A23636:101
The principles of the Protestant religion maintained, and churches of New-England, in the profession…
The principles of the Protestant religion maintained, and churches of New-England, in the profession and exercise thereof defended against all the calumnies of one George Keith, a Quaker, in a book lately published at Pennsylvania, to undermine them both / by the ministers of the Gospel in Boston.The principles of the Protestant religion maintained, and churches of New-England, in the profession and exercise thereof defended against all the calumnies of one George Keith, a Quaker, in a book lately published at Pensilvania, to undermine them both / by the ministers of the Gospel in Boston.
printed by Richard Pierce, 1690
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Introduction › Reflections on Chapt. 4th. of Ministerial Gifts &c.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
His arguing the Necessity of Saving Grace because, Spiritual gifts are requisite, is altogether illogical, nor doth it at all help him, because these also were purchased by Christ, for he hath purchased other things for us besides Grace. That there is a specific Difference between Gifts and Grace, is certain, (though both may meet in the same man, & we seek for both in every Minister, to the best of our discerning) that these are separable is beyond doubt; that a man may have Grace, and yet not spiritual gifts G. K. (implicitly at least) acknowledgeth; yet Christ purchased Gifts for men, not merely for the Salvation, but mainly for the Edifying of the Body, we are told Eph. 4.10, 11. that therefore because a man must have spiritual gifts to make him a Minister, he must have saving Grace, is a Non Sequitur.
His arguing the Necessity of Saving Grace because, Spirtual gifts are requisite, is altogether illogical, nor doth it at all help him, because these also were purchased by Christ, for he hath purchased other things for us besides Grace. That there is a specifical Difference between Gifts and Grace, is certain, (though both may meet in the same man, & we seek for both in every Minister, to the best of our discerning) that these are separable is beyond doubt; that a man may have Grace, and yet not spiritual gifts G. K. (implicitly at least) acknowledgeth; yet Christ purchased Gifts for men, not meerly for the Salvation, but mainly for the Edifying of the Body, we are told Eph. 4.10, 11. that therefore because a man must have spiriual gifts to make him a Minister, he must have saving Grace, is a Non Sequitur.
Sect. 4. And that these spiritual Gifts were discernible we deny not. There is a fair & easy Trial to be made of them: but his inference that therefore They could discern whether men were true or false Apostles & Teachers, sincere or Hypocrites, is to be better weighed: That false Apostles might be proved by their false Doctrine. is nothing dubious: That Hypocrites might discover themselves ⟨p. 45⟩