Selected quad for the lemma: church_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	bind_v	earth_n	loose_v	5,255	5	10.5190	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44810	The true rule, judge, and guide of the true church of God discovered, and borne testimony unto what it is, and wherein it consisteth in opposition to the pretended Catholick Church of Rome her rule, foundation, guide, and judge, being returned in answer to Captain Robert Everrand his book, titled An epistle to all the nonconformists ... / by ... Francis Howgil.	Howgill, Francis, 1618-1669.	1665 (1665)	Wing H3185; ESTC R9586	60,220	70

Consciences whatsoever they say though never so contradictory to the Primitive Doctrine delivered in Christ and the Apostles days yet all must be received upon pain of Damnation as R. E. saith and this he calls the Visible Church and the infallible Judge and Rule and Directer and hath laid wast the Office of Christ and turned the spirit out of doors and made it ineffectual and would perswade all others to look to this from the true Foundation and so is a Deceiver and an Antichrist Again we have this to say he that teaches a contrary Doctrine then that which was once delivered unto the Saints is a Deceiver and deceived and this was Christs Doctrine once deliverud unto the Saints Swear not at all and love your enemies pray for them that persecute you do good to them that hate you And many more precepts which this visible Guide to wit the Roman Church holds not but hath made void First it teacheth its Members to swear and again gives absolutions to remit them of their Oath if she think fit and both must be reckoned infallible and them that are your enemies instead of praying for them you curse them and instead of doing good to them you hate them and stirs up all your strength against them to destroy them instead of convincing of them in love and sound judgment Instance the days of King John and divers other Princes which felt your fury and wrath and also Frederick the Emperour after he was Interdicted was made to go to Rome to before the Popes Palace and to stand bare foot and bare leg with his Wife and Child two or three days in Winter waiting for Peters Successor his Absolution But it may be thou wilt say this was in love to them and in charity to their souls but let all unbyassed spirits judge and whether have not you when you have been the strongest party made force violence and success your greatest engine and plea to plead with all Nations and whatsoever people that dissented from you either in matter or form instance Germany Bohemia Moravia and divers other Kingdoms and Provinces besides the Indians in America which you destroyed chiefly for their Gold and Treasure under this pretence that they were Infidels and forced a faith upon some and a belief by the violence of your cruelty and swords which made the Noble Man of India say he had rather go to Hell with the Infidels of America as you called them then to Heaven with the Spaniards so cruel a people members of your Catholick Church what might I speak of the King of Castile against the poor Moors of Grandia who were put to cruel torments by force and violence which is a reproach upon this sort of Christianity unto this day and what persecution was raised against the Peddamount Christians by the force of this infallible Judg falsly so called and what Massacres in France and also in Ireland in latter years propagated by the Popes Nuncio a chief Embassadour from the Roman Sea to carry on that design to root out the Hereticks what destruction of people in a most barbarous inhumane preposterous and prodigeous cruelty some killed in the their beds some knocked in the head like Oxen some stripped naked in cold winter and bereaved of all their enjoyments and driven as sheep naked to the shambles and at last driven by scores into Lakes and Rivers and drowned some burned alive in their Houses some tender women strangled in Childbed and their tender Infants taken from their Mothers breasts and tossed upon Spears points and to my knowledg license and pardons given and sent from Rome to divers of their Emissaries there that it should be lawful for any servant or Catholick bondman to steal wast and purloyn their Masters Goods if Hereticks for the weakening and disenabling of them to resist the Roman enterprise begun these things and many more are legable in bloody Characters which I hope this Generation will not easily blot out of their memories so as to commit all faith all hope all religion and all infallibility and judgment to such a degenerated Generation as R. E. would have us do and with such audaciousness is not ashamed to blow his trumpet as in the head of an host to animate and encourage all to come to this black Standard for protection and direction judgment certainty and infallibility under no less then pain of Damnation and why but because Peter was sometime Bishop of Rome as they say and had given unto him the Keyes of the Kingdom of Heaven and whatsoever he bound on Earth was bound in Heaven and whatsoever he loosed on Earth was loosed in Heaven and because Christ said giving answer to Peters faith upon this Rock I will build my Church therefore all the Bishops and Popes as heires apparent succeeds him in laying claim to headship and doth none of his office nor none of his work and this foolish foppery and private interpretation hath been put off at a very great rate for Catholick Doctrine which brings to my mind a pleasant story I have sometime read of a certain poor Man meeting a certain Bishop at a certain time in great pomp and glory which the poor Man beholding took up a Laughter and being enquired of by the Bishop wherefore he laughed said he that Peter should be such a fool as to live such a poor miserable life as he did and persecuted in the world and to leave his Successors so rich to inherit such pomp and glory with that the Bishop replyed and said Thou fool I am not in this glory as I am Bishop of such a place but as I am Duke of such a place at that the Man smiled again and said When the Duke was in Hell for his pride where then would the Bishop be But to let this pass I am sure them that layes claim to be Peters Successors as to Patrimony and Riches which he was never endowed with for sometime he said Silver or Gold have I none but doth little of his work in converting of souls or feeding of the flock of Christ and doth lay claim unto his privilege and power but will not come near him in Doctrine labour and suffering for his Members and therefore I say to thee in thy own words lay aside thy folly with the consequences of it as destructive to the Church of God to hang all their faith upon such uncertainties but even to humane societies which I have mentioned and might instance more but that I would not be tedious to the Reader Lastly Yes some have some other Testimony by which spirits are tryed and may be tryed to be of God otherwise then by force carnal sword a strong party or success that 's thy own and not ours we have the holy Unction which is poured forth whereby the Saints knew all things and tryed the spirits whether they were of God or no and he that confesses not Christ come in the flesh is Antichrist and he

from the Spirit of Christ as some Churches did which were as truly Christian and might lay claim unto Christs promise of preservation out of error as ever Rome could do and yet fix of the Seven Churches of Asia were reproved by the Spirit of Christ some of them for holding gross error and some for suffering it but where was the fault did not Christ perform his promise to his Church or to these and other particular Churches as Corinth and Galatia yes but there was an erring from the spirit but all that R. E. goes about is to prove which he will never be able to do that Christ is bound by promise to make it good to them that he hath once promised unto though they perform nothing of their part in taking heed to his direction and thus would limit the Lord and let men go free without obedience to his commands and he cites Mat. 28. 2● how the promise of Christ was and lo I am always with you even to the end of the World but he hath done as the Devil did when he brought it is written to Christ left out half the words so R. E. hath left out the Conditions on the Disciples part and that which was their duty teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I command you then loe I am with you c. But R. E. likes not obedience it seems unto Christs commands and yet he will needs be a sharer in the promise and of the Power that was given and bind God unto that and he and his Church to be loose to do and to teach what they will but as to all the Scriptures he hath brought and minced them and cut them in peece meale and all the Inferences he makes this we acknowledge without multiplicity of words that whatsoever was promised to the Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ As the Church of Christ and Disciples of Christ the same promise of Christ doth belong to the Church of Christ and Disciples of Christ in every age and stands upon the same condition viz. obedience unto his will and that they still do teach and no other thing but what he commands them then he is with them according to his promise but let not R. E. nor his Roman Catholicks look if they teach things repugnant to his mind and contrary to his will and press upon others to believe that which Christ hath never taught that then the promise of God will be so intailed to them as that they cannot err and here the deceit of thine and your hearts hath led you aside and this is one of the cuning sleights of men and craftiness whereby you lay in wait to deceive and by this you have deceived many because God hath made such large promises unto his Church how that they should be led into all truth and preserved out of error and you are their successors and must needs inherit this promise by way of intail and you cannot err you cannot be deceived because the Apostles was infallible therefore you must needs be infallible though you err and go aside never so much from the infallible spirit the true guide and judge of and in the Church of God as though you had been born to infallibility and the spirit of truth had comed by succession but the inward Light which thou scoffes at and the spirit of truth which thou calls a private spirit often hath discovered you and your spirit though thou boast of fifteen ages that your Doctrine hath been held by the Pastours and Teachers in your visible Church as in the 57. page of thy Epistle suppose I should grant the fifteen hundred years which I neither can nor will but I will lead thee to the sixteen hundred years and try thee and your Doctrine that you have held this fifteen hundred year if it be so as thou saith but this thou likes not but seeing thou pleads antiquity let us come on and joyne issue prove us Transubstantiation in the first hundred year nay I will give thee five hundred more and if I gave thee five more thou would hardly prove it before the Council of Trent prove us the Doctrine of Purgatory in the first hundred year and if thou take two it shall not offend me prove us the forbiding of Ministers to marry in the first hundred year and abstenance from Meats as though they were unclean which are created by God for the use of Believers prove us that Man hath a twofold right to the Kingdom of Heaven as your great Bellarmine saith the one by Christ the other by a Man 's own works prove us Invocation of Angels and prayer and Sacrifice for the Dead the first hundred year after Christ prove us their selling of Pardons in Christs and the Apostles days for Money prove us seting up of Images as to put Men in mind of the Saints deceased and of their Works prove us Baptism of Infants with Cream and Spittle and signing with the Cross and Godfathers and Godmothers and let us have some example beyond bare report for we dare not relie upon your infallible spirit in these things therefore convince us for we are gain-sayers and upon good ground and we do look upon all these Doctrines and many more not to be of such a great age as thou tells on neither to have any affinity or congruaty with the Church of Christ in his or the Apostles time nor sundry years after but rather look upon them as Doctrines of Devils and a very novelty a further Scripture R. E. urges 1 Tim. 3. 15. the Church of the living God the pillar and ground of truth and may we not relie of that pillar that God hath erected for us saith he and he that hears you hears me and go teach all Nations and lo I am with you always and yet if after all these promises if the Church may not be believed except she teacheth according to the Scriptures and be only infallible but when she doth her duty then the Church hath no more privilege then the Devil hath for so long as he teaches conformable to the Scripture he may be believed and so long as he teaches truth he may be believed saith R. E. in page the 58 59. Answ. The Church is in God 1 Thes. 1. and is the pillar and ground of truth she is in the world though not of the world and though the members thereof be visible in the world yet the world that lies in wickedness never owned them as such neither saw the glory of this Church but always persecuted it and was so far from owning it as rule and judge as it altogether gainsayed its direction but they that did believe in the word of life and were separated from the world and hated by it were willing to hear the Councel and to receive the instruction of the Church of God and the Church only medled with their own Members as in matter of Judgment and not of the