Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	act_n	faith_n	justification_n	3,419	5	9.8335	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A40076	Dirt wipt off, or, A manifest discovery of the gross ignorance, erroneousness and most unchristian and wicked spirit of one John Bunyan ... which he hath shewed in a vile pamphlet publish'd by him, against The design of Christianity ...	Fowler, Edward, 1632-1714.	1672 (1672)	Wing F1701; ESTC R8698	59,846	88

another thing in p. 70. that I 'le bestow two or three lines upon He there tells Mr. F. that he will have a little touch upon his Principle of Freedom which saith he you in p. 9. call an Understanding and Liberty of Will Observe his non-sense again But what is it Mr. F. there saith that offends this man 'T is this that he supposeth men indued with Understanding and Liberty of Will Now proceeds he there is no such thing in man by nature as liberty of will or a principle of freedom in the saving things of the Kingdom of Christ. But 1. Mr. F. saith never a word of liberty of will as to those things but only supposeth this in general that man is indued with liberty of will And this he himself supposeth in denying it only as to the Saving things of Christ's Kingdom 2. He limits that too and saith there is no such thing in man by nature as to those things will he therefore acknowledge there is such a thing in man by grace If he will not that limitation is ridiculous but if he will he is never like to have Mr. F. for his Adversary in this point nor any of his judgment He hath declared in the book several times cited p. 239. that the men of his judgment hold no free will that is opposite to free grace and acknowledgeth in the next page the necessity not only of assisting but also of preventing grace And now let the Reader judg whether Mr. F. hath written the least tittle contrary to any one of the 39 Articles of the Church of England and particularly to those there concerning Free-will Iustification and Works before Faith which in general terms he hath charg'd him with without shewing wherein he hath done it though I acknowledg if he hath not abused Mr. F's Book that his accusation is no slander But he is to his perpetual infamy most sensibly demonstrated to have bewrayed most woful ignorance and notorious dishonesty and ill nature besides the foulest erroniousness in what he hath published against The Design of Christianity But 't is pleasant to observe that this wretch who abominates any thing if one may judg by his rude behaviour that bareth the name of the Church of England should cite three of her Articles as main Orthodoxy's in order to the more effectual defaming of Mr. Fowler This is just like the Devils making use of Scripture to assist him in his malicious designs against our Saviour Lastly He falls to compare Mr. F's Doctrine with Campian's the Jesuite and Pen's the Quaker and makes a parallel between several of his Sayings with Seven of the former and Eight of the latter By the way take notice that this lamentable piece of work is the labour of more clumsy Brains than this poor I. B's For First How should he come by Sayings out of Campian but Secondly which is more considerable he hath a company of Terms and Phrases that he was never in a capacity of understanding as Commixed Radicals Abstract Replication c. derived from the Latin Again Characteristical Diametrical Parenthesis Paragraph c. borrowed from the Greek Language And he is up with his arguing from a thing to a thing habit and act which smell of one whose name hath had the honour to stand a little while in a Colledge Buttery Book and that had the luck sometimes to hear his Masters chopping Logick together For I 'le warrant him who ever was I. B's fellow-labourer in this worthy performance is a fellow that never was under a much higher dispensation And 't is he I presume that hath helpt our Author to his after-conclusions p. 9. as if there were fore-conclusions Thirdly The whole is a motly thing piec't and patch't together as if it were the product of not so few as two but a Club of Wise-akers But yet all that understand I. B's manners ability and temper will accuse me as injurious should I rob him of the honour of the down-right non-sense knavery Calumnies and vile language which make a very great if not the far greater part of the Pamphlet But to our business that is to the parallel between Mr. F's doctrine and a few Sayings of the Papist and Quaker set down by him to which I reply in a few words I know not whether this I. B. hath not as falsly represented these mens Sayings as it hath been proved he hath done many of Mr. F's I have neither of the Books to examine the matter nor have I ever read either and therefore I cannot accuse him but he hath been proved so very notoriously dishonest in this particular that he ought never more to be trusted upon his own word But suppose he hath not too favourably represented any of them the Reader will see if he compares them with the Sayings of Mr. F. set under them that he abuseth most of these in making a parallel between them as I would particularly shew but that it will take up too much time and any man of understanding that hath his book will immediately perceive that I charge him truly But Mr. F. I am sure will not stick to acknowledge that there may be put upon most of them such a sense as may speak them good and true sayings As where Campian saith that Faith justifies but not faith only this is no other than what S. Iames affirms in express words chap. 2. 24. And Mr. F's doctrine is that faith if it be taken for a mere relyance on Christ's Righteousness which is but one act of faith doth not only justifie but if it be understood so as to include the receiving of Christ according to all his offices or for an obediential faith so it doth only justifie That is as hath been shewn again and again not as a meritorious cause but as a condition He abhors to assert with the Papists the merit of works nor doth he affirm that works are a necessary condition of justification but as they are virtually in faith for he every where makes a true and sincere willingness to obey Christs precepts which is implyed in Faith the necessary condition of justification There is not an Heretick in the world but hath some good Sayings this I. B. himself as grosly erroneous as he is is not out in every thing And no wise man will love truth one jot the worse for hearing it from the Devils mouth And I freely declare that if the Papists and Quakers did assert no worse things than those I. B. hath cited and withal understood them as he by his parallel makes them to do I would as heartily defend the principles of both as I now oppose them Every body knows that understands these men that this I. B. and his Brethren joyn hands both with Quakers and Papists in not a few Opinions and Practices as they are enemies to the Church of England but doth he think himself and them one jot the more hereticks upon that account

in this matter there is but a notional difference between these two it having been shewn that Christ as a Saviour designs our holiness his Salvation being chiefly that from the worst of Evils sin Canst thou think Reader that Mr. F. deserves to be accused as Popishly affected in this point Are all those Papists in the Doctrine of justification that deny a dead Faith to be the condition of it and doth not S. Iames say that Faith without works is dead And if a living Faith justifies is it Popery to say that it justifies as 't is a living Faith I am sure 't is non-sense to say otherwise Doth Mr. F. any where contrary to the Apostle Paul assert the merit of Works no he makes works or a working Faith only a necessary condition of justification as S. Iames doth and all the Apostles and Christ alone to be the meritorious cause of it And he must needs attribute our justification to the free grace of God in Christ when he makes also the condition of it Faith a free gift a grace of God's holy Spirit In short let the Reader consult Mr. F's Free Discourse between two intimate Friends p. 149. to p. 190. and there he shall see his full sense of justifying Faith and the notion given there of it sufficiently defended 2. The other notion Mr. F. in this inference saith the Design of Christianity will give satisfaction concerning is that of the imputation of Christs Righteousness viz. That it consists in dealing with sincerely righteous persons as if they were perfectly so for the sake and upon the account of Christ's Righteousness And he shews that the Doctrine of the Design of Christianity makes it impossible that any other notion of this point should have truth in it But mark what he saith in the close But because both these Points are discussed in the Free Discourse I have said so little of the former and will proceed no farther on this but refer the Reader thither c. Would any one now have imagined but that this I. B. had he the least spark of ingenuity or meant at all honestly would have taken occasion to inform himself throughly from that Discourse concerning Mr. F's judgment in these two points especially and to try the strength of the arguments whereby he there hath confirmed his Doctrine and if he had been sagacious enough to espy flaws in them to make a discovery of them but he takes no more notice of that Book than if there had been none such extant nay though Mr. F. doth several times in the Design of Christianity refer to it This is the Blade that loves to tell the world he is a lover of Truth but if she hath no sincerer friends than he makes it apparent by this and all his other practices he is her case would be most deplorable All that understand this man may safely conclude that he hath as little will as ability to find out and acquaint himself with this precious Jewel But to the next Inference The Fifth Inference chap. 20. That we learn from the Design of Christianity what is the great measure and standard whereby we are to judge of Doctrines both whether they are true or false and in what degree necessary to be received or rejected The Sixth Inference chap. 22. That the Design of Christianity teacheth us what Doctrines and Practices we ought as Christians to be most zealous for or against Those surely that are most available to the begetting and increase of true holiness it is our duty to be most concerned for and those that have the greatest tendency towards the endangering of it to set our selves with the greatest industry against The Seventh Inference chap. 23. That the Design of Christianity well considered will give us great light into the just bounds of our Christian liberty And that that being to make men holy it may safely be presumed that such things as have neither directly nor consequentially any tendency to the depraving our souls are left free to us by our Saviour And 't is shewn that this is only to be understood of such things as the Gospel speaks nothing particularly and clearly concerning The Eighth Inference chap. 24. That 't is a most unaccountable thing to do that which is essentially evil in defence of the Christian Religion or of any opinions presumed to be Doctrines relating thereunto I would J. B. would well lay to heart this I am sure if he had done so when he read it there would have been no occasion for these leavs The Ninth Inference chap. 25. That 't is most unwarrantable for the Ministers of Christ to prefer any design before that of making men really righteous and holy The Tenth Inference chap. 26. That an obedient temper of mind is an excellent and necessary qualification to prepare men for a firm belief and right understanding of Christ's Gospel The Last Inference chap. 27. That we are taught by the Design of Christianity wherein the Essence Power and life of it consisteth viz. in a holy frame and temper of soul whereby it esteemeth God as the chiefest good preferreth him and his Son Jesus before all the world and prizeth above all things an Interest in the Divine perfections such as justice and righteousness universal Charity Goodness Mercy Patience and all kinds of purity From whence doth naturally proceed a hearty complyance with all the holy Precepts of the Gospel and sincere endeavours to perform all those actions which are agreeable to them are necessary expressions of those and the like vertues and means for the obtaining and encrease of them What thinkest thou now Reader canst thou fancy the Design of Christianity to be another Leviathan or rather art thou able to retain any tolerable opinion of that man that calls it so and represents it as such a piece of monstrous Devilism Nay can he himself have such a Brazen Forehead as not to be confounded to think what he hath done upon his reading over if he can be perswaded to it but this short account of that Treatise I pray God give him true Repentance and set home upon his Conscience what hath and shall be farther laid open to his view in this small Pamphlet which if ever he does I am sure he 'l acknowledge that Mr. F. hath given him as little temptation to accuse him so highly as did our blessed Saviour the malicious Pharisees to fasten upon him the imputation of as fearful crimes viz. profane company keeping Treason witchcraft and Blasphemy And who can be so blind as not to see that the only provocation I B. could have to exclaim at such a rate is this that the design of Mr. F's took is utterly to root out that doctrine which is the grand support of wretched hypocrites and which doth infinitely disparage our Blessed Lord Jesus and his glorious Gospel I mean that filthy doctrine of Antinomianism with which this man hath stuffed his sad Scrible and it appears not only

and Tongues leave to be such unruly evils and even helps to fill them with the most deadly poison That puts its professors upon thus persecuting Christ's Ministers for RIGHTEOUSNES sake for the sake of inward and real Righteousness without which nothing can commend a Religion let wretched Hypocrites think never so despicably and basely of it and inveigh never so villainously against those that promote it Thus thou hast seen Reader how this Raging wave like his fellows in S. Iude fometh out his own shame And let him take for an answer to all the same that was given to his Great Master that hath assisted him in this Employment by Michael the Arch-Angel Iude 9. But one word more to this sad object of pity and then I shall have done with him If your Pride and Stomack will not suffer you to make now an acknowledgement of your most wicked behaviour towards Mr. F. and his Treatise as open and publick as you have made your Sin do not so cheat your own Soul as to hope for forgiveness upon any account whatsoever at the hands of God which God for Christ's sake by first qualifying you for it bestow upon you Amen An Abstract of several of the Excellent Propositions contained in that Tract of M. Baxter's wherein he hath defended Mr. Fowlers Design of Christianity His 27th Proposition THe Sum of Holiness and Morality which is all one is the Love of God as God including absolute Resignation and subjection and the love of man and all things for God appearing in them and served by them His 50. Nothing is more sure in Christianity than that Christ came into the world to seek and to save that which was lost and to bring home straying Prodigals to God and to destroy the works of the flesh and Devil and to bring man back to the love and obedience of his Maker and to cure him of his worldly love And so that Holiness or the love of God is the end of our Redemption and our Faith Part of his 51 52 53. We are pardoned what is past that love may make us sin so no more and justification is an antecedent means to our fuller Holiness and obedience to God which I have largely opened in my Confession of Faith It is certain that justification and Sanctification go on hand in hand together and it is a notorious error of such as say that justification is perfect as soon as it begins And it is certain that Sanctification as it is the work of God is one part of the executive pardon of our sins because it is the taking off of a very great penalty which is the privation of the Spirit of Grace His 54. Nothing is more injurious to Christ than to feign that he is a Patron of Sin or came to excuse men by free justification from obedience to their Creators law of Nature or to make sin less odious to Mankind seeing he dyed to redeem us from all iniquity and to purifie to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works His 55. And it is an intolerable Blasphemy against God to imagine that Christ came to make the Divine Nature more friendly or reconcileable to sin or to love complacentially an ungodly person as if he were Godly as being such by the imputation of Christ's Righteousness to him and to repute any man to be what he is not to take a wicked man for a Saint because that Christ was holy for him whatever malicious Papists say the Protestants abhor such Doctrine Therefore John Bunyan is no Protestant His 56. And as far are we from believing that Christ was a sinner or that God ever supposed him to be a Sinner or hated or punished him as a Sinner or that ever our sin did really become his sin or that God reputed it so to have been For no false judgment can belong to God Part of his 57 and 58. But we believe that Christ dyed for our sins as a Sacrifice Ransom Propitiation Attonement c. And though we believe not that God doth judge us to have done all the Righteousness that Christ did nor to have possessed the same individual Righteousness that Christ had for God never erreth nor accounteth us as Righteous as Christ himself nor yet useth us in all respects as he would have done if we had been as Righteous as Christ himself nor do we think it a thing possible that the same individual Righteousness that was in Christ being an accident can be in itself and really given to us and made ours yet do we believe that his habitual perfection with his active Righteousness and his Sacrifice or Sufferings all set together and advanced in value by their conjunction with his Divine Righteousness were the true meritorious procuring cause of our Pardon Justification Adoption Sanctification and Salvation c. And thus Christ's Righteousness is imputed and given to us not immediately in it self but in the effects and fruits As a Ransome is said to be given to a Captive because it is given for him though strictly the Ransome is given to another and only the fruits of it to him His 59. Those Ignorant Self-conceited Contentious Teachers that seek the reputation of Orthodox zeal in the things which they never understood and instead of clear apprehending sound Scripture-doctrine and plainly expounding it to the Church do take on trust and for company false or insignificant confounding notions and proudly make them the instruments of their furious Censures and revilings and of dividing the Church by raising slanders against those that presume to be wiser than they and so by back-biting tell their hearers how erroneous and dangerous this and that man's doctrine is because they never had wisdom study and patience to understand it such I say are the men that in all ages have been the Fire-brands in the Church and zealously promoted Christ's Kingdom by dividing it and will hardly ever have peace here themselves nor endure their Brethrens or the Churches Peace His 65. Those Churches especially that lament the laps of Discipline and the confounding of the holy and profane and those that are constituted by unwarrantable Scrutinies after the holiness of Members beyond the test that was appointed by Christ should not dishonour themselves nor bring their doctrine or persons into suspicion by being the hasty Censurers and condemners of such writings as drive harder for the promoting of holiness than themselves His 67. He knoweth not the hurtful miscarriages of our times who knoweth not what the mistaken notions about free-grace have done against free-grace it self and how the Gospel hath been supplanted by an erroneous crying up the Gospel and crying down the Law and how justification hath been abused by mens seeming to extol it and sanctification injured by such pretexts And he that with one eye looks on that disease and its effects and with the other looks on the Book you tell me of viz. The Design of Christianity and such like will quickly see what Sore this Plaister was provided for and how much excellent matter there is in it which the aforesaid Persons and diseases need Part of his 69. And as to Mr. Fowlers Consectaries or Inferences ch 20. 22 23. what would you wish more accommodate to an honest concord which is our strength and beauty and to the healing of deforming and destroying abuses than the practising the motion that our union be placed in things necessary to holiness c. Whose judgment Reader dost thou think is to be preferred concerning these Inferences whether this worthy able Divine or poor J. B' s. who makes a very Turk of Mr. Fowler upon the account of them Part of his last Proposition To conclude undoubtedly Holiness is the life and beauty of the Soul The Spirit of Holiness is Christ's Agent to do his work in us and our Pledg and earnest and first Fruit of Heaven It is Christ's work and subordinately ours to cleanse us from all filthiness of flesh and Spirit c. Christ the Spirit the Word the Ministry mercies afflictions and all things are to bring home our hearts to God and to work together for our good by making us partakers of his Holiness Our Holiness is our Love of God who is most holy And our Love of God and reception of his Love is our Heaven and everlasting Happiness Thus thou seest Reader that if Mr. Fowler be so Devilish a wretch as I. B. makes him this Learned Divine may shake hands with him Matt. 23. 16 24 26 27 28. Wo unto you ye blind guides which strain at a gnat and swallow a Camel Thou blind Pharisee cleanse first that which is within the Cup and Platter that the outside of them may be clean also Wo unto you Scribes and Pharisees hypocrites c. Ye outwardly appear righteous unto men but within ye are full of Hypocrisie and Iniquity Matt. 15. 14. And if the blind lead the blind both shall fall into the diteh 2 Tim. 3. 8. 9. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses so do these also resist the truth Men of corrupt minds reprobate concerning the Faith But they shall proceed no further for their folly shall be manifest unto all men as theirs also was Read also the foregoing verses THE END ☞ 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 1. 2. 3. 4. 6. 1. * Observe that he chalengeth Mr F. to produce but one piece of a text that in the least looks towards a proof that christ came to restore the holiness we had lost p. 36. and I think I have answered his challenge 2. 3. 4. 5. 7. 1. 2. 8. 9. 1. 2. 10. 1. 11. 12. 13. ●● 14. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.