Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
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A32900
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The Christians way to heaven, or, What he must do to be saved by a divine of the Church of England.
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Divine of the Church of England.
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1700
(1700)
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Wing C3962; ESTC R23847
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11,729
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by Hearing Rom. 10.17 And therefore you ought not to flight this great means of your Salvation Neither must you indulge your selves in silly Fancies in liking or not liking your Ministers Phrase or Action but you ought chiefly to mind the Substance of 〈…〉 meanest Minister of the Gospel if you hear him with that soberness you ought for let me tell you the fault of your not profiting does not so much lie in unedifying Ministers as in unpractising Congregations Nor must you run about gadding to other Churches to hear others you are better pleased with for besides the great fault you commit in discouraging your own Ministers endeavours you cannot expect that God should afford the same Blessing to the hearing of the Word out of the Method he has prescribed and from those to whom he has not given Charge of your Souls You must likewise be constant in Reading Gods Word Reading the Holy Scriptures Mat. 22.29 Joh. 5.39 Acts 17.11 or getting it read to you for this is the most considerable Motive you can make use of to a good Life Because then you here God Almighty himself speaking to your Consciences whose Authority will prevail much more with you than our Preaching and besides by this you may examine the Doctrine which we Teach and see that we do not impose upon you but Preach to you what is agreeable to that excellent Rule You must furthermore as frequently as conveniently you may Frequent Receiving the Lords Supper Receive the Holy Sacrament of our Lords Body and Blood for whilst you Live in a constant neglect of this you have little pretence to be Christians because our blessed Lord has commanded all his Followers to do this in remembrance of him and if you will not thus remember him and shew this Token your Communion with him and his Church you do in effect deny your Baptismal Vow and turn Renegoado's to the Religion of Christ This is the Oath of Fidelity to your heavenly Prince which he has required of you frequently to renew which if you refuse you cast of all Allegiance and Subjection to him and turn Rebels to his Administration Whilst you neglect this you deprive your selves of the Grace of God's Holy Spirit which is plentifully conveyed by a due receiving this Holy Sacrament you leave your Souls defenceless against all the Assaults of the World the Flesh and the Devil which may attack them and defraud your selves of the Seal of Gods Pardon for Sin which is fully given to all worthy Receivers You must also religiously observe all the Feasts and Fasts of the Church Religious observing Sundays and Holidays not only by coming to Church on Sundays Fast-days and Holidays but by dedicating besides some considerable part of them to your Religious Exercises in Private You must lastly take Care to bring your Children as soon as may be Bringing Children to Publick Baptism to partake of the Holy Sacrament of Baptism not at Home as is the vain and irreligious Fashion of some but to Church where the Sacrament may be more solemnly administred and where your Children may partake of the â—oynt Prayers of the Congregation of God's People And when you have done so you must see them well instructed in the Principles of the Christian Religion and that they come to take their Religion upon themselves which their Sureties in Baptism promised they should Catechism and Confirmation when the Bishop does administer the Sacred Ordinance of Confirmation VI. Lastly in order to Salvation VI. Condition To Watch against all Temptations and Failures you must take Care to Exercise another Duty which is particularly recommended by our Saviour as a guard to all the rest and that is Watchfulness Mat. 24.42 and 25.14 Acts 20.31 Though you have truly repented of your Sins and got into a Habit of Virtue and a Religious Course of Life yet if you have not a great guard upon your selves you will insensibly relapse again into your former Condition For you must needs think that the Devil will use the utmost of his spight and cunning and will play his main Batteries upon those who have forsaken his Cause and are obedient to the Kingdom of Jesus Christ The Holy Scripture informs you that he goes about like a roaring Lyon seeking whom he may devour 1 Pet. 5.8 And you may reasonably suppose that he will devour none so easily as those Christians who live off of their Guard Therefore when you have forsaken a Course of Sin and are arrived at a tolerable Perfection of Virtue and Godliness don't sit down secure as if there was nothing more to be done for in your Christian Warfare there is Work enough to go forwards in as long as you live It requires â— great deal of Diligence and Circumspection to keep all Temptations and to maintain your Integrity in a vitious Age when Wickedness is ofttimes applauded and Vertue meets with so great discouragements But there is hardly any standing at a stay in a Religious Course you will either go forwards or backwards and therefore be watchful that you do not move the wrong Way and this you cannot be sure of unless as long as you live you be improving in Vertue I do not doubt but many Christians are in a salvable State that are subject to many Imperfections and Failures but as they live on they must still go forwards in the Conquest of these A sincere Penitent who is just come out of a flagitious Course of Life has enough to do to fence against the gross Sins he has so much been accustom'd to but God expects from one who has been long habituated to a Course of Godliness that he should be very watchful against all human Imperfections whatsoever Such a one must not think so easily to be excused from Sins of Ignorance when after a long Exercise in hearing and reading God's Word he might have better informed himself of his Duty he cannot so well plead Sins of Infirmity when his Nature has very considerably lost its byass to Sin by a long Course of Vertue Therefore good Christians must be going forwards in a State of Virtue as long as they live they must be still bettering and improving their Natures more and more informing their Understandings in Religious Truths and rectifying their Wills they will find Work enough to watch against all imprudent and offensive Actions against idle Words against sudden Anger against coldness and some involuntary Excursions in Devotion And for an incouragement to this Progress God Almighty will not only Reward them with a bare saving their Souls but will liberally bestow on such the Ten Talents Luke 19.24 He will advance them according to their Improvement in Piety to one of the highest Thrones in the Heavenly Kingdom For one Star differeth frâ—m another Star in Glory 1 Cor 15.41 And now let me speak a Word or two by way of Exhortation and Inference from what has been said First Let me apply
Christianity does not consist only of a few Negative Precepts it does not oblige you just only to avoid Sin but it engages you to the Performance of several Virtues and Graces which unless you make your selves Masters of you cannot be qualified for Heaven Don't be cheatâ—◠〈…〉 good Man as when they say such a one is a good Man because he does no Body any harm as if 't was enough to be Religious not to be mischievous For a Man may abstain from this upon account of good Nature and a Gentleman-like Education And besides this singly of it self is no great matter of Virtue and is no more then what Stocks and Stones and tame Beasts may pretend to for they likewise do no Body any harm But true Christianity has in it more Spirit and Vigour it is a Life of Action and those who pretend to it must not only avoid all ill Things but they must do a great many good ones You must Learn therefore to Practice the Christian Grace of Humility Humility Mar. 20.26 you must have as mean Thoughts as possible you can of your selves upon Consideration that all you can boast of does proceed from the free Gift of God you must not despise the meanest of your fellow-Creatures but rather glorifie your gracious God who has been pleased to bestow on you more liberal Talents and lastly you must shew to all a meek and courteous Behaviour considering that they proceed from the same common Stock and do partake of the same common Nature with you and that Christ condescended to Die for the poorest as well as the greatest You must likewise adorn your Souls with Patience Patience Luke 21.19 James 5.8 1 Pet. 2.20 and bear your Afflictions with a true Christian Magnanimity and Fortitude and with a perfect Resignation to the good Will of God considering that he sends those Sufferings out of a pure fatherly kindness and Correction to wean us from the World and to bring us higher unto him to give us Demonstration of our Legitimacy in Grace and that we are not Bastards but Sons We must Learn likewise to forgive our Enemies to do good to them that hate us Forgiveness and Love of our Enemes Mat. 5.24 and pray for them that dispitefully use us and persecute us considering that we have for this the express Command and Example of our blessed Lord and that a meek and a peaceable Disposition is the greatest Ornament of a Christian and does not only conduce to the Peace and Quiet of the World but to a Man 's own Satisfaction whilst Malice and Revenge â—o râ—â—k the Soul with continual Torment and turn Society 〈…〉 You must likewise endeavour to make your selves eminent in other Acts of Charity Charity of Opinion 1 Cor. 13.4 You must be charitable in your Opinions and Censures of other Men You must not be too forward in beleiving slanderous Reports nor too busie in relating other Mens failures you must have a care of denouncing Damnation upon all who differ in Religious Matters from you but let your Love go with them with whom your Opinion cannot You must according to your Abilities be liberal to the Poor Charity of Relief Deut. 15.7 Psalm 41.1 Luke 14.13 Prov. 28.27 considering that God has made us who are in a better Capacity Stewards for them that the Scriptures assures us That he who is merciful to the Poor lendeth to the Lord and therefore we may be sure when God Almighty has engaged himself to be our Debtor he will repay us with the greatest Interest Our Religion obliges us yet further to a higher Duty Mortification and Self-denial Mat. 5.29 Rom. 8.13 Col. 3.5 and which does run a little more contrary to the stream of our natural Inclinations and that is to Mortification and Self-denial And to mortifie our Members and to deny all Ungodliness and Worldly Lusts Tit. 2.12 is not without Reason enjoyned us For though we may live an ordinary Life of Virtue without undergoing these severer Duties yet it is very difficult to do it and if we do not restrain and abridge our Appetites oftentimes in lawful Things they will be apt to grow so Head-strong that we shall hardly be able to keep them from unlawful Besides since God Almighty has design'd this World only as a State of Probation for the other where there are none of these sensual Enjoyments to be found it is but reasonable we should be something weaned from those lower Pleasures that we may be able to relish those high and exalted ones which are designed for us hereafter These and all other Virtues which are perscribed to you by God's Word you must exercise your selves in in this your Christian Warfare you must run this Race which God has set before you if you would obtain the Crown which is laid up for you And to do this the better let this be your constant Rule to do every Thing with readiness which you 〈…〉 â—â—â—â—fore Men that is to endeavour to shew the best Example in Religion which without Ostentation and Vanity you possibly can and lastly to do all the good you can in your Generation if you do this sincerely tho' it may be with a great deal of Imperfection God Almighty in his goodness will accept this imperfect for a compleat Obedience V. Next in order to your Salvation you must be diligent in observing the Ordinances V. Condition To observe the Ordinances of Christ and his Holy Church Publick Prayer Isa 50.7 Luke 18.8 Acts 3.1 Mat. 21.13 as well as Private Morning and Evening Mat. 7.7 Luke 18.1 Rom. 12.12 Eph. 6.18 Psalm 119.164 which either Christ himself or his Holy Church hath instituted for the furtherance of Godliness and true Religion Therefore you must be constant in the Duty of Prayer as well Publick as Private You must at least twice every Day Morning and Evening betake your selves to your Closets or some private Place of your Houses and there Pray to God to forgive you whatever Offences you have committed and to beg his Grace and Protection for the Time to come If you neglect this Duty you live the Lives of perfect Heathens you quite put your selves out of Gods Favour and Care which good Christians lay claim to and have nothing but your bare Baptism to distinguish you from the Prophane Pagans You must likewise at least upon Sundays and Holidays attend the Publick Service of the Church Benefit of Publick Prayer John ch 3. 2 Chron. 20. for the Apostle Taxes the forsaking the Assemblies as a great fault Heb. 10.25 And in the Publick Congregation we may expect our Prayers to be sooner heard when they are joyned with the united Prayers of so many good People You must likewise be very diligent and attentive in hearing the Word of God Hearing the Word and that from our own Ministers Rom. 10.17 Luke 8.18 as it is Preached by his Ministers for the Scripture tell us That Faith cometh