Selected quad for the lemma: faith_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
faith_n	church_n	true_a	visible_a	19,269	5	9.3685	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A94730	An antidote against the venome of a passage, in the 5th. direction of the epistle dedicatory to the whole book of Mr. Richard Baxter teacher at Kederminster in Worcestershire, intituled, The saints everlasting rest, containing a satyricall invective against Anabaptists / by Iohn Tombes B.D. Lately teacher at Bewdley in the same county.	Tombes, John, 1603?-1676.	1650 (1650)	Wing T1797; Thomason E602_20; ESTC R206421	26,378	40

to a brother Vers 16. offering Isaac on the Altar which is rather a work of the Law then the Gospell Ver. 21. Rahabs receiving the Messengers and sending them out another way SECT. 9. Of the Anabaptists evill Lives MAster Baxter proceeds Christ hath told you by their Fruits yee shall know them we mis-interpret when we say he means by Fruit their fals Doctrine that were but idem per idem Hereticks may seem holy for a little while but at last all false Doctrines likely end in wicked lives Where hath there been known a Society of Anabaptists since the World first knew them that have not proved wicked How many of these or Antinomians c. have you known who have not proved palpably guilty of lying perfidivusnesse covetousness malice contempt of their godly brethren licentiousness or seared consciences Answ. Interpreters differ about the fruits Mat. 7. 16. some by Fruits understand evill life some false doctrine some both some adde their want of calling I for my part think both an evill life and a false Doctrine do discover false Prophets but chiefly their false Doctrine and so do Piscator Pareus Perkins c. because that seemes to be Gods note Deut. 13. 2. And in reason sith a false Prophet is so named from his false Doctrine the false-hood of his Doctrines best discovers that he is a false Prophet As for evill life by it self which M. Baxter seems to hold it cannot be the note whereby to know a false Prophet as such both because evill Men may be true Prophets as Judas for example who was a true Apostle yet a Theif and on the other side Mr. Baxter confesseth Heretikes may seem holy for a little while and therefore during that time they cannot be known by their evill life yea many erroneous Persons have continued in appearance holy to their end Mr. Baxter dares say no more but that all false Doctrine likely end in wicked lives Augustin commends Pelagius Epist. 120. Bertius Arminius yea many of those who have bin reputed Heretiques have been eminent for holinesse in appearance even to their end and thereby have prevailed And indeed it is the common Tenent of Protestant Divines answering Bellarmine and other Papists who deny Profession of the true Faith to be a note of the true Church and among other notes make the holinesse of their Teachers one note that true Faith is a sufficient note of a visible Church and true Teacher and that holinesse of life is not the note of a true Prophet or the want of it of a false Prophet If it were it would follow no true Ministers who are vitious in life nor to be heard nor to be owned as Pastors And therefore Mr. Baxter unadvisedly perhaps in heate or spleen directs his Neighbours to know false Prophets by this note which would if retorted prove Presbyterians Heretiques as well as Anabaptists But to say by their false Doctrine yee shall know false Prophets were idem per idem the same by the same Answ In Mr. Baxters Logick then false Doctrine and false Prophet are the same It is true false Doctrine is the form denominating a false Teacher or false Prophet but to make the forme denominating and the subject denominated the same is to Me false Doctrine in Logick Are the whitenesse and the thing white the heate and thing hot all one or doth a Man that knows hot water by heate cold water by its cold know idem per idem the same by the same But Mr. Baxter applies his rule generally against Anabaptists and saith where hath there been known a Society of Anabaptists since the World first knew them that proved not wicked Answ Were this question propounded dubitatively it would the lesse move but no Man will I think take his interrogation for any other then a most peremptory determination wherein like a right English Mastive he flies in the face not of one or two Men or one or two Societies of Men but on all the Societies of Anabaptists since the World first knew them and asserts them to have proved wicked An accusation that I should not have dared to make against the Papists themselves And for it if there were no other thing I may boldly say Mr. Baxter hath plaid the Devills part with a witnesse But you 'l say is it not true Answ. Were not Cyprian and his Colleagues Hemerobaptists in Epiphanius the Picards who re-baptized as the Preface to the Bohemian Confession of the year 1535 shewes Anabaptists that is baptizers againe And yet who doubts but they had many Societies who proved not wicked But you 'l say they were rebaptists on another ground then the Anabaptists Mr. Baxter means who deny Infant-baptism Be it so yet it is a most bold calumny to damne all their societies as in conclusion wicked But that Mr. Baxter may learne to order his pen better hereafter he may take notice that besides the probabilities that Berengarius opposed the Baptizing of little ones notwithstanding what Mr. Marshall alledgeth it is more then probable by Bernards 204 Epistle his 66. Sermon on the Canticles Petrus Cluniacensis his Epistle against Peter de Bruis and Henricus Eckbertus Schonaugiensis his Sermon 7. adversus Catharos in the Auctarium of the Biblioth Patxum Tom. 2. and others that there were many hundreds of years sithence a very great number of godly Societies that did deny Infant-baptisme and in Gaule and Germany were Baptized after Infant-baptisme But perhaps Mr. Baxter imagines no Anabaptists as he calls them till Luthers dayes There have been many of those Societies in high and low Germany Will Mr. Baxter a yong Man that I believe never travailed out of England fall into such exorbitant censoriousnesse as to condemne them all as in fine proving wicked sure I am Alstedius in his sapplement to Chamier de Eccl. l. 2. c. 13. Sect. 3. puts the Anabaptists among those that had the garment of a good life Cassander in his Epistle to the Duke of Gulick and Cleve cited by me in my Examen part 2. Sect. 6. saith in quibus magna ex parte pii cujusdam animi argumenta cernas Sundry other writings I have read even of those that have written against them who either by their ingenuous Confessions of some of them or their readinesse to except against them for small infirmities give me occasion to conceive there have been in the Low Countries and elsewhere godly Societies of them and not such as in conclusion proved wicked But perhaps Mr. Baxter pronounceth so of all those in England that have been called Anabaptists If so let him know that there have been in London Churches of those called Anabaptists and are still whose Confession of Faith may compare either with Mr. Baxter or perhaps the Assembly for soundnesse of Doctrine and not a few of whose Teachers and Members have lead a godly life to the end and whose living members yet hold forth the Faith in a godly life And

nor holy as separated to God Sect. 4. pag. 6. Of the Text Levit. 25. 41. 42. Alleaged to prove our children Gods servants Sect. 5. pag. 7. Of the Text Deut. 29. 10. 11. 12. Alleaged to prove our Infants to be visible church-members Sect. 6. pag. 9. Of the Text Acts 15 10. Alleaged to prove our Infants Disciples of Christ Sect. 7. pag. 11. Of the Text 1 Cor. 7. 14. Alleaged to prove our Infants holy as seperated to God Sect. 8. pag. 20. Of Gods speaking by judgements from Heaven against Anabaptists Sect. 9. pag. 24. Of the Anabaptists evill lives Sect. 10. pag. 28. Of the Anabaptists confident expressions weaknesse upon triall and dispute at Bewdley Jan. 1. 1649. ERRATA ADde to the margin page 2 at line 15. these words See Salmas apparat ad libr de primatu Papae page 192. Voss Thes. 6 de Baptismo page 4 l. 14 r in page 7 l 14 blot out it page 7 l 34 yee r yet page 8 l 21 r on v 15 in the margin r before Christs comming page 9 l 29 tencher r teacher page 10 l 1 if r is l 11 businesse r businesse l 15 circumtion r circumcision page 13 l 34 thu r thus page 16 l 18 mani r manifestly page 24 l 6 7 how near it is r is neare AN ANTIDOTE AGAINST Mr. BAXTERS Invective against Anabaptists SECT. 1. Of Anabaptists accusing their own Children THere came newly to my hands this following passage which because it doth mainly reflect on my selfe I conceive my selfe necessitated to answer it Anabaptists saith Mr. Baxter play the Divells part in accusing their own Children and disputing them out of the Church and Covenant of Christ and affirming them to be no Disciples no servants of God nor holy as separated to him when God saith the contrary Levit. 25. 41. 42. Deut. 29. 10. 11. 12. c. Acts 15. 10. 1 Cor. 7. 14. Answ. Though Mr. Baxter speaks of Anabaptists in the plurall yet the passage it selfe and the circumstances of it well known in these partes evidence it to be directed either solely or mainly against my selfe The terme Anabaptists I own not any more then my Infant sprinkling The Faith I owne but not the Ceremony They are unjustly called Anabaptists who have beene Baptized after their own profession of the faith of Christ though they had water sprinkled or poured on their faces by an Officiating Priest when they were Infants Sprinkling is not Baptizing nor Infants the Subjects of the Baptisme of Water appointed by Christ or practised by the Apostles Mr. Baxter offered to prove In the beginning of the Dispute after mentioned that dipping in cold water is murder and Adultery It seems he dare undertake to prove the snow black he is so confident of his nimble wit and ready tongue Thousands in the primitive times in which Baptizing was by dipping until Hieroms time at least in the 4th Century Thousands in these dayes are so baptized without murder or adultery And therefore Mr. Baxters assertion is contrary to sense and experience He may do much I believe but will never be able to prove Infant Baptisme or sprinkling instead of it to be the duty ordained by Christ Math. 28. 19. Mark 16. 16. The seven Churches under Baptisme about London disclaime the Title of Anabaptists in the Preface to their Confession of faith under that terme all the Pelagian and Arminian errours all those pestilent errours of Community of Goods denying civill Magistracy lawfullnesse of taking an Oath to end strife and sundry other are charged on them that deny Infant Baptisme I may well say in a Divelish manner by many Preachers to make them odious to the people that they might drive them away out of the Land if not destroy them and therefore if Mr. Baxter who knowes how odious the terme is had minded equity or peace he had chosen rather to stile us Antipaedobaptists then Anabaptists But what sayes he of us Anabaptists play the Devils part in accusing their own Children A most virulent charge which shews Mr. Baxter kept no moderation of spirit nor heeded what he wrote The Devils part in accusing is either by himselfe or his Instruments before God or before men or in their own conscience Mr. Baxter may as soone bring water out of a pumice stone as prove we do any of these wayes play the Devills part But perhaps it will be said we accuse them however To accuse is to charge with a fault or crime I know no fault or crime we charge our Children with meaning our infant Children but their birth sin of which Mr. Baxter hath been heard to charge them as deep as any of us But it is unnaturall in us to accuse our own Children perhaps I blesse God he hath given me Children to whom I bear a naturall affection as tender as another If Mr. Baxter meane denying Baptisme to belong to them in infancy to be the playing the Devils part in accusing them he must give me leave to think that he himselfe playes the Devills part in asserting that it belongs to them till he prove it appointed by Christ or used by his Apostles which I expect to be done by him ad Graecas Calendas and so much the rather do I think he playes the Devills part therein because experience proves that Thousands are hardned in carnal presumption to their perdition by conceiving their Infant Baptisme to make them Christians and so heires of heaven SECT. 2. Of Anabaptists disputing their Children out of the Church and Covenant of Christ ANother thing wherein Mr. Baxter sayes we play the Divels part is in disputing our Children out of the Church and Covenant of Christ I answer The Church of Christ is either visible or invisible the Covenant of Christ may be meant either of Christs Covenant to them or theirs to Christ by disputing them out of the Church may be meant either that by our disputing we keep them out of the Church and Covenant of Christ or cast them out being admitted It is true I have asserted in disputation that according to the constitution of the visible Church of Christians Infants are not visible Church Members and I still assert it For the visible Church of Christians is a company of believers art 19 of the Church of England and therefore till a person is a believer he is not a visible Church member according to the frame of the Christian Church which is not a whole Nation joyned together in one Community by the civill Magistrate as the Jewish Church was but a company of believers made such by the preaching of the Gospel And this definition of the visible Church was formerly received among Protestants without the addition which the Assembly lately put to it in their Confession of Faith ch. 25 is avouched in disputes against Papists concerning the notes of the Church As for the invisible Church or Covenant of Christ to them I have often shewed in my examen of Mr. Marshalls