Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	according_a	church_n	doctrine_n	2,019	5	6.0761	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A90720	Sectaries vnmasked and confuted. By the treating upon divers points of doctrine in debate betwixt the Presbyterialists and sectarists, Anabaptists, Independents, and Papists. / By George Palmer wel-wisher to a warrantable uniformity in godly religious exercises.	Palmer, George, b. 1596 or 7.	1647 (1647)	Wing P229; Thomason E396_27; ESTC R201662	58,190	61

whatsoever without casting their sins in their teeth for in many things wee sin all The first Text quoted is Rom. 16. 17. Now I beseech you Brethren marke them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which yee have learned and avoid them for they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ but their own belly and by good words and faire speeches deceive the hearts of the simple The scope of these Texts is to prevent divisions in the Church of these Romans which in some was already begun and that division was in their not assembling themselves according to the Apostles institution and that in some pretence that all that Paul had taught was not an absolute truth for they divided contrary to the doctrine which they had received saith the Text for in some case a man may divide but he must have some warrantable cause but the end of this their division was not to serve Christ Jesus but their own bellies for so saith the Text and this must be done in or by some faire colourable demeanor viz. good words and fair speeches saith the Text but all this was but to deceive saith the Apostle and because they could not delude the wise therefore they would tamper with the ignorant for so saith the Text they deceive the hearts of the simple from hence I note also that these were false Teachers that did make this division for their own private gain viz. to suck from the poore silly people in way of pretence to teach them the truth for they did it to serve their belly You shal see more of them in some of the next Scriptures following The next Scripture quoted was 1 Cor 1. 10. Now I beseech you brethren by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that yee all speake the same thing and that there be no divisions among you but that you be perfectly joyned together in the same mind and in the same judgment In this Scripture the Apostle perswades these Corinthians from division amongst the common hearers there chiefly at least and shewes some cause of it in them and that was for want of a mind and judgement well informed and therefore they did much contend with each other as in the 11 verse you may see And therefore they were partiall in respecting and affecting of their Teachers without just cause for those Preachers were so knowing that they did not differ in their judgements in those things they taught but this was their carnality in affecting the Preacher more for his wisdome in words and phrases c. rather then for the truth of matter as is very likely and cleare in the 17 verse for there hee saith he did not preach the Gospel with wisdome of words that is chiefly lest the Crosse of Christ should be made of none effect But by what hath been observed here chiefly for our purpose is that there ought to have been no divisions amongst them seeing there was no cause and in Chap. 3. ver. 3. he did also forbid divisions and tells them the reason of it viz. they were carnall and lookt upon their Teachers more then to Gods word and working by the Ministery of their Preachers as is to be seen in the fifth verse and truly I must note one thing more from the words of the third verse and that is this The reason why men have not their judgement better informed is because they doe not renounce their carnall corruptions for the more a man desi●eth to renounce his corruptions the better understanding he shall have in the Word of God Yee are carnall said hee But I passe to the two other Scriptures named for they are those which I doe most intend for my chiefe purpose The first of them is Heb. 10. 24 25. these are the words of the Text Not forsaking the assembling of our selves together as the manner of some is c. In this verse the Apostle pre-admonisheth them to beware that they bee not drawne away from their publick Assemblies in their godly exercises by the examples or enticing of some that had already forsaken them By the Apostles expression in this verse it seems those that did forsake did not shew forth any notorious evill ayme or end for the present wherefore they did forsake the assembling of themselves together with those that the Apostle here forewarneth therefore those might have some close colourable pretence which as yet did not breake out but some evill ayme they had for the Apostle noteth them and forewarneth the rest Selah Surely it was an evill in them for the Apostles Constitution was good in the government he had established amongst them it seemes here also that amongst the Church of God divisions are naught for the Apostle endeavours the contrary what ever the intent be of those that forsake and divide without some apparent and weighty cause The next place is 1 Cor. 12. 24 25 26. I will name but part of the first verse and then all the rest these are the words God hath tempered the body together having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked that there should bee no schisme in the body but that the members should have the same care one of another And whether one member suffer all the members suffer with it or one member be honoured all the members rejoyce with it the Apostle in these verses excellently alludeth to the body of a man to shew the constitution or frame of Christs mysticall body viz. his Church on earth that as the body of man consists of divers members so doth the Church of Christ and have their severall offices of care and good performances one unto the other and if any member suffer the residue are sensible of its wants of prosperity and if it bee well and healthfull the residue of the members of the body rejoyce with it because the honouring of one member is the honouring of the whole as a gold-ring on the finger is esteemed an ornament to the whole body c. Thus it is with the mysticall body of Christ saith the Apostle in ver. 27 28. they are to take care one of another as the corporall body of man the which it cannot doe if it bee divided member from member therefore saith the Apostle in ver. 24. God hath tempered the body together c. and in ver. 25. he tells us that the end of Gods joyning the members together thus is that there should be no Schism in the body but that the members should have the same care one of another thus it is with the mysticall body of Christ if the members be divided then is the body spirituall weakned and in great imperfection and danger especially if many members be either lame or quite divided from it Thus you see by all these Texts of holy Scriptures that Schismes Divisions and forsakings the Assemblies of Gods people in the onely way of Religious exercises is utterly forbid and the

Reasons in some particulars also rendred by the Apostle in the words of this 12 Chap. of 1 Cor. 24 25 26 verses Now next I am to perform three things which I have promised you before I come to the Goliah and his younger brethren and of these three things I will be briefe for I long untill I come to the main ones The first is to shew by Reasons That divisions in godly exercises of our Religion do occasion great inconveniences to the Church or children of God First it estrangeth and weakeneth their affections one towards the other this we have experience of enough already on both sides amongst us in these dayes I shall not need to use many words to cause you to conclude with me this truth for by our divisions in some points of doctrine and much more in the government of the Church and the severall ways that severall persons and Congregations steer the Church is divided or weakned in their affections Secondly by these divisions there is produced an evill opinion one of another whereupon one is jealous of the other lest the one do circumvent the other in his way which hee hath resolved to walke and rest in for all men in every way in Religion accounts his one way best and therefore thinks him not so good as himselfe that differs from his wayes whereupon upon smal occasions they wil be ready to flout and scoffe at each other and to fall at length to blows perhaps too Thirdly when our affections are so weake towards each other then Civill wars are apt to bee amongst us for every one will bee jealous lest the other would rob him of or divert him from that which hee accounts so precious in his own way of Religion Fourthly when wee be so much divided then wee are liable to be a prey to a common Enemy Fifthly by divisions in these kinds we are liable to have Teachers of divers errors to a farther confusion in Religion for the severall preachers of the Word of God that are Preachers to so many severall sorts of Sects will bee as strange to each other themselves so that they will not meet to conferre together about Religion or at least but few together because there are but few of many Sects that are of good ability in knowledge as Preachers and so they will bee the more unable to know and preach the truth to the people Sixthly there will bee little power in any to punish or restrain those that are to be restrained or punished because the State will bee so divided both in opinions and severall Companies in sum we shall be an absolute Babel The next in order which I promised you is the benefit or happinesse which we may attaine unto by a godly unity in affection I hope much need not to bee said of this for all people have experience of it unlesse fooles and little Infants c. but yet something of it I will note in particular First I will in summe conclude in this truth that the deprivation of inconveniences is an injoying of happinesse for if that which is evill bee taken away there remaineth that which is good and so saith Solomon in these words Take away the drosse from the silver and there remaineth a vessell for the refiner Wee shall then bee joyned in our affections to love each other the which will have joyned to it a good opinion of each other and this is in holy Scripture called the staffe of Beauty Neither shall we be so jealous of each other with an evill suspition nor fall to blowes nor jars nor Civill wars For then we shall be joyned together in one and be a staffe of Bands and being so wee shall the lesse feare a Common enemy then shall our Preachers meet advise and conferre together for to be the better able to teach us the truth yea they and we shall bee so amiable to each other as that they will bee incouraged to watch over us with joy and not with grief the which will be not unprofitable but profitable unto us then we may retain a power to restrain errors Heresies and stubbornnesse in evill In sum I say we shall not be a Babel of confusion but as a flock of doves or sheep by this blessed unity in godlinesse here in this world and attain everlasting blisse after this life ended in heaven with God and his holy Angels One point more I have to wade in before I come to the Hydra and his young ones And that is this viz. That a godly unity in affection is much forwarded by a lawfull uniformity in divine Ordinances I hope I shall not need to trouble my self nor the Readers hereof with many arguments to make this good seeing we now are taught it by wofull experience by the want of it but yet I will begin with an authentick Scripture and that is in matter of Religion for that is it which most occasions either unity if we well comply together or divisions if we dissent from others in it for we esteem that best which wee think will most advantage us for men do not usually strive much for chaffe or drosse but for wheat gold silver or pearles or such like things This Scripture is Heb. 10. 24 25. these are the words Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works not forsaking the assembling of our selves together as the manner of some is but exhorting one another c. Let us said hee we who are not disunited in our way of our godly exercises of Religion provoke one another to love and good works as if hee should say Wee who are not divided from each other in our ways of godly exercises are not divided in our assemblies whereby we may be helpfull one to each other in provoking each other to love that is unity in affection and good works And that this is the true genuall sense of the verse it will appeare in the next verse where he dehorteth them from forsaking the assembling of themselves together as the manner of some then was In which words you may see that some having forsaken the uniformity in those godly exercises which these that are here exhorted did perform had forsaken their assemblies also and therefore had lost this good opportunity which these in ver. 24. had that is to say to provoke unto love and to good works you may know by experience that what one man disliketh in another doth cause so much the less love or liking in him towards that man in whom he imagineth something worthy of his dislike for the true proverb is Like loveth its like and the more they faile in their likenesse the lesse they love and this holdeth in every thing that is esteemed good and the more good the matter or thing is accounted by one party and disliked by the other the more will their affections of love bee abated especially in mankinde and much more