Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
scripture_n	abraham_n	covenant_n	seed_n	2,898	5	8.8760	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47399	[The ax laid to the root, or, One blow more at the foundation of infant baptism and church-membership containing an exposition of that metaphorical text of Holy Scripture, Mat. 3, 10].	Keach, Benjamin, 1640-1704.	1693 (1693)	Wing K48_pt2; ESTC R20690	57,342	56

it was his Liberty for some Reasons to do it But those Christians corrupted by false Teachers did not believe That Circumcision and other Legal Rites were abolished but that they were in full Force as ever and therefore he tells them granting it was as they believed if they were Circumcised they were obliged to keep the whole Law tho' his great Design was to take them off from seeking Justification by Works Therefore 3. 'T is evident Paul did not Circumcise Timothy in Obedience to the Law given by the Lord but for other Politick Reasons in complying with the weakness of some Jewish Christians After the same manner he submitted to some other Rites also of the Ceremonial Law as shaving the head and purifying himself which was then also abolished tho' not deadly say Expositors then though those Ceremonies were dead and so nothing in them Act. 21.24 Circumcision was alas dead and this Paul knew therefore could not hurt Timothy But those to whom he wrote thought it was alive and therefore it would not only hurt but destroy them or be destructive to them upon the Account of the Obligation it lay them under if it was as they conceived This being so What is become of Mr. Flavel's Argument which he makes such boast of as if unanswerable pag. 231. Obj. 10. The Root is Holy therefore the Branches that is as Abraham was Holy so were all his Seed and as Believers are Holy so are all their Children and as the natural Branches of Abraham was broken off for their Unbelief so the Gentiles are grafted in in their stead and succeed in their Privileges and so their Seed are Holy with an external relative Covenant Holiness Rom. 11.16 and therefore may be Baptized and have Right to Church Membership Answ. There is a Two fold Holiness spoken of 1 st An external foederal Holiness 2 d. A True spiritual inherent Holiness Now the Children of Believing Gentiles are not Holy with an external relative foederal Holiness nor have they a Right to Baptism nor Church Membership for Two Reasons First Because Baptism is of mere positive Right nothing but a Command Example or some well grounded Authority from Christ that can give them a Right thereto Secondly Because the Gospel Church is not constituted as the Jewish Church was 't is not National but Congregational it consisteth not of the carnal Seed as such but only of the spiritual Seed i. e. Adult Persons who believe Where do we find in all the New Testament That the Children of Believers as such were Baptised and taken into the Church as being in an external relative Covenant Holy Mr. Tho. Goodwin as I find him quoted by a Learned Writer in a Book called Two Treatises p. 6● saith In the New Testament there is no other Holiness spoken of but Personal or Real by Regeneration about which he challenged all the World to shew to the contrary I have shewed you The Ax is laid at the Root of all external relative foederal Holiness which qualified under the Law for Jewish Ordinances and Church Membership But 3 We will now come to examine this Text of Holy Scripture Rom. 11.16 There are various Interpretations of what is meant by the Root in this place 1. Some understand it of the Covenant 2. Some of Christ. 3. Some of Abraham Isaac and Jacob. 4. Some of Abraham only I now agree with the last and say Abraham is the Root spoken of here But pray observe as he was a Two-fold Father so he was a Two-fold Root First The Father or Root of all that believe Secondly The Father or Root of all his Natural Seed as such but this place referrs to him as he was the Root of all his True spiritual Seed and if so the Holiness of the Branches is real spiritual and internal and not external foederal Holiness for such as is the Holiness of the Root as meant here such is the Holiness of the Branches but Abraham was believingly personally spiritually and internally Holy Ergo such are all the Branches spoken of here And indeed for want of Faith and spiritual Holiness that was in the Root were many of the Natural Branches broken of from being any more a People in an external Covenant Relation with God for this is the Covenant I have shewed The Ax is now laid at the Root of viz. the External Covenant The Jews were broken off or cut down by their Unbelief their Old Church State and Covenant being gone they not believing in Christ and so united to the True Olive and the Gentiles by Faith were grafted in they having obtained the Fatness of the Root o● Faith and Righteousness of Abraham and of the Covenant of Grace made with him who is called The Father of all that believe A Learned Writer says 1. The Holiness here meant is First in respect of God's Election i. e. Holiness personal and inherent in God's intention 2. It is also a Holiness derivative not from any Ancestors but Abraham not as a natural Father but as a spiritual Father or Father of the faithfull and so derived from the Covenant of Grace made with Abraham From hence it appears There is nothing in this illustrious Scripture for what these Men bring it who think hereby to prove a Holiness which the New Testament knows nothing of applying the Holiness and Insection to outward Dispensation only in the visible Church which is meant of Saving Grace in the invisible and make every believing Parent like Root to his Posterity with Abraham to his Seed which we deny Let therefore the Jews Covenant standing before they were broken off from being any more a Covenant People be what it would I am sure no Gentile is graften into Christ nor Jew neither but by Faith nor can any be grafted into the Gospel Church without the Profession of such a Faith The Jews 't is true were broken off by their Unbelief and were also now no more a Church nor is there as I said once before any such kind of Church constituted under the Gospel Dispensation as theirs was viz. A National one For they amongst the Jews who were True Believers or the spiritual Seed of Abraham who receiving Jesus Christ by Faith were planted a new into the Gospel Church and between them and Gentile Believers there is no difference since the middle Wall of Partition is broken down Eph. 2.14 Jew and Gentile stand now by Faith and not by external relative Covenant Holiness Thou standeth saith Paul by Faith O Believer mark it not by Birth Privileges but by by Faith as worthy Mr. Gary observes Thy standing is by Faith yet not thy Seed by thy Faith But thou thy self by thine and they by their own Faith Faith is that by which thou standing and not thy Seed hast Right to stand in the Church and not thy Seed but if thy Seed have Faith and thou hast none then they have Right in this Church and thou shalt be excluded And although

THE Ax laid to the Root CONTAINING An EXPOSITION of that Metaphorical Text of Holy Scripture MAT. 3.10 PART II. WHEREIN Mr. Iohn Flavel's last Grand Arguments in his Vindiciarum Vindex to prove Circumcision a Gospel-Covenant are answered Also a brief Reply To Mr. Rothwell's late Treatise Intituled Paedo-Baptismus vindicatus as to what seems most material To which is Added ●ome short Reflections by way of Confutation of a Book Newly published by Mr. Ioshua Exell Minister of the Gospel Intituled A Serious Enquiry into and certain producing of plain and express Proofs that John Baptist did as certainly baptize Infants as the Adult JOB 6.25 How forcible are right words but what doth your arguing reprove ●●ndon Printed for the Author and are to be s●●●●y Iohn Harris at the Harrow in the Poultrey ●●●● ERRATA PAg. 2 line 39. r. disprove p. 4. line 26 for ordinal r. original p. 4. l. 32. for the Law r. this p. 11. l. 12. for 12. r. 2. p. 13. l. 14. for Rite r. Right in p. 29. l. 33. for Circumcision r. Commission p. 13. l. 28. for usurb'd r. absurd p. 16. l. 2. blot out against p. 20. l. 12. a false point r. Covenant-Holy blot out the Interrogation Point and put a Colon after Holy p. 24. l. 29. for Abraham r. God p. 34. l. 12. for Rite r. Right p. 34. l. 34. for Rite r. Right p. 38 l. 10. for rom r. from p. 39. l. 10. for weighty r. mighty p. 41. l. 39. for prophaned r. prophane p. 39. l. 40. for prophaned r. prophane p. 43. l. 5. for penitent r. penitents p. 43. l. 6 for must r. might p. 46. l. 25. for internals r. internal p. 47. l. 37. blot out Truth p. 48. l. 26 blot out the. THE Ax laid to the Root c. Sermon III. PART II. MAT. III. ver 10. And now also the Ax is laid to the Root of the Trees every Tree therefore that bringeth not forth good Fruit is hewn down and cast into the Fire Beloved I Have already opened the Scope and Coherence of this Place of Holy Scripture as also the Parts and Terms and then took notice of one or two Points of Doctrine That which I have largely Prosecuted is this viz. Doct. Now the Dispensation is changed to be of the Natural Root viz. Of the National Church of the Iews the Seed of Abraham or Children of Believers according to the Flesh is no Ground for Church-Membership 't is no Argument to be admitted into the Gospel-Church or to Gospel-Baptism We have proved that there were Two Covenants made with Abraham ●ne with him and his natural Seed as such signified by Agar the Bond●oman the other made with him and his spiritual Seed as such signified 〈◊〉 Sarah the Free woman and also have clearly made it appear That ●●e Covenant of Circumcision did not appertain to the Covenant of ●race but that it was a Rite of the Legal Covenant We shall now proceed to Answer the other Objections having the last Day only insisted upon One. 2. Obj. Circumcision was the Type of Baptism 1. Answ. If the Circumcision of the Heart was the Antitype of Circumcision in the Flesh then certainly Baptism was not could not be the Antitype thereof but this the Holy Ghost fully intimates was the Antitype of it see 1 Col. 2.12.13 Rom. 2.29 See Dr. Taylor as recited in Rector Rectified p. 9 10 11. 2. If Baptism and Circumcision were both in Force together for some time then Baptism is not the Antitype of nor did it come in the room of Circumcision but that they were both in Force together for some time I shewed before Iohn and the Disciples of Christ Baptized Ioh. 4.1 2. sometime before Circumcision was nailed to the Cross or did cease Can one thing come in the room or place of another till the other is actually and legally removed and took away Why now since these Two Rites had a Being together I affirm as I have formerly done one could not be the Type of the other A Type can abide no longer then till the Antitype is come therefore Circumcision was not the Type of Baptism 3 dly and lastly As to this I see not indeed how one Thing that was a Figure could be the proper Shadow or Type of a Figure sure no Wise Man has Reason so to think all may see that Baptism it self is called a Figure 1 Pet. 3.21 And this is sufficient to remove the Second Objection 3. Obj. The Third Objection I mentioned is this viz. Infants were once in Covenant and never cast out therefore they are in still See Mr. Rothwell's Paedo-Baptism Answ. I Answer Tho' Infants were in Covenant under the Law in the Legal Church of the Jews and that by God's Appointment Gen. 17.7 which is not denied Yet what of this their being once Members of the Iewish Church doth not prove them to be Members of the Gospel Church They had then many outward Privileges which we under the Gospel have not they went all off when the Ax was laid to the Root i. e. When the Old Covenant was ab●ogated and the Old Church State cut down then their Old Church Members fell likewise The Branches cannot stand when the Tree is cut down or rooted up 2. We have proved the Covenant for in Covenanting of Infants under the Law was no Gospel Covenant and therefore this Objection hat● nothing in it to hurt us unless it can be proved they were taken a-new into the Gospel Church or Gospel Covenant which we positively deny and they can't disprove For according to that Maxim Omnis Privati intimat babitum you know that every Dispossession implyeth a Possess●●on Infants therefore cannot be cast out of the Gospel Covenant or Go●●pel Church unless they had been first received into it therefore they mu●● prove if they can they are in the Time of the Gospel taken in as Me●●bers if so I will not undertake to prove them cast out but I am sure at the Dissolution of the National Church of the Jews they lost their Right of Church Membership and God hath not constituted another National Church under the Gospel to bring in the carnal Seed again but the Church is now purely Congregational God's Spiritual Temple is built up with spiritual and lively Stones 1 Pet. 2.4 5. Ye also as lively stones are built up a spiritual house an holy Priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Iesus Christ. Obj. 4. Circumcision was part of the Ceremonial Law Thus I find Mr. Iohn Flavel expresses himself in his Vindiciarum Vindex in Answer to Mr. Philip Cary pag. 214. viz. If Circumcision be part of the Ceremonial Law and the Ceremonial Law was dedicated by Blood and whatsoever is so dedicated is by you confessed no part of the Covenant of Works then Circumcision can be no part of the Covenant of Works c. But it is so Ergo. Answ. 1. I Answer It argues these Men are hard put