Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	church_n	discipline_n	doctrine_n	4,176	5	6.2312	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A62865	Christs commination against scandalizers, or, A treatise wherein the necessitie, nature, sorts, and evils of scandalizing are clearly and fully handled with resolution of many questions, especially touching the abuse of Christian liberty, shewing that vengeance is awarded against such as use it to the grievance of their weake brethren / by Iohn Tombes ...	Tombes, John, 1603?-1676.	1641 (1641)	Wing T1802; ESTC R1928	96,775	467

them to be for righteous good ends For however they bee ordered by good intendmēts in God yet they proceed from evill principles in men and therefore are no whit the lesse vitious in men because by accident to their intentions good is willed by God As when it is said of Iosephs brethren Gen. 50. 20. they thought evill against him though God meant it unto good their sin was not the lesse because Gods goodnesse was the greater For application of this truth 1. From hence we may frame some answer to those that accuse religion by reason of the Scandalls that are given by them that professe it If Scandals fall out among Protestants presently the Papists inferre that we are not the true Church the Separatist that we are but an Antichristian Synagogue the Libertine and Carnall worldling that those that professe more piety then themselves affect are but a sort of hypocrites As if where there fall out any dissentions between the Teachers any evill practises in the Schollers there could be no true doctrine nor good men nor holy society But these inferences are indeed nothing else but the unjust accusations of malitious minds For if malice did not blind them they might by the same medium conclude against themselves there being no sort of men among whom evill practises doe not happen Even among the disciples of Christ there was a theefe in the first Church of Christians there were a paire of Sacrilegious hypocrites in the best Churches there were dissentions variances and Corruptions The worst that can be hence inferred is that no Church on earth is pure without mixture of drosse that wheat and tares grow together untill the harvest They that imagine a Church on earth without Scandalls in life without corruption in discipline doe but fancy an Vtopia an Idea of a Church in their braines which neither is nor ever will be in rerum naturâ We have wherewith abundantly to justify our Religion and Church notwithstanding the accidents of Scandalls in that they are condemned in our doctrine punished in our governement disclaimed by most practised by few But that they are necessary by reason of mens corruptions and Satans working even where there is true religion true Church true Godlinesse it 's enough to answer them that from the event of Scandals would argue that our Religion is not true or our Church false or our piety hypocrisy 2 A better use of this point is to take occasion to acknowledge magnify the wise and gratious providence of God in ordering of Scandalls That there should be multitudes and multiplicities of Scandals in the world that every where Satan should I say not lay but sow and that thick too snares and gins to catch the Saints by the heeles that over and besides the world both good and bad should cast stumbling-blocks in our way either wittingly or by imprudence withall naturall corruption be so apt to be busy with them and yet the Saints escape hell get to heaven sometimes without any dangerous falls sometimes without any wounds this is the admirable and gratious providence of God alone It 's a thousand times more then to passe by the mouth of a hundred pieces of ordinance discharged against a man and yet be unhurte to break through the host of Philistins with safety to walk on high pinacles not to fall downe headlong to saile in the most rough and dangerous seas to shoote the most perilous gulfs and yet arrive in safety at the haven The Psalmist Psal. 107. extolles the immense goodnesse of God in his preservation of men from many dangers but none of them all is equall to this of the delivery of his people from Scandalls therefore none deserves greater thanks on the other side that the Almighty so orders it that the obdurate sinner is insnared by Scandalls to his perdition yet no injustice no fault in God this is the wonder of Gods providence to be entertained by us with the Apostles exclamation O altitudo O the depth of the riches both of the wisdome and knowledge of God Rom. 11. 33. 3 But then though it be the ever-vigilant providence of God that preserves the saints from ruine by Scandalls and his just judgemēt that leaves the wicked to his own perdition to be caught by them yet this excludes not but requires care in the Godly to take heed of them and condemnes the impiety of the wicked in yeelding themselves to stumble at thē For it is the vitiousnesse of the one that makes scandalls to be actually such to him the holy wisdome of the other whereby God keeps him from being overthrown by them wherefore it behoves them to learne to walke circumspectly not as fooles but as wise Ephe. 5. 15. And to this end 1. to get as much spirituall prudence as they can to discerne them to be acquainted with their own hearts by frequent examination by through-knowledge of their naturall corruption to be well seen in the wils and methods and artifices of Satan whereby he seekes to deceive and devoure to know the dispositions of wicked men and weaknesse of good men whom Satan may work by 2. To be ever sober and watchfull not laid a sleep by any lust of our hearts any pride selfe-confidence or the like as David Hezekiah Peter c. were when they were scandalized 3. That we study constantly in Gods law and cleave to it with upright hearts which is a sure antidote against this poison of scandalls For great peace have they which love thy law and nothing shall offend them Psal. 119. 165. 4 That as we have one eye still to our way that we stūble not so the other still on God in fervent praier to him who alone can and will keep us when we seek him 4 Lastly sith notwithstanding all the vigilancy and warinesse of a Christian scandals will be till the sonne of Man shall send forth his Angels and they shall gather out of his Kingdome all things that offend and them which doe iniquity Mat. 13. 41. The righteous must learne with patience and longing desire to expect the comming of the son of man Even as the husband-man waiteth for the pretious fruit of the earth so must they be patient unto the comming of the Lord. Iames 5. 7. Till then there will be cause for them to be exercised in humbling themselves and mourning for the dishonour of God by scandalls as Lot vexed his righteous soule with hearing and seeing the deeds of the Sodomites to possesse their soules in hope and assurance that Christ will come and bind up Satan remove all scandalls and perfect his Church that they may follow the Lambe whither soever he goeth CAP. 2. Of the woe belonging to Scandalizers in generall HAving handled the first proposition concerning the necessity of Scandalls the second followes concerning the woefull condition of Scandalizers which is delivered elleiptically by S. Luke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉

offending them There 's not due the same tendernesse of offending an unbeliever or evill person as of a christian brother but as there is due to a christian brother a more affectionate love so likewise a more tender regard of not scandalizing him Servants are to bee carefull of not hurting their Masters cattle but most carefull of their children so ought christians to bee carefull of not offending evill men who are Gods creatures but most carefull not to offend the godly who are his children Yet that the resolution of this question may be more full I conceive that unbelievers or evill persons are differently considerable in this matter of not scandalizing them according to the diversity of their estrangednesse from the true faith or obedience For 1. there are some who though they yet professe not the truth nor shew themselves to be regenerate have yet some beginnings of affection to the truth we professe and the obedience we practise that are lesse vitious more inclinable to hearken to the truth then some others that begin to perceive some part of the truth As our Saviour said of the Scribe that answered him discreetly telling him that to love the Lord with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the soule and with all the strength and to love our neighbour as our selves is more then all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices whereby hee shewed that he had not the dreggs of Pharisaisme in him which was to conceive themselves righteous by observing the outward ceremonies and duties of the law that hee was not farre from the kingdome of God Mark 12. 34. Now of such we are to bee tender that we scandalize not them by intempestive use of our liberty If a Nicodemus among the Pharisees be but a listner to his doctrine our Saviour thinks good not to reject him but to draw him on further if a Papist yet remaining in the Roman Church begin to mislike the Idolatry of that church their magnifying their owne merits c. and yet out of a reverend esteem though erroneous of the Church of Romes orders mislikes the eating of flesh on a friday Charity should make me rather forbeare in such a ones presence to eat flesh at such a time then to give occasion to such a one to count our religion licentious and thereby estrange him the further from the truth For sith a principall end of not offending our brother by the abuse of our liberty is that wee may seeke his profit that he may bee saved if in true judgement or our opinion the not scandalizing him would tend to that end we ought to forbeare out liberty that wee may not offend him It being a sure rule Finis dat mediis ordinem mensuram amabilitatem The end gives order measure and desireablenesse to the meanes thereto tending 2. Some unbelieving evill or unregenerate persons are further off from the kingdome of God being plaine and professed adversaries to the way of truth and righteousnesse but yet not out of wilfull malice but blinde zeale As the Iewes of whom the Apostle speaks that they had a zeale of God though not according to knowledge Rom. 10. 2. Now the scandalizing of such men is not so much to bee regarded as of the former because there is lesse likelyhood that our forbearing our liberty should alter their judgements or practise yet for as much as according to the nature of vehement persons out of ignorance though they bee impetuously carried in that they doe yet if they discover their errour they are as soone turned therefore it is probable that some yielding to them may win upon their affections and make way for such insinuation as may give opportunity to discover to them the truth we ought so far to abstain from our liberty as not to confirm them in hard conceits of the truth and so farre to please them in the use of our lawfull liberty as may serve to make way for the recovering of them out of errour As for example sake If wee should meet with a zealous Papist that never understood the truth of our profession but is an adversary to it upon misinformation of his Priest his parents acquaintance as that our religion is meere novellisme carnall licentious c. We ought so farre to abstaine from our lawfull liberty or to please him in a thing lawfull which he affects as in our apprehension we conceive may make way to our reducing him into the right way And this I find agreable to the Apostles resolution 1. Cor. 9. 19. 20. 21. 22. Though I bee free from all men yet have I made my selfe servant unto all that I might gaine the more And unto the Iewes I became as a Iew that I might gain the Iewes to them that are under the the law as under the law that I might gaine them that are under the law To them that are without law as without law being not without law to God but under the law to Christ that I might gaine them that are without law To the weak became I as weak that I might gain the weak I am made all things to all men that I might by all means save some Lively exemplifications of which professions were his practise of taking a vow on him related Act. 21. of his forbearing his power 1. Cor. 9. 18. 1. Thess. 2. 6. 9. wherein he did not shew hypocriticall policy like those that Proteus-like can transform themselves into any shape for evill purposes but serpentine wisdome joyned with dove-like innocency commended by our Saviour Mat. 10. 16. the end being not his own advantage but the salvation of others 3. Some are adversaries to the truth out of malice being setled therein by love of unrighteousnesse and hatred of righteousnesse The converting of these being in a sort desperate the scandalizing of them by the use of our liberty is not to bee regarded Our Saviours example Mat. 15. 14. is a sufficient rule to direct us in this case When the Pharisees were offended because of his doctrine that that which goeth into the mouth defiles not a man our Saviour bids let them alone sith they are wilfull and incurable Let them fall into the ditch T is true wee are bound by Gods law not willingly to provoke any to anger much lesse to provoke any greater sinne in him but rather to avoyde such things as may cause these evills But when we meet with such enemies as being wholly possessed by Satan are setled in their enmity against us and the truth we professe wee then are to be carelesse of offending them by enjoying our conveniency as knowing that our restraint may be uncomfortable to us and unprofitable to them A third question may be whether strong ones may bee scandalized by the use of Christian liberty Aquin. 2 a 2ae q. 43. art 5. propoundes this question whether passive scandall may befall the perfect and hee denies it alleaging a sayng of S. Hierome majores