Selected quad for the lemma: christian_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
christian_n	believe_v	church_n	creed_n	1,497	5	10.3968	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A45158	Cases of conscience practically resolved containing a decision of the principall cases of conscience of daily concernment and continual use amongst men : very necessary for their information and direction in these evil times / by Jos. Hall.	Hall, Joseph, 1574-1656.	1654 (1654)	Wing H371; ESTC R30721	128,918	464

by the Church to be believed are fundamentall A large ground-work of faith Doubtlesse the Church hath defined all things contained in the scripture to be believed and theirs which they call Catholick hath defined all those Traditionall points which they have added to the Creed upon the same necessity of salvation to be believed now if all these be the foundation which is the building what an imperfect fabrick doe they make of Christian Religion all foundation no walls no roofe Surely it cannot without too much absurdity be denied that there is great difference of Truthes some more important than others which could not be if all were alike fundamentall If there were not some speciall Truthes the beliefe whereof makes and distinguisheth a Christian the Authors of the Creede Apostolick besides the other Symboles received anciently by the Church were much deceived in their aime He therefore that believes the holy Scriptures which must be a principle presupposed to be inspired by God and as an abstract of the chiefe particulars thereof professeth to believe and embrace the Articles of the Christian faith to regulate his life by the law of Gods commandements and his devotion by the rule of Christ prescribed and lastly to acknowledge and receive the Sacraments expresly instituted by Christ doubtlesse this man is by profession a Christian and cannot be denyed to hold the foundation and whosoever shall wilfully impugne any of these comes within the verge of Heresie wilfully I say for meere error makes not an heretick if out of simplicity or grosse ignorance a man shall take upon him to maintaine a contradiction to a point of faith being ready to relent upon better light he may not be thus branded eviction and contumacy must improve his error to be hereticall The Church of Rome therefore hath beene too cruelly-liberall of her censures this way having bestow'd this livery upon many thousand Christians whom God hath owned for his Saints and upon some Churches more Orthodoxe than her selfe presuming upon a power which was never granted her from heaven to state new articles of faith and to excommunicate and barre all that shall dare to gainsay her oracles Whereas the great Doctor of the Gentiles hath told us from the spirit of God that there is but one Lord one faith one baptisme Ephes. 4. 5. and what faith is that S. Jude tells us Iude 3. The faith that was once delivered the Saints so that as well may they make more reiterations of Baptisme and multiplicities of Lords as more faiths than one some explications there may be of that one faith made by the Church upon occasion of new-sprung errours but such as must have their grounds from fore-written truths and such as may not extend to the condemnation of them whom God hath left free new articles of faith they may not be nor binde farther than God hath reached them Hereticks then they are and onely they that pertinaciously raze the foundation of the Christian faith what now must be done with them surely first if they cannot be reclaimed they must be avoided It is the charge of the beloved Disciple to the elect Lady 2 John v. 10. If any man come unto you and bring not that is by an ordinary Hebraisme opposes this doctrine receive him not into your houses neither bidde him God speede But the Apostle of the Gentiles goes yet higher sor writing to Titus the great Super-intendent of Crete his charge is Tit. 3. 10. A man that is an Heretick after the first and second admonition reject Now when wee compare the charge with the person we cannot but finde that this rejection is not a meer negative act of refraining company but a positive act of censure so as he who had power to admonish had also power to reject in an authoritative or judicatory way He sayes then Devita reject or avoid not as Erasmus too truly but bitterly scoffes the Romish practise De vita tolle This of killing the heretick as it was out of the power of a spirituall supervisor so was it no lesse farre from the thoughts of him that desired to come in the spirit of meekness Fagots were never ordained by the Apostle for arguments to confute Hereticks this bloudy Logick and Divinity was of a much later brood and is for a Dominick not a Paul to owne for certainely faith is of the same nature with love it cannot be compelled perswasions may move it not force These intellectuall sinnes must look for remedies of their owne kinde But if either they be as it is often accompanied with damnable blasphemies against God whether in his essence or attributes or the three incomprehensible persons in the all-glorious Deity or the blessed mediator betwixt God and man Jesus Christ in either of his natures or else shall be attended with the publique disturbances and dangerous distempers of the Kingdome or State wherein they are broached the Apostle's wish is but seasonable in both a spiritual and a bodily sense Gal. 5. 12. Would to God those were cut off that trouble you In the mean time for what concernes your selfe if you know any such as you love God and your soules keepe aloofe from them as from the pestilence Epiphanius well compares heresie to the biting of a mad dog which as it is deadly if not speedily remedied so it is withall dangerously infectious not the tooth onely but the very foame of that envenomed beast carries death in it you cannot be safe if you avoid it not CASE VI. Whether the lawes of men doe binde the Conscience and how far we are tyed to their obedience BOth these extreames of opinion concerning this point must needs bring much mischiefe upon Church and Kingdome Those that absolutely hold such a power in humane lawes make themselves slaves to men Those that deny any binding power in them run loose into all licentiousnesse Know then that there is a vast difference betwixt these two To bind the conscience in any act and to bind a man in conscience to do or omit an act Humane laws cannot do the first of them the latter they may and must doe To binde the conscience is to make it guilty of a sin in doing an act forbidden or omitting an act injoyned as in it selfe such or making that act in it selfe an acceptable service to God which is commanded by men Thus humane lawes cannot bind the conscience It is God onely 1 John 3. 21. who as he is greater than the Conscience so hath power to binde or loose it Esay 31. 22. It is he that is the onely Law giver to the Conscience Jam. 4. 12. Princes and Churches may make lawes for the outward man but they can no more binde the heart than they can make it In vain is that power which is not inabled with coertion now what coertion can any humane power claim of the heart which it can never attain to know the spirit of man therefore is subject onely to the father