manes, S. Paule resoning of the glory of iustifiyng, asketh this question how this glory is excluded: whether by the law of works?MarginaliaAll workes of man excluded from the glory of iustifiyng.and concludeth no: ascribing onely þ^e glory thereof to the law of faith, And consequently vppon the same he inferreth: Colligimus enim iustificari hominem per fidem sine operibus legis. We hold that a man is iustified by faith. without the deedes of the law.

And how then can that be accounted for any part of our iustification, which S. Paule vtterly debarreth and excludeth in that behalfe? of which like exclusiues and negatiues the whole course of S. Paules doctrine is full, where he still concludeth: Sine operibus, absque operibus legis, non exoperibus, Dei donum est, non ex operibus ne quis sed secundū misericordiā glorietur, Ephe 2.MarginaliaEphes. 2. Non ex operibus iustitiæ quæ fecimus nos sed secundū propositū suum & gratiam &c. Titi ..3.MarginaliaTit. 3. Non secundum opera nostra. &c. Timot 1.Marginalia2. Timot. 1 That is to say, It is the gift of God, not of works, that no mā should glory. &c. Not of the workes of righteousnes, which we haue done, but of his own mercy. &c. Not after our workes, but after his owne purpose, & grace which is giuen to vs, &c, Agayne Gal 2.MarginaliaGal. 2. Non iustificatur homo ex operibus. &c. That is, A man is not iustified by works &c. Item, Ei qui non operatur credenti autē in eū qui iustificat impium fides imputatur ad iustitiam &c. Rom. 4.MarginaliaRom. 4.To him that worketh not, but beleeueth in him which iustifieth the wicked, his faith is imputed to righteousnes. &c. By these exclusiues, and negatiues in Sainct Paules doctrineMarginaliaThe exclusiues, and negatiues of S. Paule to be marked.what doth he els meane, but vtterly to seclude all kinde of mans merits, and works of the law from the office & dignitie of iustifying? And although he expresseth not þ^e word, Onely, yet vpon his exclusiues and negatiues, this exceptiue must needes be inferred. For in all Logike the consequent is necessary and formall, as one man is suffered, to come into the house: and no person els is sufferred but one Ergo, one man only is suffered to enter into the house. And thus much concerning faith in Christ, prooued to be the onely meane, or instrumentall, or conditionall cause of our saluation and no other besides the same alone, by the doctrine of S. Paule taught to the ancient Romanes.

MarginaliaThe fift braunch.5. The fift branch, which I note in S. Paules doctrine, is this: that after he hath thus established vs in certeinty of our saluation through faith in Christ, then after that, he exhorteth vs vehemently and with all instaunce of good workes, shewing the true vse and ende of good workes:MarginaliaThe true vse and end of good workes. which is, first to shewe our obedience and dutifull seruice (as we may) vnto God, who hath done so great thinges for vs. Secondly to relieue our neighbours with our charitie and kindnes, as God hath bene kinde to vs his enimies. Thirdly, to stirre vp other by our example, to praise God, to embrace the same Religion, & to do the like. For requisite it is, that as God hath bene so merciful to vs and gratious in eternal giftes, we should be merciful likewise to other in temporall cōmodities. And seeing it hath pleased him of his fatherly goodnes (of our partes so litle deserued) to call vs to so high a vocation, to giue the bloud of his sonne for vs, to forgiue vs al our sinnes, to deliuer vs from this present wicked worlde, to make vs Citizens of heauen, yea his children, more then seruaunts: little then can we doe, and well may we thinke those benefites ill bestowed, if we forgiue not our neighbours, and shewe some thing againe worthy that holy calling wherewith he hath called vs, in mortifying our worldly lustes here, & studying after heauenly things: and finally if we being prouoked with such loue & kindnes, rēder not againe some loue for loue, some kindnes for kindnes, seeking how to walke in the steps which he hath prepared for vs to walke in, seruing him (so much as we may) in holines & righteousnes all the daies of our life. And though our obedience shall al waies be imperfect, doe the best we can: yet reason would that some obedience we should shew as louing children to such a louing father.

And this is the cause why S. Paule is so vehement & vrgent to call vpon good workes, not that workes should iustifie,MarginaliaGood workes iustifie not, but follow the iustified.but that we being iustified so mercifully & tenderly through his grace, should not abuse his grace in vayne, but endeuour our selues to our vttermost to render our seruice againe to him, in such conuersation of life as may most make to his glorye, and profite of our neighbour. And though the words of our sauiour seme in some places to attribute to our obedience and charitie here in earth, great rewards in heauen, that is of his owne free grace & goodnes so to impute small matters for great deserts, and not for vs to claime any meede therby or thanke at hys hande, as by any worthines of our dooings, no more then the seruaunt when he commeth from the plough and seruing the cattell in the field, serueth first his master at home and waiteth vpon his table: the master is not bound (saith Christ) to thanke his seruaunt therefore,MarginaliaLuke. 17. and bid him sitdowne: So you (saith he) when you haue done that is comanmanded you, say ye are vnprofitable seruants: ye haue done but what your bound duety was to doe. Luc. 17.

Againe, here also is to be vnderstand, that where such rewardes be ascribed vnto mens deedes, it is not for the worthines of the deede it selfe, but for the faith of the dooer, which faith maketh the worke to bee good in Gods sight: for els if an infidell should do the same worke that the christian doth, it were nothing but meere sinne before god. In that therefore the christian mans worke is accepted be it neuer so small (as to giue a cup of cold water) the same is onely for his fayth sake that doth it, and not for the worke which is done. Whereby againe we may learne how faith onely doth iustifie a man, and that three mauer of wayes.MarginaliaFayth iustifieth three manner of wayes.

First it iustifieth the person in making him accepted, and the child of God by regeneration, before he begin to doe any good worke.

Secondly, it iustifieth a man from sinne, in procuring remission and forgiuenes of the same.

Thirdly, it iustifieth the good deedes and workes of man, not onely in bringing foorth good fruites, but also in making the same workes to be good and acceptable in the sight of God, which otherwise were impure and execrable in his sight.

The office therfore of faith and works is diuers,MarginaliaThe office of fayth, and the office of the law compared together.and must not be cōfounded. Faith first goeth before, and regenerateth a man to God, & iustifieth him in the sight of god, both in couering his yll deedes, and in making his good deedes acceptable to God, clyming vp to heauen, & there wrastling with God and his iudgement for righteousnes, for saluation, and for euerlastins life. Workes and charitie, folow faith, and are exerrised here vpon the earth, & glorieth onely befdre man, but not before God, in shewing foorth obedience both to God & to man. Further then this our good works doe not reach, nor haue any thing to doe in the iudgement of God touching saluation. I speake of our good workes (as S. Paule speaketh Rom. 7.) as they be ours & imperfect.MarginaliaThe workes of man be imparfect and therefore haue nothing to doe with iustification. For els if our workes could be perfect according to the perfection of the lawe, as Christ wrought them in the perfection of his slesh, that is if we could perfect them, as it is sayd: Qui fecerit ea viuet in eis. But now seeing the imbecilitie of our flesh cannot atteine thereto it foloweth thereof that all glory of iustifiyng is taken from workes, and transferred onely to faith.

And thus much concerning the principall contents of S. Paules doctrine. Wherein the Church of the auncient Romanes first was grounded & planted, and so continued in the same, or at least did not much alter, during the prymityue state of the Church. Likewise the same forme of doctrine the latter Romanes also that followed shoulde haue mainteined, and not haue fallen away for any mans preaching, but hold him accursed, yea if he were any Apostle or an Angell from heauen, teaching any other doctrine besides that institution which they haue receaued. Gal. 1,MarginaliaGal. 2. for so were they warned before by the Apostle S Paule, to doe. And yet notwithstanding all this forewarning & diligent instruction of this blessed Apostle of the Gentiles, what a defection of faith is fallen among the Gentiles, especially among the Romanes,MarginaliaDeffection of fayth in the Church of Rome.whereof the sayde Apostle also foretold them so long before, forepropheciyng: That the day of the Lord shall not come, except there come a defectiō before, and that the man of sinne should be reuealed, the proude aduersary of God. &c. Thes. 2,MarginaliaA vew of the Popes Catholicke Church. meaning (no doubt) by this defection, a departing and a falling from that faith which the holy ghost had then planted by his ministery, among the Gentiles. As we see it now come to passe in the Church of Rome. Which Church is so gone from the faith that S. Paule taught, that if he were now alive, and saw these decrees and decretals of the Bishop of Rome, these heapes of ceremonies & traditions, these masse bokes, these Portuses, these Festiuals and Legendes, these Processionals, Hymines and Sequences, these Beades and Graduals, & the maner of their inuocation, their Canons, Censures, & latter Councels, such swarmes of superstitious Monkes and Friers, such sectes of so many dyuers religions, the Testament of S. Fraunces, the rule of S. Benedict, of S Brigit, of S. Anthony. &c. the intricate subtelties & labyrynthes of the scholemen, the infinite cases and distinctiōs of the Canonistes, the Sermons in Churches, the assertions in schooles, the glory of the Pope, the pride of the clergie, the cruelty of persecuting Prelates with their officials and promotors: he woulde saye this were not a defection, but rather a plaine destruccion and a ruine of fayth: neyther that this were any true Church of Christ, but a newe found Religion, or paganisme rather,MarginaliaThe Church of Rome degenerated agayne almost to new paganisme. brought in vnder the shadow of Christianity, wherin remaineth almost nothing els but the name onely of Christ, and the outwarde