Answer to Book by Romish Priests, Doctrine 22 – Doctrine 23
XXII. That no Good Works are Meritorious.
Anſwer.
AT laſt he ſpeaks ſome truth, tho very lamely. For if by meritorious were meant nothing, but that good works are highly valued by God, when performed out of love to him, and we deny our ſelves to ſerve him; which undoubtedly he will reward with a glorious Recompence, tho far tranſcending our ſervices; there would be no quarrel about this matter. But by works meritorious, they mean ſuch as are no ways defective, and have ſuch an exact proportion to the Reward, that God is bound in ſtrict Juſtice, to beſtow, or rather pay it. Now this is it we deny, believing that Good works in the rigour of Juſtice, do not deſerve eternal life as wages; and this is it which they preſume, but can never prove.
His firſt Text,XVI. Mat. 17. XVI. Matth. 17. is ſo far from expreſs, that quite contrary it ſaith, God will only reward every man according to his works, not for the merit of his works; which imports them to be an adequate cauſe; whereas according, ſignifies nothing of a cauſe, but only of a reſpect, or compariſon between the work and the reward; ſo that they who have done evil ſhall be puniſhed, and they that have done good be bleſſed. And he belies St. Auſtin (according to the manner of their Catholick Sincerity) to juſtifie his Interpretation. For St. Auſtin ſpeaks of the Puniſhment of Sinners,Serm. XXXV. de verbi. Apoſt. not of the Reward of the Righteous. I beſeech you, brethren, attend diligently, and be ye afraid as well as I, for he doth not ſay He will render to every one according to his mercy, but according to their works, (he ſaith not a word of their Faith, which this man put in of his own head) for now he is merciful, but then juſt. Would to God they would take St. Auſtin's counſel, and ſo diligently attend to this, as to repent of their ſhameleſs Forgeries, that they may find Mercy with God, which hereafter will be denied.
The word for Reward in V. Matth. 12. is not to be interpreted, Wages, and Hire, due to the work. For the Labourers who came at the Eleventh Hour into the Vineyard, as St. Hilary *In Pſal. 129. in fine.obſerves, received Mercedem, their Reward, not of the work, but of Mercy: Which is exactly according to St. Paul, IV. Rom. 4. where he ſaith, there is a foreign, (which this man would have tranſlated, Wages), Reward of Grace, not of Debt. Which place St. Auſtin *In Pſal. XXXI.having occaſion to mention, thus gloſſes; Now to him that worketh, that is, preſumeth of his Works, and ſaith that for their merit the Grace of Faith was given, the Reward is not reckoned of Grace, but of Debt. What's this, but that our Reward is called Grace? If it be Grace, it is freely given. What's meant by freely given? It coſt thee nothing. Thou didſt no good, and Remiſſion of ſins is beſtowed upon thee. I have quoted this at large, that if it be poſſible, ſuch men as this may be put to the bluſh, if not confounded. As one would expect they ſhould be, when they read St. Paul; who tho he ſay, Death is the wages of ſin, yet ſaith, Eternal Life is the Gift of God: Which the Fathers take great notice of, particularly St. Hierom; he doth not ſay, the wages of Righteouſneſs, as he had ſaid the wages of ſin; for eternal life is not earned by our labour, but graciouſly beſtowed by God's gift.
The ſame Anſwer ſerves for the next place, X. Matth. 42. and all ſuch Texts. And 2 Cor. V. 10. was anſwered before; that we ſhall receive according to what we have done in the body; they that have done well ſhall be rewarded above their deſerts; and they that have done evil, receive what they have deſerved: Which is the higheſt encouragement unto well-doing; to believe, That God will do more abundantly for us, out of his infinite bounty, than we can ask or think; and not conſider our merits (which are none at all) but his own incomprehenſible Goodneſs and Mercy. They that teach otherways, derogate from the Grace of God, and proudly arrogate to themſelves a worthineſs, of which creatures are not capable.
I need not examine that heap of Scriptures, which he confuſedly huddles together; for they have no more in them than theſe we have already conſidered. And as for the Fathers, it is a moſt inſufferable impudence to ſay, as he doth, That they unanimouſly confirm the ſame. The quite contrary hath been unanſwerably proved by our Writers, That the Fathers from the firſt times, down to Venerable Bede, have taught as he doth, That no man ought to think his own merits will ſuffice him to ſalvation; but let him underſtand, That he muſt be ſaved by the ſole Grace of God *In Pſal. 31..
It is frivolous to alledg the word Merit, ſo often uſed by the Fathers; for they mean no more thereby, but obtaining that which they are ſaid to merit. So the word is uſed in innumerable places, and in many Authors: Inſomuch, that in the Paſſion of St. Maximilian, it is ſaid, his Mother, after he was killed, merited his Body of the Judge; that is, ſhe obtained it by her Intreaties. Every Novice in Learning knows this.
XXIII. Faith once had, cannot poſſibly be loſt.
Anſwer.
IT was not poſſible for him to go on to ſpeak ſome Truth; but he returns to his old way of Calumniating: For there is no ſuch Poſition maintained among us, but expreſly the contrary, in our XVIth. Article: After we have received the Holy Ghoſt, we may depart from Grace given (and Faith is a Grace and Gift of God) and fall into ſin; and by the Grace of God we may riſe again, &c. The only queſtion is, Whether they that once have Saving Faith, may loſe it totally and finally. In which there are various opinions, not only among us, but among themſelves; ſome ſaying, it may be loſt totally, but not finally; others, that it may be loſt in both regards. But this is no matter of Faith, but only of Opinion; for which we do not break Communion.
All his Proofs therefore out of Scripture, are perfectly impertinent; for they prove what none of us deny, That men may loſe their Faith, after they have received it. As for his Fathers, St. Auſtin in that very Book which he quotes*De correp. & gratia, c. 12., aſſerts the direct contrary to what is here pretended to be his ſenſe, That there are ſome who cannot finally loſe the Grace of God. For comparing the Grace which Adam had, with that which is now given to the Saints, he ſaith, To the firſt man (who had received a power not to ſin, not to dye, not to deſert the good eſtate in which he was created) was given the aid of Perſeverance; not whereby he was made that he ſhould perſevere; but without which, he could not by his Free-will have perſevered. But now to the Saints, who are predeſtinated by God's Grace to the Kingdom of God, there is not only given ſuch an aid of Perſeverance, but ſuch an one, that Perſeverance it ſelf is given them; not only that without this gift they cannot perſevere, but alſo that by this gift they cannot but perſevere. For our Saviour ſaith to his Apoſtles, not only, without me ye can do nothing (XV. Joh. 5.) but withal, v. 16. Ye have not choſen me, but I have choſen you, that ye ſhould go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit ſhould remain. I have quoted this at large, that ſuch Writers as I have to deal withal, may bluſh, if they can, at ſuch ſhameleſs Untruths as they father upon St. Auſtin. And let a deeper bluſh colour this man's cheeks, who quotes the Council of Trent, which was but a little above a hundred years ago, among the Ancient Fathers. His next Charge is,