Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	apostle_n	church_n	holy_a	2,252	5	4.8314	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A60243	The Romish priest turn'd protestant with the reasons of his conversion, wherin the true Church is exposed to the view of Christians and derived out of the Holy Scriptures, sound reason, and the ancient fathers : humbly presented to both houses of Parliament / by James Salago.	Salgado, James, fl. 1680.	1679 (1679)	Wing S380; ESTC R28844	30,919	39

think he could be perswaded of the authority of Scriptures not by the authority of the Church nor by the perswasion of Moses or the Prophets but by the internal truth speaking in his heart Which is the holy Spirit And let them not make an instance against us that every one pretends the holy Spirit by reason pretension maketh no prejudice to truth Neither is the question betwixt us and the Papists as betwixt admitting the authority of the Scripture and denying the same by reason both of us do admit the same and then the question ariseth how or by what way we may be perswaded that these Scriptures which we embrace as divine are not prophane And if we or they answer more agreeably let every impartial Christian be a judg We conclude therefore as this question to be unworthy of a Christian man If the holy Bible be the Word of God so another assertion of a Jesuit Sambar de fide orthodoxa called Sambar to be very foolish viz. that the Protestant Churches have no Scriptures For besides that he defends this proposition for no other end but to escape the strength of the arguments derived out of the Scriptures likewise he confirmeth this proposition by no other medius terminus or reason but because the Protestant Church having no notes of a true Church is false and so she can have no Scripture being the Scriptures dependeth from the Church both in their material and in their formal part Whereas both the argument and its probation is false and they foolishly petunt principium take that for granted which we utterly deny viz. that the Scriptures and their sense doth depend from the authority of the Church as we did touch this point somewhat higher Moreover the Jesuit by this assertion doth shew his desperate cause by reason none of the ancient Fathers did deny the Scriptures to any Heretick as they suppose us to be that they might shew his case plain and Austin saith that the Scriptures are not belonging as proper to one Aug. lib. 3. contr Ma. Arian but that they are common witnesses of both the sides And if we would be so rude we could change the scene and affirm that the Papists themselves have no Scripture as to the formal part because we did plainly shew a little higher their Church not only to be false and erroneous but none at all But being I am not afraid of their arrows which they can take out of the Scriptures I will not deny them the Bible Having thus far secured the Sentiment of the Protestant Churches about the authority of Scriptures I descend to the proprieties of them I affirm therefore the holy Scriptures to be perfect as well touching the perfection of parts as of degrees and thence to be sufficient to our salvation The Law of God is perfect saith David Psal 119. and the sufficiency of it is shown by the Apostle in the forementioned words 2 Tim. 3.16 The accession of the New Testament to the old maketh no prejudice to the perfection and sufficiency of Scriptures because he that declared all the counsel of God spoke nothing other than what Moses did say and the Prophets as we writ before Hence the old Fathers said very well As the New Testament is hidden in the old so the Old Testament is declared in the new neither gradus variat speciem doth a degree change the nature of things that are of the same kind Neither do we dispute with the Papists of this or the other part of Scriptures but of the whole Canon as it is made by the Apostles declared by the ancient Church and enumerated by Hierom. Hierony in prol Gal. They are not therefore to commit a fallacy of division And as we do justly cut off from this perfection and sufficiency of Scriptures the books call'd Apocrypha by reason they contradict themselves and the holy Scripture neither were they found in the Jewish Church unto which were committed the Oracles of God Rom. 3.2 So we reject the distinction of the Papists betwixt the books Protocanonical and Deuterocanonical by reason a Canon cannot be changed And for this reason we do very little esteem Traditiones non scriptas not written Traditions because out of that is written Joh 20.31 2 Tim. 3.15 we may have sufficient instructions for the life-eternal To refer unto these Traditions the several Orders of Fryers and the sheaving of their Crowns the words of Christ John 16.12 I have yet many things to say unto you but you cannot bear them now is a very great folly Because if this was the meaning of Christ he could very easily have called a Barber and commanded the heads of those Disciples to be shaven But may be he could not by reason of their baldness Besides that Monks Hieronimus whose duty was to weep and not to teach as an old Father saith were not shaven for a sign of their honour and pre-eminence but for a sign of their penitence For the last Psal 19.8 Rom. 16.4 the Scriptures are easie to be understood The Commandment of the Lord is pure enlightning the eyes and whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope Which could not be if the Scripture was not easie and light We affirm therefore that as those things which are absolutely necessary to salvation are few so they are plainly set down in the Scriptures But as for other questions I do not deny such things to be found in the Scriptures that can afford work enough for a human wit. Namely as one saith The holy volumes are of such a nature Chrysostomus that as well a lamb may wade in it as an Elephant swim Being then that the holy Scriptures are perspicuous as it is evident out of reason testimony and the consent of the ancient Fathers therefore the Protestants proceed very lawfully in attributing judicium discretionis or a judgment of discretion to every true Christian So that every believer by the often reading of the Word of God and by the conferring of one place of Scripture with the other may interpret the Gospel 2 Pet. 1.20 21. because no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation for it came not by the will of man but by the holy Ghost As for the Fathers of the ancient Church and the four Primitive Councils we imbrace them as interpreters of the holy Scriptures yea we affirm likewise that they may bind subordinately to Scriptures our conscience but not force them to the faith ligant non obligant yet we deny whether the Fathers or the Council or the Roman Pope to be a Judg of the Controversies about matters of faith Austin Fatetur Andradius contra K●mnitium Defens Concil Triden l. 2. Bellar. sacra scriptura regula decidendi certissima tutissimaque est Heb. 4.12 but only the Holy Ghost speaking in his Word