them al as from the plague and pestilence But now set vs come to handle the Epistle it selfe Seeing therefore it is the duetie and office of an Euangelist or preacher of glad tydings 〈◊〉 godly inâ—â—â—uction for â—eaders first of all to preach the Lawe and to shewe how that all men which are without the circuite and compasse of grace and fayth in Christ are the sons and children of wrath are sinners and can do nothing but sinne that so they acknowledging theyr miserye and wretchednes with an humble and contrite hart myght thirst after grace the Apostle S. Paule in this first Chapter dooth first of all finde fault with the vnbeleefe Chap 1 and checketh and rebuketh those grosse sinnes which aptly and playnly were knowen to be manifest offences The maner of S. Paules doctrine as were the Idolatry and such grosse sinnes of the Gentiles as also are of those meÌ„ which at this day being ignorant of God voyde of grace and without the Spirit doo lyue in blyndnes and darkenes The wrath of God is reuealed by the Gospell sayth the Apostle from heauen agaynst all vngodlines and vnrighteousnes of men which withholde the truth in vnrighteousnes For though man myght knowe by the Creatures that there was a God yet notwithstanding his nature is euil and wicked insomuch that it dooth not glorify hym nor geue hym thankes but being blynded dooth alwayes geue ouer it selfe to worse and worse vntill they doo not only commit idolatry and all kynde of wickednes but also fauour them that do them and geue their consent and agreement to those which commit such things In the second Chap. he doth more at large shew that eueÌ„ those little holy ones Chap. 2 The Iewes â—…yll or woorse sinners than the Gentiles and those glorious hypocrites as namely the Iewes then and now in these dayes all the Iusticiaryes which go about by their owne strength and power to fulfill the lawe are also sinners who dooing outwardly the good workes of the lawe notwithstanding inwardly nourishing that greife of their hart doo hate the lawe And these as ryght hypocrites commonly vse to doo are very quicke to condemne and iudge other men counting themselues holy and pure when as they are full of malice and enuy fraude deceyte and all kynde of fylthines and vncleannes as Christ sayth Math. 23. And these are they which fayning themselues holy contemne and despise in very deed the great goodnes of God and accordyng to the hardnes of theyr hartes heape and treasure vp vnto them selues wrath agaynst the day of wrath Paul therfore as a true Euangelist fyrst of all preacheth the Law 〈◊〉 are sinners conclucludyng all men alyke to be synners and denouncyng to all the wrath of God Wherefore they whiche marke well by the power of theyr owne nature or free wyll are so farre from beyng any better than those grosse and open sinners mentioned in the fyrst Chapter that the Apostle calleth them obstinate stubborne men that cannot repent aliantes and straungers In the thirde Chapter he declareth that both the Iewes the Gentiles are alyke sinners before God Chap. 3 Difference betwixt Iewe and Gentile notwithstanding that the Iewes are preferred and excell the Gentiles in this prerogatiue namely for that the promises of God did belong to them and also for that the words and Oracles of God were committed vnto them And thoughe some of the Iewes did not beleue yet for all that their vnbeliefe made not the faithful truth of Gods promise vayne voyde or without effect and to proue this he allegeth that place of the. 51. Psalme as it is written sayeth he That thou mightest be iustified in thy woords and ouercome when thou art iudged After thys he returneth agayn to his cause and purpose and proueth by the Scriptures that al are equally sinners without any exception and that no man is iustified by the woorkes of the lawe but that onely by the lawe commeth the knoweledge of sinne Finally he teacheth the true and right waye of righteousnes and saluation All sayeth he haue sinned The hye way to righteousâ—nes is by faitâ— in Christ and are destitute and depriued of the glory of God but they are iustified freely by his grace thorough the redemption that is in Christ Iesus whom God hath set forth to be a reconciliatioÌ„ through fayth in his blood And a little before But now sayth he is the righteousnes of God made manifest without the law being approued by the Testimony witnes of the lawe and the Prophets to witte the righteousnes of God by the faith of Iesu Christ vnto all vppon all that beleeue So then the lawe is established through fayth althoughe woorks and glorying in the works of the law are excluded by fayth Seeing therfore in the three former Chapters he hath taught that all men are sinners also hath shewed that onely fayth in Christ is the waye vnto righteousnes and meanes to iustification Chap. 4 by by in this fourth Chapter he answeareth to certayne obiections and cauils As for the most part when Christ or fayth is taught that is that our woorkes are nothing that we are onely iustified by fayth streight wayes certayne Iusticiaries obiect If fayth alone dooth iustifie then we must cease altogether to do good works then good woorks are to be omitted and left vndone The Apostle answeareth proposing the example of Abraham What shall wee say then that Abraham our Father hath found concerning the fleshe Did he merite nothing at all by hys woorks He concludeth that Abraham was iustified onely by fayth without any woorks insomuch that the Scripture sayth that Abraham before hee was circumcised beleeued God and it was counted and reputed vnto hym for righteousnes Genesis 15.6 If therfore the woorke of circumcision which God commaunded which was a precious woorke of obedience profited Abraham nothing to iustificaton then it is most sure and certaine that there is none other worke which is auaylable to iustification But as circumcision being an outward signe 〈◊〉 apt similiâ—…de was vnto Abraham a seale of his righteousnes by faith so good woorks are onely an externall signe whiche doth not iustifie but which doth signifie vnto men that a man is inwardly iustified before God and they doo testifie and approue as certayne signes and fruites that liuely faith which worketh in the hart By this as by the most graue weighty and authentike example the Apostle doth confirme and build out of the Scriptures his doctrine of fayth delyuered out and taught in the third Chapter Furthermore the Apostle allegeth the testimony of Dauid in his 32. Psal to proue this matter Also in most playne woords he affirmeth that a man is iustified by the imputation of righteousnes without woorkes althoughe as I haue sayd before woorkes doo followe those that are iustified by Faith Moreouer he dilateth and amplyfieth the example against all other woorks of the lawe inferring that the Iewes are
not therfore streightwaye the true heyres of Abraham bycause their stocke and pedigrue is deriued from the circumcised Abraham or bycause they receyued the lawe vnlesse they tread and followe the steps of fayth Abrahams chyldren must haue Abrahams fayth and beleeuing in Christ imitate the fayth of Abraham specially chiefly seeing that AbrahaÌ„ before the lawe whether it were of Moses or of the circumcision was iustified onely by fayth and called the father of many nations that is of al beleeuers Finally he concludeth thus Seeing that the lawe cannot giue that effectuall working wherby it may willingly and cherfully be satisfied also seeing that the grudging and murmuring stirred vp by the lawe abideth and remayneth in vs and disdayneth and taketh it greuously that there should be any positiue lawe set downe for her I saye that this hatred against the lawe and the lawgeuer God himselfe still continuing it cannot de that the woorkes of the lawe should please God Nay rather seeing they proceede from a hart that abhorreth the law God they are nothing els but sinne and doo alwayes incense and kindle the indignation and wrath of God Wherfore Fayth onely dooth obtayne the blessing and grace promised to Abraham Now it is not writteÌ„ for hym only but also for vs as Paule saith in the latter end of this Chapter that fayth might also be imputed and reckened to vs for righteousnes In the fifth Chapter hee intreateth of woorkes and of the fruites of faith which be these peace ioy of conscience loue towards God our neighbour a profitable couragious bold coÌ„fidence and a stoute manfull perseuerance pacience in tribulations and afflictions for streight waye these fruites followe wheresoeuer this true faythe is in the hart Surely that most excellent riches and abundant wealth of the grace of God offered and exhibited to vs in Christe whom God would haue dye for vs when we were as yet weaklings yea enemies to God if so be by fayth it be knowen and acknowledged of vs in our harts it cannot but inflame vs and make vs strong and able to doo moste willingly cherefully and readyly all those things which we knowe wyll please this our most gentle father Therfore the chiefe sentence drift and scope of this Epistle stands stedfast and sure namely that by fayth alone we are iustified wythout woorkes and yet for all that good woorks are not condemned For those wookes that in deede and truely may be called good and those good fruites doo followe fayth and wheresoeuer fayth is it cannot choose but woorke Lyke as the flame can not but geue good lyght Of these that be truely good woorks the Iusticiaries who haue nothing so rife in theyr mouths as works works works know nothing at al They do but only imagine in theÌ„selues certayne cold woorks which bycause they haue no sparke of faith in them are void of all spirituall affections as ioye peace of the conscience and that bolde trust and assurance in God and are rotten fruites of a rotten tree After this the Apostle maketh a pleasaunt digression shewing how sinne and righteousnes also how death and life came vpon vs. And there he compareth those two Adam and Christ Wherefore he reasoneth thus The Apostles argument It was therfore needefull and necessarye that Christ should be sent who shoulde make his righteousnes to be ours by the newe birth or regeneration in fayth and the spirit euen as the old man Adam by propagation left vs his sinne throughe that olde generation according to the flesh Againe by this argument another proposition is surely grounded namely that no man by hys owne strength and power is able to deliuer hymselfe from sinne or to iustifie himselfe For it was not in our choyse to be borne or not to be borne of the olde Adam and according to the fleshe which by other ArgumeÌ„ts is euident and cleare inoughe For if the lawe of God which surely if any other thing in the world myght haue iustified ought to haue preuayled and auayled for righteousnes dooth not onely not iustifie but rather encreaseth and augmenteth sinne in vs namely that grudging and fretting of our nature dayly stomacking and murmuring at God yea the more it dooth presse vs the more it styrreth vp sinne in our nature which goeth agaynst all whatsoeuer is forbidden Nitimur in vetite semper cuâ— pimusque negata Therfore the more perfitly we knowe the lawe the more misery we behold in our selues and we see the better howe that we haue more neede of Christ In the Sixth Chapter he handleth that great and chiefe woorke of our fayth to wit Chap. 6 the warfare and conflict of Christians betwixt the fleshe and the spirit The warfare of Christians For the fleshe sighteth alwayes agayust the spirit and the spirit wageth warre agaynst the fleshe to the end that the desires of the fleshe and reliques of sinne which remayne in vs after iustification might be quite suppressed quelled and quenched in vs. And in this Chapter the Apostle teacheth that we are not so iustified freed from sinne by fayth that sinne is quite taken awaye and altogether abolished in vs â—â—liques of â—â—nne but that the reliques of sinne as yet remayne in vs. Neuertheles those renmaunts of sinne are not layde to our charge by reason of fayth which continually wrastleth wyth the desires of the fleshe Wherefore as yet bycause wh lyue in the fleshe that strife and combate endureth in vs and they that are already iustified haue inoughe to doo and haue labour inoughe to turne them vnto yea all their lyfe tyme they may toyle vntill they sweat agayne by endeuouring to tame their fleshe to represse the lusts of it Mortification and to make it subiect vnto the Spirit And by that mortification of our fleshe and newenes of our spirtuall lyfe we expresse the Death and the Resurrection of Christ as also that signe of mortification in Baptisme which dooth signifie and represent vnto vs no other thing but this continuall mortification of the fleshe and dayly viuification and quickening of the spirit For Baptisme that is this mortification dooth woorke in vs so long vntill sinne being abolished and abandoned by the death of our bodyes we rise in our bodyes wyth Christ and raygne wyth hym for euermore And this thing namely the dayly mortification of our fleshe we may performe bycause we are not vnder the law but vnder grace Nowe what it is VVhat it is not to be vnder the Law not to be vnder the lawe he himselfe expoundeth For not to be vnder the lawe must not to be so vnderstood as thoughe it were lawfull for vs to doo what we list but not to be vnder the lawe is this that our harts are so made newe by the spirit through fayth that freely willingly and of our owne accorde we may doo that whiche the lawe requires though there were no law at all For grace dooth endue
Pacience ought to be paciently tolerated and borne withall through loue also how we ought to vse that libertie not to any offence but to the instruction and edifying of the weake conscience of our neyghbour For vnles the offending of the weake be diligently and warely auoyded there will followe a discorde and contempt of the Gospel whose dignity and renoune it standes vs greatly vpon to conserue and keepe inuiolate wherefore it were better to yeelde for a tyme to the weake in fayth vntill they be confirmed than that the Gospell should be contemned or suppressed And this is the cheefest worke of Christian loue and Charitie which very many in these our daies haue neede of who abuse their libertie by eating of fleshe and by other meanes hurting weake consciences yea making them to stumble as it were in the entry and doore of Christianitie before they knowe the libertie of Christ and the way of ryghteousnes In the .xv. Chap. 15 Chapter yet once agayne hee proposeth Christ to be followed that by his example we should supporte and beare with the weak whosoeuer they be whether sinners VVeake brethren ought to be considered vnlearned rude and vnskilfull or those which otherwise are euill mannered or of naughty conditions For euen these are not streyghtway to be contemned but rather to be tolerated and suffered vntil they be better amended So our sauiour Christ as we see in the Gospell did beare with our sinnes and offences yea and at this day dooth tolerate our sinnes errors and imperfections euer reaching his ryght hand to help vs euer ayding vs through his vnspeakable mercy Moreoner he prayeth for the increase of their fayth peace and ioy of conscience also praysing them and committing them to God yet once agayne he commendeth also and maginfieth his office namely howe hee maye glory in that he handleth and medleth with Gods busines and matters how that he doth and hath preached through the grace which he hath receyued of God being also called froÌ„ heauen by God not by any man By and by after Almes to be geuen to the poore Saintes setting before them the example of the Macedonians in sted of a little Exordium or insinuation he dooth very ciuilly take an occasion to beg and craue almes of them for the poore Saynts in Hierusalem To be breife whatsoeuer this most Apostolical brest dooth or speaketh it is meere Charitie and loue meere workes of fayth and of the Spirit Thus thou hast gentle reader here in this Epistle most fully and absolutely set out whatsoeuer appertayneth any way eyther to Christian lyfe The Epistle to the Romanes a sufficient doctrine for a Christian man or iustification what Christians ought cheifly to learne namely what the lawe is what the Gospel is what syn grace fayth iustice or righteousnes Christ God good workes charitie loue and hope is briefly in what thing the sum of all Christianitie dooth consist how a Christian ought to behaue hymselfe towardes his neyghbour whether they be good or bad weake or strong freindes or foes Last of al how we should behaue our selues cowards our selues the Apostle doth so diligently fortifie strengthen all these things by Scripture and so confirme them by his owne example and the example of the Prophets that thou canst not heere desyre or wish any thing more or more playne and manifest For no doubt it was the Apostles mynde to comprehend in this Epistle summarily and to handle compendiously the whole Gospell and whatsoeuer belongeth to Christian learning and instruction also to prepare a Methode and briefe introduction vnto all the writings of the olde Testament namely Moses and the Prophets For whosoeuer hath red this Epistle well and thorowly digested it in his mynde that man hath a most sure and certayne Methode to all the old Testament A profitable exhortation Wherefore as I admonished before so here now agayne I doo exhort you that you would as Moses dooth in the .xi. Ch. of Deuteronomie lay vp these things in your hartes and teache them your children to the ende that by a continual recording and repeating of them they may be made by al meanes most familiar vnto you The last Chapter contayneth salutations or commendations Chap. 16 to which he adioyneth a very good and most necessarye admonition namely that we should shunne and eschew as the plague and extreme infection and poyson of our fayth the doctrines and traditions of men wherewith the Gospell and woorde of God being troden vnder foote the false Apostles doo seduce and withdrawe from Christ the hartes of the simple â—raditions â—ot to be reâ—…yued For the Apostle foresawe in the Spirit that there should arise and spring certayne Romanistes for they are not worthy the name of Romanes out of Rome and Romanes who by their wicked and blasphemous most diuilish and sathanicall decretals and their whole den of mans lawes and traditions as by a most wast floude and huge delight would labour to drowne extinguish and destroy not onely this excellent Epistle but euen the whole bodye of Scripture yea all the doctrine of fayth and of the spirit insomuch that they should leaue vs nothing but this Idoll our belly Papistes belly gods Philip. 3.18 whose worshippers he dooth cal them heere and most playnly in the Epistle to the Philippians For saith he there be many walke of whom I haue tolde you often and now tell you weeping they are the enemyes of the Crosse of Christ whose God is their belly and their glory to their shame they are worldly mynded The God of all peace bruse and beate downe Sathan and hys Kingdome vnder our Foote Amen Soli Deo gloria FINIS ¶ Imprinted at London nigh vnto the three Cranes in the Vintree for Thomas Woodcock dwellyng in Paules Church-yard at the Signe of the blacke Beare
is liuely and not idle Wherefore fayth is such an effectuall lyuely quicke and myghty operation in our harte that it cannot be idle but must needes breake out and shew it selfe by good workes Neyther dooth he that hath this Fayth care greatly whether good workes be commauÌ„ded or no. For though there were no lawe at all yet by this lyuely impulsion working in his hart he is of his owne accorde forced and caryed to worke true and godly ChristiaÌ„ workes He that dooth not his good workes of such a lyuely affection of the hart is wholy in vnbeleefe and a straunger and aliant from the fayth as many of those be which in schooles dispute and iangle much of Fayth and good workes not knowing what they speake or what they holde and affirme A true definition of faith Fayth therefore is a constant trust and a sure confidence of the mercy of God towards vs which is liuely and worketh myghtely in our harts whereby we committe our selues wholy to God casting all our care vpon hym leaning and trusting assuredly to this fayth we are not afrayde to dye a thousand tymes For this so bolde an assurance of the mercy and fauour of God dooth make our hartes merry glad and lyght doth also erect rayse and euen rauish vs with most sweete motions and affections towardes God yea and dooth so embolden the harte of the true beleeuer that trusting to haue God on his side he is not afrayde to oppose hymselfe alone agayust all creatures But it is the Spirite of God which geueth vs this heroicall harte and stout stomacke through fayth which working effectually in our hartes dooth incyte and inflame vs to doo good Now we haue thys chearefull towardnes and forwardnes to the ende that wee myght be moste prompt and ready willingly and of our owne accorde to doo tolerate and suffer all things whereby we may be obedient to so gentle and fauorable a father who through Christe hath inryched vs with so great abuÌ„dance of his graces It can not possibly be but that in whom soeuer this efficacy and lyfe of fayth is it should dayly worke A liuely comparison fructifye and geue increase to God Euen as it is vnpossible that a fyre being kindled flaming should not geue lyght and cast foorth brightnes wherefore watch thou and take heede that thou doo not beleeue eyther thyne owne vayne songes and soimdes of fayth Fancyes thyne owne fonlish imaginations or the vayne trifling stuffe of Sophisters Blynd papistes For these Sophisters haue neyther wyt nor wysdome They are belly beastes borne onely to those feastes of schooles But pray thou vnto God who commaundeth by his worde that lyght should shine out of darkenes that hee would shyne bryghtly in thyne hart and that be would create a true Fayth in thee otherwyse thou shalt neuer beleeue truely though for the space of a thousand yeares thou diddest labour and study about such cogitations and imaginations either of a faith heretofore gotten Righteousnes or hereafter to be sought for This fayth now is that true iustice whiche the Apostle calleth the iustice and righteousnes of God that is which onely is of force auaylable and can stand before God bycause it is the meregyft of God And this fayth dooth transforme the whole man and makes hym such an one that according to that common definition of ciuill iustice he is ready to geue and render to euery one that which is due vnto hym For seeing by that fayth we are instified and indued with the loue of the lawe of God then surely we so magnifying God and the lawe doo geue that glory vnto God which is due vnto hym Also seeing by that fayth we doo beleeue firmely that we are iustified freely and reconciled vnto God through Christ who euery where is ready to saue vs then by course we serue for our neighbor so agayne render and attribute to euery man that which is his This ryghteousnes of the hart we can not obtayne by any indeuour of our own free will or by our own strength merits For as no man can see that lyuely operation that is fayth of our harts but onely God so no man can repell from hymselfe that wickednes and incredulitie of the hart but onely by grace and the Spirit of God so farre we are from being able to deliuer our selues from sinnes by our owne power Therefore though workes doo seeme to show gallantly and gloriously yet notwithstanding whatsoeuer is not of fayth is hipocrisie and sinne Now as concerning flesh and spirit which often are vsed in this Epistle you must not take flesh to be after the common manner the desires and lustes of the flesh onely neyther must you cal the spirit onely those things whiche are doone spiritually in the inwarde corners of the hart 6 fleshe what â—t is For the Apostle Saynt Paule as also Christ hymselfe in the .iii. Ch. of Iohn doo call flesh whatsoeuer is borne of the fleshe that is the whole man bodye and soule al mans reason wholy with all his cheefest and best powers Bycause that all these things doo sauour of nothing but fleshe and seeke after nothing but fleshly things Wherfore thou shalt eall all those workes flesh which seeme to be good and make a beautiful show of holy workes and yet are doone without the grace and working of the holy Spirit of God in the hart Which thing is playne and euident by the .v. Chapter to the Galathians where Paule reckeneth and counteth heresies sects amongst the fruites of the flesh And in the .viii. Chapter to the Romanes he sayth that the law is made weake by reason of the flesh which thing ought to be ment not onely of the vnchaste lustes of the flesh but also of the whole masse of corruption and wickednes yea breisly and cheifly of incredulitie or vnbeleefe Incredulitie the ground all sines which is the most secret and cheife sinne of all Contrarywise 7 Spirite what it is thou shalt call the Spirit those spirituall things euen those externall works which proceede from a spiritual man or from a hart innouated and made newe by the holy spirit That washing of the feete which Christ did to his Disciples though it was an outward worke yet it was spirituall Peters fishing to which he returned being now iustified in the spirit was also spirituall Therefore that is fleshe whatsoeuer a man dooth seeking and sauoring onely carnal and fleshly things And that is Spirit whatsoeuer is doone within or without wherewith a man exercising fayth and Charitie dooth seeke spirituall things Vnles we take these wordes in this sense we shall neyther vnderstand this Epistle of S. Paul nor any other bookes of the diuine Scriptures Therefore whether it be Ierome or Augustine or Ambrose or Origen breifly what writers soeuer they be that vse these wordes otherwise let not the authoritie of men moue thee any thing at al but rather flee from