Blake - Houston-Packer Collection BT155 .B53 1653

Chap.7. and the Covenant of Grace. 35 Secondly, Seales put into :he h ?:ids of men to difpenfe, who {land invincibly ìgnoran r. who they are to whom God intends, and on whom he will cone °sre falvaciori, mutt needs be conditi- onal, cannot be abfolute ,nd irrefpedäve This is plain, who can by a warrant from God ii'er a féal, ratifying the promife of everlafting falvation upon L whom he knows not that God will ever fave? the feale mc° f t,e° put on Gods terns, and no other - wife. But that no man, not gle man, (if you will leave it in the power of one, as I have en beard M:`. `Tonelïes contend) no Presbytery, in cafe you will irto the hands of a Confiftory, nor a whole Congregation,, if you will make all ;lid ges, can de- termine who it is that God will rave, I think out of queftion, and therefore the conditional feale of the Sacrament is as unqueftion- able. This is Bellarmines fifth and laft Argument, as to the fub- ftance of it, (lib. to, de facram ingenere cap.T4.) to prove that the Sacraments are no feales of grace to be conferi'd upon any parti- cular perfon, and thus hewindes it up. If the Si Sacramenta lent to imonia ra- Sacramtnis be Scales ofgrace, Which in pafticu- tiæ quæ in particulars coinrtur aligcui, lar is conferred upon any, then oftentimes they r y fepenumero; client faifa, nimirum cum were fall, viz. when the Sacrament is given to a minijtrantur lornini qui frngit fe cre- maan, Who pretends to bele eve, and indeed dot dere cúm rcvcrà on credat, proinde not beleeve, andfo it Were not lawful to baptize non liceret ulluyrt baptiàre, ne cogere- an leg e Jhouldcaufe God to give witne fie to rnus Deum teftifrcará falfum; de Hullo y enim a lie, for we certainly know of none, whether they eertò fcimus credátne veré an gat fe credere. beleeve truly, or only pretend it. And if this be true of faith in Bcllarmines fenfe, that no man knows any other, whether he do indeed beleev or no (who is known to underftand no more then a dogmatical faith) much more is it true of a jufti- fying &favingfaith,which we enquire after,and know that the Sa- craments feale. Bellarmine being not ignorant of the anfwer that might fairely be given to this argument of his, goes about to a- void it with two arguments ad hominem, but never a one ad rem. b Perhaps (faith he) they Will fay, that the Sa- b Dicent fortaffè Sacrarnentum te- crament isa Peale or tefiimany of grace, not ab- ftimonium eff'egratia, non abaolutè, fed fi folutely, but if he that loth receive the Sacra- is qui fufcipitsacrarncnturacredatpromif= ment do beleeve the r romife. And this indeed fieni. is their anfwer. Amef. 'Tom 3. lib. i . cap. z . c Non runt teftimonia completa 0' qua fl. 4. of his Bellarminus enervat. anfwers ; aboluta nifi credentibus, cum conditions c They are not teflimonies or leales, (Bellar- to all intelliguntur refpcEíu corm qui F a mine non credunt.

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