Answ. 1. If it always made us guilty, no man could join with any pastor or church in the world, without being a wilful sinner. Because no man worshippeth God without sin, in matter or manner, omission or commission.
2. If it never made us guilty, it would be lawful to join with Mahometans and bread-worshippers, &c.
3. Therefore the following decision of the question, In what cases it is a duty or a sin to separate, doth decide this case also. For when separation is no duty, but a sin, there our presence in the worship is no sin; but when separation is a duty, there our presence is a sin.
4. Especially in these two cases our presence is a sin: 1. When the very assembly and worship is so bad as God will not accept, but judgeth the substance of it for a sin. 2. In case we ourselves be put upon any sin in communion, or as a previous condition of our communion (as to make some false profession, or to declare our consent to other men's sin, or to commit corporal, visible, reputative idolatry, or the like). But the pastor and church shall answer for their own faults, and not we, when we have cause to be present, and make them not ours by any sinful action of our own.
Quest. LXVIII. Is it lawful to communicate in the sacrament with wicked men?
Answ. The answer may be gathered from what is said before.
1. If they be so wicked for number, and flagitiousness, and notoriety, as that it is our duty to forsake the church, then to communicate with them is a sin. Therefore the after-resolution of the just causes of separation must be perused. As if a church were so far defiled with heresy, or open impiety, that it were justified by the major vote, and bore down faith and godliness, and the society were become uncapable of the ends of church association and communion: in this and other cases it must be deserted.
2. If we do not perform our own duty to remove unlawful communions, (whether it be by admonition of the offender or pastor, or whatever is proved really our duty,) the omission of that duty is our sin.
3. But if we sin not by omitting our own duty, it will be no sin of ours to communicate with the church, where scandalous sinners or heretics are permitted. The pastor's and delinquent's sins are not ours.
4. Yea, if we do not omit our own duty in order to the remedy, that will justify us in denying communion with the church while wicked men are there. But it will rather aggravate our sin, to omit one duty first, and thence fetch occasion to omit another.