20. Lastly, and rulers will be tempted in church and state, to take such persons for intolerable in all societies, and such whose principles are inconsistent with government. And no thanks to this opinion, if they be not tempted to dislike the Scripture itself, and instead of it to fly to the papists' traditions, and the church's legislative sovereignty, or worse.
But here also remember that I charge none with all this, but those before described.
[386] Isa. v. 20, 21.
[387] Col. ii 21-23.
Quest. CXXXVI. _How shall we know what parts of Scripture precept or example were intended for universal, constant obligations, and what were but for the time and persons that they were then directed to?_
_Answ._ It is not to be denied, but some things in Scripture, even in the New Testament, are not laws, much less universal and perpetual. And the difference is to be found in the Scripture itself.
1. All that is certainly of universal and perpetual obligation, which is but a transcript of the universal and perpetual law of nature.
2. And all that which hath the express characters of universality and perpetuity upon it; and such are all the substantial parts of the gospel; as, "Except ye repent, ye shall all perish," Luke xiii. 3, 5. "Except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven," John iii. 3, 5. "He that believeth in him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life," John iii. 16. "He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned," Mark xvi. 16. "Without holiness none shall see God," Heb. xii. 14. "Go, preach the gospel to all nations, baptizing them, &c. teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you," Matt, xxviii. 19, 20. Abundance such texts have the express characters of universality and perpetuity (which many call morality).
3. And with these we may number those which were given to all the churches, with commands to keep them, and propagate them to posterity.
4. And those that have a plain and necessary connexion to these before mentioned.
5. And those which plainly have a full parity of reason with them; and where it is evident that the command was given to those particular times and persons, upon no reasons proper to them alone, but such as were common to all others. I deny not but (as Amesius noteth after others) many ceremonial and temporary laws are urged (when they are made) with natural and perpetual motives: but the reasons of making them were narrower, whatever the reasons of obeying them may be.
On the other side, narrow and temporary precepts and examples, 1. Are void of all these foresaid characters. 2. They are about materials of temporary use. 3. Or they are but the ordering of such customs as were there before, and were proper to those countries. 4. And many speeches are plainly appropriate to the time and persons. 5. And many actions were manifestly occasional, without any intimation of reason or purpose of obliging others to imitation.
For instance, 1. Christ's preaching sometimes on a mountain, sometimes in a ship, sometimes in a house, and sometimes in the synagogues, doth show that all these are lawful in season on the like occasion: but he purposed not to oblige men to any one of them alone.
2. So Christ's giving the sacrament of his body and blood, in an upper room, in a private house after supper, to none but ministers, and none but his family, and but to twelve, and on the fifth day of the week only, and in the gesture of a recumbent, leaning, sitting; all these are plainly occasional, and not intended as obliging to imitation: for that which he made a law of, he separated in his speeches, and commanded them to do it in remembrance of him till his coming. And Paul expoundeth the distinction, 1 Cor. xi. in his practice.
So the promise of the spirit of revelation and miracles is expounded by the event, as the seal of the gospel and Scripture, proper to those times in the main.
So the primitive christians selling their estates, and distributing to the poor, or laying it down at the apostles' feet, was plainly appropriated to that time, or the like occasions, by the reason of it; which was suddenly to show the world what the belief of heaven through the promises of Christ, could make them all, and how much their love was to Christ and one another, and how little to the world; and also by the cessation of it, when the persecutions abated, and the churches came to any settlement; yea, and at first it was not a thing commanded to all, but only voluntarily done.
So the women's veil, and the custom of kissing each other as a token of love, and men's not wearing long hair, were the customs of the country there ordered and improved by the apostles about sacred things; but not introduced into other countries that had no such custom.