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A03272
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The baptizing of the eunuch in three sermons vpon Act. 8. 36. 37. 38. By Samuel Hieron.
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Hieron, Samuel, 1576?-1617.
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1613
(1613)
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STC 13391; ESTC S119040
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44,470
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65
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which he requireth that we giue him our hart Å¿ Prou. 23.26 that that which we profes to do be done in singlenes He himselfe is a God of truth t Psal 31.5 and therefore can delight in none but such in whose spirit there is no guile u Psal 32.2 His chosen are called the Israel of God x Gal. 6.16 and it is the badge of a true Israelite to bee without Deceit y 1. Ioh. 1.47 A double heart is the marke of the vngodly z Psal 12 2. and God commands vs to purge out this leauen if we would draw neere vnto his Maiesty a Iam. 4.8 The true worshippers shall worship him in Truth for the father requireth euen such b Ioh 4 23. It remaineth as a blemish in the name of the old Israelites that albeit they made a shew of seeking God yet their Heart was not vpright with him neither were they faithfull in his Couenant c Psal 78.37 Thus much to shew the necessity of vnfainednes and of doing that with the Heart which we doe in all things which concerne God and so by consequence in the matter of Faith God is Truth Christ is Truth the holy Ghost is the spirit of truth How can Faith make vnion betwixt God and vs vnlesse it be Faith of truth d 2. Thes 2.13 This point will not bee so profitable in the application vnlesse we looke a little more neerely into it to finde out what that speciall point is in respect whereof Faith is said to be with all the heart The heart is the seat and fountaine of all the affections A man therefore belieueth with all the heart when that which is belieued is become as it were the center of all his affections the maine marke and matter of his loue delight ioy c. so that whatsoeuer els is loued or delighted in is so respected only for the sake of that principall scope and so far forth as it leadeth and draweth towards it As for example The maine obiect of Faith is Christ now then to belieue in Christ with all the heart is to fasten a mans whole affiance his whole ioy his whole contentment only vpon him So that Christ beareth the whole sway and principality in his affections and the maine end why his Faith worketh and striueth towards him and why he desireth to be vnited to him is not so much the good and saluation of his owne soule as the enioying of him in whom all fulnesse dwelleth e Col. 1.19 and in whom the Treasures of all godnesse are laid vp There may be a relying and a belieuing vpon Christ which may bee said to be true and vndissembled in this respect because the party in whom it is doth indeed doe that which he professeth to doe neither doth speake contrary to his secret thoughts when he saith he beleeueth in Christ and yet is not this the Faith with all the heart here spoken of As for example I doubt not but a Papist speaketh truly and as hee meaneth when he saith he beleeueth to be saued by Iesus Christ yet notwithstanding there wanteth in him this quality of belieuing with all his heart because he hath also a secret dependance vpon the helpe of Saints vpon the intercession of the virgin Mary vpon the merit of some worke or action of his owne Here Christ hath not all his heart because he hath diuided it betwixt him and some other obiects So againe among our selues I doubt not but many professe soothly and without fraude in auouching that they haue cast all their hope of saluation only vpon Iesus Christ and yet there is a defect in there Faith and that in this particular that it is not with all the heart because their Heart draweth not towards Christ seeketh not to be knit to Christ only for Christs sake and because of that worth and excellency which is conceiued to bee in him but for some other by-respect and for their owne sakes For let mee make this knowne vnto you which is not generally considered it is possible for a reprobate to goe thus far namely to acknowledge there is no saluation in any other but in Christ to disclaime all hope saue only by him to desire truly and with his soule to haue a part in him and to account himselfe happy if hee might haue fauour with God through him thus far he may come and yet still Christ hath not all his Heart because the principall drift and aime of his respecting Christ is his owne saluation by Christ why will some man say what shall a man els aime at in beleeuing vpon Christ but only saluation by Christ Answere I deny not but that it is lawfull to loue Christ and to rest vpon Christ for saluations sake but I say withall that he which esteemeth Christ for nothing els but to be saued by him shall neuer be saued by him My Heart is to my selfe it is not to Christ if I make account of him and seeke to him only for my benefit So then Christ is belieued with all the heart when the enioying of Christ is the scope of our belieuing I desire not to enioy Christ so much because I would be saued as thus I desire to be saued that I might enioy Christ My Heart is to Christ as to the maine to mine owne saluation as to the inferior and as to a matter therefore only worthy the desiring because it leadeth vnto Christ Thus I hope we now see 1. that that Faith which is effectuall to saluation is only that which is a belieuing with all the heart and then 2. that that is a beleeuing with all the Heart when Christ who is the obiect of Faith and is acknowledged to bee a sole and complete sauior is laboured after principally for himselfe my heart is towards him for his owne sake more then for mine owne saluation sake I know I can not depend vpon him and be made one with him but it will bee for my profit yet I looke not so much vpon that as I doe vpon him yea and I striue to be affected as Iob to continue my Faith and my trusting to him though he should slay mee f Iob. 13.15 though I should not only not get good by him but receiue some sharpenes from him We must couple this point with the former The vse and I wish we may well digest it and that we could bee perswaded to bestow some part of our thoughts vpon it euery day Ardua ras est fides Hierony It is no easie thing rightly to beleeue Not euery one that taketh the name of Iesus into his mouth shall by and by bee saued no nor yet euery one which goeth further then a superficiall naming him It is possible to vnderstand the mystery of Christ to professe truly and vndissemblingly a dependance onely vpon Christ and as it were to set vp a mans rest on this that no man can come vnto God
is no certainty for it that they baptized none but such as were able to make acknowledgement of their Faith There is more probability on the contrary that they baptized euen some infants as namely when they baptized whole families as Lydia and her houshold Å¿ Act. 16.18 the Iaylor with all that belonged to him t Ds 33. Crispus with all his houshold u Act. 18 8 the houshold of Stephanas x 1 Cor. 1.16 Albeit a man cannot make a certaine demonstration that in these generall Baptismes administred to whole families there were some infants baptized with the rest yet it were very strange if there should be none in none of these housholds and to say that there is in such speeches and figuratiue speaking all the family being put for the greatest part of the family and so vnder that colour to exclude infants is but an indifferent euasion it being a rule that we are not to account any thing as figuratiuely where there is no necessity for the auoyding of some manifest inconuenience like to follow if the words of the sentence should bee taken properly Be it that none of all these things wil serue to iustifie the Baptisme of infants yet vnable to make confession of their faith yet their interest into the promise of God is a sufficient plea that promise is made to them that beleeue and to their children y Act. 2 39. If then the promise belong to infants why not also the seale of the promise It may be some may make doubt of this reason because it may seeme by the like argument that vnto infants also ought to be giuen the Sacrament of the Lords Supper They haue a right to the promise and why not also to the seale of the promise so may some dispute Answere Indeed this mooued some among the antients to giue this other Sacrament euen to infants as Cyprian z Serm. 5. de lapsis and Augustine a De ecc dog c. 52. the latter of which two was the rather strengthened therein by mistaking Christs words Except ye eat the flesh of the sonne of man and drinke his blood yee haue no life in you b Ioh. 6.53 supposing those words to bee ment of the Sacrament of the Lords Supper he accounted the vse therof of necessity to saluation But the Truth is that the reason fetched from the interest into Gods promise which doth prooue infants to haue a right into Baptisme is not of like force to prooue them to haue a right into this Sacrament For besides the difference betwixt the two Sacraments in respect that the one is the Sacrament of entrance into the Church and therefore agreeing to infants the other the Sacrament of proceeding and therefore fit only for those which are of grouth in Christ besides this I say there be certaine expresse restraints to be collected out of the rules set downe for the maner of receiuing the Lords Supper as namely that in vsing it there must be an examining of ones selfe c 1 Cor. 21. there must bee a discerning the Lords body d ver 29. there must be a Remembrance e Vs 25. of Christ which be things whieh infants cannot reach to Thus haue I endeuoured to cleere this point touching the limitation of this doctrine of the necessity of faith to the right partaking of the Sacraments proouing it to be vnderstood only in the point of Baptisme of these that are of yeares and that this course taken by the Apostles in baptiszing those of yeares is no preiudice at all to the baptisme of infants but that still it remaineth firme and sure that children borne in the Church ought to bee admitted to the Sacrament which may be a pleadge of their admission into the Church and whereby also much comfort may returne vnto their parents God being pleased hereby to giue euidence of the truth of his promise that he is not ashamed f Heb. 11.76 to be called both our God and the God of our seed also The maine and speciall vse of this doctrine is to be a direction to vs The vse how we may learne to make the right vse of that Sacrament of Baptisme which in our infancy we receiued The best vse of Baptisme is to vse it as a store-house of comfort as indeed it is being applied a right Now as no man not baptized till he is of yeares can bee comfortably and effectually baptized vnlesse hee beleeue so no man baptized in his infancy can when he commeth to yeares comfortably make vse of his Baptisme vnlesse he beleeue There is an old popish opinion which is firmely held by ignorant men women and it is this that Baptisme doth confer grace of and by it selfe howsoeuer the party bee disposed that receiue it And so people generally hold a conceipt that there is a kinde of vertue and Christendome as they call it infused into them by the hauing of this Sacrament howsoeuer they be affected But this is a meere fiction and fancy without truth It is a kinde of lifting vp the Sacrament aboue the naturall condition thereof and ministers of the Sacrament are thereby made workers of miracles as if their Arte did regenerate of it selfe Peter saith that the washing of the flesh doth not saue g 1 Pet. 3.2 Simon Magus was baptized and yet after that remained in the gall of bitternesse and bond of Iniquity h Act. 13.23 and many of the old Israelites were baptized vnder Moses with whom God was not pleased i 1 Cor. 10.2.5 Paul saith Christ sanctified his Church by the washing of water through the word k Eph. 5.26 So that it is the beleeuing and receiuing of the word that maketh the Sacrament to be effectuall Let no man therefore glory in his Baptisme vnlesse he haue Faith If thou who hast beene baptized shall say vnto me in some such maner as the Eunuch spake to Philip See I haue beene baptized what should let me to assure my selfe that I am a Christian I cannot but answer thee as Philip did If thou beleeuest c. thou maist Let vs looke to this one thing therefore euen to our Faith Faith is the tenure by which we hold heauen Baptisme is but the seale to confirme it Faith if we haue it will appeare by this It worketh by loue l Gal. 5.6 and what loue a loue to three things To the author of Faith and that will appeare by obedience m Ioh. 14.15 2 To the word of Faith n Rom. 10.8 For he which is of God heareth Gods word o Ioh. 8.47 and faith cannot but loue that whereby it is begotten and built vp further 3 To the houshold of Faith p Gal. 6.10 He that loueth him which begat loueth him also which is begotten of him q 1. Ioh. 51. such an one will loue euen the name of a disciple r Math. 10.42 Try then your Baptisme by