Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	ceremonial_a	law_n	moral_a	2,252	5	9.4056	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A59793	The case of resistance of the supreme powers stated and resolved according to the doctrine of the Holy Scriptures by Will. Sherlock ...	Sherlock, William, 1641?-1707.	1684 (1684)	Wing S3267; ESTC R5621	89,717	232

and therefore there was no need of Christ's dying to purchase this which he cannot give us a greater right to than we had before his death If subjection and Non-resistance were our duty before and ceases to be our duty now then Christ by his death has cancelled the obligations of our duty and purchas'd a liberty and freedom not to do that now which by the Laws of God or Nature we were bound to do before that is Christ by his death has abrogated not onely the Ceremonial but some Moral Laws which I shew'd you before was contrary to the nature and designe of his undertaking 2. It is strangely unaccountable how obedience to any Law should abrogate and cancel it How Christ by subjection to the higher powers should for ever after deliver his Disciples from the necessity of subjection and make them free from the authority and government of Princes whenever they dislike their government A typical Law may be fulfilled and receive its just accomplishment and then its obligation ceases Thus the death of Christ fulfilled the Levitical sacrifices and put an end to them But the authority of a moral Law is confirmed and strengthened not abrogated and disanulled by great examples When Christ quietly and patiently submitted to the most unjust sentence in obedience to lawful authoritie he either did well or ill in it If he did ill his example indeed is not to be imitated but if he did well how did his doing well deliver us from the obligation of doing well Did his doing well make it ill for us to do as he did Why did not his perfect and unsinning obedience as well deliver us from the obligation of all the other Laws of God as from obedience and subjection to Princes The Antinomians indeed are so absurd as to say that Christ fulfilled all righteousness in our stead and that every believer has fulfilled the Law in Christ and therefore is not bound to fulfil it in his own person as a condition of life and salvation But yet they are not so absurd as to say that Christ by the righteousness of his life and death has altered the nature of good and evil and cancelled any one Law of God The Law is in force still and the dutie is the same but the Law cannot take hold of them nor exact a personal righteousness from them because they have already fulfilled the Law in Christ. But now these men must say that Christ has not onely fulfilled the Law of subjection and non-resistance as a condition of salvation but has cancelled it as a rule of life 3. The death of Christ could not purchase any civil rights or liberties which we had not before nor make any change in the external fortunes or conditions of men The death of Christ is represented in Scripture either as an atonement or expiation of sin or as the purchase and seal of the new Covenant Now how does the death of Christ by expiating our sins deliver us from subjection to our civil Governours What connexion is there between the expiation of our sins and our freedom from the authoritie of Princes that he who does one must be supposed to do the other And as for the new Covenant where does that grant any new franchises and liberties to subjects Let them produce their new Charter to justifie their exemption from subjection to Princes let them shew any one saying in the Gospel of our Saviour if they can to that purpose What the Doctrine of Christ is you have already heard and when Christ died to confirm the new Covenant in his bloud it is absurd to say that he has purchased any liberties for us but what he has expresly granted to us in his Gospel He does indeed promise libertie freedom to his subjects but it is a libertie of another nature a libertie from the power and dominion of sin Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free 8 John 32. that is the power of the Gospel-revelation should deliver them from the Empire of their lusts and give them the true government and masterie of themselves And therefore he adds Verily verily I say unto you Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin And the servant abideth not in the house for ever but the son abideth for ever If the son therefore shall make you free ye shall be free indeed 34 35 36 v. But does not St. Paul advise the Corinthians to assert even their civil and political freedom when they can and that from this argument that they are the freemen of Christ which seems to intimate that there is such a connexion between our spiritual and civil Liberties that it does not become Christ's freemen to be slaves and servants unto men 1 Cor. 7. 21 22 23 v. Art thou called being a servant care not for it but if thou mayest be made free use it rather For he that is called in the Lord being a servant is the Lord 's free man likewise also he that is called being free is Christ's servant Ye are bought with a price be not the servants of men But what is it they would prove from these words that our subjection to men is inconsistent with our freedom in Christ that the Apostle expresly denies For he that is a servont is Christ's freeman Or that Christ when he made us free did deliver us from the subjection of men not that neither For he does not advise Christian servants to leave their masters as he might and ought to have done if Christ had bestowed this civil libertie on them but he was so far from this that when Onesimus had run away from his Master Philemon and was converted by St. Paul and proved very useful and serviceable in the ministrie yet he would not detain him from his Master without asking his leave which occasioned the Epistle to Philemon as you may see 10 11 12 c. And in this place he advises the Christian servants not to be concerned at their being servants which was no injury at all to their Christian libertie But if they could procure their libertie by any fair and just means they should chuse to do it which is upon many accounts more desirable especially when Christians were servants to heathen Masters as it often was in those days But does not the Apostle expresly tell them Ye are bought with a price be not ye the servants of men Yes he does but sure this cannot signifie that servants should cast off the authoritie of their Masters For that is directly contrary to what he had advised them before and contrary to his own practice in the case of Onesimus whom he sent back to his Master Philemon But all that I understand by it is this that those Christian servants who could not obtain their freedom should yet take care not to be servants to the lusts and passions of their Heathen Masters For though a state of civil bondage and slavery is not inconsistent with their