Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
conscience_n	child_n	spirit_n	witness_v	1,106	5	9.8469	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A17036	An ansvvere to Master Cartvvright his letter for ioyning with the English Churches: whereunto the true copie of his sayde letter is annexed.	Browne, Robert, ca. 1550-1633.; Cartwright, Thomas, 1535-1603.; Harrison, Robert, d. 1585?, attributed name.	1585 (1585)	STC 3909; ESTC S109433	77,571	102

giueth the right hande of societie vnto our English assemblyes which proofe he confesseth not to be so strong yet strong ynough to stay all sudden iudgements and so long to cause silence til on eyther side the light of the trueth doe breake foorth I will not heare enter into that question whether the Churches haue power to sit in mens consciences and to shut vp mens mouthes from testifying their iudgements and consciences for in some matters Master Cartwright doeth giue them that power namely for their verdite and sentence which be true Churches of God What vantage the Pope and Papistes might take hereby for defence of their churches it may be easily iudged and what a clog to mens consciences it were to iustifie and ioyne with all assemblies till all the churches by generall consent did condemne them let euery one iudge But surely Paul witnesseth that the spirit of God in his children searcheth out all things euen the deepe things of God yea it iudgeth and knoweth all things that are of God And againe he saith that he which is spirituall discerneth all thinges yet he himselfe is iudged of no man meaning that indeede worldly men can not rightly iudge of him wherefore the godly may freely both iudge and giue their iudgement euen of all assemblies which they knowe whether they be the true Churches of God And in another place he cōmandeth not onely to minde iudge think on all things that are true and honest and iust and pure but also to doe them Wherefore as we ought to loue the godly and their assemblyes so our loue as Paul teacheth vs ought to abounde more and more in knowledge and in all iudgement that wee may discerne thinges that differ especially that wee may knowe the house of God from a denne of thieues But herein Master Cartwright doeth much abuse vs and also all the Churches of Europe For neither we doe cast out the churches of two whole Ilandes as he saith neither doe they holde them all in For though the fame of the Martyrs of Englande came to their eares and also their doctrine profession at that time as they thēselues wrote it or testified it by mouth was knowen vnto them and then in the time of affliction they tooke them for brethren and churches yet it followeth not that nowe in our securitie they heare of our canon lawes and popish gouernment of our wofull abuses thereby or if they doe heare that notwithstanding they doe hastily iustifie vs. In deede they can not rashly condemne vs because they knowe not our state and rather they should take our assemblies to be the churches of God for the fame they haue sometimes heard of the Martyrs But that we which throughly knowe them should not iudge truely and doe accordingly it is both against reason and duetie For as euery pla●nt whi●h the heauenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted vp saith Christ so in the next verse he sheweth the way to roote them vp namely that we put away from vs their guiding and gouerning being blinde guides and leaders of the blinde and let them alone And so with Ieremie we shall plucke vp and roote out destroy and throw downe euen kingdomes and nations that is as we saide before wee shall pronounce their wickednesse and iudgement against them and forsake their fellowshippe and so leauing them to the iudgements of God they shall surely be plucked vp and destroyed except they repent Wherefore let not Master Cartwright thinke much if God doe set one man euen against a whole countrey For Ieremie in as good times as ours are was set against the whole lande against the Kinges of Iudah and against the princes thereof against the priestes thereof and against the people of the lande And in another place he woulde vtterly leaue the people and goe from them and dwell alone in the wildernesse And so well did he like their assemblyes that he calleth them all adulterers and an assemblie of rebels And in another place he is forbidden to haue any fellowshippe with them whether pleasant or vnpleasant so that he might neither mourne with them neither reioyce neither eate nor drinke with them And if it bee said that Ieremie had a speciall commaundement which we haue not we knowe that all the commaundements of God vpon the like occasions belong vnto vs. And concerning authoritie and power wee prooued before that the least in the kingdome of God hath it equall with Ieremie or any of the Prophetes Hereby is that also aunswered which Master Cartwright inferreth that if one man bee founde worthie of excommunication the smaller part of an assembly is not to proceede against him if the greater part will not What doctrine is this and what one worde of God doth he name for profe of this diuers other such ●ike For though Kings nations all the would wuold take any knowen wretched liuer to be a brother and communicate with him yet neithēr the smaller part of an assembly neyther I alone ought to do it For there is a flat law set downe by the Lorde Thou shalt not followe a multitude to doe euill neyther agree in a controuersie to decline after many and ouerthrowe the trueth But Master Cartwright will saye that this Lawe was giuen for wittnessing the trueth in publique iudgement and not that euery one shoulde take vpon him to excommunicate We knowe that the common wealth of Israel and their ciuill iudgement did figure out the Lordes Spirituall iudgement in his Church and therefore it is sayde of Saint Paul that wee are nowe no more aliauntes from the common wealth of Israel which wordes doe shewe that their Common wealth did figure out our spirituall fellowshippe But whether it did or no the lawe is generally giuen both for ciuill iudgement and for all dealings in controuersie that wee ought to giue true iudgement and testimonie and not to keepe backe iudgement or peruert the trueth for any mans cause yet we say not that euery one may excommunicate alone For we ought to tell the Church saith Christ and so we should haue the church to ioyne with vs in that action And Paul sheweth that his spirit theirs being met together was ioyned as in one for excommunicating the incestuous person but what if the rest of the church will not ioyne with vs therein Surely then as we prooued before we must set our selues against them all we must not be afraid of their faces as the Lorde commandeth lest he destroy vs before them For they all that knowing Achans sinne refuse being warned to cut him off are guiltie with him in his sinne or if they touch or come neere the tents of Corah Dathan and Abiram they shall perish with them or being in a citie that is fallen away to Idolatrie if they flee not out of it or set not them selues against it they shall be destroyed

not beguiled with the Names of Gods house Church and Citie he him selfe hath giuen it a name as it is written the name of that city shalbe from that day The Lord is there And in this respect also it is called in Ieremie the throne of his glorie As who say that amōg whōsoeuer we see not the Lord to reigne by his gouernement discipline as it were in the throne of his kingdom them we shuld ●●dge not to be the city church of God And though the church ●o pray that God would not cast downe the throne of his glory nor breake the conant with them yet Ieremie bringeth in those wordes as a complaint of the penitent and not to proue that the wretched sorte either helde the couenant or were the throne of God Wherefore to conclude this matter The path and way of the Lord is holy as the prophet teacheth no polluted shal passe by it there shalbe no lyon no noysome beast shall ascend by it neither shall they be founde there whereby is meant that open and grosse sinners shall not be suffred in the Church For either they shall be separate by excommunication or els all the godly shall withdraw them selues from them and hold them accursed As it is written If any man loue not the Lorde Iesus let him be had in execration yea excommunicate to death And surely they loue not the Lorde but are his enemies as was shewed before which refuse his gouernment that he can not reigne ouer them And againe it is written This is the loue of God that we keepe his commandemēts and he that sayeth I knowe god or I loue god and keepe not his commaudements is a lyar and the trueth is not in him Not that we can keepe his commandements without all breach or offence for wee are not Donatistes as the aduersaries slāder vs that we should say we may be without sinne or that the church may be without publike offences or if there fall out some sort of grosser sinnes that therefore it should cease to be the church of God we teach no such doctrine but if in any Church such grosse sinnes bee incurable and the Church hath not power to redresse them or rebelliously refuseth to redresse them then it ceaseth to be the Church of God and so remaineth till it repent take better order And here cōmeth in that question to be decided whether without the discipline cōmanded of Christ any assembly or church may be called the church of Christ M. C. saith that for want of this discipline we giue al the english assemblies the blacke stone of condemnation Howe truely he writeth this of vs his conscience is witnes for we neuer said that all the English assemblyes doe want discipline Thogh this matter be sufficiently debated before yet let vs weigh Master Cartwrights answere H sayeth that faith in Christ is the essence being or life of the church as for discipline it is but accidental and therefore the Church of God may haue her being and life and be named the church of God without discipline what worde of God doeth he bring for all this we knowe in deede that Christ is the life and essence of the Church For except as braunches we abide in him which is the true vine we can bring foorth no fruite we are cast foorth as branches and are to be consumed with fire Christ is the resurrection and the life He is the way the trueth and the life So it is true that Christ is the life of the church as for faith it is but the hand whereby we take hold of this life As it is written he that beleeueth in the sonne hath euerlasting life and he addeth vpon it as a tryall of faith euen our obedience to the sonne and saith he that obeyeth not the sonne shall not see life but the wrath of god abideth on him Nowe it was prooued before that they which are guilty of such horrible abuses so grossely offende by their corrupt and false profession haue not this faith neither do holde Christ the foundation But see how fondly blasphemously Master Cartwright distinguiseth He will haue a dead Christ or an Idol christ to be the life of the church For he will ioyne the church to Christ without the discipline and gouernement of Christ. He putteth asunder the church and the discipline of Christ and so must ●eedes sunder Christ from his owne discipline or gouernement Nowe Paul calleth this discipline the power of our Lorde Iesus christ So if wee seuer christ and his power what is he but a dead christ Also by his discipline and gouernement he hath ouer vs he is our king as againe it is written the scepter of thy kingdome is a scepter of righteousnesse So if we seuer christ and his discipline rule and gouernement what is he but an Idol christ If Master Cartwright say that by the scepter there is meant nothing else but the power of the worde of God I graunt it as Paul saith I will knowe not the speach or wordes of these men but the power For the kingdome of God is not in worde but in power saith he and in the psalme The Lorde shall sende the rodde of this power out of Zion And the weapons of our warrefare are mighty through God as againe he writeth So then if the power of the word to bynde lose to remit or refaine mens sinnes to promise lyfe and to rebuke and giue ouer to execration be taken from Christ or the church of Christ what remaineth but an Idol or counterfet christ an Idol or counterfet church Thus while M C. wil haue faith in christ to be the life of the church without discipline he doth leaue christ himselfe without life as one that is dead or turned into an Idol yet further he proceedeth in his absurdities blasphemies saith that fayth only is the essence being or life of the church and that besides faith nothing is necessary to the very essence and being of the church Thus be like children which yet through want of discretion can not haue faith shall be without the essence life of the church How corrupt doctrine this is I neede not heere stand on it If he say that by the faith of the parēts they haue life essēce in the church the scripture is against him For by the promise the couenant made to the righteous to their seed are their childrē reckoned in the church not by their faith Therefore the faythful are called by Paul the children of promise For we are sayth he after the maner of Isaac children of the promise and againe to the Romans the children of the promise are counted for the true seede of Abraham But that by any mans faith his children or others should haue life essence in the church is the same false doctrine we refuted