Christian Concord, Part 3
As for the Objections that may be made by our Brethren of the Congregational way, I shall but touch them briefly.
1. Some may Object, that tying our selves to the observation of Parish bounds, and one Minister not to receive Members from anothers Congregations, doth hinder the free gathering of Churches, and may force a man to submit to a weak Minister, when he might have a better.
Ans. 1. Brethren! Would you have Unity and Peace or no? If you would, must not you condescend as far as may be to others, as well as others to you? Let it be the property of the Pope to accept of no Peace with any Church that will not wholly come up to his will and way. And you know that this is the great point which you must yield in, or you cannot have Union with the contrary minded. 2. Did you ever reade in Scripture that those were Members of a Church in one City, who lived constantly in another City that had a Church? Shew me where? yea or that ever any were Members of one Church, that lived among the Members of another Church? Shew me that if you can. 3. Doth not Church Association and duty necessarily presuppose cohabitation? Is not natural capacity prerequisite to all duties or enjoyments? Can men in the Countrey that live in one Parish, do the offices and enjoy the benefits of Members many miles from them, beyond their capacity? 4. Is it not fit that bounds for order and division should be set? And may not the Magistrate do it? And is it not done in most places, as well as you can desire? And where it is not, but Parishes are either too great or too small, get them amended as soon as you can. In the mean time, affect not confusion: turn not all order upside down: God is not the God of confusion, but of order, which he would have established in all the Churches. 5. In the mean time, I pray you observe, that you may joyn with us in this without contradicting or deserting your own principles. For if there be fit persons enough in each Parish to compose a Church, and they be willing to keep to the ancient Bounds, will you not confess it lawfull? Yea very fit? I know you will. If there be not enough in one Parish, we have agreed to lay two together; but by consent, and upon advice first had with the Association, and not too privately, lest it be rashly and unadvisedly. And can you disallow this? And if any particular persons living in one Parish would be Members of the Church in another, we have agreed to examine the case: 1. If that Parish that he lives in, have no Minister, or one as bad as none, or the person produce a just cause of his desire, we agree to admit him. 2. If the person have no sufficient cause, yet by consent of the Ministers of both Churches, we deny not but such a case may be dispensed with (as if a man say, I can profit more by a neighbour-Minister.) 3. But if he have no just cause, and they both consent not, we may well resolve to forbear and refuse him. For 1. Ministers are Free-men as well as the people, and therefore every mans desire must not deprive them of their freedom, and necessitate their yielding to it. 2. In such a case no violence is offered to the freedom of a Brother. 3. The publique wellfare and Unity of the Churches, is to be preferred before the pleasing, yea or edifying of any single Member. What confusion will follow the plucking up of Christs and the Magistrates and the Churches bounds? 4. Much more must the temporall commodity of single men, give place to the Churches welfare (which will not stand with disorder.) Should not such remove their dwellings into those bounds where they would be Church-members? If you plead inconveniencies to them: Remember then it is no matter of Conscience, but of worldly commodity: And may not I set the generall good of the Churches against any mans commodity? 5. If all the people may lawfully joyn themselves with that Church which hath the Ablest Teacher, then almost all the world must go to a few men, and leave the rest. Then Barnabas may be forsaken, if Paul be the chief Speaker. 6. And then Able mens Churches will grow to that bigness, that they will be no Churches, the Matter being too big for the End and Form. I would know this of you, May not you agree on a way to keep your own Churches from swelling too big? no doubt: and must too: some then must be kept out. And may not you as honestly and orderly resolve to keep out Members of another Parish, that are fitter by habitation to be Members of another Church, then to keep out the fit Members of your own Parish, that live among you? 7. If you may (as you do) agree among your selves not to receive the Members of another Church that unwarrantably forsake their Pastor, without his consent; and this without any reference to Parish-bounds; why may you not better resolve on the same course with reference to Parish-bounds, where you have two reasons. The parties reasons for removall we suppose the same in both (as that he can better profit by another, &c.) 8. Yea if at present there be no reason to fear the over-greatness of some Churches, or if there were many discouragements in the Parishes they live in, yet consider that the time to come must be respected, as well as the present; and you should so contrive it rather, that other Churches may in season be bettered. 9. And God hath more means then Ministerial abilities to increase mens graces: He that keeps in Gods order under a meaner honest Minister, is like to be a more humble, thriving Christian, then he that will break that order under pretence of edification. The Lord knows that I speak against my own visible carnal interests in all this: For I am perswaded, if I would have gathered such a Church out of other Parishes, I could have had so many of the Professors for many miles compass as would have made an over-numerous Church. But God usually chastiseth men for such disorders, and suffereth those same Professors to be our hearts-grief and scourges (by turning to doctrinal or practical evils) who break Gods order and the Churches Unity in the over-valuing of our parts. And they are oft ready to pull out our eyes, that would have pulled out their own for us in a distempered zeal. 10. Christians should not first ask [Where may I have the best Minister, or company, or purest Ordinances? or where may I receive most good?] But they must first ask [Where lieth my Duty? and where may I do most good?] For Gods work must be done before our own. And the saving of souls and propagation of the Gospel, must be preferred before our comforts. Yea let me tell you my observation; The Comfort that Christians have in a suffering, selfdenying course of doing good, is a surer and more stable Comfort then that which is drawn from the special advantages of Ordinances. That man that lives among a company of poor ignorant souls, and will set himself night and day resolvedly and unweariedly to teach them, perswade them and win them to Christ, till he have bettered the imperfect Church where he is, shall usually be a man of solid setled peace: When he that saith [These are Carnal, Heathens, Wicked; This is a weak Ministry; I will go joyn my self to such an excellent Minister and Church, and let them alone] this man will likely be soon sadded with his new comforts, and weary of his pretious Ordinances, and be as ready to vilifie them and turn to some other; till in this disorder he have run himself out of breath, if not out of all appearance of Grace.