Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	justification_n	justify_v	righteousness_n	5,567	5	7.8664	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A40076	Dirt wipt off, or, A manifest discovery of the gross ignorance, erroneousness and most unchristian and wicked spirit of one John Bunyan ... which he hath shewed in a vile pamphlet publish'd by him, against The design of Christianity ...	Fowler, Edward, 1632-1714.	1672 (1672)	Wing F1701; ESTC R8698	59,846	88

his supreme faculty in it's throne c. and saith that they suppose it is within the Power of a mans own soul always to keep Sin out of it self c. But can he think that these words suppose it when 1. Mr. F. makes holiness the effect of God's grace and Spirit not of a mans own power 2. When he doth deny any such thing as perfect holiness in this life p. 27. And 3. When he saith immediately after his Third description that so far forth as holiness is vigorous and predominant in men it causeth them to perform good actions and forbear the contrary All this lamentable stuff is in the two first Pages But I have something else to do than thus to trace him to the end for 't is all alike and therefore I can look for no other should I do so from all wise men than to be call'd fool for my pains I will therefore only take notice of those things that he builds most noise upon After a deal of hideous non-sense and running over the same things again and again he saith in p. 13. That this Righteousness as Mr. F. hath described it is not that which justifieth us before God Because it is our own and tells us that there is the righteousness of men and the righteousness of God But is that Righteousness our own that is wrought in us by God's Holy Spirit Is not that God's righteousness which is the effect of God's grace who sees not that it is And therefore his Citation of Phil. 3. 9. will do him no service for S. Paul meant no other there by his own Righteousness which is of the Law than that which consisted in the observance of the purely Jewish Law which he calls his own righteousness because he could obtain it by his own natural power it consisting of external performances And by the Righteousness of God by Faith in the next verse he means the righteousness of the new Creature wrought in him by God's Holy Spirit through Faith in Christ's Gospel And so the Apostle explains himself in the following words That I may know him and the Power of his Resurrection c. That is that I may know the power of his Resurrection in raising me up to newness of life and of his death in mortifying all my lusts And whereas he abuseth Rom. 10. 3. to the same purpose take notice that their own Righteousness there is no other than that the unchristian Iews gloried in as that by which alone they expected justification and eternal Salvation and 't is the same with that in the Philippians He saith The Righteousness Mr. F. hath described is the Righteousness of the Moral Law only But I say that his general Descriptions take in the Righteousness of the Gospel too 'T is said that 't is such a disposition and temper of the inward man as causeth men to be under the power of all practical principles made known by Revelation and all the Laws of the Gospel I hope are such And Mr. F. abundantly sheweth that this Righteousness is by the Faith of Jesus Christ that is by effectually believing Christ's Gospel in shewing what an admirable instrument the Gospel is to work this Righteousness And this is an answer to the text quoted out of Rom. 3. 21. Mark by the way I. B takes Faith still for nothing else but a bare relying on the merits or righteousness of Christ which any presumptious wretch may do but I will make it good against men of an hundred times his abilities if it be possible any such should be of his mind that the true Christian Faith is such a Belief of the doctrine of the Gospel as implyeth an hearty complyance with all its Precepts whereof that of relying on Christ's merits is one and but one He saith the Righteousness Mr. F. hath described can't justifie before God because of its imperfections and then follows another page within two or three lines spent in proving and Crying out of the corruption of nature in the midst of which he brings Gal. 2. 16. to prove that his assertion where he said 't is By the works of the Law shall no flesh living be justified But I have told the Reader already that Mr. F. never affirmed but absolutely denyeth justification by any thing but the Righteousness of Christ only as a meritorious cause and he holds the true living Faith to justify as a Condition without which no man by the Righteousness of Christ shall be justified And whereas the Apostle saith by the works of the law none shall be justified his meaning is that none shall be justified by the merit of them nor yet in any sence by them considered as opposed to the obedience of the Gospel He Saith the Righteousness which Mr. F. hath described can't justify because 't is not of faith This he proves from Gal. 3. 12. The Law is not of Faith The meaning of that place is the law makes no account of Faith allows no justification but on condition of legal obedience as the following words shew but he that doth them shall live in them But now the Righteousness Mr. F. hath described doth make account of faith it causing men to comply with all Divine Revelations and therefore with the Gospel He saith p. 18. that there are three things essential to Gospel Holiness of which Mr. F's Descriptions are utterly destitute The Holy Ghost Faith in Christ A new heart The Holy Ghost But Mr. F. hath shewn that this Righteousness cannot be obtained without the assistance of the Holy Ghost But 't is false and nonsense to say the Holy Ghost is of the Essence of Righteousuess and therefore that he ought to be put into the definition of it He may as well say that a man is falsly described when he is said to be a Reasonable Creature indued with a Soul and Body because God his Creator is left out of the description As for Faith in Christ I have again and again shewed that it is manifestly contained in Mr. F's descriptions And then for a new heart and a new spirit What difference is there between these and Purity of nature and a Sound complexion of Soul and a Divine or Godlike nature doth not every body know that these are but several expressions of the very same thing P. 23 He inveighs against Mr. F's saying that it was Christ's main errand to effect our deliverance out of that sinful state we had brought our selves into and so to put us again into possession of the holiness that we had lost By this you see he was not ignorant that Mr. F. asserted the corruption of nature for all his base suggestions to the contrary Now saith he I would have the Reader take notice that in this last clause to put us again into possession of that holiness which we had lost is the Summ of all his large Descriptions and the Holiness he contends for is only that which

in this matter there is but a notional difference between these two it having been shewn that Christ as a Saviour designs our holiness his Salvation being chiefly that from the worst of Evils sin Canst thou think Reader that Mr. F. deserves to be accused as Popishly affected in this point Are all those Papists in the Doctrine of justification that deny a dead Faith to be the condition of it and doth not S. Iames say that Faith without works is dead And if a living Faith justifies is it Popery to say that it justifies as 't is a living Faith I am sure 't is non-sense to say otherwise Doth Mr. F. any where contrary to the Apostle Paul assert the merit of Works no he makes works or a working Faith only a necessary condition of justification as S. Iames doth and all the Apostles and Christ alone to be the meritorious cause of it And he must needs attribute our justification to the free grace of God in Christ when he makes also the condition of it Faith a free gift a grace of God's holy Spirit In short let the Reader consult Mr. F's Free Discourse between two intimate Friends p. 149. to p. 190. and there he shall see his full sense of justifying Faith and the notion given there of it sufficiently defended 2. The other notion Mr. F. in this inference saith the Design of Christianity will give satisfaction concerning is that of the imputation of Christs Righteousness viz. That it consists in dealing with sincerely righteous persons as if they were perfectly so for the sake and upon the account of Christ's Righteousness And he shews that the Doctrine of the Design of Christianity makes it impossible that any other notion of this point should have truth in it But mark what he saith in the close But because both these Points are discussed in the Free Discourse I have said so little of the former and will proceed no farther on this but refer the Reader thither c. Would any one now have imagined but that this I. B. had he the least spark of ingenuity or meant at all honestly would have taken occasion to inform himself throughly from that Discourse concerning Mr. F's judgment in these two points especially and to try the strength of the arguments whereby he there hath confirmed his Doctrine and if he had been sagacious enough to espy flaws in them to make a discovery of them but he takes no more notice of that Book than if there had been none such extant nay though Mr. F. doth several times in the Design of Christianity refer to it This is the Blade that loves to tell the world he is a lover of Truth but if she hath no sincerer friends than he makes it apparent by this and all his other practices he is her case would be most deplorable All that understand this man may safely conclude that he hath as little will as ability to find out and acquaint himself with this precious Jewel But to the next Inference The Fifth Inference chap. 20. That we learn from the Design of Christianity what is the great measure and standard whereby we are to judge of Doctrines both whether they are true or false and in what degree necessary to be received or rejected The Sixth Inference chap. 22. That the Design of Christianity teacheth us what Doctrines and Practices we ought as Christians to be most zealous for or against Those surely that are most available to the begetting and increase of true holiness it is our duty to be most concerned for and those that have the greatest tendency towards the endangering of it to set our selves with the greatest industry against The Seventh Inference chap. 23. That the Design of Christianity well considered will give us great light into the just bounds of our Christian liberty And that that being to make men holy it may safely be presumed that such things as have neither directly nor consequentially any tendency to the depraving our souls are left free to us by our Saviour And 't is shewn that this is only to be understood of such things as the Gospel speaks nothing particularly and clearly concerning The Eighth Inference chap. 24. That 't is a most unaccountable thing to do that which is essentially evil in defence of the Christian Religion or of any opinions presumed to be Doctrines relating thereunto I would J. B. would well lay to heart this I am sure if he had done so when he read it there would have been no occasion for these leavs The Ninth Inference chap. 25. That 't is most unwarrantable for the Ministers of Christ to prefer any design before that of making men really righteous and holy The Tenth Inference chap. 26. That an obedient temper of mind is an excellent and necessary qualification to prepare men for a firm belief and right understanding of Christ's Gospel The Last Inference chap. 27. That we are taught by the Design of Christianity wherein the Essence Power and life of it consisteth viz. in a holy frame and temper of soul whereby it esteemeth God as the chiefest good preferreth him and his Son Jesus before all the world and prizeth above all things an Interest in the Divine perfections such as justice and righteousness universal Charity Goodness Mercy Patience and all kinds of purity From whence doth naturally proceed a hearty complyance with all the holy Precepts of the Gospel and sincere endeavours to perform all those actions which are agreeable to them are necessary expressions of those and the like vertues and means for the obtaining and encrease of them What thinkest thou now Reader canst thou fancy the Design of Christianity to be another Leviathan or rather art thou able to retain any tolerable opinion of that man that calls it so and represents it as such a piece of monstrous Devilism Nay can he himself have such a Brazen Forehead as not to be confounded to think what he hath done upon his reading over if he can be perswaded to it but this short account of that Treatise I pray God give him true Repentance and set home upon his Conscience what hath and shall be farther laid open to his view in this small Pamphlet which if ever he does I am sure he 'l acknowledge that Mr. F. hath given him as little temptation to accuse him so highly as did our blessed Saviour the malicious Pharisees to fasten upon him the imputation of as fearful crimes viz. profane company keeping Treason witchcraft and Blasphemy And who can be so blind as not to see that the only provocation I B. could have to exclaim at such a rate is this that the design of Mr. F's took is utterly to root out that doctrine which is the grand support of wretched hypocrites and which doth infinitely disparage our Blessed Lord Jesus and his glorious Gospel I mean that filthy doctrine of Antinomianism with which this man hath stuffed his sad Scrible and it appears not only

and Tongues leave to be such unruly evils and even helps to fill them with the most deadly poison That puts its professors upon thus persecuting Christ's Ministers for RIGHTEOUSNES sake for the sake of inward and real Righteousness without which nothing can commend a Religion let wretched Hypocrites think never so despicably and basely of it and inveigh never so villainously against those that promote it Thus thou hast seen Reader how this Raging wave like his fellows in S. Iude fometh out his own shame And let him take for an answer to all the same that was given to his Great Master that hath assisted him in this Employment by Michael the Arch-Angel Iude 9. But one word more to this sad object of pity and then I shall have done with him If your Pride and Stomack will not suffer you to make now an acknowledgement of your most wicked behaviour towards Mr. F. and his Treatise as open and publick as you have made your Sin do not so cheat your own Soul as to hope for forgiveness upon any account whatsoever at the hands of God which God for Christ's sake by first qualifying you for it bestow upon you Amen An Abstract of several of the Excellent Propositions contained in that Tract of M. Baxter's wherein he hath defended Mr. Fowlers Design of Christianity His 27th Proposition THe Sum of Holiness and Morality which is all one is the Love of God as God including absolute Resignation and subjection and the love of man and all things for God appearing in them and served by them His 50. Nothing is more sure in Christianity than that Christ came into the world to seek and to save that which was lost and to bring home straying Prodigals to God and to destroy the works of the flesh and Devil and to bring man back to the love and obedience of his Maker and to cure him of his worldly love And so that Holiness or the love of God is the end of our Redemption and our Faith Part of his 51 52 53. We are pardoned what is past that love may make us sin so no more and justification is an antecedent means to our fuller Holiness and obedience to God which I have largely opened in my Confession of Faith It is certain that justification and Sanctification go on hand in hand together and it is a notorious error of such as say that justification is perfect as soon as it begins And it is certain that Sanctification as it is the work of God is one part of the executive pardon of our sins because it is the taking off of a very great penalty which is the privation of the Spirit of Grace His 54. Nothing is more injurious to Christ than to feign that he is a Patron of Sin or came to excuse men by free justification from obedience to their Creators law of Nature or to make sin less odious to Mankind seeing he dyed to redeem us from all iniquity and to purifie to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works His 55. And it is an intolerable Blasphemy against God to imagine that Christ came to make the Divine Nature more friendly or reconcileable to sin or to love complacentially an ungodly person as if he were Godly as being such by the imputation of Christ's Righteousness to him and to repute any man to be what he is not to take a wicked man for a Saint because that Christ was holy for him whatever malicious Papists say the Protestants abhor such Doctrine Therefore John Bunyan is no Protestant His 56. And as far are we from believing that Christ was a sinner or that God ever supposed him to be a Sinner or hated or punished him as a Sinner or that ever our sin did really become his sin or that God reputed it so to have been For no false judgment can belong to God Part of his 57 and 58. But we believe that Christ dyed for our sins as a Sacrifice Ransom Propitiation Attonement c. And though we believe not that God doth judge us to have done all the Righteousness that Christ did nor to have possessed the same individual Righteousness that Christ had for God never erreth nor accounteth us as Righteous as Christ himself nor yet useth us in all respects as he would have done if we had been as Righteous as Christ himself nor do we think it a thing possible that the same individual Righteousness that was in Christ being an accident can be in itself and really given to us and made ours yet do we believe that his habitual perfection with his active Righteousness and his Sacrifice or Sufferings all set together and advanced in value by their conjunction with his Divine Righteousness were the true meritorious procuring cause of our Pardon Justification Adoption Sanctification and Salvation c. And thus Christ's Righteousness is imputed and given to us not immediately in it self but in the effects and fruits As a Ransome is said to be given to a Captive because it is given for him though strictly the Ransome is given to another and only the fruits of it to him His 59. Those Ignorant Self-conceited Contentious Teachers that seek the reputation of Orthodox zeal in the things which they never understood and instead of clear apprehending sound Scripture-doctrine and plainly expounding it to the Church do take on trust and for company false or insignificant confounding notions and proudly make them the instruments of their furious Censures and revilings and of dividing the Church by raising slanders against those that presume to be wiser than they and so by back-biting tell their hearers how erroneous and dangerous this and that man's doctrine is because they never had wisdom study and patience to understand it such I say are the men that in all ages have been the Fire-brands in the Church and zealously promoted Christ's Kingdom by dividing it and will hardly ever have peace here themselves nor endure their Brethrens or the Churches Peace His 65. Those Churches especially that lament the laps of Discipline and the confounding of the holy and profane and those that are constituted by unwarrantable Scrutinies after the holiness of Members beyond the test that was appointed by Christ should not dishonour themselves nor bring their doctrine or persons into suspicion by being the hasty Censurers and condemners of such writings as drive harder for the promoting of holiness than themselves His 67. He knoweth not the hurtful miscarriages of our times who knoweth not what the mistaken notions about free-grace have done against free-grace it self and how the Gospel hath been supplanted by an erroneous crying up the Gospel and crying down the Law and how justification hath been abused by mens seeming to extol it and sanctification injured by such pretexts And he that with one eye looks on that disease and its effects and with the other looks on the Book you tell me of viz. The Design of Christianity and such like will quickly see what Sore this Plaister was provided for and how much excellent matter there is in it which the aforesaid Persons and diseases need Part of his 69. And as to Mr. Fowlers Consectaries or Inferences ch 20. 22 23. what would you wish more accommodate to an honest concord which is our strength and beauty and to the healing of deforming and destroying abuses than the practising the motion that our union be placed in things necessary to holiness c. Whose judgment Reader dost thou think is to be preferred concerning these Inferences whether this worthy able Divine or poor J. B' s. who makes a very Turk of Mr. Fowler upon the account of them Part of his last Proposition To conclude undoubtedly Holiness is the life and beauty of the Soul The Spirit of Holiness is Christ's Agent to do his work in us and our Pledg and earnest and first Fruit of Heaven It is Christ's work and subordinately ours to cleanse us from all filthiness of flesh and Spirit c. Christ the Spirit the Word the Ministry mercies afflictions and all things are to bring home our hearts to God and to work together for our good by making us partakers of his Holiness Our Holiness is our Love of God who is most holy And our Love of God and reception of his Love is our Heaven and everlasting Happiness Thus thou seest Reader that if Mr. Fowler be so Devilish a wretch as I. B. makes him this Learned Divine may shake hands with him Matt. 23. 16 24 26 27 28. Wo unto you ye blind guides which strain at a gnat and swallow a Camel Thou blind Pharisee cleanse first that which is within the Cup and Platter that the outside of them may be clean also Wo unto you Scribes and Pharisees hypocrites c. Ye outwardly appear righteous unto men but within ye are full of Hypocrisie and Iniquity Matt. 15. 14. And if the blind lead the blind both shall fall into the diteh 2 Tim. 3. 8. 9. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses so do these also resist the truth Men of corrupt minds reprobate concerning the Faith But they shall proceed no further for their folly shall be manifest unto all men as theirs also was Read also the foregoing verses THE END ☞ 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 1. 2. 3. 4. 6. 1. * Observe that he chalengeth Mr F. to produce but one piece of a text that in the least looks towards a proof that christ came to restore the holiness we had lost p. 36. and I think I have answered his challenge 2. 3. 4. 5. 7. 1. 2. 8. 9. 1. 2. 10. 1. 11. 12. 13. ●● 14. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.