The Parable of the Wicked Mammon, Parable · Part 27 – Part 29
IF ye vnderstande thes thynges, happie are ye if ye do them John. xiii. A christen mans herte is with the wil of God, wyth the law and commaundementes of God, and hōgreth and thursteth after strength to fulfyl thē and morneth daye and nyght desyringe God accordinge to hys promyses, for to geue him power to fulfyl the wil of God with louelove & luste: then testifieth his deade that he is blessed & that the spirite whiche blesseth vsus in Christ is in hym and ministreth such strength. The outwarde dedeThe workes testifie. testifieth what is with in vsus, as thou rea dest John. v. The deades whiche I do, testifyeth of me sayth Christ. And John. xiii. hereby shal al men knowe that ye are my disciples, if ye louelove one an other. And John. xiiii. he that hath my commaundemētes and keapeth thē the same it is that loueth me. And agayne, he that loueth me kepeth my cōmaundementes, and he that loueth me not kepeth not my commaūdementes, the outwarde deade testifiynge of the inwarde herte. And John. xv. Yf ye shal kepe my cōmaundementes ye shal cōtinue in my louelove, as I kepe my fathers commaundemente▪ and continue in hys louelove. That is, as ye se the louelove yt I hauehave to my father in that I kepe his commaū dementes, so shall ye se the louelove that, yee hauehave to me in that ye kepe my commaundementes. Thou mayst not thinke that oure deades blesse vsus fyrst and that wee preuent God and his grace in Christe, as thought we in oure naturall gyftes, andOur dedes pre uent not God des grace nor make vsus iuste beinge as we were borne in Adam, loked on the lawe of God and of oure owne strēgth fulfylled it & so became ryghtuos & thē with that rightuousnes obtained ye fauour of God. As philosophers writ of rightuousnes, & as the rytuousnes of tē poral law is, wher ye lawe is satisfied wt ye ypocrisie of the outward dede. For con trary to ye readest thou. Ye hauehave not chosen me, but I hauehave chosen you, yt ye go, & bring furth fruit, and that your fruit remayn. And in the same Cha. I am a vine & ye the braunches & wythoute me can ye do nothinge. With vsus therfore so goeth it. In Adā are we al as it wer wild crabtres▪ Wee are all crabtres in Adam.of which God choseth whō he wyll & plucketh theim out of Adam & planteth them in the gardē of his mercy & stocketh thē & graffeth the spirit of Christ in them which bryngeth forth the fruit of the wilDuryng oure lyfe wee are yet partly carnall. of God, which fruit testifieth that God hath blessed vsus in Christ. Note this also yt as long as we lyue we are yet partlye carnal & fleshly (not withstandyng yt we are in Christ, & though it be not imputed vntounto vsus for Christes sake) for ther abydeth & remaineth in vsus yet of the old Adā as it wer the stock of the crabtre & euer a mong whē occasion is gyuē him, shoteth forth his, braunches & leues, bud, blosom & fruit. Against whom we must fyghte & subdue him chaunge all hys nature by a lytle wt prayer, fasting, watchinge, with vertuous meditacion & holy workes, vntyl we be altogether spirit. The kingdom of heauen sayth Christe, is lyke leauen,Mathew. xiii. which a womā taketh & hideth in .iii. peckes of meale till al be leuened. The leuen is the spirit & we the meale whiche mustRomans. ii. What leuē is▪ What is meal be seasoned with the spirite a litle & a lytle tyl we be throughout spiritual. Whiche shal reward eueryevery man accordinge to his dede, yt is accordinge as the dedes are so shal eueryevery mans reward be, the dedes declare what we are, as the fruit the tree according to the frut shal the tree be pray sed. The reward is gyuen of the mercy & truth of God, & by the deseruing & merytes of Christ. Wosoeuer repēteth, beleueth the Gospel and putteth his trust in Christ merites, ye same is heyre wt Christ of eternal lyfe, for assuraunce wher of ye spirit, of God is poured into his hert as an ernest, which louseth him from the bō des of sathan, & giueth him lust & strēgth eueryevery day more and more according as he is diligēt to axe of God for Christes sake. And eternall lyfe foloeth good lyuing. I suppose (sayeth Paule in the same Epistle) yt the offlictions of thys worlde areRomans. viii. not worthy of the glorye whyche shalbe showed on vsus, yt is to say, that which we here suffer can neuer deserue ye rewarde which ther shalbe giuē vsus. Moreouer, if ye ▪ reward shuld depend & hang of ye wor kes no mā shuld be saued. Forasmuch as oure beste deades, compared to the lawe, are damnable synne. By ye deades of the lawe is no fleshe iustified, as it is writtē in the third Chap to the Rom. The lawe iustifieth not, but vttereth the sinne only and compelleth and dryueth the penitent or repentinge synner to fle vntounto the seyn tory of mercy in the bloude of Christe. Al so repēte we neuer so much, be we neuer so well willinge vntounto the lawe of God: yet are we so weake, and the snares and occasions so innumerable that wee falle daily and hourely. So that we could not but dispere, if the rewarde hanged of the worke. Whosoeuer ascribeth eternal lifeHe that ascribethe eternall lyfe vntounto meri tes is other a pharise or else he muste despayre. vntounto the deseruinge & merite of workes, must falle in one of two inconueniēces, either must he be a blynde pharise not seinge that the lawe is spiritual and he car nall, and loke and reiose in the outwarde shynynge of hys deades, despysynge the weake, and in respect of thē Iustify him selfe. Or else if he se howe that the lawe is spirituall and he vnable to asc…nde vntounto that whiche the lawe requirethe he must nedes dispayre. Let eueryevery Christen man therfore reioyse in Christ oure hope, trust & rightuousnes, in whom we are lo ued, chosen & accept vntounto the enheritaūce of eternal lyfe, nether presumynge in our perfectnes, nether dispering in our weak nes. The perfecter a man is, the clerer is his syght, and seyth a thousande thinges whiche desplease him and also perfectenes that can not be obtayned in this lyfe. And therfore desyreth to be with Christ, where is no more synne. Let him that isLet not hym yt is weake despayre nor him that is perfect boast him self. weake and can not do yt he woulde fayne do not despeare, but turne to hym that is stronge & hath promysed to geue strength to all that axe of hym in Christes name, and complaine to God and desire hym to fulfyll his promises, and to God cōmitte him selfe. And he shall of his mercye and trueth strength hym and make him feale▪ wythe what louelove he is beloued for Christes sake, thought he be neuer so weake.
THey are not rightuous before God which heare the lawe, but they which do the lawe shalbe iu stified. Ro. ii. This text is playn ner than that it neadeth to be expounded In this chapiter before, Paull proueth that the law natural holpe not the Gentiles.The law natu rall was writton in ye gētils For the law of God was writen in the hertes of Gentiles (as it appereth by the lawes, statutes, & ordinaunces whych thei made in their cities) yet kept they thē not. The great kepe the smale vnderunder for their owne profit with the violēce of the lawe. EueryEvery man praiseth the law as fa… furth as it is profitable and pleasaūt vn to himselfe. But when his owne appetites should be refrained, then grudgeth he agaynst the lawe. Moreouer he proueth that no knowledge holpe ye gentyles. For thoughe the larned men (as the philosophers) came to the knowledge of God, bi the creatures of the worlde, yet had they no power to worshippe God. In thys seconde. Chapt. proueth he that the Iewes (though they had the lawe written) yet it holpe thē not: they coulde not kepe it, but were ydolaters and were also murtherers, adulters and what so euer the lawe forbade. He concludeth therfore that the Iewe is as well damned as the gentyle. If hearinge of ye lawe onelyonly myght hauehave iustified, then had the▪ Iewes ben rightuous.Not haeynge but doeynge ye lawe maketh ryghtuose. But it is required that a man do the lawe, if he wyll be rightuous. Which because the Iewe did not, he is no lesse dam ned thē the gentyle. The publishinge and declarinnge of the lawe doth but vtter a mans synne, and gyueth nether strength nor healpe to fulfyll the lawe.
The lawe killeth thy cōsciens & geueth ye no lust to fulfyl the lawe. Faith in Christ geueth luste & power to do ye lawe. Now is it true that he whych doeth ye lawe is rightuous, but yt doth no mā saue he that beleueth & putteth hys truste in Christe.
IF any mans worke that he hath bylde vponupon abyde, he shall receyue a rewarde. i. Corint. ii. The circū staunce of the same Chapter, that is to wete, that whyche goeth before and that whiche foloweth, declareth playnly what is mente. Paule talketh of lerning doctrine or peachinge. He sayeth that he him selfe hath layd the fundacion, which is Iesus Christ: and that no mā can laye any other. He exhorteth therfore eueryevery man to take heade what he byldeth vponupon, and boroweth a similitude of ye goldsmith whyche tryeth hys metalles wyth fyre saienge that the fyer (that is) the iud gement of the scripture, shall trye eueryevery mans worke, that is eueryevery mans preach: inge and doctrine. Yf ani bylde vponupon theThe fyre is ye iudgment of scripture fundacion layde of Paule, I meane Iesus Christ, golde syluer or precious stone whyche are all one thynge and signifye true doctrine, whyche when it is examinined the scripture aloweth, then shallGolde, syluer, and preciouse stones, is true doctrine. he hauehave his rewarde, that is he shall be sure that his lerning is of God, and that Goddes spirite is in him and that he shal hauehave the rewarde that Christe hath purchased for hym. On the other syde if any mā bylde theron tymbre, heye or stubble,Tymber, hey, stubble, are mens doctrine which are alone and signifie doctrine of mans ymaginacion, tradicyons and fantasics whiche standeth not with Christe when they are examyned and iudged by the scripture, he shall suffer damage, but shalbe saued hym selfe, yet as it were tho rowe fyre, that is, it shalbe paynefull vntounto hym, that he hath lost his laboure, andHe shall be saued neuer the lesse thorowe fyre. to se hys byldinge perishe, notwythstandinge if he repente and enbrace the truth in Christe, he shall obtayne mercy and be saued. But if Paule were now a lyue and woulde defende hys owne learnige, he shoulde be tried thorowe fyre, not thorow fyre of the iudgemēt of scripture (for ye iyght men now vtterly refuse) but by the popes law and with fyre of fagottes.