Selected quad for the lemma: work_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
work_n	eternal_a	good_a	reward_n	7,006	5	8.9757	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A29125	A compendious answer to a book called A brief survay of the judgement of Mr. John Goodvvin, and the Church of God walking with him, touching their reasons of dissenting from many of their brethren, in these imprtant heads of doctrine; 1. Election and reprobation. 2. The death of Christ. 3. The grace of God in and about conversion. 4. The liberty or power of the will, or of the creature man. 5. The perseverance of the saints. VVherein the absurdities of all their dissenting doctrines are clearly exhibited, by a loving friend to the truth it self, Ellis Bradshaw.	Bradshaw, Ellis.	1652 (1652)	Wing B4139A; ESTC R212996	33,087	46

peremptory decree to save some and to damn others and you judge it a senseless part in God as in a Father to give his children compleat assurance and after threaten to disinherit them in case of disobedience As if you had quite forgotten that it had so pleased him as by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe and whom he predestinates to the end he also predestinates to the means And those who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation yet he rebuketh and chasteneth them and threatneth them also if they be not obedient yea and deserteth them also hideth his face as though he had forsaken them And all this likewise after he hath given them assurance of eternal life through Jesus Christ as I hope you know that after a full assurance in times of desertion men may stand in doubt it was so with David and many others many ebbings and flowings in respect of strength and weakness of faith there is found in all by ordinary experience But to proceed you in your judgement have already judged it a very senseless part in a Father to give a child a compleat assurance under hand and seal and particular the 3d. you account of an enemy unto godliness and that the result of it must needs make men remiss loose and indifferent in the service of God c. Whereas the wisdome of God hath already judged it a means to make us more zealous and cordiall and therefore it is that he giveth knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins that they might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness all the daies of their lives And fear hath torment in it you know and he that feareth is not yet perfect in love Arg. But we ought to endeavour to be perfect in love and are bid also Fear not little flock c. Conseq Therfore it followeth that in the wisdom of God through his love to his people he would have them to attain perfection both in faith and love See 1 John 5.10 11 12 13. yea even such degrees whereby they might have strong consolation and whereby their joy might be full and therefore he biddeth them ask and they shall receive it And the Apostle John writeth unto them purposely that they might know that they have eternal life and sheweth them by what signs they may certainly know it to wit by their faith and love which God had given them he that believeth on the sonne of God saith he hath the witness in himself Conseq Therefore it followeth he that thus believeth can never perish For who can pluck them out of the hands of God who is greater than all and who can terminate an eternall life And he that knoweth he believeth on the blessed name of the sonne of God and that loveth God and loveth his brethren for their likeness unto God may certainly know that he hath already this eternal life abiding in him and that he shall never perish And by how much stronger confidence any man attains and fuller assurance of faith through the grace of God By so much the more shall his love abound and so by consequence his zeal in religion and cordiallness in service will be the greater And whereas you say who will strain and toil himself in running for such a prize which he knowes he shall as certainly obtain by going an easie soft and ordinary pace I answer you speak in this as though all Gods elect were at the first assured and had no need to strive to enter in at the strait gate or to make their calling and election sure And as though it were all one what degrees and measures of faith and holiness we attain unto and whether we be rich or poor both in faith and good works As though degrees of grace and measures and multiplicity of good works and sufferings c. should not add unto us a far more excellent and eternal weight of immortal glory Whereas I know you know it and will acknowledge there shall be great inequality of reward both to the Elect and Reprobates though nothing contradictious to justice or equality in respect of desert But suitable to their works according to their works whether better or worse yea more or fewer as the Scripture is clear And therefore I cannot but wonder to see you propose this as an argument For as the Apostle saith They that run in a race run all but one receiveth the prize All Gods Elect may be said to run but not all alike for celeritie and attainments some of the first shall be last and some of the last shall be first in respect of attainments to degrees and measures of faith and love which are essentially in Christ Jesus Now for answer to your second particular Reason page 3. the which I over-skipped to answer the first and third both at once being one in substance I onely answer thus much briefly That they are very children in understanding that cannot refell this argument to wit that because the decree of God hath so adjudged some particular persons to eternall life through Jesus Christ as so you know we affirm that he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world was laid and not peculiarly without him and his sufferings c. Therefore yet you infer That such an election is extremely injurious to the death of Christ and utterly dissolveth the necessitie of it Which cannot be resented from such knowing men but as purposely intended to deceive the simple You knowing the principles of all understanding men to be quite contrary and too well fortifyed to be deceived with such inconsequent assertions For it is but thus much in effect to wit Because in the prescienceor foreknowledge and counsel of his will he hath chosen us in Christ to be saved eternally through his death and sufferings and for his sake Ergo Such ad Election is extremely injurious to the death of Christ and utterly dissolveth the necessity of it How extremely injurious unto Rationality this argument is I leave to all yea even Children of ten years of age to judge the reof 4. I come now to answer your fourth Argument where you boldly affirm That such a notion of Election layes the greatest part of the necessity of preaching of the word in the very dust c. To which I answer your Argument is a meer non sequitur for it is all but thus much to wit Arg. Because it hath pleased God to determine before the foundation of the world to save those that believe through the preaching of the word and through Christ c. Ergo the preaching of the word or to perswade men to attend thereupon is in vain and needless for the Elect shall as certainly be saved c. If they should not do it You have forgotten I suppose how Paul was inhibited to go unto such a place because they would not receive his doctrine but was

ordained you c. verse 16. saith our blessed Savior to whom God hath given power over all flesh that he should give eternal life to as many as God had given him John 17.2 Some are of the world and therefore it is that they speak of the world and the world heareth them But some are of God and he that knoweth God heareth them but he that is not of God heareth them not and thereby may be known the spirit of truth and the spirit of error see 1 Jo. 4.5 6. And again He that is of God heareth Gods words saith Christ ye therfore hear them not because ye are not of God John 8.47 So that it is clear some are of God before they hear God words and do therfore hear them because they are of God and not of the world For the truth is they are so of God by generation as that God is the chief cause of their very separation or propagation from the very loines of their natural parents And this is properly their actual election which is accomplished in time according to his eternal purpose or counsel of his will to elect in Christ having in his immutable counsel determined with himself what he would effect and bring to pass in time for he worketh all things in time according to his eternal purpose or counsel of his will before there was time But without all question such who are thus separated by the hand of God through means of generation and so are properly selected out of the world as peculiarly his own these you cannot chuse but must needs acknowledge their election is sure in the sight of God so as they cannot possibly perish And again so many as God had called justified and sanctified them you must needs acknowledge shall be glorified and so cannot possibly perish else you deny these plain expressions of the Holy Ghost before cited and go about also as hath been said to put even the best and holiest men into doubts and fears whereas you should labour to edifie in the faith and not to destroy their faith So that I cannot imagine what you should possibly mean or intend in this doctrine unless you so judge as that the Decree of God or counsel of his will before the world began was not so capacious and comprehensious as to determine before hand what should certainly become of every particular person that should be begotten from the beginning to the end But only determined with himself concerning the species or certain kinds of men in the gross or general and no further at all as so you seem to express your self saying There is no Election or Decree of Election of particular persons as such but only of an intire species of men from Eternity In which assertion you plainly deny the omnisciency of God and render him to us altogether blind in respect of particulars till they be existent and so you also exclude the Election of Christ himself as hath been said and every other particular of the Elect of God out of his eternal purpose as though he had not known as well the particulars as the gross and generall of all his works from the beginning to the end Whereas the text is clear that he worketh all things according to the counsel of his own will Ephes 1.11 And it is also clear that his understanding is Infinite see Psal 147.5 So that he cannot possibly be ignorant any more of the particulars than of the intire species or sorts of people for if he were ignorant of any thing his understanding were not infinite And if he did any thing at all in time that he had not purposed in himself in the counsel of his will before-time Then he could not be said to work all things according to his own purpose or the counsel of his will For if any particular work should be effected by him which he did not purpose in the Counsel of his will that particular work could not properly be said to be effected according to the counsel of his will nor as he had purposed in himself if he did not purpose that very particular work Obj. But you it may be will object That what is decreed to be done to or concerning all such of the same kind or species is also decreed to be done to every particular of such species or kinds of poople Answ I answer true But upon what ground can you possibly exclude out of the prescience or foreknowledge of God the foresight and knowledge of every particular work that he accomplisheth in time How can you prove that he did not purpose that very particular work Can you possibly imagine that he did not foresee from the very beginning all past present and future occurrences that have been are or shall be effected to the very end How dare you limit the Holy One of Israel and so diminish his Attributes Whereas you well know His understanding is infinite Conseq Therefore he is not ignorant of any occurrences from the beginning to the end And though many things seem unpossible unto men yet with God all things are possible saith our blessed Saviour Conseq Therefore it is possible that he should foresee all and every particular effect and occurrences from the beginning to the end this you cannot deny it were absurd if you should And you know likewise that The very hairs of our heads are numbred and that a sparrow falleth not to the ground without the will of our heavenly Father Which one would think were matters of too little moment for our wise Father to reckon up or regard and take notice of But the reason is he being omnipresent and omniscient and that eternally cannot possibly be ignorant of the least occurrences that may possibly insue He being an infinite spirit and all things being naked and open before him and that from the very beginning he declareth the end from the very beginning He saith unto Job Where wast thou when I laid the foundation of the Earth declare if thou hast understanding See Job 38.4 By which it appeareth that the Lord well knew and could also declare where the very materials of Job were of which he was composed and that from the very beginning And Job acknowledgeth also I know that thou canst do every thing and that no thought can be hid from thee Chap. 24. 2. Nay he understandeth our thoughts long before we think them The Lord foresaw and discovered unto Moses what the people of Israel would do after his decease and therefore gave him a propheticall song to be a witness against them See Deut. 31.16 c. to the 22. He knew their Imagination which they went about even then before he brought them into the land But I should hope that you would not stand in such conceits and misapprehensions as to set bounds and limits to the understanding and knowledge of God which is infinite and unsearchable and his waies in some things past finding out And if you will