The summe of the holye scripture and ordinarye of the Christen teachyng, the true Christen faithe, by the whiche we be all iustified. And of the vertue of baptesme, after the teaching of the Gospell and of the Apostles, with an informacyon howe all estates shulde lyve accordynge to the Gospell.

¶Of .iiij. maner of feythes after the holy scripture and whiche is the Christen feyth. Chaptre .xiij. (Book 13)

THis present Chapitre (bycause I haue moche spoken of faith / & that scarcely of a thousand one knoweth not this feith) teacheth of how many maner feithes there is made mēciō in the holy scripture / not as do now

the doctours whiche have founde many maner of feythes. I will onely speke of iiij. maner of feithes whiche are most comu¦nely foūde in the holy scripture. The first faith is this whiche the marchauntes hold one to an other and feithfull frendes / wher¦by they kepe promyse and fidelite the one to the other:* 1.1 wherof speketh the wise say∣ing: possesse or kepe feith with thy frende / in his povertye: to thintent that in his we¦lth thou mayst be ioyfull. And ageyn he that discloseth the secret of his frende / lo∣seth his faith. And in the Proverbes: He that gyveth his faith for a straunger shall be vexed with evell. And this is the faith wherof the worldly people complaine sey¦ing there is no feith in the worlde.

The seconde feith is when we beleve that a thing is to come / and suche thinges as we here or rede: as we beleve that Ro∣me is a Cytie in Italye / or that Cartage was destroyed of the Romayns / and this we beleve although we haue not sene yt. Also we beleve that Iesu Christ hath he relyved on erth and that he hath preached and that he is d••ed for vs / and that he hath done many other thinges. when we bele∣ve

these thinges after the story we beleve that this is oure christen faith / The sim∣ple people aloneli doth not beleve this but also many doctours in Theologye which are taken for wise. Ye the devell hath al∣so this faith / as sayeth saint Iames: The devels beleve and tremble.* 1.2 for (as we ha∣ue seyd byfore) the devell beleveth that god is god / and that Iesus Christ hath here preached / that he was deed / buryed & rysen. This must we also beleve / but yet this is not the faith wherof speaketh the gospell and saint Paule.

The third faith is that we beleve that god may all thinges / and that he is righ∣tuous / good and holye. This faith haue also the devels and Iudas had it also / ād other disciples that did miracles in the na∣me of Iesus but they were therfore never the better. for when they bosted theym sil∣ves and were ioyfull that by theyre faith they expulsed the devils in the name of Iesus.* 1.3 Iesus Christ hath reproved them saying: Ioy not you that the spretes be vnder your power / but reioyce bicause yo¦ure names be writen in heven.* 1.4 Of this fa¦yth writeth saint Paule vnto the Corin∣thians

saying: If that I had all feith so that I coude move mountaignes oute of theyre places / and yet had no love I we∣re nothing.

The .iiij. faith is oure Christen fayth / wherof so moche speake Iesu christ / saynt Paule and saint Iohn / and sey that it ys the foundacion of christendome. And this is the feith wherof I speake in this boke None hath this faith but they that put all theyre trust / hope comfort / refuge and fy∣nally all theire helth in god alone serching all these thinges in him and loking for thē of him / and not of theyre deservinges or good workes. Of this feith speaketh saint Paul saying: whosoever call on the name of god shalbe saved.* 1.5 And the prophete Ie¦remye / Blessed is that man that trusteth in the lord god.* 1.6 And Christ in the Gospell To thinient that none that beleve in him shuld periss he but shuld haue everlasting life.* 1.7 And in the boke called Paralipomenō Beleve in your lord God and you shalbe assured and without thought.* 1.8 Beleve his Prophetes and all happy thinges shal co¦me vnto you. And almost all the Psalmes all the prophetes and all the leves of the

holy Byble teache vs that we must bele∣ve and hope in God by a sted fast fayth. wherof speaketh so moche Saynt Paule the apostle / and whiche he prayseth so mo¦che in all hys epistles. And (as we haue abundauntly sayd in the Chaptres by∣fore) none may comprehend thys fayth / but he that considereth whate was the fa¦yth of Abraham: As wryteth saynt Pau¦le vnto the Galathyans saying: Abraham beleved God and yt ys rekened to hym for ryghtuousnesse.* 1.9 For by hys fayth ha∣th he obteyned that he ys called oure fa∣ther and we be called hys children yn the holye scripture / that ys to sey / we be the childern of the fayth. For by the meane of oure fayth we be saved / as Abraham was iustified by his fayth and hath got∣ten by hys fayth that all they that shall haue suche fayth may lyke wyse be iusty∣fyed. For this cause whosoever hath not the fayth of Abraham / nothing can come vnto hym of that whiche Abraham beleved. That ys to say / when God ys not thy hope and thy com∣forte / when thou abydest not wyth a

stedfast trust vppon God when thou art not redy to suffer and endure all thinges / namely also the deth for the loue and ho∣nour of god: And also to lose all that thou hast in the world thou art not the childe of Abraham. For Abraham was redy to all thinges wherunto god wold send hym. Suche was Iob when he sayed:* 1.10 Albeit that he kill me I will put my trust in him And the wise saieth.* 1.11 Whatsoever thing co¦me to the rightuous let him not sorowe. And saint Pa••le saieth who shall separat vs from the love of Iesu Christ?* 1.12 shall tri¦bulacion persecucion ••werd or deth? And as saint Petre saieth:* 1.13 who is he that may hurte you if ye be haunters and folowers of goodnesse. For all that ever comyth vn¦to the when thou hast this feith be it of mā or of the devell all comyth to thy proufit. As saieth saint Paule vnto the Romains To theym that love God all thinges be helping and avauncement to good.* 1.14

And therfore pray we alweyes that the will of god be done. For as he is not here come (as he seyd him silf) to do his will / * 1.15 but the will of his hevenly father / So sh¦all* 1.16 not the good Christen desyre that hys

owne will be done / but the will of God. And therfore shalt thou bere al thinges pa¦ciently as did Abraham with a stedfast fe∣yth knowing surely that god will not for¦sake the for god is thy father and thou art his childe. And it behoveth that he do with the what him pleaseth. For seyng that he is all good he will nothing but thi¦ne helth.

None can have suche a feyth if he haue not therwith the love of god. And he that hath the loue of god / hath fulfilled the la∣we for all the scriptures teache vs none o∣ther thing but that we loue god with all oure hartes and oure neyghbour as oure silf / as it is writen in saint Mathewe.* 1.17 No¦ne is a true christen but he that hath this loue. All other be rather ypochrites then Christen. For all good workes which be not done by charyte / and of good will are all synne byfore God as saieth saint Au∣styn: He that doth good ageynst his will / he doth evill albeit that that that he doth be good. For all that I do ageynst my will I hate it. And when I hate the com¦maundement I hate also him that hath cō¦maunded it. And as long as the parsone

ys suche he may not be rightuous▪ for no∣ne may be rightuous but he that kepeth & fulfilleth the commaundementes of God by charyte / and with a ioyfull hart. And this is a singular grace of god. And therfo¦re may none be proude of it / for he cā not haue it of him silf. So hath a man nothing of him silf wherwith he may exalt him silf For without God can we do nothing.* 1.18 As Christ him silf sayeth / wit out me cā ye do nothing / No not ones haue of your silf one good thought as sayeth saint Pau¦le.* 1.19 whate hast thou that thou hast nor re∣ceyved wherfore there is no wey more su¦re to come to everlasting life then to hum∣ble him silf byfore God / and to pray hym humbly of mercy nothing trusting in hys good workes / but with a ferme trust for∣saking him silf to knowlege alweyes to god his imperfection. For we can come to nothing by oure good workes if we put eny trust in theym. For they are nothing eis but sinne / and stinking byfore God / when God helpeth vs not by hys grace.* 1.20 As saieth the prophete Esaie. We are all made vnclene and all oure iustice is as yt were a clothe of a womā that suffreth the

fluxe of bloude.

And therfore I can never merveyle ynough that many of the religyous par∣sones wolde make other parttakers of th∣yre good workes / by bretheryeldes and fraternytees / seyng that Christ saieth yn the Gospell: After that ye haue done all that to you ys commaunded / say ye / we be vnproufitable servauntes / we haue do¦ne but oure duetye. For none can do to moche. None doth more then he ys bo∣und to do / but onely Iesu Christ why∣che* 1.21 onely (as sayeth Saynt Petre the a∣postle yn his .ij. epistle) Never dyd synne nether was there deceyte found yn hys mouth) hath done that he was not bo∣und to do (And as sayeth the Prophete Esaye) hath taken vppon hum all oure languores.* 1.22 And all oure sorowes dyd he beare / he was wounded for oure inyquy∣tees / he was beten for oure offences / and by hys strype spottes were we made ho∣le.

His iustice was onely parfait iustice for he hath done that he was not boūd to do. But we of our silves whē we do our best yet can not oure iustice be parfeyt when

after oure advice we do more then we are bounde to do yet be we vnrightuous and if we will be rightuous so must goddes rightuousnes make vs rightuous. for as sayeth saint Pa••le / Christ of god to vs is made wisdome iustice sanctificacyon and redempcion to thintent that (as it is wry∣ten) He that rei••yseth shuld reioyce in the lord.* 1.23 Saint Paule also teacheth vs yn all his epistles that Iesus Christ is oure iu∣stice and that by him we shalbe saved ād by none other.

Nowe seest thou well / that none can do to moche. For of him silf none can do ynou∣gh: and that we must take oure comfort of the satisfaction of Iesus Christ. Then whye will some sell vnto vs theyre mery¦tes aud good workes and make vs part¦takers of theym: And if it be not that suche ypochristes forsake theyre tru∣sting vppon there good workes and that they lerne for to trust vppon the iustice ād satisfaction of Christ they theym sylves shall never be saved. For the Pharesey had done many good workes but bycau∣se that he stode well yn hys owne con∣ceyte gloryfyed and bosted hym sylf the∣rof /

therfore he was forsaken of God.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Eccle. 2•• ••nd. 27
• * 1.2

  Ia. 2.
• * 1.3

  Lu. 10
• * 1.4

  1. Cor. 1••
• * 1.5

  Ro. 10
• * 1.6

  Iere. 17
• * 1.7

  Iohn. 3
• * 1.8

  Pa. 20
• * 1.9

  Ga. ••
• * 1.10

  Iob. 13
• * 1.11

  Pro. 12
• * 1.12

  Ro .8.
• * 1.13

  1. Pet. 3.
• * 1.14

  Ro. 8.
• * 1.15

  Mat. 6.
• * 1.16

  Iohn. 5
• * 1.17

  Mat. 22.
• * 1.18

  Iohn. 15
• * 1.19

  1. Cor. 4
• * 1.20

  Esai. 64
• * 1.21

  1. Pet. 2.
• * 1.22

  Csa. 53
• * 1.23

  1. Cor. 1