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	work_n	6,717	5	5.8349	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A13812	An ansvvere to certein assertions of M. Fecknam, sometime abbot of Westminster which he made of late against a godly sermon of M. Iohn Goughes, preached in the Tower the xv. of Ianuarie. 1570. Seen and allowed.	Tomson, Laurence, 1539-1608.; Feckenham, John de, 1518?-1585, attributed name.; Gough, John, fl. 1561-1570, attributed name.	1570 (1570)	STC 24113; ESTC S113017	63,134	174

many yeres since a good companion minding to recreate him selfe with the sexton charged him selfe with a baskette heauy laden as he made the matter appeare directing his way through Paules Churche because it was the shorter where he was mette of his mate and demaunded why in that solemne time he passed thorough that place so charged a thing not to bée endured the circumstaunces beyng considered This companion desired him to lette him passe for that hée was heauye laden with certayne plate and therefore the gladder too take the shorter way The sexton woulde not bée persuaded but alleadging the Quéenes profite caused him to sette downe his baskette and sente immediatlye for suche as too whome it appertayned to haue the view of such matters who thinking to haue found some ▪ greate matter as they had bin enformed by the sexton willed the basket to be opened and what found they for a cupbourde of plate a basket of hornes Thus had he his iest at the sexton but you M. Fecknam thankes be vnto God haue not to do with a sexton they doo well see your horny plate but bycause you your selfe deceyued your selfe thinking it to be plate they haue vsed this charitable way that it may be shewed vnto you that they are in deede but hornes And therefore this horne will nothing moue them as I trust vntill you bée able to shewe that the denying of frée will to the establishing of the grace of God wherby wée are iustified from sinne and saued from infirmitie is the doctrine of Maniche or Valentinian This I remember Valentinian and his say that to vs qui ab Ecclesia sumus opera necessaria esse aliter enim impossibile est seruari which are of the Churche woorkes bée necessarie for otherwise it is impossible to bée saued and that teach you s●ipsos verò non per opera sed propterea quòd ex natura spirituales sunt penitus omnino saluari docēt but they teach that they them selues are wholy altogither saued not by workes but bycause of nature they bee spirituall and this teacheth not M. Gough Therfore that glose might well haue bin lefte out yf you hadde more thought vpon the truth of the matter how well you might haue alleaged it than onely for a cloke of your self barely to alleage it For to proue M. Gough a Manichean or any of his fellowes in his heresies it will bée hard for you and as impossible as to fulfill the law but to prooue you a Pelagian it is easie enough and as easie as in Christ Iesus for M. Gough and vs to kepe the lawe But to prooue you suche a one is not my chéef purpose my mind is rather to conuince your heresie and bring you to the flocke of Christ yf it so please God too giue you the eyes of vnderstanding and a hart to repent Therfore to doo the dutie of good Christiās let vs yeld our selues vnto God to be gouerned by his spirit submit our selues in hūblenes to his word without al vayne opinion of wel or euil defending a question arrest our selues vpon his Prophetes Apostles which haue and doo shew vs the way to walke in and minister vnto vs the true light whereby wée may chase a way al these darknesses This waye if wee take no doubt he will shew vs the truthe if we reiecte it why should he not farther punish vs with blindnesse So then to come to your first position That it is not impossible to keepe Gods commaundements I wil aunswere youre places of the scripture alleadged and your Doctors and there withall shewe oute of them both the contrarie that it is impossible and so shall I shew I trust that in that article M. Goughe hath taught no vngodly point of doctrine and so will I do consequently with the residue And that it may be more plainly and euidently done that there may be no occasion of doubte in any braunche of my doctrine I wil first shewe howe they are impossible and by what meanes and after howe they are possible and howe they may be fulfilled This done I shall sufficiently aunswere youre places alleadged and if GOD so will take awaye this vayle from before youre eyes which is a let vnto you that you can not sée Touching the firste S. Paule dilating and amplifying his probation of the free iustification which we haue thorough the tender mercie of GOD in Christe Iesus sayeth in this wyse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. For that that was impossible to the Lawe in as much as it was weake bicause of the fleshe God sending his sonne in the similitude of sinfull fleshe and for sinne condemned sinne in the fleshe The wordes are but fewe and therefore easie to be remembred nay therefore better to be considered God sent his owne sonne Why To condemne sinne in the fleshe Why so Bicause it was impossible to the lawe wherefore in as much as it was weake bicause of the flesh Why then we may conclude that the Lawe is a burden and so gréeuous a burden that neither wée nor oure Fathers were able to beare and that bycause of oure weakenesse Hereof it is that he sayth in an other place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. For if there had bin a law giuē which could haue giuen lyfe surely rightuousnesse should haue bin by the Lawe It is the woorke of grace to saue and quicken the receyuers whereof althoughe they were extréeme enemies to the wholesome doctrine of the holy scriptures they become fréends It is not the worke of the doctrine which whosoeuer heare and reade without the grace of GOD they are made worse enemies Therefore the grace of God is not in the nature of free will and in the lawe and doctrine as the peruerse Pelagian dothe deceyptfully beleeue and teache but at euery moment it is giuen by his good wil and pleasure of whom it is sayd Thou o God sendest a gracious rayne vpon thyne inheritaunce For we lost both frée wil to loue god by the greatnesse of our first sinne and the lawe also and the doctrine thereof although it be holy and good and iust yet it killeth if the Spirite do not quicken by which spirite it commeth to passe that not by hearing but by obeying neither by reading but by louing it is obserued For the Lawe without grace is but a letter it remaineth to conuince sin but not to gyue saluation So sayth the Apostle For yf there had bin a lawe gyuen whiche could haue giuen lyfe surely rightuousnes shuld haue bin by the lawe But the Scripture hath concluded all vnder sinne that the promise by the faith of Iesus Christ should be giuen to them that beléeue Of this letter he sayeth in an other place The letter killeth but the spirite quickeneth Thou hast the letter but thou dost not fulfill the letter And why dost thou not fulfil the letter Bycause thou presumest of thy selfe thou extollest thy

is righteous be righteous stil. For the doers of the law are iust And therefore it is as much as yf it should bée sayd The doers of the law shall be created not because they were but that they may bée You go foreward against M. Gough An other place he brought to expresse by scripture this worde Onely that fayth onely doth iustifie alleaging the saying of Christe vnto Iairus Prince of the Synagogue Crede tantùm Beleeue onely A place verie fitly applied as yf Christe there had spoken of the Iustification of Iairus and not rather of the corporall reuiuing of his daughter As for M. Goughes alleaging of the place I do not thinke but he sawe what was principally done in that place and that Christ was reuiuing of his daughter yet not withstanding he might note vnto you in what sorte wée ought to béehaue our selues towardes the receyuing of Christes benefites and graces that although things séeme vnto vs desperate voyde of all hope and comforte yet wée should not cease but to beléeue in Christe that he is able to doo whatsoeuer wée demaunde in feare and truth And this hope and fayth is sufficient and he requireth nothing els at our handes This I say why might he not note vnto you touching onely fayth hauing twoo suche notable examples before his face as the woman with the flux Iairus with his dead daughter And so might he make his argument As fayth onely is sufficient to the curing of an vncurable sore and the raising of the dead so is it sufficient to the remission of sinnes Neyther is he voyde of authoritie for his interpretation Theophilacte sayth thus Ne timeas tantùm crede respice ad mulierem hanc quae sanguinis profluuio laborauit illam si imitatus fueris non aberrabis Feare not onely beléeue Behold this Woman whiche was sicke of the fluxe yf thou followe her thou shalt not doo amisse Neyther is Iames cleane contradictorie as you say to Master Gough in this sense where he sayeth Videtis quoniam ex operibus iustificatur homo non ex fide tantùm You sée that of workes man is iustified and not of fayth onely There is you knowe Oppositio in terminis opposition in woordes and oppositio realis opposition in matter As for the first ye knowe also it is nothing and so may these two be fides tantum iustificat fides tātum non iustificat fayth only dothe iustifie ●ayth only doth not iustifie As for the other there must be vniuocatio in terminis the Subiectum and the Praedicatum must be taken in one sense in both Otherwise there is no opposition For both may be true As in this fayth only iustifieth the woord Iustifieth is taken in this sence Iustifieth before God. In the other Fayth only doth not iustifie the woord Iustifieth is taken hauing respect to men And so they be not opposite Of the sense of the place I spake before Likewise of the place of Luke viij I haue sayd my mind what M. Gough his meaning was I was not at his Sermon I promisse you I haue not talked with him therin I skant know the person S. Augustine in his booke de fide operibus sheweth the beginning and foundation of this muche like heresie to haue bin in the Apostles time vpon the misconstruing of Paules Epistles saying Quoniam haec opinio tunc fuerat exorta aliae Apostolicae epistolae Petri Iohannis Iacobi Iudae cōtra eàm maximè dirigunt intentionem vt vehementer astruant fidem sine operibus nihil prodesse That is bicause this opinion was then sprōg vp other Apostolicall epistles of Peter Iohn Iames Iude do bend their drift and purpose most of all against that opinion that they may boldely and vehemently affyrme faith without workes to auaile nothing If it be fayth only it is fayth without works If faith only auaileth nothing faith only can not iustifie What opinion that was M. Fecknam how vnlike vnto our assertion I shewed you before out of the same place and it was this as you haue it in the beginning of the chapter Bene autem viuere bonis operibus viam dei tenere neglexerint and they contemne to liue well and to kéepe the way of God in good works He sayth not bonis operibus incrementum iustitiae addere and with good woorkes to giue encrease of iustice ▪ Which péece you stand for which you shal neuer be able to shew out of Augustine and so we deny it As for your collection if faith only auaileth nothing faith only can not iustifie we deny the consequēt For as I said before ther is not vniuocatio in terminis We say true that nothing else but faith doth iustifie and yet say the faith which is dead sole is nothing worthe for it is not that which we say doth iustifie Likewise he saith in his boke de trinitate very briefly and pithily sine charitate fides quidem potest esse sed non prodesse Without charitie faith may be but without charitie it can nothing auaile This is very wel said we graūt al this he speaketh according to the scriptures you néed not haue gon so far S. Iames s. Paul could haue taught you the same But to your purpose it serueth very little yea nothing at al. Now touching your tretise of works done in faith wheras you are misgréeued with M. Gough so far that you cal it a preposterous way and a blasphemous doctrin to say that our workes are as filthie cloutes vnto which Christ promiseth a rewarde so great as euerlasting life if you would iustly consider with your self the duetie that god requireth of vs the default that is in vs the integritie the puritie that we are bound to by his commandement the imperfection the impuritie that is in vs you coulde not iustly cōdemne him god cōmaundeth vs to serue him with all our harts with all our soule with al our strēgth what is he vpon the earth that doth employ these wholy that hath not alwayes the flesh pricking against the spirit then the work that is done of such is it not as a menstruous cloth could it be acceptable before God were it not for his mercy If it please him of the same mercy to giue me lyfe euerlasting for my halfe dayes nay for my one houres worke doth it folow that my worke is worthy of it when all the workes of the world be not worth lyfe euerlasting Chrystes death excepted Then touching your other cauil of faith only How only without baptisme without repentance without feare without hope without charitie You may vnderstand of that I haue sayd before howe all these must folow and an hundreth more and yet fayth only must iustifie what so euer he be that casteth these away in that respect that he is iustified by faith he deceiueth him selfe and he is not iustified He is a dead trée he is a thorne

workes thou knowest not that the grace of the helper is necessarie that the precept of the cōmaunder may be fulfilled Behold God hath cōmaunded thée do that which be commaundeth thou beginnest to do as of thyne own strength and thou fallest and so remayneth the punishing and not the sauing letter Let vs a little more neare consider this question what these woords importe and what they meane It is not impossible to fulfil the law The Law and the Spirit are set as opposite as killing and quickening as Moses Christ therfore in playne woordes the question is this Whether it bée possible without Christ by the works only of the Lawe whiche we can perfectly and absolutely performe in suche order and manner as GOD hath commaunded to be saued And your position is that wée can if wée list perfectlye as he commaundeth in all poinctes fulfill his Lawe and so purchase lyfe vnto oure selues without the quickening spirit without the grace of god For if you saye not this you saye nothing as you shall hereafter more plainely vnderstand A preuenting grace and helping you graunt whereof I will not defraude you and after permitted to your owne willes you can do what you liste and kéepe the commaundements and purchase heauen as it foloweth caste Christ away Now then let vs ioyne togither I say that thou O Man what soeuer thou arte so setting Christe his death and passion a syde of whose fulnesse we haue all receyued and setting asyde grace and truthe whiche commeth by Iesus Christ I say that thou cāst not by any possibilitie if thou shouldst lyue seuen hundreth yeares fulfil the law of GOD and so be saued For if there had bin a Lawe giuen whiche could haue quickened iustice had bin by the Lawe neither should a Sauiour bin sought for nor Christ haue come nor with his bloud haue sought his lost shéepe as the Apostle sayeth in an other place For if rightuousnesse be by the Lawe then is Christ dead in vayne Let vs consider what is the best of vs Salomon sayd at the dedicatiō of his Temple There is no man on the earth which sinneth not Dauid sayeth no man liuing shall be iustified before god Saint Paule plainly affirmeth this The fleshe coueteth ageinst the spirite and the spirite ageinst the flesh and vseth no other reason to proue that all whiche are vnder the lawe are cursed but this Bicause it is written Cursed be they that confirme or fulfill not al these words of this law to do them And such were mē not in their time only but such is oure nature at this day ther is no time nor seasō no houre or momēt in which we ought not to say forgiue vs our trespasses where forgiuenesse is requisit ther is no perfectiō ther is no law fulfilled there is no saluatiō wrought neither is it thus to be thought that these such like sentēces are spokē of men not regenerate assisted with the grace of god for Paul speaking of himselfe of the contention strife that he felt sayd Noui non habitare in me id est in carne mea bonū nā velle adest mihi sed vt quod bonū est perficiā nō assequor Non enim facio bonum quod volo sed malum quod nolo hoc ago For I know that in mée that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing for to will is present with mée but I finde no meanes to performe that which is good Here you may sée that the Apostle himself was fraile in body that he had as yet no rightuousnesse perfection That you may know that the Apostle himself which would saue others is yet in way of curing that ye may know that he is yet a curing if you esteme his honor marke what emplaister the medicine hath layd to the swelling Heare not me heare himselfe confessing that you may perceyue him teaching Nowe may I say to the Apostle Paule Be not proude thou holy Apostle thou must take héede that thou be not proud What sayst thou to me saieth he Heare thou also Heare what I am be not high minded but feare heare how the little Lambe may goe in where the Ramme is in such daunger Ne excellentia reuelationum supra modum efferrer datus est mihi surculus infixus carni c. Leste I should be exalted sayeth hée oute of measure thoroughe the aboundance of Reuelations there was giuen vnto mée a pricke in the fleshe the messenger of Sathan to buffit me bycause I should not be exalted out of measure Let vs then by this example consider that we are men let vs acknowledge that the holy Apostles were men chosen vesselles but yet frayl as yet pilgrimes in this fleshe No doubte but Paule and Dauid and the residue of the most saincts that euer were thought this eyther the chéefest or the only perfection if they knewe them selues to be vnperfecte And you sayth he when you haue done al say we are vnprofitable seruants we haue done but what we ought to doe If hée bée vnprofitable whiche hath done all things what shal wée saye of him which could not fulfill Therefore the Apostle sayd that he had partly receyued and partly comprehēded and yet was not perfecte and that hée forgate things past and auanced him selfe to things to come Hée that alwayes forgetteth things past and desireth things to come declareth him self not content with things present But can you shewe mée any other that was better in this case than the Apostle You say the commaundements of GOD are easie and yet you can shew none that hath fulfilled them al. Aunswere me are they easy or harde If they be easie shew me who hath fulfilled them and why Dauid saith in his Psalme c. You know where I am I cut it of because I would be short and yet must I say something It followeth But if they bée hard why darest thou say that the cōmaūdements are easie which no man hath fulfilled Marke this by the way whiche no man hath fulfilled And if you think it peraduēture faultie to reason Ab esse ad posse negatiuely although I might wel answer you that in attributo specifico it is no fault although it be in indiuiduali yet haue I rather to giue you the aunswere of him which may preuayle more with you than myne and God graunt it may do so Dicitis his verbis c. You say in this sorte It is an other thing to bée and an other to may bée or be possible to bée To be consisteth not in our power but to bée able to bée is spoken vniuersally That although one be not yet he may bée that will bée I pray you what kind of reasoning is this the thing may be which neuer was that that may be done which you witnesse that no man hath done to attribute that vnto any man who whither he shall be or no you know