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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
body_n	church_n	head_n	visible_a	10,670	5	9.6541	5	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A03586	A learned discourse of iustification, workes, and how the foundation of faith is overthrowne. By Richard Hooker, sometimes fellow of Corpus Christi College in Oxford	Hooker, Richard, 1553 or 4-1600.; Jackson, Henry, 1586-1662.; Spenser, John, 1559-1614.	1612 (1612)	STC 13708; ESTC S121045	45,591	98

light I will doe mine indevour to set downe somewhat more plainely first the foundation of faith what it is secondly what it is directly to denie the foundation thirdly whether they whom God hath chosen to be heires of life may fall so farre as directlie to denie it fourthly whether the Galatians did so by admitting the errour about circumcision and the law last of all whether the Church of Rome for this one opinion of works may be thought to do the like and therevpon to be no more a Christian church then are the assemblies of Turkes and Jewes 23 This word foundation being figuratiuely vsed hath alwaies reference to somwhat which resembleth a materiall building as both that doctrine of lawes and the community of Christians do By the Masters of civill policie nothing is so much inculcated as that commōweales are founded vpon lawes for that a multitude cannot bee compacted into one body otherwise then by a common acception of lawes whereby they are to bee kept in order The ground of all civill lawes is this No man ought to be hurt or iniured by an other Take away the perswasion and ye take away all the lawes take away lawes what shall become of commonweales So it is in our spirituall christian community I do not meane that body mysticall whereof Christ is only the head that building vndiscernable by mortall eies wherein Christ is the chiefe corner stone but I speake of the visible church the foundation whereof is the doctrine which the Prophets Apostles profest The mark whervnto their doctrin tendeth is pointed at in these words of Peter vnto Christ Thou hast the words of eternall life in these words of Paule to Timothee The holy Scriptures are able to make thee wise vnto salvation It is the demand of nature her selfe what shal we do to haue eternal life The desire of immortalitie and of the knowledge of that whereby it may be obtained is so natural vnto all men that even they who are not perswaded that they shall do notwithstanding wish that they might know away how to see no end of life And because natural meanes are not able still to resist the force of death there is no people in the earth so savage which hath not devised some supernaturall helpe or other to fly for aide succour in extremities against the enemies of their lawes A longing therefore to be saved without vnderstāding the true waie how hath beene the cause of al the superstitions in the world O that the miserable state of others which wander in darknes and wote not whither they goe could giue vs vnderstanding harts worthelie to esteeme the riches of the mercy of God towards vs before whose eies the doores of the kingdome of heaven are set wide open should we offer violence vnto it it offereth violence vnto vs and we gather strength to withstand it But I am besides my purpose when I fall to bewaile the cold affection which we beare towards that whereby we should be saved my purpose being only to set downe what the ground of salvation is The doctrine of the gospell proposeth salvation as the end and doth it not teach the way of attaining therevnto Yet the damosell possest with a spirit of divinatiō spake the truth These men are the servants of the most high God which shew vnto vs the way of salvation A new and living way which Christ hath prepared for vs through the vaile that is his flesh salvation purchased by the death of Christ. By this foundation the children of God before the written law were distinguished from the sonnes of men the reverend Patriarks both possest it living and spake expresly of it at the houre of their death It comforted Iob in the midst of griefe it was afterwards the anker hold of all the righteous in Israell from the writing of the law to the time of grace Every Prophet maketh mention of it It was famously spoken of about the time when the comming of Christ to accomplish the promises which were made long before it drewe neere that the sound thereof was heard even amongst the Gentils When he was come as many as were his acknowledged that he was their salvation he that long expected hope of Israel he that seed in whom all the nations of the earth shall be blessed So that now he is a name of ruine a name of death and condemnation vnto such as dreame of a new Messias to as many as looke for salvation by any other then by him For amongst men there is given no other name vnder heaven whereby we must be saved Thus much S. Marke doth intimate by that which hee doth put in the front of his booke making his entrance with these words The beginning of the Gospell of Iesus Christ the son of God His doctrine he tearmeth the Gospell because it teacheth salvation the Gospell of Iesus Christ the sonne of God because it teacheth salvation by him This is then the foundation wherevpon the frame of the Gospell is erected that very Iesus whome the Virgin conceived of the holy Ghost whom Simeon imbraced in his arms whom Pilat condemned whom the Iewes crucified whom the Apostles preached he is Christ the Lord the only Saviour of the world Other foundation can no man lay Thus I haue briefly opened that principle in Christianity which we call the foundatiō of our faith It followeth now that I declare vnto you what is directly to overthrow it This wil be better opened if we vnderstand what it is to hold the foundation of faith 24 There are which defend that many of the Gentils who never heard the name of Christ held the foundation of Christianitie why they acknowledged many of them the providence of God his infinit wisdome strength power his goodnesse and his mercy towards the children of men that God hath iudgemēt in store for the wicked but for the righteous which ferue him rewardes c. In this which they confessed that lieth covered which we beleeue in the rudiments of their knowledge concerning God the foundation of our faith concerning Christ lieth secretly wrapt vp and is vertually contained therefore they held the foūdation of faith though they never had it Might wee not with as good a colour of reason defend that every ploughman hath al the sciences wherein Philosophers haue exceld For no man is ignorant of their first principles which doe vertually containe whatsoever by naturall meanes is or can be knowne Yea might wee not with as great reason affirme that a man may put three mighty oakes wheresoever three akornes may be put For vertually an akorne is an oake To avoid such paradoxes we teach plainely that to hold the foundation is in expresse tearmes to acknowledge it 25 Now because the foundation is an affirmatiue proposition they all overthrowe it who deny it they directly overthrow it who deny it directly and they overthrow it

away the vse of reason doth notwithstanding proue them reasonable creatures which haue it because none can be franticke but they so Antichristianitie being the baine and plaine overthrow of Christianitie may neverthelesse argue the Church wherein Antichrist sitteth to be Christian. Nether haue I ever hitherto heard or read any one worde alleadged of force to warrant that God doth otherwise then so as in the two next questions before hath beene declared bind himselfe to keepe his elect from worshipping the Beast and from receiving his marke in their foreheads but he hath preserved and will preserue them from receiuing any deadly wound at the hands of the man of sinne whose deceit hath prevailed over none vnto death but only vnto such as never loved the truth such as took a pleasure in vnrighteousnesse they in all ages whose hearts haue delighted in the principall truth and whose soules haue thirsted after righteousnesse if they received the marke of error the mercy of God even erring and dangerously erring might saue them if they received the mark of heresie the same mercy did I doubt not convert them HOW far Romish heresies may prevaile over Gods elect how many God hath kept falling into them how many haue bin converted from them is not the question now in hād for if heaven had not received any one of that coate for these thousand yeares it may still be true that the doctrine which this day they do professe doth not directly denie the foundation and so proue them simplie to be no Christian Church One I haue alleaged whose words in my eares sound that waie shall I adde another whose speech is plaine I deny her not the name of a Church saith another no more then to a man the name of a man as long as he liveth what sicknesse soever he hath His reason is this Salvation in Iesus Christ which is the marke which ioineth the head with the bodie Iesus Christ with the Church is so cut off by many merits by the merits of Saints by the Popes pardons and such other wickednesse that the life of the Church holdeth by a very thread yet still the life of the Church holdeth A third hath these words I acknowledge the Church of Rome evē at this present day for a Church of Christ such a Church as Israel did Ieroboam yet a Church His reasō is this Every mā seeth except he willingly hoodwinke himselfe that as alwaies so now the Church of Rome holdeth firmely and stedfastly the doctrine of truth concerning Christ and baptizeth in the name of the father the sonne and the Holy Ghost confesseth and avowcheth Christ for the only redeemer of the world the iudge that shall sit vpon quicke and dead recieving true beleevers into endlesse ioy faithlesse and godlesse men being cast with Satan and his angels into flames inquenchable 28 I may will reine the questiō shorter thē they do Let the Pope take downe his top and captivate no more mens soules by his Papall iurisdiction let him no longer count himselfe Lord Paramount over the Princes of the world no longer hold kings as his servants paravaile let his stately Senate submit their necks to the yoke of Christ cease to dye their garment like Edom in blood let them from the highest to the lowest hate and forsake their idolatry abiure all their errors and heresies wherewith they haue any waie perverted the truth let them strippe their Churches till they leaue no polluted ragge but only this one about hir By Christ alone without workes we cannot be saved it is enough for me if I shew that the holding of this one thing doeth not proue the foundatiō of faith directly denied in the Church of Rome 29 Workes are an addition be it so what then the foundation is not subverted by everie kind of addition simplie to adde vnto those fundamentall words is not to mingle wine with water heaven with earth things polluted with the sanctified blood of Christ of which crime indict them which attribute those operations in whole or in part to any creature which in the w●● of our salvation wholy are peculiar vnto Christ and 〈◊〉 open my mouth to speake in their defence if I holde my peace and pleade not against them as long as breath is within my body let me be guiltie of al the dishonor that ever hath been done to the Sonne of God But a dreadful thing it is to denie salvation by Christ alone the more slow and fearefull I am except it be too manifest to lay a thing so grievous to anie mās charge Let vs beware least if we make too manie waies of denying Christ wee scarse leaue any way for our selues truely and soundly to confesse him Salvation onely by Christ is the true foundation wherevpon indeed Christianitie standeth But what if I say you cannot be saved only by Christ without this addition Christ beleeved in hart confessed with mouth obeied in life and conversation Because I adde doe I therefore deny that which I did directlie affirme There may be an additament of explication which overthroweth not but proveth concludeth the proposition wherevnto it is annexed He which saith Peter was a chiefe Apostle doth proue that Peter was an Apostle hee which saith Our salvation is of the Lord through sanctification of the spirit and faith of the truth proveth that our salvation is of the Lord. But if that which is added be such a privation as taketh away the verie essence of that wherevnto it is added then by the sequell it overthroweth He which saith Iudas is a dead man though in word he granteth Iudas to be a man yet in effect he proveth him by that very speech no man because death depriveth him of being In like sort he that should saie our election is of grace for our workes sake should grant in soūd of words but indeed by consequent deny that our election is of grace for the grace which electeth vs is no grace if it elect vs for our sake 30 Now whereas the Church of Rome addeth works we must note farther that the adding of works is not like the adding of circumcision vnto Christ. Christ came not to abrogat put away good workes he did to change circumcision for we see that in place thereof he hath substituted holy baptisme To say yee cannot be saved by Christ except yee be circumcised is to adde a thing excluded a thing not only not necessarie to be kept but necessarie not to be kept by thē that will be saved On th' other side to saie yee cannot be saved by Christ without workes is to adde things not only not excluded but commāded as being in their place and in their kind necessarie and therefore subordinated vnto Christ by Christ himselfe by whom the webbe of salvation is spun a except your righteousnesse exceed the righteousnesse of the Scribes and Pharises yee shall not enter into the kingdome of heaven They