ende only / les the beleauing Iues shuld fall backe from Christ / and that he might the more easily drawe others / which yet beleaued not / to the gospell of Christe. Furthermore these men do saye / that they by their dissimulacion will auoide offence. For (saye they) yf we shuld so vtterly forsake the Masse as ye wolde haue vs / we shulde be taken as wicked men and euell doers / and so shall we geue great offence in out countrithes. I graunte that these men do seke to auoyd offence / but what offence? euen the offence of the world. They will not offend / but whom? Tyrauntes / and such as ar the very limmes of antichrist. And why? les they shuld procure against themselues theyr wrath / poure / and tyrannie. But this is that offence / which Criste sayeth shuld not be auoided: [] Let them alone (saith he of the Phariseis) They are blinde and the leaders of the blinde. Heere we must consider which be euell offences / and such as are to be auoyded indeed. Euen those I say / which are an Impediment to the setting forth of the gospell / which do offend and hinder men / be they simple / or wicked / that they do not embrace pure doctryne / and turne vnto Christe. Now beholde / I pray the / by comming to the Masse / what offence thou doest gyue? The Idolatrous and supersticious people / ar they not offended by this thy doing? Yeas verely. For when they do se the haunte their masses / they say / these gospellers do comme to our masses / which they wold not do yf our masses wer so euell as thei call them: wherfor we may perseuere and continue in our old purpose. And on the other parte / the weaker brethren / which are but newly turned / and not farr entered into the knowledge of Christ / when they do se these better lerned professors / enseyng bearers / and chief men in the scole of Christ comme to the masse / they are taught to do the lyke: and wher before they wer perswaded not to comme at masses / now they thincke that they were then deceyued / and that it is but a fonde precise scrupulositie so to abstayn from masses: and it cometh to pas / that where they shuld go forwarde in the waye of truth / now they do go backe. Thus both the wicked and the godly / are offended by thy example: It is playne therfor that vnder the cloked colour of auoyding of offence / these men do fall into the very offence gyuing. They say morouer: It is nedefull to condiscende vnto the weake: for there are many which are not persuaded that the masse is naught / and therfor are neyther ready to forsake their countrie / nor to dye in the quarell / whiche men yf they shulde perceyue that we did not come to masse / they wold not gyue then any ear or credite vnto vs in the other matiers and chief pointes of religion: wherfore we must gyue and yealde somwhat vnto their infirmitie / as Paule doth teache the Romayns. This they saye.
[] But what will Paule / I praye you / that we shuld yealde to the weake? This verily / fyrst that we shuld not please our selues: Agayne / that we shuld not so lyue after our own mynde / that we shulde contemne their saluacion. We do graunte therfor that som thinge is to be gyuen vnto the infirmitie of the weake brother / but euen with Paule / we will not suffer that to be done / but in thinges indifferent. But those thinges which of them selues ar euell and forbidden of Godd / must not be done in respect of any man.
[] For that same Rule doth stonde certayn which gyueth leaue to no man to do euell that goode maye comme theron. To abstayn / or not to abstayn from meates / was then a thing indifferent. In such thinges they which be stronger must beare with the Infirmitie of the weaker: but meate eating and Massehauntinge are not lyke / for this is no thing indifferent / but manifestly euell / as it is sufficiently proued / and therfor it is not to be done in respect of bearing with any man that is weake. But are the weake alwayes to be borne with all in thinges indifferent? no truly / we must not alwayes yealde to the weake but only whylest they be taughte: And when they do vnderstonde the thing that is taught them / and yet do wauer and doubt of a wilful scrupulositie / their infirmitie is no longer to be norished nor born with all: For we must not so beare with them / that out libertie shal be in subiection to their frowardnes / nor that therby we do hurte others by our example.
Agayn they obiect and saye: Yf we shuld do as ye wold haue vs to do / then must we eyther flye out of our countrithe / or els forthwith shall we suffer death and so the congregations shalbe left vtterly desolate / ther shall be none lefte to teache and norishe those afflicted membres which shall remayne in our churche: Better it is / that by our bearing and dissemblinge / ther do remayne yet sum leight / then that by doing as ye wold haue vs all together shuld be putt out.
[] If sum do remayne ther / it wil brust forthe at lengthe / and a litill leauen will soure the whole lumpe of dowe. &c. Truly for all this goodly clooke / it is easily perceyued that through this dissembling the edifying of the churche is hindered and not furthered. These men pretende with Athlas to beare vp heauen withe their shulders / but they do ouerthrow altogether: Godd doth se more then we / in the thinges which shall happen to the churche: We must obeye hym in seruyng hym and his churche with the confession of truthe. The issue / and succes / let vs committ vnto hym to whom the churche doth belonge: And let vs do that wherunto we ar called. The churche shall be destroyed then / thow sayest: Let God care for that / he will well prouide for that / let vs not doubt. Wel maye theise men be answered / as the lorde answered Peter / when he called hym / sayinge: [] folowe me: Peter made a staye at it and asked hym what Iohn shuld do. If I will (saith Christ) haue hym to tarye / what is that to the? do thow folowe me. So if thow aske in this case / what shall then be done with the churche? I aunswer / what is that to the? Do thow the thinge wher vnto thow art called. Besids this often tymes the doctrine of the gospell is more sett furth / and better receyued / when it is mayntayned by deathe / and fleinge / then when by words only it is propownded and taught: for then men are taught by deedes / as before they wer by wordes: Haste thow confessed the gospell in wordes? This then remayneth for the to do: die / or flye for the gospell so shalt thou confesse the same indede. And Let vs not feare the desolation of the churche / for wher one of our brethern dyeth / or flyeth for the doctrine / in his rowm shall rise vp a great sorte. But if we stand and continue in dissemblinge / then is the light of the truithe put owt / nether is there any confession made indede. They bringe in also the examples of Zacharie / Iohn the Baptist / the virgin Marie / and Ioseph / which in the corupted and infected tymes when they lyued dyd comme vnto the seruice of God in the Temple of the Iues / The same thing maye be permitted to them (they thincke) and that yt is as lawfull for them to partake and vse the ceremonies in the popish churche be they neuer so corrupt. True it is that ther were many wicked doctrines and euill opinions at that tyme emongest the scribes and pharisees. But yet the estate of them was far otherwise / then it is in our tyme: They hade corrupted the doctrine of the law and of iustification. They were couetous / That thing which they dyd / Was done with out fayth / and therfor abhominable before God / yet the rite and maner of sacrificing apointed by Goddes lawe was not chaunged / for the same beastes were offered which the lawe dyd commaunde / the same daies were obserued / and ceremonies / and therfore it was lawfull to vse them inasmoche as they hade the worde of Godd for them. And eiche man that so vsed them receyued according to the measure of his faithe. For the corrupte doctrines / sentences and manieres of the priestes / Bishoppes and scribes / dyd not hurte at all the prophettes and godlie men which wer them selues cleare from them / of a contrarie mynde to them / in all thinges thinking according to Godds worde / yea dyd also reproue and sharplie rebuke those thinges: which thing Augustine dothe witnesse as he is allegded. 23. q. 4. ca. Recedite. and in many other places there. Let our sacrificinge priestes do the same vnto vs at this daie. Let them celebrate the lordes supper and vse other ceremonies / so as by Godds worde they be apointed / then we will not draw backe at all / but vse them / thoughe they them selues thincke corruptlie / and liue more wickedlie / we shall bewaile / we shall admonishe / we shall reproue / we shall accuse them / and they shall beare their owne synne. Their synne shall not hurte vs / nether will we absteyne frome the sacramentes for their nowghtines / but vse them. In which doinge we shall not communicate with their wickednes / for we shall vse the rite and ceremonie as the lorde commaunded / and instituted. And this thing ment Christ when he saide.