IV. offered to say: either that the will of the sovereign is by God's CHAP. law the rule of religion to the will of the subject, which he is to answer God by at the day of judgment; or that God's law can allow the sovereign to punish the subject for that religion, which it enableth not the sovereign to oblige his subject to profess. All must come to this point; that a Christian is bound to renounce Christ, if his sovereign command it. For if a Christian be bound in conscience to obey whatsoever his sovereign commandeth in point of religion; then, if the Great Turk command his subjects to renounce Christ, they are bound to obey it. Which whether it be not a position for Macchiavellian atheists, that make no more of Christianity than of an expedient to govern people in peace; I leave to all, that are capable, to judge. Thus much for certain he, that thinks himself tied to renounce his Christianity if his sovereign command him, is no longer a Christian; as having recalled the vow of his baptism, to profess Christ until death. And this is that, which I conjure our brethren the Presbyterians to lay to heart;-that the visible growth of this opinion, by their continuing this distance upon trifles, threatens to render them, that would have no religion at all, the strongest side. but cha the true ground of reconcile ment, or ment. § 5. In this open and stiff opposition of four religions, No offence, though not distinguished into four communions,-Recusants, rity, in de28 Prelatics, Puritans, and Erastians (for I oversee the Fanatics, claring as swallowed back into the belly of the Presbyterians); shall it be a crime, shall it be an offence, for me to say, what point of Christianity in my poor opinion reconciles all to unity, punishthat admit God's truth? that, believing two articles of our Creed, "one Catholic and Apostolic Church," and "one baptism for remission of sins,"-if we believe that they signify any thing, we are all bound to submit all partialities to that which they signify. Not as if Recusants, depending upon a foreign communion, and the head of it, that shews no inclination to unity upon terms of God's truth, were likely to take notice of one man's poor opinion concerning the consequences of common principles: but because we are ourselves so far chargeable to God for our schism with the Church of Rome, and the mischiefs of it, as we neglect those consequences; and because the justice of the kingdom in the pen IV. CHA P. alties of all recusancy may easily be rendered visible if we keep close to them, but not possibly otherwise. As for those, that make the pope antichrist and the papists idolaters; can they be allowed to forcjudge my opinion, because it makes our reconcilement with the Church of Rome easier than they would have it? For if division in the Church without evident and valuable cause be a sin to God, it will certainly be the sin of the kingdom to bear them out in it by stating our Reformation upon undue grounds. For the terms of it must needs be according to the grounds of it; which, being either invisible, or inconsiderable in comparison of the benefits of unity, must needs translate some part of the blame to rest upon that side which exceeds. Why it ought to be declared. The de it no of fence to § 6. And, therefore, to excuse my freedom in publishing that which follows,-let no man grudge me this plea for myself at the day of judgment; that, being convicted, that our agreement cannot be acceptable to God but upon the consequence of those two suppositions, according to that which follows, I am not at rest till I have said it. Could there be peace had by compounding the interest of two parties, without providing for the interest of our common Christianity, in those two articles; what joy could a Christian expect of that, which should be purchased at so unconscionable a rate? Here is nothing said but that, which hath been said, when arbitrary power might have made it a pretence for persecu- 29 tion, had the interest of usurpers allowed it. It is a short view of that, which I have published heretofore; presented to those, that may desire to see in one prospect, what is the true consequence of it in the composing of those differences that remain still on foot. And the danger of being involved in the crime of schism before God, obligeth me to declare that opinion, which being not declared, may render me liable to that charge in God's sight. § 7. Therefore there is no offence to superiors in declaring claring of it. The laws of kingdoms go by a rule, that is made of such metal as may bend, and be fitted to the body which they are to rule'. Only they are to aim at an inflexible rule of God's truth; which is the inheritance of every Christian. And, superiors. 1 Τοῦ γὰρ ἀορίστου ἀόριστος καὶ ὁ κανών ἐστιν, ὥσπερ καὶ τῆς Λεσβίας οἰκοδομῆς ὁ μολίβδινος κανών.” Aristot., Eth. Nic., V. x. 7. IV. therefore, he that sees it made crooked, is bound to set it CHAP. straight. This is not to say, what public authority should do; but what it should intend to do. A thing necessary to be said, when there be those, who would have it intend that which it ought not to do. In fine, the difficulty and danger of our case seems to supersede, for the present, the rule of obedience in the Church. CHAPTER V. WE HAVE THE SAME EVIDENCE FOR THE VISIBLE UNITY OF THE CHURCH AS evidence visible unity of as for the I SAY then, that the unity of the Church signifies nothing, We have unless it signify the visible unity of communion in the out- the same 30 ward offices of God's service; not only the invisible unity of for the the heart, in faith and charity: unless the Church be founded by God for an outward society, visible to the common reason the Church of man; not only for an invisible number, the unity whereof truth of the only His own invisible wisdom inwardly designeth. And I Scriptures. say it, because I conceive I have proved it by the same evidence, upon which we accept the Scriptures for the Word of God: upon which we hold our common Christianity. For I have shewed, that we believe the Scriptures for the Scriptures; the matter of faith for the motives of faith, there related". That is, we hold those things, which the Scriptures relate, sufficient to oblige all the people of God afore Christ to be Jews; all the people of the world after Christ to be Christians. This, in the nature of a reason obliging a man to be a Christian. For, in the nature and kind of an effective cause, I do not suppose, much less grant, that any thing is sufficient, much less effectual, without God's Spirit. But if an unbeliever should ask me, why I believe that to be true, which, being true, I grant sufficient to oblige me to believe: it will not serve my turn to say, that I find it written in the Epilogue, Bk. I. Of the Pr. of Chr. Tr., cc. ii. sq. especially c. vi. § 7, sq. See ibid., c. iii. § 21. CHAP. Scripture; so long as the question is, why I believe the V. Scripture. My answer must be, that the consent of all The Church founded upon the power of the keys. Christians in submitting to the Gospel (which they would not have done, had they not known the motives to be true, for which they did it) assures me as much, that they are true, as if I had seen the things done, which moved them to believe: especially, being as much convicted by the light of reason and nature, that Christianity goes beyond Judaism for advancing the service of God and goodness, as that Judaism goes beyond the religion either of pagans or Mahumetans. § 2. For this being the reason why we believe, that must be alleged by all, that will allege any reason to unbelievers; it must needs have the same force in evidencing the sense, that we allow it in evidencing the credit, of the Scriptures. If the consent of all Christians in submitting to Christianity upon motives recorded in the Scriptures, assure me that they are true; and therefore the Scriptures the Word of God, and Christianity the only religion by which we can be saved: then the consent of all Christians in owning the obligation. of holding visible communion with the Church, is to assure 31 me that it is God's ordinance. For the act or the acts of our Lord, upon which the Church is founded, I allege the power of the keys°, described by the effect of "binding and loosing," and to that effect granted to St. Peter, Matt. xvi. 18, 19; to the disciples assembled after the resurrection, John xx. 19-23, in the terms of "remitting and retaining sin;" to the Church, Matt. xviii. 15-18, in the same terms as to St. Peter to the effect of rendering him, that obeys not, "a heathen man or a publican" to him, that would be a Christian. Here you have a certain power, deposited with certain persons: the effect whereof is visible in the succession of persons, deriving the authority, which they claim, from the visible act of those persons which are here trusted with it; and in the maintenance of visible communion amongst true Christians, by excluding the false. It is true; heretics and schismatics exclude themselves out of the Church. For they would be the Church themselves, if they could tell how. But it is the authority of the Church, that obligeth Christians to See Epilogue, ibid. c. ix. § 1, sq. V. avoid them; as the Jews, to whom our Lord spake, did then CHAP. avoid "heathen men and publicans." And it obligeth, by declaring them heretics and schismatics. I know there be those, that would have the imputation of heresy and schism to be now mere bug-bears to fright children with P. But would any of them own any of the sects, which were shut out of the Church for heretics or schismatics from the time of our Lord till the time of Constantine, for true Christians? Whether they would or they would not, is not considerable. For if all good Christians then did, then did all good Christians own the visible unity of the Church. And there is as great a consent of Christians in the visible unity of the Church as in the truth of Christianity, saving this difference: that all Christians, good and bad, true and false, agree in the truth of Christianity; only those, that are neither heretics nor schismatics, in the unity of the Church. of the § 3. Let no man mistake this evidence, as if so great a The unity truth were read only in two or three texts of Scripture. Church They, who take upon them to argue of such matters as these, visible by ought to know, that the laws of all commonwealths, when of it. first they are founded, are the wills of their rulers; accord32 ing to that measure of power whereby they rule. Therefore, if our Lord trust IIis disciples and their successors with the rule of His Church, He trusts them also to make laws for the ruling of it; provided that they tend to enforce, not to avoid, those laws, which He in person hath left them as Christians. For disciples, that is, Christians, He left them actually; not actually members of His Church, as not yet actually formed, though virtually founded in the power of the keys which He left His disciples. These laws are as visible, as the laws of any kingdom or commonwealth, that is or ever was, are visible. I do not own the pope's canonlaw to have the force of obliging us. For I maintain a great deal of usurpation in the power by which it was made; as well as a great deal of abuse, in making the law given by our Lord of no effect, by the matter of it. But I maintain the pope's canon-law (and the same is to be said of that canon-law, whereby the patriarch of Constantinople now See Epilogue, ibid., cc. vii.-x., xxi., &c. P See Epilogue, ibid., c. xxv. § 8. notes i, k; and Due Way of Composing Differences &c., § 10. |