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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
world_n	faith_n	love_n	overcome_v	2,284	5	9.3905	5	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B00888	The Christian manuell, or of the life and maners of true Christians. A treatise, wherein is plentifully declared, how needefull it is for the seruaunts of God to manifest and declare to the world: their faith by their deedes, their words by their works, and their profession by their conuersation. VVritten by Ihon VVoolton minister of the Gospel, in the Cathedral church of Excetor.	Woolton, John, 1535?-1594.	1576 (1576)	STC 25976; Interim Tract Supplement Guide G.1999[2]	81,916	210

that his workes maye be manyfest that they are done by God. The Prophete Esaye also inspyred wyth Chrystes spyrite sayeth Lorde thou shalt geue vs peace for thou hast wrought all our workes Nowe although we hould that good workes procede from God as the fountayne and origyn yet he dooth not these thinges without vs but rather worketh by vs and in vs so that the works of God done by vs are also our owne workes For GOD doeth regenerate his elect and choosen seruauntes with his spirit and gyueth them fayth Then they being so regenerate lyke Gods obedyent chyldren doo yeelde and apply them selues to please him with a holye lyfe and conuersation And the holy spirit which is in them is effectuall styrring vp theyr power and wyll to all good workes in all partes and course of their lyfe Fayth also wherby mens harts are purified is not idle and sluggyshe but doth her part and is a vigelent and diligent kéepers of integrity of mynde and vertuous conuersation throughout all their life And doth as it were put them in mynd that they being once purifyed in the bloud of Christ through the holy ghost shoulde kéepe them selues vnspotted in the fylthye world from all pollution of the fleshe neuer to abuse the gyfts of the body but to preserue the same as a vessel of honor ▪ The regenerate therfore watch work righteousnesse neyther do they make a small accoumpte of synne as wycked wordlyngs doo for they right well and déepely consider that God who sent hys sonne into this world to be a propiciation for synne and gaue him to death euen the death of the Crosse dooth both hate synne as a thing abhominable and also loue Iustyce and purity of lyfe And for that cause they also hate synne and loue righteousnesse detest impiety and imbrace pyty and so studie to practyse the same all the dayes of theyr lyfe But in this labour and endeuour of the chyldren of God there are manye lets and hinderances and holy men are afflicted as it were with a gréeuous and dayly battell which is neuer ended before the daye of death for that deadly and crafty enuy of ours Satan the Deuyll rusheth vppon vs with greate vehemency and vndermyneth vs with a thousand temptations And he is assysted with many mightye confederats For our owne flesh is slowe and dull to all goodnesse and prone to all viciousnesse The flattering and disceytfull worlde also vrgeth vs mightely with company pleasures honours which are most vayne There are also many wordlings who with their pernicious examples do cary the simple sort into distruction What should I saye of feare and hope which do excéeding exercyse and afflyct the mynds of the regenerate in such sort that onlesse Gods spirit dyd euery hower assyst them and confirme theyr fayth they coulde doo no good worke at all Against these and all other temptations that disciple so dearly beloued of Christ doo comfort vs saying This is the loue of God that we should keepe his precepts and his commaundements are not heauy For euery one that is borne of God ouercommeth the worlde And this is the victory that ouercommeth the worlde euen your faith VVho is he that ouercommeth the world but he that beleeueth that Iesus is the sonne of God And S. Paul If his spirit that raysed vp Iesus Chirste from the dead dwell in you He that raised vp Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortall bodyes by the power of his spirite dwelling in you By the whiche word all faythfull men maye easely gather the carke and care with Gods spirit dwellyng in the harts of the faythfull taketh that Iustice may ouercome and Iniustice be vanquyshed And Christ our sauiour promyseth that he wyll power his spirit most plentyfully vpon vs and dooth also commaund vs to aske the same of him with ardent and continuall prayers The faythfull therefore and suche as are regenerate by Gods spirit contynue in prayers without intermyssion They kéepe theyr bodyes in subiection with moderate fasting and abstinency that theyr prayer maye be more zealouse For prayer and fasting are as it weare preparatyues to good workes Nowe as these impedimentes aboue specefyed doo hinder men from doing of good workes euen so there are manye things which further and helpe vs toward the practyse of the same amongst the which is especially Gods spirit then a true and perfyt fayth and afterwarde continuall and earnest prayers Whervnto we may adde the sincéere doctryne of all fymes and ages aswell vnder the ould as new testament And moreouer the innumerable examples of the seruaunts of God and of Christ the Lord and sauiour of the whole worlde who amongst other things sayth I haue geuen an exāple vnto you that as I haue done so should you do Besydes these thinges the very filthinesse of vices terrefying vs from synne and the prayse fayre beautye of vertue inuiting vs to the studdy of pyty The wrath of God also and the seuerity of his Iudgments the fearefull threates of payne and torments aswell temporall as eternal wyl plucke vs from vices On the other side the fauour of God the mercyfull countenaunce of that eternall Iudge his bountifull promyses and hope of blessings aswell temporall as eternall wyl encorrage vs to pursue and practyse vertue For the faythfull wyll not bee ingrat for Gods innumerable benefits neither wyl they offend their brethren with their filthy liues for whom the lord Iesus suffred such gre●ous pains torments These and such other like consideratious doo both staye men from vice and further them to vertue But the godly vse a choyse and discretion in doing workes as I haue once or twyse alreadie spoken accoumpting of those onely that are appoynted by God Wherin that elect vessel S. Paul geueth vs a good lesson writing to the Ephesians VVee are created in Iesus Christ to doo those workes vvhich he hath prepared for vs to vvalke in Fyrst he affyrmeth notably with great weyght of words that we were created in Christe Iesus to doo good workes We answere not then our ende if we rotte and putryfie euyll and fylthie sinne and returne not to God by true fayth and hartie repentaunce And confesse wee drawe our lyuelye moysture from him w●e can neuer bring forth any good fruite for so Christ him selfe beareth wytnesse The Apostle therefore speaketh with great weyght and effycacie in that he sayth that we were created in Christ Iesus to doo good works Then lest we should be ignoraunt what good works the Apostle would haue he addeth VVhich he hath prepared vs to walke in What be those which he hath prepared for vs to walke in but those which he hath reuealed vnto vs in the holy lawe of his commaundementes And therefore our sauiour Christe demaunded in the gospell by a certaine man VVhat shall I do to possesse eternall life and what is the greatest commaundement in the Lawe He

and cheerefull minde in the same O happie is that man that so staieth him selfe in an assured trust of Gods mercie in Chricte that humblie and hartilie agniseth his faultes and offences that carefullie endeuoureth to walke in newnesse and holinesse of l●fe But O most vnhappy are those that wander in diffydence and distrust that thinke too well of them selues boasting vvith the Pharisees their actes and deedes that neglecte an honest and godlie life Vnto whome the Lorde wyll saie at the last daie I neuer knew you depart from me you workers of iniquity into euerlasting fire which is prepared for the Deuill and his angels VVheras on the other side the true Christians shall heare that ioyfull speach VVell done thou good and faithfull seruant thou hast bene faithfull ouer few things I wyll make thee rular ouer many thinges enter thou into the ioye of thy Lorde Come ye blessed children of my father enherite the kingdome which is prepared for you from the beginning of the world Of the which two sortes of men to witte of false Christians in name and tittle onelie and of true Christians in worde and worke I haue writtē more largelie in this Treatise folowing VVhich I thought good to present vnto your vvorship moued thervnto for diuerse and sundrie causes First with the cōmon and vniuersall reporte of that great wisedome and iustice wherewith God hath indewed you by the one discerning betweene right and wrong by the other putting the same in execution in your office and calling which is saide by Cicero to be the Ladie and Queene of all vertues and of Aristotle to bee more bewtifull and bright then the Day starre it selfe Secondlie in respect of that great care which you haue nowe a long tyme vsed for the good estate of Collegies and houses of learning in the Vniuersitie VVhich thing Plato saide especiallie to belong vnto a good Magistrate to prouide that childrē borne to common societie should be well brought vp for the common commoditie Thirdlie for that it hath pleased God to appoint mee the Paster and shepheard of mennes soules in one of thos● Manners where the tytle and interest of temporall Lordes and lyuinges together with the regiment of mennes manners in a Cyuile lyfe is vnder the Prince cōmitted vnto your worshippe VVhere the states of many of your poore Tenauntes being tyckle and doubtfull yet you ioyne pittie and clemencie with iustice and equitie VVhich as that reuerend father Saint Augustine writeth Is the inheritaunce of children the ioye of the Commons and the comfort of the poore And as no time in this worlde shal be able to consume this true honour and vertue of yours so wyll not the same be vnrewarded in that great daie at the kandes of the almightie and eternall God whome increase you in all honour and dignitie At VVhymple the xx of Nouember Anno. Dom. 1576. Your worshippes humble John VVoolton ¶ A Christian Manuell THe very name of a Christian is most bewtifull and honorable and the bare worde caryeth a certaine maiestie but as our Lorde and sauior Iesus Christ rebuked the Iewes vainly vaunting of theyr father Abraham If yee were Abrahams children yee woulde do● the workes of Abraham so wyll he aunswere wycked men with sharpe speache at the great daye If yee had bene Christians yee would haue followed my example I neuer knewe you depart from mee ye workers of iniquity And albeit wée reade that the Apostles gaue many excellent tytles vnto those that beléeued in Christ embraced his gospell ioyned them selues to his church and congregation as the name of Brethren Saintes and Disciples yet at Antioche they obtained first that noble and royall name of Christians as a tytle which in honour and dignitie not onely comprehendeth but also farre passeth al other styles and inscriptions Eusebius Pamphilius commending Christian fayth and relygion vnto the worlde ertolleth the same not onely for the reuerend Maiestie which the name importeth but also for the antiquitie auncientnesse as hauing bene alwayes since the creation of the world whereby only all holy men haue pleased God and atteyned to euerlasting felycitye Whose sentence and iudgement maye happely seeme straunge to some simple and vnlearned personnes caryed with that vaine opynion that Christian relygion dyd first beginne in the dayes of Tiberius Caesar mooued as it is lykely with Saint Luke his gospell where it is written that Iohn the Baptist began to preach in the fifteenth yéere of Tiberius and also because Historyes generally almost consent that Iesus Christ the sauiour of the worlde was crucifyed the eyght●enth yeere of the same Emperor It can not verily bee denyed but that all Prophecies were complete and true saluation perfected in that tyme And it must needes bée graunted that Christes most precious treasures were then opened and communicated vnto the worlde more plainly and plentifullye then euer before Yet the same saluation was shaddowed long before by the Prophetes and promised vnto the Fathers in Christe Iesus where it came to passe that they dyd foresee in theyr spirite Christ to come and as we nowe doo put their whoale trust and confidence in him onely These thinges are proposed offered and exhibited in deede most absolutely and clearly vnto vs vnder the new Testament and in the tyme of grace which they vnder the Lawe had in hope and that certaine albeit somewhat more obscurely then we now haue and looked for the same with most constant and ardent myndes The wordes of Eusebius touching this matter are as followeth Nowe least any man shoulde thinke that Christes doctrine is straunge or latelye deuised of some newe fangled fellowe wee meane to wryte of this matter somewhat more largely VVheras nowe a good space the comming and presence of our Lorde Iesus Christ began to shyne as it were to the worlde a new nation and profession sprong vp not few in number nor weake in strēgth not shut vp in a corner of the world but gathered of all countreyes who in seruing and honouring of God were most zealous religious obtaining the name of Christians VVhich thing was spokē of before by one of the Prophetes who euer heard or sawe sayeth he any such thinges doth the ground beare in one day or are the people borne all at once as Syon trauelleth in childbirth and beareth her sonnes and in another place Then shall the Gentils see thy rightwisnesse breake forth as the shyning lyght and their saluation as a burning lampe thou shalt be named with a new name which the mouth of the Lord shal shew Therfore making a supputatiō vpward euen from Abraham vnto the first man Adam albeit they had not in very letters the bare name yet in effecte truth they were Christians For in fowre yeres after Christes ascention the disciples obtained the name of Christians Nowe if the name of a Christian importeth one that beleeueth in Christ and that pursueth faith pitie

death I quoth he begot the not to serue Catilinae but thy countrey Euen so God hath regenerated vs from sinne not that we should henceforth come in to the same agayne but that we should dye to synne and lyue to righteousnesse Let vs then in euery of our vocations reioyce in that fayth whiche worketh through loue let our faith as S. Iames saythe Be made perfect with works For as the bodie without the spyrite is dead euē so faith without works is dead In that he would haue vs to make perfyt our fayth by workes he meaneth as Saynt Augustine and Aquias expound it that we should declare our selues to the world to be Iustified by our works and by the fruits to testifye abrode that we haue a liuely fayth For although we are iustified before God fréely without works eyther going before or comming after through and for the meryts of Iesus Christ only our mediatour which we apprehend by fayth yet the immutable wyll of our God is that all iustifyed men should walke in a newe obedyence doing those workes that are acceptable to God beutifying their profession wyth a vertuous conuersation But because in these latter dayes charity waxeth colde and iniquity euery where aboundeth those preachers and wryters cannot choose but lightlye please God and good men that presse the world to weare their badges and to shewe forth as it were their pasport in this theyr peregrination in eschewing vyce and following vertue albeit neyther merit nor Iustification nor saluation came thereby For as Saint Paule writeth these are the dayes which are perelous and men loue them selues Hauing a shewe of godlynes but haue denyed the power thereof wherefore to the ende that the effectuall causes may be knowen which may styrre men to pittye vertue and innocencye of lyfe I haue thought good to comprehend in this Treaty the duetyes of euery vocation and callyng and as vertues which as ornaments precious stones do bewtefye and garnyshe the same But before I come pertyculerly to euerye estate and condition I iudge it most conuenyent to put downe in fewe words the causes and commodyties of good workes so mouch the rather For that I sayd before that works do not deserue neyther meryt Iustifycation nor saluation whereby my readers may happely be discorraged from that wherevnto I bende all my studdy to moue and inflame them or at the least to leaue occasion to the Papistes to crye out with open mouthes that our doctryne is a doctryne of lycencyousnes and liberty What wée teache and thinke of good works those Homelies written in our Englishe tounge of Saluation Faith and workes by that lyght and Martyr of Christes churche Cranmer Archebyshoppe of Canturburie doo playne testifye and declare which are buylt vpon so sure a foundation that no Sycophant can deface them nor Sophyster confute them whyle the worlde shall endure vnto whome I remytte the Reader desyrous of an absolute dyscourse in this matter As for the reprochfull spéeches of the Papistes who crye out and saye that the Position Onelie faith iustifyeth is impious blasphemous and new neuer vsed of any Euangelist Apostle or Doctour of Christes churche and verye pernicious because it excludeth good workes and mynistreth occasion to lycense and lybertye all this I saye I myght aunswere in one worde as Cicero sayde Pro Cluentio magunm et impudens mendacum They are impudent sclaunders and vntruthes For my purpose at this tyme is rather to instructe then to conuince yet I wyll shortly put downe what all godlye men thinke in this matter And fyrst where as many take offence with this proposition which wée preache and teache That men are iustified by faith onelie in Christe It is because they doo not vnderstande our doctrine in that behalfe For we meane nothing lesse then to reiecte or take awaye good workes and honest actions but wée onelye exclude confidence and trust in mennes workes which haue no place at all in iustyfication And that dignitie is ascrybed to fayth because it is as it were an instrument to apprehende Christe and is much lyke a Coundyte pype whereby as by a meane the water of lyfe that is iustice in Christe is conueyghed and communycated vnto vs by whose merytes we haue remyssion and forgeuenesse of synnes and are adopted and made the chyldren of god Fayth by her owne dignytie and worthynesse doeth not demeryte Iustice and righteousnesse but receyueth and embraceth the same offered vnto vs in the gospell So that in the free mercie of GOD and merytes of Christ who in sheedding of his precious blood hath made satysfaction for the sinnes of the whole worlde wée ought to repose all our trust and confidence But our aduersaryes obiecte saying if you doo not exclude the promyses why doo you saye that fayth onelie iustifyeth and they adde Let fayth iustifye in Gods name so that you saye not fayth onelie iustifyeth Wherevnto wée aunswere That wée speake after the vsuall manner without deuyse of newe tearmes and Phrases following the aucthorytye of the brightest lyght that haue since Christes tyme shyned in the Church For the words of Christ our Master and of his Apostles carye the same with great efficacye and force in sence albeit in forme of wordes and stampe of letter they haue it not Christ him selfe speaking to the sinfull woman sayth Thy faith hath saued thee go in peace And to Iayrius the rular of the Synagogue Feare not beleeue onely and she shal be made whole And to the blinde man Receyue thy sight thy faith hath saued thee And Saint Paule Where is the reioysing it is excluded by what lawe of workes Naye but by the lawe of Fayth Therefore we conclude that a man is iustified by Fayth without the vvorkes of the Lawe And againe wée know that a man is not iustifyed by the vvorkes of the Lawe but by the Faith of Iesus Christ And againe by Grace are ye saued through Faith and that not of your selues it is the gyft of God not of vvorkes least any man should boast Besides this that phrase is vsuall and common in the works of auncient wryters For we finde in Origene He saith vnto the vvoman by no vvorkes of the lawe but by faith onely thy sinnes are forgiuen thee And Saint Hierome God iustifyeth vs by faith onely And Saint Ambrose All ceremonies are taken awaie and we are iustified by faith onely And againe Grace is so geuen in Christ Iesus that whosoeuer beleeueth in him shoulde be saued without workes receiuing remission of sinnes by faith onelie And Theodoretus Neither haue we gotten these heauenly blessinges by our owne merites but by faith onely And Giselbertus VVhat should we coniecture of their saluation that dyed before the eyghteenth daye we must beleeue that they were saued by faith only And Saint Barnarde I confesse my selfe eyther to vnderstand a right or

to be deceyued with those who thinke that faith onely is able to saue a man. And S. Augustine who was S. Ambrose his scholler and a dilygent reader of the old wryters sayth If iustice came by the Lawe therefore Christ dyed in vaine but if he dyed not in vaine the sinful man is iustified by him alone to whom beleeuing fayth is imputed vnto righteousnesse Many other aucthorites are cyted by that famous man P. Martyr yet he hath not gathered al which might be aledged to this purpose But amongst the auncient wryters there is none that hath wrytten more earnestlye of this matter then Chrisostome I am able sayeth he to shewe a faithfull man that hath lyued and commen to the kingdome of heauen without workes But neuer dyd any man at any time obtaine life without faith The theefe beleeued onelie and was iustified of the mercifull God neither is their replie to any purpose that hee wanted time to worke righteousnesse the controuersie is not in that point But this I constantlie affyrme that faith onely saueth For if he had liued yet longer and had neglected good workes he shoulde haue fallen from saluation Surely Saint Ambrose hath excellently set out this our iustifycation by fayth only in Christ by an example of the blessing of Iacob for as Iacob deserued not the byrth right but hyding him selfe in the habyte of his elder brother and cloathed with his apparell which gaue a swéete sent dyd insynuate him self to his Father and for his gaine fayned him selfe another personne and so obtained the blessing Euen so it behooueth vs to lye hyd vnder the hemme of Christes vesture that by him we may be iustified in Gods sight But because the wordes carye with them an especiall comfort I thought to expresse them which are as followe In that Isaak did smell the sweete odour of the garments happelie the meaning maie bee that we are not iustified by workes but by faith for mans carnall infirmytie is an impediment to our workes but the faire whitenesse of fayth hideth the error of our deedes which procureth pardon for our offences If then in so many testimonies they can not content them selues but continue their seuere censures ouer our phrases let them condempne the auncient writers of the same faulte and if they lyst let them set Christ his Apostles and the Fathers of the Primatyue Church to schoole for such spéeches If there be any inconueniencie therein we haue learned and receyued the same from them Now when we haue made the people acquainted with the phrase vsed in effect by our chefe Master Iesus Christ and in very forme of letters by the best most sincere wrytten and expositors of the holy scripture and tolde them that this dignitie of iustification is not of fayth it selfe but by vertue of the obiect which it respecteth to wyt Christ and that is not the worke of man but the gyft of God. We call vpon them for good lyfe and tel them againe and againe that fayth wyll not nor can not be a barren mother but as Chrisostome deuinely calleth her the Nurce of all good d●edes and actions and working alwayes through charitie We saye that fayth can not be in that man that lyueth vngodly walloweth in wickednesse against his owne conscience And that neyther murderers nor theeues nor adulterers nor couetous personnes nor prowde men nor dronkardes without repentaunce can enter into the kingdome of god And whereas the beleeuers as Saint Iohn sayeth ouercome the worlde such as perseuere in wickednesse are not conquerors thereof and therefore there can be no fayth in them but a kinde of Hypocrisie and a vaine dreame of fayth onely and fynally that fayth is lame and vnperfect if honest actions good life and conuersation be wanting But wee exclude onely from good workes hope of demeryting iustification and propiciation for sinnes which commeth vnto men by faith onely in Iesus Christ and that by the free mercy of God without any worthynesse on mans part And touching lybertye and lycenciousnesse of life whereof they complaine and impute the occasion to the worde of God so plentifully preached vnto the worlde One of theyr obiections is too true whereof we complayne as earnestly as they the other is vtterlye vntrur and sclaunderous For it commeth to passe by the meere maliyce of the Deuyl that our hearers walke not in that path whiche out of the Monumentes of the Prophetes and Apostles yea and of Christ himselfe we open and shewe forth vnto them Wée exhort our hearers alway to repentaunce and amendment of lyfe to flye from the vengeance to come and to bring forth the fruites that belong to repentaunce And wée geue vnto them to haue alwaies in readynesse against all kinde of sinnes certaine remedies as it were against sicknesses and disseases For he that beareth mallyce and enuie against his neyghbour heareth Euerie man that hateth his brother is a murtherer The backbyter heareth VVhosoeuer sayth to his brother thou foole shall be guyltie of hell fyre And cursed speakers shall not possesse the kingdome of God. The impacient and he that desyreth to reuenge heareth Loue your enemies praie for them that curse you doo good to them that hate you c. that you may bee the children of the highest And if you doo not forgeue other men their offences neither shall your heauenlie Father forgeue you your offences He that is altogeather geuen to ryotous voluptuousnesse heareth the parrable of the rytche Glutton and the poore man Lazarus Hée that is busyed in heaping together ryches heareth the parrable of the rytche man fylling his Barnes and purposing to take his ease for many yeares and that whiche the Apostle sayeth Hauing foode and wherewithall to couer our selues let vs be therewithall content For those that woulde be ritch fall into temptations and snares and into many vnprofitable and hurtfull desyres which drowne men in perdicion and destruction Those that kéepe no hospitalytie heare this saying Be mindfull of hospitalitie for hereby haue many vnawares receyued Aungelles into their houses The prowde and ambicious man heareth He that exalteth him selfe shall be brought lowe And God resysteth the prowde but geueth grace vnto the humble The babler and talkatyuen man beareth Men shall geue an accoumpt at the daie of iudgement of euerie ydle worde and let no filthie communycation proceede out of your mouthes The secure and carelesse man heareth Bee you therefore readye because the sonne of man wyll come in an hower you knowe not The Vserer heareth Lende looking for no rewarde and great shall your rewarde be in heauen The droonkarde heareth Ouerwhelme not your selues with wyne wherein there is ryotte and beware that your hartes be not ouercommen with surfetting and woe be to you that aryse earlie to droonkennesse and to Carowse vntyll the euening that you maie be hote with wyne And be

wandereth in Ignoraunce and darknesse and can do no true and sinceere vertue but happelye nowe and then some vayne maske and shewe of vertue and thus much of the works of Paynyms and Infydels Thirdly and lastly those good works are to be consydered which are done of those who from the bottome of theyr harts embrace true holynesse and righteousnesse And it were requisite if a man woulde prosecute euery thing exactly dyligently to consider the signifycation of the word VVorkes but because that matter in Englysh would rather séeme to be vaine ostentation then serue to edification I wyl omit the same for this tyme and wyth some description open the meaning or signification of good workes Good workes are actions which are don of men regenerat by the ayde of Gods spirit through fayth according to the rule of Gods worde hauing their respectes as chéefe vses and endes to wyt The honor and glory of God the ornament and honestie of our lyues and the profite and commodity of our neighboures I wil open euery part of this discription largelye after I haue shewed howe earnestly almighty God in his word requireth of his seruants good works which are established and not reiectted by fayth Fyrst therefore al sincéere and faythfull professors of the gospell ought most certainly to perswade them selues that they are adopted fréely by God and alreadie iustifyed through Christ by faith and regenerate and sanctifyed by Gods spyrite that they might in worde and deede expresse and somewhat resemble the nature and disposition of their heauenly Father and therewithall declared vnto the worlde by theyr workes that they are the sonnes of god For that cause I haue againe againe repeted before that a Christian faith ought to be garnished with al kind of good works And therfore as the Apostle S. Paul after that propositiō VVe gather therfore that a man is iustified by faith without the workes of the Lawe In the waye of questioning sayth VVe make the Lawe therefore in vaine through faith He answereth by by God forbid Naie we establishe the Lawe Euen so I presently affirme that we do not now a daies dissolue good workes by the doctrine of faith Iustifiynge but we rather establishe the same For without faith there can be no good works and faith cannot be vnfruitfull or ydle in those that are iustified Moreouer almighty God him selfe requyreth of his seruants the good works of a true fayth and greeuously accuseth cōdemneth by the Prophets Apostles those that are neglygent and slouthfull Moyses sayth in the Lawe And nowe Israell what doth the Lorde thy God require of thee but that thou should feare thy God and walke in his waies and loue him and serue the Lord thy God with al thy hart and with al thy soule and keepe the commaundementes of the Lord and his ceremonies which I commaund thee that it maie bee well with thee What should I speake of that that the Law of God is geuen from heauen that it may shew vnto them theyr infirmitie and offences their natural corruption and iust condemnation and so leadeth vs as it were by the hande from trust and confidence in our selues to depende vppon Christ And yet that is but one scope or vse of the Law which was geuen to the ende that it might be a rule of mans life exhybiting a perfyte dyscipline to those that are iustifyed by fayth So sayth the Prophete in the booke of Psalmes Blessed is that man whome thou O Lorde instructest in thy lawe And againe Hee hath geuen a testimony vnto Iacob and a lawe vnto Israell that the posteritye maie knowe and put their trust in God and not forget the workes of God but keepe his commaundements The Prophetes euery where teache a true fayth in God his sonne Christe and also call for good workes of the true worshyppers of god Blessed is he sayth Ieremie that trusteth in the Lorde hee shall be like a tree planted by the waters whiche sendeth his moysture vnto the rootes and he shall not feare when sommer commeth And his leafe shall bee greene and he shall not be in daunger in the tyme of drought neyther shall he ceasse to bring forth fruicte Which worde he translated no doubte out of the first Psalme And in Esai the Prophet mencion is made of a Vineyarde that was planted to bring forth fruicte And Iohn Baptist the foreronner of the Lord appoynted dyscipline and order of lyfe to those that asked of him what they shoulde doo and amongst other thinges he spake thus to the Pharisees and Saduces Yee generacion of vipers who hath taught you to flye from the vengeaunce to come bring forth the fruites of repentaunce And Zacharie his father songe and sayde before That vve being vvithout feare and delyuered out of the handes of our enemies might serue him in holynes and righteousnes all the daies of our lyfe Our Lorde and sauiour Iesus Christ in that his Sermon made vnto his Disciples in the Moūtaine exhorteth them in them all the faithfull to good works but especiallye in the ende concluding with these wordes Not euerie one that sayth vnto mee Lorde Lorde shall enter into the kingdom of heauen but he that doth the vvyll of my Father vvho is in heauen And immediatly after he subioyneth two Parables of one that buylt his house vpon a fyrme Rock and of him that layd his foundation vpon the sande The hearers and doers of the worde of God are lyke vnto them the hearers only resembled vnto the others And when a woman cryed out saying Blessed is the vvombe that bare thee and the paps that gaue thee sucke Our sauiour answered But blessed are they that heare the word of God and keepe it And euen the lyke answere he gaue vnto the Iewes bosting that they were Abrahams sonnes If ye vvere Abrahams children ye vvould doo the vvorkes of Abraham you are of your father the Deuyll and fulfyll the desires of your father And againe I am the true vine and my Father is the husbandman hee cutteth off euerie braunche that doth not bring foorth fruite in mee and euerie one that bringeth forth fruite he purgeth that he maye bring forth fruite more plentifully In lyke manner the holy Apostles commending the doctrine of theyr Maister to all Nations doo most earnestlye call for good workes As obedient chyldren not fashioning your selues vnto the former lustes of your ignoraunce But as he vvhich called you is holy euen so be yee holie also in all manner of conuersation And if so bee that yee call on the Father vvhich vvithout respecte of personne iudgeth according to euerie mannes vvorke see that yee passe the tyme of your dwelling heere in his feare For asmuch as you knowe howe that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as syluer and golde from your vaine conuersation which ye receiued by the tradition of your Fathers But