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
A71231	Enter into thy closet, or A method and order for private devotion A treatise endeavouring a plain discovery of the most spiritual and edifying course of reading, meditation, and prayer; and so, of self examination, humiliation, mortification, and such most necessary Christian duties, by which we sue out the pardon of our sins from Heaven, and maintain an holy converse with God. Together with particular perswasives thereunto, and helps therein.	Wettenhall, Edward, 1636-1713.	1666 (1666)	Wing W1495B; ESTC R217163	97,436	340

that my sin Now the consideration how this restitution or reconcilement may be made and the Resolution to make it may be best done in my Closet and such consultation and resolution deserves a place to be registred amongst my other penitential devotions upon the same reasons as they do These rules in my repentance if I have observed though I cannot look upon any action of mine as compleat yet I may have hope I have not herein been slighty but that God through Christ Jesus will accept it Sect. 8. Of that faith which is requisite in order to pardon of sin BEsides Repentance it is commonly said that God requireth Faith of us in order to pardon of our sins and it is most certain if we understand faith as we ought But it is as certain that people are ordinarily very much mistaken in the nature of Faith as it is not unusual for us to be in such things the names whereof are takne in such different Dr. Ham. Pract. Catech. Lib. 1. Sect. 3. senses as the name of Faith is in Scripture Now faith we all of us know signifies Belief and therein doth the nature of it lye Him that we believe in is God that which we believe is his Word So then Faith is a full belief or credence of the whole Word of God and especially of the Gospel a receiving it and every part of it in a way suitable to the matter of it agreeing to whatever is therein affirmed as being true believing all the promises that God will never fail on his part unless we do on ours setting our selves to fulfil all the commands as believing all that is commanded to be our duty and of indispensible necessity to salvation trembling at all the threatnings as being perswaded God will be as good as his word and punish all impenitent sinners Faith I say is the hearty and sincere embracing and being perswaded of the whole word and these its parts after this sort and we must not single out the promises and believe them alone for all commands and threats are no less the word of God than are the promises and therefore must be as much believed nor shall any one ever be justified who doth not thus believe If it be asked whether it be not faith in the free promises of the Gospel or a trusting to God through Christ that he will pardon my sin which doth chiefly justifie me I say No and that the embracing the doctrine of the Gospel the receiving every command and threat so deeply into my heart as that the belief of the one turns forthwith into obedience and of the other into obedience and of the other into an holy fear which are the other parts of faith cannot be conceived to be either in their own nature inferiour unto that trust or less either valued or required by God I do not say that God accepts of any of them or all of them for their worth He accepts of them and of the person in whom they are purely through Christ through his merits doth he impute this faith to such person for righteousness that is reckon and accept of this his cordial and impartial receiving his whole Gospel after this sort as well as if he had performed perfect and unsinning obedience as he was first bound but this I say and that upon the evidence already hinted that justification or the pardoning of sin is no more appropriated to that one act of faith which we call trust than to those other and that I cannot if comparison in this case be made but account those other acts that impartial submitting and devoting the sould to obedience answerably to every command that true resting in the fear of God as the more principal worthy and I am sure less to be suspected acts of faith At the least I cannot conceive what we call a justifying faith to proceed any otherwise than as follows First I do believe the promise of pardon of sin to be true and God to be faithful and that without all doubt God will not fail on his part except I fail on mine God will not fail to give the promised blessing if I fail not to perform the condition upon which he hath promised it Secondly I therefore forthwith set my self about the condition or duty required as I expect the blessing or promised mercy from God I sorrow for my sins I endeavour amendment of life I cleave unto God with full purpose of impartial obedience Thirdly having done so I do not believe that all this is worth any thing in it self but that it is through the meer grace of God in Christ Jesus that I must be accepted pardoned and saved Wherefore I trust to God according to his promise the condition of which I have ●ndeavoured to fulfil that he will through Christ pardon all my sins and reckon this my faith to me for righteousness to trust for the pardoning of my sins upon any o●her terms is unbelief and presumption for it is a believing God will pardon my sins upon their terms than he hath said he would ever pardon sin and that is a believing God will be false But now let the case be put that some grievous sinner much humbled under the sense of his notorious wickedness doth as beforesaid believe the promise to be true as it is set himself about the fulfilling its condition sorrowing repenting c. believe all that he doth to be in its self worth nothing but yet Christs merits to be of infinite worth through which notwithstanding he dare not trust for the pardon of his sins as remembring them to be so great and doubting lest he hath not yet performed the condition which the promise of the pardon of sin through Christs merits requires and in this temper dies Put I say this case shall we think this man hath not a true and justifying faith He hath surely and it may be a truer faith than hath many an one who yet hath more of the trust But yet it is evident he hath not this trust for he durst not through sense of his own unworthiness animate himself thereto Seeing therefore that it is very possible a man may in such case be justified without that act of faith I conclude that justification is not appropriate unto it that is that a trusting in God that he through Christ will pardon my sin is not that act of faith which chiefly justifies me and that they are very much mistaken who take this by it self to be the true nature of justifying faith that they believe God will pardon their sin for Christs sake so then I now see the course which I am to take in my humiliation to sue out the pardon of my sin I am to believe that God will not fail on his part if I do fail on mine I am therefore to repent of my sins as before I have been taught and persist in amendment of life all the while trusting in the grace of God