Selected quad for the lemma: church_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	believe_v	faith_n	infallibility_n	5,890	5	11.4885	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A71107	A sermon preached at the first general meeting of the gentlemen, and others in and near London, who were born within the county of York in the church of S. Mary-le-Bow, Decemb. 3, 1678 / by John Tillotson ...	Tillotson, John, 1630-1694.	1679 (1679)	Wing T1232; ESTC R3330	12,766	42

of his Disciples and acknowledged by the Heathens as a very peculiar and remarkable quality in them The Application I shall make of this Discourse shall be threefold 1. With relation to the Church of Rome 2. With regard to our selves who profess the Protestant Reform'd Religion 3. With a more particular respect to the occasion of this Meeting First With relation to the Church of Rome Which we cannot chuse but think of whenever we speak of Charity and loving one another especially having had so late a Discovery of their affection to us and so considerable a testimony of the kindness and charity which they design'd towards us such as may justly make the ears of all that hear it to tingle and render Popery execrable and infamous a frightful and a hateful thing to the end of the World It is now but too visible how grosly this great Commandment of our Saviour is contradicted not only by the Practices of those in that Communion from the Pope down to the meanest Fryar but by the very Doctrines and Principles by the Genius and Spirit of that Religion which is wholly calculated for cruelty and persecution Where now is that mark of a Disciple so much insisted upon by our Lord and Master to be found in that Church And yet what is the Christian Church but the Society and Community of Christ's Disciples Surely in all reason that which our Lord made the distinctive Mark and Character of his Disciples should be the principal mark of a true Church Bellarmine reckons up no less then fifteen marks of the true Church all which the Church of Rome arrogates to her self alone But he wisely forgot that which is worth all the rest and which our Saviour insists upon as the chief of all other A sincere Love and Charity to all Christians This he knew would by no means agree to his own Church But for all that it is very reasonable that Churches as well as particular Christians should be judged by their Charity The Church of Rome would engross all Faith to her self Faith in its utmost perfection to the degree and pitch of Infallibility And they allow no body in the world besides themselves no though they believe all the Articles of the Apostles Creed to have one grain of true Faith because they do not believe upon the Authority of their Church which they pretend to be the only foundation of true Faith This is a most arrogant and vain pretence but admit it were true yet in the judgment of St. Paul though they had all Faith if they have not Charity they are nothing The greatest wonder of all this is that they who hate and persecute Christians most do all this while the most confidently of all others pretend to be the Disciples of Christ and will allow none to be so but themselves That Church which excommunicates all other Christian Churches in the world and if she could would extirpate them out of the world will yet needs assume to her self to be the only Christian Church As if our Saviour had said Hereby shall all men know that ye are my Disciples if ye hate and excommunicate and kill one another What shall be done unto thee thou false tongue thou empty and impudent pretence of Christianity Secondly With relation to our selves who profess the Protestant Reformed Religion How is this great Precept of our Saviour not only shamefully neglected but plainly violated by us And that not only by private hatred and ill-wills quarrels and contentions in our civil conversation and entercourse with one anothe but by most unchristian divisions and animosities in that common relation wherein we stand to one another as Brethren as Christians as Protestants Have we not all one Father hath not one God created us And are we not in a more peculiar and eminent manner Brethren being all the children of God by faith in Jesus Christ Are we not all members of the same Body and partakers of the same Spirit and Heirs of the same blessed Hopes of eternal life So that being Brethren upon so many accounts and by so many bonds and endearments all united to one another and all travelling towards the same heavenly Country why do we fall out by the way since we are Brethren Why do we not as becomes Brethren dwell together in unity but are so apt to quarrel and break out into heats to crumble into Sects and Parties to divide and separate from one another upon every slight and trifling occasion Give me leave a little more fully to expostulate this matter but very calmly and in the spirit of weekness and in the name of our dear Lord who loved us all at such a rate as to die for us to recommend to you this new Commandment of his that ye love one another Which is almost a new Commandment still and hardly the worse for wearing so seldom is it put on and so little hath it been practised among Christians for several Ages Consider seriously with your selves ought not the great matters wherein we are agreed our Union in the Doctrines of the Christian Religion and in all the necessary Articles of that Faith which was once delivered to the Saints in the same Sacraments and in all the substantial parts of God's worship and in the great Duties and Vertues of the Christian life to be of greater force to unite us than difference in doubtful Opinions and in little Rites and circumstances of Worship to divide and break us Are not the things about which we differ in their nature indifferent that is things about which there ought to be no difference among wise men Are they not at a great distance from the life and essence of Religion and rather good or bad as they tend to the peace and Unity of the Church or are made use of to Schism and Faction then either necessary or evil in themselves And shall little scruples weigh so far with us as by breaking the Peace of the Church about them to endanger our whole Religion Shall we take one another by the throat for an hundred pence when our common Adversary stands ready to clap upon us an Action of ten thousand talents Can we in good earnest be contented that rather than the Surplice should not be thrown out Popery should come in and rather than receive the Sacrament in the humble but indifferent posture of kneeling to swallow the Camel of Transubstantiation and adore the Elements of Bread and Wine for our God and Saviour and rather than to submit to a set Form of Prayer to have the Service of God perform'd in an unknown Tongue Are we not yet made sensible at least in this our Day by so clear a Demonstration as the Providence of God hath lately given us and had not He been infinitely mercifull to us might have proved the dearest and most dangerous Experiment that ever was I say are we not yet convinced what mighty advantages our Enemies have made of