1 1 333 The Second Appendix, &c. For a conclufion; I do feriously warn all men to beware of Sir, in a word, I dare not say, but you are a good man; but since I read your two books, you have made me think, more than once, of what one faid of Jonah after he had read his history, that he was a strange man of a good man : Yet as strange a good man as you are, I hope to meet you! with a founder head, and better spirit in heaven. 1 The Second APPENDIX: Giving a brief Account THE the HE design of the following sheets, cast in as a Mantissa to the foregoing discourse of Errors, is principally to discharge, and free the free grace of God from those dangerous errors, which fight against it under its own colours; partly to prevent the seduction of some that stagger; and, lastly, (though least of all) to vindicate my own doctrine, the scope and current whereof, hath always been, and shall ever be, to exalt the free grace of God in Christ, to draw the vilest of sinners to him, and relieve the distressed confciences of fin-burthened Christians. But, notwithstanding my utmost care and caution, some have been apt to censure it, as if in some things it had a tang of Antinomianism: But if my public, or private discourses, be the faithful messengers of my judgment and heart, (as I hope they are) nothing can be found in any of them cafting a friendly aspect upon any of their principles, which I here justly censure, as erroneous. 1 4 Three things I principally aim at in this short Appendix. 2. An account of the principal errors of that fect. The scriptures foreseeing there would arise such a sort of men in the church, as would wax wanton against Christ, and turm his grace into lasciviousness; hath not only precautioned us in general, to beware of such opinions as corrupt the doctrine of free grace. Rom. vi. 1, 2. " Shall we continue in fin, that grace may abound? God forbid:" But hath particularly indigitat ed, and marked those very opinions, by which it would be 2bused, and made abundant provision against them; as namely, 1. All lighting and vilifying opinions or expressions of the holy law of God, Rom. vii. 7, 12. 2. All opinions and principles, inclining men to a careless difregard and neglect of the duties of obedience, under pretence of free grace, and liberty by Christ, James ii. Matth. xxv. 3. All opinions neglecting or flighting sanctification, as the evidence of our justification, and rendering it needless, or finful to try the state of our souls, by the graces of the Spirit wrought in us, which is the principal scope of the first epistle of John. Notwithstanding, such is the wickedness of some, and weakness of others, that in all ages, (especially the last past, and present), men have audaciously broken in upon the doctrine of free grace, and notoriously violated aud corrupted it, to the great reproach of Christ, scandal of the world, and hardening of the enemies of reformation. 'Behold, (faith Contzen the • Jefuit, on Matth. xxiv.) the fruit of Proteftantifm, and their • gospel-preaching.' Nothing is more opposite to looseness, than the free grace of God, which teaches us, That denying all ungodliness and worldty lufts, we should live føberly, righteously and godly in this prefent world. Nor can it without manifest violence, be made pliable to fuch wicked purposes; and therefore the apostle tells us, Jude 4. that this is done by turning the grace of our God into lafciviousness; μελαλισθεντες, transferring it, foil foeda interpretatione, by a corrupt, abusive interpretation, to fuch uses and purposes as it abhors. No such wanton, licentious conclusions can be inferred from the gospel-doctrines of grace and li berty, but by wresting them against their true scope and intent, by the wicked arts and practices of deceivers upon them. The gospel makes sin more odious than the law did, and discovers the punishment of it in a more severe and dreadful manner, than ever it was discovered before. Heb. ii. 2, 3. "For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every " tranfgreffion and disobedience, received a just recompence of " reward; how shall we escape, if we neglect so great falvati" on?" It shews our obligations to duty to be stronger than ever, and our encouragements to holiness greater than ever, 2 Cor. vii. 1. and yet corrupt nature will be still tempting men to corrupt and abuse it. The more luscious the food is, the more men are apt to surfeit upon it. This prevention and abuse of free grace, and Christian liberty, is justly chargeable (though upon different accounts) both upon wicked and good men. Wicked men corrupt it designedly, that by entitling God to their sins, they might fin the more quietly, and securely. So the devil instigated the Heathens to fin against the light, and law of nature, by representing their Gods to them as drunken, and lascivious deities. So the Nicolaitans, and school of Simon, and after them the Gnostics, and other Heretics in the very dawning of gospel-light and liberty, began presently to loose the bond of restraint from their lusts, under pretence of grace and liberty. The * Etiani blushed not to teach, That fin, and perfeverance in fin, could hurt the falvation of none, so that they would embrace their principles. How vile and abominable inferences the Manichaeans, Valentinians, and Cerdonites drew from the grace and liberty of the gospel, in the following ages, I had rather mourn over, than recite; and if we come down to the fifteenth century, we shall find the Libertines of those days as deeply drenched in this fin, as most that went before them. ↑ Calvin mournfully observes, That under pretence of Christian liberty, they trampled all godliness under foot; the vile courses their loose opinions foon carried them into, plainly discovered for what intents and purposes they were projected and calculated: and he that reads the preface to that grave and learned Mr. Thomas Gataker's book, intituled, God's eye upon Ifrael, will find, That some Antinomians, of our days, are not much behind the worst a nd vilest of them. One of them cries out, Away with the law, * August, de Haref. Tom. 6. Haref. 54. away with the law, it cuts off a man's legs, and then bids him walk. Another faith, It is as possible for Chrift himself to fin, as for a child of God to fin. That if a man, by the Spirit, know himfelf to be in the state of grace, though he be drunk, or commit murder, God Jees no fin in him: With much more of the fame bran, which I will not transcribe. But others there are, whose judgments are unhappily tainted, and leavened with those loose doctrines; yet being, in the main, godly persons, they dare not take liberty to fin, or live in the neglect of known duties, though their principles too much incline that way; but though they dare not, others will, whoimbibe corrupt notions from them; and the renowned piety of the authors will be no antidote against the danger, but make the poison operate the more powerfully, by receiving it in such a vehicle. Now it is highly probable, such men as these might be charmed into such dangerous opinions, upon such accounts as these: 1. It is like some of them might have felt in themselves the anguish of a perplexed confcience under fin, and not being able to live with these terrors of the law, and dismal fears of confcience, might too hastily snatch at those doctrines which promise them relief and ease, as I noted before in the fifth Cause of my Treatise of Errors. And that this is not a guess at random, will appear from the very title page of Mr. Saltmarsh's book of free grace, where (as an inducement to the reader to swallow his Antinomian doctrine) he shews him this curious bait. It is (faith he) an experiment of Jesus Christ upon one who hath been in the bondage of a troubled conscience, at times, for the space of about twelve years, till now upon a clearer discovery of Jesus Chrift in the gospel, &c. 2. Others have been induced to espouse these opinions from the excess of their zeal against the errors of the Papists, who have notorioufly corrupted the doctrine of justification by free grace; decried imputent, and exalted inherent righteousness above it. The Papists have designedly, and industrioussy sealed up the scriptures from the people, lest they should there difcover those sovereign, and effectual remedies, which God hath provided for their distressed consciences, in the riches of his own grace, and the meritorious death of Christ; and fo all their masses, pilgrimages, auricular confessions, with all their dear indulgences, should lie upon their hands as stale and cheap commodities. Oh, (faid Stephen Gardiner) let not this gap of free grace be opened to the people. But as soon as the light of reformation had discovered the free grace of God to finners, (which is, indeed, the only effectual remedy of distressed confciences) and by the same light the horrid cheats of the man of fin were discovered; all good men, who were enlightened by the reformation, juttly and deeply abhorred Popery, as the enemy of the grace of God, and true peace of confcience, and fixed themselves upon the found and comfortable doctrines of justification by faith thro' the alone righteousness of Christ. Meanwhile, thankfully acknowledging, that they which believe, ought alfo to maintain good works. But others there were, transported by an indiscreet zeal, who have almost bended the grace of God as far too much the other way, and have both spoken and written many things very unbecoming the grace of God, and tending to looseness and neglect of duty. 3. It is manifest, that others of them have been ingulphed, and fucked into those dangerous quickfands of Antinomian errors, by separating the spirit from the written word; if once a man pretend the spirit without the fcriptures to be his rule, whither will not his own deluding fancies carry him, under a vain and finful pretence of the Spirit ? In the year 1528, when Helsar, Traier, and Seekler, were confuted by Hallerus; and their errors about oaths, magistrates, and paedo-baptifm, were detected by him, and by Colveus at Bern, that which they had to fay for themselves, was, That the Spirit taught them otherwise than the letters of the Scriptures Speak. So dangerous it is to feparate what God hath conjoined, and father our own fancies upon the holy Spirit. 4. And it is not unlike, but a comparative weakness, and injudiciousness of mind, meeting with a fervent zeal for Chrift, and his glory, may induce others to espouse such taking, and plausible, though pernicious doctrines; they are not aware of the dangerous confequents of the opinions they embrace, and what looseness may be occafioned by them: I speak not of occafions taken, but given, by such opinions and expressions; a good man will draw excellent inferences of duty from the very fame doctrine. Instance that of the shortness of time, from whence the apostle infers abstinence, strictness, and diligence, 1 Cor. vii. 29. but the Epicure infers all manner of diffolute, and licentious practices. "Let us eat and drink, for to-mor"row we shall die," 1 Cor. xv. 22. The best doctrines are this way liable to abuse. But let all good men beware of such opinions and expreffions, as give an handle to wicked men to abuse the grace of God, VOL. IV. Uu |