they shall not bring to passe so great is the loue of God towardes vs. But we can not suspect any such matter of good angels for they as much as lieth in them cal home againe to God those that go astray and wonderfully reioyce of the repentance of sinners although they also somtimes are sent forth to punish Howbeit Chrisostome declareth that this place may by the figure Hyperbole or by supposition be vnderstand also of good angels For although good angels do not so in déede yet if they should their endeuor should be voyde For after the same maner Paul writeth vnto the Galathyans If an angell from heauen teach you any other Gospell then thys which ye haue learned be he accursed vnto you And vnto the Corrinthyans If I haue all faith so that I can remoue mountaines and haue not charity I am nothyng Those wordes are not so to be taken as though true faith can in deede be without charity but if it were possible so to be yet it should nothing profite Nor principalities Paraduenture he vnderstandeth the higher spirites who haue no other charge committed vnto them but ouer prouinces empires and kingdomes This ment Daniell when he wrote of the Prince of the Grecians and of the Persians and brought in Michaell the Prince of the people of God Nor powers Power called in Greke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Paul taketh for that power which is geuen of God to worke miracles whereby are restrayned the vngodly whereunto is opposite 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is the gift of healing For euen as by that power Power and the gift of healing are opposite wicked men were chastised so by this they that were vexed were healed By this power Peter slew Ananias and Saphira Paul made blinde Elimas the sorcerer and deliuered vnto Sathan many which had gréeuously sinned But here by angels he meaneth those which are sent of God to punishe the wicked as were those which destroyed Sodoma and Gomorha And such was that Angell which went betwéene Angels haue sometimes inflicted punishmentes the host of the Egiptians and the people of God and which drowned Pharao with all his in the sea and whome Dauid saw standing on the threshold destroying the people of God and which destroyed with fire the host of Senacharib Although God sometimes do the selfe same thinges by euill angels For so Dauid writeth in the Psalme that God inflicted plages vpon the Egiptians by euill angels Wherefore Paul in this place nameth the orders of the angels by their ministeries and offices And that the selfe same titles are assigned both vnto good angels The titles of orders are assigned as well to euell Angels as to good The ministeries of Angels shall not be perpetual and vnto euill it is manifest by y◠epistle vnto the Ephesians in two places For thus it is there writtē Against the principalities and powers that are gouerners of the world And in the 2. chapter he saith That we once liued according to the course of this world and after the prince that hath power in the ayre And these ministeries of Angels shall not be perpetuall For Paul writeth in the first vnto the Corrinthyans That all principality and power shal be blotted out when Christ shall deliuer vp the kingdome vnto God and vnto the father but yet not that the very natures and substances of angels shal be abolished but for that these offices shall serue to no more vse after we shall be once transferred vnto eternall felicity And this is worthy We haue but few thinges in the holy scriptures touching Angels of notinge that in the holy scriptures are very fewe thinges mencioned of angels For exactly and subtelye to enquire touching them serueth rather to pertayne to our curiosity then to our saluation But those thinges which serue to edification are most diligently set forth in the scriptures Which thing I would to God the Shoolemen had obserued For then had they left many intricate and vnprofitable thinges which at this day are in vayne and with great offence disputed of It is profitable for vs to vnderstand that there are some angels appointed to our ministeries for therby we vnderstand the goodnes of God towards vs. On the other side it is profitable for vs to vnderstand that there are some euill spirites of whom we are continually assaulted both that we may beware of them and also that we may implore the helpe of God againste them And these thinges vndoubtedly forasmuch as they are profitable to be knowen the holy scripture hath not kept in silence Ambrose expounding this place sheweth that we are in vayne assaulted of euill spirites For he saith that Simeon the forcerer being lifted vp into the ayre flew all about that this was openly séene and yet did the truth of God geue place to these deceates Nor thinges present nor thinges to come These wordes may be vnderstand of this world and of the world to come or of good thinges and euill which are offred vnto vs presently or of those thinges which are promised shall happen vnto vs well or ill as it happened in the temptacion of the first parents For then the fruit forbidden offred it selfe beutifull to sée vnto and swete to tast of There was promised a likenes to God and a new wisedome as though then they were blynd and had their eyes shut The lattin interpreter addeth Fortitude which word yet is not found in the Greke bookes Wherefore I thinke it best to omitte it and especially seing it hath not his Antithesis which we see is diligently added vnto the other wordes Nor heigth nor depth Heigth signifieth whatsoeuer new and vnaccustomed thing happeneth from heauen depth signifieth whatsoeuer bursteth forth out of y◠lower parts regions of y◠erth And heigth may be takē otherwise for y◠heigh goodly shew of humaine reasons which are cōmonly takē out of philosophy For Paul in the latter to the Cor. saith The weapons of our warrefare are not carnall but mighty through God to the ouerthrowyng of all munitiōs wherby we ouerthrow coūsels and euery heigth that exalteth it selfe against the knowledge of God And after this sētence by depth we may vnderstand humblenes of minde and hurting of the body after the precepts and doctrines of men which in wordes haue a shew of wisdom as it is written vnto the Col. in the 2 chapter Nor any creature can seperate vs from the loue of God which is in Christ Iesus our Lord. This part Paul addeth as Ambrose thinketh to declare y◠we can not be plucked away frō God by any other creature which is brought forth of new As though before he had reckoned vp those creatures which are extant and thē afterward addeth that neither any other creature if it could be brought forth shall haue so much strēgth to breake that loue of God wherwith he loueth vs. And he citeth Iannes and Mambres which when before Pharao they resisted
in this life but the crosse persecutions and all aduersities moreouer they were commaunded to leade a straite lyfe to put away pleasures to dispise the world and to mortefy wicked affections All which thinges do rather withdraw men from any religion then allure them vnto it For God is my vvitnes After that he hath shewed how he gaue thankes unto God for them he addeth the perpetuall memory that he maketh of them in his dayly prayers And all these thinges tend to this ende that they should perceaue that Paule loued them For these thinges neither are found nor can be found without beneuolence and a singular charity Neither affirmeth he these thinges simply but ioyneth vnto them an othe For his chiefe care was that they should geue credite vnto him whom I serue in my sprite By spirite he vnderstandeth a mynde inspired What the spirite signifieth with the holy ghost And Ambrose when he interpreteth this place sayth that the spirit is the minde wherewith we ought chiefly to worship God For he is a spirite and therefore it is meete that he be serued inspirite The false Apostles accused Paule as a forsaker of the law an Apostata from Moses Wherfore the crime of impiety was layd to his charge which should excedingly haue alienated the mindes of the Romanes from him if they coulde haue bene so perswaded Therefore he purgeth himselfe that althoughe he worshipped not Why Paul so often putgeth himselfe A place to Timothe expounded God with the ceremonyes of Moses and rites of the law yet neuertheles he serued him in spirite Which thing he testified also vnto Timothe when he wrote that he had from his progenitors worshipped God with a pure conscience By which words we must not thinke that he excuseth his sinne and persecution agaynst the Sainctes but only sheweth this that it was not agaynst his conscience as some which by reason of weakenes suffer not those things to take place which by a sound iudgement of the conscience they know to be vpright Paule fell of ignoraunce which without doubt was sinne but not of that kinde that it should be sayd that he did agaynst that which he thought in his mynde But that which he sayth here that he serueh God in spirite Christ expressed when he spake vnto the woman of Samaria sayinge of the true worshippers that they should worship in spirite and in truth And that was spoken to this ende to The true worshippers worship in spirite and in truth expres that one day it should come to passe that the describing of any certayne place wherein God should be worshipped should be taken awaye and the ceremonies of the Iewes should be abolished so that to worship in spirite may be referred vnto the place and ceremonies of the lawe and that which is added and in truth declareth the thinge it selfe excluding shadowes whiche were setforth in the olde Testament These did in deede helpe the fathers in theyr tyme because they had the worde of God ioyned with them which might be cōprehended in them by fayth Wherefore God blessed them so that if fayth were present they were in their tyme very profitable but when Christ came they ought to geue place But as touching rites inuented by men we can not in like maner say that they much profited bycause they had not the worde of God Therfore they are worthely to be extingueshed and put away excepte some of them as touching outward pollicy may be iudged profitable We serue in spirite when no part of our flesh is any more circumcised but the mynde and vices beastes are not slayne but we crucify our owne fleshe with the lustes there of Which selfe same worshipping in spirite Paul in an other place expressed when he sayde I desyre you throughe the mercye of God that ye geue your bodyes a lyuely sacryfyce holy and acceptable vnto God and that your woorshyppynge be reasonable He vseth this verbe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from whence they saye is deriued this word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth that worshipping which is dew vnto God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Augustin◠only whereby we vtterly addicte our selues vnto him neither can it as Augustine testefieth in his 5. booke De ciuitate Dei the first chapter be expressed by one word of the Lattins For pietas that is piety or godlines is not only towardes God but also towards our parents and country Also Religio that is religion is not drawen onelye to holye thinges but also belongeth to that duety which we owe vnto kinsefolkes and humane affinityes But in the meane Augustines distinction betwene 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 while he iudgeth that by the Greke wordes diuers thinges are in thys thyng distincted so that this worde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth the worshipping which is geuen vnto God and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the worship whiche is geuen vnto Princes and magistrates As touchinge the thing we easely graunt that there is a difference For we worship God after one sorte and we honour Princes after an other manner Chrisostome in hys 33. homelye vpon Iohn sayth that it longeth vnto the Chrysostome The body of Christ created A similitude The reason why the worship of Christ depēdeth of his deuinity creature to worshippe and vnto the creator to be worshipped And he obiecteth vnto him selfe why doo we woorship Christe a man when as he hath in verye deede a body created He answereth No man when he would reuerence a king sayth vnto hym Put of thy purple garments and laye away the crowne and other ornamēts for I wil worship thee naked he dareth not speake these words but honoreth hym beinge both clothed which purple adorned wyth a crown So we when we worship Christ do not put away his humanity from hys deuyne nature but worship it together with it But the reason whereon adoracion dependeth is hys deuinity But as touching the Greeke wordes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is al 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as touching the Greeke words signity one and the selfe same thing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to to serue for a reward Augustine one with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For as Suidas testifieth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But afterward it was vsed to signifye 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 y◠is godly to worship And he addeth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is a hired bondage And this signification is manifestly had in xeniphon in his 3. booke of the education of Cirus where the husband speaketh thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Vndoubtedly O Cirus I will spende euen my life rather then she should be brought to bondage Then the wife answered 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Yea and we reade in the holy scriptures that in Leuiticus it is sayd you shall not do any seruile worke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in
as generally spoken when as in all men there nether is nor appeareth any such righteousnes But his wordes are contracted vnto those which beleue vnto the elect I say and sanctified Which thing the words of the Apostle sufficiently declare If this sentence should be vnderstanded altogether vniuersally then this manifestation could not be referred but vnto the preaching This vniuersality may haue a respect vnto the preaching which is set forth vnto all men hauing no respect either of persons or estates for so Christ warned the Apostles to preach the Gospell to all creatures and generally addeth whosoeuer beleueth and is baptised shal be saued But the first sense is both true and also more perspicuous He afterward addeth a reason why this righteousnes is made manifest vnto all vpon all that beleue Because sayth he All haue sinned and are destitute of the glory of God That forasmuch as they want righteousnes of their owne they might receaue it at the handes of God There are none so holy but that as sayth Ambrose this place conuinceth them to be sinners forasmuche as this righteousnes geuen of God hath place in all and vpon all But this phrase is to be noted Are destitute of the glory of God By it some thinke is to be vnderstāded the The glory of god somtimes signifieth his dwelling in vs. dwelling of God in vs bycause men were seperated from him nether had they him ioyned vnto them by grace And that the glory of God expresseth this maner of dwelling hereby it is manifest for that the Arke of the couenant is called the glory of God Wherefore when it was taken by the Philistians the glorye of God was sayd to be taken away Others thinke that Paule by the glorye of God vnderstandeth the perfect and true righteousnes which comming from God is iudged glory or that whereby we glorifye God And forasmuch as glory What glory is is nothing els but a prayse most aboundantly published Paule by a figuratiue kinde of speach calleth the most singular giftes of God the glory of God for which giftes we both prayse and celebrate his name so that the thing hath by the figure Metonomia the name of the propriety which followeth it But in my iudgement it semeth that Paule would declare by these wordes that all men in theyr corrupt nature were reiected and that he chiefely reproueth rites sacrifices and workes of the lawe in which they thought the glory of God chiefly to consist For he sheweth that they in very deede were destitute of the glory of God although they were altogether full of their ceremonyes And are iustified freely by his grace Here we haue what that meaneth the righteousnes of God to be made manifest without the lawe namely to be geuen freely And Paule laboring to shew that in iustification is no consideration had of our workes semeth to shew that he neuer satisfieth hymselfe So many wordes heapeth he vp which signifieth one and the selfe same thing For We measure the righteousnes of God by our own righteousnes he saw what a hard thing it is to be beleued of vs which will our selues do nothing freely and by our owne measure do measure the righteousnes of God as though he also would not geue his righteousnes freely Out of this kinde of speach ought to be gathered this common sentence that by fayth only we are iustified And although this word only be not found in the holy scriptures yet is it necessarily inferred of those things which we there reade as Ambrose most Ambrose sayth by fayth onely playnly noteth in this place writing vōp these words saying We do nothyng we recompēce not by fayth only are we iustified which is the gift of God He was not content to say that we are iustified by fayth only but he addeth also other clauses whereby he might more playnly declare the same The selfe same thing writeth Basilius also in his booke De confessione fidei We sayth he haue nothing whereof Basilius was of the same iudgement we may make our boast concerning righteousnes forasmuch as we are iustified only hy fayth in Christ. Which wordes are not so to be vnderstanded as though the fayth wherby we are iustified were alone that is not adorned with good holy works but because our workes though they be neuer so holy are not causes of the true righteousnes The like similitude is shewed in water wherin moistnes and coldnes are ioyned together but to washe away blots and spots properly belongeth to moistnes and not to coldnes Wherefore this is a false argument ab accidente whē as two things being ioyned together that which belongeth to the one is ascribed vnto the other But as touching this word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is being iustified being a participle of the nominatiue case it is to be referred vnto that which was a little before spoken For all haue sinned and are destitute of the glory of God as though he should haue sayd they which were such are iustified freely By his grace by the redemption which is in Christ Iesus whome God hath set forth a propitiator by fayth Here Paule expresseth those thinges which by fayth we embrace when we are iustified and sheweth that by fayth he vnderstandeth the obiectes which by it are apprehended And when he sayth by grace he sheweth that he entreateth of a farre other maner of righteousnes then is that which is gotten by workes and he most manifestly excludeth the conditions We are not iustified rashely or by chaunce of the lawe And when we heare that we are iustified fréely and by grace we must not thinke that the same is done rashely or by chance forasmuch as it is tempered by the rule of the election of God The causes and reasons whereof although they be vnknowen vnto vs yet are they knowen vnto God And seing that in respect of hym the same is not done by chaunce we ought not to affirme that men are iustified b◠chance And euē as chaunce is to be takē away so also ought we to banishe necessitye least we should seeme to admitte fate or desteny For God is not compelled to chuse this man more thē that man But whatsoeuer he geueth he geueth it freely and without compulsion By the redemption Hereby appeareth that we are manumitted by Christ and made his free men For we were bond men cast into the prison of sinne Who are redemed death and the deuill But Christ hath fully payd the price for vs and that no small price for he hath shed his owne bloud for vs and geuen his life That is sayd to be redemed which before was both free and also pertayned vnto vs. We were the peculiar people of God and through our owne default we were sold vnder sinne This phrase here of the Apostle manifestly declareth how litle we ought to ascribe vnto free will before we be by the redemption of Christ set at liberty And
of the thing it selfe and of the thing signified Neither let any man here lay to our charge that we affirme that sacraments depend of our faith For neither teach we any such thing yea rather we affirme that the sacraments are sacramentes although thy faith be either weake or els none at all And Augustines iudgement is very good concerning him which onely carnally receiueth the sacrament when he sayth It doth not therefore cease to be spirituall but vnto them it is not spirituall And now at length to make an ende we must neuer come to this point to thinke that grace and our saluation is conteined in the sacramentes as in certaine sackes or bagges which may be poured out vpon the communicantes and receiuers For the sacramentes are as certaine tidyng bringers of our saluation whom he that beleueth shall obtaine saluation And thus much hitherto haue I sufficiently spoken of sacraments generally Now resteth for vs somwhat to speake of circumcision for the better vnderstanding wherof we haue spoken these things the more largely and with more words But here we shall not nede so long a treatise For if we remēber all those things which haue bene generally spoken of sacraments it shall be no hard matter to vnstand all that which may be spoken of circumcision And circumcision not to go from the wordes of the Apostle was the seale of y◠What circumcision is How circumcisyon is sayd to haue brought remission of synnes Whether remission be had of sinnes to come righteousnes of faith bicause it preached and confirmed the promise concernyng righteousnes which the elders receiued by faith And hereof it followeth that the elders by it had remission of sinnes For forasmuch as righteousnes as we haue be fore more at large debated consisteth chiefly in the remission of sinnes whosoeuer beleued the promise set forth and by circumcision sealed it followeth of necessitie that he was pertaker of the remission of sinnes Some demaund whether circumcision and baptisme which succeded it bring remissiō onely of those sins which are alredy past or also of those which are afterward cōmitted Let these mē cōsider y◠the vse of Circumcision and of Baptisme is not for a tyme but perpetuall For as the faithfull oftentimes fal so when they forthwith come againe vnto themselues they thinke vpon the promise of the Gospell which is of the remission of sinnes Wherin also euen for this cause they are confirmed for that they remember them In erroure of those which would not be baptised but in the last houre selues to be either baptised or circumcised and so by putting to of faith they are deliuered from sinnes and are reconciled vnto God Hereby it is manifest how they wer in the old time deceiued which would not be baptised but euē now whē death approched that they were in a maner geuing vp y◠ghoste Neither let any man thinke y◠this is repugnant vnto the kayes of the Church by which are receiued the penitent For that they may the better vnderstande the matter this they must nedes graunt that those kayes of the church are nothing els but the preachyng of the Gospell wherby the ministers do perswade the beleuers that their sinnes are forgeuen them But they which are to be perswaded are by the benefite of the holy ghost persuaded their faith concerninge the promise is also hereby confirmed for that they call to memory the signe of Baptisme or of Circumcision whiche in times past they receiued And Paule when he said For the remission of the sinnes going before ment y◠iustification when it is applied vnto vs alwayes putteth away those sinnes which we haue before committed But that nothing letteth but that the promise of the remission of sinnes and the sealing therof may oftentimes with profite be called to our memory But so oftentimes as sinne is so forgeuen it followeth of necessitie that the same sinne went before but that which we speake of tendeth to this to declare that the vtilitie of the sacraments is not for a tyme but pertaineth to the whole course of our life Circumcision differed from other sacramentes for that it was the beginning and first steppe and visible entrance to the couenaunt of God But what maner ones the vncircumcised were counted the Apostle declareth in the epistle to the Ephesians Remember saith he that ye wer somtymes Gentiles in the flesh which were called vncircumcision of circumcision in the flesh made wyth hāds ye were sometimes without Christ aliants frō the cōmon wealth of the Israelites straungers from the couenantes of the promises without hope in the world and without God And in the epistle vnto the Phil. he teacheth which is the true spirituall What i◠the spirituall circumcision circumcision For we saith he are circumcision which serue the Lord in spirite and glory in Christ and haue no confidence in the flesh And vnto the Coloss he writeth In whom saith he ye are circumcised with circumcision not made with handes by the puttyng of the sinfull body of the flesh By whiche place we sée as we haue before also noted that forgeuenes of sinnes is to be put as well in Circumcision as in Baptisme Wherfore Augustine in his booke against Iulianus the Pelagian in that part wherin he heapeth vp a great many authorities of the fathers reproueth the Pelagians by these wordes of the Apostle for that notwithstanding they denied original sinne yet they baptised their infāts for forasmuch as they affirmed y◠in them is no sinne how could that Baptisme as Paule saith be circumcision not made with handes by the putting of of the sinful flesh These places of the Apostle serue very much to the explication of the proprietie and nature of circumcision And in Deut. the x. chap. the Lord saith Thou shalt circumcise the vncircumcision of thyne hart neither shalt thou harden thy necke In stede of vncircumcision the Chaldey interpreter hath Tephaschoth that is foolishnes therby signifieng y◠the first ground of sinne herein consisteth that we are blinde to all thinges pertaining to God and that we The first ground of sinne The promyse which circumcisiō sealed are wonderfully infected with the ignoraunce of God The 70. interpreters haue 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is hardnes of hart The promises which are offred vnto them y◠are circumcised are these that God is made our God and the God of our séede in which onely thing we haue the horne of plenty that is the sūme of all good things Hereof also springeth our felicitie consolatiō in all afflictiō They were therbye also put in mind of y◠mortifiēg of y◠flesh y◠is of y◠cutting away of superfluous plesures moreouer by it they professed pure religiō And in sum therby was signified y◠couenāt made with god These wer y◠things signified the matter of this sacramēt and pertayne truly vnto the nature and substance therof In baptisme also all those selfe same thinges are
declare in him his power therefore he hath mercy on whom he will hardeneth whom he wil. Why then do we still complayne For who can resist his wil Here againe he addeth God forbid He for no other cause as I suppose thus wresteth the text but Why this place is made so troublesome of these fathers Origene wrote a boke of free will for yâ— he would not haue mans vnderstanding to much offended or free will impayred But that this wrested expositioÌ„ yet satisfied hym not it is manifest by yâ— which he alledgeth out of a boke of fre wil which he saith he wrote although yâ— boke be not at this day extaÌ„t And in it he endeuoreth to interpretate these words as if they were the wordes of Paul himselfe and not of any other man asking a question They hurt no more free will sayth he then that which we rede in Dauid Vnles the Lord build the house they labour in vaine which build it The builder in dede doth somwhat for he is carefull and laboreth but God remoueth away the lets and permitteth the worke to be accomplished So will he haue that to be vnderstanded whiche is written vnto the Corrinth Neither he which watreth nor he which planteth is anye thing but God which geueth the encrease Wherefore although we labor yet it is God which geueth perfection accomplishmeÌ„t to our labors After this maner thinketh he may aptly be expounded this sentence It is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth but of God that hath mercy But this cauillation Augustine of whose iudgment as touching this matter I am in a greate many places excellently well confuteth For so sayth he we may inuert the sentence the other way and thus say It is not of God that hath mercy but of man that willeth and runneth But touching this matter we will speake more at large in due place Thus much we thought good at this present to reherse that thou moughtest se that Origen hym selfe putteth no greate affiance in this his first interpretation howbeit he goeth on in it and thus repelleth that troublesome and importunate inquisitor O man what art thou that answerest vnto God and goest to Law with him when as thou art as clay in the hand of the potter Neither vouchesafeth he to make anye other answer to the troublesome inquisitor For so he sayth Christ when he was demaunded by what power he did those thinges would not make answere vnto the Scribes Whome doubtles he would haue aunswered if they had asked the question with a godly minde and with a minde desirous to learne For so also a master that hathe a malipert seruaunt which neglecteth to doo the thinges which he is commaunded and troublesomely enquireth the causes of those thinges which are commaunded him would say vnto him What hast thou to doo to enquire touching these thinges I will haue it so bycause it is my pleasure so When as otherwise he would make answere if he were asked the question of a faythfull and an obedient seruaunt Therefore God although he hid from many what he would do yet reueled he his secretes vnto Daniell a man desirous of knowledge So we also if we be not rash and importunate inquisitors may in the scriptures know the causes of the loue and hatred of God towardes Iacob and Esau although to the malepert and importunate inquisitors that answere which is here geuen of Paul ought to be sufficient And in the first epistle to Timothe it is written That In a greate house are vessells some of gold some of siluer some of clay in this place that distinction of vessells is not discribed Thys thing only Paul sayth That the potter may of one and the selfe same masse make one vessel to honour and an other to contumely But vnto Timothe is geuen a cause of the diuersity For thus it is written He wich shall purge himselfe from these thinges shal be a vessell to honour sanctified to God and prepared to euery good worke Of which wordes we may inferre to the contrary He which purgeth not himself nor clenseth him selfe shall be a vessell Origene geueth a cause of the loue of God towardes Iacob â–ª and â—â— his hatred towardes Esau The opinioÌ„ of Origene is coÌ„futed to contumely Lo saith he the cause which was not geuen vnto the Romanes is geuen vnto Timothe Wherefore Iacob was therefore beloued bycause he had clensed him selfe from sinnes for the scripture geueth testimony of hym that he was a man simple gentle and obedyent to his parentes And Esau was therefore hated for that he had not purged him self but perseuered in malice in impiety This exposition of Origen conteyneth many things which are not to be allowed First for yâ— he persisteth not in those thinges which he had spoken at the beginning namelye that election consisteth not of woorkes but of the purpose of God and good pleasure of him that calleth Secondlye for that he maketh darke those thinges which in the Apostle are plaine and perspicuous Thirdly for that in his booke of frée will he declareth that he followeth not the exposition which he presently bringeth moreouer for that he thinketh that the Apostle in this place dissolueth not yâ— question where he of purpose putteth it forth and entreateth of it but dissolueth it in the Epistle to Timothy where he onely by the way toucheth that matter Lastly for that out of those wordes of the Apostle he gathereth not a good solucion For of that sentence of Paul He which purgeth himselfe shal be a cleane vessell oughte not to be inferred that a manne can by hys owne strengthes purge hymselfe for that thinge doth God onelye and not we our selues Neyther is that argument of force to proue our strengthes and the libertye of our wyll whyche is taken of a commaundemente or of an exhortacion For God oftentymes commaundeth and oftentimes exhorteth after this maner If thou shalt do this or that these or those thinges shall happen vnto thée to the ende we might vnderstande our infirmity and acknowledge from whence those things which are commaunded are to be sought for But to be clensed and purged in suche sorte as God geueth grace cannot be the cause of election Now wil I come to Ambrose who in a maner nothinge disagréeth from these thinges for he also will haue the purpose of God to signifie foreknowledge And when yâ— Apostle saith That the election should abide according to purpose he peyseth that word should abide and thereof gathereth that the foreknowlege of God cannot be deceaued neither is it possible but yâ— euery thinge shall so come to passe as God foreséeth euery thing shall come to passe but he saith What acception of persons â—â— that God loueth and hateth as he that foreknoweth thinges to come and not as an accepter of persons but doubtles God cannot be sayd to accept persons for that we beleue he fréely loueth and hateth whome he wil not by
and not by an allegorye Partly for that the blindnes shall not be perpetual in that nation It may also haue a respect vnto the remnantes that were saued or it may be referred vnto the time Chrisostome saith partly for that all are not made blinde But by fulnes vnderstand a definite and an appointed multitude which is therefore called fulnes for that the number of the beleuers shoulde be a iuste and verye greate number so that publikely amongest the Gentilles shoulde be gathered a wonderfull great Churche As also all Israell is to be taken for a greate nomber of the Hebrues amongest whome Christe shoulde be publikelye acknowledged Not that some both of the Gentils and also of the Iewes shall not be destroyed For vniuersall propositions in the holy scriptures are oftentimes so to be taken that they ought Vniuersall propositiōs in the holy scriptures how they ar to be vnderstanded to be contracted to a definite vniuersality as this All fleshe shall see the saluation of God Again They shall all be taught of God Again God will haue all men to be saued ▪ whiche is to be vnderstanded as Augustine saith of all those whiche are saued for they are made safe by the will of God Which manner of interpretacion Gregorius Nazianzenus also followed in the fifte booke of his theologye where he had to do against those which denied the holy gost to be God and fained him to be a creature alledging for themselues that which Iohn writeth of the word All thinges were made by it Whereof they inferred that the holy Ghoste also was both made and created by the sonne He aunswereth that this saying of Iohn is to be vnderstanded of all thinges which are made as if it should haue bene saide whatsoeuer thinges are made are made by him as August ▪ expoundeth As many as are saued ar saued by the will of God This connexion of the blindenes of Israell with the entringe in of the The cōnexion of the blyndnes of Israel with the entryng in of the Gentiles is not natural fulnes of the Gentils hath not an naturall order but is firme onely by the disposition and order appointed of the prouidence of God This particle partly Ambrose most aptlye referreth vnto time I knowe there are some whiche by all Israell of whome the Apostle now speaketh vnderstande the people of God gathered both out of the Gentils and also out of the Iewes which people is dayly gathered together euen vnto the ende of the world neither thinke they that there is to be looked for any greater aboundaunce of the Iewes to be conuerted But if we follow this exposition what mistery or what secret had Paul now reuealed all men saw that some of the Hebrues were dayly conuerted and came vnto Christe Further it is most manifest that Paul ment with a certain peculier commendation to adorne the Iewes to the end they should not be contēned of the Gentils But if he should haue saide as these men meane then shoulde he haue spoken no new thing at all Whether this place proue that towardes the ende of the worlde shal be great plenty of the Iewes conuerted vnto Christ when as it was manifeste vnto all men that some few of the Iewes were daylye conuerted vnto Christe Moreouer the foretellinges of the Prophetes as we shall straight way sée entreat not of any certain perticuler men but speake euen of the multitude or people of the Iewes Finally by that meanes Israell should séeme to be taken allegorically whiche in no wise agréeth with the entente of the Apostle Yea and many of the fathers incline this way that the fulnes of the Gētils being entred in the Iewes also shall returne vnto Christ Chrisostome in his 12. Homely de verbis Domini in Marcum in the. 2. Tome when he entreateth of the figge trée that was dried vp at the word of the Lord saith If Christ had found fruit in the figge tree the fulnes of Gentils had not entred in but bicause the fulnes of the Gentiles hath entred in all Israell shall at the last be saued And he addeth that whiche is written in the Apocalipse of Iohn Of the Tribe of Iuda were sealed .xii. thousande of the tribe of Rubene were sealed xii thousand And also Hilarius in his xi boke de Trinitate when he entreateth that the Sonne shall deliuer vp the kingdome vnto God and vnto the father but in the meane time it behoueth him to raigne vntill he haue put his enemies vnder his féete by enemies vnderstandeth the Israelites who although according to election and for theyr fathers sake they were beloued yet are they enemies for our sakes and according to the Gospell The selfe same thing also testifieth he vpon the 58. and 60. Psalmes And if a man diligently loke he shall sée that the reste of the fathers likewise write the like when they enterprete these places And Gennadius amongst others as the Gréeke Scholies declare saith that Paul addeth Partly because of election for the electe are not made blinde and then he addeth that God will afterward take them all vnto him But they which thinke that this is by no meanes to be looked for are hereby moued for that all Israell shal neuer be saued but some shall perish But that word All as we haue declared is not so to be vnderstanded as though no Israelite as touchng the flesh shal be excluded Augustine in his questiōs vpon Genesis the 118. question toucheth either of these opinions But what shall we say vnto the words of Christ wherin he sayth Doost thou thinke that when the sonne of man commeth he shall find faith vpon A conciliation of two places whiche seme to be repugnāt the earth Verely if the Iewes be in such great plenty conuerted vnto Christ and that with the commodity of the Gentles as we haue before declared then shall there remayne much faith which Christ when he returneth vnto vs shall find But we may answere that here is no contrariety for Antichrist shall subuert in a manner all thinges so that if it were possible the elect also should be deceaued which Antichrist when he shall by the spirite of the mouth of Christ be slaine paraduenture the Iewes shall returne againe and shall acknowledge their Messias and shall confirme the Gentils being wauering and seduced It is possible also that when the Iewes shall beleue and the Gentils shall after a certayne tyme put to their helpe then as the nature of the fleshe is may arise some security and licentiousnes especially if Antichrist follow by meanes whereof an infinite number both of the Iewes and of the Gentils may be alienated from Christ so that that shal be true that Christ when he commeth shall find very fewe which purely and sincerely shall confesse him Whether of these two opinions a man receaue there is no absurdity and he shall easely thereby conciliate these places but whither of them is the truer I
without any merite much more are we without any merite either of cōgurity or of worthines receaued into It is not in our power to be touched with that sight wherby the will may be moued vnto faith adoption And vnto Simplicianus in the first booke and 2. question who sayth he can lyue vpryghtly and worke iustly except he be iustified by fayth Who can beleue except he be touched by some calling that is by some testification of thyngs who hath in hys power to haue hys mynde touched wyth such a sight whereby the wyll may be moued vnto fayth And in his 61. sermon vpon Iohn All sinnes sayth he are comprehended vnder the name of infidelity And he addeth That fayth can not be wythout hope and charity Which thing also he most playnly teacheth vpon the 31. Psalme The same father in his 1. booke and 19. chapiter against the 2. epistles of the Pelagians at large entreateth after what maner we are drawen of God and amongst other thinges sayth that the Pelagians would to much triumph ouer the Christians if they had not the worde of drawing in the holy scriptures But forasmuch as that word is expressed euen in the Gospell they haue now vtterly no place whereunto to flye There are infinite other places in Augustine which confirme thys sentence whiche nowe for briefenes sake I thinke good to ouerpasse Cyrillus agaynst Iulianus in his 1. booke and 14. page sayth The fayth of Abraham and ours is vtterly one and the same And the same author vpon Iohn in the 3. booke and 31. chapiter expounding this sentence This is the worke of God that ye beleue in hym whom he hath sent For fayth sayth he bryngeth saluation and grace iustifieth but the commaundements of the lawe rather condemneth Wherefore fayth in Christ is the worke of god In these words we ought to note that faith is it wherby is brought saluation and that we are iustified by grace And he declareth these things more plainly vpon John in his 9. booke and 32. chapiter vpon these words The fathers were iustified by the fayth of those promises which we beleue And whether I go ye know and ye know the way For we are iustified by fayth and are made pertakers of the diuine nature by the participation of the holy ghost Leo in his 13. Sermon of the Passion of the Lord The fathers sayth he beleued together wyth vs that the bloud of the sonne of God should be shed Wherefore there is nothyng dearely beloued straunge in Christian religion from the old significations nor at any tyme from the iust men that haue gone before vs but that saluation is in the Lord Iesus Christ which was hoped for This and many other like testimonies confute those chiefe which dare say that Abraham was indéede iustified but not by in Christ but by faith touching earthly promises But the same author may séeme to make agaynst vs in that that we say that true fayth is not found without charity For in his Sermon de Collect eleem he thus writeth of Sathā He knowing that God is denied not onely in wordes but also in deedes hath taken away charity from many from whome he could not take away fayth and possessing the field of theyr hart with the rootes of couetousnes he hath spoiled of the fruit of good works those whom he hath not depriued of the confession of their lippes These wordes if they be déepely considered make nothing at all agaynst vs. For we speake of a true sound and liuely fayth But Leo vnderstandeth onely a certaine outward profession of faith For when he would render a reason whereby it might appeare that fayth was not taken from them he setteth forth onely an outward confession of the lippes which we also graunt may consist without charity is oftentimes boasted of of many men which yet are most wicked And after this maner I suppose are to be expounded such like testimonies if any happen in the fathers Gregory Byshop of Rome in his 19. homely vppon Ezechiell We come not sayth he to fayth by workes but by fayth we attayne vnto vertues For Cornelius the Centurian came not vnto fayth by workes but by fayth came vnto workes For it is sayd Thy prayers and almes But how prayed he if he beleued not But that he now knew not that the mediator was incarnate by workes he came vnto a more fuller knowledge Hereby I would haue our aduersaries to know y◠fayth necessarily goeth be fore al good workes For they contend y◠morall works which are done of Ethniks and of men not yet beleuing in Christ are good Which thing is in this place of Gregory confuted The same author in his 2. booke and 25. chapiter de moralibus speaking of the same thing thus writeth Vnles fayth be first gotten in our harts all other thynges whatsoeuer they be can not in deede be good although they seeme good Bede vpon the 2. chapiter of Iames He onely beleueth truely which by working excerciseth that which he beleueth For fayth and charity can not be seperated a sender And this shall suffice as touching the Fathers But what these counsels Aphricanum Mileuitanum and Arausicanum teach concerning iustification fayth grace and workes we haue before at large declared in the first article This onely wil I now adde that our aduersaries when they say that God offreth his grace vnto all men and geueth his giftes vnto men that desire them and take hold of them and forgeueth sinnes to them that do that which they ought to do forasmuch as in the meane tyme they omit the breathing of the holy ghost and the power of God which draweth vs and the inward perswasion of the mynde and all those things which are most chiefly required in this matter are most manifestly against those coūsels which we haue now cited Howbeit I can not leaue vnspoken y◠in the counsell of Mence which was celebrated vnder Carolus Magnus in the 1. chapiter is cited Gregory who thus writeth He beleueth truely which by working excerciseth that which he beleueth Forasmuch therefore as we haue now hetherto spoken as touching this article namely that men are iustified by fayth in Christ and haue confirmed the same by scriptures haue ouerthrowen the obiections of our aduersaries and alleadged testimonyes of the Fathers to confirme our sentence let vs nowe come vnto the third article Wherefore we say that iustification consisteth of fayth only Which sentence The third article We are iustified by faith onely all those places of scriptures proue which teach that we are iustified fréely and those which affirme that iustification commeth without workes and those also which put an antithesis or contrariety betwene grace and workes All these places I say most truely conclude that we are iustified by fayth onely Although this word Onely be not red in the holy scriptures But that is not so much to be weighed for the signification of that word is of necessity
offred vnto vs are the holy scriptures which we ought alwais to haue in our hands as a present remedy For if we be enfected with ignorāce there shal we finde light to shake the same of if we be disturbed with sundry perturbations and languishing affectes of the mind and if also we be vexed with the conscience of most greuous sinnes in them are offred vnto vs remedies both easy redy if we be oppressed and in a maner ouerwhelmed with the troubles and greues of outward thinges there shall we find sound and firme consolation if we be sometymes in a perplexitye not knowinge in thinges doubtfull whiche way to turne our selues we can in no other place better then there finde good and faithfull counsell if we be tempted and be in daunger as it oftentimes happeneth of our saluation there we haue a most strong most sure place of refuge And doubtles our latter Dauid drue out from no els where but out of this scrippe most small stones of the word of God wherewith he smote the forehead of Goliah and felled to the ground Sathan by whome he was tempted in y◠desert Wherfore the first Dauid not without iust cause wrote that he considered wonderfull things touching the lawe that is touching the scriptures of God and that he had hidden in his hart the worde of God to the ende he might not sinne against him and this word he confessed to be his consolation in affliction for that the wordes of GOD quickened him What should a man seke farther here out doe flow the fountaines of our Sauiour and we are all inuited freelye to drawe water out of them whereby our intollerable thirste is quenched and satisfied with a singular desire to obtaine blessednes Here haue we a storehouse of GOD full stuffed with the plenty of all good things and set abrod wyde open for vs therout may euery man prouide for his owne want Here is layde for vs a table most plentifullye furnished where the wisedome of God hath mingled for vs most pleasant wyne wherewith euery man may most penltifully refreshe him Here is set forth for euery man a garden and paradise more pleasant then the garden of Alcinoes Salomon Wherfore let vs gather out of it things profitable not hurtful Let vs rather imitate y◠bees then y◠spiders in sucking out the most sweete iuyce and not the deadly poyson We vse commonly with an incredible study to embrace bookes set forth by any industry of man whereout yet we attayne nothing els but a meane how either to defend or to recouer health or a way to encrease thinges domesticall or rules to gouern a commonwealth or institutions of husbandry or of other artes or some entisements to pleasures how much more is it profitable for vs with our whole hart to apply our selues to the reading of the holy scriptures Forasmuch as in them speaketh not vnto vs humane wisedom but God himselfe vnto whome vndoubtedly if we harken geue hede we shall receaue a singular alacrity and chearfulnes of mynd we shall driue away heauy cogitacions we shal be eased and lightened with a most sweete consolation and shall put on strength aboue mans reach we shall now thinke nothing hard or difficill we shall thinke the yoke of the Lord and his crosse to be thinges most light and shall offer our selues most redy for his name sake to suffer any thing yea and being instructed with heauenly eloquence we shall talke vnto men not with the wordes of men but with the wordes of God himselfe Doubtles I know that there are many which beleue not these thinges and that there are not a few which deride them and thinke that we are out of our wits but I would gladly desire these men to vouchesafe once to make a profe besech them not to disdayne to reade I dare sweare and that vpon my greate perill that they shall at one tyme or other be taken They shal at the length feale how much these thinges diuine differ from humane thinges They shall feale I say if they reade attentiuely diligently that at the length thorough the mercy of God these scourges of feare and shame are encreased in their sences they shall feale them selues to be effectually perswaded once at the length to dye vnto death that they may liue to life they shall feele also themselues smitten with an horror of their sinnes and pleasures past when as before in them they thought themselues blessed happy They shal feele that the whole misery of this carnall life is heaped vp before their eyes and they being tormented with the bitter feeling therof it will cause to burst forth out of their eyes greate showers and mighty floods of teares for the oracles and words of GOD when they are earnestly read and deapely cōsidered do not slightly nippe the mind but do most deapely digge into the hart with most sharpe prickes and therout after a sort plucking vp by the rootes vices wicked actes do in their place plant peace of conscience and spirituall ioye they shal also at the length fele kindled in them the wonderfull and most pleasant loue of the swetenes goodnes of God Wherefore they being thus vtterly changed shal be compelled to say that which Dauid excellently well recordeth How swete are thy words made to my iawes they were sweter vnto my mouth then hony But of such an helpe then which can nothing be found more diuine and more heathfull are those men depriued whiche other will not read Gods bokes at all or els reade them with a certayne disdayne lothesommes and contempt so that they haue no zeale to the wordes of God but thorough theyr owne proper deuises their mind is vtterly caried to other matters Of which impiety and wickednes God in y◠Prophet Osea the 8. chapiter greauously accuseth Israell saying I haue written to them the greate things of my law but they were coūted as a strange thing Doubtles those children are to much degenerated which count that voyce wherewith theyr most louing parent calleth vpon them to liue godly and vertuously for a strange voyce and contrariwise do folow as theyr owne and proper voyce that which is in very dede a strang voyce and so it commeth to passe that after the maner of betels they refuse swete sauors and go to stinking donghils Wherefore it is not to be meruailed at if they waxe rottē in the filthy puddle of worldly pleasures if they be burnt vp wyth vnwoorthy and filthy cares If they dispayre in aduersities and if at the laste they perishe in sinnes and in a lyfe altogether corrupted In summe as touching the holy scriptures I may iustly pronounce although somewhat inuerted that which Demostenes affirmed of money namely that with the word of God ought al things to be done and with out the same can be done nothing that is good But what go I about Do I take vpon me to set forth the commendacions and prayses of
not in the sonne hath euerlasting life 19 a Now you are cleane because of my word 80. b That we haue obtained grace for grace 145. a The pore ye shal haue alwaies with you 200. a Beholde I am with you to the end of the world eodem The bread which I will geue is my flesh 201. b To as many as receiued him he gaue them power to be made the sonnes of God 205 That that might be fulfilled which was spoken 325. b I geue you a newe commaundement 283. a Who so euer the father hath geuen me no man can take away 308. b The world cā not hate you 341 All things were made by it 360 This is eternall life that they acknowledge thee the onely true God and whome thou hast sent Iesus Christ 392. a This is the work of God that ye beleue in him whome he hath sent 406 a Howe can ye beleue when ye seke glory at mens hāds 394 Receiue ye the holy ghost c. 361 Are there not .xij. houres in the day 420. b Actes YE men of Athens I shewe vnto you that God whom ye ignorantly worship 181 Beholde God hathe geuen to thee all that sail with thee 41 That the scriptures should be fulfilled 308. a Repent and be baptized euery one of you 364. b By faith purifying their hearts 392. a 1. Corinthians IF I haue all fayth so that I can remoue mountains 393 The temple of God is holy 5 They did all eat the same spirituall meat 81. b They were all baptised in the cloud and in the sea eodem They dranke of the spirituall rocke following them 81. b Your children are holy 133. b The dart of sinne is death 139 The rocke was Christ 199. b I chasten my body and bryng it into bondage 309. b To them that are called bothe Iewes and gentiles Christ the sonne c. 297. b That the beleuers stād by faith 355. a He that standeth let him take take hede that he fal not 〈…〉 d. Diuiding to euery one particularly as pleaseth him 〈…〉 a 2. Corinthians EVen whom the God of this world hath blineded 28. b Ye are the Epistle of Christe wrote by our ministery and written not with ink c. 49. b I know none as touching the fleshe 241. b Not in tables of stone but in fleshy tables 43. b What great care it hath wrought in you yea what clearing of your selues 166. a Therefore we after this know none according to the flesh 241 The God of this worlde hath blinded the heartes of the vnbeleuers 28. b Thou standest by faith 390. b Galathians HOw are ye againe turned to the weake and beggerly elements of the world 82. b He which is circūcised is debter to obserue the whole law 86. a The lawe was put because of transgressors 90. a As it pleased him which seperated me c. 2. b Although it be but a testament of a man yet when it is confirmed no man reiecteth it or addeth any thing to it 62. Curssed is he that abideth not in all the things that are written in the boke of the law 89 I would to God they whych trouble you were cut of 345. a Considering thy self least thou also be tempted 356. b The scripture hath shut vp all things vnder sinne 365. b The ende of the law is Christ 385. b The lawe is our scholemaister vnto Christ 391. a By the law no man is iustified before God 410. a Ephesians BY grace ye are made safe throughe faith and not of our selues 391. a We also were by nature the children of wrath c 102. b Who hath predestinated vs according to purpose 225. a Not of workes leaste any man should glory 376. b By whome we haue accesse by fayth 269. a Phillippians CHriste was in the similitude of men 194. b Taking vpon him the shape of a seruaunt 1. b We are the circumcision 49. b Yea I think al things but losse for the excellent knowledge of Iesus Christ 158. b With fear and trembling work your saluation 384. a Colossians WE are circūcised in Christ by the washing away the synnes of the flesh 81. b In whome ye are circumcysed with circumcision not made with hands 85. a Mortify your members which are vpon the earth 411. b Thessalonians THis is the wil of God your sanctification 269. a 1. Timothe I Obtayned mercy for that I did it ignorantly and of infidelitie 2. b Saue that which is geuen thee to kepe 3. b Vnto the iust man the lawe is not geuen 59. b God wil haue all men to be saued 269. a Adam was not deceiued 100. a Which is the sauior of all men 306. b They that minister well gette vnto them selues a good degree 350. a The elders are worthy double honor 428. b 2. Timothe I Haue from my progenitors worshipped God with a pure conscience 8. a All scripture inspired by God is profitable to teache and to reproue c. 96. b I know whome I haue beleued and I am assured 101. a In my first defence no mā was on my side all men forsooke me God graūt it be not imputed c. 103. a I haue fought a good battaile I haue finished my course c 158. b He which shall purge him selfe shall be a vessel to honor 255. Of whome is Himeneus and Alexander which haue made shipwracke as concernynge faith 404. b Titus THey cōfesse that they know God but in dedees they deny him 396. b Hebrues IN that he sayth now he hath abolished that whiche was before But that which is abolished and waxen olde is euen at hand to vanishe away 82. a Be not wanting to the grace of God 141. a With such sacrifices is god won as by merite 159. b The saints by fayth haue ouercome kingdomes 391. b It is impossible for those which haue once bene illuminated 266 Faith is a substance of thinges to be hoped for 368. b S. Iames. MAn is iustified by works and not of faith only 69. a God tempteth not vnto euil 28 Patiēce hath a perfect work 100 Let no man when he is tempted say that he is tempted of God 269. a Abraham was he not iustifyed by his workes 74. b He that cometh to God ought to beleue c. 399. b 1. Peter CHaritie couereth the multitude of sinnes In the power of God are ye kept to saluation by faith 291 When once the long suffring of God abode in the dayes of Noe. 401. 1 Be ye subiecte for the Lordes sake 427. a S. Ihons epistle HE which is borne of God sinneth not 149. a Perfect loue driueth forth fear 280. b. 383. a God gaue them power to be made the sonnes of God 382. b He that loueth not abydeth in death 397. a Euery one which beleueth that Iesus Christ is born of god 391. b This is the victory that ouercometh the world our fayth eodem We haue an aduocate with the father Iesus Christ 65. a Ther are .iii. things which bear
though they coulde finde no remedye wherby to auoyde reprobation or ells doe put so much confidence therin to liue losely and at pleasure saying that it maketh no matter for that seing they are predestinate they can not be condemned what doe they els but most wickedly abuse a good thing Euery thing ought to be taken by that part wherby it may be holden For a sworde is not drawē by the edge or by the blade but by the Euery thing must be taken by that part wherby it may be holden hafte neyther is a vessell taken by the middest of the bellye but by the handle or eare So predestination ought to be referred to the commodities now declared and not to those thinges which may engender destruction These notes and these titles hath Paule affixed vnto hys name that we shoulde not thinke hym to be a wandryng man which rashlye sowed contentions concernyng religion and that we shoulde vnderstand that there is a great difference betwene Apostles and other common ministers although there be some which dare teach that we must no lesse beleue the Byshop of Rome then Paule the Apostle I graūt in deede that eyther of them do both thunder and lighten but yet after a farre diuers and sundrye manner The Pope thundreth and lightneth with bulles belles gunnes and weapons of warre but Paule hath by the worde of God The Pope and Paule do diuersly thunder and lightē by admonitions rebukinges wholesome doctrine by miracles thundred and lightned in the Church But let vs see by what reason these men defend theyr opinion They say the byshops succeded the Apostles wherefore both haue one and the selfe same authoritie and to both ought we to obey a lyke But we aunswere them thus It is true that the Apostles departyng out of thys world left Byshops to be gouernours ouer Churches but we vtterly deny that Apostles Byshops are not of lyke authoritie Byshops succeding the Apostles are endued with the selfe same or lyke authoritie and that thyng we proue after thys sorte Fyrst because we see that the Apostles were to thys end chosen to constitute the religion and dignitie of the Gospell and to publishe vnto the beleuers the thynges which they had heard of The difference betwene the Apostles Byshops Christ But byshops are to this ende instituted to defend those thynges which are conteyned in the Gospell and in the holy Scriptures which they must so take in hand to defend that they adde no newe thynges vnto them nor fayne any new traditions at theyr owne will and pleasure Farther the holy fathers which were Byshops when they gaue them selues to wryting do confesse that they are onely intreaters or interpreters of the holy Scriptures and will not that those thinges which they write should be had in so great authoritie as we attribute vnto the Canonicall Scriptures yea rather they forbidde that any credite should be geuen vnto them if they speake any thyng agaynst the holy Scriptures Thyrdly to the Apostolicall doctrine were adioyned many miracles wherby theyr authoritie is confyrmed which thyng we see is not done in these traditions of the elders Farther we are sure that the Apostles wrote by the inspiration of the holy ghost which thing vndoubtedly we dare not affirme of our Byshops Wherefore we conclude that the Apostles could not erre in those thynges which they wrote But we see that the Byshoppes very often tymes made vngodly decrees as touchyng rules of religiō as it appeareth in the Counsell of Ariminum and also in the seconde Synode of Ephesus and also in many other yea and they also erred very much in their actes At Chalcedon and Chrysostome deposed Constantinople were Synodes gathered together in which Chrysostome was condempned and deposed which thyng also was done in the name of those Byshoppes which were of a ryght and perfect fayth And there myght be alleaged many examples of the lyke sorte Paule also writing vnto Timothe prayeth hym to saue that which is geuen hym to keepe declaryng that he ought neither to adde nor to diminishe any thyng of the doctrine of the Gospell receaued that is to keepe iustly the thyng committed vnto hym Let thys also be added that the Apostles be so vnto the Bishops and Ordinarye pastours as in the olde time were the Prophetes vnto the high priestes and priestes For they myght write bookes and adioyne them vnto the Canonicall Scripture For Samuell added hys bookes vnto the Scripture Esaie Ieremie and the other Prophets added theyr Monuments vnto the Scripture which thyng the Scribes Priestes and high Priestes could not doe The Apostles called the Gentiles and abrogated the ceremonies of the lawe which thing was aboue the power of the high priestes and priestes The Apostle doth therefore set forth hym selfe by these titles that Why Paul ascribed vnto hym selfe these titles when we read hym or heare hym we should thinke that we heare not the wordes of a man but oracles from heauen Here is also put in the prayse of the Gospell which must bee read by a parenthesis and the same extendeth euen vnto thys place where he sayth To all which are at Rome c. The Gospell to speake brieflye is the preachyng The grosse definitiō of the Gospell takē of the matter of Christ offred vnto vs to saluation accordyng to the promises made in the olde tyme. Thys commendation is taken of the matter which is entreated of in the Gospell because euery science and facultie hath hys dignitie of the thyng that it intreateth of Afterward is geuen an other definition and that is An other definitiō of the Gospell takē of the efficient cause taken of the strength of working namely that the Gospell is the power of God vnto saluation that is the instrument wherby Christ would haue vs saued Definitions takē of these causes ought to be ioyned together to the end to haue the more full knowledge of the Gospell In that it is sayd VVhich he had before promysed c. It is a preuenting whereby hee declineth the enuious name of newnes For the Gospell was counted a new doctrine For they which heard Paule thus reasoned with them selues The olde Patriarches and the Prophets had saluation and a Church and yet they wanted your Gospell therefore thys doctrine is not necessary yea rather more then needeth Here Paule confesseth that the elders were saued but The doctrine of the Gospell is not newe not without the Gospell For in as much as God had before promised it by the fayth of thys promise they were all made safe But now it appeareth new doctrine vnto you because ye haue ouerwhelmed thys promise with humane traditions and haue made it obscure with your owne inuentions Thys selfe same argumēt may we at this day make against our aduersaries which cry out that we bryng in new doctrine Vndoubtedly we go about no new thyng but they haue vtterly brought in straunge and new
thynges of which there is no mention at all made in the holy Scriptures yea we know that very many thinges which they defend were receaued long after the Apostles tyme out of the decrees or Synodes of Byshops And if there be any whose originall is not certainly knowen yet doe not the holy Scriptures make any mention of them But here the Apostle doth for thys cause commend hys Gospel because it was before promised by the Prophets in the holy Scriptures All these thynges haue a wonderfull When the promise of the Gospell begâ—n emphasis For that which was so long tyme before promised of God can not be but excellent and wonderfull And thys promise beganne froÌ„ that which Adam inspyred with the holy ghost spake Thys is nowe bone of my bones and fleshe of my fleshe which the Apostle to the Ephesians taketh to be spoken of Christ Gen. 2. and of the Church and from that also which was sayd vnto Eue Thy seede shall Gen. 3. breake hys head in peeces Afterward it was extended with continuall oracles by the Patriarckes holy Prophets euen vnto the end Prophets are here taken for excellent men namely interpreters of the worde of God and by thys worde are signified all the writers of the Canonicall Scripture of what degree soeuer they were of And that which is added in the holy Scriptures pertayneth to this end to shew that they are not vayne oracles which he citeth for as much as they are extant in the holy Scriptures For they are sealed with publicke writings and ratified and firme by an instrument And in speakyng of these thynges he commendeth hym self which was the minister of so great a Gospell And by the selfe same meanes he calleth them backe both from ceremonyes and also from Philosophie vnto which thynges they were wonderfully bent It followeth VVhich was made of the seede of Dauid The incarnation of the Sonne Howe the sonne of God was made of God is here touched and in consideration of the person he is sayd to haue bene made although thys agreeth not with hym but as touching hys humanitie But it is sayd of the seede of Dauid because vnto Dauid was made a notable promise so that Messias was commonly called the sonne of Dauid as we read in the Gospell that the Scribes the Phariseis testified vnto whom Christ obiecteth How doth Dauid call hym hys Lorde By thys place are the wicked Math. 22. heretickes ouerthrowen which affirme that Christ had a body not of the nature and substaunce of the Virgin but brought from heauen They faine vnto them Christ had a true body and flesh of the Virgin Mary selues this argument Because our fleshe is subiecte vnto damnation the curse therfore it is not very likely say they that the sonne of God would take it vpon hym Which argument may easily be confuted For curse and damnation are accidences wherefore God was able easilye remoue them and yet keepe whole the nature and substaunce of man Wherefore he could no lesse geue vnto Christ a holy and cleane body of the Virgin then he could out of the vyle clay bring forth a noble and most cleane body vnto Adam And in that we heare that the sonne of God so abased hym selfe to take vpon hym humane fleshe it ought to be vnto vs no small spurre that nothing be offered vnto vs so hard which for Christes sake we will not suffer Many demaunde why Christ the sonne of God Why Christ tokâ— vpon hym humane fleshe tooke vpon hym humane fleshe And although many reasons might be brought yet will I bryng that which Ambrose hath rendred vpon this place namely that punishment myght be taken in that fleshe which sinned euen as men that are malefactours are there accustomed to suffer punishmentes where they haue coÌ„mitted Ambrose great wicked crimes VVhich was declared to be the Sonne of God Here I can not tell howe the Latine translation had Qui praedestinatus est that is which was predestinate By meanes whereof the interpreters had much adoe to declare it aptlye They myght in deede saye that Christ was to thys end predestinate to be the Mediatour and redemer of mankinde But the thynges which followe agree not therwith for the cause of thys predestination could not be eyther the resurrection from the dead or effusion of the holy ghost Therefore we must read it as the Greke bookes haue it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth as Chrysostome interpreteth it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is shewed declared and iudged The Apostle first entreateth of the veritie of the humane nature which is hereby shewed because he was made borne of the seede of Dauid Now he setteth forth the deuine nature For he sayth that Christ was by sure argumentes published declared and shewed to bee the sonne of God And although here is no mention of predestination yet is not the Latine translatioÌ„ new For Origene maketh Origene eiteth the Latine translatioÌ„ mention of it who yet followeth it not For he interpreteth it as it is in the Greke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But how he shoulde cite the Latine translation there are sondrye opinions Some attribute thys to hys diligent and painfull studye which had a care to search out all translations Neyther is it to be thought that he was ignoraunt of the Latine tongue for as much as he was called to Rome by Mammaea the mother of Alexander the Emperour Some thinke that these thynges were not written by the author but put in by the interpreter And there are some which thinke that that booke is none of Origenes among whom is Erasmus Hierome expounding the first chap. to the Ephesians playnlye sheweth Hierome that we shoulde here reade 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 neyther addeth he the preposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And vndoubtedly thys worde is vsed when Magistrates elected are published and declared Therefore thys is the sense Christ which was man in very dede The signification of this word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The resurrections is the only signe of the deuine nature of Christ and of the seede of Dauid was declared appoynted and published to be the sonne of God by the reasons following In power according to the spirite of sanctification resurrection of the dead Thys kinde of speache being very darcke hath sondrye expositions Some thus expounde it as though it were one onely argument to proue the diuinitie of Christ namely hys resurrection which they say was done by power and by the holy ghost And to proue thys argument to be of great force they alleage that Christ gaue no other signe but the signe of Ionas the Prophete that also which hee sayd Lose thys Temple and on the thyrd daye I will rayse it vppe agayne Iohn 2. And it seemeth that some of the Apostles dyd therfore dispayre of the diuine nature because they saw the resurrection to be differred as Cleophas sayd vnto
therfore he geueth vs charity and other most noble vertues He addeth Called Sainctes by which worde he admonisheth them of their state past If they be called to holynes for as much as there caÌ„ be no motioÌ„ but where limites are apointed therfore they mought well conclude that they were called from vncleanes and Why the Romanes were called holy vnpurenes to holynes Neither say thou All they which were at Rome ought not to be called holy for that there were many there whiche were not absolute and not yet perfecte for these thynges let not For Paule first had a regarde vnto the better sort and in theyr name and prayse beautified the whole church For certayne preregatiues of singular members do redounde vnto the other members Further the Apostle had a consideracion wherevnto they were called namely to be made holy He sawe that they were called to the communion Augustine of Sainctes whereof they also tooke theyr name And Augustine in his 6. booke against Iulianus admonisheth vs not to thinke that this woord holynes signifieth This word holynes signifieth not perfection perfection And he citeth a place of Paul in the first epistle to the Cor. where he sayeth The Temple of God is holy which Temple ye be And no man is ignorant but that the Corinthians were infected with many vices And if we wil serche out the strenght of the significacion of the worde Sancti that is Sainctes or holy as the same Augustine teacheth in his booke de Symbolo fide it cometh of this Whence this word holynes is deriued worde Sanctio that is to constitute For that is called holy whiche is constant and firme and appoynted to abyde but nothing more letteth vs to abyde for euer then doth sinne for it is sayd that the reward of sinne is death Therfore it cometh to passe that holynes consisteth chiefely in the forgeuenes remission of sinnes FroÌ„ which seÌ„tence that disagreeth not which Paul hath in the first to the Cor. when he sayeth after he had rehearsed a cathaloge of enormious sinnes And these thinges were yee sometymes but nowe yee are washed yee are sanctified But the forgeuenes of sinnes is had by the holy ghost If that we shal call any thynge holy by reason of preparatioÌ„ they mought truly be called holy which haue beleued in Christ because that by the grace and spirite of Christe they are prepared to glory and highe purenes of lyfe to come Ambrose semeth Ambrose to searche out who are they which are called the beloued of God and called Sainctes And he aunswereth that these are they which thinke well of Christ If thou wilt agayne demaund what those are he aunswereth That those thinke What those be that thinke well of Christ well of Christ which thinke that we ought to put our confidence in hym only and that in hym is perfect saluation And of it may be concluded as of contraries that they thynke not well of Christ which trust in theyr owne strengthes or workes which thinge such as doo are not to be nombred amonge the called Sainctes and beloued of God as Ambrose now speaketh of them The called he nameth Sainctes because men of theyr owne nature are not able to attayne Holynes is not the cause of calling vnto holynes vnles they be led by the celestiall might of the holy Ghost And this is not to be left vnspokeÌ„ of that men are not therfore called of god because they are holy but that they are therefore holy because they are called Paul doth not rashely vse this kind of speach because the Iewes for that they had theyr original The Iewes claymed holynes vnto themselues only froÌ„ the holy Patriarches Prophetes boasted that all holynes consisted in theyr stocke only as thoughe other nacions were so wicked that it shoulde be counted an vnlawfull thing to communicate with them this proprietye of holynes But now yt is manifest that through the grace of Christ it is brought to passe that as well the Gentiles as the Iewes haue obtained the prerogatiue of holynes in an equall balance so that they haue the fayth of Christ Here we see also that Paule in placing of these two wordes obserued a iust order For fyrst he setteth to the beloued of God before called Saintes because that holynes A tâ—imâ— placing of wordes breaketh forth of no other thing then of that charity and loue wherewith God loueth vs. And he might haue set forth the Romanes with other most ample titles namely that they had the dominion ouer the whole world ruled ouer all But passing ouer these things he speaketh only of yâ— things that are of more value chiefly because it was not expedieÌ„t to flatter yâ— Gentiles more then yâ— Iewes and especially because there was risen no smale discord betwene both nacions Wherefore he ouerskippeth those titles which were proper vnto the Romanes he toucheth the coÌ„mon prayses of all such as beleue that they which were of the Gentiles and they which were of the circumcisioÌ„ might in that church be the better vnited together betweene them selues But we may not therfore be afrayd It is lawfull to call Princes by their titles both to salute and also to call Princes by their proper titles For in so doing we both admonishe our selues what we owe vnto theÌ„ and also we put theÌ„ in minde of theyr duety For Paule also when in the actes of the Apostles he made an oration to Agryppa was not afraid to call him by the title of a king Hetherto we haue expounded the second parte of the salutation that is what they were whom Paule saluteth Now let vs see what good thinges he wisheth vnto them Grace saith he to you and peace c. By the name of peace he vnderstandeth What peace signifieth with the Hebreues after the maner of the Hebrues the increase of all good thinges For as the Ethnikes say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is grace salutem that is health so the Hebrues say Schalom that is peace And in the olde testament this salutatioÌ„ is ofteÌ„ vsed Yea and Christ also comming vnto the Apostles sayd Peace be with you And he commaunded Luke 24. the Apostles that into what house soeuer they entred they should say Peace be vnto this house To this salutacion commoÌ„ly vsed among the Hebrues Math. 10. Paule addeth this word grace which word is not often found in the olde testament Grace is ioyned with peace added vnto salutations But Paule herein nothing offendeth For it aunswereth vnto his vocation for he was a preacher of grace and in the meane tyme admonisheth them to whom he writeth that peace is not to be looked for that is the heape of all good thinges from our owne strengthe and merites but from the grace of God He sheweth the roote and putteth it fyrst from whence other good thinges are powred vppon vs that we may haue the childe together
not to be accused of blame or iniquity because he suffreth many to sinne before hys face whome he could holde backe and helpe with his grace that they should not fall vnder thys pretence because we should iustly be accâ—sed if we shuld permit any such thing We may not thinke that these thinges are repugnaunte the one to the other Namely that we are iustly accused and that we vtterly wante all excuse if we sinne and yet notwithstandyng can not abstayne from sinne neyther can we as we ought obey the commaundements of God vnles we be holpen by grace And lastly that it is God which worketh all in all Forasmuch as in him we lyue and are moued and haue our beyng And he beareth vp all thynges wyth the worde of hys power These thinges ought we to beleue for that they are Oracles of the holy scriptures Wherfore if by our reason they seme not to agree together yet must we be content for we can not perse the secretes of God neither hath God any nede of our excuses Which excuses yet if a man would narowly examine he shal fynd the they do not in any thyng satisfy our iudgement If there be a maister of a householde which hath seruantes in hys house which continually commit most greuous sinnes and would make hys excuse and say that he driueth them not therunto neither prouokee them to do naughtely but onely suffreth them wincketh at them and permitteth them what an excuse I pray you should this be Neyther is free will by thys thinge in daunger so far forth as we must graunt the free will is For we ought not to beleue the god doth so deliuer men that he compelleth them or dryueth theÌ„ agaynst theyr will They willingly gladly and of theyr owne accord serue their owne lustes The similitudes which Chrisostome bringeth are verye weake For howe can a Captayne which forsaketh hys host not be counted the cause of theyr destruction And although when the house toppe falleth the wayght thereof draweth it vnto the earth yet how shall not he which remoued the beame or piller whiche stayed it vp be sayd to be the cause of the fall therof So that whether soeuer they turne themselues when they say that God forsaketh and withdraweth his helpe they must nedes be compelled to say that God after a sort willeth sinne And the father which disinheriteth hys sonne when he can not amend hym what comparison hath he with GOD whiche can if he wyll amende men Wherefore we see not why we should be iustly perswaded by these reasons to interprete these wordes To deliuer to harden to blinden by these wordes To suffer to permit and to forsake But as touchyng this matter let vs briefely examine Augustines opinion Augustine de praedestinatione gratia Augustine de gratia libero arbitrio whether God be sayd to deliuer the vngodly vnto their lustes onely in forsakyng them or also after some maner forcyng them He semeth in this matter to be diuersly mynded For in hys booke of predestination and grace the 4. chap. he hath this interpretation of suffryng permittyng And he addeth that to harden is nothing els then the he wil not make soft To blinden is nothyng els then the he wil not illuminate to put backe is nothing els then yâ— he wil not call But in his boke of grace frée wil the 21. chap. he writeth manifestly inough as I thinke That God worketh in the hartes of men to incline their willes whether so euer it pleaseth hym eyther to good thynges according to hys mercy or ells to euill thinges according to theyr desertes and that by his iudgement being sometimes open and sometimes hidden but alwayes iuste These wordes declare that our willes are sometimes styrred vppe of God not onely in forsaking or permitting vs but also by some inclination to euill thynges Julianus Pelagianus also as the same Augustine agaynst him Augustine agaynst Iulianus in hys 5. booke and 3. chap. sayth reproueth Augustine because he had read that the same Augustine affirmed that God is wonte to punishe sinnes by sinnes And he sayth If the matter were thus then ought we to prayse and commende concupiscense and sinnes as good thynges which thou affirmest to bee inflicted vpon vs as punishmentes But there agaynst hym are brought forth many notable places of that Scripture by which is proued that God bryngeth in sinnes as punishmentes Many notable places of the scripture and paynes deserued We can not denie but that the deuill in tempting poureth in to vs wicked cogitations and that he receaueth power of God so to do God styred vp Dauid to number the people as it is written in the 2. booke of Samuell the 24. chapter But in the booke of Chronicles Sathan is sayd to haue moued Dauid vnto it And it skilleth not whether God dyd it by hym selfe or by the deuill for it is all one In the 1. booke of Kinges God would haue Achab the king deceaued by a lying spirite that hee shoulde geue credite vnto false Prophetes which without doubt was sinne And in Esaie the 63. chap. it is written Wherfore haste thou made vs to erre and haste hardened our hartes that we should not feare thee And in the 11. chap. of Iosua God hardened the hartes of the vnbeleuing Gentiles And in that Roboam harkened not vnto the elders which gaue him good admonition that was therefore because the conuersion was of the Lorde to performe hys worde which hee spake of hym by the hand of the Prophet And in the 2. Paralip the 25. chapter Amasias king of Iudah harkened not vnto Ioas king of Israell because God had so wrought in hym to deliuer hym into hys handes And in Ezechiell the 14. chap If a Prophet bee deceaued I haue deceaued hym Also in the Lordes prayer we praye Lead vs not into temptation These thynges in a maner alleageth Augustine wherby appeareth that God deliuereth the wicked vnto theyr owne lustes not onely by permission but also by a certayne incitation But agaynst these sentences Iulianus séemed to obiecte thrée thinges Fyrst that lustes Thre obiections of Iulianus are as I sayd at the beginning to be praysed for that they are said to be punishmentes inflicted of God Further as touching thys place it is manifest inough sayd he what Paules meaning is For in that he sayth that they were deliuered vp vnto their lustes it appeareth that they were before infected with them and that they had them before within them selues and that God to deliuer vp is nothyng ells then to permitte Thyrdly he sayth that God is sayd to deliuer rather by a certayne pacience or suffering then by power God in déede suffreth these thinges to bée done but he doth not by hys power and myght driue them to doe them To these thynges Augustine in the same chapter maketh aunswere and sayth that it is a very weake argument that sinnes should therefore be prayse
worthy because God by them doth sometimes punishe vs. Otherwyse we should commend the deuill also whose bondslaues we are made through sinne and of hym are greuouslye afflicted For he is the tormentour of God and the executour of the deuine vengeaunce Moreouer we read that Saule was geuen of God to be kyng in Gods furye and wrath to auenge the wantonnes and rebellion of the people by the tyrannie of a wicked kyng And yet is not an vngodly kyng therefore to be commended or praysed These thynges and such lyke do plainly declare the weakenes of that argument And as touching that which was sayd in the second place that the wordes of the Apostle which we are here in hand with carye with them theyr exposition for they are sayd to be deliuered vp vnto the lustes of theyr owne hart Wherfore they had them within them before and God wrought them not within them but for that they were before extant he deliuered them vp vnto them to be set a fire of them we graunt in déede that the powers and faculties of lusting are naturally grafted in man And God was the author of them when he created man But God made them moderate and such which should be subiecte vnto reason and obedient vnto the worde of God and not be rebellious eyther agaynst hym or agaynst reason But after sinne they became stubborne violent and rebellious Wherefore it is plaine that that is false which thys man sayth that suche lustes as we are now deliuered vp vnto for to be punished withall were extant in vs before sinne They are vndoubtedlye Iatsar harang that is an euill workmanship or imagination wherwith our hart is perpetually enfected But this euil imagination was not geuen of God in the creation but followed after sinne And agaynst that whiche was lastly alleaged namely that these things are done rather by the patience or suffrance of God then by his power Augustine declareth by the words of Paul that either of them is true for to the Romanes it is written Euen so God willing to shew his wrath and to make his power knowen suffred with long patience the vessels of wrath Rom. 9. ordeyned to damnation In these wordes is expresse mencion as well of power as of pacience And although in that 3. chapter of the 5. booke agaynst Iulianus Augustine sayth that he greatly passeth not whether of these wayes these kinde of speaches be expounded yet enclineth he more to my sentence to thinke that God worketh something els when he delyuereth hardeneth or blyndeth then that he suffreth permiteth or forsaketh Yea he manifestly writeth that it is not likely but that euē as God whē he punisheth worketh something in our bodies so also should we thinke that he worketh something in the mindes although after a secrete maner And thus much hitherto of the Fathers If my iudgement therein should be demaunded I would say that these kyndes of speache To deliuer vp to blinden to harden and to seduce do signify somethyng more then to be forsakē of God or withdrawing of grace which hapneth through sin and which all men confesse For we can not deny but that of God are offred many occasions which in men that are destitute of grace and of the holy ghost séeme to stirre vp euill lusts to be vnto thē occasion of fallyng as it is manifest of the vngodly king Achab vnto whō the words of the false prophetes wer as a snare And the words of God pronounced vnto Pharao by Moses wer instrumēts of his greater hardening And the aduersities whiche happened vnto the Israelites in the desert were occasions both of blasphemye and also of infidelity And that God ministred such occasions it is out of controuersye Whiche occasions when they light vpon a godly mynd and one that is adorned with the grace of God they turne vnto good and are profitable for theyr saluation But when Occasions inward and outward they happen vpon those which are forsaken of God they cause a greater fall and a greater turning away from God And such occasions happen both outwardly and also inwardly For not only persecutions aduersities pleasures and entismentes do outwardly offer themselues vnto vs but also cogitacions and inward motions are suggested vnto the mynde which to the godly are profytable to saluation but the wicked they do more and more confyrme in impiety Besides these occasions such as are alredy alienated from God seme not to nede any other preparation to sinne For by reason of our corrupt nature we are prone inough vnto it of our selues Wherefore Paule in this Epistle to the Romanes sayth that these vessels of wrath are prepared and apt to destruction And in the booke of Genesis Our cogitations and counsels are prone vnto euill euen from Sinne comprehendeth two things our childehode But to make the thing more playne being otherwise somewhat darke it shal be good to marke that sinne comprehendeth two thinges Action and a defect or want For that action is called sinne which wanteth of the law and of such conditions and circumstances which should make it vpright and commendable If we speake of the action in that it is extant and is counted among naturall creatures it is not to be doubted but that it is done of God But the defect or want forasmuch as it pertayneth to priuation neyther is in very deede extant hath no neede of any efficient cause but it sufficeth that the grace It is God which with draweth his grace from sinners of the holy ghost be remoued and our strengthes taken away by whiche that action myght haue bene brought to a iust perfection And who can deny but that this withdrawing of strengthes and grace is done of God For he is the moderator of hys owne giftes But we must alwayes adde this that God doth iustly and for our euill desertes withdraw hys ayde And as Anselmus writeth in his booke of the fall of the deuill Euen as we are not afrayd to confesse that that creature is made of God which yet is brought forth through the wicked will of man for we say that God is the Creator of an infant borne of adultery why also shall we deny but that he is the author of that action whiche is brought forth through an euill will And this must we without all controuersy graunt that whatsoeuer is extant in the nature of thinges the same must of necessitie haue God for hys author Wherefore it followeth that these thinges are done of God not only by permission but also his might and power thereunto helpeth and as they say worketh God permitteth not against his will but willingly with all Otherwise that thing should be nothing For whereas they talke of permission I would fayne know of them whether God permitteth willingly or not willingly If thou say not willingly then shall it followe that God permitteth it agaynst hys will and by compulsion But if thou say that he doth it willingly because
one of vs perticularly For he wayteth long that we should repent vs. Which thing if we do not we heape vnto our selues wrath in the day of wrath of the reuelation of the iust iudgement of God And by this pacience of God we knowe that that is true whiche Ezechiel sayth that God will not the death of a sinner but rather that he should be coÌ„uerted and liue Neither here ought We must iudge by the will of God reueled and not by hys secret will we to haue a respect vnto the secret will of God whiche vnto vs is vnknowne obscure For we oughte to iudge of it as by the holye scriptures and by daylye experieÌ„ce it is setforth vnto vs and may be known For he suffreth long and by scriptures sermons scourges and finally by all manner of meanes and wayes calleth backe sinners vnto him At this present time Chrisostome interpreteth this of the coÌ„ming of Christ in the flesh For that then was he most chiefly geuen the pacience of God was declared to be so muche the greater for that then all manner of vices were rife and when men séemed to haue deserued to be moste gréeuouslye punished euen then did the mercye of God most chieflye shine vpon them And it seemeth that When sins semed most worthy to be punished then most of all shined forth the mercy of God The fâ—lnes of time Paule euery where wonderfully extolleth this time wherein God so singularly declared his beneuolence toward men that he gaue his onely begotten sonne for our saluation And that time wherein God came vnto vs he calleth the fulnes of times That he might be iuste and a iustifier of him vvhiche is of the fayth of Iesus Christ Here is touched the reason why God appoynted after thys manner to forgeue sinnes namelye that his righteousnes moughte the more appeare we vse to say that in a manne there is a notable qualitye when as out of the same fountayne others are pertakers thereof But there is an Emphasis or strength in this forme of speaking That he might be iust Wherby we vnderstaÌ„d that he is of himselfe iust neither ought we to presume to chalenge the same to our selues And he addeth Of the fayth of Iesus Christ because by that meanes the righteousnes of God doth better appeare then if we shoulde clayme it vnto our selues by workes Where is then thy glorying It is excluded By what law By the lawe of workes No but by the lawe of fayth Therefore we conclude that a man is iustified by fayth without the workes of the law God is he the God of the Iewes only and not of the GeÌ„tiles also Yes euen of the Gentiles also For it is one God who shall iustifie circumcision by faith vncircumcision through fayth Do we then make the lawof none effect God forbid yea rather we establishe the law VVherefore thy glorying is excluded By what lawe By the lawe of workes No but by the lawe of fayth After that he had declared his proposition now Epiphonema as it were by a conclusion he geueth a definitiue sentence of that which he put forth at the beginning of the chapiter when he sayd what is then the preferment of the Iewe or what is the profite of circumcision In this place he maketh answere that as touching iustification the Iewes had nothing aboue others whereof they might glory for that by those thinges which haue bene now spoken their glorying is excluded In the Greke booke is not reade this woord thy And Ambrose thinketh that these thinges are spoken against the Iewes For against theÌ„ peculiarly conteÌ„ded he now So farre is it of that the law of works excludeth glorying that rather it ministreth matter to glory of And by this woorde lawe the Apostle vnderstandeth doctrine for it hath the power to moderate and The Law of woorkes ministreth matter of boasting What this woord law signifieth gouerne our strengthes and willes to the executing of any thing as touching knowledge doctrine or instruction And in other places he applieth this worde lawe to diuers thinges as The lawe of the spirite The law of the fleshe the lawe of the members the lawe of the minde and such other like The lawe of workes is that which decreeth that righteousnes oughte to be gotten by workes But the lawe of fayth teacheth that it is to be hoped for of the mercy of God And Chrisostome sayth that the lawe of fayth is that by grace we are saued and he thinketh that the Apostle vseth the name of the lawe to the ende he would the lesse offend the Iewes which much delighted in that worde For by that meanes he semed to attribute some honour vnto the lawe which had not ill deserued of What glorieng is The contrariety betwene the law of faith and the law of workes Where merites are there is glorieng men Glorying according to the definition thereof is a boasting of some good thing And how repugnaÌ„t these two lawes are one to the other we ar manifestly tought in the Gospel where the Pharisey speaketh thus to God I geue thankes vnto thee that I am not as other men I fast twise in the weake c. Here he maketh mencion of workes only ouerhipping the grace of God as much as lay in him But the other namely the Publicane prayd with fayth God be mercifull vnto me a sinner In which words he maketh no mencion at all of works And seeing that God will haue all glorying excluded it is manifest how they erre which defend merites For where they haue place there wanteth not glorying They which glory thinke that both saluation and righteousnes and eternall life are dew vnto them But he which leneth vnto the lawe of fayth ought not in any Debte may be taken two maner of wayes wyse to perswade himselfe of any such thing Although we mought make such a distinction that debt may sometymes be taken as it is referred vnto our labours and so it hath a respect vnto reward as the Apostle will playnly afterward declare when he sayth that vnto hym which worketh are ward is imputed not according to grace but according to debt and debt may be taken an other way as it hath a respect vnto a promise when a thing is dew vnto a man not that he hath deserued it but because by our promise we haue bound our selues to geue it vnto hym Of which thing we haue an example in those giftes which are confirmed by contractes and hand writinges And agaynst this kinde of debt the lawe of fayth is not But of it springeth no glorying but our aduersaryes doo not vndoubtedly exclude glorying when they say that vnto the repentaunte is graunted remission of sinnes so that she repentaunce be mete and as they call it sufficient In this their saying they of purpose resiste the will of God which vtterly tendeth to this that all glorying should be excluded from vs. Yea Chrisostome affirmeth that
harlot and the Israelite not only repressed the plague inflicted by God but also got this thereby that euen the selfe same thinges with like number of wordes were written of hym which Paule here citeth of Abraham out of the booke of Genesis And it was imputed vnto hym for righteousnes Which wordes seing they are spoken of him by reason of his worke it might seme that iustification is not After iustification the saintes do workes which God counteth for iust Paule entreateth of the first righteousnes and the psalme of that righteousnes which followeth iustification Good workes also are sayd to be imputed for righteousnes so proper vnto fayth that Paule should firmely auouch that righteousnes commeth vnto vs by it only But we answere that we deny not but that after fayth and iustification are of good men wrought excellent workes which are of God counted for iust especially when they haue their ofspring out of fayth Wherfore Augustine vpon the 31. Psalme when he commendeth Abrahams fact in that he would haue sacrificed his only sonne sayth that he commendeth the building but in the meane tyme he considereth the foundation which was fayth he sayth that he alloweth the fruite but in the meane tyme he hath a regard to the roote But Paule now entreateth not of those thinges which follow righteousnes but of the very roote and hed what that is for which we are counted iust Wherefore the Psalme speaketh of the worke and Paul of the fyrst righteousnes Nether ought we to maruayle that good workes are sayde to be imputed for righteousnes forasmuch as it is necessary it should be so For they haue not in thēselues so much perfection that they can in all pointes satisfye the lawe of God Wherefore it is nedefull that God for his mercy sake receaue them as acceptable in imputing that part of goodnes and of righteousnes which wanteth in them They also are not to be harkened vnto which interprete this sentence so that they vnderstand that Paul speaketh of fayth here as it is a worke so that Fayth is not here taken as it is a worke Two manner wayes of imputing the sence should be that God imputed vnto righteousnes that acte of Abraham whereby he beleued as though he would count that for iuste That is not intreated of at this present to dispute of a iust worke But that is sought from whence we are iustified And to make the matter more playne to be imputed vnto righteousnes is taken two maner of wayes Sometymes it signifieth some acte to be ratified and to be allowed and to speake briefely to be accepted for iust and after this maner we graunte that that acte of Phinees and the good workes of holy men are imputed of God vnto righteousnes An other way it signifieth that by which we our selues are counted in the number of the iust and that Paul attributeth only vnto fayth as though he should haue said Abraham beleued that he was acceptable vnto God and that he was counted with him for iust and lastly that he should attayne to blessednes and as he beleued so he receaued For it came to passe vnto hym according to his fayth Wherefore by it he receaued that which was offred vnto him of God as it is written in the beginning of the 15. chapter For God had sayde vnto hym I am thy protector and thy exceding great reward But that which is sayd of Phinees and of the workes of goodmen pertayneth vnto the dutyes whiche follow them that are iustified But forasmuch as many promises are made vnto workes and God in this place calleth himselfe a reward and eternall life is oftentimes If eternall life be sayd to be rendred vnto workes why is not also sayd of righteousnes Good woorkes may go before eternal life but not before iustification Eternall life is called a reward by a similitude and not properly in the holy scriptures called a reward as though it were rendred vnto workes why may we not by workes likewise obtayne righteousnes seying that it is as great a matter to glorifye as to iustify But two thinges are here to be considered first that good workes may go before glorification but not before iustification Because after that we are iustified we may do such thinges as are acceptable vnto God But before we are iustified we are able to do nothinge that is truely good and which can please God Moreouer we graunt not that eternall life is had by workes as though it were by them merited But when it is called a reward it is in this respect because it is rendred after the worke done euen as that which we deserue by any ciuile actions is not wont to be rendred till the worke be full done And in such sort eternall life may indede haue some similitude of a reward but yet properly and as touching the nature of a reward it is most farre of and that for thrée causes First because those thinges which are geuen and which are receaued are not alyke but that is required to the nature of merite Secondly because the workes which we offer are not our owne For God geueth them vnto vs and woorketh in vs both to will and to performe Wherefore if there were any merite it should not be attributed vnto vs but vnto God as to the author of all good workes Lastly when a reward or merite is properly taken it behoueth the that which is geuen of vs be not bound of duety vnto him vnto whom it is geuē But we although we shoulde not obtayne felicitye yet ought we to doo all our thinges vnto the glory of God Wherefore eternall lyfe can not be called a reward but by a certaine similitude But many say that these sentences of Paul are to be vnderstand by a figure as though it were the figure Synecdoche that faith is therefore said to iustifie because it in iustifieng obteineth the chiefest place and so they will Sinecdoche which y◠aduersaries vse not that good works which are ioyned with faith should vtterly be excluded from y◠power of iustifieng They are in dede content that we should commend faith but yet in such sort commend it that we shoulde say that it iustifieth together with other good workes which workes they say Paul vnderstādeth in it by the figure Synecdoche And by this meanes they thinke may be conciliated very many places in the scriptures For vndoubtedly in the xx chap. of Genesis God for a worke promised many thinges vnto Abraham Bicause saith he thou hast done this thing thy seede shall be increased it shall obteyne the gates of his enemies and in thy sede shall all nations be blessed and other such like And Iames semeth to expound this Synecdoche when he affirmeth that Abraham was iustified by workes Vnto these men we aunswer that the wordes of Paul will in no case suffer any suche trope or figure whose wordes are so playne and perspicuous that they neither can be violated nor yet
the vncircumcision For we say that fayth was imputed vnto Abraham vnto righteousnes How was it then imputed when he was Circumcised or vncircumcised not when he was circumcised but wheÌ„ he was vncircumcised Afterward he receiued the signe of circumcision the seale of the righteousnes of fayth which he had when he was vncircumcised that he should be the father of all them that beleue not beyng circumcised that righteousnes mighte be imputed vnto them also And the father of circumcision not vnto them onely which are of the circumcision but to them also that walke in the steppes of the fayth of our father Abraham which he had when he was vncircumcised Came this blessednes then vpon the Circumcision or vpon the vncircumcision The Latine interpretation hath this worde Manet that is abideth added to this sentence which is not in the Greke bookes Neither doth yâ— verbe which the Latines haue much agrée with the phrase which is by the accusatiue case and by the Greke preposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rather as Theophilactus admonisheth we must vnderstand this verbe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth lighteth it or beloÌ„geth it or some such lyke thinge Neither do I disalow the coniecture of Erasmus who thinketh that insteade of this verbe Manet was first written Manat whiche signifieth to come or to spread abrode And thus muche as touching the woordes But this is the meanyng A man might thinke that although Dauid made no mention of workes when he set forth the blessednes of those whose sinnes are forgeuen yet because he himselfe was both circumcised also vsed sacrifices he thoughte that this forgeuenes of sinnes is obteined by these things although he expressed them not And for that cause Paul taketh againe the example of Abraham which he at the first vsed And so returneth Why Paul returneth againe to Abraham to the ground and beginning of circumcision and considereth the very time wherin Abraham receiued it and proueth that long time before he was circumcised he was both iustified and also pronounced the father of many nations that is of all them which beleue Wherof it followeth that we without ceremonies and other workes shall by faith be counted iust and be admitted into the people of God and placed among the meÌ„bers of Christ This argument may thus be made more The forme of the Argument The order of the causes and the effectes in the iustificaâ—ion of Abraham Of what greate waight is the diligent marking of the scriptures Circumcision was had in greate estimation euident That which yet was not coulde not bring righteousnes vnto Abraham But when Abraham was pronounced iustified circumcision was not yet Wherefore it could not iustifie Abraham Let vs in this maner set the order betwene the causes and the effectes First God did set forth vnto Abraham his promises Secondly followed faith And thirdly iustification Lastly came obedience which caused him to circumcise himselfe and to do many other excellent good workes We may not peruert this order that by obedience and circumcision whiche are the last effects we should bring forth iustification which went before Againe in thys place yâ— Apostle teacheth vs with how great study and diligence the Scriptures are to be red and the times and moments in stories are throughly to be considered He entreateth of circumcision bicause all that controuersie sprang first by reason of ceremonies and bicause also they had circumcision in no lesse estimation theÌ„ we now haue baptisme For they counted it for a noble worke and an excellent worship pyng of God Wherfore we may inferre or conclude that if we be not iustified with that kind of workes wherin consisted the worshipping of God vndoubtedly much lesse shall we be iustified by other workes For these are counted more excellent more acceptable vnto God then are other workes For we say that faith was imputed vnto Abraham vnto righteousnes These wordes serue wonderfully to depresse the pride and hautines of the Iewes which continually cried that righteousnes could by no meanes stand without circumcision But Paul contrariwise affirmeth that it was in Abraham before he was circumcised For Abraham was as yet vncircumcised when he was pronounced iustified Wherfore it is no meruaile if many mo of the vncircumcised then of the Iewes were saued after the comming of Christ Here it semeth that there are set before our eyes two fathers the one of the vncircumcised the other of circumcision And if we more depely consider the matter we shall see that the father of the vncircumcised is set in the first place For Abraham was not yet circumcised when he was of God counted iust What theÌ„ is there remayning for the Iewes that they should so aduance themselues aboue the GeÌ„tles Nothing vndoubtedly but the signe And eueÌ„ as Abraham is not the father of the vncircumcised for yâ— cause only bicause they haue vncircumcision but bicause of faith so also is he not the father of the circumcised bicause they are circumcised but bicause they beleue By these things it is manifest Circumcision and vncircumcisioÌ„ are conditions comming by chaunce that both circumcisioÌ„ also vncircumcision are conditions coÌ„ming by chance and of theÌ„selues helpe nothing to the obteinment of iustification Very aptly doth the Apostle bring in these two men Dauid and Abraham Of which the one that is Dauid being now circumcised bare testimony of iustification And Abraham being not yet circumcised obteined neuertheles iustification Wherfore it sufficiently appeareth that Circumcision is not a meane necessarily required to obtain righteousnes And he receaued the signe of circumcision He receaued I say circumcision which was a signe The seale of the righteousnes of fayth This is a preuention for they which heard these thinges mought thus haue thought with themselues If Abraham were iustified before circumcision then was circumcisioÌ„ superfluous vnto this obiection Paule answereth saying that circumcision was not vayne or vnprofitable for it was the seale of the righteousnes of fayth In this sentence Paule Circumcision was not a thing geuen in vain hath two woordes namely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is a signe and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is a seale which woordes althoughe they be of very nighe affinitie the one to the other yet ar they not both of one the selfe same significatioÌ„ For this woord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is a sign is more general then his word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yâ— is a seale An image is a signe but it can not be a seale But we vse to put seales vnto such things as we wyll haue with greate fidelity kept and remayne vnuiolated And therefore are letters sealed letters patentes of princes are confirmed with seales yâ— no man should doubt of the authority or truth of theÌ„ So God deliuereth vnto vs sacramentes Sacramentes are not onely signes but sealinges What circumcision signifyed what it sealed as seales of his promises Wherfore circumcision signified two
indéede by them but by the power of the holy ghost who vseth this instrument of the sacraments euen as he doth the instrument of the woord which is preached And faith being stirred vp more and more embraseth righteousnes and remission of sinnes For these things are not in atomo or in an indiuisible point but they haue in them some breadth For if sinne were in this life perfectly remoued from vs we should neuer sinne any more But many euilles oftentimes offer them selues vnto vs which haue nede of forgeuenes and remission So although we be regenerated and renewed yet there neuer wanteth in vs somwhat which must be regenerated and renued And to make this the playner I will bringe this similitude That which is most perfect white hath mixed with it no blacknes or darknes at all But our righteousnes hath mixed with it much vnpurenes vnclenes which must nedes be made clene wherefore in the resurrection we shall haue a perfect and absolute regeneratioÌ„ And therefore Christ called the resurrection by that name when he sayd vnto his Apostles that they should sit in the Regeneration vpon xij seates and iudge the twelue tribes of Israell For that selfe same cause Paul when he was alredy iustefied was commaunded to be baptised And AbrahaÌ„ of whom we now speake after that righteousnes was imputed vnto him was commaunded to be circumcised and that not in vayne but for that cause which we haue alredy declared Now the matter moueth or rather requireth vs somewhat to speake of circumcision But because we can certaynely affirme nothing touching it vnles we thoroughlye knowe the nature of sacramentes therefore I thoughte it beste first to declare what in my iudgement is to be thought of them in generall The word which signifieth a sacrament is in Hebrue Sod Razi The fyrst of A place toâ—ching sacramentes Of the Hebrue and Greeke woorde these wordes is common vnto all secretes and hid thinges and is more in vse And the other Esay vsed in the 24. chapter wheÌ„ he sayd Razi li Razi li that is Asecret vnto me a secret vnto me Daniell also in his 2. chapter when he entreateth of the knowledge of the mistery vseth the selfe same worde Such is the nature and condition of sacramentes that they contayne thinges hidde vnto some indede knowen but not vnto all And from this Etimology the Greeke worde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 differeth not much which is deriued of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That is we ought diligently to kepe thinges close inwardly Of that maner were the misteries of Ceres of Eleusis in the countrey of Athenes which were The misteries of Ceres of Eleusis opened vnto none but vnto those that were initiated And they are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which haue these thinges sealed and shut vp in them Chrisostome when he enterpreteth the xi chapter of this epistle where Paule sayth that he writeth a mistery of the Israelites partly blynded and partly to be restored sayth that a mistery signifieth a thing vnknowen and vnspeakeable and which hath in it much admiration and which is aboue our opinion The same father when he enterpreteth the second chapiter of the first epistle to the Corrinthyans where we reade we speake wisedome in a mistery thus writeth It should be no diuine or perfect mystery if thou shouldest adde any thing of thy selfe By which words it is manifest how Nothing ought to be added vnto the misteries of god much they are to be blamed which at their owne pleasure and iudgement make sacramentes and from those which Christ himselfe hath ordained plucke away what pleaseth them These wordes of Chrisostome do manifestly reproue them Neyther let them thinke that this any thing helpeth theyr case to say that he speaketh of that mistery which is found in the holy scriptures vnto which he sayth nothinge is to be added neyther any thinge to be taken awaye from it Forasmuch as the sacramentes whereof we entreate are of no lesse wayght The sacraments are equall with the holy scriptures then the holy scripture it selfe For they as Augustine very aptly sayth are the visible wordes of God Farther Chrisostome expounding the place before alleadged sayth that we in the sacramentes see one thing beleue an other thing behold with our sence one thinge vnderstand in our mynde an other thinge Whereof it followeth that all are not after one and the selfe same maner affected towardes these misteries For an infidell when he heareth that Iesus Christ was crucified thinketh it to be a thing The faythfull and the vnfaythfull are diuersly affected towardes the sacramentes foolishe and of no valew But the faythfull man acknowledgeth in that mistery the exceding great power and wisedome of God If an Ethnike heare that Christ was raysed vp from the dead he will thinke it to be a fable But a Christian will not only beleue that so but also will not doubt but that he himselfe as a member of Christ shall one day be raysed vp from the dead Chrisostome commeth afterward to the visible sacrament and sayth If an infidell see baptisme he will iudge that there is but water onely But the the faythfull beboldeth the washing of the soule by the bloud of Christ. And in the Eucharist by the senses is knowen only the bread and the wine But the beleuers referre their myndes vnto the body of Christ Hereunto he applieth a similitude of a booke For A similitude if an vnlearned rude man that can not reade a word should light vpoÌ„ a booke he can only behold woÌ„der at the prikes figures colours but the sense and vnderstanding of them he can not find out but be which is learned learneth out of it ether histories or other thinges worthy to be knowen and pleasant Now that we haue declared the interpretecion of the Greke and Hebrue name there resteth that we speake somewhat of the lattin word Among the elders sacramentum that is a sacrament What the Latines signifie by this worde Sacramentum signified a bond which passed by an oth Wherefore we are accustomed to say Sacramento cum aliquo contendere that is by an othe to contend wyth a man and Sacramentum militare that is an othe which a man taketh when he goeth to warfare And paraduenture these our misteryes are therefore called sacramentes because in them God byndeth himselfe with couenantes and promises being after a sort sealed and we on the other side binde our selues vnto him Wherefore we entreate not of a mistery or sacrament generally wherby Now is not entreated vniuersally of sacramentes is signified as Chrisostome sayth any thing that is vnknowen and vnspeakable which hath in it much admiration and is aboue our opinion For after that maner there are an infinite number of sacramentes For so may we call sacramentes the natiuity of Christ his resurrection the Gospell the blinding of the Iewes the calling of the Gentles and many other
greate consideration For we also as sayth Augustine do after one sort signifye thinges to be done and after an other sorte affirme thinges already done which thing these two woordes now pronounced sufficiently declare But here are two errors to be taken hede of vs as the same father agaynst Faustus very well admonisheth vs. Fyrst that we thinke not that though the signes be chaūged therefore the thinges also are diuerse or that forasmuch as the thing is one and the selfe same therfore the signes ought not nor can not be changed For if an housholder may commaunde streighter thinges vnto those seruauntes for whome he knoweth it expedient to be more streightly kept vnder and may laye easier burdens vpon theyr neckes whome he will count as his children why then may not God doo the same towardes men Phisitions also vse according to the diuersity of the disseases of the sicke persons to minister dyuers and sondry medicines of all which medicines yet the force is one the same namely to restore health But whether the signes of the old Testament haue now vtterly ceased or no Augustine answereth in his boke de vera religione that they remayne by interpretacion and faith but are in very dede taken away But as touching the things thēselues the things which were set forth vnto the elders in their sacraments which are set forth vnto vs in our sacramēts were one the same And if thou demaund what were those thinges which were common vnto the fathers and vnto vs it may in fewe words be answered God Christ reconciliation Grace Remission of sinnes and such other like thinges These things were in tymes past signified and set forth to be beleued in the sacramentes of the elders and the selfe same are in our tyme signified in the new Testament and set forth in our sacramentes But the signes and simbols which the father 's vsed were changed by the comming of Christ at whose second comming also those likewise which we now haue shall be taken away For when we haue once the fruition of that chiefe felicity which we wayte for we shall then nede no sacramentes Farther besides the alteration of the signes are also out of Augustine gathered some other conditions whereby is declared that our sacramentes are more excellenter then were the sacrrmentes of the elders For ours sayth he are in power greater in profit better in acte easier in number fewer in vnderstanding most full of maiesty in obseruation most pure and in signification most excellent Those thinges indeede are greate but yet they alter not the nature of the thinges signifyed Neyther cause they but that our sacramentes and the sacraments of the elders are as touching the substance one and the same Paul in his epistle vnto y◠Romanes sayth that the Iewes as vnprofitable branches were cut of frō the holy tree and we grafted into theyr place And the roote sayth he carieth thee and not thou the roote wherby it is manifest y◠both we the fathers as touching the substaunce of saluation are in one and the same stocke and in one and the same roote Wherefore the better and worthyer part of the sacramēts is one and the selfe same And whatsoeuer differēce there is betwene vs them the same consisteth wholy in the comming of Christ past and to come Wherefore Augustine agaynst Faustus sayth that our sacramentes are signes of thinges now fulfilled but the sacramentes of the elders were signes of thinges which were to be fulfilled And vpon the 6. chapter of Iohn he sayth that in signes they were diuers from ours but in signification of thinges like I know in deede and I remember that the fathers are wont sometymes aboue measure to extenuate the sacramentes of the elders Chrisostome in hys 27. homely vpon Genesis denyeth that circumcision The fathers extenuate the sacraments of the elders any thing profited vnto saluation but that the Israelites caried it about with them as a token of gratitude and as a signe and a seale to the ende they should not be contaminated by mingling themselues with other nations And in his 39. homely he sayth that it was a bridle and a payer of fetters vnto the Iewes that they shoulde not mingle themselues wyth other nations And he affirmeth that God commaunded it vnto Abraham and vnto his posterity that by an outward sygne he myght declare that he was the possessor of hym And for that cause he changed his name For so do we also when we take into our possession a beast or a bondman For we geue vnto them a name and we marke them with our signe or marke And vpon the same booke in the 40. homely he sayth that the Iewes by circumcision were knowen And hereunto may be added Ambrose expounding this selfe same place which we are now in hand with For he declareth that circumcision did only put a difference betweene The fathers speke not after one manner touching this thing the posterity of Abraham and other nacions Howbeit they do not euery where speake after one maner For the same Ambrose when he expoundeth that place in the 10. chapter of the first to the Corrinthyans That the elders wer baptised in the sea sayth that theyr sinnes were not imputed and that they were without doubt purified These thinges are of much more excellency then to be seperated or to differ from other nations And Augustine agaynst Faustus Augustine graunteth the true baptisme vnto the elders The schole deuines Circumcision was not a bare signe in hys 12 booke and 29 chapter expressedly sayth that the sea and the cloude was baptisme consecrated in the bloud of Christe and by them the sinnes of the Iewes were forgeuen all which thinges are common with our sacramentes Farther all the schole deuines hold that circumcision was a remedy against original sinne wherby we may perceiue that they hold not that circumcision was a bare and vayne signe There may also for profe hereof be brought places of the scripture which teach the selfe same thing For in the 10. chapter of the fyrst epistle vnto the Cor. the elders are sayde to haue bene baptised and to haue eaten the selfe same spirituall meate and to haue dronke the selfe same drinke which we at this day eate and drinke And agayn in the 2. chapter to the Collossians he sayth that we are circumcised with circumcision not made with handes And he addeth By the washing away of the sinnes of the fleshe where he declareth that in the signe of circumcision was through Christ geuen the washing away of sinnes And in the booke of Genesis the 17. chapter is most manifestly declared that circumcision Whither the sacramentes of the elders and ours be one and the selfe same was the signe of the couenant wherein God promised that he woulde be the God both of Abraham and of hys seede But agaynst those thinges whiche haue bene spoken is obiected vnto vs out of the 10. chapter of
moughte haue proued his argument by that which we haue a litle before made mencion of that none of vs is able to kepe the law But he omitteth that at this present And to conclude the more euidently he addeth that the lawe worketh anger As if he shoulde haue sayde So farre is it of that the lawe bringeth the inheritance that it rather maketh vs guilty and subiect vnto the wrath of God And if thou demaund why the law doth in such sort bring vnto vs anger we may answere because we are not able to kepe it For by anger Paule vnderstandeth nothing els but the vengeance of God and that by the figure Metonymia For men when they are angry are accustomed to auenge whiche thinge God also doth although he be not moued with humane affections This selfe same thinge hath Paule to the Galathyans in other words expressed saying Cursed be he that abideth not in all the thinges that are written in the boke of the law And a curse in the holy scriptures signifieth nothing els but calamity affliction and misery I meruayle that Origen vnderstandeth this saying of Paule of the lawe of the members for that vndoubtedly is to farre wide from the purpose For the Iewes gloried not of the concupiscence which was in them by nature which is called of Paul the lawe of the members but they boasted of the lawe of God which was geuen them of God by Moses Wherefore that the Apostle mought with some fruite deale agaynst them it behoued him to write of that lawe whereof they boasted Howbeit by Origenes wordes our aduersaryes may see what he thought of naturall concupisence Vndoubtedly seing he sayth it worketh anger it followeth that he iudged that the first motions which are deriued out of it are of necessity sinnes and transgressions I know there haue bene some which haue taken anger in this place not for the anger of God but for our owne anger For forasmuch as we are by nature prone vnto vices and the lawe when it commeth forbiddeth them we beginne to hate God the author of the lawe and so it worketh in vs anger But the first exposition is bothe plainer and also better agréeth with the sentence followyng For where no law is there is no transgression By these wordes it is manifest that the Apostlement to signifis this that the wrath of GOD is kindled against transgressions But how transgression is brought in by the law the nature How the law and transgression follow one the other of relatiues teacheth which is such that the one of them beyng taken away the other also is taken away On the one side is put the law on the other side is set eyther the obseruation or transgression therof And forasmuch as the obseruation of the law can not be perfect there remayneth onely transgressiō which Paul in this place inferreth But those thinges which are here spoken are to be vnderstande of the law written and whiche was geuen by Moses For otherwise there is none which wanteth a law at the least vndoubtedly the law of nature Wherfore there can none be found without sinne no not an infant of a day olde when as vnto him the image of God is in stede of a law vnto which image for that he answereth not The law of children is the image of God as Augustine declareth in his booke of confessions vndoubtedly he can not be with out sinne As touching the letter the Greke worde worde is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with aspiration so it is turned in Latine cuius that is of whome But the vulger interpreter séemeth to haue red 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and therfore turned it vbi that is where But as touching the sence there is no difference whether it be this or that Howbeit let vs not thinke that these thinges are to be ascribed vnto the lawe as it is taken by it selfe alone The law of his owne nature worketh not these things A similitude but as it lighteth vppon our mynde being corrupt and vitiate We haue of thys thing an example although grosse in gonne pouder wherwith is mingled either salt nitre or salt peter which is by nature very cold And thereof it commeth that when the fire is receiued in the brimstone against which striueth the coldnes of the salt nitre or of the salt peter it conceiueth so great a violence that the pellet beyng driuen out with an incredible force shaketh and ouerthroweth whatsoeuer is in the way So the heate of our lust when it findeth the law repugnaunt agaynst it is with a greater violēce strēgthned so that it enforceth men to most haynous wycked actes For as the common saying is We endeuour our selues to that whiche is forbidden vs and we haue alwayes a desire to thinges denied vs. Howbeit to the godly and to the elect this force of the law is not vnprofitable For it leadeth them euen as a scholemaister vnto Christ And for that cause Christ is iustly and worthely called the ende of the law not for that the law is by him abrogated but bicause it directeth men vnto him Finally Christ hath performed and accomplished y◠law Christ the end of the law not onely in himselfe but also in them that beleue in hym for he hath geuen them strengthes to obey it Neyther is it any maruell that the law bryngeth men vnto Christ especially seyng he himself was the author therof For by the Sonne it was Christ the author of the law reuealed vnto Moses And for this ende he gaue it by it to drawe men vnto hym Here are we admonished of the peruersenes of our nature whiche is so greate that although we be taughte the wyll of GOD by the lawe yet we neuer cease to striue agaynste it Some goe aboute by this place to inferre that they do ill whiche set for the lawes especiallye seyng they serue verye muche to increase Whether it be lawfull to make lawes transgressions But if their argument were of any strengthe then shoulde they inferre that GOD also oughte not to haue made any lawe Wherefore we say that those lawes whiche are made are either iust or vniust If they be vniust then are they not to be counted for lawes For who will call the violent affectes of tyrantes lawes But if they be iust then are they interpretations of the lawes of God And by them we vnderstande the will of God that by that meanes we Good lawes are interpretacions of the lawes of God Names attributed vnto the law may be broughte to Christe that by him we may obteine strengthes to do them This selfe same sentence also is had in the epistle to the Galathians That the lawe was put because of transgressions namely to shew forth thē to accuse them to condemne them So in the latter epistle to the Corinthians the law is called the ministery of deathe and in the first to the Cor. it is called the power efficacy of sinne
Wherefore besides the holy Scriptures there is nothing that shoulde be beleued For it can not be constant and firme And whatsoeuer is not of fayth is sinne For if the conscience doo not by fayth beleue that that which we doo pleaseth God or also if it suspect that it is not acceptable before him and yet in the meane time we do the selfe same thing vndoubtedly that which we do is sinne And so doth Basilius in his Moralls the 80. sum in a maner towards the end of the boke interpretate that place which we haue alleadged Wherfore we ought not ether to add any thing vnto the word of God or to take any thynge from it as in which only are contained the promises Otherwise both our faith and our cōscience should haue no certainty whervnto to lean And this certainty Two principal points whereupon dependeth the certainty of the promises wherof we speake dependeth of two principal pointes Of which the fyrst is that it be plaine by the word of God then which can nothing be more firme or constant But some man will say God by the prophet Ionas sayd it should come to passe that the city of Niniue shoulde be destroyed and that after 40. dayes And by Esay the Prophet he shewed vnto Ezechias the king that he should dye which thinges yet came not to passe as they were fortold Yea also the lord him selfe in Ieremy the 18. chapter thus speaketh If I shall speake of any kingdome or nation to roote it out and to destroye it and they in the meane time repent them I also will repent me And on the other seede if I shall speake to plante and to build any kingdome or nation and they in the meane tyme behaue themselues wickedly I will not performe these thinges which I haue spokē But we answeare that the promise whereof Paul here Paule speaketh not of such a promise as is annexed with a condition That which consisteth freely is not conditionally speaketh dependeth not of any condition as doo a greate many promises of the law vnto which pertayne these threatnings which are now alledged yea the Apostle himselfe sufficiently expresseth of what kind of promises he speaketh whē he sayth By fayth that it should be of grace For if it consist frealy thē hangeth it not of any condition or supposition and by this means the promise can in no case be made frustrate This may the easier be vnderstand by a similitude If a phisition should by taking of any medicine promise health but yet vpon this condition that he would haue for his paynes infinite summes of money that the A similitude sicke persō should obserue a very hard diet a poore man mought easely answere that that promise of health is vayne both for that he hath not the money to pay and also for that being weake he is not able to obserue the diet which is prescribed him But contrariwyse if a man promise a medicine which he will geue freely nether requireth any worke of the sicke person but only that he woulde drinke or some other way receaue his medicine this promise is easely made firme So vndoubtedly standeth the case here the promise is offred vnto vs and that freely For only is of vs required that by fayth we receaue it And this is the first principall poynte whereupon dependeth the certaynty of the promise namely for that the promise consisteth of the word of God and is offred freely The other principall poynt is the nature of fayth For fayth is an Fayth is not an vncertayne or doubtfull assent Of the certainety of saluation We must not doubt of perseuerance The testimony of the spirite is firme assent not vncertayne or doubtfull but fixed and constant as the Apostle wyll afterward more at large declare when he discourseth the example of Abraham By these two principall poyntes it is manifest how wickedly they deale which teach mē continually to doubt of the promise of saluation For if as the holy scriptures teach vs we ought to hope and such is the nature of hope not to confound we may manifestly inferre that we ought not to doubt of our saluation There are which pretend that their doubt hereof springeth for that they are vncertayne whether they shall perseuer vnto the ende or no. But these men should consider that we ought alwayes to pray for perseuerance For as saith Ciprian whome also Augustine followeth In all the thinges which we aske in the Lordes prayer is included perseuerance And as Iames teacheth we must aske without doubting Wherefore it is manifest that we must by no meanes doubt of preseuerance and especially seing we haue in our harts the holy ghost alwayes They which beleue that their sinnes are a let vnto the promes are easely driuen into desperation They which are not sure of theyr saluation can nether haue peace nor tranquility of consciēce What thinges are to be taken heede of as touching certainty of saluation Sinne that wasteth the conscience We are neuer so assured but that there ariseth some doubt These thinges are not repugnant in a man to be certaine yet somewhat to doubt bearing an excellent testemony vnto vs thereof For as Paul sayth in this epistle It is the spirite which beareth witnes vnto our spirite that we are the sonnes of God And he which hath not the spirite of Christe is not hys And Paul writeth of himselfe that he is sure that nether life nor death nor principalities nor powers can plucke hym from the loue of God namely from that loue wherewith God loued him But that is friuoulous which some alleadge namely that Paul speaketh these thinges of himselfe only and that by a certayne peculiar and assured reuelation For when we come to that place we will declare that those thinges pertayne to all men vniuersally Other say that sinnes feare vs away from the assured confidence of our saluation But so long as we are in this life we can not be without sinnes For Iohn sayth If we say we haue no sinne we deceaue our selues and the truth is not in vs. Wherefore so to teach is nothing els but to driue men to desperation Finally forasmuch as Paul saith that we being iustified freely haue peace towardes God it manifestly declareth that the faythfull are certayn of theyr saluation otherwise there can be no tranquillity peace in the conscience Howbeit there are certayne thinges to be taken hede of that we be not dangerously deceaued in this certaynty For first we ought to know◠that it springeth not of any righteousnes which is in our mindes and farther that they which are most assured do not for all that want trembling and feare but are sore afrayd of falles and of offending of God Neither can that certaynty which we speake of haue ioyned with it that kinde of sinne which as Augustine speaketh wasteth away the conscience And we must chiefely beware that this certaynly be not applied
and largely vseth this worde Sinne namely to signifie whatsoeuer is repugnaunt vnto the law of God and vnto his will For therby man departeth from the institution of nature from that image whereunto he was created For God so created him at the beginning that in him should shine forth his image whiche thing vndoubtedly cannot be when we resist the law of God And this is Why many pleasures are forbidden men the onely and true cause why man is not permitted to delight himselfe wyth all kind of plesures For if he should so he should make himself like vnto brute beasts and not lyke vnto God his creator For God would haue man to be in this worlde hys vickar and therfore to be most like vnto hym And sinne beyng so largely taken comprehendeth not onely Originall sinne that is our depraued nature corrupt strengthes both of the body and of the soule but also all those euils whiche follow of it namely the first motions of the mind to things forbidden also wicked deliberations noughty endeuors and vitious customes Wherefore the Apostle in this one name of sinne comprehendeth both the roote it selfe all the fruites therof Vnder the name of sin the Apostle comprehendeth the roote and frutes thereof The Etymology of this woord sinne What is the rule of our nature Neither must we geue eare vnto them which bable that these thinges are not sinnes For seyng the holy ghost calleth them by this name I sée no cause why but that we also ought so to speake and to cleaue vnto this doctrine Farther also that these first motions of the mynde and corruption of nature are sinnes the very etimology of the word plainly declareth For this worde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is sinne commeth of this verbe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth to erre from the marke set before vs by what means so euer it be And forasmuch as this is the rule of our nature and of all our actions to be in all thinges very like and conformable vnto God vndoutedly seing we are prone vnto those thinges which are forbidden vs by the lawe of God and are euen straight way at the first brunt caried hedlong vnto them we must nedes without all controuersie be sayd to sinne that is to erre from the scope and ende set before vs. Of the lyke signification is also the Hebrew worde for that whiche is in y◠tonge called Chataah that is Synne is deryued of this verbe Chata whiche thou shalte fynde in the booke of the Iudges the xx chapiter vsed in the selfe same sence in whiche I before sayde in the Gréeke worde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is taken that is to erre from the marke For there it is written of the seuen hundred children of Beniamin that they were so accustomed to throwe stones out of a sling that they would hitte euen a heare and nothing erre from it Farther experience it selfe teacheth how greate these euills are euen in vs that are regenerate For we are by them so letted that we cā not fulfill the law of God How the law is performed of men regenerate and yet are we bound to obserue the same in all poyntes We are commanded also not to lust whiche precept howe muche it is broken of vs by reason of our pronesse to sinnes and fyrst motions to vices euery man hath experience thereof in himselfe and can be a witnes vnto himselfe And if the Fathers They are perfecte whiche vnderstande theyr owne wants seme sometimes to write that the law may be fulfilled of mē regenerate they thē spake of an obediēce begonne of such a fulfilling as hath ioyned with it much imperfection For euen they affirme that those are perfect and doo performe the law of God which vnderstand theyr owne wants so that they daily None no not the most holiest hath all the vertues absolutely say with others Forgeue vs our trespasses and acknowledge with Paul that they haue a greate way farther to go The selfe same fathers also confesse that none can be found no not the most holiest man that euer was that hath all vertues absolutly For as Ierome sayth He which excelleth others in one vertue oftentimes faileth in an other vertue And he citeth Cicero which sayd That there can not easely be found one which is most excellent either in the knowledge of the Law or in the arte of Rethorike but to finde one that hath excelled in both kindes together it was neuer hard of Wherfore the Apostle to the end he would make playne most notably set forth the perfect benefite of God geuen vs by Christ doth not onely touche Originall sinne but also in this one word sinne cōprehēdeth all kindes of vices which springe out of it Now let vs se by which one mā Paul saith that By Adam as by a common roote and Masse entred in sinne into the worlde sinne had suche entrance in the world That man was the first Adam who was as a certaine common masse or lompe wherein was conteyned all mankind which lompe beinge corrupted we can not be brought forth into this world but with corruption and vnclenes And although Eue trāsgressed before the man yet the beginning of sinning is ascribed vnto Adam for that succession is attributed vnto men and not vnto women Howbeit Ambrose by one man vnderstode Eue. The corruption is not ascribed vnto Eue but vnto Adam But forasmuche as this woord one is the masculine gender the signification thereof can not but hardly and with much wresting be applied vnto the womā Others thinke that both as well Adam as Eue are by this commō word Man vnderstand so that this phrase of speach differeth not much frō that which is in the 2. chapter of the booke of Genesis Male and female created be them Nether doo they much regard this adiectiue one for that the scripture testifieth that Adam and Eue were one and the selfe same fleshe The first interpretation is more simple and playner and therefore I the gladlier follow it And we ought to remember that Paul writeth vnto Timothe that although both these first parēts sinned yet was there not in ech one and the selfe same maner of transgression For he sayth that Adam was not deceaued Which selfe thinge also maye be gathered of that Adam was not deceaued which they answered vnto God when he reproued them For the woman whē she was asked why she did it accused the serpent The serpēt said she deceaued me But Adam when he was demaunded the same question sayd not that he was deceaued but answered The woman which thou gauest me deliuered me the aple and I did eate This is not so to be taken as though we should affirme that there was There was errour in Adam whē he transgressed no error in the man when he transgressed For as we are playnly tought in the Ethnikes in euery kinde of sinne alwayes happeneth some error This
something which is of his owne nature sinne which yet is not imputed of God as we sayd commeth to passe in the beleuers as touching the corruption of nature and pronesse vnto sinnes These thinges are of them selues sinnes although for Christes sake they are not imputed as the Apostle in this The imputation of sinnes of two sortes ether as touching God or as touching men The tyme of the lawe is not excluded from sinne place sayth that before the Law there were many sinnes which yet were not so imputed or counted of men Although herein is some difference for there the imputation is by the mercy of God remoued way but here it is remoued away thorough the ignorance of man Farther although it be said Euen vnto the law yet is not thereby the time of the law acquitted free from sinne For the Law is not of that strength to abolish sinnes And this was of no smal force to abate the hautines and pride of the Iewes For they counted themselues more holye all thē other nations for that they had receaued a law from God The like kinde of speach is vsed of the Ethnikes when they write that euen vnto the tenth yere did the Greacians fight agaynst Troy for in so saying they doubtles excluded not the tenth yeare So when Paul sayth Sinne was in the world Euen vnto the law he excludeth not that time which was vnder the law And this wōderfully Only grace ouercommeth sinne setteth forth the grace of Christ which alone was able to vāquishe and to driue away sinne when as sinne was of so greate force to destroye and had so farre and so long ranged abrode that it could not be restrayned no not by the Law Paul when he sayth That death raigned vseth the figure Prosopopaeia nether ought we therfore to thinke y◠by this word Kingdome is ment any healthfull gouermēt Howbeit Why the power of of death is called a kingdome therefore he calleth the power of death a kingdome to show that the power thereof was exceding great wherunto all thinges gaue place that it was of a wonderfull mighty force which had brought all tlhinges vnder his subiectiō The selfe same forme of speaking he vseth agayne in this epistle saying Let not sinne raigne in your mortall body as if he should haue sayd Although ye cannot prohibit sinne to be in you yet permite not vnto it the kingdome and chiefe dominion it all your endeuors and counselles should geue place and be obedient vnto that And he therefore added that death raygned from Adam euen to Moses to declare that there was sinne in the world For death and sinne follow one the other Agaynst them that deny originall sinne in children inseperably and Sinne and death inferre and bring in one the other Hereby are confuted those which contend that infantes are without sinne and say that for that cause they dye for that by reason of the sinne of Adam they are vnder the condition of mortality being otherwise themselues innocent and cleane from sinne For if this were true the Apostle should then in this place conclude nothing For it mought easely be answered that althoughe men died before the law yet sinne at that time had not his being Wherfore let vs say with Paul Sinne and death are so ioyned together that they cannot be parted a sonder Ambrose suspected the Greke bookes that these two things are so ioyned together that they cā not be parted asonder Ouer them also that sinned not after the like maner of the transgression of Adam These wordes were in some copies set forth affirmatiuely by taking away this word not And of this reading doth Origen make mencion and so farre is Ambrose of from dissalowing it that he thinkethn one but it to be natiue And he hath a large discourse of the variety of the Greke bookes and semeth for that cause to haue them in suspicion as corrupted in many places after that the contencions of the heretikes grew strōg But in the expositiō of that reading which he followeth he semeth to speake but slenderly to the matter for he will haue death to haue rayned ouer those onely which in sinning were like vnto Adam and this he saith happened in idolatry For he affirmeth that the sinne wherein Adam fell was in a maner of this sorte that he beleued himselfe to be God and preferred Sathā before God more esteming his coūsell then the cōmaūdemēt of God But as for others which keping still their faith in the only Creator did notwithstāding sometimes fall he thinketh not that they fell after y◠like maner that Adam fell and therefore he writeth that they died the death of the bodye Ambrose held that some had in hell a free custody but not eternall death were kept in hell in a free custody euē to the cōming of Christ but in those which had imitated the sinne of Adam ternal death wholy raigned These things as euery mā may easely se are both farre fetched also do much weakē the argumēt of the Apostle wherefore if this text should be red affirmatiuely peraduēture we mought picke therout this sentēce to vnderstād y◠death raigned ouer al mē which sinned after the like māner of the transgressiō of Adam for that he hauing sinned it was all one as if all men had bene present and sinned together with him But let vs leaue this readinge and follow the common readinge and especially seinge Chrisostome Theophilactus and the Greeke Scholies pronounce these woordes negatiuely And so this is the sence that those menne which were before the lawe although they sinned not after that manner that Adam fell who besides the lawe of nature had also a certain commaundement prescribed him yet they also were obnoxious vnto death But Augustine applieth these wordes vnto infantes which die and haue sinne although they sinne not after the selfe same manner that Adam sinned And so Not to sinne after the like manner of the transgression of Adam is nothing els but not to haue sinne actuall and personall as they call it But I woulde thinke that in these woordes may be comprehended both infantes and others that are of age both those before the law and those after the law and those vnder grace Rude and blockish 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 sinne not after the same manner that Adam did as many as are so rude and blockishe that they are vtterlye ignorante of the commaundementes of God of whiche kinde of men it is not incredible but that there maye some be founde in the worlde And in this case vndoubtedlye all men dye although they know not the commaundement prescribed them of God as Adam did Which was the figure of that which was to come By y◠which was to come we may vnderstand all that which afterward happened in all men which procéeded from Adam which were aswel as he obnoxious vnto the curse and vnto death So the first father was a figure and
not therof follow that he hath not hurt vs or that we being by him made sinners haue not felt great losse Now forasmuch as those things which follow pertayne vnto the law before we come vnto them it shall not be amisse frō our purpose to declare what is to be thought touching originall sinne First we will consider whether there be any originall sinne or no for there are What are the chiefe matters that shal be intreated of some which vtterly deny that there is any such thinge Then wil we declare what it is Lastly what proprieties it hath and howe it is by succession traduced to our posterity and also by what meanes it is forgeuen As touching the firste we muste remember that both in the holy scriptures and also among the fathers it is called by sondry names For in this epistle the 7. chap. it is called sinne and the law of the Names of originall sinne mēbers and lust Of others it is called The want of originall righteousnes a corruption of nature an euell inclination a nourisher of euell a weaknes of nature the lawe of the fleshe and other suche like The Pelagians long since denied this sinne and so do the Anabaptistes euen nowe in our dayes These in a manner are the argumentes which they alleadge against it First they say that the fall of Adam The Pelagians and Anabaptistes denye originall sinne Argumēts against original sinne was sufficientlye punished in himselfe and that there is no cause why God shoulde reuenge it in his posterity specially seing it is written in Naum the Prophet That God doth not punish one and the selfe same thing twise For it suffiseth him that he hath once punished Againe it is also written That the sonne shall not beare the iniquitye of the father but the soule which sinneth the same shall dye Moreouer the bodye when it is formed in the wombe is the woorkemanshippe of God and hath nothing which ought to be reproued yea rather which is not woorthy of high admiracion and the soule also is either created or powred in of God And the manner of propagation cannot be counted euell because matrimony is commended in the holy scriptures and from the beginninge God cōmaunded mā to procreat children Wherefore among so many aides of innocency they demaund thorow what chinckes or hoales sinne could creepe in They alleadge moreouer that Paul in his firste epistle to the Cor when he exhorteth the faithfull wife to abide with the vnfaithfull husband if he will abide with her among other thinges saith your childrē are holy But they could not be holy if they wer born in sinne Wherfore say they they which are borne of faithfull parentes cannot contract vnto themselues originall sinne Farther they affirme that it is a common sayinge that sinne is a thinge spoken done or lusted contrarye to the lawe of God and that there is no sinne except it be voluntary And as Iohn saith in his 1. epistle the 4. chapt Sinne is iniquity vnto which is opposite equity or right and there can be no other equity or right assigned then that which is contained in the law and so is finne a trāsgression of the law all which thinges cannot happen in infantes when they are borne And they say moreouer that it semeth not agreable whiche some say namely that this sinne is powred in through the flesh or body For the flesh and the body are of theyr owne nature thinges insensible nether can they be counted a subiect mete for sinne And to establish theyr fained inuencion they adde that those thinges whiche Paul speaketh in this place are to be drawen to those sinnes whiche are called actuall And where it is said that by one man sinne entred into the world it is to be vnderstand say they because of imitacion and example whiche the posterity followed With these and like argumentes were they led to deny that there is any originall sinne But as for death and afflictions of this life whiche are commonly alleadged for tokens to confirme originall sinne they say that they consist of natural causes as are the temperatures of the elementes and humors And that therfore it is a vaine inuention to draw them to the fall of Adam And they thinke it to be a thinge moste absurde to counte that for sinne whiche can by no meanes be auoyded Lastly they say if by that meanes it should be saide that we haue sinned in Adam because we were in his loynes euen as in the Epistle to the Hebrues it is sayde of Leui that he paide tenthes in the loynes of Abraham after the like and selfe same mannec we may say that we were in the loynes of other our elders from whome we haue by procreation discended wherefore there is no cause why the sinne of Adam shoulde more flow abroade into vs then the sinne of our graundfathers greate graundfathers and of all our elders And by that meanes theyr estate should séeme most vnhappy which should be borne in the latter times For they should beare the iniquities of all their elders These thinges alleadge they to proue that there is no originall It is proued by testimontes of the scripture that there is original sinne sinne But we on the contrarye parte will by manye testimonies of the scriptures proue that there is such a sinne In the boke of Gen the vi chap God speaketh thus My spirite shall not alwaies striue in mā because he is but flesh Againe The imagination of the thoughtes of theyr hartes is onely euell alwayes And in the viii chapter The imagination of theyr hart is euell euen frō their childhode These words declare that there sticketh some vice in our nature whē we are brought forth Dauid also saith Beholde in iniquities was I conceaued and in sins hath my mother conceaued me then which testemony there can be nothing more euident Ieremy also in his 17. chap saith that the hart of man is wicked peruerse and stubburne And the same Ieremy and also Iob doo curse that day wherein they were borne into the world bycause they saw that together with them was brought forth the originall and fountaine of all vices And Iob hath a most manifest testimony of the vncleanes of our natiuity For this he sayth Who can make that clene which is cōceaued of vncleane seede And our sauiour sayth Except a man be borne againe of water and the holyghost he shall not enter into the kingdome of heauen And euen as a potter doth not make new agayne any vessel vnles he se that the same was ill made before So Christ would not haue vs generated agayne except he saw that we were before vnhappely generated Which thing he testifieth also in an other place saying That which is borne of flesh is fleshe and that which is borne of spirite is spirite By which words he would haue vs to vnderstand that therefore the regeneration of the spirite was necessary bycause we had before but only a
chapter sayth that by it the image of God is alienated from the life of man by reason of the blindnes of the harte whiche blindnes he sayth is sinne neither is it very agreable with the nature of man Blindnes of the hart is sinne The same Augustine in his 1. booke of the merites and remission of sinnes the 30. chapter where he bringeth these wordes of Dauid Remember not the sinnes of my youth and my ignorances maketh mencion of most thicke darkenes of ignorance which is in the hartes of infantes being yet in their mothers wombe who know not why from whence and when they were thrust in there For the Blindnes and ignorance are not agreable with the nature of man infant lyeth in the mothers belly vnlearned vndocible not able to vnderstand the commaundement being ignorant where he is what he is of whome he was created and of whome he was begotten All which thinges were far from the nature of man as it was first created and are rather vices of nature For Adam was not so created but he was both able to vnderstand the commaundement of God and could also geue names vnto his wife and to all other liuing creatures But in infantes we must wayte a long tyme that they may by little and little as it were disgest this dissines Farther that this ignorance is to be counted sinne Reticius the most auncient byshop of Auston is a witnes as Augustine testifieth of him in his first booke agaynst Iulianus For when he speaketh of baptisme thus he writeth That it is the principall indulgence in the Reticius bishop of Auston in Fraunce Church wherein we put away all the waight of the olde crime and we blot out the olde wicked actes of our ignorance and put of the olde man with his naturall wicked actes By these wordes we sée that wicked actes are naturall in vs and that the sinnes of ignorance are blotted out in baptisme Wherefore forasmuch as infants are baptised it is manifest by the authority of this father that they haue sinnes and that their olde ignorance is blotted out in baptisme Now concerning the The wil is also corrupt will let vs see whether it also be corrupt or no. The Apostle beareth manifest witnes of it that the sence and wisedome of the fleshe is enmity agaynst God And vnder this sentēce he comprehēdeth all the affectiōs of men which are not yet regenerate But I meruayle at the impudency of Pigghius who because he would by some meanes vnwrap himselfe sayth that this place is to be vnderstand of the sence of the letter which he contendeth is agaynst God nether can it be subdued vnto him For both the wordes that go before and the wordes that follow are manifestly agaynst hym For Paul straight way addeth the difference betweene men which are in the fleshe and them which are in the spirite Wherfore it playnely appeareth that he entreateth not of the diuersity of the sence of the scripture but of the variety of men The wordes that go next before that sentence are that which was impossible vnto the lawe in as much as it was weake by reason of the fleshe God sending his sonne in the similitude of sinfull fleshe by sinne condemned sinne in the fleshe that the righteousnes of the lawe might be fulfilled in vs. These wordes also testify that Paul speaketh of vs and not of the spirite or letter of the scriptures For in vs is that weakenes whereby the lawe was weakened that it coulde not bringe vs to saluation and by Christ the righteousnes of the lawe beginneth to be fulfilled in vs. Neither ought we to harken vnto The scripture by flesh vnderstandeth not the grosser part of the mind them which both in this place and also in many other will that by fleshe we should vnderstand only the grosser part of the mynde For Paul when to the Galathians he rehearseth the workes of the flesh doth not only number amongst them adulteryes fornications wantonnes and other such lyke but also idolatry whiche no man can deny but that it pertayneth vnto the mynde and not vnto the fleshe And Christ when he sayth That whiche is borne of fleshe is fleshe and that whiche is borne of the spirite is spirite exhorteth vs to regeneration whiche vndoubtedly pertayneth not only to the substance of the bodye or grosser partes of the mynde but also chiefely vnto the will and mynde And when he sayde vnto Peter Blessed art thou Simon Bariona for flesh and bloud hath not reueled these thynges vnto thee he signified that he had not lerned those thinges of naturall knowledge but of the spirite of God For vnder the name of flesh he comprehendeth those things which pertaine vnto the mynde and reasō Neither yet do we say as Pigghius fondly cauilleth that in the chiefest part of the minde is nothing but flesh For we know though Pigghius had not told vs Why the soule is called flesh in the scriptures that the soule is a spirite which yet before regeneration is in the scriptures called flesh bicause when as it ought to make the flesh that is his grosser partes spirituall and to bring it to the obedience of a minde instructed by the worde of God it rather declineth vnto the pleasures therof and so is made carnall But they obiecte vnto vs that which is written to the Galathians The flesh lusteth against the spirite and the spirite agaynste the fleshe as though this could not be possible if we leue nothing vncorrupted in the mindes of men But vnto this obiection we thus easely aunswer First that Paul speaketh those wordes of the beleuers which are alredy regenerate which thing those wordes which followe do sufficiently declare That ye should do not those thinges which ye would by which wordes he declareth y◠they had obteined a right will of the spirite of Christ which yet they were not able to performe by reason of the daily conflictes of the minde and their great infirmitie Wherfore the Apostle in that place ment nothing els then that whatsoeuer is in vs which is not perfectly regenerate altogether rebelleth against the spirite of God Farther also we deny not but that sometimes there is some such battaile in In the mindes of those that are not regenerate there are yet lawes of nature and some illustration of the spirit of God men which are not yet regenerate not bicause their minde is not carnall prone to vices but because in it remaine still grauen the lawes of nature and bicause in it is some illustration of the spirite of God although it be not such an illustration which can either iustifie or worke an healthful alteracion Farther that reason is corrupted in vs Pauls wordes sufficiently declare wherein he admonisheth vs to put on the new man which he saith ought continually to be renewed in vs. Now forasmuch as he will haue a man to be so vtterly chaunged and a man consisteth not onely
ether of righteousnes or els of sinne doth now by the great worke of the holy ghost excellently declare what maner ones we be which beleue in Christ But God be thanked that ye were the seruauntes of sinne but ye haue obeyed from the hart vnto that forme of doctrine whereunto ye were deliuered He thought it not sufficient to put vs in remembrance that we are Before regeneration we were al the seruaÌ„ts of sinne brought to obedience but would also moreouer admonishe vs what maner ones we were before namely seruauntes of sinne This was the state of vs all before we were conuerted vnto Christ For the calling of God findeth none ether holy or iust Neither was it sufficient to say that we are now the seruauntes of righteousnes The calling of God findeth none holy They which are regenerate do of theyr owne free will liue holily We are deliuered of God because it lieth not in our power and therefore he geueth thankes vnto him Of the drawing wherby we are stirred vp of God It is not sayd vnles the father shall lead but vnlesse he shall draw God of vnwilling persoÌ„s maketh vs willing Vnlesse we be â—yrst made as sheepe we can not follow God when he calleth vs. The drawing of God is with pleasure What pleasure iâ— Hâ—auâ—nly thinges cannot delight vs vnles we be as touching nature chaunged but he addeth from the hart They which are truly regenerate in Christ and grafted in him do worke those thinges which they vnderstand to be acceptable vnto God not of compulsion or of hipocrisie but of their owne accord and frée will Wherefore Paul when he maketh mencion hereof geueth thankes vnto God for that he vnderstoode that that thing is the chiefest and singular benefite of God and lyeth not in our power as many men fayne that it doth And therefore he addeth in the passiue signification Ye were deliuered By which wordes he meaneth nothing els but that which Christ ment when he sayd No man commeth vnto me vnles my father draw hym But what maner of drawing is this and how hard it is to expressed he that diligently waigheth the wordes of Christ shall easely perceaue It is written sayth he in the prophetes they shal be all taught of God Which sentence Christ doth yet more playnly expound saying He which shall heare of my father and shall learne commeth vnto me By which wordes he sheweth that an outward calling is not sufficient vnles there be added of God a full perswasion inwardly and in the mynde For after that God hath once inclined and bowed our mynde then at the last we come vnto Christ And Augustine in his first booke vnto Bonefacius agaynst the two epistles of the Pelagians noteth that the Lord sayd Vnles my father shall drawe him and sayd not vnles my father shall leade him as though we our selues as of our selues coulde will any thynge or geue assente vnto hym that calleth vs. For he whiche is willinge is not drawen but led not that the father draweth anye but those that are willing For it is not possible that we should beleue vnles we be willing But God worketh wonderfully in our hartes so that of vnwilling persons he maketh vs willing And the same Augustine vpon Iohn expounding this place compareth the beleuer wyth a young sheepe whome the shepeherd wyth holding forth a grene bowe draweth after hym not indâ—de by violence but of hys owne accorde and wyth a desire For the sheepe hath inwardly an appetite which stirreth hym vp to followe the bowe In which comparison this we ought to note that it is the proprietye of a sheepe so to do For an other beaste will not follow gréene bowes though it be against their willes So ought we by regeneration to be renewed and to be made the shepe of Christ before we can follow him For otherwise we despise all gréene bowes and callinges Augustine addeth more ouer that this drawyng is with a certayne oblectation and pleasure so that that is true which the Poete sayth Trahit sua quenque voluptas That is Euery man is drawen by hys owne pleasure And we are led by the bondes not of the body but of the hart and we are stiâ—red vp by a holy pleasure But the very definition of pleasure sufficiently teacheth that first the chaunging of our corrupt nature is necessary For pleasure is nothing els but an affection and motion stirred vp in vs of thinges agreable vnto our 〈…〉 re as contrarywise griefe or sorrow commeth of thinges that are repugnant vnto our naturâ— And now to the end we may take some pleasure by the admonitions of God and heauenly wordes it is necessary that they be agreable with our nature But foras 〈…〉 â—s it is corrupt yâ— thing can by no meanes be brought to passe For Paul sayth o 〈…〉 â—he Cor. The carnall man vnderstaÌ„deth not those things which are of the spâ—rite of God for they seme foolishe vnto hym and therfore he refuseth them as thinges contrarye vnto himselfe What is then to be done that the same To make the law pleasaunte vnto vs the law must not be chaunged but our nature must be altered Paul right well vseth the passiue manner of speaking The forme of doctrine is the Gospell Although this drawing be the worke of God yet the ministers of the word ought to do theyr seruice therin thinges may be pleasaunt vnto vs Are the commaundements of God to be altered and bended to our lustes No vndoubtedly Our nature ought rather to be chaÌ„ged and regenerated by God And that thing doth God bryng to passe in vs when he through fayth endueth vs with his righteousnes and so draweth vs vnto Christ And therfore Paul when he had vsed these verbes of the actiue signification obey and exhibite or geue your members c. Afterward vseth the passiue significatioÌ„ when he sayth Ye are deliuered ye are made free from sinne ye are made the seruauntes of righteousnes By which wordes is signified that in that we lyue vprightly and follow God is from without vs and commeth not from our selues By the forme of doctrine he vnderstandeth the Gospell for it is not a simple doctrine as philosophy or the law but such a doctrine as offreth vnto vs Christ and his spirite and grace wherby are ministred vnto vs strengths to performe those things which are commaunded And although this draught be the worke of God yet ought preachers pastors to serue therin as ministers of God And forasmuch as we call that draught a motion the terme and ende both from whence it beginneth and wherunto it tendeth Paul declareth when he thus writeth Ye were the seruantes of sinne By which wordes he sheweth from whence we are drawen But when he addeth that we are deliuered that we should be obedient vnto the Gospell he sheweth the end of our mutation For therfore are we regenerate and brought to Christ that we should be obedient vnto his word Neither thought
calleth grace eternall life But the propriety of grace is to he reÌ„dred freely Paul also sayth vnto hym which worketh not the reward is not imputed according to debt but accordyng to grace And saith moreouer that grace if it be of workes is not grace Also that the renantes shall through the electioÌ„ of grace be saued Agayne vnto the Ephesians Grace hath made vs safe throughe fayth and that not of our selues Agayne Not of workes least peraduenture any man shoulde glory This doubt Augustine sayth can not otherwise be dissolued vnles we grâ—unt A that an vpright and holy life is grace For so ether sentence may take place For eternall life is rendred vnto workes But because workes are freely geuen vs of God therâ—fâ—re also is eternall lyfe called gracee And in his booke De correctione Gratia the 13. chapter he sayth that Iames writeth that iudgemente shal be wythout mercy vnto hym which sheweth not mercy By which wordes saith he appeareth that they which lyue well shall in the last iudgement be iudged wyth mercy and they which haue 〈◊〉 wickedly shal be iudged wythout mercy And if that in iudgement we haue nede of mercy theÌ„ is it not now done for merites And in the same sence he alleageth the mother of the Machabees who as it is written in the 2. booke and 7. chapter thus speak 〈…〉 vnto her son That in that mercy I may receaue the wyth thy brethâ—rn In which place she calleth the day of iudgement mercy And vndoubtedly when we shall come before the iudgement seate of God who shall boast that he hath a chast hart Or who shall boast that he is cleane from sinne Wherefore there also mercy is nedefull whereby he may be made blessed vnto whome the Lord hath not imputed sinne The same father in hys 105. epistle to Sistus When the Apostle had sayd The stipend of sinne is death who Paul mightâ— haue 〈◊〉 righteousnes would not iudge that he should most aptly and consequently haue added but the stipend of righteousnes is eternall lyfe And it is true Because euen as vnto the merite of sinne is death rendred as a stipend so also vnto the merite of righteousnes is eternall lyfe rendred as a stipend But the blessed Apostle most vigylantly warryng agaynst pride when hee â—ad sayde that the stipend of sinne is death least humane ryghteousnes should extoll it sâ—lfe sayd not contrariwyse that the stipend of ryghteousnes is eternall lyfe but the grace of God sayth he is eternall lyfe But it is not sufficient to thynke that thesâ— things are spo 〈…〉 for humility moderation sake For the matter is so in very dede For our workâ— receaue not eternall life for a iust and deserued stipend And therefore he sayth that humane righteousnes is pride and which in name only is called righteousnes But that ought Eternall 〈◊〉 a 〈◊〉 vnto 〈…〉 ousneâ— but vnto 〈…〉 it is gracâ— If righteousnes were of our selues 〈…〉 should haue eternall life as a 〈…〉 When God shall reward 〈…〉 be 〈…〉 it selfe to be a true righteousnes vnto which eternall life is due which righteousnes if it be not of thy felfe then is it from aboue discending from the father of lightes Wherefore O man if thou shalt receaue eternall life it is â—n dede the stipend of righteousnes but vnto thee it is grace vnto whome also euen righteousnes is grace For it should be rendred vnto thee as a debt if the righteousnes vnto whome it is due were of thy selfe By all these thinges is gathered that with Augustine eternall life is therefore called grace because the workes which go before it are geuen fréely Farther he confesseth that in the last iudgement when God shall reward them we shall haue nede of mercy and compassion And that also we haue alwayes néede of mercy that our sinnes should not be imputed vnto vs. Lastly that eternall life although it may be the stipend of righteousnes being taken by it selfe yet vnto vs it is grace partly because it is not of our selues and partly also because it is vnperfite Hilâ—â—ius also writeth vpon the 50. Psalme My hope is in the mercy of God for euer and euer world without ende For the workes of ryghteousnes are not sufficient vnto the merite of perfect blessednes Vnto vs it is gâ—ace because good workes are not of our selues and because they are vnperfect That good workes are geuen by grace both we and our aduersaries graunt but with a difference vnles in thys wyll of ryghteousnes the mercy of God impute not the faultes of humane changynges and motions Also Ierome vpon Esay the 46. chapter If we should consider our owne merites we shoulde dispayre Our aduersaries and we contende not whether by the grace of God good workes are geuen vnto the regenerate Although neither herein also do we vtterly agrée with them For they thinke that it lieth in our power to receaue good workes when they are offred But we say that it is néedefull that our will bée changed by the grace and spirit of God otherwise as touching in this point also we abhorre from the giftes of God But of this matter we haue before sufficiently spoken when we entreated of grace Wherfore I will now stand no longer about it But there is an other thing about which there is at this day a more waighty controuersye They which defend merites do thinke that the good workes which are geuen of God vnto men are sufficient They whiche defend merites do say that good workes are sufficient to attaine vnto eternall lifâ— which thinge we deny vnto eternall life Which thinge we do vtterly deny And this maketh very much on our side which a litell before we alleged out of August That in the last iudgemeÌ„t we shall nede the mercy of God not only because good works were geuen of hym freely but also because when the iust iudge shall sit in hys throne no man can boast that he hath a chast hart or that he is cleane from sinne Wherefore it is nedefull that sinnes as sayth Dauid be not imputed vnto hym which shall come vnto felicity Wherefore seyng we haue nede of mercy it is manifest that our good workes are not sufficient The same Augustine writeth in an other place that the perfection of the sayntes herein consisteth to acknowledge how much they want still of perfection And that sentence of Paul I haue fought a good battayle I haue finished my course I haue kepte fayth he so expoundeth that he thinketh that the Apostle sayth not that he is vtterly Augustine saith not that Paul was without sinne but affirmeth the contrary Note what Augustine thinketh of this place vnto the PhillipiaÌ„s wythout sinne but that he leaning vnto fayth and vnto hope did wholy appoynte wyth hymselfe that it shoulde come to passe in the laste houre of hys death whiche was euen then at hand that whatsoeuer sinne or wickednes had crept into hym the same should
by the mercy of God through Christ be wholy forgeuen hym euen as he had forgeuen vnto others theyr offences And it is so farre of that Augustine thought that Paul was vtterly without sinne that he interpreteth this place vnto the Phillippians Yea also I thynke all thynges to be but losse for the excellent knowledge sake of Iesus Christ my Lord for whome I haue counted all thynges loosse and iudge them to be dongue of workes done after he came to Christianity For when as before hauing made mencion of workes done when he was yet of the Iewishe religion he sayd But the thynges that were vantage the same I counted losse for Christes sake those wordes which are afterward added he addeth by the way of correction shewing that not only workes of Iewishe religion but also all other were to bee counted for losses and thinges vncleane For he considered that in all thinges is some fault and defect or want And that sinnes are mingled with our good works Sinne is mingled with our good works the scriptures most manifestly teach when they say that no man can be iustified in the sight of God And the saintes do make intercession against that exact examination of righteousnes Enter not say they into iudgement wyth thy seruaunt O Lord. And Ihon sayth If any man say he hath no sinne he deceaueth hymselfe and the truth is not in hym And Salomon sayth in the bookes of kinges That there is not a man on earth so iuste that he sinneth not Which wordes Augustine diligeÌ„tly weighing applieth them vnto the form of the present time least any man should referre that sentence of Salomon vnto those thinges which we haue committed before regeneratioÌ„ We ought all to pray that our trespasses may be forgeueÌ„ vs as which in this life may rather thirst after righteousnes then yâ— we caÌ„ attaine vnto a perfect absolute righteousnes For that precept of yâ— lord wherein we are coÌ„manÌ„ded to loue God with all our hart with all our soule and with all our strengths shall then at the laste be perâ—ormed when we shall come to that place where we shall so God face to face as he is as Augustine writeth in his booke de Spiritu Litera towardes y end In which place also he demaundeth why this commaundement was geuen if it can not be performed in this life He answereth that therefore God commaunded it that we should know what by fayth we ought to desire whereunto our hope shoulde be leueled and what we ought continuallye to go aboute in all our actions And he thinketh him to haue much profited in this life which can at the length se how farre he is of from that which is perfect The same Augustine in his seconde booke De peccatoruÌ„ meritis remissione chap. 16. 17. 18. writing many thinges as touching this matter sayth that in the scriptures men are sometimes called Why the saintes are called perfect notwithstanding they obserue not the commaundementes God requireth at meÌ„â— hands that they should be without sinne Why God gaue a laws which he knew could not be obserued No man is afflicted which is without sin perfect not bicause they are vtterly without sinne but bycause in innocency of life they haue much profited and bycause that to obteine perfection they coÌ„tinually bend theyr studye and endeuour bycause also God forgeueth them theyr faultes and that whiche they waÌ„t of righteousnes he imputeth vnto theÌ„ of the fulnes of the righteousnes of Christ Nether denieth he but that God requireth of men that they shoulde vtterly be without sinne For there could be no sinne vnles there were a law which wheÌ„ we sinne we transgresse Farther he demaundeth why God gaue that Lawe which he right well saw could by no meanes be performed And he aunswereth that he did it for this cause that he mought worthely condemn those which contemned it thorough coÌ„tempt transgressed mought here theyr prayers which applied theÌ„selues vnto it and more and more helpe them dayly to accomplishe the same And to this purpose he bringeth that sentence which is written namely that God correcteth and chastiseth those whome he loueth but yet not with fury or auengment but with a fatherly correction But there is none chastised or afflicted which is without sinne For this thing only suffred our Sauiour namely wtout any fault committed of him selfe to susteyne most bitter paynes Wherfore seing all men whom God loueth are corrected with aduersities it followeth of necessity that they all are subiecte vnto sinne Which thing Paul vnto the Galathians most assuredly affirmeth of the saintes For he sayth that in them the flesh so repugneth against the spirite that they can not doo those thinges which they would And in the next chapter he writeth that he himselfe did the euill which he hated By all these things may easely be gathered that a man though he be neuer so holy yet so long as he here They which are loued of god are not without sin We haue euer in vs some what which nedeth forgeuenes Vnles we were miserable before God he should not vse mercy towardes vs. What mercy is How the regenerate are not vile before God Note a certaine distinction liueth hath alwayes some what in him that hath nede to be forgeuen of GOD. Which thing Augustine also testefieth towardes the end of his booke De Spiritu Litera And hereby is most euidently gathered that our good workes are not sufficient vnto eternall life But our aduersaries crake and boast that the regenerate are not vile in the sight of God But we say that we before God are not with out miserye For vnles we were so God could not vse mercye toward vs which mercy yet Augustine writeth that we haue altogether nede of if we desire to be crowned For mercy is an effectioÌ„ wherewith we are moued towards them that are in misery wherefore if eternall life be geuen vnto vs of mercye then must we nedes be vtterly miserable before God But if they vnderstand that the regenerate are not vile in the sighte of God bycause God beawtifieth them with many giftes and ornamentes we graunt to that Yet those gyftes whatsoeuer or how great soeuer they be ought not to seme of so great force to be sufficient vnto eternall life And that commeth not thorough yâ— defaults of the giftes but thorough our default which in all thinges obey them not For we still cary aboute in our fleshe much of old Adam and of naturall corruption Farther our aduersaries put a difference betwene the good workes of men regenerate for they say yâ— those are partly of our selues and partly of God Those say they as they are of vs can merite nothing but as they are oâ— God they doo merite and are causes of eternall life And by this distinction they thinke that yâ— matter is made playne But we graunte not so much vnto them For if we diligently and thoroughly consider
not distinguished from the Gospell by bookes The knowledge of sin two fold Paul now declareth namely to shewe sinne And that alwayes it doth wheresoeuer any commaundement of the lawe is whether it be in the fiue bookes of Moses or in the prophetes or in the bookes of the new testament For the lawe is not distinguished from the Gospell by bookes but in forme and maner of teaching But this property of the law when it is lightly weighed appeareth not For the knowledge of sinne is two maner of wayes the one is whereby we only beholde the nature thereof the other is whereby by experience or some certayne byting we haue a féeling thereof in our selues And this latter way is the fruite that commeth of the reading of the lawe namely not only to know sinne but also to be daunted at the féeling thereof when we vnderstand that we are in a maner consumed of the wrath of God The Apostle warely sayth that he knew not sinne and was ignorant of lust vnles the lawe had sayd thou shalt not lust But he sayth not that he had not sinne before the lawe For there was euen then also sin in him but it was not acknowledged And a litle afterward how sinne was in him then he declareth saying Sinne before the lawe was dead but so soone as it came it reuiued agayne Sinne in dede was before but yet not so vehement wherefore also it semed the les to be accused And for that cause Christ said If I had not come and spoken vnto them they should haue had no sinne By which wordes he signifieth not that they should vtterly haue bene without all sinne if he had not come but that they should not haue sinned so greuously But thou wilt say seing the lawe Why the law is sayd to shew sins and not vertues sheweth not only sinnes but also good déedes why doth the Apostle only say that it sheweth sinne I answere as before I answered For that the lawe was not able to shew vertues which are known by experience and féeling neither in men strange from Christ nor in the regenerate For in men strange from Christ the lawe found nothing but sinne And in the regenerate it found rather certayne inchoations or beginnings then perfect vertues Farther by this place we vnderstand The law is diligently to be learned that the lawe is with great diligence to be learned and to be peysed in the minde as without which both the force of sinne is not knowen and the grace and mercy of him that forgeueth is contemned And because this is very hurtful therfore the holy scriptures alwayes inculcate into vs the knowledge of the lawe and pronounce them blessed which are occupied in it day and night Which is true if therewith all be ioyned Christ the only ende of the lawe And that the law might the easelyer be vnderstand God alwayes raysed vp and inspired holy prophetes to expound it vnto the people when they sharpely cried out agaynst the sinnes of their times Christ also our Sauiour hath deliuered vnto vs a most exquisite interpretacion of the lawe Now they at the last are to be counted to rede the lawe of Who are with fruite occupied in the contemplacion of the law the Lord with fruite which so often as they lay away the booke acknowledge in themselues somewhat which must be by the mercy of God forgeuen and by his grace be amended Agayne by these wordes of the Apostle is the law◠defended from their sclander which crye out that it is euill and proceded from an euill God For they say that the lawe is euill and sinne which thing Paul expressedly denieth For he answereth God forbid Farther how can it be ill which condemneth and forbiddeth lust which they are compelled to confesse to be ill But wheras he saith by the law sin entred in that is spokē by a metaphore For that blame which thesemē ascribe vnto y◠law ought to be trāsferred vnto corruptiō y◠naturally grafted in vs. And although the lawe in many seme to worke nothing els but more and more to heape vp sinnes yet that commeth not therefore for that it selfe is euill but for that it can of a corrupte nature bring foorth no other thing But why the lawe is vnpleasant and hatefull vnto vs that hereof commeth saith Why the law is odious vnto vs. Ambrose for that it alwayes sheweth thinges euill namely sinnes and condemnation But there is none which will gladly heare of those thinges Yet they that be godly indede although they are by it bitten for it doo geue thankes vnto God For they féele that by the preaching thereof they get incredible fruites But before we passe ouer this place there are a fewe thinges to be spoken of whiche in my iudgement seme very necessary to the full vnderstanding thereof There What is prohibited in this commaundemēt Thou shalt not luste are some which thinke that this commaundement Thou shalt not lust forbiddeth not the prauity and corruption of nature or the first motions whereby we are affcted towardes those things which God hath forbidden But by that commaundement say they is only prohibited the consent of the will and of the minde And then at the length they confesse that we sinne whē we geue place vnto those first motions and suffer sinne to raigne in vs. But those thinges whiche followe in this selfe same chapiter do most manifestly reproue them For Paul sheweth that he entreateth of that lust which is irkesome vnto a minde that serueth the lawe of God And he addeth that by it he doth that euill which he hateth But these thinges haue no place where the consent of the minde is ioyned with all And of this kinde of lust he cryeth out Vnhappy man that I am who shall deliuer me frō the body of this death And he addeth that he is of it drawen captiue agaynst his will and resisting it Wherefore seing this lust is of this nature there is no cause why it should be wrested vnto the consent of the minde But herein our aduersaries That commaundemēt which can not be fulfilled is not in vaine geuen are excedingly deceaued for that they thinke that this precept is in vayne geuen if it prohibite that which can not be auoyded in this life And it is a thing ridiculous say they to commaunde any thing vnto the brute and foolishe fleshe and to the irrationall partes of the minde whiche vnderstand no such thing and are of necessity moued to do that whereunto they were instituted But these men ought to haue remembred that this precept was geuen vnto man endued with reason and that not in vayne nor without purpose For God had created man to hys owne image and likenes Wherefore it was requisite that he should haue nothing in him which should not agrée with the will of God Neither are the commaundementes which can not be performed in this life geuen in vayne to men as these men
case was only touching the life and goodes of the body But here we haue an enemy in the inward partes and in the very bowels and our minde is subiect vnto sinne euen against our willes and we resisting it We were sold so soone as Adam had sinned For by one man sin entred into the world and in hym all men haue sinned We were solde gratis that is for nothyng for there was no iust cause which draue our first parentes to sinne why we are sayd to be sold gratis Farther also forasmuch as when we are borne we draw sinne with vs neither take we it vpon vs of our owne will therfore are we sayd to be sold gratis Augustine vpon the booke of Iudges the 17. questiō wondreth at this phrase of speach in the Scriptures wherby men are said to be sold gratis when as no price at al was What to be solde gratis signifieth payd for them And he saith that by this phrase is signified nothing els but that y◠Israelites were deliuered of God into the power of their enemies of whom they should be afflicted no otherwise then if they had bene bought bondmen And he sayth that this word gratis which is red in the Psalmes and in Esay is very aptly put For that God when he in such sort deliuered the Iewes into the power of straungers got therby no honour or worshipping at all as a reward or price For they were idolatrers So we are sayd to be deliuered gratis both vnto the deuill to y◠corruptiō naturally grafted in vs for y◠by thē redoundeth vnto God neither honour nor thanks For they are enemies vnto God do cōtinually beare hatred against him But as we are sold gratis so also are we redeemed gratis not but y◠We are redeemed gratis Achab sold him selfe to do euill Christ hath paid for vs both his lyfe bloud but for y◠we haue therunto geuē nothing of our own neither ar we iustified by any our merite The self same phrase of speach is red in y◠1. boke of Kings the 21. cha of Achab y◠wicked kyng He was solde to do euill in the sight of the Lord. But in the Hebrew phrase this word Hithmabo signifieth that he sold himself both for that he willingly and of his owne accorde dyd those things wherunto by the lust grafted in hym he was moued and also for that thorough his owne will he had therunto added many kindes of sinnes Augustine in hys 41. treatise vpon Iohn compareth this seruitude wherby we liue in vnder sinne with the ciuill and outward seruitude and in that comparison setteth before our eyes in how vnhappy estate they are which are in such sort solde vnder sinne and made seruantes vnto the tiranny therof A bondeman sayth he is in A comparison betwen◠the seruitude of sin and ciuile seruitude some hope to chaunge hys lord or maister if he chaunce to be ouer cruell and froward towardes hym For by one meanes or other he practiseth wyth some to buye hym of hys Lorde and counteth it a great benefite if he may leaue his cruell Lorde and obteyne a gentler But sinne so cleaneth in vs that there is no man whiche can hope for any suche change They which are seruants as touchyng ciuile seruitude are in good hope that they shall at one tyme or other find the meanes to runne away from theyr Lords But as for vs whether shall we go whersoeuer we shall be we shall draw wyth vs the tyran sin Suppose that there were one which would redeme vs. Is it not of necessity that he be free from the common Lord whose seruantes we are that is from sinne I thynke verily it is For other wyse whatsoeuer he should buye should be bounde vnto sinne vnto whome he though he were now a redemer is also a seruaunt But there can none be found free from sinne except only our Lord Iesus Christ. Wherfore vnto hym let hym go whosoeuer wyll be deliuered from sinne But a man will obiect But the Apostle sayth that we are now deliuered from sinne for thus he writeth But now we beyng deliuered from sinne are made the seruantes of righteousnes Why then doth he nowe complayne that he is sold vnder sinne Here must we call to mynd that which we haue oftentimes said that we are in déede deliuered by Christ but yet not with a full deliuery but only Our deliuery is not yet full and perfect with a deliuery begonne which then at the last shall be perfect when our last enemy death shall be destroyed and when as Paul sayth this mortall body shall haue put on immortality and this corruptible body shall be made incorruptible But in the meane tyme we possesse not a full liberty but a liberty hoped for Now then seyng that we are still carnall and sold vnder sinne it is our partes continually with faithfull prayers to cry vnto the lord not without good aduisement to approue those things which are pleasant vnto vs but rather let vs haue in suspiciō all things y◠are ours for that frō the bondslaues of sin can nothing lightly be looked for which is in very dede good And whē we are oppressed with any calamity let vs in no wise complain of God as though he afflicteth vs without any our defect For it is not possible but that of them whiche liue vnder sinne should be many It is not possible but that we must nedes commit many thynges amisse thinges amisse committed The thinges which Paul before spake in this chap. that he knew not sinne and was ignorant of lust when he wanted the lawe and as soone as it came sinne excedingly encreased in him and so increased that of it through the commaundement he was slayne and such other like thinges all these I say the Pelagians easely graunted mought be vnderstand of Paul both when he was yet an infant and also whē he was of full age so long as he endeuoured not himselfe to an vpright life But here they somewhat staggered when they saw that he sayd of himselfe and that in the present tempse The lawe is spirituall Here falleth away much from free will but I am carnall being sold vnder sinne For here they felt that somewhat but what do I say somewhat yea rather that very much falleth away from frée will They saw moreouer that he can not be iustified at his owne pleasure which is driuen to be the seruaunt of sinne and which after he is come vnto Christ is sayd yet notwithstanding to be sold vnder sinne so that he can not in all poyntes fulfill the lawe of God which is spirituall Wherefore they went about to wrest these wordes of the Apostle to an other sense For they sayd that he called himselfe carnall for that whilest he here liued he had not yet put on the spirituall fleshe which we shall haue in the resurrection but still caried it about with him which in the meanetyme was
is no more I that do it I delight in the Law of God Vnhapyy man that I am who shall deliuer me frō the body of this death There is no condemnation to those which are in Christ Iesus Agayne We also grone which haue receaued the first fruites of the spirite Ambrose in his booke de Paradiso is of the same iudgemēt And to the same purpose is he cited of Augustine in his 6. booke agaynst Iulianus in his booke de philosophia or de Sacramento which booke is not at this day extant But sinne that dvvelleth in me This metaphore of dwelling is very much The Metaphore of dwelling vsed in y◠holy scriptures nether signifieth it vnto vs any thing els but a true mighty presēce In this sēce it is said The word was made flesh dwelt amongst vs. And in the old testament is oftentimes red that God dwelt amōgst the children of Israell And Paul to the Corrinthians sayth That we are the temple of God that the holy ghost dwelleth in vs. But here we must beware of the error of y◠Maniches which hold that man consisteth of two natures the one good and the other euill and y◠they are both mingled together but thorough Christ it is come An error of the Manichies to passe that the euill is seperated from the good and thrust out to the people of darkenes For they saw not that y◠euil was the corruptiō of nature which nature otherwise was good but they sayd that it doth by it selfe exist hath a certayne substaunce and that it is seperated from the good by thrustinge forth and by flyinge away and not that it ceasseth to be But the truth teacheth that Christe healeth sinne and the effect or want and so healeth thē y◠they haue no more any being The Apostle in thys place entreateth not of our cōmon euils but of our chiefest euils whiche pertayne to the strife betwene the spirite and the flesh and doo trouble and confound both whatsoeuer we haue inwardly or outwardlye For whē we do any thing we not only not do so much as both we our selues desire also is required of y◠law but we haue also y◠flesh by all maner of meanes raging fighting and striuing against the will of God Neither do we y◠good which What is the good which we would do do not What is the euell which we would not do and yet do All our woorkes haue nede of forgeuenes The flesh the members the mind and the inwards man how they are to be taken we would but that euill which we hate If thou demaūd what that good is which we would we can aunswer nothyng els but y◠it is y◠which the law cōmaundeth vs. For it is the onely maistres of all that which is good Hereby it is plaine that we do not that which is commaunded in the law Againe the euill which we hate is nothing els but that which by the law is prohibited Wherfore we cannot deny but that by our euill motions and wicked desires the law of God is violated Neither ought we to denye but that they are sinnes which yet our aduersaries will not graunt Moreouer hereby we gather that in all the things which we do we haue nede of forgeuenes and that our workes are not of so great waight that for them we should be made acceptable vnto God and merite the eternall kyngdome In this place are vsed the names of the flesh and of the members and on the the other side of the minde and of the inward man Which are not to be distinguished touching the partes of the body and of the mynde But on the one side is signified the whole man as he is not regenerate neither hath yet perfectly and vniuersally put of the prauity of nature On the other side also is vnderstande the whole man as he is now regenerate and hath receiued at the least some parte of spirituall regeneration They are farre deceiued which thinke that although we beleue not in Christ yet the minde and will in vs is wholy perfect in nature For they remember not what Paul writeth to the Corinthians The naturall man vnderstandeth not the thynges which are of the spirite of God For