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	instrument_n	justification_n	2,903	5	9.7467	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A59693	Theses Sabbaticæ, or, The doctrine of the Sabbath wherein the Sabbaths I. Morality, II. Change, III. Beginning. IV. Sanctification, are clearly discussed, which were first handled more largely in sundry sermons in Cambridge in New-England in opening of the Fourth COmmandment : in unfolding whereof many scriptures are cleared, divers cases of conscience resolved, and the morall law as a rule of life to a believer, occasionally and distinctly handled / by Thomas Shepard ...	Shepard, Thomas, 1605-1649.	1650 (1650)	Wing S3145; ESTC R31814	262,948	313

therefore so under the law i. the feare and terrour of the law as they were the summe of all this is that although we are not so under the law 1. so accompanied and 2. so dispensed as they were under the Old Testament yet this hinders not but that we are under the directive power of the Law as well as they Thesis 109. The Apostle speakes of a law written and engraven on stones and therefore of the morall Law which is now abolished by Christ in the Gospel 2 Cor. 3.6 7 11 13. Is the morall law therefore abolished as a rule of life now no verily but the meaning of this place is as the former Gal. 3.25 for the Apostle speaking of the morall Law by a Synecdoche comprehends the ceremoniall law also both which the false Teachers in those times urged as necessary to salvation and justification at least together with Christ against whom the Apostle here disputes the morall Law therefore is abolished first as thus accompanied with a yoke of Ceremonies secondly as it was formerly dispensed the glorious and greater light of the Gospel now obscuring that lesser light under the Law and therefore the Apostle vers 10. doth not say that there was no glory shining in the Law but it had no comparative glory in this respect by reason of the glory which excelleth and lastly the Apostle may speak of the morall Law considered as a Covenant of life which the false teachers urged in which respect he cals it the Ministry of death and the letter which killeth and the ministers of it who were called Nazarei and Minei as Bullinger thinks the Ministers of the letter which although it was virtually abolished to the beleeving Jews before Gospell times the vertue of Christs death extending to all times yet it was not then abolished actually untill Christ came in the flesh and actually undertooke to fullfill this Covenant for us to the utmost farthing of doing and suffering which is exacted and now it is abolished both virtually and actually that now we may with open face behold the glory of the Lord as the end of the law for righteousnesse to every one that doth beleeve Thesis 110. The Gospell under which Beleevers now are requires no doing say some for doing is proper to the Law the Law promiseth life and requires conditions but the Gospell say they promiseth to work the condition but requires none and therefore a beleever is now wholly free from all Law but the Gospell and Law are taken two waies 1. Largely the Law for the whole doctrine contained in the Old Testament and the Gospell for the whole doctrine of Christ and the Apostles in the New Testament 2. Strictly the Law pro lege operum as Chamier distinguisheth and the Gospell pro lege fidei i. for the Law of faith the Law of works strictly taken is that Law which reveals the favour of God and eternall life upon condition of doing or of perfect obedience the Law of faith strictly taken is that doctrine which reveals remission of sins reconciliation with God by Christs righteousnesse onely apprehended by faith now the Gospell in this latter sence excludes all works and requires no doing in point of justification and remission of sins before God but only beleeving but take the Gospel largely for the whole doctrine of Gods love and free grace and so the Gospel requires doing for as 't is an act o● Gods free grace to justifie a man without calling for any works thereunto so 't is an act of the same free grace to require works of a person justified and that such poor sinners should stand before the Son of God on his throne to minister unto him and serve him in righteousnesse and holinesse all the daies of our lives Tit. 2.14 and for any to think that the Gospell requires no conditions is a sudden dream against hundreds of Scriptures which contain conditionall yet evangelicall promises and against the judgement of the most judicious of our Divines who in dispute against Popish writers cannot but acknowledge them only thus viz. conditions and promises annexed to obedience are one thing saith learned Perable and conditions annexed to perfect obedience are another the first are in the Gospel the other not works are necessary to salvation saith Chamier necessitate praesentiae not efficientiae and hence he makes two sorts of conditions some antecedentes which work or merit salvation and these are abandoned in the Gospel other● he saith are consequentes which follow the state of a man justified and these are required of one already justified in the Gospell there are indeed no conditions required of us in the Gospel but those onely which the Lord himselfe shall or hath wrought in us and which by requiring of us he doth worke will it therefore follow that no condition is required in us but because every condition is promised no verily for requiring the condition is the meanes to worke it as might be plentifully demonstrated and meanes and end should not be separated Faith it selfe is no antecedent condition to our justification or salvation take antecedent in the usuall sence of some Divines for affecting or meriting condition which Iunius cals essentialis conditio but take antecedent for a means or instrument of justification and receiving Christs righteousnesse in this sence it is the only antecedent condition which the Gospel requires therein because it do●h only antecedere or go before our justification at least in order of nature not to merit it but to receive it not to make it but to make it our own not as the matter of our righ●eousness or any part of it but as the only means of apprehending Christs righteousnesse which is the only cause why God the Father justifieth and therefore as Christs righteousnesse must go before as the matter and moving cause of our justification or that for which we are justified so faith must go before this righteousnesse as an instrument or applying cause of it by which we are justified that is by meanes of which we apply that righteousnesse which makes us just 'T is true God justifies the ungodly but how not immediately without faith but mediately by faith as is most evident from that abused text Rom. 4.5 When works and faith are opposed by the Apostle in point of justification affirming that we are justified by faith not by works he doth hereby plainly affirm and give that to faith which he denies to works look therefore as he denies works to be antecedent conditions of our justification he affirms the contrary of faith which goes before our justification as hath been explained and therefore as doe and live hath been accounted good Law or the Covenant of works so beleeve and live hath been in former times accounted good Gospel or the Covenant of grace untill now of late this wilde age hath found out new Gospels that Paul and the Apostles did never dream of Thesis 111. A servant and a son may

a sinner as a sinner had need consider what they say for is it to a sinner as possest with Christ and receiving of him or as dispossest of Christ not having of him but rather refusing and rejecting of him If they say the first they then speak the truth but then they raze down their own pernicious principle that Christ and Gods love belongs to them As sinners If they affirm the latter then they do injuriously destroy Gods free grace and the glory of Christ who think to possesse promises without possessing Christ or to have promises of grace without having Christ the foundation of them all For though the common love of God as the bare offer of grace is may be manifested without having Christ yet speciall actuall love cannot be actually our own without having and first receiving of him And if the Spirit of God convince the world of sin and consequently of condemnation while they do not beleeve Ioh. 16.9 I wonder how it can then convince them of pardon of sin and reconciliation before they do beleeve unlesse we will imagine it to be a lying spirit which is blasphemous These things not considered of have and do occasion much errour at this day in the point of evidencing and hath been an inlet of deep delusion and open gaps have been made hereby to the loose waies and depths of Familism and grosse Arminianism and therefore being well considered of are sufficient to clear up the waies of those faithfull servants of the Lord who dare not sow pillows nor cry peace to the wicked much lesse to sinners as sinners both from the slanderous imputation of legall ministrations after an old Testament manner as also of making works the ground of faith or the causes of assurance of faith the free offer being the ground of the one and the free promise the cause and ground of the other Briefly therefore 1. The free offer of grace is the first evidence to a poor lost sinner that he may be beloved 2. The receiving of this offer by faith relatively considered in respect of Christs spotlesse righteousnesse is the first evidence shewing why he is beloved or what hath moved God actually to love him 3. The worke of sanctification which is the fruit of our receiving this offer is the first evidence shewing that he is beloved If therefore a condemned sinner be asked whether God may love him and why he thinks so he may answer Because Jesus Christ is held forth and offered to such a one If he be further asked why or what he thinks should move God to love him he may answer Because I have received Christs righteousnesse offered for which righteousnesse sake only I know I am beloved now I have received it If he be asked lastly how he knows certainly that he is beloved he may answer safely and confidently Because I am sanctified I am poor in spirit therefore mine is the kingdom of heaven I do mourn and therefore I shall be comforted I do hunger and thirst and therefore I shall be satisfied c. We need in time of distresse and temptation all these evidences and therefore it is greatest wisdom to pray for that spirit which may clear them all up unto us rather then to contend which should be the first And thus we see that the whole morall law is our rule of life and consequently the law of the Sabbath which is a branch of this rule We now proceed to shew the third branch of things generally and primarily morall Thesis 120. Thirdly Not only a day nor only a rest day but the rest day or Sabbath day which is expressed and expressely interpreted in the Commandment to be the seventh day or a seventh day of Gods determining and therefore called The Sabbath of the Lord our God is here also enjoined and commanded as generally morall For if a day be morall what day must it be If it be said that any day which humane wisdom shall determine whether one day in a hundred or a thousand or one day in many years if this only be generally morall then the rule of morality may be broken because the rule of equality may be thus broken by humane determination For it may be very unequall and unjust to give God one day in a hundred or a thousand for his worship and to assume so many beside to our selves for our own use There is therefore something else more particularly yet primarily morall in this Command and that is The Sabbath day or such a day wherein there appears an equal division and a fit proportion between time for rest and time for work a time for God and a time for man and that is a ●●venth day which God determines A fit proportion of time for God is morall because equal man cannot determine nor set out this proportion God therefore only can and must A day therefore that he shall determine is morall and if he declares his determination to a seventh A seventh day is therefore morall Gomarus confesseth that by the Analogy of this Commandment not one day in a thousand or when man pleaseth but that one day in seven is morall at least equal fit and congruous to observe the same and if the Analogy he speaks of ariseth virtute mandati divini or by vertue of Gods Commandment the cause is in effect yielded but if this Analogy be made virtute libertatis humanae so that humane liberty may do well to give God one in seven because the Jews did so and why should Christians be more scant then I see not but humane liberty may assume power to it self to impose monthly and annuall holy daies as well because the Jews had their new moons and yearly festivals and by Analogy thereof why may not Christians who have more grace poured out upon them and more love shewn unto them under the Gospel hold some meet proportion with them therein also as well as in Sabbaths But it can never be proved that God hath left any humane wisdom at liberty to make holy daies by the rule of Jewish proportions Beside if humane wisdom see it meet and congruous to give God at least one day in seven this wisdom and reason is either regulated by some law and then 't is by vertue of the law of God that he should have one day in seven or 't is not regulated by a law and then we are left to a loose end again for man to appoint what day he sees meet in a shorter or a longer time his own reason being his only law and this neither Gomaras nor the words of the Commandment will allow which sets and fixeth the day which we see is one day in seven which not man but God shall determine and therefore called The Sabbath of the Lord our God Thesis 121. The hardest knot herein to unloose lies in this to know whether a seventh day in generall which God shall determine or that particular Seventh day from the creation be