and to refuse to Baptize is to declare their Exclusion;
it followeth, that the Power to declare them Cast out,
or Retained in it, was given to the same Apostles,
and their Substitutes, and Successors. And therefore
after our Saviour had breathed upon them, saying,
(John 20.22.) “Receive the Holy Ghost,”
hee addeth in the next verse, “Whose soever
Sins ye Remit, they are Remitted unto them; and whose
soever Sins ye Retain, they are Retained.”
By which words, is not granted an Authority to Forgive,
or Retain Sins, simply and absolutely, as God Forgiveth
or Retaineth them, who knoweth the Heart of man, and
truth of his Penitence and Conversion; but conditionally,
to the Penitent: And this Forgivenesse, or Absolution,
in case the absolved have but a feigned Repentance,
is thereby without other act, or sentence of the Absolvent,
made void, and hath no effect at all to Salvation,
but on the contrary, to the Aggravation of his Sin.
Therefore the Apostles, and their Successors, are
to follow but the outward marks of Repentance; which
appearing, they have no Authority to deny Absolution;
and if they appeare not, they have no authority to
Absolve. The same also is to be observed in
Baptisme: for to a converted Jew, or Gentile,
the Apostles had not the Power to deny Baptisme; nor
to grant it to the Un-penitent. But seeing no
man is able to discern the truth of another mans Repentance,
further than by externall marks, taken from his words,
and actions, which are subject to hypocrisie; another
question will arise, Who it is that is constituted
Judge of those marks. And this question is decided
by our Saviour himself; (Mat. 18. 15, 16, 17.) “If
thy Brother (saith he) shall trespasse against thee,
go and tell him his fault between thee, and him alone;
if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy Brother.
But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee
one, or two more. And if he shall neglect to
hear them, tell it unto the Church, let him be unto
thee as an Heathen man, and a Publican.”
By which it is manifest, that the Judgment concerning
the truth of Repentance, belonged not to any one Man,
but to the Church, that is, to the Assembly of the
Faithfull, or to them that have authority to bee their
Representant. But besides the Judgment, there
is necessary also the pronouncing of Sentence:
And this belonged alwaies to the Apostle, or some Pastor
of the Church, as Prolocutor; and of this our Saviour
speaketh in the 18 verse, “Whatsoever ye shall
bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever
ye shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven.”
And comformable hereunto was the practise of St. Paul
(1 Cor. 5.3, 4, & 5.) where he saith, “For I
verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit,
have determined already, as though I were present,
concerning him that hath so done this deed; In the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ when ye are gathered
together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord
Jesus Christ, To deliver such a one to Satan;”