Selected quad for the lemma: faith_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
faith_n	act_n	grace_n	habit_n	4,993	5	9.9892	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A78218	[Baʻal-samz] or, Soveraigne balsome, gently applied in a few weighty considerations (by way of quærie) for healing the distempers of such professors of religion as Satan hath wounded and drawn aside (under the notion of living in God) to the utter renouncing and casting off the use of divine ordinances, and Gospel-institutions of worship. With an apendix by way of postscript to such professors, wherein the most principall grounds upon which they build their practise, are fully answered and removed. And a catalogue of the errors that many of them hold since they left the ordinances, discovered. As also a true relation of Gods extraordinary working upon one of this way very lately in Plimouth, to the sight of his error, for the good of others published. / By Will. Bartlet, an unworthy minister of the Gospel, and lecturer at Bytheford in Devonshire.	Bartlet, William, 1609 or 10-1682.; M. P.	1649 (1649)	Wing B987; Thomason E549_19; ESTC R209139	79,502	81

very absurd and vile and an abuse of Gods goodnesse that therefore you must not work together with God as rationall creatures c. p 743. So Mr Greenhill in his elaborate Lectures on Ezekiel Chap. 3. verse 1 2 3. p. 293. Observ 1. hath these words The godly must act and put forth their graces towards further reception of spirituall things When Christ will give Ezekiel Donum Prophetiae a Roll to eat he opens his mouth he sets a-work his faith to receive this gift of prophesie Faith in the habit is like the mouth shut up nothing enters but in exercise it 's like the mouth open and ready to receive It 's infinite mercy that God at any time will offer us spirituall favours and excellencies we should therefore beforward and stirre up our soules and graces to the receit of such mercies It 's a lazy and ill excuse for godly ones to say they can do nothing Grace is an active an enabling thing and where there is a principle of life as all godly men have there is a specificall difference between that man and another that hath it not a man without it cannot act nor stirre up himselfe to a further reception of spirituall things because he is dead but a man that hath it can ought to quicken up his own soule to spirituall things The Prophet had received the Spirit that entred into him and he opened his mouth exercised his Faith to take what the Lord should give The Apostle Paul bids Timothy stirre up the gift of God that was in him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Tim. 1.6 He would have men deal with their gifts and graces as they doe with fire vnder the ashes they blow them off and blow the fire up and there is a flame fit for service Sloth feare infirmity carnall reason are ashes that doe oft cover divine fire that it seems dead but we must stirre up our selves blow off those ashes and blow up the fire of grace that it may burn and shine be usefull to our selves and others The Prophet complains in Esay 64.7 There is no man that stirreth up himselfe to take hold of me they are like men asleep that sit still and doe nothing The vulgar is Non est qui consurgat So that I conceive as it is in the great businesse of a Beleevers mortification of sin so it is in the performance of prayer and other religious duties the Rule by which a true beleever is to walk in the performance of those duties is not to sit still and doe nothing till hee is wrought upon by the Spirit but hee is through the strength of grace received to act his * They that speake against performance of duty might as well speake against the actings of faith exercise of grace for prayer is nothing else but the communication of the soule with God the actings of faith exercise of grace Bolt ut supra faith on the truth and faithfulnesse of God in the promise who hath undertaken to give in assistance to us and ability to goe through that worke hee calleth us unto and requireth at our hands For the same God that calls us to duty hath promised to give in strength by his Spirit to discharge it and this faith is to rely on and make use of for its encouragement in all the workes the Lord calls a beleever to the performance of not but that faith and all other graces are the Spirits but because the Spirit doth not act without them in a true beleever For doubtlesse such as are truly incorporated into Christ and made one Spirit with the Lord are not acted as dead stockes as if every time and moment of their acting Godward they received new life from the Spirit of Christ And I am confident for want of the knowledge of this it comes to passe that many formall easie Professors take such liberty to themselves to live in the neglect of holy duties because they say they can doe nothing of themselves further then the Spirit moves and quickens them as if one that is in Christ were altogether without spiritul life and motion longer then the Holy Ghost falls upon him as in the first act of conversion From whence it must needs follow 1. That there are no habits of grace nor inherent workes of holinesse wrought in beleevers at their first Conversion and Regeneration when Christ is formed in them which is contrary to the b Iohn 1.16 2 Cor. 5.17 Ephes 2.10 Ephes 4.24 Scripture and all found Writers 2. That whensoever a beleever is without the motions of the Spirit as in times of sleep and bodily rest or times of temptation yea falling into sin as the best are subject to doe James 3.2 then he is not to be lookt upon as one in Christ which is as absurd as unsound 3. That all those c 1 Tim. 4.14 25. 2 Tim. 1.6 Luke 21.26 Ephes 6.18 Iam. 1.19 21. Phil. 2.12 1 Cor. 15. ult exhortations to beleevers that concern the stirring up their grace their watchfulnesse to the performance of religious duties their working out their salvation with feare and trembling Their giving all diligence to make their calling and election sure their fruitfulnesse in good workes and abounding in the work of the Lord c. are void and of none effect making beleevers under the Gospel and new Covenant of grace to be in no better condition then those that were under the Law a Covenant of works who had their duties discovered but had not grace and power given to them to enable them to the discharge of them which is contrary to the Tenor of the new Covenant which all those have a share in that are in Christ and can say in some measure as Christ their Head did Psalm 40.7 8 9. compared with Heb 10.7 8. I delight to doe thy will O. my God yea thy Law is within my heart 4. That there are no just grounds for Christ and his Apostles in the Scriptures to d Mat. 26.40 Mark 16.14 Luke 24.45 Mat. 25.26 Heb. 5.11 12. 1 Cor. 5.2 Rev. 2.4 Rev. 3.15 16 17. charge home the guilt of sinnes of omission and neglect of prayer repentance mortification of sin c. nor the guilt of carelesnesse slothfulnesse negligence luke-warmnesse in the service of God upon such as are beleevers which is frequently done by them as we may read in the New Testament for if they can act no longer nor no further then the Holy Ghost acts them as ●t their first conversion then why should they bee charged with such faults and commanded to amend threatned if they doe not as Rev. 2 4 5. seeing God deales not with beleevers in Christ under the Gospel any longer by a Covenant of works but of grace though the Covenant of Grace bee full of justice and in the hands of him who orders it in righteousnesse whose e Psal 89.32 33. Scepter is a righteous Scepter and will correct

duties are not so consistent when they can grant that living in God and dicing drinking dancing drabbing c. with divers other abominations that are done of them in secret and too too openly that a man may be a shamed to mention Eph. 5.12 are consistent and may very well stand together But ô tempora ô mores Oh the desperate wickednesse of men and women in this Age Can the wayes and workes of darknesse that the Lord hath forbidden stand with a persons living in God which is such a blasphemous abomination as hell it selfe can hardly afford a fouler and cannot the wayes and works of righteousnesse and godlinesse the serving and worshipping of God stand with living in God O quintessence of impiety thou child of the Devill thou enemy of all righteousnesse wilt thou not cease to pervert the right wayes of the Lord Acts 13.10 What shall be given unto thee or what shall be done unto thee thou false tongue Sharp Arrowes of the mighty with coales of Iuniper Psal 120.2 3. 3. Whereas they say That God doth use to lead his people out of those low and childish dispensations to a more high enjoyment of Himselfe I answer briefly Is it not a childish reasoning to say God leads children from their childish words and actions they manifest whiles they are children therefore hee leads them from speaking and reasoning and discoursing and studying and other actions that belong to a rationall creature when they grow old So here what weaknesse doe men discover to the world when they say God leads his people out of the use of ordinances and wayes of worshiping and serving of him by prayer c. when he leads them out from their ignorance darknesse fleshlinesse filthinesse carnalnesse that was wont to cleave to and bee mixed with their performances Because God leads his people out of living in and trusting to their meat and drink and other creature-comforts and enjoyments to which their hearts are apt and prone to bow down therefore he leads them out and takes them off from eating and drinking and use of creature-comforts what madnesse would it be in any man to affirme this So here because God is pleased to take off his people more and more from their unbeliefe pride selfe-seekng c and other weaknesses and sinnes in the performance of the duties of his worship therefore hee leades them out of and from the duties themselves Is not this handsome reasoning Besides how can it possibly be that God should lead the Saints from the use of Ordinances when he hath ordained the perpetuall use of them to his Saints in all ages as I have shewed in the Quaeries Hee leads his people indeed to live above them but not to live without them 6. The sixth ground on which people build their neglect of Duties c. is this That none are bound to pray or performe Duties c. further then the Spirit moves them thereunto Answ To which I answer in the first place That though this be a Truth in somesense yet we should take heed how we * Though wee are to goe when Gods Spirit moves us yet are we not to neglect when wee doe not perceive such sensible motions of the Spirit c. Bolt Bounds of Christian freedome v. 202. We must doe duty sometime out of obedience although we want both a heart to it and a heart in it Id. ibid. abuse it and make a wrong use of it to bring about those ends for which it was never intended as this in particular for one viz. The willing omission and witting neglect of the duties of Gods worship both publick and secret which he calls us daily to the performance of It is true as the Spirit of Christ is the efficient cause of spirituall life in beleevers without whom we can doe nothing Iohn 15.5 and works the grace of Sanctification in their hearts so there is no performing of holy duties without him But whether a beleever so sanctified and enlivened by the Holy Ghost is not to * Though wee cannot bring the Spirit to us yet let us set our selves in the way for him to meet with us Hold up the performance of duty c. Id. ibid. enter upon religious duties before the Spirit put forth a new act of spirituall life in him I suppose can hardly be made out For I suppose after Regeneration or the new Birth when a person is implanted or incorporated into Christ he is not to be lookt upon as a meere passive in the performance of holy duties as Prayer Mortification of sinne c. but as a worker together with God And so much those eminently anoynted and qualified servants of Christ Mr. Tho. Goodwin and Mr. Ieremy Burronghes and Mr. W. Greenhill affirme Mr. Tho. Goodwin in his * Treatise of the tryall of a Christians growth p. 82 83. 138 139. Treatise quoted in the Margent touching a beleevers Mortifying sinne saith We are purged from sin as the body is by Physick from humours though the Physick work yet Nature joynes with the Physick being quickned and helped by it to cast out the humours so as the meanes whereby God purgeth us are not to bee imagined to doe it as meere Physicall Agents like as the pruning-hook cuts off branches from the Tree or as when a Chyrurgion cuts out dead flesh but these meanes doe it by stirring up our graces and quickning them and by setting our thoughts and faith and affections a-worke and so God assisting with the power of Christs death he doth purge us daily by making his word afflictions c. for to set our thoughts on work against sinn It is certain that unlesse our thoughts work on the meanes as well as the meanes work upon us and so mingle themselves with them unlesse Faith and Christs death bee mingled in the heart it purgeth not And therefore it is said we purge our selves as 2 Tim. 2.20 and 1 Iohn 3.3 and Rom. 8.13 Wee by the Spirit mortifie the deeds of the flesh this is said saith hee as well as that God purgeth us because God still in going on to purge us doth it by stirring up our graces and useth therein acts of our faith and love and many motives and considerations to doe it Thus this pretious servant of Christ holds forth with much more to this purpose taking off the grand objection is made against it in the same Treatisa p. 138 139. Mr. Burroughes on Hosea speaking against wanton Professors in this Age saith We finde revealed in the Gospel that it is God that must work the will and the deed the Covenant of grace is such as that God doth not onely require but work all for us How is this goodnesse saith he mis-interpreted and abused Therefore say they what need wee doe any thing Why doe Ministers urge people to duties Your principle is good the truth is good that it is God that workes all in the Covenant of Grace but this deduction is