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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
authority_n	apostle_n	church_n	speak_v	2,823	5	4.8418	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A19858	A treatise of the Church VVritten against them of the separation, commonly called Brownists. Wherein the true doctrine of a visible Church is taught, and the Church of England, proued to be a true Church. The Brownists false doctrine of the visible Church is conuinced; their shamefull peruerting of the holy Scriptures discouered, their arguments to proue the Church of England a false Church answered.	Darrel, John, b. ca. 1562.	1617 (1617)	STC 6286; ESTC S117495	230,202	407

because in the beginning of Queene Elizabeths raigne and likewise at this day our parishionall assemblies are no such societies as consist of such onely but had and now haue in them many false and counterfeite Christians and Professors Therefore at the first they were and so continue false visible Churches Is there any so blind who seeth not that hereby they shut out of the Church all Hypocrites For true Professors are opposite to false and counterfeite Professors which are those we call Hypocrites A true Professor is he who is the sonne in trueth that he professeth and maketh shew to be Who professing godlinesse is godly Directly contrary to this man is the Hypocrite The like may be saide of a faithfull and true Christian But a true visible Church saide those Schismaticks is a company of true Professors and Christians and not a mixt company of true and false Professors Therefore in the visible Church by their doctrine there are no Hypocrites With Barrow and Robison doth Maister Ainsworth accord Counterp 72. as being led by the same spirit The Apostle saith he sheweth Iam 1.18 1. Pet. 1.23 That Christs Church is a people begotten with the word of trueth that is the Gospell but your Church was first begotten gathered constituted ordered and is still continued by the Magistrates word and authoritie which if it did not enforce the people the estate wherein you now stand would soone bee changed and your Church dissolued And where you learned so to inforce faith and constraine men to bee members of your Church Alcoran chap. 18. 19. I can not tell vnlesse you would follow Mahomets doctrine who taught that men should bee compelled to the faith by the sword Before you teach that a visible Church is a company of people that doe repent and beleeue the Gospell and here you terme it a people begotten by the Gospel and borne a new nor of mortall but of immortall seede and so all are regenerated that bee in the visible Church and consequently shall inherit the Kingdome of heauen For can hee dye that is begotten and borne of immortall seede whereof both these Apostles speak This doctrine and all of this kinde hereafter following take it as it is by you deliuered and it is palpably false so as it needeth no confutation But your meaning it seemeth is that All in the true visible Church liue so holily righteously and soberly touching their outward carriage before men that wee cannot in equity nor charity account otherwise of them then faithfull and such as haue repented and are conuerted to God and are begotten and borne a new Principles and Inferences 7. yea Elect as M. Smith saith And for this cause as these men suppose all in the visible Church are called Saints and Faithfull As Ephes 1.1 Paul an Apostle of Iesus Christ c. But herein it must needs be they are deceiued seeing there haue beene true visible Churches in former times wherein some members and those not a few haue beene so vile and abominable as the faithfull then liuing could neither in equitie nor charitie iudge so of them as you speake Except they should haue iudged otherwise of the tree then according to the fruits nay cleane contrarie to it whereas our Lord sayth Yee shall know men by their fruits Mat. 7.16 euen as the tree is knowne by the fruits thereof That which M. Smith here affirmeth I haue answered here after in the next Chapter and thither I referre the Reader for further satisfaction Obserue besides the abuse of scripture here Note here their peruerting of Scripture The words of Iames be Of his owne will begate hee vs with the word of truth that wee should be the first fruits of his Creatures By vs who are said here to be begotten by the Gospell the Apostle meaneth himselfe and the rest of the faithfull members of the inuisible Church and not himselfe the rest of the visible Church as you fondly imagine and beare the simple Reader in hand Rom. 6.13 12.2 As the first fruits vnder the Law were dedicated to God and offered vnto him so all the faithfull consecrate and giue vp themselues wholly to God a liuing sacrifice holy acceptable vnto him which is their reasonable seruing of God and not all of the visible Church as you in the application of this Scripture tell vs the most whereof giue themselues and their members as weapons of vnrighteousnesse vnto sinne wherein they walke according to the course of this world and after the Prince that ruleth in the ayre euen the spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience Of true beleeuers and none others S. Peter also speaketh For they onely are borne a new of that immortall seede hee mentioneth which Iohn 1.12 proueth As many as receiued him to them hee gaue power to be the sonnes of God euen to them that beleeue in his name Againe these that are thus borne a new as 23. vers are said to be redeemed vers 18. to beleeue in God verse 21. To haue their soules purified by the Spirit verse 22. But such as bee of the inuisible Church onely are redeemed beleeue in GOD Counterpoys 158. are purifyed by the Spirit Of such therefore the Apostle here speaketh Hereby it is plaine that you speake vntruely when you say That places setting forth the inuisible Church are not by you brought to set forth the visible Church Yet Ainsworth in slandering and blaspheming our Church is worse and more intollerable then Barrowes whereof wee haue heard before Hee saith not onely that our Church was first begotten and gathered but addeth and is still continued by the Magistrates word and authoritie excluding the words of GOD as if our Church were neither begotten at first nor continued now by the Ministerie of the Word And where learned yee say you so to inforce Faith and constraine men to be members of your Church I answere Not out of the 18. and 19. Chapters of Alcoran which you by your Cotation in the margent imply but out of the sacred scriptures Not from the example of Mahomet but from the commended examples of the godly Kings of Iudah as I haue shewed Thus much you cannot tell or see The greater is your ignorance and blindnesse A spirit of errour hath put out the eye of your vnderstanding But where learne you to compare the doctrine of God to Mahomets doctrine and the examples and practise of the good Kings of Iudah which you acknowledge all Christian Princes should follow with Mahomets example and practise Counterpois 230. Cursed is that zeale which carieth a man beyond all bands of truth and sobrietie Paul being very zealous spake yet the words of truth and sobernesse The Lord lay not this blasphemie to your charge To that which hath been said I onely adde this That if a visible Church were a company of men truely and vnfainedly religious as you in your whole doctrine of the visible church

gouernment speake euill of them that are in authoritie and speak euill of those things which they knew not and whatsoeuer things they did know naturally as beasts which are without reason in those things they did corrupt themselues Whom for th●ir hatred to the brethren he compareth to Cain and in other respects to Balaam and Core Also to clouds without water carried about of windes corrupt trees without fruit twise dead and plucked vp by the rootes to wandring starres and to the raging waues of the Sea foming out their owne shame These were open wicked men and yet were they of the visible Church as appeareth hereby First in that they are compared to clouds without water whereby is is noted their hypocrisie that they made a shew of godlinesse but were indeede without godlinesse like the clouds that make semblance of raine or water but send downe none Secondly this is confirmed by verse 4. where Iude speaking of these vngodly men saith they were crept in meaning into the Church And lastly by verse 12. These are spots in your feasts of charitie when they feast with you without all feare feeding themselues By these words it is euident that these notorious wicked men were of the Church because they frequented the loue feasts Where these feasts were kept the Christians onely met at which time th●y receiued the Lords Supper and had a f●ast to witnesse and increase their mutuall loue which they called Agapae loue feasts or feasts of Charitie As open scandalous wicked men haue eu●r beene in the visible Church so there are such now and hereafter will be from whom vsually the persecutions in the Church doe come The first of these is already made manifest Verse 2.3.4 The later is euident by 2. Tim. 3. where Paul foretelling of the gr●euous sinners that shall be in these last dayes mentioneth some that must needes be open sinners as boasters cursed speakers disobedient to parents vnholy or profane truce breakers false accusers intemperate c. And least that wee should vnderstand this of them that are without in the end he sheweth that hee meaneth this of the hypocrites in the Church of them which haue a shew of godlinesse but haue denied the power thereof If now Verse 5. as in the first Church there was a Cain as well as an Habel and after an Ismael as well as an Isaack an Esau as well as a Iacob and a Saul as well as a Dauid Scribes and Pharises as well as Ioseph and Mary there haue likewise beene in all ages of the Church after vntill this day and will bee in the ages succeeding open wicked as well as godly yea not onely so but many such so as sometimes scarce any righteous or knowne godly were to be found in the Church by reason of the aboundance of open wicked If I say these things be cleare and euident in the Scriptures as appeareth by the premises how far are you of the Seperation from the truth who teach That a visible Church is a company of righteous and holy men onely sepertaed from the knowne wicked and that into it there entreth not nor therein abideth any vncleane thing neither whatsoeuer worketh abominations Defence of the Churches and Minist of Engl. 7. And whereas the Seperatists contending for this That a visible Church is a company of Saints do thereby require though not true sanctimony in euery member yet an externall holinesse and such a carriage of the outward man in the duties of pietie towards God and iustice towards man as in Charitie one can deeme a member of the true visible Church no other then a Saint I demand of them what outward holinesse the aforesaid Despisers Scorners Blasphemers and Murderers which were notwithstanding of the visible Church had aboue the worst in our Church Also whether the most profane and vile in our Church be not as holy and as good Saints as murdering Cain mocking Ishmael profane Esau persecuting Saul bloudy Doeg traiterous Absalon and the blasphemous Scribes and Pharisies who were all members of a true visible Church Know ye not that all these were most horrible sinners Some of them sitting in the seate of the scorner some persecuting and shedding the bloud of the Saints others blasphemers nay committing blasphemie against the holy Ghost and therefore sinners in the highest degree And the best and holiest of them no better then Dogs and Swine treading vnder their feete the holy and precious Word of God and all to renting them that did teach it Neither can wee be ignorant of this that the sinnes of these men were open and notoriously knowne to the Saints who liued in their times And yet notwithstanding were all these of the true visible Church Men therefore wanting this externall holinesse yea most vile and abominable and notoriously knowne to be such haue yet neuerthelesse been in the true Church principall members in the same And such vndoubtedly are in the Church at this day and will be to the end of the world according to the prophecie of Paul 2. Tim. 3. And here wee may remember how notwithstanding there were such notorious wicked men in the Church of the Iewes Vers 1.2 c. Deut. 7.6 Ps 79.2 111.1 and 149.1 whereof we haue had but a tast and oft times store of them yet neuerthelesse they are cal●ed the people of God his heritage an holy Nation Saints and there publike Congregations the Congregation of the Righteous and the assemblies of the Saints The whole body being thus called in respect of the Elect hauing this Denomination of the better part though the lesse or else because of their holy profession or holy religion which they professed whereby they differed from and excelled all other Nations and them that were without Herevpon I demand why in these respects we likewise may not be called the people of God his heritage an holy Nation Saints and our Church assemblies the assemblies of Saints notwithstanding there bee many open wicked among vs Here we may see how vntruely M. Fr. Iohnson herein chargeth the forward Preachers in England with false Doctrine Defence of the Churches and Minist of Engl. 71. who reckning vp 14. points of false doctrine forsooth that they teach nameth this for one That the true visible Church of Christ is not a seperated company of righteous men from the open wicked of the world but may consist of people good and bad And to the increase of his sinne for confirmation of his grosse and palpaple errour he coteth aboue twenty places of Scripture But tell me doe not all the Preachers in England nay in all Christendome teach that there is a mixture of good and bad in the visible Church as well as these forward preachers you speake of You cannot with any truth deny it Why then doe you spurne with the heele at these rather then others And this is our third point of false doctrine the fourth followeth in these words 4. That