Selected quad for the lemma: christian_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
christian_n	christian_a	church_n	pastor_n	1,389	5	9.1051	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A01025	Four sermons which doe manifest the true sence of the 1. Epistle to Timothie 6. Chaper 13. 14. 15. [and] 16. verses of that chapter. Preached by the reverend divine Mr. Iohn Forbes late preacher to the Companie of Merchant-Adventurers in Delft. Published by S.O.	Forbes, John, 1568?-1634.	1635 (1635)	STC 11129; ESTC S114866	51,274	78

and in likelyhood with envy See the Cronicle of Paulus Meriam Doctour Fulck in his answere to the Rhemish Testament doth say that the Church of Leodium before this was under great persecution under Pope Pascus for affirming him Antichrist The Iesuite saith that one Cesarius writes that ihe doctrine of these Waldenses was spread in more then a thousand cities and that they had an army of 70000. that were destroyed by Simon of Momford with a small armie but there is no mention of an armie which they had in the Chronicles 1. Tim. 6.13 I give thee charge in the sight of God who quickneth all things and before Christ Iesus who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession c. HItherto the Apostle hath set downe unto vs a perfect patterne to teach all the servants of Christ how to walke in the house of God which is the Church of the living God in all the parts and portions of their spirituall function for the advancement of Gods glorie and for the edification of his saints and for the avoiding of all those things which might offend God in his worship either in Doctrine or Discipline he hath set vs downe and hath let vs see what sorts of men must have charge in Gods house and he hath warned vs of the errour that they must avoid in Doctrine and of the vanitie they must avoyd in their forme of speach and he hath likewise let vs see what forme of Discipline is to be used in Gods Church In this Chapter he comes to the conclusion of it all and first before he concludes it he first deales against servants who did abuse their Christian libertie as a pretext to the flesh refusing to obey their Masters some because their Masters were heathens and therefore they thought that a Christian made free by Iesus Christ should not be bound to serve them others because their Masters were Christians therefore they thought it equall that one Christian should not be bound to be a servant to another the Apostle answeres both these in the beginning of this Chapter and after returnes back againe and gives warning to Timothy and in his person to all Pastors what should be done that they should teach and exhort the Church this should be the substance of their Doctrine which in this epistle is conteined and to moove him to this he sets downe an argument from the miserable estate of those which keep not this commandement of the Apostle for if any man teach otherwise and consenteth not to this wholsome Doctrine which is according unto godlinesse he is proud not knowing aright and he lets vs see the vaine ground of this their vanity as first they are men of corrupt minds the second is they are destitute of the trueth the 3. is this they suppose gaine is godlinesse and the Apostle doth manifest that this shewes it to be the plaine contrary and that godlinesse is great gaine and this he shewes by a strong argument in the verses following and he labours to draw all Pastors from this vice of coveteousnesse and he teacheth them how they should exercise themselves continually he setting downe a perfect patterne for all Pastors and Teachers to practice they must follow after godlinesse faith love meeknesse and this is the first Secondly they must fight the good fight of faith and the last is the end and intent that they may lay hold on eternall life and he subjoynes 2. reasons why Timothie should do so as first because he was called thereunto of God secondly because he had professed a good profession before many witnesses therefore it should be a shame for him to faint and not to goe forward and continue Now the Apostle concludeth with a most weightie Charge to Timothy and in his person unto all Pastors and Teachers unto the end of the world and this Charge is continued in 4 verses from the 13 verse unto the 17. and the substance of the charge stands in two things the first is in keeping of this commandement without spot unrebukeably and the second is the constant keeping of it The first part concernes the matter he is to looke unto The 2 is concerning the time how long they must keepe this and both parts have their grounds and reasons in them First wee will speake of them as they are generally set downe unto vs in the first 2 verses wherein we have first to marke the matter of the charge the word charg is the sāe word which the Apostle useth before in this epistle the first chapter wherin he saith that the end of the cōmandement is love out of a pure heart where the word here called a cōmandement is the same here used for charge so that this is not an exhortation or request but it is a straight and severe commandement secondly this commandement is strengthened by a double authoritie the authority of God and of Christ first I charge thee before God and secondly before the Lord Iesus Christ thirdly this authority is yet more strengthened and greater weyght is added to it not simply by laying God or Christ before them but by laying God before him and Christ before him ech of them in the particular consideration of them which is this that hee doth quicken all things the particular consideration of Christ in this that hee witnessed and confessed a good confession before Pontius Pilate of these I will briefly speake before I come to the commandement it selfe which is set downe in the next words to keepe this commandement without spot or blamelesse till Christs appearing againe First cōcerning the charge but before we come to enter into the particulars of it It may be demaunded what should move the Apostle to ad this heavy charge to his former precept especially to Timothie whom hee so much commended that be found no man like minded unto him what is the reason hee knowing him to be such a man yet he gives a severe charge unto Timothie and in his person to all Pastores and Teachers the reason I take to be twofold First that men might not dally with this doctrine as though it might be alterable by his Church or changed at the appointment of Princes therefore hee will have them to know this is not so but it is of divine authority which none dare to change as hee will answere unto God and to Christ in whose name he chargeth him that so neither Timothy nor any other potentate should thinke these precepts to be the precepts of men or such as his Church might alter at their discretion but this charge is given us to this end to force us all and most chiefly Pastours to observe it as we will answere it before God at his most dreadfull judgment therefore no command of Princes nor the feare of the losse of our lives might cause us to violate this trueth The second reason why the Apostle gives this weightie charge unto Timothy who was so rare a man of whose stedfastnes

they please whereas the Lord of Lords hath commanded to keepe his ordinaunces pure and therefore it is a great arrogancy against God and his ordinaunces for men to lay any law upon Gods ministers how they should order Gods house nay happy were the church of God if Pastours were not thus led away that those which are appoynted over the church of God to direct it that they themselvs are led away by others by which means religion is come to ruine let them which usurpe this authority take example by Ahaz Vzziah the King who for usurping the Priests office and presuming to offer incense was strucken with Leprosy so remained all his dayes the other for presuming to make a more costly altar By this we may see how dangerous it is to meddle with the holy things of God without a calling which is set apart for those God hath ordained for that end we are said in the scriptures to be those that are set over you to rule you and admonish and instruct you and you are commanded to obey us why is this but to shew you that we are the men which God hath given the authority and power unto to order the affayres of his house in his worship To come more particularly to speake of this keeping of it Keeping is our duty wherefore then doth the Apostle use these words that thou keepe this commandement he knew Satan would steale it away if he could pervert the Pastours by the glittering shews of honours and earthly preferment and so Satan by men of corrupt mindes hath usurped this holy order against this all Gods Servants must stand couragiously and Pastours must keepe it and hould it fast A Pastour cannot be more unfaithfull in any thing then in this to suffer the power that God hath put into his hands to be taken from him in this he is as unfaithfull to God as he can be in any thing the Preists of ould were not ashamed to oppose themselves to Kings telling them plainely to their faces that it belonged not to them but unto the Priests to doe this and that so it becometh Ministers well to say to any Magistrate under heaven that the ordering of Gods house the affaires belonging to his true worship is not in them to prescribe any other manner then the Lord Iesus Christ hath by his Apostles prescribed It is the Magistrates duty to order the common wealth and the affayres of policy but for Magistrates to take this authority from Ministers which Christ hath given them and so to betray the Church of God and deprive them of their lawfull power which Christ hath committed into their hands is an high dishonour to God and a vyolating of this grand charge which the Apostle hath so straitly commanded That this superstitious Church of Rome and the Idolatrous tricks in these points of their Religion there is more duty observed then among Christians for among them none of their Magistrates meddle with the Ministers Authority but in humility they submit to the order of their lawes to them which are their teathers whereas none are so undutifull unto God as Christians are in the reformed Church for there the Magistrate usurpes the place of Pastours and this is the cause why that amongst the Magistrats that are at this day that God treads them and their authority under foote and gives them over unto so many Iudgments all because neither God nor his servants can have that respect or honour among Christians as the servants of Satan have amongst Infidels Let us marke it then we are commanded to keepe this precept and not to suffer it to be taken from his Church This keeping hath many parts Many ment hinke it well kept if they keepe it where it is written and this they both should and ought to doe that is they must see that the Word of God perish not but that it may remaine as a perpetuall lawe to binde the conscience of the saincts unto the worlds end but this is not enough honely to keep it in print in a booke but we must have it in possessiō as Iohn is commaunded in the Revelation having a little booke given him he is commaunded to eate it they must lay it up within them in their hearts so that the teachers of Gods Word should be well instructed in those doctrines which God hath charged him withall to keepe till the end of the world This is that which Christ requires himself of every Christian that they keep his word it is not enough to lay the Bible besides thee in the house that wil serve the turn but he will have thee to read in it and to meditate in it day and night and to keep it in thy minde as the Apostles of Chist are said to lay up Christs words in their hearts and God opened the heart of Lydia that she gave heed to the things that Paul spake This is the keeping of his commaundements whenas they doe not onely keep them in writings but in their hearts and have knowledge to doe them and he commands us by keeping them to practise them so all Pastours are bound to practise them contynually and to performe whatsoever precepts concerne their duty which the Apostle hath set down in this epistle if they look that God shall approve of them in the day of their great accompt And not this onely is to be meant by the Apostle but more also that we must not suffer this commaundement to be changed or altered or to perish or decay but we must bould it in perpetual use in the house of God and if it be fallen Pastours must rayse it up if it be corrupted Pastours must reform it if it be chaunged Pastours must bring it to the auncient institution as Paul did in Corinth where hee found the celebration of the Lords supper corrupted amongst them hee reduced it to the first institution by Christ to reform them to the right practise of that duty which they had corrupted so likewise in manie other churches where the truth of doctrine concerninge justification was corrupted the Apostle in his epistle to the Romans to the Ephesians Colossians Philippians Gallatians reforming the miserable abuses wherwith Gods worship was profaned in which he reformed the errors as doth appear in these epistles to inforce their wicked harts to bow to Gods ordinaunces for the preists lips shal preserve knowledge and they shal ask the law at his mouth But alas now adayes ministers must take the lawe from other mens mouths and they must doe nothing but as other men direct them wheras it is his part to instruct all by the law of God as wee have shewed what a strait charge God hath layd on his messengers which they must not be ignorant of hee must keep this commandement that it be not altered nor corrupted I tell you that these alterations will bringe the fierce wrath of God on us we protest before God we desire to walk in the trueth