Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	bear_v	enter_v	kingdom_n	5,396	5	6.1932	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A52535	A discourse of natural and reveal'd religion in several essays, or, The light of nature a guide to divine truth.	Nourse, Timothy, d. 1699.	1691 (1691)	Wing N1417; ESTC R16135	159,871	385

God been capable to have procur'd their Happiness For it would be unjust to condemn Men for not doing of a thing and yet condemn them too although they doe it and therefore a good Life join'd with their Knowledg must leave them with a reasonable Excuse or make them capable of Salvation 'T is true St. Paul speaks in general Terms that the Gentiles were Idolaters and for that reason condemnable as acting contrary to Knowledg but that all the Gentiles thus acted contrary to Knowledg does by no means follow from St. Paul's manner of expressing himself it being usual in Scripture to speak of all in general and comprehensive Terms when such as are or may be excepted are very few in number So the Prophet Elijah in the Term of that general Apostacy under Ahab exclaim'd saying that he alone was left of all the true Worshipers of God 1 Kings 19. But God tells him that he had left in Israel 7000 Men who had not bow'd the Knee to Baal and even in Sodom the most wicked Town that ever was upon the Earth there was found a Righteous Lot To put the Question out of all dispute we have a most pregnant Proof from St. Paul in his continuation of this Argument 2 Rom. v. 10. pronouncing Glory Honour and Peace to every one that worketh Good to the Jew first and also to the Gentile for there is no respect of Persons with God telling us also that not the Hearers but that the Doers of the Law are justified before God For when the Gentiles who have not the Law that is a reveal'd Written Law doe by Nature the Things contain'd in the Law they having not the Law are a Law unto themselves which shew the Work of the Law written in their Hearts their Consciences also bearing witness c. In this Place St. Paul treating professedly of the Law of Nature by which the Gentiles did act calls it the Law viz. of God written in their Hearts and that acting according to the Dictates of this Law they doe the Things contain'd in the Law having the Testimony also of their Consciences acquitting them for so doing and therefore Doers of the Law are justified in the sight of God And truly I am the more confirm'd in this Opinion when I think upon that last great and final Sentence which shall pass on Men at the general Judgment of the World Many then shall make great Ostentation of the Faith saying Lord Lord have we not prophesied in thy Name Mat. 7. and in thy Name cast out Divels c. But Christ knows them not but tells them Mat. 25. that because they did not doe Works of Mercy towards their Brethren the suffering Members of Christ they should go into utter Darkness but that those who did shew compassion towards them should enter into Everlasting Happiness Let us now see what may be objected against this Discourse And first Christ before his Ascension Mark 16. says He that believeth and is Baptiz'd shall be saved but he that believeth not shall be damn'd Now that those who never heard of Christ do not believe is plain also from 10th to the Rom. How shall they believe on him of whom they have not heard and how shall they hear without a Preacher therefore no Salvation to those who never heard of Christ To this Objection which indeed carries the greatest force of any thing that can be urg'd I answer First that Passage of the 16th of St. Mark He that believeth not is damn'd is not to be understood negatively as though an Ignorance of Christ and of his Doctrines did certainly expose Men to Damnation for then the Children of Christian Parents dying before they come of Age to make an Act of Faith would be damn'd The Words then of this Place do include a positive Act of dis-believing or rejecting the Doctrines of Christ after they are propos'd This is evident from the Context in the precedent Verse where Christ gives Authority to his Disciples saying Go ye into all the World and preach the Gospel to every Creature he that believeth and is Baptiz'd shall be sav'd but he that believeth not shall be damn'd So that they are damn'd who after the Gospel was preached to them did yet reject it all which concerns not those who never heard of Christ nor of his Gospel This then doth supersede that also of Rom. the 10th where the Apostle speaketh of a positive and explicite Act of Faith for v. the 9th he saith that if thou shalt confess with thy Mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in thy Heart that God raised him from the Dead thou shalt be sav'd Now as such a Faith cannot be attain'd but by the preaching of the Gospel or from extraordinary Revelation so neither doth it follow from hence that all who have not receiv'd this joyfull Tidings of the Gospel shall not be sav'd He that is a great Linguist is generally reckon'd to be a learned Man and yet from thence it doth not follow that he who is not a great Linguist is not a learned Man upon the whole the Sense of the Apostle amounts to no more but this that they who by the hearing of God's Word or of Teachers shall arrive to a knowledg of Jesus Christ their Saviour and believe his Resurrection are in a State of Salvation quoad Antecedens in respect of the means but quoad Consequens or the effect that all such shall actually be sav'd is no way ascertain'd from the foremention'd place We read every where in Scripture of those who make shipwrack of their Faith and of falling from the Faith and when we are exhorted to stand stedfast in the Faith this does imply a possibility of lapsing Nor is it any thing to the purpose to say that no Man who has once embrac'd the true Faith can fall from it for the Faith which the Apostles exhorts us to stand stedfast in is doubtless the True Faith In like manner at the 13 v. of the same 10th Chap. to the Romans we read that whosoever calleth upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved and yet Matth. 7th we read Not every one that saith Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doeth the Will c. So that all such Places are not to be understood Mathematically and precisely such as cannot be otherwise but morally or as to the general being attended with a good Life and good Works of Christian Charity But it may be farther objected John the 3d. Except a Man be born of Water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God so that Salvation cannot be had without Baptism but they who never heard of Christ could never be Baptiz'd into Christ and must be therefore excluded Salvation To this I answer that Baptism under the Gospel is the same with Circumcision under the Law this being a Type of the other and both of them a Sign or Seal of a Covenant of Mercy But in