Selected quad for the lemma: heart_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heart_n	act_n	faith_n	true_a	2,461	5	5.6529	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A94870	Lutherus redivivus, or, The Protestant doctrine of justification by Christ's righteousness imputed to believers, explained and vindicated. Part II by John Troughton, Minister of the Gospel, sometimes Fellow of S. John's Coll. in Oxon ... [quotation, Augustine. Epist. 105].	Troughton, John, 1637?-1681.	1678 (1678)	Wing T2314A; ESTC R42350	139,053	283

encourage men in the use of these means against all difficulties If we fly to God for Salvation and depend upon his Promise for it doth not this in its own nature oblige us to follow him in the way he hath appointed for the performance of that promise and doth it not undo and revoke what faith hath done in accepting and trusting in Christ for life to be negligent of the means whereby it should be brought about yea it shews Man regards not life and so doth not really trust in Christ for it trust and confidence in any friend to bring any business to pass for us makes no man more regardless of his friend or negligent of doing his part 2ly Faith trusts in God for his Grace and Spirit as well as for Pardon though faith as justifying directly and formally respects only the ptomise of pardon and life yet secondarily it considers and trusts in the promises of a new heart assistance and perseverance to the end and here we are said to be kept by the power of God through faith to Salvation 1 Pet. 1.8 and to be saved by hope Rom. 8. because the power and grace of God to bring us to Heaven is given to us believing and trusting in it If then Faith taketh in the promises of grace also how should it open a way to sin and sloth 3ly Faith doth virtually include an acceptance of grace or of Christ to sanctifie as well as to pardon it implies some repentance and aversion from sin and therefore must naturally engage to mortification and holiness ●ot hinder it I say not that accepting of Christ is a proper act of Faith as is usually ●●firmed in popular discourses Acceptance ●●mally is rather an act of love liking of and ●●senting to such a person and his motions 〈◊〉 as before faith is wrought the heart is ordinarily prepared to believe by knowledge repentance love acceptance and de●●e of pardon and grace by the common ●ork of the Spirit so Faith really trusting in 〈◊〉 promise of eternal life resting upon it ●●h the whole heart doth include and imply ●●ind of acceptance of it and afterwards it 〈◊〉 up more express acts of desire and acceptance from love which follows faith like●●e the heart being prepared by Convictions 〈◊〉 Sorrow to welcome Pardon then it doth 〈◊〉 all sincerity trust in the Promise of Par●●● this doth include an aversion from sin willingness to be holy why else should we 〈◊〉 strongly in the Promise of Forgiveness 〈◊〉 Life coming from a holy God through 〈◊〉 holy Mediatour and this necessarily ex●●● express acts of Repentance and Morti●●tion he that truly understands what it is 〈◊〉 pardoned and justified and trust in the promise of it with all his heart doth in so doing shew an implicite resolution against sin and must manisest an explicite one afterwards 4ly Trusting in the grace of God when true brings the favour of the love of God and Christ Rom. 5.1 5. and this naturally inclineth to love thankfulness and obedience The groundless boast of Gods love are made an occasion of sloth by unsanctified hearts bu● a true apprehension of it is a great motive t● love and obedience a greater and more effectual than an expectation of being justified b● Obedience For such Men will take a libert● to sin sometimes but the sence of the love 〈◊〉 God while strong in the heart will suffer n● such thing it is not only a rational but 〈◊〉 natural principle too and therefore it wor●● more forcibly 2 Cor. 5.14 The Love 〈◊〉 Christ constraineth us because we thus judg●● If one died for all then were all dead a●● that he died for all that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves but unto h●● which died for them and rose again If t●● true sense of Gods love without danger 〈◊〉 Hell were not enough to engage men to 〈◊〉 bedience what engageth Saints and Ang●● in Heaven now this sense of the love of G●● cometh by Faith in his Mercy therefore Fa●● engageth to Obedience If we are justified by trusting in Gods M●●cy Object 4. and through the Righteousness of Chr●● without fulfilling any Terms or Conditions Vide True-man Gr. Prop. p. 89. then is there no proper Pardon of Sin For Christ's Righteousness being the perfect fulfilling of the Law and we being justified only by applying that Righteousness to us it seems we shall be accounted to have fulfilled the Law by our Surety and so not to be chargeable with Sin nor to need forgiveness Answ 1. They do wisely to begin to complain first for their own Opinion is not only liable to the same exception but seemeth inexcusable from it There are but two kinds of sins as they distribute them some against the Law of Works others against the Law of Grace and the Gospel and neither of these are properly pardoned Not the sins against the Law for saith our Author and his friends must say the same Christ did not properly fulfil the Law nor was the Curse of it properly executed upon him but he endeavoured that the legal threat might not be executed and gave to God a valuable consideration for which he might with Justice not execute that Law and be free to prescribe new con●itions of life to Sinners Hence I argue The Law was waved not fulfilled by the sinner or any for him neither was the sinner thereupon reconciled therefore the sins against the Law when men come under the Gospel are waved superseded but not pardoned Proper pardon is not only a forbearing to punish but a remission of the punishment with a reconciliation to th●● offendor but in this case God is not reconciled but only gives them new terms of Savation nor doth he remit the punishment though he forbear it for the present for if after trial they fulfil not the Terms of the Gospel their sins against the Law also shall b● charged upon them and if at last they d●● fulfil the conditions of the Gospel they a●● saved thereby fulfilling the new terms tha●● are given them then their old sins against the Law are forgotten and past over but the● is no proper pardon of them or reconcilin● the breakers of the Law as such Nor 〈◊〉 there pardon of their sins against the Gospel for if men fulfil not the conditions of it the● are condemned and so not pardoned If the● do fulfil them this is their righteousness b● this they are justified and saved because the● have performed those terms whereupon li●● is promised where then is there place f●● pardon when the Law is fulfilled If they say their Obedience is imperfect and sinful I answer it is so compared with the Law 〈◊〉 Works but not compared with the Law 〈◊〉 Grace Sincere Obedience to the Gospel 〈◊〉 as much as is required to bring a man to Heaven therefore by the Gospel it is reckone●● a fulfilling of what was required and so 〈◊〉 need no pardon Nor can it be conceive●● how the

shall be saved and this was the nature of Adam's Faith to believe if he obeyed perfectly he should be saved now it is accidental to this that men be sinners and need pardon and so must believe that they shall be pardoned and yet with these men Pardon is nothing but nolle punire that God will not condemn fo● sin and thus when we believe God will save us if we obey sincerely we do consequently and implicitely believe he will not condemn us i. e. will pardon us all our sins but thi● is implicite and indirect therefore the belief of Pardon cannot be a reason why Gospel Obedience should be called Faith and opposed to the Works of the Law Argument 6. If Faith and Obedience be the Condition of Justification then the great falls of the godly such especially as wast Conscience and make a breach upon their sincerity must interrupt their Justification and bring them into a state of damnation so that their only remedy must be to begin their Repentance and Obedience a new and if they have not time to do that but should die in their sin or senselesness after it they must perish for ever but we do not find in Scripture any word of this We read of the fall of some as Noah Lot Sampson and read nothing of their recovery and yet no question made of their Salvation We read also of David's and Peter's Repentance and their great Sorrow yet not that they reckoned themselves under condemnation We find David and others in the Psalms and Prophets much complaining of their Sins and Afflictions the fruit of them of the want of God's Favour and Presence yet they call him their God and beg the restoring of his Favour that he would not take his Spirit utterly from them Psal 51.11 12. All their Complaints and Prayers argue want of present fense of God's Favour and the quicknings of his Spirit not that they were utterly out of favour or a reconciled state It is true it is not safe for young or unexperienced Christians when guilty of foul sins or great decays of Zeal to retain mueh confidence of their good state but rather to remember from whence they are fallen and to repent and do their first works because they may be easily mistaken about the truth of grace when there hath been but little proof of it but well-rooted and experienced Christians upon their miscarriages are not bound to question their Justification but to humble themselves greatly for abusing the grace and kindness of God and submit to his fatherly correction and should they doubt as some do yet is not that the best and most proper motive to humble and recover them but rather a discouragement and hinderance Fear of Hell and such like Motives work best upon the unexperienced and ignorant but the want of God's Presence and other effects of his Fatherly displeasure are more suitable and more effectual to grown Christians Nor doth the Scripture speak any thing of the condemnation of those that die in actual sin and either have not actual repentance or not time to make proof of the sincerity of it The young Prophet 1 King 14 and the excellent Josiah 2 Chron. 35.21 22. were both slain presently upon an act of disobedience to the express Commands of God and yet nothing is said to render their Salvation doubtful and in this case I would ask whether the habit of Faith and Obedience be utterly extinguished If not it is strange that Men should go to Hell with a real disposition to love and serve God only wanting time to recover themselves from some fall If it be extinct it is also strange that one or a few acts of sin it may be for a few moments should utterly root out grace which hath been long in planting and confirming Argument 7. Lastly If Faith and Obedience be the Condition of Justification then there is no way to comfort Consciences troubled for sin but from the evidence of their sincerity past or by telling them they must be obedient for the time to come but for the present there is no peace nor hope no though they were going out of the World This Argument is much used by our first Reformers Luther Melancthon Chemnitius c. and they thought it unanswerable viz. That however men insensible of sin might dispute for the influence of their works on Justification yet when men have sore terrors of Conscience wounded for sin neither their works past nor their promises and purposes of what they will be for the future will comfort them but only the Doctrine of Free-grace and Pardon by hoping in the Mercy of God Our Martyr Mr. Bilney hearing a Rhetorical Preacher laying great stress upon Repentance and Obedience as the only ground of hope was offended and said How uncomfortable would this Poctrine have been to me when I was in my great terrors for my fall The Consequence is undeniable If we must be justified by Obedience and that persevering to the end there is no comfort to a distressed sinner unless you can shew him that he hath sincerely obeyed sometime past and therefore is fulfilling the Condition of Justification or by telling him he must now resolve to be obedient for the future and if he do so resolve there is some probability he may be saved but there can be no good hope till after some process of time he hath evidenced the sincerity of his Obedience which should he quickly die there would be no time for therefore no to lerable ground of hope or comfort for him but a bare perhaps that his purpose of obedience may be true and sincere and so accepted for his Justification But the Scriptures teach otherways our Saviours who knew best how to speak to the Soul saith to the Paralytick Mat. 9.22 Be of good chear thy sins are for given thee and to the Woman Luke 7.48 Thy sins are forgiven thee and Peter Act 2.37 38 c. when the Jews were pricked at their hearts biddeth them repent and b● baptized in the name of Christ for the remission of sins and that they should receive the gift of the Holy Ghost because the Promises did be long to them and their Children We see forgiveness is immediately promised to trembling souls and they are directed to hope for that and look to the Promises of it for present peace and comfort and certainly when God enlightneth the Conscience and setteth sin in order before it vid. Job 9. v. 19 to 23. and v. 13 to the end no man's sincerity will be a sufficient stay to him his obedience will appea● very small not fit to be presented to God the best will cry out If thou Lord should● mark iniquity who shall stand Psal 130. v. 2● and enter not into Judgement with thy Servant for in thy sight shall no flesh be justified Ps 143 3. And though they that be but lightly touched with sin are ready to promise great matter for the future and to quiet

all the immediate proper causes of Justification both internal and external and wanting only the remote preparatory causes If obedience to the Gospel as the Law of Christ be that alone to which Justification is promised then unbelief of his Merit when a man is not convinced of the truth of it can no more damn him than the unbelief of any other History concerning Christ suppose his being born at Bethlem or living at Nazareth c. when a man is not sufficiently perswaded of them For these were necessary ex Hypothesi because God would have it so and Christ's Merit was no more by their confession nor was it impossible according to their Principles but Christ might have been a King and enacted this Law of Grace though he had not been a Priest and satisfied for Sin And thus we have the bottom of this Mystery Next it is proved that Christ justifyeth as a Prophet p. 25. because the Gospel is a Law that must be promulgated and expounded and a Doctrine that must be taught and pressed on Sinners till they receive it and believe that they may be justified and this Christ doth as a Teacher and Faith must accordingly respect him Answ Faith must believe and trust in the Promise of Life made in Christ and preached by Christ and revealed to the heart by his Spirit But what is this to prove that a professed subjection to the teaching of Christ must justify us as well as Faith and yet methinks he that teacheth That the Covenant of Grace is written in all men's hearts and is a Secondary Law of Nature teaching men that God will forgive them that serve him sincerely though they know not that it was to be brought about by the Mediatour should not make it necessary to Justification to believe That Christ in Person preached the Gospel We have here Scriptures multiplied to prove that Christ hath power to forgive sins which is an Act of a King Mat. 9.6 ch 11. v. 27 28. ch 28. v. 19 20 c. which we grant he hath Ministerially viz. To declare the Promise of Forgiveness and to pronounce Pardon For he received this Power of the Father It followeth therefore that we must trust in him to declare and pronounce us forgiven but it is for his own Righteousness not for our Obedience Argument 5. It is a necessary condition of our being baptized for the Remission of Sins p. 27. that we profess a Belief in more than Christ's Humiliation and Merits Ergò More is a necessary condition of our actual Remission Mat. 28.19 20. 1 Pet. 3.21 Act. 8.37 1st Answ Here is continually ignoratio Elenchi We do not say that Christ's Humiliation and Merits are the only object of justifying Faith excluding his Person or any of his Offices but that Faith as justifying doth trust only in the promise of Reconciliation through the Merit of Christ but that it doth also in subsequent distinct Acts trust in the Promises of Illumination and Sanctification and in Christ himself to work these in us as a Prophet and King and to obtain them for us by his Priestly Intercession but all by virtue of his Merit and satisfaction which as it is the foundation of the other Offices of Christ so Faith always respects it as the foundation of all other Blessings to be hoped for 2ly 2ly I deny that any thing is necessary to Baptism for remission of sins more than a trust in Christ or the promise of Reconciliaon through his Bloud Baptism is as Circumcision was a Seal of the righteousness of Faith Rom. 4.11 i. e. that we shall be forgiven through believing It is God's Seal to his Covenant or Promise which men are supposed to have a right to before they are baptized and so before they can promise obedience Believing in the whole Trinity and then believing Christ to be the Son of God proveth nothing but that the remission which Baptism sealeth is to be expected from the true God in opposition to the Heathen and Jewish false Gods or false Notions of God viz. That we are to trust in the Father to justify us through the Bloud of his Son who will bring us to eternal life by the Operation of his Spirit and that Jesus of Nazareth is this Son of God so to be trusted in Mat. 28.20 Men are first to be baptised being instructed in the Doctrine of Christ afterwards taught all his Commandments and thus the Apostles practised preaching through Christ the remission of sins and then baptising them that believe Acts 10. Acts 13. If a Promise of Obedience be the condition of Baptism then Infants are not to be baptised 1 Pet. 3.21 only sheweth that Baptism as an outward Sign will not profit without reallity in the heart in believing or trusting in Christ which will produce obedience The Covenants of Obedience which the Church annexed to Baptism are not annexed to it as conditions of obtaining Remission of Sins but as conditions of men's Admission into the Fellowship of the Church and those as evidences of the reality of their Faith in Christ Argument 6. The Apostles of Christ themselves before his death p. 28. were justifyed by believing in him as the Son of God and the Teacher and King of the Church yea perhaps without believing at all in his Death and Ransom thereby Ergò Answ If believing here mean as it ought the Apostles acknowledging Christ to be the Son of God King and Teacher of his Church and their giving themselves to obey him then I deny the Antecedent they were not hereby justifyed but by their trust in the Promises of Pardon and Reconciliation through the Messias whom they now knew to be Jesus Christ though they knew not the particular way how he was to reconcile them to God They were justifyed as Abraham and David and all the former Saints were and their Love and Obedience to Christ so far as they understood him was an effect of their Faith All the Proof is The Apostles were justified and they acknowledged loved obeyed Christ as King and Prophet and understood not that he was to die for them therefore this justifyed them Which is no Consequent Argument 7. The Satisfaction and Merits of Christ are not the only objects of the Sanctifying and Saving Acts of Faith p. 30. therefore not of Justifying 1st Answ Faith looketh only to the Satisfaction of Christ or rather to the Promise founded on that merit as the procuring cause for Sanctification and Perseverance viz. That as perfect Justification so perfect Sanctification is purchased for us by Christ But the Sanctifying Act must respect Christ's following applicatory Acts p. 31. and not the purchase of Sanctification only so the justifying act must respect Christ's following collation or application and not only his purchase of Justification Answ 1 This still changeth the Question which is Whether Faith in Christ as Prophet Priest and King i. e. Obedience as well as trust