Faith in blood pur chaseth forgiveness of sins. Ephes. v. There is ry for him that dieth repentant and love God and his commandments, and therefore disagree and disconsent unto the flesh, and be at hate therewith and fight against it. And I feel that every soul that loveth the law, and hateth his flesh, and believeth in Christ's blood, hath his sins which he committed, and pain which he deserved, in hating the law and consenting unto his flesh, forgiven him by that faith. And I feel that the fraility of the flesh, against which a believing soul fighteth to subdue it, is also forgiven, and not reckoned or imputed for sin all the time of our curing: as a kind father and mother reckon not, or impute the impossibility of their young children to consent unto their law, and as when the children be of age, and consent, then they reckon not nor impute the impossibility of the flesh to follow it immediately, but take all a worth and love them no less, but rather more tenderly than their old and perfect children that do their commandments, so long as they go to school and learn such things as their fathers and mothers set them to. And I believe that every soul that repenteth, believeth, and loveth the law, is through that faith a member of Christ's church, and pure, without spot or wrinkle, as Paul affirmeth (Eph. v.) And it is an article of my belief that Christ's elect church is holy and pure, without sin, and every member of the same, through faith in no purgato Christ, and that they be in the full favour of God. And I feel that the uncleanness of the soul is but the consent unto sin, and unto the flesh. And therefore I feel that every soul that believeth and consenteth unto the law, and here in this life hateth his flesh, and the lusts thereof, and doth his best to drive sin out of his flesh, and for hate of the sin gladly departeth from his flesh, when he is dead, and the lusts of the flesh slain with death, needeth not as it were bodily tormenting to be purged of that whereof he is quit already. And therefore if ought remain, it is but to be taught and not to be beaten. And I feel that every soul that beareth fruit in Christ shall be purged of believeth. John xv. the father to bear more fruit day by day, as is written, (John xv.) not in the pope's purgatory where no man feeleth it, but, here in this life, such fruit as is unto his neighbour's profit, so that he which hath his hope in Christ, purgeth himself here, as Christ is pure, (1 John 1 John iii. iii.) and that ever yet the blood of Jesus only doth purge us of all our sins, for the imperfectness of our works. And I feel that the forgiveness of sins is to remit mercifully the pain that I have deserved. And I do believe that the pain that I here suffer in my flesh, is to keep the Pain of body under, and to serve my neighbour, and not to make satisfaction unto God for the fore sins. sin. leaven. Purgatory profitable to the pope. And therefore when the pope describeth God after his covetous complexion, and when M. More feeleth by in- The pope's spiration, and captivating his wits unto the pope, that God forgiveth the everlasting pain, and will yet punish me a thousand years in the pope's purgatory, that leaven savoureth not in my mouth. I understand my father's words as they sound, and after the most merciful manner, and not after the pope's leaven and M. More's captivating his wits, to believe that every poet's fable is a true story. There is no father here that punisheth his son to purge him, when he is purged already, and hath utterly forsaken sin and evil, and hath submitted himself unto his father's doctrine. For to punish a man that has forsaken sin of his own accord, is not to purge him, but to satisfy the lust of a tyrant. Neither ought it to be called purgatory, but a jail of tormenting, and a satisfactory. And when the pope saith it is done to satisfy the righteousness as a judge. I say we that believe have no judge of him, but a father, neither shall we come into judgment as Christ has promised us, but are received under grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Shew the pope a little money, and God is so merciful that there is no purgatory. And why is not the fire out as well if I offer for me the blood of Christ? If Christ hath deserved all for me, who gave the pope might to keep part of his deservings from me, and to buy Purgatory is a tor menting jail as the pope maketh it. Money despatcheth purgatory. The pope is antichrist. The fleshly children do naturally consent un to lies. The fleshly minded can never con sent unto God's law. The fleshly persecute them of the Spirit. and sell Christ's merits, and to make merchandise over us with feigned words. And thus, as M. More feeleth that the pope is holy church, I feel that he is antichrist. And as my feeling can be no proof to him, no more can his, with all his captivating his wits to believe phantasies, be unto me; wherefore if he have no other probation to prove that the pope is holy church, than that his heart so agreeth unto his learning, he ought of no right to compel with sword unto his sect. Howbeit there are ever two manner [of] people that will cleave unto God, a fleshly and a spiritual. The spiritual, which be of God, shall hear God's word, and the children of the truth shall consent unto the truth. And contrary, the fleshly and children of falsehood and of the devil, whose hearts be full of lies, shall naturally consent unto lies, (as young children, though they have eat themselves as good as dead with fruit, yet will not, nor cannot, believe him that telleth them that such fruit is nought; but him that praiseth them will they hear, and eat themselves stark dead, because their hearts be full of lies, and they judge all things as they appear unto the eyes.) And the fleshly minded, as soon as he believed of God as much as the devil doth, he hath enough, and goeth to and serveth God with bodily service, as he before served his idols, and after his own imagination, and not in the Spirit, in loving his laws and believing his promises, or longing for them: no, if he might ever live in the flesh, he would never desire them. And God must do for him again, not what he had promised, but what he lusteth. And his brother that serveth God in the spirit, according to God's word, him will the carnal beast persecute. So that he which will godly live, must suffer persecution unto the world's end, according to the doctrine of Christ and of his apostles, and according unto the ensamples that are gone before. And finally, I have better reasons for my feeling that the pope is antichrist, than M. More hath for his endeavouring himself, and captivating his wits, that he is the purpose and The true church is not without a sign or a prove that miracle to it is God's church. The pope's life and doctrine is more wick true church. For the church that was the true messenger of God, hath ever shewed a sign and a badge thereof, either a present miracle, or authentic Scripture, insomuch that Moses when he was sent, asked how shall they believe me? and God gave him a sign, as ever before and since. Neither was there any other cause of the writing of the New, and the last and everlasting Testament, than that when miracles ceased, we might have wherewith to defend ourselves against false doctrine and heresies, which we could not do, if we were bound to believe that were no where written. And again, if the pope could not err in his doctrine, he could not sin of profession, abominably and openly, above the Turks and all the heathen that ever were, and defend it so maliciously as he hath viii. hundred years long, and will not be reformed, and maketh them his saints and his defenders that then that sin as he doth. He persecuteth as the carnal church ever did, when the Scripture is away, he proveth his doctrine with the Scripture, and as soon as the Scripture cometh to light, he runneth away unto his sophistry and unto his sword. We see also by stories how your confession, penance, and pardons are come up, and whence your purgatory is sprung. And your falshood in the sacraments we see by open Scripture. And all your works we rebuke with the Scripture, and therewith prove that the false belief that ye couple to them may not stand with the true faith that is in our Saviour Jesus. THE SECOND CHAPTER. ed than the Turks and all the hea ever were. IN the end of the second chapter, he bringeth in Eutychus, that fell out at a window, (Acts xx.) whom, Eutychus. saith he, St. Paul's merits did recover. Verily Paul durst not say so, but that Christ's merits did it. Peter saith, (Acts iii.) Ye men of Israel, why gaze ye and Acts iii. stare upon us, as though had made this man go? we by our power and godliness Judges. Purgatory is the foun faith that is in him, hath given him strength, and made him sound. And even here, it was the name of Jesus through Paul's faith that did that miracle, and not Paul's merits, though he were never so holy. THE THIRD CHAPTER. IN the third chapter he saith, that Bilney's judges, (which he yet nameth not for fear of slandering them) were indifferent. Nay, they that take rewards be not indifferent. For rewards and gifts blind the eyes of the Deut. xvii. seeing, and pervert the words of the righteous. (Deut. xvii.) Now all they that be shorn take great rewards to defend pilgrimages, purgatory, and praying unto saints: even the third part I trow of all Christendom. For all they have, they have received in the name of purgatory, and of saints, and on that foundation be all their bishoprics, abbies, colleges, and cathedral churches built. If leges, &c. they be indifferent judges, they must be made servants, and do service, as their duty is. And when they have done a quarter's service, then give them wages as right is, unto every man that laboureth in Christ's harvest a sufficient living, and no more, and that in the name of his labour, and not of saints, and so forth. And then they shall be more indifferent judges, when there cometh no vantage to judge more on one side than another. dation of abbies col THE FOURTH CHAPTER. In the end of the fourth he saith, the man took an oath secretly, and was dismissed with secret penance. O, hypocrites, why dare ye not do it openly! THE FIFTH CHAPTER. IN the fifth the messenger asketh him whether he were present? And he denieth and saith ever, he heard say. Alas, Sir, why take you bribes to defend that you know |