Paule here vseth and is proper vnto him alone is full of consolation Likewise in the .7 chapter to the Romaines he setteth the law of the spirite against the law of the mēbers And because this is a straunge and a maruelous manner of speaking therfore it entreth more easily into the mind and sticketh faster in the memorie Moreouer when he saith I through the lavv am dead to the lavv it soundeth more swetely then if he should say I through libertie am dead to the law For he setteth before vs as it were a certaine picture as if the law were fighting against the law As though he should say O law if thou canst accuse me terrifie me and bind me I will set aboue and against thee an other law that is to say an other tormentor which shall accuse thee bind thee and triumph ouer thee Whē thou art thus bound and suppressed then am I at libertie So then grace is a law not to me for it bindeth me not but to my law which this law so bindeth that it can not hurt me any more Thus Paule goeth about to draw vs wholy from the beholding of the law sinne death all other euils and to bring vs vnto Christ that there we might behold this ioyfull conflict to witte the law fighting against the law that it may be to me libertie sinne against sinne that it may be to me righteousnes death against death that I may obtaine life Christ fighting against the Deuill that I may be the child of God and destroying hell that I may enioy the kingdome of heauen Verse 19. That I might liue vnto God. That is to say that I might liue before god Ye see then that there is no life vnlesse ye be without the law yea vnlesse ye be vtterly dead vnto the law I meane in conscience Notwithstanding in the meane season as I haue often said so long as the body liueth the flesh must be exercised with lawes and vexed with exactions and penalties of lawes as were the Egyptians But the inward man not subiect to the law but deliuered and freed from it is a liuely iust and holy person not of himselfe but in Christ because he beleueth in him as foloweth Verse 20. I am crucified vvith Christ This he addeth to declare that the law is a deuourer of the law Not onely saith he I am dead to the law through the law that I may liue to God but also I am crucified with Christ But Christ is Lord ouer the law because he is crucified and dead vnto the law Therfore am I also Lord ouer the law for I likewise am crucified and dead vnto the lawe for as much as I am crucified and dead with Christ By what meanes By grace and faith Through this faith because I am nowe crucified and deade vnto the law therfore the law looseth all his power which it had ouer me euen as it hath lost all his power which it had ouer Christ Wherfore euen as Christ himselfe was crucified to the law sinne death and the Deuill so that they haue no further power ouer him euen so I through faith being now crucified with Christ in spirite am crucified and deade to the law sinne death and the Deuill so that they haue no further power ouer me but are now crucified and deade vnto me Paule speaketh not here of crucifying by imitation or example for to follow the example of Christ is also to be crucified with him which crucifying belongeth to the flesh Wherof Peter speaketh in his 1. epistle and .2 chapter Christ suffered for vs saith he leauing vnto vs an example that vve should follovv his steppes But he speaketh here of that high crucifying wherby sinne the deuil and death are crucified in Christ not in me Here Christ Iesus doth all himselfe alone But I beleuing in Christ am by faith crucified also with Christ so that all these things are crucified and dead vnto me Verse 20. Thus I liue I speake not so saith he of my death and crucifying as though I now liued not Yea I liue for I am quickned by this death and crucifying through the which I die That is for as much as I am deliuered from the law sinne and death I now liue in deede Wherfore that crucifying and that death wherby I am crucified and dead to the law sinne death and all euils is to me resurrection and life For Christ crucifieth the Deuill he killeth death condemneth sinne and bindeth the law and I beleuing this am deliuered from the law sinne death and the Deuill The law therfore is bound dead and crucified vnto me I againe am bound dead crucified vnto it Wherfore euen by this death and crucifying that is to say by this grace or liberty I now liue Here as before I haue sayd we must obserue Paules maner of speaking He saith that we are dead and crucified to the law where as in very deede the law it selfe is dead and crucified vnto vs. But this maner of speach he vseth here of purpose that it may be the more sweete and comfortable vnto vs For the law which notwithstanding continueth liueth and reigneth in the whole world which also accuseth and condemneth all men is crucified and dead vnto those onely which beleue in Christ and therfore to them alone belongeth this glory that they are dead to sinne hell death and the Deuill Verse 20. Yet novv not I. That is to say not in mine owne person nor in mine owne substance Here he plainly sheweth by what meanes he liueth And he teacheth what true Christian righteousnes is namely that righteousnes wherby Christ liueth in vs and not that which is in our person Therefore when we speake of Christian righteousnes we must vtterly reiect the person And here Christ and my conscience must become one body so that nothing remaine in my sight but Christ crucified and raised from the dead But if I behold my selfe only and set Christ aside I am gone For by and by I fall into this cogitation Christ is in heauen and thou art on the earth how shalt thou now come vnto him Forsoth I will liue holily and doe that which the law requireth so shall I enter into life Here returning to my selfe and considering what I am what I ought to be and what I am bound to doe I lose Christ out of sight who is my righteousnes and life Who being lost there is no counsell nor succour now remaining but certaine desperation and destruction must needes follow And this is a common euil among men For such is our misery that when tentation or death cometh by and by setting Christ aside we consider our owne life past and what we haue done Here except we be raised vppe againe by faith we must needes perish Wherefore we must learne in such conflicts terrours of conscience forgetting our selues and setting the law our life past and all our works
promise made vnto Abraham In thy seede shall all nations be blessed might so be fulfilled Therfore by no other meanes could this be done that is here promised but that Iesus Christ must needes become a Curse and ioyne him selfe to those that were accursed that so he might take away the Curse from them and through his Blessing might bring vnto them righteousnes and life And here marke as I haue also forewarned you that this word Blessing is not in vaine as the Iewes dreame who expoūd it to be but a salutation by word of mouth or by wryting But Paule entreateth here of sinne and righteousnes of death and life before god He speaketh therefore of inestimable and incomprehensible things when he sayth that the Blessing of Abraham might come vpon the Gentiles through Iesus Christ Ye see moreouer what merits we bring by what meanes we obtain this Blessing This is the merite of Congruence worthines these are the works preparatiue wherby we obtain this righteousnes that Christ Iesus was made a Curse for vs For we are ignorant of God enemies of God dead in sinne accursed and what is our desert then What can he deserue that is accursed ignorāt of God dead in sinnes and subiect to the wrath iudgement of God When the Pope excōmunicateth a man whatsoeuer he doth is counted accursed How much more then may we say that he is accursed before God as all we are before we know Christ which doth nothing else but cursed things Wherefore there is no other way to auoide the Curse but to beleue and with assured confidēce to say Thou Christ art my sinne my Curse or rather I am thy sinne thy Curse thy death thy wrath of God thy hell and contrariwise thou arte my righteousnes my Blessing my life my grace of God and my heauen For the text sayeth plainely Christe is made a Curse for vs. Therefore we are the cause that he was made a Curse nay rather we are his Curse This is an excellent place full of spiritual consolation albeit it satisfie not the blind hard harted Iewes yet it satisfieth vs that are baptised and haue receaued this doctrine and concludeth most mightely that we are blessed through the Curse the sinne the death of Christ that is to say we are iustified and quickned vnto life So long as sinne death and the Curse do abide in vs sinne terrifieth death killeth and the Curse condemneth vs But when these are translated and laid vpon Christes backe then are these euils made his owne and his good thinges are made ours Let vs therefore learne in all tentations to translate sinne death the Curse and all euils which oppresse vs from our selues vnto Christ and againe from him vnto our selues righteousnes mercy life and blessing For he beareth all our euils vpon him God the father cast the iniquities of vs all as Esay the Prophet saith vpon him And he hath taken them vpon him willingly for he was not giltie But this he did that he might fulfill the will of his father by the which we are made holy for euer This is that infinite and vnmeasurable mercy of God which Paule would gladly amplifie with all eloquence and plentie of wordes but the slender capacitie of mans heart can not comprehende and much lesse vtter that vnsearchable deapth and burning zeale of Gods loue towards vs And verely the inestimable greatnes of Gods mercy not only engendreth an hardnes to beleue but also incredulitie it selfe For I doe not onely heare that almightie God the creatour and maker of all things is good and merciful but also that the same high souereigne Maiestie was so careful for me a damnable sinner a child of wrath and of euerlasting death that he spared not his owne deare Sonne but deliuered him to a most opprobrious and shamefull death that he hāging betwene two theeues might be made a Curse and sinne for me a cursed sinner that I might be made blessed that is to say the childe and heire of god Who can sufficiently praise and magnify this exceeding great goodnes of God Not all the Angels in heauen Therfore the doctrine of the Gospell the booke of God speaketh of farre other matters then any booke of policie or philosophie yea or the booke of Moses himselfe to wit of the vnspeakeable and most diuine giftes of God which farre passe the capacitie and vnderstanding both of men and Angels Verse 14. That vve might receaue the promise of the spirite through faith This is a phrase of the Hebrewes The promise of the spirite that is to say the spirite promised Now the spirite is freedom from the law sinne death the Curse hel and from the wrath and iudgement of god Here is no merite or worthines of ours but a free promise and a gifte geuen through the Seede of Abraham that we may be free from all euils and obtaine all good things whatsoeuer And this libertye gift of the spirite we receiue not by any other merites then by Faith alone For that onely taketh holde of the promise of God as Paule plainly sayth in this place that vve might receaue the promise of the spirite not by vvorkes but by Faith. This is in dede a sweete and a true Apostolike doctrine which sheweth that those things are fulfilled for vs now geuen to vs which many Prophets Kings desired to see to heare And such like places as this one is were gathered together out of diuers sayings of the Prophets which forsaw long before in spirite that all things should be chaūged repaired and gouerned by this man Christe Therfore the Iewes hauing the law of God did notwithstanding besides that law looke for Christ None of the Prophets or gouernours of the people of God did make any new lawe but Elias Samuel Dauid all the other Prophets did abide vnder the law of Moses they did not appoint any new tables or a new kingdom priesthode for that new chaunge of the kingly priesthoode of the law the worship was referred kept to him only of whom Moises had prophesied longe before The Lord thy God shal raise vp a Prophet vnto thee of thine ovvne nation and from among thy brethren Him shalt thou heare As if he should say Thou shalt heare him onely and none besides him This the Fathers well vnderstode for none could teach greater and higher poynts then Moises him selfe who made excellent lawes of high and great matters as are the ten commaundemēts especially the first commaundement I am the Lord thy God Thou shalt haue no other Gods but me Thou shalt loue the Lord thy God vvith all thy heart c. This law concerning the loue of God doth comprehend the very Angels also Therfore it is the headspring of all diuine wisedom And yet was it necessary notwithstanding that an other teacher should come that is to say
sawe not the condition that was annexed If ye kepe my commaundementes it shall goe vvell vvith you c. Therfore Agar the bondmaid bringeth forth but a bond seruaunt Ismael then is not the heire although he be the naturall sonne of Abraham but remaineth a bondman What is here lacking The promise and Blessing of the word So the lawe geuen in mount Sina which the Arabians call Agar begetteth none but seruauntes For the promise made as concerning Christ was not annexed to the lawe Wherfore O ye Galathians if ye forsaking the promise and faith fall backe to the law and works ye shall alwayes continue seruaunts that is ye shall neuer be deliuered from sinne and death but ye shall alwayes abide vnder the curse of the lawe For Agar gendreth not the seede of the promise and heires that is to say the lawe iustifieth not it bringeth not the adoption inheritance but rather it hindreth the inheritance and worketh wrath Verse 25. And it ansvvereth to Ierusalem vvhich novv is and she is in bondage vvith her children This is a wonderfull allegorie As Paule a litle before made Agar of Sina so now of Ierusalem he would gladly make Sara but he dareth not neither can he so doe but is compelled to ioyne Ierusasalem with mount Sina For he sayth The same belongeth to Agar seeing mount Agar reacheth euen to Ierusalem And it is true that there be continuall mountaines reaching from Arabia Petrea vnto Cades Bernea of Iurie He sayth then that this Ierusalem which now is that is to say this earthly and temporall Ierusalem is not Sara but pertaineth to Agar for there Agar raigneth For in it is the law begetting vnto bondage in it is the worship and ceremonies the temple the kingdome the Priesthoode and whatsoeuer was ordained in Sina by the mother which is the lawe the same is done in Ierusalem Therfore I ioyne her with Sina and I cōprehend both in one word to witte Sina or Agar I durst not haue bene so bolde to handle this allegorie after this maner but would rather haue called Ierusalem Sara or the new Testament especially seeing the preaching of the Gospell began in it the holy Ghost was there geuen and the people of the new Testament were there borne and I would haue thought that I had found out a very fitte allegory Wherfore it is not for euery man to vse allegories at his pleasure for a goodly outward shew may soone deceaue a man and cause him to erre Who would not thinke it a very fitte thing to call Sina Agar and Ierusalem Sara In deede Paule maketh Ierusalem Sara but not this corporall Ierusalem which he simplie ioyneth vnto Agar but that spirituall and heauenly Ierusalem in which the law raigneth not nor the carnall people as in that Ierusalē which is in bondage with her children but wherein the promise raigneth wherin is also a spirituall and a free people And to the ende that the lawe should be quite abolished and that whole kingdom which was established in Agar the earthly Ierusalē was horribly destroyed with all her ornamēts the tēple the ceremonies c. Now although the new testament began in it so was spread through out the whole world notwithstanding it appertaineth to Agar that is to say it is the citie of the law of the ceremonies of the priesthoode instituted by Moses Briefly it is gendred of Agar the bondwoman and therfore is in bondage with her children that is to say it walketh in the works of the lawe and neuer attaineth to the libertie of the spirite but abideth continually vnder the lawe sinne an euil conscience the wrath and iudgement of God and vnder the gilt of death and hell In deede it hath the libertie of the flesh it hath a corporall kingdom it hath magistrates riches and possessions and such like things but we speake of the libertie of the spirit wherby we are dead to the law to sinne and death and we liue and raigne in grace forgeuenes of sinnes righteousnes and euerlasting life This can not the earthly Ierusalem performe and therefore it abideth with Agar Verse 26. But Ierusalem vvhich is aboue is free vvhich is the mother of vs all That earthly Ierusalem sayth he which is beneath hauing the policie and ordinances of the law is Agar and is in bondage with her children that is to say she is not deliuered from the lawe sinne and death But Ierusalem which is aboue that is to say the spirituall Ierusalem is Sara albeit Paule addeth not the proper name of Sara but geueth her an other name calling her the free woman that is to say that true Ladie and freewoman which is the mother of vs all begetting vs vnto libertie and not vnto bondage as Agar doth Now this heauenly Ierusalem which is aboue is the Church that is to say the Faithful dispersed thorow out the whole world which haue one and the same Gospell one and the same Faith in Christe the same holy Ghost and the same Sacraments Therfore vnderstand not this word Aboue of the triumphant Church as the Schoolemen do which is heauen but of the militant church in earth as they call it For the godly are sayd to haue theyr conuersation in heauen Philip. 3. Our conuersation is in heauen not locally but in that a Christian beleueth in that he layeth holde of those inestimable heauenly and eternal gifts he is in heauen Ephesians 1. VVhich hath blessed vs vvith all spiritual blessing in heauenly things in Christ We must therfore distinguish the heauēly spiritual Blessing from the earthly For the earthly Blessing is to haue a good ciuill gouernment both in common weales families to haue children peace riches frutes of the earth and other corporall commodities But the heauenly Blessing is to be deliuered from the law sinne and death to be iustified and quickened to life to haue peace with God to haue a faithfull heart a ioyfull conscience and spirituall consolation to haue the knowledge of Iesus Christe to haue the gift of Prophesie and the reuelation of the Scriptures to haue the giftes of the holy Ghost and to reioyce in god These are the heauenly blessings which Christ geueth to his Church Wherfore Ierusalem which is aboue that is to say the heauenly Ierusalem is the church which is now in the world and not the citie of the life to come or the Church triumphant as the idle and vnlearned Monks and the Schooledoctors dreamed which taught that the Scripture hath foure senses the literall sense the figuratiue sense the allegoricall sense and the morall sense and according to these senses they haue foolishly interpreted almost all the wordes of the Scriptures As this word Ierusalem literally signified that citie which was so named figuratiuely a pure conscience allegorically the church militāt morally the celestiall Citie or the church
therof as the childe of Adam where the law accuseth me death reigneth ouer me and at length will deuoure me But I haue an other righteousnesse and life aboue this life which is Christ the sonne of God who knoweth no sinne nor death but is righteousnesse and life eternall by whome this my body being dead and brought into dust shal be raised vp againe and deliuered from the bondage of the lawe and sinne and shal be sanctified together with the spirite So bothe these continue whilest we heere liue The flesh is accused exercised with temptations oppressed with heauinesse and sorrowe brused by this actiue righteousnesse of the law but the spirit reigneth reioyceth and is saued by this passiue and christian righteousnesse because it knoweth that it hath a Lord in heauen at the right hand of his father who hath abolished the law sinne death and hath troden vnder his feete all euils led them captiue and triumphed ouer them in him selfe Coloss 2.15 S. Paule therfore in this Epistle goeth about diligētly to instruct vs to comfort vs to holde vs in the perfect knowledge of this most excellent and christian righteousnesse For if the article of Iustification be once lost then is all true christian doctrine lost And as many as are in the world that holde not this doctrine are either Iewes Turkes Papists or heretikes For betwene the righteousnesse of the law and the christian righteousnesse there is no meane He then that strayeth from this christian righteousnesse must needes fall into the righteousnesse of the law that is to say when he hath lost Christ he must fall into the confidence of his owne workes Therfore doe we so often repeate and so earnestly set forthe this doctrine of Faith or Christian righteousnesse that by this meanes it may be kept in continuall exercise and may be plainly discerned from the actiue righteousnesse of the law Otherwise we shall neuer be able to holde the true diuinitie for by this onely doctrine that Church is built and in this it consisteth but by by we shall either become Canonists obseruers of Ceremonies obseruers of the law or papists and Christ so darkened that none in the Churche shall be either rightly taught or comforted Wherfore if we will be teachers and leaders of other it behoueth vs to haue a great care of these matters and to marke well this distinction betweene the righteousnesse of the law and the righteousnesse of Christ And this distinction is easie to be vttered in wordes but in vse and experience it is very hard althoughe it be neuer so diligently exercised and practised for that in the houre of death or in other agonies of the conscience these two sortes of righteousnesse do encoūter more nere together then thou wouldest wishe or desire Wherfore I doe admonishe you especially such as shall become instructers and guiders of consciences and also euery one apart that ye exercise your selues continually by studie by reading by meditation of the worde and by prayer that in the time of temptation ye may be able to instruct and comfort bothe your owne consciences and others and to bring them from the law to grace from the actiue and working righteousnesse to the passiue and receiued righteousnesse and to conclude from Moises to Christ For the deuill is wont in affliction and in the cōflict of conscience by the law to make vs afraide and to lay against vs the conscience of sinne our wicked life past the wrathe and iudgement of God hell and eternall death that by this meanes he may driue vs to desperation make vs bondslaues to him selfe plucke vs from Christ Furthermore he is wont to set against vs those places of the gospell wherin Christ him selfe requireth workes of vs with plaine wordes threatneth danmation to those that doe them not Nowe if here we be not able to iudge betwene these two kinds of righteousnes if we take not hould of Christ by fayth sitting at the right hand of God who maketh intercession vnto the father for vs miserable sinners then are we vnder the lawe and not vnder grace and Christ is no more a Sauiour but a lawe geuer so that now there remaineth no more saluation but certaine desperation and euerlasting death except repentance follow Let vs then diligently learne to iudge betwene these two kindes of righteousnes that we may know how farre we ought to obey the law Now we haue sayd before that that law in a Christian ought not to passe his bounds but ought to haue dominion onely vpon the flesh which is in subiection vnto it remaineth vnder the same When it is thus the lawe is kept within his bounds But if it shall presume to creepe into thy conscience there seeke to raigne see thou play the cunning Logician and make true diuision Geue no more to the lawe then is conuenient but say thou O lawe thou wouldest clime vp into the kingdome of my conscience and there reigne and reproue it of sinne and wouldest take from me the ioy of my hart which I haue by faith in Christ and driue me to desperation that I might be without all hope and vtterly perish This thou doest besides thine office keepe thy selfe within thy boundes and exercise thy power vpon the fleshe but touch not my conscience for I am baptised by the gospell am called to the pertaking of righteousnes of euerlasting life to the kingdome of Christ wherin my conscience is at rest where no law is but altogither forgeuenes of sinnes peace quietnes ioy health and euerlasting life Trouble me not in these matters for I will not suffer thee so intollerable a tyrante and cruell tormenter to reigne in my conscience for it is the seate and temple of Christ the sonne of God who is the King of righteousnes peace and my most sweete Sauiour and Mediatour he shall keepe my conscience ioyfull and quiet in the sound and pure doctrine of the gospell and in the knowledge of this Christian heauenly righteousnes When I haue this righteousnes reigning in my hart I descend from heauen as the raine making frutefull the earth that is to say I come forth into an other kingdome and I doe good workes how and whensoeuer occasion is offered If I be a minister of the word I preach I comfort the broken harted I administer the sacraments If I be a housholder I gouerne my house and my family I bringe vp my children in the knowledge feare of god If I be a magistrate the charge that is geuen me from aboue I diligently execute If I be a seruant I doe my masters busines faithfully To conclude whosoeuer he be that is assuredly persuaded that Christ is his righteousnes he doth not only chearefully and gladly worke well in his vocation but also submitteth him selfe through loue to the magistrates and to their lawes yea though they be seuere sharpe and cruell and if necessitie doe so
them became a cast away saue Iudas because theyr calling is holy This is the first assault that Paule maketh against the false Apostles which ranne when no man sent them Calling therfore is not to be despised For it is not enough for a man to haue the word pure doctrine but also he must be assured of his calling and he that entreth without this certaintie entreth to no other ende but to kill and to destroy For God neuer prospereth the labour of those that are not called And although they teach some good and profitable matters withall yet they edifie not So our fantasticall spirites at this day haue the wordes of Faith in their mouthes but yet they yeelde no frute but their cheefe ende and purpose is to draw men to their false and peruerse opinions They that haue a certaine and holy calling must sustaine many and great conflictes as they must do whose doctrine is pure and sound that they may constantly abide in their lawfull calling against the infinite and continuall assaultes of the Deuill and rage of the world Heere what should he doe whose calling is vncertaine and doctrine corrupte This is then our comforte which are in the Ministerie of the worde that we haue an office which is heauenly and holy to the which we being lawfully called doe triumph against all the gates of hel On the other side it is an horrible thing when the conscience saith This thou hast done without any lawfull calling Herein such terrour shaketh a mans minde which is not called that he would wish he had neuer heard the word which he teacheth For by his disobedience he maketh all his workes euill were they neuer so good in so much that euen his greatest workes and labours become his greateste sinnes We see then how good and necessary this boasting and glorying of our ministerie is In times past when I was a yong deuine and teacher me thought Paule did vnwisely in glorying so oft of his calling in all his Epistles but I did not vnderstand his purpose For I knew not that the ministerie of Gods word was so waightie a matter I knew nothing of the doctrine of faith and a true conscience in deede for that there was then no certaintie taught either in the Schooles or Churches but al was ful of Sophistical subtilties of the Schoolemē And therfore no man was able to vnderstand the dignitie and power of this holy and spirituall boasting of the true lawfull calling which serueth first to the glory of God and secondly to the aduauncing of our office and moreouer to the saluation of our selues and of the people For by this our boasting we seeke not estimation in the worlde or praise among men or mony or pleasures or fauour of the world But for as much as we be in a diuine calling and in the worke of God and the people haue great neede to be assured of our calling that they may know our word to be the word of God therfore we proudly vaunt and boast of it It is not then a vaine but a most holy pride against the deuil and the world and true humilitie before God. Verse 1. And by God the Father vvhich hath raised him from the dead Paule is so enflamed heere with zeale that he can not tary till he come to the matter it selfe but forthwith in the very title he bursteth out and vttereth what he hath in his heart His intent in this Epistle is to treate of the righteousnes that cometh by faith and to defend the same Againe to ouerthrowe the lawe and the righteousnes that cometh by workes Of such cogitations he is full and out of this wonderfull and exceeding great abundance of the excellent wisedome and knowledge of Christ in his heart his mouth speaketh This flame this great burning fire of his heart cā not be hid nor suffer him to hold his tongue and therfore he thought it not enough to say that he was an Apostle sent by Iesus Christ but also addeth by God the Father vvhich raised him vp from the dead But the adding of these words And by God the father c semeth not necessary But because as I sayd Paule speaketh out of the abundance of his heart his minde burneth with desire to set forth euen in the very entrie of his Epistle the vnsearchable riches of Christ and to preach the righteousnes of God which is called the resurrection of the dead Christ who liueth and is risen againe speaketh out of him and moueth him thus to speake therfore not without cause he addeth that he is also an Apostle By God the father vvhich hath raised vp Iesus Christ from the dead As if he would say I haue to deale with Satan and with those vipers the instrumēts of Satan which go about to spoile me of the righteousnes of Christ who was raised vp by God the to spoile me of the righteousnes of Christ who was raised vp by God the father frō the dead by which alone we are made righteous by which also we shal be raised vp in the last day from death to euerlasting life But they that in such sort goe about to ouerthrow Christes righteousnes do resist the father and the sonne and the worke of them bothe Thus Paule euen at the first entrance bursteth out into the whole matter wherof he treateth in this Epistle For as I sayd he treateth of the resurrection of Christ who rose againe to make vs righteous and in so doing he hath ouercome the lawe sinne death and all euels Christes victorie then is the ouercōming of the law of sinne our flesh the world the deuil death hel all euils and this his victorie hath he geuen vnto vs Although then that these tyraunts and enemies of ours do accuse vs and make vs afraid yet can they not driue vs to despaire nor condemne vs For Christ whom God the father hath raised vp frō the dead is our righteousnes and victory Therfore thanks be to God who hath geuen vs victorie by our Lord Iesus Christ Amen But marke how fitly and to the purpose Paule here speaketh He sayth not by God that hath made heauen and earth which is Lord of the Angels which commaunded Abraham to goe out of his owne coūtrey which sent Moises to Pharao the king which brought Israel out of Egypt as the false Apostles did who boasted of the God of their fathers the creator maintainer and preseruer of all things working wonders among his people but Paule had an other thing in his hart namely the righteousnes of Christ therfore he speaketh words that make much for this his matter saying I am an Apostle neither of men nor by men but by Iesus Christ and God the father vvho hath raised him vp from the dead Ye see then with what feruencie of spirit Paule is led in this matter which he goeth about to establish and maintaine against
father but also from Iesus Christ teacheth first that we should abstaine from the curious searching of the diuine maiestie for God no man knoweth and to heare Christ who is in the bosome of the father and vttereth to vs his will who also is appoynted of the father to be a teacher to the end that euery one of vs should heare him Christ is God by nature The other thing that Paule teacheth here is a confirmation of our Faith That Christ is very god And such like sentences as this is concerning the Godhead of Christ are to be gathered together and marked diligently not onely against the Arians and other heretikes which either haue bene or shal be hereafter but also for the confirmation of our faith For Satan will not faile to impugne in vs all the articles of our Faith ere we die He is a most deadly enemie to Faith because he knoweth that it is the victorie which ouercometh the world Wherfore it standeth vs in hand to labour that our Faith may be certaine and may encrease and be strengthened by diligent and continuall exercise of the word and feruent prayer that we may be able to withstand Satan Now that Christ is very God hereby it is euidently declared in that Paule attributeth the same things equally vnto him which he doth vnto the father namely diuine power as the geuing of grace the forgeuenes of sinnes peace of conscience life victorie ouer sinne death the deuill and hell This were by no meanes lawfull for him to doe nay it were sacrilege thus to doe except he were very God according to that saying I vvill not geue my glory vnto any other Againe No man geueth that to others which he him selfe hath not But seeing Christ geueth Grace Peace and the holy Ghost deliuereth from the power of the deuill from sinne and death it is certaine that he hath an infinite and diuine power equall in all poyntes to the power of the father And in that Christ geueth Grace and Peace he geueth it not as the Apostles gaue and brought the same vnto men by preaching of the gospell but he geueth it as the author and creator The father createth and geueth life Grace Peace all other good things The selfe same things also the sonne createth geueth Now to geue Grace Peace euerlasting life to forgeue sinnes to make righteous to quicken to deliuer from death and the deuill are not the workes of any creature but of the diuine Maiestie alone The Angels can neither create nor geue these things Therefore these workes pertaine onely to the glory of the soueraigne Maiestie the maker of all things And seing Paule doth attribute the selfe same power of creating and geuing all these things vnto Christ equally with the father it must nedes follow that Christ is verely and naturally God. Many such arguments are in Iohn where it is proued and concluded by the workes which are attributed to the sonne as well as to the father that the diuinitie of the father and of the sonne is all one Therfore the giftes which we receiue of the father and which we receiue of the sonne are all one For else Paule would haue spoken otherwise after this manner Grace from God the father and Peace from our Lord Iesus Christ But in knitting them both together he attributeth them equally as well to the sonne as to the father I do therfore so diligently admonish you of this thing because it is daungerous lest among so many errours and in so great varietie and confusion of sectes there might step vp some Arrians Eunomians Macedonians and such other heretikes that might doe harme to the Churches with their subteltie In deede the Arrians were sharpe and subtile fellowes They graunted that Christ hath two natures and that he is called very God of very God howbeit in name onely Christ said they is a most noble and perfect creature aboue the Angels wherby God afterward created heauē and earth and all other things So Mahomet also speaketh honorably of Christ But al this is nothing els but goodly imaginations words pleasant and plausible to mans reason wherby the fantasticall spirites do deceiue men except they take good hede But Paule speaketh otherwise of Christ Ye sayth he are rooted and stablished in this beleefe namely that Christ is not onely a perfect creature but very God who doth the selfe same things that God the father doth He hath the diuine works not of a creature but of the creator because he geueth Grace Peace and to geue them is to condemne sinne to vanquish death and to tread the deuill vnder foote These things no Angell can geue but seing they are attributed vnto Christ it must nedes folow that he is very God by nature Verse 4. VVhich gaue himselfe for our sinnes Paule in a maner in euery word handleth the argumēt of this Epistle He hath nothing in his mouth but christ therfore in euery word ther is a feruencie of spirite and life And marke how well to the purpose he speaketh He sayth not which hath receaued our works at our hāds nor which hath receaued the sacrifices of Moises law worshippings religions Masses vowes and pilgrimages But hath geuen What not golde nor siluer nor beastes nor paschall lambes nor an angel but him selfe For what Not for a crowne not for a kingdome not for our holines or righteousnes but for our sinnes These words are very thūder claps from heauen against all kindes of righteousnes like as is also this sentence of Iohn Behold the lambe of God that taketh avvay the sinnes of the vvorld Therfore we must with diligent attention marke euery word of Paule and not slenderly consider them or lightly passe them ouer for they are full of consolation and confirme fearfull consciences exceedingly But how may we obtaine remission of our sinnes Paule answereth that the man which is called Iesus Christ the sonne of God hath geuē him selfe for them These are excellēt most comfortable words are promises of the olde law that our sinnes are taken away by none other meane then by the sonne of God deliuered vnto death With such gunnes and such artillarie must the Papacie be destroyed and all the all the religions of the heathen all works all merits and all superstitious ceremonies For if our sinnes may be taken away by our owne works merites and satisfactions what needed the sonne of God to be giuen for them But seeing he was giuen for them it followeth that we can not doe them away by our owne works Againe by this sentence it is declared that our sinnes are so great so infinite and inuincible that it is impossible for the whole world to satisfie for one of them and surely the greatnes of the raunsome namely Christ the sonne of God who gaue himselfe for our sinnes declareth sufficiently that we can neither satisfie for sinne
These two propositions are cleane contrary to reason and therefore no craftie Sophister or lawworker can vnderstand them But learne thou the true vnderstanding thereof He that liueth to the lawe that is seketh to be iustified by the workes of the lawe is and remaineth a sinner therfore he is dead condemned For the law can not iustifie and saue him but accuseth terrifieth killeth him Therfore to liue vnto the law is to die vnto God and contrariwise to die to the law is to liue vnto god Wherefore if thou wilt liue vnto God thou must die to the lawe but if thou wilt liue to the lawe thou shalt die to god Now to liue vnto God is to be iustified by grace or by faith for Christes sake without the lawe and workes This is then the proper and true definition of a Christian that he is the childe of grace and remission of sinnes because he is vnder no lawe but is aboue the lawe sinne death and hell And euen as Christ is free from the graue and Peter from the prison so is a Christian free from the lawe And such a respect there is betwene the iustified conscience and the lawe as is betwene Christ raised vp from the graue and the graue and as is betwene Peter deliuered from the prison and the prison And like as Christ by his death and resurrection is dead to the graue so that it hath now no power ouer him nor is able any lōger to holde him but the stone being rolled away the seales broken and the kepers astonished he riseth againe and goeth away without any let and as Peter by his deliueraunce is freed from the prison goeth whether he will euen so the conscience by grace is deliuered from the law So is euery one that is borne of the spirite But the flesh knoweth not from whence this cometh nor whether it goeth for it can not iudge but after the lawe But on the contrary the spirite sayeth let the law accuse me let sinne and death terrifie me neuer so much yet I doe not therfore despaire for I haue the lawe against the lawe sinne against sinne and death against death Therefore when I feele the remorse and sting of conscience for sinne I behold that brasen serpent Christ hanging vppon the crosse There I finde an other sinne against my sinne which accuseth and deuoureth me Now this other sinne namely in the flesh of Christ which taketh away the sinnes of the world is almightie it condemneth and swaloweth vp my sinne So my sinne is condemned by sinne that is by Christ crucified vvho is made sinne for vs that vve might be made the righteousnes of God through him In like maner I finde death in my flesh which afflicteth and killeth me but I haue in me a contrary death which is the death for this death crucifieth and swaloweth vp my death These things be not done by the lawe or workes but by Christ crucified vppon whose shoulders lie all the euils of mankinde the lawe sinne death the Deuill and hell and all these doe die in him for by his death he hath killed them But we must receaue this benefite of Christ with a sure faith For like as neither the lawe nor any worke thereof is offered vnto vs but Christ alone so nothing is required of vs but Faith alone whereby we apprehend Christ and beleue that our sinnes and our death are condemned and abolished in the sinne and death of Christ Thus haue we alwayes most certaine and sure arguments which necessarily conclude that iustification cometh by faith alone For how should the lawe and workes auaile to iustification seeing that Paule is so earnest both against the lawe and workes and sayeth plainely that we must be dead to the lawe if we will liue to god But if we be dead to the lawe and the lawe be dead to vs then hath it nothing to doe with vs How then should it auaile any thing at all to our iustification Wherefore we must needes say that we be iustified by grace alone or by faith alone in Christ without the lawe and workes This the blinde Sophisters doe not vnderstand and therefore they dreame that Faith iustifieth not except it doe the workes of charitie By this meanes Faith which beleueth in Christ becometh vnprofitable and of none effect for the vertue of iustifying is taken from it except it be furnished with charitie But let vs nowe set aparte the lawe and charitie vntil an other time let vs rest onely vpon the poynt of this present matter which is this that Iesus Christ the sonne of God died vpon the crosse did beare in his body my sinnes the lawe death the Deuill and hell These inuincible enemies and tyrannes doe oppresse vexe and trouble me and therefore I am carefull howe I may be deliuered out of their handes iustified and saued Here I finde neither lawe worke nor charitie which is able to deliuer me from their tyrannie There is none but the Lord Iesus onely and alone which taketh away the lawe killeth and destroyeth my death in his body and by this meanes spoyleth hell iudgeth and crucifieth the Deuill and throweth him downe into hell To be briefe all the enemies which did before torment and oppresse me Christ Iesus hath brought to naught Hath spoyled them and made a shevv of them openly triumphing by him selfe ouer them in such sort that they can nowe rule and raigne no more ouer me but are constrained to obey me By this we may plainely see that there is nothing here for vs to doe Onely it belongeth vnto vs to heare that these things haue bene wrought and done in this sort and by faith to apprehend the same And this is the true formed and furnished faith in dede Now when I haue thus apprehended Christ by faith and through him am dead to the lawe iustified from sinne deliuered from death the deuill and hell then I doe good works I loue God I geue thankes to him I exercise charitie towardes my neighbour But this charitie or workes folowing do neither forme nor adorne my faith but my faith formeth and adorneth charitie This is our diuinitie which seemeth straunge and maruelous or rather foolish to carnall reason to witte that I am not onely blinde and deafe to the lawe yea deliuered and freed from the law but also wholy dead vnto the same This sentence of Paule Through the lavv I am dead to the lavv is full of consolation Which if it may enter into a man in due season take sure hold in his heart with good vnderstanding it may so worke that it will make him able to stand against all daungers of death and all terrours of conscience and sinne although they assaile him accuse him and would driue him to desperation neuer so much True it is that euery man is tempted if not in his life yet at his death There when the law accuseth
him and sheweth vnto him his sinnes his cōscience by and by saith Thou hast sinned If then thou take good hold of that which Paule here teacheth thou wilt answere I graunt I haue sinned Then will God punish thee Nay he will not so doe Why doth not the lawe of God so say I haue nothing to doe with that lawe Why so Because I haue an other lawe which striketh this lawe dumme that is to say libertie What libertie is that The libertie of Christ for by Christ I am vtterly freed from the lawe Therfore that lawe which is remaineth a law to the wicked is to me libertie and bindeth that law which would condemne me And by this meanes that lawe which would bind me and hold me captiue is now fast bound it selfe and holden captiue by grace and libertie which is now my lawe which sayth to that accusing law Thou shalt not hold this man bound captiue for he is mine but I wil hold thee in captiuitie and bind thy hands that thou shalt not hurt him for he liueth now vnto Christ and is dead vnto thee This to do is to dash out the teeth of the lawe to wrast his sting and all his weapons from him and to spoile him of all his force And yet the same law notwithstanding continueth and remaineth stil to the wicked and vnbeleuers And to vs also that be weake so farre forth as we lacke faith it continueth yet still in his force here it hath his edge teeth But if I do beleue in Christ although sinne driue me neuer so much to despaire yet staying vpō this libertie which I haue in Christ I confesse that I haue sinned but my sinne which is a cōdemned sinne is in Christ which is a condemning sinne Now this condemning sinne is stronger then that which is condemned for it is iustifying grace righteousnes life saluation Thus when I feele the terrour of death I say Thou hast nothing to doe with me O death for I haue an other death which killeth thee my death that death which killeth is stronger then that which is killed Thus a faithfull man by faith onely in Christ may raise vppe him selfe and conceaue such sure and sound consolation that he shall not neede to feare the deuill sinne death or any euils And although the Deuill set vpon him with all might and maine and goe about with all the terrours of the world to oppresse him yet he conceaueth good hope euen in the middes therof and thus he sayth Sir Deuill I feare not thy threatninges terrours for ther is one whose name is Iesus Christ in whom I beleue he hath abolished the law condemned sinne vanquished death and destroyed hell and he is thy Tormentor O Satan for he hath boūd thee and holdeth thee captiue to the end that thou shouldest no more hurt me or any that beleueth in him This faith the Deuill can not ouercome but is ouercome of it For this is the victorie sayth S. Iohn that ouercometh the vvorld euen our faith Who is it that ouercometh the world but he which beleueth that Iesus is the sonne of God Paule therfore through a vehement zeale and indignatiō of spirit calleth grace it selfe the lawe which notwithstanding is an exceding inestimable libertie of grace which we haue in Christ Iesu Moreouer he geueth this opprobrious name vnto the law for our consolation to let vs vnderstand that there is a new name geuen vnto it to witte that it is not now aliue any more but dead and condemned And here which is a pleasant sight to behold he bringeth forthe the lawe and setteth it before vs as a theefe and a robber which is already condemned and adiudged to death For he describeth it as it were a prisoner hauing both handes and feete fast bound and all his power taken away so that it can not exercise his tyrannie that is to say it can not accuse and condemne any more And with this most pleasaunt sight he maketh it odious and contemptible to the conscience so that now he which beleueth in Christ dare boldly and with a holy pride triumph ouer the lawe after this maner I am a sinner If thou canst doe any thing against me O lawe nowe doe thy worst So farre of is it then that the law is now terrible vnto him which doth beleue Since Christ is risen from death why should he nowe feare the graue Since Peter is deliuered from the prison why should he now feare it When the maiden was at the point of death then might she in deede feare the bedde but being now reised vp why should she feare it In like maner why should a Christian which enioyeth and possesseth Christ by faith feare the law True it is that he feeleth the terrours of the law but he is not ouercome of them but staying vpon the libertie which he hath in Christ he saith I heare thee murmuring O law that thou wouldest accuse and condemne me but this troubleth me nothing at all Thou art to me as the graue was vnto Christ For I see that thou art fast bound hand and foote and this hath my lawe done What law is that libertie which is called the law not because it bindeth me but because it bindeth my law The law of the ten commaundements did bind me But against that law I haue an other law euen the law of grace which notwithstanding is to me no law neither doth it bind me but setteth me at liberty And this is a law against that accusing and condemning law which law it so bindeth that it hath no power to hurt me any more So against my death which bindeth me I haue an other death that is to say life which quickneth me in Christ and this death looseth and freeth me from the bondes of my death and with the same bondes bindeth my death So death which bound me is now fast bound which killed me is now killed by death that is to say by life it selfe Thus Christ with most sweete names is called my law my sinne my death against the law against sinne against death wheras in very deede he is nothing els but meere libertie righteousnes life and euerlasting saluation And for this cause he is made the law of the law the sinne of sinne the death of death that he might redeme me from the curse of the law iustifie me and quicken me So then whiles Christ is the lawe he is also libertie whiles he is sinne he is righteousnes and whiles he is death he is life For in that he suffered the law to accuse him sinne to condemne him and death to deuoure him he abolished the law he condemned sinne he destroied death he iustified and saued me So is Christ the poison of the law sinne and death and the remedy for the obtaining of libertie righteousnes and euerlasting life This maner of speach which
owne dreames and vnder the name of the gospell ceremonies and lawes They are like therfore vnto themselues and so they still continue that is to say Monks workers of the lawe and teachers of ceremonies sauing that they deuise newe names and newe workes It is not then a matter of small importance to vnderstand rightly what the law is and what is the true vse and office therof Now for as much as we teach these things both diligently and faithfully we doe therby plainly testifie that we reiect not the law and works as our aduersaries doe falsely accuse vs but we do altogether stablish the law and require the works therof and we say that the law is good and profitable but in his owne proper vse which is first to bridle ciuill transgressiōs and then to reueile and to encrease spiritual transgressions Wherfore the law is also a light which sheweth reueileth not the grace of God not righteousnes and life but sinne death the wrath and iudgement of god For as in the Mount Sina the thundring lightning the thicke darke cloud the hill smoking flaming all that terrible shew did not reioyce nor quicken the children of Israell but terrified and astonished them and shewed howe vnhable they were with all their puritie and holines to abide the Maiestie of God speaking to them out of the cloud euen so the law when it is in his true vse doth nothing else but reueale sinne engender wrath accuse and terrifie men so that it bringeth them to the very brinke of desperation This is the proper vse of the lawe and here it hath an end and it ought to goe no further Contrariwise the Gospel is a light which lightneth quickneth comforteth raiseth vp fearful consciences For it sheweth that God for Christes sake is merciful vnto sinners yea to such as are most vnworthy if they beleue that by his death they are deliuered frō the Curse that is to say from sinne and euerlasting death and that through his victorie the Blessing is freely geuen vnto them that is to say grace forgeuenes of sinnes righteousnes euerlasting life Thus putting a difference betwene the law the Gospel we geue to them both their owne proper vse office Of this differēce betwene the law the gospel there is nothīg to be found in the bokes of the Monks Canonists Scholemen no nor in the bokes of the auncient fathers Augustine did somewhat vnderstand this difference and shewed it Ierome and others knew it not Briefly there was wonderfull silence many yeres as touching this difference in all Schooles and Churches And this thing brought mens consciences into great daunger For vnlesse the gospell be plainly discerned frō the lawe the true Christian doctrine can not be kept sound and vncorrupt Contrariwise if this difference be well knowne then is also the true meane of iustification knowne and then is it an easie matter to discerne faith from workes Christ from Moses and all politike workes For all things without Christe are the ministers of death for the punishment of the wicked Therefore Paule aunswereth to this question after this maner Verse 19. The lavve vvas added because of transgressions That is to say that transgressions might be more encreased knowne and seene And in deede so it cometh to passe For when sinne is reuealed to a man through the law death the wrath and iudgement of God and hell it is vnpossible but that he should become impatient but that he should murmure against God and despise his will. For he can not beare the iudgement of God his owne death and damnation and yet notwithstanding he can not escape them Here he must needes fall into the hatred of God and blasphemie against god Before when he was out of tentation he was a very holy man he worshipped and praised God he bowed his knee before God and gaue him thanks as the Pharisey did Luke 18. But now when sinne and death is reuealed vnto him he wisheth that there were no god The law therfore of it selfe bringeth a special hatred of god And thus sinne is not onely reuealed and knowne by the lawe but also is encreased and stirred vp by the lawe Therfore Paule sayth Rom. 7. Sinne that it might appeare to be sinne vvrought death in me by that vvhich vvas good that sinne might be out of measure sinneful by the commaundement There he entreateth of this effect of the law very largely Paule aunswereth therfore to this question If the lawe doe not iustifie to what end then serueth it Although sayth he it iustifie not yet is it very profitable necessary For first it ciuily restraineth such as are carnall rebellious and obstinate Moreouer it is as a glasse that sheweth vnto a man him selfe that he is a sinner giltie of death and worthy of Gods euerlasting wrath indignation To what profit serueth this humbling this brusing beating downe by this hammer the law I meane To great profite namely that we may haue an entrance vnto grace So then the lawe is a minister that prepareth the way vnto grace For God is the God of the humble the miserable the afflicted the oppressed the desperate and of all those that are vtterly brought to nothing and his nature is to exalt the humble to feede the hungry to geue sight to the blind to comfort the miserable the afflicted the brused and broken harted to iustifie sinners to quicken the dead and to saue the very desperate and damned For he is an almightie creatour making all things of nothing Now that pernicious and pestilent opinion of mans owne righteousnes which will not be a sinner vncleane miserable and damnable but righteous and holy suffreth not God to come to his owne naturall and proper worke Therefore God must needes take this maule in hand the law I meane to driue downe to beat in peeces to bring to nothing this beast with her vaine confidence wisedom righteousnes power that she may so learne at the lēgth by her owne miserie and mischief that she is vtterly forlorne lost and damned Here now when the conscience is thus terrified with the law then cometh the doctrine of the Gospell and grace which reiseth vppe and comforteth the same againe saying Christ came in to the world not to breake the brused reede nor to quench the smoking flaxe but to preach the Gospell of glad tidings to the poore to heale the broken and contrite in heart to preach forgeuenes of sinnes to the captiues c. But here lieth all the difficultie of this matter that when a man is terrified and cast downe he may be able to raise vp him selfe againe and say Now I am brused and afflicted enough the time of the lawe hath tormented and vexed me sharply enough Nowe is the time of grace now is the time to heare Christ out of whose mouth procede the wordes of grace
any true feling of sinne or of the terrour of death haue forged these vaine toyes blasphemies of their owne braine and therefore they know not what they say or what they teach Moreouer they can shew no example of any worke done either before or after grace that could iustifie before god Wherfore these are nothing else but vaine fables and lies whereby the Papists deceaue both them selues and other For Paule here plainly affirmeth that a man is not iustified by the works of the lawe either going before grace wherof he here speaketh or comming after You see then that Christian righteousnes is not such an essentiall qualitie engrafted in the nature of man as the Scholemen doe imagine when they say The Diuinitie of the Schole men When a man doth any good worke God accepteth it and for that good worke he poureth into him charitie This infused charitie say they is a qualitie grafted in the heart and this they call formall righteousnes which maner of speaking it is expedient for you to know and they cā abide nothing lesse then to heare that this qualitie furnishing the soule as whitenes doth the wal should not be coūted righteousnes They can clime no higher then to this cogitatiō of mans reason that man is righteous hy his owne formall righteousnes which is grace making him acceptable vnto God that is to say loue or charitie So to this qualitie cleauing vnto the soule that is to wit charitie which is a worke after the law for the law sayth Thou shalt loue the Lord thy god c. they attribute formall righteousnes and they say that this righteousnes is worthy of euerlasting life and he that hath it is formally righteous and moreouer he is effectually or actually righteous because he now doth good workes wherevnto euerlasting life is due This is the opinion of the Scholemen yea euen of the best among them Some other there be which are not so good as Scotus and Occam which sayd that for the obtaining of the grace of God this charity infused or geuen of God is not necessary but that a man euen by his owne naturall strength may procure this charitie aboue all things For so reasoneth Scotus If a man may loue a creature a yong man a maiden a couetous man money which are the lesse good he may also loue God which is the greater good If he haue a loue of the creature through his naturall strength much more hath he a loue of the creator With this argument were all the Sophisters conuicted and none of them all was able to soile it Notwithstanding thus they replie The scripture compelleth vs to cōfesse say they that God besides that naturall loue and charitie which is engrafted in vs wherwith alone he is not contented requireth also charitie which he him selfe geueth And heereby they accuse God as a tyranne and a cruell exactor who is not content that we kepe and fulfil his law but aboue the law which we are of our selues able to fulfill requireth also that we should accomplishe it with other circumstaunce and furniture as apparell to the same As if a Mistres should not be contented that her Cooke had dressed her meate excellently well but should chide her for that she did not prepare the same being decked with precious apparel hauing a croune of gold vpon her head What a mistres were this who besides that which her Cooke was onely bound to doe and also exactly performed would require moreouer precious apparell or a croune of gold which she could not haue Euen so what a one should God be if he should require his lawe to be fulfilled of vs which otherwise by our owne naturall strength we obserue and fulfill with such furniture as we can not haue But here lest they should seeme to aduouch contrary things they make a distinction and say that the law is fulfilled two maner of waies first according to the substance of the deede and secondly according to the minde of the commaunder According to the substance of the deede say they we may fulfil al things which the law commaūdeth but not according to the meaning of the Commaunder which is that God is not contented that thou hast done all things which are commaunded in the law although he can require no more of thee but he yet further requireth that thou shouldest fulfill the law in charitie not that charitie which thou hast by nature but that which is aboue nature and heauēly which he himselfe geueth And what is this els but to make of God a tyranne and a tormentor which requireth of vs that we are not able to performe And it is in a maner as much as if they should say that the fault is not in vs if we be damned but in God which with this circumstance requireth his law to be accomplished of vs. These things I doe the more diligently repete that you may see how farre they haue wādred from the true sense of the scripture which haue sayd that we by our owne naturall strength may loue God aboue all things or at least by the worke wrought we may deserue euerlasting life And because God is not contente that we fulfill the law according to the substance of the deede but will haue vs also to fulfill the same according to the meaning of the Commaunder therefore the scripture further compelleth vs to haue a qualitie aboue nature poured into vs from aboue and that is charitie which they call formall righteousnes adorning and bewtifying faith being also the cause that faith iustifieth vs So faith is the body and the shell charitie the life the kernell the forme and furniture These are the dreames of the Scholemen But we in the steede of this charitie do place faith and we say that faith apprehendeth Iesus Christ who is the forme which adorneth furnisheth faith as the colour adorneth and bewtifieth the wall Christian faith thē is not an idle qualitie or empty huske in the heart which may be in deadly sinne as they say vntill charitie come and quicken it but if it be true faith it is a sure trust and confidence of the heart and a firme consent wherby Christ is apprehended So that Christ is the obiect of faith yea rather euen in faith Christ himselfe is present Faith therefore is a certaine obscure knowledge or rather darkenes which seeth nothing and yet Christ apprehended by faith sitteth in this darknes like as God in Sinai and in the temple satte in the middest of darknes Wherfore our formall righteousnes is not charitie furnishing and beutifying faith but it is faith it self which is as it were a certain cloud in our harts that is to say a stedfast trust affiance in the thing which we see not which is Christ who although he be not seene at all yet is he present Faith therefore iustifieth because it apprehendeth and possesseth this treasure euen
minister of sinne is nothing els but a lawgiuer or a Scholemaster of the law which teacheth good works and charitie and that a man must suffer the crosse and afflictions and follow the example of Christ and of the Sainctes He that teacheth and requireth this is a minister of the lawe of sinne of wrath of death For by this doctrine he doth nothing els but terrifie afflict mens consciences and shutteth them vnder sinne For it is impossible for the nature of man to accomplish the law yea in those that are iustified and haue the holy Ghost the lavv of the members fighteth against the lavv of the mind What will it not then do in the wicked which haue not the holy Ghost Wherfore he that teacheth that righteousnes cometh by the lawe doth not vnderstand what he sayeth or what he affirmeth and much lesse doth he keepe the law but rather he deceaueth himselfe and others and laieth vpon them such a burthen as they are not able to beare requiring and teaching impossible things and at the last he bringeth himselfe and his disciples vnto desperation The right vse and end therfore of the law is to accuse and condemne as giltie such as liue in securitie that they may see themselues to be in daunger of sinne wrath and death eternall that so they may be terrified and brought euen to the brinke of desperation trembling and quaking at the falling of a leafe And in that they are such they are vnder the law For the law requireth perfect obedience vnto God and condemneth al those that doe not accomplish the same Now it is certaine that there is no man liuing which is able to performe this obedience which notwithstanding God streitly requireth of vs. The law therfore iustifieth not but condemneth according to that saying Cursed is he that abideth not in all things that are vvriten in this booke Therefore he that teacheth the law is a minister of the law Wherefore it is not without good cause that Paule in the 2. Cor. 3. calleth the minister of the law the minister of sinne For the law sheweth and vttereth sinne which without the law is deade Now the knowledge of sinne I speake not here of that speculatiue knowledge of hypocrites but of a true knowledge by the which we see the wrath of God against sinne and feele a true tast of death terrifieth the heart driueth downe to desperation killeth and destroyeth Rom. 7. Wherfore these Scholemasters of the law and works are called in the scripture oppressors and tirants For as the taskemasters in Egypt did oppresse the children of Israell with corporall seruitude so doe these lawgiuers and taskemasters driue men into most miserable bondage of soule and at lengthe bring them to desperation and vtter destruction These doe neither know themselues nor the force of the law And it is not possible for them to haue quietnes and peace of conscience in great and inward terrours and in the agony of death yea though they haue obserued the law loued their neighbours done many good works and suffred great afflictions for the law alwaies terrifieth and accuseth saying thou neuer diddest accomplish all that is commaunded in the law but accursed is he that hath not done all things contained therin Wherefore these terrours remaine still in the conscience and encrease more and more And if such Scholemasters of the lawe be not raised vp by Faith and the righteousnes of Christ they are driuen downe headlong to desperation This also was notably figured when the law was geuen as we may see in the .19 and .20 of Exodus Moses brought the people out of the tentes to meete with the Lord that they might heare him speake vnto them out of the darke cloude Then the people being astonished and trembling for feare fled backe which a litle before had promised to doe all that God had commaunded and standing aloofe of sayd vnto Moses VVho can abide to see the fire and to heare the thundrings and noise of the trumpet Talke thou vvith vs and vve vvill heare thee but let not God talke vvith vs lest vve die So the proper office of the lawe is to leade vs out of our tents and tabernacles that is to say from the quietnes and securitie wherin we dwell and from trusting in our selues and to bring vs before the presence of God to reueile his wrath vnto vs and to sette before vs our sinnes Here the conscience feeleth that it hath not satisfied the lawe and that it is not able to satisfie it nor to beare the wrath of God which the lawe reueileth when it bringeth vs forth after this maner before the presence of God that is to say when it feareth vs accuseth vs and setteth before vs our sinnes Here it is impossible that we should be able to stand and therefore being thorowly affraid we flie and we cry out with the children of Israell we shall die we shall die Let not the Lord speake vnto vs but speake thou vnto vs c. He then which teacheth that faith in Christ iustifieth not without the obseruation of the law maketh Christ a minister of sinne that is to say a Scholemaster of the law which teacheth the selfe same doctrine that Moses did By this meanes Christ is no Sauiour no geuer of grace but a cruell tirant which requireth such things as Moses did which no man is able to performe See how all the meritmongers doe take Christ to be but a new lawgeuer and the Gospell to be nothing els but a certaine booke which containeth new lawes concerning works as the Turkes dreame of their Alcoran But as touching lawes there is enough in Moses The Gospell then is a preaching of Christ which forgeueth sinnes geueth grace iustifieth and saueth sinners Now whereas there are commaundements found in the Gospell they are not the Gospell but expositions of the lawe and matters depending vpon the Gospell To conclude if the lawe be the ministery of sinne then is it also the ministery of wrath and of death For as the lawe reueileth sinne so doth it terrifie a man it sheweth vnto him his sinne and the wrath of God and striketh into him a terrour of death and damnation For thus the conscience by and by gathereth Thou hast not kept the commaundements of God therefore God is angry with thee And it thinketh this to be an infallible consequence I haue sinned therfore I must die And so it followeth that the ministery of sinne is the ministery of wrath and condemnation For after that sinne is reueiled by and by ensueth the wrath of God death and damnation And hereof it cometh that many which are not able to beare the iudgement and wrath of God which the lawe setteth before their eyes doe kill hang or drowne themselues Verse 17. God forbid As though he would say Christ is not the minister of sinne but the geuer of
like to the doctrine of the false apostles of that time If thou wilt liue to God say they liue to the law or after the law But contrariwise we say If thou wilt liue to God thou must be vtterly dead to the law Mans reason and wisedom vnderstandeth not this doctrine therefore it teacheth alwayes the contrary that is If thou wilt liue vnto God thou must kepe the law for it is wryten Do this and thou shalt liue And this is a speciall principle amongst all Diuines he that liueth after the law liueth vnto god Paule sayth the contrary that is we can not liue vnto God vnlesse we be throughly dead to the law Wherfore we must mount vp to this heauenly altitude that we may be assured that we are far aboue the law yea that we are vtterly dead vnto the law Now if we be dead vnto the law then hath the law no power ouer vs as also it hath no power ouer Christ who hath deliuered vs from the same that we might liue vnto god All these things tende to this ende to proue that we are not iustified by the lawe but by faith onely in Iesus Christ And here Paule speaketh not of the ceremoniall lawe onely as before we haue declared more at large but of the whole law whether it be ceremoniall or morall which to a Christian is vtterly abrogate for he is dead vnto it Not that the lawe is vtterly taken away nay it remaineth liueth and raigneth still in the wicked But a godly man is dead vnto the lawe like as he is dead vnto sinne the Deuill death and hell which notwithstanding doe still remaine and the world with all the wicked shall still abide in them Wherfore when the Papist vnderstandeth that the ceremoniall lawe onely is abolished vnderstand thou that Paule and euery Christian is dead to the whole lawe and yet the lawe remaineth still As for example Christ rising from death is free from the graue and yet the graue remaineth stil Peter is deliuered from the prison the sicke of the palsey from his bed the yong mā from his coffen the maiden from her couch and yet the prison the bed the coffen the couch doe remaine still Euen so the lawe is abolished when I am not subiect vnto it the law is dead when I am dead vnto it yet it remaineth still But because I die vnto it by an other law it dieth also vnto me As the graue of Christ the prison of Peter the couch of the maiden c. do still remaine and yet Christ by his resurrection dieth to the graue Peter by his deliueraunce is freed from the prison and the maid through life is deliuered from the couch Wherfore these words I am dead to the lavv are very effectuall For he sayeth not I am free from the law for a time or I am Lord of the lawe but simplie I am dead to the lawe that is to say I haue nothing to do with the law Paule could haue vttred nothīg more effectually against iustification of the law then to say I am dead to the law that is I care nothing at all for the law therfore I am not iustified by it Now to die to the law is not to be bound to the law but to be free from the law not to know it Therfore let him that will liue to God endeuour that he may be found without the law let him come out of the graue with Christ The souldiers were astonished whē Christ was risen out of the graue and they also which saw the maiden raised vp from death to life were amazed So mans reason and wisedom is astonished and becometh foolish when it heareth that we are not iustified except we be dead to the law for it is not able to reach vnto this mysterie But we know that when we apprehend Christ by faith inwardly in conscience we enter into a certain new law which swaloweth vp the old law that held vs captiues As the graue in which Christ lay dead after that he was risen againe was voide and emptie and Christ vanished away so when I beleue in Christ I rise againe with him and die to my graue that is to say the lawe which held me captiue So that now the law is voide and I am escaped out of my prison and graue that is to say the lawe Wherefore the lawe hath no right to accuse me or to hold me any longer for I am risen againe It is necessary that mens consciences should be diligently instructed that they may wel vnderstand the difference betwene that righteousnes of the law grace The righteousnes of grace or the libertie of cōscience doth in no wise pertaine to the flesh For the flesh may not be at liberty but must remaine in the graue the prison the couch it must be in subiection to the law and exercised by the Egyptians But the christian cōscience must be dead to the law that is to say free from the law must haue nothing at all to doe with it It is good to know this for it helpeth very much to the comforting of poore afflicted consciences Wherfore when you see a man terrified and cast downe with the sense and feeling of his sinne say vnto him Brother thou doest not rightly distinguish Thou placest the lawe in thy conscience which should be placed in the flesh Awake arise vp and remember that thou must beleue in Christ the conquerour of the lawe and sinne With this faith thou shalt mount vp aboue and beyond the lawe into that heauen of grace where is no law nor sinne And albeit the law sinne doe still remaine yet they pertaine nothing to thee for thou art dead to the lawe and sinne This is easily sayd but blessed is he which knoweth howe to lay sure hold on these things in time of distresse that is which can say when sinne ouerwayeth him and the law accuseth him what is this to me O lawe that thou accusest me and sayest that I haue committed many sinnes In deede I graunt that I haue committed many sinnes yea and yet stil I doe commit sinnes daily without number This toucheth me nothing I am now deafe and can not heare therefore thou talkest to me in vaine for I am dead vnto thee But if thou wilt needes dispute with me as touching my sinnes get thee to the flesh and members my seruaunts teach them exercise and crucifie them But trouble not me Conscience which am a Ladie and a Queene and haue nothing to doe with thee for I am dead to thee and now I liue to Christ with whom I am vnder an other lawe to witte the lawe of grace which ruleth ouer sinne and the lawe By what meanes By faith in Christ as Paule declareth hereafter But this semeth a straunge and a wonderfull definition that to liue to the lawe is to die to God and to die to the lawe is to liue to god
apart which driue vs to the consideration of our selues onely to turne our eies wholy to that brasen serpent Christ Iesus crucified assuredly beleue that he is our righteousnes and life not fearing the threatnings and terrours of the law sinne death and the iudgement of god For Christ on whom our eies are fixed in whom we liue who also liueth in vs is Lord and conquerour of the law sinne death and all euils In whom most certaine and sure consolation is set forth vnto vs and victory geuen Verse 20. Thus I liue yet not I novv but Christ liueth in me Wher he saith Thus I liue he speaketh it as it were in his owne person Therfore he by and by correcteth himselfe saying yet not I now That is to say I liue not now in mine owne person but Christ liueth in me In deede the person liueth but not in himselfe nor for his owne cause nor for any thing that is in him But who is that I of whom he sayeth yet not I. This I is he which hath the lawe and is bound to doe the workes therof who also is a certaine person seperate from Christ This person Paule reiecteth For as he is seperate from Christ he belongeth to death and hell Therfore he sayeth Novve not I but Christ liueth in me He is my forme my furniture and perfection adorning and beutifying my faith as the colour the cleare light or the whitnes do garnish and beutifie the wall Thus are we constrained grossely to set forth this matter For we can not spiritually conceaue that Christ is so nerely ioyned vnited vnto vs as the colour or whitenes are vnited vnto the wall Christ therfore sayth he thus ioyned and vnited vnto me and abiding in me liueth this life in me which I now liue yea Christ him selfe is this life which I now liue Wherefore Christ and I in this behalfe are both one Now Christ liuing in me abolisheth the lawe condemneth sinne and destroyeth death for it can not be but at his presence all these must nedes vanish away For Christ is euerlasting peace consolation righteousnes and life and to these the terrour of the law heauines of mind sinne hell and death must nedes geue place So Christ liuing and abiding in me taketh away and swalloweth vp all euils which vexe and afflict me This vnion or coniunction then is the cause that I am deliuered from the terrour of the law and sinne am seperate from my self and translated vnto Christ and his kingdom which is a kingdom of grace righteousnes peace ioy life saluation eternal glory Thus I now abiding and dwelling in him what euill is there that can hurt me In the meane season the old man abideth without and is subiecte to the lawe but as concerning iustification Christ and I must be entierly conioyned and vnited together so that he may liue in me and I in him And this is a wonderful maner of speech Now because Christ liueth in me therefore looke what grace righteousnes life peace and saluation is in me it is his and yet notwithstanding the same is mine also by that vnseparable vnion and coniunction which is throughe Faithe by which Christe and I are made as it were one bodye in spirite For as much then as Christ liueth in me it foloweth that as I must nedes be with him pertaker of grace righteousnes life and eternall saluation so the lawe sinne and death can haue no place in me yea the lawe is crucified and swallowed vp of the lawe sinne of sinne and death of death Thus Paule goeth about to draw vs from the beholding of our selues the law workes and to plant in vs true faith in Christ so that in the matter of iustification we should thinke vpon nothing else but grace separating the same farre from the law and works which in this matter ought to haue no place Paule hath his peculiar phrase or kind of speach which is not after the maner of men but diuine and heauenly nor vsed of the Euangelistes or of the rest of the Apostles sauing only of Iohn who also is wont sometimes so to speake And if Paule had not first vsed this phrase and set forth the same vnto vs in plaine words the very Saincts thēselues durst not haue vsed it For it seemeth a very straunge and a monstrous maner of speaking thus to say I liue I liue not I am dead I am not dead I am a sinner I am not a sinner I haue the law I haue not the law Which phrase is sweete and comfortable to all those that beleue in Christ For in that they behold themselues they haue both the law and sinne but in that they looke vnto Christ they are dead to the law and haue no sinne If then in the matter of iustification thou separate the person of Christ from thy person then art thou in the law thou abidest in the law thou liuest in the law and not in Christ and so thou art condemned of the law and dead before God. For thou hast that faith which as the Sophisters dreame is furnished with charitie Thus I speake for examples sake For there was neuer any one found that was saued by this faith And therfore what things soeuer the Sophisters haue written touching this faith are nothing els but vaine toyes and meere deceites of Sathan But let vs graunt that such there be as haue this faith yet are they not therfore iustified For they haue but an historicall Faith concerning Christ which the Deuill also and all the wicked haue Faith therfore must be purely taught namely that thou art so entirely and nerely ioyned vnto Christ that he and thou are made as it were one person so that thou maiest boldly say I am now one with Christ that is to say Christes righteousnes victory and life are mine And again Christ may say I am that sinner that is his sinnes and his death are mine because he is vnited and ioyned vnto me I vnto him For by faith we are so ioyned together that we are become one flesh one bone Eph. 5. we are the members of the body of Christ flesh of his flesh and bone of his bones So that this faith doth couple Christ and me more neare together then the husband is coupled to his wife This faith therfore is not an idle qualitie but the excellencie therof is such that it vtterly confoundeth these foolish dreames of the Sophisters touching their formed faith and counterfeit charitie their merits workes and worthines These things I would gladly set forth more amply if by any meanes I could Hitherto we haue declared this to be the first argument of Paule that either Christ must needes be the minister of sinne or els the lawe doth not iustifie when he had finished this argument he set forth himselfe for an example saying that he was dead vnto that old law by a certaine new law Now he
that according to the flesh there are yet certaine naturall vices remaining euen in Christian churches Grace maketh not such a chaung in the faithfull that by and by they become altogether new creatures and perfect in all things but there remaine yet certaine dregges of their old and naturall corruption As if a man that is naturally enclined to anger be conuerted to Christ although he be mollified by grace the holy Ghost so framing his heart that he is now become more meeke and gentile yet this naturall vice is not vtterly quenched in his flesh Likewise such as are by nature stubborne and stout harted men although they be conuerted to the faith yet notwithstanding they can not vtterly forsake this stubbernes Hereof it cometh that the holy scriptures which doe containe all one truth of diuers spirites are diuersly handled One in teaching is mild and gentle an other more rough and rigorous Thus the spirite of god being powred into diuers vessels doth not quench at once the vices of nature but by litle litle during this life he purgeth that sinne which is rooted not onely in the Galathians but also in all men of all nations Albeit then that the Galathians were lightned and did beleue and had now receaued the holy Ghost by the preaching of faith notwithstanding this remnant of vice this foolishnes I meane and the originall corruption which afterward did easily burst out in to the flame of false doctrine remained in them still Wherfore let no man trust so much in himselfe to thinke that when he hath receaued grace he is thorowly purged from his old vices In deede many things are purged in vs and principally the head of the Serpent that is to say infidelitie ignorance of God is cutte of and brused but the slime and the relikes of sinne remaine still in vs Let no man therfore presume so much of himselfe that when he hath once receaued faith he can by and by be thorowly chaunged into a new man Nay he shall keepe somewhat of his old vices still hanging vpon him though he be neuer so good and perfect a Christiā For we are not yet dead but we stil liue in the flesh which because it is not yet pure continually lusteth against the spirite Gal. 1. Rom. 7. I am fleshly sayth Paule sould vnder sinne I see an other lavv in my members rebelling against the lavv of my minde Wherfore the naturall vices that were in vs before we receaued faith doe still remaine in vs after that we haue receaued faith sauing that nowe they are subdued to the spirite which hath the vpper hande to keepe them vnder that they rule not and yet not without great conflict This glory is due to Christ alone and this title he beareth that he is pure and without blemish 1. Pet. 2. VVho did no sinne neither vvas there any guile found in his mouth Vers 1. Vvho hath bevvitched you that ye should not beleue the truth Here haue we an other commendation of this goodly righteousnes of the lawe and of our selues namely that it maketh vs to despise the truth that it bewitcheth vs in such sort that we obey not the truth but rebell against it Of the bodily and spirituall witchcraft Paule calleth the Galathians foolish and bewitched comparing them to children to whom witchcraft dothe much harme As though he should say It hapneth to you as it doth to children whom witches sorcerers inchaunters are wont to charme by their enchauntments and by the illusion of the deuill Afterwardes in the .5 chapter he reherseth sorcerie among the workes of the flesh which is a kinde of witchcraft whereby he plainly testifieth that such witchcrafte and sorcerie there is and that it may be done Moreouer it can not be denied but that the deuill liueth yea and raigneth throughout the whole world Witchcraft and sorcerie therfore are the works of the deuil wherby he doth not onely hurt men but also by the permission of God he sometimes destroyeth them Furthermore we are all subiect to the Deuill both in body and goodes and we be straungers in this world wherof he is the Prince god Therfore the bread which we eate the drinke which we drinke the garments which we weare yea the aire whatsoeuer we liue by in this flesh is vnder his dominion But he doth not onely bewitch men after this grosse maner but also after a more subtile sort and much more daungerous wherein he is a maruelous cunning workeman And hereof it cometh that Paule applieth the charming and bewitching of the senses to the bewitching of the spirite For by this spirituall witchcraft that olde serpent bewitcheth not mens senses but their mindes with false wicked opinions which opinions they that are so bewitched do take to be true and right godly Briefly so great is the malice of this sorcerer the deuil desire to hurt that not onely he deceaueth those secure and proud spirits with his inchauntments but euen those also which are professors of true Christianitie and well affected in religion yea as touching my selfe to say the truth he sometimes assaileth me so mightely and oppresseth me with such heauie cogitations that he vtterly shadoweth my Sauiour Christ from me and in a manner taketh him cleane out of my sight To be briefe there is none of vs al which is not oftentimes bewitched with false perswasions that is to say which doth not feare trust or reioyce where he ought not or doth not sometimes thinke otherwise of God of Christ of faith of his vocation of the Christian state c. then he should doe Let vs therfore learne to know the subtile sleights of this Sorcerer lest if he finde vs sleping in securitie he deceaue vs by his enchauntments True it is that by his sorcerie he can doe no hurt to our ministerie yet is he with vs in spirite Day and night he raungeth vp and downe and seeketh how he may deuoure euery one of vs alone and vnlesse he finde vs sobre and armed with spirituall weapons that is to say with the word of God and faith he will deuoure vs. This is the cause that he oftentimes stirreth vp new battails against vs. And in deede it is very profitable for vs that he thus assaileth vs by his subtil traines exerciseth vs For by this meanes he confirmeth our doctrine he stirreth vp encreaseth faith in vs In deede we haue bene many times cast downe yet stil are cast downe in this cōflict but we perish not for Christ hath alwayes triumphed and doth triumph thorough vs Wherfore we conceaue assured hope that by Iesus Christ we shall obtaine the victorie against the deuil And this hope bringeth forth in vs sure consolation so that in the mids of our tentations we take courage say Behold Satan hath heretofore tempted vs by his false illusiōs hath prouoked vs to vnbeleefe to the
diligently teach we sustaine the hatred and cruell persecution of the Deuill and of the world For Sathan feeleth the power and fruite of this Article And that there is in deede no more sinne death or malediction since Christ nowe raigneth we confesse daily in the Creede of the Apostles I beleue that there is an holy Church Which is in deede nothing else but as if we should say I beleue that there is no sinne no malediction no death in the Church of god For they which do beleue in Christ are no sinners are not giltie of death but are holy and righteous lordes ouer sinne and death liuing for euer But Faith onely seeth this for we say I beleeue an holy Church But if thou beleue reason and thine owne eyes thou wilt iudge cleane contrary For thou seest many things in the Godly which offend thee Thou seest them sometime to fall into sinne and to be weake in Faith to be subiect vnto wrath enuie and such other euill affections therefore the Church is not holy I deny the consequēce If I looke vpon mine owne person or the person of my brother it shall neuer be holy But if I behold Christ who hath sanctified and clensed his Church then is it altogether holy for he hath taken away the sinnes of the whole world Therfore where sinnes are seene and felt there are they in deede no sinnes For according to Paules Diuinitie there is no sin no death no maledictiō any more in the world but in Christ who is the Lambe of God that hath taken away the sinnes of the world who is made a Curse that he might deliuer vs from the Curse Contrariwise according to Philosophie and reason sinne death and the Curse are no where else but in the world in the flesh or in sinners For a Sophisticall Diuine can speake no otherwise of sinne then doth the Heathen Philosopher Like as sayeth he the colour sticketh in the wall euen so doth sinne in the world in the flesh or in the conscience therfore it is to be purged by contrary operations to witte by charitie But true Diuinitie teacheth that there is no sinne in the world any more for Christ vpon whom the Father hath cast the sinnes of the whole world hath vanquished and killed the same in his owne body He once dying for sinne and raised vp againe dieth nowe no more Therefore whersoeuer is a true faith in Christ there sinne is abolished dead and buried in deede But where no Faith in Christ is there sinne doth still remaine And albeit the remnaunts of sinne be as yet in the Saintes because they beleue not perfectly yet are they dead in that they are not imputed vnto them because of their Faith in Christe This is therfore a strong and a mighty argument which Paule here prosecuteth against the righteousnes of workes It is not the lawe nor workes that doe deliuer vs from the euerlasting Curse but Christe alone See therefore good Christian reader I beseech thee that thou distinguish Christ from the law and diligently marke how Paule speaketh and what he sayth All sayth he which doe not fulfil the law are necessarily vnder the Curse But no man fulfilleth the law therfore all men are vnder the Curse He addeth moreouer an other proposition Christ hath redemed vs frō the Curse of the law being made a Curse for vs It followeth then that the lawe and workes doe not redeeme vs from the Curse but doe bring vs rather vnder the Curse Charitie therefore which as the Schoolemen say geueth forme and perfection vnto Faith hath not onely not redemed vs from the Curse but rather it wrappeth vs more and more in the Curse This text then is plaine that all men yea the Apostles Prophets and Patriarks had remained vnder the Curse if Christ had not set him selfe against sinne death the Curse of the law the wrath and iudgemēt of God and ouercome them in his owne body for no power of flesh and bloud could ouercome these huge and hideous Monsters But now Christ is not the law or the worke of the law but a diuine and humane person which tooke vpon him sinne the condemnation of the lawe and death not for him selfe but for vs Wherfore all the weight and force hereof consisteth in this word For vs. We must not thē imagine Christ to be innocent as a priuate person as doe the Schoolemen and almost all the Fathers haue done which is holy and righteous for him selfe onely True it is in deede that Christe is a person most pure and vnspotted but thou must not stay there for thou hast not yet Christe although thou knowe him to be God and man but then thou hast him in deede when thou beleeuest that this most pure and innocent person is freely geuen vnto thee of the Father to be thy high Priest and Sauiouer yea rather thy seruaunt that he putting off his innocentie and holines and taking thy sinnefull person vpon him might beare thy sinne thy death and thy Curse and might be made a sacrifice and a Curse for thee that by this meanes he might deliuer thee from the Curse of the lawe Ye see then with what an Apostolike spirite Paule handleth this argument of the Blessing and of the Curse whilest he not onely maketh Christ subiect to the Curse but sayth also that he is made a Curse So in the. 2. Corrin 5. he calleth him Sinne when he sayth He hath made him to be Sinne for vs vvhich knevv no sinne that vve shoulde be made the righteousnes of God in him And although these sentences may be well expounded after this maner Christ is made a Curse that is to say a sacrifice for the Curse and Sinne that is a sacrifice for sinne yet in my iudgement it is better to keepe the proper signification of the words because there is a greater force and vehemencie therin For when a sinner cometh to the knowledge of him selfe in deede he feeleth not onely that he is miserable but misery it selfe not onely that he is a sinner is accursed but euen sinne and malediction it selfe For it is in deede a great matter to beare sinne the wrath of God malediction and death Wherefore that man which hath a true feeling of these things as Christ did truely effectually feele them for all mākinde is made euen sinne death and malediction it selfe Paule therefore handleth this place with a true Apostolicall spirite There is neither Sophister nor Lawyer nor Iew nor Anabaptist nor any other that speaketh as he doeth For who durst alleage this place out of Moises Accursed is euery one that hangeth on tree and applie it vnto Christ Like as Paule then applied this sentence to Christ euen so may we apply vnto Christe not onely that whole 27. chap. of Deuteronomie but also may gather all the Curses of Moises lawe together and expound the same of Christ For as
and a carnall libertie to doe what so euer they list These as Peter sayeth haue the libertie of the spirite as a cloke of maliciousnes through which the name of God and the Gospell of Christe is sclaundered euery where and therfore they shall once suffer worthy punishment for this their vngodlines Thirdly such doe also abuse the lawe who feeling the terrours thereof doe not vnderstand that such terrours ought no longer to continue but vnto Christe This abuse in them is the cause that they fall to desperation as in the hypocrites it is the cause of arrogancie and presumption Contrariwise the true vse of the lawe can neuer be estemed and magnified as it is worthy namely that when the conscience shutte vp vnder the lawe despaireth not but being instructed by the wisedom of the holy Ghost concludeth with it selfe after this sort I am in deede shut vppe as a prisoner vnder the lawe but not for euer yea this shutting vppe shall turne to my great profite How so Because that I being thus shut vppe shall be driuen to sigh and seeke the hand of an helper c. After this maner the lawe is as an enforcer which by compulsion bringeth the hungrie vnto Christe that he may satisfie them with his good things Wherefore the true office of the lawe is to shew vnto vs our sinnes to make vs giltie to humble vs to kill vs and to bring vs downe to hell and finally to take from vs all helpe all succour all cōfort but yet altogether to this end that we may be iustified exalted quickned to life caried vppe into heauen and obtaine all good things Therfore it doth not onely kill but it killeth that we may liue Verse 24. VVherefore the lavve vvas our Scholemaster to bring v◠to Christe Here againe he ioyneth the lawe and the Gospell together which are separate so farre asunder as touching the affections and inward man when he sayeth The lawe is a Scholemaster to Christ This similitude also of the Scholemaster is worthy to be noted Although a Scholemaster be very profitable and necessary to enstruct and to bring vppe children yet shewe me one childe or scholer which loueth his master We may easily coniecture what affection the Iewes bare to their Moises and how zelously they performed that which he commaunded In deede such was their loue and obedience towards him that euery hower as the Storie testifieth they would with all their hearts haue stoned him to death It is not possible therefore that the scholer should loue his master For howe can he loue him which keepeth him in prison that is to say which suffereth him not to doe that which gladly he would And if he doe any thing against his commaundement by and by he is rebuked and chastised yea and is constrained moreouer to kisse the rodde when he is beaten Is not this I pray you a goodly righteousnes and obedience of the scholer that he obeyeth his master so seuerely threatning and so sharply correcting him and kisseth the rodde But doth he this with a good wil As soone as his master hath turned his backe he breaketh the rodde or casteth it into the fire And if he had any power ouer his master he would not suffer him selfe to be beaten of his master but rather he would beat him And yet notwithstanding the scholemaster is very necessary for the child to enstruct and to chastise him otherwise the childe without this discipline enstruction and good education should be vtterly lost The scholemaster therfore is appoynted for the child to teach him to bring him vp to kepe him as it were in prison But to what ende or how long Is it to the ende that this streit and sharpe dealing of the scholemaster should alwayes cōtinue or that the child should remaine in continuall bōdage Not so but onely for a time that this obedience this prison and correction might turne to the profit of the child that in time he might be heire and Prince For it is not the fathers will that his sonne should be alwayes subiect to the scholemaster and alwayes beaten with roddes but that by this instruction and discipline he may be made able and meete to be his fathers successour Euen so the law sayth Paule is nothing else but a Scholemaster not for euer but vntill it haue brought vs to Christ as in other wordes he sayd also before The lavve vvas geuen for transgressions vntill the blessed Seede should come Also the scripture hath shut all vnder sin c. Againe vve vvere kept vnder shut vp vnto faith vvhich should after be reuealed Wherefore the lawe is not onely a Scholemaster but it is a Scholemaster to bring vs vnto Christ For what a Scholemaster were he which would alwaies torment beat the child teach him nothing at all And yet such Scholemasters there were in time past when Scholes were nothing else but a prison and a very hell the Scholemasters cruell tyrannes and very butchers The childrē were alwayes beaten they learned with continuall paine and trauell yet few of thē came to any proofe The law is not such a Scholemaster For it doth not onely terrifie torment as the foolish Scholemaster beateth his scholers teacheth them nothing but with his roddes he driueth vs vnto Christ like as a good Scholemaster enstructeth exerciseth his scholers in reading and wryting to the ende they may come to the knowledge of good letters other profitable things that afterwardes they may haue a delite in doing of that which before when they were constrained thervnto they did against their willes By this goodly similitude Paule sheweth what is the true vse of the lawe namely that it iustifieth not hypocrites for they remaine without Christ in their presumption securitie And contrariwise that it leaueth not in death damnation those that are of a contrite heart so that they vse it as Paul teacheth but driueth them vnto Christ But they which in these terrours continue still in their weaknes doe not apprehend Christ by faith do fall at length into desperatiō Paule therfore in this allegorie of the Scholemaster most liuely expresseth the true vse of the law For like as the Scholemaster reproueth his scholers he greeueth them maketh thē heauy yet not to the end that this bondage should alwayes continue but that it should cease when the children are well brought vppe and enstructed accordingly that afterwards without any cōstraint of the Scholemaster they should cherefully enioy their libertie their fathers goods euen so they which are vexed oppressed with the law doe know that these terrours and vexations shall not alwayes continue but that therby they are prepared to come vnto Christ which is to be reuealed and to receaue the libertie of the spirite c. Verse 24. That vve may be made righteous by Faith. The lawe is not a Scholemaster to bring vs vnto
an other lawgeuer which requireth good workes but vnto Christ our Iustifier and Sauiour that by Faith in him we might be iustified and not by workes But when a man feeleth the force and strength of the law he doth not vnderstand nor beleue this Therefore he sayth I haue liued wickedly for I haue transgressed all the commaundements of God and therfore I am giltie of eternall death If God would prolong my life certaine yeres or at least certaine moneths I would amend my life and liue holily hereafter Here of the true vse of the lawe he maketh an abuse Reason being ouertaken in these terrours and streites is bolde to promise vnto God the fulfilling of all the workes of the whole law And hereof came so many sectes and swarmes of Monkes and religious hypocrites so many ceremonies and so many workes deuised to deserue grace and remission of sinnes And they which deuised these things thought that the lawe was a Scholemaster to lead thē not vnto Christ but to a new lawe or vnto Christe as a lawgeuer and not as one that hath abolished the lawe But the true vse of the lawe is to teach me that I am brought to the knowledge of my sinne humbled that so I may come vnto Christ and may be iustified by Faith. But Faith is neither lawe nor worke but an assured confidence which apprehendeth Christ vvho is the end of the lavv Rom. 10. And how Not that he hath abolished the olde law and geuen a newe or that he is a iudge which must be pacified by workes as the Papistes haue taught but he is the ende of the lawe to all those that beleue that is to say euery one that beleueth in him is righteous and the lawe shall neuer accuse him The lawe then is good holy and iust so that a man vse it as he should doe Nowe they that abuse the lawe are first the hypocrites which attribute vnto the law a power to iustifie and secondly they which doe despaire not knowing that the lawe is a Scholemaster to lead men vnto Christ that is to say that the lawe humbleth them not to their destruction but to their saluation For God woundeth that he may heale againe he killeth that he may quicken againe Now Paule as before I haue sayd speaketh of those that are to be iustified and not of those which are iustified already Therefore when thou goest about to reason as concerning the lawe thou must take the matter of the lawe or that whervpon the lawe worketh namely the sinner and the wicked person whom the lawe iustifieth not but setteth sinne before his eyes casteth him downe and bringeth him to the knowledge of him selfe it sheweth vnto him hell the wrath and the iudgement of god This is in deede the proper office of the law Then foloweth the vse of this office to witte that the sinner may knowe that the lawe doth not reueale vnto him his sinne and thus humbleth him to the ende he should despaire but that by this accusing and brusing it may driue him vnto Christ the Sauiour and comforter When this is done he is no longer vnder the Scholemaster And this vse is very necessary For seeing the whole world is ouerwhelmed with sinne it hath neede of this ministerie of the lawe that sinne may be reuealed Otherwise no man should euer attaine to righteousnes as before we haue largely declared But what worketh the lawe in them which are already iustified by Christ Paule aunswereth by these wordes which are as it were an addition to that which goeth before Verse 25. But after that Faith is come vve are no longer vnder the Scholemaster That is to say we are free from the lawe from the prison and from our Scholemaster for when Faith is reuealed the lawe terrifieth and tormenteth vs no more Paule here speaketh of Faith as it was preached and published vnto the world by Christ in a certaine time before appoynted For Christ taking vppon him our flesh came once into the world he abolished the lawe with all his effectes and deliuered from eternall death all those which receaue his benefite by Faith. If therefore ye looke vnto Christe and that which he hath done there is now no lawe For he comming in the time appoynted tooke away the lawe Nowe since the law is gone we are not kept vnder the tyrannie therof any more but we liue in ioy and safetie vnder Christ who now sweetely raigneth in vs by his spirit Now where the Lord raigneth there is libertie Wherefore if we could perfectly apprehend Christe which hath abolished the lawe by his death and hath reconciled vs vnto his father that Scholemaster should haue no power ouer vs at all But the lawe of the members rebelling against the lawe of the minde letteth vs that we can not perfectly lay hold vppon Christe The lacke therfore is not in Christ but in vs which haue not yet put of this flesh to the which sinne continually cleaueth as long as we liue Wherfore as touching our selues we are partly free from the law and partly vnder the lawe According to the spirite vve serue vvith Paule the lavve of God but according to the flesh the lavve of sinne Rom. 7. Hereof it foloweth that as touching the conscience we are fully deliuered from the law therfore that Scholemaster must not rule in the cōscience that is he must not afflict the conscience with his terrours threatnings and captiuitie And albeit it goe about to vexe to trouble the conscience neuer so much yet is she not moued therewith. For she hath Christ crucified before her eyes who hath remoued out of the cōscience all the offices of the law putting out the handvvriting of ordinaunces that vvas against vs c. Coloss 2. Therfore euen as a virgin knoweth no man so the conscience must not onely be ignorāt of the law but also it must be vtterly dead vnto the law the law likewise vnto the conscience This is not done by any works or by the righteousnes of the law but by faith which apprehendeth and layeth hold vpon Christ notwithstanding sinne cleaueth still in the flesh as touching the effect thereof which oftentimes accuseth troubleth the conscience So long then as the flesh doth remaine so long this Scholemaster the law doth also remaine which many times terrifieth the conscience maketh it heauie by reuealing of sinne threatning of death Yet is it raised vppe again by the daily cōming of Christ who as he came once into the world at the time before appoynted to redeme vs from the hard and sharpe seruitude of our Scholemaster euen so he commeth daily vnto vs spiritually to the ende that we may encrease in faith and in the knowledge of him that the conscience may apprehend him more fully and perfectly from day to day and that the lawe of the flesh and of sinne with the terrour of death and all euils that
measure in prison more plenteously in death oft Of the Ievves fiue times receiued I fortie stripes saue one I vvas thrise beaten vvith roddes I vvas once stoned I suffered thrise shippevvracke night and day haue I bene in the deepe sea In iourneyings I vvas often in perilles of vvaters in perilles of robbers in perilles of mine ovvne nation in perilles among the Gentiles in perilles in the Citie in perilles in the vvildernes in perilles in the sea in perilles among false brethren c. These be the true markes and imprinted signes of which the Apostle speaketh in this place The which we also at this day by the grace of God beare in our bodies for Christes cause For the world persecuteth killeth vs false brethren deadly hate vs SathaÌ„ inwardly in our heart with his fiery dartes terrifieth vs and for none other cause but for that we teach Christ to be our righteousnes life These markes we choose not of any deuotion neither do we gladly suffer them but because the world and the Deuill do lay them vpon vs for Christes cause we are compelled to suffer them and we reioyce in spirite with Paule which is alwayes willing glorieth and reioyceth that we beare them in our body for they are a seale and most sure testimonie of true doctrine and faith These things Paule spake as I shewed afore with a certaine displeasure and indignation Verse 18. Brethren the grace of our Lord Iesus Christe be vvith your spirite Amen This is his last farewell He endeth the Epistle with the same wordes wherewith he began As if he sayd I haue taught you Christ purely I haue entreated you I haue chidden you and I haue lette passe nothing which I thought profitable for you I can say no more but that I heartely pray that our Lord Iesus Christe would blesse and encrease my labour and gouerne you with his holy spirite for euer Thus haue ye the exposition of Paules Epistle to the Galathians The Lord Iesus Christ our iustifier and Sauiour who gaue vnto me the grace and power to expound this Epistle and to you likewise to heare it preserue and stablish both you and me which I most hartely desire that we daily growing more and more in the knowledge of his grace and Faith vnfained may be found vnblameable and without fault in the day of our redemption To whom with the father and the holy Ghost be glory world without end AMEN 1. TIMOT 1. Vnto the King euerlasting immortall inuisible vnto God onely vvise be honour and glory for euer and euer AMEN FINIS Samuul 1. Esay 41. 1. Cor. 1. Hereof reade more in the Apologie of the church of England and in the booke of monuments fol. 992. Col. 2. Rom. 4. Iac. 2. Mar. 1. Mat. 3. Gen. 3 vers 2. Genes 4. Genes 6. 2. Peter 2.5 Genes 10.6 c. 1 Actes 14. Actes 7 5â— The church of the Gentiles 1. Cor. 2.1 1. Cor. 1.30 The argument of iustificatioÌ„ very necessary and diligently to be handled The rage of Sathan a sure argumeÌ„t that the day of iudgemeÌ„t is at hande The outrages of the Anabaptistes The Deuill troubleth not those that are buried and dead in sinne but especially those that are godly and hate sinne Genes 3 ver 15. For vvhose cause specially Luther setteth forth this vvorke and vvho they be that onely vnderstand this doctrine The dignitie of Gods vvord and the sacraments depend not vpon the vvorthines or vnvvorthines of the minister Iudges â—5 4. 1. Timot. 1 1â— Eccles 11 4. Psal. 121.4 The Churche shall neuer be quiet in this vvorld Vnderstande this of pestileÌ„t Libertines vvhich vvould vtterly take avvay the lavv al feare of god and the ministerie of his vvord Osea 4 4. Mich. â— 6. An exhortatioÌ„ to ministers 1. Cor. 11 19. 2. Cor. 6 15. Genes 3 5. 2. Cor. 1.12 Hovve many kindes of righteousnes there are Christian righteousnes The righteousnesse of faithe aptlye called the passiue righteousnes because it coÌ„sisteth in suffering receauing like as the righteousnes of the lavv is called th' actiue righteousnesse because it coÌ„sisteth in doing vvorking The infirmitie of man in teÌ„ptations The lavve can not comfort vs in afflictions The lavve is not giuen to a righteous maÌ„ but to the lavvlesse and disobedient Tit. 1 9 Rom. 3 20. Rom. 6 14. Rom. 10 4. Galat. 3 24 Po. 1 1â— Good vvorkes not forbiddeÌ„ ChristiaÌ„ righteousnesse not vvroughte by vs but vvrought in vs 1. Cor. 15.49 VVe caÌ„ do nothing for the obtaining of ChristiaÌ„ righteousnesse Io. 16 10. Heb. 1 3. 1. Cor. 1 30. Heb. 4.15 Rom. 4 15. 1. Io. 5 18. 1. Iohn 5.18 Rom. 1. vers 19.20.21 c. The drifte of the Apostle in the Epistle to the GalathiaÌ„s See vvhat vve fal into vvhen vve neglecte this doctrine or vvant true zeale to aduaÌ„ce the same 1. Cor. 1.30 Heb. 7.25 Rom. 4. 15. 1. Cor. 6.19 The occasioÌ„ of vvryting this Epistle to the Galathians The Deuil hateth the gospel stirreth vp vvicked meÌ„ against it The doctrine of the gospell The accusatioÌ„s vvhervvith the vvorlde chargeth the gospell The effectes of the gospell Coloss 1. ver 1â— The authority of the false Apostels Io. 8. Rom. 4 4.5.6 Math. 7 ver 22 The argument of the papistes against vs. VVith hovve greate constaÌ„cie S. Paule defendeth his vocation and authoritie against the false Apostles The summe of the tvvo first chapters Galat. 5. The minister of God must be sure of his calling The glorying of S. Paule necessary and holy Rom. 11.13 The Preachers are to be receaued as messengers from God by vvhose ministerie God himselfe speaketh The calling of the Apostles 1 Cor. 10.28 Ephes 4.11 VVho be Apostles Actes 1.24.25 The calling of Mathias Actes 9.15 The Apostles sainctes Math. 27 5. They vvhich be not called do kil and destroy The certaintie of calling VVhat daunger they be in vvhich haue no lavvfull calling VVhy Paule exalteth his calling so in euery place The profite of extolling our calling A holy pride The summe of the Epistle to the GalathiaÌ„s Math. 12.34 VVhat Paule goeth about in this Epistle Rom. 4.24.25 The victorie of Christ is ours 1. Cor. 15.57 Iohn 11.25 VVhy he saith and all the brethern These fantasticall spirites flie the crosse and therfore betake them selues to such places vvhere they may liue at ease The condition of all godly preachers The coÌ„fort of faithfull teachers laboring vnder the crosse 1. Cor. 2 9. The constant faith of Luther 1 Pet. 5 4. The vvord sacramentes are not polluted by our vngodlines The seat of Antichrist 2. Thes 2.4 The churche dispersed through the vvorld Grace Peace The article of of iustificatioÌ„ is continually to be beaten into our heds The greeting of the Apostle straunge and vnheard of to the vvorld Sinne. Conscience The doctrine of Christians Grace Peace Sinne is not released but by grace alone The vvorld knovveth not the doctrine of true godlines Onely by grace is the conscience
the lavve VVho make Christ a minister of sinne The Gospell vvhat it is Commaundements in the Gospell vvhat they are The lavve is the ministery of sinne vvrath and death The Conscience thus gathereth Thou hast sinned therfore thou art giltie of euerlasting death A picture of Christ Deut 34. The lavve Christe Christ hath taken avvay all euils and hath brought vnto vs all good things VVhat Paule had destroyed by the ministery of the Gospell Moses geueth place to christ and the lavve to the gospel The Papistes are destroyers of the kingdome of Christ The difference of the lavve and the Gospell diligently to be marked Hovv the Monkes vvere vvont to coÌ„fort condemned Persons at the time of their death The maner of Popish confessions Faith vvithout vvorkes Paules maner of speach vnknovvne to mans reason Paule calleth grace the lavv Phrases of speach onely proper to the scripture The lavve against the lavv Psal. 68.19 Ephes 4.8 Hos 13.14 1. Cor. 15.55 Death against death Paules heresy He that is dead to the lavve liueth to God. The doctrine of the papists A speciall principle amongst the diuines That the lavv is abrogated Christ free froÌ„ the graue I am dead to the lavv VVhat it is to die to the lavve The flesh is subiect to the lavve but not to the conscience The coÌ„science ansvvering to the accusatioÌ„ of the lavve To liue vnto God. VVho is a Christian 1. Cor. â— 21 Death against death The lavve maketh vs not righteous but faith onely The very poynt of all this matter Coloss 2.15 In the matter of iustificatioÌ„ there is nothing for vs to doe but to heare vvhat Christ hath done for vs to apprehend the same by faith Good vvorks This sentence vvell vnderstand in the time of trouble maketh a man strong against all tentations A speeche or Dialoge betvvene the lavv and conscience The lavve of libertie A consolation against the terrours of the lavv c. The binding lavv through Christ is bouÌ„d it selfe Sinne condeÌ„ned and condemning Death killed and death killing As Satan is to others ouer vvhoÌ„ he hath dominion so is Christ to Sathan vvhom he holdeth bouÌ„d that he can not hurt vs farther theÌ„ he geueth him leaue 1. Iohn 5.4.5 VVhy Paule calleth grace the lavve The lavve bound and condemned cannot accuse vs. A holy pride Hovv he calleth libertie the lavv The lavv of grace binding the lavv of the ten commauÌ„dements Death killed by death that is the death vvhich vvas due to me is killed by Christes death The svveete and comfortable names of Christ Christ a poyson against death The lavv of the mind sette against the lavv of the members A most ioyfull combat The flesh subiect to the lavv but not the conscience To be crucified vvith Christ 1. Pet. â— 21 The true life of the faithful The faithfull crucified and deade to the lavv The glory of the faithfull VVe must haue Ghrist onely before our eies Such is our misery that intentations and afflictions vve set Christ aside and loke backe into our ovvne life past He speaketh of the olde man. Christ bestovveth himself and all that he hath vpon those that beleue in him VVhatsoeuer good the godly haue in theÌ„ it is Christes and vve are so knit together that he liueth in vs and vve in him Paules excelent and heauenly maner of speach Albeit the faithfull be sinners yet are they also righteous The Papistes faith Faith so knitteth all beleuers Christ together that they become one person Ephes 5.30 True faith is not idle VVhat occasion the malicious take of this doctrine Hovv the vveake are to be instructed Good vvorks are not the cause but the frutes of righteousnes Life taken tvvo maner of vvaies The faithfull liue not their ovvne life but the life of Christ Christ is our life The faithfull liue in the flesh but not according to the flesh To liue in the faith of the sonne of God. Philip. 2.7 The differeÌ„ce betvvene the faithfull and vnfaithfull The true vvay to iustificatioÌ„ The pestilent doctrine of the Papistes and PelagiaÌ„s These meritemoÌ„gers turne these vvordes of Paule vpside dovvne To doe vvhat in vs lieth The Papistes do apply matters of policy and ciuill gouernment to the church Rom. 7.14 The Papistes doe graunt that nature is corrupt but they say that the povvers and qualities of nature remaine sound and vncorrupt Christ first loued vs and not vve him The bragging of the integritie of our natural qualities is in vaine The greatnes of the price to be vvel vveyed that vvas geuen for vs. The sluggishnes of the Papists in handling the holy scriptures Hovv sectes may be vvithstande Hath geuen himselfe for me The true force of faith The lavve loueth not sinners but accuseth them A true definition of Christ The greatest cunning that Christians can haue is to define Christ rightly Christ loueth the afflicted and such as feele the vveight of their sinnes Me. For me As by Adam all became giltie so by Christ all that beleue are made righteous They that seke to be made righteous by the lavv reiect the grace of God. Antichrist reiecteth grace and denieth faith VVhat it is to reiect grace The vvorld is so vntovvard that it reiecteth the grace of God. Corrupters of Paule If the desert of congruence auaile ought then is Christ dead in vaine If the lavv iustifie Christ died in vaine The righteousnes of all Saincts is nothing in comparison of the righteousnes of Christ A common sinne to reiect the grace of God. The Pope the chiefe author of all abhominations in the church The Popes pardons If the lavv iustifie then is Christ died in vaine A comparing of Christ and the lavv together The deuilish peruersnes of the vvorld Ciuill righteousnes hath her revvards The righteousnes of faith is the righteousnes that pleaseth God. Reason although it be lightned vvith the lavve yea and the lavve of God yet it can not iustifie Galath 2.21 The praise of the righteousnes of the lavve VVho make Christ to haue died in vaine 2. Timot. 4.5 Paules order in teaching O ye foolish Galathians Paule offendeth not in chiding the Galathians so sharply The chiding of parents tovvards their children Anger sometimes a necessary vertue Iust anger is called in the scripture zeale or ielousie Math. 13 33. The sharp rebukings of the holy Ghost Prouerb 27.6 The naturall vice of the Galathians The remnants of naturall vices remaine in the Godly Ebr. 12. The scripture being one and the selfe same truth is diuersly handled of sundry men Grace by litle and litle clenseth those that be godly from their old sinnes Galat. 5.17 Rom. 7.13.14 There is none so pure vnspotted that he may be called a Puritane but Christ 1. Pet. 2.22 Esay 53.9 1. Iohn 3.2 A goodly coÌ„mendation of the righteousnes of the lavve That vvitchcraft and sorcerie are the vvorkes of the deuill Sathan bevvitcheth men spiritually The blindnes of those that are bevvitched Luthers conflâ—ctes vvith Satan 1. Peter 5.8 The
aunswereth two obiections which might be made against him His first aunswere is against the cauillations of the proude and the offence of the weake For when remission of sinnes is freely preached then doe the malicious by and by sclander this preaching As Rom 3 Let vs doe euill that good may come therof For these fellowes as soone as they heare that we are not iustified by the law forthwith do maliciously conclude and say why then let vs reiect the law Againe if grace doe there abound say they where sinne doth abound let vs then abound in sinne that we may become righteous and that grace may the more abound These are the malicious and proude spirites which spitefully and wittingly sclaunder the scriptures sayings of the holy Ghost euen as they sclaundered Paule whilest the apostles liued to their owne confusion cōdemnation as it is said 2. Pet. 3. Moreouer that weake which are not malicious are offended when they heare that the law good works are not to be done as necessary to iustification These must be holpen and must be instructed how good works doe not iustifie how they ought to be done how not to be done They ought to be done not as the cause but as the frutes of righteousnes and when we are made righteous we ought to doe them but not contrariwise to the end that when we are vnrighteous we may be made righteous The tree maketh the apple but not the apple the tree He said before I am dead c. here the presumptious and malicious might soone take occasion to cauill after this maner What saiest thou Paule art thou dead how then doest thou speake how doest thou write The weake also might soone be offended and say vnto him what art thou Paule Doe we not see that thou art liuing and doest such things as pertaine to this life To this he aunswereth I liue in deede and yet now not I but Christ liueth in me Ther is then a double life The first is mine which is naturall the second is the life of an other that is to say the life of Christ in me As touching my natural life I am dead and now I liue an other life I liue not now as Paule but Paule is deade Who is it then that liueth The Christian Paule therfore as he liueth in him selfe is wholy dead through the law but as he liueth in Christ or rather as Christ liueth in him he liueth by an other life for Christ speaketh in hin liueth in him and exerciseth all the operations of life in him This cometh not now of the life of Paule but of the life of the christian and regenerate person Therfore thou malicious spirite where I say that I am dead now sclaunder my words no more And thou the art weake be not offēded but distinguish diuide this matter rightly For as I saide there are two liues to wit my naturall life and the life of an other By mine owne life I liue not for it I did the law would haue dominion ouer me and hold me in captiuitie To the end therfore that it should not hold me in captiuitie bondage I am dead to it by an other law and this death purchaseth vnto me the life of an other euen the life of Christ which life is not mine by nature but is geuen vnto me by Christ through faith The second aunswere is this It might againe be obiected vnto Paule what saiest thou Paule Doest thou not liue by thine owne life or in thine owne flesh but in Christ we see thy flesh but we see not Christ Wouldest thou then delude vs by thine inchauntments that we should not see thee present in flesh liuing as thou diddest before and doing all things in this corporall life as others doe he aunswereth Verse 20. And in that I novv liue in the flesh I liue by faith in the sonne of God. That is to say I liue in deede in the flesh but this life whatsoeuer it is I esteme as no life for it is no true life in deede but a shadow of life vnder the which an other liueth that is to say Christ who is my true life in deede which life thou seest not but onely hearest I feele Thou hearest the vvind but knovvest not vvhence it cometh or vvhether it goeth Ioh. 3. Euen so thou seest me speaking eating labouring sleeping and doing other things and yet thou seest not my life This life which I now liue I liue in deede in the flesh but not through the flesh or according to the flesh but through faith and according to faith Paule then denieth not that he liueth in the flesh because he doeth all things that belong to a naturall man He vseth also carnall things as meate drinke apparell and such like which is to liue in the flesh but he saith that this is not his life and although he vseth these things yet he liueth not through them as the world liueth through the flesh and after the flesh for it neither knoweth nor hopeth for any life besides this Therfore saith he this life which I now liue in the flesh whatsoeuer it is I liue in the faith of the sonne of god For this word which I now corporally speake is the word not of flesh but of the holy Ghost and of Christ This sight which goeth in or cometh out at mine eies procedeth not of flesh that is to say it is not gouerned of the flesh but of the holy Ghost So my hearing cometh not of the flesh although it be in the flesh but of the holy Ghost A Christian speaketh none other but chast sober holy things which pertaine vnto Christ to the glory of God the profit of his neighbour These things come not of the flesh neither are done accordīg to the flesh and yet are they in the flesh For I can not teach write pray or geue thanks but with these instruments of the flesh which are necessary to the accomplishing of these works and yet notwithstanding these works proceede not of the flesh but are geuen by God from aboue In like maner I behold a woman but with a chast eie not lusting after her This beholding cometh not of the flesh although it be in the flesh because the eies are the carnall instrumēts of this sight but the chastnes of this sight cometh from heauen Thus a Christian vseth the world and all creatures so that there is no difference betwene him and the Infidell For in their apparell in their feeding hearing seing speaking gestures coūtenances and such other things they are like and in outward apperance they seeme to be all one as Paule speaketh of Christ In outvvard appearance he vvas found sayth he as a man yet notwithstanding there is greate difference For I liue in the flesh I graunt but I liue not of my selfe but in that I now liue I liue in the faith of the sonne of