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kingdom_n	church_n	heaven_n	peter_n	4,199	5	7.9041	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A76157	Confirmation and restauration the necessary means of reformation, and reconciliation; for the healing of the corruptions and divisions of the churches: submissively, but earnestly tendered to the consideration of the soveraigne powers, magistrates, ministers, and people, that they may awake, and be up and doing in the execution of so much, as appeareth to be necessary as they are true to Christ, his Church and Gospel, and to their own and others souls, and to the peace and wellfare of the nations; and as they will answer the neglect to Christ, at their peril. / By Richard Baxter, an unworthy minister of Christ, that longeth to see the healing of the churches.	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1658 (1658)	Wing B1232; Thomason E2111_1; ESTC R209487	172,368	411

approving of it belongeth to the Office of the Pastours of the Church The first is grounded by almost all Christians that I know of and therefore need not may words 1. If every man should be the sole Judge of the soundness and validity of his own Profession then Hereticks and Heathens and Infidels may all croud into the Church for when there is any outward advantage or other common motive to induce them to it they would all joyn with the Church as if they were Christians And we see that it is the custom of Hereticks to intrude And who shall say to any of them why do you so if themselves are the only Judges We meet daily among our own neighbours with abundance that know not whether Christ be God or man nor who he is nor what he hath done for us nor why he came into the world and are ignorant of almost all the Essentials of the Christian Faith and with abundance more that live in common drunkenness scorning at holy duties and at a Godly life and hating those that use it and giving up themselves wholly to the flesh and the world And yet all these men are so confident of the soundness and validity of their own Profession that they will hate that Minister that shall make any question of their Right to the Priviledges of the Church I speak not by hearsay or conjecture but by sad experience And if they be their own judges all these will be approved and admitted and indeed what man would not be admitted where Christianity is in credit or hath any worldly advantages so that it 's certain that this would pluck up the hedg and lay open the Vineyard of Christ unto the wilderness For self-love is such a powerfull blinding thing that it will make every man almost especially of the worser sort approve of that which is their Own 2. If every man should be the sole Judge of his own Profession and fitness for Church Priviledges then there could be no Communion of Saints For all the most ignorant and impious persons would intrude into our Communion and it would be a Communion not only of actual but of professed impious men But the consequent is intollerable as being contrary to an Article of our Belief and a principal part of Christian practice 3. If each man were the only Judge of his own Profession then there could be no exercise of Church Discipline nor keeping or casting out the wicked But the consequent is unsufferable Therefore 4. If each man be the only Judge of his own Profession then the Church is an unguided ungoverned Society but the Consequent is false therefore so is the Antecedent 2. And now I prove that it belongeth to the Office of the Ministers to judge of and approve the Profession of such as expect admission or the Priveledges of the Church 1. If persons are not the sole Judges themselves then it must belong to the Minister to judge But the Antecedent is before proved The Consequence is proved thus It must belong either to the Pastours or the Magistrate only or the people only or to all or some of these conjunctly Not to the Magistrate only for 1. No man that I know of affirmeth it 2. It is another mans office Not to the people only for 1. None that I know of affirmeth this They all include the Pastours 2. As I said it is made part of the Pastours office If you say that it belongs to Magistrates People and Pastours jointly then you include the Pastours And I grant that in some sort it belongs to them but in a different sort as I shall tell you under the next Proposition 2 It is to Ministers as such that the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven are committed but to approve of the Profession of such as are to be admitted into the Church or to its Priviledges is part of the exercise of the Key 's of the Kingdom therefore it is Ministers to whom it belongeth thus to judge and approve I have proved in another place and so have many others more at large that the Key 's were not given to Peter or to the Apostles as to private men for so they were not nor as to a Church of private Christians for so they were not nor the representatives of any such nor yet as to Apostles only for then they should have belonged to none but themselves the contrary whereof is certain nor as to fixed Diocesan Bishops for such they were not and it 's generally granted that the Key 's belong also to Presbyters either wholly or the chief of them and particularly that in question Nor yet were the Key 's given them only as a Synod or Presbyterie for Peter was not such and this in question hath ever been exercised by such Ministers Arg. 3. The Rulers of the Church are the lawful Judges or Approvers of the Profession of those that come into the Church or demand the Priviledges of it But it is the Ministers of Christ that are the Rulers of the Church as is exprest 1 Thes 12. Acts 2. 28. Heb. 13. 7. 17. 24. 1 Tim. 5. 17. Therefore Arg. 4. Those that are by Office the Stewards of the Mysteries of God and Rulers over his houshould to give them meat in due season which they must do as faithfull and wise servants till their Lord cometh are the men that must judge of and approve the qualifications of those that come under their Stewardship Government and Administration of these Mysteries But such are the Ministers of Christ 1 Cor. 4. 1. Matth. 24. 45 46 47. Therefore Arg. 5. To whom it belongeth to receive men at age into the Church to restore by Absolution them that fell off and to Administer Christ's Ordinances to those that are within to them doth it belong to try judge and approve of them that are to be thus received absolved or that expect the Priviledges of the Church But it belongeth to Christ's Ministers to receive men absolve them and administer the Ordinances to them Therefore The Antecedent is commonly granted and plain in Scripture The Consequence hath Reason so evident as needs no confirmation Arg. 6. If all that enter into the Church or that are restored by Asolution or are stated in a Right to Church Priviledges of the Adult are therewithall engaged into a mutual voluntary Relation to Christs Ministers then must their Profession be judged of approved by Christs Ministers but the Antecedent is certain Therefore so is the Consequent The Antecedent is cleare because 1. All that enter into the Universal Church do enter under the hand of the Ministerie and thereby acknowledg their Relation to them and Authority to admit them 2. Because all such do engage themselves to be Christs Disciples and learn of him as their Master not as coming down from Heaven to teach them personally but as teaching them by his Word Spirit and Ministers conjunctly saying Luke 10 16 He that heareth you heareth me

an Infidel or one that Professeth not to be a Christian Baptism is said to save us 1 Pet. 3. 21. And therefore they that will be Baptized must profess the qualifications necessary to the Saved The Key 's of the Kingdom of Heaven are put into the Churches hands and they that are loosed on Earth shall be loosed in Heaven if the Key do not erre And therefore Pastours of the Church must absolve none by Baptism that do not by Profession seem to be Absolvable in Heaven They must Profess to have the old man Crucified with Christ that the Body of sinne might be destroyed that henceforth they might not serve sinne Rom. 6. 5 6 7 8. As many as have been Baptized into Christ have put on Christ and are all one in Christ Jesus and are Abrahams Seed and Heirs according to promise Gal. 3. 27 28 29. This speaks the Apostle of the Probability grounded on a credible Profession And thereforeit is clear that the Profession was presupposed that might support this charitable judgment Our Baptism is the Solemnizing of our Marriage with Christ And it s a new and strang kind of Marriage where there is no Profession of Consent The Baptized are in Scripture called men Washed Sanctified Justified c. 1 Cor. 6. 11. 1 Cor. 14. 33. They are all called Saints and Churches of Saints 1 Cor. 1. 2. All Christians are called Sanctified ones or Saints therefore it s certaine that they professed themselves such But why should I go any further in this when the main substance of my Dispute of Right to the Sacraments proves it I intreat the Reader that would have more to prove not only the Necessity of a Profession but also of the Profession of a Saving Faith to peruse that Book or at least the second Disputation where are Twenty Arguments for it and the sence of all the Ancient Churches there cited out of Mr Gatakers Collections See also Dr Hammonds many testimonies to prove the use of the Abrenuntiation Paraenes pag. 18 19 20. I love not needlesly to recite whath others have already cited But he that knows not that the Universal Church from the daies of the Apostles hath baptized the Adult upon a personal Profession of Faith and Repentance and Vow or Promise or Covenant for obedience knows little of what the Church hath Practised And I hope few sober men will be found that will be so singular and self-conceited as to contradict the Practise of the Universal Church in such a case as this and set up their own private judgment against it and go about to perswade us to a new way of Church enterance and admission now in the end of the world Blame me not to be confident with you where I have so good ground as Scripture and so good company as the Primitive Universal Church To this let me adde that most or too many that we are to receive to the Priviledges of Adult members have violated their Baptism-Covenant and proved ungodly after Baptism and that by open notorious Scandals Now Scripture and the Practice of the Universal Ancient Church direct us to require of these an open Confession of sinne For they need an Absolution and not a meer Confirmation It is past all controversie that such have both an open Confession and Profession to make Yea how scrupulous the Ancient Church was of Receiving and Absolving such violators of the Baptismal Covenant and on how severe terms they did it is known to all that know any thing of those times I pray amongst others see what Grotius Discus Apol. Rivet pag. 221 222. citeth from Irenaeus Tertullian Pacimus Hierom c. ad pag. 235. n. And as to the last Objection that our Churches were true Churches when we made no particular Professions I Answer 1. Without some Profession of true Christianity our Churches could not have been true Churches And therefore against those that would prove them no Churches we plead and justly that a Profession was made by them 2. But I pray you mark that that will prove a Church to be a true Church which will not prove every person in the Parish to be a true Member of that Church 3. And he that thinks it enough that our Churches have a meer Metaphysical Verity such as Bishop Hall and multitudes of Learned Protestants allow the Church of Rome it self is as good a friend to it as he is to his wife or child that will let them go naked yea and be contented that they catch the plague or leaprosie yea and plead for it too and all because they have still the Truth of Humane Nature I know that any thing that may truly be called a Profession will in that point seem to prove the Being of the Church But as it will not seem to prove the well-being so an obscure Profession doth but obscurely prove the Being of it which an open plain Profession doth more clearly prove Let us not befriend either the Kingdom of darkness or the Seperatists so much as to leave our Churches so open to their exceptions and so apt to cherish and befriend their ignorance and infidelity of the world If coming to Church and sitting there be somewhat a probable argument that men do implicitly believe as that Church believes yet it 's a very dark proof that they understand what the Church believes especially when experience hath acquainted us with the Contray of many of them But now I have said this much for a personal and plain Profession I would faine know what any man hath against it The Church through the great mercy of God hath yet liberty to use it And we see how many thousands make a blind kind of shew of Christianity going from one publike duty to another and knowing not what they do And is there not need that they should be brought out into the open light and see their way If Covenanting with God the Father Son and Holy Ghost be the Essence of our Christianity in the Name of God I desire you to consider whether it be a thing to be hudled up in the dark Unless it be mens design to hide the Nature of Christianity and keep people in destructive ignorance and delude their Souls with a name and shew of a Religion which they understand not they will surely be willing that men should know the Covenant that they make and understand what they do before they enter into a Marriage bond with Christ if at Age or own it if they have been entered in infancy Why should we choose Darkness rather then Light Why should an Implicit Covenant and Profession be pleaded for when the being of a Profession is palam fateri openly to make known and when we know by sad experience that when we have all done the best we can to make our ignorant people understand we shall find enough ado to accomplish it Ignorance hath no need of frendship especially from Ministers it deserveth none especially in so great

the visible Church of the called 3. We are deeply sensible of the increase of Infidels here in England They are too thick about us under severall garbs especially under the maske of Seekers and are perswading people against the Christian Faith and truth of Scripture and the life to come and so much do these Apostates now abound that we have reason to be jealous of them And if any of you should strike in with good men that are of this censorious over rigorous way consider how farre they may make use of such to accomplish their designs If by you they can get almost all the world un-Churched in estimation and fifty for one if not an hundred for one in England actually un-Christened and their children after them left unbaptized what will follow I doubt this if God should not save us from your miscarriages When there is but one of an hundred in all the Land that is a Christian the rest will want neither malice nor power to put an end here to the Christian name or at least to the liberty and glory of Christianity They may choose our Parliaments for us and in a word do with us what they list when they are exasperated to the greatest hatred of us and cut off our liberties and set up Infidelity or Heathenism by a Law I trust God will never suffer this But let us take ●eed of gratifying Infidels and casting all our safety upon miracles lest we be found to be but foolish builders and tempters of God still you may find that over-doing is the most effectuall undoing And if you would find out the most dangerous enemies of the Gospell look for them among those that seem over zealous against the enemies of the Gospell and seem to over-doe in the work of the Gospell I desire to bring no party● of godly men into suspicion or odium by this but indeed I desire to counter-mine the Apostates and it would be the most amazing consounding thing that could befall us in this world if we should see the Church of God betraied into the hands of Infidels and the Gospell lost by the indiscreet and inconsiderate over-doing of those well-meaning men that did the work of Infidels and ungodly men for them while they thought that none were so much against them If the neck of Religion be broken among us I am afraid the imprudent will be some cause that would lead us above the top of the Ladder Sure I am between you both you have the easiest way to the flesh that run into extreams Durst I cast off Discipline and only preach and please all the parish in Sacraments and other Ordinances how easie a life should I have to the flesh And if I durst take out one of a hundred that are eminent in Piety that will scarce ever call me to any penall acts of Discipline I should have a much more easie life then the former But they are both so easie that I the more suspect them to be the fruit of the wisdome of the flesh Indeed both the extreames do cast off Discipline for the most part whatever they pretend One sort never meane to exercise it And the other sort extoll it and when they have done they separate a few of the best that are like to have no need of the troublesome part of it and so sit down without the exercise of it pretending to be Physicians but refusing to receive the sick into their Hospitals Brethren I speake not as an accuser but a Monitour and shall continue to pray for the Churches Purity and Peace while I am R. B. July 30. 1658. Dr H. Hammond In his view of the-Direct § 41. p. 45 46. For Confirmation which being so long and so scandalously neglected in this Kingdome though the Rule have also been severe and carefull in requiring it will now not so easily be digested having those vulgar prejudices against it yet must I most solemny profess my opinion of it That it is a most ancient Christian Custome tending very much to Edification which I shall make good by giving you this view of the manner of it It is this that every Rector of any Parish or Curate of charge should by a Familiar way of Chatechizing instruct the Youth of both Sexes within his Cure in the Principles of Religion so farre that every one of them before the usuall time of coming to the Lords-Supper should be able to understand the particulars of that vow made in Baptism for the Credenda and Facienda yea and Fugienda also what must be Believed what done and what forsaken and be able to give an intelligent account of every one of these which being done every such Childe so prepared ought to be brought to the B P for Confirmation Wherein the intent is that every such Child attain'd to years of Understanding shall singly and solemnly before God the B P and the whole Congregation with his own consent take upon himself the Obligation to that which his God-Fathers and God-Mothers in Baptism promised in his Name and before all those Reverend Witnesses make a Firm Publick Renued promise that by Gods help he will Faithfully endeavour to discharge that Obligation in every point of it and persevere in it all the dayes of his life Which resolution and promise so heightned with all those solemnities will in any reason have a mighty impression on the Child and an influence on his actions for ever after And this being thus performed by him the B P shall severally impose his hands on every such Child a ceremony used to this purpose by Christ himself and bless and pray for him that now that the Temptations of sinne begin more strongly in respect of his age to assault him he may receive Grace and Strength against all such Temptations or Assaults by way of prevention and speciall assistance without which obtained by Prayer from God he will never be able to do it This is the Sum of Confirmation and were it rightly observed and no man admitted to the Lords-Table that had not thus taken the Baptisme-Bond from the Sureties into his own Name and no man after that suffered to continue in the Church which brake it wilfully but turned out of those Sacred Courts by the power of the keys in Excommunication It would certainly prove by the Blessing of God were it begun a most effectuall meanes to keep men at least within some terms of Christian civility from fallings into open Enormious sinnes and that the defaming and casting out of this so blamelesse gainfull order would be necessary or usefull to any policy save only to defend the Devill from so great a blow and to sustaine and uphold his Kingdome I never had yet any Temptation or Motive to suspect or imagine Instead of considering any Objections of the adversary against this piece whether of Apostolicall or Ecclesiasticall Discipline which I never heard with any colour produced I shall rather express my most passionate wish unto my