Selected quad for the lemma: faith_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
faith_n	rule_n	scripture_n	tradition_n	12,255	5	9.8749	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A28280	The sufficiency of a standing revelation in general, and of the Scripture revelation in particular both as to the matter of it and as to the proof of it : and that new revelations cannot reasonably be desired and would probably be unsuccessful in eight sermons preach'd in the Cathedral-Church of St. Paul, London, at the lecture founded by the Honourable Robert Boyle, Esq., in the year MDCC / by Ofspring Blackall ...	Blackall, Offspring, 1654-1716.	1700 (1700)	Wing B3055; ESTC R6615	150,254	268

in the Holy Scripture it must be either in the Matter of it or in the Proof of it And if it be in the Matter of it it must be either that it does not give us sufficient Directions what to do or that it does not propose sufficient Motives to persuade Men to do what it requires And therefore in speaking to this Head I shall shew 1. That the Holy Scripture gives us sufficient Directions what to do 2. That the Motives which the Scripture proposes are sufficient to persuade us to do what it requires And 3. That we have sufficient Reason given us to convince us of the Truth and Authority of the Holy Scripture and consequently of all the Doctrines which are taught by it 1. I shall shew that the Holy Scripture gives us sufficient Directions what to do And of this there can be little Doubt among those that believe the divine Inspiration and Authority of the Holy Scripture because to them its own Testimony of its own sufficiency is a Proof thereof beyond all Exception For if as the Apostle says 2. Tim. 3.16 it be profitable for Doctrine and for Reproof and for Correction and for Instruction in Rigteousness it is plainly profitable for all the Purposes for which we can desire a divine Revelation And if as he says in the next Verse it was given to make perfect the Man of God that is the Man whose Business it is to teach and instruct others and throughly to furnish him unto all good Works it cannot be deficient in delivering all such Rules and Directions as are necessary to be given by a Pastor to the People committed to his Care And if as the same Apostle had said at the 15th Verse of that Chapter it be able to make us wise unto Salvation we have no Reason to desire to be wiser than this excellent Book can make us And if all this could truly be said by the Apostle before the Canon of the New Testament was compleated if it could be said by him of those Holy Scriptures which Timothy had known from a Child that is of the Books of the Old Testament only much more may it be now said of the Books of both Testaments together But to speak at large of this Point at present would be too great a Digression from the Design of these Lectures which were intended only against Infidels not against any Sect of Christians and such they pretend to be such because they hold the Foundation Christ Jesus they may in Charity be allow'd to be who do chiefly differ from us in this Article and deny the sufficiency of Scripture only because they are resolved to maintain some gainful Doctrines and Practices of their own Church which they are sensible have no Warrant from Scripture and so can be maintained no other Way but by affirming that they have been delivered down to them by Tradition and that unwritten Tradition is a necessary Supplement to the written Word and of equal Authority with it For between us and Infidels who reject the Scripture the Sufficiency of the Scripture as a Rule of Faith and Manners is hardly Matter of Controversie for these do not reject the Scripture because it teaches too little but rather because it teaches too much because it teaches Doctrines above their Reason and commands such Duties as they do not like to practise and if it taught less than it does they would be more ready to own its divine Authority But nevertheless even these Men that they may leave no Stone unturned will be sometimes discoursing upon this Point and altho' those Books of Holy Scripture which are now extant and which are now generally receiv'd do teach much more than they themselves are willing to believe and practise yet that they may as much as they can unsettle the Belief of others do not stick to argue againast the Christian Religion from this Topick and to affirm that the Books of Holy Scripture which are now receiv'd do not contain the whole Will of God For there were say they in former times several other Gospels and Epistles and other Tracts designed to instruct Men in the Christian Religion which were written by the Apostles or other inspired Men and which were consequently of the same Authority in themselves with those which are now receiv'd into the Canon of which nevertheless we have nothing now left but the Names and Titles or some imperfect and uncertain Fragments so that it may well be doubted whether those few Books which are now remaining are sufficient to instruct us in all necessary Points of Knowledge and Practice And of this Matter of Fact there is they say some Evidence even from the Scripture its self For St. Luke in the Beginning of his Gospel takes Notice that many before him had taken in Hand to set forth a Declaration of those things which were surely believed among Christians that is had written and published Narratives of the Life Actions Miracles Preaching Death and Resurrection of our Saviour But there are no Histories of this Kind no Gospels now extant that were written before St. Luke's except only St. Matthew's and St. Mark 's and if there had been no more extant at that time it would have been very improper they say for the Evangelist to have said that many had written upon this Subject when he spake only of those two And that there was Matter enough for several such Narratives so that tho' they were very different Gospels they might nevertheless be all true we are told by St. John who wrote his Gospel the last of the Four Evangelists Joh. 20.30 Many other Signs truly did Jesus in the Presence of his Disciples which are not written in this Book and again Ch. 21. Vers 25. There are also many other things which Jesus did the which if they should be written every one I suppose that even the World its self could not contain the Books that should be written Now if it be true that there were several other Books formerly extant but which are now lost that were written by the Apostles and other inspired Men and consequently by divine Inspiration either these were needless when written and it is unreasonable to suppose that any Book written by divine Inspiration was needless or else the Loss of these Books is a Loss to Religion and we cannot be well assured that those which we have now remaining do sufficiently instruct us in all Points of Christian Faith and Practice But admit the Truth of this Matter of Fact viz. that more Books were written by the Apostles or inspired Men than are now extant which I will not now dispute because I think it needless because I think it may be granted without any Prejudice to the Christian Cause altho' there be none or at most but very slender Evidence of it nay admit more than is upon any good Grounds alledged viz. not only that several but that every one of the Apostles and immediate Disciples of

he thought he himself had written enough in his Gospel to persuade Men to believe in Christ and to direct them in the Way to eternal Life There being therefore in those Books of the New Testament which we now have several Abridgments of the whole Christian Doctrine it cannot with any Reason be pretended that all these Books together are not sufficient fully to instruct us therein Besides The Gospel of Christ that was preached suppose by St. Thomas in India or by St. Simon in Africa or by any other of the Apostles in Countries remote from Judea or without the Bounds of the Roman Empire was undoubtedly the very same Gospel that was preached by St. Peter and St. Paul or those other of the Apostles whose Books are now extant and received by the Catholick Church for they were all taught by the same Master Christ and were all enlightned by the same Holy Ghost so that if any of them did as 't is reported they did write any Gospels for the present Use of those particular Churches which they had planted tho' they might be somewhat different from any of the four Gospels which we now have in the Expression or perhaps in the Relation of some particular Passages of our Saviour's Life which our Evangelists have omitted just as the four Gospels which we now have do differ from one another yet for Substance they must needs have been the same with these and with one another if indeed they were all true Relations of the Matters of which the Authors thereof had been Witnesses so that if we had them all now they could all together teach us no other Doctrines than are taught in the Books of the New Testament Nevertheless I do not deny but that if we had more Books of this Kind than we have that if we had all the Books that were written by the Apostles or their immediate Successors who had been taught by them they might be of very good Use to us to help us to understand more readily and easily those Books which we have as now we receive from some Portions of Holy Scripture great Light to help us to understand and to put a right Interpretation upon others But perhaps it was for this very Reason that the Providence of God did order no more to be written than were written or has suffered those to be lost that are supposed to be lost that it might cost us some Pains and Study to understand our Religion that so our Knowledge as well as our Practice being in some Measure the Fruit of our own Industry might be a proper Subject of Reward In short That there were more Books in the first Age of Christianity written by Apostles or other inspired Men than are now extant or than if extant can be well proved to be of their Writing is a Point which I believe cannot be now upon any certain Evidence either affirmed or denied But if it be granted I say however there is no Reason to inferr from thence that those which we now have are not sufficient For if there be a God and a Providence and if there be any Truth in the Scripture Declarations of the Love of God to Mankind and that he would have all Men to be saved and to come to the Knowledge of the Truth most certainly the necessary Means of Mens Salvation is a proper Subject of the divine Care And if so it can't be thought but that the same good Providence which as is now supposed took Care for the writing of more Books when more might be necessary has likewise taken Care for the Preservation of so many of these Books as are now sufficient Or if the Men we are now arguing with will not grant that there is such a particular Providence of God yet if they will but allow that God is just that he is not a hard Master expecting to reap where he has not sown I think they must allow that all things necessary to our Salvation not knowable by Reason are taught in the Books of Holy Scripture which we now have because there are no other Books extant which we have reason to receive and accept as divine Revelation Or if they deny this it will lie upon them to produce those other Books which we ought to receive besides these and to give good Evidence to the World of their divine Authority Which when they have done or if they shall but only shew that there is as good Reason to receive them as these We must own our selves to blame if we shall not then take them also into the Canon of Scripture But till that shall be done what hath been already said is enough to shew that the Holy Scripture is a compleat Rule both of Faith and Manners Especially considering as was noted before that when-ever the Insufficiency of Scripture in this Respect is urged by those who do not believe the Scripture which are the Persons I have now to deal with it can be only for Cavilling sake the true Reason of their Backwardness to receive it as a divine Revelation being not because it teaches not enough but because it teaches more than they are willing to believe and commands more than they are disposed to practise For I cannot imagine that these Men do truly desire more Duty than is laid upon them in the Books of Scripture now received by the Christian Church But what they may most reasonably be thought to desire is either some better Encouragement to undertake that difficult Task which the Scripture lays upon them or some better Evidence that the Scripture is a divine Revelation I proceed now therefore to the second thing propounded which was 2. To shew that the Motives which the Scripture proposes are sufficient to persuade Men to do what it requires Now Hopes and Fears are the great Springs of Action and the greater the Good is we hope for or the Evil we fear the stronglier do they move and incline us to Action And therefore how difficult soever the Undertaking be so it be but possible if the Motives are proportioned to the Difficulty they must be granted to be sufficient Inducements to undertake it But that the Task or Business required of us is possible to be done needs not to be proved now because it must be granted by those who say they believe they should be persuaded to do what is required if they had better Encouragement for no Arguments or Motives whatsoever can reasonably persuade a Man to undertake a thing that he believes impossible Supposing it therefore possible I say that whatsoever Difficulty there really is or we may apprehend there is in a Christian Life if any Motives that could possibly be proposed to us can be thought sufficient to induce us to undertake it most evidently those Motives which the Gospel proposes are so because better or greater cannot be so much as conceived or imagined seeing both the good things which it promises to persuade us to Virtue and

no Suspicion of what was done nor any Sense of that great Alteration that had been made in the World by these Books nor any Remembrance afterwards when they awoke and found themselves Christians that they had been of some other Religion before when they were first taken with that Lethargick Fit But if these things may be what is there of this kind that may not be If the World be so much mistaken in this Matter it may be as much mistaken in any other Matter of the like Nature And then It may be that there never was such a Man as Homer or Virgil or Coesar or Cicero or Plutarch or any other of those Persons as whose Writings we now receive the Books that go under their Names but that all the Books pretended to be written by those Authors and likewise all the Books of later Date whereby the Authority of those former Books is attested were in like Manner contrived and made and dispersed by such another Gang of crafty and designing Knaves who took a Pleasure in abusing the rest of the World or hoped to make a Gain to themselves ●hereby Nay then for why should we stop here It may be that not only the Laws of our Religion but the Laws of our Civil State too are all forged and counterfeit It may be that once upon a time The Keeper of the Publick Records having by much and long Observation attained to good Skill ●n the ancient Ways of Writing for many Ages backward and being a compleat Master of his Pen and having also gotten an Art to make a fresh Writing seem just as old as he had a Mind it should be thought to be did compose and deposite in ●heir proper Places those Original Acts of Parliament which are now taken to be the Laws of some of our former Kings and that to confirm and establish his Fraud he procured some other Persons at the same Time to Write or Print and to convey into all Shops and Libraries several Books of Reports and Pleadings wherein these counterfeit Acts were cited and referred to and it may be that while as this was doing none else had their Eyes open to see it nor had ever after the least Suspicion of what was done Or if they had yet that they were so well pleased with the Cheat which they thought would be a good Means of preserving Peace and Justice in the Nation as to be willing it should pass to Posterity undiscovered These May be 's are I am sure every whit as possible and as likely as the other Either therefore let those Men who upon this Account doubt of the Authority of the Books of the New Testament Or who would make others doubt of it only by suggesting that it is a thing possible in Nature that they may be all forged and counterfeit let them I say either entertain and suggest the same Doubt concerning all other ancient Books of the Antiquity and Authority of which there is not greater Evidence than there is of these And then they will render themselves so justly ridiculous to the World that there will be no Need to expose their Folly for then they must call in Question the Authority of all Books and the Truth of all History Or else let them fairly own that the true Reason of their making a Doubt concerning these Books rather than concerning others is because they do not relish the Matter of them because they find it easier to resist that strong Evidence that is given of the Authority of these Books than they do to govern their Lives according to those strict Rules of Holiness and Purity that are therein prescribed and to bring their Wills to the Obedience of Faith And if they will but own this which I believe is the Truth their Prejudice and Partiality will be so evident to all that it may be reasonably hoped their impious Suggestions will do but little Harm in the World and that few Men of any Sense or Reason will be so fool-hardy as to venture their Souls and run the Hazard of a miserable Eternity upon so many and such very improbable I had almost said such impossible may be 's as must be supposed to have been if indeed these Books are forged and counterfeit if indeed they were not written by those Persons whom they are commonly ascribed to But yielding this Point may the Atheist or Infidel farther say viz. that the Gospel called St. Matthew's was written by St. Matthew and that of St. Mark by St. Mark and the Rest of the Books which are ascribed to any other certain Authors by those Persons to whom they are severally ascribed yet the Authority of the whole New Testament will not by this Concession be sufficiently established For of some Books of the New Testament the Authors are not known of others they are doubted Some Parts of this Book that are now received have been rejected in ancient Times and ●thers not universally receiv'd And besides 't is cer●ain that in the early Times of Christianity there were several Counterfeit Gospels and Epistles some of which may possibly have slipped into the Canon unawares And lastly If it be granted that all the Books of the New Testament were originally written ●y the Apostles or other Inspired Men yet however the Books that we now have are but Copies in which many Alterations may have been made by designing Men or careless Transcribers These Objections or Cavils rather for such I am sure they would be accounted in any other Case against the Authority of these Sacred Books have been urged by some Men both anciently and lately But they have been also so well and fully answered by those learned Persons that have written in Defence of the Canon that I once thought to have taken no Notice of them and I believe had not done it but that I considered on the other Hand that when an old Objection that has been answered an Hundred times is urged afresh a great many may take it for a new one and if it be not quickly answered may be apt to think it unanswerable so that in this Case it may be better to repeat the same Answer if it be a good one that has been often formerly made to it than to say nothing And besides in this degenerate Age in which any wild or Atheistical Discourse passes for Wit it may be the Hap of some Persons who have not much Mind or Leisure or Opportunity to read Books to hear these things in Conversation and not knowing readily what Answers to make to them to be somewhat staggered in their Belief thereby Especially if they be such whose loose and licentious Way of Living makes them easie to receive without Examination any Notions that may give them Ease or Encouragement in Sin For these Reasons therefore I thought it would not be amiss especially because it is a Matter properly belonging to the Subject I am now upon and because I have some time left for it to