Selected quad for the lemma: life_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
life_n	believe_v	eternal_a	grace_n	4,925	5	5.4605	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A66343	The answer to the report, &c., which the united ministers appointed their committee to draw up, as in the preface also letters of the Right Reverend the Bishop of Worcester, and the Reverend Dr. Edwards to Mr. Williams, against whom their testimony was produced by Mr. Lob : and animadversions on Mr. Lob's defence of The report / by Daniel Williams.	Williams, Daniel, 1643?-1716.; Stillingfleet, Edward, 1635-1699.; Edwards, John, 1637-1716.	1698 (1698)	Wing W2645; ESTC R9333	67,736	107

agreement imply an approbation of Mr. Chauncy's Writings in this controversy Nevertheless they do rejoyce that both Mr. Williams and Mr. Chauncy have accepted this offered expedient We hoped after this agreement Union and Peace were well secured But alas in a little time without any occasion given on our parts we found besides the endeavours of those who came not into the Union to prejudice People against us and our Doctrine as well as against the Union Several of those called Congregational who were Members of the Union frequented not our Meeting but oft joyned with the former in a Meeting at Pinners-Hall the very day and hour of the Week in which our Meetings of Ministers are statedly kept Yea and some of them in Print reflected on our Meetings in very unbeseeming Terms as will be made appear if occasion require Nevertheless our Zeal for Peace did not only prevail with us to be silent under these Publick affronts but set us on making a new Essay for a re-union about the latter end of the Year 1694. To which end we appointed a Number to meet both with the dissenting Brethren who had left us and with such who had always refused to be of us These dissenting Brethren pretended nothing for their separation but that there were Erroneous Persons in the Union To gratify them as to this the Persons deputed by us admitted such Provision as pleased those Brethren against whatever Errors they suspected any of our Number guilty of This you will find in the former Part of the following Paper which was brought to our Meeting as what would satisfy the Dissenters if assented to by us Some of us were sensible of this New ●mposition of theirs against whose Opinions we had so much to object and the dangerous Consequences of thus Multiplying confessions as also of favouring such unjust suspicions of our Principles which we knew they had no Reason for as 〈◊〉 any of our Number Nevertheless we submitted 〈◊〉 Prospect of a Coalition only we finding their Pa●●r to want due Provision against Crispian and Antino●●an Errors which many did Publickly Espouse and ●●bet we desired Mr. How Mr. Stretton Mr. Williams ●●d Mr. Lob to supply the said defect The result ●hereof you have in the ensuing Paper which was un●●imously agreed to in our Meeting and sent from us 〈◊〉 Mr. Lob to our Dissenting Brethren In Ian. 7. 1694. After a Preface it thus follows ' We the United Ministers in and about London considering of a way whereby to preserve the Union and prevent any mistakes and remove any prejudices that may arise amongst us to interrupt the foresaid Union do declare that we still adhere to the Terms thereof and do still submit to the Holy Scriptures as the Rule of Faith and Practice and do own the Doctrinal part of those commonly called the Articles of the Church of England or the Confession shorter or larger Catechisms compiled by the Assembly at Westminster or the Savoy Confession and do renounce and testify against all Opinions and Doctrines dissonant therefrom as for instance among many others First That there is no definite Number of Persons elected from all Eternity whom God will by his appointed means certainly save and bring to Eternal Life leaving the rest who fall under a just Condemnation for their Original and Actual Sins especially for their neglect and contempt of the means of salvation 2. That Christ died equally for all Men not intending the final salvation of some more than others Thirdly That Men have in their own Power by the use of the Natural Faculties of their reason and will unassisted by the special Light and Grace of the Holy Ghost to perform all that is necessary to salvation or that his special efficacious Light and Grace is not necessary to their conversion perseve●rance and final salvation Fourthly That any o● them whom God hath foreknown predestinated and called effectually according to the purpose of hi● Grace shall fall away either totally or so as not t● be finally gloryfied Fifthly That Faith Repen●tance a Holy Conversation or any Act of Wor● whatever done by us or wrought by the Spirit o● God in us are any part of that Righteousness fo● the sake of which or on the Account whereof Go● doth justify any Man or Entitle him to Eterna● Life On the other side First That Men are under no obligation to mak● use of their Natural Faculties with such Externa● means of salvation as God affords them praying i● hope for his Gracious assistance in order to tha● blessed end Secondly That God hath not made of●fers of Grace by Christ to all within the sound o● the Gospel testifying that whoever believeth shall b● saved without excluding any and commandin● them to believe accordingly Thirdly That any ar● in the sight of God justified or Entitled to Eterna● Life before they are effectually called or while the remain unregenerate or in unbelief Fourthly Tha● any may expect Pardon without Repentance Fifthly That continued Repentance towards God and Fait● in our Lord Jesus and Holyness of Heart and Life are not in the Nature of the thing and by the con●stitution of the Gospel necessary to salvation Sixthly That the Moral Law is not of use to unregenerate Men to awaken their Consciences to fly from th● wrath to come and drive them to Christ or that 't is not a rule of Life to them that live under the Gospel as well as others Seventhly That believers falling into grievous Sins do not incur Gods displeasure or that they may expect assurance otherwise than by the evidence of those Graces to which the promises of salvation are made and by the Testimony of the Spirit of Adoption witnessing with our Spirits that we are the Children of God We have thought it our Duty to bear our Testimony against all these Erroneous Opinions or any other contrary to the plain Tenour of the Gospel of God And we do further protest against any design of undermining one another in any matter of Church Government but do heartily desire to maintain Communion with each other according to the Heads of Agreement we have assented to And if any thing hath been done or spoken by any of us through mistake or inadvertency that may cause any just offence to the prejudice of the said Union we are ready upon better information to rectify the same still desiring and continually resolving a Brotherly forbearance towards one another in any lesser points wherein we may differ Our concern for Union will appear if it be considered that to the best of our Knowledge we retained all the very words sent by them to us as a guard against each of the Errors of which they suspected any of us the Provisions we added is generally in the words of the Assembly to which we hoped they would be more easily induced to assent than if we had expressed our selves in other words and we limited our additions to such Errors as are the other extreme as

the cause of our Divisions Answ. 3. Altho' Brethren from a Zeal for Peace condescended to mention but three particulars in the third Paper yet it 's too evident that the Dissenters adhere to their own Paper called the first and refuse ours because this doth provide some Defence against some of the Errors which our difference is about the same cause for which they rejected the Articles in 1694. And it 's plain by what their Paper saith of Justification they had this our Paper of Ninety four before them and therefore must know that we insisted under that Head to have it clearly expressed That none are justified in the sight of God or Entitled to Eternal Life before they are effectually called or whilst they are unregenerate or in unbelief And that Men must repent in order to forgiveness as also that continued Repentance Faith and Holyness of Heart and Life are by the constitution of the Gospel as well as in the Nature of the things themselves necessary to salvation c. Our Dissenting Brethren knew this and yet insert nothing in that first Paper sufficient to this purpose By the Reporters arguing against us their not mentioning those things is their disowning of them and owning the contrary yea we have more reason to infer thus because what they omit was sent by the body of United Ministers to them as a mean of Union whereas what 's omitted by us was not sent to us much less to that end nor adjusted by our appointment But we need not to insist on this when by comparing the first and third Papers it 's evident that the foresaid Errors are inconsistent with the few variations in our Paper bnt very consistent with theirs tho' not in the sense designed by our Subscribing Brethren In the first part of the Head of Justification their Paper saith Repentance Faith and a Holy Conversation are by Gods express word manifestly necessary to Salvation They do not say Repentance is necessary to Pardon nor Faith to Iustification tho' that be the Head treated of No these are necessary to no more than a Holy Conversation is necessary to i. e. to Eternal Salvation nor do they say that the necessity of these to salvation it self is by the Gospel Constitution or any enacted Connexion between Duty and Benefit Things being thus worded it may pass with such who tell us the Gospel hath neither Precept Threatning nor Conditional promise Repentance is not antecedently necessary to Pardon nor Faith to the Justification of our Persons but only to manifest to our Consciences for our inward Peace that our Persons were justified before God whilst in our unbelief But such things are prevented by our Paper which saith That the Word of God requires Repentance that our Sins may be blotted out and Faith that we may be justified And afterwards the Gospel requires of us as our Duty that we repent and believe and God Pardons penitent Believers In like manner their Paper in the other Heads expresseth things so as that such may subscribe it who think the filth and fault of sin were Transacted on Christ he was the Criminal the Murtherer c. in Gods Account that God was really displeased with Christ and abhorred him as our surety tho' not considered in himself and sundry the like that our Paper gives no Countenance to which our subscribing Brethren do abhor It 's not then without Reason that the Dissenters insist on the first Paper whether they be such who hold those Errors or resolve to indulge such as do so And yet there wants not Art in placing the differences upon our omitting a Phrase in the third Paper wherein the true sense of it is expressed for the Reporter well saw a quarrel with us for the omission of a Phrase of so uncertain a sense is as yet more plausible than their struggle for Errors of so ill a sound would be Answ. 4. But if the Doctrines about which we differ are not yet sufficiently evident we shall with a desire of Union make this proposal If our Dissenting Brethren will declare their agreement with us First That Repentance towards God is Commanded in order to Remission of Sin Secondly That Faith in Christ is Commanded by the Gospel in order to the Justification of our Persons before God for the sake of th● alone Righteousness of Christ. Thirdly That the Word of God requires perseverance in true Faith and Holyness that we may be Partakers of the Heavenly Glory Fourthly That the Gospel promiseth Pardon through the Blood of Christ to the penitent Justificaion before God to the Believer and the Heavenly Glory to such as persevere in Faith and Holyness and also declareth that God will not Pardon the Impenitent justify the Unbeliever nor glorify the Apostate or Unholy Fifthly That justifying Faith is not only a perswasion of the understanding but also a receiving and resting upon Christ alone for Salvation Sixthly That by change of Person is meant that whereas we were Condemned for our sins the Lord Jesus was substituted in our Room to bear the Punishment of our sins for the satisfaction of Divine Iustice That whoever believes on him may be acquitted and saved But it is not intended that the Filth of sin was upon Christ nor that he was a Criminal in Gods Account Seventhly That by Christs being our surety is meant that Jesus Christ our Mediator obliged himself to expiate our sins by his Blood and to purchase Eternal Life for all that believe and Faith and every saving Grace for the Elect but it 's not intended that we were legally reputed to make satisfaction or purchase Eternal Life Eighthly That by Christs Answering for us the Obligations of the violated Law of Works is intended that whereas the Law obliged us to dye for our sins Christ became obliged to dye in our stead and whereas we were after we had sinned still obliged to yield perfect obedience Christ perfectly obeyed the Law that upon the Account of his Active and Passive obedience believers might be forgiven and entituled to Eternal Life but it 's not intended that the Sense of the Law of Works should be that if we or Christ obeyed we should live and if Christ suffered we should not dye tho' we sinned Nor that Believers are justified or to be judged by the Law of Works but by the Gospel altho' the Righteousness for the sake of which they are justified be as perfect as that Law of Works required and far more valuable If our Dissenting Brethren will Subscribe to these Propositions and Explications we will subscribe with them even to the Words Change of Persons surety and Answering for us the Obligations of the violated Law of Works as well as we have already subscribed that no work done by Men nor wrought by the Spirit of God in them Is any part of that Righteousness for the sake or on the Account whereof we are justified that being only the Righteousness of Christ without ut imputed

applauded by Iustin Martyr and Dr. E. c. If it be the meer phrase all the Churches of Christ are Condemned because their Confessions omit it If it be the Sense of the Reporter and Crispians then the Reverend Bishop Stillingfleet Grotius Dr. E. and our Celebrated Antisocinian Authors are in as bad a Case as we for they reject that Sense But if it be the sound Sense expressed by Dr. Edwards as cited in the remarks which deserves these Praises they cannot be denied to us no not to Mr. Williams for his Book asserts Not only that Christs Blood was shed instead of ours his life went in exchange for ours and that to satisfy Justice and Answer the Law but also that Christs sufferings were ●unishments You 'll presently see the Judgment of the Learned Dr. Edwards whom he recites as a favourer of his cause against Mr. Williams Fifthly If the Congregational Brethren have no more than their Signing the First Paper to clear them from the Charge of Antinomianism they must still abide under that charge Notwithstanding all that 's said p. 9 10 11. the invalidity of his Reasons will appear by our Answer to each 1. How can their present Declaration of their adhering to their approbation of the Articles of the Church of England or to the Confessions of Faith c. Prove They are far from being tainted with Antinomianism When several of them have Published their Antinomian Opinions both before and since the like Declaration 2. They do still affirm that neither Repentance nor Faith are necessary to a Sinners Pardon or Justification before God but only follow that whatever they be to final salvation Nor doth this Paper say any thing against it 3. It 's palpably false that the first Paper affirms that God doth not Pardon Justify or accept a Sinner nor Entitle him to Eternal Life before the Righteousness of Christ be applyed and received by Faith it's strange he said not before repentance too but it 's not true as to Faith it self The Paper saith The only Righteousness for the sake of which God Pardons Iustifies or Accepts Sinners or Intitles them to Eternal Life is the a lone Righteousness of Christ without them imputed to them and received by Faith alone Note he puts applyed for imputed which he would not say is by Faith and here is not so much as that it 's only the believing Sinner who is justified But above all he knows of his Party who explains such words by publishing that Christs Righteousness when applyed and received by Faith is only for a manifestation to their Consciences for their quiet that Christs Righteousness had been applyed to the Justification of their Persons before God long before they believed This is all the Justification by Christs Righteousness as received by Faith but they were Pardoned and Entituled to Life as much before tho' they knew it not And this Opinion the Paper denies not 4. The Paper saith Christ came into the Room of Sinners not to repent or believe for them which the Gospel requires The remarker knew if the Gospel requires these by its Precepts it was a slip overlook'd by such of them who deny the Gospel to be a Law therefore he wordeth it The elect are not exempt from an obligation of doing it themselves But he as well knows they hold there 's no obligation on them to repent or believe as a condition or Term of obtaining any benefit purchased by Christ as to that they have nothing to do Also that it was the Law of Works and that only which commandeth Faith and Repentence with any Sanction And the Paper contradicteth them not 5. Tho the Paper saith there is not such a Moral change whereby Christ became Inherently sinful and we immediately sinless yet they do and may still hold that the filth fault and fact of sin are so Transacted on Christ that he was in Gods Account a very Criminal the Blasphemer c. And that we are as Righteous as Christ in equality And the Legal Sense of the ●●ange is such that we are legally reputed to have made satisfaction our selves by obeying and dying because Christ did it in our Persons and we did it in his Person 6. The Paper saith the Father was not offended much less abhorred Christ considered as he was in himself But as in Relation to us as our surety and the Father was displeased with Christ as the guilt of our Iniquities was laid upon him And he knows his Friends do hold that God was displeased with and abhorred Christ because of the fault and filth of sin upon him as our surety which the Paper at least forbids not It 's worth observing that this Article was framed in opposition to one of the two only Errors objected here against Mr. Williams's Book Whose words are these That God testified his threatned indignation against sin in the awful sufferings of Christ in his Soul and Body c. And that Christ endured the effects of Gods wrath yet the Father was not displeased with Christ much less abhorred him because of the ●ilthiness of sin upon him p. 31 32. Here 's the Error and but once mentioned that required one of the three Articles to oppose it Our Third Paper hath given them far more ground to make this the point in Controversy than that of Change of Persons which it asserts both as to Name and Sense But they insist not on this because of the odious sound of what they must assert in opposition to it As to the Remarkers hint from the Assemblies words that Christ endured the weight of Gods wrath Let us mind him that displicency is opposed to Complacential Love and therefore none can be the object of Gods displeasure but one who is evil and wicked in the sight of the Lord and therefore hateful to him as such But the effects of Gods Rectoral wrath may fall on Christ tho beloved as our surety yea who was not hated but loved for dying according to his own Voluntary Engagements Review these things and judge what a poor Vindication from Antinomianism the first Paper affordeth Unless they ●hi●k he must be far enough from this Error that ●●●eth the Law of Works to be in full force and the only Law altho they also hold that the elect have fulfilled this Law perfectly in Christ and therefore are themselves to yield no sort of obedience in order to any benefit or preventing of any punishment Here 's all the Zeal for the Law which they think enough to acquit them from Antinomians and all who think that we under the Gospel are any further obliged are to be Neonomians But. 7. Yet as great a Liberty as this Paper gives Antinomians to subscribe it observe in what a faint and dark manner they do subscribe even this poor defence their words are We are glad to find so good an agreement among us as this Paper doth express This is all But wherein or how far Or under what