and disparage him If God therefore were jealous of his Saints who are his friends and his best beloued to whom hee doth communicate his secrets and his will they would not nay they could not put their trust â—…n him Yea it would cause them for to call his promises and truth into question wherein hee hath promised to preserue them from Apostacie to keepe them from falling and to put his feare into their hearts that they should not depart from him and the like Wherefore they must and doe take all these Scriptures to be nothing else but so many motiues and incouragements both from the danger and the profit to stirre them vp to a finall constant vigilant circumspect and cheerefull perseuerance in grace which is the true the proper and only vse and end of them So that these objections and arguments which you â—…rame from these and such like Scriptures are but friuolous and idle they are but meere inconsequencies and come not to the purpose Lastly the Saints of God by the helpe and assistance of Gods Spirit doe aâ—…waies perforâ—…e these conditions they doe continue stedfast in the faith they doe perseuere vnto the end they are alwayes adding one grace vnto another they doe still hold on their way they still grow stronger and stronger they mount vp with wings as Eagles they runne and are not wearie they walke and doe not faint they walke in gods statutes and they keepe his iuagements and doe them Iob 17. 9. Isai. 49. 31. 〈◊〉 36. 27. therefore they shall neuer fall therefore they shall be saued so that these conditionall speeches proue only that they cannot fall from grace because that God doth alwayes inable them for to performe the conditions The eleuenth obiection which may be made against mee is that of Heb. 10. 35 38. Cast not away your confidence which hath great recompence of reward If any man draw backe my soule shall haue no pleasure in him From whence this argument may bee framed The Saints of God may cast away their confidence draw backe from God and loose Gods fauour therefore they may fall from grace I answer that the Antecedent is false and is not warranted by the text That the Saints of God may cast away their confidence I answer first that the text it selfe doth not warrant it For two reasons First because these words cast not away your confidence c. are nothig else but an earnest exhortation which the Apostle makes to the Hebrewes to cause them to continue constant in the faith and in the assurance of Gods loue to them mauger all those afflictions which did befall them they are nothing else but an exhortation vnto constancie and perseuerance in the state of grace and therefore they doe not imply a fall from grace All the argument that you can haue from these words in this sense is this The Hebrewes are exhorted to perseuere in grace therefore they may fall from grace which is but a nugatory and absurd inconsequent Secondly the Apostle tells vs in the former verse that these Hebrewes were assured of their saluation and that they knâ—…w that they had in heauen a farre better and induring substance then their earthly goods and possessions were therefore these subsequent words of the Apostle doe not necessarily intimate that these Hebrewes might fall from grace and so loose that heauenly substance and treasure of which they were assured for then this would contradict his former words and take away that certaintie of saluation which hee had attributed to them before Secondly admit that these Hebrewes might cast away their confidence and assurance of Gods loue and call their saluation into question in times of pressure affliction yet it followes not that therefore they might cast away their faith and those habits and seeds of grace which were within them for the strongest faith may doubt and stagger now and then and such as haue most grace may in times of pressure and temptation call Gods eternall loue and fauour to them â—…to question and yet their faith and graces may not faile Christians may cast away or loose their confidence and the comfortable assurance of Gods loue fauour for a time which is but a degree and fruite of faith though their faith and graces do habitually remaine within them Wherefore make the most you can of this exhortation your collection from it will bee onely this The Saints of God may loose the degrees and acts of grace therefore they may fall from the habits and state of grace which is but a meere Noniquitur For the other part of the Antecedent that the Saints of God may draw backe from God and so loose his fauour I answer that if you take this word draw backe for nothing else but the losse of the degrees of their loue and vnion vnto Christ which is not the meaning of the Apostle then I agree it But if you take it for a totall withdrawing of their soules froÌ„ God for a totall Apostacie and falling from God which is the true and proper meaning of the Apostle then I denie it because it is not warranted by the text For those that thus draw backe they are not any such as are true beleeuers and truly ingraâ—…ted into Iesus Christ but onely hypocrites and such as made an outward formall shew and profession of religion and had neuer any true and justifying faith at all within them which appeares most euidently by these two reasons taken from the very text it selfe The iust shall liue by faith but if any man draw backe my soule shall haue no pleasure in him The just men who haue a true and liuing faith are here put in opposition to those that haue it not but only in outward shew Those that haue this true and sauing faith they liue by it their faith doth liue and hold out euen in times of persecuâ—…ion it neuer dies nor yet expires those who haue not this true and liuing faith and yet make an outward profession and shew of faith in times of peace they alwaies doe and will draw backe in times of triall when persecution ariseth because of the word of God by and by they are offended like the stonie ground Math. 13. 2â—… they will rather draw backe from God then suffer for him therefore Gods soule shall haue no pleasure in them Which Antithesis betweene the iust who liue by faith and those that draw backe proues vndeniablie that such as draw backe are no true beleeuers who liue by faith but onely hypocrites and such beleeuers who had no truth of grace at all within them Secondly it is euidently proued by the Antithesis in the next insuing verse But wee that is wee who are true beleeuers are not of them who draw backe vnto perdition wee neuer fall from grace nor yet deny the profession of Gods name but of them that beleeue to the sauing of the soule our faith it alwaies continues to the end and wee doe alwaies
Rom. 14. 13. verse 20. is no more in substance and sense but this That stronger Christians must so much respect the weaker as that they must not giue them any just occasion of scandall or offence to wound and vexe their consciences to breed any sâ—…rupels or doubts in them to weaken their loue to God to discourage them in the practise of religion or to prouoke them vnto any sinne and not that scandals can make weake Christians in whom there is any truth of grace begun to Apostatize or to renounce the faith or to fall finally or totally from grace for this these scandals cannot do they cannot cause any of the true sheepe of Christ any that truly feare the Lord or belong vnto the â—…old of Christ to fall from grace or to depart from God and perish Iohn 10. 28. Ier. 32. 40. and 1 Iohn 2. 19. To answer this obiection in a word I answer that there is a double perishing the one in respect of such as giue the scandall and offence the other in respect of such as doe receiue it A weake brother may vtterly perish in respect of those that giue the scandall and offence that is they may doe as much as in them lies to cause him for to perish and to renounce the faith and therefore God will take it as ill at their hands as if hee had actually perished for it is onely Gods mercie which supports him and not their scandall that offends him that keepes him from Apostacie therefore God is as much offended with them as if they had perished in good earnest But yet such a brother doth neuer actually perish in respect of himselfe he doth neuer actually Apostatize and fall from grace This place proues on ely that hee may perish in respect of him that giues the offence but yet not actually in respect of himselfe and therefore it makes not against me The fifteenth obiection is that of the 1 Tim. 5. 11 12. The yonger widowes refuse for when they haue begun to waxe wanton they will marry hauing damnation because they haue cast off their first faith From whence this argument may be framed Regenerate men may cast off their first faith and so bee damned for it therfore they may fall away from the state of grace To this I answer first that the Antecedent is false and is not warranted by this text For Paul speakes not here of true regenerate men and of such as were really ingrafted into Christ but of young petulant and wanton widowes whose light and vnchast behauiour doth euidently proue that they had no grace or faith at all within them So that your argument hence can be no more but this Young petulant and wanton widowes may fall from grace therefore such as are once truly regenerated may doe so to which is no good consequent Secondly I answer that faith in this place doth not signifie the grace of true justifying and sauing faith but that vow of chastitie and perpetuall widdowhood which widdowes vsed for to make in former times when as they had their vse and place in thâ—… Church of God as appeares by the very sense and scope of the place Againe damnation in his place signifies only blame or reproofe or an Ecclesiasticall censure or punishment as excommunication or the like which was vsed to be inflicted vpon delinquents in this kinde and not eternall condemnation of soule and body in hell or the state of damnation So that the true and proper sense of the place is no more but this Widdowes that breake the vow of chastity either by marrying againe or by incontinency are to bee blamed and censured by the Church for breach of this their vow because they are an occasion of scandall and reproach vnto the Church What maket this to a totall or finall fall from grace Surely nothing at all and therefore I passe it ouer without any further answer The sixteenth objection is this A man man receiue the grace of God in vaine and beleeue in vaine as appeares by the 2 Cor. 6. 1. and 1 Cor. 15. 2. Therefore hee may fall from the state of grace I answer first that if you take the grace of God for the habituall graces of Gods Spirit and beleife for true and sauing faith then the Antecedent is false and is not warranted by these places of Scripture which are quoted but if you take grace for the word of grace and the offer of Christ to men in the Gospell and beliefe for an historicall and common faith as they are taken here by the Apostle then the argument is false and followes not Now that this place of Paul is meant onely of the word of grace and of the offer of grace to men in the Gospell and not of the habituall graces of Gods Spirit it appeares by the coherence and dependancie of the 2 Cor. 6. 1. vpon the 2 Cor. 5. 19 20. God hath committed vnto vs the word of reconciliation Now then wee are ambassadors for Christ as though God did bee seech you by vs wee pray you in Christs steed bee yee reconciled to God wee then as workers together with him befeech you also that yee receiue not the grace of God in vaine which proues that this is onely meant of the offer of grace and Christ to men and not of the habit and seed of grace it selfe So that your argument from hence can bee no more but this Men may heare the word of God in vaine therefore the true regenerate Saints of God may fall from the state of grace a strange in consequent For that of the 1 Cor. 15. 2. vnlesse yee haue beleeued in vaine it is not meant of a true liuing sauing and justifying faith but of an historicoll fruitlesse dead and in-effectuall faith or beliefe which did neuer truly regenerate transforme the heart and soule of those who did injoy it This doth fully appeareby the opposition Antithesis in the samâ—… verse By which yee are saued vnlesse yee haue beleeued in vaine so that sauing faith is here put in opposition to this vaine beliefe which proues that this vaine beliefe was no true and ustifying faith So that your argument from hence must be this Men may loose a vaine and ineffectuall faith therefore the true regenerate Saints of God may fall from the seeds and habit of true justifying faith Secondly I answer that these two places proue nothing for your conclusion admitting that they were meant of true habituall grace and faith for the one of them is but a meere exhortation the other a bare exception and condition neither of them is absolute and positiue So that your argument from them can bee but this The Saints of God are exhorted not to receiue the grace of God in vaine and they shall bee saued vnlesse they beleeue in vaine therefore they may fall away from grace which is but an idle consequence and rather deserues to be derided then answered So that this objection doth
affirme that it is not the Doctrine of the Church of England and that these words of the Common prayer Booke doe not warrant it And lastly if all these faile me I shall denie the Argument and proue vnto you that it followes not and that though the Antecedent and the Argument were both true yet that they are both impertinent to our present purpose For the first of these that all Infants that are baptized are not by their very Baptisme truly regenerated and ingrafted into Christ but only Sacramentally I shall make it good by these subsequent reasons First because the Sacraments doe neuer conuey any inward and spirituall grace which may truly regenerate and ingraft men into Christ but where there is the hand of faith for to receiue them and that grace which is conueyed by them This is euident by Mark 16. 16. not he that is baptized only but he that beleeueth is baptized shall bee saued but hee that beleeueth not though hee be batized shall bee damned therefore it is not baptisme of it selfe but faith which doth regenerate and saue men So Acts 8. 36. 37. When the Aethiopian Eunuch demanded of Philip behold here is water what doth hinder mee to be baptized Philip returnes him this answer If thou beleeuest withall thine heart thou maist intimating that his baptisme without faith would doe him no good at all that it could not regenerate him nor yet conuey any grace into his soule So Gal. 3. 26 27. Yee are all the children of God by faith in Christ Iesus for as many of you as were baptized into Christ haue put on Christ. It was the Galathians faith and not their Baptisme which made them the adopted sonnes of God for in Christ Iesus neither circumcision auaileth any thing no nor yet Baptisme which succeedeth it neither vncircumcision but faith which worketh by loue Gal. 5. 6. Baptisme without faith is in effectuall it may wash and purifie the body but it can neuer wash purifie regenerate and cleanse the soule vnlesse it bee accompanied with faith which workes by loue and with true repentance For it is faith only that purifieth the heart Acts 15. 8. it is Repentance and not Baptisme that doth wash away our sinnes Baptisme without repentance it cannot doe it therefore Peter Acts 2. 36 37 38. doth joyne them both together For when his auditors that were pricked at the heart demanded of him what they should doe Hee answers them thus Repent and bee baptized in the name of Iesus Christ for the remission of sinnes and yee shall receiue the gift of the holy Ghost If Baptisme without repentance had beene sufficient to haue regenerated them and purified them from their sins Peter would neuer haue aduised them for to repent withall for that had beene superfluous but his joyning of repentance and baptisme thus together intimates that the one is not effectuall without the other It is faith only that doth iustifie vs and ingraft vs into Christ Rom. 4. 3. 5. cap. 5. 1. 2 Cor. 13. 5. Gal. 5. 6. and Ephes. 2. 8. it is faith onely that doth make the Sacraments effectuall to regenerate vs and ingraft vs into Christ this I am sure is the doctrine of our Church Now all those Infants which are baptized no nor all those that are baptized at their ripe yeares be they Anâ—…baptists or such as are newly conuerted to the faith they haue not this grace of true sauing and justifying faith within them and therefore they are not truly regenerated by their baptisme As it is said of the word of God Heb. 4. 2. that it profited them not because it was not mixed with faith in them that heard it So I may say of Baptisme that it regenerates not all Infants because all haue not faith that doe receiue it Secondly all Infants that are baptized are not truly regenerated and ingrafted into Christ by their very baptisme because this would make the Sacrament of baptisme effectuall to all that doe receiue it which cannot be First because that this would make baptisme to bee quite different from all the other ordinances of God and meanes of grace For the Sacrament of the Lords Supper it profits not all alike to all vnworthy communicants it is the cause of damnation it is a cause of grace to none but such as doe receiue in a worthy manner so the word of God though it be the sauour of life vnto life to some yet it is the sauour of death vnto death to others that doe heare it 2 Cor. 2 16. So it is of all the other meanes of grace whatsoeuer they are not effectuall to worke grace in all and therefore Baptisme cannot doe it There is the same reason of all Gods ordinances where one of them is effectuall all of them are effectuall where one of them is ineffectuall there all of them are ineffectuall to for else there should be a great confusion and jarring in the ordinances of God a man should then bee saued by one ordinance of God suppose by Baptisme and damned by another by the vnworthy receiuing of the Lords Supper or by the vnprofitable hearing of the word of God which the God of order peace and vnion can neuer suffer There is a sweet harmonie and mutuall agreement betweene all the meanes of grace and ordinances of God they alwayes goe hand in hand together they all worke within the same sphere and compasse one of them is no larger then the other where one is effectuall there the others are or at least may be to Wherefore since the other ordinances of God are not effectuall to regenerate and to worke grace in all no more can Baptisme doe it Secondly Baptisme cannot regenerate all alike because circumcision which was a type of Baptisme did not doe it All those that were circumcised with the outward circumcision of the flesh were not circumcised with the inward circumcision of the heart and spirit whose praise is not of man but of God Rom. 2. 28 29. therefore all those that are outwardly baptized with water are not inwardly baptized with the holy Ghost and with fire Baptisme is come in the place of circumcision and therefore it must be of the same effect as circumcision was and so it is For as there was an outward circumcision of the flesh which was common to all and an inward circumcision of the heart which was proper only to the elect of God so there is an outward Baptisme or putting away of the filth of the flesh only which is common to all but saues none and an inward baptisme of the Spirit which is the answer of a good conscience towards God this is the Baptisme which doth regenerate and saue men of which all that are baptized are not partakers but only such as are elected to saluation Thirdly all that are baptized are not alike regenerated by their baptisme because this would take away the libertie of Gods Spirit which breatheth when and where it listeth
and as one who neuer had as yet any truth of sauing grace within him but likewise as a friend vnto Arminians and the Church of Rome and as an open and professed enemie to the grace of God and to the Doctrine of our Church if any of you will be so bold as to take vp this challenge this present Treatise or if not this another shall make it good against him so as the peace of this our Church bee not disturbed by it But if that your assertion be the positiue Doctrine of our Church as perchance you doe pretend it for to be how then doth it appeare to be so Sure I am our Articles our reuerend and learned writers our Religious professors and our Diuinity Schooles our reuerend Ministers throughout the Kingdome haue alwaies cryed it downe till now as blasphemous Papisticall and heriticall and there is not one approued writer of our English Church that did euer dare as yet to publish it vnto the world as sound and orthodox or as the Doctrine of our Church And if it be the Doctrine of our Church why do you not ioyne issue on it and put it to the tryall why do you not answer and refute but only labour to suppresse the workes of those who doe oppose it and challenge it as vnsound Indeede the truth is this you know your cause is bad you know that this your Doctrine is but false and counterfeite and quite repugnant to the Doctrine of our Church and therefore you dare not put it to the tryall for feare it should be proued to be false you dare not go about to proue our position to be vnsound or to giue an answer vnto such as haue defended it all your labour is to quell it and to suppresse not to answer the workes of such as haue defended it And why is this let Lactantius relate the cause Timeut ne à nobis reiucti manus dare aliquandò clamante ipsâ veritate cogantur Obstrepunt igitur et intercedunt ne audiane et oculos suos opprimunt ne lumen videant quod offerimus quum neque cognoscere neque congredi audent quià sciunt se facilè superari Et idcircò disceptatione sublata pellitur è medio sapientia vi geritur res You know you are not able for to answer and therefore you labour to suppresse our workes thinking to carry away the cause by force and pollicy and to suppresse the truth before it shall be able to come vnto a just legall tryall But remember that Intercipere scripta et publicatam velle submergere lectionem non est Deos defendere sed veritatis testificationem timere this is not to confute but to suppresse the truth this it not to confirme and proue but to condemne and marre your cause That gold which dreads the touchstone is but counterfeite that felon who refuseth his tryall doth but confesse himselfe guilty and that doctrine which hates the light and will not come vnto it which would establish it selfe by force and policy and not by truth and honest dealing it doth but discouer it selfe to be euill false and counterseite Whiles therefore you labour to suport your haerisie by force and pollicy and by suppressing of the truth you doe but daube with vntempered morter and marre it whiles you make it Wherefore giue ouer now for very shame your sinester and disloyall practises of which the world takes notice though you thinke not of it peruert not any longer the godly and religious intent of our gratious Soueraigne to a wicked and irreligious end and make not that an instrument to suffocate curbe the truth of God and Doctrine of our Church which hee intended should support inlarge and â—…uccor them How euer take this instruction from an ancient Father Nulla lex vetat discuti quod prohibet admitti Or if the saying of a Pope will please you better let Leo tell you thus much for your learning Quae patefacta sunt quaerere quae perfecta sunt retractare et quae sunt definita coâ—…ellore quid aliud est quam 〈◊〉 adeptis gratiam non referre et ad interdictae arboris cibum 〈◊〉 probos appetitus mortiferae cupiditatis extendere I know not whether you will I am sure you may apply it You see now how scandalous how sleight how false and forged all these your accusations are you see they are but shifts for to euade and colours to oppose the truth and such as doe professe it and defend it they are but meere impostures and pretences whereby the diuill and your owne deceitfull hearts doe labour for to blinde your eyes and to keepe you still in darkenesse to stupifie your hâ—…arts and consciences and so to set you in opposition against all gâ—…ace and goodnesse that so they may depriue you of your soules at last Consider therefore these wiles and pollicies of Satan and looke vnto the end of all your actions Consider who and what it is that sets you now on worke to slaunder and traduce the Saints of God and to oppose his truth and know that it is not the God of peace and vnion the God of grace and truth but the very Diuill himselfe the very spirit of Antechrist and the enemy of all grace and goodnesse who out of some carnall wicked sinister and by respects hath put you on this seruice aske but your owne brests and the secret whisperings of your owne consciences and they will tell you so And therefore though I haue spoken somewhat sharply to you before to make you know your selues the want of which knowledge if Lactantius may bee credited is the cause of all your Errors so now I doe euen beseech you by the mercies of God and by the death of Iesus Christ your Sauiour who died for you that you should no longer liue vnto your selues but vnto him that now you would lay downe your armes of rebellion and vomit vp your bitter hatred malice and dispite against all grace and goodnesse and such as doe excell in piety and holinesse that so you may with all meeknesse of spirit and humility of heart and minde submit vnto this comfortable and holy truth which here I offer and expose vnto you which will be the onely joy the onely comfort and safety of your soules If you will but seririously consider it and ponder it in your hearts and desire God to sanctifie and blesse it to you if you will but reade it with meeke and quiet spirits with indifferent and impartiall mindes and with an earnest desire to finde out the truth it may bee it may rectifie your judgements and reforme your liues it may bee it may doe you good and saue your soules But if you will shut your eyes and will not see if you will stoppe your eares and will not heare or if you will harden your hearts not consider If you will proceed for to oppose and persecute the Doctrine and the
thing as where it is once possessed it cannot bee lost Philosophers could say that hee was neuer a happy man that might afterwards become miserable if morall happinesse were so permanent shall not Christian happinesse which farre excells it be so to Doubtlesse those whom God himselfe pronounceth blessed are blessed and happy men for the present yea and they shall bee such for euer Gen. 27. 33. and Num. 23. 8. 20. God himselfe hath pronounced all such as are once truly regenerated and ingrafted into Christ to bee blessed and happy men as I haue proued it at large before therefore they are and shall be such for euer Now this position if it were granted would quite depriue the Saints of God of all their happinesse it would strip and robbe them of their graces which are the only treasure of their soules and make them of all men most miserable where as they are the only blessed of the Lord wherefore this posiâ—…ion cannot be granted to bee true euen in this respect Thirdly it depriues the Saints of God of all true joy and comfort it robs them of that peace of conscience of that joy and comfort of the holy Ghost of those spirituall and heauenly consolations which are more sweet and pleasant to them then life it selfe or all things in the world besides and so vnutterable and beyond expression that none can know the pleasantnesse and sweetnesse of them but such as feele them and inioy them it robs and spoyles the hearts and soules of all true faithfull Christians of those inestimable and invaluable ioyes and consolations and fills their soules with doubts with terrors and amazements For wâ—…at is that which doth so joy so comfort and refresh the hearts and soules of faithfull Christians What is that which fills them full of joy vnspeakeable aud glorious but only this that their names are written in heauen that their peace is made for euer with God that they are justified and sanctified by Iesus Christ that they are passed from death to life and shall neuer come into condemnation that they are so established and settled in the state of grace that they shall neuer fall nor be remoued from it and that they are so thorowly ingrafted into Christ that they shall neuer bee broken off from him againe But if this once were true that these Christians might either finally or totally fall from grace that they might vtterly loose all the good things which they had done in all their liues so that they should not bee any more remembred that they might loose Gods loue and fauour loose Christ Iesus and all the rich benefits and merits of his death and passion loose the holy Ghost and all the comforts and graces which they haue by him How dolefull how miserable then should the state of Christians bee how would their soules droope and languish with griefe and heauinesse which now doe euen dance and leape for joy how would their zeale their loue and courage be abated how would their mindes and consciences bee perplexed how would the diuell vex and torture them after euery small and little sinne which they should commit with this Quare doâ—… I yet perseuere am I yet in the state of grace or am I not already fallen from it by my sinnes Certainly if this exposition were once imbraced as a truth the diuell would so tyrannize ouer weake scrupulous and tender-hearted Christians by this meanes that he would euen driue theâ—… almost vnto dispaire and send them downe with griefe and sorrow to their graues where as else they should haue alwayes cause to laugh and sing The state of Christians is a state of joy God himselfe commands them to reioyce euermore To reioyce in the Lord alwayes and againe for to reioyce To bee ioyfull in glory and to sing aloud in their beds for ioy of heart Therefore this position which would depriue the Saints of God of their very heauen vpon earth of all their sweet and heauenly joyes and consolations and of all the grounds and causes of their joy and fill their soules with doubts feares griefes discouragements tâ—…ares and amazements must needs be odious false and dangerous and cannot be admitted Fourthly it breedes dispaire in the hearts and soules of all regenerated and sanctisied Christians For if the Saints of God after their true regeneration and inscision into Christ might either finally or totally fall from grace how would this perplex the soules and consciences of all regenerate Christians and driue them to dispaire especially in times of sicknesse and temptations wherein Satan doth most commonly set on their sinnes and presse them on their consciences of purpose for to driue them to despaire Tender hearts and consciences which are thorowly wounded and touched with the sense of sinne and are apt to bee dejected vpon euery small occasion with the apprehension of Gods wrath would soone be driuen to despaire if this were true For if any sinne or lust should ouercome them if any temptation or sicknesse should befall them how then would the diuell tyrannize and triumph ouer them Hee would then bee alwayes suggesting this vnto them and pressing it vpon their consciences You are now fallen quite away from grace you are now cut off from God and Christ by these and these your sinnes you were once the children of God but now you are now the sonnes of Satan and vessells of wrath fitted only for destruction You are now fallen quite away from that state of grace wherein you stood before and so it is impossible for you to be renewed by repentance any more Your last end now shall bee farre worse then euer your biginâ—…ing was and because that you haue cast off God hee hath now for euer cast off you you haue committed a wilfull sinne in departing and falling from his grace and therefore there is no more sacrifice and oblation for sinne remaining but a certaine fearefull expectation of iudgement and fiery indignation which shall deuoure you What can poore perplexed and distressed soules answer vnto these objections or the like when Satan shall assault them with them and presse them on their consciences They cannot say wee were in the state of grace before and therefore wee are sure that wee continue in it now because it is impossible for vs to fall from it for this were quite contrary to this assertion They dare not say that they haue committed no such sinne as might disturbe them from the state of grace and cut them off from Christ because the diuell and their owne scrupulous and tender consciences doe testifie the contrary they date not for to say that they are still in Christ and if they are diâ—…cted and cut off from him they cannot hope to bee ingrafted into him againe because they haue so wilfully fallen from him and so they cannot but despaire whereas if they had this pillar this helpe and stay to rest their soules vpon Wee
know that wee were once ingrafted truly into Christ and therefore it is impossible for vs to bee broken off from him wee were once inuested into the state of Grace from which wee cannot fall and therefore we are now in Christ wee are in the sure state of grace and shall continue in it all our dayes This would be able to ward off all these fierce assaults of Satan that they should neuer hurt them this would comfort and beare vp their soules and keepe them from sinking in despaire this would make men for to die with ioy and comfort and to lie downe and rest in peace For then they might say with Paul Wee haue finished our course wee haue fought a good fight and wee haue kept the faith henceforth there is laid vp for vs a crowne of glory Whereas now they cannot die with ioy with comfort and assurance and lie downe in peace because they are not sure of their perseuerance they are not sure of their state of grace it may be that they are alreadie fallen from their state of Grace for ought they know if not they may fall from it ere they die yea in the very last gappe and minute of their liues they may commit such sinnes as may cut them off from Christ for euer because they cannot liue for to repent of them before their death and so despâ—…iring or at least doubting of their owne saluation the diuell being aptest then for to assault them with desperate and auxious thoughts and feares when as they are neerest to their ends and least able to resist his fierce assaults they lie downe in terrour and rest in woe and griefe Alas what comfort could a godly and a Christian life which otherwise would comfort and reioyce the soule beyond expression bring any man at his death if this were true that hee might after all fall finally or totally from grace if all the workes and holy duties which hee had done or wrought in all his life might vtterly be lost and be remembred of the Lord no more If hee might loose the wages and reward of all his paines at last Certainly if faithfull Christians and holy men who are the only happy men on earth and haue the only cause for to reioyce and ioy continually might either finally or totally fall from grace they should of all men bee most wretched and miserable they should be stripped of all true comforts here and be driuen to despaire at the last day Away then with this Doctrine of a finall or totall fall from grace which sauoureth of nothing but of meere despaire God grant that those who doe maintaine it in their health may neuer feele the smart and terrour of it in their temptations sicknesses or deaths But you may perchance obiect that though regenerate men may fall totally from grace and so may bee discouraged and perplexed for the present yet they may comfort and sustaine their hearts and soules with this that God in his mercy may raise them vp againe and may in some good measure assure their soules that because God hath bestowed grace vpon them heretofore therefore he will be the more ready and willing to restore it to them againe and to impart it to them the second time To this I answere that you are much mistaken in this point and it is nothing so For their hauing of Grace bestowed on them heretofore doth rather argue that God will therefore bestow grace on them no more because they did not keepe it at the first God seldome or neuer giues those grace the second time who haue not kept it at the first Gods graces they are alwayes pretious hee will neuer cast them before such dogges and swine as haue lost and trampled them vnder foote before This is euident by all those places of Scripture which our Antagonists doe principally object against vs. For Ezech. 18. 24. When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousnesse and committeth iniquitie and doth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doth shall bee liue Marke the comfort which you talke of no all the righteousnesse which hee hath done shall bee no more remembred God will not so much as once respect it in his trespasse that hee hath trespassed and in his sinne that hee hath sinned in them shall hee die So Hebr. 6. 4 5 6. It is impossible for them who were once inlightened and haue tasted of the heauenly gift and were made partakers of the holy Ghost and haue tasted of the good word of God and of the powers of the world to come if they fall once away to renew themselues againe vnto repentance seeing that they crucifie againâ—… vnto themselues the Sonne of God and put him to open shame Marke the words it is impossible for such as fall totally from grace to be renewed againe vnto repentance they cannot bee ingrafted into Christ the second time Where then is the truth or comfort of your answer So Heb. 10. 26. 27. If wâ—… sinne wilfully after that wee haue receiued the knowledge of the truth there remaines no more sacrifice for sinnes but a certaine fearefull looking for of iudgement and fiery indignation to deuoure those that doe Apostatize from Grace These and such like Scriptures which are objected against vs for to proue a totall or a finall fall from true and sauing grace serue only to satisfie this objection to terrifie the hearts and daunt the soules of all such men as shall once fall from grace and to exclude them for euer from Gods mercy and from rising vp againe So that the possession and inioyment of grace before if it be once lost serues only for to proue that those which had it shall neuer haue it nor injoy it any more and not that God will therefore bee more ready and willing to bestow it on them againe And so the due consideration of all these Scriptures and this position of a totall or a finall fall from grace would driue men vnto finall desperation You therefore that maintaine this desperate and terrible doctrine of the finall or totall Apostacy of the Saints beware lest that you quench the smoaking flax and breake the bruised reede which Christ himselfe would neuer doe Beware lest you afflict and wound to desperation the tender and the broken heart the troubled conscience and the soft and tender soule which God himselfe commands you for to heale to comfort cherish and binde vp with the comfortable assurance of his immutable constant and perpetuall loue to them in Christ and with the impossibility of a finall or totall fall from grace If the pressing of this doctrine driue any to despaire as it cannot choose but doe vnlesse they are perswaded by Gods Spirit to the contrary their bloud and soules shall be required at your hands that presse it and Christ himselfe who is that good and great Shepheard of his sheepe which wil not suffer any of his sheepe to perish will
receiue the end and fruite of it euen the saluation of our soules This opposition therfore betweene those that hold out and those that draw backe this distinguishing and seuering of them doth euidently proue that such which draw backe from God are onely hypocrites and not true beleeuers so that your Antecedent is false and no waies warranted by this text of Scripture which comes not home vnto our purpose and doth no waies make against me Secondly admit that these words are spoken of such as haue true faith in them yet they are but conditionall If they draw backe not absolute and positiue or they do draw backe and therefore they proue not any thing against me The twelfth obiection that may bee made against mee is that of Dan. 11. 35. Some of those of vnderstanding that is some of the true and chosen Saints of God shall fall to try them to purge them and to make them white From which words this argument may be framed The true Saints of God may fall therefore they may fall from the state of grace I answer that the argument is false and followes not because this fall which the Prophet meanes in this place is not a fall from the state of grace but a fall into afflictions and temptations which appeares euidently by these vnanswerable reasons First because it is said that they shall fall to purge them to try them and to make them white now this a totall and a finall fall from grace or a fall into the mire and puddle of sin can neuer do for these falls doe wholly contaminate and defile men they neuer purge or purifie them that fall which purgeth trieth and makes men white is a fall into the fire of afflictions and temptations and no fall else 1 Pet. 1. 7 1 Cor. 3. 15. Iames 1. 12. Ezech. 22. 18. to 23. and cap. 24. 13. therefore this fall here must needes bee a fall into affliction and temptation and no other fall Secondly it must needes be so by reason of the connexion with the two former verfes where it is saide that those of vnderstanding among the people shall fall by the sword by the famine by captiuity and by the spoile for many daies which is onely a fall into afflictions and is the same fall which is meant in the 35. verse Lastly this must needes bee intended of a fall into affliction and not of a fall from grace because verse 32. it is saide that those onely that doe wickedly against the couenant shall bee corrupted with flatteries but the people which doe know their God shall doe exploites they shall not fall from God they shall not be corrupted from the Lord. This place then being onely intended of a fall into affliction and not of a fall from grace your argument followes not for it is no more in subâ—…tance but this The true regenerate Saints of God may fall into afflictions and temptations therefore they may fall from grace So this text and argument doth not hurt vs The thirteenth obiection that may bee brought against mee is that of Prou 24. 16. A iust man falleth seuen times therfore a regenerate man may fall from the state of grace For answer I shall deny the argument For this fall here spoken of is onely a fall into affliction and not a fall from grace This is euident both by the precedent and subsequent verses Lay not waight ô wicked man against the dwelling of the righteous spoile not his resting place for the righteous falleth seuen times and riseth vp againe but the wicked fall into mischiefe Reioyce not when thine enemie falleth and let not thine heart bee glad when heâ—… stumbleth least the Lord see it c which words doe fully euidence this to be nothing else but a fall into outward crosses and afflictions Secondly if this bee not meant of a â—…all into afflictions which I grant not yet make the most you can of it it can bee but intended of a fall into the acts of sinne and not of a totall and finall fall from grace Lastly when the righteous man falleth hee neither falls totally nor finally For the text tells vs that hee neuer falls into mischiefe as the wicked man doth and that hee neuer falls but presently hee riseth vp againe Wherefore take this place which way soeuer you will yet it proues nothing at all either for a finall or a totall fall from the state of grace The fourteenth obiection which may bee pressed against mee is that of Paul in the 1 Cor. 8. 11. Through thy knowledge shall a weake brother perish for whom Christ dyed A weake brother for whom Christ died may perish by reason of scandall therefore a regenerate man may fall from grace For answer to this argument I shall distinguish of this word brother and of this word perish There is a double fraternity and brotherhood among Christians the one internall and reall when as two or more are really and truly ingrafted into Christ and vnited and knit together in him the other externall when as two or more are incorporated into one visible Church but yet not really incorporated and ingrafted into Christ himâ—…lfe Againe there is a double kinde of perishing the one spirituall when as the soule and inward man the other corporall when as the body and the outward man doe perish and decay either of these may be sub-deuided into these two heads into a partiall perishing when as soule and body perish and decay in part to a totall perishing when as they perish wholly in euery part and not in some particular part alone and that either for a time or for euer If you take a brother in this case for one that is a brother onely in the Church but not in Christ I grant that such a brother as this may perish both in the inward and outward man in part or in the whole either for a time of for euer But if you take a brother in this place for one that is a brother in Christ as well as in the Church I grant then that such a brother as this may by reason of some scandalls perish in part euen in the inward man that is his conscience may be greiued and offended hee may bee prouoked thereby to commit sin to violate the law of charity to haue vn charitable thoughts of religious men and to distast them for a time it may somewhat abate his zeale and feruencie in the practise of religion and coole his affection and loue to God and so may be destroyed in part But yet hee cannot be totally destroyed that seede and habit of grace which is planted in his soule cannot bee vtterly abolished and rooted out by reason of any scandalls whatsoeuer though the acts and fruites of it may bee suppressed by them for a time So that the meaning of this place of Paul if we compare it with the precedent and subsequent words and with that place of Math. 18. 6. 7. and