Five disputations of church-government and worship

Sect. 19. Reas. 3. And when the Ministry is thus corrupted (by making every man judge of his own fitness) the Church will be corrupted, and degenerate into a common state, and cease to be a Church (if Reformation do not stop the gangrene.) For it commonly goeth with the Church according to the quality of the Ministry. An ignorant Ministry, and an ignorant people; an erroneous Ministry, and an erring people; a scandalous Ministry, and a scandalous people commonly go together. Like Priest, like people is the common case.

Sect. 19. Reas. 3. And when the Ministrie is thus corrupted (by making every man judge of his own fitness) the Church will be corrupted, and degenerate into a common state, and cease to be a Church (if Reformation do not stop the gangrene.) For it commonly goeth with the Church according to the quality of the Ministrie. An ignorant Ministrie, and an ignorant people; an erroneous Ministrie, and an erring people; a scandalous Ministrie, and a scandalous people commonly go together. Like Priest, like people is the common case.

Sect. 20. Reas. 4. And by this means Christianity it self will be dishonoured, and seem to be but a common religion, and so but a deceit, to the great dishonour of Jesus Christ; for the world will judge of him and his cause, by the lives of them that teach it and profess it.

Sect. 21. Reas. 5. And by this means God will be provoked to depart from us, and be avenged on us for our dishonouring him. If he would spew out of his mouth lukewarm Laodicea, what would he do to such degenerate societies? If most of the seven Churches, Rev. 2 & 3. had their warnings or threatenings for smaller faults, what would such corruptions bring us to, but even to be plagued or forsaken by the Lord?