The Badges of Christianity, Book 1 · Chapter 18
Chap. 18. That popish penance is no Sacrament.
THe doctrine of repentance and turning from all our sinnes to God, to bring forth fruits of amendment of life, is taught in the Sacraments aIoel. 2, 12, 13 Gen. 6, 5. Rom. 7. 18. Psal. 51. 5. Ioh. 1. 6.and commended vntounto all, Ioel. 2. Turne you vntounto me withall your heart, and rent your heart, not your garments. There is none that liueth and sinneth not, we are corrupt and become abhominable, the imaginations of our hart are only euill, and that continually: in vsus, that is in our flesh or vnregenerate part there dwelleth no good thing: we were conceiued and borne in sin, and therfore whosoeuer saith, He is without sinne, deceiueth himselfe, and there is no truth in him. This corruption of our nature that hath taken hold on all mankind (for there is none that doth good no not one) must be mortified, and the new man which is spiritual & regenerate by the holy ghost must be quickned. Repentance therefore consisteth in an bEsa. 1, 16, 17 Psal. 34, 15. Math. 3, 8 Act. 2, 38, 2 cor. 7, 10, 11inward sorrow for our sins, in an hatred of thē, in suppressing the corruptiōs of nature in a purpose to obey God, in a care to sorsake our sins, in confessing the greatnesse of them, in condemning our our selues for them, in acknowledging the desart of them, in an holy indignation & anger against our selues, that we hauehave beene so carelesse in looking to our owne waies, in fearing least we runne into the same sins againe, in desiring euer heereafter to please God, and to walke more carefully before him in zeale touching the seruice of God, and in taking reuenge sometimes and punishment vponupon our selus for former offences. For wee confesse plainely and deny not, but some outward penalties and chastisements of the body may be vsed & do please God, not of themselues, but because they are profitable meanes and good helpes to further and forward true repentance. As for example, he that hath offended grieuously in surfetting & drunkenes, and hath great heauines of hart & sorrow of mind that he hath sinned against so gratious a God and mercifull father: may prescribe & appoint to himselfe without appearance of superstition, or error of satisfaction, or opinion of …, some fasting or abstinence for a certaine time, that he may be better fitted to gods seruice, and further strengthned against those sinnes into which he is fallen. This doctrine we receiue as the doctrine of Christ, and agreeable to the prophets and Apostles, as appeareth, 2 Cor. 7. where Paule setteth downe the effects or fruites of true repentance.
Now the question cPenance no Sacrament.ariseth betweene the church of Rome and vsus, whether this repentance which is a dying to sinne, and a walking in newnesse of life, and whether reconciliation to the church and absolution from sinne be a Sacrament of the new Testament, institvted by Christ to assure his sauing graces to vsus? Wee answere, it is not. First, it was in time of the old Testament from the beginning of mans fall and transgression: it was continually preached and published by the prophets, and therefore before Christes comming in the flesh, and cannot be a sacrament of the new Testament. Secondly, it wanteth an outward signe such as water in Baptisme, such as bread and wine in the Lords supper: now eueryevery Sacrament must hauehave an outward element and signe to represent the spirituall grace: therefore penance can be no Sacrament.
Thirdly, it hath no word to commaund it, no particuler promise of God which is the chiese stay and staffe of a sacrament. Bellarmine affirmeth, that dBellar. lib. 1. de poenit. cap. 10.Christ instituted the sacrament of penance when he breathed vponupon his Apostles after his resurrection, and said vntounto them, eIoh. 20. 22.Receiue the holy ghost, whose sinnes ye remit they are remitted, and whose sinnes ye retaine they are retained. And he saith, the words of absolution are the signe, and that remission of sins is the the promise of grace which is signified. For answer to this assertion, I would gladly aske this question, whether the apostles had this ministeriall power to forgiue sinnes to repentant sinnets, when they baptized to remission of sins? If this power were heere first instituted and giuen vntounto them? Do they not by tying the authority of remitting finnes to this time, make their baptisme of none effect? Besides, we hauehave shewed, that it is not sufficient to hauehave a sound of wordes that may be heard, to make an outward signe: there must be a visible signe that may be seene, to warrant a sacrament. Now, to make a Sacrament without such a signe, were to make a sacrament without a sacrament. Lastly, as they take and vnderstand penance, it is neither sacrament, nor sacred: it is neither holy signe nor holy thing: it is neither an institution of God, nor any way of God. For they mean not thereby, amendment of life or inward sorrow & griefe of minde for the life past, which is sometimes testified by weeping and mourning, by sackcloth and ashes, by fasting and humiliation: but they vnderstād by penance … external discipline, satisfaction for our sinnes to God by our owne sufferings: & that wearing of sackcloth, sprinkling of ashes, chastising of the body, whipping of the flesh, putting on rough apparel, lying on bourds and hard places, abstaining from flesh, and aflicting our selues by such outward exercises, are a paying of the paines due to sinne, part of amendes made to Gods iustice, and meritorious before him. This punishment, this penance, these penalties we abhorr, as an horrible blasphemy against the blood of Christ, which is the onelyonly satisfaction to God for sinne. For if we satisfie for our selues, then hath not Christ satisfied for vsus, nor payed the price due vntounto our sinnes. Besides, they charge God the father with iniustice, in that hauing laid the guiltinesse of our sinnes vponupon his owne sonne, and punished them in him, they make him not satisfied with that punishment, but to exact the debt of vsus againe, fEsa. 53. 5. 7for which his sonne as our surety hath fully and sufficiently answered, as Esa. 53. He is punished for our transgressions, he is bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace is lated vponupon him, and by his stripes we are healed: the Lord maketh the punishment of vsus all to light upon him. Likewise g1 Ioh. 1. 7 Reu. 1. 5.the Apostle Iohn saith. The blood of IESVS CHRIST doth purge us from all sinne. And in the Reuelation he addeth, Christ hath washed vsus from our sinnes in his blood. Whereby we see we are taught to beleeue, that we are pardoned and reconciled to God, not through our owne satisfaction, not for our owne workes, not by our owne sufferings, but onelyonly through the death and blood sheading of Christ. Wherefore, their penance is to be acknowledged to be sacriledge, and accepted as a Sacrament.