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A02190 Markes and no markes, of the Kingdome of Heauen: or, A treatise of things neccessary, vnnecessary, to the Kingdome of God. By Henry Greenewood Master of Art, and preacher of the word of God Greenwood, Henry, b. 1544 or 5. 1634 (1634) STC 12334; ESTC S119046 14,649 53

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MARKES AND NO MARKES OF THE KINGDOME OF HEAVEN OR A Treatise of things Necessary Vnnecessary To the Kingdome of God By HENRY GREENEWOOD Master of Art and Preacher of the Word of GOD. Rom. 14. 3. Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not c. LONDON Printed by Eliz. All●de and are to bee sold by Michael Sparke dwelling at the blue Bible in Greene-Arbour 1634. TO THE RIGHT worthy and VVorshipfull Master ROBERT LEVYSTONE Gentleman of his Majesties Bedchamber all honour in this life and Eternall glory in the life to come IT was worthy Sir a chiefe care in Saint Paul the holy and gracious Apostle who was Gentium tuba and Gods Organum electum set apart to preach and transveigh the liquor of life to the Gentiles after hee had layd downe the Foundation Christ Jesus and the body of the truth to keepe the Corinthian and other Churches from scisme faction strife and contention as in the Corinthians Hee beseecheth them by the Name of the Lord Iesus Christ that they would all speake one thing and that there might bee no dissentions among them but to bee knit together in one minde and in one judgement and all this counsell for unanimity was but necessary seeing the fruits of contention are so bitter I desire to be an imitator of this blessed Apostle in this Christian endevour considering what great quarrels and hot contentions are found in our Brittish Church about matters of nothing meere circumstances and bare ceremonies what a Rent it made among us by the same to the great advantage of Satans Kingdome and much damage of the Kingdome of Christ Now to quiet these unnecessary jarres and make peace about the same peace-making being a blessed thing Beati pacifi●i Mat. 5.9 I have adventured to set forth in this portion of Scripture something about things indifferent That we being of one minde may live in peace and living in peace the God of love and peace may bee with us I know in your Country they are more stiffe in contention about them than with us here in England I have therefore made bold to present this subject of things of a middle nature to your well-affected worship not that I thinke you any way troubled or irresolved about them but that through your good approbation of this plaine dealing Tractate many of your Country-men may bee drawne to the like that so England and Scotland giving over these frivolous contentions about things of no moment may joyne strongly together and zealously contend for the faith and verity of the Gospell of Christ Jesus against all the adversaries of the same I would to God that we could all learne that grave counsell of wise Salomon It is a mans honour to cease from strife but every foole will bee medling Accept then I beseech you of this more than poore present being the lively expression of mine unfained love and true thankefulnesse for your kinde respect of mee in Court and Country and at your best leisure peruse gladly the same Having passed things indifferent in the forepart of my Text in the second I proceed to matters of necessity for glory of our God and the salvation of our soules a trinity of graces for number righteousnesse Peace Joy and whosoever is not powerfully acquainted with the same shall never bee blessed of the thrice blessed Trinity in the Kingdome of Heaven Seeke then good sir righteousnesse not riches peace not pleasure joy not mundane pompe and honour that as you are honoured to attend the presence of an unmatch-able earthly King so you may in Christ Jesus be exalted at the Day of Judgement to stand with Gabriel and al the heavenly Hoast b●fore the Throne and face of the King of Kings in glory everlasting Thus praying your good Worship to pardon my boldnesse in this Dedication and praying Gods best mercies to be multiplied upon you I take my leave but never leave to love and honour you alwayes resting Your Worships to be commanded in the Lord H. GREENEWOOD MARKES AND NO MARKES OF THE KINGDOME OF HEAVEN ROM 14.17 For the Kingdome of God is not meates and drinkes but righteousnesse peace and joy in the Holy Ghost OUr blessed Apostle in the former Chapters handled at large things necessary being either commanded or prohibited of God but now hee passeth to things of a middle nature neither required nor prohibited in Divine Law about which there was hot strife and contention in Rome twixt the converted Gentiles The Gentile beléevers condemned the Iewes because they were ignorant of their Christian liberty purchased by Christ and published by the Gospell who by his death abolished all Leviticall shaddowes The Iewish beléevers condemned againe the Gentiles because they were Apostates from Moses the stronger despised the weaker for their ignorance the weaker contemned the stronger for contempt of Moses Law Now that brotherly-love might continue and these scandals bee remooved the Apostle here sheweth That the Kingdome of God is not meates and drinkes but righteousnesse peace and joy in the Holy Ghost as if this heavenly Doctor should say The Kingdome of Heaven stands not in things indifferent as meates and drinkes and dayes therefore we ought not so stiffely to contend about them but the Kingdome of God consists in more weighty matters as righteousnesse peace and joy in the holy Ghost The words read devide themselves into two parts negative affirmative The negative part in these words The Kingdome of God is not meates and drinkes The affirmative part in these words But righteousnesse peace and joy in the holy Ghost First for the exposition of the words and then to the points that will naturally arise from the same By the Kingdome of God sometime is understood the ministery of the Gospell because the Elect are admitted into the Kingdome of God by the ministery of the Gospell and God raignes in their hearts by the same Thus it is taken Math. 11.11 He that is least in the Kingdome of Heaven is greater than John that is the least Minister of the Gospell of Christ can give a greater report of Christ than Iohn we the Ministers of the Gospell are said to be greater than Iohn not propter gratiam sed propter testimonium Christi not for grace but for our testimony of the Lord Jesus Iohn indéed pointed out Christ to the people Iohn 1.29 Ecce agnus Dei Behold the Lambe of God that taketh away the sinnes of the world but he could not say as we can say that Christ dyed rose againe ascended and tooke possession of Heaven for his Elect for Iohns head was taken from him before our Head the Lord Jesus suffered Secondly by the Kingdome of God is understood the Estate of grace in this life whereby an entry is made into the Kingdome of God Thus it is taken in the Gospell of Luke Luk. 11.21 The Kingdome of God is within you Thirdly by the Kingdome of God is meant the estate of
glory in the life to come where God raigneth more perfectly in his Saints and more fully and therefore chiefly called the Kingdome of God And so it is taken Ioh. 3.3 Except a man be borne againe he cannot see the Kingdome of God All these in my judgement may safely stand with the words of the text for the ministery of the Gospell stands not upon things indifferent but of more serious and substantiall matters as righteousnesse peace and joy in the holy Ghost And for Grace and Glory it is not meates and matters of indifferency that brings us to Gods favour or the Kingdome of Heaven therefore no such strife ought to be about them By meates and drinkes are understood all matters of a middle nature as bread at the Sacrament whither leavened or unleavened as gestures at the Sacrament whither sitting standing knéeling There was a time that certaine meates were not of an indifferent nature for they were peremptorily prohibited of God Levit. 11.4 as that which chewed the cud and devided not the hoofe as the Coney the Camell the Hare and that which devided the hoofe but chewed not the cud as the swine But now by Christ our liberty is inlarged and wee may without breach of the Law eate Cony Hare Hog as that voyce from Heaven when the shéete was let downe to Peter in a trance plainely sheweth Act. 10.15 esteem not that polluted which the Lord hath made cleane now are they made indifferent For the Kingdome of God is not meates c. The Instruction then from hence will be this That things indifferent as meates and drinkes and dayes are of no necessity to the service of God or the salvation of our soules It is necessary to eate and drinke else life could not continue but to thinke that one kind of meate of it selfe is more pure than others and that a man pleaseth God by eating our kind of meate and not others is a fond and foolish imagination for as our Saviour testifieth Math. 15.11 It is not that ●hich go●th into man that defileth him Paul also sheweth in the 1. Cor. 8.8 that 〈◊〉 makes us not acceptable to GOD whereupon S. Paul gives this grave counsell Heb. 13.9 be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines for it is a good thing that the heart bee stablished with grace and not with meates which have not profited them that have beene occupied therein Me thinkes that that of S. Paul 1. Tim. 4 4. should confound all idle opinions about prohibition of some meates and some times for saith he every creature of God is good and not to bee refused if it bee received with thankesgiving The English Church hath therefore according to these scriptures adjudged of meates and dayes as unnecessary to holines or happine●●● in their owne nature as Anno ter●ia Eduardisexti that one day or one kind of meate of it selfe is not more pure thā another that al meats are lawfull so that they be not used with vice but with liberty thankfulnes I know that gluttony and drunkennesse and abusing the creatures may deprive men of the Kingdome of God but using them temperately they hurt not Meates are not materialls of the worship of God for a man doth not please God because he eateth fish rather than flesh or drinketh Beere rather than Ale or that sitteth at the Sacrament rather than knéele This then serves to confute the Manichées who say some meats and drinks are evil as egges flesh wine milke they say that wine is the gall of the prince of darkenesse yet God saith here The Kingdome of God is not meates c. Also the Marcionites their Pue-fellowes are condemned who say that it were as good to devoure a soule as to eate devoure things that had blood and life yet God saith here The Kingdome of God is not meats c. The Iewes would eate no hogs-flesh the Papists no flesh will eate on some dayes and in Lent grosse ignorance so God saith here The Kingdome of God is not meats c. The Papists say that to eate flesh in Lent Ember wéekes fasting dayes is as great a fault as to kill a man wise fooles Thus wée sée what a brangle was among them of the new Church at Rome about matters of nothing So at Corinth what factions and divisions were about their teachers and other things one would bee of Paul another of Apollo dangerous dissentions And who is ignorant of what jarrs and strifes were betwéene the Esterne and Westerne Churches in Victors time and all about kéeping of Easter day Afterwards whither the Lords Supper should bée celebrated with Bread leavened or unleveaned The Churches of Lutherans in Germany are much to blame which breake off society with the Churches of Calvinists as they are termed for distinction sake because of dissention about the Bread in the Communion whither it should be eaten whole or broken So what a world of trouble hath béene stirred up in England about matters of nothing about ceremonies of the Church Crosse Surplice and knéeling at the Communion For these indifferent things the knot of brotherhood is not to bee dissolved nor Communion forsaken But hee that is disobedient to authority herein for his disobediedce shall beare his owne burden for lawfull authority ought to bee obeyed in things indifferēt although the thing be indifferent yet to obey or not to obey in such things is not indifferent Disobedience unto lawfull authority is against him Rom. 13. But that these things fore mentiond are indifferents it is plaine for they are neither commanded nor prohibited by the word of God neither are these in their owne nature good nor evill they are neither Cum verbo nor contra verbum sed praeter verbum they are neither with the word nor against the word but besids the word as saith an ancient Father being things indifferent they may be done and God pleased and they may not be done and God pleased Yet what bitter censures are amongst us about these things ignorant persons censure others very headily which differ from them and condemne every thing they cannot reach to as here the Iewes weake in judgement account the beléeving Gentiles which use their liberty in meates and drinkes violators to Moses Law and rebells to God I would have all such as are so forward to censure their brethren in these things of a middle nature know that in things of indifferency it is the intent of the doer that makes that good or naught that is done for the things in their owne nature be neither good nor evill which makes against all those that deny Adiaphora things indifferent holding all things to bee either evill or good now of the inward intention God alone is the discerner so that in these things hée alone is to bee the Judge therefore abstains from judging lest thou béest an usurper of Gods office Amongst us hee that sitteth will censure him that knéeleth as idolatrous and hée