An answer to a certain book, writtenAn answere to a certeine booke, written

Saint Jerome hath many goodly sentences in his books against the Pelagians, flatly overthrowing the popish doctrine of justification by merit of our works: as when he sayeth,¹ that before God, who seeth & beholdeth all things, and to whom the secrets of the hart are not unknown, no man is just. ⟨p. 123⟩If in the sight of God, no man is just, as Jerome truly according to the holy scriptures maintaineth against the wicked Pelagians, who then can trust by his justice to be saved? or how can any man otherwise be saved, then by the clemency, mercy and forgiveness of the judge? can he that sayeth and confesseth, I am unjust, I ask pardon of my God for my sins, say with the same mouth, I have deserved heaven by my good deeds? Again S. Jerome saith, this is the only perfection of men, if they know them selves to be unperfect. And you saith Christ, when you have done all things, say, we are unprofitable servants, we have done, that we were bound to do. If he be unprofitable, who hath done all things, what shall we say of him, that could not fulfil all things? ²and he proveth at large that never any either did, or could fulfil all, that of due was required of him. In an other book he sayeth, then are we just, when we confess our selves to be sinners, and our justice consisteth not of our own merit, but of Gods mercy, the Scripture saying, the just man is an accuser of him self in the beginning of his speech. Our righteousness by Saint Jeromes doctrine consisteth not in the merits of our good works, but in the ⟨p. 124⟩confession of our sins, and mercy of the Lord. Furthermore he saith in the same book: In Deuteronomy it is plainly showed that we are saved not by our works & justice, but by the mercy of God, when the Lord saith by Moses, say not in thine heart, when the Lord shall destroy them before thy face, the Lord hath brought me in for my righteousness, &c. If the Israelites could not deserve the land of Canaan to be given unto them for their righteousness, who can trust to receive the land of life for his worthiness? This was S. Jeromes faith, and this he constantly defended against such wicked heretics, that troubled the Church of Christ then,³