A Sermon of Christ Crucified, Title page – Dedication
❧ A SERMON OF Christ crucified, preached at Paules Crosse the Friday before Easter, commonly called Goodfryday.
¶ Written and dedicated to all such as labour and be heauy laden in conscience, to be read for their spirituall comfort.
By Iohn Foxe.
¶ Seene and allowed.
¶ Newly recognished by the Author.
AT LONDON Imprinted by Iohn Daye, ouer Aldersgate. 1570.
¶ Cum gratia & Priuilegio Regi… Maiestat…
❧ To all them that labour and be heauy laden in conscience, Iohn Foxe wisheth harty comfort, perpetuall peace, and eternall lyfe in Christ Iesus our onelyonly Sauiour.
AMongest all the benefites of almighty God bestowed vponupon man, frō the creation of the world, as there is none more glorious and admirable, then the geuing of his owne sonne to vsus, and for vsus, to be crucified: so likewise of all duties that man cā do, or that is of man required to be done to God, there is none so high, nor so acceptable vntounto God, as to embrace the same his welbeloued sōne by fayth into our hartes, and onelyonly to seeke his glory. This dutie & seruice to his crucified Christ so farre excelleth in the sight of God the father, & maker of all thinges, that euen according as we seeke after his sonne, so he regardeth vsus, as we louelove his sonne, so are we loued of him, as we beleue in his sonne, and glorifie his name, so much the father for his sake, glorifieth vsus, iustifieth, and accepteth vsus, and otherwise not: For other acceptation & fauour of God to mankinde there is none, but that onelyonly which standeth in the fayth and obedient submission of all men to Christ their crucified redemer, and glorious Sauiour. The reason whereof standeth thus.
First, forasmuch as no fleshe els is found iuste, so is there none els, that cā stand in the iudgement of God, but onelyonly his.
Againe, forsomuch as he in his perfect righteousnesse walking here in earth with all his hart, word, & dede in all things, and aboue all thinges, did seeke the glory onelyonly of his father: so his father now likewise in heauen seeketh againe to set vp, and will set vp the glory of his sonne.
Moreouer, because the same welbeloued sonne of his, being here so innocent, and giltie of no death, was contented notwithstanding so humbly to debase him self, & to be deiected as a seruaunt vnderunder all men, to obey his fathers will, euen to death, yea & the most ignominious death of the crosse: so hath it pleased his father agayn to exalte hym, not onelyonly to surmoūt the glory of all princes and potestates, what soeuer, but also with such power and maiestie hath aduaunced hym, that euen the very knowledge and belefe of his name geueth euerlasting lyfe to all sinners, be they neuer so greuously burdened or laden, who soeuer doe come to him.
Wherfore, seyng now all the felicitie and comfort of mans lyfe consisteth onelyonly in the knowledge of Christ Iesus and in glorifying of hys name, and in nothyng els: what then can be more needefull to the health and saluation of all men, then to preach Christ Iesus, and the glory of hys kyngdome, which is to be glorified and must be glorified, and if we will not glorifie hym, God will sturre vp yea stones and wormes of the earth to glorifie his sonne. For his glory must prosper and encrease, and at length will cast downe all the glory of this world, so that in the end no glory shall stand, but onelyonly of Christ Iesus crucified. S. Paul vnderstandyng this glorious maiestie of the sonne of God,1. Cor. 3. regarded to know nothyng els but onelyonly Christ Iesus, & him crucified. And so likewise our partes shal be, especially which be preachers & ministers in Christes Church, to employ all our endeuour to the same, that Christ Iesus may be preached and glorified, especially in these our dayes & tymes: wherin the world semeth to grow in an vtter cōtempt of Christ and of his kingdome. For, to omitte first to speake of ye Iewes & Turkes, which be professed enemyes to the Crosse of Christ, & hauehave dispoyled him of the greatest portion of his vniuersall Church: euen amongest vsus which yet remaine, and beare the name of Christiās, how many do lyue as though either we knew not Christ, or beleued not his teachyng, or passed not much what we professe?
The ignorāce and contempt of Christ in the world.Of this ignorance and contempt of Christ, riseth all these heapes of mischiefes, which dayly growe and now ouerflow the world. The deuill rageth, the Turke dayly wynneth, the Papist persecuteth, and yet all this will not awake vsus to seke to Christ, in whom onelyonly lyeth all our victorie. Our couetous, voluptuous, vitious, & ambitious life, what declareth it, but either infidelitie, or contempt of Christes kyngdome? we talke of heauen: we walke not to heauen. What soeuer our outward face pretendeth, to examine our hartes by our fruites, what thyng almost is so vile in this world, which we esteme not more then the kyngdome of heauē? The glory of Christ is not our study, or certes is ye least part of our study. Our wittes and senses are so occupyed in other artes, faculties, sciences, and studies, or so employed in worldly affaires, that what was done in the mount of Caluary for our redemption, scarse we hauehave laysure to thinke thereof: or if we thinke a litle, it sincketh not downe, it taryeth not with vsus. We heare of the glory of Christ, but we feele it not: we talke of Christ, but hauehave no experience of him, nor acquaintance with him: we honour hym with lippes, but our hart hungereth not after him: outwardly we professe him, but inwardly we passe not for him. For I count Christ then not passed for, when any thing is preferred before him. And this is the cause, why amongest vsus Christians vice so reigneth, the phantasies of the worlde so florisheth, life ruled by affections, man caryed away with vanitie, true peace lacketh, blind ignorance and superstition aboundeth, spirituall knowledge and power in mā is so weake, and the deuill so strong by his sorceries and witchcraftes, to hurt and enchaunt vsus, as he doth, and mā not able to withstand him. Why? Because Christ dwelleth not in vsus, who onelyonly can ouercome the deuill. For without Christ man can do nothing.
Wherfore, to awake the hartes of such Christians in these drowsie dayes of carnall securitie, to the contemplation of the glorious kyngdome of Christ, I was the more willyng at the request of certaine frendes to condescend, in bestowyng a litle paynes herein: And partly also for the Papistes cause to doe them some good if I could, who albeit they professe the whole history of Christes passion as we doe, yet by their doctrine it seemeth, they goe no further then the outward history. They make much adoe about the Crosse of Christ, and hauehave fought these 500. yeares for his Crosse:The passion of Christ crucified, not rightly knowen in the Church of Rome. and yet they know not his Crosse, neither doe they see much more in the passion of Christ, then Animalis homo, that is, the sensible man may do. They see him poore, sweating, bleeding, falsely accused, wrongfully oppressed, wounded, scourged, derided, crowned with thorne, nayled, crucified, hangyng vponupon ye crosse naked, perced, dead, and buried. All this they see and graunt with vsus, his miracles also they confesse which he wrought, & that he rose agayne the thyrd day, & ascended vp &c. And because they graūt the same to be ye sonne of God, therfore they magnifie & worship all the outward implementes yt went to his blessed passion, ye nayles, the crosse & tymber, the speare, ye crowne & thornes, hys coate and tunicle &c. And herein stādeth almost the summa totalis of their Religion.The summe of the Popes religion standeth all in outward thinges. But this is not enough. To know Christ Iesus crucified, and to know him rightly, it is not sufficient to stay in these outward thynges: we must go further then the sensible man, we must looke inwardly with a spirituall eye into spirituall thynges. Neither is it perfectly enough for vsus to know that Christ was crucified, that he rose agayne, and ascended, &c, for the Turkes and euill spirites know this: but here is neede of Gods holy spirite, and reuelation, to open further vntounto vsus wherefore he dyed, wherefore he rose agayne, & for whom, that is, for our sinnes & our iustification: to know, not onelyonly the story of his death, but the power of his death and vertue of his resurrection: to know what his crucifiyng here in earth wrought aboue in heauen, and vnderneath in hell:The right knowledge of Christ crucified. how by the bloud of his crosse, ye law is satisfied, Gods wrath killed, his fauour reconciled, all thinges pacified both in heauen and in earth, the deuill conquered, death vanquished, hell gates destroyed: to know that crucified sacrifice of Christes body to be a perfect deliuerance of all his people frō the begynnyng to the end of the world, to be a full satisfaction once and euer for all our sinnes, an absolute discharge and acquietance for all our debtes: briefly to be a free iustification, redemption and righteousnes before God for euer, to all them that beleue in him, without any other meanes or helpe annexed thereto. And this is to know aright Christ Iesus crucified. The knowledge wherof semeth to be wanting now in the Church of Rome, as may sensibly appeare by their doctrine and institutes, by their auricular confession and satisfaction for sinnes, by their dayly sacrifice, propitiatory Masses, trentals, and Purgatory, by merites of supererogation, Inuocation of Saintes, the Popes pardons, & dispensations: Finally by all the procedyngs of that Church, euen frō the holywater stocke to the hāgyng pixe on ye high altar. Which all beyng packt in one fardell, as in Pandoras boxe together, make but a heape or chaos of phantasticall trifles, proceeding onelyonly of the ignorance of Christ Iesus crucified, and thereof take their ground and beginning.
Errours of the Popes church how they come and take their beginning.Wherfore, to remoue this disease of ignoraunce partely frō these aboue rehearsed, wherby they may be reduced into the kynges hyeway of their saluation: but especially for you that be mournyng in conscience, to comfort you in Christ Iesus crucified, whom the terrour of the law to much oppresseth: I was so much the rather persuaded to hauehave this Sermon published, that Christ Iesus might not onelyonly be preached to the eares of some, but also printed, yea & paynted, if I might, to the eyes of many. In which Sermō although I hauehave not, nor could not fully folow in speach & forme eueryevery thing so precisely as was spokē: yet so farre as remēbrance could serue me, I hauehave not much digressed from the sentence, order, & principall poyntes in the sayd Sermon cōteined: Addyng withall some thynges more which I thought before to hauehave spoken, and either for plentie of matter, or lacke of memorie were forgotten. Also certeine other thynges then not spoken, I hauehave here inserted vponupon necessary occasion, yet conueniently seruyng for the purpose, and necessarely for the tyme, especially in two poyntes: one concernyng the dayly sacrifice of the Masse: the other touchyng the possibilitie of ye law, with certeine other additions incident. Wherby this Sermon (I must graunt) is growen somewhat more large in pryntyng, then it was in preachyng.
And although the tyme now I see so miserable, that litle or nothyng it auayleth to take paynes either in preachyng or pryntyng, when men wholy geuen ouer to worldly studyes hauehave litle laysure and lesse lust either to heare Sermons or to read bookes, be the Argument neuer so graue and comfortable:Afflicted consciences. yet notwithstandyng for somuch as the Lord hath a remnant of some faythfull seruauntes, which walke after theyr Lord and God with a perfect hart, and are not hearers onelyonly, but sekers also of his kingdome: and especially for your cause, that labour & are laden in consciēce, where soeuer, or what soeuer ye be, in whō the Lord hath wrought an earnest hunger, and hartie seekyng for hys kyngdome, for you most principally I hauehave penned this Sermon, De Christo crucifixo, and to you specially I dedicate and commende the same, desiryng the same Lord Iesus crucified for vsus, that you in readyng hereof may receaue such spirituall refreshyng to your soules, & hygh courage of fayth in Christ Iesus, that neither Sathan may deceaue you, nor the law terrifie you, nor death cōfound you, nor sinne oppresse you, nor conscience captiue you, nor hell gates preuayle ouer you: but that your rightly vnderstandyng with all Saintes, what is the hope of your callyng, the riches of your inheritance, the greatnesse of his power, and aboundaunce of his fauour toward you, and what is the breadth, length, and profunditie, and what is the superadmirable louelove of knowledge of Christ Iesus crucified, may superabound in all heauenly courage and consolation,Ephes. 1. and also with a holy pride may triumph in Christ Iesus. In whom as I wish to you all spirituall benediction, and goodnesse: so I besech you likewise to pray for me your fellowe brother, seruaunt and louer in the same Lord Iesus, who preserue both you, and vsus also with you in these daungerous dayes, from all wickednesse, to his euerlasting kingdome. Amen.