Series 5 > Religious Controversy in Scotland 1625-1639

RUTHERFORD & SYDSERFF/CANNONS AND CEREMONIES’
83
Opponent
The text must be larger then to eschew the offending of the weak because he
saith,v. 19,‘I have made myself servant [324] to all that I may gain the more,’and
v. 20,‘to the Jews became I a Jew (who were malicious to Paul? the Jews) that I
might gaine the Jews, etc.’1 Also that his plea was with false apostles is more then
evident through this episde, and the begining of this chapter seemeth to me to
speak it: v. 1,‘Am I not anAposde? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ
our Lord? Are ye not my work in the Lord?’Who but false apostles put Paul to
prove his apostleshipolick calling? But I will not contend because this is off our
way. Let me add these who were like to be scandalized at Christ’s not paying
tribute were malicious pharisees, whose course was to set Christ and Caesar by
the ears together and accused Christ as one who forbad to obey Caesar. Christ
payeth tribute when he was not obliged,‘leist’, saith he to Peter,‘we scandalize’,
Matthew 17:27, me skandalisomenon.2 Ergo in things indifferent the scandall of
malicious men is to be eschewed.
Answer
The text ye alleadge is obscure; interpreters doth not accord what is meaned
by‘children that is free’.
Opponent
I to[o] shall [expone] on3 what is meaned by those words. It proveth [325]
that Christ, in a thing indifferent, would not scandalize the malicious, but my
reply which I may press is that to Christ’s second comeing, there shall ever be in
all churches, and so in ours, weak ones,‘new borne babes’, 1 Peter 2:[2]; 1 John
2:[12-]13, fathers, young men, and litle children; babes that have need of milk,
Hebrews 5:13.
Answer
I deny not that there are still weak ones in the church, but a law must free
weak ones in the poynt of scandall taken at church law in things indifferent, how
at Rome, Romans 14, and at Corinth there was no church canon, no law about
these meats and dayes that scandalized, and therfor Paul did well to forbear their
practise before weak ones. But ye know there is a law in our church now that
may take away scandal, and so your arguments from Rome without a church
law to Scotland with such an established law is a most weak one.
1 closer to AV
2 The second word is transliterated from Greek.The first is obscure in the document; I have added
‘me’, the Greek negative particle, from the Greek text of the New Testament.
3 ‘I shall on ...’written at first;‘to[o]’added later;‘expone’required by sense.