Selected quad for the lemma: work_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
work_n	justify_v	law_n	moral_a	5,360	5	10.3036	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B10255	The highest end and chiefest work of a Christian set forth in two plain discourses, concerning the glory of God, and our own salvation / By J.W.	Waite, Joseph.	1668 (1668)	Wing W223; ESTC R186143	132,020	230

what acceptance it may have with God in such as are invincibly ignorant of the Gospel we are not concerned to inquire But to all them to whom this Gospel is sufficiently revealed the Christian Faith or Faith in Christ is absolutely necessary to render their works pleasing to God And that Faith is undoubtedly the principal● condition of Justification and Salvation And although other conditions be required to Salvation yet they are subordinate to this Faith as the proper effects and verifications thereof whereby it becomes allowable to God So that the concurrence and efficacie that other Graces and all good Works have unto Salvation is by vertue of Faith from whence they proceed It is Faith in Christ the Saviour that gives us Vnion with him and his Church and that consequently gives the first right to that Salvation which is procured by him and is the onely priviledge of his Church But this Faith must he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Faith unfained which it cannot be unless it be joyned with repentance and worketh by love and so makes a man a new Creature Faith is the prime Article of the New Covenant And in congruity to the design of mans Redemption and Salvation by Christ the principal act of this Faith is to receive him as the Author of this Salvation and to depend upon him and the expiation that he hath made for us by his blood But because he is also propounded to us in the same Gospel as Christ the anoynted of the Lord as well for a Prophet and a King as a Priest and sent by his Father to declare the Minde and Will of God in his Precepts as well as to publish his Grace in the Promises and is invested with all power to rule and govern his people as well as to save them therefore are all Christians that expect to be saved by him equally obliged to receive him as Lord and Christ to observe and keep his Precepts as well as to trust upon his Promises And thus much is included in the notion of their Faith given unto him when they are baptised for his Disciples which is the solemn Rite of ingaging our Faith unto him For that Faith which is professed in our Baptism is undoubtedly the same with that by which we are justified and saved But the Faith which is professed in Baptism is not a bare trust in Christ as a Saviour but a Faith given unto him as our Lord and Master to become his faithful Disciples importing our defire to learn and stipulation to observe his Precepts And therefore as S. Paul saith we are saved by faith Eph. 2.8 So S. Peter saith Baptism doth also save us 1 Pet. 3.21 Interpreting his meaning in the following words Not the putting away of the filth of the flesh but the answer or stipulation of a good conscience And to this purpose it is observable that when our Saviour gave commission to his Apostles to go and make Disciples of all Nations 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy Ghost he adds this as the interpretation of their discipleship teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you Implying that their Profession to be his Disciples which is the import of their Baptisin doth signifie their ingagement to observe his Precepts and to live like Christians To believe in Christ is to be a Christian that is a Disciple if Christ which was the first Title of Believers Act. 11.26 But that Title of a Disciple of Christ without respect to his Precepts imports contradiction to believe in Christ therefore and not to observe his Commandments is a plain contradiction As therefore all Christians are obliged to an explicit faith in Christ which is the ground of their Title to that name s● are they to do all manner of good Works upon the groun● of this Faith with desire and confidence of pleasin● God through Christ and not expecting any acceptan● of their works otherwise than by and through Christ Col. 3.17 Whatsoever ye do in word or deed d● all in the name of the Lord Jesus 1 Pet. 2.5 The Original of the first transgression by which th● whole Race of Mankinde fell into a state that neede Salvation was unbelief Eve by the temptation of th● Devil was first induced to quit her Faith in Go● Word that had said The day thou eatest there of thou shalt surely dye the death This unbelief was that which made way for the sin of disobed● ence to the Command For had she not doubted th● truth of Gods Word she could never have been per● swaded to taste of that forbidden Fruit. Thus w● unbelief the prime cause of mans ruine and there● fore the first step and principle of his restauration an● Salvation is Faith And as unbelief of the threa● ning by which the first Law was fortified was th● cause of our destruction so the belief of the promi● of the Gospel is the principle of our justification B● believing the Serpent the Abaddon and Apollyo● the destroyer we were undon by believing in Jesu● the Saviour we are saved But as that unbelief became destructive by its effects as a practical infidelity producing disobedience to the Commandment So is our Faith effectual to Salvation then onely when it is sincerely practical reducing us to our duty of obedience to our merciful Saviour If that saying of the Father must stand for a Catholick Axiom bona opera sunt via ad regnum non causa regnandi I must have leave to interpret the latter Clause so as may import no contradiction to the first that is that good works are the way to the Kingdom not the Cause that is the principle or meritorious Cause of our raigning for a Cause they must needs be that is a moral Cause if they be the way that is the means of our raigning as that signifies not onely the Term or End of this way but the Reward of our walking in it When therefore S. Paul excludes works from justification I take it his onely scope is to secure the freedom and assert the necessity of Divine Grace purchased by Christ and promised by the New Covenant of the Gospel And when he saith a man is not justified by the works of the Law he sometimes means ceremonial works such as was that of Circumcision and the obedience to that whole Law which a man was made a debtor to keep by his Circumcision Gal. 5.3 otherwhiles by the righteousness of works he seems to understand perfect indefective obedience to the whole Law or Will of God upon which account it is impossible for a sinner as he concludes all men to be now Rom. 3.23 Gal. 3.22 to be justified because his being so imports a contradiction to such Works Besides it is observeable that S. Paul doth never say that a man can be saved without Works but that he is justified without them speaking generally of the first

justification or being put into a state of justification by the free pardon Rom. 4.8 2 Cor. 5.19 or not imputing of sin● past This Grace he affirms to be obtain'd by a sincere Faith in Christ not onely without respect to Works antecedent to this Faith bu● also without and before any such works as are duly consequent unto it All those who were converted from Heathenism or Judaism unto the Faith of Christ were by that first act and profession of this Faith brought into a state of justification before and there fore without any such works as remained afterwar● to be done by the ingagement of this Faith But because this Faith if it was unfaigned did imply an ingagement of the Believer to all good works of love an● obedience to the commands of the Saviour the Lor● Jesus therefore this right of justification conferr●● upon the condition of such an ingagement could n● be beld without works And consequently Salvation which is nothing else but the final conpletion of this justification unto life Rom. 5.18 〈◊〉 not attainable without them But sti● good works have their acceptance and validity un● the reward of Salvation by vertue of Faith in Chri● the onely Saviour and his Merits So that they 〈◊〉 concurr to Salvation onely as verifications of our since Faith in Christ It is this Faith that must be the pl● of a sinner for his final justification at the last judgment but this plea can never be made good unless th● Faith be found free from any contradiction or 〈◊〉 faisance by the works of a mans life The two Apostles S. Paul and S. James will 〈◊〉 perfectly cleared from all reality of contradiction all or any of these three things shall be found true 1. That they speak not of the same Faith 2. Nor of the same Works 3. Nor of the same Justification 1. Not of the same Faith S. James speaking of an ineffectual dead faith not onely abstracted from works in its notion but being altogether without them Jam. 2.14 What doth it profit my brethren though a man say he hath faith and hath not Works And vers 17. Even so faith if it hath not works is dead being alone And vers 26. Whereas S. Paul speaks of a true and living Faith working by Love Gal. 5.6 such as was the Faith of Abraham that offerd up his onely Son Isaac at the command of God 2. Not of the same works S. James speaking of Evangelical works done in and with the Faith of the Messiah and in obedience to the Gospel Whilst S. Paul speaks of legal works or works of the Law as such Nor thirdly of the same justification S. Paul speaking of the first justification of a sinner upon his sincere believing in Christ before the confirmation of that faith by his works S. James understanding the continued state of justification as appears by his Example of Abraham vers 21. Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar Abraham was justified long before that work yet he is said to be justified thereby not before men but before God Any one of these differences in the Discourses of the two Apostles is sufficient to salve them from any reality of contradiction But the exact disquisition of those particulars not agreeing with the limits of my present undertaking must be left to them that are better able to pursue it It is more than time to relieve the patience of the Reader which shall be done wit● the addition of this onely request that he will joyn wit● the Author in his hearty Prayer to the Lord of Glory and the God of our Salvation for such a blessin● upon these Discourses as may render them at least i● some measure effectual to those blessed Ends t● which they are intitled ERRATA REader you are desired to take Notice That the words Part I in the running Titles upon the head of the pages in the latter part of the Book are wholly to be left out And in the first Discourse Page 16. line 9. read as is p. 25. l. 21. dele with p. 41. in the Margent r. je renie dieu maugré de dieu malgrádo de dío In the second Discourse Page 10. line 5. read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 36. l. 1. r. as is p. 46. l. 12. r. the work of conversion or repentance to begin in the understanding the ruling faculty c. p. 50. l. 10. r. supposition p. 57. l. 11. dele as p. 73. l. 16. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 91. l. 20. dele by it p. 108. l. 8. r. prevention THE Main Duty of a Christian 1 Cor. 10. 31. Whether therefore ye eat or drink or whatsoever ye do do all to the glory of God AS the highest Happiness of Man consists in the fruition of God and his favour So the highest Vertue and Perfection of man consists in his being intirely devoted to God by dedicating and Consecrating all that he is and all that he hath and all that he doth to the glory of God according to the precept of this Text which is the most transcendent Rule of Religion the prime fundamental Law of godliness properly so called In Moral and Civil Conversation between man and man that Common Rule of Equity and Charity is fundamental viz. that Eveny Man should do unto others as he would they should do to him In Politicks or publick Acts of Civil State and Government The safety of the People is the supream Law and all things are to be done to that end but in Religion the Canon of the Text is the only fundamental Whether ye eat or drink c. This general Rule is here brought in by the Apostle upon a special and particular occasion viz. by way of Argument to confirm an Admonition given to the Corinthians to beware of the Scandal of Idolatry by Communion with the Heathens in their Sacrificial Feasts celebrated to the honour of their Idols This Admonition the Apostle had begun at the 8th Chap. and after a brief Intermission he resumes it in this v. 14. Where he declares the main Reason why Christians should not partake with Heathens in their Idol Feasts namely because that would be to Communicate with and to be partners in the Idol-sacrifices and so to joyn in the worship of Daemons or Devils to whom those Sacrifices were offered v. 20. and therein to have communion with Devils As in the Christian Feast of the Lords Supper which is also a Sacrificial Feast or a feast upon the Sacrifice o● Christ's body and bloud repesented by bread and wine they that are partakers of that Supper are thereby partakers of the Sacrifice viz. of the body and bloud of Christ v. 16 17. And as in the Jewiss Feast upon their Sacrifices they that did eat of the Sacrifices were partakers of the Altar so they that are of the Sacrifices which by the Heathens were offered to Devils v. 7. Fxod 34.15.16