Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heaven_n	enter_v	righteousness_n	scribe_n	2,630	5	11.0710	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47391	The ax laid to the root, or, One blow more at the foundation of infant baptism, and church-membership. Part I containing an exposition of that metaphorical text of Holy Scripture, Mat. 3. 10. : being the substance of two sermons lately preached, with some additions, wherein is shewed that God made a two-fold covenant with Abraham, and that circumcision appertained not to the covenant of grace, but to the legal and external covenant God made with Abraham's natural seed, as such : together with an answer to Mr. John Flavel's last grand arguments in his Vindiciarum Vindex, in his last reply to Mr. Philip Cary, also to Mr. Rothwell's Pædo-baptisms vindicatur, as to what seems most material / by Benjamin Keach ...	Keach, Benjamin, 1640-1704.; Rothwell, Edward, d. 1731. Paedobaptismus vindicatus.	1693 (1693)	Wing K47; ESTC R39052	37,123	40

wickedly Christ 't is true dyed for Sinners but you have no True Faith in him he dyed to save Sinners from their Sins and that they might live to him See my Text now the Ax is laid to the Root of the Trees if you believe not on Christ if you are not made new Creatures 1 Cor. 5. 17. the Ax will cut you down and that with Vengeance and Wrath will at last cast you into the Fire you must learn to know the way of Salvation and how the Mercy of God shines forth in a Mediator Christ hath satisfied his Justice and by him you must come to God out of Christ he is a consuming fire Abused Mercy O Sinner will be turned at last into Fury except you obtain an Interest in Jesus Christ you are undone for the Wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men Rom. 1. 3. Or are you Self-righteous Persons Do you build on your own Righteousness like the Jews and hypocritical Pharises you may be think your States Good because you are not Swearers Drunkards c. may be you read pray and hear Sermons and give to the Poor and do much good but if you build your Hopes of Heaven on these Things down this Ax will cut you also Except your Righteousness exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharises you shall in no wise enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Matth. 5. 20. nay you must be found in the Righteousness of Christ all ours is but dung Phil. 3. 8 9. you must in a word bring forth good fruit every Soul of you or perish and this you cannot do till your Hearts are changed and so you become good Trees make the tree good and then the fruit will be good an evil Tree cannot bring forth good fruit c. all Works of unregenerate Persons yea their Religious Duties are but dead Works not good fruits nor can they bring forth good Fruits unless they are planted by Faith into Jesus Christ nay I must tell you that Gospel-Holiness will not save us it must be the Righteousness of God by Faith Sermon II. MAT. III. 10. And now also the Ax is laid to the Root of the Trees every Tree therefore that bringeth not forth good Fruit is hewn down and cast into the Fire THE Proposition I am to prosecute you may remember is this considering the Context viz. Now the dispensation is changed to be of the natural root or the Seed of Abraham according to the flesh is no ground for Church Membership or no Argument to be admitted into the Gospel Church or to Gospel Baptism You say you have Abraham to your Father or you are the Children of Believers or you have believing Parents Well but what of this as if John should say this will do you no good now this will stand you now in no steed this will give you no Right to Gospel Ordinances nor particularly to Gospel Baptism ' tho' it did to Circumcision and Legal Ordinances and Jewish Church Membership For Hager and her Son are cast out that are the Old Covenant and the Fleshly Seed this old Root and Right now in Gospel Days is struck at The Ax is laid to the Roots of the Trees i. e. To your old standing on the Old Covenant Root as you are the lineal Seed of Abraham The time is come now that the Old Covenant and Covenant Seed are to be rooted up the old House and Constitution pulled down God is now about to build a new Temple and a more spiritual House a spiritual Temple of living Stones and rather then he will want Materials he can of these Stones raise up Children unto believing Abraham and so make good the Covenant of Grace or Gospel Covenant made with him Now you must be united to a living Foundation i. e. Believe in Christ whose way I am come to prepare and make ready fit Matter for this new Building namely the Gospel Church which is not to be by natural descent from Abraham as such but only those who have the Faith of Abraham yea that Faith he had not in Circumcision but in Uncircumcision or before he was Circumcised You must grow out of a spiritual Root i. e. Be Married to Christ your first Husband i. e. The Law or Old Covenant is Just at the point of Death that so ye may bring forth Fruit to God Rom. 7. 4. But to proceed I shall prove this Proposition viz. That the Dispensation is now changed to be of that natural Root or National Church of the Jews or the Seed of Abraham according to the Flesh is no ground for Church Membership no argument for admittance into the Gospel Church or to Gospel Baptism 1. Because 't is positively said that there is a change of the whole Law i. e. The Levitical Priesthood legal Ordinance legal Church and legal Church Membership are changed and gone that so the betterCovenant and more spiritual Church and Church Membership might be established For the Priesthood being changed there is made of necessity a change also of the Law Heb. 7. 12. 'T is so changed as 't is abolished to make way for this as the late Annotators observe the mutation of the Priesthood indispensably requireth the change of the legal Covenant which hereafter I shall prove was not the Covenant of Grace but is directly called the Old Covenant the Covenant of Grace is but one and that never changeth This was made necessary by the Decree of God as they note who determined that both the Priesthood and Law should expire together like say I as an old Will or Testament doth when the Testator hath made and confirmed his Last Will and Testament When Christ the Gospel High-Priest had saith our Annotations in his own Person and Work perfected all of it in Heaven he roots out that Order of Priesthood and demolished the Temple and City to which he confined the Administration and scatters the People which would cleave to it so as all Designs and Endeavours of Jews or of Apostate Christian to repair or restore it hath been ineffectual to this Day What can be more clear Sirs then this that the Old House or Right of Church-Membership is overturned at the very Root for If the Covenant for Incovenanting the Fleshly Seed is changed or abolished and no new Law or new Precept is given forth for the bringing them in again What Ground is there left for any wise seeing and faithful Man to Plead for Infants Church-Membership but it is evident the former is true i. e. that Covenant by virtue of which they had Right to Circumcision and Church Membership or out of which Root that sprang is gone changed and abolished for ever and no new Law or Precept is given forth for the bringing them into the Gospel-Church as such To this Text let me add another which farther confirms it 2. For if that first Covenant had been faultless then should no place have been sought for

who are all one in Christ Jesus no difference in that respect under the Gospel-Covenant 4. Circumcision belongeth neither to no Male Children but those born in Abraham's House or such who were bought with his Money c. it did not belong to any other godly Man's Male Children that lived in his days unless they joyned themselves to his Family but Baptism belongs to all the Disciples of Christ or to all true Believers in all Nations Mat. 28. 19. 20. 5. Circumcision was to be done precisely on the Eighth Day not before nor after But Baptism is to be done at any time and is not limited to any precise day 6. Circumcision made a visible Impression on the Body which the Party might perceive when he came to Age of Understanding Baptism leaves no Impression on the Body 7. Circumcision signified the taking away the sins of the Flesh or the Circumcision of the Heart Baptism signifies the Death Burial and Resurrection of Christ which Circumcision did not What Parity or Parallel there is between them I know not unless they say that Circumcision was the initiating Rite under the Law and Baptism is the initiating Rite under the Gospel to which I answer if this should be granted yet it did not initiate any but Male Children the Females were initiated without it and by the same Parity of Reason as Dr. Taylor observes no Female Infant should be baptized because none but Males were Circumcised If they say there is another Parity viz. none were to eat the Passover but those who were Circumcised so none are to partake of the Lord's Supper but such who are first baptized we are all baptized into one Body yet I must tell them all those who are Circumcised had a Right to eat the Passover and why do they not then follow the Paralell and give their Children the Lord's Supper as indeed the First Ancient Fathers did in the declining State of the Church for many Years they gave Children the Lord's Supper abusing that Text in the case of Baptism Joh. 3. 5. Unless a Man be Born again of Water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven They taking Water there to be meant of Baptismal Water and thought Baptism did regenerate the Children and wash away Original Sin and accordingly they abused and mistook that Text in Joh. 6. 53. Unless ye eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood ye have no life in you and from hence 't was they gave Infants the Lord's Supper thinking as the Papists do that our Saviour intended the Sacrament of the Supper I needed not have repeated these Things and that which follows but that Mr. Roth-well of Sussex in his late Treatise still insists on this Argument you have the same in my Answer to Mr. Burket To this I might add a word or two of a Reverend and Learned Person of our Perswasion in this Matter They suppose Baptism came in or succeeded in the place or room of Circumcision which may saith he be understood many ways as First That those Persons may be Baptized that were heretofore Circumcised by God's Appointment And in this sence the Argument must proceed if it conclude to the purpose but in this sence it is false for Females were not Circumcised which yet were Baptized Act. 8. 12 13 14. and chap. 16. 14 15. and Believers out of Abraham's House as Lot Melchisedec Job were not to be Circumcised but believing Gentiles are universally to be Baptized 2. Saith he It may be understood as if the Rite of Baptism then began when the Rite of Circumcision did or was to end but this is not to be said neither for John Baptist and Christ's Disciples Baptized before Circumcision of Right ceased Joh. 4. 1. 2. 3. He Answers That of Baptism succeeding in the Place of Circumcision in Signification which as we have shewed in several Respects it doth not But Secondly as I said if there were such a Parity or Paralell between Circumcision and Baptism as they intimate yet it would not do their Business but thus to argue as the said learned Writer observes may be very pernitious For saith he indeed if this Argument be not warily and restrainedly understood an Egg is laid out of which manifest Judaism may be hatched but if it be taken restrainedly it no more follows thence but Baptism and Circumcision in some things hold forth the same which is more plainly said of Noah's Ark 1. Pet. 3. 22. and the Red Sea and Cloud 1. Cor. 10. 4. and yet we do not say Baptism succeeded into their Place much less do we inferr any Rite to be instituted in their Stead respecting the same Person yea verily it is to be seriously thought on 1. That by such Arguments drawn from Analogies not conceived by the Holy Ghost but drawn out of our Wit a new kind of instituting R●tes to wit from Analogies are brought in besides our Lord's Precepts and the Apostles Examples 2. This being once said by a like Parity of Reason and Arguing it will be lawful to bring into the Church under other Names and Forms the whole Burthen of Jewish Rites yea almost out of what you will to conclude what you will for Who shall put a Bound to Men's feigning Analogies when they go beyond the Lord's Precepts and the Apostles Examples It is well known That the Divine Appointment of Tythes to be paid and many other Things in the Writings of Divines are asserted by this kind of Argument besides the Rule of Christ's Precepts and his Apostles Examples 3. Hereby will the Opinion of the Papists be confirmed who affirm from 1. Cor. 10. 11. the Sacraments of the Jews to be Types of the Sacraments of Christians which is rejected by Divines that dispute against Bellarmine 4. This manner of Arguing will countenance the Arguments of the Papists for an universal Bishop because the Jews had a High-Priest and Justifie a Linnen Garment at Mass because there was such among the Jews and for Holy-Water Purification of Women Easter Penticoast and many more such Ceremonies for which the Papists do in like manner argue as appears out of Durandus's Rationals and other Interpreters Yea What hinders but we may give Children the Lord's-Supper if we argue this way since Samuel Jesus Christ under Age were partakers of the Passover And of Right all Males were thrice in the year to appear before the Lord and therefore it is certain they did eat the Passover c. Least any should take this for a light Suggestion I will add That grave godly and learned Men have often warned That we are to take heed that we do not rashly frame Arguments from Analogies Among others in their Learned Writings in English John Pagit in his Defence of Church-Government Part 1. Chap. 3. Pag. 8. and else-where John Ball in his Reply to The Answer of the New-England Elders Nine Positions Posit 2. p. 14. Lastly saith he It is to be considered again and again how by these Argumentations the Consciences of Men may be freed from the Danger of Will-Worship and polluting so Remarkable an Ordinance of Christ as Baptism is especially this Care lies on them who by Prayers Sermons Writings Covenants and Oaths do deter Christians from humane Invention in God's Worship diligently and 't is to be hoped Sincerely thus far this Reverend Divine I now might proceed to Answer divers others Objections as First Circumcision was a Type of Baptism 2. Infants were once in Covenant and never cast out 3. Circumcision was part of the Ceremonial Law which was Dedicated by Blood therefore no part of the Covenant of Works or Old Covenant 4. In Circumcision God gave himself to Abraham to be his God and the God of his Seed 5. Circumcision was the Seal of the Righteousness of Faith 6. Circumcision was an Everlasting Covenant 7. There is but one Covenant of Works and that was made with Adam 8. Paul Circumcised Timothy therefore Circumcision could not in it self oblige to the keeping of the whole Law 9 The Root is Holy therefore the Branches 10. The Privileges of the Gospel are restrained and narrower then the Privileges of the Law if Children are excluded 11. The denying Infant Baptism hinders the Progress of the Christian Religion Mr. Rothwell p. 2. FINIS The SECOND PART is in the Press