Certain disputations of right to sacraments, and the true nature of visible Christianity defending…

In this point, I find a learned sober Divine, Mr. James Wood, Professor of Theology at Aberdeen in Scotland ▪ hath with much Christian moderation manifested his dissent from me by name, in a book against Mr. Lokier concerning the matter of the visible Church, pag. 149.150, 151, &c. (A book that I never saw till a day or two before the writing of these words, June 12. 1656.) This Reverend man agreeth with me in the main points wherein I differ from Mr. Blake. He owneth fully he necessity of the Profession of a saving Faith, and alloweth of no lower Profession, as a tittle to Baptism: he frequently owneth the distinction between forum Dei vel interius, & forum Ecclesiasticum & exterius; and consenteth too, to the application that I make of it: But he thinketh, that though the profession of true Faith is necessary to Baptism; yet, not as an Evidence of Regeneration, but that we are to abstract the Profession wholly from Conversion, or non conversion. Pag. 8. he saith [2. when he saith, Hypocrites have no Right to be in the Church, or, as afterward, should not be there, if the meaning were, that men, though they make a Profession of Religion, yet continuing Hypocrites, and graceless in their hearts, do sin in adjoining themselves to the visible Church; and that they have no Right in foro interiori, this we should not deny▪ but if his meaning be, that no Hypocrites have a jus Ecclesiasti•um and in foro exteriori, to be in the visible Church, we deny it and he shall never be able to prove it.]

In this point, I find a learned sober Divine, Mr. James Wood, Professor of Theologie at Aberdeen in Scotland ▪ hath with much Christian moderation manifested his d•ssent from me by name, in a book against Mr. Lokier concerning the matter of the visible Church, pag. 149.150, 151, &c. (A book that I never saw till a day or two before the writing of these words, June 12. 1656.) This Reverend man agreeth with me in the main points wherein I differ from Mr. Blake. He owneth fully he necessity of the Profession of a saving Faith, and alloweth of no lower Profession, as a tittle to Baptism: he frequently owneth the distinction between forum Dei vel interius, & forum Ecclesiasticum & exterius; and consenteth too, to the application that I make of it: But he thinketh, that though the profession of true Faith is necessary to Baptism; yet, not as an Evidence of Regeneration, but that we are to abstract the Profession wholly from Conversion, or non conversion. Pag. 8. he saith [2. when he saith, Hypocrites have no Right to be in the Church, or, as afterward, should not be there, if the meaning were, that men, though they make a Profession of Religion, yet continuing Hypocrites, and graceless in their hearts, do sin in adjoyning themselves to the visible Church; and that they have no Right in foro interiori, this we should not deny but if his meaning be, that no Hypocrites have a jus Ecclesiastium and in foro exteriori, to be in the visible Church, we deny it and he shall never be able to prove it.]