A Treatise of the Cohabitation Of the Faithful with the Unfaithful Part 9

But in an other place he saith. That Heresie / doth differ fr schisme. For a Schisme / is a stryfe which risith vppon diuersitie of sent?ces. Neither can a dyuiding or a schisme be / onles they which do make it do thinke and holde ctrarie thinges. But Heresie is / an inueterat schisme.

[[1. Cor. 11.]]

Saint Paule obseruith no such diuersitie / for he vsith theise too wordes for one thinge. Nowe that ye se what Heresie is / consider well wether that the papistes be heretikes / or no?

They themselues do stoutly saye that they be none. Yea d sum other ther are / which dare affirme / that the papistes do differ from vs only in certayn abuses of ceremonies / and not in the doctrine of faith. But how farr theise m? do err from the truithe / it shall forthwithe appeare. For I will playnly proue / that the papists are Heretikes / and do mayntayne Heresie againste certayn princ.i.p.all doctrines of our faithe.

[[1]]

[[The Papistes are heretiques.]]

Furst in the Article of Iustification / the papistes do picke out vnto themselues this doctrine: That a man is not iustified by faithe only / but by goode worcks also. which doctrine is contrary to the holy scriptures. Paule teachith thus.

[[Rom. 3.]]

We holde that a m is Iustified by faithe / without the deedes of the Lawe. Agayn he saith.

[[Gal. 2.]]

We do knowe that a man is not Iustified by the deedes of the lawe / but by the faithe of Iesu Christe. And Peter / whom Paule did th? withstd / did not speake agaynst this doctrine. Of the Iues / also he writ.i.th thus.

[[Rom. 10.]]

For being ignorant of G.o.ds righteousnes / and goinge about to establishe their own righteousnes / they were not obedi?t to the righteousnes of G.o.d. In which place he sett.i.th theise two righteousnesses / the one / against the other / the righteousnes of faith / against the righteousnes of worckes / so that the one excludith the other. The same thinge he doth where speaking of Iustificati he saith.

[[Rom. 11.]]

If it be of grace / th? is it not of worcks / if it be of worcks / th? is it no more grace. To the Philippians he playnly saith /

[[Phil. 3.]]

that the worcks which are wrought before Regeneracion / can not iustifie / for he doth counte them to be but losse and dunge / which truly he wold not haue done / if they hadd such poure and vertue / that they could iustifie. This is most playne / that men before regeneraci are euell / and then must this sent?ce of Christes stde true.

[[Mat. 7.]]

An euell tree c not bringe forth goode fruite. For how can it be / that they wich are deade as ccerning righteousne / can of th? selues go ony thinge forward vnto their new birhte:

[[Ephes. 2.]]

And we all wer such / eu? deade throughe synne / and the children of wrathe. The Epistle writon to the Hebrues doth witnes /

[[Hebre. 11.]]

That without faith it is impossible to please G.o.d: And to the Romayns Paule saith.

[[Rom. 14.]]

That what soeuer is not of faith is Synne. This is the doctrine of the scripture ccerning this matier. The papistes (as I sayde) so teache cleane contrarie doctrine / and do obstinatly def?d it / notwithstding that they be admonished of their error by the holy scriptures / by the aunciente fathers / as Hierom / Augustin / and others / by the G.o.dly Coucels / as Africanum / Mileuitanum / Arausicanum / And now also being admonished therof by vs / yet will they not leaue their errour: Wherfor by the former definiti of Heresie / they are proued heretikes.

An other doctryne also they do hold which is this. That the worcks which men do after regeneracion / are meritorius of their own worthines vnto euerlasting lyfe / And that they do fulfill the lawe of G.o.d. Yea they be not content to saye this only / but they adde. That men can do more goode worcks th? the lawe of G.o.dd requirirth. For (saye they) to lyue a syngle lyfe / to preache the gospell frely / m? are not commaunded by ony expres cmaundement of G.o.dd. This they do teache / and obstinatly defend. But we do lern out of the holy scriptures / that

[[Rom. 8.]]

The afflictis of this lyfe / are not worthie of the glorie / which shalbe shewed vppon vs. He speakith heare of the best kind of worcks / euen of sufferinge martyrdom. Besides this eiche man dothe fele him selfe bounde betwene / and giltie of the breaking of theis two comaundementes.

[[Deut. 5.]]

Thou shalt loue the lorde thy G.o.d whith all thy harte / with all thy soule / and with all they mighte: lykewise of the same other commaundemente.

[[Exod. 20.]]

Thou shalte not l.u.s.te / Ther is none amg mortall m? / that dyd euer fulfill those commaundementes. For the prophet saythe:

[[Esa. 64.]]

that our rightuousnesses / are as the clothe stayned withe the floures of a woman. And Christe wolde haue vs all / yea euen the blessed virgin / and the Apostles themselues to praye /

[[Mat. 6.]]

forgyue vs our trespa.s.ses.

[[Iacob. 3.]]

Iames addeth / in many thinges we all do synne.

[[Ioan. 1.]]

Iohn saythe. And if we saie we haue no synne / we do deceyue our selues.

[[2]]

This do we learne in the holie scripture / of our continuall synnynge: they teache not then that we can do any thing more then we sholde. But here the papistes do seke startinge hooles / and saie that they which liue a sole life / they which do preach the gospell frelie / do more th? the law cmaundeth / as I sayde: But this is not true / for they which haue the powre to liue a sole and chaste lyfe / d do know that in this kinde of lyfe they shall more paynfully and profitably labor in the preachinge of the gospell of Christe th? otherwise. They are bownde to take it on th? d to lyue in it. For if they do yt not / it is certeyne that they loue not G.o.d with all their harte / bycause they sholde then leaue vndone somewhat that they mighte do / to the glorie of his name / and wolde not. Like is to be saide of th? / which mighte preache the gospell frelye / and do se that it shalbe for the increase of the kingd of G.o.dd / and do it not. Wherfore seinge the papistes do bothe thincke and teache otherwise in this matier then the holie scripture dothe teache / and do defend their errour with an obstinate mynde they are heretikes.

[[3]]

They do chose vnto them selues also an other doctrine / which is / that they which be regenerat / muste alwaies doubte of their saluati. But Christ / the Apostles / and the whole scripture / do teache cleane contrarie /

[[Ioan. 6.]]

he that beleuithe in me (saith Christe) hathe euerlasting life.

If he hath it / howe c he doubte of yt then?

[[Act. 10.]]

And it is writen in the Actes. To him giue all the Prophetes witnesse / that all they which beleue throughe his name / shall receyue remissi of synnes.

[[Rom. 8.]]