A30243:2318
Spiritual refining
Spiritual refining: or A treatise of grace and assurance Wherein are handled, the doctrine of assurance. The use of signs in self-examination. How true graces may be distinguished from counterfeit. Several true signs of grace, and many false ones. The nature of grace under divers Scripture notions or titles, as regeneration, the new-creature, the heart of flesh, vocation, sanctification, &c. Many chief questions (occasionally) controverted between the orthodox and the Arminians. As also many cases of conscience. Tending to comfort and confirm saints. Undeceive and convert sinners. Being CXX sermons preached and now published by Anthony Burgess sometime fellow of Emanuel College in Cambridge, and now pastor of the church of Sutton-Coldfield in Warwickshire.Spiritual refining: or A treatise of grace and assurance Wherein are handled, the doctrine of assurance. The use of signs in self-examination. How true graces may be distinguished from counterfeit. Several true signs of grace, and many false ones. The nature of grace under divers Scripture notions or titles, as regeneration, the new-creature, the heart of flesh, vocation, sanctification, &c. Many chief questions (occasionally) controverted between the orthodox and the Arminians. As also many cases of conscience. Tending to comfort and confirm saints. Undeceive and convert sinners. Being CXX sermons preached and now published by Anthony Burgess sometime fellow of Emanuel Colledge in Cambridge, and now pastor of the church of Sutton-Coldfield in Warwickshire.
London: printed by A. Miller for Thomas Underhill, 1652
Title page typeset from the transcription.
A TREATISE OF GRACE and ASSURANCE; Being CXX. SERMONS. › Section 11 › Sermon 91
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.
Thirdly, This work of grace is in a far other manner then Pelagians of old, or 1Papists, and Arminians of late, do confidently aver, for they attend not to this Order in the Text. But they say, that man by the power of Free-will, doth join with the grace of God, and co-operate with that; and so partly from free-will, partly from Gods grace, comes this new spirit, this new grace. But this doth directly contradict many places of Scripture, which makes Regeneration and a New-birth necessarily to go before all holy actions; and if a man cannot make himself a man, much less like God, as grace doth: But say they, Ezek. 18. 31. there the Scripture saith, Make ye a new heart, a new spirit; Therefore we by our working ⟨p. 540⟩obtain a new heart; But this is answered thus, That the same thing may be both our Duty and Gods Gift: when the Scripture saith, Make ye•a new spirit, there it declareth our Duty, what we ought to do: but when God saith, I will give it you, that shows our Impotency, we are not able to make new hearts; and therefore God graciously worketh it for us. Augustine did admirably and orthodoxly defend this truth, That we were not made holy by doing holy Actions, through Grace and Free-will; but God first made us holy; as saith Augustine, The Wheel runs round, not to make it self round, but because it is round, therefore it runneth round. Indeed our Saviour saith, Make the Tree good (Matth. 12. 33.) and then the fruit will be good; but he doth not there describe our power, but that excellent order all should look unto in Religion; the Pharisees, like most people in our days, they looked to the outward Actions, did not dare to omit them, They washed the outside of the Cup; but saith our Saviour, not the outside but the inside must be first cleansed: The Tree must be first made good ere the fruit can. Oh there is no Doctrine more necessary then this. Who looketh to good insides! Many dare not neglect the outward Obedience unto Gods Commandments, but who minds the new heart, the new spirit within; and hence they set most preposterously upon the work of Conversion; they think by good Deeds, by outward Duties to obtain a new spirit from God, not considering this is to build the top of an House before a Foundation be laid, Non per opera venitur ad fidem, sed per fidem ad opera; We do not come to Faith by Works, but to Works by Faith;