The Parable of the Wicked Mammon, Parable · Part 2 – Part 4
FOr asmuche as with this and diuers such other textes, many hauehave enforced to drawe the people from the true fayth and from puttynge theyr trust in the truthe of Gods promyses and in the merites and deseruynge of his Chryst our Lord, & hauehave also brought it to passe, for many false prophetes shall aryse and deceyue many, and much wyckednes must also be, sayth Christ. Mat. xxiiii. And Paul sayth. Ti. iii. Fuyl men & deceiuers shal preuaile in euil while thei deceiue & are deceiued them selues, & hauehave taught thē to put trust in their own merites, and brought thē in belefe that they shalbe iustified in the sighte of God by the goodnes of theyr owne workes and hauehave corrupt the pure worde of God to confyrme theyr Aristotle wtal. For thoughe that the phylosophers and worldlye wyse men wer enimyes aboue al enemyes to the Gospel of God, and though the worldly wysedome cannot comprehende the wysedome of God, as thou mayst se i. Corin. i. &. ii. And though worldly ryghtuousnes cannot bee obediente vntounto theThey geue mo re fayth to Aristotle then to Christ. ryghtuousnes of God: Ro. x. Yet whatsoeuer they read in Aristo, that must fyrst be true. And to mayntayn that, they rent and teare the scriptures with theyr distin ctions and expound them violently, contrary to the meanyng of the texte, and to the circumstances that go before and after, and to a thousand clere and euidente textes. Wherfore, I hauehave taken in hand to expound this Gospel and certayne oter places of the newe testament and (as farfurth as God shall lende me grace) to bryng the scripture vntounto the ryght sence, and to dygge agayne the wels of Abrahā and to purdge and clēse them of the erth of worldly wysedome, wherwyth these Philistians hauehave stopped them. Whyche grace graūt me God, for the louelove that he hath vntounto his sonne Jesus our Lord, vn to the glory of his name.
Amen.
THat fayth only before alworkes and without al merites but Chri stes onelyonly, iustifieth, and sette…h vsus at peace with God: is proued by Paule. Roman. i. I am not a shamed (sayth he) of the Gospel, that is to say, of the glad tydynges and promyses whyche God hath made & sworne to vsus in Christ For it (that is the Gospell) is the power of God vntounto saluation, to al that beleue. And it foloweth in the forsayd Chapter the iust or ryghtous must lyue by fayth.
¶ For in the fayth whiche we hauehave inThe lawe is death, and the promyses lyfe Chryst and in Gods promyses fynde we mercy, lyfe, fauoure, & peace. In the law we fynde deathe, damnation, and wrath▪ moreouer, the cursse and vengeaunce of God vponupon vsus. And it (that is to saye the law) is called of Paule. ii. Cor. iii. the ministration of death and dampnation. In the lawe we are proued the enemyes of God, and that we hate hym. For how cā The law whā it is preached geueth no power to fulfyll the same.we be at peace wyth God, and louelove hym, seyng we are conceiued and borne vnderunder the power of the Deuyl and are his possessyon and kyngdome, his captiues and bondmen, and led at his wyll, and he holdeth oure her…es, so that it is impossible for vsus to cōsent to the wyl of God, much more is it impossible for a man to fulfyll the law, of his owne strength and power seyng that we are by byrth and of nature the heyres of eternal damnation. As saith s. Paule Ephe ii. We (saythe he) are by nature the chyldren of wrathe. Whyche thyng the lawe doth but vtter onelyonly and helpeth vsus not, yea, she requireth impossi ble thynges of vsus The law when it com maundeth that thou shalt not lust geueth the not power so to do, but damneth the, because thou canst not so do.
IF thou wylt therfore bee at peace wyth God & louelove hym, thou muste turne to the promyses of God and to the Gospel, whiche is called of Paule in the place before rehersed and to the Corin. the ministration of rightuous nes and of the spirit. For fayth bryngeth pardon and forgeuenes freely purchased by Christes bloude and bringeth also the spiryte, the spyrite loseth the bondes of the deuyll and setteth vsus at lybertye. For where the spirit of the Lorde is ther is lybertye sayeth Paule in the same place to the Corinthians, that is to saye, ther the herte is free and hath power to louelove the wyll of God, and ther the hert mourneth that he cā not louelove ynough. Now is that consēt of the hert vntounto the lawe of GodThe consentynge vntounto the lawe with the hert is eternal lyfe. eternal lyfe, yee though ther be no power yet in the membres to fulfyll it. Let eueryevery man therfore (accordyng to Pauls councel in the. vi Cha. to the Ephe. arme hymselfe wyth the armour of God, that is to vnderstāde, with Goddes promyses, and aboue al thyng (sayeth he) take vntounto you the shylde of fayth, wherwith ye maye be able to quenche all the fyry dartes of the wicked, that ye maye be able to resiste in the euell daye of temptacyon, and namely at the houre of death.
Se therfore thou hauehave Goddes promy ses in thyn hert and that thou beleue thē without wauerynge: & when temptacyon aryseth, & the deuel layth the law and thy dedes agaynst the, answer hym with the promyses and turne to God and confesse thy selfe to hym and saye it is euen so, or els howe coulde he be mercyfull? but remembre that he is the God of mercy and of trueth and can not but fulfyl his promyses. Also remembre that his sonnes bloude is stronger then al the synnes and wyckednesses of the whole worlde and therwyth quyet thy selfe, and ther vntounto commyt 'thy selfe, and blesse thy selfe in all temptacyon (namely at the houre of death) with that holy candel Or els perishest thou though thou hast a thousande holy candels about the, a hundred tonne of holy water, a shipfull of pardons, aclothsacke ful of freers coates and al the ceremonies in the world, and all the good workes deseruinges, and merytes of all men in the world be they or were they ne uer so holy. Goddes worde onelyonly lasteth for euer and that whiche he hath sworne doth abyde, when all other thynges peryshe. So longe as thou findest any con sent in thyne hert vntounto ye lawe of God yt it is righteous and good, and also disple sure that thou canst not fulfyl it, dispayr not, nether dout, but that Gods sprite is in the, & that thou art chosē for Christes sake, to the enheritaunce of eternall lyfe.
And agayne, Ro. iii. We suppose that a manne is iustified thorow fayth without the dedes of the lawe. And lykewyse Ro. iii. We saye that faith was rekened to Abraham for righteousnes. Item Ro. v. Seyng that wee are iustified thorow fayth, wee are at one with God. Itē Ro. x. With the herte doth a man beleue to be made ryghteous. Item Gal. iii. Receyued ye the spirit by the dedes of the lawe, or by hearyng of the fayth? He whiche ministreth the spirit vntounto you and workeh miracles amonge you doeth he it by the deades of the Lawe or by hearynge of faythe? Euen as Abraham beleued God and it was tekened to him for ryghteous nes. Understāde therfore (sayeth he) that the chyldren of Abrahā. For the scripture sawe before, that God woulde iustifi the heythen or gentyls by fayth, and shewed before glad tydynges vntounto Abraham, in thy sede shal al nacious be blessed. Wher fore they which are of fayth shalbe blessed, that is to saye made ryghteous with the righteous Abraham. For as many as are of the dedes of the law are vnderunder the curse For it is written (sayth he) curssed is euerye man that contynueth not in all thynges whiche are written in the boke of the lawe to fulfil them.
Item Gal. ii. where he resisteth Peter in the face he sayeth. We whiche are Iewes by nacion and not synners of the gentyls, knowe that a man is not iustified by the dedes of the lawe, but by the fayth of Iesus. Christ and hauehave therfore beleued on Iesus Christe, that we myght be iustfied by the faith of Christ, and not by the dedes of the lawe: for by the dedes of the lawe shall no fleshe be iustified. Item in ye same place he sayth Toutchyng that Inow lyue, I leue in ye fayth of the sonne of God, whiche loued me and gaue hym …elfe for me I despyse not the grace of God. For yf ryghteousnes com by the lawe, then is Christe dead in vayne. And of such lyke ensamples are al the epistles of Paul full. Marke how Paule laboureth with hym selfe to expresse the exceadyng mysteryes of fayth in the epistle to the Ephesians, and in the Gpistle to the Collossians. By this and many such like textes are we sure that the forgeuenes of sinnes and iustifienge is appropriate vntounto faith onelyonly with out the adding of the workes. Take for the also the lykenes that Christ maketh Mat. vii. A good tree bringeth forth good fruite. And a bad tre bringeth forth bad fruit. Ther seyst thou that ye fruite maketh not the tre good, but the tre the fruit, and that the tree must afore hande bee good or be made good: e… it can bryng forth good fruite. As he also sayeth. Mat. xii. ether make the tree good and his fruyte good also, et her make the tree bad and his fruit bad also. How can ye speake well whyle ye youre selues are euill? So lykewyse is this true and nothinge more true, that a man before all good workes must fyrst be good, and that it is impossible that workes should make hym good, yf he were not good before, e… he dyd good workes. For this is Christes prynciple and (as we saye) a general rule.
Howe can ye speake well, whyle ye are euel? So lykewise howe can ye do good, whyle ye are euel?
Thys is therfore a playne, and a sure couclusion not to be dowted of, that therA manne must hauehave sōe good nes in his hert before be bring furth good workes must be firste in the hert of a man before he doeth any good workes greater and a preciouser thinge then all the good workes in the world to reconcyle him to God to brynge the louelove and fauour of God, to hym, to make hym louelove God agayne to mak him righteous and good in the sight of God, to do awaye hys synne, to delyuer hym and loose hym, out of that captiuite wherein he was conce…ued & borne, in whiche he coulde nether louelove God nor the wil of God. Or else how can he work any good work that shoulde please God, if there wer not some supernatural good nes in hym geuen of God frely wherof the good worke must sprynge? euen as a syck man muste fyrste be healed or made whole, e… he can do the dedes of an whole man, and as the blynde man muste fyrste hauehave sighte geuen hym er he can se: and he that hath his fete in fetters, giues, or stockes muste first be loused or he can go, walke or runne, and euen as they whiche thou readest of in the Gospell, that were possessed of the deuyls, coulde not laude God tyll the deuyls were caste out.
That precious thynge whiche must be in the herte er a man cā worke any good worke is the worde of God which in the Gospel precheth, profereth, and bringeth vntounto all them that repent and beleue, the fauoure of God in Christ. Whosoeuer heareth the word & beleueth it, that same is therby righteous, and therby is geuen hym the spirite of God, whyche leadeth hym vntounto all that is the will of God, and is loused from the captiuite and bondage of the deucll, and his herte is fre to louelove God, and hath lust to do the wyl of God. Therfore it is called the word of lyfe, the worde of grace, the worde of health, the word of redēpcion the word of forgeuenes, and the worde of peace. He that heareth it not or beleueth it not, can by nomeanes be made ryghteous before God.
This confirmth S. Peter in the xv. chapter of the actes, sayng that God tho row fayth doth purifie the hertes For of what nature soeuer the word of God is, of the same nature muste the hertes be whiche beleue theron and cleue ther vntounto.
Now is the worde lyuynge, pure, ryghteous and true, and euen so maketh it the hertes of them that beleue theron. If it be sayde that Paule (when he saith Roma. the. iii. No fleshe shall be or can be iustified by the dedes of the lawe) meaneth it of the ceremonies or sacrifices, it is a lye verelye. For it foloweth immediatly, by the lawe commeth the knowleg of sinne.
Now are they not the ceremonies that vtter synne, but the law of commaundementes.The lawe vttereth sinne, & setteh vsus at de bate. In the. iiii (he sayth) the law causeth wrath whiche can not be vnderstāde of the ceremonies for they were geuen to reconcyle the people to God agayne after they had synned. If as they say the ceremonies which were geuen to purge sinne and to reconcile, iustifie not, nether blesse but temporallye only, much more the law of cammaundementes iustifieth not. For that whiche proueth a man sike healeth hym not, nether doth the cause of wrath bryng hym to fauour, nether cā yt which damneth, saue a man When the mother cōmaundith hyr chylde, but euen to rocke the cradell, it grudgeth: this commaundement doth but vtter the poyson that laye hyd, and setteth hym at debat wyth hys mother and maketh him beleue she loueth hym not. These commaundementes also (thou shalte not couet thy neyghboures house, thou shalt not lust, desier, or wishe after th… neybours wyfe seruaūt, mayde, oxe or asse, or what soeuer pertayneth vn to thy neyghboure) geue not me power so to do, but vtter that poyson that is in me and dampne me, because I can not so do, & proue that God is wrath wyth me, seynge that his wyll and myne are so cō trary. Therfore sayth Paul Gala iii. If ther had ben geuen suche a law that could hauehave geuen lyfe, thē no doubte ryghteous nes had come by the lawe: but the scrypture dyd conclude all vnderunder synne (sayth he) that the promyse myght be geuē vntounto them that beleue thorow the faith that is in Iesus Christe.
The promyses when they are beleued,The promises iustifie. are they that iustyfie, for they brynge the spirite which louseth the hert, geueth lust to the law and certyfieth vsus of that good wyll of God vntounto vsus ward. If wee submytte oure selues vntounto God and desyre hym to heale vsus, he wyl do it, and wyll in the meane tyme (because of the consente of the herte vntounto the lawe) count vsus for full whole and wyll nomore hate vsus, but pytie vsus, cherish vsus, be tender herted to vsus, and louelove vsus as he doth Christe hym selfe, Christe is oure redemer, sauioure, peace, attonement, and satisfaction, and hath made amēdes or satisfactiō, to God ward for all the synne whyche they that repent (consentinge to the lawe and felelynge the promyses) doe, hauehave done, …r shall do. So that if th…rowe frag…e we fall a thousand▪ tymes in a daye, yet if we do repēt agayn, we hauehave al waye mer cy layed vp for vsus in stoare in Iesus Christe oure Lorde.