Faith Justifies Us Before We Can Bring Forth any Good Work, Treatise · Part 27 – Part 28
THere is no man that forſaketh houſe / other father / or mother / other bretherne or ſiſterne / or wife / or chylderne for the kingedome of hevens ſake / which ſhall not receave moch moare in this worlde / and in the worlde to come everlaſtinge lyfe. Luc. xviij.
Here ſeyſt thou that a Chriſten mā in all his workes hath reſpecte to nothinge / but vntounto y• glorie of God only ād to the mayntenīge of the trueth of God / ād doeth ād leveth ondone all thinges of love to the glorie and honor of god only / as Chriſte reacheth in the pater noſter. Moare over when he ſayeth he ſhall receave moch moare in thys world / of a trueth yee / he hath receaved moch moare all ready. For excepte he had felte the infinite mercy / goodnes / love ād kindnes of God ād the feloweſhippe of the bloude of Chriſte ād the cōforte of y• ſpirite of Chriſte in his herte / he coude never have forſakē anythynge for Gods ſake. Notwithſtondinge (as ſeyth Marke in the .x. Chapter) Who ſo ever for Chriſtes ſake ād the Goſpels forſaketh houſe / bretherne or ſyſters etc. He ſhall receave an hūdrede folde houſes / bretherne etc. that is ſpiritually. For Chriſte ſhalbe all thinges vntounto the. The angels / all Chriſtē and who ſo ever doth the will of the father / ſhallbe father / mother / ſiſter and brother vntounto the / ād all there ſhall be thine. And god ſhall take the care of the and miniſter all thinges vntounto the / as longe as thou ſekyſte but his honor only. Moare over if thou were lorde over all ye worlde / yee of ten worldes byfore thou knewiſte God: yet was not thine appetite quēched / thou thurſtodeſte for more. But if thou ſeke hys honoure only / thē ſhall he flake thy thurſte and thou ſhall…e have all that thou deſyreſt / & ſhall be contente: yee if thou dwell amōge infideles / ād emonge the mooſte cruelſt nacion of the worlde / yet ſhall he be a father vntounto the ād ſhall defende the / as he did Abrahā / Iſaac and Jacob & all ſayntes whos lives thou readeſt in the ſcripture. For all that are paſt & gone before are but enſamples to ſtrength oure fayth and trufte in the worde of God. It is the ſame God and hath ſworne to vsus all that he ſware vntounto thē / and is as true as ever he was and therfore can not but fulfyll his promiſes to vsus as well as he dyd to them / if we beleve as they dyd.
The honre ſhall come whē all they that are in the graves ſhall heare his voyce / that is to ſay Chriſtes voyce / and ſhall come forth / they that have done good in to the reſurtection of lyfe ād they that have done evyll in to the reſurrection of damnacion / Jhon .v. Thys & all like textes declare what foloweth good workes / & yt oure deades ſhall teſtifie with vsus or agaynste vsus at that daye / and putteth vsus in remembraunce to be diligente and rervente in doynge good. Here by mayſte thou not vnderſtonde yt we obtayne y• favoure of God and the enheritannce of lyfe thorowe y• merites of good workes / as hyrelinges ther wages. For then ſhuldeſt thou robbe Chriſte / of whoſe fulnes we have receaved favoure for favoure Jo. i. that is Gods favoure was ſo full in Chriſte y• for hys ſake he geveth vsus his favoure / as affirmeth alſo Paule Ephe. i. he loved vsus in his beloved by whō we have (ſayth Paule) redēcion thorowe his bloude / and forgevenes of ſinnes. The forgevenes of ſinnes thē is oure redemcion in Chriſte / & not y• rewarde of workes. In whom (ſayth he ī the ſame place) he choſe vsus before y• makinge of ye worlde / that is longe before we dyd good workes. Thorowe fayth in Chriſte ar we alſo ye ſonnes of god / as thou readiſt Jo. i. in that they beleved on his name he gave them powere to be the ſonnes of God. God with all his fullnes ād ryches dwelleth ī Chriſte / & out of Chriſte muſt we feach all thīges. Thou readiſt alſo Jo. iij. he yt beleveth on the ſonne hath eternall life. And he yt beleveth not ſhall ſe no lyfe / but y• wrath of god abideth apō hī. Here ſeiſt thou yt the wrath & vengeaūce of god poſſeſſeth every mā till fayth come. Faith & truſt ī Chriſte expelleth ye wrath of god / ād bringeth favoure y• ſprite / powere to do good & everlaſting lyfe. More over vntill Chriſt have gevē y• light thou knoweſte not where in ſtondeth the goodnes of thy workes / & till his ſprite hath lo …ſed thine herte thou canſte not conſent vntounto good workes. All yt is good in vsus both wyll and workes cometh of ye favoure of God thorowe Chriſte to whom be the lawde Amen.
IF any mā will doe his will (he meaneth the will of y• father) he ſhall knowe of y• doctrine whether it be of God or whether I ſpeake of my ſelfe. Jo. vij. This text meaneth not yt any mā of his own ſtrēgth powere & fre will (as they call it) can doe ye will of God / before he hath receaved the ſprite & ſtrēgth of Chriſte thorowe faith. But here is ment yt which is ſpoken in the thred of John when …ecodemus marveled howe it were poſſible that a man ſhulde be borne againe. Chriſte anſwered / that which is borne of ye fleſhe is fleſhe ād that which is borne of the ſpryte is ſpryte as who ſhulde ſaye / he that hath the ſprite thorowe fayth and is borne againe and made a new in Chriſte / vnderſtondeth the thinges of the ſprite and what he that is ſpirituall meaneth. But he that is fleſh & as Paule ſaith .j. Corin. ij. a naturall man & leed of his blinde reaſou only / cā never aſcēd to y• capacite of ye ſprite. And he geveth an ēſample ſaīge / y• wīd bloweth where he lyſteth and thou heareſt his voyce and wotteſt not whence he cometh nor whyder he wyll. So is every mā that is borne of the ſprite / he that ſpeaketh of ye ſprite cā never be vnderſtonde of the naturall mā which is but fleſh ād ſavereth no more then thinges of the fleſh. So here meaneth Chriſt if any mā have ye ſprite / & cōſenteth vntounto ye wyll of God / this ſame at ones wotteth what I meane.