The point of CHURCH-UNITY AND SCHISM Discuss'd BY A NONCONFORMIST With respect to the Church-Divisions IN ENGLAND LONDON Printed for Thomas Parkhurst at the Bible and Three Crowns at the Lower end of Cheapside 1679. THE CONTENTS CHAP. I. Of the Church and its Polity WHat the Church is both in its invisible and visible state The state of the Church Catholick The state of particular Churches and their Pastors Elders or Bishops Of the partition of Churches by local bounds Of the Interests of Bishops or Pastors in any assigned circuit of Ground Of the association or combination of Churches Of a National Church Of the Interest of Civil Magistrates in the state of the Church Of a Diocese and a Diocesan Bishop Of exercising the Ministery without Subordination to a Diocesan Bishop No human power may prejudice Christs Interest in his Ministers or People All have a judgment of Discretion about their own acts CHAP. II. Of true Church-Unity The names of Unity and Schism should be rightly applied True Church-Unity is the Unity of the Spirit what is included therein True Unity is primarily of the Church in its mystical secondarily in its visible state Holy love is the Life and Soul of this Unity Church-Unity considered in three points 1. In the essentials and all weighty matters of Christian Faith and Life 2. In the essentials and integrals of Church-state 3. In the accidentals of Religion The different value of these different points of Unity The Rule of Unity is Gods Word Of the Scriptures sufficiency as a Rule thereof Of things left to human determination with the Pastors and Magistrates Interest therein The Rulers Wisdom in setling the right bounds of Unity The burden of things unnecessary not to be laid on the Churches Unity of external order is subservient to Faith and Holiness CHAP. III. Of Schism truly so called Schism is the violation of the Unity of the Spirit Separation and Schism are not of equal extent The violation of holy Love is the root of Schism Schism lies primarily in a breach made upon the Unity of the Church as mystical and secondarily as visible The highest point of Schism against the Church as visible is that which is about the essentials and weighty matters of Christian Faith and Life How both Persons and Churches may be guilty of it The next point of Schism is about the essentials and integrals of Church state This may be either against the Catholick or a particular Church Instances of both kinds The lowest point of Schism is about the accidentals of Religion How any are guilty or not guilty in this point A preposterous valuation made of the aforesaid different points tends to Schism The setting of other bounds of Unity than Gods word allows is to make a breach upon it Terms of Unity may be allowed of God as to the Submitters when they are not allowed as to the Imposers The danger of acting against conscience rationally doubting T is a false Unity that is set up to the hindrance of Faith and Holiness and not to adhere to it is no Schism but Duty Instances hereof Of the right of drawing together into new Congregations on such occasion What endeavour of Reformation is unlawfull to Subjects A difference between inimical separation and amicable necessary Segregation The objected inconveniences against the amicable Segregation answered The import of the Text Rom. 16. 17. opened CHAP. IV. Of the Schisms that were in the more ancient times of the Church and the different case of the Nonconformists in these times Of the Donatists Of the Novatians Whether the case of the present Nonconformists be the same with the case of these or any others anciently reputed Schismaticks The case of such Nonconformists as be more remote from accomodation with the Established Order The case of such of them as be more disposed to accommodation An Answer to objections against relaxing the terms of Conformity Of diverse other remarkable Schisms in the ancient times and the Nonconformists case different from theirs An appeal to Antiquity and to our Superiors CHAP. V. Of making a right estimate of the guilt of Schism and something more of the right way to Unity The great abuse of the name Schism and the bad consequence thereof The degree of the Schism to be duely considered for making an equal judgment of the guilt thereof Examples of Schismatical animosities in Worthies of ancient times Charity in censuring thence inferred True Unity is founded in true Holiness and promoted by impartiality and equity towards all real Christians and by the due exercise of true Church-Discipline and by removing the snares of Division and as by the equity and charity of Superiors so by the humility and due submission of Inferiors A Question considered about the warrantableness of submission to things not in themselves unlawfull but inexpedient Errata PAg. 2. lin 2. r. regeneration p. 12. l. 8. r. without ib. l. 16. r. and in p. 22. l. 6. r. due extent p. 25. l. 14. r. account of accidental p. 32. l. 16. r. injured Christians as are p. 33. l. 25. r. Segregation p. 42. l. 27. r. renouncing p. 47. l. 21. r. deposed The point of CHURCH-UNITY AND SCHISM Discuss'd CHAP. I. Of the Church and its Polity THe Church is a Spiritual Common-wealth which according to its primary and invisible State is a Society of regenerate Persons who are joyned to the Lord Christ their Head and one to another as fellow Members by a mystical Union through the Holy Spirit and are justified Sanctified and adopted to the inheritance of Eternal Life but according to its secondary and visible state it is a Society of Persons professing Christianity or Regeration and externally joyned to Christ and to one another by the Symbals of that Profession and made partakers of the external priviledges thereunto belonging There is one Catholick Church which according to the invisible Form is the whole company of true Believers throughout the World and according to its visible Form is the whole company of visible Believers throughout the World or Believers according to human judgment This Church hath one Head and Supream Lord even Christ and one Charter and System of Laws the Word of God and Members that are free Denizons of the whole Society and one Form of Admission or solemn Initiation for its Members and one kind of Ministery and Ecclesiastical Power This Church hath not the power of its own Fundamental Constitution or of the Laws and Officers and Administrations intrinsecally belonging to it but hath received all these from Christ its Head King and Lawgiver and is limited by him in them all Nevertheless it hath according to the capacity of its acting that is according to its several parts a power of making Secondary Laws or Canons either to impress the Laws of Christ upon its Members or to regulate circumstantials and accidentals in Religion by determining things necessary in genere not determined of Christ in specie As the
here nothing to say to them that object against any relaxation after that manner as if they desired not our Conformity but our perpetual exclusion Such may be answered in due season And I have here nothing to do with those that argue against â—s from Politick considerations respecting a particular Interest too narrow for an adequate foundation of Church-Peace and Christian-Concord But my scope is to consider what may be done by the Higher Powers and Church Guides for the healing of breaches according to the Wisdom which is from above which is first pure then peaceable gentle and easie to be intreated full of mercy and good fruits without partiality and without hypocrisie I have made particular observation of those too most remarkable Parties which have been looked upon as the chief instances of Schism in the more ancient times The other Schisms that I find of any remark in those times were raised sometimes by Persons cast out of the Church for their Crimes and thereupon drawing Disciples after them as was that of Meletius a Bishop â—n Egypt who was desposed for having sacrificed to Idols Sometimes by offence unjustâ—y taken at some supposed faultiness in a Bishop as was that of an Orthodox Party â—n Antioch against another Meletius an Orthodox and right worthy Bishop of that City only because he was at first brought â—n by the Arrians sometimes by the exasperations of the People for injuries done to them or their Pastors and outrages committed by their opposites as was that of the Johannites at Constantinople upon the banishment of Chrysostom and somtimes by meer animosity and humor of discontentment as was that of Lucifer a Bishop in Sardiniaâ— who separated from Eusebius Bishop of Vercellis and others because they disliked his rash act of Ordaining Paulinus to be Bishop of Antioch as tending to perpetuate the Schism there begun Touching all the said Parties it may be observed that they did not plead that any Opinions or Forms were imposed on them to which their consciences did reluctate noâ— did they desire others forbearance towardâ— them in such things as might bear too harâ— upon them but they themselves woulâ— not bear with others in that which they supposed faulty but did rather choose wholly to abandon the Communion of the Churches and did not seek nor care for accomodatioâ— with them But this is not the case of 〈◊〉 least a great part of the Dissenters of theâ— times For they importune an accommodatioâ— with the Churches of the Established Ordeâ— and for Peace sake are willing to bear witâ— the practice of others in that which themselves dislike or doubt of but they cannoâ— obtain a Dispensation from others in some things which are very dispensable points according to their judgment but are forced to abide in a severed state unless they will profess what they believe not or practice what they allow not Now because the judgment and practice of antiquity is much insisted on I pray that it may be considered whether in the Primitive or ancient times of Christianity men yea many hundreds of men duly qualified for the Ministery by sound Faith and good Life as also by their Learning and Industry and offering all reasonable security for their submissive and peaceable demeanure were or would have been cast and kept out of the Church for their Nonconformity to some Opinions Forms and Ceremonies which at the best are but the accidentals of Religion and of the truth or lawfulness whereof the Dissenters were wholly dissatisfied and which the Imposers judged to be but things in themselves indifferent And I further pray that it may be considered whether it be easier for the Nonconformists to be self-condemned in Conforming to some injunctions against their consciences and in deserting the Ministery to which they are dedicated than for Superiours either by some relaxation to make them capable of Conforming or to bear with their peaceable exercise of the Ministery in a state of Nonconformity while some of their injunctions confine them to that state CHAP. V. Of making a right estimate of the guilt of Schism and something more of taking the right way to Unity THe confused noise about Schism and the unjust imputation thereof that is commonly made hath greatly disordered the minds of many Some have been thereby swaid to an absolute compliance with the most numerous or the most prevailing Parties Others discerning the abuse of this name but forgetting that there is something truly so called have made light of the thing it self which is indeed of a heinous nature I have been engaged in this Disquisition by a deep sense of the evil of Schism and an earnest care of keeping my self from the real guilt thereof and what is here written I willingly submit to a grave and just examination Errare possum Haereticus Schismaticus esse nolo I am liable to Errour as others are but I am sure I am no wilfull Schismatick It is commonly given to men to pass a severe judgment upon every dissent from their own Opinions and Orders Whereupon as that hath had the character of Schism stamped upon it which is not such indeed so that which is Schism in a low and tolerable degree hath been aggravated to the highest and prosecuted against all rules of prudence and charity To make an equal judgment of the guilt of Schism in Persons or Parties the degree of the Schism is duly to be considered Our Saviour teacheth that reviling language contemptuous words and rash anger are breaches of the Sixth Commandment yet in degree of guilt they are vastly different from the act of wilfull Murther And indeed in the kind of delinquency here treated of there are as great differences of degrees as of any other kind The case of those that are necessitated to a non-compliance in some lawfull things by them held unlawfull yet seeking union would gladly embrace a reasonable accomodation is much different from theirs who upon choice and wilfully sever themselves because they love to be severed In like manner the case of those who desire and seek the conformity of others and would gladly have fellowship with them yet through misguided zeal are approvers of such unnecessary impositions as hinder the conforming of many is much different from theirs who designing the extrusion of others contrive the intangling of them by needless rigors Many other instances might be given to express the great disparity of cases in point of Schism all which may teach us in the estimate that we are to make thereof to put a difference between honest minds that by mistake are drawn into Division and those that out of their corrupt minds and evill designs do wilfully cause Division In many things we offend all and therefore it behoves us to consider one another as subject to the like errours and passions We should not judge too severely as we would not be so judged There be many examples of Schismatical animosities and perversnesses into which in the ancient times
that doth grosly deprave them and in great part frustrate the ends of their constitution The last and lowest point of external Unity lying in the accidental modes of Religion and matters of meer order extrinsick to 〈◊〉 essentials and integrals of Church-State the violation thereof is the least and lowest point of Schism I mean in it self considered and not in such aggravating circumstances as it may be in Those accidental Forms and Orders of Religion which are necessary in genere but left in specie to human determination are allowed of God when they are determined according to prudence and charity for Peace and Edification and accordingly they are to be submitted to Consequently it is one point of Schism to make a Division from or in a Church upon the accountal of accident Forms and Orders so determined according to Gods allowance But if any of the accidentals be unlawfull and the maintaining or practicing thereof be imposed upon us as the terms of our communion it is no Schism but Duty to abstain from communion in that case For explicitly and personally to own errors and corruptions even in smaller points is evil in it self which must not be committed that good may come In this case not he that withdraws but he that imposes causeth the Division And this holds of things sinfull either in themselves or by just consequence And herein he that is to act is to discern and judge for his own practice whether the things imposed be such For Gods Law supposeth us rational creatures able to discern its meaning and to apply it for the regulating of our own actions else the Law were given us in vain Submission and reverence towards Superiors obligeth no man to resign his understanding to their determinations or in compliance with them to violate his own conscience Persons meek humble peaceable and throughly conscientious and of competent judgment may not be able by their diligent and impartial search to see the lawfulness of things injoyned and t is a hard case if they should thereupon be declared contumacious Seeing there be several points of Unity the valuation whereof is to be made according to their different value mens judgment and estimation of Unity and Schism is very preposterous who lay the greatest stress on those points that are of least moment and raise things of the lowest rank to the highest in their valuation and set light by things of the greatest moment and highest value as indeed they do who set light by soundness of Faith and holiness of Life and consciencious observance of Divine institutions where there is not also unanimity and uniformity in unscriptural Doctrines and human ceremonies And they that make such an estimate of things and deal with Ministers accordingly do therein little advance the Unity of the Spirit or indeavour to keep it in the bond of Peace Seeing the word of God is the rule of Church Unity a breach is made upon it when other bounds thereof are set than this rule allows An instance hereof is the devising of other terms of Church-communion and Ministerial liberty than God hath commanded or allowed in his Word to be made the terms thereof Also any casting or keeping out of the Church or Ministery such as Gods Word doth not exclude from either but signifies to be qualified and called thereunto God doth not allow on the part of the Imposer such tearms of Church communion or Ministerial station as are neither Scriptural nor necessary to Peace and Edification nor are any part of that necessary order and decency without which the Service of God would be undecent nor are in any regard so necessary but that they may be dispensed with for a greater benefit and the avoiding of a greater mischief And they are found guilty of Schism that urge such unscriptural and unnecessary things unto a breach in the Church Such Imposers are not only an occasion of the breach that follows but a culpable cause thereof because they impose without and against Christs warrant who will not have his Church to be burdened nor the consciences of his Servants intangled with things unnecessary Nevertheless such unscriptural or unnecessary things if they be not in themselves unlawfull nor of mischievous consequence may be of Gods allowing as to the submitters Thereupon they are guilty of Schism who meerly for the sake of those unnecessary things yet lawfull as to their use though wrongfully urged upon them forsake the communion of the Church or their Ministerial station where things are well settled as to the substantials of Religion and the ends of Church order and when they themselves are not required to justifie the imposing of such unnecessaries Here I speak of contumacious refusers who will rather make a breach than yield But refusers out of conscience believing or with appearance of reason suspecting the said lawfull things to be unlawfull are either accquitted from Schism or guilty but in a low degree and much less culpable than the Imposers who might well forbear to impose Be it here noted that when Superiors sin in commanding a thing exempt from their authority it may be the Subjects duty to observe the thing commanded In this case the said observance is not an act of obedience for that can arise only from the Rulers authority to command But it is an act of prudence equity and charity and it is good and necessary for the ends sake and in that regard t is an act of obedience though not to the Earthly Ruler yet to God who commands us to follow Peace and maintain Unity in all lawful◠〈◊〉 and means In the judgment of the Apostle it is no slight matter to act against conscience rationally doubting or suspecting a breach of Gods Law Rom. 14. 5. Let every man be fully persuaded in his mind v. 14. To him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean to him it is unclean ver 23. He that doubteth is damned if he eat because he eateth not of Faith for whatsoever is not of Faith is sin The command of Rulers is no good security for acting against a rational doubting conscience When I am in doubt touching the lawfulness of the thing injoyned I have no certainty of being on the safer side by complying with Rulers For though in general obedience to Rulers be a certain Duty yet in the particular doubted case I cannot be certain that my compliance is right and warrantable obedience and not a breach of Gods Law Is it plain that I ought to obey the commands of Rulers in things that have Gods allowance so t is as plain that I ought not to obey their commands in things which God hath forbidden Moreover it is as plain that I ought not to act against my own conscience which as being the discerner of the will of God concerning me is of right the immediate director of my actions Indeed my conscience cannot alter Gods Law or make that which God hath made my duty to be not my duty