The Parable of the Wicked Mammon, Parable · Part 25 – Part 26
THere is no man that forsaketh house, other father, or mother▪ other brethern or sisterne, or wife, or childerne for the kingdome of hauēs sake, which shal not receyue much more in this worlde, and in the worlde to come euerlastinge lyfe. Luc. xviii.
Here seest thou that a Christen man in all hys workes hath respecte to nothingeA christē hath respect to nothing else but the glorie of God. but vntounto the glorye of God only and to the maynteinynge of the trueth of God, and doth and leaueth vndone all thinges of louelove to ye glorie and honor of God only, as Christ teacheth in the pater noster.
More ouer when he sayeth he shall receiue much more in this world, of a truth yea, he hath receiued muche more al redi. For excepte he had felte the infinite mercy, goodnes, louelove and kyndnes of God and the feloweshyppe of the bloude of Christe and the comfort of the spirite of Christ in hys herte, he coulde neuer hauehave forsaken any thinge for Gods sake. Not withstādinge (as sayth Marke in the. x. Chapter) Who soeuer for Christes sake and ye Gospels forsaketh house, brethern or systers etc. He shall receyue an hūdrede folde houses, bretherne etc, That is spiritually.Howe it is to be vnderstand He shal receyue an hundred folde. For Christ shalbe all thinges vn to the. The angels, all Christen and who so euer doth the will of the father, shalbe father mother, syster and brother vntounto, the, and all theirs shal be thyne. And God shall take the cure of the and minister all thinges vntounto the▪ as longe as thou …ekyft but his honour only. More ouer if thou were Lorde ouer all the world, yea of tenGods spirite slake the all worldly desyr worldes before thou knewiste God: yet was not thine appetite quenched, thou thurstedeste for more. But if thou seke his honoure only, then shall he slake thy thurste and thou shalt hauehave all that thou desyrest, and shal be con…ēte: if thou dwel amonge infydeles, and amonge the moste eruelest nacion of the worlde, yet shall he be a father vntounto the and shal defende the, as he dyd Abraham, Isaac and Iacob and all sayntes whos lyues thou readest in the scripture. For all that are past and gone before are but ensamples to strēgth oure fayth & truste in the worde of God.All yt is wrytten, is written to our instruc tion.
It is the same God and hath sworne to vsus all that he sware vntounto them, and is as true as euer he was and therfore can not but fulfyll hys promyses to vsus as well as he dyd to them, if we beleue as thi did.
The hour shal come when al they that are in the garues shall heare hys voyce,Howe it is to be vnderstāde. The deade in the graue shall hear the voice. that is to saye Christes voyce, and shall come forth, they that hauehave done good in to the resurcection of lyfe and they that hauehave done euill in to the resurrection of damnacion, Jhon. v.
Thys & al lyke textes declare what foloweth good workes, & that our dedes shal testifie wyth vsus or agaynste vsus at that daye, and putteth vsus in remembraūce to be diligente and feruēte in doinge good.
Here by mayste thou not vnderstande that we obtayne the fauour of God and the enheritaunce of life thorowe the meri tes of good workes, as hirelinges theyr wages. For then shouldest thou robbe Christ, of whose fulnes we hauehave receiued fauoure for fauoure, as affirmeth also Paule Ephe. i. he loued vsus in his beloued by whome we hauehave (sayeth Paule) redē cion thorowe his bloude, and forgeuenes of sinnes. The forgeuenes of sinnes then is oure redemcion in Christe▪ and not the rewarde of workes.
In whom (sayth he in the same place) he chose vsus before the makynge of the worlde, that is longe before we dyd good workes. Thorow fayth in Christ are we Also the sonnes of God, as thou readest Jo. i. in that they beleued on his name he gaue thē powere to be the sōnes of God. God with al his fulnes and ryches dwel leth in Christ, and out of Christ must we feach all thinges. Thou readest also. Jo. iii. he that beleueth on the sōne hath eternall lyfe. And he that beleueth not shal se no lyfe, but the wrath of God abideth vponupon him. Here seeste thou yt the wrath and vengeaunce of God possesseth eueryeveryFayth & trust… in Christ expel leth ye wrath … bryngeth fauoure. man tyll fayth come. Faith and truste in Christe expelleth the wrath of God, and bringeth fauoure, the spirite, power to do good, and the euerlasting lyfe. Moreouer vntyll Christe hauehave geuen the light thou knowest not where in standeth the goodnes of thy workes, and tyl his spirit hath loosed thyne herte thou canste not cōsente vntounto good workes. All that is good in vsus both wyl and workes cometh of the fauoure of God thorow Christ, to whom be the laude and thankes Amen.
IF any man wyll do hys wyll (he meaneth the wyll of the doctryne whether it be of God or whether I speak of myselfe. Jo. vii. This text meaneth not yt any man of his owne strength power and fre wil (as they call it) can do the wyl of God, before he hath receyued ye spirite and strength of Christ thorow faith. But here is ment yt which is spoken in the third of Jhon when Nicodemus maruayled howe it were possyble that a man shoulde be borne agayne, Christ answered, that which is borne of the fleshe, is fleshe, & that whyche is borne of the spirite, is spirite as who shoulde saye, he that hath ye spirite thorow faith, and is borne agayne and made a new in Christ, vnderstandeth the thynges of the spirite and what he that is spiritual mea neth. But he that is fleshe and as Paule sayeth. i. Cor. ii. a natural man and led of his blynde reason onelyonly, can neuer ascēde to the capacite of the spirite. And he geueth and ensample sayenge. The wynd bloweth where he listeth and thou herest his voyce and wottest not whence he cō eth nor whyder he wyll. So is eueryevery mā that is borne of the spirite, he that speaketh of ye spirite can neuer be vnderstāde of the naturall man whiche is but fleshe and sauereth no more then thinges of the fleshe. So here meaneth Christ if any mā hauehave the spirite, and consenteth vntounto the wyll of God, the same at ones wotteth what I meane.