Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	election_n	faith_n	foresee_v	1,644	5	11.3276	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47193	The universall free grace of the Gospell asserted, or, The light of the glorious Gospell of Jesus Christ, shining forth universally, and enlightning every man that coms [sic] into the world, and therby giving unto every man, a day of visitation wherin it is possible for him to be saved, which is glad tydings unto all people, being witnessed and testifyed unto, by us the people called in derision Quakers : and in opposition to all denyers of it, of one sort and another proved by many infallible arguments, in the evidence and demonstration of the spirit of truth, according to Scripture testimonies and sound reason : with the objections of any seeming weight against it, answered it, answered / by George Keith.	Keith, George, 1639?-1716.; Furly, Benjamin, 1636-1714.	1671 (1671)	Wing K228; ESTC R13258	128,214	140

3. 35. and there is a more speciall giving which is onely applicable to the Saints Who are his children and these cannot but come unto him as Peter said Lord to whom shall goe but unto thee c. There are other places urged by them but these adduced are the most usuall and the answers given unto them will being rightly applyed suffice to any other so that who judge of this matter according to the witness of God in their hearts and do therein ponder the Scriptures will find the Doctrin of the Nationall Teachers concerning Election and Reprobation not to be according to the truth nor Scripturall but indeed a most pernicious Doctrine to the hindring of the growth and spreading of piety in the world as may appear from what is already said I shall now descend to weigh the few small Reasons they have and usually give for their adhering to so absurd an Opinion First then they say if election be according to faith foreseen then it is not free Answ. It followeth not at all for election is free though it be not without respect to faith even as justification is free which themselvs say is not without respect to faith They must then either deny justification to be free or say that it hath no respect to faith or confess that election is free not withstanding its respect to faith Secondly they argue if Election and reprobation be according to faith foreseen then something in the creature was the moving cause of Gods decree Answ. Nor doth this follow For though men beleeving be the object of the decree of Election yet they are not the moving cause thereof in like manner men unbeleeving are the object but not moving cause of reprobation Unbeleef is indeed a cause of the Destruction of the wicked which destruction is decreed so is also faith an instrumentall cause of the salvation of the Saints which is also decreed but not of the decree of God which hath no cause without himselfs And by these Answers any other reasons they bring may be confuted Object 13. If saving grace andilight were given unto all then all should be saued otherwise grace were not effectuall as not having its efficacy Answ. It followeth not grace is effectuall and hath its sufficient efficacy in that in its own nature it is able to save all who do not resist it even as Physick may be very effectuall to cure such and such diseases if duly applyed and yet if it be not permitted to have its due operation it may not onely not cure but kill But more over grace hath its efficacy in all in that it makes all inexcusable who do resist it and persist in their gainstauding And thus it tendeth to the glory of God in their condemnation But say some a morall suasion is sufficient to leave men without excuse Answ. I deny it For nothing can render men unexcusable but that which being improved can excuse which no morall suasion can doe Object 14. Saving light and grace is irresistible therefore it must have its effect to salvation Answ. That the Lord may work irresistibly in some we deny not but that he doth so work in all that are or may be saved is the meer brain-sick fancy of these men and contrary to the tenor of the whole Scriptures which complain of mens resisting the holy Ghost withstanding the truth holding it under in unrighteousness crucifying the Lord of glory in themselvs doing despite unto the Spirit of Grace oppressing and choaking the good seed c. What is more effectuall then the sun and then fire unto which Christ the word of grace and tru light is compared yet what more easily resisted then the light of the sun without all pains by the bare wink of the ey And fire though suffered to break out to a flame can be quenched To divers other naturall powerfull causes which have efficacy enough in them to procur their proper effects if not impeded is this word of grace compared Object 15. It s said of some that they could not beleeve Jo. 12. 39. Ergo c. Answ. True but no where is it said that from the begininng they could not beleeve Yea the very reason why they could not at that time beleeve is expressly rendred by Matth. 13. 13. because they had closed their eys and in seing did not see for which cause the Lord being provoked gave them up read v. 14. 15. to hardness of heart that they could not beleeve Object 16. God so hardned Pharoahs heart that he could not obey the Lord and let the people goe Answ. True again but where is it said that Pharoahs heart was so hardned from the beginning of the time that he was capable of understanding no where Pharoah had provoked the Lord by his cruell oppressing the Israelites causing their male children to be killed a just provocation of the Lord thus to give him up to obduracy of heart so that he could not obey Now we never said that all men may beleeve and obey the Lord at all times but onely at such times and seasons as the Lord breaths and moves upon them within the day of their visitation Object 17. It s said of the People of Israell Deut. 29. 4. The Lord hath not given you a heart to perceive and eys to see and ears to heare c. Therefore he had not given them all saving light and grace Answ. It follows not for the perceiving heart seing eyes hearing ears are the effect of this saving light and grace onely in those in whom it is not resisted Now God had given his good Spirit to instruct them Nehem. 9 v. 20. but they rebelled against and vexed his holy Spirit Isayah 63 verse 10. But some would fain limit these words only to those who prophesied or at least to the faithfull unto whom God gave his good Spirit to in struct the people which they rebelled against not in themselvs but in the faithfull who did instruct them Answ. This cannot be for it had been to no purpose to give his good Spirit unto the teachers to instruct the people if no measure of the same had been given to the people to learn For as none can sufficiently teach the things of God without the Spirit so can none can truly learn them without it Again so far as any man resists the Spirit of God in another he first resists it in himself yea it is said expresly they tempted God in their hearts Psa. 78. verse 18. And it is already proved that the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withall Object 18. Some are said to have no light in them Isayah 8. 20. Answ. According to the Hebrew even as the margent intimates it is thus because they have no morning in them Now its true all have not the morning light in them which imports the day star to be arisen but with many it is as it were midnight for darkness yet the light

run thus God so loved the Elect that whosoever of them Elect beleevs should not perish which is void of sence forasmuch as none of the Elect but must beleeve and yet the Particle whosoever distributeth those who are understood here by the World into Beleevers and Unbeleevers shewing that God so loved all that hee gave an opportunity unto them to be saved by beleeving and if they did not beleeve their perishing was not for want of the Love of God towards them but because they did not beleev in him whom God had sent 3. In that he sayes God sent not his Son into the world to condemne the world but that the world through him might be saved And yet many are condemned it is manifest that even these who are condemned had an opportunity once to be saved and so the Love of God reached once towards them or elce it might be said God sent his Son even mainly and principally to them for their condemnation Againe in that hee sayes This is the condemnation that light is come into the world and man loved darknes rather then the light These two things are plainly held forth 1. that whoever are condemned it is for loving the darknes rather then the light 2. That the light is come and hath appeared unto them all who are condemned for how can any be condemned for not loving that which never came nor appeared unto them Againe it is plaine that every evill Door hath had the light appearing unto him becaus hee is said to hate it Now hee could not hate that which never appeared nor was manifest and that is the light which reproveth his evill deeds Moreover it is also evident that the light did come unto them in a way wherin they could have been saved becaus their condemnation was that they did not beleeve in his Name but loved the darknes rather But they could not be condemned for not beleeving in that which coms not in a saving way Againe If every one who beleeveth not is condemned for unbelief then they have had a Law commanding them to beleev for wher no Law is there is no transgression which Law could be no other then the Law according to the Grace of spirituall and saving Illumination and not according to a meer Naturall enlightning for no light of a mans owne nature can ever give him a Law to beleeve And farther This Illumination can shew if a mans work be wrought in God therefor it is spirituall and sufficient to salvation Againe Iohn 8. 12. He hears a Testimony to the same Truth I am said hee the light of the World he that followes me shall not walk in darknes but shall have the light of life Now that he is the light of the world lighting it according to a spirituall and saving Illumination is hence manifest and not according to that which is but naturall onely for hee alone that followes him as hee doth spiritually and savingly enlighten hath the Light of Life or is saved And as to their evasion that by the World is meant only the Elect that which is aforsaid doth refute it and besides Christ said to the Jewes many of whom did perish and so were Reprobats While yee have the light beleev in it that yee may be the children thereof But that I may overturne the foundation of this evasion I say none are the Elect of God but in relation unto beleeving in the light and loving thereof and none are Reprobate but in Relation unto their unbelief hating and rejecting it for the Lord never reprobated or rejected any but who rejected the Gift of his Love offered unto them so that whoever are elected they are elected according to the foreknowledge of God who did foreknow or foresee that they would beleev and embrace the offer of his love which is Iesus Christ and whoever are Reprobated are Reprobated according to the foreknowledge of God who did foreknow or foresee that they would reject the offer and not believe yet I doe not say that either the Faith of the one or the unbelief of the other was the cause of Gods Eternall decree which hath no cause without himself but this I say men beleeving are the Object of Election and men disbeleiving and rejecting Iesus Christ are the Object of Reprobation not the moving but the terminating so that their unbelief is not the cause of Gods Decree but the cause of their Condemnation and destruction which is decreed And so in Scripture this gift of the Fathers love the Lord Iesus Christ is said to be disallowed or rejected of men Now they could not have rejected him if hee had not come a light unto them and been truly offered for none can reject that which is not offered And if hee was offered hee could be offered under no lesse Terms then making salvation possible to them for the offer of the Lord doth proceed from a true and reall willingnes to give that which is offered who-ever dare say the contrary doe charge the Lord with hypocrisy and dissimulation which is blasphemous but if the Lord hath a true and reall willingnes to give his Son unto all who reject him Then it was possible for them at sometime to have received him for the Lord willeth nothing that is Impossible and it is below that infinite Goodnes and Nobility of the Lord to offer unto poor men that which it is Impossible for them to receive as now it were below all Ingeunity and Humanity in us to offer Alms unto a poor man in such a way as hee could not receive it as if he were bound in fetters and we should stand at a distance and hold it forth unto him but so as hee could not reach it Argument 3. From Rom. 1. v. 18 19 20 21 c compared with Col. 1. 23. THe Apostle Paul whose Ministry was mostly unto the Gentils and therfore is called the Apostle of the Gentils doth in this Epistle hold forth many things concerning the Gentiles both as touching the Priviledges which they had received from the Lord and also the use that they made of them some improved them to advantage but others and that for the most part did misimprove them for which the Lord was provoked against them to give them up to a Reprobate mind And this hee doeth according to the Wisdome given him of God to make way for the more abundant Reception and spreading of the Faith among the Nations which becaus of the want of these outward Priviledges that the Iewes had wer looked upon by the Jewes as out-casts and rejected of God to whom the preaching of the Doctrine of Salvation did not belong which was even the error of Peter and his brethren generally till the Lord convinced him thereof by a vision from Heaven Acts 10. Now in this Epistle among divers other things of importance hee declareth these two things 1. That though the Iewes had Priviledges in the outward above the Gentils as the Law and