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A Candid Inquiry into the Controversies among Evangelicals · §47

Unstable props of grace-universality: Word-offers confused with a decretive will to save all

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But the hypotheses on which this universality of grace rests — though the Lutherans' reason and aim differ from the Remonstrants' — have already been pointed out in part above, under the articles controversed with the Arminians, I, II, III, IV, and so on. They are also clear from what follows.

In particular, God's commands and the promises in the Word, which gospel ministers are to set out indiscriminately, are confused with a will or good-pleasure in God to save all and each. So the universality of believers — of those who are to be saved — is confused with the universality of human beings: all humans taken collectively from Adam onward, and any humans taken distributively, as is shown at length elsewhere.

Likewise vocation through nature, by which God is manifested, and His common goodness; or vocation given at times in the greater ones; or that former Hebrew vocation, well known among some few neighboring nations; or the vocation the Apostles were to carry out every way, generally and promiscuously, and so on (Matthew 18; Mark 16). These vocations, I say, are precariously dragged into a universal vocation of all human beings and each one, and into a sufficient offering of the means of salvation, and so on.

But of that common and universal vocation even before Christ was exhibited, see at length above, Controv. with the Remonstrants XXXI.

Latin

Hypotheses verò quibus haec Universalitas Gratiae nititur, quamvis diversa sit ratio & scopus Lutheranorum à Remonstrantium illo, suprâ sunt ex parte indicatae, ad Articulos cum Arminianis controversos I. II. III. IV. &c. Et ex sequentibus quoque intelliguntur. In specie verò confunduntur, Dei mandata, & promissiones in Verbo, à Ministris Euangelii indiscriminatim proponendae; cum voluntate seu beneplacito in Deo omnes & singulos salvandi: Sic confusa universalitas credentium, servandorum, & universalitas hominum; omnes homines collectivè sumpti, indè ab Adamo, & quivis homines distributivè ut prolixè aliàs. Ità vocatio per naturam, quâ Deus manifestatur, ejusque communis bonitas; aut vocatio facta quandoque in majoribus; aut Hebraeorum illa quondam, celebris inter nonnullas sed paucas & viciniores Gentes; aut quae facienda per Apostolos quaquaversum fuit, generatim & promiscuè, &c. Matth. xviii. Marc. xvi. Istae (inquam) vocationes precariè trahuntur ad Vocationem universalem, omnium & singulorum hominum, & ad sufficientem oblationem mediorum salutis, &c. Sed de Vocatione illa communi, & universali etiam antè Christum exhibitum, prolixè suprâ, Controv. cum Remonstr. XXXI.

About this text

Samuel Strimesius — Prefatio through Controversiae Post Lutherum Controv. III-XIII + XV Tolerantia, Hexades Annotationum Prooemium and Annotatio I through Decem Theses / Francus plus Annotatio II §.I-§.VI and Annotatio III §.I–§.VII (through Cassellanum 1661) from Ingenua in Controversias Evangelicorum (Frankfurt an der Oder, 1708). Honest partial; Prefatio silence reasons, Annotatio III §.VIII+ fruits / §.IX+, Hexades theses body, deeper Controversiae / Part II remain.

English follows the locked 1708 Francofurti ad Viadrum Latin of Prefatio §I–II, Crimina defenses through III, Part I Protheoria through Controversiae Obices/Historia/Varii gradus, Formula Discord/Disparitas, Ulterius confirmatur / Classes / Formula protest / triplex differentia, Coena Domini Controversiae Priores through Precariae Hypotheses (Controv. print pp. 34–40), Controversiae Post Lutherum Natae Controv. III–XV tip (providence through De Tolerantia mutua; Controv. print pp. 40–78), Hexades Annotationum Prooemium H.I–§.III (Hexades print pp. 1–4 / PDF ~182–185), and Annotatio I De Augustana Confessione §.I–§.VIII tip (Hexades print pp. 5–24+ / PDF ~186–205+), reconstructed from Google Books PDF page images (ONB copy, id 3epYAAAAcAAJ) with pdftotext as check. No modern English was copied. Sister Halle digitization of Ingenua in Arminianismum (DOI 10.25673/65287) remains Anubis-blocked — skipped; Controversias only. Prefatio silence reasons, Annotatio I §.IX+, Hexades theses body beyond §.VIII, and remainder of Controversiae / folio remain.

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