Linguistic DNA - Concept Modelling Demonstrator

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	grace_n	justification_n	work_n	6,035	5	6.7945	4	true

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85302	Animadversions upon Sir Henry Vanes book, entituled The retired mans meditations. Examining his doctrine concerning Adam's fall, Christs person, and sufferings, justification, common and special grace; and many other things in his book. / By Martin Finch, preacher of the Gospel.	Finch, Martin, 1628?-1698.	1656 (1656)	Wing F941; Thomason E1670_2; ESTC R208407	75,370	163

justification and his having died thus for our sins is as if we had all died the Law fully satisfied To explain a little what Christ according to this blessed Covenant of grace hath done for us in his death and sufferings for our sins 1. He hath taken away the curse of the Law by being thus made a curse for us Gal. 3.13 that the law cannot curse us or condemn us for ever he hath borne the curse of the Law for us that the Law hath lost its sting in Christ it inflicted its curse upon Christ he by the will of God and his own will spontaneously yeilded to it so that now the Law can lay nothing to the charge of the believer because Christ hath payed all thus as Psa 89.19 God laid help upon one that was mighty we could not pay the debt we could not satisfie justice but the Lord hath found out one that was able and willing to do it that was able to bear the curse of the Law and be more then a conquer or if that the Lord Christ hath not satisfied the Law to the full let the Law lay it to his charge then indeed we had not a perfect righteousness and remission of sins but help was laid upon one that was mighty that upon the Crosse said it was finisht all was pay'd all the curse borne all the wrath suffered 2. He purged away our sins by this sacrifice of himself Heb. 1.3 there was a commutation of persons he was made sin for us who himself knew no sin 2 Cor. 5. ult the sins that we had committed he according to the Covenant between him and the father is willing to bear and God laies all our iniquities upon Christ Isa 53. he hath all our sins charged upon him and he purgeth them all away by bearing the punishment of them which makes full satisfaction for them all the Law is satisfied either by our performance of what is required or hearing the punishment for not performing Christ he freely suffers for our sins bears the punishment the just for the unjust and so God accepting of his suffering in our stead according to the agreement between the father and Christ in that behalf we have redemption through his blood even the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace and if this Author will call this but a legal righteousness of Christs and will seek another to be justified by and have remission of sins let him we know that thus our sins are purged away for ever and we can never come into condemnation but are delivered from going down to the pit because Christ hath thus pay'd our ransome the God of all grace according to the Covenant of grace between him and Christ having thus set forth Christ to be a propitiation for our sins through faith in his blood and thus we are justified freely by his grace and all our sins purged away through this redemption which is in Jesus Christ as Rom. 3. and no man is justified through the redemption which is in Jesus Christ but he is justified freely by grace not upon the tenour of the Covenant of works as this Author imagines but upon the tenour of the Covenant of grace 3. Christ thus dying for us and in our stead hath obtained an eternal redemption for us Heb. 9.12 not a temporary redemption and upon the terms of the Covenant of works as this Author supposes Christ tells us John 16.10 that his spirit shall discover unto us that there is perfect and everlasting righteousnesse in him because he goeth to the father and we see him no more he having undert aken to expiate and purge away our sins for ever If he had not fully and perfectly done it the father might have sent him to die again but that maketh it evident that he had pay'd the utmost farthing in that he goeth to the father and we see him no more but there he sitteth down at the right hand of God Thus our redemption in Christ is an eternal redemption never to come into prison again an everlasting peace he hath made between God and us by the blood of his Crosse his righteousnesse and comelinesse he puts upon us which presents us to the father without spot or wrinkle or any such thing for ever 4. Christs death is not only satisfactory but meritorious so that faith and saving grace is Christs purchase also both grace and glory we are blest with all spiritual blessings in him this is the Covenant of grace and surely fitly so called for all in it is meer grace meer grace that God and Christ who had been happy for ever though we had all perished that there should be such blessed counsel and Covenant between them that the second person in the Trinity should suffer for our sins the just for the unjust and that by his stripes we should be healed if ever any thing was grace this was surely that God the Father should appoint his only begotten son to dye for us enemies and ungodly and that application is made of this blood of sprinkling is rich grace also which is the blessing of the New Covenant to give us new hearts faith and holiness is no this blessed Covenant truly enough called the Covenant of grace Iet this Author call it the Covenant of works we see cause enough to call it the Covenant of grace and to cry grace grace unto it Thus we have seen the nature of the Covenant of work and the Covenant of grace and we see there is no justification to be had upon the terms of the Covenant of works as this Author imagines but only by the Covenant of grace but alas this Author not well understanding the nature of the Covenant of works and the Covenant of grace jumbles the Covenant of works and the Covenant of grace together in our justification and so overthrows the Covenant of grace as will appear Page 334. He there saith that the Saints for their justification have the robes of Christs righteousness as they are worn by Christ in his own person made white by himself in his own blood imputed to them for justification of his legall righteousness for their justification upon the â—â—nour of the first Covenant And Page 120. He saith the spiritual seed receive Christ not in part only whereby they have in common with those in the first image all the forementioned benefits viz. calling justification and sanctification upon the tenour of the Covenant of works but in whole whereby they have over and above that which excels possessing and enjoying the riches of both Covenants absolutely and unchangeably From these passages of the Author it is plain indeed hath a perfect analogy with his judgment that the true believer is justified upon the tenour of the Covenant of works as well as a man in the first Image but this is not all his justification but over and above he is justified by the robes of Christs righteousness as they are worn

in notions and opinions as others do in other opinions but we use to count it great uncharitableness to charge all of a judgement with that which some being of that judgement do hold but if all of that judgement were of this mind the Author should be of it for he holdeth universal redemption yet I hope he doth not rest there nor own or reject others as they hold or hold not with him in that point but the Author misrepresents others judgements as well as the udgement of those that are for general redemption Page 199. He tells us those that differ from those that are for general redemption do evidently contradict and deny unto them most clear certain and undeniable truths and all that which they say concerning conditional reprobation freewil falling away and the like as relating to the children of the first Covenant will find that from the Scriptures which will justifie it The Author is very confident and profuse in his accusation of the Anti-Arminians and too highly exalts their opinions that are for universal redemption as if they were the very Gospel calling their opinions most clear certain and undeniable truths but what are their opinions that are most clear and undeniable truths why he saith their opinions of conditional reprobation freewil falling away and the like as relating to the children of the first covenant Let us hear their opinions and first of conditional reprobation The Arminiuns opinion is that there is no absolute and irrevocable but only conditional decree of predestination to damnation or salvation and that the number of the elect and reprobate is not so certain but that is may be diminished or augmented and that the primary cause of the decree of reprobation not of its execution is the praeconsideration and praevision of sin and not the meer will and pleasure of God And is their opinion such a plain and most undeniable truth their doctrine is such that notwithstanding Gods decrees either to life or death there might either none have been saved or none damned And according to their doctrine the grace of election is made voyd for if it were not Gods free will and pleasure that was the primary cause of the reprobates reprobation and non-election but works foreseen then consequently it was not Gods free will and pleasure that was the cause of the elects election but their works foreseen and then fare well that discriminating grace and love of God from all eternity neverthelesse we still make sin the cause of damnation but Gods free pleasure the cause of Gods non-electing and passing men by in his eternal counsels resolving to leave them in their sins and to condemnation for their sins Concerning free will the Arminians hold that there is a sufficient universal grace derived upon all men by which they may believe and be saved if they will And is this most clear and evident in the Scripture no the contrary is evident in the Scripture Isa 53.1 John 6.44 45. John 12.38 39 40. Page 205. He saith that the flesh of Christ may be received and eaten either worthily or unworthily men not distinguishing between Christs living body and his crucified body The Author if he had pleased might in this case have considered of the old distinction of the Martyrs of eating and receiving panem demini and panem dominum of that which is the sign and sacrament and the thing it self no man but the true believer eats of the bread of life the Lord Jesus for hic edere est credere by eating is meant believing but he saith they do not distinguish between Christs living body and crucified body Alas the same body of Jesus Christ that was crucified is a living body for it was impossible for that holy one to see corruption and it is not the meer body of Jesus Christ considered as living or crucified that saveth us as Christ telleth us in that case it is the spirit that quickneth the flesh profiteth nothing Page 225. He saith Abraham was justified before God by that faith wrought out in Christ his head The Scripture telleth us that by Christs obedience we are made righteous and that we are justified by his blood but no where that we are justified by the faith that is wrought out in Christ we are justified by his righteousness imputed to us not by the faith that Christ had the Author seemeth all along to have many wide mistakes about the righteousness by which we are justified when the Scripture telleth us we are justified by the faith of Christ the meaning is that we are justified by Christ believed in not that we are justified by the faith which he had And so he saith in the same 225. page that faith considered as abiding in Christ and not in us is that which properly justâ—fieth the believer But Christ though in some sense he had faith that is to say he trusted in the father that he would carry him through the work of bearing our sins and that he would so accept of his bearing the chastisement of our peace that he would deliver us from going down to the pit because of the ransome that he paid and believed that he should see his seed that the pleasure of the Lord should prosper in his hands yet he had not such faith as in Scripture is called saving and justifying faith for he was no sinner that he received another for his righteousnes The Author leaving the simplicity of the Gospel runs in vain and unscriptural notions in those things Page 291. He saith that Christs Disciples were called the children of the bride-chamber and yet then had no higher knowledg of him then in his fle shly glory and perfection The place he mâ—aneth is Matth. 9.15 which holdeth forth no such thing but what a forrowing there should be in the Disciples when they were deprived of Christs bodily presence but that was not a depriving of them of that which the Author calleth the first Image but â—â—vay what fleshly glory and perfection was ã€ˆâ—Šã€‰ Christ that the Disciples should know Christ only in that Alas he had no fleshly glory and perfection his visage was marred more then any of the sons of men Isa 52. never was so glorious a person so obscured as he was insomuch that the people said is not this the Carpenters son his fleshly glory and perfection was so little that those which looked only at that could see no form nor comeliness in him wherefore they should desire him let the Author have better thoughts of the Disciples then that they followed Christ and left all for him only for his fleshly glory and perfection no they saw him with better eyes they saw him to be Jehovah their righteousness the only begotten son of God full of grace and truth Page 300. He maketh this the great sin of those in the first Image that they set up the sons Kingdom in their hearts in competition with and opposition to the fathers View the Scriptures

the life of our spirits and therefore blame me not if I sometime speak plain English it s not against his person but against his doctrine The Lord make known his truth more perfectly and establish us in it and grant that all our poor labours may tend to the advancement of it and that we may neither speak nor write nor do any thing against the truth but all for the truth Tetuey the 29th of he Month commonly called March 1656. So prayes the Lords most unprofitable servant MARTIN FINCH CHAP. I. Concerning the first Adam the cause of his Fall and of the Angells the cause of their Fall GOD made man righteous created him in his owne image in respect of certaine divine excellencies and qualities he bestowed upon him placed him in the garden of Eden was pleased to forbid him the eating of the tree of knowledge nor to touch it lest he dye this state of happiness that Adam was in was mutable and uncertain because upon his disobedience he forfeites all his priviledges annexed to his state and God never resolved by his mighty power and over-ruling Spirit to keepe him from disobedience so that he stood a very little while in innocency but by disobeying God in eating of the forbidden fruit fell from his first purity and holyness of minde and openeth a wide doore for sin to enter into the world and death by sin this sin of A-Adam had many aggravations as he said to Naaman the Assirian if the Prophet had bad thee do som great thing wouldest thou not have don it how much more now he bids thee but wash and be clean so Adam if thy Creator that made thee so noble and excellent had required harder service then ever he required of thee wouldest thou or shouldest thou have done it and if he had forbidden thee al the trees of the garden but one shouldest thou not have obeyed him in it how much more when he forbiddeth thee but one tree among so many wouldest thou not forbeare it I might shew if there were need how this sin of Adam was spiritual Idolatry Adultery and ingratitude towards that God that had done so much for him having said this by the way let us examine what this Author saith of Adams state before the fall and how he fell Page 67. He saith that God did not give Adam sufficient grace and strength to doe what he required and commanded but it was Adams weakness to thinke so But I answer then his fall waâ— necessary whether he would or no even like our case that have cause to complaine with Paul Rom. 7. the evill which we would not do that we do for want of strength to resist the motions of sin and temptations to it though it be quite against our will and the desire of our hearts as to the inward man according to which we delight in the Law of God and would noe way offend him but this would lessen the sin of Adam in disobeying Gods commands if he had not power and ability given him by God to do what God required of him this impotency which we are sensible of came by the fall and was not before he and we in him lost that divine excellency and strength which God had bestowed upon him Page 70. He saith that the frame of Spirit and minde that God had in his eye to bring upon Angells and men stands in direct opposition and crosse constitution to what the Angells and Adam had at first Unlesse the Author meanes here that mens having life in the way of their own righteousness their having life by Christ and his righteousnesse stand thus in direct opposition I know not how what he saith is true and if he should mean so he should not have put Angels and men together for the Scripture tells us of no Angels that are justified by Christ blood and made the righteousness of God in him but I thinke this is not his meaning because he doth not say that the way of geting life in one state and another were so differing but he saith the frame of Spirit and minde in the one and the other stand in direct opposition I know the believer in Christs grace is in some things differing from Adams as in closing with Christ by acts of faith and seeing such sinfulness and unworthiness in himselfe which Adams state did not admit of yet neither is this the meaning of the Anthor neither is there such a direct opposition and crosse constitution here such a frame of Spirit is as suitable to the believers state as Adams was to his but surely he meanes that the higher Image which he supposes is the unvailed glory of the Father and this lower image in which Angells and man were made at first stands in direct opposition and crosse constitution now the Author makes the unvailed and original glory to be the witness of the first person in the Trinity and the state of the Angels and of the first Adam to be the witness of the second person in the Trinity and do these stand in such direct opposition and crosse constitution surely the operations of the blessed Trinity stands in the most compleat and perfect harmony that this direct opposition is not in the operations of the persons of the blessed Trinity but in our either mistaken or imperfect knowledge of them Concerning Adams state he saith further Page 54. That on the Seventh day there was to be ministred to him a far higher and more exalted capacity of minde for the enabling him unto an everlasting happy and compleat communion with God The Scripture saith nothing of this that we must reject it as being but mans conceit Adam was already in such a state as he might have enjoyed such happy communion with God as God thought fit to communicate to him while he obeyed him and did his will in what herequired of him such communion as was a high glorious priviledg the Scripture saith not a word of any higher state that God offered himâ— but there is one Scripture that the Author quotes for this 1 Cor. 15.44 45 46 47 48 49. he makes corruptible and mortall to be meant as the state wherein the first Adam was made incorruptible and immortality to be meant of the higher Image which Adam was offered and refused which he calls Christ in the Spirit and Christ in his Heavenly appearances Now that Scripture speakes of the resurrection that we shall be made alive and the corruptible shall put on incorruptability and the mortall immortality yea the the very wicked shall never goe out of being which would be a priviledge and mercy to them but body and soule kept up in being to beare the vengeance oâ— eternall fire and wrath for ever and so the Apostle goeth on to shew the difference betweene our bodies here and in Heaven how Spiritual they shall be there our vile bodies changed into the likeness of Christs glorious bodie as they are now in

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