fore, although now accidentally they must be believed by all that know them, yet it is not necessary all should know them; and that all should know them in the same sense and interpretation, is neither probable nor obligatory: but, therefore, since these things are to be distinguished by some differences of necessary and not necessary, whether or no is not the declaration of Christ and his apostles, affixing salvation to the belief of some great comprehensive articles, and the act of the apostles, rendering them as explicit as they thought convenient, and consigning that creed made so explicit, as a tessera of a Christian, as a comprehension of the articles of his belief, as a sufficient disposition, and an express of the faith of a catechumen, in order to baptism, whether or no, I say, all this be not sufficient probation that these only are of absolute necessity, that this is sufficient for mere belief in order to heaven, and that therefore whosoever believes these articles heartily and explicitly, as St. John's expression is, 'God dwelleth in him,' I leave it to be considered and judged of from the premises: only this, if the old doctors had been made judges in these questions, they would have passed their affirmative; for to instance in one for all, of this it was said by Tertullian: "This symbol is the one sufficient, immovable, unalterable, and unchangeable rule of faith, that admits no increment or decrement; but if the integrity and unity of this be preserved, in all other things men may take a liberty of enlarging their knowledges and prophesyings, according as they are assisted by the grace of God."*

* "Regula quidem fidei una omnino est sola immobilis et irreformabilis, &c. Hâc lege fidei manente cætera jam disciplinæ et conversationis admittunt novitatem correctionis, operante scil. et proficiente usque in finem gratia Dei.”—Lib. de Veland. Virg.

25

SECTION II.

Of Heresy and the nature of it, and that it is to be accounted according to the strict capacity of Christian faith, and not in opinions speculative; nor ever to pious persons.

AND thus I have represented a short draught of the object of faith, and its foundation; the next consideration, in order to our main design, is to consider what was and what ought to be the judgment of the apostles concerning heresy; for although there are more kinds of vices than there are of virtues, yet the number of them is to be taken by accounting the transgressions of their virtues, and by the limits of faith; we may also reckon the analogy and proportions of heresy, that as we have seen who was called faithful by the apostolical men, we may also perceive who were listed by them in the catalogue of heretics, that we in our judgments may proceed accordingly.

And first, the word Heresy is used in Scripture indifferently-in a good sense for a sect or division of opinion, and men following it; or sometimes in a bad sense, for a false opinion signally condemned. But these kind of people were then called antichrists and false prophets more frequently than heretics, and then there were many of them in the world. But it is observable that no heresies are noted with distinct particularity in Scripture, but such as are great errors practical-such whose doctrines taught impiety, or such who denied the com

ing of Christ directly or by consequence, not remote or wiredrawn, but prime and immediate: and therefore, in the code De S. Trinitate et Fide Catholica, heresy is called " a wicked opinion and an ungodly doctrine."*

The first false doctrine we find condemned by the apostles, was the opinion of Simon Magus, who thought the Holy Ghost was to be bought with money. He thought very dishonourably to the blessed Spirit; but yet his followers are rather noted of a vice, neither resting in the understanding, nor derived from it, but wholly practical. It is simony, not heresy, though in Simon it was a false opinion, proceeding from a low account of God, and promoted by his own ends of pride and covetousness: the great heresy that troubled them was the doctrine of the necessity of keeping the law of Moses, the necessity of circumcision; against which doctrine they were therefore zealous, because it was a direct overthrow to the very end and excellency of Christ's coming. And this was an opinion most pertinaciously and obstinately maintained by the Jews, and had made a sect among the Galatians, and this was indeed wholly in opinion; and against it the apostles opposed two articles of the creed, which served at several times, according as the Jews changed their opinion, and left some degrees of their error: 'I believe in Jesus Christ, and I believe the holy catholic church;' for they therefore pressed the necessity of Moses's law, because they were unwilling to forego the glorious appellative of being God's own peculiar people; and that salvation was of the Jews, and that the rest of the world

were capable of that grace no otherwise but by adoption into their religion, and becoming proselytes. But this was so ill a doctrine, as that it overthrew the great benefits of Christ's coming; for 'if they were circumcised, Christ profited them nothing;' meaning this, that Christ will not be a Saviour to them who do not acknowledge him for their Lawgiver; and they neither confess him their Lawgiver nor their Saviour, that look to be justified by the law of Moses, and observation of legal rites; so that this doctrine was a direct enemy to the foundation, and therefore the apostles were so zealous against it. Now, then, that other opinion, which the apostles met at Jerusalem to resolve, was but a piece of that opinion; for the Jews and proselytes were drawn off from their lees and sediment by degrees, step by step. At first, they would not endure any should be saved but themselves and their proselytes. Being wrought off from this height by miracles, and preaching of the apostles, they admitted the Gentiles to a possibility of salvation, but yet so as to hope for it by Moses's law. From which foolery when they were with much ado dissuaded, and told that salvation was by faith in Christ, not by works of the law, yet they resolved to plough with an ox and an ass still, and join Moses with Christ; not as shadow and substance, but in an equal confederation; Christ should save the Gentiles if he was helped by Moses, but alone Christianity could not do it. Against this the apostles assembled at Jerusalem, and made a decision of the question, tying some of the Gentiles (such only who were blended by the Jews as fellow-countrymen) to observation of such rites which the Jews had derived by tradition from Noah, intending by

this to satisfy the Jews, as far as might be, with a reasonable compliance and condescension; the other Gentiles, who were unmixed, in the meanwhile remaining free, as appears in the liberty St. Paul gave the church of Corinth, of eating idol sacrifices, (expressly against the decree at Jerusalem,) so it were without scandal. And yet for all this care and curious discretion, a little of the leaven still remained: all this they thought did so concern the Gentiles, that it was totally impertinent to the Jews; still they had a distinction to satisfy the letter of the apostle's decree, and yet to persist in their old opinion; and this so continued, that fifteen Christian bishops, in succession, were circumcised, even until the destruction of Jerusalem, under Adrian, as Eusebius reports.*

First, by the way, let me observe, that never any matter of question in the Christian church was determined with greater solemnity, or more full authority of the church, than this question concerning circumcision: no less than the whole college of the apostles and elders at Jerusalem, and that with a decree of the highest sanction: 'It seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us.' Secondly, either the case of the Hebrews in particular was omitted, and no determination concerning them, whether it were necessary or lawful for them to be circumcised, or else it was involved in the decree, and intended to oblige the Jews. If it was omitted, since the question was concerning what was essential, (for 'I Paul say unto you, if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing,') it is very remarkable how the apostles, to gain the Jews, and to comply

Euseb. lib. iv. Eccles. Hist. c. 5.