Selected quad for the lemma: life_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
life_n	death_n	sin_n	sin_v	6,726	5	9.1768	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A60620	A briefe answer unto a book intituled Shetinah, or, A demonstration of the divine presence in places of religious worship published by Iohn Stillingfleet, who stiles himself M.A. rector of Beckingham in Lincoln-shire, and late fellow of St. Iohns Colledge in Cambridge. In which book he hath declared many perverse things against the people of God (called Quakers,) and for so much as is considerable, wherein that people are any way concerned, it is in the power of God here answered, by one who is set for the defence of the Gospel, William Smith.	Smith, William, d. 1673.	1664 (1664)	Wing S4290; ESTC R220735	21,376	28

manifestation for to remove suggest strengthen and raise is a work of the spirit but the teachings of the spirit is in checking reproving and convincing and as the obedience is yielded to it so it teaches to deny the evil which it doth convince of and reprove for and teaches to live in that which is good that comes from God and so it teaches to deny ungodlinesse and teaches to live soberly mark it well Thou saist concerning the enlightning of the mind that all the lights in the world is never able to make us see divine truths savingly till we are enlightned of the Lord. Answ Then why art thou contending against the light of the Lord seeing thou saist that none can see divine truth savingly till they be enlightned by him would thou keep people from that which will let them see divine truths but divine truths may be seen in the light and yet not savingly for salvation is not in the sight of truth but in the union with it for there may be much seen to be truth and yet the error not forsaken Thou saist none are truely enlightned but those that are in Christ Answ The light of Christ doth enlighten every one that comes into the world and yet every one that comes into the world is not in Christ but as the light which is manifest from Christ is obeyed so it worketh death upon the old man and raise up life and immortality and regenerates man into the nature of it where he becomes a new creature in Christ and is light in the Lord. Thou sayest There is no true light that leads to salvation but what comes from Christ the Son of righteousnesse Answ Then to preach that light is neither canting nor delusion as thou had termed it for it is the light which comes from Christ the Sun of righteousnesse which we preach and we know that there is not another name given under heaven by which any can be saved Thou sayest let others therefore sit down and embrace that so much mired darling of an inward natural yet saving light in all we know saist thou that it is but a changeling and not the genuine off-spring of the spirit Answ Thou hast said no light for salvation but from Christ and now saith the light within is a changeling and this is not agreeable with the Apostles doctrine who said the light that shines in our hearts gives us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus and thou cryes inward natural yet saving light in all and that it is but a changeling but we say the inward natural as it is of man is not saving to any but the inward spiritual light as it comes from the nature of Christ is saving to all that believe in it but the condemnation of such as believe not and therefore we say that the light of Christ within is not a changeling but the Alpha and Omega yesterday and to day and the same for ever In the thirteenth Chapter thou seems to hold forth the qualification of the spirits teachings by teaching fully pleasantly seasonably certainly and profitably and that it brings in no new lights objective and thou saist what makes souls to quit their comforts in this life their friends their estates their liberties yea their lives themselves rather then part with those truths the spirit hath taught them Answ Why this is the reason that makes them do all those things because they love Christ more then all and prizes the truth which he hath taught them more then all the world but that thou art of the number of those that are so given up to God and loves his truth doth not any way appear for thou enjoyes thy friends thy estate and liberty and life thou hast fulnesse and art at ease thou art not come to travel in hunger and cold and perils to make known the glad tydings of the Gospel thou art not in bonds and prisons for the truth of God and the testimony of a good conscience these things comes not near unto thee but thou art reviling the innocent who have received the teachings of Gods spirit and loves the truth above all the world or the enjoyments of it for which cause we suffer as to our libertie and estates and our lives are in jeopardy yet in the comfort of truth we have our rejoycing though thou adde afflictions to our sufferings Thou saist we have no foundation for such gradual teachings as to expect the spirit should teach more truths afterwards then are written in the word of God Answ The spirit of God is not limitted as to what may or may not be in mans expectation for God manifests the truth by his spirit according to his own pleasure and in his own time and the spirit opens the Scripture in fulfilling of them and also manifests the mind of God in what he will further reveal and make known Thou saist though the spirit teaches in the word that there can be no absolute perfection in this life telling us in the words of S. John that if we say we have no sin c. and yet saist thou the spirit teaches the soul gradually to breathe after perfection Answ The word and the spirit is perfect and all born of the spirit are perfect and the words of John in that Scripture doth not relate to the birth born of God for when he comes to speak of that birth he saith whosoever is born of God sinneth not c. and that which sinneth not is perfect and what good doth thy ministry if thou do not bring people to that which is perfect or where would thou have people to be perfect if they die imperfect surely thy message is sad to that which breathes after perfection and thou hast not received the gift from Christ which is for perfecting of the Saints and so thou art teaching another doctrine then the true Ministers teaches who labours that they may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus I now come to thy last Chapter wherein thou seems to hold forth practical deduction from Gods presence by his spirit and thou saist coming unto God in a way that God never owned nor prescribed is a direct turning away from him Answ Christ is the way unto the Father and there is none can come unto him by any other and they that walk in this way are preserved 〈◊〉 all by paths but they that walks in their own way they turn directly from God and if thou truly try thy self thou may find it so to be with thee Thou saist Gods Spirit teaches none to continue in the practice of known sins he doth not allow them to sin and then teach them that is to be spiritual to deem nothing sin that we possibly can commit Answ The Spirit of God teaches to deny all sin and all that obeys the Spirit they come to the Crosse which crucifies to the death the sinning nature and so brings into righteousnesse and

holinesse of life for the birth of the spirit sinneth not neither doth the birth of the flesh work righteousnesse and so he that commits sin is of the devil and doth not yield himself a servant to the Spirit of God Thou saist he that is taught by the Spirit by that knowledge is carried out to purifie himself and that the office of the Spirit is to sanctifie the soul impurity of life saist thou is no livery for the disciple of Christ to wear Answ He that purifies himself from sin by the power of the Spirit he doth not live in sin and he that doth not live in sin is perfect but thy livery hath not the shew of a true disciple of Christ but the children of light are cloathed with his righteousnesse and follows him in the daily Crosse Thou saist we may hear how excellent a thing it is to hear no ministers at all but to sit still in silence and to expect heavenly raptures as if all were possessed with a dumb devil Answ We hear Christs ministers and yet are taught of God to wait upon him in silence where we feel his presence with joy and are gathered into the heavenly raptures of peace and blessednesse but thy tongue is unbridled by which we know wha● is at liberty in thee who shoots thy arrows against the righteous Thou saist the martyrs that submitted their necks to the block and their bodies to the flames yet never suffered for those things which th●s●●bstinately m●●●tain who have f●llen from hearing the word and h●ve left the o●●●nan●es which we h●ve good ground saist thou from the word of God 〈◊〉 bra●d as e●ro●●● and grosse delusions Answ The martyrs of Jesus hav● ever suffered for his names sake for they have always ●ad a s●re testimony in the truth against all deceit and false worsh●● for which they suffered and for the same and no other thing do ●●b●nds and afflictions betide us this day so that we have good ground to brand the persecuting spirit as a spirit of errour and grosse delusion Thou saist that they that are taught of the Spirit of God are taught love both to God and men they then love God for himself and men for Gods sake t is true saist thou love not envy nor malice nor reviling nor hatred nor backbiting and slandering others that are not just of our opinion that is the fruit of the Spirit of God Answ Then behold from what spirit thy fruit is made manifest for thy own work bears witnesse against thee that thou art not in the love of God without which none can truly love him nor men for his sake for thou that calls the light of Christ within delusion thou loves not God and thou that would have men hunted and taken and destroyed thou dost not love them but art in envy and hatred and malice against them and thou that calls them foxes and hereticks thou rails and reviles them and all this because they are not just of thy opinion but we are in the love of God and have fervent love to him and one another and we do pity all people that abides in darknesse and though by such we be evil intreated yet we cannot render evil for evil but overcomes the evil with good and herein we bear good will to all men as our lives do sufficiently manifest and so having briefly cleared the truth and the innocent I shall shut thee up in thy own conclusion desiring that thou henceforth may be warned and do so no more for certainly the hand of the Lord hath dealt gently with thee and his love hath covered a multitude of faults and for what thou hast done amisse I desire thou may be truly humbled before the Lord for it and come to repentance that he may pardon it and remit it who still waits that he may be gracious and herein my love is to thy soul though I have borne a clear testimony against thy spirit and in the power of God do judge it and condemn it and shakes it off as a wanderer in the earth and so in the seed immortal of God I go over it for the Lamb reigns in his dominion and the glory is his for ever W. S. THE END Some few faults escaped the Reader is desired to correct pag. 9. line 19 read of after out p. 11. l. 22. for them r. then p. 12. ●2 for narive r. native l. 26. read swift for swft