Faith Justifies Us Before We Can Bring Forth any Good Work, Treatise · Part 32
WE muſt all appere before the iudgemente ſeate of Chriſte / for to receave every mā acordinge to ye deades of his body .ij. Corin. v. As thi deades teſtifie of the ſo ſhall thi rewarde be. Thy deades be evyll / then is the wrath of God apon the / and thine herte is evill and ſo ſhall thi rewarde be iff thou repente not. Feare therfore and crye to God for grace / that thou mayſt love hys lawes. And when thou loveſt them ceaſe not tyll thou have optayned power of God to fullfyll them: ſo ſhalt thou beſure that a good rewarde ſhall folowe. Which rewarde not thye deades / but Chriſtes have purchaſed for the / whoſe purchaſinge alſo is that luſt which thow haſt to Goddes lawe / and that mighte where wyth thou …ullfylleſt them Remembre alſo / that a rewarde ys rather called that whych is gyven frely / then that which is deſerved. That which is deſerved / is called (if thou wilt gyve hym hys right name) hyre or wages. A rewarde is gyven frely to provoke vntounto love and to make frendes.
Remēbre y• what ſo ever good thinge any man doeth / that ſhall he receave of the lorde. Epheſy. vj. Remembringe that ye ſhall receave of the lorde the rewarde of enheritance. Colloſſenſ. iij. Theſe two textes are exceadingeplayne. Paul. meaneth as Peter doeth .j. Petr. ij. that ſervauntes ſhuld obey ther maſters with all ther hertes and with good will though they were never ſo e…ill. Yee he will that all that are vnderunder powere obeye / even of herte and of conſcience to God / be cauſe God will have it ſo / be the rulers never ſo wicked. The chylderne muſt obeve father and mother be they never ſo cruell or vnkynde / lyfe wyſe the wyfe hyr huſbonde / the ſervaunte his maſter / the ſubiectes and communes their lorde or kynge. Why? For …e ſcrve the lorde ſayth he in the thryd to ye Coll. Wear Chriſtes and Chriſte hath boughte vsus / as thou readeſt Ro. xiiij. j. Cori. vj. j. Peter. j. Chriſte is oure lorde and we hys poſſeſſyon / and hys alſo is the commaundemente. Now ought not y• cruelueſſe and churleſhneſſe of father and mother / of huſbonde / maſter / lorde or kinge / cauſe vsus to hate the cōmaūdemēte of oureſo kynde a lorde Chriſte. Which ſpared not his bloude for oure ſales which alſo hath purchaſed for vsus with his bloude / yt rewarde of eternall life which life ſhal folowe ye paciēce of good levīg & where vntounto oure good deades teſtifie yt we are choſen, Forthermoare we are ſo carnall / that if the rulers be good / we can not knowe whether we kepe the commaundemente for ye love that we have to Chriſt and to God thorowe him or no. But and if thon canſt fynde in thine herte to doe good vntounto him that rewardeth the evyll agayne / then art thou ſure that the ſame ſpirite is in the that is in Chriſte. And it foloweth in the ſame chapter to the Colloſſiens. He that doeth wronge ſhall receave for the wronge that he hath done. That is God ſhall avenge the aboundantly / which ſeyth what wronge is done vntounto the and yet ſofereth it for a tyme / that thou myghteſt feale thy pacyence and the workynge of hys ſprite in the / and be made perfecte. Therfore ſe that thou not once deſyre vengeaunce but remitte all vengeaunce vntounto God as Chriſt dyd. Whych (Sayth Peter .i. Petri. ij.) when he was revyled / revyled not agayne / nether thretned when he ſofered. VntoUnto ſuch obedience / vntounto ſuch pacyence / vntounto ſuch a pore herte / and vntounto ſuch fealinge / is Pauls meanynge to bringe all men / and not vntounto the vayne dyſputynge of them that aſcrybe ſo hye a place in heven vntounto there pylde merytes. Whych as they feale not the workynge of Goddes ſpryte / ſo obey they no man. Yf the fynge do vntounto them but ryghte / they wyll interdyte the hole realme / curſe / excomunycate and ſende downe fer beneth the botome of hell / as they have brought the people oute of there wyttes / and made them madd to beleve.