A free disputation against pretended liberty of conscience tending to resolve doubts moved

Nor could Asa see and know infallibly how out of heart-obstinacy, or how out of sinless, and faultless innocency refused the Covenant. And Asa could not compel men to take the Covenant, and profess seeking of the Lord against their judgements and consciences, which the thirteenth Proposal of the Army does condemn, And yet Asa was free of compelling men to hypocrisy. When therefore Peter struck Ananias and Sapphira with death; and, Paul, Elimas with blindness; and delivered Himeneus and Alexander to Satan; and when the Apostles sharply rebuked and upbraided the Cretans, those who are called dogs, evil-workers, enemies to the cross of Christ, such as serve their belly, not the Lord Jesus; it is as pertinent and necessary a query whether or no Peter compelled ⟨p. 191⟩others who saw Ananias punished to death,¹ Paul constrained others who saw the terrible wrath of God on Hymeneus, to dissemble, and to do, and profess against the judgement of an erroneous conscience and lay all their goods down at the Apostles feet against their conscience, which yet believed, they were against the law of nature defrauding their own children, and to profess the faith, and not inward blaspheme and say, there is no resurrection, no Christ, no heaven after this life, as Familists now say, for fear that Paul deliver them to Satan. And we know professors are much afraid to go for dogs and belly-Gods in the account of such eminent Godly men as the Apostle Paul and others, and therefore will cover themselves and profess the contrary: if therefore censures and rebukes from the eminently Godly, do create varnished hypocrites, and it is not the sin of Godly rebukers, and if punishments may and doth constrain many to say, and do, and unsay, and counterdoe in matters of Religion, in judging according to conscience in highest judicatures, and contrary to that same conscience the next day, this which is objected against coercive power, in matters of conscience, that it creates hypocrites and strains men to do against their judgement and so to sin, is all accidental to the nature of coercive and bodily restraining power.

Nor could Asa see and know infallibly how out of heart-obstinacy, or how out of sinlesse, and faultlesse innocency refused the Covenant. And Asa could not compell men to take the Covenant, and professe seeking of the Lord against their judgements and consciences, which the thirteenth Proposall of the Army does condemne, And yet Asa was free of compelling men to hypocrasy. When therefore Peter strucke Annanias and Saphira with death; and, Paul, Elimas with blindnesse; and delivered Himeneus and Alexander to Sathan; and when the Apostles sharply rebuked and upbraided the Cretians, those who are called dogs, evill-workers, enemies to the crosse of Christ, such as serve their belly, not the Lord Jesus; it is as pertinent and necessary a query whether or no Peter compelled