Selected quad for the lemma: state_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
state_n	church_n	salvation_n	visible_a	2,151	5	9.7825	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47164	The Presbyterian and independent visible churches in New-England and else-where brought to the test, and examined according to the doctrin of Holy Scriptures ... : more particulary directed to those in New-England, and more generally to those in old England, Scotland, Ireland, &c. : with a call and warning from the Lord to the people of Boston and New-England, to repent, &c. : and two letters to the preachers in Boston, and an answer to the gross abuses, lies and slanders of Increase Mather and Nath. Morton, &c. / by George Keith.	Keith, George, 1639?-1716.	1691 (1691)	Wing K191; ESTC R21261	124,580	240

Rev. 2.2 Thou hast tryed them which say they are Apostles and are not and hast found them Liars Rev. 3.9 Behold I will make them of the Synagogue of Satan which say they are Jews and are not but do lie behold I will make them to come and worship before thy feet and to know that I have loved thee Rev. 18.4 5 6. And I heard another Voice from Heaven saying Come out of her my People that ye be not Partakers of her sins and that ye receive not of her Plagues for her sins have reached unto Heaven and God hath remembred her Iniquities Reward her even as she rewarded you and double unto her double according to her Works in the Cup which she hath filled fill to her double THE Presbyterian and Independent VISIBLE CHURCHES IN New-England And else-where Brought to the Test and examined according to the Doctrin of the holy Scriptures in their Doctrin Ministry Worship Constitution Government Sacraments and Sabbath Day More particulary directed to those in New-England and more generally to those in Old-England Scotland Ireland c. WITH A Call and Warning from the Lord to the People of Boston and New-England to Repent c. And two Letters to the Preachers in Boston and an Answer to the gross Abuses Lies and Slanders of Increase Mather and Nath. Morton c. By GEORGE KEITH LONDON Printed for Thomas Northcott in George-Yard in Lombard-street 1691. A Friendly EPISTLE To these PEOPLE called Presbyterians and Independents FRIENDS IN true Love and good Will I have writ the following Treatise unto you hoping it may find entertainment with some among you to give it the Reading and seriously to consider what you read and my earnest Exhortation and Advice is unto you that in all your reading whether in this or any other Book ye turn your minds to that Light of Christ within you wherewith he hath enlightned you and all Men as the holy Scriptures declare and that ye may believe in Christ the Light and Life in you who is the Wisdom and Power of God and who was in all the holy Prophets and Apostles and whose Spirit that was in them that gave forth the holy Scriptures both of the Old and New Testament and the same Spirit only doth and only can give to all Readers of the holy Scripture a true and right understanding of them and of all other Books that treat of Doctrins and Matters of Religion whether they have proceeded from a measure of the same holy Spirit And if ye believe in Christ the Light the Life the Wisdom and Power of God in you and joyn your Minds to his inward divine Illumination He will anoynt the Eyes of your Understanding with his Spiritual Eye-Salve and then your Eyes shall be opened to see and understand what ye read and through your faith in him he will also open and circumcise your inward Ears and cause you still more and more to be acquainted with his living Voice and Words in you all which are Spirit and Life and this will give you a spiritual savour and taste whereby ye shall be able to try and judge of things that differ whether Men or Books whether Spirits or Doctrins what are of God and what are not of him for although the Scriptures are the best outward Test or Touchstone or Rule whereby to try all Doctrins of Men or Books yet it is the holy Spirit of Christ and his Light inwardly shining and enlightning the dark Hearts and Vnderstandings of Men that gives them ability rightly to understand the Scriptures otherwise the Scriptures are as a sealed Book both to the learned and unlearned For though the Jews had the Scriptures of the Old Testament which prophecied of Christ and of the Time and Manner of his Coming and how he was to suffer Death for the sins of Men and to rise again and ascend into Glory yet none of them had that Understanding but such only as were turned to his divine Illumination in their Hearts and were acquainted with his holy Spirit Light and Life in them And the like grave and wholsom advice I recommend unto you which a certain Ancient Christian gave unto Justin Martyr before his Conversion to the Christian Faith to wit That he should diligently read and search the holy Scriptures which should give him more Content than all Heathen Authors but withal that he should mind the Gate the LIGHT by which only he could enter into the true Understanding and Knowledge of them The which Passage the said Justin relateth in his Works and John Fox hath it also in his Martyrology taken out of him And though in this Treatise I have affirmed and sufficiently demonstrated that your Visible Churches are no true Churches of Christ yet I do not say nor conclude that none of you belong to Christs true Church in any true regard But on the contrary I have that true Charity Faith and Hope concerning a Remnant among you who have in the least measure true Hungerings and Thirstings after Righteousness and a great inward longing and panting of Heart and Soul after the Lord Jesus Christ to know him and enjoy him more nearly than by all hear-say or report of him and whose Souls are sick of Love for him and feel your need and want of him as the sick that need the Physician that ye do indeed even all such of you belong to Christ and are the real Members of his Body which is his Church for where any living Desire is after Christ and where any true sense or feeling of the want and great need of him is raised in any Soul there is somewhat of the Life of Christ in that Soul and there is Christ himself present who hath begot it and that Soul is in some Measure a living Member of Christ and to such it will be glad Tidings to hear that Christ is so near unto it as really to be within it even really and livingly present and where the least true measure of Sincerity Tenderness Meekness Gentleness Humility Uprightness of Heart and Soul hath place in any there is Christ present in that Soul who hath already begun his good Work in the same and the beginning of his Work is to quicken and make alive the Soul unto him And every Soul that is thus quickned and made alive unto him as it doth hold fast this Beginning and doth continue still hungering and thirsting after Him to know and enjoy and receive of his Fulness more plentifully doth really belong to him and is in a state of Salvation e'en so far and as it here abideth it is impossible that it can perish But yet tho such belong to Christ and to his Church it doth not follow that the visible Church which they are outwardly and by some outward Form or Practice joyned unto is the true Church of Christ for they themselves distinguish of the Church Visible and Invisible and do affirm That Hypocrites are Members of their Visible Church

process of time so changed and renewed that they become good Ground and bring forth good Fruit to the end So the more stony and thorny that the Heart is the more labour is to be used to make it good which by the Grace of God may well be done Sixthly The Parable of the ten Virgins five whereof were foolish hath the same signification for these five foolish Virgins had some Oyl in their Lamps but not being wise to get enough they spent what they had and so their Lamps went out for though they had Oyl in their Lamps otherwise their Lamps could not have gone out yet they had not in their Vessels as the wise Virgins had and so when they were called at midnight to meet the Bride-groom they had no Oyl at all neither in their Lamps or Vessels see Mat. 25. from Verse 1. to 12. Seventhly It is expresly said Ezek. 18.24 and 26 27. When a righteous Man turneth away from his Righteousness and committeth Iniquity he shall die And again when the wicked Man turneth away from his Wickedness and doth that which is lawful and right he shall live And Eighthly The example of David is a most clear Instance who fell from his Integrity by these two great and capital Sins of Adultery and Murther and brought Death upon him and had not God renewed him again by Repentance and restored him he had dyed in his Sins and perished and this fall of his was total though not final because God restored him before he dyed But to say as these Faith-publishers say and affirm That no Men once sanctified in the least measure can fall totally from their Sanctification though committing Murder and Adultery as was the case of David see Cap. 17. Sect. 1. and Cap. 11.5 of their Confession nor from their Justification is not only a most false and pernicious Doctrin but a most wonderful piece of Confusion For if he that is both Murderer and Adulterer in the very act and remaining in that or these Sins without Repentance for some time are really Saints and justified then who may be said not to be Saints Or what difference is there betwixt the Saints and no Saints betwixt the godly and the wicked good men and evil men If a man that is both Murderer and Adulterer be a real Saint and a justified man then the worst of men may generally believe they are true and real Saints and ye cannot convince them of the contrary For by what means can they be convinced thereof Tell them of their Sins Lying Stealing Drunkenness Swearing Murther and Adultery none of all this according to this wicked Doctrin doth prove them to be no Saints or that they have not true Faith and therefore if they die in these gross Sins they must go to Heaven immediately because they shall die in Faith they shall die sanctified and justified men than which I know no greater Confusion and daubing with untempered Morter and sewing Pillows under Peoples Arm-holes like the false Teachers of Old and prophecying smooth things unto People in their Sins and flattering them yea imboldning and encouraging them to Sin And no doubt many are wofully imboldned and encouraged to run into Sin and excess of Sin by such poysonous Doctrin that these false Teachers feed them with that is like sweet Poyson that though it be sweet to the Flesh yet it kills the Soul Doth not the Scripture say The Soul that sinneth shall die and the Wages of Sin is death And as every Sin doth in some measure kill the Soul so great Sins such as Murder and Adultery than which we can hardly suppose any greater unless that unpardonable Sin of Blasphemy against the holy Ghost do wholly kill and destroy the Soul insomuch that if any such Soul ever be saved it must be by a new Creation and renewing and of this David was well sensible when after God was pleased spiritually to visit and awaken him again he prayed unto God saying Create in me a clean Heart O God and renew a right Spirit within me Psal 51.10 And thus according to these false Teachers there is no mortal Sin that any Soul once quickned in the least degree can commit and the same Sin that is mortal in the unbeliever is not mortal in him that once was a believer as Murder Adultery yea Incest or worse is no mortal Sin in one and yet is a mortal Sin in the other Doth not this loose the reins to all sorts of Wickedness and make God a respecter of Persons and Faith a sort of Proof that though men once having Faith commit the worst sort of Sins as Murder Adultery Incest Rapine yet their Faith is a sort of proof unto them that none of these Sins doth or can kill them They are still Saints for all this and justified in the sight of God and if Saints then good enough to be your Church-Members yea Members of the Independent or Congregational Church Why what doth hinder but they are as real and lawful Members of the Church as any others And if Murderers and Adulterers while such are still Saints and qualified to be your Church-Members it is no wonder that your Church be large and have a great number of Members It is no great difficulty to be a Member of that Church when a Murderer an Adulterer can be a Member of it Is this your pretence to Reformation And why ye estimate your Church more holy than the Church of Rome But is not your Church and Doctrin in this respect much more unholy For the Church of Rome saith All gross or great Sins as Fornication Adultery Murder and the like are really mortal Sins in all that commit them without respect of Persons and whoever commit such Sins are fallen from their state in Grace And so saith the Scripture 1 Cor. 6.9 10. Be not deceived neither Fornicators nor Idolaters nor Adulterers c. shall inherit the Kingdom of God The which Kingdom of God is a state of Grace as well as of Glory And here we see the Apostle Paul maketh no distinction betwixt one that hath formerly believed and one that hath not believed but without distinction or respect of Persons he concludeth in general against them all that while such they cannot inherit the Kingdom of God But according to this Westminster and New-England Confession of Faith Fornicators and Murderers and Adulterers that have at any time once believed do still inherit the Kingdom of God to wit a state of Grace which is in a true sense the Kingdom of God and is frequently so called in Scripture And thus it doth most evidently appear that their Doctrin in this particular is Antichristian and contrary to the Doctrin of the holy Scriptures And to say that Murder or Adultery in him that hath once truly believed is not a mortal or killing Sin but is a mortal Sin in him that hath not believed is not only to make God a respecter of Persons in the worst sense