Selected quad for the lemma: doctrine_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
doctrine_n	believe_v	faith_n	justification_n	2,510	5	8.9827	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A45835	Vindiciæ veritatis, or, An impartial account of two several disputations the one being on the 12th. and the other on the 26th of February, 1671. between Mr. Danson a non-conformist minister, and Mr. Ives, upon this question, (viz) whether the doctrine of the possibility of some true believers final apostacy, be true, or no? Published to prevent false reports. Together with an appendix; in which the said question is more fully resolved in the affirmative, and the absurd[i]t[i]es of the negative opinion detected from the pens of divers of the patrons of it. By a lover of truth and peace.; Contention for truth	Ives, Jeremiah, fl. 1653-1674.	1672 (1672)	Wing I1106A; ESTC R218068	84,282	219

disobedience we are not under Christ but under the Law but he that is freed from the Covenant of Works is freed from expecting Salvation or fearing Damnation for what he doth and p. 96 97. Lastly the Soul doth not claim his right unto any conditional Promises by his performing the Condition Nor doth he deny himself the blessing that the Promise may reach forth to him though he may be wanting in obedience to this or that Commandment This is the freedom of a christian Soul whereas another man if he have kept the Commandments and performed the Condition he then looketh for acceptance with God as if the Lord had made this promise that he that confesseth and forsaketh his sin shall find Mercy this man confesseth his sin unto God and forsaketh it and therefore he looks for mercy BUT THIS IS NOT THE MANNER OF GODS PEOPLE No marvail they cannot perish if they have a way to salvation without either confessing or forsaking sin but from such people of God whose manner is neither to confess nor forsake their sins in order to salvation or finding mercy this shall be my Letany Libera nos Domine Another like ●his we have in Mr. Bridges's Book entituled The sinfulness of Sin pag. 34. Humble your selves for your sins saith he though they be never so small but do not question your condition though your sins are NEVER SO GREAT I do not saith he speak this to those that are unconverted for they have cause to question their condition for every sin though never so small but being converted I say humble your selves for your sins though never so small but never question thy condition for ANY SIN THOUGH NEVER SO GREAT I do not wonder that men have run into Ranterism and all the abominations of the Gnosticks of old under the pretence of their being the darlings of God and favourites of the Court of Heaven having sancied they have absolue promises of Salvation and therefore have no reason to question their condition or fear their Damnation though their sins be never so great No marvail Mr. Danson in the dispute told us that True believers such as Mr. Bridges Calls onverts cannot sin as other men do for other men must question their condition though their sins be never so small as Mr. Bridges tells us but True believers and Converts must by no means question their condition though their sins be never so great Indeed if this be true I must needs confess that believers cannot sin as others do for others must fear damnation for the least sin but believers may sin cum privelegio and not fear damnation for the grossest and greatest sins though they should be Drunkards or Incestuous persons Murderers Adulterers or denyers of Jesus Christ in times of persecution to this agrees the forecited Doctor Crisp in his Sermon of Christ is the way page 36. Give me saith he a believer that hath truly set his footing upon Christ he blasphemes Christ that dares serve a writ of damnation upon that person Suppose a believer be overtaken in a gross sin Suppose it be Murder or Adultery denying of Christ or Blasphemy It is a desperate thing in any man so much as to serve a writ of Damnation upon a beliver and he doubles it with an ingemination I say unto thee whoever thou art that art ready to charge Damnation upon thy self when thou art overtaken thou dost the greatest injury to the Lord Jesus that can be for in so doing thou overthrowest the fulness of the grace of Christ It seems then that when men are believers and have once the priviledges to set their foot upon Christ as the Doctor phrases it they may after wards trample upon him and offer him the greats est indignities imaginable and not fear damnation from him Mr. Bridges and Doctor Crisp make one heart and soul at this turn for Mr. Bridges saith they must not QUESTION their condition though their sins be NEVER SO GREAT and the Doctor saith they do the greatest dishonour to Christ imaginable if they charge Damnation upon themselves though they shoula be overtaken with gross sins To this agrees the Learned Doctor Owen in his Sermon before the Parliament at Westminst Feb. 28. 1647. It is not saith he the greatness of thy sin nor thy continuance in thy sin nor thy back-sliding into sin that is the true cause of thy staggering but solely from thy unbelief This agrees with Mr. Bridges and Doctor Crisp that if they be believers and once set their footing upon Christ they need not stagger for the greatness of their sins nor their continuance in them 〈…〉 by no means after they have set their foot upon Christ they may be as bold as they please with him and sin at what rate and to what degree their lasts shall at any time pro●ence them this is but the sense sum and substance of the forecited doctrines To all this may be added some doctrins laid down in a Treatise of Justification published by Mr. Eyres with Doctor Owen's Commendatory Epistle see Chap. 12. He lays down this doctrine That in the new Covenant there is no condition required to intitle us to the blessings of it and thence he draws this Corrollary that Faith is not a condition of the new Covenant he further saith That the Elect Corinthians that were Idolaters Fornicators Thieves Covetous Drunkards Revilers and Extortioners had no more right to Salvation after their believing then they had before Then it seems they had a right to Heaven if they had died in this condition and never believed for Faith he says is no condition of the Covenant that is the doctrin and that men in the height of their impieties and excess of wickedness have if Elected as much right to Heaven then as when converted that is the application so that if they can set foot upon Christ by Election they may be saved though they dye unbelievers for Faith he saith is no condition of it Somewhat to this purpose Mr. Edward Bagshaw dogmatizeth in his book Intituled The Doctrine of free Grace in pardoning Sin without conditions page 25. he explains himself what he means by free Grace By free here I do not mean free as excluding Christ but as excluding our selves or any thing we can do as a cause procuring or as a condition qualifying us for the receiving of it Lord Whether will these opinions lead us or rather whether will they not lead us sometimes they tell us if we are believers we need not question our condition though our sins are never so great Now we are told that if we are Elected we are well enough for Faith is no condition of the covenant of Grace and that we are no nearer Salvation after we believe then we were before for that is the sense for saith he The Elect Corinthians had no more right to Heaven after their believing then they had while they were unbelievers Whoremongers and Adulterers Thus they make even our

God if he should shew the ●me kindness and favour to men in the height of their wickedness as he doth to his most ●oly and mortifyed self denying servants so that Gods abhorring those that depart from him is so far from charging God with changing either in his effence or attributes that he would be changed if he did not do ●t because he hath ingaged his word for it Heb. 10 38. That if any draw back his ●oul shall have no pleasure in them The other absurdity is that the doctrine of the possibility of True believers final a postacy is destructive of all true Christian ●omfort in this matter let Mr. Baxter speak for me though he discent from me in the 19 page of his Treatise of the Saints Perseverance he saith That this doctrine doth not destroy all Christian comfort but a Life of much Christian comfort may be had without assurance of Salvation he means in the sense contended for which saith he I prove from Adams comfort in innocency doubtless the possibility of his fall did not destroy his comfort while he stood Secondly it were unreasonable and uncharitable to think that the ancient Churches that differed in this point had no Christian peace and that such holy men as Augustin and Luther and multitudes more were deprived of Christian peace who have manifested so great confidence and joy both in their lives and writings Thirdly if there be no joy nor peace except we receive it from the certainty of our perseverance then saith he it would follow that exceeding few of those that hold the perseverance of all the justified have joy or peace in believing Fourthly I argu● a pari there is no Son of the wisest and constant Father that is certain he shall persevere in the love and favour of his Parents and that he shall not fall into their very ha● tred and be disinherited by them yet i● doth not follow that therefore all Children should uncomfortably vex themselves with fears lest their Parents should hate them or disinherit them yet or that no Son can from hence take comfort in his Fathers Love and there is no man of the greatest holyness is certain he shall not fall into some fowl sin this is acknowledged by all he is not certain but he may be Drunk as Noah was or incestious as Lot was commit Adultery and Murder as David did deny Christ as Peter did and if you were sure you should fall thus would it not even break your hearts but what must all Christians live in doubts and he uncomfortable because of this you are not certain but you may for such capital crimes be hanged at a Gallows and be made a publick example to the World Yet I hope we may live comfortably for all that and need not trouble our selves with such fears save only by necessary caution to prevent the evil the same grounds therefore that may give you comfort against the fears of such scandalous sins may give them comfort concerning their Salvation who either believe not the doctrine of the perseverance of the Saints or are not certain of their own Sanctification page 22 23. especially as he observes page 22. If we consider the goodness of God's Nature his common mercy to man-kind the fulness and freeness of his grace in Christ the experience of his love both in common and special mercies which abundance of comfortable passages in Scripture all these may do much to the support and comfort of the soul against Apostacy thougt there had been no absolute promise made of the final perseverance of all the justified c. But what are these to the absurdities that follow upon the opinion of the impossibility of True believers falling finally and that will appear if we consider how much it borders upon Antomiauism and the tendency of it to promote Ranterism that it borders upon Antomianism and at some turns strikes hands with it will appear if we do consider the doctrines of the one and the other as we find them Printed and published to the World though possibly by Men otherwise very Godly and learned I shall instead of many that wrote for Antinomianism only mention Dr. Crisp I begin with some passages in his Sermons page 174 175. Let me speak freely saith he and in so doing tell you that the Lord hath no more to lay to the charge of an Elect person in the height of iniquity and in the excess of riot and committing all the abomination that can be commited I say when an Elect person runs such a course the Lord hath no more to lay to the charge of that person then to the charge of a believer nay then to the charge of a Saint triumphant in Glory And in his Sermon called Christ the way pag. 23 24. I give this hint saith he by the way when as I speak of the power of Christ subduing Sin because from the power of it in men they are apt to think their peace depends upon their subduing of sin if their sins be subdued then they think they may have peace and if they cannot be subdued then no peace let Christ have his due it is he alone that speaks peace pag. 113 what ado is here with men about breaking th●●● hearts and forsaking their sins pag. 157. there is a comfortable difference between the new Covenant and all other Covenants the condition in the other Covenants was such that in case Man did fail to perform his condition the Covenant was broke and God was free from giving life but in the new Covenant man is tyed to NO CONDITION that he MUST PERFORM and that if he do not perform it will make the Covenant void to him pag. 189 as the Father looks for NOTHING of Men to partake of Christ so there is NOTHING in Man though NEVER SO VILE that can debar a person from a part in this Christ Again there is not saith he that sinfulness that can be imagined in a creature that can be able to separate or debar any of you from part in Christ even while you are thus sinful Christ may be your Christ pag. 192. Men saith he think righteousness brings them nigh ●o Christ Beloved righteousness is that which puts a man away from Christ stumble not at the expression it is the choice truth of the Gospel Upon which words a sober man cries out O prodigious prophaness it is the foul language of Hell Hell it self hath not a more devilish expression This being on all hands allowed for the height of Antinomianism let us now see how men that would be thought otherwise minded agree with it To this purpose see Mr. Cotton's Treatise of the Covenant of Grace with Mr. Joseph Caryl's Commendatory Epistle to it Printed 1671. pag 91. if a man know himself under the Covenant of Grace then he doth not fear Damnation for his disobedience and pag. 94. A christian doth not fear Livorce for his disobedience for if we look for cursing for our