Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	good_a	great_a	sin_n	4,328	5	4.6860	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A08844	A faithfull admonition of the Paltsgraues churches to all other Protestant churches in Dutchland. That they would consider the great danger that hangeth ouer their heads as well as ours by the Popedome, and therefore Christianly and brotherly cease the priuate vnnecessary and now too much growne strife vvith vs. Together with a short abstract of the warning about the Iesuites bloodthirsty plots published in print at Tubing. Published by authoritie. According to the original printed in the Electors palsgranes [sic] country at Nustadt, vpon the Hardt, Englished by Iohn Rolte.	Rolte, John.; Beard, Thomas, d. 1632.	1614 (1614)	STC 19129; ESTC S114063	23,398	47

vnto you that you shall not resist euill What could be more manifestly in shew said and laid before them and yet neuerthelesse they suffered wrong Euen so in truth are we also wronged whē men broach such feareful odious matters of vs. which a man cannot easily vtter without sinning For example they say of vs that wee teach that God is the cause of sinne and hath a delight and pleasure in sin and helpeth to sin but God knoweth whom no man can deceiue that such blasphemy against God neuer entred into our minds The contentious would wring it out of this that some of ours write that there befalleth nothing without the foreknowledge councell and will of God no not sinne it selfe Now it is certaine our men write thus that there can nothing be done without the foreknowledge councell and will of God whether it be little or great bad or good either in heauen or on earth But they doe not therfore say that God is the cause of sinne or hath delight and pleasure in sinne and helpeth therein But they teach in all their writings the clean contrary that God is not the author of sinne that also hee hath no delight and pleasure in sinne and that he helpeth no man to sinne or doth either secretly or openly prouoke them to it But whereas indeede they doe write that there comes nothing to passe without the foreknowledge councell will of God yea also that which in it selfe is euill and sinne That vnderstand they thus not otherwaies as Luke vnderstands it where he writes of the feareful and great sinne which Herod and Pilate committed against Christ Act. 4.27.28 doing whatsoeuer the hand and councel of God had determined before to be done More cleerely they vnderstand it thus That God is an almighty God and so can hinder all things which he will not suffer to come to passe and that therefore also the euil spirits and men can performe nothing when as God hath not determined it or as Luke saith when that God in his coūcel had not determin'd that it shold come so to passe that no otherwise is the opiniō of our teachers of the foreknowledge of God it is in very truth a right comfortable opinion for wo vnto vs poore folke if the Lord were not so almighty that he before knew all our enemies bad intents and could let them passe or hinder them according to his councell and will How long would the Diuell Pope and Popish confederates suffer vs to liue when that God by his prouidence did not gouerne them and bridled them Euen so do we beleeue of the foreknowledge of God and are assured that no Christian man doth beleeue any otherwise thereof yet will they perswade the people that wee beleeue and say more haynously of the foreknowledge of God then the Iewes Turkes and Heathens We will shew one example more out of which such as feare God vnderstanding and impartiall men may see how hetherto they haue delt with vs. Wee say it is not possible that the elect should perish which they construe vpon vs as if we had said and written he that is elected must be saued doe what he will And on the contrary he that is not elected must bee damned though hee liue so honestly and holily as he can possibly But we testifie before God and before Christ Iesus who is to come againe to Iudge the quicke and the dead that such an opinion neuer came into our minde we say indeed that the elect cannot bee lost And why should we not say so Christ saith it himselfe Mat. 24. Chapt. And D. Luther saith so also in innumerable many places But that we should say that the elect cannot perish with this addition doe they what they will that will neuer bee shewed in our writings But that is our opinion and for that we say that the elect cannot perish 1. Pet. 1.5 Luke 22.32 because God keepeth them by his power in faith to saluation and though they sometimes fall yet they lye not therin but he raiseth them againe by repentance for whom God hath elected to euerlasting life those hath he not otherwaies elected Ephe. 1.4.5 Rom. 8.30 Ezek. 36.27 then with this conditiō that he would giue them faith in Christ and that by his holy spirit hee would make them new creatures and such people as should walke in his commandements Therefore are they no elect that doe what they will but onely they that haue a harty purpose and an earnest intent to do what God will that is our opinion herein Concerning the person of Christ Of the person of Christ thereof doe wee beleeue no otherwaies then the other Protestant Churches vniformely doe beleeue namely that Christ is true God and man in one vnseparable person That is the common consent of ours and all other Protestant Churches also But that the body of Christ should bee euery where that is the priuate opinion of some few contentious ones whom not onely many Lutherans Churches as Brunswick Pomern Holst Marke and Denmark speake against but also most of their owne auditory giue no credit vnto it as a man may perceiue if he come into conference with them Setting then aside this priuate opinion of some few contentious ones about the vbiquity of the body of Christ wee are not inferiour in the doctrine of the person of Christ as also of the euerlasting foreknowledge of God to the other Protestant Churches And to D. Luther himselfe in all things Of the holy supper and in all points agreeable And so there remaineth no more besides wherein there is any difference betwixt vs and D. Luther then alone that point of the holy supper And yet differ wee not in the whole point but onely the least part thereof is in controuersie D. Martin Luther postie de anno 1529. in the winter part fol. 102. b. The principall part in the holy supper is the spirituall eating and drinking of the body and blood of Christ which onely maketh a man right and blessed before God the bodily eating and drinking is but a token that maketh no man right and blessed before God Euen as the horse can neuer be satisfied with painted oates saith D. Luther Now we in euery thing agree with D. Luther in the spirituall eating and drinking of the bodie and blood of Christ and we beleeue as well as he that it is done by faith When one feedeth himselfe with the comfortable promise of God that hee gaue his sonne to death for him and for his sake will bestow vpon him euerlasting life through which faith a man is so incorporated into Christ that he is as it were one bread and one meate with him as D. Luther saith Whilst wee then on both sides agree in the spirituall eating and drinking of the body and blood of Christ wherefore will we seuer our selues and condemne each other for the signes sake by which the spirituall eating and drinking

Doe this in remembrance of me that is take this bread and eat it in remembrance that I as the true heauenly breade gaue vp my body for you euen to death on the crosse and haue spilt my bloud for the forgiuenes of your sinnes and shall be vnto you a true meat drinke to euerlasting life which meat and drinke neuerthelesse you must eat by true faith and let slip into your hearts that it may comfort wash quicken your selues both in life and death Admit now that we did erre with such a construction of ours yet did not such an error concerne the grounds of saluation for Saluation dependeth not in the bodily eating and drinking of the body and blood of Christ but saluation standeth in the spirituall eating and drinking of the body and blood of Christ as D. Luther confesseth himselfe therefore and if indeede we did erre about the bodily eating and drinking of the bodie and blood of Christ yet neuerthelesse did we not ouerthrow the ground of saluation with such an error Wherefore they haue no sufficient and vrgent cause for this points sake namely for so much as concerneth the holy supper wherefore they should condemne vs as heathens and with such condemning any longer hinder the highly needefull agreement of the Protestant Churches Intruth it were well to be wished Rom. 12.16 Rom. 15.5 1. Cor. 1.10 that we were all of one mind and vsed one forme of reasoning euen all of vs together of all and euery point of Christian Religion as also the Apostle Paul in diuers places most truely admonisheth vs therunto But it is vnpossible that wee can euer bring it perfectly to that passe in this life 1 Cor. 13.9 For we know but in part and God giueth alwaies more light in spirituall matters to one then to another as a man may notably see in the writings of the old fathers whereof not anie of them agreede in all things together If then wee shall not loue one another before and as brethren hould together till such time as we haue one vnderstanding and meaning altogether in all godly matters then shall wee neuer in this life loue one another and hould together as brethren Now then this is the very Pith of the whole Christian Religion that we doe out of a pure hart and a good conscience and faith vnfained first loue God who gaue his sonne to death for vs and then also our selues that we loue each other Therefore Paul giues vs not onely this commaund that wee should bee of one minde in all things and should be diligent to vse one forme but he giues vs also yet another commaundement to this effect that though there were some difference found in vs about the vnderstanding of godly matters we should not breake the bond of loue and part the vnity of the spirit but beare patiently the one with the others ignorance and weakenesse Paules words are these Phil. 3.15.16 Let vs therefore as many as be perfect be thus minded and if yee be otherwise minded God shall reueale euen the same vnto you Neuerthelesse in that whereunto we are come let vs proceede by one rule that we may minde one thing That is the commaundement of the Apostle Paul namely that we seperate not our selues for one point or other but giue place to God whosoeuer he bee that at the present houlds any vnfit thing to make it more knowne vnto him in his time And in the meane time walke peaceably as is saide according to the common rule or ground of Christianity wherein by the grace of God we do agree This command of the Apostle Paul louing brethren wee intreate you to consider and to begin from this time forth to liue brotherly and peaceably with vs. We do not desire that you should for our sakes be silent in any thing you hold to be truth or not to confute our grounds if you can do it But onely this is our desire that you would for those errors sake which we hould in your opiniō of the holy supper not so shamefully raile vpon vs and condemne vs in your sermons and writings When you shall but doe so then is the peace readily accomplished For we desire not to condemne you But when you liue godlily according to the knowledge which God hath giuen vnto you then hould wee you for children of God for brethren in Christ Iesus for all the errors which wee are perswaded that you haue about the holy supper And therefore it resteth in you louing brethren you can helpe the Churches of God if you so please And there is iust cause why you should please being it is so Gods pleasure and also our great necessitie requires it for it is vnpossible that ours namely the Protestant Churches should be able long to stand if we do not quickly make peace one with another and lay downe the vnhappie contention that hetherto hath beene betwixt vs. For by such strife doe we make our selues naked of all armor which wee should haue both from God and man against the Pope Psal 133. It so being that God will not assist the contentious but if wee agree and call vpon him with an humble spirit then will he bestow vpon vs his grace and blessing And indeede the power of the Protestant Princes and States is also not sufficient to counteruaile the Popedomes if they seuer themselues into two or three sides and the one part shall helpe to rippe vp the other As touching the common man he vnderstands almost nothing any more now of the abominations of the Popedome for that he heares almost nothing else from the Pulpet but onely railings vpon the Caluinists yea he heares that according to their teachers suggestions the Papists are not by much so bad as the Caluinists and therefore is it not possible that in the time of necessity hee should haue a sound zeale to fight against the Popedome but in time he will hould as much of one Religion as of another And grant it that we should neuer be bodily set vpon by the Papists yet are we at this very present so set vpon by them spiritually as neuer before the like The Iesuites plot subtilely day and night how they may make their bad cause good with serpent-like writings and on the contrary side bring our good cause into all euill suspicion not onely to the common man but also and that most especially to all great Princes We in the meane time are together by the eares and the youth of the Protestants study almost nothing else but how the Lutherans may match with the Caluinists and the Caluinists with the Lutherans that is God be mercifull vnto vs almost all the diuinity in our times of the Protestants and should not a man also find a great number amongst the Preachers who doe not well and groundedlie know whereon dependeth the certaine grounds of strife betwixt vs and the Papists and wherfore our forefathers did separate themselues