Christ I Iohn 2. 22. and will be partakers of their sinnes wee shall bee partakers of their plagues Revel 18. 4. And for our unbeliefe in persisting to persecute them that contend for the faith of Jesus the Christ Math. 16 16 17 18. The wrath of God abideth on them 1 Thess 2. 14 15 16. Fiftly There is no promise to any people that deny the Faith and Baptisme of Jesus the Christ that they waiting shall receive the gifts of the Spirit But rather that they shall be given up of God to strong delusions to beleeve a lye 2 Thess 2. 10. Because they received not the love of the truth that they might bee saved Verse 11. For this cause God shall give them up to strong delusions to beleeve a lye Verse 12. That all might bee damned that beleeve not the truth but have pleasure to continue in unrighteous practises 2 Thess 2 10 11 12. But there is a promise to all poore enquiring soules that in the time of their ignorance and unbeliefe have denyed Jesus the Christ their eternall King and Prophet aswell as Priest and now by the Spirit of God being convicted that they are lyars and Antichristian that deny the Father and the Son 1 Iohn 2. 22. And being pricked at the heart now trembling cry out Men and brethren what shall we doe The Spirit of Christ in the inspired Scripture saith Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Iesus for the remission of sins and yee shall receive the gifts of the holy Spirit Acts 2. 38. We have an instance of twelve Disciples found at Ephesus baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus and and Paul laid his hands on them and they spake with new tongues and Prophesied as Ioel the Prophet foretold Ioel 2. 28. I will powre out of my Spirit upon all flesh c. But were those Disciples Paul found at Ephesus that had beene baptized by Iohn the Paptist rebaptized by Paul In answering this objection I conceive First there was a vast difference betweene Faith and Baptisme Iohn preached before the suffering death and resurrection of Christ And the Faith and Baptisine Christ commanded his Disciples to preach after his Resurrection Luke 24. 46 47. Secondly Iohn the Baptist preached the Baptisme of repentance saying that they should beleeve on him that was to come after him Acts 19. 3 4. Whom Christ himselfe declareth to his Apostles being come in the flesh that he must goe up to Ierusalem fall into the hands of sinners bee killed and the third day rise againe but thâ— Disciples understood it not though it were declared to them and they were afraid to aske him Mark 9. 31 32. Much more John understood not that Christ should dye and rise againe from the dead First because it was not revealed to him though John sent two of his Disciples to demand of him Whether it were he that should come or shall we looke for another Christ answereth Goe tell John the blind see he deafe heare the dead are raised and the poore the Gospell is preached and lessed is he that is not offended in me Math. 11 2 3 4 5 6. Secondly Christ saith of John This was that Elias that was to come â—hat should prepare the way before him Mal. 3. 1. Thirdly Hee was the greatest Prophet borne amongst women for he saw him come in the flesh and said to two Disciples Behold that Lamb â—f God which taketh away the sinnes of he world John 1. 29. Yet hee that is he least member in the kingdom of heaven is greater then John because after the death and resurrection of Christ they could preach and declare that great mystâ—ry of godtinesse 1 Tim. 3. 16. that Iohn the Baptistnever knew But the Apostles after the resurrection of Christ he having opened their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures said unto them That it behoveth Christ to suffer and rise againe the third day that repentance and remission of sinnes should bee preached in his name amongst all Nations beginning at Ierusalem and yee are witnesses of these things Luke 24. 46 47 48. Again Iohn the Baptists baptisme was the Baptisme of water onely but had no promise of the holy Spirit annexed as himselfe confesseth Math. 3. 11. I indeed baptize you with water to repentance But he that commeth after mee is mightier then I he shall Baptize you with the holy Spirit and with fire Secondly The holy Spirit waâ— not to bee given in his full measure untill Christ was glorified Iohn 7. 39 compared with Acts 2. 33. But to the Faith and Baptisme the Apostles preached after the death and resurrection and ascention of Christ into glory there was a promise of giving the gifts of the holy Spirit Acts 2. 38. Repent and bâ— Baptized every one of you in the namâ— of Iesus for the remission of sinnes and yee shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit as the Prophet Ioel foretold Ioel 2. 28. and the twelve at Ephesus received Acts 19. 6. I affirme that the twelve at Eâ—hesus that had beene Baptized by Iohn or his Disciples Ministry were re-baptized by Paul or them that were with him in the time of his Ministery for these ensuing Reasons First In respect of the different dispensations The Faith and Baptisme that these twelve had received from Iohn or his Disciples Ministerie though it was a saving Faith all the dayes of Iohn and his Disciples Ministry yet it was not a saving Faith after the death and resurrection and ascention of Christ into glory in the time of Pauls Ministery For Iohn and his Disciples preached the Baptisme of Repentance saying that they should beleeve on him that was to come after him that was in Jesus Christ that was to bee crucified But Paul and Timetheus preached that Jesus indeed is come and crucified dead and risen through whom all that beleeve shall have remission of sinnes Acts 13. 38 39. 1 Cor. 15. 3 4. Secondly Because this Faith that they had received from Iohn or his Disciples in the time of Pauls Ministery would not save them Because they denyed the Resurrection of Christ from the dead Looking onely for him to come and to be crucified and were ignorant that he was crucified dead and risen And then according to the doctrine of the Holy Spirit by the mouth of Paul 1 Cor. 15. 14. If Christ be not risen our Faith is vaine and our Preaching is vaine Thirdly If the Faith and Bapâ—isme of Iohn that declared that there was a Jesus to come to bee Crucified and the Faith and Baptimse of Paul that declareth that Christ dyed for our sins according to the Scriptures and rose againe the third day according to the Scripture 1 Cor. 15. 3 4. Be all one for substance as some of the Learned amongst us affirme then are wee found false witnesses of God because wee have testified of God that he hath raised up his Sonne Iesus
A CONFERENCE M r. John Cotton HELD AT BOSTON With the ELDERS of NEW-ENGLAND 1. Concerning gracious conditions in the soule before faith 2. Evidencing Justification by Sanctification 3. Touching the active power of Faith Twelve Reasons against stinted forms of prayer and praise Together with The Difference between the CHRISTIAN and Antichristian Church Written by FRANCIS CORNWELL a Minister of Jesus the Christ London Printed by J. Dawson and are to be sold Fr. Eglesfield at the Signe of the Mary-gold in Pauls Church-yard 1646. TO THE HONOVRABLE AND True-hearted lover of his Countrey Sir HENRY VANE Junior Knight sometimes Governour of New-England Treasurer of the Navie Royall and a Member of the House of COMMONS Sir THe Churches of the Saints and the World may not bee unfitly compared to the Pearle and the Pebble though both of one naturall substance earth yet the one of rare price whose beauty is the sun-beames inclosed the other wanting it is cast away as refuse What maketh the Saint more excellent then his neighbour seeing both are borne of flesh both subject to the same corruptions sicknesse death but this The Saints excellency is nothing else but the Image of Jesus Christ the Sunne of righteousnesse shining in him For as the moone and starres derive their light from the sunne so all the wisdome righteousnesse holinesse a Saint hath hee deriveth from Christ Hence David the King doth so prize their fellowship All my delight is in thy Saints thine excellent ones that are in the earth and them that excell in vertue Yea it is a sure note of a Citizen of Sion that hee honours them that feare the Lord Whereas worldly men without grace are rendred in his eyes as vile Hence the Spouse acknowledgeth that all her excellency cometh from plantation Let my Beloved come into his garden and eat his pleasant fruit Yea Christ declareth to Nicodemus that a beleevers holinesse cometh from regeneration that in Christ hee may onely glory How doth the Lord discover this his excellency to a beleever by his calling till that time hee lieth amongst the refuse of the world as foolish disobedient deceived serving divers lusts and pleasures living in malice and envie hatefull and hating one another But then the kindnesse and love of God to man appeared by delivering him out of the kingdome of darknesse and translating him into the kingdome of his deare Sonne By which it is manifest that hee is one of the Chosen generation the royal priesthood the holy nation the peculiar people whom hee hath called out of darknesse into his marvellous light But when doth the Lord discover the truth of his calling to his conscience Then when hee giveth him precious faith for that onely distinguisheth him form the world that lieth in sinne Gal. 3. 22. The Scripture concludeth father mother sonne daughter nay the infant that is borne of the most holiest parents all under sinne that the promise by the faith of Jesus Christ might bee given to them that beleeve So that in that same houre the Lord giveth him faith hee giveth him an evidence in himselfe that hee loved him in Christ before he was borne before hee had done good or evill that hee hath justified him from all those things hee could not be justified by the Law that hee hath purged his conscience from all dead works that his person is accepted his sinne discharged and he hath a right to the purchased inheritance amongst them which are sanctified Thus the love of Christ revealed to dye for him to take away his iniquity and reconcile him to God the Spirit given to take away his heart of stone giveth him an heart of flesh to cause to walke in his flatutes yea and draweth his heart to yeeld obedience to every commandement of Jesus the Christ The truth of this grace given Right Worshipfull you can give a true testimoniall for you were once in your naturall condition as well as others till it pleased God who separated you from the womb to call you by his grace to reveale his Sonne in you you consulted not with flesh and bloud but left your native soyle in the persecuting times of the Prelates chusing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God according to the light they had received then to remaine in England and enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season Yet there the Lord exalted your Worship to bee the Governour And in that dawning light coming forth out of mysticall Babylon the Lord discovered much spirituall knowledge of the riches of his free-grace in Jesus Christ amongst you you being freed from the yoke of the Task-Masters heere the Bishops that kept you in bondage you had liberty there to debate those Questions which the naming onely of them heere would have rendred a man odious But Satan that envieth the peace of the Saints stirred up a spirit of contention amongst you especially when these Queries came to be debated 1 Whether there are any gracious conditions or qualifications wrought in the soule before faith 2 Whether any man can gather his evidence of the assurance of his Justification from his Sanctification 3 Whether there bee an active power of Faith and other gifts of grace in a Christian conversation The one side would not beleeve themselves justified no farther then they could see themselves worke making their Markes Signes and Qualifications the causes of their Justification The other side laid the Evidence of their Justification onely by Faith in the free Promise for there are foure things that makes remission of sinnes perpetuall to a beleever First The cause of Remission the sacrificed Body of Christ on the Crosse or accursed Tree Heb. 10. 4. By one offering hee hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified Secondly The ground is a free promise tendred to us from God as to Adam The Seed of the Woman shall breke the Serpents head Gen. 3. 15. John 3. 16. 1 John 4. 10. Thirdly The meane is Faith apprehending it Phil. 3. 9. Fourthly The Spirit of Christ sealing of it Ephes 1. 13. This truth revealed for the comfort of poore drooping Saints found great opposition But the good Lord stirred up your gracious spirit to countenance and defend them in the midst of strong opposition and though you were sleighted and set light by at the ende of your Government as not worthy to be an assistant with many other Instruments more yet the good Lord stood by you and strengthned you and delivered you from the hands of your opposers perserved you from the dangers of the Sea and though at your returne to your Native Soyle you lived like Joseph a while in a despised condition yet the Lord raised you up to sit amongst Princes So that though you were willing to lose life friends preferment for Christ found you not then life peace joy in the Lord Jesus which was better to you then all worldly
denyed That power which can disanull â—e greater must needs disanull the â—â—â—er if the death of Christ put an 〈◊〉 to the heavenly Fathers Cereâ—oniall Worship and in prayer and â—aise at or before the Ark or in â—e Temple then it will put an â—nd to all mans devised Worship unlesse you will advance the authority of man above God the Father Col. 2. 20 21 22 23. If Christ by his death hath freed us from the rudiments of the world the Mosaicall Ceremonies why living in the world are wee intangled with ordinances after the doctrine traditions and commandements oâ— men But they are set up for the glory of God Not I but Paul shall answer fom me They have a shew of wisdome iâ— will-worship but it is onely a shew there is no substance in it Wee harden the obstinate Papist in their superstition for they say and that truly Wee received moâ—â— of our formes of prayer and praiâ—â— from them Wee rob the Spirit of his glory who is given to Saints to form prayer and praise in them 1 Cor. 1â— 15 16. Rom 8. 26. Gal. 4. 6. Wee impose a burthen upon 〈◊〉 conscience to be practised which God hath left arbitrary to be used according to our necessities If we be afflicted then pray if wee have tasted how bountifull the Lord hath been to us in blessings then let us praise him Jam. 5. 13. If wee frequent devised formes of Worship in prayer or praise we shall lay a stumbling block before a weak brother and cause him to fall Woe be to them that follow the way of Balaam who taught Balack to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel Revel 2. 14. Jud. v. 11. Now offences must come but woe unto the men by whom they come It were better for me that a milstone were hanged about my neck and that I were cast into the sea then that I should offend one of these little ones Luk. 17. 1 2. If wee frequent devised formes of Worship in prayer or praise we shall offend our consciences even so many of us as are Saints enlightned to behold the beauty of his spirituall Worship performed or offered in his spirituall house the Congregation of the faithfull united Now if our consciences condemne us God is greater then our consciences and hee will condemne us also 1 Joh. 3. 19. for he knoweth all things Therefore I say to you who blame us for not frequenting devised forms of Worship in prayer and praises as Shadrach Meshach and Abednego did to King Nebuchadnezzar We are not carefull to answer you in this matter Our God whom wee serve is able to deliver us out of your hand But if he will not be it known to you we will not serve your gods nor worship our God in that devised way that men set up Dan. 3. 16 17 18. It one set form of spirituall Worship in prayer and praises had been needfull Christ would have left one But the Prophets Christ the Apostles never prayed nor praised God by any set forme of Worship invented by man but by the powerfull worke of the holy Spirit Rom. 8. 26. Gal. 4. 6. A set forme of Worship prescribed in prayer or praises cannot in prayer expresse the severall necessities of Gods people for the more grace they have the more they see their owne wants and the more sensible they are of their owne infirmities corruptions and sinnes Neither can it in praises expresse the manifold experiences that the Saints daily observe of Gods mercifull dealing with them Therefore a set Forme of prayer or praises to Gods Saints and faithfull ones principled with a spirit of prayer and praise it is altogether unusefull 1 Cor. 14. 15 16. Soli Deo honor gloria FINIS A DESCRIPTION OF THE Spirituall TEMPLE OR THE SPOUSE Prepared for the LAMBE The LORD JESUS Written by FRANCIS CORNWEL a Minister and Servant of Jesus the Christ for the benefit of poore distressed conscences in City and Countrey LONDON Printed by John Dawson 1646. TO THE HONOVRABLE and the true lover of all conscientious Covenantours that stand up for a through Reformation according to the word of our good God in England and Ireland CORNELIUS HOLLAND Esquire a Member of the House of Commons Assembled in Parliament SIR DAvid describeth the godly man by his pleasure and by his paines First the pleasure of the godly man in these words He delighteth in the Law of the Lord. Secondly the paines of the godly man And in that Law he meditateth day and night not only in the day appointed for man to labour in but in the night also appointed for man to rest the reason is because it is his meat and drinke to doe the will of his God Honoured Sir The Word of Christ being the Rule of Englands Reformation the good Lord that writeth his Lawes in his peoples hearts according to his new Covenant of Grace Heb. 8. 10. put it into my minde seriously to consider What Schisme was that I had covenanted against And searching the Scriptures I found it thus written 1. Tim. 6. 3. If any man teach otherwise and consent not to the wholesome words even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and to the Doctrine which is according to godlinesse Vers 4. He is proud knowing nothing but doting about Questions and strife of words whereof commeth envy strife raylings evill surmisings Vers 5. Perverse disputings of men of corrupt mindes and destitute of the truth supposing that gaine is godlinesse from such withdraw thy self Yea and after a further enquiry to understand aright the things that are controverted amongst us by the good providence of the Almighty I found two Texts of holy Scripture setting forth two sorts of men Diametrally opposing one another as light doth darkenesse truth doth falsehood the one thâ—s written 1 John 5. 1. Whosoever beleeveth that Jesus is the Christ is borne of God And the other thus 1 John 2. 22. Who is a lyar but he that denyeth that Jesus is not the Christ He is Antichrist that denyeth the Father and the Sonne And when I thought to understand the difference it was to hard for me untill I went into the Sanctuary of God where the Father of glory of his good pleasure revealed to me the most unworthyest of all his servants the truth of that which I conceive is the root of all our Controversies and gave me to understand the meaning of the Scriptures 1 John 5. 1. Whosoever beleeveth that Jesus is the Christ viz. the eternall King Prophet Priest of the Church of the new Testament ratified with his bloud whom the Father of glory hath exalted to bee Lord and Christ Acts 2. 36. and head Ephes 2. 20 21 22 23. Is borne of God Seeing no man can say that is confest that Jesus is the Lord but by the holy Spirit 1 Cor. 12. 3. Hence I find it written Joh. 1. 11. Jesus came to his owne but his owne received him not that