Selected quad for the lemma: reason_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
reason_n	church_n	member_n	visible_a	3,184	5	9.3025	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A57955	A vindication of the baptized churches from the calumnies of Mr. Michael Harrison, of Potters Pury in Northampton-shire. Being an answer to his two books, intituled, Infant baptism God's ordinance. By William Russel, M.D. A lover of primitive Christianity.	Russel, William, d. 1702.	1697 (1697)	Wing R2360A; ESTC R218555	79,105	138

C. had said this is his Answer in Part 2. Page 15. The plain truth is the poor man hath such a weak head that he knows not what in the World to make of it He mistook the man It was himself and not Mr. Collins to whom these words ought to be applied For it 's manifest that he knew not how to confute him because he repeats the old Arguments he had used in his first Part. But I would not have Mr. Collins think the worse of himself for all his Railery against him because the poor man hath not yet learned the common Civility and curteous Behaviour which every ingenuous man will shew to any one that is a stranger especially if he put himself upon the trouble and charge to serve him for the good of his Soul as Mr. Collins hath done But some mens evil Nature will never depart from them nor be mortified by them let us do what we can There are several other Arguments Mr. Collins hath also added by which he hath undeniably evinced this Covenant in Gen. 17.7 8 c. not to be the Covenant of Grace as having only temporal Blessings promised in it And because persons might be saved out of this Covenant and many were saved who were never circumcised nor in that Covenant That many Absurdities follow the holding such an Opinion and that it overthrows many fundamental Points of Religion divers of which he there enumerates Now I appeal to all ingenious men whether it had not been Mr. H's business to have given some solid Answers to these Particulars and whether Mr. H. Collins deserved such a Treatment from a man who calls himself a Minister of the Gospel But to proceed 2. I have undertaken to prove That this Covenant of Circumcifion Gen. 17.7 8 c. was abolished by Christ But upon Enquiry I find that Mr. M. H. Part 1. pag. 6. doth confess that Circumcision is now abolished His Words are these Circumcision is now abolished by Christ and cites for Probation thereof Eph. 2.15 Having abolished in his Flesh the Enmity even the Law of Commandmandments contained in Ordinances for to make in himself of twain one new man so making Peace To this he adds 1 Cor. 7.19 Circumcision is nothing and Vncircumcision is nothing but the keeping the commandments of God Now upon this Concession I would willingly know of Mr. H. why he supposes the Covenant of which he saith Circumcision was a Seal is still remaining when he confesses the Seal thereof is broken off and taken away from it If a Bond for the performance of a Covenant be once cancelled the Covenant it self ceases to be obligatory any longer 3. If that Covenant Gen. 17.7 8 c. had been as he saith the Covenant of Grace yet it had not therefore given the Infants of believing Parents a right to Baptism without an Institution from God requiring it to be done I prove it thus 1. From Mr. H. own words part 1. page 6 7. We do not baptize persons as the Elect of God or Infants as Infants of the Elect. And a little before speaking of persons being really in the Covenant of Grace as united to Christ living Branches knit to Christ by a vital union he adds and thus only the Elect are in Covenant The Covenant thus considered is not the ground of Baptism if we must baptize none but such as are vitally in Christ then must we baptize none and he gives this reason for it because tho' we see the outward profession we do not know who belong to the Election of Grace From all which its plain Mr. H. doth not think their being in the Covenant of Grace a sufficient ground to baptize any person because he cannot possibly know that they are so How then can he baptize any Infant upon the terms of that Covenant Gen. 17. if it were as he saith the Covenant of Grace But saith he those that are externally and visibly in Covenant all that profess Christ Tares and Wheat wise Virgins and foolish This saith he is the Ground of Baptism I answer Had Mr. H. being speaking of the Members of a Nation and also of the Members of the visible Church and had distinguished the latter into these two sorts of Persons i. e. such that were invisible members and such that were only so by a bare profession reason would that I should allow it But when he is speaking of the Covenant of Grace to tell us of Hypocrites and carnal Professors who are devoid of true Grace and that all such are to be accounted Believers in Covenant and that all Infants of such believing Parents are in the Covenant of Grace as you may see in the Page before-mentioned this is one of the greatest Paradoxes I ever met with If the wicked who are called Tares are to be accounted Believers in Covenant why shall they be cast into Hell-fire Mat. 13.40 41 42. If the foolish Virgins in the Church are in the Covenant of Grace why must they be shut out of Heaven Mat. 25.11 12. Now that it was without reason for him thus to argue I prove from his own Words Because he doth assure us from the Testimony of Holy Scripture that all Believers are in this Covenant This saith he in pag. 6. is abundabtly evident from Rom. 4.11 12 13 14 15. Gal. 3.29 the Covenant was made with Abraham as a Believers and with all Believers as well as him And that we may not mistake his meaning he often calls it the Covenant of Grace made with Abraham c. Now that the Covenant in Gen. 17.7 8 c. is not the Covenant of Grace I have already shown But that there was a Covenant of Grace in which Abraham was instated being a Believer in Christ and a special Friend and Favourite of God as the Father of the faithful wherein all true Believers have a right and interest as being in Christ I readily allow And moreover That all true Believers in Christ altho ' under the former dispensation they could not be admitted to Baptism because it had been Will-Worship so to do it not being then commanded Yet now they have a right to that Holy Ordinance as the proper Subjects thereof because Christ hath not only commanded it but made a gracious promise to them upon their Obedience thereunto Mark 16.16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved Now seeing Mr. H. further saith in page 7. That Persons are to be baptized as making a visible and credible profession of Religion and that the Apostles did baptize such as did profess Repentance towards God and Faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ Acts 2.41 I therefore infer upon him the unreasonableness of his former Assertion That the Children of such as are only formal Hypocrites are to be baptized because their Parents make an outward profession of Christianity for which he quotes Ezek. 16.20 21. which I desire may be read over for I think he might have proved it as well

be a true Visible Church who do not thus admit Members by Regeneration but by Generation only and we have great reason so to do because they have only Humane Invention for their Foundation and not the Authority of God's Word as I have already shewed in this Treatise to which I refer you 2. He tells his People that we are you see no Churches no Ministers no Christians c. whereas there is nothing of Ministers intended in this Article as all may see that read it but that of Ministers under the Name of Elders or Pastors is contained in the 15th Article But he that writes in haste may repent at leisure 3. He saith We do by that make them no Christians I must confess I know not what his People are but I hope they are men of greater Charity and Moderation than their Priest or else I am sure they are not well qualified Christians But how can he think so from that Article when the design thereof is to shew who are orderly Members of a true visible Church and do therein declare that every one before they are admitted to baptism are to be true penitent Believers and he knows 't is our avowed principle not to admit any other but such only that in the judgment of Charity are so What sorts of Persons he accounts Christians I know not but I do account such to be so that are true penitent Believers and I hope there are many such in the World altho' they do not agree with us about some of the external modes of Worship but this seems to be done on purpose to exasperate the Spirits of his People against us but I hope they will not be so unwise as to mind what such a Clamorous Pen saith against us without better evidence Having cleared our selves from this Abuse I think it highly reasonable to know who it is he owns for Churches and Ministers for those that are rightly constituted according to the Primitive Pattern he is against so that it must be some others Now in Part 1. page 6. Mr. H. saith Whoever will be a Member of the Christian Church must be baptized 2. He tells us That Persons being knit to Christ by a vital union as they are living branches in him and the Elect of God is not a ground for Baptism and yet he confesses that thus only the Elect are in Covenant 3. When he comes to give us an account who are in the visible Covenant which in his Language is visible Church-members he saith page 7. Thus all who profess Christ Tares and Wheat Wise Virgins and Foolish this is the ground of Baptism He is much mistaken about the Parable of the Tares in Mat. 13. to apply it to Visible Church-members for our Lord doth not say the Field is the Church but the field is the World The good Seed are the Children of the Kingdom i. e. the Church and the Tares are the Children of the Wicked One i. e. the Devil the Harvest is the end of this World and the Reapers are the Angels c. Now had I been to plead against some of the cursed persecuting Tyrants of the World or against those bloody persecuting Principles and Practices of your Old Friend John Calvin I would have used this Text for an Argument against them as genuine and proper but it hath no relation to the visible Church for the Tares are the Rabble of the wicked out of the visible Church and such who shall be damned ●ternally for the Angels shall cast them into a Furnace of fire c. But however it seems they will serve Mr. H. to make Church-members of for he saith in the words following They are to be accounted Believers in Covenant and their Children to be baptized and that all Infants of such believing Parents are in the Covenant of Grace and yet in the same page he saith We do not baptize persons as the Elect of God or Infants as the Infants of the Elect for we do not know who belong to the Election of Grace But self-contradictions are common with him I shall make some few Remarks upon it and so proceed to what I intend 1. That if all the unconverted Hypocrites among all that profess the Christian Name be but baptized they are Believers in the Covenant of Grace then by his own Principle they must all be saved for they can never fall totally and finally 2. That if all the Infants of such are in the Covenant of Grace then they also must needs be saved by his Doctrine It 's an easie way to bring Persons into the Covenant of Grace if sprinkling a little cold Water on their Faces will do it 3. That notwithstanding all this it seems he doth not know that any one either of his Church-members or their Infants are in the Covenant of Grace neither doth he baptize them as such for he plainly confesses he doth not know who belongs to the Election of Grace Then it 's as plain that he is not sure that any of his Members or their Infants shall be saved and then they are at charge to maintan him to very little purpose Nay further he doth not know by this confused way of arguing that any of those Churches Ministers or Christians that belong to those visible Churches he talks of are in any more hopes of Salvation than those Heathens he speaks of in another place whom he with Calvin of old condemns to the pit of Hell for no other imaginable Reason than the Decree of God built only upon this Supposition because God will have it so But God will not entrust these rasn Men to be Judges of the World For he hath committed all Judgment to the Son otherwise the poor Anabaptists would be under bad Circumstances I now proceed to prosecute my Design to discover who it is that he intends by Ministers By Ministers he must needs intend those that were before described to be Members viz. Either his carnal Professors or Infants born of them Infants he cannot mean because they are not capable If you would therefore be satisfied he hath told you it is all the Ministers that profess Christ besides those of our way For there lyes the Antithesis For he saith we disown them all so to be but our selves and he owns them or else he hath no reason to be angry with us I hope we are not to understand that he is displeased with us for disowning them whom he disowns To be short The Membership and Ministry of the Presbyterians Episcopal and Romish Church are all built upon the same foundation which will appear if you ask but a few Questions 1 Que. Whether the Presbyterians do not own the Church of England to be a true Church Their Answer must be Yes because we received our Baptism from them and never repeated it and therefore they must be a true Church or else our Baptism is no true Baptism 2 Que. Whether the Presbyterians do not own the Bishops and their

on purpose to damn them as the Calvinists say And this leads me to the Second Reason for he triumphs over us in this saying Thus this rotten Pillar of universal Grace is overthrown His 2d is this He denyes that God hath afforded every person in the Visible Church sufficient Grace for their Conversion To make it out he insists upon three things necessary in order to Conversion 1. That a Person sit under the Ministry of the Word faithfully preached Multitudes saith he in the visible Church do not enjoy a faithful Ministry some none at all others only such as are sent in Judgment that dawb with untempered Mortar c. Answ What visible Church must this be that he speaks of What a Church and have no Preacher and others Churches that have Preachers sent to them in Judgment only This cannot be the Church of Christ but the Synagogue of Satan For Christ hath promised to be with his Church by his Spirit alway even to the end of the World But will he charge all this upon God I know that when some Persons have sinned away all their Mercies and the Grace offer'd them then he doth sometimes give them up to strong Delusions to believe Lyes as is the case of the Papists and others but he charges the fault upon themselves because they did not receive the love of the Truth that they might be saved but took pleasure in Unrighteousness It would therefore be horrid wickedness for any that professes Christianity to charge God with being the cause of this when he hath declared their Destruction is of themselves 2. He saith They cannot be converted except their Consciences be awakened and stirr'd under the Ministry of the Word c. Persons may sit under the best Ministry and yet never be thus convinced Now that we may know where he hath a Mind to lay the blame he insinuates it in saying this Conviction is only from the Holy Spirit who bloweth where he listeth Answ A●●ho ' I acknowledge that no Man is converted without the Operation of the Holy Spirit yet I am far from thinking that the reason why they are not converted is because the Holy Spirit doth not operate with the Word but it is because they resist the motions and striveings thereof God's Spirit did strive with the Old World but they resisted it and perished by the Flood And as Stephen saith Acts 7. 51. Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost as your Fathers did so do ye Now Stephen was better skilled in these matters than Mr. H. for he justifies God and charges it upon them as being a stiff-necked and obstinate People uncircumcised in Heart and Ears But 3ly saith he There must be a divine powerful drawing of the Soul to Christ by the Spirit which he calls an irresistible power which he also saith is not afforded to all that sit under the Gospel-Ministry and they cannot come to Christ without it Answ That the Divine Power is in it self irresistable I grant but that is not here the Question But whether that power be exerted in an irresistable way which was the thing he should have proved if he had spoken ad rem but that he seldom does And I have already proved that the Spirit in its Operations upon the Souls of Men hath often been resisted However the Man crys ●ictory and saith This Anabaptistical Doctrine of Universal Grace is but a lying Invention of their own c. which I will put up among the rest of his Railery for it deserves no better Treatment As for what he says that Free-will is the consequence of our Opinion I may truly ●●y by a figure in Rhetorick that he is a profound man for drawing of Consequences But to the point in Hand The Words in the 4th Article of our Confession which he refers to are these Unbelief therefore being the cause why the just and righteous God will condemn the Children of Men it follows against all contradiction that all Men at one time or other are put into such a capacity as that through the Grace of God they may be eternally saved John 1.7 Acts 17.30 Mark 6.6 Heb. 3. 10 18 19. 1 John 5.10 John 3.17 Now there is not one word of Free-will in those words as quoted by himself nor yet in the whole Articles in that Confession so that he quarrels with his own shaddow and not with us for we say through the Grace of God But suppose we had let fall such Words as his Friend Mr. Baxter hath used about Free-will in his Call to the Vnconverted Oh! what a noise would he have made about our Ears His Words are these 1. In his Presace And for the point of Free-will which you harp so long upon Divines are not so much disagreed about it as you imagine Augustine as well as Pelagius Calvin as well as Arminius the Dominicans as well as the Jesuites all do generally maintain that Man hath Free-will No man of Brains denyeth that a Man hath a Will that is naturally free it 's free ●●●m Violence and it 's a Self-determining principle In page 31. We are commanded to tell you what thoughts of Kindness God hath towards you and how happy how certainly and unspeakably happy you may be if you will page 32. I do here in the Name of the Lord of Life proclaim to you all that hear me this day to the worst of you to the greatest to the oldest Sinner that you may have Mercy and Salvation if you will but turn there is Mercy in God there is sufficiency in the Satisfaction of Christ the promise is free and full and universal you may have Life if you will but turn page 90. If nothing will serve turn but Men will yet refuse to turn we are next to consider who it 's long of if they be damned And this brings me to the last Doctrine which is That if after all this Men will not turn it is not long of God that they are condemned but of themselves even of their own Wilfulness They dye because they will dye that is because they will not turn if you will go to Hell what Remedy God here acquits himself of your Blood it shall not lye on him if you be lost pag. 102. But you seem to intimate all this while that Man hath Free-will his Answer is The Dispute about Free-will is beyond your Capacity I shall therefore now trouble you with no more than this about it your Will is naturally a free that is a self-determining Faculty but it is vitiously inclined and backward to do good but that is the wickedness of it which deserveth the punishment your disability is your very unwillingness it self which excuseth not your sin but maketh it the gre●●er page 44. And think not to exte●●ate I by saying that it was only for his Elect for it was thy sin and the sin of all the World that lay upon our Redeemer and his Sacrifice and Satisfaction is sufficient for all

and the fruits of it are offered to one as well as another But it is true that it was never the intent of his Mind to pardon and save any that would not by Faith and Repentance be converted And in the next page he saith If there be any man that cannot reconcile this truth with the Doctrine of Predestination or the actual damnation of the Wicked that 's his own Ignorance he hath no pretence left to deny or question therefore the truth of the point in hand for this is confirmed by the Oath of God Ezek. 33.11 and therefore must not be distorted to reduce it to other points but doubtful points must rather be reduced to it and certain Truths must be believed to agree with it tho' our shallow Brains do hardly discern the Agreement Thus far Mr. Baxter and now let him rail at him if he pieases for we have given him no occasion but Mr. Baxter hath assigned the ignorance of Mr. Harrison to be the cause But saith Mr. H. The Fourth Error the Anabaptists hold is That a Person truly justified and sanctified and so a branch in Christ united to him may yet fall away and be eternally damned and cites part of the 18th Artitle of the fore-mentioned Confession Answ I will therefore deal impartially and recite the whole Article with the Scri●●●●●… at large and then the World will see that his peevi●hness against us is without any just cause Article 18th That such who are true Believers even Branches in Christ the Vine and that in his Account whom he exhorts to abide in him John 15.1 2 3 4 5. I am the true vine and my Father is the Husbandman every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away and every branch that beareth fruit be purgeth it that it may bring forth more fruit Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you abide in me and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit of it self except it abide in the vine no more can ye except ye abide in me I am the vine ye are the branches he that abideth in me and I in him the same bringeth forth much fruit for without me ye can do nothing or such who have Charity out of a pure heart and of a good Conscience and of Faith unfeigned 1 Tim. 1.5 Now the end of the Commandment is Charity out of a pure heart and of a good Conscience and of Faith unfeigned may nevertheless for want of Watchfulness swerve and turn aside from the same v. 6 7. From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling desiring to be Teachers of the Law understanding neither what they say nor what they affirm and become as withered branches cast into the fire and burned John 15. If a man abide not in me he is cast forth as a branch and is withered and men gather them and cast them into the fire and they are burned But such who add unto their faith virtue and to virtue knowledge and to knowledge temperance c. 2 Pet. 1.5 6 7. Such shall never fall Ver. 8 9 10. For if these things be in you and abound they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ But he that lacketh these things is blind and cannot see afar off and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins Wherefore the rather Brethren give diligence to make your Calling and Election sure for if ye do those things ye shall never fall 'T is impossible for all the false Christs and false Prophets that are and are to come to deceive such for they are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation 1 Pet. 1.5 I have often wished that all Creeds had been delivered only in the Words of Holy Scripture that it might have prevented those vain Janglings which the World hath been filled with about them and herein I have my Hearts desire in this Article For the Reader may observe that it is delivered in the plain positive and express words of Scripture And yet Behold the fury of this Man's unbridled passion For he hath no sooner recited the Words of the Article but he crys out Abominable Doctrine false dangerous and uncomfortable Doctrine doth this man pretend to be a Gospel-minister and yet dare thus let fly his Rage and Malice against Christ himself and his Blessed Apostles Oh! what a pass is this World come to I shall say no more to such horrid Trifling as this for all he says against us is a stone flung at the head not of the general Anabaptists as he saith but at the head of Christ and his Ambassadours I pray God give him Repentance for it that he may recover himself out of the snare of the Devil who leads him captive at his Will He proceeds in his false Accusations against us and saith that the fifth Error of the Anabaptists is They disown all Ministers Christians and Churches of Christ to be any Ministers Churches or Christians at all but only such as are gathered in their way that is by dipping And for this he quotes part of the 11th Article which is misprinted in his Book the 14th Article I must be forced to recite the whole Article because of his false Representation of it but that is a small thing in his Eyes to belye the Baptists and abuse them for his Book is full of such Railery Article 11th of our Confession of Faith That the right and only way of gathering Churches according to Christ's appointment Mat. 28. 19 23. is first to teach or preach the Gospel Mark 16.15 16. to the Sons and Daughters of Men and then to baptize that is to dip in the Name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit or in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ such only of them as profess Repentance towards God and Faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ Acts 2.38 Acts 8.12 Acts 18.8 And as for all such who preach not this Doctrine but instead thereof that Scriptureless thing of Sprinkling of Infants falsly called Baptism whereby the pure Word of God is made of noue effect and the New-Testament way of bringing in Members into the Church by Regeneration cast out when as the Bond-woman and her Son that is to say the Old Testament-way of bringing in Children into the Church by Generation is cast out as saith the Scripture Gal. 4.22 23 24 30. Mat. 3.8 9. All such we utterly deny forasmuch as we are commanded to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of Darkness but rather to reprove them Eph. 5.11 This is the Article he quarrels with and by the Grace of God we will abide by it as the true Way and Order of planting a right Gospel-Church Now pray Observe how this Man doth abuse us 1. In that here is nothing spoken of in this Article but the right way of gathering Churches according to Christ's appointment and we only deny them to