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Lake vi.

a Pet. i.

Therefore let us fet our whole faith and trust in God, and neither the world, the Devil, nor all the power of them shall prevail againft us. Let us therefore, good Christian people, try and examine our faith, what it is: let us not flatter ourfelves, but look upon our works, and fo judge of our faith what it is. Chrift himself speaketh of this matter, and faith, The tree is known by the fruit. Therefore let us do good works, and thereby declare our faith to be the lively Chriftian faith. Let us, by fuch virtues as ought to fpring out of faith, fhew our election to be fure and ftable, as St. Peter teacheth, Endeavour yourselves to make your calling and election certain by good works. And alfo he faith, Minifter or declare in your faith virtue, in virtue knowledge, in knowledge temperance, in temperance patience, in patience godliness, in godliness brotherly charity, in brotherly charity love: fo fhall we fhew indeed that we have the very lively Christian faith, and may fo both certify our confcience the better that we be in the right faith, and alfo by these means confirm other men. If these fruits do not follow, we do but mock with God, deceive ourfelves, and alfo other men. Well may we bear the name of Christian men, but we do lack the true faith that doth belong thereunto: for the true faith doth ever bring forth James ii. good works, as St. James faith: Shew me thy faith by thy deeds. Thy deeds and works must be an open teftimonial of thy faith: otherwife thy faith, being without good works, is but the Devil's faith, the faith of the wicked, a fantaly of faith, and not a true Chriftian faith. And like as the devils and evil people be nothing the better for their counterfeit faith, but it is unto them the more caufe of damnation: fo they that be Chriftians, and have received knowledge of God, and of Chrift's merits, and yet of a fet purpose do live idly, without good works, thinking the name of a naked faith to be either fufficient for them, or else fetting their minds upon vain pleasures of this world, do live in fin without repentance, not uttering the fruits that do belong to fuch an high profeffion; upon fuch prefumptuous perfons, and wilful finners, muft needs remain the great vengeance of God, and eternal punishment in hell, prepared for the unjust and wicked livers. Therefore as you profefs the name of Chrift, good Chriftian people, let no fuch fantafy and imagination of faith at any time beguile you; but be fure of your faith, try it by your living, look upon the fruits that come of it, mark the increase of love and charity by it towards God and your neighbour, and fo fhall you perceive it to be a true

lively faith. If you feel and perceive fuch a faith in you, rejoice in it; and be diligent to maintain it, and keep it fill in you; let it be daily increafing, and more and more by well working, and fo fhall you be fure that you fhall pleafe God by this faith; and at the length, as other faithful men have done before, fo fhall you, when his will is, come to him, and receive the end and final reward of your faith, as St. Peter nameth it, the Salvation of your fouls: 1 Pet. i. the which God grant us, that hath promised the fame unto his faithful; to whom be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen.

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A

SERMON

Of Good Works annexed unto Faith,

No good

works can be done without faith.

John xv.

Heb. xi.

N the laft Sermon was declared unto

you, what the

causeth not a man to be idle, but to be occupied in bringing forth good works, as occafion ferveth.

Now, by God's grace, fhall be declared the fecond thing that before was noted of faith; that without it can no good work be done, accepted and pleafant unto God; For as a branch cannot bear fruit of itself, faith our Saviour Chrift, except it abide in the vine; fo cannot you, except you abide in me. I am the vine, and you are the branches: be that abideth in me, and I in him, be bringeth forth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing. And St. Paul proveth, that the Eunuch had faith, becaufe he pleafed God; For without faith, faith he, it is not poffible to pleafe God. And Rom. xiv. again, to the Romans he faith, Whatfoever work is done without faith, it is fin. Faith giveth life to the foul; and they be as much dead to God that lack faith, as they be to the world whofe bodies lack fouls. Without faith, all that is done of us is but dead before God, although the work feem never fo gay and glorious before man. Even as the picture graven or painted is but a dead reprefentation of the thing itself, and is without life, or any manner of moving; fo be the works of all unfaithful perfons before God: they do appear to be lively works, and indeed they be but dead, not availing to the everlafting life: they be but fhadows and fhews of lively and good things, and not good and lively things indeed: for true faith doth give life to the works, and out of fuch faith come good works, that be very good works indeed; and without faith no In Præfat. work is good before God, as faith St, Auguftine. We

Pfal. xxxi.

muft

Pfal. xxxi.

muft fet no good works before faith, nor think that before faith a man may do any good works; for fuch works, although they feem unto men to be praiseworthy, yet indeed they be but vain, and not allowed before God. They be as the course of an horse that runneth out of the way, which taketh great labour, but to no purpose. Let no man, therefore, faith he, reckon upon his good works before his faith; whereas faith was not, good works were not. The intent, faith he, maketh good works; but faith muft guide and order the intent of man. And Christ faith, If thine eye be naught, thy whole body is full of darkness. The Matt. vi. eye doth fignify the intent, faith St. Auguftine, wherewith In Præfat. a man doth a thing: fo that he which doth not his good works with a godly intent, and a true faith that worketh by love, the whole body befide, that is to fay, all the whole number of his works, is dark, and there is no light in them. For good deeds be not measured by the facts themfelves, and fo difcerned from vices; but by the ends and intents, for the which they were done. If a Heathen man clothe the naked, feed the hungry, and do fuch other like works; yet, because he doth them not in faith for the honour and love of God, they be but dead, vain, and fruitless works to him. Faith it is that doth commend the work to God: for, as St. Auguftine faith, whether thou wilt or no, that work, that cometh not of faith, is naught; where the faith of Chrift is not the foundation, there is no good work, what building foever we make. There is one work, in the which be all good works, that is faith, which worketh by charity: if thou have it, thou haft the ground of all good works; for the virtues of ftrength, wildom, temperance, and juftice, be all referred unto this fame faith. Without this faith we have not them, but only the names and fhadows of them; as St. Auguftine faith, All the life of them that lack the true faith is fin, and nothing is good without him that is the Author of goodness: where he is not, there is but feigned virtue, although it be in the beft works. And St. Auguftine, declaring this verse of the Pfalm, The turtle hath found a neft where the may keep her young birds, faith, that Jews, Hereticks, and Pagans do good works; they clothe the naked, feed the poor, and do other good works of mercy: but because they be not done in the true faith, therefore the birds be loft. But if they remain in faith, then faith is the neft and fafeguard of their birds, that is to fay, fafeguard of their good works, that the reward of them be not utterly loft. And this matter (which St. Auguftine at large in many books

D 4

De vocatio ne gentium

difputeth) lib.c. 3.

ritu Sancto.

difputeth) St. Ambrofe concludeth in few words, faying, He that by nature would withstand vice, either by natural will or reafon, he doth in vain garnish the time of this life, and attaineth not the very true virtues; for without the worshipping of the true God, that which feemeth to be virtue is vice. And yet most plainly to this purpose writIn fermone eth St. Chryfoftom in this wife, You fhall find many which de fide, le- have not the true faith, that be not of the flock of Chrift, Ke, et Spi and yet, as it appeareth, they flourish in good works of mercy; you fhall find them full of pity, compaffion, and given to juftice; and yet, for all that, they have no fruit of their works, becaufe the chief work lacketh. For when the Jews afked of Chrift, what they fhould do to work John vi. good works, he anfwered, This is the work of God, to believe in him whom he fent: fo that he called faith the work of God. And as foon as a man hath faith, anon he fhall flourish in good works; for faith of itself is full of good works, and nothing is good without faith. And for a fimilitude, he faith, that they which glifter and fhine in good works, without faith in God, be like dead men, which have goodly and precious tombs, and yet it availeth them nothing. Faith may not be naked without good works, for then it is no true faith: and when it is adjoined to works, yet it is above the works. For as men, that be very men indeed, firft have life, and after be nourished; so must our faith in Chrift go before, and after be nourished with good works. And life may be without nourishment, but nourishment cannot be without life. A man muft needs be nourished by good works, but firft he must have faith. He that doth good deeds, yet without faith, he hath no life. I can fhew a man that by faith without works lived, and came to heaven: but without faith never man had life. The thief, that was hanged when Chrift fuffered, did believe only, and the most merciful God juftified him. And because no man fhall fay again, that he lacked time to do good works, for elfe he would have done them: truth it is, and I will not contend therein; but this I will furely affirm, that faith only faved him. If he had lived, and not regarded faith, and the works thereof, he should have loft his falvation again. But this is the effect that I fay, that faith by itfelf faved him, but works by themfelves never juftified any man. Here ye have heard the mind of St. Chryfoftom, whereby you may perceive, that neither faith is without works (having opportunity thereto), nor works can avail to eyerlafting life, without faith.

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