A treatise of miscellany questions wherein many useful questions and cases of conscience are…A treatise of miscellany questions wherein many usefull questions and cases of conscience are…

14 That the Antinomian way of removing scruples and doubts of conscience, and settling a soul in peace and assurance, is a most inextricable Labyrinth, and layeth knots faster upon the conscience, in stead of loosing them. 3. That this way of assurance by the mark of love to the brethren, is a sure and safe way, and hath no such inextricableness in it, as is here objected.

14 That the Antinomian way of removing scruples and doubts of conscience, and setling a soule in peace and assurance, is a most inextricable Labyrinth, and layeth knots faster upon the conscience, in stead of loosing them. 3. That this way of assurance by the marke of love to the brethren, is a sure and safe way, and hath no such inextricablenesse in it, as is here objected.

First I say, their objection militateth as strongly, yea much more strongly against their own interpretation of my Text: For the same Antinomian in that same Sermon, and others of that way understand the scope of this Text to be for comforting the brethren against the disesteem the world had of them; the world hates them, vers: 13. But we know (saith he) that we are translated from death to life, because we love the brethren; that is, whatever the world judgeth of us, we perceive and know one another by this mark, that we love the Brethren. In short, they say, this seems rather to be a mark how my brother may know me, then that by which I should know my self. Which interpretation, how ill grounded it is, and how inconsistent with vers. 18, 19, 20, 21. who seeth not? Only I now observe that they cast down what themselves build: For if I cannot know my self by the inside of love, much less can my brother know me by the out side of love: and if I cannot have any solid or safe comfort from this, that I love the Brethren; how much less can this comfort me that others judge me to be a lover of the brethren? And how do I know them to be the brethren who judge so of me? For (by their rule) no man can say such a one is a brother, so that they do but tie themselves with their own knots, and must therefore either quite their sense of the Text and take ours, or else hold that this text hath no comfort at all in it, which yet is most full of comfort, and sweet as the honey and the honey comb.