AN ANTIDOTE OR TREATISE OF THIRTY CONTROVERSIES VVith a large Discourse of the Church IN WHICH The soueraigne truth of Catholike doctrine is faythfully deliuered against the pestiferous writinges of all English Sectaryes AND In particuler against D. WHITAKER D. FVLKE D. RIYNOLDS D. BILSON D. ROBERT ABBOT D. SPARKES and D. FIELD the chiefe vpholders some of Protestancy some of Puritanisme some of both Deuided into three Partes By S. N. Doctour of Diuinity THE FIRST PART Deut. 32. vers 30. How should one be able to pursue a thousand and two put tenthousand to flight Is it not therefore because their God hath sold them and our Lord hath inclosed and made them thrall Permissu Superiorum M. DC XXII THE principall maintainers of Protestancy of whome I spake in the former page are D. BILSON and D. FIELD THE pillars of Puritanisme are D. REYNOLDS and D. SPARKES who were chosen Proctours for the Preâ—isian faction in the Conference before his Maiesty at Hampton-Court THE abbettours of both are D. WHITAKER D. FVLKE and D. ROBERT ABBOT who sometimes defend the articles of the one sometymes of the other TO THE RIGHT WORTHY STVDENTS OF THE TWO FAMOVS VNIVERSITIES OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE ARISTOTLE in penning his Morall Instructions of Arist. l. r. Eth. cap. 1. Philosophy thought all his endeauours well bestowed if he might profit as he saith any one thereby much more if Townes and Citties How happy then may I thinke my labours imployed if by these small paines I may rightly instruct some few of You not in Morall Vertues but in Diuine and Heauenly Verities not in Precepts of Manners only but in Articles of Faith in Mysteries of true Beliefe on which I will not say the ciuil Nurture or gay Deportment of the outward man but the inward Carriage Grace of the Holy Ghost the life of your Soules the loue of God and hope of all eternity dependeth By instructing You I shall cleere the beames which giue light to thousands I shall purifie the Waters and purge the Fountaine of which many must drinke You are the Seedes you are the Lights of the Kingdome you are the Mines whose treasures are to be dispensed riches of learning hereafter deriued to the whole body of the Realme Wherfore least you should both beguile others and be your selues deceiued with counterfeite drosse in lieu of true and perfect mettall I haue opened vnto you these veines of Gold with which if you couet to enrich your soules two things I request at your hands The one is not to frame an ouerweening conceit or beare too partiall Affection to the men of your own side the other to peruse this Treatise with an indifferent and single eye and with a greedy zeale of imbracing Truth from whose mouth soeuer 2. You are not I hope of Agesicles the Lacedemonian his mind who taking great pleasure to heare smooth eloqueÌ„t discourses would not intertaine Philophanes Plutarch in his Laconike Apophtheg the famous RhetoriciaÌ„ being a straÌ„ger vnto him because as Plutarch reporteth he would be Scholler only to them whose sonne he was that is he would learne of them alone amongst whom he was borne Much lesse can I thinke you bewitched with Philostorgius the Eunomian his folly who was so besotted of his Maister Eunomius as he admired his very naturall defects set the glosse of vertue on them For his faltering tongue as Nicephorus writeth he vainely Niceph. l. 12. c. 29. commended as the Key of Eloquence his flow words he prized as precious Margarites the spots and blemishes of his leaprous face what did he account them but the rarest markes and ornaments of beauty If any of you shold be infected with these bastardly humors if you would heare none but those in whose bosomes ye haue beene bred or be so farre enamoured of your first Teachers wits as to loue their errours applaud their forgeries praise the beauty of their deformed writings little hope should I haue to gaine your soules But if yee be as I trust ye are louers of truth enemies of falshood desirous of your owne saluatioÌ„ then here you may discouer that Euangelical Pearle which Maâ—â— 13. vers 4â— he that findeth selleth all that he hath to buy so rare a Iewell 3. I know the subtilty of Sathan and snare of Heretikes hath euer beene as the Rom. 16. v. 18. 2. Petr. 2. v. 3. Apostle saith By sweet speaches and benedictions to seduce the hearts of Innocents By faigned words to make merchandize of You. Their chiefest proiect and principall study is with meretricious and painted eloquence to intertaine their followers and whilest they fill their eares with delight to instill into their soules most poysoned doctrine But a great * The saying of Demosthenes mentioned by S. Aug. con Crescon Gram. l. 2. cap. 1. 1. Cor. 2. v. 1. 4. 5. ver 13. Oratour can tell you That the riches of Greece consist not in words And the Apostle pronounceth Not in loftinesse sublimity of speach not in the perswasible words of humaine wisedome are the Mysteries of Christ but in the power of God and Doctrine of the spirit Be not therefore be not I beseech you inueagled with the smooth tongue or filed stile of your flourishing Sect-maisters but coÌ„sider the matter weigh the reasons examine the proofes they alledge and you shall find such silly arguments Aug. l. 5. confes c. 2. such slender stuffe as S. Augustine espied in the eloquent and lofty discourses of Faustus Manichaeus and the rest of his crew when not regarding as he saith what gallant dish or vessell of speach but what food of knowledge he propounded vnto him not harkening to the sound of words but to the pith of matter Albeit they bragged much and promised nothing more then Truth Truth yet he discouered as he witnesseth No truth amongst Ibid. l. 3. c. 9. them nothing but Lies Vanities and vile Superstitions 4. The like shall you discerne in the Ghospellers of our time For although they vaunt of the word of God vaunt of Scriptures and Scriptures only seeme to follow Ambr. in c. 3. ep ad Titum yet because as S. Ambrose teacheth By the word of the law they impugne the law framing their priuate sense and construction to couÌ„tenance the peruersity of their minds by the authority of the law it is more then euident they follow not the Oracles of God but rather the Fancies of their owne braine the suggestion of Sathan For by peruerse interpretation as S. Hierome testifieth of â—â—ier l. â— in â— 1. ep ad Galat. the Ghospell of Christ is made the Ghospel of man or which is worse the Ghospell of the Diuell And Martiall the Poët speaketh to this purpose Quem recitas meus est â— Fidentine libellus Sed malè cùm recitas incipit esse tuus The Booke thou doest recite o Fidentine is mine Reciting it amisse it groweth to be thine 5. Secondly they
man iustifyed by Fayth The second act of comfortable assurance doth not as he sayth actiuely iustify but finding the thing done certifyeth and assureth vs of it the first doth but impetrate obtaine and procure it by way of request no act can he assigne betweene the first and the second therefore no act of fayth can he assigne whereby he may be formally iustifyed On the other fide I thinke the Protestants petition which humbly intreateth for acception and fauour must needes proceed from fayth For how shall they humbly ad Rom. â—â— v. 14. intreate How shall they inâ—ocate in whome they haue not beleeued Beleeue then they do before they intreate and yet they are not iust therefore Fayth alone doth not iustify but only by way of impetration by stirring vp our affections and exciting our will to craue and desire it which with S. Augustine and the whole schoole of Catholike August ep 105. de praedest Sanctor c. 7. Deuines we willingly imbrace And to which M. Feild must at length retire for rest and safeguard or els well canuased he is driuen to the wall which way soeuer he turneth 10. The fifth argument which I meane to prosecute is of the regeneration of young baptized Infants who Feild in his 3. booke â— 44. fol. 179. cannot be iustifyed by an act of special fayth because they can haue none as M. Field accordeth with vs but by the habituall qualityes or inherent habits of Fayth Hope and Charity therefore all others are iustifyed by the like because the same spirit of adoption the same title of diuin Augu. l. 1. cont 2. ep Pelag. â— 7. c 21. l. 1. deÌ„ pecc meri c. â—â— ep 157. Marc vlt. v. 16. Act. Apost c. 8. v. 37. filiation the same new birth and regeneration in Christ the same seed of life the same formall cause of iustification is in euery one of these faythful in euery child of God in euery state whatsoeuer as S. Augustine teacheth 11. Likewise when the Adulâ—i or such as arriue to the vse of reason are baptized fayth is required as a necessary disposition for them worthily to receaue the grace of Baptisme therefore our Sauiour sayd He that beleeueth and is baptized shal be saued And S. Philip to the Eunuch desirous to be christned answered If thou beleeue withall thy hart thou mayst But the Fayth which Christ the fayth which Philip exacted before Baptisme was no doubt true perfect fayth that fayth which togeather with the SacrameÌ„t was sufficient to saluation and yet that fayth alone did not iustify or if it did it remitted them their sinnes it regenerated and implanted them in Christ acheiued before all those heanenly effects for which that holy Sacrament was ordayned in vaine then was it instituted in vaine was it after applyed No say you it is after applyed as a signe or seale of regeneration as the outward pledge of adoption Rogers art 27. VVhitak l. 1. aduers Duraeum fol. 675. Calu. l. 4. instit c. 24. §. 3. Calu. ibid. as an addition to confirme and ratify the promise of God to establish vs in the fayth thereof But this pledge seale and addition is not requisite in the behalfe of God for his truth sayth Caluin is by it selfe sound and certaine though and cannot from any other where receaue better confirmation them from it selfe Neither is it needfull for the ignorance as he fancieth and dulnesse of Protestants for their speciall affiance being as they bragge certaine knowne and infallible iustifying fayth giueth them more assurance of the remission of their sinnes and promises of God applyed vnto them then any outward signes or additions whatsoeuer Againe the performance 2. Pet. 1. v. 10. of good workes to which S. Peter exhorteth the word of God heard or read is more apt and efficacious to excite and stir vp our Fayth to confirme vs therin then the dumbe elements of water bread and wine which you only vse Besides the Scriptures and Fathers attribute vnto Baptisme not only the force of a signe or seale to Tit. 3. v. 5. Ioan. 3. Ephes 5. 1. Cor. 6. Ambr. l. â— de Sacraâ— c. 4. Leo. serm â— de natiuiitat Clement Alex. l. 1. paeda c. 6. Basil l. c. de spirit sant cap. 15. Hier. l. 3. cont Pelag Hilar. in psal 65. Tertul. l. de Bapt. c. 1. Dion c. 3. Eccles Hiera p. 1. Nazian in sanctum lauacrum Aug. in psal 73. l. 19. in Faust c. 13. Iren. l. 4. cont baer c. â—0 Chrys bo 17. in Gen. Orig. bom 3. in Gen. Epiphan baer 30. Basil l. de spir sanct c. 14. Euseb Caesar l. 1 demon Euan. c. 10 â— bistor c. 1. Emisbom in Sabb. post 1. Domin Quadr. Ambr. â—p 72. ad Iren. in cap. 4. ad Rom. August ep 19. ad Hier. tract 41. in Ioan. q. 25. in â— Numer ratify grace but the true efficacy of an instrumentall cause to iustify and cleanse our soules from the filth of sinne therefore sound and entiere fayth which goeth before as a preparation necessary doth not worke the effect but the Sacrament which is after ministred Whereupon it is tearmed not the pledge or token but the lauer of regeneration by which we are borne a new are cleansed are washed from sinne So S. Ambrose also sayth of the baptized By this fountaine he hath passed from thinges earthly to heauenly from sinne to life from fault to grace from defilement to sanctification S. Leo The power of the most high which made that Mary brought forth a Sauiour doth make that the water regenerateth the beleeuer S. Clemens Alexandrinus tearmeth Baptisme the grace perfection illumination and lauer by which we are washed and wipe away sinnes S. Basil S. Hierom S. Hilary and Tertullian haue the like 12. S. Denis S. Gregory Nazianzen and other also of the Greeke Fathers call Baptisme 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 illuminationem illumination because in Baptisme man is illuminated and enlightned with the fayth of Christ he receaueth the fellowship or society of the first and increated light and the beginning or head spring of all diuine and celestiall illustrations as the same S. Denis affirmeth S. Augustine assigneth this difference betweene the Sacraments of the old and the new Law that they promised a Sauiour these affoard saluation that these are greater in vertue for profit and vtility better They according to S. Irenâ—us S. Chrysostome Origen Epiphanius Eusebius Caesariensis and Emissenus S. Ambrose and S. Augustine were signes and shaddowes only euen Circumcision in the opinion of some their chiefest ceremony which betokned the verity of our Sacraments yielding and exhibiting Grace And S. Basil sayth that the Baptisme of Basil hom 1. de Bapt. Christ giueth the Holy Ghost which the Baptisme of Iohn did not giue 13. Which it hath pleased also our mighty Soueraigne K. Iames in his answere to Card. Peron fol. 32. in Latin fol. 20. in
3. instit c. 2. §. 2. Luc. 18. v. 41. persons had not at the first any thought or imagination vnles it were in a couert implicite as the Schoolemen call it and vnexpressed Fayth which Protestantes deride with Caluin their forerunner but they all specify the Fayth of miracles grounded on the power of God which our Reformers deny to be sufficient for saluation For what was the fayth of the womaÌ„ healed of her bloudy fluxe but the fayth of miracles by which she beleeued such power and vertue in Christ as she sayd in her hart If I shall touch only his garment I shal be safe What was the fayth of the blind man but the fayth of miracles that Christ could restore him his sight What wilt thou that I do â—o thee He sayd Lord that I may see What the fayth of the Prince of the Synagogue but the fayth of miracles that Christ could recall to life his deceased daughter The same I auerre of the rest yet this later was not the proper fayth of the reuiued daughter but the fayth of the Father So the Fayth which Christ chiefly regarded in pardoning the man sicke of the palsy was the â—ayth of those that carryed him brought him vp vpon the roofe through the tyles let him downe Iesus seeing their fayth whereby Matth. 9. v. 2. Luc. 5. v. 19. though we Catholikes proue that the Fayth of one may preuaile to obtaine health and safety for another yet no Sectarye graunteth that the fayth of one can iustify another Therefore not one of these places serueth to rayse but all pluck downe the rampire of their iustifying fayth in so much as they labour to vnderprop it by some other testimonyes crowded into the selfe same rancke as the iust liueth by Fayth Abraham beleeued and it was reputed him to iustice Being iustifyed by Fayth let vs haue peace towards God Likewise Abac. 2. v. 4. Rom. 4. v. 3. Rom. 5. v. 1. Act. 13. v 39. 1. Ioan. 5. v. 1. Gabr. Vasq in 1. 2. disp 210. c. 7. Clemens Alexand. l. 2. Strom. Orig. in 4 ad Rom August serm 22. de verb. Dom. de hono perseu c. â— serm â—6 de verb. Apo. In him euery one that beleeueth is iustifyed whosoeuer beleeueth that Iesus is Christ iâ— borne of God 15. All which haue so many true and litterall expositions as it can betoken no lesse then grosse dulnes in Protestant Ministers who either for want of reading did not find or finding conceaued not some one of them The first is that by Fayth we liue are iustifyed and are made the children of God inchoatiuely as the Deuines speake because fayth is the first supernaturall seed roote or beginning from which our iustification springeth and the first foundation or ground-worke vpon which our whole spirituall building relyeth as Gabriel Vasquez solidly proueth by the authority of Clemens Alexandrinus Origen and S. Augustine Secondly Fayth iustifyeth by way of impetration excyting our will by the consideration of Gods goodnes and other beleeued mysteryes to aske and obtayne the remission of our faults iustice of our soules Thus S. Augustine often interpreteth those and the like wordes of S. Paul saying Therefore by fayth the Apostle affirmeth man to be iustifyed not of workes because sayth is first giuen by which the rest are impetrated by the law the knowledge of sinne by fayth impetration of grace against sinne by grace health and saluation of the soule The same in diuers other places Not workes but fayth doth inchoate merit Aug. l. de praedestin Sanctor c. 7. de spir lit c. 30. Idem epist. 105 106 Idem l. de gra lib arbit c. 14. defide oper c. 21. August l. de grat lib. arbitr cap. 7. Thirdly all the former places may be vnderstood of liuely fayth formed with Charity and accompanyed with the retinue of other vertues which wholy and intierely iustify vs in the sight of that infinite Maiesty So also S. Augustine Men not vnderstanding that which the Apostle sayth we count a man to be iustifyed by Fayth c. did thinke that he sayd Fayth would suffice a man though he liued ill and had no good workes which God forbid the Vessell of Election should thinke who in a certaine place after he had sayd In Christ Iesus neither circumcision nor prepuce auayleth any whit he straight added but fayth which worketh by loue Fourthly fayth as all other vertuous and laudable acts flowing from Grace doth likewise iustify meritoriously by procuring increase of former iustice Therefore S. Paul to the Hebrewes sayth of holy men and Prophets That by fayth they ouercame kingdomes Hebr. 11. v. 33. Cypr. l. 4 ep 6. wrought iustice obtayned promises And S. Cyprian teacheth That God in the day of iudgment payeth the reward of Fayth and deuotion These foure wayes the forenamed Texts may be truly vnderstood howbeit our Reformers stupidity was such as they could not light on them euery Apo. 22 v. 17. Isa 55. v. 1. Rom. 3. v. 24. Ephes 2. v. 8. where obuious to the diligent searcher 16. The second bande of Obiections are those which affirme our iustification to be freely made by the benefite of grace therefore without the supply of works viz. He that thirsteth let him come and he that will let him take the water of life gratis All yee that thirst come to the waters c. come buy without siluer without any exchange wine and milke Aug. l. de spir lit c. 10. 16. Cent. 5. c 4. Colum. 505. Againe Iustifyed gratis by his grace By grace you are saued thorough Fayth I answere our first Iustification is free gratis because fayth which first beginneth and stirreth vs vp vnto it is freely giuen vs Charity which after accomplisheth it is likewise freely imparted not due to nature or hauing any connexion or dependance with our naturall actions be they neuer so good or commendable in themselues which is not my exposition but the interpretation of S. Augustine confirmed by the diuine sentence of the thrice holy Councell of Trent By grace man is iustifyed Similia habet Aug. in psal 18. exp 2. ep 106. de praedest Sanctor c. 15 praef in psal 31. Concil Trid sess 6. c. 8. Ioan. 6. v. 2â— that is no merits of his workes going before and which the Centurists reprehend the Apostle will haue nothing els vnderstood in that which he sayth gratis but that workes do not precede Iustification The Councell of Trent hath defyned the same Therefore we are sayd to be freely iustifyed because none of those thinges which go before iustification whether it be fayth or workes do promerit the grace it selfe of iustification But if our Aduersaryes by reason that iustification is free and of the grace of Christ will renounce all workes they must euen renounce true fayth itselfe of which S. Iohn sayth This is the worke of God that yee beleeue
in him Or if that work doth not hinder the free grace of iustification in Protestants conceit because it is the gift of God because it doth not iustify according to them as it is an actioÌ„ proceeding froÌ„ man but as it taketh hold and applyeth vnto them the iustice of Christ Why should our preparatiue workes any way preiudicate the freedome of that fauour as long as we acknowledg theÌ„ also the meer guift of the highest and not to dispose vs to the life of grace as they are achieued by our owne forces alone or flow from the drye and barren soyle of Nature but as they are made fertile by the water of the holy Ghost as they are eleuated and inspired by his viuificall motion For if the Beggar which is Cardinall Tolets example who of his owne accord Toleâ— in c. 3. ad Rom. stretcheth out his hand to receaue the offered almes doth not hinder the francke and liberall bestowing of the money much lesse should the cooperation of our freewill which not of our selues not of our owne endeauours but moued and strengthned by God yieldeth to his motions any way withstand his liberall donation and free guift of Iustice 17. In the last wing wherein the only hope of their victory remayneth such sentences of Scripture are ranged as flatly debarre the concurrence of workes from all kind of Iustice to wit By grace you are saued through fayth and that not of your selues for it is the guift of God not of workes that no man glory We account a man to be iustifyed by fayth without the Ephes 2. v. 8. Rom. 3. v. 28. Rom. 11. v. 6. Rom. 4. v. 2. workes of the law If by grace not now of workes otherwise grace now is not grace If Abraham were iustifyed by workes he hath glory but not with God with many others to the same purpose I answere that the Apostle excludeth indeed from the grace of iustification either first or second all workes which proceed from the vigour or strength of nature on which the Pelagians so much relyed Then he excludeth the good vse and exercise of freewil done without Christ to which the Semipelagians ascribed the dowry of grace Thirdly he excludeth the moral vertues performed by the Act. 15. v. 1. Aug. l 5. cont 2. ep Pelag. c. 7. in prâ—f ps 3â— ep 107. tract 50 de verb. Domini secundum Euang. Matth. Hier. l. â— com in c. 3. ad Gal. Prosper cont collat c. 22. Cent. 3. c. 4. Col. 80. ciâ—ant Orig. l. 8. in epist ad Rom. light of reason precepts of naturall Philosophy wherin the Gentils boasted and placed their happines Lastly he excludeth all works achieued by the sole notice of the Law both cerimoniall and morall in which the Iewes trusted so farre as they deemed themselues thereby only assured of Gods fauour and some of them vrged the necessity of circumcision the obseruation of their ceremonyes euen to Gentils conuerted vnto Christ of whome they auouched Vnles you be eireumcised you cannot be saued 18. Against these the Apostle so often inculcateth that neither circumcision prepuce nor any worke either of Iew or Gentill done by themselues or by the knowledge of the law without the grace of the Spirit inwardly mouing is able to saue them but he neuer excludeth the Sacraments of Baptisme or Pennance nor the works proceeding from the help of supernaturall grace to be dispositions to attaine the first true causes of increase in the second iustification whereof read S. Augustine S. Hierome and Prosper who interprete the Apostls meaning in the selfe same manner as I haue heere declared which interpretation the Century-writers haue also espyed and reproued in Origen engrossing these wordes in the Catalogue as they account them of his errours It is to be vnderstood that the workes which S. Paul reiecteth and so often reprehendeth are not the iustices which are commanded in the Law but those thinges in which they boast and glory who obserue the law according to the flesh or rites of sacrifices or obseruation of Sabaoths and new Monnes these and the like are the Concil Trid. sesl 6. Can. 1. Fulk in c. 2. Iacob sect 9. Fulk ibid. Vasq in 1. 2. disp 210. cap. 9. VVhitak l. 1. aduerf Duraeum VVhitak in his answere to M. CampiaÌ„ 8. reason â—ulke in c. 2. Iac. sect 9. Abbot in his defence c. 4. Ambr. in c. 3. 4. ad Rom. Chrys in c. 3. ad Gal. hom 7. in c. 3. ad Rom. Basil serm de humiâ—it Aug. l. 1. cont 2. ep Pelag. c. 21. l. 83. q. 76. Hesich in Leuit. l. 4. cap. 14. Hilar. cap. in Matth. August tract 49. in Ioan. workes by which he auoucheth no man may be saued Hitherto Origen quoted by the Magdeburgians To which purpose the Councell of Trent hath very diuinely decreed If any shall teach man may be iustifyed before God by his works which either by humane nature or by the doctrine of the Law are accomplished without the diuine grace of Iesus Christ let him be accursed According to this authentical exposition S. Paul and S. Iames are clearely discharged from that irreconciliable contradiction M. Fulke imagineth betweene them in our opinion for either S. Paul speaketh of the first iustification and S. Iames of the second which is not as he mistaketh another kind of iustification but the augmentation of the former or they both treate of the first and second also as Gabriel Vasquez thinketh most probable and the one excludeth workes wrought without the inward motion of grace from iustification the other acknowledgeth such workes to cooperate thereunto as proceed from grace which is no contradiction but the true and vndoubted position of our Catholike fayth 19. Although all the sentences of the Fathers which are stumbling blockes in our Reformers way be satisfyed in the same manner as these Texts of Scripture yet to ease the studious Reader from further trauaile I will particulerly set downe how the chiefest of them are to be vnderstood whome our Reformers oppose against vs concerning this point S. Ambrose S. Chrysostome S. Basil S. Augustine Hesichius and S. Hilary when they affirme vs iustifyed by fayth alone without any workes they mean without any workes eyther of our owne or of Moyses law done without grace Or they are to be interpreted of Fayth which is liuely indewed with Charity and accompanyed with other vertues So S. Augustine in his treatises vpon S. Iohn when he sayth Fayth is the soule of our soule Prosper S. Bernard and S. Augustine againe in the seauenth Chapter of his booke of predestination of Saints Prosp de voca gent. l. â— c. 8 9. Bernar ser 22 in cant Aug. de praedest Sanctor c. cap. 7. Leo serm de Epiphaâ— alibi Orig. in c. 3. ad Rom. Chrysost hom de fide lege nâ—turae Vasq in â— 2. disp 210. c. 9. are to be interpreted of fayth alone inchoatiuely S. Leo
for euer He that belieueth and is baptized shall be saued Euery one that shall inuocate the name of the Lord shal be saued to wit if he inuocate and call vpon him in fayth and charity as he ought if he belieue aright and doth not finally loose his fayth nor the grace of Baptisme and water of the holy Ghost once receaued as I shall proue heereafter he may Therefore this argument of theirs maketh no more against the corporal then spirituall feeding for as euerlasting life is promised to the faythfull and pious belieuer so to the reall and worthy Receauer and as the one may fall from his worthy dignity so the other make shipwracke of his liuely fayth and eternally perish Perchance you will obiect that this answere suteth not with the prerogatiue which our Sauiour giueth to the holy Eucharist aboue Manna That Ioan. 6. v. 49. 50. the Fathers did eate Manna in the desert and they dyed this is the bread that descendeth froÌ„ heauen that if any man eat of it he dye not For whosoeuer did worthily feed on that dainty Manna and continued in the same state neuer tasted the bitternes of spirituall death therefore according to this construction it is not inferiour to the blessed Sacrament I answere first that such as then liued for euer enioyed not the priuiledges of life by the vertue and force of Manna but by their loue of God and fayth in Christ their true Messias and yet they that worthily receaue the Eucharist truely liue by the vertue power and efficacy of Christs reall presence the spring of life and fountaine of grace therein contained 9. Secondly I reply that Christ doth not only compare the Eucharist with Manna in respect of the life and death of the soule but of the body also after this sort Manna could not affoard to your Fathers life of body much lesse of soule during their short passage through the desert This bread affoardeth life to the soule much more to the body during the length of all eternity They that eate Manna dyed in body a temporall death they that eate this bread shall not dye the eternall death neither of the body nor soule And heerein consisteth as Maldonate commenteth vpon this text the singular grace elegancy of our Sauiours comparison in passing from Maldonatâ— in hunc loeum Matt. 8. v. 22. Ioan. 4. v. 13. one kind of life and death to another which plesant digression he often vseth as the same Author discourseth in other places In S. Matthew Let the dead bury the dead The first he calleth dead in soule the next in body In S. Iohn Euery one that drinketh of this water shall thirst againe but he that shall drinke of the water that I will giue him shall not thirst for euer First he speaketh of the corporall Matt. 26. v. 29. water and thirst of the body then of the spirituall water and thirst of the soule Likewise I wil not drinke from hence forth of this fruit of the vine vntill that day when I shall drinke it with you new in the kingdome of my Father Heere he first mentioneth the naturall wine of the grape then the metaphoricall wine of celestiall ioyes So now he first speaketh of the corporall then of the spirituall and euerlasting life which our Blessed Sacrament of his owne nature yeildeth to all such as daily receaue it although Manna yielded not as much as the corporall if they doe not after by sinne willfully destroy the quickening grace and liuely seed it imparteth vnto them And thus the wordes are of more emphasy the comparison more pithy and the preheminence of the Eucharist aboue Manna more remarkable then if our Sauiour had spoken in both places only of the spirituall Lastly if our Sectaryes expound S. Iohn of the eating by fayth how vncongruously will they make S. Paul to speake writing of the same matter and saying He that eatech vnworthily which 1. Cor. 11. v. 27. cannot be properly attributed to the belieuer because he that belieueth not as he ought doth either falsly or fainedly belieue we cannot with any congruity of speach say that he belieueth vnworthily therefore as S. Paul so likewise S. Iohn ought to be vnderstood not of the spirituall but of the corporall eating of Christs sacred flesh 10. That which M. Bilson alleadgeth out of Gelasius S. Leo condemning the Communion vnder one kind Bils 4. par pag. 684. 685. Gelas can Comperiâ—ê° dist 2. Leo. ser 4. de quadra is of no force at all For they condemne the dry Communion not of the Catholiks but of the Manichees who teaching that Christ brought into this world and walked vpon earth with a meere empty and phantasticall body deuoyd of true and natural bloud they in testimony of this errour abstained from the bloud with great sacriledge as Gelâ—sius writeth deuided one and the selfe same mistery which all Catholikes had iust cause to reprehend in them no Protestant any cause to obiect against vs who neither deuide the mistery nor abstaine from the bloud but constantly teach that by fequele concomitance we receaue it wholy and entirely contained in the body we inioy the full participation of Christ Fulke loco â—itato Bils 4. par pag. 682. as M. Fulke requireth 11. At last both he and D. Bilson ioyntly oppose the Practise of the vniuersall Church which for many ages togeather ministred the Sacrament vnder both kinds euen to the Laity I grant that the Church vsed it as a thing lawfull not as a Aug. epist 23. ad Bonif Tolet. Con. cap. 11. Tho. 3. p. q. 80. art 9. ad 3. Cypr. serm de lapsis thing prescribed or decreed by God or vniuersally without exception in all times and places practised Which manner of receauing the Church might after change when her Communicaâ—ts were so many as wine sufficient could not be fitly consecrated nor without eminent perill of shedding or danger of abusing be conueniently ministred It was an vsuall custome both in the Greeke and Latine Church for many ages to communicate with the Chalice young sucking babes of which S. Augustine the x j. Toletan Councell and S. Thomas make mention And S. Cyprian writeth of the consecrated Bloud powred into the mouth of an Infant But as the Church vpon iust cause abrogated that custome leauing the children the benefit of neither kind without any wrong vnto them and Protestants allow hereof why write they so bitterly against debarring the people vpon as many important reasons from the vse of the Chalice where notwithstanding the whole fruit and benefit thereof to their comfort remayneth 12. Besides in many things you your selues who count it in vs a crime so damnable stray from that which Christ practised in the institution of the Sacramenâ— for example Christ communicated only men you women also he in a priuate house you in a publike Temple he at night you in the morning he with * For
no man is punished by any either spirituall or temporall Lawes for his euill habit or bad inclination to rob kill blaspheme c. for his actuall robbing or killing he is 4. Many morally good as Socrates the Philosopher and truly vertuous also may be prone to wickednes and deserue the more prayse by ouercomming of it but no actuall wickednes can purchase any prayse or continuing with vs minister occasion of greater victory Therefore Naughty habits or inclinations are not punished by any law but only euill acts if the act of concupiscence may be acquitted from fault à fortiori the habit which doth only facilitate and inclyne to the act Moreouer habituall concupiscence groweth from the roote of Nature it is as M. Abbot testifyeth the remainder of Originall corruption But I haue already demonstrated that the whole culpable infection of Nature is cleane extinguished by regeneration therefore the pronesse to euill which remayneth is not properly sinne For man by Baptisme is iustifyed from sinne buryed with Christ Abbot in his defence cap. 2. into death of sinne He is borne againe in him of water and the Holy Ghost He doth cast off the old man and put on the new He hath the stampe of Adam the body of sinne destroyed and the character of Christ the spirit of God imprinted in his hart He Ad Rom. 6. v. 4. Ioan. 3. v. 5. Ad colos 3. v. 9. Ad Ephes 4. v. 22. 24. ad 1. Cor. 1â— v. 49. hath his earthly image defaced and a heauenly restored conformable to that of S. Paul As we haue borne the image of the earthly let vs beare also the image of the heauenly But what is the old man What is the stampe image or likenes of Adam but the vgly shape and deformity of sinne that then is wholy defaced and blotted out quite by our incorporation with Christ 5. On the contrary side many thinges are obiected by Whitaker and M. Abbot against this doctrine they vrge that some leauings of sinne sticke to the regenerate because VVhitak l. 8. aduer Duraeum Abbot c. 2. p. 172 233. 234. 235 c. Augu. dâ— pec merit remis lib. 2. 2. Cor. 7. v. 1. Psal 50. after Baptisme they are still counsayled to purify their soules more and more to wrastle with the remnants of the flesh to mortify their members which are vpon the earth to renew the inward man from day to day wherupon S. Augustine argueth He that is renewed from day to day is not yet all renewed and in how much he is not renewed in so much he dwelleth in oldnes still And in another place Who is there in this life so cleane as that he is not more and more to be cleansed and made cleane For this cause S. Paul exhorteth the faythfull Let vs cleanse our selues from all filthines of the flesh King Dauid after his sin was pardoned prayed notwithstanding Create in me a cleane hart renew in me a right spirit wash me and I shal be whiter then the snow Which prayerthe regenerate make all the dayes of their life therfore they are neuer throughly purged heere vpon earth So they 6. I answere the iust are exhorted to cleanse and sweep their soules in manner aforesayd First from the dust of veniall sinnes which dayly soyleth and cleaueth vnto them euen after they be by Baptisme engrafted into Christ Secondly they are counsailed to rid themselues also as much as they can from the vntoward motions crooked inclinations of concupiscence checking and restraining them so with the curbe of mortification as they seldome or neuer hinder or disturbe the race of vertue This is not to take out the staynes of sinne but to cure the woundes repaire the fayntnes heale the infirmityes which sinne hath left behind is it to refresh the weaknes Leo ser 1. 2. de ieiunio decimi mensis of nature whilest that which decayed sayth S. Leo in our first Adam is restored in our second Which is not done I grant by the sauer of regeneration but by the continuall victory and conquest of our selues by rooting out the weedes of all immoderate desires as S. Augustine most notably Augu. l. 14. de Trinit c. 17. discourseth expounding both himselfe and all the former Texts of our Aduersaryes This renouation is not made in one and the same moment of conuersion as that renouation is made in one moment by remission of all sinnes in Baptisme For not one sinne how little or how great soeuer abideth which is not remitted But as it is one thing to want feuers another to recouer of the infirmity which is caused by feuers and as it is one thing to draw the festered weapon out of the body another with second curing to heale the wound inflicted thereby So the first remedy is to remoue the cause of Linguor which is made by the full pardon of all sinnes â— Basil in cap. 1. Isa the second is to cure the feeblenes it selfe which is done by little and little going forward in the renouation of this image of God c. Of which thing the Apostle most plainely spake saying Although our maÌ„â—hich is without be corrupt yet that which is within is renewed from day to day To which purpose S. Basil writeth The washing of Baptisme sufficeth not to bring a man to the whitenesse of snow but there needeth also great labour and diligence c. and as to make a perfect and abiding colour often dipping and much paine is required euen so in the soule corrupted with the â—ilth of sinne Which Methodius related by Epiphanius and Abbot loc citat pag. 137. 138. Epiphanius S. Hilary with the rest of the Fathers and Schoolemen obiected against vs by M. Abbot Feild and Whitaker only meane when they affirme the carryon of sinne to remayne not to be quite taken away but holden in and quieted by Baptisme when they vsurpe this saying regnum amittit in terris perit in caelo Sinne looseth his kingdome on earth it perisheth and is destroyed in heaueÌ„ Thus I say they somtymes speake in regard of the remaynder of sundry defects woundes and infirmityes as S. Augustine calleth them in regard of the euill habits customs and rebellious passions which comming from sinne carry 1. Cor. 15. v. 53. the name thereof and are not wholy extirpated by grace neither can they all be vntill this corruptible body doe on incorruption and this mortall be clad with immortality 7. Our Aduersaryes againe oppose that the maladyes of Nature the obliquity of the will and prauity Abbot ibidem pag. 9. 3. of concupiscence we mention is not only languishing defectiue but truly and properly sinnefull not in name alone but also in deed which they labour to proue two Feild in his â— booke c. 26. Aug. l. 5. contra Iul. seuerall wayes by reason and by authority First by reason because concupiscence is a declining from perfect subiection to our
English K. Iames to patronage in his answere to Cardinall Peron for although that answere be set forth vnder Casaubons name yet his Highnes vouchsafeth to adopt it for his own Royal ofspring in his reply to the foreâ—ayd Cardinalls Oration The words are His Maiesty and the Church of England do allow the necessity of Baptisme in respect of the diuine institution as well as you c. God hath appointed this as for the ordinary way to obtaine remission of sinnes in his Church Christ himselfe denieth the entrance into the kingdome of heauen to those which are not borne againe of water and the spirit Therefore it is not the seale which signeth the Charter of Iustice already made not the addition hanging at it but the instrument which by vertue communicated vnto it by God doth effect and make vs iust And so the true and intier fayth which the Apostle exacted of the Eunuch Act. 8. v. 37. before Baptisme what not sufficient to iustify in the sight of God nor to remit his sinnes nor to open the gate of heauen vnles he had byn also sprinckled with the precious and sauing water of that holy Sacrament 14. Lastly the fayth so often celebrated and commended in holy Writ is not your presumptuous confidence not your confortable trust or affiance of the will but our humble and firme beliefe the submission of captiuating of our vnderstanding to the obedience of mysteries reuealed by God Such is the Fayth defined by S. Rom. 1. v. 8. 17. Heb. 11. v. 1. 4. 5. Heb. 11. v. 7. Rom. 4. v. 21. Heb. 11. v. 11. Paul and by him so much extolled in Abel Henoch Noë Abraham Sara for Noë his fayth was not any speciall perswasion of the remission of his sinnes by the righteousnes of Christ but the assent and credit he gaue to the reuelations which God made vnto him of the vniuersall deluge which should drowne the word whereupon fearing he framed the Arke for sauing of his house Abrahams fayth was his generall acknowledgment that whatsoeuer God promised he is able also to do his assured beliefe that his seed should be as the starres in heaueÌ„ notwithstaÌ„ding his old age and the dead matrice of Sara his wife Sara her fayth the Apostle declareth saying By fayth Sara also her selfe being barren receaued vertue in conceauing of seed yea past the tyme of age because she beleeued that he was faythfull which had promised But to passe from the faythfull of the old Testament to those of the new 15. The renowned Fayth of the Centurion admired and praysed by the diuine wisedome it selfe what was Matt. 8. v. 8. Matt. 16. v. 10. Ioan. 10 v. 28. it That Christ being absent by his only word could cure his diseased seruant Only say the word and my boy shall be healed The fayth of S. Peter by which he deserued the Primacy of the Apostleship what was it Thou art Christ the son of the liuing God The fayth of S. Thomas after his incredulity what was it his faytfull exclamation My Lord and my God To be briefe the fayth in which S. Iohn in which S. Paul placeth the life and saluation of our soules what Ioan. 20. v. 31. other is it Then to beleeue that Iesus Christ is the Sonne of God and that beleeuing you may haue life in his name This is the word of fayth sayth S. Paul which we preach for if thou confesse Rom. 10. v. 8. 9. with thy mouth our Lord Iesus Christ and shalt beleeue in thy hart that God raysed him from death thou shalt be saued M. Abbot is so mightily embroyled in answering of these sentences Abbot inhis defence câ—p 4. sect â—8 strongly vrged by M. Doctour Bishop as to the first example of Noë forsaking the written word the soueraigne refuge to which they make their last appeale he recoyleth from the rule of Fayth and literall exposition of all ancient writers and laboureth to scramble out of the brakes by the help of some Allegoryes or other mysticall sentences of S. Augustine and S. Chrysoftome which if they were sincerely alleadged as they are fondly wrested by him yet they could not auaile to establish any truth in matters of fayth as all Deuines agree 16. To the second of Abraham he is forced to confesse that not the mercy of God remitting sins but the power of God in being able to performe his promise was the obiect of Abrahams fayth To the example of the Centurion he replyeth It followeth not that because the act of fayth is no further expressed heere therfore there was nothing further in his fayth Abbot in his defence c 4. sect â—â— f. 456. for his iustification towards God Yes M. Abbot it inuincibly followeth against you and your consorts who still prouoke vs to the expresse wordes of Scripture therefore if the fayth you mention be neither there nor els where expressed in Scripture you deuise a fayth of your owne heades not expressed in Scripture To the confession of S. Peter to the texts cited out of S. Iohn S. Paul he answereth Abbot ibidem by teaching vs this strange lesson That fayth is a compounded action not of the vnderstanding only but of the hart will and affections O how were you heere ouerseene to cast into writing a speach so contrary to the Apostle and repugnant 1. Cor. 1â— v. 13. to the doctrine of all Deuines The Apostle sayth Now remaine Fayth Hope and Charity these three Loe he tearmeth them three distinct and seuerall vertues he flatly sequestreth fayth from Charity which you transform into a compounded action Yet with such an vntoward composition as thereby is destroyed the very compound it selfe For if Fayth be an act of the vnderstanding it cannot be also an act of the will or if you once make it an affection of the wil you vtterly ouerthrow the nature of fayth and so are become such a solifidian Patron of only fayth as you quite abolish all kind of fayth Againe S. S. Thom 2. 2. q. 4. 23. Loâ— Banneâ— in eadem q. Arist l. 7. phis c. 17. lâ—â— Eth. c. â— Augu. l. 4. cont Iul. c. 3. Thomas all Deuines assigne to fayth her proper subiect in which it inhereth her peculiar obiect to wit the prime verity obscurely reuealing the mysteryes of our beliefe her peculiar excellency and proper act her speciall difficulty her singular prayse her particuler merit distinct from Charity therefore it hath all which either Aristotle or S. Augustine require to the integrity of a sole and single vertue 17. Notwithstanding we say that all true and perfect vertues are linked togeather with the golden chaine of mutuall society therefore we cannot perfectly beleeue in Christ vnles we loue hope delight and ioy in him In whome we looke to find as you say blessing peace immortality and euerlasting life which is the only meaning of S. Augustine Abbot c. 4. f. 456. Augu. in
once maliciously abandoneth Christ by willfull heresy or Apostacy can neither be admitted heer by true repentance into the bosom of the church nor which is worse euer heereafter to the mercy of God contrary to these expresse sentences of holy Scripture If the impious shal do pennance for all his sin which he hath wrought c. liuing he shall liue shal not dye Euery one that shall inuocate the name of the Lord shal be saued Let the impious forsake his way the vniust man his cogitations returne to our Lord and he will haue mercy on him Which I might strengthen with the authorityes of S. Ambrose S. Hierome S. Augustine but I am to prosecute the matter in hand And touching these Apostata's of whom S. Paul mentioneth I aske our Reformers whether they were euer implanted into Christ by iustifying fayth or by the beames of sactification and renouation only which they impiously distinguish from the beautifull rayes of Iustice graunt they were once vnited vnto him by a liuely fayth as euery member euery verse of the sentence seemeth to demonstrate saying They were once illuminated with the light of Fayth haue tasted the heauenly Chrys in cum lois gift that is as S. Chrysostome interpreteth the remission of sinnes which if Protestants also allow where then is the security they promised to the iustifyed of neuer falling Where is their certainty of saluation when these iust persons after the aboundance of heauenly sweetnes haue tumbled backe into such irremediable Apostacy as they can neuer as long as Protestants may sit in iudgment recouer Gods fauour againe neuer haue any possible means to obtayne mercy or purchase saluation But if Fulke and his fellows cauill and say that they were only sanctifyed and renewed by the grace of the holy Ghost through the merits of Christs passioÌ„ yet not truly iustifyed which is impossible at least to proppe vp one they vndermine many ruinous castles of their owne defence to wit that some not predestinate but plainly reprobate may be inwardly regenerated and new borne in Christ that internall renouation is no infallible seale of Gods election that the grace of iustification which Christ purchased by his death is common other while to the reprobate as well as to the elect all repugnant to the principles which they themselues defend 3. Lastly if they answere with Caluin for their replyes are as various and different as their fancyes that Câ—lu in c. 6. ad Hebr. â— 4. l. 3. Inflit. those Apostata's were neuer truly sanctifyed but only sprinkled withsome smacke or relish of grace shined on with some sparks of light lightly ouerwashed not throughly soaked in the waters of heauenly blessing So he wantonly dallyeth with the oracles of God labouring to peruert them with his simpering speaches let him open his mouth and tell me plainly whether those sparkes of light or relishes of grace were any the least drams or particles of true renouation and inward iustice or not If they were they expelled sinne and iustifyed them for the tyme if not how fell they from that which they neuer enioyed How doth the Apostle teach it impossible for them to be renewed againe who neuer receaued any renouation at all How were they illuminated how tasted they the heauenly * Grecè 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 id est supercaeleste donum guift the powers of the world to come how were they made partakers of the Holy Ghost who lay still oppressed with the darknes of vice I am ashamed to see these new Euangelists boasting of Scripture and yet oppose themselues so obstinatly against it and against the Venerable Consistory of all expositors both ancient and moderne heretiks only excepted who albeit they vary in the manner yet all agree in interpreting S. Paul of these Apostata's loosing and recouering iustice their only difficulty variance is in explicating what he meaneth by the word impossible For S. Anselme Hugo Dionysius and Lyranus with many late writers expounding him of true renouation to their former grace through the vertue of pennance by the word impossible vnderstand very hard and difficile for those vngratefull and malicious Apostata's after such lights Chrys in eum locum Hier. l. 3. cont Iou. Ambros l â— de poen August in inâ—hoatione ep ad Rom. Sedulius Primafius Theod. in eum loc 1. Cor 9. v. 27. Chrys ho. 1. in c. 3. ad â—hilip hom 23. â— ad Cor. August apud Peâ—rum Lumâ—â—â—â— in hunc locuÌ„ Paulin. ep 58. ad August 2. Pet. 2. v. â—1 Aug. defide oper c. 14. 15. graces and benefits receaued willfully reuolting to recouer Gods fauour againe by vnfaigned sorrow and perfect repentance But S. Chrysostome S. Hierome S. Ambrose S. Augustine Sedulius Primasius Theodoret and others interpreting S. Paul of renouation by the penitentiall water of Baptisme take the word impossible properly as though the Apostle should extend his speach to all such as fall after they haue beene purifyed by the lauer of regeneration should affirme it impossible for them to be repaired againe in that full and plenteous manner to receaue a new remission and perfect indulgence from all both fault and punishment due to their sinnes by the benefit of that pretious and all-sauing liquour which is most true although the former exposition seemeth more literall and both maintaine the right of our cause 4. Further more the Apostle sayth I chastize my body bring it into seruitude least perhaps wheÌ„ I haue preached to others my selfe become a reprobate Which reprobation from God vtter extirpation of grace if S. Paul feared how much more we sayth S. Chrysostom Heer may we lambes tremble quoth another when the ramme the guide of the flocke must so labour punish himselfe For in lieu of chastize the Greeke hath 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which Paulinus and Erasmus translate liuidum facio I make blacke and blew S. Peter witnesseth the same with S. Paul It was better for theÌ„ not to know the way of iustice then after the knowledge to turne backe from that holy coÌ„mandment which was deliuered to them Where according to S. Augustine he writeth of them who once enioyed and were after depriued of iustifying grace And S. Peter explicating himselfe straight way after affirmeth That of the true prouerbe is chaunced to them the Dog returned to his vomit and the 2. Petr. 2. v. 22. Ezech. 10. v. 24. Sow washed into her wallowing in the mire Likewise the Prophet Ezechiel If the iust man turne away himself from his iustice do iniquity according to all the abhominations which the impious vseth to worke shall he liue Yet least Fulke should reply that he may returne away for a tyme but shall be sure to returne before he dye it followeth in the same place All his iustice which he had done shall not be remembred in the preuarication which he hath preuaricated and in his sinnes which he hath
with iustice which they cannot haue without ordinary fayth yet he testifyeth of theÌ„ that they could not know whether they should perseuere and go forward in the way of iustice without reuelation therefore he must needs be vnderstood maugre M. Abbots out facing the contrary not of the ordinary reuelation of fayth which they had but of some speciall and extraordinary which they had not It were too long to lay before you the agreement heerein of S. Chrysostome S. Hierome S. Gregory S. Bernard Prosper Chrys hom 5. in c. 1. ad Tim. l. 1. de compun cordis Hier. ep 127. ad Pabiol l. x. comm in c. 7. Matth. Greg. l. 6. in 1. Reg. Bernar. ep 107. Prosp l. 2. de vocat gent. Luth. de capt Babil c. de Bapt. Abbot c. 3. sect 10 fol 321. 1. Ioan. 3. v. 9. Psal 37. v. 24. Sect. 9. f. 318. Fulke in c. 13. 1. ad Cor. sect 5. Fulk in c. 3 ep Ioan. sect 5. 1. Ioanâ— 3. v. 14. 15. and others 8. Therefore to conclude Luther some few yeares since stayned his breath with this contagious speach That the faythfull man cannot perish if he would how wickedly soeuer he liue vnles he cease to beleeue which the whole Christian world then abhorred as the furnace of licentiousnes as the mouth of hell But his disciples more pernicious then he dare now auerre that he cannot only not perish vnles he forsake his fayth but that he cannot at all forsake his fayth that he cannot by any deboyshnes by any lasciuious and wanton demeanour be finally abandoned and cast off from God For thogh the iustifyed by occasion fall yet they neuer so fall but that his seed remayneth in them And his hand is vnder to lift them vp againe In the Section before he openeth his meaning in this sort When we say that the regenerate man is neuer wholy cut off from Christ we meane as touching inward spirituall grace Another of that crew Though all sinne be against fayth and Charity yet we do not hold that either fayth or charity in them that are iustifyed is vtterly lost by deadly sin Likewise He which is borne of God cannot be voyd of loue towards his neighbour though he sinne particulerly against the rule of Charity If Beelzebub should send his preachers abroad could he desire a fitter Ghospeller a more zealous promoter of his kingdome then this A more ready to further iniquity to smother the truth of Christ and splendour of his Ghospel Which quite oppositely preacheth He that loueth not abideth in death whosoeuer hateth his brother is a murderer And you know that no murderer hath life euerlasting abiding in himselfe What is this life euerlasting but the inward and spirituall grace The inherent charity the seed of God springing vp to eternall life Which the holy Euangelist S. Iohn denyeth to abide in him that sinneth against the rule of Charity contrary to the auouchement of this new Euangelist Of him I say and some other his confederates for all are not attainted with so mischieuous a corruption D. Feild interpreting Fiel l 3. c. 22. fol. 118. the recited words of Luther A man cannot perish though he would and how wickedly soeuer he liue vnles he cease to beleeue Luther quoth he constantly teacheth that iustifying fayth cannot remaine in that man that sinneth with full consent nor be found in that soule wherein are peccata vastantia conscientiam as Melancthon speaketh following Augustine that is sins raging ruling preuayling laying wast and destroying the integrity of conscience which should resist against euill and condemne it This is all then that Luther sayth that no wickednes which with fayth may stand can hurt vs as long as fayth continueth but if sinne once become regnant and so exclude fayth we are in the state of damnation Heer you see that fayth may be lost that the iustifyed may fall into the state of damnation and vtterly perish 9. More plainely D. Ouerall then Deane of Paules in the publique conference at Hampton Court setteth downe his iudgment namely that whosoeuer though before iustifyed In the summe of the Confer before the Kings Maiesty 41. 42. fol. 42. fol. 30. did commit any grieuous sinne as adultery murder treason or the like did become ipso facto subiect to Gods wrath guilty of damnation whose opinion his Maiesty with his Princely censure most iudiciously approued and taxed the contrary as a desperate presumption with whome the greatest and learnedest part of that Assembly in all likelihood consented therefore I might haue spared this my labour if by the retchlesnesse of inferiour officers that execrable doctrine had not beene printed anew nor permitted to be sould and spread abroad in former writinges which because the secret fauourits of dissolute security are willing to dissemble Ioan. 4. v. 15. 14. Ioan 6. v. 37. Ioan. 15. v. 2. Philip. 1. v. 6. Rom. 11. v. 29. I must be as carefull to destroy the rest of their bold affiance which are these Texts of Scripture He that shall drink of the water that I wil giue him shal not thirst for euer Al that the Father giueth me shall come to me him that commeth to me I will not cast forth Euery branch that beareth fruit the Father purgeth that it may bring forth more fruit He that hath beguÌ„ a good worke in you will perfect it Without repentance are the guifts and vocation of God Therefore whome he once iustifyeth whoÌ„ he once inocculateth in the stocke of life he pruneth cultiuateth and neuer suffereth to perish or decay 10. To all these passages I answere as Maldonate doth Maldon in â—â—loca to the first and second out of Rupertus and others that they only declare the condition of God the benignity of Christ and nature of his grace that it is not like our corruptible water which is disgested consumed dryed vp in tyme tormenting them againe with thirst who drinke thereof but the spiritual water of the holy Ghost neuer perisheth is neuer consumed is of that incorruptible property of it owne nature that it maketh vs neuer to thirst any more it is a liuely spring which of it selfe spouteth vp to the mountaine of eternall blisse So Christ of his owne benigne and soueraigne clemency casteth off none but imbraceth all that repaire vnto him God the Father is ready to cut off all superfluityes from the mysticall boughes which grow in his Sonne he is ready to bring to perfection the worke he hath begun neuer willing to reuoke his gift vnles we by sinning make our selues vnworthy vnles we destroy his building breake 1. Ioan. 3. v. 9. Matth. 7. v. 38. Ierem. 32. v. 40. Abbot fol. 268. VVhitak l. 8. f. 626. ourselues off from that heauenly vine flye from vnder his wings vomit out his graces infused into vs then the fault is not his nor any defect in his grace but the whole blame lighteth vpon
vs who willfully conculcate his heauenly fauours 11. Heere our Aduersaryes make a new sally out against vs and contest that we being once quickned with the seed of life and throughly soaked with the dew of heauen cannot waxe barren with the sterility of sin cannot renounce or disgorge these waters of life For euery one that is borne of God committeth not sin because his seed in him abydeth A good tree cannot yield euill fruits I will mak an euer lasting couenant with them and will not cease to do them good I wil put my feare into their harts that they shal not depart frōme So M. Abbot aduantagiously readeth it whereas the passage it selfe truly translated hath no difficulty at all For it is either vnderstood of the Church in generall which God will neuer cease to protect or of his forwardnes as much as lyeth in him to affoard sufficient meanes to all the members thereof that they * The Hebrew Lebilti surmehalai ad non recedere à me The Greeke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Latin vt non recedant à me That they reuolt not from me Aug. de na gra c. 54. l. 2. de pec mer. rem c. 7. de gra Christ cap. 21. tract 5. in epist Ioan. Hier. l. 1. aduers Pelag 2. ad Iou. l. 1. comm in 7. c. Matt. Dydim Beda in illum locum Ioan. Aug. de nat grat c. 14. Possumus si volumus non peccare propter vim gratiae in quātum in ea manemus Chrys in c. 5. ad Rom. VVhitak in his answere to the 8. reason of M. Campian l. 8. aduers Duraeum fol. 625. reuol◠not from him as the Hebrew Greeke and Latin wordes manifestly betoken To the former two which Iouinian pressed for the bolstering of his heresyes that the faythfull once regenerated could neuer si any more I answere with S. Austine S. Hierome Dydimus Venerable Bede that he who is borne of God cannot sin ne whilest he perseuereth the child of God and retayneth in his soule the fire of Charity which is repugnant to all sinne or rather that he cannot sinne as long as he liueth and worketh according to his new and diuine regeneration receaued from aboue and that the good tree cannot of his owne nature produce euill fruits no more then the sower and vnsauoury crab affoard from his owne naturall iuyce or radicall disposition any other then vnsauoury yet as by some other accidentall quality or forraine graffe the one may yeild sweet fruits the other sower so albeit as S. Augustine sayth We may if we will not sinne through the force of grace as far forth as we abide in it notwithstanding by the infirmity of the flesh malice of will or corruption of nature it is in our power grieuously to offend and slide backe from God 12. That which Whitaker and his fellowes oppose out of S. Chrysostome The grace of God hath no end it knoweth no full point but it maketh progresse vnto greater choaketh an heresy of their owne that true iustice increaseth not but standeth at a stay c. maintaineth the truth of our contrary doctrin that seeing grace iustice are beames participated from the illimited fountaine of Gods iustice they may be dayly augmented by new meritorious deeds with new accesse of grace after which manner it is true that it had no end knoweth no full point still maketh progresse to greater by multiplying greater store of good workes The rest of the Fathers to whome our Reformers lay claime are semblably quitted otherwise they speake of the certaine perseuerance of the election in generall or els they mean that grace fayth and iustice are perpetuall of their owne natures and alwayes flourish with the spring of vertues vnles we blast them in their buds or suffer them to be ouergrowne with the weeds of sinne THE XXIIII CONTROVERSY AVOVVETH Freewill against D. Fulke and D. Whitaker CHAP. I. BEFORE I begin to enter the list and combate with my Aduersaries concerning the liberty of mans Freewill I thinke it expedient exactly to set downe the whole state of this question what Protestants hold and what we in all things vphold against them First then they distinguish with vs a fourfold estate or condition of man 1. The state of Innocency which Adam enioyed before his fall 2. The state of Corruption which he and all his posterity incurred Foure estates of man Perkins in his refor Catho 1. Chapter of freewil by sinne 3. The state of vprising and Entrance into Grace And 4. the state of Iustification which the Righteous enioy by the merits of Christ. Secondly they deuide the actions of men into three sorts Into Naturall or Ciuill as to eate sleepe walke discourse buy sell c. Into Morall as to be temperate iust liberall mercifull c. And into Diuine or Supernaturall which appertaine to the spirituall good of oursoules and gaining of eternall life as to belieue to hope to loue God aboue all thing c. 2. These diuisions premised they all accord about the first estate granting therin at least in shew of words a liberty as they terme it of Nature of which I will not Calu. l. 1. Inst c. 16. §. 8. l 2. c. 4 § 6. Bucer l. de concord art de lib. arbit now dispute About the second they vary amongst themselues For Calum Bucer and their Adherents with the auncient Heretikes a Clem l. 3. Recog Simon Magus b Tert. lib. de anima cap. 10. Marcion Hermogenes c Aug. l de Hares cap. 46. the Manichees and d Wiclisse vtterly deny the liberty of Freewilll to any action whatsoeuer Which Luther and Melacthon defended at the beginning but after forced by our arguments to recant that point of Heresie they grant Freewill to actions Naturall and Ciuill whom Whitaker Perkins White and many of our English Protestants seeme to follow Neuerthelesse they all close againe and comply with Caluin that man in this case hath no freedome to any Morall good worke Man sayth Whitaker lost his freedom by sinne the will of man according to Fulke is bound to Sinne and not free Is thrall and sliue to Sinne It auaileth to b Conc. Const ses 8. art 26. Luth. in as sert art 36. Melancth in loc communib editis an Domini 15 1. VVhitaker l. 1. contra Duraeum p. 77. 78. and in his answere to M. Camp first reasō Perkins in his Reform Catho in the Chap. of Free-will White in the way to the true Church §. 40. fol. 277. Fulke in cap. 6. Ioan sect 3. In ◠10. ad Rom. sect 1. In c. 7. ad Rom. sect 7. in c. 2. ad Philip. sect 4. nothing but to Sinne. In the Regenerate it hath some freedome and strength against Sinne which it hath not at all in them that are not Regenerate Likewise Free-will is seruile Captiue lost vntill by Grace it begin to be enlarged