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
A93868	Vindiciæ fundamenti: or A threefold defence of the doctrine of original sin: together with some other fundamentals of salvation the first against the exceptions of Mr. Robert Everard in his book entituled, The creation and the fall of man. The second against the examiners of the late assemblies confession of faith. The third against the allegations of Dr. Jeremy Taylor, in his Unum necessarium, and two letter treatises of his. By Nathaniel Stephens minister of Fenny-Drayton in Leicestershire.	Stephens, Nathaniel, 1606?-1678.	1658 (1658)	Wing S5452; Thomason E940_1; ESTC R207546	207,183	256

every man is free in the committing of this or that particular sin though it be true in the General an evil tree cannot bring forth good fruit It is possible that an healthy man by disorder may fall into great sicknesses but a man of frail and infirme constitution is wholly enclined to sicknesses and diseases As great nay a farre greater difference was between that liberty that Adam had before his fall and what we now have He had a freedome to choose the good and to refuse the evil so have not we now But to take away the force of this answer he further argueth That we can choose the good and as naturally love good as evil and in some instances more A man cannot naturally hate God if he knowes any thing of him a man naturally loves his parents he naturally hateth some sorts of uncleannesse Repl. We do not deny but by the general concurrence and assistance of God man since the fall hath some ability to choose and love the good But what kind of good that which is ethical and moral but not that which is spiritual In the very best actions that a natural man doth when he gives alms when he observes promises when he doth performe any good he sins in the manner because his actions do not proceed from sincere love neither are they directed to a right end The end of the commandment is love out of a pure heart a good conscience and faith unfaigned 1 Tim. 1.5 Because a natural man wants these principles his best actions are stained with sinne As strange as this doctrine seemes to be there is none of us all but may finde a truth of it in our own experience For let us heare reade pray meditate give alms dispute for the truth reforme errours and abuses and do much good for the Church yet we can have no comfort if our conscience once tell us that we do not these things for God but for our selves This is the very case of every natural man besides the sinisterity of ends his actions do not proceed from right principles And whereas he argueth that a man cannot naturally hate God if he knowes any thing of him If he speak of the excellency of God and his holinesse In such a sense if men did know him they could not hate him For that they love him fear him obey him trust in him do all for him leave all for his sake this is grounded upon the right knowledge of that excellency and goodnesse that is in himself And therefore since the fall the blindnesse of minde is the cause of a great part of the mischief The will is perverse in her choice the affections are out of order because the judgment is not rightly informed In a lower sense we do acknowledge that men may know some things of God and their knowledge may be the ground of their hatred of God It may be with some wicked men as with the Devils they beleeve there is one God and tremble But as to the choice of spiritual good he further saith Neither was Adams case better than ours in this particular For that his nature could not carry him to heaven or indeed to please God in order to it seems to be confessed by them who have therefore affirmed him to have a supernatural righteousnesse Repl. If the collation be between state and state Adam had a power to understand that good which is spiritual tolove choose it more than we now have since the fall The wise man saith God made man upright but they have sought out many inventions Eccles 7. ult He must needs speak of a spiritual uprightnesse contrary to the deceits that are to be found amongst thousands of men and women And whereas he saith that Adams nature could not carry him to heaven If this be so God provided worse for him than for the rest of the creatures The rest of the creatures were made with such natures sutable to their ends If therefore God did not make Adam in a state someway fit for heaven why did he create him with an immortal soule This state plainly sheweth that had he stood or eaten of the tree of life he should have lived for ever But falling he did runne the hazard of the losse of that life that might have been had Lastly if Adam coald not have gone to heaven in that nature that God had made him the falling short of eternal life could not have been any fault of his own and the blame would have laid on the creation Were it rational for God to require Adam to go to heaven and yet no way to make him sutable or fit for such a condition This were to require the whole tale of bricks and to give no straw And for that Tenet of the Romish Doctors I wonder that he should stand upon it that Adam was endued with supernatural righteousnesse in that sense at least as they understand it for look what righteousnesse Adam had it was by creation The had stood he had propagated it to posterity The reliques of the image of God do plainly shew in what state he was made in the beginning In the creation of man it is said he made all things very good Hearbs Trees Birds Beasts Fishes all these may be good in their kinde though they were not made in a state fit to go to heaven But it is impossible that Adam could be made in a state very good but he must be some way fit for union with God in which all spiritual and eternal good doth consist Now he comes to the main objection and here he tells us that it is certain there is not only one but many common principles from which sin derives it self into the manners of all men This he undertakes to prove in opposition to our assertion who hold that the pravity and corruption of nature doth flow from the disobedience of the first man But let us heare him speak in his own words The first great cause saith he of an universal implety is that at first God had made no promises of heaven he had not propounded any glorious rewards to be as an argument to support the superiour faculty against the inferiour that is to make the will to choose the best to leave the worst and to be as a reward for suffring contradiction And going on he further addeth this to be the reason of the general corruption of the old world Because saith he there was no such thing in that period of the world therefore almost all flesh corrupted themselves excepting Abel Seth Enos and Enoch we finde not one good man from Adam to Noah and therefore the Apostle calls that world 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the world of the ungodly It was not so much wonder that when Adam had no promises made to enable him to contest his natural concupiscence he should strive to make his conditions by the Devils Promises Reply It is true the Apostle calleth the old world