Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A Word B Word C Word D Occurrence Frequency Band MI MI Band Prominent
spirit_n fire_n ghost_n holy_a 6,369 5 5.6726 4 false
View all documents for the selected quad

Text snippets containing the quad

ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A64230 Paidobaptismos orthobaptismos: or, The baptism of infants vindicated by scriptures and reasons Humbly offered in order to a composure of differences at this juncture of time. By Nath. Taylor, M.A. Taylor, Nathanael, d. 1702. 1683 (1683) Wing T544A; ESTC R222422 45,201 106

There is 1 snippet containing the selected quad. | View lemmatised text

Salvation is annexed to Faith and Damnation is the Punishment of Unbelief Baptism therefore is not absolutely necessary to Salvation nor its want absolutely exposing Souls to Damnation 3. This would be to tye God to means and to make it in Mans Power to Save or Damn whom he pleased For if it be impossible any should be saved without Baptism then would it follow that it is Baptism more than Gods free Grace that saves Ephes 2.8 and that it is in the Power of the Minister by Baptism to save whom he please and by denying it to damn whom he will Yea then this Ordinance will be supposed to confer Grace Ex Opere Operate which Assertion detracts from Gods Glory disagrees with Truth and is injurious to Souls who may be hereby brought to rely rather on a Creatures Baptism than their Creaton Mercy for Salvation 4. Then all Children and those who dye unbaptized must be supposed not to appertain to Christ nor to be saved by him which to believe of all Infants is dreadful whom I cannot implead of sin in not being Baptized being not capable of desiring it And though I cannot but think the Parent highly to Offend in slighting the Ordinance where it is to be obtained yet cannot I suppose it to be by God imputed as a sin to the Child so dying for which he will damn it which is the Genuine though Dismal Consequence of that Position That Baptism is absolutely necessary to Salvation 5. The Baptism contended for is but an outward sign of that inward Grace which Entitles the Soul to Heaven John 3.5 and to which Glory is annexed the sign then cannot be so Essential as that they who have received the things signified and inward Grace without Baptism should still be excluded Heaven because they are not Baptized Acts 10.47 Which is as much as to assert that though a Soul should partake of all Christs Benefits to be bestowed on a Worthy Communicant yet unless he actually Eat the Bread and Drink the Wine which are the External Elements in the Lords Supper and Representatives of those inward Benefits yet he could not be saved A Thesis deservedly to be exploded Rubric 3. after Comm. 〈…〉 as nullifying Christs Merits to Idolize External things And our Church is clear against it 6. By this Assertion it would follow that many Thousands of Christians shall be Damned who duly and perhaps more circumspectly walk in Obedience to God than we in and amongst the Turks and Pagans who probably by Reason of their Persecuted Condition or the non-settlement of a Church and Ordinances amongst them are and so dye unbaptized But how sad this would be to a Christians Eat I leave every one to judge 7. When ever Baptism is taken as so necessary to Salvation in Scripture it hath respect to the Internal thing signified by it so St. John 3.9 John hath chiefly respect to the Baptism of the Spirit whereby the Soul is Regenerated and reduced to a state of Grace nor can the Baptism we contend about be there meant this being not Instituted till after our Saviours Resurrection which was some Years after these words were spoken by our Saviour And this Baptism of the Spirit is other where called A Baptism by Fire Mat. 3.11 denoting the cleansing and purifying Nature of the Graces of the Holy Ghost which purifies the Regenerated Soul from its Corruption and burns up its drossie Lusts In comparison of which Baptism St. John accounts his of Water the Subject of our present Controversie so mean as only to have a Relation to it as Precedaneous not as Competitour Again Ephes 1.26 27. St. Paul joyns the Word of God with this Baptism in order to the Purifying Christs Church that acting on the Soul and this terminating on the Body And St. Peter's Assertion is clear 1 Pet. 3.21 that it is not the Water Purifying the Flesh but the Answer of a good Conscience towards God that saveth us And indeed the Trope of using the sign for the thing signified is not unusual in Scripture 8. The All-wise God hath determined the Controversie in that He in divers places of his revealed Will Asserts Gal. 6.15 1 Cor. 7.19 that neither Circumcision nor Uncircumcision avail any thing but a New Creature It is not the being an unbaptized Person that will expose any one to Condemnation for there is not one Woe denounced against any as such Nor is there one Promise in all the Divine Writ Infallibly annexing Salvation to Baptism 2 Thes 1.8 9. John 3.16 All Threats of Misery are to those who believe not and Obey not the Gospel of Christ And all Promises of Eternal Mercies are to those who by Faith close with Christ and live the life of Christians So that I dare not say all who are Baptized shall be saved and all who are not Baptized shall be damned But I dare affirm that whosoever remain and dyeth in unbelief shall be damned though he be Baptized And whoever believes truly on Christ and lives answerably to that Faith though for some Persecution or other Causes he cannot be Baptized he shall be saved Whence will appear That Baptism is not absolutely Necessary to Salvation so as that one cannot be saved without it As I have hitherto endeavoured to remove the great Censure of the Anabaptists of our being in no visible salvable way because not Baptized after their Mode by giving my Reasons why Baptism is not so absolutely Necessary to Salvation So I proceed to prove That Baptism of Water is not absolutely Necessary to Church-membership Prop. 2. so as that they cannot be Members of Christs Church unless Baptized Which will appear thus 1. Wills against Danvers p. 49. There was ever a Church before Baptism or Circumcision were Administred They being both External signs to be acted on visible Professors and Church-members in the Church of Christ there is necessarily presupposed an existence of a Church containing Members to be Circumcised or Baptized and Persons to perform these Offices So that these signs are not the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 esse of a Church or the Essential Constituents of its visibility Noah Seth and those Holy Patriarchs before the Flood who Lived some hundreds of Years before the Institution of Circumcision Gen. 17.24 were doubtless Members of Gods Church And Abraham also doubtless before he was Circumcised which was in the 99th Year of his Age and about the 2107 Year of the World was a True Believer and a Member of the True Church And if it be alledged they were Members of the Invisible Church we may grant them a Membership in the Visible from that known Axiom Omne majus in se continet minus Their being of the Invisible Church being greater than their being Members of the Visible Church Yea it is apparent the Promises were made to Abraham above Twenty Years before Circumcision was Instituted which Promise he believed Gen.