imperfect. The two first, enduing man with a "passive power" (as the Schoolmen call it), which though actually it can do nothing, yet it is fit to perform that which it hath no repugnancy in his [its] own nature to resist; as wood can be made fire, which water cannot. The last only affording that actual power, which maketh him capable of the supernatural work; so that it is true in divinity, that "The possibility to have faith, is from nature; but to have it, it is of grace," (as St. Austin and Prosper hold;)* neither of them understanding an actual having of faith without the grace of regeneration. This made the Fathers, in their sermons to the people, to stir them up to prayer and good works; to tell them often, that we can love God, and do good works; whereunto they only meant that we had a 66 passive power," which stocks and brute beasts have not. Now for the active power, we hold, That man hath not this in natural things, without the general help of God; and in moral actions, or the learning of arts, not with that general help only (which hath been some men's error), but from a more special and peculiar grace: the weakness of those common notions of good and evil, just and unjust, left in our nature by a new impression, after sin, is for the most part such, that they can hardly discern any thing, no not in arts, unless they be enlightened from above. And therefore, that Numa amongst the Romans; Solon amongst the Athenians ; Lycurgus amongst the Lacedemonians; and that many other amongst the Gentiles, were wise, and in that kind virtuous; was not so much from nature, as from a special grace: whose moral works, saith St. Austin, 66 were good in their office and action, but not in their end."† This argument he very learnedly handleth, against Julian the Pelagian, where he concludeth two things; That there can be no true virtues, or truly chaste works in Infidels; and, That those works whatsoever they are, are not from nature, but from a special grace. The having whereof, though it serve not of itself to salvation, yet we are not afraid to affirm, that the want of these do ordinarily exclude from salvation: Justice, fortitude, temperance, and prudence, being the effects of the same grace, but less powerfully working; faith, hope, and charity, only taught by a supernatural truth. So that though "the light of nature," teach a truth necessary to salvation, without the Scripture, yet it teacheth no knowledge, which is not contained in holy Scripture; the difference only being in this, That "the light of nature," doth not teach all that the Scripture doth; but that the Scripture teacheth all (and more perfectly) which is taught by "the light of nature:" herein only neither excluded as unnecessary; the one, being subordinate to the other; and both, means of the same thing. To conclude then "Posse habere fidem, est naturæ ; habere, gratiæ." AUST. et PROSP. cont. Cassianum. "Officio et actione bona sunt, sed non fine." AUST. Tom. VII. lib. iv. cap. 3. this point; we hold (being warranted by holy Truth,) That the Scriptures are the perfect measure and rule of faith; and, that without Christ, we cannot be complete ;* and yet for all this, that Nature, so enlightened, teacheth those moral virtues, without which, is no ordinary salvation; but we say not, That matters and cases of salvation be determined by any other law, than warranted by holy Scripture; or that we are or can be justified, by any other than in Christ, "by faith without the works of the law: "† "for there is no other name, which is given under heaven, amongst men, by which we must be saved."+ "The natural man perceiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him: "§ for "except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of heaven." || ARTICLE IV. HOLY SCRIPTURES ABOVE THE CHURCH. THOUGH the unthankfulness of man be without excuse, even from the brightness that riseth from looking upon all the Creatures; which with their beams shineth into the darkest corners of man's heart, yet in His mercy, he hath not left him altogether destitute of a better guide. The first, serving to teach him, that there is a God; the latter, what that God is, and how he will be worshipped by man. This light we call the Scripture; which God hath not vouchsafed to all, but to those only whom he gathereth more nearly and familiarly to himself, and vouchsafeth that honour to be called his Church; that, as men through infirmity seeing weakly, provide unto themselves, the help of a better sight; so, what man cannot read, by the dimness of his seeing, out of the Creatures, he may more apparently read them, in the holy Scriptures. For as there is no salvation without religion; no religion without faith; so there is no faith without a promise, nor promise without a Word: for God, desirous to make an union betwixt us and himself, hath so linked his Word and his Church, that neither can stand where both are not. The Church for her part, in her choice allowance, testifying, as well that it is the Scripture; as the Scripture, from an absolute authority, doth assure us that it is the Church. For as those who are converted, have no reason to believe that to be the Church, where there is no Scripture; so those who are not converted, have no great reason to admit that for Scripture, for which they have not the Church's warrant. So that, in my opinion, the contention is unnatural and unfit, to make a variance, by comparison, betwixt those two who are, in reason and nature, to support each other. It was a memorable atonement that Abraham made with Lot, "Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between thee and me, neither * Deut. iv. 2. Gal. i. 8. John xx. ult. 2 Tim. iii. 16. Rom. x. 17; xv. 4. Eph. ii. 20. † Rom. iii. 28. § 1 Cor. ii. 14. [Acts iv. 12.] | John iii. 3. So, between thy herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we be brethren; undoubtedly, may the Church and the Scripture say it is, then, to be feared that those who treacherously make this contentious comparison betwixt both, are, in very deed, true friends to neither. For though we dislike of them by whom too much, heretofore, hath been attributed to the Church; yet we are loath to grow to an error on the contrary hand, and to derogate too much from the Church of God: by which removal of one extremity with another, the world, seeking to procure a remedy, hath purchased a mere exchange of the evil, which before was felt. We and our adversaries confess, that the Scriptures in themselves have great authority; inward witness from that Spirit, which is the author of all Truth; and outward arguments, strong motives of belief, which cleaveth firmly to the Word itself. For what doctrine was ever delivered with greater majesty? What style ever had such simplicity, purity, divinity? What history, or memorial of learning, is of like antiquity? What oracles, foretold, have been effected with such certainty? What miracles, more powerful to confirm the truth? What enemies ever prevailed less or laboured more violently to root it out? To conclude, What witnesses have died with more innocency or less fear, than those that have sealed the holiness of this Truth? This the Scripture is, in itself; but men who are of less learning, than these Reformers are, do not unworthily make question, How that which ought thus highly to be esteemed for itself, cometh to be accounted of thus honourably by us; for the weakness of man's judgment doth not ever value things by that worth which they do deserve. For, undoubtedly, out of that error hath proceeded your suspicion of him, whose inward worthiness must now be content to receive testimony from a witness by many thousand degrees inferior to himself. To them of Samaria the woman gave testimony of our Saviour Christ; not that she was better, but better known; for witnesses of less credit, than those of whom they bear witness, but of some more knowledge than those to whom they bear witness, have ever been reputed to give a kind of warrant and authority unto that they prove. Seeing then the Church, which consisteth of many, doth outwardly testify what every man inwardly should be; to swerve unnecessarily from the judgment of the whole Church, experience as yet hath never found it safe. For that which by her ecclesiastical authority she shall probably think and define to be true, or good, must, in congruity of reason, overrule all other inferior judgments whatsoever. And to them (that out of a singularity of their own) ask us Why we thus hang our judgments on the Church's sleeve? we answer with Solomon, "Two are better than one; "§ * Gen. xiii. 8. Johniv. 39. +1 Kings xiii. 2. Isai. xliv. 28; xlv. 1. for even in matters of less moment, it was never thought safe, to neglect the judgment of many, and rashly to follow the fancy and opinion of some few. If the Fathers of our Church had had no greater reason to avouch their forsaking of the "Antichristian Synagogue," (as you call it) than this point; we might justly have wished to have been reconciled to the fellowship and society of their Church. For this point, as it seemeth rightly understood, affordeth little difference betwixt them and us; and therefore there was no mention of it in the last Council their Church had.* And Bellarmine himself doth, apparently, complain, that we wrong them in this point; for doubtless it is a tolerable opinion of the Church of Rome, if they go no further (as some of them do not) to affirm that the Scriptures are holy and divine in themselves, but so esteemed by us for the authority of the Church; for there is no man doubteth but that it belongeth to the Church (if we understand as we ought those truly who are the Church) to approve the Scriptures, to acknowledge, to receive, to publish, and to commend unto her children. And this witness ought to be received of all as true, yet we do not believe the Scriptures for this only; for there is the testimony of the Holy Ghost, without which the commendation of the Church were of little value. That the Scriptures are true to us, we have it from the Church; but that we believe them as true, we have it from the Holy Ghost.† We confess it is an excellent office of the Church, to bear witness to the Scriptures; but we say not, that otherwise we would not believe them. We grant that the Scriptures rightly used, are the judge of controversies; that they are the trial of the Church; that they are in themselves a sufficient witness for what they are: but yet for all this, we are not afraid, with Master Hooker, to confess, that "it is not the Word of God which doth or possibly can assure us, that we do well to think it is the Word of God." For "by experience we all know, that the first outward motion leading men so to esteem of the Scripture, is the authority of God's Church,"§ which teacheth us to receive Mark's Gospel, who was not an apostle, and refuse the Gospel of Thomas who was an Apostle, and to retain St. Luke's Gospel, who saw not Christ, and to reject the Gospel of Nicodemus that saw him. For though, in themselves, they have an apparent and great difference (as there must needs be betwixt Scripture and no Scripture) yet to those that are unable to discern so much, the matter stands overruled only by the authority of the Church. For though, as Master Hooker saith, the "Scriptures teach us that saving truth which God hath discovered to the world by revelation; yet it presumeth us taught otherwise, That itself is divine and sacred:" and therefore, the reading of the Vol. I. p. 158. * Of Trent. + Dr. Whitaker. Scripture in our Churches, is one of the plainest evidences we have of the Church's assent and acknowledgment that it is the Scripture: and yet, without any contradiction at all, whoso assenteth to the words of eternal life, doth it in regard of his authority whose words they are. Those with whom the Church is to deal are, often, heretics; and these will much sooner believe the Church, than the Scriptures. Therefore saith St. Austin, (in that known place) "I had not believed the Scriptures, if I had not been compelled by the authority of the Church."* And howsoever the Church may seem now little to need her authority, because the greatest harvest of heresies is past; yet we must not contemn her for all that, because even the weeds of heresy being grown unto a ripeness, do even in their very cutting down scatter, oftentimes, those seeds which for awhile lie unseen and buried in the earth, but afterwards freshly spring up again, no less pernicious than at the first. Therefore the Church hath, and must have, to the end of the world, four singular offices towards the Scripture. First, to be a witness and keeper of them, as it were a faithful register: whose fidelity, in that behalf, unless we be bastard children, we have no reason at all to suspect; witnesses of less truth and authority, having oftentimes the credit to be believed. Secondly, to discern and judge between false and adulterate, and that which is true, and perfect; in this respect, it hath a property which other assemblies want; to hear, and discern the voice of her Husband; neither can she be thought a chaste spouse, who hath not the ability to do that. But as the goldsmith either in his balance, or with his touchstone, discerneth pure gold from other metals of less value, yet doth not make it; so dealeth the Church, who hath not authority to make Scripture, that which is not; but maketh a true difference from that which did only seem. Neither in this respect, is the Church above the Scriptures, but acknowledgeth in humility, that she is left in trust, to tell her children which is her husband's voice; and to point out to the world (as John Baptist did Christ) a truth of a far more excellent perfection than herself is: as, if I doubted of a strange coin, wherein I rest satisfied in the resolution of a skilful man; but yet valuing the coin for the matter and the stamp of the coin itself. The third office of the Church is to publish, and divulge; to proclaim as a crier, the true edict of our Lord himself; not daring (as Chrysostom saith) to add any thing of her own; which she no sooner doth, but the true subjects yield obedience, not for the voice of him that proclaimeth, but for the authority of him whose ordinances are proclaimed. The last is to be an Interpreter; and in that following the safest rule (to make an undivided unity of the Truth incapable of contradiction) to * Contra epist. fundamenti. cap. 5. Testis, Vindex, Præco, Interprcs. Homil. i. ad Titum. |