Selected quad for the lemma: work_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
work_n	dead_a	faith_n	lively_a	5,187	5	10.6802	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93282	The true church of Christ exposed to the view of all sober Christians, from the Word of God, sound reason, and the ancient fathers / by James Salgado, a Spaniard, a converted priest.	Salgado, James, fl. 1680.	1681 (1681)	Wing S384; ESTC R42935	23,389	69

treat of Passive Justification or Justification considered in respect of the man justified And thus it is nothing else but an assured considence of our righteousness in Christ and by the imputation of his Merits which we receive and apply unto our selves by faith Rom. 3.25 26. Hence it appears that the Meritorious Cause of our Justification is the Merit of Christ as we proved a little before and the hand by which we apply this satisfaction of our Saviour or the instrumental cause of our Justification is Faith Man is justified by faith without the works of the Law Rom. 3.28 It is as clear from the Scriptures as the light of the Sun in mid-day that we are justified by faith only By grace ye are saved through faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God Eph. 2.8 So that I shall insist no longer upon this point but conclude with the Apostle That by the deeds of the Law shall no flesh be justified for by the Law is the knowledge of sin Rom. 3.20 There is therefore no Justification in the sight of God by our works but only by saith which applieththe Panacea of Salvation unto our dead hearts and causeth us to live in God and God in us We are not so unreasonable as to separate Works from Faith yet nevertheless we affirm that Faith only doth justifie it 's the eye only that sees the hand only that weighs yet neither can the eye see nor the hand weigh unless they be united to the body Even so Faith only doth justifie but this Faith is never separated from Good Works The Apostle James indeed saith We are justified by works and not by faith only Jam. 2.24 But he either means justification before men as in the eighteenth verse Shew me thy faith by thy works or else the confirmation of internal faith by external actions or else he speaks by a Metonimy of the effect for the cause so that by faith and works he means a working faith which seems to agree well with the words You see then how that by works man is justified and not by faith only that is not by a solitary or naked faith which is not accompanied with works for faith being alone is dead but by a living faith which shews its foundness by works So that we are not justified by works but by faith only and whosoever will narrowly look into himself and his own frailty must needs break forth into Bellarmine's words Because of the frailty of humane life and the uncertainty of our own righteousness it is safest to relye only upon the mercy of God Bel. de bon oper Consider Candid Reader the words of this Cardinal who as I can demonstrate if need be at the end of the greatest Controversies between us and the Papists yields at last unto the truth and appears though an Italian to be more a Protestant than a Papist Thus we have proved by Gods assistance that Active Justification is an external judicial absolution of an unrighteous man and pronouncing of him righteous and that Passive Justification is by faith only and that a living faith which applieth to us the Merits of our Saviour As for Sanctification I shall say little concerning it by reason the Papists don 't disagree much with the Protestants in this Point as to the nature of the thing only I utterly deny that the good works which we do are meritorious or necessary to Salvation necessuate medii as a mean to bring us to Salvation Bernard says well Good works are the way to the Kingdom not the cause of reigning nor does the Popish distinction between merit of congruity and condignity mitigate this Assertion for besides that the Congruity of Gods Reward for our Works consists onely in his own good pleasure Fear not little Flock for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you a Kingdom Luk. 12.32 I have often admired that they have found no Text of Scripture to prove the condignity of works but this one which is Diametrically contrary to their Assertion The Sufferings of this present time are not worthy but condign to be compared with the Glory that is to be revealed in us This is the onely place where the word condignus is to be found I will proceed now to shew how found and genuine the Doctrine of the Reformed Churches is concerning the Sacraments which are Seals of the righteousness of faith Rom. 4.11 And shortly refute the Popish Errours As for Baptism both Parties acknowledge it to be a Sacrament of Initiation by which in the faith of our Parents which is my opinion we are implanted into the Church which is the Body of Christ But the Papists falsely affirm that Baptism ex opere operato by vertue of the work wrought works in us Regeneration and abolishes Original Sin Not onely because an external corporal thing can have no influence upon things internal and spiritual in reference to the rectifying thereof which can onely be done by God himself every good and perfect Gift comes down from the Father of Lights saith the Apostle James But likewise because the sign of the Covenant cannot communicate to us the things comprehended in the Covenant And the contrary appears also from the effect because those that have been baptized are and have been subject to everlasting damnation And if this Sacrament ex opere operato did work Grace Regeneration c. then Abraham could not have been reputed righteous by faith in uncircumcision Rom. 4.9 Moreover in the Primitive Times and especially as to them that were baptized when come to Age Faith was required before the Seal of Righteousness were stampt upon their hearts and consciences Now because Faith is the Root of the rest of the Graces and hath annexed unto it that great work of Repentance It necessarily follows that the Apostle requiring faith in the Adult did suppose the rest of the Graces to be in them not imagining that they should be conferred upon them but rather sealed or confirmed by Baptism for Baptism is a Seal of the Righteousness of Faith and not a thing that by its internal vertue work Faith and Regeneration For this very reason Augustin and other of the Fathers affirmed that Infants are baptized in the Faith of their Parents if believing Parents or in the Faith of the Church if their Parents were unknown or Unbelievers because they were perswaded that Faith is rather required before than conferred by Baptism So that we believe that the holy Ghost doth operate in the tender hearts and minds of elect Infants even from their Birth and that effectually though insensibly and although perhaps he doth not work in them subjectively an actual faith yet he objectively applies unto them the benefits of Christ which in others are received by an actual faith But lest any should think that we falsely charge our Adversaries with this Assertion I will shew the candid Reader the reason why they assert it and then evince the same

Popes pronouncing from or without his Chair so that what he Decrees in the former way is infallible though in the latter he may deceive and be deceived But you 'l find that even this distinction can very little advantage but rather prejudice your Cause For how can it be conceived that one and the same Man without any fear or compulsion can contradict himself in one and the same matter Again the Pope who being out of the Chair may deceive ought to advise with himself as sitting in the Chair lest he fall into an errour or the Cardinals if they would have this Holy Father to be always infallible should bind the good Old Man to the Chair with Chains as Prometheus was tyed to Caucasus that he may never be moved out of this Infallible Seat Besides it is manifest that the Popes even pronouncing from the Chair have frequently erred as appears by the examples of John the XXIII Stephanus Formosus and others as hath been made manifest to the World by many of the Reformed Writers yea even by the Papists themselves witness Platina concerning the Lives of the Popes which Platina was the Popes own Library-keeper at Rome 2. They can give no account what they mean by this Chair for the material Chair can contribute nothing to the Popes Infallibility by any physical or internal vertue else a Herds-man if set upon this Infallible Chair would be no less Infallible than the Pope himself But by the formal or rather Moral Chair in which sense our Saviour makes mention of Moses Chair there can nothing else be understood than the Holy Scripture it self and if the Pope pronounceth according to the tenour thereof we shall willingly hearken to him 3. The Holy Spirit upon whom the Popes Infallibility is said to depend is not tyed to this or that place but bloweth when and where and upon whom he listeth Others more sharp-sighted observing the foolishness of this distinction have devised another namely that the Pope cannot erre in a question of Right though he may be deceived in matters of Fact But this also is a broken Reed upon which if a man lean it will go into his hand and pierce it although it was invented by the Jansenists to heal that Wound which Alexnnder the VII gave them in that famous business of the five Articles For first when the Pope Anathematizeth a man he considers him as believing so and so Nor doth it appear how he that is free from all possible errour in matters of Right can be subject to errour in matters of Fact for when he pronounceth concerning the sense of any Book being an Infallible Interpreter of the sense and meaning which they do affirm he may fall from a question of Right into a question of Fact and so may determine that this and no other was the Authors meaning 2. Seeing Law prescribes to matter of Fact it is not likely that he who is Infallible in matter of Right can erre in matter of Fact 3. Right doth sometimes arise from Fact therefore that which before was a question of Fact afterwards turning to a question of Right the Pope may give an infallible judgment concerning it 4. If this be true the Pope cannot condemn nor Anathematize an Heretick his judgment being fallible in matters of Fact 5. We have before shortly proved that the Pope hath erred most abominably in matters of Right And thus you may see what difficulties they involve themselves in who place the Church and its Infallibility in the Pope alone Now followeth the third and last Opinion of the Papists concerning the Church and its Infallibility namely that it consists in the Pope and the Council together But Incidit in Scyllam qui vult vitare Charybdim For the same difficulties that were before proposed do press them equally And moreover these doubts will arise Whether the Pope have his Infallibility from the Council or the Council from the Pope Whether if the Pope be absent his Legates have the same Infallibility that he himself would have if Present if so whether he might not as easily Delegate this Infallibility to the Bishops of the Council as to his Legates Whether Decrees made in the Popes absence be Infallible and binding to the Conscience For if no Decrees be binding without the Popes Confirmation it cannot be conceived how he can extrajudicially or out of Council ratifie the Decrees made in Council being the Popes Infallibility consists not in his own Person as separate from but joyntly with the Council From what I have said it evidently appears that the Papists catch at a Shadow instead of the Body and though they obstinately assert the Infallibility of their Church yet they cannot agree nor do they know where this Church is to be found So that they are altogether ignorant how to satisfie a doubting Soul in this matter and yet they desist not Projicere ampullas sesquipedalia verba While I was yet in the Roman Communion I perceived my self intangled in these Labaryinths and often considered how to extricate my self that so I might with a clear Conscience worship God in purity and holiness And although I had heard much in my own Country which is Spain of the Reformed Churches yet I could never light on any of the Books of their Learned Divines being forbidden to read them under the severest penalties But hearing that they founded all their Doctrines upon the Holy Scriptures I became very desirous to search into the same for in Spain it self the Clergy is not forbidden to read the Scriptures and having met with these words of the Apostle Paul 2 Tim. 3.16 17. All Scripture is given by Inspiration of God and is profitable for Doctrine for Reproof for Correction for Instruction in Righteousness that the Man of God may be perfect thoroughly furnished unto all good works It seemed to me that the Apostle had drawn a lively Portraicture of a Minister of the Gospel and described at once what ought to be the matter and Fountain as well as Method of Preaching yea and declared by what means the Man of God that is a Minister of Christ may undoubtedly attain unto the full perfection of his Ministry as well in reference to his own accomplishments for the work as to the good effects of his labour upon the Souls committed to his care namely he asserteth that the Scriptures contain a rich Treasure of Divine Knowledge able to make a man wise unto Salvation 2 Tim. 3.15 and pronounceth him accursed that should preach another Gospel even though it were an Angel from Heaven Gal. 1.8 but peace upon as many as walk according to this Rule Gal. 6.16 And God himself sends his people to the Law and to the Testimony as the most effectual way to reduce them from seeking unto false Prophets and Wizards Isa 8.19 20. Having pondered these things seriously and often within my self and observed that Paul speaks so magnificent things of the Scriptures and that he who