A30136:154
A confession of my faith and a reason of my practice
A confession of my faith and a reason of my practice, or, With who, and who not, I can hold church-fellowship, or the communion of saints
London: printed for Francis Smith, 1672
Title page typeset from the transcription.
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.
Fourthly, I am bold to hold communion with visible Saints as afore; because God hath communion with them; whose example in the case, we are strictly commanded to follow. Receive you one another as Christ Jesus hath received you, saith Paul, to the glory of God. Rom. 15.1 6. Yea though they be Saints o opinions contrary to you;1 though it goeth against the mind of them that are strong. We that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak; and not to please our selves. What infirmities? Those ⟨p. 90⟩that are natural are incident to all, they are infirmities then that are sinful, that cause a man for want of light, to err in circumstantials; And the reason upon which he ground this admonition is, that Christ pleased not himself; but as it is written, the reproaches of them that reproached thee, have fallen upon me. You say, to have communion with such weak brethren, reproacheth your opinions, and practise; Grant it, your dullness and deadness, and imperfections also reproach the holiness of God; If you say no, for Christ hath born our sins; The answer is still the same, Their sins also are fallen upon Christ; He then that hath taken away thy sins from before the throne of God; hath taken away their shortness in conformity to an outward circumstance in religion. Both your infirmities are fallen upon Christ; yea if notwithstanding thy great sins; thou standest by Christ complete before the Throne ⟨p. 91⟩of God; why may not thy Brother. notwithstanding his little ones, stand complete before thee in the Church.
Fourthly, I am bold to hold communion with visible Saints as afore; because God hath communion with them; whose example in the case, we are streightly commanded to follow. Receive you one another as Christ Jesus hath received you, saith Paul, to the glory of God. Rom. 15.1 6. Yea though they be Saints o opinions contrary to you;1 though it goeth against the mind of them that are strong. We that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak; and not to please our selves. What infirmityes? Those