That wemaybeafftredofour eletEiom i 80 SecondIie, I will Phew the. meanes whereby wemay attaine vnto this affurance; and the infallible lignes ofourelee}ion, . Lafilie,I will anfwere fùch obieaions as arcmadeagainfl ix bySatan and hisadherents.. . Concerning thefirfl,namely,that wemay be certainelyaf- That wemay furedofour eleelionand faluation, it may be proued by te- hecertainly ellúredof our ilitnonies ofScriptures, and alto by infallible reafons group- etionproueá dedvpon them.For wemuff not thinke that we can haue this by the refinvo aíl'ùrance,by afcending into heauen,and there fearching into nies ofthe Gods fecret decree,butwe muff gather it out ofGodsword, scriptars. wherein the Lord hath reuealedhis wil vntovs:and in regard. hereof, though Gods will in it felfebe fecret,fothat wemay aske, who hat ! no me thewillofthe Lord?yet Peeing the Lord t.Cor,t.16. . bath reuealedhis hiddenwill inhis word,weemay fay with `Paul,that we h.eue known themindofChri.>tt. Now thisknow- ledgeofGods will concerning our ele&ion,isnot to be ga- thered outofthe law, as the Pàpifls -would haue it; for by reafon of the condition annexed to the promife ofeuerla- f}ing life(Doe this andhue)it leaueth our confciences in per- kpetuall doubting,nay,ratherin vtterdefperation,becaufe we now-that we are farre from theexael obedience thereof:b.ut out ofthegraciouspromifes oftheGofpell, freclie made to The ceaenant euery onewho beleeueth,without any.conditionofourown a made workes and worthineffe. And therefore if wee beleeue the our &rcvsof promifes oftheGofpell made inChrift, we may beaffured of our elelü®n, our eleelion and faluation, though inour felues we aremife- rabic (inners, whohaue tranfgreffed all Gods commande -- ments:for thecouenantandpromifes ofGodmade to Abra- . ham andhis feede, was not through the lam, but through the Rom.4.13' righteoufneffe o f faith, as it isRom.4, i 3. and therefore it isby faith, that itmight come bygrace,and the promifemight be Pure, not in it felfeonelie, and in refpec`l ofthe fufficiency of Gods mercie and Chrifis nierits,asthePapifisdreame;but to all the feede,that is,to al that beleeue,and be the children of Abraham., who wasthe:father of the faithfull both few and Gentili. For otherwifewe fhouldhaue nobetter affurance of faluation by the Goípell than by the Law ; for euen the:pro- x ife'of the,Lawwas moil lure init (elf&and on Gods part, yet
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