in heauen and come follow me He saieth also in an other place that he whiche seeketh to purchasse the grace of heauen and to bye euerlasting saluation must with the quantity of his patrimony marchaunt and bie the pretious iewell that is eternall life precious by the bloude of Christ The kingdome of heauen saieth he is like vnto a marchaunt man seeking for good perles and precious stones Matt. 13. but when he had found a preciouse stone he went and solde all that he had and bought it He also calleth them the children of Abraham whome he seeth to be workemen in the helping and nurrishing of the poore For when zachee had said Beholde Luk. 19. the halfe of my substance I geeue vnto the needie and if I haue defrauded any man of ought I render vnto him foure dubble Ihesus aunswered and saied This day is saluation made vnto this house for this man is also a sonne of Abraham For if Abraham beleeued God and it was reputed vnto hym for iustice verely he that according to God his commaundement dooth Almose beleeueth God and he whiche hath the truthe of faith keepeth the feare of God. But he whiche keepeth the feare of God thinketh of God in shewing mercie to the poore What it is to beleeue God and to thinke the scriptures true For therefore dooth he woorke bicause he beleeueth and knoweth those thinges to be true whiche are foreshewed by the woordes of God and that the holy Scripture can not lye whiche teacheth That vnfrutefull trees that is Barren and frutelesse menne shal be cutte away and throwne into the fier but the mercifull shal be called vnto the kingdoome And therefore in an other place also he calleth the woorkers and the frutefull by the name of faithfull personnes But as for the vnfrutefull and barren he saieth they haue no faith by these woordes If in the wicked Mammon Lucae 16. yee haue not been faithfull whoo will putte you in truste with that whiche is true and sound And if in the thing that is not yours yee baue been vnfaithfull whoo will geeue you that which is yours Pouetry is not to be feared for geuing of almes If thow mystruste and feare leaste if thow begynne to woorke bountifully thy patrimonie beeing consumed by liberall woorking thou maist perhaps be driuen to poouertie be in that behalfe without feare stand thou assured and out of care For that can not be wasted out of the which there is disbursed to Christe his vse and by the which a heauenly woorke is donne And thus doo I not warrant thee vppon myne owne credite but vppon the faith and warrant of the holy Scriptures Vppon the authoritie of God his promise do I assure it Proue 28. The holy Ghost speaking by Salomon saith He that geeueth to the poore shal neuer want but he that turneth his eies from them shal be in great penury shewing thereby that the mercifull and such as worke can neuer want but rather that the Niggardes and fruitlesse doo come in the ende to pouertie And the holy Apostle Paule also being full of grace of the heauenly inspiration saieth He that sendeth seede to the sower euen he also shall geeue bread to be eaten 2. Cor. 9. and shall multiplie your sowing and shall increase the yeeld of your fruitfull Iustice that you may be made riche in all thing And againe The administration of this dutie and woorke shall not only supplie in faith the want and neede of the saints but shall also be plentifull in geeuing with much thankefulnes towarde God. For when thankes for our almose and praiers are by the Oraisons of the poore directed vnto God the substance of the woorker is by the rewarde of God heaped and encreased And our Lord in the Ghospell euen then considering the hartes of such menne and by his foretelling worde denouncing this vnto the false harted and vnto suche as would not beleeue dooth protest and say Matt. 6. Doo yee not take thought saying what shall wee eate or what shall wee drinke or wherewith shall wee be appareled For these thinges the Gentiles seeke after but your Father knoweth that you haue neede of all these thinges Seeke yee first the kingdome of heauen Ibidem and the righteousnes thereof and all these thinges shall be cast vnto you He saieth all thinges are cast vnto them and geuen vnto them which seeke the kingdome and iustice of God. For our Lorde saieth that those menne shall when the daie of Iudgement commeth be admitted to receiue the kingdome whiche haue ben woorkers in his Churche But thou fearest lest thy patrimonie perhaps will faile thee if thou beginne of the same to yeeld bountifull woorkes And knowest thou not wretched man that while thou fearest the decaie of thy houshold thy life and saluation bothe doo faile And while thou arte carefull that nothing be diminished of thy goods doest thou not see that thy selfe arte diminished being a loouer rather of Mammon then of thyne owne soule Thus while thow fearest lest thy patrimonie should perishe to saue thy selfe thy selfe doest perishe to saue thy patrimonie And therefore dooth the Apostle well crie out and saie Nothing brought wee into this world 1. Tim. 6. neyther truely maye wee carrie ought hence but hauing nourriture and coouering let vs be therewith content For they that will becoome riche falle into temptation into snares and into many and hurtefull desyres which whelme a man into perdition and destruction Couetousnes the roote of al euils For the roote of all euills is couetousnes which some seeking after haue made a wracke of their faith and haue plunged them selues into many sorowes But doest thou feare still least thy patrimonie may happe to faile if thou beginne to bestowe plentifully thereof Proue 10. Why When was it seen that the iust man could wante reliefe sithe it is written Our Lorde will not kill with hunger the iust soule 3. Reg. 17 Helias was fed in the wildernesse by the ministery and seruise of crowes And to Daniell being by the kinges commaundement shutte vp in the denne for a praie to the Lions his dinner was from God prouided Danie 14. And yet fearest thou leste working and deseruing at Gods handes thou shouldest wante nourriture Remembrest thou not that he him selfe in the Ghospell to the reproche of them which be of doubtfull mindes and of litle faith dooth protest saying Beholde the foules of the ayer Matt. 6. for they sowe not they reape not they gather not into the barnes and yet your heauenly father nurrissheth them Are not yee of more value then these God feedeth the foule and euen to the sparrowes dailie foode is geeuen and those thinges which haue no manner sense of thing appertaining to God lacke neither meate nor drincke And doest thou thinke that a Christian man the seruaunt of God geeuen to doo good woorkes and deere vnto his Lord and master shall want any thing
For if these be in vs Ser. 16. de ver apost then doo we belonge to the predestinate to the called and to the iustified Whiche is also expressed by the woordes of S. Paule where he saith Finis praecepti est charitas 1. Tim. 1. c. The perfyting and ending of the commaundement is charitie that commeth from a cleane harte De doctr Christian lib. 1. c. 40 from a good conscience and an vnfayned faith In which place S. Augustine saith The Apostle putteth in good conscience in steade of hope Wherefore if the commandement be geuen to make man perfect in such perfection as he may haue in this life and the ende and perfecting of the cōmandement lyeth in these three vertues the greatest perfection that man may reache vnto in this life is gotten by faith hope and charitie And our greatest perfection in this life is our Iustification for our glorifying apperteyneth to the life to come That faith excludeth not the working of Sacramentes in our Iustification THE VI. CHAPTER Of the Sacramentes AS faith doth not barre hope and charitie from working our Iustification so doth it not exclude the SaSramentes of the Church instituted by Christ in the newe Testamente Whiche Sacramentes be not only requisite to the iustifying of a sinner but doo worke also in him remissiō of sinne bring and restore him to rightuousnes and geue life euerlasting Baptisme saieth S. Peter 1. Pet. 3. saueth vs. Concerning the Sacramentes of the Altar Christe saieth He that eateth my fleshe Ioan. 6. and drinketh my bloode shall lyue for euer He saieth also of the Sacramente of Penaunce whose sinnes you forgeue Ioan. 20. they be forgeuen them The like may be said of the rest of which S. Augustine maketh this general rule putting a differēce betwene the Sacramentes of the olde and newe Testament Sacrament a noui Testamenti dant salutem August in Psal 73. Sacramēta veteris Testamenti promiserunt Saluatorem The Sacramentes of the newe Testamente geue saluation the Sacramentes of the old Testamente promised a Sauiour S. Bede whom I allege for honours sake both bicause he was a singular lighte of our Country and also bicause he was in all his writinges an exquisite and moste diligent folower of S. Augustine saieth Bed. Hom. in feri 3. Pascha The Apostles were sente Qui cunctis per orbem nationibus c. Who shoulde both preache the woorde of life to all nationes through the worlde and minister the Sacramente of faith by whiche men mighte be saued and atteyne to the ioyes of the heauenly country The reason why so high and excellente a vertue should be in the Sacramentes August in Psal 56. et idem in Psal 103. is bicause they take their force of Christ his Death and Passion Percussum est latus pendētis de lancea profluxerunt Ecclesiae Sacramenta The side of Christ hanging on the Crosse was stryken with a speare and the Sacramentes of the Church came flowing out And as they issued and flowed out of his side so doo they applye and geue vnto vs the benefyte of his bloode and passion Augu. exposit epist ad Roma inchoat Such as vvere christened Were signed vvith the Crosse Illud Sacrificium c. That Sacrifice to witte the whole Sacrifice of our Lorde whiche after a manner is then offred for euerie one at what tyme he is christened and signed if he sinne againe can not be offered S. Augustine saith that the Sacrifice which Christe made for all vppon the Crosse is offred after a sorte for euery one particularly when he is baptized For as he died for al and paide the price and ransome of his bloode sufficiente for all so is his passion auayleable and applyed vnto such as receyue the healthful Sacramentes of his passion Augu. ad arti falsò sibi imposit artic 1 Cuius mors non sic impensa est humano generi His death was not so bestowed vpon man kinde that euen they that neuer shoulde be regenerate or christened should also be partakers of his redemption but in such sorte was it geuen that it whiche was by one onely example and paterne done for al in general should by a special Sacramente be celebrated and done in euery one by him selfe Let no man therefore assure him selfe of his Iustification by faith or other meanes The Sacramēt of penance without the helpe and benefite of the Sacramentes whiche God hath prouided first to applie his death and passiō vnto vs as we haue seene proued and nexte he hath also prouided them to be bandes to bynde and rowle vp our woundes in this life to staye and ease the ruptures and breaches of our soule August in Psal 146. Alligamenta medicinalia c. The Sacramentes vsed here for the tyme by which we haue confort be medicinal bandes of our contrition and rupture Perfecta sanitate detrahentur When our healthe shal be perfect which shal be in heauen they shal be pulled of but we should not atteyne and comme to that were we not rouled and bound vp S. Augustine saith that the Sacramentes for the tyme of this life be our medicines and salues to keepe vs in health and for the life to comme so necessarie that no man should atteine thereunto without them Here some man will say Obiection how should the Sacramentes be so necessarie for our saluation Is it not writen that by faith God purifieth and maketh cleane the hartes of men Act. 15. Ephe. 2. Ioan. 6. Is it not in S. Paule by grace are ye saued through faith Did not Christ him selfe say he that beleueth in me hath life euerlasting With many like sayinges wherein faith is commended without any mention made either of hope charitie or Sacramentes Yeas verely Answere they be all the wordes of God and al trewe but these are not onely the wordes of God nor onely trewe The holy Ghost hath vttered the trewth of God in the Scriptures where and by what wordes it liked that diuine wisedome Al are inspired from God and all to be beleeued alike but not all together nor all in one place And therefore as we beleeue it is vndoubtedly trewe he that beleueth in me Ioan. 6. hath euerlasting life so doo wee likewise beleue it to be trewe If I haue all faith and haue no charitie I am nothing 1. Cor. 13. Rom. 8. Ioan. 3. as trewe doo we thinke that also by hope are we saued and no lesse true Vnlesse a man be borne againe by water and the holy Ghost he shall not enter into the kingdome of heauen As true doo we take that to be Luc. 13. vnlesse ye doo penance ye shall all perish after a like sorte After this manner doth the Scripture somtime speake of faith and attribute Iustification vnto it Note wel making no mention of hope charitie or penance Sometime it seemeth to geue the like preeminence to charitie mentioning
Faith to witte the faith of God towarde man in keeping his promise and the faith of man towarde God in beleeuing his worde and seing also that of Gods faith there is no question nor doubt it foloweth that when so euer mention is made in the Scripture of mans faith alone and in his owne kinde that faith is vnderstanded whereby man is faithful vnto God Chrysost hom 31. in Gen. that is as S. Chrysostome saith Wherby man geueth credite vnto his saiyngs and wordes For expounding these wordes Credidit Abraham Deo Abraham beleued God he saith Credidit dictis Dei He gaue credite to Gods wordes and sayinges In this sense S. Augustine saith August de verb. Apostol sâ—m 16. De spiri lite cap. 31. Ad fidem quid pertinet Credere What appertaineth to faith To beleue And bicause a man might aske also what it is to beleeue to put that out of doubt he saith in an other place Quid est enim credere nisi consentire verum esse quod dicitur What is it els to beleeue but to consent that the thing which is saide is true By this rule as many in al ages as haue beleued the Gospel after the right and true vnderstanding of the Catholique Churche keeping themselues within the same Churche Vincent Lyrinen aduers haeres haue ben called faithful and Catholiques Ille est verus Germanus Catholicus qui veritatem Dei qui Ecclesiam qui Christi corpus diligit c. He is a true and right Catholike saith Vincentius Lyrinensis that loueth the truth of God that loueth the Church that loueth the body of Christ Who is a true Catholique that estemeth nothing more then Gods religion and the Catholike faith no not the authoritie and loue of any man father husband or whatsoeuer not wit eloquence nor philosophie not welthe riches or honour but despising al these things and remayning fast and stable in faith what soeuer he shall knowe that the Catholique Church hath holden from auncient time vniuersally doth determine to holde and beleeue only that Such then are faithful and Catholikes that beleeue the Catholike and auncient faith vniuersally receyued as Vincentius saieth that beleue God and geue credite to his words as S. Augustine and S. Chrysostome say And if they be also of life good and vertuouse then be they called boni Catholici August in Praefatio Psal 31. Ser. 31. de verb. Apost good Catholikes if they be of yl conuersation they be called fideles iniqui vniuste faithful mali Catholici yll Catholiques faithful and Catholikes bicause they haue faith yll bicause their life is vngodly if they forsake the faith as Iulianus did they be called Apostates But as long as they keepe the Catholike faith of Christes Churche Note thoughe their lyfe be wicked and they damnable yet be they not called infideles but faithful and beleeuers And sith no man can be called faithfull but he that hath faith and it is faith to beleeue and to beleeue is but to assente vnto trewth by this it is proued that the propertie of faith in his owne kinde is to beleue the Gospel and to assente vnto the trewth of God. S. Augustine saith Euchiri cap. 6. 7. 9.117 Faith in his ovvne nature August in Praefatio Psal 32. A man doth learne by the Crede what is to be beleeued by the Pater noster what is to be hoped and by the commaundementes what is to be loued And albeit faith and charitie must be both in a good man yet as he saieth Quod credit fidei est quod operatur charitatis est it is the property of faith that a man beleueth and of charitie that he worketh Faith in his owne kinde may be alone and parted from charitie and hope Iacob 2. Enchirid. cap. 8. Ser. 4. de Collect. For not onely euil men but euen Diuels doo beleue and tremble but as S. Augustine saith They neither hope nor loue And Leo saith Multis quibus auferre non potuit fidem sustulit charitatem From many hath the Diuell taken awaye Charitie from whome he could not take awaye Faith. In this sorte doth the Scripture many tymes speake of faith as it is in it selfe and in his owne nature Heb. 11. saying Fides est substantiarerum sperandarum Prima in cap. 11. ad Heb. Faith is the substance of thinges that are to be hoped for It is called the substance of them saieth Primasius bicause vnto such thinges as be taught by the worde of God though they be not sene yet faith geueth a being in our soule assenting vnto them and beleeuing them as well to be true as though they were seene with our bodily eyes In the same place it is saied By faith we vnderstande that the worlde was sette in order by the woorde of God. And this is faith in his owne kinde that is to say a beleeuing and assenting vnto truth Somtime the Scripture speaketh of faith as it is accompanied and ioyned with other vertues and geeueth vnto faith the properties of such vertues as are ioyned with it So is it said Heb. 11. that by faith Abel offered Sacrifice Noe feared God Abraham obeyed Moyses suffred affliction not that these are the properties of faith in his owne nature Faith ioyned vvith other but bicause the Fathers beside faith had these vertues also Abell the vertue of religion Noe the feare of God Abraham obedience Moyses patience So it is likewise said of charitie Omnia suffert oiÌ„a credit oiÌ„a sperat She suffreth al things beleueth al things hopeth al things And yet saith S. Austine truly In Prafa Psal 31. Quod credit fidei est It cometh of faith that a man beleueth And likewise of patience that he suffereth and of charitie that he loueth and worketh wel Trewe it is that none of these vertues alone and by it selfe maketh a good man. For it is a rule in Philosophie that vertues be linked together And yet as trewe it is that euery vertue hath her owne natural property wherby she worketh somwhat in a good man So faith beleueth hope trusteth charitie loueth prudence chooseth fortitude beareth temperance refraineth whose properties ioined together with other like make vppe an absolute and perfecte goodnes But bicause both faith and also the Scriptures were giuen to men Ioan. 5. to thintente they should haue life euerlasting by them knowing and doing the wil of God S. Paule commendeth specially the faith that doth not only reste in opinion and beleuing of truthe but that is actiue and working through charitie toward that ende saiyng In Christe Iesu neither circumcision Gala. 5. nor to be without circumcision auaileth ought but faith that worketh through charitie declaring thereby Leo ser 7. de Epipha A notable Rule De fide oper c. 14 De spiri lit ca. 32. Epistola 105. Enchir. cap. 8. De Gra. et lib. arbi cap. 7. that faith of it selfe
it is as S. Augustine and Prosper Aquitanus say Aug. tra in Ioan. 72. Prosper de promis part 2. cap. 30. l'e fide oper cap. 14. De gratia lib. arbit cap. 7. Epist 107. Enchi c. 8. Aug. de fide oper ca. 14 a greater worke then to make heauen and earth or to bring a deade man to life againe The argument is not mine but suche as S. Augustine vseth and repeteth almost as often as he speaketh of Iustification Saying that S. Paule by these wordes hath decided and determined the matter Non quamlibet fidem qua in Deum creditur c. It is not euery Faith whereby a man beleueth in God that the Apostle determineth to be healthfull and Euangelicall but that is the Faith saith he which worketh through charitie wherevppon he auoucheth that the Faith which some take to be sufficiente for their saluation auaileth nothing in so muche that he saith If I haue all Faith in suche sorte that I be able to moue hilles owt of theire places and haue no charitie I am nothing I woulde seeke a plainer decision if any thing coulde be more plainely spoken He saith S. Paule hath defined that there is but one Faithe auailable to witte the faithe that worketh through charitie He saith Ser. 15. de ver apost De fide oper c 14. all other Faithe what so euer it be auaileth nothing He saith and that verie often that Faith destitute of charitie maie be not onely in euill men but also in the diuell him selfe And calleth it fidem damoniorum the faith of diuelles And leste any man should saie that albeit good workes are done by charitie yet is all to be imputed to faithe whiche is the cause that worketh al Note vvel S. Paule saith on the other side that faith it selfe taketh her doing and working of charitie For as they know that vnderstand the Greke tongue á¼Î½ÎµÏγουμÎνη is a participle of passiue significatioÌ„ and rightely shoulde he translate the wordes of S. Paule who shoulde saie That faith in Christ Iesu is auailable whiche is made actiue and doing thorough charitie For if we will speake of the nature of faithe as it is by it selfe it is vndoubtedly In the 2. Chapt. to vnderstande and assent vnto trewth as hath ben shewed before And bicause all knowledge be it of the Scriptures or the articles of our Crede maie be not onely in il men but in diuels also Faith is not able of her selfe to make a man iuste and righteouse vnlesse shee take vnto her hope and charitie and so be made actiue and doing by the one to hope in God by the other to loue God and man. whiche conclusion concerning charitie S. Augustine maketh In Praefa Psal 31. Ergo si nihil mihi prodest fides sine charitate c. If faithe then auaile me nothing without charitie and charitie wheresoeuer it be muste needes be working faithe it selfe by charitie hath her working Reason in man is the thing that maketh the difference betwene him and al brute beastes which be called brute bicause they lacke reason For which cause Reason as the principal power of the sowle is called of the Philosopher εντελÎχεια the forme and perfection that maketh a man. In like manner charitie is the thing that maketh the difference betwene faith and faith betwene the faith of a good and an ill man betwene the faith of good Christians and vncleane diuelles As S. Augustine saith at large in a learned and godly Sermon able to satisfie any indifferente Reader not onely in this point but in the whole matter of Iustification Quid pertinet ad fidem Aug. ser 16. De ver Aposto Iaco. 2. Credere What belongeth to faith to beleue But lette there yet further be a difference made betwene this faith and the faith of vncleane Diuelles For the Apostle S. Iames saith the Diuelles also beleue and tremble if thou doest but onely beleue and liuest without hope and haste no charitie the Diuelles beleue also and tremble And a litle after first therefore make a difference betwene thy faith and the Diuelles faith Whereby wilte thou make the difference Mar. 1. Matt. 8. Luc. 4. The Diuelles said Christ was the sonne of God through feare S. Peter said it through loue Put hope then to faith And what hope is there without some good conscience put vnto hope it selfe charitie And somewhat after that Therefore make a difference of your faith then are ye of the predestinates of the called and of the iustified And in the same Sermon to conclude he saith Gala. 5. Therefore if there be in you faith that worketh through loue now belonge you to the predestinates to the called and to the iustified Let that faith therefore growe in you that is working by charitie for faith working by charitie can not be without hope Now if charitie be it that maketh the difference betwene faith and faith as S. Augustine proueth and if that which maketh the difference betwene any one creature and al other be the perfection life and sowle of that creature Then is charitie not an instrument to serue faith but the life and sowle of faith without the helpe and mouing whereof faith neither iustifieth neither worketh any good acte in the beleuer The Euangelist saith Ex principibus multi crediderunt in eum Ioan. 12. sed propter Pharisaeos non confite bantur vt è synagoga non eijcerentur dilexerunt enim gloriam hominum magis quà m gloriam Dei. Thei had faith vvithout right loue Many of the chiefe rulers beleued in him but they confessed him not bicause they would not be caste out of the Synagoge For they loued the glory of men more then the glory of God. The scripture saith they had faith and yet no man I thinke will say they were iustified who neither confessed Christe and also loued the worlde better then God. And what lacked there in them Ser. 16. de ver Apos to make them belonge to the predestinates to the called and iustified as S. Augustine saith but onely right loue to make that faith actiue and stronge to loue the glory of God more then the glory of men whiche vnlesse God gaue them afterwarde that faith nothing auailed them Only charitie rather then only faith Wherefore if a man were disposed to make a diuorce betwene faith hope and charitie which no good man euer did he might say by these and other reasons that charitie alone rather iustifieth and haue S. Augustine to say with him whose wordes these are Charitas inchoata De natura gra cap. 70. inchoata iustitia est c. An vnperfect charitie is an vnperfect iustice a well increased charitie is a well increased iustice a great charitie is great iustice perfect charitie is perfect iustice And in the same booke he saith of charitie Ca 38. ib. Qua vna verè iustus est quicunque iustus
deede Note Nouatus his heresy was that suche as fell into deadely sinne after their Baptisme coulde not be absolued by the prieste Cyprianus lib. 4. Epistola 2. neither restored to the Church againe but muste be lefte vnto Gods iudgemente and yet did he exhorte men to doo penance and satisfaction to waile and weepe night and day for theire sinnes S. Cyprian saith of him that he was Misericordiae hostis Cypria li. 1. epist 1. interfector poenitentiae The enimie of mercie the killer of penaunce bicause though he exhorted men to satisfaction and penance yet saith he Cypria li. 4. epist 2. He tooke away the medicine and remedie that came of satisfaction Operari tu putas rusticum posse c. Thinkest thou the husbandman can worke if thou say to him Trimme thy ground with all skill of husbandry plie thy tillage diligently but thou shalte reape no corne at haruest thou shalt haue no vintage thou shalt take no profite nor fruite of thy oileyearde thou shalt gather no apples of the trees As suche an exhortation to husbandrie were inough to discourage the good husband from his trauaile And as they killed penance saith S. Cyprian that tooke away the fruit of it Note euen so doo they hinder nowe a daies the dooing of good workes that commend them in wordes and take away the rewarde of them in deed Nemo enim sine fructu imperat laborem Pacia epistol 1. ad Sympronia for no man saith Pacianus enioineth labor without profite Neither is there any profite or rewarde that a true Christian man passeth vppon if it perteine not to life euerlasting for this life and all that belongeth vnto it he is taught to sette litle by Therefore the Church exhorteth al men to doo good workes but it keepeth not backe the liberall promise of life eternal which Christ hath annexed to them S. Paule saith be ye stedfaste and vnmoueable euer plentifull in euery worke of our Lord. And why 1. Cor. 15. Scientes quòd labor vester non est inanis in Domino Knowing that your labour is not idle in our Lorde And when he saith in our Lord he meaneth no temporall nor worldely rewarde It is not onely a comfortable saying Chrysost ho. 8. in Gen. but a trueth taught by the Scripture that a Christian man should directe all his doinges to serue God in hope of life euerlasting Lette vs not fainte and be wearie of well doing Gala. 6. saith S. Paule for we shall reape it in his time without fainting Heb. 11. This cogitation maketh men quietly and contentedly to beare aduersitie Moyses did chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God then to haue a pleasure of sinne for the time But what made him content so to doo Aspiciebat enim in remunerationem He loked to the rewarde Prima ib. in cap. 11. ad Hebr. Ita quando quisque aduersi aliquid patitur Euen so euery man when he suffereth any aduersitie should call to remembrance what rewarde he shall receiue thereby at Goddes hande The lacke of this cogitation maketh vs many times to fainte in well doing Chrysost hom 22. ad Hebr. Omnia nobis difficilia videntur All thinges seeme heard to vs saith Chrysostome bicause we haue not the remembrance of God. This cogitation maketh men contente to take vppon them a painefull kinde of life whiche otherwise they would flee De adulter cōiug lib. 2. cap. 20. Note S. Augustine saith that diuers being sodeinly taken and required to be Preestes whereby they muste liue chaste all theire liues were contente to doo it Sperantes se illustrius in Christi haereditate fulgere Trusting to shine the brighter in Christes inheritance This cogitation caused Martyrs willingly to susteine all paine and tormente Confessours to leade a vertuouse and straite life Virginnes to dispise worldelie pleasures of all whiche it may truelie be saied Aspiciebant in remunerationem They looked to the rewarde This hope maketh seruauntes doo good and true seruice to theire maisters in which sense S. Paule saith Quodcunque facitis ex animo operamini c. Coloss 3. What so euer ye doo doo it hartelly as it were vnto our Lord and not to men knowing that of our Lorde you shall receiue the rewarde of inheritance And when I speake this muche of good workes and of the rewarde due vnto them what workes I commende thou knowest good Reader by that which I haue saied in the 13. Chapter of the first Booke An answere to certeine obiections made against the rewarde of good workes THE XIIII CHAPTER BVT all this notwithstanding yet some lette not to say that the workes of faith which Christian men doo can not deserue rewarde of life euerlasting neither stande in Goddes iudgemente as well bicause they be vnperfite as also bicause no man liueth here withoute sinne and fewe without greate sinne and breache of some of the commaundementes Iaco. 2. and then is it written Who so offendeth in one is made giltie of all and thereby say they all our workes be infected and consequentely excluded from that greate rewarde To the firste pointe I answere Note vvel these tvvo kindes of perfection in iustice There be two kindes of perfection in iustice the one such as is in God the Angelles and that happie company of men who being presente with God enioy the sighte of the Deitie An other such as may be founde in men being yet Pilgrimes from God and liuing in this worlde In comparison of the first kinde of perfection no man is iuste neither any iustice of man be it neuer so exquisite and perfite can stande in the iudgement of God. In that respecte it is true Iob. 15. Ecce inter Sanctos eius nemo immutabilis coeli nō sunt mundi in conspectu eius Lo emong his Saints and holy none is immutable and the heauens in his sight be not cleane Mar. 10. So is it vnderstanded saith S. Augustine Nemo bonus nisi vnus Deus quia omnia quae creata sunt c. No man is good August de perfect iustitiae but onely God bicause all thinges that be created though God haue made them very good yet if they be compared with the Creator and maker they be not good with whom if they be compared they be not In the same sense is it said Non intres in iudicium c. Entre not into iudgement with thy seruaunt bicause no man liuing shal be iustified in thy sight This is meant by it saith S. Augustine Aug. vt suprà entre not into iudgement with thy seruant Noli me iudicare secundùm te qui es sine peccato Iudge me not after thy selfe who arte without sinne And where he saith no man shal be iustified he referred it to that perfection of iustice which is not in this life In the same manner doth S. Hierome expounde the place Li. 1.
euil out of him selfe yet that which is afore saied hath no doubt or ambiguitie where he forbiddeth vs not to accompanie those brethren which are noted of any of those vices afore named That is to saie be infamouse and notoriouse offenders in any of them Howe and after what manner sinners are to be rebuked and corrected THE III. CHAPTER BVT with what minde and with what charitie this merciful seueritie should be vsed he shewed not only in that place where he saith that his soule may be saued in the day of our Lorde Iesu Christ but also very euidently in an other place where he saieth 2. Thess 3. If any doe not harken vnto our worde note him by your Epistle and do not companie with him that he may be a shamed not yet esteeming him as an enemy but rebuking him as a brother And our Lorde him selfe being a singular example of patience whereby euen emong his twelue Apostles he suffred and endured a Diuel euen til his passion who also saieth Ioan. 6. suffer both to growe vp vnto the haruest least while you goe about to gather the cockle Math. 13. yee also roote vp the corne therewith and fore shewed that those nettes drawen in a similitude of the Churche vnto the shore that is vnto the ende of the worlde should haue in them both good and euill fisshes with suche like wherein either openly or by similitude he spake of the commixtion and entermeddlie of the good and the euil did not yet thinke therefore the Discipline of the Churche to be omitted but rather admonished it should be vsed where he said Math. 18. Take heade to your selues if thy brother sinne against thee goe and rebuke him secretly betwene him and thee if he heare thee thow haste gained thy brother but if he heare thee not then take with thee one or twoo that in the mouth of two or three witnesses all your talke may rest that if he do not heare them then tel the Church but if he wil neither harken vnto the Church then let him be vnto thee as an heathē and publican And immediatly he addeth a most greuous terror of that seueritie Math. 7. saying in the same place what so euer you lose in earth shal be losed also in heauen and what so euer you binde in earth shal be bound also in heauen He also forbiddeth that which is holy to be geuen to dogges Neither is the Apostle 1. Tim. 5. when he saith rebuke the offenders before all that the rest may be affraid cōtrary therfore vnto our lord where he saieth rebuke thy brother betwene him and thee For both is to be done euen as the diuersitie of their weakenes whome we meane not to destroy but to correct and amend doth require and one is to be cured in one sort and an other in an other sorte euen in the same sort there is a manner and order also of tolerating and bearing of euil persons in the Churche And there is againe a like consideration to be had in chastising and rebuking in not admitting or absolute excluding and remouing from the Communion and fellowship of the Church Of such as vnderstand the Scriptures amisse THE IIII. CHAPTER BVT men do erre in that they keepe not measure and when they haue begonne easely to be inclined to one syde they do not regard other testimonies of diuine auctoritie wherby they might be called backe from that mind and stay in that truth and moderation which is tempered of both and that not in this thing alone whereof now the question is but also in many other thinges For some beholding the testimonies of the diuine Scriptures witnessing vnto vs one God only to be serued and worshipped haue thought the same which is the sonne to be also the Father and the holy Ghoste Others againe being as it were sycke of the contrary disease while they attended those thinges whereby the Trinitie is declared and could not conceiue in their braine how there should be but one God sith the Father is not the Sonne nor the sonne the father nor yet the holy Ghost either the father or the sonne thought hereupon that diuersitie also of substances was to be affirmed and mainteyned Some beholding in the Scriptures the prayse of holy Virginitie haue cōdemned mariage Some againe folowing those testimonies wherby chast mariages are commended haue made wedlock equal in worthines with Virginitie Some when thei did reade It is good my brethern not to eate flesh Rom. 4. or to drincke wine haue thought some other lyke creatures of God and some meates in their fantasie to be vncleane Other some reading that euery creature of God is good and nothing to be cast awaye or refused whiche is receiued with thankesgeuing haue fallen into glottony and dronckennes not being able to escape one vice but that they fel on the contrary side to a greater Euen so in this matter which we haue now in hand some hauing an eye to the preceptes of seueritie and straightnes whereby we are admonished to rebuke the vnquiet not to geue that is holy vnto dogges to repute the despiser of the Churche as an heathen to pul away from the knot and vnitie of the body that mēber which causeth scanlder or offence do so trowble the peace of the Church that thei go about before the time to separat the cockle and so blinded by this error do rather separate them selues from the vnitie of Christe And suche is our cause againste the schisme of Donatus And this not with them that knewe Cecilianus who is charged not with true but with sclaunderous crimes nor with them that stande stubbornely and impudently in charging him styll but with them to whome we saye Put the case they were euil men for whose sakes your selues be not in the Churche yet ought you by bearing with them whom ye could not amend or put away from you haue remained notwithstanding your selues in the Churche But againe some perilously aduenturing on the other syde when they see the mingling of good and euil in the Churche shewed or foretolde and haue learned the preceptes of patience which doo make vs so strong that although there seeme to be cockle in the Churche yet should not our faith or charitie thereby be hindred or at lest for that cockle whiche we see in the Churche we should not therefore our selues depart from the Churche do thinke that both the Church and Discipline is to be newe instituted geeuing vnto the Prelates and rulers thereof a certayne moste peruers securitie as though to them appertayned only to tell vs whereof we should beware or what we should doo but not to care what in deede any man doth That for euil mens sake we should not depart from the Churche and after what manner the euil should be either corrected or suffered in the Churche THE V. CHAPTER BVT we thinke it to apperteine vnto sound doctrine by bothe these testimonies and allegations of
so deceaue them selues that it is termed euerlasting fier but not euerlasting burning For they thinke that they to whome for their dead faith they promise saluation by fier should passe through a fier that shall be of it selfe euerlasting but that their burning that is the operation of the fier vppon them should not be euerlasting For this also our Lord forseeing Matt. 25. concluded thus So shall they goo into euerlasting burning but the Iust into euerlasting life Their burning therefore shall be euerlasting euen as the fier is and the truth it selfe saieth that they shall go into this fire in whom he hath shewed not faith but good woorkes to haue failed If therefore all these places and others innumerable whiche maie be founde spoken without any ambiguitie throughout al the Scriptures shal be false then maie that vnderstanding be trewe of blocks hey and stubble that they shal be saued through fier which holding onely faith in Christe haue neglected good workes But if these sayinges be true and clere then without doubt an other vnderstanding must be searched out in that sentence of the Apostle which maie iustly be placed emong those whiche Peter saied to be in his writinges harde to be perceiued which menne must not peruert to their owne distruction by assuring the wicked of saluation against these most manifest testimonies of the Scriptures namely where they doo most obstinately continue in their wickednes and be not tourned by amendement or penaunce VVhat faith it is that saueth a man and what it is to beleeue in Christe also the exposition of the place of S. Paule THE XVI CHAPTER HERE perhappes it maie be demaunded of me what I my selfe thinke of this saying of S. Paule the Apostle and how I thinke it to be vnderstanded I confesse I had rather heare in this pointe menne of more learning and vnderstanding that might so expounde and laie foorth the same that all those places of holy Scripture which I haue before alleaged might remaine true certaine and vndoubted and euen so of other textes also not by me rehersed whereby the Scripture dooth most euidently witnesse that no faith profiteth but only that whiche the Apostle defineth to wit that whiche woorketh through looue and Charitie Galat. 5. and that the same faith without woorkes can saue no man either without fier or by fier For if it maie saue by fier then yet it saueth but it is absolutely Iacob 2. and plainely saied what auaileth it a man to saie hee hath faith and yet wanteth woorkes can his faith saue him Yet will I saye as breefely as I canne what I my selfe thinke of this sentence of the Apostle whiche is hard in dede to be vnderstanded My former protestatiō alwaies reserued where I said I had rather heare and geue place to my betters 1. Cor. 3. Christ is the foundation in the woorke of the wise and circumspect builder This needeth no exposition For it is plainly saied Other foundation can no man laie besides that is laide which is Christ Iesu But if Christ be the foundation then without doubt the faith of Christ is the foundation Ephes 3. For Christ dwelleth in our hartes by faith as the same Apostle saith Now the faith of Christ is none other then that which the Apostle defineth to witte that whiche woorketh through looue and Charitie For the faith of the diuels wherwith they beleeue also yea and tremble and confesse Iesu Christ to be the Sonne of God can not be taken for the foundation Why so Bicause that is not a faith which woorketh through looue but is a faith wrested out by feare The faith therefore of Christe the faith of Christian grace that is to saie the faith which woorketh through charitie being laide in the foundation suffreth no man to perishe But now what it is to build vppon this foundation gold siluer precious stones and blockes hey and stubble if I shall labour exactly to expounde I feare least the verie exposition it selfe will become somewhat harde also to be vnderstanded Yet will I endeuour so farre as our Lord shall geeue me grace bothe breefely and as plainely as I can to open that I thinke Beholde he that sought to learne of the good Master and teacher what good he might doo to come to euerlasting life had this aunswer Matth. 19. if he would come vnto life he should keepe the commaundementes And when he asked further what commaundementes It was saied vnto him Exod. 20. Thou shalt not kill Thou shalt not committe adulterie thou shalt not steale Thou shalt not geeue false witnesse Honour thy Father and Mother Looue thy neighbour as thy selfe To the ende that doing these thinges he might holde the faith of Christe that faith no doubt whiche worketh through loue For he could not loue his neighbour as him selfe excepte he had receyued the loue of God without the whiche he could not loue him selfe But if he would further doo that whiche our Lorde there added saying If thow wilt be perfit goe and sell all that thou haste and geaue to the poore and thou shalt haue treasure in heauen come and followe mee then should he haue builded vppon that foundation golde 1. Cor. 7. siluer and pretiouse stones For he woulde not then haue thought but of those onely thinges that pertaine to God howe he mighte please God and these thoughtes to please God are as I thinke golde siluer and pretiouse stones But now if he had yet a certaine carnal affection and loue towarde his richesse though he gaue great almes thereof and neither woulde for the increase thereof attempt any fraude or extortion or for feare of diminishing or loosing them Take hede Reader least thou leese the foundation by louing to muche vvorldly thinges fall into any lewde or wicked doing for by so doing he shoulde quite leese the foundation it selfe but if for the carnall affection which as I saied before he bare to those goodes he could not without griefe and sorrow lacke them then shoulde this man builde vpon that foundation heie blockes and stubble Especially if he had also a wyfe and vsed her in suche sorte that he would for her sake thinke the more earnestly of those thinges which appertaine to the worlde and howe he might please her Seing then that these goodes loued with a carnal affection are not loste without sorrowe for that cause they whiche so haue and possesse them as long as they keepe in the foundation that faith whiche worketh thorough Charitie and doo not by any meanes or couetousnes preferre those worldly pleasures before the looue of God doo by susteyning hinderaunce in the losse of them attayne yet by a certayne fyer of sorrowe vnto saluation From whiche sorrowe and losse a man is so muche the more safe and sure by howe muche the lesse he hath looued those thinges and enioyed them in suche sorte as though he had not had them But he that eyther for the
woorthy of mee Also in Deuteronomy the like thinges are written to the strengthning of our faith and loue toward God Deute 33. in these woordes They which saie vnto their Father or Mother I knowe thee not and haue not knowen their children these haue obserued thy commaundementes and haue kept thy testament For if wee loue God with all our hart wee ought not to preferre either parentes or children before God. Which thing S. Iohn also sheweth in his Epistle saying that Charitie and the looue of God is not in them whome we see to haue no regarde to doo good vnto the poore Hee that hath saith he worldly substance 1. Iohn 3. and hath seene his brother want and hath shut vp his compassion from him how doth the loue of God dwel in him For if God geue vsurie for the almes that is geuen to the poore and that whiche is geuen to the least of them is geuen to Christe there is no cause why a man shoulde preferre earthly thinges before heauenly or esteeme man more then God. So did that widowe 3. Reg. 17 mentioned in the thirde booke of the Kinges when after all her goodes consumed A notable example in the greate drought and famine she had made her of a litell branne and oyle that was yet lefte a lofe baked vnder the ashes to eate with her children and so to dye Helias came sodaynlie vnto her and desired some parte thereof to be first geuen him to eate and then shee and her children to feede on the reste For she neuer sticked to fulfill his requeste neither did shee though she were the naturall mother any iote preferre her children in that great hunger and penury before Helias But that she did in the sight of God which might please God. Readily and willingly was that offered whiche was required Neither of aboundance a porcion but of a litell the whole was geuen And an other man was first fedde before her owne hungrie and steruing children Neither did shee in that penury and famine thinke firste of her meate and then of the woorkes of mercy but contrary To the ende that while in a healthfull woorke the carnall life was contemned the sowle might spiritually be reserued and saued Helias vvas a figure of Christ Helias therefore bearing the figure of Christ and shewing that he rendreth to eche one for mercy bestowed a retorne of the like answered and said This saith our Lorde thy pot of meale shall not faile thee neither shall the oile in the cruse be diminisshed vntill the daie wherein our Lorde wil sende raine vppon the earthe And according to the truthe of Goddes promise the thinges whiche the widowe gaue were encreased and multiplied vnto her And for her merites and good woorkes of mercy receiuing increase and abondance her vessels of meale and oile were filled ful Neither did the mother in this case take from her children that whiche she gaue to Helias but much more profited her children by doing suche woorke of pitie and mercy Yet did not she know Christ neither had she heard his Commaundementes She was not redemed by his Crosse and passion that she might for the shedding of his bloud render him meate and drinke Whereby it maie appeare how much he whiche is of Christes Churche sinneth who preferring him selfe and his children before Christe doth keepe his riches and doth not communicate his plentiful patrimony with the pouertie of the needy A commō and daily Obiectiō soluted But thou wilt saie thou hast a great many children in thy house and the number of thy children perhaps doth hold thee backe from plentifull yelding of good workes Verely I saie that for this selfe same cause thou shouldest woorke the more bountifully Note vvel The moe children thou art the father of the more hast thou to entreat for at Gods hande The sinnes of many are to be redeemed the consciences of many to be praied for the sowles of many to be raunsomed As in this secular life the moe children thou hast to feede and to susteyne the greater is thy coste and charge so in the spirituall and heauenlie life the more stoare of children thou hast the more plentifull ought to be thy expence in good woorkes An Example So dyd Iob offer many Sacrifices for his children and according to the number of the children in his howse was the number of offeringes whiche he sacrificed vnto God. And bicause there coulde not want synne that dayly offendeth the sight of God dayly Sacrifices did not want whereby synnes might be wiped awaye This doth the Diuine Scripture prooue saying Iob a true and a iuste man had seuen sonnes Iob. 1. and three daughters and he cleansed them offering for them Sacrifices vnto God according to the number of them and for their sinnes one caulfe If therefore thou doo truely looue thy children if thou wilt yeelde vnto them abundant and fatherly sweetnesse of looue and charitie thou oughtest the more to woorke to the entent that with thy iuste and good woorke thou mayst commende thy children vnto God. Thinke not hym to be thy chyldrens chiefe Father who is but weake and feeble and to continue but for a tyme. Winne rather vnto them the fauour of that Father who is the firme sure and euerlasting Father of spirituall children Assigne vnto hym thy gooddes whiche thou keepest for thine heyres Let hym be the Tutor of thy chyldren Let hym be theyr Craynsire Let hym by his Diuine Maiestie be theyr Protector against all the iniuries of this woorlde We shold cōmit our patrimonye to God. The patrimonie that is committed to God neyther dothe the common wealth take awaye nor confiscation breake into nor false accusation or quarrell picte in lawe ouerthrowe In saftie is the inheritance layd vp whereof God is made the keeper This it is to prouide for our deere children in time to comme This it is by fatherly pietie to prouide for our heyres that shall be as the holy Scripture truelye testifieth saying Psal 36. I haue benne yonger and nowe anie wexen olde Yet did I neuer see the iust forsaken or his seed wanting bread All day is he mercifull and lendeth and his seed shal be blessed And againe He whose conuersation is without blame Prou. 20. and in righteousnes leaueth his sonnes blessed behinde him Hovv Fathers ought to prouide for their childrne Therefore thou art a deceiuer and a traiterous Father except thou doo faithfully prouide for thy children except with true and religious pietie thou doo in this sorte forsee to the preseruation of them Thou which laborest by earthly inheritance rather to betake thy children to the diuell then by treasure layed vp in heauen to commend then vnto Christe doost twise offende and committest a double fault Both in that thou doost not procure vnto thy children the healpe of God the Father and also bicause thou teachest them more to looue their patrimonie then Christe Be rather