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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	answer_v	scripture_n	word_n	1,678	5	4.1153	3	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A88594	A treatise of effectual calling and election. In XVI. sermons, on 2 Pet. 1.10 Wherein a Christian may discern, whether yet he be effectually called and elected. And what course he ought to take that he may attain the assurance thereof. Preached by that faithful servant of Christ, Mr. Christopher Love, late minister of Lawrence Jury, London.	Love, Christopher, 1618-1651.; Calamy, Edward, 1600-1666.; Cross, Thomas, fl. 1632-1682,	1653 (1653)	Wing L3178; Thomason E696_1; ESTC R202781	182,095	256

Gods decree be changeable Gods essence and nature were so also election being nothing else but God himselfe chusing for every thing in God is God And this the Scripture tels us is farre from him for there is no variablenesse or shadow of change in God Jam. 1.17 Isa 46.10 Mal. 3.6 Secondly if the elect could perish then Jesus Christ should be very unfaithfull to his father because God the father hath given this charge to Christ that whomsoever he elected Christ should preserve them safe to bring them to heaven Now should not this be accomplished Christ would be unfaithfull to his father John 6.39 This is the fathers will which hath sent me into the world that of all that he hath given me I should lose nothing but that I should raise them up at the last day This is the will of God to save many by Christ Now should not this be made good Christ must needs be unfaithfull to the Commission of his father Thirdly should this be true then Pauls golden chaine should be broken Rom. 8.30 Whom he did predestinate them he calls whom he calls them he justifies whom he justifies them he glorifies Now should this chain break that whom he elects them he calls whom he calls them he justifies and there cease as the Papists hold and men be after damned then the great and many links would be lost that whom he justifies them he glorifies and so bring an absurdity upon the Scripture thereby Now to answer some texts of Scripture they abuse which at first view you would think very plausible to maintain that a man may be an elect man and brought into Christ yet afterward damned The first is John 6.70 Have not I chosen twelve and one of them is a divell Now say they there were twelve chosen or elected and one of them is a divel did perish intimating that men may be elected yet perish for all this To which I answer That there is a double electing First a chusing to some peculiar Office Secondly there is an electing to grace life and glory Now when Christ saith Have not I chosen you twelve it is meant of his chusing of them to an Office to the place of an Apostle to be his disciples Now it is true that man may be chosen to some peculiar office in the Church of God and yet be a perishing and damned man but this phrase hath no relation to the decree of God from eternity onely to a temporall electing of twelve men to a temporall Office to the Office of an Apostle Another Scripture they abuse is Exod. 32.32 it was Moses prayer If thou wilt not saith Moses to God forgive their sinnes then blot my name out of the book of life Now say they the book of life is Gods election and here Moses prayed that God would blot his name out of the book of life Intimating say they a man may be elected and written in that book and yet afterward blotted out and perish To which I answer That this prayer of Moses is onely a wish or supposition as Pauls was when he wisht he were accursed from Christ for his kindred in the flesh Now a man may suppose mountaines of Gold and suppose things that never were nor ever shall be in being bare suppositions put nothing in being so here that Moses makes a supposition in a patheticall prayer this doth no way argue as if his name could be blotted out of the book of life Secondly Rivet he expounds it thus that there is a double book of life The book of life being sometimes taken for the eternall counsell and decree of God as Phil. 4.3 sometimes for the speciall providence of God over men in preserving them among the living So we read Psal 139. In thy book saith David were all my members written meaning not in the book of Gods decree but onely in the book of his providence that all the members of Davids body they were all under the providence of God that none could hurt him And so Rivet with others think that by the book of life here is meant that God would blot out Moses from the book of his speciall protection and let him die as other men rather then this evil should come upon the people of Israel q. d. Destroy my name from among men and doe not protect me any longer Againe they object that in Psal 69.28 It is said Let them be blotted out of the book of life Now say they That is Gods election and to be blotted out implies that a man may be elected and yet perish To this I answer as formerly that the book of life in that place hath no reference to the decree of Gods election but onely to his book of providence that God would not protect wicked men as he doth his own people in a way of providence And other phrases in Scripture will somewhat favour this interpretation As Ezek. 13.9 They shall not be written in the writings of the house of Israel What 's that i.e. let them not any more be thought Israelites nor numbred among the people And Ainsworth I remember compares Psal 69.19 with this place in Ezek. 13.9 and he makes the sence to be one and the same that to be blotted out of the book of life is nothing else then to be out of Gods protection to be blotted out of the catalogue of the living and have ones life in danger to be brought to death And this wish David wished for those wicked men But then they object further from Revel 22.19 If any man shall take away from the words of this book God shall take away his part in the book of life Here say they by book of life is unquestionably meant Gods decree and the Scripture saith they that take any thing from this booke God will blot him out of the book of life and will undoubtedly damne him To which I answer I confesse in this place the book of life is taken for Gods decree and that a man may be said to be blotted out of this book and yet this no way follow that a man elected may be damned And here let me give you Austins words upon the place which is a very cleare and satisfactory answer That a man may be said to be blotted out of the book of life in two regards First it is equivalent to this phrase that his name shall never be written in the book of life And you have often such phrases in Scripture As it is said in Matthew He that doth evill himselfe and teacheth men so to doe he shall be least in the Kingdome of Heaven Intimating not as if he should come to heaven but that he should not come there at all To be least there is never to be there So here To be blotted out is equivalent to this that they were never in Secondly a mans name may be said to be blotted out of the book of life not as if it were there in deed and in

and that first wrought upon me Or saith a third It may be if it was the Word it was the Word preached by a wicked man that is now turned either erroneous in judgement or prophane in practice and this occasioneth a great deal of Jealousie The Word preacht by the mouth of a godly Minister is Gods ordinary way but I was altogether out of this way and therefore this doth make him suspect the truth of his effectual calling Now Beloved I beseech you lend me your thoughts a little for I would fain make this Doctrine as comfortable to every called one as I can I shall speak of all these in order and shew you that put case either of these have been the means of thy calling yet thou hast no reason to doubt of thine effectual calling First thou suspectest thy call because the meanes hath been sayest thou not by hearing a Sermon or the Word preacht but by living among good Christians and seeing their example and their living thou camest by this meanes to love the wayes of God and this was the first meanes that converted thee Beloved I doubt not but I speak to a great many that cannot say a Sermon ever converted them but onely that they were gained to Gods wayes to imbrace the truth this way now what shall I say to such men as these why I would say thus much that though the Lord did not use his Word preached the ordinary meanes of converting soules in calling thee yet God is not tied and bound up to his Word preacht but he may use other meanes to convert thy soule Secondly and more particularly that living among good people and seeing of their example both in life and worship we finde in Scripture to be a very efficacious means oftentimes to convince sometimes to convert and if you can finde out this in Scripture you may have abundance of comfort It hath been a meanes oftentimes to convince 1 Pet. 3.16 They shall be ashamed to speak evill of you while they behold your conversation in Christ When they shall see that you live in Christ and walk according to Christ they shall be ashamed ashamed of what they have done and what they have spoken it shall convince them So 1 Pet. 2.15 And the Apostle when he speaks of the orderly and regular managing the worship of God 1 Cor. 14.24 25. If there comes an unbeliever among you he sees your order saith he he shall fall down in the midst of you he shall be convinced and shall say Of a truth God is among you Seeing this saith the Apostle godly men holy in their lives and holy in their worship though he be an unbeliever he shall fall down and say Of a truth God is among you that is by way of conviction Nay further sometimes God doth blesse the gracious lives and blamelesse example of Christians to be a means to convert some when the Gospel cannot do it and you would think this very comfortable could it be made good I would commend but one Text of Scripture to you to prove what a blessing it is to live in a good family where either husband or wife or any one in the family is godly 1 Pet. 3.1 Wives be subject to your husbands what then that your husbands who are not wonne by the Word may be wonne without the Word whilest they behold the conversation of their wives A notable text There were many wicked Husbands that all the Sermons they heard would not convert them yet the Apostle tells them that if the wife did live a godly and holy life their lives sometimes should be more efficacious to convert their Husbands then the Word should be And this Beloved doth clearly take off this first plea of yours that because you were converted by example and by living among good Christians and seeing their walkings this gained upon you this is no cause of discouragement because sometimes I say the Lord doth blesse examples of gracious lives to make them winne and gain upon men that are brought home to Jesus Christ Secondly they go yet further There is another poore soul brought home to Jesus Christ and what saith he I do misdoubt the means of my call for a Sermon never wrought upon me the first thing of all that ever gained upon me it was the reading of some Chapters in the Bible or some other holy mans book and that made me first to hate sin and love the wayes of God and look after his Word for my salvation And here I doubt not but many Christians have found the Word read the first means of gaining upon their hearts And therefore to take off this likewise I shall speak two or three things in way of Answer As First that God is not tied to any means but can work with the meanest means to bring home people to Jesus Christ If Peters conversion was by a Cock a Cock crowing and a look of Christs eye why may not Christ use the Scriptures read to be a means of a mans call If from stones God can raise up children to Abraham why cannot God do it by the Word also to make the Word read a means in his own hands to effect it God that can do all things with nothing without means can bring to passe great things by weak means Secondly and more particularly That though ordinarily preaching and hearing of the Word preached be ordained by God and crowned by him chiefly to be a means instrumental to convert souls yet God sometimes hath blessed the reading of the Word to be a means of converting souls likewise Yet Beloved I would not do as the Prelates did who would fain have brought in reading to justle out preaching Preaching is the more noble work and must be highest in our thoughts yet if God will go out in an unusual way who can controll him If God will do it by a Chapter read when not by a Sermon preached who can resist God if he will shew his power by weaker means Who shall gainsay it God sometimes honours the reading of the Word to give encouragement to reading to be a means of some mens call I have read of S. Austin that he was converted not by hearing a Sermon but by opening the Bible and reading that place Rom 13.13 Let us walk honestly as in the day time not in rioting and drunkennesse not in chambering and wantonnesse and the reading of this verse wrought upon him I have read of Cyprian that he was converted by reading the Prophecie of Jonas hearing of Gods mercy to save such a wicked people and of Gods mercy to Jonas when he was in so pettish a mood as to be angry with God I have known likewise another famous Minister that going by a Book-binders shop he was converted by reading a Sermon of Repentance that cost but two pence hath bin a famous Minister since for the conversion of many hundreds to Jesus Christ Junius was converted by reading the first

that they are exceedingly humbled before God Now for my part I never found this manner of Gods working in my soul I never found that I could see my sins clearly or could be humbled for them greatly I never found those humiliations and legal Terrours which I hear many men talk of and this makes me doubt whether I am effectually called or no. Now to take off this I shall onely speak three things by way of Answer First That it is true God doth proceed after this manner with some yet God is not tied and confined to one and the same way of working with all What if he come to you in a calm when he comes to others in a Tempest if God come to you in a more peaceable and quiet way What if God do not pierce your heart as he did those 3000. in the Acts if he kindely open thy heart like Lidia's without noise God is not to be tied to one and the same way in converting all As 't is said John 3.8 The winde bloweth where it listeth so how it listeth also Secondly You have no cause to doubt for this because it's Gods usual manner to proceed after this way only with such men who have been loose in their lives who have been obstinate in their wills who have been very scandalous in conversation before their conversion and call But it is not Gods usual way to work thus upon Christians who have been religiously brought up from their youth it is not Gods way to dowse them into such a pit of horror and plunge them into such a depth of fears that have been of a fair and ingenuous and moral life before their call As you know it is with Carpenters they give more blowes to knotty Timber then they will do to smooth and tender wood thus doth God when he meets with a knotty sinner a wretched stout-hearted sinner God must give him many blowes by humiliation before he will be humbled before he can bring him to be a serviceable piece in Gods building whereas Christians of a milde and softer temper they shall have fewer blowes and shall not have the terrors of God stick so fast in their hearts as others shall Hence you read that phrase Hos 6.5 Saith the Lord I will hew them by my Prophets c. God doth hew some men hew them with judgments and hew them with terror Yea but others that are not so loose as they I taught Ephraim to go I led Ephraim by the Armes and I drew him with cords of a man and with the bands of love Hos 11.4 God you see would hack and hew some men with terror and wrath but others he would draw with love and the cords of a man Now suppose God hath not hacked and hewed thee with judgements if God melt thee with loving kindnesse and if God gain upon thy soul with mercy and with love and grace thou must not blame God thou must not confine God for this is Gods way of working sometimes as well as by wrath God works upon some with wrath he will allure others with loving kindnesse so that you have no cause or ground of fear that you are not effectually called because you apprehend some defects in the manner of your call because it is Gods usual way to plunge them in most humiliation and most terrour that have been most wicked liv'd men before their call and not so ordinarily with men religiously trained up from their youth Thirdly God when he goes to call a sinner to conversion he looks upon the temper of those that are to be called and God sees some men of a rugged Temper that their Tempers will not be won but by wrath and by fire and by hell and by Judgement And so it 's like Felix was his Temper was such that nothing could convert him but wrath and Judgement to come Terrible Doctrines Some are of this Temper that nothing but wrath and hel-fire can work upon them As children there are some that are of such soft and tender Tempers that the shaking of a rod may do them good there are other children if a man should whip them every day they would never leave their childish tricks It is so with sinners God sees some of a more tender and soft Temper that love will gain upon them others are of a rugged disposition that nothing but wrath can affright them Now God in the dispensations of his grace he observes their Temper and if he seeth love will gaine more upon them then wrath will do he will take that course but if God see nothing but wrath and fire and horrour will do it then he will work that way This you read in the Epistle of Jude ver 22 23. On some saith the holy Ghost have compassion making a difference but others save with fear pulling them out of the fire The meaning is this There are some that you must shew tendernesse and compassion to in calling and working upon them they are of a tender Temper but others there are that you must save with feare that is preach terrible Sermons to them and fright them with hel-fire and Judgement to come For God doth observe the different Tempers in men and hereupon doth proceed in different wayes of Administration in working upon them Now it may be thou that dost thus complaine thou never hadst these Terrors in thy soul and yet art effectually called it may be God saw thy Temper more to be won by kindnesse and more gained upon in a way of love therefore wrought upon thee this way God is not bound to one way And therefore we may justly count them blame-worthy who preach onely free grace and Gods love and so tie God to one Method and they are to blame on the other side likewise if there be any such that preach onely Terror and wrath for God observes the Temper of mens dispositions some to be knotty and some soft and accordingly proceeds in his way of working with them This ground therefore for your doubts is insufficient Secondly A second ground that makes men doubt of their effectual calling is upon the apprehension of some seeming defect that may be in the means of their calling As thus Think they I have read in the Word that it doth please God to use preaching as the ordinary means to call and convert sinners to Christ It pleased God by preaching to save them that believe I read this also that faith comes by hearing Now many a poore soul hath this that gravels his conscience and troubles his spirit but alas I finde a defect in this means For my part I cannot say I was converted by hearing a Sermon that which did work upon me was some other means One of these three either I was converted saith one by living in a godly family among good Christians seeing their example that first gained upon me Or saith another I was gained upon by reading a Chapter in the Bible or in some good book