Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	evil_a	good_a	know_v	2,974	5	4.2147	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A37722	Baptismes in their verity: or, The baptisme of John, and the baptisme of Christ what they are in truth, as they are described in the scriptures of truth. And of what necessitie they are unto salvation. In a plain and brief manner herein declared. By one of the most unworthy servants of Christ, J.E.	J. E.	1648 (1648)	Wing E13A; ESTC R215328	20,684	42

all this that may give occasion for any man justly to say or think that God the Father or the Lord Jesus Christ should bind any mans legges and then command them to goe and to doe this or that as the Free-will teacher would inferre But I wish that he would tell us plainly the cause why some men doe repent and beleeve and are saved and not all If he shall say as some doe that it is because some men will and some will not Then I ask him the reason or cause of this great difference of will in man that one should have a will to will unto life eternall and another to will unto death eternall If he say it is by Gods worke of creation in the womb or in Adam then he makes God to bee the author of the evill as well as of the good which he would seem by his Doctrine to avoid If he say it is by the operation of the Heavens Sunne Moon or Starres which Mathematickes say cause severall dispositions in men some to evill and some to good Then hee makes those creatures the cause which were very heathenish Neither can they cause such a difference in mens wills as to life and death eternall nay then may those people be excused who adore them as Gods Therefore we say there is no such difference of will but all mens hearts are by Nature since the first fall of Adam and because thereof hard and their wills stubborn and bent to ill whose fruit is death And it is by the speciall operation of God from heaven that any mans heart and will is brought to repent and beleeve unto life eternall to be so born of water and of the Spirit without which no man can be saved no nor child how young soever And it is true God doth not effect or bring this to passe in every man neither did hee so determine any more then hee did to keep those Angls that fell or Adam from falling for then must all have been saved And where had been then the glory of the power of God in respect of his justice and the riches of his mercies whereof Paul speaketh Rom. 9.22 23. and which sundry other Scriptures doe so often make mention of and declare to the glory of God and comfort of his chosen And it is also true that as God did not decree or will to save all men so neither did he decree or will the destruction of all nor of any man but upon those just grounds and causes in themselves before declared which he foresaw And so men are said to be ordained of old to condemnation and Esau to he hated before hee had done good or evill yet did he not ordain sinne nor make death nor did he ever break the bruised Reed nor quench the smoking Flax nor will or desire the death of a sinner but rather that hee should return and live as it is written And so it is true and cleare that the salvation of man is meerly and freely of GOD through Jesus Christ and his destruction is of himselfe And this shill all men and Angels know assuredly in that day when God shall judge the secrets of all men by him even Jesus Christ and shall justifie God in all things both in respect of his justice on them that perish and in respect of his mercies on them that are saved And every thing in the estate of that world it being the end for which all things were created shal be so much to the praise and glory of God and to the joy and rejoycing of his chosen as nothing that can bee thought of or wished could be more And as comcerning the Free-willers doctrine of falling away from all graces and gifts of the Spirit regeneration and whatsoever which they would seem to ground on those Scriptures which speake of some excellent gifts that men may be made partakers of and fall away from them and perish as Mat. 12.43 44 45. Heb. 3.12 14. Heb. 6.5 6. Heb. 10.26 27 28. 2 Pet. 2.20 21 22. Ezek. 8. and other places Herein also they are much deceived and erre exceedingly not discerning things that differ nor knowing to distinguish between those gifts of the Spirit which are common to all men and those that are more speciall and peculiar onely to a few Which is one main cause of their erring so much in every thing And doubtlesse the cause of the same cause is hardnesse of heart and unbeliefe the contraries to the baptisme or birth of water and of the Spirit without which no man can have the faith of Abraham nor know the mysteries of the kingdome of heaven And was the case of him unto whom Christ spake and said Joh. 3. Art thou a Master of Israel and knowest not these things For although it bee true that men may be made partakers of those common gifts in the places mentioned and fall away from all as there it saith yet it followeth not neither is it true that any of those that are born of water and of the Spirit who have that faith in Christ whereby they eat his flesh and drink his blood that have their sins washt away therewith and their heart sanctified ever did or can fall away and perish And the reason is because they are kept not by their own wills but by the will and power of God and of Christ as Christ himself saith Joh. 6. And this is the Fathers wil which hath sent me that of all which he hath given me I should lese nothing but should raise it upagain at the last day v. 39.40 And again My sheep heare my voyce and I know them and they follow me and I give unto them eternall life and they shall never perish neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand My Father which gave them me is greater then all and no man is able to pluck them out of my Fathers hand Joh. 10. They are kept by the will and power of God as Peter also saith of such faithfull ones Blessed be the God Father of our Lord Jesus Christ which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead or an inheritance incorrupible and undefiled that fadeth not not away reserved in heaven for us who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation c. 1 Pet. 1.2 3 4 5. And John saith whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin for his seed remaineth in him and he cannot sin because he is born of God 1 Joh 3.9 Meaning not willingly in his minde for hee had said before If we say that we have no sin we deceive our selves and the truth is not in us 1 Joh. 1.8 He may through temptation be led captive to sin as Peter was but he never in his mind becomes a servant to sinne more hee therein serveth the Law of God and so it is no more he that sinneth but sin that dwelleth

and hee lying bound to death by that his sinne and by the justice of the law of God which now he knew that stood up as a fiery two-edged sword turning every way against him convincing him more and more of sinne and of death hee being not able possibly to doe the works thereof that from the very first houre after the promise was made he and all in his loines were set out of that unrecoverable estate wherein they lay bound without any remedy and a way prescribed and set before them in and through the same promise whereby to live again so gracious and faire as could not be more That whosoever would but confesse his sinnes unto God and ask mercy like the similitude of the lost Sonne hee should have his sinnes forgiven and bee saved Such a generall Redemption as this was from that houre and so gracious and fair a way was set before all mankinde in generall no one excepted And what sonne in the world could or can desire more of his father against whom he had so rebelliously sinned yet no man by his own wil or power in nature would or could doe this and live again It is true that Adam and Abell and all the children of the promise did attain thereunto but not by their own wills or power And though oftentimes since the promise was made God renewed the same his covenant of mercy and called upon man saying Whosoever is athirst let him come and whosoever will let him come and take of the water of life freely Yet where is the man that of himselfe so thirsteth that of himselfe so willeth and cometh and taketh of the water of Life or was there ever such a man No doubtlesse not one But on the clean contrary such is the hardnesse and stoutnesse of mans heart since hee is become so wise by eating the forbidden fruit that rather then hee will stoop so low as to mourn and weep for his sinnes and confesse them unto God with teares from a truly sorrowfull broken heart and defire mercy and forgivenesse he will doe any thing else take up and submit to any forme of religion though never so strict and painfull entertain any opinion or doctrine that shall come to his eares in pretence of truth though never so erronious perform any outward work of the Law or of the Gospel so farre as Cain and Iudas went or as a Pharisee and hypocrite can goe some way to quiet his guilty conscience and to shun that straight way of the Lord it is so disagreeing to his lofty and prudent minde stubborn and hard heart so naturally given to pride and carnall pleasure as we may see by the experience of the many Sects of religious and sorts of opinions that are amongst us at this day as well as by the superstitions and idolatries that have been and are in the world that so his minde being quieted hee may pleasantly passe his time without repentance and without that faith of Christ which purifieth the heart the birth of water and of the Spirit So that if God should not by his speciall power from heaven like the husbandman that breakes up his fallow ground and then soweth his seed so turn the heart of man from his sinfull pleasures and fulfilling his owne will and doing his own works take away his hard and stony heart and give him a heart of flesh a soft and tender heart and write in the same by his Spirit his covenant of mercy and love as he did unto Adam his first lost sonne and Abell whose sacrifice therefore hee accepted Adam and all his posterity would have perished for ever But God foreseeing all things and having before the foundation of the world chosen of the fore-seen fallen lump of mankind a certain compleat number to save and glorifie did destinate them to be conformed to the image of his Sonne Jesus Christ his first borne and whom he so predestinated them he in his due times called giving them repentance and whom he so called them hee justified through faith and whom he justified them he glorified as it is written Rom. 8.28 29. And as God did thus call and justifie his chosen to Pauls time so hath hee done ever since and will doe to the end of the world that his number may be filled And they that are so predestinated and born of God shall certainly bee saved and none else as Christ hath absolutely affirmed Ioh. 3. What then Shall wee therefore say that God did predestinate the other to doe wickedly and so to perish Nay that followeth not neither did he so any more then he did decree the fall and sinne of Adam and so mans destruction for then God must bee the authour and cause thereof as he is of grace and salvation which may not once be thought Neither have we any more reason to charge God with unmercifulnesse in not saving all men by the new birth from above in and through Christ then we have for his not keeping Adam from falling and saving all that way It is true and it must be acknowledged that God could have done so and that he could also have kept those Angels which fell if it had been the good pleasure of his will as it was not shall wee therefore charge God with unmercifulnesse because he did not keep them and so have saved all both men and Angels Or shall wee make his not keeping them the cause of their fall sinne and destruction Who dares do so or have such a thought Nay Satan himselfe knoweth it to be otherwise and that their fall and destruction is of themselves and mans also of themselves thorough his eavie against them his malice and lies Neither did God ever harden the heart of any man that he should not repent and beleeve the Gospel and be saved or bind their wills or power therefrom by any decree or worke of his at any time nay let all men feare to think such a thing and know that it is his own hardnesse of heart and evilnesse of will that hinders him But this is true that God doth give some men up to their own hardnesse of heart such as having known God and tasted of his bountifulnesse and goodnesse which led them to repentance and reject the same as they whom the Apostle Paul speaketh of Rom. 1.19 20. to verse 32. And so is God said to harden the heart of Pharaoh in giving him up to hisown hardnesse of heart he having seen and known so much of the power and goodnesse of God and rejecting the same and still oppressing his people to fill up the measure of his wickednesse that God might declare his power as Paul saith Rom. 9. And according to this are the words of Christ to those Scribes and Pharisees of the Jewes the generation of them that killed the Prophets Matth. 23. Fill ye up the measure of your Fathers ye Serpents ye generation of Vipers c. Now what is there in any thing of