Selected quad for the lemma: faith_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
faith_n	evil_a	good_a	tree_n	6,434	5	10.3457	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47164	The Presbyterian and independent visible churches in New-England and else-where brought to the test, and examined according to the doctrin of Holy Scriptures ... : more particulary directed to those in New-England, and more generally to those in old England, Scotland, Ireland, &c. : with a call and warning from the Lord to the people of Boston and New-England, to repent, &c. : and two letters to the preachers in Boston, and an answer to the gross abuses, lies and slanders of Increase Mather and Nath. Morton, &c. / by George Keith.	Keith, George, 1639?-1716.	1691 (1691)	Wing K191; ESTC R21261	124,580	240

just Man and perfect in his Generation and Noah walked with God Another place they cite Rom. 3.9 Answ This place is as impertinently alledged as the former for it is plain that Paul there describeth the condition of Men both Jews and Gentiles as they are generally under the Law and before they have Faith in Christ as is clear from Verse 19. Now we know that what things soever the Law saith it saith to them who are under the Law But no where can it be found in Scripture that there are none of these who are under Grace that are righteous Men and made free from Sin but the contrary is manifest which expresly testifieth of many righteous and perfect Men in their Generation both before and after Christ came in the Flesh who pleased God and were Men of good Hearts and good Lives and especially Enoch is recorded to have walked with God by Faith of whom nothing blame worthy is mentioned in any one particular And Christ speaking of good men saith A good Tree cannot bring forth evil Fruit and a good Man out of the good Treasure of his Heart bringeth forth good things But to apply these words Rom. 3.9 and the following words to the Saints generally as these Faith publishers do sutes more with Ranters than sober Christians see and well consider the words from Verse 10. to Verse 19. There is none Righteous no not one there is none that understandeth there is none that seeketh after God they are gone out of the way they are together become unprofitable there is none that d●th good no not one Their Throat is an open Sepulchre with their Tongues they have used Deceit the poyson of Asps is under their Lips whose Mouth is full of Cursing and Bitterness their Feet are swift to shed Blood Destruction and Misery are in their ways and the way of Peace they have not known there is no Fear of God before their Eyes O ye Presbyterian and Independent Teachers of New-England and Old How are ye not ashamed to apply these words to all God's true Saints Yea to the best that ever lived in the best state and to bring them as a proof against the possibility of the Saints perfection in this Life For if these Words do hold forth the best condition of the Saints that ever they were in upon Earth ye may as well say all Men yea the worst of Men are Saints or the Saints are the worst of Men and there is no difference of Men at all but all are equally wicked equally ungodly unholy unrighteous which is indeed the plain and express Language of Ranters Libertines Atheists some of whom to the wounding and loathing of my Soul I have heard so affirm But we cannot grant unto you that any of God's Saints are in that state and condition described by Paul in that place Rom. 3. from verse 9. to verse 19 and 20. which Words he citeth out of some of the Psalms of David describing the state of Men as they are in the fallen state and before the new Birth and spiritual Regeneration in Christ But thus to confound these so differing states is to confound Heaven and Earth yea rather Heaven and Hell and to soppose a concord betwixt Light and Darkness God and Belial Christ and Antichrist But let it be known unto you we can allow none of God's true Saints to be such as are there described by Paul Rom. 3. from verse 9. to 19. But it doth too much sute and quadrate with many of your supposed New-England Saints who have most bitterly and falsly accused God's Servants called in scorn Quakers and most cruelly whipped imprisoned and robed many of them and hanged some of them It may be well enough said of them indeed Their Throat is an open Sepulchre with their Tongues they have used Deceit the poyson of Asps is under their Lips whose Mouth is full of Cursing and Bitterness their Feet are swift to shed Blood destruction and misery are in their ways c. Take this home to you and blame not me for the Application seeing ye make it your selves and judge it to be your own condition 5. And that the said Doctrin viz. The best of the Saints by the greatest Grace of God given in this Life cannot perfectly keep the Commandments of God but doth daily break them in Thought Word and Deed and cannot be free from Sin for term of Life but must sin so long as they live and are only set free from sinning after Death as they expresly word it in answer to Quest 89. larger Catechism is not only warranted by any place of Scripture but is most expresly contrary to Scripture in many places and is quite opposite to the very Nature of the New Covenant and Gospel Dispensation and highly injurious to the Lord Jesus Christ tending to make void and of none effect the very end of his coming and to frustrate his exceeding rich Grace and also it is most wofully injurious to Mens Souls not only discouraging Men to press after Perfection in Holiness and Freedom from Sin but tending to encourage them in sloath and neglect to live and die in their Sins and yet for all this be Saints and immediately go to Heaven although they both live and die in their Sins And first That the said Doctrin is expresly contrary to Scripture see Rom. 6.18 Being then made free from Sin ye became the Servants of Righteousness And Chap. 8.2 3 4 5. and Verse 9. and Chap. 6.6 7 8. John 8.32 33 34 35 36. Ephes 4.13 Coloss 1.28 Heb. 7.19 Next God did promise in the New Covenant That he would pour clean Water upon his People and they should be clean from all their Filthiness Ezek. 36.25 c. and he would write his Law in their Hearts Jer. 31.33 and put his Spirit in their inward parts and give them a Heart of Flesh and a new Heart and a new Spirit and put his Fear in their Hearts that they shall not depart from him And surely all this doth plainly hold forth a freedom from a total sinning and that daily in Thought Word and Deed. Thirdly The very end of Christ's coming was to save his People from their Sins and not in their Sins to put an end to Sin and to finish Transgression and bring in everlasting Righteousness Dan. 9.24 and to do or effect that which the Law could not do viz. to destroy Sin and him who hath the power of Death to wit the Devil that the Righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the Flesh but after the Spirit Rom. 8.4 And the Lord said unto Paul 2 Cor. 12.9 My Grace is sufficient for thee But if it cannot preserve any Soul one day or hour or moment from sinning actually in Thought Word and Deed it cannot be understood to be sufficient and Paul said Where Sin did abound Grace hath much more abounded and he was able through Christ that strengthened him to do

them by his holy Spirit and not only Faith but Love Hope true Righteousness and Holiness Meekness Temperance and Humility and all other Evangelical Virtues and Fruits of the holy Spirit are the Instruments and Means whereby men obtain free Justification through Christ Jesus and whereby they are enabled and fitted or qualified to apply Christ Jesus and his Righteousness unto them so as to have the same imputed unto them and made theirs to wit Christ and all his spiritual Blessings Gifts and Benefits and his Death and Sufferings and Obedience with all the blessed Effects and Fruits of it For as a Line that is straight cannot be applyed unto another Line that is crooked but unto a Line that is straight so cannot the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Righteousness of God be applyed unto men for Justification unless these men be made righteous as he is in likeness or conformity unto him although not equal unto him And therefore John did seasonably give the warning and caution fore-seeing that many would claim to be righteous or justified when they were not really doers or workers of Righteousness 1 John 3.7 Little Children let no man deceive you he that doth Righteousness is righteous even as he is righteous And the same John said Rev. 22.14 Blessed are they that do his Commandments that they may have right to the Tree of Life c. Which is equivalent to their being justified seeing Justification doth include in its Nature a Right or Interest in Christ who is that Tree of Life 5. It is therefore a gross Error and a false and Antichristian Doctrin in these Faith-publishers at Westminster espoused by the Presbyterians and Independant Teachers in New-England That God doth justifie men not by infusing Righteousness into them but by pardoning their Sins and accepting them as righteous c. cap. 11. sect 1 2. And also that they say Faith receiving and resting on Christ and his Righteousness is the alone Instrument of Justification is another great Error For as Faith may well be compared to one Hand of the Soul whereby it receiveth and embraceth the Lord Jesus Christ so Love which is an inward Evangelical Grace and Virtue that is shed abroad or infused into the Soul by the holy Ghost may be compared to another Hand and Arm whereby it doth receive and embrace him And all the inward Evangelical divine Virtues and Graces that are wrought and begot in the Soul by the holy Spirit of Christ are so to speak as a whole intire Body consisting of many Members whereby the Soul doth embrace and cleave unto the Lord Jesus Christ and thus a perfect Union cometh to be witnessed betwixt the faithful Soul and the Lord Jesus Christ when it is joined unto him receiveth him and cleaveth unto him not by one single Grace or Virtue called Faith but by all other divine Graces and Virtues which make up a whole intire Body having many Members and Joynts whereby the Soul cleaveth to him as one streight Line is joyned to another or as one streight Body to another not in part only but in all parts And thus also doth the Lord Jesus Christ embrace the whole Soul in all its spiritual and divine Powers and Virtues that he hath freely conferred upon it And hence it is that true Believers are said to put on the Lord Jesus Christ as a man putteth on a Garment Now he that putteth on a compleat or intire Garment every part of his Body cleaveth to it even so the Soul that putteth on Christ cleaveth to him by all its spiritual Members which are the divine Evangelical Virtues wrought in it by the holy Spirit of Christ even as the Sins and evil Lusts are called the Members on Earth Col. 3.5 6. But though real inward Holiness and Righteousness as well as Faith be the Instruments whereby men are justified yet they are not the Foundation and Ground of Justification but the Lord Jesus Christ alone even Jesus of Nazareth who dyed for our Sins without the Gates of Jerusalem and rose again in his intire and perfect Obedience and Righteousness is the alone and only Foundation and ground of Justification on which the Souls of all the Faithful are to rest for Justification and Remission of all Sin and therefore no man is to rest or relie upon the best Works or Righteousness or Obedience that he doth or can do even when helped to perform the same by the help of the holy Spirit For this were to put good Works in the room of Christ which ought not to be for no Works of Righteousness or Holiness done by us even by the help of the holy Spirit is the Foundation of the Saints Faith or Justification but Christ alone and the free Love Mercy Grace and Favour of God the Father revealed in him and by him through the holy Spirit For seeing all men generally have sinned no mans best Obedience for Sin formerly committed can be a Ransom unto God but Christ alone is the Ransom even he who was Crucified and rose again 1 Pet. 3.18 The Just having suffered for the Vnjust that he might bring us unto God And as no man can redeem the Soul of his Brother so nor can he redeem his own Soul For the Redemption of the Soul is precious and ceaseth forever Psal 49.8 viz. to be the Work of man but it is only and alone the Work of him who is both God and Man according to verse 15. But God will redeem my Soul from the Power of the Grave for he shall receive me Selah See further these other Scriptures Ephes 1.7 Col. 1.14 Heb. 9.12 15. Gal. 3.13 1 Pet. 1.18 Rev. 5.9 Mat. 20.28 1 Tim. 2.6 Job 33.23 24. 7. And seeing Remission and Pardon of Sin for Christ's sake is a part or branch of Justification as these Faith-publishers do acknowledg and that repentance is of such necessity that none may expect pardon without it as they confess cap. 15. sect 3. Is it not very manifest by their own Confession though in plain contradiction to their own Doctrin that Repentance is a necessary Instrument and Condition whereby to obtain Justification And indeed the Scripture layeth equal weight upon Repentance and Conversion as it doth upon Faith in order to obtain Remission or Pardon of Sins Acts 3.19 Repent ye therefore and be converted that your Sins may be blotted out Acts 26.18 To turn them from Darkness unto Light and from the Power of Satan unto God that they may receive Forgiveness of Sins c. And when the Scripture saith Titus 3.5 Not by Works of Righteousness which we have done but according to his Mercy he saved us It is clear that Works before or without true Faith are understood and not the inward Work of Sanctification as is clear from the following Words by the washing of Regeneration and renewing of the holy Ghost And if the real inward Work of Sanctification and Obedience had not been necessary to Salvation the