Selected quad for the lemma: law_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
law_n	deed_n	faith_n	justify_v	7,974	5	8.9335	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A86549	Salvation from sinne by Jesus Christ: or, The doctrine of sanctification (which is the greater part of our salvation) founded upon Christ, who is both the meritorious, and and efficient cause of sanctifying grace, purchasing it for, working & perfecting it in his people. Applied (as it was specially intended) for the better information of our judgements, and quickning of our affections in holiness, wherein our everlasting our everlasting happiness chiefly consisteth. / Preached in the weekly lecture at Evesham in the county of Worcester, by George Hopkins, M.A. minister of the Gospel there.; Salvation from sinne by Jesus Christ	Hopkins, George, 1620-1666.	1655 (1655)	Wing H2743; Thomason E1608_1; ESTC R208454	135,124	325

former part of the tenth Chapter Now in the Epistle to the Hebrews the Apostle clearly shews that Christ was the substance of those things whereof the Ceremonies were shadows and that as Moses taught outwardly onely so Christ alone teacheth inwardly powerfully and effectually writing his Lawes in the hearts of his people So that all as I conceive that can be truly gathered out of these words is that the inward effectuall teaching or writing of the Law upon the heart is the proper and peculiar work of Christ and he was therefore to be preferred farre above Moses so highly magnified by the Jewes who being but a Minister could onely teach outwardly CHAP. III. IF the great work of Christ our Saviour be the saving of his people from their sins then this may informe us how to answer an argument of the Papists against two points of Doctrine wherein we with the Reformed Churches differ from them The first is the Doctrine of Iustification The second is the Doctrine of assurance of Salvation In the Doctrine of Iustification say they that which maketh us righteous before God and causeth us to be accepted to life everlasting is remission of sinnes and the habits of inward righteousnesse or Charity with the fruits thereof We deny the habits of righteousnesse or Sanctification to be the thing by which in whole or in part we are to be justified in the sight of God either as satisfactory to Justice or Meritorious of Reward and affirme that we are justified by Faith in Christ alone without the deeds of the Law They object among many other Arguments that our way of Justification by Faith alone is the way to banish good workes out of the world and to open a gate for carnall liberty To which our Divines usually answer that we are justified by Faith alone but not by such a Faith as is alone that it is such a Faith as worketh by love and brings forth the fruits of righteousnesse And although we do not doe good works to be justified by them as any part of our legall righteousnesse yet the practice of good workes we hold most necessary for many other good reasons But not intending to give any account of those many reasons we assigne let us consider what answer this Doctrine in hand will afford Saving Faith is to accept of and embrace Christ for Salvation to wit that we may have that Salvation applyed to us which he hath purchased for us and what that is hath been already shewed to wit Salvation from sinne and not meerely from wrath for sinne This is Salvation both in Scripture-sense and language as you have heard at large Christ did not purchase our Salvation piece-meale neither doth he bestow it piece-meale neither can we receive it piece-meale he will be a whole Saviour or no Saviour He that believes that he may be saved believes that he may be saved from the whole misery of his Soul which is both sin and wrath and he that doth not thus believe doth not saveingly believe and he that doth thus believe in Christ or embrace him leaves no room for carnall liberty If we phansie to our selves such a salvation as Scripture speakes not of and then draw absurdities from the Doctrine of Salvation by Faith alone the absurdity will returne upon the misapprehension of the Objectors If a Man should say he believes in Christ to be saved from sinne and not from wrath our Adversaries I suppose would not call that saving Faith and we have lesse cause to call that saving Faith that professeth to believe in Christ to be saved from wrath and not from sinne as appeares by the arguments confirming the Doctrine Christ as our whole Saviour to wit from both those evils is the adaequate object of saving Faith which is therefore both Justifying and Sanctifying Faith and not a Carnall or Licentious Faith or rather phantasie as they make it Were there no evill that we should be saved from by believing but onely that of suffering the wrath of God for sinne their argument might seem to have the greater strength although it would then be found too weak But when the Soule looks upon sin it selfe as the great enemy from which Christ came to save his people and flies to Christ that it may obtaine deliverance how can it at the same time give welcome entertainment to sinne Is it possible for a Man to have fellowship and communion with pleasure and delight and without feare with a man that he is flying from as his most mortall adversary hasting to a place of refuge to be secured from him 2. They object likewise against the Doctrine of assurance of Salvation We affirming that there may be a certainty and infallibility by Faith l Faith together with experience of speciall Grace wrought in the heart gives us assurance of Salvation they asserting that we can only have a probability by hope arguing that the Doctrine of certainty of Salvation tends to carnall security to which we may likewise answer out of this Doctrine That if Christ came to save his people from their sinnes it would be a contradiction to assert that a Man may be assured of his Salvation at the same time while he allowes himself in carnall security which is reall bondage He that deliberately allowes himselfe in a course of carnall liberty may thereby assure himselfe that he is not in a state of Salvation for 't is evident that he lies under the great evil that Christ came to save his people from and it may be truly said to such a Man as Peter said to Simon Magus Thou hast neither part nor lot in this Matter of Salvation for thy heart is not right in the sight of God thou art in the gall of bitternesse Act. 8.21 and bond of iniquity In this objection of theirs there would be likewise the more appearance of strength although not strength enough to their purpose did Salvation consist onely in being justified and so delivered from Gods avenging wrath But if the Master-piece of our Salvation be to be saved from sin it selfe as hath been proved how can it be supposed that assurance of Salvation should give liberty to sin 2. Hence it is no wonder that a child of God after falling into grosse sinnes or more then ordinary remissenesse in the service of God should upon the triall of his Estate want assurance of Salvation If Christ came to save his people from their sins can his people be assured of Salvation while they goe on carelesly in sinning It is true a misguided or sleepy conscience may forbeare to molest or trouble a man that hath let loose the reines to carnall liberty but a cleer awakened conscience will not speak peace in such a case as this When David had fallen into those foule sinnes of Adultery and Murder no sooner was his Conscience awakened but he was at a losse for the comfortable assurance of his Salvation his inward joy and peace were drowned

the Gospel that shines to the honour of God Mat. 5.16 Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorifie your father which is in heaven And of this sort of light our late professors are farre more barren than those of former yeares If there be now more light in the head there is lesse in the heart and life and light in the head will be but an aggravation of darknesse in the heart The Servant that knew his Masters will and did it not was to be beaten with many stripes Yet I much question whether this light so much gazed after be light from the Sun of righteousnesse or not There is a sort of wandring light in the night season which ignorant people call by divers names but Philosophers call it ignis fatuus fooles fire because ignorant and foolish people when they see it wonder and are amazed at it and are led by it out of their way into pits and ditches and lose themselves and afterward usually say they were led by a Spirit not understanding that it is but a vapour arising out of the earth So there is a sort of light which ignorant professors admiring wander after out of the way of truth into many pits of Sathans digging yet they take themselves to be led by the Spirit while they understand not that this light is not from above but is earthly sensuall devillish But I return to answer more fully to the Objection 2. If by the voice of the Law you mean preaching justification by the law as a covenant of works so as by our own works to be justified either in whole or in part I blesse God I never heard any such preaching in all my life nor I believe any of you 2. I suppose by the Law you mean not the law of ceremonies for no man preacheth such doctrine among us 3. If you conceive that those that lived under the Law till the coming of Christ were under a Covenant substantially and essentially different from the covenant of grace under the Gospel you do but grosly mistake For the covenant of God with Abraham and his seed and the covenant now made with the faithfull and their seed is one and the same Hence saith Paul Gal. 3.9 They which be of faith are blessed with faithfull Abraham Hence likewise Rom. 4. he proves justification by faith by the example of Abraham's justification And the blessings of Abraham are said to come upon the Gentiles through Jesus Christ Gal. 3.14 4. If you think that those that lived under the Law did not so clearly understand the promises of Grace but were more plentifully threatned with judgements It is true 1. There is a graduall difference of light or of the manifestation of the grace of Christ now from what was then 2. Judgements were more plentifully threatned in the Old Testament then in the New 3. Yet as the Law threatned more plentifully so the threats were more of temporall Judgements Deut. 28.16 c. And as the Gospel threatens more sparingly so it threatens more heavily and dreadfully with spirituall and eternall vengeance As one milstone will weigh down many pibbles So one Gospell-threat will overpoise many of the curses threatned in the Law There is in Deut. 28. a Catalogue of curses containing no lesse then fifty two verses And that one Gospell threatning 2 Thes 1.7 8 9. is farre more dreadfull then all of them doe but weigh and consider it The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty Angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power What are all temporall Judgments in comparison of this everlasting destruction here denounced against all those that obey not the Gospell The voice of the Law-threatnings is but as the rushing of winds lesse terrible but more frequent But the voice of the Gospel threatnings is like the loudest thunder-claps from heaven more astonishing though more seldom 5. As the morall Law it self is not yet abolished so all the threatnings of the Law for morall disobedience are still in force also I doubt not but warre sicknesse poverty and the like are now Judgments from God upon the disobedient for as godlinesse hath promise of the life that now is and that which is to come so ungodlinesse is threatned both with the judgments of this life and that which is to come And if the threatnings of the Old Testament are still in force and more terrible ones are denounced in the Gospel against impenitent sinners must a Preacher passe them all by and take no more notice of them than so many cyphers and preach nothing but grace and peace to all sorts of sinners Whereas the Gospel is a message of glad tidings or good newes and such thundrings as these seem somewhat heterogeneous and unsuitable to it you must understand that as there is a twof●ld coming of Christ to wit his first coming to redeem sinners and to seek and save that which was lost and his second coming to take vengeance on them that have neglected so great salvation So there is a two-fold intention of the Gospel 1. To offer life and salvation and to conferre it upon all those that believe and obey it 2. To denounce and pour out vengeance upon all that are unbelieving and disobedient As in the Law of our Land the first intention of the Law of our land is the good of the Subject that men may be obedient to it protected by it but the second intention of the Law is to punish the disorderly and the penalties are annexed to the Law and published with it that Obedience may be the more readily yeilded and the transgressors of the Law may know what to trust to So the primary and direct intention of the Gospel is the salvation of the sinner yet the judgement of God upon the disobedient is written and published in the Gospel that Obedience may be the more readily given to Christ and that his enemies that will not be subject to him may know what to look for at his hands 3. I hope Christ and his Apostles were not legall preachers let us see how they preached 1. Christ preached repentance and destruction to the impenitent Luke 13.3 5. Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish He preached most terrible woes to them that they rejected the Gospel-message Mat. 11.20 21 22 23 24. He preacheth no less than eight woes in one Chapter See Mat. 23.13 14 15 16 23 25 27 29. He threatneth with the damnation of hell ver 23. Ye Serpents ye generation of Vipers how can ye escape the damnation of hell And the worm that never dieth and the fire that never goeth out Mark 9.44 46 48. And this is the condemnation c. Joh. 3.19 See also Luke 11.42 43 44