your fayth, learne diligently I prai you, by what wordes our Lord Jesus Christ, gaue this commission and commaundement to his ministers, and reherse them here, worde for word that so you may print them in your memories, and recite them the better when you come home. The wordes of Christ be these. Our Lorde Jesus Joh. xx. c. brethed on his apostles, and sayd. Receaue the Holye Gost, whose synnes ye forgyue, they are forgyuen vnto them. And whose synnes you reserue, they are reserued. Now good children, you shal employ your selfes, not onely to reherse these wordes without boke, but also to vnderstande, what our Lord Jesus Christ ment by them, that when you shall be asked any question herein, you maye make a dyrect answere, and that also in tyme to come you maye be able to instruct your children in the same. For what greater shame can ther be, eyther in the sight of God or of man, then to professe thi selfe to be a Christen man, and yet to be ignorant in what place of scripture and by what wordes, Christ commaunded faith, and forgyuenes of synnes, to be preached. Seing that a Christen man ought to beleue nothyng, as an article of his faith, except he be assured, that eyther it is Gods commaundement, or his worde. Now good children, that you maye the better vnderstande these wordes, of our sauiour Christe, you shall, knowe, that our Lorde Jesus Christ when he beganne to preache, he did cal and chose his twelue apostles and afterwarde besydes those Mark iii. twelue, he sent forth thre score and tenne dysciples, and gaue them authoritie to preach the gospel. And a litle before his death and passion, he made his prayer to his heuenly Father for theim, and for all those that shoulde beleue thorow their preaching. As it is declared in the gospel of sainct John. Now it is not to be doubted, but John xvii. that Christes praier was heard, of his heauenly Father, wherefore it foloweth, that as mani as beleued the preaching of Christes discyples, were as surely saucd, as yf they Luke vi. Luke x. Luke x. had heard and beleued Christ hymselfe. And after Christes assention, the apostelles gaue authoritie to other godly and holye men, to minyster Gods worde, and chiefely in those places, wher ther wer Christen men alredy, whiche lacked preachers, and the apostles theim selues could not longer abide with them. For the apostles dyd walke abrod into diuerse partes of the worlde, and did studye to plant the gospel in many places. Wherefore wher they founde godly men, and mete to preache Gods worde, they layed their handes vpon them, and gaue them the Holy Gost, as they theimselues receaued of Christ the same Holy Gost, to execute this office. And they that were so ordeyned, were in dede, and also were called, the ministers of God as the apostles theimselues were, as Paule, sayeth vnto Tymothy. And so the ministration of Gods worde (which our Lorde Jesus Christ hymselfe dyd first institute) was deryued from the apostles vnto other after theim, by imposition of handes, and gyuynge the Holy Ghost, from the apostles tyme to our dayes. And this was the consecration, ordres and vnction of the apostles, wherby they, at the begynnynge, made byshopes and pryestes, and this shall continewe in the churche, euen to the worldes ende. And what soeuer rite or ceremonye, hath ben added more than this commeth of mannes ordinaunce and policye, and is not commaunded by Goddes worde. Wherefore good children, you shal gyue due reuerence and honour to the ministers of the churche, and shal not meanely or lyghtly esteme them in the execution of their office, but you shall take them for Gods ministers, and the messengers of our Lorde Jesus Christe. For Christ himselfe saieth in the gospel. He that heareth you, heareth me. And he that dyspiseth you, dyspiseth me. Wherefore good children, you shal stedfastly beleue al those thinges, whiche suche ministers shall speake vnto you, from the mouth, and by the commaundement of our Lorde Jesus Christ. And what soeuer they do to you, as when they baptyse you, when they gyue you absolution, and dystribute to you the bodye and bloude of our Lord Jesus Christe, these you shall so esteme, as yf Christe hymselfe in his awne person, dyd speake, and minister vnto you. For Christe hath commaunded his ministers to do this vnto you, and he hymselfe, (althoughe you see him not with your bodily eyes) is present with his ministers, and worketh by the Holy Ghost in thadministration of his sacramentes. And on the other syde, you shall take good hede, and beware of false and priuye preachers, whiche pryuely crepe into cities, and preache in corners, hauyng none authoritie, nor being called to this office. For Christe is not present with such prechers, and therefore dothe not the Holy Gost worke by their preching, but their worde is withoute fruite or profyt, and they do great hurte in commen welthes. For suche as be not called of God, they no doubte of it do erre, and sow abrode heresye and naughty doctrine. And yet you shal not thinke good children, that preachers whiche be lawfully called, haue authoritie to do or teache what soeuer shal please them. But our Lord Jesus Christ, hath gyuen them playne instructions, what they ought to teache and do. And yf thei teache or do any other thynge, then is conteyned in their commission, then it is of no force, nor we ought not to regarde it. And for this cause our sauioure Christ dyd breath into hys discyples, and gaue them the Holy Gost. For where the Holy Gost is, ther he so worketh, that he causeth vs to do those thynges whiche Christe hath commaunded. And whan that is not done, than the Holy Ghost is not there. Wherefore all thynges whiche we shall so speake or do, can take none effecte. Now the summe of the commission whiche Christ gaue to his dysciples, was this, that they shoulde preache repentaunce, and forgyuenes of synne, in his name. And he added therto, bothe a promise and a threatnyng, saying. He that wil beleue, and be baptised, shalbe saued. But he that wil not beleue, shall be damned. Wherfore all thinges whiche the ministers of the churche do saye or do to vs, ought to be directed to this ende, that they maye lowse vs, and declare vnto vs, the forgyuenes of our synnes, when we truly repent, and beleue in Christ. But when we do not repent vs of our synne, and forsake the same, or do not beleue the gospel, then they ought to bind or reserue sinne, and to declare vnto vs, that yf we styl continew in sinne, we shal be damned for euer. And when the minysters do thus execute their commission, then they obey God, and whose synnes soeuer they forgyue in earth, their synnes be forgyuen in heauen also. And contrarye wyse, whome soeuer they binde in earth, their sinnes be bounde also in heauen. But yf the ministers wolde interprise to do contrary to their commission, that is to say, to forgyue synnes to vnrepentaunte synners and vnbeleuers, or to bynde their synnes and denye theim absolution, that be repentaunte and truste in the mercye of God, then they shoulde not do wel, nor their acts shoulde be of any force, but they shoulde deceaue themselues, and other also. And than shoulde that be true, that Christ speaketh in the gospell. When the blynde leadeth the blinde, both fall into the diche. But when the ministers do trulye execute their office, you oughte good children, to take great comforte, and to confirme your faithe therby, that you maye stedfastlye beleue, and in all temptations answere your aduersarye the Deuell after this maner. God hathe sente to me one of hys ministers, he in the name and place of God, hathe declared to me the forgyuenes of my synnes, and hath baptised me in the assurance of the same. Wherfore I doubte not but that my synnes be forgyuen, and that I am made the sonne and heire of God. Thus good children, you ought generally in all tempta tions, to fortifie youre fayth, and to comforte your selfes, with the authoritie of Goddes word, but specially you shall learne this also, that oure Lorde Jesus Christe, dyd entende, by this authoritie of the kayes, to comforte the troubled consciences of them, that after their baptisme, do fall in to haynous offences. For it is not so easye a thyng, to rise agayn from synne, as the mad and blynde worlde doeth thynke, but when the Deuel and oure faith shall skyrmishe together, then in those straites, and troubles of conscience, we haue nede of the helpe of some trewe minister of the churche, whych (as it were in our swonynge) maye lyft vs vp wyth the wourde of God, comforte and refreshe vs. the wyse kyng Salomon doth declare by thys sentence. Wo to that man, whyche is alone, for when he falleth, he hath no man to lyft hym vp agayn. And oure Lorde Jesus Christe, doeth speake so often tymes in the gospel of the authoritie of the kayes, and hathe added so great promyses to the same, that it may wel appere by the earnestnes of Christes wourdes, how careful he was for troubled consciences, and how fatherly an effection he had to comforte the same. Wherof it vndoubtedly foloweth, that we haue great nede of thys comforte, and that it is moche to be estemed and set by. For first of al our sauiour Christ, before he gaue these kayes in dede, he promysed to Peter that he would gyue them, saying. I wyl gyue to the, the kayes of the kyngdome of heauen. Mat. xviii. What so euer thou shalt bynde vpon earth, shalbe bounde in heauen, and what so euer thou shall louse vpon earth, shalbe also loused in heauen. Secondarelye, Christe doeth teache vs, howe we shall vse these kayes, both in open and in secrete synnes. Of the vse of the kayes in open synnes, Christ speaketh these wourdes. Yf thy brother Mat. xviii. trespace agaynst the, go and tell hym hys faulte betwene him and the alone. Yf he hear the, thou hast wonne thy brother. But yf he heare the not, then take yet wyth the |
