Faith Justifies Us Before We Can Bring Forth any Good Work, Treatise · Part 8 – Part 9
SEcōdarily all good workes muſt be done free with a ſyngle eye with out reſpecte of any thinge / and that no profet be ſought thereby.
That commaundeth Chriſt / where he ſayth Mar. x fre have ye receaved / fre geve agayne. For loke as Chriſt with all his workes did not deſerve heven / for that was his all redye / but dyd vsus ſervyce therwith / ād nether loked nor ſoughte his awne profit… / but our profit / & the honoure of God y• father only. Evē ſo we with all oure workes maye not ſefe oure awne profit / nether in this world nor in hevē / but muſt ād ought frely to worke / to honour God wyth all / and without all maner reſpecte / ſefe oure neyghbours profit and do hym ſervice. That meaneth Paul Philip. ij. ſayng. Bemynded as Chriſt was which beinge in the ſhappe of God / equall vntounto God and even very God / laid that a part / that is to ſaie / hyd it. And to…e on him the forme ād faſeyon of a ſervaunt. That is / as cōcerninge hym ſelfe he had ynough / that he was full / & had all plentuouſnes of the Godhed / ād in all his workes ſought our profit and became our ſervant.
The cauſe is. For as moch as faith inſtifieth and putteth a waye ſynne in the ſight of God / bringeth lyfe / helth and the favoure of God / maketh vsus the heyres of God / powreth the ſpryte of God in to oure ſoules and fylleth vsus with all godlifulnes in Chriſt / it were to great a ſhame / rebuke and wronge vntounto the faith / yee to Chriſtes bloud / iff a man wolde worke any thinge to purches that where wyth fayth hath indued him allredye / and God hath geven hym frely. Even as Chriſt had done rebuke and ſhame vntounto hym ſelfe / yff he wolde have done good workes and wrought to have bī made therby Gods ſonne & heire over all / which thing he was allredie. Now doth fayth make vsus the ſonnes or chyldern of God. Johan. i. he gave them myght or power to be they ſonnes of God / ī that they beleved on his name. Iff we be ſonnes / ſo are we alſo heires Ro. viij. and Gala. iiij. How can or ought we thē to worke / for to purches that entherytaunce with all where of we are heyres all redye by fayth?
What ſhall we ſaye then to thoſe ſcriptures which ſownde as though a mā ſhuld do good workes and lyve well for hevēs ſake or eternall rewarde? As theſe are / make you frē des of the vnrighteous mammō. And Mat. vij. Gather you treaſure together in hevē. Alſo Mat. xix. If thou wilte enter in to lyfe kepe the commaundemētes and ſoch lyke. Thys ſaye I / that they which vnderſtonde nor / nether fele in ther hertes what fayth meaneth / talke and thinke of the rewarde evē as they do of the worke / nether ſuppoſe they that a man ought to worke but in a reſpecte to the rewarde. For they ymagen that it is in the kingdome of Chriſt / as it is in the worlde amonge men / that they muſt deſerve heven with there good workes. How be it there thoughtes are but dreames and falſe ymaginacions. Off theſe men ſpeaketh Malachias Chap. i. who is it amonge you that ſhutteth a doere for my pleaſure for nought? that is / with out reſpecte of rewarde. Theſe are ſervātes / that ſeke gaynes and vauntage / hyrelinges and day labourers which here on erth receave there rewardes / as the phareſes with there prayers: and faſiīges Matth. v.
But on this wiſe goeth it with hevē / with evirlaſting lyfe and eternall rewarde / like wiſe as good workes naturally folowe fayth (as it ys above retherſed) ſo that thou neadeſt not to cōmannde a true belever to worke or to cō pell hym with any lawe / for it is vnpoſſible that he ſhuld not worke / he taryeth but for an occaſiō / he is ever deſpoſed of hym ſelfe / thou neadeſt but to put him in remembrauuce / and that to knowe the falſe fayth frō the true. Evē ſo naturally doth eternall lyfe folowe fayth and good lyvinge / without ſekingfor / and is impoſſible that it ſhulde not come / though no man thought there on. Yet ys it rether ſed in the ſcripture / alleged and promiſed to knowe the differēce betwene a fals belever ād a true belever / & that every man maye knowe what foloweth good lyuinge naturally ād of it ſelfe with out takinge… thought for it.
Take a groſſe enſample. Hell that is / everlaſtinge deth is threatned vntounto ſynners / and yet folowith it ſynne naturally without ſekinge for. For no mā doth evell to bedāned therfore / but had lever avoyde it. Yet there the one foloweth the other naturally / and though no man tolde or warned hym of it / yet ſhuld the ſynner fynde it / ād feale it. Nevertheleſſe it is therfore thretened / that men maye knowe what folowyth evyll lyvinge. Now then as after evell levinge folowyth his rewarde vnſought for / even ſo after good levinge foloweth his reward naturally vnſought for or vnthought apon. Even as when thou drinkeſt wine / be it good or badde / the taſt foloweth of it ſelfe / though thou therfore drinke yt not. Yet teſtyfieth the ſcripture / and it is true / that we are by enheritance heyres of damnatyon / and that yer we be borne / we are veſſels of ye wrath of God and full of that poyſon whence naturallye all ſynnes ſpringe / and where wyth we can not but ſynne / which thinge the deades that folowe (when we be holde oure ſelves in the glaſſe of the lawe of God) do declare and vtter / kyll oure conſciences ād ſhowe vsus what we were and wiſt not of it ād certyfieth vsus that we are heyres of damnacyon. For iff we were of God we ſhulde cleve to God and luſt after the wyll of God. But now our deades cōpared to the lawe declare the contrarie and by our deades we ſe our ſelfes / both what we be & what our ende ſhall be
Go now thou ſeyſt that lyfe eternall and all good thynges are promyſed vntounto fayth and belefe: ſo that he that beleveth on Chriſt / ſhalbe ſafe. Chriſtes bloude hath purcheaſyd lyfe for vsus and hath made vsus the heyres of God: ſo that heven cometh by Chriſtes bloud. Iff thou woldiſt obtayne heven with the merytes and deſervinges of thyne awne workes / ſo dyddiſt thou wronge / yee and ſhamediſt the bloud of Chriſt / and vntounto the were Chriſt deade in vayne. Now is the true belever heyre of God by Chriſtes deſervinges / yee and in Chriſt was predeſtynate and ordened vntounto eternall lyfe / before the world began. And when the Goſpell is preached vntounto vsus we beleve the mercye of God / and in belevinge we receave the ſpryte of God / which is the ernyſt of eternall lyfe / and we are in eternall lyfe allready / and feale allready in oure hertes the ſwetnes therof / and are overcome wyth the kyndnes of God and Chriſt and therefore love the wyl of God / ād of love are ready to worke frely / ād not to optayne that which is gevyn vsus frely ād where of we are heyres allready.
Now when Chriſt ſayth. Make you frēdes of vrighteous mammon. Geder you treaſure together in hevē & ſoch lyke. Thou ſciſt that the meaninge and entēt is no nother / but that thou ſhuldeſt do good / and ſo wyll it folowe of it ſelfe naturally / without ſeking & takinge of thought / that thou ſhalt fynde frēdes and treaſure in heven and receave a rewarde. So late thyne eye be ſingle / ād loke vntounto good livinge only ād take no thought for the rewarde: But be contēt. For as moch as thou knowiſt ād art ſure that the rewarde & all thinge cōtayned in Gods promiſes folowe good lyvingenaturally / and thy good workes do but teſtifie only and certyfie the that the ſpryte of God is in the / whō thou haſt receaved in erneſt of Gods truth / and that thou art heyre of all the goodnes of God / & that all good thinges are thine all readye purcheaſed by Chriſtes bloude ād leid vppe in ſtoere agaynſt that daye when every man ſhall receave accordinge to his deades / that is / accordinge as hys deades declare and teſtifie / what he is or was For they that loke vntounto the rewarde / are ſlowe falſe / ſuttell and crafty workers / and love the rewarde moare then the worke / yee hate the laboure / yee hate God whych commaundeth the laboure / ād are wery both of the cōmaundement and alſo of the cōmaunder / and worke wyth tediouſnes. But he that worketh of pure love wyth oute ſekinge of rewarde / worketh truly.
Thrydly that not the Sayntes / but God only receaveth vsus in to eternall tabernacles / ys ſo playne and evident / that it neadeth not to decleare or prove it. How ſhall the Sayntes receave vsus in to heven / when every man hath neade for hym ſelf / that God only receave him to heven / and every man hath ſcace for hym ſelf: As it appereth by the fyve wyſe vyrgyns Matth. xxv. which wold not geve of there oyle vntounto the onwyſe vyrgyns. And Peter ſayth in the .iiij. of hys fyrſt piſtle that the righteous ys with difficultye ſaved. So ſeyſt thou that the ſayenge of Chriſt / make you frendes and ſo forth / that they may receyve you in to everlaſtinge tabernacles / pertayneth not vntounto the ſayntes which are in heven / but is ſpoken of the pore ād neady which are here preſent with vsus on Erihe / as though he wold ſaye. What byldyft thou churches / foundeſt Abbays / chauntryes / and colleages in the honor of ſayntes / to my Mother / ſaynt Peter / Paule ād ſayntes that be deed to make of them thy frendes? They neade it not / yee they are not thy frendes but thers. Which lyved thē when they dyd / of whom they were helpen. Thy frendes are the pore which are now in thy tyme and lyve wyth the / thy pore neybours which neade thy help and ſuccoure. Them make thy frendes wyth thy vnrighteous mammon / that they maye teſtyfye of thy fayth / and thou mayſt knowe and fele that thy fayth is right and not fayned.
UNto the ſecōde / ſoche receavinge in to everlaſtinge habitaciōs is not to be vnderſtonde / that mē ſhall do it. For many to whom we ſhew mercye and doe good shall not cōme there / nether ſkylleth it / ſo we mekely ād lovingly do our dutye / yee it is a ſigne of ſtronge fayth / and fervent love / if we doe well to the evyll / and ſtudye to drawe them to Chryſt in all that lyeth in vsus. But the pore geve vsus an occaſyon to exercyce oure fayth / and the deades make vsus feale our fayth and certyfye vsus and make vsus ſure that we are ſafe / and are eſcaped and tranſlated from death vntounto lyfe / and that we are delyvered and redemed from the captyvyte and boundage of Saran / and brought in to the lybertye of the ſonnes of God in that we fele luſt and ſtrength in our herte / to worke the wyll of God. And at that daye ſhall our deades appere and comfort our hertes / witneſe our faith and truft which we now have in Chryſte which fayth ſhall then kepe vsus from ſhame / as it ys wryttryn. None that beleveth in hym ſhalbe aſhamed Rom. ix. So that good workes helpe our fayth / ād make vsus ſure in oure conſciences and make vsus feale the mercy of God. Not withſtandinge heven / everlaſtinge lyfe / Joye eternall / fayth the favoure of God the ſpyryte of God luſt and ſtrength vntounto the wyll of God / are geven vsus frely / of the bountoeus and plenteous riches of God purehaſede by Chriſte / with out our deſervinges / that no man ſhulde reioyſe / but in the lord only.