Selected quad for the lemma: world_n
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A47740
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A discourse proving the divine institution of water-baptism wherein the Quaker-arguments against it are collected and confuted : with as much as is needful concerning the Lord's supper / by the author of The snake in the grass.
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Leslie, Charles, 1650-1722.
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1697
(1697)
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Wing L1128; ESTC R13375
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53,245
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76
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propagated without any remarkable Discovery And to this so publick matter of Fact adding the universal Practice of it through all the far distant Nations of Christianity I say these two Marks make it impossible for the World to be impos'd upon nor was it ever or ever can be impos'd upon in any such publick Matter of Fact so universally practised All this makes it undeniably plain That the last Age did practise the same outward Water baptism which is practis'd in this Age and that the same was as certainly practis'd in the Age before the last Age and by the same Rule in the Age before that and so onward as abovesaid to the Age of the Apostles I have made more Words of this than needed but I wou'd render it exceeding plain considering with whom I have to do And I beseech them to consider That all the Authority which they have to Over-ballance all these Demonstrations is the mad Enthusiasm of a Lay-Apostle George Fox a Mechanick so Illiterate that he was hardly Master of common Sense nor cou'd write English or any other Language and started up amongst us in the Year 1650 the Age of Schism and Rebellion and Damn'd as Apostates all Ages since the Apostles In all of which no One cou'd be found before G. Fox to bear their Testimony against this Water-baptism tho' it was constantly and universally practised and that Christians were then so Zealous as to contend against the least Variation or Corruption of the Faith even unto Death and the most cruel sort of Martyrdom Can any Man imagin that if Water-baptism were a Human Invention or Superstitiously either Continu'd or Obtruded upon the Church no One shou'd be found for 1650 Years to open his Mouth against it when Thousands sacrific'd their Lives for Matters of much less Importance But I have over-labour'd this Point to any Man who will give himself leave to make use of his Reason Therefore I will proceed to the next Section SECT III. That Baptism must be Outward and Visible because it is an Ordinance appointed whereby to Initiate Men into an Outward and Visible Society which is the Church THere goes no more towards the proving of this than to shew 1st That the Church is an Outward and Visible Society 2dly That Baptism was appointed and us'd for Initiating or Admitting Men into the Church 1st That the Church is an outward and visible Society Our Saviour calls it A City that is set on a Hill Matth. v. 14. The Quakers themselves are an outward and visible Society and so are all those who bear the Name of Churches upon Earth They cou'd not otherwise be Churches For that implies a Society of People and every Society in the World is an outward and visible Thing And as it is so has an outward and visible Form of Admitting Men into it For otherwise it wou'd not be known who are Members of it Every Society is Exclusive of all others who are not of that Society otherwise it cou'd not be a Society for that supposes the Men of that Society to be thereby distinguished from other Men And that supposes as much that there must be some outward and visible Form whereby to Initiate Men and intitle them to be Members of such a Society otherwise it cou'd not be known who were Members of it and who were not and it wou'd thereby ipso facto cease to be a Society for it cou'd not then be distinguished from the rest of Mankind as a River is lost in the Sea because it is no longer distinguish'd from it but goes to make up a part of it From hence it appears that the Church being an outward and visible Society must have some outward and visible Form to initiate Men and make them Members of that Society 2dly That Baptism was that outward Form All the several Baptisms that were before Christ's were all meant for Initiating Forms The Jews had a Custom long before Christ to initiate the Proselites or Converts to their Religion not only by Circumcision but by Baptizing or Washing them with Water The same was the meaning of John's Baptism to make Men his Disciples And the same was the meaning of Christ's Baptism to initiate Men into the Christian Religion and make them Disciples of Christ. Hence Baptizing Men and making them Disciples mean the same thing Thus John iv 1. it is said That Jesus made and baptized more Disciples than John That is be baptized them Disciples which was the Form of Making them such If any will say that he baptized them to be Disciples to John that will be answer'd Sect. VI. But as to the present Point it is the same thing whose Disciples they were made for we are now only to shew that Baptism in the general was an Initiating Form And when Christ practised it as well as John as this Text does expresly declare no Reason can be given that he did not use it as an Initiating Form as well as John especially when the Text does express that he did make them Disciples by baptizing of them as above is shewn And pursuant to this when Christ sent his Apostles to convert all Nations his Commission of Baptizing was as large as that of Teaching Matth. xxviii 19. Go TEACH all Nations BAPTIZING them c. i. e. Baptizing all who shall receive your word And accordingly it is said Acts ii 41. They that received the word were baptized Pursuant to what the Apostle had preached to them Verse 28. Repent and be baptized And accordingly we find it the constant Custom to baptize all that were converted to the Faith Thus Paul tho miraculously converted from Heaven was commanded to be baptized Acts xxii 16. And he baptized Lydia and the Jaylor and their Households as soon as he had converted them Acts xvi 15 33. And the Corinthians Acts xviii 8. And the Disciples of John who had not yet been made Christians Acts xix 5. Philip did baptize the Eunuch as soon as he believed in Christ Acts viii 37 38. And Peter immediately upon the Conversion of Cornelius and those with him said Can any Man forbid Water that these shou'd not be baptized Acts x. 47. It wou'd be endless to enumerate all the like Instances of Baptism in the New Testament And it was always us'd as an Initiating Form 3dly Baptism was not only an Initiating Form But it serv'd for nothing else For it was never to be repeated As a Man can be born but once into this World so he can be but once regenerated or born into the Church which is therefore in Scripture called the New Birth It is said of the other Sacrament of the Lord's Supper as often as ye eat this Bread c. I Cor. xi 26. This was to be often repeated Baptism is our Admission Initiation or Birth into the Society of the Church and accordingly once only to be administred The Lord's Supper is our Nourishment and Daily Food in it and therefore to be often
these Principles which the Apostle is so far from forsaking that he fixes them as the Foundation which he says he will not lay again as supposing it laid already but build further upon it improve and carry up the Superstructure So that this Leaving is only leaving or ceasing to Discourse further upon these Principles Intermittentes Sermonem intermitting or breaking off the Debate Which is literally according to the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 leaving that Word or Subject of which he then spoke he went on to discourse of other things The Reader could not forgive this Trifling in me to prove things which are self-evident if he did not see that I am forc'd to it However this Advantage is gain'd by it to see the very slender Foundations upon which the Quakers build their Objections against Baptism which they must either grant to be one of the Principles of Christianity or that Faith and Repentance are not IV. But indeed it is frightful to say it I pray God they may seriously consider of it they have together with Baptism thrown off all the other Principles of the Doctrin of Christ which are mention'd in this Text. See The Snake in the Grass 1st Part or Preface p. 313 314. 2d Part p. 40 41 61 62. 1. Repentance Against this they have set up a Sinless Perfection which needeth no Repentance They never beg Pardon for Sin supposing they have none and mock at us for saying Lord have Mercy upon us and upbraid our Liturgy for having a Confession of Sin in it Edward Burrough p. 32. of his Works printed 1672 says That God doth not accept of any where there is any failing or who doth not fulfill the Law and doth not Answer every Demand of Justice 2. Faith towards God This is the Christian Faith or Faith in God through Christ But the Quakers say Part 1. p 330 331. That they can come to God Immediately without the Mediation of Christ and therefore they do not Pray to Christ whom they utterly deny to be that Person who suffer'd for them upon the Cross as Mr. Penn in his Serious Apology p. 146. They make Christ to be nothing else than what they call The Light within which they say is sufficient of itself without any thing else to bring us to God and that whoever follows it needs no other Help Now they say That all the Heathen every Man that is born into the World has this Light within that is Christ and that this Light within is sufficient for his Salvation without any thing else Whereby they take away any Necessity of an Outward Christ to dye for our Sins and make the Heathen Faith as good as the Christian And therefore they have taken away that Christian Faith towards God which is the Second of the Principles mention'd in this Text. The Third is Baptism which they openly disclaim The Fourth is the laying on of Hands that is the Ordination Confirmation and Absolution of the Church which are all perform'd by laying on of Hands And how much soever the Quakers and others do despise them yet the Apostle here reckons them among the Fundamentals For the Government and Discipline of the Church are Essential to it as it is a Society it could not otherwise be a Society The Sin of Korah was nothing but concerning Church-Government And Aaron's Rod that Budded Num. 16 17 Ch. in confirmation of his Priesthood was ordained to be kept for ever in the Ark for a Token against the Rebels so are they call'd who Rebel'd against that Priesthood which God had then appointed by Moses and the Sin cannot be less to Rebel against that Priesthood which Christ himself appointed Which is shewn more at large in the Discourse mention'd in the Advertisement Now if Aaron's Rod that is Church-Government was one of the Three sacred Depositums which were ordain'd to be kept in the Ark why should we wonder to see it here placed among the Fundamentals of Christianity The Pot of Manna Aaron's Rod and the Tables of the Covenant Heb. ix 4. were all that was kept in the Ark. Which shews Church-Government to be Necessary next to our Manna the very Support of our Life and the best Guard to preserve the Decalogue i. e. our Duty to God and Man V. And tho' the Quakers cry down Church-Authority in others yet they magnifie it as much in themselves as any Church whatsoever The Ingenious W. P. in his Judas and the Jews writing against some Dissenters amongst the Quakers asserts the Authority of the Church very high and the Power of the Elders in the Church p. 13. and presses that Text Matth. xviii 17. Tell it unto the Church to extend to Matters of Faith and Worship as well as to Private Injuries or Offences amongst Christians That Christ says he as well gave His Church Power to Reject as to Try Spirits is not hard to prove That notable Passage Go tell the Church does it to our hand For if in case of private Offence betwixt Brethren the Church is made Absolute Judge from whom there is no Appeal in this World how much more in any the least case that concerns the NATURE BEING FAITH and WORSHIP of the Church her self But the Case was quite alter'd when he came to Answer that same Text as urged against the Quakers by the Church which he does in his Address to Protestants p. 152 153 154. of the Second Edition in Octavo printed 1692. And then that Text does not relate at all to Faith or Worship but only to private Injuries For having deny'd the Authority of the Church in Matters of Faith he puts the Objection thus against himself But what then can be the meaning of Christ's Words Go tell the Church Very well I Answer says he p. 153. 'T is not about Faith but Injury that Christ speaks and the place explains itself which is this Moreover if thy Brother shall TRESPASS against THEE go and tell him his FAULT between thee and him alone Here is Wrong not Religion Injustice not Faith or Conscience concern'd as some would have it to maintain their Church-Power The words TRESPASS and FAULT prove abundantly that He only meant Private and Personal Injuries and that not only from the common and undeniable signification and use of the words TRESPASS and FAULT but from the way Christ directs and commands for Accommodation viz. That the Person wronged speak to him that commits the Injury alone if that will not do that he take one or two with him But no man can think that if it related to FAITH or WORSHIP I ought to Receive the Judgment of one or two or three for a sufficient Rule Therefore it cannot relate to Matters of FAITH and Scruples of CONSCIENCE but PERSONAL and PRIVATE INJURIES Thus he But tho' the Judgment of one two or three is not of itself a sufficient Rule none ever said it was yet may not one two or three ADMONISH one