Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	faith_n	grace_n	instrumental_a	1,802	5	11.6254	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10578	A necessary instruction of christian faith and hope for Christians to holde fast, and to be bolde vp on the promise of God, & not to doubt of their saluation in Christ. Translated out of D. Vrbanus Regius, into English and newly recognized by Iohn F.; Instruccyon of christen fayth	Rhegius, Urbanus, 1489-1541.; Foxe, John, 1516-1587.	1579 (1579)	STC 20848; ESTC S106076	25,574	62

A Necessary instruction of Christian faith and hope for christians to holde fast and to be bolde vp on the promise of God not to doubt of their saluation in Christ. Translated out of D. Vrbanus Regius into English And newly recognised by Iohn F. PSALM 54 verse 8. Taste yee and see how gracious the Lord is blessed is the man that trusteth in him ¶ Imprinted at Londō by Hugh Singleton dvvelling in Crede Lane at the signe of the gylden Tunne nere vnto Ludgate and are there to be sold. Cum priuilegio Anno. 1579. To the Right honourable Sir Fraunces Knolles Knighte Thresorer of the Queenes Maiesties houshold and one of her highnes most honourable priuie Counsaile vvisheth aboundance of blessednes both in this lyfe in the life to come HAVING RIGHT honourable aboue thirtie yeeres since printed this shorte treatise ensuing being translated and deliuered vnto mee by Maister Foxe whose iudgement and faithfulnesse in the Lordes causes are so sufficientlye grounded among the faithful both at home and abroade as my pore testimony can nothing adde thereunto naye so much as I not only protect but also reioyce my selfe in the fyrst printing hereof vnder the same And the euent hath yet more made good his choyse in this treatise whilest that the same was euen desirously embraced of the christian readers and hath ben knowne to perswade in the matter it treateth of some that before were farre wide from the truth therin For though the volume be very smal yet doth it discourse a great poynt of our christian faith religion and comfort not only very plainly and familiarly but also moste pithely and substantially which to do can not be but to the reader singularly fruitfull Wherefore I haue nowe my selfe requested of M. Foxe of whom I fyrste receiued it that it would please him to reviewe the same with such profitable additions as to him should seeme meete for the benefite of the godly reader that yet once more in my time I might publish the same to Gods glory and the comfort of the godly Wherin I esteme my selfe much bound vnto him for graunting my request And now righte honourable I thoughte my selfe to haue a fit occasion aswell to giue vnto your honor some duetiful remēbrance of my thankefulnes for so greate kindnes as I acknowledge to haue inioyed frō you● as also to publish a booke so greatly adu●̄cing the honour of God and the faithe of his people vnder your honours name to whom I know both those respects to be very precious The Lorde giue his blessing thereunto and encrease his heauly giftes vpon you with daily encreases euer preseruing your honor and al yours in this life vnto the life of immortality blessednes glory in the kingdome of heauen Your honors euer to cōmaund Hugh Singleton ¶ A preface to the booke here folowing THere came to my hands of late a certaine litle boke bearing the title An instruction hovv to be bold vpon gods promise c. VVhich boke being trāslated aboue xxx yeeres since for a deere father of mine one Richard Melton to recompence hym with some fruite of my studyes for the charge which he more like a naturall then a stepfather bestovved vpon me in setting mee to schoole and being broughte to mee by the Printer I was desired to take a litle paines in perusing the same VVhereunto to satisfie the request both of hym and certaine others which semed desierous of the booke I vvas contented to graunt And so much the more both for the authors sake being a learned vvriter of Luthers yeeres and standing and especially for the argument of the booke whiche in these our dayes I see greatly expedient much needefull for comfort of the simple ignorant For vvhat doctrine can be more excellent then of saluation vvhat more sure then the promise of God vvhat more certaine then the veritie thereof vvhat more comfortable then to stand firme and ascerteined of the same or vvhat more needefull then the same doctrine to be taughte a broad And that so much more nedefull by how much vvee see the aduersaries of this doctrine in these our dayes to growe both strong and many but none more strong then mans owne naturall sence and iudgemente vvhich f●lowing nothing but his ovvne originall capacitie vvithout the vvorde of the gospell can comprehend litle or nothing of thys mysterie From the vvhich our naturally ingrafted blindnes little differeth the scholediuinitie of the papistes who albeit they do seeme outvvardly to hold the nam of christ yet the promises made to vs in christ they hold not the freedome of his grace they see not but make doubts vvher none is teaching also that no man ought to be sure of his saluation but to stand in feare and doubt And no great maruel if they so teach for if iustification as they say doe stand by workes vvith faith and not by faith with out vvorkes by merites and not by promise frely by our selues partly and not by Christe onely how can any certainty c be holden vvithout feare or doubting And yet neither is feare altogether excluded from this certainty vvhych we hold nether vvorkes also from fayth The feare of God I meane vvhich is and ought to be in euery good childe of god And yet not vvithstanding his inheritaunce standeth fast and sure As a sonne and heyre feareth and reuerenceth his father and yet doubteth not of his heritage So God is alwayes to be feared but his couenant neuer to be mistrusted Neither doe they rightly consider the causes of our saluation whiche teache this docttrine of feare and doubting Touching the explication vvhereof thre causes are especially to be noted VVhereof the one resteth in the promise of God the other in the bloud of christ The third in the fayth of man All vvhiche three bee causes together concurrent for our saluation For both gods promise saueth and Christes passion saueth Also faith saueth but in sundry and diuers respectes by promise and grace vve ar saued as being the cause purposing or formal By Christ as cause material meritorious By faith as cause instrumental or conditional Of these three the promise the thinges promised I meane is to come The death of Christ vvherupon the promise standeth is past Faith which looketh to the person of him that dyed endureth And hereupon resteth the true assurance of saluation in the hearts of all the faithful for as it is true that the suffering of Christ is past So no lesse true it is the thinges promised vpon his suffering are to come And for so much as all these promises of God are in Christ and made to them that beleeue in him therefore fayth in Christ to vvhich fayth alone the promise is made may boldlye call hope vnto her and so most certainly assure himselfe of vndoubted saluation And here riseth vp the operacion of fayth and of hope with difference betvveene them both VVhich tvvo albeit moste ioyntly

knitte together yet they differ some what in the obiecte For as hope properly respecteth the promise of God and respecteth things to come euen so faythe properly looketh to the person of the sonne of God and in him taketh present iustification Thus then the obiecte of hope is the vvorde of promise The obiecte of fayth is principally the person of the Sauior And though it may be sayde truely speaking in righte terms that wee beleeue the promise of god to bee true yet it is not so truly said that vve beleue in the promise but hope in the promise of almighty god Faith then touching his obiect runneth to the person of the sonne in whom the promise is geuen Hope holdeth fast in the promise giuen in Christ vvhereby hope assureth faith f●aueth And as true faith in Christ can not b●e without hope So hope againe vvithout faith in Christe is to no purpose Neither is euery man ●h●t hopeth or be cause he hopeth vvell therfore saued but because he beleeueth vvell that is in the sonne of God therefore is he saued VVho so is freely saued by bloude as boldlye may hope of saluation by promise and nothing doubte Albeit notvvithstanding this hope is not alvvayes alike strōg in euery particular beleuing man for although the promises be generall and indifferently extended to all beleeuers and ought to be hold ●●st of all men yet euery particular person though hee beleeue in Christ right well can not so vvel at al tymes as we se apply these promises to himselfe as he should but many times creepeth in some distrust or misdoubt of himselfe partlye thorovve vvekenes of spirite partly through conscience of sin or greuous impressions of the enemie As many times by experience vve see happen to the good s●intes of God vvho holding the same professiō of christian fayth as other good christians doe yet in applying these generall promises to themselues can not vvithout some feare and diffidence be so comforted as others be and as they wold themselues Against vvhom nothing in this booke is ment or spoken but onely againste suche as vvilfully mayntain the contrary doctrine Not agaīst such as of infirmity being deiected through feare woulde fayne hope better and can not but against those which of purpose contrary to the promise of grace doe holde that no man oughte to be certaine or assured in this life of his saluatiō and fauour of God but euer to stande in doubte and feare thereof Of the which two sorts of men the one is to be comforted and well hoped of for though hope and faith many times in good men do shrinke and qua●e through infirmitie and tentation yet by grace and goodnes of the Lorde it riseth again The other vtterlye as hereticall and contrary to grace are to be detested and by sound doctrine impugned by such godlye bookes as in this ye may read The lord Iesus of his grace goodnes comfort the weake sp●ted raise vp them that be falne reduce the ignorāt set vp his glorious kingdome with speede to whō be glory for euer Amen Iohn Foxe AN errour of all errors most pestilent and deuilish it is to teache vs euer to doubt and neuer to be sure of Gods fauour and our saluacion as we haue bene ledde in the popes church by vnlearned priestes which for their purpose haue wickedly wrasted the words of Salomon in a wrong vnderstanding No man can till whether he be worthy of loue or hatred This erroure hath Sathan himselfe broughte into the church to obscure Christ and cleane to abolish our fayth in him and in the place of our faithe to bring in wauering and doubtfull opiniones and weake imaginations into our heades whereby in great extremitie and earnest temptations we could take no assurance but wer driuen to feare and doubting for he that doubteth of the will and fauour of God and is not assured that he will be merciful to him for Christes sake and that all his sinnes be pardoned in him and maketh a staid doctrine thereof and wilfully resteth therein hec is no trewe christian and in his incredultie can not be but condemned if he doe not rise and repent Most sure it is faith in Christ is only that maketh a true christian mā doubtting and incredulitie maketh a man no christian To bel●ue and to doubt be not both one To beleue is one thing and to doubt is an other Therefore he that continueth in this foresaid errore beleeueth not the twelue articles of our Crede in which Gods grace is clerely and vndoutedly giuen to vs in Christ Then howe can they be christian men which lack the faith of Christ Or how can such one say the Lords oration well which maketh a doctrine of doubtfulnes Hee may with his mouth sound the words O our be auēly father but his heart hath no truste in God neither hath anye ●irmitie that he is a mercifull father but doubteth of that grace of god whither he be mercifull or no or whither he pardon him or not His tonge sayth I beleeue in Iesus Christ I beleeue the forgiuenes of sinnes but his heart beleueth not that Christ dyed for our offences and that by his death he hath obteined for vs forgiuenes of all our sins He that wauereth thus can not but despaire in y laste extremitie of this life And if he despaire without repentance is in daunger for he deperteth with an euill conscience hath no knowledge of Christ nor beleueth the gospell Then what hope can he haue of euerlasting life except I say he repent his error Yet our blynde guydes seducers in the Popes clergye haue taughte vs that no man can preciselye knowe but oughte to doubte whether hee bee in Goddes fauoure or no. They that bee or haue bene in thys erroure what beleife had they dyd they not waunder like the Winde hither and thither Were they not cleane voyde of fayth Had they not a wretched vncertaine and a wauering life Howe coulde they knowe whither their workes pleased GOD or no What coulde suche a man thinke in hym selfe but thus I am a Christened man I haue studyed to lyue well and to doe good woorkes but yet I am vncertayn whither my woorkes please GOD or whether my sinnes be forgeauen me or or not Mine ill deedes be moe then my good I haue don mo sins then vertues Alas what shall become of mee They that thus wauer and doubt what hope cā they haue in the agony of death what faith haue they what thing to trust vpon At what time Sathan and his owne conscience shall accuse him of sin saying he that liueth ill shall be damned thou neuer fulfilledst the commandements of God No sinner can be saued Doth not Christ say if thou will enter into life kepe the commandements but thou hast neuer kept them Here is no hope left but that a man oppressed with such cogitations must needes

workes of the fiesh because it is required of vs to be done God forbid y any pertaining to the grace of god shold so thynke Thys is a damnable errour of the Pelagians whom as the Apostle in his wordes following doothe confute saying Who soeuer be led with the spirit of God they be the childrē of god Lesse we shoulde thinke this mortefiing of the flesh came by our spirite but by the spirit of God of the which spirite of God the same Apostle speaketh more ouer All these things sayth he worketh one alonly spirite destributing to euerye man hys gyftes so as it pleaseth hym amongste the whyche gyftes also hee rekeneth faythe So then lyke as thys mortifieng of the fleshe notwithstanding it be required of vs is the gyfte of God euen so is fayth also the very gyft of God though neuer thelesse it be required of vs if wee will bee saued to beleeue for these thinges both bee commaunded vs of god and also be the giftes of god To the entent we shoulde vnderstand that both we doe them and yet it is the gyfte of God that we doe them so as the Scripture sheweth by Ezechiell the Prophet And I sayth almighty God shal make you that you shall doe them What can be more playne Marke well this place of scripture gentyll brethren and yee shall see that God promiseth hee will make them to doe suche thinges which he will haue done And ther in the same place hee bringeth forth no merites of theirs but much wickednes shewing declaring thereby y hee giueth good for euil in y he maketh thē bring forth afterward good workes causing them to doe his commandements Also in the lxxxviii psalme hee saythe in lyke manner Lyfte vp your heartes for he which promised will performe so as he hath performed manye things alredy for the trust that we haue in him we haue it not in our merits but only of his mercy No man can be strong in this life but onely in the hope of Gods promise For as concerning our owne merites we be marueilous weake but as concerning the promise of God we bee strong And in the lxxxxviii psalme hee saythe where is security and peace hee answereth againe truely none in this lyfe but onely in the hope of the promise of God. S. Ambrose in the firste booke de vocat genti c. writeth if no man saith he wil breake or dispise a mans will or testamente as sayth the Apostle nor alter it Then howe can it bee that Gods will testament should be broken in any thing It tarieth alwayes and euery day is fulfilled that the Lorde promised to Abraham without any condition gaue with out any lawe By this saying of Ambrose it may wel appeare that the promise of the newe testament which is that God wil be mercifull vnto vs wil forgiue vs our sinnes wil giue vs the holy ghost and wil make vs safe that this promise I say doth not depend of any condition of the law For freely it commeth onely of grace because we should neuer doubte of his grace and fauour toward vs And what other thing meaneth S. Ambrose where hee sayth so ofte y wee be saued before God by fayth only and a lonely Looke vpon his comentaries of the Romains looke also in the Corin. and Gal. Theophilactus also writeth in like sort In so much saith he as it is euident that the lawe bringeth nothing but anger therefore had Abraham his iustice and inheritance giuen him because that all should goe by grace Wherefore then seing that all thinges nowe doe stande in the grace and in the mercy of God so that he is bounde nowe not to worke after his iustice then what should let vs to thinke but that all thinges bee certaine and stable what soeuer he doth giueth or promiseth Nowe if blind hipocrisie here obiecte again that Paule in this place speketh onely of Abraham and therefore y thing concerneth none els but him but wee muste seeke our health and iustification otherwise I answere again Not so For therefore Paule calleth Abraham there the father of all the beleuers and in him propoundeth to vs al y true meanes how al men both before the cōming of Christ and after the comming of Christ must be iustified And therefore this text of Paule doth as well pertaine to vs all for it is writen and set forth vnto all vs Euen as S. Paule in the very same chap. writeth This is not written for him onely sayth he that it was imputed to him for iustice but for vs all to whom it shall be imputed for iustice beleeuing on him who raysed vp from death our Lord Iesus Christ w̄ was giuen for our sins and raised vp again for our iustificatiō Amen Difference between the Papist and the Protestant How feare confidēce stand togeather in a true christian Three causes of saluatiō declared Assurance of our saluation hovv it resteth Hovve faith bringeth in hope The difference betwene faith and hope discussed The obiecte of faith and of hope considered The operation of faith and hope Faith saueth hope comforteth The cause of our saluation euer to faith onely and not to hope Faith to iustification may be somtimes where hop fainteth but hope to comfort can neuer be without faith Eccl. 9 The Hebrue text meaneth āother thing and is wrong trāslated A true christian man doubteth not of Gods fauour Faith. Incredulity Math. 19. The doctrine of the priests clergye VVhat hope is by the sophisters Grace and deseruing are tvvo cōtrary things to be seperated The lavve Rom. 7. Gala. 5. 1. Iohn 1 Eph. 64. Luke 17. good works hovv they are necessarye Gala. 2. Math. 5. Phil. 2. 2. Pet. 1 Iohn 1 Gala. 3. Euil vvorks The foundation of our faith Rom. 5. VVhat true faith is Acts. 15. Iohn 15. Iohn 13. Luke 19. No good faith no good vvorks True faith true vvorks Ephe. 4. Rom. 8. Our iustification only belongeth to Iesus Christ. Appeale frō the lavve to Christ. VVhat the promise of God is Hie. 31. Heb. 3. Heb. 9. 2. Cor. 1 Psalme 89. VVeakenes in Christes kingdome born vvithal Truth Grace Esa. 55. Iere 31. Nota. Heb. 8. 10. Gala. 3. VVe oughte not to dout Bond testament promise mercy oth Gods promise is a gi●t VVhat vvas the cause vvhy Moses vvas preached and not Christ. The vse of the lawe VVhy the lavv vvas giuen Rom. 6 Gala. 3. Marke this vvell Gala. 2. Rom. 8. Gala. 3 The ende of the lavve Rom. 10. Iere. 11. Good men doe sinne Rom. 4. Gal. 3. Not● Iacob 2 Gala. 2. Roma 4. Rom. 4. The promise vvas made before the law cāe Nota. The promise came vvithout any cōdition Condition excluded The foundation of our hope Grace free vvithout condition Rom. 8. Marke and learne Tit. 3. Gal. 3. Ephe. 1. The holy spirite is our pledge Rom. 4. Experience Remedy in tentation Rom. 5. Christs kingdome is a kingdom of secu●●e Esa. 32. Esa. 9. Christ the prince of peace Icre 23. Esa. 42. The conclusion Obiection of the papistes An answere Cirillus Ancient doctors against the new Roman Papistes Augustine de predest 11. Ezechiell Augustine vpon the psal 88. VVe be weak in our selues in Gods promise strong Ambrose De vocat genti lib. 1. Cap. 3. Ambrose vp on Paule to the Rom. 3. 4. 9. 10. 1. Cor. 1. Gal. 1. 3. 5. Theophilact in Rom. 4 Rom. 4. ¶ Imprinted at Londō by Hugh Singleton dvvelling in Crede Lane at the signe of the gylden Tunn neere vnto Ludgate and are there to be sold. Cum priuilegio Anno. 1579.