many of wincchesters workes but ye place theÌ„ in a wrong place vnderpropped with a false opinion ether to iustifye or to be placed before faith iustifyinge God commuandeth vs to be holy and perfit as is himself but this burden of the lawe ye will spotte it oute by youre particypation but yet will not this glose helpe ye before his iudgement seat Paul therefore to geue all the glory to god and non to our workes excludeth all the workes commanded in the lawe from faith in the accion of our iustificacioÌ„ tellinge the Galathians That if ye be circuncised Christe profiteth you nothinge By circumcision vnderstandinge the hole profession and lawe of the iewes as do we by baptisme the hole Christen profession vpon which place Erasmus a man of nolesse lerning then iugement writeth in his paraphrase thus perchaunce ye so please your selues sainge that we swarue not ne fal froÌ„ Christe but with Christe we couple the lawe that the expectacion of our saluacion might be the sewerer But Christ I tell you as he wolde this whol benefit to be comon to almen so wold he it to be thankfully accepted and imputed to faith onely He wil not suffer any to be his felowe ne matche in this mater For if ye trwly beleue your perfit sauinge helthe to may be geuen you of this onely Christe wherfore then plucke ye to you circumcision If ye mistrust christes onely remission so knowledge ye not yet the benefit of christ of whiche they may not be partakers that mistrust him For by onely faith and not for your merits is it geuen you These I think be sufficient for the refutation of this declaracioÌ„ of your condition stuffed â—o full of so manye meritoriouse workes to deserue your remission contrary to the iustification by onely faith yet here ye harpe mich of your good workes before iustification which as I haue tolde you oft because thei procede not out of a good roote whiche is faith purifieng the hert they muste nedes be synne as Paule and Peter affirme it and as Austen constantly writeth What good workes did Paule before his iustification he persecutâ—d the christians to death and yet he kept the lawe and precepts aâ—ter the pharisais fashion which is called y e ryghtwisenes of the lawe In which rightwisenes he saith if any shulde haue had confidence I might haue had as great a cause to reioyse as any other I was circumcised y e eight daye I was an Israelite in profession of the lawe as holye a pharisei as the best and so zelouse for my rightwisenes of the lawe that I persecuted the congregacion and was as touchinge the rightwisenes and iustificacion which is in the law blameles before al men But these good dedes whiche semed to me then so profitable as I beleued to be saued by them I nowe beter taught take theÌ„ for hindraunce and damage for that I now know christe to be my lorde and sauiour for whom I esteme theÌ„ all but for detriment and dunge that I might be more profitablye ioyned to christe and be founde in hym not hauynge my nowne good deedes and ryghtwisenes of the lawe but that rightwisenes which is thorowe the faith and beleif on christ whiche is the rightwismaking of god vpon faith phi iii. Upon the confidence of the texte ye bringe a lyke kaye to cleaue a logge sainge As thou beleuest so come it to the. Christe spake these wordes to Centurio allowing his faith so muche c. And it is a ioye to see howe ye wil apply this to al men how soeuer they haue coÌ„ceiued their faith whether it be catholyke or no. And then the arriane may be saued by his faith and the sabelliane the Lutherane the zwinglyane Ioye by their faith for the text serueth al As thou beleuest so come it to the. And if any beleued that glotony were no synne as thou beleuest so come it to the Nowe truely I meruell that siche a bishoppe as ye wolde be sene to be shulde be so farre caried awaye of these your so vngodly and corrupte affectes as so peruersely so falselye and so vngodlye to reporte me and so sinistrely to interprete my alledginge of Christes wordes Ye saye I applye them for all mens false beleife If I shulde haue so shamelesly belyed you or any man I hadde ben worthei the most shame and rebukes Tâ—rne to my wordes in your thirde article and loke whether I applye them not to you thus If ye beleue your sinnes to be forgeuen iÌ„ christes death thus sayeng If ye so beleue so be ye iustified by your faith onely ere any other condicion was knoweÌ„ or spokeÌ„ of or els ye must make christ a lyer whiche saith As thou beleuest so come it to the. Loke reader and these be not my wordes in that place alledged as christ spake them to the true beleuer centurio and to euery a like beleuer to the worldes ende beleuinge according to christes worde and promise But nowe I wil because I see you in a false beleife verefy your exposition vpon your own selfe sith ye haue ministred the occasion beleuynge youre selfe to be iustified by your workes euen so come it to you as ye beleue eueÌ„ a false faith to haue a false iustification and lyke saluacion to like faith and forgeuenes And as for Ioye thorowe the grace of god in his sauiour Christe beleueth to be forgeuen and saued by the only sufficient merites of christes passion and his resurrection and that CHRIST is made of my father my onely rightwisnes rightwismakyng my holynes my wisedome my satisfaction apeacyng my fathers wrath for my syns neuer to be iÌ„puted to me for my faith only in Iesu christe my fulfillyng of the lawe my free redemption expectation lyfe and resurrection and the implecioÌ„ of all my iust desires my faith and confidence is in him onely and not in any of my deades which I aknowledge to be sinful imperfit and naught worthei dampnacion And therfore this litle faithe whiche god hath geuen me of his fre benigne mercy and fauor in Christ for which with al his other giftes I daily geue thankes I praye to be encreaced and not to take his holye spirite ne worde of truthe at any time fro me certiâ—ieth adsiewerth me withoute any dubitacion of my forgeuenes saluacion in and for my onely sauyoure Christe And as I thus beleue accordinge to gods terme promise in Christe euen so am I in sewer hope and confidence in him onely to come to me to whom be glorye praise and thankes for euer AmeÌ„ And as christ vnderstode his saienge alledged of the true faith euen so do I and not of any mans false faith as ye so impudently belye me vnderstande it and alledge it and reade it withe beleife in hys promise to be fulfylled onelye of euerye trewe faythfull And it is as fonde that ye bringe in of Iairus and maketh nothing to the purpose ye bring it
workes peruerse because they be hid to thy sinfull reason and carnall witte Be we therfore content with this answer of God to the murmures in his vyneyarde It is my wyll It is my pleasure thus to do wyth my nowâ—e and thus to vse my creatures to my glorye It is god that hathe made all things for him selfe and for his owne wil euen the wiked vnto an euel day And hardined pharaos hert worthely and yet is he not therfore thautor of euil as mans foÌ„d reasoÌ„ gathereth therof For we know that as the fote pathes of the lorde lye in the seas and his foote steppes be not sene euen so lye his workes in al thinges euen in the wicked forlorne and be not sene to mans reason which at his godlye pleasure so disposeth and ordeineth y e secret depe iugementes of his vnsercheable wyl by his godly prouidence in all men that as it perteineth to his wisedom to forsee all thinges to come so belongeth it to his power to rule and moderate all thinges with his almyghtie presente forthe stretched hande Senharib was a wicked heithen kynge and yet God vsed the same hym selfe not knowinge it to be hys instrumente to scourge his people the kynge hym selfe entendynge nothynge els then ambicion cruelty and myscheife Here didde neyther the kynge ne hys people the the Iewes in this worke of god espy his iote steppes much lesse in his predestinacion and reprobation for yf they had sene them blynde reason wolde haue anone concluded God to be y e autor of euyl or els not haue iustely punished the kinge seinge he did but gods wyll and his message Let god therefore as Isaye saythe worke sâ—raunge workes vnknowen to vs to worke his owne as he did when he sprange forth in the mount Perazim and declared his fury in y e vale of Gibeon All that is before writen of this mater it is writen saith Paule for our doctrine to haue counfort by the scriptures and hope thereby of our saluacion and not to feare vs from the holsome study and meditacion therof ne to bring vs into any perplex dout of oure electioÌ„ predestinacioÌ„ iÌ„ christ as your proces appereth after ye lefte Pauls wordes and fell into your owne reasonynge therin callinge the wordes of the holy ghost idle reasonyngs and wrappinge them in vnreuerently with the idle saings and reasonings of the grekes as ye terme them bryngynge in your absolute mere necessite and mans lyfe death maners behauioure c. and euery thinge to be fixed ye saye bothe in skoffe and derision of God and fastened in hys place appoynted wyth nayles ryuetted and clenched with mere necessitie c. By suche blasphemouse skornefull speche and wrytynge of the mere necessitie of gods eternall moste myghty immutable wyll wysedome and power effectuousely to perfourme his diuine decreed operations and actions vnable to be resisted ye openlye declare your selfe to be not so perfytly mynded as ye oughte to be thus vnreuerently wythoute feare to wryte vpon your creatore Of whiche maner men of so depraued and corrupte mynde Dauyd speketh saing The skoffinge fole saith in his herte that god is not god Then ye reherce many that may be made obieccions against you of gods inâ—allible foreknowlege and necessarily decreed will and prouidence and predestinacion but with all the coloured rethrike ye haue ye cannot assoyle one of them And as for fre libertie to do good no man hath it til the spirite of libertie thorow christ hathe taken awaye his bonde libertie if suche one may be called fre liberty to sinne and made in him a free lybertie to do good as the scripture and Austen euery where declareth it And again That the necessite vnable to be changed in gods decreed will necessiteth no man by coacction to synne but it is the voluntary necessitie of mans corrupte nature that driueth him to synne in whiche corrupte nature ye shuld yf ye were lerned not iÌ„ gods â—ecret wil seke maÌ„s necessite to sin so that God is no autor of sinne whiche be farre from all christen mens thoughtis but iust and holy in all his workes vsed pharaous worthely deserued voluntary induracioÌ„ vnto his owne glory He tempted Iob and Satan temptid the same here is one and the same accion but of vnlyke enteÌ„ts willes endis For god tempted him to proue his pacience to excercise his faith hope loue and to set him vp an example of pacience before all afflicted faithful men But Satan tempted him to bringe him into blasphemouse murmurings ayenst god by impacieÌ„cy so to despayer and to dampnacion The scripture saithe that the father delyuered vp his owne sonne to be crucifyed for vs christ delyuered vp him selfe into their handis And Iudas and y e byshops delyured him vp into his crucifiers handis But god did it for his glorye and our redempcioÌ„ Iudas the hygh preistis did it of auarice enuye and malice So that the diuersite of the endis maner willis entent and the affectis of the doers in the same accioÌ„ make it good to one and euill to a nother Ye prouoke me muche to digresse to contende with you in the mater of predestinacion and fre libertie therby craftely to call me into a new feld from our proposed cause of iustificacion as thoughe ether ye were wery of or mistrusted your false part therin And especially in this place Antequam Abraham fierer Ego Sum. In whiche text ye playe and daley before tyme aftir tyme aboue tyme yea and out of tyme to asking me whether before signifieth tyme or no tyme wherof ye saye my playn scolers can no skill And I dare sai nomore can you For in this text ye tomble in your tences present and paste done vndone or in doing placinge y e present tence in god before the pretertence in man as thoughe Sum in that place ego sum were a verbe substantiue and not the essenciall name of god to Moses Exo. iii. that he shulde tell his people his name to be this worde sum when he was bode to saye sum misit me ad uos that is to say Iehouah he that hath his beinge of him selfe and all creatures their being of him hath seÌ„t me to you For god is not measured ne tenced with tyme ye shulde haue conferred the text and ye shuld haue sene that christes mynde was firste to declare him selfe to the Iewes to be very man in that he tolde them Abraham desyred to see his daye that was of hys incarnacyon and then in ende of the chapter he declared him selfe to be verye God namynge hym selfe by his essencyall name expressed to them in Exodo where he sayd ego sum qui sum Whyche is but as colde a speche as to saye A man is a man excepte the sharpe demonstracion called emphasis be intended vpon the later Sum in an higher sharper and harder accent So that if that name ineffable
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
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
but must haue washed it aftir hir It is an argument a postetiore wherby the thinge is shewed to him that onelye gazethe vppon the externe workis and not of faith and proued of the euident signes folowinge faith as Christes similitude declareth it by the two detters This is the storye to ioyne the scriptures togither aftir your rule which your self so lowdly obserue Acertain pharisei bode Christ to dyner for no greate loue ye maye be sewer but as you and such lyke nowe a dayes will haue some good simple menne at your table ether so soucke out or to trappe them vnwares or to make a testinge stoke of their godly communicacion if thei speake the truthe so circūspectly y t ye cannot set hold of them And a non as thei wereset commeth in this notable sinner meruel y e holy pharisei stopped not his nose stādīg behind christ w t a boxe of oyntment wepinge at his fete washing them with hir teares runninge downe by hir chekes wyping them with hir heare and often kyssinge them in the anointinge Here was great oddes betwixt so holy a pharisaye and so sinful a woman In so miche that he thought If Christe had ben so holy a prophete as he was takē he shuld haue knowē who how greate a sinner she was that towched him and so aftir the pharisei to haue thruste hir out of the house But here Christ comen to call sinners to repentance and not siche holy phariseis so iuste in their owne conceight so ful of your good condicions of workis y t thei wil be iustifyed by their good workes breke open heuen gatis withe their holy dedis hauinge no nede of Christis merits by his passion putteth forth his similitude tectely comparinge the holy pharisei to the famose sinner present teachinge him and vs that the comon misse women beleuing in Christ and repentant shal go be fore y e holy hipocrits bishops and phariseis for al their holy holy workes into the kingdom of heuen and that he came not to call sich iust hipocrites that wil be iustifyed by your good condicions there own good workes but to declare them to be farther of from forgeuenes and saluacion then the publicans and misse women y t in faith acknowlege themselues sinners whom Christ is comē to cal to repētāce And here is to be noted y t christ by this smilitude of the two detters maketh the pharisaye in his own answere to condempne himself and to iustifye the sinful woman There were two detters saith he one ought fyue hōdred pence the tother .l. And when nether of them was able to paye their dettis where be now your meritis in your condicion to deserue remissiō where be your satisfaccions with your contentacions for your sinnes by partipacion Cum non essent soluendo saith christ when thei were not able to paye to satisfye ne to content ne to deserue then their creditor merciably frely forgaue them both Here ye must note where Christe placeth his forgeuenes whether before or after loue He saith when neither of them was able to paye he forgaue them Ergo not for their loue were thei forgeuen But nowe speake Simon ye pharisei condempne your selfe and your owne false doctrine of workes to iustifye whyche of these two shall moste loue his creditor Mary quod Symon I thinke he to whom is most forgeuen Thou hast iudged ryght lo here it is plain that forgeuenes goth before loue Ergo for hyr loue was she not forgeuen but because she was forgeuen mich therfore she loued mich And here christ inuerteth y e consequence turninge himself to the woman but spekinge to the pharisai sainge Seest thou this woman he saw the woman and hir workes of loue but not hir faith I am comen into thy house and thou haste done none of these tokens of loue to me he hadde geuen christe a dyner but neither of faith nor yet of loue Thou hast not geuen water to my fete she hath wasshed them with the teares of hir eyes c. For which thinge I tell the but the womā he told hir another cause Remittantur peccata eius multa that is lette hir greate and many sinnes be forgeuen as thou iudgest and beleuest because she hathe loued mich And nowe because we shulde see the inuersion of the consequence and the euydent probation to the pharisey more clearly Chryst clerelyer to vs and to her expresseth the remission to go before loue saienge To whome is lyttle forgeuē he lesse loueth whiche importeth To whome is miche forgeuen he most loueth declaringe loue and hir degrees to followe the degrees of forgeuenes procedīg out of the degrees of the rote of faith iustifieng But in conclusion to certify the woman whose faith was known to him and to hir onely and not to y e pharisey that seeth and wondrethe only vpon his own holy works therby to be iustified and by his owne rightwisenes he telleth hir constantly affirming for the peace and tranquillite of hir conscience all dubitacion and doute set a parte sainge Thy faith hath saued y e go thy waye in peace as Paule saith we iustified by faith haue peace c. Here is plain by your owne rule of the conference of scriptures that of faith commeth forgeuenes out of forgeuenes cometh loue folowing faith forgeuenes into y e iust confutacion of al y t ye haue and shal hereaftir bring in for your charite to iustifye So that except ye frame the scriptures better and iustlier for your part ye shal as ye so scornfully and skoffingly tell it me bringe but your croked keyes to cleaue your knotty logges But sith ye will nedes stryue so fondelye and so vnlernedly againste the truth I shall by gods grace to my poore and litle talent by gods helpe defende it And tel if you euē here y t if ye were in very dede so well lerned in the scriptures as ye couet and glorye to be sene in your bokes and shewe youre selfe and as ye make foles to beleue and knewe it in hert descended vnto your self to see your own ignoraunce as with your lippes and painted pen ye faine your self to teach in your predestinacion ye wold neuer moue penne ne open your lyppes thus arrogantly ▪ and so blyndly so boldly ye and blasphemousely agenst the lorde and his annointed For I tell it you constantly that suche hipocritishe phariseis as esteme them selues better for their shininge vnfaithfull workes then be the sinners for their onely lyuely faith into christe do but byd christ and his to diner to trappe them and owe more vnwares then thei be ether able or willing to pay hī As lyke an vnhandsom hatchet to open your lockes make ye of spe saluati sumus that is In hope be we saued To open this locke that ye may see how lytle it maketh for your purpose I shal by y e ioining of y t as goth before and that as
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