Linguistic DNA - Concept Modelling Demonstrator

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
act_n	assurance_n	faith_n	justify_v	2,314	5	9.2915	5	false

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A97021	None but Christ, or A plain and familiar treatise of the knowledge of Christ, exciting all men to study to know Jesus Christ and him crucified, with a particular, applicatory, and saving knowledge, in diverse sermons upon I Cor. 2. 2. / By John Wall B.D. preacher of the word of God at Mich. Cornhill London.	Wall, John, 1588-1666.	1648 (1648)	Wing W469; Thomason E1139_1; ESTC R210079	152,329	343

Return into thy countrey and I will do thee good David also stuck close to the word Remember thy word unto thy servant upon which thou hast caused me to hope Psal 119. 49. And the Prophet Esaiah saith Es 66. 11. They shall suck and be satisfied with the breasts of consolation so let us suck the bloud of the promises as a dog that hath got the blood of the Bear he hangs on and will hardly be beaten off 5. Though it is true that any one saving grace whatever is a signe Christ is thine yea though thou hast a 1000. temptations and doubts that thou canst not answer Yet it is good to gather an abbreviate of some few signes that thy soule may feed upon in time of trouble These I acknowledge are so plainly laid The more experienced Reader that finds lesse need of them may be pleased patiently to passe them over down in Scripture and so familiarly taught almost in every book that treats of faith that it would seem almost lost labour therefore I will be the briefer yet I dare not altogether neglect them for the benefit of some weak ones The generall sign is If any be in Christ he is a new creature 2 Cor. 5. 17. Col. 3. 9. 10. which is called regeneration wherby the law is written in his heart God having Though the strings bee the same yet the tune is changed planted in him a love and liking to every good and a hatred to all that is evill Thou lovest righteousnesse and hatest wickednesse Psal 45. 7. A new heart will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you and I will cause you to walk in my statutes Ezek. 36 26. 27. More particularly I shall lay down eleven markes or signes whereby a man may know that Christ is his in particular which is nothing else but a strong act of justifying faith Signe 1 1. The first sign of assurance that Christ is thine is If it were wrought by hearing the Word preached ordinarily and is confirmed by it for faith commeth by hearing ordinarily a Rom. 10. 17. 1 Cor. 1. 21 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth Iam. 1. 18. every child hath a father So the 3000 were converted by hearing Peter b Acts 2. 37 Acts 8. 26. I deny not but that afflictions losses death of children or friends c. may prepare for Christ as Paul was by being unhorsed by Christ Act. 9. 3 4. Yet they do not work faith but usually that is wrought by the word preached therefore Ananias was afterwards sent to Paul Act. 9. 10. so likewise good councell reading good bookes c. may stir us up to seek after Christ as perhaps it did the Eunuch Act. 8. 28. but do not set us into Christ and hence Philip was sent to the Eunuch readding to work faith in his heart as appears verse 30. to verse 38. And as the word begets it so it feeds confirmeth and Ex iisdem nuâ—uimur Ã quibus constamus cherisheth faith as the ashes cherish the fire whereof they were bred 1 Pet. 2. 2. Eph. 4. 12 13. Now then inquire how came you by your particular knowledge of Christ to be your Saviour did the word preached convince humble and excite you to seek Christ and doth it confirme and stablish your faith then it is good But on the contrary if you know not how you came by your faith never by hearing of sermons but are like the Israelitish women quick of delivery before ever the midwife the Minister can come at you you may suspect your faith as we suspect those to be stollen goods when they know not how they came by them and that a base born child when it is not known who is the father although I say not that every one converted knowes the Minister that coÌ„verted him yet ordinarily he knowes he was converted by the word preached except God instilled grace into his heart when he was a young child as he did unto Samuel Timothy c. But especially they have cause to suspect their faith when the preaching of the word shakes and winnowes their faith and fils them full of doubtings and tormenting feares the preachers of the word being like the two witnesses their tormentors who say of them as Job did of his friends Rev. 11. 10. miserable comforters are you all Certainly she is but an ill mother that will not give such to the child she bare if she be able but rather hunch it beat it and deal unkindly with it Signe 2 2. The second signe is if thy heart were ever prepared for the receiving of Christ as the stones were prepared for the Temple or as a man prepares his house to entertain a king Luk. 3. 5. Every valley shall be filled or levelled In some sense a Christian sometimes may be said to be too low when he despairs of mercy then he is said to be too low for despair layes his soul as low as hell as it did Judas And every hill shall be brought low that is the mountanous and high thoughts thou hadst of thy self like the Pharisee that thought himselfe not like other men shall now be changed and now thou shalt have low thoughts of thy selfe saying as Jacob I am not worthy of the least of thy mercies as the Prodigall I am not worthy to be called thy sonne as the Publican Lord be mercifull to me a sinner as Paul of sinners I am chief or as David I am a worme and no man for Christ dwels only in the humble heart Esaiah 57. 15. with him will I dwell that is of a contrite and humble spirit to revive the spirit of the humble It followeth And crooked things shall be made straight that is even the crooked paths of the serpent thy crooked wayes shall now be made straight and even now levelling at the rule of the word of God his glory And the rough wayes shall be made smooth that is even Bears and Lions rough Esaus shall now become Babes and Lambs for meeknesse and gentlenesse as it was prophesied Es 11. 6 7 8. Now all this is done by a spirit of bondage and feare of hell and damnation which God usually smites the heart with before he gives Christ as the plow goes before corn is sowen as it was with Paul a Acts 9. 45. with the Jailor b Acts 16. 29 30. with the 3000 Jewes at their conversion c Acts 2. 36 37. c. No woman brings forth a child without sorrow and pain nor is any born again usually without their spirituall pangs of sorrow though some feel more some lesse as some children come forth with more some with lesse pain of the mother yet all have so much as to make them willing to let go their sins to receive Christ Act. 9. 6. You know the stony ground wanted depth or softnesse of earth and so quickly withered Matth. 13. saith dwels not

that no man can be saved without faith and repentance alwayes acting sometimes a man is not able to act faith yet I beleeve he is not then unjustified so nor yet is he able alwayes to act repentance yet notwithstanding he stands then justified before God and pardoned 4. Object A beleever by his relapse loseth not his right but fitnesse for heaven not â—us ad rem but jus in re as the Leper had right to his house but might not come at his house before he was clensed A subject outlawed is a subject still and hath right to the lawes but he cannot make use of that right till his outlaw be reversed They ans God appointed a leper legally unclean should be separated c. to typifie that no unclean unregenerate person should come into heaven but a beleever in Christ is by imputation washed sanctified Ioh. 13. 10 and never to be counted unclean And our fitnesse for heaven is not by our owne inherent righteousnesse but by the righteousnesse of Christ imputed to us by faith Phil. 3. which is imputed to us so long as wee remain beleevers 2. If a beleever by any actuall sinne contracteth the guilt of eternall death he loseth not onely his fitnesse for heaven but his right to heaven for a time at least Rom. 6. ult Gal. 3. 10. neither can a beleever be in a condition with a subject outlawed and the contrary they conceive cannot be proved 5. Object Sin must be committed before it can be pardoned ubi non est culpa ibi non est remissio Answ It s answered so sin must first be coÌ„mitted before it can be punished either in our selves or in our surety yet Christ died for our sins before they were committed But God foresees all things to come as present or else it had been injustice in God to punish Christ without a fault committed or for faults not committed 6. Object A beleever may be excommunicated for grosse sins out of the Church and therefore till the Church receive him he is excommunicated out of heaven Answ It s answered that is he may be excommunicated out of the externall society of the visible Church but they cannot cast him out for having nothing to do with Christ and salvation if he be a beleever absque errante clave 2. All excommunication is usque ad fidei paenitentiae testimonia publica till he testifies his repentance yet the excommunicate must needs repent and have his sin pardoned by God before he can restifie it so as an excommunicated person before he be received into the Church may be pardoned by God and fit for heaven 2 Cor. 2. 5. 6. 7. Object What need we then feare sins or ask pardon for them if they be remitted in the first act of beleeving Ans It s answered there is a twofold forgivenesse In foro poli in foro soli 1. In foro dei in the Court of God 2. In foro conscientiae in the Court of conscience Now in Gods Court all sins past present and to come are actually pardoned at the very first act of beleeving and repenting But secondly in Court of conscience to have apprehension or comfort of pardon so they are not pardoned that is we shall have no comfort or assurance of the pardon of them till we actually repent of them which is called our renewing by repentance Heb. 6. as is seen in David Psal 32. and Psal 51. who till he confessed his sin and actually repented he roared all day and his moisture c. and he had no comfortable assurance that his sin was pardoned till then Nor Peter till he wept bitterly Again a beleever prayes for pardon daily of his trespasses for two reasons 1. To have his faith strengthened in his pardon and to have more assurance of it for our faith at the best is weak and full of doubtings but especially after great fals which blot our evidence that we cannot well read it and hide Gods countenance from us as clouds hide the shining of the sunne 2. We contract though not an eternall yet a temporall guilt by actuall sins and are liable to temporall corrections though not eternall damnation not by way of satisfaction but of castigation For Christ which hath pardoned the punishment will not alwayes pardon the temporall chastisement but will often visit us with sorer and more grievous afflictions in this life then he doth wicked men 8. Object If you object that the qualifications required for pardon are confession of sin 1 Iohn 1. 9. Repentance Act. 3. 19. c. Ans It s answered in an unbeleever it is requisite there be actuall faith and repentance before he be actually pardoned in heaven or in his conscience But he that is a beleever and hath received Christ by actuall faith and repentance Subsequent repentance is required to evidence his pardon to his conscience but not to procure a new pardon in heaven before God which is done in one act as they affirme 2. As before was expressed they cannot conceive how a child of God can commit an actuall sin without some degree of actuall repentance in the very act of sin and therefore if actuall repentance were necessary before they can be pardoned yet why is a subsequent more solemne actuall repentance required absolutely necessary to pardon beside the present act of repentance in the act of his sin 3. If faith goes before repentance as many affirme then a man is actually pardoned before he doth actually repent because by faith we are justified which is only testified by our repentance 9. Object Then David c. might joy in God whilst he lay in his sin c. Ans It s answered there is no condition a beleever can be in but he hath cause to rejoyce in God Hab. 3. 17. Phil. 4. 4. rejoyce in the Lord alwayes c. yea as in his God his Christ c. though he cannot alwayes do it yet he hath cause also at the same time of great sorrow bitternesse and griefe that he should offend his God so gracious to him and provoke God to punish him and bring scandall to religion c. Even Paul when he mourned under his sin Rom. 7. 24. yet rejoyced in Christ verse 25. Secondly if he dorepent without some precedent or concomitant act of faith is it not the repentance of an unbeleever and so not acceptable to procure pardon c. 10. Object I will forgive their iniquities Ier. 31. saith God ergo they were not pardoned before It s answered though they were pardoned before yet they are not pardoned to our consciences till we actually repent nor is the temporall correction remitted So then they conclude grosse sins of Beleevers cannot as they conceive be committed without some present act of repentance and the habit both of faith and repentance still remaining though not alwayes acting they are not for a moment in a state of condemnation but are only liable to temporall punishments And

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