Faith Justifies Us Before We Can Bring Forth any Good Work, Treatise
¶ The parable of the wicked mammon.
THere was a certayne rich mā / which had a ſtewarde that was acuſed vntounto him that he had waſted his goodes And he called him and ſayd vntounto hym. Howe is it that I heare this of the? Geve a cō ptes off thy ſtewardſhippe. For thou mayſte be nolōger my ſtewarde. The ſtewarde ſaid with in him ſilfe. what ſhall I do? for my maſter will take awaye frō me my ſtewardeſhippe. I cā not digge / ād to begge / I am a ſhamed. I woote what to do / that when I ā put out of my ſtewardſhippe / they maye receave me in to there houſes.
Thē called he all his maſters detters / and ſaid vntounto the fyrſt / howe moche oweſt thou vntounto my maſter? And he ſaid / an hondred tonnes of oyle / and he ſayd to him. take thy bill / and ſitt doune quickly / ād write fiftie. Then ſayd he to another / what oweſt thou? And he ſayde. an hondred quarters of wheate. He ſayd to him. Take thy bill / ād write foure ſcoore. And the lorde cōmē ded the vniuſt ſtewarde / becauſe he had done wyſly. For the chyldren of this worlde / are in their kynde / wyſer then the chyldren off light. And I ſaie alſo ūto you / make you frendes of the wicked māmon / that when ye ſhall have nede / they may receave you into everlaſtinge habitacions. Luke xvj. Chapter.
Foras moch as with this and divers ſoch other textes / many have ēforſed to drawe the people from the true fayth and from puttinge their / truft in the trueth of Goddes promyſes and in the merites and deſervinge of his Chriſte oure lordes and have alſo brought it to paſſe (for many falſe prophetes ſhall aryſe and deceave many and moch wekednes muſt alſo be / ſaith Chriſte Mat. xxiiij. And Paul ſaith ij. Timoth. iij. Evell men and deceavers ſhall preuayle in evell while they deceave ād are deceaved them ſelves) and have taughte them to put there truſte in their owen merites and brought them in belefe that they ſhal be inſtified in the ſight of god by the goodneſſe of there own workes and have corrupte the pure worde of god to confirme their Ariſtotell with all. For though that the philoſophers ād wordly wiſe mē were enemies above all enemies to the goſpell of God / and though the wordly wiſdome can not comprehēde the wiſdome of god as thou mayſt ſee .j. Corinthi. j. ād. ij And though wordly ryghteouſnes can not be obedient vntounto the righteouſnes of god Ro. x. yet what ſo ever the reade ī Ariſto. that muſt be firſte true. And to mayntene that they rēte & tere the ſcriptures with there diſtīcciōs ād expon̄de thē violētly cōtrarie to the meanīge of the texte / & to the circumſtāces that goe before & after & to a thouſande clere & evidēte textes. Werefore I have takē ī hāde to expon̄de this goſpel & certaine other places of the newe teſtamēte & (as fer forth as god ſhall lē de me grace) to brīge the ſcripture vntounto the right ſence & to digge againe y• welles of Abrahā & to purge & clēſe thē of the erth of wordly wiſdōe / where with theſe philiſtenes have ſtepped thē. Which grace graūt me God / for the love that he hath ūto his ſonne Jeſus dure lorde / ūto the glorie of his name. Amē.