Selected quad for the lemma: work_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
work_n	charity_n	faith_n	justification_n	4,801	5	9.5998	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A06513	[A methodicall preface prefixed before the epistle to the Romanes ...] Made by the right reuerend father in and faithfull seruant of Christ Iesus, Martin Luther ...; Praefatio in Epistolam Pauli ad Romanos. English	Luther, Martin, 1483-1546.; Wilkinson, William, d. 1613, attributed name.; Watkinson, William, fl. 1573-1594, attributed name.	1632 (1632)	STC 16986; ESTC S105157	20,999	82

and consolation this doctrine of predestination is For vnlesse thou hast had experience and tryall of tribulation Predestination onelie cōfortable to those which are well exercised in affections vnlesse thou hast felt thy self to haue beene brought sometyme even vnto the gates of hell as wee see in David and other Saints thou canst not beare or brooke this doctrine and sentence of predestination without perill and danger with a certaine murmuring grudging of nature against GOD. Therefore it is needfull and necessarie that olde Adam should first be mortified that the sense of the flesh should bee beaten down that the sucklings should first grow vp in Christ before they drinke of this sweete Cup of wine For even heere also there is in every one a certaine infancy childhood who hath in the meane time neede to bee fed with milke vntill hee bee acustomed to eat strōger meats Chap. 12 In the twelfth chapter hee doeth annex and adjoyne certaine admonitions and precepts For this order the Apostle is wont to obserue in all his Epistles The second part of this Epistle cōcerning Christian conversatiō that first hee doth teach Christ and Faith afterwardes he doth exhort to good works and a continuall mortification of the flesh Wherefore he doth teach heere good workes in deed and the true worship of God And heere he maketh all Christians to bee Priests commanding them to offer not money either Oxen or Gotes as it was the custome of the Law but to offer themselues a spirituall sacrifice A spirituall priesthood mortifying the old Adam Furthermore hee doth delyver out most briefly vnto vs the institution and instruction of Christian maners as how we shold teach preach rule and govern namely in the Church how we should serue our neighbour how we should suffer tribulations to be briefe how it behoveth a Christian to behaue himselfe towardes his friends and enemies And these are truely good workes of a Christian man which do flow out of Faith as from a fountaine and head spring Yea which doe even make a violent eruption For faith as I haue said is not ydle Papistes works wh●● they are But the workes of the Iusticiaries which are done without this liuely flame of Faith in the heart are but hypocrites purple show and fained colours wherewith they paint themselues outwardly which as inwardly they are full of hatred avarice filthines deceit In the 13. chapter hee teacheth vs to bee obedient to earthly and worldly Magistrates Chap. 13 Obedience to the Magistrate seeing that all power is of GOD. For thogh the administration of the sword and these politicall and civill Lawes doe helpe nothing to the justification of the heart notwithstanding because that power and authoritie is ordained and appoynted of God to the maintenance and preservation of the peace of the common wealth that malefactors might bee punished and good men defended therefore it is to be reverenced and honoured even of the Saints of God and righteous men which otherwise stand not in neede of that authoritie At the last he comprehendeth summarily al duties in this one worde Loue. Loue is a short sum of all Christian dueties And whereas he proposed Christ as the cause author of our righteousnesse now heere after another sort hee proponeth and setteth him forth as an example namely that wee imitating and following Christ should so serue our neighbour as Christ hath served vs. In the 14. Chap. 14 Chap. hee teacheth that the weake in faith not as yet expert and cunning in Christian libertie Patience ought to bee patiently tolerated and borne withall through loue also how wee ought to vse that libertie not to any offence but to the instruction and edifying of the weake conscience of our neighbour For vnlesse the offending of the weake bee diligently and warely avoyded there will follow a discord and contempt of the Gospell whose dignitie and renoune it stands vs greatly vpon to conserue and keepe inviolate Wherefore it were better to yeeld for a tyme to the weake in faith vntill they bee confirmed than that the Gospell should bee contemned or suppressed And this is the chefest worke of Christian loue and Charitie which verie many in these our dayes haue neede of who abuse their libertie by eating of flesh by other means hurting weake consciences yea making them to stumble as it were in the entry and doore of Christianity before they know the liberty of Christ and the way of righteousnesse Chap. 15 In the 15. Chap. yet once againe hee proposeth Christ to bee followed that by his example wee should support and beare with the weake whosoever they bee whether sinners Weak brethren oght to bee considered vnlearned rude and vnskilfull or those which otherwise are evill mannered or of naughty conditions For even those are not streight way to bee contemned but rather to bee tolerated and suffered vntill they be better amended So our Saviour Christ as wee see in the Gospell did beare with our sins and offences yea and at this day doth tolerate our sinnes errors and imperfections ever reaching his right hand to helpe vs ever ayding vs through his vnspeakable mercie Moreover hee prayeth for the increase of their faith peace and joy of conscience also praising them and committing thē to GOD yet once againe hee commendeth also and magnifieth his office namely how hee may glory in that hee handleth and medleth with Gods businesse and matters how that he doth and hath preached throgh the grace which hee hath received of God being also called from heaven by God and not by any man By and by after setting before them the example of the Macedonians insted of a little Exordium or insinuation hee doth verie civilly take an occasion to beg and craue almes of them for the poore Saintes in Hierusalem Almes to be given to the poore Saints To bee briefe whatsoever this most Apostolicall breast doeth or speaketh it is meere Charity and loue meere works of saith and of the Spirit Thus thou hast gentle reader heere in this Epistle most fully absolutely set out whatsoever appertaineth any way either to Christian life The Epistle to the Romans a sufficient doctrine for a Christian man or iustification what Christians ought chiefly to learne namely what the law is what the Gospell is what sinne grace faith justice or righteousnesse Christ God good workes charitie loue hope is briefly in what thing the summe of all Christianitie doth consist how a Christian ought to behaue himselfe towards his neighbour whether they bee good or bad weake or strong friends or foes Last of all how wee should behaue our selves towards our selues the Apostle doth so diligently fortifie and strengthen all these ●hings by Scripture and so con●irme them by his own example 〈◊〉 the example of the Prophets that thou canst not heere desire or wish any thing more or more plaine and manifest For no doubt it was the Apostles minde to comprehend in this Epistle summarily to handle compendiously the whole Gospell and whatsoever belongeth to Christian learning and instructiō also to prepare a methode and briefe introduction vnto all the writings of the old Testament namely Moses and the Prophets For whosoever hath red this Epistle well and throughly digested it in his minde A profitable exhortation that man hath a moste sure and certaine methode to all the old Testament Wherefore as I admonished before s● heere nowe I doe exhort you that you would as Moses doth in the 11 chap. of Deut. lay vp these things in your hearts 〈…〉 childre● to the end that by a continuall recording repeating of them they may be made by all means most familiar vnto you Chap. 16. The last chap. containeth salutations or commendations to which hee adjoyneth a verye good and most necessary admonition namely that we should shunne eschue as the plague and extreame infection poyson of faith the doctrines and traditions of men where-with the Gospell and worde of God being contemned the false Apostles do seduce withdraw from Christ the hearts of the simple Traditions not to bee received For the Apost foresaw in the Spirit that there should arise and spring certaine Romanistes for they are not worthie the name of Romans out of Rome and Romans who by their wicked and blasphemous most divilish and sathanical decretals and their whole den of mans lawes and traditions as by a most wast floude and h●g● d●●uge wold labor to drowne ●●●tinguish and destroy not on●● this excellent Epistle but even the whole body of Scripture 〈◊〉 at the doctrine of fai●● 〈◊〉 the Spirit insomuch 〈◊〉 they should leaue vs nothing but this Idoll our belly Papists belly gods whose worshippers he doth call them heere Philip 3 1● and most plainely in the Epistle to the Philippians For saith he there be many walke of whom I haue told you often ●nd now tell you weeping they are the enemies of the Crosse of Christ whose God is their belly and their glory to their shame they are world●● mi●ded The GOD of all Pea●●● bruse and beate downe Sathan and his kingdome vnder our 〈…〉

and Gentile notwithstanding that the Iewes are preferred excell the Gentiles in this prerogative namely for that the pormises of God did belong to them also for that the words and Oracles of God were committed vnto them And thogh some of the Iewes did not believe yet for all that their vnbeliefe made not the faithfull trueth of Gods promises vaine voyde or without effect and to prove this he alledgeth that place of the 51. Psalme as it is written saith hee that thou mightest bee justified in thy wordes and overcome when thou art judged After this hee returneth to his cause and purpose and proveth by the Scriptures that all are equallie sinners without any exception that no man is justified by the workes of the law but that only by the lawe commeth the knowledge of sinne Finally he teacheth the true right ways of righteousnes and salvation All saith hee haue sinned The hye way to righteousnesse is by fayth in Christ and are destitute and deprived o● the glorie of God but they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Iesus whom GOD hath set foorth to bee a reconciliation through faith in his blood And a little before But now saith hee is the rigteousnesse of GOD made manifest without the law being approved by the testimonie and witnesse of the law and the Prophets to wit the righteousnesse of God by the faith of Iesus Christ vnto all and vpon al● that beleeue So then the lawe is established through faith although workes and glorying in the workes of the law are excluded by faith Seeing therfore in the three former Chapters hee hath taught that all men are sinners also sheweth that only faith in Christ is the way vnto righteousnesse and meanes to justification Chap. 4. by and by in this fourth Chap. he answereth to certaine objections and cauils As for the most part when Christ or faith is taught that is that our works are nothing that wee are onely justified by faith streight wayes certaine Iusticiaries object If faith alone doth justifie then we must cease altogether to doe good workes then good works are to be omitted and left vndone The Apostle answereth proposing the example of Abraham What shall wee say then that Abraham our Father hath hath found concerning the flesh Did hee merite nothing at all by his workes He concludeth that Abraham was justified onely by faith without any workes insomuch that the Scripture saith that Abraham before he was circumcised beleeved GOD and it was counted and reputed vnto him for righteousnesse Gen. 15.6 If therefore the worke of circumcision which GOD commaunded which was a precious worke of obedience profited Abraham nothing to justification then it is most sure certaine that there is none other worke which is available to justification An apt similitude But as circumcision being an outward signe was vnto Abraham a seale of his righteousnes by faith so good works are onely an externall signe which doth not justifie but which doth signifie vnto men that a man is inwardly justified before God and they doe testifie and approue as certaine signes and fruits that liuelie faith which worketh in the heart By this as by the most graue weighty and authentik example the Apostle doth cōfirme build out of the Scriptures his doctrine of faith delivered out and taught in the third Chapter Furthermore the Apostle allegeth the testimonie of David in the 32. Psal to proue this matter Also in most plaine words hee affirmeth that a man is justified by the imputation of righteousnesse without works althogh as I haue said before workes doe follow those that are justified by Faith Moreover hee dilateth and amplifieth the example against all other workes of the lawe inferring that the Iewes are not therfore straight way the true heires of Abraham because their stocke and pedigrue is derived from the circumcised Abraham or because they received the lawe vnlesse they tread and follow the steps of saith and beleeving in Christ imitate the faith of Abraham specially and chiefly seeing that Abraham before the law whether it were of Moses or of the circumcision was justified onely by faith and called the father of many nations that is of all beleevers Finally hee concludeth thus Seeing that the lawe cannot giue that effectuall working whereby it may willingly and chearefully be satisfied also seeing that the grudging and murmuring stirred vp by the law abideth and remaineth in vs and disdaineth taketh it grievously that there should bee any positiue ●aw set downe for her I say that this hatred against the law and the law giver God himselfe stil continuing it cannot bee that ●he workes of the law should please God Nay rather seeing ●hey proceed from a heart that ●bhorreth the sawe and God ●hey are nothing else but sinne ●nd doe alwayes incense and kindle the indignation wrath of God Wherefore Faith only doth obtaine the blessing and grace promised to Abraham Now it is not written for him onely but also for vs as Paul saith in the latter ende of this Chapter the faith might also bee imputed and reckened to vs for righteousnes In the fifth Chapter hee intreateth of workes and of the fruits of faith which bee these peace joy of conscience loue towards GOD and our neighbour a profitable couragious bold confidence and a stoute and manfull perseverance and pacient in tribulations and afflictions for streight way these fruits follow wheresoever this true faith is in the heart Surely that most excellent riches and aboundant wealth of the grace of God offered and exhibited to vs in Christ whom GOD would haue dye for vs when wee were as yet weaklings yea enemies to God if so bee by faith it be knowne acknowledged of vs in our hearts it cannot but inflame vs and mak vs strong and able to doe most willingly cherefully and readily all those things which we know will please this our most gentle Father Therefore the chiefe sentence drift and scope of this Epistle stands stedfast and sure namely that by fayth alone wee are justified without workes and yet for all that good workes are not condemned For those workes that indeed and truely may be called good and those good fruits doe follow faith and wheresoever faith is it cannot choose but worke Like as the flame cannot but giue good light Of these that be truly good works the Iusticiaries who have nothing so rise in their mouths as works works works knowe nothing at all They doe but only jmagine in themselves certain cold works which becaus they haue no sparke of faith in them are voyde of all spirituall affections as joy peace of conscience and that bold trust and assurance in God and are rotten fruits of a rotten tree After this the Apostle maketh a pleasant digression shewing how sin righteousnesse also how death life came vpon vs. And there he compareth these two Adam and Christ Wherefore