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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	bishop_n	council_n	nicene_n	3,055	5	12.2441	5	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10655	A sermon touching the peace and edification of the church preached at the second triennial visitation of the right reverend father in God, Francis Lord Bishop of Peterborough, at Daventry in Northamptonshire, July 12. 1637 / by Edvvard Reynolds ...	Reynolds, Edward, 1599-1676.	1638 (1638)	STC 20931.5; ESTC S4443	27,058	42

In case of Idolatry If Israel play the harlot let not Iudah transgresse for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 What agreement hath the Temple of God with Idols 3. In case of Tyranny when any shall usurp and exercise Domination over the Consciences of men to bring them into bondage unto Doctrines of errours and make Articles of Faith for all Churches to submit unto In which case the Apostle had no patience Gal. 2.4 5. Neque enim quisquam nostrum Episcopum fe esse Episcoporum constituit aut tyrannico terrore ad obsequendi necessitatem collegas suos adegit they are the words of Saint Cyprian in the Councel of Carthage upon the case of Re-baptization This then being laid for a firm foundation that Christ where he is King of Salem must be King of Righteousness too that the wisedome which is from above must be first pure and then peaceable that our unity must be the Unity of the Spirit Ea enim sola Ecclesiae pax est quae Christi pax est as Saint Hilary speaks The state of this Point is in these two words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 War there must be I speak in a spiritual sense with Principalities and Powers and spiritual Wickednesses For the Church is Militant and hath Weapons of spiritual Warfare given of purpose to resist Enemies Christ came to send a Sword against all dangerous Errors of minde or manners And as in this Warre every Christian must have 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Saint Paul speaks The whole Armour of God so above all Timothy and such as he was must be good Souldiers 2 Tim. 2.3 with the Eye to watch with the Tongue to warn with the Sword of the Spirit to convince and to correct gain-sayers War there must be but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Contention and inward jarres there must not be and that for this very reason because there is War for as our Saviour saith A Kingdom divided within it self cannot stand at any time much lesse when it wageth War with a Forreign and Potent Adversary such as Satan and all other Enemies of the Church are who by the advantage of an intestine Commotion would save himself the labour of drawing the Sword and become rather a spectatour than a party in the Conquest A notable example we have in Meletius and Peter Bishop of Alexandria both Confessours of the Christian Faith both Martyres designati and condemned Ad Metalla for their Profession who upon a small difference touching the receiving of the Lapsi into Communion fell unto so great a Schisme that they drew a partition between each other in the Prison and would not hold Communion in the same worship of Christ for which notwithstanding they joyntly suffered which dissention of theirs did the Church of God more hurt by causing a great rent and Sect among the members thereof than any persecution the Enemy could have raised Greatly therefore doth it concern all of us in our places and orders to put to all our power prayers interests for preserving the unity of the Spirit in the bond of Peace and for pursuing and promoting the Peace of Ierusalem that in nothing we give offence to the Church of God rather be willing to silence and smother our private judgements to relinquish our particular liberties and interests to question and mistrust domestica judicia as Tertullian calls them our singular conceits and fancies than to be in any such thing stiffe and peremptory against the quiet of Gods Church The Weak to be humble and tractable the strong to be meek and merciful the Pastours to instruct the ignorant to reclaim the wandering to restore the lapsed to convince the froward with the spirit of meeknesse and compassion The People to obey honour and encourage their Ministers by their docible and flexible disposition to suspect their owne Judgements to allow their Teachers to know more than they not to hamper themselves nor to censure their Brethren nor to trouble their Superiours by ungrounded Scruples or uncharitable prejudices or unquiet and in the end uncomfortable singularities How did our Saviour poure out his Spirit in that heavenly Prayer for the Unity of his People That they may be one and one in us and made perfect in one How doth the Apostle poure out his very bowels in this respect unto the Church If any consolation in Christ if any comfort of love if any fellowship of the Spirit if any bowels and mercies be ye like minded Take heed of strife of vain-glory of pride in your own conceits of censure of your Brethren of private respects Lay aside your own reputation be in the forme of servants have such humble judgements as that you can be willing to learn any though unwelcome Truth to unlearn any though darling Errour have such humble lives and purposes as that you can resolve to obey with duty whatsoever you are not able with reason to gainsay The godly Princes how carefull have they ever been to suppresse and remove Dissentions from Gods Church Constantine the Great writeth Letters publisheth Edicts makes large Orations to the Bishops of the Nicene Councel at their Sitting and Dissolution to no other purpose than only for preservation of Peace Anastasius in the great Dissentions of the Easterne and Westerne Churches about the Councel of Chalcedon touching the two Natures of Christ how severe was he to require his Bishops to promote and conserve Peace in the Church as Euagrius and Nicephorus note To say nothing of the Pious examples of our Dread Soveraign and his most Renowned Father who both by Writings and by Injunctions by Pen and Power by Argument and by Authority have shewed their care to supresse those unhappy Differences wherwith by the cunning of Satan the Churches of God have of late yeers been too much disquieted Consider we beloved that we are Brethren that we have one Body one Spirit one Faith one Hope one Baptisme one Calling brought out of the same womb of common ignorance heirs of the same common Salvation partakers of alike precious Faith sealed with the same Sacraments fed with the same Manna ransomed with the same Prize comforted with the same Promises in so much that Iustine Martyr and Optatus have been charitable so far as to call Judaizing Christians and Donatists by the name of Brethren Whosoever therefore by Pride or Faction or Schisme or Ambition or novel Fancies or Arrogance or Ignorance or Sedition or Popularity or vain-Glory or Envie or Discontent or Correspondence or any other Carnal reason shall rend the seamlesse Coat of Christ and cause Divisions and Offences I shall need load him with no other guilt than the Apostle doth That he is not the Servant of Christ Rom. 16.17 For how can he who is without Peace or Love serve that God who is the God of Peace whose name is Love and whose Law is Love Besides this we in our Calling

A SERMON Touching the PEACE And EDIFICATION Of the CHURCH Preached at the second Triennial Visitation of the Right Reverend Father in God FRANCIS Lord Bishop of Peterborough at Daventry in Northamptonshire July 12. 1637 By EDVVARD REYNOLDS Rector of the Church of Braunston Non habent Dei Charitatem qui Ecclesiae non diligunt Vnitatem AUG de Bapt. lib. 3. c. 16. LONDON Printed for Robert Bostock at the signe of the Kings Head in St Paul's Church-yard 1638. THE PEACE OF THE CHURCH ROM 14.19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for Peace and things wherewith one may edifie another EVery gift of God by how much the more excellent it is in it self by so much the more through the subtilty and malice of Satan is it subject unto abuse and as the Wisdom of God doth order evill things unto good so the cunning of sin doth pervert the best things unto evil and turn the very Grace of God into wantonnesse Christs coming was to set Prisoners at Liberty Isai. 61.1 And of all other this of Christian liberty is one of the choicest Jewels with the custody whereof hee hath entrusted his Church This Liberty is twofold either from Bondage Spiritual under Sin and Satan or from Bondage Carnal under the Ceremonies of the Mosaical Law which in opposition to the royal and perfect Law of Liberty is called an intolerable yoke and Commandements which were not good Two sorts of men there were who professing the Religion of Christ did yet through the subtilty of Satan stumble at this Liberty Some were false Brethren who dogmatically taught against it and to these the Apostle would not give place for an hour Others were weak Brethren who in their Consciences were not perswaded of this Liberty and were offended at the use of it in those whose faith was better setled With respect to these the Apostle in this Chapter states the difference then depending in the Church so that neither the knowledge of the one might breed scorn of those who were doubtful as weak nor the scruples of the other breed censure of those who were free as wicked wherein premising a most wise and pious maxime That weak Christians ought to be plyed and cherished in the main matters of Religion and not perplexed with impertinent disputations and then giving directions to both sides touching their mutuall behaviour towards each other he proceedeth to state the question it self For the ground whereof he laieth an excellent distinction touching Things Indifferent which may be considered either per se alone by themselves and so he states the question for the strong vers 14. or in Ordine ad aliud with respect to some other thing and so he giveth these three Rules 1. In order to the Weak so Liberty must give place to Charity I must rather restrain my self than scandalize and hazard the safety of my brother v. 13 15. 2. In order to the Doctrines of the Gospel So Fundamentals wherein the Kingdom of God doth stand are to take place of such In quibus non vertitur salus Ecclesiae which therefore however to bee strongly vindicated against malicious corrupters are yet not to bee unseasonably obtruded upon tender Consciences otherwise agreeing in the Substantiall grounds of righteousnesse and peace vers 16 17 18. 3. In order to the Church of God And so the Peace and Edification of that is to bee preferred before the rigorous and stiffe asserting of our own private Liberty for the Edification of the Church is Gods Work and wee Peace in one word a perfect Moses the meekest Man and yet the mightiest Warriour a true David a man much vers'd in Battel and yet made up all of Love sending a Sword in one place and sheathing up a Sword in another carelesse of offending in case of piety and tender of offending in case of liberty Thus Hee and thus his Church too Salem a place of Peace Ierusalem a vision of Peace and yet therein a Fort and an Armory for shields and bucklers Cant. 4.4 To know the difference wee are to distinguish both concerning Persons and concerning Things For Persons the same Apostle who here teacheth us to compassionate the Weak doth teach us elsewhere to withstand the obstinate and he who out of tendernesse to some yeelded to circumcise Timothy out of jealousie of others refused to circumcise Titus pleasing all men in one case and forbearing to please in another a servant to all himself and yet Bee yee not the servants of men Concerning Things though the Heathen man spake truly Nihil minimum in Religione yet we know our Saviour distinguisheth between Mint or Cummin and the great things of the Law And the Apostolicall Synod between things necessary and unnecessary and Saint Paul here between meats and drinks and the Kingdom of God and elsewhere between the foundation and superstruction Some Truths there are which belong ad fidem Catholicam others which pertain onely ad scientiam Theologicam Some are Quaestiones 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and others 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Gregory Nazianzen distinguisheth Some are de fide against those who deny Fundamentals Others circa fidem against those who by perilous super-inducements bruise and wrench the foundation Others praeter fidem in quibus salva fide qua Christiani sumus ignoratur verum as S. Austin speaks In which we may erre or be ignorant beleeve or suspend without any hazard to the common Faith In one word as Tertullian distinguisheth of sins so may we of Opinions Some are Quotidianae incursionis such as are usually incident to humane frailty some are Dogmata devoratoria salutis such as proceed from Hereticall pride and blindnesse Now the Rule is certain That in the great things of the Law and Gospel which either are Foundations themselves or are most visibly and immediatly adjacent and contiguous to the Foundation wee ought 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Saint Iude speaks to contend earnestly as there was no small dissention and disputation between Paul and Barnabas and the false Brethren who taught the necessity of Judaicall Rites unto Salvation Acts 15. v. 2. And Athanasius the Great would not have the Orthodox Brethren to receive 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 any forms or Letters pacificatory from George the Arrian Persecutor And Basil the Great giveth an excellent reason of it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 If once wee shake the simplicity of the Faith and retain not that as a Rule and measure of inferiour differences Disputes and Contentions will prove endlesse This care then and circumspection is chiefly to be used in these three Cases as a learned Prelate of our Church hath observed 1. In case of Heresie when Adversaries deny or deprave the faith of the Gospel as Hymeneus and Philetus who teaching against the Resurrection overthrew mens Faith 2.