DOCSLIB.ORG

What Is Monergistic Soteriology

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
What Is Monergistic Soteriology Theological Distinctives 3. Monergistic View of Salvation Summary Major Supporters: Roman Catholicism/Eastern To have a Monergistic View of Salvation is to Orthodoxy/Erasmus/Joseph Arminius /John believe that man’s salvation is accomplished by God Wesley/Charles Finney alone. The debate between Monergism and Synergism Monergism describes the position in Christian continues to this day with Monergism typically being theology of those who believe that God, through the Holy associated with Calvinism/Reformed theology and Spirit, works to effectively bring about the salvation of Synergism typically being associated with Arminianism. individuals without cooperation from them. The Hospital Analogy Olive Drive Church holds to this position. To help understand the difference between synergism and monergism, think of two types of people in a A Brief History of Monergism vs. Synergism hospital. Historically, there have been two major views on the First, hospitals have really sick people. roles God and man play in bringing about the salvation Their sickness is killing them, and they need help. So the of man:1 doctor prescribes them a remedy and they in turn cooperate with the doctor by agreeing to the take the Monergism prescription. Because of the power of the doctor’s Salvation is accomplished by God alone without remedy coupled with the patient’s cooperation, the cooperation from man patient is healed and can leave the hospital with a renewed lease on life. Monergism is the idea that because of the depth of our sin, we are unable to come to Christ on our own Second, hospitals have morgues full of dead people. without an initial work of God in which He imparts No matter what the specific problem was that they faced, spiritual life to us. Therefore, the new spiritual life the result was the same. They are all dead. If a doctor (i.e. our salvation) is entirely the work of God apart were to walk into the morgue and prescribe a remedy to from anything we do.2 help the dead person it would not work. Why? Because no matter how powerful the remedy, the dead person Major Supporters: Augustine/Martin Luther/John could not take it. They are dead, and dead people can’t Calvin/Jonathan Edwards/C.H. Spurgeon do anything, let alone do anything willingly. The only way a dead person is to find life again is if somebody Synergism miraculously gives the person a new life. Salvation is accomplished by a cooperation between God and man This is an analogy of the essence of the debate between synergism and monergism. Both views believe that our Synergism is the idea that God gives us spiritual life sin is a serious problem that we cannot fix on our own, if we first choose, by a free act of our will, to exercise and if left unchecked, will leave us dead. However, there faith in the Gospel. Salvation is the result of a is a major difference between the two views, and it cooperation between God (who offers the Gospel), centers around a pivotal question: and man (who in turn freely chooses to place his faith in the Gospel). How deep does our sin go? On the one hand, if our sin has left us really sick, and we simply need to take a prescription to help us with the 1 A third view, supported by Pelagian, was “Human Monergism” where problem, then it is conceivable that in the same way we man alone works his own salvation. Almost universally, this view has would need to cooperate with a doctor’s prescription, we been rejected by orthodox Christianity since the early 5th century. would need to cooperate with God to take the remedy He 2 Typically, monergism is associated with regeneration. While the has prescribed in the Gospel. On the other hand, if we nuances of what is meant by regeneration are outside the scope of this believe we are utterly dead in our sin, then just like a brief position paper, it should be noted that whether regeneration person in the morgue, we are left with no hope but for precedes faith (A.W. Strong), or whether faith is viewed as the result of the effectual calling of the Holy Spirit and precedes regeneration God to be the one that gives us a new life. The spiritually (Millard Erickson), both views support a belief in monergistic dead person can do no more to restore themselves to regeneration (i.e. the new birth is entirely the work of the sovereign spiritual life than the physically dead person can do to God) since in both views faith is the result of the initial and irresistible restore themselves to physical life. work of the Holy Spirit. Cf. Demarest, pg. 289-91. Page 1 of 4 Why Monergism is the Preferred View Without monergism, then we must say that not only does God get credit for contributing to our salvation, There are several reasons why monergism is the but at some level we must get credit as well. Even a preferred view. Here are five key reasons: tiny bit of sharing the credit with God robs Him of glory He rightfully deserves.4 1. Monergism is the only way man can be saved if he is truly “dead” in his sin. 3. Monergism has overwhelming Biblical support. As noted in the analogy above, if man is totally Monergism can be seen virtually throughout the depraved in his sin, then he would be incapable of Bible including examples from the Old Testament doing anything to save himself. This means even his and the New Testament.5 In particular, monergism is faith in the Gospel is only made possible by God’s found throughout the writings of Paul and John life giving work in him. where they make several direct statements about the concept that man’s salvation is the work of God The Bible describes us as being “enslaved” to our sin alone. (Rom. 6:5-6; 16-20; John 8:34), blinded by our sin and incapable of “seeing or hearing” the Gospel 4. Monergism has been supported historically in the unless God opens our eyes and our ears first (Mark church as the best way to interpret what the Bible 8:22-26), and ultimately “dead” in our sin (Eph. 2:1). says about God and man’s roles in accomplishing In understanding the depth of man’s sin, Chuck man’s salvation. Swindoll rightly concludes: The list of people who have supported monergism in “Salvation is God’s work… and God’s work the history of the church is substantial, and therefore alone. We can’t do enough good deeds, make the doctrine of monergism is not something that is enough sound decisions, or muster enough new, or something that is only for one fringe group determination to earn eternal life.”3 within the larger Christian community.6 Instead, people from various theological backgrounds have All of these images of the depth of man’s sin, along historically defended monergism as the only with numerous other places throughout the explanation for what the Bible says about God’s role Scriptures, suggest that our sin is so deep, and we in man’s salvation. are so hopelessly enslaved to it, blinded by it, and dead in it that we will not do anything good unless 5. Monergism makes Jesus’ work on the cross God first sets us free, opens our eyes, and gives us completely necessary and therefore truly merciful. new life. The essence of Paul’s argument for monergism can 2. Monergism gives to God the credit and glory He be seen in passages like Galatians 2:22 where he rightfully deserves. essentially says that if Paul is responsible for anything in terms of his salvation (i.e. synergism), If our sin runs so deep that we are incapable of doing then that would mean that Jesus really didn’t need anything good, and God is the sole contributor to our to go to the cross for him. Jesus might have salvation and the only one who gives us life, then accomplished quite a bit on the cross, but He didn’t anything good or loving that we do must be because accomplish everything on the cross. And if Jesus of God alone. didn’t accomplish everything on the cross, then He essentially died for nothing. The Biblical support for this understanding of the supremacy and centrality of God’s glory is Monergism makes Jesus’ work on the cross overwhelming. One of the best examples of how this completely necessary because without it, we have no idea was understood practically was in the life of hope but are instead destined to rightfully receive Paul. He could have been a famous superstar during God’s wrathful justice in response to our sin. his day because of the amount of work he did in helping to establish churches throughout the Roman 4 There are some who argue that synergism can still give God all the Empire. Instead, Paul refused to ever accept any glory, however the point is usually made about our spiritual growth, not credit for anything good that was done through him. our role in our salvation. For more on the role of synergism in our relationship with God, see the section below. He understood the depth of his sin, and the sheer mercy God had given him in the Gospel. And rather 5 Cf. especially passages like Deuteronomy 30:6; Ezekiel 36:27; John than taking credit, Paul instead always opted to 1:3; 3:5-8; 6:44; 6:65; Ephesians 2:4-5; Galatians 2:20-21; 1 credit God for everything.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Reader's Guide
    T H E H UMILITY T O R E A D I am one person in one place at one time. My experiences and perceptions are limited and Introducing the colored by the environment in which I live. ESV Study Bible Therefore, it would be profoundly arrogant of me to think that I can best grow in the knowl- 20,000 Notes edge of God through Scripture by myself. 40 Illustrations A Monergism Books Certainly the Holy Spirit is graciously given to 50 Articles all God’s children to enable us to comprehend and be conformed to the truths of the Bible. 200 Full-Color Maps READER’S GUIDE Nevertheless, one of the primary means of The ESV Study Bible for the Christian Life grace God uses in the process of our transfor- was created to help mation is the universal-historical community of people understand believers. Within that community, God gra- the Bible in a ciously provides leaders of few and leaders of deeper way—to understand the timeless many to equip the saints for the work of minis- truth of God’s Word as a powerful, com- try. pelling, life-changing reality. To accom- It is a humbling thing for me to read a book. plish this, the ESV Study Bible combines Most books take at least several hours of com- the best and most recent evangelical bined time to process, and I have to forsake Christian scholarship with the highly other distractions in order to focus and benefit regarded ESV Bible text. The result is the from what I am reading.
    [Show full text]
  • The Two Resurrections
    1 The Two Resurrections: John 5:19-29 and Revelation 20:4-6 By Aaron Orendorff The interpretive history of Revelation 20 is a virtual battleground for hermeneutical, theological and eschatological agendas.1 Due in part to the Icarian rise of dispensational theology in post-war years of the early 20th century, no other single passage of Scripture has received as much hotly contested evangelical attention as the first ten verses of this apocalyptic chapter. The various interpretive debates, even at a popular level, present a compelling argument in favor of postmodernism’s wholesale abandonment of recoverable meaning. Yet despite these stifling, nearly overwhelming discouragements, eschatology – the “systematic study of eventualities” as J. Oliver Buswell defines it2 – is far from a mere peripheral disciple in the world of Christian theology. On the contrary, as Anthony Hoekema has written, “Eschatology must not be thought of as something which is found only in, say, such Bible books as Daniel and Revelation, but as dominating and permeating the entire message of the Bible.”3 “From first to last,” Moltmann declared, “and not merely in the epilogue, Christianity is eschatology, is hope, forward looking and forward moving, and therefore also revolutionizing and transforming the present…It is the medium of the Christian faith…the key in which everything in it is set.”4 In light, therefore, of both the difficulties inherent and the necessities at stake, rather than trying to assess this embroiled chapter in its totality, particularly as it pertains to the all too often centralizing question regarding the millennium, my approach will be to address one issue – the nature of the two resurrections in v.
    [Show full text]
  • Annihilationism
    Annihilationism Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield Reprinted from "The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge," edited by Samuel Macauley Jackson, D.D., LL.D., i. pp. 183-186 (copyright by Funk and Wagnalls Company, New York, 1908). I. DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION OF THEORIES A term designating broadly a large body of theories which unite in contending that human beings pass, or are put, out of existence altogether. These theories fall logically into three classes, according as they hold that all souls, being mortal, actually cease to exist at death; or that, souls being naturally mortal, only those persist in life to which immortality is given by God; or that, though souls are naturally immortal and persist in existence unless destroyed by a force working upon them from without, wicked souls are actually thus destroyed. These three classes of theories may be conveniently called respectively, (1) pure mortalism, (2) conditional immortality, and (3) annihilationism proper. II. PURE MORTALISM The common contention of the theories which form the first of these classes is that human life is bound up with the organism, and that therefore the entire man passes out of being with the dissolution of the organism. The usual basis of this contention is either materialistic or pantheistic or at least pantheizing (e.g. realistic); the soul being conceived in the former case as but a function of organized matter and necessarily ceasing to exist with the dissolution of the organism, in the latter case as but the individualized manifestation of a much more extensive entity, back into which it sinks with the dissolution of the organism in connection with which the individualization takes place.
    [Show full text]
  • Monergism Vs. Synergism – Part 1 Augustinianism, Pelagianism, and Semi-Pelagianism by John Brian Mckillop
    Monergism vs. Synergism – Part 1 Augustinianism, Pelagianism, and Semi-Pelagianism by John Brian McKillop http://bit.ly/d24EHD In 1914, B.B. Warfield gave a series of lectures at Princeton. The lectures were later compiled into a book; The Plan of Salvation. In the section titled Autosoterism, Warfield states: There are fundamentally only two doctrines of salvation: that salvation is from God, and that salvation is from ourselves. The former is the doctrine of common Christianity; the latter is the doctrine of universal heathenism. 1 These two doctrines of salvation are known as Monergism and Synergism. In this article, I will attempt to define and illustrate each view; in a subsequent article, I will look at the Apostle John’s affirmation of Monergism in his Gospel. In a third article, I will present an edited transcript of a sermon that I preached on the topic; in a fourth article, I will look at each views inherent implications to the Great Commission. Definitions Theopedia defines Monergism as “the belief that the Holy Spirit is the only agent who effects the regeneration of Christians 2”; and defines Synergism as “essentially the view that God and humanity work together, each contributing their part to accomplish salvation in and for the individual 3.” Got Questions Ministries (in an article titled Monergism vs. synergism – which view is correct?) provides a similar definition of both terms: Monergism, which comes from a compound word in Greek that means “to work alone,” is the view that God alone effects our salvation. Synergism, which also comes from a compound Greek word meaning “to work together,” is the view that God works together with us in effecting salvation.
    [Show full text]
  • The Plan of Salvation
    Copyright ©Monergism Books The Plan of Salvation by Charles Hodge Table of Contents 1. God Has Such a Plan 2. Supralapsarianism 3. Infralapsarianism 4. "Hypothetical Redemption." 5. The Lutheran Doctrine as to the Plan of Salvation 6. The Remonstrant Doctrine 7. Wesleyan Arminianism 8. The Augustinian Scheme 9. Objections to the Augustinian Scheme 1. God has such a Plan The Scriptures speak of an Economy of Redemption; the plan or purpose of God in relation to the salvation of men. They call it in reference to its full revelation at the time of the advent, the οἰκονομία τοῦ πληρώματος τῶν καιρῶν, "The economy of the fulness of times." It is declared to be the plan of God in relation to his gathering into one harmonious body, all the objects of redemption, whether in heaven or earth, in Christ. Eph. 1:10. It is also called the οἰκονομία τοῦ μυστηρίου, the mysterious purpose or plan which had been hidden for ages in God, which it was the great design of the gospel to reveal, and which was intended to make known to principalities and powers, by the Church, the manifold wisdom of God. Eph. 3:9. A plan supposes: (1.) The selection of some definite end or object to be accomplished. (2.) The choice of appropriate means. (3.) At least in the case of God, the effectual application and control of those means to the accomplishment of the contemplated end. As God works on a definite plan in the external world, it is fair to infer that the same is true in reference to the moral and spiritual world.
    [Show full text]
  • THE COVENANT of the SEVENTIETH WEEK by MEREDITH G. KLINE from the Law and the Prophets: Old Testament Studies in Honor of Oswald T
    T he Covenant of the Seventieth Week, Kline | 1 THE COVENANT OF THE SEVENTIETH WEEK By MEREDITH G. KLINE from The Law and the Prophets: Old Testament Studies in Honor of Oswald T. Allis. ed. by J.H. Skilton. [Nutley, NJ]: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1974, pp. 452-469. In quick succession in the early forties, O. T. Allis published two major studies. In the first, he took up the cudgels against the modern critical assault on the Pentateuch; in the second, he dealt with a problem besetting the church from quite a different quarter. Like The Five Books of Moses (1943), Prophecy and the Church (1945) was a masterful critique. In part, surely, as a result of Allis's expose, dispensationalism does not seem to be quite as influential a movement in conservative churches as it was a generation or so ago. But the interpretation of Old Testament prophecies involved in the assessment of this evangelical heresy is as important and timely today as Allis found it to be then. By way of tribute to Dr. Allis I would turn to this second area of his publication interests, offering a study of the seventy weeks prophecy in Daniel 9, a passage which plays a dominant role in dispensationalism's futuristic charting. [1] Attention will focus particularly on the covenant mentioned in Daniel 9:27, for a proper understanding of this covenant speaks decisively against the peculiar concept of the "Great Tribulation" which dispensationalism derives from this verse and with which dispensationalism's identity is inseparably conjoined. The Unity of Daniel 9 If satisfactory results are to be achieved in the interpretation of the seventy weeks of Daniel 9, we will have to keep in mind that there is the closest relationship between Gabriel's prophecy (vss.
    [Show full text]
  • Loraine Boettner the TRINITY 1. Introduction in This Chapter We Shall
    Loraine Boettner THE TRINITY 1. Introduction In this chapter we shall attempt to set forth in as clear language as possible the basic truths which the Church holds concerning the doctrine of the Trinity. We shall first present the Scripture evidence on which the doctrine rests and then we shall present the credal statements and formulations that have been set forth by church councils and by individual thinkers as they have applied themselves to the interpretation of that evidence through the two thousand years of the Christian era. The doctrine of the Trinity is perhaps the most mysterious and difficult doctrine that is presented to us in the entire range of Scripture. Consequently we do not presume to give a full explanation of it. In the nature of the case we can know only as much concerning the inner nature of the Godhead as has been revealed to us in the Scriptures. The tri-personality of God is exclusively a truth of revelation, and one which lies outside the realm of natural reason. Its height and depth and length and breadth are immeasurable by reason of the fact that the finite is dealing with the Infinite. As well might we expect to confine the ocean within a tea-cup as to place a full explanation of the nature of God within the limits of our feeble human minds. It is not our purpose to engage in metaphysical subtleties, nor to speculate on the implications which may be drawn from this doctrine. We do hope, however, that under the guidance of the Holy Spirit we shall be enabled to set forth in a plain simple way, yet as fully as the limitations of our finite minds and language will permit, the truth concerning it, and to guard it against the errors and heresies which have prevailed at one time or another in the history of the Church.
    [Show full text]
  • THE MERCIES of GOD: Regeneration
    Men of the Word 11/13/2019 Brad Klassen THE MERCIES OF GOD: Regeneration “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” — 2 Corinthians 5:17 Introduction Even in a culture increasingly hostile to Christianity, the label “born again Christian” remains popular. According to a 2017 LifeWay Research poll, 29% of Americans self-identify as “born again.” At the same time, less than half of those who identify as “born again” strongly agree with core evangelical beliefs. Naturally, everything rests on how the phrase “born again” is defined. For the most part, the label is used in the broader culture—and even by many in the church—to refer to something quite human in nature. “Born again” for many simply refers to one who has made some kind of “personal commitment” to Jesus Christ that has impacted his or her life in some way. Consequently, it is a definition bereft of any recognition of the sinner’s spiritual helplessness and God’s sovereign and unconditional intervention. It is quite at odds with what the Bible teaches about the regeneration. According to Scripture, God’s work of regeneration is His response to the reality of total depravity. The two doctrines stand face-to-face. Total depravity describes the state of the sinner as thoroughly tarnished by sin and completely incapable of pleasing God in thoughts, attitudes, affections, or deeds. He is at enmity with God, and according to the court of purest justice, he is only worthy of eternal wrath (Jer 17:9; Eph 2:1-3; Rom 3:9-18).
    [Show full text]
  • Kohl Triune God.Indd 45 2/17/14 4:15 PM Kevin Deyoung
    5.375 × 8.5 SPINE: 0.7 FLAPS: 0 One God. Three persons. Our triune God. While the workings of the Trinity challenge our understanding, Bible-believing Christians cannot let themselves downplay the Trinity or ignore it. We fi nd the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each present throughout the pages of Scripture—and each God The Triune equally deserving of our love and reverence. This book, while not attempting to defi ne or explain the Trinity, dedicates equal space to examining the qualities and roles of each member as we fi nd them in the Bible, to help us grow in our knowledge and understanding. To do so, the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals has gathered essays from leading pastors and preachers on: GOD THE FATHER Bryan Chapell The Greatness of God • The Love of God Richard D. Phillips The Holiness of God • The Wrath of God Kevin DeYoung The Truth of God GOD THE SON D. A. Carson The Glory of the Son • Our Risen Savior Joel R. Beeke The Incarnate Word • The Cross of Christ Iain M. Duguid The Life and Ministry of Jesus GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT D. A. Carson Streams of Living Water Michael S. Horton The Age of the Spirit The Triune God Philip Graham Ryken Born of the Spirit Hywel Jones Life in the Spirit R. C. Sproul Holy Spirit, Counselor JOEL R. BEEKE These addresses will make us more familiar with each person of the Trinity and D. A. CARSON will show us how to rightly respond to each one. The more we know how to relate to BRYAN CHAPELL the Trinity, the more we can enrich our love for our triune God.
    [Show full text]
  • Truth's Victory Over Error
    Truth's Victory Over Error Commentary on the Westminster Confession by David Dickson Table of Contents CHAP I.: Of the Holy Scriptures CHAP. II. Of God, and of the Holy Trinity CHAP. III. Of the God's Eternal Decrees CHAP. IV. Of Creation CHAP. V. Of Providence CHAP. VI. Concerning the Fall of Man, of Sin... CHAP. VII. Of God's Covenant with Man CHAP. VIII. Of Christ the Mediator CHAP. IX. Of Free-Will CHAP. X. Of Effectual Calling CHAP. XI. Of Justification CHAP. XII. Of Adoption CHAP. XIII. Of Sanctification CHAP. XIV. Of Saving Faith CHAP. XV. Of Repentance CHAP. XVI. Of Good Works CHAP. XVII. Of the Perseverance of the Saints CHAP. XVIII Of Assurance of Grace & Salvation CHAP. XIX. Of the Law of God CHAP. XX. Of Christian Liberty CHAP. XXI. Of Religious Worship, & the Sabbath Day CHAP. XXII. Of Lawful Oaths and Vows CHAP. XXIII. Of the Civil Magistrate. CHAP. XXIIII. Of Marriage and Divorce. CHAP. XXV. Of the Church. CHAP. XXVI. Of the Communion of Saints. CHAP. XXVII. Of the Sacraments. CHAP. XXVIII. Of Baptism. CHAP. XXIX. Of the Lord's Supper. CHAP XXX. Of Church Censures. CHAP. XXXI. Of Synods and Councils CHAP. XXXII. Of the State of Man After Death, And the Resurrection of the Dead CHAP. XXXIII. Of the Last Judgement. List Of Heresies Of the Holy Scriptures QUESTION I. "IS the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence, sufficient to give that knowledge of God, and of his will, which is necessary to salvation?" No; 1 Cor.
    [Show full text]
  • THE STORY of MARTIN LUTHER the Reformation and the Life of Martin Luther Part Two Pastor Charles R
    THE STORY OF MARTIN LUTHER The Reformation and the Life of Martin Luther Part Two Pastor Charles R. Biggs The Bible in German After Luther’s bold stand for the Word of God at Worms, he would continue to be influential in the translation of the Scriptures into the common German tongue. In 1521, Luther wore a coat of mail, disguising himself as a knight named “Knight George”, and lived peacefully and constructively as a professor at the Wartburg Castle in Eisenach Germany as part of the beautiful Thuringian forest. On Luther’s return to Saxony from Worms, he was suddenly and unexpectantly overwhelmed by a group of horsemen, who took Luther safely to the Castle Wartburg. Elector Frederick had sent his men to apprehend Luther and place him in hiding, fearing that the Pope would find him first and put him to death. Frederick did not want to lose the great Reformer and professor of Theology at his Wittenberg University. At Wartburg, Luther struggled with his own flesh, the very devil of hell, and through great anguish of spirit and weakness in ability translated the Bible into the common German tongue so that all could read it for themselves and find the hope of salvation in Christ. Luther’s reformation was not merely theoretically a stand for scripture alone, but he believed that the people needed the scriptures to read for themselves and so be saved. Later in his life, Luther remembered the year 1521 as the most useful year of his life. Dr. Luther, although weak intellectually and theologically in his own estimate and threatened by great fleshly and diabolical temptations and threats, succeeded by God’s grace in translating the first German New Testament.
    [Show full text]
  • The Nature and Danger of Heresies
    Copyright ©Monergism Books The Nature and Danger of Heresies by Obadiah Sedgwick Opened in a Sermon BEFORE THE HONOURA BLE House of COMMONS, Ianuary 27. 1646. at Marga rets Westminster, being the day of their solemn Monthly Fast By OBADIAH SEDGWICK, B.D. Minister of Gods Word at Covent- Garden 2 PET. 2:1 But there were false Prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false Teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction Yee therefore beloved, seeing yee know these things be fore, beware lest yee also being led away with the errour of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastnesse: but grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, 2 Pet. 3:17, 18 LONDON, Printed by M. F. for SAMUEL GELLIBRAND, at the Brazen serpent in Pauls Church-yard. 1647 Table of Contents To the Honourable Introduction Of the Nature of Heresy Of the Danger of Heresies The Greatness of Danger by Heresies TO THE HONOURABLE The House of COMMONS now assembled in Parliament Having received your commands to preach, that which first presented it selfe unto my thoughts, was the subject of this ensuing Discourse; A Theam (if I doe understand the present posture of these times) both seasonable and necessary. There are some points of difference which are of an inferior consequence, and stand farther off from the foundation; these being but Judicia domestica, I meddle not with: But there are other positions which pull hard at the very foundation,
    [Show full text]