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church_n bind_v earth_n loose_v 5,255 5 10.5190 5 true
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ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A46627 A sermon preached at Guildhall-Chappel Decemb. 24, 1682 before the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor &c. by John James. James, John, b. 1649. 1683 (1683) Wing J428; ESTC R28735 23,041 39

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recompence of reward which God hath prepared for those that love and serve him Heb. 11.39 40. Thirdly To this purpose that divine Oeconomy which according to the Sanctions of the Gospel is administred in the Christian Church was instituted by the Son of God That the Ministers of the Gospel as opportunity serves and necessity requires administer the sacred Rites of the Christian Religion in the Church of God Mat. 28.19 by baptizing such as are duly disposed for that solemn Ordinance that thereby they may be listed into the service of Christ and by that religious Sacrament be obliged to fight manfully under his Banner against the World Luke 22.19 20 the Flesh and the Devil And distribute the Holy Communion to those pious and humble Souls that are religiously disposed to celebrate the honour of God in that sacred Institution that they may be encouraged to quench the fiery darts of the devil and have grace to serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear To them 't is commanded to solemnize the Worship of God in publick Mat. 10.12 13 1 Tim. 2.1 2. either as Priests to wait at the Altar of the Lord to intercede with his Majesty in the behalf of his people and to present in their stead Prayers and Supplications and Thanksgivings to him or as Embassadors to treat with the People in the business of Religion Mat. 28.20 2 Cor. 5.20 and reveal the Will of God unto them to explain and confirm to their Understandings the Principles of Christianity to represent to their Judgment and Reason the vileness of sin and the reasonableness of Gods service that men may be reclaimed from their sinful and wicked ways and become a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto God But when sinners are obstinate and hard to be entreated the Censures of the Church are put into their hands to exercise the power of the Keys in punishing the pertinacious and casting them out of the Church that they may be brought to a just and lively apprehension of their sins and from the Judgment of God executed upon them by his Ministers in the Church be perswaded to reform and amend their lives that they may not fall into the hands of divine Justice in the World to come and so upon sufficient Evidence of their Repentance receive Absolution be dissolved from the Bonds of Satan and admitted into the bosome of the Church again For this power our Lord and Master committed to his Apostles and in them to the succeeding Governours of the Church Mat. 18.18 Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven Which Commission was renewed again after his Resurrection when he breathed on them the Holy Ghost Joh. 20.22 23. These are the principal means delivered in the Gospel and instituted by the Son of God to deliver men from the dominion of sin and Satan and thereby to destroy the works of the Devil by taking men off from the love and practice of sin 4. From the mission and descent of the Holy Ghost into the World where divine Inspiration is in two respects very remarkable to take away and the sins of the World and to promote the service and honour of God First By enduing the Son of God and his holy Apostles with power from above whereby they were enabled to confirm and ratifie the truth of the Christian Doctrine by the working of Miracles If Christ had not done those works which no other person did he would not for in truth he could not have obliged mankind to believe and obey it which is the proper import and meaning of our Saviour's expression Joh. 15.24 'T was therefore extreamly necessary that he should manifest the Divinity of his person and confirm the truth of the Gospel by such signal Testimonies as were uncontrolable And such was his infinite Wisdom and Power that while he was conversant among men he gave the World all the satisfaction that was possible that he came from God when he wrought such miraculous works as were never heard of from the beginning of the World presented them boldly to all Spectators and committed the tryal of their reality to the test of their sences which was an infallible evidence that the spirit of the Lord was upon him and the power of God had overshadowed him Heb. 9.14 Rom. 8.11 But because he was mightily declared to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead as through the eternal spirit he offered himself to God so by the mighty assistance of the same holy Spirit he arose again from the dead and continues alive for ever And because he committed the promulgation of the Gospel to his Apostles whom he sent as Embassadours to preach Salvation to the World and exhort sinners to be reconciled to God the powers of the Holy Ghost was indispensably requisite to inform their Understandings with the Mind of God to reveal the sacred Mysteries of Religion clearly to their apprehensions that they be assured of their heavenly Call to the divine Employment therefore they had apparitions of Angels and received the Bath-col voices from Heaven So St. Paul by a most miraculous Light from Heaven is stricken down to the Earth and called to the Apostleship Acts 9. Hereupon he became so serious and earnest to assert both his Calling and Gospel to descend from Heaven Gal. 1.1 Paul an Apostle not of men neither by men but by Jesus Christ and God the Father They had extatical Visions Peter was in a Trance Paul wrapt up to the third Heavens They had monitory Dreams and Impulses from the Spirit by all which they had a full assurance of the Divinity of their Message and the truth of their Call to the Apostleship But 't was equally necessary for the Conviction of the Unbelieving World that they should confirm the divine Authority of these things by sufficient external Arguments therefore they were endued with the gift of Tongues and the power of working Miracles when according to the promise of our Lord the Holy Ghost descended from Heaven upon a full Assembly as they were met together to solemnize the Worship of God Acts 2. that they began to speak with other Tongues and to utter divers sorts of Languages insomuch that their Auditors admired the marvelous works of God when they heard the Servants of Christ speaking every one in their own Tongue Thus they were qualified by an extraordinary Inspiration to teach all Nations and to preach the Gospel throughout the whole World And as they had diversity of Gifts and different Administrations so they were enabled by the power of the Holy Ghost to work Miracles 2 Cor. 12 8 9 10 11. and in the Name of Christ to do even what they list To them was given the power of healing all manner of Diseases the raising the Dead to life But one great and signal Gift they received which to the