Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
scripture_n	apostle_n	church_n	religion_n	2,366	5	5.7896	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A29932	Dwelling with God, the interest and duty of believers in opposition to the complemental, heartless, and reserved religion of the hypocrite / opened in eight sermons by John Bryan ...	Bryan, John, d. 1676.; Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1670 (1670)	Wing B5243; ESTC R31994	149,472	465

life long no good be done yet you may take that Comfort your Master did Though Israel be not gathered yet shall I be glorious in the Eyes of the Lord. And in the Verse before I have laboured in vain I have spent my strength in naught in vain Yet surely my Judgment is with the Lord and my work with my God God knoweth with what uprightness I have done his work and therefore I know he will Crown me with Glory though my labour hath been lost as to the most part of the People THE SIXTH SERMON THe next sort of Persons in reference to whom Duty lies upon you are Christian Societies Assemblies that profess the Christian Religion and joyn together in the worship of the true God These are called Churches and of these there are two sorts false and true and your duty is to separate from those and hold fellowship with these Three things are required to the constituting of true Churches 1. That the Word of God and Doctrine of Salvation be truly taught in them ye are of the houshold of God and are built upon the Foundation of the Apostles and Prophets upon this Rock this truth confessed by thee I will build my Church the Church is God's Register that keeps his Records faithfully the Pillar and ground of Truth where the Doctrine of the Law and Gospel is truly taught God dwells with that People and Salvation may be there had 2. That there be Pastors and Ministers lawfully called How shall they preach except they be sent pray the Lord of the Harvest that he will send sorth Labourers into his Harvest Christ hath given his Ministry to his own Church 3. That the People receive and embrace the Doctrine and Religion of Christ and submit to and joyn together in the Worship of God Then they that gladly received the Word were Baptized and they continued stedfastly in the Apostles Doctrine and fellowship in breaking of Bread and Prayers Hereby may be discerned which are false Churches and which true The Roman Political Church as the Constitution of it is false and of Man's Invention Obj. They have the Apostles Creed the Books of Canonical Scripture and Baptisme Answ They acknowledge the Creed in profession and word but overthrow much of the sense by their superadded Articles and false expositions They retain the words of Scripture though in much not the sense of the Holy Ghost nor can Baptism though for substance according to the first Institution prove them a true Church more than Circumcision could Samaria to be so or a Seal pulled from the Writing and set to the bare paper A Thief may shew a true Man's Purse but that proves him not to be a true Man and they overthrow inward Baptisme the life of that Sacrament imputed righteousness and holiness which in Gods Church must go together with the outward Element 2dly As Papists they have no true Ministers the Romish Priest as such is no Minister of Christ not only because of the Anti-Christian Doctrines which he teacheth overthrowing the Foundation of the Prophets and Apostles but also in that he offereth Christ a real Sacrifice for quick and dead wherein chiefly stands his Office and because as a Papist-Priest he receives his very Power from the Pope whose Office is not of Christ Qu. Why then should not one Baptized by a Mass Priest be Rebaptized Answ Because the action of a lawful Calling done by one that is not lawfully called is not a nullity the Ministry is lawful though as corrupted by them is bad 3dly Their People oppose God's true Worship and live in palpable Idolatry and profess themselves the Members of a usurping trayterous head the Pope Obj. Anti-Christ sitteth in the Temple of God therefore the Church of Rome is God's Church Answ In the Popish Church there is the hidden Church of God mingled as a little Wheat with much Chaff as a little Gold with much Dross So that though the Church of God be where Anti-Christ sitteth yet the Church whereof he is Head is no Church of God for there are no means there to beget or preserve spiritual life whether we regard Doctrine or Worship To speak plainly it is a part of the Universal Visible Church of Christians so far as they profess Christianity acknowledge Christ their Head but it is the Visible Society of Trayterous Usurpers so far as they profess the Pope to be their Head just as if a Traytor should make himself Deputy of Ireland against the King's will and all the People believe he is so and so profess themselves Subjects to the King as their Soveraign and to him as his Deputy Here it is a true Kingdome as it is still under the King and yet a Kingdom of Traytors or Rebels Secundum quid or so far as they adhere to the Usurping Deputy against the King's command From this Church therefore which is spiritual Babylon the Mother of Harlots and abominations of the Earth no Spouse of Christ but a Strumpet no House of God but an Habitation of Devils once indeed a famous Church but now dead and buryed and as is the Mother so is the Daughters God's People are bound to separate Come out of her my people and yet not from such therein who mean well in the general and secretly discent from her damnable Corruptions is this Obligation of Separation upon you Rom. 18. 4. Much less ought you to separate from Churches which have made separation from Rome as the reformed Protestant Churches in France Germany and other Countreys and these of Great Britain and Ireland have done in whose Congregations is found truth of Doctrine a lawful Ministry and a People professing the true Religion submitting to and joyning together in the true Worship of God I am not ignorant that many of you whose Habitation I question not but the Lord is who have your Habitations in all the several Countries of this Kingdom have drunkin a deep prejudice against all the Parochical Congregations whereof you are legal Members and where all you were baptized and thereby were made the Members of Christ the Children of God and Heires of his Kingdome I fear some of you will startle at these expressions found in the Common-Prayer-Book But if you consult the Holy Scripture you will finde them warranted in a Sacramental sense and your prejudice hath so far wrought upon you that you have forsaken the assembling of your selves together with your Neighbours in the publick Meeting Places I know with whom I am dealing Persons that have a comfortable assurance that they dwell in God and therefore are willing to hear any thing that may tend to the increase of their comfort and unwilling to retain any errour in their judgments or practice that may defile and dishonour their dwelling place or cause it to be evil spoken of by them that are without whose mouthes you know your absenting your selves from all the Solemn Assemblies open wide to cast a scandal upon your

to draw them from Perdition without any vain respects or considerations as Men draw things out of the Fire in any fashion or what way they can First Them that you finde grosly ignorant instruct in Fundamental Truths without the distinct knowledge whereof no Man can have any entrance into this House Especially you that have Children and Servants take pains in Catechising them till they be as able and ready to render a reason of their Faith as to answer to their Names These words which I command thee this Day shall be in thy heart and thou shalt teach them diligently to thy Children and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy House and when thou walkest by the way and when thou lyest down and when thou risest up and ye Fathers bring up your Children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. But you must not neglect to instruct strangers also even Beggars that come to your Doors they have precious immortal Souls which you should be as willing to relieve as your Bodies You that are godly Women as well as Men must perform this duty We finde Women not only teaching their Husbands Manoah's Wife said unto her husband concluding the Death of himself and her If the Lord were pleased to kill us he would not have received a burnt-offering and a meat-offering at our hands neither would he have shewed us all these things nor would at this time have told us such things as these and their Children and Servants What my Son and what the Son of my Womb and what the Son of my vow give not thy strength unto Women nor thy wayes unto that which destroyeth Kings She openeth her Mouth in wisdome among her Maidens and in her Tongue is the Law of Kindness sweet and gracious speeches sounding to edification in knowledge and holinesse but expounding the way of God to others also Aquila and Priscilla took Apollos to them and expounded to him the way of God more perfectly Seeing godly Women may and should be private patterns and may have a gift of expounding Scripture and much more private Men and use that gift in the presence of Ministers for the edification of others yea of Ministers themselves 2. Those you finde led away with the Errour of the wicked holding any points in Religion contrary to sound Doctrine denying directly or by consequence any Fundamental Verity Such was that of Hymoeneus and Philetus and that false Doctrine which the Galatians held namely that to be justified before God it was necessary together with faith in Christ strictly to observe the Mosaical Ceremonies as a part of Man's righteousness and holiness appointed by the Law and that of the Nicolaitans who permitted the community of Women held it a thing indifferent to commit Adultry and eating Meats sacrificed to Idols and Popish and Pelagian Errours when ever you have occasion to converse with any such as these or that hold any point not consonant to Scripture though having less filth and danger do your endeavour to recover them by soft words and hard Arguments So you are taught by the Apostle James's Practice who calls a damnable blasphemy by the gentle name of errour and useth a loving compellation Do not erre my beloved brethren But observe what powerful Arguments he useth both before and after his dehortation and by the Apostle Paul's precept In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledgment of the truth that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the Devil Two things especially should move you to endeavour to convert souls from errour especially if Fundamental The one from the nature of such an errour it is like a Canker or Gangreen a Malady so contagious that it presently spreads it self into the next Members and so by degrees destroyes the whole Body being once admitted into the soul it will glide into it to the total extinguishing of the spiritual life thereof And having possessed it self in one of the Members of the Church will spread over all the Body of it if it be not withstood in time Another is the great reward promised to this endeavour if it prove successful if not the will as it is accepted so it shall be equally rewarded 3. Such as are prophane Persons the shew of whose Countenance doth witness against them and declare their sin as Sodom and hide it not that draw iniquity with Cords of Vanity and sin as it were with a Cart-rope and that live in the neglect and contempt of divine Ordinances and religious exercises publick domestick or secret professing by their practice that they are the Children of Belial and rank Atheists If you finde that any of these have not as yet commenced Dogs and Swine but are as yet Undergraduates and in the Devil's Academy and that you shall not provoke them to Blasphemie nor aggravate their rage against you thereby allure them to go with you into Divine Herbert's Church Porch and then sprinkle them with his Holy Water-stick Beware of Lust it doth pollute and fowle Whom God in Baptisme washt with his own blood Drink not the third Glass which thou canst not tame When once it is within thee Take not his name who made thy mouth in vain It gets thee nothing and hath no excuse Lye not but let thy heart be true to God Thy Mouth to it thy actions to them both Flie idleness which yet thou canst not flie By dressing Mistrissing and Complement Look at thy Mouth Diseases enter there Slight those who say among thy sickly health Thou livest by rule Be thrifty but not covetous Play not for gain but sport Be sweet to all Catch not at Quarrels Laugh not too much Pick out of mirth Prophaneness filthiness abusiveness Be useful where thou livest Restore to God his due in tith and time Resort to Sermons Sum up at Night what thou hast done by Day And in the Morning what thou hast to do Take heed lest through fear or too much respect towards any whom you hear speaking or see acting prophanely you become by your connivance or silence guilty of want of Zeal towards God's glory and of Charity towards your Neighbours Souls and Salvation Thou shalt not hate thy Brother in thy heart thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy Neighbour and not suffer sin upon him Not but regard must be had to Person time and place and the manner of reproving which sometimes may be by discountenancing as well as by discourse and alway so that the party reproved may see it proceeds from love 4. Them that are civil have a care to keep their good word deal justly with all that are meek merciful ready to help such as stand in need of them when you meet and converse with such commend these and all other good things in them as being such as God loves and will reward but labour to convince them that

his glory It is the guise and property of too many of you that think you are assured you are the Lords to question whether others be so that dissent from you Yea to pass sentence against some of them as out of God for no other reason but because they are not of your mind and way and to say of them that its love of the World or fear of trouble or some other by-respect and base end that keeps them from embraceing these Gospel-truths which you hold and whereof they have had sufficient conviction or if indeed they see them not to be such that it is because the God of this World hath blinded their Eyes Nor least of all can you bring your hearts to look upon or love as Brethren these who have been of the same mind and way with you and are apostatized from their principles and practices Turn-Coat-Rogues Have patience and ponder with your selves what rashness you discover in censuring any Man to be Godless because he sees not those truths which you think you do and they may clearly see to be revealed and commanded by God Barnabas was a good Man and full of the Holy Ghost and Faith and yet he could not see that that Paul saw Viz. That it was lawfull and fit for them to converse with the Gentiles even in the presence of the Jewes God bestowes his gifts on his Servants in different measures and degrees None that sees the truth in all things but in some points he is ignorant and erreth Setting aside the Prophets and Apostles who were infallibly guided in penning the Scripture Who almost of all the ancient Fathers but held some gross Errour Justin Martyr besides that he was a millinary held that it was the Angels that begat those Gyants Athenagoras that the Souls of those Gyants were Devils Ireneus that man was not created perfect Clemens Alexandrinus that none were saved by Christ before his Incarnation Tertullian that God was corporeal that Montanus was the Paraclete that a Christian falling twice after Baptism was damned Origen understood much of the Scripture allegorically Hierom that Angels were many Ages before the World that there is no sin in Infants or not deserving punishment Ambrose that the Gospel was preached to Devils Chrysostom that the Fathers were in Hell before Christ that we are justified by works Augustine's Book of retractations witnesseth his manifold Errours for a long time Luther the great Reformer held consubstantiation Not only particular persons but whole Counsels and Churches have erred The reasons of this proneness in Men to erre are 1. Truth is but one Errour manifold there is but one right many by-paths 2. The Seeds of all Errours are naturally in all Mens hearts 3. Errour hath usually on it the Vizard of truth 4. The understandings of the strongest Christians are so weak that it is easie for them to mistake 5. Satan and his Instruments are full of subtilty and cunning craftiness 6. God suffers Errours to spring up in his Church to punish the wicked and for tryal of his own and for cleering of truth Contraries opposed mutually argue each other This consideration should teach you not to be insolent in censuring and not to be stiff in your own Opinions or perswasions Others may be in the right and you in the wrong And if you be in the truth Love them not ye less that erre from it in infirmity but pitty them more and pray for them and though you know it to be passion or prejudice that hath blinded their judgments a greater infirmity than simple ignorance yet believe they may be godly Men for all that and if they be so you are bound to love and reverence them how much soever they differ in Judgement from you And if Men that are as practically godly as your selves hold those to be truths which you hold to be errours seek not to draw them over to you but let them quietly enjoy themselves take the blessed Apostles advice I press toward the mark Let us therefore as many as be thus perfect be thus minded and if any thing be otherwise minded God shall reveal this unto you Nevertheless whereto we have already attained Let us walk by the same Rule Let us mind the same thing So far as you freely can joyn with your dissenting brethren in Duties of Divine Worship And let not them that are without have occasion to say you are of several Religions or to call you by several Names any longer But rather to wonder at your mutual love and peaceable and quiet spirits free from any appearance of raising contention either in Church or State They that do so having the Brand of graceless Men set upon them by the Holy Ghost Now I beseech you Brethren mark them that cause Divisions and Offences contrary to the Doctrine which ye have learned and avoid them for they that are such serve not the Lord Jesus Christ but their own Belly and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple Every Man that dwells in God is of a peaceable disposition quiet in the Land As for them that you call Apostates consider that their Apostacy is not from any fundamental point in Religion or substantial worship of God And that love of their callings and the works thereof and of their Peoples Souls and Conscience of obeying the Magistrate in all things not expresly forbidden in the Scripture might move them to do what they have done and charity binds you to make the best construction Finally In reference to those that are of your own mind and way Let brotherly love continue And abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment rejoycing and weeping together and laying out your selves in a special manner in a faithful employment of God's gifts for the good one of another in things temporal Gal. 6. 10. Heb. 13. 16. 2 Cor. 8. 9. Psal 112. 5. and in spirituals by example Rom. 15. 1 2. 1 Cor. 10. 33. by admonition 1 Thes 5. 14. Heb. 3. 13. Prov. 10. 21. by consolation 2 Cor. 1. 4. Esay 54. Prov. 25. 25. Rom. 1. 12. and by prayer Eph. 6. 16. Jam. 5. 15 16. John 16. 24. By thus doing you shall improve that branch of the Communion of Saints which you have among your selves and be the fitter to improve that which you have together with Christ by the Spirit in respect both of substance and Offices and Virtues THE SEVENTH SERMON THere remaineth yet very much of Duty to be performed by and to be pressed upon you whose habitation the Lord is and who know him to be so And first upon the account of the properties of this House wherein you dwell The first whereof is height And the first duty upon this account is to lift up your hearts and voices as high as may be in praises and prayers 1. In praises acknowledge your selves bound to acknowledge 1. As all other