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	society_n	2,901	5	9.2764	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A35606	The case of compelling men to the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper considered and authority vindicated in it, by the rules of the Gospel, from the common and popular objections against it.		1684 (1684)	Wing C898; ESTC R21713	36,298	59

mens persons or purses may pay for it There is a Writ de Capie●do Excommunicato and there are sharp Laws for punishing the contumacy of those that obstinately refuse submission and compliance These are the popular and in some mens apprehension very plausible exceptions against these things It will the more concern me therefore clearly to state this matter And if I can make these two things clear in opposition to what is objected I shall do enough in this 1. That the Doctrine of the Gospel doth warrant the Exercise of force and rigour in matters of Religion where men will not be governed and kept within due bounds by the precepts and rules of it and a conscience of their duty and the History of it and the Primitive times do furnish us with examples and precedents enough of that rigour and therefore that this was not introduced by Popish usurpation as is pretended 2. That these punishments were not purely Spiritual but extended and reached to the persons and external interests of men both which suffered as much or more than they do now If I can clear the truth and certainty of these two things I shall fully satisfie the Objections and lay a certain soundation to justifie the present proceedings of Authority upon To this therefore I now address my self with all the plainness and clearness that I can beseeching any especially that are under any dissatisfaction in these things to consider honestly and impartially what I am going to say 1. And first that the Doctrine of the Gospel doth warrant the exercise of force and rigour in matters of Religion where the Conscience of duty will not keep men in order And that we are furnished with precedents and examples of this I think is very clear to all that have either considered the constitution of the Christian Church or taken notice of those Remarks of the Government of it which they meet with in the New Testament 1. If it would be sufficient conviction to some men to argue this from principles of true reason or from consequences that fairly and naturally offer themselves from premisses that are certain and uncontroverted among all men it might be enough to put the matter upon that issue And then I would only consider what is granted on all hands viz That Christ hath founded himself a Church in the world not contenting himself only to have persons come to the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus to become Proselytes to the Christian Religion and to be won over to the Faith of the Gospel But that he hath formed all these persons into a Society cast them into one common Body of which himself is the Head made his Church a Spiritual Politie and united all Christians as Members of it by proper and strong bands and ligatures and made the greatest part of their duty to consist not so much in acting in a single and independent capacity as in the discharge of those Offices that become them as members consociated and united together in one common body For so we know the greatest part of Christian Religion consists in the publick worship of God and Christ with one heart and one consent the glorifying God with one mouth and in meekness and love in condescention and charity one to another and a strict union and peace among themselves I need not stand arguing the truth of this it is plain of it self in the New Testament and confessed by all Sides and Parties of men at this day though I must needs say the serious belief and consideration of it would alone umpire and issue most of the disputes that are among us about Conformity and Schism and Separation at the present But I am sure it is a sufficient foundation for what I am undertaking to prove and there are these two things that do most naturally and necessarily follow from it 1. That therefore Christ hath vested this Church of his with all that authority and power that is absolutely necessary for the conservation of it self as a Body and a Society i. e. for the preservation of order and agreement and for their keeping all its members in a due regard to the Laws and Constitutions of it And this is so certain as it is that Christ Jesus is good and wise and one that would never defeat his own designs nor command order and unity to be preserved in his Church without induing it with that power which was absolutely necessary to that purpose It is so reflective upon the wisdom of a man to cast men into society and unite them under any Government without contriving some effectual means for the preservation and maintenance of order among them as such that we can't think it competent to the Son of God without the highest blasphemy 2. That therefore he hath vested his Church and the Governours of it with a power of inslicting punishments and using rigour against its members where the sense and conscience of their duty would not keep them in order There can be no doubt of this nor any reason to question the certainty of it for this power is also entirely necessary to the preservation of the Church unless we do suppose that all the members of it are and ever will be so conscientious and good us to be kept within their compass by a sense of their duty and a respect to the great arguments that the Gospel useth to that purpose And I readily confess that were all Christians such as they should be and as the Laws of the Gospel require them to be this power that I am contending for might be thought unnecessary for the Church and thereupon be argued not to be granted to it But alas we see too clearly that it is quite otherwise and he that better knew what was in man than we hath plainly told us that it always was and will be otherwise and that he doth in representing it as a mixed multitude as a parcel of ground wherein was stony and barren and thorny uncultivated land as well as good and well prepared as a field wherein there were tares and weeds as well as wheat and good grain as a net cast into the ses which brought up of every kind and wherein were refuse and vile as well as good and wholsome fish all which you may see illustrated clearly Matth. 13. And we have clear Specimens of this truth in his own first collection of Disciples and followers of the one of which we read of a great many at one time going off and forsaling him and of a Judas and a Devil even among the small company of his twelve Apostles And also in the first foundations of a Church that his Apostles laid after him in one of which you read of an Hymeneus and Alexander in another of a Demas in one of an Incostuous person and Schismaticks and in another of those that walked 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 disorderly breaking their ranks forsaking their proper station and enterfering upon

the same doth the King govern us and we have no more right to quarrel the commands of the one than Children and Servants have to repine and murmur at the precepts of the other which they never have but when either Parents or Masters exercise an authority that doth no way belong to them 2. Which in our case is not done for Secondly it is done by those whose power reacheth to these things and who stand accountable to God for them The power of Kings in Spiritual Matters was never questioned that I know of in the Christian Church till Pride and Ambition began to corrupt it's Faith and poison it's Doctrine and till Rome began to aim at a Spiritual Empire as well as it had had a Temporal one The Doctrine of discarding Kings and Emperours from any intermedling in Religion was first hammered in the Conclave and thence our Classical Divines have fetched it and I wish it were the only instance in which they symbolize with those that they so lowdly declaim against I am sure the Kings of Israel supervised and when occasion was reformed matters of Religion and the Church and the better that they were the more they interested themselves and employed their care about them and embalmed their Names more by that than all their Arms and glorious Atchievements And when the Apostle commands Christians to pray for Kings that they might live honest and godly i. e. religious lives under them he certainly thought their influence might be greatly helpful thereunto And the truth is I do not well see how Kings and Governours can blast their honour more and more blacken their own name than by looking only to their own grandour and honour without any concern for his whose Vice-gerents they are by living themselves in glorious and Ceiled Houses but letting that of God lye neglected and wast as the expressions in the Prophet are Certainly when the great and final Audit comes and when the Kings and Princes of the world come to stand before him by whom they Reigned who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords one great Inquiry will be how faithful they have been to him their great Master and how much or how little they have consulted his honour and interest in the world and those doubtless will give their accounts with most joy to themselves and most acceptation to him that have been tender of his Church and consulted the benefit of his Religion that have been nursing Fathers to the one and tender of the other and used their power to keep men in their duty to him and his Laws as well as to their own And the Governours in the Church and those that are over us in the Lord they watch for our Souls says St. Paul and must give account for them Heb. 16.17 So that we must not think that our Governours exceed the bounds and limits of their own power when they make Laws about Religion and tye us to observe the services of it or that they do these things arbitrarily only and to exercise their power over us no neither of these are true their power reacheth to these things and they are bound by their great Lord to take all the care they can of them and therefore we must excuse them they do but their own duty to God which they compel us to do ours 3. And that this is really our duty and tyed upon us by the Laws of the Gospel is the third Consideration and will adde another reason to vindicate them in compelling us to it If this thing were contrary to the Gospel then we might justly complain of their rigor and severity or were it left wholly indifferent then we might raise objections and pretend invasion of our Christian liberty by these Laws as tragically as we do in the like cases But when it is a thing plainly and expresly commanded by our Saviour and tyed upon us as a constant and standing service of Religion to be observed and practised by all Christians until his second coming again as it is most plain it is if we will either consider his own words or St. Pauls after him then certainly there cannot be the least room for an objection in this matter Those that say the least of the power of Kings and Temporal Governours do say they are obliged to see that the precepts of God be observed and kept by men and that they are to inforce the Laws of Religion by their own and when it is for their purpose will boldly call for this exercise of their power summon the Temporal Sword and Arms when their own Spiritual ones are too weak and be ready to anathematize and curse those powers that in this come not to help the Lord against the mighty It it be their own 〈◊〉 of Religion why then it is the Scepter of Christ whom all Kings are bound to support and if it be any thing that they lack to have observed why then it is the Lords cause and the supporting of it is no less than fighting the Lords battel for which the highest Praises and Panegyricks are too little And therefore methinks men of this temper and who are yet known to have acted still upon this principle should for shame cease to complain cry out against the Government for using their power in that which they themselves allow the exercise of it lawful in and not condemn it when it compels men to nothing but what the Laws of Christ have made their necessary duty 4. Yea and fourthly which is as really their interest and advantage as it is their duty for so it is in this as well as in all other precepts of the Gospel they are real instruments of our happiness as well as instances of our obedience I cannot now stand to enumerate all the benefits and advantages of receiving the Holy Sacrament of the Lords Supper and I need to do it the less because the Church hath done it for me I will only recite the words in her Catechisme which are sufficient at this time The strengthning and refreshing out Souls by the Body and Blood of Christ as our Bodies are by the Bread and Wine And certainly if any thing can be an Apologie for the present exercise of power in our Governours in constraining men to an observance of this service this may that it is a matter of pure kindness and nothing but their own gain that they are compelled unto they are severely dealt with indeed in this and a mighty wrong sure is done them when they are compelled to be made happy and good All the world hath ever granted it lawful and innocent nay prudent and wise to direct and govern those who are not able to govern and choose for themselves Parents restrain the ignorance of Children and think it no crime to whip them to that duty and exercise which they know to be good for them and Guardians do the same thing too for their Minors what they are assured is for their