Justification of Separation from the Church of England, Treatise · Section 95 – Section 98
The things you further adde, namely, that all Churches have in Mr B.them good, and bad matter, that men deserving iustly to be cast out, are not false matter, nor so cast out of the Church, but as bad matter, but true: that excommunicates are still brethren by their professiō; are all of them so many devises of your own without proof, or truth.
For first it is not true, that all Churches (which you take forAnsw. such) have in them good matter: for there may be by your owne graunt, true Churches by their profession, consisting onelyonly of wicked persons, which you acknowledge bad matter, though true; and there are full many parish Churches in Engl: wherein, he that should be put to find any good matter, yea one holy and sanctifyed man, had need with the Cynick Phylosopher, seek it, o… him, with a candle at noon day, neyther is it true on the other side, that all Churches hauehave in them bad matter: there are Churches in the world, wherein (by the mercy of God, and power of his ordinances) there is no visible bad matter, that is, no person of known lewd conversation: els God forbid. You wrong the Churches of Christ, and deceive the Christian reader, where in the shutting vp of this point, you perswade him, that he shall find, ever cause thus to Pag. 116.be affected, and to greive, (viz at lewd persons in the Church) wheresoever he comes. He may, and ought to come, where there is no such cause of greif, nor (by the grace of our God assisting vsus) shalbe, without reformation; though you measure others by your own lyne.
Now for the second poynt, nothing can be more vntruely affirmed, then that the Church may cast out any part, or parcel of her true matter. For first, all the true matter of the Church hath vponupon it the form of the Church, and so is of the essence, and being of the Church, which for the Church to cast out, were to destroy her own essence, & being. Secondly, the true matter of the Church, and true members of Christ, are the same. As †1 Cor. 3. 11.Christ is called the foundation of the house, they of the Church, are the matter of the building: as he is called *Ephe. 1. …2. 23.the head of his body, they are his members: whom to excommunicate, is to deliver vntounto Sathan, 1 Cor. 5. 5. whervpon I do necessarily inferre, that if to excommunicate be to deliver to Sathan, and that the Church may lawfully excommunicate wicked persons, and that wicked persons be true matter, and that true matter be true members of Christs body, then may the Church lawfully deliver to Satan the true members of Christs body, which I abhor to write. And though your Ordinaries Mr B. be oft tymes so liberall of the true members of Christ, as thus to deliver them to the Divel, yet had the Ministers of Christ rather have their own members torn from their bodies, then thus to dismemthe blessed body of the Lord Iesus. The heynousnes of this fact shewes the vanity of your distinction, the errour of your opinion, and the falsity of your Church.
Lastly you do mistake the two scriptures, which you bring to prove, that a man iustly excommunicate is still called a brother in the scriptures, and so to be held by the Church.
The Apostle in the former place, 2 Th. 3. 15. speaks not of a man excommunicated, no… worthy to be excommunicated neyther: but of such a person, as followes not his calling faithfully as he ought, but, being negligent in his own, is to busy in other mens matters: whom he wills the brethren to mark, and no way to countenaunce in suc… walking, but on the contrary to shew their dislike of it, that he may see it, and be ashamed of it: and this he that reads over the chapter, shall observe (I suppose) to be the Apostles meaning. In the second place, which is, 1 Cor. 5. 11. his meaning is, not, that Christians becōming fornicators, covetous, Idolaters, and so continuing obstinate, should still be reputed brethren notwithstanding, but he speaks of a brother there, as Ezechiel speaks of a righteous man, chapt. 18. 24. that turns away from his righteousnes and commits in…quity, and doth according to all the abomination of the wicked, &c. and as truely may it be affirmed, that the person Ezechiel speaks of, is still to be reputed a righteous man, as that he, of whom Paul speaks, is still to be accounted a brother. Both the Prophet, and Apostle speaks of such persons, …s were righteous, and brethren reputatively, before they did so bastardly degenerate. And is it possible, that Christ should charge his Ch: to account an obstinate offender, as an heathen and publican, Mat. 18. and that Paul should come after, and direct them to account him a brother? Besides †Math. 23 8.all the members of the Church are brethren: and to become a member is to become a brother, and so to be excommunicated out of the Church is nothing els but to be cast out of the Churches brotherhood. Lastly, the Apostle, 1 Cor. 5. 11. names idolatours amongst the rest; and will you hauehave idolaters your brethren, Mr B? why then did you in the former pag. exclude Papists, and pag. 108. Idolatours vniversally? A holy brotherhood it seems you will have, brother idolater, haeretique, and what not?
The instance you bring of Symon Magus an hypocrite received by the Apostle, (by the Evangelist you should say) Act. 8. makes strōgly against you, if it be well considered, what is written of him. For after he was discovered by Peter not to have his heart right in the sight of God, he was pronounced by him to have neyther part, nor fellowship in that busines. ver: 21. Now if Philip had discerned thus much by him at the first, do you think he would have acknowledged him for a partener in it? or hauehave given the seal of the forgivenes of sinns, of new birth, and of salvation (as you truely prove baptism to be pag. 119.) to such a blank? nay would be hauehave prophaned the Lords holy things vponupon such a dog or swyne, contrary to the expresse commaundement of Christ, Math. 7. 6. Cease Mr B. to excuse your self by accusing the holy Apostles, and Evangelists of Christ.
And herevpon I do thus argue.
They that hauehave no right to the holy things of God in the Ch: are not to be admitted into it, neyther is the Church gathered of such persons, rightly, and truely gathered.
But men of lewd conversation have no right to the holy things of God in the Church; and therefore the Church gathered of such persons, is not truely gathered.
The former propositiō is clear, bycause men admitted into the Church, are admitted to the participation, and cōmunion of the holy things of God in the Church. The 2. also appeareth, both by the scripture before named, where Peter pronounceth, that, such as have not their hart right with God, (which no lewd persons hav or ever had) hauehave no part in the holy things of God, as also by Mr Bernards own graunt, namely, that wicked persons are to be cast out of the Church. And what could there be in the world more ridiculous, yea or wherein God were more plainly mocked, then to gather a Church of such persons, as are judged fit to be cast out of the Church? And yet for this Church-gathering (being indeed his own) Mr B: pleads both here, and every where, both in this, and his other book.
In the next place come in certayn popular similitudes, to colour over that rotten errour, which can by no reason, or scripture, be made sound: in number three, which I will consider in order.I.
Two persons are lawfully marryed by publique profession and mutuall cor…nt: Mr. B.now though the wise perform not her covenant, but prove vnfaithful, yet is she still a true wis…, till the bill of divorcement be given out.
I graunt it: but see you not, how you take the thing for granted,Answ. which wee deny, namely, that your nationall Church is the true wife of Christ? Since he divorced his ancient wife the nation of the Iewes, he never maried, nor will marry, nation more: much lesse, (which is more specially to be cōsidered) did he ever marry for his lawfull wife the prophane multitudes of vnhallowed Atheists wherwith, as you confesse in the beginning of your book your Church aboundeth. Hath Christ commaunded his †2 Cor. 6. 14.people not to be vnequally yoked with vnbeleevers? and will he yoke himself with them, & with Atheists, & other wicked persons? which are in deed †1 Tim. …. 8. Tit. 1. 15. Iam. 2. 17. 20.infidels, & unbeleevers, whatsoever they professe in word, though you in your 2 book Mr B. do with defiance avouch the contrary.
The same Apostle in an other place affirmeth that, *2 Cor. 6. 15. 16.he which coupleth himself with an harlot, is one body with her: & forbids the faithfull, as a most impious thing, to make the members of Christ, the members of an▪ harlot: and will Christ make himself the head of harlots, theves, murtherers, blasphemers, and the like? or become one body with them, he the head, and they the members, as it is betwixt him, and his Church, 1 Cor. 10. 17. & 12. 12. 27. Lastly, no Woman having a former housband alive, may take a second, or be lawfully maryed vntounto him: but wicked & prophane persons have a former husband yet living, even the law, or sin taking occasion by the law, to work in them all manner of lust, & ruling over them as the husband over the wife, to which also they are bound, as the wife vntounto the housband: Rom. 7. 1. 2. 3. 5. 8. & therefore cannot be maryed vntounto Christ, nor become his wife. The 2. similitude followeth.II.
A man professing obedience to a king as his alone sovereign, and obeying Mr B.his lawes in the general, though he transgresse in some things openly, & greatly, is that Kings true subiect notwithstanding.
You deal vnfaithfully, & put the case wrong. The question is of aAnsw. man professing himself in word the Kings loyall subiect, & his alone, but in deed, & truth, the sworn slave of his professed enemy, & an apparant rebell against the Kings majesty. And whether such a one be a true subiect vntounto the King or no: for such, and no better, are wicked, & profane men, whatsoever in word they professe, even slaves, and vassals of the Divel, and rank rebels against the L. Iesus. Right now you would have Rome a true Church, & now you will have Iesuites the Kings true subjects: for such they professe themselves, as boldly, as falsly. And yet no Romish Preist, or Iesuit is more treacherous to the Kings person, & state, then is a prophane vngoldly man professing Christianity, to the crown, & dignity of Christ Iesus.
The 3. resemblance is of a man professing one onelyonly trade, though bunglingly, III.or carelesly, whom none will call a false trades-man, but eyther no good Mr B.trades-man, or vnprofitable, yet truely that trades-man by his profession.
Here, as before, you mis-put the case; you should instance in aAnsw. man professing a trade or faculty, but practising the contrary in his generall course. For example, a man professeth himself▪ in word a surgeon, or physition, but is observed, and found in deed and practise, to poyson men, and cut their throtes, and this to be his resolved course. Now so charitable is Mr B. as he will have this man still called, and that truely, a Physition, or surgeon, though not good, nor profitable. But the truth is, he is a false, and treacherous homicyde, and murtherer, and so to be abhorred of all, but of none eyther to be called, or accounted a true physition, or surgeon, eyther good, or evil. Such a one, and no better is he to his own soul, that vnderunder the profession of Christianity in word, practiseth wickednes, and impiety, and hath his conversation in them.
The authour, having thus ended his defence for the bad and naughty matter of his Church, so granted by him, in effect, comes to speak of false matter: but so breifly, and darkly withall, as it appears plainly, he is loth to meddle with it, least in the handling, his bad matter should prove false matter, as it comes to passe with counterfeyt coyn. That he sayth then is, that false matter is contrary to this true matter, that is to the true matter, of which he hath spoken. Wherevpon it followeth, that since the true matter, he hath spoken of, is wicked, and vngodly men, though professing Christ▪ and that holy, and godly men are contrary to men wicked, & vngodly, that therefore godly and holy men are contrary to the true matter of his Church, and so by his reckoning, false matter. To conclude this point. What is false, but that which hath an appearance of truth, but not the truth it self, whereof it makes shew? in which respect the scriptures also speak of false Christs, false Prophets, false Apostles, false brethren, false witnesses, false ballances, and the like: pretending themselves to be that which they are not, and to have that truth in them, which they have not: of all which, there is none more truely false, nor more fitly so called, then that man is, and is called truely a false christian, or false matter of the Church, which … in word he looks to be saved by Iesus Christ, and yet continues in a lewd, and wicked conversation †2 Tim. 3. ….having a shew of godlines, but denying the power thereof: and *Tit. 1. 16.professing the knowledg of God, but by works denying him. Wherevpon I do also conclude, that the body of the Church of England being gathered generally▪ and for the most part of such members visibly, cannot be the true visible body of Christ, except a true living body can be compact of false, and dead members.