The works of the reverend and faithful servant of Jesus Christ M. Richard Greenham,…The workes of the reuerend and faithfull seruant af Iesus Christ M. Richard Greenham,…

CHAP. L. Of Gods promises, excellency, and truth of Gods word, and how •he wicked abuse Scriptures.

CHAP. L. Of Gods promises, excellencie, and truth of Gods word, and how •he wicked abuse Scriptures.

IT is a thing worthy the standing on, to consider how the Apostles out of God his promise,¹ deduce arguments of obedience, as among many, 2. Corin. 7. when the Lord having promised, that whether we abide in our houses, he will dwell with us, or whether we will go abroad, he will walk with us, or if we be afflicted, he will receive us: out of this promise the Apostle bringeth a conclusion, that we should therefore cleanse our selves. This would see me a strange consequence, that seeing we are cleansed, we should cleanse our selves, for some have made a clean contrary conclusion, laying, we are cleansed, let us defile our selves, seeing grace doth abound, let us sin. 1. Corin. 7. The Apostle in the person of the godly, reasons thus: the time is short, let us therefore use this world, as though we used it not. The same Apostle out of the same premisses, in the person of the licentious liver, frameth a clean contrary conclusion: as 1. Corin. chap. 15, Tomorrow we shall die, therefore let us eat and drink, let us use the world, because we have it, let us stuff our selves with pleasure, because our time is not long. So runs the tenor of their conclusions. Because God hath mercy enough in store, and Christ his blood cleanseth us from our sins, therefore faith the carnal Gospeller, least the blood of Christ should want matter and metal to work upon, let us wallow in sin, for Christ hath blood enough to cleanse us. Well the Apostle, I say, reasons in a contrary manner, Christ hath washed us, let us not therefore defile our selves again, and that which is more strange, he deduceth fear out of the promise. Wherefore for our use we must learn, whether in reading and hearing the promises of God, the same mind be in us, which was in Paul, when he said, and said truly, that he had the Spirit of God in him, and nee that draweth out this conclusion of the promise of God; We are raised, therefore, we will raise our selves, let that man know he is of the same spirit, that the Apostle was. But he that concludes on the other manner: We have promises, let all go where it will, that man must suspect his estate, he makes not a good conclusion. And as that, so this is true, the nature of God his promises, is not to be a placard to sin, but a persuasion, a motive, an inducement to holiness of life, and to the fear of God.