubt a commendable thing to excuse the writings of that excellent person John Casiane so farre as the common Faith will give leave as you may see the learned Vossius doth as speaking ambiguously in setting grace before free will sometimes as well as other whiles free will before Grace For Faustus his book De libero arbitrio I cannot say the same though I must needs have that respect for his Christian qualities which the commendations that I read of him in Sidoius Apollinaris deserve For besides that the stile of it is generally such as seems to make free will the umpire between the motions of grace and of sinne which ascribes the ability of well doing to God but the act to our selves that the Fathers under the Law of nature were saved by free will he delivers expresly with Pelagius An oversight grosse enough in any man that shall have considered upon what terms Christianity is to be justified against the Jews out of the Old Testament There is therefore appearance enough that the II Council of Orange which finally decreed against the heresie of Pelagius was held expresly to remove the offenses which that book had made And evidence enough that the articles of it are justified by the tradition of the whole Church For those prayers of the Church that way and subject of
afore in resolving whether there is any such faith to be â—ound as is not the vertue of a Christian For accordingly I will distinguish that faith is either the beliefe of the gospell and Christianity or the profession of it whether sincere or counterfeit I say then that the sincere resolution of professing of Christianity being the condition to which all the promises of the Gosple are due as I have showed is the worke of that grace which the obedience of Châ—â—ath purchased for us In order whereunto though the preaching of the Gospell contayneth sufficient motives to convince the world of the truth of it yet seeing the publishing of those motives by the Apostles of Chrâ—stâ—â—â— the purchase of his blood and seeing those motives being though sufficient yet not demonstrative are resisted by the greater part it is the worke of Gods grace wheresoever they become effectuall to move any man to believe that Christianity is true in order to the resolution of imbracing it Notwithstanding in as much as the profession of Christianity when it is proâ—ected by the powers of this world is no disadvantage but a priviledg especialy where there is difference about Christianity and a man professes what the Secular Power professes it is easy to see that there is reason enough in this world to move a man to professe Christianity for his own sake and not for Gods Much more to believe the truth of it for which he haâ—â— sufficient reason besides But this Faith not being that which is called Faith absolutely but with an addition of abatement we are absolutely to conclude with the council of Orange that to believe as a man ought is not the worke of freewill but of Gods grace The limitation of as a man ought serving to exclude such counterfeit faith as I have described Now though this reason of professing Christianity for advantage of this world be the most ordinary and visible when Christianity is protected by the Lawes and Powers of the world yet may it as well come to passe and effect otherwise or at least that which countervailes it For Aristotle observes unto us in his Morals that all men are not caried away either with the profit of this world or the pleasure or honours there are those that prefer vertue whether speculative or active Though this active vertue he describes to consist in that meane which the discretion of the world determines For he often repeats this for his principle in that work that the difference of good and bad must be taken for granted from that which the civility of the world accknowledges But how easy it is for them who have addicted themselves to the profession of that civility of that knowledg which the world pretends not to to imbrace and professe opinions which the world allowes not and having made it their businesse in the world rather part with their lives then be constrained either to beleive or not beleiving to professe otherwise How much more in the knowledge of God and the hope of happinesse which we suppose Christianity truly to promise may a man that pursuâ—s not the truth of it with that humility which it requires by the judgement of God fastning upon false principles by virtue of them be induced to imbrace those conclusions which he shall rather part with his life then refuse and yet for his owne sake not for Gods who teaches them not And upon these premises we may determine whether all the actions of the Gentiles and unregenerate are sins or not at least so far as it is requisite to determine any thing in it For on the one side it is evident that seeing it is imposible that they should by nature attaine to a resolution of doing all that they do in obedience to the will of God with an intent of his service It is not possible that their actions should have that utmost end which they ought to have On the other side seeing it appeareth that nothing hinders them to do things for the meere regard of honesty or of doing good to others without making themselves positively and expressely the end of what they doe It is manifest that the next end which they intend by them may be good and that the things which they doe are such as of their owne nature may be ordered and directed to the service of God though by them not so intended And therefore when it is said that unregenerat men doe all for themselves as their utmost end we must distinguish in themselves the seeds of virtue which the common notions of difference between good bad containe from the corâ—tion of orignall concupiscence For well may we say when they are moved with regard of honesty to doe any thing that they do it for themselves because it is the native worth of their man-hood which moves them to doe it But when it is said That adicting themselves to the riches or honours or pleaof this world fro which they addict them selves to love of themselves they make themselves their utmost end This must be understood as in Morall matters for the maine part of their doings The love of riches honour or pleasure much lesse of civil vertue not disabling them or so swallowing up all consideration of that which of it self suits with the worth of mans nature but that without any other regard they may many times chuse to do it And therefore having made good the grounds aforesaid I shall leave it to the readers owne judgement whether he will hold all their actions to be siâ—s because they are not positively directed to the utmost end of Gods honour and service or those which are don for honesties sake to be vertues because they are positively directed to that next end that is according to Gods will and might have been directed to his service Assuring my selfe that no interest of Christianiny obliges either me or him to determine this or that And now before I leave this point I inferr againe here from the reasons which I have used to prove the capacity of inâ—â—fference in the will of man excluding the actuall determination of it before he determine himselfe That all this is not to say that indifference is requisite to all freedome but to the freedome of man alone in this state of travaile and proficience For my ground is Gods â—enâ—â—r of a treaty and conditions of peace and reconcilement together with those precepts and prohibitions those promises and threats thâ—se exhortations and dehortations which it is inforced with So that it is â—â—â—â—â—ly impertinent to alleage here the freedome of God and Angels the freedome of the â—aâ—â—s in the world to come the freedome of our Lord Christs humane soule to prove that this indifference is not requisite to the freedome of man because it is not found in that freedome which they are arived to to whom no covenant is tendred no precept requisite no exhortation usefull as being either the cause of all rule of goodnesse
said For wee are his offspring As the same S. Paul had premised Acts XVII 26. 27. 28. For to what serves his witnesse but to informe the processe of his judgement But God is said to have let them alone passing by their sins because by tendring them his gospel he did not aggravate their judgement in case they should refuse it nor require of them that obedience which it inferreth Whereas by the Gospel the wrath of God is revealed from heaven upon all ungodlinesse and unrighteousnes of men that hold the truth in unrighteousnes as S. Paul saith Rom. â— 18. 19. Because saith he that which may be knowne of God is manifest in them for God hath manifested it to them by his works as it followes there So that the Gospel as it declares the judgement of God upon those sins that are done under the light of nature so it declares so much heavier vengeance against those which are done under and against the light which it sheweth Which is the reason why so many times in the Psalmes the bringing in of the gospel is prophesied under the figure of Gods coming to Judgement Psalme L. XCVI XCVII XCVIII And indeed there is necessary reason for this if we believe that God will judge every man according to his works at the last day Which as I shewed you in the dispute concerning justifying Faith that it is a principle of our common Christianity an Article of our beliefe which no man can be saved that holds not So I may thereupon further say That all men that are under the Gospell shall be judged according to that obedience which the gospell and Christianity requireth For if S. Paul had onely said Rom. XI 12 16. As many as have sinned without the Law shall perish without the law And as many as have sinned under the law shall be condemned by the law in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men according to my gospell by Jesus Christ As the construction which I spoke of even now requires He had onely said that the gospell declareth that God shall judge the secrets of men by Christ Which is that which the apostles witnessed as from our Lord Christ to move men to imbrace it But having said also that the Law is not given to the righteous but to the lawlesse and disobedient to the ungodly and sinfull to and if there be any thing opposite to the sound doctrine which is according to the glorious Gospell of the blessed God which I am trusted with 1 Tim. I 9 10 11. He sheweth us also that those who have been under the preaching of the Gospell shall be judged according to that obedience which the Gospell requireth To wit according as they have either performed or neglected it The reason because I have shewed the Gospell not to containe a meere promise of Gods part but a covenant with man by which he must stand or fall as he hath performed the termes of it or not But to neglect the gospell or to transgresse it cannot have been any part of their works that never heard of it and therefore they cannot be judged by it but by the worke of Gods law which is wriâ—ten in their hearts by vertue whereof their conscience bearing witnesse of the works that they have don or not don the thoughts thereof shall accuse or excuse them before God as S. Paul saith of the gentiles during the Law But had they been tendred that grace which is sufficient to save without doubt they must have given account to God of it the account being grounded upon that which a man receives as our Sauiour shewes by the parable of the Talents And that servant which knowes his masters will and prepares not and does according to his will shall be beaten with many stripes But he that knowes not and doth things that deserve stripes shall be beaten with a few Saith our Lord Luke XII 47. 48 Not as iâ— any servant knew nothing of his masters will as I have shewed by the light of nature For how should he then doe that which deserves stripes But because many know not that will which our Saviour preacheth and not knowing it are not under account for it Indeed God for his part hath provided that grace which is sufficient for the salvation of all mankind by providing our Lord Christ whose obedience sufferings have purchased the comming of the Holy Ghost upon his disciples and inabled them both by the workes which he had given them to doe and by the interpretation of the old Testament concerning our Lord Christ to tender the world sufficient conviction of his rising againe and of the faith of those promises which he hath made to all them that take up his Crosse to become conformable to his sufferings But these promises are so great that whosoever stands convict that they are true must needs stand convict that hee is in reason bound to imbrace the condition upon which they are tendred unlesse he can make a question whether the world to come is to be preferred before this or not And this I affirme to be sufficient grace contained in the preaching of the gospell which tendreth this conviction to all mankind supposing that no immediate act of God is requisite to determine him that standeth so convict to imbrace it but that it must be the act of his own free choice that must resolve him to it And all this of the meere free grace of God in as much as nothing but his own free grace could have moved him to provide this meanes which only the coming of our Lord Christ could furnish And though for the glory of his goodnesse this meanes is common to all mankind in as much as the motives of faith wherein it consisteth are of the same force and vertue towards all yet is it no lesse the grace of Christ being the purchase of his obedience and sufferings For if it be said that the worke of imbracing the Christian faith is supernaturall in as much as it tendeth to supernaturall happinesse It is to be answered that all the meanes that God uses to induce us to imbrace the same are also supernaturall being provided by Gods immediate act beyond all the force of nature and therefore proportionable to the work which they require And if it be said That the difficulty thereof in regard of originall concupiscence is such as no reason can overcome It is answered That as these motives are the productions instruments of Gods spirit accompaning his word whereby it knocks at the hearts of them to whom this conviction is tendred so they cary with them a promise of the habituall assistance of Gods spirit to move them that yeeld themselves to it to performe that which they undertake notwithstanding Originall concupiscence In the meane time these being the grounds of this sufficience it is manifest that as many as are utterly destitute of these meanes and that by no fault of their own in
it may be said that a thing comes to passe necessarily and that sense in which it may be said that it must necessarily come to passe For I suppose that the property of our English will help me here to distinguish these two senses to all that consider their mother tongue and may discerne a severall meanâ—ng when a man saies the fire burnes necessarily Peter must necessarily deny our Lord supposing that our Lord had fore told it For when the necessity is understood to be in the cause which the nature thereof though by Gods will determines it is proper to say thaâ— it comes to passe necessarily But when the necessity is understood to stand upâ—n a supposition of the effect either being or knowne to be which knowledg presupposeth it to be being supposâ—d to be true or the like it is proper to say this must needs come to passe or it must of necessity come to passe but not that it comes to passe necessarily because then the necessity must noâ— fall upon the coming of it upon passe but upon the manner by which it comes to pâ—sse I say then if any can inferr upon my saying that the necessity which it infers is antecedent to the being of it I grant I am faln into the inconvenience which I would a void and will disclaime the position upon which it followes But if it be onely consequent upon supposition either that it is or that it is taken to be it is no more then that necessity which is found in all coâ—tiâ—gencies according to all opinions that must allow all things necessarily to be â—hough not to be necessarily supposing that they are Now when I say that God determines the evenâ—s of future contingencies I say not that he doth it by determining their causes to do them speaking of free causes for the contingâ—â—cies which come to passe by the concurrence of naturall causes I grant â—o be meere necessities in regard it is necessary that when every cause actâ— to the uâ—most of his strength that must not onely needs come to passe but come to passe necessarily which the concurrence of severall forces produceth and must needâ— appear in the causes to any that comprehends the force of them all buâ— that this act of his ends in determining the motives which present themâ—elves to such causes Which act is consistent with an other act whereby he mâ—intaines the cause in an ability of doing or not doing that which it is movâ—d to do But that comprehending the inclinations thereof and the force oâ— the motives which it is presented with he comprehends thereby that it will proceed to act though comprehending that it might doe otherwiâ—e shâ—uld it regard those appearances which either habitually it hath or actuâ—lly â—t â—â—ght to have Now I confesse againe it is hard for me to show how it ought actually to have those appearances which habitually it hath But seeing thaâ— supposing this I show evidently how the providence of God iâ— unceâ—easibâ—â— the will remaining free and the effects thereof contingent I will rathâ—r conâ—esse that I cannot shew where their freedome might or ought to move when it does not then destroy the ground of all Christianity Thus much is evident supposing my saying that the certainty of the event includes the supposition of the will acting freely therefore infers no necessity antecedent to it the knowledge upon which providence decrees foreseeing that it will freely proceed being so moved CHAP. XXV The grounds of the difference between sufficient and effectuall How naturall occasions conduce to supernaturall actions The insufficience of Jansenius his doctrine Of sufficient grace under the Law of Moses and Nature ANd now I shall not use many words to declare what it is that makes those helps of grace which of themselves are sufficient effectuall For if all particulars are contayned in their generalls that which is said of all the works of providence must hold in those helps of supernaturall grace whereby it conducteth to the happinesse of the world to come And therefore the efficacy of Gods grace taking efficacy to imply the effect consists in the order which providence useth that the motives of Christianity whether to imbrace or performe the profession of it be presented in such circumstances as may render them accepted of the will to whose judgement for the preâ—ent they so appeare So that the same for nature and kind prove effectall to one which to an other prove void and frustrate For it is manifest that those helps are the grace of Christ even as they are sufficient and supposing them not to take effect And it ought to be manifest that the circumstances in which they are present to every particular person are brought to passe by the conduct of Gods spirit which filleth the world and attaineth from the beginning to the end of all things which come to passe And this spirit and the coming thereof being purchased by our Lord Christ and granted in consideration of his obedience it is easy to bee seen how it is the grace of Christ not onely as sufficient but also as effectuall This resolution then presupposeth two things as proved Chap. XVIII The first That the preaching of the Gospell is the grace of Christ That is to say A Grace granted by God in consideration of Christs merits and sufferings The second That the grace of Christ attaineth and reacheth the very effect of conversion and new obedience and resteth not in having inabled man to doe it of himselfe without the influence of it To make this part of faith better to be understood among believers better to be maintained against unbelievers that which this resolution advanceth is this That the Grace of the H. Ghost purchased by the humiliation of Christ and by his exaltation obtained as it is the meanes which God hath provided for the publishing of his Gospell to the conviction of all who understand it that they ought to submit to the faith and live according to it so it is the meanes to make it effectuall to the conversion of the Nations to Christianity that conversion effectuall in their lives and conversations by presenting the reasons and grounds thereof being of themselves sufficient for the worke to every mans consideration in those circumstances procured by the providence of God which it executeth in which his wisdome â—oresaw that they would takâ— effect and become to the purpose And truly when our Lord saith Iohn XVI 8 9 10. And when he cometh he will convict the world of sin of righteousnesse of judgement Of sin because they believe not in mee Of judgement because the prince of this world is condemned we must understand that the H. Ghost convinced the world of sin because those miracles which the Apostles did by the holy Ghost convincing the world that they spoke the word of God shewed the world that they were under sin and liable to Gods wrath if they became not Christians And that he convinced
future contingencies For to say that they may be â—oreseen in the deceite of permitting them is to say that that which may be otherwise may be certainely foreseen by certainly knowing that there is nothing to hinder it It remaines that I say what is to be thought of that proposition which some of the School Doctors holdforth That to such as do what is in them to doe by their naturall abilities God gives grace facientâ—bus quod in se est ex vi ibu naturâ— Deus largitur gratiam Because it seems to follow upon â—upposition of that which I have maintained That the unregenerate are notwithstanding originall concupiscence able to do things that are good for a right end though not out of a resolution to doe all for the right end of all which is God and his service For hence it seemeth to be inferred that those who live in civill righteousnesse for honesties sake and not for their particular advantage inconsistent with the generall good of mankind dâ—serâ—ve that God should â—end you those helps of grace which are immediately sufficient to save them by the Covenant of grace But it is manifest that the proposition may be understood in two senses One in point of Fact the other of right Theone making the proposition universal the other particular The one importing that God may tâ—e other that God must give those helps of grace that are immediately sufficient to them that live well according to the light of nature there being a vast difference between Gods giving the helps of grace that are immediately sufficient to them whom he considers to have done such things as the light of nature justifies And his giving them because of the same as obliged so to reward them For the one leaves those sufficient helps gifts of Gods grace by Christ the other renders them rewards of mens works not subject to Gods bounty being prevented with the obligation of justice and therefore establishes that opinion of meritum de congruo which had much vogue in the Schooles and supposeth not but inferreth the Covenant of grace and therefore destroyes it as verifying the effects thereof into those works of man that oblige God to grant those helps which the Gospell pretending to be set on foot by Gods free grace in Christ tendreth Certainly admitting that which hath been proved that the preaching of the gospell is granted in consideration of the merits and sufferings of Christ it cannot by any meanes be maintayned that any works of meere nature can oblige God to send the meanes of knowing the Gospell and conviction of the truth of it without granting by consequence that the very coming of Christ whereof these meanes are the consequence must be imputed to the works of those who in the state of corrupt nature have obliged God to send them the knowledge of Christ Which they could not have had had not the coming of Christ been fiâ—st provided Which by this reason must have been in consideration of the originall merit of their works I say the originall merit of their works because in this case there could be no consideration of Gods promise made out of free grace as the ground of those blessings which God thereby ties himselfe to bestow upon condition of doing that which his Covenant requires though otherwise infinitely exceeding the value of the condition which he requireth For here it is evident that the free grace of God which tenders the promise upon the condition is the originall ground of all the claime that any that is qualified can make to the promise But supposing the workes of corrupt nature to oblige God to give his Gospell it is no more his free grace but the originall merit of those workes to which all the grace of it must be imputed Which as it directly falls into the prime article of Pelagius his heresy that grace is given according to merit and that it is not given to every act being prevented by those acts in consideration whereof this opinion supposes it to be granted So by consequence it makes the publication of the Gospell to be no grace of Christ but the reward of mans merit which is the true consequence of Pelagius his position For though being pressed with those scriptures in which the grace of Christ is so clearely preached that nothing but impudence could deny it he granted that the preaching of the Gospell is as much of Gods free grace as the light of nature by which these workes are done yet in very deed he oâ—erthrewe his owne saying that is gave the Church an undefeasible advantage against himselfe by granting it His heresy being no waies tenable without maintaining the very preaching of the Gospell to be the purchace of mans merit and Christ himselfe the subject of the Gospell by consequence And thus the heresy of Pelagius becomes that very opinion which S. Paul writes against as often as he disputes that a man is justified by grace and not by works Onely with this difference that when he writes against the Jewes arguing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but by faith his meaning is that the righteousnesse of the Jewes turned Christians is not to be ascribed to the outward observation of Moses Law but to the Covenant of grace But when he wriets to the gentiles That they attained not the promises of the Gospell by the works which they had don before they heard of it but by the meere grace of God that sent our Lord Christ to bring it But if any man insist that nothing hinders him to suppose the Gospell already set on foot and thereupon to say and hold That by the use of corrupt nature God may be obliged to send the knowledg of it The insufficience of the plea will be evident enough For those works of morall honesty which corrupt nature is able to doe not serving to discharge the obligation thereof to God in those particular occasions upon which they become due because they are void of any whether habituall or actuall intent of that end which they ought to aime at It were ridiculous to tye God to grant the effects of his free grace in sending our Lord Christ to those that are lesse sinners then others And consiâ—ering that which is visible in point of fact it wil be imposible to reduce those things which appear in the propagating and maintaining of Christianity through the world to any difference of works done before the knowledg thereof as the reason of Gods dispensing of it Which may also be said of another opinion that may be and perhaps is held upon termes not prejudiciall to the faith as this seemes to be to wit That God by declaring the Covenant of Grace his inclination to save all the world by it hath tied himselfe to grant such motions and inspirations of true good to all men that if they neglect them not but do what corrupt nature so prevented is able to doe he shall
conceive maintaines the interest of Christianity best though a Iew or a Pagan much more a Jesuite or an Arminian had said it As for the opinion of Arminius and the decree of the Synod at Dort having already said why I have inlarged my considerations beyond the compasse of those termes upon which they disputed it shall suffice me to say That his opinion concerning Election and Reprobation is that which I have showed that all the Church hath alwaies held for mater of Faith To wit that God appoints them to be saved and to be damned who receive Christianity and persevere in the profession of it till death or not That in mine opinion they might have admitted some thing more To wit that God is not obliged by any workes of free will preventing the help of his Grace through Christ but by his own free pleasure to grant those helps of Grace which he knowes wil be effectuall to finall perseverance in Christianity to some which he refuseth to others And that the decree of granting them is Gods absolute predestination to Grace For I am confident that Arminius doth acknowledg the calling of Gods Grace to become effectuall by meanes of the congruity of those helps which God provideth with that disposition which God foreseeth in him whom he appointeth to be moved by the same Whether or no the decree of the Synod require further that they should acknowledg Predestination to glory to be absolute I hold not my selfe any waies obliged to dispute For I find that those persons that were â—mployed to the Synod from England have professed as well in the Synod as otherwise that they came not by any commission or instruction from the Church of England but onely as trusted by K. James of excellent memory to assist his good neighbours the states of the United Provinces in composing the differences in Religion raised among their Divines and people And therefore I cannot be concerned in the decree to which the Church of England never concurred Yet I say further that the persons that concurred to it whose opinions as Divines I cannot esteeme at an easy rate by waâ—ving the opinion of predetermination by acknowledging the death of Christ for all the operation of grace not irresistible but such as stands not with actual resistence do seem not to insist upon absolute predestination to glory And that if the decree do necessarily import it I do not know how to reconcile it with their own opinions Which whether it be also to be said of them of the reformed Churches in France who holding the decree do now acknowledg the death of Christ for all mankind let them that read their writings judge CHAP. XXVII The question concerning the satisfaction of Christ with Socinus The reason why Sacrifices are figures of Christ common to all sacrifices Why and what Sacrifices the Fathers had what the Law added Of our ransom by the price of Christs propitiatory Sacrifice HAving thus showed how the Gospel tenders a Covenant of Grace though requiring the condition of Christianity in regard of those helps which the Grace of God through Christ provideth for the performance of it I am now to show the same in regard of that right to which God accepteth that performance For if it appeare that God out of his grace in Christ and not for the worth of that which we doe accepteth it for a title duely qualifying us for remission of sinne and life everlasting then is it a Covenant of Grace which the Gospell tenders though it require the profession and practice of Christianity on our part And here I have to doe with the Socinians on the one extremity in the first place who will not allow the Gospell to continue the Covenant of grace if it be said that it tendereth remission of sins and life everlasting to those that are qualified as it requireth in consideration of the obedience and sufferings of Christ as the ransome and price of our sinnes Acknowledging allways that Christ died to settle and establish the New Covenant but not to oblige God by his death either to declare and become ingaged to it or to make it good having declared it but to assure mankind that God who of his owne free grace was ready to pardon and accept of those that should accept of the termes of reconcilment which his Gospell tendereth will not faile to make good that which by delivering his well beloved sonne to death he hath signed for his promise to us Indeed they goe about to strengthen this opinion by adding another reason and end of Christs death To wit the attaining of that Godhead wherewith God they say hath rewarded his obedience in doing the message which he trusted him with that thereby he might be able of himselfe to make good that which God by him had promised confounding all that may oppose the salvation of them that imbrace the Covenant of Grace But that it should be said that God declareth or giveth remission of sinnes and everlasting life to them that imbracâ— the same in consideration of the obedience and sufferings of Christ as satisfied thereby for that punishment which our sinne deserved of his justice this is that which they deny and the Church teacheth and therefore this it is which we must show how it is delivered by the Scriptures Which every man may observe to stand cheifely in those texts of Scripture which say that Christ died for us that he redeemed us and reconciled us to God by his death and bloud shed which being the utmost of his obedience comes most into account at all occasions of mentioning this subject in fine it is easy to be observed that the expressions of this point in holy Scripture have relation to the Sacrifices of the Old Testament as figuring the death of Christ whereby both agree we are delivered from sinne the question remaining whether ransomed or not And therefore I shall first consider how and to what effect the Sacrifices of Moses Law are figures of the sacrifice of our Lord upon the Crosse Where I must in the first place inferre from the principle premised of the twofold sense of the Old Testament that all the sacrifices thereof were figures of the death of Christ and our reconcilement with God by the same So farre I am from yeilding them that unreasonable demand that onely expiatory Sacrifices and especially that of the Solemne day of Atonement are properly so Onely I must declare my meaning to be this That whereas the sacrifices of the Fathers were so as they were pledges of Gods favour generally the sacrifices of the Law being the condition upon which that people in generall and every person thereof in particular held their interest in the land of promise expresse more correspondence with that interest in the world to come which Christians hold by Christs death on the Crosse For the land of Canaan being promised them upon condition of keeping the Law and every mans interest in the
that the Grace whereby we are justified is a quality habitually informing the soule of man as supernaturally infused by God into it But onely that Faith Hope and Charity are infused into them that are justified and inherent in them as shed into theire hearts by the Holy Ghost Which they say may all be understood supposing that a man is justified by the acts of Faith Hope and Love infused or shedde into the hart by the Holy Ghost as well as by habites supernaturally created to reside in the soule For you may see by Morinus in his Late worke de Administrationâ— Pâ—nitentiâ— VIII 2. 3. 7. that for MCC yeares after Christ a good while after the Schoole Doctors were come in there was no question at all made whether we are justified by an infused habit of grace or not and that it was about the yeare MCCL that this opinion intirely prevailed in the Schooles Whereby it appeareth that as this opinion containes nothing destructive to the faith if it be understood in that sense which the Church of Rome allowes that it is not the naturall worth of it which justifies but Gods accepting of it to that effect So if it did yet could not the Church of Rome be said to teach any thing destructive to the faith But onely to allow since â—uch things to be taught For the Council of Vienna under Clement V. determines it not as matter of faith but as the more probable opinion as you may see Clement de summa Trin. Fide Cathol Tit. I. Cap. VII And therefore Albertus Pâ—ghius de libero Arbitrio lib. V notwithstanding this decree stickes not to count this doctrine forged without any authority of Scripture And those that speake of it with more respect then he thinke not themselves tied to that which the Council holdâ— the more probable It is indeed manifest by the experience of all Christians that the custome and practice even of supernaturall actions to which the inclination of corrupt nature is utterly averse breedes in a man an habituated disposition of doing those things with â—ase and pleasure which at the beginning of his Christianity he could not doe without offering himselfe much violence But that habit which custome and practice leaves behind it though supernaturall for the cause or effect of it because the acts upon which it accrues as also those which it produces cannot accrue from meere nature without the helpe of Christs grace is notwithstanding for that wherein it consists a disposition really qualifying the nature and substance of the soule and inclining it to act otherwise then without it Besides the Gospell promising the Holy Ghost for a Gift to abide with and dwell in those that are baptized nothing hinders the Gift thereof to be held and termed an habituall grace In these regards I find it neither prejudiciall nor inconsequent to the Christian faith to acknowledge habituall grace though neither scripture nor tradition of the Church owne any habit of grace created by God and infused into the soule in a moment as the Schoole imagineth But they seeme to have committed another mistake in that the Church having decreed against Pelagius that the Grace of Christ is necessary to all truly good actions and therefore that man cannot merit the first grace this infused habit of grace they have made to be that First grace which God giveth before man will indeavor any thing towards it For so the Master of the Sentences determineth that grace which preventeth mans indevors to be faith with Love libro II. distinct XXVI D. which though it be capable of a very good sense That the motion to beleeve the truth of Christianity out of the love of God is that which Gods grace prevents all mans compliance with yet in what sense they swallowed it will appeare by the difficulties and dispuâ—es they were intangled with about that sorrow which the heart conceives for sinne out of meerâ— love to God not feare of punishment which the love of our selves breedeth For this sorow being necessarily a disposition preparing him for justification that cometh to God in regard the first grace which God preventeth all manâ— indeavors with is to them this infused habit of Faith and love which formally justifieth how he should come prepared for justification by that contrition which without Gods grace man cannot have who is justified by that infused habit of grace which he was first prevented by God with hath been among them the subject of endlesse jangles Whereas it is manifest the maintenance of the Faith against Pelagius requireth no more then that the resolution of persevering in Christianity to the â—nd be thought necessarily to depend upon the motion to imbrace it which God first preventeth man with without respect to any act of man obliging God to grant it And therefore it is manifest that the Church decreed no more against Pelagius but that the first motion to become a good Christian that every man is prevented with must be ascribed to Gods free grace through Christ not ingaged by any act of mans goeing afore Now requiring onely the actuall assistance of Gods preventing grace it is easy enough to say not how attrition that is sorrow for sinne in regard of punishment accompanied with slavish feare is changed into contrition that is sorrow for sinne out of the love of God whome it offendeth For it is not possible that he who loveth God should be sory for sinne for the same reason which he was sorry for while he loved the world But how the man that was attrite becomes contrite For when first the Gospell reveales unto a man his desperate estate in and by the first Adam it is not possible that he should remaine uâ—touched either with sorrow for the present or apprehension for the future And yet no lesse unpossible is it according to Gods ordinary way of working even by his Grace that he should in an instant resolve to imbrace the onely way to give him peace in that exigence But while he neither casts off the motion of grace nor resigneâ— his interest in himselfe and the world to it but considers upon what reason it behoves him to resolve this consideration by the worke of Gods Spirit disâ—overing to him how much God and the next world is to be preferred before himselfe and this as the love of God and the world to come prevailes in him above the love of himselfe and this accordingly of necessity must the greife of having offended God afore prevaile in him above all that he can conceive for the misery he hath incurred And all this by virtue of those helpes which God grants though allwayes in consideration of our Lord Christ yet not by virtue of that Covenant which is not contracted till â— man be baptized but of his owne free goodnesse dispensing the effects of Christs coming according to the reason of his secret wisdome which the Covenant of grace discovers not I neede say no more to show how a
inconvenience to acknowledge any thing to be sinne which no Law of God forbiddes That venial sinne should be beside the Law of God but not against it would make it no sinne which nothing but the transgression of the Law determineth 1 Joh. III. 4. Rom. IV. 15. For why is any thing sinne but because it ought not to be done Or why ought it not to be done but because it is Gods will that it should not be done Or what would God have done that is not a Law to his creature Therefore all sinne transgresseth that will whereby God would not have that done which it doing transgresseth his Law On the other side how clearly agreeth it with the goodnesse of God how necessarily followeth it upon that Grace which his Gospell publisheth that those who are called to it supposing them obnoxious to that concupiscence which will certainly induce them to sinne notwithstanding the Grace whereby they are regenerate should neither forfeit their estate in it by every sinne which they commit nor by any sinne which they forsake by timely repentance Therefore how exact so ever that obedience is which the Gospell requireth at our hands So long as it leaveth him that returneth by repentance from that sinne whereby he faileth of it right of being reestated in his reconcilement with God It is manifest that his estate in the promises of the Gospel is not forfeit by falling into sinne but by persevering in it How much more when it is acknowledged on all hands that there are in the World so many meanes to divert our mindes from the true end and rule of our doings so numberlesse snares for our inclinations naturally biassed towards that which seemeth best for the present that no Christian can keep an exact account of the occasions whereby he findeth himself to fail of that righteousnesse which he aimeth at how much more I say is it to be presumed that the grace of the Gospell reacheth further then any mans repentance and in consideration of our Lord Christ accounteth not that to be a breach of Covenant which onely the generall study of new obedience extinguisheth In this consideration if any man will say that some sinnes are veniall others mortall in regard of those terms of reconcilement with God which the Gospel proposeth which as no sinne voideth if repentance follow so those sinnes which the present weaknesse of our mortall nature cannot easily avoid must not be thought to infring he shall say no more then the Gospel of Christ will warrant by necessary consequence But whether any sinne be originally veniall by that first Law of God the transgression whereof it is as it manifest that we are not inabled by the Scriptures to dispute tending onely to reveal by degrees Gods purpose of dealing with man under sinne which the Gospel at last hath clearly set forth so it is certaine that it no way concernes either my purpose or any mans salvation to determine And this destinction of Gods Law is founded upon the expresse words of S. Paul Rom. IV. 27. where he saith that glorying is excluded by the law of Faith not by the Law of workes And S. James 11. 12. So speak ye and so do ye as those that shall be judged by the Law of liberty For those terms which God hath proposed to Christians whom he hath freed from sinne are that very Law of Christianity whereby those that are so freed shall be judged whether they have walked in the freedome to which they were called or not the originall Law which differenceth good from bad being set aside as to the purpose of giving sentence by it And upon these termes whosoever dieth in the state of Gods grace fulfilleth Gods Law obtaining the promise which the Gospel tendreth by fulfilling the condition which it requireth But where as it is further questioned among the Schoole Doctors whether according to the ordinary measure of Gods Spirit which the Gospel bringeth it is possible for the regenerate to live without sinne and that distinguishing whether without mortall sinne or whether without veniall sinne because I have allowed the distinction in some sense and to some purpose Having allready answered that which was necessary to be satisfied I am not solicitous of the rest The Church supposed the Faith secured when it was resolved against Pelagius That the Law is not to be fullfilled without the Grace of Christ For the rest S. Austine was tender of denying that a Christian may live without sin by Grace For what may it not doe Yet could have no good opinion of him that should thinke himself the man that lives without sinne S. Jerom with many of the Fathers found it an inconvenience to grant that God commandeth impossibilities And therefore punisheth that which a man must needes doe And yet he makes difficulty to grant that a man may live without sinne The Council of Trent decrees Sess IV. Can. XVIII Si quis dixerit Dei praecepta homini etiam justificato sub gratia constituto esse ad observandum impossibilia anathema esto If any man affirme that the commandments of God are impossible for a man that is justifyed and in the state of grace to keep let him be anathema Thus an opinion when Pelagius was condemned becoms an article of Faith by the Councile of Trent But my opinion is not pressed by the decree For having excepted invincible ignorances and meer surprises of concupiscence because the Gospel supposes concupiscence the commandments of God may be possible and yet not possible for a man whose intentions are distracted about many to avoid all sinne And it followes in the decree of the Council Can. XXII Si quis hominem Jemel justificatum dixerit posse in tota vita peccata omnia etiam venialia vitare nisi ex speciali privilegio quemadmodum de beata virgiâ—â— tenet Ecclesia anathema sit If any man say that a man once justified may avoid all even veniall sinnes through all his life unlesse by speciall priviledge as the Church holdeth of the blessed Virgine let him be anathema What Church holdeth that the blessed Virgine never sinned I know not That the Catholick Church holds it not is evident by the opinions of doctors of the Church to the contrary which you shall find with the rest which I have alledged in this point in Vossius his Collections Historiae Pelagianae libro VI. Parte I. But Andreas Vega who maintaines stiffely that a Christian may live all his life without sinne will have much ado to shelter himself from this anathema Thus farre then I quarrel not the Council of Trent And those who have the II. Councile of Orange at their fingers ends whensoever the absolute efficacy of grace is questioned will be ashamed to refuse the last Canon of it which saith Hic etiam secundum fidem Catholicam credimus quod accepta per Baptismum gratia omnes baptizati Christo auxiliante cooperante quae ad salutem pertinent possint
bloud as understanding themselves aright all Christians must needs do Unlesse wee can maintain that wee receive the body and blood of Christ not onely when wee receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist but also by receiving it there is no cause why our Lord should say This is my body this is bloud when hee delivered onely the sign of it to good and bad and therefore not out of any consideration of the quality of them that received it And what a grosse thing were it to say that our Savior took such care to leave his Church by the act of his last will a legacy which imports no more than that which they might at all times bestow upon themselves And let mee know whether the Church could not devise signes enow to renew the memory of Christs death or if that be likewise included to expresse their profession also of dying with Christ by bearing his Crosse if our Lords intent had been no more than to appoint a Ceremony that might serve to commemorate our Lords death or to expresse our own profession of conformity to the same For certainly they who make no more of it whom I said wee may therefore properly call Sacramentaries cannot assign any further effect of Gods grace for which it may have been instituted and yet make it a meer sign of Christs death or of our own profession to dy with Christ or for Christ But if I allow them that make it more than such a sign to have departed from a pessilent conceit and utterly destructive to Christianity I cannot allow them to speak things consequent to their own position when they will not have these words to signifie that the elements are the body and bloud of Christ when they are received but become so upon being received with living faith which will allow no more of the body and bloud of Christ to be in the Sacrament than out of it For the act of living faith importeth the eating and drinking of the flesh and bloud of Christ no lesse without the Sacrament than in it Certainly it is no such abstruse consequence no such farr fetched argument to inferr If this is my body this is my bloud signifies no more than this is the sign of my body and bloud then is the Sacrament of the Eucharist a meer sign of the body and bloud of Christ without any promise of spiritual grace Seeing that being now a Sacrament by being become a Sacrament it is become no more than a sign of the body and bloud of Christ which though a living faith spiritually eateth and drinketh when it receives the Sacrament yet should it have done no lesse without receiving the same I will here allege the discourse of our Lord to them that followed him to Capernaum John VI. 26-63 upon occasion of having been fed by the miracle of five loaves and a few little fishes Supposing that which any man of common sense must grant that it signifies no more than they that heard it could understand by it and that the Sacrament of the Eucharist not being then ordained they could not understand that hee spake of it but ought to understand him to speak of believing the Gospel and becoming Christians under the allegory of eating his flesh and drinking his bloud But when the Eucharist was instituted the correspondence of the ceremony thereof with the allegory which here hee discourseth is evidence enough that as well the promise which hee tendreth as the duty which hee requireth have their effect and accomplishment in and by the receiving of it I must here call you to minde that which I said of the Sacrament of Baptisme that when our Lord discoursed with Nicodemus of regeneration by water and the Holy Ghost John III. not having yet instituted the Sacrament of Baptisme in the Name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost nor declared the promise of giving the Holy Ghost to them that should receive the same it must needs be thought that hee made way thereby to the introducing of that Ordinance the condition and promise whereof hee meant by the processe of his own and his Apostles doctrine further to limit and determine In like maner I must here insist and suppose that hee speaks not here immediately of eating and drinking his flesh and bloud in the Eucharist which his hearers could not then fore-tell that hee meant to ordain but that the action thereof being instituted with such correspondence to this discourse the intent of it may be and is to be argued from the same Now I have showed in due place that the sayings and doings of our Lord in the Gospel are mystical to signifie his kingdome of Glory to the which hee bringeth us through his kingdome of Grace So that when our Savior fed that great multitude with the loaves and the fishes which hee multiplied by miracle to the intent that they might not faint in following him and his doctrine it is manifest that hee intimateth thereby a promise of Grace to sustain us in our travail here till wee come to our Countrey of the Land of Promise When therefore hee proposeth the theme of this discourse saying Yee seek mee not because yee have seen miracles which serve to recommend my doctrine but because yee have eaten of the loaves and were filled Labor not for the meat that perisheth but for that which indures to life everlasting hee showes two things First that his flesh and bloud sustain us in our pilgrimage here because hee showes the Manna which the Fathers lived on in the Wildernesse to be a figure of it Secondly that they bring us to immortality and everlasting life in the world to come by expounding the figure to consist in this that as they were maintained by manna till they died so his new Israelites by his flesh and bloud by eating his flesh and drinking his bloud which hee was giving for the life of the world never to dye Now wherein the eating and drinking of his flesh and bloud consisteth hee showes by his answer to their question upon this Warning them to work for the meat that lasts unto everlasting life which hee tenders and not for that which perisheth The question is What shall wee do to work Gods works And the answer The work of God is this to believe in him whom hee hath sent I have showed in due place that the condition which makes the promises of the Gospel due is oâ—r Christianity to wit to professe the faith of Christ faithfully that is not in vain Therefore when our Lord saith The work of God is this To believe on him whom hee hath sent hee means this fidelity in professing Christianity For indeed who can imagine otherwise that hee should call the act of believing in Christ that work of God which Christ came to teach Gods people Hee then that considers the death of Christ that is to say the crucifying of his flesh and the pouring out of his bloud with that faith which supposes all
for the rest of their Divines who are commonly called Ubiquitaries because they are supposed to teach That the oâ—ni-presence of Christs God-head is communicated to his flesh by virtue of the Hypostatical Union so that the body and bloud of Christ being every where present necessarily subsisteth in the dimensions of bread and wine in the Euchâ—rist This opinion I hold not my self any way obliged here to â—â—â—pute further than by barring it with this exception that it taketh away that supposition upon which the whole question concerning the consecration of the Eucharist â—â—â—ndeth To wit that seeing the presence of Christs body and bloud in the Sacrament cannot be attributed to the invisible faith of him that receives it is necessarily to be attributed to the viâ—â—ble faith of the Church that celebrateth For according to this oâ—inion it is manifest that the said presence can no way depend upon any thing done by the Church in celebrating the Eucharist being alâ—eady brought to passe and in being when the Church goes about it And this is all the argument that I will use against this conceit that all the premiâ—es require and so will also all that which followeth the presence of the body and bloud in the Eucharist to be of an other nature and otherwise effected â—â—an can be understood to belong to the Elements by virtue of the Hypostaâ—ical â—nion Though wee suppose that which cannot be granted that by virtue thereof â—hey are every where Which therefore whether their Divines do really belâ—eve or onely in words I will not here dispute Thus much I can say that by the agreement of the Churches pretending the Confession of Ausburg conâ—ernâ—ng the Articles once in difference among them contained in the Boâ—â— knoâ—n by the name of Liber Concordiae they are not tied to maintain so much For it is there openly protested not onely in the Preface but chiefly in the eighth Article concerning this point p. 769 787. that they do not believe the properties of the God-head to be transfuâ—ed into the Manhood nor that the Manhood of Christ is locally extended all over heaven and earth but that Christ by his Omnipotence is able to render his flesh and bloud present where hee please Especially where hee hath promised the presence thereof by inâ—â—ituting the Sacrament of the Eucharist And Chemnitius therefore one of the beâ—â— learned of their Divines in a Book writ on purpose to set forth the grounds of their opinion concerning the communication of attributes expresly â—onâ—â—neth himself to these terms as you may see cap. XXX p. 205 206. declaring his meaning by the comparison of iron red hot which though the fire be so in it that they are not discernable much lesse seperable and though they may do the act of both natures at once upon the same subject by burning and cutting the same thing remain notwithstanding distinct in their natures What then would they have Why this being set aside they say neverthelesse most truly that in the whole work of the Mediators office the divine nature communicateth with the humane Which understanding the necessities of Christs Members both intercedes with God for supply and supplies the same by the proper will of it which his divine will alwayes concurring brings to effect In which regard it is also most truly said that the properties of the God-head do communicate with the Manhood in regard of the concurrence of them to execute that which it resolveth being alwayes conformable to the will and decree of the God-head This indeed is no more than the faith of the Catholick Church importeth nor infeâ—â—â—th the Ubiquity or Omni-presence of Christs flesh as an indowment communicated to reside in it by virtue of the Hypostatical Union as thenceforth the proper subject of it But the concurrence of both natures to the effecting of those works wherein the Mediators Office is seen whereupon depends that honour and worship which the Mâ—nhood challenges in the person of Christ as inâ—eparable from the God-head to which originally that honour is due And therefore I shall never go about to return any maner of answer to any of thoâ—e Scriptures which have been alleged for it but onely this that they inferre nothing to the purpose in hand For if it could be said that by virtue of the Hypostatical Union that is by the will of God effecting it the immensity of the God-head were so transfused into the Manhood as to make it present wheresoever this Sacrament is celebrated and so in the Elements of it then were this an answer to the difficulty in hand But such a one as would ingage him that affirms it in the Heresie of Eutyches But saying no more than this That the will of the man Christ concurres with his Divine Power to do all that his promises to his Church imports And that the effect of this Sacrament importing the presence of his flesh and bloud it is necessary that the will of the man Christ by the Divine Power concurring to the works of it should make the flesh and bloud of Christ present wheresoever his Ordinance requires they cannot say that Christs flesh is present in the Sacrament of the Eucharist by virtue of the Hypostatical Union upon those grounds But that by virtue of the Hypostatical Union the will and promise of Christ is executed by the power of the God-head concurring with it and which it acteth with Which is to say that not immediately by the Hypostatical Union but by means of Christs promise which must come to effect by the power of the God-head which the humane will of Christ communicateth with And truly I conceive no man ever was so impertinent as not to suppose the Hypostatical Union when there was question how the promise of the presence of Christs body and bloud in the Eucharist should come to effect But that being supposed and not serving the turn alone it remains that wee judge it by the institution of the Eucharist and the promise which it contains that is to say by those Scriptures out of which the intent of them is to be had and not by the Hypostatical Union which being supposed the question remains neverthelesse And by the Hypostatical Union wee doubt not but our Lord Christ hath power to represent his body and bloud that is to make it present where hee please but that must be not meerly by virtue of the Hypostatical Union but by doing the same miracle which Transubstantiation imports though it be the Hypostatical Union that inableth our Lord Christ to do it For though there be a difference between the being of Christs flesh and bloud under the dimensions of the Elements the substance of them remaining being reduced by the power of God under those dimensions And the substance of them being abolished Yet I suppose all men of reason will say that the Hypostatical Union contributes no more to that than to this And therefore not doubting that the Sacramental presence of the body
the premises and the reason why this profession is limited by the Gospel to be solemnized by the Sacrament of Baptism being so clearly rendred that it is impossible to rendâ—r any other reason how the spiritual and everlasting promises of the Gospel should depend upon a material and bodily act of washing away the filth of the flesh I suppose the way is plain to inferre that suppoâ—â—ng God allowes pardon to all that fall after Baptism so often as they return by true repentance it cannot be refused those that return by true repentance whether it be obtained by the ministry of the Church or without it It is not necessary for me here to repete all those sayings of the new Testament wherein the motion from the state of damnation in which the Gospâ—l finds us to the state of salvation by the Gospel expressed under the â—erâ— of Repentance John Baptists and our Lords first Sermon is upon this Text Repâ—nt for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand Mat. III. 2. IV. 17. in Mark Repent and believe the Gospel I. 15. and both a thing For he that is moved to repent either by the preaching of John Baptist or of our Lord Christ must needs take the rule and measure of that which he turns to by repentance from him whose Doctrine he followeth whether John or our Lord Christ whom John declâ—reth The same is the theme that the Apostles preach upon Mar. VI. 12. And the same is the case whether the Apostle say Repent and be baptized Acts II. 38. or Repent and turn as Acts III. 19. seeing he must needs be understood to meane that they turn to Christianity by repentance And still the same when S. Paul publishing the Gospel declares that God by it calls all men to repentance Acts XVII 30. that it consists in preaching repentance and faith in our Lord Christ Jesus Acts XX. 21. or in calling men to repent and turn to God doing works worthy of reâ—entance Acts XXVI 20. therefore all our Lords Sermons of repentance in the Gospels Mat. XI 20. 21. XII 41. Luke X. 13. XI 32. XIII 2-9 XV. do imply and presuppose the same limitations to determine the repentance which his Gospel requires Which he that receives not is called the impenitent heart Rom. II. 5. And St. Paul directs Timothy to instruct the adversaries with meeknessâ— if perhaps God may give them repeutance to the acknowledgement of the truth 2 Tim. II. 25. And S. Peter when he commends God as long suffering towards us Because he would have none perish but all come to repentance 2 Pet. III. 5. speaks of those that mock at Christianity saying Where is the promise of his coming for since the Fathers fell asleep all things remain as they were from the beginning Since then converâ—â—on to Christianity is that which qualifies for remission of sinnes those whom it overtaketh in sinne can any reason be given why it should not be effectual to the loosing of any sinne whereby a Christian transgressing his Christianity forseiteth the priviledges of it For the profession which he sealed by being baptized as to the Church fails not by a â—inne that the Church sees not and as to God revives by that new resolution which repentance introduceth There is not indeed much mention of privâ—te repentance in those which are already Christians in the writings of the Apostles But there is frequent mention of sinnes without mention of any cure by the Church without any appearance or signification of any cure applyed to them by the Church As the eating of things offered to Idols when it might be the occasion to make another Christian commit Idolatry 1 Cor. VIII 12. which if publick and yet cannot be thought to come under the Keyes of the Church how much more those that are are not publick I have proved in another place that S. Paul instructs Timothy not to ordain sinfull persons least he communicate in their sinnes Because saith he Some mens sinnes are manifest aforehand going before them to judgement 1 Tim. V 22. 24. But those that stood for Ordination could not pretend to be cured of their sinnes by the Church because coming into that rank they could noâ— aspire to be preferred in the Church But the words of S. John are unavoidable for he writ to Christians 1 Ioh. I. 7. 8 9 10 If we walk in the light as he is in the light we have communion with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sinne If we say that we have no sinne we deceive our selves and the truth is not in us If we confesse our sinnes he is faithfull and just to forgive us our sinnes and cleanse us from all unrighteousnesse If we say we have no sinne we make him a liar and his word is not in us And immediately My little children I write these things to you that ye sinne not And if any man sinne we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous and he is the propitiation for our sinnes But not for ours alone but for the sinnes of the whole world The precept of God to John and by John to the seven Churches to repent Apoc. II 5. 16. 21. III. 3. 9. is to Christiâ—ns and to Churches For though it be directed to the Angels of those Churches yet in behalfe of the Churches themselves Now can the Church be cured by the Church If not then are some sinnes of Christians cured without the Keyes of the Church If so why not the sinne of a man by that man as well as the sinne of a Church by that Church The cure of the sinne of a Church being nothing else but the repentance of that Church oâ— perhaps the greatest part of that Church For otherwise no mans sinne of that Church could be cured till every man of that Church should return by repentance What say you to S. Pauls invections against wronging Christians and against uncleannesse 1 Cor. VI. 6-10 15-20 Shall we think that they who sued Christians before Infidels came to confession foâ— this sinne that these whose sinnâ— S. Paul aggravates above this for it is worse to wrong a Christian then to seek right of a Christian by an Infidels means acknowledged any way the Church had to constrain them to do right Nay that those whom he reduceth there from fornication did acknowledge the cure of it by the Church What then needed S. Paul to perswade them that they could not be saved without turning to God from it For had they been perswaded that it could not be cured without confession to the Church they must have supposed that it could not be cured without confession to God And what say you to S. Pauls instruction Let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup 1 Cor. XI 28. For though this may be subject to some limitation as by that which follows it will or may appear that it is to be
this that the body being buryed the soule goe ad Inferos For in Psalmum II. he exemplifies in Dives and Lazarus And Lactantius VII 21. Nec tamen quisquam putet animas post mortem protinus judicari Omnes in una communique custodia detinentur dones tempus adveniat quo maximus index meritorum faciat examen Yet let no man think that soules are judged straight after death They are kept in one common guard till the time come for the Soveraigne Judge to examine theire deserts He denies them to be judged whom Novatianus acknowledgeth to be prejudged or forejudged He means our common guard but intends not to deny the gulfe which it is parted with S. Ambrose de Bono Mortis X. XI saith that those lodgings which the Apocryphichall Esdras speaketh of are the many lodgings which our Lord saith are in his fathers house Iohn XIV 2. and speaking of the Gentiles Satis fuerat dixisse illis quod liberatae animae a corporibus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 peterent id est locum qui non videtur quem locum Latine infernum dicimus It had been enough for them to have said that soules freed from their bodies goe to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is to a place not seen which place wee call hell in Latine Signifying that according to Christianity all soules going to Esdras his lodgings may be said to goe to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which the Latine makes to be under the Earth But whether Christianity so understand it or no not expressing Againe Ergo dum expectatur plenitudo temporis expectant anims remunerationem debitam Alias manet paena alias gloria Et tamen nec illae interim sine injuria nec istae sine fructu sunt While therefore the fulnesse of time is expected soules also expect their own reward Some punishment some glory attendes yet neither they without hardship nor these without benefit in the meane time Yet as it followes neither grieved with cares neither vexed with the remembrance of that which is past as the wicked but foreseeing their rest and glory to come injoy the quiet of their lodgings under the guard of Angels If it be excepted that there is no mention of the Fathers soules Let it be considered how many Church-writers have made the bosome of Abraham in which Lazarus rested before our Lords death a place of rest and refreshment from death till the day of judgement Their words you may find in the answer to the Jesuits Challenge named afore p. 260-267 Where those expositions of the Gospell which goe under the name of Theophilus of Antiochia Euthymius of Lions write two opinions the one placing it under the earth the other above because the rich man lifted up his eyes From whence the second of those dialogues against the Marcionists that goe under Origens name argueth that it is in heaven So far is the ancient Church from being agreed that those store-houses wherein it is agreed that all soules are kept till the generall judgement are beneath the earth And though he was a Christian that writ the Apocryphall book of Esâ—ras II. from whom S. Ambros and S. Austine receive their store-houses of Soules yet speakes it in the person of Esdras concerning the Fathers of the Old Testament In the meane time of the removing of them by the descent of Christ out of the Verge of Hell into heaven not one word in all this which certainely may serve to evidence that there never was nor is any such Tradition in the Church In fine the descent of righteous soules in to hell and the deliverance of them from thence by the descent of our Lord Christ may be understood two severall waies Either according to the literall sense of the old Testament or according ot the mysticall sense of the New For it is manifest that Adam was condemned to labor the earth first and then to returne to the earth And this being expulsed out of Paradise The secret of Christianity consisting in this that our Lord Christ should restore the posterity of Adam from those sorrowes which brought him to the earth whence he was taken to Paradise whence he was expulsed was not to be revealed though it was to take effect in all who in effect though not in forme imbraced and held the Covenant of Grace during the old Testament The land of promise and the blessings thereof were then the pledges of this hope To leave them by death was then to acknowledge themselves liable to the second death which returning to the earth signified so long as their returne to Paradise was not revealed Though to them which understood what the Land of promise signified it was to returne into paradise The new testament succeeding to reveale the mystery of the old must it not needes seeme strange that the Fathers of the old Testament should behave themselves towards death as they who had not this hope Supposing this reason not then to be declared it neede not seeme strange not supposing the same it seems to cal in question som thing of our common Christianity The Gospel opens the secret representing Dives in Hel torments Lazarus in Abrahams bosom But our Lord Christ himselfe being brought downe to the dust of the earth to deliver mankind from the second death signified by the same did our common redemption require that he should come any further under death and them who had the power of it our common Faith might seeme maimed in not believing it But the worke of redemption being accomplished upon the Crosse the effect of it was to be tryed by the disposing of his soule Which effect whether those that belonged to the new Testament under the Old understood by the scriptures of the Law they understood it as did the Devil by theire deliverance out of his hands For the reason of their deliverance he might not understand till the rising of Christ againe taught it When therefore wee see the soules of Adam and his posterity assigned by the Fathers of the Church to the powers of darkenesse let us understand it to hold according to the Old Testament and it will comprehend also the souls of the Fathers Who belonged to the New Testament When we heare them describe them in the rest of Abrahams bosome according to that which our Lord revealeth let us understand the effect of the New Testanent in them that dyed under the Old Without distinguishing thus I conceive it will be impossible to reconcile the Fathers to themselves and the common faith For pressing that which they say on either side you will not faile to make them crosse one an other as well as the Scriptures But thus distinguishing the common faith will remaine that which Macrina in Gregory Nyssens dialogue de anima resurrectione answers to the question Where 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is To wit that the translation of the soule from this visible world to that which is not seen is all that can be had
began to make some question of it upon some disputes which he met with That S. Gregory first professed an opinion of it granted upon no scripture no nor Tradition of faith but upon aparitions and revelations That there is great appearance that Venerable Bede having received it from S. Gregorys Scholars who planted Christianity here added much to it by his credulity in such maters And yet that they had yet assigned no quarter in the Verge of Hell for this purpose but onely believed it of certaine soules in some places of this earth untill the Schoole hammered out a debt of punishment to which souls acquited both of the guilt and staine of sin may remaine lyable The extending of indulgence to the voyding of this how properly soever it may be counted purging of soules made the position a mater of great jelousy for the interest of profit which our common Christianity abhorreth And indulgence indeed of Canonicall penance I have showed hath the first ground in S. Pauls example and necessary use in the Church But when redeeming of penance was come into practice in the Church it was granted upon considerations with Christianity and the safety of poore soules allowed not Of paying a rate of taking the Crosse against Infidels of moderne Jubiles But that there should be a stock of merit in the Church upon account of works of supererogation done by the Saints which theire owne reward answereth not and that the Church in granting indulgence of penance may allow it to his account that receives indulgence is a conceite as injurious to the merits of Christ the consideration of all pardon and to the Covenant of Grace the condition whereof it abateth so that hath no evidence from any rule or practice of the ancient Church But that they should be thought to be of force to redeeme soules out of Purgatory and that taxing the time which they grant and the like for which neither there is nor can be any ground The best that is said or can be said in defense of them who publish them to poore people by whom they are frequented is that they get themselves mony the account whereof being almes they charge themselves with And that people are by this meanes imployed in the works of devotion which if not available to the effect which they imagine are how soever good for their soules health As for the translating of soules to heaven before the day of judgement it is so diametrally contrary to all antiquity that the very naming of it takes away all pretense for Traditon on behalfe of Purgatory It is acknowledged indeed that a number of the ancient Fathers during the flourishing times of the Church doe believe that the fire which the world is to be burnt up with as it shall involve the wicked and cary them to be everlastingly tormented in the sink of the world so it shall touch and scorch even the Saints themselves to try if their works be such as Gods vengeance can take hold of and to purge away that drosse which the love of the world they dyed with importeth This is by divers called Origens Purgatory because they conceive his credit might move S. Hilary S. Basil S. Ambrose Gregory Nyssene and Nazanizain S. Jerome S. Austine and S. Chry. with divers others to follow it But Blondel having observed that it is found in the Sibyles verses will needs have them all to have taken it up from thence Which as I have no reason to yeild to having showed already that the credit of that book was not the foundation of other particular opinions which had vogue in the Church So do I not find those famous Doctors so affected to Origen whose writings concerning the exposition of the scriptures they were necessarily obliged to frequent as to admit an opinion so neere concerning the faith upon this recommendation on whom they declare so much jelousy in mater of Faith For my part as I find it very agreeable to the words of S. Paul when he saith that they whose works are burnt up shall escape themselves but as through fire So how mens works should be tryed or burnt up by that fire I find it not easy to be understood And therefore without taking upon me to censure so great persons for innovating in the Church or to maintaine that in which there is no concurrence of any Scripture with any consent of the whole Church I leave the truth of this to judgement as secure that it will not concern the common Faith But this I say peremptorily that admitting it there remaines no pretense for Purgatory in the Tradition of the Church unlesse it be by equivocation of words For this coming to passe at the day of judgement admitteth no release before And without release before Purgatory fire goes quite out No Indulgences no Jubilies no stock of merit to be dispensed by the Church to such workes of devotion as it limiteth can be any of any request if they take not effect afore the day of judgement Take away the opinion of translating souls from the Verge of hell which Purgatory to the sight of God and the Clergy of the Church of Rome shall no more eat the sins of the people as the Prophet complaines of the Priests under the Law For while the people are perswaded that their sins are cured by the sentence of absolution once pronounced Penance serving onely to extinguish the debt of temporall punishment remaining and that to be ransomed by the services which they pay for in the name of their friends which are dead the Clergy live by those sins of which the people dy because they are not duly cured For the lusts for which men sin not being cured by that hardship of Penance which the case requireth to change attrition into contrition the guilt of sin remaines upon the head of him in whose heart the love of sin remaines alive notwithstanding the keyes of the Church mistaking in that case Besides take away the opinion of translating soules from hell to heaven since the coming of Christ and there will remaine no ground for the translating of the Fathers souls from the verge of hell which is Limbus Patrum to the sight of God by the descent of our Lord into hell and his rising from the dead againe There will be no cause why that reason which I tender for that vanity of immaginations rather then opinions or belief in the Fathers which that which all agree in is intangled with should not be admitted For the translating of Christian soules from Purgatory to heaven not being believed why should the translating the Fathers souls remaine Why should not the simple Faith in which all Christians agree revive and take the place of Tradition in the Church which indeed it hath that between death and the day of judgement the good are in joy the bad in paine both incomplete till both be fulfilled after both shall have received their finall doome CHAP. XXIX The