Schaff - History of the Christian Church Vol. 8 - Media Sabda Org

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confirmed by Paul, when he prays for the Romans, ‘The God of patience
and consolation grant you to be of the same mind one with another,
according to Christ Jesus; that, ye may with one accord and one mouth
glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Rom. 15:5, 6).
“Let our opponents, then, in the first instance, draw near to Christ, and
then let them convict us of schism, in daring to dissent from them in
doctrine. But, since I have made it plain that Christ is banished from their
society, and the doctrine of his gospel exterminated, their charge against us
simply amounts to this, that we adhere to Christ in preference to them. For
what man, pray, will believe that those who refuse to be led away from
Christ and his truth, in order to deliver themselves into the power of men,
are thereby schismatics, and deserters from the communion of the Church?
“I certainly admit that respect is to be shown to priests, and that there is
great danger in despising ordinary authority. If, then, they were to say, that
we are not at our own hand to resist ordinary authority, we should have no
difficulty in subscribing to the sentiment. For we are not so rude as not to
see what confusion must arise when the authority of rulers is not respected.
Let pastors, then, have their due honor—an honor, however, not
derogatory in any degree to the supreme authority of Christ, to whom it
behooves them and every man to be subject. For God declares, by Malachi,
that the government of the Israelitish Church was committed to the priests,
under the condition that they should faithfully fulfil the covenant made with
them, viz. that ‘their lips should keep knowledge,’ and expound the law to
the people (Mal. 2:7). When the priests altogether failed in this condition,
he declares, that, by their perfidy, the covenant was abrogated and made
null. Pastors are mistaken if they imagine that they are invested with the
government of the Church on any other terms than that of being ministers
and witnesses of the truth of God. As long, therefore, as, in opposition to
the law and to the nature of their office, they eagerly wage war with the
truth of God, let them not arrogate to themselves a power which God
never bestowed, either formerly on priests, or now on bishops, on any
other terms than those which have been mentioned.”
When the Romanists demanded miracles from the Reformers as a test of
their innovations, Calvin replied that this was “unreasonable; for we forgo
no new gospel, but retain the very same, whose truth was confirmed by all
the miracles ever wrought by Christ and the Apostles. The opponents have
this advantage over us, that they confirm their faith by continual miracles