Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
conscience_n	law_n	sin_n	transgression_n	2,525	5	10.8527	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A08552	The Christian conflict a treatise, shewing the difficulties and duties of this conflict, with the armour, and speciall graces to be exercised by Christian souldiers. Particularly applied to magistrates, ministers, husbands, wives, parents, children, masters, servants. The case of vsury and depopulation, and the errours of antinomists occasionally also discussed. Preached in the lecture of Kettering in the county of Northampton, and with some enlargement published by Ioseph Bentham, rector of the Church of Broughton in the same county.	Bentham, Joseph, 1594?-1671.	1635 (1635)	STC 1887; ESTC S113626	266,437	390

How can husbands and wives be perswaded of conjugall love and fidelity from such yoke-fellowes How can traders and traffiquers be ascertained of true and honest dealing from such people who are conceited that the Law of God doth not bind them to obedience Oh that these beguiled and unstable soules would question and conferre after this or the like manner with their consciences Tell me Conscience are not murders adulteries thefts and such like sinnes and why Tell me Conscience how thou knowest that lying swearing evill thoughts concupiscence and the like are sinnes Tell me Conscience whence is it that thou wilt not allow me to steale kill commit adulterie or the like And their consciences except they lie in a lethall lethargie will answer Not onely are thefts murders and adulteries sinnes but also covetous desires unadvised anger and lustfull thoughts because they are a transgression of Gods Law I know that the fore-named and other workes of darkenesse are sinnes because the Law of God forbids them And I dare not approve of the doing of such like things because they are contrary to and condemned by the most holy and heavenly Law of God This abject and absurd foolish fancy therefore of these lawlesse and licentious Antinomists The Law of God doth not bind the conscience of the regenerate to obedience being contrary and repugnant unto the testimony of all orthodoxe Churches and of their learned and pious Worthies and against the sincere and sacred Word of God supplanting and suppressing subtilly and sinfully all sorts of societies both Christian and common commerce betwixt man and man and being gainesaid by their owne consciences if they are but illightened is a sottish and sinnefull a false and filthy a ridiculous and rotten a vile and vicious an untrue and unchristian a faithlesse and fantasticall opinion position and absurdity CHAP. VIII Christian souldiers must be strong wherein and why Duty 3 WE being the souldiers of Christ that we may warre a good warfare let us be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might Ephes 6. 10. As corporall strength and bodily abilities are necessary for martiall men and a principall meanes in such like combats to obtaine the victory Witnesse Sauls policie who when he saw any strong man he tooke him to him 1 Sam. 14. 52. Witnesse that matchlesse mirrour of mankind Samson who slew a thousand men with the jaw of an asse Iudg. 15. 15. caried away the gates of Gaza Vers 16. And pulled down the house upon three thousand Philistines Ver. 17. Witnes the commendation of Davids Worthies for their might 2 Sam. 23. Witnesse that saying of the Gadites 1 Chron. 12. 8. They were men of might men of warre fit for the battel● that could handle shield and buckler whose faces were like the faces of Lions Witnesse the name of the place where the young men of Ioab and Ab●er slew each other called the field of strong men 2 Sam. 2. 16. And witnesse th●se sayings in the Canticles 3. 7. Threescore strong men about Salomons bed 4. 4. The shield of strong men So in the spirituall warfare against the enemies of our salvation spirituall strength is an excellent and a necessary meanes and helpe for Christian souldiers to guard and defend to fence and fortifie them against the Divell and his hellish complices This made S. Steven so puissant and invincible Acts 6. 8 10. This made Paul so couragious to confront Elimas the sorcerer Acts 13. 9 10. to conflict with the Iewes and Philosophers Act● 17. 17. and to contemne bonds and afflictions Acts 24. 26 27. 5. This enabled him to doe all things through Christ tha● strengthened him Phil. 4. 13. This was one meanes whereby those young men 1 Ioh. 2. 14. overcame the wicked one Hence it is that the Apostle Saint Paul stirres up the Corinthians to be strong 1 Corinth 16. 13. perswades the Ephesians to be strong in the Lord Ephes 6. 10 and incites Timothy to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Iesus 2 Timothy 2. 1. And hence it is that the Apostle Saint Peter prayes unto the Lord to strengthen his Church 1 Pet. 5. 10. Be we therefore strong in the Spirit or in the precious prevailing graces of Gods saving and sanctifying Spirit set down and specified Gal 5. 1● c. 1. Be we strong in love that we may love First God in Christ for his owne sake yea so that we may with earnest ardency desire and with our utmost endeavours diligently strive in the frequent and faithfull use of the meanes to have communion with God And that we may love his Word and will above gold yea above much fine gold Psal 119. 129. and beyond expression Vers 97. Secondly And our neighbour for Gods sake yea so that we may shew love and doe good even to them that wrong and abuse us And that we may love all good men especially because God beares a speciall affection towards them and because they have in them whatsoever is amiable and lovely And let us strive to be so strong in this Christian love that the many waters of the greatest force and violence used by Tyrants and Tormentours to avert and turne the same from the Lord may not quench put out or overcome it nor the flouds or liberall store of the overflowing waters of deepe and grievous afflictions drowne extinguish or overthrow Cant. 8 7. 2. Be we strong in joy that divine joy which commeth from the Lord and is placed in him Neh●m 8. 10. Whereby we may perfectly joy in God in that joyfull worke of our regeneration in Gods grace and that blessed hope of eternall glory with him yea so that it may make us to joy and rejoyce at the good and welfare of others Rom. 12. 15. Moderate all our griefes and sorrowes and inable us to joy even in tri●ulations Romans 5. 3. They being pledges of Gods love and trials of our faith and patience 3. Be we strong in peace that so we may walke in the way of peace Rom. 3. 17. Leading quiet and peaceable lives full of unity and good agreement avoiding quarrelsome contentions seeking to edifie one another by doing or taking good Rom. 14. 19. and labouring to live void of offence to God and man not willingly taking nor giving offence 4. Be we strong in long suffering by which we shal be inabled to mitigate and moderate our unadvised anger and diabolical disturbing desires of revenge when great and manifold wrongs and injuries are done unto us and diligently to discharge the duties of our Christian callings with painefulnesse profit and without partiality 2 Tim. 4. 2. 5. Be we strong in gentlenesse that so we may be inabled to give good speech and to shew good countenance even to them that wrong and abuse us without intent and purpose of revenge so that we may be courteous and tractable ready to give mild words easie to be intreated and to be spoken to apt to please loath to displease

necessity of sanctification against the irreligious and reproachfull diabolicall and blasphemous barkings against the same some of their fraternity as I have heard reported terming it scurvy sanctification Sixtly I have shewed the extent and excellency of Christian Book 4. Cap. 6. pag. 242. liberty wherein I have contradicted and confuted their lawlesse and licentious liberty Seventhly I have opened and unfolded the doctrine of justification Book 4 Cap. 5. pag. 233. to informe and teach them the truth of that of which they talk and talk so much to little purpose in which they would seeme wondrous wise although they wander wide of the way Eightly Although their tenet of Gods not afflicting his children for their sinnes is so repugnant to the regall rule of sacred Writ and so ridiculous to rectified reason that the relating is a sufficient refutation thereof Yet I much bewailing their err●neous wandrings and earnestly desiring their deliverance from their deluding dotage● will instruct and informe them in the truth if they are not intractable and unteachable True it is that sufferings are not alwayes and onely for sin Iohn 9. 3. Neither hath this man sinned nor his father Great was the errour therefore of Christs Disciples In thinking there was no other cause of the mans blindnesse but sinne In thinki●g he could not be justly punished with blindnesse from his birth because he had not then committed any actuall sinne and in thinking he could not be justly punished for any sinne save his owne or his parents for he might be punished for Adams For although all miseries be effects of sinne yet sinne is not the onely cause of mans misery there being as well moving and fi●all causes as that which is the procuring cause as for example First There are diverse moving causes of afflictions 1. In regard of the wicked the moving cause is Gods just displeasure justice and anger 2. In regard of the elect the moving cause is Gods love towards them 3. In regard of both the moving cause is Gods good will and pleasure Secondly There are diverse finall causes of afflictions 1. In regard of God his glory and the manifestation of his power 2. In regard of the parties punished their good and the exercise of Gods graces in them 3. In regard of others their fore-warning and making them without excuse Notwithstanding sinne is the onely meritorious cause of punishments temporall and eternall Lo● 3. 39. 2 Sa● 12. 10. 1 Corinth 11. Rom. 5. 12. Neither doth our Saviours answer D. Am. l. 2. de Conscientia cap. 16. Thes 13. contradict the certainty hereof Iohn 9. 3. This m●● hath not sinned 1. By his owne sinne or the sinne of his parents he hath not deserved more justly to be borne blind than any other sinuer which seeth from his birth or than any of your selves for Gods purpose was not by this blindnesse to punish the sinnes of this man and so to satisfie his justice but rather thereby to make way for his mercy and to prepare matter for his Sonne Christ to worke upon when he came into the world and was God manifested in the flesh Concerning the word punishment we may say and that truly and warrantably God punisheth his children for their sinnes Though not with satisfactory punishments to satisfie and make amends for their sinnes nor with vindicative punishment to take vengeance upon them for their transgressions yet with chastening punishments fatherly correcting them for their humbling amendment Psal 73. 14. Daily have 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I beene punished whipped or scourged yea the same word is used Ver. 5. and rightly translated plagued Ninthly I have shewed that the law of God doth bind the Book 3. Cap. 14. pag. 183. Book 4. Cap. 6. pag. 253. conscience of regenerate Christians to obedience against their absurd annihilating of and prophane pratlings against the holy and heavenly law of our good and gracious God To prevent all future contradictions I have set downe the concordant confessions of eight reformed Churches I have shewed the judgement of some of the ancient Fathers to which I have added testimonies of Scriptures and certaine reasons that they might consider had they but wit or will to consider that in striving to support their rotten ruinous and ridiculous positions they contradict the ancient Worthies the most sound and orthodoxe Churches militant upon earth and by name this of England whereof we are members and also the most true and undeniable Word of God not onely in the old but also in the new Testament Yet as the same seed sowne by the selfe same seedsman in a fertile soyle yeelds a plentifull increase falling in stony ground is scorched in thorny is choaked and in high-wayes is devoured As the same wholsome and nourishing food which cheereth and refresheth strengtheneth and supporteth the sound and healthfull man increaseth and augmenteth corrupt and vicious humours maladies and miseries in a distempered body And as the same radiant and resplendent rayes of that royall majesticall runner in the firmament which softeneth waxe hardereth clay which makes fragrant flowers more odoriferous makes corrupt carrion more odious So the pure and precious Word of God which is the savour of life unto life to some is the savor of death unto death unto others 2 Cor. 2. 16. for evill men and seducers will waxe worse and worse deceiving and being deceived 2 Tim. 3. 13. Acts 13. 10. And these enemies of righteousness● will not cease to pervert the right wayes of the Lord. And therfore as the Lord gives up Ephraim Hos 4. 17. Ephraim is joyned to ido●s let him alone cease to admonish him for he is incureable As the Angell said to Iohn Rev. 22. 11. He that is filthy let him be filthy still And as great Basil said of Eu●omius and his followers Why Basil adu Eun. lib. 2. should I contradict mad men And a little after I suppose those who cannot b● cured will not be benefitted by the multitude of those things which are spoken And before ●ruly I am afraid Lib. 1. lest by often repeating other mens blasphemi●s I should pollute my selfe So I might say to what purpose should I confute these fond and phantasticall people For variety of reasons will do those which are i● curable no good c. Yet part●y to justifie the doctrine of all the reformed Churches and in particular of the Church of England as s●u●d and orthodoxe as any under the cope of heaven against a viperine and venemous viper-like brood of lawlesse and licentious libertines partly to strengthen and support those that stand partly to uphold and keep from falling those that are weake pattly to ●eale if it be possible these silly yet selfe-conceipted s●ctaries or els to suppresse and supplant what in me lieth their palpable yet pernicious absurdities that others may the better shun and avoid them according to that substantiall and pregnant saying of great Basil Lur●ing impiety is more dangerous than

that Lib. 1. which is publi●●ed for when we know detractors we are wont m●r● easily to avoid their impudent tongues and ungratefull minds I will o●ce more as●aile these audacious and awkeard Antinomists I● which attempt I will not trouble my selfe or you with repctitions of those things which I have formerly delivered neither is it needfull for me to confirme any of my reasons because cavilled at by some no more than it is necessary to prove that the sun doth shine in a bright noone-tide because some blind people will not beleeve it They say that we Ministers dare not preach the truth through feare of loosing our livings And is the Church of England become a stepmother so rigorous Answ 1 and tyrannicall as to punish at all or so severely as with the losse of living those which preach the purity of the Gospell And are all the pious Pastours and painefull preachers of this our famous Church become so faint and cowardly that not one of them onely some few stragling wanderers dares to preach the Gospell of Christ Monstrous impudencie horride impiety If these doe not deserve the sharpe censure and severe scourge of the Church traducing thus venemously and unjustly a Church so renowned and a Clergy so reverend let others judge 2. But admit their impious and injurious imputations to be true and credible as they are fond false and fantasticall yet are all other reformed Churches enemies to the purity of the Gospell and are all other Divines which are and have beene famous in the same cowardly and corrupt unsound and rotten For the Church of England you have heard her judgement So● of Saints B. 4. Cap. 6. p. 244. B. 3. Cap. 14 p. 183. Hom. of the misery of mankind C. yet heare her speake once againe For truly there is imperfections in our best workes wee doe not love God so much as wee are bound to doe with all our heart mind and power wee doe not feare God so much as wee ought to doe Thou shalt not kill thou shalt not commit adultery thou shalt Hom. of works ● not steale By which words Christ declared that the lawes of God be the very way that doe leade to eternall life So that this is to bee taken for a most true lesson taught by Christs owne mouth that the workes of the morall commandements of God bee the very true workes of faith which loade to the blessed life to come Vnder pretence of obedience to their father in religion they Ibid. E. 1. were exempted by their rules and canons from the obedience of their naturall father and mother and from the obedience of Emperour and King and from all temporall power whom of very Hom. of Obed N. 1. duty by Gods lawes they were bound to obey c. Wherefore let us subjects doe our bounden duties c. Here let us learne of Saint Paul the elect vessell of God that Ibid. N. 111. all persons having soules doe owe of bounden duty and even in conscience obedience submission and subjection to the higher powers Thus we know partly our bounden duty to common authority Ibid. P. c. How can we then be free if not free from then bound to from Hom. against Adultery P. 11 this commandement where so great charge is layd upon us Our Church Catechisme Q. Dost thou not thinke that thou art bound to beleeve and to doe as they have promised for thee A. Yes verily c. the things which they acknowledge themselves bound to doe is to obey Gods law Answ before Thirdly that I should keepe Gods holy will and commandements and walke in the same all the daies of my life The Old Testament is not contrary to the new although the Artic. 7. law given from God by Moses as touching ceremonies and rites doe not binde Christian men yet notwithstanding no Christian man what soever is free from therefore bound to the obedience of the commandements which are called morall Heare some of our worthy Divines speake Dr. Reinolds saith the morall law bound Ioseph and David Overthr of stage pl. p. 83. to love their neighbours and themselves equity thereof pertained to the morall law and so is perpetually and simply to bee observed The morall law remaines for ever a rule of obedience to every Ibid. p. 36. child of God though he be not bound to bring the same obedience for his justification before God Ecclesiasticall Histories mention many such Libertines Simon Magus and his disciples who taught that men might lawfully commit fornication Basilides Eunomius Gnosticke who taught that men might live as they list seeing now such liberty was procured them being freed from being under the law any longer which sinne died not with those cursed heretickes but the Divell hath in these last daies revived it especially Idem in Iude. p 518. 2. d. in foure sorts of men First the Libertines of this age who hold with the former that being under grace we are free from the Idem in Iude p. 5 18. 2 d. Rom. 13. 5. p. 1096. Col. 28. p. 33. obedience of the Morall Law M. Wilson We are bound to be subject c. M. Bifield But is the whole Law of Moses abrogated c. D. Ames The matter of our obedience is c. In his confutation of Bellarmine Whereas the I●suite objects that wee place Christian liberty in this that wee are subject or bound to no law in conscience before God He answereth So hainous is this liberty of false accusing that the authour thereof doth seeme to have no respect of law or conscience in witnesse before God For wee doe acknowledge that all Christians are subject to the rule and direction to the authority and obligation of the Morall Law and of all the divine Law enjoying us any duty c. And in his Cases of Conscience hee concludes that the Law of God doth binde the conscience and sheweth what it is to binde namely To have that power that the conscience ought to be subject to it so that it doth sinne if is doth any thing against the Law Heare other Writers judgements and determination Peter Martyr saith The Law is the rule or square of Loc. Com. Clas 2. cap. 2. Bul. D●c de pers Legis d 3. ● 8. Cent. 1. l. 2. c. 4. conscience Bullinger The Law doth order and frame the life of men The Centuries say The Scriptures teach that we are delivered or freed from the curse and condemnation not from the obedience of the Morall Law Againe they teach That the Law Morall which is the immoveable judgement of divine understanding is not disanulled P. 184. but doth endure for ever Palanus hath diverse reasons to prove this Lib. 6. de Lege Dei Ch. Hom cap. 105 p. 1496. Chemnitius a Lutheran saith We are freed from the Law in regard of the curse we are freed from the Law in regard of justification But we are not freed from the

obedience of the Law For even the regenerate or justified are debters not to the flesh to live after the flesh but to the Spirit to mortifie the deeds of the flesh Rom. 8. 12. Cha●ierus saith It is ●●nifest by the things fore-going Tom. 3. lib. 1 cap. 6. Th. 4. that an exceeding great inj●●y i● d 〈…〉 u● wh●● w●e are said to denie that wee are b 〈…〉 to the Law before God Wherefore if Bellarmine doth know those which say that the saithfull are subject to u● law before GOD and that Th. 5. the Decalogue of Moses doth n 〈…〉 belong to us hee sha●● have us not adversaries but follo 〈…〉 i● disputing boldly against such Againe The fulfilling of the Law can by 〈…〉 meanes bee accounted by the part but by the whole For the whole life not some one moment thereof is bound and it is bound to all not to one Hence the saying of Iames Hee is Ibid. l. 11. cap. 11. Th. 16. guilty of all which offendeth in one Neither can it otherwise bee understood because hee is not guilty of murther who doth onely steale but of theft onely Yet hee is guiltie of the breach of that whole Law part whereof is Th●● shalt not steale and another part whereof Tho● shalt not kill Now whereas the adverse Antinomist will I suppose reply all this is not Scripture I do confesse that these words in so many letters and syllables are not in the Scripture Yet I dare avow that this doctrine of the Lawes binding the regenerate to obedience being the doctrine not onely of our Church but of all other Christian Churches some few contentious Sectaries excepted who deserve not the name of a Church and of all sound solid and substantiall Divines is the expresse doctrine of sacred Scripture And that it is so I will now manifest and make perspicuous by pregnant places in the New Testament Mat. 5. 18 19 21 c. Christ 〈…〉 not to destroy the Law c. Yea he confirmes the continuance of it in every iot● or tittle till the heavens be no more and presseth punctually to a precise particular observation of it Rom. 3. 31. Do we then make void the Law through faith God forbid yea in establish the Law Faith therefore doth not evacuate but establish the Decalogue Rom. 7 7. By the Law we come to the knowledge of our sinnes Rom. 7. 22. 25. S. Paul delighted in the Law of God with his mind he served the law of God 1 Cor. 9. 21. Being not without law to God but under the law to Christ. Eph 6. 1 2. Children obey your parents Honour thy father c. 1 Tim. 1. 5. The end of the commandement is charity out of a pure heart and of a good conscience and of ●aith unfained Iam. 2. 8. If you fulfill the royall law of liberty c. S. Iam●s shewes what Law namely the Decalogue Do not comm●● adultery c. Vers 11. 1 Ioh. 2. 4. He that saith I know him and keepeth not his commandements is a lyar 1 Iohn 3. 4. Sinne is the transgression of the Law Hence I conclude 1. That if ever the Law bound the regenerate to obedience which I suppose they will acknowledge it still doth Mat. 5. 18. Rom. 3. 31. 2. That since Christ Iesus the best expounder of Scripture doth so copiously confirme and corroborate the Morall Law in his Sermon on the Mount doth peremptorily pronounce that the breach thereof doth defile a man Mar. 7. 20 21 c. and so often inculcate that the keeping of the commandements is a sure and infallible signe of our love to him Ioh. 14. 15. 21. 23. 24. and of his love to us Ioh. 15. 10. 3. Since faith doth not supplant but strengthen the law 4. Since the holy men of God doe often urge and presse to do the duties commanded in the Law in their Epistles which they would not have done had not regenerate Christiane bee● bound to the obedience of the same 5. Since the Apostle S. Paul acknowledged that he served the Law of God with his mind and that he was under the Law to Christ 6. Since the Law of God hath not relinquished its regality and regiment being stiled by the Holy Ghost the royall Law 7. Since by the Law we come to the knowledge of sinne yea and all sinne is the transgression of the Law 8. Since the carelesse contemners and transgressours of Gods Law have no communion with God not s●ving knowledge of him 9. Since the end of the commandement i● charity c. therefore the Law is no enemy to purity of heart ●●ith unfained or Christian liberty this being the royall Law of liberty I may warrantably conclude against the absurd and erroneous ambiguous Antinomists That the Law of God doth binde the conscience of the regenerate Christian to obedience Furthermore because I suppose these cavillers will carpe against all these allegations as insufficient and weake because in none of them we are said to be bound by the Law to obedience I will therefore shew them these expresse words in sacred Scripture if that will satisfie and salve their seduced soules 1 Corinth 7. 15. A brother or sister is not under bondage in such cases namely to performe matrimoniall duties to unbelieveing yoke-fellowes which will depart from and forsake them Vers 27. Art then bound to a wife Seeke not to be loosed Vers 39. The wife is bound by the Law as long as her husband liveth Hence I inferre That since the Law of God doth binde the believing husband and wife to performe all manner of matrimoniall duties to their unbelieving yoke-fellowes which are pleased to dwell with them and that since the husband and wife being regenerate are bound by the Law each to other so long as they live together therefore that part of the Law which doth comprise and comprehend the duties of husbands and wives each to other namely the fift and seventh commandements doth bind the conscience of the regenerate to obedience therefore either all the Morall Law doth bind or els that this branch of the second Table is more authenticall and of more absolute authority not only than all the second Table besides but also than the first Table yet our Saviour saith the second is but like unto the first stiling it the first and great commandement Mat. 22. 38. Oh that I could perswade them to take notice how they confront contradict contend against the concordant confessions of the reformed Churches the sound solid and substantiall truths taught and defended by the ancient and moderne Worthies and the infallible and unde●iable truth of Gods Word Oh that men would cordially consider that such vile and vicious positions make men unfit not onely for Christian but also for common commerce and company with mankind For how can Kings and Princes be se●●red from rebellion of such subjects How can masters and fathers be assured of reverence and obedience from such children and servants