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finful. One is, when the Church requires of us, as a Condition of her Communion, an Acknowledgment and Profeffion of that for a Truth, which is an Error. The other is, when the Church requires of us, as a Condition of her Communion, the joining with her in fome Practices which are against the Laws of God. In thefe Two Cafes, to withdraw our Obedience to the Church, is fo far from being a Sin, that it is a neceffary Duty; because we have an Obligation to the Laws of God, antecedent to that we have to thofe of the Church; and we are bound to obey these no farther than they are confonant or agreeable to those.

But now from this Difcourfe it will appear, how infufficient those Causes, how unwarrantable those Grounds, are, upon which many among us have proceeded to Separation from our Church.

For, first, If what I have laid down be true, it cannot be true, that Unfcriptural Impofitions are a warrantable Caufe of Separation from a Church; fuppofing that by Unfcriptural, be meant no more than only what is neither Commanded nor Forbid in the Scriptures. For the Actions required by thefe Unfcriptural Impofitions, are either in themselves lawful to be done, or not lawful to be done. If they be in themselves unlawful to be done, then they do not fall under that Notion of Unfcriptural we here fpeak of; they are downright Sins, and fo either particularly, or in the general, forbid in the Scripture. If they be in themselves, lawful to be done, then it cannot be imagined.

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how their being commanded, can make them unlawful: So that in this Cafe, there is no Sin in yielding Obedience to the Church, and confequently, no Caufe of withdrawing our Communion from it.

Neither, Secondly, can it be true, that Errors in a Church as to Matter of Doctrines, or Corruptions as to Matter of Practice, fo long as thofe Errors and Corruptions are only fuffered, but not impofed, can be a fufficient Cause of Separation; the Reafon is,because these Things are not Sins in us, fo long as we do not join with the Church in them. So that fo long as we can Communicate with a Church, without either profeffing her Errors, or partaking in her finful Practices, as in the prefent Cafe it is fuppofed we may do; fo long we are bound, upon the Principle before laid down, not to Separate from her.

Neither, in the Third and laft Place, is the enjoying a more profitable Ministry, or living under a more pure Difcipline in a separate Con gregation, a just Cause of forfaking the Communion of the Church, of which we are Members: And the Reafon is, because we are not to commit a Sin for the promoting a good End. Now (as we have faid) it is a Sin to forfake the Communion of the Church, whereof we are Members, fo long as her Com munion is not finful: But the Enjoyment of a lefs profitable Miniftry, or a lefs pure Difcipline, doth not make her Communion finful; there fore the Enjoyment of a more pure Miniftry, or a more profitable Difcipline, cannot make a Se paration from her lánful. Thus

Thus have I, as briefly as I could, reprefented to you the Particulars of that Duty we owę to our common Mother, in the Prefervation of her Unity and Communion. And I hope I have not been so zealous for Peace, as to have been at all injurious to Truth.

I am confident,I have faid nothing but what is very agreeable to Scripture and Reason, and the Senfe of the Beft and Ancienteft Chriftians: And I am certain, I have not intrenched upon any of those Grounds upon which our Ancestors proceeded to the Reformation of Religion among us. And for most of the Things here delivered, we have also the Suffrage of several, and those the most learned and moderate, of our diffenting Brethren.

And now, if after this, any one be offended, as indeed thefe kind of Difcourfes are feldom very acceptable; all I can say, is this, That the Truths here delivered, are really of fo great Importance to Religion and the publick Peace, that they ought not to be dissembled or fuppreffed, for any bad Reception they may meet with from fome Men: But as for the manner of delivering them, I have taken all the Care I could, not to give Offence to any.

I now pafs on to the fecond Part of my Task upon this Head; which is, to confider the Duty recommended in the Text, with relation to particular Chriftians, our Brethren.

And here my Business is, to direct you to the Pursuit of thofe Things that make for Peace; as Peace fignifies mutual Love and Charity, in Opposition to Strife, and Bitterness, and Contentions.

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The Things that make for Peace, in this Senfe, are more especially these that follow, which I shall deliver by way of Rules and Advices.

The first Rule is, To diftinguifh carefully between Matters of Faith, and Matters of Opinion; and as to thefe latter, to be willing that every one should enjoy the Liberty of judging for himself.

This is one Thing that would help very much to the extinguishing of thofe unnatural Heats and Animofities, which have long been the Reproach of Chriftians. If Men would fet no greater Value upon their Notions and Opinions, than they do deferve; if they would make a Difference between neceffary Points, and those that are not fo; and in thofe Things that are not neceffary, would not rigorously tie up others to their Measures, but would allow every Man to abound in his own Senfe, fo long as the Church's Peace is not hereby injured, we should not have fo many bitter Quarrels and Heart-burnings among us. But alas! whilst every one will frame a System of Divinity of his own Head, and every puny Notion of that Syftem must be Chriften'd by the Name of an Article of Faith; and every Man that doth not believe juft as he doth, must ftreight be a Heretick for not doing fo: How can it be expected but we must wrangle eternally?

It were heartily to be wifhed, that Chriftians would confider, that the Articles of Faith, thofe Things that God hath made neceffary by every one to be believed, in order to his

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Salvation, are but very few; and they are all of them so plainly and clearly fet down in the Scripture, that it is impoffible for any fincere honeft-minded Man to miss of the true Sense of them. And they have farther this Badge, to diftinguish them from all other Truths, that they have an immediate Influence upon Mens Lives, a direct Tendency to make Men better; whereas moft of thofe Things that make the Matter of our Controverfies, and about which we make fuch a Noise and Clamour, and for which we fo bitterly cenfure and Anathematize one another, are quite of another Nature: They are neither fo clearly revealed or propounded in the Scripture, but that even good Men through the great Difference of their Parts, Learning and Education, may, after their beft Endeavours, vary in their Sentiments about them. Nor do they at all concern a Chriftian Life, but are Matters of pure Notion and Speculation. So that it cannot, with any Reafon, be pretended, that they are Points upon which Mens Salvation doth depend. It cannot be thought that God will be offended with any Man for his Ignorance or Miftakes concerning them. And, if not, if a Man may be a good Chriftian, and go to Heaven, whether he holds the right or the wrong Side in these Matters, for God's fake, why, fhould we be angry with any one for having other Opinions, about them than we have? Why should we not rather permit Men to use their Understandings as well as they can; and where they fail of the Truth, to bear with VOL. I C them,

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