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A89189 A sober ansvvere to an angry pamphlet, or, Animadversions, by way of reply, to Robert Barclays late book (entituled, Truth cleared of calumnies) in answere to A dialogue between a Quaker and a stable Christian by VVilliam Mitchell. Mitchell, William, 17th cent. 1671 (1671) Wing M2294; ESTC R43708 69,116 149

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the same for G. Keiths expresse vvords are that we are justified by a work of righteousness wrought by Christ in us as the formal cause And therefore when in their Printed book they say that they rely on Christ himself revealed in them indwelling in them as the ground and foundation of their Justification What can their meaning be though they blind the eyes of the simple by using words inoffensive in themselvs but as G. Keith explaineth it to wit that Christ by his obedience and suffering was the procuring cause of that grace and power of his revealed in us which produceth a work of righteousness wrought in us by which we are formally righteous Now is not this a manifest coincidency with Papists For even they make the obedience and sufferings of Christ the procuring cause of that grace and righteousness wrought in them which they own as the formal cause of their first Justification So that both Papists and Quakers deny the imputed righteousness of Christ to be the very thing by which a Believer stands pardoned so just before God for which he is pronounced righteous or absolved from the cōdemnation of the law and accepted unto eternal life which is look'd upon as carrying with it such danger that some PROTESTANTS are of opinion that hereby the Church of Rome doth rase the very foundation And upon this ground Mr. Samuel Hammond undertakes to demonstrate the impossibility of Salvation in and by the principles of Quakers in his book called The Quakers house built upon the sand SECT II. That Works are not Meritorious of Iustification He addeth that he may not deny Justification by works but plead for it according to the true sense and mind of the spirit Answ Let him hold there and we shall go along with him for we readily yeeld that by works a man is declared and manifested to be a justified person so that good works justify our justification being notable evidences thereof and signs of that faith whereby we are justified for we are not justified by a barren faith but by a faith which is fruitful in good works and this is that which the Apostle drives at Iam. 2. But justification by works such as the Quakers plead for is not according to the true sense and mind of the spirit Is it the mind of the spirit that good works are the meritorious cause of Justification Which Sam. Fisher one of the Quakers ring-leaders plainly asserts exercit 1. page 84. and page 88. he saith there are good works which in different respects are called truely enough both Christs and ours viz. ours as done in and by our persons Christs as done only by his Power in us and by these call them as ye will Christs or ours is the justification of all that ever were or shal be justified both deserved and effected Object We understand it not any other way then thus that all their merit or worth is from Christ Ans Where doth the scriptures say that works wrought in us have merit in them from Christ to deserve justification This is a Doctrine of your owne forging and not of Christs teaching Though good works shall not want a reward yet they do not merit It is false to say that reward and merit inferre one another PROTESTANTS use to distinguish between a reward of merit and a reward of grace which distinction is grounded on scripture compare the original words in Matth. 5.46 with Luk. 6.32 and in that you affirme the reward to be of grace then it is not merited by works the Apostle opposeth these two making them incompatible Rom. 11.6 And if by grace then it is no more of works otherwise grace is no more grace but if it be of works then it is no more grace otherwise work is no more work We acknowledge that God of his rich mercy and goodness hath promised to reward good works and being faithful he will not deny himself 2. Tim. 2.13 But a reward given by promise doth not import merit and desert the reward proceedeth from the bountie of the Giver and not from the merit of the receiver Now the Quakers wisdome is much to be observed in that they refuse to owne the grossest sort of Papists for then their draught would be found out and their tendency sufficiently known but they under the specious name of new lights can creep towards the moderate sort of them who say that works are not meritorious but as they proceed from grace and by vertue of Gods promise when as indeed if works be of and flow from the free grace of God this inferrs that they are not meritorious for that which doth merit must not be done by the strength of another especially his at whose hands we look to merit It is evident that the Gentle-man is of a higher straine then to be onely for a reward or merit as he phraseth it of free grace and upon the account of the promise Else how shal he be able to reconcile himself to his brother Sam. Fisher who exerc 1. page 90. maketh use of this Popish argument namely evil works are the meritorious cause of our condemnation therfore good works are the meritorious cause of our justification insinuating that there is a meritorious dignity in good works even as there is a meritorious indignity and sinfulness in evil works this argument hath been often answered by a denyal of the consequence because our evil works are perfectly evil but our good works are but imperfectly good And giving but not granting that our works were perfectly good yet all the requisits to make a work meritorious would not agree to them He addeth that the works that Papists seek to be justified by are such as they believe none can be justified by Ans Though they do not go along with Papists in some of their practises yet they owne their principle as hath been abundantly cleared and therefore their correspondence with Rome being manifest we must conclude that in stead of coming out of Babylon they are rather running to it His next work page 36. Is to make people believe that we are near a kin to Papists But none who know what Popery is are like to give him credit yet if any be of such an easie faith as to take upon trust what he saith then no wonder if the blind leading the blind both fall into the ditch We shal consider wherein he chargeth us as guilty of Popery which he brancheth forth into several particulars 1. Because we deny that we are justified by Christ dwelling in us Ans We affirme that we are justified by the righteousness of Christ and when this righteousness is believingly applyed and laid hold on then Christ dwels in us is this Popery Or can any that know the difference between Papists and us think that we agree with them in the matter of our Justification 2. He saith according to us the way to attaine to a state of Justification is not by believing in
discovered by his works like that expression where GODS strength is said ro be perfected in our weakness 2. Cor. 12.9 In answering that place Eccl. 7.20 he brings scriptures to prove that there are righteous men who do good But this was not the thing denyed he should have proved that righteous men on earth do good so purely that there is not the least fault or blemish cleaving thereunto As for that scripture 1. Ioh. 3.9 he that is born of GOD sinneth not it doth not prove an absolute freedom from sin for this is contrary to the experiences of the Regenerat and Saints in all Ages who have bitterly bewailed and ruefully mourned under the sense of their sins the words in the Greek are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is he maketh not sin sin is not his trade Now a man makes a trade of sin when in sinning he is in his Element where he would be there is no work so pleasing to him as the work of sin But this is not the disposition of a Regenerate Person He addeth that the Prophet Isaiah 64.6 saith not all our righteousness which is of thy working in us who are Saints is as filthy rags Answ Neither doth the Prophet say as the Quaker brings him in speaking all our righteousness which we even the best of the Saints can performe of and from themselves are as filthy rags The Prophet speaketh in general and plurally of righteousnessess and that in the person of the whole Church and not relating onely to the wicked and ungodly therefore he useth the word all and our righteousness To affirme the Saints righteousness to be filthy rags is no just ground to make us ashamed for we do not reflect on the holy Spirit of GOD as if filthiness did proceed from him he is good in giving us the least degree of grace not being bound to give us any his work of grace and holiness in us is a special ornament to the soul making it in beauty to resemble GOD but in respect of us imperfection cleaveth to this grace in that it is not all the grace which the Law of GOD requireth of us being commanded to love GOD with all our hearts souls and minds Matth. 22.37 The best action and works done and performed by us as instruments have something of the taint of sin adhering to them where is the soul that is carried out in prayer and other spiritual duties with that love and delight with that purity and fervency of spirit which the spiritualness of the law doth call for Now it is the sin which cleaveth to the Saints good works which is to be throwne away this indeed is not an ornament but a deformity for which we should be humbled and ashamed in the sight of God He saith page 40. 41. that the Saints are subordinate coworkers with Christ but yet it followeth not that his works in them and by them are defiled and though it be said who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean this hinders not but that the Lord can and doth make clean those who have been unclean and so out of them who are made clean can bring forth clean things Answere 1. We grant that there are thousands in Heaven whom the Lord hath made perfectly clean and their actings have not the least impurity in them Heb. 12.23 Revel 21.27 2. We grant that there be many on Earth who are sanctified and cleansed yet their cleansing and sanctification is but in part they are not throughly cleansed and perfectly sanctified there is yet an unclean part in them they have in them flesh as well as spirit and however this unclean part viz. the flesh should be chained and kept down Yet GODS People to their smart and grief find the stirrings and rysings of it and the resistance and opposition it makes whereby they are hindred from doing good perfectly Gal. 5.17 the flesh lasteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and these are contrary the one to the other so that ye cannot do the things that ye would Rom. 7.19 the good that I would I do not but the evil which I would not that I do Now men being but in part holy and in part carnal therefore the works which proceed from them have some filth and taint of sin cleaving to them there is sin in the best men to undo them if GOD should deale with them in rigour Psalm 130.3 If thou Lord shouldst marke iniquity O Lord who shal stand 1. King 8.46 for there is no man that sinneth not And yet we deny not but by degrees the clean part encreaseth and the unclean is diminished yea and at last all the uncleanness shal be wrought out there is a happy time coming when the children of GOD shal not have spot or wrinkle or any such thing but this priviledge is reserved for them till they come to Heaven for there is not a just man upon earth that doth good and sinneth not Eccl. 7.20 Intimating that the just mans doing good is attended with sin sinfulness cleaveth to his good actions as was formerly cleared by that similitude which the Quaker hath not in the lest weakened of clean water passing through an unclean pipe and thereby receiving a tincture of uncleanness The Gentleman that supposeth himself so well skilled in the outward creation should have instructed me what that outward water is which is not capable of defilment And having first done this he might then the more freely have come to his supercilious application SECT IV. Iustification is not by inherent Righteousness but by the imputed Righteousness of IESUS CHRIST He addeth that justification is taken for the making a man righteous and then it is all one with sanctification Answer Is not this to confound what the scripture distinguisheth Now justification and sanctification in scripture are alwayes spoken of as distinct benefits 1. Cor. 6.11 But ye are sanctified but ye are justified Rom. 8.30 whom he called namely to a conformity to the Image of his Son them he also justified And it is to be observed that we need not contest with Quakers or Papists whether the word justifie signify to make righteous or no Onely we say that the righteousness which doth make a man just or justifyeth him is not inherent in him And to assert justification to be the making of a man righteous by infused inherent righteousness or righteousness wrought in him is to confound what GOD distinguisheth and to alter the scripture sense of the word justify He addeth page 42. that admitting the Apostle Phil. 3.9 speaketh not of his righteousness whilest he was a Pharisee yet he was stil to deny the work and righteousness which was to proceed from his own will and spirit Answere The Apostle in the preceeding verses disclaimed righteousness proceeding from his own will and spirit but verses 8.9 he ryseth higher and goeth a step further even to the present time I account all things intending the present graces