Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	believe_v	church_n	doctrine_n	2,799	4	6.2435	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61800	The Bishop of Chester's charge in his primary visitation at Chester, May 5, 1691	Stratford, Nicholas, 1633-1707.	1692 (1692)	Wing S5929; ESTC R17221	18,998	32

to God for all the Scandal that is brought upon the Church thereby and for the Ruine of all those Souls which are misled by his bad Example In the next place these Two Questions were proposed to you before your Admission to the Office of Priesthood I. Are you perswaded that the Holy Scriptures contain sufficiently all Doctrine required of necessity for eternal Salvation through Faith in Christ Jesus II. Are you determined out of the said Scriptures to instruct the People committed to your Charge and to teach nothing as required of necessity to eternal Salvation but that which you shall be perswaded may be concluded and proved by the Scriptures To the First you Answered I am so perswaded To the Second I have so determin'd by Gods Grace That the Holy Scriptures contain sufficiently all Doctrine required of necessity to eternal Salvation That is That they not only contain all such necessary Doctrine but in some place or other so clearly contain it as that it may be understood by all those for whose Salvation the Scriptures were designed I take it for granted you all firmly believe It being the main Foundation of the Religion of Protestants in opposition to the Church of Rome which by asserting the deficiency of the Holy Scriptures in both these respects hath thereby open'd a door to those many Innovations She hath introduc'd into the Christian Doctrine and Worship and may if opportunity shall serve introduce as many more I shall not therefore insist upon this That which it may be more needful to speak to is Secondly What by God's Grace you determined to do viz. To instruct the People committed to your Charge out of the said Scriptures and to teach nothing as required of necessity to eternal Salvation but that which you shall be perswaded may be concluded and proved by the Scriptures One of the prime Qualifications St. Paul requires in a Pastor is 2 Tim. 2. 24. That he be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not only able but apt and ready to teach and elsewhere he describes him 1 Tim. 5. 17. as one that labours in the Word and Doctrine and that This Labour in the Word and Doctrine was Necessary not only in the Apostles days when the Christian Religion was to be planted in the World but is still so is manifest from the ends for which he tells us Christ appointed Pastors and Teachers which were not only the converting of Infidels the gathering of the Sheep that were scatter'd abroad into the Fold Ephes 4. 12. but the perfecting of the Saints and the edifying of the Body of Christ 'T is indeed strange That any Man should think this Work unnecessary as long as there are Sinners to be converted from the Error of their ways and Saints to be edified in their Holy Faith as long as Souls are in so great danger of being eternally lost through the daily Assaults of the World the Flesh and the Devil And it would be yet more strange if any Men who own themselves Ministers of the Church of England should think they can be excused from it when in the Exhortation before their receiving of Priests Orders they were told That to teach and to premonish to seek and provide for the Lords Family was that they were called unto When upon the Bishop's demanding Whether they were determin'd to instruct the People committed to their Charge out of the Scriptures They Answered They had so determin'd by God's Grace When in the very Words of Ordination it was laid upon them as a Charge To be faithful Dispensers of the Word of God Now this Teaching is either publick or private Of the private I shall speak when I come to the next Question save one That which is publick is to be perform'd these Two ways especially by Preaching and by Catechising And First as to Preaching Consider that solemn and dreadful Charge St. Paul lays upon Timothy 2 Tim. 4. 1 2. I charge thee before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who shall judge the Quick and the Dead at his appearing and his Kingdom Preach the Word Consider also That our Church hath enjoyned every allow'd Preacher that is beneficed Can. 45. to have a Sermon every Lord's Day in the Year And as a farther Enforcement That His Majesty hath charged all the Bishops Letter to the Bishop of London To see that the Clergy in their respective Diocesses be duly resident upon their Livings preaching the Word of God plainly How assiduous many of the Ancients were in this part of their Office and how necessary they thought it so to be I need not tell you but methinks a serious reflection upon it should make those not only blush but tremble who live in the Neglect of it who are so far from observing the Laws of our Church while they boast of more than ordinary Conformity to it that they have not perhaps more than one Sermon in a Year for two Benefices Now that we may in this way of Teaching be successful to the Salvation of our Hearers we are here directed both as to the Matter and the Manner of it First As to the Matter of our Preaching it must be out of the Holy Scriptures But since of the things contain'd in the Holy Scriptures some are necessary some are profitable only and since of these things which are only profitable some are more others are less profitable our Pulpit-Discourses should be chiefly confined to those Truths which are necessary or highly profitable in order to eternal Salvation omitting all School-Niceties and subtle Disputes which are of no Practical Use and never let any Truth which is call'd in question by none of your Hearers be made a Matter of Controversie in the Pulpit Endeavour effectually to convince your Hearers how by our Apostasie from God we have made our selves obnoxious to His heavy Displeasure and that there is a necessity of a Mediator between God and Man Shew them who this Mediator is and how he is qualified for this great Work what the Terms are upon which God hath graciously promised to pardon our Sins and how ready he is upon these Terms of Faith Repentance and sincere future Obedience to receive us into his Favour Press those Graces and Duties most which are most comprehensive as Justice and Charity Teach them to render to all their dues as tribute to whom tribute is due custom to whom custom c. Represent CHARITY to them in all those branches of it in which it is described by St. Paul in 1 Cor. 13. Set your selves especially against those sins which are most visible in your Auditors as St. Paul who reason'd of Righteousness and Chastity when he preached before an unjust and adulterous Felix Acts 24. 25. More particularly in pursuance of His Majesties Letter preach frequently against profane Swearing Perjury Drunkenness and Profanation of the Lords Day and when such a Sermon is to be preached read to your People such Statute-Law or Laws