A30248:206
The true doctrine of justification asserted and vindicated, from the errors of Papists, Arminians,…The true doctrine of justification asserted and vindicated, from the errours of Papists, Arminians,…
The true doctrine of justification asserted and vindicated, from the errors of Papists, Arminians, Socinians, and more especially Antinomians in XXX lectures preached at Lawrence-Jury, London / by Anthony Burgess ...The true doctrine of justification asserted and vindicated, from the errours of Papists, Arminians, Socinians, and more especially Antinomians in XXX lectures preached at Lawrence-Iury, London / by Anthony Burgess ...
London: printed by A. Miller for Tho. Underhill, 1651
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.
A seventh rank of Arguments, shall be from those places,1 wherein God hath commanded Ministers to bind and retain the sins of scandalous offenders, and hath promised, to ratify that in heaven, which they according to his will, do on earth. Experience witnesseth, that a justified person may fall into some scandalous sin, whereby the whole Congregation may be much offended, and God highly provoked. Now in this case God hath commanded the Ministers of the Gospel to bind & to retain such a mans sins till he doth repent. This binding is not by way of authority, but ministerial declaration, & effectual application of Gods threatenings in his Word to such a person sinning, and when this is done, God hath promised, that all this shall be ratified and made ⟨p. 66⟩good in Heaven against that man. Now how can God make good the Ministers threatenings applied to that godly man, if he take not notice, and be not offended with the person so heinously sinning? The places that prove such a binding of sin, and Gods ratifying of their sentence, are Joh. 20.23. Mat. 16.19. Mat. 18.18. Can any man say, that when a godly man is cast out of Gods family, the seals of Gods grace denied him, and he delivered up to Satan, that God is not angry with him? yea, is not he bound then to apprehend God estranged from him? when a godly man is excommunicated, he is not only cast out from the external Church-society, but likewise there is a deprivation from internal communion with Christ; not as if he were cut off from the purpose or decree of Gods election, or as if the habitual seed of grace were quite extinct in him, but only as the outward seals of Gods favour are denied him; so also doth God being angry with him, deny him any inward testimonies of his favour; and it would not be faith against sense (as the Adversary calls it) but presumption against Scripture to say▪ God was at that time well pleased with him; yea Divines say (Synopsis puri. Theol. dis. 48.) that there is a conditional exclusion of the person so offending from future glory, for the Church threatens him, that as they judge him now, and bid him depart from their society, so if he do not repent, Christ at the last day will command him to depart from his presence and the holy Angels, according to that of Tertul.