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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
world_n	live_v	teach_v	ungodliness_n	2,054	5	11.4833	5	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A86549	Salvation from sinne by Jesus Christ: or, The doctrine of sanctification (which is the greater part of our salvation) founded upon Christ, who is both the meritorious, and and efficient cause of sanctifying grace, purchasing it for, working & perfecting it in his people. Applied (as it was specially intended) for the better information of our judgements, and quickning of our affections in holiness, wherein our everlasting our everlasting happiness chiefly consisteth. / Preached in the weekly lecture at Evesham in the county of Worcester, by George Hopkins, M.A. minister of the Gospel there.; Salvation from sinne by Jesus Christ	Hopkins, George, 1620-1666.	1655 (1655)	Wing H2743; Thomason E1608_1; ESTC R208454	135,124	325

and to be called into fellow ship with God the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ Here is matter of admiration indeed Stand here and pause a little see whether you have not more cause than before to cry out O the breadth length and depth and height of the grace of Christ The soule that is betrothed to Christ in holinesse may much more say in this case what David said when he was advanced from a mean family to great dignity Lord Who am I and what is my house that thou hast brought me hitherto Here may we likewise say with the Psalmist Psal 8.4 What is man Lord that thou art mindfull of him and the Son of man that thou so visitest him And are not they to be esteemed the most faithfull preachers of the Gospel who shun not to reveale unto the people both parts of the Counsell and Grace of Christ but shew forth the glory of his sanctifying as well as of his justifying work Beware then I beseech you of the dangerous way of admiring grace against grace which is indeed to destroy grace Take heed of hearkning to them that so much contemne the doctrine of Sanctification by Christ under pretence of exalting Chr●st The Doctrine of the grace of God which bringeth salvation teacheth us that denying ungodlinesse and worldly lusts we should live soberly justly and godly in this present world Tit. 2.11 12. Paul teacheth us that it is a faithfull saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ came into the world to save sinners but not to save them in their sins that were a contradiction but to save them from their sins There is in him plenteous redemption and he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities Psal 130. ult and he saves them to the uttermost that come unto God by him Hebr. 7.25 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to the perfection of all And were it so that Christ should save us from wrath and not from sin he would be but an imperfect Saviour for it would be but a halfe salvation nor so much neither But Christ doth not leave his work imperfect those that are his redeemed ones are compleat in him Col. 2.10 he justifies them he sanctifies them and so saves them And he that will be a faithful Minister of Christ must preach justificatiō sanctification which are inseparable It is no marvell if Antinomian teachers carry the multitude after them When they shall teach them that there needs no sorrow for sin no repentance no such care to please God that God takes no notice of their sins nor is displeased with them for sin it is no strange thing if those that are in love with their lusts do folow applaud approve them when they cannot bear the plain dealings of a faithfull Minister of Christ who tells them they cannot have Christ and their lusts too That the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodlinesse and unrighteousnesse of men That the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdome of God That if they will be saved by Christ they must be content to have their iniquities destroyed they must be saved from their sins for they and their sins cannot be saved together It is no marvaile I say to see those loose sort of Teachers gain a multitude of imaginary Converts How easie a matter is it to make a Proselite of a worldling if he may have Christ and his Mammon too or a voluptuous man if he may have Christ and his carnall pleasuers too And who would not have Christ when he shall be taught to deny or part with nothing not so much as a beloved lust for Christ Such clawing teachers are fit to please men of itching ears and such rotten doctrine hath undoubtedly made so many unsound Professors as we see of late How many Antinomian pretenders to more than ordinary Christians have attained to do we see that give way to intemperate drinking lascivious jesting defrauding and many other evils If Solomon when the two women pleaded their cause before him concluded that she was indeed the Mother of the Child whose yerning bowels pleaded against the dividing of it knowing that was the ready way to destroy it Let the wise discern betwixt us and our Antinomian Adversaries which of the two is upright in his cause and whether a divided Christ be like to prove a living and quickning Saviour We may here with the Apostles of Christ lift up our voice to God with one accord Acts 4.24 to 29. and say Lord thou art God which hast made heaven and earth and the sea and all that in them is who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said why did the heathen rage and the people imagine vain things The Kings of the earth stood up and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ For of a truth against thy holy child Iesus whom thou hast anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and people of Israel were gathered together for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel had determined before to be done But this thou in mercy hast ordered to the saving of thy people But now behold a combination of Antinomians Familists and licentious Libertines with evil hearts and wicked hands have what in them lies divided and separated the saving work of thy Son Jesus Christ contrary to the revealed will to the ruine and destruction of many thousand soules And grant unto thy servants that they may with all boldnesse speak thy word not dawbing with untempered mortar but plainly telling Iudah of her sins and Ierusalem of her transgressions that so they may through thine effectual grace be instruments of recovering many from this snare of the Devil who are now led captive by him at his will 7. If the great work of Christ be the saving of his people from their sins this wil further inform us who they are that are the best Christians that have most interest in Christ even those that are the most saved from their sins that have their corruptions most mortified that are the most meek humble self denying obedient Christians and not they that are most in shew and outward appearance This I speak because I see most judge by a wrong rule both of themselves and others in point of Christianity I have heard some highly applauding such as talk and seem to know much while they complaine of their own ignorance want of expression inability in comparison of them calling the other able Christians And we see in this talkative age those that talk much to be renowned among many while the modest humble hearted are little set by I have sometime seen a Gallant in gold and silver lace strutting in great state and perhaps not so much worth in all the world beside as the clothes upon his back To this man many do reverence ignorantly apprehending him to be some honourable person when they regardlesly pass by another man in plain habit

heart that God especially calls for Prov. 23.26 My Son give me thy heart With the head man assenteth to the truth of God but with the heart man consenting believeth unto righteousnesse Rom. 10.10 that is justifying faith is seated chiefly in the heart I doe not exclude the understanding The head inventeth words but the heart inditeth matter for prayer and praise My heart is inditing a good matter saith David Psal 45.1 The head may dictate to the tongue but grace frameth and fixeth the heart for duty Psal 57.7 My heart is fixed O God my heart is fixed Here the heart leadeth the way to the outward service calling upon awakening the tongue Psaltery and Harp ver 8. Awake my glory that is my tongue which is therefore called our glory because it is the instrument wherewith man glorifies God compare Psal 16.9 with Acts 2.26 and you shall finde that that which the Psalmist calleth the glory the Apostle translateth the tongue in quoting that text Therefore did my heart rejoice and my tongue was glad 2. True Grace is also much in the feet of a Christian I mean the exercise of grace is in the course of life and conversation not excluding the inward exercise which is called our way wherein we are to walk according to the Word of God Thus also in the new Covenant God promiseth as to write his lawes in the hearts of his people so to cause them to walk in his statutes Ezek. 36.27 Psal 119.59 I thought on my waies and turned my feet unto thy testimonies ver 101. I have refrained my feet from every evil way ver 105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path Walking is an act of continuance and imports the constant course of life in such Scripture-phrases as these Thus saith David Psal 119.1 Blessed are the undefiled in the way who walk in the law of the Lord yea Grace causeth not onely to walk but also to run in the waies of God Thus likewise saith David Psal 119.32 I will run the way of thy commandements Thus Paul I therefore so run not as uncertainly 1 Cor 9.26 and he exhorteth us v. 24. So run that ye may obtain Gifts have been and are still much abused but Grace cannot be misimplied The strivings hot contendings fearfull schismes and factions in the Church of Corinth were made through the pride and vainglory of the gifted men among them There were so many tongues and so many speakers puffed up with self-conceit that those gifts which were given them for edification were abused to ostentation and confusion in their solemn meetings which Paul corrects as we read at large 1 Cor. 14. What is the cause of our sad divisions and the great disorder that we are grown into but this that men play the wantons with the gifts that God hath given them Scripture tells us knowledge puffs up 1 Cor 8.2 And when men are swoln with pride 't is no mervaile if they break out into contention for saith Solomon Onely by pride cometh contention Prov. 13.10 Let then the most humble peaceable selfe-denying serious Christian be accounted the best and let grace be ever preferred before gifts Lastly if Christs great work be the saving of his people from their sins this informes us that a soule given up to a state of sin is in a most sad condition No judgement like that of being given up to a reprobate sense and vile affections Had we stood with Abraham and seen Sodom flaming and smoking with fire and brimstone and so terrible wrath from Heaven consuming her inhabitants would not our hearts have aked within us at so dreadfull a sight But that which righteous Lot saw while he lived among them which vexed his soul from day to day even their filthy and unlawfull deeds was in itself a sight far more grievous to behold Men are apt to judge that God is highly displeased with those that fall under some remarkable temporall judgement but little regard his wrath in giving up soules to sinne yea a seeming judgement sometimes begets an hasty and rash censure When the Viper fastned upon Pauls hand no doubt said the Barbarians this man is a murtherer whom though he hath escaped the Sea yet vengeance suffereth not to live Acts 28.4 And had Job lived in our daies we should have had many ready to charge him in the depth of his misery with wickedness and hypocrisie as his friends did But beloved there is a sort of vengeance from heaven that lies upon the greatest part of the world and upon many among us which is little regarded and that is Gods leaving men up to their own hearts lusts Rom. 1.24 26. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleannesse through the lusts of their own hearts to dishonour their bodies betweene themselves and ver 26. For this cause God gave them up to vile affections To the like purpose speaketh Solomon Prov. 22.14 The mouth of strange women is a deep pit he that is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein And 't is well reckoned by the Psalmist among the heavy judgements upon Israel in the Wilderness that when they lusted exceedingly tempted God he gave them their request but sent leannesse into their souls Ps 106.14 16. Ps 81.11 12. But my people would not hearken unto my voice I rael would none of me so I gave them up unto their owne hearts lusts they walked in their own counsels the judgement upon evil men seduce is that they shall wax worse and worse deceiving and being deceived 2 Tim. 3.13 And were it well considered we might observe the remarkable judgement of God upon many in these times How many of those that waxed wanton and despised the precious Truths and Ordinances of God are now given up to swearing drunkennesse whoredome and such like abominable wickednesse Had these men been smitten with lightning and thunderbolts from heaven for their departure from the waies of righteousnesse we should have been ready to say this is the finger of God Certainely God hath already pointed them out more sadly by the heaviest plagues in that they have been given up to hellish blasphemies and to work wickednesse with greedinesse and his hand in this is more heavy upon them than if we had seen them fall dead in our streets As it is the Saints happinesse that their little grace shall be improved so is it the misery of a multitude of seared Sinners that their filthy and vile affections shall be still increased as it is written Revel 22.11 He that is unjust let him be unjust still and he which is filthy let him be filthy still and he that is righteous let him be righteous still and he that is holy let him be holy still CHAP. IV. IF the great work of Christ our Saviour be the saving of his people from their sins Use of Reproof then this reproves those that do what in them lies to hinder this

returned was the immediate principle of life Now when Christ had given life unto him and called Lazarus come forth would Lazarus have done well to answer Lord if I come forth and walk upon my own legs thy power will not be manifested in my resurrection the work will not appeare to be a reall miracle Would it not have been a dishonour to Christ for Lazarus to have laine still in the grave when Christ had thus called him forth to manifest his gracious power Certainly the more readily he came forth and the more he walked worked or performed any actions of life the more fully was the miracle and therein the glory of Christ manifest to the world And thus it is in our spirituall resurrection from death in sin To return again to the exhortation consider I beseech you what is the great work you have to mind as long as you live that which is the great work of Christ must be your great work also wherein you must diligently labour in subordination to him to wit in the saving of your souls from sin But I will not detain you in the generall exhortation but descend to particulars where I shall speak 1. To such as are in the state of nature Art thou yet poor soul in thy naturall condition under the power of Sin and Satan O consider thou art in a sad condition thou art lying under the greatest misery and thy great work is all yet to do wait upon God diligently in the use of his means for the saving of thy soul Obj. But thou wilt presently say Is it in the power of a naturall man to convert himself Am I able to deliver my owne soul Answ If thou art willing to be saved from the bondage of corruption know that the Lord is willing to afford thee help but if thou art not willing to leave thy sin why dost thou complaine for want of power Doubtless the same that Christ charged upon the Jewes Iohn 5.40 Ye will not come to me that ye might have life may be charged upon thee and the multitude of carnall persons that live under the meanes of grace When Christ bewailed Ierusalem's sad condition being ready to be destroyed he complaines How often would I have gathered thy children together and ye would not Mat. 23.37 So may I say how often hath the Lord tendred unto thee saving grace and thou wouldst not accept it Were thy defect a meere simple impotency thy condition were the more excusable but thy defect is mainly in thy will thou art in love with the sensuall pleasures of sin thou delightest in them and art not willing to exchange them for the precious graces that Christ offers thee Christ invites thee and thy excuse is I cannot when the truth is thou wilt not accept of grace offered Say not I cannot save my selfe when thou art not willing that Christ should save thee And to the end thou maist be left without excuse Consider 1. God is willing to save thee yea he would delight in thy salvation more than in thy destruction yea he hath bound it with an oath Ezek 33.11 As I live saith the Lord God I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turne from his way and live Turne ye turne ye from your evill waies for why will ye die O ye house of Israel Hath not God also abundantly declared his willingnesse in the giving of his Son Iohn 3.16 God so loved the world that he gave his onely begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life 2. Christ is willing had he not been so he would never have laid down his life to open a way for thy salvation Were he unwilling he would not send his Ambassadours to pray and beseech thee to accept of his help Had he been willing of Ierusalem's destruction he would not have wept over it for refusing the message of Salvation Hath God declared his willingness by his word and oath and the death of his Son And hath Christ declared his willingnesse by giving himself a ransome sufficient for thy soul Doth he offer to cleanse and purify thee with his dearest bloud Doe the Gospell-invitations Come come come often sound in thine eares Doth he stretch forth his hand all the day long for thy help and blame thee for thy backwardnesse to thy own good Where is now the fault but onely in thy selfe How doth the Lord still exercise patience and long-suffering wooing waiting for thy accepting of his gracious offers but yet thou turnest the deaf eare and hardnest thy heart against the salvation of thy own soul Suppose a man sick of some desperate disease and an eminent Physitian sends to him telling him Thy disease is very dangerous and there is no hope of thy life unlesse thou accept of my help if thou art but willing I will come and heale thee I have healed thousands of the same disease and can as easily heal thee if thou art but willing I should do it But he answers If God hath appointed I shall recover I shall and if not there is no help for me and so refuseth the Physitians offer slights the Messenger and dieth of the Disease Is not this man guilty of his own death and will not all that hear it say He might have been a living man would he but have taken the Physitians counsell Is not this the very condition of thy soule poore carnal wretch Thy disease is mortal and how often hath the Lord the spiritual Physitian sent his Messengers declaring to thee the pernicious danger of thy sinne that it will be thy eternal ruine unlesse thou accept of his help and how many hundred messages hath he sent unto thee telling thee if thou art but willing he will come down and heale thee And the more to convince thee of his skill he hath given thee examples of many that he hath cured that were as desperately sinful as thy self But thou sayest If it be Gods will I shall be saved I shall or else all meanes and endeavours are in vaine and slightest the offers of Christ by his Messengers Is not the fault now plainly in thy self and is it not manifest wilfulnesse if thou perish without help Say not as many doe in their hearts I know Christ can save me if he will Let me tell thee againe Christ is willing as well as able to save thee if thou art but truly willing of his help and if thou art not willing thy perdition will be of thy self the blood of thy soule will be upon thy owne head And let this be engraven for thy Epitaph that all may read it when thou art dead and gone Lo here he lies who perished in his sinnes because he would not be saved But yet my heart is very unwilling to part with thee thus yea methinks the Lord himselfe is unwilling thus to let thee go notwithstanding thy former wilfulnesse When the Lord had

of your soules from sinne and I will not be tedious in them Directions 1. Study well the sleights of Satan who prevails very far upon the children of God because they are so ignorant of his devises Satan hath his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his wiles and stratagems whereby he mischiefs poor soules The efficacy of a stratagem depends upon the secrecy of it being discovered it becomes weak and is more easily prevented Satans fallacies and subtilties are very many and because of his subtilty he is called the old Serpent which deceiveth the whole world Rev. 12.9 And saith Paul 2 Cor. 11.3 I feare lest by any meanes as the Serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty so your mindes should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ But I shall not now inlarge my selfe uppon this particular having not long since preached to you at large upon this subject from Mat. 4. the former part of the chapter 2. Study well the deceitfulness of thy own heart thy greatest enemy y Although Satan were asleep although the world were at one with us although wicked counsell were utterly put to silence although no evil example were given us although no outward stumbling block were cast in our way yet have we one thing in our selves and of our selves even originall sin concupiscence or lust which never ceaseth to egg us and allure us from God and to stain us with all kind of unclennesse according as S. James saith Every man is tempted of his own lust Golding's ep●ded before his translation of Calv. on the Bsal lodgeth in thy own bosome As a bosom-friend is the best so a bosom-enemy is the worst The heart is deceitful above all things who can know it Jer. 17.9 How innumerable are the self-delusions not onely of carnal persons but even of the children of God themselves O what shifts and excuses will they find out to defend many vain and sinfull practises 3. Be watchfull see that ye walk circumspectly not as fools but as wise saith Paul Eph. 5.15 Be sober be vigilant saith Peter Epist 5.8 security is very dangerous when the Danites went to Laish they found the people quiet and secure and so easily smote them with the edge of the Sword Judg. 18.27 If there be no guards kept a Garrison may be easily surprised and taken by the Enemy It hath been found by experience in warre that much injury hath been received through the sluggishness of them that should have been watching So is it with Christians in their spiriturall condition How often doth Satan prevaile upon them through their headlesse security how often are they meerly surprised by him before they are aware O take heed Christians Satan is alwayes waiting his opportunity to fall upon you it is therefore most necessary that you be alwayes watching No Commander would draw off his guards when the Enemy lies before him but rather double them and rowse them if they are sluggish This is our condition Our Adversary without is ever attending upon us and which is worse we have a malignant party lurking within us waiting an opportunity also to betray us to Satan Let me say with Paul Therefore let us not sleep as others do but let us watch and be sober 1 Thes 5.6 4. I shall in a word Ephes 6. commend unto you the whole armour of God of which I cannot now stand to speak particularly 5 Consider where thy greatest weaknesse lies and draw up thy greatest force and exercise thy greatest care and watchfulnesse there In a Garrison the watch is usually strongest and the force drawn up greatest where the walls or works are weakest Consider then I say where thy greatest weaknesse lies Hast thou a worldly heart draw up all the force of arguments thou canst to strengthen thee against that infirmity watch carefully pray earnestly against it Hast thou a passionate rash spirit this is thy great infirmity do all thou canst to strengthen thy soule watch and pray also against this infirmity Hast thou a proud self-exalting heart this is also thy great infirmity and whatever thy weaknesses are besides be sure this is one What I have observed in my little experience makes me almost of the opinion of a godly Minister Mr. Capel in his Treatise of Tentations yet living that Pride is every mans beloved sin What sin more naturall in all the world than this I feare most of you have forgotten what I have preached in divers Sermons a few yeares since from Jam. 4.6 God resisteth the proud but giveth grace unto the humble and it is not now seasonable to make repetition of it But consider thy weaknesse in these mentioned or any other particulars and know that Satan will assault soonest where he finds the weakest and will prevaile more easily unlesse thou art watchfull 6. Go not forth in thy own strength lest thou fall through thy own weakness but be strong in the Lord and in the might of his power as saith the Apostle Ephes 6.10 We must have the Lords arm of strength as well as the Lords armour for our spirituall safety When Peter was confident of his own strength the Lord gave him wofull experience of his own weaknesse Though all men shall be offended because of thee yet will not I be offended Mat. 26.33 And I am ready to go with thee both into prison and to death said Peter Luke 22.33 Who but Peter who so bold and resolute as he But see what a Coward he proved when he came but to be charged with a maid though he took himself for a man he denied Christ no lesse than thrice yea he cursed and swore saying I know not the man Matth. 26.73 But Paul took a safer course of whom I shall spake in the next direction And Peter himself after he had smarted for his self-confidence obtained much strength from Christ as is evident by his doings and sufferings for the sake of Christ recorded in the Acts of the Apostles 7. Pray earnestly for strengthening and assisting grace for the withstanding of temptations Prayer is to be joyned with all other endeavours This is to be used with all the pieces of our spirituall armour Ephes 6.18 Praying alwaies with all prayer and supplication Gird up your loyns and pray believe and pray hope and pray Fly to Christ for strength in prayer and supplication Thus did Paul when the messenger of Satan buffetted him 2 Cor. 12 8 9. The power of prayer is very great 8. In all temptations to sin remember what I have told you over and over that sin is the worst of evils and use this as an argument against them let a temptation to sin be as if a man should perswade you to cast your selves into the fire The least sin is worse than the most scorching flames yea sin is worse than the torments of hell This if well considered would much imbitter the sweet morsells of sin This will be a great meanes to keep thee