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	faith_n	prove_v	3,810	5	6.3590	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09400	A discourse of conscience wherein is set downe the nature, properties, and differences thereof: as also the way to get and keepe good conscience.	Perkins, William, 1558-1602.	1596 (1596)	STC 19696; ESTC S110415	85,171	182

and documents thereof Obiect 9. No man knowes all his sinnes no man therefore can certenly know that all his sinnes are pardoned and that he is accepted of God Ansvver The ground of this argument is false namely that a man cannot be assured of the pardon of his sinnes if some of them be vnknowne And to make this manifest I will lay downe a more certen ground which shal be this As the case is in Repentance so it is also in faith but there may be true and sufficient repentance of vnknowne sinnes God indeede requires a particular repentance for particular knowne sinnes but if they be hidden and vnknowne he accepts a generall repentance an example wherof we haue in Dauid who knows saith se the errours of this life then purge me from my secret s●…es If this were not so neither Dauid nor any man els could be saued For when Dauid repented greatly of his murder and adulterie yet we find not that he repented particularly of his polygamie which in all likelihoode through the swinge and custome of those times was not thē reputed to be any sinne specially in the person of a king and yet because as we know he is saued this very sinne is pardoned Therefore when God pardons the knowne sinnes of men whereof they repent he doth withall pardon the rest that are vnknowne And by this it appeares that the ignorance of some hidden sinnes after a man with diligence hath searched himselfe cannot preiudice an vnfallible assurance of the pardon of them all and of his owne saluation Obiect 10. We pray for the pardon of our owne sinnes and therefore we are vncerten of pardon the mā which knows that he hath pardon need not pray for it I answer first when we are taught by Christ to pray for the forgiuenes of our debts we are put in mind not to seek the pardon of al our sinnes whether past or present but specially of our present and daily offences whereby we make our selues day by day guilty till such time as we humble our selues and repent of them Secondly by this petition we are taught to aske the increase of our assurance because though God bestow endles mercie on vs yet we are s●●nt in receiuing of it our hearts beeing like a narrow necked vessell which being cast euen into the Ocean sea receiueth in water ●●●ly droppe by droppe Obiect 11. No man can beleeue his owne saluation as he beleeues the articles of faith therefore no man can beleeue the pardon of his ●innes and his saluation by an infallible certe●●ie I answer first that euery one that lookes for saluation by Christ is bound in conscience as certenly to beleeue his owne saluation and adoption by Christ as he beleeues the articles of faith because to the promise of life there is annexed a commandement to beleeue and applie it Secondly this faith whereby we are to beleeue our owne saluation if we respect the true and proper nature thereof is as certen as that faith whereby we beleeue the articles of faith Thirdly as there be diuers ages in the life of mā so there be diuers degrees and measures of true faith There is first of all a beginning or ●●diment of faith like the smoking flaxe and br●isedreede which Christ will neither quench no● bruise Againe there is weake faith which beleeueth the promise truly but yet is perplexed with many doubtings Lastly there is strong faith which hath ouercome all doubtings and is not onely for nature certen but also a large plentifully perswasiō of Gods mercy in Christ. Exāples of this we haue in Ab●a●ā Dauid the martyrs such like worthie mē Now by the secōd faith men do as certenly beleeue their adoption as the articles but not so 〈◊〉 fully But by the last remission of sinnes is not only as certenly but also as fully beleeued as any article of faith Obiect 12. Ancient fathers the lights of Gods Church haue alwaies condemned this vn●allible speciall certentie of saith which the Protestants hold and maintaine Answ. Though we build not the doctrine of our religion vpon the indgements of men yet we refuse not in this other points to be beied by the fathers whose writings well vnderstoode make more for vs then for the Popish religion And their test●●onies commonly alledged to con●●te the certentie of speciall faith are much abused I. Many of them serue to prooue that a man cānot iudge disce●●e of euery particular motion grace of his heart of the increase of these graces and the contrarie decrease of speciall vices and wants many whereof are hidden from the vnderstanding Theodo●et in his comment 1. Cor. c. 4. I will not saith he free my selfe from sinne but wa●t the sentence of God for it often fals out that men sinne of ignorance and thinke that to be equal and iust which the God of all sees to be otherwise August de verbis dei serm 23. Per adu●ture thou finds nothing in thy conscience but ●e f●●ds something that seeth better And vpon Psal. 41. I knovve that the iustice of my God shall ab●de but vvhether mine shall or no I knovve not for the saying of the Apostle terrifieth me He vvhich thinks he stands let him take heede least he fall Here he speakes of his inward righteousnes and that as it is considered in it selfe without the assistance of God For he addes afterward Therefore because there is no stabilitie in me for my selfe nor hope in me for my self hereupon my soule is troubled for my selfe Ch●ysost homi● 87. on Iohn I am grie●ed least perad●ent●●e supp●●ing my selfe to loue 〈◊〉 not loue as before ●●en I se●●ed constant and couragious vnto my selfe I was found but a d●stard These a thousand like restimonies prooue nothing For though a mā cannot fully discern his heart either in respect of his own sinns or in respect of euery grace yet this hinders not but that he may haue an infallible certentie of his saluation and also a sufficient gift to discerne his owne faith and repentance II. Other places must be vnderstood of proud pres●●ption of a kinde of securitie in which men dreame of ease and libertie without trouble or temptation August de correp grat c. 13. Who of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the faithfull as long as he liues in this m●rtall condition can pre s●… th●● he is of the 〈◊〉 of the predestinate And De ●ono persev c. 22. No man can be secure t●…ing 〈◊〉 all li●● till this life be ended Bernard epist. 107. Hauing ●ovve receiued the knovvledge of him selfe in part he may reioyce in hope but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as 〈◊〉 Hieron Dan. 4. Let no man bolaly promise to another the pardon of his sinnes III. Some places auouch that a man can not be sure of perseuerance to the end without falls and decayes in grace all which we graunt August de civit dei li. 11. c. 12. Although the saints be certen

of the Romane Emperours Secondly this lawe serues directly to maintaine obedience to the sint commandement and the consideration upon which the law was made is so weighty that without it a common-wealth can not stand The murderers bloode must be shedde saieth the Lorde Numb 35. v. 33 34. because the whole lande is defiled with blood and remaineth vn●…d till his blood be shed Againe it was a iudiciall law among the Iewes that the adulterer adulteresse should die the death now let the question be whether this law concerne other ●…ns as being deriued from the common law of nature and it seemes to be so For first wise men by the light of reason and naturall conscience haue iudged this punishment equall and iust Iudah before this Iudiciall law was giuen by Moses appointed Tamar his daughter in law to be ●…rnt to death for playing the whore Nabuchadnezzar burnt Echa● and Zedechias because they committed adultery with their neighbours wiues By Dracoes law among the Grecians this sinne was death and also by the law of the Romanes Againe this law seemes directly to maintaine necessary obedience to the seuenth commandement and the considerations upon which this law was giuen are perpetual serue to vphold the common wealth Lev. 20. 22. Yee saith the Lord shall keep all mine or dinances my iudgements the law of adultery being o●● of them Now marke the reasons 1. 〈◊〉 the land 〈◊〉 you out 2. For the same sunnes I have ab borred the nations The ce●…oniall law is that which prescribes rites orders in the outward worship of God It must be cōsidered in three times The first is time before the comming 〈◊〉 death of Christ the second the time of publishing the 〈◊〉 by the Apostles the third the time after the publishing of the Gospell In the first it did bind the consciences of the Iewes the obedience of it was the true worship of God But it did not th●● bind the consciences of the Gentils for it was the partition wall betwene them and 〈◊〉 ●…es And it did continue to bind the 〈◊〉 ●●ll the very death and ascension of C●… For 〈◊〉 the hand writing of ordinances 〈◊〉 was against vs was nailed on the crosse 〈◊〉 cancelled And when Christ saith that the 〈◊〉 and the 〈◊〉 indured till ●ohn Luk. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 meaning is not that the ceremoniall law ended then but that things foretold by the prophets and ob●…ly prefigured by the 〈◊〉 law began then more plainly to be preached and made manifest The second time was from the ascension of Christ till about the time of the destruction of the Temple and city in which ceremonies ceased to bind conscience and remained indifferent Hereupon Paul circumcised Timothy the Apostles after Christs ascension as occasion was offered were present in the ●emple Act. 3. 1 And the councill of Hierusalem tendering the weakenesse of some beleeuers decreed that the Church for a time should abstaine frō strangled blood And there was good reason of this because the Church of the Iewes was not yet sufficiently conuicted that an end was put to the ceremoniall law by the death of Christ. In the third time which was after the publishing of the Gospell ceremonies of the Iewes Church became unlawfull and so shall continue to the worlds end By this it appeares what a monstrous and miserable religion the Church of Rome teacheth and maintaines which standes wholy in ceremonies partly heat heathenish and partly Iewish As for the Gospel I take it for that part of the word of God which promiseth righteousnesse and life euerlasting to all that beleeue in Christ and withall commandeth this faith That we may the better know how the gospell binds conscience two points must be considered one touching the persons bound the other touching the manner of binding Persons are of two sorts some be called some be uncalled Persons called are all such to whom God in mercy hath offered the meanes of saluation and hath reuealed the doctrine of the gospell in some measure more or lesse by meanes either ordinary or extraordinary All such I thinke are straightly bounde in conscience to beleeue and obey the Gospell For that word of God whereby men shall be iudged in the day of iudgement must first of all binde their consciences in this life considering absolution and condemnation is according to that which is done in this life but by the Gospell all men that haue beene called shall be iudged as Paul saith Roman 2. 16. God shall iudge the secrets of men by Iesus Christ according to my Gospell And our Sauiour Christ saieth Hee that beleeveth hath life everlasting hee vvhich beleeveth not is alreadie condemned It remaines therfore that the gospell binds the consciences of such men in this life By this wee are all put in minde not to content our selues with this that wee haue a liking to the Gospell and doe beleeue it to be true though many protestants in those our dayes thinke it sufficient ●oth in life and death if they holde that they are to be saved by faith alone in Christ without the merite of mans workes but wee must goe yet further and enter into a practise of the doctrine of the Gospell as well as of the precepts of the morall lawe knowing that the gospell doeth as well binde conscience as the lawe and if it be not obeyed will as well condemne Men vncalled are such as neuer hearde of Christ by reason the gospell was neuer reuealed unto them nor means of reuelatiō offered That there haue bene such in former ages I make it manifest thus The worlde since the creation may be distinguished into foure ages The first from the creation to the floode the second from the flood to the giuing of the Lawe the third from the giuing of the law to the death of Christ the fourth from the death of Christ to the last iudgement Now in the three former ages there was a distinction of the world into two so●●es of men whereof one was a people of God the other ●o-people In the first age in the families of Seth Noe c. were the sonnes of God in all other families the sonnes of men Genes 6. 2. In the second age were the sonnes of the flesh and the sonnes of the promise Roman 9. 7. In the thirde Iewes and G●… the Iewes being the Church of God all nations b●… no church But 〈◊〉 the last age this distinction was taken a●… the Apostles had a cōmission giuen them that was neuer giuen before to any namely to goe teach not only the Iewes but all nations Now this distinction arose of this that the gospell was not revealed to the worlde before the co●…ing of Christ as the scriptures wi●●es The Prophet Esa● saith 52. 14. that kings s●… 〈◊〉 their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 at Christ because that which ●ad not b●…ld 〈◊〉 they shal see that which they ●●d 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈…〉 l they vnderstād And