The safegarde from ship-wracke, or Heauens hauen compiled by I.P. priest.

THE 31. ARTICLE. Of Baptisme and the Necessitie therof.

THE CATHOLICKE DOCTRINE.

Baptisme being heauenly ordayned, is of necessitie required as the meās vnto salua∣tion wherfor in case of necessitie and absen∣ce of the ordinary minister, the admini∣stratiō therof is permitted also to lay people.

SCRIPTVRE.

aVNlesse a man be borne againe of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdome of God.

bGoing therfore teach yee all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the son, and of the holy ghost.

cHe hath saued vs by the lauer of regeneration and renouation of the holy ghost.

FATHERS.

dTertullian anno 200. saith: [To conclude this mat∣ter their remaynes, that I speake of the obseruation

also of giuing and receauing baptisme, It is true the chief priest, which is the Bishope hath the power to giue Baptisme, afterwards the priest and Deacon, yet not without the authoritie of the Bishop, for the honour of the church; which being respected, peace is conserued, otherwyse also, lay people haue right and power.] Et infra: [Let it suffice to wit, that thou vse it in necessitie, as the condition of the pla∣ce, tyme, and person doth require, for then the ayde of the next at hand is accepted, when the circum∣stance of the daunger doth vrge. For he shalbe guil∣tie of a lost man, that doth omit to performe that which he might freely doe.]

eOrigen anno 230. saith. [Because by the Sacramēt of baptisme, the filthines of natiuitie is washed a way, therfore children are Baptized. For vnlesse a man be borne againe of water & the spirit he shall not enter into the kingdome of heauen.]

fS. Ambrose anno 380. saith: [vnlesse a man be borne againe of water and the holy ghost he cannot enter into the kingdome of God for as much as he excepteth none, no not an infant, not any, although preuented by necessitie: let them haue that secret freedome from paynes, but I know not whether they haue the honour of the kingdome.]

gS. Gelasius Pope anno 496. saith: [let not Deacōs presume to baptize without the Bishop or a priest, vnlesse they being farre absent; necessitie compell them; which also after tymes is graunted to lay Chri∣stians to do.]

hS. Hierome anno 380. saith: [neither priest nor Deacon without leaue of the Bishop hath licence to baptize, which often tymes wee know, not withstan∣ding is lavvfull for lay people.]

iS. Prosper anno 450 saith: [neither may wee thin∣ke those vvhich haue not the Sacrament of regene∣ration; to perteyn to any fellovvship of the bles∣sed.]

kS. Augustine anno 400. saith: [Blessed S. Cyprian not making any nevv decree, but keeping the firme faith of the church to correct those that thought an infant vvas not to be baptized before the eight day

of his natiuitie, sayd, that not the flesh, but the soule should perish, and also together with the rest his Bi∣shops, did iudge that the new borne, might presently and lawfullie be baptized.]

lAgaine: [doe not (saith he) belieue, doe not say, doe not teach that infantes before they are bapti∣zed, being preuented by death, can come to the pardon of originall sin, if thou wilt be a Catholic∣ke.]

mAgaine: whosoeuer shall say, that children which depart this life without participation of that Sacra∣ment, shall haue life in Christ, this mā certeinly doth condemne the whole church, when therfore they runne and make hast to haue children baptized, they belieue without all doubt, that otherwyse they can by no mens haue life in Christ.]

THE ADVERSARIE.

nCentury-vvriters saith: [that Origen, Tertullian, and Cyprian make mentiō, how that the baptized persons were accustomed to be signed with the signe of the crosse, with sundry other ceremonies in the vse the∣rof, as the priestes consecrating of the water of bap∣tisme, abrenuntiation triple immersion vnction &c.] See alsoo S. Cyprian himselfe where he saith: [It is ne∣cessarie that the water be first purified and sanctified by the priest]

pM Cartvvright saith, [that Augustine was of opi∣nion, that children could not be saued without bap∣tisme,] see M. Whitgiftes defence.

qAlso Bullinger and Musculus affirme [that Augustine and many fathers were of the same opinions,] In so much thatr Caluin confesseth saying; [the Fathers heere vpon doubted not, almost from the very be∣ginning of the church to vse the baptisme of lay persons in daunger of death.]

s Concerning chrisme or confirmation Caluin saith▪ [if any man will defend such manner inuentions by antiquitie, I am not ignorant how old the vse of

chrisme and breathing in baptisme is, and how that not longe after the Apostles, the supper of the Lord was taynted with rust.] Alsot Chemnitius reprehen∣deth S. Cyprian, The Laodicene Councell, Pope Melchta∣des, Cornelius and Tertullian, for the same;u Also the ministers of lincolne Diocesse, charge, Tertullian Cyprian and Ambrose, with errour of vsing the crosse, in confirming those that were baptized &c.

To concludex S. Austine saith: [The spirituall a∣noynting is the holy ghost himself whose Sacrament is in the visible anoynting.]

LVTHERS DOCTRINE.

Luther vpon these words:y vnlesse a man be borne againe of water and the spirit he cannot enter into the kingdome of God, saith. [wee will diligentlie obserue, chiefly against the blind Anabaptistes, who thinke the Baptisme of children to be vnprofitable and to no end, but how can such a manner of bap∣tisme be vnfrutfull, when as heere thou hearest, that our sauiour hath ordayned water vnto this end, that the holy ghost concurring with it, it doth worke vnto regeneration? Now if it be necessarie for chil∣dren to be regenerate, or otherwyse they cannot see the kingdome of God, why should wee deny them baptisme?]

Againe: [Is not this (saith he) a great gift and glo∣ry, that a woman also in tyme of necessitie may bap∣tize and say: I free thee from death, from the Diuell, sinne and all euill; I giue thee life eternall, I make thee of the son of the Diuell the son of God?]

All which haue nothing contrary to the former opinions or sentences, but in another place he saith.z [That children although sometyme they departe hence without baptisme yet if they be without their owne actuall fault they may be saued.

CALVINS DOCTRINE.

aCaluin saith: [To knovv this also, perteineth to the matter, that it is very ill done if priuate men v∣surp to themselues the administration of baptisme.] And a little after, [vvheras many ages since, yea almost from the verie beginning of the church, it vvas acustome, that in perill of death lay men might baptise, I doe not see by vvhat good argument it can be defended, yea the Fathers themselues vvho either held this custome or permitted it, could not tell vvhether it vvere vvell done or not.] Et infra. [Let there be daunger least he that is sic∣ke doe dye without baptisme, vvhat then shall he be depriued of the grace of regeneration? no such matter.]

[Againe what euill hath that article euilly expoun∣ded, brought in, that baptisme is of necessitie vnto saluation: few consider this and therfore they care the lesse for it▪ for when that opinion did increase or vvaxed in force, that all perished, that vvere not baptized, our state or condition became vvorse then that of the auncient people.]

Againe:b [The example of Sephora is vnhappily cyted: why? because it doth indiscretly draw vnto the imitation of that which a foolish woman did] Ibid. [this would I haue readers only to attend, that Sephora did purpose nothing els, but to proue the ministerie of God▪ shee seeing her son in daunger, crieth and maketh a noyse and with great wrath did cast the prepuce vnto the grovvnd: shee doth so reuile her husband that shee is angry vvith God. Fi∣nally it is manifest that all this proceeded from a simple vnderstanding, in that shee doth rayle at both God and her husband, being forced to shed the blood of her ovvne son, moreouer admit shee had behaued her self vvell in all other thinges, yet this rashnes is vnexcusable, because her husband being

present shee circumcised her son &c.] And he con∣cludeth in the same place saying: [vvher vpon it fol∣lovveth that the children of the faithfull are not therfore baptized, that they might then at that in∣stant become the sons of God, vvhich vvere before alienated from the church, but rather they are ther∣fore receaued into the church by a solemne signe, because through the benefit of the promise they did alreadie before perteyne vnto the body of Christ] here you see that Caluin vvill haue the children of the faithfull to be borne sanctified and Christians from their mothers vvombe, and not by Baptisme, agreeing herin most directly vvith the Pelagian he∣resie.

An old condemned Heresie.

This vvas the Pelegian heresie, vvhich taught, [that there vvas no originall sinne in the children of the faithfull, and that they did not therfore need the lauer of regeneration or Baptisme: but vvere borne holy from the vvombe] vvitnes S. Augustine.

Notes

• a

  Iohn. 1.••.
• b

  Matt. 28.19
• c

  Titus 3.••.
• d

  de Baptis∣mo cap. 7.
• e

  homil. 14. in Lucam
• f

  lib 2. de A∣brahamo cap 11.
• g

  ad Episco∣pos per Luca∣niam & Bru∣tios consti∣tutes cap 9.
• h

  Aduersus. Luciserianos cap. 4
• i

  lib. 2. cap. 20.
• k

  epist. 28. ad Hierony∣mam.
• l

  lib. 3. de O∣rig anunç. ca. ••.
• m

  epist. ed ••ieron.
• n

  Centur 3. c. ••. col. 125. lonc. 16. & col 28. l. 50. & col. 14••. l 4
• o

  S. cyprian. l. 1. epist vlt. ante med for Ceremonies. in Bapt. see Beza in epist. Theolog. e∣pist. 8.
• p

  Cartwright 522 516.
• q

  Bal. decad. 5 Serm 8. pa. 1049.
• r

  muse. Loc. comm. debap pag. ••08
• s

  Caluin. in∣stit. l 4 c. 15. sect. 20.
• cap. 17. sect. 4.
• t

  Chem exa∣men. part. 2. p. 58. 64. 65.
• u

  ministers. &c in their a beridgment &c. pag. 42.
• x

  tom. 9 in e∣pist. Ioan. tractat. 3.
• y

  in domesti∣ca postill••. Witemberge impressa. 15. 49. serm. 2 in de Trinit. su∣per Luang. Ioan. 3.
• z

  in _____ _____ oq. conuiualiby tit. de baptis∣mo.
• a

  lib. 4. instit. c. 15. ¶ 20.
• b

  ¶ 22.
• S. August. lib. 6. contra Iulianum cap. 2. & 3. & lib. ad Bonifacium cap, 2. & 4.