see it Againe there may be some that for want of knowledge and the meanes thereof are intangled with some points of Popery but yet they hold the foundation which is CHRIST IESVS and looke to be saued by his merits and not by their owne or any others Such we account not Papists our the true Church and children of God But by Papists we meane such as cleaue fast to the Pope in religion are in all things obedient to him will not be reclaimed from their errours refuse to heare the Word of God to read the Scriptures or any other good books ' Of such wée may boldly say that if they thus continue to the end they cannot bee saued DIALOGVE 15. C. I do now plainely see that Papists are no good Catholikes because they are neither of sound faith nor good life but tell me I pray you who indeed are the true Church and true Catholikes M. All that doe truly and sincerely embrace professe and practise the aforesaid grounds of Religion in what Countrey soeuer they liue C. Is the Church of England the true Church M. Yes for it hath the speciall markes of the true Church namely the Word of God sincerely and soundly preached and the Sacraments rightly administred C. The Papists say that there are diuersities of opinions amongst vs that we cannot agree among our selues and that therefore wee are not the true Church M. In all substantiall points of Religion wée agree both amongst our selues and also with all other sound Protestants in Christendome In other things there haue bin are and will bee diuersities of opinions differences to the worlds end They should first pluck out the beame of their owne eyes for we can truly charge them with greater differences As namely with that sharpe and bloudy contention betweene the Franciscans and Dominicans and with the late bitter contention between the Iesuites the secular Priests wherein the Priests did write as bitterly against the Iesuites and namely against Parsons as euer did any Protestant nay there was neuer any Protestant Writer that did lay such foule and odious crimes to their charge as the Priests did And heerein they verified the old prouerb When théeues fall by the eares true men come to haue their goods For one dissention that is among vs they haue at least ten among themselues Doctor Willet in his fourth Piller of Papistry hath set downe at large First the contradictions and diuerse opinions of old Papists and new Secondly the contradictions of the Iesuites among themselues Thirdly that their stoutest Champion Bellarmine is at variance with himselfe shamefully forgetting himselfe saying and vnsaying now of one opinion by and by of another And no maruaile Oportet enim mendacem esse memorem A liar had néed to haue a good memory Fourthly hee sheweth the repugnances inconueniences and inconsequent opinions which Popish Religion hath in it selse And thus you see how they charge vs with that wherein themselues are most faulty DIALOGVE 16. C. Are there none among vs that maintaine any strange and new opinions contrary to the grounds of Religion M. If there be any such our Church doth not approue of them but rather censure and punish them C. There be some that professe the former grounds of Religion as wee doe and yet say that there is no true Church among vs and therefore will not ioyne with vs in prayer hearing the Word and in the vse of the Sacraments but separate themselues from vs what say you of such M. I say that they are possessed with the spirit of pride and singularity and that in so doing they doe euen deny these Articles of faith the Catholike Church and the Communion of Saints and are such as the Apostle speakes of Rom. 16.17 Heb. 10.25 39. Master Perkins in his first volume page 409. calles them a schismaticall and vndiscreet company and saith that they are full of pride thinking themselues to be full when they are empty to haue all knowledge when they are ignorant and haue need to be catechized Another saith thus of them The errour of those men is full of euill yea of blasphemie who doe in such manner make a departure from this Church as if Christ were quitbanished from hence and that there could bee no hope of saluation to those that abide heere And further he saith that if they cannot finde Christ heere they shall find him no where The errors of these men you may see in a little Treatise set forth by Master Bernard called The Separatists Schisme C. I pray shew me by some example that they ought not to separate themselues from vs and that they doe sinne in so doing M. In the Church of Corinth the incestuous man was not punished fornication was lightly regarded yea there were some that euen denied the Resurrection yet S. Paul doth account and call them the Church and Saints hee doth not perswade any to make a separation but doth plainely rebuke them and sheweth how they should punish the euill doer I speake not this to excuse any grosse sin that raigneth amongst vs for I wish that the same might be seuerely punished but to shew that where the Word is truly preached and the Sacraments rightly administred as in our Church they are none ought for any cause to separate themselues And that such as doe it do sinne grieuously I will shew you by a familiar example A mother conceiuesh and bringeth forth a sonne and that with great trauaile paine Shee traineth him vp to mans estate and that not without great care and labour This sonne at length espying some spot and blemish or some infirmity in his mother forsaketh her and will not acknowledge her to be his mother what would you now thinke of him C. Surely I should thinke such a one to bee a very wicked and vnnaturall sonne M. Euen such are they who for some seeming faults in our Church deny it to bee a true Church and doe separate themselues from it whereas this Church hath conceiued them brought them forth and nourished them For if euer they were truly begotten vnto Christ and borne anew it hath hin by our Church and our Ministerie by which likewise they haue bin trained vp and brought to that knowledge which they haue C. There are many amongst vs that make great profession of Religion but I can see no good workes come from them nay they are not onely barren in good workes but also liue in some one grosse sinne or other Are these the true Church and true Catholikes M. Though they liue in the Church yet they are not of the Church they are but Hypocrites and shall if they repent not haue the reward of Hypocrites yea it shall be easier in the day of iudgement for many Papists then for them because by their barren and fruitlesse yea wicked life they haue caused the name of God his Gospell and the true professours thereof to bee euill spoken of Let all therefore that will bee
merit of the person is as they say a dignitie in the person whereby it is worthy of life euerlasting The merit of the worke is a dignity or excellencie in the work whereby it is made fit inabled to deserue life euerlasting for the doer of the worke See Rhem. on Rom. 8. Sect. 5. We now do renounce our owne personall merits and all merit of our owne workes and rely onely vpon the merits of Christ and wee hold that no workes of ours can merit That no man by any workes of his can merit may bee proued by the properties and conditions that must be in a worke meritorious and they are fiue First the worke must be absolutely perfect but all our workes are vnperfect aswell in parts as in degrées of accomplishment In parts because we omit many things which the Law prescribeth and doe many euill things which the Law prohibiteth In degrees because the workes of the Saints are vncleane Esay 64.6 Phil. 3.8 Secondly a man must doe the worke of himselfe and by himselfe for if it bee done by the hélpe of another the merit doth not properly belong to the dooer But the good workes which we doe are not ours but are wrought by God in vs. Thirdly a man must doe the worke of his owne free will and pleasure not of due debt for when we doe that which we are bound to doe we doe no more but our duty But whatsoeuer we doe we doe it as poore debters nay we are worse then poore debters wee are miserable bankrupts wee haue nothing wee haue lesse then nothing to pay Luke 17.10 Fourthly the worke must bée done to the benefit and profit of him from whom we looke to be repayed But no man by any worke of his can bring any profit vnto God Iob 22.2.35.7 Psal 16.2.50.12 Wée may benefit men but wée cannot benefit our Maker from whome wee haue receiued life and limbe soule and body and all that we haue wee can giue him nothing and therefore can deserue nothing from him Ro. 11.35 36. Lastly the worke and the reward must be in proportion equall for if the reward be more then the worke it is not then a reward of desert but a gift of good will But there is no proportion betweene our workes which are altogether vnperfect and the excellencie of those great blessings and benefits which the Father giueth vs freely in his Sonne Rom. 8.18 And therefore in this and the former respects there can bee no merit in any meere man wherefore it is no lesse absurd to say that wee merit saluation at Gods hands by good workes then if one should say Thou hast giuen mee an hundred pounds therefore thou oughtest to giue mee a thousand C. Was not this doctrine of merit taught in the times of ancient Fathers M. Merit being taken in his proper sense for due and iust desert was neuer allowed of the sound Professours for a thousand yeeres after Christ Perkins first Vol. 574 575. second Vol. 535 536 Such therefore as will be iustified and saued by their owne workes and challenge eternall life by their merits do shew themselues to be most proud and vnthankfull persons and deserue most iustly to bee condemned eternally C. The Papists at their end doe renounce their owne merits and professe that they look to be saued only by the merits of Christ M. If there were nothing else but this it were enough to proue their doctrine of merit to be a false doctrine for if it were a truth then a man is not only in his life time to professe it and maintaine it but also in his death yea rather to dye for it then to deny it But séeing they in their life professe it and maintaine it but at their death renounce it it is a manifest argument that euen they themselues do know that it is not a true but a false doctrine C. If they know that it is not a truth what makes them then in their life time so stifly to maintaine it M. It serues greatly to maintaine and vphold the Popes kingdome for they teach that the ouer-plus of Christs merits and of the merits of Saints and Martyrs is the treasure of the Church which being gathered together and put into a store-chest is in the Popes custodie and he alone hath the plenary opening and shutting of this Chest and the ordering and disposing of these merits by vertue whereof he giues out Indulgences and Pardons when and to whom he will So that such as haue not merits enow of their owne may haue them from thence And so héereby he maintaines and vpholds his kingdome for heerby comes in infinite wealth and reuenewes Perkins 3. vol. 1. part page 165.2 D. 2. vol. 590. 2. a. In these and many other particular points the Papists teach contrary to the Articles of the Créed and therefore are no true Catholikes neither doe they belong to the Catholike Church as is thus proued Whosoeuer haue not the Catholike faith doe not belong to the Catholike Church but the Papists haue not the Catholike faith therefore they do not belong to the Catholike Church That they haue not the Catholike faith is plaine by that aforegoing DIALOGVE 6. C. Doe they teach any thing contrary to the doctrine of the Sacraments M. Yes many things Christ ordained but onely two Sacraments The Church of Rome hath added to them fiue more namely Confirmation Penance Matrimonie Orders and ertreme Vnction C. Are not these Sacraments indeede M. No surely for there are foure things necessarily required to make a Sacrament First the authority of Christ commanding it Secondly the element or outward signe as the matter of it Thirdly the word of institution as the forme Fourthly the end and vse to bee a scale of our faith for remission of sinnes These foure things are not to be found in their fiue latter Sacraments and therefore they are no Sacraments indéede Master Attersoll on the Sacraments page 119. to 150. Synopsis Papis Controu 14 15 16. C. May not the Church then institute and ordaine Sacraments M. None may ordain a Sacrament but only the Lord. As none may put a signe and seale to a mans last will and Testament but onely the maker of the Testament so none may ordaine Sacraments which are signes and seales of the new Testament and couenant of grace but onely the Lord which made the couenant And therefore the Church of Rome in doing the contrary proues her selfe not to be the true Church of Christ but rather the Church of Antichrist They doe also in many other things teach contrary to the doctrine of the Sacraments As First that the Sacraments doe giue grace and namely remission of sinnes ex opere operato by the worke wrought Rhem. Acts. 22. Sect. 1. Secondly that not onely faith doth iustifie but the Sacraments also Rhem. Rom. 6. Sect. 5. Whereas Sacraments me signes and seales of iustification Rom. 4.11 Thirdly that Infants dying without Baptisme cannot bee saued
not only from meat and drink but also from all delights for the furtherance of the speciall practice of repentance and the enforcing of our Prayers Ioel 2.12 Turne ye euen to me with all your hearts with fasting c. 1. Cor. 7.5 Defraud ye not one the other except it be with consent for a time that yee may giue your selues to fasting and prayer Of Death and the last Iudgement Heb. 9.2 27. It is appointed vnto men once dye and after this the Iudgement Acts 17.31 God hath appointed a day in the which he will iudge the world in righteousnesse by that Man whom he hath ordained c. 2. Corin. 5.10 VVe must all appeare before the Iudgement seat of Christ c. Mat. 25.31 32 c. When the Sonne of man shall come in his glory and all the Angels with him then shall he sit vpon the throne of his glory And before him shall be gathered all Nations c. Verse 46. These shall goe away into euerlasting punishment but the Righteous into life eternall FINIS A Pill to purge out Poperie OR A Catechisme for Romish Catholikes Shewing that Poperie is contrarie to the grounds of the Catholike Religion and that therefore Papists cannot be good Catholikes The Speakers A weake Christian A Minister DIALOGVE I. Christian AMong the diuersities of opinions that are in the world how may I know which is the truth whereto I must cleaue and who are the true Church and true Catholikes Minist a Beleeue not euery spirit that is euery doctrine which men bragging of the Spirit do teach but trie them whether they be of God or no b Examine all things hold fast that which is good a 1. Iohn 4.1 b 1. Thessal 5.21 C. VVhereby shall I trie them M. By the Scriptures Iohn 5.39 Acts 17.11 C. I am vnlearned and the Scriptures are hard to be vnderstood M. There are indeed many things in them hard to be vnderstood 2. Pet. 3.16 but such things as are necessary to bee knowne of all to saluation are plainly set downe Prouer. 8.9 The meaning of which place is this The Word of God in points necessary to saluation is easie vnto all that haue a desire vnto it Turne to the places of Scripture added to euery answer of the Catechisme and you shall finde this to be most true C. Is there no other way and meanes whereby to try and know the truth and the true professours thereof M. Yes it may be done euen by the aforesaid grounds of Religion Whatsoeuer doctrine is agréeable thereunto is true and to be receiued but whatsoeuer is contrary to the same is false and to be reiected As many as doe sincerely and soundly embrace professe and practise the same they are the Catholike Church that is parts and members of the Catholike Church and true Catholikes indeed But such as teach professe and practise things contrary thereunto are not the true Church nor true Catholikes C. The Papists say that they onely are the true Church and true Catholikes and that we are not M. So the Iewes cried a The Temple of the Lord b We are the séede of Abraham the children of GOD. a Ieremy 7.4 b Iohn 8.33 41. But Christ told them they were the children of the diuell Ioh. 8.44 Ch. Are not the Papists then good Catholikes M. No but rather grosse Heretikes C. What is an Heretike M. One that doth erre in any fundamentall point of Christian Religion and dooth obstinately teach maintaine and defend the same C. Do the Papists erre in the fundamentall points of Religion M. They doe teach and maintaine many false opinions against the verie grounds of Religion as by and by shall be shewed in many particulars C. Are all Papists then hereticks M. No for there are no doubt many of them that doe erre of simplicity and ignorance which would be brought from their errours if they had the meanes namely the Scriptures in their owne language preaching catechizing and the like Wée doe not therefore account them all Hereticks but onely those before mentioned C. How doe you prooue that they are not good Catholiâ—ks M. I prooue it thus They are good Catholikes which are of sound faith and good life Augustin lib. quaest in Mat Chap. 11. but Papists are neither of sound faith nor good life therefore they are no good Catholikes C. How doe you proue that they are not of sound faith M. Euen by the Apostles Créed which may serue instead of a rule whereunto the faith of all men ought to agrée contrary whereunto they teach many things C. Shew mee wherein M. The Créed is a confession of faith containing the summe of the Gospell and of such things as are necessary to be beléeued of all that wil be saued They haue deuised many other new Articles of faith besides and contrary to the Articles of the Apostles Créed which they hold necessarily to be beléeued of all that will bée saued As namely indulgences and a treasury of saints merits the reall presence the Popes supremacie Purgatorie and such like In the Councell of Trent the curse Anathema is pronounced vpon all such as denie these or any of them Master Perkins first Vol. page 621. The Créed teacheth what euerie one in particular is to knowe and beleeue and a true faith cannot stand without certain knowledge The Papists maintaine an implicite or an ignorant faith namely that it is enough to beleeue as the Church beleeueth though they know not what the Church is nor what the Church beleeueth And they commend this faith by the example of an old deuout father a Colliar who being tempted of the Diuell and asked how he beléeued answered That he beléeued as the Church beléeued being asked againe how the Church beléeued he answered As I beléeue whereupon the Diuell as they say was faine to depart C. It should seeme it was but a simple diuell for if he had bin wise he would haue asked him this question What if the Church beleeue that thou art a foole what would the Colliar think you haue answered then M. I thinke hee would haue sayd nothing for if he should haue said I beléeue so too the diuell might then haue begged him for a foole indéede And yet such fooles are the simple ignorant Papists which content themselues with this kind of faith for thus one may reason with them You are to beléeue as the Church beléeueth but the Church beléeues that you are fooles therefore you are to beléeue so to This their implicite faith euery one of himself may haue The diuels in some sence may be said to haue a better faith then this for they know what is contained in the Scriptures and beléeue it to be true Mat. 4.6 Iam. 2.19 This fond ridiculous kinde of faith is a notable meanes to muzzle people in blindnes superstition and perpetuall ignorance Againe faith is a certaine and true perswasion of the heart whereby wée are perswaded and in some measure assured of the