who defend and holde the same doctrine that Saint Austen doth Nay how is it possible to haue Good Workes before wee haue fayth Seeing as the Apostle teacheth vs Without faith it is vnpossible to please GOD. Who so listeth to pervse my Suruey of Popery shall there find euery thing soundly aunswered whatsoeuer can bee sayde for Popery in this kinde of subiect But our Fryer will proue Good workes to go before iustification because Christ sayde to Mary Magdalen Many Sinnes are forgiuen her because shee loued much I answere that Christs Argument is not drawne from the cause but from the effect As if Christ had sayd wee may know by her great loue that great gifts are bestowed on her that many sins are forgiuen her For that no remission of her sinnes proceeded from her loue but her loue of the forgiuenesse of her sinnes appeareth by the similitude of the debters For Christ tolde Peter of two debters whereof the one ought fiue hundered pence the other fifty and that when they had not wherewith to pay the Creditour forgaue them both Hee therefore demaunded of Peter whether of the Debters loued the Creditour more Peter aunsvvered that he to vvhom more vvas forgiuen Christ approued Peters ansvver and concluded therevpon that seeing Mary Magdalen loued more he might know that she had more forgiuen her because saith Christ To whome little is forgiuen the same loueth little Neyther is it possible to draw any other meaning out of christs words The reason is euident because christ saith plainly that the debts were freely forgiuen the debters who were not able to pay the debts For otherwise Maries forgiuenesse shoulde haue no coherence with the similitude of the debters The second part of his position is that good works euer follow as fruits the tree the persons that are freely iustified This is most manifestly falfe in infants whereof many iustified in baptisme dye before they do any good worke And if his comparison of the tree be good some iustified neuer do good worke and al want them long time some giue ouer doing good as some trees are barren some cease to beare fruit and none beare alwayes T. B. This Fryer thinketh he can daunce in a net naked and yet no man see him but I weene euery indifferent Reader doeth easily espy his manner of dealing viz that he hath nothing in him but Cauils Slanders and notorious leasings Good workes sayth he cannot euer follow iustified persons as fruits follow trees because some trees neuer do good and all want a long time and none beare alwayes Is this Fryer trow ye wel in his wits Hath not malice so blinded him that he cānot see wood for trees Hath the Pope dispensed with him to say what hee list Good workes say I euer follow persons freely iustified as fruits follow the Tree by Gods mercy in Christ Iesus for his merits and condigne deserts Now what doth our Iesuite he aplies himselfe wholy to cauils extreme folly He perceiueth that truth wil preuail therfore strugleth with cauils and deceitfull dealing against the same First he leaueth out GODS mercy and the merites of Christ Iesus Secondly he inferreth a fond conclusion of his owne making and beareth the Reader in hand that it is mine Thirdly he triumpheth before the victory boasting that hee hath confuted my position when indeede hee hath onely confuted himselfe and fought the combate with his owne folly For I do not say that Good Workes do euer and continually without all interruption follow persons freely iustified Let the Reader duely and truely pervse my wordes and then tell me if our Fryer Iesuite be not a notorious lyar I say Good Workes do euer folow but not simply absolutely at all seasons but as fruites follow trees Now I pray you gentle Reader how doe fruits follow trees Our Fryer telleth vs. Some trees neuer haue any fruit sayth he some want a long time and none beare fruit euer Alas alas what a fond fryer-Iesuit is this Robert Parsons Where were their wits that made him the Prouinciall of England If good workes follow persons iustified no otherwise but as fruits follow trees which is my position then doubtlesse are they not to be expected euery hour but when the due circumstances of time place and persons do require For good trees do not euer bring forth their fruits but in due times and seasons S. R. His first argument is taken out of Saint Paule Rom. 6. 23. But the gift of GOD is life euerlasting in Christ Iesu our Lord. He argueth in this manner Eternall life is the free gift of God therefore it can no way bee due to the merit of mans workes I aunswere that the Antecedent is false and neyther heere nor any where else taught by S. Paule T. B. Our Iesuite shall aunswere and confute himselfe for these are his owne words a little after Because sayth our Iesuite as workes are rewarded euen aboue their virtual proportionate equality as Diuines say vltra condignū no maruell if S. Paul called eternall life rather Grace or Gift then Stipend seeing it hath much more of Grace then it hath of Iustice yet he no where calleth it meere grace Beside that as Saint Austen writeth he might haue called it a Stipend as hec calleth Death in respect of Sinne but forbore least wee should thinke it were so iustly deserued by Good Workes as death is by euill Thus discourseth our Fryer Where we haue first by his owne free graunt that Workes are rewarded aboue their desert Albeit before hee called them condigne and of condigne merite These are his wordes Good workes saith he done in Gods grace are condignely meritorius of eternall life Secondly that Saint Paule calleth eternall life rather Grace then Stipend because it hath much more of Grace then it hath of Iustice where vnawares he confuteth himselfe doubtlesse because where there is more of Grace then of Iustice it is vnpossible to establish condigne merite For as the Apostle teacheth vs To him that worketh the reward is not reckoned of Grace but of debt or duety And the same Apostle declareth it more plainely in another place For by Grace saith he you are saued throgh faith that not of your selues for it is the gift of God not of workes least any man shoulde boast himselfe And again in another place thus Not by the works of righteousnesse which we did but according to his mercy he saued vs. Thirdly that the Apostle calleth eternall life rather grace then stipend as S. Austen writeth because it is not so iustly deserued by Good Workes as death is by euill workes No no S. Austen saith plainly Cum Deus coronat merita nostra nihil aliud coronat quam munera sua Whē God crowneth our merites he crowneth nothing els but his owne giftes First therefore seeing Good Workes are rewarded aboue their deserts Secondly seeing Good Workes haue more of grace then of
iustification was neuer knowne to any of the holy Fathers nor to any ancient counsel so wil their saluation neuer bee knowne to Gods elect vnlesse they repent and reuoke this their damnable Doctrine Fourthly that God worketh our Good Workes in vs. Fiftly that God hath ordained Good Workes for this end that we walke in them This doctrine is confirmed by the same Apostle in another place where he hath these wordes Not by the Workes of Iustice which wee did but according to his Mercy hee hath saued vs. Loe the holy Apostle is still constant in his former position viz that We are not saued by the Workes of Iustice but of mercy grace For this cause saith S. Austen Woe vnto the best liuer vppon earth if God examin his life his mercy set apart For this cause saith S. Chrisostome si millies moriamur c. Though we die a thousand times and though we accomplish all vertues of the minde yet do wee nothing woorthy of those things which we receiue of God For this cause saith S. Theophilact Seruauit nos aeternum non ex operibus c. Hee hath saued vs eternally not of the workes which we haue done that is neither haue we done the works of Iustice neither are wee saued by them but his goodnes and his clemency hath wrought our saluation wholly Yea for this cause saith their highly renowned Abbot Bernardus Sic non est c. So there is no cause that thou shouldst now aske by what merits we hope for glory especially since thou hearest the Prophet say I will do it sayth the Lord not for your sake but for mine owne It is sufficient to merite to know that our merites are not sufficient Thus write these holy fathers with the famous popish Abbot whose words are so plaine for the truth which I defend as euery childe may with facility discerne the same For I did not say as our Iesuite woulde deceitfully perswade his Reader that Good Works are an impossible mean to come to heauen No nor that the young man did enquire of an impossible way to heauen For I know and I haue constantly affirmed the same in the Downfall that Goodworkes are a meane and the way that leadeth to heauen But withall I said then and now againe that neither can the best liuer on earth keepe the Commandements so exactly as the law requireth neither can any man for any works he doth condignly merit eternal life And this is the point indeede which I defend against the Papists Whosoeuer shall with a single eye pervse the Downfall will find it to be so For it is one thing to say that Good Workes are a meane or the way to heauen another thing to say that a man can fulfill the Law and by his Workes condignely merite heauen The former I graunt willingly the latter I deny constantly neither is any Papist able to answere my reasons in that behalfe For example the Pope Boniface sicke at Rome of his meere good wil bequeathed by his Testament 7000. crownes of Gold to Robert Parsons the Iesuite lame of hands and legs at Paris his lamenesse not knowne to the Pope to be giuen to the said Parsons whē he cōmeth to Rome in his own person to demand the same Now the said Parsons hauing inteligence of the said Legacy prouideth a good Gelding a strong man-like fellow and so taketh his iourney towards Rome where he no sooner demaundeth the saide 7000. Crownes but he in friendly manner receiueth the same acording to the true meaning of the Popes will In this case the Gelding the tall fellow and the iourney it selfe were good necessary meanes to receiue and possesse the said Crownes Howbeit neither did they merite the said Crownes neyther were they the cause of bequeathing them Euen so in our case Eternall life as the Apostle saith is the free gift of God it is of grace not of Workes neuerthelesse Goodworkes as the same Apostle telleth vs are the way which God hath ordained for vs to walke in and the vsuall ordinary vndoubted meanes by which God intendeth to bring his elect to heauen This notwithstanding this must euer bee a constant and vndoubted position with all the children of God viz that none not the best liuer vpon earth is able exactly to keepe Gods commandements and by the merit of his works to enter into heauen S. R. Will not Christ say in his last sentence Come ye blessed of my father possesse the kingdom prouided for you from the constitution of the world I was hungry and ye gaue me meate As well as he will say Go you from me you cursed into euerlasting fire For I was hungry and ye gaue me not to eate T. B. I answere first that the word For is not heere taken Causaliter but Consequutiue to speake as the Schoole-doctors do that is to say It doth not Connotate the cause but the euent as was saide before of Mary Magdalen So that the sence is not for giuing meat to Christ when hee was hungry or drink to him being thirsty they did merit heauen but that by doing such charitable works which are the effects of a true iustifying faith they shewed thēselues to bee the children of God and the heyres of his kingdome And this sence is deduced out of the very text it selfe For seeing the kingdome of heauen as Christ heere auoucheth was prepared for them before the foundation and consequently before they were borne and so before they could doe any Good Workes it followeth of necessity that their workes could not merite heauen but only signifie to the world that the inheritance of heauen was due vnto them as to the children of God the heyres of the same For as the Apostle sayth If we be sonnes then are we also heyres heyres of God and ioynt-heires with Christ. Yea as the same Apostle saith in another place As he chose vs in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and immaculate in his sight through loue who hath predestiuated vs into the adoption of children by Iesus Christ vnto himselfe according to the good pleasure of his will To which I must needs adde that which the same Apostle saith yet in another place Whom he did predestinate them also he called and whom he called them also he iustified and whom he iustified them also he glorified Out of this holy discourse of the Apostle of our Lord Iesus I obserue these golden lessons First that we are the sonnes of God not by nature for so we are his enemies and the children of wrath but by grace and adoption in Iesus Christ. Secondly that God chose vs to be his Children before we were borne Thirdly that he chose vs not because wee were holy but that we might be holy and immaculate in his sight Fourthly that he predestinated vs to bee his Children by adoption not for any Goodworkes
wee eyther had done or could doe but for his owne good pleasure to the glory of his grace For as to doe any workes at all before we are borne is altogether impossible so to doe Goodworkes when we are borne seeing we are conceiued in sin born in sinne and by nature the Children of wrath is impossible in like manner Fiftly that all our Goodworkes are the effects and fruits of our predestination For if it be true as it is most true else the Apostle should be a lyer that wee were elected to be holy and to do Goodworkes it is also true it cannot be denyed that holy life and Goodworkes are the effectes and fruites of our election and predestination in in Christ Iesus For this cause saith the Apostle that predestination proceeds freely of Gods eternall purpose Iustification of predestination and glorification of iustification For first hee chooseth vs in Christ then he iustifieth vs in Christ. Thirdly and lastly he glorifieth vs for his owne names sake For this cause saith that famous Papist Nicholaus de Lyra in this manner Dicendum quod predestinatio diuina est preparatio gratiae in presenti gloriae in future ides cuÌ„sit aeterna sicut ab aeterno predestinauit alâ—queÌ„ ad beatitudineÌ„ ita preordinauiâ— moduÌ„ queÌ„ daret sibiillaÌ„ beatitudinem I answere saith this Popish Doctor that Gods predestination is the preparation of grace in this world and of glory in the World to come And therefore seeing it is eternall as hee hath predestinated any one from eternity to endlesse blisse or beatitude so hath he also fore-ordayned the meane by which hee would bring him to the same For this cause saith the Popish Angelicall Doctor Aquinas that predestination includeth Gods will of bestowing both Grace and Glory And hee addeth these words Nam praedestinatio ect causa eius quod expectatur in futura vita à praedestinatis selt gloriae eius quod percipitur in presenti selt gratiae For predestination is the cause both of that which is expected in the life to come that is to say of Glory and also of that which the predestinate receiue in this life that is to say of Grace For this cause saith our Iesuite Bellarmine that Goodworkes follow predestination as effects follow their causes These are his expresse wordes Itaque sunt opera bona effectus praedestinationis Therefore Goodworkes are the effect of predestination Againe in another place thus Itaque illa propositio deus ab aetet no praedestiaaut hominibus dare regnum per opera bona praeuisa potest vera esse falsa Nam si illud per opera praeuisa referaetur ad verbuÌ„ praedestinauit falsa erit significabit n. Deum praedestinasse homines operaillorum bona praeuiderat si referatur adverbum dare vera erit quia significabit executionem futuram esse per opera bona siue quod est idem glorificationem effectum esse iustificationis operum bonorum sicut ipsa iustificatio effectus est vocationis vocatio praedestinationis Againe in another place thus Non ideo pendet praedestinatio ab operibus sed opera à praedestinatione Therefore predestination doth not depend of workes but workes depend of predestination Againe in another place thus Alia ratio est praedestinationis alia exequutionis constituit n. in praedestinatione regnum caeloruuÌ„ dare certis hominibus quos absque vlla oper uÌ„praeuisione dilexit tamen simul constituit vt quo ad exequâ—â—tionem via perueniends ad regnuÌ„ essent opera bona There is one reason of predestination another of execution for in predestination God decreed to giue the Kingdome of Heauen to certaine men whom hee loued without any fore-sight of workes Howbeit hee decreed withall that in respect of the execution Goodworks should be the way to come to the Kingdome For this cause say our Rhemists that our first iustification is of Gods Grace and not of our deseruinges because none of all our actions that were before our iustification could merite or iustly procure the Grace of iustification Out of this discourse of the famous Popish Doctours I obserue these memorable Lessons for the great good of the Reader First that all the Grace Faith and Goodworkes which we haue in this world and the glory which we expect in the World to come doe wholy proceed from Gods predestination without all deserts of man Secondly that as God prepared the kingdome of heauen for his elect before they were borne or had done any Goodworkes so did he also prepare the way and means by which he intended to bring them thither Thirdly that no works either done or foreseene to be doone did mooue God to predestinate any man to the ioyes of heauen Fourthly that Goodworkes are not the cause but the effect of predestination Fiftly that Goodworkes are the way and meanes which God ordained for the execution of predestination and for the accomplishment of glorification Sixtly that not onely predestination but also iustification proceed of Gods meere fauour grace and good pleasure without all deserts of man Seuenthly that our vocation our iustification and our glorification are the effects of predestination I therefore conclude that Good workes are not the cause vvhy Gods Children possesse Heauen as their inheritance seeing it is the effect of Gods predestination yet that they are the ordinary way and meanes by which God decreed in his eternall purpose to bring his elect to Heauen For as hee ordained the end that is to say the kingdome of heauen or eternall life so also ordained he the way and meanes to attaine the same that is to say vocation iustification faith and Goodworkes Secondly that there is great disparity betweene saluation and damnation and therefore that Goodworkes cannot merite Saluation though euill workes bee enough for damnation The reason is euident both in Phylosophy and Diuinity because as Saint Dionysius Areopagita saith and the Popish Angelicall Doctor Aquinas approoueth the same Bonum ex integra causa existit malum ex quolibet defectu Good is of an intire and whole cause but euill comes of euery defect yea that more is required to good then to euill daily experience teacheth vs for one may soone do that hurt to his Neghbour which cannot without great cost and long time be cured againe This S. Austen well obserued when hee left in writing to be read of all posteritie that it is a greater thing to iustifie the wicked man then to make heauen and earth S. R. I proue the conclusion because Christ saith My yoke is sweete and my burthen light And Saint Iohn saith his commaundementes are not heauy Ergo they are possible Bell aunswereth that these words are not meant in respect of vs but of Christ whose keeping the Commaundements is imputed to vs. Which Saint Austen saith hee meant when he writ thus Then are all the Commandements reputed as done when whatsoeuer