The Life of Faith. Apoffiles : But what they delivered to them by word of mouth, is now delivered to us in their writings, with all the appurtenances and circumflances, which every Chritlian did not then hear of.And there were many Articles ofthe Chritlian Faith, which the Old Te$ament did not at all make known : (As that this 1' pis is the Chrífl ; that he was born ofthe Virgin Mary, and is a&ually crucified, rifen and afcended, &c,) And the method of the Apoflles was, to teach the people, thefunon of Cbri(fianity (as Paul Both, a Cor. 15. 3, 4, &c. and Peter, A&. 2.) and to bring them to the belief of that, and then baptize them, before they wrote any thing to them, or taught them the ref{ which is now in the holy Scriptures ; They were firft toDijciple the Nations and baptize them, and then to teach them to obferve all things whatever Cbriff commanded And the mainbulk of the Scriptures is made up of this lalî, and of the main fubfervient hiflories and helps. And accordingly it was the cuflom of all the Primitive Churches, and ancient Do&ors, to teach the people firti the Creed and fumm ofChriftianity, and to make them Chriftians before they taught them fo much as to know what Books the Canonical Scriptures did contain : For they had the fummof Chrifliani'y it fell delivered down collaterally by the two hands of tradition. r. By the continuation of Baptifm, and publick Church-profeffìons, was delivered the Creed or Co- venant by it fell: And 2. By the holy Scriptures, where it was delivered with all the rat; and fromwhence every novice was not put to gather it of himfelf; but had it colletied to his hand by the Churches. And you may fee in the writings of all the ancient defenders of Chriflianity (Juffin, Atbenagoras, Talianus, Clemens Alex- andrinus, Arnobius, Theopb. Antioch: La(lantius, 7ertulliarr, Eujeb;us, Auguffine, &c.) that they ufed the method which )E now dire& you to. And if you confider it well, -you will find that themiracles of Chrifi himfelf, and all chofe of his Apoflles after him, were wrought for the confirmation of Chrißtianity it felfim- mediately, and mofllybefore the particular Epitllcs or Books were written; and therefore were only remotely and confe- guentially, for the confizmation. of thofc Rooks as ffuch a as they
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