Fides Catholica, or, The doctrine of the Catholick Church in eighteen grand ordinances referring to the Word, sacraments and prayer, in purity, number and nature, catholically maintained, and publickly taught against hereticks of all sorts : with the solutions of many proper and profitable questions sutable to to [sic] the nature of each ordinance treated of / by Wil. Annand ...

SECT. II.

To performe this in such a way as a Christian Brother can accept these necessary qualifications must go along with it.

• 1 Love and friendship, the faith of Christ can never be foundly taught in choler, nor received in rage, passion is no good teacher, nor will religion be rooted, in anger. It is but labour in vain to point out the way of heaven in heat of blood, to him that is in thy presence, he hath reason to sus∣pect that fury not zeale makes thee a teacher, and upon that flight the doctrine taught. Love like a small and thick shour can open the ground of the heart, and soften it whilest passion like great shoury drops, hardens it, and causes it only to become the more hard, whereby the thing taught slides off, and is not received into the bosome of him that is reached, and so becomes ineffectu∣al to his edification.
• 2 Humility and meeknesse. Let not him that is taught per∣ceive

• that thy end is to shew thy own excellency above his, that may marre thee in thy purpose: let him rather behold that thou desires he should see his own ignorance, which may make his soul to blesse thee; and his soul to be saved through thee.
• 3 Zeale and earnestnesse speake of God, of Christ, of the scripture, of judgment, and of eternal glory as to affect the hearts of them thou wouldest instruct, so as to burne again: if thou do it in a cold or carelesse way it will be heard after the some forme and manner.
• 4 Order and patience, we are not to suppose that what we teach, must be Immediatly got by heart, our teaching may but open a door to let in those instruction; of another which are to perswade to Godlinesse, we are therefore to have patience. Paul may plant grace, but not live to see it grow, a minister may plant, or water what another hath planted, and yet the fruits of that plant may be rea∣ped by another, have patience, then build thou orderly, and lay a good foundation, God perhaps hath ordained another to lay the roofe, and to furnish the building.
• 5 Truth and simplenesse. What men teacheth in points of faith ought to be the word of Christ, not their own inventions, and the word of Christ ought not be mixed with carnal ordi∣nances, but given purely and sincerly to the weak Christian that he may grow thereby, if otherwise, we teach not but pervert, we instruct not but deceive. This is done
  • 1 By discovering his errour from the word of Christ, we ought in this case to let men see the scriptures rather then our selves against his judgment, to undertake to reprove a man for his errour, when it is not reproved by the word of Christ, is but to procure to our selves a staine or a blot.
  • 2 To demonstrate the necessity of believing the thing taught from scripture, what we reach in matters of faith is to be man∣tained from scripture only, that being the meanes to be get faith and to nourish it, there is nothing to be taught as necessa••y for salvation, but what can be proved a duty f••om thence, and therefore presume not (if thou be wise) to do the contrary.