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XXVIII. Some persons, Wh are a litile more judicious, perceiving the notionis Novatus tot so expliciti contradicted by the Scripture, do no represent ver sin a Unpurdonabie, but ni Voluntur tranSgression into hicho perSon may have fallen illi ho sul exercis of his nowledg and wili. These person admit Osis pardon o any ius, ut Such Smay have been the mere error Os ignorance. ut a the Lord, in the law, communded Some sacrifices to e offeret to expiate the voluntur Sin os bellevers, and ther torulone or in os ignorance What Xtrem preSumption is it to dony that hero
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is an pardo sor voluntar transgressioni I maintain that there is nothin more evident thun that the ne sacrifice os Christ is avallabi sor the romissionis the olivitur sin os thesainis, since the Lord has testi fio the sam by tho togat victinis, a by o many types Hesides, ii ea plea ignoranceas an Xeu Se o David, ho as evidenti so et acquaintodivitii tho lawJ Didiso David lino that adulter and murderWere great crimes, hicli e ait punishod in olliseri Didthe patriarch conside fratricide a lawsul λ ad the Corinthians luaria edis litti that tho could imagine impurity, incontinence, fornication animosities, and contentions to e leasingio God Could Putor, ho ad eun o carosuit Warned, eignorantio great a crime it a to alauro his Mastor Lotu not therei re, by Our crueity Shut the gate os mercy hicli God has o liberali ope ned. XXIX. Lam suli aruare that the old writers have explaineditioso stris, hicli are ait sorgiven to eli evers, to e thesmalle faulis, hicli are inadvertenti committo through the infirmit of the festi ut solonin repentanee, Whiel, a thenrequired for greater ostences the thought, asino more t be
that thenare likewis charge lo illi thor aulis, hicli the Lor holus in the reatos abomination. The expreSSed thomsolves in his manner, o distinguisti et Hen private Dsences and thos publie crimes Whicli,er attende Nith great scanda in the Chiarch. ut the dissicut ty, hicli the made, o forgiving thos Wh had committed any thinideservin os occlesiastica censure did notoris 1 rom an opinion that it Wasdisticuit for thum to obtain pardon rom tho Lord the onlyintendod by this severit to deter Others rom rasiti runninginto crimes, hicli mould justi be followed by thoi exclusionfroin the communion os the Chiarch. The ord of the Lord,
quire t rugar a iis principat object aso have bos ore
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V have ulready state doli importance hicli, ought to attach to the ministr of the ord an Sacramenis, and the X-tent to hichisur reverene sor it Ought to e carried, oin toaccount i a perpetua mari and characteristic of the Church. That is to say that whereve that exist entire an lineorrupted, n error und irregularitio os conduci formis Sufficient ea sonsor resusing the num os a Chureli. In the ex place that theministr itsolscis no socia vitiated by malle errors, a to e considerodisii that account ius legitimate. t has furthe been ShoWn that the error Whicli are entillo to this orgivenossare thos by Which the grani doctrine os religion is no injured, Whicli domo suppressolio politis in hicli ali 0 evers oughtto agre a articles Os Bith, and hicli, in regard to the s craments, either abolisti nor subvor tho legitimato institutiono thoi Author But a Soon a salse ood has made a reachin tho fundamental os religion, and the system os nece SSarydoctrine is Subverted, and tho se of the Sacrament satis thecerta in Conseque ne is the ruin os the Church, a thoro is anund os a maia'. se honinis throni is cui, o his hear is mor
composed os salsehoods by hicli the puro tight is Suppressedor Xtinguis ed. An Xo rabio sacrilege has oen substituted for the supper of th Lord. The mors imos God is deformost by a uulsarious and intolerable mas of superstitions. The doctrine, ithout hicli Christianit cannot Xist, has been
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entiret sorgoiten or exploded. The public assemblies havebecornu choolsis idolatry an impiety. In illidrnwing our-Sel VeS, heres ore frona the perniciolis participation Oscio many enormities, there is no unge of Separatin ourSelves romtho Church of Christ. The communion Os the Chiarch Wasno institutodis a bon to confine his in idolatry, impiety, ignorance of Od, and ther Vil ; ut ather as a mean to preserve iis in the ea os God, and obedience of tho truth. know that the Papisis ive Soli mos magnificent commendatiotis of thei Church, o mali us u eve that there is no
them both by spiritual gisis, and by the lood os martyrs, hasbeen preserve by a perpetua succession Os bis ops, that tmight neve be lost. The allego the importance attached tothis successiona Irenaeus, Tertullian Origen AuguStine, undothers. O those ho are Wissing to atton me in a briefeXaminationis thes allegations PWil olearly ho that theyur frivolous, and manifesti ridiculous Ι ould likoWis e lior those ho novance them, O pay a Serious attention to the subject is Pthought y arguments Ouid produce an essectupon them ut a thei sole objec is to promo te their own interest y ver method in their O er Without an regardio truth Pshal content myseis Withmal in a se Observations, With Which good men, uni inquirer aster truth may be ablet an S e their uviis. In the firSi place I ast them, hythe allege nothin respectin Africa, and Egypt and ali Asia. It is bucause, in ali thos countrios, here has been a fallure filiis sacre sue cession o bishops by virtve of Whicli ho boastilia thu Church has ueniresorve amon them. The cometo his potnt, theres ore, that he have the rue Church, be- cause rom it commencemen it has neve been destitute os bisnops, so that soni have been succe0ded by ther in anuuinterrupte serius But halcisci oppos them illi ho Y- ample of Greeces I ast them again, heres ore, hy the aSSertilia tho Churchinas been lost among the Greelis, among homthere has neve been an interruption O that succession Ofbishops, hicli the considerin the Sole guard an preServative
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of tho Chiiret, They cal tho Greelis schismaties. For hat reaSon Hecalise, it is pretended the have los thoi privi- lege by revolain froni the Apostolica see. ut o no theymuch more deserve to os it, ho have revolted rom Christhimsulsi It ollows, heres ore, that thei plenis unitaterrupted Succe SSion Sin Vain re tenue, utiles the truth os Christ, hichwas transmitte 1 rom therinthers, e permanenti retainexpure an uncorrupto by their OSterity. III. The retensions os the Romanisis, heres ore, in thepreSent day nremo the than those hicli appear o have been formeri Set pay the JeWs, hei the were reproved by the propheis of the Lord o bliiadness, impie ty, and idolatry. Foras the Jows boasto of the temple tho ceremontes, and the
consist so instoad os the Chureli, the apisis produce certatueXterna fornas, hicli are osten at a great distanc froni the Church, and are nolint ali necessar toriis existence. heres ore We nee n other argumentato resut them, than that hicli Was
permanent eat, et hen the pri est had corrupte his or- Shipra perverse Superstitions, he departod, and est the placemithout an sanctity. f that temple hicli appuare to e consecrated O the perpetua residerice os God, couldie forsalienand desecrate by him, there an e no reason sor thei pretendin that God is o attachedri person or placeS, O confined
thos Who have nothing ut the nam an appearance of the Church. An this solio argument hicli is maintaine byPaul in tho Episti to the Romans, froin the ninth Chapter toth twolsth. For i liud violenti disturbe weali conscienceS, to observe that, hile tho e N apponred to e the eo ple os God the not ni rejected, ut also perseeuted the doctrine of the gospel. Theres oro, ster havin discusso that doctrine, he removes his dissicut ty and dentes the laim os hos JeWs, who Nereinenties of tho truth, toto considerest a the Chureli, though in ther respuet tho Wanted nothing that could borequisite o iis externat orna. An the ni reason sor his deniat was, ecause the di no receivo Christ. e spealis
rati r more expliciti in the Episti to the Galatians, si Chere,
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doWn to thei times, no change had alien place in the doctrino, the assumed what ould sustico so the confutationis alliso NerrorS, that the were repugnant to the doctrine hicli adbeen constanti an unanimousi maintaino evora rom thedays os the posties. The Wil gain nothing there fore, bypersistin t disgui se themsolves unde thema me of the Church. The Church se rogar With bocomin reverenco ut henthe come to the definition the are miserabi embarrasSed fortite Substitute an exsecrabie hario in tho place of tho olySpouse of Christ. Thul, may not e doceived by suci a sub-Stitution beside thor admonitions lotis remember his of Augustine sor, speali in os the Chureli, he says, di is ome times obscuro Dand eclouded by a multitude os scandal Some timesit appear quiset and uia moleSted in re eason os tranquillity, andis omo times disturbet anil verwhelmed illi ille aves ostribulations and temptations. ' e produce S Xumples thatthos Who ore it firmest illars have ei ther undavia tedi sus sero banishment on account of the faith, o seclude them-selves rom nil society. IV. In the samo manner, the Romanisi in the pressent dayharaSs iis, and terris ignorant perSons illi ho nam os tho Chureli, though there are O greator nemios o Christ hanthumsolves. Although the ma pretend there fore to the temple, the priosthood, and thor simila forms, his a in litter, hic daggles the yes of the simple, ought ymo means to induce histo admit the Xistunc os a Chureli, here e cannot diSeover
apostles an prophetS. V q An Ierusalem is to bo distinguishod from Babylon, the Chiarchis Christ 1 rom the synagogueos Satan by this disseretice, by hicli Christias discriminaled
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heres and schism beenuSe e reacti a di serent doctrino romtheirs, and submit noto thei laws, and hold Separate us-Semblie so prayers, o baptism for the administration of the Lord' Supper, and ther Sacrod Xercises, it is indoeilla ostheau accusation, but Such usi no means requires a long or borious es ence. The appellations os heretios and schismati esare applied to person Who cause disse Sion, und destro the communion of the Church. Nom, his communion is preserve by tW bonds - agreement in Sound doctrine, and brothorly love. Bel eon heretius uni Schismatios, heres ore, Augustine makeS
Christ signi in that ad union hicli is formod without the
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I say, oro toti to his postles that for his ame' sal e theyshould e cast ut Os the synagogues. v NON, hOS Syn gogues of hicli e Spolio, ere then accounto legitimate Churches. Sine it is evident, thon, that me have been castoiit, nil, are prepare to provo that this has boon dono forti, nam os Christ, it is necessar to inquire into the cauSe, bos ore any thing be determine respectin US either On ne ideor the ther. ut this pol ni Prondit relinquish to thum. It is sufficient for me that it a necessar foris to illidra fromthem, in orde to approach o Christ. VII. ut it Will e stili more evident, in hal estimationw ought to holit at the Churchos ho hau submitted to the tyranny of the Roman pontiis, is, compare them illi thoaticioni Churchis Israol, us do neutod by the prophois Therema a tria Chureli among the JoWs and the Israelites, hiletho continuod to observo the iam os the Covenant; ecause the thon obta inod rom tho favori os God hos things hieli constitute a Church. The had the doctrin os truth in thola ; tho ministr of it a committe to tho priusis and prophet the were initia ted into tho Church by tho sigia os
circumcision And ero exorcise in ther sacruments for theconfirmationis thoi faith. There is no doub that tho commendations, illi hicli tho Lor has honoured his Church, trui bolongo do thoi society. ut aster they desert thelaw of the Lord, and sol into idolatry and superstition theyparti tost his privilege. For ho ould dare t rosus thet ille os a Church to thos among whom God oposito thepreachin os his ord, and the observarice of his mysteries λ