Socinianism in the Fundamental Point of Justification Discovered, Title page – Letter
SOCINIANISME in the Fundamentall point of Justification discovered, and confuted.
Or, an Answer to a written Pamphlet maintaining that faith is in a proper sense without a trope imputed to Beleevers in justification.
Wherein The Socinian fallacies are discovered and confuted, and the true Christian Doctrine maintained, viz. That the righteousnesse by which true beleevers are justified before God is the perfect righteousnesse and obedience which the Lord Iesus Christ God and man did performe to the Law of God, both in his life and death.
By George Walker B▪ of Divinity, and Pastor of S. Iohn the Euangelists Church in Watling-street London.
A man that is an Hereticke, after the first and second admonition reiect, knowing that he that is such is subverted and sinneth being condemned of himselfe.
Tit. 3.10, 11.
LONDON, Printed by R. O. for Iohn Bartlet, at the Signe of the gilt Cup in Pauls Church-yard, neare S. Augustins Gate. 1641.
To his Reverend Brethren, the Godly, Orthodox Pastors and Preachers of Gods Word, in and about the City of London: the Author of this brief discovery and confutation, wisheth all increase of Grace, peace and happinesse; with the abundance of blessings from God on their faithfull labours.
MY Reverend, and dearely beloved Brethren, it is not unknown to divers of you, what great conflicts I have had with the adversaries of this Socinian Faction about this main fundamentall point of Justification, what pains I have taken to vindicate the truth above six and twenty yeares agoe, from the opposition and subtile Sophistry of a cunning adversary, who by the fame and opinion which men had of his great Learning, and no lesse Piety, had drawn many zealous Professors of Religion into some liking of his Errours. His written Pamphlets went currently through the City and were to be found in the hands of many men, in which he First utterly renounced the Law, in whole and part performed by our selves, or any other in our stead, for the justifying of us in the sight of God. Secondly, rejected as a meere device of our late Divines, the imputation of Christs righteousnesse and satisfaction, not onelyonly his habituall righteousnesse, but also his whole obedience, both active and passive; and affirmed it to be a thing wherof there was no testimony or proof in Scripture, nor any necessary end or use thereof. Thirdly, he professed and undertook to prove, thot Faith, even the act of beleeving and trusting in Christ for salvation after a generall and confused manner, as a favourite of God, and not as a perfect satisfyer of his justice and just Law; is that which God accounts and accepts for righteousnesse to justification, in stead of righteousnesse and perfect obedience performed to the will and Law of God, either by Christ or our selves. These and divers other errors which were here and there interlaced, I did at the first discover in some sermons, to be no Doctrines of sacred Truth by him digged out of the deep mines of holy Scripture▪ and newly brought to light (as his seduced Disciples proclaymed them to be) for the inlightning of the blind world in these last dayes of darknesse and perillous times: but the old errors and Heresies of Servetus and Socinus, newly revived and raked out of hell by Arminius, Bertius, and others of their Faction. Divers of his Friends who had begun to imbrace his opinion, were not a little terrified at the hearing of these things; and earnestly besought me to give him a meeting, who at that time was to me unknown by face; I condescended to their desire: but wheras I came with an heart full of tender compassion, and with Prayers in my mouth, and teares in mine eyes, layd open before him the danger of his errors, and the evill and mischiefe which by meanes of his obstinate persisting in them, might accrue to himselfe and those who were by him seduced and misled; he on the contrary hardened his heart to maintain per fas, et nefas, and dolo malo his foresaid erroneous opinions; shewing out of Luther on the Galatians, some words which seemed to favour his error, and to exclude the righteousnesse of the Law from justification (which words he applyed to the righteousnesse of the Law performed by Christ for us, and did most stiffly so urge them:) but the words which immediately followed, to wit, that God justifies us by the righteousnesse of his Son Jesus Christ, and by his fulfilling of the Law for us, he covered with his fingers, till I pluckt the Book out of his hands, and read them to those that were present, whereby he was much confounded. Now the issue of my fair and Christian dealing with him and of my modest and mild opposing of him, without such sharpnesse as the cause and his carriage did require, was the same, which the gentle behaviour of Orthodox Divines towards perverse Hereticks, hath commonly had in all former ages: For his Factious disciples did impute it to the weaknesse of my Cause, and to his arguments convincing my Conscience, that his opinions were not so dangerous as I had censured them to be: but rather unreprovable, yea and laudable. And upon my departure out of the City, immediately after to Cambridge, whither my occasions called me; in my absence they reported, that at our meeting he did so convince and confound me with strong arguments, that I humbled my selfe, to him confessed my ignorance, imbraced his opinions, and promised to hold and maintaine them till death. This wicked and Jesuiticall policy which they used to retaine divers of his disciples, who wer ready to fall off from him; & to recall those who were fallen off already, did produce a quite contrary effect: For when I returned again to the City, and was saluted as a Socinian onvert, and informed of their false reports & lying forgeries; I was inflamed with a double desire to vindicate both the truth of God, and mine own reputation from their slanderous aspersions; and hereupon I betook my selfe to handle and expound that place of Scripture, Rom. 5.17, 18, 19. which doth most pithily and plainly set forth the Doctrine of Justification by the communion of Christs righteousnes and obedience. And because I discerned in mine Adversaries a perverse Hereticall spirit, and that they had made lyes their refuge, and did sinne being condemned of themselves; I did with all zeale confute their errours, lay open the deadly poyson and malignity of them, and cloath them with such reproachfull titles as divers grave and learned Divines of the best reformed Churches had before shaped and fitted to them. I proved them to be profane and abominable Doctrine,Epistolica Collatio cum Bertio, pag 1. & 2. even the damned Heresie of Servetus and Socinus, as Sibrandus Lubertus had before stiled them. And that their denying of the reciprocall imputation of Christs righteousnesse and satisfaction to the faithfull, and of their sinnes to Christ, was impiety and blasphemy, as learned Beza calls it. Though by this meanes my adversaries were enraged,Lib. con. Anonymum. and did suggest into the eares and minds of many godly people in the City, to whom as yet I was unknown, that I was a green headed novice carryed away with anger and passion, rather then zeal: yet divers of you, my learned Brethren, did judge otherwise of me, and my labours; and God blessed them, and made them and your assistance of me therein, powerfull and effectuall to the quelling of those errors, and to the suppressing of them at that time, by putting the Author of them to silence. And now for 20. yeares, and more, they have been buryed in oblivion, untill this new Adversary hath raked them up, as coales out of ashes, and out of a surreptitious Booke (which the First Adversary had composed,Wotton de Reconciliatione. Printed beyond the Seas, and procured to be brought in by stealth, and sold underhand) did bring them into the pulpit, and from thence with a tumultuous noyse proclaymed them most confidently. Now because I have sufficiently acted my part heretofore in opposing these errors; and also divers of you have entered into the lists, and with zeale and courage have begun to fight against the reviver of them, I should have refrayned my selfe from further medling: but because this common adversary hath singled me out, and provoked me by a proud challenge, to answere his writings. I have once more undertaken to answer his challenge, which Answer being sent to him privately, might there have rest…d, if his most reproachfull and rayling reply, full of lyes, absurdities, contradictions, blasphemies, and intollerable scoffes and reproaches, had not forced me to send it abroad into the world to justifie it selfe from the rayling and slanderous clamours which he and his disciples, and factious followers have raised against it, I here commend it to your grave censure, in hope that the goodnesse of the cause which herein I maintaine, will cover mine infirmities, and will stirre you up to perfect and finish what I have begun. The Truth for which you shall fight is strong, and will prevaile; all power, might, glory and victory is Gods, for whose cause you stand; and our Lord Jesus Christ, on whose perfect rigteousnesse you strive to keep the Crown, hath all power given him in heaven and in earth. To this God eternall and omnipotent, and to his eternall Sonne our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and to the most holy and blessed Spirit, three persons in one God, I commend you and your holy and faithfull labours in my dayly Prayers, humbly supplicating to his Majesty for this Grace, that I may continue till death
Your fellow Soldier and labourer in his Vineyard GEORGE WALKER.