A30243:398
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 2 › Sermon 16
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.
Abide in me, and I in you, because the branch cannot bear fruit, separated from the vine, no more can ye (saith Christ:) [Greek or Hebrew], without or rather separated from me: he doth not say, saith Austin, that ye can do no greater thing without me, but no thing, and he doth not say ye cannot perficere perfect, but facere, ye cannot do; which our Saviour doth not apply unto that general aid of God that is needful in all natural and moral actions, but of the special assistance of grace, whereby as branches we bring forth spiritual fruit, and observe that there is our abiding in Christ, and Christs abiding in us, and Christs immanency or indwelling in us, is properly the cause of spiritual fruit, not our dwelling in him; as the branch beareth fruit, not so much because it is in the vine, as because the vine is in it communicating juice to it. Lastly, This growth and fruitfulness is spoken of as an absolute property, in my Text: And vers. 8. If ye bring forth fruit, so shall ye be my Disciples; that is, this is a necessary property to demonstrate that ye are indeed my Disciples, and then our Saviour speaks of it as a sign, v. 11. These things have I spoken, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full; now they could have no joy in these things, unless they could know they did bring forth fruit, and therefore were Christs Disciples.
Abide in me, and I in you, because the branch cannot bear fruit, separated from the vine, no more can ye (saith Christ:) 〈non-Latin alphabet〉, without or rather separated from me: he doth not say, saith Austin, that ye can do no greater thing without me, but no thing, and he doth not say ye cannot perficere perfect, but facere, ye cannot do; which our Saviour doth not apply unto that generall aid of God that is needfull in all naturall and morall actions, but of the speciall assistance of grace, whereby as branches we bring forth spirituall fruit, and observe that there is our abiding in Christ, and Christs abiding in us, and Christs immanency or indwelling in us, is properly the cause of spirituall fruit, not our dwelling in him; as the branch beareth fruit, not so much because it is in the vine, as because the vine is in it communicating juyce to it. Lastly, This growth and fruitfulnesse is spoken of as an absolute property, in my Text: And vers. 8. If ye bring forth fruit, so shall ye be my Disciples; that is, this is a necessary property to demonstrate that ye are indeed my Disciples, and then our Saviour speaks of it as a sign, v. 11. These things have I spoken, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full; now they could have no joy in these things, unlesse they could know they did bring forth fruit, and therefore were Christs Disciples.