That fayth the mother of all good workes iustifieth us before we ca[n] bringe forth anye good worke...

SEcōdarily all good workes must be do∣ne free with a syngle eye with out respe∣cte of any thinge / and that no profet be sought thereby.

That commaundeth Christ / where he sayth Mar. x fre have ye receaved / fre geve agayne. For loke as Christ with all his workes did not deserve heven / for that was his all redye / but dyd vs servyce therwith / ād nether loked nor soughte his awne profit•• / but our profit / & the honoure of God y^• father only. Evē so we with all oure workes maye not sefe oure awne pro∣fit /

nether in this world nor in hevē / but must ād ought frely to worke / to honour God wyth all / and without all maner respecte / sefe oure neyghbours profit and do hym service. That meaneth Paul Philip. ij. sayng. Bemynded as Christ was which beinge in the shappe of God / equall vnto God and even very God / laid that a part / that is to saie / hyd it. And to∣••e on him the forme ād faseyon of a servaunt. That is / as cōcerninge hym selfe he had yno∣ugh / that he was full / & had all plentuous∣nes of the Godhed / ād in all his workes sou∣ght our profit and became our servant.

The cause is. For as moch as faith instifieth and putteth a waye synne in the sight of God / bringeth lyfe / helth and the favoure of God / maketh vs the heyres of God / powreth the spryte of God in to oure soules and fylleth vs with all godlifulnes in Christ / it were to great a shame / rebuke and wronge vnto the faith / yee to Christes bloud / iff a man wolde worke any thinge to purches that where wyth fayth hath indued him allredye / and God hath ge∣ven hym frely. Even as Christ had done re∣buke and shame vnto hym selfe / yff he wol∣de have done good workes and wrought to have bī made therby Gods sonne & heire over all / which thing he was allredie. Now doth fayth make vs the sonnes or chyldern of God.

Johan. i. he gave them myght or power to be they sonnes of God / ī that they beleved on his name. Iff we be sonnes / so are we also heires Ro. viij. and Gala. iiij. How can or ought we thē to worke / for to purches that entherytaun∣ce with all where of we are heyres all redye by fayth?

What shall we saye then to those scriptu∣res which sownde as though a mā shuld do good workes and lyve well for hevēs sake or eternall rewarde? As these are / make you frē∣des of the vnrighteous mammō. And Mat. vij. Gather you treasure together in hevē. Al∣so Mat. xix. If thou wilte enter in to lyfe ke∣pe the commaundemētes and soch lyke. Thys saye I / that they which vnderstonde nor / ne∣ther fele in ther hertes what fayth meaneth / talke and thinke of the rewarde evē as they do of the worke / nether suppose they that a man ought to worke but in a respecte to the rewar∣de. For they ymagen that it is in the kingdome of Christ / as it is in the worlde amonge men / that they must deserve heven with there good workes. How be it there thoughtes are but dreames and false ymaginacions. Off these men speaketh Malachias Chap. i. who is it amonge you that shutteth a doere for my ple∣asure for nought? that is / with out respecte of rewarde. These are servātes / that seke gaynes

and vauntage / hyrelinges and day labourers which here on erth receave there rewardes / as the phareses with there prayers: and fasiīges Matth. v.

But on this wise goeth it with hevē / with evirlasting lyfe and eternall rewarde / like wi∣se as good workes naturally folowe fayth (as it ys above rethersed) so that thou neadest not to cōmannde a true belever to worke or to cō∣pell hym with any lawe / for it is vnpossible that he shuld not worke / he taryeth but for an occasiō / he is ever desposed of hym selfe / thou neadest but to put him in remembrauuce / and that to knowe the false fayth frō the true. Evē so naturally doth eternall lyfe folowe fayth and good lyvinge / without sekingfor / and is impossible that it shulde not come / though no man thought there on. Yet ys it rether sed in the scripture / alleged and promised to knowe the differēce betwene a fals belever ād a true belever / & that every man maye knowe what foloweth good lyuinge naturally ād of it selfe with out takinge•• thought for it.

Take a grosse ensample. Hell that is / ever∣lastinge deth is threatned vnto synners / and yet folowith it synne naturally without sekin∣ge for. For no mā doth evell to bedāned ther∣fore / but had lever avoyde it. Yet there the one foloweth the other naturally / and though no

man tolde or warned hym of it / yet shuld the synner fynde it / ād feale it. Neverthelesse it is therfore thretened / that men maye knowe w∣hat folowyth evyll lyvinge. Now then as af∣ter evell levinge folowyth his rewarde vnsou∣ght for / even so after good levinge foloweth his reward naturally vnsought for or vnth∣ought apon. Even as when thou drinkest wi∣ne / be it good or badde / the tast foloweth of it selfe / though thou therfore drinke yt not. Yet testyfieth the scripture / and it is true / that we are by enheritance heyres of damnatyon / and that yer we be borne / we are vessels of y^e wrath of God and full of that poyson wh∣ence naturallye all synnes springe / and whe∣re wyth we can not but synne / which thinge the deades that folowe (when we be holde oure selves in the glasse of the lawe of God) do declare and vtter / kyll oure consciences ād showe vs what we were and wist not of it ād certyfieth vs that we are heyres of damnacy∣on. For iff we were of God we shulde cleve to God and lust after the wyll of God. But now our deades cōpared to the lawe declare the contrarie and by our deades we se our sel∣fes / both what we be & what our ende shall be

Go now thou seyst that lyfe eternall and all good thynges are promysed vnto fayth and belefe: so that he that beleveth on Christ /

shalbe safe. Christes bloude hath purchea∣syd lyfe for vs and hath made vs the heyres of God: so that heven cometh by Christes bloud. Iff thou woldist obtayne heven with the merytes and deservinges of thyne awne workes / so dyddist thou wronge / yee and shamedist the bloud of Christ / and vnto the were Christ deade in vayne. Now is the true belever heyre of God by Christes deservin∣ges / yee and in Christ was predestynate and ordened vnto eternall lyfe / before the world began. And when the Gospell is preached vnto vs we beleve the mercye of God / and in belevinge we receave the spryte of God / which is the ernyst of eternall lyfe / and we are in eternall lyfe allready / and feale allre∣ady in oure hertes the swetnes therof / and are overcome wyth the kyndnes of God and Christ and therefore love the wyl of God / ād of love are ready to worke frely / ād not to op∣tayne that which is gevyn vs frely ād whe∣re of we are heyres allready.

Now when Christ sayth. Make you frēdes of vrighteous mammon. Geder you treasure together in hevē & soch lyke. Thou scist that the meaninge and entēt is no nother / but that thou shuldest do good / and so wyll it folowe of it selfe naturally / without seking & takinge of thought / that thou shalt fynde frēdes and

treasure in heven and receave a rewarde. So late thyne eye be single / ād loke vnto good li∣vinge only ād take no thought for the rewar∣de: But be contēt. For as moch as thou kno∣wist ād art sure that the rewarde & all thinge cōtayned in Gods promises folowe good ly∣vingenaturally / and thy good workes do but testifie only and certyfie the that the spryte of God is in the / whō thou hast receaved in er∣nest of Gods truth / and that thou art heyre of all the goodnes of God / & that all good thin∣ges are thine all readye purcheased by Chri∣stes bloude ād leid vppe in stoere agaynst that daye when every man shall receave accordin∣ge to his deades / that is / accordinge as hys deades declare and testifie / what he is or was For they that loke vnto the rewarde / are slowe false / suttell and crafty workers / and love the rewarde moare then the worke / yee hate the laboure / yee hate God whych commaundeth the laboure / ād are wery both of the cōmaun∣dement and also of the cōmaunder / and wor∣ke wyth tediousnes. But he that worketh of pure love wyth oute sekinge of rewarde / worketh truly.

Thrydly that not the Sayntes / but God only receaveth vs in to eternall tabernacles / ys so playne and evident / that it neadeth not to decleare or prove it. How shall the Sayn∣tes

receave vs in to heven / when every man hath neade for hym self / that God only re∣ceave him to heven / and every man hath sca∣ce for hym self: As it appereth by the fyve wyse vyrgyns Matth. xxv. which wold not geve of there oyle vnto the onwyse vyrgyns. And Peter sayth in the .iiij. of hys fyrst pistle that the righteous ys with difficultye saved. So seyst thou that the sayenge of Christ / ma∣ke you frendes and so forth / that they may re∣ceyve you in to everlastinge tabernacles / per∣tayneth not vnto the sayntes which are in he∣ven / but is spoken of the pore ād neady which are here present with vs on Erihe / as though he wold saye. What byldyft thou churches / foundest Abbays / chauntryes / and colleages in the honor of sayntes / to my Mother / saynt Peter / Paule ād sayntes that be deed to ma∣ke of them thy frendes? They neade it not / yee they are not thy frendes but thers. Which ly∣ved thē when they dyd / of whom they were h∣elpen. Thy frendes are the pore which are no∣w in thy tyme and lyve wyth the / thy pore ne∣ybours which neade thy help and succoure. Them make thy frendes wyth thy vnrighteo∣us mammon / that they maye testyfye of thy f∣ayth / and thou mayst knowe and fele that thy fayth is right and not fayned.