A30243:456
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 18
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.
The second Proposition is, That Love of the Brethren is that sign and mark whereby we know assuredly, that we are in this happy estate; so that our love is no merit or cause, but a sign only; hence it is good to observe, that this very self-same privilege of passing from death to life, is attributed to faith, Joh. 5. 24. but in a different sense to faith, as that instrumental cause, which puts us into such a condition, to love as an effect or sign only; for though love uniteth us to Christ as well as faith, yet faith doth it Intus recipiendo, by inward receiving of Christ to us, love extra agendo, by going out in our works for him; Hence the union by love is posterior to that of faith; Hence also it is that if love should justify, the dignity of it would arise from the act of love, because it's union consists in doing something out of us, but in faiths union, the dignity is wholly from the object, viz. Christ embraced, because this union is by inward reception and application.
The second Proposition is, That Love of the Brethren is that sign and mark whereby we know assuredly, that we are in this happy estate; so that our love is no merit or cause, but a sign only; hence it is good to observe, that this very self-same priviledge of passing from death to life, is attributed to faith, Joh. 5. 24. but in a different sense to faith, as that instrumental cause, which puts us into such a condition, to love as an effect or sign only; for though love uniteth us to Christ as well as faith, yet faith doth it Intus recipiendo, by inward receiving of Christ to us, love extra agendo, by going out in our works for him; Hence the union by love is posterior to that of faith; Hence also it is that if love should justifie, the dignity of it would arise from the act of love, because it's union consists in doing something out of us, but in faiths union, the dignity is wholly from the object, viz. Christ imbraced, because this union is by inward reception and application.
That love of the brethren is a sign of true grace.1