No cross, no crown : $b a discourse shewing the nature and discipline of the holy cross of ChristPenn, William
Religion
No cross, no crown : $b a discourse shewing the nature and discipline of the holy cross of Christ
Penn, William
Christian life; Christian life -- Quaker authors; Self-denial -- Early works to 1800
XV. This may moderate the wonder in any, why Christ so often
upbraided his disciples with, O ye of little faith! yet tells us,
that one grain of it, though as little as that of mustard, one of
the least of seeds, if true and right, is able to remove mountains.
As if he had said, There is no temptation so powerful that it cannot
overcome: wherefore those that are captivated by temptations, and
remain unsupplied in their spiritual wants, have not this powerful
faith: that is the true cause. So necessary was it of old, that
Christ did not many mighty works where the people believed not;
and though his power wrought wonders in other places, faith opened
the way: so that it is hard to say, whether that power by faith,
or faith by that power, wrought the cure. Let us call to mind what
famous things a little clay and spittle, one touch of the hem of
Christ's garment, and a few words out of his mouth, (John, ix. 6;
Luke, viii. 47, 48,) did by the force of faith in the patients:
"Believe ye that I am able to open your eyes?" (Matt. ix. 28;)
"Yea, Lord," say the blind, and see. To the ruler, "only believe;"
(Matt. ix. 23;) he did, and his dead daughter recovered life.
Again, "If thou canst believe:" I do believe; says the father, help
my unbelief: and the evil spirit was chased away, and the child
recovered. He said to one, "Go, thy faith hath made thee whole;"
(Mark, x. 52; Luke, vii. 48, 50;) and to another, "Thy faith hath
saved thee; thy sins are forgiven thee." (Matt. xxi. 21, 22.) And
to encourage his disciples to believe, that were admiring how soon
his sentence was executed upon the fruitless fig-tree, he tells
them, "Verily, if ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do
this, which is done to the fig-tree; but also, if ye shall say unto
this mountain, Be thou removed, and cast into the sea, it shall be
done: and all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing,
ye shall receive," (Matt. xviii. 19; Luke, xviii. 27.) This one
passage convicts Christendom of gross infidelity; for she prays, and
receives not.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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