Linguistic DNA - Concept Modelling Demonstrator

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
doctrine_n	authority_n	scripture_n	tradition_n	2,708	5	9.1860	5	false

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26810	Spiritual perfection, unfolded and enforced from 2 Cor. VII, 1 having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God / by William Bates ...	Bates, William, 1625-1699.	1699 (1699)	Wing B1128; ESTC R4307	200,199	485

Lawgiver and Judge to Call them to an Account for their Actions can doubt of his Eternal Existence Now that there is a God being proved the necessary Consequence from that Principle is that he must be honour'd and serv'd according to his own Will and that it becomes his Wisdom and Goodness to reveal his Will to Men the Rule of their Duty and that this be done in the most instructive and permanent way in Writing that is less liable to Corruption than Oral Tradition and that the Holy Scripture has in it such Conspicuous Characters of its descent from Heaven besides the most undoubted Testimony that it was written by Men Divinely Inspired and Infallible that without violating the Rules of sound Discourse we must yield our Assent to its Divine Authority and supernatural Doctrines reveal'd in it I shall not here amplifie and illustrate these particulars having in some Discourses formerly publish'd of the Existency of God and the Immortality of the Soul and the Divinity of the Christian Religion manifested how desperate the Cause of the Atheists and Deists is to unprejudic'd Minds Now though the deduction specified be according to the true rule of Ratiocination yet there are some that account it a slavery to fix their belief upon any Authority but will be free in believing as they are in their actions I will therefore briefly produce some proofs of the Truth of Christian Religion that carry an uncontroulable Evidence in them The abolishing Idolatry in the Pagan World in the time foretold by the Prophets is a palpable proof that Christian Religion was from the true God The Instruments of this great Work were a few Fishermen that had neither Learning nor Arms nor Treasures Patience was their Strength Poverty their Choice Disgrace their Honour that without any Force but of Illumination and Perswasion of Humility and Charity and enduring the most terrible Sufferings they should vanquish the Pride of Philosophers the Tyrannous power of Princes the Rebellious Opposition of Mens Carnal Lusts is not Conceivable without the assistance of Divine Strength that convinc'd the most obstinate Enemies that the Doctrine was Divine by the Miracles done in Confirmation of it Besides that which the wise Men in all Ages were searching for that is the perfection of the Law of Nature at first engraven in the Hearts of Men by the Author of it but in vain for although Philosophy affords some notices of Good and Evil sufficient to check many notorious Vices yet 't is not sufficient to direct Men in their universal Duty towards God others and themselves but the Gospel is an instructive Light of our full Duty it speaks to the Heart and changes its Thoughts and Affections and reforms the Life according to the pure and perfect Rule reveal'd in it Now could an Imposture produce such a perfection of Vertue in the wicked World The true interpretation of the Moral Law in the Gospel is from God alone Vâ—x hominem non sonat Could such a change be made without visible Miracles If the Christian Religion was planted and propagated without the Confirmation of Miracles it were a transcendent Miracle And though we saw not the Miracles done by the Apostles yet we see the permanent effects of them in the belief and Lives of True Christians Infidels are apt to reply if they saw Miracles performed to assure them of the Divinity of the Christian Religion they would believe it 'T is a vain pretence that Men would submit to the power of God declar'd by Miracles who deny his Authority made known in that eminent degree of Evidence in his Word Abraham answer'd the Rich Man who desir'd a Messenger from the Dead might be sent to Convert his Brethren They have Moses and the Prophets and if they hear not them they would not be perswaded though one rose from the dead In short those who resist so strong a Light as shines in the Scripture the delusion of their Mind is from their depraved Hearts Speculative Truths obtain the present and easie Assent of the Mind but Truths directive of Practice if opposite to Mens Lusts though their Evidence be unexceptionable yet the carnal Mind is very averse from receiving them This account is given of the Pharisees Infidelity they repented not that they might believe in him When the Will is ingag'd in the love of Sin and Rebels against the Sanctity and Severity of the Gospel Commands 't is congruous to reject it The corrupt Affections hinder the due application of the Mind to consider the motives of Credibility and stain the Mind that it does not sincerely judge of them Though Infidels pretend to be the only discoursing Wits of the Age to have the Oracles of Reason in their Breasts and despise others as Captives of a blind Belief yet their Folly is palpable and penal for having provoked God by their Infidelity they are left to the power of their Lusts and of the Tempter and sink deeper into darkness and become more hardned and presumptuous Those who Embark with these distracted Pilots in such dangerous Seas have a mind to perish for ever 2. Hyprocrisie is a Spiritual Pollution In its Theological Consideration it implyes a Counterfeiting Religion and Vertue an affectation of the Name join'd with a disaffection to the Thing The having a form of Godliness with denying the power of it Accordingly 1. Every Titular Christian who professes Subjection to Christ and lives in Habitual Disobedience to his Commands is an Hypocrite The actions are the incarnate issues of the Heart wherein they are form'd and the clearest discovery of it A Rebellious Course of Sin declares a person to be an Infidel notwithstanding his owning Christ to be our King His Life is a continual Lye He vainly presumes that God is his Father when his Actions declare him to be a Child of the Devil 2. Hypocrisie in a stricter sense is when Men presume their spiritual condition to be good upon false grounds 'T is observable no Man is a Hypocrite to himself out of choice he does not deliberately deceive himself But one may be a Hypocrite without his knowledge by Ignorance and Error He may think his inclination to some Vertues and his aversion from some Vices to be Divine Grace But sympathies and antipathies proceed often from Natural Temper and not from the renewed Mind and Will from Judgment and Choice A tame Dog is as truly a beast as a wild Wolf A Man that performs only some good things and abstains from some evil from natural Conscience is as truly in the state of polluted Nature as one that is wholly careless of his Duty and freely indulges every carnal Lust. One may be exact in light matters as the Pharisees in tithing Mint and Cummin and neglect substantial Duties he may be zealous in the outward parts of Religious Worship and neglect Righteousness and Mercy and think to compensate his defects in the Duties of one Table by strict observing the Duties

the Objects of Faith and of Reason buâ— in different respects Reason may discover them by ascending from effects to their causes or descending from causes to their effects Faith receives them as revealed in Scripture By Faith we know the Worlds were made which may be proved by clear Reason 2. The Objects of Faith The general Object of Faith is the Word of God the special are those Doctrines and Promises and Things that Reason cannot discover by its own Light nor perfectly understand when revealed The Word of God contains a Narrative of things past and Predictions of things to come The destruction of the old World by a deluge of Waters and the consumption of the present World by a deluge of Fire are Objects of Faith But the Unity of the Divine Nature and the Trinity of Divine Persons the Incarnation of the Son of God his Eternal Counsels respecting Man's Redemption never enter'd into the Heart of Man to conceive but are as far above our thoughts as the Heavens are above the Earth and cannot be comprehended God may be considered absolutely in himself or as revealing himself and his Will to us We have some knowledge of his Being and Divine Attributes Wisdom Power Goodness in his Works of Creation and Providence but we believe in him as declaring his Mind and Will to us in his Word We may know a Person and his excellent Vertues Intellectual and Moral but we cannot believe in him without some discovery of his Thoughts and Affections to us 3. The motives of Belief are to be considered Divine Faith must have a Divine Foundation Faith may be absolutely true and relatively false Many believe the Doctrine of the Gospel upon no other grounds than the Turks believe the Alcoran because 't is the reigning Religion of their Country and by the impression of Example From hence their Faith is like the House built on the Sand and when a Storm arises is in danger of falling The firm foundation of Faith is the essential supreme Perfections of God unerring Knowledge immutable Truth infinite Goodness almighty Power 'T is equally impossible that he should be deceived or deceive His infinite Understanding is the foundation of his perfect Veracity And whatsoever is the Object of his Will is the Object of his Power for to will and to do are the same thing in him 'T is true the knowledge of things by experimental Sense is a clearer perception than the perswasion of them by Faith The first is to see the original the other is to see the copy that usually falls short of it 'T is therefore said We now see in a glass darkly But the Divine Testimony in it self has the most convincing evidence above the assurance we can have by the report of our Senses which often deceive us through the indisposition of the Faculty or the unfitness of the medium or distance of the Objects or the knowledge of things by discursive Ratiocination The objective certainty of Faith is infallible We know with the highest assurance that God can no more lye than he can dye 'T is said All things are possible with God but to lye or dye are not possibilities but passibilities not the effects of Power but proceed from Weakness We know the sacred Scriptures are the Word of God by the signatures of his Perfections Wisdom Holiness Goodness Justice and by the Miracles perform'd by the Pen-men of them that proved they were divinely inspir'd and consequently infallible in what they wrote From hence Faith is often express'd by Knowledge Nicodemus gives this testimony of our Saviour We know thou art a teacher come from God We believe and are sure thou art that Christ the Son of the living God We know that if the house of this earthly tabernable be dissolved we have a building made without hands eternal in the Heavens We know that he was manifested that he might take away Sin We know that when Christ shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is I will not insist upon the particular supernatural Doctrines revealed in the Gospel for there is little new to be said upon those Points If Men with renewed Minds and Hearts considered the testimony of Scripture there would need no more arguing But I will lay down some Considerations that prove Divine Faith to be the reasonable act of the Humane Understanding 2. Answer the Objections alledged to justifie the disbelief of Divine Doctrines that we are not able to conceive nor comprehend 1. That God is true is a Principle immediately evident not dependently upon an antecedent motive This by its native irresistible evidence is beyond all dispute and exempted from all critical Inquiries There is no Principle written in the Minds of Men with clearer Characters 'T was the saying of a wise Heathen If God would converse visibly with Men he would assume Light for a Body and have Truth for his Soul God is most jealous of the Honour of his Truth Thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name Truth is the supreme Character of the Deity The Apostle builds the assurance of Christians upon the Promises and their strong Consolation upon this infallible Rock God that cannot lye From hence it follows that in supernatural Doctrines we must first consider the authority of the revealer and then the nature of Doctrines 2. God's Jurisdiction extends to our Understandings as well as to our Wills He rules our Understandings by light our Wills by empire If God did command us to believe only Truths in themselves evident our receiving them would not be an undoubted respect to his Authority but to believe his testimony without the evidence of things is an Obedience worthy of him And we are equally obliged to believe his testimony concerning the truth of things notwithstanding the reluctancy of the carnal Mind and their seeming repugnance to the natural notions of Reason as to obey his Precepts notwithstanding the reluctancy of the corrupt Will and the inclinations to forbidden things 3. God never requires our assent to supernatural things revealed in his Word but affords sufficient conviction that they are Divine Revelations When God deputed any by Commission for an extraordinary Work he always afforded a Light to discover the Commission was uncounterfeit Moses was sent from God with a Command to Pharaoh to release the Israelites from their cruel Servitude and he had the Wonder-working Rod to authorise his Commission and confirm the truth of his Message by Miracles The Divinity of the Scripture the Rule of Faith shines with that clear and strong evidence that only those whose Minds are prevented with a conceit of the impossibility of the Doctrines contained in it and perverted by their Passions can resist it Colour'd Objects are not discern'd more clearly by their Colours nor Light by its Lustre than that the Scriptures are of Divine Revelation Reason is an Essential Faculty of Man and by it we are directed

Appetites and pretend they cannot resist the attractiveness and unbind the charms that fasten them to the Objects of their impure Desires let it be considered that a little contempt or coldness of the Person by whom they are charmed a favourable aspect upon a competitor will turn their Love into Disdain and break all society between them And shall one Carnal Passion vanquish another and the Terrors of the Lord the Torments of an Everlasting Hell be ineffectual to restrain them The remembrance of this will cover them with Eternal Confusion in the next World The Traveller complain'd of the roughness of the way when a Thorn in his Foot made it uneasie Carnal Men complain 't is a sad task to obey the Gospel but their Lusts make it so 3. 'T is alledged that the striving after perfect Holiness is unnecessary by the Covenant of Grace a Man may be saved without it Before I discover the falseness of this pretence I shall observe that Carnal Men that they may live easily endeavour to make their Principles correspondent with their Practices they bend the Rule to their depraved Appetites and will not order their Life by the holy Rule The cursed and crafty Serpent will assist them in drawing false Conclusions from true Premisses and in opposing the Grace of the Gospel to its Precepts When the Carnal Affections corrupt the Judgment the Mind will give license to the Affections the case of such is dangerous if not desperate Thus the loose Opinion That Men may be saved without absolute Perfection therefore striving after it is unnecessary makes Men remiss in Religion and produces vain delusive hopes that end in fearful disappointments To undeceive Men the following Considerations may be effectual 1. 'T is true we must distinguish between the Preceptive Moral part of the Covenant of Works and of Grace and the Foederal They agree in the former and differ in the latter The Gospel injoyns perfect Obedience as well as the Law but the first makes it the Condition of the Covenant whereas the second makes provision for our Imperfections According to the tenor of the first the transgressing of one Command was a violation of the Covenant and Death was the unavoidable consequence of Sin for entire Obedience was the Condition of it Adam sin'd once and must dye for ever But to sin against the command of the Gospel and the Covenant is not the same The Mediator interposes between the Righteous Judge and the Sinner and Faith in him notwithstanding the killing Law and the accusing Conscience secures us from revenging Justice Only final Impenitence and Unbelief cut off from the benefit of the Gospel 2. Tho' the Gospel allays the severity and rigor of the Law and pardons our defects yet it as strictly requires our sincere earnest endeavours after Perfection as the Law requir'd exact Obedience We are commanded to grow in Grace 't is direct matter of Duty we are obliged to be holy as God is holy in all manner of Conversation the Rule is inflexible and none can by dispensation or priviledge be exempted from serious and constant endeavours to be intirely like God Those who are pleas'd with the pretence that perfect Holiness is unattainable here and indulge their imperfections are in the state of unrenewed Nature They are sure they shall be bad always and therefore will not labour to be better But the Consideration that we cannot attain to the highest pitch of Holiness is a spur and incitation to the Saints to greater diligence as appears by the example of St. Paul before cited 'T is true there are different ages of the Children of God some are as new born Babes in a state of Infancy and Infirmity others in their Minority others are arrived to more maturity and as the crying of an Infant discovers life as well as active mirth so mourning for our Imperfections discovers the truth of Grace And Saints of different Degrees are receiv'd into Glory but none are who did not aim and endeavour to â—leanse themselves from all pollutions of flesh and spirit and to perfect holiness For without sincerity we are not capable of the present favour of God nor future blessedness and sincerity is inconsistent with the wilful neglect of our Duty Grace is a plant of Heaven productive of Fruits suitable to its quality and 't is proper to its nature to be tending to Perfection A Tree that ceases to grow before 't is come to its perfection and brings not forth Fruit in its season withers and dyes A Christian that is unfruitful has no Life but is expos'd to the just threatning of Excision and the Fire He that limits himself in Religion is in a state of Death I have insâ—sted the longer upon this matter that by clearness and Conviction Men may be dis-enchanted from that pernicious perswasion that without using sincerâ— endeavors to be perfectly Holy they may safely go to Heaven 3. I shall add to what has been discours'd of before some other Arguments and Motives to excite us to be intentive to this great work I shall first consider the perfection of the Rule laid down in the Gospel 1. The Moral Law in its purity and perfection that forbids Sin in every kind and degree Thou shalt not Covet and Commands Holiness in the most Spiritual Sublimeness Thou shalt love the Lord with all thy mind heart soul and strength is the Rule of our Duty prescrib'd in the Gospel 'T is true that Personal perfect Obedience as the Condition of Life is abolish'd as was before observed if that lives we must dye for ever But the command binds without relaxation There is no permission of the least Sin by the Gospel The looking to the Brazen Serpent did not alter the deadly quality of the poison of the Fiery Serpent but stopt its deadly operation Faith in Christ does not change the nature of Sin to make it Lawful but hinders its deadly malignity in Working Our Saviour tells us He came not to destroy the Law but to fulfil it And that heaven and earth should pass away before one tittle of it shall fail that is lose its binding Authority 'T is as unalterable as the Law-giver whose purity it represents Not only the Mysterious and Supernatural Doctrines the Objects of Faith but Moral Duties the matters of Practice are fully reveal'd only in the Gospel The Humane Understanding was Darkness to Supernatural Truths and dim with respect to the Rules of Life Our Saviour has clear'd the Law from the false Glosses of the Pharisees who by favourable Explications and Correctives of its strictness instead of curbing their Lusts did cherish and foment them But the Oracle speaks without ambiguity the Interpretation of our Saviour is clear and decisive that the purifying the Heart as well as the cleansing the Hand is an Indispensable Duty Holiness must be so pure that we must not only abstain from polluting acts but quench all polluting thoughts and desires we must not only

Selected quad for the lemma: doctrine_n

Text snippets containing the quad