Selected quad for the lemma: sin_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
sin_n	knowledge_n	law_n	transgression_n	3,220	5	10.6539	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A43822	Nevv lords, nevv lavvs, or, A discovery of a grand usurpation, in opposition to the Holy Laws of God and contempt of the good laws, and royal prerogative of the supream magistrate, as it hath been lately practised by the lordly Matthew Caffin, a pretended true apostle of our blessed Lord and Saviour, and ruling head of his congregation, usually meeting at Southwater near Horsham in Sussex. By R. H.	Haines, Richard, 1633-1685.	1674 (1674)	Wing H202B; ESTC R216445	62,553	67

Conscience of my Duty and that I accuse younot as you are the Servants of the most high God nor him as an holy Apostle Minister or Messenger of Christ For all such I truly love and honour as they are faithful and so I did him whilst his wickedness lay covered with Sheeps cloathing But now I justly must and cannot but Accuse him as an Vsurper a Rebel against God a Tyrant to his ●rethre ● as he is guilty of partiality and wickedness Not that these Crimes are committed through weakness or Infirmities or acknowledged and Repented of But as they were done willfully persevered in and still endeavoured to be justified by Authority And therefore know ye that if it be any thing it will be his own words and deeds not mine That shall Condemn him But whereas he hath said to me that what he and you have done against me is also in like manner done in Heaven except I submit I answer That the thing for which you have Excommunicated me is none other but my contempt of his Lordships usurped authority and therefore as I am not convinced of any sin therein committed so I cannot nor shall repent thereof until you do by Scripture authority prove it to be the transgression of a righteous Law or that his unlimitted power is equal to or greater than the holy Scriptures or till he have so proved that such his usurped authority is more lawful than the Royal prerogative of the Supream Magistrate and that he or his weak Brethren whose part at least pretendedly he hath taken be infallible in the mean time for as much as I was not conscious of any known sin by me committed but what through Grace was repented of so as that with a good conscience I through mercy do and then did to my great comfort believe that I whom you have unmercifully condemned my Lord and Saviour doth and will justifie and therefore I believe and that upon good grounds to that such his sentence of Excommunication is no more then as though his Triple-Crown'd Brother beyond the Seas with his Bell Book and Candle had done it And so my unkind Friends As you are erred from Truth and Righteousness to conceal and defend wickedness I must tell you that according to what is my farther duty I am resolved to prosecute what I have undertaken against him as though I never knew him but as an usurping Tyrant for I do believe if a godly man transgress a righeteous Law he ought to suffer as an other man much rather such an one who is so far from godliness as to justifie and by Lies and deceit defend his Acts of Impiety Therefore let none think that I am become a persecutor of those whom I own to be my Brethren or that I oppose any but as the oppressed may lawfully endeavour for the execution of Justice upon the unmerciful and tyrannical oppressor For if I should persecute the People of God in their Innocency doubtless as the holy Apostle in another Case said I then of all men should be most miserable For I verily believe heartily wish that all good people were of the same Faith from the King on his Throne to the meanest Subject That to persecute and afflict the People of God in their Innocence for doing that which upon Scripture Authority they ought to do is a great and most dangerous sin and of the highest provoking nature that can be committed it appearing in my judgment so grievous to the most High That he can in no wise bear therewith For saith he the Lord to his persecuted Children He that toucheth you toucheth the Apple of my Eye whence I observe that the Lord hath not by any Metaphor expressed any such intollerable provocation to him as that of persecution And oh that none would give entertainment to that dangerous persecuting spirit until they can bring their Commission from Christ himself and until they see and have an infallible knowledge that it is the will of their Maker and that themselves be without sin and errors for the Almighty ordaineth his Arrows against Persecutors and be sure he will not miss the Mark He will not do as men shoot at a rebellious or stubborn Sinner and kill an humble penitent Saint Besides I observe and wish it might be the observation of all That many through Grace in time and others too late have repented of this grievous Sin But never did I hear of any good man nor scarce any so wicked As to repent because they had not been Persecutors or that they had not persecuted more than they did Oh! that due consideration might swage the judgments of all Persons who are inclin'd to this Evil which is subject to so great danger Nevertheless Wickedness ought not to be tolerated anywhere much less in the Church of Christ especially when practised and defended for doubtless in such Case great will be the Sin of him that shall know it a not endeavour to the utmost of his Power to Oppose and Reform it Wherefore since you have again and again Contemned my other Lawful Means and Endeavours that so Iustice might be wrested and Wickedness justified saying All Excommunicated Persons will Complain and that 't is nothing if I do so let me tell you It had bin good for all such Confederates that they had at first hearkened to the voice of the Oppressed and done their Duty But seeing there is no probability thereof I hope not to omit any lawful means whereby I may discover whether you do not ldolize your New Lord to that degree as to love him more than God and your own Souls by defending him with Lyes or by refusing to speak the Truth where by his wicked VVords and Deeds may be discovered and made manifest And whatever you may think yet may you not expect any Favour upon the Account of your outward Profession of Holiness but as you are Loverg of Truth and Kighteousness therefore be advised to take heed how you make your solemn Prote●ations when called to bear Withess to the Truth lest you sell Heavens glory and purchase to your selves Hells eternal misery For Lyers Idolaters c. shall have their Portion in the Lake Beware likewise of False Accusations As for my own part I have not nor will Accuse you or him with any thing but what I know is true or can make appear by those who were never known to be false Accusers But for my own part this I say That as I would not part with my Just Civil Temporal Priviledg to gratifie the quarrel some boundless Humour of that unjust Judge whose part you have taken so will I not God assisting part with my Spiritual Priviledg or sell my Birthright in Heaven purchased for me by the precious Blood of my dear Lord and Saviour only for a Mess of Pottage or that by which I may only please my self or any other Beware my Friends how you sin against light and your own knowledge to desend

man offends the Pope who orders the matter so That such person shall be condemned although no known Law of God be transgressed Doth not your Lord Act the same things Nay may it not be said without injuring Truth That the Church of Rome is not altogether so cruel For they only separate the Soul from the Bodies of some persons because they will not go their way which they believe is the only way to Heaven But you my pretended loving Brethren will shut a man out of Heaven and send him to Hell Torments for ever in your own apprehensions meerly because he will not submit to a groundless boundless quarrel some humour Again hath not this pretended Innocent man as he saith of the Quakers despised Dominions and spake evil of Dignities and is not his look more stout than his Fellows since if one that is under his Authority shall obtain and accept of a favour and priviledge from a King whereby it appears he owns his Authority above himself what is it less then high Treason against the Lord Caffin seeing he will immediately declare that it is of the Devil and in effect that the person must be damn'd for the same and therefore chargeth it as a Crime against me because I said they had not any thing to do with things of that nature Object But say you Is it not a sin to offend a weak Brother Sol. To which I answer That it is so as the Case may be and that it is my Duty if I be the supposed offender to clear my self and convince my Brother of his mistake and shew him his failing if in Truth such his offence be taken without cause and upon no just grounds and that such pretended offended Brother is to blame rather than the pretended offender when he hath given no just cause of offence I do further believe That it is wickedness in him whoever he be that shall after a Lordly and insulting manner with high hand and proud look disturb and interrupt those persons who are willing to reason together in order to be reconciled one to another As I for my own part was ready to do And what I pray Sirs was lie that hindred our Reconciliation and Christian Friendship being the first time I ever had opportunity to treat with you Is he not a disturber and quareller who perpetually interrupted these our reasonings and laboured to make the Breach wider than it was before hypocritically acting under pretence of Love Innocence and Peace and yet an enemy to Peace and Peace-makers Further consider Is it not their sin also that shall take such quartellers part seeing those that will be conscientious for that which is another mans Right the Church of God hath no such Customes Lest you also be found Transgressors again God for not only allowing of disorderly Contenders but for condemning him who hath given no just cause for them to be offended as ever yet was proved as you well know and your own Consciences must testifie if not seared But this I most freely confess That suppose I have knowledge and do believe That I may eat Flesh that is offered in Sacrifice to Idolls without offence to God yet if by my so doing I cause my brother to offend and because that by my eating unknown to him that I eat without respect to the Idol he not haying such a degree of knowledge Is by me imboldened to eat thereof as sacrificed to Idolls and so this my weak brother becomes an offender and Idolater For me thus I say to make or occasion my Brother to trangress the Laws of God is sin and that I deserve in such a case to be publickly blamed if I do obstinately persist therein Again If my brother being a Jew newly converted to the Faith and whilst he is yet young and weak dares not eat Swines Flesh and therefore will have no Communion with those whom he knows to eat thereof Because the Mosaical Law forbids it shall I therefore eat Swines Flesh or the like that hath been forbidden whereby to offend this weak Brother God forbid I with the holy Apostle will say That I will eat no meat whilst the world stands rather than he for whom Christ dyed should perish through my means and doubtless in all such cases as it hath relation to matters of Religion and worship the strong ought to bear the Infirmities of the weak according to the Apostles Doctrine For whoeverdoth otherwise becomes an offender but in matters and things meerly Civil and never by any Law forbidden as there can be no Real Ground for any such offence so doth there not lye any such obligation As suppose pardoning the lightness of the comparison which yet is suitable enough to some persons childish dealings one of you should meet me at a Fair and cry for a Fairing and nothing would give satisfaction but a Romance or a Ballad and if my weak brother will not be satisfied without it will you say I am bound in duty to gratifie his fansie But if I do not he may complain that he is offended and I may according to your rule incur an Excommunication for denying him But if you shall seriously reply That these things do not destroy the Faith of a weak Brother nor may he perish because of such my crossing his desire I answer the very same may be said for Legal Patents they are quite of another nature and in no wise to be construed as a means to cause any honest impartial man that is in the truth to deny our Lord Christ and adore Idols or the like But the Truth is as touching Letters Patents to be an offence to weak Brethren and that his design was to do them a kindness in defending their Priviledge I know very well the same was but a meer pretence and suggestion neither had any of you been offended if it had not FIRST offended him Bur the main thing hereby intended was to bring about his own vain Glory and make himself famous above all his Brethren and to be admired by those that do adore him For as he hath often to boasted of great things he hath done how he hath corrected and rebuked great persons and cast them out of the Church so might he by this means have had an occasion to boast of far greater things than ever For now he hath corrected the Kings Royal Prerogative and Authority and that with such an high hand that those who are under him dare not upon pain of Excommunication justifie what is thereby granted when his Lordship pleases to call it in question This I believe verily was one great thing he aimed at Oh! what wickedness will not be practised to gratifie an ambitious Heart under pretence of love and innoceney what send a man to Hell for not satissying a proud Majestical quarrelsome boundless humour for so I must call it because there is no Scripture Authority for his practice and doth he now complain that I design to betray