The Anatomy of Arminianism, Chapter 34
CHAP. XXXIV.
The reaſons of the Arminians are examined, by which they maintaine free-will in an vnregenerate man, concerning things that are ſpirituall, and belonging to ſaluation.
I. AGainſt the doctrine of the Orthodoxe Church, which doth put away from man all free-will in the worke of ſaluation, being vpholden by the word of God, and proued by ſence it ſelfe, and experience, the Arminians doe oppoſe themſelues with great diligence, and doe patronize free-will in thoſe that are vnregenerate.
II. They doe eueryevery where obiect and reckon vp that of Saint Paul, Rom. 2.14. The Gentiles which hauehave not the Law, doe by nature thoſe things contained in the Law. I anſwere, that by the Law it is commanded to louelove God with all the heart, with all the ſtrength, which cannot be done vnleſſe you direct all your actions to his glory, and vnleſſe you be indued with faith, becauſe whatſoeuer is not of faith is ſinne: Whoſoeuer ſhalexamine the vertues of heathen men, by the line of theſe rules, ſhall finde that in their moſt honeſt deedes, there were many things wanting, and much ſinne in them: Hence it appeareth that the Gentiles indeede, in an externall worke, doe thoſe things which are of the Law: The words of Saint Paul are not to be extended any further: But the forme of a right worke, which is placed in the inward conueniency and agreement of the minde with the law of God, was alwaies abſent from infidels and heathen men. It is one thing to doe thoſe things that are of the law, it is another thing to fulfill the law: The one is to obey the law, as concerning the externall matter of the worke, the other is to be obedient to the law, after that manner, with that minde, and to that end, which is commanded by the word of God.
III. They ſcatter ſome little motiues, as that, Eſay 55. v, 1. They that thirſt are inuited by God, that is, thoſe that are deſirous of reconciliation with God, and of ſaluation. And that Matth. 11. They that are heauy laden are called, Come vntounto mee yee that are weary and heauie laden: By thoſe that are laden, are noted our, thoſe that are preſſed downe with the conſcience of their ſinnes, and ſighing vnderunder the burden of them: Therefore (ſay they) they were already deſirous of ſaluation, and were preſſed downe with the conſcience of their ſins, before they were called, and regeneration is after calling: And therefore in the vnregenerate there may be a ſauing griefe, and a deſire of remiſſion of ſinnes; but I affirme that thoſe men ſo thirſting, and ſo laden, were not vnregenerate: For that very deſire of ſaluation and the grace of God, and the ſighes of the conſcience, panting vnderunder the weight of ſinne, by which wee are compelled to flie to Chriſt, is a part of regeneration: And that beginning of feare (if it be acceptable to God) is an effect of the holy ſpirit mouing the heart: For what hindreth, that he who thirſteth after the grace of God, hath not already taſted of it, and as it were licked it with his lippes? What hindreth that he who is commanded to come to Chriſt, ſhould not already moue himſelfe and beginne to goe, although with a ſlow pace? Doth Chriſt as often as he commandeth men to beleeue in him, ſpeake onelyonly to vnbeleeuers? Yea, this exhortation to beleeue, and to come to him, doth eſpecially belong to them, whoſe faith being new bred, and weake, doth ſtriue with the doubtings of the fleſh.
IV. It is familiar to the Arminians to cite the words of Chriſt, Iohn 7.17. If any one will doe the will of him that ſent me, hee ſhall know of my doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I ſpeake of my ſelfe. Hence they would proue, that one may doe the will of God, before he know Chriſt and his doctrine. This is to delude the Scripture, and to wreſt it at their pleaſure: For they ſpeake, as if Chriſt had ſaid, Hee that doth fulfill the commandements of God, ſhall afterward know of my doctrine, whether it be of God, &c. Alſo by the words, to doe the will of God, they vnderſtand, to acknowledge their ſinnes, to feare God with a ſeruile and ſlauiſh feare, ſeriouſly to wiſh the grace of God, and remiſſion of ſinnes, to doe thoſe things which are of the law, &c. All falſe: For to doe the will of God, in this place, is nothing elſe, then to beleeue Chriſt ſpeaking; for this is that which Chriſt doth vrge, that this is the will of the father, that we ſhould beleeue on the Sonne: Whoſe words if any man beleeues, hee thereby knoweth that his doctrine is heauenly and diuine, wherefore we are not to thinke that we doe the will of God before we beleeue in his Sonne. Thus, although it be true that he who is moued doth liue, yet it doth not thence follow, that motion is before life: So in that Chriſt ſaith, Whoſoeuer will doe the will of the father, ſhall know that my doctrine is from God: It doth not thence follow, that the will of the father muſt be done before it can be knowne that his doctrine is from God: But if there is any order of time here, it muſt needes be that the doctrine of Chriſt be firſt knowne to be from God, before he can be beleeued, or obeyed when he ſpeakes: For no man doth beleeue that which hee doth not in ſome part know. Chriſt followeth this order, Iohn 17.8. They hauehave knowne that I came out from thee, and they hauehave beleeued that thou didst ſend mee. And, Chap. 14.17. he ſaith, that the ſpirit of truth is not receiued by the world, becauſe the world doth not know him: To know therefore is before to receiue.
V. That is no better which Arnoldus doth adde, Page 409. The feare of the Lord is the beginning of wiſedome, Prou. 1. And, The Lord reuealeth his ſecrets to them that feare him, Pſal. 25. But I deny that the feare of the Lord, of which it is ſpoken here, can agree to vnbeleeuers and vnregenerate men. Salomon ſaith, that the feare of the Lord, is the head of wiſedome, that is, the chiefe part, and that wherein wiſedome doth chiefely conſiſt, for this the Hebrew word, Reſhith, doth plainely ſignifie: And thoſe that feare God, to whom he reuealeth his ſecrets, are not vnregenerate perſons, but thoſe which are truely godly, to whom hee doth daily giuegive increaſe of wiſedome, and of the true knowledge of God.
VI. To the ſame end Arnoldus, Page 397. doth bring the words of the 51. Pſalme, A contrite ſpirit is an acceptable ſacrifice to God. And, Eſay 66. God will dwell in a contrite ſpirit. Arnoldus thinketh that theſe things are ſpoken of an vnregenerate man, but yet ſuch a one as doth confeſſe his ſinnes, doth grieue, hath the beginning of feare, &c. But hee eyther deceiues or is deceiued: For there Dauid lamenting his ſinnes, with a large confeſſion, doth comfort himſelfe with this hope, and doth promiſe to himſelfe that his contrition will be an acceptable ſacrifice to God. Whoſoeuer therefore doth ſay that Dauid there ſpeaketh of the contrition of an vnregenerate man, doth affirme that Dauid himſelfe was vnregenerate: And there is no man but ſeeth, that Eſay doth ſpeake of them that are truely faithfull, and of a filiall feare and contrition, and not of that feare which may be in the vnregenerate, and in the heathen, who hauehave not heard the word of God. For the Prophet ſaith, To whom ſhall I looke? To him that is afflicted and of a contrite heart, and trembleth at my word: Hee ſpeaketh of the man who is inſtructed in the word of God, and who with a holy feare is moued to the hearing of it.
VII. Arnoldus, a little before, had reckoned vp the good workes which may be done by an vnregenerate man, viz. To doe thoſe things which are of the law, to hauehave ſome ſparkes of light and knowledge engrauen on his heart, to grieue for his ſinnes, to implore the grace of remiſſion of ſinnes, and of the new ſpirit: But how many nations are there, who doe not know what this new ſpirit is, nor hauehave euer heard any thing of the grace of remiſſion of ſins? Alſo I would know whether ſuch things that are done by the vnregenerate, without faith, are truely good: If they be truely good, then we can doe that which is truely good without Chriſt, without his ſpirit, and without faith: If they are not truely good, how can that not be truely good and iuſt, which God alone intendeth, and which alone, nothing more (if Arminius be beleeued) he doth require from the vnregenerate man as long as he is vnregenerate?
VIII. A little after, he ſaith, that the ſame worke cannot be performed as perfect in its eſſence, without the faith of Chriſt; and he doth put this difference betweene workes which are done before regeneration, and they which are done after regeneration; to wit, that they are imperfect, theſe are perfect. Theſe are the two kindes of merits, with which, in the Schooles of the Papiſts, make ſuch a noyſe, merits of congruity, and merits of condignity, but new dreſſed and cloathed with other names. The Reader therefore ſhall note, that the Arminians place in a regenerate man perfect workes, and a perfect louelove of God: For they thinke that the regenerate, may by the ſpirit of Chriſt ſo conforme their life, according to that law, that they may come to that degree of obedience which God doth require of them. Theſe are the words of Arnoldus, pag. 492. and pag. 399. according to Arminius, he ſaith, that there is a double ſpirit, one that doth goe before regeneration, and doth tend to it, which is the ſpirit of bondage to feare, the other which doth regenerate, and doth perfect regeneration. Arminius, Reſp. ad. 31. Art. pa. 164. and 165. I doe not repugne that opinion of Auſtin, whereby he determines, that man may be without ſinne in this life. Truely it is boldly ſpoken: The Arminians then are better then the Apoſtle Iames, who ſpeaketh thus, Chap. 3. In many things we offend all. In which ſpeech, he doth account himſelfe among them who offend in many things: Better then Saint Iohn, whoſe confeſſion is this; If we ſay we hauehave no ſinne, wee deceiue our ſelues, and the truth is not in vsus: Yea, better then all the Apoſtles, who did daily ſay, Forgiue vsus our treſpaſſes. Neither is it to be maruailed at, if the Arminians thinke that the regenerate can fulfill the Law, ſeeing they alſo ſay, that the Law of nature may be fulfilled by the heathen and vnregenerate: Now the Law of nature is that, to which Adam before his fall ſtood bound, which bond paſſed to his poſteritie: This Law forbids a man to lye; but the Scripture, that cannot lye, ſaith, that eueryevery man is a lyar: The ſame Law, commandeth that God be loued withall our heart, and all our ſtrength; which thing, how can it be performed by the vnregenerate, ſeeing it was neuer peeformed by the regenerate themſelues? That which a liuing man neuer performed, how can it be performed by him that is dead? Finally, we muſt bid Chriſtian religion farewell, and another Goſpell muſt be coyned, if this prodigious doctrine be admitted.
IX. But that we may come to that double ſpirit of God. Arminius, and according to him Arnoldus, pag. 399. doe deuiſe two ſpirits, or rather two acts of the ſame ſpirit: The one of theſe ſpirits, they will hauehave to be common to all men, euen to the vnregenerate, yea, and to heathen men, to whom the Goſpell hath not come; by which ſpirit, they thinke that God doth worke in all men, and is idle in none: This is that ſpirit, which they call the ſpirit of bondage, of which it is ſpoken, Rom. 8.15. which is oppoſed in that place to the ſpirit of Adoption, which is peculiar to the true faithfull. This ſpirit of bondage, the Arminia…s will hauehave to be effectuall in the law, not onelyonly in the written law, but alſo in that which is naturally imprinted in mens hearts: By this ſpirit they thinke that vnregenerate men doe tremble with a ſauing feare, doe acknowledge and confeſſe their ſinnes, doe implore the grace of God, and apply themſelues to the obedience of the law of nature: theſe they thinke are preparation and diſpoſitions to regeneration, if ſo be that free-will doth vſe well that vniuerſall and ſufficient grace which is common to all men: Theſe are the decrees of this new ſect, full of many perplexities, and filled with nice and ſlender points.
X. I finde in the holy Scripture the ſpirit of adoption, the firſt fruits of the ſpirit, the ſpirit of ſanctification; but I no where finde a ſpirit of God, that is tyed to the law, and common to all men: Nor can the ſpirit of God, working in our hearts, be without very great wickedneſſe, ſeperated from the knowledge of Chriſt: 2 Cor. 3.6. Miniſters of the new Teſtament, not of the Letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter killeth, but the ſpirit giueth life.Nor doe I ſee how there can be in them whom Saint Paul, Epheſ. 2. ſaith, to be dead in ſinne, ſtrangers from the life of God, and without God in the world, either any ſpirituall life, or the ſpirit of God dwelling in their hearts, and ſauingly mouing and affecting them: Certainely, the Apoſtle had neuer called the Law, ſeperated from the Goſpell a killing letter, nor had oppoſed it to the ſpirit, if the ſpirit of God were alway ioyned to the law, or if the ſpirit of God did worke in mens hearts, and diſpoſe them to faith and conuerſion, without the knowledge of the Goſpell: Nor is the Law a Schoole-maſter vntounto Chriſt, vntill the grace of Chriſt is offred to vsus: for then the Law, with terrour and threats doth compell vsus to imbrace the grace offred.
XI. But that is moſt dangerous, which the Arminians preſſe downe and hide, but dare not vtter, to wit, that the holy ſpirit is naturally in eueryevery man. For if the ſpirit of God be effectuall in the law, and the law be naturally engrauen in eueryevery man, it muſt needes be, that the ſpirit of God is naturally in eueryevery man. And ſo, whatſoeuer the Scripture ſpeaketh of the ſecond birth, by the ſpirit, of the creation of the new man, and of the ſpirituall reſurrection, will fall to the ground, yea, will be ridiculous: For, what neede were there to infuſe a new ſpirit for regeneration, if the ſame ſpirit of God did already dwell in the hearts of the vnregenerate?
XII. And that place of Saint Paul, Rom. 8. Ye hauehave not receiued the ſpirit of bondage againe to feare, they doe falſely, and againſt the Apoſtles will, draw to this matter. For Saint Paul neuer called the ſpirit of God, the ſpirit of bondage; for ſo he had reproached the ſpirit of God: but he onelyonly ſaith, that the ſpirit that was giuen to them, was not ſeruile, and ſuch as ſhould ſtrike their hearts with a ſlauiſh feare: For, where the ſpirit of God is, there is liberty, 2 Cor. 3. If I ſhould ſay, that we hauehave not receiued from God the ſpirit of lying; ſhould I therefore ſay, that there is a ſpirit of God that compels to lying? Is the ſpirit of God contrary to it ſelfe; that one ſpirit of God, ſhould be called the ſpirit of bondage, and another the ſpirit of liberty? The plaine and ſimple meaning therefore of the words of the Apoſtle, is this; Ye hauehave receiued the ſpirit of God, not that which ſhould terrifie your conſciences with a ſlauiſh feare, which made you vncertaine and doubtfull, before the grace of God, and the adoption of Chriſt was reueiled to you, &c.
XIII. And they doe extreamely dote, when they put the feare and terrour, wherewith the law (deſtitute of the ſpirit of regeneration, and the knowledge of Chriſt,) doth ſtrike mens hearts, among the effects of the ſpirit of God: For the law thus receiued, can onelyonly reſtraine the raging affections with the feare of puniſhment, and frame a man to certaine outward obedience: but it will neuer purge the inward filthineſſe, or inſtill any one drop of true repentance: yea, rather it will ſtirre vp the inward luſts, by the reſiſtance of it, as it is engrafted in eueryevery man, to encline to that which is forbidden, and whereſoeuer hope of impunity is propounded, men hauing broken their barres, doe ſo much the more outragiouſly riot, by how much they were ſtraightly bridled in. This is that which the Apoſtle would expreſſe, Rom. 7.5.8. The motions of ſinnes by the law, did worke in our members, and ſinne taking occaſion, by the commandement it ſelfe, wrought concupiſcence. And that vntill the ſpirit of life, which in Chriſt frees vsus from the law of ſinne and death, as it is ſaid, Chapter 8.2. that is, vntill the powerfull efficacy of that quickning which we hauehave from Chriſt, free vsus from that bondage of deadly ſinne.
XIV. It is vaine and idle which they obiect, that the corruption of an vnregenerate man, is compared to ſleepe, and to an Vlcer. I confeſſe it is compared to a ſleepe, but to a deadly one, and ſuch a one, out of which, man cannot awaken and raiſe himſelfe: That Vlcer and ſcarre which is ſpoken of, Eſay 53.1. and 1 Pet. 2. doth not ſignifie ſinne it ſelfe, but the puniſhment of ſin. This therefore is nothing to the reliques and remainds of ſpirituall life, in an vnregenerate man.