Selected quad for the lemma: doctrine_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
doctrine_n	doubt_n	part_n	use_v	4,423	5	9.3660	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A74671	The bar, against free admission to the Lords Supper, fixed. Or, An answer to Mr. Humphrey his Rejoynder, or, reply. By Roger Drake minister of Peters Cheap, London.	R. D. (Roger Drake), 1608-1669.	1656 (1656)	Wing D2128; Thomason E1593_1; ESTC R208860	271,720	506

afflictive evil is too much to suffer for it And otherwise if all sad Consequents should be Argumentative in M. H. his sense we might by a like Argument conclude against Christ and Religion the sad consequents whereof are troubles divisions temptations persecutions c. But to descend from the Thesis to the Hypothesis what sad consequents follow as to the Receiver from our Tenet That onely the regenerate ought to receive M. H. tells us 1. This will cut off every poor doubting Christian from the Sacrament Why I pray Because he cannot eat in faith being under a doubt of his regenerate estate Answ 1. No more can he abstain in faith if this argument were good since as he is bound to abstain if he be unregenerate so he is bound to receive if regenerate I mean unless warrantably detained by some just occasion for affirmative Precepts do not binde ad semper You will say This makes more against us and for M. H. since it hereby appears that a doubting Christian is in a snare whether he receive or not Answ 1. No more then a doubting Jew was in a snare in order to his eating of the Passover the rule being that no unclean person should eat Numb 9. 13. compare 2 Chron. 30. 18. Suppose now Caleb doubting whether he were clean or no yet without any folid ground but it may be I have touched or have been touched by an unclean person or thing c. think you this groundless scruple had been sufficient to detain him from the Passover 2. The best way under such scruples is to consult with God and to discover their ground either real or apparent to some faithful friend or Minister whereby through mercy their consciences would soon come to some settlement far better than by M. H. his Doctrine of admitting all pell-mell 3. If yet his scruple still remain its wisdom to take the better part which is the affirmative He that doubted whether he were clean or no might cat the Passover and he that doubts whether he be regenerate or no having faithfully used Gods way of discovery by self-examination advice with others and prayer I believe both may and ought to come to the Sacrament though he cannot yet attain full satisfaction of his scruples That scruple which cannot exclude me out of the state of grace sure cannot suspend me from the Sacrament for then who shall receive The best are not without scruples about their estate which scruples may weaken but cannot abolish evidence As faith so evidence is gradual ebbing and flowing upon several occasions Nay the Sacrament is especially instituted for doubting Saints Page 233. M. H. his second sad Consequent as to the Receiver is That upon this account every one that comes professes himself converted and if any man be but doubtful that he is not yet converted he cannot come but he acts a lie and is a publike hypocrite c. thus shall every humble tender Christian keep away and the self-justitiary harden to death Ans 1. It s a mistake That upon this account every one that comes professes himself converted This onely follows upon our principle That every one who receives doth virtually profess he apprehends or thinks himself converted as every Jew that came to the Passover profest onely that he believed himself to be clean which belief yet might stand with some doubt or scruple Hence it follows indeed That he who knows himself to be in the state of nature and yet comes to receive acts a lie and plays the gross hypocrite which consideration well weighed may be bar sufficient to a generation of Receivers who wil dare before God Angels and men to profess they believe themselves to be real Saints when their own consciences and divers of their neighbors can groundedly evidence against them as profance persons and scorners of holiness But what is this to a poor doubting Saint who hath solid evidence of grace yet somewhat shaken by scruples to whom Gods Messengers and people can and ought cordially to give the right hand of fellowship and perswade yea charge hi● 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 receive and not be afraid to close with his be●… friend in the Sacrament We assert That none but real Saints ought to receive and that all real Saints with due provision must receive But many doubting Saints are real Saints and therefore by our assertion ought to receive Contra hypocrites whether doubting or confident ought not to receive and if they receive they do so at their own peril And should Christ ask any of them Friend how camest thou in hither he would be as speechless as was the presumptuous guest who for all the general invitation was bound hand and foot c. because he came without th● wedding garment Matth. 22. v. 9 10 11 12 13. Yet further if a consident hypocritereceive his danger is the greater the Sacrament through Gods rihteous judgement building him up accidentally in a damnable error of false assurance A sad Edification We have scanned M. H. his sad Consequents for the Receiver Next let us view his sad Consequents for the Giver Page 233. M. H. For the Giver 1. The case will be neer the same for the Sacrament cannot be administred according to rule nor he that is the Giver act in faith unless both the Receiver is regenerate and he assured of it which he cannot be if Regeneration were a qualification commanded as necessary to receiving Answ This imaginary Consequent discovers more of M. H. his weakness than the former He might as well argue about the Passover thus If no unclean person might eat thereof then the Passover cannot be administred according to rule nor the Giver of 〈◊〉 act in faith unless both the Eater be clean and the Giver or Overseer be assured thereof which he cannot be if legal purity were a qualification commanded as necessary to the eating of the Passover Think you the Priests or other Overseers were to admit none to the Passover but those whom they knew to be clean yet the rule was strict No unclean person shall eat thereof Whence I infer As the strictness of their rule obliged not them to know certainly who were clean who unclean so the strictness of the Gospel-rule let no unregenerate man receive obliges not Church-Officers to know certainly who are regenerate who not but onely to take care that no persons visibly unclean in an Evangelical sense be admitted to the Sacrament Will it follow That because none but regenerate persons must receive therefore none but such must be admitted The latitude of Admission is as far beyond the latitude of Receiving as the latitude of visibility not contradicted by gross ignorance and scandal is beyond the latitude of true Grace M. H. ib. Secondly men will be ready to think themselves converted when they are admitted and the formal Christian rest in his estate when he should come hither to repent of it Answ 1. Carnal persons are apt to conclude their estate

may reach the semper in case the person excommunicated continue obstinate Secondly How doth it loose the bands of Gods command when Gods command is none shall receive till rightly prepared If the truth of the promise offering Christ to all conditionally be not loosed though no unregenerate person partake of Christ then the bands of the precept commanding all conditionally to receive are not loosed though no unqualified person receive till Doomes day The reason is clear because neither command nor promise are absolute but conditionall till the condition be performed Thirdly As to particular persons the command of suspension is a spur to conversion and practical holinesse And since none continue in impenitency but by their own desault they may thanke themselves who thereby make the command of abstention or detention perpetual Fourthly Yet by presence at the Sacrament the Christ-murtherer may behold the Corps bleeding see his own condemnation sealed and both hear see Christ offered conditionally though he neither receive nor touch the Sacramentall Elements But to presse an impenitent and scandalous person to receive in order to the sealing of his own condemnation as Mr. Humphrey asserts pag. 113. to me seems a very uncouth opinion and contradictory to Mr. Hums phrey his doctrine for suspending of persons ipso jure excommunicate who upon such an account ought of all persons to receive in order to the sealing of their own comdemnation and the more effectual promotion of their own conversion Dr. Drake an unregenerate man sins in all his duties yet he must do them but there is not par ratio in order to a receiving 1 Because it is not his duty Mr. Humphrey pag. 113. If receiving be not the duty of an unregenerate man then must regeneration be an essential antecedent to the Sacrament But so it is not For 1. Then baptisme was not administred validly to many by the Apostles Acts 8. 13. c. Ans 1. I might note the impropriety of that expression essentially antecedent Nothing is essentially antecedent to any thing but it 's constitutive principles and we do not make regeneration a constitutive principle of receiving the Sacrament Secondly if by essential here he mean necessary we grant regeneration a necessary antecedent in order to the person receiving and that by virtue of the precept as purity was a necessary antecedent of receiving the Passe over Thirdly where as he infers That then the baptisme of many was not valid I deny his consequence since in many things Quod fieri non debuit factum valet Secondly because however the person to be baptised being unregenerate ought not to offer himself to baptisme yet this reaches not the Minister that is to baptize him unlesse his unregeneration be visible I may not offer my self to partake if unregenerate but the Minister may admit me coming if he have charitative grounds to judge me regenerate The same answer will satisfie his second objection for baptisme is valid where there is no essential faylure if the person baptized be a visible Saint the person baptising be authorized by Christ and the Element be rightly applied according to Christs institution in a word if Christs form of baptisme be observed Math. 28. 19. but this may be done to a person unregenerare and is valid being done though the Catechumenus sin in offering himself if unregenerate but need not be baptised again when once regenerate Acts 8. 37. It will also satisfie his third objection A Minister may in faith administer either of the Sacraments to others besides himself since the rule he is to proceed by is not holinesse as real but as visible where he hath a charitative ground to judge any to be regenerate he both may and ought to baptise such a person in case he offer himself to be baptised regularly For his fifth objection that then no doubting Christian can himself receive for he cannot act in faith so long as he is not fully perswaded of his own regeneration Ans 1. It 's a fallacy to argue from the necessity of regeneration to the necessity of the clear full evidence of regeneration He that hath truth of grace sins neither materially nor formally in receiving provided he be not wanting to himself in due examination and preparation Secondly if a doubting Christian cannot act in faith then no man in the world can act in faith since the best of Saints are more or lesse pestred with doubting and that both in the faith of assent of adherence and of evidence Thirdly he may as well doubt whither he sin in abstaining as in receiving since some comfortable hopes of grace incourage him to receive as some dark fears on the other hand discourage him Fourthly if evidences for grace be praedominant the contrary fears should not discourage him Fifthly if hopes be ballanced with equal fears or over-ballanced with Symptomes of unregeneracy his surest way is to apply himself to some faithfull and experienced friend or Minister upon whose advice he may comfortably approach or forbear the Sacrament for that time Yea this advice is very safe and usefull where any one doubt about my spiritual Estate ariseth which by a diligent self-scrutiny cannot be resolved It being dangerous in point of doubts as well as in other cases to keep the Devils counsel For a brief yet full resolution of the case about persons to be suspended I referre the Reader to the larger Cathechisme of the Assembly of Divines where they handle the Doctrine of the Lords Supper where also they do positively affirm That such as are found to be ignorant and scandalous notwithstanding their professions of the faith and desire to come to the Lords Supper may and ought to be kept from that Sacrament by the power which Christ hath left in his Church untill they receive instruction and manifest their reformation I hope it s no presumption to say That such a Testimony for suspension from so many Reverend Learned and pious Divines will ballance if not preponderate the opposite Testimonies produced by Mr. Humphrey were they as full to his purpose as his heart could desire But I trust to make it appear which in part is done already that those eminent persons by him quoted are rather friends to our suspension than to his free Admission If yet it be objected I but will not this Doctrine of doubting Christians admission to the Sacrament be a precipice to unregenerate persons who upon sleight and trivial evidences will conclude themselves in the state of grace and so rush upon the Sacrament unworthily Ans 1. It s no more a precipice to them than all other parts of the Gospel are Offer promises Hypocrites are forwardest to catch presumptuously at them thunder out threatnings Hypocrites will put them off with a wet finger binde them with precepts Hypocrites have an hellish art to cut or break this Gordian knot which they cannot untye fairly Psal 2. 3. Secondly This is a precipice not of Gods but