The Riches of Gods Love, Part 4 · Section 2
Section. 2.
2 They ſay that God hath immutably decreed to leave the farre greateſt part of mankind in this impotent M. Maſon Addit. p. 55. 56, 57.condition irrecoverab…ely, and to afford them no power and ability ſufficient to make them riſe out of ſinne to newneſſe of life; and this decree he executeth in time: and both theſe he doth out of his only will and pleaſure.
Of this propoſition there be three branches
1. God decreeth to leave them.
2. He doth leave them.
3. He doth both out of his alone pleaſure.
1 God, ſay they, hath decreed to leave them without ſufficient grace, and conſequently under an everlaſting neceſſity of ſinning. This is the very Helen which they ſight for, the maine act of that abſolute reprobation, which with joynt conſent and endeavour they labour to maintaine.
Moſt of them caſt their reprobation into two acts; A negative, which is a peremptory denyall of grace and glory to ſome men lying in the fall; And a Poſitive which they ſay is a preordination of the men thus left, to the eternall torments of hell.
Others among them define Reprobation by an act meerely negative, and call it (Non electionem, decretum quo ſtatuit non eo uſque miſereri.) Thes our Divines in their ſuffrage define; and in their explication of Suffr: Brit: art: 1. de Repr: Theſ. 1.the Definition which they give, they ſay that the proper acts of reprobation, as it ſtandeth oppoſed to election, are no other then a denyall of that ſame glory and grace, which are prepared in the decree of election for the ſonnes of God. But in this they all agree, that by the decree of reprobation, grace neceſſary for the avoyding of ſinne, is flatly denyed to reprobates. And if at any time we heare them ſay, that God hath gratified Reprobates with ſome grace, (For ſo ſayth Walaeus, reprobates are left, under the common providence Walae: Defenſ: Anat: Armin: c. deRepr. Suffr: Brit: theſ: 4. de Reprob.of God, and conſequently under ſome common endowments. And our Divines in the Synod ſay, Reprobates though they are not elected, yet receive many of Gods graces;) they are to be underſtood of ſuch Graces and gifts as are inſufficient to make them avoyd ſinne, as we may ſee in theſe two cited places, and many more.
2 God doth actually, according to his eternall and unchangeable decree, leave the Reprobates in their ſeverall times and generations without his grace, under a neceſſity of finall ſinne and impenitency.
This is the ſecond branch of that ſecond propoſition. And this they muſt needs ſay; For Gods decrees cannot be fruſtrated; what he purpoſed before time, without faile he doth in time. I ſhall not need therefore to prove, that they ſay ſo; Nevertheleſſe to let it be ſeene how poſitively and Categorically they ſay ſo, I will give an inſtance or two. The Divines of Geneva at the Synod, among their Theſes of Reprobation, have this for one, Thoſe whom God hath reprobated, out of the ſame will by which he hath rejected them either be calleth not at all, or being called he reneweth not throughly by the ſpirit of regeneration, ingraftcth not into Chriſt myſtically, nor juſtifieth &c Like to this is the ſpeech of Lubbert, who ſpeaking of reprobates ſayth; To them Act: Syn: Suffrag: Gener: de Reprob:either he revealeth not the way of ſalvation, or giveth not faith and regeneration; but leaveth them in ſinne and miſery. The ſame authour ſpeaking againſt the poſition of the Remonſtrants (viz: That God doth ſupply to all men ſufficient and neceſſary meanes of ſalvation, with an intention of ſaving them) letteth downe this Anti…heſis, God doth not adminiſter to all men meanes needfull and ſufficient to ſalvation, and that with an intention of ſaving Act: Syn: Suffr. Lubbert de Reprob.them. And to this his Antitheſis Polyander, Wal…us, and Thyſcus three other profeſſours of Divinity in the Lowcountryes did ſet their hands.
It is a uſuall courſe with this Authour to lay unto our charge, that God hath immutably Anſwer.decreed this or that; So that if we had ſaid that all this were decreed by God not immutably, but mutably, we ſhould not incurre the danger of his diſpleaſure ſo immutably, and unavoydably as we do. Now to decree not immutably, but mutably, is a phraſe that I no where meet with, but among men of this Authours ſpirit; the congruity whereof I willingly profeſſe, is ſo farre from mine underſtanding, as no phraſe more. If they would in the name of common ſenſe expound themſelves unto us, then we ſhould ſoone conſider what Anſwer we are to give in. We willingly profeſſe, that all Gods decrees are unchangeable, but of decreeing a thing unchangeably, not any of our Divines diſcourſe, that I know of. We ſay that God decreeth ſome things to come to paſſe neceſſarily, and ſome things to come to paſſe contingently; ſo doth Aquinas: and we underſtand his language right well, and approve his doctrine in this particular. We willingly confeſſe that as God hath choſen ſome, whom he meanes to deliver from that bondage of ſinne, and Satan, whereinto all are caſt by the tranſgreſſion of Adam. And how to deliver them? Surely by beſtowing the ſpirit of grace, and regeneration upon them, ſo to open their eyes and bring them out of darkeneſſe into light, and from the power of Satan unto God; In few words by beſtowing faith and repentance upon them. All others he hath from everlaſting determined not to ſhew the like grace and favour unto. For we ſee by experience that to many he gives not faith and repentance. And looke how he carryeth himſelfe towards any perſons in time, after the ſame manner he determined to carry himſelfe from everlaſting. And the Scripture expreſly tels us that even of them that are called, but few are choſen; and conſequently the number of reprobates muſt needs be farre greater, then the number of the elect. Now as many as God hath decreed to deny faith and repentance unto, we hold it impoſſibile for them, upon this ſuppoſition, to be recovered out of the bondage of ſinne and Satan; becauſe the Scripture in divers places expreſly tells us, that faith is the gift of God, repentance is the gift of God; and therefore to whomſoever he will not be ſo gracious, as to give faith, and repentance, we judge it a thing impoſſible upon this ſuppoſition, that any of them ſhould believe, ſhould repent. And more then this, as touching every particular here delivered, we account it ſo apparently, teſtified in holy Scripture, that we wonder not a little with what face this Authour can deny it. Nay, we verily believe that he belives all theſe as well as we. And the true point of Subſtantiall difference betweene us is conceled by him all along, which is an argument of no ingenuity; but yet I beare with him in following Lyſanders counſell, when the Lyons skin will not hold out, to peece it out with a fox skin; leaſt otherwiſe his Pelagian tenet would be diſcovered in a moſt palpable and groſſe manner. For undoubtedly he believes that faith is the gift of God; as alſo that it is impoſſible, that they ſhould believe, to whom God will not give faith. But his tenet is, that God is ready and willing to give faith to all, not abſolutely, but conditionally; to wit, in caſe they make themſelves fit for it, by performing ſomewhat on their parts. Now this is as good as in expreſſe termes to profeſſe, that Grace is conferred according to merits, or according unto workes: For betweene works and merits in this controverſy there is no difference, as Bellarmine acknowledgeth; And in the Epiſtle of Proſper to Auſtin they are taken promiſcuouſly, as of the ſame force and ſignification. Now this doctrine is expreſly contradictory to the word of God. God hath ſaved us and called us with an holy calling not according to our owne workes but according to his owne purpoſe and grace. The like we have, Tit. 3. 5. And in like manner this doctrine hat: beene condemned 2. Tim. 19.in the Church of God, as the ſowre leaven of Pelagianiſme, from the Synod of Paleſtine above 1200 yeares agoe all along; and Pelagius himſelfe was driven to ſubſcribe to the Canons of that Synod of Paleſtine, wherein Anathema was pronounced upon them, that do, or ſhall maintaine, that Grace is conferred according unto workes.
If God hath decreed not to beſtow faith upon a man, if he hath not decreed to beſtow upon him the gift of charity, it is impoſſible, that any worke can be done by ſuch a one proceeding from faith and love, and conſequently ſuch a one hath no liberty from ſinne, and that no ſuch liberty is found in a naturall man, in an unregenerate, is the doctrine of our Church by D. Potters confeſſion, a Cathedrall Divine, I do not ſay by the conſtant doctrine of D. Fulke in his anſwer to the Rhemiſh Teſtament, and if no liberty from ſinne be found in ſuch a one, it followes that ſuch a one remaines under a neceſſity of ſinning, not that every ſinne, whether of lying, ſtealing, whoring, murther, or in any other kind is neceſſarily committed by him; For a naturall man may be as morall as any heathen hath beene, many of whom have beene very famous and renowned in the world for their morality; But whether they are exerciſed in vertuous actions, or in abſtaining from actions vicious, yet ſtill they ſinne, foraſmuch as they neither performe the one, nor abſtaine from the other in a gracious manner, out of faith and love. And therefore Auſtin was ſomewhere bold to ſtile them Splendida peccata glorious ſinnes. For novimus non officiis ſed finibus diſcernendas eſſe virtutes, Vertues are to be diſcerned not by their offices, but by their ends. The Helen we fight for is nothing but the word of God, and the truth manifeſtly contained therein; namely concerning the prerogative of his grace, as effectuall to every good worke, and moſt Freely given to ſome and denyed to others, not according to mens workes, according to that of S. Paul God hath mercy on whom he will, and whom he will, he hardneth. This is a part of Gods ſoveraignty; And it ſtands all true ſubjects upon to maintaine the lawfull Soveraignty of their Princes; how much more doth it become the creature to ſtand for the lawfull prerogative and Soveraignty of his Creator, eſpecially when he proceeds herein according to the tenour of Gods word, cleare reaſon and the unanimous conſent of all the orthodoxe in the Church of God clearely oppoſing Pelagius herein from the Synod of Paleſtine 1200. yeares agoe to this day.
The difference of opinions here feigned by him about the point of Reprobation, amongſt our Divines is like the feigning of a knot in a bulruſh. For what is a peremptory denying of grace and glory to ſome men lying in the fall, other then a denyall of that grace and glory, which is prepared in the decree of election to the ſonnes of God, though indeed neither of them make it a denyall, which is done in time, but rather Gods decree to deny it. For do not the latter Divines maintaine it to be peremptory, as well as the former? For what difference doth he deviſe between a flat denyall, and a peremptory denyall; and as for the latter decree belonging to reprobation here mentioned, namely a preordination of the man thus left to the torments of hell do not the latter Divines acknowledge this decree to belong to Reprobation alſo? Only they profeſſe that God preordaines none to eternall torments in hell but for their ſinnes actuall as well as originall, of as many as live to ripeneſſe of age. Now I would faine know what Divine of ours maintaines the contrary.
1. Our Divines in ſaying, Reprobation is, Decretum quo ſtatuit non miſereri do manifeſt, that not denying grace, but the decree of denying it, is Reprobation. Walaeus ſpeaketh of no common endowments, though that be a truth, which here is attributed unto them; elſe how ſhould they be called common endowments.
2. If he decrees to leave Reprobates without grace, and conſequently under that neceſſity of ſinning into which all are caſt by the ſinne of Adam; it is nothing ſtrange, I thinke that God ſhould accordingly leave them therein; though in a different manner, the Lord proſtituting ſome to their own loſt's and to the power of Satan, more then others, and making ſome even by the miniſtery of the Goſpell, proficere ad exteriorem vitae emendationem, quo mitius puniantur; as Auſtin ſome where ſpeaketh. If Gods decree cannot be fruſtrated, as here is avouched; I wonder he ſhould charge us with teaching, that God decreeth this, or that immutably. For if he ſhould change any of his decrees, they ſhould undoubtedly be fruſtrated. Indeed we do not ſay, that God decrees Hypothetically to give grace, to wit upon condition, that men will make themſelves fit for it, and for failing herein to deny them grace. And I am very glad to obſerve ſo good correſpondence in the ſuffrages of Proteſtant Divines in the Synod of Dort, and our Engliſh alſo M. Maſon Addit. p. 57. & 58. 59.with them.