he speaketh of the whole Booke of the Law saying that It is written Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things that be vvritten in the booke of the Law to doe them doth not this extend to the Morall Law or can these words be restrained only to the Ceremoniall Yea when he further saith thus I had not knowne sinne but by the Law for I had not known lust or concupiscence to be sinne except the Law had said Non concupisces Thou shalt not covet or Thou shalt no lust doth not everie one hereby most plainly perceive of what Law it is that he chiefly speaketh meaneth namely that it is principally of the Morall Law that is of the Decalogue or Law of the Ten Commandements For to what other end else is it that he there expresly and by name rehearseth and bringeth in one of those ten Commandements But yet further he sheweth that there be but two waies of righteousnesse namely the righteousnes that is of the Law and the righteousnes which is of faith and saith that Moses describeth the righteousnesse which is of the Law in this sort viz. That the man vvhich doth those things shall live by them But the righteousnesse vvhich is of faith speaketh after another manner and he sheweth it to consist not in anie doubtfull questioning but in a firme beleeving in Christ vvho is the end of the Law for righteousnesse to every one that beleeveth When therefore he here againe saith touching the vvorkes of the Law and the righteousnesse compassable that way That the man that doth those things shall live by them is it his meaning thinke you that hee that observeth the workes of the Ceremonial Law only without observing or doing anie of the workes of the Moral Law shall live thereby and enioy everlasting happinesse I presume none can be so absurd or unwise as to thinke it It is then a thing verie manifest that hee speaketh not onely of the workes of the Ceremonial Law but of the workes also of the Morall Law and of these chiefly excluding aswell the works of the one as of the other from being anie cause of our Iustification in Gods sight And this is so much the more evident because S. Paul yet further in that his dispute of Iustification excludeth not only the Iewes but the Gentiles also from all hope of Iustification by the Law teaching that they both are to expect iustification in Gods sight Not by the vvorkes of the law but by faith in Iesus Christ. Now yee know that the Gentiles be not bound to the observation of the ceremonial law as the Iewes were but the Gentiles aswell as the Iewes bee bound to the observation of the moral law of the ten Commandements When therefore S. Paul teacheth that aswell the Gentiles as the Iewes are to expect Iustification not by the workes of the law but by faith in Christ it is apparant that he must needes meane to exclude herein aswell the workes of the Moral law whereto the Gentiles are bound as the workes of the Ceremoniall law whereto the Iewes onelie were bound and not the Gentiles for otherwise you will make him a verie vaine and idle disputer in this point as in respect of the Gentiles 5 Howbeit being thus repulsed from this hold they then retire and returne to their old wonted and ordinarie nold wherein they seeme to repose their greatest strength and that is the same which is before mentioned namely that S. Paul when he excludeth workes from being anie cause of Iustification in Gods sight meaneth it of vvorkes done before faith received and whilst a man is an unbeleever and not of workes done after faith received Which works done by a beleeving person doe as they suppose Iustifie before God and in his sight This hath beene before sufficiently answered yet because they so often and usuallie urge it I hope it will not be offensive that I also here once againe make answer unto it First therefore it might suffice to call to your remembrance that which hath been spoken concerning those two faithfull godlie men Abraham and David who albeit they had after faith grace received from God lived well and done sundrie good workes for which they might deserve praise and glorie amongst men yet for al that they deserved no praise nor glorie with God as S. Paul witnesseth nor were thereby iustified in his sight Yea as touching Abraham he saith that notwithstanding all that he did not his vvorkes but his Faith vvas imputed to him for righteousnesse before God And as touching David though he were a man likewise verie faithfull and godly and did manie good workes yet by his godlie life and good workes he never thought to be iustified before Gods tribunall but found all the godlines and goodnes that was in him to bee too defective and to come too short for that purpose and therefore also he crieth out thus unto God saying Enter not into iudgement vvith thy servant for in thy sight shall no man living be iustified Yea hee discribeth the blessednesse of everie man even of the holiest man that liveth to consist not in his owne sanctitie or righteousnesse but in this that His sinnes be forgiven or not imputed to him And so doth S. Paul inferre and teach out of this example of David That God imputeth righteousnesse vvithout vvorkes So that neither the workes which David did nor the workes which Abraham did nor consequently the workes that anie other godly or holie man doth after grace and faith received be sufficient to Iustifie in Gods presence For I knovv nothing by my selfe saith S. Paul yet am I not thereby iustified I might here further desire you to call to your remembrance that holie man Iob and that holy Prophet of God Daniel yea all that godlie companie and Church of God in Daniels time and Esaies time who all did as themselves testifie renounce all their owne inherent righteousnes as too insufficient and unmeet to stand before Gods most pure eies to claime Iustification thereby in his sight Yea if God should looke narrowlie to see what is said done amisse and to recompence it in the rigor and severitie of his Iustice according to mens merits and deserts VVho as the Psalmist speaketh should bee able to stand or to abide it Yea I might here moreover desire you to remember whatsoever is conteined in the former Chapter touching this matter For not the workes even of a iust man doe iustifie in Gods sight as S. Paul prooveth by an expresse testimonie out of the Prophet Abacuk where he saith even of the iust man that He liveth by his faith and not by his Workes And this he urgeth and enforceth againe in his Epistle to the Galathians saying thus But that no man is iustified by the lavv in the sight of God it is evident for saith he The iust shall live by
faith And thus himselfe being otherwise dead did live or had life in him namely by faith in the Sonne of God and not by the workes of the law Yea he further excludeth even the workes of righteousnes in expresse termes saying thus Not by the vvorkes of righteousnesse vvhich vve have done but according to his mercie he hath saved us Observe that he here directlie affirmeth of himselfe of all the rest that shall be saved that they are saved not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by vvorkes done by them in righteousnes but of Gods meere mercie and grace through Christ Iesus And againe observe that speaking not to unbeleevers but to beleevers Saints and sanctified people living in Ephesus he saith thus By grace are ye saved through faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God not of vvorkes lest anie man should glorie for vvee are his vvorkemanship created in Christ Iesus unto good vvorkes vvhich God hath before ordained that vvee should vvalke in them Heere also you see infalliblie that workes though done by such as be sanctified and regenerate persons be neverthelesse excluded from being anie cause of their salvation yea by the verie words themselves of the text you perceive that he speaketh expresly and by name of good vvorkes vvhich God hath before ordained that vvee should vvalke in them denying them neverthelesse to be anie cause of salvation But here why doe they speake of anie good workes done by Infidels or before faith received For to speake properlie and truely none doe or can doe good workes so allowed to be in Gods censure but beleeving persons onely inasmuch as the best workes of Infidels and before a man hath received faith be not allowed for good in Gods sight but bee as S. Augustine affirmeth of them Splendida peccata Glittering sinnes Howbeit here remember that although those which be Saints upon earth that is which bee regenerate and sanctified people be thus expresly affirmed to be saved by their faith and not by their good workes yet have they neverthelesse these good workes appointed for them to walke in so long as they live in this world for so this text to the Ephesians directlie sheweth to the end their faith should not be idle but working through love as S. Paul speaketh in another place and that so it might appeare to bee not a vaine and a dead faith but a sound and a lively faith and such as will save a man as S. Iames and the rest of the Scriptures have also before declared Yea this point even Christ Iesus also himselfe by his last Iudgement in the end of the world doth declare namely that the iustifying and saving faith is not voide of good workes but furnished with them and yet that Gods people doe not relye upon them For thus will hee say to his faithfull and elect ones Come ye blessed of my father inherite yee the kingdome prepared for you from the foundation of the vvorld for I vvas hungrie and yee gave me meate I was thirstie and yee gave me drinke I was a stranger and yee tooke mee in naked and ye clothed mee I vvas sicke and yee visited mee I vvas in prison and yee came unto me But now observe that although these elect and righteous persons had these good workes yet doe not they so much as take notice of them much lesse stand upon the merite of them and therefore doe they answer and say Lord when savv vvee thee hungrie and fed thee or thirstie and gave thee drinke vvhen saw vvee thee a stranger and tooke thee in or naked and clothed thee sicke or in prison and came unto thee Reade further the rest of the Chapter to the end of it And by all of it considered together ye may verie easilie perceive first that they bee not the elect and righteous people but the reprobates that stand upon their workes obiect their workes to plead for them And secondlie that Christ their Lord taketh notice of the good works of the elect although themselves take no notice of them nor doe so much as once mention or alledge them Where Christ by alledging their good works would have the world also to take notice and to be advertised that it was not a vaine idle or dead faith but a iustifying and saving faith which these men had For their good workes be there mentioned as testimonies fruites and declarations of their faith and as being Via regni non causa regnandi The vvay vvherein they walked toward this kingdome but not as being the cause of their enioying of that kingdome as S. Bernard also himselfe hath before taught affirmed Yea in verie deede the primarie and original cause of their enioying of that most happie kingdome is there delivered in the former words where Christ calleth them the Blessed of his father and telleth them moreover directlie that they are to possesse this kingdom not by anie purchase or desert of their owne but by way of Inheritance for the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Inherite yee or possesse yee it by waie of Inheritance And further he there telleth them that this kingdom was prepared for them long before they were borne or had done anie good workes at all namelie even from the foundation of the world So that this glorious and heavenlie kingdome is given them of Gods meere bountie and grace and is unto them a Revvard according to their vvorkes as the Scripture speaketh but not for their workes as though their workes deserved it or were the meritorious cause of their salvation Yea it is a reward of grace and favour and not of debt or due desert as S. Paul hath also before testified and a revvard of Inheritance as the same S. Paul againe expresly affirmeth it In vaine therefore also is that your distinction of the first Iustification which you make to be by faith without vvorkes and of the second Iustification which you say is by workes and by living an holie and godlie life for the Scriptures speake but of one Iustification in Gods sight availeable to salvation As for that which you call the second Iustification consisting in doing good workes and in holinesse of life and conversation it is as I said before more properlie and rightly to be tearmed as the Scripture calleth it Sanctification it being an effect declaration fruite and consequent of that Iustification we have before by faith as S. Iames and S. Paul and the rest of the Scriptures doe manifestly teach CHAP. V. That Christ is our onely and all-sufficient Redeemer and hath fully satisfied Gods Iustice for our sinnes and the punishment thereto belonging against mens merits and satisfactions in that behalfe and against Popish Purgatorie And that there is no licentiousnesse in this doctrine but the cleane contrary BVt they further accuse our Religion to be licentious because relying wholly upon Christ our
aside The vvages of sinne saith S. Paul is death But the gift of God is eternall life through Iesus Christ our Lord. Note that hee calleth Eternall lâ—fe not the wages or merit of Men but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is The free gift of God bestowed gratis without anie purchase merit or desert of ours albeit Iesus Christ our Lord purchased it for us and paid a great price for it in our behalfe through vvhom and whose merits it is that we obtaine it Hearing saith S. Augustine that death is the vvages of sin vvhy goest thou about O Thou not Iustice of man but plaine pride under the name of Iustice vvhy goest thou about to lift up thy selfe and to demand Eternall life vvhich is contrarie to death as a vvages due Chrysostome also upon this place speaketh thus Hee saith not eternall life is the revvard of your good vvorkes but eternall life is the gift of God That he might shevv that they are delivered not by â—heir ovvne strength or vertues and that it is not a debt or vvages or a retribution of labours but that they have received all those things freely of the gift of God Theodoret likewise upon this place observeth that the Apostle saith not here revvard but gift or grace for eternall life is the gift of God for although a man could performe the highest and absolute Iustice yet eternall ioyes being vveighed vvith temporall labours there is no proportion And so saith S. Paul himselfe that The afflictions of this life non sunt Condignae are not vvorthy the glorie that shall be shevved unto us It is true that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 merces a revvard is promised to those that doe good workes but it is as before is shewed merces ex gratià non ex debito a revvard of grace or favour and not of debt or desert as even S. Paul himselfe distinguisheth So that God giveth the Crowne of righteousnesse not to the merit or worthines of our workes but to the Merit or Worthines of Christ and as due to us by his promise onely freely made unto us in Christ. The Crowne therefore of eternall life is of mercie and favour in respect of us but of Iustice and desert in respect of Christ who hath purchased it for us by his merits and worthines Wherefore S. Augustine saith well that fidelis dominus qui se nobis debitorem fecit non aliquid a nobis accipiendo sed omnia nobis promittendo The Lord is faithfull who hath made himselfe a debtor unto us not by receiving anie thing of us but by promising all things unto us Againe he saith Non dicimus Deo Domine redde quod accepisti sed redde quod promisisti VVee say not to God Render that O Lord vvhich thou hast received of us but render or give that vvhich thou hast promised Againe he saith That God crovvneth his ovvne gifts not our merits vvhen he crovvneth us What vvorthinesse soever then is in us it is by Gods acceptation and his accounting of us to bee such in through Christ not by reason or in respect of any of our owne personall merits or worthinesse For vvhat hast thou saith S. Paul that thou hast not received and if thou hast received it vvhy dost thou glorie as though thou hadst not received it The gifts and graces of God in a man should make him humble and thankefull and not make him proud as though he deserved them and a great deale more by reason of them If a man give another 100. l. which hee useth well doth hee thereby deserve or can hee therefore claime as of merit or dutie to have at that mans hand 100000. l. Men for good works and benefits done may deserve praise and thankes amongst men but what man by doing of his dutie deserveth praise or thankes at Gods hand or What Servant for doing his Masters service and commandement can thereupon claime to be his Masters heire VVhosoever glorieth should glorie in the Lord as S. Paul teacheth But if men doe merit then have they somewhat of their owne wherein to glorie But God alloweth no matter of glorie in men with him or in his sight neither have they indeed anie matter of glory in them because whatsoever graces or goodnes men have they have received it of God to whom they ought to bee thankefull and for which they stand bound to performe all manner of dutie unto him So that how much merit men take to themselves so much doe they detract from the merits of Christ and so much praise glorie and thankes doe they pull from God to whom all praise glorie honour and thankes rightly and properly belong and are to be rendred Yea the Kingdome of heaven is a reward infinitely above the value of all mens workes and therefore must needes bee given of grace and cannot be merited by men But against mens merits and their workes of satisfaction whereby they intend to satisfie Gods wrath and Iustice for sinnes which is onely satisfiable by the death and sufferings of that Immaculate Lambe Christ Iesus enough hath beene before spoken and therefore I here forbeare to speake anie further of them 4 But in this matter of vvorkes this is not to be passed over or omitted that they also hold workes of Supererogation as they call them whereby they say Men doe more then they are bound unto by Gods Commandements and so doe merit not onely their owne salvation but the salvation also of others or something toward it Can these be accounted good vvorkes or that be held for a good and right religion wherin such monstrous things be taught and maintained It is more then anie meere man is able to doe perfectly and exactly to keepe and performe the vvhole lavv and Commaundements of God for so S. Paul himselfe expreslie affirmeth it to be a thing impossible because of the vveakenesse that is in all sinnefull flesh and so have the ancient Fathers likewise before testified and taught Why then doe these men talke of doing all and more then all the Commaundements of God Indeed if anie thinke to come to heaven by Doeing as he in the Gospell did the Ansvvere which Christ gave in that case is right and fit for him that Hee must keepe the Commandements for Moses describing the righteousnesse vvhich is of the Lavv saith That the man vvhich Doth those things shall live by them But the righteousnesse vvhich is of faith speaketh as S. Paul sheweth on another fashion and consisteth in a firme beleeving in Christ For Christ who performed the law for us it being a thing impossible for us to doe is the End or accomplishment of the Lavv for righteousnesse to everie one that beleeveth as hee there againe affirmeth And yet must none therefore hereupon conclude God to bee Cruell Tyrannicall or uniust in giveing such a Law as is impossible for men to keepe for at the first
had deserved that the due judgement of God should have condemned even those that are justified unlesse mercie had relieved them from that which was due that so all the mouthes of them which would glory of their merits might be stopped and he that glorieth might glorie in the Lord. They further taught as S. Augustin did that Man using ill his Free will lost both himselfe it that as one by living is able to kill himselfe but by killing himselfe is not able to live nor hath power to rayse up himselfe when he hath killed himselfe so when sinne had beene committed by freewill sinne being the conqueror freewill also was lost forasmuch as of whom a man is overcome of the same is he also brought in bondage 2. Pet. 2.19 that unto a man thus brought in bondage and sold there is no libertie left to do well unlesse he redeeme him whose saying is this If the Sonne make you free yee shall be free indeed Ioh. 8.36 that the minde of men from their very youth is set upon evill there being not a man which sinneth not that a man hath nothing from himselfe but sinne that God is the author of all good things that is to say both of good nature and of goodwill which unlesse God do worke in him man cannot doe because this good will is prepared by the Lord in man that by the gift of God hee may doe that which of himselfe hee could not doe by his owne free-will that the good will of man goeth before many gifts of God but not all of those which it doth not go before it selfe is one For both of these is read in the holy Scriptures His mercie shall goe before me and His mercie shall follow me it preventeth him that is unwilling that hee may will and it followeth him that is willing that hee will not in vaine and that therefore vvee are admonished to aske that we may receive to the end that what we doe will may be effected by him by whom it was effected that vvee did so will They taught also that the Law was not given that it might take away sinne but that it might shut up all under sinne to the end that men being by this meanes humbled might understand that their salvation was not in their owne hand but in the hand of a Mediator that by the Law commeth neyther the remission nor the removeall but the knowledge of sinnes that it taketh not away diseases but discovereth them forgiveth not sins but condemneth them that the Lord God did impose it not upon those that served righteousnesse but sin namely by giving a just law to unjust men to manifest their sinnes and not to take them away forasmuch as nothing taketh away sinnes but the grace of faith which worketh by love That our sinnes are freely forgiven us without the merit of our workes that through grace wee are saved by faith and not by workes and that therefore we are to rejoyce not in our owne righteousnesse or learning but in the faith of the Crosse by which all our sinnes are forgiven us That grace is abject and vaine if it alone doe not suffice us and that wee esteeme basely of Christ when we thinke that hee is not sufficient for us to salvation That God hath so ordered it that he will be gracious to mankinde if they doe beleeve that they shall be freed by the blood of Christ. that as the soule is the life of the bodie so faith is the life of the soule and that wee live by faith only as owing nothing to the Law that he who beleeveth in Christ hath the perfection of the Law For whereas none might be justified by the Law because none did fulfill the Law but only he which did trust in the promise of Christ faith was appointed which should be accepted for the perfection of the Law that in all things which were omitted faith might satisfie for the whole Law That this righteousnesse therefore is not ours nor in us but in Christ in whom wee are considered as members in the head That faith procuring the remission of sinnes by grace maketh all beleevers the children of Abraham and that it was just that as Abraham was justified by faith onely so also the rest that followed his faith should be saved after the same maner That through adoption we are made the sonnes of God by beleeving in the Sonne of God and that this is a testimonie of our adoption that we have the spirit by which we pray and cry Abba Father forasmuch as none can receive so great a pledge as this but such as be sonnes onely That Moses himselfe made a distinction betwixt both the justices to wit of faith and of deedes that the one did by workes justifie him that came the other by beleeving only that the Patriarches and the Prophets were not justified by the workes of the Law but by faith that the custome of sinne hath so prevayled that none now can fulfill the Law as the Apostle Peter saith Act. 15.10 Which neyther our fathers nor wee have beene able to beare But if there were any righteous men which did escape the curse it was not by the workes of the Law but for their faithes sake that they were saved Thus did Sedulius and Claudius two of our most famous Divines deliver the doctrine of free-will and grace faith and workes the Law and the Gospell Iustification and Adoption no lesse agreeably to the faith which is at this day professed in the reformed Churches then to that which they themselves received from the more ancient Doctors whom they did follow therein Neyther doe wee in our judgement one whit differ from them when they teach that faith alone is not sufficient to life For when it is said that Faith alone justifieth this word alone may be conceived to have relation either to the former part of the sentence which in the schooles they terme the Subject or to the latter which they call the Predicat Being referred to the former the meaning will be that such a faith as is alone that is to say not accompanied with other vertues doth justifie and in this sense wee utterly disclaime the assertion But being referred to the latter it maketh this sense that faith is it which alone or only iustifieth and in this meaning onely doe wee defend that proposition understanding still by faith not a dead carkase thereof for how should the iust be able to live by a dead faith but a true and lively faith which worketh by love For as it is a certaine truth that among all the members of the bodie the eye is the only instrument whereby wee see and yet it is as true also that the eye being alone and seperated from the rest of the members is dead and for that cause doth neyther seâ—
onely nor see at all so these two sayings likewise may stand well enough together that among all the vertues in the soule faith is the onely instrument whereby we lay hold upon Christ for our iustification and yet that faith being alone and disioyned from the societie of other graces is dead in it selfe as S. Iames speaketh and in that respect can neyther only iustifie nor iustifie at all So though Claudius doe teach as we doe that faith alone saveth us because by the workes of the law no man shall be justified yet hee addeth withall this caution Not as if the workes of the law should be contemned and without them a simple faith so hee calleth that solitarie faith whereof we spake which is a simple faith indeed should be desired but that the workes themselves should be adorned with the faith of Christ. For that sentence of the wise man is excellent that the faithfull man doth not live by righteousnesse but the righteous man by faith In like maner Sedulius acknowledgeth with us that God hath purposed by faith onely to forgive our sinnes freely and by faith onely to save the beleevers and that when men have fallen they are to be renewed onely by the faith of Christ which worketh by love intimating by this last clause that howsoever faith only be it which iustifieth the man yet the worke of love is necessarily required for all that to iustifie the faith And this faith saith he when it hath beene justified sticketh in the soyle of the soule like a root which hath received a showre that when it hath begun to be manured by the law of God it may rise up againe into bowes which may beare the fruit of workes Therefore the root of righteousnesse doth not grow out of workes but the fruit of workes out of the root of righteousnesse namely out of that roote of righteousnesse which God doth accept for righteousnesse without workes The conclusion is that saving faith is alwaies a fruitfull faith and though it never goe alone yet may there be some gift of God which it alone is able to reach unto as Columbanus also implieth in that verse Sola fides fidei dono ditabitur almo The greatest depressers of Gods grace and the advancers of mans abilities were Pelagius and Celestius the one borne in Brittaine as appeareth by Prosper Aquitanus the other in Scotland or Ireland as Mr. Persons doth gather out of those words of S. Hierome in one of the Prefaces of his commentaries not upon Ezechiel as he quoteth it but upon Ieremy Hee hath his off-spring from the Scottish nation neere to the Britans Against these Palladius and Patricius sent into these parts by Celestinus Bishop of Rome bent their forces by whose meanes the grounds of sound doctrine in these great points were well setled among the Scottish and Irish. And when the poyson of the contrarie heresie about two hundred yeares after that beganne to breake out among them againe the Clergie of Rome in the yeare of our Lord DCXXXIX during the vacancie of the See upon the death of Severinus directed their letters unto them for the preventing of this growing mischiefe Wherein among other things they put them in minde that it is both blasphemy and folly to say that a man is without sinne which none at all can say but that one mediator betwixt God and man the man Christ Iesus vvho was conceived and borne without sinne Which is agreeable partly to that of Claudius that it is manifest unto all wise men although it be contradicted by heretickes that there is none who can live upon earth without the touch of some sinne partly to that of Sedulius that there is none of the elect so great whom the Divell doth not dare to accuse but him alone who did no sinne and who said The Prince of this world commeth now and in me he findeth nothing For touching the imperfection of our sanctification in this life these men held the same that wee doe to wit that the Law cannot be fulfilled that there is none that doth good that is to say perfect and intire good that Gods elect shall be perfectly holy and immaculate in the life to come where the Church of Christ shall have no spot nor wrinkle whereas in this present life they are righteous holy and immaculate not wholy but in part only that the righteous shall then be without all kinde of sinne vvhen there shall bee no law in their members that shall resist the law of their mind that although sinne do not now raigne in their mortall body to obey the desires thereof yet sinne dwelleth in that mortall body the force of that natural custome being not yet extinguished which we have gotten by our originall and increased by our actuall transgressions And as for the matter of merit Sedulius doth resolve us out of S. Paul that wee are Saints by the calling of God not by the merit of our deed that God is able to doe exceeding aboundantly above all that we aske or thinke according to the power that worketh in us not according to our merits that whatsoever men have from God is grace because they have nothing of due and that nothing can be found worthy or to be compared with the glory to come The next point that offereth it selfe unto our consideration is that of Purgatory Whereof if anie man doe doubt Caesarius a Germane Monke of the Cistercian order adviseth him for his resolution to make a iourney into Scotland the greater Scotland he meaneth and there to enter into S. Patricks Purgatory and then he giveth him his word that he shall no more doubt of the paines of Purgatory If Doctor Terry who commendeth this unto us as the testimonie of a most famous author should chance to have a doubtfull thought hereafter of the paines of Purgatory I would wish his ghostly Father to injoine him no other penance but the undertaking of a pilgrimage unto S. Patricks purgatorie to see whether he would prove any wiser when he came from thence than when hee went thither In the meane time untill he hath made some further experiment of the matter he shall give me leave to beleeve him that hath beene there and hath cause to know the place as well as anie the Iland wherein it is seated being held by him as a part of the inheritance descended unto him from his ancestors and yet professeth that he found nothing therein which might afford him anie argument to thinke there was a Purgatorie I passe by that Nennius and Probus and all the elder writers of the life of S. Patrick that I have met withall speake not one word of anie such place and that Henry the monke of Saltrey in the dayes of king Stephen is the first in whom I could ever finde anie mention thereof this onely would I know
the Protestants concerning iustification by this lively faith and not by anie dead faith is such as you can no way dislike that it is so far from making anie carelesse of doing good works that contrariwise it urgeth abetteth perswadeth and provoketh men unto them if they meane or desire to have such a faith as whereby they may be saved But now although the Protestants doe thus rightly teach that this faith and good workes goe together and be inseparable in respect of the person so that he that hath this faith hath also good workes yet in the point of our Iustification in Gods sight and before his Tribunall they are to be distinguished and to be considered apart and not confusedlie because it is Faith onlie and not Workes whereby we apprehend and applie Christ Iesus unto us as our Righteousnesse To understand this the better you must ever remember that Christ Iesus is in verie deed our Righteousnes for so the scriptures doe plentifullie teach and proclaime Our faith is but the hand or instrument whereby we apprehend and applie that righteousnesse unto us and our good workes be the fruits testimonies and declarations both to our selves and other men of that faith in Christ which iustifieth us before God And therefore it is not enough for a man to say hee hath faith but if hee have that true livelie and iustifying faith which he pretendeth he must declare shew it by his workes for so S. Iames saith Ostende mihi fidem tuam ex operibus tuis shew me thy faith by thy vvorkes And agreeablie hereunto S Paul calleth good workes and a sanctified course of life fructus Iustitiae the fruits of righteousnesse So that wee are first righteous by faith in Christ before wee doe or can bring forth these fruits of righteousnes And so S. August likewise teacheth affirming directly that Opera sequuntur Iustificatum non praecedunt Iustificandum Good vvorkes doe follow him that is formerly iustified and doe not goe before him that is afterward to be iustified And this even Christ Iesus also himselfe declareth namelie that the tree must first be good before it can bring forth good fruit By all which it is verie manifest that good works be not causes but fruits effects and consequents of that faith which iustifieth us before God But this is yet further evident because S. Paul saith expresselie that wee are Iustified by faith and so have peace vvith God Hee further excludeth Workes verie directlie and by name from having anie thing to doe in that act of our Iustification Therefore vve conclude saith he that a man is Iustified by faith vvithout the vvorkes of the Law And againe he saith that God imputeth righteousnes vvithout vvorks Againe he saith It is by grace and not of works Rom. 11.6 And againe he saith It is not of vvorkes Rom. 9.11 And againe hee saith By grace are yee saved through faith and that not of your selves for it is the gift of God and not of vvorkes lest any man should boast himselfe In all which places yee may perceive that how requisite or commendable soever good workes be and what good use soever they have yet they bee directlie excluded from being anie cause of our Iustification and salvation in Gods sight and censure And with this also agreeth that saying of S. Paul in his Epistle to the Galathians where he giveth this conclusion saying Yee are all the sonnes of God by faith in Christ Iesus And so also testifieth S. Iohn saying That as many as received Christ to them he gave this prerogative to be the sonnes of God even to them that beleeve in his name Where you may observe that beleefe or faith is reckoned as the hand or instrument whereby Christ is apprehended or received Againe he saith That God so loved the vvorld that he gave his onely begotten Sonne that vvhosoever beleeveth in him should not perish but have everlasting life In which words you may observe againe the first and originall cause of our salvation to be the meere grace and love of God Secondly the materiall cause to be Christ the Sonne of God with his obedience and righteousnesse And thirdlie the instrumentall cause to be faith or beleefe in that his Sonne and our Saviour Iesus For he saith the text was sent into the world to this end that vvhosoever beleeveth in him should not perish but have everlasting life But consider that he saith yet further That as Moses lift vp the Serpent in the vvildernesse so must the sonne of man be lift vp that whosoever beleeveth in him should not perish but have eternall life Some of you no doubt remember the storie of the Serpent there mentioned which is in the booke of Numbers for after that the people of Israel had wickedly spoken and murmured against God and against Moses The Lord sent fierie Serpents among the people which stung the people so that manie of the people of Israel died Therefore the people came to Moses and said VVe have sinned for we have spoken against the Lord and against thee pray to the Lord that he take away the Serpents from us And Moses prayed for the people And the Lord said unto Moses make thee a fierie Serpent and set it up for a signe that as many as are bitten may looke upon it and live So Moses made a Serpent of brasse and set it up for a signe and when a Serpent had bitten a man then he looked to the Serpent of brasse and lived As therefore Moses lift up this brazen Serpent in the wildernes to the end that whosoever was stung by those fierie Serpents and did looke upon that brazen Serpent might be cured live and was cured and did live accordingly So was also the Sonne of man Christ Iesus lift up upon the Crosse where he was crucified to the end that whosoever is stung with the deadly stings of sinne or of that old Serpent the Divell and doth with the eies of his faith applying him looke upon Christ Iesus so lifted vp and crucified for him should bee healed and have eternall life Where you may againe perceive that as Christ is compared to that brazen Serpent so is our beliefe or faith in him compared to their looking upon the brazen Serpent so that still it appeareth that faith is as the eie or instrument whereby wee behold apprehend and apply Christ crucified as a salve unto us for all our sores For in him is comprehended whatsoever is necessarie or fit to cure us When therefore wee say and speake in this sort that Sola fides iustificat Faith onely iustifieth wee meane not that this faith is so sole or alone as that it is without good works but that in the act of our iustification before God and in his sight and as it respecteth and apprehendeth Christ the obiect of it it is sole and alone workes having no
anie righteousnesse of our owne or inherent in our owne persons but by that immaculate and spotlesse righteousnesse of his imputed unto us So that In him it is as this Text most plainlie sheweth and not in our selves that wee are deemed righteous in Gods sight Yea here consider further what righteousnesse also it is that God approveth and will have to stand for the Iustification of sinfull men in his sight for it must be a righteousnesse transcendent and going farre beyond the righteousnesse of anie sinfull creatures namelie it must be that which S. Paul here calleth the righteousnesse of God that is a most pure perfect and complete righteousness wherein must not be anie the least spot speck or staine to be found as S. Chrysostome also declareth Which kind of most pure and spotlesse righteousnesse because no other man hath but Iesus Christ only the second Adam who is both God and Man therefore in his person only and not in ours it is to be both sought and found For which cause also it is that the Church and people of God considered not in themselves but in Christ are by the Apostle S. Paul said to have not so much as a spot or vvrinckle or any such thing in them Well therefore doth S. Augustine make this double observation upon this Text of 2. Cor. 5.21 saying Videâ—e duo Iustitiam Dei non nostram In ipso non in nobis Behold and consider two things saith he first That vvee are made the righteousnesse of God and not our owne righteousnes and secondly In him and not in our selves The same observation likewise giveth S. Hierome upon the same Text saying Christus pro peccatis nostris oblatus peccati nomen accepit ut nos efficeremuâ— Iustitia Dei in ipso non nostra nec in nobis Christ being offered for our sinnes tooke the name of sinne that vve might be made the righteousnesse of God in him not our owne righteousnesse nor in us And therefore doth S. Paul againe not onlie for himselfe but in the behalfe of other Christians also speake in this sort even after faith and grace received VVe vvhich are Iewes by nature and not sinners of the Gentiles doe know that a man is not Iustified by the vvorkes of the Law but by the faith of Iesus Christ even vve I say have beleeved in Iesus Christ that vvee might be Iustified by the faith of Christ and not by the vvorkes of the Law because that by the works of the Law no flesh shall be iustified Be not these wordes verie direct for this purpose shewing that even those that be Christians and beleevers in Christ doe neverthelesse expect Iustification by Faith in Christ and not by the Workes of the Law Yea what man ever yet Christ Iesus onely excepted did fully and perfectlie keepe the whole Law and commandements of God in his owne person For which cause it is that none can be Iustified in Gods sight by anie works or observance of the Law which he by and in his owne person can doe or performe If theâ—e had beene a Law given vvhich could have given life then indeed righteousnes should have beene by the Law as S. Paul affirmeth But the Scripture saith he hath concluded all under sinne that the promâ—se by the faith of Iâ—sus Christ should be given to them that beleeve In which words you see he sheweth it verie significantlie to be a thing Impossible for anie that be but meere men to keep the Law of God in that full measure and perfection which the Law reâ—uireth and therefore that they must seeke to be Iustified in Gods sight and to have eternall life another way namelie by Faith in Iesus Christ. Againe he saith thus Be it knowne unto you men and Brethren thâ—t through this man Iesus is preached unto you the forgivenes of sinnes and by him every one that beleeveth is Iustified from all those things from vvhich yee could not be Iustified bâ— the Law of Moses Here also observe that hee saith they could not be Iustified by the Law as noting it likewise to bee a thing Impossible But hee speaketh yet further saying That vvhich vvas Impossible to the Law inasmuch as it vvas vveake because of the flesh God sent his owne Sonne in â—he similitude of sinfull flesh for sinne condemned sinne in the flesh thâ—t the righteousaesse of the Law might be fulfilled in us vvhich vvalke not after the flesh but after the spirit Where you may againe perceive that he teacheth it constantly expresly to be a thing impossible by reason of the vveakenesse that is in all flesh for the most godly person upon earth being but a meere man fullie exactly to keepe and performe the law and that therefore the Son of God Christ Iesus himselfe was sent into the world and became Man for our sakes that so the righteousnesse of the Law which hee in his humane nature in all points and perfection fully performed might by our faith apprehending and applying it bee made ours and so be fulfilled in us namelie by imputation and application and not by anie inherent and actual performance of it by in our owne persons for this he before affirmed to be impossible And this also do the ancient Fathers themselves affirme and teach S. Ambrose saith That the commandements of God bee so great vt impossibile sit servare ea as that it is impossible to keep them S. Chrysostome speaking of the Law and performance of it saith Id vero nemini possibile est That it is possâ—ble to no man S. Hierome saith That no man can performe the Lavv S. Bernard saith that God commanding things impossible made not men transgressors but made them thereby humble Yea it was the heresie of the Pelagians as S. Hierome sheweth ad Clesiphontem to hold as the Papists also hold that Mandata dei sunt possibilia The Commaundements of God are possible And they went about to prove it as the Papists likewise doe by these Texts viz. My yoake is easie and my burthen light in Mat. 11.30 And his commandements be not burdenous in 1. Ioh. 5.3 wheras they did not rightly understand those speeches no more then the Papists their followers doe For it is true that none of the commandements of God be grievous heavie or burthensome to a regenerate godly and sanctified minde which is ever desirous endeavoring and delighting to keepe them and to walke in the obedience of them though hee shall never be able during this mortall life fully and perfectly to keepe and performe them And therefore thus saith S. Hierome to the Pelagian and we also say the same to the Papists â—acilia dicis dei mandata tamen nullum proferre potes qui universa compleverit Thou saist the commandements of God be easie and yet thou canst bring forth none that hath kept them all Againe he saith Tunc ergo iusti sumus quando
nos peccatores fatentur iustitia nostra non ex proprio constat merito sed ex dei misericordia dicente scriptura Iustus est accusator sui Then therefore are wee iust vvhen wee confesse our selves sinners and that our righteousnesse consisteth not upon our owne merits but upon Gods mercie the Scripture affirming that the Iust man is the accuser of himselfe The like whereunto S. Augustine also speaketh saying in this wise Omnia mandata dei facta deputantur quando quicquid non fit ignoscitur All the commaundements of God bee then accounted to be done when vvhat soever is not done is pardoned Yea this is so cleare a truth that Thomas Aquinas also saith that Implere totam legem est impossibile To performe the vvhole law is a thing impossible And Cusanus likewise saith Nemo unquam ad implevit legem quae in dilectione consistit nisi Christus qui nonvenit solvere legem sed implere No man ever yet performed the law which consisteth in love but onely Christ which came not to breake the lavv but to fulfill it And therefore is it further said by S. Paul in another place That Christ is the end accomplishment or fulfilling of the lavv for righteousnes unto everie one that beleeveth S. Chrysostome likewise saith Quid lex vult hominem iustum facere sed non potest nemo siquidem illam implevit VVhat meaneth the lavv doth it meane to make a man Iust but it cannot doe that for no man hath fulfilled it Yea the law was not given as S. Paul also teacheth us to anie such end as thereby to iustifie us in Gods sight but to shew us our weaknes our sinnes and transgressions and our guiltinesse and the wrath and curse of God due unto us for the same and so to drive us unto Christ our Saviour by whose obedience and fulfilling of the law for us applied unto vs by faith it is that wee are iustified and compleatly righteous even before the Throne of God Howbeit as touching the law it is true neverthelesse that wee must all endeavor to walke in the waies of it and in obedience to all Gods commandements to shew our subiection to God and to declare the dutie tokens and fruites of Gods children in us but not to the end to obtaine righteousnesse and iustification thereby in Gods sight and censure Yea S. Paul telleth you directly that as manie as are of the workes of the law thinking thereby to be iustified they are under the curse So far are they of from obtaining righteousnesse or blessednesse by that meanes Will you have the reason of it himselfe delivereth it in the next words by a sentence and testimonie out of the law it selfe For it is vvritten· saith he Cursed is everie one that continueth not in all things vvhich are vvritten in the booke of the lavv to doe them And so likewise speaketh S. Iames That vvhosoever keepeth the vvhole lavv and yet faileth in one point he is guiltie of all because he offendeth the Maiestie of the Lavv-giver and by committing though it be but one offence or sinne during his whole life hee hath made himselfe subiect to the curse of the law By the sentence then of the law yee see that everie man is accursed and lieth inthralled and subiect unto all manner of punishment and even to everlasting horrour and eternall condemnation What then shall a man doe that is by the law thus sentenced and brought to this wofull estate and perplexitie and what course shall he take or what meane is there to be freed and delivered from this direfull sentence the Curse of the Law The Apostle answereth and sheweth that there is no other way but one namely Christ Iesus who hath for us and in our steede borne the wrath of God and curse due unto us for our sinnes for so he saith in the same Chapter Christ hath redeemed us from the Curse of the lavv being made a Curse for us O the unspeakeable love of Christ who was thus content to be made a Curse for us to the end to free us from that Curse and to purchase unto us Eternall blessednes and felicitie His love towards us can never be sufficientlie manifested For it is hee that with his most bitter passion and sufferings hath satisfied Gods wrath and iustice in our behalfe and by whom it is that wee have remission and forgivenes of all our sinnes and he it is that is made of God to be our righteousnes Wherfore being by him freed from the guiltinesse of sinne and the punishment of it and having withall his most pure cleare compleate and spotlesse righteousnesse imputed to us by faith what is it that wee neede to feare Or how can wee choose but ioy and reioyce againe and againe in the sense and feeling of so great and incomparable a benefite Yea even this verie point namelie that faith only doth iustifie us in Gods sight as being the onely instrument to apprehend and apply Christ with his satisfaction and righteousnes unto us and not workes though done after grace received the ancient Fathers also themselves doe againe cleerely testifie S. Augustine saith Quantaelibet iustitiae sancti praedicentur vel novi vel veteris Testimenti tamen non eos salvos fecit nisi fides Mediatoris qui in remissionē peccatorum sanguinem fudit Of hovv great righteousnes soever the holy men either of the old or nevv Testament are said to be yet nothing saved them but the faith of the Mediatour vvhich shed his blood for the remission of their sinnes S. Basil saith Hoc est in domino gloriari quando quis non effertur sua iustitia sed agnoscit se destitutum vera iustitia sola fide in Christum iustificari This is to glorie in the Lord when a man is not lifted up with his ovvne righteousnes but acknowledgeth himselfe destitute of true righteousnes and that he is iustified onely by faith in Christ. In like sore speaketh S. Hillarie saying that Sola fides iustificat Faith onely iustifieth S. Ambrose also saith Hoc constitutum est a deo ut qui credit in Christum salvus sit sine opere sola fide gratis accipiens remissionem peccatorum This is determined vvith God that he that beleeveth in Christ should be saved without workes by faith onelie freely receiving remission of sinnes S. Chrysostome likewise saith Sed unum illud a severarim quod sola fides per se salvum fecerit This one thing I will affirme that faith onely by it selfe saveth Therefore also it is that the Church and people of God doe ever disclaime their owne merits and their owne righteousnes so often as they duely consider themselves and come into Gods presence saying in Esay that All their righteousnes is as filthy clovvtes for the best righteousnes that is inherent in earthly Saints hath some defect staine or imperfection in it And so
A FRIENDLY ADVERTISEMENT TO the pretended Catholickes of IRELAND Declaring for their satisfaction That both the Kings SUPREMACIE and the FAITH whereof his Majestie is the Defender are consonant to the doctrine delivered in the holy Scriptures and writings of the ancient Fathers AND CONSEQVENTLY That the Lawes and Statutes enacted in that behalfe are dutifully to be observed by all his Majesties subjects within that Kingdome By CHRISTOPHER SIBTHORP Knight one of his Majesties Iustices of His Court of Chiefe Place in IRELAND IN THE END WHEREOF IS ADDED An Epistle written to the Author by the Reverend Father in God IAMES VSSHER Bishop of Meath wherein it is further manifested that the Religion anciently professed in Ireland is for substance the same with that which at this day is by publick Authoritie established therein DUBLIN Printed by the Societie of Stationers 1622. TO THE HIGH AND MIGHTY KING IAMES BY THE GRACE OF GOD KING OF GREAT Britanne France and Ireland Defender of the FAITH c. CIvill Iustice most Gracious Soveraigne and Externall Peace be as all confesse two things in everie Common-weale much to be honoured and highly respected but they are then doubtlesse of best and worthiest esteeme and most blessed of GOD when together with them Gods Religion flourisheth and the Supremacie of Kings and Princes within their owne Dominions is also as one of his sacred ordinances duly reverenced and obeyed For in the diligent observance of Gods ordinances added to civill Iustice and externall Peace it is as your Majestie best knoweth that the solid durable and complete Happinesse of every Kingdome especially that professeth God and his word consisteth Howbeit concerning points of civill Iustice and externall Peace I shall not neede here to speake anie thing because in those two points and generally in all matters Temporall as they be called the pretended Catholicks of this your Majesties Kingdome doe already of themselves willingly professe and yeeld a very good conformitie without any opposition or contradiction I wish they did also shew as of right they ought and upon better information received I trust they will the like good conformity as touching the two other points which be indeed points of the greatest highest importance namely concerning your Majesties Supremacie and the Religion in which two points it is that their great defect and unconformitie appeareth The cause hereof they alledge to be their Conscience and so I also conceive it But what maner of conscience it is themselves should more seriously consider For if it be as it is indeed not a right but a wrong and an erring conscience all men will grant that such a conscience ought to be rectified and reformed and not persisted in If then matter sufficient to satisfie their consciences in these points shall be shewed unto them it is as much as they can desire and from thenceforth they must eythe◠be conformed or else be held utterly unexcusable as having after that nothing further left to alledge or pleade for themselves in the case This therefore is the thing that I have here attempted endevoured to do perform as I was able and as my other imployments in the affaires of the Cōmon-weale would permit me I confesse that it might have been much better done by sundry and innumerable others that be farre more learned and have also much more leisure for these things then I and that much more might likewise have beene spoken in every severall and particular point then is here by mee delivered But as I could not nor desired to speake all but so much as might suffice so neyther doe I doubt but there will here be found matter sufficient if not redundant to give contentment satisfaction to the conscience of any that will be reasonable and equall and not suffer himselfe to be transported or caried away with prejudice or with perverse or partiall affection The VVorke is I grant in respect of mee in no sort worthy your Majesties view or patrocinie yet in respect of the matter therein handled it being the cause of no lesse then of God himselfe and of his Church and of all Christian Kings in generall if they all knew or would take notice of that which of right belongeth to them and it being your Majesties owne cause more specially and particularly I thought it meetest and my bounden duetie to dedicate it as here in all humble submission I doe to your most excellent Majestie The Almightie evermore keepe and preserve your Highnesse to the great glory of his Name the further comfort of his Church and of all your Majesties Dominions the most ample propagating of his religion and the confusion of all false and Antichristian Doctrines and to your owne everliving honour in this world and everlasting felicitie in the world to come through Iesus Christ. AMEN Your Majesties most humble subject and servant though unworthy Christopher Sibthorp The Preface TO THE HONORABLE VVORSHIPfull and the rest of the pretended Catholikes within the Realme of Ireland IT is cleere and out of all question noble Lords and worthy Gentlemen that the one side namely either the Protestants or the Papists be and must needs be mightily mistaken and strongly deluded whilst they be both so confident and yet so contradictorie and repugnant in their severall Religions opinions but where and on which side this strong Delusion is S. Paul hath foretold long agon and it will hereafter be more fully declared In the meane time some peradventure will take exception to this Work for that it is not done by a professed Divine but by one of another profession Indeed I must confesse that in respect of learning and all other abilities and conveniences it might by manie degrees have beene much better performed by such a one then by mee who am the meanest of manie thousands For which cause it was that I sollicited and that verie earnestly a learned professed Divine of my acquaintance to have undertaken the Worke but Hee whom I thus requested finding himselfe to be otherwise much busied and employed had no leisure to intend it by reason whereof the burthen of it then returned and rested upon my weake selfe Howbeit as I presume nothing of my selfe for neither is there anie cause I should so neither doe I distrust or despaire of the strength of the Almightie whose direction and assistance I therefore most humbly implore to enable mee in this so weighty a businesse wherein I am otherwise of my selfe utterly unable and altogether defective Now then howsoever it is granted that it might have beene much better done by a learned professed Divine yet thereupon it followeth not that therefore it is either unlawfull or unbeseeming Mee or a man of another profession to intermeddle in it For first it is well knowne that manie with whom neverthelesse I neither doe nor is it meet I should compare my selfe have written and that verie commendably even concerning Divinitie who were themselves no professed Divines
part with it in that apprehensive facultie Where also you may understand how S. Iames S. Paul be cleerly reconciled between whom neverthelesse there neither is nor ever was anie variance being rightly understood namely even by that evident common and knowne distinction that CHRISTVS iustificat effectivè Fides instrumentaliter sivè apprehensivè Opera declarativè CHRIST is he that iustifieth in verie deede effectually Faith iustifieth instrumentally or apprehensively and workes iustifie declaratively that is they doe declare or shew forth unto men the goodnesse and livelinesse of that faith whereby as by an instrument apprehending Christ our righteousnesse wee are iustified in the sight of God And this is the reason that S. Iames spake in that sort before mentioned viz Declare or Shew me thy faith by thy vvorkes and I will shew thee my faith by my workes In which sense also he further saith that Abraham was iustified that is was shewed or declared to be iust by his workes when he offered Isaac his sonne upon the Altar Likewise hee saith that Rahab the harlot vvas iustified that is was shewed or declared to be iust through workes when she received the messengers and sent them out another vvay So that to bee iustified by workes in S. Iames is nothing else but thereby to be shewed or declared to be iust For all S. Iames his dispute in that place if you well observe it is directly and expresly against a Dead faith which hath no good workes with it and against that vaine man that shall say or thinke that he hath a faith good enough to save him when as being without workes it was indeede but an idle brag and conceite and not a lively or saving faith but like a bodie without a soule as he there resembleth it for that it hath not the action of a living thing appearing in it The iustification therefore by faith without workes whereof S. Paul speaketh and the iustification by workes and not by faith onely that is when faith onelie is pretended or alledged which is destitute of good workes whereof S. Iames speaketh appeare to have no contradiction or contrarietie at all but a verie plaine evident and cleare consent and agreement For both those Apostles doe teach alike and concurre in this that the iustifying and saving faith is not an idle or dead faith but such a one as is livelie and operative working by love and bringing forth the fruites of good workes And therefore doth also S. Paul aswell as S. Iames require of all beleevers in Christ that they be carefull to shew forth good vvorkes and of as manie as be redeemed by him and iustified by faith in him that They should bee zealous of good vvorkes Yea although hee teacheth that wee are iustified in Gods sight and saved by grace through faith and not by workes yet he further addeth and saith neverthelesse that VVee are his vvorkemanship created in Christ Iesus unto good vvorkes and that God hath before ordained those good vvorkes that vvee should vvalke in them So that good workes be as S. Bernard also witnesseth of them Via regni non causa regnandi The way vvherin men must vvalke tovvards Gods kingdome but they be not the cause of their raigneing or of their comming thither As for that they obiect touching the Heresie of faith only iustifying or saving which S. Augustine saith was held by some in the Apostles time the same S. Augustine himselfe there plainely declareth that the heresie was of them that thoght they might be iustified or saved by such a faith as was void of good works which is indeed an heretical or erroneous opinioÌ„ which nothing toucheth us yea which we likewise condemne detest as much as anie ever holding with the same S· August with S. Paul S. Iames and the rest of the Scriptures that a iustifying or saving faith will produce good workes and a care to live well and in obedience to all Gods commandements Here then you may see the unsoundness of that distinction which the Rhemists and other Papists use viz. that workes done before Faith received that is whilst men be Infidels and unbeleevers do not indeed Iustifie but works done after faith received that is after that men be beleevers do say they iustifie in Gods sight For doth not S. Paul in that his dispute concerning Iustification expressely mention the example of Abraham as being the father of the faithfull in that case And doth he not say of that beleeving and godlie man Abraham that his Faith was imputed to him for righteousnesse before God and not his Works And doth he not further say that David likewise describeth the blessednesse of a man to consist not in anie workes or inherent righteousnesse of his owne but in remission of his sinnes and in Gods not imputing sinne unto him yea unto whom God imputeth righteousnesse without workes as he there directlie speaketh Was not S. Paul also a godlie and faithful man and one that had received grace from God and done manie good workes after that faith and grace received and yet he saith thus of himselfe Doubtlesse I thinke all things but losse for the excellent knowledg sake of Christ Iesus my Lord for whom I have counted all thiâ—gs lâ—sse do iudge them to be dung that I might win Christ might be found in him that is not having mine owne righteoâ—snes vvhâ—ch is of the Law but that righteousnes which is through the faith of Christ even the righteousnes which is of God through faith In which words ye see that S. Paul thogh a godly man yet disclaimeth all his own works and inherent righteousnesse whatsoever accounting it as Dung and altogether unmeet to stand in Gods presence and before his Iudgement seate to claime Iustification by that all his ioy delight and desiâ—e was to goe out of himselfe and to be found In hâ—m that is in Christ and so to have his righteousnesse and not his owne imputed to him For in Christ it is that the Father is vvell pleased and in Christ it is and for his sake and not for our owne that vvee are accepted As hee likewise saith againe There is no condemnation to them that be in Christ Iesus And againe he saith God hath made him to bee sinne for us vvhich knew no sinne that we should be made the righteousnesse of God in him Where you also see that Christ Iesus our most kinde Suertie and most loving Saviour though hee had not anie the least speck or spot of sinne but was most holie most pure and in all compleate fulnesse and perfection righteous in himselfe had neverthelesse our sinnes imputed to him that wee might be made the righteousnesse of God In him as this Text speaketh and not in our selves As Christ then became sinne in respect of the imputation of our sinnes unto him so are we iudged righteous in Gods sight not by
that they further obiect that there bee manie names which make that number of 666. and thereupon would inferre that anie of those may be the name there spoken of aswell as Latine or Romane they talke likewise very idely and to no purpose for although there bee many names that conteine that number of 666 yet none of them conteyning that number can be the name there spoken of unlesse it bee the name first of a Beast that is of a State or Kingdome secondly unlesse it be the name of that verie Beast with seven heads there mentioned nor thirdly unlesse it bee such a name as agreeth with that Beast in every other respect and circumstance of which sort none is or can bee shewed to bee but onely that which is the Latine or Romane State Inasmuch then as the Pope of Rome counterfeiteth the Lambe but acteth the Dragon in verie deede and exerciseth all the power and authoritie of the first Beast that is of the Romane State and that before his face and seeing that the deadlie wound given to the Empire was cured and healed in him and that hee with his Clergie and holie men and holy women hath by their Miracles done in the sight and viewe of the Romane State together with his doctrine and other his devises so bewitched and inchanted the Inhabitants of the Earth that they have as verily beleeved the Popes Supremacie and his religion to be of God as if they had beene ratified and approoved from God himselfe by some miraculous sending of fire from heaven for the confirmation of them and hath also caused an Image of the Beast to be made namely the Papall State in lieu of the Imperial whereof himselfe is now the Head and Monarch hath moreover put such a spirit into this Image of the Beast so that it did speake and give forth such terrible Edicts Iudgments that whosoever did not obey it the decrees therof should be put to death and hath also caused and commanded all professors of Christianitie under his rule and dominion to receive the Marke of the Beast which in respect of Religion is manifestly Poperie and hath willed also and ordained that none within his Dominions professing the name of Christ should buy or sell or use the trade of Merchandizing unlesse hee have the marke of the Beast that is unlesse hee professe the religion of Poperie or have his name which is to bee a Romanist or Latine man that is a man of the Romane or Latine Religion professing subiection to him or have the number of his name that is unlesse hee so carrie and demeane himselfe as that hee bee numbred and reckoned amongst them as if he were a verie true Latine or true Romane indeed and seeing that the number of the name of the Beast conteyning 666. doth also fitly and fully agree to the Latine or Romane State yea seeing the Pope hath all the Markes whatsoever mentioned in the holy Scriptures to belong to Antichrist for no instance can be given to the contrarie I conclude that hee is and must needs be helde to bee the verie undoubted Grand Antichrist and that there is no other to bee expected CHAP. IIII. Shewing also the Pope to bee Antichrist and the Popish Church to be the Antichristian out of the 1. Tim. 4. Vers. 1 2 3 4 5. THE words of this Text bee these But the spirit speaketh evidently that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith giving heede to spirits of error and doctrines of Divells which speake lyes in hypocrisie having their consciences seared with an hot Iron forbidding to marrie and commanding to abstaine from meates vvhich God hath created to bee received with thankesgiving of them which beleeve and know the truth for every Creature of God is good and nothing to bee refused if it be received vvith thankesgiving for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer Beside the former notes and markes of the Antichristian and Apostatical Church the Apostle here hath for our fuller and better satisfaction in that point notified also and set downe unto us two other marks and those not the worst but the most sensible nor the most wicked though wicked enough but the most easie to bee knowne that none might anie longer erre or goe astray therein The two markes whereby to discerne and know this Antichristian Church which hath made an Apostacie or departure from the right faith and whose teachers bee false teachers hee specifieth to bee these namely 1. Forbidding people to Marrie which by Gods law bee not prohibited 2. A commanding to abstaine from meates for religion sake which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving Which two notes or markes bee apparantly found in the Papacie For there namely in the Papacie are divers persons forbidden to marrie which by Gods law be not forbidden as namely their Bishops Deacons Priests Monkes Friers Nunnes c. And there also is a commanding to abstaine from some kinde of meates for religion sake as is sufficiently knowne and as shall afterward appeare and therefore in the Papacie it is that the Church is Apostatical and Antichristian But touching the point of Marriage the Rhemists and other Papists answer that S. Paul here speaketh onely of the Manichees Encratites Marcionites of the heretickes called Apostoloci Ebionitae and the like whose heresie about Marriage was say they that to marrie or to use the Act of Matrimonie is of Satan and that the distinction of Male and Female came of an ill God And thus would they have the old Heretickes onely to be branded and themselves noe way to bee touched herein But indeede if you well observe the words not so much those old heretickes as the later hereticks namely the Papists bee there noted and branded yea these chiefely and especially if not altogether For those old hereticks that attributed the institution of Matrimonie to Satan and the distinction of male and female and procreation of Children to the Divel did not speake lies or falshood in hypocrisie as these are here said to doe but in palpable and open blasphemie which might therefore easily bee discerned of Christians and avoided But the Papists that under pretence of holinesse religion puritie and chastitie forbid Marriage bee those that utter this their doctrine in hypocrisie and therefore bee such of whom the Apostle here speaketh and had the more neede to give the Church a forewarning that they might beware of them and bee the better armed against them But because they confesse the old Heretickes to be here condemned let them tell mee how much differeth in this point the Church of Rome from those old Heretickes the Manichees For even the Manichees permitted marriage to the Lay people which they called their hearers but in no wise to their Clergie which they called their Elects or chosen men as S. Augustine declareth Seeing then they are in the same heresie with them in this very point how can they