Thirdly, That God sendeth the Gospel, and revealeth Christ Jesus unto men, according as they well dispose themselves for such a blessing:h Sometimes (say they in their Synodical writings) God calleth this or that nation, people, city, or person, to the communion of Evangelical grace, whom he himself pronounceth worthy of it, in comparison of others: So that whereas Acts 18. 10. God encourageth Paul to preach at Corinth by affirming that he had much people in that city (which doubtless were his people then, only by virtue of their election) in these mens judgements? ithey were called so, because that even then they feared God, and served him with all their hearts, according to that knowledge they had of him, and so were ready to obey the preaching of Saint Paul: strange doctrine? that men should fear God, know him, serve him in sincerity, before they ever heard of the Gospel, and by those means deserve that it should be preached unto them? ⟨p. 136⟩this is, that pleasing of God before faith that they plead for; Act. Synod. fol. 60. That kpreparation and disposition to believe, which men attain by the Law, and virtuous education: thatl something which is in sinners, whereby though they are not justified, yet they are made worthy of justification: form conversion and the performance of good works, is in their apprehension a condition prerequired to justification, for so speak the children of Arminius: which wch if it be not an expression, not to be paralleled in the writings of any Christian, I am something mistaken: the sum of their doctrine then in this particular concerning the power of Free-will, in the state of sin, and unregeneration, is, That every man having a native inbred power, of believing in Christ, upon the revelation of the Gospel, hath also an ability of doing so much good, as shall procure of God, that the Gospel be preached unto him, to which, without any internal assistance of grace, he can give assent and yield obedience: the preparatory acts of his own will, always proceeding so far, as to make him excel others, who do not perform them, and are therefore excluded from further grace. Which is more gross Pelagianism then Pelagius himself would ever justify: wherefore, we reject all the former positions, as so many monsters in Christian Religion, in whose room we assert these that follow.
Thirdly, That God sendeth the Gospel, and revealeth Christ Iesus unto men, according as they well dispose themselves for such a blessing:h Sometimes (say they in their Synodicall writings) God calleth this or that nation, people, citie, or person, to the communion of Evangelicall grace, whom he himselfe pronounceth worthy of it, in comparison of others: So that whereas Acts 18. 10. God encourageth Paul to preach at Corinth by affirming that he had much people in that citie (which doubtlesse were his people then, only by vertue of their election) in these mens judgements? ithey were called so, because that even then they feared God, and served him with all their hearts, according to that knowledge they had of him, and so were ready to obey the preaching of Saint Paul: strange doctrine? that men should feare God, know him, serve him in sinceritie, before they ever heard of the Gospel, and by those means deserve that it should be preached unto them? ⟨p. 136⟩this is, that pleasing of God before faith that they plead for; Act. Synod. fol. 60. That kpreparation and disposition to beleeve, which men attaine by the Law, and vertuous education: thatl something which is in sinners, whereby though they are not iustified, yet they are made worthy of iustification: form conversion and the performance of good works, is in their apprehension a condition prerequired to iustification, for so speake the children of Arminius: which wch if it be not an expression, not to be paralelled in the writings of any Christian, I am something mistaken: the summe of their doctrine then in this particular concerning the power of Free-will, in the state of sin, and unregeneration, is, That every man having a native inbred power, of beleeving in Christ, upon the revelation of the Gospel, hath also an abilitie of doing so much good, as shall procure of God, that the Gospel be preached unto him, to which, without any internall assistance of grace, he can give assent and yeeld obedience: the preparatory acts of his own will, alwayes proceeding so farre, as to make him excell others, who do not performe them, and are therefore excluded from further grace. Which is more grosse Pelagianisme then Pelagius himselfe would ever justifie: wherefore, we reject all the former positions, as so many monsters in Christian Religion, in whose roome we assert these that follow.
- hInterdum Deus hanc vel illam gentem civitatē personam ad Evangelicae gratiae communionem vocat, quam ipse dignam pronuntiat comparative, &c. Rem. Declarat sent. Synod.Interdum Deus hanc vel illam gentem civitatē personam ad Evangelicae gratiae communionem vocat, quam ipse dignam pronuntiat comparative, &c. Rem. Declarat sent. Synod.
- iIlli, in quorum gratiam, dominus Paulum in Corinthum misit, dicuntur Dei populus, quia Deum tum timebant eique, secundum cognitionem quam de eo habebant, serviebant ex animo, et sic ad praedicationem Pauli &c. Corv. 3. sect. 27.
- kPer legem vel per piam educationem vel per institutionem—per haec enim hominem praeparati, & disponi ad credendum, planissimum est, Rem. act. Synod.
- lPraecedit aliquid in peccatoribus, quo quamvis nondum justificati sunt, digni efficiantur justificatione: Grevin. ad Am. pag. 434.
- mTenendum est, veram conversionem praestationemque bonorum operum esse conditionem praerequisitam ante justificationem, Filii. Arm. praef. ad cap. 7. ad Rem.
