66 66 acknowledged as true: I say, in these words are enunciated the very sentiments of St. Augustine; yet he was the chief champion against the Pelagian heresy, being accounted in that age its most successful combatant. For in his Treatise On Nature and Grace, (c. 67,) St. Augustine speaks thus: "Since He is everywhere present, who, by many methods through the creature that is "subservient to Him as his Lord, can call him who is averse, "can teach a believer, can comfort him who hopes, can exhort the "diligent man, can aid him who strives, and can lend an attentive "ear to him who deprecates; it is not imputed to thee as a fault, "that thou art unwillingly ignorant, but that thou neglectest to "enquire after that of which thou art ignorant; not that thou "dost not collect and bind together the shattered and wounded "members, but that thou despisest Him who is willing to heal "thee." The Book entituled " The Vocation of the Gentiles," which is attributed with a greater semblance of probability to Prosper, than to St. Ambrose, has the following passage: “On all men has always been bestowed some measure of heavenly doctrine, which, though it was of more sparing and "hidden grace, was yet sufficient, as the Lord has judged, to "serve some men for a remedy, and all men for a testimony." (Lib. 2. c. 5.) In the commencement of the Ninth Chapter of the same book, he explains the whole matter by saying: "The Grace of God has indeed [principaliter] the decided "pre-eminence in our justifications, persuading us by exhor"tations, admonishing us by examples, affrighting us by dangers, exciting us by miracles, by giving understanding, by "inspiring counsel, and by illuminating the heart itself and "imbuing it with the affections of faith. But the will of man is "likewise subjoined to it and is united with it, which has been "excited to this by the before-mentioned succours,--that it may "co-operate in the Divine work within itself, and may begin "[exercere ad meritum] to follow after the reward which, by the "heavenly seed, it has conceived for the object of its desire, ascrib❝ing the failure to its own mutability, and the success (if the issue "be prosperous) to the aid of grace. This aid is afforded to all "men, by innumerable methods both secret and manifest; and "the rejection of this assistance by many persons, is to be ascribed "to their negligence; but its reception by many persons, is both "of Divine Grace and of the human will." 66 I do not produce these passages, as if I thought that either my brethren or I must abide by the sentiments of the Fathers, but only for the purpose of removing from myself the crime of Pelagianism in this matter. ARTICLE XXIX. (IX.) BELIEVERS can perfectly fulfil the Law, and live in the world without sin. ANSWER. THIS is what I never said. But when a certain person once, in a public disputation on the Baptism of Infants, was endeavouring by a long digression to bring me to the point—either to declare that believers could perfectly fulfil the law of God,-or that they could not,—I declined an answer, but quoted the opinion of St. Augustine, from the Second Book of his Treatise On the Demerits and Remission of Sins, against the Pelagians. That passage I will here transcribe, that I may defend myself against the charge of Pelagianism; because I perceive, that the men with whom I have to do consider even these sentiments to be Pelagian, though they can on no account whatever be reckoned such. St. Augustine says: "We must not instantly with an incautious rashness oppose those who assert, that it is possible for man to be in this life without sin. For if we deny the possibility of this, we shall derogate both from the free will of man, which desires to be in such a perfect state by willing it; and from the Power or Mercy of God, who effects it by the assistance which He affords. But it is one question whether it be possible, and another whether such a man actually exists: It is one question, If such a perfect man is not in existence when it is possible, why is he not?; and it is another, not only whether there is any one who has never had any sin at all, but likewise, whether there could at any time have been such a man, or that it is now possible? In this fourfold proposal of questions, if I be asked Is it possible for a man to exist in the present life without sin?,' I shall confess, that it is possible by the grace of God, and by man's free will." (Cap. 6.) In another of his works, St. Augustine says: "Pelagius disputes correctly, that they confess it not to be impossible, by the very circumstance of either many or all persons wishing to do it; [perfectly to fulfil the law of God;] but let him confess whence it is possible, and peace is instantly established. For the possibility arises from the grace of God through Christ Jesus," &c. (On Nature and Grace, against the Pelagians, cap. 59, 60.) And in a subsequent passage: "For it may be made a question among true and pious Christians, Has there ever been, is there now, or can there be, in this life, any man who lives so justly as to have no sin at all? Whosoever doubts about the possibility of the existence of such a person after this life, he is destitute of understanding: But I am unwilling to enter into a contest, about this possi bility even in the present life." See the paragraphs which immemediately succeed in the same chapter.—And in the 69th chapter of that work, he says: "By the very thing, by which we most firmly believe that a just and good God could not command impossibilities, we are admonished both of what we may do in things easy of accomplishment, and of what we may ask in matters of difficulty; because all things are easy to Charity," &c. I do not oppose this opinion of St. Augustine; but I do not enter into a contest about any part of the whole matter. For I think the time may be far more happily and usefully employed in prayers to obtain what is lacking in each of us, and in serious admonitions that every one endeavour to proceed and to press forward towards the mark of Perfection, than when spent in such disputations. But my brethren will say, that in the 114th Question of our Catechism this very subject is treated, and that it is there asked, "Can those persons who are converted to God, perfectly observe the Divine Commands ?" The answer subjoined is, [minimè,]" By no means."-To this observation I reply, that I do not say any thing against it; but that the reason of the negative answer [or scriptural proof added] is about the act, when the question itself is about the possibility; and that therefore, from this, nothing is proved. It is also well known, that this answer had been rejected by some persons; and that it was only by the intervention of the brethren, who added an explanation to it, that it afterwards obtained the approbation of the same individuals. But I shall be perfectly willing to enter into a conference with my brethren about this matter, whenever it shall be convenient; and I hope we shall easily agree in opinion. [On this subject see vol. I, p. 313.1 ARTICLE XXX. (X.) IT MAY admit of Discussion, whether Semi-Pelagianism is not real Christianity. ANSWER. IN A certain Lecture I said, that it would be easy, under the pretext of Pelagianism, to condemn all those things of which we do not approve, if we may invent [semi] half, quarter, three quarters, four fifths-Pelagianism, and so upwards: And I added, that it might admit of discussion, whether Semi-Pelagianism is not real Christianity. By these remarks it was not my wish to patronize Pelagian doctrine; but I was desirous to intimate, that something might be accounted as Semi-Pelagianism which does not depart from the truth of Christian doctrine. For as, when a departure is once made from the Truth, the descent towards falsehood becomes more and more rapid; so, by receding from falsehood, it is possible for men to arrive at truth, which is often accustomed to stand as the mean between two extremes of falsehood. Such indeed is the state of the matter in Pelagianism and Manicheism: If any man can enter on a middle way between these two heresies, he will be a true Catholic, neither inflicting an injury on Grace as the Pelagians do, nor on Free Will as do the Manichees. Let the Refutations be perused which St. Augustine wrote against both these heresies, and it will appear that he makes this very acknowledgment. For this reason it has happened, that, for the sake of confirming their different opinions, St. Augustine's words, when writing against the Manichees, have been frequently quoted by the Pelagians; and those which he wrote against the Pelagians, have been quoted by the Manichees. This therefore is what I intended to convey; and that my brethren may understand my meaning, I declare openly, "that it will be quite as easy a task for me to convict the sentiments of some among them of Manicheism, and even of Stoicism, as they will be really capable of convicting others of Pelagianism, whom they suspect of holding that error." But I wish us all to abstain from odious names of this description, as they are employed without producing any benefit. For he who is accused will either deny, that his sentiments are the same as those of Pelagius; or, if he acknowledges the existence of a similarity, he will say that Pelagius was wrongly condemned by the Church. It would be better then to omit these epithets, and to confer solely about the matter itself; unless, approaching to the opinion of the Papists, we hold that what has once been determined by the Church cannot be drawn into controversy. ARTICLE XXXI. (XI.) Ir is not correctly said in the Catechism, that "God is angry with us for [innata] birth-sins;" because original sin is a punishment: But whatever is a punishment is not properly a sin. ANSWER. NEARLY two months ago, a certain Minister of God's Word came to me, desirous, as he declared, to confer with me about the opinion which I held concerning the Catechism and Dutch Confession being subjected to examination in our National Synod. On this subject we had some conversation together, and I concluded the expression of my opinion with this syllogism: "Every "human writing which is not [avтo@150v] in itself entitled to “implicit credit, not authentic, and not Divine, may be examined, "and indeed ought to be; when it can be done in order, and after "a legitimate manner, that is, in a Synod, to which [the con"sideration of] these writings belongs. But such productions are "the Catechism and our Confession:-THEREFORE they may "and ought to be subjected to examination." When he had wearied himself in opposing a few things to this syllogism, which I soon dispersed by the clearest light of truth, he began to inquire what [objections] they were which I had against the Confession and Catechism; I replied, that I had nothing against those formularies, for that would be an act of prejudging which I would not take upon myself; but that there were matters in those two productions, about which it was my wish to confer in a legitimate and orderly manner, with my brethren at their own time, in a Synod, whether on every point they be agreeable to the scriptures, or whether they dissent in any respect from them: For this purpose, that if, after a serious and strict examination, they be found to agree with the scriptures, they may be approved and confirmed by recent and fresh sanctions; or that, if found to dissent from them, they may be corrected as commodiously as possible. He became urgent with me, therefore, and requested that I would disclose to him those points about which I was desirous to confer; and he declared, that he asked this favour for no other reason than that he might be able himself to think seriously about them. Unwilling positively to deny this his request, I began to produce some parts of the Confession, and especially the Fourteenth Article. But he said, "that he made small account of "this, because he thought something might easily be discovered "in the Confession, which did not perfectly and in every respect "correspond with the Scriptures, at least with regard to its "phraseology, for it was the composition of only a few persons, "and in fact was written in the earliest times [of the Reforma❝tion from Popery]; and that he perceived very little danger in "the Confession being corrected in some passages, since it was "not much in use among the people." But when he began to be still more urgent concerning the Catechism, desirous in that particular likewise to gratify him, I adduced some passages, and, among others, the Answer to the Tenth Question, in which God is said " by horrid methods to be angry both on account of birth-sins, and on account of those also |