be frely iuâ—tified by your workes of penaunce baptisme c. both here and also in your boke of necessary enstruccions which is a lyke speche as to haue a dynner geuen me frely for my mony If ye can set these two contradictories togither in figure frely and the same for mony and frely for works so are ye he that can blow forth oute of the same mouth both hotte cold at once with one breathe But yet here is but a derke and a slyber shift that ye make to set frely and merits togither It is but an obscure ridle ye adde nedeth another oedipus to expoune it ye meane some falsehead in this pese to settle youre croked confuse condicion I can not wel tell wher ne vpon what vnstiethey stole ye say which I call the condicion my grammer master when he gaue me englysh to be made in latin and came to the relatiue whyche he wolde euer aske me whyche what because of the concorde with his antecedent And here it is necessary I aske you y e same which what call ye the condicion Before ye called the workes of the law with your penaunce baptisme and the fulâ—illyng of all gods wyll and pleasures the condicion in the lxix lefe folowing ye call oure worthynes youre condition And here goo before your relatiue whiche many antecedents oâ— whiche one is a fredome whiche I canne not tell whether ye take it for the fredome in iustifycacion wherein the spirite of libertie thorowe faithe into Christe maketh vs free from sinne or for yours and pelagians free choice and consent when grace is offred you either to receiue it or to refuse it as ye wryt in your enstruccion boke and agene in this boke iÌ„ your .lxviii. lefe which is euen playn pelagians herelye yet be there mo antecedents nierer your relatiue as the workinge in order and the orde it self the obseruing of the workinge in order here is a shrewd perplexe pese of work to settle your croked combrose condicion with frely It is hard here to knowe which is your condicion Here haue ye shapt oute shiftes enoughe and digged ye vp many but yet all to narowe and to straight sterting holes The blynd slymey snaile yet for fear of to harde and hurtfull resistence pretentat cornibus uiam gageth the way before with hir leithey hornes The fredome ye say is geuen vs frely in christ ergo we deserue it not by obseruing the order ye speake of so derkly Place once your confuse condicion vpon some certain seate and if ye be not afraied ne ashamed of your doctrine call youre condicion by one or other certain proper name It is a token that ye feare your part as false and naught that ye dare not speake in plaine wordes plainly and tell vs what thing here ye cal youre condicion ye say which I cal y e condicâ—on as for yours so callinge ye be but a maÌ„ euery maÌ„ is a lyer nether will I accepte your wordis in this cause for truth excepte ye confirme them with scripture or arguments grounded therof no man is bounde to beleue your condicion seinge ye dare not openly expresse it ne cannot proue it by scriptures to be the cause of your effecte you call it so but tell vs where the scripture so calleth it ye shulde haue added plainly with Paul speakinge thus Frely be we iustifyed by grace thorowe y e redeÌ„pcion by Iesu Christe by faith in his bloude not as ye falsely saye frely by workes of penance Ioye depraueth gods preachings so abhominably detestably as euen in this place God suffereth him to wryte so vndiscretly of him as hathe not ben lykly sene or herd For not beinge content to allege Christes wordis in a sence of his owne imaginacion he vttereth it thus christ so said or rather so thought c. Here ye rage here ye exaggerate and heap vpon me a thousand blasphemies for saing y e trwthe That chryst thought as he said as he expresâ—ed his thought by his worde The phariseis yonge scoler came to him to know by what dedis doinge as ye teache he might come to heuen For thei teache men to come thither by their free chose and liberty to do the works of the lawe their scoler not yet knowinge his owne weakenes to do it ne thimpossibilite of the lawe to his free libertie For the yssew and ende of this story is to declare man to haue no fre libertie of himself to fulfill the lawe and also thimpossibilite therof to man as Christe declareth it vnto this maÌ„ thus drowned and deceiued with y e phariseis false doctryne Christ reciteth certain precepts whiche all saide the scoler he had kepte frome his youth He hadde kepte them aftir the phariseis fashion and yours concerning the outward iustice and letter of the law but not as christe had expouned it of mens affectes to be repressed When he sawe the arrogante boldenes of this yonge pharisei he thought by a nother precept to bring him into the knowledge of his owne weaknes and how lytle fre libertye he had to do gods commaundemeÌ„ts and how muche free libertie and of your bonde choice to euil and to not do as Christ willeth vs to do and againe how impossible it is to man to to do that god commaundeth him herof commaunded him that thinge which as it laye not in his fre libertie to do it so was it impossible for hiÌ„ to fulfill it as christ expressinge his owne former thought saith Soner shal the camel go thorow the nedles eye then the rich enter into the kyngdome of heauen addynge That as is iÌ„possible to maÌ„ is possible to god Nowe howe saye ye Dyd not christ thinke to commaunde that rich man a thinge impossible when he said If thou wilt be perfit goo and sell all thou haste and geue it to the pore coÌ„e folow me If ye say he thought it not so make ye him a dissembler to saye one and to thinke another What so euer he then commaunded him he thought the same but he coÌ„maunded him a thinge impossible Ergo he thought the same y e minor is Christes wordes solue the argument if ye can Whiles I tel you yet mo of Christes thoughtes when he saide he came not to cal iust men but sinners to repentaunce he thoughte not to call such obstinate arrogante pharisais that wolde be iustified by their condicion so full of good workes as is yours Also when god said let their owne table be turned into their owne snare thoughte he not to halter you with youre owne pleasaunt policie whereby ye thinke to banyssh and to suppresse his gospelâ— ye alledge the scriptures for youre false doctrine and ye be haltered and confounded with your owne textes ye make bokes thinking by the same to extinguish the verite and to confound vs and se ye not therby the truth the wyder to be spred and the mo to knowe it into your owne
doctor And as for me I haue not ne desyre I any other waye as euery reader may see it to confute your falsely alledged falselyer expowned autorites then by the circumstance conference of y ◠context by lyke places nether can I ne will I vse any other weapen to confute your false bokis And as for the speche of onely faith iustifieth the scripture hath it not And yet hath it ben spoken by some lerned men to exclude the workes of moses lawe Albeit the scrpture hath it not in the same syllables yet it hath the very self same sence as I shall so manifestly shewe it and proue it that ye shall not be able to auoyde it For christ saith as it is written bothe in Luke and Marke Only beleue and thy doughter is safe nothinge els requiring of the man for the restoring of his daughter but faith onely into him In a nother place he sayde If thou canst beleue I can helpe the all thinges be possible to him that cā beleue here is nothing els required then faithe of the man for driuinge out that euil spirite of his sonne In all other his saluacions and helpe hearing and grauntinge their peticions christ required onely their saith into him as all the story of the gospell testifieth Now commeth Paul as the most faithfull treater and expouner of the lawe and gospel whiche diuideth the hole scriptures and the ministracion of the preachers apostles of christ into y e preaching of y e law and of the gospel And here he proueth the state and cōdiciō of euery man ether to be vnder the lawe or vnder the grace of the gospell wherof he deduceth two maner of rightwysmakinge or rightwysenesses one rightwysnes of the lawe and the tother of the faithe of the gospell excluding with expres wordis mightely and clerely the rightwisnes of the lawe from the iustificacion by faithe as one contrary to the tother affirminge constantly and often That we be siewer and certain man to not be iustifyed by y e workis of the lawe which iustificacion he euery where calleth the rightwisnes of the lawe but by faith And we conclude man to be iustifyed by faith without the workes of the lawe And clerely to exclude al the workis rightwysnes of the lawe that the onely rightwisnes of faith might stand clerely in sight he saith men be iustified frely thorow grace by faith Now ye see That ther be but two thingis in controuersy one contrary to the tother to iustifye that is to saye the workis of the lawe the gifit of faithe But Paul constantly excludeth y e works of the lawe and admitteth and affirmeth onely faith to iustifye For nothing els then faith is annexed and ioyned to this iustificacion wherfore it is must nedis folowe only faith to iustifye in the iustificacion of fayth Also man is not iustified by any thīg els then by faith ergo only faith iustifieth man seeth not with any sence els then only with his eyes ergo his eyes onelye see What beast is so brutishe as to denye or cauill agenst these so plaine speaches Of these Paules argumentes christes wordes all the olde holy doctours gathered this ferme conclusiō Only faith iustifieth which you ne anye els can iustly impugne ye haue hitherto therfore shet out al your shaftes at a wronge marke which yet could not see ne euer hit the truth ne vnderstād what Paule meaneth by the contrary position of these his wont words Iustitia fidei iustitia legis iustitia ex fide iustitia ex lege iustitia pro pria iustitia dei w t such like phrases often he saith by faithe man is iustified but neuer by charite ne in any place of the scripture is it writē And yet you of a set proposed malice conceiued agenste the veritie contende thus arrogantly to impugne y e truth and all to shew your wily witte and high lerning in perswading blasphemies to foles leste ye shulde lese the false opinion and vaine estemacion whiche the vnlerned haue conceiued vpon you ye saye some learned men haue so spoken it as onely faith iustifieth And be ye so highly learned in your own conseit y t ye be ashamed or let scorne to speke y e same but thus arrogantly vnlearnedly to impugne such learned mens sainges ye saye they sayd it to exclude Moses lawe And I tel ye that Paul also therfore said it euē to exclude Moses law frō the act of iustificacion And why wil not you say the same also with the same lerned men to exclude the same lawe of Moses ar ye so wyse as to varye and agen say these lerned mē what other law wold ye exclude then moses lawe Be not the .x. preceptis conteined in Moyses lawe which I haue constantly proued by the scriptures bothe here and in my former boke that Paule and Peter vnderstode and proued it playnly euen by the workis of the lawe the .x. commandements whiche ye call the moralls to be excluded from faith in the acte of iustificacion as in nowyse to to be concurrant into that effecte Which ye cannot auoid ne solute w t all the learninge ye haue And for the texte ye bringe in of Paule Neque circumcisio c. maketh directelye againste you as I haue playnely declared it afore And he that hathe not charitie is nothinge And why because he hath not faythe into Christe which is the lyfe of the iuste and rote of charitie Then this is your argument He that hath charitie is somewhat ergo charitie iustifieth your argument is naught Nether yet this God makethe his promise to them y e loue as well as to thē that beleue ergo charitie iustifiethe this is naught also A lyke argumēt God maketh his promise to him that worketh writeth honoureth his parentes is paciente ergo workes writinge c. iustifye these argumentes be worthei the wisedom of him whō god hath blyndned and made folish his wisedom snarled in his owne wily craftines Ioan sayeth he that loueth not god knoweth not god And why because he hath not faithe into christe whereby he shulde know god the father in christ So that without loue I cannot frutefully beleue no not the beleue of knowelege c. ergo loue iustifieth Loue is not the cause of beleif in christ but the beleif into christ is the cause of loue ye must I tel you leaue your iugglynge cast with your truncate absolute beleue and lyke a christen beleuer put to christe in your beleif or elles the deuyll and the turke beleue without loue with the beleife of your knowledge with an historike faith ye say ye cānot beleue frutefully w tout loue I beleue ye wel y t nother w t your loue ne without it cā ye beleue in christ But I and all other faithfull to whome god geueth his gifte of faith in Iesu christ we cā beleue in him
in your preface as excusing your selfe of doctor Barnis death that he was not burnt for the article of onely faith iustifieth How ye handled doctor Barnes your scoler better learned than his maister I can not tell But this wel I wote by your owne wordes in youre preface that anon after the maister and scoler coulde not agre vpon this article of our faithe his maister had openly forgeuen him the scoler was sent into the tower and in conclusioÌ„ brent in smithfelde Howe smothely soeuer ye haue here firste of all for your defence painted your excuse in wasshinge your handes with pilate yet by your owne wordes the contention in this matter of faith was onely betwixt you and him onelye you he troubled onely you he offended onely you he openly to vse your termes encombred with shamefacenes only you complayned of hym so greuously to the kynges maiestie And who compelled him to recante openly I can not tell Onelye you accuse him of heresy in your boke ye might saye perchaunce with the olde holy spirituall pharisais and byshops Nobis non licet interficere quemquam It is not lawfull for vs to kyll anye man And so after ye haue accused condemned pore christ deliuer him vp into the seclar handes to do execucion because so holy bishops wold not pollute their sacred anointed fingers with innocent bloud But this is plaine openly he asked you forgeuenes at saint Maries spittel where ye gaue it him in an outward signe but whether in herte god knowethe it And he stondinge at the stake asked the shryue the cause of his death and he saide he knew it not And theÌ„ last of al doctor Barnes as one suspectiÌ„g only you sayd these wordes If doctour Steuen bishop of Winchester be the causer of my deathe oure lorde my god for christes sake forgeue it him as I wolde my selfe be forgeuen And besides all these euidences the comon fame can not be stylled But this so waighty a cause in a bisshop that shulde be an ediâ—ier and no destroier a feder a nourisher to minister life and not a bloudsouper I leaue it to the iudgemente of God when doctor Barnis and you shall both shortely stande before the iudgement seat of Christe It is of lyke truth that ye affirme of me that I shuld by these articles proue that workes must iustifye I neuer went about to proue that how so euer it liketh you to reporte of me I neuer wrote so I neuer preached so I neuer affirmed so ne enterprised to teache Barnes so This is my iust reporte of you in my former booke gathered of youre articles That ye wolde proue that workes must iustifye that is with our workes we must merite the remission of our sinnnes whiche whither it be of lyke truthe with my former saienges your owne wordes w tin .viii. lynes folowynge declare it sayenge Ye wolde not be afrayde to vse that speache that with our workes we must merite the remission of oure sinnes if I and other had not diffamed y e word merite And in the next leafe ye saye we with the grace of god doing the workes of penauÌ„ce taste and fele the passion of Chryste Whiche taste and felynge commeth by doinge the workes of penaunce Which what els is it then by doing the workes of penaunce to deserue the taste of christes passion felynge therby y e remission of our sinnes For to tast fele christes passioÌ„ is to tast and fele certainly oure remission of synnes as Ihon declareth it by the eatinge of his fleshe and drinkinge of his bloude by our faith therof the iustified to lyue And if by doing the workes of penaunce as ye teache we deserue this taste and felynge so deserue we by your penaunce doing our iustificacion And eueÌ„ by and by ye confirme this your false doctrine of meritinge sayenge That good men haue called it meritinge to vse the benefites of Christes passion Whiche your iuglynge I shall disclose when I come to the place And in the laste lyne of the same syde ye saye And sinners be called to grace to do the workes of penaunce wherby to recouer y t fauour of god with remission and forgeuenes of their sinnes And in the next lefe ye saye So as Christ merited and deserued thorowly we by participation in vsinge his giftes merit and deserue And saye ye not that they that wyll enioye the remission of their synnes muste fulfill your condicion which condicion ye declare to be stuffed ful of all your owne good workes callynge them Winchesters workes Turne to your .xlix. lefe folowinge and ye shall see it true that I saye What els do ye seme to proue but by workes to merit our iustificacioÌ„ And yet is your doctrine so intricate perplexe and repugnant that in many places ye fight against your selfe to seeke oute youre shiftes to make youre popish parte to seme true to foles that haue neither learninge ne iudgemeÌ„t What els didde I confute with the manifeste scriptures against you then youre meritinge by workes youre remission you euer sweatinge youre feble defence with pelagians papistry as it shall appeare hereafter And therfore neuer denye it for shame that ye euer went about to proue it or to write it or to preache and teache it Ye haue gone about it in deade for ye neuer coulde hit it with all the shaftes ye haue shotte It is greate shame for one that wolde be sene so highly learned and a byshop to so sone to eate his owne wordes deny his owne hand writing wheÌ„ he seeth his part naught and so false that he is not able by scriptures to defende it I wolde not be aferde to vse this spech with our workes we muste merite the remission of our sinnes had not you and other to the worlde diffamed and sclaundered the worde merite It is in dede a sclaunder not of vs geuen but of you superciliouse pharisais receiued who for youre concupiscence of the flesh of your eyes and for your pryde be the very worlde in deede as Ihon painteth your romysshe court For a receiued sclaunder is when a thinge wel done or saide is sinistrely of malice euell taken as Mathew describeth it But as touchinge the churche of Christ takinge it I tell you againe as Elyas tolde kinge Achab. It is you and your fathers house of rome for that ye haue forsaken the lordes preceptes be gonne after Baalim folowing your fathers false doctrine Pelagiane whiche haue diffamed the very onely trewe merites of christes passion with your owne stinkiÌ„g merites of your sinful workes therby to deserue remission of youre sinnes Which ye so laden with mo merites then ye nede of in youre superfluouse supererogations that ye sel so dere your owne ouerplus merites your misses fat fastinges myndles prayers vnwylfull watchinges c. Your holy father Paul .iii. of Rome hath yet in store nede be his churches treasure an infinite chistefull
sinnes ▪ which is our iustificacion And yet ye saye before ye neuer went about to proue it ' that workes must iustyfye And yet in so sayeng as workes of penaunce to rekouer grace and remission ye bothe wolde proue it and also make grace no grace ne Christes passion of none effecte For a iuste confutation of this your doctrine I shal therfore proue it clerelye by scriptures that man muste be firste iustified by faith ere either he repent holsomely or be baptized with water And because ye haue diffamed true repentaunce and iuggled so longe with your do penaunce makyng the people beleue they haue done it when they haue done or sayde all their penaunce enioyned them by their goostly fathers ye shall know that repētance is a turninge to the lord god wherby we of y e syncere feare of god humbled aknowledge our synnes and all our hole lyfe we make newe So that the hole lyfe of a penitente faitheful is a perpetual mortificacion of his fleshe and a reuiuinge of the spirit euen the perpetuall custodie of his lyfe fygured in baptizme of water wherin the dopinge buriyng signifieth our mortification our synnes buried in Christe his deathe and the lyfting vp oute of the water teacheth oure arysinge wyth Christ reuiued into a newe lyfe Also the hebrewe worde his and the greke Metanoite in latyne Resipiscite signifye to be turned to a better minde or chaunge your lyfe Which worde Ioan and Chryste vsed sayeng Resipiscite in propinquo enim est regnum coelorum Repēt ye or chaunge youre lyfe or be ye turned in mynde for the forgeuenes of synnes is nigh And Chryste beganne his preaching lykewise sayenge Be ye turned or repente ye and beleue the good tydynges of youre remyssyon They preached not onely saienge repente ye as ye dreame and there stopped but they euermore in all their sermons as did his apostles added the cause why they shuld repent whyche cause implyed and conteined therin the promise of remission of their synnes sayenge for the remission of your synnes is at hande For so much signifieth the gospel the kingdome of heauen in those places Which promise apprehended by faith anon the herers prepared them to repentaūce turninge their myndes conuerted to god whome they before knewe by faythe beleuynge hym for hys mercyes sake in Christe to receyue and to forgeue them For who turnethe hym selfe to God whome he nether knowethe ne beleuethe to be mercyfull to hym ne loueth him before he turneth to hym For they preached fyrste the lawe whereby came the knoweledge of theyr synnes and eft sone the gospell of forgeuenes promysed in Chryste whyche by faythe apprehended then beganne the true repentaunce Also we are often commaunded to repent by these wordes of god spoken of the prophetes Conuertimini ad me salui eritis conuertimini ad me ego conuertat ad vos Be ye turned to me and ye shall be salfe and I shall be turned to you Where ye se that God commaundeth vs nothinge but he biddeth vs aske the same of him as Austē confirmeth and declareth it your selfe alledgynge his wordes sayeng Iube quoduis modo des quod iubeas Ergo we muste aske oure repentaunce and conuersion of god saing Conuerte nos deus salutaris noster and Conuerte me domine ego conuertar Conuert me LORDE and I shall be conuerted If thys prayer be of faythe as it muste nedis be if it be made to the father in christis name so must faith go before the conuersion and the peticion and prayer before the thinge obtayned therebye Agayne when I am promised of god to be saued if I turne to him there my faith first apprehendinge the promise procedeth to the precept in turning to him as doth the seruant beleuinge his masters promised couenant addresse him to his seruice and fulfillinge of his masters cōmaundements althoughe his seruice in folowinge his master be placed befor the cause as your self here after gyueth an example saing he that foloweth me is my seruant placinge theffecte before y e cause in your lxxxviii lefe seconde syde of this your boke in the lxxxix lefe ye saye In this speche I ioyne that is out of al kynde of causes to theffect as to folow me is no cause to be my seruant but rather ensueth of seruice and of the couenant which is the cause why that he folowth me importeth that he was my seruant before he folowed me Euen so do the scripture place theffecte of our conuersion before the cause which is faith first apprehending the promise in this lyke speches Be ye turned to me and I shal be turned to you be ye turned and ye shal be salfe Repēt ye for the remission is nighe And thus lo be ye confounded proued to teache false doctryne to peruerte the scripture by your owne wordis by your onwe exāple And that faith iustifyinge muste nedis go before repentance and our conuersion to god as the scriptur teacheth vs contrary to your popishe papistry But I knowe howe falsely ye iugle with youre do penance in your boke of enstructions saing Resipiscite credite euangelio thus englyshing it sayenge Fyrst be contrite knowledge your synnes and then receiue the gladde tidinges of remission c Because theffecte is placed before y e cause therefore ye wolde make foles beleue theffecte to be before the cause cōtrary to your owne wordes in this your booke in the .lxxxix. lefe and by this placinge ye wold proue penace to be before faith iustifyenge But yf ye hadde redde but .ii. lines before in marke ye shoulde haue learned playnely the preachinge of the gospell that is of y e glad tidinges of y e promised remission of synnes which is y e cause of repentaūce as Io. bap affirmeth it Math. iii. to haue gone before theffecte of repentaunce commaunded But this licenciouse libertye to peruert the holy gospell that ye take to your selfe also by your do penaunce as ye do vpon Peters sayenge to Symon Mago Resipisce igitur ab ista tua malitia Englyshīg ab with fore thus sayenge Do penaunce for this thy malyce when the texte is Turne thy mynde from this thy malyce so fayne wolde ye holde styll your popishe sacramente of do penaunce to merite forgeuenes of synnes The true conuersion to god presupposeth the knoweledge of sinnes which commeth by the preachinge of the lawe It presupposethe also the preching of the gospel wherby commeth faythe and knoweledge of the mercy of god promising forgeuenes in Christ. wherfore ye se it necessarilye that repentaunce and the conuersion vnto god muste folowe faith iustifieng cōceiued by hearing the gospell Also faythe iustyfyenge muste goo before baptisme For Christe bodde his Apostles go forth and teache all nacions ere they baptized them And what thinke ye they taughte them Uerelye euen the lawe and gospell as he had commanded them and then as many as beleued they baptized them
iewysh workes before faith If a iewe or a turke shulde come to your scole wolde ye first teache hym your good workes and popish ceremonies before the true beleife into god thorow christ and baptize hym ere he beleue The Iewes and Turkes do such good ciuyle workes before men as ye teache men to be iustified thereby They praye they faste geue almose heare and rede the scriptures pay their dettes bye and sell and make their wares truely and iustely kepe matrimonye whiche they do not withoute the common helpe and grace of god and yet be thei not iustified by them before god but before men after youre iustificacion w tout and before faithe But we which haue professed the christen religion groūded vpon faith in Christ teache the good workes which be the frutes of the spirite of faith and not youre pharisaik rightwisemakynge ne your iewishe iustification For what hath belial with Christ the derkenes to do with the lyght The tree muste be firste good ere it bryngeth forth good frute And so if beleif be required before iustificacion there ariseth then a meruelous perplexite how I shulde worke well y e worke of beleife before I am iustified But as we saye my synnes be forgeven because I beleue so because my synnes were forgeuen I dyd beleue Go to and skoffe and deride God and his holy worde whiles the lorde that sitteth in heauen laugheth you to skorne and shall at last smyte you sodēly with his yerney scepter declaring your arrogante ignoraunce in that ye here affirme the worke of beleife to be mans worke when christe and Paule telleth it you if ye had euer learned so farre That hoc est opus dei non hominis ut credatis c. This is the worke of god and not of man to beleue in him whome god hath sente Neyther for the defence of anye errour as ye falselye reporte vs do we enter into so harde a matter of gods priuey counsell as ye call predestinacion and make it the immediate cause of oure saluacion as your selfe blyndely stomble in to it no occasion geuen you but to declare onely your ignoraunce as ye saye lest any other espienge it in dede shuld iustely preuent you with the same strype For we say w t Paul That god hath chosen vs in christe accordinge to his gracyouse good wyll and pleasure and not for oure merites before to worlde was made But wherefore to do what we lyste as reasoneth the forlorne saiēg If I be predestined to be saued so shall I be saued do I neuer so euel god forbyd but we be predestined saith paul to this ende that we shulde here be faithfull holye and blameles before god by loue which hath predestined vs to be his sonnes by adopcion thorowe Iesus Christe c. that the glorye of his grace shoulde be praised And that we be created of god in crist Iesu to do good workes prepared of god and not of oure selues that we shulde here walke in them ere we obtaine that promised saluacion And that we be after our election and predestinacion called to be regenered of the spirite by faith whiche spirite of faith in Christ certifieth vs of oure eleccion hauynge nowe the pledge and ernest of the spirite euen Christ hym selfe geuen vs testifieng to our spirites y t he hath chosē vs to be his This assewraunce in faith is taught vs euery where in scripture by gods promises sealed both with the interne obsignacion of the spirite of faith and also with the visible seales of his sacramentes testifienge to vs his beneuolence towarde vs in christ both by baptisme and his holy supper And dare you then so arrogātly saye against this holy assiewerd certaintie obsignation of the spirite in the promises of GOD receiued in the mooste certytude of oure faith and be so bolde as to impugne this ferme assewrance and perswasion of y e spirit of fayth to perswade any man as ye do to dubitacion ignorance vnbeleif to doute of gods holy promised eleccion and his predestinacion in chryste wyl ye saye agēst this That y e faitheful be saued by predestinacion and their eleccion in christe whom god hath predestined and chosen they shal be saued for god repenteth him not of his eleccion but it must necessarelye and immutably come so to passe in his elect accordinge to his ferme purposed decre in his euerlasting immutable prouidence so that it lyeth in no mannes hande to resiste his wyll ne to take any of his chosen from hym And therfore whiles we that beleue to be predestined and chosen in christe thus serche and treate the knowledge of oure predestinacion in christe and not in goddes secret counsayle ne in oure selues in Christ I say within the limites of goddes expresse wyll worde there is no such perill therin ne is it so harde a mater as ye make it but ioyouse swete and counfortable to euery faithful humble cristian But if ye leaue y e light and the waye of hys worde and will serche treate and measure it with your owne fond reason and curiositie of your witte as ye here do then be ye worthely caste vp of god into your owne forlorne sence and ignoraunce strayed awaye into labyrinths inextricable into your owne confusion compelled to peruerte and to falsefye the scriptures wresting them to seme to agre and to serue your ignoraunte reason for feare as ye saye of your mere necessitie all thinges to be done dreamed out of your owne feble brayne which cannot in the scriptures see wyth saynt Austen the necessyte in y e wyll of god predestenynge to stande with the free wyl of the predestined to do good And againe with the necessitie of reprobacion in gods wil to stande the libertie into euyl in the reprobated so that his dampnacion be imputed vnto hym selfe for his owne voluntary faulte Nether can ye see howe this necessitie is no compulsion ne constrained necessitie but a voluntary necessitie God wil haue mercye of whom he lyst and harden whom it lyketh him The cause inscrutable of his diuine secrete will is worthely hidden from vs so profounde are his iudgementes that mannes reason cannot attaine to thē and yet will your fonde witte be ready to accuse god of vnrightwisenes oneles he geue you a reason to your mynd and a rekening why sith all things depende of your mere necessitie ▪ and of the secrete godly iuste wyll he shulde dampne any man As thoughe the potter were bounde to geue a rekenynge to his claye wherefore he hath not made all his vessells therof a lyke in honoure And as thoughe gods depe inscrutable iugementes and wyll must be measured with your hyghe witte Oh myserable man that thou art sayth Paule whiche darest replye reason with and incuse thy maker on this maner as thoughe God were bounde to attemper the magnitude of his secrete workes to thy rude capacitie Are his diuine
ye see that thei must come bake and folow faith iustifyinge and not go before it For when Peter affirmeth whom ye alledge for Paule that by fayth hertes be made pure he sheweth it that by no externe visible ne materiall signes or creatures as causes essenciall as by water and suche lyke mens hertes be purified but onely of God thorow faith wher Chrisostom saith A sola fide illa assecuti sunt non operibus vel circumcisione Of onely faith haue they obtained those thinges not for workes or circuÌ„cisioÌ„ Then ye say By y t sacrameÌ„â— of your penaunce ye beleue to recouer the state of grace I perceue that althoughe ye be a lawier yet wolde ye seme to be sene in scole mater bringing in dunces and such fryers dead dreames now articled in louayn saienge That the sacramentes of the newe lawe iustifye and confer grace Sed hoc uerum est ubi non interponitur obex But y t is true where there is no lette to barre them out from y t high preuilege The scripture affirmeth Christe euery where to be the dore barre to let them and all other creatures from that priuilege to geue grace and remission of synnes for els he shuld haue dyed in vayne But ye muste aske your doctoure dunce and his fryerly faryne of lovaine by what scriptures he they proue this dreame and then are ye all set a grounde If your sacrament of penaunce shoulde recouer and geue ye grace and your penaunce a weary worke so were grace tediously deserued and then saith Paule grace were no grace Grace is a fre gifte geuen vs for christis merits only here ye do with the scole men tectely withe your rekouer declare your selfe a palliated pelagian Beware of suche doctryne for it is naught and vnkouer it agen with your rekouer For ye kouered this pelagians potte before with your penance as I haue iustely refuted it For and if ye were asked by whiche parte of your popish penance as whether by your confession auriclare or by your contricion or your insufficient satisfaccion or whisperinge absolucion or by any other dede inioyned you ye rekouer this state of grace ye shuld bringe vs forthe but a nakedneste out of your condicion For if ye beleue as ye saye ye do in any of the popis sacraments or in any part of them therby to enioye theffecte of Christis passion hauinge no worde of faith ne promise of christe therin ne worde of institucion of the same to stablish and sustayn your faith ye shall haue but a doutful waue ringe forgeuenes and as fearful and vnquiet a conscience when ye shal be apposed in y e article of death of your gostly aduersaries and assawted with synne desperacion the iugement of god death and hell For your faith in your sacramente of penance not sustayned of gods promise wil then fainte and haue a fall The mooste holy repentant men praid god not to entre into iugement with them accordinge to thir desertis for then shuld noman lyuinge be iustifyed in gods sight And ayen in the psalme If thou lorde shuldst loke narowly vpon our wykednesses Lorde who might abyde it Hitherto haue I proued constantly by scripturs Faith iustifynge to go before baptisme And now what condicioÌ„ of yours soeuer cometh aftir baptysme the same must folow iustificacion but your penance folowethe wrapped in clothes as rocked in cradle when y e worlde was yet And euen theÌ„ Adam by faith in that promised sead obtained remission and was iustifyed as were all the holy fathers longe before Ioan bap was borne and Ioan bap himself thinke ye not but that he was iustifyed before christ preched ye wold make a meruelouse world briÌ„g vs in a new strange doctryne if there were no remission of synnes tyl christ had preached suffered was he not the loÌ„be slayne from the begininge If ye loke well of abells oblacion and of the sheepe slayne to kouer adam and Eues nakednes with the skynes ye shal see Christes remission of sinnes longe before Ioan preched penance when Ioan preached sainge RepeÌ„t ye and be conuerted to God for the remission of sinnes is nighe and said lo this is the lombe of God that taketh awaye the sinnes of the world and who so beleue in him hath lyfe euerlastinge did he not preche the gospell annexed as the cause to perswade them to repentance yisse trwly thei beleued in Christe ere Ioan baptized them And thus ye may see vpon howe feble a Maxime as ye call it ye a rather a minime ye laid your false grounde to argewe your popish penance to precede remissioÌ„ wher fore tell vs plainly be shorte whether ye will teach men to be iusâ—ifyed by faith only or by workis onely or by faith and workes bothe togither If by faith onely so be we agreed If by workis onely without faith so were the haithen infidelis faithls iewes iustified and Christ dead in vayne and al the scripture ayenst you as Paul proueth it All men to be sinners no not one iuste by the works of y e lawe stoppinge euery mans mouth shewing al y e worldholden gilty obliged to sinne no fleshe by the workis of the lawe to be iustifyed be fore god and in an hundred places moo in the scriptures I shall saith the lorde disclose thy good workes as thou takest them and shew y e that they shal neuer profit the. Also Paule concludeth mightely and manifestly his sermon declaring playnly the lawe impossible to be fulfilled of vs and so to iustifye no man and therfore by onely faithe man to be iustified saing thus wherfore we conclude doing you to wete ye men and brethern that by this maÌ„ I say Iesus Christ the remission of synnes is brought vnto you the remisâ—ion and absolution I tell you from al the sins froÌ„ which it was impossible for you to be absolued by the law of Moises By this Iesus christ I tell you euery man y t beleueth is iustified And what so euer is not of faith is sin of faith saith peter purifieng y e hertes wherfore workes alone cannot iustifye Nether faith workes togither as concurrant into the same acte of iustificacion may iustifye For the workes of the lawe by whiche be vnderstanden al the ceremonial iudicial and moral precepts as Paule proueth it and al the old holy doctours especiall Austen called iustitia legis iustitia ex lege and iustitia operum be excluded froÌ„ that acte as contrary to the rightwisenes of faith as the scripture setteth them in so manifest opposition and contrarity that as the ryghtwisenes of the lawe was the cause of the reieccion and fall of the Iewes out of gods fauour so was y e rightwisenes of faith the liftyng vp of the gentiles into his grace and fauour as your selfe I thinke vnwares in the expoundinge of Paule in your predestinatioÌ„ here in your .xxvii. lefe haue said it against
to vs all remission vppon this onelye condicion that we beleue in Christ and not vpon your condicion of works as I haue iustly by scriptures hytherto proued it Nether therfore folowth it That then with out any endeuer almen shuld haue it Is not faith an harde condicion think ye Shal euery maÌ„ beleue in Christe when he lestethe and haue faith when he wil without the sharp assawtis of hir contrarie enimies as of infidelite desperation sin deuil and dubitacion shal euery man haue it encreased at his idle pleasyre loke vpon Abrahams faith so sore tempted vppon Iob Dauyd and of his that saide lorde I beleue but help my vnbeleif and loke vpon the apostles faith tempted vpoÌ„ the seas and in other places Faith is a rare and mighty gifte geuen not without the merits and intercession of our sauior Christ. And if euer ye shal fele y e batails of sin death hel the deuil the iugement of god and desperacion preassinge agenst the spirit of faith in you and wrestlinge with your spirit and litle faith to dryue you in to vnbeleif and dubitacion of forgeuenes desperacion whilis ye beholde your sinnes only in the lawe in your own conscience and iugemeÌ„t of god your aduersary accusing you not in the death of chryst with a constant and manly saith in him but to be brought into this desperat state to see your self wetingly and willingly of a set malice to haue resisted and thrusted the worde of saluacion from you when it was so benignely offred you to haue closed vp your eyes agenst the light to persecute the gospel to wryte and speke ayenst it to impugne y e trwthe and with your dampnable doctryne to haue seduced so many soulis into hell and with your false enstruccioÌ„s to bringe many into damnable errours and with your cruel vngodly actis and articles to be the autor of somiche innocent bloudshedinge w t infinite moo accusacions ayenste you ye shal fele them to be to laboriouse and hard an endeuer and harder a fre choise of you to assent with your faith to breke thorow and smit of and auoid all these heuye accusacions If this shal be so hard and heuey a batail ayenste the trwe faith loke neuer then that your false faith with your fre choise and assent to it when ye list shal stand sustain and abyde it ye shal fynde it no smal endeuor ne lyght batail to hold faste your faith in Christ if ye hade it as litle as the mustard sede Many an holy man felinge this stryff temptacion haue cryed Lorde geue me faith lorde encreace my faithe Lord strengthen my faith for christis â—ake lord lede me not into this temptacioÌ„ If ye had red the psalmes with faith and the story of Iob and trwly vnderstode them ye shulde haue sene how iuste menis faith hath ben tempted tried and ouerthrowen and how thei be first slayne ere thei be quikened in spirit first drouen down into hell ere thei be reduced into heuen first to tast of desperacion damnacion ere they tast of any strong faith and saluacion This is y e souldyers lyfe and Hercules labor by faith to fele remission and saluacioÌ„ assiewred vs in oure soulis and not so easye a pleasant passetyme as ye yet dreamâ— in your idle worldly welthines anâ— sinful securite Trewe faithe is nâ— idle assent ne acquisite qualite as yâ— list to haue it with your dremed endeuor But as y e course of y e wynd is not knowne so know ye not yet what faith is as your bok is playnly shewe your ignorance But here I omitte y e accusacion brought ayenst you for not doinge your pastorall office accordinge to godis vocacioÌ„ and lyke the successour of any one of the apostles in whiche office if any one of your floke be founde to haue perished for want of the very fode of godis worde purely faithfully and frely not preched of you his bloude shal be required at your haÌ„dis Now say on We muste take godes benefit as it is offered and not as we wold haue it ye saye trw For the benefit of our remission and saluacion is euerye wher offred vs in the scripture For our faith into christ and not as ye wolde haue it for the fulfillinge of your condicioÌ„s shewinge your selfe therin to be wiser then god and to inuent a nother and better way as ye beleue to heauen then by Christe as god hath decreed and ordined ye wolde belyke sette god to scole as ye did take vpon you to teache doctour Barnes better lerned then you Ergo by the gift of god I may do wel before I am iustified your handlynge of this my conclusion declareth plaine that ye vnderstande not what ye saye For ye â—ondely improue a conclusion that mighte stande and be true Ioy. yea after your truth with your â—onde paradox of onelye faith iustifieth onlesse in teachiÌ„g ye wil so haÌ„dle y e mater as Barnes dyd Thaia man is iustified before he beleueth For if beleue goth before iustificacion as a cause dothe theffect then seinge in scripture beleif is called a dede and procedinge from the gift of god must nedes be a good dede it foloweth necessarely ergo I may by gods gift do a good dede before I am iustified A wise argument lo as though to beleue in Christ were the dede of maÌ„ not as christ affirmeth it the work of god Ioa. vi saieng This is the work of god y t ye beleue in him whoÌ„ he hath sent ye shall know that by y e handlyng of your conclusion I vnderstand it better then ye wetesaffe haue iustly confuted it in my former boke as euery reder may se it your self know it if arrogaÌ„ce malice had not blyndned you to not se faith in christ iustifieng to be y e rote fouÌ„tain of al good works and what is not of this faith purifieng the hert to be sin I haue hitherto remoued al your coÌ„dicions as your penance baptism c from the place before iustificacion haue compelled you by scriptures to place them after faith iustifieng And now ye be brought to thê narow shift as to seme to proue beleif to go before iustification which ye say is a good dede ergo But I shal driue you as euery reader shall se it openly from this your last shameles shifte that al meÌ„ shal se you to stand naked of al euasions without any mo sterting holes First ye must graunt that faithe into christ is the gift of god now ye speak of beleif and ye set it confusely tantum as y e sophisters say without any thing into which y e accioÌ„ work of y e verbe shulde passe And if ye wil haue it stand so absolutely nothing added so is it as good a dede as y e deuil doth y e same For as Iames saith The deuils beleue the turkes and Iewes beleue But speake you like a
vtter shame and confusion he tolde his y t the haithen kinges shulde be tikled with these flateringe titles and names of your lordship and your grace and saide to you uos autem non sic But se that you be not so called Thought he not therby to knocke downe your arrogant pryde and to teache you humilite verelye he forsawe and thought euen then vppon your pryde and lordeships to be exalted aboue him selfe But sone findeth the wolfe an occasion to deuoure the innocent lambe for drinking of the swete waters which shulde be comon to them both geuen of god to quench their thirst Here may euery reader see the venome of your kancred hart how gredily ye hunt for occasions to depraue bely and to sclaÌ„der me causeles ye say I alledge christes wordes in a sence of my nown imaginacion It is you and such popishe impes as yet defende his antichristen doctrine that wrest so violeÌ„tly the scripturs to your own damnable deuises For of al sich scriptures Si vis ad vitaÌ„ ingredi c. Si vis perfectus esse c. and forgeue and ye shal be forgeuen ye gather with pelagiane your fre choice and libertie to do good and to kepe the commauÌ„dements and to set vp your popishe merits and iustificacion of workes all damnable and iniuriouse to christes bloud as very enimies to grace and to god when christ proueth by siche textes man to haue no fre libertie to do good and his commaundementes to be impossible to man and that no man can therfore merite his remission ne saluacioÌ„ And eueÌ„ your own wordes fight against your own exposicions God commandeth vs things impossible to shewe vs to our selues nether to haue free libettie to do good ne to be able to merit oure saluacion that we shuld not glory in our dedis ne reioise iÌ„ our worthines but to render all glorye merits and dignitie to him and that we aknowleginge our own infirmite and impossibilitie shuld seke strengthe and power at him and that we shulde by faith enbrace his rightwisnes his holines his merits and satisfaccioÌ„s and his fulfillinge of the lawe for owr owne thus to geue all the glory and thankis to him for our remission redempcion saluacion thorow Iesus christ These saings Forgeue and ye shal be forgeueÌ„ and siche lyke containe in them bothe a precept and also a promise if ye godly expended them whiche promise assone as faith aâ—prehendeth she addresseth hirself effectuosly by loue to y e fulfillinge of y e precept iÌ„ forgeuinge hir neighbor For ther is nomaÌ„ y t forgeueth trwly onlesse he beleue first in christ is promise to haue forgeuenes hiÌ„ self And therfore when christ saithe Forgeue ye shal be forgeueÌ„ faith first setteth holde vpon hirowne promised forgeuenes in the later sentence and so of faith procedeth to do the precept your self heraftir can place theffecte before the cause yet tell vs y e cause to go before theffecte And canne ye not as well see and admitte the same order in Christes word is as in your own examples So that the man is not forgeuen because he forgeueth as ye arsewardly imagen but because he beleueth God to forgeue him therfore is y e beleuer both forgeuen himself of that faith he forgeueth his brother Ye shuld therfore acordinge to your owne example doctrine hereaftir of him y t folowth you to be your seruant haue coÌ„sidered lerned y t your forgeuenes of your neghbour is the effecte declaringe you to be forgeueÌ„ of god y e forgeuenes wherby god forgeueth you to be y e cause of your forgeuenes of youre neighbour thus y e effect to be placed before y e cause Sich inuersioÌ„s of coÌ„sequeÌ„ces in arguiÌ„g fro y e effect to y e cause called argumeÌ„tes a posteriore y e comeÌ„ speach y e scriptur oâ—teÌ„ vseth As to say y â— flowers be sproÌ„geÌ„ forth spred y e trees waxe grene ergo it is soÌ„mer And yet is somer y e cause of this effect theffect placed before y e cause And christ told the phariseye Hir sines be forgeueÌ„ hir because she loueth mich But iÌ„ declaring y e very cause w t theffect he expresseth hir forgeuenes of god to be y e cause of hir loue saiÌ„g To whoÌ„ is mich forgeueÌ„ thei be bouÌ„d mich to loue eueÌ„ thus declareth it christ iÌ„ his parable mat â— teachiÌ„g vs god first to forgeue vs y e greter detts to thiÌ„teÌ„t y t we seiÌ„g hiÌ„ self mercifull in forgeuing vs shuld be moued y â— more gladly to forgeue our brethern y e lesse dettes So that his former forgeuenes of vs is y e cause mouiÌ„g vs to forgeue other saiÌ„g Behoueth it not y e therfore to haue pite coÌ„passioÌ„ of thy felow seruaÌ„t seing y t I am so redy to forgeue y â— yea I had forgeueÌ„ y e before as y u knowst it therfore y u oughtest lykewyse to haue forgeueÌ„ hiÌ„ where it is plaine our forgeuenes of god to be y e cause which shuld moue excite vs gladly likewise to forgeue our neighbour y t y e forgeuenes of our neighbour is placed first as theffect befor y e cause as it is there iÌ„ other placs iÌ„ferred saiÌ„g Forgeue it shal be forgeuen you your own exaÌ„ple of your seruant folowing you hereaftir brought in of you coÌ„fouÌ„deth your self if malice had not so bliÌ„dned you for your malice god so worthely to haue hardened your hart against y e truth y t in rediÌ„g his word ye nether vnderstande it truely ne with feare reuerence enbrace it but abuse it into your owne daÌ„pnacion into the destruccion of many other soules If one shuld coÌ„e to you sekinge youre seruice and you couenant w t him sayinge Folowe or waite vpon me and thou shalt haue .xl. s. yerely Is not this comon couenant consented ther vpoÌ„ y e cause why he serueth you And yet is theffecte here in your owne wordis placed before the cause of his seruice for except the maÌ„ had beleued your promise and trusted to your wordis he wolde neuir haue done ye seruice And euen so iÌ„ this and lyke speches Forgeue and thou shalt be forgeueÌ„ we first by faith in gods promise apprehend our own promised forgeuenes of god which causeth vs to forgeue our brothern For excepte ye obserue this order ye shall fynde it but a faint fayned forgeuenes I wil not saye agenst it but that ye may be a good lawyer and a ciceroniane rethricion bold eloquent in doggish eloquence to perswade blasphemies and lies by crafty colours to turne whight into blak and to make foles beleue y e krow is whyght lest ye lese your estimacioÌ„ But as for any good godly lerninge or trwe vnderstandinge of the holy scriptures I know there is but litle or none in all your bablinge bokis Had ye counseld buâ— with S. Austen vpon siche texts Si
Chrysten head and a Christen head to haue AntichristeÌ„ ministers as ye haue studyed longe craftely to bringe it to passe in englond till your tyme daye becomen when ye maye agene ioyne your abolished head to his owne reserued body so craftely kepte of you for the same ende For ye knowe it ful well what muste nedis folowe so longe as the popis chirche stonde and his bodye lyueth amonge you And euen here if ye list take a taste of winchesters wylye witte to bringe home agene his in name and title onely with him and his holy abolished father To abolish a thinge is so to skrape and blott it out into naught that nether sâ—nt ne sauore ne any vestigie stepe or figne remayne therof But whether the popis faith religion with his rites ceremonies tradicioÌ„s be so abolished I reporte me to all y â— realme I bode ye in my former boke seke out y e text wher charite iustifyethe but yet haue ye not found it And therfore ye now fal to your own fonde witte with this foÌ„â— sophisticall argument God iustifieth god is charitie ergo charitie iustifieth I denye your argument for that your termes in the premisses and in the conclusion be not of one lyke significacioÌ„ as ye wel know TheÌ„ ye bid me reade a certain text of Paule agen do as plato was woÌ„t to do saing do it not touch me I haue red it agen here I write it to you againe to see whether ye caÌ„ yet se fele whether it toucheth you let all indiffereÌ„t reders be iuges whether it hit ye not set ye not out in your own colors it were apelles hiÌ„ self had paiÌ„ted you saing he y t wil be iustified by workes not by onely faith in Iesu christ is in the way of perdicion eueÌ„ in a corrupt mind caried away of coÌ„trary lustes and affeccions euer lerning neuer comeÌ„ to the true knowlege For sich deceiuers shal go forth worse and worse til their wykednes be rype leadinge other into errours theirselues beinge blynde and farre out of the waye auerted vnto vayne speche and false doctryne willinge to be sene Doctors and teachers and yet vnderstand thei not what thei say ne of what thing thei make their articles actes and enstruccions paraduenture ye wil say ye make theÌ„ not but I dare saye ye geue euil counsel bothe to the makinge and also to the cruel execucion vpon theÌ„ that will rather obey god then mens tradicions To the atteinment of iustificacion is required faith and charitie This sainge I confuted in my former boke thus Faith only saith christ and Paul is required to thatinment of iustificacion which is of God Nether is charitie diuided froÌ„ fayth but from the efficacie effecte office to iustifye for to this effecte and office is faith onely sufficient effectuously As from fyer or fro the sone we exclude not heat ne brightnes but yet hathe hir heate and brightnes their sondry effectes and offices for the heat warmeth w t hir brightnes she shyneth and geueth lihgt Here may euery reader se how falsely ye report my wordes and how maliciousely ye reporte of me faininge and forminge your owne false foundacion thus ye saye that charitie is ioyned with faith and ye take faith and charitie for .ii sisters but ye make faith the elder sister Hitherto ye say truth of me for in y e natural order of their proper operations faith worketh hir accion in knowledge of god and iustificacion before charitie worketh hirs in louinge god c And ye affirme that in iustification charitie that ye call the yonger sister is not excluded These be your wordes wherin ye saye the same Isay. No ye belye me deadly they be not my wordes as euery reader may see it But they be yours fained false wordes therevpon to deduce your false doctrine folowinge And here thrise ye rather your false inuented saing vpon me which I neuer said ne thought ne wrote them Isaye that chartie is with faith but yet excluded from thefficacy effect and office to iustifie so that she is not coÌ„currant with saith in the accion of iustification as I geue my plaine example but charitie hath a sondry act and operation from faith as to beleue in christ and to loue him be two actes as be to see and to here the sondry offices and actes of two distinct sences albeit thei be both together in one head And Isaye charitie is in the iustified man but not concurraÌ„t into theffect of iusâ—ification as anye cause formall with faith thereof as ye falsely report me Here maist thou see good reader what crafty falshed he vseth to argew ex non concesus of that I neuer graunted it him to make his false parte appere true I wrote more circumspectely addinge a plaine example for I knewe howe sinistrely capciouse this byshop is lest he shulde take any aduauntage at my wordes And nowe when his owne conscience telleth him that charitie is not concurrante with faithe in the worke of iustificacion contrary to his conclusion then he seketh his shiftes first in the xlvii lefe therto place loue because thei that abide in loue saith he abyde in faith whiche is the lyfe of the iust There he went about to proue charite to geue lyfe which I haue refuted iustly Then in the .lv. lefe he saith scriptur attributeth lyfe to charite but that scripture can he not yet finde And now at last as mistrustiÌ„g al this not to help him he saith That Isaye y e charitie is in iustificacioÌ„ y t I say y e same y t he saith belieth me falsly for I neuer said it as myboke testifieth Another variance betwene you and me is ye say Albeit both sisters faith charitie be in iustificacion yet charitie the yonger sister as ye terme it standeth stil idle and only waiteth vpon hir elder sister I neuer said these wordes as euery man may seeit it in my boke When theirwith wil not serueye then be ye compelled to flye to lyes In dede I call by waye of doctryne faith and charitie two sisters and faith to be the elder because she is the rote of charitie and is first in operation And nowe I wyll compare faithe hope and charitie to .iii. sisters or w t Sophocles to the .iii graces called charites so connexed hand in hande as it were inseperably linked togither ut gratia gratiam pariat uel trahat impugne the similitude if ye caÌ„ê These .iii. graces or giftes put into one soule are not idle giftes of god as ye blaspeme hys giftes but be in their continuall encreace vnto their proper distincte accions and may be well called after their autor or soule wherein they are Entelechia that is a lyuely perpetuall vnwearye workynge substaunce althoughe the body sleapeth which solicite the good tree to bringe forth hir frute in hir tyme. which graces