The works of the reverend and faithful servant of Jesus Christ M. Richard Greenham,…The workes of the reuerend and faithfull seruant af Iesus Christ M. Richard Greenham,…

Let us further see, what it is that men shall prophesy, that is, they shall be taught by the spirit of God in the word to try themselves, to try the spirits of their teachers, to teach others, and to be able to give a reason of their hope before their enemies: for as the holy Ghost came upon Christ, so must be come upon every one of his members, and as he was anointed a Prophet, so must his members also be Prophets. This sound knowledge consisteth in four things. The first thing required in a Christian is, that he be able to try himself and his estate before God, whether he be in the faith or no, whether he be God his ⟨p. 230⟩child or no, contrary to the doctrine of the Papists, and cold Protestants, that rest only on common injunctions and accustomed proceedings. Thus Paul giveth charge to the whole Church of Corinth▪ 2. Cor. 12. Examine your selves, whether ye be in the faith or no, and hereunto he addeth a fearful speech, unless you be refuses. Who so is not in the faith, is a refuse: and if a man knoweth not, whether he be in the faith or no, then he doth not know whether he be in Christ or no. This examination must be according to the Scriptures, for so saith our Saviour Jesus Christ, search the Scriptures, for they testify of me: and in another place he saith, ye err, because ye know not the Scripture. Then we must not hang on the Preacher, nor on this, nor on that man, but we must believe, because we have found it in the Scripture, and have been taught it by the Spirit, according as the men of Samaria said to the woman, when she told them of Christ. Again, we must not simply and barely know the Scriptures, but apply them to our own use, and make our own faith sure by them, if we be not reprobates: and this is the first thing required of Christians. The second thing is, that we be able to try our Teachers, not in every thing that they speak, but in things pertinent to salvation. Thus we are commanded to do, 1. Corinth. 5. Ephes. 4. and in the Epistle of Saint John, Try the spirits, whether they be of God or no: and in the epistles of Peter and Jude it is said, that those were perverted with heresies, that never came to know the truth, but were unstable, and carried away with every wind of vain doctrine.