Selected quad for the lemma: sense_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
sense_n	faith_n	justification_n	justify_v	7,231	5	9.1878	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47591	Light broke forth in Wales, expelling darkness, or, The Englishman's love to the antient Britains [sic] being an answer to a book, iutituled [sic] Children's baptism from Heaven, published in the Welsh tongue by Mr. James Owen / by Benjamin Keach.	Keach, Benjamin, 1640-1704.	1696 (1696)	Wing K75; ESTC R32436	280,965	390

Covenant you bring your poor Babes under being wholly without Divine Authority it is therefore voluntary and so forbid and sinful Secondly It is also directly repugnant to those Precepts Add not to his Word lest he reprove thee c. Thirdly Consider that Infants Baptismal Covenant is also directly repugnant to the nature of the Covenant of Grace rendring the Covenant of Grace to be of the same nature of the Covenant of Peculiarity God made with Abraham and his Natural Seed as such and so sutes only with the Baxterian Errors and Mr. William's New Scheme which renders the Covenant of Grace conditional according to the Covenant of Works Take Mr. Baxter's words viz. The Condition of the Covenant of Grace by which we have right to the Benefits of it is our Faith mark it or Christianity as it is meant by Christ in the Baptismal Covenant viz. to give up our selves in Covenant believing in God the Father Son and Holy Ghost renouncing the Contraries and that through this consent to the Christian Covenant called Faith alone is the full condition of our first right to the Benefits of that Covenant of which Justification is one Baxter's Fourth Proposit in his Preface to Dr. Tully 1. From hence note as Mr. Troughton observes Mr. Baxter doth not say that Christ's Righteousness apprehended by Faith doth justify us but Faith in a comprehensive Sense as it includeth Obedience to God according to this Covenant It appears that the Belief and Practice of the Christian Religion upon performance of their Infant Baptismal-Covenant is that Righteousness by which they are justified as the purport of Mr. Baxter's Sense 2. From hence also it appears that the Spring or Rise of this grand Baxterian Error is from Infants-Baptismal Covenant therefore Brethren 't is time to consider the danger of this unwarrantable Practice and evil Innovation D. Williams confirms Mr. Baxter's Notion Take his words What doth the Covenant bind thee to speaking of Infants Baptismal-Covenant His Answer is To be the Lord's in sincere Care to know love believe obey worship and serve him all my days and to depend on God thro Christ for all Happiness Rom. 6. 4. Quest What if a Child thro the love of Sin or vanity of Mind will not agree to this Covenant I answer saith he He then rejecteth Christ our Saviour and renounceth the Blessings of the Gospel Quest Is it a great Sin to refuse to agree to the Covenant to which thy Baptism engaged thee He answers It is the damning Sin and the Heart of all Sin Mr. Williams's Book called The Vanity of Youth pag. 131. 1 Reply From hence it appears that Mr. Baxter and Mr. Williams plainly declare that the terms and condition of the Covenant of Grace which must be performed by such that would be justified is to perform this Infant Baptismal-Covenant viz. sincerely to love believe obey worship and serve the Lord not Faith only whereby we receive Christ rely on Christ but the whole of that Obedience to which they were obliged by their Infant-Baptism 2. Observe also that it appears according to these Men that Unbelief is not the condemning Sin but the non-performance of this Baptismal-Covenant 3. How are these Men left of God to darkness of their own Minds not only to affirm the Conditionality of the Covenant of Grace rendering it no better than a new Covenant of Works but also to make this devised and voluntary Infant Baptismal-Covenant to be the only Condition of it and of our Justification in the sight of God 4. Moreover They bring their poor Babes without any Authority from Christ under a Covenant and charge them with Perjury if they break it when grown up it they perform it they shall be pardoned justified and saved but they must be damn'd if they answer not the Rule of the Promise or Baptismal-Covenant which is to repent to be regenerated and so answer their new Law of Faith and sincere Obedience So that in this Covenant lies the Conditionality of their Covenant of Grace For no other formal Covenant is proposed by them to the People unless they are for Mr. Joseph Allen's voluntary Covenant contrived out of his own Head and proposed to all devout Adult Persons to enter into which no doubt is forbid by our Saviour as sinful he was a well-meaning Man And the Truth is his devised Covenant seems more plausible and reasonable than Infants Baptismal-Covenant because he would have none but such enter into his Covenant who are Adult Persons besides it must be with their own free Consent whereas Children are brought into theirs without their knowledg or consent and are obliged to do those things which they have no power to perform And as it is not required by the Lord so God hath made no Promise to them of Grace and Assistance to discharge the Obligation thereof Fourthly To conclude It is easy to gather from whence their Mistake doth arise about this Baptismal-Covenant which evidently appears to be from their applying it to false Subjects and so to bind such to perform those things which Christ never ordained Baptism to do viz. such that are in their Natural State or who when baptized believed not nor were capable so to do for your Brethren the Pedo-Baptists tell you that Baptism obligeth such as are baptized to believe and to become new Creatures not that they were such that then did believe c. And from hence it followeth that it is one of those Works or Acts of Obedience that go before Faith and therefore a dead Work and pleaseth not God as well as not required of him for all Works before Faith or Union with Christ are dead Works they not proceeding from a Spiritual Vital Principle It therefore appears from hence that Infant 's Baptismal-Covenant is directly also repugnant to Christ's true Baptismal-Covenant For evident it is that Christ's Baptism only belongs to Believers who are renewed regenerated and have Union with Christ and so in a justified State before baptized Our Baptism doth not oblige us to believe and to be regenerated or to die to Sin as such that were not dead before but it is a sign of that Faith and Death unto Sin we had when we were baptized or to shew that we were then dead to Sin c. How shall we that are dead to Sin live any longer therein Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his Death Or as being dead with him Therefore we are buried with him into Death Rom. 6. 2 3 4. Not buried alive or whilst dead in Sin No but as being dead to Sin Not to oblige us to be regenerated but as Persons who are regenerated before buried in Baptism And the Covenant of Baptism is to walk in newness of Life as being before quickned That like as Christ was raised from the dead by the Glory of the Father so we should walk in newness of Life I find Mr. Richard Baxter

Testament or old Covenant But the Promises and that Covenant then ran not to the Seed of believing Jews only but if they were Abraham's Seed I mean his Natural Seed whether Believers or Unbelievers Circumcision belonged to the Male-Infants as such and all other external Privileges but the Covenant of Grace made with Abraham ran only then as it runs now viz. to all the Elect only not to their Carnal Seed as such but to their Spiritual Seed If you are a Believer you are in the Covenant of Grace and if your Child in Infancy be one of God's Elect that decretively is in the same Covenant of Grace but not actually until it doth believe and has actual Union with Christ by Faith and partakes of the holy Spirit which is the Bond of that Union and Seal of the Covenant of Grace No external Rite can be the Seal of the Spiritual Covenant If therefore Circumcision was a Seal of any Covenant it was the External and Legal Covenant tho Abraham 't is true received it as the Seal of the Righteousness of his Faith even of that Faith he had being uncircumcised and in that sense it could be a Seal to no other Person but to Abraham only for who besides him had the Righteousness of Faith before they were circumcised and that they should be Fathers to all that believed not only of believing Jews but believing Gentiles also for so ran the Covenant of the Righteousness of Faith God made with Abraham And has God made such a Covenant with you or with any Believer now Or is there any such Covenant-Head under the Gospel save Jesus Christ alone Abraham was but a Typical Father the Covenant made with him and his Natural Seed as such typified Christ and all his Spiritual Seed 2. We have proved in the Legal or Old Covenant there were many other external Privileges besides Circumcision and external visible Church-Membership several of which we have mentioned to which we may add they had a right to the Land of Canaan and to a Civil Government and Governours among themselves or a Political Common-wealth as also a right to a glorious external Temple But Sir is the Gospel Covenant worse than that Legal Covenant because we and our Children have not such Promises and external Privileges Certainly if God pleases to open your Eyes you will soon see and confess your Mistake Besides the Apostle calling it a better Covenant and better Promises clearly shews they are not external Privileges but spiritual and so in that sense I have proved the Privileges and Promises of the Covenant of Grace do far exceed the Privileges the Jews had then and our Childrens Privileges are greater also tho not to be received as Members into the Gospel-Church till they do believe You say the Covenant of Grace that God made with Abraham was an immutable Covenant it was confirmed by an Oath Heb. 6. 13 17 c. therefore if the Children are excluded the Covenant you say it is mutable and if so what is become of the Oath and the Promises of God Where is the strong Consolation Where is the Immutability of God's Counsel Therefore say you those that do cast out the Children of the Faithful ●rom the Covenant of Grace c. weaken their Consolation and nullify the eternal Covenant and make God a Liar 1 John 5. 10. Answ 1. I answer Here you charge us home and lay horrid Evil at our Doors that do deny the Children of Believers as such to be in the Covenant of Grace but how unjustly and unrighteously we are charged by you I shall God assisting make appear 2. Sir Are all Believers Children in the Covenant of Grace I affirm and will stand by it if so they shall all be saved because all and every Soul that was or is in the Covenant of Grace made with Abraham shall be saved because it is an immutable Covenant and God's Promise and Oath are passed to secure them of Eternal Life Sir the Natural Seed of Abraham as such never had any ground of strong Consolation God never made a Promise and bound it with an Oath that they should all be saved I speak of Abraham's Fleshly Seed as so considered or as such for if he had made such an immutable Covenant with them and confirm'd it by his Oath What is become of his Promises and Oath since he hath cast off Abraham's Natural Seed O how preposterously you argue See Rom. 9. 6. Not as tho the Word of God hath taken none Effect For they are not all Israel which are of Israel Neither because they are the Seed of Abraham are they all Children but in Isaac shall thy Seed be called i. e. They that are the Children of the Flesh i. e. as such these are not the Children of God but the Children of the Promise are counted for the Seed Sir this Text says as much as we do affirm The Spiritual Seed of Abraham viz. all the Elect of God or Believers only are in the immutable Covenant and have strong Consolation but who can tell or know who they are that are God's Elect Ones until they believe or are under effectual Vocation and that Election runs only to Believers Seed as such you will not say For many Children of Unbelievers we se● daily are in God's eternal Election by their special Vocation and many Children of Believers are not elected because never called 2. Were it the immutable Counsel of God that all Believers Children should be called adopted justified and eternally saved you had said something and then all their Natural Seed might have strong Consolation indeed But alas alas how many Godly Mens Children prove wicked and ungodly and so live and die Were these such think you that ever were in the Covenant of Grace God ma●e with Abraham Had they ever any ground of strong Consolation 3. Come Sir the Odium falls on your self I argue thus If all the Children of Believers are in the Covenant of Grace God made with Abraham and yet many of them eternally perish what then is become of the immutable and everlasting Covenant of Grace nay of the Promises and Oath of God and also of the Doctrine of final Perseverance O what Shame do you Pedo-baptists bring upon your selves by arguing after this blind manner for your Babes Baptism 4. But perhaps you will say you argue for the external Privileges of the Covenant of Grace to belong to your Children as such and not the spiritual and special Blessings of it Answ If so the case is still worse for then it will follow that God in the Covenant of Grace hath by his Promise and Oath and Immutability of his Counsel given to all Persons ground of strong Consolation that only have a share in the outward Rites and external Parts of the Covenant of Grace Sir deliver your self as well as you can from being ground to pieces between these two Mill-stones But why must your Children only have but part of the

others that believed not or made not a Confession of their Faith Children you say are part of the Nations for if the Apostles were to baptize all Nations then they were to baptize Infants also for Children are a great part of the Nations near one half Answ 1. 'T is evident that our Saviour in his great Commission enjoineth no more to be baptized but such who are first taught or made Disciples and this agrees with his own Practice John 4. 1. He made and baptized more Disciples than John he first made them Disciples and then baptized them nor were there any in the New Testament baptized but such who first made a Profession of Faith in Christ Do you read that those Jews Acts 2. that believed and were baptized were commanded to baptize their Infants or that any other baptized Believers among either Jews or Gentiles were commanded so to do or have we no perfect Rule left us in the Gospel for so it will follow if the Infants of Believers ought to be baptized 2. If the Commission be so extensive as you affirm then all the Heathens and Pagans in all Nations that believe not are to be baptized and all their Children too and all Unbelievers Children in Christian Nations Sir are not these part of the Nations Noble Britains see the nature of the Pedo-baptists Consequences and Inferences for baptizing Infants This Inference proves that all People and Nations in the whole World ought to be baptized from the Commission But I will as I once did to another Minister appeal to Mr. Owen's Conscience as he will answer it at Christ's Tribunal Whether he believes the Commission authorizeth Christ's Disciples to baptize any but such who are first taught and made Disciples whom St. Mark calls Believers repeating the words of the same Commission Mark 1● 16. 3. Sir are the Infants of Believers near one half part of the Nations I am afraid you are mistaken this is the way to make Christ's Flock a great Flock but the truth is you have as much Reason to assert all the Infants of Heathens Pagans and Unbelievers are to be baptized from the Commissions as the Infants of Believers and then it may be as you say viz. they may be near one half of all Nations But to proceed Sir you say When God threatens to cut off the Nations from before the Israelites the Children were included for the Children were not spared any more than the Fathers On the other side say you when Christ commandeth to baptize the Nations for their Salvation he meaneth the Children as well as their Parents If a Man would command a Shepherd to shear all his Sheep and to set on them an Ear-mark to know them from other Sheep altho the Shepherd had sheared the Sheep and marked them if he leaves out the Lambs without marking of them he performeth not his Duty If he says to the Master the Lambs were too young for shearing true saith the Master but they were not too young for marking you ought to mark them for they are a great part of my Flock If little Children say you cannot receive Instruction they can receive Christ's Mark even Baptism by which Christ's Sheep are divided from the Goats of the Devil The Church of Christ is his Flock is there no Lambs in this Flock Christ is the good and faithful Shepherd who giveth his Life for his Flock John 10. 11. and will he not care for his Lambs and Weaklings of his Flock yea certainly he shall gather the Lambs with his Arms and carry them in his Bosom c. Answ 1. I answer 't is a bold Assertion from your Inference and absurd Consequence drawn from the Commission as I have shewed to affirm when Christ commandeth to baptize the Nations that he meaneth Children viz. because they are part of the Nations but I have answered that already when Children do believe they ought from the Commission to be baptized but not till then 2. As to your Similitude 't is much the same with that Mr. Burkit a Pedo-baptist hath in his Book which I lately answered I will recite my Answer to him which fully answers you both and all others who talk after this ra●e he argues from the Commission as you do Take his Words and my Answer in order viz. The true Reason saith he why Christ bid his Disciples first teach and then baptize was because he was sending his Apostles forth among the Heathens to convert them to Christianity in which work we all know that preaching of the Word must go before the Administration of the Sacraments Should saith he the King of England send his Ministers into Foreign Plantations to convert the Indians to Christianity they ought not to be baptized before they are taught and instructed but when the Parents are proselyted and make a visible Profession of their Faith their Children may be baptized and afterwards instructed as the Children of the Jewish Proselytes were first circumcised and then taught For tho Abraham was first taught and then circumcised yet Isaac was first circumcised and then taught so that the sense of our Saviour is this Teach such as are capable of teaching and baptize such as are capable of Baptism Answ 1. I answer first how inconsistent is this with the words of the Commission By virtue of the Commission none ought to be baptized but such that are first taught or do believe and therefore some Pedo-baptists pretend that Infants have Habitual Faith Faith in semine c. but you plead they may be capable of Baptism without Faith and also contradict the Order of Words in the Commission Do you not confess by the Order of the Words in the Commission Teaching ought to go before Baptizing Sirs 't is a sign of a very bad Cause that puts you thus to try your Wits and after all confound your selves 2. I ask you how Abraham whom God commanded to be circumcised as a Seal of the Righteousness of that Faith HE had before circumcised could know he ought to circumcise his Son Isaac c. who had no such Faith had not God given him an express Command to do it Besure if he had he had sinned in doing that which God commanded him not So and in like manner since our Lord Jesus expresly in his Commission commanded none to be baptized but such who are first taught unless he had added as in Abraham's case viz. when an Heathen is converted to the Christian Faith and baptized you may baptize his Infants also How dare you make such Additions to Christ's Commission without his Authority and so make the World believe if you could our blessed Saviour gave forth an imperfect Commission to his Disciples which all Men must confess is the only Warrant and Rule of all Ministers to act by in the case of baptizing to the End of the World And doth he not say Add thou not to his Word lest he reprove thee and thou art sound to be a Liar by