A Just Defense of Hearing the Sermons, Chapter 10 · Section 8 – Section 9
Sect. 8. The truth Ministers teach, warrants the hearing of them.
Object. 4. The Ministers of England preach truth, and is it not lawfull to hear truth preached? We answer, 1. That 'tis lawfull to hear truth preached is readily granted; but this must be done lawfully, and in the way of Christs appointment. 2. All that preach truth are not to be heard, nor will our discenting brethren say they are. For, 1. There was never yet any Heretical preacher in the world, but he preached some truth; is it lawfull to hear such? This will not be said. 2. The Devil himself preached truth, yet Christ forbids him, and commands that he hold his peace. 3. The Popish Priests preach truth, yet who will say 'tis lawfull to attend upon their Ministry? But, 3. As the present Ministers of England preach truth, so, 1. They preach it but by halves, and dare not for fear of the L. Bishops inhibition, preach any doctrine, though never so clearly revealed in the Scriptures, and owned by them as the truth of Christ, he commands them not to meddle with. 2. The main truths they preach (at least many of them) are contradicted in their practice, They'l tell you that the Lord Jesus is the great Prophet, and King of his Church; but how palpably this is contradicted by them in their practice, conforming to institutions and laws that are not of his prescription who sees not? This we have abundantly demonstrated. 3. With the truth they preach, they mingle errours directly contrary to the Scripture, and the revelation of his will therein. Instances of this kind have been already exhibited, to which may be added many more: we shall mention but a few, 1. That the Ministry, Worship, and Government, which Christ hath appointed to his Church, is not to be received or joyned unto, unless the Magistrates (where they are reputed Christian) do allow it. 2. That the Apocryphal books which have in them errors, (2 Mac. 12.44, 45. & 14.41, 42. Eccles. 46.20. Wisd. 19.11.) untruths (2 Esd. 14.21, 22, 23. 2 Mac. 2.4.8. Tob. 5.11, 12, 13. with 12.15. Judith. 8.33. & 10.9. with v. 12. & 11.6.12, 13, 14, 15. 1 Mac. 9.3.18. with 2 Mac. 1.13. to 17. and 9.1.5.7.9.28.29.) blasphemy (Tobit. 12.12.15. with Rom. 8.34. 1 Tim. 2.5. Rev. 8.3.4.) magick (Tob. 6.6, 7, 8. & 9.2.3. with 3.7, 8. & 11.10, 11, 13. with 2.9, 10.) and contradiction to the Canonical Scriptures, (Judith 9.2, 3, 4. compared with Gen. 49.5, 6, 7. Esther in the Apocrypha chap. 12.5. & 15.9, 10. with Ester Canonical, chap. 6.3. & 5.2. Eccles. 46.20. with Isa. 57. 2. may be used in the publick worship of God. 3. That the most wicked and their seed, may be compelled, and received to be members of the Church. 4. That Marriage may be forbidden at certain seasons, as in Lent, Advent, Rogation-week, &c. 5. That Baptism is to be administred with a cross in the forehead, and that as a symbolical sign. 6. That though the most notorious, obstinate offenders be partakers of the Lords Supper, yet the people that joyn with them, are not defiled thereby. 7. That there may be Holy days appointed to the Virgin Mary, John Baptist, to the Apostles, all Saints and Angels; together also with Fasts on their Eves, on Ember-days, Fridays, Saturdays (so called heathenishly enough) and Lent. 8. That the Cope, Surplice, Tippit, Rocket, &c. are meet and decent ornaments for the worship of God, and Ministry of the Gospel. 6. That the Book of Common-prayer is the true worship of God. 10. That Christ descended into hell (as if Christ descended into the place of the damned) as the Papists hold. 11. That Lord Bishops can give the holy Ghost, and power to forgive and retain sins. 12. That Altars, Candles, Organs, &c. are necessary and useful in the Church of God. 13. That all children when baptized, are regenerate, and received by the Lord for his own children by adoption, Common-prayer-book of publick Baptism. Yea, 14. That children being baptized, have all things necessary for their salvation, and shall undoubtedly be saved. So they profess in the Order of Conformation in the Common-prayer-book; with much more that might be offered in this matter.
I reply, 1. The grant, That it is lawfull to hear truth preached, is sufficient to prove it lawful to hear the present Ministers preach truth (which he denies not they do) unless he could prove it were contrary to the way of Christ's appointment to hear the truth from them. 2. All that preach some truth, are not to be heard; yet all that preach the great truths of the Gospel, notwithstanding some errours non-fundamental may be heard, especially if the errours be seldom or never pressed on the hearers, but left to them to examine, and to be approved or disproved. Heretical Preachers are not to be heard, because they preach not the great truths of the Gospel but errours, which overthrow the foundation, so do the Popish Priests; yet it were no sin to hear either of these speak truth. The Devils we are to have no communion with, God having put an utter enmity between the serpent and the seed of the woman. 3. If the present Ministers of England preach truth but by halves, it is lawful to hear them preach those halfs. The Bishops allow them to preach all truths needful to salvation, all that is contained in the Creed, Lords Prayer, and Ten Commandments, in the 39 Articles, the two Tomes of Homilies; nor are men inhibited in Schools, or Convocations, or at some times in books published in Latine, to discover any truths of God, so it be done without disturbance, or other evil consequence. That some truths needful to be known, are not permitted to be published to the vulgar auditories, may have the same reason as Christ had for not acquainting his disciples with many things he had to say to them, because they could not then bear them, John 16.12. Some things may seem very clearly revealed in the Scriptures to some, and be owned by them, which are pernicious, as that the Saints have all right to government, that they are to smite the civil powers as part of the fourth Monarchy, that justified persons are not under the command of the moral Law; some disputable, as about the thousand years reign, That God cannot forgive sins without satisfaction to his justice, Church-constitution, Covenant, Government, and many more, which it is agreeable to the Apostles rule, Rom. 14.1. their practice, Acts 15.28. not to vent in all sorts of auditories; and if the Bishops do restrain Preachers, especially those that are young, raw, injudicious, but violent, and apt to cause division, they do, agreeably to the Apostles rule, to the example of all Churches, where Government is not popular (which breeds confusion) yea I think the Separatists have found by experience some restraint necessary, and that the universal liberty of Conscience, or of prophesying, as it is termed, is intolerable; and if Bishops, who are men, and may be more rigid then they should, hold the reins in too hard, yet there is no reason why the people should refuse to hear that truth which is necessary and sufficient to salvation, because they cannot hear every truth, which perhaps out of faction, or a childish inconstancy, or having itching ears, they desire to know.
As for what is said about the Ministers contradicting their preaching by their practice, it is answered before in the Answer to the 5th Chapter. And yet were it granted, their personal evils are not sufficient to make the hearing of the truth unlawful to the hearers. As for the errours they are said to mingle with the truths they teach, they are not such as overthrow the foundation, if they were errours, and taught by them; and therefore this is no sufficient reason why they may not be heard preaching necessary truths. Yet to shew the futility of this allegation, I shall consider each of the supposed errours. The first I doubt not they will deny, and require this Authour to prove it. For the second, it is not, for ought I know, preached by any of the Ministers, That the Apocryphal books which have in them errours, may be used in the publick worship of God, nor do I think if they should so do, could it well consist with their subscription to the sixth Article of the Confession of the Church of England, which excludes them out of the Canon of holy Scriptures, which contain all things necessary to salvation, and saith, The Church (as Hierome saith) doth read them for example of life, and instructions of manners: but yet doth it not apply them to stablish any doctrine. And what Dr. Rainold, the Bishop of Durham that now is, with many of the English Protestant, and conforming Divines have written about the Apocryphal Books, is sufficient to clear the present Ministers from suspicion of complying with the Papists, who according to the Decree of the Trent Council ses. quarta, put most of them (though they leave out some of them) into the Catalogue of sacred Books, containing that truth and discipline of the Gospel which is saving, and to be preached to every creature, and receive and venerate them with equal affection of piety and reverence, as other books of holy scripture. And although the passages alleaged by this Authour are liable to exception, nor do I think it fit for me to justifie or excuse them; yet this I say, to shew there is not a sufficient reason to withdraw from hearing the present Ministers preaching or praying. 1. Some of the books are not appointed to be read at all. 2. Some of those that are appointed to be read, are capable of an easier censure, and better construction, then is put upon them by this Authour. 3. That those which are not so capable of excuse, yet are appointed to be read on such days, and in such places, as those that alleadge this for a reason of not hearing the present Ministers, need not be present. 4. That it was once resolved as lawful by Dr. George Abbot, after Archbishop of Canterbury, in his answer to Dr. Hill the Papist, p. 317. from the Preface to the second Tome of the Homilies, for the Minister, instead of the Apocryphal books, to read some other part of the Canonical Scripture of the old Testament. Which things being considered, there seems not for this to be a sufficient reason of not hearing the present Ministers, or charging them,Dr. Sparks in his book of Uniformity allowed, and printed by command, 1607. c. 1. In the conference at Hampton Court, His Majesties Order was, That none of the Apocryphal books that had any errour, should be read, &c. as this Authour doth. The third errour I conceive they will deny to be their tenent. But concerning this, and the 4th. 5th. 6… ▪ 8th. 9th. 11th. errours, so much hath been said before chiefly in the answer to the 5th. 6th. 7th. chapters of this book, that I need not here make a particular answer concerning each of these severally; yet I say,Dr. Barlow by the preface to the second tome of Homilies, declared it might be lawful by our Church, to read other chapters, and alleadgeth Archbishop Abbot c. 10. the things are not matters of the Ministers Doctrine, however they be of their practice, and therefore cannot be a reason of not hearing their Sermons. And they who make this a sufficient reason not to hear, or to pray, or receive the Lords Supper with a person by reason of some errour he holds or teacheth, or some undue practice on Gods worship, or conversation with other men, go against all rules and examples in holy Scripture, and approved Christians; and such a one must suppose Preachers infallible, every Communicant unblameable, or each Christian to have power to excommunicate, if the person faulty be not amended upon his reproof, that he must know what Tenents his Teacher holds, and what is the conversation of each Communicant, ere he can warrantably hear the one, or communicate with the other. Which with sundry other superstitious conceits, or unnecessary scruples, put an intolerable burden upon mens consciences, and will as well prove withdrawing from the Ministers and Churches Congregational necessary, as from the Conformists. As for the 7th. errour, it will be denied by them to be their Tenent, that there may be Holy days appointed to the Virgin Mary, John Baptist, &c. For though they be termed for distinction sake, St. Peters day, &c. yet saith Archbishop Whitgift in his answer to the second Admonition, the 3d. reason, The Papists Saints days were appointed for the honouring and worshipping of the Saints by whose names they were called: ours be ordained for the honouring of God, for publick prayer, and edifying the people by reading the Scriptures and Preaching: neither are they called by the name of any Saint in any other respect, than that the Scriptures which that day are read in the Church, be concerning that Saint, and contain either his calling, preaching, persecution, martyrdom, or such like. The like is alleadged by Rainold, conference with Hart, ch. 8. divis. 2. Hooker Eccles. Policy, l. 5. Sect. 71. yea T. C. the defender of the Admonition confesseth that the Church of England meaneth not that in these holy days the Saints should be honoured, and Rivet on Exod. 20. praecept. quartum, acquits the Church of England from Idolatry, by reason of our form of service, and our doctrine of worshipping God onelyonly. Of which more also may be seen in Zanchius, tom. 4. in praece. quartum loc. 1. q. 2. &c. As for the 10th. errour, That Christ descended into hell, is in the Creed called the Apostles, and is the 3d. Article of the Confession of the Church of England, and is deduced by Augustin, Epist. ad Evodium 99. from Acts 2.26, 27. and how to understand it of other descent then the place of the damned, Quis ergo nisi infidelis negaverit fuisse apud inferos Christum?or Limbus Patram, which is the Papists tenent, may be seen in Archhishop Vshers answer to the Jesuites challenge, ch. 5. Dr. Pearson his Exposition of the Creed on that Article, and others. The 12th. I think neither the present Ministers, nor any of the Bishops will assert. The two last let them that hold them answer for themselves; I say onelyonly that they are such as hearers are not necessitated to assent to, nor such as can justifie separation. But it follows,
Sect. 9. Evil persons may be heard as true Ministers.
Object. 5. Judas preached, though a wicked man; and no doubt 'twas lawful, yea the duty of Saints to hear him. To this we say, no doubt it was so. But 1. Judas was not a visible wicked man at the time of his preaching, but so close an hypocrite, that he was not known to be so, no not to the disciples: but some of the present Ministers of England are visibly wicked and profane. 2. Judas was chosen, and called by Christ to be an Apostle, commissioned by him to preach: but the present Ministers of England are not so, as hath been proved. So that this is not at all to the business in hand.
I reply, It is confessed that the present Ministers are not chosen and called by Christ to Preach as Iudas was; and it may be also proved concerning the Ministers of the Congregational Churches, whose calling may be questionable as well as theirs, being often by a small company of ignorant persons, many of them women, who challenge power of election without Ordination, or other help, or giving the right hand of fellowship by Elders of other Churches, nor are they all free from visible wickedness and prophaness. And this may be somewhat to the business, by allaying the vehemency of this Authours spirit against others. But the chief use of this objection is to answer one exception of this Authour, ch. 2. That the present Ministers are not to be heard as gifted brethren, because they walk disorderly: For Iudas did walk disorderly, and yet might be heard. 'Tis true, Iudas was not so apparently a thief as others that are openly vitious; yet Christ knew him to be a thief and a traitour, when he appointed him to preach, and forbade none to hear him preach the Gospel, and therefore allowed hearing of evil men preach truth, which is denyed by the Author of Prelatical preachers none of Christs teachers, p. 43, 44. and is frequently the reason of many peoples not hearing them that preach truth. It is to be added that Christ had given some intimation of Judas his wickedness, John 6.70, 71. He goes on,