all must say Enter not into judgement with thy servant for in thy sight no flesh living â—â—n be justified Psalm 143. 2. And the Church must confess that all her righteousness is ragged and as a menstruous cloath Reply In your thirteenth Section you denying Papists Reply that we are justified by faith and works do both contradict scripture and your self It in the Epistle of St. James chap. 2. verse 20. 24. You see then how by works a man is justified and not by faith only No wonder after this ye contradict your self when you grant that faith is justifying or made justified by works For what is it to say that works justify faith But that faith without works is not justifying And so that faith justifyeth not all or no other way then as it is decompanied with good workes as two conjunct causes For as the Philosopher saith causa causae est causa causati But what needeth any reasoning if this place be not clear to a Minister what it clear to ignorants in all the scripture Wherefore ye had done better to reject the Epistle of James with Luther then to acknowledge it for scripture to deny that we are justified by faith and works the two parts of Christian dutie being belief and life Yet to shew that the place of St. James is not to be taken according to the letter you cite three passagâ—â— excluding workes of the written law from justifying but not excluding workes of grace and the Gospel The first whereof expoundeth the rest and St. Augustin them all de fide operib cap. 14. saying St. Paul speaketh of the workes of Abraham in so much as they proceed from the law excluding the spirit and grace of Christ Then you say neither can any good work be wrought by us till we are justified for how can an evil tree bring forth good fruit To which Question I answer with our Saviour in the Gospel asking how a good tree can bring forth evil fruit as David committing adulterie For if you understood the one you may easilie understand the other Which if you do not go to the school and learn the distinction betwixt simpliciter and secundum quid betwixt good and evil simplie and in part For as there be few so good but they do some evil so there be few so bad but they do some good being assisted by GODS actual grace albeit they want sanctifying grace Yea very good actions may be done with some little imperfection which maketh the Prophet compare our righteousness to a menstruous cloath Duply You are like to your self all along in this reflection for I cannot call it a return Prote ∣ stants Duply seeing you have a flourish of fectless words for catching women and children but do not touch the arguments proposed for justification by faith without the workes of the law My first argument was this That the Apostle Paul saith we are justified by faith without the workes of law therefore not by them You say he meaneth not of workes of grace What then Of sinful workes before Coversion And is it indeed like that sinful workes can be called by the Apostle workeâ— of the law seeing these are transgressions of the law Or that the justitiaries amongst the Romans in the dayes of the Apostle were so gross as to assert that sinful workes justifie a man which condemn him Secondly you say that justification by faith contradicteth scripture James 2. 24. which place I explained and reconciled with the 4. of the Romanes and all you say to that is that I contradict my self I said workes justifie faith for my faith is known by my works to my self and others But that will nor say that workes and faith justifie the man So I clash not with my self here And for your Maxime causa causae est causa causati If I understand this you contradict your self in the application of it for faith being the cause of workes and justifying the man workes are the effect of justificatâ—on not the cause of it Hence the Apostle James saith shew me thy faith by thy workes O man For it cannot be showen without workes v. 18. Albeit we say that faith alone justifieth yet that Fides sola in approhendendo non est solitaria My next argument was that a man must be justified before he can work well therefore workes are not the cause of justification I hope you will not say that the effect is antecedent to its cause if you have read Ramus Logick And that a man must be justified before he can work well I prove thus He must be sanctified Ergo c. a corrupt tret cannot bring forth good fruit Matth. 7. 18. Ere you have not something to say to this you close with Pelagius for a defence and speak non-sense For you say that you answer with our Saviour by a distinction of that which is simply such and secundum quid In what part of the Gospel is this Logick to be found For it is clear from the verse above cited that our Saviour denyeth simply the thing so he granteth it not secundum quid Some good acts you say may be done by evil men being assisted by actual grace I would know if actual grace can be in exercise where habitual grace is not at all then if men habitually evil in an unconverted state can do any thing well That something materially good may be done by them as well as sin may be committed by the regenerated I doubt not but that they can do ought upon a good principle for a good end by a good morive I deny it simply Now if they be not such they cannot justifie a mâ—n For nullum agens potest agere extra Spharâ—m suae activitatis Till he be sanctified he cannot be be such till he be justified he cannot be sanctified Workes justifie no more the man then the fruit maketh the tree good My third Reason you leave untouched which was this that the present time requireth all our work Ergo it cannot justifie us for bygones or the future What is now debituns cannot pay my bygone debt nor free me for the time to come And you grant all I have said in the fourth that our best workes are unperfect and so cannot hold water before the Tribunal of GOD. I am glade to hear you grant so much for then where will workes of supererogation and merit appear For further clearing of our Doctrine of Justification take notice the Papists and we thus differ First They say there is a two fold justification one whereby a mâ—n unjust is made just for attaining this there must be previous dispositions by the acts of faith fear hope love whch fit the man for his justification some of them terme this Meritum congrui others say tâ—at this is the free gift of GOD not deserved by workes The second Justification is that whereby â— man being just is made more just this they say is merited by their workes and proceedeth
and baptize all Nations To ordain Pastours for edifying the body whose power and calling it is to preach the Word purely to administrat the Sacraments of Baptism and the Supper of the Lord as it was first delivered to rule their flocks as they that watch for souls and should stand and feed in the strength of the Lord to administer discipline according to the word of GOD and to do every thing commanded there which may bring men near GOD and help them forward in their journey to Heaven That Magistrats should be obeyed in the Lord. Parents honoured and husband and wife dwel together according to knowledge as heirs of the grace of life That Masters should remember they have a Master in Heaven and Servants be subject to their Masters for the Lords sake That the Lord to whom we owe all should be loved with the whole heart and have the flower of our affection and that we love our neighbour as our self That we should rather suffer then sin and glorify GOD in every station wherein he placeth us This is the summe of the positives which we mantaine he who will deny that all this is contained in Scripture and consented to by the Fathers hath no understanding either of Scripture or antiquity The negatives of our Religion are points of Popery denyed by us and condemned in the Scripture contrar to all antiquity Such as these That the Pope of Rome is supream infallible Monarch of the Christian Church That he and these who follow him cannot erre in matters of faith That he hath preheminence above the scripture and may dispence with the law of GOD concerning incest murder perjury c. That he may depose Kings Their service in an unknown tongue is contrary to all pure antiquitity so much is confessed by Thomas Cajetan and Lyranus writting on 1. Cor. 14. Their praying on beads a late invention Polid Virgil lib. 5. invent cap. 9. Their carrying of the Hoste by a pompous procession is praeter veterem morem saith Cassander consult art 22. not according to antiquity That Christ is bodily present there and should be worshâ—pped and that bread and wine is no longer there after consecration is not older then the Lateran Council That the cup should be holden from the People is of one age with the council of Constance That the Mass iâ— a proper propitiatory sacrifice for the sinnes of dead and living was unknown to Peter Lombard who saith from Augustin lib. 4. disp â—â— that which is offered is called a sacrifice because it is a commemoration and representation of the true sacrifice made on the altar of the Cross Augustin lib. 20. cap. 21. against Faustus the Manichaean the flesh and blood of Christ before his comming into the world was promised by the similitude of the legâ—l sacrifices in the suffering of Christ 〈◊〉 his flesh and blood was in the veritie and antitype it self exhibited after the asâ—â—â—tion of Christ it is celebrated in the Sacrament of commemoration That none should communicaâ— except such as make aâ—ticulat consession to a Priest was not known in the ancient Church saith Maldon sum qu. â—â— art 11. Where there was only publick confession That Images should be set up in Churches and worshipped was abominated till the second council of Nice The like may be said of Purgatorie worshipping Saints and Angels with-holding the Bible from people c. So the Romish Religion is new and ours the good old way quod primum verum saith Tertul. lib. 4. contra Marc. cap. 5. It is true that the enemy did sow tares quickly in the Church and the mysterie of iniquity did encrease by degrees Yet these were not holden to be de side and made articles of the Christian Creed under the paine of Anathema till the council of Trent then indeed in stead of reformation which occasioned that convention the Trent Doctors oâ— at least the plurality of them gathered the crotchets of some Fathers the disputable opinions of some School-men and making a bundle of all together did obtrude them to be believed by all Christians under the pain of excommunication So that the church of Rome as new dogmatized is no older then the council of Trent and ours is as old as Scripture sensed by the purest antiquity For further clearing beside all I have said formerly you may hear this more how Suarez telleth us that the council of Florence did at first insinuat that there were seven Sacraments but it was no article of faith till the council of Trent the like may be said of the rest So Popery is a superstitious superstructure like an ulcer on the body which was long in growing at last did break out and stain the garments of many in a world When our Lord Jesus dyed he left a Testamen behind him which being opened directeth all his subjects how to carry Papists not content with this rule for ordering his legacâ—e upon a pompous design have formed a dative which they make equal to his Testament which we disclaim and honestly adhere to the first Testament here is the rule of our Negatives It is â—â—â—rasonick bragge for you to say That of an 100. Fathers ye have 99. for your tenets and as untrue that the four first general Councils were for the Popes universal supremacie The Fathers though the mystery of iniquitie was then in the cradle being taken up with other controversies did not purposely fall on these tares which scarcely were come to the blade then For instance the Fathers in the first 300. years whose books are extaÌ„t were Iust Mar. who did writ 150. year after Christ an Apology for the vindication of Christians to the Senat of Rome after another of the samekind to Antonius the Emperor a Dialogue concerning the verity of Christian Religion called Tryphon and some other letters exhorting to moral duties holding forth the Roligion of Christians against Jews and Gentiles but that which is Poperie the source of controversies in the Christian Church was unknown to him The next is Ironaeus who lived about the year of Christ 178. He did write five books against the heresies of his time as the Valentinians Gnosticks Ophites the heresie of Simon Magus Menander Basilides So Popery is not to be found in them unless some of these heresies be found in their skirts The â—hird is Clemens Alexandrinus who flourished in the year of Christ 196. who was a Presbyter of Alexandria the subject he handleth is in three parcels an exhortation to the Gentiles to renounce their Idols a Paedagogy to the Christians instructing them about their carriage and his Stromara which is a Miscellany work against the followers of Basilides Gnosticks c. Origen lived about the same time whose writtings are so imperfect and vitiated that we scarce know what to make of them as Erasmus witnesseth in his edition Tertullian did writ about the same time several books as concerning Patience the Resurrection against the Jews against Marcion Hermogenes
Gal. 2. 21. and give the victory over it to the will of man in all cases How gracious a Papist keeping these principles can be let the Reader judge and how numerous their Party is it is easily known At the same time the Pope condemned a book called the Houres Printed at Paris and commended by the French Divines because efficacious grace was there mentioned and the second Command was translated thus Ye shal not make an Idol or graven Image to adore them When one of the Commissioners from the Gallican Churches did complain upon the sentence of the Pope against a book so generally approved in France Mr. Albizzi the Popes Secretary said that the translation was one with that of Geneva and what ever Schollars might conceive of it the People would readily mistake it and not fall down before the Images One of the Commissioners answered that this Doctrine would be also valid against the translation of Scripture for the second Command behoved to be thus translated he answered that the Pope was not obliedged to hear Parties and answere reasons and the Gospel weâ—e not the Gospel if the Pope did not approve it This is high-language yet the Court strain at Rome Yea the operation of grace is heresie if he call it so See more of this in the Journal of St. de Amour concerning the five Propositions who with other Commissioners from the Gallican Churches relate this Fifthteentâ—ly You lay too much stress on the work wrought as Satisfactory 15 Inst. Pennance Extream Unction the telling over of Prayers the outward receit of Sacraments Bodily Austerâ—ties c. And put these in stead of Regeneration so necessar for each Christian and of inward duties which have the promise chiefly terming all such phanatick whereas Scripture saith Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit he cannot see God Iohn 3 3. And except ye be conveâ—ted and become as little children ye cannoâ— enter into the kingdom of Heaven Matth 18 3. and bodily exercise profiteth little 1. Tim. 4. 8. Duties rightly done are well worth their own room but to turn us back under the Gospel to the Covenant of workes iâ— a fascination and making voide of the grace of GOD Gal. 2. 21. Gal. 3. 2 and this errour leadeth you to condemn Infants unbaptized for the want of that work wrought whereas the promise is to us and to our children Act. 2. 39. and we have all freely not by merit Reply You calumniat us here again Papist Reply saying that we put bodily austerities in the place of Regeneration wherein you contradict your self granting that we hold Baptismal Regeneration absolutly necessar so that a man cannot be sâ—ved without it according to the clear words of St. John 3. 5. How then can you say that we hold bodily austerities in stead of Regeneration How can Ministerâ— be so carnal or sensual as to speak against bodily austerities Which Christ coming into this world did choâ—se saith the devout St. Bernard concluding that either licentious men in a world are deceived who choose them not or else Christ Serm. de nativ But as for the work wrought it seemeth you understand it not when you adscribe it to the telling over of Prayers for it hath no place but in the Sacraments which of them selves work grace either in these that cannot work or put a stop as Infants or others And when you say the promise is made to us and to our children Acts 2. 39. Either you must acknowledge your self a Jew and to be of the seed of Abraham according to the flesh or else with the Apostle and Catholick Church In the same place say We are made the children of Abraham by Baptism and Regeration as verse 24. and 41. proves Duply That which I said ye grant viz. the receit of Baptism ex opere operato to Prote ∣ stants Duply Regenerat but with a restriction to Infants By which evasion it seemeth ye understand nor well your own teners for the Council of Trent Sess 7. Can. 7. 8. speaketh otherwise they anathematize them who deny that Sacramenta novae legis conferunt gratiam ex opere operato semper omnibus non aliquando aliquibus So they speak of all the Sacraments of the New Testament and not only of Baptism and if they limited it to Infants it could not be omnibus but aliquibus only And Bellarmin who understood Popery leaveth you alone here for lib. 1. cap. 12. de Sacram. Bapt. he saith Baptism ex opere operato confert gratiam qua vere formaliter justificatur homo Then he is not speaking of Children If it be so all Baptized are Regenerated immediatly even your Indians whom ye drive by dâ—oves to the font-stone and turning from Heathnism is true Conversion Yea all baptized are saved and none of them damned this is indeed an easy way to Heaven That place John 3. is not chiefly meaned of Baptism otherwise all unbaptized persons should be damned which is not true and they who say so are cruel to Infants And wherein I pray you do I contradict my self here Seeing your external Regeneration is not that Scripture one meaned John 3. and Matth. 18. and 2. Cor. 5. 17. If all such be new creatures we have none in the visible Church come to years but converts new creatures regenerated ones born again and can you say so without a blush I mean by the seed of Abraham the heirs of promise with the Apostle Gal. 3. 29. What you challenge in this I do not understand and I doubt if you understand your self for the blessing of Abraham belongeth to us Gentiles as well as to the Jews Bodily austerities for mortifying sensual corruption I did approve if they be put in their own place So you fight with your own shaddow here We are for fasting humble-walking and all the acts of Scripture-self-denyal we hold commanded duties for mortification such as fastings c. to be very useful for holding the body in subjection and for subduing sensualitie Secondly we deny not but the Lord will in fatherly wrath chasten his children here for their sins as he did Israel in the wilderness Moses David Iehoshaphat many moe according to that Amos 3. 2. Thirdly this chastisement whither voluntar or not is not satisfaction to divine justice nor proper penaltie of the law because the satisfaction of Iesus Christ is compleatly perfect but it could not be so if any satisfaction were laid on us see Dallaeus †Dallaeus de satisfactione who hath a learned Treatise concerning this truth Fourthly If we cannot satisfie we merit nothing that is good at the hands of GOD but must say with Bernard on Cant. Serm. 61. Misericordia tua merita nostra Domine thy mercy O Lord is our meritâ— Salvation deliverance Heaven happiness and all our well-fare is of the Lord. We get these gratis The Papists may be ashamed to tell the world of congruous merits before Conversion