Selected quad for the lemma: nature_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
nature_n	law_n	sin_n	sin_v	3,553	5	9.3146	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A91366	The way step by step to sound and saving conversion, with a clear discovery of the two states, viz: nature, & grace: and how to know in which state one is, and the way to come out of the one into the other. Or, The ready and right path-way for the first Adams posterity to get out of their fallen estate accompanied with sin and misery, into the relation and family of the last Adam, which estate is attended with grace and glory, &c. With many weighty questions answered, and cases of conscience resolved, for the clearing and confirming the truths asserted. / By Robert Purnell.	Purnell, Robert, d. 1666.	1659 (1659)	Wing P4241; Thomason E1800_1; ESTC R209703	66,581	144

there is no hope of Salvation Mat. 18. 3. John 3. 5 Sin was that which fetched the dearest blood from the heart of Christ and will have thine too if thou gettest not an interest in him if thy sin doth not die before thou dost die thou art in danger of 18 Sorts of men womē that shall never enter into heaven perishing eternally Read seriously but these four Scriptures and thou shalt find at least 18 sorts of men and women that shall never enter into heaven unless before they die Christ be formed in them and they restored and renewed born again and covert●d c. 1 Cor. 6. 9 10. Know you not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God be not deceived 1. No Fornicators 2. No Idolators 3. Nor Adulterers 4. Nor Effeminate 5. Nor abusers of themselves with mankinde 6. Nor Theeves 7. Nor Covetous 8. Nor Drunkards 9. Nor Revilers or envious persons 10. Nor Extortioners These shall not inherit the kingdom of God Rev. 21. 8. 11. Nor the fearfull and unbelieving 12. Nor murderers See Rev. 22. 15. 13. Nor sorcerers or those that use witchcraft 14. Nor Lyars all these shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire which is the second death Gal. 5. 19 20 21. 15. Nor he that is given to hatred variance and strife 16. Nor he that is given to seditions heresies they which doe such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God 2 Thess 1. 8. 17. Nor ignorant persons 18. Nor those that refuse to practice what they know being disobedient These persons being shut out of heaven makes good the words of Christ Mat. 7. 13 14. Enter ye in at the strait gate for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction and many there be which enter in thereat because straight is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life and few there be which find it Rom. 9. 27. Though the number of the children of Israel he as the sands of the Sea a remnant shall be saved Well the holy nature of God will not permit the unclean and unholy soul to come into his presence Rev. 21. 27. There shall in no wise enter into it any thing that de●ileth or whatsoever worketh abomination Ps 5. 4. Neither shall evil dwell with him the foolish shall not stand in his sight it is true you may call him Lord Lord till the last Mat. 7. 21 22. But he will tell you he doth not know you if thou hast not something of the image of that Spirit that holy nature whatsoever thou mayest think of thy self he will never take thee for his child thou art wicked and the wicked as Psal 9 17. shall be turned into hell and all they that forget God and surely God in the execution of the curse doth the sinner no wrong nay he should doe wrong unto himself and with reverence so to speak be unjust if he should not execute Justice upon the sinner either in himself or in his Surety There are four strong reasons for it viz. 1. To manifest the majestie of him who is offended 2. And the goodness of the command that is transgressed 3. The evil of sin that is committed 4. The vildness of the sinner for sinning c. I had once thought to have spoken somthing to each of these four heads but shall not at present but desire the Reader to consider that every sin puts God upon complaining and Christ upon bleeding and the Spirit upon grieving Every sin doth cast a treble dishonor upon God 1. In its malignitie as being most contrary to the pure unspotted and perfect nature of God 2. In its obstinacie it opposeth the command of God slights the will of God and contradicts the design of God 3. Sin doth cast a dishonor upon God in its choice a sinner in sinning chuseth a base lust a venomous sin a crooked way before the glorious precious and most desirable good the Lord himself So that man in the state of nature lives upon the earth as a condemned creature under guilt curse and death being conceived in sin and brought forth into the world in iniquitie having lost that Image of righteousness holiness and saving knowledg of God in which Adam our father was at first created and so remains till born again converted and regenerated the children of wrath by Nature dead in sins and trespasses Aliens from the Common-wealth of Israel Satans captives servants and slaves and these men in this estate of Nature differ much one from another one seems nearer unto the other farther from the Kingdom of God Mark 12. 34. compared with Psal 119. 155. They 1. Have such hardened hearts and seared consciences that they commit all manner of wickedness with greediness glorying in their shame and so making themselves as the Scripture saith sevenfold more the children of wrath than they were before guilty of original sin but now they are become guiltie of original and actual transgression having been filling up the measure of their iniquitie and fitting themselves for the day of slaughter Matth. 23. 32 33. compared with James 5. 5. 2. Others walk more evenly and usefully being in a measure civilized by education custome fear of punishment good Examples wholesome counsels So was the young man Matth. 19. 20. All these things have I kept from my youth up What lack I yet c. So was the Scribe we reade of Mark 12. 32 33 34 he answered discreetly and Christ told him he was not far from the Kingdom of God Let the Reader consider that although Man is so fearfully and shamefully fallen yet there r●mains some footsteps marks and impressions of that righteous and eternal Law at first engraven in his heart by the finger of the Almightie by which many Naturalists have acted wisely and prudently as to worldly affairs and humane concernments as may at large be safely gathered from many Scriptures there may be a change and yet not The Change Some of the Lord's people upon good ground doth observe that there is a sou● fold change Change 1. A moral 2. A partial 3. A formal 4. A spiritual A man by improvement of the light and gifc in Nature may obtain to the three former as to instance 1. There is a moral change when a person or a people changeth from sinfull notorious waies to temperance justice equitie patience when ignorance is taken away by illumination and boldness in sinning is abated by fear of punishment and sticks there and goes no farther and here thousands stay and live quietly and perish eternally 2. There is a partial Change when men forsake some sins and yet live in the love and liking of other sins Christ sets this down in the Parable of the unclean Spirit as to some sinfull courses is cast out for a time but afterwards returns with seven spirits worse than himself and so his last end proves worse than his beginning Matth. 12.

43 44 45. 3. There is a formal Change when men will do that which is commanded but not as it is commanded of these St. Paul speaks 2 Tim. 3. 5. Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof they will be doing of good and forsaking evil because the eie of the creature and the ear of the creature the applause of the creature the rewards of the creature or the fear of the creature prevails with them notwithstanding this threefold change these people with the former are in an estate of estrangement to God and liable to condemnation for though the lives of some are less sinfull than others yet the hearts are alike these men do but walk in new practices with an old heart Acts 7. 51. Heb. 6. 4. Consider O thou that readest if thou and I had committed in all our lives but one sin and that onely in thought this makes us subject unto and leaves us in danger of eternal damnation thereby James 2. 10. Gal. 3. 10. The Law must have a perfect personal universal perpetual obedience or else we remain under the curse according to the rule of moral righteousuess between God and Man it followeth that the demerit of sin receiveth its nature measure and limits from the will of God according as he hath revealed himself in the Moral Law So that the damned in Hell suffer not more nor less than they deserved yea had God pleased to have inflicted a greater punishment for sin yet had he been still just the object offended being God the person suffering being but a Man the evil of punishment cannot exceed the evil of the offence neither can any thing relieve us but that which is answerable to the evil of sin now there is no righteousness in the world that is proportionable to the evil of sin but the righteousness of Christ onely 1. Our own righteousness is too short is called a monstrous rag a rag and therfore cannot cover us monstrous if it should cover us it were but to cover filth with filth as the Prophet speaks Isa 30. 1. They cover but not with the covering of my Spirit that they might add sin to sin dung to dung 2. Nor will the righteousness of the Law be large enough if a man could keep it it will not acquit us for former disobedience Gal. 3. 21. If the Law could have given life verily righteousness should have been by the Law See Rom. 8. 3 4. 3. It is not the righteousness of all the Angels that can do it because this also is a created righteousness a finite righteousness and no way proportionable to the evil of sin 4. If we should weep as many tears as the Sea holds drops and humble our selves as manie daies as the world hath stood minutes all this were too short to purchase the pardon of one sin if the stung Israelites had made a Medicine of the best Herbs in the Wilderness and a Plaister of all the sovereign Ingredients in the whole World and applied it with Mountains of Praiers Seas of Tears this would not have helped them if withall they did not look upon the Brazen Serpent for all these cannot purchase the pardon of one sin nothing but infinicen●ss can deal with sin it must be infinite Wisdom to finde out a Way it must be infinite Mercy to pardon infinite Power to subdue infinite Merit to purge and cleanse and infinite Grace to destroy sin Look about thee whosoever thou art that readest these Lines this is or was thine estate and condition which is attended with these two Miscries viz. 1. Thou art unable to help thy self out 2. Thou art unwilling First of the first 1. Thou art unable to help thy self out Jer. 13. 23. Can the Ethiopian change his skin and the Leopard his spot then may they do good that are accustomed to do evil There is no power below the power that raised Christ from the dead that can turn the heart of a sinner to the Lord he is as well able to turn a Flint into Flesh as to turn his own heart to the Lord he is as well able to raise the dead and to make a World as to repent for Repentance is a Flower that grows not in Natures Garden as the Birth of Isaac was not by the strength of Nature like Ishmael's of Hagar but by virtue of the Promise after a supernatural manner upon sensibleness of barrenness so seemeth it to be with everie one that is born of the Spirit Johnsaith that Believers were born not of the will of the Flesh nor of the will of Man but of God 2. Thou art as unwilling as unable thou hast wilfully pulled upon thy self just miserie and art apt wilfully to reject free mercie there is a special enmitie in the heart against Conversion and Believing John 5. 43. I am come in my Fathers Name and ye receive me not if another should come in his own name him ye would receive Acts 22. 4. I saith Paul before conversion persecuted this way unto the death Rom. 10. 3. They would not submit to the righteousness of faith Here are proud hearts indeed that it should be matter of submission for a condemned man to take a Pardon a wounded man a Plaister a sick man a Cordial a naked man Cloathing a lost sinner a Saviour ls not this the case of the Men and Women of the World Consider wouldst thou not account him a Fool that will refuse Physick because he is sick a Cordial because he is faint Meat because he is hungrie Money because he is poor Cloathing because he is naked and Freedom because he is Satans Prisoner I could almost say to the Reader as once Nathan said to David Thou art the Man 2 Sam. 12. 7. There are amongst manie others these four things that keep most Men and Women from being converted 1. Most think it to be a needless work or an easie work when as it is a needfull work and a hard work Jer. 13. 23. compared with Matth. 18. 3. 2. Or because he is not able to pay that which God requires 3. Or because he thinketh he shall be able to discharge all himself in time 4. Or else because he doubts of the truth of him that promiseth to help him So much shall serve to speak of the Change 1. Moral 2. Partial 3. Formal It remains now that we come to the fourth to wit the Spiritual change and here I shall fix all that is written before is but an Introduction to this I have been shewing the Maladie let us now come to the Remedie the sum whereof is that God the Father Son and Holie Ghost hath sent forth Jesus Christ God-Man into the World to seek and save sinners and commandeth every one that heareth these glad tidings to believe in him whom he hath sent and promiseth that whosoever believeth in him shall be saved for God when the fulness of time by him appointed was come sent his Son him that is