A Treatise Touching the Liberty of a Christian

By this it may be easily perceived, from whence saith hath received so great force, and why neither any one, nor all good works are comparable unto her, because no work can cleave fast unto Gods word, nor be within the soul, wherein faith only, & the word, do reign & govern, for such as •word is, such becometh the soul, made by force of the word, even as a fiery plate of iron doth glimmer like unto fire, by means of uniting the fire and the plate together, so that it is manifest, that to a Christian man faith sufficeth only for all, and that he needeth no works to be justified by. Now if he need no works, then also he needs not the law: if he have no need of the law, surely he is then free from the law. So this also is true. The law is not made for the righteous man, and this is the same Christian liberty. Our faith which doth work in us, not to be idlers, nor to give our selves to lust and evil life, but that we be not tied to a necessity of observing the law, or doing works, to the end to obtain righteousness,¹ or salvation thereby. Let this be the first arm of faith, & let ⟨p. 18⟩us see another, for this also is the duty of faith, that it reverence him on whom it believeth, with a most godly and earnest bent affection, to wit, that it account him true, & worthy to be believed, for there is no honour like unto the opinion conceived of truth and righteousness,² wherewith we do most highly esteem of him whom we do believe, for what are we able to ascribe to any person, more than truth, righteousness, & goodness, of all parts perfect and absolute? Contrariwise, it is a detestable reproach, to conceive a secret opinion of a man to be false,³ faithless, and wicked. So the soul, as long as it believeth steadfastly in God that maketh the promise, doth account him true & righteous, than which opinion can nothing be more acceptable to God. This is the highest honour of God, to ascribe unto him truth, justice, & whatsoever else ought to be yielded to him whom we do believe: this man yieldeth himself ready to execute all his will: this man doth sanctify his name: this man suffereth himself to be exercised,⁴