Faith Justifies Us Before We Can Bring Forth any Good Work, Treatise · Part 35
AS pertaninge to yt which James ī this .iij. Ch. ſaith. What avayleth though a mā ſay that he hath fayth / if he have no deades? cā fayth ſave hī? ād agayne. faith withoute deades is dead in it ſelfe. And y• devils beleve & trēble. And as y• body withoute y• ſpryte is deed / evē ſo faith withoute deades is deed. It is manifeſt ād cleare yt he meaneth not of y• faith where of Peter ād Paule ſpeake in there piſtles / John in his Goſpell ād firſt piſtle / and Chriſte in the Goſpell when he ſaith / thy fayth hath made the ſafe / be it to the accordinge to thy faith / or greate is thy faith & ſo forth / & of which James hym ſelfe ſpeaketh in the fyrſte Chapter ſayinge: of hys own will begate he vsus whith the worde of lyfe / that is in belevīge the promyſes where in is lyfe / are we made the ſonnes of God.
Whych thinge I alſo thys wiſe prove. Paul ſayth / how ſhall or can they beleve wythoute a preacher? how ſhulde they preach / excepte they were ſente? Now I pray you whē was it hearde that God ſent any man to preach vntounto the devyls / or that he made thē any good promes? He threatneth them oft / but never ſent embaſſadours to preach any atonement betwene hym and them. Take an enſample that thou mayſt vnderſtonde. Let there be two pore men both deſtitute of raymente in a colde winter / the one ſtronge that he fealeth no grefe the other grevouſly / morninge for payne of the colde. I then come by and moved with pitye and compaſſion ſaye vntounto hym that fealeth his dyſeaſe / come to ſoch a place and I will gyve the raymente ſufficiente. he beleveth / cometh / and obtayneth that which I have promiſed. That other ſeeth all thys and knoweth it / but is partaker of noughte. For he hath no fayth / ād that is becauſe ther is no promiſe made hī. So is i… of the devyls The devyls have no fayth▪ For fayth is but erneſt belevinge of Gods promyſes. Now are there no promyſes made vntounto the devyls / but ſore thretninges. The olde Philoſophers knewe that there was one God / but yet had no fayth / for they had no powere to ſeke his will nether to worſhippe hym. The turkes and the ſareſons knowe that there is one God / but yet have no fayth. For they have no power to worſhippe God in ſprite to ſeke his playſure and to ſubmytte them vntounto hys will. They made an ydolle of God (as we do for the moſt parte) ād worſhipped him every man after hys owne ymagination and for a ſundry purpoſe. What we will have done / that muſt God do / and to do oure will worſhippe we hym and praye vntounto him: but what God will have done that will nother turke nor ſareſon nor the moſt parte of vsus do. what ſo ever we ymagyon rightheous / that muſt God admitte. But Goddes righteouſnes / will not oure hartes admitte Take an other enſample. Let there be two ſoch as I ſpeake of before & I promiſe both / ād the one becauſe he fealeth not hys dyſeaſe cometh not. So is it of Goddes promyſes. No man is holpe by them but ſynners that feale ther ſynnes / morne and ſorrowe for them and repente with all ther hertes. For John Baptiſte wēte before Chriſte & preached repentaūce / that is / he preached the lawe of God righte / ād brought the people in to knowleage of thē ſelves / & vntounto the feare of God / and then ſente them vntounto Chriſte to be healed. For in Chriſte & for his ſake only hath God promiſed to receave / vsus vntounto mercye / to forgyve vsus & to give vsus power to reſiſte ſinne How ſhall god ſave the / when thou knoweſt not thye dānacion? How ſhall Chriſte deliver the from ſynne / when thou wilt not knoweleage thy ſynne? Now I pray the how many thowſandes are there of them that ſaye I beleve that Chriſte was borne of a virgī / that he dyed / that he roſe agayn & ſo forth / and thou cāſte not bringe thē in belefe / that they have any ſinne at all? How many are there of the ſame ſorte which thou canſt not make beleve that a thouſande thinges are ſinne which god dāneth for ſinne all the ſcripture thorowe oute? As to bye as good chepe as he cā / & to ſell as deare as he can / to rayſe the marker of corne and vitaile / for his owne vauntage / withoute reſpecte of his neyboure or of the poere or of the cōmune wealeh and ſoch lyke. Moreover how many hūdrede thouſandes are there which whē they have ſinned / & knowleage ther ſinnes: yet truſt in a bald ceremonye or in a lowf…e freris coete & merites or ī the praiers of thē yt devoure widowes howſes & eateth ye pore oute of howſe & herboure / in a thinge of his owne ymaginaciō / in a foliſhe dreme ād a falſe viſiō / & not in Chriſtes bloude & in the trueth that god hath ſworne? All theſe are fayth…leſſe / for they folowe ther owne righteouſnes & are diſobediēte vntounto all maner righteouſnes of god: both vntounto the righteouſnes of gods lawe where with he dāneth all oure deades (ſor though ſome of thē ſe ther ſinnes for feare of payne / yet had ye lever y• ſoch deades were no ſinne) & alſo vntounto ye righteouſnes of y• trueth of god in his promiſes where by he ſayeth all y• repēte & beleve thē. For though ye beleve yt Chriſte dyed / yet beleve yt not yt he dyed for there ſinnes & that his deeth is a ſufficiēte ſatiſfacciō for there ſinnes / ād that God for his ſake wilbe a father vntounto them and gere them powere to reſiſte ſinne.
Paule ſaieth (to ye Romains ī the .x. Chap.) iff thou confeſſe with thy mouth that Jeſus is the lorde and beleve with hyne herte that God rayſed hym vp from death / thou ſhalte be ſafe. That is if it thou beleve he reyſed hī vp againe for thy ſalvacion. Many beleve that God is rich and almyghtye / but not vntounto them ſelves and that he wilbe good to them and defende them and be there God.
Pharao for payne of ye plage was cōpellede to cōfeſſe his ſinnes / but had yet no power to ſubmitte hī ſelfe vntounto ye will of god ād to lette the childer of Iſraell goo ād to looſe ſo grette profet for Gods playſure. As oure prelates confeſſe there ſinnes ſayenge: though we be never ſo evyll / yet have we the power. And agayne / the ſcribes ād the phareſes (ſay they) ſate in Moyſes ſe ate / do as they teach but not as they doo / thus cōfeſſe they that thei are abhominabile. But to the ſeconde I anſwere / yf they ſate on Chriſtes ſe are they wolde preach Chriſtes doctrine / nowe preach they theyre owne tradicions ād therfore not to be herde. If they preached Chriſte we ought to here them though they were never ſo abhominable / as they of them ſelves confeſſe and have yet no power to amende nether to let loweſe Chriſtes flocfe to ſerve God in ye ſprite whych they holde captyve compellinge thē to ſerve theyre falſe lyes. The devils felte the power of Chriſte and were compelled agaynſt there willes to cōfeſſe that he was the ſonne of God / but had no power to be contēte there with nether to conſent vntounto the ordinaunce & eternall cowncell of the everlaſtīge God / as oure prelates feale the pover of God againſte thē but yet have no grace to geve rowme vntounto Chriſte / becauſe that they (as the devils nature ys) wyll thē ſelves ſitt in his holy temple / that ys to wete / the conſciences of men.
¶ Simon magus beleved / Actes .viij. with ſoch a ſayth as y• devils confeſſed Chriſte / but had no righte fayth / as thou ſeyſt in the ſayd chapter. For he repented not conſentinge vntounto the lawe of God. Nether beleved the promiſto or longed for thē / but wondred only at the my racles which Philippe wroughte and becauſe that he him ſelf in Philippes preſence had no power to vſe his wicheraſte / ſorcery and art magyte / wherewith he mocted ād deluded the wittes of the peeple. he wold have bought the gyft of God to have ſold it much dearer / as his ſucceſſours now do and not the ſucceſtoures of Simō peter. For were they Symō Peters ſucceſſours / they wold preach Chriſte as hedyd / but they are Simon maguſſes ſucceſſours of which Simon Peter well propheſied in the ſeconde Chapter of his ſeconde Piſtle ſayēge / there were fals prophetes amonge the people (meaninge of the Jeves) evē as there ſhal be falſe teachers or doctours amonge you / which pryvely ſhall bringe in ſectes damnable (ſectes is partetakinge as one holdeth of fraūces another of dominyct which thinge alſo Paul rebuketh .i. Corinthi. i. and .iij.) even denienge the lorde that bought them (for they wyll not be ſaved be Chriſte nether ſo fre any mā to preach hym to other) And many ſhall folowe there dānable wayes (thou wilt ſay ſhall God ſo fre ſo many to goo oute of the right wayes ſo lōge? I anſwere many muſt folowe theyre dānable wayes or elſe muſt Peter be a fals prophete) by which the waye of trueth ſhal be evyll ſpoken of (as it is nowe at this preſente tyme. For it is hereſye to preach the trueth) and thorowe co…etouſnes ſhall they with fayned wordes make merchaundyſe of you / of theyre merchaūdyſe and covetouſnes it neadeth not to make reherſall / for they that be blinde ſe it evidently.
Thus ſeyſt thou that James when he ſayth (fayth withoute deades is deed / ād as the body withoute the ſprite is deed / ſo is fayth withoute deades / and the devyls beleve) that he meaneth not of the fayth and truſt that we have in the trueth of Gods promiſes and in hys holy teſtamēte made vntounto vsus in Chriſtes bloude / which fayth foloweth repētaunce and the conſente of the herte / vntounto the lawe of God / & maketh a mā ſafe / & ſetteth hym a…peace with God. But ſpeaketh of that falſe opinion and ymaginacion where with ſome ſaye / I beleve that Chriſte was borne of a virgine / and that he deed and ſo forth. That beleve they veryly / & ſo ſtrongely that they are readie to ſley whoſoever wolde ſaye the contrarye. But they beleve not that Chriſte deed for theyre ſinnes / ād that his death hath peaſed the wrath of God and hath obtained for thē all that God hath promiſed in the ſcripture. For how cā they beleve that Chriſte deed for theyre ſinnes / and that he is there only and ſufficiente ſavioure / ſeynge y• they ſefe other ſaviours of ther owne ymaginacion / and ſeynge that they feale not theyre ſinnes neyther repēte / excepte that ſome repēte (as I above ſayd) for feare of paine / but for no love nor cōſente vntounto the lawe of God nor lō ginge that they have for thoſe good promyſes which he hath made them in Chriſtes bloude Yff they repented and loved the lawe of God & longed for that helpe which God hath promiſed to gyve to all that call on hym for Chriſtes ſake / then veryly muſt Gods trueth gy…e them power and ſtrength to doo good workes when ſo ever occaſion were given / eyther muſt God be a fals God. But let God be true and every man a lyer as ſcripture ſayth. For the trueth of god laſteth ever / to whom only be all honor and glorie forever.
Amen.
¶ Printed at Malborowe in the londe off heſſe / by Hans luft the .viij. day of May. Anno M. D. xxviij.
BE not offended moſt dere Reader yt divers thinges are overſe ne thorow negligence in thys lytle treatiſe. For verely the chaūce was ſoch / that I marvayle that it is ſo well as it is Moareover it becometh the boke evē ſo to come as a morner and in vile apparell to wayte on his maſter which ſheweth hym ſelfe now agayne not in honoure and glory / as betwene Moſes and Helias: but in rebuke and ſhame as betwene two mortherars / to trye his true frendes ād to prove whether there be any faith on the erth.
¶ In the .x. leafe .ij. ſyde .v. line / for fewe ād fadeth reade fewe and ſealden.
¶ In the .xxxix. leafe / fyrſt ſyde / xv. line / for Roma. ij. reade Roma. ix.