A30243:47
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 1 › Sermon 1
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.
In the next place you have the object matter, Whether ye be in the faith. He doth not here speak of Fides quae creditur, the Doctrine of faith; but the saving grace of faith, as appeareth by the other particular, Know ye not that Christ is in you? The Apostle saith, Ye in the faith, rather then faith in you, to show the large extent of faith, that we are Subjects who do not contain it wholly; as he useth contrary phrases to be in sin, and in the flesh rather then sin, and flesh to be in us; so some observe that, Enter thou into thy Masters joy, not thy Masters joy into thee; though that seem to be a fancy, and the true meaning is, Enter into the place of thy Masters joy, for so [Greek or Hebrew] is used in Esther. The Popish Commentators to elude this place when brought by the Orthodox, to prove, That a man may be certain of true grace in him, do answer, That the Apostle speaks not here of the saving works of the Spirit, but the miraculous works; This is made an Argument that they were the Apostles of the true Messiah, because of the miracles wrought among them. And Gal. 3. 5. the Apostle proveth the true Doctrine of Christ to be among them, because of miracles done to them; we may add also Math. 11. 5. when Johns Disciples come to know, Whether he were the true Christ, Jesus returneth this answer, The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, &c. As if he should have said, These wonderful works demonstrate me to be the Messiah. Now though it should be granted, that this were part of the meaning, when the Apostle calls them to an experimental proof of his Apostleship among them, yet this cannot be all, because Christ is not said to dwell in us, according to the Scripture phrase, or to be in us by a mere miraculous faith only.
In the next place you have the object matter, Whether ye be in the faith. He doth not here speak of Fides quae creditur, the Doctrine of faith; but the saving grace of faith, as appeareth by the other particular, Know ye not that Christ is in you? The Apostle saith, Ye in the faith, rather then faith in you, to shew the large extent of faith, that we are Subjects who do not contain it wholly; as he useth contrary phrases to be in sinne, and in the flesh rather then sinne, and flesh to be in us; so some observe that, Enter thou into thy Masters joy, not thy Masters joy into thee; though that seem to be a fancy, and the true meaning is, Enter into the place of thy Masters joy, for so 〈non-Latin alphabet〉 is used in Esther. The Popish Commentators to elude this place when brought by the Orthodox, to prove, That a man may be certain of true grace in him, do answer, That the Apostle speaks not here of the saving works of the Spirit, but the miraculous works; This is made an Argument that they were the Apostles of the true Messias, because of the miracles wrought among them. And