Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	church_n	doctrine_n	teach_v	6,712	5	6.4919	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A81924	A model of church-government: or, The grounds of the spirituall frame and government of the house of God. Shewing, what the holy Scriptures have therein delivered; what the best Reformed Churches do practise; what the tender consciences may rest in. For the better satisfaction of such as scruple at the work of reformation, declared and appointed by severall ordinances of Parliament. / By John Dury, one of the Assembly of Divines; who hath travelled heretofore in the work of peace among the churches.	Dury, John, 1596-1680.	1647 (1647)	Wing D2873; Thomason E383_26; ESTC R21589	67,352	88

Congregation 2. If he come from abroad having years of discretion and judgement fit to examine himself it is expected he should have a testimoniall of his former life and conversation and of his diligence in attending the Ordinances in the place where he hath lived And being found knowing in the fundamentall truths of Christianity he is desired First to declare that his purpose is to live and die in the communion of the Reformed churches Secondly to promise that if he should conceive any scruples of the Doctrine that is taught in the Reformed churches he shall not conceale his doubts and fall away from the Fellowship into which he is received but make the same known unto his Teachers to receive satisfaction therein Thirdly to oblige himself to use all carefull diligence to honour and adorn his profession with his life and conversation and to avoyd all occasion of scandall Fourthly and lastly to promise to submit himself unto the Rules of Church-discipline according to the Word and to respect those that are set over him in the Lord. All which he is engaged to do by word of mouth and by giving his hand unto the Eldership In some places this admission of Members is left to the Pastor to be performed in private yet so as the reception of the party must be notified unto and ratified by the Eldership In some places all is done before the whole Eldership In some places also the names of those that are admitted are published unto the whole Congregation from the Pulpit Of the second viz. Duties relating to the Eldership 20. Such as have given up their names unto a Congregation to be under a Pastorall charge and the government of an Eldership ought to hear s the voice of their Pastors s Joh. 10. 3. The sheep hear his voice To t follow them t Ibid. v. 4. The sheep follow him for they know his voice To continue u in their fellowship and not to follow strangers u Act. 2. 42. They continued stedfastly in the Apostles doctrine and fellowship Yet by this they are not deprived of the liberty of hearing others besides their own Pastors that they may x prove all things and hold fast that which is good x 1 Thess 5. 21. Prove all things hold fast that which is good 21. They ought to obey their Rulers y submit themselves unto them that their work may be done with joy and not with grief y Heb. 13. 17. Obey them that have the Rule over you and submit your selves for they watch That they may do it with joy and not with grief 22. This obedience and submission ought not to be formall but hearty proceeding from z a high esteem of them in love for their works sake z 1 Thess 5. 13. Esteem them viz. those that labour and are over you in the Lord and admonish you very highly in love for their works sake 23. As an inward affection and esteem so an outward care for their Rulers is requisite in Professors They ought then to communicate unto those that teach them in all good things Gal. 6. 6. counting all that Rule well worthy of double honour but especially to provide maintenance for those that labour in the word and doctrine 1 Tim. 5. 17. because the Lord hath ordained that those who preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel 1 Cor. 9. 14. 24. They ought to mark and avoyd all Teachers that cause offences and divisions amongst them Rom. 16. Of the third viz. Duties relating to their Fellow-members 25. They ought to consider their fellow-members to provoke them to love and to good works not forsaking the assembling of themselves together as the manner of some is Heb. 10. 24 25. 26. They ought to hold forth the word of life and shine as lights in the world in the midst of a crooked generation Phil. 2. 15. 27. To this effect they ought to do all things without murmurings and disputings that they may be found blamelesse as the children of God Phil. 2. 4. 28. They ought to serve their brethren through love Gal. 5. 13. and not to please themselves but others for their good to edification Rom. 15. 1 2. 29. They ought not either to despise or judge one another for matters which God hath left free either to be done or not to be done according as God doth give every one the measure of faith Rom. 14. the whole chap. 30. They ought to withdraw themselves from every brother that walketh disorderly and is a busie body 2 Thess 3. 6 11. yet they ought not to count him an enemy but should admonish him as a Brother ibid. v. 15. CHAP. IX Certain Rules concerning the Administration of the LORDS Supper for the decent ordering of the action Offered to the consideration of those that scruple at the gesture of Sitting 1. IT is not lawfull for us in Gods worship to do what we think good in our own eyes but what is most agreeable to his will 2. For if we know not what his will is we cannot worship him in Faith 3. If we worship him not in faith we cannot please him 4. And if we please him not we cannot expect a blessing upon our performance 5. Therefore to be sure of a blessing we must know and carefully observe that which is most answerable to his will in things belonging to his worship 6. Now to know and observe this in the Sacrament of the Lords supper Christs practise in the institution thereof so far as he would have us to imitate the same and his intention in commanding us to imitate him therein is to be considered 7. The necessity of considering Christs practise and intention in this matter doth arise from the Apostles commandement who doth herein very distinctly referre us unto Christ himselfe for a warrant of that which is to be done saying that in this matter he delivered that which he received of the Lord 1 Cor. 11. 23. and that we ought to follow him so far as he is a follower of the Lord ibid. v. 1. 8. Therefore we are bound to look unto Christ in the first place and to the Apostles afterward with a reference unto the Lord because finally our faith must rest only in the Lord as the object thereof and the end and use of the Apostolicall ministery is to call us unto communion with them that by them we may have communion with the Father and with his sonne Jesus Christ 1 Joh. 1. 3. For we are sure that in following him and fulfilling his intention we do nothing amisse because He is the Way the Truth and the Life Joh. 14. 6. 9. Christs practise then in the institution of his Supper in that which is to be imitated is this First he took the Bread and by giving speciall thanks over it he separated it from the common to a holy use then he brake it and gave it to his disciples and commanded them to eat thereof Secondly he took the Cup which in like

that most men are very fierce in their private and very cold in the publike occasions wee can easily discern and yet their Covenant both with God and man doth otherwise oblige them And would to God there were not some that did make the aime of a Religious Reformation a meere pretence to compasse their owne worldly ends and a snare to entrap others into difficulties I shall not meddle with the State the Church is my taske at this time but I finde that to advance this Reformation in both the meanes used are very disproportionate to the effect not only in respect of the way wherein many of the Reformers walke in their own thoughts but also in respect of their manner of concurrence every one with another The way wherein most men walke in their thoughts to Reforme the State hath no relation unto Christianity but onely to the wisdome of the world and the way by which they seeke to reforme the Church hath as little relation unto Charity but is either carried in the way of Liberty or of Authority for men walke by one Rule of Prudencie in State matters and by another in Church affaires as if a Christion in his civill employments might act without a Relation unto the will of Christ or in Church-matters might either please himself alone without a relation to his Brethren or might use all the power whereunto he can pretend without a compliance and condescension to the weak These false Principles of Reformation make men inconsistent with themselves both in Church and State here they act one way by this Rule and there another way by that Rule and sometimes they jumble both wayes together and look at once with two faces in the same businesse different wayes The simplicity and truth of Christianity is by this meanes lost in the Aim and with it all true Prudencie in the Deliberation and these two being gone men are left unto the counsell of their own hearts and betake themselves in the execution of their designes as well in the one as the other sphere to the tricks and contrivements of Policie or to main power and strength And thus it falls out that even the best and most hearty Reformers walking as Men in spirituall undertakings fall into different wayes take up different Maximes and Rules and acting according to the same because they respect not the Maximes and Rules of holy Communion in Christianity they make use of all their strength and wit to oppose one another by different contrivements about the same work And whiles they are wholly bent and possessed as men naturally are with the thoughts and affections of their own way and designment they look upon others no more as upon Christians but as upon a Party Because the simplicity of the Holy Profession being lost in the Aime and the Rules of Holy Prudencie for the Communion of Saints being laid aside in the work and men having forgotten that they are called to be Brethren and members of one another in their relation to Christ they act no more in this though otherwise godly men and hearty towards a Reformation as men of godlinesse and truly reformed from the world but as men interessed in a Party of the world for such or such a Designe to gain or to oppose this or that Purpose And because this frame of spirit even in the best of us all if we look not carefully to our spirits may be found more or lesse therefore the Meanes of our Reformation are disproportionate unto the End for which they are undertaken and this because they are not put forth by us in Gods way which alone can edifie his Church and without which no designe therein can prosper Now when the Authours of our Reformation act thus and are acted by a Principle of Division within themselves how can they be brought to a hearty concurrence one with another except a way can be found to rectifie this Fundamentall error in every one of them And if the Instruments who are to put life in the Means of the Reformation either cannot at all joyn or if without their conjunction nothing at all can be effected to any purpose for a settlement how shall the work be carried on If Christ would not have his own Nation to come to perfection without us sure he will not have any one of us come to perfection without another If then the Agents who are to work out the Perfection whereat we aim are so far from joyning in it as that they prove by their conjunction rather destructive to one another then furtherers of Gods work what hope is there of any successe Christian Reader give me leave without offence to speak plainly what is observed in the Actors of a Reformation at this time I mean such who have the meanes thereof in their hand or at least a hand in the meanes These we may finde to be of three sorts Some minde the work sincerely for it self although they now and then mistake the Rules by which they should walk Some mind the work only to gain some temporall advantages by it And some minde it only to spie the faults and stop the proceedings of the Actors Now if our constitution be such that nothing can be done effectually in the Publike without some of each sort of these Agents whensoever they list to have a hand in the businesse it is apparent that no meanes can be imployed succesfully towards the thorough Reformation of any thing For the Vpright man failing as we all do to walk by his Rule which is his strength he easily is drawn by the Worldling into a Plot to do things for some End which is not answerable to the simplicity of the Gospel and assoon as any such thing is in agitation the third Agent who is also interessed in State-contrivements steps in to observe and obstruct or overthrow their proceedings And hence it is that the means of an intended Reformation well meant by many and set afoot by some are unsuccesfull in the event because in the proceedings and use of Meanes there is no sutablenesse but rather a destructive quality unto the advancement of Religion For in every thing that is proposed or taken in hand the jealousie of a Party doth come in which over-ruling the Affections by worldly considerations raiseth an endlesse contest about every thing concerning every part and circumstance of the work by which means the designe though never so just and harmlesse in it self is either stified in the conception or else becomes abortive before the time of strength or a birth of so loug continuance that in end there is no strength left to bring it forth And this is briefly my thought of the Causes why the main work of our Reformation is so much perplexed as we finde it As for more particular matters honestly designed for the advancement of Religion by many in their severall places and callings As they can have but little influence upon the main because the