Selected quad for the lemma: power_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
power_n	death_n	hell_n	key_n	2,731	5	10.4414	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09400	A discourse of conscience wherein is set downe the nature, properties, and differences thereof: as also the way to get and keepe good conscience.	Perkins, William, 1558-1602.	1596 (1596)	STC 19696; ESTC S110415	85,171	182

men to this ende no doubt that they might beleeue the accomplishment of the promise in themselues Secondly we learne that it is not presumption for any man to beleeue the remission of his owne sinnes for to doe the will of God to which we are bound is not to presume now it is the will of God to which he hath bound vs in conscience to belo●ue the remi●●ion of our owne sinnes and therefore rather 〈◊〉 to doe it is p●…ous disobedience Thirdly we are here to ●●rke and to re●…ber with care the foundation of the 〈◊〉 certen●e of mans salo●ion For if man be bound in conscience first to giue assent to the Gosp●t and secondly to applie 〈◊〉 to himselfe by true faith then without doubt a man by faith may be certenly perswaded of his owne 〈◊〉 and saluation in this 〈◊〉 without any ext●ordinarie reuelation Gods commaundements beeing in this and the like case● possible For commaundements are either Legall or Evangelicall Legall shew vs ●●t disease but giue vs no remedie and the perfect doing of them according to the intent of the law giuer by reason of mans weaknes and through mans default is impossible in this world As for Evangelicall commandements they haue this priuiledge that they may and can be performed according to the intention of the Lawgiuer in this life because with the commandement is ioyned the inward operation of the spirit to inable vs to effect the dutie commaunded and the will of God is not to require absolute perfection at our hands in the Gospel as in the law but rather to qualifie the rigour of the law by the satisfaction of a mediatour in our steads and of vs we beeing in Christ to accept the vpright will and indeauour for the deede as the will to repent and the will to beleeue for repentance and true faith indeede Now then if things required in the Gospel be both ordinarie and possible then for a man to haue an unfallible certaintie of his owne saluation is both ordinary possible But more of this point afterward Lastly all such persons as are troubled with 〈◊〉 distrustings vnbeleefe dispaire of Gods mercie are to learne and consider that God by his word bindes them in conscience to be●●●ue the pardon of their owne sinnes be they neuer so grieuous or many and to be●●●e their own Election to saluation whereof they doubt M●●●●hat are but civill haue care to auoid robbing and killing because God giues commaundements against stealing and killing why then should not we much more striue against our manifold doubtings and distrustings of Gods loue in Christ hauing a commandement of God that calls vpon vs and binds vs to doe so Thus we see how Gods word bindes consciences now conscience being thus bound againe bindes vs. The bonde of conscience is called Guiltines Guiltines is nothing els but a worke of the conscience binding ouer a man to a punishment before God for some sinne Thus much of the propet binder of the conscience now follows the improper The improper binder is that which hath no power or vertue in it selfe to binde conscience but doth it onely by vertue of Gods word or of some part of it It is threefold Humane lawes an Oath a Promise Touching humane lawes the speciall point to be considered is In what manner they binde That this may in part be cleared I will stande a while to examine and confute the opinion that the very pillers of the popish Church at this day maintaine namely that Civill and Ecclesi●sticall Iuris●●ction haue a coactive povver in the conscience and that the 〈◊〉 made thereby doe as truly and properly binde as they speake to mortall and venial sinne as Gods law it selfe The arguments which they commonly vse are these Argum. 1. Deut. 17. That man that vvill 〈◊〉 presumptuous●y and not ob●y the au● horitie of the priest or I●dge shall 〈◊〉 and th●● shalt take away euill from Israel Here say they the precepts of the high priest are Imperia not ●dmonitions or exhortations and they binde in conscience otherwise the transgressours thereof should not haue bin punished so seuerely Answ. The intent of this law as a very child may perceiu● is to establish the authoriue and right of the highest appeales for all matters of controversie in the Synedrium o● great court at Ierusa lem Therefore the words alleadged doe not giue vnto the priest a soveraigne power of making lawes but a power of giuing iudgement of controuersies and that according to lawes alreadie made by God himselfe from which iudgement there might be no appeale Nowe this power of determining doth not constraine conscience but the outward man to maintaine order and peace For what reason is there that that sentence which might be either a gainsaying of Gods law or a mistaking of it should binde the conscience to a sinne Againe not euery one that refused to subiect themselues to the sentence of this court were straightway guiltie of sinne for this did Ieremie the Prophet and Christ our Sauiour when they were condemned for wicked persons but he that presumptuously despised the sentence and by consequent the authoritie it selfe which was the ordinence of God was guiltie Lastly the seueritie of the punishment which is temporall death doth not argue any power in the iudge of binding conscience this they might haue learned of their owne D●ct●● 〈◊〉 who holdeth that they that binde any man to mortall sinne m●st be able to punish him with answe●rable punishment which is eternall death Argum●… Math. 16. What soeuer ye shall bind vpon 〈◊〉 shall be 〈◊〉 in heauen Here to binde is to make lawes ●…ning conscience according to Matth. 23. 4. They binde 〈◊〉 bur●●ns and lay the●● 〈◊〉 mens 〈◊〉 Ansvver The 〈◊〉 power of binding and soo●… is not belonging to any creature but is p●op●● to Christ who hath the keyes of heauen and hell he openeth and no man sh●… h● 〈◊〉 ●●d no man openeth R●… 3. 7. As for the power of the Church it is nothing but 〈◊〉 ministerie of seruice whereby men publish and pro●… that Christ bindeth or Ido●eth Againe this binding stands not in the power of making lawes but in remitting and retaining of m●n's sinnes as the words going before declate v. 18. If thy brother sinne against thee ● and Christ ●●eweth h● owne meaning when he ●●ith Whose sinnes ye remit they are remitted and ●●hose sinnes 〈◊〉 retaine they are retained Ioh. 20. 23. 〈◊〉 before in the person of Peter promised them this honour in this forme of words Math. 16. I vvillgiue vnto thee the keyes of the king dome of ●e 〈◊〉 what soeuer th●● shalt binde vpon earth sh●● be bo●… in ●e 〈◊〉 This which I say is approoued by consent of auncient Divines August Psal. 101. ser. 2. Remission of s●… saith he is loosing therefore by the law of contraries binding is to hold sinne vnpardoned Hilar. vpon Math. cap. 18. Whome they binde on earth that is

for the Apostolicall function Lastly Christ was sent euen as he was man to be a teacher of the Iewes therfore be is called the minister of circumcision Rom. 15. 8. so the Apostles are sent by him to teach the Gentiles Thus far is the comparison to be enlarged no further And that no man might imagine that some parte of this resemblance stands in a power of binding conscience Christ hath put a speciall exception when he saith Goe teach all nations teaching them to obserue al things that I have commanded you Arg. 6. Rom. 13. Whosoever resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God and they that resist ●●all receive to them selues iudgement and ye must be subiect not onely for wrath but also for conscience s●●e Answ. Magistracie indeed is an ordinance of God to which we owe subiectiō but how farre subiection is due there is the questiō For body goods outward cōversation I grant all but a subiection of cōscience to mans lawes I deny And betweene these two there is a great difference to be subiect to authority in conscience to be subiect to it for conscience as wil be manifest if we do but consider the phrase of the Apostle the meaning whereof is that we must performe obedience not onely for anger that is for the auoiding of punishment but also for the auoiding of sinne so by cōsequent for auoiding a breach in cōsciēce Now this breach is not properly made because mans law is neglected but because Gods law is broken which ordaineth magistracie withall binds mens consciences to obey their lawfull commandements And the dānation that is due unto men for resisting the ordinance of God comes not by the single breach of magistrates commandemet but by a transgression of the law of God which appointeth magistrates their authority To this answer papists reply nothing that is of moment Therfore I proceed Arg. 7. 1. Cor. 4. What will you that I come unto you with a rod or in the spirit of meeknes Now this rod is a iudicial power of punishing sinners Answ. For the regiment protection of Gods Church There be 2. rods m●…oned in scripture the rod of Christ the Apostolicall rodd The rod of Christ is termed a rod of iron or the rod of his mouth it signifies that absolute soueraigne power which Christ hath ouer his creatures wherby he is able to cōuert saue them or to forsake and destroy them And it is a peculiar priuiledge of this rodde to smite and wound the conscience The Apostolicall rodde was a certaine extraordinary power whereby God inabled them to plague and punish rebellious offenders with grieuous iudgements not in their soules but in their bodies alone With this rod Paul smote Elimas blind Peter smote Ananias and Saphira with bodily death And it may be that Paul by this power did giue up the incestuous man when he was excommunicate to be vexed in his body and tormented by the deuill but that by this rodde the Apostles could smite conscience it can not be prooued Arg. 8. 1. Tim. 3. Paul made a law that none hauing two wiues should be ordained a Bishop now this law is positiue and Ecclesiasticall and bindes conscience Answ. Paul is not the maker of this law but God himselfe who ordained that in mariage not three but two alone should be one flesh and that they which serue at the altar of the Lord should be holy And to graunt that this law were a new law beside the written word of God yet doeth it not follow that Paul was the maker of it because he used not to deliuer any doctrine to the Churches but that which he receiued of the Lord. Argum. 9. Luc. 10. He which heareth you heareth me Answ. These wordes properly concerne the Apostles and doe not in like maner belong to pastors teachers of the Church And the end of these wordes is not to confirme any Apostolicall authority in making lawes to the conscience but to signifie the priviledge which hee had vouchsafed them aboue all others that he would so farre forth assist them with his spirite that they should not erre or be deceiued in teaching publishing the doctrine of saluation though otherwise they were sinfull men according to Matth. 10. It is not you that speake but the spirite of my father which speaketh in you And the promise to be led into all truth was directed vnto them Arg. 10. 1. Cor. 11. I praise you that yee keepe my commandements Answ. Paul deliuered nothing of his owne concerning the substance of the doctrine of saluation the worship of God but that which he receiued from Christ the precepts here ment are nothing else but rules of decencie comely order in the congregation and though they were to be obeyed yet Pauls meaning was not to binde any mans conscience therewith For of greater matters he saith This I speake for your commoditie and not to intangle you in a snare 1. Cor. 7. 35. Arg. 11. Councels of ancient fathers when they commād or forbid any thing do it with threatning of a curse to the offenders Ans. The church in former time used to annexe vnto hir Canons the curse anathema because things decreed by them were indeed or at the least thought to be the will and word of God and they had respect to the saying of Paul If any teach otherwise though he be an angell from heauen let him be accursed Therfore councels in this action were no more but instruments of God to accurse those whome he first of all had accursed Arg. 12. An act indifferent if it be commanded is made necessary the keeping of it is the practise of vertue therefore euery law bindes conscience to a sinne Ans. An act in it selfe indifferent being commāded by mans law is not made simply necessary for that is as much as gods law doth or can doe but only in some part that is so far forth as the said act or action tends to maintaine and preserue the good end for which the law is made And though the action be in this regard necessary yet doth it still remaine indifferent as it is considered in it selfe out of the ende of the law so as if peace the common good comely order may be maintained all offence auoided by any other meanes the act may be done or not done without sinne before God For whereas God himselfe hath giuen liberty freedome in the use of things indifferent the law of man doeth not take away the same but onely moderate and order it for the common good Arg. 13. The fast of Lent stands by a lawe and commandement of men and this lawe bindes conscience simply for the ancient fathers haue called it a Tradition Apostolicall and make the keeping of it to be necassary and the not keeping of it a sinne and punish the offenders with excommunication Answer It is plaine to him that will not be