Baxter - Houston-Packer Collection BT70 .B397 1675

which many fallinto onpretenceof avoiding Popery, we are the guilty taints of it. God kill teach Mìnifiers and Profeflérs inftead of Pharifaical felt:jultiication, to take open Ihame to, thctnfelves that he and Religion maybe vindicated , before he will deliver us from thame and forrow : And he that will fave his honour againit this lhame (hall lofe it, and he that will thus lofe it and cafe it away shall .molt ef- fectually recover it. S. I think you would fainperfmade'us, that Proteftants are as bad as Papifts, and perfwade ns into the Romanrents. P. That is but your pievilh inference : But little do you know how much of Popery it felf you have, while you think that youhate it more than I. S. You wouldmake me believeanything, ifyóú make me think that I have more of Popery thanyou, P. .r. Do not you agree with them-.in confining the Catholick Church to one Sect or Party ? onlyThey to their Se&, and You to yours. a..Do you not agree with them in your vehement condemnation of diffenters ? only they excommunicate and burn them, and you deny them your communion and reproach them : But their charity extendcth much further than yours, and you condemn more diltenters than they do. 3. Do you not agree with them in being fuperffiiious, by a greatdeal of felf-made Duty and Sin e only theirs and yours are not in the fame things : They fay, Touch not, tafle not, handle not fouie things, and. you other things, while you fay that God hath forbidden forms of prayer, and many lawful circumftances ofWorfhip, and other fuch like. And I now intreat you and all the fervants of Chrift foberly_to confi- der, whether a wild injudicious calling found Doctrine and Pra&ices 4n- richriflian, and ufing that name as a bugbear for want of folid argu- ment, and an injudicious running fromPapefis into the contrary errors and .extreams, hath not brought on many the guilt and mifery which in all the following particulars I fliall open to you. 1. Such men have corrupted the Gofpel of Chrift, by bringing inmany doetrinal errors,, and opening a.door to the heretical to bring in more. Almoft all the LibertineAntinomianerrors, have come inby an injudici- ous oppoltion to Popery , as if they were the Vindication ofElection; Free Grace, Chrifts Righteoufnefr, 7ufltfication by faith, Perfeverance, againtt mans works andMerits: And it is not to be denyed, thatthePaid LibertineDoctrines do morecontradiet the Doctrine of the Gofpel, even Chriftianity it felf, than the Doétrine of the Paps about the fame fub- jects do. I know this to be true, who ever is offended at -it : 4quinas, Scotus, Gabriel, Bellarmine, Pererius, roles, yea, Yafquez, Suarez andMo- lina are not near fo erroneous about Juftification, Grace, Faithand good works, as Richardfon, Randal, Sympfan, Towne, Crifpe, Saltmarfh, and ma- ny fuch others are. Yec howmany Religious people have I known, that isave gloried in thofe errors as the fweetdifcoveriesof free grace ! a. Such erroneous extreams in oppofition to Popery have greatly dfho= poured theReformers, and Reformation. When it cannot be denyed but fuch and fucherrors are found among them, it fnaketh all the Reformati- on fnfpeled: as -his Doctrine of the fubflantialityof fin, and the non-necefrity of Good works to falvation, and as Andr.Oganders Do- thine ofJuftification by Gods elfential righteoufnefs did ; and as many harfh paffages in Pifcatorand Maccoviusdo, to namenomore betides thofe before named. What a Ihrhave our later Divines ffill with thePapifisin defend - ing force fewharfh fayings of Luther, Calvin and Beza about the Caufe of fin, and force fuch fob jells r But downright errors cannot be defended. P p 3. Your 2 9 2

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