Selected quad for the lemma: christian_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
christian_n	church_n	communicate_v	communion_n	2,762	5	9.2903	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A59548	The duty and happiness of doing good two sermons : the former, preached at the Yorkshire feast, in Bow-Church, Feb. 17, 1679 : the other, before the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of London, at the Spittle, Apr. 14, 1680 / by John Sharpe ...	Sharp, John, 1645-1714.	1680 (1680)	Wing S2976; ESTC R6463	37,896	84

blessed him with worldly wealth the more diligent and industrious and solicitous he must be to do good with it otherwise he is poorer than those that perhaps he now and then out of charity relieves And 3 ly Lest this doing good and being rich in good works should only be interpreted of doing such kindnesses and good deeds that cost us nothing but the expence of our time or the employment of our pains or the use of our interest with others the Apostle adds this further thing that the Rich man must be ready to distribute that is very free to part with his money according to the proportion God hath blessed him with upon every occasion of real and useful charity whether that charity be of a more publick nature as for instance when it is expressed for the advancing Religion and the service of God or for the making standing provisions for the poor or lastly any way for the serving the necessities or increasing the conveniencies of the place where we live by any publick useful benefaction Or 2 ly whether this charity be of a more private nature extending no farther than to particular persons that come in our way whom we are convinced to be real objects of it to these likewise we must be ready to distribute every poor necessitous person hath a right to part of what we have if we can really satisfie our selves that our alms will do him a real good and will not be any great prejudice to us But 4 thly and lastly the Apostle adds another thing to all this and that is that the Rich man must be willing to communicate If the sence of this phrase be different from the former it will seem to import yet a higher degree of Liberality It will import that Rich men should be of such publick spirits and so little esteem their wealth their own that it should in a manner be made a common thing wherein all should share as there was occasion This is the notion of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or communicating as it was used in the beginning of Christianity S. Luke in Acts 2. having told us that the first Christians continued in the Apostles doctrine and in communicating presently explains what he meant by that communion All saith he v. 44. that believed were together and had all things common and sold their possessions and goods and parted them to all men as every man had need God be thanked the Church of Christ is not now in such circumstances that it is either needful or reasonable precisely to observe the practice of those times as to this matter We are not only not obliged to part with the propriety of our estate and to live in common as the first persecuted Christians did but we should be highly indiscreet not to say injurious both to our selves and the publick if we did But this notwithstanding their practice and the charge here laid upon us to be communicative will thus far oblige us viz. that we Christians should always retain that publick generous spirit that they in the first times were acted with We should sit so loose from the world and so unconcerned in the distinction of meum and tuum that we should make it our business to do good with what we have thinking our wealth best employed when it is put to that use And when the cause of God and the common interest of our Christian Brethren doth require it we should then as freely part with all we have as our Predecessors in Christianity did Following herein the Precept of our Lord to the young man who came to enquire of him what he should do that he might inherit eternal life and who was thus answered by our Saviour that though he had kept the Commandments yet he wanted one thing to make him perfect that is to make him a True Christian and that was to sell all that he had and give to the poor and come and follow him and then he should have treasure in Heaven Mat. 19.21 Thus have I given you a brief account of each particular of the Rich mans duty as it is summ'd up in the Text and some perhaps will think it is severe enough whether it be so or no I now dispute not but I am sure it is severely required of them This we may gather from S. Pauls way of urging it charge them saith he that are rich in this world that they be not high minded c. He doth not say recommend this to them as a thing that is very reasonable in it self and will highly become them he doth not say put them in mind of it as a thing by which they may gain a great deal of Honour and reputation to their Religion he doth not say exhort and perswade them to it as a thing that will at last conduce to their own advantage But he saith charge it upon them intimating that there was a necessity they should thus practise it was a duty indispensably incumbent upon all of them and this is the Second General Point I am to insist on And certainly this order of S. Paul to Timothy is a standing warrant a perpetual commission to all Ministers of the Gospel to charge the same thing upon all Rich men in all places and times But in the pressing and enforcing this charge I shall not so much have regard to the three former duties as to the last which concerns the doing good with our wealth the exercising acts of Bounty and Charity as we have opportunity Charge them that are rich in this world that they do good that they be rich in good works ready to distribute willing to communicate Now in Four respects especially Rich men are thus to be charged and a necessity lies upon them to practise accordingly viz. In point of Gratitude Iustice Religion Self-preservation If all these put together do not make the obligation indispensable I know not what will I will speak briefly of each particular First if Rich men do not thus employ their wealth they are guilty of great Ingratitude That is the least evil imputation they fall under and yet to any ingenuous man it is heavy enough for to call a man Unthankful is as great a reproach as you can cast upon him Whoever acknowledgeth the Being of God and owns his Providence in the world must necessarily believe that all that portion of good things which he enjoys in this life doth proceed from that God as the Author and Fountain though they be immediately conveyed to him by the Ministery of second Causes and his Reason and Humanity will suggest to him that there are some returns of Gratitude to be made to Him that of his free bounty hath thus obliged him but what returns can he make to God for his blessings other than in communicating those blessings among his fellow creatures To think that a verbal acknowledgment of God's favours is a suitable return is against the common sence of mankind who know that