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490 [466]

K. Richard. 2. The story of Walter Brute. The Pope Antichrist.

ritie, I am becom as it were a peece of sounding mettal or tinkling Cimball. And if I shall haue all prophecie, & know all misteries, and all knowledge, and shall haue all faith, so that I might remoue mountaines, and yet shall not haue charitie: I am nothing. And if I shall geue abroad all my goods to feede the poore, and shall geue vp my bodye to be burned, and yet haue not charitie: it profites me nothyng. To the Galathians 5. sayth Paule: For you my brethren, are called into liberty: doe not ye geue your libertie for an occasion of þe flesh, but by charitie of the spirite, serue ye one an other. For all þe law is fulfilled in one saying: thou shalt loue thy neighbour as thine own self.MarginaliaGal. 5. To the Ephe. 4. chap. he saith: I therfore þt suffer bonds in þe Lord, do beseech you, þt you would walke worthy of the calling wherewith ye are called, with all humblenes and mildenes, with patience, forbearing one an other in loue, being carefull to keepe the vnitie of the spirit, in the bond of peace: that you be one body, & one spirit, euē as you be called in one hope of your calling.MarginaliaEphes 4. And agayne in the. 5. chap.MarginaliaEphes. 5. Be ye followers of me, as most deare children, and walke ye in loue as Christ also hath loued vs, and hath deliuered vp hymselfe for vs, an offering and sacrifice to God of a sweete sauour. To the Philippiās thus he speaketh in the first chapter: Onely let your conuersation be worthy of the Gospell of Christ, that eyther when I shall come and see you, or els in myne absence I may heare of you, that you stand stedfast in one spirit, labouring together wyth one accorde for the fayth of the Gospell. And in nothyng be ye afrayde of the aduersaries, which is to them a cause of damnation, but to you of saluation, and that of God. For to you it is geuē, not onely that you should beleue in him, but also that you should suffer wyth him, you hauing the like fight and battaile that both you haue seene in me, and also now do heare of me. If therfore there be any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of charitie, if any felowshyp of the spirite, if any bowels of compassiō: fulfill you my ioy, that you may be of one iudgement, hauing one & the self same charitie, being of one accord, of one maner of iudgement, doyng nothing of contention, nor of vayne glory, but in humblenes accomptyng other amongest you, euery one better then your selues, not euery bodye lookyng vpon the thynges that be his owne, but those that belong vnto others.MarginaliaPhilip. 1. And to the Colossians. 3. chapter thus he writeth: You therefore as the electe of God, holy, and beloued, put vpon you the bowels of mercy, gentlenes, humblenes, lowlines, modesty, pacience, bearyng one with an other, & geuing place to your selues (if any haue a quarell agaynst any body) euen as the Lord forgaue you, so do you also. Aboue all thynges haue ye charitie, which is the bond of perfection, and let the peace of Christ triumph in your hartes, in which peace you also are called in one body. And be ye kinde ~& thankefull.MarginaliaColos. 3. And to the Thessalonians thus Paule writeth in the 4. chapter. As concernyng brotherly charitie, we haue no neede to write vnto you: for you your selues haue learned of God, that you should loue one an other. And the same thyng ye do towardes all the brethrē through out all Macedonia.

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MarginaliaThes. 4. Out of all these and many other places of the holy scripture it sufficiently appeareth, that the law of Christ is charitie, neither is there any vertues commaunded of Christ, or any of his Apostles to be obserued of the faythfull people, but that it commeth out of charitie, or els doth nourish charitie.

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The law is geuen by Moses, and the truth by Christ. Christ came not to vnlose the law and the Prophetes, but to fulfill them.MarginaliaMany thinges obserued in the old law, which be not obserued now.
Many thinges vnlawfull in the old law, which be lawfull now. How Christ did loose and not loose the law.
But yet many thyngs were lawfull & might haue bene obserued in the time of the law, which in the time of grace must not be obserued. And many things were vnlawfull to them that were vnder the law, which in the time of grace are lawfull inough. After what sort then he did not loose the law, but did fulfill it, it is necessary to declare, for those thinges which hereafter must be sayd. For amongest Christians many thinges are iudged to be lawfull, because in the former Testament in the law, they were lawfull: and yet they be expresly contrary to Christes Gospell. But the authors of such thinges do argue and reason thus: Christ came not to loose the law or the prophetes. Now after what sort he did not vnloose thē, it is manifest by the holy Scripture: that the law geuen by Moyses, was written in tables of stone, to declare the hardnes of the peoples hart towardes the loue of God, or of Christ. But Christ hath written his law in the hartes and in the myndes of his, that is to say, the law of perfect loue of God and of Christ. Which law whosoeuer obserueth, he doth obserue the law of Moyses, and doth much greater workes of perfection, then were þe workes of the law. Thus therfore were the morals of the old law fulfilled in the law of the charitie of Christ, and not vnloosed: because they are much more perfectly obserued, then of the Iewes. This I say, if the Christians do obserue the commaundemētes of Christ in such sort, as he commaunded the same to be obserued. Christ hath fulfilled the lawes morall of the old Testament, because that the morals and iudicials were ordained, that one person should not do iniury to an other, and that euery man should haue payd him that is his. Now, they that are in charitie, will not do iniury to others, neither do they take other mens goodes away from them. Nay it seeketh not her own thinges. For charitie seeketh not the thinges that be her owne. Wherfore, much lesse by a stronger reason it ought not to seeke for other mens goods. And when as the Iudicials & morals were ordained: Christ did not by the workes of the law iustifie the beleuers in him, but by grace iustified them from their sinnes. And so did Christ fulfill that by grace, that the law could not by Iustice.

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MarginaliaFree iustification, by faith onely. Paul to the Romaines declareth in a godly discourse, & to the Galathians likewise: that none shall be iustified by the workes of the law, but by grace,MarginaliaGrace that is free fauor, mercy & goodnes of God. in the fayth of Iesu Christ.  

Commentary   *   Close

Brut's criticism of ceremonies and good works is interesting, but Foxe is stretching a point to hail it as justification by faith.

As for the morals & ceremonies of the law, as Circumcision, sacrifices for offence and for sinnes, first fruites, tenthes, vowes, diuers sorts of washynges, the sprinkling of bloud, the sprinklyng of ashes, abstainyng from vncleane meates which are ordeined for the sanctifieng and clensing of the people frō sinne, no nor yet the prayers of the priestes, neither the preachynges of the Prophetes, could clense a mā from his sinne. For death raigned euen frō Adam to Moyses, and sinne from Moyses to Christ,MarginaliaRom. 5. as Paule declareth to the Romaines in the. v. chapter. But Christ, willyng to haue mercy, and not sacrifice, beyng a Priest for euer after the order of Melchisedech, and an high priest of good things to come:MarginaliaHebr. 9. did neither by the bloud of Goates or calues, but by his owne bloud enter in once vnto the holy places, when as euerlastyng redemption was found:MarginaliaChrist entreth not into the temple made by man, but to very heauē. neither did Iesus enter in to the holy places that were made with hands, which are the examples of true thinges, but into the very heauen, that now he may appeare before the countenaunce of God for vs.MarginaliaThe sacrifice of Christ not many tymes offered, but once for all. Nor yet did he so, that he should offer vp himselfe often times, as the high Byshop entred in to the holy place euery yeare with straūge bloud (for otherwise he must nedes haue suffered oftētymes sithēs the beginning of the world) but now in the latter end of the world hath he once appeared by his owne sacrifice, for the destruction of sinne. And like as it is decreed for men once to dye, and after that commeth iudgement: euen so was Christ once offered vp to cōsume away the sinnes of many. The second tyme shall he appeare without sinne, to the saluation of such as looke for him. For the law hauing a shadow of good thinges to come, and not the very image or substaunce it selfe of the thinges: can neuer, by those sacrifices which they offer (of one selfe same sort cōtinually yeare by yeare) make them perfect that come vnto her. Otherwise men would leaue of offeryng, because that those worshyps beyng once clensed, should haue no more pricke of conscience for sinne afterwardes. But in them is their remēbraunce made of sinnes euery yeare. For it is impossible, that by the bloud of goates & bulles, sinnes should be taken away.MarginaliaHebr. 10. Wherfore, he entryng into the world, doth say, as for sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not haue, but a body hast thou framed vnto me. And sacrifices for sinne haue not pleased thee, then sayd I, behold I come. In the head or principall part of the booke it is written of me, that I should do thy will, O God. Whereas he sayd before, that sacrifices, oblations, and burnt offerynges, and that for sinne thou wouldest not haue: neither were those thynges pleasaunt to thee which are offered accordyng to the law: thē sayd I, behold I come, that I may do thy will O God: He taketh away the first, that he may stablish that that followed. In which will, we are sanctified and made holy by the offeryng vp of the body of Iesus Christ, ones. And verely euery Priest, is ready euery daye ministring, and often tymes offering the selfe same sacrifices, which neuer cā take away sinnes. But this man offeryng one sacrifice for sinnes doth for euer and euer sit at Gods right hand, lookyng for the rest to come till that his enemyes be placed to be his foote stoole. For with one offering hath he for euer made perfect those that be sanctified. By which thynges it playnly appeareth, that Christ by one offering hath clēsed his frō their sinnes: who could not be clensed from the same, by all the ceremonies of the law, and so did fulfill that which the Priesthode of the law could not. Wherfore onely the morals and iudicials be fulfilled by the law of charitie, and by grace: and the ceremonials, by one offering vp of his body in the aultar of the crosse. And so it is playne, that Christ fulfilled the whole law.

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Wherfore sithens that the holy thinges of the law, were a shadow of those thinges that were to come in the tyme of

grace: