107 Dr. Whitby pretends further, that false prophets is not a name for false teachers at large, or for heretics: that appears to be his meaning. But yet certain it is from the New Testament, and from some of the texts which he himself produces, that it is. St. Peter makes the name of false prophets equivalent to that of false teachers, who should bring in damnable heresiesm. And St. John gives the name of false prophets to the heretics of his time; namely, to the Docet, and Cerinthians, and others of like stamp, as I have partly observed already, and shall more fully show in a succeeding chapter. Therefore it is right to interpret the false prophets which our Lord speaks of, in such a sense as to include all heretics, all false teachers, who in any grievous manner, or degree, should pervert the Gospel of Christ. And so the primitive Fathers interpret our Lord's words.

As our Lord himself made use of a particular sharpness of expression against false teachers, or heretics, so also did his Apostles after him. St. Paul has done it very often against those grievous wolves, (as he calls them,) which may appear in some measure from what has been cited above: I shall only refer to some noted textsp to avoid prolixity; but observing also in passing, that though St. Paul delivered an immoral man over to Satana for his incontinence, yet he did not use so strong an expression as anathema, or accursed, which he pronounced upon heretics. St. Peter is exceeding tart against some false teachers of his days, who "privily brought in damnable "heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them." They also taught men to sit loose from all decent rule

• Justin Martyr. Dialog. p. 100, 101, 249. edit. Jebb. alias 208, 316. Thirlby. Tertullian. Præscript. c. iv. xliv. Cyrill. Hierosol. Catech. iv. 1. Hieronym. in Matt. vii. 15. xxiv. 24. Athanas. ad Episc. Ægypti et Lib. p. 270, 272. Theodorit. Hæret. Fab. 1. iii. præf. p. 225.

P Acts xx. 29, 30. Rom. xvi. 17, 18. Gal. i. 8, 9. v. 10, 12. 1 Tim. i. 19, 20. iv. 1, 2, 3. vi. 3, 4, 5. 2 Tim. ii. 16, 17, 18. 2 Tim. iii. 1–9. Tit. i. 10-16. iii. 10, 11.

q 1 Cor. v. 5.

Gal. i. 8, 9.

$ 2 Pet. ii. 1, 2, 3.

and order, and, under pretence of Christian liberty, to run riot in luxury and dissolute behaviour. They were heretics in morality as well as in faith, and of the worst kind: and therefore what is said of them is not applicable to other false teachers in the same degree, but in proportion to the malignity of their respective heresy. The Nicolaitans, I suppose, were the men whom St. Peter pointed tot. I hinted that they were heretics in faith, because their doctrine, relating to God and Christ, was much the same with that of Cerinthus, as Irenæus testifies of them": and thus we may easily understand why St. Peter says of them, that they "denied the Lord that bought them." St. Jude expresses himself with uncommon warmth against the same false teachers, whom St. Peter had before censured. St. John, who was all love, and meekness, and charity, yet severely lashes the heretics of his times, either such as denied Christ's humanity, or such as impugned his divinity; which I shall show in due time and place. The names which he bestows upon them are as follows; antichrists, liars2, seducersa, false prophets, deceivers. He scrupled not to go wandering upon the mountains in quest of a wicked robber, a captain of a gang, in order to recover him to Christ; and he did recover him; but with the heretic Cerinthus, a corrupter of the truth, he would not stay under the same roofe: by which it may appear, how much he detested heresies above common immoralities. His disciple Ignatius, an apostolical man, was exactly of the same sentiments. "For," says he, (speaking of them that commit adultery, and the like,) "they that corrupt (debauch) families, shall not inherit the kingdom of God: therefore, if they who do such things accord

66

Vid. Buddæus Eccles. Apostol. p. 600.

Iren. lib. iii. cap. 11. Conf. Buddæus Eccles. Apostol. p. 367, 383, 406. x Vid. Buddæus Eccles. Apostol. p. 594.

d Euseb. E. H. lib. iii. c. 23. Clem. Alex. p. 959. ed. Ox.

• See above, p. 91.

"ing to the flesh, perish; how much more he, who by "his pernicious doctrine corrupts that divine faith, for "the which Jesus Christ was crucified! Such a man so "defiled shall go into fire unquenchable; and so also "shall he that hearkens unto him f." See from hence how this holy Bishop, soon after a martyr, abominated heresies beyond even great immoralities, as being of more diffusive and more lasting malignity, and not destroying men's bodies, but subverting their souls. His scholar Polycarp, another eminent Bishop of those times, was a man of exemplary severity against all kinds of sinners, but against none so much as against Marcion, a noted heretic, whom he calls the first born of Satans. I shall mention but one authority more, the very pious and holy St. Cyprian, of the third century. He argues the point at length, that a heretic is a much wickeder man than one that lapsed into idolatry under persecution. He states the comparison to this effect: "This is a worse crime than "that which the lapsers may seem to have committed, 66 who yet do a severe penance for their crime, and im"plore the mercy of God by a long and plenary satisfac"tion. The one seeks to the Church, and humbly en"treats her favour, the other resists the Church, and "proclaims open war against her. The one has the ex

cuse of necessity, the other is retained by his own wil"fulness only. He that lapses only hurts himself; but "he that endeavours to make a heresy or schism, draws

many after him. Here is only the loss of one soul; but "there a multitude are endangered. The lapser is sen

* Οἱ οἰκοφθόροι βασιλείαν Θεῖ ἐ κληρονομήσεσιν· εἰ οὖν οἱ κατὰ σάρκα ταῦτα πράσσοντες ἀπέθανον, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ἐὰν πίστιν Θεῖ ἐν κακῇ διδασκαλία φθείρῃ, ὑπὲρ ἧς Ιησῆς Χρισὸς ἐςαυρώθη; ὁ τοῦτος ῥυπαρὸς γενόμενος, εἰς τὸ πῦς τὸ ἄσβεστον χωρήσει, ὁμοίως καὶ ἀκύων αὐτοῦ. Ignat. ad Ephes. c. 16.

Polycarpus Marcioni aliquando occurrenti sibi et dicenti, cognoscis nos? Respondit, cognosco te primogenitum Satana. Tantum Apostoli et horum discipuli habuerunt timorem, ut nec verbo communicarent alicui eorum qui adulteraverant veritatem. Iren. lib. iii. c. 3. Conf. Euseb. E. H. lib. iv. c. 14. The like is observed of Justin and Irenæus, by Ittigius Histor. Eccles. Sæc. ii. p. 91.

"sible that he has done amiss, and therefore mourns and "laments for it but the other proudly swells in his "crime, pleases himself in his misconduct, divides the "children from their mother, draws away the sheep from "the pastor, and disturbs the sacraments of God: and "whereas a lapser sins but once, the other sins daily h."

From the authorities I have given, it may abundantly appear that Christ and his Apostles, and their followers, have, in a very distinguishing manner, expressed their abhorrence of false prophets, false apostles, false teachers ; that is to say, of heretics, and their open favourers or abettors. It is true, there may be great difference between heresy and heresy; and what is said of heresies in general is not applicable in the same measure or degree to every heresy in particular, but in proportion only: in the mean while however it is evident, that heresy is not a thing of slight moment, but a crime of the first magnitude, if understood to mean the espousing of false doctrines, tending to corrupt either faith or morals in any considerable instances. But I suppose, they who think lightly of it, mean only some ignorant or careless mistake in judgment, which a man keeps to himself, and disturbs not the world with: which indeed does not amount to heresy, (as I have more than once said,) does not make a heretic. Heresy lies not merely in the inward thought, but in the overt acts, either teaching pernicious doctrines, or supporting and encouraging them that do. Heresy so considered is evil doing, and is condemned among the works of the fleshk. So then, instead of saying, that a wicked life is the worst heresy, which is scarce sense, I should choose rather to say, what is both sense and truth, (generally speaking,) that a life of heresy is a most wicked life: it is joining with Satan and his emissaries, in a formed opposition to God and his Church, is complicated impiety and immorality.

III. But it will be pleaded further, that such as teach false doctrines may be very sincere; and their sincerity will be their protection before the awful tribunal, or however ought to screen them from censure here. But it behoves us to consider well of this so sovereign a preservative, that we may not trust too far to it; because if it should fail at last, there is nothing then left to depend on. Sincerity, I observe, is a very equivocal ambiguous term, used in more senses than one: and therefore, before I enter deeper into the subject, I would distinguish it into two kinds. 1. Sincerity, as opposed to hypocrisy and pretence. 2. Sincerity, as opposed to prejudice and partiality. There is no discoursing clearly upon the point, without attending carefully to this distinction. Next then let us examine how the present question about the iniquity of teaching false doctrines, or the justice of censuring them, is at all affected by what is pleaded of the sincerity of the teachers, taking sincerity either in this or in that

sense.

1. Consider we, first, sincerity, as opposed to hypocrisy and pretence. Suppose the teachers of false doctrine to be verily persuaded in their minds and consciences, that such their doctrine is true, and their conduct right, and that they ought to teach it: this is bringing the matter to the case of an erroneous conscience, upon our present supposition, that their doctrine is false, and ours true. Well then, what does an erroneous conscience amount to? Will it justify men in evil practices? or is it sufficient to bear them out against censure from others? No, by no means. Time was, when many thought it their duty to kill Christ's disciples; they believed it to be doing God service1: and yet nobody can doubt but those sincere men so far were guilty of murder, and no one can think it an hard censure upon them to declare so. St. Paul in particular, before his conversion, "verily thought with "himself, that he ought to do many things contrary to "the name of Jesus m:" and yet how often did he after