Certain Sermons or Homilies (First Book of Homilies)

All holy scripture agreeably beareth witness, that a true lively faith in Christ, doeth bring forth good works, and therefore every man must examine himself diligently, to know, whether he have the same true lively faith in his heart unfeignedly or not, which he shall know by the fruits thereof. Many that professed the faith of Christ, were in this error, that they thought they knew God and believed in him, when in their life they declared the contrary: which error,¹ saint John in his first Epistle confuting, writeth in this wise: Hereby we are certified, that we know god, if we observe his commandments: he that sayeth, he knoweth god, & observeth not his commandments, is a liar, & the trueth is not in him. And again he sayeth, whosoever sinneth,² doeth not see God, nor know him: let no man deceive you well-beloved children. And moreover he sayeth:³ hereby we know that we be of the truth, & so we shall persuade ⟨image 27⟩our hearts before him: For if our own hearts reprove us,⁴ God is above our hearts, and knoweth all things. Well-beloved, if our hearts reprove us not, the• have we confidence in God, and shall have of him whatsoever we ask, because we keep his commandments, and do those things, that please him.⁵ And yet further he sayeth: every man that believeth that Jesus is Christ, is borne of God: & we know, that whosoever is borne of God, doeth not sin: but the generation of God, purgeth him, and the devil doth not touch him. And finally he concludeth: & showing the cause, why he wrote this epistle saith:⁶ For this cause have I thus written unto you, that you may know, that you have everlasting life, which do believe in the son of God. And in his third Epistle,⁷