The Certainty of Christianity Without Popery, Chapter 10 – Chapter 12
CHAP. X.
Quest. VII. What Certainty have we of the true sense of the Text.
§. 1. Answ. THis Question is partly the same with the former; For to Translate is to give the sense of the original, in other words. The sense is either, 1. The sense of single terms; 2. Or the sense of propositions and sentences, 3. Or the sense of many sentences conjunct in Method.
§. 2. The first is known to Translators as is aforesaid; As you know the sense of all words of all languages; by common usage and common Tradition.
The second is made up of the first by common reason; As a sentence is made up of common words. He that understandeth what these words [Repentance] and [is] and [necessary] signifie; may know without a Pope, what this sentence signifieth [Repentance is necessary].
The same is to be said of divers sentences conjunct. The sense is known by the way that men learn to talk and to understand one anothers speeches. And as you understand Baronius, Bellarmine, the Councils, or any of your Priests; even by the common acception of words, and reason setting them together, as man from his Infancie is taught to reason.
§. 3. But as Infants understand not common talk till they are taught, nor children and untaught persons so well as men and Scholars; so the plainest things in Scripture require some use and consideration, and Teaching to the understanding of them: Much more the harder parts. And God hath made it the duty of Parents to teach the Scripture to their children at home and abroad, lying down and rising up, Deut. 6. & 11. without asking the Pope the sense of it: And God hath appointed the elder and wiser to teach the younger and more ignorant, and especially Pastors and Teachers, to teach the world, and instruct their flocks, to understand the word of God. Not barely to rest in their opinion and words, but to shew men the same Evidence which doth convince themselves. Which Teaching is not a final Iudging.
§. 4. But yet where the Teacher knoweth what the Learner doth not, the Learner must have the humility of a Disciple, and not set his untaught wit conceitedly against his Teacher, and wrangle before he understandeth; but must judge his Teacher (whether it be Grammar, Logick, or Theologie, words or sense, that he Teacheth him▪ to be wiser than himself. Else why will he be his Scholar? And so he must believe him as a fallible man, with a humane faith, in order to his attaining of a proper Certainty.
§. 5. But there are in Scripture many passages so exceeding difficult, that we have no Certainty of the sense; And some that only a few extraordinary Students have a Certaintainty of; neither Protestants nor Papists further understanding them. And this is no disparagement to the Scripture, nor hazard or injury to us.
CHAP. XI.
Quest. VIII. What Unity of faith may be expected to be conserved by our foresaid Certainties.
§. 1. HEre are two Questions for haste included: I. What Unity in faith may be expected? II. What Certainties are necessary thereto.
§. 2. I. To the first, 1. A Unity in all the Essentials of the Christian faith, is already existent among all Christians in the world; For they were not Christians if they agree not in all Essentials of Christianity.
§. 3. 2. A Vnity of faith in the Integrals of Christianity is desireable, and so far hopeful, as that the wiser all Christians are, in the more of the Integrals they will agree.
But here will never be an universal Concord or Unity, any more than in mens age, strength, Stature and complexions: This Paul openeth at large, 1 Cor. 12. & Rom. 14. & 15, &c.
§. 4. 3. A perfect Vnity in the common knowledge of all things in Scripture, or all the revealed Accidentals of Religion, will never be found between any two persons in this life; because that no ones knowledge is perfect.
§. 5. II. From hence the other Question is easily answered. 1. To a Unity of Christians as Christians, or the body of Christ and Church Universal, and of necessity to Salvation, no Certainty is necessary but of the Essentials of the Christian Religion.
2. To the more Comfortable progress, and the melius esse of Christians and the Churches, as great a Concord and Certainty in the Integrals of Christianity is needful, as the degree of melius esse doth require.
3. To mens peaceable and comfortable Communion in Christian Societies, an Unity and consequently knowledge of the points of Christian Love and holy communion is necessary.
4. To our Heavenly Union, Heavenly perfection is necessary.
§. 6. But to insinuate that a Certainty of the sense of all the Scripture, or all that God hath revealed to us Objectively, or of all that Popes and Councils determine, is necessary to that unity of faith, which maketh all Christians to be Christians, and one body of Christ, is but a cheating trick, which is against Scripture, reason and their own Doctors.
CHAP. XII.
Quest. IX. What Determination is necessary to this Certainty and Unity.
§. 1. Answ. 1. GOds Determination of the Object, by Verity and Evidence, and his helping the faculty in determining it self in act, is necessary.
§. 2. 2. The inward true Determination of every mans own perceiving faculty, (sense and Intellect) is necessary to his true perception.
§. 3. 3. A Parent, Schoolmaster, Senior, and Pastor, must tell the Scholar their own Judgement, and then open to him the Evidence of truth.
§. 4. A Magistrate or other Superiour (Parent, Master, &c.) hath a determining Judgement, under God and his Laws, in order to the ends of their proper Government; and no further. That is, They are the only publick Judges in their Society, who shall be punished or not punished by the sword; restrained or encouraged, as teaching false Doctrine or true. But this is not an absolute and unregulated power. If they determine contrary to Gods word, they sin, and bind not me to obey them though I am bound to continue my subjection, and not to resist.
§. 5. Even so it is with Pastors in the Church, who have power to try particular mens cases, and judge them according to Gods word, and that only in order to the ends of their Society, which is holy Communion in Love.
§. 6. But this much power (as it supposeth the sense of the Law, and declareth it only as far as the decision of the particular case requireth, and not an Universal Regulating determination which hath the nature of an Universal Law it self, so) it belongeth to none but true Pastors of the Church, and that only within their proper charge: And if any one will do as the Pope, who will be Ruler in all Churches of the world, his usurpation maketh him a sinner, but not an obliging determiner.
§. 7. And thus you have our Answer to all his Questions, which he thrust into one, as plainly and distinctly as I can well speak. And because his snare lieth in putting you on the deciding of all these cases, while he doth nothing to it himself, that so he may destroy where he cannot build, and so would make the world believe that they have a greater Certainty in all the cases propounded than we have, I will next try their Certainty compared with ours and shew you the difference; And withal I will tell you why we use not their Medium and take it not for any Certification at all.
§. 8. But withall professing that if I knew where to find that Man or company of men that I could be sure could Infallibly certifie me of all the doubts and difficulties in the matters of faith, it would save me such abundance of labour in my long studies, and so gratifie my love of ease, and my earnest desires of the greatest Certainty in these greatest things, that I would spare no possible labour and cost to find out such an Oracle: And I wonder not that slothful men had rather conceit that others (by number or prerogative) are Certain, and so to trust upon a common faith, than to search and pray till they have a Certainty of their own.