Selected quad for the lemma: nature_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
nature_n	faith_n	grace_n	justification_n	2,638	5	9.1538	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A89790	A declaration of the faith and order owned and practised in the Congregational Churches in England; agreed upon and consented unto by their elders and messengers in their meeting at the Savoy, Octob. 12. 1658.	Congregational Church in England and Wales. Savoy Meeting (1658).; Owen, John, 1616-1683.; Nye, Philip, 1596?-1672.	1659 (1659)	Wing N1488; Thomason E968_4; ESTC R203024	44,014	43

God taking away their heart of stone and giving unto them an heart of flesh renewing their wills and by his Almighty power determining them to that which is good and effectually drawing them to Jesus Christ yet so as they come most freely being made willing by his grace II. This effectual Call is of Gods free and special grace alone not from any thing at all foreseen in man who is altogether passive therein untill being quickned and renewed by the holy Spirit he is thereby enabled to answer this Call and to embrace the grace offered and conveyed in it III. Elect Infants dying in Infancy are regenerated and saved by Christ who worketh when and where and how he pleaseth so also are all other elect persons who are uncapable of being outwardly called by the Ministery of the Word IV. Others not elected although they may be called by the Ministry of the Word and may have some common operations of the Spirit yet not being effectual drawn by the Father they neither do nor can come unto Christ and therefore cannot be saved much less can men not professing the Christian Religion be saved in any other way whatsoever be they never so diligent to frame their lives according to the Light of Nature and the Law of that Religion they do profess And to assert and maintain that they may is very pernicious and to be detested CHAP. XI Of Justification THose whom God effectually calleth he also freely justifieth not by infusing righteousnesse into them but by pardoning their sins and by accounting and accepting their persons as righteous not for any thing wrought in them or done by them but for Christs sake alone nor by imputing Faith it self the act of believing or any other Evangelical obedience to them as their righteousness but by imputing Christs active obedience unto the whole Law and passive obedience in his death for their whole and sole righteousness they receiving and resting on him and his righteousness by Faith which Faith they have not of themselves it is the gift of God II. Faith thus receiving and resting on Christ and his righteousness is the alone instrument of Justification yet it is not alone in the person justified but is ever accompanied with all other saving graces and is no dead Faith but worketh by Love III. Christ by his Obedience and Death did fully discharge the Debt of all those that are justified and did by the sacrifice of himself in the blood of his Cross undergoing in their stead the penalty due unto them make a proper real and full satisfaction to Gods Justice in their behalf Yet in as much as he was given by the Father for them and his Obedience and Satisfaction accepted in their stead and both freely not for any thing in them their justification is only of free grace that both the exact justice and rich grace of God might be glorified in the justification of sinners IV. God did from all eternity decree to justifie all the Elect and Christ did in the fulness of time dye for their sins and rise again for their justification Nevertheless they are not justified personally until the holy Spirit doth in due time actually apply Christ unto them V. God doth continue to forgive the sins of those that are justified and although they can never fall from the state of justification yet they may by their sins fall under Gods fatherly displeasure and in that condition they have not usually the light of his Countenance restored unto them until they humble themselves coness their sins beg pardon and renew their faith and repentance VI The justification of Believers under the old Testament was in all these respects one and the same with the justification of Believers under the new Testament CHAP. XII Of Adoption ALL those that are justified God vouchsafeth in and for his only Son Jesus Christ to make partakers of the grace of Adoption by which they are taken into the number and enjoy the liberties and priviledges of the Children of God have his Name put upon them receive the Spirit of Adoption have accesse to the Throne of Grace with boldness are enabled to cry Abba Father are pitied protected provided for and chastened by him as by a father yet never cast off but sealed to the day of Redemption and inherit the Promises as Heirs of everlasting Salvation CHAP. XIII Of Sanctification THey that are united to Christ effectually called and regenerated having a new heart and a new spirit created in them through the vertue of Christs death and resurrection are also further sanctified really and personally through the same vertue by his Word and Spirit dwelling in them the dominion of the whole body of sin is destroyed and the several lusts thereof are more and more weakned and mortified and they more and more quickned and strengthned in all saving graces to the practice of all true holiness without which no man shall see the Lord II. This Sanctification is throughout in the whole man yet imperfect in this life there abideth still some remnants of corruption in every part whence ariseth a continual and irreconcileable war the flesh lusting against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh III. In which war although the remaining corruption for a time may much prevail yet through the continual supply of strength from the sanctifying Spirit of Christ the regenerate part doth overcome and so the Saints grow in grace perfecting holinesse in the fear of God CHAP. XIV Of saving Faith THe grace of Faith whereby the Elect are inabled to believe to the saving of their souls is the work of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts and is ordinarily wrought by the Ministery of the Word by which also and by the administration of the Seals Prayer and other means it is increased and strengthened II. By this Faith a Christian believeth to be true whatsoever is revealed in the Word for the Authority of God himself speaking therein and acteth differently upon that which each particular passage thereof containeth yielding obedience to the commands trembling at the threatnings and embracing the promises of God for this life and that which is to come But the principal acts of saving Faith are accepting receiving and resting upon Christ alone for justification sanctification and eternal life by vertue of the Covenant of Grace III. This Faith although it be different in degrees and may be weak or strong yet it is in the least degree of it different in the kind or nature of it as is all other saving grace from the faith and common grace of temporary believers and therefore though it may be many times assailed and weakened yet it gets the victory growing up in many to the attainment of a full assurance through Christ who is both the author and finisher of our Faith CHAP. XV Of Repentance unto life and salvation SUch of the Elect as are converted at riper years having sometime lived in the state of nature and therein

A DECLARATION OF THE FAITH and ORDER Owned and practised in the Congregational Churches IN ENGLAND Agreed upon and consented unto By their ELDERS and MESSENGERS IN Their Meeting at the SAVOY Octob. 12. 1658. LONDON Printed for D. L. And are to be sold in Paul's Church-yard Fleet-Street and Westminster-Hall 1659. A Preface COnfession of the Faith that is in us when justly called for is so indispensable a due all owe to the Glery of the Soveraign GOD that it is ranked among the Duties of the first Commandment such as Prayer is and therefore by Paul yoaked with Faith it self as necessary to salvation With the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation Our Lord Christ himself when he was accused of his Doctrine considered simply as a matter of fact by Preaching refused to answer because as such it lay upon evidence matter of testimony of others unto whom therefore he refers himself But when both the High-Priest and Pilate expostulate his Faith and what he held himself to be he without any demur at all chearfully makes Declarat on That he was the Son of GOD so to the High-Priest And that he was a King and born to be a King thus to Pilate Though upon the uttering of it his life lay at the stake Which holy Profession of his is celebrated for our example 1 Tim. 6. 13. Confessions when made by a company of Professors of Christianity joyntly meeting to that end the most genuine and natural use of such Confessions is That under the same form of words they express the substance of the same common salvation or unity of their faith whereby speaking the same things they shew themselves perfectly joyned in the same mind and in the same judgment 1 Cor. 1. 10. And accordingly such a transaction is to be looked upon but as a meet or fit medium or means whereby to express that their common faith and salvation and no way to be made use of as an imposition upon any What ever is of force or constraint in matters of this nature causeth them to degenerate from the name and nature of Confessions and turns them from being Confessions of Faith into Exactions and Impositions of Faith And such common Confessions of the Orthodox Faith made in simplicity of heart by any such Body of Christians with concord among themselves ought to be entertained by all others that love the truth as it is in Jesus with an answerable rejoycing For if the unanimous opinions and assertions but in some few points of Religion and that when by two Churches namely that of Jerusalem and the Messengers of Antioch met assisted by some of the Apostles were by the Believers of those times received with so much joy as it is said They rejoyced for the consolation much more this is to be done when the whole substance of Faith and form of wholesome words shall be declared by the Messengers of a multitude of Churches though wanting those advantages of Counsel and Authority of the Apostles which that Assembly had Which acceptation is then more specially due when these shall to choose utter and declare their Faith in the same substance for matter yea words for the most part that other Chur●hes and Assembli●s reputed the most Orthodox have done before them For upon such a correspondency all may see that actually accomplished which the Apostle did but exhort unto and pray for in those two more eminent Churches of the Corinthians and the Romans and so in them for all the Christians of his time that both Jew and Gentile that is men of different perswasions as they were might glorifie GOD with one mind and with one mouth And truly the very turning of the Gentiles to the owning of the same Faith in the substance of it with the Christian Jew though differing in greater points then we do from our Brethren is presently after dignified by the Apostle with this style That it is the Confession of Jesus Christ himself not as the Object onely but as the Author and Maker thereof I will confess to thee saith Christ to God among the Gentiles So that in all such accords Christ is the great and first Confessor and we and all our Faith uttered 〈◊〉 Us are but the Epistles as Paul and Confessions as Isaiah there of their Lord and ours He but expressing what is written in his heart through their hearts and mouthes to the glory of God the Father And shall not we all rejoyce herein when as Christ himself is said to do it upon this occasion as it there also follows I will sing unto thy Name Further as the soundness and wholesomness of the matter gives the vigor and life to such Confessions so the inward freeness willingness and readiness of the Spirits of the Confessors do contribute the beauty and loveliness thereunto As it is in Prayer to God so in Confessions made to men If two or three met do agree it renders both 〈…〉 the more acceptable The Spirit of Christ is in himself too free great and generous a Spirit to suffer himself to be used by any humane arm to whip men into belief he drive● not but gently leads into all truth and perswades men to dwell in the tents of l●k● precious Faith which would lose of its preciousness and value if that sparkle of freeness sh●ne not in it The Character of His People i● to be a willing people in the day of his power not Mans in the beauties of holiness which are the Assemblings of the Saints one gl●●y of which Assemblings in that fi●st Ch●rch i● said to have been They met with one accord which is there in the Psalm prophesied of in the instance of that first Church for all other that should succeed And as this great Spirit is in himself free when and how for and in whom to work so where and when he doth work he carrieth it with the same freedom and is said to be a free Spirit as he both is and works in us And where this Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty Now as to this Confession of ours besides that a conspicuous conjunction of the particulars mentioned hath appeared therein There are also four remarkable Attendants thereon which added might perhaps in the eyes of sober and indifferent Spirits give the whole of this Transaction a room and rank amongst other many good and memorable things of this Age at least all set together do cast as clear a gleam and manifestation of God's Power and Presence as hath appeared in any such kind of Confessions made by so numerous a company these later years The first is the Temper or distemper rather of the Times during which these Churches have been gathering and which they have run through All do out of a general sense complain that the times have been perillous or difficult times as the Apostle fore told and that in respect to danger from seducing spirits

conceive that WE being dissatisfied in these things as our Brethren the like liberty was intended by the Honorable Houses and may be taken by us of the Congregational way without blame or grief to the spirits of those Brethren at least to resolve or rather to continue in the same Resolution and Practise in these matters which indeed were our practises in times of greatest opposition and before this Reformation was began And as our Brethren the Ministers of London drew up and published their opinions and apprehensions about Church-Government into an intire System so we now give the like publique account of our Consciences and the Rules by which we have constantly practised hitherto which we have here drawn up and do present Whereby it will appear how much or how little we differ in these things from our Presbyterian Brethren And we trust there is no just cause why any man either for our differing from the present settlement it being out of Conscience and not out of contempt or our differences one from another being not wilful should charge either of us with that odious reproach of Schism And indeed if not for our d ffering from the State settlement much less because we differ from our Brethren our d fferences being in some lesser things and circumstances onely as themselves acknowledge And let it be further considered that we have not broken from them or their Order by these differences but rather they from us and in that respect we less deserve their censure our practise being no other then what it was in our breaking from Episcopacy and long before Presbytery or any such form as now they are in was taken up by them and we will not say how probable it is that the yoke of Episcopacy had been upon our neck to this day if some such way as formerly and now is and hath been termed Schism had not with much suffering bin then practised and since continued in For Novelty wherewith we are likewise both charged by the Enemies of both it is true in respect of the publique and open Profession either of Presbytery or Independency this Nation hath been a stranger to each way it 's possible ever since it hath been Christian though for our s lves we are able to trace the foot-steps of an Independent Congregational way in the ancientest customs of the Churches as also in the Writings of our soundest Protestant Divines and that which we are much satified in a full concurrence throughout in all the substantial parts of Church-Government with our Reverend Brethren the old Puritan Non-conformists who being instant in Prayer and much sufferings prevailed with the Lord and we reap with joy what they sowed in tears Our Brethren also that are for Presbyterial Subordinations profess what is of weight against Novelty for their way And now therefore seeing the Lord in whose hand is the heart of Princes hath put into the hearts of our Governours to tolerate and permit as they have done many years persons of each perswasion to enjoy their Consciences though neither come up to the Rule established by Authority And that which is more to give us both Protection and the same encouragement that the most devoted Conformists in those former Superstitious Times enjoyed yea and by a publike Law to estalish this Liberty for time to come and yet further in the midst of our fears to set over us a Prince that owns this Establishment and cordially resolves to secure our Churches in the enjoyment of these Liberties if we abuse them not to the disturbance of the Civil Peace This should be a very great engagement upon the hearts of all though of different perswasions to endeavour our utmost joyntly to promove the honour and prosperity of such a Government and Governours by whatsoever means which in our Callings as Ministers of the Gospel and as Churches of Jesus Christ the Prince of Peace we are any way able to do as also to be peaceably disposed one towards another and with mutual toleration to love as brethren notwithstanding such differences remembring as it 's very equal we should the differences that are between Presbyterians and Independents being differences between fellow-servants and neither of them having authority given from God or Man to impose their Opinions one more then the other That our Governours after so solemn an establishment should thus bear with us both in our greater differences from their Rule and after this for any of us to take a fellow-servant by the throat upon the account of a lesser reckoning and nothing due to him upon it is to forget at least not to exercise that compassion and tenderness we have found where we had less ground to challenge or expect it Our Prayer unto God is That whereto we have already attained we all may walk by the same rule and that wherein we are otherwise minded God would reveal it to us in his due time A DECLARATION OF THE FAITH and ORDER Owned and practised in the Congregational Churches IN ENGLAND CHAP. I. Of the Holy Scripture ALthough the Light of Nature and the Works of Creation and Providence do so far manifest the Goodnesse Wisdom and Power of God as to leave men unexcusable yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God and of his Will which is necessary unto salvation Therefore it pleased the Lord at sundry times and in divers manners to reveal Himself and to declare that his Will unto his Church and afterwards for the better preserving and propagating of the truth and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the Church against the corruption of the flesh and the malice of Satan and of the World to commit the same wholly unto writing which maketh the holy Scripture to be most necessary those former wayes of Gods revealing his Will unto his people being now ceased II. Under the name of holy Scripture or the Word of God written are now contained all the Books of the Old and New Testament which are these Of the Old Testament Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua Judges Ruth 1 Samuel 2 Samuel 1 Kings 2 Kings 1 Chronicles 2 Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah Esther Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes The Song of Songs Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Ezekiel Daniel Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi Of the New Testament Mathew Mark Luke John The Acts of the Apostles Pauls Epistle to the Romans 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Phillippians Colossians 1 Thessalonians 2 Thessalonians 1 To Timothy 2 To Timothy To Titus To Philemon The Epistle to the Hebrews The Epistle of James The first and second Epistles of Peter The first second and third Epistles of John The Epistle of Jude The Revelation All which are given by the inspiration of God to be the Rule of Faith and Life III. The Books commonly called Apocrypha not being of Divine inspiration are no part of the Canon of the Scripture and