wee ought to thinke our selves mercifully dealt with if wee escape the punishment which by the Law of God is due unto us But here it will bee said if the master shall bee pleased to promise rewards unto the servant for his service well performed may not the servant expect the promised reward I answere that what reward soever shâ—…ll in this kinde be either promised or given it is wholly to be ascribed to the Masters bounty and not to the servants merit § VII For the third That which is done of meere duty by a servant to his Lord there belongeth no reward in justice as deserved by him But all that we who are the servants of God can doe though we should doe all that is commanded is done of meere bounden duety to our Lord. Therefore to all that we can doe though we should doe all that is commanded there belongeth no reward as justly deserved by us But when we have done all that is commanded I speak by supposition as our Saviour doth we must no lesse truely than humbly confesse that wee are unprofitable servants that is as is manifestly gathered out of the parable such as cannot deserve so much as thankes of our Lord. If therefore our gracious Lord shall be pleased out of his bounty freely to promise and according to his promise graciously to reward our imperfect obedience which he might justly punish it is not our merit but his great mercie that he doth not punish it more that he doth accept of it as well pleasing unto him in his welbeloved but most of all that he doth most graciously and undeservedly reward it From whence I reason thus Whosoever are unprofitable servants they doe not merit noâ—… deserve the reward of eternall life of their Lord. All the faithfull though they should doe all that is commanded are unprofitable servants Therefore none of the faithfull though they should doe all that is commanded doe merit or deserve at the hands of God the reward of eternall life And if they who doe all that is commanded cannot merit then much lesse they whose obedience is defective as the obedience even of the best is So saith Hierome si inutilis est qui fecit omnia quid de illo dicendum qui explerenon potuit § VIII The assumption is proved first because our Saviour commandeth his Apostles to confesse as the truth is that when they have done all that is commanded they are unprofitable servants and therefore they who neither doe nor can doe all are impudent lyars when they professe themselves to be profitable servants Secondly by a comparison of earthly Lords and servants For if earthly Lords and masters owe not so much as thankes to their servants who are indeed their fellow servants for all the service which they can doe though they doe not give them the will and the power to doe them acceptable service how much lesse doth God who being our absolute Lord doth also give us will and power to serve him owe unto his servants the reward of the kingdome of heaven And if servants by doing all possible service to their earthly masters who are but their fellow servants cannot deserve so much as thankes at their hands how much lesse can wee who serve the Lord of Lords deserve the kingdome of heaven at his hands by our unperfect and defective service of him Thirdly from the antithesis or opposition that is betweene debitum and meritâ—…m duety and merit For hee that doth but his duety though he performe his whole duty cannot merit a reward of his Master but must confesse himselfe to be an unprofitable servant how much lesse can they merit an heavenly reward at the hands of God who performe not their whole duty but faile in many particulars both by omission and commission as the very best of us doe § IX To avoid the force of this unavoidable argument Bellarmine seeketh many evaâ—…ions which he would gladly father upon the Fathers of the Church For he saith there be foure egregious expositions given by the Fathers none whereof make against the merit of good workes The first of Saint Ambrose that of our selves and by nature we are unprofitable servants â—…apt and unable to fulfill Gods Commandements which our Saviour would have us humbly to acknowledge though by grace we become profitable and therefore as he saith agnoscenda est gratia sed non ignoranda natura Reply Ambrose doth not speake of our corrupt nature neither is it his meaning that by nature wee are unprofitable servants by grace profitable but that by nature wee are servants and by grace sonnes For by nature corrupted wee are not the servants of God but of sinne and Satan But he understandeth the meaning of our Saviour to be that the children of God who are in the state of grace should not glory in their workes as if by them they did merit any thing of God quia jure Domino debemus obsequium because by right we owe obedience to God Neither should we thinke our selves exempted from continued obedience because we are sonnes for as we are sons by the grace of adoption which we are to acknowledge so by nature and creation whereof we are not to be ignorant we are servants As therefore thou who art a master dost not content thy selfe with one worke of thy servant and then biddest him sit downe and eate but having done one worke thou exactest of him another vers 8. So God doth not require the use of one worke in thee but whiles we live we must alwaies work Secondly our Saviour doth not speake of naturall men as being unprofitable because unapt to fulfill Gods Commandements but directeth his speech to the faithfull and namely to his owne Apostles and Disciples who study and endeavour to keepe all Gods Commandements which without grace cannot be done requiring them to make this humble and true confession that even when they have done all that is commanded they are but unprofitable servants such as are described in the parable who deserve nothing at the hands of their master because in doing all that is commanded they doe but their bounden duty and that excludeth merit For debitum non est meritum Yea but Bellarmine proveth out of 2 Tim. 2. 21. that by grace men become profitable to God For he that purgeth himselfe shall become a vessell profitable unto the Lord. Answ. The Greek is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fit for the master of the house to use for the benefit of the houshold and fitted for every good worke But that our piety or obedience bringeth no profit to God I have shewed before And this is the very second exposition of this place which though repugnant to this present assertion Bellarmine himselfe doth commend in the second place For so hee saith § X. We are commanded as Bede expoundeth this Text to acknowledge that we bring no profit to God but that what good thing
soever wee doe is profitable to our selves but not to God Reply Beda giveth two reasons though Bellarmine conceale the better why we doing that which is commanded are notwithstanding called unprofitable servants The former quia Dominus bonorum nostrorum non indiget because the Lord hath no need of our good things Which though true yet doth neither so well fit the comparison wherein the servant though usefull to his master both abroad and at home could not by all his endevour deserve to himselfe so much as thankes neither agreeable to the reason which our Saviour rendreth because we have â—…one what is our duty to doe The latter we are unprofitable servants because saith he Non sunt condignae c. The sufferings of this life are not worthy of the glory that shall be reavealed that is because we cannot deserve the reward of eternall life by our service But as it is elswhere said saith he who crowneth thee in mercie and loving kindenesse hee doth not say in thy merits and workes because by whose mercie wee are prevented that we may in humility serve God by his gift we are crowned that in sublimity we may reigne with him So Bede § XI The third exposition he saith is Augustines viz. That we may be called unprofitable servants when we have kept all Gods Commandements because we doe no more than our duty which indeed is the reason which Christ himselfe doth render neither can wee from thence demand any just reward unlesse God had made a liberall Covenant with us For by our condition we are the bond-servants of God and if he will he may bind us to performe all manner of workes as it pleaseth him without reward This our condition Christ for the preservation of humility would have us to acknowledge Howbeit by his gracious covenant we may expect reward 2 Tim. 4. 7 8. Matth. 20. 13. Which God in his great bounty hath promised to this end that thereby he might draw us to performance of our duety as Augustine teacheth Replpy This answere of Bellaamine is worthy to be observed or rather admired first for the impudencie of it in that he fathereth this exposition upon Augustine who in the place by him quoted doth not once mention this Text of Luk. 17. 10. nor hath one word to that purpose for which this exposition is alleaged excepting the clause of Gods bounty which as it proveth this to bee that very testimony of Augustine which he quoteth so doth it evidently exclude merit Secondly for the force of truth which forceth him to contradict his owne assertions both here and in other places For first hee confesseth that hee which doth no more but his duty doth not merit and that wee doe no more but our duty Whereupon it followeth that we doe not merit Secondly where hee confesseth that wee can doe no more than our duty he renounceth all workes of supererrogation And thirdly in that he confesseth that for the same cause wee are unprofitable servants he taketh away all merit of condignity Fourthly he confesseth that without Gods gracious promise we could expect no reward Which proveth that the reward is due onely ratione pacti and not ratione ipsius operis which afterward he denyeth Fifthly he confesseth that such is the bounty and goodnesse of God that to allure us to the performance of our duty hee doth freely promise a reward Now what God doth freely promise to give he giveth freely and without desert For eternall life which in his word hee hath promised as a reward in his eternall counsell hee purposed freely without any respect of our worthynesse to bestow upon us and what in mercy hee either purposed or promised Christ by his merit hath purchased for us So that we attaine to heaven by a threefold right By Gods free donation electing us in Christ as his free gift Secondly by Christs merit as our inheritance Thirdly by Gods free promise as his gracious reward whereby he crowneth not our merits but his owne gifts and graces in us God indeed hath promised freely to reward our workes but that our workes should merit the reward he hath no where promised or taught § XII His fourth exposition is of Chrysostome that the Lord doth not say ye are unprofitable servants but biddeth them say so which is true But what will Bellarmine inferre therefrom that therefore they were not so God forbid For then our Saviour should have taught his Disciples to lye Neither doth God allow of counterfeit humility But the meaning of our Saviour was to teach his Disciples in humility to confesse the truth that because they had but done their duty if they had done all that is commanded they should not bee lifted up with a proud conceite that thereby they had merited but should no lesse truly than humbly confesse that they were unprofitable servants who by doing no more than their duty could not merit of God And this objection is also answered by Bernard Sed hoc inquies propter humilitatem monuit omne dicendum Planè propter humilitatem numquid contra veritatem But you will say that for humility sake hee admonisheth them thus to say No doubt for humilitie But did hee bid them speake against verity And the same is taught by Chrysostome elsewhere No man saith hee doth shew foorth such a conversation as to be worthy of the kingdome but it is wholly of his gift therefore hee saith when you shall doe all that is commanded say we are unprofitable servants we have done what is our duty to doe And againe in another place where he sheweth that what the Sonne of God did for us hee did not of duty but what good we doe wee doe it of duty Wherefore himselfe said when you shall have done all say ye are unprofitable servants for wee have done what was our duty to doe If therefore wee shew foorth love if we give our goods to the poore we performe our duty c. Object Yea but the servants which imployed their Talents well were commended as profitable servants Answ. They were commended as good servants and faithfull to their master And of him because they profitably imployed their Talents were graciouslie rewarded But of their merit nothing is said If they had not imployed their Talents well they should have beene punished And in that they did imploy them well they did but their duty and that also by assistance of Gods grace who both gave them the Talents and grace to imploy them well and therefore though they had reward yet they did not merit it § XIII Our fourth Testimonie is Rom. 6. 23. For the stipend of sinne is death but the free gift of God is eternall life through IESVS CHRIST our LORD where is an antitheâ—…is or opposition betweene death meaning eternall death the reward of sinne and eternall life the reward of righteousnesse that death is the stipend of sinne justly merited by it but
our selves to bee sinners and our righteousnesse consisteth not in our owne merit but in the mercy of God 4. God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble but where is grace it is not the retribution of workes but the largesse of the giver that the saying of the Apostle may be fulfilled it is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth but of God that sheweth mercy 5. Writing on those words Esai 64. 8. thou art our Father hee saith Si nostra consideremus merita desperandum est si tuam autem clementiam c. If wee consider our merits wee must despaire but if thy clemency who doest scourge every sonne whom thou receivest we dare powre forth our prayers 6. When the day of judgement or of death shall come all hands will bee dissolved because no worke shall bee found worthy Gods justice and in his sight shall no man living be jâ—…stified namely if he enter into judgement with him whereupon the Prophet saith in the Psâ—…lme If thou Lord observe iniquities who shall abide To these two that thred-bare answere is given that they speake of humane workes not assisted by grace when it is plaine that the former words are spoken in the person of Gods children whose good workes are alwayes assisted by grace the latter of all men even of the best whose workes though proceeding from grace are stained with the flesh and therefore not worthy of Gods justice § XIII The same answere is given to the testimonies of Macaâ—…ius and Marcus the Eremits which cannot bee so eluded Macarius speaking of the dignity of Christians for whom God hath prepared a kingdome writeth thus As touching the gift therefore which they shall inherit a man might well say that if any one should â—…ven from the creation of Adam to the consummation of the world fight against Satan and should suffer afflictions 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hee should doe no great matter in respect of the glory which he shall inherit Marcus among his twenty two sentences concerning those who thinke to bee justified by workes which in the first â—…entence hee calleth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hath divers against merits whereof I will cite a few Our Lord saith he when he would shew that the keeping of the whole Law is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 debita to bee performed as a debt and that the adoption of sonnes is given by his blood hee saith when you shall have done all things that are commanded you say wee are unprofitable servants we have done what was our duety to doe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Therefore the kingdome of heaven is not wages or a mercenary reward of workes but the Grace or free Gift of the Lord prepared for his faithfull servants The servant doth no require liberty 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as a deâ—…erved reward but receiveth it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as given by grace Some not doing the Commandements thinke they beleeve well Others doing them looke to receive the kingdome 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as due wages 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 both sorts misse the heavenly Canaan From Lords no reward is due to servants 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 neither doe they obtaine liberty unlesse they serve well If Christ dyed for us according to the Scriptures and wee live not to our selves but to him that dyed for us and rose againe surely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 wee are bound as debtours to serve him uâ—…till death how then shall we esteeme the adoption or inheritance of sonnes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 due unto us § XIV Out of Chrysostome many pregnant testimonies are alleaged first In Coloss. homil 2. Why doth hee call it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 lot or inheritance by lot 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. he sheweth that no man by his owne good workes doth obtaine the kingdome for no man sheweth forth such a conversation that hee should bee worthy of the kindgdome but this is altoâ—…ether of the gift of God wherefore he saith when you shall have done all say we are unprofitable servants for what things wee ought to doe wee have done The same hath Theâ—…philact To this you may adde that which I cited before out of his Treatise De compunctione ad Stâ—…lochium and that which hee writeth in Psal. 4. 5. and in his sermon De primâ—… homine praelato â—…mni creaturâ—… In which it is said though we should die ten thousand deaths and should shew forth all virtue though we should performe ten thousand good workes yet we cannot performe any thing worthy of those honours bestowed upon us worthy of that heavenly kingdome or correspondent unto it but it is of his mâ—…rcie of his love of his grace that we are saved than which nothing can bee spoken more plaine against the merit of â—…ondignity To all which a senselesse answere is given that heaven is the free gift of God and yet is purchased by our merits which implyeth a contradiction within it selfe and is expressely repugnant to the Scriptures Rom 4. 4. 11. 6. And the reason which is given to prove it doth overthrow it because the good works which they call merits are the free gifts of God and therfore cannot merit of God as I have shewed before § XV. To that which is alleaged out of the life of Saint Anthâ—…ny and out of Augustine in Psal. 36. Conc. 2. in both which places is notably expressed the infinite disproportion betweene that we can doe or suffer which the Papists call merits and the heavenly reward which evidently overthroweth the Popish doctrine of meriâ—…s as I have heretofore proved it is answered that notwithstanding all this disproportion eternall life is given and justly given as the reward thereof But the question is not whether God doth justly give the reward which he hath freely promised but whether we doe merit and deserve it This answere therefore is frivolous Out of Augustine I have before produced manifold and manifest testimonies but yet because the Papists alleage out of him two Assertions which to them seeme contrary to that wee hold to wit that God is our debtour in respect of eternall life and that in justice he doth render it unto us I will brâ—…efly cleare them For first Augustine every where professeth that God is not a debtour unto us in respect of out desert but in regard of his gracious promise which proveth not our merit but the contrary For what he freely promised without respect of our worthinesse or desert that hee also promised to give freely And therefore eternall life when it is given according to his promise it is given freely and without our desert God is a debtour onely in respect of his promise a debtour unto himselfe as I have said before in respect of his trueth and fidelity it being impossible that he should lie or deny himselfe but not a debtour to us in respect of our
indeed two principall arguments which he bringeth to prove the merit of good workes which it shall suffice to answere in their due place For I doe not thinke them worthy of double paines Only for the present I answer to the first that where is speech of our dignity it is to bee ascribed to Gods dignation as Bernard well saith Digni nos sumus sedipsius dignatione non dignitate nostra wee are worthy but by his dignation or deigning to accept of us as worthy not by our own worthines secondly the words dignus and dignè sometimes do signifie not the equality of worth but that which is convenient meet or becomming as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Col. 1. 10. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Thess. 2. 12. 3 Ioh. 6. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Eph. 4. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Phil. 1. 27. To the second thatthere are rewards free liberal and undeserved as wel as those which be mercenary and deserved and therfore the name of reward doth not alwaies presuppose merit or desert To which purpose let the reader compare these paralell places Mat. 5. 46. Luk. 6. 32. where the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are used in the selfe same sense For if you love those that love you what reward have you quam mercedem habetis saith Matthew quae vobis est gratia saith Luke what thankes have you in the one is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the other 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thus much of the name § IV. For the thing Bellarmine bringeth three sorts of proofes Authority of Scripture Testimonies of Fathers and reason The authorityes of Scripture he reduceth to seven heads The first is of those places whâ—…re eternall life is called merces reward His reason is thus framed If eternall life be the reward of good workes then good workes doe merit it but the former is true viz. that eternall life is the reward good workes therefore the latter viz. that good workes doe merit eternall life Answ. The proposition he taketh for granted all his proofe in this place being that sine dubitatione without doubt it is true But in his second Chapter he proved it by this which goeth for a maxiâ—…e among them that merces and meritum are relatives But I answere by distinction That merces reward is of two sorts It is either debita due as justly deserved or gratâ—…ita as freely bestowed and without desert as Ambrose also distinguisheth Alia est merces saith hee liberalitatis gratia aliud virtutis stipendium laboris remâ—…neratio which distinction is insiunated by the Apostle Rom. 4. 4. for reward is either imputed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according to grace as the inheritance of an adopted sonne or rendred 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according to debt or duty as the hire or wages of an hired servant or labourer who is worthy of his hire And is acknowledged by Bellarmine For when the Apostle saith to him that worketh the reward is not imputed according to grace but according to debt satis aperitè indicat esse quandam mercedem qua imputari possit secundum gratiam non secundum debitum he doth plainely enough shew that there is a certaine reward which may bee imputed according to grace not according to debt Merces noftra saith Augustine gratia vocatur Si gratia est gratis datur Our reward is called gratia so the Latine translateth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 if it be grace it is freely given And againe God hath sent a Physitian hee hath sent a Saviour hee hath sent him who should heale freely that is but little that hee should heale freely who should also give reward to them that are healed Nothing can be added to this benevolence Who is he that will say let me heale thee and I give thee a reward Of this free reward wee have examples and Testimonies in the holy Scriptures as first that which Bellarmine in the first place citeth very impertinently to prove the name merit Gen 15. 1. where the Lord saith to Abraham I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward Psalm 127. 3. heritage and reward used promiscuously Children are an heritage from the Lord and the fruit of the wombe is his reward And so merces and gratia as was noted before out of Matth. 5. 46. and Luk. 6. 30. Such a reward is our inheritance in heaven which is therefore called the reward of inheritance Col. 3. 24. And this most plainely appeareth in the antithesis which the Apostle maketh betweene the reward of sinne and the reward of piety The wages of sinne is death but eternall life is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the free gift of GOD in IESVS CHRIST our LORD Rom. 6. 23. But of this place we have spoken in our fourth Testimonie whereby it appeareth that howsoever merces debita that is wages and meriâ—…um are relatives yet merit and the reward of eternall life or any other free reward are not relatives Among men wages hath place because the labourer deserveth it and he that hireth him is benefited by the labour and there is ordinarily a due proportion betweene the labour and the wages But with God it is otherwise we can deserve nothing of him neither is hee benefited by our labours neither is there any proportion betweene our workes and the reward of eternall life The proposition therefore though by him taken for granted is by us to be denyed § V. The assumption that eternall life is the reward of good workes wee freely confesse so it bee understood of a free reward which as it was graciously promised so it is freely and undeservedly given Bellarmine therefore should have proved that eternall life is a mercenary and on our part a deserved reward But of all the places which he quoteth both in the second and third Chapters where the word merâ—…es is used not one doth prove eternall life to bee a deserved reward or imply the merit of condignity As Genes 15. 1. I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward 2 Chron. 15. 7. Your worke shall be rewarded Prov. 11. 18. To him that soweâ—…h righteousnesse there shall bee a sure reward For as Hos. 10. 12. Hee that soweth in righteousnesse shall reape in mercie Wisd. 5. 16. The righteous shall live for ever and their reward is with the Lord Eccl. 18. 22. The reward of the Lord abideth for ever Esai 40. 10. Behold the Lord will come and his reward with him so Apoâ—… 22. 12. Matth. 5. 12. great is your reward in heaven 1 Cor. 3. 8. Every one shall recive his owne reward according to his owne labour § VI. Onely there may bee question of that place Matth. 20. 8. Call the labourers and give them their wages which Bellarminâ—… citeth in the third Chapter and afterwards urgeth both in the same Chapter and in the seventeenth and also nineteenth And for as