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	religion_n	true_a	7,548	5	5.1593	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A42060	The religious villain a sermon preached before the Right Honourable Sr. Robert Clayton, Kt., lord mayor of London, and the Court of Aldermen, upon the fifth day of November, 1679, being the anniversary day of thanksgiving for the deliverance of our church and nation from the hellish powder-treason, at St. Mary le Bow Church in London / by Francis Gregory ...	Gregory, Francis, 1625?-1707.	1679 (1679)	Wing G1903; ESTC R35710	16,801	44

Religiones expulit their Master had driven all Religions out of the World So that the main Quarrel which both Jew Pagan had against Christ and his Servants did arise from the different Interests of their Religions the Jew adhering to Moses the Pagan standing up for his plurality of Gods and the Christian opposing them both Upon which account Jew and Pagan thinking their own Religions right and the Christians wrong did vigorously pursue them the one with Excommunications and both with Death And this was judged as the Text stiles it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Service done by the Jew to his God and by the Pagan to his Idols But what 's all this to us and the Occasion of this Day 1. Consider we of what Concern it is that we be not mistaken in Points of Faith and Matters of Religion lest perhaps we do defend an Error and oppose the Truths of God Among those many kinds of Worship which are in the World amongst those too numerous Sects which are in the Church there is but One that 's right And as this great Variety of Religions each of which will pretend to be the true One doth make it an easie matter to mistake so doth the Grand Import of the true Religion render such Mistakes very dangerous too For whosoever he be that takes up with a False Religion supposing it to be a True one doth run the hazard if God be not the more merciful to his Ignorance not only of losing that Reward which he looks for but of committing those Crimes which may expose him to those Punishments which he little thinks of The true Religion of God is that which every man is bound not only to adhere unto but to be zealous for accordingly we find with what affection the Devout Turk promotes the Doctrine of his Mahomet we read with what vehemence the Religious Pagan hath contended for the service of his Idols we are not ignorant with what warmth of Zeal the pious Jew hath stickled for the Institutions of his Moses and we of the Christian Church do still lie under the Obligation of this Command Contend earnestly for the Faith We must do whatever lawfully we may for the Establishment and Propagation of our Religion even with our very utmost vigor But if we shall be mistaken in the choice of our Religion what horrible Actions will that Zeal of ours which is required from us put us upon St. Paul tells us 'T is good to be zealously affected alway in a good thing But Oh how mischievous is it to be zealous in a matter especially a Religion that 's bad We have great Instances of this in the Text They shall put you out of the Synagogues What You doth our Saviour mean His Apostles their immediate Successors and other Primitive Saints who proved his Martyrs and Confessors and undoubtedly were the best of men And what an injurious Action must it needs be to pass that dreadful Sentence of Excommunication upon such Innocent and Holy Persons as if they had been the very worst of Villains to treat the choicest Servants of God as if they had been so many incorrigible Rogues fit for nothing else but to be delivered up to the Devils power to turn those very persons out of the Church who were the most eminent Members of it to shut them out of the Service of God who were the fittest to perform it Certainly such Usage as this being no way deserved was bad enough but yet there is something worse that is still behind for 't is added Every one that kills you To treat men of spotless Lives 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Theophylact as if they had been the most Pestilent Bigots Varlets and Incendiaries imaginable To send such Persons out of that World which had none better nor perhaps so good within it Doubtless there could be no Action more unjust then this but whence did it rise What was it that did perswade both Jew and Pagan to use the very utmost extremity towards such Persons as really were the Supporters of the true Church and the Ornaments of the World The Text gives us this Account Every one that kills you will think that he doth God Service Yea behold here the dismal Consequences of a mistaken Religion We have here the main Pillars of the Church excluded from it here are Murders Committed upon the Persons of such Men of whom the World was not worthy and all the Reason doth lie in this Every one that kills you 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 will think that he doth God Service when Truth shall be esteemed Error when the soundest Doctrine shall be counted Heresie when the neglect or contempt of an Idol shall be stiled Atheism when the right Religion shall be thought a wrong one O what unwarrantable actions will blind Zeal put men upon when the slaughter of Men falsly supposed to be little better than Brutes shall be judged an acceptable Sacrifice unto God what religious Zealot will restrain his hands from Blood There is no Example of this in all our Bibles more eminent then that of our great St. Paul of whom the Text saith He Breathed out Threatnings and Slaughters against the Disciples of the Lord and so again He made havock of the Church We have his own Confession I punished them oft in every Synagogue and compelled them to Blaspheme But how came this Man who proved so great a Saint so miserably to Persecute the Poor Unarmed and Innocent Servants of Christ He tells us I did it ignorantly he did all this mischief through a bare mistake he was yet of an opinion that the Jewish Religion was right and the Christian wrong and upon that score he Judged himself bound to defend the former and oppose the later for so he Testified I verily thought with my self that I ought to do many things contrary to the Name of Jesus This eminent person being zealous for his then Religion but yet mistaken in it did oppose that Faith which upon better Informations he did afterwards own preach and defend Such warm Affections had he yet for the Antiquated Worship of the Jewish Church that he now shed other Men's Blood for the sake of the same Religion for which at length he as readily lost his own And since we have such great and sad examples before us let us take heed lest we also do first take up any false Opinions and then think our selves bound to promote them too There are some amongst us who upon frivolous Pretences quarelling with the Discipline and Service of our Church have departed from it and as they have withdrawn themselves so have they thought it their Obligation to seduce and take off others even all they could 't is the unhappiness of such Men that a blind zeal which is their own Sin should likewise prove their Neighbours Ruine that they who intend a kindness to other persons should even by their mistaken Charity