An answer to Mr. Dodwell and Dr. Sherlocke, confuting an universal humane church-supremacy aristocratical and monarchical, as church-tyranny and popery : and defending Dr. Isaac Barrow's treatise against it by Richard Baxter ; preparatory to a fuller treatise against such an universal soveraignty as contrary to reason, Christianity, the Protestant profession, and the Church of England, though the corrupters usurp that title.

CHAP. III. The consequence of Mr. Dodwell's foresaid doctrine. (Book 3)

1. THOSE that live under the Popish Bishops in Italy, Spain, France, &c. must live in their communion, and under their command in all unsinful things.

2. The Protestant Churches that have not Episcopal Ordination, are no true Churches, and have no true Ministers or Sacraments, nor any Covenant-right to salvation.

3. The Protestant Churches are in the same unchurched damna∣ble case that have Bishops, if they have not an uninterrupted suc∣cession of such from the Apostles canonically ordained.

4. Therefore the Churches of Denmark, Germany, &c. that have Superintendents ordained at the Reformation by Bugenhagi∣us, Pomeranus a Presbyter, and all the rest whose succession was interrupted, are in the same case.

5. It is Schism, and rejecting Sacraments, and Covenant-right to salvation, in all the people that continue in such Protestant Chur∣ches, and communicate with them.

6. It is better for the Protestants in France to joyn with the Papists, than to live as they do without Sacraments or Church-communion.

7. Yet (by self contradiction) it will follow, that certainly the Church of Rome, and all that derive their ordination from that

Church, have no true Bishops, Ministers, Sacraments, Churches, nor Covenant-right to salvation; for it's certain their true succes∣sion hath been oft interrupted, 1. By such utterly uncapable per∣sons as all History describeth, and even Baronius calleth Apostaticos non Apostolicos; and such as divers General Councils judged Here∣ticks, Infidels, Simoniaks, &c. e g. Eugenius 4. who yet kept in. 2. By such whose false ordination the Canons expresly null. 3. By many Schisms, two or three Popes at once, of whom none can tell who had the right, or whether any. 4 By the Popes taking on him to be Christs Universal Vicar, an Office in specie usurpt, which he maketh his Episcopacy, and as such giveth his orders. And all his Presbyters have turned the true Ministry into the false one of Mass-Priests; and being no true Ministers, can give no true Sacraments by his rule.

8. Yea it is certain, that few, if any Churches on earth, can prove such an uninterrupted succession as he and the Papists de∣scribe, and most its known have no such thing.

9. Therefore if any have such a succession, they cannot know it, it being a thing that cannot be proved; and so cannot be sure that they are true Churches, &c.

10. For the certainty of any true Ministry, Church, Sacra∣ments and Salvation, dependeth on such knowledg of History as is not in the world: viz. To know that this Bishop and his Or∣dainer, and his Ordainer, and his Ordainer, and so up to the Apo∣stles, were every one true Bishops, and truly Ordained; which no mortal man can know.

11. Men that by a Prince, against even the Nullifying Canons, can but get possession of Patriarchal and Diocesan Churches, with∣out the Clergy or peoples choice, have thereby the power of damn∣ing men that fear God, at their pleasure. For, 1. they must pass for the Bishops of the place. 2. They may command any unsinful thing, and excommunicate him that doth not obey. 3. He is a Schismatick that suffers himself so to be Excommunicate, and so is in a damnable state. 4. He cannot hinder it, not knowing the thing to be unsinful.

12. For by this whoever will escape damnable schism, must be one that knoweth the unsinfulness (as he speaks) of all things in the world that are such, which a Prelate may command; or else he must do any thing which he judgeth sin, if a Prelate command it. But that is wicked Idolizing man.

13. And therefore by this rule, no man living can be saved that a Prelate hath a mind to damn; or from his damning impositions. For no man living knoweth the lawfulness of all lawful things, and therefore may take a commanded thing for sin that is not: and then if he wilfully do that which he judgeth sin, he rebelleth against God; if he do it not, the Prelate may excommunicate him, and unresistibly make him a damnable schismatick.

14. And hereby there are as many hundred new Articles of Faith made, as there are things lawful which a Prelate will com∣mand. For though all is not to be done that is to be believed, yet all must be believed to be lawful and duty which must be done as such: e. g. We cannot love God, worship him, hear and read his Word, &c. as by Divine obedience, unless we believe it to be our duty by a Divine command. Therefore when as Mr. Dodwell, Dr. Say∣well, and such others tell us what damning schism it is to disobey such commands of the Bishops, or to suffer our selves to be Ex∣communicate, it plainly includeth that it is as damning a sin to take any lawful thing to be a sin, and not to believe it to be lawful whatever the Bishop shall command. And so to how many hundred indifferent things may the Articles of our Faith be extended, while it is made ordinarily necessary to Salvation to do them, and there∣fore to believe them to be lawful?

15▪ By this he confoundeth Communion and Obedience: I may have communion with many Bishops whom I am not bound to obey: But I cannot hinder them from Excommunicating me without obeying them.

16. Yea, he maketh Communion and Salvation to lye not only on such obedience, but on such perfection of obedience as reacheth to every lawful indifferent thing. Whereas God himself under the Gospel accepteth of sincerity, instead of perfection which the Law required of perfect man.

17. This is the way to make Bishops absolute Lords of Kings and States, and all the world, if they can make them believe that on pain of damnation for schism, all must obey them even in every indifferent thing.

18. If you would ferret him out of his Burrough, ask Mr. Dod∣well, what if the Bishop of the place where I live contradict the Archbishop, or the Synod, or most of the Bishops in the land, which must I obey to escape damning schism? Doubtless he will allow me to disobey my Bishop. But what if the National Synod

gainsay the Provincial? He will say, I may disobey the Provinci∣al? But what if a Council of many Nations, called General, gainsay the National? and it be known that our National Church is gainsayed by the far greatest part of the Bishops in the world? which must I obey? If the National, why not a Provincial against them? And why are not they Schismaticks for disobeying a Ge∣neral Council? If it be the greater Council that I must obey, 1. What's become then of his doctrine of obeying the Episcopacy of the place where we live? 2. And then we are brought under a foreign Jurisdiction. 3. And who but the Pope must call that Ge∣neral Council, preside, approve, &c.? 4. And among all the er∣roneous and contradicting Councils called General, how shall all Christians know which of them to obey? We see whither all will come at last. But saith Bishop Bilson, To such Councils cal∣led General, we owe respect for concord, if they abuse us not by error or usurpation; but subjection and obedience we owe them none.

19. How hardly will these men ever resolve one's conscience which is to be taken for the Episcopacy of the place, when there are in the same place both different species of Bishops, and also di∣vers Bishops of the same species, and all pretending to be right. In Ireland both the Papist and Protestant Bishops pretend to just succession; and so they did in Bohemia, Poland, Transylvania, Hungary, &c. And doth salvation lye on mens knowledg who hath right?

20. And how contrary is it to the way of Christ, and the an∣cient Church (that made the Baptismal covenant the terms of sal∣vation) for men to make it necessary for every poor man and wo∣man that will have Covenant-right to salvation, and escape damn∣ing schism, to be able to decide the controversies between all such pretenders, and to know whether their Bishops be of a true spe∣cies, and have true Ordination, and to be such rare Historians as to know that all the line of Ordainers down from the Apostles to their Bishops, were truly ordained? O difficult terms!

21. Doth he not condemn all those Ancient and Modern Christians as Fautors o•• damning Doctrine, who thought that when there were none of the Clergy to do it, lay-men might bap∣tize and give the Lords Supper? Grotius told us his judgment for it in Dissertat. de Caenae administrat. ubi Pastores non sunt: And he hath vindicated Tertullian's judgment for it, confessed by Ri∣galtius. Anton. Govea tells us it was the case of the Christians of

Malabar, &c. called of St. Thomas, whose Bishops being all de∣stroyed, they caused a Deacon to administer the Eucharist, as the Bishops and Presbyters had done (which Grotius also repeat∣eth). Ionan. Antiochenus magnified by Socrates, lib. 6. cap. 3. when at Antioch there were two Churches, with two Bishops, Meletius and Paulinus, stuck to Meletius till he died, and af∣ter, for three years, would communicate with neither. Did he by this become a damned Schismatick, or lose his Covenant-right to salvation?

22. Many of old were chosen for Bishops before they were baptized (the cases of Ambrose, Nectarius, Synesius, &c. are known): If the Church thought them all to be in a state of damnation, for want of the Sacrament, it's strange that they would choose them to be their Bishops (though it was irregu∣lar).

Indeed it's true that Grotius saith (ibid. in fine), that Chry∣sostomes, Nazianzenes, and others cases tell us, that it was or∣dinary in the Greek-Church to delay baptizing even the children of the faithful, till at full years (about Twenty). Were they all that while without any promise of salvation, or ordinary hope?

23. What a task will it be for Mr. Dodwell to tell us what state the baptized are in till they receive the Lords Supper? Baptism saveth them once; but yet till they receive the Lords Supper by a Minister, in successive Episcopal Orders, they have no Covenant-title to salvation, by his way. But some Commu∣nicate not till Thirty years old, some not till One and Twenty, and in England scarce any before Sixteen. Are they all this while the children of God, or of the Devil? And when is it that their Christianity ceaseth for want of the other Sacrament? I believe that if they truly believe, they are Gods children be∣fore they come to the second Sacrament (or the third, as some call it.) Was Constantine Mag. in a state of damnation, who was not baptized till near his death? Or the good Emperour, Valentinian, who died unbaptiz••d, but taken by Ambrose for a blessed man? What absurdities are men fain to use, to get the Mastery of the Christian world, by making men believe that they can save or damn them by the power of Sacra∣ments?

24. And how is this man for Conformity, by which they subscribe assent to the certain salvation of Infants, so dying with∣out Confirmation; and ordain that the Lords Supper be not Ad∣ministred to any till they are ready to be Confirmed, by learn∣ing the Catechism, and recognizing the Covenant? &c.

25. Doth he not make the chief Bishops and Reformers of the Church of England, to be the promoters of the Doctrine which he accounteth so damnable, when Dr. Stillingfleet in his Irenicon recites the words of Cranmer, and others of them, at a Consultation, down-right against not only the necessity of his uninterrupted succ••ssion, but also even of Episcopal Ordination it self? And I have elsewhere cited about Fourteen of them, for the validity of Ordination without Bishops: And Dr. Stil∣lingfleet, Bishop Edw. Reignnolds, and many more, held that no Form of Government was of Divine determination. Did all these plead for damning Schism, against all title to salva∣tion?

26. And what could more directly contradict the main te∣nor of the Gospel, which tells us of the saving power of the Word Preached, how it converteth souls, and promiseth sal∣vation to all that truly believe and repent? Insomuch that Paul thanks God that he baptiz••d few of the Corinthians, because God sent him not to baptize, but to Preach the Gospel?

27. But his Doctrine feigneth, that God will damn them that truly believe, repent, love God, forsake sin, for want of the Sacrament: or else that the Word converteth none, but only Sacraments convert men.

28. And then it will follow, that none but unbelievers, impeni∣tent wicked men should be first admitted to the Sacrament; for if that only converteth, then it is only the unconverted that must first be received to it.

29 When all's done, he doth but contradict his end; for it's hard to find a National Episcopacy on earth, which imposeth no unlawful thing on Ministers or people: And with all such he speak∣eth not for our Communion.

30. Either Ordination, and Collation of Church-power, must be given by Superiors, or by Equals: if by Equals, why may not Presbyters make Presbyters? If by Superiors, then who shall give the Pope his Power? Or if you think any other be the highest, who makes them such? Who giveth the Archbishop of Canterbury his Power?

31. In short, as far as I can understand, these men deny all Covenant-right to salvation to all men living, and all true Sacra∣ments and Church-Communion, or at least, all knowledg of any such thing; seeing, as it is certain, that in most Churches such Ordination as they describe, hath not had an uninterrupted suc∣cession, so no man is sure that any one Church or man hath had such. And they that silence us for not subscribing, declaring and swearing obedience to our Diocesans, and other Ordinaries, are bold men, if they dare swear themselves, that they are true Bishops, and have any Authority to rule and command us, by an uninterrupted succession of a Canonical Episcopal Ordination down from the Apo∣stles.

But I have already in my Book of Concord, Part 3. Chap. 9. opened so many palpable, and pernicious absurdities, and ill con∣sequents of Mr. Dodwell's Doctrine, which he dare not undertake to answer, but s••ly passeth by, that I must expect the Reader will there peruse them, who will judg uprightly between him and me; and therefore will hear what both have said. And those that will judg falsly upon partial trust, to save themselves the labour of tryal, are out of the reach of ordinary means to be saved from deceivers.