Selected quad for the lemma: work_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
work_n	faith_n	good_a	james_n	14,239	5	9.1170	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A33292	A Lent-sermon preached at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, March 3, 1699/1700 before the Right Honourable the Ld. Mayor and Aldermen of the city of London / by Sam. Clerke ...	Clark, Samuel, 1626-1701.	1700 (1700)	Wing C4493; ESTC R35642	10,761	30

are hugely zealous in matters of Devotion and Religious Ordinances but utterly careless of all manner of Vertue and Moral Goodness Now abating the Hypocritical Abuses of religious Ordinances supposing Men to be as serious in them as their Importance requires yet as instrumental Duties and commanded only in Order to something of greater Excellency Whensoever they are separated from their end they must be also separated from their Goodness and are as empty of all solid Piety as were all the carnal Services of the Pharisees without an inward and spiritual Obedience What is it to be curious to wash our Hands if incurious to purifie our Hearts What is it to starve and fast away our Corpse if we feed and pamper our Lusts What is it not to rob if we defraud and oppress our Neighbours Or while we relieve our Brother at the same time to hate and despise him It is no better all this than to let go the Body and Substance of Religion to pursue its Shadow and Appearances 'T is no other in God's repute than to make the Means of Grace become a Servant to Impiety the outward Form of Religion a Disguise for Hypocrisie and the Instruments of Piety engines to undermine what they were ordain'd to advance In the Scripture Phrase such profess they know God but in Works deny him Tit. 1.16 Fye Christians How is God's Name dishonoured by such Professors of his Name The sincere Christian sets himself to a serious minding of true and real Goodness He values his Devotions not by his Zeal and Frequency but by their Success and Efficacy and as they influence his Life so he estimates them according to that of St. Jerome Inter Christianum Gentilem non Fides tantum debet sed Vita distinguere diversum religione per diversa opera monstrate Hier. ad Celantiam Not only Faith but Life must distinguish between a Christian and a Gentile and we must shew a diverse Religion by diverse Works The Rules of Christianity are Modesty Justice bearing of the Cross Constancy in the Profession of Godliness Yet what confident Boldness is in our Streets What Injustice is in our Land What Pampering of the Flesh What Intemperance What Lukewarmness in Religion We profess a Gospel of Mortification of Humility of Self-denyal Yet how vain How proud How fashionable are we How little Regard have we to answer this Gospel Profession Think you Beloved That the bare reading the Scriptures and the frequent having the Book of Christian Learning in your Hands is enough to denominate you Christian Men and Women May you call your selves the Disciples of our Saviour because you turn over some good Books and hear good Sermons No such matter there is more in it than so For our Actions our Lives these must shew what we are Covetousness and Love of Pleasure tells us plainly that we are Idolaters and dead in Sin Our Murmurings and Discontent bespeak us rather with that prophane Cardinal to prize our part in Paris above that in Paradice Or with ungrateful Israel to prefer Aegypt before Canaan Pride and Study to be admired in the World proclaim us Devilish and Vain-glorious To give a Proof of our Humanity and Christianity too to convince the World that we are not turned unreasonable Creatures We must live according to our Reason we must practice our Religion we must prefer our Souls before our Bodies and the Concerns of our immortal Being before the Trivial Enjoyments of a few Moments What else means that of St. Paul 1 Cor. 3.3 that we should not be carnal and walk as Men but spiritual and walk like Christians Christians are not distinguished from others by outward Fashions and Modes not by their external Forms and Molds into which they are cast not by professing a Body of Notions differing from others in the World but they are distinguished by the renewing of their Minds by the Peaceableness of their Thoughts by Charity and Heavenly Love by pious and Holy Lives Christianity binds us to live answerably to the Gospel of Christ The two Disciples thought it enough to live as Elias did and to seek for Vengeance on their Enemies But Christ tells them they are called to another Spirit The Spirit of the Gospel is a Spirit of Meekness it is a Spirit of Patience it is a self-resigning Spirit it is a Spirit of Love of Love to God even to the Loss of our Lives of Love to our Neighbours even to the Love of our Enemies In short The Spirit of the Gospel is a Spirit of Holiness and all that partake thereof are holy They grow in Grace as St. Paul speaketh or according to the Baptist's Injunction in my Text They bring forth Fruit meet for Repentance Give me Leave a little to expatiate on the Christians Fruitfulness grounded on a two-fold Foundation 1st Their Name 2d Their Relation As to their Name First They are sometimes called Believers sometimes Christians two distinct Denominations we grant them but in Substance they are the same thing However If there be any Difference in this they are alike they both require Fruitfulness and as in that which is evil not to go backward is to go forward So here not to go forward is to go backward Believing Christians must not be at a stand till fixt in Heaven For 1. Whence have they their Name Is it not from their Faith in Christ Now Faith if it be not operative it is not at all We read Lev. 9.17 that the people were to burn their own Sacrifices besides the burnt Sacrifices in the Morning Their own Sacrifices What can this import if not as Dr. Willet on the place That we should not relye upon the Speculation of Faith only but must also labour to bring forth the Fruit thereof St. Paul beseecheth the Corinthians Not to receive the Grace of God in vain 2 Cor. 6.1 And St. Peter exhorts us 2 Pet. 1.5 To add to Faith Virtue to Virtue Knowledge to Knowledge Temperance to Temperance Patience to Patience Godliness to Godliness Brotherly-kindness to Brotherly-kindness Charity Intimating thus much to us that a Faith without virtuous Works is but dead and fruitless A Faith that worketh not is a Faith that saveth not as St. James insinuates when he calls it vain True Faith as it is a Grace most needful so it is a Grace most fruitful Fruitful on our side in good Works fruitful on God's side in a plentiful Reward for it is no sooner given of God but it gives God So soon as thou believest O Christian Christ is thine and all else whatever is his The Merits of his Passion the Virtue of his Resurrection the Comfort of his Ascension He being gone before to prepare Celestial Mansions for you He that gives us Christ will also with him give us all things Rom. 8.32 Faith doth identifie God and the godly My God saith Daniel when he declares his Deliverer and a Believing Thomas crys out My Lord and my Christ Seeing now