Whole Works, Tracts 1 · Tract 4 · Part 1 · Section 14
¶ The argumentes wherewith the Pope woulde proue hymſelfe the church, are ſolued.
NOtwithſtanding becauſe as they be all ſhauen they be all ſhameleſſe to affirme that they be the right church and can not erre, though all the world ſeeth that not one of thē is in the right way, and that they hauehave with vtter defiaunce forſaken both the doctrine and liuing of Chriſt & of all his Apoſtles, let vsus ſee the ſophiſtry wherwith they would perſwade it. One of their high reaſons is this. The Church ſay they, was before y• heretikes, & y• heretikes Their firſt reaſon.came euer out of the church and left it. And they were before all them which they now call heretikes and Lutherans, and the Lutherans came out of them. &c. Wherefore they be the right church, and the other heretikes in dede as they be called. Well, I will likewiſe diſpute. Firſt the right church A … reaſon.was vnderunder Moſes and Aaron and ſo forth, in whoſe rowmes ſat the Scribes Phariſeis and hye prieſtes in the tyme of Chriſt. And they were before Chriſt. And Chriſt and his Apoſtles One Argument confuted with an other of like naturecame out of them, and departed from thē and left them. Wherfore the Scribes, Phariſeis, and hye prieſtes were the right Church, and Chriſt and hys Apoſtles and diſciples heretikes and a dampnable ſecte. And ſo the Iewes are yet in the right way and we in errour. And of truth if their blynde reaſon be good, thē is this argumēt ſo to. For they be like, & are both one thing.
But in as much as the kingdome of God ſtandeth not in wordes, as Paul The ſolution.ſayth 1. Cor. 4. but in power, therefore looke vntounto the marow and pith of the thinges ſelfe, and let vayne woordes paſſe, Ʋnder Abraham, Iſaac, & Iacob was the church great in fayth, and ſmall in number. And as it encreaſed in number, ſo it decreaſed in fayth vntill y• tyme of Moſes. And out of thoſe vnbeleuers God ſtirred vp Moſes, & brought …hē vntounto y• faith right agayne. And Moſes left a glorious Churche, both in faith & cleauing vntounto the word of God, and deliuered them vntounto Ioſuah, Eleazer, Phineas, and Caleb.
But aſſone as the generation of thē that ſaw the miracles of God were dead, they fell to Idolatrie immediatly, as thou ſeeſt in the Bible. And god when he had deliuered them into captiuitie for to chaſtice their wickedneſſe, ſtirred them vp a Prophet euermore, to call them vntounto his teſtamēt againe. And ſo he did well me an hundred tymes, I ſuppoſe, yer Chriſt came, for The right fayth dyd neuer … continue in the greater number of … Church.they neuer bode any ſpace in the right fayth. And againſt the comming of Chriſt the Scribes, Phariſeis, Caiphas, Anna, and the Elders, were crept vp into the ſeat of Moſes, Aarō, and the holy Prophetes & Patriarkes and ſuceded them linially, and had the ſcripture of God but euen in captiuitie to make marchaundiſe of it, and to abuſe it vntounto their owne glory and profite. And though they kept the people from outward Idolatrie of worſhipping of Images with the Heathen: yet they brought them into a worſe inward Idolatrie of a falſe fayth & truſt in their owne deedes and in vaine traditions of their owne fayning. And had put out the ſignificatiōs of all y• ceremonies and ſacramentes of the olde teſtamēt, and taught the people to beleue in the workes ſelfe, and had corrupt the ſcripture with falſe gloſes. As y• maiſt ſee in the Goſpell, how Chriſt warneth his Diſciples to beware of yt leauen of y• Phariſeis which was their falſe doctrine & gloſes. And in another place he rebuked the Scribes and the Math. 16.Phariſeis ſaying: wo be to thē, becauſe they had taken away the key of knowledge, Math. 23.and had ſhut vp the kingdome of heauen, and neither would enter in themſelues, nor ſuffer thē that would. How had they ſhut it vp? verely with their traditions and falſe gloſes which they had ſowed to y• ſcripture in plaine places, and in the taking away y• meaning of the ceremonies and ſacrifices, and teaching to beleue in the worke.
And our hipocrites are in like maner crept vp into the ſeat of Chriſt and Hypocrites are crept vp in to the ſeate of Chriſt & his Apoſtles. …. Pet. 2.of his Apoſtles by ſucceſſion: not to do the deedes of Chriſt and his Apoſtles, but for lucre onelyonly (as the nature of the wily Foxe is, to get him an hole made with a nother beaſtes labour) and to make marchaundiſe of the people with fayned wordes, as Peter warned vsus before, and to do according as Chriſt and all his Apoſtles propheſied, how they ſhould beguyle and leade out of the right way, all thē that had no louelove to follow and liue after the truth.
And in like maner hauehave they corrupt The Pope and hys Clergye hauehave corrupted the Scriptures of God with their traditions.the Scripture, and blynded the right way with their owne conſtitutions, with traditions of dūme ceremonies, with takyng away the ſignifications of the ſacramentes, to make vsus beleue in the worke of the ſacramentes fyrſt, whereby they might the better make vsus beleue in works of their ſetting vp afterward, and with falſe gloſes which they hauehave patched to the Scripture in playne places, to deſtroy the litterall ſence for to ſet vp a falſe fayned ſence of allegories, when there is none ſuch. And thereby they hauehave ſtopt vp the gates of heauē, the true knowledge of Chriſt, and hauehave made their own bel…es the dore. For thorow their bellies muſt thou creepe, and the…e leaue all that fall behynde thee.
And ſuch blynde reaſons as oures make againſt vsus, made they agaynſt Iohn. ….Chriſt ſaying: Abraham is our father, we be Moſes diſciples, how knoweth he the vnderſtanding of the Scripture ſeing he neuer learned of any of vsus? onelyonly the curſed vnlearned people that know not the ſcripture beleue in hym. Looke whether any of the rulers or Phariſeis do beleue in hym?
Wherefore the ſcripture truely vnderſtode The ſcriptures beare witnes who are the right Church.after the playne… places and generall articles of yt fayth, which thou findeſt in the ſcripture, and the enſamples that are gone before, wyll alway teſtifie who is the church. Though the Phariſeis ſucceded the Patriarkes & prophetes, and had the ſcripture of thē, yet they were heretikes and fallē from the fayth of them, and frō their liuing. And Chriſt and his diſciples, & Iohn Chriſt. Iohn Baptiſt.the Baptiſt departed from the Phariſeis which were heretikes, vntounto the right ſence of y• ſcripture and vntounto the faith and liuing of the Patriarkes and Prophetes, and rebuked the Phariſeis. As thou ſeeſt how Chriſt calleth them hipocrites, diſſimulers, blynde guides and painted ſepulchers. And Iohn called them the generatiō of vipers and ſerpentes. Of Iohn, the angell ſayde vntounto his father Luke. i. he Luke. 1.ſhall turne many of the children of Iſraell vntounto their Lord God, which yet before Iohn beleued after a fleſhly vnderſtanding in God, and thought theſelues in the right way. And he ſhall turne the harts of the fathers vntounto the children. That is, he ſhall wyth hys preaching and true interpreting of the ſcripture make ſuch a ſpirituall hart in y• childrē as was in their fathers Abraham, ☜ The doctrine of Iohn brought y• hart of the Iewes into the right way.Iſaac, and Iacob. And he ſhall turne the diſobedient vntounto the obedience of the righteous, and prepare the Lord a perfect people. That is, them that had ſet vp a righteouſnes of their owne, and were therefore diſobedient vntounto the righteouſnes of fayth, ſhal he conuert from their blindnes vntounto the wiſdome of them that beleued in God to be made righteous, and with thoſe fathers ſhall he geue the childrē Egles eyes to ſpye out Chriſt and his righteouſneſſe, and to forſake their own, and ſo to become perfect.
And after the ſame maner, though Our Popiſh hypocrites hauehave nede of a Iohn Baptiſt to conuert thēour Popiſh hypocrites ſuccede Chriſt and his Apoſtles and hauehave their ſcripture, yet they be fallen from the fayth & liuyng of them and are heretickes and had nede of a Iohn Baptiſt to conuert them. And we depart from them vntounto the true Scripture and vntounto the fayth and liuyng therof, and rebuke them in like maner. And as they which depart from the fayth of the true Church are heretickes, euē ſo they that depart frō Thoſe which depart from the fayth of hypocrites are the true Church.the Church of heretickes and falſe fayned fayth of hypocrites, are the true church, which thou ſhalt alway know by their fayth examined by the Scripture & by their profeſſion and conſēt to liue according vntounto the lawes of God.