An answere vnto a wicked & infamous libel made by Christopher Vitel, one of the chiefe English elders of the pretended Family of Loue maintaining their doctrine, & carpingly answeringe to certaine pointes of a boke called the displaing of the Fam. Aunswered by I. Rogers.

Answere.

[ 35] ALl errors, sectes, and coūterfaite righteousnes (as this man saith) come of this, that man will iudge the wor••es of the Lord with his naturall wisdome & lewdnes. Touching man, simply, which S. Paul calleth Amma∣lis homo, the ••leshly minded man, know∣eth not the things that are of God, yet it is also affirmed that no man can say Abba, Father, without the spirite of God. This man would perswade that there is now some secret teaching frō God by reuelation, which is proper to this Family, and therein they haue a speciall gifte, they litle regard the or∣dinary way and meane to attayne knowledge, and the true sence of the holy scripture.

It is not to be denyed, that almigh∣ty God hath taught his children by his holy spirite, in reuelations extraorde∣nary, but that now the sonne of God is

come into the world, e••en the wisdom of the Father with an vncouered face, shall we now in this light looke to be taught by reuelations or inspiratiōs? he hath by his wisdome established an ordinarye way of teachinge in his church, wherunto we must stand ob••∣dyent, except we will deny his ordy∣nance. Faith commeth by hearing of the word of God, If we haue faith, we shal not want other excellent vertues, she is neuer alone, but loue, chariti••, humilitie, patience, &c. waite vpō her as handmaydes. Hath not the Deuill deluded many which only depende on reuelations? And you which brag of your Author, which is (as he saye••h) taught frō god his own mouth, & hath hard y^• soūd of his voice. Thus misera∣bly are you car••ed away by illusiōs, & herin you deceiue your selues and ma∣ny others. Out of the wisdome of the flesh sprange all Christopher Vitelles ••rrors. Note I pray thee Reader, that this Libeller acknowledgeth to haue bin in him many errors, comprehen∣ded

in this word ••all) and anon•• thou shall finde him saying, he was in no error.

In deede the church of Christ hath felt to much expe••••ence of your heret••∣call head, fraught full of heresies, so that if any newer deuice should by Sa¦than [ 36] be stirred vp, you are as apte an instrument to broach the same, as any that I know in England. From no o∣ther mans bookes did this man sucke his errors? and were you in error thē? and by the same meanes, may you not still remayne in error? haue you any further priuiledge now then you had before? Of necessity you must sly vnto your perfection, that you cannot erre, nor sinne, there is no ether excuse to be had, here is a mistery. For you thinke it an absurde thing that your errors sp••ang from any other fountaine then the flesh of sinne. No bookes, no confe∣rence, were meanes to bring you to this ••rro••. Lo••ke well into your selfe, and you shall fi••de in ••ou now more errors and he•• esi••s then euer you held

heretofore. ••ou imagined your selfe cleansed, and your h••use swept, but now are s••uen morse spirites entered into you, as app••areth by your doctrin and you are become ten solde the child of destruction, more now th••n be••••r••. And except you repent, your ende will be far worse then your beginning.