Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	bear_v	truth_n	witness_n	3,073	5	8.6773	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85387	Cata-baptism: or new baptism, waxing old, and ready to vanish away. In two parts. The former containes LVIII. considerations, (with their respective proofs, and consectaries) pregnant for the healing of the common scruples touching the subject of baptism, and manner of baptizing. The latter, contains an answer to a discours against infant-baptism, published not long since by W.A. under the title of, Some baptismall abuses brielfy discovered, &c. In both, sundry things, not formerly insisted on, are discovered and discussed. / By J.G. a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.	Goodwin, John, 1594?-1665.	1655 (1655)	Wing G1155; Thomason E849_1; ESTC R207377	373,602	521

witnes preacher of it according to what he speaketh else where in the same Phrase 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. For this cause came I into the world that I might bear witnesse to the truth b Ioh. 18. 37 And thus the said Preposition might be rendred and perhaps better then now it is Mat. 15. 24. Col. 1. 20. c vi Redemption redeemed p. 44 and I suppose in severall other places which do not at present occurre According to this construction of the particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the meaning of the exhortation be baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the remission of sins ariseth to this effect Since upon and by means of your repentance you obtain so rich a priviledge as remission of sins is thorow the Lord Iesus be not ashamed to be baptized in his Name i. to own him for your sovereign Lord and master in the face of the world Now 2. That this interpretation of the clause is savourie and Evangelicall is of ready demonstration For what can be more reasonable then that men should publiquely and without being ashamed acknowledge and own him for their Gracious Benefactour for whom they have received favours of high concernment unto them and this in consideration of these worthy favours received And unlesse we shal admit of some such cōstruction of the particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as this Mat. 3. 11. we must make Baptism as well required on mans part to interesse him in Repentance or make impenitents either the only or the best capable subjects of Baptism as well as in remission of sins For here Iohn Baptist saith expresly to the people 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. I indeed baptize you with water FOR OR VNIO REPENTANCE 3. And lastly for this the sence given no wayes disaccommodates the Context any whit more then Mr. A's interpretation it self doth Nor can there any account be given of such a dis-accommodation Sect. 97. 7. Yet once more to the Scripture in hand these words for the remission of sins may be well conceived to relate only to the word Repent in the beginning of the ver●e and the words coming between and be baptized every one of you in the Name of the Lord Jesus to be inserted after the māner of a parenthesis directing the Iews what to do upon their repentance not for the procuring or obtaining the forgivenesse of their sins which as we already shewed from the current of the Scriptures is promised unto repentance not unto Baptism but for a sacred testimonie unto the world that at present they were and as a solemn ingagement upon themselves ever to remain and be the true and loyall Disciples of Iesus Christ 8. Some interpret and be baptized figuratively as if Peter by the sign understood the thing signified or professed by it of which Dialect there are many instances in Scripture According to this interpretation Repent and be baptized is no more then Repent and believe Baptism in capable subjects as all these were to whom Peter now speaks signifying and importing Faith and the profession of it 9. This clause for the remission of sins may be understood in a kind of declarative sence as many such scripture expressions likewise are and so signifie for the secureing or assuring your selves of the remission of your sins It is a true rule that words and phrases which more frequently signifie such or such spirituall priviledges at present obtained by Faith are sometimes used to signifie the actuall and reall fruition of these priviledges and their compleat manifestatiom Thus Rom. 8. 23. even we do sigh in our selves waiting for the ADOPTION c. i. for the full enjoyment or manifestation of our adoption c. So Gal. 5. 5. We thorow the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by Faith i. for the actuall and compleat manifestation and fruition of those good things which we now expect and hope for upon the account of our justification before God by beleeving Thus also Mat. 6. 12 14. Forgivenesse of sins is put for the knowledge comfort or assurance of this forgivenesse to omit other instances of a like dialect Some such sence as this of Remission of sins in the ●cripture before us is very proper for the place because it so fitly agreeth with this part of Peters exhortation and be baptized one speciall use and end of Baptism as Mr. A. himself acknowledgeth and this more then once if I mistake not in this very discourse being to seal ratifie or insure unto men the remission of their sins upon repentance Besides in emphaticallnesse of language wherein the holy Ghost much delighteth also Remission of sins is not it self is not what it may be made unto those in whom it is vested untill it be known unto them and so enjoyed by them This construction of the place maketh not remission of sins it self which is Mr. A's sence but the knowledge comfort or enjoyment of this remission to be dependent at least to a degree upon Water-baptism in conjunction with repentance Though some of the interpretations of the passage Act. 2. 38 39. now insisted on and explained may possibly seem somewhat more hard and scant of satisfaction then their fellows yet is the hardest of them all better comporting with the generall notion and doctrine of the Gospell and no lesse with the words and phrases themselves then that sence which Mr. A. labours in the very fire to fasten on them Lastly for this suppose we that Mr. A's conceit about the meaning of the said Scripture should against Scripture light be admitted yet would neither his Anti-paedo-baptismall conceit nor his conceit about the necessitie of water-dipping receive any incouragement or credit at all hereby Not the latter because here is only mention made of being baptized nothing at all so much as hinted at the greatest distance touching the necessitie of any determinate manner of the performance or reception of it Nor yet the former because 1. from the order of the two duties as they are here exprest and named first Repentance and then being baptized nothing can be concluded for an universall necessitie of the one to precede the other in time there being scarce any thing of more common observation in the Scriptures then that the order of things as well that of time as of nature is here frequently interchanged and that mentioned in the first place which in respect of Order as well the one as the other is latter Joh 3. 5. Water which Mr. A. understands of Baptismall water is mentioned before the Spirit in the work of regeneration Baptizing Mat. 3. 6. is mentioned before confessing of sins yea and ver 11. before repentance Confession with the mouth Rom. 10. 9. is mentioned before beleeving with the heart So the Greek is mentioned before the Jew Colos 3. 11. as the Jew before the Greek Gal. 3. 28. So again joy is mentioned before peace Gal. 5. 22. and

Doctrine stands or falls Mr. A's Doctrine that Baptism appropriately belongs to the pardon of sin upon Repentance c. is a notion quite besides the Scripture-foundation to which it pretends That Baptism is stiled the Baptism of repentance for the remission of sins doth no wayes prove that it appropriately belongs either to pardon of sin or to Repentance or to pardon of sin upon Repentance Yet this he attempts to make good by a second argument give we him a patient hearing of this also Sect. 178. 2. Saith he The love of God is the mediate ground of Baptism so farr only as it relates to or is effective of the Mr. A. p. 45 good of men in Baptism For the reception of Baptism is not otherwise to be esteemed an effect of Gods love then as the good and benefit of men is concerned therein That which Christ speaks of the Sabbath how that it was for man Mar. 2. 27. i. for the good of man is true of Baptism and every Mr. A. p. 44. other Ordinance and institution of God In as much then as Baptism is not beneficiall unto any but by means of their Faith and answer of a good conscience and in as much also that Infants are not under this capacitie of means both which I have formerly evidently proved therefore it follows undeniably that God doth not love Infants upon any such terms as he doth those unto whom he commends and communicates his love in and by Baptism and consequently that the love which God bears to Infants puts them into no immediate capacitie of Baptism Neither is there any thing in this bundle of discourse relating to Mr. A's cause but what hath been already cast into the fire and burnt That every Ordinance and institution of God and so Baptism is for man in the sence declared by him is the sence of his Adversaries as well as his and maketh more for their cause then his For Circumcision was in this sence for man and yet Infants in the best capacitie to receive it Neither should Baptism be as much for man i. for the good of man as now it is in case infants were not in a regular capacitie to receive it Not to repeat what hath been formerly insisted on and proved upon this account as viz. that Baptism received in Infancie is a seasonable and preventive ingagement upon them to remember their Creator in the dayes of their youth for Infants are the same the same persons in their Infancie and in their youth a See Sect. 161. as likewise that infant-Baptism makes more for the edification of the church then the contrary practise b See Sect. 56 57 73 156 160. and again that it is more improvable to spirituall ends then after-Baptism c with some other particulars of like import I shall here only subjoyn that meditation of Calvin How sweet a thing saith he is it to the minds of godly men to be assured not only by the word but also by a visible spectacle or sign that they have found so much favour in the eyes of their Heavenly Father as that their posterity also is regarded by him d Quàm enim suave piis animis non verbo tantum sed oculari etiam spectaculo certiores fieri tantum se gratiae apud pat●em co●lestem obtinere ut posteritas sua illi cura sit Calv. Institut l. 4. c. 16. Sect. 32. Sect. 179. Whereas he saith that Baptism is not beneficiall unto any but by means of their Faith c. if his meaning be that it is not or proves not actually or eventually saving unto any adulterous person but by meās of their faith the saying hath had a pass grāted unto it before But neither was Circumcision thus beneficiall unto any without Faith likewise as hath been proved over and over and yet Infants judged by God himself in a sufficient capacitie to receive it If his meaning be that Baptism is no wayes in no respect or degree beneficiall unto any person without Faith I must borrow his Faith or some like unto it to believe it Baptism without Faith will open the door into any of the Churches which call themselves baptized And is it not very beneficiall for a man to have a standing here Or is it not possible for him to be truly converted to the Faith by means of his coming into one of these Churches and walking there If so then may a mans Baptism prove very beneficiall unto him without Faith i. without Faith in the Receiver at the time of the receiving it which I pre●ume is a sence of perfect accord with Mr. A's meaning However Mr. A's Answer to the Argument before him as yet comes on very heavily and slowly it may be we shall find it in the reere Let this then be drawn up 3. Saith he The extent of Gods love to Infants so farre as is pretended in the reason of the consequence in the Major Proposition consists only in the pardon of Originall Mr. A. p. 45 sinne and the putting them into a condition of Salvation by Christ all which love of God they are invested with before ever Baptism can be applied unto them Because the love of God in this respect is not conditionall nor does depend upon the action of any creature or application of any means but solely upon the attonement which Christ hath made on that behalf And therefore Baptism lies out of the verge compasse circumference of the love of God as enjoyed by Infants and contributes neither lesse nor more in that dispensation of Gods love unto them In which respect also Baptism is irrelative to the love of God in that precise consideration of it in which it is communicated unto Infants Thus farre Mr. A. in an Aenigma in this place and as farre as I understand the Riddle I shall assoil it 1. I am not able to comprehend what he drives at nor where the thred of reason reason runs in this discourse Only I perceive that he works upon his former mistake supposing that his Adversaries argue and conclude a Baptismall capacitie in Children from the love which God sheweth unto them in the pardon of their guilt in Adams sin But 2. Whereas he saith that Infants are invested with all that love of God which consists only in the pardon of original sinne and the putting them into a condition of Salvation by CHRIST before ever Baptism can be applyed to them I am so dull of hearing that I cannot conceive which way this would operate or what it desires to produce The best of my conjectures at this turn is that because the extent of the love of God to Infants of which the Major Proposition speaks consists in the pardon of Originall sinne and is vouchsafed unto them before Baptism can be applyed unto them therefore the application of it unto them is superfluous and vain I shall not spend much time in detecting the vanity of this arguing because I am