impugne so blyndlye this verite of faith onely iustifieng for ye neuer knewe what this faith is It is neither your acquisite ne your formed ne vnformed faith nether your assentynge historik faythe neither your explicite ne implicite faith neither your fained ne deade faith neither the diuellis faith nor yet your firste faythe of all that we ioyne with the exclusyue onely but it is the lyuely iustifienge faithe euen the ferme assiewred knowledge of gods beneuolence towarde vs whiche grounded vppon the veritie of the free promyse in Christ is both reueled to oure myndes and presented into our hertis by the holy gost And therefore are these wordes Iustitia iustificatio and iustificari often tymes ioyned to faithe onely and neuer to Charitie ne to workes to iustifye before God Paule vsynge in expresse wordes these exclusiues Absque operibus and sine operibus legis gratis nisi c. That is frelye withoute the workes of the lawe And where the Iewe as nowe do you for his iustifycatyon obiecteth his workes Paule telleth hym playnelye Thy gloriacyon in thy workes is excluded by by the auctoritie of faith And to exclude all other accions and merits of workes he addeth Gratis per gratiam per fidem that is frely thorowe faith And Christe biddeth him beleue onely and thou shalte haue thy desier Also Paule expresseth it with this exclusiue nisi affirminge we knowe it man not to be iustified of the workes of the lawe but by faith which lyke speache Christe vseth by the same exclusiue nisi to proue only God to be good sainge Nemo bonus nisi unus Nempe deus There is none good but one that is god as muche to saye as christe him selfe expresseth it there is none good nisi solus deus but only god For the same power hath nisi to exclude in negatiue propositions as haue Solum tantum in affirmatiues They trouble the people with a fyne distinction of offices sayeng that in iustificacion of man it is the onelye office of fayth to iustyfye And charite and hope there waytyng without office whiles the man be iustified Here ye playe sir Thomas Moris parte whyche when he was suborned of you the spiritualtie to wryte agaynst the truthe and coulde not solute the scriptures ne argumentes layde agaynste hym then he skoffed and iested them out Better learned men then you call the actes of fayth and charite offices ne a more proper terme can there be geuen them if ye lyst to se what officium is and wherof it commeth mary I meane not of suche offices as ye constitute among your officers as butlers cokes c. And here because the truth of God and youre lyes be at so deadly a discorde you hauynge no truthe for your cause to be defended ye putte to this shameles lye of me that I shuld write Charitie and hope there to waite withoute office whiles the man be iustified whiche nether I ne any els but suche as ye be didde euer saye it But I say it yet againe to you this which ye shal neuer iustly auoid ne confute That it is the office acte propertie or nature call it as ye lyste of faith onely to apprehende the free promised forgeuenes in christis moste preciouse innocent bloud Nether is hope idle For it is the constant expectacion of those things conceiued by faith oute of the worde of god which hope shameth vs not Nether is loue there idle but is the frute of faithe euen the good affecte toward god and beneficence toward our neighbour to fulfil the works of mercy For the gifts of the holy gost breke not forth into workes in the same instant thei be sowen into y e soul of man but receiue their nourishment and encreace and be nolesse idle then is the good erthe and the grane sowen lapped therin all that tyme before the grane spiereth apere aboue y e grounde The holy goost as he geueth no idle but frutefull giftes at their dewe tune so suffereth he not his giftes to lye idle in his good soyle althoughe ye haue litle grace to consider see it but rather to blaspheme him and his gifts with youre skoffinge idle waiting hauyng rather respecte to your idle wayting seruauntes in your skornefull allusion Thoughe your self slepe or winke and se not at al times yet maye ye not saye in suche tymes that God hath geuen you idle eyes And for that your superciliouse morositie is so ofâ—ended with the terme office of fayth what difference I praye you put ye betwixt these two sainges The eye onely seeth and it is â—he onely office therof to see neyther is there any man so brutyshe as in this speache It is the onely office expressinge the cause formal of faith to iustifie to exclude god the cause efficiente out of his office For onely as Paule teacheth excludeth the workis of the lawe not god from the acte of iustificacion as ye cauill to seke euasions verely if ye were of god ye wold neuer impugne so manifest verities with siche trifflinge skoffes and cauillacions ne trouble and hynder chrystes chirch to seduce them with these your fonde and false bokis But ye stande a litle to highe in your own conceight beware ye fall not Dominus videt et iudicat Que stat caueat ne cadat he y t stond let him beware he falleth not And so onely is nowe shifted from faith to thoficie of faith And these be thei that accuse other men of darknes Nowe herken good reader wether this be so derke a shift Onely y e eare heareth and it is the onely office of the eare to heare this bishop wolde haue it the office of charite also to iustifie and I to exclude charite froÌ„ y t office tell him that it is the onely office of faith and not of any other gift to iustifye haue constantly confirmed it by scriptures But the scripture telleth me that who so loueth not remaineth in death And therfore if the state of a iustified man be lyfe in Christe which is godly loue hath as well hir office in iustification to geue lyfe as faith hath hir office to be in knowelege the most certaine grounde and foundacion of it and hope hir office to be placed and establyshed vpon them bothe I denye your longe bablynge vaine and darke argument which is this breifely in fewe wordes The office here be ye compelled to vse this terme office of charite is to geue life ergo charitie iustifieth A lyke argument the office of charitie is to be pacient ergo charitie iustifieth But what and if I denye your antecedence and proue it by scripture that faith and not loue is the lyfe of the iustified Abacuc ii The iust man liueth in his faith For faith hath not this epithete ut uiua dicatur that is to be called lyuely except there were lyfe in hir wherof the iust lyueth Abacuc ii Also Paul sayth
loue not beinge so concurrant into the act of beleif in christ as to say with loue I beleue in christ as well as with faith As to saye in a like speach I am not iustified without my .v. senses and yet do thei not iustifye me ye speke in a lyke fallacie as the man told the boter wyfe y t she made hir boter with her eares It is truth quod she I made it not with out them but hadde them when I made it Your self lo now be ye come to daley with sich idle ridels For no iust argumeÌ„tes can ye make for your loue to iustifie Ye shulde impugne this sayeng That without faith and beleif in christ iustifienge I cannot loue christ And then let vs see what ye can bringe in for the yonger sister to helpe hir elder in iustificacion or theffect to helpe hir cause to worke ye argue as the creues goeth lyke y e peruerse gardiner of whom speaketh Alexander Macedo turninge the toppes oâ— your herbes into y e ground and the rotes vpwarde from theffecte to the cause from the toppe to the roote all backewarke and arsewarde But ye now preasse vpon me to shew ye scriptures in this forme of sillables charite iustifieth and yet ye haue no scripture so framed for faith as to saye faith iustifieth No but I haue scriptures to shew ye That christ faide often and to manye Thy faith hath saued y e Paul oftener saith that man by faith is iustified and what differeÌ„ce is betwixt these two sentences To him that beleueth in him that iustifieth the vngodlye his faith is rekened to hym for rightwisenes faith iustifieth what differenc make ye betwixt these two sentences By faith man is iustified and his faithe iustifieth hym And now shewe me as mich for your charite where ye haue but once this sentence By charite man is iustifyed and I wil graunte it you that charitie iustifieth but as I know ye shall neuer shew it nether in seÌ„ce nor sillables so shal I neuer to you grauÌ„t it But to aunswer you according to your folyshenes and to stoppe your mouthe who begin to appose me as children were wont eche other in their primers to aske where fynde ye me two deus withoute a meus This miche I say I find in Paul deus iustificat and then in Ioan deus est charitas and so I fynde charitas iustificat And is this all the scripture ye can fynde for loue to iustifye Then I se well ye haue not forgotten all youre boyes plaies nor yâ—t all youre bragginge sophistrye I am content to be called fole of you so worldly a wise but yet Paule telleth me agen That the folyshnes of this worlde is wisedom before god and the wise of this worlde be very foles before god But at leste wyse ye shulde haue rememberd the wysemans counsel biddiÌ„ge you Not to answer the fole accordig to his folishnes lest ye be made a folâ— your self In good faith I thought not of siche childish fashions and Plays when I saide Where fynde ye that charite iustifyeth but ment it simply and playnly askinge it you to shewe me the place in scripture which perchaunce meself had neuer sene ne hered of before but now ye knit vp your syllogisme thus sayng Deus iustificat deus est charitas ergo charitas iustificat For quicquid predicatur de subiecto predicatur de predicato And so if deus predicatur de iustificare to say Deus iustificat and then charitas predicatur de deo deus est charitas the scripture y â— faith deus iustificat saith also charitas iustificat And thus I geue ye wordes for words who deserue none other For els I know y t charitas que de deo predicatur est iucreata and so differeth it a charitate qua iustificamur Mary sir I thanke you with all my harte for thus haue ye soluted your own false argument as the sophisters solute such false sillogismes sainge non tenet syllogismus ubi ter mini non supponunt omnino pro eodem But yet here me thinketh ye haue forgotten youre sophistrye and knowe not whiche is subiectum copula and praedicatum in propositione Ye saye that in thys youre fyrste proposicyon Deus iustificat deus praedicatur de iustificare where ye shewe youre selfe not to knowe whyche is subiectum and praedicatum ne copula For copula nusquam incidit in subiectum uel praedicatum Ye saye deus predicatur loke beter of your maior and how your argument shuld staÌ„d in y e third figure if deus were predicatum in y e maior and subiectum in y e minor Ye be so hyghe in diuinite that ye haue forgoten your logik and sophistry But ye saye thei be but wordis for wordis ye geue me In dede wordis be taken for deceights without any trwthe as ye vse youre vayne wordis in all your bokis all verite set a parte But in erneste let these your trifles skoffes passe froÌ„ so graue a cause And shew vs in seÌ„ce seriously as I haue shewed you of faith iustifyinge albe it not in forme of syllables where it standeth iÌ„ scripture Charite iustifiethe For I nowmber not your syllables but I seke out of you the very trwe sence onely from which ye now slip lyke y e slyper ele and the deffe aspe into a nother tale sayinge thus Now where as ye say y t if the forgeuenes of oure sinnes and oure suluacion shulde depende of the condicioÌ„ of our workes we shuld neuer be sewer and certain of one iustificacion for al oure workes be vnperfit and foule Thus I aunswere you That what sewernes ye wolde haue I cannot tell but of this am I sewer that god hath thus ordeined that baptisme is necessarye to attaine saluacion and yet all children be not sewer to be baptized And this do scripture tell me assewerdlye that a man must perseuer in good doinge to th ende or els he shall not be saued And that he that standeth in vertu may fal and be cast out In all these your assewranees haue ye not one worde ne mencion of faith into god and Christe nor yet of his most adsewered promised forgeuenes apprehdesd by faith euen the very vndoubted certitude it self Wherby men may see howe faithles vnsewere is your doutfull waueringe popish doctrine which al these your assewerances the turke and iew may haue without faith iustifieng ye say ye cannot tel what sewrance I wold haue wherin ye say not tru For how oft haue I laid before you the assewred promises in Christe holden by faith agenste your waueringe workis And yet I tell ye agen That if the kinges maiestye wolde promyse you before all his nobles another bishopryke nowe perchance voide and therto put his owne seall and wrytinge to confirme his promise wold ye not reken your self sewer therof Miche more then If god y â— verite promise me forgeuenes iÌ„ christ
operati siue iustitie baptismi after your scole men that is the sacrament or seall of the rightwisenes of workes or of the rightwisnes of baptism with water and man thereby to be iustified as ye dreame and so Christ in vaine to haue dyed Besydes this it is the fygure of our perpetuall mortificacion and repentance as I haue oâ—ten declared the vse therof before And as touchinge the imperfeccion of faith and charitie in man as ye saye Albeit our faith I saye be as litle as the mustarde sead and as imperfit as was his that saide lorde I beleue but yet helpe my vnbeleif yet god accepteth it for our iustificatioÌ„ for christes sake bidding vs daylye to praye for thencreace therof Then ye saye all our workes be imperfitte ' It is truthe that ye saye And in so sayeng ye haue condempned al your own doctrine of merits satisfaccioÌ„s and condicions of workes to deserue remission For no imperfitte workes may deserue perfit remission ne make perfit satisâ—accioÌ„ as ye well know it And for this cause of our imperfeccion indignitie impossibilite by workes to merit our remission saluacioÌ„ god hath taken it out of our handes and from our workes layd it vpon christ as ye se in the prophete Isaye him by his perfit fulfilling of the law by his so perfit workes to merit to satisfye fully and perfitlye and so to obtaine vs y e remission and saluation for our faith into him And thus is he made of his father ours for vs our iustificacion our rightwisnes redeÌ„ptioÌ„ our holines our wisdom our satisfaccioÌ„ our implecion of y e law whiche all we by faith receiue as our owne for that he is geuen to vs holy with al his that he ether dyd or suffred in his blessed innocent body and soul. And euen these be our elder brothers clothes done vpon vs by faith so swetely sauouring which so delite and please our celestial father as did Iacobs elder brothers fragrant vestures sauor in his father Isaac his nose that he gaue him his brothers blessing as shal our father for y e same doing on by faith not for your participatioÌ„ of our elder brother christe his swete clothes of his rightwisnes merits c. For who so euer be baptized of the spirite by regeneration of faith they haue done christ thus vpoÌ„ them And thus w t Iacob be we made Israelites And thus be we all made y e sonnes of god for that we haue beleued in Iesu christ saith Paul not as ye say for y t ye haue done youre good works fulâ—illed your coÌ„dicioÌ„ Thus ye se how Paul IoaÌ„ Peter christ speke of y e baptism of y e spirite not of y e visible baptism of water to geue remissioÌ„ saluacion ye geue imperâ—eccion to our works to faith to loue it is truth But yet muste ye coÌ„sider y t thimperfeccioÌ„ in our works so minisheth takethe so awaye the goodnes dignite or worthines of theÌ„ that thei may not be called good ne meritoriouse But faith Isaye â— being imperfit as litle as the mustersede or as weke as his y t said help lord my vnbeleif yea or so matched in perel with temptacion w t feare dubitacioÌ„ as was peters faith so boldly leaping into y e sea to mete his maister christe when the sourges arose agenst him so highe that with his litle weake faith he began to sinke yet as litle as it was it was y e good gift of god saued hiÌ„ for christes sake froÌ„ drowninge For it is our perpetuall byshop and onely intercessour in heuen that continually prayeth as he dyd for Peter his felowes lest our faith faile vs euen in the middes of the stormye tempestiouse floudes of the troublous sea of this world For the giftes calling of god be sich as it cannot repent him of them in hys chosen Then ye say Iob sayd I feared al my workes in which faith ye say may be comprehended But it appereth that ye vnderstand not Iobs wordes for he neuer feared his faith but his works only which were euil imperfit And the ebrw or chaldie worde signifieth erumnas and labores meos omnes that is to saye I feared al my miserable workes and laboriouse miseries which he called his own euil workes for it foloweth sciens quod noÌ„ parceres delinquenti knowing that thou woldst not spare the trespasser So that here ye see how that ye manakle and rende oute by patches the textes for youre wicked purpose not consideringe what gothe before ne foloweth nor yet what the wordes properly signifye If ye coulde comprehende faithe in Iobs works so wolde ye make faith no gift of god ne beleif gods worke but Iobs worke so feared of him self And all the scriptures agre w t Iob so speaking of his owne workes only and not of faith For manye holye men fearing y e same desired god not to enter into iugement w t them ne to iuge them after their workes Then ye take in hand to describe the sinfull nature of man as borne out of Adam and Eue sayeng that the powers of our soule properly receiue faith and loue and vpon the occasion of the worlde and the flesh suggestion of the deuil be redy to rebellion c. In whiche saienge ye speke not truelye of maÌ„ in his corrupt nature as borne out of Adam conceiued in synne roted in his soule called altogether in scripture flesh the olde man the body of sinne and deathe inimitie ageÌ„st God naturallye the childe of wrath a contynuall rebellyon agaynste gods spirit For occasion or no occasion geuen sich one is he before he be regenered as god painteth him saienge after the hebrewe verite Euery imaginacion of mannes harte is onlye euyll is sayth the texte and not prone or redye as ye terme it yea and that at all times euen from hys youthe withoute the spirite of God regeneringe hym he is brydeles runnynge into the free felde of all carnall lustes Of the power of this corrupt mans nature ye speake as by his fre choise to receiue faith with loue c. Uerilye this man hathe no suche a Pelagianes power of hym selfe to receiue faithe no more then hadde ADAM him selfe power to come to God when he fled from his voice in paradise so ferefullye with shame sekinge where to hyde him froÌ„ his presence There is no sich proper power properly as ye terme it in maÌ„ to receiue faith or any grace except that naturall proper powr be properly taken a waye and pourged with the spirit of libertie by faithe purifyeng the herte so makinge in him a newe hert prepared to receiue faith makinge a new and free powr from his naturall bondage to synne So that your fre choice to receiue grace may not here be placed withe pelagians errour enimie to grace to set vp your fre choice bonde libertie to syn For