Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	authority_n	church_n	reason_n	1,519	5	4.9993	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A02912	An advertisement or admonition, unto the congregations, vvhich men call the new fryelers in the lowe Countries, wrirten [sic] in Dutche. And publiched in Englis. VVherein is handled 4. principall pointes of religion. 1. That Christ tooke his flesh of Marie, haveing a true earthly, naturall bodie, 2. That a Sabbath or day of rest, is to be kept holy everie first day of the weeke. 3. That ther is no succession, nor privilege to persons in the holie thinges. 4. That magistracie, being an holy ordinance of God, debarreth not anie from being of the Church of Christ. After these followes certen demandes concerning Gods decree of salvation and condemnation.	Helwys, Thomas, 1550?-1616?	1611 (1611)	STC 13053; ESTC S116912	57,734	190

these wordes might cōvince you all of your error in this point and they shall condemne you all if you repent not of your reaching and stiftly mainteyning that these Ministers of god retayning this their Office from god may not be members of the Church of Christ Hearken to their Office or ministery yet againe It is to punish evill doers and to reward or praise them that do well in which holy administration they are like vnto god and in applieing them selves faithfullie therein they do the worke that is proper to god for to execute justice vpon the wicked and shewe mercie vnto them that do well is the divine propertie and worke of god and so farr as the lord hath comitted auctoritie to Magistrats to administer therein they do the proper worke of god and therefore doth the holy ghost by the Prophett David speaking of Magistrats say Psal 32.6 I have said yee are gods speaking in respect of the great honor that is due vnto them by their holie Office where vnto he hath appointed them The some scope of that which is heare sett downe in this point is to shewe vnto you that the Appostle doth he●e teach that the Office ministery of Magistrats is an holy Office appointed of god and that the lord requires of Magistrats a diligent willing faithfull obedience which is pleasing vnto the lord the which obedience they preforming vprightly though weakely and fayling in manie thinges as Th-appostle confesseth he all the children of god did Iam. 3.2 yet beleeving the gospell of Iesus Christ and repenting of their sinnes how can it be denyed them to be admitted members of the bodie of Christ Is this a good exception because they are Magistrats why then you except against them because they are the holy ministers of god and do his will in faithfull obedience VVhat a doctrine of devills is this that anie should be denyed to be members of the body of Christ for executing an holie Office appointed of god For further proofe that it is an holy ordinance or office pleasing vnto god it is shewed in that wee are comanded to obey of conscience that is onely in that which is holy good for god forbidd that his children should be tyed of conscience to obey in anie thinge that is vnholy not good Th-appostle shewes heere that the holy ghost intends no such thinge when he saith vers 3. Magistrats are not to be feared for good works and 1. Pet 2.17 Feare god honor the kinge therefore if Magistrats shall comaund anie thinge against god or Godlines the people of god are not bound to obey for this cause Th-appostles when they were comaunded of the Rulers Elders of Israell that in no wise they should speake or teach in the name of Iesus answered whether it be right in the sight of God to obey you rather then god judg yee All this doth still give further proofe that Magistracie is a holy ministery or Office appointed of god onely for good and therefore none bearing that Office or ministery is for that cause to be debarred frō being mēbers of the body of Christ which is his church except men for executing an office comaunded of Christ should be debarred from Christ which is more then madnes for anie that professe Christ to affirme Furthermore hath god by reason of that high power auctoritie which he hath given to Magistrats comaunded such feare such obediēce so great honor to be given vnto them of all men and shall they whome god hath so greatly honored with such auctoritie dignitie power for bearing this honor which god hath putt vpon thē shall they for this be accounted vnworthy to be mēbers of Christes church This is to bring the greatest dishonor that possiblie cā be before god his people vpō that ordinance the ministers thereof vpon which and vpō whome the lord hath putt most honor on for it is a most miserable wretched dishonorable ordināce office or calling that debarrs mē frō being mēbers of Christes body And let all knowe that have anie vnderstāding in the misterie of godlines that if Magistrats ought not to be mēbers of Christs church they cannot be childrē of the kingdome of Christ and if they be not children of the kingdome they cannot be heires of the promisse for those that are worthy to be heires of saluation must needs first be children of the kingdome being begotten by the ●mortall seed of the word and borne a new 1. Pet. 1.23 all such are worthy to be members of Christs Church Therefore if you vnderstand your selves se this to be the end of your opinion That if you denying Magistrates and hold them vnworthy to be members of Christes Church you much more deny them to be worthy of saluatiō for if by reason of their Office they be vnworthie to be of the comuniō of the saintes vpon earth they must nedes thereby much more be made vnworthy to be of the comunion of the Saintes in heavē And thus do you by this your opinion hold and mainteyne that god hath appointed an ordinance and they that are his ministers therein by his owne appointement are by that their Office and ministery debarred of saluation Your sinne herein is no lesse then blasphemy against god in that you charge the most holy to have appointed an ordinance the executing whereof debarrs men from saluation wee hope you do it ignorantly as also your leaders Let not the antiquitie of this your error make it precious vnto you but rather vile and sinne not by tradition after the doctrines of men but be brought to try your waies by the word of god and set his spirit be your teacher and leader into all truth be not led by men for all men are gone out of the way and are full of ignorance error And to make it appeare how you are misledd in this be witched opinion VVe wil come to some of your cheife holdes herein whereof this is one Mat. 20.25.26 Luk. 22.24.25.26 M●k 10.5 45. There arose a strife among Christes disciples which should be the greatest And he said vnto them The kinges of the gentiles reigne over them and they that beare rule over them are called gracious lords but ye shall not be so but let the greatest be as the least and the cheif●st as him that serveth From hence you gather that kings Magistrates that beare rule in the world may not be of the Church To come by the gr●tions direction of the spirit of god vnto a due vnderstanding of this scripture wee must first seeke to knowe wherein the disciples of Christ did seeke to be greater one then another and if they did strive for worldly preferment then may your ground prove partly true but if they did not strive for preferment in the world or worldly preferment then is there no cullor that your collected ground should be true for our saviour Christ his speach is to

sword the which Ordinance if it were not all the Godlie on earth should be destroyed and the most Godly first Now wee know that God is able to defend his without the sword but in that he hath appointed this holy ordinance of Magistracie for the preservation and defence of all good men for the subdueing keeping vnder and cutting of the evill doers let none make the selves more wise and more holie then God which you all do that disaprove of Magistracie Repent for your sinneing with a high hand herein in dishonoring God by disaproveing his holie ordinance of Magistracie which he hath comaunded should be honored with all godly feare reverence and obedience And if you will repent and truely obey god herein then must you being comaunded by the aucthoritie of the Magistracy be ready with your owne persons and all that you have to support defend that sword of justice which they beare and wherewith they administer by that power and aucthoritie which they have from god for who are fitter to support and mainteyne the holy ordinance of god then they that professe to be the children of god and who are fitter to feight iust and good battells then good and iust men and what simplicitie is this to thinke that it is more lawfull to hier men to feight a battle then to feight it them selves The people of Israell that were the people of god never did so but they fought the battles of the lord them selves and thē the lord went farth with their armies and gave them victory over their enimies and put their adversaries to flight and if magistracie be a holy ordinance of God now as it was then it is as lawfull for them to defend their countries and people as it was then and so is it is lawfull for the servants of god and they ought being comaunded by the magistrats to go to warr as well now as then and the servants of god might with better consciences and more comfort 〈◊〉 to battle them selves being comaunded by the higher powers that ●e of god although they died in battle then to hier mē to be slaine for them to whome the cause belonges not There is no religion in this that magistrats by reason of your vnwillingnes to go to battle for the cause of god and for your owne safeties preservation should be forced to hier men to feight for you although you pay for it and in all this you pretend Religion and conscience but it is evident by the word of god that if magistracie be a holie ordinance of god it is to be supported by all holy and good men and meanes And if it be not a holy Ordinance of god then are magistrats but the ministers of god as the devills are then are they not to be obeyed for conscience sake not to be honored for wee are not bound of conscience to honor and obey the power aucthoritie and ministery of devills but to resist it and so Th-appostle Pauls doctrine Rom. 13. and Th-appostle Peters doctrine 1. Pet. 2.3.17 Is all made false and erronious But far be it from anie that have anie touch of true godlines to deny that holy ordinance of magistracie and so to overthrowe the holy doctrines of Th-appostles Let the godly bewarr of such Th-appostle Peter hath foretold of them and of their manner of proceding for First he sheweth that there shal be false teachers which privilie shall bring in damnable heresies even denying the lord that hath bought them and by their followers the way of truth shal be evill spoken of And these are they which shall dispise gouerment which are bould and stand in their owne conceipt and feare not to speake evill of them that are in dignitie 2. Pet. 2 1-10 let vs applie this to the persons and cause in hand These men that most stifely stand against magistracie have they not brought in damnable heresies do they not deny the lord that hath bought them are not these they that deny the true humanitie of Christ denying him to have had a true earthly naturall bodie wherewith he bought them which they that deny or are ignorant of that he had a true naturall earthly bodie they deny and are ignorant that the lord hath bought them VVee will not now speake to the rest of their damnable heresies but to come to this which is one of them they dispise goverment and speake evill of them that are in dignitie Can there be greater dispisers of goverment then they that deny it to be lawfull to punish evill doers with the sword for take away the sword and where is goverment will evill doers be governed with a ●od of reed do wee not see daylie that manie feares not the sword and if the sword of justice were taken away all goverment were overthrowne and can there be greater dispisers of goverment then they that would altogether over throwe it And they speake evill of them that are in dignitie and aucthoritie Do not th●se men speake evill of them when then teach and condemne them for evill doers in their execution of justice against offenders and can they speake greater evill then to say they are 〈◊〉 evill doers as are not worthie to be members of the Church of Christ what greater evill 〈◊〉 ●●tempt can be cast vpon them both before God and 〈◊〉 people 〈◊〉 hereby they are absolutely 〈◊〉 to be the ministers of god but ●s the devills are Can there greater evill be spoken then this To make it more plaine that you which touch these thinges against Magistracy are these false The achers that the Appostle Peter heere speaketh of This is one ●peciall ma●ke that you do it privilie for can false 〈…〉 teach more privilie then you that teach this 〈◊〉 you do not vnderstand teaching privily to be in corners and privie places Th appostle she 〈…〉 meaning 〈◊〉 for he speakes of bringing in heresies privily in teaching of doctrine and is not this heresie against Magistrats most privily brought in vnder a culler from our Saviour Christs owne words where he saith It shall not be so among you And from Th-appostles words The weapons of our warfare are not carnall Is it not privily done to wrest the scriptures so deceitfully from a shewe of words leaving the true sence of the place and hereby concluding most privilie and deceitfully that Magistrats bearing the sword may not be of the kingdome of Christ not of his Church but let that suffice which is spoken before of the misvnderstanding of these Scriptures And see further how vnder this first damnable heresie of denying Magistrats to be of the Church most privily is this heresie brought in that Magistracie is vtterly vnlawfull and all that is done by the power and aucthoritie thereof is sinne for as wee have shewed there is nothinge but sinne debarrs anie from being members of Christs Church they then that hold that Magistracie debarrs men from being members of Christs Church must needs hold that