Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
authority_n	apostle_n	church_n	minister_n	2,916	5	6.7721	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A17973	An examination of those things wherein the author of the late Appeale holdeth the doctrines of the Pelagians and Arminians, to be the doctrines of the Church of England written by George Carleton ...	Carleton, George, 1559-1628.	1626 (1626)	STC 4633; ESTC S1219	68,302	126

these words is that these speculations as he calleth them are not to be feared to breed danger The Church is quiet and without danger vntill some new doctrines be broached and contentions raised about the truth and then the hearts of many are disclosed and dangers grow These things that this Author hath moved in our Church are more apt to breed dangers then any thing that hath beene mooved since the time of Barret Baro and Thomson A desperate man may set an house on fire and say there is no danger yet the danger is not the lesse but the madnesse of the man is the more that cryes out there is no danger The ignorance of Gods word and truth therein contained is able not onely to breed danger but to cause destructions of Churches and states The Prophet complaineth that the people of the Iewes were destroyed and led into captivitie for want of knowledge Then the want of knowledge of God and of the holy doctrines of Gods word is a thing apta nata to throw states and Kingdomes into destruction And the true knowledge thereof is a thing apta nata to keepe states and people from destruction Pag. 42. he saith These classicall proiects consistoriall practises conventuall designes and propheticall speculations of the zealous brethrē in this land meaning Holland do 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ayme at anarchy and popular confusion dangerous indeed to Prince and people He speaketh here of the Ministers of the Low-countryes between whom and vs in the matter of doctrine there hath beene a care of mutuall consent sought and by his late Maiestie graciously entertained and for the publicke good the desire thereof may be continued though this man should be offended For though the Church of England be the best Reformed Church yet is it not the onely Reformed Church And it might seeme no good providence in vs to stand so by our selues as to reiect and disdaine the consent of other Churches though they doe not agree with vs in the discipline It is observed by Eusebius that Polycrates and Irenaeus did both reprone Victor because for matters of ceremonies he was too much offended with other Churches which otherwise agreed with him in doctrine Irenaeus doth admonish him that the auncient Bishops of Rome before Victor did keepe vnitie consent with the Easterne Bishops though in ceremonies there was difference between them Omnes isticum in observantia variarent inter semetipsos et nobiscū semper pacifici fuerunt He saith there also that the dissonance in ceremonies did not breake the consonance in faith And why may not we doe the like to keepe the vnitie of faith with those Churches which doe not agree with vs in ceremonies if we seeke the peace of the Churches that professe the same doctrine Touching the point of their discipline I can witnesse that they are weary of it and would gladly be freed if they could When wee were to yeeld our consent to the Belgicke confession at Dort I made open protestation in the Synode that whereas in that confession there was inserted a strange conceit of the parity of Ministers to be instituted by Christ I declared our dissent vtterly in that point I shewed that by Christ a parity was never instituted in the Church that hee ordayned 12 Apostles and also 70 Disciples that the authority of the 12 was aboue the other that the Church preserved this order left by our Saviour And therefore when the extraordinary authority of the Apostles ceased yet their ordinary authority continued in Byshops who succeeded them who were by the Apostles themselues left in the government of the Church to ordaine Ministers and to see that they who were so ordeined should preach no other doctrine That in an inferior degree the Ministers that were governed by Byshops succeeded the 70. Disciples That this order hath beene maintained in the Church from the time of the Apostles And herein I appealed to the judgement of Antiquity and to the judgement of any learned man now living and craved herein to be satisfied if any man of learning could speake to the contrary My Lord of Salisbury is my witnesse and so are all the rest of our company who spake also in the same cause To this there was no answere made by any Whereupon we conceived that they yeelded to the truth of the protestation And somewhat I can say of mine owne knowledge For I had conference with divers of the best learned in that Synode I told them that the cause of all their troubles was this that they had not Byshops amongst them who by their authoritie might represse turbulent spirits that broached novelties Every man had libertie to speake or write what he list and as long as there were no Ecclesiasticall men in authoritie to represse and censure such contentious spirits their Church would never be without trouble Their answere was that they did much honour and reverence the good order and discipline of the Church of England with all their hearts would be glad to haue it established amongst them but that could not be hoped for in their state Their hope was that seing they could not doe what they desired God would be mercifull to them if they did what they could This was their answere which I thinke is enough to excuse them that they doe not openly ayme at anarchy and popular confusion The truth is they groane vnder that burthen and would be eased if they could This is well knowne to the rest of my Associates there Pag. 58. speaking of the 17. Article he saith there is not one word syllable or apex touching your absolute necessary determined irresistible irrespectiue Decree of God to call saue and glorifie S. Peter for instance without any consideration had or regard to his faith obedience and repentance and to condemne Iudas as necessarily without any respect had at all to his sinne this is a private fancy of some particular men Of this I haue spoken at large before I haue declared that these accusations which he hath here made against the doctrine of predestination were the accusations of the Pelagians against Saint Augustines doctrine Onely here I will answer to a particuler surmise that may happily fall into the thought of the Reader or of the Author of the Appeale himselfe Hee saith here that these things are not contained in the 17. Article and so after his manner of shifting he may say that hee deliuereth not heere his owne opinion but onely saith that these things are not contained in the Article To remoue this answer he must remember that in diuers places through his booke hee deliuereth the same with confidence not onely as his owne opinion but as the doctrine of our Church as page 30. Hee saith though not truely as hath beene proued before That the 16. Article was challenged as vnsound but was there defended maintained avowed auerred for true by the greatest Byshops and learnedest of our Diuines against that

infirmities to an happy end is the worke of God which no power in the world can defeate CHAP. 9. An examination of the Arminians definition of grace FOr the better vnderstanding of these men that pleade against the grace of God We must obserue that one especiall ground of their errour is in this that they conceiue and vnderstand amisse of grace They take it for another thing then the Scriptures haue declared and the Church of God from the Scriptures haue taken it to be And therefore when they define grace they say it is a morall perswasion Arminius himselfe saith it is lenis suasio they admit no power of God here And are not these a strange kinde of men that will make vnto themselues their owne grounds and not take their grounds from the Scriptures If this ground which they so blindly begge were true then were it indeed easie for them to proue many of their conclusions that alike or generall grace is offered vnto all that quantum ad Deum pertinet for so much as is in God one man receiueth as much grace as an other that the difference is in mans free-will in accepting or reiecting of grace that grace may soone bee gotten and soone lost altogether But who gaue these men authority to make a definition contrary to that which the holy Scriptures haue deliuered These men acknowledge no other power in the Gospell preached but onely the power of the Minister that preacheth The Preacher hath not power to giue faith and repentance to infuse grace but only vseth morall perswasions to the people but together with the labour of the Preacher the spirit of God worketh And therefore we are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 helpers with God in that great worke And because the spirit of God worketh with power in opening mens hearts humbling them leading them to an acknowledgement and confession of their sinnes conuerting their soules drawing them out of the power of darknesse out of the power of Sathan and sinne which worke cannot be done by a gentle perswasion onely it cannot be done but by the power of God therefore the Apostle declaring that grace which commeth to belieuers by the preaching of the Gospell calleth it the power of God to saluation And againe The preaching of the crosse is to them that perish foolishnesse but vnto vs that are saued it is the power of God And the Apostle speaking of faith which is the first and one of the greatest graces which we receiue saith your faith standeth not in the wisedome of man but in the power of God If our faith which is the first and the chiefest grace whereby we stand be in the power of God not in the wisedome of man then it is no morall perswasion For morall perswasion reacheth no further then mans wisedome But this is most perspicuously taught in the Epistle to the Ephesians where the Apostle saith I cease not to giue thankes vnto God making mention of you in my prayers that the eyes of your vnderstanding may be enlightned that you may know what the hope of his calling and what the riches of his glorious inheritance is in his Saints and what is the exceeding greatnesse of his power towards vs which beleeue according to the working of his mighty power Then when wee are drawne vnto faith when we beleeue this is done by the power of God by the exceeding greatnesse of his power by the mighty working of his power And therefore they that say that grace is onely a morall perswasion and quantum ad deum that saluation is alike prepared for all and that the reason why one receiueth grace another receiueth it not is onely in mans free-will These men and their vaine and weake fancies are cleane ouerthrowne because grace is found to bee in the power of God For if quantum ad deum as they say it were prepared alike to all why then doth the Apostle say that preaching is foolishnesse to them that perish but the power of God to vs that are saued If it bee foolishnesse vnto some and the power of God to saluation to others then verily it is not alike vnto all God is able to make his powerfull grace appeare vnto them to whome it is foolishnesse but hee will not Heere wee may finde many things to admire and to wonder at and to cry out with the Apostle O the depth But still wee finde that the power of God is in his calling and declared in our faith which standeth not in mans wisedome but in the power of God This doth sufficiently prooue that the grace of God is not as these men affirme without and against all grounds of Scripture a morall perswasion For it is the power of God the exceeding greatnesse and the mightie working of his power They that would vnderstand this controuersie betweene the Church of God and th●se vngratefull and vngracious men that oppugne the grace of God may best vnderstand it if they seeke out with care and diligence the definition of grace It is of the greatest importance to know and being knowne will leade a man as by a thread vnto the particulars of this question We finde plainely that the loue of God and the power of God is in it And wee may be sure that they who deny the power of God to be in grace can neuer come to the true knowledge of it It is true that if that definition were once granted that grace is nothing but a morall perswasion then would all those strange conclusions follow of which I spake before and others more mad then they that the purpose of Praedestination is a thing vncertaine and of no power that Gods purpose of Praedestination must bee ruled by man and not by God It is much to bee wondred at that such men should bee found in the Church professing Christianitie that with such boldnesse take such a definition as granted and with such ignorance draw those conclusions from it Let vs but stoppe this principle and we stop their mouthes For if grace be the power of God to saluation if Faith and grace stand not in mans wisedome but in the power of God if wee bee drawne to beleeue by the exceeding greatnesse of Gods power by the mighty working of his power then it followeth that the grace whereby we are called whereby wee beleeue and repent and are iustified and in the end saued is the power of God It was his good will and purpose to praedestinate vs but it is his power to execute that good purpose to draw sinnefull men out of the power of darkenesse into the kingdome of light to worke in our hearts a loue of obedience by his holy Spirit To worke this farre surpassed the power al of creatures and therefore it is done by the power of God Vpon this ground thus laide the course of Arminians is stopped If they tell vs that grace is a gentle perswasion and goeth no further Wee answer that