Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	law_n	new_a	testament_n	2,758	5	8.1711	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A39064	An Expedient for peace amongst Christians. The second part grounded on the impossibility of their agreement in matters of religion : and further enlarged in a discourse of church and state : wherein a new ecclesiastical administration is exhibited.		1689 (1689)	Wing E3872A_VARIANT; ESTC R31481	31,841	51

himself against another when another is concerned he is a party and therefore cannot be Judge But all the several Sects and Societies of Christians are Parties therefore cannot be Judges neither can Reason Scripture Tradition Fathers Councils c. be Judges being interpreted by Parties neither is there a Judge on Earth but is a Party Our Agreement therefore must be concluded to be impossible and our Differences left to be judged by the God of Heaven who is only sufficient and competent for Judgment From this Impossibility therefore of a material Agreement proved from the infinite variety of humane Understandings as men and from the infinite difficulty of things as Christians I would lay a Foundation for a formal Agreement integral and compleat in all its parts towards God and towards Man but a further improvment I shall reserve to the foot of my Discourse and make Answer to a very necessary Question which may be asked me viz. Amidst so great Indeterminations and Irresolutions of men amidst so many Plausibilities and Probabilities and infinite Pretentions to Truth what Measures must Men take or what Rule must they walk by To which I answer That 's a Reason which convinces and that 's an Argument which perswades and that 's a good Sermon which makes men better besides those which are the best in their kind and in their own nature really so and he has understood Councils and Fathers and Scriptures right who understands them in a sense which assists him to mortifie a Lust crush an evil Affection or make him a better Man although he understand them wrong and differing from the original Intent and 't is possible for a man to understand wrong yet live right to be convinced by a slender Reason a weak Argument and edified by an ordinary Sermon Every one of these though not the best in their kind yet are equivalent to the best if they produce the Effect of the best And this will put a Check to a great Evil there is in the World viz the extravagant Commendation of Preachers Books and Discourses raised often to that height that Charity is infringed and the Peace endangered Why must the greatest and most sublime Reasons be pressed upon me when one of a lesser magnitude doth convince me And I be forced to hear and may be vilified for not commending such a Brave Preacher when one of another stile and another Method doth more operate upon me and give me better Satisfaction There is a necessity that Truth should be served no and addressed to men in various and differing VVays and Methods because there are Men of various and differing Understandings to be wrought upon and hereby all Books Comments and Discourses infinitely differing one from another according to the differing Capacities and Apprehensions of their Authors become useful and profitable And this in a great measure may serve for answer to the Question but that which must make it compleat is an honest Heart and sincere Endeavours of finding out the Truth and a ready and willing Disposition to comply with it when found And when men have done their best to please God and find out the Truth as every Party of Christians say they do if they mistake they mistake like Men and God will never punish them for it for that would be to punish them for doing their best which ought to be far from the thoughts of every good Christian so that 〈◊〉 they be not 〈◊〉 yet they may be safe safe I say from the Displeasure and Punishment of their Maker thought not of their Fellow-Creatures For when men have been diligent honest and sincere and used their utmost Endeavours to find out the Truth please God and save their Souls in comes an armed Band of humane Sanctions Laws Penalties and Compulsion to drive them out of this way which they have judged and pitched upon to be the only true way to Salvation which brings me to the second Head to be discoursed of in order to the Peace of Christendom and that is Law which I shall publickly and solemnly arrest as the grand Enemy and Disturber thereof For in the name of the King of Peace what has Law to do in Religion Religion ought to be the most free most voluntary and unconstrained thing in the World he that ministers in it ought to do it freely and willingly I and he that performs any Action in it ought to choose it and be fully convinced and satisfied in his Mind and no Method ought to be used either in the Administration or Propagation but Argument Reason and Discourse and it must be acknowledged as a most certain Truth That if the whole World joyn together to make a Law this Law cannot make a Reason a good Reason or an Argument a good Argument or make any Proposition either true or false and if we ask any party of Christians why they use such a Method or such a way in Religion Their Answer is Because they think it true Since Truth then is and ought to be the Standard and Measure by which men ought to determine their Choice and since it is most certain that Law cannot make or determine Truth Law by a plain and necessary consequence must be judged useless in Religion Again If Actions are not voluntary and Religion be not chosen there will be no Grounds lest for either Rewards or Punishments Nil ardet in Inferno nisi propria voluntas nothing burns in Hell but a Man's Will 'T is the VVill that makes men criminal and subject to be rewarded or punished but when there is a Law there is no Room lest either to will or to choose but it comes with a must with Authority and Power and puts both Religion our Wil and Choice out of doors And here one may easily discover the Paw of the Grand Imposter and Enemy of Mankind who when he foresaw what great Advantages the Religion of the Holy Jesus would bring to the Sons of Men by a sly and crafty Device spirited away the True Babe and left us a Changeling in his room he stole away Religion and left us a Law and so effectually brought about his cursed Designs and ruin'd us But further amongst Protestant Christians Law is the most absurd and vain thing in the world for they do and that truly acknowledge the Books of the Old and New Testament to be the Only Rule of Faith containing full and ample Instructions how to Worship God and perform all necessary Actions in Religion also that men in common are able to understand interpret and judge of these Books Now if these be their Rule and only Rule what have they to do with Law which is another Rule Our Saviour faith His Toke is easie his Burden light But Law is a Tyrant and Usurper of Christian Priviledges and lays on heavy Burdens contrary to the sweet and gentle Methods of the Gospel it neither is nor ought to be a Rule to Christians in their Religion and in things