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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
work_n	faith_n	good_a	justify_v	61,674	5	9.1442	5	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10008	Ane oration made by Master Theodore de Beze, minister of the word of God, accompanyed with. xi. other ministers and. xx. deputies of the refourmed churches of the realme of Fraunce, in the presence of the king, ... Tuesday the ix. day of September, 1561, in the noonnery of Poyssy. Truely gathered and set forth in suct sort as it was spoken by the said de Beze. Whereunto is added a brief declaration exhibited by the said Beze, to the Quene the mother, the next morowe after the making of the said oration, touching certain poyntes conteyned in the same; Harangue faicte par M. Théodore de Bèze. English.	Bèze, Théodore de, 1519-1605.	1561 (1561)	STC 2026; ESTC S119256	20,389	80

do think and wold gladly perswade all others to thinke the like that our disagreing doth stande in no greate matters of importaunce but consisteth rather in thinges indifferent then in the substancial pointes of our faith Others there be all of the contrary that for lacke of good information of our beliefe take it as though we agreed in nothing no more then Iewes or Mahometistes The opinion of the first sort is not so much to be discommended as the iudgement of the last sort is vtterly to be reiected Like as we trust shall appeare by the discourse of our matter But surely neither of them both do make any waye or ouerture of any true or assured concord For if the laste be beleued none of the parties can purchasse to thē a sure standing but with the ouerthrowinge of the other whiche were to cruell to think and most horrible to be executed If the opinion of the first should be receiued it muste nedes be that many thinges should remaine vndecided whereof shoulde rise a very daungerous and hurtfull disagreing To enter then into the matter we do confesse in the whiche saying we haue much a do to contain our teares we confesse I say that as we do agree in some principal pointes of the Christian faith so do we disagree in some vthers We confesse one onely God in one selfe same essence infinitie and incomprehensible distincte in three persons consubstancials and in all pointes coequall That is to say the Father vnbegotten the sonne from euer begottē of the Father and the holy Gost proceadinge from the Father and the Sonne We confesse one onely Iesus Christe very God and very man without confusion or separation of the two natures or of the properties of the same We confesse that touching his manhood he is not the sonne of Ioseph but was conceiued by the secrete power of the holie Goste in the wombe of the blessed virgin Marie virgin we say bothe before her deliueraunce and after also We confesse his Natiuitie his lyfe his death his burying his going downe into hell his resurrection and his ascention as they be contained in the holy Gospell We beleue that he is on hyghe in heauen sett at the right hand of the Father from whens he wil not departe till he come to iudge the quicke and the dead We beleue in the holie Gost who lightneth vs comforteth vs and supporteth vs. We do beleue that there is one holie Catholike that is to saye vniuersall Churche which is the companie and congregation of Saintes out of the which ther is no saluation We do assure our selues of the free remission of our sinnes thorow the blood of Iesus Christ by the vertue wherof after the same body of ours beinge raysed from death to life shal be ioyned againe with oure soules we shall enioye with God the blessed and euerlasting life How then will some saye ▪ are not these the articles of our faith ▪ wherein then standeth the difference betwene vs First we differ in the exposition of some part of them Secondly in that it semeth to vs wherein if we be deceiued we wolde be glad to knowe it that men haue not satisfied them selues with these articles but of longe tyme haue not ceased to adde article vpon article as though Christian religion were a building that neuer would haue ende We say moreouer that such building as hath bene made of newe hath not as farre as we can vnderstand ben alway builded vpon the olde foundacion and therfore hath it rather taken awaye the grace of the olde buildinge then serued to the garnishing and setting foorth of the same And yet haue men cleaued more to those accessaries then they haue done to the principall This is the summe shortlye of that we beleue and teache but to the ende that our meaninges may be the better conceiued we will discourse the pointes more perticulerly We say then and truste to maintaine the same with all the temperaunce we can by the testimonye of holye Scriptures that the verie God in whom we ought to beleue is spoyled of his perfecte Iustice yf menne thinke to sette againste his displeasure and iuste iudgemente ▪ any 〈…〉 kinde of purgation or satisfaction in this worlde or in the other then that whole entier and perfect obedience which can not be founde in anie other but only in Iesus Christ And in like sort yf we saye that he acquiteth vs of one part of our debtes so as we pay the other we spoyle him of his perfite mercy Hereof riseth it as farre as we can iudge that beinge the question by what title we looke to be placed in heauen we muste holly and onely sticke to the death and passion of Iesus Christ oure Sauiour and redemer or els shal we be driuen to worship a straunge God which should not be perfectly either iust or mercifull And hereof also dependeth another point of no small importaunce touching the office of Iesus Christ For if he be not onely and entierly oure saluation this precious Name of Iesus that is to say Sauiour denounced by the Angell Gabriell should not properly appertaine to him likewise yf he be not our onely Prophete hauinge fully declared the will of God his Father for our saluation first by the mouth of his Prophetes and after that when the fulnesse of the tyme was come in his owne person and finally by his faithfull Apostles If he bee not also the head and spirituall kinge of oure consciences yf he be not our onely Priest for euer after the order of Melchisedech hauing by one oblation once made of himselfe whiche neuer can be made againe reconciled man with God and is nowe in heauen our onely intercessour till the ende of the worlde To make an ende if we be not holie complete in hym alone the Name and title of Messias or Christe that is to say annointed and dedicated of God the Father to that effect can not appertaine vnto him If then we can not content our selues with his onely word faithfully preached and afterward registred and truely recorded by writinge by his Prophetes and Apostles it is as muche as to dispossesse him of the degree of a prophete And in case also we wil make new lawes to binde the consciences of men we take from him the dignitie of the head and spiritual kingdome of the Church And whosoeuer shal take vpon him to offer him for the remissiō of sinnes or shal not be content to take him for our onely intercessour and aduocate in heauen betwene God man he taketh from him the dignitie of his euerlasting priesthod Thirdly we disagree in the definitiō the spring the effects of faith which we tearme with S. Paul iustifying faith by the which only we do affirme that Iesus Christ all his merites be applied to vs. Touching good workes if any man thinke that we set not by them he is muche misenfourmed for we do no more separate faith from charitie

thē heate and light can bee saperated from the fyre And we say with S. Iohn in his first Canonicall Epistell that he that saieth he knoweth God and kepeth not his cōmaundamentes lieth and no trueth is in him But concerning this purpose we confesse plainly that we disagree in thre principall pointes The first touching the beginning the spring from the which good workes do procede The seconde what workes bee good workes The third to what respect they bee good Touchinge the first we finde none other free will in man but that whiche receiueth freedome by the only grace of our Lord Iesus Christe And we say that our nature being in the state whiche it is fallen into nedeth before all other thinges not to be aided and vpholden but to be mortified and killed by the vertue of the Spirite of God for so muche as his grace findeth it not onely wounded much weakned but altogether destitute of force and repugning to al good yea dead rotten in sinne and corruption And therefore do we not to him so much dishonour as to make oure selues parteners with him to whose grace and mercie working in vs is to be geuen the beginninge the myddle and the ende of our good workes Touching the second point we do not receiue anye other rule of iustice and obedience before God but his commaundementes as they be written and registred in his holy worde to the which we do not take it lawefull for anye man to adde or diminish to binde therwith mans conscience Touchinge the thirde point to witte in what respect they bee good our beliefe is that so farre foorth as they procede from the Spirite of God working in vs they ought to be called good for that they issue frō so good a spring and yet yf God shoulde examine them rigorously there wolde be ●ounde matter inough and inough ●o the disaduauntage of them We saye further that they be good in another respecte that is ●o saye forsomuche as God is by them glorified men bee drawen to the knowledge of him and we all bee assured the Spirite of God being in vs which is knowen by his effectes that we bee of the number of the elected and of them that be predestinated to saluation But if a question be moued by what title euerlastinge life doth appertaine vnto vs we say with S. Paule that it is a free gyft of God and no recompence any way due vnto oure merites For Iesus Christ in this behalfe instifieth vs by his onely iustice being imparted to vs sanctifieth vs by his onely holynes beinge by him freely geuen to vs and hath redemed vs by his onely Sacrifice which is auailable to vs hauing in vs a true and a liuely faith by the grace onely and liberalitie of God All those treasures be communicated to vs by the power of the holie Gost vsinge for that effect the preachinge of the Gospell of God and the administratiō of his holy Sacramentes Not for that he nedeth any such matter for the putting in vre of his said power he being almightie but for that it pleaseth him to be serued with these ordinary meanes to breede and nourishe in vs the precious gift of faith whiche is as it were the onely hand and the onely vessell to take holde of Iesus Christ and to receiue him with all his treasures to our saluation And to the intent we maye declare what we doe admitte for the worde of GOD we admitte nothinge but the doctrine written in the holie Prophetes and the Apostles tearmed the newe and olde Testament For by whom shall we assure vs of oure saluation but by suche a● 〈…〉 thereof without reprothe against whom none exceptions can be taken And touching the writinges of auncient doctours and Councelles we thinke it conuenient before we do receiue them as matter whereunto nothing can be agayne sayde to conferre them throughly and to see them to agree with the holy Scriptures amonges them selues also considering that the Spirite of God is neuer disagreing from it selfe Whiche we beleue my Lords you wil neuer go about to enterprise yf you do yt shall lyke you to pardon vs yf we do not beleue till we do see it doone that you shall euer be hable to bringe it to passe Howe then are we of the cursed race of Cam the sonne of Noe who disconered the pri●●●● of his Father Do we thinke oure selues more conning and better learned then so many auncient doctours bothe Greekes and Latiues Be we so presumptuous as to thinke that we are the first that brought trueth to light and to condemne the whole worlde of ignoraunce God forbyd my Lordes that we should be suche but it maye like you to remember that there hathe ben Councels and Councels doctours and doctours for these he not the firste dayes that false prophetes haue ben in the Churche of God of whom the Apostles haue geuen vs warning in diuers places namely in the fourth Chapter of the firste to Timothye and Act. the xx Secondly touchinge the sayde auncient writtinges forasmuche as all trueth that may be founde in them must of necessitie by drawen out of holy Scripture what more sure waye can we finde to studie and vse them to oure profite then to trye them by that touche stone and to waye and consider the testimonies and reasons of the Scriptures vpon the whiche they haue grounded their expositions Surely no man can or ought to attribute anye more to them then their selues do require wherupon harken what S. Iherome saith vpon the Epistle to the Galathians The doctrine saith he of the holy Goste is that which is set foorth in the Scripture and Canonicall writtinges againste the whiche if Councelles shall ordeine any thinge it is vnlawfull and not to be admitted And S. Augustine writtinge to Fortunatian We ought not saith he to accompte the reasons and dispntacions of men of what estimacion and howe Catholike soeuer they be or haue bene in equal degree with the Canonicall Scriptures or of suche an aucthoritie as it maye not be lawfull for vs the reuerence due to suche personages reserued to reproue and reiecte any thinge in their wrytinges wharein it may be founde that they haue iudged other wise then trueth will beare them being so founde and vnderstode with the helpe of Gods grace by me or by any others This thinke I of other mens wrytinges and the same libertie do I geue to such as shall take the paines to be readers of any thinge that my selfe shall write As muche to the same sence writeth he in his 11● Epistle and in lyke sorte in his seconde booke 37. Chapiter against Chresconius Saint Ciprian also writteth in the same wise saying that it behoueth vs not to regarde what this man or that man hath done before our times but what Iesus Christ hath done before all mens tymes And the same rule geueth S. Augustine writting to Saint Iherome And in another place disputing against them that