the olde came to seke and saue that was loste and to repaire that was by him decayed And then as Adam loste Faith Continence Charitie Wisedome and vnderstanding Counsell and strength Prosp suprà hope and humilitie so must all that companie of vertues with â—ther by him lost be restored in such as Christ of his especial grace reneweth and iustifieth For as Christ saieth of one man whome he healed so is it true in al whom he restoreth that he healeth not one part but the whole man. Ioan. 7. Deut. 32. Esai 53. His workes are perfecte and neither lacketh he power to cure all our griefes being God neither wil to doe it who for that cause became man. And as a man diseased deadly in al the principal partes of his body is not called a sound and whole man vntil the partes be al cured So the soule corrupted and made olde in Adam decayed in grace and bereft of Iustice can not be called a new creature vntil the salues of these vertues by the hand of our Phisition be laid vnto it and shew their operation in it For it is not said as many of you as haue ben baptised in Christe haue beleeued in Christe thought vppon him or heard of him Galat. 3. but it is said Christum induistis ye haue put on Christ that is to saie haue taken into you the vertues of Christ as before ye had the qualities and conditions of Adam Ephes 4. For that saith S. Paule is the true receiuing of Christ and his Gospel to put of the olde man and olde conuersation and to be renewed in spirite and minde putting on the newe which was created after the Image of God in iustice and holines Libro 1. cap 9. de pec meri remiss Christe saith S. Augustine Dat sui spiritus occultissimam fidelibus gratiam Geueth vnto his faithful a most secrete grace of his spirite which priuily he powreth euen into babes As Adam by a secret infection of carnal concupiscence infected and consumed all that came of his race He saith in the same booke Legimus iustificari Ibid. c. 10. c. We read that such be iustified in Christ as beleue in him through a secrete geauing and inspiring of spiritual grace whereby who so euer cleaueth vnto our Lord is made one spirite with him What Iustification is By all this we vnderstande that our Iustification importeth not onely an assente of minde and faith to beleue the Gospell of Christe neither standeth onely in remission of sinnes past which God mercifully forgeueth but requireth also a renewing of spirit and minde a change of lyfe and conditions â—it 3. that as in Adam we were disobedient seruinge sundrie lustes and pleasures leading our lyfe in malice and enuie hatefull hating one an other So in Christe forsaking vngodlines and worldely desires Tit. 2. we must liue soberly iustly and godly putting on vs as the chosen of God holie and beloued Coloss 3. the bowels of compassion mercie and gentlenes humilitie modestie and patience This it is to leaue of Adam and put on Christe which is our renewing and Iustification The kingdome of heauen is like vnto leauen Matth. 13 whiche a woman taketh and hideth in three measures of flower vntil the whole be leauened But as the whol paste is not leauened as long as any parte thereof remaineth in his olde tallage and taste euen so is not man translated from death to lyfe nor made a newe creature 1. Ioan. 3. Galat. 6. 2. Cor. 5. vntill the whole estate of his soule be refourmed And surely vntil he be made a newe creature he is not iustified Sicut fuit vetus Adam c. As the olde Adam was powred through the whole man and possessed the whole Bernard serm 5. de Aduent So nowe lette Christe haue the whole who hath created and redeemed the whole and shall glorifie the whole who in the Sabboth daie cured all the whole man. The olde man was sometime in vs that transgressour of Gods commaundemente he was in vs as well in hande and woorke as in mouth and heart But nowe if there be any newe creature in him the olde is past and contrarie to lewdnes in hande there is innocente life in the mouth contrary to arrogante pride there is the woorde of confession in the heart contrary to fleshly lustes there is charitie contrary to worldly glorie there is humilitie By which wordes of Sainct Bernarde we see sette before vs a true description of our Iustification by comparing togeather the corrupte estate of man in Adam and the repairing of the same through the Mediator of God and menne 1. Timo. 2. the man Iesus Christe For this repairing of mans corrupt estate Christe is often times in the Scripture compared with Adam and called an other Adam and the last man. Rom 5. 1. Cor. 15. Not an other Adam like vnto the firste but an other contrary to the firste suche as came to restore that which was lost by the first Rom. 5. For as by the disobedience of one man many were made sinners so by the obedience of one many shall be made iuste And as in Adam all men die so in Christe all shal be reliued And as by the synne of one all men came to damnation so by the Iustice of one all come to the Iustification of lyfe But as we were all condemned in Adam bicause we were naturally borne of him and thereby tooke his conditions so to be saued by Christe we must also be newe borne in him and put on vs his qualities And so do we see that our true Iustification is the recouering of that which we lost in Adam and what that was I haue shewed before The whiche Christe hath fully restored in such as truely take a new birth of him In the secoÌ„d boke the .xviij Chapter as I shall shewe toward the ende of this woorke where place shal serue to speake of the vertue and strength of our Iustification by Christe It is now to be shewed particularly how such as are borne in synne come to be iustified in Christ what the causes of our Iustification be by what meane God worketh it in vs and how we receiue it Of the causes of our Iustification The V. CHAPTER Ioan. 3. THE chiefe and principall cause of our Iustification is the great loue that God beareth vnto man who so tendred the worlde that he gaue his onely begotten Sonne Galat. 4. And to make vs his children sent the spirit of his Sonne into our hartes that is the holy Ghoste wherewith he hath sealed vs vp Ephes 1. and geuen it as a pledge of our inheritance And this hath he wrought Tit. 3. not for the workes of iustice that we did but according to his owne mercie The cause that deserued this owre Iustification at his handes was the death of his sonne Iesus Christe Rom. 5. Coloss 1. 1.
3. And so muche the iuster the more iustice he doth By the same rule Leo speaking of almose saieth Leo. ser 3. de ieiun mensis 7. Leo ser 8. de ieiu men 10. Iacob 2. Gen. 22. Hoc pio impendatur operi c. Let that be bestowed vpon godlie woorke that can iustifie the harte and wasshe the conscience And in an other place Goddes will is saieth he to iustifie the poore by patiente suffring of labour and trauaile and the riche by the woorke of charitie Abraham was iustified by woorkes offering vp his sonne by woorkes I say of obedience bicause he obeyed the voice and commaundement of God. The Scripture saith of Moyses In fide lenitate ipsius sanctum fecit illum God made him holy by faith and mildenes S. Bernarde saith as much of humilitie Bernard ser 1. in die natal Sectamini illam quae sola potest saluare animas vestras folow her which alone is able to saue your soules Finally Leo ser 6 de Quadrages al good workes done in faith bring with them a Iustification Quia hac quaeper se sunt vilia fides efficit pretiosa quae ab infidelibus ministrantur etsi fuerint sumptu magna omni tamen iustificatione sunt vacua faith maketh those thinges pretiouse which of them selues be litle worth And such as are done by infideles though in coste they be great yet be they voide of al Iustification If the workes of infideles be voide of Iustification bicause they be done without faith then Christian mennes woorkes done in faith may iustifie By these places of the Scripture and auncieÌ„t Fathers it is proued that good works done in faith iustifie the doers And bicause no man can doo such workes vnlesse he be him selfe a good man Sequuntur enim iustificatum Aug de fide ope ca. 14. noÌ„ pracedunt iustificandum for they follow him that is made iust they go not before him that is to be iustified we must coÌ„fesse that beside the Iustification of the wicked whereby a synner of vngodly is made righteouse â—om 4. there is an other degree of iustice which both the Scripture and Fathers as I haue shewed call Iustification that is an increase of iustice whereby a iuste man is made iuster Whiche to make the thing more playne The secoÌ„d Iustification I cal the seconde kynde or degree of Iustification bicause it commeth after the Iustification of a sinner whiche is the firste degree of iustice And this kinde of Iustification whiche is an increase of iustice Lib. 2. coÌ„tra â—ulta supra ca. Oecom in c. 2. Iaco. is obteyned and gotten by godly life by fighting with vice saieth S. Augustine by workes of faith without the whiche after baptisme faith auayleth not but maketh vs also gyltie of greater sinne receyuing the talente and bringing no gayne of it By this meane it is truely said that a wicked man is iustified that is reconciled to God by grace through faith hope charitie penaunce and the Sacramente of Baptisme without anye woorkes of merite goyng before And truely is it saied also that suche as be already iuste may be yet iustified that is increased in iustice by good workes So is it true that faith without workes iustifieth and true also that a man is iustified by workes and not by faith onely the one being meant of man not yet baptised the other of suche as are baptised or christened And further woorkes of faith doo not onely increase a good mannes iustice in this life but also procure vnto the dooers life euerlasting Rom. 6. Whiche S. Paule calleth our ende And S. Augustine the perfiting of iustice Ser. 61. de ver De. et ep 106. saying Complebitur spes nostra our hope shal be fully accomplished in the laste resurrection of the deade and when our hope shal be fulfilled then shal our Iustification be fully accomplisshed And bicause our iustice be it neuer so well begonne and continued here yet before that time is neuer perfect and without that ende auaileth not I call that with S. Augustine the perfiting of our Iustification or the thirde degree and ende of our iustice To the which the Scriptures plainely declare that we must comme by workes of faith Rom. 2. Psal 61. Reddet vnicuique secundùm opera eius God shall render vnto euery man according to his workes What thinges a man soweth Gala. 6. the same shall he reape for he that soweth in flesh of flesh shall reape corruption But he that soweth in spirite of spirite shall reape euerlasting life Our sowing is our workes of which if they be ill we shall reape damnation if they be good we shall receiue life eternall And bicause it is said in sundrie places of the Scripture 2. Tim. 4. Epist 105. lib de gra libe arbi ca. 8. 9. that God will render life euerlasting to good workes and that as a iuste iudge we gather with S. Augustine that life euerlasting is the rewarde of good workes whereof I shall haue occasion to say more when I come to speake of that matter Lib. 2 cap. 13. In the meane time we see that as a man is called to the state of iustice by faith without workes which is Iustification so can he neither be increaced nor perfited in iustice but by faith and good workes which is also called Where is then faith alone Iustification So can he neither comme to the beginning but by faith hope and charitie as hath ben shewed neither to the middle nor th' ende but by faith and good workes ioined together And this difference marked and rightely applied doth not only geue light to sundrie Scriptures seeming otherwise darcke but also taketh away the difference imagined In the 10. chap. of the 2. booke to be betwene S. Paule and S. Iames S. Peter and S. Iohn concerning the doctrine of Iustification whereof I shall speake more largely in an other place VVhat good workes be and howe they be called ours THE XIII CHAPTER Three kindes of vvorkes in Scripture THE greate commendation and price which the Scripture geueth to good workes moueth me briefly to declare what workes they are that we call good where with God is so highly pleased We finde in the Scriptures three kindes of workes named Gala. 5. whereof some are called workes of the flesh other the workes of the lawe Ioan. 6. Gala. 5. The third kinde the workes of God and the fruites of the holy Ghost The workes of the flesh are fornication vncleanes vnchast life and other like the doers whereof shall not enioie the kingdome of God. Gala. 5. The workes of the lawe be such as a man doth by him selfe presuming of his owne power and strength without the helpe of God Aug. ser 15. de ver Apost Philip. 3. by commandement of the lawe for feare of punishement and not for loue of iustice Of which S. Paule
Abraham Cypriae de Elemos S. Cyprian telleth Nam si Abraham credidit Deo. For if Abraham credited God and it was accompted to him for iustice doubtlesse he that according to Gods cōmandement geueth almes doth credit God and he that hath the trewe faith keepeth the feare of God. Thus haue I shewed that the Faith which was reputed vnto Abraham for iustice was that faith whereby he did credite vndoubtedly and obediently follow the wordes of God were they promises or were they commandementes as faithefull in the one as faithefull in the other By this Faith Abraham was made the Father of the beleuing by this faith Zacheus was made the childe of Abraham Gala. 3. by the same rule Qui ex fide sunt benedicentur cum fideli Abraham As many as be faithefull by this Faithe shal be blessed with the faithfull Abraham If all other Scriptures towching this matter were doubtefull and darke yet might the example of these two men so plainely set forth in both Testamentes suffice the meeke and godly Christian man trewely to vnderstande what apperteineth to Iustification That there is no contrarietie betwene S. Paule and S. Iames concerning the doctrine of Iustification and howe they are to be vnderstanded THE X. CHAP. BIcause S. Paule saieth Rom. 4. Iacob 2. Abraham was iustified by faith and not by workes And S. Iames writeth that Abraham was iustified by woorkes and not by Faithe onely some haue thought ther was a contradiction imploied in the wordes of the two Apostles but the holy Ghost who ruled bothe their pennes and is neuer contrary to him selfe meante one thing in them both and by them both vttered one trewth well agreing with it selfe For the plaine declaration whereof it is to be vnderstanded 1 Cor. 4. Aug. in Praefa Psal 31. that our Iustification is compared vnto a perfecte building or vnto a fruitefull tree For as in building there muste be a foundation to beare vp the house and the tree muste haue a roote owte of the whiche the leaues and fruite maie spring and yet it is to no purpose to laie a foundation if a man builde nothing vppon it neither is it inough in a fruitefull tree to haue the roote withowt branches leaues and fruite See the first Chap. of this treatie euen so is there in our Iustification as it were a foundation and roote and a perfecte building and fruit The foundation and roote is Faith whereby we haue accesse to God and be made of wicked rightuouse Rom. 5. Ephes 2. Gala. 5. when I say Faith I meane not Faithe alone but accumpanied with charitie as S. Paule doth The building vppe or fruite of our Iustification is the continuance increase and perfection of iustice whereby such as are once iustified be made more iuste and in the ende perfited in iustice that is to say saued Of al which I haue saied sufficientely before Of the roote and foundation which is the entrie and first degree of Christian iustice S. Paule speaketh Of thincrease and perfection S. Iames. Rom 4. Iaco. 2. Rom. 5. Ephes 2. S. Paule saith we are iustified by Faith declaring what he meaneth by Iustification Habemus accessum per fidem in gratiam istam We haue accesse and comming to this grace throughe Faith. And when he saithe through faithe he meaneth especially through grace and throughe mercie Ephes 2. whereby Faith is geuen Tit. 3. It was not for the workes of iustice that we did but through his mercy he saued vs. All men are borne sinners called when they be sinners by grace called by grace iustified and made of sinners rightuouse Before our Iustification In Praesa Psal 31. S. Augustine his wordes maie be saied to euery one of vs Attenduntur opera tua inuentuntur omnia mala Thy workes are loked on and they be founde all euill Rom 6. If God shoulde rendre vnto these workes that is due he should condemne thee For the wages of sinne is death So was neither Abraham nor any man iustified by workes Workes done vvithout Faithe Neither Abraham nor any other could deserue Iustification by his workes For workes done without Faith and before God geue his grace in some degree deserue not at Gods hand either grace or reward of life euerlasting And thus do wee see in what sense S. Paule saied Abrahā was iustified by faith and not by workes He was first called by mercie and by grace without anie deserte of his woorkes going before The like he saith generally of al men that by grace they are called Rom. 5. Ephes 2. and by faith haue accesse to God and be planted in Christe and so iustified by faith and not by woorkes But here let the Reader take hede that he deceiue not him selfe For as before the grace of God Of vvorks don vvith faith and after God hath geuē his grace 2. Timo. 3. Luc. 1. no man is able to doe any woorke good and profitable towarde the life euerlasting so as many as are called receiued to Gods fauour and iustified be made able and meete to doe all good woorkes And as God calleth al men without iustice and holines So doth he call them to serue him in iustice and holinesse And as he found al men of them selues without good workes so did he suffer Tit. 2. Galat. 5. Ioan. 3. 1. Cor. 3. to cleanse vnto him selfe a people that should folowe good woorkes And suche good woorkes being the fruites of the holie Ghoste woorkes of faith done in God God working in man and man working togeather with God through the bountiful and liberal promise of God are rewarded with increase of grace and iustice here and in the life to come with perfection of iustice that is life euerlasting Apoca. 22 Eccles 18. See the 12 Chapt. of the firste booke Iacob 2. And bicause the Scripture calleth increase of iustice Iustification S. Iames saith Abraham was iustified by workes that is to saie made more iust then he was strengthened and increased in iustice by woorkes In this sense he saith you see that a man is iustified by woorkes and not by faith onely And thus saith S. Paule truely a manne is called to iustice hath accesse to God and is made of wicked righteouse by faith deseruing it not by woorkes And S. Iames as truely saieth A man is iustified by woorkes that is a manne alreadie iuste is by woorkes made more iuste strengthened and increased in iustice Oecom in ca. Iaco. 2 There is faith saith Oecumenius that requireth no workes that goeth before Baptisme And there is faith that must be coupled with good woorkes and that is faith after Baptisme after whiche sense certaine of the Greeke Fathers saieth he vnderstoode S. Paule to speake of faith before Baptisme which bringeth a sinner to Chsist and iustifieth him without respect of any woorkes going before and S. Iames to speake of faith which is in a Christian man after Baptisme
Omnes mali Catholici c. Al euil Catholikes confesse Christ in wordes and deny him in deedes therfore be not ye as men carelesse bicause ye haue faith ioyne good life to right faith And to vnderstand the more plainly what iustice it is to haue faith without good workes let vs take the aduertisement of S. Augustine August de fid et ope cap. 26. Christ said Nisi abundauerit iustitia vestra c. Vnlesse your iustice be more abundant then is the Scribes and Pharisees ye shall not entre into the kingdom of God Iustitia eorum est dicere non facere c. Their iustice is to say and not to do and hereby he would haue our iustice surmount and be more abundant then theirs is both to say and to do If that be not there shal be no entrye into the kingdom of heauen The Phariseis iustice S. Augustine maketh this difference betwene the Pharisee and the good Christian man The Pharisee saith wel and doth it not he beleueth and worketh not the good Christian man doth both If it be true that the Scripture saith faith without workes is deade Iacob 2. August de fid et ope cap. 14. Rom 3. Rom. 11. In the 10. Chaptre Ambro. in cap. 3. ad Rom. Quousque fallūtur qui fide mortua sibi vitam perpetuam pollicentur How longe wil they be deceyued that promise them selues euerlasting life by a faith that is deade But here it may be said we are iustified freely and by grace And if it be by grace then is it not by workes otherwise grace is not grace I answere We are called to faith reconciled planted in Christe and so iustified by grace without respecte of anye woorkes going before as hath bene saied So saith S. Ambrose Iustificati sunt gratis c. Men are iustified freely bicause woorking nothing nor making no recompence they are iustified by faith alone through the gifte of God. He calleth the gifte of God our calling ad comming to faith and our Baptisme which as he saith in an other place Ambro. in cap. 11. ad Rom. August de spirit lit ca. 10. requireth not sighing or moorning or any woorke but onely a profession with the harte In the same sense saieth S. Augustine Per ipsam gratiam iustificatur gratis id est nullis suorum operum precedentibus meritis By grace is a synner iustified freely that is to saye no merites of his owne woorkes going before And note that he termeth his owne workes and workes going before What is to be iustified freely By his owne woorkes he vnderstandeth suche as a man dothe hym selfe without Goddes helpe He calleth suche woorkes going before as a heathen or synnefull man dothe before he hath receyued the grace of God withoute these woorkes Note S. Paule saieth a man is iustified freely and by grace that is to saye called to faith planted in Christe and made of wicked rightuouse But how is the iust man made more iuste and iustified yet for so must he be or els he loseth his iustice How is he saued Verely by grace and yet not without good workes for of them that haue receyued the faith and be iustified it is saied Reddet vnicuique secundùm opera sua Rom. 2. God shal render vnto euery man according to his workes Howe then doth S. Paule saye Gratia Dei vita aeterna Rom. 6. Obiection Ansvvere August de gratia lib. arbit cap. ◠Euerlasting life is the grace of God. Howe may these twoo stande together a man to be saued by grace and yet by good woorkes I answere with S. Augustine They stand well together Lyfe euerlasting is the grace of God and lyfe euerlasting is geuen as a rewarde to good woorkes bicause our good woorkes perteyne to the grace of God that is to say be the grace of God and so being saued by good woorkes we are saued by the grace of God the woordes of S. Augustine be these Aug. epist 105. Ipsa vita aeterna quae vtique in fine sine fine habebitur ideo meritis praecedentibus redditur tamen quia eadem merita quibus redditur non à nobis parata sunt per nostram sufficientiam sed in nobis facta per gratiam etiam ipsa gratia nuncupatur non ob aliud nisi quia gratis datur nec ideo meritis non datur sed quia data sunt ipsa merita quibus datur The very life euerlasting whiche in the ende shal be had without ende and therefore is rendered vnto merites Merites that go before yet bicause the same merites whereunto it is requited were not prepared of vs by our owne habilitie but made in vs by grace euen it selfe is called grace for none other respecte but bicause it is freely geuen And yet it is geuen to merites bicause the very merites them selues Ca. 1. 9 whereunto it is geuen were also geuen The like resolution he hath at large in his booke intituled of grace and free wil. So is it true concerning the entrye and beginning of our Iustification Rom. 3. that we are iustified freely by grace without any woorkes going before for our workes before grace coulde not be good Note Wel And in the continuance and perfyting of iustice whiche is life euerlasting we are also iustified and saued freely by grace and yet not without woorkes bicause our workes be not onely made good by grace but be also them selues the very grace of God. And here let the Reader learne of S. Ambrose and S. Augustine what it is truly to be iustified freely and by grace to the commendation of mercye whiche God geueth not to the derogation of good workes which God also geueth Wherefore if faithe withoute good woorkes can saue no man that hath tyme to doo them The iustification of faith alone as hath benne proued it is no where true as they meane it that faithe alone iustifieth It is not true in the entry of our Iustification and firste comming to Christe that faith alone without hope and charitie iustifieth If it were Iacob 2. Aug. Enchi cap. 8. 1. Cor. 13. then might the Diuel be iustified who beleeueth but neyther hopeth nor loueth then shoulde this Scripture be false If I haue all faithe and haue no charitie I am nothing It is not true in the continuance and increase of our iustice that faith may serue without good workes Math. 7. Ioan. 13. Rom. 2. Math. 25. Rom. 2. for if it mighte then were all the Scriptures false whiche a lytle before I alleaged It shall not be in the perfyting of our iustice and saluation that faith alone may saue for then shoulde it be false that God shall render vnto euerie man according to his woorkes then were the sentence that God shall geeue false wherein he shall saye Matt. 25. Come vnto me you blessed of my Father receyue the kingdome prepared for
touching the questiō of our Iustification Which he decideth thus farr to wit whether faith without good woorkes may saue a Christian man or no. The occasion of S. Augustines Treatie of saith and vvorkes Where vnto he was moued by a corrupte opinion of some menne in his time For whereas whole countries then were not yet fully conuerted to Christe and therefore diuers of al ages as they were brought to the faith came yearly to be christened some were of opinion that as manie as would beleeue the right faith though they liued vngodly yet might be receiued to Baptisme and be saued through faith and the Sacramentes without good workes Against whome he wrote this godly and learned Booke entituled De Fide operibus of faith and woorkes prouing therein at large that faith without good life can saue no manne And bicause the value and estimation of good workes hath been and yet is called in question to wit what accompte God maketh of them and whether any reward be geuen vnto them especially of life euerlasting and whether they be necessarie and able to healpe vs to attaine the same I haue also chosen certaine Arbitrators touching the especial and chiefe workes commended by Christe as Praier Fasting and Almes dedes And those suche men that in their handes thou mayste without daunger put thine opinion and iudgement For Praier I haue chosen S. Chrysostome for Fasting S. Basil and S. Leo for almose deedes S. Cyprian and S. Leo againe The first and second Confessors but so liuing for certaine yeares that they daily looked to be Martyrs The third also a Confessor but such as in his life by a Generall Councell of 630. Bishops was called S. Leo and since his death hath ben so taken of the Churche Concil Chalcedo Sess 3. and hath also for his most excellent learning bene surnamed Leo the Greate The fowrth a flower of the worlde in his life for vertue and learning and in his death a moste constante and vndoubted Martyr S. Cyprian and S. Augustine liued in Africa S. Basil in Asia S. Leo in Europa S. Chrysostome parte of his life in Asia parte in Europa And so by these doo we heare as it were speaking in them the voice of the whole Catholike Church 1. Tim. 3. which is the piller and staie of truthe against the whiche no man well aduised will frame him selfe a singular opinion For vnto the Churche is the holy Ghost the teacher of al trueth promised Ioan. 15. 16. which promise no priuate man hath Their Antiquitie is suche that the latest and lowest of them al liued within 400. yeres after Christe Peruse and way without affection gentle Reader the Treaties of these holy Fathers I might require thee also to stand to their decision bicause there is no exception to be taken against them But that I leaue to Gods gracious working and thine owne good will bicause I take not vppon me to be Iudge of the cause but a motioner toward peace Only this muche I saie of them that whereas Iudges should be voide of hatred freendshippe enmitie and pittie Salust de bel Catil these men are suche For as S. Augustine saieth of them and of others like Nullas nobiscum Aug. contra Iulia. Lib. 2. vel vobiscum amicitias attenderunt vel inimicitias exercuerunt Neque nobis neque vobis irati sunt neque nos neque vos miserati sunt Quod in Ecclesia inuenerunt tenuerunt Quod didicerunt docuerunt quod à patribus acceperunt hoc filijs tradiderunt They neither regarded friendshippe nor were at enmitie with vs or you they were neither angry with vs nor you nor tooke compassion of vs or of you Looke what they founde in the Church that they held suche as they learned they taught what they receiued of their Fathers that deliuered they to their children Take therefore Christen Reader if thou be a childe of the Churche these thy Fathers lessons Aske thy Fathers saieth the holy Scripture and they will shew thee Deut. 32. enquire of thy Elders and they will tell thee These be thy Fathers these be thy Elders These are suche of whom Christe saied he that heareth you heareth me Lucae 10. he that dispiseth you dispiseth me These are the high Pastours of Christes Church of whom Christ saied Matth. 18. he that heareth not the Churche let him be to thee as an Heathen and Publicane These are the lightes of the Church of whom Christe saied You are the light of the worlde Matth. 5. Acto 13. whose predecessours saied also of them selues that they were placed to be a light to Nations to woorke saluation euen to the vttermost of the earth Of whome also an other saied He that knoweth God harkeneth vnto vs. 1. Ioan. 4. He that is not of God harkeneth not vnto vs. In this we trie the Spirite of Truthe and the Sprite of Errour If thou wilt then be lead by Truthe and not seduced by Errour harken to these holy and learned Fathers all Bishoppes and chiefe Pastours in the Churche of Christe in that time and age whiche the Aduersaries them selues accompte for the purest Let these hardely be thy Arbitrers in decision of these present controuersies They lacked no learning to know the Truthe They wanted no vprightnesse to write as they knewe They can not be partiall They knewe neither parties They liued taught and flourished in the time of Truth by the Aduersaries owne Confession To speake farder in the commendation of these most holy and learned Fathers it were but a vanitie There nedeth no candle when the day light shineth Where good wine is there nedeth no garland to hange out These Fathers commends them selues All the Christian worlde reuerenceth them and crediteth them as holy Fathers as most learned Doctours as singular lightes of the Churche of Christe bothe Greke and Latin. To whom this publike testimony of all Christendome suffiseth not to him nothing will suffise Reade therefore Christian Reader Vse and peruse And reading these remember that thou readest not any writer of late yeares any priuate learned man any particular Iudgement or doctrine But that thou readest in these the doctrine of the primitiue Churche Auncient and generally approued Fathers briefely the publike Testimony and common voice of all Christendom And that not certaine of their sayinges culled out from the whole but their whole and full Treaties word for word as they wrote them laied before thee Last of all not any suche writinges as they wrote by waie of controuersy as against an Aduersary but partly a settled and deliberated doctrine such as S. Augustines Treatie is partly Homelies and sermons made and pronounced to the whole people suche as all the rest are in whiche kinde of exercise the Pastour of Goddes people will be most aduised what he speaketh and muche more what he writeth To make an ende Thou hast hitherto hearde learned men prouing and debating matters now in controuersy
sinnes committed by them Tertullian expressing the same custome saith further that they made also a confession of their former sinnes Ingressuros baptismum c. Tertullia De Bapti Suche as wil come to Baptisme must by often petitions fastinges kneelinges and watching and with confession of all their former sinnes vse praier S. Augustine declaring the order of his time saith De fide oper ca. 6. that such as intended to take baptisme certeine daies before gaue their names in writing and were purged and cleansed by abstinence fasting exorcismes forbearing the companie of their laweful wiues And by these doo we vnderstande that suche as were christened being of perfect age were not only instructed in faith but also taught to doo penance to faste to praie to promise that they would liue according to Christ his teaching to feare God to loue him and to hope in him al which thinges were conteined in their instruction and doctrine of Baptisme whereof S. Paule maketh mention Hebr. 6. And being in this wise prepared they receiued that Sacrament and therewith their Iustificacion If any would not professe amendemente of life but continewe in damnable vice or in any vngodlie kinde of liuing beleued they neuer so wel they were not admitted to be christened as S. Augustine saieth Meretrices c. Common harlottes and stage plaiers De fide oper ca. 18 and other what so euer occupiers of common lewde doinges vnlesse they vndoe and breake suche bandes be not suffered to come to the Sacramentes of Christ But this the Reader maie see at large in the booke it selfe of S. Augustine intituled of faith and workes which is translated into englishe and sette furthe herewith The cheefe argumente whereof is to declare that it suffiseth not him that wil be baptised and iustified to beleue vnlesse he haue faith that worketh by charitie and vnlesse his life be agreable to that holy Sacrament Cap. 2◠Cap. 15. Cap 16. For where any of bothe faileth saith he there neither ought nor can any promise be made of life euerlasting And thus haue we seene how they receiued their Iustificacion who came to be christened and iustified when they were of perfecte age That our Iustification and the vertues whereby we receiue it be the giftes of God and come of grace THE IX CHAP. Of Grace BVT as a sinner is brought to the state of iustice by faith through feare of God hope loue penance and the Sacrament of Baptisme so is it trewely to be said and faithfully to be acknowleged that it is the free grace of God that worketh al these vertues in him without the whiche he is not able of him selfe to atteine not only to the state of iustice but not so muche as to right faith and loue of God or any other gifte perteining to his saluation Cùm sine gratia Dei. Concil Arausica Cap. 19. c. For seeing that mannes nature was not able to keepe saluation whiche it receiued without the grace of God how can it be able to repaire that it hath loste without the grace of God As many then as are made members of Christe by the Sacrament of Baptisme or falling afterward be restored by penance are moued and stirred therevnto not by their owne desertes but by the free mercie and grace of God whose gifte both trew penance and also Iustification is And therefore although it be said to sinners Acto 2. Zacha. 1. Exposi Episto ad Ro. incho Agite poenitentiam doo penance And Conuertimini ad me Turne yee to me Yet as S. Augustine saith Poenitentiae meritum gratia praecedit quòd neminem peccati sui paeniteret nisi admonitione aliqua vocationis Dei. Grace goeth before the merite of penance For no man would repent him of his sinne were it not by some admonition of Gods calling The wastefull sonne said Surgam ibo ad patrem meum I will rise and go to my Father Aug. Epistola 106. Quam cogitationem bonam quando haberet nisi ipsam illi in occulto pater misericordissimus inspirasset Whiche good thought when should he haue had vnlesse his most merciful Father had inspired it into him As many as sinne seuer them selues and straie from God and sure we are it can not be false that trewth said Nemo venit ad me nisi fuerit ei datum à patre meo Ioan. 6. no man cōmeth to me vnlesse it be geuē him of my Father What thing so euer man thinketh heareth or seeth whereby he is moued to good that motion commeth of God. Visorum suasionibus agit Deus God worketh in vs De spiri Lit. Cap 34. 2. Cor. 3. saith S. Austine by persuasion of suche thinges as we see not only to will but also to beleue he worketh it either outwardely by exhortacions of the gospel or inwardly For that no man can chuse what shal come into his mind The Churches sound doctrine of Gods grace De spirit Lit. Cap. 7. but it is in his owne wil to consent or disagree Without this helpe of grace no man is able so much as to thinke any thing that maie please God. As this commendacion of grace is plainely sette forth in the Scriptures so hath it ben in all ages faithfully tought by the Church Bicause as S. Augustine saith Hac cogitatio sancta c. This holy thinking keepeth the children of men vnder the defence of Goddes winges this thought bringeth no pride The Church commendeth good workes but it setteth grace before them Concil Arausi cap. 8. saying Debetur merces c. Rewarde is due to good workes if they be done but grace that is not due goeth before that they maie be done It teacheth that mannes Iustificacion is the effecte of grace Per ipsam gratiam iustificatur De spiri et lit c. 10. c. By grace man is iustified freely that is to saie no merites of his workes going before Otherwise grace is not grace It teacheth that no man dothe good workes before he haue receiued grace thereby to deserue Gods grace but that God geueth his grace first whereby man doth good workes afterwarde whiche thing S. Augustine declareth by two apte similitudes Non vt ferueat Li. 1. ad Simplicia Quaest. 2. calefacit ignis The fier doth not heate to be made hote it selfe but bicause it is hote Neither doth the whele runne well thereby to be made rounde but bicause it is rounde Euen so no man worketh well that he maie thereby receiue grace but bicause he hath receiued it For how can he liue iustely that is not iustified but grace doth iustifie that a iustified man maie liue iustely And further to shewe how necessary Gods helpe and grace is to euerie man and at all times the Church teacheth that God doth not giue his grace onely once and then leaue man to him selfe Aug. Epistola 106. de Cōcil Palest but assisteth
thinketh he is able to atteyne vnto it of him selfe albeit he neuer reacheth thereunto August in praesation Psal 31. and loseth the hope of al his trauayle bicause he presumeth of him selfe and God condemneth euen that presumption yet hath he a desire to lyue wel and a care to doe good workes But who so is persuaded that faith onely suffiseth to obteyne both Iustification and saluation let him be well ware leste he falle into the goulfe and saye Aug. ibid. Faciam ergo quicquid volo I will doo then what I liste for though I haue no good woorkes and doe no more but beleeue in God my faith shall be reputed to me for iustice If he haue so saied and determined with him selfe he is fallen in and drowned If he be yet but thinking thereof and wauering he is in daunger Further if it be true that the Philosopher saieth Aristote Ethic. lib. 2. cap. 8. that of twoo vices contrarie to one vertue the more daungerouse and greater vice is that whereunto menne are more geuen We doubte not but the greater number of men is rather prone and contente of them selues to beleue only and put the reste in Gods mercie then desirous to leade a seuere and strayte life and payne them selues with good workes Which thing the diuel wel knowing hath in sundry ages gone about to put this opinion in the heades of such as he could abuse Ca. 12. as I shal shewe hereafter Wherefore to auoide this goulfe whiche is most perillouse I wil declare that faith alone suffiseth not in any sorte of true vnderstanding to our Iustification or saluation That is to say that faith alone is neither able to iustifie and bring to the state of iustice him that is a sinner nor alone able to keepe and increase our Iustification when it is gotten nor able alone to bring him that is iustified to the perfection of iustice in life euerlasting In which three degrees consisteth the absolute and perfecte Iustification of man In the first Chap. as I haue shewed before VVhence the opinion came that onely faith iustifieth and of diuers kindes of mainteyning the same THE II. CHAPTER August de gratia liber arbit c. 7. Rom. 3. Gal. 3. THE opinion that moued some menne to thinke onely faith sufficiente to saluation tooke his firste grounde of misconstruing the wordes of S. Paule Homines enim non intelligentes c. For men saieth S. Augustine not vnderstanding these wordes of the Apostle we thinke a man is iustified by faith without workes of the law thought he said that it is sufficient for a man to haue faith although he liue yll and doe no good workes But God forbid the chosen vessel should be of that opinion And vppon this and other places of Scripture Aug. in praefat Psa 31. de fid oper c. 14. whiche also they misconstrued they perswaded them selues that a Christian man needed not to doe any good woorkes for that he might be saued by faith though he liued vngodlie Others when they sawe the Scriptures so euidently commending good workes Caluin in instit ca. de iustific ca. 10. Brent in confess VVirtēber de bonis operibus and setting foorth the necessitie of doing them being ashamed to mainteine that they were nedelesse to be done haue saied that men must liue godly to testifie and declare their faith but yet that their good woorkes deserue no rewarde of lyfe euerlasting neither can stand in the iudgement of God. And to minse this matter more finely some haue yet gone further And whereas the Catholike Churche folowing the manifest Srciptures hath euer taught that a sinner is iustified through the merite of Christ and his Sacramentes by faith hope charitie and penance they haue taught that he is iustified by faith only and although they graunt that he must haue both hope and charitie that shal be iustified yet is it faith onely saie they that striketh the stroke in the acte of Iustification hope and charitie standing by as lookers on but working nothing Into these three kindes of dangerous errours men haue fallen by teaching and beleeuing the Iustification of faith alone not onely barring the necessitie of doinge good woorkes and penance but also abasing the worthines of hope and charity and th'estimation and dignitie of Christ his Sacramentes Against the first opinion S. Augustine both preached and disputed in sundrie places of his learned woorkes and namely wrote his booke of faith and woorkes against the same which thou hast here gentle Reader together with this Treatie translated vnto thee Concerning the seconde which the Authors would faine haue appeare different from the firste and yet in effecte seemeth all one In the 2. Chapt of the firste booke I haue saied somewhat before and plainely proued that good woorkes doe not onely keepe and increase our iustice here but shal be rewarded also in the ende with life euerlasting whereof I shall saie more hereafter In the. 13. Chapter To the thirde opinion I shall nowe answere and euidently shew that it is not faith alone that worketh th'acte of our Iustification but that hope charitie and the Sacramentes haue their partes in working it also And by this shall the Reader perceiue that after their meaning it can in no wise be truely said that faith alone iustifieth And here must I aduertise the Reader that this thirde opinion is newe and lately come out of the forge neuer heard of to my knowledge before these our daies For as there hath ben in sundrie ages carnal men which thought them selues August de fid oper c. 27 and went about to perswade others that faith and the Sacramentes of Christ might saue a man without good workes so haue I not read of any that plainely said faith without hope charitie and the Sacraments of Christ can iustifie a man. And therfore as diuers or rather al the auncient Fathers haue in some places of their woorkes gone about to pul the one opinion out of mennes heades so do I not finde that they make any mention of th' other and much lesse that any one of them before this our age hath affirmed it to be true That Faith excludeth not Charitie in our Iustification that is to saie Faith alone iustifieth no man without the helpe and woorking of Charitie THE III. CHAPTER AND nowe to beginne with the moste excellente vertue that is in a Christian man Of Charitie Faith alone iustifieth no man without the helpe and working of charitie It hath ben declared before In the. 4. Chapter that our Iustification in Christe is but the restoring of that whiche was lost by Adam And as Adam sinned not onely by lacke of faith but rather and much more by lacke of good wil and right loue so is not a man once fallen restored againe by recouering onely righte faith vnlesse he recouer also righte loue The sinne of Adam was chiefely a peruerse desire
you And he will shewe the cause Chrysosto Hom. 41. in Gene. August Serm. 49. de verb. Dom. for that they haue done the woorkes of mercie there rehearsed But bycause neither all these Scriptures nor anye one syllable of them can be false therefore it is false that fayth alone iustifieth meaning by fayth alone to shutte out eyther hope charitie penaunce the holye Sacramentes or vertuouse life and good workes from our perfyte Iustification VVhat they were who in sundrye ages haue taught that men should be saued without good workes THE XII CHAPTER IF nothing els could make vs think that godly life were nâ—cessarily required in a Christian man and workes of faith a greate and singular helpe to the atteyning of our saluation the diligente practise of the Diuel were sufficiente to make vs beleue it who beside his particular trauayle and persuasion whiche he vseth seuerally with euery man to turne him from wel doing hath also in sundry ages moued such as by his sleyghtes he coulde abuse to teach and openly persuade in derogation of good workes that the same were not auayleable August de fid ope cap. 14. De praedestin SaÌ„ct cap. 7. Euseb Eccles histo lib. 2. ca. 1 cap. 13. Theodore here fabis compen lib. 1. Iren li. 1. cap. 20. or not necessary for a Christian mannes saluation When S. Paule was most diligent to sowe the good feede teaching the right faith of true Iustification the Diuel was as busie to intermengle his cockle and darnel emong it making men that vnderstode not S. Paule beleue that he sayde it was sufficiente for a man to haue faith though he lyued yll and dyd no good woorkes Symon Magus who was taken for a God taught his followers to care litle for the Prophetes nor to feare the threatninges of the lawe but bad them like free men to doo what them lysted for they shoulde atteyne saluation not by good doing but by grace Whereupon suche as were of his secte boldelye gaue them selues to all luste and intemperate life Carpocrates saied men should be saued by faith and loue Theodo ib. Iren. li. 1. cap. 24. as for all other thinges they were of them selues indifferent and by opinion of men sometyme were taken for good sometyme for yl but nothing was naturally euill Valentinus and his scholers say Theod. vbi suprà Iren. li. 1. cap 1. they neede no works for that knowlege may suffice to saluation and therefore such as be emong them moste perfite without all care and feare doo what so euer is by Gods lawe forbidden It is saied of Eunomius August de here ad Quodvult De. ca. 54 that he was so farre an enemy to good conuersation that he plainely auouched no man shoulde take hurte by any sinne what soeuer he commmitted or continued in so that he were partaker of the faith that he taught Euen in S. Augustines tyme th' enemy of good life persuaded carnal and dissolute men to think Note August de fid ope cap. 1. cap. 27. that liued they neuer so il continuing in great sinne and not so much as professing amendement yet if they beleued in Christe and receiued his Sacramentes they should be saued But as the serpente in all these tymes wente aboute by his craftie to seduce whome he coulde 2. Cor. 11. Ioan. 17.18 so did not the holy Ghoste withdrawe his care and helpe from the Churche mouing at the first S. Peter S. Iames and S. Iohn to redresse by their Epistles the errour which vnstable heades had falsely gathered of S. Paules true preaching and afterwarde inspiring the learned Bisshoppes of euerye age to note and condemne the heretiques aboue named moued also S. Augustine againste the corrupte opinion of sundry in his age to write this learned Booke Of faith and woorkes whiche is delyuered thee herewith to put thee in remembraÌ„ce of the enemies craftes and sleightes For as by enuye of hym deathe came into the woorlde Rom. 5. so by the same enuye to turne Christian men from life euerlasting Ephes 2. he hath gone aboute in sundrye ages and yet doth to pul from them good workes which God hath prepared for vs to walke in His desyer is specially to take from vs faith and the professing of Christe but bicause he dareth not attempte that by playne and open meanes Leo. ser 4 de collect Sciens Deum non solùm verbis c. Knowing that God is denyed not onely by woordes but also by deedes he hath taken charitie from many men from whom he could not take awaye faith Note He vnderstandeth to well that as charitie is the life and strength of faith so pulling awaye the one he shal be able either to drawe the other after or els to make it deade and vnprofitable to him that keepeth it Which if he may obteyne and make vs beleue that faith alone iustifieth taking away hope charitie penance and the vertue of Christes Sacramentes from woorking our Iustification and good workes from helping our saluation what doth he els but bring the Gospel which S. Paule calleth the stronge and mightie power of God Rom. 1. to a naked and bare name Therefore seing we knowe his slyghtes and haue learned them not only by report of other ages 2. Cor. 2. but also by the lamentable experience of our owne let vs to resiste him put on al the whole armor of God Ephes 6. 1. Thess 5. that we may be able to stand against him that lyeth in wayt for vs. Let vs not only take in hande for our defence the buckler of faith but also to saue the whole body put on the lacke of faith and charitie and take for an helmet hope of saluation not leauing of the breaste plate of iustice Ephes 6. nor the gyrdle of truth For he that goeth to that fraye hauing but a buckler maye take a deadely wounde for lacke of a helmet or breast plate and if he so doe he may be founde giltie of his owne death bicause he was warned to arme him selfe in all partes and to put on a complete harnesse The cause whye good woorkes are donne and that they are rewarded in this life with increase of grace and in the worlde to come with life euerlasting And why they be so rewarded THE XIII CHAPTER AS I haue shewed that good workes must necessarily be done of such as wil be saued so wil I now declare for what ende they should be done and what fruite and profite they bring to the doers Vt curent bonis operibus praeesse qui credunt Deo. Tit. 3. To the intent that suche as beleue God may haue a care to be chiefe doers of good woorkes The holie Ghost saith of them Haec sunt bona vtilia hominibus They be good and profitable for men Tit. 3. If we aske to what ende he saith Pietas ad omnia vtilis est 1. Tim. 4. promissionem habens
perfecto magistro reuelatam fideliter custodimus vt ab incontemptibili dispensatore mandatam We alone be the innocente lyuers what maruayle if it muste needes be so In deede it muste of force be so We that haue learned of God innocencie and good life bothe knowe it perfectely bycause it is reueled by a perfyte Maister and we keepe it faithfully bicause it is commaunded by an officer that maye not be despised Take this lesson Christian Reader learne of Christ for thy Iustification not onely to beleeue but also to lyue godly and vertuously whiche lesson as thou seeste they kepte whom thou canst not but commende and so shalte thou be like them whome thou doeste rightely commende Thou knowest by that which hath benne saied before in the twelth chaptre of this second Booke what a false and dissolute doctrine concerning Iustification is able to doo When Simon Magus Carpocrates and Valentinus had taught that menne might be saued by grace fayth and knowledge without good woorkes they re scholers gaue them selues to luste and licentiouse lyfe To auoyd that mischiefe beleue assuredly this godly and learned saying Non dormiētibus prouenit regnum coelorum Leo. ser 2. in Epipha ser 5. ibid. sed in mandatis Dei laborantibus atque vigilantibus vt si dona illius irrita nō fecerimus per ea quae dedit mereamur accipere quod promisit The kingdome of heauen commeth not to sleapers but to such as labour in Gods commandementes and watche to th' ende that if we make not his giftes ydle and voide by such thinges as he hath geuen we may deserue to receiue that which he hath promised The right and assured way to come to this fruite of Iustification Miche 6. is to followe the counsel of the Prophete To do iustice to loue mercie to walke carefully in Gods sight Circūspiciat se omnis anima Christiana Leo. ser 1. de Qua. drag Let euery Christiā soule saith S. Leo looke about it selfe and by straite examination discusse the inwarde thoughtes of her harte let it see that no debate cleaue there that no couetousnes settle let chastitie driue away incontinencie let the light of truth driue away the darckenesse of lying c. Let pride asswage let humilitie be taken in let anger amende let vengeance cease and wronges be forgotten Aug. Ser. 15. de ver Apost The like counsel geueth S. Augustine Proficite fratres mei c. Increase my bretherne serche your selues euer without guyle and flattery Especially folow one shorte rule which he maketh for euery man Augustin Tract 6. in epistol Ioan. saying Interroga cor tuum si est ibi dilectio fratris Examine thy harte whether the loue of thy brother be there Si inueneris te habere charitatem habes spiritū Dei. If thou finde that thou haste charitie thou haste the spirite of God And then if his spirite that raysed Iesus from the deade dwell in you Rom 8. he that raysed Iesus from the deade will also geue life to your mortall bodies And thus do we see that the way to examine and trie our selues and thereby to iudge of our Iustification is not only to serche whether we haue faith but also whether we loue 2. Cor. 7. and liue godly Perficientes sanctificationem in timore Dei. Doing holinesse in the feare of God. The Conclusion and ende of the VVoorke THVS haue I nowe by Gods helpe finished the second parte of this Treatie wherein mine intente hath ben to aduertise the Christian Reader See the Preface how to eschewe the second great or rather most dangerouse fal on the lefte hande whiche S. Augustine willeth all that teache or speake of Iustification to beware of Aug. in praefat Psal 31. The perill is for men to presume only of Goddes mercie dooing nothing them selues towarde their owne saluation whiche opinion he saieth if any man folowe leadeth him vndoubtedly to euerlasting ruine of sowle and bodie And bicause the onely or readiest meane to leade a man to that fall is to thinke that faith alone may suffise to iustifie and saue vs I haue at good length prooued that faith alone is not inough to bring a sinner from sinnefull estate to Gods fauour nor of wicked to make him righteouse without the woorking and helpe of hope charitie penance and the Sacramentes of Christ wherein I haue ben the longer bicause this opinion is lately crepte into the worlde and nowe spred farre and wide For albeit in times past some thought they might be saued without good woorkes yet did they not saie they might be saued without the Sacramentes De fide oper c. 27 As by this booke of S. Augustine thou maiest see And so all be it they waded deepe inough to drowne them selues yet wente they not so farre into the bottomelesse goulfe as sundrie haue done in this our age who saie that nothing woorketh in the acte of our Iustification but onely faith And therevppon haue brought in this proposition and made it a common speache emong them selues and theirs Faith alone iustifieth excluding therby from the acte of our Iustification not onely hope charitie and penance but also the very Sacramentes For if faith alone iustifie a sinner and make him of wicked rightuouse then is there none of these requisite or necessary for that effecte whiche neuer anie aunciente man learned that I haue seene didde maineteine I haue further declared that faith alone can continue no man in the state of grace muche lesse increase him in iustice and least of all bring him to the ende and perfectiō of iustice in life euerlasting without the helpe of good woorkes And so is the opinion of Iustification by onely faith in trueth and deede disprooued and founde vntrue in no sense maintenable as they take it I saie as they take it For although certaine aunciente Fathers sometime vsed these woordes Faith alone iustifieth yet doe they not meane thereby as these doe to exclude any of the vertues afore named or Sacramentes as I haue plainely shewed In the .18 Chapt. of this secōd booke I haue according to my promise in this whole Treatie affirmed nothing of my selfe that whiche I haue saied I haue prooued by euidente Scriptures folowing euery where the interpretation of suche as God hath placed in his Churche Ephes 4. to be Pastours and Doctours to the perfiting of the holie and to the building vp of Christes body which is his Churche The labour hath ben bestowed to the ende that the godly man whiche is the Christian man might be perfite and sownde 2. Timo. 3. readie and instructed to all good woorkes Whiche God graunte thee and mee with thee good Reader Once the beste exhortation and righte encouragemente to doe good workes See the .23 chapter is truely to thinke and beleeue that no man hauing time and opportunitie to doe them shal be saued without them Thus endeth the Seconde Booke of this