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A89922 The Christian and Catholike veritie; or, The reasons and manner of the conversion of Francis de Neville; formerly a Capuchin, preacher, the Popes missionary, and superiour in sundry covents of the same order. A treatise very usefull for all Christians, and especially for such as are popishly affected, or not fully setled in their beliefe; and for the further confirmation of the faithfull. Wherein many secrets of the Romish clergy, heretofore unrevealed, are discovered. Dedicated by the author to the high court of Parliament now assembled, 1642. See the contents at the next page. Neville, Francis de.; England and Wales. Parliament. 1642 (1642) Wing N502; Thomason E144_15; ESTC R11352 153,461 187

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inclination to doe that which I desire not and which questionlesse will be displeasing to many Contenting my selfe to say for the present happy are the peoples and Kingdomes which onely strive to frame their beliefe and discipline according to the words and institution of Christ putting far from them all those humane inventions see themselves out of danger of suffering those convulsions and disorders in their bowels which cause such cruell torments and strange colicks to many Countreys and Cities happie are the Princes and States which shut their gates upon them and stop their eares upon their importunate solicitations and thrice happy all they who will open their eares to consider their misery and use wholsome remedies and resolutions to deliver themselves from that slavish tyranny in which the pollicy of the Pope and the Romish Church doth detaine them But I hope that great Physitian will take order ere long and there is great appearance that shortly he will give some remedie for the disease seemeth at the point of its Crisis CHAP. XXVI Of Justification I Did imagine for a long time as doe many of the Church of Rome at this present that they of the Reformed Churches admitting Justification by faith alone did it to exclude good works from the way of salvation and shew themselves in that to be enemies of charitie and of other vertues I did therefore extreamly condemne them and could in no wise approve of their doctrine but when I came to sound their beliefe and see how they are not onely carefull to practise good workes and vertues and that even much more than they of the Romish Church and that they judged them necessary to salvation and that the faith whereof they speake is not a dead faith as the Papists understand it but a lively faith accompanied with good workes and fruitfull in vertues I acknowledged they wrongfully blamed them in this as in many other things also either maliciously to make them odious to the people or ignorantly for not knowing their doctrine as that they make God the Author of sin and say that Christ hath suffered all the very pangs of hell and the like impertinent calumnies which they never dreamed of and which are very different from their beliefe It is most certaine that the faith whereof Christ hath spoken so much to us and which he desired of those whom he did convert to Christianisme and called to be his followers and of whom he saith Ioh. 6.47 that whosoever shall beleeve in him shall have eternall life it is not that which is defined by the Romish Church to be a simple knowledge or beliefe or a consenting to all that God hath revealed to us for otherwise the Devills should have faith and consequently be saved But true justifying faith is another thing for it is not onely a simple knowledge and beliefe of God and of all that he hath revealed but it is further a firme beliefe in God that is to say a trust in his promises and a sure knowledge of his love towards us as by his holy Word he declareth himselfe to be our Father and Saviour by the merits of Christ Now this faith which worketh by knowledge and relyeth altogether on the promise of God is necessarily fruitfull in good workes for from the knowledge of the love which God beareth towards us doth proceed our love towards him and it is altogether impossible to trust in the promise of God not loue him and make good workes follow thereby also is true faith discerned from a false to wit if it worke by charitie if it he joyned with a serious repentance and bring peace of conscience if it be humble not trusting in its owne merits but upon the promise of God in Christ if it kindle the zeale and love of God in our hearts Such is the faith by which we are justified that is to say absolved before God and made pleasing to him thorough the righteousnesse of Jesus Christ and of which it is said Joh. 6.47 Rom. 1.7 Joh. 6.47 He that beleeveth on him hath life eternall and Rom. 1.7 The Just shall live by faith and this faith is not to be found in the Devils nor in the damned as the Church of Rome will have it This being laid downe for the definition of faith it will not be hard to beleeve that we are justified by faith not by works seeing even the Apostle saith it so cleerly that there is no truth so manifestly declared as this and I thinke for my part that he who will not beleeve it must be extreamly blinded or obstinate Reade I pray you the third fourth and fift Chapters to the Romans there you will finde how this doctrine is proved He saith in the third Chap. vers 27. Where is boasting then Rom. 3.27 it is excluded by what Law Of works Nay but by the Law of faith therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the Law And vers 29. Vers 29. For it is God who shall justifie the Circumcision by faith and the Vncircumcision through faith Ch 4.3 V 23 24. Vers 23. And Chap. 4.3 For what saith the Scripture Abraham beleeved God and it was counted to him for righteousnesse And vers 23. Therefore it was imputed to him for righteousnesse Now it was not written for his sake alone but for us also to whom it shall be imputed if wee beleeve in him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead And Chap. 5.1 Therefore being justified by faith Rom. 5.1 wee have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ And Gal. 2 16. Gal. 2.16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the workes of the Law but by the faith of Christ even wee have beleeved in Jesus Christ that wee might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the Law for by the worke of the Law shall no flesh be justified To doubt after all those so cleare passages that saith doth not justifie and that we are not justified by faith but by workes is to be holden for incredulous and voide of sence for my part after I had once considered and knowne the true definition of faith and seriously examined those passages it was impossible to mee to doubt of so cleare a truth True it is if we doe no good but evill workes we cannot be saved yet if we be saved it will not be for our good workes but by the onely goodnesse of God and by faith and confidence in his love and promises I will illustrate it by this example A King adopteth one of his Subjects freely to be heire of his Kingdoms enjoy his Crowne providing he behave himselfe honestly and not otherwise if that man offend the King he maketh himselfe questionlesse unworthy of the heritage and succession and there is no appearance he can possesse it but if he behave himselfe wisely and doe well ought he to
their secrets are glad of this occasion to tell all their businesses and often those of their neighbours and declare their griefe to a man whom they thinke obliged to keep all secret and therefore we must not marvell if we see the women so much inclined to it and the Priests knowing them to be more tractable and consequently more liberall than men labour to keepe them in those exercises what ever disorders or discontentments may fall out from their husbands But finally there is no man of spirit who will not confesse that Christ and his Apostles have done wisely in having not instituted this fine mysterie The Bishops also themselves and other Pastours who have more intrest to conserve the divine service in their Churches and to have a care of the generall good than of the profit and particular satisfaction of their Priests begin as much to detest the use of this confession as they did ardently preach and recommend it heretofore for now they see the great disorders and inconveniences it draweth after it and their experience will be the cause they will not be sorry to see all re-established and restored to the primitive order in the time of our Saviour and his Apostles I passe over the great scandall occasioned by this confession whereof an infinite number of Cities and places can give too manifest testimony and which is the cause many judge well that it is surest and more profitable to discover and confesse our secrets to God alone according to his holy will and commandements than to Priests to obey the precepts of the Pope and I shall yet shew in another place that the confession is a snare which precipitates many into hell if the Maximes of the Romish Church be true CHAP. XXIII Of Purgatorie THe Church of Rome which hath founded her new doctrine not upon the Word and will of Christ but especially upon profit and greatnesse hath not contented her selfe in stead of two Sacraments instituted by our Saviour to wit Baptisme and the Lords Supper to adde five more whereof the Pope the Bishops and the Priests can make good profit every one of them according to his degree and charge whether it be for the administration of them or the dispensations or other casuall things which concerne them and which fall out every foot But shee hath yet further bethought her to invent a Purgatory which shee saith is a place whether the soules of the faithfull departed in Gods favour doe ordinarily goe after their death there to be burnt and tormented many yeares nay even many hundreds and thousand yeares if they be not delivered by the good works of the living or by the prayers of good people or by application of the overplus of the merits of Christ and the Saints whereof the Pope calleth himselfe the sole Treasurer and Dispenser making profession to apply them by his Jubiles and Indulgences So that simple people to shun that terrible fire after their death wherewith the justest men are threatned have often spoyled themselves and their successours of many lands and great riches to give them to those who are reputed to be godlier than others to oblige them to pray for them after their death that they might not remaine so long in those paines and if those who are alive have any affections to their parents and good friends which are dead they often spare nothing to helpe and relieve them in this their necessitie by all the means which the Romish Church preacheth to be strongest and of greatest force whereof the most part are in the hands and disposition of the Clergie alone and the Monkes and they tell them if they be not helped they must satisfie the rigour of the justice of God and that they must pay to the last farthing and be burned in a fire as hot and scorching as that of hell not onely for the paines due to mortall sins but also for the least veniall sins they might have committed in their life of which every man hath questionlesse an innumerable number and because as they say ready money is good physicke they perswade them not to trust to their heires the payment of that debt who may be diverted by the motive of avarice but that they should provide while they are alive and in health for feare of being surprised by death and that the candle that goeth before giveth better light and is more profitable for that is the phrase of those Ghost like Fathers This doctrine is very profitable to the Clergie but exceeding fearfull and very terrible and strange and deserveth well to be cleerly grounded on the Word of God to be beleeved For to say that God hath sent his Sonne into the world to save mankinde and whose bloud was of an infinite price but neverthelesse hath not been sufficient to satisfie for the paines that a mortall sin doth merit or yet a veniall that I may use the tearme of the Papists or although it hath been sufficient enough and that he hath testified that he loveth mankinde more than doth a Father or Mother their children Notwithstanding he will not apply to them a graine of his satisfaction gratis but hath ordained a fearfull fire to burne them and torment them after their death though they be fully reconciled to him and have departed in his favour and that he esteeme and call them his deere children it is a thing that ought not to be beleeved by any Christian nor yet conceived by any man And is it possible to be beleeved that God hath promised Paradise to those who shall suffer persecution for his name and justice and comfort them who shall be afflicted in this world and shew himselfe to those who shall be of a pure and cleane heart account them blessed who shall dye in him that is to say in his favour that Christ hath promised to say Come yee blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world to them who have given meat and drinke to him in his poore when they are hungry or thirstie and to them whom he accounteth his loving children and that onely to satisfie the rigour of his justice and without any hope of amendment he will punish them after their death for many yeares with the same paines that the Devill and the greatest enemies of his honour and glory doe suffer except onely that those shall be tormented for ever and others shall have sometime an end it may be after many hundreds and thousands of yeares for they have invented yet of purpose more to terrifie the people certaine Stories which say that for every small sin they must borne at least seven yeares in Purgatory and what can they hope for who have hundreds and millions the frailty of man being but too great It is questionlesse to wrong the great mercy of God and rather deny his bounty it is to derogate from the infinite merits of the bloud of Christ it is too blasphemous against