Masses / and popishe supersticions / to saye in ther harte / O Lord it is thow that oughtest only to be worshipped. In answer to these men: furst I saye / that this booke entitle Baruch is none of the Canonicall scriptures: And therfor no man is bownd to the doctrine of it. But admit the booke wer of sufficient auctoritie / Then theise men must vnderstonde / that the prophet doth not gyue the Iues leaue to comme vnto the temples of Idols / that ther they might be present at vngodly Idolatrie / bowe ther knee / and so make vpp the matier / with sayinge in their hart to the true and lyuyng godd / O Lord / it is thow that oughtest only to be worshipped. But he gyuith the Iues instruction against Images which wer caried about / ãd Idolatries which wer vsed in those places wher they were exiles: ffor the Maneir of the Babilonians was / not only to haue Images in ther temples / but also to haue them sett abroode and caried openly vppon mens shulders. As it is not vnlike that the Image of Nabugodonosor, which beinge dedicated in the feilde of dura, was caried aboute the whole Regiõ with Musicall Instrumẽtes ãd sõges / at the sownde of which whersoeuer the Image was seene / commaundemẽt was gyuẽ vnto all mẽ that they shuld worshipp it: which Daniels felows wolde not do. Of theise thinges I saye / that epistle entreatithe / playnlye to warne the godly / that they shuld not adore / nor worshipp thos Idols thoughe that the heathenishe poeple did so bothe before
them / and behind them / but when they did see this Idolatrie / detesting it / they shuld then saye / O lord / it is thou to whome worshipp doth only belõge: he saied not / bowe the knee with thẽ / and saye in your hartes / o lord / it is thou &c. but when ye do see these Idols and Idolatrye / say so. These seyngs and suddayn meetings in the cytie streetes ãd fieldes / could not be auoyded / and therfor the godly were to be enstructed and admonished / how they shuld behaue them selues in that case.
But our men / as they are veraye bolde to abuse the scripture for their purpose / go on further and aske / how it happened that Daniel was not throwen into the fierie fornace with his felowes? Daniel. 3. seing lyke punishement was appointed vnto all men which did not worshippe. They will of necessitie haue it graunted them therfor / that Daniel did dissemble / (as they now do) and that therfor nothing was done vnto hym: And that thinge which Daniel dyd / they thincke that they maye do. I aunswer our men thus / that they do not reason well to saye / He was not punished / therfor he was ther and worshipped / they do out more in the consequẽt / then is in the antecedẽt / and so to reason is to make a subtill cauillacion / taking that to be a cause which is no cause. For there might be many other causes / wherfor Daniel was not likewise punished: happilie the Image ãd he did not meete together: or yf he did meete it / men did not mark what he did: or els though men marcked that he did not worshipp / yet he was not accused:
or yf he were accused / yet through the singular fauour which the King did beare vnto him he was delyuered from punishmẽt. It must not then forthewith folowe / that Daniel for feare of death did present himself before that Idoll / and did dissemble his Religion / doing there as other Idolatrors did: this we must not iudge of Daniel / Daniel. 6. seing in the lyke quarell / he was not afrayde to be thrown vnto the lyõs. Now seing there may be many other causes why he was not caste into the fire with his felowes / why do these men chose vnto them selues this one cause? and that such a one / as is sclaũderous vnto that holy man / of which in the holy scriptures / there is not so much as a suspicion contayned. Yet they do thinke that they do not vnaptly saye for themselues / and defend their cause / when they do alledge that out of the Actes of the Apostles: Actor. 21. where mencion is made howe that Paule / through the councell of the Elders of the churche of Hierusalem / did take on hym a vowe with other foure men / and did purifye hymself after the maner and custumme of the Iues. Yf (saye they) suche an Apostle dyd take thys lybertye to vse in Iurie the ceremonies which were now abrogated / euẽ we also maye vse / and comme vnto the rites / and ceremonies now vsed in our countrithe. For the better vnderstõding of this matter we must first well consider what the somme of Paules preachinge was: Rom. 3. We do suppose (saith he) that a man is iustified by faith / without the workes of the Lawe. Gal. 3. And as many as are vnder the deedes of the Lawe
are subiect to the curs. Abac. 2. Agayne the Iuste man shall lyue by his faithe. Rom. 1. This is the somme of Paules doctrine / wherby it doth appeare / that Paule did not vtterly condẽne the obseruing of the ceremonies of the Law / but only whẽ it was done with this minde / as thoughe that Iustification did not cõme therby. And the same his meaning he vtterith most playnly to the Galathians / where he saithe. Gal. 5. As many of ye as are circumcised / ye are fallen from the grace of Christe: for Christe shall not profite you at all: ye are gone quite frõ Christe / as many as are Iustified by the Lawe / As yf he wold saye / These thinges of theyr owne nature do not alienate and separate vs from Christe / but only when they be done with this mynde and purpose / to be Iustified by them: Take awaye this opinion / and this euell hurtefull purpose being remoued / then Paule cõmendeth these worckes / and all other ciuyle ordinaunces cõmaunded / and appoynted to that Nacion: he condẽneth them not / but so farre as they wer iustly and not supersticiously vsed / he did leaue thẽ in theyr place / Gal. 3. ãd did not hinder the obseruacion of them. As he dyd also write / that in the Lord / there was neither Iue nor gentill / neyther nonde nor fre. Gal. 6. And that in Christe Iesus / neyther circumcision auaileth any thing at all / nor vncircumcision / but the obseruing of the commaũdements of God / or a new creature. 1. Cor. 7. And againe yf any be called being circũcised / let him not adde vncircũcision. If anye be called vncircũcised / let hym not be circũcised. Let euery man abyde in the
same estate / in which he is called. All these indifferẽt thinges / might somtyme be well obserued / somtyme be as well left vndone / as most serued for edifying in godd. Of which vse and obseruacion of thẽ 1. Cor. 9. Paule doth speake / when of him self he saieth: I am made all vnto all mẽ / that I might wynne manye: Vnto the Iues / I am made as a Iue / to thẽ which are without the lawe / as though I were without a lawe. This sentence he hath also confirmed by examples: Actor. 16. For when he was required to circũcise Timothie / because that the custumme which was yet in force might be kept / he did it: But when they wolde enforce him to the ouerthrowĩg of the christiã libertie / that he shulde likewise circumcise Titus / Gal. 2. In no wyse wolde he gyue place vnto them / no not for the space of one houre / and because (saith he) false brethren came in / to espie out / or to betray our libertie. S. Paule did obserue these thinges then / when it might be done without an euell mynd / when no hurte shuld ensue of it: The cause ãd end why Paule did it / was to auoide the offendinge of the beleauing Iues / les yf he did it not / they shuld therby be alienated and turned awaye from Christes gospell / which they had newly receyued. But we must not compare these ceremonies of the old lawe with the Inuencions of men / they can not be iustly compared with Massing: They were plainly taught in Goddes worde / but these masses and popishe Idolatries are thrust vnto vs by the subtiltie of the deuell / and craftye deceyuing of mẽ. They were thinges
indifferẽt / and as such thinges might be well vsed. But these are thinges vtterly euell and can not be well vsed. They after Christes ascenscion into heauẽ wer not forbidden / and therfor might be obserued / so long as the Temple and common welth of Israel did cõtinue and the citie was vndestroyed / and vntill the full reuelinge and preachinge of the gospell was had / vntill by it the churche of Christe / which was to be gathered of the Iues and gentils / were well / and fully vnited and knitt together. Aug. Epistol. 19. ad Hieron. Neyther wer those ceremonies / as Augustine saith / suddenly and without honor to be buried and throwen awaye. But these masses / and such popish supersticions / which are farsed full with Idolatrie / alwayes haue beene / are / and shalbe forbiddẽ. Those thinges might therfor be keapt and obserued for a tyme / so that men did not vse them with that mynde (as I sayed) to be iustified by them. Wherfor yf thow wilt consider the matier it self / that is / the nature of the acte / Paule can neither be therin reprehended / nor yet can these dissemblige Massehaunters vse his well doinge as a defence for their euell doinge: but much les can this be done / yf thou wilt searche out the mynde / councell / and entent of Paules doinge. Bothe these thinges these mayntayners of massehaunting do want. For furst they are occupied in a thing which is contrary / and repugnant to Godds worde / as it is already declared. Secondly / in thys their dissimulacion they do only seke themselues / for to thend that they maye retayne their riches / dignitie
/ and estimacion by falling to poperye they offend the weake and drawe them by their example from Christe to Antichrist / wheras Paule did herin obserue thinges commaunded in Goddes worde / and thẽ to this ende only / les the beleauing Iues shuld fall backe frõ Christ / and that he might the more easily drawe others / which yet beleaued not / to the gospell of Christe. Furthermore these men do saye / that they by their dissimulacion will auoide offence. For (saye they) yf we shuld so vtterly forsake the Masse as ye wolde haue vs / we shulde be taken as wicked mẽ ãd euell doers / ãd so shall we geue great offence in out countrithes. I graũte that these men do seke to auoyd offence / but what offence? euẽ the offẽce of the world. They will not offend / but whom? Tyraũtes / ãd such as ar the very limmes of antichrist. And why? les they shuld procure against thẽselues theyr wrath / poure / and tyrãnie. But this is that offence / which Criste sayeth shuld not be auoided: Mat. 15. Let them alone (saith he of the Phariseis) They are blinde ãd the leaders of the blinde. Heere we must consider which be euell offences / and such as are to be auoyded indeed. Euẽ those I say / which are an Impediment to the setting forth of the gospell / which do offend and hinder mẽ / be they simple / or wicked / that they do not embrace pure doctryne / and turne vnto Christe. Now beholde / I pray the / by cõming to the Masse / what offence thou doest gyue? The Idolatrous ãd supersticious people / ar they not offended by this thy doing? Yeas verely. For when they do se
the haũte their masses / they say / these gospellers do cõme to our masses / which they wold not do yf our masses wer so euell as thei call thẽ: wherfor we may perseuere ãd cõtinue in our old purpose. And on the other parte / the weaker brethrẽ / which are but newly turned / ãd not farr entered into the knowledge of Christ / whẽ they do se these better lerned professors / enseyng bearers / and chief men in the scole of Christ comme to the masse / they are taught to do the lyke: and wher before they wer perswaded not to comme at masses / now they thincke that they were then deceyued / and that it is but a fonde precise scrupulositie so to abstayn from masses: and it cometh to pas / that where they shuld go forwarde in the waye of truth / now they do go backe. Thus both the wicked and the godly / are offended by thy example: It is playne therfor that vnder the cloked colour of auoyding of offence / these men do fall into the very offẽce gyuing. They say morouer: It is nedefull to cõdiscende vnto the weake: for there are many which are not persuaded that the masse is naught / and therfor are neyther ready to forsake their countrie / nor to dye in the quarell / whiche men yf they shulde perceyue that we did not come to masse / they wold not gyue then any ear or credite vnto vs in the other matiers and chief pointes of religion: wherfore we must gyue and yealde somwhat vnto their infirmitie / as Paule doth teache the Romayns. This they saye. Rom. 14. But what will Paule / I praye you / that we shuld yealde to the weake? This verily / fyrst that we
shuld not please our selues: Agayne / that we shuld not so lyue after our own mynde / that we shulde cõtemne their saluacion. We do graunte therfor that som thinge is to be gyuen vnto the infirmitie of the weake brother / but euen with Paule / we will not suffer that to be done / but in thinges indifferẽt. But those thinges which of them selues ar euell and forbidden of Godd / must not be done in respect of any man. Rom. 3. For that same Rule doth stonde certayn which gyueth leaue to no mã to do euell that goode maye comme theron. To abstayn / or not to abstayn from meates / was then a thing indifferẽt. In such thinges they which be stronger must beare with the Infirmitie of the weaker: but meate eating ãd Massehauntinge are not lyke / for this is no thing indifferẽt / but manifestly euell / as it is sufficiently proued / and therfor it is not to be done in respect of bearing with any man that is weake. But are the weake alwayes to be borne with all in thinges indifferent? no truly / we must not alwayes yealde to the weake but only whylest they be taughte: And when they do vnderstonde the thing that is taught them / and yet do wauer and doubt of a wilful scrupulositie / their infirmitie is no longer to be norished nor born with all: For we must not so beare with them / that out libertie shal be in subiectiõ to their frowardnes / nor that therby we do hurte others by our example.