Examination of those Plausible Appearances in the Romish Church, Chapter 18
CHAP: XVIII. That vponupon the supposition, that the Church of Rome hath sometimes beene a true Church, it cannot be concluded, that shee is so at this day.
SO on their side those counterfeit flashes of antiquity vanish, which now with a reall brightnesse, shine more vigorously on our side. They who cracked so much of their antiquity, are found to be but vpstarts; and wee which were flouted at as new comers, are found to hauehave the strongest title to antiquity. Yet here they will demand, whether wee can deny but that the Church of Rome hath beene a true Church: seeing there is extant an Epistle of St. Paule addressed vntounto her, in which her a.Rom. 1.….faith is commended, as being renowned through the whole world? Certes wee confesse, that the Church of Rome hath sometimes been not the true church, but a true Church: that her faith hath beene commended, by the Apostle. We say also, that if they can make her appeare to vsus at this day, as shee was then, wee will willingly shake hands with her. That neuerthelesse, this cannot serue her for any prerogatiue; for if the Apostle directeth one letter to her, he wrote two to the Corinthians, if he extolled her faith, testifying of it that it was renowned through the whole world, he hath graced also the faith of the Thessalonians with the same elogies.b.1. Thes. 1.…. These prerogatiues benefit not any of those Churches, at this day, with any priuiledge, why then doth the Church of Rome extract advantages out of them? The Churches of Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria hauehave sometimes beene pu…e and flourishing Churches: b…t now who condemneth thē not, as being fallen from the piety an… doctrine of their ancestors? But they adde, that the Church of God cannot faile or decay: a strange pertinacy! The Chu…ches which we hauehave named of Corinth, Thessalonica, Alexandria, and Constantinople since that they are altered & changed: that they hauehave failed, and fallen away, a…e not perm…tted to hauehave recourse to the priuiledge, and to the fauour which God had shewed vntounto their predecessors, if they alleage, that they hauehave beene sometimes true Churches, yet this consequence will not be admitted, that therefore they are so now. It will easily and clearely be manifested, that they are no longer true churches; and that neuertheless…, the church of God hath not beene conquered by t…e gates of hell, but hath continued immoue…ble vponupon the rocke, vponupon which shee was built by the supreme Architect, the Lord Iesus. It will be answered these Churches, that their ancestors indee…e we…e of the true Church, but tha… a…so the gates of hell hauehave not preuailed against them, that they hauehave ouercome temptations, that they hauehave vanquished death, and shall vanquish the graue; that they which hauehave succe…ded them, hauehave succe…ded the… in the name and title of the Church: n…t in truth of doctrine, not in pu…ity of life, and that t…refore they are not of the true Church. That it is n…t therefore strange, that the promises made vntounto the Church, should be true, a…d yet not appertaine vntounto them; seeing they are ne…ther the true Chu…ch, nor …rue Churches, but barely succ…sso…s of som… tha… hauehave beene.
Let the Doctors of the Church of Rome here tell vsus in conscience, i… s…ch an answere be not pertinent, & …eyond reply to the Easterne Churches, which are separated from the Romane, when they alleadge their Ancestors, when they s…y t…e fathers were of them. Why shoul… it not be permitted vsus then, to vse the same answere to them: that the…r predecessors mad… a part of the tru… Church, that the gates of hell hauehave not preuai…ed again…t them: but this honour and especiall fauour of God advantageth not their poster…ty, vnlesse they make it evident, that they hauehave not been Apostates from the doctrine of their fathers. Good parents may hauehave bad Children: and yet God failes not of his promise to the Parents, although the child receiue the stipend due vntounto his iniquity: the piety of his parents serues but to encrease his condemnation. A good father cannot perish, a true Church c…nnot fall away. But as it is but too common, that wicked children succeede good parents, which perish in their sinne, except they repent: so to a true Church an impure Church succeedeth, a…d perisheth in her impurity, vnlesse shee be repurified and reformed.c.Math. 3.9. Doe yee workes worthy of repentance, and presume not to say, that wee are the Children of Abraham (said Iohn Baptist to the Iewes) If d.Iohn. 8.39.yee were the Children of Abraham, yee would doe th… workes of Abraham, (said the Lord to them, then when they bragged, that they were of the race of Abraham) They e.Rom. 4.16. & 9.7.then a…e the true Children of Abraham, which are his Child… in the faith, and they are truely the successors of the Primitiue Churches, which hauehave succeeded them in the doctrine of the faith.
The ancestors of the twelue tribes which reuolted, were of the true Church; for all this, could it be said, after their reuolt, because sometimes they had beene, that therefore they were so still, vnderunder pretēce that the true Church cannot reuolt? doubtlesse no, for when it was said that the ten tribes at other times had beene of the true Church, that was alwaies vnderstood of their pious and religious ancestors: of them, meerely in respect of the outward profession, and in regard of the opiniō men might conceiue of them, before their reuolt. So their reuolt caused not that the Church should reuolt, but discouered their hypocrisie, f.Ierem. 3.11.Moreover it so fell out that Iudah, Be…iamin, and the halfe tribe of Manasseh reuolted also with a worse apostacy then they of Israell:Ezech. 16.51 & 23 11. 2. King 16 21. and consequently the reuolt was generall in all Israel; yet notwithstanding it could not be said, euen then, g.Esa. 1.9.that the Church of God was revolted, because that insteed of the reuolted multitude, God alwaies preserued his owne. A small number of the election of grace,h.Ezech. 9.4. which groaned & sighed for all the abominations, which were committed in Ierusalem.