Selected quad for the lemma: judgement_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
judgement_n	aaron_n	believe_v	follow_v	12	3	5.0572	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A76157	Confirmation and restauration the necessary means of reformation, and reconciliation; for the healing of the corruptions and divisions of the churches: submissively, but earnestly tendered to the consideration of the soveraigne powers, magistrates, ministers, and people, that they may awake, and be up and doing in the execution of so much, as appeareth to be necessary as they are true to Christ, his Church and Gospel, and to their own and others souls, and to the peace and wellfare of the nations; and as they will answer the neglect to Christ, at their peril. / By Richard Baxter, an unworthy minister of Christ, that longeth to see the healing of the churches.	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1658 (1658)	Wing B1232; Thomason E2111_1; ESTC R209487	172,368	411

if wilfully contrary they are a lie And God doth not make a lie to be the Condition of Church-membership or Priviledges nor doth he bind his Ministers or Church to believe a known lie Nothing but Real or seeming truth is to be believed 2. More particularly the Profession which we speak of must have these Qualifications 1. It must be or seem to be Vnderstanding Ignorant is non est Consensus If a Parrat could say the Creed it were not a Credible Profession of Faith Therefore the Ancient Church was wont by Catechists to prepare them to understand the Doctrine which they were to believe and profess This is past Controversie I think no Minister would take that mans Profession that seemeth not to Understand what he saith 2. No Profession is Credible but that which is or seems to be serious He that speaks in scorn or jest is not to be believed as one that speaks his mind nor is it to pass for a Profession 3. No Profession is credible or sufficient but that which is or seems to be Free and Voluntary Though some force or outward urgencies in some cases may help to incline the will yet willing it must be or it is not a Credible Profession He that Professeth himself a Christian when a sword or Pistol is at his brest is not to be Credited if he continue it not when he is free And also that which is done in a meer Passion without Deliberation is not to be taken as the act of the Man and a true expression of the bent of his mind unless he afterwards stand to it upon Deliberation 4. It must be a Profession not nullified by a contradiction in word or deed Though their may an obscure contradiction not understood consist with it or a contradiction only in Degree as Lord I believe help thou my unbelief yet there must be no contradiction of the Essentials of our Profession that nullifieth it by shewing that we lie or speak against the bent of our hearts If a Minister can by contrary words or deeds disprove the Profession of the party he is not to believe it or accept it For we are not to believe without Evidence of Credibility much less against it I have given instances of this in the foresaid Disputation of Sacracrament pag. 10. 5. When by Covenant-breaking and Perfidiousness or often Lying a man is become come Incredible having forfeited the Credit of his word with wise and charitable men this man must give us a Practical as well as Verbal Profession before we can again admit him to the Priviledges of the Church For though we are not to be so strict as some old Fathers seem to have been and the Novations were that would not admit such Penitents again into the Church at all but leave them to Gods own Judgment yet must we not go against Reason and Scripture and the Nature of the thing in believing that which is not to be believed nor to cast by all Order and Discipline and prostitute Gods Ordinances to the lusts of men and make them a scorn or level the Church of Christ with the world The Testimonies cited by me on another occasion in the foresaid Disputations shew the Judgment of Protestants in these Points and somewhat of the Judgment of Antiquity I shall recite but those on the Title page of the third Disputation Tertullian Apologet. cap. 16. Sed dices etiam de n●stris excedere quosdam à Regulis disciplinae Desi●unt tum Christiani haberi penes res Philosophi verò illi cum talibus factis in Nomine honore Sapientiae perseverant that is But you 'l say that even of ours some swarve from or forsake the Rules of Discipline Answ They cease then to be counted Christians with us But your Philosophers with such deeds do keep the Name and honour of Wisdom The Judgment of the French Professours at Saumours you have in these words Thes Salmuriens vol. 3. pag. 39. Thes 39. Sacramenta non conferuntur nisi iis qui vel findem habent vel salt●m eam praese ferant adeò ut nullis certis argumentis compertum esse possit eam esse ●mentitam that is Sacraments are conferred on none but these that either have Faith or at least pretend or Profess to have it so that it cannot by any certain Arguments be proved to be feigned The Judgment of the Scottish Divines may be much discovered in these two Testimonies following Gillespie Aaron's Rod Blossoming pag. 514. I believe no consciencious Minister would adventure to Baptise one who hath manifest and infallible signs of unregeneration Sure We cannot be answerable to God if we should minister Baptism to a man whose works and words do manifestly declare him to be an unregenerated unconverted Person And if we may not initiate such a one how shall we bring him to the Lords Table Rutherford Due Right of Presbyteries pag. 231. n. 2. But saith Robinson most of England are ignorant of the first Rudiments and Foundations of Religion and therefore cannot be a Church Answ Such are materially not the Visible Church and have not a Profession and are to be taught and if they will fully remain in that darkness are to be cast out If you would have the Testimonies of Protestants you may read above threescore of them expressly maintaining that it is a Profession of Saving Faith that is prerequisite to to our Right of Sacraments cited in my forementioned Disputation second To which I adde 33. more cited to a like purpose in my fift Disputation of Sacraments And to these adde the large testimony of Davenant with his many Arguments on Colos 1. vers 18. too large to recite And for the later sort of Episcopal Divines that they also agree in the same I will satisfie you from an Eminent man among them Mr Herbert Thorndike in his Discourse of the Right of the Church pag. 31 32. where he saith And hereby we see how binding and loosing sinnes is attributed to the Keyes of the Church Which being made a Visible Society by the power of holding Assemblies to which no man is to be admitted till there be just presumption that he is of the Heavenly Jerusalem that is above I shall adde more from him anon Somewhat I have elswhere cited of the Fathers Judgments in this Point and more anon I shall have occasion to produce But in a Point that we are agreed on that is not Every Profession but only a Credible Profession of true Christianity even of Faith and Repentance that must be taken as Satisfactory by the Church I hope I may spare any further proof Prop. 7. The Profession of those that expect the Church-sttate and Priviledges of the Adult is to be tried judged and Approved by the Pastours of the Church to whose Office it is that this belongeth THis Proposition hath two parts 1. That it is not a Profession untryed and unapproved that must serve the turn 2. That the trying and

and he that despiseth you despiseth me 3. Because they all engage themselves to take Christ for their King who ruleth them by his Laws and Officers and his Ministers are his Ruling Officers 1 Tim. 5. 17. Heb. 12. 7. 17. 24. 1 Thes 5. 12. 4. Because they are all engaged to take Christ for the great High Priest of the Church who hath appointed his Ministers to officiate under him in leading them in publike Worship of the Church and in offering up the Praises of God and blessing the people and praying for them and celeberating the Commemoration and Representation of Christs Sacrifice on the Cross 5. Because they that enter into a particular Church where only the constant stated use of holy Ordinances and Priviledges are to be had though occasionally elswhere do enter into a Relation to the Pastours of that particular Church as members of their flock and Church whom they must oversee and watch over all this is past controversie And then for the Consequent of the major Proposition that therefore Ministers must approve of their Profession I prove it thus Ministers are naturally free-men as well as others and therefore no man can become a member of their charge and put them upon so great duty as the Relation doth require against their wils without their consent and contrary to their Judgment and Consciences It is an exceeding great burden that lieth on us and a great deal of work that is required of us to each particular Soul in our charge we must exhort instruct admonish in season and out of season publikly and privately and watch over and govern them visit them in sickness comfort strengthen them c. O what a mountain lieth on me and how should I bear it if God did not support me And if every man that will shall make me more work and put himself under my Care without my Consent then I am so far from being a free-man as all other are that I am enslaved and undone in slavery For 1. They may oppress me when they will with Number and so many may flock in to my charge in despight of me as shall nullifie the particular Church and by the magnitude make it another thing by making it uncapable of its ends 2. And hereby they may force me to leave undone my duty both to them and others by oppressing me with work For when I have ten times more then I can teach and oversee I must needs neglect them all or most 3. And they may abuse the Church and me with the evil qualities as well as the excessive quantity of members and we shall be obliged to give that which is holy to dogs and to use those as Church members that are enemies to the Church and to administrate Sacraments to any that will have them how unfit soever and to prophane all Gods Ordinances and turn them to a lie 4. And by this means the Church will be utterly ruined and made a den of thieves and a stie of swine For besides that all the worst may at pleasure be members of it all men that are faithfull or most at least will runne away from the Ministry and sooner turn Chimny sweepers then Pastours For what man dare venture his Soul on so great a charge for which he knows he must give an account when he is certain to leave undone the work of his Office in so great a measure and when he knows he may be thus opprest in soul and body and so undone by wicked men when ever they please yea if they purposely do it to despight him Arg. 7. That which belongeth to all other Superiors in voluntary Relations is not to be denied to Ministers in theirs but a free consent and Approbation of them that they are related to belongs to all other Superior voluntary Relations Therefore to us A Schoolmaster is to Approve the capacity of his Schollars and a Physician is to judge of the fitness of a person to be his patient and his fitness for this or that medicine in particular Not only a Master would take it ill if he may not have the approbation of his own servants but have as many and as bad thrust on him as shall please but a husband would think it hard if he might not have the approbation and choice of his own wife but that any might force him to take them that they please And are the Pastour of Christs Church the only slaves on earth How improbable a thing is this Arg. 8. That Relation which must be rationally regularly and faithfully managed must be rationally regularly and freely entered for otherwise we cannot so manage it But the Relation of a Minister to each member of his charge must be thus managed Therefore Arg. 9. It is plainly exprest in the Ministers Commission that he is to approve of the Profession of Disciples therefore it belongeth to his Office Matth. 28. 19. Go Disciple all Nations baptizing them teaching them to observe all things Which plainly manifesteth that it 's they that must judge when a man is made a Disciple and when not or else how can they either Baptize them as such or teach them the Precepts of Christ as such So when he giveth to his servants the Key 's of the Kingdom Matth. 18 c. it sheweth that they are to judge who is to be admitted and who not as is aforesaid or else he would never have set them at the door and made them the Porters and Key-bearers of his Church to let men in Arg. 10. No man in the Administration of holy Ordinances is ordinarily to renounce his own Reason and Conscience and to act against them But thus it would be if we have not the approving of the Profession or Qualification of those that we must administer them to Therefore He that is to Execute here is to judge For 1. Else you will force Ministers to go against their Reason and Conscience in all administrations 2. You will deny them so much as Judicium Discretionis which you allow to every Christian much more Judicium Directionis which belongeth to their Office Every man must judge and understand what he doth and why he doth it you will not force the people to participate of Sacraments against their Consciences Why then should Ministers be forced to Give them against their Consciences Administring is their work and therefore they must know why they do it and on what grounds Else you will make them but like hangmen or worse if they must do Execution against their judgments because it is anothers judgment And whose judgment is it that we must follow when we go against our own Arg. 11. If it belong to Christ to pass an open Approbation of the Qualification of such as are to be admitted into his Church or to his special Ordinances or Church Priviledges then doth it belong to the Ministers of Christ as his instruments But it doth belong to Christ 1. For all that enter either

fidei plane instructi id est de Dei magnitudine potestate rebusque quae in Evangeliis continentur uno excepto Eucharistiae mysterio neque baptizabantur nisi post quam ea omnia se credere jurassent quorum fides a fide poenitentiae incipiebat c. Et in sequ Jucabant in Baptismo solennibus verbis se nunquam peccaturos deinde renunciabant Diabolo pompis ejus Denique Censurâ si peccarent post baptismum coercebantur So that men that are engaged in covenant with God must keep Covenant or manifest themselves Penitent for the violation of it before they are admitted to further Priviledges There is a long time in which they grow up from an Infant-state to an Adult and how they live in that time must be enquired after 2. Otherwise the Apostate would have equal Acceptance and Priviledges with the Faithfull 3. And so Penitence and Absolution would be excluded and confounded with meer Confirmation 4. Moreover the Baptized are obliged to be responsible for their lives being under the Government of Christs Ministers and among his Saints 5. For the sake of their own Souls and of the Church and Ordinances we must endeavour to preserve them from Corruption which lying Professions would introduce and therefore must not overlook or neglect such Evidence as is within our reach 6. Else Ministers that are by office to judg of their Profession would be unfaithfull Judges and forfeit their trust if they shall wilfully neglect any Evidence within their cognisance by which they may be enabled to judge But yet it is not the certainty of inward saving Grace that we must find out by mens lives for no man can have such certainty of another but only that their lives be not such as Null and Invalidate and confute their Profession and they live not in the perfidious violation of their Baptismal Covenant Prop. 15. It is not of flat Necessity that the Profession of the Expectant be made in the open Congregation or before many in order to his Confirmation and Admittance PRoved 1. It is not of Necessity that Converted Infidels be admitted by Baptism into the state of Adult-members upon a Publique Profession in a Congregation therefore it is not of Necessity that others be so admitted in Confirmation The Antecedent is proved by the instance of the Eunuch Acts 8. whom Philip Baptized in their way and the Jaylour and his houshold Acts 16. Baptzed in the night at home The Consequence is proved by the propriety of reason and case 2. If a man may by Confirmation be admitted into the Number of Adult Christians in the Church Universal without being admitted into a particular Church then his Profession and Admission need not in that case to be before the Congregation But the Antecedent is true as I prove thus A man may by Adult Baptism be admitted first into the Universal Church only As was the Eunuch the Jaylour Lydia Sergius Paulus and every first Convert in any City where the Apostles came Therefore a man may by Confirmation be admitted into the Number of the Adult in the Catholick Church only For the reason is the same and the former admitteth them into the same number The Consequence of the Major is plain For no one Congregation more then another can claim the cognisance of the Admission of a member into the Universal Church or Confirming them in it 3. Scripture hath no where made such Publique Admission to be of constant Necessity therefore it is not so 4. Else none could be Admitted or Confirmed when persecution hindereth Church Assemblies 5. The Church is to believe and trust the Pastours to whom it doth by office belong to try and admit them 6. General unfixed Ministers may thus try approve and confirm who are not Pastours of any particular Church such as Apostles Evangelists and others were therefore they are not alwaies to do it before a particular Church Nor indeed did they alway do so Prop. 16. When a Person is admitted among the Adult-members af a Particular Church as well as the Vniversal his Profession and Admission must be either before the Church or Satisfactorily made Known to the Church at least who must Approve of it by a Judgment of Discretion in order to their Communion with him and this among us is the ordinary case because it is the duty of all that have opportunity to joyn themselves to some particular Church and it is in such Churches that Communion in publique Worship and Order must be had either statedly or transiently and temporarily 1. THe solemnity it self of our Transition into the number of Adult-members and their Communion is of very great advantage as I shall manifest more anon 2. We that are commonly against the private Admission of Infants at least except in some urgent case have less reason to be for the private Transition and Admission of men among the Adult and that into a particular Governed Church 3. The whole Society among whom such a person is entered do owe him much duty and brotherly assistance They must Love him with a special Love They must live though not in a Levelling yet in a Charitable Community with him not shutting up the bowels of Compassion from him when they see him in want but relieving him as if they sufferd with him They are not only to Love him and Relieve him as a man but as one of Christ's little ones or friends yea as his brethren yea as loving and relieving Christ in them Matth. 25. 35. to the end They must receive and relieve a Disciple in the name of a Disciple Besides this they must have Church-Union and Communion with him as one Body and must pray for him and rejoice with him in Gods Praises and the Lords Supper and watch over him and admonish and reprove him in sinne for his recovery and avoid him if he walk disorderly and be impenitent in scandalous sinne c. Now 1. No man can perform all this duty to a man that he knoweth not to be thus related to him If he know not that he owes him this duty any more then to any one else in the world how shall he pay it him To say that we are bound to take all men that converse with us to be such is to say that Christians must renounce their witts and turn the Church into Bedlam 2. And as this proves that the Church-members must be made known to one another so it proves that they must have a Judgment of Discretion in receiving them though the Pastours have the Judgment of Governing Direction For 1. God hath not left the Pastours at liberty to take in whom they Please but hath described what Profession they shall accept or what persons they shall admit and whom they shall reject If therefore the Pastours go against the Word of God then this following is the peoples duty 1. If they know not the errour or the case be doubtfull they

the Souls of our poor people are deluded and they are made believe that they are Christians when they are not and in a state of Salvation when it 's no such thing As Mr Thorndicke saith as aforecited No man is to be admitted to the Assemblies or visible societies of Christians till there be just presumption that he is of the Heavenly Jerusalem that is above And admitting to and excluding from the Church is or ought to be a just and Lawfull presumption of admitting to or excluding from Heaven It is morally and legally the same act that entitleth to Heaven and to the Church that maketh an heir of life Everlasting and a Christian And if so then what greater mischief can we do the Soul of an ungodly man then so to delude him by our admitting him into the Church and make him believe he is in a state of Salvation when it 's no such thing False faith and false hopes are the things that fill Hell and are the common undoing of the world And all that ever we can do is too little to cure it When I bend all my studies and labours but to make a wicked man know that he is wicked I cannot procure it I can make him believe that he is a sinner but not that he is an unconverted ungodly sinner and in a state of Condemnation O the power of blinding self-love that will not suffer them to see themselves miserable when they see themselves sinfull and all because they would not have it so when yet it 's most visible to others And shall we all joyne to strengthen this potent Enemy and lay this share and thrust men headlong into Hell that are running down-hill so fast already and all under pretence of Charity and Compassion 7. We shall put them by this means into a way not only of losing the fruit of Ordinances but of misapplying all to the increasing of their deceit When we preach Peace to the true believer the wicked will misapply it and say it belongs to them When we speak against the unbelievers and ungodly they 'l think that this is not their part but bless themselves because they are Christians In our praises they are tempted with the Pharisee to thank God and perhaps for mercies which they never had as Justification Adoption Sanctification c. The Sacraments by misapplication will confirm them in Presumption And thus as they enter by deceit among Adult-believers so will they turn all the Ordinances of God and the Priviledges of the Church to feed that deceit more effectuall then among the expectants it would have been 8. But the greatest mischief that troubleth me to think of is this that by this hastening and admitting all the unprepared into the Number of Adult-Christians and members of the Church we do either put a necessity upon our selves to throw away Church-discipline or else to be most probably the damnation of our peoples Souls and make them desperate and almost past all hope or remedy I must confess that what I am saying now I was not sensible of till lately that experience made me sensible While I medled not with Publike reproofs or censures I disputed of these things without that experience which I now find is one of the greatest helps to resolve such doubts which makes me bold to tell the Church that the Practice of so much Discipline as we are agreed in is a likelyer way to bring us all to agreement in the rest then all our Disputings will do without it And that I resolve hereafter to take that man for an incompetent Judge and unmeet Disputer about Church-discipline that never exercised it or lived where it was exercised And I shall hereafter suspect their judgments and be almost as loath to follow such as to follow a swimmer that never was before in the water or a Pilote that was never before at sea or a Souldiour that never saw warres before but have only learned their skill by the Book Our case stands thus If we take all our Parishes according to the old Church-constitution to be particular Churches and all the Parishiones to be members then either we must exercise the Discipline which Christ hath commanded or not If not then we disobey our Lord and Master and own such a Church as is utterly uncapable of Church-ends and consequently of the essence seeing that it is a Relative being For it 's supposed that it is not for any unusual accident that we cannot exercise this Discipline but from the very Church constitution or incapacity of the matter And then 1. We shall be Traitours to Christ under the name of Pastours if we will wilfully cast out his Ministerial Kingly Government 2. We shall betray the Church to licentiousness And 3. We shall set up a new Church-way which is contrary to that which hath been practised in all ages from the Apostles daies till Impiety had overspread the Christian world He that dare take on him to be an Overseer and Ruler of the Church and not to oversee and rule it and dare settle on such a Church-state as is uncapable of Discipline is so perfidious to Christ and ventureth so boldly to make the Church another thing that I am resolved not to be his follower But if we shall exercise the Discipline of Christ upon all in our ordinary Parishes what work shall we make I will tell you what work from so much experience as that no reasonings can any more perswade me to believe the contrary then that wormwood is not bitter or snow not cold 1. We shall have such a multitude to excommunicate or reject that it will make the sentence grow almost contemptible by the commonness 2. We shall so extreamly enrage the spirits of the people that we shall go in continual danger of our lives Among so many that are publikly reproved and cast out it 's two to one but some desperate villains will be studying revenge But all this is nothing but that which sticks upon my heart is this 3. We shall be the cruellest enemies to the Souls of our poor people in the world and put them the very next step to Hell For as soon as ever we have rejected them and cast them under publique shame they hate us to the heart and either will never heare us more or heare us with so much harted and malice or bitterness of spirit that they are never like to profit by us If you say that doubtless Discipline will have better fruits if it be an Ordinance of God I Answer 1. It 's no time now in the end of the world to question whether that be an Ordinance of God which Scripture speaks for so fully and so plainly and which the Catholike Church hath so long practised and that with such severity as it hath done 2. I know the Discipline is of excellent use and is likely to have excellent effects But upon whom Upon such as are fit to come under Discipline and with