Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
scripture_n	article_n	believe_v	creed_n	2,820	5	10.5298	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A27014	Sacrilegious desertion of the holy ministery rebuked, and tolerated preaching of the gospel vindicated, against the reasonings of a confident questionist, in a book called Toleration not abused; with counsil to the nonconformists, and petition to the pious conformists / by one that is consecrated to the sacred ministry, and is resolved not to be a deserter of it ...	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1672 (1672)	Wing B1380; ESTC R5946	61,174	146

is your duty to forbear it and only to Teach How to discern this Prudence and Counsel must direct you If there be a worthy Parish Minister and the people are all or almost all satisfied or may be satisfied by you to communicate with him according to the liturgy and if your own administration would stir up so much offence and hurt as that the benefit cannot countervail it the case is plain But if you live in London or where all the people cannot come to the Parish Church or the Minister is intollerable and the good is like on prudent advise to be apparently greater then the hurt I know not but you may 1. Know your flock by name 2. And take it either as a Chappel in some places or as a distinct Neighbour Church in other places 3. Duely Administer the Sacraments 4. And soberly and wisely use Christs Discipline 17. Be sure that the Concord of all the true Protestant Non-Conformists Churches be established upon the simple ancient Catholick terms and not upon any self-devised Additions That is that all that own the Scripture in general and the Baptismal Covenant the Creed Lords Prayer and Decalogue in particular as the summary of Holy Belief holy Desires and holy Practice be taken for fellow Christians till it be proved against them that by Heresie or wickedness they nullifie this profession This is the Rule and Test of universal concord Here all agree And if after this one Church will use Forms of Prayer and another will not one will Baptize Infants and another will delay it c. they are differences that must be born where Love and Reason cannot heal them without breach of Charity Concord or Communion yea in the same Church such different opinions may be born further than as those that dissent from the Pastors mode of worship will separate themselves when none rejecteth them We have all naturally a Pope born in us and when men have never so much talkt against Popery and Prelacy too many censure or run away from all that are not of their way If any tell you that so wide an enterance will let into the Church Socinians and other Hereticks who will mis-expound the words Ask them again First Whether Baptising men is not a taking them into the Church And whether the Apostles and Churches for many hundred years required any more of those that were Baptized And whether their business be to shew themselves wiser than the Apostles and the primitive Church Secondly Whether Hereticks will not subscribe to all the Scripture while they misinterpret it And whether all the Scripture therefore be not big enough for a Creed Thirdly Whether all Heresie be not a contradiction of some of the aforesaid Articles of Faith and he that saith I believe this Creed and all that is contrary to it renounce not all Heresie Fourthly Whether all Laws be faulty which men can misinterpret And whether the Law must be changed and enlarged as oft as any break it Fifthly Whether all the Volumns of General Councils be not yet too little by that rule the sence of many being still controverted Sixthly If we must have new Creeds and Church Articles as oft as Hereticks misexpound the old whether it be not in the power of the Devil and Hereticks to make our Faith ridiculously alterable every year till it grow intolerably voluminous Seventhly And who is it that must be still the Creed-makers or menders And where will they stop And how shall we know when we have all Eighthly Is he a wise Pastor that readeth how the Churches have ever since the Council at Nice bin distracted with new Creeds and yet will take no warning Read how Hilary Pict inveigheth against them When they vexed Hierome himself with suspicions of Heresie about the Trinity because he was not for the term Hypostasis as a person his answer was They ask me of my Belief or Faith as if I had bin New-born or Baptized without a Belief As if he should say Is it not a true and sufficient Creed or profession of Faith which we all make at Baptism Why else are we Baptized Ninethly Tell them that Pastors indeed must know more than all the people but not by having a new Creed or Scripture but at their Oraination they are to give an account of a fuller understanding the same Creed than the people must do And the Ordainers must examine them where they suspect them of Heresie Tenthly Lastly Tell them that no more than this is necessary at the door but if any after prove an Heretick the accuser must prove it by him and what is the use of Church-Discipline but to reform him or cast him out And Laws will not serve alone instead of Judgement If they say that a Heretick may do much mischief before it can be proved against him Tell them 1. That it must not be Thoughts but Words that do mischief in the Church And Words are proveable 2. That such proud tyrannical overdoers have bin the Churches undoers And it is they that have done as much mischief as most Hereticks And that they that will be so much wiser and better than God as to keep out all Heresie by their self-conceited ways are the men that let in Heresie and Impiety and keep or cast out faithful Pastors and are the Officers and Agents of the great Divider and Destroyer of the Churches Let me add Brethren we that have lived in an Age when the Engines of Church-Division have so sadly prospered and have smarted thereby and born our Testimony against them are doubly obliged to leave this Testimony of ours to Posterity to warn them that if possible they may escape the snare And therefore TO PUBLISH THIS OUR JUDGEMENT and OUR OWN CONCORD ON THESE PRIMITIVE TERMS to all the World as against the Romish tyrannical-uncertain-confounding Church-dividing and still growing Articles of Faith Remembring that the same men that have made their Religion so big as that the French Impression of it viz. their Councils is too dear for the purse of a Non-conformable Minister can yet tell you that even ●aith in Christ himself explicite is not absolutely necessary at least to justification and that the knowledge even of much of the Law of nature as well as of the Gospel may not be absolutely necessary as Sancta Clara Deus-Nat-Grat Problem 15. and 16. proveth out of the Schoolmen at large 18. Manage your Ministerial converse prudently and piously The converse of Ministers is of great use and therefore frequent Meetings needful Use them to these ends 1. To advise and prevent the effects of rashness or imprudencie in Church affairs when every weak man hath the use of the wisdom of all his seniors it is safe 2. To preserve Concord and prevent backbitings animosities and sactions and discordant scandalous singularities 3. That young Ministers may be Learners as well as Teachers and may grow up under the Helpes of their Seniors I think therefore you may best thus