Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	believe_v	faith_n	heart_n	7,913	5	5.2011	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A86489	The skirts of the whore discovered, and the mingled people in the midst of her. In a letter sent by Denys Hollister to the independent baptiz'd people, who call themselves a Church of Christ in Bristol, but are found to be a synagogue of Satan, in answer to a charge brought to him from them by some of their members, and by him ... published. Together with another letter written by him to Thomas Ewens, a teacher among them, ... referring to his speaking among his people of having Sarah Latchet a servant of Jesus, once a member among the Baptists, sent to Bridewell, and whipt for testifying to them in the name of the Lord in their meeting the second day of the ninth moneth. 1655. And likewise an answer to 16 antiqueries directed to the people called Quakers, which answer was sent to Thomas Ewens, from whom the antiqueries were received, though Iohn Pendarviss a long time after published the antiqueries by the name of Queries, without the answer to them, or taking the least notice of it in a book entituled Arrows against Babylon which hath occasiond the presenting of the one, and the other, now to the view of those who read, and understand, to judge of the whole, and of their unfaire and deceitfull dealing.	Hollister, Dennis, d. 1676?	1656 (1656)	Wing H2508; Thomason E896_3; ESTC R202571	35,627	37

appointed Pastors and Teachers is answer'd in the query and what he appoints is not needless Quere 7. Whether the Scriptures you bring to oppose the Practice of Gospel-Ordinances doe not serve onely to reprove the practise of Circumcision or the walking after the traditions of men or the carnal formalist practise or Idolizing of the true Gospel-Ordinances all you say making not at all against a spiritual practice of Gospel-Church-Ordinances as of Breaking of Bread and Exhorting one another c. Answer We bring not Scripture to oppose the practice of Gospel-Ordinances but we bear witness against your traditions carnal formalists and Idolizing practises by the same spirit as they did then who said It is neither Circumcision nor Vncircumcision but a new Creature And the spiritual practice we own and press unto it and against the formall and the carnall all we say not making at all against a spiritual practice of Gospel-Church-Ordinances And whether the spiritual be taken practis'd and fulfill'd in the carnall let the Spiritual Judge who compares spiritual things with spiritual and here your queries are in your confusion who before drew a conclusion we cried all down without mercy and now say all we say makes not at all against a spiriruall practice Here the unclean Spirit hath confess'd truth Quere 8. Whether it be better to wait on God in his good old wayes expecting his work to be gradually carried on so running with patience your spirituall race or as the manner of some is to forsake the assembling our selves together in hopes to start up from a low stature suddenly into perfection by embracing a new Doctrine Answer In this query we are not concern'd by your own confession we informe and instruct our selves and others and we assemble our selves together for edifying waiting upon the Lord in patience to runne the spiritual race and for your starting up into perfection your envy is seen and against what you start and such starting we deny your slander returns upon your own head Quere 9. Whether Iesus Christ hath not prayed for those that believe through the word of the Apostles Is so whether they are not in a good and safe way who believe accordingly And whether it be better to credit their testimony so fully confirm'd and owned by the Lord or to forgoe that and embrace and follow the sayings of some of your company Answer Christ hath prayed for those that believe and they are in a good and safe way that believe accordingly and for crediting their testimony so fully confirm'd you have Drunkards Lyars Swearers Covetous proud Hyocrites and deceitful Ones to be of your company to confess the truth of their words but are as far from witnessing the life and power the Believers witnessed as the Hypocrites as the Drunkards swearers yea and many in this day of the Lord are brought to repentance and enter into the Kingdome before ye graves and painted sepulchres And for your secret slandering some of our company where nothing is instanced there needs no answer But all we say as you confess making nothing at all against a spiritual practice we judge it safe to follow that and they that believe and follow otherwise it is not for the better Quere 10. What is that Faith which the Spirit speaketh expresly some should depart from in the latter dayes giving heed to seducing spirits and dostrines of Devils Answer It is the Faith of the Son of God and Faith is a Mystery held in a pure Conscience and you that are ignorant of this Faith are among the seducing spirits and the last and perillous time is fulfilled upon you reprobate concerning the faith having a forme of godliness but denying the power as you confess that you profess no tto have the power the Apostles had by which the foundation was laid yet you say you can build but what your building is worth let the wise in heart judge who have not the power that layd the foundation O ye blind guids are your consciences so seared that you cannot see that you are out of the doctrine of Christ without the power that laid the foundation building among the company beforemention'd In the presence of the Lord are you seen witness'd against to be in the doctrine of devils without the power of God giving heed to seducing spirits seducing Repent repent ye Hyyocrites this is love to your souls and the Witness in your Consciences will answer it in the day of the Lords account Quere 11. Whether that Doctrine which in some is no more but look to the Light Within with a curse upon disobedience and a blessing upon obedience thereunto be that glorious Gospel Preached by Christ and his Apostles or whether it be not a renewing the old Doctrine of Iustification by Works w●●…ein the mystery of iniquity works to darken the grace of God in justifying the Vngodly without works freely by his grace and to make void the sufferings of Christ Answer This query is grounded upon a lye but the true Ministry is to turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God And this is the way to receive forgiveness of sinnes and an inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith that is in C. Jesus and that the wrath of God is to be revealed upon the disobedient is found Doctrine and your deceitful coverings will not hide you who obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ And glad tiding and plenteous redemption through his blood doe we witness and the old doctrine is denied by the summ of what we declare and the carnal profession and hypocrisie contrary to the grace of God which teacheth to deny ungodliness and the forme without the same power that laid the foundation there the mysterie of iniquity worketh and from thence came this query which is utterly false as it is applied to us Query 12. Whether the Light that is in every man doth reveale Iesus Christ as crucified for sin and risen again If so how came it to passe that so many strict men and Paul himself walking according to his Conscience before Conversion were ignorant of him Answer Do you not here shew your ignorance Is Christ reveal'd crucified for sin and raised again before Conversion Is this a learned question how it comes to passe that Christ is not known before Conversions seeing the Light reveales him The Light condemnes the Vnbelievers though they make a Profession that Christ is come and crucified for sin and risen Ye are in the darkness it self as neer Egypt as Babylon Did Paul know Christ til he was revealed in him and doth darkness reveale him While Paul walked in the zeal without the true knowledge persecuting he was ignorant and injurious and the Son not reveal'd But in the Light is Christ known and reveal'd and the true Light lighteth every man and he that believeth in the light is a child of light But one question after your manner of counting to you among

your heap whether it be not the Prince of darkness in you which denies that the Light reveales Jesus Christ that so ye may draw people from the true light which lighteth every man to follow your own inventions building in the credit of others testimony without the power which laid the foundation and so set up a Forme without the power in your gross dark imaginations and call that Light shewing your selves to be false Christs crying loe here and loe there And seeing some may be Witches that Preach up the outward Commands in the Letter without the Spirit Whether are not you Witches that deny the power the Apostles had by which the foundation was laid and whether he that brings the same doctrine the Apostle brought hath not the same power which laid the foundation seeing he hath the Father and the Sonne and whether you that have denied this power can deny but ye are seducing spirits and in the doctrine of Devils Quere 13. Whether you have not among you many who presume to be Masters or masterly Teachers contrary to the word of Christ Mat. 23.10 Doe not they usurp authority over the Consciences and judgements of their followers requiring them to believe and obey what they say without asking their meanings and examining their sayings by the Scriptures whereas Christ expounded his sayings to his Disciples and the Bereans were commended for searching the Scripture Answer Nay we have not many such among us contrary to the Word of Christ neither do they whom we own to be Ministers usurp authority over the Consciences and Judgments of their followers requiring them to believe what is said without tryal this is an absolute lye Ah ye dissembling Hypocrites doth not the light condemne you for this Hypocrisie who are found in this very practice contrary to the word of Christ and would hide your selves by casting it upon the innocent Truly your condemnation slumbers not though your hearts may be hardned Query 14. Whether it be not high presumption and spritual pride for some among you to break Christs commands and teach men so and to judge the secrets of mens hearts and rathly without knowledge of mens conversations to affirme they have not the Spirit may not others know by such things how to judge of you Answer This Query as t is laid down is a lye and by your uttering forth such deceit we know how to judge of you We deny breaking Christs commands and teaching men so bring in those some and let them be made manifest else ye are slanderers manifest But to judge the secrets of mens hearts the Lord doth it by which spirit the Saints are guided and judge the Vnlearned and Vnbelievers the thoughts of their hearts being made manifest and this we witness against spiritual pride which would not be judged Query 15. Whether you doe not esteem the sayings of some among you of equall authority with the sayings of God in Scripture and as readily or more to be believed or obeyed without enquiring whether they agree with Scripture or no even though they plainly contradict the Written Word Is it not an usuall thing with many of you to travell up and down to and fro farre and near in obedience to such voices not warranted by Scripture but contrary thereunto Answer This query is absolute Lyes as t is laid down But that which God speaks now we own to be of the same authority with what he spake formerly and is to be believed and obeyed accordingly though the wicked generation who have the words formerly spoken doe reject the Word of the Lord now as the Hypocrites did who had the Prophets words but owned not them who spake by the same Authority your building the tombs of them your fathers slew wil not serve to hide you in the dreadful day of the Lord you will know that the Lord hath sent his Witnesses among you and for contradicting the Scripture it is not shewed in what let the slander lie upon you As for wandring up and down to and fro farre and neer that is not contrary to Scripture but was the practice of the holy men who spake as they were moved and wandred up and down and to the voice of God were obedient in so doing and some of them to the going naked though you be so blind and ignorant as to oppose the same in them who witness it a sign to such as you Query 16. Whether Satan that old deceiver who often changeth his shape being discovered in many of his old devices may not now be expected to come in his best dresse as an Angel of Light And if so ought not all men to take heed how they believe every spirit as also how they hear and follow every Prophet that comes in sheeps cloathing and are not such in the way to be easily seduced who are taken with a fair covering and outside carriage of persons as to embrace their Principles without a serious spirituall Scripture-triall Answer Satan in his best dresse is discovered by the Light and the children of the Light are not ignorant of his wiles but by the power of the Lord are we preserved from that transforming and see him to become working his lying wonders with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish and though you have got into as high a form as you can even professing the doctrine of the Apostles yet wanting the power the Apostles had which laid the Foundation we see your dress to be the well-favour'd Harlot And seeing it is so we believe not your spirit but try you and find you to be Wolfes and false Prophets and they that receive you and follow you or such are in the way easily to be seduced and here again is confusion in the Queries who speak of spiritual pride in judging secrets and say the outside the carriage and the covering is faire and said all we say makes not against a spiritual practice and yet condemnes us deceivers Ye blinde guides who are expecting that Satan may come and are so blinded by him at present that you are acting his part One of you said his soul was in the pit to whom these Antiqueries were sent was not that judging a secret and whether such deceit lying and confusion from such blinde guides and seducing spirits be more likely to recover souls out of the pit or lead those who follow them into the pit let the impartial spiritual Judges bear Witness And here your queries are answered in particular in clearness and plainness in our own Judgements and Consciences and they whose eyes are opened may see your Errour and give glory to God Answered by them to whom they were directed To England I have this to say OH England England who wast Chief among the Nations and Princely among the Provinces in the midst of which the right hand of the Lord became glorious in power and dasht in pieces his Enemies and in the great●esse of his Excellencie overthrew and brought downe the Oppressour and gave thee opportunity to performe thy Vowes Promises and Declarations which in the day of thy distresse thou madest to God and men against Injustice Oppression Tyranny and Wrong and in the behalfe of Equitie Truth and Right But now the Lord by his power having given thee Victorie and Peace How soone is the just man perished and the upright in thee not found but the wonders of the Lord forgotten and his wrathfull judgements against Oppressors and the Proud accounted happy and they that tempt God and doe wickedly delivered and exalted whom Pride compasseth as a chaine and violence take hold as a garment so that the wicked compasse about the Just and devoure the man that is more righteous then he How wofully is truth fallen in thy streets and equitie cannot enter but he that departs from iniquity is made a Prey Judgment turned away backward Justice standeth afar off Oh how is the Foundations broken up and the Sluces opened whereby injustice oppression and almost all ungodlinesse hath again overspread thy face beyond what it did in the day before thou wast made a field of blood so that by the overspreading of abomination how great is thy desolation and all thy seeming Religion and high Profession which stood in Words and Forms but not in the Life discoverd and manifested to be but scum and deceit in this day when God hath tried thee How is thy Silver become drosse and thy Wine mixt with water and the faithful City become an harlot in which Righteousnesse once seemed to lodge but now murderers and all thy Vowes Promises and Engagements both to God and men forgotten in this day of thy pride and how are the hidden things of Esau sought out and the blood-thirstinesse of Edom in thee manifested and the wise men destroyed out of Edom and understanding out of the mount of Esan whose calamitie commeth upon him from the Lord for his perpetual hatred against his Brother as the Scripture witnesseth which also saith As Troops of Robbers wait for a man so the company of Priests murther in the way by consent and commit lewdnesse as it is seen this day Who would have thought that the wonders of the Lord should be so soon forgotten in thee and the wayes of the Heathen so exactly learned and the deeds of the wicked overpassed whom the Lord cast out as thou hast seen How shall the Lord pardon thee for these things or how shall thy heart endure when he shall visit it upon thee whose controversy is so much increased because truth and mercy is perished in thee FINIS

such thing in use among those with whom I walked these many yeares And although many among you are now running from mountain to mountaine building Altars in your own inventions yet can you not from thence Enchant nor ensnare the Israel of God the true Seed whom the Lord hath blessed and with whom the Lord of a truth is And whereas you charge me with neglect of breaking of Bread I answer Have not you your selves neglected it have you medled in any such thing for some yeares past Oh my Friends durst you pretend to come in the name of Christ with such things as these know ye not that his Name is dreadfull to all Hypocrites and his wrath to be reveald against such Hypocrisie and Deceit He loveth truth in the inward parts and those that name his Name must depart from iniquity But Baptism and the Supper of the Lord I own c. 3. You say my sin lies in extreme censoriousnesse and rash judging not only of men abroad but if the Church calling the Church of Christ an Harlot To which I reply the charge is false and from the Father of lyes for I never called the Church of Christ an Harlot but doe own it dearly and in my measure know it to be chast and pure yea an habitation for the Lord who dwells not with impurity I judge it to be so but the Harlot is an Harlot and not the Church of Christ and it is not my sin but my duty to declare it so * And let the Spirit that moved in your Assembly not only that day that proves my parting day Rev. 1. ch 3.9 and when Eliz Marshal was sent of the Lord among you for your good but at many other times since manifest and testifie who dwells there an habitation for whom you are and whether you are an holy habitation for the pure God or a Cage of unclean and hatefull Birds And truly in this my desire is that prejudice passion and fuay may not so blind your eies But that in the pure feare and light of the Lord you may consider and try your selves that so you may not be deceived and prove rebrobate silver in the day when God shall try you for to triall you must come c. 4. You say my sin lies in asserting the Church-Principles contrary to Truth As first that Faith is an eternal thing To which my Reply is That Faith is a Mystery held in a pure Conscience hid and unknown to all ignorant and vulturous eies as well as to yours And when you are guided by the pure light of Chr. to know what it is they speak til which time it will be your wisedom to keep silence For the wise mans eies are in his head but a foole will be medling Yet let me ask you whether that Faith by which the Saints are justified by which they overcame the world by which they saw him that was invisible by which their hearts are purified by which Enoch was translated that he saw not death and is the substance of things hoped for be eternal or carnal or what middle place you have to account it in Oh that you were not wise in your own eies Secondly That Christ and Faith were all one To which I only reply that I never asserted any such thing but enquired after it as you very well know Yet this I say let the difference be manifested by you if you can and how you will divide them Thirdly That Christ Jesus is not the object of Faith To which my Answer is that the word object in this sense is your own not mine nor the Scriptures and therefore is denied with much more of like stuff in use among you But that Christ Jesus is the only foundation laid in Sion and that no other foundation can be laid besides him is it that I have and still doe assert and affirm against all gainsayers and opposers whatsoever And withall that but very few in the world know this foundation but are offended at him and stumble at that stumbling stone as it was in dayes of old But plainly and honestly let me ask you Why floe you question me for these Principles as you call them now i● it be for Connscience sake as that which is your duty why had you not done it sooner or while I was among you Why had you not then disapproved me by the Scripture Why would you suffer things which you call Principles contrary to truth to be asserted among you without rebuke I advise you once more to take heed and beware of this Hypocrisie and Deceit for God is not mocked His name is dreadfull and must not be pretended to cloak and cover such deceitful actions Did not many of your hearts burn within you when I spake did you not wait for my words Why then doe you now rake together things in your carnal imaginations to lay to my Charge which I know not and pretend the holy and dreadful name of God to it Am I become your enemy because I told you the truth Truly these hidden things of Esau will be sought out the skirts of the Whore will be discovered and all deceit manifested And then woe from God will be the portion of thousands But if the ground upon which you charge me be your passion your corruption carnal wisedome and pretences to have something whereof to accuse me as doubtless it is and that in your Consciences will witness it then I demand of you whether your Charge as well as your Church is not to be denied and witnessed against by every sonne and daughter of Sion as carnal sensual and devilish and much like unclean persons which whiles together in acts of uncleanness approve each others practises but when separated accuse one another of evil deeds This cannot stand with devouring fire 5. You say my sin lies in speaking reproachfully of the precious Scriptures of Truth affi●ming that it is one of the greatest Plagues of the Land a blinding to souls and not the Word of God nor Rule of Life All which is false and from the Father of lyes for I never affirmed any of the three among you though something of query hath been put concerning the two last and therefore my Reply shall be to each and shall say The Scriptures of Truth I ever own'd and still doe as that which was given forth by inspiration of the Spirit and is profitable c. But that ever I said or thought or that it ever entred into mine heart to think that it was one of the greatest Plagues of the Land is so utterly groundless false and proceeds only from the father of lyes and invented by his instruments among your selves that I cannot but wonder what spirit hath possessed you and that you durst mention such filthy Vntruths and pretend it in the name of Christ But surely the righteous Judge in whose presence the lying lip and double tongue can never stand will require it at your hands It

s true I said the thing called the Body of Divinity by the Wizards of this world was a plague to the Land and doe still affirme it to be so Although I perceive some among you are so blinded by the god of this world that they know not how to put a difference between the spirit of Witchcrafts which acts in the Diana called Divinity and the pure Spirit of Christ by which the Scriptures were given forth And whereas you accuse me for saying the Scriptures were a blinding or a veil I demand where are your eyes Hath the god of this world indeed so blinded it that you cannot read plain words of Scripture but lay that to my charge as sinne which is according to that which came out of the mouth of him whom you pretend to honour Doth not Christ Jesus the Light of the world and the wisedome of God say Mdrk 4.11 12. Vnto you it is given to know the Mysteries of the Kingdom but to them that are without all these things are done in Parables that seeing they might see and not perceive and hearing they might hear but not understand c. And the like words in Luke 8.10 Was not Isaiah sent to this purpose to make the peoples hearts fat and their eares heavy and to shut their eyes And to say unto them hear ye indeed but understand not and see ye indeed but perceive not Isa 6. Doe ye not understand that the Letter killeth and the Spirit quickneth besides many other Scriptures manifesting the same thing Oh my Friends were you not wholly given over and become past feeling without any sence of the life and spirit of God how can these things be especially at such a time when the night is so far spent and the day so much appeared and the true Light come and the glory of the Lord risen and the children of the Lord walking in the light of the Lord and calling each other thereinto according to the Scriptures were it not your way to be silent and not manifest your ignorance and folly in accusing others for speaking upon the matter the very words of Scripture when it is your own ignorance even of the very Letter of Scripture that is the cause of it And whereas you accuse me for affirming in the Church that the Scriptures were not the Word of God and Rule of Life when I only propounded it among you to consider whether it was so or not In this you manifest your ignorance as well as in the former And therefore I demand of you where doth the Scripture call it selfe the Word of God and to whom was it the rule of life It is true the Holy Scriptures of Truth declare of the Word and that Word of which it declares was God and took flesh and by that Word was the world made and by the same Word it is reserved to the judgement of the great day And if you can find the Scriptures declaring of any other Word of God let me know it and till then be silent and adde not your imaginations which are onely Evill and that continually to the Scriptures Thus having answered what you sent to me I shall further adde that I take notice that God hath granted me that mercy that in all studied accusations raked up together against me you cannot finde one particular thing to lay to my charge condemned by the spirit of Christ to be contrary to the Scriptures of Truth and that all or most part of what you seem to gather up is of that which was done or spoken whilest I was among you and not then reproved and so your own evill is manifested and not mine But to conclude for my heart is moved after some of you why would you stone or otherwise harm me what evill have I done Why doe ye wait for my Halting and lay snares for him that reproved you in times past by words and now by silence Why are your spirits imbitter'd against him that thought nothing deare to doe you service Have I not served you freely many years together and been a keeper of your Vineyard In which all my reward from you was to beare and be broken under your backbitings murmurings formality and unfruitfulness and other evils not a few then in being and still is among you Is it not time now for me to look to my own Vineyard and to mind my Eternal Habitation Have I ever made a gain of you or any of you Surely I have been servant to you neer as long as Iacob was to Laban for both his wives And may I not now be permitted to mind mine own but you must pursue like Laban after poor Iacob when God bid him return I know and am perswaded that the most embitter'd spirit among you cannot but say I have been more righteous then you more discerning more faithful and diligent then you though I am not thereby justified neither have I whereof to glory And may I not say to you as sometimes the poor Ass abused by the blind Prophet said to his Master what have I done Have I not been your servant these many yeares was I wont to doe as now Surely if ever the Lord take pleasure in you and open your eyes you will soon see the Angel in the way and that the poor Ass hath more discerning then the wilfull angry and passionate Prophet You are my Witnesses that some manifestations of truth was breaking forth in me some yeares past and was sometimes manifested among you at which some of your hearts burn'd some trembled some were offended and contradicted c. My selfe in all was groaning after power spirit and life without which no satisfaction came to my soul from whence I ceased not to warn you from day to day of your danger in the state where you stood short of the life But you not being warned how often hath mine heart lamented in your hearing in these and the like words To whom shall I speak and give warning you will not hear your hearts are uncircumcised and you cannot hearken The word of the Lord is a reproach so you and you have no delight in it O that my head were water and mine eyes a fountain of tears c. Oh that I had in the Wildernesse a lodging-place of Wayfaring men that I might leave my people and goe away from them for they are Adulterers an Assembly of treacherous men and bend their tongues like bowes for lyes but are not valiant for the Truth upon Earth c. But this seemed as idle words yet was I made to proceed and to warne you of the mighty day of the Lord now at the doore in which you could never stand I told you your foundation was on the sand short of the life your profession was in words not in power and that your mountaines must be brought low and your valleys exalted before the Lord come to your Temple and at last that your Church was but an Harlot and the spirit

to be in such confusion that you cannot discern the mother of Harlots the father of Lies neither know the Wine the Church the cup nor the Kingdom of the Lord further then you can imagine in your earthly sensual wisdom and you being so blinde and in such confusion without the power which laid the foundation as you confess we deny your spirit and account your stuff in your Answer as not worth mentioning to rake up after you but what you want in answering you can make up in asking shewing unreasonableness by your own confession And likewise appears that you would cover your selves and hide your perswasions and had rather pry into the conditions of others then bring your own deeds to the Light and seeing there is insulting because of our not answering in your time and false conclutions drawn we bear witness against your deceit and proceed to answer declaring that we differ by the power of the living God who by his spirit hath quickned us by which we see and discern you to be in the Will-worship in the wisdom which is from below of that number who are measuring your selves by your selves and comparing your selves among your selves and not according to the measure of the rule which God hath distributed with which we agree but that to us from you doth not reach and therefore your voice and spirit we deny though you take the Scriptures to talk upon and trade withal in your earthly imaginations looking that the Kingdom of God should come with observation and say The cup of the Lord which is the true Vine is an outward cup when as the Kingdom of God is within O ye blinde guides how can you teach others who are your selves ignorant of the Kingdom and of the cup of the Lord and we bear witness to the sive things at least of great concernment and with your spirit we do not agree First We own and witness that God by Jesus Christ calls sinners to repentance and saves his people from their sins and redeems them from the wrath to come soul and body as many as rightly believe and work by love And that the same Jesus that at Ierusalem was crucified and before Pilate witnessed a good confession is now in the Heaven and the same that descended did ascend and comes again in like maner and also that our vile bodies shall be made like unto his glorious body and be flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone And again Every spirit we credit not but believing in the Lord Jesus we try the spirits and yours is tryed and seen to be the spirit of the world and not believed by us nor credited though you pretend to come with light therefore your spirits are rejected And lastly We know that it is not every one that saith Lord but he that doth the will of the Lord that enters into the kingdom of God And such have right to the Tree of Life and interest in the Promises made to Believers who worship God in Spirit and Truth and keep the Commandments according as they have received not by tradition nor imitation by and in the earthly carnal wisdom but led and guided by the spirit of the living God by which spirit we bear witness against your traditions and inventions and herein we differ and we do agree with that which convinceth you of sin and makes manifest your deceit and calls you to repentance from dead works that is the light which we love and you hating it and walking contrary to it and loving darkness differs you from the children of God and there is your condemnation and for answer to your other Quaeries take as followeth Query 2. Whether you doe not by many of your sayings craftily hide your perswasions from the sight of some honest people And is not this dissimulation at the best or lying after the manner of Ananias Acts 5.2 Answer Dissimulation at the best or lying against the Spirit we deny and from honest people we doe not craftily hide our perswasions but by manifestation of the truth commending our selves to every mans Conscience in in the sight of God not walking in craftiness but renouncing the hidden things of dishonesty and if our Gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost Query 3. Whether your selves even all of you be not Men and Women of finfull failings and imperfections as those godly people you cry down If not tell us who are the persons among you without their failings and imperfections and how they came so to be Answer This Query is rais'd from a Lye godly people we cry not down but deceit in all we witness against by that which is Eternal without imperfection And for being free from sin we say the Sonne of God is come which takes away sinne and he that 's borne of God sinneth not he that is in Christ is a new creature and this many among us are Witnesses of but the sinfull failings are without and such we do not justifie by saying they are not where they are or pleading for them where they are Query 4. Doe your in your judgements of the Congregations of Believers look after those things which are commendable as well as those which are condemnable in their practises doc you not on the contrary cry them down in general without any mercy Answer Yea we doe look after those things which are commendable in Believers and own them but they that say they are Believers and are not are to be witnessed against But to cry all down without any mercie is false and the lyar is for condemnation with the Light and with it we have unitie Quere 5. Whether your declaring against instrumentall Teaching and yet going about informing and instructing your selves and others doth not discover a grosse contradiction between your principles and practises and whether it be right to set them against it to bring them to hear your declaring altering only the name Answer Against the Teachings of Man or such who know what they know naturally we declare yet we are sent to turne from darkness to light and this is right and no contradiction but as the Prophets and Apostles who went up and down declaring against Seducers Deceivers and false Teachers and they informed and instructed and they that were of God heard them and this is not only altering the name But the Spirit is another and so the nature which beares witness against the spirit of the world where ever it rules Let your name be what it will your nature is seen and witnessed against Quere 6. Whether instrumentall Teaching be unsuitable unto the new Covenant If so why did Christ being ascended appoint Pastors and Teachers till all came into the Vnity ordaining Ministers for the Work while Work remaines did Christ burden his Saints with needlesse appointments Answer It s confest we goe about informing and instructing our selves and others and the New Covenant we own where all are taught of God and why Christ