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	doctrine_n	worship_n	3,910	5	7.2192	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A45134	A letter to George Keith concerning the salvability of the heathen together with a testimony to the same doctrine, as long held and not newly taken up, out of several former books of him that writ it / by J.H.	Humfrey, John, 1621-1719.; Keith, George, 1639?-1716.	1700 (1700)	Wing H3684; ESTC R25550	27,967	37

committed the Oracles of God I interpret not these words but give this Paraphrase The Heathen were under the same Law of Grace for Life as the Jews but the Jews advantage was that they had it in the second Promulgation with this priviledge of Ordinances and our advantage is the like over them that we have it in the third and last Promulgation by the Gospel I argue then once more If this was the chief advantage the Jew had over the Gentile that the one had the Oracles of God and the other had not then was there not this difference between them that one was in a Capacity and the other under an Impossibility of Salvation for this were an advantage of a far greater Nature But this was the chief advantage Chiefly because Ergo. The Objections against this Doctrine are two The one is from the Scriptures which in many places in the New Testament do require Faith in Christ or Believing the Gospel as the Condition of Salvation He that believeth not shall be damned I answer As the Apostle says of the Law Now we know that whatsoever things the Law saith it saith to them that are under the Law So say I of the Gospel Whatsoever things of this kind the Gospel saith it saith to those that are under the Gospel Where the Gospel is preached and Revelation is sufficient so that Men wilfully reject it such are left without excuse the case of such is dangerous indeed and these Texts applicable to them If you believe not that I am he you shall dye in your Sins But as for those who never heard the Gospel or when the Revelation hath been insufficient for such Conviction the case I hope is otherwise the case is I think as I have said and our good God will not require of any more than he hath given The other Objection is from the Authority of Men or of the Church more generally that condemns this Opinion But I account the Verdict of Christians in this point is for themselves and so partial I suppose it taken again upon trust and followed by the most for want of Light and I believe also that if they had but this Light only that I offer they would have determined as I do It is true I grant as the Church thinks That there is no Religion by which a Man can be saved but one only that is the true Religion But this is a great Truth here to be received That Christianity in the Root according to what is said is the Universal Religion of Mankind whom therefore ye ignorantly worship him declare I unto you so that the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they that live according to Reason as Socrates Heraclitus and the like Men were Christians though they were not so called according to Justin Martyr in his Apology Which Doctrine nevertheless to salve most fully the Eighteenth Article of the Church at first mentioned is not to be harboured but as it is compatible with this certain Position That there is no way for all that under Heaven whereby a Man is was or can be saved but through the Name and Mediation only of our Saviour For other Foundation can no Man lay than that is laid which is Christ Jesus Out of a Book concerning the Universality of Redemption and two other Points From the Universality of Redemption there does arise a Government of Grace which God hath over the whole World that is a Government by the Law of Grace which Christ hath purchased as the Instrument of that Government whereby Salvation is made possible to all Mankind or whereby Pardon and Life are made attainable by all Men on a Possible Condition If you ask me what that is wherein this Possibility is placed This I perceive is a hard Question made but I will answer easily It is to be placed in the lowering the Condition to the capacity of the Persons having the power and use of their Natural Faculties so that whosoever he be that lives up sincerely to the Light that he has shall be saved Such is the Law of Grace I say purchased by Christ by which we are Govern'd and shall be Judged that whosoever lives up to the Light and Means he has in sincerity shall be saved by it I will add Whosoever does but what he can in order to his Salvation is sincere and consequently the Condition must be possible But seeing no Mortal does what he can every Man can do more Good and less Evil than he does I say If he does sincerely what he can which all the Elect from the four quarters of the Earth and the Elect only will surely do he shall have Life notwithstanding all his Imperfections This being premised as to the possibility of the Performance then it self it is founded in Dono Supernaturali a Viatore quocunque possibiliter recipiendo secundum Legem Ordinariam as the Schools speak It is an Error one of them call'd Vulgar which hath reigned too long in the Christian Church to think that none can be saved by the Name of Christ who have not heard him preached to them or that the Extent of Christ's Death and the Benefit of it is Commensurate with the Knowledge of him The Error hath arose through Carelesness of Divines in not considering the Point and the Partiality of the People to their own Religion The Jew will have none but the Jews the Mahometan none but the Mahometans the Christian none but the Christians to be saved But I am hugely perswaded otherwise that there are Millions that have been and Thousands are living in the World that have never known and shall never know how much they are beholding to Jesus Christ till they come before him in Judgment and then they shall know it to their Comfort and Christ will stay for his Thanks till that day when that Comfort and those Thanks shall be Everlasting To say that any Man was is or can be saved without Christ is an Error indeed and if any one shall go to preach up the Salvability of the Heathen without this Foundation that is to say Lay any other Foundation than what is laid Christ Jesus the Eighteenth Article of the Church does Anathematize that Person for such Ignorance is truly accursed But that Article must not be thought to Curse or Condemn any that maintain Salvation alone by Christ though he hold also that some Heathen may be saved Let the Title of the Article give the Interpretation Out of another Book of his wherein some of the Articles of the Church are occasionally Explained Art 18. Of obtaining Eternal Salvation only by the Name of Christ They are to be held accursed that presume to say That every Man shall be saved by the Law or Sect which he professeth so that he be diligent to frame his Life according to that Law and the Light of Nature For Holy Scripture doth set out unto us only the Name of Jesus Christ whereby Men must be saved I observe the Church