75

75.
dwellyth in youre brestys thoroue faith / in which ye
haue ouercome the wicked deuel and al his pompe: as it
folowith in the .v. Chaptre / this is the victorie that
ouercommeth the world / euen oure faith.
Loue not the world nor the thinges that are in the 5
worlde. If a man loue the worlde the loue of the father
is not in hym. For all that ys in the worlde as the luste
of the fleshe / the luste of y^e eyes / and the pride of
good / are not of the father / but are of the worlde.
And the worlde vanisheth away and the lust therof. But 10
he that doeth the wil of God abideth ever.
The loue of the worlde quencheth the loue of God.
Balaam for the loue of the worlde closed his eyes at the
cleare light which he well sawe. For loue of the worlde
tholde phariseis blasphemed the holy gost and persecuted 15
the manifest truth which they could not improue. For
loue of the world many ar this day fallen away. And many
which stoode on the truthes syde and defendyd it a while /
for loue of the world haue goten them vnto the contrarie
parte / and are become the popes mamalukes / and are 20
wexed the most weked enimyes vnto the trueth and most
cruel against it. They know the truth / but they loue the

76.
worlde. And when they espied the trouthe coulde not
stonde with the honoures which [D₅v] they sought in the
worlde / they hated it deadly / & both wittinge & willinge
persecute it / sinning against the holy gost. Which
synne shal not escape here vnpunyshed as it shal not be 5
without damnation in the world to come / but shal haue an
ende here with confusion & shame as had the glorie of oure
right reuerend father in god Thomas / wolfese Cardinal &
legate a latere. & cete. Whome after his shitten deeth
as the sayenge is / his awne seruantes which before exalted 10
his glorie / haue sent to hel with grace & priuilege.
By the lust of the fleshe is vnderstande lecherie
which maketh a man al to gether a swyne. And by the lust
of the eyes is vnderstonde couetuousnes which is the rote
of al euel / & maketh to erre from the faithe .i. Timoth. 15
the last. And then foloweth pride: which .iij. are the
world & capitaynes ouer al other vices / & occasions of al
mischefe.
And if pride / couetuousnes / & lechurie be the worlde
as sainte Iohn saieth then turne your eyes vnto the spir- 20
itualtie: vnto the pope / Cardinales / bisshopes / abbates /
& al other prelates & se whether such dignities be not the

77.
world / & whether the way to them be nat also the worlde.
To get the olde Abbats tresure I thinke it the rediest
waye to be the newe. Howe fewe come by promotion / except
they by it or serue longe for it / or both? To be wel
scylled in warre and in pollinge / to mayntain warre and 5
lustes / and to be a good ambassiadoure / is the only waye
to a busshopericke / or to paye truely for it. Se whether
pluralities / vnions / totquots / and chaungynge the lesse
benefice and busshapericke for the greater (for the con-
trarie chaunge I trowe was never sene) maye be without 10
couetuousnes and pride. And then if soche thinges be the
worlde / [D₆] & the worlde not of god / howe is our spir-
itualtie of God? If pride be sekinge of glorie / & they
that seke glorie cannot beleue .Iohn .v. Howe can our
spiritualtie beleue in Christe? If couetuousnes turne 15
men from the faithe / howe ar our spiritualtie in the
faithe? If Christ when the deuel proferred hym the kyng-
domes of the worlde and the glorie therof / refused them
as thinges vnpossible to stande with his kyngdom which is
not of the worlde: of whome are our spiritualtie which 20
haue receauyd them? If couetuousnes be a treatoure and
taught Iudas to selle his Master: howe shulde he not in so

78.
longe tyme teache our spiritualtie the same crafte? Name-
lye when they be of al kinges secretes & thambassiadoures
of their secretes & haue therto thorout al christendome a
secreet counsel of their awne / of which neuer laye man
was partaker / & with which they turne thende of al ap- 5
poyntementes vnto their awne honoure & profect? Couetous-
nes hathe taught them to bringe in damnable sectes accord-
ing vnto the prophesie of Petre / & to corrupte the scrip-
ture with false glosses / & to turne euerye goode ordinance
that had a vertuouse beginning vnto a viciouse ende. The 10
promotions of the spiritualtie corrupt theyr myndes while
they be yet in the shel & vnhatched. For they come
thether but for couetousnes / & to auoyde the crosse of
christe in the worlde: except them that be compelled of
their frendes / or be so simple that they marke not their 15
falshed beforhande. Who knowing the truth & louing it /
wolde put his heade in the popes haltre that so moseleth
menes mowthes that thei cannot open them to defende ani
truth at al? When the temporal kinges wer in their hie
autorite / then the general consel repressed the normites 20
of the spiritualtie. [D₆v] But sence the pope / cardi-
nales & busshopes were exalted / and themproure and

79.
kynges became their seruauntes: they wolde soffre nought
to be determyned in their counselles that shulde reforme
the worlde of their deuellishe pryde / insaciable couetous-
nes and stynking lecherie / which may stonde with no god-
lie vertue. But the world which is not of God / shal at 5
the last haue an ende with confusion / and they onlye
abide that doo the wil of the father: which wil is / that
we beleue in the sonne and loue one a nother. Let them
therfor that haue the worldes good (I might saye the
worldes god) vse it / but not loue it that they maye be 10
readi to bestowe it at the pleasure of God. And let them
which haue it not / desire it not / for it blyndeth the
eyes of the seing / Deute. xvij. But let them put their
trust in God which shal not faile them nor leaue them des-
titute of raymente and foode / which Paule counseleth to 15
be content with. The rich as Iames saithe / persecute the
true beleuers. The rich will neuer stonde forthe openlye
for the worde of god. If of .x. thousande there springe
one Nichodemus / it is a greate thinge.
Little children it is now the last houre / and as ye 20
haue herde that Antichriste shulde come: euen so nowe are
many Antichristes come al redy. Wherby we knowe that it

80.
is the laste houre. They went out of vs / but were none
of vs. For had they bene of vs they had continued with
vs. But that [D₇] fortuned that it might apere howe thei
were not all of vs.
Howre is here taken for tyme: the last houre is as 5
moche to say / as the last tyme. Thoughe thapostles might
not knowe when the last daye shalbe and how longe the
worlde shulde endure yet this was shewid them / and vs
by them / that Antichriste shulde first come / and not
only come but also preuayle and be receauyd after a world- 10
ly maner and raigne ouer al / and set vp a longe contynu-
enge kyngdome with damnable sectes and wondreful kyndes of
hypocrisie that ys to say / falshed cloked vnder a contrarie
pretence as testifieth Paule and also Peter. Which Anti-
christ began with thapostles and sue his doctrine amonge 15
the doctrine of the Apostles / preachinge many thinges as
thappostles dyd and addinge euer somewhat of his awne /
that the wedes myght euer growe vp to gether with the corne.
Of which Iohn gathered a signe / that the last daye drewe
nye / thoughe he coulde not be sure how longe it were 20
therto.
Antichrist is one of the first that seeth the light

81.
and commyth and preacheth Christe a while / and seketh
his glorie in Christes Gospell. Butt when he espieth that
there will no glorie cleue vnto that preachinge / then he
getteth hym to the contrarie partie and professyth hym
selfe an open enymye / yf he cannot disgise hym self & 5
hide thangle of his poysoned heresie vnder a bayte of true
doctrine.
Thappostles were cleare eyed and espied Antichrist
attonce / and put hym to flight & weded out his doctrine
quickly. But when charite wexed colde / & the preachers 10
began to seke them [D₇v] selues & to admit glorie & honoure
of riches / then Antichrist disgised hym self after the
facion of a true appostle & preached Christ wylylye /
bringinge in nowe this tradition & nowe that / to darken
the doctrine of Christe / & set vp innumerable cerimonies 15
and sacramentes & imagerie: givenge them significations at
the first: but at the last the significations layed aparte /
preached the worke as an holye dede / to iustifie & to put
away synne & to saue the soule / that men shulde put their
trust in workes & in what soeuer was vnto his glorie and 20
profecte / and vnder the name of Christe / ministred
Christe out of al to gether and became heade of the congre-

82.
gation hym selfe.
The pope made a lawe of his awne to rule his churche
by / and put Christes out of the waye. Al the busshopes
swere vnto the pope / and al curates vnto the busshopes /
but al forswere christ and his doctrine. 5
But seinge Iohn toke a signe of the last daie that he
sawe antichriste beginne / howe nye ought we to thynke that
it is / which after .viij. hundreth yeares rayninge in
prosperite / se it dekaie agayne / and his falshed to be
disclosed and him to be slayne with the sprite of the 10
mowthe of christe: that is / with that olde doctrine that proceded out of Christes mouthe? for Paule saith when anti-
christe is vttered / then commyth thende.
But ye haue an oyntyng of that holie / & knowe all
thinge. I write not vnto youe as thoughe ye knewe not y^e 15
trouthe / but as vnto them that knowe it / & how that no
lye is of trouth.
[D₈] Christ in the scripture is called the holy / because
he onlye sanctifieth and haleweth vs. And he is called
Criste: that is to saye / anoynted / because he anoynteth 20
our soules with the holy gost & with al the giftes of the
same. Ye are not anoynted with oyle in youre bodies / but

83.
withe the sprite of Christe in youre soules: which sprite
teacheth youe al truthe in Christ and makyth youe to iudge
what is a lye and what trueth / and to knowe Christe from
antichriste. For except he taught youre soules within /
the powringe in of wordes at youre eares were in vayne. 5
For they must be al taught of God. Iohn .vi. And the
thinges of God noman knoweth / saue the sprite of God: and
the carnal man knoweth not the thinges of the sprite of God:
when contrarye the spiritual that is anoynted with the
sprite / iudgeth al thinges. 1. Cor. 2. And therfore we 10
are forboden to cal vs any Master vpon erth . Matt. 23.
seinge we haue al one master nowe in heauen which only
teacheth vs with his sprite thoughe by the administration
and office of a faithful preacher. Which preacher yet can-
not make his preachinge springe in the herte / no moare 15
then a sower can make his corne growe / ner can saye this
man shal receaue and this not: but soweth the worde only
and commytteth the growinge to God whose sprite bretheth
where he listeth and maketh the grounde of whose harte he
lusteth fruteful / and choseth whome he wil at his awne 20
pleasure / and for no nother cause knowen vnto anye man.
Who is a lyer but he y^t denieth that Iesus is Christe?

84.
The same is antichriste y^t denieth y^e father and the sonne.
[D₈v] For asmoch as Antichrist and Christ ar .ij. contrar-
ies / and the studie of Antichrist is to quenche the name
of Christ / how can the pope & his sectes be Antichrist /
when they all preache Christ? Howe was say I agen to the / 5
Pelagius whose doctrine the pope defendeth in the hiest
degre / Antichriste / and al other heretikes? Verely syr
the pope seketh hym self as al heretikes dyd and abuseth
the name of Christ / to gether offeringes / tithes and
rentes in his name / to bestowe them vnto his owne honoure 10
and not Christes / and to brynge the conscience of the
people in to captiuitie vnder hym thorou superstitious
feare / as thoughe he had suche auctorite giuen him of
Christ. And euerie sillable that hath a sounde as thoughe
it made for his purpose / that he expoundeth falslye and 15
fleshlie / and therwith iugleth and bewitcheth the eares
of the people and maketh them his awne possession / to
beleue what hym lusteth / as thoughe it made no matter to
them whether he preachid true or false / so thei beleue and
do as he biddeth them. But al the textes that shewe his 20
dutie to doo / he putteth out of the waye / and al the
textes therto that set the consciences at libertie in Christ

85.
and proue oure saluation to be in Christ only. And with
Pelagius he preacheth the iustifieng of workes / which is
the denieng of Christ. He preacheth a false bindinge and
losinge with eare confession whiche is not in the trust
and confidence of Christes bloudeshedinge. He preacheth 5
the false penaunce of dedes / not to tame the fleshe that
we sinne no moare / but to make satisfaction and to redeme
the synne that is past. Whiche what other can it be saue
the denienge of Christ / which is only redemption of synne.
He maketh of the workes of [E₁] the cerimonies which wer 10
wont to be signes and remembraunces of thinges to be be-
leued or done imageseruice vnto God and his sainctes whiche
are spirites / to purchease with the merites of them /
what so euer the blynde soule imageneth which al are the
denienge of Christ. For if thou wilt receaue any anoyn- 15
tinge of grace or mercie any whence / saue of hym / he is
no lenger Christ vnto the. Christ is called Iesus / a
saviour / he is callid Christus / kynge anoynted ouer all
men / of whom they must hold / & whose benifite must al
they haue be. He is called Emanuel / God is with vs. For 20
he only makyth god our god / our strengthe / powre / swerd and
shild / and shortlie oure father. He is called Sanctus /

86.
that is / holy that holoweth / sanctifieth / and blessith
al nations. And these be his names for euer / & be no
names of ypocrisie / as we some tyme cal hym Thomas
Curteise / which is but a churle: and as we cal them
curates which care for their parishes as the wolfe for the 5
flocke / and them busshopes that is ouersears / which wil
so ouer se / that they wil soffre nought to be prosperouse
saue their awne commen wealth: and as some cal them selues
deade which liue in al voluptuousnes / and as some cal
them selues poore without hauinge eny thinge proper / and 10
yet liue in al habundance: and as they shaue and disgise
them selues with garmentes and ornamentes / to signifie
euer a contrarie thinge then that they be.
Nay Christ is no hypocrite or disgised that playeth
a parte in a play and representeth a persone or state 15
which he is not: But is alwaye that his name signifieth /
he is euer a sauer / and euer anoynteth with grace / &
euer maketh God with vs / & euer sanctifieth. Nether is
ther any other [E₁v] to saue and sanctifie from synne or
annoynte with grace / or to set God at one with men. And 20
these thinges which his name signifie dothe he euer vnto
all that haue trust & confidence in his bloude / assone as

87.
they repent of the sinne whiche they desire to be saued and
sanctified from.
Nowe thoughe the pope and his sectes giue Christ
these names / yet in that they robbe hym of theffecte / and
take the significations of his names vnto them selues / and 5
make of hym but an hypocrite / as they them selues be /
they be right Antichristes and denye both the father and sonne.
For they denye the witnesse that the father bare vnto his
sonne / and depryue the sonne of all the powre & glorie that
his father gaue hym. 10
Who so euer denieth the sonne / the same hathe not
the father.
For no man knoweth the father but the sonne and to
whome the sonne sheweth hym. Mat. xj. Mor ouer if thou
knowe not the mercie that God hath shewed the in Christ / 15
thou canst not knowe hym as a father. Thou maist well
besides Christ knowe hym as a tyrante. And thou mayst
knowe hym by his workes as tholde philosophers dyd / that
ther is a God / but thou canst nether beleue in his mercie
nor loue his lawes / which is his only worship in the 10
sprite / saue by Christ.
Let therfore abyde in you that whiche ye herde at

88.
the begynnynge. If that whiche ye herde at the begynnynge
shall remaine in you / then shall ye contynewe in the
sonne and in the fa[E₂]ther. And this is the promise y^the hathe promised vs / euerlastynge life.
If we abide in tholde doctrine whiche thappostle 5
taught & herken to no newe: then abide we in the sonne (for
vpone the sonne build they vs) & in the father thoroue con-
fidence in the sonne / and are heires of euerlastinge life.
Thiese thinges haue I writen vnto you because of
them that deceyue you. And the annoyntynge that ye receaued 10
of hym dwellyth in you and ye nede not that any man teache
youe / but as that annoyntynge teachithe youe of all thinges
& is true / & is no lie: Euen as it hath taught you so
abide therin.
When a true preacher preacheth / the sprite entreth 15
the hertes of thelecte & makyth them feale the rightwisnes
of the lawe of God / and by the lawe the poyson of their
corrupte nature / & thence leadeth them thorowe repentaunce /
vnto the mercie that is in Christes bloude. And as an
oyntment healeth the bodie / euen so the sprite thorowe 20
confidence & trust in Christes bloude / healeth the soule
& maketh her loue the lawe of God & therfor is called

89.
annoyntynge or an oyntement and may welbe signified by
the oyle of oure sacrament. But outward oyle can nether
heale the soule nor make hyr fele / saue as a signe / or
as a bushe at a tauern dore quenchith a mans thirste / ner
is it a thing to put trust in / let vs therfor folowe the 5
teachinge of the sprite which we haue receaued (as Paule
sayth) in ernest / to certifie oure [E₂v] hertes and to
make vs fele the thinges of God and not cleue vnto the tra-
ditions of men / in which is no felinge / but that one
saith so and a nother thus confirminge their assertions 10
with glorious persuations of wisdome / but not after the
wisdome of God. Which reasones a nother denieth with con-
trarie sophismes: and so ryseth braulynge about vayne
wordes without al certentie.
And nowe litle children abyde in him / that when he 15
shal apere we may haue confidence / and not be made
asshamed of hym at his commynge.
Here are .ij. thinges to be marked: one / if we
cleue vnto Christ after the doctrine of thappostles and
as they bilt vs vpon hym / we shalbe bold and sure of oure 20
selues at his commyng. As a seruant which in his masters
absens doeth only his masters commaundementes / cannot be

90.
confounded at his commynge home agene. But & if we folowe
mens doctrine / how can we be bolde: ye howe sholde we not
be asshamed with our teachers / vnto whom then he shal say
(when they boste them selues howe that they haue bene his
vicares) I knowe you not / departe frome me ye that haue 5
wrought wickednes and vnder my name haue brought in dam-
nable sectes / and haue taught youre disciples to beleue
in other thinges then in me. Nowe the somme of al that the
appostles taught / and howe they bilt vs vpon Christ / is
the newe testament. But the popes doctrine is not there 10
founde / but improued. Confoundyd therfore shal he be
which wyttinge & willinge shutteth his eyes at the true
light / and openeth them to beleue his lyes.
[E₃] A nother thinge is this / al the scripture makyth
mention of the resurrection and commyng agene of Christ: 15
and that al men / both they that go before / and they that
come after shal then receaue their rewardes to gether /
and we are commaundyd to loke euerye houre for that daye.
And what is done with the soules frome theyr departinge their
bodies vnto that daye / doethe the scripture make no mention / 20
saue only that they rest in the lorde and in their faith.
Wherfore he that determyneth ought of the state of them