Works, Part 4 · Religious instruction · Chapter 39
CHAP. XXXIX. Of Heresie, and many corrupt kindes of knowledge, and how the diuell pester…th the Church with euill teachers.
WE must humble our selues to see Heretikes doe more for vaineglorie, and for their s…ct, than wee will doe …or Gods glorie, and for his truth.
2 The neerer heresie commeth in likenes to the trueth, the moreHeresie. dangerous it is.
3 It is a dangerous thing to hauehave a proud… spirit, with a vaine minde, forNote. the…e sinnes leade men to heresie.
4 The …ue… seemeth to be very strong: for as the wise conclude, if they that are couragious,In what thīg and how far the diuel may be sai… to be strong. were also politike; or t…ey that hauehave wisedome, had also courage, none could stand with them. Wherefore these are dismembred in men, but in the diuell they …un…e both together: for he is both couragious as a Lion, and sub…ill as a Serpent. This is he that foyled all men from the first Adam to the last man, in whose hand all the …athers were no stronger than vanitie: and in this age hee hath made the high pinacles of ve…e the Iowe shrubs of the earth. Besides this combination of strength and wisedome, beside this proofe of his courage in all ages, Christ himselfe, who is his enemie, saith …e is strong, Luk. 22. 20. Nay, I will adde more, Christ that ouercame him, pronounceth …m to be a sh…d enemy. If he hath …een strong, hee is more strong, both because the world waxeth shorter, and wee grow securer. In these latter daies, the more the d…u… rageth, the more his strength increaseth; for anger is the whe…one of strength: the elder the world waxeth, the more the diuel rageth: For as he plaieth with mē, so he practiseth with the world, he la…eth his sorest siege in his last assault when death beginneth to moderate …im. And no maruell, for if he take a foyle, or suffer the repulse in our life time, he may recouer with ease, and come againe with some hope; but because in death, either now or neuer, he must bestir himselfe, he followeth with all force. Secondly, he rageth the more, for our security or little accounting of temptation, and not serious b…thinking of the matter, makes him the stronger; so as o… negligenceOmnia facit diabolus non tam potentia sua quàm negligentia nostra. doth inarme his diligence. He is strong enough without a…our & y…t …o be sure he will put on armour too Goliah was strong, and yet he go… armour, which sheweth great diligence; we are weake and …eede armour, & yet seeke it not, which sheweth extreame negligence. Thus diligent is the diuel. Sow no tares nor cockle, and yet in the fallow it wil growSimile. fast enough; but he cannot contēt himselfe with that growth, but hee wil sow also, yea and plough too, because he looketh for a plentiful haruest. This is his good hus…ādry, though his crop would be good of it selfe, yet he will sow. No maruel then though Peter cōtenteth not himselfe to call him a Lion, but a ramping Lion: and Iohn termeth him not only a Serpent, but an old Serpent, hauing by experience gotten a perfect habite: and Paul asc…ibeth to him not onelyonly darts, but fiery darts. The armour of this enemy is partly the reuelations of flesh and blood, partly the corrupt example of the world. The diuell hath a motion in vsus, and straightway it seemeth a reuelation to flesh and blood. Doe euill, saith the diuell; doe so, saith the flesh, and strik…s the matter deeper; doe so as Preachers doe it, saith the world, and this pierceth to the bone. If we could wring out these two pieces of armour, weeExamples see before. Ther… bee foure speciall companions of sinne. were strong. Now the diuell as a Prince, Iohn 13. 14. possesseth not alwaies in his owne person, but by lieutenants and embassadours, who take vp the title of his soule to his interest. This deputie or vicegerent is sinne, which taketh vsus vp as tenants for the diuell: and this deputie is accompanied with foure Tetrarches: The first is ignorance, wher with when hee had taken possession of our fathers, they might keepe good houses well enough, and hauehave many gifts indeede, for hee knew that for all that, they were neuer the neerer to saluation.1. Ignorance. Secondly, if the diuell sees knowledge must needes come in, and ignorance must2. Errour. needs go out, he sendeth out Errour, which must make men if they wil needs be knowing, either Trinitaries, or Arria…s, or Anabaptists, or such like, who may liue well indeed, and make a great shewe of godlinesse, but all for his greater aduan…age to winne the more soules. Thirdly, Worldlinesse succeedeth, who dares play his part euen vppon them that hauehave pure knowledge, whom neyther Ignorance, nor Errour could preuaile against:3. Worldlinesse. but if these preuaile not, then comes Hypocrisie, and hee will sift vsus, and search vsus to the quick. If an Angell from Heauen should withstand vsus to the face, wee dare boldly pronounce, that ignorant, erroneous and worldly men, such as will take order for God; when their barnes are full, and all Hypocrites, hauehave surely vncleane spirits breathing in them,4. Hypocrisie Ephes. 3 2. 3.
5 There are many kindes of knowledge: The common course of the worlde is setOf many corrupt ki…d… of knowledg▪ & what is the right knowledge. down, Micah. 6 26 Ombries statutes are sought for knowledge of Law-points. Christ, Matt. 16. complaineth of another kinde of knowledge: Yee see in the Euening, the skie is red, &c. but knowe yee the face of the Heauens, and are yet ignorant of the knowledge which bringeth euerlasting life? A third kinde of knowledge there is spoken of, Amo… 8. 5. and Prouerhs 20. where a kinde of people had a grace in making of the Ephah small, and the Shekle great. Wee hauehave learned a trimme part of knowledge to trippe men in buying and1 selling. Another knowledge there is Ecclesiasticus 30 24. when people keepe much ad…e2 about keeping of bullockes, and that so farre, as they first preferre them: but God and his3 kingdome are sought for afterward: Indeed these things are lawfull for him that hath first4 affected his own soule to seeke the kingdome of God, but to make the knowledge of God come after, is preposterous.
There is another knowledge, and that is of the law of God, which men make so smal account of, that the Lord complaineth by his Prophet: how hee hath taken paines to write the mysteries of the law, and men think it a strange thing; the knowledge of God his word is hard to them. Well we must enter one way or other, and therefore it shall be profitable to search and suruey the wayes. One way is set downe Ephes. chap. 4. 17▪ where the Apostle1 planting true knowledge forewarneth of going away in the vanitie of their owne minde, neither by adding or detracting, Deut. 4. 2. and. 12. 32 Apoc. 22. 1…. nor by cutting out the booke in peeces, as in Ieremie. This way is more flatly set down, Deut. 12. 8. Ye shall not …oe whatsoeuer eueryevery man thinketh good in his owne eyes: that is, if ye euer purpose to thriue in heauenly knowledge ye must not say: Me thinks this is good, or that is good, but ye must fetch all from the fountaine of the knowledge of God, which is warranted. A second way is2 chalked out, 2. Chron. 17 3▪ 4▪ where the Lord beginneth to commend Iehosaphat for walking vprightly after his commaundements, not after the manner of Israel. But we walke after the trade of Israel Be it spoken therefore to the face of all flesh, what man soeuer walketh thus after the trade of Israel, his blood be vppon himselfe. The third way is sounded3 Example. to vsus, 1. Pet. 3. 17. 18. Because wee perswade our selues to walke well, when wee walke after example, because thus, and thus did our fathers walke. Peter meeteth with this way, and saith, Christ hath redeemed vsus from the traditions of the fathers. This way would the woman of Samaria hauehave walked, Iohn 4▪ had not our Sauiour put her into the right way. Let vsus learne to walke out of the way of custome, and to come into the way of God. Though all the world goe this way or that way, yet let vsus say with Iosh. chap▪ 24 13. I and my house will walke aright, and so shall we grow from knowledge to knowledge, vntill all appear… before God in Sion. We must not then make Gods word a stranger, because wee will hauehave it thus, if it be according to my reason, or according to the fashion of the world, or according to my forefathers, but setting these aside, let vsus grow in the word of the Lord. There is another thing much hīdring this knowledge of God, that is, whē we hauehave a glimmering sight we cast of al guides, & yet in worldly things we hauehave no end where shuld be an end: our …ns are neuer gray headed, but in heauēly knowledge we quickly make an …nd, where should be4 Preseuerāce. no end. Many can be cōtent to know, but Paul would not hauehave vsus children in knowledge, & therfore writing to the mother citie of good learning he runneth stil on this point with the Corinthians, know yee not, know yee not? a speech of a reprehension. Sometime we shall see in his allegations no Prophet, no book, no Chapter, no verse named, a greater matter, a high knowledge they had without all quotation, wee hauehave Prophet, Booke, Chapter, verse Note.named, and yet no knowledge. Yet these are the times, that Daniel chapter 12. 4. speakethKnowledge. of the increasing of knowledge, and Ioel chapter 2. 28. saith, that the Lord will not droppe but powre out knowledge on all, not on the Iewes alone; but Esay more plainly, chap. 52 8. reporteth that we shall see eye to eye, and chap. 62. hee saith that the knowledge ofConferre Zach. 12. 10. Ioel. 2. 28. with Esay. the men vnderunder the Gospell shall be greater than the knowledge of the Priests in the lawe: if we should be such, wee had neede to beginne betime. Well it is an hard saying, that this knowledge is required of vsus, but it is true, and wee shall surely bee met withall. Looke on the Primitiue Church, and ye shall see women so desirous of knowledge, that they would bee so eger of it, that they would be asking questions in the Church, so as the Apostle was2. Cor. 4. 3. 4. faine to moderate them. But we neede not this moderation, of whom Esay speaketh more truly, that precept must bee vponupon precept, line vntounto line, there a little, and there a little, and all littles make but a little with vsus, Esay 28. 10. A wonderfull thing. Ministers cannot now adaies bring out of their treasury things new and olde, because they must still teach principles. Well it is a note of reprobation still to be learning, and not to be learned, to be still at the dug, and neuer to be past our A. B. C. But to doe ill, wee hauehave wit at will, Iere. 4. 22. wee refuse the running water, we chuse puddle water, but for the pure water we neither hauehave it, nor will hauehave it.
6 EueryEvery Church, eueryevery common-wealth, eueryevery Vniuersitie hath both land and dunghill,The diuel pestereth the Church with ill teachers and blinde guides. howsoeuer wee shuffle them togther, making the land, where the dung-hill should be, and the dung-hill, where the land should be, because we consider not, that wee hauehave the charge of Acheldama. i. of a field, not of Iudas blood, but of Christs blood. And hereof it is, that sinne is the rankest corne in this field, which shall neuer bee otherwise, vntill wee cease making husbandmen of the shreds and dregs of the people. But it is Sathans policie not to strike at eueryevery shrub on the hill, but at the trees of Libanon in mount Sion, fromThe flocke of Christ is bought with Christs blood whence should come sound & sure timber to the building of Salomons Temple. Hee knoweth it is more dangerous to poyson the fountaine, whereof all drinke, than the cup whereof one drinketh: and therefore hee hath well prouided the Ministerie to bee but a spring whereat all the wilde Asses quench their thirst.
7 Men must looke what followes of sinne: Heathen men say that a man differs from a beast in this, that he sees things to come in his actions, saying. What shall I get of this, or that? or what will become of it, if I doe it? I get this commoditie, &c. A beast is onelyonly caried to preuent things, doth that which is before sense: some of them perceiue somewhat, as the weather; but that is not by discourse of reason, as man doth, but by instinct of nature which God gaue them at the creation. The same difference is betweene the spirituall man and the carnall; the carnall-man sees what will follow, but goes no further than this world, and compasse of it, as what profit or harme will come by this or that: the godlie goes to the word, and sees what that speaketh of life to come.