The Rule of the Law Under the Gospel, Chapter 4
CHAP. 4.
Discovering the true grounds of opposing so cleare a doctrine.
WEE never reade of hereticke,Nisi dum Scriptu…ae bon…e intelliguntur ō … bene, & quod in ijs non ben… intelligitur, etiam temere & audacter asseritur; Aug. expos. in Ioh. trac. 18. but hee would challenge the sacred Scriptures as the groūds of his heresie, which indeede are the onelyonly hammer of heresie: and even so these spiders, who sucke poyson out of the sweetest flowers, set a flourish and varnish over their poysonfull opinions with some Scriptures, either wrested and writhen out of their owne sence, or broken off from other Scriptures & thēselves;Habent …crip…uras… a… sp…ciem, non a… salutem▪ De… Baptis contra Donat. lib. 4▪ for they have the Scriptures, as Aug: saith, the Donatists had the Sacraments for ostentation rather than for salvation. This vizard we shall put off in the 9 chapter, which shall vindicate the Scriptures fouly mistaken and misapplied by them, and restore them to their true sence and strength against themselves; for no sword is so fit to take off Goliahs head as his owne, and no weapons can be more keene aagainst these, as those which wee shall wrest out of their owne hands. But in the meane time we will first lay open the true grounds of this unhappy schisme, and the right rise of these palpable errours. And these I observe to be three. 1. Grosse ignorance: 2. swelling pride: 3. love of licentiousnesse, joyned with the hatred of holinesse,The first maine ground of this schism Ignorance as we shall discover in their order. As truth hath no enemy but falshood, neither light any contrary but darknesse; so the cleare rayes and beames of saving knowledge, issuing from Christ the Sunne of righteousnesse, are darkned and obscured in corrupt mindes by the clouds and mists of ignorance, the common mother of mistakes and errours: for what can a man in the darke doe other than misse his way, and marre his worke? And what hath made these audacious Libertines bold but blindnes? who while they busie their heads in idle and fruitlesse speculations, and waste their discourses in idle and impertinent questions, are grosly ignorant in the very principles of Catechisme,Hi quidem hom…nes indocti sunt, ac idiotae, qui non usque adeo evolvendis chartis sunt exercitati, ut exijs de…ria sua addisc…re potuerint. Instruct. advers. Libert. cap. 1. and farre to seeke in the very lowest grounds of religion. I remember Mr. Calvins observation concerning the same sectaries of his time: That whereas other heresies were raised, and defended by men of learning, wit, education, and reading: this was set on foot, and maintained by ideots, rude, & illiterate men, that never learned their frensie by turning bookes, but in some coblers or artificers shops and places of rude resort: for the basest schoole (saith he) will serve to teach a man to blaspheme God: and to prove his assertion, he nameth the two chiefe champions, who in his time raised and spread it about Geneva, both wel known to him and drew a great multitude after them;Alter cubicularius, alter hostiarius libenter fieri sustinuer…t. Cap 4. c…usdem libri. of whom one would willingly have had the preferment of an hostler or porter; and the other of a chamberlaine or tapster; fit captaines for their skill to levie, and lead such a band: and even such are the bricks that at this day are framed out of such clay; a base sort of people, whose ignorance (in the high conceit of knowledge) layes them open to delusion, and wrappeth them in errors, so as none that savour of liberty comme…h amisse unto them: whereof while I give a list, or catalogue, let none thinke that I father any childe on them but their owne (if they will owne their owne writings) or any opinion, but such as for the loosnesse of it, and likenesse with the rest of the brood, will father it selfe.
I know I have to deale with men as slippery as eeles, who can play fast and loose with their owne tenents at their pleasure (for what can holde them whom Gods Law cannot) Sure I am, many of them will deny those to be their opinions, or in this sence; or reject them on some private persons, or absolutely deny what they resolutely holde, if any way they may either advantage themselves, or disadvantage their impug…er. Nor herein I am not uncharitable: It is not long since one of their Masters (in the hearing of a Minister,Iune 12. who himselfe related the story unto mee) taught a number of silly women gathered into his house on the saboth day; That the Law was wholly abolished: That God could see no sinne in the justified: That they were as perfectly pure as the Angels; yea as Christ himselfe: with great vehemency and contention both establishing these and the like grounds and principles of his Catechisme, and reviling our legall Preachers, that leade men into a dead faith. But upon the thursday after, meeting the same Minister at the High Commission Court, and fearing some danger towards him; he disclaimed to him with as much earnestnesse, all that hee had then taught in every particular. The Minister onelyonly dismissing him with admonition, to consider how hee could answer God and his owne conscience, in seducing so many silly women against his knowledge, onelyonly to maintaine his teeth. It shall not much trouble mee whether they owne them or renounce them: I avow them to be errours, and not onelyonly creeping in the darke, but emboldening themselves into the light, and such as are very prejudiciall to many well-meaning but weake mindes, for whose satisfaction and setling I have set them downe as I have met with them in their papers, with some short antidot and preservative against them, intending rather a short survey, than any large refutation of them.
1 ERROR.
That Christ came to abolish the Morall Law: and that the Gospel takes away all obedience to the commandements: and that true faith standeth at defiance with working and doing.
Answ. This threefold error ariseth out of a threefold ignorance.
1. Out of the ignorance of the end of Christs comming, Ignorance of the end of Christs comming.who saith expresly, that he came not to abolish the law, but to fulfil it: in himselfe legally; in beleevers evangelically: as we have proved largely in the former chap: reas. 3.
2. In the ignorance of the nature of the Gospel; 2. Of the nature of the Gospel.which is so farre from taking away all obedience to the Law, as that it indeed teacheth and requireth obedience unto it; not whereby we performe the Law; but testifie our faith in the Gospell; and is therefore called the obedience of faith. foreign.The Law indeed calleth for personall obedience to satisfie and justifie before God,Rom. 1. 5. but so doth not the Gospell; but onelyonly for an obedience to testifie our love to Christ, who hath satisfied it for us: for this is testified by keeping the commandements. Ioh. 14. 23. If any man love me, hee will keepe my commandements. What love then in these men, that will keepe no commandements?
Object. Our love makes us keep his commandements: but what is that to the commandements of the Law?
Answ. As if Christ did not command the same love and duties in the Morall Law. See Matth. 22. 37, 38. where Christ enjoyneth the young man all the duties of both tables. 1 Ioh. 3. 23. This is his commandement, that wee should beleeve, and love one another. Is this his commandement of any other love than that which is the summe of the second table? and what were the commandements of the Apostles, but evangelicall commandements, & commandements of Christ? and yet they commanded duties of the Law. 1 Thess. 4. 2. Ye know what commandements we gave you by the Lord Iesus. What were they? Such as concerned fornication, v. 3. and oppression & fraud, v. 6. and were not these the same duties of the Law?
The 3 error floweth from ignorance of the nature of faith; 3. Of the nature of faith.which is so farre from renouncing obedience, that it is never severed from obedience; and it is not true faith that worketh not by love: for what is it to beleeve? it is not onelyonly to assent to what the scripture saith; but to adhere and cleave unto it, and to the Lord in the obedience of it: as Henoch by faith walked with God; Abraham by faith left his Country; abode in the land of Canaan as a stranger; offered his son Isaac, &c. And whence is it that obedience is called a fruit of faith? for every act of grace must rise from the roote of that grace, as every fruit from his owne roote; so as workes of charity are rooted in charity, which is a distinct grace from faith: yet are they called fruits of faith, because the doctrine of faith enjoynes them, and the grace of faith inclines the soule unto them; and because faith receives the spirit of Christ for sanctification, as well as the merit of Christ for justification. But why doe they exclaime against us for preaching and embracing a dead faith, while they obtrude on their proselites a faith which must not work by love; which, if they will beleeve S. Iames, is a dead faith
2 ERROR.
That godly life hath nothing to doe with keeping commandements.
Answ. The Scripture saith,Godly life is nothing but keeping commandements. that godly life is nothing else but the fulfilling of the commandement, and will of God revealed. 1 Ioh. 2. 17. He that fulfilleth the commandement abideth for ever: which is to be meant of evangelicall fulfilling, not legall. See chap. 3. arg. 5. One thing it is to exercise good workes in way of obedience, another to rely on them in way of righteousnesse.
2. Our charge is in every thing to prove and try what is the good and acceptable will of God: and have we nothing to doe with commandements the rule of tryall? certainly we can neither doe any just thing without the rule of justice, nor prosecute it justly.
3. The life of Christ was most godly, yet was said of him, Heb. 10. 7. In the volume of the booke it is written of me, that I should doe thy will: and hereunto must every member be framed that must be in conformimity with the head.
4. Not any duty of godly life can be acceptable or comfortable, but that which is warranted by a commandement, and we must know it so to be; there can be no right worship, or worshipper, but hee that doth the will of God. Ioh. 9. 31. If any be a worshipper of God, and doth his will, him hee heareth. So doest thou expresse love, shew mercy, execute justice, or practise any vertue, and not by vertue of any commandement? he that will not heare the Lord, saying, What I command thee, that doe onelyonly: shall heare, Who required these things at your hands?
3 ERROR.
That blessednesse is meerly passive, and therefore it is in vaine to put men upon actions for that end.
Answ. It is so to us in respect of merit and price; but in respect of fruition, it is obtained instrumentally by faith which is an action, and is said to be ours▪ yea our owne; for the just lives by his owne faith: Hab. 2. 4.not because we are authours or causes of it, but subjects in whom God worketh it, and because by it things beleeved become our owne.
2. We are meere patients in the causes of blessednesse;Wee are meere patients in the causes of blessednesse, but not in the conditions of it. but in respect of conditions we are not so: for as we said of faith, wee may also say of good works; God enableth to them, but man worketh them, and walketh in the way of them to blessednes: not that our works are causes, but conditions without which blessednesse is not attained. See Matth. 25. 35.
3. This assertion bewrayeth great ignorance of the proper and present use of sanctification, and the duties of it; which they conceive as legally urged, to helpe the beleever in his title and right to the blessed inheritante purchased in heaven:Christs righteousnesse onelyonly gives right to heaven; but our sanctification gives a fitnesse and aptitude to it. whereas onelyonly Christs righteousnes and merits give right and title unto heaven; but yet the grace of sanctification gives us an aptitude and fitnesse unto it: for, without holinesse none shall see God, Heb. 12. 14. and, no uncleane thing shall enter into the gates of that City. Rev: 21. 27Yea it is proceeding in sanctification to the measure, and stature of Christ, that fits us to the vision, and fruition of the glorious presence of God; and for the full possession of that heavenly inheritance.
4 ERROR.
That the justified person is free from all spot of sinne, and perfectly righteous: for justice requires that a man should be as perfect as by creation before acceptation.
Answ. 1. Iustice requireth that Gods wrath should be pacified, and a righteousnes procured whereby the sinner may be accepted to mercy; but not a plenary and personall perfection.
2. They shew grosse ignorance in the nature of justification,Iustification freeth the beleever from the condemnation of sinne, but not from inhabitation. which frees the beleever from the condemnation of sin, but not from the inhabitation or molestation: for sinne is in the godly after justification. 1 Ioh. 1. 8. If wee (that is, wee that walke in the light, and have communion one with another) say we have no sinne, we deceive our selves.
3. Faith it selfe in the justified is sincere, but not perfect; for as we know things beleeved but in part, so we beleeve but in part; our eye is not more dimme to see, than our hand is weake to receive: yea even in the best faith is imperfect, and mingled with doubting. Moses …aith quailed at the Rocke; Elias in a passion would be dead; yea even Abraham himselfe, who was strong in faith, though he doubted not of infidelity, yet he doubted of infirmity, Gen. 15. 3. By long delay, his faith was sore shaken, when he said, that Eliezer of Damascus must be his heire. Now would I know how that which is it selfe imperfect,Imperfect faith cannot make perfect. and not free from spot of sinne, can make another altogether spotlesse. See more hereof in the second ground of this opposition.