Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
scripture_n	faith_n	grace_n	justification_n	2,564	5	9.1104	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26897	Church concord containing I. a disswasive from unnecessary division and separation, and the real concord of the moderate independents with the Presbyterians, instanced in ten seeming differences, II. by Richard Baxter.	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1691 (1691)	Wing B1223; ESTC R14982	99,086	94

of the lawful Pastors Q. 12. Why would you chuse Pastors that be not wi●●r to govern than your selves Q. 13. Do you not imitate those Diocesan● that take on them the sole Government of more Churches than they can govern And do not you also undertake what you cannot do Q. 14. Do you think it is not lawful for a great Lord like Abraham that hath a hundred or many hundred Servants to make a Church of his Family And do you think his Children and Servants should rule it by Vote and try their Lord and Ladies graces Q. 15. Do you not know that Baptism entereth into the Universal Church as such and not into any particular Church without a further contract And who made you Rulers of the Church Universal why you rather than another Church Did the People try and judge by Vote the Baptizing of the three thousand Act. 3. and of Cornelius and the E●much and the Iailor or the Samaritans or any one person Prove it if you can and defie not God's Word Q. 16. What if the Minister that must Baptize and give the Lord's Supper be unsatisfied in your Iudgment Must he go against his Conscience in obedience to you Q. 17. Is one abused Text Tell and hear the Church ignorantly repeated enough to blind you against all this Evidence If the King send to the City of London to cast out an ill Member doth it follow that all the People must do it by equal Power or Vote or some as Rulers and others as obedient Consenters your freedom and your choice of Rulers is not a Power to Rule Papists and all Sects abuse this Text. § 13. Is not your Liberty to be governed only as consenting Volunteers enough for you unless being many Masters you receive the greater condemnation Jam. 3. 1. I would you would read the Third Chapter of James and the Fourth to the Ephesians and the Second to the Philippians on your Knees begging of God to cause the Scales to fall from your Eyes and to give you his Eye salve that you may see that you are poor and miserable and blind and naked When the greatest Millenaries say This is spoken of the new Jerusalem in another World in Paradise do not repine that I apply it to you § 14. And that you may not be proud of your Church Liberty it self not to be forced to Sacraments and Communion Let me tell you what it is It is a Liberty to be sinful disorderly and unhappy resulting from that Necessity which God in Nature and Scripture hath founded in that he will make no one happy without his voluntary consent If you will you may renounce your Baptism and your Childrens Church-Membership and your own you may after a first and second Admonition Excommunicate and condemn your selves and renounce Communion with the Universal Church and with Christ himself you have liberty to forsake the Assemblies and Communion of the Church and the help and conduct of true Pastors you have liberty to forsake God and to be damned O woful liberty God will not pardon or save you against your wills And Kings and Bishops should not force you to take a sealed Pardon or any of the Childrens peculiar part without your voluntary consent As much as you blindly cry down Freewill I think you deny not but men have a will free and able to Sin and to choose Destruction till Grace cure that freedom And verily I think to such ignorant proud Dividers as you it is but such a freedom to choose your own Teachers where Christian Magistrates have more Wisdom to choose for you Not much more than for Boys to choose their own Schoolmasters or Tutors or Servants in a Great mans Family-Church yea or Sons to choose their Pastor Your most desireable Liberty is to have wiser Governours and Choosers and to have Wit Humility and Grace to obey them But yet to be the discerning Iudges of your Duty and to do nothing against God's Law Q. 18. I would know why you do not also your selves Baptize and Administer the Lord's Supper Do you not know that the Ministerial Power of the Keys lyeth more in judging decisively who should receive these Sacraments than in the actual delivering them Do you not as the Lay Chancellours do by the Parish Ministers make them but the Executioners of their Decrees You must Iudge and your Pastors Execute or as Cryers proclaim your Iudgments Q. 19. When all the Church must try the Repentance or Conversion of a Sinner must he open his Sin before you all If not you will take him I doubt for no true Penitent If yea then by what right can you make his secret Sins to be openly known Auricular Confession is better than such And if an aged Person for want of use be uncapable of handsom Expressions about Religion must he be put to shame before you all And as Mr. Noyes saith Shall Lads thus uncover their Father's nakedness Q. 20. Are you sure that upon a wiser Examination than yours most of this masterly Party would not be cast out themselves In many things we offend all And he that sheweth not his religious Wisdom out of a good Conversation by works of Meekness but hath bitter envying and strifes his glorying is a lying against the truth Such Wisdom is not from above but is earthly sensual and devilish For where envying and strife is there is confusion and every evil work I would advise the Pastors of such masterly People to try and examine these Tryers I have given them a Catalogue of Questions for them at the end of my Reformed Pastor Try whether they can tell you whether Christ hath one or two or three Natures Whether he was Man before the World In what Nature he made all things How the Godhead and Manhood are one Person Whether each be a part of Christ's Person What the Soul is How they will prove against an Infidel that Christ is the Son of God and that Scripture is true What the definition of Faith is and of Iustification and of Regeneration And the Covenant of Grace whether it be the substance of the Holy Ghost that is given in to the Faithful or only his Effects An hundred such Questions I doubt you will find them ignorant Answerers of It 's a sad case to have those try mens regeneration that know not what regeneration is If you will abuse the Letter of the Text the Women must Govern Are not they of the Church You 'l say They are forbid to speak Ans. That 's as Teachers but what 's that to Iudging And are not you forbid to Rule when you are commanded to OBEY The Church that must be Heard is it that must be Told and Iudge But it is the Pastors that must be Heard For if all the People be the speaking Reprovers it will be a clamorous Church And how without such clamour can the multitude be heard And must not all Dissenters have leave to enter their Dissent

such as expect the very Syllables of the Assertions in the proofs Therefore for brevity I take it to be the better way ●● this time to offer here a full sufficient proof of any one of these Assertions which shall be questioned to such as shall soberly demand it A Servant of Christ for his Churches Unity and Peace Richard Baxter Acton Nov. 2● 1688. Q. SEeing you have oft affirmed publickly that the Terms of Concord among Christians are easie to be known if their unwillingness to practise them were not the hinderance you are desired to answer these Questions following 1. What are the necessary Terms of Catholick Communion of Christians as Members of the Church Universal 2. What are the necessary Terms of the Communion of Christians personally in a particular Church 3. What are the Terms on which Neighbour Churches may hold Communion with one another 4. What are the Terms of Communion between the Churches of several Kingdoms 5. What is the Magistrates Power and Duty about Religion and the Churches and Ministers of Christ I. It is to be understood that the Universal Church is considered as Spiritual or as Visible As Spiritual it is the Universality of true Spiritual or Regenerate Believers as Headed by Jesus Christ. As Visible it is the Universality of the Baptized or Professors of true Faith as Headed by Christ the Author and Object of that Faith And accordingly Christians are to be distinguished And that the Question is of the Visible Church and Christians 2. This being supposed I answer that Catholick Visible Communion consisteth 1. Fundamentally in being all Baptized or entered into the same Covenant of Grace with God the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost and so being joyned to the same Head and entered into the same Universal Body and professing the same Faith and Love and Obedience contained in that Covenant and not falling away from that Profession or any Essential part thereof 2. And consequently that we all acknowledge the extraordinary Ministry of the Prophets and Apostles and receive their Testimony and Doctrine recorded in the Sacred Scriptures At least the foresaid Essentials of the Covenant and so much more as we understand and are convinced to be Canonical Scriptures or written by the Inspiration of the Holy Ghost 3. And also that we acknowledge a stated ordinary Ministry in the Church appointed by Christ to Disciple and Baptize the Nations of the World and then to teach them to observe all his Commands And that we profess our willingness to join in Christian Assemblies under the conduct of such Ministers for the worshipping of God and furthering our own and others Salvation if we have opportunity so to do And that we do accordingly II. Q. 1. We speak only of Visible Christians in this second Question also of Church Communion 2. A Particular Church signifieth either 1. A Community of Christians agreed to live under Pastora● Guidance before they have a Pastor or have practised that agreement This is not the Church here mean● 2. Or a Political Society of Christian Pastor and People professedly associated for Personal Communion Exercise of these Relations as such in the publick worshipping of God and for the furtherance of Love and Obedience in each other The Ends difference it from all Civil Societies of Christians and from the associations of many Churches for Communion by delegates The necessary Terms of this Church Communion are these 1. The Pastor whether one or more must have all things essential to his Office 1. As to his Qualifications that is 1. That he understand at least the Essential Points of Christianity and Church Communion 2. That he be able to teach them to others in some competent degree 3. That he be willing to do it and this for Gods Honour the Churches Good and Mens Salvation 2. As to his Call that he have a true notification of the will of God that he should undertake this Office which is ordinarily done 1. By the Ordination that is the Approbation and Investiture of Bishops or Pastors 2. And in this case of his relation to a particular Church by the peoples consent All this in truth is needful before God and in Appearance and Profession before the Church 2. The People must be Baptized persons Sacramentally engaged into Covenant with God the Father Son and Holy Ghost and such as have not professedly deserted that Covenant by Apostasie nor are proved before a lawful Judicature to be deserters of any Essential part thereof Whether open professed Covenanting may not serve without Baptism in cases of Necessity where Baptism cannot be had is a case so extraordinary that we need not here meddle with it 3. He that was Baptized in Infancy and yet having opportunity at full age doth make no Profession of Christianity nor own his Baptismal Covenant openly by word or deed is to be numbered with Deserters 4. Though the most plain and open profession is usually best where it may be ●ad yet a profession less explicite may serve to the being of Church-members such as is their actual joyning with those Churches who purposely assemble to make publick profession of the Christian Religion Faith Love and Obedience 5. There must be also a signification of consent to their particular Church-Relation either more express and plain or at least by such actions which may be reasonably presumed to signifie it As ordinary joining in Church-worship with that particular Church and submitting to the necessary guidance of the Pastors 6. He that thus consenteth to his Relation to the Pastor and that Church is a Member though he consent not to the Membership or Presence of many particular Members thereof Because they are but Integral and not Essential parts of the Church 7. But if a usual mixture in the Assemblies of Hereticks or Strangers which are not Members of that Church or any other confounding cause do give the Pastors sufficient reason to call all or part of the people to an express signification of their consent to their Relation to put it out of doubt they that causelesly refuse such signification do seem to deny their consent and allow the Pastor and Church to judge of them accordingly 8. The office of the Bishops or Pastors is subordinate to the Teaching and Interceeding and Ruling office of Christ And their work is to Teach the people the Word of God to be their Mouth and Guide in publick Worship in Prayer and in Thanksgiving and Praise to God and to administer his holy Sacraments and to exercise that Power of the Keys which Christ hath committed to their trust in the Prudent and cautelous use of Church-Discipline And all this according to the Laws of Christ recorded in the holy Scriptures These therefore must be the Works and Ends for which these Churches must professedly assemble Especially on the Lord's Days which are separated to these holy Uses 9. The General Command in Nature and Scripture that all be done to Edification decently and