Selected quad for the lemma: law_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
law_n	sin_n	sin_v	transgression_n	4,837	5	10.4181	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A62592	A sermon preached before the King, Febr. 25th, 1675/6 by John Tillotson ...	Tillotson, John, 1630-1694.	1676 (1676)	Wing T1229; ESTC R10103	13,508	40

A SERMON Preached before the KING Febr. 25th 1675 6. By JOHN TILLOTSON D. D. Dean of Canterbury and Chaplain in Ordinary to His MAJESTY Published By His Majesties Special Command LONDON Printed by A. Maxwell for Edward Gellibrand at the Ball in St. Pauls Church-yard 1676. A SERMON Preached before the KING Febr. 25th 1675 6. 1 JOHN 3.10 In this the children of God are manifest and the children of the Devil whosoever doth not righteousness is not of God IT is certainly a matter of the greatest consequence to us both in order to our present peace and future happiness truly to understand our spiritual state and condition and whether we belong to God and be his Children or not And it is not so difficult as is commonly imagined to arrive at this knowledg if we have a mind to it and will but deal impartially with our selves For the Text gives us a plain mark and character whereby we may know it In this the children of God are manifest and the children of the Devil whosoever doth not righteousness is not of God From which words I shall endeavour by God's assistance to lay men open to themselves and to represent to every one of us the truth of our condition and then leave it to the grace of God and every mans serious consideration to make the best use of it I shall briefly explain the words and then consider the matter contained in them By the children of God and the children of the Devil are meant good and bad men It being usual in the phrase of Scripture to call persons or things which partake of such a nature or quality the Children of those who are eminently endued with that nature and disposition Thus they who are of the faith of Abraham and do the works of Abraham are called Abraham's children In like manner those who in their disposition and actions imitate God are called the Children of God and on the contrary those that addict themselves to sin and impiety are counted of another race and descent they resemble the Devil and belong to him as the Chief and Head of that Faction By righteousness is here meant universal goodness and conformity to the Law of God in opposition to sin which is the transgression of that Law By being manifest is meant that hereby good and bad men are really distinguished so that every one that will examine his condition by this mark may know of which number he is and to what Party he belongs I come now to the main argument contained in the words which is to give us a certain character and mark of distinction between a good and bad man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by this the children of God are manifest and the children of the devil whosoever doth not righteousness is not of God In the management of the following Discourse I shall proceed in this method First We will consider the character and mark of difference between a good and bad man which is here laid down Whosoever doth not righteousness is not of God Secondly I shall endeavour to shew that by this mark every man may with due care and diligence come to the knowledg of his spiritual estate and condition By this the children of God are manifest and the children of the devil Thirdly I shall enquire whence it comes to pass that notwithstanding this so many persons are at so great uncertainty concerning their condition I. We will consider the character and mark of difference between a good and bad man which is here in the Text Whosoever doth not righteousness is not of God which implies likewise on the contrary that whosoever doth righteousness is of God Now in the strictest sense of this phrase he only who lives in all the commandements of God blameless can be said to do righteousness But in this sense there is none that doth righteousness no not one and consequently none could be the Children of God but the Text supposes some to be so and therefore by doing righteousness the Apostle must necessarily be understood to mean something that is short of perfect and unsinning obedience So that the question is What doing of righteousness is sufficient to denominate a man a Child of God and to put him into a state of grace and favour with Him And I do not intend nicely to state this matter 'T is not perhaps possible to be done nothing being more difficult than to determine the very utmost bounds and limits of things and to tell exactly and just to a point where the line of difference between Virtue and Vice between the state of a good and bad man is to be placed And if it could be done it would be of no great use for I take it to be no part of my business to tell men how many faults they may have and how little goodness and yet be the Children of God but rather to acquaint them what degrees of holiness and goodness are necessary to give men a clear and comfortable evidence of their good estate towards God and then to perswade them in order to their peace and assurance to endeavour after such degrees Wherefore to state the business so far as is necessary to give men a sufficient knowledg of their condition I shall briefly consider who they are that in the Apostles sense may be said to be doers of righteousness or not doers of it And because the Apostle lays down the Rule negatively I shall therefore In the first place enquire who they are that in the Apostles sense may be said not to do righteousness 1. They that live in the general course of a wicked life in the practice of great and known sins as injustice intemperance filthy and sensual lusts profane neglect and contempt of God and Religion so that by the whole course and tenour of their actions it is plain beyond all denial that there is no fear of God before their eyes Concerning these the case is so very evident that it seems too mild and gentle an expression to call them not doers of righteousness 2. They who live in the habitual practice of any one known sin or in the neglect of any considerable part of their known duty For any vicious habit denominates a man and puts him into an evil state 3. They who are guilty of the single act of a very heinous and notorious crime as a deliberate act of blasphemy of murther perjury fraud or oppression or of any other crime of the like enormity For though ordinarily one single act of sin doth not denominate one a bad man when the general course of the mans life is contrary yet the single acts of some sorts of sins are so crying and heinous and do so stare every mans conscience in the face that they are justly esteemed to be of equal malignity with vicious habits of an inferiour kind because they do almost necessarily suppose a great depravation of mind and a monstrous alienation from God and goodness in