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	justify_v	righteousness_n	6,227	5	8.2608	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A90897	God the father glorified: and the worke of mens redemption, and salvation finished by Iesus Christ on earth. Opened in a sermon before the Right Honorable the Lord Major, and the Right Worshipful the sheriffes, aldermen, and recorder, of the Citie of London, the second day of the tenth moneth (called December) 1649. / By Vavasor Powell, a willing (though weake) labourer in Christs Vine-yard in Wales.	Powell, Vavasor, 1617-1670.	1649 (1649)	Wing P3087; Thomason E584_15; ESTC R206284	43,217	67

a faith begotten and wrought by the Gospel and spirit it is not a precious purifying powerfull working soule-humbling faith such as is the faith commended in the Seriptures and such a faith as does undoe you and strip you naked of all you have This is the faith of the godly which most want and which is worse are not sensible that they want it Thirdly Take heed of making your faith to be the cause of your Justification For thereby you may misse it as well as others miss'd it by making their works the cause Note that faith is but the Instrument and meanes whereby you do apprehend and enjoy your iustification Christ is your righteousnesse and by him and his death sufferings you are justified 2 Cor. 5. ●9 Rom. 8.33 yea and that truly and really too I meane virtually in Christ and before God before you do beleeve Object But doth not the Act of beleeving iustifie men Rom. 4.6.3 Gal. 3.6 for it is said of Abraham that his faith was reckoned to him for righteousnesse Ans 1. It s true that Abrahams faith was reckoned to him for righteousnesse But mark when was that reckoned to him and what was it that he did beleeve Do but read Gen. 15.6 where this Text is first found in Scripture and you will find there that this beleeving of his was the beleeving the promise concerning the giving of Isaac and the multiplying of his seed Gen. 12.3 13.3.9 14.19 and this Promise was made a long time after his first beleeving Gen. 12.3.3 13.3 9 14.19 Also the Apostle Jamee apply's this expression to Abrahams work even to the offering up of Isaac Jam. 2.21 23. 2. The same expression is used of Phinehas for killing Zimri and Cozby Psal 206.13 That saith the Text was counted unto him for righteousnesse will any now conclude from hence that the killing of these two uncleane persons was the cause of Phineas justification from sinne No the meaning of it is this that this Act did testifie his faith and righteousnesse and God did reckon and account it as a righteous Act. Object But the Scripture is cleare that men are iustified by faith and by beleoving Ans So the Scripture is cleare that men are justified by (a) Iam. 2.2.24 25. Works by (b) Mat. 12.3 Luk. 18 14. Words But you are to understand in what sense men are justified by these Mark therefore By (c) Gal. 2.1 Rom. 3.24.1 Cor. 6. ●● Christ his death sufferings and Resurrection men are really and virtually justified By faith men are personally and apprehensively justified and by Works and Words men are declaratively justified In the first sense men are justified before God in the second sense they are justified in their own consciences and in the third sense they are justified before men So having directed you what you should take heed of and not do I come in the next place to shew you and direct you what you should do I shall give you but five directions and those in short First Labour to eve all that Christ hath done as done for others and not for himselfe for Christ was not like the High Priest under the Law Heb. 7.27 that was to offer first for his owne sins and then for the sins of the people No he had no sinne of his owne to suffer for as I shewed before therefore what ever he did suffered he did suffered the same as a surety Saviour Object I know that Christ dyed for others and not for himselfe but then it was for his elect I feare I am not one of them Answ Thou art not to enquire after or once to question thy election till thou dost first believe And so the Apostle teacheth Say not in thy heart ● Rom. 60.1 who shall ascend into Heaven that is to bring Christ from above Or who shall ascend into the deepe that is to bring up Christ againe from the dead i.e. look neither upon Election nor preterition but look upon the word of faith which is preached to thee and which commands thee to beleeve Secondly Stay not from Christ till you set and find humiliation preparations and qualifications in your selves for this in a sence is either to look upon Christs satisfaction as not sufficient or else to look upon Christ as unwilling to make you partakers of it unlesse you bring somewhat in lieu of it at least till you are fitted for it you cannot have it Consider I pray you where and from whom can you have that humiliation preparation and qualfication unlesse it be from Christ God the Father saith that he will give him i e. Christ for a Covenant unto the people Esa 42 6.7 to open the eyes of the blind c. Here you see Christ must open the eyes of the blind before they can see So Christ himselfe saith without me ye can do nothing Joh. 15.5 if men can do nothing without Christ why then should they think to fit themselves for him Object Because that those that are so fitted and humbled are called to Christ and have the promise belonging unto them As Christ saith Ho every one that thirsleth come ye to the waters and in another place Come unto me all yee that are weary and heavy laden and I will ease you Ans You and many others doubtlesse have been much mistaken in those and such Scriptures for the meaning is not that Christ inviteth and maketh promise only to such that are thirsty heavy laden c. Though it be true that he invites those and makes promises unto such in a more speciall manner yet not excluding others As a Phisitian that comes to two Patients to cure them both yet if he see the one in greater paint and torment then the other he will take him in hand before the other but not him only for he will cure the other also that paradventure may be lesse sencible yea altogether sencelesse of his disease or wound Object But yet me thinks a man that is not wounded will never desire to goe to the Phisitiam nor have the Phisitian come to him So a sinner that is not fensible of his sinnes will not goe to Christ neither will hee bee willing that I should come to him Ans Though poore senceles sinners will not go to Christ nor desire their Phisitian Christ to come unto them yet Christ knowing their want and danger will come to them as he went to the Samaritans others Object But he saith he is come to seek and to save that which is lost Ans Very true but he doth not say those that did see themselves lost those I grant he comes more specially to seek heere he means See Luk. 19 ● with Mat. 9.11.1 but to those that were the greatest sinners and lost in the eyes of others as the Publicans and Harlots were in the apprehensions of the Iews This is the true meaning of that Text. Thirdly