Certain Sermons or Homilies (First Book of Homilies)

Here you perceive many words to be used, to avoid contention in words with them, that delight to brawl about words, and also to show the true meaning, to avoid evil talking & misunderstanding: And yet peradventure all will not serve ⟨image 20⟩with them, that be contentious: but contenders will ever forge matter of contention, even when they have none occasion thereto. Notwithstanding, such be the less to be passed upon, so that the rest may profit, which will be more desirous to know the truth, then (when it is plain enough) to contend about it, and with contentious, and captious cavillations, to obscure and darken it. Truth it is, that out own works, do not justify us, to speak properly of our justification (that is to say) our works do not merit or deserve remission of our since, and make us of unjust, just before God: But God of his mere mercy, through the only merits and deservings of his son Jesus Christ, doth justify us. Nevertheless, because faith doth directly send us to Christ for remission of our since, & that by faith given us of God, we embrace the promise of Gods mercy, and of the remission of our since, (which thing, none other of our virtues or works properly doth) therefore scripture useth to say, that faith without works doth justify. And forasmuch, that it is all one sentence in effect to say: Faith without works, & only faith doth justify us, therefore the old ancient fathers of the Church, from time to time, have uttered our justification with this speech: Only faith justifieth us: meaning none other thing, then saint Paul meant, when he said: faith without works justifieth us. And because, all this is brought to pass, through the only merits and deservings of our saviour christ, & not through our merits, or through the merit of any virtue, that we have within us, or of any work that cometh from ⟨image 20⟩us: therefore, in that respect of merit & deserving, we renounce (as it were) altogether again, faith, works, and all other virtues. For our own imperfection, is so great through the corruption of original sin, that all is imperfect, that is within us: faith, charity, hope, dread, thoughts, words & works, and therefore, not apt to merit and deserve, any part of our justification for us:

Here you perceiue many woordes to be vsed, to auoyd cōtencion in wordes with them, that delighte to braule aboute woordes, and also to shewe the true meaning, to auoyde euill talking & misunderstandyng: And yet peraduenture all wyll not serue