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II. No pretence of infallibility is fufficient to autho rife and warrant the addition of any thing to the Chri-` ftian doctrine, as neceflary to be believed or practifed, in order to falvation: After the delivery of the gofpel by the Son of God, and the publication of it to the world by his Apostles, who were commiffioned andinfpired by him to that purpose, and the confirmation of all, by the greatest and most unquestionable mira cles that ever were, no perfon whatever that brought any other doctrine, and declared falvation to men upon any other terms than those which are declared in the gofpel, was to be credited, what pretence foever he fhould make to a divine commission, or an infallible af fiftance. The Apoftle makes a fuppofition as high as can be, though we, (fays he), or an angel from heaven; preach any other gospel unto you, than that which we have preached unto you, let him be an anathema.. If the Apoftles themselves, who were divinely commiffioned, and infallibly affifted in the preaching of the gospel, fhould afterwards make any addition to it, or declare any other terms of falvation than those which are declared in the gofpel, which they had already published to the world, they ought not to be regarded..

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And the reafon is plain; becaufe what claim fo ever any perfon may make to infallibility, and what demonftration foever he may give of it, we cannot poffibly believe him, if he contradict himself, and deli yer doctrines which do plainly clash with one another : For if he fpake true at firit, I cannot believe him declaring the contrary afterwards: And if he did not fpeak true at first, I cannot believe him at all; because he can give no greater proof of his divine commiffion, and infallible affiftance and inspiration, than he did at first.

And the reafon is the fame, if an angel from heaven fhould come and preach a contrary doctrine to' that of the gofpel, he were not to be believed neither because he could bring no better credentials of his divine commiffion and authority than thofe had who published the gofpel; and, confequently, he ought not to be credited in any thing contrary to what they

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had published before. For though a man were never fo much difpofed to receive a revelation from God, and to fubmit his faith to it; yet it is not poffible for any man to believe God against God himself; that is, to believe two revelations, plainly contradictory to one another, to be from God: and the reafon of this is very obvious, because every man doth first, and more firmly believe this propofition or principle, That contradictions cannot be true, than any revelation whatfoever; for if contradictions may be true, then no revelation from God can fignify any thing, because the contrary may be equally true, and fo truth and falfehood be all one.

The Apostle indeed only makes a fuppofition, when he fays, though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other doctrine unto you; but by this fuppofition he plainly bars any man, or company of men, from adding to the Christian religion any article of faith, or point of practice, as of neceffity to falvation, which the gospel hath not made fo; I fay, any man, or company of men, whatever authority or infallibility they may lay claim to, because they cannot pretend to a clearer commiffion, and greater evidence of infallible affistance, than an Apoftle or an Angel from heaven, and yet the text tells us, that would not be a fufficient warrant to preach another gofpel. It might indeed bring in quéition that which they had preached before, but could not give credit and authority to any thing plainly contrary to it, and inconfiftent with it.

III. Chriftians may judge and difcern when another gofpel is preached, when new articles of faith, or points of practice, not injoined in the gofpel, are impofed upon Chriftians. This the Apoftle fuppofeth every particular church, and for ought I know, every particular Chriftian, that is duly inftructed in the Chriftian religion, to be a competent judge of, and to be fufficiently able to difcern when another gospel is preached, and new terms and conditions, not declared in the gospel, are added to the Chriftian religion; for if they be not able to judge of this, the Apoftle does in vain caution them against the feduction of thofe who perverted the

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doctrine of Chrift, and endeavoured to remove them from him, that had called them by the grace of Chrift, unto another gofpet.

It may perhaps be faid, that there was no need that they fhould be able to difcern and judge of the doc trines of thofe falfe teachers; it was fufficient for them to believe the Apostle concerning the doctrines of thofe feducers,, when he declared to them the falfehood and pernicious confequence of them. But the Apoftle fpeaks to them upon another fuppofition, which does. neceffarily imply, that they were able to difcern and judge what doctrines were agreeable to the gofpel, and what not; for he puts the cafe, that if he himself, or any of the Apostles, or an Angel from heaven, should preach to them another doctrine, contrary to that of the gofpel, they ought to reject it with deteftation. But this doth neceffarily fuppofe them able to judge when fuch doctrines were preached; and confequently that all things neceffary to be believed and practifed by all. Chriftians, are clearly and plainly declared in the gofpel; all the doctrines whereof are now contained in the holy fcriptures, in which all things necessary to faith, and a good life, are fo plainly delivered, that any fober and inquifitive perfon may learn them from thence; and the meaneft capacity, by the help and direction of their guides and teachers, may be inftructed in them.

And this is not only the principle of Proteftants, but the exprefs and conftant doctrine of the ancient fathers of the church, whatever the church of Rome, for the maintaining of her ufurped authority over the confciences of men, pretends to the contrary. And if this were not fo, that men are able to discern and judge, which are the doctrines of the gofpel, and what is contrary to them; the doctrine of the gofpel was in vain preached, and the holy fcriptures containing that doctrine were written to no purpose.

Some things in fcripture are granted to be obfcure and difficult, on purpose to exercife the ftudy and inquiries of thofe who have leifure and capacity for it but all things neceflary are fufficiently plain; otherwise

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therwise it would be impoffible to judge when another gofpel is preached, which the Apoftle here fuppofeth the Galatians capable of doing. For if the revelation of the gofpel be not fufficiently plain in all things neceffary to be believed and practifed, then Chriftians have no rule whereby to judge what doctrines are agreeable to the gofpel, and what not; for an obfcure rule is of no ufe, that is, in truth, is no rule to thofe to whom it is obfcure.

I proceed to the IVth Obfervation, which is plain-ly confequent from thofe laid down before; namely, that fince the declaration of the gospel, and the confir mation given to it, there is no authority in the Chriftian church, to impofe upon Chriftians any thing, as of neceffity to falvation, which the gofpel hath not made fo.

The commiffion given by our Lord and Saviour to his Apoftles, was to preach the gospel to all nations, or, (as St Matthew expreffes it) to go and teach all nations, to obferve all things whatfuever he had commanded them. And this is that which we call the Gospel, viz. that doctrine which Chrift commanded his Apostles to preach and publish to the world; and if the Apostles themfelves had exceeded their commiffion, and added any other points of faith or practice to thofe which our Saviour gave them in charge to teach and publifh to the world, they had, in fo doing, been guilty of that which St Paul here in the text charges the falfe apoftles with, viz. of preaching another gospel. And if the Apoftles had no authority to add any thing to the gofpel, much leís can any others pretend to it, fince they have neither fo immediate a commiffion, nor fuch a miraculous power to give teftimony to them, that they are teachers come from God.

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Now this doctrine of the gofpel,. which the Apoftles preached to the world, is that which Chriftians are fo often, and fo earnestly, by the Apostles in all their epiftles, exhorted to continue in, and not to fuffer themselves to be haken in mind, by every wind of new doctrine; becaufe that which the Apostles had delivered to them, was the entire doctrine of the gofpel, which was never

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to receive any addition or alteration. This is that which St Peter calls, the holy commandment which was delivered unto them; 2 Pet. ii. 21. It had been better for them not to have known the way of righteoufness, than after they had known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them, fpeaking in all probability of those who were feduced by the errors of the Gnosticks, from the purity of the Chriftian doctrine delivered to them by the Apoftles. This likewife St Paul calls the common faith, Titus i. 4. and St Jude, ver. 3. the common falvation; that is, the doctrine which contains the common terms of falvation; and the faith which was once delivered to the faints, that is, by the Apoftles of our Lord, who publifhed the gofpel; once delivered, that is, once for all, fo as never afterwards to admit of any change or alteration. This faith he exhorts Chriftians earnestly to contend for, against thofe fevera fects of feducers, which were crept into the Chrian church, and did endeavour by feveral arts to pe vert the gofpel of Chrift, and to deprave the faith delivered by the Apostles.

So that the doctrine of the gofpel published by the Apostles, is fixed and unalterable, and there can be no authority in the church to make any change in it, either by taking from it, or adding any thing to it, as neceffary to be, believed or practifed in order to falva

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V. It follows likewife from the foregoing obferva tions, that there is no vifible judge (how much foever he may pretend to infallibility) to whofe determination and decifion, in matters of faith and practice neceffary to falvation, Chriftians are bound to fubmit, without examination whether thofe things be agreeable to the doctrine of the gospel, or not.

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When our Saviour appeared in the world, though he had authority enough to exact belief from men; yet because there was a standing revelation of God made to the Jews, he appeals to that revelation, as well as to his own miracles, for the truth of what he said, and offered himself, and his doctrine to be tried by the agreeableness of it to the fcriptures of the Old Tefta

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