Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	authority_n	new_a	testament_n	2,897	5	7.9529	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61575	The mysteries of the Christian faith asserted and vindicated in a sermon preached at S. Laurence-Jewry in London, April the 7th, 1691 / by the Right Reverend Father in God, Edward, Lord Bishop of Worcester.	Stillingfleet, Edward, 1635-1699.	1691 (1691)	Wing S5610; ESTC R21437	18,888	42

THE MYSTERIES OF The Christian Faith ASSERTED and VINDICATED IN A SERMON Preached at S. Laurence-Jewry in London APRIL the 7th 1691. By the Right Reverend Father in GOD EDWARD Lord Bishop of Worcester LONDON Printed by J. H. for Henry Mortlock at the Phoenix in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1691. A SERMON Preached at S. Laurence-Jewry APRIL the 7th 1691. 1 TIM I. 15. This is a faithfull saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the World to save Sinners of whom I am chief IF these Words were to be understood without any Restriction or Limitation that Christ Jesus came into the World to save sinners they would overthrow the great Design of the Gospel and make its Excellent Precepts Useless and Ineffectual For to what purpose should men be put upon the severe Practise of Repentance Mortification and a continued Course of a Holy Life if the meer being Sinners did sufficiently qualifie them for Salvation This indeed would be thought a Doctrine worthy of all Acceptation by the greatest Sinners but it could not be a faithfull saying being not agreeable either to the Nature of God or Revelation of his Will by Christ Jesus But S. Paul speaks of such Sinners as himself had been i. e. such as had been great Sinners but had truely and sincerely repented Of whom I am chief What then Must we look on him as the Standard and Measure of such Sinners whom Christ Jesus came to save What will then become of all those who have been Sinners of a higher Rank than ever he was It 's true in the Verses before the Text he sets out his Sins as a humble Penitent is wont to do with the worst Colours and deepest Aggravations Who was before a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious but yet he adds that he obtained Mercy because he did it ignorantly in unbelief How then is S. Paul the Chief of Sinners Are Sins of Ignorance and Mistake the greatest of Sins for which Christ died Is there no Expiation for any other by Jesus Christ What will become then of all such who sin against Knowledge and Conscience and not in Ignorance and Unbelief Can none of these hope for Mercy by Christ Jesus although they do truely Repent But the Blood of Christ is said elsewhere to cleanse us from all Sin not while we continue in them but if we repent and forsake them And Jesus Christ is said to be a Propitiation for our Sins and not for ours only but for the Sins of the whole World And therefore this Expression of S. Paul notes his great Humility and deep Sense of his own Sins but doth not exclude others from the hopes of Pardon whose Sins have other Aggravations than his had For if we leave out the last words as peculiar to his Case yet the other contain in them a true Proposition and of the greatest Importance to Mankind This is a faithfull saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the World to save sinners This you may say is a matter out of all doubt among all such who hope for Salvation by Christ Jesus for all are agreed that one way or other we are to be saved by him But there is great Difficulty as to the Way of saving sinners by Christ Iesus whether by the Doctrine and Example of the Man Christ Jesus by the Power he attained through his Sufferings Or by the Eternal Son of God's assuming our Nature and suffering in our stead in order to the Reconciling God to us and making a Propitiation for our Sins These are two very different Hypotheses or Notions of Christ's coming to save Sinners and the former seems more Easie to be understood and believed and the other seems to have Insuperable Difficulties in point of Reason and to run our Religion into Mysteries which expose our Faith and make Christianity appear Contemptible to Men of Sense and Understanding Is it not therefore much better to embrace such a Scheme of it as will have the least Objection against it that so Men of Reason may not be tempted to Infidelity and Men of Superstition may not under the Colour of Mysteries bring in the most Absurd and Unreasonable Doctrines These are plausible Insinuations and would be apt to prevail on considering Mens minds if they were to form and make a Religion that might be most accommodated to the Genius and Humour of the Age they live in And truely no Men by their own Authority can pretend to a Right to impose on others any Mysteries of Faith or any such things which are above their Capacity to understand But that is not our Case for we all profess to believe and receive Christianity as a Divine Revelation and God we say may require from us the belief of what we may not be able to comprehend especially if it relates to Himself or such things which are Consequent upon the Union of the Divine and Human Nature Therefore our business is to consider whether any such things be contained in that Revelation which we all own and if they be we are bound to believe them although we are not able to comprehend them Now here are two Remarkable Characters in these Words by which we may examin these different Hypotheses concerning the way of Salvation by Jesus Christ. I. It is a faithfull saying and therefore must be contained in that Revelation which God hath made concerning our Salvation by Christ. II. It is worthy of all Acceptation i. e. most usefull and beneficial to Mankind Now by these two I shall proceed in the Examination of them I. Which is most agreeable to the Revealed Will of God II. Which doth offer fairest for the Benefit and Advantage of Mankind I. Which is most agreeable to the Revealed Will of God For that we are sure is the most faithfull saying since Men of Wit and Reason may deceive us but God cannot When the Apostles first preached this Doctrine to the World they were not bound to believe what they affirmed to be a faithfull saying till they gave sufficient Evidence of their Authority from God by the wonderfull Assistance of the Holy Ghost But now this faithfull saying is contained in the Books of the New Testament by which we are to judge of the Truth of all Christian Doctrines And when two different Senses of Places of Scripture are offer'd we are to consider which is most Reasonable to be preferr'd And herein we are allow'd to Exercise our Reason as much as we please and the more we do so the sooner we shall come to Satisfaction in this matter Now according to Reason we may judge that Sense to be preferr'd 1. Which is most plain and easie and agreeable to the most received Sense of Words not that which is forced and intricate or which puts improper and metaphorical Senses upon Words which are commonly taken in other Senses especially when it is no Sacramental thing which in its own Nature is