[ 1306] How it is, that War there may and must be, in the Church of God, but not Contention.
IT is recorded of Meletius,* 1.1 and Peter Bishop of Alexandria, both Confessors of the Christian Faith, both Martyres designati, and condemned ad metalla for their Profession, who upon a very small difference, touching the receiving of the lapsi into Communion,* 1.2 fell unto so great a Schism, that they drew a partition between each other in prison, and would not hold Communion in the same wor∣ship of Christ, for which notwithstanding they joyntly suffered; which dissen∣••ion of theirs did the Church of God more hurt by causing a great rent and Sect among the Members thereof, then any persecution the Enemy could have raised: Now so it is, that War, there may and must be in the Church; War in a spiritual sence, War with Principalities and Powers, and spiritual Wickednesses: For the Church is Militant, and hath weapons of spiritual Warfare, given of purpose to resist Enemies,* 1.3 and a sword that Christ came to send against all dangerous Errors of mind or manners: But for all this, Contention and inward jars there must not be, and that for this very Reason, because there is War, open War with For∣reign and potent Adversaries,* 1.4 such as Satan, and all other Enemies of the Church are, who by the advantage of intestine Commotion, would save himself the la∣bour of drawing the sword, and become rather a Spectator, then a Party in the Conquest.* 1.5 Greatly therefore doth it concern every Man in his place, all Men in their several orders, to put to all their power, prayers, interests, for preser∣ving the Unity of the Spirit in the bond of Peace, that in nothing they give offence to the Church of God; but rather be willing to silence and smother their private ••udgments, to relinquish their particular liberties and interests, to question and distrust those domestica judicia, (as Tertullian calls them) their singular conceits and fancies,* 1.6 then to be in any such thing stiffe and peremptory against the quiet of the Church of God: The weak to be humbled and tractable; the strong to be meek & merciful; the Pastours to instruct the ignorant, to reclaim the wandring, to con∣vince the froward with the spirit of meeknesse and compassion. The People to obey, ho••our and encourage their Ministers by their docible and flexible dispo∣sition, to suspect their own judgment, to allow their Teachers to know more then they; not to hamper themselves, nor to censure their breathren, nor to trouble their Superiours by ungrounded scruples, or uncharitable prejudices, or unquiet, and in the end uncomfortable singularities; To take heed of strife, vain-glory, and pride in their own conceits, to have such humble judgments, as that they can be wil∣ling to learn any, though unwelcome Truth; to unlearn any, though darling Error; have such humble lives and purposes, as that they can resolve to obey with duty, whatsoever they are not able with reason to gainsay; And thus it is, that War may be in the Church, but not Contention and jarring.