Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
scripture_n	according_a	faith_n	word_n	4,513	5	4.0717	3	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A53985	The true mark of the beast, or, The present degeneracy of the Church of Rome from the faith once delivered to the saints a sermon on November 5, 1681 / by Edward Pelling ...	Pelling, Edward, d. 1718.	1682 (1682)	Wing P1106; ESTC R1620	19,445	35

days as their Posterity and Successors for ever They tell us that the Apostle pointeth to their Church as to the Mother Church of the whole world and that he extolleth their Faith as that which all other Churches were to look upon and mind and observe as their Rule that they were to account Her not their Sister but their Mother and Superintendent that they were from thenceforth to say after Her and to seek for the Law of Christ at Her mouth and in every particular to follow Her Directions so that whosoever in process of time should not be of Her Communion he ought not to be look'd upon as a Catholick or a Christian but as a Foreigner and an Alien to the Covenant of Grace Can any thing be Higher than this and yet what a slight Pedestal is it which this Tower of Babel stands upon Indeed St. Paul had reason to Praise the Church of Rome in His time because its Faith was Pure Entire and Uncorrupted then and so continued for a considerable time after Let it be granted too because the words of Hegesippus Euseb Hist Eccles lib. 4. c. 22. seem to argue it that the Bishops of Rome were in His days of the same true Faith with the Bishops of other Churches Let it be allowed too that even in Iraeneus's time that Church kept the Apostles Iren. adv Haeres lib 3. c. 3. Tradition meaning that Doctrine which the Apostles had once for all delivered unto the Saints Nay I see no danger if we go further yet and allow that those Commendations which St. Cyprian Cyp. Ep. 55. Hier. Apol. 3. adv Ruffin Jerome and others of the fourth Century gave of that Church were not meer Complements but that she was so Faithful in the main that she could not easily or would not willingly be guilty of Persidiousness especially in cases of moment I say Let us suppose all this that for some Ages the Church of Rome continued a Virgin not deflowr'd by any Hereticks yet it will by no means follow that she did not prostitute her Chastity in after Ages or that it was not Possible for her ever to turn Harlot There is no reason for that Fancy that if men be once in a good State they shall be so always much less reason is there for that conceit that a Church which is once Pure shall never be defiled and yet this is the thing which many unwary Romanists now take for granted that since the Faith of their Church was once right and sound which St. Paul doth here intimate and confess she neither did nor could Adulterate and Corrupt it and so that it is as Sincere Pure now as ever it was in the Apostles dayes And according to this rate Cornelius à Lapide the Jesuite doth reckon in his notes upon my Text That the Faith of the Roman Church was sound in St. Paul 's time amd so down to St. Jerome's time and so by necessary consequence unto this time for never hitherto saith he hath any Heresie tainted Rome as it hath other Cities This is a Point necessary to be Examined or rather a Fallacy that highly deserves to be Detected for the good of such Souls as are willing to be instructed And therefore I shall take occasion from the Text and the Day to shew you these following things in Order 1. What that Faith was which St. Paul here commendeth 2. That it was possible for this their Faith to be altered and corrupted in After-ages 3. That the Ancient Faith of the Church of Rome hath been de facto Actually corrupted 4. That a Reformation of those Corruptions was on our side Justifiable And so in the last place we will leave it to the impartial world to consider whether those violent Methods are justifiable which the Romanists have used since the Reformation for the Re-establishment of those Corruptions And of these as briefly as I can 1. What the Faith was which the Apostle here commendeth the Church of Rome for and which he saith was spoken of throughout the whole World It is certain in the general that the Faith of the Church of Rome was not different from the Faith of other Churches for as there was but One Lord so there was but One Faith over the whole Christian World Ephes 4. 5. And the Reason why St. Paul with Thankfulness takes notice of the Romans Faith was not because it was Other or more Excellent than that which was received in other places but because Rome being the great Imperial City whereunto the world was necessitated to have recourse the Christian Faith was likely thence to Disseminate it self every where over all the parts of the Empire in a very short time Now if we enquire particularly what that Faith was we shall find it to have been this viz. A Confession of the Necessary and Important Doctrines of Christianity A Belief of those Main and Fundamental Truths touching the Divine Nature and Authority of our Blessed Saviour touching the things which he did and suffered for the Salvation of the world and touching those inestimable Blessings which wereconsequent hereunto as the Sanctification of our hearts by the Holy Spirit the Remission of our Sins and the Hope of an Happy Resurrection to Eternal Life for Christ his sake These are the Grand Articles of the Christian Faith and they are summed up in that short Collection of Christian Verities which we call the Apostles Creed because whether they themselves compiled that Collection or no it contains those main Points and Doctrines which the Apostles preached at Rome and in all places beside as the only Credenda or matters of Faith that were absolutely Necessary to Salvation Of this we have Testimonies abundant for when St. Paul preached at Athens they were the Fundamental Substantial Doctrines of Christianity which he taught viz. Jesus and the Resurrection as St. Luke tells us Act. 17. 18. And when the great Apostle wrote to the Corinthian Church he told them what that Gospel was which he had received himself and which he had delivered unto them and by which they were to be saved And what was that Gospel why a Collection still of these Necessary matters of Faith how that Christ died for our sins and that he was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures 1 Cor. 15. 1 2 3 4. Nay writing to That Church of Rome whose Ancient Faith we are now considering he declares what that was which he and the rest of the Apostles made the common subject of their discourses to the Romans and to all other people and still it was of the necessary and prime matters of Faith for This saith he is the word of Faith which we preach that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved Rom. 10. 8 9. Now can any thing be plainer than this That

alter'd that will undeniably prove the Possibility of that thing And because this is the main point in debate which if proved will at once take away all their pleas of an Infallible Spirit all their pretences to Antiquity all their Arguments against our Reformation and all those Insinuations whereby they beguile Ignorant and Unwary men I must desire your patience while I insist somewhat largely and particularly upon it And for proof hereof I might take notice of one Modern Principle in the Church of Rome which doth plainly Intimate and Argue a Confession out of their own mouths that they have alter'd the Old Faith for the Principle is this That it lies in the power of their Church not only to Declare New Articles of Faith but to Make and Constitute New Creeds and to Impose them as necessary to Salvation The most Learned Bishop Taylor hath shewed this against them in his Excellent Disswasive from Popery wherein he observes too that when Pope Leo the Tenth issued out his Bull against Martin Luther and condemned him he condemned him for teaching this among other things That it is not in the power of the Church or Pope to make Articles of Faith Now saith my Learned and Judicious Author rightly It is not Credible they would publish such Invidious and Ill-sounding Doctrine to no purpose and to serve no End therefore it may without further Evidence be believed by all Discerning persons that they have Need of this Doctrine or it would not have been taught and that consequently without more ado it may be concluded that some of their Articles are parts of this New faith But I shall wave this for Brevity-sake and so I shall wave also many Testimonies of some of the Ancients which are usually and with good Reason brought to prove the plain Innovations in Religion which are now Taught and Practised in the Roman Church I am willing to take a shorter course and that which will bring me very home to them to demonstrate that they have alter'd and adulterated the Primitive Faith even of their own Church and this I shall shew by men of their own and by using some Testimonies out of and by making some Remarks upon some of the most considerable men whom they own to have been Bishops of their Church in the Primitive ages 1. First then St. Peter and St. Paul are believed by them to have founded and built their Church Nor can it well be denied but they were both of them at Rome and we may suppose the One to have been the Apostle of the Jewish the other of the Gentile-Church there But now when the One calls the Scripture a sure word of Prophecy and requires us to take heed thereunto 2 Pet. 1. 19. and when the other tells us that The whole Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine 2 Tim. 3. 17. for reproof for correction for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be Perfect throughly furnisht unto all good works How can we reconcile this with the late pretended Authority and Necessity of Tradition When St. Peter requires us To be ready alwayes 1 Pet. 3. 15. to give an answer to every man that asketh us a Reason of the Hope that is in us and when St Paul's manner was To Reason with men out of the Scriptures Act. 17. 3. opening and expounding the meaning of them How can we reconcile this with those Doctrines touching the Necessity of Hiding the Scriptures from the Vulgar and the Excellence of a Blind and Implicite Faith When St. Peter affirms That there is no Salvation Act. 4. 12. in any other but in Christ only and no other name under heaven given among men whereby we can be saved and when St. Paul tells us That Christ was by his sufferings consecrated to be our High Priest that He intercedeth for us and is the One onely Mediator how can we reconcile this with that Doctrine touching the Invocation of and trusting in the Intercession and merits of Saints When St. Peter tells us That Christ Suffered Once 1 Pet. 3. 18. Heb. 7. 27. c. 9. 28. 10. 10. for Sins and St. Paul agrees to it That Christ offered up himself a Sacrifice Once that he was Once offered and that That offering of his body was once for All How can we reconcile this with the Doctrine touching the daily Sacrificing of Christ in the Mass When St. Peter taught That through the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved and St. Paul argued in this very Epistle to the Church of Act. 5. 11. Rom. 11. 5. Rome That if by Grace then it is no more of works How can we reconcile this with that Doctrine about Earning and Meriting Heaven by the intrinsick value of our performances When St. Peter would have us to call upon the Father and St. Paul would have us Pray with the Spirit and with the understanding also How can we reconcile this with that Doctrine of Praying in an Unknown Tongue A thing so directly repugnant to the Apostles order as if it were done out of meer spight against 1 Cor. 14. When One Apostle tells us That we are redeemed not with corruptible things as Silver and Gold How can it consist with that Doctrine about redeeming Souls out of pain by Eight-penny Offerings and a Lusty Legacy as if our Saviour's Vae were to be removed and the Gospel were to run thus Wo unto you that are Poor And when the other Apostle so often calls the Solid Element in the Sacrament Bread how can it be Natural and Real Flesh and when he commands all men to eat of that Bread and to drink of that Cup how can we reconcile it with the Doctrine of Half-Communion which they themselves have confest to be contrary to the Institution Licet Christus post coenam instituerit suis discipulis administraverit sub utraque specie panis vini hoc venerabile sacramentum tamen hoc non obstante c. Concil Constant Sess 13. Et similiter licet in Primitiva Ecclesia hujusmodi Sacramentum reciperetur à fidelibus sub utraque specie tamen c. ibid. of Christ and against the practice of the Primitive Church Briesly when St. Peter teacheth That the King is Supream is it not New Doctrine that He hath a Superior yet this is a Popish Principle whosoever they be that believe it that the King hath any above him whether it be Pope or People And when we hear both these Great Apostles preaching up the Necessity of Obedience to the Government the one peremptorily requiring us to Honour the King and to submit our selves to every Ordinance of man for the Lord's sake and the other pressing this very home particularly to the Romans as if he had foreseen that in after-ages men of the Romish Faith would prove Traytors and to prevent it if it were possible we find him charging Every soul no