taught us; as ye see how Eve would have been as God in the knowledge of good and bad. And therefore hath God hid many things in his power, and commanded that we shall search none of his secrets further than he hath opened them in his Scripture, to mortify this poison of all poisons, the desire to appear wise, and that we be ashamed to be ignorant in any thing at all. Wherefore they that violently make articles of the faith without God's word, are yet alive in the root of all sin and vice, and grow out of the devil, and not out of Christ. And their articles are of the blindness of the devil, and not of the light of Christ, for Christ's light hath testimony of the Scripture everywhere.

If ye know that he is righteous, know that all that work righteousness are born of him.

trine of the

Our nature is to work wickedness, and so blind thereto that it can see no righteousness. And then it followeth that we must be born anew in Christ ere we can either do or yet know what is righteous. And in him we must first be made righteous ourselves, ere we can work righteous works, which conclusion is contrary unto the pope; for he saith, That the works do make the man righteous. And Christ's doctrine saith, That the man maketh the works righteous. A righteous man springeth out of righ- The doc. teous works, saith the pope's doctrine. Righteous works spring out of a righteous man, and a righteous man springeth out of Christ, saith Christ's doctrine. works make the man righteous which before was wicked, saith the pope. The works declare that the man is righteous, saith Christ's doctrine; but the man was first made righteous in Christ, and the Spirit of Christ taught him what righteousness was, and healed his heart, and made him consent thereto, and to have his lust in righteousness, and to work righteously.

The

pope is

clean con

trary to Christ's doctrine.

The third chapter.

THE THIRD CHAPTER.

The world could not know Christ.

BEHOLD, what love the Father hath shewed us, that we should be called the sons of God. For this cause the world knoweth you not, because it knoweth not him. Dearly beloved, now we are the sons of God, though yet it appeareth not what we shall be. But we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

The love of God to usward is exceeding great, in that he hath made us his sons without all deserving of us, and hath given us his Spirit through Christ, to certify our hearts thereof, in that we feel that our trust is in God, and that our souls have received health and power to love the law of God, which is a sure testimony that we are sons and under no damnation. Neither ought it to discourage us, or to make us think we were less beloved because the world hateth us, and persecute us, for the world knoweth us not. Neither any marvel, for the world could not know Christ himself for all his glorious coming with miracles and benefits in healing the sick and raising the dead. But for all the oppression of the world, we are yet sure that we are God's sons. And in like manner, though the glory that we shall be in appear not, yet we are sure that we shall be like him, when he appeareth. As darkness vanisheth away at the coming of the sun, and the world receiveth a new fashion, and is turned into light, and sudThe world denly made glorious; even so when he appeareth, and we shall see him as he is, we shall, with the sight of him, be changed into the glory of his image, and made like him. And then shall the world both know him, and us, unto their shame and confusion.

shall know Christ.

And all that have this hope in him, purge themselves as he is pure.

man's faith and hope are not

idle.

The faith and hope of a Christian man, are no dead, A Christian idle, or barren things, but lively works, and fruitful. For when the law through conscience of sin hath slain the soul, then hope and trust in Christ's blood through certifying of the conscience, that the damnation of the law is taken away, quickeneth her again, and maketh her to love the law, which is the purifying of the soul, and her life, and serving the law in the inner man. And then the said gifts of hope and faith stretch themselves forth unto the members, dead with natural lust, consent, and custom to sin; and quickeneth them, and purgeth them with the wholesome penance of Christ's doctrine, and make them serve the law outward, and bear wholesome fruit of love unto the profit of their neighbours, according to Christ's love unto

us.

The faith

of a Chris

in man.

For if the Spirit of Christ with which God anointeth us and maketh us kings, and sealeth us and maketh us his sure and several kingdom, and which he giveth us in earnest, (2 Cor. i.) and with which he changeth us into the image of Christ, (2 Cor. iv.) dwell in our souls through faith, the same Spirit cannot but quicken the members also, and make them fruitful. (Rom. viii.) Wherefore the faith and hope of the pope which by their own confession, may stand with all wickedness, and con- faith. sent unto all evil, and be without repentance toward God's law (as it appeareth by their three capital sins touched of John a little above: pride, covetousness and lechery) are no true faith and hope, but vain words and visures only, according to his other disguising and names of hypocrisy.

All that commit sin, commit unrighteousness; for sin is unrighteousness.

That the English calleth here unrighteous, the Greek calleth Anomia, unlawfulness or breaking the law.

So

The pope's

God's law.

What sinis. that all sin is breaking of God's law, and only the transThe sum of gression of God's law is sin. Now all God's laws are contained in these two points, believe in Christ, and love thy neighbour. And these two points are the interpreting and expounding of all laws, so that whatsoever edifieth in faith and love, is to be kept as long as it so doth. And whatsoever hurteth faith or love, is to be broken immediately, though king, emperor, pope or an angel command it. And all indifferent things that neither help nor hurt faith and love, are whole in the hands of father, mother, master, lord and prince. So that if they will sin against God, and overlade our backs, we may well run away, if we can escape, but not avenge ourselves. But and if they will break into thy conscience, as the pope doth with his dumb traditions, and saith, To do this saveth thy soul, and to leave it undone loseth thy soul; then defy them as the works of antichrist, for they make thee sin against the faith that is in Christ's blood, by which only thy soul is saved, and for lack of that only damned. And how love breaketh the law take an example. It is a good law that men come to the church on the Sundays to hear God's word, and to receive the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ, in remembrance of his benefits, and so strengthen thy soul for to walk in his love, and in the love of our neighbour for his sake, &c., yet if my father, mother, or any other that requireth my help be sick, I break that good commandment, to do my duty to my elders or my neighbour. And thus all laws are under love, and give room to love. And love interpreteth them, yea and breaketh them at a time, though God himself command them. For love is lord over all laws.

Love breaketh the law.

And ye know that he appeared to take away our sins; and there is no sin in him.

Christ died not alone to purchase pardon for our foresins, but also to slay all sin and the life of sin in our mem

bers. For all we that are baptized in the name of Christ saith Paul, (Rom. vi.) are baptized to die with him concerning sin, and that as he after his resurrection dieth no more, so we after our baptism should walk in a new life and sin no more. Our members are crucified with him, in all that pertaineth unto the life of sin. And if in Christ be no sin, then how can there be wilful sin in the faith that is in him, or in the quick members that through faith grow out of him? Every man therefore that hath the true faith of Christ, purgeth himself, as he is pure.

All that abide in him sin not. And all that sin have neither seen him nor known him.

As there is no sin in Christ the stock, so can there be none in the quick members that live and grow in him by faith. And they that give themselves to sin have neither seen, known, or felt by faith the mercy that is in him. Our holy father then which forbiddeth matrimony and giveth his diciples licences with his holy blessing to keep whores; and pluralities, unions, and totquots, to rob the parishes; hath neither seen nor known Christ, no more have his disciples that consent unto his iniquity. And if they know him not, they cannot truly describe him unto us. It followeth then, that their preaching is but hypocrisy.

Little children let no man beguile you. He that worketh righteousness is righteous as he is righteous.

ye

true faith

is, there proceedeth good works.

Judge men by their deeds. For whosoever hath the Where light of God in his soul, he will let his light shine, that men shall see his good works. And therefore where see not the righteousness of works in the members outward, there, be sure, is no righteousness of faith in the heart inward. Let no man mock you with vain words. Whosoever preacheth Christ in word and deed, him take