Selected quad for the lemma: love_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
love_n	faith_n	grace_n	work_n	9,426	5	5.9929	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A63051	A vindication of the Protestant doctrine concerning justification, and of its preachers and professors, from the unjust charge of Antinomianism in a letter from a minister in the city, to a minister in the countrey.	Traill, Robert, 1642-1716.	1692 (1692)	Wing T2023; ESTC R938	36,348	46

A VINDICATION OF THE Protestant Doctrine Concerning JUSTIFICATION And of its Preachers and Professors From the unjust charge of ANTINOMIANISM In a LETTER from a Minister in the City to a Minister in the Countrey LONDON Printed for Dorman Newman at the King's-Arms in the Poultrey in the Year 1692. A LETTER FROM A Minister in the City to a Minister in the Countrey about the present Difference concerning JVSTIFICATION YOUR Earnest Desire of Information about some Difference amongst Nonconformists in London whereof you hear so much by flying Reports and profess you know so little of the Truth thereof is the Cause of this Writing You know that not many Months ago there was a fair-like appearance of Vnity betwixt the two most considerable Parties on that Side and their Differences having been rather in practice than principle about Church-Order and Communion seemed easily reconciliable where a Spirit of Love and of a sound Mind was at work But how short was the Calm For quickly arose a greater Storm from another Quarter and a Quarrel began upon higher Points even on no less than the Doctrine of the Grace of God in Jesus Christ and the Justification of a Sinner by Faith alone Some think that the Reprinting of Dr. Crisp's Book gave the first Rise to it But we must look further back for its true Spring It is well known but little considered what a great Progress Arminianism had made in this Nation before the beginning of the Civil War And surely it hath lost little since it ended What can be the Reason why the very Parliaments in the Reign of James I. and Charles I. were so alarmed with Arminiamsm as may be read in History and is remembred by Old Men and that now for a long time there hath been no talk no fear of it as if Arminianism were dead and buried and no man knows where its Grave is Is not the true Reason to be found in its Universal prevailing in the Nation But that which concerneth our Case is That the Middle way betwixt the Arminians and the Orthodox had been espoused and strenuously defended and promoted by some Nonconformists of great Note for Piety and Parts and usually such Men that are for middle ways in points of Doctrine have a greater kindness for that Extream they go half way to than for that which they go half way from And the Notions thereof were imbibed by a great many Students who laboured through the Iniquity of the Times under the great Disadvantage of the want of grave and sound Divines to direct and assist their Studies at Universities and therefore contented themselves with studying such English Authors as had gone in a path untrod both by our Predecessors and by the Protestant Vniversities abroad These Notions have been preach'd and wrote against by several Divines amongst our selves and the different Opinions have been till of late managed with some Moderation to which our being all born down by Persecution did somewhat contribute It is a sad but true Observation That no Contentions are more easily kindled more fiercely pursued and more hardly composed than those of Divines sometimes from their Zeal for Truth and sometimes from worse Principles that may act in them as well as in other Men. The Subject of the Controversie is about the Justifying Grace of God in Jesus Christ Owned it is by both and both fear it be abused either by turning it into Wantonness hence the Noise of Antinomianism or by corrupting it with the mixture of Works hence the Fears on the other side of Arminianism Both Parties disown the Name cast upon them The one will not be called Arminians and the other hate both Name and Thing of Antinomianism truly so called Both sometimes say the same Thing and profess their Assent to the Doctrinal Articles of the Church of England to the Confession of Faith and Catechisms composed at Westminster and to the Harmony of the Confessions of all the Reformed Churches in these Doctrines of Grace And if both be Candid in this Profession it is very strange that there should be any Controversie amongst them Let us therefore first take a View of the Parties and then of their Principles As to the Party suspected of Antinomianism and Libertinism in this City it is plain That the Churches wherein they are concerned are more strict and exact in trying of them that offer themselves unto their Communion as to their Faith and Holiness before their admitting them in the Engagements laid on them to a Gospel-walking at their Admission and in their Inspection over them afterwards As to their Conversations they are generally of the more Regular and Exact Frame and the Fruits of Holiness in their Lives to the Praise of God and Honour of the Gospel cannot with modesty be denied Is it not unaccountable to charge a People with Licentiousness when the Chargers cannot deny and some cannot well bear the Strictness of their Walk It is commonly said That it is only their Principles and the tendency of them to loose Walking that they blame But waying that at present it seems not fair to charge a People with Licentious Doctrines when the Professors thereof are approved of for their Godliness and when they do sincerely profess that their Godliness begun with and is promoted by the Faith of their Principles Let it not be mistaken if I here make a Comparison betwixt Papists and Protestants The latter did always profess the Doctrine of Justification by Faith alone This was Blasphemy in the Papists Ears They still did and do cry out against it as a Licentious Doctrine and destructive of Good Works Many sufficient Answers have been given in to this unjust Charge But to my purpose the Wonder was that the Papists were not convinced by the splendid Holiness of the Old Believers and by the Visible Truth of their holy Practice and their professing that as long as they lived in the Blindness and Darkness of Popery they were profane and that as soon as God revealed the Gospel to them and had wrought in them the Faith thereof they were sanctified and led other Lives So witnessed the Noble Lord Cobham who suffered in K. Henry the 5th his Time above an 100 Years before Luther His Words at his Examination before the Archbishop of Canterbury and his Clergy were these As for that Vertuous Man Wickliff for with his Doctrine he was charged whose Judgment ye so highly disdain I shall say of my part both before God and Man that before I knew that Despised Doctrine of his I never abstained from sin but since I learned therein to fear my Lord God it hath otherwise I trust been with me So much Grace could I never find in all your glorious Instructions Fox's Book of Martyrs Vol. 1. p. 640. Col. 2. Edit 1664. And since I am on that excellent Book I intreat you to read Mr. Patrick Hamilton's little Treatise to which Frith doth Preface and Fox doth add some Explication Vol.

accounted the Tidings of Salvation by the slain Son of God an Old An iquated Story and unfit to be daily preached And what comes in the room thereof is not unknown nor is it worth the mentioning For all things that come in Christ's room and justle him out either of Hearts or Pulpits are alike abominable to a Christian How many Sermons may a man hear and read when printed yea and Books written about the way to Heaven wherein is hardly the Name of Jesus Christ And if he be named it is the Name of Christ as a Judg and Lawgiver rather than that of a Saviour And as little room hath Christ in many mens Prayers except it be in the conclusion When we cannot avoid the observing of those sad things let it be a sharp Spur to us to Preach Christ more to Pray more in his Name and to Live more to his Praise Let us not be deceived with that pretence That Christ may be Preached when he is not Named The Preaching of the Gospel is the Naming of Christ and so call'd Rom. 15.20 And Paul was to bear Christ's Name before the Gentiles and Kings and the Chrildren of Israel Acts 9.15 3. Let us Study hard and Pray much to know the truth and to cleave unto it It is an Old Observation Ante Pelagium securiùs loquebantur Patres Before Pelagius even the Fathers spoke more carelesly meaning well and fearing no Mistakes in their Hearers Now it is not so the more careful should we be in our Doctrine Let us search our own Consciences and see how we our selves are justified before God So Paul argued Gal. 2.15 16. And let us bring forth that Doctrine to our People that we find in our Bibles and have felt the power of upon our own hearts Let us not run into Extreams upon the Right or Left Hand through the heat of Contention but carefully keep the good Old way of the Protestant Doctrine wherein so many thousands of Saints and Martyrs of Jesus have lived holily and died happily who never heard of our New Schemes and Notions And for this end let us take and cleave to the Test of the Assemblies Confession of Faith and Catechisms More we own not our selves more we crave not of our Brethren and because we deal fairly and openly I shall set it down Verbatim Conf. Chap. 11. Of Justification Art 1. Those whom God effectually calleth he also freely Justifieth not by infusing Righteousness into them but by Pardoning their Sins and by accounting and accepting their Persons as Righteous not for any thing wrought in them or done by them but for Christ's sake alone not by imputing Faith it self the Act of Believing or any other Evangelical Obedience as their Righteousness but by imputing the Obedience and Satisfaction of Christ unto them they receiving and resting on him and his Righteousness by Faith which Faith they have not of themselves it is the Gift of God Art 2. Faith thus receiving and resting on Christ and his Righteousness is the alone Instrument of Justification yet is it not alone in the Person Justified but is ever Accompanied with all other saving Graces and is no dead Faith but worketh by Love Art 3. Christ by his Obedience and Death did fully discharge the Debt of all those that are thus Justified and did make a proper real and full satisfaction to his Fathers Justice in their behalf yet in as much as he was given by the Father for them and his Obedience and Satisfaction accepted in their Stead and both freely not for any thing in them Their Justification is only of Free Grace that both the exact Justice and rich Grace of God might be glorified in the Justification of Sinners Art 4. God did from all Eternity Decree to Justifie all the Elect and Christ did in the fulness of time Die for their Sins and Rise again for their Justification Nevertheless they are not Justified until the Holy Spirit doth in due time actually apply Christ unto them Art 5. God doth continue to forgive the sins of those that are Justified And although they can never fall from the state of Justification yet they may by their sins fall under God's Fatherly displeasure and not have the light of his Countenance restor'd unto them until they humble themselves confess their sins beg pardon and renew their Faith and Repentance Art 6. The Justification of Believers under the Old Testament was in all these Respects one and the same with the Justification of Believers under the New Testament This is the whole Chapter exactly Larger Catechism Q. How doth Faith Justifie a sinner in the sight of God Ans Faith Justifieth a sinner in the sight of God not because of those other graces which do always accompany it or of good Works that are the Fruits of it nor as if the grace of Faith or any Act thereof were imputed to him for his Justification but only as it is an Instrument by which he receiveth and applieth Christ and his Righteousness Let these weighty words be but heartily assented to in their plain and Native Sense and we are one in this great point of Justification But can any considering Man think that the new Scheme of a real Change Repentance and Sincere Obedience as necessary to be found in a person that may Lawfully come to Christ for Justification of Faith's Justifying as it is the spring of sincere Obedience of a Man's being Justified by and upon his coming up to the Terms of the new Law of Grace a new word but of an old and ill meaning can any man think that this Scheme and the sound words of the Reverend Assembly do agree Surely if such a Scheme had been offered to that Grave Learned and Orthodox Synod it would have had a more severe Censure past upon it than I am willing to name Do not we find in our particular Dealings with Souls the same Principles I am now Opposing When we deal with the Carnal Secure Careless Sinners and they are a vast Multitude and ask them a Reason of that hope of Heaven they pretend to Is not this their common Answer I live inoffensively I keep God's Law as well as I can and wherein I fail I repent and beg God's Mercy for Christ's sake My Heart is sincere though my Knowledg and Attainments be short of others If we go on to inquire further what acquaintance they have with Jesus Christ what Applications their Souls have made to him what workings of Faith on him what use they have made of his Righteousness for Justification and his Spirit for Sanctification What they know of living by Faith in Jesus Christ We are Barbarians to them and in this sad state many Thousands in England live and die and Perish Eternally Yet so thick is the darkness of the Age that many of them live here and go hence with the Reputation of good Christans and some of them may have their Funeral Sermon and Praises Preached