The Protestant religion truely stated and justified by the late Reverend Mr. Richard Baxter ; prepared for the press some time before his death ; whereunto is added, by way of preface, some account of the learned author, by Mr. Danel Williams and Mr. Matthew Sylvester.

The Four and Twentieth accused Point.

That God by his will and inevitable de∣cree, hath ordained from all Eternity, who shall be Damned and who Saved.

Ans. What a false Deceiver is this, that would make us believe, that this is proper to the Protestants, when it is the Common Doctrine not only of the Domi∣nicans, but of the very Jesuits themselves, and all their Church.

1. None of them dare say, that men are Damned or Saved without Gods fore∣knowledge, nor against his absolute will, by overcoming his Power.

2. None of them dare say, that this fore-knowledge of God was not from Eternity, but that he knew one day what he knew not before.

3. All that the Jesuits themselves say, is, that God decreed it upon this fore-knowledge, and that he hath a Scientia media, what will come to pass, positis qui∣busdam, if such and such things be done by man; and that this fore-knowledge in order of Nature is before the Decree, but both from Eternity. But Cardin Came∣racensis (Petrus de Aliaco,) hath irrefra∣gably confuted this imposing Priority and

Posteriority of act on God; tho' I think some Divine acts as denominated only Relatively from the order of Objects, may be so distinguished.

4. In all this, we say not, that God hath by his will and decree ordained from Eter∣nity, (or in time) that men shall sin, or will and choose Evil, but only who shall be Damned for sin, which God never willed or caused, but foresaw; not as if he were an idle Spectator, but a willing suspender of his own acts, so far as to leave Sinners to their self-determining wills.

5. But God being the cause of Good, and Men and Devils of Evil, our Salvation is of him, and our Destruction of our selves; and therefore God decreeth not Men's Salvation or Sanctification, meerly on foresight of our Faith, but decreeth our Faith it self: Sin he permitteth, but Faith, he effecteth, and decreeth to Effect.

6. As for them that feign that we say, that God decreeth that some shall be Saved and others Damned however they Live; it is but the dictates of the Father of Lies: We say that God at once decreeth the End, and the Means; as he doth not de∣cree that men shall live though they neither Eat nor Drink, nor that they shall have

Corn, though they neither Plow nor Sow, but that they shall Eat and Drink, and live thereby; and that they shall Plow and Sow, and mannure the Soil, and so have Corn.

So God doth at once decree, [that this and that man shall have the means of Grace, (especially a Saviour and the Gospel,) and shall faithfully use them, and be Sanctified by them, and sincerely obey God, and overcome the World, the Flesh and the Devil, and persevere to the End, and that for Christs Merits he will give them the Grace of his Spirit, and pardon their Sins, and bring them to Glory.]

All this is our Decree of God.

But he doth not decree that men shall sin, that they may be Damned: For sin is no Work of God, nor a means appointed by him for Men's Damnation, no more than a Righteous King doth make men Traytors or Murderers, that he may Hang them. But he justly denyeth his Grace to many that forfeit it by willful Resistance, Disobedience, and Contempt; though he take not the forfeiture of his Elect.

He is deceived and wrongeth God that maketh him the Author of Men's sin: And so doth he that feigneth God to send his Son to redeem the World, and his Word

and Ministers to call them, and his Spirit to renew them, and all this at Random, not knowing whether it may not be all lost, or leaving it chiefly to the Free-will of them, whose wills are contrarily inclined and vitiated? Whether Christ and all his Preparations shall be lost?

The plain Christian that holdeth but to these two points, that our Destruction is of our selves, but our help and Salvation of God, and that God is the first and chief cause of all good, and Men and Devils of all Evil, is liker to be wise with Sobriety and Safety, than the Ignorant Intruders into Gods Secrets, and the prating Calumnia∣tors that speak Evil of the things which they understand not; and reproach those that speak not as Rashly and Ignorantly as themselves, even in some equivocal unex∣plained words

Methinks Papists should be so kind to God, as seeing the Pope can tell who is a Damned Heretick, and to be kill'd, (even all that believe not in the Pope, or are not his Subjects,) and who is in Purgatory, and how long he shall stay there: Or how many years Torment the Pope can shor∣ten: They should allow God to know a little more, and that not as one whose Power and Grace is Conquered by im∣potent

Worms, against his absolute Will.