Baxter - Houston-Packer Collection BT70 .B397 1675

28O 0, the dference about mans Merits ons of any Papifts Writers, fo I muff advife you to charge not-hing on any Sect or party of men, upon the, words of particular men, but what that party owneth : nor to charge men withopinions, becaufè .others have fo done before you, without finding what you charge them with in their own words. L. wouldyou have me fo uncharitable a to Nell fa many Protefiant Writers of Calumny ? R. I. It is no Calumny to chargethat on'fumePapifts, which tholeforce do hold. z. It is perverfe.charity to receive unproved accufations of others, for fear of fufpeeting the accufers of calumny. By that rule all the falfe reports that now fly about in London fhould be received, if agood man or woman ( fpecallymany ) have once fpoken them. .3. And tell me whether you would have others obferve the fame rule towards you ? For inftance, you may fee in Tolet (aCardinal 7efait ) on the Romans, that hechargeth the Hereticks ( as he callethus ) with holding that God loth only Hide or forget our fins , and not impute them to us , but doth not more fte them. Whereas we all hold, that he Remitteth al fins pall by Pardoning them as to the punifbment ; but that he morti- , fieth the prefent habits of fin , and preventeth the Reign of future fin calledMortal fin by them) in fuch as (hall be faved. Which is the fame in fenfe as they hold themfelves. . So he chargeth us as holding, that we have no Inherent Righteoufnefs after Juftification (no not Imper-, feet) but only ChriftsRighteoufnefs imputed ; and that we hold obedi- ence unneceflary as toour final or continued Juftification : All whichare falfe. And (hall all the unlearned Papifts believe this of us , for fear of an uncharitable fufpiciq% of theirTeachers? Multitudes of theirWriters falfly charge us with tlltfe fame errors. L. ThePapifts are Lyars, and therefore to be fu petted, but fo are not our Divines. R. If once you fall upon fuch Rules as thofe ( a,s that Accufations ageing adverfaries are to be believed without proof, on one fide and not on the other) Gods Rule againft receiving evil reports will be raft out; and Charity and Juftice will be caft away; and meer fiding and faction will:poflèfs the place: And then all thequeftion will be, who are ,thofe Accufers that are to be believed ? And if you think that it is your Teachers, the Paps that have many more, will think that they have more rea -fon to believe them : And fo theAnabapts willbelieve theirs; and theseparatifir theirs, andtheQakers theirs: and what falfhood and evil will not then be believed againft all parties e and how odious will they appear to one another, and confequently all (Chriftians) to Infidels and Heathens L. man that is fet upon a fodering deign , may palliate any Herefie in the world, and,put a fair fenfe on the fouleft words ; but God hateth fach cloaking offin, and complyance with it. R. May not Papifis, Familfts, Seekers, .uakers and all Sefis fay the fame againft Concord and Complyance with you ? I pray you tell me what you thinkof thefe following words, before you know who wrote theta; and take heedwhat you fay of them, left you ftrike you know not whom. [QuuCJI. "How is JuftificationTree, Peeing faith and repentance are re- quired to it ? Anfw. There are two anfwers given; One is from de- «guftines doótrine Epifi.tos. the fumm is, As Juftificatìon is taken in- " clufively, taking in Faith and Repentance as its beginning, it is free, be- "caufe faith isfree: But as it is taken narrowly for juftification follow- ing

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