Certain Sermons or Homilies (First Book of Homilies)

for faith of it self is full of good works, and nothing is good without faith. And for a similitude, he saith, that they which glister and shine in good works, without faith in God, be like dead men, which have goodly & precious tombs, and yet it availeth them nothing. Faith may not be naked without good works: for then it is no true faith: and when it is adjoined to works yet is it above the works. For as men that be very men in deed, first have life, and after be nourished: so must our faith in Christ go before, & after be nourished with good works. And life may be without nourishment, but nourishment cannot be without life. A man must needs be nourished by good works, but first he must have faith: he that doth good deeds, yet without faith, he hath no life. I can show a man that by faith without works lived, & cam to heaven but without faith, never man had life. The thief that was hanged when Christ suffered, did believe only, and the most merciful God did justify him. ⟨image 32⟩And because no man shall object, that he lacked time to do good works, for else he would have done them: truth it is, and I will not contend therein: but this I will surely affirm, that faith only saved him. If he had lived, and not regarded faith, and the works thereof, he should have lost his salvation again. But this the effect that I say, that faith by it self saved him, but works by them selves never justified any man. Here ye have heard the mind of saint Chrysostom, whereby you may perceive, that neither faith is without works (having opportunity thereto) nor works can avail to eternal life without faith.

for faith of it self is full of good workes, and nothyng is good without faith. And for a similitude, he saith, that thei whiche glister and shine in good workes, without faithe in God, be like dead men, whiche haue goodly & precious tōbes, and yet it auaileth them nothyng. Faith may not be naked without good workes: for then it is no true faith: and when it is adioyned to workes yet is it aboue the workes. For as men that be very men in dede, first haue life, and after be norished: so must our faithe in Christe go before, & after be norished with good woorkes. And life maie be without norishment, but norishment cannot be without life. A man must nedes be norished by good workes, but first he must haue faithe: he that doth good deedes, yet without faith, he hath no life. I can shew a man that by faith without workes liued, & cam to heauē but without faithe, neuer man had life. The thiefe that was hanged when Christe suffered, did beleue onely, and the moste mercifull God did iustify hym.