Faith Justifies Us Before We Can Bring Forth any Good Work, Treatise · Part 14 – Part 15
ITem in the ſame chapter it folowyth. When thou prayſt be not as the ypocrytes / which love to ſtond and praye in the ſynagoges and in the corners of the ſtretes / for to be ſene of men. But when thou prayeſt enter in to thy chamber and ſhutte thy dore to / and praye to thy father whych is in ſecret / and thy father which ſeith in ſecret ſhall rewarde the openlye. And lyke wyſe when we faſt (teacheth Chriſt in the ſame place) that we ſhuld behave our ſelfes that it appere not vntounto mē how that we faſt / but vntounto our father which is in ſecret / and our father which ſeith in ſecret ſhall reward vsus openly. Theſe .ij. textes doe but declare what foloweth good workes / for eternall lyſe cōmeth not by the deſervinge of workes but is (ſayth Paule in the .vj. to the Romayns) the gyft of God thorowe Jeſus Chriſt. Nether do oure workes iuſtyfye vsus. For except we were iuſtyfyed by fayth which is our righteouſnes and had the ſpryte of God in vsus to teach vsus / we could do no good worke frely wyth out reſpecte of ſome profit / other in this world or in the worlde to come / nether could we have ſpyrituall Joy in oure hertes in tyme of afflictiō and mortyfyinge of the fleſhe
Good workes are called the frutes of the ſprite / Gal…. v. Cap. for the ſprite worketh them in vsus / and ſome tyme frutes of righteouſnes / as in the ſeconde pyſtle to the Corrynthyans .ix. Chapter. before all workes therfore we muſt have a righteouſnes wythin in the herte / the mother of all workes / and frō whēce they ſpringe. The righteouſnes of the ſcribes and Pphareſes / & of thē that have the ſpirite of this world / ys ye glorious ſhowe & outwarde ſhininge of workes. But Chriſt ſayth to vsus Mat. v. except your righteouſnes excede the righteouſnes of the ſcrybes & phariſes / ye can not enter in to the kingdome of hevē. It is righteouſnes in the world / if a mā kyll not. But a Chriſten perceaveth rihhteouſnes if he love hys enemye / evyn whē he ſuffreth perſecuc…ō and tormēte of hym / and the paynes of death / and morneth more for his adverſaries blindnes than for hys awne payne / and prayeth God to opē his eyes and to forgeve hym his ſynnes / as dyd Steven in the Actes of the Apoſtles the .vij. Chap. and Chriſt Luc. xxiij.
A chriſten cōſidereth him ſelf in the lawe of God / ād there putteth of him all maner ryghteouſnes. For the lawe ſuffereth no merites no deſervinges / no ryghteouſnes / nether any mā to be iuſtifyed in the ſight of God. The lawe is ſpirituall and requireth the herte and commaundementes to be fullfillyd with ſoch love and obedience as was in Chriſte. If any fulfyll all that is the will of God with ſoch love ād obediēce / the ſame may be bold to ſell pardons of his merites / and els not.
A Chryſten therfore (when he beholdeth hym ſylfe in the lawe) putteth of all maner righteouſnes / deſervinges and merites / ād mekely and vnfaynedly knowleageth his ſinne ād myſery / hys captyvite and bondage in the fleſh / his treſpaſſe and gylte / and is there bibleſſede wyth the poure in ſpyrite Math. v. Cha. Then he morneth in his hert / be cauſe he is in ſoch bondage that he can not do the wyll of God / and ys an hongred and a thruſt after righteouſnes. For righteouſnes (I meane) which ſpringeth oute of Chryſtes bloud / for ſtrē gth to do the wyll of God. And turneth him ſelf to the promyſes of God / ād deſyreth hym for hys great merciemercy ād trueth / and for the bloud of hys ſonne Chryſt to fulfyll hys promyſes / and to geve hym ſtrength. And thus his ſpryte ever prayeth wythin hym. Be faſteth alſo not one day for a weke / or a lente for an whole yeare / but profeſſeth in hys hert a perpetuall ſobyrnes / to tame the fleſh and to ſubdue the body to the ſpyryte / vntyll he wax ſtronge in the ſpyrite and growe rype in to a full ryghteouſnes after the fulnes of Chriſte. And be cauſe thys fulnes happeneth not tyll the body be ſlayne by deeth / a Chriſtē ys ever a ſynner in the lawe / and therfore faſteth and prayeth to God in the ſpyryte / the world ſeinge it not. Yet in the promyſes he ys ever righteous / thorow fayth in Chriſte ād ys ſure that he ys heyre of all goddes promyſes / the ſpryte which he hath receaved in erneſt / bering hym wittenes / his herte alſo ād his deades teſtifyenge the ſame.
Marke this then. To ſe inwardlye that the lawe of God ys ſo ſpirituall / that no ſleſh can fulfyll it. And then for to morne ād ſorrowe & to deſyre / yee to hōger and thurſt aftyr ſtrēgth to do the will of God from the grounde of the herte / ād (not withſtandīge all the ſoutelty of the devlis / wekenes and feblenes of the fleſh / & wondringe of the worlde) to cleve yet to the promiſes of God / & to beleve that for Chriſtes bloude ſake thou art receaved to the entherytaunce of eternall lyfe / ys a wonderfull thinge / ād a thinge that the world knoweth not of: but who ſo ever fealeth that (though he fall a thouſande times in a day) doth yet ryſe agayne a thouſande times / ād ys ſure that the mercye of God is apon hym.
IFF ye forgeve othermen there treſpaſes / your hevenlye father ſhall forgeve you youres / Matth. in the .vi. Chapter yff I forgeve / God ſhall forgeve me / not for my deades ſake / but for his promiſes ſake / for his merciemercy and trueth / and for the bloude of his ſonne Chriſte our lorde. And mi forgeving certifieth my ſprite that God ſhall forgeve me / ye that he hath forgeven me all redye For if I cōſent to the will of God in my hert / though thorowe infirmite ād wekenes I can not doo the will of God at all times / more over though I can not doo the wyll of God ſo purelye as the lawe requireth it of me / yet if I ſe my faute and mekely knowleage my ſinne / wepinge in mine herte becauſe I cā not do the will of God / and thurſt after ſtrength / I am ſure that the ſprete of God is in me / and his favoure apon me. For the world luſteth not to doo the will of God / nether ſoroweth becauſe he can not / though he ſorrowe ſome time for feare of the payne that he beleleveth ſhall folowe. He that hath the ſprite of this world can not forgeve with out amēdes making or a greater vaūtage. If I forgeve now howe cometh it? veryly becauſe I feale the merciemercy of God in me. For as a man fealeth god to hym ſelfe / ſo is he to his neyghboure I know by mine owne experience that all fleſhe is in bondage vnderunder ſinne and cā not but ſinne / therfore am I mercyfull ād deſyre God to looſe the bondes of ſinne even in mine enimye.