opinion St. Peter St. John St. James and St. Jude did write their several Epistles That St. Peter speaketh concerning this same opinion of being saved by Faith without works when he saith that some unearned and unstable men did wrest St. Pauls Epistles to their own destruction and therefore exhorteth Christians to all holy conversation and godliness upon this account that such men did at last most miserably perish in their sins Sic itaque Petrus his ergo iâ—…quit hominibus pereuntibus quales oportet vos esse in sanctis conversationibus et pietatibus so saith S. Peter therefore since these men perish for that application St. Aug. makes of his words though not that Lection what manner of persons ought ye to be in all conversation and godliness ye therefore beloved seeing ye know these things before beware least ye also being led away with the errour of the wicked sc. this errour of being saved by Faith without works fall from your own stedfastness but grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ 2 Pet. 3. 11 17. But St. James saith he is yet much more offended with such men Jacobus autem tam vehementer infestus est eis qui sapiunt fidem sine operibus valere ad salutem ut illos etiam Daemonibus comparet c. St. James is so displeased with those men who supposed Faith could save them without works that he down-right compares them to devils saying the devils also believe and tremble and tells them plainly their Faith was dead and that they were strangely besotted who thought that such a faith which had not life in it selfe could be a means of procuring them everlasting life quousquâ—… igitur falluntur qui fide mortuâ sibi vitam aeternam pollicentur And St. Aug. further assures us that S. Paul himself had exactly taught the very same Doctrine before Sicut etiam ipse Paulus non quamlibet fidem quae in Deum credat sed eam salubrem planéque Evangelicam definivit cujus opera ex dilectione procedunt fides inquit quae per dilectionem operatur Unde illam fidem quae sufficere ad salutem quibusdam videtur ita nihil prodesse asseverat ut dicat si habeam omnem fidem ita ut montes transferam charitatem autem non habeam nihil sum Ubi autem haec fidelis charitas operatur sine dubio benè vivitur Aug. lib. de fide et oâ—…er cap. 14. Even as also St. Paul himself speaking of Justificaâ—…ion and Salvation by Faith did not mean every Faith which believed in God but a saving and a â—…rue Evangelical Faith whose works proceeded from love a Faith saith he which worketh by love whence that Faith without works which some thought sufficient to Salvation he so flatly avoweth to be nothing worth that he plainly saith though he had all Faith so as to remove mountains and had not charity he should be nothing But wheresoever is this Faith working by love there without doubt the whole life is fraight with good works All his businesse is to distinguish a true and false Faith by requiring works to the Faith that justifieth not to confound Faith with works in the act of Justification Againe in the fifteenth Chapter Illud quoque non video cur Dominus dixerit Si vis venire ad vitam serva mandata commemoravit ea quae ad bonos more 's pertinent si etiam his non servatis ad vitam veniri potest per solam fidem quae sine operibus mortua est Illud deinde quomodo verum erit quod eis quos ad sinistram positurus est dicat Ite in ignem aeternum qui paratus est Diabolo Angelis ejus nec increpat quia in eum non crediderint sed quia bona opera non fecerint cap. 15. Nor do I see why our Lord said If thou wilt enter into life keep the Commandements reckoning up those moral duties whereby they were to be kept if without keeping them more might go to Heaven by a dead Faith nor how he will say to them on his left hand go into everlasting fire condemning them not because they had not believed but because they had not done good works answerable to their belief He tells the false believer he should be condemned for want of works he tells not the true believer he should be acquitted for his works where by the way our Solifidians may take notice that heâ—… is not like to be so full of moral honest men who want Faith for how could their hearts sanctifie their hands if Faith did not first sanctifie their hearts as of believing men who want moral honesty having only such a Faith as to sanctifie their mouths for holy professions but not their hearts by holy affections nor their lives by holy conversation For so the same St. Aug. in the next Chapter Si autem Christus fundamentum proculdubio fides Christi per fidem quippe habitat Christus in cordibus nostris Porro fides Christi illa est utique quam definivit Apostolus quae per dilectionem operatur Non enim fides illa Daemonum quum ipsi credant contremiscant filâ—…um Dei confiteantur Jesum potest 〈◊〉 in fundamentum Quare nisi quia non est fides quae operatur per dilectionem sed quae exprimitur per timorem fides itaque Christi fides gratiae Christianae i. e. ea fides quae per dilectionem operatur posita in fundamento neminem perire permittit cap. 16. If Christ be the foundation of our righteousnesse then without doubt the Faith of Christ is so too for Christ dwelleth in our hearts by Faith but 't is that Faith which the Apostle defineth to be a Faith working by love for it is not possible that the Faith of devils who do beleeve and tremble and confesse Jesus to be the Son of God should be taken into this foundation because it is not a Faith which worketh by love but which is extorted by fear whereas the true Faith of Christ which proceedeth from the grace of Christ that is a Faith which worketh by love being put in the foundation will not let any man perish everlastingly What can be said more of a justifying Faith but that it maketh Christ to dwell in the heart for the foundation of righteousnesse and that it passeth from the heart to the hand for the operation of righteousnesse In that this Faith giveth us Christ it delivereth us from the condemnation of sin for where Christ is there can be no condemnation Rom. 8. II. In that it giveth us good works it delivereth us from the conversation of sinners that we may live as becometh Christians This Faith cannot let us perish because it will not let us depart from Christ who is the Way the Truth and the Life the Way that we should walk in the Truth to direct us in our journey and the Life to reward us at our journeys
we have been reconciled so also that we shall be saved And therefore we must take that for the condition of Salvation in the Covenant of Grace which sends us immediately to Him to wit Our believing and not that which sends us to our selves though it proceed from him to wit Our Doing Thus hath the common mother of all Christians the Catholick Church taught all her sons to pray That in all our works begun continued and endâ—…d in thee we may glorifie thy Holy Name and finally by thy mercy obtain ever lasting life placing all the hopes of eternal life not in mans Duty but in Gods mercy that is not in Doing but in Believing He that is constantly prevented in all his Doings by Gods most gratious favour and as constantly furthered by his continual Help must needs have the best confidence of his Doings yet may not hope to obtain the promised Inheritance of everlasting life by Doing without being a Schismatick in receding from the Unity and a Heretick in departing from the Verity of the Catholick Church in this excellent Prayer unlesse we will say which were impious once to think That the Catholick Church teacheth such Devotions as are contrary to her own Doctrine 18. Nor doth this assertion any whit lessen the Obligation though it doth very much sweeten the condition of the new Testament It is the same in effect with the old Covenant as to the Matter of its Command though not as to the form of its promise for it requires what we are bound but it accepts what we are able to perform It commends our entire Obedience but it assures Life upon our unfeigned faith and repentance And it is so far from diminishing or lessening any wilful sin either of omission or of commission that it rather augments and aggravates the same For whereas wilful offenders did before trample under foot the Word of God whereby they should have been restrained now they also trample under foot the Blood of God whereby they have been redeemed from their fins Tell me what is wanting in their Obligation who are bound by promise and vow to these three things 1. To fosake the Devil and all his works the pomps and vanities of the wicked world and all the sinful lusts of the flesh 2. To believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith 3. To keep Gods holy will and Commandements and to walk in the same all the daies of their life And every childe that is trained up in our Church knows he was bound to all these when he first received the Seal of the New Covenant and therefore cannot but look upon all these as the material parts of his Obligation by that Covenant and upon himself as a most perfidious wretch if He wilfully fail in any part of his Obligation and as a most miserable wretch if he do not earnestly repent of his failings But will you therefore say That because he hath failed in these he hath forfeited his Salvation Is Doing all these as they ought to be done for else 't is not doing of them the formal part of the Covenant of Grace or the condition of life in that Covenant May we not say That he forsakes the world the flesh and the Devil who doth not follow and is not led by them That he believes all the Articles of the Christian Faith who cries out with tears Lord I believe help thou my unbelief and that he keeps Gods Commandements who prays with hearty sorrow Lord have mercy upon me and with hearty desire Incline my heart to keep thy Law or write all thy Laws in my heart I beseech thee If we may say so then this is that which God requires to our Salvation and by this we perform the condition of that Covenant by which we hope to be saved wherefore though Doing be derived into the Constitution yet it is not derived into the Condition of the New Covenant The Constitution of the New Covenant is as it was of the Old according to Justice exacting the compleat performance of our Duty as it is said This day thou art become the People of the Lord thy God Thou shalt therefore obey his voice and do his Commandements Deut. 27. 9 10. and that is properly called Doing But the condition of the Nâ—…w Covenant is meerly according to mercy accepting our sincere resolution for our compleat performance and that is properly called Believing This is the Condition which we must fulfil or we can have no right to the promised Inheritance And since this is the only Condition we can fulfil we may not put in another instead of this no more then we may put our selves out of the Hope and Right to Gods Promises And we Protestants do conceive we have the greater reason to oppose your merit of works because That hath been a means to make you oppose the grace and mercy of Gods New Covenant yet to shew to you and to all the world That we so stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made 〈◊〉 free as to abandon all manner of Libertinism we acknowledge no other Faith to fulfil the Condition of the Covenant of Grace but such as teacheth us to fulfil all manner of righteousness A Faith that devotes the whole man to God In his understanding by knowing and believing In his will by loving and embracing In his affections by desiring and prosecuting In his Actions by conforming and obeying A Faith that believes in whole Christ even in Jesus Christ our Lord receiving him in all his Offices not only as a Priest to reconcile us by his death there 's Jesus and as a Prophet to instruct us by his word there 's Christ but also a King to rule and govern us by his Laws there 's Lord A Faith that believes not only speculatively to sanctifie the contemplation but also Practically to sanctifie the conversation having a firm resolution of obeying Christ in all things and a serious repentance for its defects and wants of Obedience And such a repentance that devotes the whole life to God by an entire aversion from all sin and by an entire conversion to all righteousness with the whole powers and faculties both of soul and body of soul to detest sin of body to decline it of soul to hunger and thirst after righteousness of body to endeavour and to act it He that is not thus qualified in some degree doth falsly think himself in the state of Grace and he that is not in the state of Grace doth in vain hope to be saved by the Covenant of Grace and concerning such a man the question is now as unanswerable and will be to the worlds end as it was at first making Can Faith save him Jam. 2. 14. For the Faith that fulfils the condition of the New Covenant labours for our full conformity with our blessed Saviour and laments and bewails all our failings and defects in the persuit and desire of that consormity It layeth an absolute necessity upon
practice have divâ—…rted the principal streams of affiance and love from Him who had the only right unto them and turned them upon those unto whom neither so great honour is due nor so undue honour can be acceptable Sands Survey of Religion cap. 4. Jesu God heal their Tongues that preach such Blaphemy instead of Divinity heal their Hands that write it heal their Ears that hear it and much more heal their Hearts that believe it and their Lifes that practise it that though thy Truth hath been outfaced by their Lyes yet their miracles may be outvied by thy Power and their Souls saved by thy Grace and Mercy For all the miracles they can falsly attribute to thy Saints as if by their own power and holiness they could heal the Body to make us go to thy Servants for help when we should go only to Thy self are nothing in comparison of that great miracle of thy power and greater miracle of thy mercy whereby thou art pleased to heal the Soul I have been the longer upon this Argument as I was upon the former because the false Invocations and Adorations used by you have given others just occasion to depart from you even those who were under your own jurisdiction and much more those who were not For as he that kicks against Heaven stricks up his own Heels so a faction in your Church of late years kicking against Gods authority could not stand so fast as to keep their own nor is it any reason you should expect others to be dutiful to you according to the fift contrary to that duty which they ow to God according to the four first Commandements 16. But though others of your party argue much in this case from Authority yet you think fit to argue from reason saying Now since God puts this great Trust in them with us ought not we to put them in Trust by reverently commending our selves unto them no saith Reason to which you have appealed much more no saith Religion from which you have started First no saith Reason For that teacheth us to invocate none that is not All-present to hear our request All-merciful to receive it All-sufficient to grant it and Almighty to fullfil it and therefore to Invocate no creature which hath none much less all of these Secondly no saith Religion And first the Religion that is in Heaven I heard the voyce of many Angels round about the Throne and thousands of thousands saying with a loud voyce Worthy is the Lamb which was slain to receive power and riches and wisedome and strength and honour and glory and blessing Revel 5. 11 12. This is the Religion you must practise in Heaven and why should you practise any other in Earth since you are taught to pray Thy will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven you may safely take the crowns of the Saints and Angels and cast them before the Throne giving glory and honour and thanks to Him who was dead but now liveth for ever and ever for so they do themselves Revel 4. 9 10. But never was it seen in Heaven That any Saint or Angel did make so bold as to take the Crown off from our Saviours Head to place it upon his own There this is the only dialect Thou art worthy O Lord to receive glory and honour and power for thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created v. 11. And the dialect should be here as 't is there so saith the Psalmist O come let us worship and fall down and kneel before the Lord our Maker as if he had said before no other but only Him to whom we can truly say For thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created Therefore secondly no saith the Religion that is in Earth that likewise answers no to your quaere Ought we not to put them in trust by reverently commending our selves into them And surely we ought not For that very Apostle who hath written most concerning the benefit and the assistance which the heirs of Salvation have by the Angels Hebr. 1. 14. forbids them to worship Angels for fear of endangering their inheritance Col. 2. 18 19. Let no man beguil you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of Angels intruding into those things which he hath not seen vainly puft up by his fleshly mind and not holding the Head c. where the Apostles full intent and scope is to dehort the Colossians from the worshipping of Angels first from the dangerous effect of it no less then the loss of eternal life Let no man beguil you of your reward 2. from the vain pretences for it viz. the obedience or submission we owe to them as to our Patrons and the need we have of their Patronage the first hath a shew of humility but 't is such as God never commended in a voluntary humility The second hath a real guilt of curiosity for 't is such as God never taught intruding into those things which he hath not seen 3. From the wicked and ungodly causes of it and they are two Pride of heart vainly puft up by his fleshly mind and Ignorance of Christ as Head of the Church And not holding the Head from which all the Body by joynts and bands having nourishment ministred and knit together increaseth with the increase of God Angels are a part of this Body as well as men and this Head gives life to them as to us As all is Neighbour that is not God in the Law so all is Body that is not Head in the Gospel The question is as unanswerable if asked of St. Michael or St. Gabriel as of St. Peter or St. Paul Is Christ divided was Paul crucified for you or were ye baptized in the name of Paul 1 Cor. 1. 13. Is Christ divided from himself that He should not be the Head of Angels as well as of men or is Christ divided from his Body on Earth more then from his Body in Heaven Hath he put that part of his Body to convey life and motion and nourishment to this or doth he not convey life and motion and nourishment to both parts immediately by Himself Was any Angel crucified for us or were we baptized in the name of any Angel Was St. Paul a lover of Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Chrys. in denying this honour to the Apostles and can we be lovers of Christ in giving this honour to the Angels Is it more lawful for us then it was for him to give the honour of the Head to any part of the Body or can we look for a reward of our service if we serve any of the Body instead of the Head Let no men beguil you saith He of your reward 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let no man make you so run as not to receive the Prize or so run that you may not obtain you may lose the Prize by running out of the race as well