Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
conscience_n	blood_n	spirit_n	spot_n	1,180	5	9.7005	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A62611	A sermon preached before the Queen at White-Hall, April the 9th, 1693, concerning the sacrifice and satisfaction of Christ by John, Lord Archbishop of Canterbury.	Tillotson, John, 1630-1694.	1693 (1693)	Wing T1248; ESTC R9501	16,874	41

Apostle to the Hebrews doth very particularly insist upon this condescension of God to them in the Dispensation of the Gospel and whereas they apprehended so great a necessity of an High-Priest and of Sacrifices to make expiation for the sins of the People that it was an established Principle among them that without shedding of blood there was no remission of Sins God was pleased to comply so far with these Notions and Apprehensions of theirs as to make his own Son both a Priest and a Sacrifice to do that once for all which their own High-Priest pretended to do year by year And from hence the same Apostle takes occasion to recommend to them the new Covenant and Dispensation of the Gospel as having a greater and more perfect High-Priest and a more excellent Sacrifice than were the High-Priests and the Sacrifices under the Law the Son of God having by one Sacrifice of himself obtained eternal Redemption for us and perfected for ever them that are sanctified And this Apprehension prevailed no less in the Heathen World and proceeded to the Sacrifices of Men even of their first-born And with this Apprehension not to countenance but to abolish it God was pleased to comply so far as to make a general Atonement for the Sins of Mankind by the Death of his Son appearing in our Nature to become a voluntary Sacrifice for us God permitting him to be unjustly put to death and his blood to be shed by the malice of men in appearance as a Malefactor but in truth as a Martyr and accepting of his Death as a meritorious Sacrifice and propitiation for the Sins of the whole World That by this wise counsel and permission of his Providence he might for ever put an end to that barbarous and inhuman way of serving God which had been so long in use and practice among them The Son of God by the voluntary Sacrifice of himself having effected all that at once and for ever which Mankind from the beginning of the World had in vain been endeavouring to accomplish by innumerable and continual Sacrifices namely the pardon of their Sins and perfect peace and reconciliation with God For these Ends and Reasons and perhaps for many more as great and considerable as these which our shallow understandings are not able to fathom the Wisdom of God hath pitched upon this way and method of delivering Mankind from the guilt and dominion of Sin by the Sacrifice of his Son And to this end it was requisite that he should appear in our Nature and dwell amongst us for some considerable time that by a long course of the greatest Innocency and of the greatest Sufferings in our Nature he might be capable of making a perfect expiation of Sin So that two things were requisite to qualify him for this purpose perfect Innocency and Obedience and great Sufferings in our Nature even to the suffering of Death Both these the Scripture declares to be necessary qualifications of a Person capable to make expiation of Sin and both these were found in the Person of our B. Saviour First unspotted Innocency and perfect Obedience This the Scripture testifies concerning Him and the whole course of his Life and actions He was in all points tempted like as we are yet without Sin saith the Apostle to the Hebrews He always did the things which pleased God as He testifies concerning himself and we are sure that his witness is true He did no sin neither was guile found in his mouth as St. Peter tells us of Him And this was necessary to qualify him for the perfect expiation of Sin whether we consider Him as a Priest or as a Sacrifice As a Priest he could not have been fit to make expiation for the Sins of others had he not been without sin himself And this the Apostle tells us is one great Advantage of our High-Priest under the Gospel above the High-Priest under the Law who being a Sinner himself as well as those for whom he offer'd had need to offer for himself before he could make so much as a Legal expiation for the Sins of others But a perfect and effectual expiation of Sin so as to purge the conscience from the guilt of it cannot be made but by an High Priest who is holy and innocent himself For such an High-Priest saith the Apostle became us that is now under the Dispensation of the Gospel when a perfect expiation of Sins is to be made such an High-Priest is necessary as is holy harmless undefiled separate from Sinners who needs not as those High-Priests that is as the High-Priests under the Law to offer up sacrifice first for his own Sins and then for the People The plain force of which Argument is this that he who will be qualified to make atonement for the Sins of others must be without Sin himself And then if we consider Christ as a Sacrifice for Sin perfect holiness is necessary to make a Sacrifice acceptable and available for the expiation of Sin The necessity of this was typified by the quality of the expiatory Sacrifices under the Law the Beasts that were to be offered were to be without spot and blemish To which the Apostle alludes speaking of the quality and efficacy of the Sacrifice of Christ How much more says he shall the blood of Christ who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God purge your consciences from dead works to serve the living God And to the same purpose St. Peter Forasmuch as ye know ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold but with the precious blood of Christ as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot hereby intimating that nothing less than the perfect innocency and holiness of him who was to be a Sacrifice for us could have expiated the guilt of our sins and purchased eternal Redemption for us Secondly great Sufferings likewise in our Nature even to the suffering of Death were requisite to the perfect expiation of Sin I say even to the suffering of Death For the Sacrifices which were to make expiation were to be slain And it was a constant Maxime and Principle among the Jews and the Apostle more than once in this Epistle seems to allow and confirm it that without shedding of blood there was no remission of Sins Not that God could not have pardoned Sin without satisfaction made to his Justice either by the suffering of the Sinner himself or of a Sacrifice in his stead But according to the method and Dispensation which the Wisdom of God had pitched upon he was resolved not to dispense Forgiveness in any other way For which reason he seems either to have possess'd Mankind with this Principle or to have permitted them to be so perswaded that Sin was not to be expiated but by Blood that is either by Death of the Sinner or of the Sacrifice Now the Life of our B. Saviour as well as his Death was made up