Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	action_n	law_n	moral_a	1,065	5	9.0930	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A62634	Several discourses viz. Proving Jesus to be the Messias. The prejudices against Jesus and his religion consider'd. Jesus the Son of God, proved by his Resurrection. The danger of apostacy from Christianity. Christ the author: obedience the condition of salvation. The possibility and necessity of gospel obedience, and its consistence with free grace. The authority of Jesus Christ, with the commission and promise which he gave to his apostles. The difficulties of a Christian life consider'd. The parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Children of this world wiser than the children of light. By the most reverend Dr. John Tillotson, late Lord Arch-Bishop of Canterbury. Being the fifth volume; published from the originals, by Ralph Barker, D.D. chaplain to his Grace.	Tillotson, John, 1630-1694.; Barker, Ralph, 1648-1708,	1698 (1698)	Wing T1262A; ESTC R222204	187,258	485

save to the utmost all those that come to God by him seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for us By these Qualifications our High Priest is described in this Epistle and by these he is every way suited to all our Defects and Infirmities all our Wants and Necessities to instruct our Ignorance by his Doctrine and to lead us in the Path of Righteousness by his most Holy and most Exemplary Life to expiate the guilt of our Sins by his Death and to procure Grace and Assistance for us by his prevalent Intercession on our behalf By all these ways and in all these respects he is said to be the Author of Eternal Salvation 1st By the Holiness and Purity of his Doctrine whereby we are perfectly instructed in the Will of God and our Duty and powerfully excited and perswaded to the Practice of it The Rules and Directions of a holy Life were very obscure before and the Motives and Encouragements to Virtue but weak and ineffectual in comparison of what they are now render'd by the Revelation of the Gospel The general corruption of Mankind and the vicious Practice of the World had in a great measure blurr'd and defac'd the Natural Law so that the Heathen World for many Ages had but a very dark and doubtful knowledge of their Duty especially as to several instances of it The Custom of several Vices had so prevail'd among Mankind as almost quite to extinguish the natural Sense of their Evil and Deformity And the Jews who enjoy'd a considerable degree of Divine Revelation had no strict regard to the Morality of their Actions and contenting themselves with some kind of outward Conformity to the bare Letter of the Ten Commandments were almost wholly taken up with little Ceremonies and Observances in which they placed the main of their Religion almost wholly neglecting the greater Duties and weightier matters of the Law And therefore our Blessed Saviour to free Mankind from these wandrings and uncertainties about the Will of God revealed the Moral Law and explained the full force and meaning of it clearing all doubts and supplying all the defects of it by a more particular and explicite Declaration of the several parts of our Duty and by Precepts of greater Perfection than the World was sufficiently acquainted withal before of greater Humility and more Universal Charity of abstaining from Revenge and forgiving Injuries and returning to our Enemies Good for Evil and Love for ill-will and Blessings and Prayers for Curses and Persecutions These Virtues indeed were sometimes and yet but very rarely recommended before in the Counsels of wise Men but either not in that degree of Perfection or not under that degree of Necessity and as having the force of Laws and laying an universal obligation of indispensable Duty upon all Mankind And as our blessed Saviour hath given a greater clearness and Certainty and Perfection to the rule of our Duty so he hath reveal'd and brought into a clearer Light more powerful Motives and Encouragements to the constant and careful Practice of it for Life and Immortality are brought to light by the Gospel the Resurrection of Christ from the Dead being a plain and convincing Demonstration of the Immortality of our Souls and another Life after this and an Evidence to us both of his Power and of the fidelity of his promise to raise us from the Dead Not but that Mankind had some obscure Apprehensions of these things before Good Men had always good hopes of another Life and future Rewards in another World and the worst of Men were not without some fears of the Judgment and Vengeance of another World but Men had disputed themselves into great doubts and uncertainties about these things and as Men that are in doubt are almost indifferent which way they go so the uncertain apprehensions which Men had of a future State and of the Rewards and Punishments of another World had but a very faint influence upon the minds of Men and wanted that pressing and determining force to Virtue and a good Life which a firm Belief and clear Conviction of these things would have infused into them But now the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ hath scatter'd all these Clouds and chased away that gross Darkness which hid the other World from our sight and hath removed all doubts concerning the Immortality of Mens Souls and their future State and now the Kingdom of Heaven with all its Treasures of Life and Happiness and Glory lies open to our view and Hell is also naked before us and Destruction hath no covering So that the hopes and fears of Men are now perfectly awakened and all sorts of Considerations that may serve to quicken and encourage our Obedience and to deter and affright Men from a wicked Life are exposed to the view of all Men and do stare every Man's Conscience in the face And this is that which renders the Gospel so admirable and powerful an Instrument for the reforming of Mankind and as the Apostle calls it the mighty power of God unto Salvation because therein Life and Immortality are set before us as the certain and glorious Reward of our Obedience and therein also the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men So that considering the perfection of our Rule and the powerful enforcements of it upon the Consciences of Men by the clear discovery and firm assurance of the Eternal Recompence of another World nothing can be imagined better suited to its end than the Doctrine of the Gospel is to make Men wise and holy and good unto Salvation both by instructing them perfectly in their Duty and urging them powerfully to the practice of it 2dly The Example of our Saviour's life is likewise another excellent Means to this End The Law lays an Obligation upon us but a pattern gives life and encouragement and renders our Duty more easie and practicable and familiar to us for here we see obedience to the Divine Law practised in our own Nature and performed by a Man like our selves in all things like unto us Sin only excepted 'T is true indeed this exception makes a great difference and seems to take off very much from the encouraging Force and Virtue of this Example No wonder if he that was without Sin and was God as well as Man performed all Righteousness and therefore where is the encouragement of this example That our Nature pure and uncorrupted supported and assisted by the Divinity to which it was united should be perfectly conformed to the Law of God as it is no strange thing so neither doth it seem to have that force and encouragement in it which an Example more suited to our weakness might have had But then this cannot be deny'd that it hath the advantage of perfection which a Pattern ought to have and to which though we can never attain yet we may always be aspiring towards it and certainly we cannot better learn

he should continue for some time in the Resolution and Practice of a holy and virtuous Life and afterwards fall off from it and turn from the holy Commandment deliver'd unto him his latter end would be worse than his beginning all his righteousness that he hath done would not be remember'd he should die in his iniquity For without holiness no man shall see the Lord. If any man draw back God's Soul will have no pleasure in him This is so very clear and plain from Scripture that no Man can entertain a contrary perswasion without contradicting the whole tenor of the Bible The Sum of what I have said is this that a virtual Obedience and sincere Faith and Repentance are sufficient where there is no time and opportunity for actual Obedience and the practice of a holy Life but where there is opportunity for actual Obedience and the continued practice of a good Life and perseverance therein they are indispensably necessary in order to our Eternal Salvation and a well-grounded hope and assurance of it 2dly There is a perfect and there is a sincere Obedience Perfect Obedience consists in the exact Conformity of our hearts and lives to the Law of God without the least imperfection and without failing in any point or degree of our Duty And this Obedience as it is not consistent with the frailty and infirmity of corrupt Nature and the imperfection of our present State so neither doth God require it of us as a necessary Condition of Eternal Life We are indeed commanded to be perfect as our Father which is in Heaven is perfect But we are not to understand this strictly and rigorously for that is not only impossible to Men in this present State of Imperfection but absolutely impossible to Humane Nature for Men to be perfect as God is perfect but the plain meaning of this Precept is that we should imitate those Divine Perfections of Goodness and Mercy and Patience and Purity and endeavour to be as like God in all these as we can and be still aspiring after a nearer resemblance of him as may be evident to any one who considers the connexion and occasion of these words By a sincere Obedience I mean such a conformity of our lives and actions to the Law of God as to the general course and tenour of them that we do not live in the habitual practice of any known Sin or in the customary neglect of any material and considerable part of our known Duty and that we be not wilfully and deliberately guilty of the single act of heinous and notorious Sins as I have formerly explained this matter more at large in another Discourse And this Obedience even in the best of Men is mixt with great Frailty and Imperfection but yet because it is the utmost that we can do in this State of Infirmity and Imperfection the terms of the Gospel are so merciful and gracious as that God is pleased for the sake of the meritorious Obedience and Sufferings of our Blessed Saviour to accept this sincere though imperfect Obedience and to reward it with Eternal Life And this I doubt not after all the intricate disputes and infinite Controversies about this business is the true and clear state of this matter And this sincere Obedience which the Gospel requires of us as a Condition of our Happiness though it be sometimes called by Divines Evangelical Perfection yet it is but very improperly so called for nothing is properly perfect to which any thing is wanting and great defects and imperfections must needs be acknowledged in the Obedience of the best and holiest Men upon Earth and they who pretend to Perfection in this Life do neither understand the Law of God nor themselves but as St. John says of such Persons they deceive themselves and the truth is not in them and besides other Imperfections these two are evident in them Ignorance and Pride And thus much may suffice to have spoken to this second Particular namely what Obedience the Gospel requires as a Condition and is pleased to accept as a Qualification for Eternal Life SERMON VII The Possibility and Necessity of Gospel Obedience and its consistence with free Grace HEB. V. 9. And being made perfect he became the Author of eternal Salvation unto all them that obey him FOR the Explication of these Words I propos'd to consider these Five Things 1st How and by what Means Christ is the Author of our Salvation 2dly What Obedience the Gospel requires as a Condition and is pleased to accept as a Qualification in those who hope for eternal Salvation 3dly The Possibility of our performing this Condition by that Grace and Assistance which is offer'd and ready to be afforded to us by the Gospel 4thly The Necessity of this Obedience in order to eternal Life and Happiness 5thly The Consistency of this method and means of our Salvation with the Law of Faith and the free Grace and Mercy of God declared in the Gospel I have handled the Two first of these and now proceed to the Third Thing I propos'd to consider viz. The possibility of our performing this Condition by that Grace and Assistance which is offer'd and ready to be afforded to us by the Gospel For if Christ be the Author of eternal Salvation only to those who obey him then those who live in disobedience to the Gospel are in a state of Damnation But there cannot be the guilt of Disobedience where Obedience is impossible no Man being guilty or justly liable to Punishment for the not doing of that which it was no ways possible for him to do Therefore the Covenant of the Gospel into which God is entred with Mankind doth necessarily suppose the possibility of performing the Condition of it otherwise it leaves them in as bad a Condition as they were in before because it only offers new Blessings and Benefits to us but sets us never the nearer the obtaining of them if so be the Condition upon which they are granted be altogether impossible to us nay it renders our State many degrees worse if our not performing the Condition of such gracious Offers bring us under new and greater guilt If it be said that some few Persons have great Benefit by it because they by an especial and effectual Grace shall be enabled to perform the Conditions of this Covenant is not this a mighty straitning to the Grace and Mercy of the Gospel to confine it within so narrow a compass as still to leave the greatest part of Mankind in a worse Condition than if Salvation had never been offer'd to them As it certainly does if as this Doctrine does necessarily suppose the Guilt and Punishment of Men shall be greatly increased and heightned by their Contempt of and Disobedience to the Gospel when at the same time it is acknowledged that it was not possible for those Men to obey it for want of that special and effectual Grace which is necessary to enable them thereto