Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	law_n	sin_n	transgression_n	7,400	5	10.9794	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A76313	A door of salvation opened unto all men: or a short treatise, discovering that all man-kinde as they are considered under the fall of Adam, have an equal and a like respect with almighty God, and that by Jesus Christ he hath prepared eternal salvation for all, and afforded unto all, means sufficient to bring them thereunto. In which also, sundry objections, grounds of reason, and texts of scripture, for the contrary opinion are alleadged and answered. / By R.B.	R. B.	1648 (1648)	Wing B166; Thomason E1166_1; ESTC R208726	64,273	125

that the second death Rev. 2.11 or condemnation inflicted by Christ at the last day is none other then the penalty of the breach of the second Covenant This is the condemnation of the world saith S. John Chap. 3.19 That light is come into the world and men love darknesse rather then light because their deeds are evil Which later reason receiveth confirmation from hence That Christ by a most lively embleme in the Parable of the Talents hath declared unto us That God at that day will require no more of any man but according to the Talents of Grace delivered unto them by himself the Mediatour of the new Covenant and will then condemn none but for not well using what they had so received of him whereupon it doth necessarily follow That all men being under the new Covenant whatsoever Grace necessary to Salvation is therein by God promised unto any he being faithfull that hath promised and the Covenant confirmed unto all mankinde by the bloud of Jesus Christ the same must needs be acknowledged to be granted unto all And then forasmuch as we see that all men have not the Law and Fear of God written in them otherwise then was shewed before concerning the Gentiles Rom. 2.14 15. nor their stony hearts taken out of their flesh c. we must not therefore imagine that God hath covenanted absolutely to do these things for any men But there are two things in this Text which thorow want of due consideration mis-lead many men from the right understanding thereof First Because it is said That this Covenant which God promiseth to make with the Iews in the last daies should not be like unto the Covenant that he made with their fathers when he brought them out of the Land of Aegypt the which Covenant they brake c. From whence it is conceived That as the first Covenant could not by any be kept so the later cannot by any that are comprehended therein be broken For the clearing of this mistake I desire that it may be observed That if by these two Covenants here spoken of we must understand the Law and the Gospel Works and Grace which is much questioned by some who conceive them to be particular Covenants proper and peculiar to the Iews only and so nothing at all to the point in hand that they were neither of them unmade untill the time that God brought the Israelites out of the Land of Aegypt And therefore much lesse until the daies of the Prophet Jeremy as this Text seemeth to import That the first Covenant was given unto our first parents in Paradise appeareth from hence That the curse thereof entered into the world by Adam and raigned over all men before the Law was given at mount Sinai Rom. 5.14 For where the curse of the Law is inflicted there the breach of the Law must needs be imputed And seeing as the Apostle teacheth Rom. 5.13 that sin is not imputed where there is no Law given therefore the Law must needs be acknowledged to be given unto Adam and in him to all man-kinde before the punishment thereof death thorow his disobedience did enter into the world and raign therein And like as the Law was given unto Adam before he incurred the punishment thereof So the Gospel or second Covenant must needs be granted immediately to succeed upon his transgression of the first because that otherwise the curse of the Law should forthwith according as it was threatned Gen. 2.17 have seized upon him to have destroied him and in him all man-kinde then in his loins sinning in him the truth whereof is confirmed unto us from hence 1. That the end of Gods patience and forbearance towards sinners is none other then their Repentance and Salvation Rom. 2.4 Despisest thou saith the Apostle speaking to the Gentiles the riches of his goodnesse and forbearance and long-suffering not knowing that the goodnesse of God leadeth thee to Repentance Again 2 Pet. 3.9 Peter telleth those that scoffed at Gods forbearance towards them in their wickednesse contrary as they supposed to his threats denounced against them That God was not slack concerning his Promise as they counted slacknesse but long-suffering not willing that any should perish but that all should come to Repentance And Paul in Act. 17.26 27. plainly informeth us That the end why God made of one bloud that is to say of Adam all Nations of men to dwell upon the face of the earth was That they should seek the Lord Now forasmuch as seeking of the Lord Repentance and the obtaining of Salvation doth necessarily presuppose the granting and exhibiting of the new Covenant these ends being otherwise impossible to be attained it must needs follow That as God is declared to spare and forbear Adam and all men to the end they might repent c. that in reference to these ends he vouchsafed unto them the Covenant of his Grace whereby they might be enabled to attain thereunto 2. Besides If that God should have spared our first parents and granted unto them the procreation of seed and not in order to the Grace of the new Covenant Redemption from death the curse of the Law and Salvation in the world to come thorow Repentance then there should have been no proportion betwixt the sinne of man-kinde in Adam and the punishment thereof because sinning but in potentia they should be punished in actu which inequality of proceeding is by God in Ezek. 18. disclaimed so that if he had not prepared for man-kinde another life after death and vouchsafed means to make them happy therein they should never personally have suffered death but such as was their sin such should have been their punishment 3. Moreover If that the Covenant of Grace had not been from the beginning then Salvation should not have been from the beginning seeing that it is of Grace only and not of works Ephes 2.8 Whereas therefore the Scriptures enformeth us That remission of sins acceptation with God and consequently Salvation was preached unto Cain Gen. 4.6 7. And that Abel the third man on earth obtained the same Heb. 11.4 it must needs be granted That the Covenant of Grace was vouchsafed unto men from the beginning even from the very time that they stood in any need thereof These two Covenants of Works and Grace then being made and given so long before the time implied by the Prophet Jeremy his words cannot possibly be understood to import the time wherein either the first was or the later should be made with man-kinde but the time wherein the first was and the later should be more clearly made known and demonstrated both unto the Iews and unto others then at any time from the beginning of the world they had been In which respect it is that Christ speaking unto his Disciples saith Blessed are your eyes for they see and your ears for they hear for verily I say unto you That many Prophets and righteous men have desired to see these things which

if that some men should by God be necessitated to repentance c. they could be no more justified according to the sentence of Christ in relation thereunto then any other men could be condemned with reference to such evill actions whereunto they were enforced by a power which they could no waies possibly resist To make this evident by the Scriptures in Mat. 16.27 it 's declared by Christ himself That when he commeth in the Glory of his Father with his Angels he will reward every man according to his workes In like manner Revel 22.12 he saith Behold I come quickly and my reward is with me to give to every man according as his worke shall be agreeable unto which is the Testimony of the Apostle 2 Cor. 5.10 We must all appear before the Judgement Seat of Christ that every one may receive the things done in his boby according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad According to which rule the Scriptures aforehand describing unto us the manner of the last Judgement as if it were already past we finde the sentence of Christ denounced towards all persons Mat. 25.34 with Rev. 20.12 13. Secondly That all such actions c. whereunto persons are enforced against the choice and assent of their own wils are not imputed unto them as their own actions will plainly appear first by Deut. 22.25 26. If a man saith the Text finde a betrothed Damsell in the field and force her then the man only that forced her shall die But unto the Damsell thou shalt doe nothing there is in the Damsell no sin worthy of death for as when a man riseth against his neighbour and slayeth him even so is this matter Likewise by the words of the Apostle in Rom. 7.2 If I doe that I would not it is no more I that doe it but sinne that dwelleth in me from which in the 24 and 25. verses he concludeth That God would acquit him And thereupon in the 1. verse of the 8. chapter declareth unto all That there is no condemnation belonging unto men for such actions The reason hereof is Because that God looketh only at the heart of a man 1 Sam. 16.7 and alwaies judgeth of him according to what he observeth therein whether it be good or bad what is willed and determined therein he reckoneth it as if it were done though through want of opportunity or ability it never be effected from whence it is that the Apostle declareth unto us for a generall rule in the 2 Cor. 8.12 That if there be first a willing minde it is accepted according to that a man hath and not according to that he hath not which we finde verified unto us by a clear instance in the 1 King 8.18.19 of Gods kinde acceptation of Davids affection to build him an House though that it was never built by him Whereas it was in thy heart saith the Lord to build me an house thou didst well that it was in thine heart nevertheles thou shalt not build me the House c. And we may also observe that Solomon who by Gods appointment did build it received not a greater reward for his action therein then David did for his affection thereunto And so on the other side Christ informeth us That the things that defile a man are only those that proceed from his heart Out of the heart saith he Mat. 15.19 20. proceedeth evil thoughts he speaketh not of those that are suggested or that at unawares arise therein and are forthwith quenched and suppressed for these defile no man but of those that are conceived and harboured therein which when opportunity serveth break forth into murthers adulteries fornications thefts false witnes blasphemies these defile the man upon which ground it is That the Scriptures declareth David to be a man according to Gods own heart save only in the matter of Vriah 1 Kings 15.5 Wherein deliberately and with purpose of heart as must needs be conceived he chose the thing which he knew to be evill which in other cases wherein his actions much swerved from the rules of perfect justice he did not and therefore is neither blamed nor accused for them Object God doth not justifie men for Faith but by Faith nor reward them for their workes but according to their workes the reward of good workes being Grace belonging to Adopted Children not to servants for the worke done Answ The distinction betwixt Justification by Faith and for Faith is altogether vaine seeing that he that is justified by Faith or by reason thereof which is all one is so justified for Faith Because that without Faith he cannot please God Hebr. 11.5 6. nor obtain acceptation with him Thy Faith saith Christ to the woman hath saved thee Luke 7.5 The like may be said concerning the distinction betwixt reward for workes and according to workes in regard that he that is rewarded according to his workes is so rewarded for his workes as he that is rewarded according as he hath fed relieved and feasted the poor that were not able to feast him again as Christ hath promised in Luke 14.13 14. or as he that is rewarded according as he hath given a cup of cold water in the name of Christ having no better in his power to give he is so rewarded for that he hath so done by reason that otherwise he should have received no such reward And yet it is not to be denied but that Justification through Faith and reward of good workes originally proceedeth from the meer Grace and speciall favour of God in Jesus Christ considering that by the Law we can lay claim unto no such thing but must acknowledge our selves according to that Covenant guilty of everlasting death or the dissolution of our natures for ever in the Grave and therefore whatsoever we either doe or shall receive from God more or lesse than this as our present being in this life the enjoyment of the Creatures a time of repentance with the means thereof as redemption from the curse of the Law Resurrection to another life Adoption and Salvation through Faith or conformity to the will of God known and understood by us must be attributed to the alone Grace of God in Jesus Christ through whom he hath obtained these things for us and Covenanted and granted to bestow there upon us According to which distinction betwixt the Covenants is that distinction which runneth through the Rodie of the New-Testament betwixt righteousnes and righteousnes workes and workes reward and reward to be understood according to the first covenant There is none that doth good none righteous but all have sinned and are fallen short of the Glory of God accursed dead and excluded from all happinesse for ever But in relation to the second Covenant made with us in Christ as we were considered in this estate we are through his death and resurrection redeemed from death made alive from the dead under a Law of liberty sutable to our frailty and

to be justified by workes For where workes such as are within a mans power are wanting integrity is wanting and where integrity is wanting faith is dead verse 17 26. Unprofitable Gal. 5.6 And not to be distinguished from that of the Devil Jam. 2.19 And seeing then that all such workes which are within mens power to performe are required of them to their Salvation It must needs be granted when the Apostle saith That it is not of workes that his meaning therin is none other then that it is not of workes of perfection according to the law of our creation which are impossible for any man to performe so as to be justified thereby Gal. 2.16 And that the difference betwixt Workes and Grace or the Law and the Gospel standeth only in this viz. That the first requireth unto life that which is impossible unto men in their fallen estate the later no more then what is possible unto them therein and so consequently that life and Salvation which could not be obtained by any through the covenant of workes may be obtained by all through the covenant of Grace which will more evidently appear if it be considered First That the only and speciall reason why the first Covenant was repealed and the second vouchsafed is declared to be this viz. That the first could not give life unto men that is to say in their fallen estate for in the estate of innocency it must needs be acknowledged it could If there had been a Law that could have given life saith the text Gal. 3.21 verily righteousnesse had been by the Law but in regard it could not therefore as the words of the Apostle in Hebr. 8.6 7. doe plainly intimate the Lord found fault therewith abolished it and gave unto men a more excellent Covenant instead thereof that is to say a covenant wherby salvation might be obtained by them in their fallen estate for seeing that the goodnesse of God and his desire of mens Salvation was such as caused him to abolish the first Covenant because it could not give life unto them no reasonable man can conceive that his said goodnesse and love towards them would suffer him to give unto them a second Covenant as faulty and unable to give life unto them as that abolished and if not Then forasmuch as by the later workes are required to be performed by men to their Salvation as well as by the former the excellency of the later above the former must needs be acknowledged to consist only in this viz. That the workes required thereby and the conditions upon which life is promised therin are performable by men in their fallen estate whereas those required thereunto by the other were not In which respect it is that in the 6 verse the Apostle declareth that the later is established upon better promises then the former Secondly That those that endeavoured to reduce men from the Doctrine of the Gospel to the observation of the Law are by the Apostles Acts 15.10 charged with tempting God by putting a yoak upon the necks of the Disciples which they were not able to bear And to the Galathians which were perverted by those false teachers Paul in Gal. 3.1 3. thus writeth O foolish Galathians who hath bewitched you that ye should not obey the truth Are ye so foolish that having begun in the Spirit are ye made perfect by the Law which plainly argueth that the Doctrine of the Gospel which they preached was no such yoak because that then they themselves in preaching the Gospel turning men from Moses to Christ should have bin liable to the same reproof which they laid upon others And as foolish should the Galathians have been in hearkening to them preaching the Gospel as they were in hearkening to the false Apostles preaching the Law For of two yoaks alike intollerable wisdome directeth a man to choose the one as soon as the other and not to prefer the one before the other and therefore unlesse that we will suppose the Apostles to be guilty of tempting God in the same nature wherein they accuse and censure others and thereby to make themselves inexcusable both before God and men Rom. 2.1 we must needs conclude that the yoak or precepts of the Gospel which they endeavoured to impose upon men were not intollerable or grievous 1 John 5.3 Like unto those of the Law but easie and light Mat. 11.30 and so consequently that righteousnesse life and salvation impossible by the former is possible and may be attained by the later 3. That Paul in the 2 Cor. 3.7 9. speaking of the Law calleth it the Ministration of death and of condemnation And contrariwise speaking of the Gospel or New Testament he calleth it the ministration of righteousnesse and in verse the 6 saith That the first killeth but the later giveth life Now forasmuch as the Law in it's own nature is neither the ministration of death nor condemnation being holy just and good promising life and would assuredly bring us to the possession thereof could we but observe what it requireth or attain unto that originall innocency and purity in which we were created therefore it is so called only in respect that in the necessary consequence therof by reason of our inability to fulfill the same it becommeth such unto us And therefore if that the conditions of the new Covenant were no more performable then those of the Law the Gospel could not be called the ministration of righteousnesse and life any more then the Law because it is the savour of death unto death unto all those that disobey it as well as the Law John 3.19 Hebr. 10.28 29. and conferreth neither righteousnes nor life unto any that observe it not any more then the Law therefore whereas it is called the ministration of righteousnesse and life in opposition to the Law it must needs be understood in this respect That righteousnesse life and Salvation impossible by the Law may be obtained by it 4. The same Apostle likewise discoursing of the two Covenants in the ninth and tenth chapters of the Romans and having in the 32 verse of the 9. chapter after a large discourse concerning the same concluded righteousnesse not to be attainable by the Law in the 8 verse of the 10. chapter he declareth That the righteousnesse that is by the Gospel is nigh unto us even in our mouthes and in our hearts then which nothing can be more near unto us And in Deut. 30.11 12 13 14. whereunto he hath allusion to prevent all objections concerning this thing Moses thus speaketh The commandment that I command thee this day it is not hidden from thee neither is it farre off It is not in Heaven that thou shouldst say who shall go up for us to Heaven and bring it unto us that we may hear it and do it Neither is it beyond the Sea that thou shouldst say who shall goe over the Sea for us and bring it unto us that we may hear it and doe