The. x. chapyter

IN the. xi. lefe, after that in the tother tenne byfore he had spokē many tymes of fayth alone, and that the onely byliefe of farre fewer thynges than we be bounden in dede to byleue, whan it were onys hadde, sholde bothe satysfye the soule & also make vs saufe foreuer: it appereth in that lefe yt eyther hys own mynde beganne to mysse geue hym, or ellys some other wyly brother gaue hym warnynge, that this maner wrytyng of fayth alone wolde make all the worlde to wonder on hym. For Luther hym selfe wrytynge fyrste on the same fasshyon. that faythe alone was suffycyent for saluacyon, though it pleased idle vnthryftes ve ry well, that were glad to be by bare fayth dyscharged of al good wurks: it was yet so sore abhorred among all honest men, yt both hym selfe & all his secte were fayne to seke some plasters of false gloses, to hele ye foule marmole of theyr skabbed shynnys, that they hadde gotten by that texte of theyr false fayth alone.

And than they sayed yt they ment that maner fayth, that hadde alwaye bothe hope and cheryte wyth it.

But than coulde not that glose serue them. For that maner fayth taughte euer the comen catholyke chyrch […] che they reproued. And also yt glose marred theyr texte, and was clene cō trary to all theyr tale. For all the text of theyr prechynge had ben of fayth alone, and theyr glose was of fayth not alone, but encompanied with two good felowes perdye, ye tone called hope and the tother cheryte.

Now therfore eyther vppon this fere of his owne mynde, or vpon this aduertysement of some other man: mayster Masker to mende his exposycyon with, and to make all the mater saufe, hath at the laste in the ende of the. xi. lefe, plastered his marmoll of his onely fayth on thys fasshyon. By loue we abyde in god & he in vs. Loue foloweth fayth in the order of our vnderstandynge, and not in order of successyon of tyme, yf thow lokest vpon the selfe gyftes and not of theyr frutes. So that […] pally by fayth wherby we clene to goddes goodnes and mercy, we abyde in god and god in vs, as declare […] folowynge, sayenge, […] the […] father sent me, so lyue I by my father. And euen so he that […] me, shal lyue bycause of me or for my […]. My father sent me, whose wyl in all thynges I obey, for I am hys sone. And euen so veryly must they that eate me, that is byleue in me, forme and […] after my ensample, mortefyeng theyr […] and chaungynge theyr lyuynge, or […] they […] me in vayne and dyssemble theyr bylyefe. For I am not comen to redeme the worlde onely, but also to chaunge theyr lyfe. They therfore that byleue in me, shall transforme theyr lyfe after myne […] and doctryne, and not after any […].

Thys plaster good readers hath some good […]. But it is bothe to narow by a great dele to couer his scalde shyn, & hath also some […] poticary druggys put in hit that can do no good, and some thynge also […] to his remedy.

But […] vs now consyder hys wordes. Fyrst where he sayth, that by […] we […] in god and god in […]: he sayeth trouth, for so sayth the scrypture / but that is to be vnderstande as longe as we loue hym, and not dwell so styll in hym. But whan we breke hys […], and therby declare that we loue hym not as ye scrypture also sayth / agaynst whiche scrypture mayster Tyndase sayth that he that hath onys a felyng fayth, can neuer fall therfrom, and agaynste the same scrypture mayster Masker saith that fayth onys had suffiseth for saluaciō.

And mayster Masker maketh yet his mater mych wurse than […] Tyndase. For Tyndase dyd yet at the leste wyse make some bumblyng about a colour for the mater, with a longe processe of hystorycall fayth & felyng fayth. whose false wyly […] therin, I haue so confuted in my […] futacyon, yt though he wryte agayne therin, as longe as euer he lyueth he shall neuer shake of the shame.

But mayster Masker handeleth the mater bothe more wylyly than Tyndale doth, & yet mych more folysshely to. For seyng that his sayeng can not be defended: he ruffleth vp all the mater shortely in a few wordes, bothe for sparynge of labour, […] also bycause he wolde not haue hys wordes well vnderstanden, but that his wordes myght stande for a short texte, which he wold leue for euery other good brother to make some good glose therto to maynteyne it wyth.

For in his nexte worde folowyng where he sayth, Loue foloweth fayth in the order of our vnderstandyng, & not in the order of […] of […], yf thow lokest vpon the selfe gyftes […] not vpō theyr frutes: in these few darke wordes he wolde bothe shewe hys […] before vnlerned men, and leue them also vndeclared, bycause he wolde haue them wene yt his hygh […] passeth theyr low capacitees

But yet in these wordꝭ he iugleth with vs, and may with his wylynes begile them that wyl take none hede. But who so loke well to his handes shall perceyue where his galles goo well inough.

For trewe it is that whan so […] god infoūdeth eyther thabyt of […], or ye full perfite quycke lyuely […] that is called fides formata: infoundeth in lyke wyse hope and cheryte bothe. But this is not the fayth alone. For fayth is neuer such fayth, but whyle he hath his two felowes with hym. But fayth maye be […] tary to, before his two felowes come to hym. As a man maye byleue well longe ere he wull do well. And […] may tary also whā both his felowes be gone from hym, as he that hath had all thre, may by dedely […] from the […], and […] fayth alone remayne. And faith may come and continue styll, and neyther of bothe his felowes neuer come at hym at al. As where a man byleueth truely euery article of the fayth / and yet hath neuer ye wyll to wurke well nor neuer wylbe baptysed, but after dyeth in dyspayre. And in all these casys is it fayth alone. And bycause it neither wurketh well, nor hath will to wurke well, neyther in acte nor in habyt: therfore is it called fides informis, and a dede fayth. Not dede in the nature of fayth or bylyefe / but dede as to the attaynynge of euerlastynge lyfe.

Now wolde mayster Masker iugle & make vs byleue, that he meneth the fyrste maner of fayth that is quycke and lyuely, by the reason that it hath good hope & cheryte therwith.

But I can not suffre you good chrysten readers to be so be gyled, […] suche a fonde falfe iugler For yf ye take hede vnto hym / ye shall soone perceyue that he is euen but a very bungler.

For whan that he fyrste telleth […] what bylyefe is suffycient, & […] that yf we ones eate & drynke […] by fayth, and than expouneth ye hole somme of all that faythe sayenge, that is to saye, yf we byleue hys flesshe and his body to haue ben broken, and hys bloud shedde for our synnys, thā ate our soules satisfyed & we be iustyfied and now addeth therunto, that loue foloweth faith in the order of our vn derstandynge and not in the order of successyon of tyme, by whych he meneth ye euery man hath cheryte […] more as soone as he hath faythe: […] may clerely se that he sayth yt a man hath cheryte euer as soone as he hath that fayth. So that by hym who byleueth euer byleueth that Chryste dyed for vs: he hath both fayth hope & […], though he byleue nothynge ellys.

But now is thys a very false deuelysshe doctryne. For this is no full fayth. For a man maye beleue this, & yet leue many a thynge vnbyleued, whyche we be bounden to byleue bysyde. And therfore you may well se, that though the theologycall vertue of ful and perfayt fayth, haue al way cheryte togyther infounded with it: yet mayster Maskers fayth that is neyther perfyt nor full, maye be not in the begynnyng onely, but also euer after without any cheryte at all.

Also where he sayth, that ye fayth yt he describeth onys had; is sufficiēt / & speketh of no perseueraūce: a man may, well se yt his sayeng is insuffycy ent. For both yt fayth stādynge, a man may well fall fro cheryte. And than though he had onis cherite as sone as that fayth (yf that bare faith without more were possyble to haue cheryte with it) yet myght it lacke cheryte after. And also that fayth myght it self fall quyte awaye to. For he that onys byleueth euery artycle of the fayth, and than can fall from any, as mayster Masker is fallen from many: may lytell and lytell fall from them euerychone. For I dare well say that mayster Masker byleueth no poynt that he byleueth moste surely, any thyng more surely now, than he hath byleued ere this, dyuerse of those poyntes which he now byleueth leste yf he byleue as he wryteth.

And thus good readers you se, yt where as his marmose is more than an handefull brode: thys plaster of his passeth not the bredeth of apeny. For I dare saye the deuyll byleueth at thys day as mych as mayster mas her sayth that is suffycyent, that is to wyt that Chryst dyed for our synne, and yet hath he no cheryte. Nor no more hath no man that wyll byleue no more but that / or though he do byleue more than that, wyll yet thynke that he byleueth all the remanaunt but of his courtesye, & not one whyt more of de wty.