Parallels Censures, Letter 1 · Section 14
The Fourtenth Section.
And ſo I paſſe to another point which is you Fourtenth, viz.
14. That baptiſme is not adminiſtred among vsus ſimply into the Faith of Chriſt, but into the faith of the Bbs. or the Church of England.
This point you ſay is alſo erroneous: let vsus conſider of it I pray you ſeriouſly: I would know into what Faith they are baptized if not into the Faith of the church of England, they are members of the Church of England, & they profeſſe the Faith of the Church of England, are they not then baptized into that Faith of the Church wherof they ſtand as members, & of which Faith they make profeſſion? are they baptized into one Faith, and do they profeſſe another Faith? or do you think that the Faith of Chriſt & the Faith of the Church of Engeland are not one? me thinkes Mr. Bern. you lay a fowle imputation vppon your Church: in holding that the Faith of the Church of England is not the faith of Chriſt, & that baptiſme is not adminiſtred into the Faith of the Church of England reſpectively, but into the faith of Chriſt ſimply. I dare ſay your Lords the Prelates wil cō you litle thank for this geare: but let vsus conſider of your Faiths: The Prelates & Church of England have one Faith wherto they Subſcribe: The Puritanes & their Faction have an other Faith, for they wil not Subſcribe to the Prelates Faith: Chriſt & wee of the Seperation have a third Faith, for we wil Subſcribe neither to the Bbs. Faith, nor the Puritanes Faith, but to the Faith of Chriſt indefinitely comprehended in the Holy Scriptures: Heer now are thre Faiths: thre Churches: & ſo thre baptiſmes. But the time Faith is one, the true Church is one, the true baptiſme one: Therfor you & we have not both the true Faith, Church, & baptiſme: but we approve vntounto you our Faith, church, & baptiſme to be true: & therfor your Faith, Church, & baptiſme is falſe: & ſo certainly it is: For whoſoever have ſtinted their covenant, & limited their repentance, & abridged their Faith, have a falſe Faith, Covenant & Repentance: but you in your aſſemblies have your Covenant, Faith, & repentance at the wil of the Prelates, & you dare not covenant and practiſe al that you know, but walk in violating of the whole Kingdom of Chriſt, are mingled among al the refuſe of the Land in your Church, worship, & communion of holy things: therfor your Repentance, Faith, & Covenant is falſe, your church falſe, your Miniſterie falſe, your worship falſe, your baptiſme falſe, the Lords Supper falſe, al falſe: & heer give me leave to advertiſe you to look to your ſelves that know the wil of God & doe not nor dare not practiſe as you know: I wish you conſider your own doctryne that whoſoever liveth in any open knowne ſinne hath no grace: but you live in open known ſinnes: For you know you should reforme many things, which you doe not nor cannot ſeing you want the Cenſures: how then can you perſwade vsus that your repentance is true, & that your faith is true: you plead you have a true miniſtery, bicauſe you conuert ſoules: you convert ſoules a pace do you not? when you convert them to your falfe repentance, falſe Faith, falſe Church, falſe Miniſtery, falſe VVorship, falſe Government: is this the converſion wherby you would prove your miniſtery? not only to live in your falſe repentance, covenant, Faith, Church, vnderunder your falſe Miniſtery & Government, but to reject & oppoſe the truth, & that with ſuch ſlaunderous & lying courſes as we heare of you? you muſt affoard vsus better evidences of your Faith, repentance, & of your true miniſterie, or els we hold them al falſe. Conſider what I ſay Mr. Bern. & the Lord give you vnderſtanding in al things.
Paralleles, Cenſures, Obſervations, aperteyning to the Fourteenth Section.
Againſt this Section of my Lettre Mr. Ber. taketh exception in two particulars, pa. 252. of the Sep. Schiſme: accounting them both errors. 1. that baptiſme is not adminiſtred into the Faith of Chriſt ſimply, but into the Faith of Bbs. or Church of England: (ſo ſay I,) 2. That our Faith and repentance, is a falſe Fayth, and a falſe repentance, (ſo ſay I of their viſible Fayth, not ſpeaking of things ſecreat:) Mr. Ainſw confutat. of Mr. Bern. pag. 159. accounteth both thoſe imputations of Mr. Bern. vncharitable collections, and caluminations: Seing Mr. Ainsw. doth renounce them, I wil therefore vndertake the defence of them vntounto whom they aperteyne and heer I wish the Reader to obſerve whither it lay not vppon mee juſtly to answer Mr. Be…n. whoſe whole book in the eſſential parts of it was directed againſt this lettre of myne as may evidently be perceaved as in the whole tenor of it, ſo eſpecially in theſe two particulars againſt which he excepteth in this Section.
Now for the firſt let vsus conſider the intendment of the baptizer: How the Miniſters of the Church of England intend their baptiſme: How the law of the Land intendeth baptiſme: how the Service-book intendeth & directeth baptiſme: how the parents Suſceptors or Suretyes do demaund baptiſme & conſent to baptiſme adminiſtred: & vppon the conceaving of theſe particulars the baptiſme muſt be cenſured: now if al theſe intend definitely that Faith which is by law eſtablished in the Land, & that the partie is baptized into that Faith which they intend, it wil follow neceſſarily that baptiſme is adminiſtred not ſimply & indefinitely into the Faith of Chriſt, but particularly & definitely into that Faith which the Bbs. & the Church of England do teach & profeſſe: For which conſideration an argument may be framed thus.
Into that faith are the members of the Church of England baptized, which the Law eſtablisheth: which the Prelates & Miniſters teach: which the Church of England profeſſeth: which the miniſter baptiſing intendeth: & wherto the parents, witneſſes or Suſceptors conſent: & which the Service-book expreſly mentioneth.
But the law doth not eſtablish: the Prelates & miniſters do not teach: the Church of England doth not profeſſe: the baptizer doth not intend: the parents & Suſceptors doe not conſent to: & the Servicebook doth not mention the Faith of Chriſt ſimply, but the Faith of Bbs. or Church of England.
Ergo, The members of the Church of England are not baptized into the Faith of Chriſt ſimply, but into the Fayth of the Bbs. or Church of England, which is the falſe Fayth of the baptizer, of the Suertyes or parents, and ſo the Faith of the baptiſme.
For the ſecond point let vsus conſider the faith & repentance of the Church of Englād, I meane of the faith that is viſibly profeſſed & expreſſed in the fruites of repētance amōg them & therby we shal know the tree.
The faith of that Church is not a true faith which teach & profeſſe a falſe mediator: & the repentance of that Church is not a true repentance, which practiſe according to that falſe doctryne.
But the aſſemblies Eccleſiaſtical of England with the teachers & profeſſors of them, teach and profeſſe a falſe Mediator: For they teach that Chriſt is a Mediator of all that falſe Church, Miniſtery, VVorship and Government, eſtablished in the Land: Sacrificing and making interceſſion for them in the dayly practiſe al thoſe abhominations: Ruling and Governing them by all the Eccleſiaſticall Hierarchy, and by the courts & canons Eccleſiaſtical, which are the inventions of the man of ſinne: Teaching & Propheſying vntounto them by thoſe Antichriſtian, Prelates, Preiſts, & Deacons, which raigne in the Land: & ſo practiſing according to this falſe Faith practiſe a falſe repentance.
Ergo, the Faith of the Church of England, of the teachers & profeſſors therof, & the repentance of them is not true, but falſe.
But it wilbe objected againſt both theſe aſſertions that although one thing be intended in baptiſme, yet the Lord may admit of & accept another & though they profeſſe & preach falſely, yet the Lord he can & doth no doubt work mervaylouſly beſides al that we can think or ſpeak: Truth I yeeld it moſt willingly: & bleſſed be the Lord for his infinite & vnſpeakeable mercy therein: but we diſpute not what God can do of his powre or wil, do of his mercy, things vnknowne vntounto vsus: but we ſpeake of things revealed and manifeſted vntounto vsus, according whervnto we muſt walk & judg of matters according to that which we ſee: according as the word judgeth: according as the Church & members of the Church of England teach, profeſſe, & practiſe viſibly, which is ſeen & diſcerned of vsus, we are to paſſe our cenſure: but we judg no man before the tyme: we doe not clyme vp into Gods judgment ſeate: our Faith is viſible: our repentance is viſible: our charity viſible: our Spirit viſible: our baptiſme viſible: our preaching viſible: our covenant viſible, our Church viſible: our judgment viſible: things that are revealed aperteyne to vsus & our Children, that ſay we is falſe in the aſſemblies Eccleſiaſtical: Secreat things aperteyne to the Lord: theſe we leave to the Lord, we medle not with them: this I deſire may once for al be remembred & pondered, & ſo I end this matter.