Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	faith_n	spirit_n	word_n	6,961	5	4.2967	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A65935	A sermon preached to the Society for Reformation of Manners, at Nottingham, on the 25th of August, 1698 by John Whitlock ...	Whitlock, John, 1625-1709.; Societies for the Reformation of Manners.	1699 (1699)	Wing W2027; ESTC R39388	19,943	58

that it may through God's gracious Blessing upon and setting in with it bring them to sound Conversion to Faith in Christ and a reform and change of the Heart this you should aim at pray for and press that outward Reformation may be a step in them to this thorow and inward Work and to the setting upon the Duties of Religion and getting rid of that Hardness of Heart which their profane Practices had so deeply riveted Tho' outward Reformation may remove at present some outward Judgments or at least reprieve from the present full Execution of them yet nothing can secure God's gracious saving Presence but Faith in Christ accompanied with and evidenced by Conscience of Duties of our general and particular Calling Exercise of Grace and Holiness of Heart In all your Attempts to amend the Manners of others endeavour to promote this thorow Heart-deep Reformation pray for this press to it And you that are reformed from or have not been guilty of those gross Sins of Swearing Drunkenness Uncleanness Sabbath-profanation and other such like enormous Crimes but are brought to Civility and moral Honeity yet see that you rest not in this no nor in any thing short of Christ an Interest in him by a true living Faith and a thorow Work of Grace and the Practice of Holiness in Heart and Life For tho' outward Reformation a civil sober Conversation and moral Honesty be commendable and your indispensible Duty without which you can have no Evidence of the Truth of Grace whatever your Profession and Performances may be yet if you go no further such a partial Reformation will never prove saving to your own Souls nay meer Civility Morality yea Gifts and external Performances rested in are like to prove hindrances of sound Conversion Hence Christ tells the Scribes and Pharisees Mat. 21.31 That Publicans and Harlots repenting and believing went into the Kingdom of God before them who stayed and trusted in their Pharisaical Righteousness Promote therefore outward Reformation but also to your utmost press and forward thorow conversion in others Let Ministers press this on People and let private Christians press this too in their places and you who are more particularly ingaged in this good reforming Work do you press on those Sinners you have to do with to this thorow Reformation to Faith in Christ the Practice of Religion and the Power of Godliness This is the way to make Reformation a Door of Hope of God's Saving-mercy to your Souls and of his gracious Presence with the Land and the Churches of Christ in it 5. Endeavours for Reformation of Manners are a Door of Hope as the joining together of serious sober and religious Persons tho' differing in their Perswasions in some lesser Matters in this Work gives hopes of uniting them in Love and Affection one to another and so far as they have attained walking by the same Rule and minding the same thing Phil. 3.16 and bearing with each other where there may be some difference in Judgment and Practice while they agree in the main in all necessary things in Doctrine and Worship and the Practice of Holiness When Divisions are healed Animosities Censoriousness and Uncharit ableness laid aside there will be a Door of Hope opened that we shall enjoy the gracious Presence of God and his Blessing upon us in our personal and more private and in our National and Church-Capacity Now joining together in promoting Reformation is a likely Means to this desireable Christian-Union of Affections for one great Cause of differences is the Prejudices in Mens minds against one another occasioned by Strangeness and not conversing together but when sober Religious Persons join in promoting Reformation and see that they drive on the same good and holy ends it breeds better Thoughts of one another Therefore labour to set open and keep open this Door of Hope viz. Union in the main among all that fear God tho' differing in some lesser Matters for truly there is nothing that shuts the Door of Hope against us more than the Divisions Heart-burnings and Animosities among those that agree in the Essentials and Fundamentals of Doctrine Worship and Christian Practice Oh then as you would have the Reformation that is set on foot be a Door of Hope pray for and promote the healing of the Divisions among Persons professing the same Truth and Godliness endeavour to preserve the Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace speaking the Truth in Love Eph. 4.3 15. Speak the Truth and contend earnestly for the Faith Jude v. 3. yet speak it in Love Put not the worst Construction on Mens Words and Actions but put the best Interpretation upon doubtful Expressions and Actions that they will admit of especially when in other places and at other times they explain what was possibly at first delivered so as to be somewhat liable to Exception Fasten not upon Men Consequences of Doctrine which they never intended nor ever saw in them Men may shew the true Consequences of Doctrines but should not charge the Persons with intending and embracing those Consequences which they renounce Thus heartily desire and endeavour to reform and heal the lamentable sinful mischievous and very threatning Divisions among Professors of the same Religion and serious in their Profession of Godliness This would be a Door of Hope indeed 6. And lastly Endeavours for Reformation of Manners will be a Door of Hope when they do as to be sure they should excite all those that are God's People to be more eminent in the Profession of Religion and Godliness more lively in every Grace more ready to and in ever good Work when by seeing Sinners reformed from Acts of Profaneness true Saints are excited to more eminent Degrees of Holiness to greater Exemplariness of Conversation to repair their Decays in Grace to reform their Pride and their too great Conformity to the Spirit of the World then to allude to that passage 1 Cor. 16 9 a great Door and effectual of Hope will be opened upon us as to the Continuance of God's gracious Presence with us And this should be a sour to Saints to great Circumspection in their walk and greater Fruitfulness in every good Word and Work for truly the Unreformedness of Professours their Pride Formality Decays in Grace conformity to the world their covetous selfish frame of Spirit their losing their Zeal and leaving much of their first Love doth as much shut the Door of Hope as any other sins even the sins of profane Persons Rev. 2.5 Therefore all you that are Professours of more than ordinary Strictness in Religion while you would reform the Drunkenness Swearing Filthiness and Sabbath-profanation of gross Sinners and see them in some degree reformed For shame do you reform your Pride of Heart and Life your Conformity to the Customs the garish Fashions and Dresses of the world that Pride that testifies to the Face of many Professours both Men and Women Womens high Heads and Mens flanting Perukes that hide their Faces as if they were ashamed as well indeed they may in such effeminate Dresses to shew them and make them look as out of a Prison-grate so likewise the Worldliness and Selfishness of Professours is much to be bewailed and should be with the greatest Vigour reformed If you would do as the Church of Ephesus is by Christ directed to do Rev. 2.5 remember from whence you are fallen and repent and do your first Works it would be a Door of Hope If while you desire and attempt to break the Knots of Swearing Tipling revelling Companions you would also improve your Meetings together and your friendly Visits to spiritual Purposes to the sharpening and advancing Grace mutually to the provoking one another to love and good Works Heb. 10.24 to the exhorting one another daily while it is called to day lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of Sin Heb. 3.13 to the lifting up of weak Hands and feeble Knees Heb. 12.12 to the building up one another in our most holy Faith this would open a Door of Hope indeed Be prevailed with therefore all of you especially such as profess strictness and such as ingage in this good and necessary Work of Reformation of Manners labour to follow these Directions and then tho your and others Sins may have brought us and the Nation in some respects into a Valley of Achor on account of Afflictions and Distresses yet if it thus prove a Valley of Achor in regard of Humiliation and thorow effectual Reformation above described and pressed it will be a comfortable blessed Door of Hope to us that God will yet dwell among us and be our God and that we shall be his People FINIS