Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	christian_n	zeal_n	zealous_a	58	3	8.8607	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77497	The doctrine and practice of paedobaptisme, asserted and vindicated. By a large and full improovement of some principall arguments for it, and a briefe resolution of such materiall objections as are made against it. Whereunto is annexed a briefe and plaine Enarration, both doctrinall and practicall, upon Mark 10.V.13.14.15.16. As it was some time since preached in the church of Great Yarmouth: now published for an antidote against those yet spreading errours of the times, Anabaptisme and Catabaptisme. / By Joh. Brinsley.	Brinsley, John, 1600-1665.	1645 (1645)	Wing B4712; Thomason E300_14; ESTC R200258	127,125	196

away with it And what is it that so prevailes with them for the sucking in of this errour why surely nothing more than the high opinion which they have of those who stand up in this cause an opinion of their singular piety zeale knowledge They are knowing Christians forward and Zealous Christians close walking Christians such as desire to come to the Rule and to follow Christ close Such they apprehend them to bee And I will not deny but some such may be found amongst them And hereupon they make their judgements and practise a standard a patterne to themselves Surely say they it cannot bee but that they should bee in the right A knowing people a praying people c. Ans To meet with this Errour doe but looke upon this instance in the Text and see who they were that prohibited these children from comming unto Christ and rebuked those which brought them They were not Scribes and Pharisees They were not superstitious or blinde ignorant or yet wicked and prophane persons No they were Disciples followers of Christ those who by reason of their constant attendance upon Christ and familiar acquaintance with him one would have thought should have understood his minde sooner than any yet they fall into this very errour they would not have children brought unto Christ for which they are reproved of their Lord and Master I doubt not but even amongst that Sect which I am now speaking against there may be some pious devout humble Christians though I feare not many for in most of them you shall see a spirit of pride and disdaine and bitternesse against all that doe not walke by their light but some such I hope there are some Disciples of Christ who do follow Christ according to their light in the simplicity and uprightnesse of their hearts Now what though they debarre children from comming unto Christ and rebuke th●se which bring them finding fault with the received practise of all the Churches in Baptizing of Infants What then Shall we presently hearken unto them Nay rather hearken unto Christ so doe these women here in the text The disciples prohibite rebuke them bid them be gone with their children But Christ hee incourageth them hee invits them And to him they harken not to his disciples Suppose the adversaries to childrens Baptisme be some of them disciples of Christ never so pious never so zealous never so eminent for grace for holinesse yet hearken we rather to their master then to them to him inviting rather then to them prohibiting The disciples rebuked those which brought them But upon what ground did the disciples this What did they it out of malice Out of envie Were they unwilling that these Infants should receive any benefit from Christ Surely not so Charitie envies not Grace is communicative willing and desirous that others should have a share in the same Christ and in the same benefits by Christ whence was it then Surely out of Ignorance out of blind-zeale 1 Out of ignorance ignorance of these two things 1. They did not apprehend what need these Infants had of Christ Not being troubled as is most probably with any bodily infirmitie they did not see what should occasion this their addresse The whole need not the physician but the sicke Had they been sick and diseased questionlesse the disciples would have admitted them as readily as they had done others but being sound and hayle they put them back as apprehending them to have no need of Christ 2. As they apprehended that they had no need of Christ so probably they did not conceive how they were capable of any benefit by him Those which came unto Christ ordinarily they came for one of these ends to be benefited by him either in their bodies or in their soules In their bodies by his miracles in their ●oules by his doctrine Now as for the former of these these Infants had no need of it and for the latter they were not capable of it and consequently the disciples could not see what they should be the better for coming to Christ and thereupon repell them keep them back And are not these the very grounds the chiefe grounds that the Anabaptists goe upon at this day in debatting children from the Sacrament of Baptisme 1. They have no need of Baptisme say they And 2. They are not capable of benefit by it 1. They have no need of Baptisme How so In as much as they are free from originall sinne that is the doctrine of the compleat Anabaptist Infants say they doe not stand charged with Adams sinne And as for any sinne of their owne whether originall or actuall they are not guiltie of it Originall sin in Infants faith one of their books it was but a Romish invention 〈◊〉 and set a foot by those Antichristian factors that so they might have an occasion to extoll and de●●●e their queen of heaven the virgin Mary whom alone amongst all the posterity of Adam they exempt from that common condition Now being free from sin say they from the guilt of sinne and from the staine of sinne what need have they of this laver which is ordained for the washing away of sins Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sinnes saith Ananias to Paul The poole of ●eth●sda that miraculous hath it was proper for lepers and cripples and such other diseased bodies as for others they received no benefit by it And so is it with this spirituall this heavenly bath it is appointed for leprous sinsick-soules not for Infants who are not troubled with any such maladies Againe secondly as they have no need of Baptisme so what benefit can they receive by it or from it being void and destitute of understanding of reason and consequently of faith upon which depends the efficacie of this and all other the ordinances of God This it is that qualifieth a person for the Sacrament of Baptisme his faith in Christ If thou believest thou maiest saith Phillip to the Eunuch And this it is that draweth vertue and benefit from the ordinance which without this is rendred wholy ineffectually These are their reasonings and are they not for substance the very same with the supposed reasonings of the disciples here in the text They would not have the Infants brought unto Christ Why They had no need of him being in perfect health free from sicknesse and they could receive no benefit by him being void of understanding Even thus saith the Anabaptist what should children be brought to Baptisme They have no need of it being free from sinne neither can they have any benefit by it being voide of faith Now to both these we may say as our blessed Saviour once did to the Sadduces in an other case when they represented to him their mis-apprehensions touching the Doctrine of the Resurrection Yee erre saith he not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God Surely so did the disciples here

a milstone were tyed about his necke c. That it seemeth as Jerome noteth upon it was the usuall punishment where with the Iewes were wont in those times to punish the most Capitall offenders viz. Tye a stone about their necks and so plunge them into the water No crime more heinous in the eye of God than this the scandalizing offending any that doe but begin to looke towards Christ and towards heaven so to offend them as that they should bee put off from Christ as that the worke of their salvation should any wayes be hindered All of us beware of it If we can any wayes bee furtherances to others in bringing them to Christ this do we So did Andrew to his brother Simon having himselfe found the Messia he brings his brother to him So did Philip to Nathaniel So did the Samaritane woman to other of her friends and neighbours Doe we the like The best office that wee can performe to any But take heed of hindering them whether by our evill counsel or evill example or else by the abuse of our Christian liberty in things indifferent Every of these three wayes men may bee and often are hindered from comming unto Christ First By evill counsell Thus the Scribes and Pharisees hindered many from comming unto Christ in the dayes of his flesh from believing on him viz. by their pernicious counsels and wicked suggestions whereby they set them off what they could Secondly By evill example So did some of the scandalous Jewes who made their boast of the Law but no conscience of it they thereby brought an evill report upon the wayes of God making the name of God evill spoken of among the Gentiles as the Apostle chargeth it upon them Rom. 2. And thus do scandalous Christians at this day who doe Gentes agere subnomine Christi beare the name of Christians but live like Heathens walking counter to their profession they make the name of God evill spoken of amongst those which are wicked confirming and hardening them in their wickednesse Even as the Spaniards in the Indies who by their horrid cruelties which they exercised upon the Natives there they so prejudiced them against Christ and his Religion as that they professed their willingnesse rather to go to hell with their owne Country-men then to heaven with the Spaniards 3. By the abuse of Christian libertie in things indifferent Hereby also Christians come to give offence unto others laying stumbling blocks in their way Of this I shall speak some what more fully hereafter Every of us take heed of every of these Knowing that we cannot doe a greater wrong or injurie to any then to be any wayes a cause or occasion of hindering them from coming unto Christ Here was the first errour in this act of the disciples they were hereby injurious to these Infants themselves 2. They were injurious to those that brought them By checking and rebuking of them they did as much as in them lay to take off the edge of their good affections towards Christ to weaken them to dishearten and discourage them A thing very improper for the disciples to doe It being their office to confirme and strengthen those which were weak That is the charge which our blessed Saviour giveth unto Peter When thou art converted strengthen thy brethren This they should have done No wonder then that our Saviour was displeased with them to see and heare them disheartning checking those whom they should have encouraged and strengthened This also take we heed of If we can any wayes promote and further the worke of grace in any by encouraging strengthening this doe wee So did holy Job in his time as Eliphaz giveth the attestation to him Job 4. Behold thou hast instructed many and thou hast strengthened the weake hands Thy words have upholden him that was fallen and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees The like doe we according to abilitie and opportunity But take heed of disheartning discouraging weakning It is a thing which Iesus Christ will not doe A bruised reede shall he not break and the smoaking flaxe will he not quench Take heed how we doe it or be any wayes accessory to it Take heed of being any wayes offensive to our weake brother Whether it be 1. By word as the disciples here or 2 ly By evill example as Peter by his Judaizing and dislembling or else 3 ly By the abuse of our Christian libertie in the use of things indifferent This oft-times proves matter of scandall unto others And such scandals take we heed of It is Pauls caveat to his Corinthians 1 Cor. 8. Take heed lest by any meanes this libertie of yours become a stumbling-block to them that are weak In this case Christians must restrain and abridge themselves not doing what otherwise they may do exemplary is that resolution of the Apostle in the last v. of that Chapter If meate scandilize my brother offend him so as to make him to offend which is properly to scandalize I will eate no flesh while the world standeth that I may not scandalize my brother Christians in this should be very tender very carefull how they offend or grieve their weak brother by the use of their Christian libertie much more how they cause or occasion him to offend It is good saith the Apostle to his Romans neither to eate flesh nor to drinke wine nor any thing wherby thy brother stumbleth or is offended or is made weak Three severall words expressing as I conceive one and the same thing but not without an emphasis insinuating the great and speciall care that Christians should have for giving any kind of scandall to their weake brethren whereby either to grieve their spirits or distract and unsettle their judgements or much more to cause them to offend by stopping them in or turning them aside out of their way This take we heed of doe all that we can to further others in their way take heed of hindering stopping diverting them Cherish and blow up the sparkes of grace in others what wee can but beware of casting a drop of water upon them either to dampe or quench them This was the disciples fault here in the text Instead of welcoming and encouraging and furthering these new-comers unto Christ they beate them off A thing which their Lord and master taketh ill at their hands He was displeased with it Here was the second injurie involved in this act of the disciples They were injurious to the persons which brought these children Thirdly they were herein injurious to their Lord and master Christ himselfe and that in going about to straiten his jurisdiction and lessen his Kingdome Of this Kingdome Infants and children are a considerable part Now to keep them from coming unto Christ what a dimunition was it to his Kingdome Surely this wrong doe Anabaptists unto Christ in debarring children from Baptisme and denying them