Selected quad for the lemma: law_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
law_n	ceremonial_a	moral_a	sabbath_n	5,138	5	10.1156	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61799	A consultation about religion, or, What religion is best to be chosen with an appendix upon this question, whether every one may be saved in his own religion / translated out of Latin in which it was written by an eminent professor of divinity.	Lechmere, Edmund, d. 1640?	1693 (1693)	Wing S5928A; ESTC R27505	93,395	238

we endeavour to obtain God's Grace In assert art 39. Help and Consolation are reputed Sin as the Prophet David says Let his Prayer become sin The same he inculcates in many other places Psal 108. Calvin likewise teaches the same Doctrine For saith he all the Good Works of Men if they are rightly taken are nothing but Filth and Corruption Instit l. 3 c. 12. s 4. c. 14. s 9. nor can any Good Work proceed from the Saints which deserveth not a just reward of reproach If all our Good Works are truly Sins Filthiness and Pollution which incur the Wrath of God who sees not that it is much better to abstain from them than to do them For by abstaining we offend not but by doing them we sin 'T is better not to sin than sin We must abstain therefore from Alms and other works of Mercy nay from all Prayer too because all these things as they are done by us are sins What reason can be more efficacious to overthrow the Practice of all Good Works than to teach they make us never the juster or better before God besides that they are Sins Filth and Corruption And it avails nothing what they say afterwards Whether Good Works are required as signs of Faith that God requires Good Works in testimony of their Faith or as the signs of Faith For this they say least the People should utterly renounce all Good Works But they use this pretence in vain For how does God require them if they be sins which unless out of Mercy he did not impute to them he ought to vindicate with eternal punishment Does he require we should sin to shew our Signs and Testimonies of Faith How doth he require in testimony of Faith that which rather Witnesses a defect of Faith For those who are sollicitous of Good Works thereby Witness that Faith is not sufficient But if Faith sufficeth as they would have and Good Works profit nothing how are Good Works the signs of Faith Therefore the study of Good Works is not the sign of a particular special Faith of which they speak and to which they attribute all things but of the Catholick Faith whereby we believe that Faith sufficeth not but Good Works are required to be joyned therewith which are meritorious of Eternal Life This belief they reject Hereby it is clear that by these Religions all Good Works are subverted and overthrown The Ninth Reason from the licentiousness of Life which they allow THose Religions are not to be Father'd upon Christ which totally expel the fear of God from the Minds of Men and set open the broad Gate to all manner of sin and impurity of Life For every where the Scripture teaches the fear of God nor is there any thing which it more repeats and commends since from this all honesty of Life chiefly depends But the Lutheran and Presbyterian Religion drive all fear of God from the minds of Men and open the Gate of Liberty to all Sin and Profaness as much as Atheism Therefore they proceed not from Christ the Author That these Religions do this and that four several ways has already been clearly shewed above in the Second Consideration The same I now briefly shew again by these Reasons First Because the Lutheran Religion reaches That the Decalogue or Ten Commandments belong no more to the Faithful in Christ than the Ceremonial and Judaical Laws For thus Luther writes in a Sermon on Moses From the Text it plainly appears that the Ten Commandments pertain nothing to us for the Lord did not lead us cut of Egypt but only the Jews Moses is not observed in the New Testament If I should keep him in any one Article I should oblige my self to perform his whole Law The same he teaches more at large in Cap. 4. Epist ad Gal and in Cap. 20. Exod. If we are no more bound to keep the Ten Commandments than the Ceremonial Laws as he plainly teaches in Cap. 4. Epist ad Gal. Therefore as I am not bound to observe the Ceremonial Law for example to Circumcise the Flesh to eat the Paschal Lamb to keep the Sabbath which was Satturday amongst the Jews so neither the Moral or Ten Commandments If I am now freed from the Commandments what may I not do I may in outward shew worship Idols disobey my Parents and the Magistrates commit Murder Adultery Theft bear False-witness c. which are forbidden by the Decalogue as I may do things which are repugnant to the Ceremonial Law And although Calvin does not so plainly teach the same Doctrine of the Decalogue yet occurately he insinuates it enough First Because he teaches That God's Law is impossible to be kept even by the Saints L. 2. Instit c. 7. If it be impossible then it is not obligatory for no Body is obliged to impossibilities Never any Tyrant bound his Subjects to do things impossible and shall God do it Such barbarous cruelty be far from him Therefore when the Decalogue begins to be impossible it ceases to oblige and belongs nothing at all to us Moreover because Calvin teaches that all our Good Works are Corruption Filth and Sin in the sight of God but no Body can be obliged to sin therefore we are not obliged so much as to endeavour to fulfil any part of the Commandments I might confirm the same with many other Reasons but these are sufficient whereby it is manifest that even according to Calvin's Opinion the Ten Commandments belong nothing to us Secondly These two Religions make no difference of good and bad works before God but only before Men for as the works which are called bad have open Malice so to the good works of the Just they attribute an hidden Malice because of internal Concupiscence by reason of which Malice they will have these to be deadly sins before God If it be so why should I rather apply my mind to good works with mortification of Nature and loss of Goods than to evil works whereunto many times there is adjoined great pleasure and profit For since either of them are evil before God why should I not rather prefer those works wherein there is some temporal pleasure or advantage before them that are full of trouble toil and loss Thirdly Because each Religion teacheth that a Man is only just before God by a meer special Faith without any good works and that God imputes no sin to him that has this special Faith So Luther teaches in many places as above rehearsed By which Doctrine he infers L. de liber Christian de Captiv Babyl ' That only incredulity is a sin and only dis-believers are damned The same Calvin teaches when he says ' That all sins are mortal to Unbelievers but venial to Believers He calls them venial sins because they are not imputed to them but are presently forgiven and pardoned as soon as they are committed which Doctrine clearly follows out of that Principle whereby they decree

sudden Death Hence we see in good Catholicks who earnestly endeavour to live according to their Religion a wonderful Solicitude and Care to avoid Sin and if through Humane Frailty they offend presently they expiate and amend them Now no other Religions do these things but do rather rid Men of all the fear of God and open a great Gate to all Licentiousness First In taking away the Sacrament of Confession They take away the Fear of God and give a free scope to Sin by which as is aforesaid Men are wonderfully restrained from Sin For they call it Man's Invention the Murther of Consciences and meer Superstition 'T is strange that any Superstition or humane Invention should have so great a Power to make People reform their Lives and gain Peace of Conscience This Vertue even the Lutherans themselves acknowledged being taught by Experience For Sotus reports who was present when the Emperor was in Germany Ju. 4. d. 18. q. 1. a. 1. an Ambassador was sent him from the famous City of Norimburgh by whom the Senate humbly petitioned that his Imperial Majesty would be pleased to command the use again of Auricular Confession for they said that they found by Experience that their Republick after the taking away of Confession abounded with secret Crimes against Justice and other Vertues This Address says Sotus made the Emperor laugh For if by Divine Authority People are not oblig'd to confess their secret Sins and that a Priest has no Power to absolve them according to their Doctrine how could they imagine by any Humane Ordinance without benefit of Pardon they could be compell'd to it Secondly Because they do not only abolish Confession but also the Virtue of Repentance since they deny that Contrition is necessary nor Sorrow for Sins past it being one of Luther's Articles Art 6. That Contrition makes a Man a greater Sinner And Calvin quoting the Saying of St. Hierome Lib. 4. c. 19. Sect. 17. That Pennance is the Second Plank after Ship-wrack affirms it to be notoriously impious and not to be excus'd Thirdly Because they deny the necessity of Satisfaction Cal. l. 3. c. 1. Sect. 38. Luth. in assert art 5. 6. saying 't is injurious to Christ's Satisfaction as if ours were available and Christ's insufficient Fourthly Luth. Epist ad Walden de Euch. Cal. 3. l. c. 5. Sect. 6. Because they deny Purgatory and all Temporal Chastisements of Souls after this Life Fifthly because they deny that there is any Obligation of a Temporal Punishment Luth sup in assert art 5. Cal. sup l. 3. c. Sect. 30. when the Fault is pardoned for that the Punishment is always remitted with the Sin Sixthly Because they teach Luth. in assert art 1. Cal. l. 3. c. 11. Sect. 13. 14. c. 19. Sect. 2.4 17. that Faith alone sufficeth to the remission of all Guilt and Pain and nothing more is required Seventhly Because they teach that no Sin is imputed to him that has a special Faith For this Reason Luther said that the Decalogue or Ten Commandments no more belong to us Luth de liber Christ Cal. l. 3. c. 4. Sect. 28. l. 2. c. 8. Sect. 58. than the Ceremonies of the Old Law and all Obligation to keep them is totally abrogated by the Coming of Christ that is to say the violation of them is no more imputed to Believers than the violation of the Ceremonial Law That all these things are taught by them is manifest by the Quotations in the Margent and well known by all those that are any thing acquainted with the Doctrine of these Sects These things being so 't is most clear and manifest that by such means the Fear of God is utterly banished from the Hearts of Men and the Reins let loose to all manner of Sins Nay that there is as great Licentiousness caused by these Religions as by Atheism or rather greater For if no Sin is imputed to him as to the Fault or Punishment who has but this special Faith why may he not venture to commit the most horrible Crimes For what should he fear Hell or Purgatory But his Faith tells him that although Sin in its self is grievous and odious yet it shall not be imputed to him Should he fear the Wrath of God and Subtraction of his Grace But God does not impute Sin to him and cannot be angry with him by reason of Christ's Satisfaction Should he be afraid of temporal Satisfaction and Confession But these are taken away as superstitious What then should he stand in fear of more than an Atheist Or how is not the Door as open to him for committing all manner of Wickedness as to the Atheist What the Atheist does the Scripture witnesseth saying The Fool hath said in his Heart there is no God they are corrupted and have done abominable Works there is none that doth Good no not one Psal 13. The Atheist does this by casting off all fear of the Divine Vengeance which keeps Mortals in awe and curbs them from Sin But these Religions do no less expel the fear of God's Chastisement and Revenge whilst they teach that no Sin as to guilt or punishment is imputed to him that only believes and that he shall never be punished for it Nay I add farther That this salutary Fear of God is more extirpated by these Religions than by Atheism For few Atheists hold for certain that there is no Deity but many of them doubt and fear the contrary and therefore they are not without some fear of Vengeance to fall upon them which makes them abstain from many Sins But these Religions hold for certian and undoubtedly that Sins are not imputed to Believers and therefore they quite cast off all fear and apprehension of punishment For this Reason they far more slacken the reins of licentiousness to perpetrate all kind of Wickedness than Atheists do And this not by one way only but by several First In Teaching that Sins are not imputed to Believers Four several ways they expel the fear of God although they be never so many and great as aforesaid Secondly By Teaching That all who have true Faith are predestinated and that they ought to believe so with all certainty For if all Believers of these Sects are predestinated Cal. l. 3. c. 2. § 6.7.11.12.15.16 38. and are bound firmly to believe themselves so Why should they be solicitous to do well and fly the Works of the Flesh which the Apostle relates Gal. 5.19 For they cannot fear to lose their Salvation and be cast into Hell because God's Predestination is effectual and immutable and the Predestinate cannot possibly perish Nor need they fear the pains of Purgatory which they believe not nor the Scourges of this Life when God lays no imputation of Sin to their charge Thirdly ●u●h in Assert art 36. By taking away Free-Will and Teaching that all things are done by an ineevitable necessity that