Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
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A35903
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A dialogue between Timothy and Titus about the articles and some of the canons of the Church of England wherein super-conformity is censured and moderation recommended : with a serious perswasive to all the inferiour clergy of that Church / by one that heartily wisheth union amongst Protestants.
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One that heartily wisheth union amongst Protestants.
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1689
(1689)
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Wing D1336; ESTC R734
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65,452
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44
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say worse Tim. You would not have me talk contrary to what I believe would you Tit. What is that Tim. I believe every man hath a power and freedom of Will to good Works as well as Evil. Tit. What Naturally and in an unregenerate Estate Tim. Yes Tit. This is contrary to the Tenth Article as Aye and No directly Opposite to Scripture Which saith the Carnal mind is enmity against God for it is not subject to the Law of God nor indeed can be so then they that are in the Flesh cannot please God. The Natural Man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him neither can he know them because they are Spiritualy discerned No man can say Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost Not that we are sufficient of our selves to think any thing as of our selves but our sufficiency is of God And without me ye can do nothing saith our Saviour Repugnant is your belief also to many Prayers of our Church As the Collect for the Second Sunday in Lent. The Fifth Sunday after Easter The Ninth Sunday after Trinity The Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity The Nineteenth The Collect on All-Saints Day and many more Now what a rare Believer are you to believe contrary to the Word of God the Articles you have Subscribed and the Prayers you constantly Rom. 8. 7. 8. 1 Cor. 2.14 1 Cor. 12.3 2 Cor. 3. 5. John 15.5 make use of and are obliged to put up to God on those several days in the prescribed Words and no other But what 's the next part of your Belief in this matter Tim. That as I have a Power and freedom of will to Good Works so I must do them in order to my being Justified before God. Tit. This is as Corrupt and Erroneous as the Former and as opposite to the next Article read it Article XII Albeit that Good Works which are the fruits of Faith and follow after justification cannot put away our Sins and endure the severity ef Gods Judgment yet are they pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ and do spring out necessarily of a true and lively Faith insomuch that by them a lively Faith may be as evidently known as a tree discerned by the Fruit. Tit. Here you are Taught That Good Works are pleasing and acceptable to God but so far are they from justifying without Faith that they are the fruits of Faith and follow after Justification Plainly implying That we must have true Faith and be justified before we can do any Works good pleasing or acceptable to God. So that I believe according to our Church that Faith in Christ justifies the Person and Good Works the Faith Or thus I take it that God justifies Judicially Christ Jesus Meritoriously Faith Instrumentally and Good Works Declaratively Tim. So then you will make Good Works of little worth and it matters not whether a man hath them or not Tit. No such matter I believe they are absolutely necessary to Salvation that no man can go to Heaven without them for they are as this Twelfth Article tells you the genuine and necessary fruits of a true and lively Faith and that there can be no such Faith without them And St. James saith as much in the Second Chapter of his Epistle at large I believe that Text of Holy Writ which tells me Without Holiness no man shall see the Lord with an equal Faith that Heb. 12.14 Heb. 11.6 I do that which saith Without Faith 't is impossible to please God. That is that both are necessary to make a good Christian and there is no other I am sure shall ever enter into Heaven And to close this Discourse I believe he that Teaches such Doctrine as this stands further off from Rome comes nearer to the Analogy of Faith the Tenour of the Holy Gospel and the sound Articles of our Church then those Men who Teach or Preach otherwise and I hope by this time you think so too Tim. I am inclinable to such thoughts Tit. And the more you think on 't the more inclinable you will still be if you do not wilfully shut your Eyes against the Light of Gods Word and of the following Articles grounded upon it Article XIII Works done before the grace of Christ and the Inspiration of his Spirit are not pleasant to God forasmuch as they spring not of Faith in Jesu Christ neither do they make men meet to receive Grace or as the School Authors say deserve Grace of congruity yea rather for that they are not done as God hath willed and commanded them to be done we doubt not but they have the nature of Sin. Tit. What think you of this added to all the rest Tim. It still helps to Confirm what you have said and to convince me of my Errour without any farther Comment Tit. Proceed then to the next viz. Article XIV Voluntary works besides over and above Gods Commandments which they call Works of Supererogation cannot be taught without Arrogancy and Impiety For by them Men do declare that they do not only render unto God as much as they are bound to do but that they do more for his sake then of bounden duty is required Where as Christ saith plainly When ye have done all that are Commanded to you say We are unprofitable Servants Tit. I have such Charity for thee Tim. as not to think thee so far Popefied as to oppose this Article Tim. You may for surely we who neither do nor can do all that God Commands have little ground to boast of doing more Tit. Honestly said Tim. I hope to find thee right as to the next too Article XV. Tim. Christ in the truth of our Nature was made like unto us in all things Sin only except from which he was clearly void both in his flesh and in Spirit He came to be a Lamb without spot who by sacrifice of himself once made should take away the Sins of the World and sin as St. John saith was not in him But all we the rest although Baptized and born again in Christ yet offend in many things and if we say we have no Sin we deceive our selves and the Truth is not in us Tit. I know nothing contained in this Article that you do Oppose or Cavil at and therefore think the best never loving to make quarrels when there is not just and apparent Cause for it Therefore let us view the following one Article XVI Not every deadly Sin willingly committed after Baptism is Sin against the Holy Ghost and unpardonable Wherefore the grant of Repentance is not to be denyed to such as fall into Sin after Baptism After we have received the Holy Ghost we may depart from grace given and fall into Sin and by the grace of God we may arise again and amend our lives And therefore they are to be Condemned which say they can no more Sin as long as they live here to deny the place of forgiveness
as well as former Popish Plot against King the Kingdom our Religion and Lives to light but by providence In a word Tim think then say what was the safeguard of our present gracious Sovereign in many battles when divers fell on his right hand and left in sundry pursuits and in foreign Countries and what restored him to his Rights Crowns and people without the least opposition and with an universal consent and unheard-of acclamations of joy but wonderful providence Certainly there was as great a Concatenation of providences in his preservation and return as in the fall and rise of Joseph God give his Majesty an heart to remember and improve it or in Job's David's case or any recorded in holy Writ I cannot therefore disapprove the ingenuous return of a Scholar coming for Orders and being asked by his Poser how he proved a providence answered it being quickly after the Kings Restauration redeunte Carolo. And certainly wanted we other instances that 's sufficient and high enough alone Tim. This is something but not enough Tit. Enough surely to any but an Epicurean Tim. An Epicurean what 's that Call me no hard names if you do you 'll move my Choler Tit. I shall be sorry for that but if I should I 'le endeavour to make you amends by laying it again Tim. Tell me then why do you call me Epicurean Tit. Because I take you to be one of Epicurus his Scholars Tim. Epicurus who 's he Slid this is insufferable Epicurus and Epicurean Farewel Sir I 'le have no more of this Tit. Patience man a little and hear who this Epicurus was He was a certain ancient Gentleman Tutor to Mr. Hobbs whom I suppose you well knew Tim. You have abated my heata little by naming that person worthy Mr. Hobbs profound non-such Mr. Hobbs Tit. I knew how to nick you I know you are well acquainted with his works Tim. Huge well I have read them all and delight to read them Tit. More than to read the old doting Fathers the crabbed Schoolmen or any modern Divine not to say the Scriptures themselves Tim. I think he that reads Hobbs reads all that is to be read can be read or is worth the reading But what is all this to Epicuran Tit. You mistake Tim 't is Epicurean and the short is this Mr. Hobbs denies a providence he learned it of Epicurus you deny a providence being taught so of Mr. Hobbs and so you are either an Epicurean or an Hobbist which you please Tim Though I stiled you after the first as being the more ancient and so I thought the more honourable Tim. Well if this be all you mean by Epicurean I shall own it for Mr. Hobbs his sake and am of his opinion and shall be notwithstanding what you have urged Tit. I am sorry for it but if what I have inferred from the words of Christ prevail not what think you of the opinion of a grave Divine and good Christian Tim. I don't know who is it Tit. One that no doubt understood the Articles of our Church very well hear what he saith and you will judge who I mean O sacred Providence who from end to end Herb. on Provid Strongly and sweetly movest shall I write And not of thee through whom my singers bend To hold my Quill shall they not do thee right Of all the Creatures Tim. Hold here 's enough 't is Herbert but little to my conviction Tit. I was afraid so but will you be determin'd by a whole Church Tim. Now you come close could you but find a whole Church owning this Tit. I think 't is no hard matter Tim. What Church and where I pray Tit. The Church of England and in this very Article you have now read and that in these words There is but one living and true God Maker and Preserver of all things Now how will you grant God to be the Preserver of all things to this very moment and not allow of Providence And to assure you this is her meaning the prayers of our Church are answerable to her faith v. Coll. for the 8th Sunday after Trin. Whose never failing Providence c. Tim. Preserver I profess 't is so Preserver and never failling Providence Inever mindedit before This has somewhat in it to your purpose more than I have noted Tit. Something in 't for shame Tim knock under what subscribe such an Article as this and to the use of such a prayer as this and yet deny Providence Must God preserve the world and yet not be at the least concerned in any thing done in the world O non-sense stupidity the very Heathens spoke more like Divines and Christians than you and the rest of your Atheistical gang Hear what one of them saith and he none of the best neither Seneca I mean who calleth God the Keeper and Governour of the whole world a mind a spirit the Lord and Artificer or Creator of all the world he to whom every name agreeth Will you call him fate You will not be out for he it is on whom all things depend Will you call him Providence You wil say right for by his counsel the world is provided and taken care for that it remains steady Custodem Rectoremque universi animum spiritum mundani hujus operis Dominum Artificem cui nomen omne convenit Vis illum fatum vocare Non errabis Hic est ex quo suspensa sunomnia causa causarum Vis illum Providentiam dicere Recte dices Est enim cujus consilio huic mundo providetur ut in inconcussus eat actus suos explicet Sen. Nat. Qu. l. 2. cap. 45. and performeth its operations Thus he And Du-plessis Lord of Morney in his Book of the truness of Christian Religion chap. 13. sheweth that Providence is abundantly owned by Plato Plotinus Hierocles Aristotle Cicero and others And in short none but some of the most sensual and brutish Epicureans ever so much as called this in question Tim. And suppose they do What ill consequence can follow upon it Tit. Many and sad ones tho' perhaps otherwise in your opinion for first you hereby deny God's Mercy Wisdom and Goodness in that you suppose him to take no care at all of or regard to the numberless number of creatures that he hath made Next you abridge him of his Soveraignty and take his Prerogative from him which is this To dispense good and evil as he pleaseth Is there evil in the City and I have not done it saith the Lord Amoâ— Nay you do in effect deny his being and ungod him to suppose him to sit like an old man idle in Heaven and unconcerned at what is done here below Another sad consequence is that all the signs in Heaven Coâ—nets Blazing-stars all heavy and fore Judgments upon Kingdoms in general as War Plague Fire Famine signifie nothing with all personal calamity and afflictions And that all good as well as evil comes