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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	faith_n	word_n	write_v	2,460	5	5.5381	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A53932	Sound doctrine, or, The doctrine of the Gospel about the extent of the death of Christ being a reply to Mr. Paul Hobson's pretended answer to the author's Fourteen queries and ten absurdities : with a brief and methodicall compendium of the doctrine of the Holy Scriptures ... : also of election and reprobation ... : whereunto is added the fourteen queries and ten absurdities pretended to be answered by Mr. Paul Hobson, but are wholly omitted in his book.	W. P. (William Pedelsden); Hobson, Paul.	1657 (1657)	Wing P1046; ESTC R30088	45,061	64

Sound Doctrine OR The Doctrine of the GOSPEL about the extent of the Death Of CHRIST Being A REPLY To Mr. Paul Hobson's pretended Answer to the Author's Fourteen Queries and ten Absurdities With A brief and Methodical COMPENDIUM of the Doctrine of the Holy Scriptures clearing up the riches of Gods love to all mankinde and his desires to save them that yet wilfully perish Also Of ELECTION and REPROBATION whereon they do depend and how the Objections against the Truth hereof may be Answered Whereunto is added The fourteen Queries and ten Absurdities pretended to be Answered by Mr. Paul Hobson but are wholly omitted in his Book LONDON Printed for Richard Moon at the seven Stars in Paul's Church-yard 1657. To the Church of Christ at NEWCASTLE in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ THe grace of our Lord be multiplied upon you all and strengthen you in every good word and work You may remember that one Mr. Paul Hobson who professeth and preaches up that faith which teaches a man to doubt whether Christ died for him or no did write a little book by way of Answer to the fourteen Queries and ten Absurdities which I presented unto him Which book I thought I was bound to answer for the sake of truth because he doth labour by so many subtilties to overthrow the very foundation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ And indeed had there not been an urgent necessity compelling me thereto I should not have undertaken such a task being I confess very unable to manage so great a work in such a publick manner which I have done though according to truth and my best endeavours yet not without some fears lest my weakness should disadvantage the righteous and undoubted cause I have in hand I had also another discouragement upon my spirit when I considered how many most excellent works are now in Print already about this subject so far transcending what I could say Notwithstanding I was perswaded to adventure upon this consideration That if I should have buried all in silence many of the Lords people might have stumbled and fallen from the truth of the Gospel and the adversaries thereof would have triumphed and so have hardned their necks more and more against the light of the glory of God shining forth to all the world in the face of Jesus Christ I desire you dear Brethren to accept this my small and first work of this nature in right good part and seriously peruse it over with an attentive eye I have endeavoured as much brevity as would stand with plainness If any thing at first reading seem-strange to you read it over again I have not willingly erred in any thing in this work that I know of I desire you to shroud this little Tract under your protection for it is not like to be the safer for being innocent I mean i' th' world it was not the modesty of Susanna that was able to secure her from the inditement of the Elders and 't was the innocency of Joseph that made his Mistriss pronounce him guilty But ye unto whom God hath given a spirit of discerning between truth and errour I trust will defend this little book because it labours to deffend the truth I pray God of heaven to encrease in you all vertuous and sound Principles that from thence may spring and also encrease a holy and Godly conversation more and more until we come to be perfect before our God in Sion This is the earnest request of Yours in the Lord Jesus W.P. To the Reader Courteous READER DAyly experience makes me sensible that the Devil never wanted cunning inventions to court men to the imbracing of false Doctrine and most commonly such false Doctrine whose natural tendency is to carry on the great design of Satan in the world to wit ungodliness and unholiness of life and conversation For he always labours to counter-plot the Alnighty in all his designs We may observe throughout the whole stream of Gods word Gods great design is to destroy the works of the devil that is sin and to make men holy to the end that he might make them happy Now Satan that arch-enemy of mankind be seeketh above all things to hinder this work for by hindring righteousness he knows he shall hinder the happiness of Gods creatures and because he well perceives that Gods design is to promote the work of righteousness in all people that so he might make all happy Satan there projecteth alwayes to counter-plot God labouring to promote sin in all that so he might promote the misery of all men So large as Gods love extendeth in endeavouring to save even so far also doth the envy of the Devil extend in his endeavors to damne And for as much as God hath tied himself that he will not work Physically upon man nor irresistibly but by gentle perswasions upon hopes of glory and feares of punishment and the devil hath not power to work otherwise then by alurements and promises and threatnings which he is not able to perform I say because God will not and the devil cannot work upon man otherwise then by perswasions therefore it comes to passe that all men are neither saved nor damned but onely those saved that are willing to let the Lord work on them and also are willing to work with him in purifying and cleansing themselves from sin and onely those damned that refusing Gods work do yield themselves to the working and works of Satan Now these things though they are most plain truth and do sure right well with good reason justice and equity yet they are much opposed by too many in our dayes whose ●eal is too great for their knowledge I desire thee most Kinde Reader to read this little Book seriously and weigh it 〈…〉 the balance of Truth and sound Reason and see whe●● 〈◊〉 I have not spoken to thy reason and search those Scrip●●●●● which I have quoted if they be not to the purpose in 〈◊〉 and whether my design be not to magnifie the amplitude of Gods grace to sinners by which they are undoubtedly excited to amendment of life upon a sure and certain hope of glory and not upon any uncertain sound of the Gospel As they do that limit the general promises of the Gospel unto a few onely and without condition making an unknown and secret decree of Election to be the ground of their faith and so 't is no marvel if their faith be unstedfast and full of fears and doubts when the foundation of it is no better But I will detain thee no longer from the book itself lest I should make my Porch too big for the Cottage to which it leadeth But I commit thee to the guidance of God in the reading hereof that thou mayst not onely be brought to the acknowledging of those truths herein contained but also and chiefly that thou mayest in the power and and strength thereof live according to that grace of God which bringeth his

your threefold distinction of Acts 1. The life or vertue of the Act 2. The fruit of the Act 3. The form of the Act Whether or no you do understand these or out of whose Book you ●ad them doth not concern me much to examine But this I am sure of That as 't is most ridiculously alleadged for this thing so your inference from it is false for you say by the help of your foolish distinction That Abraham was really a Father of many Nations when the promise was first propounded and Christ really slain when he was first promised which is most untrue and it doth destroy the life and vertue of the actual crucifixion of Christ and the life and power of our Gospel for our Christ crucified sixteen hundred and odd yeers ago is by your silly distinction made to be a thing of little or no value the life and vertue of it having been before you say and Election also done and made sure before time Oh impudence in a superlative degree I fear you are a man that loves novel that I say not frivolous distinctions why cannot you content your self with our ancient and known distinctions when they are good why cannot we say That Abraham was a Father of Nations and Christ was slain as soon as the promise was made in posse but not in esse or in a promise but not in performance and That persons are elected before the world was in purpose but yet with respect to their being in Christ and perseverance in good ways unto the end as hath been already declared more fully A second Objection 1 Pet. 1.2 Elect according to the fore-knowledge of God through sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience Vnto which is joyned 2 Thess. 2.13 which place saith That we are elected through or by the means of sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the Truth c. In your answering and opposing of this you do grant the thing you plead against for you say pagine 45. That Sanctification and belief of the Truth or Obedience is the way or means to accomplish that end unto which Election deth intend And unto this I agree That Faith and Obedience is the way and means unto the End that is eternal Life Let me therefore ask you whensoever means is appointed unto an end if the means be not used can the end be accomplished ●… if perseverance in holiness be the way and means unto life that without it no man can attain thereto what doth your unconditional that I say not nonsensical Election avail or amount to So that I may say with Esdras 2 Esdras 7.5 6 7. A city being built and set upon a broad field full of all good things and the entrance to it narrow and very dangerous c. If saith 〈◊〉 now this city were given to a man for an inheritance if he never pass the danger set before it how shall he receive this inheritance Read also unto the 26 verse of that Chapter If against this some captious Critick should say This is not canonical Scripture I answer I do not say 't is onely then let it pass as the sayings of good Men for its greatest opposers do confess That the Books called Apocrypha are to be preferred before any other humane writings whatsoever yet truely I must say I do not yet see the Reason why they are rejected since that the Ancients have had them in equal esteem with other Scriptures and in the old English Bible the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah being called by the same name as if one man had wrote them all four But this by the by The third Objection No men can be elected in Christ till they be in Christ but no men are in Christ till they believe or trust in Christ For the elect Ephesians were once out of Christ Eph. 2.11 12. Your Answer to this is Men are said to be truely and really in Christ two wayes but you do not tell where 't is said so unless in your Book First by Election and so we are all you say in Christ What! hath the man forgot himself are all in Christ by Election I do not know where to finde you even now you were for Election of a few and now you say pag 47. By Election we are all in Christ he being the publick person in whom all elections were comprehended and then in the next word you seem to be against it again for there you say All the Elect are really in him before they are brought forth Unto all which I shall make no Reply there being in your words nothing of sense at all But in the 48 page you say You agree with us That men before they are called are without God without hope and by nature the children of wrath as well as others Eph. 2.3 and yet for all this you say They were in Christ by election before O wonder of wonders what a man really in Christ and yet at the same time a childe of wrath yea as much a childe of wrath as others too for so saith the Text To countenance this you say Christ would not else have said Joh. 10.16 Other sheep I have which are not of this fold them will I bring in But what is this to your purpose All this doth not prove nor will you nor any other man be able unto the dayes of eternity to prove that these or any others are really Sheep or elect ones before conversion though in Scripture fore-called so for the Scripture fore-seeing their Faith and Obedience which they will have towards God doth fore-tell also of their election and good acceptance with God at that day and that is as much as can reasonably be inferred from thence But you say There is also an outward being in Christ that men may be in and fall according to these Scriptures Joh. 15.2 6. 1 Joh. 2.10 1 Tim. 1.19.20 But you will not speak to that you say if you will not I purpose to speak to it in due time and shall make it appear That there may be a falling from true Grace and from Christ after true ingrafting into him and that falling away you mention John 15. is so too for Christ there speaks to his own Disciples who you will confess were truely in Christ yet if they did not abide in him should be cast forth as a branch and withered and burnt c. In the next place you say We have some other Objections about trusting in Christ and believing in Christ But you say You have said enough to it already I think so too and too much unless 't were truer Next you come to the sixth thing i. e. That the publishing of the forementioned priviledges of the Gospel is God's way or means to produce Faith and other Gospel-Obedience in the hearts of his own But in this there is you say little difference between you and I. I think so too unless herein you say 'T is God's way to produce Faith in his