Selected quad for the lemma: grace_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
grace_n	deny_v	teach_v	ungodliness_n	4,302	5	11.7286	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A48584	A treatise of election and reprobation in vindication of the universal grace and love of God to mankind by B.L.	Lindley, Benjamin, d. 1723.	1700 (1700)	Wing L2312; ESTC R28788	51,533	66

Meat and Drink to do the Will of God it is holy pure and loved of God it lives in Obedience keeps the Commandments Sinneth not Whosoever is born of God 1 John 3.9 doth not commit sin for his Seed remaineth in him and he cannot sin because he is born of God This is the Description of the Elect. Thus is opened in some measure the Mystery of Election and Reprobation the Loved and Hated Birth spoken of under the Types of Jacob and Esau And Christ is declared to be that Promised Seed not in a divided but in the most comprehensive Sense But to proceed in these Mysteries leads from the Matter before me to which I must now return Object 6 There are certain Men crept in unawares Jude 4. who were of old Ordained unto this Condemnation c. From whence they conclude some positively Ordain'd to Condemnation c. Answ The stress of this Argument lyeth upon the word Ordained and there is no such word in this Text the Greek word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 compounded of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ante 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 scribo in Latin Prescripti in English fore-written and so it should be translated and not Ordained which alters the point mainly for right read it amounts to no more than that such were before of old prophesied of and those Prophecies committed to Writing or that there were written Prophecies of them for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to Prophecy comes from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 predico compounded of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ante 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dico that is to foretell or fore-speak of a thing so the one is a Written Prophecy the other Verbal that 's all the difference And what weakness is it from hence to conclude some under a necessity of Sinning This makes the Visions and Prophecies the cause of the things so happening then the fault would be upon the Prophets and Seers and upon their Prophecies and Visions and the Scriptures the cause of the Sins they foretell and reprehend But if the Prediction of things so to happen be not the cause of of their so happening then neither is the Prescription or putting what 's fore-told in Writing or Print any cause thereof and that 's as far as this Scripture mentions which though our Opponents put great Stress upon it yet being right read it supports no part of their Argument For 1st Here is their great word Ordain'd set aside which the Greek hath nothing of tho' it be put in the English Bibles 2dly The words Before of old are not old enough to serve this turn having reference unto the Writings of Enoch Paul Peter Jude 14. 1 Tim. 4.1 2 Tim. 3.1 2 Pet. 3.3 c. but these have their Date in time and are Prophetical not Decretal so are no proof of an Eternal Decree or any Decree of Personal Reprobation 3dly The stile of these Prophecies is not particular of such and such Men that they should do so and be so wicked and fall under such Condemnation c. but it is in general as in the words of Enoch the Seventh from Adam Behold the Lord cometh with Ten Thousands of his Saints to execute Judgment upon all and to reprove all that are Vngodly among them of all their ungodly Deeds which they have ungodly committed c. And so the words of the rest which shews that such wicked Men there should be but not that they were under a fatal necessity of being so or had never been in a capacity of Salvation or were condemn'd without any respect to their good or evil Deeds c. For the Apostle Jude admits these Men to have been sometime in a capacity of Salvation as appears by his comparing them 1. To the People whom God had saved out of Egypt and afterwards destroyed them that believed not 2. To the Angels which kept not their Principality but left their own Habitation c. The first were at least in a capacity of Salvation and Glory and the latter in the blessed Fruition on 't Then neither were these Men condemn'd without any respect to their good or Evil Deeds as appears from their being compared 1. To the Israelites that believed not 2. To the Angels that kept not their Principality 3. To Sodom and Gomorah 4. To Cain 5. to Balaam 6. to Core Now the first are charg'd with Unbelief The second with Apostacy The third with grievous Sin The fourth with the Murder of his own Brother The fifth with Covetousness and Iniquity The sixth with Gainsaying and Rebellion So allow but the Apostle Jude to explain the Apostle Jude and 't is plain these Men's Evil subjectd them to Condemnation to the which they were not Fore-ordain'd nor was it inflicted on them without any respect to their good or evil Deeds Object 7. They distinguish the Grace of God into Common and Special and allow that every one hath Common Grace but hold that only the Elect have Special Grace and that none are saved by Common Grace or can be but whosoever have Special Grace can in no wise miss of Salvation c. Answ There is no where mention in the Scripture that I can find of Special Grace which is my first Exception to the distinction as Unscriptural Next comes to my thought that saying A great Lyar ought to have a good Memory and indeed so ought any one that deals in false Doctrines and Errors For generally Ignorance and Error is incongruous it 's of the nature of a Lye there 's no Line of Coherence in 't to lead one along as we have Instance here One while they say God hated the greater part of Mankind and decreed their Reprobation c. Another while All Men have Common Grace and that implies the Favour and Love of God in some measure for Grace is Favour c. But how God should love and hate the same Persons and at the same time is a difficulty they have to Unridle Then the word Common is either to be understood according to them as vile importing a thing of mean or no value in which Sense to apply it to God's Grace is Blasphemy Or it must be understood to signifie General or Universal a Sense in which 't is commonly taken And according to this most common understanding of the word Common it appears the Apostles themselves were saved by Common Grace From their own Testimony That the Grace of God that bringeth Salvation hath appeared unto all Men Tit. 2.11 12. teaching us say they that denying Vngodliness and Worldly Lusts we should live Soberly Righteously and Godly in this present World c. So they ascribe the inward Work of their Salvation to God's Universal Grace that is to common Grace in such Sense in which the Grace of God can be said to be Common But these Ingrossers or Impropriators of Salvation are a very particular sort of Men and will not go to Heaven the common Way nor prize

Chosen To which I answer Calling is an effect of God's Love and Election is from the same From God's Love to us springs his Choice of us So Calling and Election are equivalent or the same in kind But there is a degree of Election which is only said of the Faithful they were Called and Chosen and Faithful and True but though all are Called yet only a Remnant prove Faithful and True Thence it comes to pass of the many that are Called few are Chosen Wisdom saith the wise Man exalteth her Children c. If a Man commit himself unto her he shall inherit her c. At the first she will walk with him by crooked ways and bring fear and dread upon him and torment him with her Discipline until she may trust his Soul and try him by her Laws then will she return the strait way unto him and comfort him and shew him her secrets but if he go wrong she will forsake him and give him over to his own Ruine I could wish this were not G. K's own case but I am afraid on 't However it appears hence that God's Dealing with us is Conditional and what were these many called to if not to Faith and Holiness and Eternal Life And whence comes it that so few of them are chosen but from their Disobedience and Unfaithfulness Who not committing themselves to the holy Spirit of Discipline nor abiding the Trial of her Laws have gone wrong and so been forsaken and given up to their own Ruine But G. K. will neither have Election to be Conditional nor General though he must either grant this or allow a possibility of Salvation to such as are not chosen of God or Elected to Faith and Holiness as the Means nor to Eternal Life and Happiness as the End to be in due time obtained by the said Means or else agree to an absolute Reprobation of some But he saith He is well perswaded there is no absolute Reprobation c. Contr. 4. And if he allows a possibility of Salvation to such as are not Chosen c. then he will make two ways of Salvation the one by Election the other some other way he is yet to tell us of According to the first the Elect only are saved according to the latter some other People If he allow it not he must concede an absolute Reprobation of them and so take home his Contradiction Besides if he deny an Universal Salvation as free for Mankind he must also deny Universal Grace the Universality of Christ's Death who tasted Death for every Man and of the Gospel all which imply Universal Salvation tendered G. K. argues in p. 11. If Election were only Conditional why did Paul he should have said Peter exhort Believers To give all diligence to make their Calling and Election sure For how can that which is only Conditional be made sure to some more than to others Now he presseth them to make it sure to wit That they may have the assured knowledge of it Not that it was not sure unto God for as Paul declared The Foundation of God standeth sure having this Seal c. This Text stood directly in his way and therefore he endeavours the more to darken it by the Smoak of his Pit But this Fallacious and Sophistical Exposition will not do For Peter's exhorting Believers To give all diligence to make their Calling and Election sure sheweth something on their part to be done for the ascertaining it unto themselves they had it the Election belong'd unto them but they could not hold it nor be assured of their continuance in it unto the end nor bind it nor seal it to themselves but by a diligent perseverance in the Fear and Grace of God adding to their Faith Vertue c. which shows the performance of some Duty incumbent upon the Elect something to be done some Condition to be observed on their part the neglect whereof hinders them from having their Election made sure to them For we see the Text calls it their Calling and Election to whom it is directed and though it was theirs your Calling and Election yet something was still to be done to make it sure which shews it was theirs yet not so sure but that it might be forfeited and lost For if it had been so sure when he so exhorted them there had been no need to give diligence to make it sure for that which is already so needs not still to be made so nor can it thereby be made sure if it were sure before Therefore if their Election to whom Peter writ had at that time been sure his Exhortation had been ill grounded and in vain But he presseth them to make it sure saith G. K. to wit That they might have the assured knowledge on 't But he might as well have said any thing else for there 's no more evidence of this being the Apostle's meaning than that he meant any other thing nor can he perswade us Peter was so incapable or insincere in his Expression as to say one thing and mean another or that he meant not as himself saith but as G. K. saith for him And to this Query How that which is only Conditional may be made sure by some more than others I answer By Performance of the Condition as if a faithful true Master promiseth a certain Reward to each Man who will do so much Work in such a time He that useth diligence and finisheth his Work in the time allowed makes the Reward sure and such as neglect and finish not their Work in the time lose their Reward Thus that which is conditional may be made sure or may be forfeited Further G. K. saith in p. 12. The Foundation of God standeth sure c. And that this Foundation is God's Everlasting Love in his Son Christ Jesus who hath loved and chosen them in Him as his Members before the World began And though they lapsed and fell from Him their Head yet he is sent of the Father to recover and save them all and every one of them c. to wit the Elect. Here 't is plain G. K. makes only a certain Number he calls the Elect to be loved and chosen in Christ as his Members before the World began and restricts the Mission and Death of Christ to them saying That he is sent of the Father to recover and save them all and every one of them c. So according to this Doctrine Christ was not sent of the Father to be the Saviour of the World but to save them the Elect then of consequence he died not for all People for he died for none but them he was sent to save and so as he was sent to save but a particular Number he died but for that particular Number But if Christ died for all Mankind then either all Mankind were capable of Salvation and of being chosen of God in Christ Jesus or Christ died for some who were not thus choen of