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A54098
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An address to Protestants upon the present conjuncture in II parts / by a Protestant, William Penn.
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Penn, William, 1644-1718.
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1679
(1679)
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Wing P1248; ESTC R15359
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141,914
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254
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of that Sacrifice This Holy Offering up of himself by the Eternal Spirit is a Great Part of his Messiahship for therein he hath both confirmed his Blessed Message of Remission of Sins and Life Everlasting to as many as truly believe in his Name and given himself a Propitiation for all that have sinned and so came short of the Glory of God in so much that God is said by the Apostle Paul to be Just and the Justifier of him which believeth in Jesus whom God hath set forth to be a Propitiation through Faith in his Blood to declare his Righteousness for the Remissions of Sins that are past through the forbearance of God Unto which I shall Join his Mediatorship or Advocacy link'd together both by the Apostle Paul and the beloved Disciple John the first in these words For there is One God and one Mediator between God and Man the Man Christ Jesus who gave himself a Ransom for all to be testified in due Time The Apostle John expresseth it thus My little Children these things write I unto you that you Sin not and if any Man sinneth we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the Righteous he is the Propitiation for our Sins and not for ours only but also for the Sins of the whole World So that to be Brief the Christian Creed so far as it is Declaratory lies eminently in a Confession of these Particulars Of the Divine Authority of the New as well as of the Old Testament Writings and therein of these Great General and Necessary Truths expresly to wit Of Christ his Miracles Doctrine Death Resurrection Advocacy or Mediation the Gift of his Grace Faith and Repentance unto Remission of Sins the Necessity of Keeping his Commandments and lastly of Eternal Recompence Less once than all this would have done and it does not shew the Age more Christian but more Curious indeed more Infidel that there is this Stir made about External Creeds of Communion for Distrust of Brethren and Incredulity among Christians is no small Sign of their Decay of Faith towards God From the Beginning 't was not so But it may be here Objected How shall we know that such a Declaration of Faith is sincere I Answer By recurring to that Evidence which God shall give us They that can try Spirits under the most-Sheeplike Clothing have the most-Immediate and Certain Proof but let it suffise that Christ hath told us By their Fruits ye shall know them If any Man says Christ will come after me let him take up his Cross and follow me and in another place he tells us thus My Sheep hear my Voice and I knew them and they follow me that is They are led by my Spirit they live my Life they obey my Doctrine And the Apostle Peter assures us that True Faith purifies the Heart and no Impurity can flow from a pure Heart You may know this Faith by that Way by which Abraham's Faith was known to be True to wit Obedience He believed God that is He Obeyed God he submitted to the Will of God and relied upon his Goodness He that gave me my Son by a Miracle can work another to save him To God all things are Possible It is call'd by the Apostle Paul The Spirit of Faith something more near and inward than any External Articles and Declaration of Faith that from whence all True Confessions and good Works come which made the Apostle Paul thus to say We give thanks to God always for you all making mention of you in our Prayers remembring without Ceasing your Work of Faith 'T was this true Faith that brings forth Works of Righteousness by which Abel Offered to God Enoch was Translated Noah was saved it is said of him that he became Heir of the Righteousness which is by Faith By this Faith Abraham left his own Country and obey'd the Voice of God By Faith Moses was preserved from his Childhood and when he came to years refus'd to be called the Son of Pharaoh's Daughter by Faith he forsook Egypt and passed the Red Sea By Faith the Walls of Jericho fell down and Rahah was saved By Faith Gideon Barak Sampson Jephtha David Samuel and the Prophets subdued Kingdoms wrought Righteousness obtained Promises stopped the Mouthes of Lyons quenched the Violence of Fire escaped the Edge of the Sword with much more too large to be utter'd This is that Faith which the Apostle James magnifies against all false Faiths Faith says he if it has not Works is dead A Man may say Thou hast Faith and I have Works shew me thy Faith without thy Works I will shew thee my Faith by my Works And as if he had fore-seen the Men of Creeds and Articles he speaks on this wise Thou believest that there is One God thou dost well the Devils also believe and Tremble But wilt thou know O Vain Man that Faith without Works is dead Was not Abraham our Father justified by Works when he had offered Isaac his Son upon the Altar seest thou how Faith wrought with his Works and by Works was Faith made perfect And he was called the Friend of God And the Exhortation of the Apostle Peter is a plain Discrimination of true Faith And besides this giving all Diligence add to your Faith Virtue and to Virtue Knowledge and to Knowledge Temperance and to Temperance Patience and to Patience Godliness and to Godliness Brotherly Kindness and to Brotherly Kindness Charity For if these things be in you and abound they make you that ye shall neither he barren nor unfruitful in the Knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ But he that lacketh these things is blind and cannot see far off and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old Sins I will seal up these Scripture Testimonies of Faith with that Account which is given us by the Apostle John For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the World and this is the Victory that overcometh the World even our Faith Who is he that overcometh the World but he that believed that Jesus is the Son of God So that the Belief in the Son of God must have this Evidence to prove it true that by it Men are born of God and overcome the World so that their Faith is false whom the World Overcomes I am not of this World saith Christ Jesus neither can that Faith be that is called the Faith of the Son of God There are Three Passages left us upon Record by this Beloved Disciple of Jesus of Great Weight and Importance to us when he had discoursed of the Propitiation and Advocacy of Christ he does immediately add And hereby do we know that we know him if we keep his Commandments He that saith I know him and keepeth not his Commandments is a Lyar and the Truth is not in him But whoso keepeth his Word in him verily is the Love of God perfected hereby know we that we
but keeping the Law of God Great Peace have they that love thy Law said David that had known the Trouble of Breaking it Therefore it is that Grace and Truth is come by Jesus Christ to help us to fulfill the Law not to Excuse our Disobedience of the Law And what before we were Unable this gives us Force to do So that Christianity is not an Indulgence of people under Weakness and Disobedience but the Compleating and Perfection of that Righteousness which without him was but Short and Imperfect through that Grace and Power that came by Jesus Christ Give me leave I beseech you for I have a Godly Jealousy upon me I fear lest the very End of Christs Coming is Mistaken And of how Dreadful a Consequence such a Mistake would be you cannot possibly be Ignorant that believe there is No Salvation in another Name Let us hear the Testimony of Scripture They are the Words of Christ himself I must peach the Kingdom of God for therefore am I sent Now what is this Kingdom of God but God's Government and where is this Kingdom and Government to be set up Christ also tells us Behold the Kingdom of God is within you So that the Reason of this being sent is to destroy the Kingdom and Government of the Devil the Strong Man that kept the House the Heart and to erect and establish the Kingdom and Government of God in the Soul Thy Kingdom come thy Will be done Would to God people would but consider what they Pray for For they are scandal'd at the thing they ask and both neglect and revile the Substance of their own Prayers Thy Kingdom come and thy Will be done but believe neither It was the Office God designed his Son to The Thief says Christ does not come but to kill to steal and to destroy That is To steal away the Heart from God and to kill and to destroy all Good Desires and Inclinations in the Soul for the Devil is this Thief and Destroyer But I am come says Christ that they might have Life and that they might have it more abundantly O Death 〈◊〉 will be thy Death as if he had said I will kill that which kill'd the Soul I will breath the Breath of Life into it again and by my Spirit and Grace I will beget Holy Motions and kindle Heavenly Desires in it after God after the Kingdom of God and the Righteousness thereof This is the Newness of Life And I will not only restore that Life the Soul has lost but I will encrease it I will add to it that it may have Life more abundantly Indeed he was Anointed of God for this Purpose and is therefore called the Restorer of Paths the Repairer of Breaches and the Builder up of Waste Places that is he is ordained of God for the Recovery of Man from his Fallen and Disobedient State This is the Reason of his Name Thou shalt call his Name Jesus said the Angel for he shall save his People from their Sins Not from Wrath only but from Sin which is the Cause of Wrath. That is Of Bad Men he will make them really good Men and of Sinful and Unholy he will make them Holy and Righteous Men who truly believe in him This is the Burden of John's Testimony There is one says he that cometh after me is mightier than I he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with Fire whose Fan is in his hand he will THROUGHLY PURGE his Floor And seeing Jesus coming to him said Behold the Lamb of God which TAKETH AWAY the SIN of the World I know the Use that too many make of these Scriptures as if they were an Hebraism borrow'd from the Old Sacrifices which may be said To take away Sin by taking away the Guilt and not that the Natures of Men are restored and perfected And indeed this is that Sense which I dread above all others because it perverts the End of Christs Coming and lodges Men in a Security pernitious to their own Souls For though it is most true that Remission of Sins was and is preached in his Name and Blood and that Sin in a Sense may be said to be Taken away when the Guilt of the Sins is removed by Remission yet this is only of Siâ—s past that upon Repentance are forgiven But this is not the Whole Full and Evangelical Sense as Christ's own words do plainly import For says he the Son of Man is come to save that which was Lost And upon another Occasion he expresseth himself to the same purpose and almost in the same words For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was Lost Now who is this that is Lost but Man and in what Sense can Man be said to be Lost but by Sin and Disobedience that which cast him out of the Presence and Garden of God and put him in a Condition of Eternal Misery If Christ then came to Save Lost Man he must be understood to Save him from that which puts him into a Lost Condition that is Sin for The Wages of Sin is Death and the Servant of Sin is a Son of Perdition Christ has determin'd this Point beyond all Exception in his Discourse with the Jews John 8. 31 32 33 34. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed vn him if ye continue in my Word then are ye my Disciples indeed and ye shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you Free What Freedom was this Certainly from Sin sutable to that passage in his Prayer Sanctify them through thy Truth thy Word is Truth But some Jews present proud of their Priviledges apprehended not the Liberty Christ spoke of and therefore answer'd him thus We are Abraham's Seed and were never in Bondage to any Man how sayest thou Ye shall be made Free Jesus answered them Verily verily I say unto you whosoever committeth Sin is the Servant of Sin In which place it is very remarkable that Men are only to be distinguish'd by their Works that no Claims Priviledges Successions or Dissents are available but He that commits Sin is the Servant of Sin So that Christ's Free Man is he that is Freed from Sin this is his Follower and Disciple And as Christ oppos'd the Works of the Jews who unjustly sought to kill him to their Pretensions they made to Abraham's Seed so must we oppose the Actions of Ill Men to their better Professions we must faithfully tell them He that commits Sin is the Servant of Sin From which Servitude Christ came to Save his people and is therefore called The SAVIOUR and the REDEEMER This Doctrine is closely followed by the Apostle Paul in his sixth Chapter to the Romans Therefore we are buried with him by Baptism into Death that like as Christ was raised up from the Dead by the Glory of the Father even so we also should walk in Newness of Life