The Doctrine of the Saints' Perseverance

As this Ignatius Bishop of the Church at Antioch, was in himselfe• man of an excellent spirit, eminent in holiness, and to whom on the behalf of Christ it was given not only to believe on him, but also suffer for him, and on that account of very great and high esteem among the Christians of that Age wherein he lived, and sundry others following, so no great Question can be made but that he wrote toward the end of his pilgrimage, when he was on his way to ⟨image 11⟩be offered up through the holy Spirit by the mouths of wild beasts to Jesus Christ, that he wrote sundry Epistles to sundry Churches, that were of chiefest note and name in the Countries about. The concurrent Testimony of the Ancients in this matter of fact, will give as good Assurance as in this kind we are capable of: Eusebius reckons them up in order, so doth Hierome.

As this Ignatius Bishop of the Church at Antioch, was in himselfe• man of an excellent spirit, em•nent in holiness, and to whom on the behalfe of Christ it was given not only to believe on him, but also suffer for him, and on that account of very great and high esteem among the Christians of that Age wherein he lived, and sundry others following, so no great Question can be made but that he wrote toward the end of his pilgrimage, when he was on his way to ⟨image 11⟩be offered up through the holy Spirit by the mouths of wild beasts to Jesus Christ, that he wrote sundry Epistles to sundry Churches, that were of cheifest note and name in the Countreys about. The concurrent Testimony of the Antients in this matter of fact, will give as good Assurance as in this kind we are capable of: Eusebius reckons them up in order, so doth Hierome.

After them frequent mention is made of them by others, & special sayings in them are transcribed: And whereas it is urged by some, that there is no mention of those Epistles before the Nicene Council, before which time, it is as evident as if it were written with the beams of the sun, that many false and supposititious writings had been imposed on, and were received by many in the Church, (as the story of Paul and Thecla is mentioned and rejected by Tertull: de Baptis: Hermae Pastor by others) it is answered that they were mentioned by Irenaeus some good while before, Lib. 5. cap. 28. saith he. Quemadmodum quidam de nostris dixit, propter Martyrium in Deum adjudicatus ad bestias; quoniam frumentum sum Christi & per dentes bestiarum moler ut mundus panis Dei inveniar. Which words to the substance of them are found in these Epistles: though some say nothing is here intimated of any Epistles or writings, but of a speech that might pass among the Christians by Tradition, such as they had many among themselves, even of our Saviours, some whereof are mentioned by Grotius on these words of Paul, remember that word of Christ that it is more blessed to give then to receive. What probability or ground for conviction there is in these or the like Observations, and Answers is left to the judgement of all. This is certain that the first mentioning of them in Antiquities is to be clearly received, (and that perhaps with more then the bare word of him, that recites and approves of the Epistles of Jesus Christ to Abgarus the King of the (Edessens) or of him that reckons Seneca among the Ecclesiastical writers, upon the account of his Epistles to Paul) or the following Testimonies, which are heaped up in abundance by some who think (but falsely) that they have a peculiar interest enwrapped in the Epistles, now extant, will be of very small weight or value.