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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
sense_n	church_n	scripture_n	word_n	12,302	5	4.8636	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A91809	A looking glasse for the Anabaptists and the rest of the separatists: wherein they may clearly behold a brief confutation of a certain un-licensed, scandelous pamphlet, intituled, The remonstrance of the Anabaptists, by way of vindication of their separation. The impertinancies, incongruities, non-consequences, falsities, and obstinacy of William Kiffen, the author, and grand ring leader of that seduced sect is discovered and laid open to the view of every indifferent eyed reader that will not shut his eyes against the truth. With certaine queries, vindicated from Anabaptisticall glosses, together with others propounded, for the information and conviction, (if possible) the reformation of the said William Kiffen and his prosylites. / By Josiah Ricraft, a well willer to the truth. Published by authority.	Ricraft, Josiah, fl. 1645-1679.	1645 (1645)	Wing R1430; Thomason E299_9; ESTC R200250	22,283	33

were marvelous silly when they were received members amongst you and it should seeme they have received by your owne words little eddification in their so long membership with you and therefore it doth behove them whom you say are so silly to look also where to be better instructed who have received so little benefit in so long time by your ministers least they perish in their owne ignorance and blindnes and therefore herein you would doe-well to take our saviours advice Math 7 3 4 5. we know it is noe strange thing for those that desire to walk in the strait wayes of the Lord to heare themselves despised and reproched with these and far greater aspersians but however that such as are so esteemed of by you have a right to be received into the fellowship of the Saints these Scriptures prove which I pray you examine P●o 9 1 to 7. Isa 14 32 and 18 7 1 Cor 1 26 27 28. Rom 14 1. The Reply FOr your Answer to this my fourth Querie in stead of positive laying downe your Ground What warrant you have to admit filly seduced servants or children or people into your Congregations Which question implyes in it thus much What ground you have to take away them that by the laws of God and Nature are not in their owne powers but under the powers of others In this you answer nothing but wholly wave it and runne according to your former method into a tedious heterogeneall discourse of a people whom God out of his infinite love hath redéemed to himselfe And here you quote severall places of Scripture all which are meant of the invisible Church of Christ and belong not to the question of Congregations This is commonly your error and the error of all in your separated way to apply that to the visible Church which is spoken of an invisible Church and so it is nothing to the purpose And whereas after this long and impertinent answer you gather from it that if wee can prove our selves to be such Congregations as are before spoken of which by way of reply I tell you that you cannot prove your Congregations to be such they being invisible and so knowne only to God The foundation of God standeth sure having this seale 2 Timoth 2.19 for of such you speake of in your discourse In the former part of your answer to this my fourth Querie namely a people out of infinite love redéemed and if you could prove your selves to be such reall Saints and not hypocrites yet I must tell you that the people of God have no warrant to leave the Church to which they are or were joined where there is a profession of the true faith and the preaching of the word to goe joine themselves to a company of people though they should be true Saints because there goes more to the making of a visible Church then that there bee many Saints gathered together And besides there may bee many such Saints you speake of that have put off the old man and put on the new man and are Kings and Priests to God which yet may neither have office nor gifts of preaching and so such Christians shall sinne against God and their owne soules many waies as forsake visible Churches to joine with such Saints only And in this sense I professe to despise such gathering of Saints together as to forsake a visible Church where there are Word and Sacraments to goe to joine with them they wanting the publike Ordinances and the due managing of them by persons fitly qualified and orderly called according to the Scriptures to that end and purpose QUERIE V. HOw can you vindicate by the word of God your Anabaptisticall way from the sinfull guilt of notorious Schisme and defection from all the Reformed Churches Kiff Ans They that runn may read what fire this pen and heart was inflamed withall in the writing and inditing this Querie but first of all that by reformed Churches you meane those Churches planted by the Apostles in the Primitive time which are the platforme for all Churches in all ages to looke unto to be guided by those apostolicall rules left them we then shall vindicate by the word of GOD our Anabaptists way as you are pleased to call it from that guilt and first although we confesse our selves ignorant of many things which we ought to know and desire to waight daily for the farther ciscoveries of light and truth from him which is the only giver of it to his Poore people yet so far as we are come we desire to walke by the same rule they did and first of all we baptize none into Christ Iesus but such as professe faith in Christ Iesus Rom 6 3 by which faith they are made So●ns of God and so having put on Christ are baptized into Christ G●l 3 26 27 and that Christ hath commanded this and no other way of b●p●izme see Mat 28 19. Mark 1 4 5. Luk 3 7 8. and that this also was the practice of the Apostles see Acts 2.41 8 12 36 37 10 47 48. and that being thus bap●ized upon profession of faith they then are added to the Church Acts 2 41. and being added to the Church we conceive ourselves bound to watch over one another in case of sin to dease faithfully one with another according to these Scriptures Lev. 19 17 1● Mat● 18 1● and that they remaine obstina● to cast them out as 〈◊〉 that are not fit to live in the Church according to the rule 1 Cor 5 4 5. Math 18 19 20 by all which and mony other perticulars I might ●am it apears that through mercy we can free our selves from th●● gu●l● and truly if your eyes were turned to peruse your own practises wayes you would then see we could better free our selves from that gu●le of ●ch●sme from those reformed Churches then you your selves from ●he notorious guile of schisming from Rome for first you hould their baptisme true their ordination of ministers true their maintenance by tithes and offerings true there people all fi● ma●ter for a church so true and yet you will seperate from them for some corruption now for you par●s we deny all and every one of these amongst you to be true and therefore doe seperate from you so then when you have made sati●faction for your notorious schisme and returne as dutifull sons to their Mother or else have cast off all her filthy Rubies of her abominations which are amongst you we will returne to you or shew our best grounds to the contrary Yet I would not be understood as to suppresse that none of the people in your Assemblies of England to be fit matter for a Church of Christ in respect of the graces and qualifications of the Spirit which we see to be in many But I speake of all the multitude which are forced in amongst you to be members with you though they never manifest Faith so that by this

and not suffer you and such like to goe on in your Schismes and Heresies they doe no more then they may lawfully doe yea then what is their duty to doe and this is so farre from being any lawfull ground of forsaking our Church that on the contrary the not suppressing of Sects and Schisms by their power and authority were a juster ground of separation For it is apparent by the example of the godly kings and Magistrates as Asa Josiah and others that they looke to it that the worship and house of God were reformed according to the word and commanded and caused all the people to stand to it 2 Chron. 34.31 32. As for your third ground brought to justifie your separating from us in that we quench the Spirit and despise Prophesie know it is your ignorance in not understanding the Scripture makes you say so for your selves will be found to be the men that quench the Spirit and despise Prophesie in despising the publike Ministery of the word and you could not have quoted a place against your selves more then that is for by the interpretation of learned men upon that Scripture 1. Thess 5.20 is meant the publique ministery of the word as being the great Ordinance of God against the quenching of the Spirit and your Sect of all others is knowne to be a despiser of the publique ministery And as for a fourth ground brought by you to name no more they being so frivolous The maintenance of Ministers by Tithes I wish you to consider of that Scripture 1 Cor. 9.13 14. where the Apostle shews that they that minister about holy things live of the things of the Temple and they that wait upon the Altar are partakers of the Altar which is meant of Tithes And the Apostle speaking of the maintenance of the Ministers under the Gospel saith Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel Now observe the Apostles words he doth not say The Lord hath ordained but even so the Lord hath ordained how so but as he speakes in the 13. vers namely of Tithes and Offerings as you call it if you say not by Tithes and by Offerings then it concernes you to make it appeare either out of the old or New Testament where ever God hath ordained that they that preach the Gospel should have any other fixed maintenance but Tithes And it is certaine by this place that God hath somewhere in the word ordained their maintenance And for conclusion to your Answer to my Third Querie supposing that through want of discipline we had not nor should not have a purging of the wicked from the godly yet for private persons to forsake our Churches were not justifiable neither the want of prophesying take it in your own sense suppose it were a defect of something of an Ordinance yet it would not justifie your separation and so I might say of all the rest And were it not that I had beene so large already I might shew you how that the suffering of evill persons in the Church yea the neglect of somewhat commanded being an affirmative duty could no way warrant your becomming a member much lesse a Minister of any such separate congregation And let me make it your owne case whether your suffering of many of your members to live in disobedience as wives to their husbands children to their parents and servants to their masters lawfull commands and further living in backbiting railing and reviling not of private persons only as they have some of them to their shame beene convicted of but also of the high Court of Parliament of England with our Brethren of Scotland with the Ministery of both Kingdomes and all the Reformed Churches which sinnes are as great as drunkennesse and are put by the Holy Ghost in the Catalogue of vilest sinnes Rom. 1.30 backbiters disobedient to parents And in the 1 Cor. 5.11 the plact brought by you for not comming to the Lords Supper in our Churches because of drunkards doth as expresly forbid to eat with railers which you and your members are notorious enough for and this by your rule were a sufficient ground for your members to forsake your Churches and set up new in their roomes QUERIE IV. WHat warrant have you to admit into your separate Congregations silly seduced servants children or people Kiff Ans I see our separated Congregations stick very hard upon your stomacks therefore as I have laboured to helpe you to digest our separation so I hope I shall give you something from the word of truth that may remove your imbitterednesse of spirit against our Congregations And first know this that infinite love which hath redeemed a people to God out of Nations Tongues and Kindred hath also made them Kings and Priests unto God to reigne with him in his spirituall Kingdome here on the earth Rev. 5.9 10. and that all those which are begotten by the immortall seed 1 Pet. 1.23 even those new borne Babes that have tasted of the Lords bounty and come to that living and precious stone the Lord Jesus being themselves living stones are built up a spirituall house being made a holy Priesthood to offer up spirituall sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ 1 Pet 2.1 to the 11. verse and being quickned by Christ are raised with him to sit together in heavenly places Eph. 2.5.6 being by one spirit baptized into one body 1 Cor. 12 13. the old man being buried with him Rom. 6.4 and the new man put on Gal. 3.27 Col. 3.10 thus having an entrance to the Father the building being thus coupled together by the same spirit groweth to an holy Temple and so becomes an habitation to the Lord Eph. 2.18 to 22. which assembly we are not to forsake Hebr. 10.25 but to exhort one another daily Hebr. 3.12 13. having received gifts by the same spirit we are to dispence them for edification 1 Cor. 12.47 1 Pet. 5.10 Rom. 12.3 to 9. to these congregations hath Christ promised his presence Mat. 28.19.20 and 18.19 20. Rev. 7.13 14 15. and 21.2 3. and 22.13 Now then that we can prove our selves to be such congregations as are before spoken of or at least wise such as doe sincerely and truly strive according to that light wee have to be such then I hope you will be so farre from despising such gatherings of the Saints together as that you will not deny them to receive in members and to dispence such gifts for the edifying one of another as the Lord hath given us and this I shall labour to doe in the answere to your next Querie and wheras you demand what warrant we have to receive sillie seduced servants c. we answer it is well knowne to you we receive in none as members with us but such as has beene members of your Church at the least 16 20 or 30. yeers and that they be sillie when they are received members among us surely they