Catholic unity, or, The only way to bring us all to be of one…Catholick vnity, or, The only way to bring us all to be of one…

Rom. 14.1. Him that is weak in the Faith receive ye, but not to doubtful Disputations.

I Have already proved to you in the foregoing Discourse. 1. That the true Unity of the Church of Christ is a Unity of the Spirit, and that the unsanctified are the causes of our Divisions. 2. That a Unity in mere Profession, is but a low and miserable Unity, which will not satisfy nor serve the turn. 3. That a Unity in the Spirit of Holiness, is a great advantage for the healing of all our lesser differences, or that we may do well for all those differences, if we are truly sanctified. I come now to the fourth and last part of my Discourse, which is to ⟨p. 314⟩show you, that It is not the will of God that the Unity of his Church should consist in things indifferent, or in the smaller matters, or in points of doubtful Disputation. To which end I have chosen this Text, in which Paul doth purposely and plainly lay down this point, in order to the reconciling of a difference that was then among the Romans; I shall not now stand to discuss whether the weak that Paul here speaks of, were some Christians tainted with a Pythagorean▪ conceit, and guilty of some excessive Austerities (which some have thought, 1. Because here is no mention of Circumcision, 2. and because they are said to eat herbs only) or whether it were some Converts of the Jews, that scrupled the forsaking of their ancient Ceremonies (which is the common and likelier Exposition.) 1. The person here spoken of is [Him that i• ⟨p. 315⟩weak in the Faith] that is, who is yet so ignorant in the Doctrine of •aith, as not to know that these Ceremonies are abolished, or these matters are no part of duty, which he placeth duty in; and consequently, who is so weak in Conscience as that he dare not omit the observation of these days and Ceremonies. The Points in which the weakness of these persons is said to be manifested, are, 1. In their abstaining from flesh, and eating herbs, 2. In their observation of certain days as Holy.