The Necessity and Use of Heresies, Text
THE NECESSITY and USE OF HERESIES.
1 Cor. 11.19. For there must alſo be Hereſies among you, &c.
THeſe are the Words of the Apoſtle Paul, and urged by him as a Reaſon, why he did believe the Report he had heard concerning their Schiſmes and Contentions; For as we find, Chap. 1. He tels them, Verſe 11.that he was informed by ſome who were related to the Family of Chloe (who ſeems to have been a Woman of Quality and Repute in that Church of Corinth) that there were Contentions among them: Each Party endeavouring to cry up thoſe Teachers by whom they were firſt converted, or moſt profited, to the Prejudice and Diſgrace of the reſt: Whereupon, one ſaid, Verſe 12.he was of Paul; i. e. a Diſciple of Paul; another was for Peter; a third ſort for Apollos; whereby they did not ſo much bandy againſt one another, as oppoſe the Honour of the Lord Chriſt; who, by theſe Miniſters, as his Inſtruments, did work their Salvation. And therefore for them, to have ſuch fierce and vehement Contentions, about thoſe who were meerly ſubordinate, and could do nothing but as the Power of Chriſt did co-operate with them, argued theſe Corinthians, notwithſtanding their Gifts, to be very raw, V. 4, 7.childiſh, and carnal Chriſtians: As the Apoſtle concludes, Chap. 3. For-while one ſaith, I am of Paul, and another, I am of Apollos, are not ye carnal? i. e. Are ye not led by very weak and childiſh Inclinations, to make ſuch a Note of Difference among your ſelves, becauſe of your Teachers?) For who is Paul? and who is Apollos, but Miniſters, by whom (i. e. by whoſe Miniſtry, and Preaching) ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? (i. e. according to that ability which God was pleaſed to diſtribute to each of his Miniſters) to him therefore the ſole Honour is due, and not to be factiouſly aſcribed to any of his Servants; as the Apoſtle further argues, I have planted, i. e. laid amongſt you the Foundation of Chriſtian Faith; Apollos hath wateved i.e. by his Eloquence (for we read that he was foreign, Acts 18.25.i. e. a well spoken man) Apollos hath added a Verdure and Freſhneſs to my Doctrine, and made it ſpring up amongſt you: But, ſaith he, God gave the increaſe, i. e. made it fruitful and effectual. From whence it followes, that neither he that planteth is any thing, i. e. to be eſteemed, and ſolely gloried in; nor he that watereth, but God who giveth the increaſe.
Having thus convinced them of their Folly, as well as ſin, in making Schiſmes upon ſuch ill-grounded pretences; he proceeds in this Chapter, to take notice of a great Diſorder, which they committed even at the time of the Sacrament; for there, when they ſhould have acted in the higheſt Love and Coudeſcention towards each other, yet then they brought their Contentions and Animoſities along with them, and made the Publick Aſſembly, (for ſo I underſtand the Word foreign, ſince the Chriſtians as yet had no publick Places of Reſort, but met, as they could, in Private Houſes) witneſſes of their unchriſtian Diſcord. When ye come together in the Church, ſaith he, i. e. as Iunderſtand it, in the Rublick Aſſembly, I hear that there be Diviſions among you: and though it might ſeem a thing almoſt impoſſible, at that time, when you come to receive the Lords Supper, and in that Place, when all the Faithful are met together, there ſhould be any ſo bold Defyers of Chriſtian Charity and Order, as then and there, to vent their Diſcontents, and manifeſt an ambitious Strife; yet, ſaith he, I partly believe it; For there muſt alſo be Hereſies amongſt you, &c. And therefore I do not much wonder if you begin ſo early in Schiſm and Separation.
The words contain Two Parts. 1. A Prediction. There muſt be Hereſies. 2. One Reaſon or Ground of it. That foreign, i. e. thoſe that are approved and ſincere, may be made manifeſt.
Doct. The Poſition or Doctrine that I intend to inſiſt on, is, That in the Church of Chriſt, there is an unavoidable neceſſity of hereſies. Luke 17.1.As our Saviour ſaith of Offences, foreign, i. e. It is unchanceable, or, it cannot happen but they muſt come. So ſay I of Hereſies, foreign, It is impoſſible to avoid it, but they will come.
To clear up this, I ſhall explain theſe two things. 1. What is meant by Hereſies. 2. What are the Grounds or Reaſons, why in the Church of Chriſt, they are ſo fatally neceſſary.
For the Firſt, viz. What is Hereſie? Some hold it is impoſſible to be defined, amongſt whom was Auſtin. Others define it to be Sententia humano ſenſu electa, Scripturae Sacrae contraria, palam edocta, & pertinaciter defenſa, i. e. Mat. Pariſ. p. 874.An Opinion choſen by a mans own Underſtanding, contrary to the holy Scriptures, openly taught, and obſtinately defended. Which is the Deſinition of Groſthead, the Learned Biſhop of Lincolne, who for his ſingular Zeal in oppoſing the Popes Uſurpations in England, was ſtiled, Romanorum Malleus & Contemptor. With this Deſinition, becauſe of the Learning and Vertue of its Author, I ſhould acquieſce, but that all who have got long poſſeſſion of any Tenet, charge Diſſenters with the name of Hereticks; and every one, who maintains any ſingular Opinion, doth endeavour to back it with Authority of Scripture. And therefore without attending to Concluſions of others, the beſt way to underſtand aright the nature and meaning of Hereſie, will be to have recourſe our ſelves unto the Scripture, from whence alone we had the firſt Notice of ſuch a thing; I mean, as it is a thing criminal and damnable.
In the Scripture I find the word foreign to be vox mediae ſignificationis, and to ſignifie any Opinion indifferently, whether good or bad. Acts 15.17.Thus we read of the hereſie of the Sadduces; and the hereſie of the Phariſees. And Paul mentions it of himſelf, by way of honour: Acts 15.5. Acts 26.5.according to the moſt exact or accurate hereſie or Opinion of our Religion, I lived a Phariſee. But for the moſt part, the word foreign is taken in an ill ſenſe, to ſignifie, an Opinion repugnant to the ſenſe of Scripture, and likewiſe deſtructive of the Civil Peace. Thus when Tertullus would blaſt the Repute of Chriſtian Religion before Felix, the Roman Deputy, he cals it an hereſie: We have, ſaith he, Acts 24 5.ſpeaking in behalf of the Jews againſt Paul, found this man foreign, a very Peſt, and one that moveth foreign, Sedition, or uproar amongſt the Jews, throughout the world; and a chief Leader of the Sect or Hereſie of the Nazarenes: So doth he in contempt call the Chriſtians, as being the followers of Jeſus of Nazareth, which was a Name of Diſgrace and Obloquy among them. As Paul teſtifies of himſelf, whilſt he was yet an Unbeliever; foreign, I thought with my ſelf, Acts 26.9.that I ought to do many things againſt the Name of Jeſus of Nazareth. In this ſenſe is the word Hereſies to be underſtood, Gal. 5.20, 21.when by the Apoſtle they are reckoned among Works of the Fleſh, and they are joyned with Strife, Seditions, Wrath, Envyings, which are the uſual Attendants of Hereſie. Now becauſe Works of the fleſh are of two ſorts, either ſuch as flow from the fleſhly Underſtanding (as the Apoſtle cals corrupt Reaſon, foreign, the Underſtanding of the Fleſh) or ſuch as flow from the fleſhly Will; Col. 2.18.accordingly there are two ſorts of hereſies mentioned and ſpoken againſt in Scripture. 1. Such as upon Preſumptions of natural Reaſon, do contradict expreſs and clear Revelation of Scripture. 2 Pet. 2.1.Thus the Apoſtle Peter cals the denying our Lord Chriſt, i. e. either his Nature, as the Socinians of our times; or his Offices, as all the Papiſts do, a damnable Hereſie. There ſhall, ſaith he, be falſe Teachers among you, who foreign, ſhall covertly, (or over and above, or contrary to the Truth) bring in deſtructive hereſies, even denying the Lord that bought them. So the Opinion of thoſe, who under pretence of Humility, brought in the Worſhip of Angels, into the Church of Coloſſe, was a Formal hereſie, ſince the Authors of it, had no warrant of Scripture to add ſuch kind of Party Mediators to Chriſt, Col. 2.18.but as the Apoſtle ſpeaks, were raſhly puffed up by their fleſhly mind. Thus the denying of the Reſurrection of the Body, by ſome in the Church of Corinth, was a great Hereſie, as overthrowing the Foundation of a Chriſtians hope, 1 Cor. 15.12.and opening a door to all manner of Impiety and Villany; For if the dead riſe not, the Conſequence is very natural and reaſonable, let us eat and drink, for to morrow we ſhall die 2. Verſe 32.There are another ſort of Hereſies ſpoken againſt in Scripture, which flow from the fleſhly will, and have an immediate tendency to patronize and encourage diſſoluteneſs of Liſe, ſuch was the Hereſie of the Nicolaitans, who held, that it was lawful to eat things offered to Idols, i. e. to commit I olatry, in times of Perſecution; and to commit Fornication, Apoc. 3, 14, 15.which our Saviour ſpeaks ſharply againſt in the Revelations, calling it the Doctrine of Balaam, and expreſſeth his utter diſlike of ſuch Tenets, in theſe words, which I hate. 2 Pot. 2.So the Apoſtle Peter ſpeaks againſt ſome vicious Hereticks (as ſome think, the Gnoſticks) who, under pretence of advancing Chriſtian Liberty, Verſe 19.gave themſelves up to all manner of Impurity; promiſing, ſaith he, Liberty, they themſelves are the Servants of Corruption. Jude v 8.Jude carries on the ſame mens hereſie further, and ſaith, they did not only, defile the fleſh, but by ſtretching the Notion of Liberty, beyond its due Bounds, did ſet at nought Government, and revile Dignities, i. e. undervalue, diſeſteem, and diſobey their Civil Governours. Which kind of Hereſies, as they are more dangerous, ſo they are more damnable then others; becauſe there can be no pretence of Conſcience to juſtifie them. From what I have ſaid concerning Hereſies, as I find them recorded in Scripture, I draw this general Definition of them all. An Hereſie is ſuch an Opinion, as either hath no Foundation in Scripture, (as the Worſhip of Angels, among the Coloſſians) or, expreſly contradicts it (as the denial of the Reſurſurrection, among the Corinthians) or, Miſtakes and miſſe-interprets it, to countenance diſſoluteneſs of Life, and diſobedience unto the Civil Magiſtrate.
The neceſſity that there ſhould be ſuch hereſies in the Church of Chriſt, will appear, from the conſideration, 1. Of the Cauſes. 2. Of the Occaſions, which concur to the producing of them.
1. The Neceſſity of Hereſies will appear from the conſideration of their Cauſes, and they are theſe three, 1. God permitting. 2. Satan exciting. 3. Man begetting and ingendring of them.
Cauſe. 1 1. The firſt Cauſe of Hereſies, which makes the being of them neceſſary, is, Gods permiſſion of them. Where, by Permiſſion, I do not mean, an idle, unconcerned, ineffectual letting them paſſe only, and barely ſuffering them to be; but Gods wiſe, powerful, and mighty ordering of them, as he did the hardneſs of Pharaohs heart, for very gracious and holy ends, eſpecially theſe two.
1. For the Trial of the Godly: As the Apoſtle hath it, that the foreign, the ſincere and ſingle-hearted Chriſtians, might, by this means, appear the more eminent and conſpicuous. As it did ſhew the Power of God, to preſerve the Buſh (by which his people of Iſrael was repreſented) in the midſt of the Fire; ſo doth his Power equally appear, when his Truth is born witneſs to, in the midſt of the Triumph and Efficacy of Errour. Were there but one Opinion which paſſed for currant among Chriſtians, there would not appear any thing extraordinary in the owning of it; but when there are ſo many Parties, each crying up their own way, as the Epheſians did their Diana, there to keep touch with the things of God, and, in ſpight of all contradiction, openly to avow and countenance them, this ſhews a well-principled Integrity; a temper that God is ſingularly delighted with. In the world, God lets his Heaven be oftentimes wrapped up in clouds, that the ſtars which he hath appointed for the Government of the Night, Vid. Deut. 13.1, 3.may appear more bright and uſeful: So in the Church, which is Gods Heaven on Earth, the moſt viſible Manſion of the Divine Nature, he lets Darkneſs break forth, and thick Vapours; that thoſe Saints of his, whom he cals Lights of the world, may ſhine with the greater Luſtre, and redouble their Beams, from the greatneſs of the Oppoſition made againſt them. We muſt not think that God hath either given us Faith or Knowledge, which are his choiceſt Largeſſes, but he intends to try the conſtancy of the one, and the ſeriouſneſs of the other: And ſince the greater Difficulties we encounter, ſtill the more Honour redounds to God, who is our General; therefore he will ſeem to hazard his Truth, by letting it, to outward appearance, be loſt as it were, in the midſt of a ſwarm of Hereſies, that by raiſing up ſome Heroick Champions, he may recover it again with greater advantage. Thus in the firſt ages of the Church, Peter reſcued Freedom of Communion with the Gentiles; Paul aſſerts Freedom from the Yoke of needleſs and inſignificant Ceremonies; and John defended the Eternal Divinity of our Saviour, againſt the Narrow-ſpirited, Tyrannical, and Helliſh Impoſtures of the Hereticks in their Times: And in all ages, many there are recorded to us of great eſteem and credit in the Church of Chriſt, whoſe Memories, in all probability, had not ſurvived their Bodies, had not they ſignalized themſelves by their zealous aſſerting of Truth, when it was almoſt ſwallowed up by the Deluge, or outfaced by the authority of Errour. And ſuch Examples God will ever continue; for which Reaſon, he lets Hereſie, like Pharaoh and his Egyptians, captivate his Truth, that he may ſend ſome Moſes and Aarons for the Redemption and Deliverance of it.
2. The Second, and no leſs principal end, Ezek. 3.20.as to the Deſign of God, why he permits Hereſies, is, that Reprobates may have occaſions preſented them of ſtumbling and taking Offence. When a wicked man turns from that Righteouſneſs he once pretended to, God ſaies, I lay a ſtumbling block before him; and upon the wicked, the Pſalmiſt ſaies, God raines Snares, i. e. Pſal. 11.6.ſcatters Traps and Snares in their way, that they may be taken. There are ſome men, who in Scripture are ſtiled, the People of Gods curſe, the Veſſels of his wrath, Iſa. 34.5. Rom. 9.21. Jude v. 4.and by Jude, Forewritten unto condemnation: To whom Gods greateſt methods of Goodneſs prove only means of hardning them, to ſin more deſperately; thus did Gods Word prove to the Iſraelites: It was, ſaith the Prophet, Line upon Line, Iſa. 2.8, 13.and Precept upon Precept, that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and ſnared, and taken. And Christ, to the unbelieving Jews, became a Sione of ſtumbling, and a Rock of Offence, unto which, 1 Pet. 2.8.ſaith the Apoſtle Peter, they were appointed. So the Goſpel, foreign, to loſt, and periſhing Wretches, is a Savour of death. But what theſe things do only by accident, that Hereſies do in their own proper nature, 2 Cor. 2.15.i. e. they harden Unbelievers, and make them more reſolute in their oppoſing of the Truth. As when God did intend Ahab ſhould go down to battel, and periſh there, 1 Kings 22.22.he let a Lying Spirit of Propheſie be in the mouth of all his Prophets; For, ſaith he, thou ſhalt perſwade him, and prevail alſo. So when God ſees a company of lazy, vicious men, who are weary of the Powerful plainneſs of Truth, then he lets ſome corrupt Doctrines be ſcattered abroad, which may fit thoſe Inclinations, they are already principled with: and likewiſe, when others have curious itching Ears, and ſound Doctrine will not relliſh with them, then God ſuffers ſome lofty airy ſpeculations to be broached, by ſtudy of which, they may grow drunk with Pride and Prejudice againſt more wholſom Tenets. 2 Theſ. 2.10, 12.It was this juſt Judgment of God upon mens willingneſs to be deceived, that God gave them up to Antichriſtian, i.e. to Papal Deluſions. As the Apoſtle hath it, Becauſe they received not the Love of the Truth, that they might be ſaved. For this cauſe God ſhall ſend them foreign, the active power and efficacy of Errour, Mat. 18.that they ſhould believe a lie, i.e. a falſe and feigned doctrine. That they all may be damned who have not believed the Truth, but had pleaſure in unrighteouſneſs, i.e. in falſe and unrighteous Tenets. And therefore as our Saviour ſayes, Wo to the world, becauſe of Offences; ſo, Wo to the world, becauſe of Hereſies; becauſe as we ſet traps to catch Vermine, ſo God appoints theſe to enſnare arrogant and ſelf-preſuming, or vicious and ſelf-defiling men.
Cauſe. 2 2. The ſecond Cauſe which concurs to the producing of Hereſies, is Satan exciting. That evil Spirit, whom our Saviour cals, the Prince of the world, and the Apoſtle, the ruler of the Darkneſs of the world; out of that innate hatred he hath to Truth, by which his Kingdom is overthrown, ſcatters the ſeeds of Errour and ignorance, every where up and down the world: and as he ſet upon our Saviour with miſſe quoted Scripture, in which he appeared ſo dexterous and ready, as if he intended to puzzle and non-plus his eternal wiſdom: So the moſt deadly and poyſonous hereſies, have by him, by a ſtrange kind of Chymiſtry, been extracted out of the ſame holy Scriptures. Thus he brought in the practiſe of needleſs rigour and auſterity of Life, Col. 2.under pretence of Chriſtian ſtrictneſs and ſeverity, in thoſe Precepts, Touch not, taſt not, 1 Tim. 4.handle not. Thus brought he in the Doctrine of forbidding marriages, under pretence of Chriſtian Chaſtity and Abſtinence, 2 Cor. 11.3.which the Apoſtle in expreſs words, cals the Doctrine of Devils. Thus he brought in Superſtition, Will-worſhip, and idle Ceremonies, under pretence of Chriſtian Decency and Order; thereby, as the Apoſtle complains, the Serpent beguiling many through his Subtilty, Rev. 13.ſo that their minds were corrupted from the ſimplicity which was in Chriſt. Thus laſtly, brought he in the cruel and incompaſſionate killing of men that would not worſhip the Image of the Beaſt, and in ſome outward and viſible manner acknowledge their. conformity, under pretence of Chriſtian zeal and care of Truth. In ſhort, as the greateſt Cordials, if not rightly prepared, do prove the moſt deadly and killing Poyſons; ſo the moſt dangerous and deſtructive hereſies, have been compounded by Satans malice, out of the moſt Soveraign Drugs of Sacred Truth; but by him purpoſely ill mixed and tempered. And here I deſire to obſerve, that though the Devil likewiſe doth ſtir up Perſecution, as our Saviour felt in himſelf, when he ſaid of his own Sufferings, that then was the Power of darkneſs, i.e. Hell was then broke looſe, Luke 22.53.and wicked men in crucifying Chriſt, acted the Devils buſineſſes; ſo he foretels to the Church of Smyrna, Fear none of thoſe things thou art to ſuffer; behold the Devil ſhall caſt ſome of you into priſon, Rev. 3.10.that you may be tried. Yet this is but Satans After-game; for his great deſign is, to eclipſe the beauty of Truth, by the Miſt of Errour: And if he finds, that his Heretical Tares will not take root, then under pretence of Faction; Sedition, and the like old charges, which were laid both againſt our Saviour, and his Apoſtles, he deſtroyes thoſe careful Husbandmen; which would ſow better Seed, and leave no room for the Devils Cockle. The Art and Policy of Hell, lies in the quiet ſpreading of Hereſie, for this gains him ſouls, whereas violence never got him any thing, but the bodies of men; that is, it made them obſequious Slaves, but not real Converts. WE find therefore in the Revelation, Rev. 12.that when the Woman, under which the True Church is emblemed, had brought forth, the Divel stood by, ready to devour her Child as ſoon as it was born; and for ſome time, endeavoured to maintain his footing in Heaven, and till he was caſt down from thence, did not think of making war with her Seed. The Moral of which Repreſentation, I take to be this, That when Chriſtian Truth begins to break forth, then the Devil for a time endeavours to deſtroy it, by diſputing the caſe, and venturing his cauſe upon Argument; but when he finds himſelf maſtered at that weapon, then he changes the Subtilty of the Serpent, into the Roaring of the Lion; and with open mouth devours his Oppoſers. But this way the Devil doth not ordinarily try, till his Falſe Doctrines have been baffled and foyled, and he hath no foreign, no Wile, no craft left, to countenance the groſſeneſs of his Impoſtures.
Cauſe 3 3. The third Cauſe concurring to the neceſſary Being of hereſies in the Church, is, Man himſelf, begetting and ingendring of them. For as the moſt fruitful and pregnant Seed, if it be not caſt into a warm and prepared Soyl, ſoſeth all its Vertue, ſo thoſe Seeds of Errour the Devil ſowes, if the heart of man was not a fit ſoyl for them, would never riſe up again in ſo large an harveſt of abſurd and impious Hereſies. Were the winds never ſo fierce, yet if the water of the Sea were not of an unſtable and moveable nature, there would never be any Tempeſt. So, how impetuous and violent ſoever the Guſts, and Breath of Satans Temptations be, yet if our nature were not of it ſelf ductile, and pliant, the world had never been ſo prodigiouſly toſſed up and down, nay, often overturned by erroneous Maximes. Now there are Two Principles in man, which are alwaies ſuſceptible of any falſe and Heretical Impreſſion; the one is, his Ignorance in ſpiritual matters, the other is, his Pride inNatural Knowledge. By his Ignorance, he is apt to miſtake Errour for truth, and by his Pride he is apt to propagate it; that like Simon Magus (the firſt noted Heretick in the Church of Chriſt) he may appear ſome body in the eyes of a few partial Followers; Acts 8.and this is it, which makes his Errour Hereſie. So that till we can find ſome Art to change the Nature of man, to make his Underſtanding more refined, ſublime and ſpiritual; till we can purge the Will from prejudice, deſign and partiality; till we can alter the courſe of his Affections; and ſet them afloat another way, to love God, in ſtead of himſelf, and to prefer Truth before applauſe; till we can do this, we have as little hope to ſee the Church free from Hereſies, as to have our Gardens clear from infectious Miſts and Vapours, which have the Sun to exhale, the wind to convey, and a Bog hard by, to ingender them.
But beſides theſe Cauſes, which do abſolutely neceſſitate the Being of Hereſies. There are two other Occaſions, which do mightily conduce, if I may ſo ſpeak, to the well-being of them, i. e. to their eaſier growth and ſpreading. And they are, 1. Scripturedifficulty. 2. Chriſtian Liberty.
Occaſion 1 1. The Difficulty of Scripture is a very great occaſion for the increaſe of Hereſies, becauſe of that variety of Interpretation, which many places, eſpecially in the Apoſtle Pauls Epiſtles, are capable of: Whoſe Writings, even in the Apoſtle Peters time, were liable to much miſſe-conſtruction. For to omit, that the things themſelves recorded by him, 2 Pet. 3.are foreign, ſoarcely intelligible, being full of myſterious and fathomleſs depths, they are written by that excellent Apoſtle, in a ſtyle ſo diſſonant from all Rules of ordinary Grammar, that it requires great pains, meerly to find out his Literal Meaning. Which Induſtry, very few, who read him with prepoſſeſſion and prejudice, have leiſure for; and therefore haſtily expound their own ſenſe, without attending to his: So that, as Tertullian obſerves, De Praeſcript. Haeretic.God ſeems to have ordered the Text of Scripture on purpoſe, that it might afford opportunity to Heretical Gloſſes. For as in the works of Providence, though the whole Frame and Syſteme of the world be admirably well-compoſed, compoſed, yet, if we conſider them in patcels, we ſhall meet with many things, which will ſtartle us into jealous, and miſſebelieving Thoughts. So is it in that compleat body of Divine Truth contained in Scripture, the whole Connexion and Series, as it relates to the Meſſiah, foretold in the Old, and fulfilled in the New Teſtament, together with thoſe raviſhing heights of Heavenly Directions for life, is moſt ineffably curious, and excellent: But if we take thoſe things aſunder, and conſider them diſtinctly, by Chapter and Verſe, we ſhall meet with Miſtakes in Chronology, Variations in Names, Diverſity of Readings, and ſome leſſer ſeeming contradictions, which to a ſnarling and quarrelſom wit, are ſo many Bones, for him to ſpend his mouth upon, without minding more wholſom and digeſtible Food. And yet this makes very much for the plauſible entrance of an Hereſie, that it hath the Letter of Scripture to countenance it: The Papiſt will urge for his Implicit Faith, Hear the Church, Mat. 18.without ever conſidering, that by the Church there, is not meant, what he fancies, a Pope, or Cardinals, or Councils, or Fathers, but a Select Number of Chriſtians; which is the only ſenſe wherein that word Church is taken throughout the whole New Teſtament, when it is uſed by our Saviour and his Apoſtles. So the Socinian ſhelters his impious denying of our Saviours Divine Nature, under that, which he finds our Saviour ſpeaking, The Father is greater then I: not conſidering in what capacity our Saviour ſpake theſe words, viz. John 16.according to the Perſon he then took; or how many other places there are, wherein his equality with the Father is aſſerted. The Arminian wants not the ſame Plauſibilities for his Free will: and in ſhort, no Hereſie that ever yet was in the Chriſtian world, but pleaded Scripture for its defence and Patronage; which ſuch ſtrange Variety of Opinions could never have done, were not the Scripture exceeding difficult and hard to be underſtood, and thereby an occaſion given for the Riſe and Conceiving of them.
Occaſion 2 2. The ſecond Occaſion of the large growth and ſpreading of Hereſies, is Christian Liberty: Which in no Religion is allowed, nay commanded, in that Latitude, as in ours. For we are enjoyned to try all things, 1 Theſ. 5.21. 1 John 4.1. Cal. 1.8.and then, to hold faſt that which is good: We are bid, to try the Spirits, and though an Angel ſhould come form Heaven, and preach to us, we are not to believe him, if he teach any thing contrary to this Goſpel. We are commanded to ſee with our own eyes, and to chuſe for our ſelves; without depending any further upon the Authority of Fathers and Doctors, Iſa. 8.20.then as they ſpeak according to this word, which under the ſevereſt penalties, we are obliged to ſtudy and peruſe. For as God, in the old Teſtament, Mal. 1.would not have the blind for ſacrifice, ſo neither will he in the New; and they had as good not worſhip him at all, who like the Samaritans, John 4.worſhip him they know not why. And as in point of Judgment, we are to be thus free; ſo likewiſe in point of Practiſe, 1 Cor. 7. Mat. 15. Gal. 5.1.as to Religious Rites and Orders, we are commanded, not to be the ſervants of men; not to worſhip God by the Precepts of men; not to be entangled with any yoke of Bondage, but to ſtand faſt in the liberty wherewith Chriſt hath made us free; James 1.1, 2.Whereupon, our Goſpel is called the Royal Law of Liberty; and we are, ſo to ſpeak, and ſo to do, as thoſe that ſhall be judged by that Law. Yea, further, as we are to be thus free in our ſelves, ſo we are to be exceeding charitable and tender towards others, bearing with our weak brethren; and if they do but hold the Foundation of Faith and good works, to tolerate the Hay and Stubble, which they may build upon it. And the reaſon of this is, becauſe our Religion, as it ſprang from Heaven, ſo is it maintained from thence; as the Spirit of God did firſt diſcover, ſo doth it ſtill reveal it; and by a new and almighty Birth, of dead and ſinful men, make us Living and ſincere Chriſtians: 2 Cor. 3.16.Now where the Spirit of God is, ſaith the Apoſtle, there is Liberty, i. e. not only Freedom from Errour and Ignorance, of which he there ſpeaks, but from thoſe wretched and inhumane Acts of Force and Fraud, whereby other Political Inventions, rather then Religions, are continued and upheld in the world: For whereas all others hate the Light, and will not endure to have their Principles queſtioned, as is clear in that devilliſh Cheat and Myſtery of Iniquity, the Papacy: Our Religion deſires nothing more, then to be ſifted to the bottom, that ſo it may be choſen, for its own native Truth and Excellency, and not for any outward Advantages, or to ſerve a State-turn, which Chriſtian Religion will never ſtoop to do. And whoever have not after the moſt ſerious ſtudy and impartial Examination, arrived to an embracing of this Faith, muſt needs loſe the Comfort, Satiſfaction and Sweetneſs of it, becauſe till a man hath met with, and in his own mind reſolved all Objections that make againſt him, he cannot be certain that he is in the right, but muſt upon the riſing of every doubt, be full of anxious fear and perplexity. This which I have ſaid concerning the neceſſity of Chriſtian Liberty, doth by accident prove a great means for the propagating of Hereſies; for as where the Soyl is good, and the Ayr free and warm, Weeds will ſpring up as well as good Corn: So is it in the Church of Chriſt, ſince there is Liberty allowed for variety of Judgments, Errour muſt needs thrive and ſpread, as well as truth. Mat. 13.Eſpecially ſince we may not pull up the Tares, or by the hand of violence, ſtop the Progreſs of the moſt deceitful Errour; but if ſound Perſwaſion, if Demonſtration of the Spirit and Scripture, if Rejecting of the Heretick, and forbearing of Communion with him, will not prevail, to make him renounce his Errour, I am not yet convinced, that in Opinions concerning Matters meerly ſpiritual, our Religion doth allow any other more offenſive weapons. So that ſince to that Liberty, which is given to the ſowing of Hereſies, there is added Impunity unto their growth and progreſs, it muſt needs follow, that the Cauſes I mentioned, do not more neceſſitate the Being of Hereſies, then theſe Occaſions will neceſſitate their Thriving and Continuance.
Uſe 1 1. The Inference from hence ſhall be to teach us, not to miſtake the Occaſions of Hereſie, for the Cauſes of it. Among thoſe who are exact and critical Writers of Hiſtory, as Polybius, Tacitus, and others, we find, they diſtinguiſh carefully between the foreign, and the foreign, the Beginning, and the cauſes of a War. The Beginning of a War may ariſe from ſomthing apparent and viſible; whereas the cauſe of it may be more deeply laid, even concealed from the view of the Actors. So in this caſe, the Occaſions indeed of Hereſie, which do midwife it into the world, are Scripture-difficulty, and chriſtian Liberty: Whereas the true cauſes are thoſe I have mentioned; eſpecially Man himſelf, whoſe Heart is the Womb, in which that evil Birth is formed. And therefore let us take heed that through haſt and prejudice, we accuſe not either the Scriptures, or due Chriſtian Freedom, of thoſe Errours, which meerly our own Ignorance, Preſumption and Partiality do produce. To accuſe the Scripture for our Hereſies, is all one as if, becauſe we meet with ill ſents, we ſhould blame the Sun, and not the Dunghil. So likewiſe, as to Liberty of Conſcience, to charge that with the production of Errours, is all one, as if the Ayr without, rather then ill humours within us, ſhould be thought the cauſe of our Diſeaſes. Let wicked and light-ſpirited men then bear the blame of whatever Follies they hold; and not either the Reading of Scripture be diſgraced, without which, there can be no Knowledge of Truth: nor Liberty of Conſcience be debarred; without which, there can be no openneſs of Profeſſion; both which are as neceſſary to Chriſtian Faith, as the Sun and Ayr are to Natural Life, we cannot ſee without the one, nor breath without the other. Take away Scripture, and we are in this world as Mariners upon the Sea, without a Compaſs; who have nothing but the violence of waves, and the uncertain motion of the wind, to drive them. Deny Liberty, I mean, in things Lawful, then Chriſtian Prudence, Charity, condeſcention, and wiſe doing, or forbearing of things indifferent, as we ſee occaſion, lie all uſeleſs by us, and we labour to become more knowing then others, to no purpoſe.
Uſe 2 2. Is it ſo neceſſary, that there muſt be hereſies, then let us not take offence, or think ever a whit the worſe of our Religion, for that great Variety of Hereſies which have ſprung up in our daies. When the Apoſtle Paul was himſelf in trouble, he writes to the Church of Theſsalonica, That no man ſhould be moved by theſe afflictions; for, ſaith he, your ſelves know, that we were appointed thereunto, for verily when we were with you, 1 Theſ. 3, 3, 4.we told you before, that we ſhould ſuffer Tribulation, even as it came to paſs. If they were to be comforted under their Afflictions, becauſe he foretold them, we have the ſame reaſon to be comforted under our Hereſies, ſince he foretold them too; and from thence hath afforded us an excellent Argument, to aſſert our Saviours Truth and Veracity, and in that, the Truth of our Religion, againſt all Oppoſers. This uſe the Primitive Writers made of them, when Celſus and others did object to the Chriſtians, the great variety of Opinions, and diverſity of Judgments amongſt them, ſo that, ſay they, Were we willing to turn Chriſtians, we know not of what Party to be, ſince notwithſtanding your Feuds and Quarrels, you all equally pretend to Chriſt. To this, Tertullian, Origen, and the reſt reply, Haereſes non dolemus veniſſe, quiae novimus eſſe praedictas. WE are not at all ſorry, that Hereſies are come, for we knew it was foretold they ſhould come. So that the very Argument, which the Heathens uſed to diſgrace Chriſtianity, was by thoſe wiſe and Learned men improved for the Illuſtration and confirming of it: And, indeed, ſince, as I have already demonſtrated, Demonſtration that Jeſus is the Chriſt.there cannot be a more rational Proof of the Divine Miſſion of any, then the fulfilling of his Propheſies, it is very admirable to conſider, how our Saviour hath left ſuch Predictions behind him; which were beyond any Humane Foreſight, and yet every Age hath been fulfilling ſome or other of them, ever ſince his time. That a Religion ſo harmleſs, and inoffenſive, ſhould be perſecuted: that notwithſtanding perſecution, it ſhould take root, and be preached throughout the world: That preſently after it was propagated, there ſhould be Sects and Hereſies formed out of it; and this to be the conſtant, un-erring Fate of our Religion, was a thing beyond all Rational and meerly humane Conjecture; and therefore the fulfilling of this great Prediction concerning Hereſies, ſhould make us with thankfulneſs look up to Chriſt, who hath already armed us againſt any Prejudice we may receive from them, ſince they are only diſcoveries of his Truth, and Trials of ours.
Uſe 3 But yet, Thirdly and Laſtly, Let no man think, that becauſe Hereſies are neceſſary, that therefore any ſhall be excuſed, who is the Author of them; Hereſies are no otherwiſe neceſſary, then Scandals and Sins are, of which, our Saviour ſaith, foreign, they muſt be; but yet, ſaies he, Wo be to that man by whom they come. Mat. 18. Rom. 16.17.Mark them, ſaith the Apoſtle Paul, which cauſe Diviſions and Offences, contrary to the Doctrine which ye have received, and avoid them. And in another place, foreign, The Sect-making man, after the firſt and ſecond Admonition, reject; Tit. 3. foreign.knowing that ſuch a one is quite perverted, and ſins, being ſelf-condemned. All which Places, with many other, making ſo directly againſt new-fangledneſs of Opinion, I cannot but wonder at the boldneſs of thoſe men, who are not content only to ſtart up new and needleſs Opinions, but to the diſhonour of our Religion, and their own Eternal Ruine, if they repent not, make thoſe Opinions the Grounds of Separation from all Church-Aſſemblies, but their own. Whoever doth thus ſet up for himſelf, muſt be able to demonſtrate theſe Three things. 1. That the Opinion he diſſents from, is apparently falſe and damnable. 2. That the Opinion he himſelf holds, is certainly and infallibly true. 3. That it is abſolutely unlawful for him to joyn in communion with another, who in that particular (as for inſtance, in Infant-Baptiſm) differs in Judgment from him. The two firſt of which Aſſertions, very ſew of our Separate Churches will be able to maintain, and I am ſure, the laſt, none can. For if the Errour of another be not impoſed upon my Practiſe, I ought not to withdraw my ſelf from the Communion of any, who hold the Foundation of Chriſtian Faith, namely, Belief in Jeſus being the Christ; as is clear in the practiſe of theſe Corinthians, among whom, ſome denied the Reſurrection, and yet were all preſent at the ſame Sacrament. This Doctrine, becauſe it ſtrikes at the Root of all Separation, which cannot be juſtified, but in caſe of indiſpenſable neceſſity, viz. when ſuch things are impoſed upon us, as Conditions of Communion, which we cannot in Conſcience ſubmit to; for there if we depart, we do not go, but are driven out. But this deſerves to be more largely handled; which I ſhall reſerve for a particular Treatiſe.
FINIS.
End of the text · Edward Bagshaw, The Necessity and Use of Heresies (1662)