Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	act_n	believe_v	faith_n	1,015	5	5.7119	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A75538	Instructions about right beleeving: severall sermons leading unto Christ, directing unto faith, and incouraging thereto. Shewing the nature, measure, and necessitie of the sense of sinne. Christ the bread of life, a sufficient remedy for mans misery; with the way and meanes to obtain him; as also incouragements to come to him, from his abilitie and readinesse to give full soule-satisfaction. / By John Archer, Master of Art, sometime preacher of All-hallowes Lumbard-street. London.	Archer, John, Master of Art.	1645 (1645)	Wing A3613; Thomason E289_8; ESTC R200123	50,561	92

Salvation by Workes also and not by Faith onely and so make it neither Free Grace Gift nor sure nor shutt Man out from all beasting And also the Error of many among us even that have some good thing in them who to the end they may get Christ Salvation labour most for Humiliation or for Holynes and least of all to Come to Christ beleeve on Him wheras onely Faith is the Meanes and All that God requires for our obtaining Christ Salvation There are Two Snares which the Devill sets for People One is when they hope to be saved by Christ and never looke to be humbled nor to be sanctified thus the Profane are caught which is a most silly thing to thinke that any can be Saved that be not regenerated sanctified or to thinke that one can beleeve not hate all Sinne study all Holynes or that any one can be brought to Heaven by Christ and not to Holynes first It was a good speech of Francis Spira lying in the distresse of Spirit I will not saith he detract from the Gospel it is most true that by Faith in Christ we be onely saved but yet take heede of resting on Faith and neglecting the Workes of Faith Faith requires not that we be Christians in word onely Beleeve me qouth he who have fully tryed the matter and therefore he much commended to them the Epistles of Peter which presse Sanctity Chastity c. This was good Counsell and very usefull against this Snare by which Satan intangles the most of People who rest in a Conceite that they beleeve and never care for the Workes of Faith but the Error of this hath been opened before There is an other Error which is a second Snare of Satan Viz To labour for Humiliation Mortification Holynes Obedience and not to labour to Beleeve this is the Snare in which many well disposed People are caught And the Error of it appeares by this Doctrine Because there is no other Meanes required by God for our obtaining Christ Salvation but onely Faith Indeed some measure of Humiliation must be had before we can beleeve as ye have heard before Viz So much as may make one hunger after Christ and be willing to receive Him on any Conditions But when thus much is obtayned which is when there is a serious labour after Mortification and all Obedience Yet then to labour for more Humiliation or Holynes and not first cheifly to labour to beleeve in Christ this is a great error for there is noe other meanes to get Christ Salvation but Faith So that all the other Labour is in vaine and for that which never can bring Christ or Salvation as if a Man that desires to bring his dead Freind to Life should onely labour to bring him to the acts of Life as to speake walke c. and not to the onely Meanes of Life to have his Soule joyned againe to his Body and that Satan knowes and therefore putts them on it to make them spend time paynes to noe purpose To such therefore I may say as Elisha in an other case to the Syrians 2. Kings 6 19. This is not the Way Ye seeke Salvation and Christ but by farther measure of Humiliation having enough allready to make you willing or by Holynes you can not get them there is but one Way one Thing that God requires and that is to Beleeve Therefore as Christ said to Martha in an other case Luke 10. 41. 42. Ye are carefull about many things but one thing is necessary Viz to Come to Christ and Beleeve in him to Entertaine him and Give up your Selves to Him in all his Offices doe this and you shall be saved When this is done then shall ye be able to attaine Mortification and Victory over your Lusts Sanctification Ability to Duty and not before These be the Fruites Effects of Beleeving and you must Beleeve before you can have these As the Woman must be marryed to the Man before shee can have lawfull Children by him And the Science must be ingrafted into the Tree before it can beare Fruite Were it not a simple thing for a Woman to expect Children Legitimate by a Man and then shee would marry him Or to expect that a Science should first beare Fruite by the Sap of a Stock and then ye would ingraft it to it Or to expect that a Roome should be first inlightned and warmed in the cold Winter and thē ye would bring in a Candle Fire As absurd is it to expect first to be Sanctified and then to Beleeve in Christ For Faith in Christ is the Cause of all Mortification Holynes It is Christ that sanctifies People Heb. 2. 11. And of His Grace conveyes to us Iohn 1. 16. and he never doth it but by our Faith in Him for it is by Faith that He lives in us dwells in us as ye have heard Holynes is the Meanes by which Christ after he is beleeved in brings them that beleeve in Him to Salvation It is therefore a most preposterous and wholy unprofitable way for People to labour for Holynes or Heaven or Christ and not first cheifly to labor to Beleeve in Christ The Right and onely Way is being soe farr humbled as I said before as to hunger after Christ and be willing to have him on any Tearmes thē to labour to Beleeve and after that is done to labour for Mortificatiō Holynes By From Christ to get it Whome thou hast made Thine owne by Faith Wherefore I beseech you see your Error who will not beleeve till first you have the Spirit quickning you Grace strengthing you to Duty and subduing Sinne in you if you could thus find it in you then you could beleeve and not else This is the inverting Gods Order and a way that will never bring you to Christ or Heaven Indeed and I pray observe it there is an Act of Faith which cannot be had till this be had and that Divines calls a reflect Act where by a Soule beleeves that it doth beleeve Before this can be there must be Repentance Holynes c. This is a knowing that we have Faith this is not the necessary Meanes to Salvation but to Assurance Comfort But there is an other Act of Faith Viz. the direct Act which is Beleeving not a Beleeving that I doe Beleeve but a Beleeving and this must be before we can repent or have or doe any good this is the Meanes and onely Meanes to be saved Now consider the absurdity of your Error before you labor to Beleeve you labor to knowe you doe Beleeve you will be sure you doe Beleeve before you will Beleeve you labor for the Evidence of Faith before you labor to have Faith it Selfe you more and first care for the Meanes of Assurance Comfort of your Salvation then the Meanes of being Saved And one maine Ground of your doing thus is partly Pride

after more then Faith and that Humiliation which fits for Faith But I will not addresse my Exhortation to you But to Such as be humbled troubled with their Sinnes Cry out What shall we doe to be saved To you I say as Luke 8. 50. Feare not onely Beleeve Yee have but one thing to doe there is but one thing God requires of you and you shall have Christ Salvation And that is to Beleeve Oh doe it this will certainly bring you all you desire Acts. 1● 3● What must I doe to be saved Ver. 31. And they said beleeve on the Lord Iesus Christ and thou shalt be saved And although Peter prest them to Repent as Acts. 2. 38. Yet that is but as if he had said Beleeve Which in by Repentance will shew forth it Selfe worke in you If ye feare Hell desire Salvation then Beleeve This is the one onely way All other Things that be good come after this All other Labour of thine is in vaine till this be done Therefore this is so called for and prest in Scripture It is charged on People by a Command 1. Iohn 3. 23. This is his Commandement that we should beleeve on the Name of his Sonne Iesus Christ And so is in that Call to Repent Acts 17. 30. for till they Beleeve they cannot Repent And it is required with the greatest reward promised threat annexed Marke 16. 16. He that beleeveth is baptized shall be saved but he that beleeveth not shall be damned To perswade you to this duty Consider the evill of not Beleeving And the Benifite of Beleeving The Evill of not Beleeving is very great It s very Injurious to God Christ and your Selves To God It makes him a Lyer whereas Beleeving setts to your Seale that God is true therefore it is called a Iustifying of God Luke 7. 29. 30. His truth faithfullnes And not Beleeving is a condemning God as not true faithfull You also wrong God in not obeying his Cōmand which is to Beleeve and in not regarding his Feaste nor valueing his Dainties which made him say they that did so should not tast of them for he that beleeves not is exprest by them that refused to come when the Supper was prepared Luke the 14 And so ye wrong him in not receiving his Sonne for that is Beleeving when he proffers sends him to you It also is Injurious to Christ It s a slighting him as if he were not worth the taking It is a refusing to kisse Him and to let him raigne over you and a Hating Him Luke 19. 14. It is as much as to say he is not worth the taking up he is not sufficient or not free to helpe It is also Injurious to your owne Soules Luke 7. 30. against themselves that is not beleeving they did wrong themselves Iohn 3. 19. It is The Condēnation many Cōdemnatiōs ye have viz. Oathes Lying c. but this is The Cōdemnation Ye doe keepe your Selves frō Salvation because this is the onely Meanes ye will not use it Ye doe that Acts 13. 47. Judge your Selves unworthy and make the Preachers of Christ be turned from you And for you that by discouragmēts are kept frō Beleeving ye keepe your Soules from that pertaking of Christ and his Benifites which ye might attaine to And so also such as doe beleeve but weakely they wrong God Christ and themselves very much as if their food which God provides were not good enough as if Christ the Second Adam were not as good to helpe them as the First Adam was to hurt them and keepe themselves from that measure of Grace from Christ which they might attaine to As the Evill of not Beleeving is great So is the Benifite of Beleeving It s as effectuall as doing was with Adam With him it was doe live Now it is Beleeve and Live Not that God loves a fruitles Faith but because it is Faith that must helpe to doe and that is better esteemed with God then doing Rom. 4. 21. 22. Because Faith brings Christs doing which is Perfect and Ours is not Beleeving it is the very Key which opens Christ in whom are unsearchable Riches and gives enterance into Heaven It is the Bucket by which we fetch Water from that Well of Life And all that have this Key Bucket may take thence And therefore it is that many have noe Grace from Christ because they have no Faith in Christ And others have so little Grace because they have so little Faith for as we Beleeve so is it unto us Matb 8. 13. It is the turning the Cock which sets all a flowing from God both Mercy Grace It is in the least degree a sure Evidence of Heaven gives Title to Christ and all Promises brings Iustification Sanctification and Salvation affords Adoption Sonnship Iohn 1. 12. Now then Considering the Evill of not Beleeving and the Benifite of Faith What canst thou doe that is of so much Consequence as to Beleeve To helpe thee to Beleeve Observe these Directions Helpes to Beleeve First labour to understand be clearely convinced 1. Observe these Directions of these Perticulers 1. Christs Alsufficiency to helpe thee to all things needfull to Salvation 2. Gods Offer tender of Christ to all People where the Gospel comes without respect or limitatiō of Persons but onely of Conditions which is the next Point to come in our Text. 3. That God who offers him freely Is most true able and most sincere willing to give what he offers 4. That for the fitting us to have Christ or before we doe seeke for him God requires nothing but so farr to see our Misery as to desire Christ and be willing to take Him on His owne Conditions and that then we be fittest for obtaining Christ when we see in our Selves nothing but emptines of all Good and fullnes of Sinne Misery 5. That Beleeving brings Christ all Grace and must be the first thing we doe to gett Christ or Grace which is the Point in hand 6. That Christ readily imbraceth and sweetly incourageth all that attempt indeavour to beleeve in Him 7. That the expresse Command of God is upon All where the Gospel comes That they do beleeve These are undoubted Truthes expresse in the Scripture 2. Practise these Things Secondly Practise these Things 1. Pray to God for helpe grace to beleeve for it is his gift 2. Attend on the Preaching of the Gospel Faith comes by hearing Rom. 10. 17. 3. Strive to it sit not still give not way to Doubtings and Tentations and Carnall reasonings but reason from the above premised Propositions and presse your owne Heart with the Conclusions that must followe thence Also ponder consider of those Propositions resist all that furthers Doubting hinders Beleeving Thus make it your worke trade to worke your Heart to it 4. Bring your Selfe To venture upon that which the Word