and apoftolic, to the church of Christ in an unconfined sense, than to the church of Rome, or any other church in particular. But fince this fame creed, in its eleventh article, fpeaks expressly of the holy, catholic, apoftolic Roman church, as the mother and mistress of all churches, and thereby clearly confines thefe characters to that church: it is proper here at the beginning to give notice of the fnare; and to avoid the dangerous fallacy of confidering any of the articles of this creed as doctrines of the one, holy, catholic and apoftolic church.

That article of the Nicene creed, [I believe one, holy, catholic and apoftolic church] is capable of a very harmless fenfe, againft which no chriftian whatever will object. Which is this: that our Lord Jefus Chrift has a church, scattered up and down in various parts of the world; the members whereof are holy in the difpofition of their minds, and entertain the fubftance of the doctrine of the apostles. This is the true general or univerfal, that is, the true catholic church. And this is undoubtedly one, in that large fenfe, wherein all thofe are included as its members, who heartily believe in Jefus Chrift, acknowledging him for their Saviour, and obeying him as their Ruler. To all thefe he becomes the author of eternal falvation; as he himself affures us, John III. 36. and his apoftle after him, Heb. V. 9. Rom. X. 8, 9.

Rom. X. 8, 9. And all fuch are likewise declared to be the children of God, Gal. III. 26. born of God, I John V. 1. Now they who are become the children of God, thro' faith in Chrift Jefus, and beirs of his promised falvation, do

B

certainly

certainly in the large and general fense belong to his church, tho' their faith fhould be attended with fome mistakes. And in this large fenfe a

lone, if at all, it is, that the members of the church of Rome can be acknowledged members of the one church of Chrift: fo very widely has that church departed from the faith which Chrift and his apoftles delivered.

If it be faid, that the Nicene fathers did not speak of the church in this large and general fenfe; but meant a vifible church, which was called catholic or univerfal, by reafon of the greater number of those who were esteemed true profeffors of the holy doctrine of the apostles, in oppofition to the fmaller number of thofe who differed from them; and that they called themselves one church, in oppofition to the different parties of those who differed from them: yet this will never prove, that the fuperior number, who pleased themselves with these titles, did in all points adhere to the doctrine of the apostles, and that none who differed from them were in the right. There can be no reasonable doubt, that many of those, who call'd themselves the one, holy, catholic and apoftolic church, were far enough from agreeing with each other in feveral particulars; and in that cafe fome of them must differ from the doctrine of the apotles, and therefore not be apoftolical. Nor is there any doubt, that many of them were far enough from being holy in their hearts and in their practice. It is not therefore men's giving themfelves the name and title of one, holy, catholic and apoftolic church, that will prove them to be fo. So far as they differ from each other, they

are

are not one, in the Romish fenfe of Unity; nor can they, for the fame reason, be justly called univerfal or catholic. And if they are unholy in their lives; the name of holy, with regard to the church wherewith they communicate, fignifies nothing. Nor are they apoftolic, in any respect wherein they differ from the apostles doctrine: And yet there may be feveral churches, each of them, for the fubftance of their doctrines, apoftolical, tho' differing in fome points from each other; and each of them maintaining holiness, in the life and practice of their communicants, as well as in the tendency of their doctrines. And all these will with much better reafon go to the making up one invifible catholic or univerfal church, than any fingle vifible church whatever can be called catholic, to the exclufion of all others.

Nor does it appear from the hiftory of the Nicene council, that the bishops, and other divines of whom it confifted, look'd upon any one particular church, (and fuch was the church of Rome among the reft) as the one, holy, catholic and apoftolic church. No: they were all of them call'd together by the authority and command of the emperor Conftantine, to confult about fuch matters as he thought fit to lay before them: and the profeffed agreement of fuch a number of divines, call'd together from fo many diftant nations, made them look upon their determinations as the determinations of the catholic church.

But whatever they call'd themfelves; and how much foever we agree with them in the substance of their doctrine: yet their determinations are not the foundation of our faith: nor had they,

1

nor cou'd any council of uninfpir'd men in the world have, authority to determine what we shall believe or practise. So far as they agree with the doEtrine of the apostles, it is fit we fhould agree with them. But then this is not because of any authority in the council of Nice; but because the doEtrine of the apostles is true, and fit to be believed.

And if the Nicene council itself had no authority over the consciences of christians; what authority could it convey to the church of Rome? What authority did it ever pretend to convey to the Roman church, more than to the church of Antioch or Alexandria, or any other? Indeed if it had made ever fuch high pretences; what authority could it give to any church in the world, to frame new articles of religion at her own pleafure, and to damn fuch as fhould refufe to receive them? But referving the confideration of authority to the eleventh article of pope Pius's creed; I now proceed to fhew, that the church of Rome is not the one, boly, catholic and apoftolic church, which fhe pretends to be.

She is not one, in that very sense wherein she reproaches protestants for not being one. If proteftants are in many points divided into parties; fo are the papifts. Witness the divifions between the Francifcans and Dominicans about the immaculate conception; those between the Jefuits and Janfenifts about predeftination; and the prefent ftruggles, now of a pretty long ftanding, about the bull Unigenitus; befides the many horrible schisms which have arifen by fetting up one pope against another, and the contentions about the feat of infallibility. If they fay, that they are one, in

all

all things neceffary to falvation: the protestants with much more truth and reafon affirm this concerning themselves; and that the things wherein they differ from each other do not hinder their being of the one church of Jefus Chrift.

But if the church of Rome did agree with itfelf in all points of doctrine and practice; that is, if they were at unity among themselves, which it is plain they are not, nor ever were yet their unity could not be faid to be with Chrift Jefus, the fole bead of the church, but with the pope confidered as head; which very thing is inconfiftent with and fubverfive of the true unity of the chriftian church.

Whoever they are, that deny Jesus Christ to be the head of the church, they cut themselves off from union with him; and confequently must be far enough from being his one church. Now Chrift is not the head of his church, if he is not fole head. How then comes the pope to pretend to make laws as he pleases? And how can they be the one church of Christ, who are fo far from owning him their fole head, as to remove their allegiance from him to a fellow mortal, and to obey that mortal even in oppofition to Christ? Yet this must be the cafe in all thofe inftances, where the pope's decrees are obeyed, though contrary to the mind of Chrift. To what purpofe therefore can it be for papifts to prove the unity of Chrift's church from fuch texts as that of Eph. IV. 5. where the apostle affures us, that there is but one Lord, and one faith; when it is plain that they fet up another Lord befides Christ, and another faith, contrary to that which

he