Selected quad for the lemma: love_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
love_n	apostle_n	faith_n	work_v	4,705	5	7.7266	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A07444	The iudge of heresies one God, one faith, one church, out of which there is no saluation. Excluding all infidells, Mahumetans, Iewes, obstinate papists, and other heretikes of all sorts, and consequently all newters, who conforme themselues onely externally to any religion, from hope of participation of the kingdome of heauen. If they finally persist therein, and returne not to the knowledge and zealous profession of the true faith. By Iohn Merideth, Sub-Deane of Chichester.	Meredith, John, b. 1579 or 80.	1624 (1624)	STC 17830; ESTC S112660	68,232	98

reward thou doest expect is beyond the merit of thy Vertues and wilt thou murmurre if thy punishment be proportionable to thy faults Behold thou that boastest of the perfection of thy Vertues doest want Iustice the foundation of all and consequently art v●iust wee who are Christians confesse that wee haue very few vertues which shall bee rewarded aboue measure innumerable vices to receiue their punishment wee say this is iust and yet through mercy are wee saued which mercy is content to accept another to vndergoe the punishment and to giue vs this person his owne Sonne out of the bosome of his Father Iesus Christ the Righteous and hee is the propitiation 〈◊〉 Joh. pri●●a cap. 2. for our sinnes that wee may truly say with the Kingly Prophet In him Mercy and Truth are met together Righteousnes Psal and Peace haue kissed each other Wee sinned hee suffered wee are acquitted wee know our want and our relieuer also our want maketh vs seeke his promise and our confidence maketh vs obtaine that which thou canst not because thou knowest not nor dost acknowledge thy want and therefore dost not seeke nor knowest not where to seeke or whom for an helper and that because thou winkest or stopp●st thine eare vnleast thou shouldst see or heare him who cryeth vnto thee Come vnto mee all yee that are weary and laden and I will ease you Take my yoake on you and learne of mee that I am meeke and Math. 11. lowly in heart and you shall finde rest vnto your soules for my yoake is easie and my burden is light This is hee vnto whom wee cleaue vnto him haue wee bound our selues and that worthily for there is no other name vnder heauen whereby wee Acts. 4. must bee saued but the name of Iesus Whosoeuer therefore doth not wholly relye on him with the Christian must ineuitably perish Wherefore Viues a man otherwise of excellent learning and sound Iudgement is as farre beside the right marke as is distance betweene Heauen and Hell in affirming That Comment in lib. 18 cap. 47. d● Ciuit. Dei those who being borne in the most remote Territories beyond the maine Ocean and neuer heard any thing af Christ but if they keepe those two great cammandements wherein consisteth the Law and the Prophets viz. Louing God and his Neighbour are as acceptable to God as Baptized Christians Quum Spiritum Sanctum non secus quam Apostoli meruerint acceperint Seeing they haue deserned and receiued the holy Ghost as well as the Apostles that because they sought out the righteousnesse of the Lord So great a matter is it saith hee to haue a desire to be good though thou canst not finde a man to teach thee vertue wheras our Sauioursaith That hee that beleeueth not in him is condemned already euen for this cause that hee hath not beleeued in the name of that only Iohn 3. begotten Sonne of God whereas the knowledge of Christ is life 17. eternall And whereas hee pretendeth that they might perfectly performe the Law following nature for their Guide their Conscience being their Law consequently be saued by their vertuous life as many Christians on the contrary hauing the knowledge of he Law do notwithstanding transgresse against th● law and thereby incurre damnation I answer that there are many Christians wicked but there are no Pagans to bee found good for though some of them were accounted to bee good yet they performed all their Actions for vaine-glory But he that is good for vaine glory and not for the loue of Goodnesse it selfe if opportunity second him hee will follow euill desires And therefore I say that as daily slippes of infirmity doe not hinder the true penitent Christian from life ●ternall for without such no man can spend this wretched life So some vertuous Actions of which the most impious man cannot bee wholly destitute cannot further the infidell to euerlasting Saluation because hee doth them to a wrong end as for vaine glory Neither can hee say that God is vniust if hee doe not giue him life eternall for a reward of his vertues for God doth recompence them with temporall blessings at which they most aymed and looked not beyond heare the mystery reuealed by the Author of the imperfect worke vpon Saint Mathewes Gospell where hee saith Si fidelis 〈◊〉 26. fec●rit opus bonum hic ei prodest c. If a Belieuing Christian doth act a good worke it doth profit him in this life to deliuer him from euill and in the next life to receiue the Kingdome of Heauen but rather there then heere But if an Infidell doth a good worke his worke doth profit him heere in this life and God will render him good things heere for his worke but it will not profit him in the life to come neither is hee placed among the faithfull because of his worke and iustly too Quia naturali bono motus fecit bonum non propter Deum because hee did act that good deed by the meere motion of nature and not for the loue of God And I say though a man should performe true vertues and yet bee destitute of the knowledge and faith of Christ hee could not be saued for what good had it beene vnto Saint Paul to haue kept the righteousnesse which is of the Law if hee had not knowne Christ Seeing our Sauiour saith v●to the Iewes Except yee belieue that I am hee yee shall dye in your sinnes In consideration whereof Saint Paul ●enounceth Io● 8. all confidence in his righteousnesse which is in the Law touching which he was vnblameable that he might gaine the excellent knowledge of Christ Iesus accounting all Philip. 3. things to be dung that hee might win●e Christ that hee might be found in him that is not hauing his own righteousnesse which is of the Law but that which is through the faith of Christ euen the righteousnesse which is of God through faith But these workes in a Beleeuing Christian are profitabl because they are done by them of loue toward God i● whom they beleeue and that with great hu●ility o which loue Infidels being destitute th●ir workes are meer● vanity for it may bee That some may belieue ther● is a God and yet not loue him as the Diuels doe Who beleeue Iacob Cap. 2. and tr●mb●e but it cannot be that any one should loue God who doth not beleeue in him because euery one may beleeue a thing to be which he doth not loue but no man doth loue that which hee doth not beleeue to bee but the Apostle saith that All good workes cannot pr●fit if loue of God be wanting yet though a man haue a true knowle●ge 1 Cor. 19. of God Historicall and that faith which could worke miracles and yet bee void of the true faith which worketh by Charity they could not profit If therefore those workes which are acted by him who hath that faith of working

myracles doe not proceed from a loue toward God and to the end hee may be glorified in them are vnprofitable how shall those workes which are acted by him who hath no faith bee conducible to procure eternall life You are therefore danger●usly deceiued who presume that God regardeth not what or whether wee beleeue or not misapylying to that purpose which the Apostle Rom. 2. saith To euery man that doth good hee will giue glory and honour and peace to the Jew first and also to the Grecian and that because there is no respect of p●rsons with God For how can glory bee to the vnbeleeuers which is not giuen vnto any but vnto those who are iustified for those whom God Rom. 8. hath iustified he hath also glorified Or what honour shall be giuen to Infidels When Saint Peter teacheth that it is not giuen but onely to those that beleeue Or how shall there be peace vnto him who is not Ephe● 1. redeemed with the blood of I●sus Christ In whome God hath pacifiea the things which are in Heauen and in Earth for he is our peace who hath made of both one But this peace cannot bee poss●ssed without the faith and loue of Christ for wee being iustified by faith haue peace Rom. 5. with God through our Lord Iesus Christ through whome wee haue entrance by faith into this grace wherein we stand and reioyce vnder the hope of the glory of God This hope doth not make vs ashamed because the loue of God is powred forth into our hearts by the Holy Ghost who is giuen vnto vs for we haue receiued the spirit of Adoption whereby we crie Abba Father That therefore men may bee made the Sonnes of God they receiue the onely begotten Sonne of God by faith and by his gift they receiue this power from the Lord that they may beleeue in him and appertaine to the number of the Sonnes of God For as many as receiued him to them he gaue power to be made the Sonnes of God euen to those Iohn 1. that beleeue in his name In their hearts hee writeth his Law that is the Law of Ierem. 31. Faith which beeing inspired doth Iustifie This Lawe God doeth write in the hearts of his people not by the Condition of Nature but by the bountie of Grace not by the free will of Man but by the Ministery of the preaching of the Gospell not in stone by the Letter of the Old Testament but in the heart by the Spirit of the liuing God Hee writeth therefore the Law of faith by which God iustifieth the Gentiles that by giuing grace he might renew Nature And for this cause hee diffuseth Loue which is the fulfilling of the Lawe by his Spirit that hee may make men labour to fulfill that which hee commanndeth and he bestoweth the grace of Illumination by the Spirit of faith that therefore faith might worke by loue that which is pleasing vnto God The which as long as it is not in Man whatsoeuer hath remained in man written by the Lawe of Nature without the Law of Faith doeth not possibly saue him that doeth thereafter because God doeth iustifie no man without Faith neither can it purchase saluation vnto the worker● because that without faith it is impossible to please God Hebr. 11. Wherefore the Law of Nature by which a man preserneth the bond of humane Societie without faith if it bee fulfilled cannot suffice to saue the Soule as Diues would prooue But that Law by which a man knoweth and loueth God by beleeuing in him not by which a man growen proud doeth challenge vnto himselfe good workes or faith it selfe but by which hee doeth with humble subiection ascribe both his Faith and his Workes vnto God who doeth worke them mercifully in him for this is the nature of true faith so to compose and direct a mans heart That when a man heareth the precepts of God Iddonari sibi quod praecipitur poscat Et cum in fide operatur Fulgent lib. d●●●carn Christi cap. 27. gratia Dei se ●●giter adiuvari non ambigat He prayeth vnto God to make him able to doe that which he commandeth and when hee doth good workes as a beleeuer he acknowledgeth that hee is helped wholly to performe them by the grace of God But we say farther That hee that doth not beleeue cannot haue any true vertues as wee haue prooued before in part and wee adde besides that as faith without workes is no faith so workes without faith are no workes Saint Ierome saying Sine Christo omnis Virtus in vitio In cap 3. ad Galat. est Without the faith of Christ no vertue is faultlesse yea were they present they could bee of no continuance For if so bee the threatning of Hell the promise of Heauen the exemplary liues of inuumerable Saints and all other meanes which we can vse can hardly among vs who are Christians prese●ue m●n in vertuous actions what can wee thinke of those who liuing in Infidelitie and are destitute of these furtherances But that they are so farre from being preserued in the practise of vertues that it is not possible but that they should become starke naught and vitious Therefore I conclude That an innocent life and vertuous actions without the faith of Christ cannot suffice to saluation And I doe adde further that good deeds being found in any one who professeth Christ otherwise then the Scripture teacheth and the true Church beleeueth are wholly vnprofitable and no better then the forenamed false vertues of Infidels for Vbi sana fides non est non potest esse Institia 24. q. 1. cap. vbi Sana ex ●ugustin● there can bee no true righteousnesse where there is no sound faith Therefore let no man deceiue himselfe by confidence in an innocent and vertuous life if h●e die in a damnable and hereticall Religion such as is Popery heare Saint Augustine for a Summary Constituamus aliquem castum continentem Lib. 4. de Baptis●●● non auarum non Idolis seruientem c. Say there is a man who is chaste continent not couetous no Idolater giuen to Hospitalitie to Almes no mans enemy not contentious patient quiet hating no man envying no man sober thriftie but withall an Heretike Nulli vtique dubium est propter hoc solum quod Haereticus est regnum Dei non possessurum No man doubteth but for this cause onely for that he is an heretike hee shall not inherite the kingdome of God CHAP. 3. Declareth that a good Intention or meaning toward God auaile●h not Hereticks to preserue them from damnation without the right knowledge of the true faith where is proued that Negligence and Ignorance in matters of Faith is damnable which ought to bee expelled and preuented by diligent reading and examining of the Scriptures with a detection and con●iction of the Popish politicall tyranny in prohibiting the Laity from the reading of the Scr●ptures containing also an