Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	child_n	parent_n	sin_n	1,848	5	5.5136	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26998	The Protestant religion truely stated and justified by the late Reverend Mr. Richard Baxter ; prepared for the press some time before his death ; whereunto is added, by way of preface, some account of the learned author, by Mr. Danel Williams and Mr. Matthew Sylvester.	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.; Williams, Daniel, 1643?-1716.; Sylvester, Matthew, 1636 or 7-1708.	1692 (1692)	Wing B1359; ESTC R1422	79,512	227

separating from the far greater part of the Christian World because they refuse Subjection to this usurping Vice-Christ and judging all to Fire and Ruine that renounce not all humane Senses and worship not Bread pretended to be deifyed by daily numerous Miracles of the basest Priests and deposing Kings that will not be such Executioners and justifying their Subjects in Perjury and Rebellion We will not differ with you for the Name whether you will call those that are such Antichrists or Diabolists Whether such a State be the Babylon or far worse as sinning against more Light and by more horrid abuse of the Name of Christ against himself The Fourteenth accused Point That no man nor any but God can forgive or retain Sins Ans False as undistinguished We hold 1. That to forgive Sin being the forgiving of the Punishment of Sin and the obligation thereto 1. Parents may on just cause forgive Corrective punishment to their Children and Masters to their Servants 2. Magistrates may on just cause forgive Corporal punishment to Subjects 3. Equals may forgive Injuries to Friends and Enemies 4. Pastors may on just cause forgive the Church penalties of Excommunication which they had power to inflict And all the Flock must forgive and receive the penitent accordingly 5. When a Sinner by Faith and Repentance truly performeth the Condition of Gods pardon expressed in Scripture the Ministers of Christ are by Office authorized to declare and pronounce him pardoned by God and by the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lords Supper to Invest him in a pardoned State by delivering him a Sealed pardon But only Suppositively If his Faith and Repentance be sincere else he hath not Gods pardon of the Divine Punishment This is all true and plain and enough But we detest their Doctrine that say 1. That men can pardon the Spiritual and Eternal Punishment any otherwise than consequently declaring and delivering Gods pardon which shall hold good if the Priest refuse to declare or deliver it 2. Or that Popes or Priests pardon Purgatory pains and Masses and Money and the Redundance of Saints Merits and pleasing the Pope conduce thereto But if you will Speak so absurdly as to say that if the King send a pardon to a Traytor or Murderer the Messenger pardoned him we leave you to your phrases None of the Texts or Fathers cited speak for any more than what we hold The Pastors are to declare men pardoned that God pardoneth And while they so judge according to Gods Word it is pardoned in Heaven But not if they pardon the wicked and impenitent The Fifteenth accused Point That we ought not to confess our Sins to any man but to God only Ans This is a mere impudent Lie 1. We ought to confess our Sin to the Magistrate at his Judicature when we are justly accused of it 2. And to those that we have injured when it is needful to repair the wrong or to procure their forgiveness 3. And to those that we have tempted into Sin or encouraged in it when it is needful to their Repentance 4. And to some faithful bosome Friend when it is needful that such know our Faults that they may watch over us or advise us or pray for our pardon and deliverance 5. And when in Sickness danger of Death or other Affliction we get the Pastors of the Church to pray for us we should confess our Sin to them that they may know on what cause they speak to God for our forgiveness 6. And in any case of Guilt Trouble Fear or Difficulty in which we need the Pastors Counsel for our safety ease and peace of Conscience our selves and other Friends being insufficient hereto we should confess our Sins to the Pastors whose advice we seek As a Patient must truly open his Case to his Physician and a Clyent to his Councellor if he will not be deceived by deceiving them Is all this no Confession But Protestants believe not 1. That we must go to a Physician for every Flea-biting or Scratch or Cut-Finger or to a Lawyer to give him an account of all our Actions Money ot Lands nor to Priests in cases that our selves or ordinary Friends can safely and satisfactorily resolve 2. Nor that our Confessor must needs be a Papist Priest or one chosen by the Pope or our Enemies and not by our selves 3. Nor that we must open all our Secrets to him or make any Confession which will do more hurt than good nor over far to trust the Fidelity of a Knave nor a suspected or untryed person 4. And we have reason to suspect them that are importunate to know our Secrets 5. And when Confession is required as in order to obtain a false forged pardon and to set up the Domination of Usurpers over men's Consciences and over the World it 's then unlawful If Protestants would force Papists to confess all their secret Sins to them would not this same Deceiver say it were unlawful The Sixteenth accused Point That Pardons and Indulgences were not in the Apostles time Ans Another meer Lie as undistinguished Such Pardons as I before owned were in the Apostles times But the Popish feigned pardons were not The Seventeenth accused Point That the actions and passions of the Saints do serve for nothing to the Church Ans Most impudent calumny and falsehood 1. We hold that the Prayers of all the Saints on Earth are of great importance for the Churches welfare 2. And that their Doctrine Counsel and Reproof is so too they being the Lights of the World and the Salt of the Earth 3. And that their Example is of grea● benefit to the Church and World whi●● their Light so shineth before men that the● may see their good works and glorifie the●● Father which is in Heaven 4. And their Charitable Works of themselves sure are beneficial to the Church And so is their Defence of the Truth 5. And their Sufferings Glorifie Gods Power and his promises of reward and they encourage others to Victorious Constancy Do all these serve for nothing to the Church 6. Yea we are so far from holding what he feigneth that it is not the least cause of our hatred of Popery that it liveth by the Defamations Slander Persecution and cruel Murder of Saints 7. Yea as Abels Blood cryed against Cain so the Blood of Martyrs and dead Saints cryeth for Vengeance against the Persecutors of the Church 8. And seeing Christ saith that the Children of the Resurrection are like or equal to the Angels we have reason to believe that even now they are perfected Spirits Heb. 12.24 And knowing that Angels are very serviceable and beneficial to the Church on Earth we know not how far the Spirits of the just are so too But we have a sufficient Mediator and Advocate with the Father whose Sacrifice Merits and Advocation are perfect and need no supplement And the Spirits of the just do praise him as saved by his Merits and never boast that they

must teach them to understand God's Book or to throw it away May not the Teacher and the Book consist together Must School-Boys be forbid to Learn their Grammar because they must have a Teacher Must he teach them the Book or teach them without Book But all the Craft is to get all the World to take only such Cheaters as this for their Masters and then Bible or no Bible may serve turn 16. Is it not the Office of Teachers to Translate God's Word into known Tongues that the People may understand it This is the first part of Preaching it If not why do they use Translations in the Church of Rome the Septuagint and the Vulgar Latin And why did Sixtus 5th and Clem. 8. make such a stir to Correct the Latin And why do so many Comment on them And the Rhemists turn it into English But what is all this for but to help Men to understand the Book 17. Doth not all the Word of God cry down Ignorance and cry up Knowledge from End to End And what Knowledge is it but Divine of the Word and Law of God What else is the scope of all the first Nine Chapters of Solomons Proverbs and of Psal 1. 19. and 119 c. God saith Hos 4. 6. My People perish for lack of knowledge And Isa 27. 11. It is a people of no understanding therefore he that made them will not save them Ignorance and Blindness are made the common cause of Errour Sin and Misery But we are so far from taking all parts of Scripture to be equally necessary to be understood that we are more than the Papists for first and most diligently teaching them the Essentials the Creed Lord's Prayer and Commandments and Baptism and Church Communion and the Lord's Supper and lesser parts as they grow up what they must learn first their Teachers must instruct them 18. If he say as they still do that the Ignorant will misunderstand the Scripture and every one turn it to his own Fancy and Heresie I answer The way to prevent this is to teach it them diligently what else is the Ministry for and not to forbid it them Every Knave may pervert the Law of the Land to maintain his own ill Cause and must the Law therefore be forbidden them Reason is far more commonly abused than Scripture There is no Heresie or Error no Villany Perjury Cruelty Persecution Oppression or Injustice but Reason is pleaded for it Must Reason therefore be renounced Heresies are for want of understanding God's word and must be cured by understanding it 19. And if all the World must take the Popes or Priests words instead of Gods or for their Rule how shall those in Aethiopia Syria America or here know what the Popes Word is That never see him or any that hath seen him And how shall we know when above twenty times there have been two Popes at once which of them is the Right And when they contradict and Damn each other which of them must we believe And when General Councils accuse them of Errour and Condemn them which is to be trusted with our Souls Or if it be Councils that must be to us instead of Scripture when they Damn each other which must we believe And so abundance of them have done When the Pope and they agreed to depose Christian Princes and give away their Dominions and disoblige their Subjects from all their Oaths of Allegiance is it as true as the word of God that all Subjects must believe and obey them But how shall all the poor People know what the Pope and Councils say and hold They can neither read their Volumes nor understand them nor know which are authentick and true Must they all believe their Parish Priest What if he be as very a Deceiver as the writer of this Touchstone that doth but Cheat from the beginning to the end Yet must we take his word instead of Gods Or when other Priests or Fryars contradict him which of them must we believe What if his Parishoners know him to be ignorant or a common Lyar Yet must our Salvation rest on his word and God's word be forbidden us What if we obey him in Error and Sin will he undertake to be Damned for us Or will his undertaking or Damnation save those whom he mislead c. As to his Citation of Scripture against Scripture it is so palpable a perversion that I will leave any Man that will but Read the Text to his own ability to answer him Rev. 5.1 No Man in Heaven or Earth was worthy to open the Sealed Books that John saw in his Vision What then must no Man therefore open the Bible Or because the Revelation is hard must therefore the People be forbidden to Read it and the rest of God's word which was written for them as sufficient to make them wise to Salvation yea to make the simple wise Psal 19. And with as shameless a Face doth he cite the Fathers against the drift of all their writings and Labours and the Judgment of all the Churches of Christ for many hundred years of its purest foundest Primitive times The Fourth accused Point That Apostolical Traditions and ancient Customs of the Church not Founded in the written word are not to be received nor do oblige us Ans This is but more Deceit by confusion and false report The Reformed Catholicks hold 1. That Memory is not so sure a way to deliver any Laws and Doctrines to Posterity through many hundred years as writing is For it must lie on the Memories of so many Thousands in so many Ages and so many parts of the World Of so many Languages Kingdoms and cross Interests and Opinions in their quarrels and the things to be remembred are so many that this needs no proof with any but Fools or Mad-men What a Religion should we have had if instead of the Bible it must have all been brought us down by the Memories of all the Rabble of ignorant and wicked Popes yea or of the best and by the Memories of all the Prelates and Priests that have pretended to be the Church Why do they themselves write their pretended Traditions if writing them were not needful And why have we all our Statutes Records and Law-Books if the Lawyers and Peoples Memories would keep and deliver them without these When Men's Memories Wits and Honesty are so weak that we can scarce get one Story carried without falsifying through many Hands 2. We hold that God in mercy hath therefore considered Man's Weakness and Necessity and before the Apostles died inspired them to Record so much of his Law and Gospel and Will as was universally necessary for all his Subjects to know in order to Divine belief Obedience and Salvation And hath left nothing of this importance and necessity unrecorded in the Law of Nature God's Visible works and Scripture knowing that after Ages were not to have new universal Legislators to make such Laws for all the

good Works that are our Obedience to the Law of Christ are but the performance of our Baptismal Covenant and the Fruits of Faith without which it is dead Hypocrisie and are of absolute necessity to Salvation to all that have time to do them Against the charge That we are Sinners deserving Hell we are justified by Christ believed in Against the accusation That we are Infidels Ungodly Hypocrites we must be justified by our Faith Godliness and Works or perish But we do also hold 1. That if a man be convicted as the Theif on the Cross and should die suddenly no outward good which he cannot do is absolutely necessary to his Salvation but only his inward Faith Love and Repentance and Confession if able 2. We do firmly hold that Works done with a conceit of obliging God by Merit in commutative Justice or as conceited sufficient without a Saviour and the pardon of their failings are such as more further Damnation than Salvation at least in those that hear the Gospel 3. And we are no Papists and therefore believe not that ignorant words of Prayer in a Tongue not understood and wearing Reliques and going on Pilgrimages and needless confessing to Priests and subjection to an universal Vice-Christ and living upon the Blood of Saints Murdering the Living and praying to the Dead and the Sons honouring their Days Relicks and Monuments whom their Fathers Burnt or Persecuted these are not Good Works necessary to Salvation as is plain Math. 23. and Revel 14.17 18 c. We do with Paul renounce all Works of our own that are thought to make the Reward to be of Debt and not of Grace and that are set in the least opposition or competition with Christs Merits or any place save commanded Subordination to him The Two and Twentieth accused Point That no Good Works are Meritorious Ans The word Merit is ambiguous and so abused by Papists that indeed the Protestants are shyer of it than the Fathers were lest the use of it should cherish the abuse 1. There is Merit of man and of God 2. And this in Commutative Justice conceited or only in Governing distributive Justice 3. And this is either according to the Law of Innocency or Moses or according to the Law of Christ Now Protestants hold 1. As to the Name that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 worthy and worthiness are Scripture words and may be used and Merit is but of the same signification and we condemn not the Ancients that so used it But the worst Sence must not be cherished 2. Do they hold 1. That no Creature can merit of God in Commutative Justice that giveth quid pro quo to his Benefit God receiveth not from Man or Angels unless he will call Acceptance and Complacence Receiving 3. None but Christ merited of strict Governing Justice according to the Law of Senceless Innocence nor by any Works that will save man from the charge of Sin and desert of Death 3. All at Age that will be saved must have good Works according to their Capacity for Christ is the Author of Salvation to all those that obey him Heb. 5.9 Tho' they obey not an unknown Priest at Rome But all these Works are our Obedience to Christs own healing Government such as the Laws of a Physician to the Sick And we all agree that he will Judge that is Justifie or Condemn in Judgment all men according to their Works that is according to the Law and it's promulgation by which in their several Ages and Nations he governed them 4. Your own Doctors that know what they say tell us that by Merit they mean nothing but the Rewardable quality of their acts related to Gods promise through Christs Merits And doth any Protestant Church deny this The Three and Twentieth accused Point That Faith once had cannot possibly be lost Ans Still confused slander and deceit Protestants hold 1. That the Faith not rooted prevalent and saving is frequently lost such as you call sides informis 2. That even sincere Faith may be lost as to the Act for some little time that is suspended in a deliquium as Peters and theirs Luk. 24. that said We trusted this had been he c. 3. That many lose to the Death some degree of their habitual Faith 4. But they differ in the rest just as you do among your selves Dominicans and Jesuits 1. Some think that no one at Age at least in a State of such Faith as at present would have saved him doth ever totally lose it 2. Some think that many have but such loseable Grace as Adam had 1. As being not Elect to Salvation and therefore not in Gods decree of Preservation and Perseverance 2. As having a Faith not Rooted and Confirmed And that these may fall from a justified State But that 1. The Elect. 2. Nor the Confirmed never fall away This was Austins Judgment and his followers of which see Vossii Theses And is that Jesuit honest that feigneth this proper to the Protestants where the Controversie is the same among themselves The Four and Twentieth accused Point That God by his will and inevitable decree hath ordained from all Eternity who shall be Damned and who Saved Ans What a false Deceiver is this that would make us believe that this is proper to the Protestants when it is the Common Doctrine not only of the Dominicans but of the very Jesuits themselves and all their Church 1. None of them dare say that men are Damned or Saved without Gods foreknowledge nor against his absolute will by overcoming his Power 2. None of them dare say that this fore-knowledge of God was not from Eternity but that he knew one day what he knew not before 3. All that the Jesuits themselves say is that God decreed it upon this fore-knowledge and that he hath a Scientia media what will come to pass positis quibusdam if such and such things be done by man and that this fore-knowledge in order of Nature is before the Decree but both from Eternity But Cardin Cameracensis Petrus de Aliaco hath irrefragably confuted this imposing Priority and Posteriority of act on God tho' I think some Divine acts as denominated only Relatively from the order of Objects may be so distinguished 4. In all this we say not that God hath by his will and decree ordained from Eternity or in time that men shall sin or will and choose Evil but only who shall be Damned for sin which God never willed or caused but foresaw not as if he were an idle Spectator but a willing suspender of his own acts so far as to leave Sinners to their self-determining wills 5. But God being the cause of Good and Men and Devils of Evil our Salvation is of him and our Destruction of our selves and therefore God decreeth not Men's Salvation or Sanctification meerly on foresight of our Faith but decreeth our Faith it self Sin he permitteth but Faith he effecteth and decreeth