792 That?cemay beaffuredofour eleEtion. i.Pet, t; r3. trufl whichwehaue through Iefus Chrifl mull beperfe5,that . is, entire andperpetuall, tillweenioy the thing whichwe hopefor, i.Pet.i.13. And iPet.i.Yo. he exhorteth vs to vfeall dili_ gencè that we may make our calling andeletïionfure,which ifwe couldnot doe, he fhouldperfwadevs to the undertakingof aneedletife labour. Nay he plainelyaiurethvs,that ifwe doe thefe things (to wits f ire iovnevertue with ourfaith, andwith venueknowledge, andwithknowledge temperance;and ith tetn- perancepatience, andwith patiencegodline (Ìe, and withgodlineffe brotherlykindneffe,andwithbrotherly kindneffeloue) we'ballne- uerfall ; becaufe thefe are effe6ls andundoubted Eignes of our ele6tion. And the Apotile Johnwould not haue it a mat- terdoubtfull, whether we are ele6ted and (hall be fauedor no; but certainelyknowne and vndoubtedly beleeued : and therefore he aiurethprincipally atthis marke, andpropoun- deth this as thechiefe endofhis epit}le,namely.to Phewhow wemight know ordinarily, andbe fully affüred that we are 1:Ioh3r4. beloued ofGod,eleeied, and fhall.befaued. So i.Ioh.3.14 We know that we are tran/lated from death to life, b:caP. fe loue thebrethren. And therefore in the latter endofhis epifile he faith,thathe had written it to this end,that Nbcmight know and,r 3. that*e haueeternal life,chap . s.i3.Seeina then the Scriptures doe commend vntovsa f }edfaf} and Allred faith, whereby we particularly are affured and perfwaded of our ele&ion and faluation, notwithflanding our finnes and vnworthi- neffe : therefore let not the tempter perfvvade vs to cafi away this certaineperfwvaflon,and towaucr indoubting;but let vs E.Tim,t r z. faywith theApof lePaul, Z.Tim. z . r 2. Though lamvnwor- thie,yet I knowwhom Ihawbeleeued, andI am pe;rwaded that he itable to kreepe that which J basecommitted to him. E se But:againf} thatwhich hath been faid the tempter obie61- ,An obierìtion eth,that thepromifes ofthe Gofpell are generali and indefi- groundedupon nit, and therefore no man can gather out of them any cer- the indefinite taire affuranceof his particular eleaion. Ianfwere that this nefJ' ofGods confequence isfalfe : for out of a generali and indeñnit pro- fwe eed.s an. pofition, we may truely andby the lawes of reafon gather and inferre a particular co lode°ali menáhe not reafonable creae- For example,if Ithus cot tc re
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