A26883:1620
Richard Baxter's Catholic theology plain, pure, peaceable, for pacification of the dogmatical word-warriors who,…Richard Baxter's Catholick theologie plain, pure, peaceable, for pacification of the dogmatical word-warriours who,…
Richard Baxter's Catholic theology plain, pure, peaceable, for pacification of the dogmatical word-warriors who, 1. by contending about things unrevealed or not understood, 2. and by taking verbal differences for real,Richard Baxter's Catholick theologie plain, pure, peaceable, for pacification of the dogmatical word-warriours who, 1. by contending about things unrevealed or not understood, 2. and by taking verbal differences for real,
London: printed by Robert White for Nevill Simmons, 1675
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
SECT. XVIII. Of Perseverance, and the certainty of it, in order to certainty of Salvation, and true Comfort.
257. No man can be further certain of his final Salvation, than he is certain of his perseverance in Faith and Love.
258. Therefore it is a small number of Christians comparatively that ever were certain of their Salvation. For 1. No one that is uncertain of his sincerity is certain of his Salvation. 2. No one that holdeth this Doctrine [That the Saints that are justified may fall away, and that we cannot be sure of perseverance,] can be sure of his own Salvation. It's hard to conceive how he can be certain, who holdeth that no man can be certain: Now those that hold this Doctrine are, almost all the Papists, the Arminians, the Lutherans, and as far as I can learn by their Writings, all the ancient Writers for a thousand years after Christ. And the Semipelagians and Pelagians no man will put in as an exception, except Jovinian alone; against whom Jerome writing his second Book chargeth him as holding that a man truly baptized by the Spirit, could not sin: No doubt he meant, [to damnation or mortally]: But it's doubtful what his Opinion was. Augustine's report of him is of no great moment, who as Erasmus noteth (in his Argum. in Hier. adv. Jovin.) neither had seen Jovinians Book or Hieorm's but spake by report.