Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	believe_v	eternal_a	life_n	2,436	5	4.6864	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A42544	A caveat to the standing Christian, and to him that thinketh he standeth by William Gearing ...	Gearing, William.	1666 (1666)	Wing G433; ESTC R14121	41,281	62

depart from me you have departed from my ways from my truths from my worship now depart from me ye workers of iniquity Go ye cursed none shall stay you seeing you as the Angels fell from your first estate you shall now receive the condemnation of the Angels you shall fall into Hell with them you fell from your seeming grace you shall now fall from my real mercy into the hands of my justice Apostacy is nothing else but a falling from the arms of God into the hands of the living God and how fearful a thing it is to fall into his hands let Judas let the Divels from Hell speak for it is beyond the imagination and expression of man CHAP. XI SECT I. Vse 1. LEt the first Use of this Point be for caution to you take heed to your selves lest you thus fall away spiritual caution is a special prevention of falling away necessary if ever now to be pressed upon you Now here I shall shew you what you must especially take heed of that ye may stand and not fall away 1. Take heed of unbelief Heb. 3.12 the Apostle tells us that the Jews were excluded from Gods rest because of their unbelief God sware in his wrath that they should not enter into his rest that was terrible let us take heed therefore lest there be in any of us an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God An evil heart of unbelief it is an Hebraism put for the evil unbelieving heart where the Apostle describeth unbelief by an elegant paranomasia 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Unbelief is the cause and root of total and final apostacy and departing from God 2 Thess 2.10 11 12. where the Apostle sheweth the cause of that great apostacy which was to be in the Church at the discovery of Antichrist and why Antichristian lies should more prevail with men then the truths of the living God namely their unbelief they received not the truth in love and they believed not the truth What was the cause of the rich young mans departing from Christ but his unbelief he was not perswaded he should have life eternal if he should sell all that he had and give to the poor wherefore he went away sorrowful So Alexander's casting off his faith and a good conscience which is the Ark wherein God lays up this precious Manna was the cause why he proved such an enemy to Paul and became a final and an irrecoverable Apostate Unbelief is the cause also why men in times of trial fall off from God and decline the holy profession of his truth for God hath times of trial of his peoples faith and profession as 1. When a mans worldly advantages and the ways of God are put to the question whether you will forsake Christ and embrace this present world or embrace Christ and forsake the world and that there is a necessity of one unbelief will put a man upon the choice of the world and the rejection of Christ unbelief put Demas upon this choice had he believed the promise of life eternal he would not have embraced this present world no unbelieving heart will follow Christ when worldly advantages fail give them no more loaves they will make no more profession 2. Times of persecution are trying times unbelief makes many a man to fall off and to depart from God in times of Gospel-troubles when Religion is in disgrace and the Professors thereof are troubled When Paul was brought before Nero at his first answer no man stood by him but all men forsook him Those hearers in the Parable of the Sower that are represented by the stony ground they heard the Word gladly made a fair profession for a time but when persecutions and afflictions arose in time of temptation or trial they fell away because they had no root in themselves they were not by faith rooted in Christ they heard the Word gladly but did not mingle the Word with faith Reproaches and persecutions for the Name of Christ are the blustering and stormy winds that drive the Ship of a temporary faith upon the rocks and bring an irrecoverable shipwrack upon it if you do not in such times as these heartily believe and close with Gods promises you will certainly fall Gods way of rewarding his Servants for the present is more by promise then by pay if therefore you will not rest in his word you will fall from his service Unbelief in the heart like the worm in the root of Jonah's gourd will make your Religion wither in a short time Fides est nervus Religionis faith is the sinew of Religion if the sinew shrink Religion will shrink Sampson's strength lay in his locks the whole strength of Religion lieth in the lock of faith if lust or the world cut off that you will as Sampson grow as weak in Religion as other men are SECT II. 2. Take heed of professing Religion for carnal ends either to enrich or advance your selves take heed of following Christ for loaves of crying up Religion as Demetrius and his rabble did Diana for silver shrines take heed of the wicked supposition of corrupt men that gain is godliness that profess godliness for gain-sake because if godliness brings no gain in according to expectation such a Professor will fall from Religion to follow after gain Doubtless Judas proposed gain as the end of his Discipleship so when he saw Christ would not enrich him then he would betray Christ and the Pharisees should the Scripture noteth this of him who when he was angry at Mary because of the ointment which she bestowed on Christ pretending it was better that it had been given to the poor not that he regarded the poor but because he had the bag It is conceived by Interpreters that the forward man that said to Christ Master I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest Math. 8.19 20. when he hears Christs answer The Foxes have holes and the Birds of the air have nests but the Son of man hath not whereon to lay his head that he forsook Christ if Christ hath no preferment for him then he will have no regard of his service Such men think not that God is an heart-searching God who if he seeth carnal ends and worldly lusts cherished in the heart and covered over with a religious mantle will in time uncase such Hypocrites pluck off their mask of godliness and discover their base ends and lusts unto the world to their shame Foolish worldlings ye mistake Christ in proposing great things to your selves in serving him because he plainly tells you of losses hatred persecution and poverty he sheweth you all the contempt of the world it is the Divels way to present to us the glory of the world He that takes up the profession of Religion with love to it will stand to it whatever become of it he will leave worldly riches to cleave to poor truth as Musculus that forsook great preferments at Lutzelstein Abbey to become a

of the simple shall slay them Prov. 1.31 32. CHAP. XV. Prop. 3. I Come now to the third Proposition viz. That every godly man is to take heed lest he fall from that measure of grace which he hath received We must not spill a drop of oil out of our lamps but must be daily increasing it God commandeth a growth in grace is angry when he seeth the least withering In the handling this Point I will first shew How a godly man may fall 1. A man in the state of grace cannot and shall not fall away from that state his mountain is too strong to be removed storms may shake him but they cannot beat him down because he is builded upon a rock a man once really godly and godly for ever he is a mortal yet immortally gracious I may say of grace as Solomon of wisdom Prov. 9.1 She hath builded her house and hewen out seven pillars on which grace stands so firm that all the powers of Hell cannot totally ruinate it 1. The pillar of Gods eternal election unto the state of grace and glory is impregnably strong The foundation of the Lord standeth sure 2 Tim. 2.19 That distinction is a meer dream and not a Scripture revelation of an election to grace only such may fall away and an election to grace and glory such cannot fall away but if God hath elected any man to holiness he is elected to happiness election to a state of grace is to a state of glory 2. The pillar of Gods unchangeable love to his chosen ones so firmly upholds the Saints that they shall never fall away from that state The Lord telling his peo●le that he would have mercy on them with everlasting kindness saith Isai 54.9 10. For this is as the waters of Noah unto me c. the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed but my kindness shall not depart from thee neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed saith the Lord. The Sea is not so full of water nor the Sun of light as this place is of love and comfort to the Saints God abhors that it should be said of him that he is an unconstant lover of his people 3. The pillar of Gods and Christs unconquerable power 1 Pet. 1.5 his omnipotency is a strong guard about the grace which his Spirit worketh in us for so the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth Gods power is their strong garrison Christ saith of his sheep I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish neither shall any pluck them out of my hand My Father which gave them me is greater then all and none is able to pluck them out of my Fathers hand Joh. 10.28 29. The power that must dispossess your hearts of grace must be stronger then God and Christ 4. The pillar of an inseparable union with their Head Christ He and his members are more firmly knit together then any natural head and members can possibly be the head may be severed from the body the arms or the legs may be cut off or rent asunder by wild beasts but all the strength of all the Divels in Hell cannot rend a member from Christ they shall as soon separate his divine nature from the humane nature as a living member from his body mystical 5. The pillar of Christs effectual and eternal redemption of them firmly upholds grace in us till he hath consummated their redemption it were no better then a temporary redemption of his people should they again return from grace to captivity to sin and Satan 6. The pillar of Christs uncessant intercession in the behalf of his chosen people Joh. 17.11.15 he always makes intercession for his Church and people and God the Father always heareth Jesus Christ in their behalf 7. The seed by which God regenerateth his children is immortal by the word of God which liveth and abideth for ever 1 Pet. 1.23 and this seed remaineth in them 1 Joh. 3.9 neither can they sin because they are born of God they may sin themselves out of Gods favour but not out of grace they may sin themselves into Gods anger but not into his hatred when Solomon gave himself to follow his hearts desires yet then his wisdom remained with his Eccles 2.9 God once repented that he had made man but never repented that he bestowed his grace upon any The gifts and calling of God are without repentance Rom. 11.29 if God never repents of giving they shall never lose that precious gift of his grace Upon these pillars our state of grace resteth there is no falling from it CHAP. XVI 2. YEt notwithstanding though a godly man cannot fall from the state of grace yet may he fall from that measure of grace which he hath the day-star of grace may go back like the Sun in Ahaz dial 10 degrees but shall never set the Saints may go back from many degrees of love but shall never fall from love it self the spring of living waters may run low but shall never dry up Christ told Peter I have prayed for thee that thy faith may not fail yet we see it did shake non rogavit ut ne deficeret sed ut ne prorsus deficeret his prayer was not that there should be no failing at all but that there should not be an utter decay 3. A godly man may fall from the vigorous exercise of his graces this is an infallible consequent of the former for the actings of grace are proportionable to the measure if strong then vigorous actions if weak then weak actions a decay of vital operations follows the decay of vital spirits the less the flame is the lesser is both the heat and light of the fire He that is ambitious to put forth eminent acts of grace must labour for an eminent measure of grace he that desireth to believe as Abraham did must have the like measure of faith as he had a weak child cannot put forth manly acts Of this kind of falling a godly man must take heed Reas 1. Because of the excellency of grace as it is said of truth Quisquilia veritatis sunt preciosae the sweepings of truth are precious so it may be said of grace the very filings of gold are precious one grain of grace is more worth then all the world one act of faith is better then silver then fine gold more precious then rubies all things a man can desire are not to be compared to a dram of grace a man is loth to lose the head of a pin that is made of gold nor the smallest piece of a diamond shall a godly man be careless of the least degrees of grace more worth then a Mine of gold or a rock of diamonds See how careful the wise Virgins were they would not spare one drop of their oil though to save the soul of another an Angel would sooner part with his glorious joy then part with a drop of grace he that truly knoweth the worth of grace