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St. PETER, to justify his Preaching to the Gentiles, concludes his Difcourfe with faying, (e) To JESUS give all the Prophets Witness, that thro' his Name, whosoever (That is, Jew or Gentile) believeth in him fhall receive Remiffion of Sins.

St. PAUL alfo endeavours to prove to the Jews, in the Synagogue of Antioch, (f) that the Hiftory of JESUS was contain'd in the Old Teftament, and that he and BARNABAS were commanded, in the Old Teftament, to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles.

On Occafion of a (g) Difpute among the Christians, whether the Gentile Converts were to be circumcifed after the Law of Moses, and to observe the other Parts of the Jewish Law; a Council of Apoftles and Elders was held at Jerufalem, wherein, after much difputing, and Speeches made by PETER, BARNABAS, and PAUL, JAMES concludes the Point from the Old Teftament, (citing Amos and MOSES;) from whence, in all Probability, all their Arguments were taken; the Things in Debate being fuch as had long before been Matters of Controverfy among the Jews in relation to their Profelytes of the Gate; fome Jews being fo narrow as to think Circumcifion and a strict Obfervance of all the Laws of MOSES neceffary in all, who pretended to be Profelytes to them; and others requiring a Conformity from Profelytes in fuch Matters only as fhould keep them at a Distance from all idolatrous Practices.

(e) Acts 10 43.

(f) Ib. 13.

(g) Ib. 15.)

And

And JAMES, fuitably to the latter more gentle Determination and common Practice of the Jews in relation to their Profelytes of the Gate, infers, that the Gentile Converts to Chriftianity, were to be bound by no other Laws of MOSES but those, which required the Abftinence from Pollution of Idols, and from Fornication, and from Things ftrangled, and from Blood; the Practice of thofe Things having too great a Connection with Heathen Idolatry, and rendering Men too impure for Society with Chriftians, who were now the Real and True Jews. Upon which the Affembly came to a Determination to that Effect, and order'd Letters to be written to notify the fame to all concern'd.

The Bereans are highly extoll'd for (b) fearching the Scriptures, That is, the Old Teftament, daily, in order to find out, whe ther the Things preach'd to them by the Apoftles were fo or no; who, if they had not proved thofe Things, That is, Chriftianity from the Old Teftament, ought to have been rejected by the Bereans, as Teachers of falfe Doctrine.

St. PAUL, when accufed before AGRIPPA by the Jews, faid, (i) I ftand and am judged for the Hope of the Promife made of God unto our Fathers; That is, for teaching Christianity or the true Doctrine of the Old Teftament; and to this Accufation he pleads Guilty, by declaring in the fullest Manner, that he taught

(b) Acts 17. 11. 19, &c. and 23, 29.

(i) Ib. 26. 6. See Ib. 25.

Nothing

Nothing but the Doctrine of the Old Testament. (k) Having, therefore, fays he, obtain'd help of God, I continue unto this Day, witnessing both to fmall and great, faying none other Things than thofe, which the Prophets and MOSES did fay fhould come; that CHRIST fhould fuffer, and that he should be the first, who should rife from the Dead, and fhould fhew Light unto the People and to the Gentiles.

St. PAUL fays, (1) JESUS rofe again the third Day, according to the Scriptures; That is, according to the Old Teftament; and he is fuppofed to ground This on the History of the Prophet JONAS, who was three Days in a Whale's Belly, and then came out.

But most divine is St. PAUL'S Argument in his Epistle to the Galatians, to prove Chriftianity to the Jews from the Old Testament. Tell me, fays he, ye that defire to be under the LAW, do not ye hear the Law? For it is written, that ABRAHAM had two Sons; the one by a Bond-maid, the other by a Free-woman. But be, who was of the Bond-woman, was born after the Flesh; but he, who was of the Freewoman, was by Promife. Which Things are an ALLEGORY; for thefe are the two Covenants; the one from the Mount Sinai, which gendereth to Bondage, which is Agar. But this Agar is Mount Sinai, in Arabia, and anfwereth to Jerufalem that now is, and is in Bondage with her Children. But Jerufalem, which is above, is free, which is the Mother of us all. For it is

(k) Acts 26. 22, 23. (7) 1 Cor. 15.4.

(m) Gal. 4. 21writtten,

written, (n) Rejoyce thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailleft not; for the defolate hath many more Children than the which hath an Husband. Now

we, Brethren, as ISAAC was, are the Children of the Promife. But as then he that was Born after the Flesh perfecuted him that was Born after the Spirit, even fo it is now. Neverthe

lefs, what fays the Scripture? (0) Caft out the Bond-woman and her Son, for the Son of the Bond-woman fhall not be Heir with the Son of the Free-woman. So then, Brethren, we are not Children of the Bond-woman, but of the Free. Stand faft, therefore, in the Liberty, wherewith CHRIST hath made us free, and be not intangled again with the Yoke of Bandage.

In fine, St. PAUL, throughout his Epiftles, reasons in the fame divine Manner from the Old Testament, which, according to him, (p) was able to make Men wife unto Salvation; afferting himself, and others, to be (q) Minifters of the New Teftament, as being Minifters not of the Letter, but of the Spirit, of the Law, That is, of the Old Teftament fpiritually understood; and endeavouring to prove, efpecially in his (r) Epiftle to the Hebrews, that Christianity was contain'd in the Old Teftament, and was imply'd in the Jewish History and Law, both which he makes Types and Shadows of Chriftianity.

(n) Ifa. 54. 1.

(0) Gen. 21. 10, 12. (p) 2 Tim, 3.15. (9) 2 Cor. 3. 6, 14. (r) Heb 8. 5. 10. 1. See alfo Col. 2. 16, 17.

The

The grand and fundamental Article of Chriftianity was, that JESUS of Nazareth was the MESSIAS of the Jews, predicted in the Old Teftament. And how could That appear, and be proved, but from the Old Testament?

In a Word, the Books of the Old Testament were the fole Canonical Scriptures, and the fole Scriptures during the Life of JESUS, and for near thirty Years after his Death, (tho' Christianity had by that time made a (s) mighty Progrefs;) and from them did the moft primitive Fathers, BARNABAS, POLICARP, CLEMENS ROMANUS, IGNATIUS, and JUSTIN MARTYR, as well as the Apostles and Authors of the Books of the New Teftament, declare and endeavour to prove Christianity to the World; with all whom the Church of England concurs in Sentiment, when she fays, that (ss) in the Old Teftament everlasting Life is offer'd to mankind by CHRIST.

III.

That the Old Teftament is the Canon of Chriftians.

IN

NDEED, to fpeak properly, the Old Teftament is yet the fole true Canon of Scripture (meaning thereby a Canon establish'd by thofe, who had a divine Authority to eftablish a Canon, and in Virtue thereof did efta

(s) Maffueti Annot. in Iræneum, p. 43, &c, (ss) Article the 7th.

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