The Practice of Piety

Beza highly ^*commendeth this practise; and Luther saith, that he had rather lose 1000. worlds, then suffer private confession to be thrust out of the Church. Our church hath ever most ^asoundly maintained the truth of this doctrine; but most justly abolished the tyrannous and Antichristian abuse of Popish auricular confession, which ⟨p. 966⟩they thrust upon the Souls of Christians, as an Expiatory Sacrifice, and a meritorious satisfaction for sin: racking their Consciences to confess, when they feel no distress, and to enumerate all their sins, which is impossible; that by this means they might dive into the secrets of all men, which oft times hath proved pernicious not only to private persons, but also to public states. But the truth of Gods word is, that no person, having received Orders in the Church of Rome, can truly absolve a sinner: for the Keys of absolution are two, the one is the Key of Authority, and that only ^*Christ hath: the other is the Key of Ministry; ⟨p. 967⟩and this he ^agives to his Ministers, who are therefore called, the Ministers of Christ: The ^bStewards of Gods Mysteries: The ^cAmbassadors of reconciliation, Bishops, Pastors, Elders, &c. ⁷But Christ never ordained in the New Testament, any Order of sacrificing Priests, neither is the name of [Greek or Hebrew], which properly signifieth Sacerdos, or sacrificing Priest, given to any Officer of Christ, in all the New Testament. Neither do we read in all the New Testament, of any who confessed himself to a Priest, but Judas. Neither is there any real Priest of the New Testament, but only Christ.