Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	church_n	faith_n	teach_v	4,044	5	6.3549	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A06502	A commentarie or exposition vppon the twoo Epistles generall of Sainct Peter, and that of Sainct Jude. First faithfullie gathered out of the lectures and preachinges of that worthie instrumente in Goddes Churche, Doctour Martine Luther. And now out of Latine, for the singuler benefite and comfort of the godlie, familiarlie translated into Englishe by Thomas Newton; Enarrationes in epistolas Divi Petri duas et Iudae unam. English	Luther, Martin, 1483-1546.; Newton, Thomas, 1542?-1607.	1581 (1581)	STC 16978; ESTC S108928	231,904	387

and selflikyng of theimselues trustyng in their owne Merites Woorkes and rotten Ceremonies Thei beleeue that Christ the Sonne of God in his humanitie suffred death and rose againe the third daie that he is the Sauiour of the worlde c. but thei doe not firmely and onely trust in hym for if thei did thei would not so scrupulously bee tied to their owne Lowsie trashe and beggerly Traditions After the same maner did thei beare the Laitie in hande that they could not attaine to saluation except they did after their directions Ye are Christians saie thei we confesse but this is not enough ye must doe suche and suche good workes ye must build Churches in the honor of this and that Sainct ye must erect and founde Monasteries and Abbayes ye must buie certaine Trentalles of Masses to be saied or song for you ye must pyue awaie your selues with fastyng and suche like Thus haue the séely poore people been beguiled and thus haue thei been perswaded and brought to shew themselues as well likers of these trumperies thinkyng it to be the Kynges high waie to heauen and these rotten workes of blinde deuotion to be of all workes the best because they sawe them which caried the tytle of the Church to allowe and followe the same so that in processe of tyme there grewe to bee as many Factions Sectes and Religions as there were Cities yea almoste as there were Men. Whereas they should rather haue taught them thus Ye are Christians aswell as thei that bee an hundred myles distant from you ye haue all one Christ one Baptisme one Faith one Spirite one Worde one God there is no worke that ye of your selues are able to doe towarde your saluation or able to bring you to the perfection of a right Christian If this Doctrine might generally bee preached men should be kept in the fellowshippe and vnitie of one Common Faith neither would there bee any difference at all in thinges appertainyng to God but all would be alike and one the same that an other is This Communion and vnitie thei haue broken and disioynted in that thei seduce and misleade vs in teachyng vs that wee must merite heauen by our Workes drawyng vs thereby from Faith to our own Pharis●icall deedes S. Peters wordes therefore if he bee well marked ca●ie this meanyng There shall arise among you Sophisticall Scholemen Doctors Teachers Priestes Munkes and suche like beyng the very offall and Skumme of the Worlde who shall bryng in pernicious sectes odible orders damnable heresies and seduce the Worlde with their lying and false Doctrines These these doubtlesse are thei of whom the Apostle here speaketh For thei are all thus perswaded and verely beleeue that their willfully Professed Orders are meritorious to thē and shall bryng them to saluation and perswade others also to put confidence and trust in them If this were not their opinion who would thinke but thei would rather liue free abroade then as thei do cage and empound themselues in their Cloysters as it were in Prisons Euen denying the Lorde that hath bought them THei are readie to saie that thei doe not denye the Lord but if this question be demaunded of them what thei meane or what they seeke to get through these their vowed Professiōs if thei beleeue as thei saie thei doe that they are redéemed by Christ and that their sinnes are washed awaie by his bloud Thei will quickly aunswere that forsooth Faith alone is not sufficient and therefore they must haue the helpe of good Workes Thus with mouth they confesse God and in harte flatly renounce hym Consider also what pithie and vehement words S. Peter here vseth They denye saieth he the Lord that hath bought them Thei ought to bee subiect vnto hym as vnto their supreme Souereigne Lord whose inheritaunce thei are Now they dooe beleeue that he is the Lorde and that he redeemed the worlde by the sheadyng of his precious bloud but that he redeemed them thei cannot nor doe not beleeus neither dooe thei acknowledge and take hym for their Lorde for thei saye and confesse that he hath bought and redeemed them but yet thei are not perswaded that that is enough and sufficient because thei must thei saie discharge and satisfie for their sinnes by their Works To whom this answere maie wel be made If thou canst doe any worke to take awaie thy Synnes what good hath Christe by his death doen vnto thee For there can not bee twoo Christes to take awaie Synnes Hee as good right it is must bee acknowledged to be the onely Redeemer and taker awaie of Sinnes Whiche beeyng graunted to bee true as it is moste true thou thy self canst dooe no maner of worke to take away thy sinnes If thou do goe about or think any whit by thy works to merite Heauen thou canst not truly saie thou beleeuest that he taketh awaie thy Sinnes And this is flatly to denye Christe For although these fellowes doe acknowledge Christe to bee the Lorde yet doe they denye that he bought them Thei beleeue that he sitteth in heauen and is Lorde but the takyng awaie of Sinnes whiche is his proper and peculier office thei nippe and take quite from hym and attribute it vnto their owne woorkes and by that meanes leaue nothyng to hym but the bare name and tytle ascribyng his power woorke vertue and office vnto themselues And therefore Christ moste truely foretolde that there should come many in his name and saie I am Christ and shal deceiue many Math. xxiiij Mar. xiij For these Iusticiaries and Meritemongers thus tying Saluation to Woorkes shewe foorth in their so doyng as though they should saie not I am called Christe but I am Christ Whereby thei snatch and applye vnto themselues that office whiche is onely proper and peculier vnto Christ and so thrust Christ out of his seate and place themselues therein This is so euidently knowen that no man can truely denye it And therefore worthily doeth S. Peter tearme them damnable pernicious Heresies for thei leade a man straight to Hell insomuche that I greatly feare least in a thousande of them there is scarcely one saued For whosoeuer of them wilbee saued must quight abandon himself and all that of himself he hath or can doe yea he must franckly confesse and from the harte pronounce these wordes The rules of my vowed Obedience are nothyng worth my Chastitie can not saue me my workes can not take awaie any parte of my Sinnes c. And bryng vpon themselues swift damnation THeir damnation shall come vppon them sooner then thei thinke although God seeme to deferre his commyng and to tarie long yet will he hasten his iudgment and come tyme enough to their cost But this shall not bee corporallie and visiblie to the eye but so and in suche sorte as it is sett downe in the l.v. Psalme They shall not liue out halfe their dayes that is Death shall catch holde of them sooner then thei think so that thei

A COMMENtarie or Exposition vppon the twoo Epistles generall of Sainct Peter and that of Sainct JVDE First faithfullie gathered out of the Lectures and Preachinges of that worthie Instrumente in Goddes Churche Doctour Martine Luther And now out of Latine for the singuler benefite and comfort of the Godlie familiarlie translated into Englishe by Thomas Newton ¶ Imprinted at London for Abraham Veale dwellyng in Paules Church-yard at the signe of the Lābe 1581. ¶ TO THE RIGHT HOnourable Sir Thomas Bromeley Knight one of her Maiesties moste honourable priuie Counsell and Lorde Chauncelor of Englande THE translation of these godlie and comfortable Commentaries of Maister Luther vpon the Epistles generall of the blessed Apostles Peter and Jude beeyng fullie finished and brought to an ende it was the easiest matter of many where to bethink mee of a fitte Patrone vnder whom to shield the labours of so worthie an Organe in the Churche of God and myne owne trauailes therein suche as thei bee frō the rancorous rout of suche bawlyng Baalites and arrogant Apistes as with open Iawes will bee readie to barke at the sounde doctrine of Faithe and Maners by hym heerein with a moste bolde spirite maintained and vttered I was I saie soone resolued with my self to settle my choise in your Lordshippe of whose cheerefull acceptaunce suche is your Godlie zeale J could not any whitte doubte And of whose courteous construction of my honest and harmelesse meanyng heerein suche is your honourable inclination J deemed it almoste hainous to put any diffidence or to harbour within mee so muche as a sparke or Mite of the leaste suspition None so wilfullie blinde nor so witleslie bee sotted but hath bothe seene and knowen what a generall benefite it pleased the Lorde in mercie to shewe vnto the worlde beeyng almoste whollie whelmed in the Suddes of Superstition and desperatelie drowned in the Dregges of Jdolatrie by the ministerie of this one man opposyng hymself in defence of the glorious Gospell of GOD againste all the Pedlarie of Pope and Popelynges and againste all the rable of Cozenyng Caterpillers in the Kyngdome of Darkenesse characterized and brended with the marke of the Beast The triflyng trashe and ridiculous rifferaffe of whiche Cacolike Synagogue for so is it muche rather to bee tearmed then Catholike this man with so vehement and zealous a spirite hath so throughlie anatomized and vnripped ● by suche ineuitable reasons out of the infallible VVorde of God ouerthrowen and confuted that the rotten ragges thereof can not possiblie bee eft soones peeced The crackte credite of suche Motheaten stuffe neuer againe salued nor the totteryng walles of suche a roistyng and ruffianly raigne euer any more after the former galantise be reared vp reestablished In so muche that it maie bee thought that our mercifull God pitiyng the miserable thraldome wherin his people vnder that Romishe Pharao had long laine captiued and in his Justice meanyng at length to ridde the worlde of those deade Flies whiche did nothyng els but corrupte and tainte sweete Ointmentes and as it were to launce those Botches and Biles that so long had festured in the bodie of the Common wealthe of Jsraell appointed and raised vp this man to bee as the Malle that should knocke that blasphemous Goliah in the pate and the Leeche that should applie vnto him his greazed generatiō suche a strong Pill whiche thei should neuer bee able to swallowe His life also conuersation beyng so vnblameable that the starkest Balaamite and spightfullest Rabbine emong them of whiche stampe there neuer wanteth stoare could neuer iustlie reprooue hym of faultes other then suche as generally followe the infirmitie of Man Jn so muche as that reuerend and renoumed Clerke Erasmus whose testimonie herein maie stande for many and the rather for that he somewhat to muche the more pitie for priuate respectes bolstered and plastered the deformities and blottes of the Romishe Clergie pleasauntly by waie of answere to a question mooued vnto hym by the good Duke of Saxony saied that the onely reason why poore Luther was so deadly hated was for none other cause but for that by his preaching and writing hee had taken awaie the Croune from the Pope and Bishoppes and the Beallie from the Monkes and that otherwise he was bothe a Godlie a learned a vertuous and a modest man Jn the compassyng and atchieuyng whereof little meruaile was it though in his Style and maner of writyng he seemed to some to bee ouer crabbed seuere sharpe and bityng For saied he to remooue sharpe grosse diseases God hath sent in this laste age of the VVorlde a sharpe austere Phisition And as wee reade of the Repairers of Battered Hierusalem that with the one hande thei builte the VValles and with the other helde their sweard to bee readie to encounter the enemie So maie wee saie of Luther that he with the one halfe of his studie combated and conflicted with the Aduersaries of Gods truthe and with the other halfe generallie benefited the Churche by pennyng writing sundrie notable enarrations vpon the Sacred Scriptures and Catholique Religion How valiauntlie also hee plaied the Christian Champion againste Meritemongers and all Clouters vp of their Saluation with the Figgeleaues of their owne wretched VVoorkes and condignitie and what an vndaunted Hercules he shewed hymself in choppyng of still those succreasyng heades of that Jtalian Hydra sundrie his learned Bookes plentifullie and at large declare and this VVoorke emong many others doeth sufficientlie attestifie The whiche with all humilitie J heere offer and exhibite vnto your lordship assuring my self that for your approued wisedome you will not onely allowe of it but also for the high Authoritie wherein you are worthilie placed you will accordyngly countenaunce it The Lorde from heauen blesse and strengthen you with his Spirite of zeale fortitude and boldnesse to be a Buttresse and Proppe for the propagation passage and continuaunce of his glorious Gospell emong vs your poore Countreimen of this noble Realme of Englande to the encoragement of all true Professours of the same and to the vtter terrour extirpation and weedyng out of all cancarde aduersaries and malicious Grinnagods beyng not onelie prickes in the feete and Thornes in the eyes but euen splintes in the handes and Daggers at the hartes of all the godlie That by the prudent pollicie and carefull vigilancie of your Honour with others her Maiesties moste Noble and zelous Counsellours all dolledrenche Drones maie bee espied and caste out of the Hiue of the Common wealthe and either bee conuerted least vtterly thei perishe or spedily confounded least thei procure and breed more treacherous annoiance From Butley in Chesshire this first of October 1581. Your L. moste humble Thomas Newton The argument of this first Epistle of S. Peter by M. Luther ¶ Before wee fall in hande with the interpretation of this Epistle it shall bee verie requisite first to laye downe vnto the Reader some briefe admonition whereby he may knowe bothe how it