Faith Justifies Us Before We Can Bring Forth any Good Work, Treatise · Part 29 – Part 31
IFF ye vnderſtonde thes thinges / happie are ye if ye do them Joā. xiij. A criſtē mans herte is with ye will of God / wyth the lawe & cōmanndementes of God / and hō greth ād thurſteth after ſtrength to fullfyll thē and morneth daye ād night deſyringe god accordinge to hys promiſes / for to geve hym power to fullfyll the will of God with love ād luſte: then reſtifyeth hys deade that he is bleſſed and that the ſprite whych bleſſeth vsus in Chriſte is in hym ād miniſtreth ſoch ſtrength. The outewarde deade teſtifieth what is with in vsus / as thou readeſt Joan. v. The deades whych I do / teſtifie of me ſayth Chriſt. And Joā. xiij. hereby ſhall all men knowe that ye are my diſciples / if ye love one an other. And Joā. xiiij. he that hath my cōmaundementes & keapeth thē the ſame it is that loveth me. And agayne / he that loveth me kepeth my cōmaundementes / ād he that loveth me not kepeth not my commaundementes / the outwarde deade teſtifyinge of the inwarde herte. And John .xv. Yf ye ſhall kepe my cōmaundementes ye ſhall continue in my love / as I kepe my fathers cōmaundemente and continue in his love. That is / as ye ſe y• love that I have to my father in that I kepe his commaundementes / ſo ſhall ye ſe the love that ye have to me in that ye kepe my commaundementes.
Thou mayſt not thīke that oure deades bleſſe vsus fyrſt and that we prevent God and his grace in Chriſte / as though we in oure naturall gyftes and beinge as we were borne in Adam / loked on the lawe of God and of oure owne ſtrength fulfylled it and ſo became rightewes / and thē with that righteweſnes obtayned the favoure of God. As philoſophers write of righteweſnes / & as the righteweſnes of temporall lawe is / where the lawe is ſatiſfied with the ypocreſie of the outwarde deade. For contrarie to that readeſte thou John .xv. Ye have not choſen me (ſayth Chriſt) but I have choſen you / that ye goo & bringe forth frute / and that youre frute remayne. And in ye ſame chapter. I am a vine ād ye the braunches and with oute me can ye do no thinge. With vsus therfore ſo goeth it. In Adam ar we all as it were wilde crabtres / of which God choſeth whom he wyll and plucketh them oute of Adam and planteth them in the garden of hys mercye and ſtocketh them and graffeth the ſprite of Chriſte in them / which bryngeth forth the frute of the wyll of God / which frute teſtifyeth that God hath bleſſed vsus ī Chriſte. Note this alſo / that as longe as we lyve we are yet partly carnall ād fleſhly (notwithſtōdinge yt we are ī Chriſte & though it be not imputed vntounto vsus for Chriſtes ſake) for there abydeth and remayneth in vsus yet of the old Adā as it were the ſtooke of the crabtree / ād ever emonge when occaſion is gyven him / ſhoteth forth hys / braunches and leves / buddde / bloſome and frute. Agaynſt whom we muſte fyght and ſubdue hym and chaunge all hys nature by a lytle and a lytle / wyth prayer faſtinge / watchinge / with vertnoſe meditacion ād holy workes / vntyll we be all together ſpryte. The kingdome of hevē ſayth Chriſt Math. xiij. ys▪ lyke leven which a woman taketh and hydeth in .iij. peckes of meale tyll all belevended. The leven is the ſprite and we the meale which muſt be ſeaſoned with ye ſprite a litle and a lytle tyll we be thorowe owre ſprytuall.
Wich ſhall rewarde every man accordinge to his deade. Rom. ij. that is accordinge as the deades are / ſo ſhall every mans rewar be / the deades declare what we are / as the frute the tree / accordinge to the frute ſhall the tree be prayſed. The rewarde is gyven of the mercy and trueth of God / and by the deſervinge and merytes of Chriſte. Whoſoever repenteth / beleveth the Goſpell / and putteth hys truſte in Chriſtes merytes / the ſame ye heyre with Chriſte of eternall lyfe / for aſſuraunce where of the ſprite of God is powred in to his herte as an erneſte / which louſeth hym from the bondes of Sathan / and gyveth hym luſte and ſtrength every day more and more accordinge as he is diligente to axe of God for Chriſtes ſake. And eternall lyfe foloweth good lyvinge. I ſuppoſe (ſayth ſaynte Paule in the ſame pyſtle the .viij. Chapter) that the afflictyons of thys worlde are not worthye of the glorye which ſhalbe ſhowed on vsus / yt is to ſay / that which we here ſuffer can never deſerve that rewarde which there / ſhalbe gyvē vsus.
Moare over yf the rewarde ſhulde depēd and hange of the werkes / no man ſhulde be ſaved. For as moch as our beſte deades / compared to the lawe / are damnable ſynne. By the deades of the lawe is no fleſh iuſtyfyed / as it ys wryttē in the thrid Chapter to y• Rom. The lawe iuſtifieth not / but vttereth the ſinne only & compelleth & dryveth the penitēt or repentinge ſinner to fle vntounto ye ſeyntory of mercy in y• bloude of Chriſte. Alſo repēte we never ſo moch / be we never ſo well willīge vntounto y• lawe of God. Yet are we ſo weake / and the ſnares ād occaſions ſo in numerable that we falle dayly & hourely. So that we coude not but diſpere / if the rewarde hanged of the worke. Whoſoever aſcribeth eternall lyfe vntounto the deſervinge and merite of workes / muſt faule in one of two inconvenientes / ether muſt he be a blinde phariſey not ſeinge that the law ys ſprituall and he carnall / and loke and reioyſe in the outewarde ſhinynge of his deades / deſpyſynge the weke and in reſpecte of them Juſtifie him ſelfe. Or elſe (if he ſe how that the lawe is ſprituall and he never able to aſcende vntounto that which the lawe requyreth) he muſt neades deſpere. Let every Chriſten man therfore reioyſe in Chriſte oure hope / truſt and righteweſnes / in whom we are loved / choſen and accepte vntounto the enheritaunce of eternall lyfe / nether preſumynge in oure perfectnes / nether deſperinge in oure weaknes. The perfecter a man is / the clerer is his ſight / and ſeyth a thouſande thinges which deſpleaſe him and alſo perfectenes that can not be obtayned in this lyfe. And therfore deſyreth to be with Chriſte / where is no moare ſynne. Let hym tharis weake and can not doe that he wolde fayne doe not deſpeare / but turne to him that ys ſtronge and hath promyſed to geve ſtrength to all that axe of him in Chriſtes name / and complaine to God and deſyre him to fullfill his promiſes / and to God committe him ſelfe. And he ſhall of his mercye and trueth ſtrength him and make him feale / with what love he is beloved for Chriſtes ſake / though he be never ſo weake.
THey are not righteous before God which heare the lawe / but they which do the lawe ſhall be iuſtyfyed. Romano. ij. This rexte ys playner than that it neadeth to be expouned. In the chapter before Paule proveth that the lawe naturall holpe not the gentyles. For the lawe of God was written in the hertes of the gentyles (as it appereth by the lawes / ſtatutes and ordinaunces which they made inther cytes) yet kepte they them not. The grete kepe the ſmalle vnderunder forther owne profette with the violence of the lawe. Every man prayſeth the lawe as fer forth as it is profitable and pleaſaunte vntounto him ſelfe. But when his awn appetites ſhulde be refrayned / then grudgeth he agaynſt the lawe. More over he proveth that no knowleage holpe the gentyles. For though the lerned men (as the philoſophers) came to the knowleage of God / by the creatures of the worlde / yet had they no power to worſheppe God. In thys ſeconde chapter proveth he that the Iewes (though they had the lawe written) yet is holpe them not: they coude not kepe it / but were ydolaters and were alſo murtherers / adulters and what ſo ever the lawe forbade. He cō cludeth therefore that the Iewe is as well dā ned as the gentyle. Iff hearinge of the lawe only myght have iuſtifyed / then had the Iewes bin ryghteous. But it required yt a mā do the lawe / if he will be ryghteous. Which becauſe the Iewe did not / he is no leſſe damned then the gentyle. The publiſhinge and declaringe of the lawe doth but vtter a mās ſinne / and geveth nether ſtrength nor helpe to fullfylle the lawe. The lawe kylleth thy conſciens and geveth the no luſt to fullfyll the lawe. Fayth in Chriſt geveth luſt and power to doo the lawe. Now is it true that he which doeth the lawe is righteous / but that doth no man ſave he that beleveth and putteth hys truſt in Chriſte.
IFF any mans worke that he hath bylde apon abyde / he ſhall receave a rewarde .i. Corint. ij. The circumſtance of the ſame Chapter / that is to were / that which goeth before & that which foloweth / declareth playnly what is mente. Paule talketh of lerninge doctrine or peachinge. He ſayth that he hym ſelfe hath layd the fundacion / which is Jeſus Chriſte: and that no man can laye any other. He exhorteth therfore every mā to take heade what he byldeth apon / ād boroweth a ſimilitude of ye goldſmyth which trieth hys metalles with fyre ſayenge that the fyre (that ys) the iudgemente of the ſcripture / ſhall trye every mans worke / that is every mans preachinge and doctrine. Yf any byld vponupon the fundaeyon layd of Paule / I meane Jeſus Chriſt / gold ſylver or precious ſtoone / which are all one thynge and ſignifye true doctrine / which when it is examined the ſcripture aloweth / then ſhall he have hys rewarde / that ys he ſhall be ſure that his lernynge is of God / and that Goddes ſpryt ys in hym and that he ſhall have the rewarde that Chriſte hath purchaſed for hym. On the other ſyde yf any man bylde ther on tymbre / heye or ſtubble / which are all one and ſygnyfye doctrine of mans ymagenacyon / tradicyons and fantaſyes which ſtonde not wyth Chriſte when they are examyned and iudged by the ſcripture / he ſhall ſofre damage / but ſhalbe ſaved hym ſelfe / yet as yt were thorowe fyre / that ys / it ſhalbe payneſull vntounto hī / that he hath loſt hys laboure / and to ſe hys byldinge periſhe / not wythſtondinge yf he repente and enbrace the truth in Chriſte / he ſhall obteyne mercy & be ſaved. But if Paule were now a live & wolde defende his awne lernīge / he ſhulde be tried thorowe fyre / not thorowe fyre of y• iudgement of ſcripture (for that lyght men now vtterly refuſe) but by the popes lawe and with fyre of fagottes /