Selected quad for the lemma: end_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
end_n	good_a	law_n	moral_a	1,338	5	9.0849	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30137	A defence of the doctrine of justification, by faith in Jesus Christ: shewing, true Gospel-holiness flows from thence. Or, Mr. Fowler's pretended design of Christianity, proved to be nothing more then to trample under foot the blood of the Son of God and the idolizing of man's own righteousness. As also, how while he pretends to be a minister of the Church of England, he overthroweth the wholesom doctrine contained in the 10th. 11th. and 13th. of the Thirty Nine Articles of the same, and that he falleth in with the Quaker, and Romanist, against them. By John Bunyan.	Bunyan, John, 1628-1688.	1673 (1673)	Wing B5508; ESTC R215886	107,458	132

more involved in Error concerning it then your self being truly what you charge upon others 1. Grosely ignorant 2. Too highly Opinionate 3. Proud in affection 4. Lignorish 5. A Self-Lover 6. And for your Blasphemy under the just Judgement of God If our Gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost In whom the God of this World hath blinded the minds of them that believe not least the light of the Glorious Gospel of Christ who is the Image of God should shine unto them 2 Cor. 4. 3 4. I am come now to your last Chapter Pag. 281. which tells us wherein the essence and life of Christianity Censisteth viz. In a good state and habit of mind in a holy frame and temper of Soul Answ. 1. It consisteth in a Life of Faith when I live in the belief of this that Christ loved me and gave himself for me The Life that I now live in the Flesh saith Paul it is by the Faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me 2. And besides a good state and habit of mind or an Holy frame and temper of Soul in your notion of them which respecteth purely obedience to Morrals from Natural Impulses or Dictates of our Humanity they are rather Heathenish then Christian and being alone end in Death rather then Life As many as are of the Works of the Law are under the Curse he saith not they that Sin against it but they that are OF the Works of it such as do Justice Righteousness Charity Goodness Mercy Patience and all kind of Morral Duties from Principles Humane Natural or as Men they are under the Curse because they have sinned first and also are in firm and weak in their pursuit after the perfections they desire These follow after Righteousness but that flyes from them wherefore they do not obtain it because they seek it not by Faith in Christ but as it were by the Works the Righteous Good and Holy Works of the Law But you add It is such a habit of mind such a frame and temper of Soul as esteemeth God as the chiefest good and preferreth him and his Son Jesus Christ before all the World and that prizeth above all things an interest in the Divine Perfections c. Answ. 1. God must needs be esteemed the chiefest good by all that have but and are ruled by the light of Nature because they see him by his Works to be Almighty Merciful and Eternal but this may be where the Knowledge of the Man the Mediator is not therefore this in this and in your sence cannot be of the Essence of Christianity for that it is common to all the World That estimation of God which is common to Natural Men cannot be of the Essence of Christianity because they want that knowledge of him that comes by Jesus Christ and so are not capable to esteem of him under a Christian consideration But you say it is that good habit and temper of mind that preferreth God and his Son Jesus Christ before all the World Answ. He that esteemeth God above all must needs at least in his Judgement so prefer him but whereas you add and his Son Jesus Christ you put in them Words but as a Cloak For your self have not preferred his Son Jesus Christ no not before a Morral Law no not before your obedience to it although but by Humane Principles Yea you have accounted the Command of God by which we are injoyned by him to come to God a thing in it self but like Levitical Ceremonies or as Baptism and the Lord's Supper a thing in it●self indifferent and absolutely considered neither good nor evil Pag. 7 8 9. You add It is such a temp●r as prizeth above all things an interest in the Divine Perfections such as Justice and Righteousness Vniversal Charity Goodness Mercy Patience and all kind of Purity Answ. Seeing by these expressions you onely intend Morral Vertues and those that are inherent in you and originally operations of Humanity it is evident that you have but Impiously and Idolatrously Attributed to your own goodness so high and blessed a Title For whatsoever is in your Nature and Originally the Dictates thereof and whatsoever proficiency you make therein by Humane Principles and helps of Natural Indowments these things are but of your self your own Justice your own Righteousness your own Charity Goodness Mercy Patience Kindness c. Now to call these the Divine Perfections when they are onely your own Humane Vertues bespeaks you I say Fond Impious and Idolatrous and shews you in the midst of all your prentended design to Glorifie God such an one who have set up your own goodness with him yea and given it the Title of his blessed Grace and Favour That Scripture you mention Rom. 14. 17. Although by the Word Righteousness there is intended obedience to the Morral Law yet to it by persons already Justified by Christ's Righteousness hence they are said to do it in the Joy and Peac● of the Holy Ghost or by the Joy and Peace which they had by Faith in Christ's Righteousness as Revealed to them by the Spirit of God Hence again they are said in IT to serve Christ or to receive the Law at his hand which he giveth to them to walk after having first justified them from the Curse thereof by his Blood 2. The Law was given twice on Sinai the last time with a Proclamation of Mercy going before and he that receiveth it thus receiveth it after a Gospel manner For they as Justified persons are dead to the Law as a Covenant of Works by the Body of Christ that they might live to another even to him that is raised from the Dead But you by this Scripture intend not this Doctrine for you make Justification by Christ come after not before obedience to the Law Yea you make obedience thereto the Essential and coming to God by Christ but a thing of a more remote Nature from true and substantial Gospel-Righteousness In Page 283. you speak again of the old Principle and thus you comment A Principle of Holiness that respecteth Duty as with respect to the Nature of the Command so not with respect to the Duty as occasioned by certain External Inducements and Motives but from a good temper and disposition of Soul Answ. This I say still respecting your old Principle of Humanity and the Purity of your Nature the most amounts but to this Your Principle is confined to a liberty of Will and Affections with respect to doing of the Law of Work which many have professed to have and do before you and yet have come short of the Glory of God For as I told you before I tell you now again that the Gospel-Principles are the Holy Ghost and Faith which help that Soul in whom they dwell to count believing in Jesus Christ the great Essential part of our Christianity and our reckoning our selves pardoned for the sake of him And

that is found in the whole World But you add farther What good ground can Men have for this fancy when as our Saviour hath Merited the Pardon of Sin for this end that it might be an Effectual motive to turn from it Answ. Although you speak this in great Derision to Faith when it worketh right yet know that therefore seeing you would hear it I say therfore hath our Saviour merited pardon and bestowed it on men freely and bid them believe or receive it and have it that thereby they might be incouraged to live to him and love him and comply with his commandements For scarcely for a Righteous Man will one dye yet for peradventure for a good Man some would even dare to dye But God commended his love to us in that while we were yet Sinners Christ dyed for us Much more then being NOW Justified we shall be saved from Wrath through him Now as here we are said to be Justified by his Blood that is as his Blood appeaseth the Justice of God so again it is said that this Blood is set forth by God for us to have Faith in it by the term of a Propitiation Whom God hath set forth to be a Propitiation or a Sacrifice to appease the displeasure of God through Faith in his Blood To declare at this time his Righteousness that he might be Just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus Rom. 3. Again As we are thus Justified by Blood in the sight of God by Faith in it so also it is testified of his Blood that it sprinkleth the Conscience of the faithful but still onely as it is received by Faith But from what is the Conscience sprinkled but from those dead Works that remain in all that have not yet been Justified by Faith in this Blood Now if Faith in this Blood doth sprinkle the Conscience and so doth purge it from all dead Works then must Faith go first to the Blood of Christ for Justification and must bring this home to the Defiled Conscience before it be delivered from those dead Works that are in it and made Capable of serving the Living God Rom. 5. 7 to 10. ch 3. 24 25. Heb. 9. 14. ch 10. 19 20 21 22. But you say you will never trust your discoursive faculty so long as you live if you are mistaken here Pag. 224. Tell not me of your discoursive faculty The Word of God is plain And never challenge Man for he that Condemneth your way to Heaven to the very Pit of Hell as Paul doth can yet set forth a better I come now to the Second thing viz. The Doctrine of the imputation of Christ's Righteousness which you thus Expound It Consists in dealing with sincerely Righteous Persons as if they were perfectly so for the sake and upon the account of Christ's Righteousness Pag. 225 226. Answ. 1. Any thing but truth But I would know how sincerely Righteous they were that were Justified without Works or how sincerely Righteous they were whom God Justified as Ungodly Rom. 4. 3 4 5. 2. Your Explication of the imputation of Christ's Righteousness makes it respect our Works rather then our Persons It Consists say you in dealing with sincerely Righteous Persons as if they were Perfectly so That is it Justifieth their imperfect Righteousness First and so Secondarily their Persons for the sake of that But Observe a few things from this Explication 1. This Concludeth that a man may be sincerely Righteous in God's account WITHOUT the Righteousness of Christ for that is to be imputed to such and none but such 2. Th● Concludeth that Men may be sincerely Righteous BEFORE Christ's Righteousness is imputed For this sincere Righteousness is Precedent to the Imputation of Christ's 3. This Concludeth that a Man may have true yea saving Grace in great and mighty action in him before he hath Faith in the Righteousness of Christ. For if a Man must be sincerely Righteous first then he must not onely have that we call the Habit but the powerful Acts of Grace Besides if the Righteousness of Christ is not to be looked to First but Secondarily not before but after we be made sincerely Righteous then may not Faith be thus acted if a man should have it until he be first a sincerely Righteous Person 4. This Concludeth that a Man may be brought from under the Curse of the Law in God's sight before he have Faith in the Righteousness of Christ yea before it be imputed to him For he that in God's account is reckoned sincerely Righteous is beloved of his God 5. This Concludeth that a Man may be from under the Curse of God without the Imputation of the Righteousness of Christ For if a Man must be sincerely Righteous in God's account without it then he is from under the Curse of God without it 6. This Doctrine teacheth farther that Christ came to call and Justifie the Righteous contrary to his express Word In short By this account of things first we must be healed and then the Plaister comes Yea so Confident is this Man in this his Assertion that he saith it is not possible any other notion of this Doctrine should have truth in it Pag. 226. O this Jesus this Rock of offence But he that believeth on him shall not be Confounded But Blessed be God for Jesus Christ and for that he took our Nature and Sin and Curse and Death upon him And for that he did also by himself by one Offering Purge our Sins We that have believed have found rest even there where God and his Father hath smelled a sweet savour of rest because we are presented to God even now compleat in the Righteousness of him and stand discharged of guilt even by the Faith of him Yea as Sins past so Sins to come were taken up and satisfied for by that offering of the Body of Jesus we who have had a due sence of Sins and of the Nature of the Justice of God we know that no Remission of the guilt of any one can be but by Attonement made by Blood Heb. 9. 22. We also know that where Faith in Jesus Christ is wanting there can be neither good Principle nor good Indeavour for Faith is the first of all Graces and without it there is nothing but Sin We know also that Faith as a Grace in us severed from the Righteousness of Christ is onely a beholder of things but not a Justifier of Persons and that if it lay not hold of and applyeth not that Righteousness which is in Christ it carrieth us no farther then to the Devils We know that this Doctrine killeth Sin and curseth it at the very roots I say we know it who have mourned over him whom WE have pierced and who have been confounded to see that God by his Blood should be pacified towards us for all the Wickedness we have done Yea we have a double Motive to be Holy and Humble before him one because be dyed for