Selected quad for the lemma: reason_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
reason_n	baptism_n	baptize_v	infant_n	2,779	5	9.3007	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93282	The true church of Christ exposed to the view of all sober Christians, from the Word of God, sound reason, and the ancient fathers / by James Salgado, a Spaniard, a converted priest.	Salgado, James, fl. 1680.	1681 (1681)	Wing S384; ESTC R42935	23,389	69

treat of Passive Justification or Justification considered in respect of the man justified And thus it is nothing else but an assured considence of our righteousness in Christ and by the imputation of his Merits which we receive and apply unto our selves by faith Rom. 3.25 26. Hence it appears that the Meritorious Cause of our Justification is the Merit of Christ as we proved a little before and the hand by which we apply this satisfaction of our Saviour or the instrumental cause of our Justification is Faith Man is justified by faith without the works of the Law Rom. 3.28 It is as clear from the Scriptures as the light of the Sun in mid-day that we are justified by faith only By grace ye are saved through faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God Eph. 2.8 So that I shall insist no longer upon this point but conclude with the Apostle That by the deeds of the Law shall no flesh be justified for by the Law is the knowledge of sin Rom. 3.20 There is therefore no Justification in the sight of God by our works but only by saith which applieththe Panacea of Salvation unto our dead hearts and causeth us to live in God and God in us We are not so unreasonable as to separate Works from Faith yet nevertheless we affirm that Faith only doth justifie it 's the eye only that sees the hand only that weighs yet neither can the eye see nor the hand weigh unless they be united to the body Even so Faith only doth justifie but this Faith is never separated from Good Works The Apostle James indeed saith We are justified by works and not by faith only Jam. 2.24 But he either means justification before men as in the eighteenth verse Shew me thy faith by thy works or else the confirmation of internal faith by external actions or else he speaks by a Metonimy of the effect for the cause so that by faith and works he means a working faith which seems to agree well with the words You see then how that by works man is justified and not by faith only that is not by a solitary or naked faith which is not accompanied with works for faith being alone is dead but by a living faith which shews its foundness by works So that we are not justified by works but by faith only and whosoever will narrowly look into himself and his own frailty must needs break forth into Bellarmine's words Because of the frailty of humane life and the uncertainty of our own righteousness it is safest to relye only upon the mercy of God Bel. de bon oper Consider Candid Reader the words of this Cardinal who as I can demonstrate if need be at the end of the greatest Controversies between us and the Papists yields at last unto the truth and appears though an Italian to be more a Protestant than a Papist Thus we have proved by Gods assistance that Active Justification is an external judicial absolution of an unrighteous man and pronouncing of him righteous and that Passive Justification is by faith only and that a living faith which applieth to us the Merits of our Saviour As for Sanctification I shall say little concerning it by reason the Papists don 't disagree much with the Protestants in this Point as to the nature of the thing only I utterly deny that the good works which we do are meritorious or necessary to Salvation necessuate medii as a mean to bring us to Salvation Bernard says well Good works are the way to the Kingdom not the cause of reigning nor does the Popish distinction between merit of congruity and condignity mitigate this Assertion for besides that the Congruity of Gods Reward for our Works consists onely in his own good pleasure Fear not little Flock for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you a Kingdom Luk. 12.32 I have often admired that they have found no Text of Scripture to prove the condignity of works but this one which is Diametrically contrary to their Assertion The Sufferings of this present time are not worthy but condign to be compared with the Glory that is to be revealed in us This is the onely place where the word condignus is to be found I will proceed now to shew how found and genuine the Doctrine of the Reformed Churches is concerning the Sacraments which are Seals of the righteousness of faith Rom. 4.11 And shortly refute the Popish Errours As for Baptism both Parties acknowledge it to be a Sacrament of Initiation by which in the faith of our Parents which is my opinion we are implanted into the Church which is the Body of Christ But the Papists falsely affirm that Baptism ex opere operato by vertue of the work wrought works in us Regeneration and abolishes Original Sin Not onely because an external corporal thing can have no influence upon things internal and spiritual in reference to the rectifying thereof which can onely be done by God himself every good and perfect Gift comes down from the Father of Lights saith the Apostle James But likewise because the sign of the Covenant cannot communicate to us the things comprehended in the Covenant And the contrary appears also from the effect because those that have been baptized are and have been subject to everlasting damnation And if this Sacrament ex opere operato did work Grace Regeneration c. then Abraham could not have been reputed righteous by faith in uncircumcision Rom. 4.9 Moreover in the Primitive Times and especially as to them that were baptized when come to Age Faith was required before the Seal of Righteousness were stampt upon their hearts and consciences Now because Faith is the Root of the rest of the Graces and hath annexed unto it that great work of Repentance It necessarily follows that the Apostle requiring faith in the Adult did suppose the rest of the Graces to be in them not imagining that they should be conferred upon them but rather sealed or confirmed by Baptism for Baptism is a Seal of the Righteousness of Faith and not a thing that by its internal vertue work Faith and Regeneration For this very reason Augustin and other of the Fathers affirmed that Infants are baptized in the Faith of their Parents if believing Parents or in the Faith of the Church if their Parents were unknown or Unbelievers because they were perswaded that Faith is rather required before than conferred by Baptism So that we believe that the holy Ghost doth operate in the tender hearts and minds of elect Infants even from their Birth and that effectually though insensibly and although perhaps he doth not work in them subjectively an actual faith yet he objectively applies unto them the benefits of Christ which in others are received by an actual faith But lest any should think that we falsely charge our Adversaries with this Assertion I will shew the candid Reader the reason why they assert it and then evince the same

from a custom frequent among them in the Celecration of this Sacrament The reason why they affirm it is because they hold that Infants departing without Baptism cannot be saved but go into the Limbus Infantum a kind of Hole prepared to put Children into where they suffer paenam damni but not paenam seasus that is they are deprived of the Beatifick Vision of God though they are not under any sensible torment If then their Election which is unchangeable and their being under the Covenant of Grace which belongeth to them as well as to their Parents be not sufficient to save them because they were not baptized surely Baptism which maketh them capable to demand Heaven must by a physical vertue work those Graces whereby they may attain unto Salvation 2. They hold that none can be saved without the Bosom of the Church and that none can be reputed Members of the Church except such as have been baptized Moreover their Custom is to admit of the Baptism of Women providing the Form be observed in case of necessity which shews how absolutely necessary they esteem Baptism unto Salvation Having proved the Charge I shall demonstrate the Errour And first it is as certain That all Infants departing without Baptism are not deprived of the beatifick Vision as that David was saved who after death was to go to his Child that died without Circumcision 1 Sam. 12.18 23. in place whereof Baptism succeeded as appears from Coll. 2.11 12. And as certain as that the promise of Eternal Life doth belong to Infants which Argument is of the same force against the Anabaptists that deny the Seal to Infants to whom the promise belongs for which reason Peter did willingly confer Baptism upon some Converts Act. 2.38 39 as against the Papsts that deny Eternal Life to Children dying without Baptism although they be under the promise and Covenant of Grace for he that is under the Covenant of Grace or the Promises is in Christ and he that is in Christ will certainly be saved Therefore Children being under the Covenant of Grace and the Promise of Life will certainly be saved Acts 2.39 Eph. 2.12 But they object this Scripture Except a man be born of water and of the spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God Joh. 3. ● whence they conclude that none can be saved without Baptism But I answer that nothing else is meant by this water and spirit but the holy Ghost himself who is compared to water because he washeth away our sins There is another expression like unto this in Mat. 3.11 He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire that is the Holy Ghost shall purge you as fire doth Gold seven times refined So that these Expressions are Metaphorical and Figurative Virgil hath the like expression Pateris libamus auro We drink out of Cups and Gold that is out of Golden Cups so to be baptized with the Spirit and with fire is nothing else but to be baptized with a fiery Spirit and the same way are Christ's words concerning water and spirit to be understood wherefore what he saith here figuratively by way of Hendiadis he expressed in the third Verse in proper words except a man be born again he can not see the Kingdom of God So that it clearly appears from Christs own exposition that here is understood spiritual Regeneration and not the external washing with water in Baptism 2. We utterly deny that Baptism by women is valid and not to be reiterated They can only alledge the example of Zipporah that Circumcised her Son whence they argue that a Woman may as lawfully Baptize as Circumcise I shall not give the answer that is usual amongst some Divines viz. that Zipporah sinned in so doing for God never blesseth men for any sin as such but he did bless Moses for this action of Zipporah But I answer thus that Circumcision in the Old Testament was indifferently administred by any person by reason it was not so strictly joyned with the Ministerial Office of Preaching as Baptism is in the New Testament Go and teach all Nations baptizing them c. Mat. 28.19 So that now it is unlawful for any to administer Baptism but such as are ordained for the Ministery Now we shall proceed to speak of the other Sacrament without regarding the rest of their five Sacraments that have no ground in the Scriptures nor the Fathers which is the Lords Supper According to sound Doctrine the Lords Supper is nothing else but a visible sign of an invisible Grace wherein by receiving of Bread and Wine is signified our receiving of the Body and Blood of Christ as a Seal of the Covenant of Crace tending to our Salvation We deny not that the Body and Blood of Christ is really present in this holy Sacrament but we deny 1. That it is corporally present because it is circumscriptive and in Heaven and therefore cannot be every where 2. We deny that the Lords Supper is a Sacrifice for the Living and the Dead which point I shall chiefly insist upon As to the first the Papists do very much urge their Transubstantiation by which they understand nothing else but the Corporal presence of the Body and Blood of our Saviour under the appearance and accidents of Bread and Wine imagining that the substance of the Bread and Wine is turned to the first nothing out of which it was created and the accidents only do remain which affect our senses of sight feeling and taste The falshood and absurdity of this imagination I thus demonstrate 1. Neither the Word nor the thing is to be found in Scripture for after the Consecration it is called the Bread of which we are partakers 1 Cor. 10.17 Now if the Bread were annihilated how could we be partakers of it And moreover no Papist will allow that it be called Bread after Consecration which yet we see the Scripture doth 2. The Word it self is new and was never heard of before the Lateran Council when Berengarius was forced to recant the Truth and fall into a most abominable Errour namely that Christs Body is bruised by the Teeth and let down into the Belly c. 3. The Word is no way adapted to the thing yea Creation may be as well called Annihilation as this may be called Transubstantiation for Transubstantiation is nothing else but a mutation or turning of one substance into another as in Cana of Galilee Wine was turned into Water but the Papists say that in this case one substance is not turned into another but that the one namely the Bread and Wine is annihilated and the other namely the Body and Blood of Christ is induced under the appearance and accidents of Bread and Wine although they have a thousand distinctions here about the introducing of the Body and Blood of Christ under these accidents which I shall pass over so that it ought rather to be called an Annihilation of one substance and Introduction