A92140:700
A free disputation against pretended liberty of conscience tending to resolve doubts moved
A free disputation against pretended liberty of conscience tending to resolve doubts moved by Mr. John Goodwin, John Baptist, Dr. Jer. Taylor, the Belgic Arminians, Socinians, and other authors contending for lawless liberty, or licentious toleration of sects and heresies. / By Samuel Rutherfurd professor of divinity in the University of St. Andrews.A free disputation against pretended liberty of conscience tending to resolve doubts moved by Mr. John Goodwin, John Baptist, Dr. Jer. Taylor, the Belgick Arminians, Socinians, and other authors contending for lawlesse liberty, or licentious toleration of sects and heresies. / By Samuel Rutherfurd professor of divinity in the University of St. Andrews.
London: printed by R.I. for Andrew Crook, 1649
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
For 1. Is not Christ as meek to whores, publicans, the thief and robber on the cross, persecutors, and to seducing teachers and heretics?1 and should not Ministers in all gentleness, teach and instruct, drunkards, adulterers, murderers; yea, and as many as are taken Captives in the snare of the Devil at his will, and are in such a case, as God peradventure may give them repentance? For of such speaketh the place 2 Tim. 2. 24, 25. and must not Pastors be gentle, patient, apt to teach, and labour the conversion of all drunkards, whores, bloody men, as well as heretics; What warrant have Libertines to straiten the meekness of our Saviour, and his Ambassadors in these Scriptures, and confine and limit the sweet qualifications of Christ to only seducing ⟨p. 292⟩teachers, whereas the word doth extend these to all sinners of what ever rank, that are slaves of Satan, but especially, if they be sin-sick for Christ, and bruised reeds (such as seducing teachers, and Wolves that worry the Lambs, and lead silly women captives, are seldom) and such sinners as the Physician came to cure; whereas false teachers are all for the most part self righteous, sons of pride. Now make an argument from these Scriptures,2 and it concludeth, that it is against the meekness of Christ that murderers, drunkards, adulterers be punished by the Sword, for since Christ and his Ministers are no less with all patience, gentleness, forbearance to instruct these, if at any time God shall give them repentance, and this strongly smells of Anabaptists and Socinians way, who contend that the meekness of our Saviour hath deposed the Magistrate from his place of shedding any mans blood,3 be he never so notorious an il-doer, so saith Socinus, Catechesis, Raccoviensis, Ostorodius, Smalcius, Meek Jesus warranteth no Magistrate to take away any mens life for any fault, 4or to make war, for the Scripture will have the meekness and mercy of Christ (if it stand in not punishing with bodily violence,