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
A67085	The key of saving knovvledge, opening out of the holy Scriptures, the right way, and straight passage to eternall life, or, A dialogue wherein the chiefe principles of the Christian religion are unfolded for the enabling of Christian people, to understand the Word of God ... composed by Geo. Walker ...	Walker, George, 1581?-1651.	1641 (1641)	Wing W360; ESTC R39413	43,048	124

their actuall beliefe and exercise of their saving Faith Answ. They receive hereby First a comfortable sense feeling and fruition of their regeneration renovation effectuall calling union adoption remission of sins justification reconciliation and in a word communion of all Christs benefits and hence it is that they are said by Faith to turne to God to be united to Christ adopted justified and to obtaine remission of all their sins that is in their own sense and feeling And secondly by this actuall beleeving and by the sense and feeling which it brings to the beleevers all other graces are set a worke and more and more increased in them Quest How doth beleeving give to the Elect a feeling of their regeneration renovation effectuall calling union adoption and other saving works of God in them Answ. First as it is a fruit and work of the Spirit of regeneration and adoption which hee never workes in any but them who are regenerate made new creatures effectually called united to Christ adopted and have communion of all his benefits so it is a cleare evidence to them of those graces in themselves and by it the Spirit witnesseth with their spirits that they are the children of God by regeneration and adoption and are effectually cald and engraffed into Christ become new creatures heires of God and coheires with Christ Secondly the act of beleeving by a true saving Faith is an applying of the things beleeved to themselvs and by beleeving that they are regenerat renued effectually cald united adopted and have cōmunion of Christs perfect satisfaction intercession and righteousnesse they possesse and injoy all those graces and are in their own sense fully reconciled to God Quest How are they justified and have their sins pardoned by Faith Answ. They are justified and have their sins remitted by Faith not as by an instrumentall cause and meanes to make them righteous before God but as by the hand of the soule receiving and applying to themselves the righteousnesse of Christ to make them righteous in their own sense and feeling And their actuall beleeving that they are justified and pardoned is neither their righteousnesse nor the satisfaction for their sins nor any thing which in it selfe properly is accepted of God or reputed for righteousnesse and satisfaction but is only the applying of Christs righteousnes and satisfaction to themselves and an assuring of themselves that by communion thereof they are justified And by this beleeving they possesse and sweetly enjoy them and are in their owne sense and feeling justified and absolved from the guilt of al their sins and obteine this testimony from God that they are righteous Rom. 4. 3. Quest Can any man bee justified before hee doth actually beleeve Answ. If we take justification in the first most proper and principall sense as it is the act of God alone communicating Christs righteousnesse and satisfaction to his elect when hee doth first unite them to Christ by his Spirit and make Christ theirs with all his treasures Then it must bee granted that men may be and are justified before and without any expresse act of beleeving As for example elect infants which dye in their infancy when they are regenerated and united to Christ by his Spirit they have communion of his righteousnesse and are justified and made righteous and all their sins are abolished and blotted out and yet they do not actually beleeve nor performe any explicit and expresse act of Faith Also they who are not effectually called to the state of grace and to communion with Christ till they come to yeares of discretion though they have the gift of Faith immediatly at the same time infused into them yet Christs righteousnesse is in order of nature communicated to them and they are made righteous by it before God before they do actually beleeve or can truly beleeve that Christ is made to them righteousnesse or can by beleeving possesse and enjoy his righteousnesse for justification As a child may bee borne or made an heire to Lands Honor and riches and may have a true right and interest in them and bee Lord of all before hee hath wit to know his own estate or discretion to possesse actually and use them So men may be justified by Christs righteousnesse madetheirs in the first instant of their regeneration and spirituall union with Christ before they do actually beleeve and sensibly possesse and enjoy Christ and his obedience for justification But if we take justification in a secondary sense as it is an act wherein the elect themselves do cooperat and work together with God by receiving and applying to themselves particularly the gift of righteousnesse freely given unto them and by possessing and enjoying it then must actuall beleeving go before it as the instrumentall cause by which God justifieth them in their own sense and feeling and upon which he doth esteeme and account them righteous in the intercourse betweene him and them and gives them his warrant to esteeme themselves justified with him But if we take justification in a Iudiciary sense as it is used in Courts of Iustice and Iudgement for proving declaring and pronouncing men righteous Then not only Faith and actuall beleeving but also repentance amendment of life and all holy Christian duties and good works of piety mercy and charity must necessarily go before as evidences testimonies and proofes by which men must be justified that is judged declared and pronounced righteous First in the Court of their owne conscience so often as sin and Satan stand up against them to accuse them Secondly in the common judgement of men Thirdly in the generall judgement at the last day Of the first Iustification the Apostle speakes Rom. 5. 19. where he saith that by the obedience of Christ many are made righteous and Rom. 8. 4. and 1 Cor. 5. 21. Of the second he speakes Rom. 3. 28. and 4. 3. and Gal. 3. 8. where he saith we are justified by saith without workes or deedes of the Law Of the third Saint James speakes where he saith that Abraham was justified by works Jam. 2. 21. and Job 13. 18. where he saith Behold now I have ordered my cause I know that I shall be justified and this S. Paul cals justification of life Rom. 5. 18. because it is an adjudging of men to eternall life according to the evidence of their works as our Saviour sheweth Mat. 24. 35. Quest How doth justifying Faith differ from that which they call historicall Faith Answ. They both in the elect are one and the same Faith and differ onely as severall acts of the same Faith exercised about severall objects For when they beleeve the History of the Scripture and that those things are true which they heare or read out of Gods Word this is called historicall Faith But when they beleeve firmely and confidently that the promises of God in Christ belong to them and that Christ with his righteousnes is given to them of God made theirs this