Survey of the Survey of that Sum of Church Discipline by Hooker, Book 4 · Chapter 3
CHAP. III.
Some further Considerations of the place Matth. 16.
ANy sense, according to Mr. Hooker, can hardly be put upon The place Mat. 16. Upon this rock will I build my Church; and, The gates of hell, &c. is torn and abused by Mr. H.that, Upon this Rock will I build my Church. For,
1. The question is, Whether they do any thing to inchurch themselves upon the Rock; for sure they are active in professing, 2. In suiting membership, 3. In covenanting: Then must Magus and Iudas, by acting the part of hypocrites, build themselves upon the Rock. Wilde Divinity again!
2. Christs act of building is either absolute or conditional: if absolute, then saith Christ, I inchurch you upon the Rock, whether ye believe or believe not; but Scripture never tells us of Peter, Chrysost. hom. 55. Matth. 16. foreign. Hil. de Tri. l. 6. Aug. in Joh. 1. tract. 10. Christs act of building men upon the Rock either absolute or conditional, cannot stand with Mr. H. his new gloss of Mat. 16.or any built upon the Rock Christ, but by real sincere faith. If Peters act of faith be conditional, the condition must be either sincere faith, or meer profession; if the former, we stand strong, Mr. H. is at a loss: for there is no promise of real union with the Rock, and perseverance, but to such as are living members in Christ, Ioh. 15. if the latter, then saith Christ, I I promise to you, Judas, Magus, real union with the Rock; or, Upon this faith, (saith Chrysostom; so Hilary, so Augustine) so you play the hypocrites egregiously, and seem to believe. Now this shall be non sense.
3. It cannot be said, I promise to build all in a Church-way, so they believe sincerely. For,
1. The ports of Hell and Satan should not prevail against persons to strip them of Church-membership, contrary to experience.
2. The promise is made to persons that confess, as Peter; but many real believers and visible professors have been put to death, and are never made Church-members this way; and many real believers in the Church of Rome never profess, and many Church-members, and Churches of visible Saints are dissolved through persecution.
Again, there is a name and room promised in the House of God, Isa. 56. but not upon condition of hypocritical, but real believing.
Obj. Iudas was not made an Apostle upon condition of faith.
Ans. True: a man may be made an officer, and his acts valid, and yet the man no sound believer.
Q. Should a man be admitted a Church-officer who is not judged a real convert?
Ans. The Scripture is sparing in submitting conversion or regeneration to the authoritative determination of men, yet the equivalent of this is said.
1. If Timothy must commit the Word foreign, to Officers must be visible Saints before they can be admitted.faithful men, who are able to teach others, as 2 Tim. 2. 2. And if
2. The Elders and Pastors which Titus is to admit, must be to his discerning, beside negatives, not self-willed, not soon angry, &c. also lovers of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate, holding fast the faithful word, &c. Tit. 1. 5. compared with v. 7, 8, 9, 10. Then must the real holiness of officers be known to Timothy and to Titus.
3. If the Apostle will have Timothy to try Bishops and Deacons also, and that experiencedly, that they be vigilant, sober, patient, grave, no novices, humble, holy, &c. the way that mettals are tried in the fite, 1 Tim. 2. 1, 2, 3, &c. so the word is, Luke 14. 19. Iam. 1. 12. 2 Cor. 13. 5. and will have him lay hands suddenly on no man, but deliberately, 1 Tim. 5. 21, 22. Then surely the Apostle supposes that they may be known to be such.
4. If the Apostles do charge the multitude, who had no judicial authority to look out from among them, seven men of honest report, full of the holy Ghost, and of wisdome, Acts 6. 5. to be Deacons, then Luke supposes that that might be answered, We cannot know whether men have the holy Ghost or no. The second Book of Discipline of Scotland, cap. 3 pag. 81. The qualities in general requisite in all them who should bear charge in the Kirk, consist in soundness of Religion, and godliness of life, according as they are sufficiently for forth in the Word of God. Now its not to be supposed, that in a Book of Church-policy, our Reformers speak of godliness that is invisible, and known to God onelyonly; and so the Acts of the Assembly of the Kirk Assembly at Glasgow, 1638.of Scotland. And the cause of the sudden declining of the best Churches, and why Nazianzen complained so much of the corruption of Synods, as Sozomen, Theodores, Socrates, Ruffinus, Histor. Magdeburg. tell us, was, Because the Churches take not that care, that Ministers be savoury and gracious; from the Steersmen all Apostasie and rottenness begin. O if the Lord would arise and purge his House in Scotland! As for Church-members, they ought to be holy; and though all baptized be actu primo members, yet such as remain habitually ignorant after admonition, are to be cast out, and though they be not cast out certainly, as paralytick or rottened members cannot discharge the functions of life: So those that are scandalous, ignorant, malignant, unfound in the faith, lose their right of Suffrages in election of Officers, and are to be debarred from the Seals. Nor can we defend our sinsul practise in this: it were our wisdome to repent of our taking in the Malignant party, who shed the blood of the people of God, and obstructed the work of God, into places of Trust in the Church, State, and the Army, contrary to our Covenant, they continuing still Enemies.