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A19551
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A sermon of sanctification preached on the Act Sunday at Oxford, Iulie 12, 1607. By Richard Crakanthorp Doctor of Diuinity.
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Crakanthorpe, Richard, 1567-1624.
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1608
(1608)
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STC 5982; ESTC S109018
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32,903
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41
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suppose no man so blind as not to perceiue nor so maleuolous as with thanksgiuing not to acknowledge And for my owne part I suppose and dare confidently auerre that neuer was this Iland in any age so abundantly I say not furnished but euen blest and beautified not onely with the substance but with the ornaments also of all learning as in this our age and in the two most happy raignes of this and our late both most renowmed and incomparable Princes since those darke mistes of superstition and Idolatry haue beene dispelled and abandoned Now this I pray with the Apostle that yee may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all iudgement but my speciall prayer for you is the same which our Apostle heere vseth that both yee your selues and all your learning and studies may be sanctified vnto God That yee would ioyne as S. Peter exhorts with your knowledge temperance with temperance patience with patience godlinesse with godlinesse brotherly kindnesse with brotherly kindnesse loue for if yee doe these things yee shall neuer fall Esteeme all other kâ—â—â—ledge yea all things els whatsoeuer with the Apostle but as losse and dung for the excellent knowledge of Christ Iesus our Lord euen this practicke knowledge of which Saint Iohn testifieth He that saith he knowes him and keepes not his commandements is a lyar and the trueth is not in him and of which our Sauiour saith This is eternall life to know thee to be the onely very God and him whom thou hast sent Iesus Christ. And seeing sanctitie and holinesse is both the badge and cognizance of Gods children and seruants the end of their vocation and calling the onely meanes to make all other gifts of God to be true blessings vnto vs without which they are indeed blessings in themselues but to vs they shall be turned as the Prophet saith into cursings I conclude this my exhortation vnto you with those fewe but most effectuall words of the Apostle Follow peace with all men and holinesse without which no man shall see the Lord. And this be spoken of the first point namely the subiect of the Apostles praier which is sanctification and holinesse God sanctifie you The second point which I proposed was the author and worker of this sanctification and that is heere set downe to be God himselfe God sanctifie you for whence els can any sanctitie or holinesse proceed but onely from him who is first of himselfe and essentially holy yea as S. Austen shewes euen holinesse it selfe and therefore called the holy one of Israel of whom the Seraphins sing holie holie holie is the Lord of hosts and then is effectiuely holie as causing and working holinesse in others as himselfe doth often witnesse I the Lord doe sanctifie you whom the Apostle calles the Father of lights that is of all shining vertues and the spouse in the fourth of Canticles the fountaine of gardens because from him alone doth spring and issue all those odoriferous graces and gifts of pietie which are more pleasant vnto God then are all the beddes of of myrrhe and spices of whom S. Austen most truely saith Quantacunque bona quamuis magna quamuis minima esse non possunt nisi ab â—o a quo sunt omnia bona Euery good gift and euery perfect gift commeth from aboue euen from the father of light Now as God worketh in vs this sanctitie and holinesse so is he the onely worker and sole agent therein without any helpe furtherance or cooperation of our selues of our free will or of any power or facultie that is in man for the naturall man perceiues not the things that are of God neither can he for they are euen foolishnesse vnto him and the wisedome of the flesh is enmitie with God and of our selues we are not sufficient to thinke any thing that belongs to pietie and Gods seruice as S. Austen expounds it but all our sufficiencie is of God And most cleerely Philipp 2. It is God that worketh in vs both the will and the deed to which purpose S. Austen excellently saith in his Enchâ—â—â—â—d Lâ—urent 32. cap. Nolentem praeuenit vt velit volentem subsequitur ne frustra velâ— God at the first by his preueâ—â—ent grace doth worke this in vs to be willing and after with his subsequent grace he accompanies vs that being willing we should not will in vaine And againe in his booke De grat lib. arbitr and 17 chap. Vt velimus sine nobis operatur cum autem volumus sic volumus vt faciamus nobiscum cooperatur God without vs or any helpe or worke of ours doth make vs willing and he doth cooperate worke with vs when we are made willing It is most sure indeed as he saith that it is we that will when we are willing but it is he that makes vs to be willing of whoÌ„ it is said The will is prepared of the Lord. Velle currere meum est sed ipsum meum sine dei semper aâ—xilio non orit meum saith S. Ierome ad Câ—esiph To will is mine to worke is mine but euen this that is mine without Gods speciall and continuall helpe cannot be mine All which S. Austen fully expresseth in the place before alledged Sine illo vel operante vt velimus vel cooperante cum volumus ad bona pâ—etatiâ— opera nihil valemus Without Gods operation to make vs willing and cooperation when we are willing in the good actions of piety we are neither able nor willing to worke any thing This the Scripture further to declare teacheth vs that the vnregenerate man is dead in sinne and trespasses And most significantly is he said to be dead in sin for though it be most true that by the transgression and fall of Adam the naturall faculties of mans minde are not extinct nor abolished yet are they so exceedingly maimed and weakned thereby that they which were before naturales potentiae as the Logicians call them that is naturall powers and abilities are now by reason of that originall transgression of our nature become in man naturall impotencies and debilities And they which in the integritie of mans nature had strength and power both to will and to performe the works of pietie and grace are now in the infirmitie and corruption of the same nature disabled wholly to the works of grace and retaining onely an ability to the works of nature to all and euery action of piety and grace are as the Apostle after him S. Austen teacheth wholly dead and quite lost in this state no more able to will or mooue to any action of grace then is a dead man in nature able to will or mooue to any action of nature For which cause the Scripture calles our conuersion vnto God sometimes a resurrection from death sometimes a new creation in Christ but most vsually a new
so the word doth there rather signifie then the soule seeing good works doe not animate or giue life to faith but as an effect doth follow it as S. Austen truely declares as without breath then the body both is and thereby is knowen of all to bee but a dead body so that faith which breatheth not foorth in good works both is in it selfe is thereby also euidently discerned and knowen of all to be a dead faith which can neither saue nor as the Apostle teacheth iustifie a man in the sight of God for a true and iustifying or as S. Austen calles it an Euangelicall faith doth euer worke by charitie Galath 5. And of it S. Austen saith Iustificatus per fidem quomodo potest nisi iustè operari Hee that by faith is iustified cannot but worke the actions of iustice And more plainely in the 23. chap. of the booke before alledged Inseparabilis est bona vita a fide imo verò ca ipsa est bona vita A good life is neuer seuered from faith yea rather faith is a good life it selfe It is a memorable story which Ruffinus sets downe in his 2. booke and 6. chap. of one Moses an holy man in the primitiue church who being to be ordained a Bishop refused to haue Lucius a wicked persecutor to lay his hands or giue consecration vnto him At which Lucius disdaining and supposing hee had taken some exception to his faith If you be ignorant said he or misinformed of my faith I will recite and relate my beliefe vnto you You need not said Moses recite your faith vnto me I know it wel enough so many seruants of God that you haue condemned to the mines and minerals so many bishops presbyters deacons that you haue banished so many Christians that you haue deliuered some to the fire and others to the fury of wilde beasts these doe report and make knowne your faith vnto me Nunquid verior potest esse fides quae auribus capitur quà m quae oculis peruidetur I wil rather beleeue mine owne eies and your actions concerning your faith then your bare words and profession To which purpose S. Austen saith in his 3. tract vpon the epistle of S. Iohn Non attendamus ad linguam sed ad facta Let vs not looke to a mans words but to his works he that in works denies Christ he is an antichrist Opera loquuntur verba requirimus His works doe speake what he is we need not seeke to his words I might heere iustly and would the time haue permitted I would more at large haue refelled that most shamelesse slander which they haue deuised against vs that wee prohibite and contemne good works as Bellarmine was not ashamed to publish in his booke called Iudic. de lib. concor and 7. lie that wee account men free from doing of them or obseruing the law of God as he again without al truth hath affirmed in his 4. booke of Iustif 1. chap. Yea further that we teach Licere quod lubet that a man may liue as he list as Dominicus Soto reporteth in the Preface of his booke De natura grat which he offred to the Councel of Trent For answer whereunto though we doe most truely teach both out of the Apostle that we are not iustified by the works of the law but by faith out of S. Hilarie that â—ides sola iustificat faith onely doth iustifie and out of S. Austen that Fides sola mundat out of S. Ambrose that a wicked man is iustified before God Persidem solam by faith onely and out of S. Ierome that God doth iustifie a wicked man per sidem solam by faith onely and out of Origen Dicit sufficere solius fidei iustificationem the Apostle teacheth that iustification by faith onely is sufficient which hee by diuers examples at large declares in those who as he saith fide sola iustificati sunt were iustified by faith onely out of S. Chrysostome Why bringest thou other things Quasi fides sola iustificare non sufficiat as if faith onely could not iustifie thee why dost thou put thy necke into voluntary bondage vnder the yoke of the law that is a sure argument of distrust and want of faith and to omit many others out of S. Basil that this is full reioiceiâ—g when a man knowes himselfe to be void of iustice sola autem sia in Christum iustificatum But by faith onely to bee iustified though this we constantly and truely teach for which doctrine of sola â—ides which they call heresie we with all these holy men are condemned this day yet are we so farre from despising and much more from forbidding good workes as they vniustly slander vs that we euery where professe and teach of them with S. Bernard that they are via regni non causa regnandi the way that wee must walke to â—eauen though not the price to purchase heauen that they are necessarie necessitate praesentiae though not necessitate efficientiâ— necessary to be in those that are iustified and shal be saued though neither to concurre to the act and worke of their iustification nor to the merit and woorth of their saluation Yea and euen in â—he very article of that publike confession which Bellarmine there handleth and in vaine striues to confute it is expresly affirmed Docent nostri quòd necesse â—it bona opera facere we teach that it is necessary for Gods children to doe good works and to walke in them A very pregnant coniecture that the Iesuit could not without some checke of conscience so willingly and wittingly oppugne an euident and knowne trueth With which short and vndeniable answer contenting my selfe at this time and for a further refutation of that slander referring euery man to all our writings and sermons wherein we doe both more earnestly perswade vnto and more truely magnifie prize good works then doe any of their sworne professors to the triple crowne of Antichrist For conclusion of this whole point I exhort and beseech you all so to liue in sanctitie and abound in the fruits of faith that by our good workes we may stoppe the mouths if it be possible of those that so maliciously speake euil of vs as of euill doers and that the trueth of our faith may be beâ—ter witnessed by our workes then by our words and by our godly conuersation rather then by a verball profession Take heede yee be not â—ike those whom the Apostle condemnes They professe they know God but in their workes they denie him Hast thou faith Shew it saith S. Iames by thy works Let ours saith the Apostle learne to shew foorth good works that they bee not vnfruitfull and with our Sauiour I conclude Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorifie your Father which is in heauen And this be