Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A30153
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A holy life, the beauty of Christianity, or, An exhortation to Christians to be holy by John Bunyan.
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Bunyan, John, 1628-1688.
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1684
(1684)
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Wing B5537; ESTC R30867
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84,448
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237
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A HOLY LIFE THE BEAUTY OF Christianity OR An EXHORTATION to CHRISTIANS to be HOLY By JOHN BUNYAN Holiness becomes thy House O Lord for ever LONDON Printed by B. W. for Benj. Alsop at the Angel and Bible in the Poultry 1684. AN INTRODUCTION To the following DISCOURSE WHen I write of Justification before God from the dreadful curse of the Law then I must speak of nothing but Grace Christ the Promise and Faith but when I speak of our Justification before Men then I must joyn to these good Works For Grace Christ and Faith are things invisible and so not to be seen by another otherwise than through a life that becomes so blessed a Gospel as has declared unto us the remission of our sins for the sake of Jesus Christ. He then that would have Forgiveness of Sins and so be delivered from the Curse of God must believe in the Righteousness and Blood of Christ but he that would shew to his Neighbours that he hath truly received this Mercy of God must do it by good Works for all things else to them is but talk As for example A Tree is known to be what it is to wit whether of this or that kind by it's Fruit. A Tree it is without Fruit but so long as it so abideth there is ministred occasion to doubt what manner of Tree it is A Professor is a Professor though he hath no good Works but that as such he is truly godly he is foolish that so concludeth Not that Works make a Man good for the Fruit maketh not a good Tree it is the Principle to wit Faith that makes a Man good and his works that shew him to be so What then why all Professors that have not good Works flowing from their Faith are naught are Bramble-bushes are nigh unto Cursing whose end is to be burned For Professors by their fruitlesness declare that they are not of the planting of God nor the Wheat but Tares and Children of the Wicked one Not that Faith needeth good works as an help to Justification before God For in this matter Faith will be ignorant of all good Works except those done by the Person of Christ. Here then the good Man worketh not but believeth for he is not now to carry to God but to receive at his Hand the matter of his Justification by Faith nor is the matter of his Justification before God ought else but the good deeds of another Man to wit Christ Jesus But is there therefore no need at all of good Works because a Man is justified before God without them or can that be called a justifying Faith that has not for its Fruit good Works Verily good works are necessary though God need them not nor is that Faith as to Justification with God worth a rush that abideth alone or without them There is therefore a twofold Faith of Christ in the World and as to the notion of Justifying Righteousness they both concur and agree but as to the manner of application there they vastly differ The one to wit the non-saving faith standeth in speculation and naked knowledg of Christ and so abideth idle but the other truly seeeth and receives him and so becometh Fruitful And hence the true justifying Faith is said to receive to imbrace to obey the Son of God as tendred in the Gospel by which expressions is shewed both the nature of Justifying Faith in its actings in point of Justification and also the cause of its being full of good Works in the World A gift is not made mine by my seeing of it or because I know the nature of the thing so given but then it is mine if I receive and imbrace it yea and as to the point in hand if I yield my self up to stand and fall by it Now he that shall not only see but receive not only know but imbrace the Son of God to be justified by him cannot but bring forth good Works because Christ who is now received and imbraced by Faith leavens and seasons the Spirit of this Sinner through his Faith to the making of him capable so to be Faith made Sarah receive Strength to conceive Seed and we are Sanctified through Faith which is in Christ. For Faith hath joyned Christ and the Soul together and being so joyned the Soul is one Spirit with him not essentially but in agreement and oneness of design Besides when Christ is truly received and imbraced to the justifying of the sinner in that Mans Heart he dwels by his Word and Spirit through the same Faith also Now Christ by his Spirit and Word must needs season the Soul he thus dwells in so then the Soul being seasoned it seasoneth the Body and Body and Soul the Life and Conversation We know it is not the Seeing but taking of a potion that maketh it work as it should nor is the Blood of Christ a Purge to this or that Conscience except received by Faith Shall that then be counted right believing in Christ unto justification that amounts to no more than to an idle speculation or naked knowledg of him shall that knowledg of him I say be counted such as only causes the Soul to behold hold but moveth it not to good Works No verily For the true beholding of Jesus to justification and Life changes from glory to glory Nor can that Man that hath so believed as that by his Faith he hath received and imbraced Christ for Life before God be destitute of good works for as I said the Word and Spirit comes also by this Faith and dwels in the Heart and Conscience now shall a Soul where the Word and Spirit of Christ dwels be a Soul without good Works Yea shall a Soul that has received the Love the Mercy the Kindness Grace and Salvation of God through the Sorrows Tears Groans Cross and Cruel Death of Christ be yet a Fruitless Tree God forbid This faith is as the Salt which the Prophet cast into the Spring of bitter Water it makes the Soul good and serviceable for ever If the receiving of a temporal Gift naturally tends to the making of us to move our Cap and Knee and binds us to be the Servant of the Giver shall we think that Faith will leave him who by it has received Christ to be as unconcerned as a Stock or Stone or that it 's utmost excellency is to provoke the Soul to a lip-labour and to give Christ a few fair Words for his Pains and Grace and so wrap up the business No no the Love of Christ constraineth us thus to judge that it is but reasonable since he gave his all for us that we should give our some for him Let no Man then deceive himself as he may and will if he takes not heed with true Notions but examine himself concerning his Faith to wit Whether he hath any and if some Whether of that kind that will turn to
thy self First Those that religiously name the name of Christ should must depart from iniquity because else our profession of him is but a lie If we say we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness we lie And walk in darkness that is and walk in iniquity and depart from a life that is according to the course of this World He that saith I know him and keepeth not his commandments is a lyer and the truth is not in him The truth that he professes to know and that he saith he hath experience of is not in him Every man that nameth the name of Christ is not therefore a man of God nor is the word in every mans mouth truth though he makes profession of that worthy name It is then truth in him and to others with reference to him when his mouth and his life shall agree Men may say they are Apostles and be lyers they may say they are Jews that is Christians and lie and be lyers and lie in so saying Now this is the highest kind of lying and certainly must therefore work the saddest sort of effects Thus mans best things are lies His very saying I know him I have fellowship with him I am a Jew a Christian is a lie His life giveth his mouth the lie and all knowing men are sure he lies 1. He lies unto God he speaks lies in the presence and to the very face of God Now this is a daring thing I know their lies saith he and shall he noâ— recompence for this See these Scriptures in the Margent and take heed I speak to you that religiously name the name of Christ and yet do not depart from iniquity 2. He lies unto men every knowing man every man that is able to judge of the tree by the fruit knows that that man is a lier and that his whole profession as to himself is a lie if he doth not depart from iniquity Thus Paul called the slow bellies the unsound professors among the Cretians liers They were so in his eyes for that their profession of the name of Christ was not seconded with such a life as became a people professing godliness They did not depart from iniquity But again 3. Such a man is a lier to his own soul. What ever such an one promiseth to himself his soul will find it a lie There be many in the world that profess the name of Christ and consequently promise their soul the injoyment of that good that indeed is wrapt up in him but they will certainly be mistaken hereabout and with the greatest terror will find it so when they shall hear that direful sentence Depart from me all ye workers of iniquity Christ is resolved that the loose-lived prâ—fessor shall not stand in the judgment nor any such sinners in the congregation of the righteous They have lied to God to men and to themselves but Jâ—sus then will not lie unto them He will plainly tell them that he hath not known them and that they shall not abide in his presence But Secondly Those that religiously name the name of Christ should depart from iniquity else as they are liers in their profession so they are self-deceivers I told you but now such lie to themselves and so consequently they deceive themselves But be ye doers of the word not hearers only deceiving your own selves 'T is a sad thing for a man in and about eternal things to prove a deceiver of others but for a man to deceive himself his own self of eternal life this is saddest of all Yet there is in man a propenseness so to do Hence the Apostle says be not deceived and let no man deceive himself And again If any man among you seem to be religious and bridleth not his tongue but deceiveth his own heart this mans Religion is vain These words But deceiveth his own heart I have much mused about for they seem to me to be spoken to shew how bold and prodigiously desperate some men are who yet religiously name the name of Christ desperate I say at self deceiving He deceiveth his own heart he otherwayes perswadeth it than of its own self it would go Ordinarily men are said to be deceived by their hearts but here 's a man that is said to deceive his own heart flattering it off from the scent and dread of those convictions that by the word sometimes it hath been under perswading of it that there needs no such strictness of life be added to a profession of Faith in Christ as by the Gospel is called for or that since Christ has died for us and rose again and since salvation is alone in him we need not be so concerned or be so strict to matter how we live This man is a self deceiver he deceives his own heart Self deceiving and that about spiritual and eternal things specially when men do it willingly is one of the most unnatural unreasonable and unaccountable action in the world 1. It is one of the most unnatural actions For here a man seeks his own ruin and privily lurks for his own life We all cry out against him that murthers his Children his Wife or his own body and condemn him to be one of those that has forgot the rules and love of nature But behold the man under consideration is ingaged in such designs as will terminate in his own destruction he deceiveth his own soul. 2. This is also the most unreasonable act there can no cause nor crum of cause that has the least spark or dram of reason or of any thing that looks like reason be shewen why a man should deceive himself and bereave his soul of eternal life Therefore 3. Such men are usually passed over with astonishment and silence Be astonished O Heavens at this and be ye horribly afraid for my people have committed two evils they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters and hewed them out Cisterns broken Cisterns that can hold no water But above all This as to this head is the most amazing place where 't is said that the self deceiver makes his self deceiving his sport Sporting themselves with their own deceivings These are a people far gone to be sure that are arrived to such an height of negligence carelesness wantonness and desparateness of spirit as to take pleasure in and make a sport of that which will assuredly deceive them forever But this is the fruit of professing of Christ and of not departing from iniquity The wisdom and judgment of God is such as to give such over to the sporting of themselves in their own deceivings Thirdly Those that religiously name the name of Christ should depart from iniquity because of the scandal that will else assuredly come upon Religion and the things of Religion through them Upon this head I may begin to write with a sigh For never more of this kind than now There is no place where