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

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B06542	A brief, and plain apology written by John Wheelwright: wherein he doth vindicate himself, from al [sic] those errors, heresies, and flagitious crimes, layed to his charge by Mr. Thomas Weld, in his short story, and further fastened upon him, by Mr. Samuel Rutherford in his survey of antinomianisme. Wherein free grace is maintained in three propositions, and four thesis [sic] ...	Wheelwright, John, 1594-1679.	1658 (1658)	Wing W1604; ESTC R186427	40,565	36

Mr. VVhelewright upon the Fast-day which they do here present to the Honored Court and the Churches of Christ planted amongst us to be considered of desiring Grace Truth and Peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ In this Accusation I am charged to have delivered these Four Points I. That Faith and Repentance are no parts of the Doctrine of the Gospel II. That to evidence Justification by Sanctification is a covenant of Works III. That they who see in themselves any Sanctification and thence conclude a good estate shall never be saved IV. They who hold not according to this Doctrine are Antichrists enemies to Christ and under a covenant of Works VVhether my Brethren the Elders dealt regularly and justly with me either for the Manner or Matter of this Accusation I shal now make it appear As for the Manner I shal not much insist upon it but the truth is They accuse me to the Court secretly In the Preface to their Charge after many bitter invectives ranking me amongst the instruments of Satan acted by him to put down the Kingdom of Christ upon earth because I could not do it in heaven c. It is pretended by them That they do not write so much to aggravate my fault in the eye of Authority as to convince me in my Conscience and to bring me to Repentance yet al this while they conceal it from me neither did I ever come to know of this their writing more or less by their means or by the Court but a Gentleman my Friend one of the Magistrates did procure a copy to be transcribed secretly in al haste and sent it unto me For the Matter of their Accusation I shal examine the grounds of the several branches of their Charge I. They inform the Court That I taught That Faith and Repentance are no parts of the Doctrine of the Gospel The reason which they give is because I said That in the Gospel there is nothing revealed but Christ Surely it could not be imagined that I meant that nothing is revealed in the whole Gospel but this simple term Christ The words immediately precedent which they leave out taking that absolutely which I spoke in some respect declare my sense When the Lord said I draws his Elect to believe in Christ he doth not reveal unto them some work and from that work carrieth them to believe on him there is nothing revealed but Christ I exclude qualifications from that promise wherein Christ is revealed offered given to be believed on and make it absolute How should I deny Faith to be part of the Gospel in that discourse in which my chief scope was to put a difference between a legal and evangelical Faith The two Deputys Testimony concerning some expressions which I used in a Sermon at the Mount did not agree made nothing to the purpose If I had spoken something then from which such a conclusion would follow which I never did can you necessarily conclude from thence That I delivered the same in my Sermon at the Fast as you accuse me As for this Article of your Charge there is not to be found in my whole Sermon a syllable sounding that way ne gry quidem To my best remembrance al that I have spoken taught written at any time concerning Faith and Repentance from which you might take occasion to draw such a groundless inference was this for substance 1. That Faith and Repentance are law i. e. our inherent conformity to the law of the Gospel in opposition to the righteousness of the Promise which is Christs righteousness and that only in point of justification I asserted herein no more but this That Faith and Repentance is not that justice for which we are acquitted before God it is alone the righteousness of God which is by Faith 2. That these conditional Promises believe and be saved repent and be saved are not proper and peculiar to the Gospel as conditional but common to the law with the Gospel though not in respect of their matter yet in regard of their conditional form to difference them from absolut promises peculiar to the Gospel both for matter and form 3. Those conditional Promises being made the whole intire Gospel by an exclusion of al absolute Promises without any relation unto them becomes a covenant of Works for form A meer conditional covenant is a legal covenant This is one essential difference between the covenant of Works and Grace In the covenant of Works al the Promises are meerly conditional in the covenant of Grace with relation to Gods Elect the Promises are either absolute or upon conditions absolutely promised Will it follow from these principles That I deny the doctrine of Faith and Repentance to be part of the doctrine of the Gospel or the gifts of Faith and Repentance to be evangelical Graces God forbid I should This is a fundamental Errour of the Antinomians who confounding justification and sanctification imagine that Christ did as wel perform for us the conditions of the Gospel as the law repenting and believing for us All my constant hearers can bear me witness That I have ever Preached Repentance towards God and Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ I never denyed these conditional Promises to be part of the Gospel but I deny them to be the whole Gospel I do in the name of the Lord as I am called exhort al men not only to believe but repent and you amongst the rest II. The Second Errour of which you accuse me is That to evidence Justification by Sanctification is a Covenant of Works You infer this from these expressions in the broken Notes taken by others which I owned only for substance but not for al expressions that if men think to be saved because they see some work of Sanctification in themselves if they be saved it is without the Gospel this is a covenant of works I spake with relation to that which immediately went before to wit when the Lord is pleased to convert any Soul unto himself he doth not reveal unto him some work and from that work carrieth him to believe on Christ All that I affirmed herein was this To make gracious Qualifications previous to Faith the media to baild that act of Faith upon by which we believe on Christ is not evangelical but legal What though I called them works of Sanctification I did not mean they were such indeed but in the opinion of some III. This is the Third Errour which you fasten upon me That they who see in themselves any Sanctification and thence conclude a good estate shall never be saved This conclusion is inferred by you from the former Passages in none of which I denyed the evidencing of true Sanctification but of supposed Sanctification as gracious Qualifications before Union and Works made first evidences You reason stil from that which is spoken in some respect to that which is spoken absolutely You cut off part of these defective Notes and give such

Grace it cannot be shewed out of Gods Word That any promise runs thus If you be thus or thus prepared for Christ then he belongs unto you ye have performed the condition and the benefit conditioned is yours I do acknowledge that the formal object of an efficacious Call are Elect persons prepared by the Law being sick lost dead sinners to their own apprehensions to the end that sin may abound and grace abound and that to their sense and feeling Rom 5.20 But there ate no preparations wrought either by Law or Gospel which so qualifie the Soul as a man may conclude from thence That God cals with a purpose to save Mr. Culverwel in his Treatise of Faith much bewailes the cordition of such who build their Faith upon the change of their lives affirming That they can never have sound and stedfast Faith but an unconstant and staggering opinion at the best This grounding of Faith upon gracious qualifications before union is much oppugned by Mr. Coltan in his New Covenant and by Mr. Norton in his Orth. Evang. Surely this is a doctrine which hath too much affinity with that of the Jesuites and Arminians who imagine that God makes a promise that he will give super-natural Grace to men upon condition they will use well their common grace PROPOSITION II. That the first evidence of our Justification is not any work of Sanctification 1. All good works are to be done in Faith Heb. 11.4 Rom. 14.23 Heb. 11.8 We must as ●●rsinus saith be perswaded that both our persons and our actions are accepted in and through Christ If this perswasion be the cause of good Works there must be a ground of this perswasion precedent to our Works Good Works are the effects of a former evidence therefore not our first evidences 2. All Moral Duties are comprehended under this general Precept of Love by which Faith works Gal. 5.6 as being either the elicite or imperate acts of Love but we cannot truly love God or our neighbor before we know and believe the love that God hath to us 1 Joh. 4.16 17 18 19 20 21. Who is righteous saith Bernard but he that requiteth the love of God with love again Which is never done except the Holy Ghost reveal unto a man by Faith Gods eternal purpose concerning his future Salvation Epist 107. If all our acts of evangelical love flow from the apprehension of Gods love to us they cānot be procreant causes of this apprehension nor our first evidences 3. All that the Gospel requires of us is to believe and repent We cannot evangelically repent before we perceive in some measure that God is reconciled unto us in Christ Zach. 12.10 Ezek. 16.63 Wherefore it is not our repentance nor any work of Sanctification which is our first evidence A man cannot earnestly apply himself to Repentance unless he know himself to be of God Cato Inot 3.3.2 4. All Works of Sanctification are so many acts of gratitude which hath ever relation to some former known benefit and especially our Redemption through Christ 1 Cor. 6.20 This benefit must be known by some Argument precedent to our works Therefore Sanctification is not our first evidence ursinus makes Gratitude the third part of his Catechism and placeth it after mans misery and freedom through Christ 5. All good works must be done in the name of Christ our Mediator Col. 3.17 in obedience to God our Father Then are we to know Christ to be our Mediator and God our Father and so by consequence our justification by some Argument antecedaneous to our works 6. The appearing of Gods grace which brings Salvation and of the kindness and love of God our Saviour justifying of us by his grace is the cause of all our good works Tit. 2 3. If the appearing of Justification and Salvation to the eye of Faith be the cause of all our Sanctification then is not Sanctification our first evidence 7. All good works from the first to the last are to be done without a servil fear Luk. 1.74 This sear is never removed but by a precedent sight of our deliverance from our spiritual enemies wherefore our Redemption and Justification is made known unto us by some other means which goes in order before all works of Sanctification 8. To begin to evidence a good estate from works is opposite to the method prescribed by the Apostle Peter He did write to Christians who knew and believed their justification for believing they rejoyced in joy unspeakable and full of glory 1 Pet. 1.8 He exhorts them to add unto their Faith Vertue c. 2. Pet. 1.5 This Faith was existent out of its causes not to be grounded upon works but only confirmed by them He doth not say Add unto your works faith of assurance but add unto your faith works Therefore this Faith of assurance is not founded upon sanctification as a first evidence 9. We have two distinct witnesses of our good estate which in order do precede our sanctification 1 Our inward call of the spirit 2 Our act of believing on the Son of God The spirits inward call accompanying the outward begets this act of Faith 1 Joh 5.10 1 Thess 1.5 This act of Faith brings forth works of Sanctification Gal. 5.6 Sanctification is in order the last of the three witnesses of a good estate as being the effect of the two former wherefore it is not our first evidence Hoc est initium salutis nostrae quod in nobis sentimus efficax interna vocatio Dei fides nostra assentiens Zanchie De Certâ salute Ecclesiae Mr. Calvin with other learned and godly Divines living in that age wherein the light of the Gospel did abundantly break forth defined justifying Faith not only by an act of the Will whereby we receive Christ and his benefits but also by an act of the Mind by which we are certainly perswaded of Gods love to us in Christ and he doth constantly deny sanctification to be our first evidence and in his Commentaries upon Peter and John calls Works after-proofs Faiths props Both he and Zanchie do acknowledge with all sound Divines and the whole Church that good works evidence but with this caution There must be a former evidence Mr. Calvin thus expresseth himself But forasmuch as of the fruits of Regeneration the Saints gather an Argument of the Holy Ghosts dwelling in them they do thereby not slenderly strengthen themselves to look for the help of God in their necessities when by experience they find him their Father in so great a matter And even this also they cannot do unless first they have conceived the goodness of God sealed with no other assuredness than that of the promise for if they begin to weigh it by good works nothing shall be more uncertain or more weak Inst 3.14.19 Zanchie doth declare his judgement in the same expressions Loco 11. De Justificatione Calvin upon this text 1 Joh. 3.19 And hereby we know that we are of

with the word of truth James 1.10 The immediate testimony is I conceive an act of the spirit by which he doth dictate and strongly suggest with a soul-ravishing inward voyce to a believing penitent humble over-coming Saint that he is the child of God his sins are forgiven or the like being compared to hidden Manna a white stone a new name Rev. 2.17 which doth exceedingly confirm Faith and it is not I suppose the portion of every good Christian but a special benefit given by God who is a most free agent before in or after sufferings for the name sake of Christ or some special service done unto him as God sees meet Sundry of our learned godly orthodox Divines do acknowledge such a testimony as Dr. Preston Mr. Bolton Mr. Elton with others and divers of the Martyrs had experience thereof as I doubt not many Christians have at this day This is part of the Comforters office 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that which is taught in the Word he shal bring to remembrance John 14.26 The spirit of truth never revealeth any thing in this kind immediately for the confirmation of Faith which is not revealed in the words of truth He shall not speak of himself saith Christ he shall take of mine and shew it unto you Joh. 16.13 14. This immediate Testimony differs not from that which is mediate by the Word in the thing testified but in the manner of testifying and stablisheth the Soul by making a deeper impression filling it with joy and with the holy Ghost 3. By spiritual sense and experience There is in Gods Children not only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Phil. 1.9 By reason of use they have their senses exercised Heb. 5.14 and that by divine objects 1. They are many times made very sensible of the grace mercy and love of God unto them in Christ The love of God is shed abroad in their hearts by the holy Ghost which is given unto them Rom. 5.5 The Lord doth again and again lift upon them the light of his countenance and in the light of his favour they see the light of all felicity Psal 36 9. Christ doth manifest himself unto them in the Spirit Joh. 14.21 They hear see look upon and handle the word of life 1 Joh. 1.1 They taste and see that the Lord is good 2. They have frequently and for the most part as of sin so likewise of the work of Gods grace in them sense and experience The wind of the Spirit blows into the gardens of their Souls and the spices of saving graces with a fragrant smell flow out Cant. 4.16 The Sun of Righteousness shines into the hearts of Beleevers acts upon the saving graces of his own spirit excites and stirs them up from whence a sweet scent goes out as from some costly perfumed Oyntment When Faith love joy godly sorrow for sin humility patience with other saving graces are vigourously acted it exceedingly affects the Saints who are very sensible of it The Virgins love Christ not only for the savour of the oyntment of his own Righteousness which they perceive and receive by faith but even of these good oyntments powred into them Cant. 1. The Spouse in the Canticles David Paul with others do largely express the great sense and feeling they had of the gifts of Gods Spirit in them accompanying salvation as an Argument of that fellowship which they had with Christ 3. Beleevers have an experimental knowledge of the gracious Works of Gods Providence about them which doth likewise confirm their Faith So had David 1 Sam. 17.37 So had Paul 2 Tim. 4.17 18 For though there be no marks set upon the outward acts of Gods Providence whereby they may be discerned to proceed from Gods eternal and fatherly love yet do the children of God behold them in and through the covenant of Grace as testimonies of Gods favour and feel them to be such by their gracious effects knowing by experience that chastisements and corrections for sin are for their good Psal 119.71 So that the long experience which we have of Gods grace upon us his work of grace in us the gracious works of his providence about us is a special means to strengthen our faith This for the substance is all that I have ever Taught or held forth concerning evidencing a good estate I am not for the sole witnessing of the Spirit with Enthusiasts nor of Faith alone with Solifidians nor of works in the first place with you but of al these Three in one and that in the Apostles order 1 Joh. 5. The Spirits inward effective testimony of Gods grace towards us in Christ in giving him unto us in the free simple promise with a command to beleeve begets faith faith produceth works of sanctification sanctification confirms faith Promises are so many Declarations of Gods good Will towards us and it is the spirits office to apply them I do humbly conceive That when the Spirit of Promise applyes the absolute Promise of Grace that by way of excellency is called The spirits witness otherwise I do not see how the spirits witness should be a distinct witness from water and blood If the conditional Promise made to beleeving be applied that is the witness of blood let the conditional Promise made to sanctification have its application that is the witness of water He who hath one of these three witnesses hath them all in some degree and he that wants one wants them all for all these three are brought in by Christ when he comes into our hearts in our effectual call as witnesses of his gracious presence So that a Christian can reason thus I have the spirits witness I am a beleever I am a Saint therefore Christ dwells in me and I in him This is the sum of all concerning Evidencing That act of Faith by which we beleeve that Christ and his Righteousness is given to us and we receive him is begotten by the inward testimony of the spirit in an absolute promise confirmed by works of sanctification the immediate testimony of the holy Ghost spiritual sense and experience Because I would not acknowledge your works to be good Evidences which you will needs have to appear before Gods Grace or Faith appear you are highly displeased and labour to make the Court Churches and all the world beleeve that I taught That sanctification is no good Evidence and if a man conclude a good estate from sanctification which he sees in himself he shall never be saved 4. The Fourth Errour which you charge me to have delivered is That they who hold not according to this Doctrine are Antichristians enemies to Christ and under a Covenant of Works If by this Doctrine you had meant That Doctrine which indeed I taught owned by me in my first Three Propositions you had done me wrong I did never expresly nor implicitly affirm That they who were not of my judgement about the grounds of

terminis but in sense These are frequent Gospel expressions We are justified by Faith Faith is taken as well for the habit as the act When Faith is said not to fail that is to be understood of the habit When we are commanded to Beleeve that is meant of the act Bucer saith Zanchy is not ashamed to say That we beleeve sometimes in act sometimes only in habit There is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus Let a man be in Christ whether by the act or by the habit of Faith he is justified Which way soever Christ and his righteousness is made ours this righteousness is counted to us for ours by God who counts things as they are Object 3. He that beleeveth not is condemned already Joh. 3.18 We are not then justified but consequently to our act of beleeving Answ The act of Faith doth ever follow the habit and in order of time they can scarce be distinguished the one from the other But in order of causality Gods work goes before ours A Christian is in the order of nature in the state of grace before Faiths act though not in time In a word when it is said He that beleeveth not is condemned already it must be understood thus He that beleeveth not either actu secundo or actu primo else what will become of us when we are asleep and put forth no act of beleeving Object 4. If we be justified antecedently to our act of Faith then justification goes before vocation contrary to that Rom. 8.30 And whom he called them he also justified Answ That doth not follow Vocation is a gracious act of God by which we are brought into fellowship with Christ 1 Cor. 1.9 We are in our effectual call drawn into union with Christ by a Physical act of God in our passive conversion precedently to our act of beleeving Faith goes in order before justification both in our passive and active conversion the habit in the one and both habit and act in the other THESIS III. That the Faith of Gods Elect whereby they do beleeve on Christ is grounded upon a free simple absolute promise of Grace The Question is Whether God in the Gospel do first reveal his special love to his Elect in giving of them Christ and blessing through him in a conditional promise or in an absolute promise I say in an absolute These are my Arguments 1. Almighty God himself the Prophets Angels John Baptist Christ and the Apostles in the publishing of the Gospel have ever propounded Christ to be beleeved on in an absolute promise of Grace Gen. 3.15 15.5 Isa 9.6 Hos 2.19 20. Luk. 2.10 11. Matth. 3.2 4.17 10.7 2. The Elect have alwayes founded that act of Faith by which they did beleeve on Christ upon this principle Abraham beleeved on the Lord and it was counted unto him for righteousness Upon what promise did he ground his Faith Upon this absolute promise Thus shall thy Seed be Gen. 15.5 6. This Faith of Abraham is made a patern for all the spiritual seed of Abraham to follow Rom 4.23 24 25. Paul describeth the Faith by which he spiritually lived Gal. 2.20 In what Promise was Christ revealed Even in this absolute Declaration of Gods good Will towards him who loved me and gave himself for me The Apostle tells us That all the Elect are born as Isaac was Now we Brethren as Isaac was are the children of the Promise Gal. 4.28 In what form runs the Promise This is the word of Promise At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a Son Rom 9.9 The children of this absolute Promise are counted for the seed vers 8. 3. The proper immediate effects of justifying Faith do strongly argue That it is built upon an absolute promise powerfully applyed by the spirit in our effectual call How comes Faith to work by Love It apprehends Gods love to us in Christ How doth it cause Rejoycing It beholds Christ given for us and to us out of Gods eternal love Abraham rejoyced to see Chrtsts day and he saw it and was glad Joh. 8.56 How doth it beget Peace It looks at God as reconciled unto us in Christ How doth it cause Repentance It makes us apprehensive that we have sinned against our Saviour Omnium appetitivorum motuum causa est bonum vel malum apprehensum 4. As in Conjugal Contracts amongst us the Husband doth first make known his Love and express his absolute consent so doth Christ when he doth betroth the Church of his Elect unto himself in their effectual Call I will say unto them that were not my People Thou art my People and they shall say thou art my God Hos 2.23 5. If our Faith be not founded upon an absolute Promise then is not the Covenant of Grace established upon better Promises for form than the Covenant of Works contrary to that which is affirmed by the Apostle Heb. 8.6 7 8 9 10 11 12. The New Covenant Promises are better than the Old in this respect amongst the rest That they are absolute or upon conditions absolutely promised 6. The absolute Promises are either only to be propounded to Beleevers antecedently or else also to Unbeleevers for the begetting of Faith But they are not only to be propounded to Beleevers antecedently They were no Beleevers to whom the Lord by the Prophet Hosea applies the absolute Promises Hos 2.19 20. being such as were unmarried and not betrothed to what end did he propound them if not to build faith upon 7. There is no conditional Promise or Grant in all the Word of God wherein Christ doth convey himself over to us for the beginning of Salvation Christ doth absolutely promise to give us a new heart inhabit in us his Spirit Ezek. 36.26 27. What ever the Remonstrants say to put in any condition is against Scripture and Reason Wherefore we must beleeve on Christ and receive him as given in an absolute Promise of Grace This very Doctrine which teacheth us to ground our faith whereby we are perswaded of Gods Love to us in Christ upon an absolute Promise is maintained by Zanchy in his Miscellanies against Marbuchius who objects against it as one of Zanchy's Errors and new Revelations but he doth earnestly contend for the truth hereof affirming of it to be the Judgment of Bucer and that conformable to the Scriptures Which he could not but imbrace proving it by Four Arguments and Answers three Objections The Definition of Justifying Faith given by Dr. Zanchy and Mr. Calvin declares them to be of this mind Faith say they is a stedfast and assured knowledg of Gods kindness towards us which being grounded upon the truth of the free Promise in Christ is both revealed to our minds and sealed in our hearts by the Holy Ghost They make two Essential parts of Faith 1. An apprehension of Gods Love to us in Christ which is an act of the Intellect 2. A receiving and imbracing of Christ which is