is / to obtayne honors / ãd riches: For they do abhorre the Crosse which folowith the preachinge of the gospell / ãd as Paule saith / Phil. 3. Theyr belly / is their god. Augustine hath also this diuisiõ. Quest. in Matth. quest. 11. Euell catholiques are they / which do lyue otherwise thẽ they saie that they do beleaue. Schismatiques are they / which for diuersitie in opiniõ do diuide and separat the church / for σχιζειν, is to deuide. Heretikes are they / which perseuere / and cõtinue in that schisme. Lib. 2. contra Cresco. cap. 7. But in an other place he saith. That Heresie / doth differ frõ schisme. For a Schisme / is a stryfe which risith vppon diuersitie of sentẽces. Neither can a dyuiding or a schisme be / onles they which do make it do thinke and holde cõtrarie 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 ãd 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 mẽ 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 principall 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 mã 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 thẽ withstõd / did not speake agaynst this doctrine. Of the Iues / also he writith thus. Rom. 10. For being ignorant of Gods righteousnes / and goinge about to establishe their own righteousnes / they were not obediẽt to the righteousnes of God. In which place he settith 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 Iustificatiõ he saith. Rom. 11. If it be of grace / thẽ is it not of worcks / if it be of worcks / thẽ 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 regeneraciõ are euell / and then must this sentẽce of Christes stõde true. Mat. 7. An euell tree cã not bringe forth goode fruite. For how can it be / that they wich are deade as cõcerning righteousne / can of thẽ selues go ony thinge forward vnto their new birhte: Ephes. 2. And we all wer such / euẽ 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 God: And to the Romayns Paule saith. Rom. 14. That what soeuer is not of faith is Synne. This is the doctrine of the scripture cõcerning this matier. The papistes (as I sayde) so teache cleane contrarie doctrine / and do obstinatly defẽd it / notwithstõding that they be admonished of their error by the holy scriptures / by the aunciente fathers / as Hierom / Augustin / and others / by the godly Coũcels / as Africanum / Mileuitanum / Arausicanum / And now also being admonished therof by vs / yet will they not leaue their errour: Wherfor by the former definitiõ 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 God. Yea they be not content to saye this only / but they adde. That men can do more goode worcks thẽ the lawe of Godd requirirth. For (saye they) to lyue a syngle lyfe / to preache the gospell frely / mẽ are not commaunded by ony expres cõmaundement of Godd. This they do teache / and obstinatly defend. But we do lern out of the holy scriptures / that Rom. 8. The afflictiõs 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 God whith all thy harte / with all thy soule / and with all they mighte: lykewise of the same other commaundemente. Exod. 20. Thou shalte not luste / Ther is none amõg mortall mẽ / 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 trespasses. 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 thẽ the law cõmaundeth / as I sayde: But this is not true / for they which haue the powre to liue a sole and chaste lyfe / ãd do know that in this kinde of lyfe they shall more paynfully and profitably labor in the preachinge of the gospell of Christe thẽ otherwise. They are bownde to take it on thẽ ãd to lyue in it. For if they do yt not / it is certeyne that they loue not God 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 thẽ / which mighte preache the gospell frelye / and do se that it shalbe for the increase of the kingdõ of Godd / 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 saluatiõ. 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 cã 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 remissiõ of synnes. Rom. 8. And to the Romains / whõ he hath called / them also be iustified / whom he iustified / thẽ he also glorified: But here the papistes haue this shifte / A mã muste not doubte of Gods promises (they saye) but he muste doubte of the infirmitie of his fleshe / that he can not do those thinges which are to be done / to obtayne the promises of Godd. Rom. 4. Butt we be admonished by Abrahãs example / that we sholde not in beholding of our imbecyllitie / fainte in faith / nor fall from beleauinge certainly the truithe of the promises: he considered not the barren wombe of Sara / nor his own old and effoebled bodie / he stackered not at the promise of God through vnbelefe / but became strõge in faithe / and dyd giue glory vnto God / knowinge that he was sufficientlie able to performe those thĩges which he promised. &c. Rom. 4. Therfor by faithe is the enheritaunce gyuẽ that it might
come of grace / that the promise mighte be certaine and sure: for if the certayntie of saluaciõ did hãge on our merytes ãd worthines of our worckes / it should alwaies stumble / and be in daũgier of ouerthrowe. Thus the papistes do spoile men of healthfull hope / ãd make mẽ doubt / if not despaire / which is not to be done: for that nature of hope maie not be inuerted which Paule teacheth Rom. 5. to be suche / that it dothe not make a man ashamed: if then we do certaynlye hope and loke for life euerlastinge / we shall not be deceyued: and seing it is the holye ghoste that bearithe witnes vnto our spret / Rom. 8. that we are the children of Godd / surly his witnes we may not reiect / without cõmitting gret offence. Exod. 20. I am sayth Godd / The lorde thy Godd / this will he haue them that be his to beleaue: Roma. 5. And whosoeuer beleauith this / hath the quiet peace of a iustified consciẽce / and knowith hymself to be in safetie / for Godd is his iustifier / and who shall condẽne hym / whom Godd doth iustifie. Roma. 8. Against al theise manifest testimonies of the holy scriptures / theise men do teache their contrary doctrine / and do obstinatly defend it / wherfor they are heretiques.
Moreouer they do teache that euery mã must satisfice for hys synnes in this lyfe / which if he do not / then must he go to purgatorie: And that by the poure of the Keyes committed vnto them / they can turn the euerlastinge punishment in to a temporall. Psal. 32. If therfor satisfaction be not made whilest a man is in this lyfe / he shall do it / when he is goone out