Selected quad for the lemma: doctrine_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
doctrine_n	church_n	england_n	reform_a	3,931	5	9.9167	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A91809	A looking glasse for the Anabaptists and the rest of the separatists: wherein they may clearly behold a brief confutation of a certain un-licensed, scandelous pamphlet, intituled, The remonstrance of the Anabaptists, by way of vindication of their separation. The impertinancies, incongruities, non-consequences, falsities, and obstinacy of William Kiffen, the author, and grand ring leader of that seduced sect is discovered and laid open to the view of every indifferent eyed reader that will not shut his eyes against the truth. With certaine queries, vindicated from Anabaptisticall glosses, together with others propounded, for the information and conviction, (if possible) the reformation of the said William Kiffen and his prosylites. / By Josiah Ricraft, a well willer to the truth. Published by authority.	Ricraft, Josiah, fl. 1645-1679.	1645 (1645)	Wing R1430; Thomason E299_9; ESTC R200250	22,283	33

you may see the Net you lay for others your self is caught in The Reply FOr your answer to this my fift Querie in stead of giving of positive grounds for the vindication of your way from the sinful guilt of notorious schisme and defection from all the Reformed Churches you still according to your old wont relate your own practice and course you use in your Churches and in stead of freeing your selves from Schisme you put us to free our selves from the guilt of Schisme from Rome now the Reader may easily observe in stead of answer you make diversions and run into other matters but something for the first of these two the relation of your practice in your way the question will be supposing the matter of your way were justifiable As to baptize none but such as professe faith in their owne persons yet still the question will bee By what warrant or authoritie you doe all this Who gave you authoritie being such a private person to make Churches and Ministers to preach the Word and administer the Sacraments and exercise the power of censures My question was not to you Whether it were lawfull to baptize children or no or whether Christians are bound to watch over one another or whether such as remaine obstinate are to be cast out and not fit to live in the Church Suppose some private persons in this Citie should take upon them the acts of the Lord Maior and Aldermen and should do the things which for the matter are just and lawfull whether would this justifie their leaving of their callings and places wherein they were set and taking upon them to exercise that power I aske whether by the Law of the Land they were blamelesse And now I leave you to make the application As for your discourse you runne into About the baptizing of such as professe faith in Christ Jesus the places brought by you doe prove such were baptize as professed faith in their owne persons yet they doe not prove nor assert that none else were baptized the reason is evident why in your Scriptures quoted many that professed the faith were baptized because they were the first in their families that beleeved in Jesus Christ and were not the children of beleevers And besides they being growne to yeares and come to a knowledge and beleefe in Christ it is not strange that they desired to be partakers of ●hat Ordinance of Christ And in some of your Scriptures quoted Math. 28 19. there is a ground of baptizing of infants as well as growne men and were it worth the while to speake more at large in answer of such a weake Pamphlet I might out of the Act. 2.39 and 2 Col. 11.12 lay downe that for baptisme of children which I am confident all the Teachers of your seven Churches before whom you are first ranked as Metropolitan could never answer But I have spoke sufficiently alreadie in my Replie to your discourse upon my first Querie and my other occasions cause me to contract my selfe And as for your turning of the guilt of your Schisme from all the Reformed Churches by your bidding us free our selves from the guilt of Schisme from Rome in this you betray either your great ignorance or impudent malice in it for we have all the just grounds laid downe in the word of God for a separation from the Church of Rome as grosse idolatry damnable herefie intolerable tyranny the discovery of Antichrist sitting in it and so have cleare Scriptures in all these cases besides the example of all the reformed Churches that have left Rome when as they found she would not be healed But now we defie you and all the Sects in England in this Reformation begunne and further doing to shew either idolatrie in the worship of God or heresie in the doctrine or any other crimes forementioned And for any circumstantiall corruptions which may be we are willing to heare of them and are in a way of reforming of them which whilest we are a labouring after you and your faction are most busie to make separation and division and goe about compassing the earth to seduce Prosylites and draw away members from our Churches And in respect of some small failing in matter of discipline and externall order you draw them into Churches guiltie of Heresie and Schisme and in point of Discipline full of Anarchie and confusion and it will prove a hard taske for you judiciously to remonstrate that either your Church or any such separate Church as yours is have the necessary essentials and substantials required to the constitution of a true visible Church in them And therefore I thinke without any wrong we may count yours no true visible Churches of Christ at all but méere carnall Conventicles set up onely of men and not of God which you magnifie as the only Churches on earth And to conclude let me warne all those who in simplicitie of heart follow you as many of the people did Absolon to separate from your Assemblies because of the heresies and false-false-doctrines that are held in all the Conventicles of the Anabaptists QUERIE VI. VVHether you and such like pretended Teachers as you are be not the persons characterized and condemned in these and such like Scriptures following Mat. 7.15 Acts 20.29 30. Rom. 16.17.18 2 Tim. 3.6 7 8 9. 2 Pet. 2.1 3. 17.18 19. Jude verse 4 8 10 12 13 16. Kiff Answ Although as far as I am acquainted with my own heart neither I nor such as I am thirst after revenge yet we could desire that the Lord would be pleased to manifest the innocency of our spirits and uprightnesse of our intentions in all such our Actions against such false suppositions or rather calumnie cast upon us I shall only quot one of those Texts and comment a little upon it Mat. 7.15 16. the words are these Beware of false Prophets which come to you in Sheeps clothing but inwardly they are ravening Wolves you shall know them by their fruit Christ Jesus himself makes the best discription how those false Prophets may be known which is by the observation of the Fruit Christ in these words compares implicity a true Prophet to a Sheep Now it s the nature of Sheep to be harmlesse silent and to feede in the commons where the shortest pasture usially is So is it the property of a true Prophet of Christ to be harmelesse in his conversation silent under all his sufferings that he meets withall from unreasonable men and to be contented with the meanest injoyments of this world so he may honour Jesus Christ in his condition no way warring after great matters in compelling men by a Law to feede in the fattest pasture in the Land And as the Apostle Paul saith 2 Cor. 10.3 Though we are in the flesh we do not war after the flesh But a Wolfe even in Sheeps clothing to which false Prophets are compared even while they are thus clad may be known by their fruit which will appear