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 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, first have life, and after be nourished; so must our faith in Christ go before, and after be nourished with good works. And life may be without nourishment, but nourishment cannot be without life." "A man must needs be nourished by good works, but first he must have faith. He that doeth good deeds, yet without faith he hath not life. I can shew 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 Christ suffered did believe only, and the most merciful God did justify him. And, because no man shall say again that he lacked time to do good works, for else he would have done them, truth it is, and I will not contend therein: but this I will surely affirm, that faith only saved him. If he had lived, and not regarded faith and the works thereof, he should have lost his salvation again. But this is the effect that I say, that faith by itself saved him, but works by themselves never justi fied any man." Here ye have heard the mind of neither faith is without works, having opportunity St. Chrysostom; whereby you may perceive, that thereto, nor works can avail to everlasting life without faith. 1 THE SECOND PART OF THE SERMON OF GOOD WORKS. OF the three things which were in the former Sermon specially noted of lively faith, two be never idle, without good works, when occasion The first was, that faith is declared unto you. like serveth; the second, that good works acceptable to God cannot be done without faith. combs b may is no reti ished; I after mai Now to go forth to the third part, that is, what manner of What works works they be which spring out of true faith, and they are that lead faithful men unto everlasting life. spring of faith. 16-19. This cannot be known so well as by our Saviour Christ himself, who was asked of a certain great man the same question. What works shall I do, Matt. xix. said a prince, to come to everlasting life? To whom Jesus answered, If thou wilt come to the everlasting life, keep the commandments. But the prince, not satisfied herewith, asked further, Which commandments? The Scribes and Pharisees had made so many of their own laws and traditions to bring men to heaven beside God's commandments, that this man was in doubt whether he should come to heaven by those laws and traditions or by the laws of God; and therefore he asked Christ which commandments he meant. Whereunto Christ made him a plain answer, rehearsing the commandments of God, saying, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and mother, and, Love thy neighbour as thyself. By which words Christ declared that the laws of God be the very way that doth lead to everlasting life, and not the traditions and laws of men. So that The works this is to be taken for a most true lesson taught heaven be the by Christ's own mouth, that the works of the works of moral commandments of God be the very true mandments. works of faith which lead to the blessed life to come. that lead to God's com from God's command But the blindness and malice of man, even from Man, from the beginning, hath ever been ready to fall from his first falling God's commandments. As Adam the first man, ments, hath having but one commandment, that he should not ever been eat of the fruit forbidden, notwithstanding God's the like, and commandment, he gave credit unto the woman works of his seduced by the subtle persuasion of the serpent, own phantasy and so followed his own will, and left God's com- withal. mandment. And ever since that time all that ready to do to devise of the tiles. unto Some, came of him hath been so blinded through original sin, that they have been ever ready to fall from God and his law, and to invent a new way salvation by works of their own device; so much that almost all the world, forsaking the true honour of the only eternal living God, wandered The devices about in their own phantasies, worshipping some and idolatry the sun, the moon, the stars, some Jupiter, Juno, Diana, Saturnus, Apollo, Neptunus, Ceres, Bacchus, and other dead men and women. therewith not satisfied, worshipped divers kinds of beasts, birds, fish, fowl, and serpents; every country, town, and house in a manner being divided, and setting up images of such things as they liked, and worshipping the same. Such was the rudeness of the people after they fell to their own phantasies, and left the eternal living God and his commandments, that they devised innumerable images and gods. In which error and blindness they did remain until such time as Almighty God, pitying the blindness of man, sent his true Prophet Moses into the world, to reprove and rebuke this extreme madness, and to teach the people to know the only living God, and his true honour and worship. of the Israel But the corrupt inclination of man was so much given to follow his own phantasies, and (as you would say) to favour his own bird that he brought up himself, that all the admonitions, exhortations, benefits, and threatenings of God could not keep him from such his inventions. up into For, notwithstanding all the benefits of God shewed unto the The devices people of Israel, yet, when Moses went and try the mountain to speak with Almighty God, he had tarried there but a few days when the people began to invent new gods; and, as it came into their heads, they made a calf of gold, and kneeled ites. Exod. xxxii. 1-0. Num. XXV, I-3. And after that they down and worshipped it. chore fall F war ; 80 e true> WAL bing se ter, d res B Se Amos v. 26: ix. 10: 2 Kings 5, 13. you shall find how unsteadfast the people were, TE 2 19, 22. xxxi. 1; xxxiv. the Jews. And, beside the foresaid inventions, the inclina- Religions and B 25, 26. in very deed all tending to idolatry, superstition, and hypocrisy; their hearts within being full of malice, pride, covetousness, and all wickedness. Against which sects, and their pretensed holiness, Christ cried out more vehemently than he did against any other persons, saying and often reMatt. xxii. hearsing these words: Woe be to you, Scribes and Pharisees, ye hypocrites! for you make clean the vessel without, but within you be full of ravine and filthiness. Thou blind Pharisee and hypocrite, first make the inward part clean. For, notwithstanding all the goodly traditions and outward shew of good works devised of their own imagination, whereby they appeared to the world most religious and holy of all men, yet Christ, who saw their hearts, knew that they were inwardly in the sight of God most unholy, most abominable, and furthest from God Matt. xv. 7-9. of all men. Therefore said he unto them, Hypocrites, the Prophet Esay spake full truly of you he said, This people honour me with their lips, but their heart is far from me: they worship me in vain that teach doctrines and commandments of men. For you leave the commandments of God to keep your own Isai. xxix. 13, 14. Man's laws must be ob kept, but not traditions. when And, though Christ said they worship God in served and vain that teach doctrines and commandments of men, as God's laws, yet he meant not thereby to overthrow all men's commandments; for he himself was ever obedient to the princes and their laws, made for good order and governance of the people: but he reproved the laws and traditions made by the Scribes and Pharisees, which were not made only for good order of the people (as the civil laws were), but they were and pure worshipping of God, as they had been equal with God's laws, or above them; for many of God's laws could not be kept, but were fain to give place unto them. This arrogancy God detested, that man should so advance his laws, to Imake them equal with God's laws, wherein the true honouring and right worshipping of God |