The Dying Mans Testament to the Church of Scotland, Part 2 · Chapter 1
CHAP. I. Shewing that every Offence is not publick, and when it is so.
COncerning the first Question, we lay down these grounds, 1. Every thing offensive is not publick, or immediatly to be brought before a Church-judicatory. Of this sort are, 1. sins of infirmity, which possibly may be offensive for the time, Yet the persons way being considered, they are to be thought to proceed from his infirmity, they being incident to such who are in some serious manner watchfull over their way; and therefore are not the object of Discipline, which is to curb and restrain the more grosse humours of Professors: Otherwayes the exercise of Discipline, in reference to infirmities, would utterly prove an intanglement both to Officers and Members, and so occasion more stumbling, contrary to Christ's scope. 2. Offences that are in disputable practices, or that flow from miscarriage in things indifferent, are not properly the object of Church-censure, because there is not solid accesse of through convincing the party. Hence we see, that in these disputes concerning indifferent things, or of practices following thereupon, the Apostles reprove mens untendernesse in them, but do never make them the ground of Censure as such, except they be aggreged by some other circumstance. Of this sort al…o are offences that may proceed from mens carriage in legal pursuits and civil contracts which may offend; yet cannot they be legally convinced to have broken a rule, when the strain of their way is legal, although it may be sinfull before God, and be to be reproved by private admonition where men have accesse. 3. Some offences are grosse, and, it may be, known to some to be true; yet possibly there is no convincing way of demonstrating the truth thereof to others: in that case, it's more safe and edifying to forbear publick mentioning of that scandal, than to prosecute the same, seing it may more irritate the person, and weaken the Church-authority, than edifie. 4. Some scandals are grosse, and may be made-out by two or three witnesses; yet are not immediatly to be brought to publick, except upon the supposition of following obstinacy, and not satisfying of those two or three, which especially is to be considered, if the persons carriage be otherwayes cleanly▪ This is Christ's expresse rule, Mat. 18. and to bring it immediatly to publick, is not consistent with that love that we ought to have to one another: For, charity requireth that he should be admonished, and also if he hear, that it should sist; Otherwayes, such being satisfied as were offended, it were to waken a scandal, and not to remove one. But now especially we consider what is a publick scandal in respect of its nature, and afterward we shall enquire when it is so to be accounted publick in respect of its notority; and so when immediatly it is to be brought in publick: for, it is certain▪ that these two may be divided, and so are to be distinguished, as was formerly hinted. For, a scandal may be publick, to say so, for its notority, but yet not for its nature.
2. Scandals may be of that nature, that it is fitWhen a scandall is to be brought to publick. to take publick notice of them, and to follow them with Church-censures till they be removed. This is clear in the Lord's rep…oving the neglect of publick Censure in these Churches; for, His finding fault that they had such, and suffered such (as in the next Epistle) can be construct…d no otherwayes, but that they did not by Church-censure cut them off from their fellowship, which is elsewhere abundantly clear. And it is true in these cases, 1. When a scandal is of its own nature grosse and infectious, like a little leaven ready to leaven the whole lump. 2. When it is clear and in the matter of fact cannot be denied: the first is requisit to a publick scandal for convincing of the conscience of the evil it self; the second for making application of the consequents of such an evil to such a person. 3. An offence becometh publick, though it be not of its own nature so at first, if it be afterward aggreged by such circumstances as obstinacy and contempt of private admonition, frequent relapsing therein, and such like, as Christ's rule, Matth. 18. and the general nature of offence doth confirm: Scandals that are so circumstantiated, and they only, are to be taken notice of by Church-judicatories as the proper object of Church-discipline. Hence we may see a great difference betwixt offence as it is the object of private discretion, and as it is the object of Church-discipline. I call them grosse evils and of an infectious nature, which are against a clear Law of God, and of that influence in a man's christian walk, as any sober man▪ acquainted with the Word of God, and reflecting upon conscience, cannot but acknowledge to be sinfull, obstructive to the work of grace where they are, and tending to the marring the beauty of a Church, and the edification and salvation of her members if they should spread, such as Sabbath-breaking, swearing, and what doth directly contradict a moral command, these things are obviously censurable. And upon this occasion, I cannot but much wonder at, and regrate the unwarrantable expressions, at least, in the matter of fact, of a Learned man, Mr. Baxter against Blake, pag. 130. his words are, In some Countries, where some oaths are grown customary and of no great evil repute, it is possible for a godly man to be long guilty of them, as it is known that many well reputed of for godlinesse are in Scotland, &c. where he doth misrepresent the Church of Scotland in a twofold mistake (to say no more.) 1. as if some swearing were so customary in Scotland as to abound even amongst the Godly. 2. As if it were not taken notice of, or of no evil repute or scandalou…: It is like, this may be his information, but certainly Christian charity would have pleaded, that such information should not have been received against a Brother, without some convincing ground; much lesse to have been vented as a thing known against a Christian Church, which, however she be otherwise afflicted and rent, and so obnoxious to much contempt and reproach, yet hath a witnesse both in Heaven and Earth of zeal against that sin, and innocencie in that respect, as to these that are Godly, even but seemingly, There being nothing more abhorred by a godly heart, and accounted a greater evidence of profanity amongst us, than customary irreverent medling with the holy Name of God, and swearing of any kind: and although we be many wayes guilty before God, even in this respect; yet we suppose she may hold up her face therein, beside, and with, any Church on earth.
3. We say, That even among these Scandals thatWhere offences are publick, yet difference is to made. are in this sense publickly to be taken notice of, there is many wayes difference to be made in the prosecuting of them, and that in diverse respects. 1. Some scandals are of such grosse nature and publicknesse in the fact, that they cannot be passed without some publick rebuke, at least, even though the person should seem satisfyingly to resent his deed, because in this, respect is to be had to the edification of others, and not of the person only. 2. Some scandals again are such, as by authoritative admonition may be helped: and in this sense, if a person hear the Church-guides and take their admonition, there is no further progresse to be made. Again, 3. sometimes persons are to be followed with the highest censure of Excommunication, when open rebukes cannot do the businesse, as we see in the case before us, and other practices of Pauls. And we suppose, that such a scandal as hath this Sentence following upon it, would be in the grosnesse of its nature, and clearnesse of its proof, convincingly made out both to the person himself, and to others. Because, 1. otherwise it may make this great Ordinance contemptible, if upon like, or disputable grounds, it be drawn forth. 2. Neither can it have weight with the person to gain its end upon him natively, as a Church-ordinance ought to have, the first step whereof is, convincingly to argue him to the sense of his fault, as the word is, Matth. 18. 15. 3. Neither can it be expected to have such weight with others who ordinarily carry towards them that are under it, as they are convinced of the weightinesse or lightnesse of the ground of that Sentence. 4. The nature of this Ordinance cleareth this also; for (as Divines say) it is added to confirm Gods threatnings, as Sacraments do seal the promises; then it importeth, that there must be a clear threatning ere this can be appended; and there can be no such threatning applyed, but where both the sin in its nature, and the fact in its notority are convincing; and indeed all the precedents of this Sentence in Scripture are of this nature, to wit, they are both rare, and also upon most convincingly grosse evils. I cannot expresse it better than it is done by that Reverend Divine, Mr. Thomas Hooker of New England in his History, part 3. pag. 39. Such evils, (the words are his) which are either heynous and abommable, as fornication, murther, adultery, incest, treason, &c. or, if not so grosse, yet carry the face of evil in their forehead, upon the first serious and well grounded consideration of reason; and have been pertinaciously and obstinatly persisted in after the improvement of all means upon them for conviction and reformation: These only deserve Excommunication by the rules of Christ, 1 Cor. 5. Matth. 18. 17. thus far he. Advert, that what we speak here of a publick scandal, is spoken in respect of the nature thereof; what is to be accounted such, in respect of its manifestnesse and notoritie, followeth afterward to be spoken of.