The Divine Right of Church Government and Excommunication, Religious polemic · Chapter 13
CHAP. XIII.
Queſt. 9.
Other Arguments for Excommunication vindicated.
Erastus. The Apoſtle writeth, if any man love not the Lord Jeſus,Eraſtus li. 3. ca. 9. pag. 254. let him be accurſed: Ergo, Paul will have the Elders to ſit and judge who truely repent, who not, that they may admit the one to the ſupper, not the other; if this be excommunication, excommunication is grounded on a thouſand places: to love Chriſt is to k…ep his commandements, Ioh. 13. and 15. then who ever ſaith thoſe that keep not the commandements of Chriſt, are curſed of God, he ſhall this way excommunicate: then Moſes did often excommunicate. But becauſe the falſe Apoſtles did ſtrive to make Paul contemptible, therefore Paul ſaith, God be judge which of us loveth Chriſt, and let God deſtroy him who loves him not, this is the true meaning.
Anſ. Erastus perverteth the ſenſe of Beza his words, for Beza has no ſuch concluſion as to prove a formall excommunication by the Elders, or Church judicature; this is Eraſtus ſained concluſion. Beza inferreth from theſe words, that there is here graviſſimae excommunicationis Beza de pre…byt. pag 97.ſpecies, a kind of heavy excommunication, materially, to be eternally ſeparated from Chriſt, called the great excommunication. And it was to be accurſed while the Lord come, and therefore this may prove there is a kind of leſſer excommunication, in the Church, and Moſes his curſing by way of preaching, may well inſerre, that becauſe there be Church cenſures, therefore there is a Church curſing heavy, and leſſe heavy. But Beza intendeth not to prove excommunication by the Church from this, but only that Christs enemies are curſed, though they be other wayes in the Church; and this kinde of excommunication, of ſhutting impenitent ſinners out of heaven, is in a thouſand places of ſcripture, and nothing can hence be concluded againſt Beza; and the like excommunication is Gal. 1. And when Ioh. 2. Ep. forbiddeth to receive a fa…e teacher into your houſe, if he be a member of the Church, he is to be farre leſſe kept in Chriſts greater houſe the Church; but is to be caſt out.
Erastus. When Paul ſaith, Gal. 5. I would they were cut off whoPag. 255. trouble you; he ſaith not, conveene the Elders, and caſt ſuch men out of the Church, or deliver them to Satan, but he wiſheth that they were cut off by God.
Anſ. 1. The place, Gal. 5. 12. I wiſh they were cut off that trouble The place Gal. 5. 12. vindicated.you, is expounded by Piſcator of cutting off from the viſible Church; Yea he ſaith, conveene the Church, when he ſaith, v. 9. a little leaven leaveneth the whole lumpe, that is, a little falſe Doctrine infecteth the whole Church, and v. 10. I am confident of you, that ye will be no otherwiſe minded; but he that troubleth you ſhall bear his judgement, who ever he be: then he hopeth well of the Galathians that they will be of one mind to judge, and caſt out the falſe teacher, this is parallel to 1 Cor. 5. though Paul do not ſo right downe chide them for neglect of Church cenſures, as he doth 1 Cor. 5.
But ſaith Eraſtus, if Paul wiſhed them to be cut off that troubled them, why did he not cut off thoſe falſe teachers, and deliver them to Satan? Eraſtus anſwereth, it was not Gods will ſo to do, and the ApoſtlesPag 255. 256. could not in every place, and at every time kill miraculouſly; but when it was profitable, and neceſſary.
Anſ. Then Paul, 1 Cor. 5. farre leſſe could rebuke the Corinthians; becauſe they prayed not that the inceſtuous Corinthian might be miraculouſly killed by Paul: for Paul had not power to kill him; becauſe it was not neceſſary, nor profitable: the man repented, and was never killed. 2. Iudge if it be probable that Paul would wiſh to work a miracle in killing falſe teachers, when it was neither profitable, neceſſary, nor ſa…e for the Church to have them killed. 3. Paul was confident the man who troubled them ſhould beare his judgement. Eraſtus ſaith, it was not Gods will he ſhould be miraculouſly killed; Ergo, it was not miraculous killing, but ſome Church cenſure; or then Eraſtus muſt find out another kind of judgement.
And why (may ſome ſay) doth not Paul write to Excommunicate him, as he did the inceſtuous Corinthian? Beza Anſwereth, Paul would not 1 Cor. 5. take that Authority to himſelf, but would do it by Pag. 97. de Presbyterio,the ſuffrages of the Church: So here he ſheweth what he deſireth, but happily it was not expedient that they ſhould be preſently cut off: So Beza: Yea, the words do well bear, that Paul thought fit, That they ſhould bear their Iudgement who had troubled them, and that that leaven ſhould be purged out. 2. Yea, if this cutting off be miraculous, it is clear, Paul could not Communicate it to others, for it was Pauls will that the inceſtuous Corinthian ſhould be delivered to Satan by the ſuffrages of the Corinthians: Nor do we read that the Apoſtles wiſhed to cut off men miraculouſly, but were not able to do it.
Erastus. It is falſe, That Paul willed the man to be delivered to Satan by the ſuffrages of the Corinthians: For he ſaith foreign, I have already Concluded, Ordained, Decreed, to deliver him to Satan, though I be abſent in body: what then would he have done? he would all the Church being gathered together (not ſome Presbyters only) by his own ſpirit, and the power of the Lord Ieſus granted to him, deliver the man to Satan, that he might ſtrike fear and terror on others, and that the man might bear the juſt puniſhment of his wickedneſſe.
Anſ. Paul chideth them, that they were puffed up, and mourned not, that the man might be put out of the midſt of them: Then, whereas it might be ſaid, we want the preſence of the Apoſtle Paul, and his privity to the buſineſſe: To this Paul ſaith, ver. 3. foreign,Paul did not judicially condemne the inceſtuous man. For me (ſaith he) I have, as if I were preſent in body when you are Convened together, &c. Iudged to deliver ſuch a one to Satan: Now that this Decree was the judiciall Decree and ſentence of Paul as a miraculous Magiſtrate giving ſentence judicially, when Paul himſelf was abſent, and had not convinced the man, nor ſpoken with him, I do not believe; 1. Becauſe, though foreign may ſignifie ſuch a ſentence of a man when the guilty is before him, yet the word doth not neceſſitate us to this Expoſition, Luk. 19. 22. Out of thy own mouth will I judge thee; for it doth as often ſignifie a ſimple act of the minde, and the opinion of any not ſitting in judgement, as Act. 13. 46. Ye judge your ſelves foreign unworthy of life Eternall, 1 Cor. 2. 2. I determined foreign to know nothing but Chriſt, Luk. 7. 43. foreign, ſaith Chriſt to Simon the Phariſee who was not on the bench, Thou haſt judged rightly, Tit. 3. 12. I have determined there to winter, 1 Cor. 10. 15. Iudge ye what I ſay, Act. 27. 1. When it was determined to ſail into Italy. 2. We do not read that Apoſtle, Prophet or Iudge, gave out a ſentence of death againſt any, the perſon condemned not being preſent nor heard: the Lord himſelf did it not to Adam, nor to Sodom; he came down to ſee, he examined Adam: Moſes did not ſo condemn the man that gathered ſticks on the Sabbath day: Joſhua convinced Achan, the Prophet convinced Gehazi, ere he ſmote him with Leproſie, Peter convinced A…anias and Saphira to their faces, ere he killed them, ſo did Paul convince Elimas the ſorcerer in his face, ſo did Chriſt in his miraculous purging of the Temple, convince them that His Fathers houſe ſhould be a houſe of Prayer. Now Paul here giveth a judiciall ſentence of death on a man, he never ſpake of being at Philippi whence he wrote, and the delinquent at Corinth, if we beleeve Eraſtus. 3. Eraſtus judgeth that Paul knew this man to be penitent, and how knew Paul this? It muſt be a miraculous knowledge, by which Paul at Philippi looked upon the mans heart at Corinth, one of the greateſt miracles that ever Paul wrought for Paul had the knowledge of the mans ſinne only by report, v. 1. foreign it is reported; between Pauls writing the firſt verſe of that Chapter, and his writing the third verſe there muſt interveene a miraculous diſcovery of the inceſtuous mans heart, Paul being at Philippi, and the man at Corinth; and Paul knowing the man to be penitent, and becauſe of his penitency (as Eraſtus ſaith) Paul did not kill him: Yet Paul ſo farre abſent, muſt have given out a miraculous ſentence, as a miraculous Magiſtrate. I (ſaith he) by revelation as having the ſword of God now in my hand, have judged, and given out ſentence, that this man ſhall be miraculouſly killed by Satan, before your eyes, that all may feare, and do ſo no more, and yet I know him to be penitent, and that he ſhall not be killed by Satan; a monſtrous and irrationall ſentence, if it be ſaid, that by report Paul had knowledge of his ſinne, and by report alſo he had knowledge of his repentence, and that his ſpirit would be ſaved in the day of the Lord, and that this knowledge came not to Paul by any immediate revelation. I anſwer, Yet the ſentence muſt ſtand by Eraſtus his mind touching foreign. I have judged and condemned him as a miraculous Magiſtrate to dye upon a report, though I never heard him, and I know he ſhall not dye for this ſault: for can it be ſaid, that Paul retracted a ſentence which he gave out as the deputy of God, and he even then, when he wrote the ſentence, kn…w there was ſo much repentance in the man, as he would for it be moved not to kill him. 4. There is no ground in the Text, why Paul ſhould be ſaid to ſeek the naked preſence of the whole people, to do ſuch a miracle before them, he being himſelfe abſent; for there is more then a naked preſence of the Corinthians, as only witneſſes that they might be affraid & do ſo no more: for they were preſent as inſtructed with the ſpirit of Paul, and the power of the Lord Jeſus Chriſt▪ to deliver ſuch a one to Satan: as the words bear, v. 4. foreign. For to be conveened in the name of Chriſt, being ſpoken, Mat. 18. v. 20. of a Church meeting, or in reference thereunto in the ſame phraſe, and to be conveened with the power and ſpirit of Paul, and of the Lord Ieſus, cannot agree to Paul; nor can it be ſaid, I Paul abſent in body, and preſent in ſpirit, in the name of the Lord Jeſus, and with my ſpirit, and the power of the Lord Jeſus, have decreed to deliver ſuch a one to Satan. For, 1. the Grammer of the words cannot beare that, for (being conveened in the name of the Lord, with my ſpirit) are conſtructed together in the Text. 2. It is no ſence, nor any Scripture phraſe. I preſent in ſpirit, and with my ſpirit have decreed to deliver ſuch a one to Satan. 3. It is evident that Paul would, as it were abſent, recompence his bodily abſence, with the preſence of the ſpirit, and road of Church cenſure, which the Lord had communicated to them. 5. Eraſtus needeth not object, that there was a conveening of the Church, not of ſome Elders, for as there is no word of the word Elders in the Text, ſo is there no word of foreign in the Text, and ſo the debate will be, what is meant by foreign whether Elders, or people, or both; but though every one in their owne place were underſtood, yet the words beare a juridicall convention, being conveened in the name of the Lord Jeſus, and with my ſpirit, and the power of the Lord Jeſus.
Eraſtus▪ The queſtions why Paul did not command to excommunicate the falſe Apoſtles in Galathia? Or why he did not miraculouſty kill them? are both urgent; But the latter is moſt urgent, for the power of miraculous afflicting men, was given to few men, and to Apoſtles: But it is a wonder, if excommunication was ever, and every where to be obſerved in all Churches. Yet Paul neither practiſeth it here, nor elſe where, nor commandeth others to practiſe it; now here he deſireth they may be cut off, but not excommunicated.
Anſ. We ſay the laſt is no queſtion, you never read in the New-Teſtament, or in the Old, that Prophets or Apoſtles conſulted, or adviſed with the people, whether they ſhould work miracles or not: 2. Though Excommunication was an ordinary power, as the power of binding and looſing given to the Church, Matth. 16. 19. and 18. 18. Ioh. 20. 22, 23. Yet the actuall exerciſe of Excommunication, being the higheſt and weightieſt cenſure, and the moſt ſevere of any other on earth, it is no wonder that Paul be as ſparing and rare in the exerciſe of it, as the Apoſtles were in killing mens bodies. 3. It is a begging of the queſtion, to ſay, Paul neither practiſed himſelf, nor commanded others to excommunicate, for he did both.
Erastus. That which is, Rom. 16. ſpoken for eſchewing of thoſePag. 256. 257. who cauſe offences, is that every one ſingle perſon beware of falſe Teachers; it is not ſpoken to the Church to Excommunicate thoſe falſe Teachers, and therefore there is no ſuch need of ſuch a Presbytery as you dream of, but only of good and diligent Miniſters, who may rightly inſtruct, and prudently teach their hearers, what Teachers they ought to eſchew.
Anſ. 1. The eſchewing of falſe Teachers is a generall, and a dutyTo eſchew the ſcandalous is materially to Excommunicatethem. no queſtion given to all and every one of the Church: But the place doth no more ſay in expreſſe terms that a ſingle Paſtor ſhould give warning particularly by name, that this man, Iohn, Hymeneus, Alexander, are thoſe falſe Teachers to be eſchewed, then it ſaith, that the Presbytery, which we aſſert, doth in expreſſe termes, ſhew what falſe Teachers they be, who by name are to be Excommunicated and eſchewed; but you ſee, that Erastus is overcome by truth, ſo far, as he muſt ſay one ſingle Miniſter may declare that ſuch a falſe Teacher, by name, is to be eſchewed as a Heathen and a Publican, and ſo in effect excommunicated, and put out of the Church; but he denieth that the Church may declare him a Heathen, as Matth. 18. and that many Elders, foreign gathered together in the name of Chriſt, as it is, 1 Cor. 5. may put out a falſe Teacher, or a wolf out of the flock. 2. We grant that it is ſpoken to every one, that he ſhould eſchew falſe teachers, yea, and 2 Theſ. 3. All that walketh unordinately, all fornicators, extortioners, drunkards, 1 Co…. 5. But that every man ſhould eſchew thoſe, whom he in his private judgement conceiveth to be ſuch, before he rebuke them, and labour to gain them, and in caſe of obſt…n…cy, Tell the Church, as Chriſt commande…h, Matth. 18. is not commanded, bu… forbidden, Matth. 18. Lev. 1917. Col. 3. 15. For if this ſhould be, that I might immediatly, upon my own private grudge, unbrother and caſt out of my heart and intire fellowſhip, every one whom I conceive offendeth me, and walketh unordinately, without obſerving Chriſts order, or previous rebuking of him, I make a pathway to perpetuall Schiſmes: 2. A violation of all Laws of fraternity, and Chriſtian Communion. 3. A diſſ…lving and breaking of all Church Communion, and i… were ſtrange, if Eraſtus will have Chriſts order kept, Matth. 18. in private offences done by one brother to another, and not in publick offences, when a brother offendeth twenty, and a whole Church, as if I were obliged to ſeek to gain my brothers ſoul in private and l…ſſe injuries, and not in publick, and more hainous offences.
Hence it is clear to me, If we are to reject an Heretick, after once, Tit. 3. 10. Ioh 2. 10.or twice admonition, and not to receive in our houſes falſe Teachers, and 1 Tim. 6. 3. If any teach otherwiſe, and conſent not unto the wholeſome word, even the words of our Lord Ieſus Christ, being given to perverſe diſputing, as men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, 1 Tim. 6. 3, 4, 5. We are to withdraw our ſelves from ſuch, and to ſave, with ſeverity and plucking out of the fi…e, thoſe that cannot be cured; then certainly the Church of Chriſt muſt alſo turn away from ſuch men, and acknowledge them as no members of the body, whereof Chriſt is the head; if we ſay not this, if one hath leave in a conſtituted Church, to j…dge and condemne his brother, and then we ſhall not take the courſe of the Apoſtles in the like caſe, as Act. 15. which is not Apoſtolick, for when falſe Teachers troubled the Brethren, they would not peremptorily, though great Apoſtles, as Paul and Barnabas, determine againſt either the falſe doctrine, or the perſons of the Teachers, while the Apoſtles, Elders, and Brethren did meet in a Synod, and determine againſt the Error, and againſt the men, as ſuch as troubled the Brethren with words, and perverted their ſouls, Act. 15. Now Eraſtus is willing to acknowledge a ſort of Divine Excommunication, not a humane, as he is pleaſed to call that Ordinance of ſeparating of wicked men from the Church and holy things of God, which yet was in the Church of the Jews, inſtituted by Chriſt and his Apoſtles, and which no Church wanted, as learned Beza ſaith, even in the time of perſecution: had Eraſtus explained to us his divine Excommunication, as he calleth it, it were eaſie to bring moſt of his owne Arguments with greater ſtrength of reaſon againſt it then againſt ours, which is the truely divine Excommunication.