A Wholesome Antidote Against Anabaptists, Dialogue 7
The .vii. Treatye or Diaſogue.
How that Chriſt dyd not onelyonly ſuffer, for originall ſyn.
Symon.
TAke hede, that thou doeſt not raſhly and without aduiſemēt, blame the Anabaptiſtes. For ther hath ben alwayes ſome, whiche dyd ſaye, that Chriſt hathe ſuffered onelyonly, for them, that were afore him, that is to ſaye, for the Fathers, which dyd lyue vnderunder the olde Teſtament, & that he hath only pourged in vsus, Originall ſynne, and that we ought to expiate, or to make amendes & ſatiſfaction, with our owne dedes and workes, for the ſinnes, that we cōmit, after that we be ones purified.
Ioi.
If ye hauehave ben ſo taught hytherto, and hauehave beleued ſo, why was Peter Abelardus counted an heretike, & made to recant againe, by ſaint Bernarde, in the councell of Sens? He dyd teache very like thynges.
Sy▪
This dothe moue me. but lytell.
Ioiada.
In this thinge, are yee blame worthye, that ye Anabaptiſtes, do know, neither new nor olde hiſtories, & yet ye wyll be teachers. What audacitie is this? But howe …ayne your opinion is, and how muche, it doth ene…uate and af…eablyſh, the vertue of the paſſion of Chriſt, we wyll ſhew, by the holy ſcriptures. Iohn Baptiſt, ſhewyng with his fynger, that pure & immaculate lambe Ieſu Chriſt, dyd ſaye: This is the lambe of God, which taketh awaye the ſynne of the worlde. By theſe & other wordes of the ſcripture. it is manifeſtly proued, that Chriſt is the full ſatiſfaction, for the ſynnes of all the worlde. Or canſt thou ſay, that the fathers of the old Teſtamēt are onelyonly the worlde.
Sym.
No, but he ſayeth ſyn, & not ſynnes.
Ioi.
Iohn dothe vſe this worde ſynne, as he dothe, this diction world. By the worlde, he vnderſtandeth, whatſoeuer is worldly: ſo by this word ſinne, he vnderſtandeth, all that can be named ſynne, the gender beynge here put, for the ſpecies. For he ſayeth, which taketh away, and not, which hath taken away, or ſhall take away, that this word Tollit, taketh away, may ſignifye action or doyng & not tyme. For what ſynnes ſoeuer are taken away, they ar taken away, by the ſacrifice of Chriſt, done in the Croſſe.
Sym.
Thou muſt bring cleare & more ſtrong teſtimonies, for theſe, can eaſely be confuted.
Ioia.
This aucthoritie is bothe playne & ſtrong inough. Nor it can not be ſubuerted, by any contradiction. But that thou mayeſt ſee, that we ar not without auctorities. Reade the .v. to the Roma. and thou ſhalt vnderſtand, and perceyue, that the vertewe of the death of Chriſt, is abolyſhed by you. And not as bi one mā (ſaith ſaynt Paul) which had ſinned, death dyd come: ſo is the gyfte of GOD. For iudgement, dyd come, by one ſynne to condemnacion, and the gyfte dyd come, to iuſtify frō many ſynnes. Do not theſe woordes, O Symon, prooue, that Chriſt with hys death, dyd not clenſe or pourge onelyonly one ſynne, but all maner of ſynnes? But reade all the whole chapiter, and then, thou ſhalte vnderſtande it better.
Paule ſpeaketh of Chriſt in the ii. chap. to the Colloſſen. after this maner: And you (ſayth he) when yee were dead thoroughe youre ſynnes or in the prepucie or vncircumciſiō of yourfleſh, he hath quykened alſo with him forgyuyng vntounto vsus all our ſynnes. Becauſe that in him dothe inhabite all plenitude or perfection of God head corporally and ye are made perfect in him. Which thyng, truly, coulde not be, if he had not waſhed vsus clene frō all our ſynnes. But the contrary is euidently knowen, by the .x. chap to the Hebrues. He (ſayth ſaynt Paule) one oblacion beynge offered for ſynnes, ſitteth euerlaſtīgly on the right hande of God the Father. For with one oblaciō, he hath made perfecte for euer, them, that are ſanctified .i. Ioh. i. The blood of Chriſt, dothe clenſe vsus, from all our ſynnes .i. Io. ii. If any man dothe ſynne, we hauehave an aduocate, before the father, that righteous Lorde Ieſu Chriſt. And he is the ſatisfaction for oure ſynnes, and not onelyonly for oure ſynnes, but for the ſynnes of all the worlde. If Chriſt dyd take away, onelyonly original ſynne, the teſtimonye and aucthoritie of Ieſu, is voyde. And agayne, if Chriſt dyed not for vsus, but for them only that were after hym: what belongeth vntounto vsus, the death of Chriſt. Or why ſhould we confeſſe it, if it perteyneth nothyng vntounto vsus? Doeſt thou not ſee yet, who are falſe Prophetes, enemyes of the croſſe of Chriſt, and ſubuerſers of the Chriſten fayth?
Sy.
I doo ſee it well inough, and I am wel content, touchynge this Artitle. But as for that, that they dooe denye, or wyll not graunt repentaunce, & grace vntounto them, that be fallen agayn: thei proue it ſtrongly by the .vi. chap. to the Hebrues, and by the ii. Peter. ii And, verely, as farre, as I can, perceyue, they ſpeake well inough in it. That is to ſay, that we be no more in the fleſh, and that me ought to ſynne no more after this: which thyng I wold thynke to be good, if we myght …olyue. For they do ſo, v…ry stu…ouſly & with great diligen….