A TREATIE of Iustification Founde emong the writinges of Cardinal Pole of blessed memorie remaining in the custodie of M. Henrie Pyning Chamberlaine and General Receiuer to the said Cardinal late deceased in Louaine Item certaine Translations touching the said matter of Iustification the Titles whereof see in the page folowing Prouerb 4. Ne declines neque ad dexteram neque ad sinistram Turne not aside to the right hande nor to the lefte RESPICITE VOLATILIA COELI ET PVLLOS CORVORVM LOVANII Apud Ioannem Foulerum Anno. 1569. CVM PRIVILEGIO Beside the Treatie of Iustification in this Volume are comprised these Translations First the Sixte Session of the Generall Councell of Trent whiche is of Iustification with the Canons of the same Session Item a Treatie of S. Augustine that famouse Doctour by him entituled Of Faith and VVorkes Item a Sermon of S. Chrysostome Of Praying vnto God. Item a Sermon of S. Basil Of Fasting Item certaine Sermons of S. Leo the Great of the same Argument Last of al a notable Sermon of S. Cyprian that blessed Martyr Of Almes deedes All newly translated into English by Thomas Lorde Coppley The Preface to the Reader AS all Scripture inspired by God is profitable to teache and instructe in rightuousenes 2. Tim. 3. to the ende that a godly man maie be perfecte instructed to al good woorkes so is there no pointe or article thereof more expediente for a Christian man to seeke more necessary to find and know more comfortable rightly to vnderstand and more profitable to remember and practise then is the trewe and right knowledge of his Iustification and the maner how the same is atteined We are sure by the Scripture that a wicked man and his wickednes bothe like are hateful vnto God Neither can there be looked for any other thing Sap. 14. then heauy punishement and iust damnation where the anger and displeasure of God is vnpacified once iustely deserued and not taken awaie by some meanes to his contentation We doubt not also but that all men are borne naturally the children of anger that is to saie Ephes 2. in Gods displeasure and indignation as branches of a condemned stocke a thral kinde and bonde race of one man Rom. 5. by whom sinne entred into the world and by sinne death and so wente through all in whome all haue sinned And what can be so pleasaunt to a captiue as to vnderstande truely the way and meanes of his deliuerance or so comfortable to a person bonde and thrall as to know not onely how he maie be made free but also how he maie be brought in speciall fauor with his Lorde by whom onely he must liue or els perish Finally how he maie be made a childe a sonne Ephes 2. and heire to him vnto whom he was a stranger before And bicause no man 1. Ioan. 1. be he neuer so rightuouse and iuste Aug. de ciuitate Dei. li. 21. cap. 16. Galat. 5. Ioan. 5. Cypria de Elcemos liueth here without sinne and fewe there are of that happy estate that fal not into damnable and mortal sinne the doers whereof shall not possesse the kingdome of God sith also a law is appointed vs by our Physition that once made vs hole who saied Thou arte made hole nowe sinne no more we were as S. Cyprian saieth driuen to â—â—arowe straite hauing a precise lawe of innocency prescribed vnto vs neither coulde the weakenesse of mannes frailtie tell what to do if God of his mercy had not appointed a waie and meane how man that by sinne falleth from iustice after his Baptisme may be restored to rightuousnes and iustice againe Further it suffiseth not a Christian man to be made rightuouse and to be set in the state of iustice vnlesse he continewe and perseuere in the same Matth. 24 for he shal be saued that continueth vnto the ende Also he muste increase in rightuousenes Apoca. 22 Leo Sermon 8. de passio Do. for so the Scripture teacheth vs Let him that is iuste be yet iustified for trewely is it saied Quantumlibet quisque iustificatus sit habet tamen dum in hac vita est quo probatior esse possit melior Qui autem non proficit deficit qui nihil acquirit non nihil perdit Euery man be he neuer so much iustified yet maie he while he is in this life be more tried and better and who so encreaseth not faileth and goeth backeward and he that getteth nothing loseth somewhat For whiche causes it behoueth vs not onely to knowe how we are made iuste and rightuouse but also how we be restored to Iustice when we fal and how we maie continewe and increase in rightuousenes when we be restored and finally attaine to saluation and glory which is the ende of Iustification and without the which all Iustification in this life auaileth nothing but rather turneth to a heape and increase of our damnation bicause as Oecumenius saith Oeco in 2. cap. Iaco. Like vnprofitable seruantes we receiue our maisters mony and make no gaine thereof that is to saie we receiue his grace in vaine This being vnderstanded 2. Cor. 16. how necessary and profitable the knowledge of this Article is and seing also that a man runne he neuer so fast yet if he runne out of the way he neuer commeth to the right end of his iourney to the intente thou be not induced to iudge amisse in so greate a matter and to thee so necessary I haue Christian Reader with the hope of Gods helpe indeuoured my selfe to laie before thine eies particularly as briefely and plainely as I coulde the maner of our Iustification in Christ with the circumstances belonging to the same Grounding my selfe chiefely in al pointes through the Treatie vpon the Scripture and holy Worde of God. 2. Petr. 1. Aug. lib. Confess 12 cap. 25. And bicause the same neither is nor ought to be of any mannes priuate interpretation for he that goeth abowt to drawe it to his owne priuat sense shall be depriued of it I haue taken suche construction thereof as the holy Ghost hath deliuered and taught his Church and suche as the auncient Fathers of sundry ages and places agreeing togethers haue lerned in the Church and vttered in their writinges to teach other Emong whom I haue especially and moste of all other folowed the auctoritie of S. Augustine as wel for that he hath writen most largely of this matter as also bicause suche as be of the contrary parte in moste credite Luthe Philip. Melan. Calui Institut cap. 18. 1. Tim. 3. and haue written in this time confesse that in the Doctrine of the Churche he is a moste faithefull declarer of antiquitie Intending therby to discharge my selfe as teaching nothing but that I haue learned in Goddes Church the state and piller of truthe and geeuing thee thereby good occasion I trust readily to beleue that thou shalt heere reade But as I haue declared vnto thee that the right knowledge of this pointe concerning
touching the questiō of our Iustification Which he decideth thus farr to wit whether faith without good woorkes may saue a Christian man or no. The occasion of S. Augustines Treatie of saith and vvorkes Where vnto he was moued by a corrupte opinion of some menne in his time For whereas whole countries then were not yet fully conuerted to Christe and therefore diuers of al ages as they were brought to the faith came yearly to be christened some were of opinion that as manie as would beleeue the right faith though they liued vngodly yet might be receiued to Baptisme and be saued through faith and the Sacramentes without good workes Against whome he wrote this godly and learned Booke entituled De Fide operibus of faith and woorkes prouing therein at large that faith without good life can saue no manne And bicause the value and estimation of good workes hath been and yet is called in question to wit what accompte God maketh of them and whether any reward be geuen vnto them especially of life euerlasting and whether they be necessarie and able to healpe vs to attaine the same I haue also chosen certaine Arbitrators touching the especial and chiefe workes commended by Christe as Praier Fasting and Almes dedes And those suche men that in their handes thou mayste without daunger put thine opinion and iudgement For Praier I haue chosen S. Chrysostome for Fasting S. Basil and S. Leo for almose deedes S. Cyprian and S. Leo againe The first and second Confessors but so liuing for certaine yeares that they daily looked to be Martyrs The third also a Confessor but such as in his life by a Generall Councell of 630. Bishops was called S. Leo and since his death hath ben so taken of the Churche Concil Chalcedo Sess 3. and hath also for his most excellent learning bene surnamed Leo the Greate The fowrth a flower of the worlde in his life for vertue and learning and in his death a moste constante and vndoubted Martyr S. Cyprian and S. Augustine liued in Africa S. Basil in Asia S. Leo in Europa S. Chrysostome parte of his life in Asia parte in Europa And so by these doo we heare as it were speaking in them the voice of the whole Catholike Church 1. Tim. 3. which is the piller and staie of truthe against the whiche no man well aduised will frame him selfe a singular opinion For vnto the Churche is the holy Ghost the teacher of al trueth promised Ioan. 15. 16. which promise no priuate man hath Their Antiquitie is suche that the latest and lowest of them al liued within 400. yeres after Christe Peruse and way without affection gentle Reader the Treaties of these holy Fathers I might require thee also to stand to their decision bicause there is no exception to be taken against them But that I leaue to Gods gracious working and thine owne good will bicause I take not vppon me to be Iudge of the cause but a motioner toward peace Only this muche I saie of them that whereas Iudges should be voide of hatred freendshippe enmitie and pittie Salust de bel Catil these men are suche For as S. Augustine saieth of them and of others like Nullas nobiscum Aug. contra Iulia. Lib. 2. vel vobiscum amicitias attenderunt vel inimicitias exercuerunt Neque nobis neque vobis irati sunt neque nos neque vos miserati sunt Quod in Ecclesia inuenerunt tenuerunt Quod didicerunt docuerunt quod à patribus acceperunt hoc filijs tradiderunt They neither regarded friendshippe nor were at enmitie with vs or you they were neither angry with vs nor you nor tooke compassion of vs or of you Looke what they founde in the Church that they held suche as they learned they taught what they receiued of their Fathers that deliuered they to their children Take therefore Christen Reader if thou be a childe of the Churche these thy Fathers lessons Aske thy Fathers saieth the holy Scripture and they will shew thee Deut. 32. enquire of thy Elders and they will tell thee These be thy Fathers these be thy Elders These are suche of whom Christe saied he that heareth you heareth me Lucae 10. he that dispiseth you dispiseth me These are the high Pastours of Christes Church of whom Christ saied Matth. 18. he that heareth not the Churche let him be to thee as an Heathen and Publicane These are the lightes of the Church of whom Christe saied You are the light of the worlde Matth. 5. Acto 13. whose predecessours saied also of them selues that they were placed to be a light to Nations to woorke saluation euen to the vttermost of the earth Of whome also an other saied He that knoweth God harkeneth vnto vs. 1. Ioan. 4. He that is not of God harkeneth not vnto vs. In this we trie the Spirite of Truthe and the Sprite of Errour If thou wilt then be lead by Truthe and not seduced by Errour harken to these holy and learned Fathers all Bishoppes and chiefe Pastours in the Churche of Christe in that time and age whiche the Aduersaries them selues accompte for the purest Let these hardely be thy Arbitrers in decision of these present controuersies They lacked no learning to know the Truthe They wanted no vprightnesse to write as they knewe They can not be partiall They knewe neither parties They liued taught and flourished in the time of Truth by the Aduersaries owne Confession To speake farder in the commendation of these most holy and learned Fathers it were but a vanitie There nedeth no candle when the day light shineth Where good wine is there nedeth no garland to hange out These Fathers commends them selues All the Christian worlde reuerenceth them and crediteth them as holy Fathers as most learned Doctours as singular lightes of the Churche of Christe bothe Greke and Latin. To whom this publike testimony of all Christendome suffiseth not to him nothing will suffise Reade therefore Christian Reader Vse and peruse And reading these remember that thou readest not any writer of late yeares any priuate learned man any particular Iudgement or doctrine But that thou readest in these the doctrine of the primitiue Churche Auncient and generally approued Fathers briefely the publike Testimony and common voice of all Christendom And that not certaine of their sayinges culled out from the whole but their whole and full Treaties word for word as they wrote them laied before thee Last of all not any suche writinges as they wrote by waie of controuersy as against an Aduersary but partly a settled and deliberated doctrine such as S. Augustines Treatie is partly Homelies and sermons made and pronounced to the whole people suche as all the rest are in whiche kinde of exercise the Pastour of Goddes people will be most aduised what he speaketh and muche more what he writeth To make an ende Thou hast hitherto hearde learned men prouing and debating matters now in controuersy
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
is not able to worke the effecte of saluacion for which purpose it serueth vnlesse it be accumpanied with charitie the Mother of al vertues of which wordes S. Augustine gathereth a rule that when we find in the Scriptures faith commended for Iustificacion or saluacion we should euer vnderstād it meant of faith which worketh through charitie saying Hanc fidem definiuit Apostolus c. This faith hath the Apostle defined and determined to be it And in that sense both S. Augustine and other aunciente fathers cal that many times the trewe faith the Christian mannes faith and the faith in deede The trewe faith in respecte of the ende whiche is saluacion not bicause the faith whereby we onely beleue the Scriptures is not a trewe Faith. For we saie in the Creede of Athanasius that the Catholique Faith is a full perfecte and inuiolable Faith. A beleeuing faith and a sauing faith But it is perfecte in beleuing not perfecte in sauing And therefore it is not saide in the ende who so beleueth it shal be saued but vnlesse a man beleue and keepe it inuiolable he shal without doubte be damned For though he beleue the Scriptures in profession and keepe them not in deede that is if he beleue them in worde and mouth and trangresse them in acte and deede he shall not be saued Faith alone and of it selfe maie be perfecte for beleuing but the faith that is trewe and perfecte for sauing is euer accompanied neuer alone It is one thing then to haue trewe faith in assente and opinion which is faith in his owne nature and an other thing to haue faith in obedience of harte and affection which is faith accompanied with charitie and other vertues of whiche difference I onely putte the Reader in remembrance bicause I will more largely speake thereof in the. 7. Chapter of the second booke to the whiche I referre him Thus haue I thought good to open vnto the Reader what is properly meante by the name of faith alone August de Trinitate Lib. 15. cap. 18. in Euchirid cap. 8. and what it taketh of other vertues Sine quibus esse potest sed prodesse non potest Without the whiche it may be but it can not auaile nor attaine to the life euerlasting Faith properly is to beleue and to beleue is to assente to trewth This faith the age of S. Augustine S. Chrysostome and Vincentius Lirinensis did knowe and teache willing men for their saluation to ioyne vnto it charitie with other vertues If any man deuise an other faithe beside this he bringeth vs not the consent of Antiquitie but an inuention of noueltie As concerning the faith whereby miracles and wunderous actes are wroughte it is none other but the Catholique faith whereof I haue spoken Ioan. 20 which to aduance and commende God doth miracles in some that professe it through his name Whiche faith as both a good and ill man may haue so may both a good and ill man doo miracles as appeareth plainely by the wordes of Christe in S. Mathew and by S. Paule to the Corinthianes Math. 7. 1. Cor. 13. th one saying that many hauing done miracles shal be shutte owt of the kingdome of heauen The other affirming that a man maie be able to remoue mountaines and yet lacke charitie without the whiche he is nothing VVherein the controuersie of Iustificacion resteth and what is the rediest way to know how the same is wrought in vs. THE III. CHAP. THERE is emong parties at this time no greate controuersie touching the original cause of our Iustificacion For the Scriptures plainely shew and al men agree that it is God that iustifieth Rom 8. But the controuersy resteth specially in two pointes the first point first what our Iustification is and wherein it standeth whether it be onely a forgeuenes of sinnes paste or whether there be also required in it a change of the man and a newnes of life the secōd point The other pointe is how our Iustification is wrought in vs to witte albeit God iustifie vs yet how he worketh it in vs and by what meanes we comme to it by faith alone or by faith ioined with other vertues and Sacramentes which doubtes I thinke shal be much cleared if we consider our owne corrupte and sinfull estate and the cause thereof whiche is our carnall Birthe and descente from Adam By whom sinne entred into the worlde Rom 5. and by sinne death and so wente through all in whom all haue sinned Seing then that his fall was our fall and the cause of our vniustice if we vnderstande in what case he was created and what was in him loste wounded and weakened by sinne cōtraries being knowen by one rule and teaching we know also what our Iustification is Aristotle For the repairing of that which was in him loste is our restoring and the saluing of that which was in him wounded is our health the changing of the olde estate wherein through him we were borne is our renewing And our restoring healing and renewing is our Iustification Esai 53. Luc. 19. For Christ that came to iustifie sinners came to seeke and saue that which was loste and to make whole that which was wounded VVhat was loste in Adam by sinne and what is restored by Christe in our Iustification the comparing of Christ with Adam And in what thinges our Iustification standeth THE IIII. CHAPTER IT is a matter of vndoubted trewthe and confessed of all right beleuers that God created Adam in most excellent and perfecte estate For the Scripture saith in the person of God Gen. 1. Faciamus hominem ad imaginem similitudinem nostram Lette vs make manne after our image and lykenes Wherefore as God him selfe is wisedome trueth rightuousenes temperance loue strength vertue and in goodnes moste free so made he manne wise trewe rightuous and iuste temperate strong indued with perfecte loue vertuous and to all goodnes willinge and free Psal 48. But man vnderstanding not when he was in honor abusing his libertie to ill and transgressing Goddes commandement did not onely lose that perfect estate and beautie of vertues but broughte him selfe also into a base mortall and miserable condition fell into vices contrarie to the former vertues and became displeasant and hatefull vnto God his bodie condemned to death and his sowle vnlesse mercie had deliuered him to endlesse damnation And albeit it might suffise to say that he loste all the vertues wherewith he was by God indued yet to expresse some parte thereof particularly Prosper Aquitanus sayth Perdidit primitus fidem c. Contra Collatorē cap. 10. He loste first and chifely faith He loste continence he loste charitie he was berefte of wisedome and vnderstanding He was lefte without counsell and strength he dranke the poison of all vices and with the dronkennesse of his intemperance wetted through and soked the whole nature of man he loste profitable and
mannes will is required to doe somewhat or not to doe it mannes free will is sufficiently prooued If I saied no more this place of S. Augustine mighte suffice For what man woulde not rather confesse free will then say either that God hath geuen his commaundementes in vayne or that so many Scriptures be voide and vntrue Mannes wil then is euer free from compulsion and necessitie Bernar. de gratia lib. arbit though it be not euer good Manet libertas voluntatis c. The wil remaineth free euen where the mind is captiue as full in the euil as in the good but more orderly in the good A woorse man and a greater enemie of Gods people is not found in the Scripture then Pharao And yet was not he without free wil saith S. Augustine Necideo auferatis c. De gratia li. arbi cap. 23. Take not away free wil so muche as from Pharao bicause in many places God saith I haue hardened Pharao or I haue or wil harden Pharao his heart for it foloweth not therefore that Pharao himselfe did not harden his owne heart For of him this is read also When the dogged flie was taken awaie from the Aegyptians the Scripture saith Pharao made his owne heart heauy If Pharao thē had free wil and that proued by the Scripture what man is without it Si nō est liberū arbitriū quo modo iudicat c. August epist 46. If there be no free wil how doth God iudge the worlde For if men doe nothing but by compulsion and force neither is it Iustice to punish their vices nor to reward their well doinges and vertues If there were no free will in sinners what came Christe to saue He came to saue sinners and no man sinneth but by his wil and therefore S. Bernard saieth De grat liber arbit Tolle liberum arbitrium non erit quod saluetur Take awaie free will and there shal be nothing to be saued And this much I haue said to lette the Reader vnderstand what inconueniences come by deniyng free wil which who so denyeth doth as we see denie in effecte Gods iustice and iudgement denie the fruicte of Christe his coming to saue vs denie a number of plaine Scriptures affirming it And sith mans free wil is as well his owne as his soule he would haue man without a soule Finally he maketh man that was created after the Image of God no better then an vnreasonable beast or vnsensible stocke The cause of their errour is that they can not or will not discerne and make a difference betweene a free wil and a wil strong and able of it selfe to doe good Al men be thei good or il haue free wil but he that hath wil without grace Aug. cont epist Pel. lib. 2. c. 5. is weake and vnable to doe well We doe not saie that free will was lost and perished out of mans nature by the sinne of Adam But we saie that in men subiect to the Diuel it is of force inough to sinne Marie to liue well and godly it is not strong inough vnles the wil of man be deliuered and made free by grace and holpen to all good in dede worde and thought If free wil then was not loste by the sinne of Adam as S. Augustine saieth it was neuer lost But as it was made weake and feeble by his sinne so is it by grace in our Baptisme Concil Arausic cap. 13. made whole and stronge againe The freedome of wil whiche in the first man was made weak can not be repaired but by the grace of baptisme That whiche was loste can not be restored but by him that could geue it Aug. De Ciuit. Dei li. 14. c. 11 Ioan. 8. Wherevppon trueth it selfe saith If the Sonne make you free then shal you be free in dede By this we see that as free wil by sinne was made weake and feble so was it neuer lost by sinne and was also made strong againe by our baptisme For strength in goodnes it was and not freedome of wil that Adam loste Thus doth the Churche teache vs to speake of free wil not to denie it but to acknowledge that without grace it is not able to do good That as by sin it was made weake so by grace in the Sacrament of Baptisme it is repaired That as many as by the Sonne of God are made free that is to saie strong and able to doe good as al good Christian men be are no longer bounde but truely and in dede free And hereby may the Reader iudge what ground they haue who contrary to the manifest Scriptures and authoritie of al auncient writers haue turned the terme of free wil vnto bond and thrall wil. Let al men concerning this point kepe the high waie Let no man goe to farre on the left hande and saie that there is no free wil Let no man turne to farre on the right hande and thinke that freewill without grace may suffise him to liue well Manicheus toke on the left hand Pelagius on the right But a Councel of Bishops assembled in Palestina against Pelagius kept the high waie geuing out this rule for him to folow August epist 106 Fateatur esse liberū arbitrium etiam si diuino indiget adiutorio Let him confesse that there is free will although it haue nede of Gods helpe And here note that albeit Pelagius did attribute to muche to free will and the Bishops contrarying him said that free wil without grace suffised not yet did they neuer saie man had no free will. Whereby we perceiue that it was euer a trueth receiued in the Churche that man had free wil and they would not pull downe one ttueth to set vp an other This Decree of theirs made in Asia was allowed by S. Augustine and the Bishops of Africa confirmed by Innocentius Zozimus and Bonifacius Popes with the Bishops of Europa and so is one of the thinges as S. Augustine saith there Quae semper tenet Catholica Ecclesia August epist 106. Whiche the Catholique Churche hath euer holden It remaineth now to shew what free wil whiche no man can with reason and trueth denie woorketh in our Iustification Which to resolue it is truely said First Bernard De grat liber arbit that free will is saued Nexte that free will once healed by Christe and holpen by his grace is stronge and able to doe all good and to worke togeather with Christe in our Iustification Rom. 8. As it is God that by his grace iustifieth so doth he iustifie no man but by his owne wil and consent S. Augustine saith Esse potest iustitia Dei sine volūtate tua The iustice of God may be without thy wil Serm. 15. de verb. Aposto in Psa 44 But in thee it can not be but by thy will he that hath made thee without thy selfe doth not iustifie thee without thy selfe He made
neither faith nor any of the rest sometime to hope sometime to Baptisme or penance without the rest somtime it promiseth rewarde of life euerlasting to faith without mention of good workes sometime to good workes saying nothing of faith and yet is there no one of them meant to be excluded or left out And therefore the godly reader wisely meeke and meekely wise when he seeth life euerlasting promised to euery one of these particularly A rule for the right vnderstāding of the Scriptures remembring that euery woorde of God is like true ioyneth them al together and truely beleueth that to the perfiting of our Iustification and Saluation there is required grace faith the feare of God hope charitie together with the Sacramentes of Baptisme and penance and also good workes as hath ben shewed before It is not the manner of the holy Ghost nor of the Catholike Church by affirming of one treweth to deny or take away an other but to ioine all trewth together S. Paule the true and earnest commender of faith preached in Asia publickly and priuately Act. 20. Testificans Iudaeis atque gentibus in Deum poenitentiam fidem in Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum Protesting to the Iewes and Gentiles penance towarde God and faith in our Lorde Iesus Christ and there ioined he faith and penance together S. Augustine often times teacheth that we are saued by Baptisme intending not to exclude faith in such as be of perfecte age and therefore saith Baptismus qui semel adhibetur Ser. 30. de ver Do. per fidem mundat Baptisme that is geuen but once Note cleanseth by faith If this rule were marked and put in vre we were at a point not onely in this matter but in many other The Euchites waying the greate commendation that Christ in the Gospell geueth vnto praier Matt. 7. Luc. 11. saying Petite dabitur vobis Aske and it shal be geuen you And what so euer thinges ye aske in praier Mar. 11. beleue ye shall haue them and they shall come to passe vnto you were of opinion Theodor. li. 4. here fabul et hist. eccle li. 4. ca. 11. that praier alone was sufficient for a Christian man. They did sette light by Baptisme and said the holy Sacrament of the altare did neither good nor harme Whereby they tooke no fruit of theire praier and loste the benefit of the Sacramentes and theire owne saluation Lette them be taught by this example who seeming to extolle faith make light not onely of hope charitie and good workes but also of the very Sacramentes ordeined by Christ for our saluation Lette them take heed leste beside losing the benefite of Christes Sacramentes they be not founde voide of true faith also For what faith can we say that they haue or howe doo they beleue Christe Matt. 20. 2. Cor. 12. Act. 8. who being taught by his owne wordes to be Baptized if they be Hethen and by the wordes of S. Paule and S. Peter after Baptisme to doo penance when they haue sinned be carelesse to doo the one or the other It hath ben declared before In the 6. chapter that sinnes be forgeuen and we iustified by the Sacraments of Baptisme and penance It hath ben shewed also In the 11. chapt that faith is one of the partes of true penance and therefore penance can not exclude faith neither faith if it iustifie exclude penance For faith is either vnfained liuely and profitable De fid et oper ca. 16 such as S. Augustine termeth fidem Christianorum Christian mennes faith or els it is naked and deade such as bicause the Diuel may haue he calleth fidem Daemoniorū Iaco. 2. the Diuels faith The naked and bare faith iustifieth no man for if it could the Diuel might be iustified The liuely and Christian mans faith beleuing al scripture to be true and seing penance not only cōmended but also cōmanded can not passe it ouer but by praier obteineth it and so iustifieth Penance is the reuiuing of a sowle that is dead by sinne Aug. de trinit lib. 4. cap. 3. Anima Deo deserente moritur the soule dieth when God forsaketh it Resuscitatur per poenitentiam It is raised vp againe by penance Ho 20. in Gen. And bicause penance is the meane to receiue Goddes grace Chrysostome saith that vppon contrition of harte remorse and confession God doth not only geue the healing of woundes but maketh him a iuste man that was before loded with innumerable burdens of sinnes Constitu Apost lib. 2. ca. 23. Seing therefore the holy Ghost hath so prouided for vs that as S. Clement saith the Church of God is our peace and a quiet and calme hauen vnto the which sinners may be restored Ioan. 20. by absolution Seing also that Christ hath made that fauorable promise saying whose sinnes you forgeue they be forgeuen them De adulter cōiug li. 2. ca. 9. whereby as S. Augustine saith Per claues regni coelorum non dubitatur fieri remissio peccatorum There is no doubte but through the keies of the kingdome of heauen sinnes be forgeuen Lette no man presume through Iustification by faith to misprise or contemne the Sacrament of penance Lette no man leaue the sure for the doubtefull and vncerteine For as in case of necessitie men may enioy the inuisible grace of God Aug. super Leuiti Quaest 84. without the visible Sacramentes so is not the visible Sacrament to be dispised when it may be had Nam contemptor eius sanctificari nullo modo potest For the dispiser of it can by no meanes be sanctified inuisibly Faith can not onely iustifie no man where the contempte of Christes Sacramentes is but furder that very contempt maketh a man prophane and wicked as S. Augustine saith Sacramentorum vis inenarrabiliter valet plurimum Contr. Faust. lib. 19. cap. 11. ideo contempta facit sacrilegos impiè quippe contemnitur sine qua nō potest perfici pietas The vertue of Sacraments is of greate and vnspeakeable force and therefore if it be dispised it maketh men profane and wicked For wickedly is it dispised without the whiche godlines and pietie can not be perfited Seing then that the Sacramentes by the death of Christ haue that singular vertue whereby sinnes be forgeuen the passion of Christe applied vnto vs our woundes and ruptures tied vppe and rowlled by them as by medicinall bandes without the whiche we coulde not atteine to perfecte health how can it be said that faith alone can iustifie or exclude the vertue of them in our Iustification VVhat is the trewe meaning of these wordes in the Scripture vve are iustified by faith or saued by faith with other like THE VII CHAPTER BVT seing that all wordes of the Scripture be the wordes of God Of faith Iustifiing Rom. 3. Galat. 3. Ioan. 6. Lucae 7. writen by inspiration of the holie Ghost and therefore vndoubtedly trew if Faith
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.
are sowen emong the wheate they are heaped vppe in the flower They are numbred emong the sheepe they are entred within the compasse of the nettes and mingled emonge the Gheastes But whether they be hidden and vnknowen or whether they appeare and be seene so they be within then shal there be a reason to beare with them when there is no meane or abilitie to amende them and when wee may not presume to seperate them But God forbidde wee shoulde so vnderstande Mat. 13. that whiche is written They whome they founde were browghte in to the marriage feaste bothe good and euill that it shoulde be thoughte they brought in suche as professed they woulde stil continew euill For then the very seruauntes of the Maister of the howse didde sowe cockle And so shoulde it be false whiche is written but the enemie whiche soweth the same is the Diuell But bycause this can not be false therefore that the seruauntes broughte in bothe good and badde is to be ment that thei brought in such as were either secrete and vnknowen naught or elles after they were brought and lette in appeared to be naught These woordes good and badde may also be meant to haue ben spoken in respecte of common conuersation of mannes life in which respecte suche as haue not yet beleeued are sometime eyther praised or dispraised And in this consideration our Lorde admonished his Disciples whome hee firste sent foorthe to preache his Ghospel Mat. 10. that into what Cittie so euer they came they shoulde enquire who was there woorthy that they mighte dwell with him till they departed thence For who shall be that woorthy but he that by the estimation of his owne neighbours shall be counted good And who vnwoorthy but he that is knowen emong them for euill Of bothe these kindes there come vnto the faith of Christe And so there are broughte in bothe good and badde when those that be euill doe not refuse penance from their deade woorkes But if they refuse then are they not repelled being desirouse to come in but they them selues doe by open denyall departe from entring in Neyther shall that seruaunte be blamed or condemned emong the slowthfull that woulde not bestowe his Maisters talente vppon suche as these are Mat. 25. For vppon these he woulde haue employed it but they woulde not receiue it Of them that hide Gods talent For this parable was propownded for them whiche will not take on them the office to be Gods Minister or Stewarde in his Churche pretending a slowthfull excuse that they will not make an accompte for other mennes sinnes whiche heare and dooe not that is to saie whiche receiue and render not But when a faithfull and diligente stewarde readie in laying foorthe and moste desirouse of his maisters gaine saieth to the Adulterer bee no more an Adulterer if thou wilte be baptised beleeue Christe whiche saieth that this whiche thou doest is adulterie if thow wilte be baptised be not the member of an harlotte if thou wilte be the member of Christe and if he aunswere I will not obey I will not so doe this manne will not take our Lordes true money but rather will bring in to our Lordes treasure his owne forged and counterfaite coyne But if he would professe and promise to doe it and did it not nor woulde be afterwarde by any meane corrected there woulde be founde what to be done with him least he be vnprofitable to others which coulde not be profitable to him selfe to the intent that if there were an yll fissh within the good nettes of our Lord yet should it not entangle our Lordes fisshes in his naughtie nettes that is to saie though he leade in the Churche an euill life yet shoulde he not there institute an euill doctrine For when suche personnes doe defende suche their euill deedes or openly professing that they will continewe therein are admitted to Baptisme they seeme to teache plainely that fornicatours and adulterers yea though they continew in their wickednesse to their liues ende shall possesse the kingdome of God and that they shall come to lyfe and eternal saluation Iac. 2. by merite of faith which without woorkes is deade These are the naughtie nettes which the fisshers ought chiefely to beware of if at the leaste by that parable of the Gospell Bisshops and other inferior rulers of the Churche are meant by the woorde fisshers Mat. 4. bicause it was said Come yee and I will make yee fisshers of menne See the fruite of euil doctrine For in good nettes may bothe good and yll fisshes be taken but in euill nettes good fisshes can not be taken For in good doctrine bothe he may be good that heareth and followeth and he euil which heareth and followeth not But in euill doctrine bothe he that taketh it for true although he doe not obey and folowe it is euill and he that obeyeth and foloweth it is woorse It is no newe Doctrine that suche shoulde be kept from Baptisme who openly saie that they wil continew in their lewde liuing THE XVIII CHAPTER THIS truely is to be maruailed at that our brethren whiche are otherwise minded then we nowe defende whereas they ought to departe from this so perillouse an opinion be it new or olde doe yet say that this is a new doctrine whereby wicked men openly professing without shame that they will perseuere in their wicked deedes are not admitted vnto Baptisme As though they were wandering in some straunge countrie I knowe not where and sawe not that harlottes plaiers and other suche like professours of publike filthinesse are not suffered to come to the Sacramentes of Christe till those their bondes be first losed and broken The auncient custome of the church Yet should suche kinde of people by these mennes opinion be all admitted But it is wel that the holy Churche hath kept and continewed this auncient and firme custome descending of that most cleare truth whereby it is assured that those which doe such thinges shall not possesse the kingdome of heauen Hence it is that they which refuse to doe penance from those dead workes are not suffered to come vnto Baptisme And if any haue crept in vnlesse they afterwarde being amended doe penaunce they can not be saued But if drunkerds couetouse personnes and sclaunderers or committers of the like damnable vices can not by their open deedes be conuinced or reprooued yet are they sharpely corrected with preceptes instructions and Catechismes And then all such changing their willes into a better purpose are seene to come vnto Baptisme But if they haue perhaps seene and noted some negligently in some places to haue vsually admitted adulterers Exod. 20. whome not mans lawe but Gods lawe condemneth that is to saie which kepe other mens wiues as their owne or women whiche companie likewise with the husbandes of other women they oughte by those good vsages of the Churche indeuour to refourme suche euill doinges that is to