Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
conscience_n	end_n	good_a	unfeigned_a	1,203	5	10.8412	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A81566	Divine characters: or, The true Christian discovered, and the hypocrite detected. In three treatises. The first treatise shewing, that both saints and unconverted sinners ought daily to go to God in Jesus Christ, for pardon of their sins ... The second treatise shewing, how we are to expect salvation, not from any righteousness of our own, but by the righteousness of the mediator, Jesus Christ ... The third treatise shewing, The Gospel evidences of a true Christian ... ; To which is added the summe and substance of the Christian religion, in a short catechise.	P., A.	1695 (1695)	Wing D1718A; ESTC R174671	155,114	255

that sleepest Ephes 5. The voice of the Spirit doth awake that Conscience that before was asleep in sinful security 4. A good Conscience is convinced that all the keepings of the Law and keeping a Conscience to men cannot justifie the soul before God cannot commend it to God which a Second Table-Conscience imagines it will and so in peace Paul kept a Conscience as to many things Acts 23.1 I have lived in all good Conscience before God unto this day meaning I conceive from his youth up when he was a Pharisee but when his Conscience was convinced and awakened and came to see Jesus Christ he saw that all his keeping a Conscience as to many sins and Duties could not in the least commend him to God A good Conscience is sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ Heb. 10.22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of Faith having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience How much more shall the blood of Christ who through the Eternal Spirit offered himself to God purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God Heb. 9.14 So that this is the efficacy of the blood of Jesus Christ upon the Conscience of a Believer it pacifies it in the sense of the forgiveness of sins towards God so as it can draw near to God and it purgeth it from dead works sin and pollution to serve God acceptably This is a good Conscience indeed 6. A good Conscience respects all the Precepts of God as well of Holiness to God as Goodness to Men which the Conscience we have been speaking of doth not Such a one makes not conscience of this great and absolute Precept Be ye holy 1 Pet. 1. It makes not conscience of purging the heart of secret mourning to God of the purity of God's Worship It makes no Conscience of lesser sins as we have shewed not of all sin as Herod heard the Word gladly but made no conscience of persecuting John to death when he stood in the way of his Lusts Now I say a good Conscience respects Precepts of Holiness secret as well as publick Duties inward as well as outward Sins lesser sins as well as greater 7. A Scripture good Conscience is much taken up about godly sincerity So Paul 2 Cor. 1.12 For our rejoycing is this the Testimony of our Conscience that with simplicity and godly sincerity not with fleshly wisdom but with the grace of God we have had our Conversation in the world c. Thus a soul that walks with a good Conscience towards God labours to approve it self in all things with a godly sincerity to do all as unto God Lastly a good Conscience labours to keep it self pure and undefiled it is accompanied with a pure heart 1 Tim. 1.5 Now the end of the Commandment is love out of a pure heart and of a good Conscience and of Faith unfeigned A Soul that would keep the Conscience good would keep it pure and the whole inward man pure as a Temple unto God Vse Now see how many ingredients go to make up a good Conscience in a Scripttre-sense and what a great mistake is in this weighty matter and how far abundance of people that make conscience of their dealings with men conclude thence they have a Scripture-good-Conscience to God when they are not savingly enlightned their Conscience never search'd by the power of the Word and throughly awakened out of a natural condition never humbled for resting in themselves and their Duties not having their Conscience sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ and purged thereby not having a tender respect to all the Precepts of God not to walk before him in godly sincerity nor with a pure heart You then that are short of these things you are wholly to seek in that which you so much pretend to and speak peace to your selves in the having or keeping a good Conscience you have as yet no part in this matter 2. What hath been spoken of a good Cnnscience may be for instruction and direction to the Called Ones of Christ how to preserve the Conscience good and peaceable and so to live and dye in the peace and comfort of it through Jesus Christ our Lord. Get it sprinkled with the Blood of Jesus Christ every day and under the searching of the Word and awake unto God and pure and undefiled respecting all the Holy Precepts of God as binding to your conscience so will the conscience be tender and peaceable and God will witness in your conences your acceptance with him in his Son Jesus Christ I would give out further some Notes of Tryal Whether you rest in false common grace or not as to what we have already spoken in so weighty a matter 1. By your never suspecting the truth of your grace but taking all upon trust never doubting but you have Faith and do repent and so of all the rest that soul that never suspected his grace may well fear that his pretended grace is no more than what a Hypocrite may reach unto The poor called children of God are exceedingly jealous their Faith is not sound that they are short in every grace because of the woful mixtures that they find more Unbelief than Faith more hardness of heart than softness more Pride than Humiliation and so of all Now that soul that goes away with an unsuspected confidence of every Grace sure flatters himself and his way will be found to be deceitful 2. That Soul that draws back his conscience from the searching power of the Word when it gives out ways of trial of Sincerity and truth of grace and puts it off as if not concerned in it this may well be speak a false heart A gracious heart would bring the Work over and over to the Touch-stone of the Word delivers up it self unto it yea is much with God to search him in point of a firm Work upon his Spirit as to any prevailing Iniquity in his heart as David Psal 139. When he was before the Lord appealing to him and opening his heart to him speaks thus ver 1. Oh Lord thou hast searched me c. thou hast And yet ver 23.24 begs of God yet further to search him Search me O God and know my heart try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me into the way everlasting 3. False Grace is discovered by its easie acting When you can easily believe easily repent easily be humble and so of all others Certainly 't is all naught There is great contradiction within and from the Tempter as to act Grace begun in a soul yea a daily supply from Jesus Christ must be to act any Grace livelily which the common pretending easie Believers are not sensible of It cannot be but every act of Grace must find more or less resistance from flesh and blood which is so vigorously opposite to the nature and acting of real grace in the Soul 4. Such as are

in them and by this others are brought on to glorifie God on their behalf 1 Pet. 2.12 Vse 1. It may serve for instruction and information of your Judgments and Consciences that there are other blessed and necessary and holy Ends in the Sanctification and Obedience of a Believer though they do not pacifie God nor justifie the Believer nor procure mercy by way of worthiness to a poor Soul called thereunto which may therefore serve to discover the damnableness of such kind of Doctrines that teach and cry in this day Grace is free Christ hath done all what need you pray and have Ordinances and be holy This is of the wicked one and comes from his Instruments and Factors who are sent abroad to damn Souls You may see that not one of those Ends mentioned but is of weight enough to convince a Soul of the necessity of Holiness Duties and Obedience and such mens preten●es are not a Scripture-way of Free grace 2. If there are blessed and holy Ends of a Believers Duties and Obedience though he is not there●y justified it may serve to take off that prejudice of heart through misunderstanding and Ignorance that is apt to be upon the hearts of such as are Car●al when they hear that all their Duties Sobriety and Righteousness is to be accounted as loss for Christ You see there are good and necessary Ends of all Duties of Obedience only still take this with you and to your Consciences that till you come as poor and naked to Jesus Christ for your justifying Righ●●ousness and so get life in and from him and so are ●●rried on in a way of Duty else your Duties serve ●u for no end and purpose unless for a lesser degree of Torment in Hell only be encouraged to wait upon the means for the receiving of the Spirit for the Knowldge of Jesus Christ And these things I have spoken may be your Experience 3. It may further direct Believers what ends they are to propose to themselves in the way of their Duties and Obedience to be carried on in them through the Grace of GOD and the daily supply of the Spirit as one great end of your Redemption that you should serve the Lord in Holiness to eye the Soveraign and Absolute Command of God over you that thereby you are made conformable to God and shew forth his Image and to the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ that there is an equity and goodness in all the Holy and Righteous Ways of God And see that the Love of God be shed abroad in your hearts to draw out your love to him and so be acted in your Obedience Get your hearts taken with the beauty and glory of the Lord Jesus and so long after likeness to him See that you look after Communion with God in your Duties and that you do not neglect your Evidence for the Pardon of your sins by the sight of your sanctification and your Universal Obedience And perform them not as to procure mercy by any proportion thereunto is your Duties but as Returns to God and consider how much God is glorified in the World by the Obedience of his people And thus may you carry on your progress in Holiness and a sweet and coscientious performance of Duties and walking with God and yet live by your Faith for your justification by the rich and Free grace of God through the righteousness of Jesus Christ as if you had never obeyed at all In a word If thou hast felt the power and vertue of the blood of Jesus Christ upon thy soul coming as a poor naked polluted guilty Soul unto it as thou hast been shewed and hast received life from Jesus Christ by a believing closing with him and art waiting for a sight and sense of thy justification but doest yet want it remember still that in the performance of thy Duties thy Heart which it is very apt to do lays no stress upon them as in them to appear before God and to procure the favour of God but still go forth to the grace blood righteousness promises of Christ and there fix for thy acceptance with God and be much in renewing of Acts of Faith that is casting thy Soul upon them and Evidence will come in yet go on in humbling praying waiting reforming sanctifying obeying as to the ends mentioned and the peace of God fill thy heart 2. Believers that have some sense of your justification do you remember that you obey God not that thereby you were are or ever may be justified but because you are justified Therefore you obey the Lord and delight in his ways keep this in your eye and 't will keep the heart from going to bottom upon your selves as gracious and partly righteous which mixtures render Duties uncomfortable and keep souls from Assurance No Believer performs his Duties so spiritually sweetly and comtably as that soul that labours to keep the sight of his Justification still upon the Account of Free-grace and out of himself that soul enjoys sweetest Communion with God in the way of his Duties and gets to Heaven with most comfort and assurance AMEN The Third Treatise Shewing the Gospel-Evidences of a True Christian as they are experienced by these who are truly Believers and the false Appearances thereof plainly refuted 2 COR. 5.17 If any man be in Christ he is a New Creature I Have been opening the difference between the Righteousness of the Law and the Gospel shewing the Necessity Nature and Way of obtaining Gospel-justification by the Blood of Jesus Christ and have discovered a Soul estated therein I shall now endeavour to open the Gospel New Creature peculiarly as distinguisht from that which is called in appearance a Legal-New-Creature c. Now let a soul fail in either of these and lost for ever fail of a saving close with Jesus Christ for righteousness or being a New Creature in Christ and you perish in your sins and the wrath of God will overtake you I shall not now take up time in opening the coherence of the words nor will it much be desired as to our design I shall therefore draw this plain conclusion from them Namely Observ There 's an absolute necessity in order to the Salvation of every soul to become a New Creature in Christ Having proved it we shall open the way of being a New Creature and how in Christ Then how distinguisht from an appearing New Creature but not so indeed and so give forth the Evidences of it Those Scriptures that speak of the necessity of being born again of the Spirit John 3.3 5. And of being converted Mat. 8.3 do evince the same truth Gal. 6.15 Neither Circumcision nor Vncircumcision avail any thing but a New Creature For we are his Workmanship created unto Christ Jesus c. Ephes 2.10 He that hath wrought us for the self same thing is God and hath given us the earnest of his Spirit 2 Cor. 5.5 The necessity of this New-Creature doth arise

guilt bondage reign service of thy sin go and cry to God offer him up the blood of his own eternal Son tell him thou seest he may let out justice upon thee to destroy thee and damn thee for ever of thy self thou hast no plea against it But ask the blessed God if it may not be more glory to him and his grace and mercy glorified by it if he will accept of satisfaction by his own Son Jesus Christ plead to him that thou hearest he died in the room of guilty condemned sinnners such as thou art ungodly Rom. 5.6 yea tell him with an humble adoration of his mercy and love in it that thou hearest in his blessed Gospel that 't is offered to any sinner that will come and accept it and that 't is proclamed from Heaven and there 's satisfaction made by the blood of a Jesus for the greatest Sinner such as thou art Oh! cry unto him that therefore thou comest and begg'st to be heard in thy plea and that it may be entred in Heaven that thou comest for all the ends of his death thou art weary of the service of thy lusts and the pollution of thy nature and therefore thou wouldst have thy nature cleansed thy conscience purged all which thou findest the blood of Jesus Christ is able to do yea tell him and plead it with some humble boldness that thou art acquainted that Jesus Christ prays in Heaven for such sinners that come and plead his blood to thee and that he is heard in what he prays and that therefore forgiveness must be had yea say thou wilt hold on thy plea thou hast no other and art resolved against any other If thou shalt to Hell pleading the blood of a Saviour be it so but I am resolved to plead it to the utmost yea tell him and cry to him that it cannot repent him that he hath ordained the sacrifice of the blood of his own Son and therefore why should'st thou be rejected Yea Come to this Issue through the Spirit of Faith upon thee that if it can be that a Sinner crying out for pardon upon the account of the death and blood of Jesus Christ and for sanctification may go to Hell then thou wilt willingly lay thy hand upon thy mouth and open it no more but sink under Divine Vengeance to Eternity Oh! That every poor sinner might go home with this plea in his heart written there by the Holy Ghost and peirce Heaven with his or her crys and groans and put the blood of Jesus Christ before him and plead for mercy and holiness to be pardoned and sanctified till God say Go in peace thou art pardoned redeemed and blessed for ever Yet a little to excite a poor drowsie sinner to this eternal Concernment 1. Consider thou art under the guilt of thousands of Sins one whereof is enough to sink thee to Hell Guilt if continued is Hell begun and wants nothing but the execution of Vengeance upon thee Oh what should a guilty sinner do but close with a Saviour and get an interest in Redemption from it 2. Especially considering that all the Duties and Obedience thou hast performed towards God or ever shall have not made nor ever will the least payment to God for thy sins thou art as much in debt to God as ever thou wast as much behind with him All the Items for the sin of thy Nature thy thoughts words and actual Wickedness and thy sinful neglects stand uncancelled all ready to be charged upon thee and nought will be accepted for payment but the Death of Jesus Christ the only price that God will hearken to Nothing will cancel the Book where all thy sins are recorded Nothing will blot out the Hand-writing that is against thee but the Blood of Jesus Christ Col. 2.13 14. 3. God is resolved never to forgive you the Debt till you have put in this Plea and it be recorded in Heaven and you have it in a Gospel-way No forgiveness of Sins but by Redemption pleaded claimed possessed and sealed by the Holy Spirit Ephes 1.7 14. 4. Thou art yet under the Bondage and Reign of thy sin and therefore under condemnation the Law is gone out against thee thy Sentence pronounced Cursed is every one that transgresseth c. saith the Law and thou art in bondage yet and hast not procured actual deliverance from it If a Prisoner be condemned and lye in Fetters in a Dungeon and hears of a Ransom paid for him what 's this to him till he have Liberty So for a Sinner to be in the Fetters of his Lusts held fast by them a Bond-man to the Devil and hear of a Christ laying down a Ransom what is this to him unless he sue it out and get actual deliverance and liberty the liberty of the Sons and Daughters of God and have a Spirit of Adoption to cry Abba Father Gal. 4.4 5. That being made free from sin the Reign and Power of it by the Power of the Lord Jesus revealed in him you may become servants to God and have your fruit unto Holiness and the end everlasting Life Rom. 6. 5. Consider as thou standest in thy filth and uncleanness of thy Sins thou art unfit for God either to please him in any thing thou doest or to be with him in Heaven hereafter thy person and services are loathsom to the Soul of God therefore get washed and purified in the blood of Jesus Christ Go on to cry and wait and beg a heart to do it and that in Faith till thou shalt feel Peace coming in by thy constant Plea of the blood of Christ till thou shalt feel cleansing vertue of it upon thy Soul till thou shalt experience the power of his death destroying Sin in thee and so shalt find thou hast fellowship with him and so a part in this blessed Redemption we have been treating of 6. Now to encourage a poor Sinner to this coming to God with the Plea of Christ's blood in his heart and mouth and to draw forth the Faith of a poor humbled doubting Soul Consider the All-sufficiency and worth of the price of the Death of Jesus Christ to satisfie the justice of God and procure Pardon and Sanctification for a poor Sinner which may appear from such like Scriptures The Apostle in the 7th of the Hebrews having been opening the excellency of Christ's Priesthood which is chiefly conversant in this Work of Redemption in the offering up of himself a Sacrifice concludes ver 25. of that Chapter Wherefore he is able to save them to the utmost that come to God by him To the utmost that is with a perfect Salvation that nothing more can be desired to it So in the 9th Chap. ver 11 c. The Apostle reasoning from the Levitical Sacrifices to this of the blood of Christ argueth the full perfection of it By his own blood he entred in once into the holy place namely into Heaven having obtained eternal Redemption for us

everlasting Bond and Covenant hath given it self to Christ as Jesus Christ bestows himself and all he hath upon the soul so doth the soul bestow it self and all it hath upon Jesus Christ and having so done resolves to be contented with him in every condition whom have I in Heaven but thee and none on earth in comparison of thee saith every gracious Believer 7. Every justified Believer lives by his Faith Gal. 2.20 lives upon Jesus Christ for all and fetcheth all from him sees him as a Treasury of all Grace hath recourse unto him this being the most proper act of Faith to make the soul live out of it self upon another Namely Jesus Christ for all 8. Faith that entitles the Soul to Jesus Christ works by love to all Saints Gal. 5.6 When the Soul closeth with Jesus Christ it will also close with his Disciples as distinguished from carnal unsavoury dead Professors What makes the living among the dead a living Soul alive in Christ highly priseth fellowship with such as are alive I might name many more particulars but these may suffice as the most distinguishing 1. Let what hath been spoken serve to discover to you Whether you have Faith that doth entitle you to the blood of Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of your sins Can you say Your Souls are carried out after more purging and 't is your daily cry to Heaven Can you say that you are often crucifiing with Jesus Christ And Oh that I were that I were but crucifi'd with Jesus Christ that I might reckon of my self as dead to sin and oh that I might live to God and might walk in Gospel-obedience That I might throughly deny my self for Jesus Christ and choose to suffer with him and for him Oh I would more clearly see the Marriage-union between Christ and my poor Soul I would I do bestow my self upon him and all that 's mine I do give my self to him I will be content with him here and for ever Whom have I whom have I but him Oh have you found in some good degree such Workings of heart towards Jesus Christ And do you live by your Faith upon Christ upon Promises and do you maintain your Souls this way And do you love and delight in the Fellowship of living Souls savoury Souls or do you at least long that you may have some opportunity to do so If you cannot in some measure experience these things your Faith is a dead empty Speculation such a Faith that is so far from uniting you to Christ that indeed it keeps you on this side Jesus Christ And therefore say of it 't is a Faith that is in vain that keeps me dead in my sins Oh therefore say in thy heart I will now wait on the Word the Ministration of it that is ordained of God to beget Faith I will go and pray the Father to draw me to Jesus Christ and that my Soul may be united to him that I may have Fellowship in his Death and Resurrection that I may be made alive unto God that I may feel the pacifying purging vertue of the blood of the Lord Jesus upon my poor Soul By what hath been said Believers may try their Faith and if they find their Souls to have experienced these things they may take comfort that they are justified by Faith in the blood of Jesus and therefore shall be saved by his Life To wind up all in a word of Exhortation 1. God hath set forth Jesus Christ to be a Propitiation that through Faith in his blood a sinner may become justified from his sin then what encouragement is there for sinners to come to him and believe on his Name to venture the Issue of Eternal Salvation upon him since God himself hath set him forth for that end and purpose that sinners might come unto him and be washed justified saved from their sins 'T is not then to be doubted but that God as he hath therein taken care for the Salvation of the sinner so for the glory of his own righteousness So that the sinner hath no reason to doubt that comes to Jesus in the way proposed but that God can take pleasure to accept of him through the blood of Jesus 'T was the most deliberate Act that ever the Wisdom of God was taken up about the setting forth of Jesus Christ to be the Saviour of Sinners through his Blood 'T was the first Foundation that God laid from all Eternity and after he had promised Jesus Christ it was some thousands of years before he set him forth to the world And therefore God cannot repent nor change his mind and purpose as to accepting pardoning justifying sanctifying poor sinners that cast their Souls upon it by the Blood of his Son Jesus Christ Upon which it is that blessed Souls are brought in in the Scriptures magnifying the grace of God for their cleansing by the blood of Jesus 1 John 1.7 The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin So are the Saints brought forth triumphing Revel 5.9 Thou wast slain and hath redeemed us to God by thy blood And Chap. 7.14 These are they who have washed their Robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb. Therefore I say with what boldness may poor sinners come unto it and how certainly are they in God's way to Salvation in which way blessed Souls have been ever found and none did ever miss of this end the Salvation of their Souls I have now dispatcht what I shall speak at this time as to the Doctrine of Justification by the Free-grace of God through the Righteousness of Jesus Christ and of saving Faith therein and shall commit it to the Lord to work it upon the Conscience I shall a little insist upon the last verse in the removal of that Objection which the heart puts up against this blessed Truth ROM 3. last Do we then make void the Law through Faith God forbid yea we establish the Law THE former Verses intermitted might have afforded us much choice matter in the opening the Doctrine of Grace and the Righteousness of Jesus Christ Namely that God is just in the remission of a Believer upon Faith in the Blood of Jesus from verse 26. And that the Doctrine of Grace excludes all boasting from the Creature from ver 27. That Jew and Gentile all that are saved must come to God and be justified in this way and no other from ver 29 30. But I must contract my self I come now to the Objection that the Heart so far as it is carnal doth naturally make against this Doctrine Namely If a Soul be only justified by Grace through the Righteousness of Jesus Christ doth not this then make void the Law and all Obedience to it What need then of our Obedience God forbid saith Paul we establish it that is the Doctrine of Justification by Faith doth rather establish it The Law doth stand establisht in a threefold sense First Jesus Christ hath establisht