The Religion Anciently Professed by the Irish and British, Chapter 2
CHAP. II.
Of Predestination, Grace, Free-will, Faith, Workes, Iustification and Sanctification.
THe Doctrine which our learned men observed out of the Scriptures & the writings of the most approved Fathers, was this▪ that God bPraescitam & praedestinatam immobili consilio creaturam, ad se laudandum, & ex se & in se & per se beatè vivendum. S. Gallus in serm. habit. Constant.by his immoveable counsaile (as Gallus speaketh in his Sermon preached at Constance) ordained some of his creatures to praise h…m, and to live blessedly from him and in him, & by him: namely, cPraedestinatione scilicèt aeternâ, non creatione temporariâ, sed vocatione gratuitâ, vel …ndebitâ, gratiâ. Id. ib.by his eternall predestination, his free calling, and his grace which was due to none. that dMiseretur magná bonitate, …obdurat nullà iniquita…: ut ne que libera…s de luis meritis glorietur, neq damnatus nisi de suis meritis conquetatur Sola enim … …edemptos discernit à perditis, quos in unam perdi… concreavcrat massam, ab ori…ne ducta caussa communi. Sedul. in Rom. 9.hee hath merciemercy with great goodnesse, and hardneth without any iniquitie: so as neyther he that is delivered can glory of his own merits, nor he that is condemned complain but of his own merits. for asmuch as grace onelyonly maketh the distinction betwixt the redeemed and the lost; who by a cause drawne from their common originall, were framed together into one masse of perdition. For eVidet universum genus humanum tam justo judicio divinoque in apostaticâ radice damnatum; ut etiamsi nullus inde liberatur, nemo rectè posset Dei vituperare justitiam: & qui liberantur, sic oportuisse liberari, ut ex pluribus non liberatis, at que damnatione justissimâ derelictis, ostenderetur quid meruisset universa conspersio, quòd etiam justos debitum judicium Dei damnaret, nisi in ejus debitum misericordia subveniret: ut volentium de suis meritis gloriari, omne os obstruatur; & qui gloriatur, in Domino glorietur. Id ibid.all mankinde stood condemned in the apostaticall roote (of Adam) with so just and divine a judgement; that although none should be freed from thence, no man could rightly blame the justice of God: and such as were freed, must so have beene freed, that by those many which were not freed, but left in their most just condemnation, it might bee shewed what the whole lumpe had deserved, that the due judgement of God should have condemned even those that are justified, unlesse mercy had relieved them from that which was due: that so all the mouthes of them, which would glory of their merits, might bee stopped; and hee that glorieth, might glory in the Lord.
They further taught (as Saint Augustine did) that fLibero arbitrio malè utens homo, & se perdidit, & ipsum. Sicut enim qui se occidit, utique vivendo se occidit, sed se occidendo non vivit, neque seipsum poterit refuscitare cùm occiderit: ita cùm libero arbitrio peccaretur, victore peccato amissum est & liberum arbitrium. à quo enim quis devictus est, huic & servus addictus est. sed ad benè faciendum ista libertas unde erit homini addicto & vendito, nisi redimat, cujus illa vox est; Si vos Filius liberaverit, verè liberi eritis? Id. ibid.Man using ill his Free will, lost both himselfe and it. that, as one by living is able to kill himselfe, but by killing himselfe is not able to live, nor hath power to raise up himselfe when hee hath killed himselfe so when sinne had beene committed by free will, sinne being the conquerour, free will also was lost; for asmuch as of whom a man is overcome, of the same is hee also brought in bondage (2 Pet. 2. 19.) that unto a man thus brought in bondage and sold, there is no liberty left to doe well, unlesse he redeeme him, whose saying is this; If the Sonne make you free, yee shall bee free indeede. (Iohn 8. 36.) that gQuòd ab adolescentia mens hominum apposita sit ad malitiam: non est enim homo qui non peccet. Id. in Ephes. 2.the minde of men from their very youth is set upon evill: there being not a man which sinneth not. that a man hQuid habes ex teipso nisi peccatum? Id. in 1 Cor. 4.hath nothing from himselfe, but sinne. that iDeus author est omnium bonorum, hoc est, & naturae bonae, & voluntatis bonae; quam nisi Deus in illo operetur, non facit homo. quia praeparatur voluntas à Domino in homine bona; ut faciat Deo donante, quod à seipso facere non poterat per liberi arbitrii voluntatem. Claud. li. 1. in Matth.God is the author of all good things, that is to say, both of good nature, and of good will; which unlesse God doe worke in him, man cannot doe. because this good will is prepared by the Lord in man; that by the gift of God hee may doe that, which of himselfe he could not doe by his owne free-will. that kPraecedit bona voluntas hominis multa Dei dona, sed non omnia: quae autem non praecedit ipsa, in eis est & ipsa. Nam utrumque legitur in sanctis eloquiis; & misericordia ejus praeveniet me, & misericordia ejus subsequetur me: nolentem praevenit ut velit, volentem subsequitur, ne frustrà velit. Cur enim admonemur petere ut accipiamus; nisi ut ab illo fiat quod volumus, à quo factum est ut velimus? Sedul. in Rom. 9.the good will of man goeth before many gifts of God, but not all: and of those which it doth not goe before, it selfe is one. For both of these is read in the holy Scriptures; His mercy shall goe before mee, and, His merciemercy shall follow mee: it preventeth him that is unwilling that hee may will, and it followeth him that is willing, that he will not in vaine. and that therefore we are admonished to aske that wee may receive, to the end, that what we doe will may be effected by him, by whom it was effected that we did so will.
They taught also, that lNon ergo lex data est, ut peccatum auferret, sed ut sub peccato omnia concluderet. Lex enim oflendebat esse peccatum, quod illi per consuetudinem caecati possent putare iustitiam: ut hoc modo humiliati cognoscerent non in suâ manu esse salutem suam, sed in manu mediatoris. Id. in Gal. 3.the Law was not given, that it might take away sinne, but that it might shut up all under sinne: to the end that men, being by this means humbled, might understand that their salvation was not in their owne hand, but in the hand of a Mediatour. that by the Law commeth, mNon remissio, nec ablatio peccatorum, sed cognitio. Id. in Rom. 3.neither the remission nor the removall, but the knowledge of sinnes: that it nLex, quae per Moysen data est, tantùm peccata ostendit, non abstulit. Claud. in Gal. 2. Per que illam legem morbos ostendentem non auferentem, etiam praevaricationis crimine contrita superbia est. Id. in Gal. 3.taketh not away diseases, but discovereth them;oLex non do…at peccata, sed damnat. Sedul. in Rom. 4. forgiveth not sinnes, but condemneth them. that pDominus Deus imposuerat non justitiae servientibus sed peccato: justam scilicèt legem injustis hominibus dando, ad demonstranda peccata eorum, non auferenda. Non enim aufert peccata nisi gratiâ fidei quae per dilectionem operatur. Claud. in argument. epist. ad Gal.the Lord God did impose it, not upon those that served righteousnesse, but sinne; namely, by giving a just law to unjust men, to manifest their sins, and not to take them away: forasmuch as nothing taketh away sins but the grace of faith which worketh by love. That our qGratis nobis donantur peccata. Sedul. in Gal. 1. A morte redemptis gratis peccata dimittuntur. Id. in Ephes. 1.sinnes are freely forgiven us;rAbs que operum merito, & peccata nobis concessa sunt pristina, & p…x indulta post veniam. Claud. in Gal. 1. without the merit of our workes: that sGratiâ estis salvati per fidem, id est, non per opera. Sedul. in Eph. 2.through grace we are saved, by faith, and not by works; and that therfore we are to rejoyce, tNon in propriâ justitiâ, vel doctrinâ, sed in fide crucis, per quam mihi omnia peccata dimissa sunt. Sedul & Claud. in Gal. 6.not in our owne righteousnesse, or learning, but in the faith of the Crosse, by which all our sinnes are forgiven us. That uAbjecta & irrita gratia est, si …bi sola non sufficit. Sedul. in Gal. 2.grace is abject and vaine, if it alone doe not suffice us: and that we xChristum vilem habetis, dum putatis eum vobis non sufficere ad salutem. Id. in Galat. 3.esteem basely of Christ, when we thinke that he is not sufficient for us to salvation.
That yDisposuit Deus propitium sefuturum esse humano generi, si credant in sanguine ejus se esse liberandos. Id. in Rom. 3.God hath so ordered it, that he will be gracious to mankind, if they do beleeve that they shall be freed by the bloud of Christ. that, as zVita corporis amma, vi a animae fides est. Id. in Hebr. 10.the soule is the life of the body, so faith is the life of the soule: and that wee live aIn fide vivo filii Dei, id est, in solâ fide, qui ni…ld…b olegi. Id. in. Gal. 2.by faith onelyonly, as owing nothing to the Law. that bPerfectionem legi habet, qui credit in Christo. Cùm enim nullus iustifica…tui ex lege, quia nemo implebat legem, nisi qui sp…raret in promissionem Ch…: fides posita est, quae cederet pro perfectione legi; ut in omnibus praetermissis fides satissaceret pro totâ lege. Id. in Rom. 10.hee who beleeveth in Christ, hath the perfection of the Law. For whereas none might be justified by the Law, because none did fulfill the Law, but onelyonly hee which did trust in the promise of Christ: faith was appointed, which should be accepted for the perfection of the Law, that in all things which were omitted faith might satisfie for the whole Law. That this righteousnesse therefore is cNon nostra, non in nobis, sed in Christo, quasi membra in capite. Id. in 2 Cor. 5.not ours, nor in us, but in Christ; in whom were are considered as members in the head. That dFides, dimissis per gratiam peccatis, omnes credentes filios efficit Abrahae. Id. in Rom. 4.faith, procuring the remission of sinnes by grace, maketh all beleevers the children of Abraham: and that eIustum fuerat, ut quo modo Abraham credens ex gentibus per solam fidem iustificatus est; ita caeteri fidē eius imitantes salvarentur. Id. in Rom. 1.it was just, that as Abraham was justified by faith onelyonly, so also the rest that followed his faith should bee saved after the same manner. That fPer adoptionem efficimur filii Dei, credendo in Filium Dei. Claud. l…b. 1. in Mat.through adoption we are made the sons of God, by beleeving in the Sonne of God: and that this is gTestimonium adoptionis, quòd habemus spiritum, per quem ita oramus: … intam enim arrham non poterant, nisi filii accipere. Sed. in Rom. 8.a testimony of our adoption, that we have the spirit; by which we pray, and cry Abba Father; forasmuch as none can receive so great a pledge as this, but such as bee sonnes onelyonly. That hIpse Moses distinxit inter utramque iustitiam, fidei scilicet atque factorum: quia altera operibus, altera solâ credulitate iustificet accedentem. Id. in Rom. 10.Moses himselfe made a distinction betwixt both the justices, to wit of faith and of deedes: that the one did by workes justifie him that came, the other by beleeving onelyonly. that iPatriarchae & Prophetae non ex operibus legis, sed ex fide iustificati sunt. Id. in Gal. 2.the Patriarches and the Prophets were not justified by the workes of the Law, but by faith. that kIta praevaluit consuetudo peccandi, ut nemo iam perficiat legem: sicut Petrus Apostolus ait; Quod neque nos neque patres nostri portare potuimus. Si qui verò iusti non erant maledicti; non ex operibus legis, sed fidei gratiâ salvati sunt. Id. in Gal. 3.the custome of sinne hath so prevailed, that none now can fulfill the Law: as the Apostle Peter saith, Acts 15. 10. Which neither our fathers nor wee have beene able to beare. But if there were any righteous men which did escape the curse: it was not by the workes of the Law, but for their faiths sake that they were saved.
Thus did Sedulius and Claudius, two of our most famous Divines deliver the doctrine of free will and grace, faith and workes, the Law and the Gospel, Iustification and Adoption; no lesse agreeably to the faith which is at this day professed in the reformed Churches, that to that which they themselves received from the more ancient Doctors, whom they did follow therein. Neither doe wee in our judgement one whit differ from them, when they teach that lHoc contra illos agit, qui solam fidem posse sufficere dicunt. Sedul. in Ephes. 5. Non ergo sola ad vitam sufficit fides. Claud in Gal. 5. bis. Haec sententia illos revincit, qui solam fidem ad salutem animarum suarum sufficere arbitrantur. Id. ibid. in fine.faith alone is not sufficient to life. For when it is said, that Faith alone justifieth: this word alone may bee conceived to have relation either to the former part of the sentence, which in the Schooles they terme the Subject; or to the latter, which they call the Predicate. Being referred to the former, the meaning will be; that such a faith as is alone (that is to say, not accompanied with other vertues) doth justifie: and in this sense wee utterly disclaime the assertion. But being referred to the latter, it maketh this sense; that faith is it which alone or onelyonly justifieth: and in this meaning onelyonly doe we defend that proposition; understanding still by faith, not a dead carkase thereof (for how should the just bee able to live by a dead faith?) but a true and lively faith,mGal. 5. 6. which worketh by love. For as it is a certaine truth, that among all the members of the body, the eye is the onelyonly instrument whereby we see; and yet it is as true also, that the eye being alone, and separated from the rest of the members, is dead, and for that cause doth neither see onelyonly, not see at all: so these two sayings likewise may stand well enough together, that among all the vertues in the foule, faith is the onelyonly instrument whereby wee lay hold upon Christ for our justification; and yet, that faith being alone, and disjoyned from the society of other graces, is dead in it selfe, (as St.nIam. 2. 17. Iames speaketh) and in that respect can neither only justifie, nor justifie at all.
So though Claudius doe teach as wee doe, that oSi gentes fides sola non salvat, nec nos: quia ex operibus legis nemo iustificabitur. Claud. in Galat. 2.faith alone saveth us; because by the workes of the law no man shall bee justified: yet hee addeth withall this caution. pNon quò legis opera contemnenda sint, & abs que eis simplex fides adpetenda; sed ipsa opera fide Christi adornentur. Sc… est enim sapientis viri …sla sententia; non fidelem v…v…e ex iustitiâ, sed iustum ex fide. Id. in Galat. 3.Not as if the workes of the law should be contemned, and without them a simple faith (so hee calleth that solitary faith whereof we spake, which is a simple faith indeed) should bee desired; but that the workes themselves should bee adorned with the faith of Christ. For that sentence of the wise man is excellent, that the faithfull man doth not live by righteousnesse, but the righteous man by faith. In like manner Sedulius, acknowledgeth with us, that God qGratis proposuit per solam fidem dimittere peccata. Sedul. in Rom. 4.hath purposed by faith onelyonly to forgive our sinnes freely, and rVt solâ fide salvatentur credentes. Idem. in Galat. 3.by faith onelyonly to save the beleevers; and that, when men have fallen, they are to bee renewed sPer solam fidem Christi, quae per dilectionem operatur, Id. in Hebr. 6.onelyonly by the faith of Christ, which worketh by love. intimating by this last clause, that howsoever faith onelyonly be it which justifieth the man, yet the worke of love is necessarily required (for all that) to justifie the faith. And this faith (saith tHaee fides cùm justificata fuerit, …anquam radix imbre suse pro, haeret in animae solo; ut cum per legem Dei excoli …aeperit, rurtùm in eam surgant rami, qui fructus operum ferant. Non ergo ex operibus radix justitiae, sed ex radice justitiae fructus operum crescit… illâ scilicet radice justitiae, cu… Deus accep…in fert justitiam sine operibus. Id. in Rom. 4.he) when it hath beene iustified, sticketh in the soyle of the soule, like a roote which hath received a showre: that when it hath begunne to be manured by the law of God, it may rise up againe into bowes, which may beare the fruit of workes. Therefore the roote of righteousnesse doth not grow out of works, but the fruit of works out of the root of righteousnesse; namely out of that root of righteousnesse, which God doth accept for righteousnesse without workes. The conclusion is: that saving faith is alwaies a fruitfull faith; and though it never goe alone, yet may there be some gift of God, which it alone is able to reach unto. as uColumban. in ….Columbanus also implieth in that verse: Sola fides fidei dono ditabitur almo.
The greatest depressers of Gods grace, and the advancers of mans abilities, were Pelagius and Celestius… the one borne in Brittaine (as appeareth by Prosper Aquitanus) the other in Scotland or Ireland; as xPe…s…three Convers. part. 1. chap. 3. sect. 10.Mr. Persons doth gather out of those words of S. Hierom in one of the Prefaces of his commentaries (not upon Ezechiel, as he quoteth it, but) upon Ieremy. yHabet enim progeniem Seoticae gentis, de Britannorum viciniâ. Hieron. prooem. lib. 3. commentar. in Ierem.He hath his off-spring from the Scottish nation, neere to the Britans. These hereticks (as our Marianus noteth out of Prosper. in his Chronicle) preached, among other of their impieties, zVnumquem jue adiustitiam voluntate propriâ regi; tantumque accipere gratiae, quantum meruerit. Morian, Scot. Chron. ad an. Dom 413. vel 414. Whereof see more particularly, the Answer to the Iesuite, in the question of Free-will.that for attaining of righteousnesse every one was governed by his owne will, and received so much grace as he did merit. Whole venemous doctrine was in Brittaine repressed, first by Palladius, Lupus, Germanus and Severus from abroad; afterward, by David Menevensis, and his successors at home agreeably to whose institution, Asser. Men…vensis doth professe, that God is alwaies to bee esteemed both the mover of the will, and the bestower of the good that is willed for hee is (saith hee) aOmnium bonarum voluntatum inssigator; necnon etiam, ut habeantur bona desiderata, largissimus administrator. neque enim unquam aliquem bene velle insligaret, nisi & hoc, quod bene & iustò quisque habere desiderat, largiter administraret. Asser. d… rebus gestic Aelfredi. R.the instigatour of all good wills, and withall the most bountifull provider that the good things desired may bee had: forasmuch as hee would never stirre up any to will well, unlesse hee did also liberally supply that which every one doth well and justly desire to obtaine.
Among our Irish, the grounds of sound doctrine in these points were at the beginning well settled by Palladius and Patricius, bProsp. Aquitan. advers. Coelater. ….sent hither by Celestinus Bishop of Rome. And when the poyson of the Pelagian heresie, about two hundred yeares after that, beganne to breake out among them: the Clergie of Rome in the yeare of our Lord DCXXXIX. (during the vacancie of the See, upon the death of Severinus) directed their letters unto them, for the preventing of this growing mischiefe. Wherein among other things they put them in minde, thatdBlasphemia & stultiloquium est dicere, esse hominem sine peccato quod omnino non potest, nisa unus mediater Dei & hominum … Christus Iesus, qui sine peccato est conceptus & partus. Epist. Cler. Roman. apud. …dam, lib. 2. hist. cap. 13. it is both blasphemy and folly to say, that a man is without sinne: which none at all can say, but that one mediatour betwixt God and man, the man Christ Iesus, who was conceived and borne without sinne. Which is agreeable, partly to that of Claudius; thateQuia, (quod omnibus sapientibus patet, licèt haeretici contradicant) nemo est, qui sine adtactu alicuius peccati vivere possit super terram. Claud. lib. 2. in. Matth. it is manifest unto all wise men, although it bee contradicted by heretickes, that there is none who can live upon earth without the touch of some sinne: partly to that of Sedulius, thatfNullus electus & ita magnus, quem Diabolus non audeat accusare: nisi illum solum, qui peccatum non fecit, qui & dicebat; Nunc venit princeps huius mundi, & in me nihil. invenit. Sedul. in Rom. 8. there is none of the elect so great, whom the Divell doth not dare to accuse, but him alone who did no sinne, and who said; The Prince of this world commeth now, and in mee bee findeth nothing.
For touching the imperfection of our sanctification in this life, these men held the same that wee doe: to wit, that the Law gNon potest impleri. Id. in Rom. 7.cannot be fulfilled; that hNon est qui faciat bonum, hoc est, perfectum & integrum bonum Id. in Rom. 3.there is none that doth good, that is to say, perfect and entire good. that iAd hoc nos elegit, ut essemus sancti & immaculati, in futurâ vitâ; quoniam Ecclesia Christi non habebit maculam neque rugam. Licèt etiam in praesenti vitâ justi, & sancti, & immaculati, quamvis non ex toto, tamen ex parte, non inconuenienter dici possunt. Id. in Ephes. 1.Gods elect shall be perfectly holy and immaculate in the life to come, where the Church of Christ shall have no spot nor wrinkle: whereas in this present life they are righteous, holy, and immaculate, not wholly, but in part only that kTunc erit iustus fine ullo omninò peccato, quando nulla lex erit in memberis eius, repugnans legi mentis eius. Claud. in Gal. 5.the righteous shall then be without all kinde of sinne, when there shall be no law in their members, that shall resist the law of their minde. that although lNon enim iam regnat peccatum in eorum mortali corpore ad obediendum desideriis eius: quamvis habitet in eodem mortali corpore peccatum, nondum extincto impetu consuetudinis naturalis, quâ mortaliter nati sumus, & ex proptlis vitae nostrae, cùm & nos ipsi peccando auximus quod ab origine peccati humani damnationis trahebamus. Id ibid.sinne doe not now reigne in their mortall body to obey the desires thereof: yet sin dwelleth in that mortall body, the force of that naturall custome being not yet extinguished, which we have gotten by our originall, and increased by our actual transgressions. And as for the matter of merit: Sedulius doth resolve us out of S. Paul, that we are Saints mVocatione Dei, non merito facti. Sedul. in. Rō. 1.by the calling of God, not by the merit of our deed; that God is able to exceeding abundantly above that we aske or think, nSe…nd…m virtutem quae operatur in nobis; non secundùm merita nostra. Id. in Ephes. 3.according to the power that worketh in us, not according to our merits; that oSciendum est, quin omne quod habent homines à Deo, gratia est: nihil enim ex …ebito habent. Id. in Rom. 16.whatsoever men have from God; is grace, because they have nothing of due; and that pNihil dignum inveniri vel comparati ad futuram glori…m potest. Id. in Rom. 8.nothing can bee found worthy or to bee compared with the glorie to come.