Faith Justifies Us Before We Can Bring Forth any Good Work, Treatise · Part 1 – Part 3
THat fayth only before allwerfes and whith out all merites / but Chriſtes ōly iuſtifieth & ſettith vsus at peace with god ys provid by Paule in the firſt chapter to the Ro. I Am not aſhamed (ſaith he) of the goſpell / that is to ſaie / of the glad tithīges & promiſes which god hath made & ſworne to vsus in Chriſt. For it (that is to ſaye the goſpell) ys the power of god vntounto ſalvacyon / to all that beleve. And it foloweth in the forſaid chapter / the Juſt or rightewes muſt live by faith. ¶ For in the faith which we have ī Chriſt ād in godes promiſes finde we mercye / lyfe / favoure / ād peace. In the law we find deth / dā natiō / & wrath: more over the curſe & vēgeaunce of god apō vsus. And it (that is to ſaye the lawe) ys called of Paule .ij. Cor. iij. the miniſtra ciō of deth ād damnaciō. In the lawe we are proovid to be the enimies of god / and that we hate him. For how can we be at peace with god and love him / ſeinge we are conceaved and borne vnderunder the power of the devill ād are his poſſeſſion and kingdome / his captives and bondmē / ād leade at his will / and he holdith oure hertis / ſo that it is īpoſſible for vsus to conſent to the will of god / moch more is it impoſſible for a man to fufill the lawe / of his awne ſtrnegth and power ſeynge that we are by byrth and of nature the heires of eternall damnacyon. As ſayth Paule Ephe. ij. We (ſaith he) are by nature the chylder of waath. Which thīg the lawe doth but vtter only and helpyth vsus not / yee requiryth impoſſyble thinges of vsus. The law whē it cōmaundeth that thou ſhalt not luſt / geveth the not power ſo to do / but dānenith the / becauſe thou canſt not ſo doo.
IFF thou wylt therfore be at peace with God and love him / thou muſte turne to the promyſes of God and to the Goſpel which is called of Paul in the place before reherſed to the Corinthiās / the myniſtracion of ryghtweſnes and of the ſpyryte. For fayth bryngeth pardō ād forgyvenes frely purchaſed by Chriſtes bloud ād brīgeth alſo the ſpryte / the ſpryte loeſeth the bondes of the devyll ād ſetteth vsus at lybertye. For where the ſpryte of the lorde is there is libertie ſaith Paul ī the ſame place to the Corinhtiās / that is to ſaye / there the hert is fre ād hath power to love the wyl of God / and there the hert morneth that he cā not love ynough. Now is that cōſent of the hert vntounto the law of God eternall lyfe / yee though there be no power yet in the mēbres to ſulfyll it. Lat every mā therfore (according to Pauls coūcell ī the .vj. ch. to the epheſ.) are me himſelfe with the armoure of God / that is to vnderſtand / wyth Godes promyſes / and above all thing (ſayth he) take vntounto you the ſhyld of faythe / where wyth ye maye be able to quench all the f…rey dartes of the wicked / that ye maye be able to reſyſt in the evyll daye of rētaciō / ād namelye at the houre of death.
Se therfore thou have Godes promyſes in thyne herte and that thou beleve thē wyth out waveringe: and when rētacyon arriſeth / and the devyll layeth the lawe ād thi deades agaynſt the / anſware him wyth the promyſes ād turne to God and confeſſe thy ſelfe to hym and ſay it is even ſo / or elſe how coude he be mercyfull? but remēbre that he is the God of mercye ād of truth and cā not but fulfyll hys promyſes. Alſo remembre that hys ſonnes bloud is ſtronger thē all the ſynnes and wyefydnes of the whole worlde and there wyth quiet thy ſelfe and there vntounto commit thi ſelfe and bleſſe thi ſelf in all temtatyon (nameli at the houre of death) with that holy candle. Oelſe periſhiſt thou though thou haſt a thouſande holy candles aboute the / a hundred ton of holy water / a ſhipfull of pardones / a cloth ſack full of freres coetes and all the ceremonyes in the world and all the good workes / de ſervynges and merytes of all the men in the world / be they or were they never ſo holy. Godes word only laſteth for ever and that which he hath ſworne doth abide / when all other thinges periſhe. So lōge as thou findiſt ani cōſent in thine hert vntounto ye lawe of God / yt it is righteous and Good / & alſo diſpleaſure yt thou canſt not fulfill it / deſpere not / nether doute / but yt Godes ſprite is in ye / ād yt thou art choſen for Chriſtes ſake / to the enherytaunce of eternall life.
And again Ro. iij. We ſuppoſe yt amā is iuſtified thorow faith with out ye deades of ye lawe. And like wiſe Ro. iiij. we ſaie yt faith was rekened to Abrahā for rightweſnes. Itē Ro. v. ſeing yt we ar iuſtified thorowe faith / we are at peace with God. Itē Ro. x. With ye hert doth a mā beleve / to be made righteous. Item Galat. iij. Receavid ye ye ſpirite by ye deades of ye lawe or by hearīge of ye faithe? Doth he wihich miniſtreth ye ſprite vntounto you and worketh miracles amonge you / do it of the deades of the law or by heringe of fayth? Even as Abraham beleved God and it was rekened hym for righteouſnes. Vnderſtande therfore (ſaith he) that the chyldern of fayth are the chyldern of Abraham. For the ſcripture ſawe before / that God wold iuſtifye the hethen or gentyls by fayth and ſhewed before Glatydinges vntounto Abrahā / in thy ſede ſhall all naciōs be bleſſed. Wherfore they which are of fayth are bleſſed / yt is to were made rightewes with righteous Hbrahā For as māy as are of the deades of the lawe are vnderunder curſe. For it is writtē / ſayth he curſed is every man that cōtynueth not in all thīges which are writtē in the boke of the lawe to fulfyll them.
Itē Gala. ij. where he reſyſted peter in the face he ſayth. We which ar Jewes by naciō ād not ſynners of the gētyls / knowe that a mā is not iuſtyfyed by the deades of the lawe / but by the fayth of Jeſus Chriſt and have therefor beleved on Jeſus Chriſte / that we might be Juſtified by the faith of Chriſt / ād not by the deades of the lawe: for by the deades of the lawe: ſhall no fleſh be iuſtyfyed. Itē in the ſame place he ſayth / twichīg that I now lyve I lyve in the fayth of the ſonne of God / which loved me and gave him ſelfe for me I deſpice not the grace of God. For if righteouſnes come by the lawe / thē is Chriſt deade in vayne. And of ſoch like enſamples are all the epiſtles of Paull full. Marke howe Paull laborith with hīſelfe to expreſſe the exceadīge miſteryes of faith in the epiſtle to the epheſiās / and in the epyſtle to the Colloſſyans. Off thes and many ſoch like textes are we ſure that the forgivenes of ſynnes and iuſtyfyinge ys appropriate vntounto fayth only wythout the addinge to of workes.
Take for the alſo the ſicknes that Chriſt ma▪ keth Mathei. vij. A good tree bringeth forth good frute. And a bad tree bringeth forth bad frute. There ſeiſt thou that the frute maketh not the tree good / but the tree the frute / and that the tree muſt afore hand be good or be made good: yer it can bringe forth good frute As he alſo ſayth Math. xij. ether make the tree good and hys frute good alſo / ether make the tree bad and his frute bad alſo. How can ye ſpeake well while ye youre ſelfes ar evill? So lyke wiſe ys this true and no thing more true / that a man before all good workes muſt fyrſt be good / & that it is impoſſible that workes ſhuld make hym good / if he were not good before / yer he did good workes. For this ys Chriſtes prīciple & (as we ſay) a generall rule. How can ye ſpeake well / while ye are evyll? ſo like wiſe how cā ye doe good / while ye are evil.
This is therfore a playne / & a ſure cōcluſion not to be dowred of / that there muſt be fyrſt in the hert of a mā before he doe any good worke / a gretter & a preciouſer thīg thē all y• good workes in y• world to recōſile hī to God to brī ge y• love & favoure of God to hī / to make hī love God agaī / to make hī righteous & good in y• ſight of god / to do a maye his ſinne / to deliver hī & looſe hī / out of that captivite where in he was cōceavid ād borne / ī which he coude nether love God nether the wyll of God. Or elſe how cā he worke any good werke that ſhuld pleaſe God / if there were not ſome ſupernaturall goodnes in hī givē of god frely where of ye good worke muſt ſprīg? evē as a ſick man muſt firſt be healed or made whole / ye… he cā doe ye deades of an whole mā / & as ye blinde mā muſt firſt have ſight givī hī yer he cā ſee: & he yt hath his feete in fetters gives or ſtockes muſt firſt be looſid or he can goe / walke or rūne / & evē as they which thou readiſt of in the goſpell yt they were poſſeſſed of y• devils / could not laude God til ye devils were caſt out.
That preciouſe thinge which muſt be in the herte yer a mā cā worke any good worke is the word of god / which in y• goſpel praecheth profereth & brīgeth vntounto all that repēt & beleve / the favoure of God in Chriſt. Who ſo ever herith the word and belevith it / the ſame is there by righteouſe and there by is geven hym the ſprite of God / which leadith hym vntounto all that is the wylll of God and is looſed from the captyvyte and bondage of the devyll / and hys hert is free to love God / and hath luſt to doe the will of God. Therefore it is called the worde of lyſe / the word of grace / the worde of health / y• worde of redēciō / the word of forgevenes / & ye worde of peace / he yt hereth it not or belevith it not / can by no meanes be made rightous before god. This cōfermith Peter i y• xv. of the actes / ſeyng that God through fayth doth purifie the hertes. For of what nature ſo ever the worde of God is / of the ſame nature muſt the hertes be which beleve theron and cleave thervnto. Now is the worde lyvinge / pure / righteouſe and true / and even ſoe maketh it the hertes of thē that beleue therō.
IFF it be ſaid that Paul (whē he ſaith in the .iij. to the Romains / no fleſh ſhalbe or canbe iuſtyfied bi the deades of the law) meaneth it of the ceremonies or ſacrifices / it is a lye verilye. For it foloweth immediatly / by the lawe cōmeth the knowleage of ſinne. Now are they not the ceremonies that vtture ſinne / but the lawe of cōmandemētes. In the .iiij. (he ſaith) the lawe cauſeth wrath which can not be vnderſtond of the ceremonies for they were gevē to reconſyle the people to god againe after they had ſinned. If as they ſaye the ceremonies which were geven to purge ſinne and to reconſile / iuſtifye not nether bleſſe / but temporallie onlye / moch more the lawe of commaundmentes inſtifyeth not. For that which provith a man ſicke healith him not / nether doth the cauſe of wrath bringe to favour / nether can that which dāneth ſave a man. Whē the mother cōmaundith her childe / but even to rocke the cradell / it grudgith▪ the commaundement doth but vttur the Poyson that laye hidd / ād ſettith hī at ba…e with his mother and makith him beleve ſhe lovith him not.
Thes cōmaūdmētes alſo (thou ſchalt not covet thy neigbours houſe thou ſhalt not luſt deſire or wiſſhe after thi neighbours wife ſervāt / maide oxe or aſſe / or what ſo ever pertainith vntounto thi neighboure) geve me not power ſo to doo / but vtter the poiſon that is in me & dāpne me / becauſe I can not ſoe doo / ād prove that god is wrathe with me / ſeīge that his wil and mine are ſo contrary. Therfore ſayth Paul Gal. iij. If there had bin geve ſoch a lawe that coulde have geven life / then no doute righteouſnes had come by the lawe but the ſcripture concluded all vnderunder ſinne (ſaith he) that the promiſe might be gevē vntounto thē that beleve thorow the faith that is ī Jeſus Chriſt.
The promiſes whē the are beleved / are they that iuſtifie / for they bringe the ſpirite which Ioeſith the hert giveth luſt to the law and certifieth vsus of the good will of god vntounto vsus warde. Iff we ſubmitte our ſelfes vntounto god and deſire him to heale vsus / he will do it / and will in the meane time (becauſe of the cōſent of the hert vntounto the law) count vsus for full hole and will no more hate vsus / but pitie vsus / cheriſh vsus be tender hertid to vsus and love vsus as he doth Chriſt him ſelfe▪ Chriſt is our redemer ſavar / peace / attonement / and ſatiſfaction / and hath made amendes or ſatiſfactyon to Godwarde for all the ſynne which they that repent (conſentinge to the lawe and beleving the promyſes) doo / have done or ſhall doo. So that if thorow fragylite we fall a thouſand tymes in a daye / yet if we doo repēt agayn / we have all waye mercy layd vp for vsus in ſtore in Jeſus Chriſt our lorde.