Animadversions on William Dells Book, To the reader – Animadversions
To the Chriſtian READER.
THe word of God is truth, and that truth everlaſting. John 17.17. foreign Pſal. 119.160All divine truth is, in it ſelf, and as to Gods manifeſtation of it in his word, old, though much of this truth is as to us, and our apprehenſion of it from the word, new; but whether new or old what ever appears unto thee by Scripture evidence to be truth, imbrace and honour it as an irradiation of the God of truth; Adverſus univerſas haereſes jam hinc praejudicatum ſit id eſſe verum quodeunque primum. Tertul.Let the holy Ghoſts counſel impartially prevail with thee: buy the truth, and ſell it not. Prov. 23.23.By peruſing of the enſuing Animadverſions on Mr. Dells book, which out of love unto the truth I have now made publike, thou wilt find many poſitions laid down with greateſt confidence by him called into queſtion by me as concerning their truth, ſuch as theſe.
1. That all the powers on earth have no power to protect the truth being brought forth, Epiſt. Dedicatory. (A)
2. That believers do work out of juſtifying righteouſneſſe. Section 1. (E)
3. That a believer is wholly dead to the law, and as a dead man hath no more to do with the law, as to the giving of laws to him. Sect. 1. (F) and Sect. 2. (B)
4. That the law of the ſpirit makes a believer truly dead to the law. Sect. 2. (D)
5. That Libertines and licentious perſons are to be reſtrained by the Civil Magiſtrate, when they tranſgreſſe wickedly and preſumptuouſly againſt their neighbour and civil ſociety, but in other things, concerning the things of God, they are to be left to the immediat judgement of God only. Sect. 3. (C)
6. That the humanity of Chriſt knew no law but the preſence of the Godhead in it. Sect. 3. (F)
7. That God himſelf is the new law according to which believers walk. Sect. 3. (G)
8. That our Lord Chriſt owed nothing to the law of Moſes by way of debt. Sect. 4. (A)
9. That the living word and ſpirit which dwelt in the fleſh of Chriſt, was the true crucifying of him. Sect. 4. (B)
10. That Chriſtians are dead to whatſoever is not God himſelf. Sect. 4. (D)
11. That Chriſt was crucified before his croſſe, and that his outward crucifying was but a ſign of what done before within. Sect. 5. (C)
12. That the divine nature of Chriſt was the conſtant croſſe of his humane nature, and his humane nature was fully crucified in his divine. Sect. 5. (E)
13. That the man Chriſt loſt all his own things in God, through immediate union with God. Sect. 5. (F)
14. That the living word and ſpirit is the glorious croſſe of the Church the body, as of Chriſt the head. Sect. 6. (D)
15. That the word which faith receives, is the word of righteouſneſſe and life (in oppoſition to the outward word) which is alwayes accompanied with the ſpirit. Sect. 7. (C)
16. That their own life is extinguiſhed in believers, by the living word and ſpirit. Sect. 7. (I)
And yet
17. That ſin hath its full power in the humane life of believers. Sect. 7. (M)
18. That the Devil can find nothing in believers to do them harm. Sect. 7. (P)
19. That the fleſh crucified in believers, is Chriſts own fleſh. Sect. 7. (Q)
20. That the fleſh crucified in believers, is the only temple and habitation of God. Sect. 7. (S)
21. That the fleſh crucified in believers, keeps the true Chriſtian ſabbath. Sect. 7. (T)
22. That the fleſh crucified in believers, is able to endure the will of God, and to ſuffer for his name. Sect. 7. (W)
23. That the fleſh crucified in believers, hath the very glory of Chriſt upon it. Sect. 7. (Y)
24. That the fleſh crucified in believers, is the only ſubject of the glorious reſurrection. Sect. 7. (Z)
25. That the humanity of Chriſt was deprived of its own proper life, through the word and ſpirit that dwelt in it. Sect. 10. (A)
26. That inſtead thereof, it had the life of the Son of God communicated to it. Sect. 9. (A)
27. That the ſon of man parted with his own proper life, out of himſelf. Sect. 9. (A)
28. That he did yet live truly in the ſame ſoul and body, the life of the eternal word. Sect. 9: (A)
29. That the whole Church is conformed to the pattern of the humanity of Chriſt, in point of living the life of the eternal word. Sect. 9. (A)
30. That the ſon of man was ſo crucified, that nevertheleſſe he lived whileſt he was crucified. Sect. 9. (A)
31. That in a believer the ſoul and body live in the life of the ſon of God, as was done in the fleſh of Chriſt our elder brother. Sect. 10. (E)
32. That no man ſhould think that the life which Paul lived after his crucifying, was only his own humane life purified and refined. Sect. 11. (A)
33. That a chriſtian is ſo crucified with Chriſt, that in this crucifying he loſeth not only his own proper life, but his perſonality alſo. Sect. 11. (B)
And ſo
34. That through faith, a believers ſoul and body live no more any proper life of their own, but are taken up into the nature and perſon of the ſon of God. Sect. 11. (B)
And ſo
35. That a believer ſubſiſts in Chriſts perſon, and is no more a diſtinct perſon by himſelf. Sect. 11. (C)
36. That Chriſt in a believer is to him inſtead of all created habits of grace. Sect. 14. (B)
And ſo
37. That Chriſt who lives in a believer, is all grace to him. Sect. 14. (B)
38. That the created habits of grace in a Chriſtian, are nothing but empty notions, and vain ſpeculations of carnal and unbelieving hearts, ignorant of the true miſtery of the Goſpel. Sect. 14. (B)
39. That Chriſt himſelf is the only grace that is acceptable to God. Sect. 15. (C)
40. That this is the only grace againſt which the gates of hell cannot prevaile. Sect. 14. (D)
41. That true juſtification is to be ſo one with Chriſt by faith; that Chriſt himſelf may live in us, and we in him, that he may communicate his nature unto us, and our nature may be taken up into his. Sect. 14. (H)
And ſo
42. That we are juſtified before God by Chriſts living in us his own life. Sect. 14. (H)
43. That Chriſt and a Chriſtian are made ſo much one, that what one doth the other may be truly ſaid to do. Sect. 15. (A)
44. That as it is between God and Chriſt, juſt ſo it is between Chriſt and believers, who are as nearly united, as God and Chriſt. Sect. 15. (B)
45. That the true nature of Faith is nothing but this, the Fathers laying hold of us by his Spirit, and drawing us to the Son, and inabling us to receive the Son; and ſo making us one with the Son, to abide and live in him for ever. Sect. 17. (A)
46. That as the Word or Son coming into the humanity of Chriſt, gave it authority and power to become the Son of God, ſo the ſame Word coming into us through Chriſt, gives us power to become the Sons of God in him, as the fire gives the iron in which it dwels power to be light and hot. Sect. 17. (B)
47. That right faith carrieth a believer into all the perfections and excellencies of the Son of God, into his nature, and life, and righteouſneſſe, and power, and glory, and into all the fulneſſe of the Son of the living God. Sect. 17. (F)
48. That right faith is infinite and everlaſting righteouſneſſe, the firſt and laſt, and all in all in the kingdome of the Son. Sect. 18. (C)
Theſe, and divers other Poſitions, many of which reſpect not barely the circumference, but (as it ſeems to me) lie very cloſe to the heart and center of Chriſtian doctrine: Thou wilt ſee, good Reader, very peremptorily tendered by Mr. Dell in his book, and brought to a charitable trial in my Animadverſions on the ſame, and upon trial, if I am not miſtaken, wherein I humbly and heartily ſubmit to ſcripture judgement, found guilty of ſwerving from the rule of divine goſpel truth. I have not willingly miſreported one of Mr. Dells poſitions, or picked a quarrel with any part of his book, making it worſe then it is, by a forced interpretation of it, or inference from it; yet I ſee that evil practiſe ſo commonly prevailing, that I ſuſpect it in my ſelf, and ſhall be ready to crave pardon if it appear that I have, though unwittingly, offended in that kind: My Animadverſions, though very ſhort, yet are large enough, I hope, as I intended them, to put the points in difference between Mr. Dell and my ſelf under thy judgement. And let me beſeech thee to be an impartial judge between us for thine owne good, and with the noble Boereans, bring every doctrine to the Scripture, and be not ſwayed on either ſide, to preſume above that which is written. Acts 17.11. foreign. 1 Cor. 4.6.I do not make it the foundation of my faith in what I tender; yet I confeſſe it is a ſtrong buttreſſe of my belief, in the points under debate between us, that I adhere to thoſe old apprehenſions which holy and judicious divines, who have been before us, have with full conſent, imbraced as the truths of God, and whereby they have guided many thouſand ſouls into Gods everlaſting reſt. But my laſt appeal is to the holy Scriptures, thoſe I make conſcience to make my final judge, or rather God in them. Dear Chriſtian, hearken to the voice of thy God, when he ſpeaks plainly in the Scriptures, Pſal. 119.130and ſo doing, with humble and faithful prayer to God for underſtanding, doubt not but thou mayeſt be able with a judgement of Chriſtian diſcerning to diſtinguiſh, in points more difficult, what is conſonant to, or diſagreeing from the ſame, and ſo diſcover what hath or hath not the ſtamp of divine truth upon it. I will make no apologie for my appearing in publike at this time, for though I am very conſcious of mine own weakneſſe, and (as I think) am not naturally litigious, yet my conſcience provoked me, ſeeing none of my much more able, and worthy brethren have, for ought I know, appeared in this cauſe, publikely to call Chriſtians in our unſetled times to a ſerious trial of thoſe doctrines which Mr. Dell had publikely tendred to them, and laid down with higheſt confidence in his book, which notwithſtanding ſeem to me utterly unable to ſtand before the light and truth of the Goſpel of Chriſt Jeſus. If in any particulars I have erred, as I know I may, and am jealous I have; Let the righteous ſmite me, it ſhall be a kindneſſe, let them reprove me, it ſhall be an excellent oyle which ſhall not break my head. It is truth, I love, and ſeek, and prize, the truth of Chriſt; the Lord clear it, and lift it up amongſt us daily; If what I have now done may have any tendency to that end, I ſhall deſire my ſelf, and earneſtly deſire thee alſo, to glorifie the God of truth in that behalf: Afford a ſhare in thy prayers, I beſeech the to
An unworthy ſervant of Chriſt and his Church, who deſireth thy eſtabliſhment in the truth of the Goſpel, and true way of life. Humfry Chambers.
ANIMADVERSIONS.
(A) He that is firſt in his own cauſe ſeemeth juſt, Prov. 18.17. foreign, Rom. 12.16.
(B) Mr. Dell, by entituling himſelf [miniſter of the Goſpel] ſeems to acknowledge the Miniſtry and Miniſters of the Goſpel, as a peculiar, diſtinct, and diſtinguiſhing office in the Church of God, whereunto if he will be conſtant, in our unconſtant times, he ſhall do well. And ſince Mr. Dell ſetteth forth himſelf as Maſter of Gonvil and Caius Colledge in Cambridge; I hope he holds himſelf engaged to appear a real friend to Learning and Univerſities, when ſo many declare themſelves real enemies againſt them: He knoweth what hath long been received for a tried truth, Scilicet, ſcientia non habet inimicum niſi ignorantem. May I not adde, & Julianum, which ſpiteful apoſtate from Chriſt, to effect the ſubverſion of Chriſtianity, attempted the ſuppreſſion of learning amongſt Chriſtians, Socrat. Eccleſ. Hiſt. lib. 3. cap. 10.