Christianitie yet do very much transgresse the true limits and rules both of Gods truth and Christian Charitie seeing they Adde many of their Doctrines and impose them upon others as necessary unto salvation or judge and condemn them therein as Hereticks which neverthelesse in themselves and by Gods command are not necessary yea false and not agreeable to Scripture I do not deny but there be some such sort of people found in our Churches which are too too zealous and obstinate in their own opinions and undertake to judge others who will not altogether give their assent to them Which is not sutable to the unanimous Doctrine of our Churches and therefore may not be imputed to the whole Universal Church But that we may well know which of these three divided and dissenting Churches judgeth the other or is judged by them aright or wrong I will first declare but briefly and onely as much as may conduce to the information of the Unlearned Whether the other two the Romane Catholikes and the Lutherans have any sufficient and well-grounded reason to judge and condemn our Reformed Churches as Heretical Then shall I take an opportunitie to shew in the Second Part of this Apostolical Direction Whether and how far our Churches ought to judge and condemn the other Two the Papists and the Lutherans That the Romish Church hath no sufficient ground to judge and condemn our Reformed or Lutherane Churches as far as they agree with us to be heretical we make it good by reasoning thus Because they cannot accuse us or make us believe that our Churches either deny any Article of the Ancient Apostolike Catholike Faith or do introduce and condescend to any false heretical Point But they do condemn us meerly for this because we do not receive some articles of their Modern Doctrine and Religion which they cry up for Vniversal or Catholical and yet either are not necessary unto salvation as they must confesse themselves of the greater part of them or false erroneous and superstitious as we are convinced by the Word of God in our own Consciences For in the first place although they charge and accuse us of all sorts of new Calumnies and slanders of the Papists against the Evangelical Protestants Un-catholike false and partly heretical damnable blasphemous Doctrines As that we make God to be the Author of sin That we do deny all free-will of man even after his regeneration That according to our Doctrine it is impossible even to the believers to keep the commandments of our Saviour That by Faith onely we may be saved and justified though we live never so sinfully That all sins shall be forgiven us if we do but believe that they are forgiven though we do still continue in them That the Justification is wrought meerly by an external imputation without internal renovation and sanctification That Repentance and confession of sins and new obedience and good works are quite unnecessary That we reject all Fasting all Vows and Church-discipline Dignities Orders and Traditions of the Church yea obedience to Magistrates Annihilate the Sacraments or hold them to be but naked bare Signes Blaspheme and despise the Saints in heaven and such-like Points Against which our Churches have always solemnly protested both in their Confessions and Apologies that such was not their faith and opinion but that all these are but meer slanders detractions and mis-constructions Whereupon they have declared themselves with one accord that they would not acknowledge nor hearken to any new doctrine but onely adhere closely to the Ancient doctrine of the primitive Apostolike Church as it is principally grounded upon the sacred Scripture being the main rule of our Faith and as it hath been declared out of the Word of God against all Sects and Heresies with an Unanimous consent of the Primitive Church especially in the General Christian Synods of Nicene Ephesus Chalcedone and Constantinople whose Universal confession of Faith they unanimously maintain of which the Romish Church it self confesseth in the last Council of Trent Concil Trid. sess 3. to be the buckler and shield against all Heresies the Principle whereunto necessarily he must agree that will professe the Christian Faith yea the solid and sole foundation against which the gates of hell shall not prevail Wherefore our Churches cannot justly be charged with any new heretical doctrine because though one of our Divines should defend any new opinion or exposition of the Scripture yet they do not binde themselves to it much lesse enforce it upon others as necessary unto salvation but give way to be examined according to the rule and square of the Word of God When now for all this the Romane Catholikes persist to condemn our Churches as heretical because we will not receive besides such Ancient true Catholike Christian Faith all their modern new-fangled Doctrines and Traditions which they have since added and invented in their Council of Trent and other Popish Councils of late times or in the Decrees of the Popes It behoveth them first to prove and shew firm and certain grounds that those Doctrines of theirs are grounded upon the holy Scripture and the Primitive Church is necessary unto salvation Principal Controversies betwixt the Romane Catholikes and Evangelical Protestants For Example Will they condemn us in our exteriour Service or Worship and Ceremonies because we have no Images of the holy and blessed Trinitie of our Saviour of the Saints deceased nor do adore them That we do not pray and call on the holy Angels and the souls of the Saints in heaven especially the Virgin Mary yea that we do not digg and take their bones or other reliques out of their graves and worship them nor pay Vows or make Pilgrimages to them That we do not buy or purchase the Popes Indulgencies celebrate no Masses for the souls of the dead nor make any distinction of meats on certain days or a general weekly Fast neither admit of any Auricular confession to the Priest of every particular sin That we do not administer the holy Communion under one but both kindes or elements of Bread and Wine both to Lay and Clergie-men nor celebrate any Masses without Communicants neither make use of the rest of Ceremonies which they against the first Institution of Christ have forged for their Sacrifice of Masse especially the adoration of the consecrated hostia in the holy Sacrament That we do not observe their great Feast called Corpus Christi-day and the holy days of the Saints That we perform our whole Publike Service not in the Latine Tongue which is unknown to the Laicks but in the known Mother-tongue nor forbid to any Lay-man the reading of the holy Bible in his Mother-tongue but exhort rather every one in general unto it That we tell not our Prayers to God on Beads by fifties and hundreds use not the sprinkling of the holy water nor wear about us Agnus Dei or such like consecrated reliques That we allow not of the Orders
Bread and the Wine in the Supper of the Lord to be bare signes and Seales whereby the Body and Blood of Christ is but Signified and not really given That we defend Absolutum decretum that God freely without any respect of Faith or Unbelief good or evill works of men hath decreed in his eternall Councell to elect and choose some unto Salvation others the greatest part to cast away and reject as Reprobates unto damnation Also That we understand by Christs going down into Hell the hellish paines and torments Christs Soul suffered Lastly that we hold the Pope at Rome to be the great Antichrist Which Articles of Doctrine are neither plainly expressed in the Scripture nor by the Ancient Doctors of the Church The true Doctrine of the Reformed Churches 1. Of Free-will We Answer First that we do not deny the free will in man in that sence and meaning as some and all the Ancient Fathers have taught out of the Scripture For we confesse 1. That the Naturall man hath a Free-will in many Naturall and Temporall Free indifferent matters 2. In Celestiall Spirituall things to many Outward sins either to commit or to avoid them 3. Yea also to many Outward good works 4. That the Regenerate man hath a true Free-will or which is made Free by the grace of God to true Spirituall works which are acceptable to God Yet so that not onely the beginning but also the continuall help and assistance of Gods grace is required unto it 5. This onely we deny That the Naturall unregenerated man hath naturally without the preventing gracious help and operation of the holy Ghost any Freewill to true Spirituall inward works which are acceptable to God as to Saving Faith Charity Hope and consequently to the true Spirituall outward works which arise from those inward Which also the holy Scripture hath unanimously taught against Pelagius That the Naturall man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishnesse unto him neither can be know them 1 Corinthians 2. verse 14. And that we are not sufficient of our selves to think any thing as of our selves but our sufficiency is of God 2 Corinthians 3. verse 5. For it is God which worketh in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure Philipp 2. Verse 13. He that hath begun a good worke in us will also performe it Philippians 1. Verse 6. Without him we can do nothing John 15. Verse 5. For we are by nature the Children of wrath dead in sins Ephesians 2. Verse 5. And he that obeyeth sin is the Servant of Sin Romans 6. Verse 16.20 2 Peter 2. Verse 19. But if the Sonne maketh us free wee shall be free indeed John 8. verse 34.36 And faithfull is he that calleth you who also will doe it 1 Thessalonians 5. verse 24. But if there be besides any other controversie of mans Free-will or Gods gracious help we hold neither theirs nor our particular opinions to be necessary unto Salvation especially for all Christians who oftentimes understand but little or nothing at all of such subtil questions and therefore ought not to judge nor condemne one another Like as amongst the Papists themselves the modern Dominicans and Jesuites cannot agree about these questions nothwithstanding the prohibition made by the Pope not to accuse and condemne one another for errours in Faith 2. Of merits of good works 2. Nor do we deny the merits of good works in that sence as the ancient Fathers use the word Meritum desert or Mereri to deserve viz. That we obtaine thereby temporall and eternall remuneration by grace for Christs sake in vertue of his promise Which we confesse unanimously with them by warrants of the Scripture But we deny onely Meritum de condigno as the Papist School-authors and Divines principally the Jesuites do teach that such in themselves are condigne meritorious works of eternall life so that God is bound to give everlasting life not onely by reason of his truth and mercy for Christs sake but also of right and debt though he had not ingaged himself thereunto by any promise Which condigne meritorious works were never taught either by the Scripture or by the ancient Fathers but are rejected of many Schoole-authors and Divines yea by many moderne Roman Catholicks themselves As the famous Jesuite Vasques confesseth that many Catholickes dissent from us calling us Hereticks but in words but most agree with us in the matter it selfe and condiscend of necessity unto our opinion And the Jesuits themselves are not as yet agreed wherein properly the Efficacy and worthinesse of such Condigne merits of works consisteth Vide Bellarm. de Justific lib. 5. c. 17. Suarez in 3. Thom. Tom. 1. quest 19. art 3. disp 39. Vasq. in lib. 2a. quest 114. disp 214. c. 2. 4. 3. Concerning the Sacrifice of the Masse 3. Of the Masse it is sufficiently evident and manifest that there is nothing plainly and expressly taught and declared thereof either in the Institution of the Lords Supper or in the whole volume of the Scripture And although some or all the Ancient Fathers had taught it yet it could not be received for an Article necessary unto Salvation because they had not taught it out of the word of God and because Faith love and obedience of Christs Commandments and Institution may very well subsist without the Masse But it is certaine that even the Ancient Doctors of the Church never have taught such Sacrifice of the Masse as now a dayes in Popery is professed and held for the Soveraigne Worship and chiefest part of Religion For although they called the Administration of the Lords Supper Missam and that from thence because the Catechumeni those that were not yet Baptized were usually dismissed from it with these words Ite Missa est And although they have attributed the name of Sacrifice to the Holy Communion it selfe yet they did it not in such a sence and meaning that the Priest should offer againe the real and essentiall body of Christ in his hand and mouth and also performe a new Propitiatory Sacrifice both for the quick and dead and for other necessities as for sicke Cattell for good weather as it is taught and expressed in the Councell of Trent Sess 22. c. 2. v. 9. Canon 1.3 But that it is Sacrificium Eucharisticum a Sacrifice of Thanksgiving partly because the faithfull gathered and collected the Bread and Wine upon the Lords Table for the Holy Communion and necessitiy of the poor from whence the Germans retain still the name of Oblateâ— partly because the Holy Communion it selfe is a Commemoration and Representation of the perfect Oblation and Sacrifice of Christ finished upon the Crosse as the principall Roman â—chool authors and Divines themselves do expound it by calling it Sacrificium commemorativum representativum So that we also may say as much not of their Masse but of the Holy Communion as it hath been Instituted by our
each impartial and unpassionate man may easily comprehend How farre we judge the Papists First that we for our part not only ought but are bound in conscience to judge and determine thus far of their Doctrine and Religion yet not with the intent that we should attribute unto our selves or to our Churches any jurisdiction or power over other Churches or persons and their Consciences or constitute our own spirit to be judge in matters of Religion as the Papists do charge us withall or that every Idiot or Ignorant may and can judge of Theologicall Controversies But only that we each of us for himself and his own Conscience must judge and discern Judicio discretionis as far as God through his spirit hath endued him with knowledge of his word what we apprehend to be consonant or repugnant to the Word of God truth or falshood good or evill light or darknesse and consequently what for to avoid our own damnation we beleeve for our selves or not beleeve confesse or deny or also set by as uncertain and doubtfull and in one word what we must do and avoid for our salvation Which judging and determining no man let him be never so simple and unlearned and of what Religion soeveâ— can be hindred and refrained from because no man even amongst the Papists themselves can or shall receive or reject any Religion for himself but he judgeth partly of it and hath his reasons and grounds why he doth imbrace or reject it though in his sentence and decision he may judg aright or wrong build upon good or evil grounds upon the Word of God or the words of men which either will make for his own salvation or damnation as the Apostle saith in the precedent verse That every one shall give an account for himself Wherefore we shall also alwayes be ready to give an answer to every man that asketh us a reason of the hope that is in us with meeknesse and fear The true cause of the modern Ecclesiasticall Schisme and separation is to be imputed to the Romish Catholicks having a good conscience 1 Pet. 3. v. 15.16 Secondly that also the cause and occasion of the Schisme and Separation of the Protestant Churches from the Romish is not properly to be imputed to the Protestants but to the Roman-Catholicks yet not to the whole Romish Church but principally to the Popes and their Prelates who have their dominion over the Romish Church and those Divines whose advice and doctrine they follow Yea that We are not those who separate and with-draw our selves from the Catholick Church but the Papists are they who first by un-Catholick additions of new Doctrins and Traditions are fallen away from the true Ancient Catholick Apostolicall Church and withall reject and separate themselves from us by their un-Christian condemning and persecuting us as Hereticks And not only us but all other Churches of the whole world which are not subjected to the See of Rome viz. the Grecian Russian Armenian Georgian Aethiopian c. wherby neverthelesse the Romish Church by pretending to be the Universal Catholick Church on earth and excluding all others from it hath separated it self from all other Churches in the whole world like as in fromer times the Donatists in Africa and is also become a right Schismaticall Sectary Church Wherefore also we must of necessity separate our selves from it both for its un-Catholicall superstitious Doctrine and Religion lest we make our selves partakers of it and also for its un-Christian Tyrannical judging because we may not be tolerated amongst them but are utterly rejected by them to the end that we may remain united with the true Catholick Church in the Univerall Christian Faith and brotherly charity in Christ Wherunto we are so often and earnestly exhorted in the Word of God Come out of her my people that ye be not partakers of her sins Revel 18. v. 4. Come out from amongst them and be ye separate saith the Lord and touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you 2 Cor. 6. v. 17. Take heed and beware of the leaven Mat. 16. v. 6. Keep your selves from Idols 1 Joh. 5. v. 21. Flee from idolatry 1 Cor. 10. v. 14 c. Thirdly that herein also we do not proceed against this Apostolick rule but therfore rather separate our selves lest we may offend and scandalize the consciences And first our own Conscience which needs must be grievously offended if we should against our Conscience adhere to such a Doctrine and Religion whereof not only we have no certain ground from the Word of God but acknowledge it to be repugnant to it and superstitious whereby we should separate us from God himself by reason we wilfully forsake and deny his Word and Ordinance for if it be damnable for them to proceed against Conscience when they do erre or yet doubt as the Apostle teacheth Rom. 14. v. 23. How much more then when it is sufficiently and evidently warranted and convinced by the Word of God Then secondly the Consciences of our brethren who acknowledge with us such errors and abuses of the Popish Doctrine and Religion to whom we should give a very grievous offence if we dissembling against Conscience would also by our example mis-lead them against Conscience to the like hypocrisie and superstition Thirdly the Consciences of the erring themselves who do not acknowledge the errours as yet and whom we would by our example confirm in their Idolatry and abuses and consequently in their uncharitable excommunications and persecutions of the true beleevers and therewith make our selves partakers of their sins whereas we should rather labour to bring them to knowledge as much as lies in our power And although we upon these most urgent and solid reasons must be separate from the Romish Church in the Communion of their exterior Congregations Yet we are inseparate and undivided in those things wherein they agree with us in the Primitive Apostolicall Christianity as hath been said heretofore and remain with them as far united both in the Doctrin of faith and in the duties of Christian charity as much as we with safety of our Consciences may discharge towards them or they will but accept of us Fourthly Because not onely particular men and teachers but also whole Congregations yea whole people and nations unanimously agree in the knowledge and rejecting of such erroneous Popish Doctrin and Worship That the Protestant Churches had good reason have been bound in Conscience to reforme themselves It doth follow by all this without any contradiction that they have had good reason yea have been bound in Conscience and by vertue of their Function to purge their Churches from such Popish leaven and to reform them according to the word of God though the Popes of Rome or the Romish Church with their Dependents will not condescend at all to such Reformation but Anathematize Excommunicate oppose and destroy it to their utmost power seeing it cannot be maintained under any
least not without prejudice and occasion unto Idolatry and therefore are more safely omitted by us And this will not serve for an excuse to those who now adayes against their conscience go to Masse out of a meer hypocrisie and fear of men because that it is so vehemently pressed upon us from the Papists meerly for to give assent to their errour and Idolatry that we must adore the consecrated Hostie in the hand of the Masse-Priest as Christ himself and put our hope and confidence in that Masse-Christ whom he hath formed out of bread with five words and offereth for us again Neither may this clear the rest of Papists from Idolatry who now adayes with such a blinde zeal impose and presse this Adoration and Sacrifice of the Bread instead of Christ Nor those in general who build their salvation upon their Popish Doctrine and commandments of men which they have added to the true ancient Catholick Divine Doctrine and obstinately adhere thereunto without searching and receiving the Truth especially when therefore they uncharitably condemn and persecute other Christians which cleave onely to Gods Commandment and Doctrine Of whom we may judge in general that in this manner they are in a damnable condition yet so that we hope of every one in particular judicio charitatis that God may convert him yet before his end Whereas there is no doubt but many thousands even amongst themselves who in the time of their life have been most vehemently zealous against us have at length in their last agony learned to acknowledge that they could finde no certain comfort for their souls in all those auxiliary means of salvation which they so fiercely maintained but ought onely to seek their total happinesse and salvation in the meer grace and merey of God so that though they lived as Papists yet at last died Evangelical Christians Whether and how far the Lutherans may be saved in their Religion Whatsoever now hath been said of the Papists that may we apply so much more to the Lutherans because they absolutely agree with us in this principal and chief Point of saving fundamental Doctrine and are otherwise exempted in their Religion from all exteriour Idolatry Wherefore if they onely build their salvation upon such fundamental Doctrine of Faith in Christ Jesus and labour withall to testifie their Faith with Christian charity and godly conversation so that they do not uncharitably condemn nor persecute us but rather diligently search in the rest of different Points into Gods Truth and Doctrine revealed in his Word and having attained the knowledge of it to be ready most willingly to professe and receive it We cannot then condemn them for their often-mentioned errour which they meerly out of humane weaknesse and ignorance stick unto Of what sort of Lutherans are those who live in a dangerous condition of their souls Neverthelesse this may by no means excuse those who 1. will have their own erroneous or at least controverted opinions to be most necessary fundamental Doctrines and Articles of Faith and consequently astrain and binde in some manner both theirs and other Christians salvation thereunto 2. So that Others do not onely not receive us for fellow Christians but judge and condemn us as unfaithful Hereticks who 〈◊〉 in our consciences allow of such their pretended Articles Whereby tâ—â—y â—â—â—er and destroy the Christian Unitie and Ecclesiastical Peace as much as lieth in their power 3. Not onely condemn and cut us off from the Communion of the Christian Church but uncharitably persecute us though not in lives yet in honours and goods by excluding us from the Political Society 4. Especially When they do it not meerly out of humane infirmity and ignorance or out of a false information of our Doctrine and Faith but partly out of obstinacy and malice So that they will not suffer nor hearken to a better Instruction of Truth much lesse search into it themselves in the Word of God Or although they have partly been informed and heard it yet stop their eares and hearts before the Truth out of sinful corrupted affections out of hatred and envy against men out of contention ambition private interest and the like Yea against their own conscience obscure pervert and calumniate it with all sort of slanders detractations and aspersions or intricate Sophistries Of these and like persons we cannot generally out of the Word of God judge any thing else but that they in this manner live in a very dangerous yea damnable state not simply because of the errour it self but because they partly pervert through such errour the ground of Faith in regard they make their own particular opinions to be fundamental Doctrines partly dissolve the bond of Christian charity in regard they judge and condemn other Christians by reason of them But he that doth this not out of a meer ignorance and weaknesse of understanding but out of malice of heart not we but God alone is able to know and discern him Wherefore we ought not rashly to judge and determine of any certain person 5. Those also who though they have had a sufficient knowledge of the Truth in their hearts and yet will not openly professe it out of shame before men or out of other carnal respects are almost in a more dangerous case then the erring themselves because they proceed therein against their own conscience and make themselves guilty of the Lords Sentence Whosoever shall deny me before men or be ashamed of me and of my words him I will also deny Matth. 10. v. 3. Mark 8. v. 38. For not onely he that denieth against his conscience the whole Doctrine of Christ but also he that denieth but one Point of it which he hath known out of the Word of God for mens sake who oppose and condemn it he hath partly denied thereby Christ and been ashamed of his words And whosoever shall break one of these least Commandments he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven Matth. 5. vers 19. For a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump Gal. 5. vers 8. They burden also therewith their conscience with the woe and curse which is pronounced against all unrighteous judgement because against their conscience they call evil good and good evil Isai 5. vers 20 23. and decline after many to wrest Judgement Exod. 23. vers 2. For if men be obnoxious to that curse when they peradventure in temporal judicial matters judge unjustly betwixt private persons or following the multitude incline and assent to unrighteous judgement How much more he that doth it in matters of Religion when the Doctrine of â—â—â—ist is disputed and controverted betwixt whole Churches There we ought to labour as much as is possible by fair means to reconcile the different parties and not rashly to judge and condemn the erring Yet not so that we wrest or pervert the Judgement or assent to the injust partie with words or works in their errour and contrarywise withdraw