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	particular_a	visible_a	3,187	5	9.2342	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A51142	The trve Protestant sovldier fighting valiantly under truths banner, and by the glorious light of Gods word overthrowing the strongest bulwarkes, and subtle stratagems of the Church of Rome. By Hamnet Warde.	Monginot, François, 1569-1637.; Ward, Hamnet.	1642 (1642)	Wing M2418; ESTC R27120	26,961	42

THE TRVE PROTESTANT SOVLDIER Fighting valiantly under Truths Banner AND By the glorious light of Gods Word overthrowing the strongest Bulwarkes and subtle Stratagems of the Church of Rome By HAMNET WARDE ANCHORA SPEI LONDON Printed by G. M. for William Lee at the Signe of the Turks-Head in Fleet-street 1642. TO THE HONOVRABLE AND TRVLY VERTVOVS THE LADY BRIDG●T BRIANT all Happinesse in CHRIST IESVS Madam THe true zeale which you have for the maintenance of the Truth together with those many favours which your Ladiship hath been pleased to bestow on me my deceased and surviving friends hath encouraged me or rather inforced me to present this little Manuall being the first fruits of mine endeavours to your Ladiships acceptance In that short stride of the World which I have travelled having found many strong oppositions from our adversaries of the Church of Rome as well at home as beyond Sea touching the Protestant Religion I began somewhat to doubt of the truth thereof But by Gods providence lighting on this short Treatise after the perusall thereof I found the Religion of the Church of Rome if I may so call it so sleightly poasted upon the quicksands of mens frivolous opinions and contrariwise the Protestant Religion so soundly founded on the true and lively rocke of our salvation Christ Iesus that by Gods grace as●isting me neither the bewitching charmes of their devillish temptations nor the fiery darts of their hottest persecutions shall ever be able to divert me from the profession thereof Wherefore having received so great comfort thereby my selfe I have laboured with as much as in me lyeth to translate it verbatim out of French into English that others also may have benefit therby humbly beseeching your Ladiship to accept thereof as a token of my ever bounden duty and your Ladiship shall thereby encourage me to pray for your long and happy life here on earth and your eternall happinesse with God in heaven Madam Your Lad● ps most humble and truly devoted Servant Hamnet Warde To the READER Christian Reader MOnsieur Pierre Monginot a Gentleman as well learned as truly noble forsaking the Church of Rome and turning to the Protestant his friends being much discontented thereat wrote this short Treatise to satisfie them shewing them the causes which moved him to change his Religion Which I have translated for thy good out of French into English take but as much heed in reading it as I did labour in the translating it and God grant thee as much benefit by the Copy as I had comfort by the Originall Thine in Christ Iesus Hamnet Warde CHAPTERS 1. Of the true Church 2. Of the Popes power 3. Of the worshipping of Images 4. Of Prayer and Service in an unknowne tongue 5. Of the Invocation of Angels and Saints departed this life 6. Of Abstinence from Meats 7. Of Abstinence from Marriage 8. Of Purgatory 9. Of Merits and Justification by Works 10. Of works of Super-erogation 11. Of the superaboundant satisfactions of Saints and Monkes which the Pope distributes by Indulgences 12. Of the reall presence of the Lords body in the Sacrament and of Transubstantiation 13. Of the Sacrifice of the Masse 14. Of the taking away the cup in the Sacrament Decemb. 1● 1641. Imprimatur THO. WYKES THE TRVE PROTESTANT SOVLDIER CHAPTER I. Of the true Church THe holy Scripture tels us of diverse kindes of Churches There is that Church which is spoken of in the Creed which the Apostle S. Paul calleth the body of Christ against which saith our Saviour Mat. 16. The gates of Hell shall not prevaile which is the Assembly of the truly faithfull and elect people of God wherof part doe already injoy the heavenly pleasures of Gods kingdome part now live here on Earth among sinfull men and infidels and cannot be discerned by the eyes of man Others not yet borne But besides this Church of Gods elect there is another universall and visible Church which is the Assembly of all such as professe themselves Christians and to believe in Jesus Christ This is that Church which Saint Paul 1 Tim. 3. cals the pillar and ground of the truth as being bound to defend and maintaine the truth against all those who labour to corrupt or suppresse it This universall visible Church is composed of divers particular Churches such as were in the Apostles time the Church of Jerusalem the Church of Corinth the Church of Rome and that of the Galatians c. Of these particular Churches some are puter than others nay and there may be some so corrupted as that it is impossible for them to be saved namely as where Idolatry reigneth and where the benefits of Jesus Christ are abused The Church of Rome is one of these particular Churches wherin reigneth Idolatry First in that they call God a Sacrifice made by men Secondly because the honour appertaining to God is by them attributed to Saints in that they say the Saints know the hearts of all men and because they give them and their reliques and Images a religious worship and adoration Lastly because they call the Virgin Mary Queen of Heaven and Earth for the Soveraigne Royalty of the world is not communicable to the creature Likewise the benefits of Jesus Christ are therin abus'd in that they teach that Jesus Christ by his death delivers us from sinnes committed before Bapisme but as for sinnes committed after Baptisme he hath left us to satisfie Gods justice for them by satisfactory pains as well here as in Purgatory Thus then let it be that the Church of Rome be a particular visible Church and it more corrupt than any other although she terme her selfe the universall Church as if there were no other Church besides whereas indeed the Churches of Syria Greece Armenia and Affrica be more pure and mor● … cient then the Roman and no way subject therunto All th 〈…〉 h the holy Scripture and the Creed attribute to the universall Church of Gods elect or the universall visible Church the Church of Rome by an intolerable abuse and usurpation attributes unto her self as if in the holy Scripture there were no other Church spoken off but the Church of Rome or as if shee alone were the pillar and ground of the truth And when Jesus Christ Mat. 18. sends two Brothers being at strife to the judgement of the Church saying Tell it the Church and if he neglect to heare the Church let him be unto thee as an Heathen man and a Publican these Gentlemen would needs make us beleeve that he sends such as doubt in matters of Faith and Doctrin to the judgment of the Church of Rome which they call universall but reade the passage and you shall see that our Saviour speaks not there of doubts touching Religion but of quarrels and broyles which happen betweene man and man and consequently he speaks not of the Church universall but of the Ministers of some particular Church for to appease a quarrell between two Neighbours men doe

notwithstanding enough left which needs no interpretation which is sufficient to make us wise unto Salvation as the Apostle Saint Paul saith 1 Tim. 3. CHAPTER II. Of the Popes power THe Bishop of Rome calleth himselfe Saint Peters Successour not only as being Bishop of Rome but as being also the Head of the univers●ll Church Which power he extends so farre as to give and take away Kingdomes to distribute of crownes to dispence with Christians from keeping their oathes and vowes to canonize Saints to give Lawes to the universall Church to forgive sins to take soules out of Purgatory to judge soveraignly and without controle of all points and differences in Religion vaunting that it is impossible for him to erre in faith and for these considerations qualifying himselfe god on Earth the Spouse of the Church and a divine Majesty causing Kings to kisse his feet and making himself a religious worship terming himself Gods Vicar For this cause I have read very carefully Saint Peters Epistles and have compared them with the Popes Buls wherby he thunders down Kings and degrades them publisheth grand pardons but I can finde no concordance at all the one with the other for Saint Peter in his Epistles speaks not any wise of his Superiority not of his power neither is there one word spoken of his Soveraignty or as being head of the Church which is a very strange thing that a Soveraigne should write unto his subjects without mentioning one word that might intimate his Soveraignty I finde also that the Apostles did contest among themselves concerning the priority and that Jesus Christ did decide the controversie not telling them that he had made Saint Peter chiefe over the rest but forbidding them all not so much as to speake of the priority any more Luk. 22. The Kings of the Gentiles saith he exercise Lordship over them but it shall not be so with you Saint Peter having confessed our Saviour to be the Christ the son of the living God our Saviours answer to him is not Tu es Petrus super te Petrum adificabo ecclesiam meam but tu es Petrus super hanc petram c. which rock is Christ Iesus himselfe as it is said 1 Cor. 10. That rocke was Christ and in the second chapter to the Eph. he is called the corner stone and S. Peter 1. cp 2. cals him a living Stone The reason why our Saviour spake to S. Peter alone was because S. Peter had there alone confessed him to be the Christ but the same power that he gave to S. Peter to binde and to loose and to remit sins he gives elswhere also to the rest of the Apostles Mat. 18. 18. c. John 20. 23. Likewise in the second chapter to the Ephesians all the Apostles are set for the foundation of the Church being built upon the foundation of the Apostles and of the Prophets See also Revel 21.14 And certainly if the Apostles had understood that Iesus Christ had given S. Peter the Superiority never would they again after that have contested betweene themselves for the preheminence as they do in Luk. 22. one day before the death of the Lord. The Apostle S. Paul also in Galat. 2. saith that he withstood St. Peter to the face which sheweth sufficiently that he was nothing subject to S. Peter and in the same Chapter a little before he saith That the Gospell of uncircumcision was committed to him as the Gospell of circumcision was unto Peter here we see them fellow-labourers together Saint Peter was to preach to the Jewes and Saint Paul to the Gentiles In that same chapter also S. Paul sets the Apostle S. James before S. Peter saying James Cephas and John who seemed to be pillars So also S. John in the first chapter of his Gospell sets Andrew before Peter where he saith Philip was of Bethsaida the city of Andrew and Peter and in the 1 Cor. 9. The Brothers of the Lord and Cephas and in the 8. of the Acts of the Apostles the Apostles send Peter and Iohn to preach in Samaria Oh what a brave thing it were now a dayes to see many Bishops assemble together and send the Pope to preach in England or elswhere They object that our Saviour said to St. Peter three times Feed my sheepe true but they cannot inferre from thence that he made him the head of the universall Church for our Saviour said not to S. Peter feed thou my sheep alone or as a Soveraigne and indeed the same commission is given to all the Ministers of Gods Word in the 20. of the Acts Take heed therefore saith S. Paul unto your selves and to all the flocke over the which the Lord hath made you over-seers to feede the Church of God which he hath purchased with his owne bloud and in the 1 Pet. 5. Feede the flocke of Christ which is among you Jesus Christ then speaks to S. Peter alone because that a little before he had denied him and he only had need to be restablished in his commission that had failed in it Another reason why our Saviour repeats the words thrice is because that he had denied him thrice he draws from him three confessions to remedy his treble denyall which done he did againe establish him in the charge of a Shepheard of his flocke from the which he might plainly perceive that he had fallen Neverthelesse I will not deny but that S. Peter might be the chiefest among the Apostles in age zeale cloquance c. but by no meanes in superiority of jurisdiction wherby to have power to command them However put the case that S. Peter had beene the chiefe of the Apostles and their Superiour what doth that make for the Pope of Rome They say S. Peter died at Rome which is indeed very doubtfull neverthelesse put the case he did dye there for I may say then that the Bishop of Jerusalem ought to be the head of the Church for our Saviour Christ farre greater than St. Peter dyed at Ierusalem Where is the least mention in all Gods Word that S. Peter did leave one to succeed him in the charge of his Apostleship and as the head of the Church And when S. Peter was dead in all reason and conscience if any should succeed him ought it not to be the Apostle S. Iohn that excellent Apostle which Iesus loved rather then Linus S. Pauls Disciple Moreover by all the Histories of the lives of the Popes it appeares that the people of Rome did choose their Bishop who seeth not hereby that the Bishop of Rome was not the head of the universall Church for who gave the people of Rome power to give a head to the Church of the whole world and to set up Linus above the Apostles In an elective Kingdom when a King is to be chosen every quarter of the Kingdome and every commonalty sends it's Deputies to make the election the voyces of one city cannot conclude of any thing wherin the