Selected quad for the lemma: church_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	heathen_a	let_v	publican_n	2,742	5	10.9981	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09365	The whole treatise of the cases of conscience distinguished into three bookes: the first whereof is revised and corrected in sundrie places, and the other two annexed. Taught and deliuered by M. W. Perkins in his holy-day lectures, carefully examined by his owne briefes, and now published together for the common good, by T. Pickering Bachelour of Diuinitie. Whereunto is adioyned a twofold table: one of the heads and number of the questions propounded and resolued; another of the principall texts of Scripture vvhich are either explaned, or vindicated from corrupt interpretation.; Cases of conscience	Perkins, William, 1558-1602.; Pickering, Thomas, d. 1625.	1606 (1606)	STC 19669; ESTC S114066	314,224	686

that sinne if he proceed according to the three degrees mentioned Mat. 18. But this is in him a fault for he must not iudge in this case at his owne pleasure but his iudgement must follow the iudgement of the Church and when the Church hath giuen censure then may the priuate man proceede to censure and not before So saith our Sauiour Christ Mat. 18. 17. If he heare not the Church after the Church hath iudged him let him be vnto you as a heathen a publicane Here if the Question be made how a man may with good conscience giue iudgement of his owne selfe I answer by obseruing two Rules First a man must alwaies in the presence of God iudge himself in regard of his sinnes both of hart life 1. Cor. 11. 31. If we should iudge our selues we should not be iudged And this iudgement of a mans selfe must not be partiall but sharpe and seuere with true humiliation and lowlines of heart For this is a true ground of all charitable iudgement of others Secondly before men a man must suppresse his iudgement of himselfe and be silent no man is bound either to praise or dispraise to excuse or accuse and condemne himselfe before others and grace must teach him thus much not vainely to commend or boast of of his owne gifts and actions but rather to burie them in silence and referre them to the iudgement of others Now to conclude this point The doctrine deliuered is most necessarie for these times For the fashion of most men is to giue rash and sinister iudgement of others but themselues they will commend and that highly If any thing be euill saide or done all men must haue notice of it If a thing be doubtfull it is alway construed in the worser part If a thing be done of weaknes and infirmitie we aggrauate it and make it a double sinne We are curious in searching and inquiting into the liues of others that we may haue something to carpe and finde fault with But let this be remembred that as we iudge so we shall be iudged first of God by condemnation and then by hard and vnequal iudgement from others Againe what is it that makes men to be open mouthed in declaring and censuring our faults but this that we open our mouthes to the disgrace and defamation of others Wherefore if we would haue other men to iudge of vs and our actions in loue we must also make conscience to giue charitable iudgement of them II. Question How one man should honour an other Ans. That we may rightly honour men we must first know the causes for which men are to be honoured And that the causes of honour may be conceiued I will lay downe this Ground Honour is in the first place principally and properly to be giuen vnto God 1. Tim. 1. 17. To God onely wise be honour and glorie The reason hereof is rendered in the Lords prayer be cause his is kingdome power and glorie Againe God is goodnes it selfe his goodnes and his essence are one and the same therefore honour is due to him in the first place Now euery creature as it commeth neare vnto God so it is honourable and the more honourable by how much nearer it commeth vnto him But man especially by how much nearer he commeth to God in diuine things by so much more is he to be honoured in respect of other creatures From this Ground doe follow these Conclusions First that Man is first of all to be honoured for vertues sake because therein principally standes the internall image of God Rom. 2. 10. To euery man that doth good shal be honour glorie peaece to the Iew first c. Now whereas the Question might be Who is the Iew to whome this honour must be yeelded Paul answers vers 29. that he is not a Iew which is one outward but he is a Iew who is one within And the circumcision is of the heart And Salomon saith that Honour is vnseemely for a foole Prou. 26. 1. And the Holy Ghost to the Hebrewes saith that by faith our Elders were well reported of The Heathen man Marcus Marcellus a Romane dedicated a Tēple to the Goddesse of Honour and the way to that temple was by the house of Vertue The Second Conclusion is That man is to be honoured not onely for vertue but also for diuine representations of other good things in a word because one man before an other heareth the image of some thing that is in God As First of his Maiestie Thus the King is honoured because in his Maiestie and state he carrieth a resemblance of the power and glorie of God so as that which is saide of God may be also spoken of him Hence it was that Daniel said to Nebuchadnezar O King thou art a King of Kings and why for the God of heauen hath giuen thee kingdome power strength and glorie Dan. 2. 37. Secondly of his Dominion Thus the husband is to be honoured of the wife because he beareth before the woman the image of the glorie of God yea of his prouidence wisedome Lordship and gouernment 1. Cor. 11. 7. Thirdly of his Paternitie and so the father is honoured of the sonne because he beares in his person the image of Gods paternitie or father-hoode Fourthly of his Eternitie and hence it is that honour is giuen to the aged before the young man because he beareth the image thereof Thus we see that Diuine representations doe imprint a kinde of excellencie in some persons and consequently doe bring forth honour The third Conclusion is That men are to be honoured euen for the vertues of others Thus the sonnes of Princes are called by the honourable name of Princes The children of Nobles are esteemed by birth Noble Thus Dignities doe runne in discent and the posteritie is honoured in the name of the ancestours but principally for the vertues of the a●ncestours The fourth Conclusion is Men are to be honoured for their Riches I meane not for riches simply but for the right vse of riches namely as they are made instruments to vphold and maintaine Vertue If it be said that to honour rich men is to haue the faith of the Lord Iesus Christ in respect of persons Iam. 〈◊〉 1. I answer In that place we are not sorbidden to honour rich men but the Apostles meaning is to reprooue a fault of an other kinde when men preferre riches before pietie when rich men are honoured beeing vngodly and when godly poore men are despised and reiected because they are poore Now hauing premised the Ground we come to giue Answer to the Question before propounded A man therefore is to honour euery one in his place whether he be his superiour equall or inferiour Yea there is a kinde of honour to be performed to a mans owne selfe The truth of this Answer we shall see in the particulars that follow Sect. 1. Touching the honouring of Superiours these Ruies are to be obserued

it that the Papists opinion were true then a further Question may be mooued Whether spirituall kinred contracted by baptisme can be a iust impediment of marriage betweene the witnesses themselues or their children The Papists in their writings answer that spirituall alliance beeing farre more excellent then carnall is of much more force both to hinder a man from marriage before he marrie and to breake off marriage when it is consummate But this doctrine as the former is not warrantable For first they themselues affirme that this impediment doth not depend vpon the law of nature but vpon the iudgement of the Church But the estate of marriage stands by Gods ordinance who hath giuen libertie of entrance into it to all men that are out of the degrees forbidden in his law without exception and therefore the lawes and constitutions of men cannot preiudice or take away any mans libertie in that behalfe Secondly all beleeuers are brethren and sisters in Christ and therefore are spiritually allied each to other Now if this spirituall alliance be polluted by marriage or maketh marriage vndertaken a meere nullitie then no beleeuer shall marrie in the Lord for Christians by this meanes must neuer match with Christians but with Pagans and Infidells Thirdly this impediment is a superstitious inuention of Popish Canonists onely to increase the Treasurie of their Church by their multitude of dispensations And it seemes that they are either ashamed of it or wearie to beare the imputation thereof For some of their owne Canons are against it which doe allowe Godfathers children to marrie and a man to marrie his godfathers wife And the Coūcell of Trent hath drawn this affinitie into a narrower compasse which before was so farre inlarged allowing the Witnesses themselues to be man and wife not vrging all the three kinds of kinred but onely some degrees of compaternitie III. Question touching Baptisme Whether children of excommunicate persons which are cast out and not holden as members of the Church haue right to Baptisme For better resoluing of this Question the ground of the answer is first to be laide downe and then the answer directly to be made There are two texts of Scripture commonly alleadged concerning the force and vse of Excommunication The first is Matth. 18. the second is 1. Cor. 5. The scope of them both is to shew that the man which is excommunicated is barred from the kingdome of heauen For he is not to be holden a true member of the church but as a Heathen and a Publican and therefore is put out of Gods kingdome and deliuered vp to Satan Of this waight is Excommunication Nowe in Excommunication there are three iudgements to be considered The first of God the second of the Church the third againe of God The first is when God doth hold any obstinate sinner guiltie of his offence and consequently guiltie of condemnation vnlesse he repent This is the first sentence The second is the iudgement of Gods church vpon the offender after that God hath holden him guilty For the iudgement of the church followeth the iudgement of God and doth indeede nothing but pronounce the partie guiltie and subiect to condemnation And the difference betweene them both is onely this That God holds the offender guiltie and the Church declareth him so to be Now the second iudgement is not to be giuen absolutely but with condition of repentance and so farre forth as man can iudge by the fault committed as also by the word which giues direction how to discerne of the impenitencie of the sinner The third and last iudgement is Gods whereby he ratifies and confirmes that in heauen which the Church hath done on earth and this in order followes the second This ground beeing laide downe I come now to the Answer First therefore the parties excommunicate are in some respects no members of Christs bodie and in some respects they are They are not in two regards First in that they are cut off from the companie of beleeuers by lawfull excommunication and so haue no participation with them either in prayer hearing the word or receiuing the Sacraments The reason is for that the action of the Church stands in force God ratifiing that in heauen which the Church doth vpon earth Secondly because by their sinne they haue as much as in them lieth depriued themselues of the effectuall power of Gods spirit which might rule and gouerno them But in other respects they are members as will appeare if we consider the diuers sorts of members Some are members not actually and in present but in the eternall counsell of God and are to be in time when they shall be called Thus was Paul before his conuersion and therfore he saies of himselfe that God had seperated him from his mothers wombe and called him by his grace Gal. 1. 15. Also of himselfe and other beleuers he saies when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his sonne Rom. 5. 10. Some againe are members only in shew and appearance of which sort are hypocrites which seeme by their outward profession to be that they are not indeed wherin they resēble the wooden legge that is cunningly fastened to the body but indeede is no legge nor part of the body wherto it is adioyned A third sort are liuely members which are vnited vnto Christ by faith and haue fellowship with God in him beeing iustified sanctified gouerned and preserued by his spirit and withall doe feele and shew forth the power of the same spirit dwelling in them Of these Paul speaketh Rom. 8. 14. As many as are lead by the spirit of God they are the sonnes of God The fourth sort are decaied members which though they belong to Gods election and are plants truly ingrafted into the vine Christ Iesus yet for the present haue not a liuely sense of the power and vertue of the spirit of Christ in them These may fitly be resembled to the legge of a man or some other part that hath the dead palsie which though it remaine for some time without feeling and vncapable of nourishment yet beeing ioyned to the bodie it may by vertue of some strong medicine be recouered and made whole as the other Of this sort are excommunicate persons For in regard of their ingraffing they are true members and can not be quite cut off from the bodie of Christ Ioh. 10. 28. though otherwise they are not holden so to be in a threefold respect One in regard of men because they are excluded from their holy communion with the faithfull by the Churches censure The second in regard of God because that which the Church rightly bindeth on earth is boūd in heauen The third in regard of themselues because for a time they want the power and efficacie of the Spirit vntill they be throughly touched with repentance and beginne as it were to liue againe Now though in these respects they be not esteemed members of the