A30242:739
The Scripture directory for church-officers and people, or, A practical commentary upon the whole…
The Scripture directory for church-officers and people, or, A practical commentary upon the whole third chapter of the first Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians to which is annexed The godly and the natural mans choice, upon Psal. 4, vers. 6, 7, 8 / by Anthony Burgess ...The Scripture directory for church-officers and people, or, A practical commentary upon the whole third chapter of the first Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians to which is annexed The godly and the natural mans choice, upon Psal. 4, vers. 6, 7, 8 / by Anthony Burgesse ...
London: printed by Abraham Miller for T.U., 1659
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.
Now for the matter of Doctrine to be believed,1 some men lay four rotten and weak foundations; others may be reduced to this.
- 1Four rotten, weak and false foundations. 1. The Authority of the Church.
The first is, that of the Papist, The Authority of the Church, and the Pope; being wholly ignorant themselves, but resting all on their Authority. Bellarmine doth not blush to expound that place, Behold I lay in Zion a foundation stone, secondarily to the Pope. Now although we grant, That the Ministry of the true Church is very useful and necessary, as the instrument of our faith, and the preservation of it: In which sense it's called, The pillar and ground of the Truth, 1 Tim. 3.15. yet it is only a Ministry, ⟨p. 128⟩not a Magistry. It's a political Pillar upon which Edicts use to hang for Declaration of the Magistrates will, not an Architectonical Pillar, that bears up the house. So that Austins speech is true, I had not believed the Gospel had not the Authority of the Church moved me, (viz.) by way of introduction and preparation. As the woman of Samaria did to the Samaritans, who at first believed, because she told them, but afterwards they believed for Christs own sake. We do not believe in the Church, as we do in the matter revealed in the Scripture. Therefore that ignorant implicit faith, to believe what the Church saith, is not a Scripture-faith, faith of knowledge; besides then, every member must believe according to that Church he is of, and seeing there are Churches against Churches, there shall also be faith against faith.
The first is, that of the Papist, The Authority of the Church, and the Pope; being wholly ignorant themselves, but resting all on their Authority. Bellarmine doth not blush to expound that place, Behold I lay in Zion a foundation stone, secondarily to the Pope. Now although we grant, That the Ministry of the true Church is very usefull and necessary, as the instrument of our faith, and the preservation of it: In which sense it's called, The pillar and ground of the Truth,