N00406:105
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 [sic], to undermine them both. / By the minsters of the Gospel in Boston, ; [Nine lines of Scripture texts]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 [sic], to undermine them both. / By the minsters of the Gospel in Boston, ; [Nine lines of Scripture texts]
printed by Richard Pierce, 1690
Title page typeset from the transcription.
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 of beyond doubt; that a man may have Grace, and yet not spiritual gifts G. K. (implicitly at least) acknowledgeth; yea Christ purchased Gifts for men, not merely for their Salvation, but mainly for the Edifying of the body, so 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, 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 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 of beyond doubt; that a man may have Grace, and yet not spiritual gifts G. K. (implicitly at least) acknowledgeth; yea Christ purchased Gifts for men, not meerly for their Salvation, but mainly for the Edifying of the body, so 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.
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⟩by their fruits is also easy to acknowledge; but that in themselves, without any such Effects, and merely by their looks, there was or is a spirit of immediate discerning them, […] utterly untrue, neither hath he given us one Rule to direct us in it. As to his Citation of