A Display of Arminianism
CHAPTER 1.
OF THE TWO MAIN ENDS AIMED
AT BY THE ARMINIANS, BY THEIR INNOVATIONS
IN THE RECEIVED DOCTRINE OF THE REFORMED CHURCHES.
The soul of man, by reason of the corruption of nature, is not
only darkened (Ephesians 4:18; John 1:5; 1 Corinthians 2:14) with a mist of
ignorance, whereby he is disenabled for the comprehending of divine truth, but
is also armed with prejudice and opposition against some parts thereof,[i][i][1][ii][ii] which are either most above or most contrary
to some false principles which he hath framed unto himself. As a desire of
self-sufficiency was the first cause of this infirmity, so a conceit thereof is
that wherewith he still languisheth; nothing doth he more contend for than an
independency of any supreme power, which might either help, hinder, or control
him in his actions. This is that bitter root from whence have sprung all those
heresies[iii][iii][2][iv][iv] and wretched contentions which have troubled
the church, concerning the power of man in working his own happiness, and his
exemption from the over-ruling providence of Almighty God. All which wrangling
disputes of carnal reason against the word of God come at last to this head,
Whether the first, and chiefest part, in disposing of things in this world,
ought to be ascribed to God or man? Men for the most part have vindicated this
pre-eminence unto themselves,[v][v][3][vi][vi] by exclamations that so it must be, or else
that God is unjust, and his ways unequal. Never did any men, “postquam
Christiana gens esse caepit,” more eagerly endeavor the erecting of this Babel
than the Arminians, the modern blinded patrons of human self-sufficiency; all
whose innovations in the received doctrine of the reformed churches aim at and
tend to one of these two ends:—
FIRST, To exempt themselves from God’s jurisdiction,—to free
themselves from the supreme dominion of his all-ruling providence; not to live
and move in him, but to have an absolute independent power in all their
actions, so that the event of all things wherein they have any interest might
have a considerable relation to nothing but chance, contingency, and their own
wills;—a most nefarious, sacrilegious attempt! To this end,—
First, They deny the eternity
and unchangeableness of God’s decrees; for these being established, they fear
they should be kept within bounds from doing any thing but what his counsel
hath determined should be done. If the purposes of the Strength of Israel be
eternal and immutable, their idol free-will must be limited, their independency
prejudiced; wherefore they choose rather to affirm that his decrees are
temporary and changeable, yea, that he doth really change them according to the
several mutations he sees in us: which, how wild a conceit it is, how contrary
to the pure nature of God, how destructive to his attributes, I shall show in
the second chapter.
Secondly, They question the
prescience or foreknowledge of God; for if known unto God are all his works
from the beginning, if he certainly foreknew all things that shall hereafter
come to pass, it seems to cast an infallibility of event upon all their
actions, which encroaches upon the large territory of their new goddess,
contingency; nay, it would quite dethrone the queen of heaven, and induce a
kind of necessity of our doing all, and nothing but what God foreknows. Now,
that to deny this prescience is destructive to the very essence of the Deity,
and plain atheism, shall be declared, chapter the third.
Thirdly, They depose the
all-governing providence of this King of nations, denying its energetical,
effectual power, in turning the hearts, ruling the thoughts, determining the
wills, and disposing the actions of men, by granting nothing unto it but a
general power and influence, to be limited and used according to the
inclination and will of every particular agent; so making Almighty God a
desirer that many things were otherwise than they are, and an idle spectator of
most things that are done in the world: the falseness of which assertions shall
be proved, chapter the fourth.
Fourthly, They deny the
irresistibility and uncontrollable power of God’s will, affirming that
oftentimes he seriously willeth and in-tendeth what he cannot accomplish, and
so is deceived of his aim; nay, whereas he desireth, and really intendeth, to
save every man, it is wholly in their own power whether he shall save any one
or no; otherwise their idol free-will should have but a poor deity, if God
could, how and when he would, cross and resist him in his dominion. Concerning
this see chapter the fifth. “His gradibus itur in coelum.” Corrupted nature is
still ready, either nefariously, with Adam, to attempt to be like God, or to
think foolishly that he is altogether like unto us, Psalm 50; one of which
inconveniences all men run into, who have not learned to submit their frail
wills to the almighty will of God, and captivate their understandings to the
obedience of faith.[See chapter fifth.]
SECONDLY, The second end at which the new doctrine of the
Arminians aimeth is, to clear human nature from the heavy imputation of being
sinful, corrupted, wise to do evil but unable to do good; and so to vindicate
unto themselves a power and ability of doing all that good which God can justly
require to be done by them in the state wherein they are,—of making themselves
differ from others who will not make so good use of the endowments of their
natures; that so the first and chiefest part in the work of their salvation may
be ascribed unto themselves;—a proud Luciferian endeavor! To this end,—
First, They deny that doctrine
of predestination whereby God is affirmed to have chosen certain men before the
foundation of the world, that they should be holy, and obtain everlasting life
by the merit of Christ, to the praise of his glorious grace,—any such predestination
which may be the fountain and cause of grace or glory, determining the persons,
according to God’s good pleasure, on whom they shall be bestowed: for this
doctrine would make the special grace of God to be the sole cause of all the
good that is in the elect more than[in] the reprobates; would make faith the
work and gift of God, with divers other things, which would show their idol to
be nothing, of no value. Wherefore, what a corrupt heresy they have substituted
into the place hereof see chapter the sixth.
Secondly, They deny original sin
and its demerit; which being rightly understood, would easily demonstrate that,
notwithstanding all the labor of the smith, the carpenter, and the painter, yet
their idol is of its own nature but an unprofitable block; it will discover not
only the impotency of doing good which is in our nature, but show also whence
we have it: see chapter the seventh.
Thirdly, If ye will charge our
human nature with a repugnancy to the law of God, they will maintain that it
was also in Adam when he was first created, and so comes from God himself:
chapter the eighth.
Fourthly, They deny the efficacy
of the merit of the death of Christ;—both that God intended by his death to
redeem his church, or to acquire unto himself a holy people; as also, that
Christ by his death hath merited and procured for us grace, faith, or
righteousness, and power to obey God, in fulfilling the condition of the new
covenant. Nay, this were plainly to set up an ark to break their Dagon’s neck;
for, “what praise,” say they, “can be due to ourselves for believing, if the
blood of Christ hath procured God to bestow faith upon us?” “Increpet to Deus,
O Satan!” See chapters nine and ten.
Fifthly, If Christ will claim
such a share in saving of his people, of them that believe in him, they will
grant some to have salvation quite without him, that never heard so much as a
report of a Savior; and, indeed, in nothing do they advance their idol nearer
the throne of God than in this blasphemy: chapter eleven.
Sixthly, Having thus robbed God,
Christ, and his grace, they adorn their idol free-will with many glorious
properties no way due unto it: discussed, chapter twelve, where you shall find
how, “movet cornicula risum, furtivis nudata coloribus.”
Seventhly, They do not only
claim to their new-made deity a saving power, but also affirm that he is very
active and operative in the great work of saving our souls,—
First, In fitly preparing us for the grace of God, and so
disposing of ourselves that it becomes due unto us: chapter thirteen.
Secondly, In the
effectual working of our conversion together with it: chapter fourteen.
And so at length, with much toil
and labor, they have placed an altar for their idol in the holy temple, on the
right hand of the altar of God, and on it offer sacrifice to their own net and
drag; at least, “nec Deo, nec libero arbitrio, sed dividatur,”—not all to God,
nor all to free-will, but let the sacrifice of praise, for all good things, be
divided between them.
ENDNOTES:
[vii][vii][1] John 6:42, 7:52. “Natura sic apparet
vitiata ut hoc majoris vitii sit, non videre.”—Aug.
[viii][viii][2] Pelag. Semipelag. Scholastic.
[ix][ix][3] “In hac causa non judicant secundum
aequitatem, sed secundum affectum commodi sui.”—Luth, de Arbit. Serv.