Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	new_a	old_a	testament_n	3,965	5	8.0680	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A17219	Questions of religion cast abroad in Helvetia by the aduersaries of the same: and aunswered by M. H. Bullinger of Zurick: reduced into .17. common places. Translated into Englishe by Iohn Coxe. 1572	Bullinger, Heinrich, 1504-1575.; Coxe, John.	1572 (1572)	STC 4074; ESTC S113230	103,005	301

after their death for them bycause they can not then helpe them But if it chaunce any man to lye at the poynt of death then with the wordes of the Gospell wée sende hym to Chryste to pray for the remission of hys sinnes to truste to the grace and mercie of God and so with full consolation hope for eternall lyfe And this and none other was the doctrine of the primatiue Apostolyke Church like as Paule writeth of the dead 1. Thes. 4. And therfore by Gods grace wée will kéepe the same The. xxxvj Question What they say to the glory of Lazarus and his systers Martha and Marie who prayed vnto Chryste for their brother Lykewise of Eutiches whom Paule raysed from the deade whether this were done without prayers and whether that Saint Peter did not rayse Tabitha to life by prayers The Answere I Suppose that Mary Martha Peter Paule prayed vnto God but yet not as our aduersaries teache vs to pray for the dead that is that God would be merciful to their soules and delyuer them from the fire of purgatorie and receiue them into eternall life but they prayed that vnto the glory of god they might be restored to this life And do they thinke that Lazarus Eutiches and Tabitha were in the fire of purgatorie and after their death suffered prayers I suppose they dare not affirme it And therfore they bring vs such examples as serue not their purpose but are onely to blere the eyes of the simple But if they say they were in Purgatory then I pray you howe proue they the same But some of them affirme say If Lazarus were in hell then could he not be deliuered for in hell there is no redemption but if he were in heauen then had he wrong to be brought agayne to this earth of miserie And héere therfore they conclude that there muste néedes bée a thirde or midle place To these I answer first that hereby they haue not proued this midle place to be purgatorie but that it may be as wel some other place only knowē vnto god Secondly I say that their whole argument is false vaine Lazarus as the scripture there techeth was Christes frende and therfore his soulo was receiued into the bosome of Abraham after his death like as we may sée in the other Lazarus of whome Luke speketh ca. ●6 Neither had he any iniury offred him when his soule to the setting forth of Gods glory was agayne coupled to his body for all creatures doo of right and dutie serue their creator The Lord said vnto the these hanging on the crosse This day shalt thou be with me in paradise yet the. 3. day he rose agayn dyd not thereby suffer any wrong c. Truely I thinke that if these men which are called the Spiritualtie were compelled tobestow so much money for the dead vpon the laypeople as they for thys matter doo receyue of them their fire of Purgatorie woulde not burns so hotte and their prayers would come downe to a lower pryce But if thys doctrine of Purgatorie bée so necessarie howe commeth it then to passe I beséeche you that the Caste Churches in Grecia dydde neuer receyue it nor knowe of it vntill the tyme of Eugenius the fourth at whiche tyme very shortely after Constantinople was taken by the Turke The. xxxvij Question What they say to this place of the Machabees It is therefore an holy and holesome thoughte to pray for the dead that they may bee delyuered from their sinnes The Answere SAint Hierome Ciprian and Gelasius shall vnto this place aunswere for vs that this secōd boke of Machabées is read in the Church but hath not like authority with other canonical scriptures of the Bible to take authoritie thence as frō other scriptures in the controuersies of religion Therfore bycause in al the bookes of the olde new testament there is not one word spokē of the sacrifices for the dead we leaue this place as we found it as not béeing able to proue any thing Agayne all the actes of holy mē are not to be folowed neither are they acceptable to god Ge●eon for a good intēt made an Ephod in ●phra which yet had bin better if it had not bin done In the. 14. Chapter of the historie of the Machabées Raazias is praised for killing himself that he might not al into the hands of his enimies yet his act as the whole scripture techeth 〈◊〉 the best of the fathers do iudge deserueth neither prayse nor is thought wel of for euery man touching death ought to abide till God doo call And as touching this Booke I could say more but this is sufficient The ninthe Common place Of Sacramentes The. xxxviij Question How many Sacraments there be also whether those be effectuall signes of Gods grace by the which we receiue the same The Answere THe Romish church hath seuen Sacraments of al the which we do account but two to bée true Sacramentes of Chrystes church and that is Baptisme and the Supper of the Lord and vnto these we attribute so muche as the holie Scripture willeth vs And as touching these two Confirmation Extreme vnction or anoynting as they be now vsed in the church of Rome we do not acknowledge them for any Sacraments of Chryste neither suppose wée that they haue their original from gods word The other thrée that is penance Imposition of hands or Orders Matrimonie although we recken thē not amongst the Sacramentes of Chrystes church as we do baptisme the supper of the Lorde yet we acknowledge them to be profitable necessarie institutions of God and very holsome for the faythfull if they vse them in such sort and to the end for which they were ordeined and as the Saincts haue vsed them in times paste Neither doo wée allowe or thinke wel of al those things which the church of Rome doth vse in these thrée but we allow that only which is agreable with the worde of god But where we allow baptisme the Lords supper onely for true Sacraments I haue else where more largely taughte shewing that it onely belongeth to God and not to man to institute or ordeine Sacraments the signes of Gods verity and grace but also howe the promisses of God are in the Sacramentes and outwarde signes of his benefites Touching the efficacie and vertue of the Sacraments we answere that all those things which God hath ordeined haue power and vertue to bring to passe and performe al that for the which they were ordeined of God and so haue the Sacraments their power to whome therfore we ought not to attribute any other thing than that the Scriptures do attribute vnto them and for which causes they were ordeined Wherefore if we finde the Sacraments ineffectuall vnto vs that is not to be attributed to them as though the institution of God were of no sorce but it is to be attributed vnto mē which vse them

those Magistrates as Eusebius and Orosius doo testifie in their Histories And wée haue a manifest and an excellent example of this matter in the seconde thirde and sixte Chapters of Daniell And in the Historie of the Machabées and the Actes of the Apostles Furthermore the Churche which is called Chrystes Churche and is not so in déede hathe in it none of those things whiche it oughte for to haue for they neither truste in God nor in Chryste nor in his woorde but put their confidence in other matters and make diuerse Lawes and Customes of Religion and the seruice of GOD contrary to Gods woorde and hauing among themselues insimte Sectes yet wyll they bée called the Catholyke Churche And in thys Churche the godly Magistrate hathe power and authoritie to make and ordeyne Lawes and Statutes for the abolyshing and taking away of those thinges whiche are ordeyned contrary to the wyll and woorde of almightie god For Dauid Salomon Josaphat Ezechias Josias Constantinus and other godly Princes are euident examples héereof Therfore when the Magistrate for the profite and reformation of the Church dothe ordeyne Statutes and Lawes agreable to the woorde of GOD they ought moste diligently to bée obeyed of al men yea and if nede require the magistrate must bée assisted in them and those which will not so doo but resiste their Magistrates shall bée most sharply punished of god But the Popes and Prelates of the Romish Church to the ende they may defend and maintayne their honours pryde ryches pleasures and horrible wyckednesse haue hither vnto persuaded with Princes Noble men and Magistrates yea and by force haue héerevnto constrayned them that they shoulde beléeue that the lawes and reformations whiche touched their Pontificall state were cleane contrary to the holy churche God himselfe and all equitie and Justice And by this meanes they dyd not onely mayntayne their pompe and pryde but dyd also dayly encrease the same when as yet rather it had béene their partes to haue called them selues to accountes and to haue considered diligently the state of the Churche and of the afflicted Christendome and so to prouyde for the same and not onely to exhorte the Magistrates but also to helpe them and further them in the reformation hereof and for the spéedier redresse to beginne euen wyth themselues For these are the laste tymes and the indgemente of the Lorde in the whiche they ● all render a moste sharpe accounte is not farre off And blessed are those whome the corruptible trashe of thys lyfe dothe not lette but that they may readily prepare them selues agaynst his comming when he shal iudge bothe the quicke and the deade The Conclusion THus farre by the helpe of God to whom I render most hartie thanks haue I answered to 〈◊〉 Questions and taughte those to whom they shal be obiected how to answere them yea I haue taught what is to be thought of eche of these howe to confesse the true doctrine of Chryst and to take héede of the false And therefore nowe euen for Chrystes sake I hartily beséeche al you which sticke vnto the truth of the Gospell and minde not to returne to filthynesse of Rome that you answere soberly and without fcare and constantly abide in the truth béeing nothing amased with the dayly torments and afflictions which are euer at hande For the Religion my brethren for whiche you suffer persecutions disple asures and other gréefes is not of a●eight hundred yeres standing but hath ben euer from the birthe of Chryste yea and from the beginning of the worlde grounded vppon the Scriptures and is in déede the very true and auucient fayth On the other side wée are taughte that the doctrine and Religion of the Churche of Rome that now is is not onely a new doctrine but also deuised by men and ratified by the Counsels and Decrées of men with whom Chryst sayth that he is worshipped in vayne Our doctrine and religion giueth all glory to God and séeketh saluation in Chryste onely And bycause we haue all fulnesse in him wée haue no respecte vnto the creatures And him wée serue not with outwarde pompe and shewes but in spirite and truth in prayer and thanks giuing in righteousnesse charitie puritie fayth and mercy And euen common sense teacheth all men that the true seruice of God consisteth in these things whereas on the other parte all men crye out agaynst the vncertayne doctrine of the Romish Clergie béeing confirmed by no good authority yet they cry out agaynst their filthy lyfe their intollerable oppressions pride and tyrannie Wherfore although they haue great power glory and dignitie fauor and help of great and mightie men and that the poore menne which beléeue in Christ and embrace his woorde and despise the Romish church doe suffer persecutions imprisonment banishment yea and many times death that there appéereth no helpe many times from God but that it séemeth he doth rather fauor the other yet was al this foretold by the Prophetes Apostles yea and by our sauioure Christ him selfe who suffered for vs leauing vs an example to folow his steps And therfore we ought not to take any thought for our goodes frends body or life For we haue great promisses of grace helpe and rewarde from God if we abide stedfast vnto the ende On the other part our aduersaries are dreadfully threatned and shall in time fele the same that without dout Againe touching the things of this world we knowe they are vnconstant brittle and corrupt and therefore we cānot long enioy them neither can the power or riches of our frends any thing profit vs For we shal all die and stand before the iudgement seate of Christe vnto whonte all our sinnes and secrete thoughts shall be made most manifest Therfore let no mā be gréeued though he suffer affliction in this life for the gospels sake For at that general day both the innocenciè and offences of all men shall appeare And hearken I beséeche you how louingly Christ speaketh vnto vs and comforteth vs Blossed sayth he are those vvhich suffer persecution for righteoufnesse sake for theirs is the kingdome of heauen Blessed are you vvhen they shall speake ouil of you and perfecute you and speake all manner of euill saying making lies vppon you for my sake Reioyce and be glad for great is your revvarde in heauen for euen so did they persecute the Prophets vvhich vvere before you The scholler is not aboue his maister nor the seruaunt greater than his lord If they haue called the good man of the house Bel●cbub hovv much more vvill they call his seruaunts so you shall not therefore be a fraide of them for thereis nothing so hidden but it shall be knovvne Neither be you afraide of those vvhiche can but kill the body but feare you him rather that is able to destroy bothe body and soule in hell fire Are not tvvo sparovves solde for a farthing and yet one of them falleth not vnto the grounde vvithout the