Selected quad for the lemma: sense_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
sense_n	act_n	believe_v	faith_n	2,325	5	5.9848	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47437	Christ alone the way to Heaven, or, Jacob's ladder improved containing four sermons lately preach'd on Genesis XXVIII, XII : wherein the doctrine of free-grace is display'd through Jesus Christ : also discovering the nature, office, and ministration of the holy angels : to which is added one sermon on Rom. 8, 1 : with some short reflections on Mr. Samuel Clark's new book intituled Scripture justification / by Benjamin Keach.	Keach, Benjamin, 1640-1704.	1698 (1698)	Wing K53; ESTC R24422	80,847	121

by the holy Spirit to see it and acknowledge it before they ascend up this spiritual Ladder 2. Now a po●r Sinner being brought thus to the Foot of Christ the first Step or Gradation he makes in ascending on this Ladder is to believe in Christ to venture his Soul upon him alone to trust on him on his Righteousness And on the Merits of his Blood for Justification c. He that firmly and savingly Believes in Christ may be said to set his Foot on this Ladder to ascend Some Men do not begin 〈◊〉 they would be at the top of the Ladder before they have se●●their Feet on the first Round of it because all that shall be Saved are Elected they begin there and hence think if they ●are Elected tho' they are not called but are in their Sins they are Justified Pardoned and in as good Estate as the best Believer in the World But this is a great Mistake the Decree of Election without the Execution of it puts nothing into actual Existence God Decreed from all Eternity to create the World but the World was not therefore from Eternity actually Created No more are any of the Elect actually Justified and in a State of Life until by the Spirit they are united to him and so Believe A Man cannot be Dead and Alive at one and the same time Or be Condemned and Justified or be a Child of the Devil and yet a Child of God Grace makes a Relative as well as a Real change all one and the same time the first Step a Per●on takes I say towards Heaven pray observe it is to Believe in Christ and that a Sinner before he doth Believe is brought to the Foot of Christ i. e. He sees himself Lost and Undone in the first Adam and till then under Wrath. 3. And then that he may go up upon this spiritual Ladder he must Step forward on the next Round which is that of Obedience to Christ's holy Precepts Take my Yoke on you and learn of me First our Lord calls all that are weary and heavy-laden to come unto him that is to Believe in him and then to take on them the Yoke of Gospel-Obedience as Baptism and Church-member-ship Then they that gladly received th● Word were Baptized and the same day then were added unto them about Three Thousand Soul 4. And then go on unto Perfection or pre●● forward in the way of Holiness and so go step by step or from Strength to Strength in Sion adding one Grace of the Spirit unto another Eighthly He that would go up a very high Ladder ought to take care to set his Feet direct or straight upon it not carelesly or awry but full upon it So all that would ascend on this Ladder Jesus Christ must exert a direct act of Faith he must fix his Soul plum upon him or firmly upon him A poor Sinner must see that he takes hold o● Christ in a Promise with a true and fixed Faith not with a false or presumpteous Fa●●● but by the Faith of the operation of God which is ● Fruit of the Spirit called the Faith of God's Elect being only peculiar unto them 〈◊〉 ●●o a● the chosen of God A false Faith is 〈◊〉 dangerous as a false Step a Man takes in ascending ● a Ladder who missing his standing an● 〈◊〉 falls down and perisheth and so shall al● M●●believers as well as all Un-believers perish ●●●nally He that believes not aright had as g●●● believe not at all Ninthly As he that climbs up a Ladder ough● to kn●w it's Strength so he Ventures his L●ft and whole Body upon it So that Man that ventures on this spiritual Ladder Jesus Christ ought to know the Strength and Power of Christ to Justifie to Pardon and eternally to Save him he must venture all the stress of his Salvation on him alone Christ is the only Foundation he must venture his whole Soul upon him Trust intirely in him buil● only upon him and come to the Father by him I know on whom I have Believed I know hi● Power he is mighty to Save yea able to save to the uttermost as was hinted before In the Lord do I put my trust Again saith David In thee do I put my Trust. Tenthly A Man that ventures to ascend up upon a Ladder so exceeding high the top whereof reacheth above the Clouds even to Heaven as he shews his Faith is not small so his Courage is great Brethren This of Venturing on Christ Believing on Christ shews that a Saint's Faith and Courage is not small Faith lies above Sense nay above Reason I mean Faith in Christ to believe in a Crucified Saviour to seek Justification by the Righteousness of another by a Man hang'd on a Tree the Greeks counted this Foolishness To get this way to Heaven shews a Man acts above himself Some would say to a Man that is resolved to ascend up on such a Ladder Friend you can never get up to Heaven in such a way you will certainly fall or faint before you get thither what Faith have you What prodigious Courage have you So here the poor Soul saith I fear not God ●●●th set this Ladder up and fixed it firmly and G●● Commanded me to Believe in Christ he ●ath bid me venture up on this Ladder He hath revealed in his Word that this way and By no other we must be Saved and I will venture upon him Many have gone this way safe to Heaven already and none can go any other way I must therefore believe in Christ ascend to Heaven by him or else perish for ever I know God will help me and uphold me and I will therefore not be afraid I am convinced of Righteousness because Christ as my Head is gone to the Father his Righteousness and not my own must carry me thither his Righteousness is Perfect and I am Compleat in him and as I have Righteousness in him so in him I have Strength also Brethren Without Faith and spiritual Courage no person will adventure to climb up this Ladder nay without Faith no Man can ascend or come to the Father Believing in Christ is a climbing up or ascending up upon this Ladder Eleventhly It is a vain thing for a Man to hope to get up to the Top of a Ladder that will not first set his Foot on the lower Roun● thereof So it is a vain thing for any to hope to be Saved or to get to Heaven who do not first Believe and receive R●●●nerating Grace for he that Believes not shall be Damned Twelfthly He that ascends up very high on a Mighty Tall Ladder hath a clear Sight or Prospect of Heaven and the higher he goes the smaller the Earth appears to him it seems but a little spot nay it being a dark Body 〈…〉 at last not perceive it to be any ●●ing at all

a Ladder c. DOCT. I. The Lord Jesus may fitly be compared to a Ladder that is set on the Earth and the top of it reacheth up unto Heaven I Have run the Parallel in many respects between Christ and such a Ladder in respect had to his Person and Offices as our Saviour and Blessed Mediator I shall proceed to some further Particulars Thirteenthly He that climbs up a Ladder looks upwards as he goes he does not turn his eyes down towards the Earth for that is dangerous So he that sets out in the way to Heaven by Jesus Christ must look up his eye must be set on Heavenly things While we look not at things that are seen but at things that are not seen c. 1. This look my Brethren may refer to his Underderstanding his Understanding is enlightened it is open'd to see the Nature and Excellency of Heavenly things That the eyes of your Vnderstanding being enlighthed that ye may know what is the Hope of your Calling and what is the Riches of the Glory of his Inheritance in the Saints What the Eye is to the Body that the Understanding is to the Soul 2. It may refer to his Affections Set your Affections on things above where Christ sitteth on the Right Hand of God A Believer's Desires and Affections are Spiritual and Heaven-ward 3. It denotes moreover the Exercise of Faith Such with Moses by Faith see him that is invisible Did not the Eyes of Believers see something above excelling all things here below they would never ascend by Faith on this Ladder nor slight and conntemn all the Riches Pleasures and Glory of this World 4. It may also denotes the excellent Frame of their Hearts They are born from above they have received a heavenly Nature an heavenly and spiritual Frame and therefore they look upwards They that are after the Flesh mind the things of the Flesh but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit 5. This of looking upwards may signify a Believer's Hope and Expectation Their Hope is in Heaven not in this Life If our Hope be only in this Life we are of all Men most miserable As they are born from above so they are travelling thither their Faces are set heaven-ward Heaven is their Inheritance They seek an heavenly Countrey men of the World have their eyes downwards A man that looks downward that climbs up a Ladder is in danger of falling however he must make a pause or stand still but a Believer must go on his way he must not look back nor stand still but press forwards as Paul did He must not look back Fourteenthly A Ladder is a narrow way to go upon and it is a difficult thing to travel all day upon it So Jesus Christ who is the way to the Father is a narrow way Narrow is the way that leadeth to Life The way to Hell is broad multitudes go in that way but the way to Life is narrow tho this Ladder is wide or broad enough for all the Elect of God even for all for whom it was prepared for all that come to Christ for the vilest Sinner that is helped to venture himself upon him yet comparatively it is a very narrow way 1. A Narrow way is opposed to that which is Broad where any careless or negligent Person may go or multitudes may travel in it Now Christ is so narrow a way many cannot go this way it is not wide enough for them Christ will not allow them the Liberty they will take and will have let what will come of it they will have their Lusts their Riches their Honours their sensual Pleasures their old Companions their sinful Customs and sinful Practices the way must be broad enough for them and their base Consorts too or they will not go that way 2. It may be called a narrow way because it is hard to find it a narrow Path is not soon found or discerned as a broad common beaten road is Christ is a way not discerned by Carnal Persons The natural Man receiveth not the things of the Spirit they are foolishness to him neither can he know them because they are Spiritually discerned Man naturally accounts the way to Heaven by Jesus Christ a foolish thing because they cannot comprehend how they should be Justified by the Righteousness of another and he a poor Man as he was accounted who was Crucified on a Tree to be Justified by their own Works or by their own Righteousness this seems easy to discern it is natural to them to seek t● be saved in such a way all men being bor● under the Covenant of Works Brethren Chri●● is a way that lyes above human● Reason it is a Mystery that depends wholly upon divine Revelation it is as strange and as an unlikely a thing to meer natural Men to think to be ●aved or to go to Heaven this way as it is for them to think a Ladder may be made and set upon the Earth the top of which shall reach up to Heaven So that Men may that way i. e. by climbing up on that Ladder go to Heaven They look with an eye of sense and not by an eye of Faith 3. Narrowness may denote the Difficulty of walking in this way Christ is not only a way hard to find but also hard to walk in Faith leads the Soul to deny it self i. e. of Sinful-self natural-self and righteous-self and to do this is hard and difficult and not only to deny ourselves in all these respects but also to take up our Cross O 't is this also that renders the way narrow What deny ourselves of every Flesh-pleasing and profitable Lust and of all our own Wisdom Honour Relations and Righteousness and take up the Cross too 1. This includes all Losses and Damage even to part with all for Christ's sake 2ly To take up our Cross denotes Shame and Reproach for the sake of Christ. 3. It denotes also Pain and Suffering nay Death it self when called to it 4. Faith leads the Soul to mortify Sin to crucify the Flesh with the Affections and Lusts The Dominion and Power of Sin must be broke Sin must not reign we must not only leave Sin but mortify it also This is hard to do and to follow Christ whither soever he goes or doth lead us to follow him fully constantly universally and now this is no easy thing to do to the Flesh. 4. Narrowness of the Way or Ladder may signifie what careful steps must be taken by all that climb up thereon we must step straight forward viz. Lead a holy and strict life For without Holiness no Man shall see the Lord. We must take heed we do not suffer our feet to slide or slip therefore have need to say with holy David Order my steps in thy Word and let not any iniquity have Dominion over me Direct all the thoughts and motions