It is known that the primitive church, according to its duty, was carefully watchful about the holiness and upright walking of all that were admitted into the society and fellowship of it. Hence, upon every known and visible failing, they required an open repentance from the offenders before they would admit them unto a participa- tion of the sacred mysteries. But upon flagitious and scandalous crimes, such as murder, adultery, or idolatry, in many churches they would never admit those who had been guilty of them into their communion any more. Their greatest and most signal trial was with respect unto them who, through fear of, death, complied with the Gentiles in their idolatrous worship in the time of persecution; for they had fixed no certain general rule whereby they should unanimously proceed, but every church exercised severity or lenity according as they saw cause, upon the circumstances of particular instances. Hence Cyprian, in his banishment, would not positively determine concerning those of the church in Carthage who had so sinned and fallen, but deferred his thoughts until his return, when he resolved to advise with the whole church, and settle all things according to the counsel that should be agreed on amongst them. Yea, many of his epistles are on this subject peculiarly: and in them all, if compared together, it is evident that there was no rule agreed upon herein; nor was he himself well resolved in his own mind, though strictly on all occasions opposing Novatianus; wherein it had been well if his arguments had answered his zeal Before this, the church of Rome was esteemed in particular more remiss in their dis- cipline, and more free than other churches in their re-admission unto — communion of notorious offenders. Hence Tertullian, in his book de Pcenitentia, reflects on Zephyrinus, the bishop of Rome, that he
14 THE NATURE AND CAUSES OF APOSTASY.
had “admitted adulterers unto repentance, and thereby unto the communion of the church.” But that church proceeding in her lenity, and every day enlarging her charity, Novatus and Novatianus, taking offence thereat, advanced an opinion in the contrary extreme: for they denied all hope of church pardon or of a return unto eccle- siastical communion unto them who had fallen into open sin after baptism; and, in especial, peremptorily excluded all persons whatso- ever who had outwardly complied with idolatrous worship in time of persecution, without respect unto any distinguishing circumstances; yea, they seem to have excluded them from all expectation of for- giveness from God himself. But their followers, terrified with the un- charitableness and horror of this persuasion, tempered it so far as that, leaving all persons absolutely to the mercy of God upon their repent- ance, they only denied such as we mentioned before a re-admission unto church communion, as Acesius speaks expressly in Socrates, lib i cap. 7. Now, this opinion they endeavoured to confirm, as from the nature and use of baptism, which was not to be reiterated, — whereon they judged that no pardon was to be granted unto them who fell into those sins which they lived in before, and were cleansed from at their baptism,—-so principally from this place of our apostle, wherein they thought their whole opinion was taught and confirmed. And so usually doth it fall out, very unhappily, with men who think they clearly see some peculiar opinion or persuasion in some singu- lar text of Scripture,’ and will not bring their interpretation of it unto the analogy of faith, whereby they might see how contrary it is to the whole design and current of the word in other places. But the church of Rome, on the other side, though judging rightly, from other directions given in the Scripture, that the Novatians transgressed the rule of charity and gospel.discipline in their severities, yet, as it should seem, and is very probable, knew not how to answer the ob- jection from this place of our apostle. Therefore did they rather choose for a season to suspend their assent unto the authority of the whole epistle than to prejudice the church by its admission. And well was it that some learned men afterward, by their sober inter-
* “«Solenne est heereticis alicujus capituli ancipitis occasione adversus exercitum sen- tentiarum Instrumenti totius armari.”—Tert. de Pudicit. “Utique equum, incerta de certis, obscura de manifestis preejudicari, ut ne inter discordiam certorum et incer- torum, manifestorum et obscurorum, fides dissipetur.’’—Id. de Resur. “Avavra opdee syamioy Tay suutvray, Ono 1 ypahn, rovr tort, ray doo atp aiToD caPnucbeioay Tay ypapuy iynow xare roy innaAnoimorindy xavovee exdexoueves Oiaowloucl, xavav dt txxAnoimorinos cvvwdia nad cvudwvia vouou re xa) wpodnray TH THY TOD xvpiov Tapovoiny wupadidomevn Sixdhun, —Clem. Alex., Stromat. vi. Ed Da tri paré tive waparnpovras rns ypupns of xa) cadre Bovrtmevor rorway Phone dad Osod yeryoveveer, wo Suvdémevos £y Ios aorodsivas rns ypeins airs Hions why rods dpmaprévovras, darodsxcoutyns V8 rods 60 apdrrovrus, xa) ody Hrroy xdxsive Asyotons drive wepomdy Donel, dAlya Wea, rods duals re Sele ype pepe ree dvayiwdenovras.
— Origen. adv. Cels, lib. vi.
HEB. VI. 4-6 EXPLAINED, 15
pretations of the words, plainly evinced that no countenance was given in them unto the errors of the Novatians; for without this it is much to be feared that some would have preferred their interest in their present controversy before the authority of it: which would, in the issue, have proved ruinous to the truth itself; for the epistle, being designed of God unto the common edification of the church, would have at length prevailed, whatever sense men, through their prejudices and ignorance, should put upon any passages of it. But this controversy is long since buried, the generality of the churches in the world being sufficiently remote from that which was truly the mistake of the Novatians; yea, the most of them do bear peaceably in their communion, without the least exercise of gospel discipline towards them, such persons as concerning whom the dispute was of old, whether they should ever in this world be admitted into the communion of the church, although upon their open and professed repentance. We shall not therefore at present need to labour in this controversy.