->^--'^^-4 mm^^^ ■ ■'mwt^w^mm ^ ^01 r /. i \^ St. TauVs Heretic: OR, SEVERAL CHARACTERISTICS O F A N HERETIC. Collefted from St. Paul's Epiftle to Titus: Addrefs'd to the Reverend Dr. STEEBI NG, And the Reverend Mr. F S 7' E R. Beloved^ believe not every Spirit, hut try the Spirits whether they are of God. Prove all things : hold fajl thai rsjhich is good. — fFe may therefore pay a due regard to the judg- ment of a Socrates, or a Plato, hut Truth fjdouid always he reverenced by us., with the moji hearty., and profound fuhmijfwn. LONDON: Printed for T, Cox, z-t tiiz Lamb ^ under ih^ Royal- Ex change. 1735. [Price Six-Pence.] Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from Princeton Theological Seminary Library http://www.archive.org/details/stpaulshereticorOOflem St. TauVs Heretic: OR, SEVERAL CHARACTERISTICS O F A N HERETIC. Gentlemen, UPON reading the controverfy late^ ly publiflied between you, con- cerning the nature of herefy^ \ was determined to fit down and read St. Paul^ and from him form a judgment of it, in the heft manner I could ; being perfuaded that St. Paul bids fairer to fet me right in the fenfe of his own writings, than any commentator whatfoever : at leaft, I thought I could with more fatisfkcflion form my ideas from St. Paid, than fron\ any other inferiour authority. What light I could come at in thus endeavouring to underftand what he meant by anr heretic, I have difcovered in the following me- B 2 thodj [4] thod, which I humbly fubmit to your conlideration. My defign Is to confider what St. Paid in his epiftle to T'itus intends by an H e- R E T I c ; as mentioned by him 7it. iii. lo. And I think it denotes, that there were fome perfons in the world, which in the eftimation of St. Paul deferved fuch a character, 'viz. that of an heretic^ other- wife, his advice following thefe words, would appear to have been very imperti- nent. Again, I take it for granted, that the apoftle muft mttnd Jomethi?2g by this cha- racter, as applied by him to fome parti- cular perfons; but this his intention, I apprehend, could not be underftood even by T'itus himfelf, either from this verfe, or the next, unlefs he had more expli- citely explained himfelf before in his letter; and indeed the very form of the di(5tion here ufed, implies as much, " a *' man that is an heretic^ after the firft " and fecond admonition rejed:, knowing " that an heretic is fub verted, and finneth, *' being condemned of himfelf." Which ftrongly refers to a charader already ex- plained, and marked out; otherwife, the defcription and advice appear to be very defed:ive, and impertinent. - [5] I ftiall therefore endeavour to find out the precife meaning of St. Paid about an heretic from the foregoing parts of this epiflle of his to Titus, firmly believing that the occafion of Tuch kind of difcipline, which he here recommends Titus unco, muft be well explain'd by him, before he would give fuch advice: as knowing it would iio way agree with the prudenqe and cau- tion of St. Paul that he fhould proceed, in fo abrupt, and unintelligible a manner. Having read over this epiflle, I find that the grand defign of it is, to deted: and cenfure the condud: of feme yewijh zealots \ and to d.\Yt€tTitus what doctrines he fliould teach, and how he fhould be- have, fo as to fruftrate the ill defigns, and meafures of thefe men, whom he at laft brands with the infamous, but juft charajfter of heretic : from which we may perhaps learn, what are tbofe particular marks, which unite in making up this black characfler. The apoftle tells Titus ^ that there were many in Crete who attempted all they could to corrupt the chriftian converts from the fimplicity of the golpel inftitu- tion ; teaching them to lay the greateft ftrefs on exad: and nice diftinclions of * Tii. i. 10, II. meatsj [6] meatSi and drinks ; * afferting, that holi^ nefs and purity abfolutely depend on fuch obfervances: and this they did, under the guife and pretence of extraordinary know- ledge J fomething hke infallibility ; ^ for they profefl'ed to know God, i, e. to be his only people, favdur'd with a full and certain knowledge of his will ; at the fame time that both their temper, and condudl, uniformly gave the lie to this their profeffion ; for by their works they Ihev/'d that they had no fuch knowledge ; being abominable, difobedient, and unto every good work, reprobate, /. e. ftupid, or injudicious in it : which charad:er the apojlle makes to appear, by afterwards ob- ferving, that thefe very men taught, that the chrijlian inftitution diflblved, and broke every civil and natural obligation, arifing from the relation the chriftian flood in to others who were of different religious fentiments -, and therefore it is, that the apoftle dire(5ts Titus to fpeak thofe things which became found doftrine, ad- viiing to every focial and relative duty: '^ that he fliould exhort chriflian fervants, or Haves'^ to be equally obedient,and faith- ful to heathen majiersj as they would be to chrijlian majiers j that hereby the chri- » Ver. 14, 15, 16. ''Ver. 16. fCh.il. 1,-7. ''Ch. ii. 9. ftian [7] ftian dodrine might appear in its genuine light, as an equal, reafonable, and ufeful inftitution. On the fame account, I ap- prehend it is, that he bids Titus put the chriftian people in mind, that chriftianity did not dilTolve, or weaken that jubjeBion which the reafon of things, and the juft laws of fociety require to princes, and magiftrates; but that it demanded of all its true difciples, a due regard to every civil obligation, by which the harmony, and good order of fociety is fupported ; ^ infomuch, as that they fhould not fpeak evil of, or revile any man ; no, not an i?i^ feriour^ becaufe he was of different fenti- ments from themfelves; but on the con- trary, ^ that they (hould treat all men, with all meeknefs^ and gcntlenefs^ as what was abfolutely incumbent on every fmcere profefTor of chriftianity ; and then he goes on to fhew, that a contrary temper and condud: could only fuit with fuch a ftate of ignorance, and vice, from which the chriftian revelation had effedtually deliver- ed fuch of them, who were become fin- cere converts: ^ to which evil difpohtions, fuch as malice, envy, and hatred, many of them had been fubjcdl, (even himfelf alfo as a perfecutor) before they embraced =* Chsp. iii. '" Verfc 2. ^ Chap. iii. 3. chrifti- C 8 ] chriftianlty. He then adds, " that the great, and evident defign of chriftianlty, was, iiot only to recover mankind from fuch vices; but alfo to difcover to them, that every external diftinSiion is jnfigni- ficant, and ufelefs, and can no way re- commend men to the divine acceptance : but on the contrary that their being made heirs according to the hope of eternal life, thro' the mercy of God, depended on their being careful to maintain good works ; *' or as it is before exprcfs'd, on the'T being condu(fted by a gefitle^ and 77ieek temper towards all men. He then advifeth them, to avoid and rejed: all fooliih queftions, i. e. fuch as belong not to the chriftian fcheme, but are abfolucely repugnant lo it; and fuch were all thofe of thefe zealots^ which refped:ed only the yewijh traditions, pedigrees, and ceremo- nies ; the natural tendency of which, was to raife contentions and ftrifes, contrary to the known laws of natural religion, afid therefore could not but be fubverfive of the defigns of real and pure chriftia- nlty. Having thus pointed out thefe dan- gerous men in the church of Crete, and advifed T'itus how to guard agalnft them, he proceeds to fix a ftigma on fuch men, » Verfe 4, 5, 6, 7. "V cr. 8. under 't9] •under one Tingle, but general appellation, A MAN THAT IS AN HERETIC; q. d. ** a man, or any man in your church at ** Crete^ that deferves fuch a character, *' which I have fo largely defcribed, and *' given you rules to guard yourfelf, and " others againft ; admonifh iuch a man : ** but if a/ter a fecond earneft applica- " tion to him, he yet retains this wicked, " this hurtful difpofition, rejedt him as ** one unfit for chriftian focietyj and you ** may very fafely do it, becaufe fuch a " one is evidently an enemy to all that is " good, and cannot belong to God's fa- " mily in the relation of a child ; for he " profeffedly, and allowedly unreins every *' hurtful pafTion, and conducfls himfelf on *' the moft deftrudtive principles: thus he " finneth, as one thiac is born of God '** cannot fin, and is condemned of him- " felf." Nor can the apoftle conclude his epiflle but by keeping his eye fleady on this heretic, to which charad:er he had all along had a reference, for al- tho' one might have expe(fted, that he had clos'd his defign of advifing abouc thefe ^hurtful men j efpecially when he begins, as it were, his poflfcript, which is only a relation of whom he would fend to Crete^ in order to give 'Titus leave and opportunity to come and pay him a vific B at at Nicopolisy and a diredlion given TituSy whom he fliould bring along with hinmj " jufl as if St. Paul could not pronounce his 'valedicfion, 'till he had again returned to his fubjedt, he repeats the advice ; ^ and, let ours aljo learn to maintain good works. The conjunction copulative [and) can have no reference at all to the verfes immediately preceding, or the fubjedt of them, 'viz. dired;ions to ^itus about his journey J but as if thefe were only a pa- renthefis : in the mind of St. Paul^ we Ihall find that the mid had there a ftrong reference : q. d. " 'Titus if thou haft any *' refpedt for me, or would fee me with *' pleafure, fail not to attempt to fecure *' the grand end of this my letter to thee, *' viz. by exhorting fuch chriftians as are " in any danger of being deluded by thefe " heretics, that they learn to maintain ** good works, i. e. be conftant in the " exercife of an iindifiinguiJJded beneficence ** towards others, on all needful occafionsj " being merciful, as their Father in hea- ** yen is merciful j and not fufFering their ''■ good will to become limited, and con- *' fin*d to particular fentiments and par- *''ties; left the righteous judge of men ',[ fhpuld efteem them to belong to the I Chap, iii. 12, 13. ^Verfe 14. " unfruitful or unprofitable : the favour of " God be with you all. Amen." Having thus briefly trac'd and explained the defign of St. Paul in this epiftle, more immediately as it refpedled the charad:er under confideration, I Ihall in the next place more diftindtly delineate, or rather copy out the heretic from St. Paul's ori- ginal, Fir/I, By fliewing what are his falfe; and, fecondfyj what are his true and ge- nuine charadleriftics. Andj^r/?, for any one man to receive different ideas, or form different fentiments from another, upon any fpeculative princi- ple, is no part of the defcription of St. Paul's heretic : nor indeed can it be, be- caufe whatever propofiition is found, con- cerning which men may receive different ideas, or form different fentiments, that propofition has nothing in itfelf that can determine any one man faulty more than another J infomuch, as it will admit of fuch variety, among fincere and honefl enquirers after the true meaning of itj for fince men may differ upon a com- mon ratio, i. e. as having different degrees of flrength, and clearnefs in their intelli- gent faculties, and as having for the fub- je6t of enquiry, a propofition^ which in its QWa nature will admit of different appre- B 3 henfjoni henfions about it ; it hence follows, tba| that difference is occafion'd by, and confe- quently may be defended upon that com^ men ratio. For inftance, fix men having received fix different ideas of the nature of a propofition, if thefe fix w^ere careful in forming their fentiments, they are e- qually right j altho' none of them fhould happen to find out the true nature of the propofition. Or fuppoflng that fomp me of the fx fhould happen to have formed his fentiments fo as to quadrate exadly v/ith the truth of the propofition^ yet fince the propofition was capable ojf different ideas, and every one of the fix formed the befl fentiments they could about ir, the different and diflincft ideas of the erring five would be of equal value to them\ as his ideas" could be to him who happened right. Nor does fuch a pro- pofition leave the leafl: room for any one of xho, fix to condemn his differing com- panion for that his difference, it being the unavoidable confequence of his en- quiry : but each individual has equal au- thority to cenfure the fentiment that dif- fers from his own j becaufe number one, differs from 7mmber two , as much as number tivo, differs from number one, and fo of the reft. ht^ Let me add, that the confent of ten ihoujand to the truth of a propofition, don't determine any one Jingle dijj'enter to be an heretic, nor will a general Opinion, be any proof of the truth of a propofi- tion 5 numbers adding no weight to truth, for truth is but one, and is unalterable, and yet may be miftaken by ten thoufand, as well as by one individual. Neither, fecondly, can he be an bereiicy who diffents from the truth of any pro- pofition, altho' of the greateji importance in itfelf, and when rightly underftood ; if the man fo diffenting be of a benevolent temper, and condu