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A08830 The benefite that Christians receiue by Iesus Christ crucifyed. Translated out of French into English, by A.G. 1573; Dal beneficio di Christo. English Benedetto, da Mantova, fl. 1534-1541.; Flaminio, Marco Antonio, 1498-1550.; Golding, Arthur, 1536-1606, attributed name.; Paleario, Aonio, 1503-1570, attributed name. 1573 (1573) STC 19114; ESTC S120980 53,945 119

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lyght of our trust which hath great recompence reward But thys so holy and diuine affiance is gendred in our harts by the working of the holie ghost who is cōmunicated vnto vs by fayth which neuer goeth without the loue of god And hereof it commeth that wée bée prouoked to dooe good works with a certeine liuelines and effectuall cherefulnes wherby we gather such a strength and inclinacion to doo thē as wée be throughly redie and foreward to doo and suffer all intollerable things for the loue and glorie of our moste graciouse and mercyfull father who hath inryched vs wyth so abundaunt grace through Iesus Christ and of his enemies made vs hys moste déere children This treue fayth is no sooner gyuen a man but he is by and by indewed and imprinted with a certeine violent loue of good works to yéeld right swéet and amiable frutes both vnto God and likewise to his Neybour as a verie good frutefull trée And it is no more possible that he should bée otherwise than it is possible that a fagot should be set on fyre not cast light immediatly This is the holye fayth without the which it is vnpossible that anie man should please God and wherby all the holie men as well of the old Testamēt as of the new haue bin saued according as Sainct Paule witnesseth of Abraham concerning whome the Scripture sayeth that Abraham bel●●ued GOD and it was reckened too him for rightuousenesse And therfore hée sayth a little before We beléeue that a man is iustified by fayth without the déedes of the Lawe And in another place he saith Sothen in that time shall the remnant be saued according to the election of grace and if they be saued by grace then is it not by workes for then were grace no grace And to the Galathians he sayeth it is a manifest matter that no man becommeth rightuouse before God by the Lawe bicause the rightuouse liueth by faith And the lawe consisteth not in beleefe but he that performeth the thinges that the Lawe commaundeth shall liue by that performance And further hée sayeth that a man cannot become rightuouse by the déedes of the law but onely by beléeuing in Iesus Christ. Agein a little after he sayeth that if a man can become rightuouse by the Lawe Iesus Christ dyed in vayne Moreouer to the Romaines making comparison betwene the rightuousnesse of the Lawe and the rightuousnesse of the Gospell he sayeth that the one consis●eth in the dooing of workes and the other in beleuing For if thou confesse our Lord Iesus Christ with thy mouth and beleue in thy hart that God hath raysed him vp from death thou shalt be saued For the beléef of the hart maketh a man rightuouse and the confession of the mouth maketh him safe Lo how this good teacher Sainct Paule sheweth euidently that faith maketh a man rightuouse without any workes And not only Sainct Paule but also the holy Doctors that came after him haue confirmed and allowed this most holy trueth of Iustification by fayth among whome Sainct Augustin is the chiefe who in his booke of fayth and workes and in his booke of the Spirit and the Letter and in his booke of fourescore and thrée questions and in his booke which he did write to Boniface and in his treatise vpon the xxxj Psalme and in many other places defendeth this article shewing that we become rightuous by faith without any help of good works howbeit that good works are the effects of rightuousnesse and not the cause of it And he sheweth that y wordes of S. ●ames being soundly vnderstood are nothing contrary to this article Whith thing Origen doth also affirme in his fourth booke vpon the Epistle to the Romanes saying y S. Paules meaning is that fayth only is sufficiente to make men rightuouse insomuch that a man becommeth rightuouse only by beléeuing although he haue not doone anye good work at all For so it is that the théefe became rightuouse without the workes of the lawe forasmuch as the Lord sought not what good workes he had done in time past nor wayted vntill he had done any after he had beléeued but hauing accepted him for rightuouse vpon his only confession tooke him for hys companion euen when he should enter into Paradyse Likewise that so renowmed woman in the gospel of Sainct Luke while she was yit at the féete of Iesus Christ herd it sayd vnto hir thy sins are forgiuen thée And a little after he saieth vnto hir thy faith hath saued thée goo thy way in peace Afterward Origen sayth In many places of the Gospel a man may sée how our Lord Iesus Christ hath spoken in such wise as he sheweth that fayth is the cause of the saluation of the beleuers Thē is a mā made rightuouse by faith and the workes of the lawe further him nothing at all On the contrarie where faith is not which faith maketh the beléeuer rightuouse although a man doo the workes which the law cōmaundeth yit notwithstanding forasmuch as they be not builded vppon the foūdation of faith albeit y to outward appearance they séeme good yit can they not iustifie him that doeth them bicause he wanteth fayth which is the marke of thē that are become rightuouse before god And who is he that cā boast himselfe to be rightuouse whē he hereth God say by his Prophet ●say that all our rightuousnesse is as a defiled cloth of a menstruouse woman Then can wée not iustly glorie in our selues but in y only faith of the crosse of Iesus Christ. S. Basill in hys Homilie of humilitie sayeth y the Christian ought to hold himself for rightuouse through beléefe in Iesus Christ and his wordes are theis The Apostle sayeth that he which glorieth should glorie in the Lord in that God hath made Iesus Christ to be our wisedome rightuousenes holinesse and redemption to the end y he which would glorie should glorye in the Lord bicause that the perfect and sound glorying is to glorye in the lord For in so doing a man presumeth not vppon his owne rightuousenes but acknowledgeth his want of the true rightuousenes and that he is made rightuouse only by beléeuyng in Iesus Christ. And Sainct Paule gloryeth of the despyzyng of hys owne rightuousenesse and of his séeking of Christes rightuousnes by fayth which commeth of god Sainct Hilary in his ninth Canon vppon the exposition of Sainct Matthew sayeth these words The Scribes considering Iesus Christe but only as mā were troubled that a mā should forgiue sinnes and pardon that thing which the Lawe could not doe bicause that onely fayth iustifieth Sainct Ambrose in expounding these wordes of Sainct Paule vnto him that beleeueth in him vvhich iustifieth the vngodly his fay the is accounted for rightuousnesse according to the purpose of Gods grace like as Dauid also sayeth that the man is blissed whom God accompteth rightuouse
his Spowse How can I assuredly glorie that I am Quéene and Mistresse of his greate riches as a wyfe maye I can easly beléeue that otherfolkes shall receyue this honour and glorie but I cannot perswade my selfe that I am one of th●se same to whome GOD hathe gyuen so greate grace For I knowe myne owne wretchednesse and imperfection My der●beloued brother I answer thee that thyne assurance cōsisteth in trew and liuely fayth wherwith as Sainct Peter sayeth God clenzeth mens harts And this fayeth is grownded in the be leuing of the Gospell that is to saye in the beleuing of the gladde tydings which hathe bin published on GODS behalf throwgh the whole world which tydings conteyneth in effect that god hath vsed the rigorousenes of his iustis against Iesus Christ chastizing punishing all our sinnes in him And whosoeuer receiueth this good tydings beléeues it stedfastly hath the true fayth and doth inioye the forgiuenes of his sinnes and is also reconciled vnto GOD and of the chylde of wrath is become the chyld of grace and recouering the image of God entereth into the kingdome of God and is made the temple of God who maryeth mans soule to his onely Sonne by the meane of this fayth which fayth is a worke of God and the gift of god as sainct Paule saieth oftentymes And God giueth it vnto those whom he calleth to him of purpose to iustifie them to glorifie thē to giue them euerlasting lyfe according as our Lorde Iesus Christ witnesseth saying This is the will of him that sent mée euen that euery one which séeth the sonne and beleueth in him should haue euerlasting lyfe and I wyll rayse him vp agein at the latter day And lyke as Moses lifted vp the Serpent in the Wildernesse so must the sonne of man be lifted vp to the ende that euery one which beleueth in him might not perish but haue lyfe euerlasting Also he sayeth to Martha He that beleueth in me shall liue although he wer dead and euery one that liueth beleueth in me shall not dye for euer And to a companie of the Iewes he sayeth I am come a lyght into the world to the ende that euery man which beleueth in me shold not abide in darknes And sainct Iohn in his Epistle saieth Herein appéered the loue of god towards vs for that god is loue and sent his only begotten sonne into this world that we might liue through him And héere in is loue knowen not in that we loued God but in that he loued vs sent his sonne to make attonement for our sinnes And moreouer he sent him to destroy our enemies For the bringing wherof to passe he made him parttaker of our fleshe and of our blud as sayeth sainct Paule to the ende that by his death he myght destroy him that had the dominion of death that is to wit the diuel and set al such at libertie as were subiect to bōdage al their lyfe long for feare of death Seing then that we haue records of the holy Scripture concerning the promises whereof we haue spoken heretofore and concerning many other promyses that are dispersed in diuers places of the same we cannot dout of it And forsomuch as the Scripture speaketh to all ingenerall none of vs oughte to distrust in himselfe that the selfsame thing which the Scripture sayeth should not belong perticularly to him selfe And to the ende that this point wherin lyeth and consisteth the whole misterie of our holie faith may be vnderstod the better Let vs put the cace that some good holie King cause proclamation to be made through his whole Realme by the sound of a Trumpet that all Rebels and banished men shall safely returne home to their howses bicause that at the sewt desert of some dere fréend of theirs it hath pleased hym to pardon them certeinly none of those Rebels ought to dout of the obteyning of trew pardon of his rebellion but rather ought assuredly to returne home to his howse to lyue vnder the shadowe of that holie king And if he will not returne he shall beare the penaltie of it bicause that through his own vnbelefe he dyeth in exyll and in the displeasure of his prince But this good king is the Lorde of Heauen and Earth who for the obedience and desert of our good brother Iesus Christe hath pardoned vs all our siunes and as we haue sayd afore hathe made open proclamaction through the whole world that all of vs may safely returne into his kingdome Wherfore he that beléeueth this proclamaciō dooth streytwayes return into Gods kingdome whereoutof we were driuen by the offence of our first parentes and is blissedly gouerned by gods holy Spirit And he that giueth no credit to the sayde proclamacion shall neuer inioy the sayd geuerall pardon but for his vnbelefes sake shall abyde in banishment vnder the tyrannie of the diuel and liue and dye in extreme miserie liuing and dying in the di●pleasure of the king of heauen and earthe and that iustly For we cannot commit a greater offence against this good God that to account him as a lyer and deceiuer which verely we doo in not giuing credit to his promises O how passing heauie is this deadly sinne of vnbelefe which so farre foorth as is possible beréeueth God of his glorie and perfection besydes the greate harme that it doeth to a mans selfe which is his owne damnation and the endlesse tormēt of his soule which the miserable conscience féeleth euen in this lyfe But on the contrarie he that commeth vnto GOD with assurednesse of this fayth beléeuing him without anye mistruste or dowt of his promises and warranting himselfe for a certeyntie that God will performe al that euer he hath promised him giueth all the glorie vnto God and liueth cōtinually in rest and endles ioy euermore praysing and thanking the Lorde God for choozing him to the glorie of the eternall lyfe And hereof they haue an assured earnestpeny and gage that is to wit the sonne of god whom they take for their most louing Brydegrome the blud of whom hath made theyr hartes so drunken that through this passing holie belefe there is in the christen hart ingendred so lyuely a hope and so certeine a trust of gods ●ercie towards vs and such an operation is wrought in vs as we rest our selues wholly vppon God leauing the whole care of vs vnto him in suche wyse that being throughly assured of Gods good wil we are not afraid nother of the diuel uor of his ministers nor of death Which holie and stedfast trust of Gods mercie inlargeth our hart chéereth it vp and with certeine marualouse swéete affections dyrecteth it vnto GOD filling it and setting it on Fyre with an exceding feruent loue And therefore Paule incourageth vs to goe with all boldnesse to the throne of grace he counselleth vs that wée should not shake it of nor make
own profite But he that knoweth himselfe to bée become ryghtuouse by the merites rightuousenesse of Christ which he maketh his owne by fayth laboreth happily and doeth good works alonly for the loue and glorie of Christ and not for loue of himselfe nor to make himselfe rightuouse And theruppon it commeth that y true christian that is to wit he that accounteth himself rightuouse by reason of Christes rightuousenesse asketh not whither good works be cōmaunded or not but being wholly moued prouoked with a certeine violence of Godly loue he offereth himselfe willingly to do all the workes that are holy and christianlyke and neuer ceaseth to do well He therefore which féeleth not the meruelous 〈◊〉 by his fayth which we haue heretofore ●eclared that the inspired faith worketh in the hart of the christian Let him assure himself that he hath not the christian faith and let him pray earnestly vnto God to giue it hym saying Lord help myne vnbeléef And whē he herereth it said y only faith maketh men rightuonse let him not deceiue himself say what nede I to wery my self in doing good works faith is inough to send me to Paradyse to such a one I answere y only fayth sendeth vs to Paradise but yit let him take good hede for y diuels do also beleue tr●ble as saieth sainct Iames. O miserable man wilte thou go with them to Paradise By this false conclusion t●ou maiest know my brother in what an errour thou art for thou wéenest to haue the fayth that maketh men rightuouse and thou haste it not Thou sayest thou art ryche and hast no nede of any thing and thou séest not how thou art pore wretched blynd and naked I counsell thée to bwy gold of GOD that is throughly fired with fyre that is to say trew faith set on fyre with good works to the intent thou mayest become riche and to clothe thy self with white ramēt that is to wit with Christes innocencie to the end that the shame of thy nakednesse which is the greate filthinesse of thy sinnes be not séene to the whole world Then is the iustifying fayth as it were a flame of fyre which cannot but cast forth brightnes And lyke as the flame burneth the wood without the help of the light and yit the flame cannot be with out the light so is it assuredly trew y fayth alone consumeth burneth away sinne with out the helpe of works and yit that the same fayth cannot be without good works Wherfore like as if we sée a flame of fyre that giueth no light we knowe biandby y it is but vayne and painted euen so when we sée not some light of good works in a man it is a tokē y he hath not y true inspired fayth which god giueth to his chozen to iustifie and glorifie them withall And hold it for certeyne that Saincte Iames ment so when hée sayd shewe me thy fayth by thy works and I wil shewe thée my fayth by my workes For his mening was y he which is plundged in ambitionsenes and worldly pleasures beleueth not though he say he beleue forasmuch as he sheweth not in himself the effects of faith Also we may likē this holy faith to the godhead which is in Iesus Christ who being very man but withoute sin dyd wonderfull thinges healing the sicke giuing sight to the blind walking vppon the water and raising vp the dead vnto lifte agein yit theis maruelouse workes were not the cause that hée was god For before he did anie of those things he was God and the lawfull and onlibegotten sonne of God and he neded not to work those miracles to make himself god bi them but forasmuch as he was god therfore he did thē And so the miracles that Christ wrought made him not to be god but shewed openly that he was god In likewise trewe faith is as it were a godhead in the sowle of a christian which doeth wonderouse works and is neuer weary of well doing and yit those works are not y cause y a christiā is a christian y is to wit that he is rightuouse good holy and acceptable vnto God neither néedeth he to worke all those good workes to become such a one But forasmuch as he is a Christian by fayth like as Iesus Christ being a man was also God by his Godhead he doeth all those good workes which make not the christian to be rightuouse and good but shewe him to be good rightuouse holie So then like as Christes Godhead was y cause that he wrought miracls euen so faith working through loue is y cause of y good works that a chzisten mā doeth And like as a man may say of Iesus Christ y he hath done this miracle or that and that those miracles besides y they glorified God were also a great honor vnto Iesus Christ as he was mā who for his obedience euen vnto death was recompenced at gods hand in his resurrection and had gyuen vnto him all power but in heauen and earth which he had not afore as in respect of his manhod but deserued it by the vnion which is betwixt the word of God and the manhod of Christ So doth faith in a christian which faith by reason of the vnion that it hath with y soule attributeth y thing to the one which is proper to y other whervppon it commeth that y holy scripture promiseth the christian euerlasting life for hys good works bicause good works are y frutes and testimonies of liuely fayth procede of it as light procedeth from a flame of fyre according as I haue sayd heretofore And by this holy faith which imbraseth Iesus christ it commeth to passe that our sowle is ioyned with Christ and is so vnited and knit to him that whatsoeuer Christ hath merited deserued the same is imputed vnto the soule as though it had merited deserued it And therfore S. Austin sayth that God crowneth his owne giftes in vs. Of thys vnion of the soule with Iesus Christ Christ himself beareth good record wher he prayeth to his Father for his Apostles and for suche as should beleue in him by their preaching I pray not sayeth he for thē only but also for all those that shall beleue in me through their word to the end they may be al one thing that like as thou my Father arte in me I in thée so they also may be one in vs that the world may beleue that thou hast sent mée and that I haue giuen thē the glorie which thou haste giuen mée so as they should be one selfsame thing like as thou and I are one Wherby it appereth euidently that if we beleue y word of the Apostles who preached that Iesus Christ died for our sinnes and rose agein for our iustification we become all one thyng with him and forasmuch as he is all one with Go● we also become all one with
thirst after rightuousenesse he cannot taste of the swéetnesse of Iesus Christ how swéete it is to talke of him to thinke of him and to follow his most holy lyfe But when we once throughlye knowe our owne infirmitie by meane of the Lawe let vs herken to sainct Iohn Baptist who poynteth vs to the souerein Phisicion with his fingar saying Beholde y Lamb of God which taketh away y sinnes of the world For he it is that deliuereth vs from the heauie yoke of the law abrogating and disanulling the curses and sharp threatnings of the same healing all our infirmities reforming our frée will returning vs to our auncient innocencie and repayringe in vs the image of our God insomuch that according to sainct Paules saying lyke as by Adam we be all dead so by Iesus Christ we are all quickened And it is not to be beléeued y the sinne of Adam which we haue by inheritance from him should be of more force then the ryghtuousnes of Christe the which also we inherit by fayth It séemeth that m●n hath great cause to complayn that without any reason why he is conceiued borne in sinne and in the wickednesse of his parents by meanes of whom death reigneth ouer all men But now is all our sorow taken awaye inasmuch as by a lyke meane without anye occasiō giuen on our behalf rightuousenesse euerlasting lyfe are come by Iesus Christ and by him death is s●ayne whereof sainct Paule maketh a verie goodly discourse which I purpose to set downe here folowing Wherefore sayth he lyke as by one man sinne entred into the world and death by sin euen so death went ouer al mē ●orasmuch as all men haue sinned For vntill the Lawe sinne was in the worlde but sin was not regarded as long as ther was no law Neuerthelater death reigned frō Adā vnto Moses euen ouer thē also y sinned not after y like maner of y trāsgressiō of Adam who was a figur of him y was to come But yit the gift is not so as is the offence For if through the offence of one manie be dead much more the grace of God and the gift by grace which is by one man Iesus Christe hath abounded vnto many Neyther is the gift so as that which entred in by one the sinned For the fault came of one offence vnto condemnation but the gifte is of many offēces to iustification For if by the offence of one death reigned through one much more shall they which receiue the abōdance of grace and of the gift of rightuousnes reigne in life through one that is Iesus Christ. Likewise then as by the offence of one the fault came on all men to condemnation so by y ryghtuousenes of one the benefyte abounded toward all men to the iustification of life For as by one mans disobedience many wer made sinners so by the obediēce of one shall many also be made righteous Moreouer the law entred ther vppon that the offence shold aboūd neuertheles where sinne aboūded ther grace abounded much more that as sinne had reigned vnto death so might grace also reigne by rightuousenes vnto eternal lyfe through Iesus Christ our lord By theis words of saint Paule we manife●tlye perceiue the thing to be trew which we haue said heretofore that is to wit that the lawe was giuen to make sinne knowē which sinne we do also know no to be of greater force thā Chris●es rightuousenes wherthrough we be iustifyed before god For euen as Iesus Christ is strōger than Adam was so is his ryghtuousenes more mightie than the sinne of Adam And if the sinne of Adam was sufficient ynough to make al men sinners children of wrath without ani misdéed of our own much more shall Christes ryghtuousnes be of greater force to make vs all rightuouse and the children of grace without any of our owne good workes which cannot be good vnlesse that before we do them we our selues be made good as Awstin also affirmeth Hereby a mā may know in what an errour they bée who by reason of some great offence despayre of gods good wil imagining that he is not willing to forgiue couer and pardon all sinne hauing alredie punished and chastized al our sinnes and iniquities in his owne onely begotten and déerebeloued sonne and consequently graunted a generall pardon to all mankinde which euery bodye inioyeth that beleueth the Gospell that is to say which beléeueth the happie tydings that the Apostles haue published through the whole worlde saying We beséeche you for Iesus Christes sake be yée recon●yled vnto God for he that neuer knew sinne was made a sacrifyze for our sinne that we might become rightuouse in him The Prophet Esay foreséeing this great goodnes of God writeth these heauēly words which do so well peynt out the passiō of our Lord Iesus Christ and the cause ther of as it is not to be found better descrybed euen in the writings of the Apostles Who sayth he will beleue our report to whom is the arme of the Lord reueled But hée shall grow vp before him as a braunche and as a roote out of a drye gdound he hath neyther forme nor beautie when we shall sée him ther shal be no forme that we should desire him He is despized and reiected of men he is a man full of sorowes and hath experience of infirmities wée hidd as it were our faces from him he was despized we estemed him not Surely he hathe borne our infirmities and caried our sorowes yit we did iudge him as plaged and smitten of god and humbled but he was wounded for our trāsgressions he was broken for our iniquities The chasismēt of our peace was vppō him and with his stripes we are healed All we like shéepe haue gone astraie we haue turned euery one to his owne waye and the Lord hath layde vppon him the iniquitie of vs all he was oppressed he was afflicted yit dyd he not open his mouth He is brought as a shéepe to the slaughter and as a shéepe before the shearer is dumme so he openeth not his mouth O great vnkindnes O thing abhominable that we which professe our selues Christians and here that the sonne of God hath taken al our sinnes vppō him washed them out with his preciouse blud suffering himselfe to bée fastened to the crosse for our sakes should neuertheles make as though we would iustifie our selues purchace forgiuenes of our sinnes by our our owne workes as who would say that the deserts ryghtuousenes and bludshed of Iesus Christ were not ynough to do it vnlesse we came to put to our workes ryghtuousnes which are altogither defiled and spotted with selfeloue seflyking selfeprofit and a thousande other vanities for which we haue néede to craue pardon at GODS hande rather than reward Neyther do we thinke of the threatnings which saint Paule vseth to the Galathians who hauing bin deceiued by falseprechers beleued not