Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	brethren_n	know_v	life_n	4,656	5	5.3920	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A28372	Two useful cases resolved I. Whether a certainty of being in a state of salvation be attainable? II. What is the rule by which this certainty is to be attained?	Blechynden, Richard, 1647 or 8-1697.	1685 (1685)	Wing B3183; ESTC R15390	19,631	35

are in a state of Salvation St. John who wrote against the Gnosticks vain pretences to Knowledge and spiritual illuminations could not fall into the same fault himself by pretending to a knowledge that was not plain and obvious And it is he that has told us in his first Epistle ch 3. v. 10. that the Children of the Devil are manifest Now who calls that manifest which no man has a certainty of or who can think that the wicked man should have a certain knowledge of his deplorable condition and that the good and just man has not the comfort of knowing that he is in a safe one The same Apostle tells us in the same verse that the Children of God are manifest as well as the Children of the Devil And in v. 14. of the same ch speaking of the faithful in general he says We know that we are translated from death to life because we love the brethren That is v. 16. with such a love as will make us lay down our lives for them And v. 24. Hereby know we that God abideth in us by the Spirit which he hath given us That is by the fruits of the Spirit that appear in our lives Again By this we know that we know him if we keep his commandments and he that keepeth his word in him verily is the love of God perfected Now what reason is there for any man to doubt of his own Salvation who knows that he is translated from death to life who knows that he is the Son of God who knows that the love of God is perfected in him None certainly for the same Apostle has told us If our heart condemn us not then have we confidence towards God Now the pretending uncertainty after such clearness of evidence would better become the Pagan Sceptick than the truly humble and modest Christian In the next place let us see what St. Paul says to this point In the 5th ch of the 2d Epist to the Cor. 1 v. he speaks of himself thus For we know that if our earthly house of this Tabernacle were dissolved we have a building of God a house not made with hands eternal in the Heavens Again in the 2d Epist to Timothy and the 4th ch how unconceivable was his joy which broke out into these words I have fought a good fight I have finished my course I have kept the faith henceforth there is laid us for me a Crown of Righteousness which the Lord the Righteous Judge shall give me in that day c. Could these words be uttered by a man that had the least doubt whether his life was agreeable to the will of God or that he should not receive that eternal weight of Glory the reward of an holy life If after this evidence from the New Testament we look backwards into the Old we shall find good King Hezekiah so well satisfied in his own integrity and sincerity that when he was a dying and then we know that doubts and scruples are most apt to arise he durst call upon God to take a view of his past life Remember now O Lord I beseech thee how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart and have done that which is good in thy sight Likewise we may observe David in the 17 and 18 Psalms ●●ll of assurance and considence as to his own Righteousness and future reward of it As for me I shall behold thy face in Righteousness I shall be satisfied when I a●ake with thy likeness I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not wickedly departed from God Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness according to the cleanness of my hands in his eye-sight I will not tire you with the examples of Job Nehemiah and wher holy men that have expressed the like confidence 〈◊〉 their own Holiness and Sincerity Nor is this assurance and confidence the peculiar priviledge of these extraordinary persons For besides what you have already read out of St. John concerning all true Christians in general and besides that the forementioned holy men grounded their assurance on the sense they had of their own Integrity an Sincerity 't is plain from Scripture that all persons may nay ought to arrive to this certainty For are we not told Gal. 5. That the fruits of the Spirit which all true Christians have and are guided by are Peace and Joy And St. Peter in the 1. ch of his 1. Epist tells the faithful he write sto In whom that is in Christ though you see him not yet believing ye rejoyce with joy unspeakable Now what Joy what Peace can there be to those who heartily believe a future life when they the least doubt that Christ when they shall appear before him shall prove an enraged Judge instead of a merciful Saviour What person can conceive an unspeakable joy at the consideration of him whom he knows not but the next minute he may pronounce the sentence on him of Go you cursed into everlasting Fire Besides we are bid to give thanks to him and praise him as well as to rejoyce in him But how can any man perform these duties from his heart who is in an uncertainty as to his future Estate For certainly those Mercies cannot be the Object of our unfeigned Praises and Thanksgivings if we have reason to fear they do not appertain to us But were there not one Precept or Example in the whole Bible to prove this point methinks the natural use of Conscience might be sufficient to clear it unless we dare say that God has given us Consciences only to ●ash and torment us for peace and comfort they could ●ot give any reasonable and considering man while ●here remains any doubt that he shall perish everlastingly and so the best of men would be Furies to themselves while living whatever becomes of them when dead I know there are many ready to ask whether the most consident man in this persuasion would be willing on his death-bed to declare his assurance of his Salvation and with such words in his mouth to breathe his last But in answer to this besides that what a man would choose to do is one thing and what certainly a good man may attain to is another Besides this I say he would tell you that as he had lived in the practice of all Christian Virtues so he would willingly die in the practice of the greatest the pardoning others and begging Gods pardon for himself He would tell you that Humility as it was the constant duty of a Christian so it more especially became him when a stepping into the presence of God that he would therefore willingly depart with his eyes and heart towards Heaven humbly imploring the Divine Mercy And that among other reasons he was therefore certain that he should obtain it because he asked in Faith because he in no ways doubted but that he was a proper Object of it As for the Objections that may

Cor. 6 ch tell us that neither Fornicators nor Idolaters nor Adulterers nor Effeminate nor abusers of themselves with Mankind nor Thieves nor Covetous nor Drunkards nor Revilers nor Extortioners shall inherit the Kingdom of God Some I know dispute whether a single though deliberate act can give us one of these denominations In most of them 't is own'd it will but why it should not in all in the sight of God I can see no reason But that this pretence may not deceive us we are told by the same Apostle in the 5 to the Gal. speaking of the works of the flesh Adultery Fornication Vncleanness Lasciviousness Idolatry Witchcraft Hatred Variance Emulations Wrath Strife Seditions Heresies Envyings Murthers Drunkenness and such-like We are told that those that do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven Now these words They which do such things relate to single Actions as well as to Habits and the doers of these things are debarred the Kingdom of Heaven And then the such-like that follows this long Catalogue of sins shews that it is not only these species of sins but the rest which fall under the denomination of sin which it would have been endless to have enumerated are subject to the like dreadful penalty And there is good reason to believe it for in the first Epistle of St. John ch 3. v. 6. we are told Whosoever abideth in God sinneth not and verse 8. If he does he is no longer a Child of God but of the Devil Accordingly sin is defined by the Schoolmen to be an aversion from God and a cleaving to the Creature Now that the Apostle means single acts as well as habits is plain from the expression it self He that sinneth which is applicable to acts as well as habits and from the design of the Apostle in writing this Epistle which was to dissuade men from all sin ch 2. v. 1. These things write I unto you that you sin not Now who will offer to say that the Apostles design was not to dissuade from single acts as well as habits And yet he saith He that sinneth is of the Devil that is voluntarily and deliberately as I shall make appear afterwards Besides let us consider that under the old Law Saul was cut off for sparing an Agag and the fat Beast against the express Command of God let us consider that that man that but once carried a bundle of Sticks on the Sabbath-day was put to death without mercy and that there was no expiation allow'd for sins how small soever the object was if committed knowingly and willingly but in the words of St. James c. 2. He that was guilty of one point was guilty of all Not that he formally broke every Command but that the event was the same he was as certainly punished with death as if he had violated every particular And this with good reason for in so doing he sinned against That which only could engage him to the observance of the whole the Love of God and an earnest desire to please him If this was the severity of the Jewish Law and every transgression and disobedience received the just recompence of reward and the wilful offender died without Mercy how shall we escape if we neglect so great means of Salvation which has been brought down to us not by Angels as the Mosaical Law was but by the Son of God This is not mine but the Apostles Argument in his Epistle to the Hebrews and the other was made by St. James himself and therefore they are the more carefully to be heeded I fore-see that there are many who will not easily be persuaded to think so hardly of one wilful sin for 't is a troublesom thing to be condemned by ones own Conscience and that therefore they will interpose as to the Arguments drawn from the Old Law That no man unless he dies in the very moment of committing a wilful sin is immediately damned for it as they were immediately put to Death under the Old Law for one wilful transgression for the Grace of the Gospel has brought an Expiation for the most grievous crimes and shewed us a way by Repentance to avoid their punishment But all that I urged the former passages for was to shew That the Gospel teaches us that to every wilful disobedience to the guilt of any one point now Eternal death is as certainly due in the next Life as a Temporal one among the Jews was due in this And that therefore all persons ought as carefully to avoid every wilful offence under the Gospel as the Jews were obliged to avoid every wilful transgression of their Law in which the Penalty was not so great nor was the Discovery so certain As for the refuge of Repentance which is allow'd now against an Eternal death and was not ordinarily allow'd the Jews against a Temporal one of this under my next Head But if we make the Grace of the Gospel an inlet to our sins we highly provoke Gods Justice by thus abusing his Mercy And when we make use of it to take off the force not of mine but the two Apostles Arguments we are not followers of their Doctrine but of our own deceitful Lusts and carnal Reasonings Besides these reasons from Scripture there is a Natural one and that a very great one that shews the danger that is in every wilful sin The General Rules of our duty relating either to God our Neighbour or our selves are such as tend to our Profit and our Interest to our Credit and Reputation to our Prudent Pleasure and our Health And then he that looks no farther than this life if discreet would carefully observe them And therefore the ordinary observance of our duty cannot distinguish us from such a person as this nor give us a securer title to happiness than the Children of this world have that are wise in their Generation But sometimes it falls out and that perhaps to try us that in particular instances our Duty interferes with our Profit our Credit or our Ease And then we have the greatest opportunities of experiencing whether our hearts are sound towards God Then is our day of trial Then may we know whether we love God with all our hearts and whether we are willing to forsake Father or Mother Brother or Sister whatever is most dear to us for the sake of our Blessed Saviour If in these cases we fail of our duty and prefer our present concerns before the Commands of God the Devil may justly say 't is not for nought that we served God Job 1.9 We pursued our worldly Interests while we flattered our selves we served the Lord. And then who can safely depend on such an obedience as is thus liable to be reproached by his Accuser I know it may be objected That a Reverend Divine has told us in his Directions how we may judge of our Spiritual state That if the General course of our Actions be a doing of Righteousness though we are