Selected quad for the lemma: sense_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
sense_n	church_n	prove_v	scripture_n	5,357	5	6.6789	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A42884	A true and lively character of a right communicating church-member briefely laid down in eighteen severall arguments: proving an absolute necessity of separating, not only, from all that are openly prophane, but from such also, who have not some visible, that is to say, probable worke of the sanctifying spirit upon them. By Iohn Gobert Master of Arts, and minister of the Gospel.	Gobert, John.	1650 (1650)	Wing G904B; ESTC R217419	24,327	70

blessed care that is the best way and likeliest to do most good But this doth the gathering of such qual●fied members it doth most anger and salt mens corruptions Ergo it is a necessary medium to cure men of thr maladies of sin and consequently a most profitable worke The major Proposition will be granted without further proofe because all that are taught of God do know that though to anger men simply may prove scandalous yet to anger mens corruptions is profitable to dispose them to repentance The Minor which is that the taking of visible Saints onely into Church-fellowship have most angered the world is proved diversly first from that which hath been done the conversion of soules and gathering of Churches secondly that which is daily done for this end and purpose For the first what other worke provoked the envy of Christ and his Apostles malignant Countrymen then the effectuall worke of their preaching to the gathering of men into an holy society and fraternity among themselves It is granted by all that are godly that for matter of Doctrine carnall men have alwaies lyen darke unto it they have not known what hath been preached neither have they had either the wisdome or the patience to enquire or examine but when by a necessary separation and withdrawing from their communion the godly made a Church among themselves and went about to save themselves from a froward generation this was the worke which madded them see for this Acts the second and forty and forty one compared with the Rulers carriage Acts 4 2. had not the people by a sacred Church-communion been subject to have been drawne from them they would no doubt have been far more moderate towards the Apostles see Acts 19 16. it was the peoples turning from darknesse to light and gathering from into a Sect as they called it among themselves which so much angred them Secondly we argue from that which is daily done by the course of an ordinary Ministery What Preachers soever have in a blamelesse and warrantable way provoked most contumely and obloquy from the wicked world these are they who have converted most and done most good by their preaching but such as have stood most for visible holinesse in Church Members have contracted to them most contumely and obloquy from the wicked world therefore these are they who have converted most and done most good by their preaching Daily experiment will prove the Minor Let a Minister never so well gifted be of this judgement That any may be received into Church-communion who live honestly and can answer to a Catechize and what store of Converts will they have The seventh Argument is from pregnancy of Scripture for this purpose of a lawfull and necessary separation from the world in matter of Church fellowship thus Whatsoever opinion or practice do make void the authority and rule of Scripture that opinion or that practice is not by any rrue Beleever to be imbraced but to receive any other into Church fellowship then such as are visibly holy does make void the Authority and Rule of Scripture therefore such kinde of practise is not lawfull The Major Proposition is easily granted The Minor is thus proved Whatsoever opinion or practise do send us from the plaine literall and Gramaticall sense of the Scripture to the glosses and uncertaine conjectures of men that of necessity must make void the authority and rule of Scripture but to make any other Church Members then such as are visibly holy doth this viz. It sendeth us from the plaine literall and grammaticall sense of Scripture to the various glosses and conjectures of men Ergo. The assumption is easily proved from Esay 52. 11. 2 Cor. 6. 17. as many as are of opinion that that Scripture and the like are to be understood of Idolators that we ought not to mingle with them in their vaine Superstition and Will-worship if they go no further they must come short of the true meaning of the Spirit in such Scriptures because Idolatry is but one sort and kinde of uncleannesse but that in Esay forbids all saying Touch no unclean thing Whence we come to demand to be resolved in two things First what it is to touch any thing unclean Secondly whether civill honesty or to speake more properly whether civill Morall men although they are skill'd to answer a Catechize whether such be not for all that as yet in a state of uncleannesse to both which demands i●…e receive a resolution from Scripture first men touch not onely in living and mingling with them in their evill works but to eat the Sacrament with them as 1 Cor. 6. uli with such no not to eat this cannot be understood of the other kinde of eating which isi granted by the Apostle to be lawfull when he saith That otherwise we should go forth of the world To be familiarly acquainted with civill honest men and to invite such and bid them welcome to our Table I suppose no wise man will ●ay the contrary but to have Church fellowship with them here at many scruple and that for good cause Secondly suppose that the eating there mentioned is meant of a civill and not a Sacramentall eating yet the Sacramentall is meant also and not excluded which made our Prelates as much out as they were in the administration of Church Discipline first to forbid the sacramentall and then when the greater excommunication came forth to forbid the other kinde of eating for the like purpose is Rev. 2. 19 20. All will grant that Ministers are not forbiden to suffer such to come and heare therefore Ephesus Angels sin was in suffering such to partake of the Ordinances in way of speciall communion For the proofe of the second Whether civill men be not in a state of uncleannesse I appeale to the consciences of all such as are taught of God An eighth Argument for the proofe of this purpose is from the manifest and certain difference which ought to be between the Jew and the Gentile thus Whatsoever belief or practise do confound the Synagogue of the Jewes with the Churches of the Gentiles that belief or practice is not lawfull But to take in Church Members such as are not visibly holy doth this It confoundeth the Synagogue of the Jewes with the churches of the Gentiles therefore to take in such sort of church members is not lawfull That these two churches ought not to be confounded but apparently to differ we have Scripture to confirme it as Rom. 3. 1. the Jewes are priviledged much every way above the Gentiles and the covenant and the promises and the glory belonged to these not so properly to the Gentiles Rom. 9. 4. And what greater priviledge could there be next to that of inheriting the Kingdome of heaven then to be a church member so farre as to the partaking of all the priviledges proper and peculiar to that Nation and yet to be unholy at least if not outwardly profane therefore all of that

because such as are now call'd Presbyterians were in the Bishops times call'd Conformists because they subscribed to the doctrine and discipline then established it must needs follow that if some other weighty cause mooved not viz. a reformation of a Church Member that one of these Parties at least rather sought occasion of exception against the Bishops then found it 3. It setteth Professours together amongst themselves for who knows not that though in respect of practice of taking in or casting out these two Parties differ not but in circumstanciall or matter of discipline yet the judgement upon which such and such are to be taken or not to be taken in is something more and a matter doctrinall The 17th Argument is from the mimicall imitation of the Papists wherein they strive to have all the members of their Church visibly holy thus Whatsoever is pretended by the adversaries of truth and so farre practised by them as more sutable and serviceable to Gods honour that in gathering of Church-members is not of truths friends to be left out and neglected but even the adversaries of truth do by their doctrine and practise teach in pretence at least that only members visibly holy are to be received into Church-fellowship Ergo this ought of truths friends to be sincerely taught and practised The major will be easily granted by all such as thinke it reasonable that for zeale of holinesse Churches professedly reformed come not short of Papists The minor proposition is proved by instance Take those points of popery which are truly so called that is wherein they and we the case so standing doe and must differ and we shall all along still observe that in all their doings they aime at perfection in a Church-member As first in their beliefe concerning Baptisme they teach and beleeve that Baptisme doth absolutely take away originall sinne so that those motions of sin or unto sinne by some called reliquiae or the remnants of sinne are not sin properly as indeed they are not of the person but of the nature as our Divines distinguish Neither is it a specificall property of all sinne to be voluntary by their owne confession to instance in originall sinne in an infant But put the case now that a Church-member of theirs fall into a sinne after Baptisme they call mortall they then fall upon another salve for perfection or visible holinesse in a Church-member and that is their doctrine concerning pennance wherein they teach that auricular confession which by them is made a Sacrament conferring grace doe restore them fully to that integritie which they received in Baptisme and when they are thus restored they have a doctrine that of such as are in grace the Law can be fulfilled and kept So that their after-obedience and pennance doe not only ex congruo but ex condigno merit life eternall And all these beliefes though protestants doe justly except against as hay stubble and wood built upon the golden foundation of the christian profession yet from these tenents as bad as they are we may gather thus much That they thinke it a very unreasonable thing to admit of a Church-member into communion in all the ordinances which is not at least visibly holy The eighteenth Argument is from hence That no mischief or spirituall danger can follow the taking into Church fellowship Members only that are visibly holy Thus Whatsoever can be profitably done without the least prejudice or spirituall hinderance of any one not taken in for a Member that caeteris paribus that is to say which can be done without any kind of inconvenience ought to be put in practise But the gathering of Members only visibly holy can be practised without the least hazard of such as are not qualyfied that is they can run no spirituall hazard or danger Ergo such kinde of Church gathering ought to be put in practise The major is easily proved and may well serve for a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or signe of Gods will and pleasure this way for if there were the least hinderance to mans salvation by such a practise we might safely say this or such a way could not be of God For as among Divines that sence of scripture is not to be received which being so taken oppugneth other scriptures so neither is that thought to be Gods ordinance which opposeth the generall good of mans salvation The minor is thus proved Whatsoever hindereth not either the covenant of Gods election or the influence of the spirit from working faith and repentance yea which hindereth not the increase of grace in any that are actually in Gods favour that cannot be a prejudice to the salvation of any but to take in for Members of a Church such onely as are visibly holy doth none of these it neither hindereth the covenant of Gods election nor the influence of the spirit in working faith and repentance neither doth it hinder the increase of grace in any that are actually in Gods favour Ergo to take in only such qualified Members is safely and securely to be practised The major being granted The minor proposition is grounded from the example of the woman of Canaan who was no visible Member of a Church and yet her faith was greater then any's in Israel If indeed we were popish in our beliefe that the Sacraments were not only seales but meanes of grace so farre that they give grace ex opere operate then there might be some question in the point But our beliefe is that one either well catechised or preached unto wanteth nothing externall simply necessary to salvation If any doe now object that if we can with such safety be out of this externall Church communion wherefore then as well not out as in to what end is it to become a member To which we answer First that this might be as safely objected to any professed ordinance which all acknowledge to be of God May we not thus except against Baptisme or the word preached May not reading serve instead of preaching or is it not enough to hear of the doctrin of Baptisme Therefore as in such cavils the usuall answer is That not the want of an Ordinance but the contempt is damnable and that ordinance is contemned which we might enjoy and do not The same answer will serve for this present purpose When we may become members and are not gathered t is our contempt Secondly this exception would serve if we held that Church-communion were only for our selves but this we doe not Church-communion is for more necessary and importent ends as first that Gods will and command in this particular might be fulfilled and done and this all parties confesse not only by their owne practise but by beleeving the communion of Saints Secondly this Church-fellowship is the Citie set upon an hill and a lighted candle set upon a candlestick that others might see this ●●●ly work and so glorifie God for it in the day of their conversion FINIS