A Motive to Good Works, Section 5
The fifth Section.
Wherein is shewed the ends of good works, and of our iustification by faith onelyonly, with a conclusion exhortatorie to good workes.
NOw as thou art to do good workes, so thou must take heed, that thou dost them not, neither for desire of reward, nor yet for feare of punishment, but for the louelove and obedience which thou bearest to thy God. And so farre off oughtest thou to bee from thinking to be iustified, or to merit any thing by thy workes, (as the blasphemous papistes doo contend) that thou must both think & saie as Christ teacheth thee to say, When thou hast done all that is commaunded thee to doe, thou art yet an vnprofitable seruant, and hast done but thy dutie, nay nor thy duetie neither, no not in anie small measure. No, although thou were stable to do all the good workes in the world, and all the good workes which the worde of God doth command thee, yea, and in that perfection which GOD doeth require of thee, (which thing neuer anie was, nor euer shall be found able to performe, Christ Iesus only excepted) yet couldest thou neither bee iustified before God, nor yet merite anie thing by them ex opere operato, as the Papistes doo dreame. But yet they are in deed notable seales and testimonies to thy conscience, that thou art the childe of God, and coheire with Christ Iesus of the kingdome of heauen. And heereof is it, that the Apostle biddeth vsus make our saluation sure by good works, not that good workes are any efficient cause of our saluation, but doe assure, confirme, and seale vp vntounto vsus our saluation purchased by Christ.
They are therefore most excellent fruites of our faith, and infallible pledges of our election in Christe, but no causes of our iustification before GOD. For euen as no fruit can make the tree good, which by nature is naught, so no good workes can make a man good before God, who before was wicked & euill: for as the tree must of necessitie bee good, before it canne bring foorth anie good fruite at all, so a man must bee sanctified and regenerate by the spirit of God, before he can doo anie good workes, acceptable vntounto God, which once being accomplished, thē follow good works, as the effect from the cause. And therefore I cannot but wonder at the more than palpable blindnes of these iusticiaries, and merit-mongers, the papists, who beleeue that good workes can iustifie vsus before God. Our sauiour Christ sayth, Without mee, yee can doo nothing. Whereto the Apostle seemeth to agree, when he sayth, It is God which geueth both the wil & the deed, euen of his good will and then alas, what place of merit is there left for vsus? And whereas they obiect, that God hath promised to reward our good works. True it is, hee giueth vsus grace, first to will, then power to performe, and put in practise euerie good worke that we doo, and hath bound himselfe with a promise to reward these his own gifts in vsus. But this reward standeth in the merciemercy of God, not in the merit of the worke. Let vsus therefore, abandoning our owne merits, as filthie dong, hold the mercies of God in Christ, to bee our righteousnes, beeing assured, that if the Lord shoulde enter into iudgement with vsus, waying our verie righteousnes in the ballance of his iustice, and rewarding vsus according to our deserts, we should be vtterly condemned, and cast awaie for euer. This the Prophet Esay confirmeth, where hee saith, That all our righteousnes is like a menstruous clout, than the which, there is nothing more filthy, stinking, or fulsome. To which sentence Saint Barnard seemeth to allude, saying: Ve vniuersae iusticiae nostrae, si remota miserecordia iudicetur. Woe be to our righteousnesse, if we should be iudged with out merciemercy. And yet the papistes are perswaded, that they are not onelyonly iustified (that is, pronounced iust before God, freed from sinne, and all punishment due for sinne) but also that they merite the kingdome of heauen, and euerlasting life by their good workes. Yea, they hauehave not onelyonly good works inough to saue themselues withall, but others also, and these they call works of supererogation, that is, whē they doe moe good workes, and in greater perfection, than God eyther can or will require of them, as I hauehave noted before, and therefore with the ouerplus of these (forsooth) they will helpe their fellowes, if they will paie well for them, else get they none, for, No pennie, no Pater noster. And is not this a pretie matter, that they can, not onelyonly saue themselues, but also others to, by their workes of supererogation? What should a man care for doing of good workes himself, when for a little monie hee may buy inough of others? The fiue foolish virgines would hauehave bought oile of the wise, but it was answered them, they could hauehave none, lest there were not inogh for them both. Wherby wee see, that as no man can buy the good workes of another, so no man hath inough to saue himselfe. The Apostle Peter saith, There is no other name giuen vnderunder heauen, whereby man can bee saued, but onelyonly Iesus Christ. And if good workes coulde saue vsus (as the same Apostle reasoneth) then had Christ died in vaine. For how vaine a thing had it ben for the maiesty of God, to hauehave sent his owne sonne into this miserable worlde, to take our nature vponupon him, & to shed his most precious bloud for vsus, if wee coulde hauehave iustified our selues, or purchased our saluation, either through our inherent righteousnes (as the papists most blasphemously affirme) by our merits, or by anie other means whatsoeuer. And therefore Paul was bold to conclude, that wee are iustified by faith only, without the works of the law, Being iustified (sayth he) by faith, we hauehave peace with God, thorough Iesus Christ. And to the Galath. he sayth further, that as many as do relye vponupon the works of the lawe,Galath. 5. are vnderunder the curse, and banished frō grace. To which the Prophet Abacuc seemeth to agree, saying, the iust shall liue by faith. But what shall we say then to the Apostle Iames, who sayth, we are iustified by works, and not by faith only? I answere. There are two maner of iustifications, one absolute before GOD, the other demonstratiue before the world. Paule writing that wee are iustifyed by fayth onelyonly, meaneth absolutely before God. Iames saying, wee are iustifyed by workes, meaneth demonstratiuely, before the worlde. Agayne, Paule wrighteth of the efficient cause of our iustification, Iames of the effecte. Paule had to do with them that contemned faith (as the Heathen, Iewes and Turks do now) and therefore he attributed (and that worthely) iustification, to faith only. Iames he had to do with them that contemned good works, as things of no value, affirming, that bare faith alone, was sufficiēt to saluation, & therefore he attributeth the more to works, therby to draw them to the practising of them. Againe, Paule speaketh of such works as goe before iustification, Iames of such as followe after. Paule meaneth not of a bare and naked faith without good works, but of such a faith as can no more be without good workes, than the sunne without light, or the fire without heate. Iames he meaneth of a bare, naked, and dead faith, such as the very deuils hauehave, & as the very heathen, & infidels hauehave. So that in substance & matter, they both meane and speake one and the same thing. duplicate page duplicate page For truly, as faith is the efficient cause of our iustification before God, so our workes are the effects or fruits issuing thereout, whereby wee are knowen to bee iustified before the world. And therefore let vsus brag of our faith as much as we will, if it bee but such a faith as bringeth forth no good workes, we can neuer be saued by it. This is not that iustifieng faith which Paule speaketh of, nor which the children of God hauehave, but a dead faith, a barren faith, an historical faith which the deuills and all reprobates hauehave. But here perchāce some captious sophister wil aske me, if we cānot be iustified by good workes, to 'what end then shoulde wee doo them? To whom I answere. We are to do good workes for sixe causes especially: first for the louelove & obedience which wee owe vntounto God: secondly, for the mutuall louelove, & brotherly charity which wee beare one towardes an other: thirdly, to make our saluation sure & certaine vntounto vsus, as the Apostle saith, Make your saluation sure by good workes: fourthly, for the zeale wee hauehave of the glorie of God: fiftly, to drawe others from sinne, to the practife of godlinesse by our good example: and sixtly, for the increase of our owne rewarde in the life to come, where no good worke (such is the bountifull liberalitie and mercifull beneficence of our good GOD towards vsus miserable sinners) shall bee lefte vnrewarded. And albeit that good workes are no causes of our iustification, nor that thou canst not be iustified by them, yet canst thou neuer be saued without thē. And therefore woulde I wish euerie one that hath a care of his saluation, to labor, studie, & endeuor night & day to do good workes. Remember how notably our forefathers hauehave behaued thē selues heerein, what monuments of charity, and almes deedes, hauehave they left behinde them, to the posterities to come, and yet liued in feare and trembling. And doe wee thinke to come to heauen, and leaue no good works behinde vsus at all, but rather infinite millions of wicked deedes, and vngodly examples, which cry for vengeance before the throne of God night and day incessantly? Oh let vsus remember and neuer forget (if it be true which some do hould, as I fully perswade my selfe it is) that as our wicked deedes, and euill examples which wee hauehave left behinde vsus in this life, do hurt vntounto other, and dishonor the Maiestie of God, so shall our paine be increased, & augmented in hell for euermore world without end. And againe, as our good deeds, and good examples which we hauehave left behind vsus in this life, do good to the Saints of God vppon earth, and increase his glory, so shall our glory, and our ioy be increased from day to day to the end of the world in the kingdome of heauen. Let either the feare of the one therfore (deare christian) or the louelove of the other, moue thee now at the last to this resolution of good works. Let not the vayne-glory, and deceiptfull honor of this world beguile thee, let not couetousnes blinde thee, nor any priuate affection else, moue thee to do euill, or to deceiue any more in bargaining, selling, or otherwise howsoeuer, for the Lord (as the Apostle witnesseth) is the reuenger of all such wickednes: and though thou escapest for a time the lawes of men, yet canst thou not escape the iudgements of God, but in his good time he wyll finde thee out, and recompence thee according to thy deserts. Remember that Salomon was rich, and had as plenty of gould & siluer as of stones, iewells, and ornaments great store, with fish-pondes, orchards, gardens, forrests, parkes, men-singers, women singers, musicke, and all pleasures else vnderunder the Sunne, and of them all, he pronounced this sentence, Vanitas vanitatis, & omnia vanitas, Vanitie of vanities, and all is but vanitie. Consider with thy selfe, and often reuolue in thy minde the wordes of our sauiour, Heauen and earth shal passe, but the word of God indureth for euer. And againe in another place, No mans life standeth in the abundance of those thinges which he possesseth. And againe, What will it preuaile a man to win the whole world, & loose his owne soule. Remember the rich glutton, though he fared dilitiouslie, and ruffeled in his silkes and veluets euerie daie, yet in one moment his soule was taken from him, & he lodged in hell. Take example by the rich man in the gospell, who flowed with such abundance of all things, that he was forced to pull downe his olde barnes, and to build new ones, was it not saide to him, Thou foole, this night shall they fetch awaie thy soul, and then whose shall those things be which thou hast gathered. Oh what a vaine thing is it therfore, for a man to rake into his handes fiue hundred or one thousand mens liuinges, & to leaue it to his children, who for the the most parte, spend it either in hauking, hunting, dicing, carding, or else in whooring, gourmandizing, and infinite the lyke vices, (for, Malè parta, malè dilabuntur, Ill got, ill spent) whereas in the meane time, thou must goe to the barre to aunswere for the getting of them, peraduenture to euerlasting damnation both of bodie and soule. Therefore hauehave a care whatsoeuer thou be, that thou get thy goods in the feare of God, & with a good conscience, so shall they prosper with thy children after thee, and thou blessed eternally. And when thou hast thus got them, be carefull how thou bestowest them, and to whome thou geuest them. For it is not inough for thee to say, I gaue so much, and so much to my carnall kindred, friends and aliance: but if thou hast geuen so much and so much, to the poore, so much and so much, to this good end, and to that good end, to this good worke, and that good worke, to remayne to the posterities after thee to the end of the world, oh then well is thee, and happy shalt thou be, yea, then shalt thou be sure to attayne to the end of thy hope, that is, euerlasting life. To the which, hee bring vsus all, that apperteyne to his kingdome, that dyed for vsus, to whom with the Father & the holy Ghost be all glory and prayse for euer, Amen.
FINIS.
End of the text · Philip Stubbes, A Motive to Good Works (1593)