And now friend to thee, who hast taken in hand to answer my queries laid down in the end of my book; I say, thou hast only wrangled and quarrelled at them; but hast not given on plain and right answer to any one of them. Therefor I shall leave them still to be answered by you, or others of your spirit. You will find them at the end of the foregoing discourse: And I beseech you to answer them in all plainness of heart, and with as moderate a spirit as you may. It is like there may be some addition to them: But as I have dealt plainly and sincerely with yours, so do you deal uprightly and plainly with mine, for the satisfaction of those who shall read them. And here I shall draw towards a conclusion, only speak some words to those who unawares to themselves may be carried away with the doctrines of the Quakers: And I shall be brief in speaking to it. The way that I shall take, shall be very plain to be understood; for I shall not lay down any doubtful sentence in my speech to them, nor others. First, I shall shew you that the doctrine of the Quakers is an error, and how. Second, Who they are that are carried away with it, and why. Third, The way Satan takes to make this delusion, or filthy doctrine to take place in the soul.
First, That the doctrine of the Quakers is false, or an error, I shall shew,
1. By discovering the doctrine itself. Now the doctrine of the Quakers is plainly this; namely, that every man that comes into the world, hath the Spirit of Christ in him. Now that his is an error is clear, because the word of God saith plainly, that some are "sensual, having not the Spirit" (Jude 19). And again, the unregenerate man, in the time of his unregenerate state, is without Christ (Eph 2:12).
2. He that will but observe the motions of that light which very man hath within him (say they) so as to obey and close in with it to follow it, shall undoubtedly be saved from the wrath to come. Now this is clearly a gross error; for first, If all men have not Christ, as they have not, then is it not an error to press men to seek for life, by following that which is not able to give life. Yet this they do, who labour to persuade men, yea, the souls of men, that it is no less than the very Spirit of Christ in every man, that doth convince of sin, when the scriptures say plainly "the law" (Rom 3:14), "Conscience" (Rom 2:15), and nature itself (Rom 2:14; 1Cor 11:14), will and doth convince of sin, yet none of these is the Spirit of Christ. And the great argument that they bring to prove that it is the Spirit of Christ, is, because the Spirit doth also convince of sin. Now what a poor argument is this, to say, That because the Spirit of Christ doth convince of sin, therefore whatsoever doth convince of sin, must needs be the Spirit of Christ. As much as to say, because the saints are called "the light of the word" (Matt 5:14). Therefore the saints are the Saviour of the world, seeing Christ also doth call himself the light of the world (John 8:12), or because the moon hath, or is light, therefore the moon is the sun. This is but sophistical arguing, and doth beget most damnable errors and heresies in the world; but his is the way that they take, to entangle poor souls with their sad and erroneous doctrine, see page 22 of his book, lines 12 and 13. They say, that it must be Christ within them, that must within them work out justification for them; when it is evident from the whole current of scripture, that the Son of Mary was delivered to be crucified for our offences, and his resurrection, through faith in it, is our justification; as all along, through grace, I have declared and cleared. And the work that the Spirit doth in point of justification, is, to shew us what the Son of Mary hath done an suffered in his own body on the tree, and is now doing in the presence of his Father, in the highest heaven.
And to help us to apply this to our souls by faith now, for a preservative against these and the like delusions, observe, (1.) As I said before, all have not the spirit of Christ (Jude 19; Eph 2:12). (2.) That the law, with all our obedience to it, is not able to save, or justify any poor soul (Rom 3:20). For by the works of the law shall no flesh living be justified, though it gives the knowledge of sin. (3.) That there is none other way to be justified in the sight of God, but by laying hold of what the Son of Mary (Jesus) did do and suffer in his own person, when he was in the world. For it is by him (and what he hath done in his own person by himself (Heb 1:3)), that any man is justified from his sins, and the wrath of God due to the same, by believing that his blood was shed for their sins; as it is written, "With his stripes we are healed" (Isa 3:5), as if their own blood had been shed for their won sins; and that his righteousness is theirs by imputation, as if they themselves had actually fulfilled all the law of God for their own justification (Rom 10:4).
Second, The second thing is, who are they that are carried away with this delusion, and why?
1. Not one of God's elect whom he foreknew, shall be utterly destroyed thereby; (I do not say they shall not be led away for a time; but they shall not be utterly destroyed) for they are kept by the mighty power of God through faith unto salvation. But they are such as are not indeed the elect of god, nor chosen in Christ before the world began. Though Hymeneus and Philetus fall away, and overthrow the faith of some, yet "the foundation of God stands sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his" (2Tim 2:17-19).
2. They are such as in time past, for the generality of them were either but light, frothy professors, or else were shaken in their principles, and unstable therein, as saith the scriptures, They that are deceivers do beguile unstable souls. Or if they were such as were in appearance sober and serious in the account of others, it was wither from these convictions thy had from the law, or else from high notions they had of the gospel; which have both such influence at some time on the soul (though not savingly) that the soul will go very far in obedience to them; as for example, Herod who was an enemy to the truth, yet for a time had such heart-workings, being convinced by the preaching of John the Baptist, that he feared him, and observed him, and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard hem gladly (Mark 6:20).
Now the reason why such people are carried away with such heresies as these, or the like, is,
(1.) That as they were not of the elect of God, so God by suffering them to be carried away finally, may make it appear, that they were not of his elect. They went out from us, but they were not of us: for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us. But they went out from us, that it might be made manifest (or that men might see) that they were not all of us (1John 2:19).