Selected quad for the lemma: act_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
act_n	believe_v	faith_n	justification_n	5,240	5	9.4416	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47437	Christ alone the way to Heaven, or, Jacob's ladder improved containing four sermons lately preach'd on Genesis XXVIII, XII : wherein the doctrine of free-grace is display'd through Jesus Christ : also discovering the nature, office, and ministration of the holy angels : to which is added one sermon on Rom. 8, 1 : with some short reflections on Mr. Samuel Clark's new book intituled Scripture justification / by Benjamin Keach.	Keach, Benjamin, 1640-1704.	1698 (1698)	Wing K53; ESTC R24422	80,847	121

by the holy Spirit to see it and acknowledge it before they ascend up this spiritual Ladder 2. Now a po●r Sinner being brought thus to the Foot of Christ the first Step or Gradation he makes in ascending on this Ladder is to believe in Christ to venture his Soul upon him alone to trust on him on his Righteousness And on the Merits of his Blood for Justification c. He that firmly and savingly Believes in Christ may be said to set his Foot on this Ladder to ascend Some Men do not begin 〈◊〉 they would be at the top of the Ladder before they have se●●their Feet on the first Round of it because all that shall be Saved are Elected they begin there and hence think if they ●are Elected tho' they are not called but are in their Sins they are Justified Pardoned and in as good Estate as the best Believer in the World But this is a great Mistake the Decree of Election without the Execution of it puts nothing into actual Existence God Decreed from all Eternity to create the World but the World was not therefore from Eternity actually Created No more are any of the Elect actually Justified and in a State of Life until by the Spirit they are united to him and so Believe A Man cannot be Dead and Alive at one and the same time Or be Condemned and Justified or be a Child of the Devil and yet a Child of God Grace makes a Relative as well as a Real change all one and the same time the first Step a Per●on takes I say towards Heaven pray observe it is to Believe in Christ and that a Sinner before he doth Believe is brought to the Foot of Christ i. e. He sees himself Lost and Undone in the first Adam and till then under Wrath. 3. And then that he may go up upon this spiritual Ladder he must Step forward on the next Round which is that of Obedience to Christ's holy Precepts Take my Yoke on you and learn of me First our Lord calls all that are weary and heavy-laden to come unto him that is to Believe in him and then to take on them the Yoke of Gospel-Obedience as Baptism and Church-member-ship Then they that gladly received th● Word were Baptized and the same day then were added unto them about Three Thousand Soul 4. And then go on unto Perfection or pre●● forward in the way of Holiness and so go step by step or from Strength to Strength in Sion adding one Grace of the Spirit unto another Eighthly He that would go up a very high Ladder ought to take care to set his Feet direct or straight upon it not carelesly or awry but full upon it So all that would ascend on this Ladder Jesus Christ must exert a direct act of Faith he must fix his Soul plum upon him or firmly upon him A poor Sinner must see that he takes hold o● Christ in a Promise with a true and fixed Faith not with a false or presumpteous Fa●●● but by the Faith of the operation of God which is ● Fruit of the Spirit called the Faith of God's Elect being only peculiar unto them 〈◊〉 ●●o a● the chosen of God A false Faith is 〈◊〉 dangerous as a false Step a Man takes in ascending ● a Ladder who missing his standing an● 〈◊〉 falls down and perisheth and so shall al● M●●believers as well as all Un-believers perish ●●●nally He that believes not aright had as g●●● believe not at all Ninthly As he that climbs up a Ladder ough● to kn●w it's Strength so he Ventures his L●ft and whole Body upon it So that Man that ventures on this spiritual Ladder Jesus Christ ought to know the Strength and Power of Christ to Justifie to Pardon and eternally to Save him he must venture all the stress of his Salvation on him alone Christ is the only Foundation he must venture his whole Soul upon him Trust intirely in him buil● only upon him and come to the Father by him I know on whom I have Believed I know hi● Power he is mighty to Save yea able to save to the uttermost as was hinted before In the Lord do I put my trust Again saith David In thee do I put my Trust. Tenthly A Man that ventures to ascend up upon a Ladder so exceeding high the top whereof reacheth above the Clouds even to Heaven as he shews his Faith is not small so his Courage is great Brethren This of Venturing on Christ Believing on Christ shews that a Saint's Faith and Courage is not small Faith lies above Sense nay above Reason I mean Faith in Christ to believe in a Crucified Saviour to seek Justification by the Righteousness of another by a Man hang'd on a Tree the Greeks counted this Foolishness To get this way to Heaven shews a Man acts above himself Some would say to a Man that is resolved to ascend up on such a Ladder Friend you can never get up to Heaven in such a way you will certainly fall or faint before you get thither what Faith have you What prodigious Courage have you So here the poor Soul saith I fear not God ●●●th set this Ladder up and fixed it firmly and G●● Commanded me to Believe in Christ he ●ath bid me venture up on this Ladder He hath revealed in his Word that this way and By no other we must be Saved and I will venture upon him Many have gone this way safe to Heaven already and none can go any other way I must therefore believe in Christ ascend to Heaven by him or else perish for ever I know God will help me and uphold me and I will therefore not be afraid I am convinced of Righteousness because Christ as my Head is gone to the Father his Righteousness and not my own must carry me thither his Righteousness is Perfect and I am Compleat in him and as I have Righteousness in him so in him I have Strength also Brethren Without Faith and spiritual Courage no person will adventure to climb up this Ladder nay without Faith no Man can ascend or come to the Father Believing in Christ is a climbing up or ascending up upon this Ladder Eleventhly It is a vain thing for a Man to hope to get up to the Top of a Ladder that will not first set his Foot on the lower Roun● thereof So it is a vain thing for any to hope to be Saved or to get to Heaven who do not first Believe and receive R●●●nerating Grace for he that Believes not shall be Damned Twelfthly He that ascends up very high on a Mighty Tall Ladder hath a clear Sight or Prospect of Heaven and the higher he goes the smaller the Earth appears to him it seems but a little spot nay it being a dark Body 〈…〉 at last not perceive it to be any ●●ing at all

in before he fell Every Believer is made hereby a Son or Daughter of God born of God adopted by the Free-grace of God and made an Heir of God nay married to the Son of God and cloathed with the Righteousness of God or with 〈◊〉 Righteousness who is God and from this State can never fall So mu●h as to the First thing proposed i. e In what respects this Ladder Jesus Christ should be b●held Secondly I shall shew you how or in what respect we should behold Jesus Christ. First Exclusively or by way of opposition to all other Objects or Things We should behold Jesus Christ as our only Saviour exclusive of all other Ways Object or Means of obtaining eternal Life whatsoever 1. Exclusively or in Opposition to the Law and the Righteousness any can obtain by their own personal Obedience thereunto we ought to behold Jesus Christ Some in the Apostles time expected Justification by their own Obedience to the moral and ceremonial Law but Israel that followed after the Law of Righteousness hath not attained to the Law of R●ghteousness vers 31. Wherefore because they sought it not by Faith but as it were by the works of the Law for they stumbled at that stumbling-stone vers 32. They being ignorant of Gods Righteousness and going about to establish their own Righteousness have not submitted themselves to the Righteousness of God That is by their personal and own inherent Righteousness 2. Exclusive of all our Works or Righteousness done by us or wrought in us as part ●f the matter of our Justification before God or as any procuring Cause or Condition of our Justification and eternal Life For since all Boasting is excluded all Works done by us and Righteousness wrought in us are excluded but all Boasting is excluded c. Where is boasting then it is excluded by what Law of Works nay but by the Law of Faith 3. Exclusive of any other Sacrifice for Sin or Mediators The Papists look to their own vain Sacrifices Offerings and Pennance an● seek to other Mediators also to the detracting from the worth and satisfactory Sacrifice of Christ once for all but as there is but one Mediator between God and Man the Man Christ Jesus so there is but one Propiciatory Sacrifice which he offered up upon the Cross. 4. Nay we should behold this Ladder i.e. Jesus Christ exclusive of Faith it self either as an habit or act or in respect of its being any Condition or Cause procuring our Justification or as touching the effects or fruits of it or any ways else whatsoever save only as an Instrument by which we apprehend or receive Jesus Christ For it is not Faith which Justifieth us but the Object which it apprehends and takes hold of it was not the eye that beheld the brazen Serpent in the Wilderness that healed those that were stung but the Brazen Serpent that was beheld or lookt unto Secondly We must behold Jesus Christ by an eye of Faith or believe in him venture our Souls upon him Thus it is to behold him 1. To believe there is no Salvation but by and thro' Jesus Christ alone Neither is there Salvation in any other for there is no other Name given under Heaven whereby we must be saved No other Saviour for Soul or Body for Pardon or Peace 2. To believe tho' there is no Salvation in any other or in nothing else yet that there is Salvation in Christ for all that come unto him or savingly believe in him Whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting Life And indeed to this end is Christ lifted up as a Ladder the top of which reaches to Heaven As the Brazen Serpent was lifted up that the vilest Sinners who behold him by an eye of Faith might be saved 3. To believe in Christ or thus to behold him is to lay the whole stress of our Salvation upon him and upon his Atonement upon his Righteousness or upon the Merits of his Blood alone 4. To behold Christ is to believe that he hath made our Peace with God that God is satisfied and well pleased in him that divine Wrath is appeased in him and that he Dyed for you or in your stead 5. To behold Christ is to apply his Blood and plead his Atonement against all Accusations that may be brought against you 1 When Satan lays the greatness of our Sins before us and aggravates them upon our Consciences it is then our Duty to repell his Assaults and Implead him by Pleading that Christ's Blood hath fully attoned and satisfied for all our Sins both those Sins we committed before Called and for all our Sins committed after we are Called 2. When our Consciences acc●se us 't is our Duty and Priviledge to Plead the Blood of Christ and look up to him who is our Advocate at the Father's Right-h●nd 3. When Men accuse us for our Faults and Failings we must behold Jesus Christ and believe the Sufficiency of his Righteousness and the Vertue and Merits of his Blood Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's Elect it is God that Justifies Who is he that Condemneth it is Christ that dyed yea rather that is risen again who is even at the Right-hand of God who also maketh intercession for us Who can Implead su●h or put in any Accusation against them whom God actually Acquits Justifies and pronounceth Righteous The Apostle saith our late ●nnotators say that such one may throw down the Gauntle● and challenge all the World let Conscience Carnal Reason Law Sin Hell and Devils bring forth a●● they can say it will not be sufficientto Condemnation Thirdly To behold Jesus Christ by Faith is to go directly to him as your Saviour and Adv●cate let your sins be what they will knowing that he is able to save you and that he hath b●rn all the punishment due that your sins deserved and this without thinking of bringing any thing with you to Commend you to him He requires no previous Qualifications of us Sinners must look to Christ come to Christ in their Sins beholding their loathsome Filth and abominable Guilt feeling and finding that their Wounds bleed and are corrupt and not to think to Wash themselves from their Sins by Repentance and Tears of Sorrow for Sin that they may Believe but come to him to be Washed Believe in him that they may be Justified and Healed Faith will produce Repentance They shall look to him whom they pierced and they shall mourn as a Man mourns for his only Son and be in bitterness as a Man is in bitterness for his First-born Fourthly We should behold Christ as a Sure way to the Father This Ladder will bring us to God who is at the Top of it or above it and as this only is the Way so it is a Sure way No Man cometh to the Father but by me By Christ we