gion of Christ, did yet, through the subtilty of Satan, stumble at this liberty. Some were false brethren, who dogmatically taught against it; and to these the apostle d would not give place for an hour. Others were weak brethren, who in their consciences were not persuaded of this liberty, and were offended at the use of it in those whose faith was better settled. With respect to these, the apostle in this chapter states the difference then depending in the Church; so that neither the knowledge of the one might breed scorn of those who were doubtful, as weak; nor the scruples of the other breed censure of those who were free, as wicked; wherein premising a most wise and pious maxim, that weak Christians ought to be plied and cherished in the main matters of religion, and not perplexed with impertinent disputations; and then giving directions to both sides touching their mutual behaviour towards each other, he proceedeth to state the question itself. For the ground whereof, he layeth an excellent distinction touching things indifferent, which may be considered either per se,' alone by themselves: and so he states the question for the strong, verse 14; or in ordine ad aliud,' with respect to some other thing, and so he giveth these three rules. 1. In order to the weak so liberty must give place to charity; I must rather restrain myself, than scandalize and hazard the safety of my brother. ver. 13, 15. 2. In order to the doctrines of the gospel. So fundamentals, wherein the kingdom of God doth stand, are to take place of such, "in quibus non vertitur salus Ecclesiæ;" which therefore, however to be strongly vindicated against malicious corrupters, are yet not to be unseasonably obtruded upon tender consciences, otherwise agreeing in the substantial grounds of righteousness and peace, ver. 16, 17, 18. 3. In order to the church of God. And so the peace and edification of that is to be preferred before the rigorous and stiff asserting of our own private liberty: for the edification of the church is God's work; and we ought not, by imprudent and immoderate pertinacy in smaller things, to disturb or hazard the work which God hath set us to do. d Gal. ii. 4. 5. And, from these three grounds, the apostle windeth up the whole controversy in two definitive conclusions: 1. That in case of scandal to weak Christians, and therefore much more in case of scandal and disturbance to the church, men ought rather to suppress their opinions in matters of an indifferent nature, and to enjoy their persuasions between God and their own conscience, than, by unseasonable vindicating them, to offend either one or other, Ver. 21, 22. 2. That things standing 'per se,' men ought not to cross the determinate, though erroneous, judgement of their conscience: because whatsoever is not of faith, is sin, ver. 23. Things standing, I say, "by themselves alone;" as meats and drinks in the church at that time did. Otherwise, when any material act doth intervene to alter the indifference of the thing (though not its nature, and as to liberty of conscience, yet in its use, and as to liberty of practice) as an act of sovereign authority; in this case men should labour to rectify their judgements, that they may not lie between the two difficulties of a doubtful conscience on the one hand, and an undutiful practice on the other. The words of the text belong unto the third of the forementioned rules; and they contain a wise and godly direction for all Christians, but chiefly for dispensers of the gospel, that, in case of any emergent differences among brethren, we should bound our behaviour by these two limits:1. To preserve and pursue rà ris eipvms, "The things that make for peace." a 2. That this peace must be such, as will consist with, and promote the good of, the church, xai Tà τs oixodus. And then for the manner, how to do it, it is dixwμev, not only to meet with these things when they are obvious and offered to us, but to pursue and run after them, when they seem to fly away from us. And so there must be an si duvarov "if haply it be possible" to overtake them. b I. Tà Tns εipnins, "The things which make for peace." But is not the church of Christ set forth unto us in the scripture as a Militant Church, an army with banners? How then to pursue peace? Certainly as Christ is set forth in the a b scripture as a a Captain; a leader; a man of war; ad lion of the tribe of Judah; the victorious tribe ;-so is he as a 'Prince of Peace too. Honoured at his birth with the style of "' Emmanuel,' a name of peace; crowned in his baptism with a dove, the emblem of peace; holding in his hand a sceptre, the i gospel of peace; being in the building sis xepaλýv yarlas a corner-stone,' the place of peace; coming into the world with a' song of peace; going out of the world with a legacy of peace; in one word, a perfect Moses, the meekest man, and yet the mightiest warrior; a true David, a man much versed in battle, and yet made up all of love; " sending a sword in one place, and sheathing up a sword in another; P careless of offending in case of piety, and tender of offending in case of liberty. Thus he; and thus his church too, 'Salem,' a place of peace; Jerusalem, a vision of peace; and yet therein a fort, and an armory for shields and bucklers, Cant. iv. 4. n To know the difference, we are to distinguish both concerning persons, and concerning things. t For persons: the same apostle who here teacheth us to compassionate the weak, doth teach us elsewhere to withstand the obstinate; and he who, out of tenderness to some, $ yielded to circumcise Timothy,-out of jealousy of others, refused to circumcise Titus; " pleasing all men in one case, and forbearing to please in another; a servant to all himself, and yet, z "Be ye not the servants of men." y a Concerning things: though the heathen man spake truly* "Nihil minimum in Religione," yet we know our Saviour distinguisheth between mint or cumin, and the great things of the law. And the Apostolical synod, between a Heb. ii. 10. • Judges i. 2. h Matth. iii. 16. m John xiv. 27. b Mic. v. 2. c Exod. xv.3. f Isai. ix. 6. Mic. v. 5. Eph. ii. 14. d Rev. v. 5. g Matth. i. 25. I Luke ii. 14. i Rom. x. 15. k Matth. xxi. 42. Τὴν εἰρήνην ἐνθένδε ἀπιὼν ἀφῆκεν ἡμῖν, ὥσπερ ἄλλό τι ἐξιτήριον. Gr. Naz. Orat. 14. Εξιτήριον δῶρον τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μαθηταῖς, μέλλον συμπληροῦν τὴν ἐν σαρκὶ οἰκονομίαν, τὴν ἑαυτοῦ εἰρήνην ὁ Κύριος κατέλιπεν. Basil. Epist. 77. ad Marit. Epist. n Matth. x. 34. xiii. 57. Εἰρηνικὸς ὁμοῦ καὶ πολεμικός. Vid. etiam in Psalm. μ0. p. 690. Edit. Savil. • John xviii. 11. P Matth. Chrysost. fuse in Psalm μδ. 5, 6. r Gal. v. 1. s Acts Gal. i. 10. 1 Thess. * Valer. Max. u 1 Cor. x. 23. z 1 Cor. vii. 13. ii. 4. y 1 Cor. ix. 19. 2 Cor. iv. 5. things necessary and unnecessary; and St. Paul here between meats and drinks, and the kingdom of God; and elsewhere between the foundation and superstruction. a Some truths there are, which belong ad fidem Catholicam;' others, which pertain only ad scientiam Theologicam. Some are " quæstiones @ioTews, and others λoyiσμāv, as Gregory Nazianzen distinguisheth. Some are de fide,' against those who deny fundamentals. others circa fidem,' against those who, by perilous super-inducements, bruise and wrench the foundation: others præter fidem,' "in quibus salva fide qua Christiani sumus, ignoratur verum," as St. Austin speaks; in which we may err or be ignorant, believe or suspend, without any hazard to the common faith. In one word, as Tertullian distinguisheth of sins, so may we of opinions some are "Quotidianæ incursionis," such as are usually incident to human frailty; some are "Dogmata devoratoria salutis," such as proceed from heretical pride and blindness. с Now the rule is certain, that, in the great things of the law and the gospel, which either are foundations themselves, or are most visibly and immediately adjacent and contiguous to the foundation, we ought maywvigerda as St. Jude speaks, "to contend earnestly ;" as there was no small dissension and disputation between Paul and Barnabas, and the false brethren, who taught the necessity of judicial rites unto salvation. (Acts xv. 2) And Athanasius the Great would not have the orthodox brethren to receive τύπον εἰρηνικὸν any forms or letters pacificatory from George the Arian persecutor. And Basil the Great giveth an excellent reason of it, Ἐπειδὰν γὰρ τὴν ἁπλότητα τῆς πίστεως ἅπαξ παρακινήσου 21 Cor. iii. 10, 11. * Naxian. Orat. 14. Ὁρᾷς ὡς οὐ περὶ μικρῶν εἰσιν ἡμῖν οἱ λόγοι, ἀλλ ̓ ὅντινα τρόπον χρὴ πεπιστευκέναι. Καὶ γὰρ οὐδὲν, οἶμαι, τοσούτων κακῶν ἀνθρώπων γενέσθαι ὅσον ἀπὸ τῶν ἀναγκαίων. Method. apud Epiphan. Hæres. 64.—Tà μèv åváyknv éxer td dè alpeσw. Uti de præceptis distinguit Greg. Nazianz. Orat. 3.--De creaturâ si quid aliter quam sese habet, senserimus, dummodo non id pro cognito præceptoque teneamus, nullum periculum est. De creatore, si aliud quàm oportet ac sese res habet, nobis persuadetur, perniciosissimo errore decipimur. Aug. de Lib. Arb. lib. 3, cap. 21. et de Gen. ad lit. lib. 10. cap. 23. b Aug. de peccato Origin. cap. 23. < Tert. de Pudicit. cap. 19. ethan. Epist. ad Orthodoxos. De hujusmodi Epistolis, quæ formatæ, communicatoriæ, et pacificæ vocabantur, vid. Aug. Epist. 136. et Opt. lib. 2. f Basil. Ep. 325. ad Epiphan. d Jud. ver. 3. μεν, οὐκέτι πέρας τῶν λόγων εὑρήσομεν, If once we shake the simplicity of the faith, and retain not that as a rule and measure of inferior differences, disputes and contentions endless." will prove This care, then, and circumspection is chiefly to be used in these three cases; as as learned Prelate of our Church hath observed: h 1. In case of heresy, when adversaries deny or deprave the faith of the gospel; as Hymeneus and Philetus, who, teaching against the resurrection, overthrew men's faith. 2. In case of idolatry: "If Israel play the harlot, let not Judah transgress;" for Tis σuyxaтáleσis, "what agreement hath the temple of God with idols!" a 3. In case of tyranny: when any shall usurp and exercise dominion over the consciences of men to bring them into bondage unto doctrines of errors, and make articles of faith for all churches to submit unto: in which case the apostle had no patience. (Gal. ii. 4, 5) "Neque enim quisquam nostrum Episcopum se esse Episcoporum constituit, aut tyrannico terrore ad obsequendi necessitatem collegas suos adegit:" they are the words of St. Cypriau in the council of Carthage, upon the case of re-baptization. b e C This then being laid for a firm foundation, that Christ where he is King of Salem, must be King of Righteousness too; that the wisdom which is from above, must be first pure, and then peaceable; that our unity must be the " unity of the spirit:" "Ea enim sola ecclesiæ pax est, quæ Christi pax est," as St. Hilary speaks; the state of this point is in these two words. Пóλepos. War there must be (I speak in a spiritual sense) with principalities, and powers, and spiritual wickednesses: for the Church is militant, and hath weapons of spiritual warfare, given of purpose to resist enemies. Christ came to send a sword against all dangerous errors of mind or manners. And as in this war, every Christian must have avoλíav Oeou, as St. Paul speaks, "the whole armour 8 Bish. Davenant in Epist. Pacificat. nuper edità. h Vid. Euseb. Hist. 1. 4. c. 13. et l. 5. c. 19. 8.-Gregor. Naz. Orat. 12. p. 203. Paris 1609. i 2 Tim. ii. 18. de Heretic. rebaptizand. Hos. iv. 15. 2 Cor. vi. 16. b Heb. vii. 2. a Cypr. lib. de sentert. Episc. d Ephes. James iii. 17. |