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	communion_n	schism_n	2,211	5	10.6231	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A43271	A treatise concerning schism and schismaticks wherein the chief grounds & principles of a late separation from the Church of England, are considered and answered / by Henry Hellier ...	Hellier, Henry, 1662?-1697.	1697 (1697)	Wing H1381; ESTC R20518	24,128	62

Affairs and according to the Discretion or Approbation of the Governors Civil or Ecclesiastical as it doth concern them All these things may be and yet the Church continue still the same as the Queen in a Vesture of Gold-wrought about with divers Colours Yea Church-Censures may go on and Persons be Excommunicated and yet unless they wilfully continue under Excommunication no Schism be made because they do not cut themselves off from the Church but are cut off by others and therefore are not as Schismaticks A 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 T● 3.11 Condemned of themselves as the Apostle speaketh Schism therefore is a wilfull breaking off of that outward Unity which one or more Members ought to maintain with the rest A Schismatick or Schismaticks are that one or those many Persons who do publickly refuse to act according to his or their just Relations as Members of the Church in the station wherein they are placed Or to speak more briefly a Schismatick is that Member of the Church which disowns and cuts it self off from the rest either contemning and rejecting the other Members 1 Cor. 12.21 as if the Eye shall say to the Hand I have no need of thee or again The Head to the Feet I have no need of you Or else encroaching and breaking in upon the Rights of other Members as if the Foot shall say V. 15.16 because I am not the Hand or not the Head I am not of the Body and will not be of the Body Or Lastly refusing to communicate its Office to the rest not distributing to the Necessities of the Saints not suffering and rejoycing with the other Members the Members not having the same Care according to their different places and capacities one for another 1 Cor. 12.25 according to the Expression of the Apostle To know therefore who is a Schismatick and who not it will be necessary to consider in some general Terms at least the Relations wherein Men may be and the several Causes or Pretences of separating with regard to such Relations declaring withal so far as in a short Discourse of this Nature conveniently may be which are unlawful and which are good and sufficient And First As there is an Unity in general which ought to be maintained by all Christian Churches throughout the World they being all reconciled to God in One Body Eph. 2.16 1 Cor 12.13 and Baptized into One Body and made to drink into One Spirit and being called One Body 1 Cor. 10.17 1 Cor. 12 2● whereof our Lord is the Head Eph. 4.15 16. from whom the whole Body fitly joyned together and compacted by that which every Joynt supplyeth according to the effectual working in the measure of every part maketh encrease of the Body unto the edifying of it self in love So there may be a Breach made of this Unity by any particular Church and thereby whole Churches may become Schismatical Whole Churches in respect of the whole Body of Christians have such Relation as single Members have with Regard to any particular Church They therefore as well as single Members of particular Churches may fall into Schism when either in express Terms or by necessary consequence they break off their Communion and Friendly Correspondence with the rest which may be done several ways 1. By professing a different Faith Or 2. Different Agenda or Morals 3. By different Church-Government either as to the Species or kind of Government or as to the manner of exercising of it 1. They may become guilty of Schism by professing a different Faith or appointing different Creeds in any Material Point from other Churches For Christian Communion doth not require but forbid us to have Fellowship with those who do not hold the Truth as to the Substantials of Christian Religion The Body of Christ hath but One Faith and considering that the main Points of Faith have such Influence upon our Lives and Actions and are of so high importance to every one of us we ought to Contend earnestly for the Faith which was once delivered to the Saints Jud. 3. and to withdraw our selves from those who teach otherwise 1 Tim. 6.5 and consent not to wholesome words even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ 1 Tim. 6.3 and to the Doctrine which is according to Godliness Not but that Christians may differ and dispute and err about Matters of less Moment or ways of explaining the True Faith not so clearly delivered without either actually separating themselves from the Church or deserving to be cut off from it except they do oblige Men to concur with them and to profess a Belief of their Errors For then we may and ought to depart from them it being not lawful for any one to profess he believes that to be true which at the same time he takes to be an Error even in a matter of the smallest moment 2. They may become guilty of Schism by making wrong Professions de Agendis or concerning Morals For none ought to concur with any Man or any number of Men in that which is immoral Concord is only commendable in that which is good not in that which is evil To profess an Immorality is not only to do an immoral thing the profession of it being a sinful Act but it is worse than doing the same immoral thing that is agreeable to such Profession It is a sin committed with deliberation greater than commonly precedes the Act of Sin it makes us persevere and continue in sin it tends to the seducing and destroying others in a more eminent degree than the Act. If any Man therefore shall teach Doctrines manifestly contradictory to any part of the Moral Law if a Man says instead of Honour thy Father and Mother Thou shalt not honour thy Father or thy Mother Instead of Let every soul be subject to the Higher Powers Let some men not be subject to the Higher Powers and maintains this Doctrine in Opposition to the Members of his own or other Churches he is a Schismatick But he that allows of those Precepts and knows not who is his King or who is his Father is mistaken in the Person not in the Commandment or at most he is only mistaken about the Laws of the Land which tho' they do oblige in Conscience when known yet it is not every Man's business nor doth lye in every Man's power perfectly to understand And an Error in these does not always imply a misunderstanding the Commandments of God He that errs in Explication of some Moral Points as in shewing How a Man must honour his King or his Father or in setting the Bounds and Measures of Obedience to them or in such a matter as I am now about in stating the Case of Schism is not presently to be esteemed guilty of Schism For a Mistake though professed in Matters less principal either of Faith or Morals unless it makes void the general Commandment or some plain Article of Faith