Selected quad for the lemma: faith_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
faith_n	article_n	church_n	fundamental_a	4,539	5	10.3758	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A02563	The olde religion a treatise, wherin is laid downe the true state of the difference betwixt the reformed, and Romane Church; and the blame of this schisme is cast vpon the true authors. Seruing for the vindication of our innocence, for the setling of wauering minds for a preseruatiue against Popish insinuations. By Ios. Hall, B. of Exon.	Hall, Joseph, 1574-1656.	1628 (1628)	STC 12690; ESTC S117610	79,903	246

power to make a fundamental point of faith It may explane or declare it cannot create Articles Thirdly Only an errour against a point of faith is Heresie Fourthly Those points wherein wee differ from the Romanists are they which only the Church of Rome hath made fundamentall and of Faith Fiftly The reformed therefore being by that Church illegally condemned for those points are not heretickes Hee is properly an Hereticke saith Hosius who being conuicted in his owne iudgement doth of his owne accord cast himselfe out of the Church For vs we are neither conuicted in our owne iudgement nor in the lawfull iudgement of others We haue not willingly cast our selues out of the Church but howeuer wee are said to be violently eiected by the vndue sentence of malice hold our selues close to the bosome of the true Spouse of Christ neuer to bee remoued As farre therefore from Heresie as Charitie is from our Censures Only wee stand conuicted by the doome of good Pope Boniface or Syluester Prierius Quicunque non c. Whosoeuer doth not relie himselfe vpon the Doctrine of the Romane Church and of the Bishop of Rome as the infallible rule of faith from which euen the Scripture it selfe receiues her force he is an Hereticke Whence followes that the Church of Rome condemning and eiecting those for Heretickes which are not is the authour of this wofull breach in the Church of God I shall therefore I hope abundantly satisfie all wise and indifferent Readers if I shall show that those points which wee refuse and oppose are no other then such as by the confessions of ingenuous authors of the Romane part haue beene besides their inward falsity manifest vpstarts lately obtruded vpon the Church such as our ancient Progenitours in many hundreds of successions either knew not or receiued not into their beliefe and yet both liued and dyed worthy Christians Surely it was but a iust speech of Saint Bernard and that which might become the mouth of any Pope or Councell Ego si peregrinum c. If I shall offer to bring in any strange opinion it is my sinne It was the wise Ordinance of the Thurians as Diodorus Siculus reports that he who would bring in any new Law amongst them to the preiudice of the old should come with an halter about his necke into the assembly and there either make good his proiect or die For howeuer in humane Constitutions 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. the later orders are stronger then the former yet in Diuinity Primum verum The first is true as Tertullians rule is The old way is the good way according to the Prophet Heere wee hold vs and because we dare not make more Articles then our Creedes nor more sinnes then our Ten Commandements we are indignely cast out Let vs therefore addresse our selues roundly to our promised taske and make good the noueltie and vnreasonablenesse of those points we haue reiected Out of too many Controuersies disputed betwixt vs we select only some principall and out of infinite varieties of euidence some few irrefragable testimonies CHAP. V. The newnesse of the Article of Iustification by inherent righteousnesse TO begin with Iustification The Tridentine Fathers in their seauen moneths debating of this point haue so cunningly set their words that the errour which they would establish might seeme to be either hid or shifted Yet at the last they so far declare themselues as to determine that the only formall cause of our Iustification is Gods Iustice not by which he himselfe is Iust but by which he makes vs iust wherewith being endowed by him wee are renewed in the spirit of our mindes and are not only reputed but are made truly iust receiuing euery man his owne measure of Iustice which the Holy Ghost diuides to him according to each mans predisposition of himselfe and cooperation And withall they denounce a flat Anathema to all those who shall dare to say that wee are formally iustified by Christs righteousnesse or by the sole imputation of that righteousnesse or by the sole remission of our sinnes and not by our inherent Grace diffused in our hearts by the Holy Ghost Which termes they haue so craftily laid together as if they would cast an aspersion vpon their aduersaries of separating the necessitie of sanctification from the pretended Iustification by faith wherein all our words and writings will abundantly cleare vs before God and men That there is an inherent iustice in vs is no lesse certaine then that it is wrought in vs by the Holy Ghost For God doth not iustifie the wicked man as such but of wicked makes him good not by meere acceptation but by a reall change whiles hee iustifies him whom hee sanctifies These two acts of Mercie are inseparable But this Iustice being wrought in vs by the holy Spirit according to the modell of our weake receit and not according to the full power of the infinite agent is not so perfect as that it can beare vs out before the Tribunall of God It must bee onely vnder the garment of our elder Brother that wee dare come in for a blessing His righteousnesse made ours by faith is that whereby wee are iustified in the sight of God This doctrine is that which is blasted with a Tridentine curse Heare now the historie of this doctrine of Iustification related by their Andrew Vega de Iustif l. 7. c. 24. Magna fuit c. Some ages since saith hee there was a great concertation amongst Diuines what should bee the formall cause of our Iustification some thought it to be no created iustice infused into man but only the fauour and mercifull acceptation of God In which opinion the Master of Sentences is thought by some to haue beene Others whose opinion is more common and probable held it to bee some created qualitie informing the soules of the iust This opinion was allowed in the Councell of Vienna And the Schoole-doctors after the Master of Sentences deliuered this not as probable only but as certaine Afterwards when some defended the opposite part to be more probable it seemed good to the holy Synode of Trent thus to determine it So as till the late Councell of Trent by the confession of Vega himselfe this opinion was maintayned as probable only not as of faith Yea I adde by his leaue the contrary was till then most currant It is not the Logick of this point we striue for It is not the Grammer it is the Diuinitie What is that whereby wee stand acquitted before the righteous Iudge whether our inherent Iustice or Christs imputed Iustice apprehended by faith The Diuines of Trent are for the former all Antiquity with vs for the latter A iust Volume would scarce contayne the pregnant Testimonies of the Fathers to this purpose Saint Chrysostome tels vs it is the wonder of Gods mercie that hee who hath sinned confesseth is pardo● secured and suddenly app●●st Iust

Repaired not made new There is not one stone of a new foundation laide by vs Yea the old wals stand still Onely the ouer-casting of those ancient stones which the vntempered morter of new inuentions displeaseth vs. Plainely set aside the corruptions and the Church is the same And what are these corruptions but vnsound adiections to the ancient structure of Religion These we cannot but oppose and are therefore vniustly and imperiously eiected Hence it is that ours is by the opposite stiled an Ablatiue or negatiue Religion for so much as wee ioyne with all true Christians in all affirmatiue positions of ancient faith onely standing vpon the deniall of some late and vndue additaments to the Christian beleefe Or if those additions bee reckoned for ruines It is a sure rule which Durandus giues concerning materiall Churches applyable to the spirituall that if the Wall be decayed not at once but successiuely it is iudged still the same Church and vpon reparation not to bee reconsecrated but onely reconciled Well therefore may those mouthes stop themselues which loudly call for the names of the Professors of our faith in all successions of times till Luther look't forth into the World Had wee gone about to broach any new positiue Truths vnseene vnheard of former times well and iustly might they challenge vs for a deduction of this line of doctrine from a pedigree of Predecessours Now that we only disclayme their superfluous and nouell opinions and practices which haue beene by degrees thrust vpon the Church of God retayning inuiolably all former Articles of Christian faith how idle is this plea how worthy of hissing out Who sees not now that all we need to doe is but to show that all those points which wee cry downe in the Romane Church are such as carrie in them a manifest brand of newnesse and absurditie This proofe will cleerely iustifie our refusall Let them see how they shall once before the awfull Tribunall of our last Iudge iustifie their vncharitablenesse who cease not vpon this our refusall to eiect condemne vs. The Church of Rome is sicke Ingenuous Cassander confesseth so nec inficior c. I deny not saith he that the Romane Church is not a little changed from her ancient beautie and brightnesse and that shee is deformed with many diseases and vicious distempers Bernard tels vs how it must bee dieted profitable though vnpleasing medicines must bee poured into the mouth of it Luther and his associates did this office as Erasmus acknowledgeth Lutherus porrexit Luther saith hee gaue the World a potion violent and bitter what euer it were I wish it may breed some good health in the bodie of Christian people so miserably foule with all kinds of euils Neuer did Luther meane to take away the life of that Church but the sicknesse Wherein as Socrates answered to his Iudges surely he deserued recompence in steed of rage For as Saint Ambrose worthily Dulcior est sweeter is a religious chastisement then a smoothing remission This that was meant to the Churches health proues the Physitians disease so did the bitternesse of our wholsome draughts offend that we are beaten out of doores Neither did wee runne from that Church but are driuen away as our late Soueraigne professeth by Casaubons hand Wee know that of Cyrill is a true word Those which seuer themselues from the Church and communion are the enemies of God and friends of Deuils and that which Dionysius said to Nouatus Any thing must rather be borne then that we should rend the Church of God Farre far was it from our thoughts to teare the seamelesse coate or with this precious Oyle of Truth to breake the Churches head We found iust faults else let vs bee guiltie of this disturbance If now choler vniustly exasperated with an wholsome reprehension haue broken forth into a furious persecution of the gainesayers the sinne is not ours If we haue defended our innocence with blowes the sinne is not ours Let vs neuer prosper in our good cause if all the water of Tyber can wash off the bloud of many thousand Christian soules that hath beene shed in this quarrell from the hands of the Romish Prelacie Surely as it was obserued of olde that none of the Tribe of Leui were the professed followers of our Sauiour so it is too easie to obserue that of late times this Tribe hath exercised the bitterest enmitie vpon the followers of Christ Suppose wee had offended in the vndiscreet managing of a iust reproofe it is a true rule of Erasmus that generous spirits would bee reclaymed by teaching not by compulsion and as Alipius wisely to his Augustine Heed must bee taken least whiles wee labour to redresse a doubtfull complaint wee make greater wounds then we find Oh how happy had it beene for Gods Church if this care had found any place in the hearts of her Gouernours who regarding more the entire preseruation of their own honour then Truth and Peace Were all in the harsh language of warre 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 smite kill burne persecute Had they beene but halfe so charitable to their moderne reprouers as they professe they are to the fore-going how had the Church flourished in an vnterrupted vnitie In the old Catholike Writers say they wee beare with many errours wee extenuate and excuse them wee find shifts to put them off and deuise some commodious senses for them Guiltinesse which is the ground of this fauour workes the quite contrarie courses against vs Alas how are our Writings racked and wrested to enuious senses how misconstrued how peruerted and made to speake odiously on purpose to worke distaste to enlarge quarrell to draw on the deepest censures Woe is mee this cruell vncharitablenesse is it that hath brought this miserable calamitie vpon distracted Christendome Surely as the ashes of the burning Mountaine Vesuuius being dispersed farre and wide bred a grieuous Pestilence in the Regions round about so the ashes that flie from these vnkindly flames of discord haue bred a wofull infection and death of soules through the whole Christian World CHAP. IIII. The Church of Rome guiltie of this Schisme IT is confessed by the President of the Tridentine Councell that the deprauation of discipline and manners of the Romane Church was the chiefe cause and originall of these dissensions Let vs cast our eyes vpon the doctrine and wee shall no lesse find the guilt of this fearefull Schisme to fall heauily vpon the same heads For first to lay a sure ground Nothing can be more plaine then that the Romane is a particular Church as the Fathers of Basil well distinguish it not the vniuersall though we take in the Churches of her subordination or correspondence This truth we might make good by authoritie if our very senses did not saue vs the labour Secondly No particular Church to say nothing of the vniuersall since the Apostolike times can haue