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ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A67398 The necessity of regeneration in two sermons to the University of Oxford / by John Wallis ... Wallis, John, 1616-1703. 1682 (1682) Wing W595; ESTC R12565 29,011 54

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THE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION In Two SERMONS To the UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD By JOHN WALLIS D.D. Professor of Geometry in that University One of His MAJESTY'S Chaplaines in Ordinary and a Member of the Royal Society LONDON Printed for Will. Rogers at the Sign of the Sun in Fleet-street over against St. Dunstan's Church 1682. To the Right Honourable JOHN Lord ROBERTS Earl of RADNOR Lord President of His MAJESTY'S most Honourable Privy Council May it please Your Lordship THE ensuing Sermons Preached in my ordinary turns to the Vniversity were not intended to be more publick than that Auditory But being made acquainted that they would not be unacceptable to your Lordship I have presumed to Publish them under your Lordships Patronage I have therein purposely waved as I alwaies do all nice disputes of Speculative Subtilties in Controversal Points wherein those may possibly differ who yet agree in the setled Doctrine of the Church of England as more tending to disturb the peace of the Church than to promote Piety The design of them is to shew the Necessity of Habitual Grace in our Hearts with the Practice of it in our Lives and the need we have of God's Assistance to both And I therein keep close to the Doctrine of our own Church which I judge in the whole to be Sound and Orthodox and as near as may be in her own Words If any shall please themselves with thoughts of Doing good without Being so or contrariwise of a good Heart without a good Life or that he is of himself sufficient for One or Both of these so as to please God without the Divine Assistance I am sure he is therein no true Son of the Church of England Thus far I hope we do all agree And being to speak to many of those whose Function calls them to speak to others I thought it seasonable to inculcate these Necessary Truths Whereof they cannot be Ignorant and of which I would not have them Vnmindfull in their great Work of saving Souls And I heartily wish there were more Zeal for these Great Truths and less Animosities about little things which unhappily Divide good Men Break our Peace and Gratifie those who seek our Ruine I am My LORD Your Honours very humble Servant JOHN WALLIS The Necessity of REGENERATION A SERMON Preached before the UNIVERSITY of OXFORD AT CHRIST CHURCH September 10th 1676. JOHN iij. 3. Jesus answered and said unto him Verily verily I say unto thee Except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdome of God THE words are Christ's to Nicodemus a great man among the Jews A Pharisee a Ruler of the Jews a Master in Israel for so we find him stiled ver 1. 10. Yet did not understand the Doctrine of Regeneration As appears by his questions ver 4 9. How can these things be How can a man be born when he is old Can he enter a second time into his Mothers womb c. And by Christ's Expostulation ver 10. Art thou a Master in Israel and knowest not these things Much like that of the Apostle to those Heb. 5.12 who when for the time they ought to be Teachers had need themselves to be taught again the first principles of the oracles of God and had need of Milk not of strong Meat The Pharisees we know though great pretenders to Religion and a strain of Devotion beyond others and to a great exactness to the modes and formalities of the Jewish Worship then in practice yet were no great friends to Christ or to his Doctrine This made Nicodemus being one of them not willing at first to own it openly that he might not give a publick scandal to those of his own party till he should be better informed of the truth of it And therefore in a private way to avoid offence came to Jesus by night For being an inquisitive person willing to satisfie himself and not relying only upon others judgements to go blindfold as the crowd carried him and suspecting there might be somewhat more than men were commonly aware of in this despised Doctrine He resolved first to know what it was before he would condemn it And therefore made this address to Christ as best able to inform him And he came not as at some other times the Pharisees did to Tempt him to Deride him to Cavil at him to Blaspheme him to Insnare him seeking how they might Destroy him But with an honest intention to be Informed As appears by that his respectfull address ver 2. Rabbi we know that thou art a Teacher come from God for no man can doe those miracles that thou dost except God be with him And Christ being as willing to Teach as he was to Learn sets him first this Lesson Except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdome of God Not as being the most Easie to learn for we see to Nicodemus it seemed at first very strange But as being one of the most Necessary and Fundamental Doctrines in Religion And that which is Christ's Doctrine in the Text shall be my Doctrine at present whereof through God's assistance I now purpose to speak The Necessity of Regeneration or a New Birth Except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdome of God It is a Doctrine which perhaps may seem as strange to some in this age as it did to Nicodemus then There being those who do not only as perhaps at first he did Doubt of it but Scoff and Reproch it who make but a Jest of it at the best if not a subject of Burlesk and Drollery and such like unsavoury discourse unbeseeming a Christians Mouth and Ears But we shall find it first or last to be a Serious thing Not so Needless nor yet so very Easie as prophane persons perswade themselves As to the truth of this Doctrine it will need no great Proof being the very words of the Text. And those who upon the evidence of this one Text will not believe it would perhaps as little believe it if I should produce many more It will rather need Explication than Confirmation And two things there are to be explained What is here meant by seeing the Kingdome of God and what by being born again First What is meant by seeing the Kingdome of God The word Kingdome in its first and proper signification imports that State Dignity and Power which Earthly Kings and Princes have over their People and Subjects with the Greatness Splendour and other Appurtenances to such Dominion But is here to be understood in a Figurative sense for something Great Splendid and Excellent as Kingdomes are or be thought to be For it is not meant that those who are here said to be born again shall be Kings and Princes such as on Earth are so called But that they shall injoy a condition as Great as Glorious as Excellent as that of Kings and Princes Yea much more than so And thus much is implyed in that Addition when it is called the