Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	require_v	spirit_n	worship_v	1,990	5	8.9686	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A74998	Some baptismal abuses briefly discovered. Or A cordial endeavour to reduce the administration and use of baptism, to its primitive purity; in two parts. The first part, tending to disprove the lawfulness of infant baptism. The second part, tending to prove it necessary for persons to be baptized after they believe, their infant baptism, or any pre-profession of the Gospel notwithstanding. As also, discovering the disorder and irregularity that is in mixt communion of persons baptized, with such as are unbaptized, in church-fellowship. By William Allen.	Allen, William, d. 1686.	1653 (1653)	Wing A1075; Thomason E702_12; ESTC R10531	105,249	135

or youth about the time in which they come to know the difference between good and evill at which time they make themselves guilty of actuall transgression and consequently put themselves under a necessity of conversion to wit repentance and faith for the obtaining remission of those actuall sins and therefore in reason cannot be looked upon as regenerate untill the fruites worthy amendment of life and of faith do appear though this remedy I say should be thought on which is not likely yet for them to retain them in the Church whilst Infants and to cast them out when they come to years of understanding is such a thing which as there is no rule prescribing it so I beleeve my own observation in some other cases prompting me hereunto it will prove a thing of greater difficulty then indulgent parentall members will know how to overcome If any shall think to prevent this more then inconvenience another way viz. by Baptizing Infants into the universall Church and not receiving them into any particular Church till they can give an account of their repentance from dead workes and faith towards God or else if they do receive them into a particular Church shall think to prevent this by not admitting them unto communion with the Church in other ordinances till they can give the aforesaid account herein likewise besides the evill of unregenerate persons permissive abode in the Church they shall give a rule unto themselves which God hath not given For whoever are fit to be and de facto are members of the universall visible Church are fit also to be members of particular Churches and whosoever are members of particular Churches cannot according to any rule in Scripture that I know be excluded part and fellowship in any the Ordinances there administred For during the time in which God would have Infants to be members of the nationall Church of the Jews and partakers of one ordinance to wit Circumcision he did neither order their excommunication out of the Church upon account of their unregeneration when they became actuall sinners nor yet debarre them communion with the Church in any other ordinance till signes of their regeneration appeared nor were they excluded communion in any the ordinances of that Church at any time from their very Infancy otherwise or longer then the terms of naturall necessity and debility did impose it upon them Nor does it at all follow that Infants are to be admitted Church members under the Gospell because they were so under the Law as some vainly imagine nor yet that persons of like disqualification may be admitted into or continued in Churches under the Gospell as might be both the one and the other under the Law no more then it followes that the Gospell ministration is carnall beggerly weak and unprofitable because that of the Law was such Heb. 7.18 9.10 Gal. 4.9 For under the Law Church membership was vested in Abrahams naturall seed in which capacity Infants were as well as men but under the Gospell that priviledg is proper only to those that are or appear to be his spirituall seed to wit beleevers Gal. 3.7 26-29 Rom. 9.8 in which capacity Infants are not Under the Law spirituall defilements such as were ignorance unbelief or morall pollutions such as are extortion railing covetousnesse c. did not exclude persons from Church membership if they did but keep the ceremoniall Law which according to the Apostle Heb. 9.9 10. stood only in meats and drinks and divers washings and carnal ordinances imposed on them untill the time of reformation which could not make him that did the service perfect as pertaining to the conscience which yet unregenerate men were in a capacity to perform But now under the Gospell both spirituall and morall defilements such as are ignorance of God and his wayes unbelief covetousnesse drunkennesse railing extortion c. doe de jure exclude persons from Church fellowship 1 Cor. 5.11 15.34 Under the Law as the service and administration of that Church did consist of elements of the world beggerly rudiments and carnall ordinances Gal. 4.3.9 Heb. 9.10 So the members of that Church that were permitted communion in those ordinances Isa 53.1 8 18. 10.22 Heb. 4 2. Psal 81.11 Isa 65.2 were at least sometimes for the most part but carnall likewise in which respect Infants and youths were not lesse capable of Church membership then they But now under the Gospell God requires such only to worship him in his Churches as can worship him in spirit and truth and will have his Churches to be spirituall houses built of living stones to wit such as are meet to be an holy priesthood to offer up spirituall sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ Joh. 4.23 24. 1 Pet. 1.5 in which capacity Infants are not So that notwithstanding all that can be pretended to the contrary for other pretentions besides these I know none Infant Baptism is in a little time like to prove a corrupter of the * And doubtlesse that is none of Christs Church wayes wherein provision for Church purity is made but only for one age or half one rather upon which account among others the way of Independency seems to me to fall short of the mark and to misse of Gods way Independent Churches themselves as well as it hath been of the Nationall which one would think were to them argument enough alone to cause them to lay aside the practise of it The premises therefore considered Infant Baptism that hath proved so great a snare to men to think themselves secure in an unsafe condition that hath been as it were the bottom means of erecting Churches contrary to the Gospell pattern to the great dishonour of Jesus Christ unto whom they pretend relation and setting of Antichristian officers over them yea and is likely also in a little time to leaven even those Churches themselves that have been looking after some reformation and purity that Baptism I say is questionlesse no doctrine according to Godlinesse as true Baptism is but of ungodlinesse of which to me it 's more then probable it hath been a great promotresse in the World And therefore to me it clearly appears to be the duty of all those that love the honour of Jesus Christ and the prosperity of his affaires both in his Churches and in the World both which have suffered so deeply by the springing up of this root of bitternesse as is in part before exprest to endeavour with all their might in a Christian way the extirpation of so evill a custome as this hath been and the restitution of primitive Baptism as one of those Lawes of our Lord which corrupt times have made void as indeed they have done many other Upon which account I shall further encounter the one and plead the cause of the other in the ensuing arguments to which I refer thee with humble requests to God to give thee an upright heart and single eye in thy

to this God puts his Laws in the minds of men and writes them in their hearts Heb. 8.10 which implies that he did not do so under the Old Testament or at least but very little comparatively Again Joh. 4.23 But the hour cometh and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth implying that thither-unto or until then they had not so worshipped him or at least that there was but little of that found under the Legal Dispensation And according to the nature of this Ministration children voyd of understanding and faith were capable of holy things as Circumcision and Passover and the like and consequently of the ends and benefits of them in part upon a literal administration and reception of them Rom. 3.1 2. Exod. 12.44 48. But the case is far otherwise now under the Gospel which is the Ministration of the Spirit 2 Cor. 3.6 It is not the work done but the manner of doing of it in knowledg faith and fear of the Lord that entitles men unto the benefit and blessing of Gospel-Ordinances for so the Apostle affirms concerning Baptism it self 1 Pet. 3.21 when he says that it saves us now as the Ark did some in the days of Noah not saith he the putting away of the filth of the flesh i. e. not by the external letter of the Ordinance but the answer of a good Conscience towards God i.e. when accompanyed with such a frame of mind and conscience as does answer God in his intendments of Grace in that Ordinance So again Col. 2.12 when the Apostle saith that they were buryed with Christ in Baptism and that they were therein also risen with him yet he says that thus they were by the faith of the operation of God who raised Christ from the dead meaning such a faith as was produced by the operation of God or else such as had the operation of God in raising up Christ for its object however it was by the interveniency of this Faith that they became both buryed and risen with Christ in Baptism Now Infants as they are not capable of acting this Faith or making this answer of a good Conscience so they are not capable of those blessings and benefits intended by God in Baptism in as much as he hath suspended the donation thereof upon these in conjunction with Baptism And where any effect depends upon the taking place of more causes then one as it does in the case in hand it is not any one of those causes alone that will produce that effect 3. How ever the ends of Circumcision were attainable though administred to Infants in those respects before mentioned with their fellows yet doubtless the Ordinance it self was so much the less spiritual and so much the more weak and savoring of the Legal Ministration and suited to the then childish condition of the Church because administration thereof was made to Infants This I conceive might easily be made out from several of those rational principles consonant to the Scripture upon and from which I have already evinced Baptism to be more spiritual profitable and edifying when administred to men professing the Faith then when applyed to children Therefore doubtless what the Apostle speaketh of the Commandment in general meaning the Law which as he says made nothing perfect how that it is disanulled for the weakness and unprofitableness of it Hebr. 7.18 19. may well be understood to comprehend even this part of the Commandment also which enjoyned an Ordinance one or more to be administred to little children And how ever such a mean low way and method of enjoying Ordinances as was accommodated to the capacity of babes was not uncomely whilest the Church was in the condition of children as the Apostle speaks Gal. 4.3 no more then it is for a child whilest he is a child to speak and act as a child yet to retain this poor and low and barren way of administring a Gospel-Ordinance to Infants now the Church is raised both in capacity and administration to its manly condition is as incongruous and uncomely as it is for one still to speak and act as a child when he is become a man By this time I hope it appears that there is not the same reason why Baptism administred to Infants should reach the ends thereof as there was why Circumcision though applyed to Infants formerly should attain its end For the nature of the two Ordinances differ the terms of their Administration differ and the respective capacities of the Church then and the Church now differ and according to that rule in Logick Where the things themselves differ there the reasons of those things differ also ARGUM. III. 3. MY next Argument shall be taken from the different nature of the two Ministrations of the Old and New Testaments as rendering Infant-Baptism in that precise consideration of it as applyed to Infants disagreeable to the Ministration of the Gospel but withall more correspondent with the Ministration of the Law Therefore I thus further argue If Infant-Baptism be disagreeable to the Ministration of the New Testament then Infants ought not to be baptized The reason hereof is because so far as either this or any other way or practice does comply with the Legal Ministration and disagree with the Evangelical so far it does cross or oppose the design of God in changing the Ministration of the Law for that of the Gospel and consequently carries in it a spirit of antipathy against the very spirit of the Gospel Ministration This if it were not sufficiently evident of it self might receive abundant confirmation from such Scriptures as these and what might fairly and plainly be deduced from them Joh. 4.23 24. 2 Cor. 3.6 Gal. 4.9 Col. 2.8 17. Heb. 7.18 19. 8.6 7. 9.9 10 11. 10.1 But I presume of every mans plenary satisfaction as to this Therefore I proceed But Infant-Baptism is disagreeable to the Ministration of the New Testament Assumption 1. The truth hereof in the first place is conspicuous and perceptible by what hath been made good in our former Argument For there we proved Baptism as administred to Infants less edifying as to the several ends of it then when administred unto Believers and if less edifying then the more suitable and conformable to the Ministration of the Law which was a Ministration of less light and edification and to the same proportion disproportionate to the Ministration of the Gospel which is a Ministration of a greater light and a more rich edification 2. I might in the second place well suppose Infant-Baptism to savor strongly of the Legal Ministration because the principal Arguments produced in defence thereof are such as do arise out of and are deducted from the example of Infant-Circumcision a principal part of the Legal Ministration and from that analogy and proportion that is supposed to be between them and not only so but likewise because such Arguments and Pleas tend to draw down this