Selected quad for the lemma: faith_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
faith_n	abraham_n	believe_v	impute_v	7,639	5	9.9008	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A19743	A godlie and fruitfull treatise of faith and workes. Wherein is confuted a certaine opinion of merit by workes, which an aduersary to the gospell of Christ Iesu, held in the conference, had in the Tower of London	H. D., fl. 1583.; Dod, Henry, attributed name. aut	1583 (1583)	STC 6168; ESTC S114042	37,853	104

VVas not Abraham our father iustified through vvoorkes vvhen he had offered Isaac his sonne vpon the altar Seest thou not hovve that Faith vvrought vvith his vvorkes and through the vvorks was the Faith made perfect And the scripture was fulfilled which saith Abraham beleeued God and it was imputed vnto him for righteousnesse And he was called the friend of God see then how that of workes a man is iustified and not of Faith onely Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot iustified through works when she had receiued the messengers and had sent them out an other way What plainer matter can bee vttered to mainteine that the workes of the lawe doeth iustifie And so it is euident by Saint Iames that our works doth iustifie vs. For you see that both Abraham and Rahab were iustified by their workes and so all other in like sort that shall worke as they did And he concludeth that Faith without workes is dead and this is plaine And all this matter which is alledged out of Saint Paule maketh nothing for you against iustification by workes For the lawe which hee doth exclude is the ceremoniall lawe as circumsition ceremonies and clensinges which cosisteth in outward obseruatiōs with sacrifices and such like but hee excludeth not the morall lawe as by a number of places of scripture besides S. Iames may be well proued that workes beeing wrought by grace after renouation doe merit saluation I doubt not but as heretofote you haue bene by diuers and sundrie godly learned men suffitiently aunswered vpon this place of S. Iames and all other places by your side alledged and so answered that as yet none of you were euer able in trueth to confute or ouerthrow that which hath beene written against you So doubt I not but by the helpe of God you shall receiue from the pen of a simple vnlearned person such matter as with trueth you shall neuer be able to gainsay First let vs consider what mooued Saint Iams to write as he doth in setting out of workes S. Iames writing to the Iewes which were conuerted to Christ scattered abroad seeing in them some imperfection how apt they were to boasting as when they were vnder the law how they would then boast themselues and what outward showes they woulde make like hypocrits c. As in the Gospel of S. Mathew in the 3. 6. Chapter appeareth and other places besides that they should not be like bosters vnder the Gospell as they were vnder the law only to brag of Faith of the Gospell not to bring forth the fruits of the same He wrote his Epistle where in the 1. Chapter he beginneth with exhortations first to moue them to patience in afflictions to make their praiers in Faith pronouncing blessing a crowne of life to them that endure afflictions telling them that euerie good perfect gift commeth frō the father of light persuading thē not to be hearers onely but doers also And in the end of that Chapter to cut thē off frō vaine bosting saith If any man amongst you seeme to be deuout or religious and refraine not his tongue but deceiueth his own hart this mans deuotion or religiō is vain Pure deuotiō vndefiled before God is this To visite the fatherles and widows in their aduersitie to keep him selfe vnspotted of the worlde Here you may see wherabout S. Iames goeth First laying abroad a forme of Christianitie then hee goeth about to condemne the vaine deuotion which the Iewes were in deceiuing their owne hearts by vaine persuasions and but seeming to be religious not refraining from speaking and boasting so vainely of their stocke generation and fulfilling the lawe morall and ceremoniall and also seeming rather to be but hearers of the word then doers And some hauing but an outward shewe of religion onely boasting in the professing of the Gospell and not liuing accordingly whereby they made their Faith to be no Faith but a dead Faith for a iustifying Faith is neuer idle but alwaies working and doing good Visiting the fatherlesse and widowes in their aduersities And this is pure deuotion saith hee adding That they should keepe themselues vnspotted of the worlde But hee meaneth not that this they can doe of themselues for that is the worke of the Lord. For he saith in the 17. verse before That euerie good giuing euery perfect gift is from aboue and commeth dovvne from the father of light vvith vvhome there is no variablenes neither shadovv of turning Beholde here is all from the Lorde nothing ours all goodnes in vs is the Lords And here you see that S. Iams suspecting or knowing some in whome the fruits of the Gospell did not appeare and that they were a slaunder to the Gospel being founde rather fruitlesse then fruitfull he goeth forward and in his 2. Chapter as aforesaid from the 21 verse to the end of the 25. verse there intreateth of workes Wherein is to be considered what S. Iames ment in mainteining iustification by workes whither hee ment iustification before God or onely before men Surely it must needes be taken that he ment only before men els should hee directly write against Saint Paule if hee should meane that workes do iustifie before God For Saint Paule saith as before That by the woorkes of the law there should no flesh bee iustified in Gods sight But you say that S. Paule ment onely of the ceremoniall not of the moral law as S. Iames meaneth And S. Paule agreeth with S. Iames. They differ not you will saie for Saint Paule saith That God will rewarde euerie man according to his works And in the same Chapter he faith For the hearers of the lawe are not righteous before God but the doers of the law shall be iustified Doeth not Saint Paule say That God will rewarde euerie man according to his workes and that euerie man that are doers of the lawe shall be iustified What plainer matter can there be to mainteine that we are iustified by the workes of the lawe And heere you see S. Paule Saint Iames do agree verie well in mainteining the morall lawe which here they intreat of to iustifie But in other places where Paule speaketh against the workes of the lawe that they iustifie not in Gods sight hee meaneth only the ceremoniall law as afore is said Haue you said maister Papist but what if it be proued that S. Paule meaneth the whole lawe as well morall as ceremoniall wil ye then yeeld Chuse whither you will yeelde or not but surely you must needes abide the ouerthrow For S. Paule himselfe will ouerthrow you tel you plainly that you abuse him lewdly alledge himselfe against himselfe contrarie to his owne meaning what colour of agreement soeuer you would seeme to set downe But first to proue that when S. Paule speaketh against the workes of the law that they iustifie not before God he meaneth the

whole lawe as well the morall as the ceremoniall yea and rather the morall law then the ceremonial law Let vs consider of S. Paule in how many places where he of purpose writeth touching this matter of iustificatiō It is to be considered that S. Paule was the Apostle of the Gentiles amongst whome there was no part of the ceremoniall law vsed and then had S. Paule no cause to write in that sort of the ceremoniall law onely but of the morall lawe also Againe mark wherevpon S. Paule doth entreat before he come to those words By the vvorks of the lavve there shall no flesh bee iustified in Gods sight In the second Chapter to the Iewes he saith Beholde thou art called a Ievve and restest in the lavve and makest thy boasts of God or gloriest in God knovvest his vvill allovvest the thinges that are excellent in that thou art instructed by the lavv Then in the 21. 22. and 23. verse he saith Thou that preachest a man shoulde not steale Doest thou steale Thou that saist a man should not commit adultery doest thou commit adultery c. Thou that gloriest in the lavv breakest thou the lavv Is not this ment trowe you of the morall lawe And so proceeding to the 3. Chap. where he proueth that al are sinners both Iewes Gentils And that there is none righteous none that doth good Their threates an open sepulclre c. VVhose mouth is full of cursing bitternes c. Now when he had thus laide abroad the wicked estate of man and breach of the moral law and seeing a man not able to fulfill the law in that sort as he may bee iustified therby before God Therfore saith Saint Paul in the same chapter By the works of the law shal no flesh be iustified in Gods fight Forby the law commeth the knowledge of sin which lawe must needes bee the morall lawe the law of the x-commandements For that is it that bringeth the knoledge of sinne And moreouer the ceremonial law was cleane taken away by Christ and was no more a law among the christian Iewes after Christes death and ther fore there was no cause why Saint Paule writing against iustification by workes should write as meaning only of the ceremonial law but of the moral law also And therefore master Papist you must yeelde your selfe conuicted and ouerwen in mainteyning that S. Paule doth meane onely the ceremoniall Law and not the morall Lawe Againe to your iustification by the workes of the lawe which S. Iames and Saint Paul speak of this is to bee vnderstoode that Saint Iames doeth meane iustification before men and it must nedes be so taken or els he must be flat against S. Paul who hath a number of places for this one place of S. Iames as before is set down and hereafter shall be if God permitte And if it should bee so that the writer of that epistle that beareth the name of saint Iames shoulde meane as the Papists take it that in plaine meaning workes done by the children of men doe iustifie before god yet I must rather preferre Saint Paule writing in so many places to the contrarie before that one place of Saint Iames and the rather because none doubtes of S. Paules epistles but to be his owne but the learned haue doubted of this Epistle which beareth the name of S. Iames whe ther S. Iames were the author writer therof or not but let it be S. Iames epistle yet he doth not say Ye see then that of works a man is iustified before God He leaueth out before God so that the meaning is then to be takē that good works may iustifie before men but not before God because of imperfection For there is iustification before God iustificatiō before men And the iustification before men is that which S. Iames meaneth Again S. Iames saith was not Abrahā our father iustified through works when he offred his sonne vpon the altar This iusti fication must nedes be taken to be before men and not before god and that it must be so taken let vs see what S. Paul saith of the said Abrahā For if Abrahā saith he wer iustified by works thē hath he wherin to boast or to reioice but not before God For what saith the scripture Abrahā be leued god it was counted vnto him for righteousnesse To him that worketh is the reward not reckned of grace but of duetie To him that worketh not but beleeueth on him that iustifieth the vngodly his faith is coūted for righteousnes he saith if Abraham were iustified by workes he hath wherein to boast or to reioyce and so he hath if he were iustified by workes But yet with God good working Abraham could not boast in his good workes for though Abraham were one of the best among the children of men yet how he had beene able to haue stoode in tryall with God if his workes should haue beene wayed in the righteous ballance of Gods iustice without Christ no question but Abraham must haue fallen to the grounde And who will doubt but that Abraham in offering of his sonne whome hee so entirely loued to bee a sacrifice and to kill him who was begotten in their old age when they were past all hope to haue children and being his onely sonne and he to be the killer of him him selfe must needes haue inwarde conflictes passions combats and grieues in which sinne no doubt appeared before God inough to haue condemned him if God without mercy would narrowly haue looked vnto him And therefore to shew that Abraham was not iustified by workes Saint Paule saith if Abraham were iustified by workes which word if importeth a plaine negatiue in this place that Abraham was not iustified by his works and therfore that it might bee knowen that Abraham could not be iustified by his works before God but was to bee made righteous by faith he saith For what saith the scripture Abraham beleeued God and it was counted to him for righteousnesse But Saint Paul saith that God will rewarde euery man according to his works And therefore wil you say good works merite rewarde But Saint Paul vseth not these words here to teach that works doe merite rewarde And though God doth rewarde of his free mercy yet is it not of duetie or by desert when he rewardeth For he teacheth that Abraham could not be iustified by his works before God Then much les any man els which is not of his perfection The hipocriticall Iewes againste whō S. Paul wrote those words woulde take vpon them to iudge others of those vices which they themselues did cōmit which caused saint Paul to write against them those threatening words that God would rewarde them according to their deedes The like phrase praierwise thogh in the other place threatning wise hee vseth in his praier to the Lord against Alexander the Coppersmith and saieth The Lord rewarde him according to his deedes that is