Questions of Religion, Commonplaces · Commonplace 13
The thirtenth Common place. Of the authoritie or power of Priestes.
The. Lij. Question.
Whether Priests hauehave power and authoritie to forgiue or retayne those sinnes, for the whiche wee bee sory, and confesse our selues?
The Answere.
THe power which ChristPower is an office. hathe giuen to the Ministers of the Churche, is rather an office than a power: for power belongeth to Christ alone. And that power or Office which the Ministers or Priests hauehave receyued, is to edifie, and not to destroy, as Paule manifestly teacheth. 2. Cor. 10. And the keyes of the kingdome of god are giuen in déede vntounto ye Ministers of the church. For our Lord promised them to PeterThe kayes of the kingdome of heauen. and to the rest of the Apostles, Math. 16. with these words: I will giuegive vntounto thee the keyes of the kingdome of heauen, and whatsoeuer thou shalt lose in earth shal be losed in heauen, and whatsoeuer thou shalt binde on earth shal be bound in heauen: the same he gaue to all the Disciples. John. 20. saying: Euen as my father sent me, so sende I you: who soeuers sinnes you shall remitte, they shall be forgiuen, and whose sinnes you shall retayne, they shall be retayned. ThereforeOf binding and loosing. to lose, is to forgiue sinnes: and to binde, is not to forgiue or to retayne sinnes. But bycause no man can remit or forgiue sinnes but God onelyonly, therefore the Ministers of God by his commaundement preaching the Gospel, doo declare that god forgiueth their sinnes, and remitteth all punishmente, if they beléeue in Chryst: and that on the other side their sinne remayneth, and that they shall bée punyshed for the same if they beléeue not in Chryst: and therfore for this cause dothe the Scripture say, that the Minister doth bind or lose, forgiue or retaine sinnes. And as the minister doth truly preach this, so doth it vndoutedly come to passe both on the faithfull and vnfaithfull. For God being in heauen, performeth that which his ministers héere doe promisse on the earthe. By this we may easily gather, that the keyes are nothing else but the preaching of the gospel, and not a peculiare iurisdiction or power, as oure aduersaries reache. For euen as a maister of some house, giueth his keyes vntounto his seruaunt, to open and shut the house, to let men bothe in & out. So is the church the house of God, in the which who so euer abideth, is an inheritor of the kingdome of heauen, & those which through infidelitie, are not in the churche, hauehave no portion in the kingdome of heauen, but are euen as it were in hell: and the ministers receiued the keyes of ye kingdome of heauen from Christe, that is to say, the preaching of the Gospell, that therby they might open & shut. Therefore they open, when they teache true faithe, promisse eternall life, and exhort all men to come vntounto Christe, that they may be saued. And they shutte vp the kingdome of heauen, when they threaten eternall damnation against the vnbeléeuers, wicked men, and suche as do not repente, testifying vntounto them, that they are excluded from the kingdome1. Corin. 3. of God. But the power or effecte to perfourme, appertaineth onelyonly vntounto the Lorde, like as Paule compareth the ministers of the Churche to husbande men, saying: Neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he vvhichwhich vvatereth: but God vvhichwhich giueth the increase. VVhat then is Paule, or vvho is Appollo, are they any other but Ministers by vvhome you hauehave beleeued, euen as God hathe giuen the gifte vntounto eueryevery one? Therefore it is God onelyonly that dothe forgiue, or not forgiue ours sinnes: and the ministers which hauehave receiued the keyes, are onelyonly the publishers of this deliueraunce or captiuitie. Wherefore, some of the Fathers hauehave vsed in this case a certaine distinction, saying: that Christe gouerneth in the Churche by his owne proper power, and the ministers as seruauntes onelyonly.
And héereby it manifestly appeareth that these Romishe champions, which after so straunge a manner claime vntounto them selfe the power of the keyes, and persuade the simple people that by the authoritie of them they hauehave obtained I knowe not what wonderfull power, are like those vnthriftie and vntrustie seruauntes, who hauing receyued some certaine and limitted office, not being therewith content, doe vnderunder the pretence thereof, vsurpe the power and authoritie of their Lorde and maister. So these good fellowes conuerte the vse of the keyes which they hauehave receyued, to the accomplishing of all that them selues do like off. For of the keyes (which in déede is the office of preaching) these Popish prelates frame vp great and maruellous matters, for by them they doe aduaunce and lifte vp them selues and their authoritie, aboue Kings, Emperors, yea ouer the soules of men, their dignities, goodes and bodyes.
Furthermore, vnderunder the pretence of these their keyes, they heape vp great treasures, searche out the conseiences of men, and mainetaine theyr purgatorie, of which muche mighte be spoken that we heere willingly ouerpasse. But we knowe that the office giuen to the priestes and ministers of theThe office of priestes and ministers. church was to preach the word of God, and to giuegive good examples of life to the congregation, administer the Sacraments to féede and preserue the flocke of God: as S. Paule teacheth bothe to Timothe and Titus. And as touching any other greater power, which the Romishe prelates chalenge in the churche, there is not one woorde spoken in the Scripture, sauing that in an other respect, there is somewhat written thereof in the Reuelation of S. John, the. 9. 11. 13. 17. and 18. chapters.
The. liij. Question.
Whether mē by this retaining of sinnes, are by excommunication, seperated from the churche of Christe, and are deliuered to the power of sathan? And whether he be to be iudged a Publicane or Heathen which will not heare the church?
The Answere.
IN good soothe I maruellOf excōmunication and the abuse thereof that these mē dare make once mention of yt kinde of excōmunicatiō which the Scripture speaketh of: for it it were in vse, and mighte hauehave his force, then should them selues be firste excommunicated. For euē in the same place, wher Paule commaundeth him to be deliuered to Sathan, which had committed incest with his mother, and yt to be don to the destruction of the fleshe, euen there also dothe he forbidde the faithfull, to hauehave any company with whooremaisters, couetous, oppressers, drunkardes, idolaters. &c. And in déede we bothe knowe and confesse that the churche of Christe hathe power to admonishe, exhorte, punishe, correcte, and to Excommunicate all those who liue in sinnes, wickednesse, slaunders, and Idolatries, hauing no regarde to repentaunce and amendment of life.
But howe, I beséeche you hauehave oure Romish spiritualtie (as they call them) vsed excommunication in their church, who are they whome they hauehave excommunicated? For they neuer vsed the same to the rooting vp of vice and vngodlynesse, but to the aduauncing and setting vp of theyr owne glory and couetousnesse: yea héereby as with a bridle they hauehave helde in the godly, to be subiecte to theyr Tyranntcall power.Not to heare the churche. And therefore diuers Popes and Bishoppes by meanes of this Excommunication, hauehave not onelyonly Excommunicated, but also persecuted, Kings, Emperoures, Princes, whole Common weales, and sundry honest menne, yea héereby setting them together by the eares, and that onelyonly to the ende this proude spiritualtie might beare ye sway alone, and purchase to them selues all the authoritie and power giuen by God to the magistrate, and so make Kings and Princes subiecte to them. Reade the Histories of Gregorie the seconde, of Gregorie the thirde, and Gregorie the seuenth, of Paschalis, Gelasius, Innocentius, Alexander, Bonifacius, and other Popes, what they did to Leo the thirde, Henrie the fourth, and Henrie the fifthe, to Phillip and Fredericke, what they did to the Princes and kings of Germanie and France, with diuers others, whome these Popes moste miserably, bothe against the lawe of God and man, excommunicated and vexed with their whole kingdomes.
In like manner we confesse, that all those which will not heare the Church, according to the woordes of oure Lorde and Sauioure Jesus Christe, in the eightienthe Chapiter of Mathewe, are like vntounto the Publicanes and heathen. But what I pray yée, is this vntounto the Papistes? Doe they thincke, that all those which speake and doe against the Church of Rome, are Publicanes and Heathen? Lette them selues firste become the Churche of Christe, and then shal they be Publicanes and Heathen, that will not heare them.
But if these Romishe sorte be Publicanes and Heathen themselues, then shall all those be called and be in very déede true Christians which sette themselues againste their churche. To conclude, admonition, exhortation, reprouing, correction, and punishment ought to be in the churche of Christ, and must be applied as cause requireth to edifying: and therefore who so euer resisteth this good order, doth gréeuously offend.