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Title:  Christ dying and drawing sinners to himself, or, A survey of our Saviour in his soule-suffering, his lovelynesse in his death, and the efficacie thereof in which some cases of soule-trouble in weeke beleevers ... are opened ... delivered in sermons on the Evangel according to S. John Chap. XII, vers. 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 ... / by Samuel Rutherford.
Author: Rutherford, Samuel, 1600?-1661.
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way faith doth evidence justification, but sanctification doth evi∣dence justification to be in the soule, where sanctification is, though it doth not render justification actually visible to the soule, as light maketh colours to be actually visible; or as faith by the light of the Spirit, rendreth justification visible: for even as smoake evidenceth there is fire, there where smoake is, though smoake render no fire visible to the eye; and the moving o the pulse evidenceth that there is yet life, though the man be i a swoone, and no other acts of life doe appeare to the eye, an the morning starre in the East when its darke, evidenceth tha the Sunne shall shortly rise, yet it maketh not the Sunne visibl to the eye; and the streames prove there is an head-spring, whence these streames issue; yet they shew not in what part of the earth the head-spring is; so as to make it visible to the eye: so doth Sanctification give evidence of Justification, onely as markes, signes, and gracious effects giveth evidence of the cause; as when I find love in my soule, and a care to please God in all things; and this I may know to bee in mee, from the reflect light of the Spirit, and from these I know there is faith in me, and justification, though I feele not the operation of faith in the meane time, yet the effect and signe makes a report of the cause; as acts of life, eating and drinking, and walking in me doth assure me, that I have the life of nature. So the vitall acts of the life of Faith doe, as signes and effects give evidences of the cause and fountaine; yet there is no necessity that with the same light, by which I know the effect, I know the cause; because this is but a light of arguing, and of heavenly Logick, by which we know (by the light of the Spirits arguing) that we know God, by the light of Faith; because wee keep his Commandements: and know arguitivè, by Gods Logick, that we are translated from death to life, because wee love the Bre∣thren; in effect we know, rather the person must bee justified, in whom these gracious evidences are, by heare-say, report, or consequence; then we know, or see justification it selfe, in ab∣stracto, or faith it selfe; but the light of faith, the testimony of the Spirit, by the operation of free Grace, will cause us, as it were, with our eyes see justification and faith, not by report, but as we see the Sunne light. A 3. Error there is in the state of the question, that never a Protestant Divine (Armini∣ans and Socinians I disclame, as no Protestants) made either 0