Abrahams Faith, Part 1 · Chapter 3 · Article 3 – Article 4
The third Article of the eſtate of man, by the fall of Adam, and before his calling.
3 The heart of man before and without the grace of God, is altogether corrupt by originall ſinne, deſcending from Adam: ſo that in him there is no power to do any worke of godlines pleaſing God.
THis Article doth ſhew the damnable eſtate of man before hee hauehave faith in Chriſt, in three things: 1. in the vniuerſall corruption of his ſoule by originall ſin, which conſiſteth in the want of knowledge and freewill vntounto godlineſſe. 2. That it commeth from Adam, deſcending from father to ſonne 3. And in that before grace all his workes are ſinne in the ſight of God. Before the fall, Adam being madeaGen. 1.26. Coloſ. 3.10. Eph. 4.24. after Gods image in knowledge holineſſe and righteouſnes, could not be corrupt in ſoule, but as the preacher ſaith:bEccleſ. 7.3. Gen. 1.31. God made man righteous. And Moſes ſaith, God ſaw all that he had made & loe it was verie good. But after AdamcCap. 3. had eaten of the forbidden fruite, the tree of knowledge of good and euill, then loſt he this holy image and goodnes of ſoule, as appeareth in that he could not abide the preſence of God, he was aſhamed and hid himſelfe: and whē God called him to an account, he poſted the matter to his wife, and in a ſort charged God ſaying:dVerſ. 12. The woman which thou gaueſt to be with me, ſhe gaue mee of the tree &c. Which declareth how hee was vtterly voide of goodnes in that hee ſhewed no inclination to repentance or ſubmiſſion to God, and this further appeareth in his ſonnes Caine and Abell:eGen. 4. Heb. 11.4. the one being without faith, alas altogether ſet on euil works could not pleaſe God with his ſacrifice, & the other by faith (ſhewing his new birth) offered an acceptable ſacrifice. So that it is apparant that this corruptiō is exceeding great, & is hereditarie deſcending from Adam, and ſo from father to ſonne, making euerie ſoule vnable to doe any godlines. Wherefore when the world was multiplyed in people, they became moſt ſhamefull in wickednes, which God not able to abide, & therefore minding their deſtruction, ſheweth the ground to be this originall ſinne, namely:fGen. 6.5. cap. 8.21. All the imaginations of the thoughtes of his heart were onelyonly euill continually. And againe, the imagination of mans heart is euill, euen from his youth. Where thou maiſt ſee, that being in the heart, and from the youth: this corruption is naturall and originall comming from the parents, and being onelyonly euill and imaginations, it ſheweth the vniuerſal corruption, and then being continually, this bewrayeth the emptineſſe of knowledge & free wil vntounto God, & alſo that nothing can be done by a mā vnregenerate, godly & pleaſing to the Lord. Now looke we vponupon the ſtorie of Abraham; Noe was a iuſt man, & he & his three ſons, had ſeen the great plague vpō all the world by the floud, yet there poſterity fell from God, & this was found in Abraham and his fathers houſe, ſo that they were cleane fallen from God, & worſhipped other Gods, which in deede were no Gods, which doubtleſſe had not beene, but by this originall corruption. For what did they either by vnderſtanding or will, to prepare or diſpoſe themſelues to grace, or what worke find wee they did to pleaſe God? iuſt nothing. But God called Abraham and in calling of him, endewed him with faith, and ſo he by faith obeyed & pleaſed God, as is interpreted by the holy ghoſt in the Epiſtle to theaHeb. 11.8. Hebrewes: By faith Abraham, when he was called obeyed God &c. And if it were by faith, it muſt needs be meerely the ſupernaturall gift of Gods ſpirit as the Apoſtle ſaith:b1. Cor. 12.8 To one is giuen by the ſpirit the word of wiſedom, to another the word of knowledge by the ſame ſpirit, to another is giuen faith by the ſame ſpirit. Then ſurely before this gift of the ſpirite Abrahams heart was altogether corrupt: which the prophet Ezechiel openeth more plainly: whoEzec. 16.3.4.5. &c. ſpeaking of the firſt founding of the church of Iſrael & Iews, in the perſō & calling of Abr. cōpares that time of their firſt ingrafting into the couenant, to bee made Gods people, vntounto the time of a childe newly come into the world. Namely, that God ſaw their father Abraham, in whom he adopted them to be his church, and Sarah his wife their mother, as a child whoſe nauel was not cut, nor waſhed with water, nor ſoftened, nor ſwadled with clouts, whom no eye pittied, but was caſt out in contempt of his perſon: & then ſaith God (to the whole generatiō of Iſrael as one man, & that began in Abraham.) When I paſſed by thee I ſaw thee polluted in thine owne bloud, & I ſaid vntounto thee when thou waſt in thy bloud, thou ſhalt liue. And a little after, I ſpread my skirt ouer thee, and couered thy filthineſſe: yea I ſware vntounto thee & entered into couenant with thee, ſaith the Lord God, and thou becameſt mine &c. In which wordes allegorically he doth ſhew, that all Iſrael in Abraham, and Sarah, their father and mother, had vtterly periſhed, with the reſt of the world, thorow this originall corruption, had not God called them, endewed them with faith and giuen them the couenant. And as a childe new borne, whoſe nauell is vncut and walloweth in his bloud, and caſt out in contempt, hath no cleanneſſe in him, nor power to prepare himſelfe vntounto cleanneſſe, muſt needes hauehave all from the hand of them that take pittie on him: So was Abraham void of all good knowledge and wil vntounto godlineſſe vntil God purified his heart by faith. And as this was found in Abraham, ſo he learned and beleeued the ſame, obſeruing the like in others, whom God had not called as he had him, for whenaGen. 12.10. cap. by famine hee was faine to go into Aegypt, and afterward into Gerar: his wife Sarah being a faire woman, hee feared to acknowledge her to be his wife, becauſe he knew that the people being without grace and faith, could not but encline to luſt after her, as the ſequell did plainely declare, and hee ſheweth a reaſon:bverſ. 11. Surely the feare of God is not in this place, and they will ſlay mee for my wiues ſake. Where by the want of the feare of God (putting the effect for the cauſe) he vnderſtandeth that they were voide of the grace of God, of and in themſelues ſo corrupt, with this naturall deprauation, that hee could not looke for any good but euill to come from them: euen as Chriſt ſaithcMat. 12.33. Either make the tree good and his fruit good, or els make the tree euill and his fruit euill: dApolog. of England. cap. 19. diuiſ. 1And this is alſo the faith of the Church of England, for wee ſay: That euerie perſon is borne in ſin, that no bodie is able truely to ſay his heart is cleane &c. eArticles of religion Artic. 9. & 10. Of free will, & originall ſinne.The condition of man after the fall of Adam is ſuch, that he can not turne and prepare himſelfe, by his owne naturall ſtrength, and good workes, to faith and calling vponupon God: wherefore we hauehave no power to do good workes, pleaſant and acceptable to God, without the grace of God by Chriſt, preuenting vsus, that wee may hauehave a good will, and working in vsus when wee hauehave that good will, and fArtic. 13. of workes before iuſtification.works before the grace of Chriſt hauehave the nature of ſinne: Which is altogether agreeing in ſence and meaning with that which is before ſhewed of the fathers time and of Abraham: therefore let vsus now heare Moſes and the prophetes. Moſes ſaith:gDeut. 9.5.6. O Iſrael, thou entereſt not to inherit their land, for thy righteouſneſſe, or for thy vpright heart, for thou art a ſtiffe necked people. And againe,hCap. 29.2.3.4. Ye hauehave ſeene all that the Lord did before your eyes in the lande of Egipt vntounto Pharaoh &c. Yet the Lord hath not giuen your an heart to perceiue, and eyes to ſee, and eares to heare vntill this day. Where it appeareth plainly that Moſes taught them that without Gods gift they could not vnderſtand nor obey, but were rebelles againſt God, and ſtiffe necked. And the prophetes declare the verie ſameiPſal. 51.5. Behold I was borne in iniquitie and in ſinne hath my mother conceyued mee. kProuerb. 20.9.Who can ſay, I hauehave made my heart cleane, I am cleane from ſinne. By which is manifeſt, that this originall corruption deſcending from Adam, maketh the heart ſo corrupt, that it can not prepare it ſelfe to any cleannes of righteouſnes, but of it ſelfe runneth headlong to all euill. Therefore becauſe that in this reſpect, the heart in the faithfull is made as it were new: the Lord ſaith by the ProphetaEzech. 36.26. A new heart will I giuegive you, a new ſpirit will I put within you. Yet is the new teſtament more euident, for it ſaithbIoh. 3.3.: Except a man be borne again he can not ſee the kingdome of God: cEph. 2.1.2.ye were in times paſt (that is before our calling and regeneration) dead in ſinnes and treſpaſſes &c. walking in the luſt of the fleſh and fulfilling the will of the fleſh of the minde, dTit. 3.3.and were by nature the children of wrath: we were vnwiſe, diſobedient, deceiued, ſeruing the luſtes and diuers pleaſures, liuing in maliciouſneſſe and enuie, hatefull and hating one another. Then which, what can be more ſaid? the minde, the will, the affections, wordes, and deedes, bee all ill, euen as a deade man that hath no mouing, but muſt be new borne, before he can hauehave any ſight, is not ſuch an one vniuerſally corrupt, voide of knowledge and free will vntounto any godlineſſe, and vnable to doe workes pleaſing vntounto God? yea and therefore the Apoſtle is bolde to ſay, that it is:ePhilip. 2.13. God which worketh in vsus the will and the deed, of his good pleaſure. Then you ſee, that the fathers, Moſes & the prophets, Chriſt & his Apoſtles, doe all agree in the ſame doctrine of the eſtate of man after his fall, before his calling in Chriſt: and that it is the ſame which we profeſſe in England.
The fourth article, entereth into the conſideration how we are deliuered from this corrupt and damnable eſtate.
4 There is one onelyonly way of righteouſneſſe & ſaluation, which is by faith in Ieſus Chriſt.
THis is verie apparant in the ſtorie of Abraham when God ſaith: that all the families of the earth ſhould be bleſſed in his ſeed. Where by bleſſed is vnderſtood the deliuerance from the corruption and damnation which came by Adam. This ſeede is Chriſt: when hee ſaith, all families, or that ſheweth that whoſoeuer in the world ſhall bee ſaued, muſt bee ſaued by Chriſt. And there is no other ſeede or faith by which one man can be ſaued: therfore he receiued the couenant as is before declared, for Iewes and gentils, that men might not looke for righteouſnes or ſaluation in any other thing, but only in & by faith in Ieſus Chriſt. And ſo ſaith Moſes as the bleſſed Apoſtle interpreteth itfRom. 10.6. Deut. 30.11.12 The righteouſneſſe which is of faith ſpeaketh on this wiſe, ſay not in thine heart who ſhall aſcend into heauen (that is to bring Chriſt from aboue) or who ſhall deſcend into the deepe? (that is to bring Chriſt againe from the dead) but what ſaith it? The word is neere: euē in thy mouth & in thine heart: this is the word of faith which we preach. For if thou ſhalt confeſſe with thy mouth the Lord Ieſus: and ſhalt belieue in thine heart, that God raiſed him from the dead, thou ſhalt be ſaued. Where thou ſeeſt by Moſes docttrine, that we muſt not ſeek righteouſnes or ſaluation any where els but in the faith of Chriſt, which the prophets expreſſe thus:aEſai. 28.16. Thus ſaith the Lord God, Behold I will lay in Sion a ſtone, a tried ſtone, a precious corner ſtone, a ſure foundation. He that beleeueth ſhall not make haſt: bMalack. 4.2.VntoUnto you that feare my name ſhall the ſonne of righteouſneſſe ariſe, and health ſhall bee vnderunder his winges &c. The goſpell more plainely ſheweth that where Chriſt is not knowencMath. 4.16. the people ſit in darkeneſſe, and in the ſhadow of death: and that heedLuc. 1.78.79. is the day ſpring from on high, giuing light to them that ſitte in darkeneſse and in the ſhadow of death. e2. Tim. 1.10.And that hee bringeth life and immortalitie to light by the goſpell. And that God is ſo farre from allowing, that any man ſhould bee able in any other meane to attaine vntounto righteouſnes or ſaluation: thus he ſpeaketh expreſſely, that there is nofAct. 4.11. Saluation in any other: for among men is giuen no name vnderunder heauen whereby we muſt be ſaued. Now what confeſſeth the Church of England in this regarde? Namely thatgArtic. 18. they are to bee had accurſed & abhorred, that preſume to ſay, that eueryevery man ſhall be ſaued by law or ſect that he profeſſeth &c. For holy Scripture doth ſet out vntounto vsus onelyonly the name of Ieſus Christ, whereby men muſt be ſaued. So that heere you ſee, the faith of Abraham, Moſes, the prophets & Apoſtles, determine one way of mans reſtoring vntounto righteouſnes and ſaluation: and the verie ſame is the faith of the church of England.