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	great_a	rome_n	5,301	5	6.4962	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B20532	Five lessons for a Christian to learne, or, The summe of severall sermons setting out 1. the state of the elect by nature, 2. the way of their restauration and redemption by Jesus Christ, 3. the great duty of the saints, to leane upon Christ by faith in every condition, 4. the saints duty of self-denyall, or the way to desirable beauty, 5. the right way to true peace, discovering where the troubled Christian may find peace, and the nature of true peace / by John Collings ...	Collinges, John, 1623-1690.	1650 (1650)	Wing C5317; ESTC R23459	197,792	578

or deny the same principle Naturall perswasion is no faith if Nature gave thee all thou hast thou hast none at all Secondly If it bee Moralities gift to thee it is no faith I call that a Moral perswasion which is wrought from the consideration and improvement of Morall Principles if thou beest perswaded to rest and rely upon God and his promises for salvation meerely upon this skore I live justly I tythe Mint and Annis I have taken no mans Oxe or Asse from him whom have I defrauded Alas thus Aristides and Cato might beleeve Thirdly If thy Faith be thy grandfathers Legacy to thee it is no hand that will reach the Lord Iesus Christ A traditionall perswasion is no faith If thou beest perswaded that Christ dyed for thee c. upon this skore My Mother told me so our fore-fathers held so and they were wiser than wee c. Alas friend there is as much difference betwixt faith and thy soule as there is betwixt heaven and hell This was the Samaritanes Religion which the good woman was as tenacious of as ours are now of the Common Prayer Book Joh. 4. 20. Our Fathers worshipped in this mountaine and you say in Jerusalem is the place to worship It is the great objection wee have against the Church of Rome That they would have men beleeve as the Church beleeves But for the most part wee are condemned in what we condemne Doe not most men beleeve as their Fathers beleeved What a sinne it is thought to thinke of stripping Queen Elizabeths Reformation Are not most men limitted to this faith and is not here all the perswasion that men have of the saving Truths of God that Christ was God and man that he dyed rose and is ascended Why this was our Fathers Faith this wee were taught when wee were little ones and upon this skore being perswaded they must goe under the Notion of Beleevers and when heaven and hell meet this Faith shall save them Fourthly If thy faith be the Devills gift to thee it is no hand that will reach Christ The Devill hath his Apes-faced-Graces Morall walking instead of Gospell-obedience Feare of Hell in stead of feare of God and so presumption instead of Faith He carries too great designes 1. To flatter the soule to hell by presumption Thinke nothing ill of thy selfe sayes the Devill venture upon God let it never trouble thee venture all yes doe and cry confidently Lord Lord open to me I have prayed in thy name c. Hee knowes well enough that the answer will be Depart from me I know you not you workers of iniquity Feare not saith the Devill to apply hot boiling Lusts to the bleeding wounds of Christ you may rest upon him that dyed for you though you doe not take any such care to live strictly and holily with him other folk shall goe to heaven besides Puritanes God is mercifull Is thy faith such a one as this Christian O tremble at that Mat. 7. 24. And would not one thinke that this were the miserable faith of most of men It is impossible but when you heare so many peales in your eares of repentance as you heare in these dayes but you should have some thoughts what shall become of your poor soules And who so lookes upon your lives againe and seeth no repentance no sitting downe and saying What have I done no care of future obedience but a loose irreligious walking would he not bee confident that the Devill hath perswaded you to venture it is but a soule lost but poor wretch it is lost for ever and Christ is mercifull but to no such hell-hounds as thou art wretch O Lord it would make an heart tremble to come to some poore Creatures upon their Death-bed and examine the condition of their soules Why they are well they rest upon Jesus Christ they are confident he will save them who is bolder than blinde Bayard is our Countrey Proverb though all know the wretch never was sensible of his lost condition nor ever carefull to conforme himself in the least to Jesus Christ Faith is not the devils gift Diabolicall perswasion widely differs from faith But lastly Fiftly Faith is the gift of God It is grounded upon divine perswasion The Spirit of God and the Word of God and the Merits of Jesus Christ these are the grounds that perswade the soule to rely upon Jesus Christ Rom. 14. 14. I know my selfe and am perswaded by the Lord Jesus Christ The worldling is perswaded after another fashion from naturall or morall Principles or Tradition or at best as concerning Ahab 1 Kings 22. 21. There is an evill Spirit gone forth and said I will perswade him and the Lord hath permitted and assented to it ver 22. Thou shalt perswade him and prevaile also But now the child of God is perswaded another way come to him and aske him Christian what perswades thee to rest upon Jesus Christ he answereth with Paul I know and am perswaded by the Lord Jesus Christ Sir Ah Sir I was despairing almost the spirit of God by its inward motions inclined me to roll my selfe on Christ Or the word of God perswaded me I heard a Voice saying come I knew he that had promised was faithfull and able to performe it Rom. 4. 21. Faith is the gift of God saith the Apostle Ephes 2. 8. It is the Fathers work and gift the Sonnes gift and work the 1 Phil. 3. 9. Spirits worke and the Words worke 1. It is the Fathers worke and gift John 6. 37. All that the Father gives me shall come to me Faith is of his willing John 6. 40. It is the Sons gift and work I know and am perswaded by the Lord Jesus Christ It is a piece of Grace and Christ is the well-head of all divine Grace 1 Cor. 1. 4. He is therefore called The author and finisher of our faith Hebr. 12. 2. It is the gift and work of the Spirit of God 1 Cor. 12. 9. To one is given by the Spirit the word of wisedome to another faith by the same Spirit It is therefore reckoned as one of the Spirits workes Gal. 5. 22. It is a fruit of the Spirit It is wrought by the Word which therefore is called the Word of faith Rom. 10. 8. Now try thy selfe Christian whether thy hand be a true hand Is thy faith a gift of God wrought by his Spirit and grounded upon his Word such must that hand be that plucketh the fruit of this Apple-tree of free grace Not mans much lesse the devills gift but Gods gift it will quicken thee in Gods wayes but I spake of that before I have now done with my rules of examination the Lord perfect this Application in every one of your soules Use 3 I proceed now to a third Use and and that is of Exhortation To all those that are through the mercy of God recovered out of that sad condition in which we were all by Nature that are now cleansed