ever the Papists do adore these abominations, and brag that they are perfect religion and holiness, as I and others did judge of them, before God revealed his gospel unto us: for we were brought up in the traditions of men, which darkened Christ and made him utterly unprofitable unto us), when he heareth Paul say, that even they which seek to be justified by the law of God, be not only deniers and murderers of Christ, but also they do most wickedly crucify him again. Now, if they be crucifiers of Christ which seek to be justified by the righteousness of the law of God, and the works thereof, what are they, I pray you, which seek salvation and eternal life by the dregs and filthy dung of man's righteousness, and by the doctrine of devils?

But who could ever believe or think that it was so horrible and so abominable a sin to be made a religious man (for so they call them) namely to be made a massing priest, a monk, a friar, a nun? Doubtless, no man. Yea, they themselves say moreover, that monkery is a new baptism. Can there be any thing more horrible than that the kingdom of the Papists is the kingdom of such as spitefully spit in the face of Christ the Son of God, and crucify him again? For indeed they crucify him afresh (who was once crucified and rose again) both in themselves, in the church, and in the hearts of the faithful: for with their spiteful reproaches, rebukes, slanders, and injuries, they spit upon him, and with their wicked opinions they wound him, and thrust him through, that in them he may die most miserably: and in the stead of him they set up a glorious witchcraft, whereby men are so miserably charmed and deluded, that they cannot know Christ to be their justifier, their reconciler and saviour, but a minister of sin, their accuser, their judge, and their destroyer, which must be pacified no otherwise than by our works and merits.

And out of this opinion did afterwards spring the most pestilent and pernicious doctrine that is in the whole papacy, which is this: If thou wilt serve God, thou must merit forgiveness of sins and everlasting life, and must also help others that they may attain to salvation: thou must enter into a monastery, vow obedience, chastity, poverty, &c. Monks and friars, and the rest of that religious rabble, being puffed up with this opinion of their own holiness, bragged that they only were in the life and state of perfection, and that other Christians led but a common life, for they did no undue works, or more than they were bound to do, that is, they did not vow and keep chastity, poverty, obedience, &c. they were but only baptized, and kept the ten commandments: but as for themselves, besides that which was common as well to them as to other Christians, they kept also the works of supererogation, and the counsels of Christ; wherefore they hoped to have merits and a place in heaven among principal saints, far above the common sort of Christians.

the

This was undoubtedly a horrible illusion of the devil, whereby he hath bewitched almost the whole world. And every man, the

more holy he would seem to be, the more he is snared with that witchery, that is to say, with the pestilent persuasion of his own righteousness. And this was the cause that we could not know that Jesus Christ was our mediator and saviour, but we thought that he was a severe judge, which should be pacified by our works: which was nothing else but most horribly to blaspheme Christ, and, as Paul said before, to reject the grace of God, to make the death of Christ of none effect, and not only to kill him, but also most shamefully to crucify him again. And this is the right meaning of that which Christ allegeth out of Daniel: "That abomination standeth in the holy place," (Dan. ix. 27. Matt. xxiv. 15.) Wherefore every monk and religious person, and every justiciary, seeking remission of sins and righteousness by his own works or by his afflictions, is a crucifier of Christ now reigning and living, although not in the proper person of Christ, yet in his own heart and in the hearts of others. And whosoever do enter into monasteries, to the end that by their keeping of their rule they may be justified, do enter into the den of thieves, and are such as crucify Christ again.

Wherefore Paul useth in this place very severe and sharp words, to the end that he may fear and call back the Galatians from the doctrine of the false apostles. As if he should say: Consider well what you have done. Ye have crucified Christ again (and this I do so plainly shew and paint out before your eyes, that ye may see it, and touch it with your hands) because ye seek to be justified by the law. But if righteousness come by the law, then is Christ a minister of sin, and his death altogether in vain. If this be true, then must it needs follow that Christ is crucified again in you.

And it is not without cause that he addeth this clause, “in you or among you." For Christ is no more crucified, he dieth no more in his own person, as is said, Rom. vi., but he dieth in us when we, rejecting true doctrine, grace, faith, free remission of sins, seek to be justified by our own works, or else by the works commanded in the law. Here Christ is crucified in us again. Now this false and wicked persuasion, to seek righteousness by the law and works is nothing else (as I have before more amply declared,) but the illusion of the devil, wherewith men are so bewitched, that in nowise they can acknowledge the benefit of Christ: yea, in all their life they can do nothing else, but deny the Lord who had bought them, and in whose name they were baptized, and crucify him again in themselves. Whosoever then hath any fear of God, or love unto Christ and his true religion, let him fly quickly out of this Babylon, and let him tremble at the very name of the papacy. For the impiety and abomination thereof is so horrible, that no man is able to express it with words, neither can it be otherwise seen, than with spiritual eyes only.

These two arguments Paul prosecuteth and beateth into the

heads of the Galatians very diligently: first, that they are so bewitched of the devil, that they obey not the truth most clearly before their eyes: secondly, that they crucify Christ again in themselves. These seem to be simple and plain words, and without any high eloquence, but in very deed they are so mighty, that they exceed all the eloquence of man. It cannot therefore be comprehended, but only in spirit, how great an impiety it is to seek to be justified by the righteousness of the law, or by the righteousness and merits of man. For, as Paul saith here, it is nothing else but to be bewitched of the devil, to be disobedient to the truth, and to crucify Christ again. Are not these goodly commendations of the righteousness of the law and man's own righteousness?

The apostle therefore is inflamed with a vehement zeal, and with bitter words he reproveth and condemneth the presumption of man's own righteousness, rising upon the observation of the law of God, and chargeth it with this impiety, that it crucifieth again the Son of God. Seeing then it is so dangerous a thing, it cannot be beaten down enough, or condemned as it should be; for thereof ensueth such a fall as is no less than the fall of Lucifer, and such a loss can never be recovered, and therefore he useth so sharp and rigorous words against it, that he spareth not the very law of God: against the which he so bitterly inveigheth, that he seemeth utterly to reject and condemn it. And this doth he, being constrained by great necessity; for otherwise he could not withstand the false apostles, nor defend the righteousness of faith against them. Albeit then that the law be holy, just, and good, yet must it put on, as it were, the vizor of an hypocrite, seeking to be justified by works. Now he presseth them with an argument, whereof they themselves had good experience, and which they could not deny.

VERSE 2. This only would I learn of you: Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith preached?

He speaketh these words with a certain indignation and contempt of the false apostles. If I had nothing else against you but even your own experience, saith he, yet have I enough. As if he should say, Go to, now; answer me, I pray you, which am your scholar, for ye are so suddenly become doctors, that ye are now my masters and teachers: "Received ye the Holy Ghost by the works of the law, or by the preaching of the gospel?" With this argument he so convinceth them, that they have nothing to reply again. For their own experience is altogether against them; to wit, that they had received the Holy Ghost, not by the works of the law, but by the preaching of the gospel.

Here again I warn you, that Paul speaketh not only of the ceremonial law, but of the whole law. For he groundeth his argument upon a sufficient division. If he should speak of the ceremonial law only, it were not a sufficient division. It is an

argument therefore standing upon two parts, whereof the one must needs be true, and the other false; that is, either ye received the Holy Ghost by the law, or by the hearing of faith. If by the law, then not by the preaching of faith: if by the preaching of faith, then not by the law. There is no mean betwixt these two. For all that is not the Holy Ghost or the preaching of faith, is the law. Here are we in the matter of justification. But to attain to justification, there is no other way but either the voice of the gospel, or the voice of the law. Wherefore the law is here taken generally, as wholly separate from the gospel. But it is not the ceremonial law only that is separate from the gospel, but also the moral law, or the law of the ten commandments. Wherefore Paul speaketh here of the whole law.

He groundeth this argument upon a sufficient distinction, after this sort. Tell me, saith he, "Received ye the Holy Ghost by the works of the law, or by the preaching of the gospel?" Answer me to this. Ye cannot say that this was done by the law. For so long as ye were under the law, and did the works thereof, ye never received the Holy Ghost. Indeed ye taught and heard the law of Moses every Sabbath; but it hath not been heard or seen that ever the Holy Ghost was given to any, either doctor or disciple, through the preaching of the law. Moreover, ye have not only taught and heard the law, but also ye have laboured with all your power to perform the same by your works, whereby ye should most of all have received the Holy Ghost, if he had been given by the law, seeing ye were not only teachers and hearers, but also doers of the law; and yet ye cannot shew me that this was done at any time. But, as soon as the hearing of faith or the gospel came unto you, by-and-by ye received the Holy Ghost by the only hearing of faith, before ye had done any work, or shewed any fruit of the gospel. For as Luke witnesseth in the Acts, at the only preaching of Peter and Paul, "the Holy Ghost came upon those which heard the word, through whom also they received divers gifts, so that they spake with new tongues," (Acts x. 44. xi. 15. xix. 5, 6.)

It is manifest therefore that by the only preaching of faith ye received the Holy Ghost before ye did any good work, or brought forth any fruits of the gospel. On the other side, the accomplishing of the law never brought the Holy Ghost: much less could the only hearing of the law do it. Therefore not only the hearing of the law, but that affection and zeal also, whereby ye go about to accomplish the law by your works, is vain and unprofitable, Wherefore although a man labour to do all things: that is to say, although he have a zeal of God, and with all his endeavour go about to be saved by the law, and exercise himself day and night in the righteousness thereof, notwithstanding he doth but labour and consume himself in vain. For they which are ignorant of the righteousness of God, and

"go about to establish their own righteousness," (Rom. x. 3.) (as Paul saith in another place) do not submit themselves unto the righteousness of God." Again: "Israel which followed the law of righteousness, attained not the law of righteousness," &c. (Rom. ix. 31.) Now, Paul speaketh here of the manifestation of the Holy Ghost in the primitive church. For "the Holy Ghost came down in a manifest likeness upon those that did believe," (Matt. iii. 16.) and by this sign did plainly witness that he was there present at the preaching of the apostles; also that they which heard the word of faith preached by the apostles, were accepted as righteous before God: for else the Holy Ghost would not have come down upon them.

The argument of the Book containing the Acts of the Apostles.

Wherefore we must diligently weigh and consider the force of this argument, which is so often repeated in the Acts of the Apostles. Which book is written to confirm and establish this argument: for it teacheth nothing else but that the Holy Ghost is not given by the law, but by the hearing of the gospel. For when Peter preached, the Holy Ghost forthwith fell upon all those that heard him, "and, in one day, three thousand, which were present at the preaching of Peter, believed and received the Holy Ghost," (Acts ii.) So Cornelius received the Holy Ghost, not by the alms which he gave, but when Peter had opened his mouth, and was yet speaking, the Holy Ghost fell upon all them which with Cornelius heard the word, (Acts x. 44.) These are manifest arguments, experiences, and divine works, which cannot deceive us.

Luke also writeth of Paul, in the fifteenth of the Acts, that when he had preached the gospel together with Barnabas among the Gentiles, and was returned to Jerusalem, he set himself against the Pharisees and disciples of the apostles, which urged circumcision and the keeping of the law, as necessary to salvation: whose mouths he so stopped (saith Luke) in shewing what things he and Barnabas had done amongst the Gentiles, that the whole church was amazed at the hearing thereof, especially when they heard that God had wrought so many and so great miracles and wonders by them among the Gentiles: and when they which bare a zeal to the law, did wonder how it could be that the uncircumcised Gentiles, not doing the law, nor the works thereof, nor having the righteousness of the law, should notwithstanding attain to this grace, to be justified and receive the Holy Ghost as well as the Jews that were circumcised; here Paul and Barnabas did allege nothing else but manifest experience: wherewith they were so confounded, that they had nothing to reply again. By this means Paulus Sergius, the lieutenant, and all those cities, regions, kingdoms, and countries where the apostles had preached, by the only preaching of faith did believe, without the law and the works thereof.