Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	apostle_n	church_n	doctrine_n	4,033	5	6.2595	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A11429	A briefe collection of the church, and of certayne ceremonies thereof gathered by Thomas Sampson	Sampson, Thomas, 1517?-1589.	1581 (1581)	STC 21682; ESTC S112207	24,396	80

the holy Church But a man is not saide properly to beleeue that which hee seeth For beleefe is of thinges not seene but of such thinges as God hath promised though they bee not seene with the bodilie eye Nowe of visibilitie I say that as Christ Iesus our Lorde beeing in the worlde to worke the worke of our saluation was visible in the glorie and maiestie of the true Messiah so is his true Church visible in the worlde Iohn 17. For as hee was in the world so are they which are his that is his true Church in the worlde so seene and visible that the children of God the verie elect of God are both illuminate to see it to ioyn themselues to it as Simeon Anna Zacharie and other did see and ioyne themselues to the person of Messiah So did that blinde man which was cured as we doe reade in the gospell Iohn 9. Iohn 4. Likewise did the simple woman whō Christ Iesus did vouchsafe to teach in the same Gospell see more of the glorie and maiestie of the true Messiah in the person of Iesus than did al the bishops priests Scribes and Pharisees which caryed the countenance and credit of the Church among mē And as Obadiah did see 1. Reg. 18. and ioyne himselfe to the true Church of God in the darke dayes of Achab It is also so visible that satan is suffred to espie it and by his members to persecute it euen as hee did the person of our Lorde Iesus who is the heade of his true Church If men wil not content themselues with this sight but will haue their sight satisfied after their fansie with a visible worldly glorie of a church in this worlde more visible than Christ himselfe was whose Church in this worlde shall haue and bee in the same condition that himselfe had in it let these men take heede that they doe not fall into the lappe of the whoore of Babylon and take her for the church of Christ For the whore of Babylon hath her glorious visibilitie in the worlde shee is visible that in great worldly pompe glorie Now thē some will say to what companie or church thē shal I ioyn my self how shal I know finde that church in which I may heare receiue the doctrine of saluation yea if the church be inuisible so that we cannot see it we cānot heare the doctrin therof we shal not come to the true knowledge of GOD to worship him nor yet of our dutie to our king nor our rulers nor yet how we are bownde to obeye them I answere that though the church be invisible in that respect that I haue spoken off yet when it commeth in question to what company or church we shuld ioyn our selues we haue certein sure markes to directe vs rightly in this doubt These markes are The open Markes and true preaching of the worde of God and The sounde administration of the holy Sacramentes which markes are playne and apparant Wheresoeuer these marks are without doubt we are bounde to beleeue that there the true Church is and that companie wee ought to esteeme to bee the faithfull Church which doth professe the religion of the Lord our God as it is taught in his holy word Thus the Apostle doth call the companie dwelling in Corinth and the Galathians faithfull and Sainctes and giueth vnto them the name of the Church in generall although there were amonge them great faultes aswell in ignorance of doctrine as corruption of life Which thing also he taught 1. Cor. 3. when hee saide that all they which did holde the foundation did not alwayes builde vpon it golde or siluer or precious stones but also stubble and hay Thus wee speake of the Church in sounde and substantiall trueth We doe not make of it a fantasticall thing conceiued onely by imagination neither are we carried away in the fonde conceites of the Donatistes or Catharians nor in the furious frensies of the Anabaptistes Let mee therefore nowe speake somewhat of the marks witnesses of the Church which ought well to bee knowne marked because by them we may be directed rightly to that Church in which saluation is to be had Neither is there any one thing by which Sathan our olde enemie doeth labour more to deceiue men then by the title wrong opinion of the Church There are two marks as I said most certaine and infallible by which the true Church is knowne and discerned from all other conuenticles and assemblies of men The first is the pure preaching of the worde of God The second is the sincere administration of the holy Sacramentes To these some haue ioyned the true discipline and the fruite of obedience to the gospell preached And in truth there ought to be such a christian policie for the gouernement of the church as the lorde of the church Christ Iesus hath ordeined such obedience shewed to the gospell as it commaundeth But because the abounding force of our sinnes are such that often times these two last things do not so fully apeare in their maiestie and excellencie as they ought to doe therefore we doe rest our selues vpon the two first named markes The preaching of the word is a most sure and certeine marke token of the true church of Christ And therefore the preaching of the gospell is compared to the seede sowen Matt. 13. and by the preaching of the gospell it is sayd 1. Cor. 4. that the Corinthians were begotten vnto God For this cause also is the preaching of the gospell called the pasture in which the children of God do feede It is the nurriture with which they are nourished And Christ Iesus sayeth My sheepe do heare my voice Ioan. 10. and that they do not heare the voice of a strāger Yea Christ teacheth vs how by hearing and not hearing the worde of God wee shall know them which are of God For he sayeth Ioan. 8. He that is of God heareth Gods words Ye therefore heare them not because ye are not of God They which are of God doe heare receiue and obey his worde they are his true church They which do not heare nor receiue his worde are not of God are not his true church The second sure tokē of the true church is the sincere administration of the holy sacramēts For it is the good pleasure of God to call feed his flock not onely by the voice of his gospel and worde sounding in their eares but also by mouing their eyes and other senses bodily And therfore he ordeyned that his sacraments should be certein witnesses visible seales of the vnion of his childrē with him selfe of one of them with another And this was one cause why it was sayd to the people of God Gen. 17. that he that was vncircumcised should be rooted out from among the people of god To this end also did all the heads of housholds apere at