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	life_n	work_n	3,707	5	6.0653	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A06060	The mirrour or miracle of Gods loue vnto the world of his elect Preached on the third of Iohn, verse the sixteenth: wherein the said scripture is very learnedly expounded, and the rich treasures of Gods grace in Christ are accurately opened. By that faithfull seruant of Christ, and preacher of his Gospell, Mr. Paul Baine.	Baynes, Paul, d. 1617.	1619 (1619)	STC 1646; ESTC S101581	52,320	82

workes If ye mortifie the deeds of the flesh yee shall liue Rom. 8.13 If yee sowe to the Spirit you shall reape of the Spirit life euerlasting Gal. 6.8 I answere hereunto that there are some conditions The conditions of the Gospell are not couenant● binding 〈◊〉 merit but simple conditions according well with mercy simply conditionall that doe well stand with grace Such are those conditions whereon they onely interceding we promise and vndertake to doe a matter or bestowe a kindnesse on any As Goe with me to such a place and I will giue thee hidden treasure Come to me to morrow and I wil giue thee an hundred pound There are other conditions which haue the reason of a cause meritorious Such doe not onely intercede but deserue vpon contract as much as wee promise as Doe my worke well and I will pay you truely Of this kinde are those conditions which are contained in the Law Doe this and thou shalt liue As for the other of the Gospell they are onely bare and simple conditions which deserue nothing but must intercede and precede the bestowing of eternall life And heere it were worth our labour to consider the grounds of merit 4. Grounds of the merit of workes laid by Papists which the Papists lay downe in the chiefe of their arguments They are these First Christs Merit Secondly our Adoption Thirdly our Workes Fourthly Gods couenanting with vs. But none of these are sufficient to establish merit But they are false ones For first we cannot merit as children eternall life because it is our right by birth No child can be said to merit the inheritance to which hee is borne and how doth any merit that which is his right already Nor doe our workes of themselues merit when all obedience is but a witnesse of our thankefulnesse nor is there any proportion betweene the duety and the inheritance Neither yet as they are died with the bloud of Christ or doe come from his spirit For as they are of Christ dwelling in vs by his spirit so are they also from our selues hauing a Law of sinne dwelling in vs and lusting against the spirit which make them to be done imperfectly and by halues But this say they maketh them the more meritorious because they bee done with the greater difficultie Yea but this is a doctrine which the Apostle knew not For then hee needed not to haue cried out in that respect O miserable man that I am c. and to flye to Christ that he might escape condemnation as he doth Rom. 7.24 25. And for their couenant it is not a couenant binding vs to doe any thing meritorious toward the obtaining of life but onely a simple condition requiring some thing to be done before the full fruition of glory but well agreeing with and no way hindering mercy It is further obiected that life euerlasting is a reward and that rewards are deserued Answ All rewards are not due vpon nor giuen for desert there is a reward giuen by fauour Rom. 4.4 There are rewards of fauour as well as desert When Paul saith that to him that worketh the reward is counted not by fauour but by debt doth hee not insinuate so much that some oft receiue euen liberall rewards onely vpon the fauour of the donour And our Sauiuiour saith Luke 6.32 And if yee loue them that loue you what thankes shall ye haue c. The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth a gratuitie as it were and a reward of free fauour importing thus much that what reward men haue of God euen vpon their best seruice it is but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a gratuitie no 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 no debt vpon desert Lastly they say that which is giuen according to workes is deserued by workes But so is eternall life Answ That indeed which is giuen according vnto workes as the meritorious causes thereof that may wel be said to be deserued by works But now eternall life is not so giuen but is bestowed according to workes as they are testimonies of our faith Workes haue a reward not as merits but as testimonies of Faith whereby we rest on Christ onely for our saluation and for whose sake onely beleeued on they expect eternall life Vses 1. It sheweth the prerogatiue of the faithfull Now for the vses of this point First it doth shew vs our prerogatiue that we haue by faith and should excite vs to reioice therein yea to long and labour fully to enioy it What is then the prerogatiue of such as beleeue Surely as Saint Paul saith of the Iew Rom. 3.2 much euery manner of way For thereby wee are brought out of dismall darkenesse to walke in the light of Gods countenance and truth wee are translated out of the wofull condition of eternall death to life and immortalitie both which are brought to light for vs to behold and enioy by the Gospell 2. Tim. 1.10 wee are made aliue to God exalted to the dignitie of Gods sonnes and daughters Who are thereby Gods children heires of life called to the hope yea inuested with some possession of euerlasting life And are not these great preferments aboue the residue of mankinde who through vnbeliefe abide still in death and misery Are not these worthy dignities for earth and ashes as wee are to attaine to Behold saith Iohn 1. Ioh. 3.1 what loue the Father hath shewed vs that wee should be called the sonnes of God Yea it is an honour and dignitie Which is a great dignity so to be Iohn 1.12 When Saul did offer vnto Dauid to make him his sonne by the marriage of his daughter it did seeme too high an honour for him whose parentage was meane for to accept Seemeth it vnto you saith he a light thing to bee a Kings sonne in law seeing I am a poore man and of small reputation 1. Sam. 18.23 What an vnspeakeable dignitie is it then that by faith wee obtaine to bee the sonnes of the great King of heauen and earth are made his heires and adopted into fellowship of eternall life and glory with Iesus Christ For God dealeth not with vs as Abraham did with his base sonnes so to call them vnto whom he gaue gifts and then sent them packing Gen. 25.6 God doth not so turne off his faithfull ones but he receiueth and keepeth them in his family and admitteth to be partners in the inheritance wit●●is Isaac euen with his Christ who is the heire of all things It is then an inheritance that by faith we are b●gotten too and such a one as is immortall vndefiled and neuer fading It is life that we obtaine life I say which of it selfe is most sweet chiefely to such as we were who were condemned to die and could looke for nothing but death and such a life as is both accompanied with all fulnesse of ioy peace glory and happinesse and shall also euer endure Now then this being our prerogatiue how should

vp in the generall promise How we haue a particular word for the pardon of our sinnes in particularly as it hath a commandement annexed thereto for euery one to apply it to himselfe If a King shall by proclamation exhort his subiects that are risen in armes against him to lay downe their armes and submit themselues vnto him and withall promise that whosoeuer shall so doe shall haue his pardon is it not as good and firme to euery one that cometh in accordingly as if the King had by name said to him Thou and thou shalt haue thy pardon Now doth not God promise pardon mercy to euery one that beleeueth in the name of Christ and doth he not command euery one to beleeue in Christ and to take this promise as made to him in particular What then is this but euen as much as if he did say to euery beleeuer by name Thy sinnes are forgiuen thee Secondly they obiect Iustifying faith goeth before iustification but the beleefe that our sinnes are pardoned must follow the pardon of them which they thus proue The beleefe of the pardon of our sinnes doth follow our iustification or else wee beleeue our sinnes pardoned when they are not Faith and pardon of sin go together but this were a false and foolish faith Ergo c. Ans Neither of these is true For neither doth the beleefe of the pardon of our sins follow our iustification nor yet doe wee beleeue our sinnes forgiuen before they bee forgiuen For God hath thus appointed that whensoeuer a sinner beleeueth and repenteth his iniquity shall then be done away They goe together But it will bee asked How faith can beleeue the pardon of sinne before the pardon is really made we cannot see a thing before it be and something is presented to vs that is visible Ans Faith requireth one kinde of obiect sense another the obiect of sense must bee actually existing in the nature of things but it sufficeth that the obiect of faith be in the word of promise Now the pardon of sinne Pardon of sin hath its being in the word of promise before we enioy it hath its being euen before it be beleeued in regard of Gods decree then also of Christs merit and purchase and lastly in the word of promise which doth assure thee that vpon thy beleeuing thy sinnes are pardoned Now faith taketh this pardon presented to it in the word of promise and trauailing with it bringeth forth the actuall remission of our sinne which vpon our faith wee receiue from God Againe they say if this be iustifying faith to haue trust and assurance that our sinnes are pardoned then we cannot say as we are taught to pray Forgiue vs our sinnes Ans That doth not follow for as in other graces so in faith wee must grow and go from faith to faith more more strongly to beleeue the pardon of our sinnes How wee doe pray for the daily pardon of our sinnes which already in part wee beleeue this is it then which vvee craue in that petition which we may well do yea ought to do that for our daily trespasses which wee fall vnto we may by faith apprehend and obtaine the pardon of them and for our former trespasses that the pardon of them may be made good to vs and by a greater measure of faith more firmely apprehended and confirmed to our soules Lastly they obiect Faith is the cause of confidence ergo not confidence it selfe Ans It doth not follow but rather the contrarie it breedeth confidence ergo it hath it for nothing can make another thing hot which hath not heat in it selfe nor could faith ingender confidence in the beleeuer if in its owne nature it did not containe the same Doct. 7. Faith doth iustifie vs not of it selfe but for Christ whom it apprehendeth That we beleeuing on him Before we come to the vses of this point wee may heere fitly obserue another point that hath much affinity with the former that is Whence it is that faith saueth and iustifieth vs it is not for its owne worth but for Christ on whom it resteth GOD gaue his onely begotten Sonne saith Christ that we beleeuing on him might haue life teaching vs that for this obiect that is Iesus Christ the onely begotten of God to whom it is referred whom it apprehendeth wee are iustified and saued Wee are to know then that when we say we are iust●fied by faith it is all one with this that wee are iustified through Christ apprehended by faith The Papists say indeed that this is a glosse of our owne making Wherefore we will a little further cleare and confirme the poynt First then the phrase of Scripture if we well mark it will teach vs thus much that it is not the worthiness of faith for which we are iustified for wee read that of faith and by faith and through faith wee are iustified as Rom. 3.30 5.1 but we neuer read for faith we are iustified as if it were ascribed to the worth of faith But not to stand on this the equivalence of the former phrases is the expresse word of the Scripture To be iustified by faith and by Christ apprehended by faith is all one In the third chapter of the Epistle to the Romans and elsewhere oft we meet with this phrase Wee are iustified by faith now in the fift chapter of the said Epistle it is said verse the 17. that we shall raigne in life through Iesus Christ and verse 19. that by his obedience we shall be made righteous What in the first place is called iustification and saluation by faith that in the other is called making righteous and raigning in life through Christ and him beleeued on So also Acts 3.16 First saith Peter his name hath made this man sound through faith in his name and then the faith which is by him hath giuen to him this disposition of his body Is it not plaine here that faith hath healed him is as much as his name or Christ beleeued on hath healed him the one phrase doth expound the other Reason of the point But beside this there are pregnant reasons to manifest this thing First then Faith doth onely so iustifie vs as it apprehends the righteousnesse of God Reason 1. But Christ onely is the righteousnesse of GOD. Christ is Gods righteousne●●e Hee is Iehoua our righteousnesse Ier. 33.16 the Sunne of righteousnesse Mal 4.2 No righteousnesse can suffice to our iustification but such as one as God doth ordaine and allow nay such a righteousnesse as is of and in him who is not onely man but God also for it must counteruaile infinite sinnes and suffice for many thousands that are to be saued Nor can such a righteousnesse doe vs any good vnlesse as it is most sufficient in it selfe so it bee made ours Whom faith onely doth make ours And where is such a righteousnesse to be found but in Christ