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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
life_n	believe_v	jesus_n	lord_n	8,211	5	3.8236	3	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47454	The counterfeit Christian, or, The danger of hypocrisy opened in two sermons : containing an exposition of that parabolical speech of our Blessed Saviour, Matth. XII, 43, 44, 45 ... / by Benjamin Keach ...	Keach, Benjamin, 1640-1704.	1691 (1691)	Wing K55; ESTC R18720	49,835	62

Hope and Dependance they also are not willing to forgo These Men place that Hope on their own Works and Righteousness which true Christians place on Christ and so unbelief in them throws Christ quite away they having no need of him 1. What is Unbelief but an actual or vertual denial of the Truth of the Gospel when Men do not assent to the Doctrine of it by an act of the Understanding 2. 'T is a refusal to accept heartily of Christ upon the Terms of the Gospel which is opposite to Justifying-Faith when there is not a fiducial Motion to Christ as the Center When Christ the only Foundation and chief Corner-Stone is laid aside and the Need and Worth of him not believed This Sin binds all the Guilt of all their old and new Sins upon their Souls 't is a Sin against the highest Goodness of God and casts Contempt upon it for never did God manifest such sovereign Goodness unto his Creatures as in Jesus Christ God hath said there is no Life no Salvation any other way but by the Lord Jesus But these Men do not assent to this Truth do not believe the Report God hath given concerning the want of perfect Righteousness and Regeneration and Self-debasement c. Nay they seem to contradict the Will of God by their going about to establish their own Righteousness and so not submitting to the Righteousness of God In a word 't is a denying of Christ and a disesteeming the Price of his Blood as it also reflects on the Wisdom of God in fixing on this way to save Sinners 'T is an invaluating the Excellency of Christ's Person Blood and Merits As Faith counts all things Dung in Comparison of Christ so Unbelief accounts the Person Offices and Doctrine of Christ but as Dung in Comparison of the Excellency of Self-Righteousness Self-Wisdom Self-Sufficiency c. These Men are the worst Neglecters of the great Salvation they do not only neglect it but slight and contemn it there being in their Thoughts not any need to look for Salvation this way They that sin against the Law fly to the Gospel but these sin against the Cure held forth and extended in the Gospel Whither must these fly since there remains no more Sacrifice for Sin if this be slighted no other way or means is ordained for Salvation Such who refuse the Covenant of Grace and depend on the Covenant of Works how woful is their Condition And what hope a Law often transgress'd can give a Malefactor is saith a worthy Person easy to imagine Millions have perished by it none can be secured by it as none ever by it were or could be saved At first these Persons transgressed against the Rule but now they transgress against the Rule and Remedy too None but Unbelievers are despised by God none but these shall taste of his Wrath and Divine Vengeance this is the condemning Sin this is Satan's strongest hold hither he retreats after all and here he keeps as in chains his miserable Captive He that believes not shall be damned And what is Faith but a going out of a Mans self to Christ for Life and Righteousness as a poor wretched and miserable Sinner But these Men now see not themselves to be in such a State Earthly Hypocrisy it appears from the whole which hath been said is another of those evil Spirits that is entered into this Man Hypocrisy is opposed to that inward Simplicity of the Heart and all counterfeit Professors are guilty of it though all do not act the part of an Hypocrite with an Intention i. e. are not convinced they are Hypocrites some deceive their own Hearts they are the grosser sort others their Hearts deceive them these are most to be pitied a Man may doubtless be an Hypocrite and he may not know it he may go on in a way of Duty and do all things as he thinks exactly according to the Letter of the Word and in Uprightness as he may judg and yet be unsound certainly thus it was with the foolish Virgins Hypocrites may be nevertheless discerned our Saviour hath given the Character of them 1. They are commonly most zealous from the lesser things of Religion i. e. for paying Tithes of Mint Anise and Cummin but neglect the weightier things of the Law Judgment Mercy Faith and the Love of God They strain at a Knat and swallow a Cammel They make a stir about external Rights Observation of Days and Meats but to the Power of Religion and Godliness are Strangers and experience nothing of a Divine change on their Souls 2. As they lay the greatest stress upon the least things so they are commonly partial in their pretended Obedience they lay hard things or heavy Burdens upon others but they themselves will not touch them with one of their Fingers What they preach and press on others they do not themselves they will not obey Christ nor follow him in the hardest things nor do they obey in Love or always 3. They are commonly finding Faults in other Men can spy the Mote in their Brother's Eye but cannot see the Beam that is in their own As it is a Sign of notorious Hypocrisy and Impudence to censure and judg others for those Sins which Men live in themselves so it is a Sign of like Hypocrisy to spy Faults in others and reproach them for those Faults and yet the Person is guilty of worse himself What they preach and press on others they do not themselves they will not follow Christ in the most hard and difficult things of Religion but pick and chuse will do some things that they like of and not only neglect others but quarrel with them who contend for it and faithfully subject to Christ in it And as they are not universal in their Obedience so they do not obey in Love nor do they obey always as sincere Christians do as David intimateth 4. They are generally very confident touching the Goodness of their own Condition not questioning their Salvation thus were the Pharisees they judged others were in a damnable State but as touching themselves did not doubt but they were the only People and blessed God they were not as other Men whereas a true Christian is full of Fear and doubts about the Truth of Grace received and Goodness of his Condition 5. They are vain-glorious do what they do to be seen of Men like the Pharisees They love the Praise of Men more than the Praise of God their Hearts are kept up by the good Opinion others have of them they like their Predecessors love greetings in the Markets and uppermost Rooms in Feasts and to be called of Men Rabbi they also are subject to Envy or have their Hearts rise against such who they hear out-do them and would be looked upon as the chiefest of Men in Learning Parts and Wisdom 6. They are commonly very zealous to make Men Proselytes to their own

necessity of Faith and Regeneration These are not only averse to all humane Innovations and Traditions of Men and so contend for God's Holy Institutions in respect of his visible Worship as I told you before but seem to be inlightned very much into that internal Work of God's Grace upon the Soul c. but never come themselves under those saving Operations of the Spirit but rest in the Speculative Knowledg of those Mysteries and are meer empty and formal Persons and Strangers to that Divine Life and sacred Change of which they speak and yet possibly may not be throughly convinced of that deceit and delusion they are under but may hope all is well with them but since they are not savingly renewed but only reformed having not Jesus Christ dwelling in their Hearts nor the Power of the Holy Ghost to enable and influence their Souls in the performance of their Duties and in mortification of their Sins and Corruptions they are frequently overcome by Satan and horrid Evils prevail and predominate in them by which means they bring great reproach upon Religion and all those who do profess it hence the Apostle calls this sort the Enemies of the Cross of Christ Phil. 3. 18. and this further aggravates their Sin and Misery for whilst openly prophane and not pretending to Religion and Godliness they could not injure the Name of God nor expose the Gospel and Professors thereof to that scorn and reproach as now they do Sinners openly wicked though notorious and vile Enemies to God yet the hurt and wrong they do is especially to their own Souls but these by their carnal earthly Pr●●● loose and formal walking hinder the promulgation of the Gospel and Conversion of the Souls of Men besides their weakning the Hands and grieving the Hearts of the truly Godly Moreover they also pollute and defile too often the Church of Jesus Christ and bring great trouble upon the same Hence there is in most Congregations who keep up a strict and regular Discipline 〈◊〉 so much Church-work which makes the Communion of the Saints the more uncomfortable to them for though it cannot be denied but sincere Persons may fall under Sin and Temptation and so all the trouble of Churches and Reproach that falls upon Religion doth not arise from these counterfeit Christians or formal Professors yet doubtless the chiefest part of them do It is said Offences will come but wo to them by whom the Offence comes From all which considerations their state seems worse in many degrees than before Sixthly The wicked Spirit or abominable Sin that some of these Mens Souls are also possessed with is Legality And though this clearly appears by what I have already said yet I shall speak a little more fully and distinctly unto it All that these Persons do and perform is in a legal Spirit and that I may shew you what I mean by Legality in short it is this i. e. They act and do for Life look upon themselves to be under a conditional Covenant and whilst they live up to that Law or Rule which they judg they are bound to observe and keep in order to Justification they have Peace rendring the Gospel and Covenant of Grace by their false Apprehensions of it no better than a legal Ministration or conditional Covenant as was hinted before in respect of another sort of Men For like as the Jews of old acted in a legal Spirit and sought to be justified by the Works of the Law so these perform all their Services and Duties in the same Spirit viz. not from Life or a Divine Principle of Saving-Faith but for Life To keep the Commandments of God and live religiously is absolutely necessary But then this must be done from a renewed Nature and flows from Faith it being the proper Effect or Fruit thereof but to strive to live a sober and holy Life and obey God's Precepts and rest upon their so doing and look to be accepted with God and justified thereby is that which too many of this sort of People do and this is to act in a legal Spirit Possibly a Man may say I know I cannot perfectly keep the Law but I will do by the help of God what I can and wherein I through weakness do transgress the Lord is merciful and I trust will forgive me But let me remember what God saith viz. That he will in no wise clear the Guilty Moreover what the Law saith it saith to them that are under the Law that all Mouths may be stopped and the whole World become guilty before God 'T is evident as God will not forgive an impenitent Person so he will not forgive the Penitent except they believe in Jesus Christ 'T is not for the sake or worth of Repentance that God forgives any Man the Penitent as well as the Impenitent are guilty all have broke the Law all are under Sin and Wrath Repentance will not do a holy Life will not do Prayer and hearing Sermons will not do By the Deeds of the Law and by any thing we can do no Flesh shall be justified If Men believe not on Christ let them be what they will Professors or Prophane they shall die in their Sins God pardons no Sinner as a simple Act of his Mercy without a respect had to the Satisfaction Christ hath made to his offended Justice by his Death And hence it is that the Apostle saith All have sinned and come short of the Glory of God being justified freely by his Grace through the Redemption that is in Jesus Christ whom God hath set forth to be a Propitiation through Faith in his Blood to declare his Righteousness for the remission of Sins that are past through the forbearance of God Therefore God doth not accept of our Obedience in keeping the Precepts either of the Old or New Testament and forgive all our Deviations as a meer Act of his Mercy for if this way Righteousness and Justification were attainable 't is evident Christ died in vain as I said before for could not God have done this if Christ had never come to shed his precious Blood I remember some Years ago I heard of a Man who lying on his Death-bed when a Godly Person desired him to look out for a Christ answered He had lived a godly Life all along and why said he do you tell me of a Christ or to that effect He thought 't is evident none needed a Christ but prophane Persons and I fear many are of his Mind tho they express it not as he did with their Tongues But possibly some may say We do not think that our Righteousness justifies us any otherwise than through Christ ' s Merits To which I answer 'T is not throug our personal Righteousness though joined or coupled with Christ's Merits that we are justified but through the personal Righteousness of Christ alone and the Merits of his Blood received by Faith 't is in this way

That by the drawing here is not meant of any coaction or force upon the Will is out of Question the Will acts freely according to the Nature of that Faculty but as it is acted and influenced by the Spirit according to that Text in the Psalms My People shall be willing in the Day of my Power But that it is to be understood only of a rational drawing by Arguments used in the Ministry of the Word we do deny though in this sense some do take it and conclude it is of the same import with that compelling mentioned Luk. 14. 23. for the Ministers of the Gospel as one observes have no other Power to compel But the Act of drawing here is not ascribed to the Servants but to the Master not the Preacher but the Father therefore doubtless it signifies a Divine Power put forth upon the Soul of Man by which the Lord opens the Heart as he did the Heart of Lydia so that he is made obedient to the call of God and willing to close with the Offer of Christ And that this must be the meaning of the Text it is rational to conclude considering the nature of the motion in coming unto Christ which is the motion of the Soul to a sublime spiritual Object to do which as no Soul hath any power of it self such is the darkness of the Mind the obstinacy of the Will and pravity of the Affections unless influenced and wrought upon by the Spirit So in like manner nothing is proud Man naturally more averse to cannot indure to think he is such a poor Miscreant a mere beggarly Wretch that he has not so much as a bit of Bread to eat nor a Garment in a spiritual sense to cover him but must be beholden to his Neighbour for all For as no Soul is able without supernatural Grace to apprehend spiritual Things cannot discern them so there is in his mind enmity against God for it is not subject to the Law of God neither indeed can be From all which I have said it appears Faith as before hinted is not the Condition of Justification tho the Way or Means appointed to receive that Righteousness that doth justify the Sinner so likewise Faith is God's Gift Yet 't is foolish to say Man doth not believe but rather the Spirit for him because he cannot believe by any natural Power inherent in him till he is divinely influenced by the Holy Ghost For such may as well say Lazarus did not live or it was not his Life which he had after quickned because it was infused into him by the Power and Spirit of Christ Therefore this and the former Objection are both gone and the supposed Condition of the New Covenant vanquished since Faith it self being the Fruit of it cannot be the Condition thereof But saith the Objector If Faith and Repentance be not Conditions of the Covenant of Grace then those whom God hath appointed to Salvation shall be saved whether they believe or repent or no. To which we answer That Faith and Repentance c. are Promises of the New Covenant as well as Justification and Eternal Life and he that hath ordained the End hath also ordained the Means I will put my Law into their inward Parts and write it in their Hearts and will be their God and they shall be my People And I will make an everlasting Covenant with them that I will not turn away from doing them good but I will put my Fear into their Hearts that they shall not depart from me That God who hath promised to make us Happy hath also promised to make us Holy he hath promised Grace to us here and to change our Hearts of Stone and to give us Hearts of Flesh as well as he hath promised to give us Glory hereafter Our being called in Time is but the effect of God's eternal Love before Time because he hath loved us with an everlasting love therefore with loving kindness hath he drawn us We are called by the free Grace of God according to his purpose as well as justified and eternally saved We are predestinated that we may be conformable to the Image of his Son in Holiness here on Earth as well as in Heaven hereafter If Men are left under the power of their Sins or only to the bare improvements of their own natural Abilities in a meer reformed Life and never brought by the free Grace of God to believe in Jesus Christ and so to have real Union with him 't is an evident sign they shall never be saved they being none of them that the Father hath given to Christ for saith he all that the Father giveth to me shall come unto me and in these only are infused the Divine Habits of Saving-Grace The Apostle positively affirms that God hath chosen us in Christ before the Foundation of the World that we should be Holy and without blame before him in love not only chosen to Salvation which is the End but to Holiness as the Means Not because we are Holy are we chosen but that we may be Holy but this ought not to take any Soul from the use of the Means And as a clear demonstration and illustration of this I might mention that passage concerning Paul's Voyage to Rome in respect of that assurance God gave him of the Lives of all that were with him in the Ship the Angel of God appeared to him and said And lo God hath given thee all them that sail with thee Wherefore Sirs be of good chear for I believe God that it shall be as it was told me This Promise was absolute yet see what Paul said to them Except ye abide in the Ship ye cannot be saved That God that hath promised us Salvation doth not save us without the use of Means although the efficaciousness and truth of the Promise does no ways depend upon the virtue of the Means but the Means are made effectual by virtue of the Promise yet whoever neglects the Means under any pretence of a free Promise he does but tempt God but doth not as some observe rightly believe in him Seventhly Amongst the wicked Spirits that are entred into this Man namely into this Counterfeit Christian that horrid and wicked Spirit of Unbelief must not be left out for tho this Sin of Sins is in all unconverted Persons yet it reigns and triumphs more in this sort of People than in others Prophane Persons are kept up by a false Faith depending as they will tell you on the Death and Merits of Christ tho 't is only cursed presumption in them for that cannot be a true Faith which changes not the Heart and Life of the Creature But they believe not by reason of love to their Sins which they are not as yet willing to forgo But these believe not on Christ because of that love which they have to their own seeming Righteousness which in point of Trust