we so lytell by the lyberte of the gospell that we had as leue our dreames as the moost holy gospel we do not reiect and refuse the constituciōs and ordinaunces of bysshoppes which vexe not the conscience but pertayne and be profytable for the cōmune peace and tranquillite of mens conuersacion onely we defy reiecte those lawes in the which ether they commaūde or forbidde vnder payn of deadly synne without the lawe of God Onely god ought to raygne in the conscience in whose hande peculyarly be menes soules The Apostle calleth hym the aduersary of God which goeth aboute to syt in the temple of God and boaste hym self as a God .ii. Tessalo ii And .ii. Cori. iii. We be the ministers of the new testament ministers of the sprit and not of the letter What auayle mans constitutions to iustificacion yf ye say that they prepare to obey God the easyer I answere There is nothyng that can prepare the mynde to kepe the law of God or fashion it but onely the grace of God The Apostle Galat. i. pronoūceth acursed not onely mā but also an angell of heauen that durst preach an other gospell then Paule preached Yf it be the power of God to saluacyon of all that beleue why do we myngle and ioyne our chaffe with so great a power And in the fyrst to the Corinthians the thyrde chapter Other fundacyon can no mā lay then that which is layed which is Iesus Christ Yf no man ought to put ony thyng to Moses law Deute xii why shulde we adde put vnto the gospell ony thyng seynge euen Cameracensis a scooleman calleth it the moost perfect lawe and ryghtest and the strayghtest in preceptes Why do we not leaue our lawes and follow the busynesse that Christ appoynted Math. the last Teache all people to kepe all thynges what so euer I haue commaunded you We be mynisters seruauntes of Christe and disposers of the secretes of God Now is it requyred of the stewardes or disposers that they be foūde faythfull These priuities and mysteries be the artycles of oure fayth of the Gospell the wysedome of the crosse the knowlege of grace gotten by Christe Let vs preache these thynges for the health of the people of God and let vs not abuse oure power the which the Lorde gaue vs to edifye with and not to destroye .ii. Corinth the .xiii. cha The Canon or rule that maketh the ordynaūces of fathers equale with the Gospel is openly vngodly and wycked the whiche euen oure aduersaryes can not receaue yf they knewe the canon of the scripture To be shorte fayth where with a ryghteous mā lyueth is conceaued taken and drawen out of the canonicall scripture and not of the decrees of the fathers as saynt Austyne wytnesseth in the .ix. boke of the cytie of God the .xviii. Chapter Then wherefore shulde I receaue it as an artycle of my fayth that whiche the scripture inspired of God hath not I am commaunded to proue and trye spretes whether they be of God or no the which lyberte of iudgynge of all doctrines by the scriptures no man wyll take frō vs. The wordes of saint Ihon in the .xvi. Chapter stablysh nothynge mans tradityons for God dyd fulfyl his promesse at Wytsonday when he sent the holy goost and led his discyples in to all trueth the whiche before that tyme they coulde not beare Who wyl denye that the memorye and remēbraunce of those that be departed dyd come from the Apostles vnto vs seynge that saynt Paule the fyrste to the Tessalonians the fourth chapter commaunded the Tessalonians that one shulde comforte another with the worde of the resurreccyon of the dead in Christe But now that we maye answer to theyr rethoricall argumēt where in they reason that by the breakynge of the ordynaunce of the church a man synneth deadly we answere that the knowlege of synne is by the the lawe Roma the .iii. Chapter The Apostle speaketh of Goddes lawe and not of mans Alwayes vnderstande I of mans lawe that is clere or whole mās law the which assayeth to binde mās cōscyence◠I moued by the scripture thinke that a mās cōscience nother ought nor can be boūde with mans constitucyon for we are indued with lyberte which we wyll vse the which lyberte is the lyberte of the conscyence .i. Corin. the .iii. Chapter All thynges be yours whether it be Paul ether Apollo ether Cephas wherby we vnderstande that nother Paul nor Cephas hath authorite to bynde mens cōscience where God doth not bynde The fyrst to the Corinthians the twelft Chapter Be ye not made seruauntes of men Collossenses the seconde Chapter You beynge dead wyth Christe why be ye holden styl wyth decrees And for the moost parte suche constitucyons be contrarye to the worde dede of the Apostles But as Gerson beareth wytnesse in the seconde lection of the spirituall lyfe the .vii. corollary It is not in the popes power nother in the councels power nor in the churches power to chaūge the learnynge geuen and taught of the euangelistes and of Paule Master Gasper Satzger dyd se this in the defension of the constitucyons of the churche the which openly and playnly graunteth that the learnynge that is without the scripture though it be good yet byndeth not by goddes lawe And it is no maruayl for only Christ ought to raygne in mans cōscience by his worde which onely maye saue and condempne Math. the .x. Chapter Feare not thē which can kyll the body and not the soule but fear hym which can cast both body and soule in euerlastyng fyre Truely yf they can make a constitucyon and commaunde it vnder payne of deadly synne they maye kyll the soule but the trueth of the gospell is otherwyse The sentence of Ezechiell is pronounced agaynst them in the .xiii. Chapter Wo be to them that make bolsters vnder the the heade of euery age to catch soules that they might kyl soules which dye not How doth the scoolemēs learnyng of the power of byndyng of mens constitucyons agre with it selfe seynge Thomas graunteth playnly that the commaundementes of the positiue law bynde more with the intent of the lawmaker then with the wordes of it so that he is more to be rekened a breaker of the cōmaūdement that doth agaynst the intent of the lawmaker thē he that swarueth frō the letter of the ordinaūce of the law But the intent of the maker of the positiue lawe is not that hys precepte shulde be alwayes kepte because that many impedimentes may chaunce in the which it is not expedient to kepe the law yee somtyme the kepynge of the precepte were damnable Wherfore in euery precept of the positiue lawe the excepcyon of a reasonable cause is admitted Now put the case that ther is a law that a mā shal not eat flesh on the fryday that a preste shal not haue a wyfe Here the intent of the lawmaker is to brynge to goodnesse But it chaunceth yf we kepe those
perceaue not and be ignoraūt in ony thynge that pertayneth vnto a christē mās lyuyng and it is not playnely taught in the open sermon we must go to the curate to-heare of hys mouth the iudgementes and testimonyes of the Lorde Yf ony doute aryse in oure consciences whome ought we rather to go to and axe counsell then of the hyrdman of our soules Farthermore whē we be faynte harted or haue no corage and are vexed with tētacions we maye not despyse the remedye that god ordened Thou hast Gods worde Math. xviii Where as .ii. or .iii. c. And Ihon. xx Whose synnes ye shal remyt c. Whome wold not these fatherly promyses prouoke and alure to confession where as the conscience is lyfted vp and stablisshed not by mans worde but by goddes worde spoken by mans mouth But these be mans addicions to bynde a mans conscience with a law and to cōpell hym to confesse all hys synnes with all theyr circūstaūces at a certayne tyme to hys owne preste or curate whatsoeuer he be whereby mens consciēces be marked with an whote yron For he that is not confessed after the maner that is prescrybed in the confessionalles ether by the reason of ignoraunce or of a frayle memory or shamefastnesse yee though he be ashamed and repent hym of hys euell lyfe with all hys harte yet for all that as longe as he lyueth he beareth about wyth hym an vnquyet conscience and full of dispayre And yf a man take a lyttell diligence or haue a good memory or wryte hys synnes in a pece of paper and poureth oute into a frears eare that can not well heare all the fylthynesse of hys vncleane lyuynge good Lorde how glad is he that not onely he hath satisfised the law but because also that he hath taken of hys shulders a burthen heuyer then Ethna the hyl that always burneth Then as who say he hath deserued forgeuenesse of hys syn with thys troublesome worke he standeth in his owne conceate which wold haue dyspayred yf he had not rehearsed hys synnes after thys maner Let the bysshoppes appoint learned men to heare confessyons and not blockheades then the people shall come to the prestes by heapes and swarmes The whiche thynge whyle they do it not lette them blame them selues and not vs yf the people set lytle by theyr curates Farther more as concernyng the reseruyng and kepyng behynde of certayn causes and chaunces let the head rulers in the church tel a cause why they do differ and abhorre so greatly the Apostles rytes and teachynges A preste or an elder a bishop with Paull be all one The scripture maketh no such difference of ministers in the laboure of the gospell Whan the Lord sent forth hys disciples into the world he gaue them lyke power sayng Go into all the world and preach the gospel to euery creature he that shal beleue and be baptysed shal be saued Marke xvi Iohn xx he sayth vnto them Take ye the holy goost whosoeuer synnes ye forgeue they shal be forgeuē Where is here ony differēce betwene a bisshop a symple preste Is it harde to knowe what thys be to saye Whose synnes ye remyt they shal be remytted Thys ys the doctrine of Christe and hys Aostels ¶ Of satisfaction The new learnyng A certayn satisfacciō is to be enioyned to hym that is confessed for hys synnes that be past accordyng to the quantite or qualite of the synnes that he may content and satisfye the ryghteousnesse of God Thys hath the .xvii. and .xviii. distinction of the fourth boke By this doctrine the grace of Christes redemptiō is darkened ouershadowed and defaced and mans workes enhaunced to the moost hye iniury of Christes passiō The olde learnynge Esay the .liii. Chapter He is broken for oure wyckednesses The father hath layed on his necke all our iniquityes and wyckednesses I haue smyttē hym for the myschefe of my people Here thou mayest se that Christe dyd satisfaccyō for the synnes of al the world Also .i. Pet. ii He bare our synnes in his body on the crosse that we shuld be delyuered from synne shuld lyue in ryghteousnesse by whose strypes we are healed Also in the fyrst epistle to the Corinthians the .i. chap. Christ is our ryghteousnesse and redempcion Ioh in the .x. Chapter Christ spent hys lyfe for hys shepe Rom. the .v. Chap. We be brought in fauoure with the father by the death of Christ and not by our satisfaccyon The same we haue also Ephe. the .i. And Collossenses .i. .ii. Christ toke away the obligacyon or handwrytynge whiche was agaynst vs by that decrees he fastened it to the crosse .i. Ioh. i. The bloud of Christ clenseth pourgeth vs frō all synne He sayeth not our satisfaccion doth pourge vs. Now haue we proued by these places that onyly the death of Christ is our full satisfaccyon for the synnes of al the world and not our fylthy ryghteousnesse Let vs than cal those scourges or punishmentes which our louynge father sēdeth vs or we take our selues preuentyng the hande of God correccyon strokes and such other names as the scripture vseth This worde satisfaccyō is a proude worde and hated to al christen eares that heare somtime the sounde of this sayenge of S. Luke in the xv Chap. Whan we haue done all thynges which be commaūded vnto vs yet we maye saye that we be vnprofytable seruauntes Let claye asshes be ashamed of this proud worde satisfaccyon for synne Shame be vnto vs and ryghteousnesse vnto God Yf we with our workes and correccyons do make amendes or satiffaccyon for our synnes thē Christ dyed in vayne And by this doctrine the grace that bryngeth vs in the fauour with God is magnifyed by the bloude of Iesus and mans worke is lytell set by to the most worthy prayse of Christes passyon ¶ Of fre wyll The new learnynge A man hath fre wyll choyse not only in the state of innocency but also of his fall and synne And it is of so great vertue that he doynge that lyeth in hym may remoue the stoppe and hynderaunce of grace dispose hymselfe to grace that iustifyeth And lest a carnall mā proud ynough of hymselfe shuld wante noryshynge for hys arrogancy they go aboute to strengthen and confirme this doctrine with scriptures falsely vnderstāde Ecclesiasticus in the .xv. saye theye sayeth and proueth fre wyll where as God is sayd to haue left a man in the power of his own counsell and to haue geuen hym commaundementes the which yf he do kepe they shuld kepe and saue him And to this purpose they swepe gather together what so euer lawe or monition is ony where in al the scripture As who say we myght gather wel after this maner God hath commaunded that we shuld do this he hath apoynted the condycyons of lyfe he threatneth payne to thē that breake them ergo it is in oure power to do that same wote ye wel here is a
sure argument much lyke vnto this the mayster byddeth the seruaūt go an hūdreth myles on one day ergo he may go an hūdreth myles on a daye Although I se many mē of great reputacyō almost promysyng thēselues the victory in the defendyng of frewyl with this shorte argument Whan in the meane season they cōsyder not how lytle this doctrine maketh for the glory of Christ which before al thynges oughte to be soughte Is it not a great sklaunder of the true learnynge to teach after this wyse Grace geuen frely or the generall influence with the vnderstandynge that vnderstandeth or directeth aryght and the wyll confirmably wyllyng are ynough to deserue the fyrst grace whiche maketh a man fyrst to come in fauour Who wolde haue loked for so muche lyfe and health in the man that was left halfe dead of the theues Luce. x. that although he could not heal him selfe yet he myght go in to the potycaryes shoppe nedynge no horse myght shewe hys grefe bye salues pay for them whē he had done Go to I am content let them teach the iustificacyon can not be by our strength with out grace that iustifieth yet they teach that the begynnynge of penaunce is in vs whē they geue vnto vs the preparynge vnto grace doynge as muche as lyeth in vs that we maye deserue of a symlynesse the fyrst grace by a good mocyon drawen out of the fredome of the wyll Is not this to geue the fyrste good motion to nature Moreouer they saye That a man by his naturall strength may fulfyll goddes commaundementes as concernyng the substaūce of the acte although not accordynge to the intent of the cōmaūder that is god Yf that be true it is in a synners power to amende or to continue in synne Yf nature maye do so muche what nede haue we of grace Whan symple men heare those thynges whan shall they at ony tyme learne Christ truely whan wyl they geue thankes for the vnspeakeable benefyte of theyr redēption A lytell thynge holdeth me but I laye on these teachers the sayeng of saynt Peter They denye the Lorde that bought them and they make marchaūdyse of the people of God with theyr fained wordes Whan dyd Christ or the Apostles euer speake after this maner The merite of cōgruence the meryte of worthynesse to do that lyeth in hym fre wyll the productiue vertue of fre wyl Thou christen man flye these sayenges as the pestilent blast of the crafty serpent where with he maketh oure nature whiche is proude already to swell agaynst God Thou haste good reader a tayste of the scoolemens learnynge of frewyll the whiche hangeth nothynge together For whan they be charged wyth scripture in the despite of the Pelagians they wyll be thought fauourers of grace somtyme with a maruaylous euasyon preferryng a specyall helpe of God before mans wyll both in wyllynge and in workynge And a lytell after they leape backe agayne to the excellent gyftes of theyr nature lest they shulde be thought to fauoure the Manichees ¶ The olde learnynge Romano the .xiiii. Chapter What so euer is not of fayth that is synne Then that good motion of fre wyll before grace that iustifyeth is synne Thē what madnes is it to wyll to deserue grace by synne Or what lyberte is it whan a man can not do well of hymselfe but only euel what health is that to haue power to fal and not to ryse or stande without the helpe of an other the seconde to the Corinthians the thyrde chapter Our sufficiency or ablenesse to do good is of God Roma the thyrde Chap. Fayth iustifyeth Before fayth a man is a synner and euell then how can he haue a good mocyon of hymselfe whom fayth hath not steared vp how can a thorne tre brynge forth a grape Ioh. viii Euery man that doth synne is the seruaunt of synne .ii. Petri. ii A man is brought in bondage vnto hym of whome he is ouercome Ephe. ii By nature we be the chyldrē of wrath Ge. vi We be flesh Io. iii. Excepte that we be borne agayne .i. Corin. ii A carnall man perceaueth not those thynges which be of the sprete of God Then how can the seruaunt of synne the sonne of wrath fleshe a carnall man before he be regenerate haue mexe naturall power good motions of hymselfe Can an euell tre brynge forth good frute Excepte that we be regenerate with the grace of Christ accordynge to the ymage of the earthy Adam we beare no goodnesse Seynge that the holy goost doth expressely and vehemently pronoūce that we be not only prone and ready to euell but also euel in dede Farthermore the Lord maketh lawes but before that thou bryng in this cōclusiō Therfore we may or els wherfore haue we so many preceptes threatenynges learne of Paul Roma the iii. Chap. that the lawe is the knowledge of synne and not the auctor of ryghteousnesse The lawe is spirituall we be carnal solde vnder synne Rom. vii Therfore thou must be spirituall that thou maye kepe the lawe which is not in thy power but it is the grace of God Wherfore thou maye learne of the lawe to knowe thy mysery that which after thou haste knowen thou arte compelled to go to Christe the perfeccyon and the fulfyllynge of the lawe The lawe iustifyeth the not but it declareth to thy shame howe farre thou arte from the dew clennesse of lyfe by thyne owne faute Therfore thou mayest not thynke thus with thy selfe I haue a good lawe what nedeth more but my laboure and dylygence I knowe good reason wyll tell me what is ryghte I wyll laye to my handes and I wyll be iustifyed by my dedes drawen out and commaunded Not so ye wycked personnes not so heare and take hede of the holy wordes of scripture and the proude pharisaicall sprete shall haue hys combe cut The Israhelites dyd caste in theyr myndes whan the lawe was sette forth that they coulde do all thynges lokynge on Moses face whiche was couered But it was sayde vnto them Deuteronomi the .v. Chapter Who can geue them such a minde to feare me and to kepe my commaundementes Surely iustifyenge begynneth at feare and loue But ye se that they haue not the feare of the Lorde nor suche a mynde as can do ony good of it selfe Therfore in Deutero xxx sayeth Moses The Lorde shal circumcise thyne harte and Ezechiel xi I wyll take away the stony hartes And Ihō the .vi. Ther cōmeth no mā to me excepte my father draw hym Wherfore ye ypocrytes learne of the lawe youre dewty feblenesse and paynes and when ye fele Moses handes heuy flye to hym for succurre with all your harte the which Romanor viii is descrybed to be the fulfiller of the lawe Math. xi Christ promysed rest of the soule to all them that be laden For when we do the beste that lyeth in vs we beyng euell trees brynge fyrth euell frutes that is to saye we synne For such as euery man
of the churche is consydered and not the worthynesse of the person Thys is the sūme A wycked man and an vngodly hauyng only a dewe intent although he be an abomynable in the syght of God yet for al that in thys cause because he beareth the persōne or is in the rowme of the church he abydyng a synner and a dānable person he purchasseth and deserueth vnto other men remissyon of syn and euerlastyng lyfe This they saye The olde learnynge The Apostell in the fyrst epistell to the Corinthians the .xi. chapter preparyng the supper of the Lorde dyd wryte that he toke of the Lorde that he taught and gaue to the Corinthians And whan he expounded the busynesse and matter cōcernyng the supper he geueth both the kyndes indifferently to all the bretheren euē as Christ dyd ordeyne Mathe. xxvi Marke xiiii Luke xxii Here we haue the worde and the facte of the Lorde and of hys minister Paule and also of the primitiue church in the which as thē fayth was more lyuely charite was more feruent hope was more sure and holy christendom was more purer for it was nearer the quycke sprynge Yf it be so that it is not leful for vs to kepe the worde and the dede of Christ specially in a great mater as is the sacramēt for what intent shall the churche of God haue the scripture expoūded and declared Dyd not euen the new wryters as Gersō saye That nother the byshop of Rome nor generall councell nor yet the church oughte to chaūge the learnynge that was geuen vs by the euangelistes by Paul Yf it be lawfull to euery man that lyst to chaunge in the sacramētes of the church those thynges which Christ taught to be kept the apostles both taught and kept I pray you what case shall the church be in then which shal be cōpelled to beleue that Christ the wysedome of the father the Apostels dyd teach christendom such vnperfecte geare so negligently that theyr successours had nede to supplye amēde make perfecte those thynges that Christ his Apostels lefte behynde them raw vnperfect Wyll the Saracens the Arabiās the Agarens whome we call Turkes suffer that ony mā at his pleasure after this fashion shulde chaūge theyr Alcoram wolde sōtyme take somthyng away somtyme vtterly abrogate disanul it that theyr lawmaker had wrytten somthynge vnwarely or wtout diligent hede delyberacyon And we christen mē except we suffer the church to be turned out of frame peruerted to be darkened to be pulled in sunder minished Yee to be vtterly cast awaye we be banyshed destroyed as the enemyes of the church Put the case that these be tollerable who can abyde that ydel felowes shall make marchaundyse of it that was lefte to be the memoriall and remembraunce of the death whiche brought lyfe wherby they make a sacrifyce of the masse crucifye Christ agayne as much as lyeth in them For yf it be so that they worke with theyr dayly sacrifyce as they call it remissyon of synne I praye you thē what synnes dyd the bloude of the new euerlastyng testament take awaye This is therfore our catholyke belefe of the supper of the Lorde Fyrst The supper of the Lord ought for to be done after the ordinaunce of Christe i. Cor. xi that our fayth maye be increaced our charite may be kyndled our hope maye be made sure by the cōtinual remēbraunce of the death of the Lorde that we knowyng the cause of the moost precyous death of the Lorde maye be dayly more and more steared vp to geue thankes for the vnspeakeable loue to destroye the body of synne and to walke in newnesse of lyfe Secondarly Therfore the supper of the Lorde is a memoriall of the death of Christe whiche brought saluacyon and not a sacrifyce but a remembraūce of the sacrifyce that was once offred vp vpon the crosse Thyrdly Ther is a promes Psal c.ix that Christ shal be our byshop for euermore ordened of the father and this promes is perfourmed for Christ hath entred once in to the holy place by an oblacyon makynge perfect for euermore Hebr. ix and .x. so that we nede not to haue hym offred vp for vs agayne the which dyeth nomore Fourthly We knowe of the boke Leuiticus that the oblacyō of Moses was made for synnes whan the oblacyon dyd satisfye and the bloude dyd washe Thē yf this one sacrifyce in the which Christ dyd offer vp hymselfe dyd satisfye for the synnes of the whole worlde accordynge to the prophecye of Esay the .liii. Chapter He dyd beare our synnes and he was torne for oure wyckednesses and .i. Ioh. the .ii. Chapter He is oure satisfaccyon and so forth it foloweth and is a good argument that all the oblacyons which are besyde this be vayne and voyd the which they pretende Fyftly To rayse vp a new oblacyon is to set lytel by the fyrst to proue God a lyar and to deny Christe whiche bought vs after the wordes of saynt Peter .ii. Pet. ii For whan they saye that synnes be releassed forgeuen in the sacrifice of the masse whan the sonne of God is offered vp both for quycke dead it foloweth after theyr opinion that that onely sacrifice of the crosse dyd not satisfye for all synnes And I praye you is not that euen to forsweare denye the Lorde which dyd redeme vs not with corruptible thynges as with golde syluer but with his owne precious bloud whā we say that it is done by the vertue of that masse the which al scripture doth say cōmeth to vs by the death of our Lorde Iesus Christ Syxtly Yet for al that we do not affirme the synnes be remytted only by the partakynge of the supper of the Lorde but whan we do remēbre with a true a kynde fayth the benefyte of our redemption in the which the sōne of god dyd geue his body a sacrifyce for synnes shed his bloud to washe away synne by this fayth we be iustifyed made ryghteous we obtayne remissyon of our synnes gotten by the death of Christ And this is a dilicyous feast of soules of the whiche they that are not partakers shall peryshe Christ in the .vi. Chap. of Ihon sayeth My fleshe is meate in dede and my bloude is drynke in dede The bread that I shal geue is my flesh the which I wyll geue for the lyfe of the worlde Excepte we eate this fleshe of the sonne of man and drynke his bloud we shall not haue lyfe in vs but we shal peryshe For it is the breade of lyfe geuynge lyfe to the worlde The whiche breade to eate is to beleue in Christ as he sayeth I am the bread of lyfe he that cōmeth to me shall not be an hūgred and he that beleueth in me shall neuer be thyrsty Verely verely I saye vnto you he that trusteth in me hath euerlastynge lyfe For as the body is fed with naturall bread
so the soule is refreshed lyueth with this heauenly bread For whā the soule beleueth that Christ is the pryce of oure redemption our satisfaccyon and our ryghteousnesse with this fayth it eateth the flesh and drynketh the bloude and accordynge to the wordes of Christ Ioh. vi by so wholsome an eatyng shal we lyue for euer These be so great thynges which be rehearsed aboute the table of the Lorde God graunt that this ceremony of Christe maye be restored to hys olde strength and integrite agayne that we which be the body of Christ oure heade admonished of the loue of God in the supper towarde vs maye growe together with vnlowsable glew of loue as it becommeth membres purgynge the flocke with the boult of excommunicacyon and eatynge truely the fleshe of the Lorde that is to beleue in Christe crucifyed and that we may be grafted in hym by the lykenesse of his death and that we maye be partakers wyth hym of the moost gloryous resurreccyon Amen ¶ Of the choyse of meates The new learnynge It is not lawfull to eate euery daye all sortes of meate for it is necessary that we abstayne from fleshe euery frydaye and saterdaye and on the embrynge dayes and in lent for he that doth otherwyse without the Bisshop of Romes bulles or the pardons of the legates of the sye of Rome doth syn and shal be rekened an euell christen man yee a wycked and an vngodly heretyke ¶ The olde learnynge In the .xi. Chapter of Leuiticus and the xiiii of Deuteronomion the choyse of meates is prescribed vnto the Iewes which were vnder Moses so that it was not lawfull to eate what so euer meate they lyste But let vs which are commaunded of Paul to the Gal. the .v. Chapter to stande fast in the lyberte in to the which Christe hath brought vs and that we shulde not put our neckes vnder the yocke of bondage agayne geue hede and attendaunce what oure mayster Christ and Lorde doth saye Math. xv Hear and vnderstād It that goeth in to the mouth defyleth not the man but it that goeth out of the mouth that defyleth a man These wordes of Christ take awaye the choyse of meates so that it is lawful in the tyme of the new testamēt to eate flesh or fyshe whether ye wyll without ony synne In the fyrste epistel to Timo. the .iiii. Chap the holy goost doth call the forbyddynge of meate of mariage the doctrine of the deuell For God hath created meate to be receaued with geuynge of thankes of them which beleue haue knowen the trueth for the creatures of God are good and nothynge to be refused yf it be receaued with thankes geuyng for it is sanctifyed by the worde of God prayer By this one texte of the Apostle is plucked vp by the rootes what so euer hether to mē haue taught or cōmaūded of the choyse of meates For the holy goost calleth it dyuelysh doctrine the whiche no man cā kepe obey wtout the losse of his saluacyō Let it moue no mā that saynt Ierome doth wrast these sayenges agaynste the Tacyans and the Marcionites doutlesse our consciences be delyuered from the choyse of meates by these wordes of the holy goost Therfore who so euer he be Marcyon or ony of this tyme that byndeth wyth a commaundemēt that thynge which Christ wolde haue to be fre he is reproued wyth this texte as vnkynde to God and a despyser of a good creature Collossenses the .ii. Chapter sayeth Paule Let no man iudge you in meat and drynke Yf you be dead wyth Christe from the elementes of the worlde why be you holden wyth decrees as yf ye were lyuyng in the worlde This texte also is playne agaynste all the praysers and preachers of mans tradicyons the whiche do trouble mens conscyences wyth mans preceptes of the choyse of meates Although thys maketh agaynste the obseruacyons of the Iewes yet it plucketh vp by the rootes all the tradicyons of men in thys matter For yf Moses lawe in that poynt be abrogate and put downe the which was once ordened of God how muche more iustly the constitucyōs of mē ought to be disanulled put awaye by the which these cruel tyraūtes coueth a kyngdome in mens consciences Gala. i. Yf ony man preach ony other gospell or glad tydynges vnto you than ye haue receaued holde hym acursed Therefore what soeuer other thynge is thrust into oure handes agaynst and besyde the worde of God to bynde mēs cōsciences by the sentence of the holy goost it is acursed wherfor we must refuse it both with hand and foote Titum i. Rebuke them sharply that they may be sound in the fayth and not takynge hyde to Iewes fables and commaūdemētes of men the which turne from the trueth Vnto the cleane are all thynges cleane but to them that are defyled and vnbeleuyng is nothyng cleane but euen the very myndes and consciences of them are defyled Who wolde not abhorre those preceptes whyche turne from the trueth Euen so the holy gooste decketh mans tradicions with hys tytle with the which tradicion the deceauers of mens myndes go aboute to bynde mens cōsciences where as God byddeth not Here I do not regarde thoshe great praysers of abstinence the which wyll name me the Epicure of Christē men as saynt Ierome called Iouiniane as though I wēte about to louse the brydell of gluttony Tese felowes wyll dispute with a full belly of fastyng and yet they eate fesans partriches and al the pycked dayntyes that can be found in a contry Now tel me I pray yow what haue I sayde besyde the sentences of the holy goost I do not teache the abuse but the ryghte vse of the creatures of God with geuynge thankes I take not thought onely for the belly but also for the conscience Fo with these mans tradycions mens consciences be marked with an whote yron and God is worshypped wyth commaundementes of men the whych thynge in the .xxix. of Esaye he hateth and abhorreth It is a very ieoperdous matter to laye snares for mens consciences and to offende agaynst the christen lyberte which cost so much Yf ony mā laye agaynste vs saynt Ierome or ony other of the fathers I answere that the fathers were neuer in that blyndnesse that they wolde be beleued more then the scripture He despiseth not the fathers whiche enforceth hym selfe and laboureth to glorify the father of all which is in heauen He that in the matter of conscience doth thynke that God shulde rather be obeyed thē man doth not contemne men but magnifyeth God the Lorde of men and angels And the condicion and state of christen mē is not so that they ought to take example or rule of lyuynge of the prophetes of Iupiter that absteyne from fleshe and soden meate or of the temple of Eleusis or Ceres or of Orpheus yet that holy man is not ashamed of hys monkery of so voyde wordes in the seconde boke agaynste Iouinian As touchynge offendynge I