Selected quad for the lemma: earth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
earth_n	church_n	heaven_n	key_n	4,213	5	10.4217	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A41211	An appeal to Scripture & antiquity in the questions of 1. the worship and invocation of saints and angels 2. the worship of images 3. justification by and merit of good works 4. purgatory 5. real presence and half-communion : against the Romanists / by H. Ferne ...	Ferne, H. (Henry), 1602-1662.	1665 (1665)	Wing F787; ESTC R6643	246,487	512

Messiah and indeed that place of Isa 9.6 where the Messiah is called Pater futuri seculi the father of the Age or world to come to whom a generation shall be accounted Ps 22.30 does accord thereunto Now it was an opinion among the Jewes as they that are acquainted with their Rabbins do tel us that some sins should then be forgiven which could not before and accordingly it was an usual expression by saying such a sin shall not be forgiven no not in the world to come to shew the Atrocity and flagitiousness of such a sin which the grace that the Messiah should bring would not take away and so our Saviour might speak this ad hominem according to their common opinion and saying to express the hainousness of that sin or blasphemy against the Holy Ghost But take this Phrase according to the tenour of the New Testament which supposes the Messiah come already The world to come every where signifies that which begins at the Resurrection or last day of this world Then is fixed the End of this world Mat. 13.39.40 cap. 28.20 and then begins the world to come Marc. 10.30 Luc. 18.30 Eph. 1.21 And so it must be taken by St. Aug. in that place which the Romanists cite as to their purpose for the forgiveness of sins not forgiven before Aug. de Civit. Dei l. 21. c. 24. Neque enim de qui busdam veraciter diceretur non remittetur Otherwise saith he it could not be truly said of some it shall not be forgiven neither in this world nor in the world to come for if we inquire of him when shall this be factâ resurrectione He tels us there after the Resurrection is done And so also Futurum seculum the world to come is taken both by Greeks and Latins * Concil Flor. Sess 1. de Purgatorio in their debate of this point II. Of the Forgiveness For their inference from our Saviours Negative Not forgiven saith he in the world to come therefore say they there are sins to be forgiven in the world to come The Cardinal acknowledges it does not follow according to the Rules of Logick Indeed such forgiveness as they pretend in relation to Purgatory cannot in any reason follow upon our Saviours speech That there is a forgiveness of sins after death cannot be denied so long as we believe there is a Judgment of God to come for when that comes and passes upon the Souls of men either privately at their death or openly at the Last day there is an absolution of some and a condemnation of others a forgiving and a not forgiving in the world to come whether we begin that Time at the day of Death or of Resurrection but this forgiveness is nothing to Purgatory Again This forgiveness or not forgiveness of sins in the world to come may have regard to the forgiveness or retaining of sins by Man in the Ministry of reconciliation in this life so there is a loosing and binding on Earth and a loosing and binding in Heaven in like manner a declaration of sins forgiven in the Church in this life and a declaration of sins forgiven or not forgiven in the world to come For then it shall appear that many sins forgiven by Man Clave errante through misapplication of the Keyes are not forgiven of God but shall receive sentence of condemnation and many that have been unjustly excommunicated and condemned here shall be owned and absolved there And so in this respect it may be said truly that whoever will continue obstinate and rebel against light as they that here blasphemed against the Holy Ghost must not exspect to have his sin forgiven either in this life by the Church or in the world to come when God shall appear in judgment and so it comes to what St. Marc. saith Hier. in Mat. 5. Huic nullo tempore blasphemia remittetur he hath never forgiveness and what St. Hier. saith upon the place This blasphemy shall never be forgiven him The Sins which the Romanists will have forgiven in the next life Venial Sins are Venial or light sins But why these forgiven in the next world when the great sins are forgiven in this life as they acknowledge unto those justified persons whom they send to Purgatory why should such small sins which do not cut off the state of justification or put the person out of the favour of God be retained and call'd so so severe a reckoning as is that of the Purgatory Prison It is true that sanctified persons after their Justification are subject to the daily subreption of such lighter sins but seeing as St. Aug. saith often we do for them daily confess and say Forgive us our debts why should not the general repentance and confession with which such Persons dye be available to the forgiveness of all such failings and secret sins that cannot be remembred in particular through the merit of Christs perfect obedience apprehended by the faith of such justified persons And as for the stains of sinful corruption The stain or remaining corrupting of Sin yet remaining after forgiveness of the guilt and punishment the doing away of which the Romanists call forgiveness what need is there of a Fire to purge them away for it is not fire but the grace of God likened unto fire that can work that effect upon the soul And why may not final grace as some call it do away the remaining corruption at the parting of soul and body They acknowledge that grace infused does it in the first Justification not only taking away the guilt but the stain and corruption too and why may it not do so in the last infusion or communication They acknowledge also that the stain of original Sin comes upon the Soul in a moment at the conjunction of it with the body and why may not the contracted stains and blots of sin be by the grace of God done away at the separation of soul and body All this is far more reasonable to say then from our Saviours speech not forgiven to infer some shall be then forgiven and from that forgiveness to conclude such a Purgation of Souls as they imagine More reasonable I say though not so prudential it may be considering what is gained by it in the Romish Church For hear what the Cardinal saith of that Inference of the affirmative shall be forgiven from our Saviours Negative shall not be forgiven It doth not follow Bel. l. 1. de Purgat c. 4. Non secundum Regulas Logicae sed sequi secundum regulam prudentiae alioqui faceremus Dominum ineptissimè locutum saith he according to the Rules of Logick that is of Reason but it follows according to the Rules of Prudence Else should we make our Lord speak inconsiderately in saying neither in this world nor in the world to come For their Prudence in drawing Purgatory out of so many pretended places of Scripture besides the Rules

to some Temporal punishment after forgiveness which how far and in what sense true we have seen Now let us see how supposing it true in the Romish sense as indeed it is not he can transfer it from the living to the dead that it may be a ground and proof of Purgatory after death as they suppose it is of satisfactions in this life for if ask supposing such persons in this life liable to some temporall punishment why should they be so in the next it rests upon that false assertion of his Council that such punishment must be satisfied or paied either in this world or the world to come for there is a third way which * Vid Alens summ l. 4. qu. 15. mem 3. artic 3. some have allowed and that is a removal of all the stains of sin and guilt of punishment by the final grace and in the passage of the soul from the body And how bold is this Author to make God a respecter of persons if he should not punish in the other world one that had sinned as David and not payed for it in this pa. 187. for then he should not saith this Author reward every man according to his works God no respecter of persons if he forgive all Temporal punish ment with out our satisfaction But this is First a bold inference upon the former falls supposal of such punishments retained and inflicted in the Course of vindicative justice if not satisfied for by us whereas we saw three reasons against it and other purposes which God has in so retaining and inflicting punishment when he sees fit for chastisement amendment admonition to others and to shew how he is displeased with sin in his children yea it is very profitable for us that he should retain and inflict it after forgiveness as and when he sees fit But none of these purposes can hold in the punishments of Purgatory Secondly that Rewarding every man according to his works is misapplied to sins of just persons forgiven for the reward of punishment which God without respect of persons renders to works is to works not reckoned for i. e. not repented of not forgiven And whereas they will not allow that God either in mercy or justice can remit the remainder of Temporal punishment without being a Respecter of persons why do they contend for the power of Indulgence to be in the Pope and allow him to be a Respecter of persons as the Rich finde him to be And whereas they hold Christ to entreat and intercede for souls in Purgatory yet none come out upon his Intercession but upon the Popes Indulgence All they can pretend to here is that by such Indulgencies the application of Christs merit and satisfaction is made Papal Indulgences But why should they allow the Pope to be a respecter of persons in applying the merits of Christ with respect as he does to friends or those that can pay well when they will not allow God Almighty to dispense his own mercy or justice to them that have not satisfied here unless they do it in Purgatory or why do they allow the Pope to extend that power of loosing to souls in Purgatory that is under the earth which was given to the Church for loosing only things * Mat 16.19 Mat. 18.18 upon earth Indeed God has appointed many wayes and means in his Church of applying Christs satisfaction such as his Word both Sacraments and Absolution but as for the many new invented wayes of the Church of Rome they are unwarrantable and ineffectual to the purpose deceiving the people not only of their money but of their souls by staying on things that must be payed for yet profit not false applications of what they pretend the merits and satisfaction of our Saviour Christ Unto this debate of Purgatory it will not be amiss to adde something concerning satisfactions Of satisfactions and of doing the things signified by that name We do not here condemn or deter people from doing the things which in the language of the Church of Rome come under the name of satisfaction viz. those Penals self-afflictives acts of self-denial or such spiritual exercises or bodily austerities reasonably used that way But we commend them as profitable and to good purpose if rightly undertaken and directed only we cannot allow the grounds upon which that Church has established her satisfactions nor the purposes that Church seems to have in the commending or injoyning them The grounds we saw in the discourse of Purgatory That God does retain part of the temporal punishment which may by works of penance be remitted here in this world or payed in the world to come as this Author expresses it pa. 187. of this sufficiently above Nor can we allow the purposes or at least practises of the Romish Church in commending those Penals as meritorious and satisfactory to Gods justice that I may say nothing of the no small gain that is made thereby But we allow and commend the doing of the things these self-afflictives First in order to the obtaining of remission of sin and punishment so the Sackeloth Ashes Lying on the ground as in the Ninivites Ion. 3. this they do not as having any merit or satisfaction for punishment due by Gods justice unto sin nor yet as the prime conditions of forgiveness but as expressions of that inward Repentance and humiliation of which they are effects and which they conduce to encrease by a reaction or working back again upon the soule Secondly After forgiveness they are profitable when done either in respect to sin past by way of wholsome discipline to make more wary of such sins more careful to avoid them hereafter and more diligent in doing the contrary duties or when done in order to the averting some Temporal judgment wherewith God might strike us justly for some failing remisness or want of due carefulness as is requisite for that avoiding of sin and performance of duty For these are the fruits of Repentance which God accepts as the great and only satisfaction on our parts as for those Penals and bodily afflictives they are pleasing unto him so far as conduce to inforce care and strength of the spirit against sin and as they are expressions and effects of that humiliation and Repentance which is the Condition of forgiveness And these Afflictives or exercises of self-denial may be either voluntary undertaken of our selves or by advise of the Priest that has the ministery of reconciliation and the power of loosing committed unto him and the less that God does inflict on us i. e. the greater prosperity health ease quietness that any man enjoys in the world the more is he concerned to impose on himself such acts of self-denial and keep the soul exercised by sometimes afflicting the body or else the flesh will gather strength against the spirit and bring in the world too fast into the soul Upon the aforesaid Respects we commend and allow the things