Selected quad for the lemma: virtue_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
virtue_n	diligence_n	kindness_n	temperance_n	1,331	5	11.3678	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A65814	A discourse upon I Peter IV., VIII wherein the power and efficacy of charity as it is a means to procure the pardon of sin is explained and vindicated / by John Whitefoot.	Whitefoote, John, 1610-1699.	1695 (1695)	Wing W1862; ESTC R26478	56,458	143

be sufficiently avoided by alledging that although it be true that Faith is the only thing that is effectual to Justification or remission of sin and that no other Act or Vertue can contribute any thing to this end yet neither are the forementioned Promises nor the Exhortations void or useless in reference to this effect 1. Because there is a Necessity of presence though not of efficacy of those other Acts and Vertues which are mentioned in the Promises and Exhortations And so Charity amongst other things may be a causa sine quâ non of Salvation and remission of sin in respect of its necessary presence together with Faith 2. Because the same things are necessary to the verification of Faith i. e. to manifest the Truth of it though they have no concurrent efficacy with Faith to the Justification or Salvation of the Believer 3. Because the practice of these Vertues is necessary or at least usefull for the assurance of a mans Justification Pardon of sin and Salvation though it be no ways effectual to any of those ends considered in themselves Heb. 6.10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love which ye have shewed towards his name in that ye have ministred to the Saints and do minister And 2 Pet. 1.5 10 11. And besides all this giving all diligence add to your faith vertue and to vertue knowledge and to knowledge temperance and to temperance patience and to patience godliness and to godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness charity i. e. an universal Charity extended to all men as well as Christian Brethren Wherefore ye rather give diligence to make your calling and election sure 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as it is in some Greek Copies and though these words are left out in our own and other Translations because they are so in ordinary Greek Copies yet the Sense of them is confessedly included in all readings for so an entrance shall be given you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ And 1 Joh. 3.18 19. My little children let us not love in word nor in tongue but in deed and in truth And hereby we know that we are of the truth and shall assure our hearts before him So 1 Jo. 3.14 We know that we have passed from death unto Life because we love the brethren By these Texts and many more of like Sense it is evident that Charity is usefull to procure a mans assurance of those Benefits which are supposed to be obtained by Faith only Another verbal evasion of all the Arguments which are produced for the effectual concurrence of Charity and Good Works to the attainment of the great Benefits of final Justification and Salvation hath been vulgarly expressed by that trite saying of the Latin Father Bernard Bona opera sunt via ad regnum non causa regnandi Good Works are indeed the way to the kingdom of Heaven but not the cause of reigning Which words applied to the Doctrine by us grounded upon the words of the Apostle must have this Sense viz. That Charity is the way to obtain the covering or non-imputation of sin but no cause of it i. e a means but not a cause a very nice distinction to be considered further hereafter This I take to be a just account of the chief Answers that have been made to the premised Arguments from the Promises and exhortations of Scripture for the efficacy or validity of Charity and Good Works unto the remission of sin and the Salvation of a sinner Now in order to a sufficient reply to these Answers I think it necessary in this place to say something by way of explication of the Question tending to the clearing of the true Sense and meaning of the Doctrine what is meant by that Efficacy which any act that can be done by men may have towards the remission of their sins their Justification and Salvation It is evident that all these things are the proper and peculiar Acts and Effects of God himself who is the agent of efficient cause of them all And therefore 't is impossible that any Humane Act should have any direct or immediate influence or efficiency upon these Effects Who can forgive sins but God And 't is God that justifies and saves actively And therefore all the Efficacy that can be in Humane Acts towards these effects can be no more than preparative or passive And what can that signifie more than that they are certain Dispositions and Qualifications of the Patient or Subject to receive these Effects of Divine Grace Nor can Faith it self have any other influence or efficacy upon these Effects any more than Charity Faith it self doth neither pardon our sin or contribute any thing to that Divine Act by which we are pardoned Neither doth qualifie or save us any otherwise then by making such a Change or Qualification in us whereupon this Grace of Justification to Life is freely given us of God But against this Explication of the Efficacy of Faith to the Grace of Justification it hath been alledged that Faith in Christ doth not justifie as an act or qualification found in us but as it hath a peculiar Vertue not common to Charity or any other Act of ours and that is of apprehending and receiving Christ or uniting us to him and so making us Partakers of his Righteousness imputed to us by means whereof we come to be Justified our sins Covered and our Souls saved Whereunto I answer 1. By allowing an union of Believers with Christ the common Saviour to be indeed the true ground and foundation of the Benefits which we receive by him And that this Union is not barely Relative or Political such as is betwixt a King Lord or Husband and their respective Subjects Servants and Wives Nor only Pactional imputed and founded upon the Promise or Covenant of the Gospel to them that believe in him but a true and real Union effected by the Medium of the Holy Spirit communicated to them that believe and are baptized into the Faith of Christ 1 Cor. 12.13 For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one Body and 1 Cor. 6.17 He that is joyned unto the Lord is one Spirit ver 11. of the same Chapter But ye are washed but ye are sanctified but ye are justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God Rom. 8.12 If any man hath not the Spirit of Christ the same is none of his This Spirit of Christ is ordinarily called the Spirit of God abiding or dwelling in all true Believers whereby they are partakers of the Divine Nature as St. Peter speaketh as Christ also was 1 Cor. 3.16 1 Cor. 8.19 2 Pet. 1.4 though not in the same measure and manner Such a real Union there is between Christ the Head and all true Believers Members of his Body as there is between the head and members of a natural Body partaking of one and the

Not that any such Charity or Mercy can be found in a Sinner as is sufficient in it self to justifie him or expiate his sin in strictness of Justice or Merit but that by the Goodness and Mercy of God for Christs Sake it shall obtain this Effect in the last Judgment And as in this first Branch of the Text the word Mercy twice used doth plainly signifie the Mercy of God as well as the mercy of Man He shall have Judgment without Mercy i. e. from God that hath shewed no Mercy to men So in the second Branch the same word Mercy may have respect both to the Mercy of God as many Good Divines have interpreted it and to the Mercy of men It is Mercy in God rejoycing over Judgment or Justice that gives men Cause of Rejoycing and Mercy in men that by Divine Acceptance qualifies them for that Mercy of God This Sentence of St. James in both Parts of it stands fully confirmed by that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Representation of the last Judgment which is given by our Saviour Matt. 25. from the 21 ver to the end of the 41 ver Then shall he say to them on the Left hand depart from me ye Cursed into Everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels There 's Judgment without Mercy and the Reason of it follows For I was an Hungred and ye Fed me not I was Thirsty and ye gave me no Drink Naked and ye Clothed me not c. In as much as ye did it not to these little ones ye did it not to me That is ye shewed no Mercy for my Sake to them that needed it So is the first Part of the Apostles Sentence confirmed and exemplified by the latter Part of our Saviours They shall have Judgment without Mercy that shewed no Mercy The second Part of the Apostolical Sentence is likewise abundantly confirmed by the first Part of our Saviours Then shall the King say unto them on the Right hand come ye Blessed of my Father receive the Kingdom prepared for you from the Foundation of the World For I was an Hungred and ye gave me Meat I was Thirsty and ye gave me Drink c. That is by his own Interpretation ver 40. In as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of my Brethren being also your Brethren you have done it unto me Where 't is to be noted how the Mercifull Man hath not only his sins covered for which he might have been Condemned but is advanced to a state of Glory and Triumph in the Kingdom of Heaven So doth Mercy not only escape but triumph over Judgment In each part of this Description of the distributive Justice or Judgement of God in the latter day a common Synechdoche of the Part for the Whole must be understood that is in the Assignment of the respective Reasons of the contrary Judgements of Absolution and Condemnation For neither will Charity be respected as the only reason or condition of the Reward but therewith also all other Christian Vertues and Good Works especially that of an unfeigned Faith as the Root of them all Nor will the want of Charity or the Vices most contrary to it be the only reason of the Sentence of Condemnation but all other sins against the known will of God will be jointly respected in the awarded Punishment But since it hath pleased our Saviour who is himself to be Judge at that day to specifie these two opposite Practises as the only Instances of the reason of his future Judgement we have sufficient ground to conclude that they will be especially though not only considered by him in that Judgement The same Synechdoche of the Part for the Whole necessary to be understood in the words of our Saviour which we have last mentioned is no less necessary to be understood in all Promises of the same Reward to any particular Vertue or sort of Good Works of any kind Partly because no single Vertue that is sincere and genuine can exist without a Connexion of all other Vertues as hath been often notified in the Doctrine as well of Heathen as Christian Vertues And partly because no single Vertue in the want of the rest can be enough to qualifie a Man for the State of the Heavenly Life or render a Man so much as capable thereof Because that Life doth require as an Indispensible Preparative for it such a Principle of Divine Life or Holiness as comprehends the Habit and Disposition at least of all Goodness and as is perfectly inconsistent with a total privation of any Real Vertue So that if it were possible for a Man to have any such Vertue in him as Charity with a total privation of Sobriety Humility Temperance and Piety towards God he could not be capable of that Benefit or Reward which the Text speaks of that is of having all his sins covered or perfectly discharged from all Punishment at the last Judgement Although that single Vertue however imperfect and insincere might possibly abate the degrees of Punishment for the want of the rest as hath been inti●●●●ed before But although in the promises of this reward to any particular Vertue or sort of Good Works there be a necessity of the foresaid Synechdoche yet in the Threatnings of Judgments to particular Vices there is no necessity of any such Figure Because as there is no such necessary Connexion of all sorts of Vices as there is of Vertues some of which are contrary and inconsistent with some others so it is certain that any one Vice notwithstanding any freedom from others is enough to reader a Man liable to the Sentence of Condemnation As in Humane Justice one Capital Crime renders a man liable to death notwithstanding any possible Plea of Innocence as to other Crimes And one Mortal Disease will kill a Man notwithstanding any freedom from other Diseases So in the last judgement if a Man be able to plead as many will be that they were no Idolaters Whoremasters Theeves or other sorts of Criminals And that they are not guilty of starving any body or depriving them of their bread robbing or oppressing or casting into Prison or other like breaches of Charity no such Plea will hold before the Righteous Judge which will never change any thing upon a Man that he is not guilty of nor doth he instance in any such practice in this Monitory Description of his last Judgement He saith not ye robbed me of my Meat Drink or Clothing or ye wronged me by Violence or Fraud but ye fed me not when I was hungry ye clothed me not when I was naked ye relieved me not in my Necessities neither did ye visit or comfort me in my Distresses Go therefore ye cursed c. not for your Injustice or Injuries but for your Uncharitableness What could our blessed Lord mean by this negative manner of describing his future Judgement but to warn all People of that vulgar Deceit which they are so