Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A19331
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A short dialogue, wherein is proved, that no man can be saved without good vvorkes
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Corderoy, Jeremy, b. 1562 or 3.
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1604
(1604)
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STC 5756; ESTC S115604
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42,072
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138
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shall proue that this is not generally to bee vnderstoode of everie knovvledge but truely of one kinde of knowledge Ioh. 1.24 which is specified by Iohn vvhere hee saith if any saith I know God and keep not his commandements he is a lyar and the truth is not in him but he that keepeth his word in him is the loue of God indeed and hereby we know that we are in him So theÌ„ that knovvledge vvhich hath the loue of God ioyned with it which loue is manifested by a desire a delight of doing the wil of God is the saving knowledge before meÌ„tioned and no other knowledge which saving knowledge cannot possibly be in the vvicked or in the devil For they only know God but loue him not which is manifested in that they by loue seeke not to doe his will and please him The like general speech you haue of our Saviour where he saieth Mat. 7.7 to him that knocketh it shall be opened and to him that asketh it shall bee given vvhich vvordes if you simplie vnderstand without exception many absurdities wil follow The fiue foolish virgins knocked yet vvere they not admitted they that cast our devils in Christs name and did great and many workes thereby asked but obtained not wherefore wee must goe further seeke the true meaning of these words by confereÌ„ce of them vvith other places of the Scripture Our Saviour saith Mat. 6.14.15 if you forgiue other men their trespasses your heavenly father vvill forgiue you your trespasses but if you forgiue not other men no more will your heavenly father forgiue you your trespasses and David saith if I applie my heart to wickednes Ps 65.18 the Lord will not heare my praier and Salomon saith the praier of the wicked is an abhomination to the Lord Prov. 15.8 the Lord refuseth the praiers of the Iews because their hands were full of blood because they were oppresore of the poore but wash you Esay 1.16 saith the Lord learne to do well seeke iudgmeÌ„t releeue the oppressed iudge the fatherlesse defraud not the widdowes then if thy sins were as crimsoÌ„ they shal be as whit as snow David saith Psal 33.18 19. the eies of the Lorde are over those that feare him and vpon them that trust in his mercy to deliuer their soules froÌ„ death And Peter saith the eies of the Lorde are over the righteous and his eares are open to their praiers â— Pet. 3. i2 by these places now may you see how those wordes are to be vnderstood to everie one that knocketh it shall bee opened and to everie one that asketh it shall be geven that is not every one without exception for you see other places tell you that the praier of the wicked is an abhomination vnto the Lord Ioh. 15.7 but of them â—hat loue and feare the Lord and endevour to keep his coÌ„mandemeÌ„ts if they knock or aske it shal be opened graunted to every one without exception So in like maÌ„ner in your assertion namely that if a maÌ„ hath faith it is sufficient if you absolutely vnderstand any faith many absurdities will follovv Iam. 2.19 for there is a faith of Divels vvhich if it vvere sufficient to salvation then the divils may bee saved For they acknowledge Christ to be the sonne of God There is an historical faith Mark 5.7 a faith of doing miracles which the wicked haue yet it caÌ„not saue them according to that of the Apostle if I had all faith 1. Cor. 10.2 so that I could remoue mountaines and had not loue it were nothing It must bee then such a faith which hath with it the loue of God our brethren it must be such a faith which worketh by charity Gal. 5.6 Ephe. 6.6 a working faith I saie and not an idle faith much lesse such a faith as is spotted with vngodlines Not any faith then is sufficient but such a faith which is accompanied with good workes and newnesse of life Gall. Well be it that good vvorkes be required to salvatioÌ„ yet say that I liue vngodly all the dayes of my life vntill â— see I must departe this world I thinke I haue hearde some wordes in the Scripture which import thus much that it is not then too late to repent I cannot repeat the wordes themselues but such words there are the which to tell you the truth haue made me take a little the more liberty in my delights Scholl I thinke you meane these words at what time soever a sinner doth repent him of his iniquitie I vvill put out all the remembrance of his sinnes from me Ezec. cap. 33.11 saith the Lord Gal. Yes the same theÌ„ you see it is sufficient for a man to salvation even wheÌ„ he dieth to repeÌ„t Scho. If these words haue given you an occasion of greater liberty in your delights that is in plaine tearmes an occasion of sinning more freely you are one of whoÌ„ the Apostle prophesied long since saving that in the latter times shall come certaine men Iude 4. 1. Pet. 1. 2. Tim. 3.4 who will turne the grace of God into wantonnes yea vvho will loue their pleasures more theÌ„ God Luk. 1.74 Ephes 1.4 1. Pet. 2.24 and 2. Peter 1.5 you make a cleane coÌ„trary vse of the promises of the goodnes patience of the Lorde towardes sinners to that wherefore they are promised For saith the Apostle the gooâ—nes long suffering and patience of God Ro. 2.6.7 is shewed to lead men to repentaÌ„ce amendment of life the which who so abuseth heaâ—eth vp wrath to himselfe against the day of iudgement who will reward every man according to his workes 2. Tim. 2 2â— and expounding himselfe saith that is to them who by continuance marke well vvhat he saith even as if he plainely foresaw some would vainely flatter themselues that it wil be sufficient to repente as they falsely call it at the last cast and breath therefore he addeth to theÌ„ that by coÌ„tinuance in well doing seekâ— life everlasting But lest you should flâ—â—ter your self in your sins promise vnto your selfe salvatioÌ„ without warrant of the worde of God first knowe this that these words At what time soever are not in any texte of the bible yet are they agreeable to the vvorde of God beeing rightly vnderstoode that is whensoever a sinner forsasaketh his vngodlinesse and doth that which is right and good craving pardon of God for his former ill life God will not impute his former sinnes vnto him but will pardon remit his sinnes for Christs merites But in that sence that you take them neither the words theÌ„selues At what time soever can be fouÌ„d in any place of the scripture neither are they consonant to any place of the scripture namely that though a man liue in vngodlinesse all the dayes of his life and at the very iump when he departeth this life then bee sorry for that which is
like maÌ„ner doth our Saviour vse these wordes for or because in the place you alleage for the merit of good works namely he signifieth the necessary consequution of good workes to abound in those that are predestinated to eternal life Mat. 19.28 â—oh 14.23 For as a badge or cognizaÌ„s point out the maÌ„ that weares it whose man hee is or as a Friers weede be it blacke or gray causeth men to take theÌ„ that weare them to be a black or a gray Frier because it is a vveede peculier to their order So are the charitable workes of the elect so eminent in them that thereby as by badges they are distinguished from other men for hee will glorifie none but whom he first sanctifieth Coloss 3.10 Ezech. 44.7.10 Rom. 12.1 1. Thess 5.23 Ioh. 13.35 1. Ioh. 3.9.10 Eph. 4.24 Ioh. 8.39 by their fruites you shall knowe them By this charitablenes one towards another are the true Disciples of our Saviour knowne from other men By this our Saviour Christ disproveth the vvicked Ievves not to be the sonnes of faithfull Abraham If saith he ye were the sonnes of Abraham you would do the workes of Abraham herevpon is it that our Saviour saith come inherit the kingdome prepared for you by your good workes charitable deeds as by badges you haue shevved your selues to be those men for whom it was prepared Your deedes haue shewed that you are the right sons of Abraham the right cause why they enioy it our Saviour setteth downe in the same chapter namely the free mercy goodnesse of God only Mat. 25.34 saying come yee blessed of my father inherit the kingdome prepared for you before the foundation of the world this kingdome then was predestinated vnto them before they were borne before they had done good or badde neither can any maÌ„ imagine that God chose out such as he foresaw wold do good as some haue vainely imagined for in that one man liveth better then another it proceedeth of the speciall grace of God Iob would haue bin as bad as Iudas or Iulian the Apostata if the grace of God had not bettered him For not onely to do wel Phil. 2.13 but also wil wel is of the Lords speciall grace Yet further for your better satisfactioÌ„ in this point that it may plainly appeare that we caÌ„ no way ment any thing with god much lesse eternall life you must consider that in a merite there are these three things necessarily required First that that wherewith we merite Iames 1.17 be a thing of our owne not his with whom we woulde merit but good works are not our own but the graces gifts of God bestowed on vs. Secondly it is required in a true merite that that vvherevvith we woulde merite be profitable to him with whom vve would merite but there is nothing in the power of man that God staÌ„deth in neede of Luk. 17.9.10 Thirdly it is required that the thing vvherewith we would merit be of equal value with that which we would merite but there is no coÌ„parison between the best works of any of the Saints in this life Psal 16.2 and the ioyes of the kingdome of heauen Now if all these three are necessaryly required in a merite and not so much as one of these three can be found in our good vvorkes I may safelye conclude that it is impossible vvee shoulde merite anye thing at Gods hands especially seeing we are bound by the right of creation sith we are his creatures to obserue and doe his will and no man ever perfectly kept his coÌ„mandements as hee ought to do but came short of his duety much lesse did more then was his duety vvhereby hee might merite Pap. No Did never any man perfectly keepe the lavv of God This is plaine against the scripture vvhich you make the only rule of truth Iob. 1.8 God himselfe gaue testimony of Iob that hee vvas a righteous man and it is saide that David was a maÌ„ according to Gods ovvne hart Psalm 7. Yea David himselfe is not afraid to say vnto God try mee and examine mee and if there bee any fault founde in mee then let mine enemie prevaile against mee and laie mine honour in the dust surely if hee vvere not very confident that hee had perfectly kept his lavve hee would never haue spoken so boldly And is it not said of Zacharias and Elizabeth Luk. 1 6. that they were iust and without faulte The scripture is full of such speeches it is a shame for you to denye that vvhich the scripture so plainely affirmeth and yet pretende that you holde nothing but that vvhich the Scripture teacheth Scholl Stay be not too confident that the scripture is on your side and against vs that you may â—ee you haue small cause heare your places alleadged answered then vaunt if you haue iust occasion First concerning your first reason you say that God himselfe gaue testimony of Iob that he vvas a iust man therefore he absolutelie observed thâ— lavve In citing the testimonie of God of Iobs righteousnes or iustice you leaue out halfe the testimonye vvhich God giveth of him vvhich if you had recited al it would much haue made for the vnderstaÌ„ding of that place The whol testimony or title vvhich God giveth of him is this None is like Iob in all the earth Iob. 1.8 an vpright man iust one that feareth God escheweth evill Now these words import not so much as you woulde make them for they are spoken coÌ„paratiuely as if he had briefly said none on the earth is so iust or so vp right a man as Iob is This doth not import that either Iob or any else was perfectly iust yet was Iob tearmed iust and vpright not because there was nothing amisse in hâ—m Iob 9 23. 39.37 but because without hypocrisie in sincerity he feared God eschewed evil not because he had the perfect feare and loue of God but because he had the true fear of Gods by reason of his true affection in godlines not by reason of the perfection of his inhereÌ„t righteousnes A youÌ„g infant is a perfect man because he hath al the essential parts of a man body and soule yet is he farre from the perfection of a maÌ„ but daily he increaseth in perfection So had Iob true righteousnes but not the perfection of righteousnesse Concerning your second obiection that David appealed to the iustice of God if he found any fault in him theÌ„ he desired no pardon but punishmente If you had read it your selfe you would haue perceiued these vvords vvere not spoken of his whole life but onely of one falsely supposed action for being falsely accused that he went about some conspiracy against the person of king Saule he pronounceth these words Lord try me and examine mee if there be any fault found in mee speaking of the false supposed conspiracie against king Saul of the vvhich hee was altogither