Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	apostle_n	church_n	time_n	1,048	5	3.6359	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A82317	Right reformation: or, The reformation of the church of the New Testament, represented in Gospell-light. In a sermon preached to the Honourable House of Commons, on Wednesday, November 25. 1646. Together with a reply to the chief contradictions of Master Love's sermon, preached the same day. All published for the good of the faithfull, at their desire. / By William Dell, minister of the Gospel, attending on his Excellency Sir Thomas Fairfax.	Dell, William, d. 1664.	1646 (1646)	Wing D927; Thomason E363_2; Thomason E363_3; ESTC R201227	36,729	61

together with Christ the Head and the Church the Body in their joint unction and Officers and all other things they understand carnally and have a fleshly sense and apprehension of them And as they understand all other things of Gods kingdome carnally so also the Reformation of it and there are not greater and grosser mistakes about any of the things of God then about this men imagining the Reformation of the Church which is altogether a spiritual and heavenly kingdom after the manner of the Reformation of worldly States and Common-wealths which only stands in outward things and is brought to passe by humane councels and humane power Now because this is not only a grosse but a generall errour in all sorts of people both of high and of low degree I shall indeavour at this time according to the good hand of God with me to represent in some Gospel-light to this Honourable and Christian Auditory the true Reformation of the Church of the New-Testament and blessed is hee who shall not be offended at it For this purpose I made choice of the words now read Vntill the time of Reformation For the better understanding of which wee must read the Context Ver. 9. The first tabernacle was a figure for the time then present in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices that could not make him that did the service perfect as pertaining to the conscience V. 10. Which stood only in meats and drinks and divers washings and carnall ordinances it should be righteousnesses or justifications of the flesh {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} imposed on them {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} untill the time of Reformation In which words the Apostle shews the imperfection of the worship of the old Law because it stood in outward rites ceremonies duties performances and so could not make him that used them and was busied in them perfect as pertaining to his conscience and therefore God did not simply and absolutely impose these things on the Church to continue for ever but only untill the time wherein all things were to be reformed not only evill things but imperfect And then all that outward Religion was to be abolished Now if the law of Moses could not make men perfect as pertayning to the Conscience much lesse can any new lawes invented now And if any such lawes should be imposed on the people of God now the Gospel hath the same strength in it self to make them void as the former and also the same ground from them because all such lawes and ordinances devised by men cannot make them that obey and practise them perfect as pertaining to the conscience and therefore are all to be at an end when the time of Reformation comes Quest Now if you ask me when this time of Reformation was Ans. I answer It was when Christ came not a servant as Moses but the Son out of the bosome of the Father the great Prophet of the new Testament whose doctrine was not letter as Moses was but Spirit and life And now when Christ the Minister of the new Testament came with the ministration of the Spirit now was the time of Reformation In the time of the Law there were outward duties and performances and ceremonies and sacrifices and strict laws to injoyn the observation of these things carrying along with them the severity of death and yet notwitstanding all this there was no true Reformation but under all that outward Religion men were inwardly as corrupt and wicked as the very heathen for all their circumcision in the flesh they were uncircumcised in heart for all their outward washing they were inwardly unclean for all their blood of buls and goats their sins remained in their natures and consciences for all their strict forcing of men to the duties of the outward worship of God the people still remained far from God even in all those duties So that notwithstanding the outward worship of Moses law the people remained inwardly corrupt filthy and unclean and without any true Reformation before Goa till Christ who was God in the flesh came with the ministration of the Spirit and then indeed was the time of Reformation Vntill the time of Reformation The thing then the Spirit would have us take notice of in these words is this That the time of the Gospel is the time of Reformation When-ever the Gospel is preached in the spirit and power of it that is {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} the time of Reformation For our more orderly proceeding in this point wee will observe this Method 1. Show what true Gospel-Reformation is and how it is qualified that so you may the better distinguish it from Politicall and Ecclesiasticall Reformation Now both these I joyn together because the carnall Church hath alwayes interested and mingled it self with the power of the world as being able to doe nothing without it 2. I will indeavour to shew to whose hands the work of Gospel-Reformation is committed 3. By what means he to whose hands it is committed brings it about 4. The advantages of such a Reformation where it is wrought 5. The Vse The first Generall What true Gospel Reformation is and how qualified 1. What it is It is the mortiying destroying and utter abolishing out of the faithfull and elect all that sin corruption lust evill that did flow in upon them through the fall of Adam Or It is the taking away and destroying the body of sin out of the faithfull and elect by the presence and operation of the righteousnesse of God dwelling in their hearts by faith This is true Gospel Reformation and besides this I know no other This the Evangelicall Prophet Isaiah describeth Chap. 1. 27. Zion shall be redeemed with judgement and her converts with righteousnesse Now Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith as he discovers reproves condemnes and destroyes sin so he is called Judgement and thus is judgement to be understood in the Gospel sense and not terribly as in the sense of the Law and this Judgement shall at last break forth into victory that is though Christ in us hath to doe with many strong corruptions and lusts in the soule yet at last hee prevails against them all and Judgement breaks forth into Victory because Christ the Judgement of God in the soul must needs in the end prevail against every sin of man Again Christ the Righteousnesse of God as he makes us righteous with his own righteousnesse and makes us the righteousnesse of God in him so hee is called Righteousnesse not in himself onely but in us he is the Lord our Righteousnesse and by this Judgement and Righteousnesse is Zion and her converts redeemed and reformed And so true Gospel reformation is the destruction of sin out of the faithfull by the presence of righteousnesse And therefore you see how grosly they are mistaken who take Gospel Reformation to be the making of certain Laws and

Constitutions by the sacred power or Clergy for externall conformity in outward duties of outward worship and government and to have these confirmed by civill sanction and inforced upon men by secular power when in the mean time all that inward corruption and sin they brought with them into the world remains in their hearts and natures as it did before After this manner the old Prelates reformed who were wont to say to the Kings Wee will studie out the faith and you shall maintain it and the faith they studied and brought to the Kings the Kings must maintain and not question but that it was Jure Divino And thus you see in generall what Gospel Reformation is and that it is a cleer different thing from Civil-Ecclesiasticall Reformation 2. Now in the next place let us see how this Gospel Reformation is qualified whereby the difference between this and the other will appear yet more cleerly First then it is a spirituall Reformation For as the Kingdome of Christ is a spirituall Kingdome so all the things that belong to it are spirituall things and so the Reformation of it A carnall Reformation is not sutable to a spirituall Kingdom And spirituall it is because it proceeds from the Spirit and stands in spirituall things as you shall see more fully anon But now the Reformation of the Civill and Ecclesiasticall State is but a carnall Reformation wrought by the power of flesh and blood and stands in outward and fleshly things as you shall presently see Secondly It is an inward Reformation For as the Kingdome of God is an inward Kingdome the kingdome of God is within you so the Reformation that belongs to it is an inward Reformation This true Gospel Reformation layes hold upon the heart and soul and inner man and changes and alters and renews and reforms that and when the heart is reformed all is reformed And therefore this Gospel Reformation doth not much busie and trouble it selfe about outward forms or externall conformity but onely minds the reforming of the heart and when the heart is right with God the outward form cannot be amisse And therefore saith Christ touching the worship of the New Testament God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth but speaks not one word of any outward form So that God in this Gospel Reformation aims at nothing but the heart according to the tenour of the new covenant Jer. 31. 33. This shall be the covenant that I will make with them after those dayes saith the Lord I will put my Law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts so that they shall not onely have the word of the letter in their books but the living word of God in their hearts and God intending to reform the Church begins with their hearts and intending to reform their hearts puts his word there and that living word put into the heart reforms it indeed But now Civil-Ecclesiasticall Reformation is onely outward and busies st selfe in reforming the outward man in outward things and so is very industrious and elaborate about outward forms and outward orders and outward government and outward confession and outward practice and thinks if these be put into some handsom●nesse and conformity they have brought about an excellent Reformation though the heart in the mean time remain as sinfull vile and corrupt as ever and so altogether unreformed And so this Reformation is like that Reformation of the Scribes and Pharisees notorious hypocrites who made clean onely the outside of the cup or platter leaving them all filthy and unclean within and whited over sepulchres to make them beautifull outwardly when inwardly they were full of rottennesse and corruption So Civill-Ecclesiasticall Reformation makes a man clean outwardly with an outward Confession of faith when inwardly hee is all filthy through unbelief and whites him over with a few handsome forms of worship when inwardly hee is full of ignorance of God and Atheism Obj. Now if any ask But must there be no change of outward things in the Reformation of the Gospel Answ. I answer Yes an outward change that flows from an inward but not an outward change without an inward much lesse an outward change to enforce an inward 3. It is a thorow Reformation for it reforms the whole man it reforms not the soul onely but the body too and the very spirit of the mind the spirit as it animates and quickens and acts the body is called the soule as it is in it selfe in its owne nature and essence so it is called the spirit of the mind and this Gospel Reformation reforms all that is both inward and outward and outward and inward man yea the inwardest of the inward man and not only the operations of the soul in the body but of the soul in its selfe But Civill-Ecclesiasticall Reformation reforms by halfs it reaches the body and orders that but attains not to the soul much lesse to the spirit of the mind Again Gospel Reformation reforms sin wholly aswell as the man it reforms all sin whatsoever I will turn my hand upon thee saith God by this Gospel Reformation and will purely purge away thy drosse and take away all thy tinne It reforms a man not only of outward sins but of inward It reforms him of those sins that seldome come forth into the view of the world as Atheisme ignorance of God pride vain-glory self-seeking hypocrisie carnall mindednesse and all the evill desires of the flesh and of the minde Yea it doth not only reform all evill things in us but all imperfect things 〈◊〉 doing away imperfect things by the coming of perfect things doing away our own strength by the coming in of Gods strength and our own wisdome and righteousnesse by the coming in of Gods wisdome and righteousnesse But now Civill-Ecclesiasticall Reformation reforms sin by the halfs aswell as the man and so only reforms outward and grosse sins such as run into the eyes of the world which are the least by a thousand times of the evils that a man hath and acts but the greatest part of sin it still leaves within as it was Fourthly It is a powerfull and mighty Reformation It is wrought in a man by the very power of God even by the right hand of his Righteousnesse And so no sin lust corruption though never so mighty is able to refist this work of God by the Gospel but it makes the whole body of sin and the whole kingdome of the Divell fly in pieces before it The power of God in creating and redeeming the elect may as well be resisted as the power of God in reforming them for it is a power above all power that God puts forth in this work and so is not to be made void by any creature In every stroke of this work the power of the Lord God Almighty is put forth as every rightly reformed Christian knows