A declararation [sic] of the twelue articles of the christen faythe with annotations of the holy scripture, where they be grounded in. And the righte foundation and principall comon places of the hole godly scripture, a goodly short declaration, to all Christians profitable and necessarye for to come to the right vnderstondynge of holy Scripture compyled for the commodite of al christen people. By D. Vrbanum Regium.

Vowe. [ 23]

¶We haue made a promyse vnto God, in the holy Baptysme, that we wyll forsake the deuyll, and renounce all hys workes. Here doth man pro∣myse to fyghte, agaynste hys owne flesshe, agaynste the worlde, & agaynst the deuyll. He is borne of hys father, a synfull chylde of wrath, he muste be renewed, and borne agayne, of water, & the holy goost. The olde man muste be mortifyed, thys is done through all maner of tribulatiō & aduersite, which greue the carnall man. For thus sayth Paul. Al that wyll lyue godly in chri∣ste muste suffer persecutiōs. And thys is the repētaunce or amēdemēt which Iohn & Christe do teache. This repen¦taunce is a mortifyeng of the old mā, & a renewyng of the spirite. His tokē is Baptisme, which is a newe byrthe.

whosoeuer wyl not suffre aduersitye and afflictions in thys worlde, thesa∣me is vntrewe, and kepeth no promise nor doth the thynges, whiche he hath promysed in hys baptysme. Therfore is it good to see, that there be but fewe ryght Christians in earth. Mē oughte not to vowe or promyse any thynghe rasshely for euery man hath both hys handes full of workes, and ynoughe to do, yf he wyll satisfye, hys Baptis∣me.

The vowes of freres or monkes a∣re foolysshnes, and are made without faith. To vowe chastite, is not in their power, for it is a specyall gyfte of God. And a counseyl, not a comman∣dement. The Euangelicall pouertye belongeth to vs all, and is nothyng el∣les, then in spirite not to desyre, & not to cleame the temporall goodes with oure herte, and to vse the goodes, for the commoditie and welthe of oure neyghboure, as dispensatours, and di¦stributours, not as owners and Lor∣des of the goodes. For thus sayth chri¦ste, yf a man come to me, and hateth

not hys father, mother, wyfe & chyl∣dren, bretheren and sisters. Moreouer and hys owe lyfe, he can not be my di∣scyple. Thys lawe doth bynde euerye man, not onelye freres and Nonnes, for it is spirituall, euen as the hole la∣we is, and requyreth a cleane pure herte. To forsake all thynges, that is, not to be entangled with any thynge, with any inordinate or vncomely de∣syres, And to vse the same onelye, and not to hange or cleane thereon with wyl or desyre.

Therfore is not the Euangelicall pouerte, to go a beggynge from hou∣se to house, and to haue nothyng at al but not to hang vpō the goodes with a couetous mynde and desyre. All ry∣ches are geuen vs of God, not that we should occupye thē alone, but that we shoulde serue oure neyghboure with them, yea with all that we haue, thys requyreth, the lawe of nature & the lawe of God. Moyses commaun∣ded that no man shoulde be suffred to begge. Christe sayth. Go not frō hou∣se to house. Into whatsoeuer house ye

enter, there eate and drynke suche as they haue.

Obedience must we kepe euen as wel as the freres or monkes, as Pau∣le and Peter teache, euery man in his Citie or cōmunalty to hys Lord, what¦soeuer the scripture sayth of the obe∣dience of God, and of his holy worde the same do the blynde guydes drawe by the heare vpon theyr inuented obe¦dience. Euen as also they wreste thys saynge in Samuel, Obedience is bet∣ter sacrifyce, & drawe it vpon mannes traditions. The vowes & promyses of the freres or monkes, come of igno∣raunce of the free wyll, whiche they presume to haue and to defende. The vowe of freres is no counseyll in the Scripture, nor yet commaundemente therfore is it nothyng but mere seduc¦tion, Ipocrisye and vnbeleue. Christe wyl, that oure fayth, purely & onelye shall be buylded vpon hys onely wor¦de, For vpō thesame rock doth he buyl¦de hys congregation. And in Iohn sayth he. My shepe heare my voyce. For as much now, as there is no cle∣are

or manifest worde of God, which counsayleth or cōmaundeth, that the∣re should be a bonde of eternal vowes of chastite or of beggerye, verelye so erre al they that teache freres vowes and take them for good and sure gere in the Scripture, whiche neuertheles are vnsure, and contrary to the scrip∣ture. God wil, that hys worde be one¦ly taughte for saluation. For thus sayth Saynt Peter. Yf any man spea∣ke, let hym talke, as thoughe he spake the wordes of God, that is, let him be sure, that it is the worde of God, whi∣che he speaketh and teacheth.

Notes

• Eph. ij Iohn. iij
• ij. tim. iij
• Mat. iij and. iiij.
• Tit. iij
• Ac. xiiij
• The pro¦myse of baptis∣me.
• The pro¦mises or vowes of fre∣res &c.
• i. Co. vij Matth, xix.
• Luc, xiiij
• Ro. vij.
• To for∣sake all thinges
• Euan∣gelicall pouerte
• Deu. xv Luce. x.
• Obedi∣ence. Ro. xiij. Philip. i i. Pe. iij
• i. Re. xv
• mat. xvi Iohn. x.
• i. Pe. iiij