Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	wit_n	work_n	work_v	175	4	6.6114	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A08832	The benefit that Christians receiue by Iesus Christ crucified translated out of French into English, by A.G.	Paleario, Aonio, 1503-1570.; Golding, Arthur, 1536-1606.	1580 (1580)	STC 19116; ESTC S926	54,090	122

than for the loue and glory of God and so he defileth all his works with selfeloue for the loue of himselfe and for his own profit But he that knoweth himselfe to be become righteous by the merits and righteousnesse of Christe which hee maketh his owne by fayth laboureth happily doeth good woorkes alonely for the loue and glory of Christ and not for love of himselfe nor to make himselfe righteous And thervpō it cōmeth that the true Christiā that is to wit he that accounteth him self righteous by reason of Christes righteousnes asketh not whether good works be cōmanded or not but being wholly moued prouoked with a certaine violence of godly loue he offereth himselfe willingly to doal the works that are holy Christianlike and neuer ceaseth to doe well He therefore which féeleth not the meruailous effects by his faith which we haue heretofore declared y ● the inspired faith worketh in y ● heart of the christiā Let him assure himselfe that he hath not the christiā faith let him pray earnestly vnto God to giue it him saying Lorde helpe mine vnbeleefe And when he heareth it said that only faith maketh men righteous let him not deceiue himself say What néede I to weary my selfe in doing good workes faith is inough to send me to Paradise To such an one I answeare that onely fayth sendeth vs to Paradise but yet let him take good héed for the diuels doe also beléeue and tremble as saith S. Iames O miserable man wilte thou goe w t them too Paradise By this false cōclusiō thou maist know my brother in what an error thou art for thou wéenest to haue the faith that maketh men righteous and thou hast it not Thou sayest thou art rich and hast no néede of any thing and thou seest not howe thou art poore wretched blind and naked I councel thée to buy golde of God that is throughly fixed w t fire that is to say true faith set on fire with good works to the intent thou maist become riche and to cloth thy self with white raiment that is to wit with Christes innocencie to the ende that the shame of thy nakednesse which is the great filthinesse of thy sinnes be not séene to the whole world Then is the iustifying faith as it were a flame of fire which cānot but cast foorth brightnesse And like as the flame burneth the wood without the helpe of the light and yet the flame cannot bee without the light so is it assuredly true that fayth alone consumeth and burneth away sinne without the helpe of woorkes and yet that the same fayth cannot be with out good woorkes Wherefore like as if we see a flame of fire that giueth no light we knowe by and by that it is but vayne and painted euen so when wee see not some light of good woorkes in a man it is a token that he hath not the true inspired faith which God giueth to his chosen too iustifie and glorify them withall And hold it for certayne that S. Iames meant so when he sayde shewe mee thy faith by thy works I wil shewe thée my faith by my works For his meaning was that he s ● is plūged in ambitiousnes and worldly pleasurs beleueth not though he say he beleue forasmuch as he sheweth not in himself the effects of faith Also we may liken this holy faith too the Godhead which is in Iesus Christ who being very mā but w tout sin did wonderful thinges healing the sicke giuing sight to the blind walking vpon the water and raysing vp the dead vnto life again yet these merueilous works were not the cause that he was God For before he did any of those things he was God and the lawful and only begottē sonne of God and he néed not to worke those miracles to make himself God by them but forasmuch as he was God therfore he did them And so the miracles that Christ wrought made him not to be God but shewed openly that he was God In likewise true fayth is as it were a Godhead in the Soule of a Christian which doeth wonderous works is neuer weary of well doyng and yet those works are not the cause that a Christian is a christian that is to wit that he is righteous good holy and acceptable vntoo God neither néedeth he to woorke all those good workes to become such a one But forasmuch as he is a christian by fayth lyke as Iesus Christ being a man was also God by his Godhead hee dooth all those good woorkes which make not the christian too be righteous and good but shewe him to be good righteous and holy So then like as Christes Godhead was the cause that hée wrought miracles euen so faith working through loue is the cause of the good works that a christen man doeth And like as a mā may say of Iesus Christ that hee hath done this miracle or that that those miracles besids that they glorified God were also a great honor vnto Iesus Christ as he was mā who for his obedience euen vnto death was recōpenced at Gods hād in his resurrectiō had geuen vnto him al power both in heauen earth which he had not afore as in respect of his manhood but deserued it by the vnion w t is betwixt the worde of God and the māhood of Christ So doeth faith in a Christian which faith by reasō of the vnion that it hath with the soule attributeth that thing too the one in is proper to the other whervpon it cōmeth that the holy scripture promiseth the christian euerlasting life for his good woorks because good works are the fruites and testimonies of liuely faith and procéed of it as light procéedeth frō a flame of fire accōrding as I haue said hertofore And by this holy faith which imbraceth Iesu Christ it commeth to passe that our soule 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 and deserued it And therefore S. Augustine saith that God crowneth his owne giftes in vs. Of this vnion of the soule with Iesus Christ Christ himselfe beareth good recorde where hee prayeth so his father for his Apostles and for such as should beléeue in him by their preaching I pray not saith he for them onely but also for al those that shal beléeue in me through theyr word to the end they may be all one thing that like as thou my father art in me and I in thee so they also may b●e one in vs and that the world may beléeue that thou hast sent me and that I haue geuen them the glory which thou hast geuen me so as they should be one selfsame thing like as thou and I are one Whereby it appeareth euidently that if we beléeue the word of the Apostles who preached that Iesus Christ died for our sinnes

the members of his eldest sonne whose per●ection and righteousnesse doeth supply all our vncleannesse and imperfection which arenot layde to our charge forsomuche as they be couered vnder the purenes and innocencie of Iesus Christe and come not to iudgement before God And héereupon it co●neth too passe that all our woorkes which proceede of a true faith notwithstanding that they be wholy sinful and corrupt of themselues shall neuerthelesse bée praysed and allowed by Iesus Christe in the generall iudgement because they bee the fruites and Testimonies of our faith whereby wee bée saued For insomuche as we haue loued y ● brethren of Iesus Christ wée shall shew euidently that wée haue also béene faithfull and brethren of Christe and therefore by faith wée shall bee put in full possession of the euerlasting kingdome which our soueraigne Lord God hath prepared for vs before y ● creating of the world not for our merites sakes but through his mercy whereby he hath chosen vs and called vs to the grace of his Gospel and made vs righteous to the intent to glorifie vs euerlastingly with his only begotten sonne Iesus Christe who is the holinesse and righteousnesse of vs but not of them which wyll not confesse that faith is sufficient of it selfe too make a man righteous and acceptable to the Lord GOD who through his fatherly goodnes and louing kindnes offereth and giueth vs Iesus Christe with his righteousnesse without any desert of our owne works What thing can work or cause a man too deserue so great a gyfte and Ireasure as Iesus Christe is This treasure is geuen only through the grace fauour and mercyfulnesse of GOD and only faith is the thing that receiueth suche a gift as too make vs inioy the forgiuenesse of our sinnes And therfore when S. Paul other Doctors say that only faith maketh men righteous without workes they meane y ● it maketh vs so inioy y ● general forgeuenesse of our sinnes and to receiue Iesus Christ who as saith S. Paul dwelleth in our heartes by faith and ouercomming and pacifiyng the troubles of our consci●nces satisfieth Gods iustice for our sinnes Furthermore it appeaseth Gods wrath iustly mooued against vs quenetheth the fyre of Hell whereinto our naturall corruption did throw vs headlong and chéerefully destroyeth and ouerthroweth the Deuil togeather with al his power and tyranny Which things all y ● works that al y ● men in the worlde can lay together are not able to deserue nor to bring to passe That glory and that prerogatiue is reserued alonly to the sonne of God that is to wit too the blessed Iesus Christe who hath power aboue all the the powers that are in heauen in earth and in Hell and giueth himselfe and his merites to al such as distrusting in thēselues doe set their whole hope of being saued in him and in his merites And therefore let no man beguile him selfe when hée heareth it saide that onely fayth iustifieth without workes and think as false christians doe who drawe all thinges to liue fleshly that the true faith consisteth in beléeuing the bare s●rory of Iesus Christ after the same manner as men beléeue the story of Caesar or Alexander Suche manner of beliefe is but an historicall belief grounded méerely vpon the report of men vpon their writinges lightly imprinted in our conceite by a certaine custome and is like to the faith of the Turkes who for the like reasons beléeue the fables of their Alcaron And such a faith is but an imagination of man which neuer renueth the har● of man nor warmeth it with the loue of God neyther doe any good woorkes insue or any change of life which faith shoulde bring foorth And therfore they falsty hold opiniō against y ● holy scripture and agaynst the holy Doctors of the church y ● only faith maketh not māe righteous but y ● they must also haue works vnto whō I answere that this historical and fond beléefe and all the workes that insue therof are not only vnable to make a man righteous but also doo cast the parties headlong to the bottome of hel like vnto those y ● haue no oyle in their larpes that is to say no liecly ●aith in their harts The fayth that maketh men righteous is a work of God in vs wherby out old man is crucified wee being transformed in Iesus Christe become newe creatures the déere beloued children of God This heauenly faith is it that graffeth vs into the death and resurrection of Iesus Christ consequently mortifieth our flesh with the affects lustes therof For when we by the operation of fayth do knowe our selues to be dead with Iesus Christe wee are at a full point with our selues with the world are throughly resolued how it is méete that they which are dead with Iesus Christe shoulde mortifie their earthly members that is to wit the sinfull affections of they mind and the lusts of the flesh forasmuch as we know we bee raysed againe in Christ we bend our selues to the leading of a spirituall holy life like vnto that which we shal liue in heauē after the last resurrection This holy fayth making vs to inioy the general pard●n that is published by the Gospel bringeth vs into the kingdome of our good God and pacifieth our cōsciences mainteining vs in cōtinual ioy holy spiritual sweetnes This self-same faith knitteth vs vnto God maketh him to dwell in our heartes clotheth our soule with himself so as thēceforth the holy Ghost moueth vs to doe the same things wherunto he moued Iesus Christ while he was in the world was cōuersant among men that is to wit vnto lo wlines meekenes obedientnes vnto God louingnes other perfections wherthrough we recouer y ● image of God For these selfsame causes Iesus Christ did rightly attribute blessednes vnto this inspired faith which blessednes cannot be v ●out good works holines of life And how can it bée that a Christian should not beocme holy seeing that Iesus Christ is become his holines through ●aith Therfore by faith we be iustified saued and therfore S. Paul doth in a maner alwaies call those Saints whom we call nowe Christians who if they haue not Christs spirit are none of Christes consequētly no Christiās at al. But if they have the spirit of Iesus Christe to rule and gouerne them we must not doubte but that although they knowe well that they bee made righteous through faith onely yet for al that they will become neuer the more slouthfull to do good workes For Christes spirite is the spirit of loue and loue cannot bee idle nor cease from the doing of good works But if we will say the truth a mā can do no good works except he first know himselfe to be become righteous by faith for before he knoweth that his dooing of good woorkes is rather too make himselfe righteous