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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A82010	A persuasive to full communion, with the churches of Christ in all Gospel-ordinances and priviledges Containing an essay for the conviction and reformation of such adult, or grown persons who live in the sinful neglect of baptism and the supper of the Lord. Together with an account of the manner of the transition of church-members from their infant to their adult-state, and regular admission to full communion. Written, for the help of such as need instruction in these spiritual concerns, 1 Cor. 12. 13. For by one spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be jews or gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one spirit. By the late reverend Mr. George Day, minister of the gospel in London-street in Ratcliff / 1697.	Day, George, d. 1697.	1698 (1698)	Wing D461; ESTC R232085	42,081	116

this is a gross Error for these ought not to meddle with this Holy Ordinance until they are Converted None are fit Guests for this Holy Table of the Lord but those that are truely Gracious because they must Exercise Grace at this Ordinance as Faith Repentance Love c. which necessarily Implies that they must have it before they come All unsanctified Persons that Partake of it do but prophane and pollute it and Eat and Drink Judgment to themselves So that if graceless Persons ought not to approach this Ordinance because they are graceless as we say and if Gracious Persons ought not to use it because they are Gracious as the Quakers say then none at all must use it and so this Ordinance would be wholly laid aside as useless But can any Man of tollerable Sense be of this Opinion What would this be less than to accuse Christ who is Wisdom it self of Folly in setting up a useless and needless Ordinance in his Church And do foolish Worms think they shall be able to make good this Charge against him in the great Day Fifthly Suppose that Text in 1 Cor. 11.26 Were to be understood of Christs Coming in Spirit as they hold yet I think it worth observing that though the Apostle approves of the Use of this Ordinance till then he doth not say then it is to be laid aside and used no more by such Nor will his Words admit of that Sense any more than the like Phrase used by him as 1 Tim. 4.13 Till I come give attendance to Reading to Exhortation to Doctrine Did the Apostle mean think you that young Timothy should Study and Preach the Word only until he came to him and ever after lay both aside Surely no I judge this Expression in 1 Cor. 11.26 Frees Christians no more from their Obligation to continue the Use of the Lords-Supper than the like Expression in 1 Tim. 4.13 Freed Timothy from his Obligation to continue his Ministry Sixthly The Reasons and Ends for which Christ Instituted this Ordinance will continue as long as Christ hath a Church in the World and that will be till his coming to Judgment therefore this Ordinance ought to continue so long also For as none but Christ hath Right and Power to set up alter or remove an Ordinance in his Church he being the only Head and Law-giver of it so he never makes any such Alteration but when there is just Cause for it Thus we find the Ordinance of Circumcision continued in the Jesish Church until the Time of Christs Coming in the Flesh when it pleased him to Institute Baptism to be of the same Use in the Christian Church So the Passover continued until Christ appointed the Lords-Supper an Ordinance of like Signification and Use to succeed it And this doubtless must continue until it shall please him to set up another in the room of it which is not to be expected these being the last Ages of the World and while the Church hath need of it for its Spiritual Uses and Ends that is for the preserving the Memory of Christs Death the Confirmation of the Covenant of Grace c. and these Ends will continue till Christs coming to Judgment To this purpose is the Note of a Judicious Divine on 1 Cor. 11.26 Because saith he we shall always want such an help as long as we remain in this World St. Paul signifies this Remembrance of Christ is recommended to us until he appears to Judgment for seeing he is not conversant among us in a Visible Form it is necessary that there should be some Sign of his Spiritual Presence with which our Minds may Exercise themselves These Things duly and impartially considered may be I hope sufficient to convince all sober minded Persons that this Ordinance is not Antiquated or grown out of Date but ought still to be Reverently used by Christians to the End of the World Having thus endeavoured to Answer all the Objections I have met with or could think of by which Persons are or may be kept off from this Ordinance and so cleared my Way and I hope theirs too by removing Obstructions I shall now Instruct such as are convinced of their sinful Neglects and are made in some Measure willing and defirous of Reformation in this Matter 1. Go to God and humbly acknowledge your faults with Shame and Sorrow of Heart begging pardoning Grace for the sake of Christ and resolve in his Strength to continue in this Sin no longer but use all good Means to get the Knowledge of your Duty and set about it To which end 2. Examine your Selves Whether you be in the Faith or whether you have a Gospel-right to and fitness for this Holy Ordinance of the Lords-Supper If you need any help herein the Sacramental Catechism may be useful to you as to this But for your better Assistance 3. Apply your selves to some able Minister of the Gospel especially to him to whose Spiritual Oversight and Conduct you intend to commit your Souls desire his Assistance submit to his Inquiry into the State of your Souls and Intreat his Impartial Thoughts or Judgment of it Propose your Doubts and Scruples to him if you have any in order to Satisfaction and ask his Spiritual Counsel and Direction in the Way of your Duty 4. Get the Knowledge of the Way and Manner of Transition or Passage of Church-Members from their Infant-state to that of Adult or grown Persons and the Terms of their Admission to full Communion with a Particular Church that you may understand what will be required of you and consider well whether you can freely and heartily Comply with the Terms proposed If you find in them any Matter of Doubt or Scruple signifie it to the Pastor and seek Satisfaction of him and when you are satisfy'd make it also known to him with your Desires of Admission Indeed the Method of Admission is not the same in all Particular Churches Though I acknowledge an Uniformity in this Thing as well as others of Common Concern is much to be desired and endeavoured as what would be greatly Conducive to Unity Love and Peace amongst Christians and the Edification and Enlargement of the Kingdom of Christ in the World I shall not pretend to give you an account of the various Methods of several Churches here But only add these Two Things more First I shall acquaint you with the Practice of the Primitive Church in this Matter and Secondly Give you an account of my own Judgment and Practice herein Humbly submitting it to the free Censure of the more Judicious First Then as to the Transition or passing of Church-Members from their Infant-State to the State of the Adult and Admission to full Communion with a Particular Church of Christ know that in the Church or Houshold of Faith there are Members of several Sizes or Statures some are but new-born Babes as 1 Pet. 2.2 Some little Children others Young-Men and others called Fathers as 1

of which Persons under the Christian Name are guilty in this Age and for which God hath a Controversie with us at this Day The neglect of those Sacred Ordinances of Christ Baptism and the Lord's Supper is one and not the least it being notoriously evident that many of Twenty or Thirty Years Old and some more have never been Baptized and these with Thousands more of Adult or grown Persons live also in the neglect of the Lord's Supper The Cause of which neglect in some is the Ignorance and Error of their Parents who if they were Quaker's wholly reject these Ordinances as useless Ceremonies and Dispute against them or if Anabaptist's neglect to bring their Children to Baptism in their Infancy and many of them being bred up in Ignorance are careless of their own Souls concerns and so Live and Dye without the Participation of these Ordinances Now though I dare not Judge such as to their Eternal State for to their own Master they stand or fall I freely acknowledge the Grace of God is not bound to external Ordinances and God doth nothing by them but what he can do without them if he please yet I know we are bound to the Use of Ordinances when we may have them by the express Command of God because they are his Institutions by which he doth usually work Grace in us And to neglect known Duties yea or to live in Ignorance of Duties under the means of Knowledge are Soul-damning Sins which I earnestly desire all that are thus guilty seriously to consider Upon the Observation of these sinful Omissions I cannot but conclude it to be the unquestionable Duty of all the Ministers of Christ that would be found faithful to him and to the precious Souls of Men not only to observe mourn over and reprove these Sins but to do their utmost also in their proper Stations and Relations for Reformation in this Particular The Sense of this Duty hath been so deeply impressed on my Spirit as to put me upon this well-meant though mean endeavour to contribute something toward this needful and desirable Work I am too Conscious of my own weakness to dictate to my Reverend Brethren acknowledging that I rather need and therefore desire their Light and Help herein yet hope I may without giveing Just Cause of Offence to any take leave to Confess that many of us have been very defective in our Duties herein and in this Confession I cast the first Stone at my Self The Good Lord Pardon us that we have manifested no greater concern of Spirit for the Holy Institutions of our Lord-Redeemer and help us that while we Reprehend our People for their sinful Omissions we may be duly humbled for our own and make it more visible in our Practice that we teach our Selves as well as Others A PERSUASIVE TO FULL Communion OF Baptizing Adult or Grown Persons I Shall then first apply my Self to such Adult or grown Persons who though they go under the Christian Name yet were never Baptized If this Paper comes to the Hands of any such I would propose some Considerations to convince you of your Sin and if the Lord shall bless them bring you to Repentance and then give you some Councels or Directions for a right performance of your Duty In Order to your Conviction be perswaded seriously to consider these seven Things First Consider That Baptism is as much an Ordinance of Christ as Preaching the Gospel is and to continue in use in the Christian Church as long as that as appears by Christ's own Command Mat. 28.18 19. viz. to the End of the World and so it is as much the Duty of all professed Christians to receive the Ordinance of Baptism as to attend on the Ordinance of Preaching For the same Authority that enjoyns the one enjoyns the other Therefore the neglect of it must be sinful And how dare you Live in any known Sin Secondly Consider That it is both the Duty of Christian Parents to bring their Children unto Christ and the Right and Priviledge of such Children to be so brought to receive his Blessing Mark 10.13 14 15 16. And this Seal of the Covenant of Grace under which they are as well as their Parents Gen. 17.7 And so must have a Gospel-right to this Ordinance as have been sufficiently proved by many Judicious Pens to which I must refer you for more Light in this Point if you need it because of my intended Brevity And if so it must be the Sin of your Parents that they brought you not to this Ordinance in your Infancy and by Consequence your Sin and loss to neglect it ever since you came to Years of Discretion and a Capacity to Covenant with God and present your selves to Baptism Thirdly Consider That your Parents sinful neglect of their Duty is no just Plea or Excuse for your neglect of this Ordinance since you came to Years of Understanding for then it became your Duty both to acquaint your selves with the Covenant of Grace and give your own Understanding and Hearty Consent to it and to testifie the same by receiving this Ordinance For Jews or Heathens when instructed in the Christian Religion if they make a serious Profession of Faith in Christ and Obedience to him ought to be Baptized much more may the Adult Children of Christians when they make the like Profession Acts 8.36 c. 4. Consider That it looks as if you were ashamed to own Christ and Christianity that you do not so much as wear the visible Badge of his Disciples and Followers i. e. Baptism For by this Ordinance Christians are distinguished from all the rest of Mankind and whilest you want this mark of Distinction and yet profess Christianity you deserve to be called Heathen-Christians or Christian Heathens owning only the Name of Christs Followers but seeming ashamed of his Livery And if you are indeed ashamed to own Christ or his Ordinances here before Men he will be ashamed to own you before his Father and the Angels hereafter Mat. 8.35 And how sad will their Condition be whom Christ will not own in the great Day Are you not loath to be found amongst such at last Fifthly Consider That though the neglect of Baptism may seem a small fault if any to ignorant and inconsiderate Persons yet it is indeed a great and hainous Sin being down-right disobedience to the Command of Christ and a virtual slighting and practical refusing of the Covenant of Grace of which this is the visible Sign and Seal therefore it must be very provoking in the Eyes of God We find God threatned that Parent who did not Circumcise his Son to cut him off from his People that is either to exclude him from the Church of God and all the Priviledges Promises and Blessings belonging to it or to cut him off by an untimely and violent Death for so the Learned understand that Text Gen. 17.14 Compared with Exod. 31.14 So that Moses himself was like to have

Spiritual Things should be minded in the first Place as Mat. 6.33 And therefore if you put them off till last you are guilty of Inverting or Changing the Order which Christ hath commanded you to observe and that is sinful 2. No more Worldly Cares are lawful and allowable to you but what are consistent with the more weighty Care of Religion and your Souls while they are moderate and keep within due bounds they hinder not the other but the excess of them is sinful which therefore you ought to Watch and Pray against 3. You may get through the World as soon as get through your Worldly Cares and Troubles for they usually accompany us more or less all our Days as soon as one Trouble is over another succeeds one begets another as Wave begets Wave so that if you stay from this Ordinance until you are wholly freed from them you are never like to Partake of it 4. Many of your Worldly Troubles and Afflictions are procured to you by your own Sins or sent of God to correct you for them drive you from them unto God and make you more mindful of Religion and your Souls concerns so that you make a quite Contrary use of them if they drive you farther from God and make you the more to neglect the Care of better Things Obj. 13. But when you have said all that you can for this Ordinance say others this is but a Ceremony that you Plead so much for and to neglect a Ceremony we hope can be no great Offence but will be easily forgiven while we mind the more substantial Duties of Religion Ans 1. Though it be but a Ceremony it is commanded to be used by the Lord Jesus Christ himself and so of Divine Authority so that the neglect of it is Disobedience to God and that is no small Offence 2. Though it be a Ceremony yet it is a very significant and honourable Ceremony being appointed by Christ to signifie and represent his Death and Sufferings for our sakes in which his matchless Love to Sinners was displayed and therefore to slight and neglect it must be no less than a slight put upon his Love and a Practical forgetfulness of him seeing he requires us to use this Ordinance in Remembrance of Him and ●s this nothing in your Eyes 3. The smaller the Thing or the easier the Duty is that Christ Commands ●he greater is the Sin of such as Disobey ●t Had he commanded far greater Things should you not Obey how much more when he injoyns you so small 〈◊〉 Thing as this What will you deny ●o do an easie Duty at the Command of Christ who refused not both to do and suffer the greatest Things for you Is ●his your Love and Thankfulness to Christ 4. Know That the abuse or neglect of a Ceremony that is of Divine Insti●ution may be very displeasing unto God and Dangerous to our Selves was not the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil a Ceremony Yet by our first Pa●ents abuse of it in Eating the Fruit ●hereof contrary to Gods Law the Wrath of God was brought on them and all their Posterity Gen. 2.17 Was not Circumcision a Ceremony yet Moses his neglect to Circumcize his Son was like to cost him his Life as Exod. 6.24 And as slight as you may make of this Ceremony of the Lords-Supper yet for the abusing of it some of the Corinthians were smitten with Sickness and Weakness and others with Death as 1 Cor. 11.30 Now if God punisheth Men for the abuse of this Ordinance can it be rationally Thought that he will suffer the Neglecters and Despisers of it to go unpunished Obj. 14. But say some the Lords-Supper was but a Temporary Ordinance or to be used in the Christian Church only for a Time that is till Christs coming as 1 Cor. 11.26 For as oft as ye Eat this Bread and Drink this Cup ye do shew forth the Lords Death till he come Now say Quakers for this is their Objection Christ is come to us in Spirit Therefore we use not this Ordinance This indeed is the most sinful and dangerous Objection of all because it strikes at the very being of this Ordinance and seeks the Destruction and Cutting it off from the Churches of Christ and therefore must be the more warily and vigorously opposed For the Confutation of it I shall propose these following Considerations First Consider Though it must be granted Christ doth indeed speak of another Coming to his Church before his Coming to Judge the World as John 14.18 I will not leave you Comfortless I will come to you and this Coming may be called his Coming in or rather by the Spirit which he promised to send in his Name to Teach Sanctifie and Comfort his Church as John 15.26 So that in respect of this his Spiritual Coming he promised to be with it always even to the End of the World as Mat. 28. last Yet I say The Apostle is not to be understood in that Scripture to speak of Christs Coming in Spirit but of his Coming in Person For Secondly Consider Christ was come in Spirit to his Church before that Epistle to the Corinthians was written whether we understand it of that extraordinary and miraculous Coming of the Spirit on the Apostles mentioned Acts 2.1 to 5. or of the ordinary Coming of the Spirit as the Teacher Sanctifier or Leader and Comforter of the Church Blessing his Ordinances to these Ends. Every true Believer hath Christ thus come into his Soul at his Regeneration or Conversion and to be fine the Holy Apostles experimentally knew this Coming of Christ by his Spirit unto their Souls before the Institution of his Holy Supper and so did the sincere Members of those Primitive Churches at Corinth Ephesus Philippi c. who yet kept up the Use of this Ordinance among them Thirdly Consider the whole Current of Learned Expositors in all former Ages of the Christian Church to this very Day understand by that Coming of Christ mentioned 1 Cor. 11.26 to be meant his Coming to Judgment as I could easily shew but that the Quotations of them would take up too much Room here nor have I found any Christian otherwise Minded until the Qunkers Invented this New Sense of those Words to Countenance their Rejection of this Holy Ordinance Now can any wise Man Imagine that Christ would have suffered his Church to erre in this Point for so many past Ages and never have discovered the true Sense of that Text till of Late to this sort of Men who are guilty of rejecting other Ordinances of Christ as well as this as Baptism Singing of Psalms the Observation of the Lords-Day and the Gospel-Ministry Believe it he that can Fourthly Consider if this Opinion were true that when Christ is come in or by his Spirit to Men they should no longer Partake of the Lords-Supper Then none should Partake of it but such to whom Christ is not thus come that is Graceless Persons But