Rogers on Article XII: Of Good Works

The propositions.

1. Good workes doe please God.

2. No worke is good except it spring from Faith.

3. Good workes are the outward signes of the inward Beleefe.

1. Proposition. Good workes doe please God.

The proofe from Gods word.

THough God accepteth not man for his workes, but for his deere sonnes sake: yet that good workes, after man his iustification doe please God, it is a cleere truth euery where to be read in the holy Scripture. For

God hath commanded them to be done ¹, and requireth righteousnesse, not onely outward of the body ², but also inward of the mind ³, and hath appointed for the vertuous and godly, rewardes both in this life ⁴, and in the world to come ⁵, and to the wicked, punishments, spirituall ⁶, corporall ⁷, and of bodie, and soule, eternall in the pit of hell ⁸.

And this is beleeued and acknowledged by the Churches ⁹.

The Errors, and adversaries vnto this truth.

This truth is oppugned by adversaries of diuers kindes. For

Some hold, that seeing man is iustified by Faith, he may liue as he listeth; as the Libertines.

Some thinke, that to attend vpon vertue, and to practise good workes is a yoake too heavie, and intollerable; as the Simonians ¹⁰.

Some vtterly cast of all grace, vertue, and godlines, as did the Basilidians ¹¹, the Aetians ¹²; the Circumcellians ¹³, and doe the Macchiuilians, and Atheists. Some permit, though not all manner, yet some sinnes: so allowed was both whordome, and vncleane pollutions, by the Carpocratians ¹⁴, and Valentinians, ¹⁵, and is of the Iesuits, ¹⁶, and Papists ¹⁷, and periurie in the time of persecution, by the Basilidians ¹⁸, Helchesaites ¹⁹, Priscillianists ²⁰, Henricians ²¹, and Familie of Loue ²²; and violaters of promise, yea and oaths made vnto heretikes ²³, as they call them:

Some (as the Turkish preists called Seiti, and Chagi) take it to be no sinne, but a worke meritorious, by lies, swearing, yea forswearing, to damnifie Christians what they can ²⁴. Much like vnto these are the aequi[?]ocating Iesuits, in deluding, and deceiuing Protestant Princes, & their officers, by their doubtfull speeches, euen when they are sworne to answer plainely, and truly by their lawfull magistrates.

Some suppose that God is pleased with lip seruice onely, & outward righteousnesse; as the hypocriticall Pharisies, or Pharifaicall hypocrites ²⁵.

2. Proposition. No worke is good excep[?] it spring from faith.

The proofe from Gods word.

All which man doth is not pleasing vnto God, but that onely which proceedeth from a true faith in Iesus Christ: so saith God in his word.

They that are in the flesh cannot please God ²⁶.

In Iesus Christ neither Circumcision auaileth any thing, neither vncircumcision, but faith which worketh by loue ²⁷.

Vnto the pure are all things pure, but vnto them that are defiled, and vnbeleeuing is nothing pure ²⁸.

Without faith it i[?] vnpossible to please God ²⁹.

And although the workes of the Beleeuing doe please God: yet are they not so perfect that they can satisfie the lawe of God. Therefore euē of the regenerate, & iustified, saith our Sauiour Christ pray, forgiue vs our debts ³⁰, say, wee are vnprofitable seruants ³¹: and S. Paul.

Wee know that the lawe is spirituall but I am carnall &c ³².

Wee, which haue the first fruits of the spirit, euen wee doe sigh in our selues. &c. and haue infirmities ³³.

Ye cannot doe the same thing that ye would ³⁴.

Which is the faith, and confession of the Churches ³⁵.

Errors, & adversaries vnto this truth.

Therefore wee mislike, and condemne the opinions, of the Valentinians, and Papists.

The Valentinians say, that please God doe Spirituall men (which are themselues onely), not by Faith, but onely by their knowledge of diuine mysteries; and Naturall men do please him by their bodily labour, and vpright dealing ³⁶.

The said Valentinians fained three sorts, or degrees of men, the first spirituall, who through bare knowledge, the next Natural, who by labour, and true dealing shall be saued; the third they call Materiall, mē vtterly vncapable of diuine knowledge, and religious speculations, who must perish both in soule and body ³⁷.

The Papists teach that

They onely are not good workes, which God commandeth, but they also which be either voluntarily done of our selues, or enioyned vs by preists ³⁸.

They are good workes, and acceptable before God, which are done without faith ³⁹.

Workes of themselues, without respect vnto Christ, please God ⁴⁰.

Men perfectly may keepe the Lawes of God ⁴¹, in which error also be the Anabaptists ⁴², and Familie of Loue ⁴³.

3. Proposition. Good workes are the outward signes of the inward Beleefe.

The proofe from Gods word.

Many are the reasons, why good workes are to be done, in part cited afore pag. 49. yet not the least cause is, that men may be knowne what they are. For the Scripture saith, and sheweth, that thereby are knowne, the good trees, from the bad ⁴⁴, the wheate, from the chaffe ⁴⁵, the t[?]ue disciples, from the false ⁴⁶; the sonnes of God, from the children of Satan ⁴⁷, the regenerate, from the vnbeleeuers ⁴⁸.

Hereunto the Saints, and Churches doe subscribe ⁴⁹.

Errors, & adversaries vnto this truth.

The faithfull shewe their workes, yet neither to haue them seene of men, as did the hypocriticall Pharisies ⁵⁰, nor therby to merit heauen, as doe the Pharisaicall Papists, whose doctrine is, that

Good workes are meritorious ⁵¹.

Good workes (as Contrition, Confession, and satisfaction done in penance) not onely do merit, but are besides a Sacrament for to attaine reconciliation with God, and forgiuenes of sinnes ⁵².

Life eternall is due vnto good workes by the iustice of God ⁵³.

Footnotes

1. Math. 5.16. Ioh. 15.12. Phil. 2.14. &c. 1. Thess. 4.3. &c 2. Tim. 2.19. ↩

2. Iames 2. ↩

3. Math. 5.22.28 Act. 24.16. ↩

4. Math. 5.5. Mark. 10.29, 30. 1. Tim. 4.8. ↩

5. Math. 7.21. and 10.32. Luke 14.13, 14. Rom. 2.10. ↩

6. Esa. 59.1, 2. Ioh. 9.31. 1. Ioh. 3.21. ↩

7. Deut. 28.15. &c. Ier. 5.25. Rom. 13.2. ↩

8. Math. 10.33. Math. 21.41. &c. 1. Cor. 6.9, 10. Heb. 12.14. &c. 25. Reuel. 21.8. ↩

9. Confess. Helvet. 2. c. 16. Basil. ar. 8. Bohem. c. 7. Gal. ar. 7. Belg. ar. 24. August. ar. 6. & 26. Saxon. ar. 3.5.6. VVittemb. c. 7. Suevica, c. 4. ↩

10. Iren. Theodor. ↩

11. Iren. l. 1. c. 23. ↩

12. Epiph. l. 3. ↩

13. August. contr. Pet. l. 1. c. 24. ↩

14. Cl. Alex. str. l. 3. Epiphan. ↩

15. Theodor. ↩

16. Spar. disco. p. 13. ↩

17. Constitut. Othonis de concub. Cler. rem[?] nendi[?]. ↩

18. Philast. Iren. ↩

19. Eus. l. 6. c. 38. ↩

20. August. ↩

21. D. Bernard. sup. Cant. ser. 65 ↩

22. Display, H. 5. b ↩

23. Concil. Const. sess. 19. & Coch[?]ens hist. Hussi, l. 2. p. 74. ↩

24. Pol. of the Turk. Emp. c. 24. ↩

25. Mat. 7. & 23. ↩

26. Rom. 8.8. ↩

27. Gal. 5.6. ↩

28. Tit. 1.15. ↩

29. Heb. 11.6. ↩

30. Math. 6.22. ↩

31. Luk. 17.10. ↩

32. Rom. 7.14. ↩

33. Rom. 8.23. ↩

34. Gal. 5.17. ↩

35. Confess. Helv. 1. cap. 16. Basil. ar. & Bohem. c. 7. Gal. ar. 22. [?] Belg. ar. 24. August. ar. 26. Saxon. ar. [?]. 5.6. VVittemb. c. 7. Suev. c. 4. ↩

36. Iren. l. 1. c. 1. ↩

37. Epiphan. ↩

38. Tapp. p. 188. ↩

39. Andrad. de fide, lib. 3. ↩

40. Tapp. p. 189. ↩

41. Tapp. ibid. ↩

42. Bulling. cont. Anabap. l. 4. c. 3. ↩

43. Display. L. 6.[?]. ↩

44. Math. 7.16. ↩

45. Math. 3.12. ↩

46. Ioh. 13.35. ↩

47. Luk. 6.36. Eph. 1.1. 1. Ioh. 3.10. ↩

48. Iam. 2.18. 1. Pet. 1.17. Eph. 4.17. ↩

49. Confess. Helvet. 2. c. 16. Basil. ar. 8. Bohem. c. 7. Gal. ar. 22. Belg. ar. 24. Saxon. ar. 3. VVittemb. c. 7. Suevica, c. 4. ↩

50. Math. 6. & 7. ↩

51. Test, Rhem. an. Rom. 2.6. 1. Cor. 3.8. 2. Cor. 5.10. Heb. 6.10. Iam. 2.22. ↩

52. Concil. Trid. sess. 4. c. 3. ↩

53. Concil. Trid. sess. 6. can. 32. ↩