Selected quad for the lemma: love_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
love_n	charity_n	love_v	true_a	2,883	5	5.1048	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A51261	An addition to the Clavis aurea with an enquiry upon what terms the salvation of man doth depend; whether entirely on faith or entirely on works, or whether entirely on grace or free-gift. By Thomas Moor, author of the Clavis aurea, living in St. Thomas's in Southwark.; Clavis aurea. Addition.	Moor, Thomas, fl. 1695-1697.	1696 (1696)	Wing M2608AA; ESTC R216354	26,490	32

vain this is a great mistake and I have prov'd the contrary but you may say if the fear of Hell be taken away and Love not given this will encourage to Sin I answer if there were Free-will it might do so but no Man can soften or harden his own Heart God can take away this fear of Hell and not give his Love and so make it a means to allure to Sin or he can by taking away this fear of Hell make it a meanes to love him the more 't is as he pleases to move in us the Mercies of God mov'd Paul to please him the more but they were far better Christians that Love hath allur'd than that Fear hath compelled The Primitive Christians who were sure of their Salvation and fear'd it not compar'd with the Christians of our Age who fear a Hell may soon I say decide this for who now will sell his Posessions and distribute them to the poor As in Acts 4. 32. If then we would be doing what is good for Satisfaction of Salvation let us not fear Hell which hinders us from the love of God and deny Free-will which makes as in Charity with our Neighbour and that 's the Reason that love is the fullfilling of the Law Rom. 13. 10. and without love there 's no Religion can threatning to b●●n me make me love Love is not to be forc'd by Fire but allur'd or drawn by Mercy And the better to satisfie you against a Hell that you may love observe in Scripture that altho Good be commanded the contrary Evil is said shall be viz. Work out your Salvation with fear and trembling Phil. 2. 13. yet he that fears is not made perfect in Love 1 John 4. 18 and the fearful are cast into a Lake Rev. 21. 8. One Text saith thou shall love God with all thy Heart c. yet Men shall be lovers of themselves more than lovers of God 2 Tim 3. 4. it's writ love thy Neighbour as thy Self and another Text saith I have set all Men every one against his Neighbour Z●ch 8. 10. We are commanded not to covet yet ●●● shall be Covetous Proud Blasphemers c. 2 Tim. 3. 2. ●t's writ then shalt not kill yet Prophets and Apostles are sent and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of them they shall kill Mat. 1● 49 50. nay and think they do God good Servce And when such Blasohemies Murders Pride Covetousness Unbelief c. are compell'd on Men and that a real Hell-Fire must be the Punishment of it it cannot be Object Sin is made the Punishment of Sin that 's an Argument it was not ordain'd Answ It was Murder and the greatest of Murders to kill Christ as being the Lord of Glory and by no Law they could do it Well then Christ was ordain'd to be slain from the Foundation of the World Rev. 13. 8. which was before Adam was created and this was kept secret since the World began Rom. 16. 25. And when Christ came to suffer it was not till his very Hour was come that they had Power over him John 7. 30. he tells Pilate that he had no Power over him except it were given him from Above And more than that he saith in John 10. 17. That he laid down his own Life no Man took it from him again I lay it down my self ver 18. How then could the Jews and Judas avoid the effecting of this How then was this ordained as a Punishment for Sin before Man was created And how can part of Israel ordained to Unbelief before they are born be for Sins committed by them And if God did make the Commission of one Sin as a Punishment of another Sin before committed it 's no Argument but that he is the Author of Sin As for that Objection that God permits Sin he must of necessity permit what he owns to do himself Object If Sin be an Informity and unavoidable as in Vnbelief Fear Anger Murder c. How shall I six an Idea or conceive that it can be a Sin And how can Man be the Subject of Punishment and Reward I answer Sin is a breach of what 's commanded and that through Infirmty as I have proved in the Unbelief of Israel and that when we would do Good Evil is present as I have already discoursed So that Man cannot be said to be really Good or Evil by the way of freewill but by the way of Example to set forth by commanding what is Good that we might know Good and then forcing us to break those Commands that we might know what is Evil and then rewarding the Good he makes us do to set forth his Love to that which is Good and punishing that Evil he makes us do to set forth his hatred to Evil So that both the Sin and the Punishment are inevitable whereby also his Terrors are made known and his Wisdom in confounding the Wisdom of the World in this Mystery of Iniquity which the Scripture saith shall abound Mat. 24. 12. as P●ul was created in Christ unto Good Works which God before ordaiued he should walk in them Eph. 2. 10. as Judas was compelled to betray Christ Thus strait hath been the Gate and narrow hath been the Path which is Faith in this Life and who can find it Bu● God is able to give it us after this Life as he will do and from such particular Examples we may with Paul draw a General Rule And don 't we see now Vessels of Wrath fitted to Dectruction as Plotters who are so conceited in freewill that think things to be kept secret when it 's frequent for one of their own Pa●ti●s to betray them some hang themselves some drown themselves c. But these are only Temporal Punishments I spake of as for Eternal I deny to be after this Life as being where there is no Free-will altogether tyranni●l and ● dishonouring of God All which Punishments Temporal renders the Creature more happy in that Adversity commends a future of Prosperity and makes us prize our Happiness the greater and to this end was a Parabolical Hell-Fire threatned also as well as to set forth the Terror of the Almighty Object But 't is good to fear the wor● the best will help it self Answ If you fear such an Eternal Punishment if there were any that very Fear would condemn you to it as 't is writ The unbelieving and fearful are cast into the Lake of Brimstone and Fire Rev. 21. 8. And besides it 's Fear will hinder you from Love to God and Charity to your Neighbour in that you must then own Free-will and so deprive you of the means here to esape it Object Many have committed great Sins and have here liv'd happy or free from much Trouble either in Body or Mind and must they receive all alike Answ There 's none but have their Troubles here tho some more than others and Israel that die in Unbelief and have committed great Sins yet art saved whether there be degrees of

and not esteemed of in the sight of God but yet we cannot understand by this that our VVorks are to be so perfect that the Law must not be broken for then what would the Blood of Christ signify to us VVho is it that ever liv'd so holy but every Day breaks the Law tho against his Desire But more of this in another Place As to the Scripture which seems to plead for Perfection of good VVorks and Faith in this Life or no Salvation which is that Vbelievers Fearful and all Lyars shall have their Portion in the Lake Rom. 21. 8. points that such Perfection is given after this Life otherwise who shall be saved this will end the Confusion that is preach'd Thus I have given an uniting of the Scripture as to Faith and Works And for the better understanding this I proceed to the Definition of a justiing Faith But first let me tell you Perfection in good Works is taught to be in this Life and so the Error of the Galatians is on us who expected Justification by the Law for they say if we repent we shall be forgiven which I grant but that which is the Mistake and brings us under Bondage again is that they allow not Repentance sufficient without also a forsaking of the Sin repented of and Men not always finding it in their Power so to do fall into Despair So that we had need of a more comfortable Doctrine to encourage us in that which is good and to render us Satisfaction For I find from the Example of the Primitive Christians that sold their Estates and gave it to the Poor that Love draws more than Fear compels A Definition of a Justifying or Saving Faith A Justifying or Saving Faith consists in three parts 1. To believe that Christ suffered for Sin without doubting of it 2. To love him to that perfection of Love as not to fear but to be assured of our Salvation 3. To delight in good works tho we cannot be so perfect in them as to keep the whole Law of Moses or Moral Commands of Christ yet having this Faith Good Works would be as was in the Primitive Faith when they sold their Possessions and distributed to those that wanted far surpassing what is now practised So that believing without doubting assurance of Salvation and good Works make up one Faith for Justification And if one of these three parts be wanting the Faith is not Justifying and so by consequence nor Saving Whence all three parts put together make up such a Faith as we must have either in this World or the World to come or no Salvation Proofs of this Faith in every part of it 1. He that doubts whether Christ suffered or not doth not believe for he that doubteth is damned is he eats because he eateth not of Faith Rom. 14. 23. questioning the lawfulness or unlawfulness of the Meat he eats which shews that a doubting Faith is a damning Faith But in objection to this we say Christ healed the Man that said Lord I believe help my Vnbelief So he healed all that were diseased of their Bodies that came unto him whether Believers or Unbelievers yet without this Faith there 's no Salvation And as to his not quenching the smoaking Flax that 's in some for it 's certain that Israel in part are concluded in Unbelief born to die in Unbelief And indeed the Faith now in general is a doubting wavering seeking Faith and Books are now writ to prove the Scriptures the word of God there being so little credit given to them 2. The second part of this Faith is assurance of Salvation It is neither Circumcision nor Vncircumcision that availeth but Faith that works by love Gal. 5. 6. Hence 't is a Faith that works by love that is saving or available and this Faith which works by Love is not made perfect if Fear be not extinguished as 't is writ He that fears is not made perfect in love 1 John 4. 18. Now if 1 question whether God loves me so well as to save me I am in fear and where there is Fear there is Torment John 4. 18. So that it 's evident a Faith which works by Love is made perfect by a casting out of Fear which cannot be till there be an assurance of Salvation this being so clearly proved proves the first part of Faith to be true that doubting is not believing for who can be sure of his Salvation that doubts of Christ's Suffering 3. The third part of this Saving Faith is to delight in good Works tho we cannot be so perfect in them in this Life as to keep the whole Law of Moses and Moral Commands of Christ The Error that the foolish Galatians were under is the same as now 〈◊〉 which was that they sought Justification by being so 〈◊〉 good Works that they were able to keep the Law or 〈…〉 committing Sin as if we must first keep the Law 〈…〉 before we can have an Interest in Christ As 〈…〉 ●o absurd as to say they can live without 〈…〉 But Paul tells them he preached the Gospel to them 〈…〉 the Flesh and in the next Verse he calls this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Flesh which was Sin And in that 〈◊〉 so 〈…〉 they must have seen it because Paul 〈…〉 this his Temptation in the Flesh which the●efo●e must be a visible Sin or Temptation Gal. 4 13 14. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may go far and not be perfect 1 Cor. 13 'T is ●●●rity that is the tryal of a Christian's Faith and it never faileth The 〈◊〉 satisfaction of future Joys opens the Hearts of Men but Unbelievers hold it best to be sure of keeping what they have here for fear of not being recompenc'd hereafter But I would not have you mistake the Apostle when he saith Though I bestow all my 〈◊〉 to the Poor and have not Charity it profiteth me nothing ● Paul doth not say he that giveth his Goods to the Poor for Christ ● sake hath not Charity that cannot be but to give them in O●●●u●ation or Pride For Charity covereth a multitude of Sins 1 Pet. 4. 8 and true Charity sussereth long or is patient and is kind and e●vieth not ●●aunteth not it self is not puffed up and doth not unseemly beleave it self especially towards the Poor as if they were not his Fellow-Creatures Paul preach'd Sin unavoidable so that if he had found in himself that he could have avoided it altogether he could not have let his Experience and Doctrine so contradict each other for in Rom. 7. 21 he thus writes I find then a Law that when I would do good evil it present with me Again ver 18. to will is present with me but 〈◊〉 to perform that which is good I find not and much more in that Chapter to the same purpose And indeed the Flesh lusteth against the Spirit that we cannot do the things we would Gal. 5. 17. But i● objection to this we read Paul got the Victory 1 Cor. 15. ●7