Certain Sermons or Homilies (First Book of Homilies)

¹Now to proceed to the third part (which in the former Sermon was noted of faith) that is to say, what manner of works they be, which spring out of true faith, and lead faithful men unto eternal life: this cannot be known so well, as by our saviour Christ himself,² who was asked of a certain great man the same question. What works shall I do (said a Prince) to come to everlasting life? To whom Jesus answered:³ If thou wilt come to the eternal life, keep the commandments. But the Prince not satisfied herewith, asked farther, which commandments? The Scribes and Pharisees had made so many of their own laws and traditions, to bring men to heaven, besides Gods commandments, that this man was in doubt, whether he should come to heaven by those laws & traditions or by the laws of God: & therefore he asked Christ, which commandments he meant? Whereunto Christ made him a plain answer, rehearsing the ⟨image 32⟩commandments of GOD, saying:⁴ Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, honour thy father and mother,⁵ and love thy neighbour as thy self. By which words, Christ declared, that the laws of GOD, be the very way that do lead to eternal life, and not the traditions, and laws of men.⁶ So that this is to be taken for a most true lesson taught by Christs own mouth, that the works of the moral commandments of God, be the very true works of faith, which lead to the blessed life to come. But the blindness and malice of man, even from the beginning, hath ever been ready to fall from Gods commandments. As Adam the first man, having but one commandment, that he should not eat of the fruit forbidden, notwithstanding Gods commandment, he gave credit unto the woman, seduced by the subtle persuasion of the Serpent, and so followed his own will, and left Gods commandment. And ever since that time, all his succession hath been so blinded through original sin, that they have been ever ready to decline from God and his law, and to invent a new way unto salvation, by works of their own devise: so much, that almost all the world forsaking the true honour of the only eternal, living God, wandered about their own phantasies, worshipping some the Sun, the Moon, the stars: