Faith Justifies Us Before We Can Bring Forth any Good Work, Treatise · Part 4
WHat ſhall we ſayethen to thoſe ſcriptures which goo ſo ſore apon good workes? As we rede Math. xxv. I was an hongred and ye gave me meate &c. And ſoch lyke. Which all ſownd as though we ſhuld be i…ſtyfied ād accepted vntounto the favoure of God in Chriſt thorow good workes. This wiſe anſware I. Many there are which when they heare or rede of fayth / at tonce they conſent there vntounto and have a certayne ymaginaciō or opinion of the …ayth / as when a mā tellith a ſtorye or a thinge done in aſtraunge lande / yt pertayneth not to them at all. Which yet they beleve & tell as a true thinge. And this imaginaciō or opiniō they call faith. They thinke no forther then yt …ayth ys a thinge which ſtondith in there awne power to have / as do other naturall workes which men worke: but they fele no maner workinge of ye ſpirite nether the terrible ſentēce of the lawe / the fearfull iudgemētes of God / the horrible dānacion and captivite vnderunder ſatā. Therefore as ſone as they have this opiniō or ymaginaciō in there hertis: yt ſayth / verely this doctrine ſemeth true / I beleve it is evē ſo. Thē they thinke that the rigtht faith is there. But afterward when they fele in thē ſelves / & alſo ſe in other that there is none alteraciō / ād that the workes folowe not but yt they are altogether evē as before / ād abide in there olde eſtate: thē thinke they yt fayth is not ſufficiēt / but that it muſt be ſome gretter thinge thē fayth that ſhuld iuſtifie a mā.
So fa…le they a waye frō faith again / & crye ſayīge faith ōly iuſtifieth not a mā / ād maketh hī acceptable to God. Iff thou aſke thē wherefore. They āſwere / ſe how many there are yt beleve ād yet do no moare thē they did before. Thes ar they which Judas ī his epiſtle callith dreamers which deceave thē ſelfes with there owne fantaſi…s. For what other thinge ys ther ymaginaciō which they call faith / thē a dreamīge of y• fayth / ād an opiniō of there owne ymaginaciō wrought with out y• grace of god? Theſe muſt ne…des beworſe at y• later ende thē at the biginninge. Theſe ar the olde veſſels / yt rēt whē new wine y… powred ī to thē Mat. ix yt is / they heare Godes word but holde it not / and therfore waxe worſe thē they were before. But y• right faith ſprīgeth not of mās fanteſ▪ nether ys it in any mans power to obtayne it / but is all to gether the pure gift of God poured in to vsus frelye with out all maner doinge of vsus with out deſervinge and merites / yee & without ſekinge for of vsus. And is (as ſaith Paull in the ſeconde to the Epheſians) even godes gift ād grace purchaſid thorou Chriſt. Therfore is it mighty in operatiō / full of vertue and ever workinge / which alſo renueth a man and begettith him a freſhe / alterith him chaungeth him / and turneth him all togedre in to a new nature and converſacion: ſo that a man feareth his hert all togedre altered and chaunged & ferre oderwiſe deſpoſed thē before / and hath power to love that which before he could not but hate / & deliteth ī that which before he abhorred / ād hateth that which before he coulde not but love. And it ſetteth the ſoule at libertie and maketh hyr free to folowe the will of god / and doth to the ſoule even as health doth vntounto the bodie / after that a man is pined and waſted a waye with a lōge ſoekinge diſeaſe. The legges can not beare hym / he can not lift op his hādes to helpe him ſelf / his taſt is corrupte / ſuger is bitter in his mouth / his ſtomake abhorrith longinge after ſibberſauſe and ſhaſhe / at which a whole ſtomake ys ready to caſt his gorge. Whē health commith / ſhe chaūgeth & altereth hym cleane / gevith hym ſtrength in all hys membres and luſt to doe of hys owne accorde that which before he could not doe neder could ſuffer that any man exhorted hym to doe / and hath now luſt in holſome thinges / and his mēbres ar fre and at libertie and have power to doe of ther owne accorde all thinges which belōge to an whole mā to doe / which afore they had no power to doo / but were in captivitie & bondage So like wiſe in all thīge doth right faith to the ſoule.
¶ The ſprite of god acompanieth faith / & bringith with her light where with a mā beholdith hī ſelfe ī the law of god / & ſeith hys miſerable boundage and captiuite / & humbleth him ſelfe / and abhorreth hī ſelfe: ſhe brīgeth Godes promiſes of all good thiges in Chriſte God worketh with his worde / & in his worde And as his worde is preached / faith wroteth her ſelfe in the hertes of the electe: ād as faith entreth & the worde of god is beleved / the power of god loeſeth the hert frō the captiuite & bondage vnderunder ſinne / and kni…teh and coupleth hym to god and to the will of god / altereth hym and chaungeth hym clene / facyoneth and forgeth hym a new / gevith him power to love and to doe that which before was vnpoſſible for him ether to love or doe / and turneth hī ī to a new nature: ſo that he loveth that which he before hated / ād hateth that which he before loued / ād is cleane altered ād chaunged and contrarie deſpoſed / and is knyt and coupled faſt to Gods wyll / and naturally bringeth forth good workes / that is to ſay / that which God commaundeth to doo / and not thinges of his owne ymagynacyon. And that doth he of hys owne accorde as a tree bringeth forth frute of hyr owne accorde. And as thou neadiſt not to byd a tree to bringe forth fruyte / ſo is ther no lawe put vntounto hī that beleveth & is iuſtified thorou faith (as ſaith Paule ī y• fyrſt piſtle to Timothe the fyrſt Chapter) Nether is it neadfull. For the lawe of God is written and graved in his herte / …o his pleaſure is therein. And as wyth out commaundement but even of his owne nature / he eateth drinketh / ſeeth / hereth / talketh / and goeth: even ſo of hys owne nature / wyth out coaccion or compulſyon of the lawe / bryngeth he forth good workes. And as a whole man when he is a thurſt / taryeth but for drinke / ād when he hongreth abideth but for meate / and then drinketh and eateth naturally: even ſo ys the faythfull ever a thurſt and an hongred after the wyll of God / and taryeth but for occaſyon. And when ſo ever an occaſyon is geven / he worketh naturally the wyll of God. For thys bleſſinge ys geven to all them that truſt in Chriſtes bloude / that they thruſt and hongre to doo Gods wyll. He that hath not thys fayth / ys but an vnprofytable babler of fayth and workes / and wotteth nother what he bableth nor what he meaneth or where vntounto hys wordes pertayne. For he fealeth not the power of fayth nor the workynge of the ſpirite in his herte / but enterpreteth the ſcriptures which ſpeake of fayth and workes / after his owne blynd reaſon and folyſh phantaſies and not of any fealinge that he hath in hys herte: as a man reherſeth a tale of an other manes mouth ād wotteth not wether it be ſoe or noe as he ſayth / nor hath any experyence of the thinge ſelfe. Now doth the ſcripture aſcrybe both fayth and workes not to vsus / but to god only / to whom they belonge only / and to whō they are appropiate / whoſe gyft they are and the proper worke of his ſpirite.
Is yt not a froward and perverſe blindnes? they reach how a man can do nothinge of hys owne ſelfe / and yet preſumtuouſly take apon them the greatyſt and hyeſt worke of God / even to make fayth in them ſelfes of theyr owne power and of ther owne falſe ymaginacion and thoughtes. Therfore I ſaye / we muſte deſpere of our ſelfes / ād pray God (as Chriſtes Apoſtels dyd) to geve vsus fayth / ād to encreaſe our fayth. When we have that / we neade no other thinge moare. For ſhe bringeth the ſpirite with her / & he not only teacheth vsus all thinges / but workes thē alſo mightly in vsus and carieth vsus thorou aduerſite / perſecutiō / deeth and hell / vntounto heven and everlaſtinge life.