Selected quad for the lemma: ground_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
ground_n	apostle_n	faith_n	scripture_n	1,714	5	6.0562	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A48849	A sermon preached before the King at White-Hall The 24th. of Novemb. 1678. By William Lloyd, D.D. Dean of Bangor, and Chaplain in ordinary to His Majesty. Published by his Majesties Command.	Lloyd, William, 1627-1717.	1678 (1678)	Wing L2710; ESTC R217682	63,317	74

known in all Countrys where the Scripture was written And they writ it for every one to read as it appears in plain words in their writings And the Ancient Fathers required all men to read it all the Laity even the meanest of the Laity they Condemned the neglect of it they commended them that read it day and night There is nothing more frequent in the writings of the Ancient Fathers Yet now it is found out that the Laity may hurt themselves with reading it How so It will make them Hereitics One would little expect it that had read what the Fathers say of this matter But now it is Heresie to disbelieve the Roman Church And no doubt to read the Scripture will bring men to this But whose fault is it Surely theirs that instead of reforming their Church have rather chosen to silence the Scriptures Which being done in favour of their Doctrines it appears that they themselves I mean the governours of their Church have been sensible that some at least of their Doctrines are not the Doctrines of the Apostles In the next place for the Apostles Fellowship which I have interpreted to be Union under lawful Pastors and Governors They can by no means allow this Character to our Church or to any that submits not to their Universal Pastor Which title they appropriate to the Bishop of Rome and him they swear in their forementioned profession of Faith to be the Vicar of Christ and the successor of St. Peter the Apostle And to shew how far they dare go against evidence they swear also that his Roman Church is not only Mistress but also the Mother of all Churches Not to say in how many things he that will be Supream Pastor invades the just rights of other Pastors who are all in the judgment of Primitive times the Successors of the Apostles of Christ Or how little he hath to shew for his claim to a succession in that Power from St. Peter either in Scripture Story or in the writings of the Primitive Church I shall only desire you to consider these beginnings of Christianity in my Text. When the whole Church was comprehended in three or four thousand believers and they were all together with the Apostles at this time in Ierusalem It is certain that then there was no Bishop nor no Christian at Rome So that then for the Bishop or Church of Rome to be any thing which they swear they are in those Articles of their Faith was surely no part of the Apostles Doctrine Nor did the Fellowship of the Apostles consist in subjection to St. Peter Though he was the first in Order yet that he had Authority over the rest there is no ground to assert There is much evidence against it as I have shewn from sundry places of Scripture Nor granting this to St. Peter which they can never prove can they bring down a title from him to the Roman Bishop He hath a better pretence to succeed the Roman Emperors in Monarchy than he hath to succeed any of the Apostles And indeed that was the design as they know that are skild in the writers of antient times Rome seemed a place designd for Empire and when the Emperors faild then the Bishops set up in their stead What the Emperors could not hold by Arms the Bishops would fetch in by Religion And so they obtrude upon all Christians in truth a Secular Monarchy instead of that which my Text calls the Fellowship of the Apostles Thirdly for the two Sacraments of the Apostles they tell us of seven which were instituted by our Lord Iesus Christ. In this Chapter we read of Baptism p. 41. and we read of breaking of Bread in my Text. Here are two but where are the other five They were not thought of at that time for ought that appears to us in Scripture Nay it doth not appear in a thousand years after It was eleven hundred years after when Peter Lombard wrote his Book of the Sentences before which they cannot find the least mention of that number of Sacraments But to speak of no more than that mentioned in my Text. Where is the breaking of bread As they receive it in the Roman Church there is neither breaking nor bread in their Sacrament Where is the Communion of Christs Body and Blood Their daily Worship is the Mass. But their Mass is no Communion The Priest only Consecrates and eats while all the people stand by and adore Was there ever such a thing heard of in the Primitive times In those times none were suffered to be present but only such as received And if any were present they were punishable if they did not receive What could they have thought of such a Sacrament as is now the daily Worship of the Roman Church Sure enough in the Apostles Church as oft as they met to Worship God they All did eat of that one bread 1 Cor. x. 17. And they All were made to drink into one Spirit 1 Cor. xii 13. And whereas of this last our Saviour having said to his Disciples who were then Lay-men Drink ye all of it St. Mark takes particular notice that they all drank of it which practice we see was followed in the Apostolic Church The Roman Church will let her Laity drink none of it None of the Cup of blessing which we bless But the Cup of Unblessed Wine the Ablution as they call it A trick which they brought up in those corrupt ignorant times I know not why if not on purpose to deceive the people that they may not miss the Wine though they have none of the Blessing So far they are removed from the Original Church in her Sacraments Lastly for the Worship of God here called the Apostles Prayers There are many things in the Roman Church whereof some were forbidden by the Apostles and others cannot consist with their Doctrine The chief part of her Worship is the Sacrifice of the Mass and that is declared in the Creed before-mentioned to be a true proper propitiatory Sacrifice for the living and the dead This horrible affront of Christs Sacrifice and abuse of his Sacrament together was brought in upon the back of that Doctrine of the Corporeal Presence When according to that Doctrine the Priest hath made Christ Next he is to kill him or do somthing as bad for they pretend to sacrifice him to God How this is done the Divines of that Church are not yet agreed It were well if at least they could tell Why they do it For they had need for such a Sacrifice to have a clear Institution from God But they cannot pretend to that There is nothing clearly for it in all the Texts that they bring out of Scripture This they were told aloud at the Council of Trent and others since have acknowledged it They