SClaundre is or synifieeh an offence / whereby mans mynd is sore disquietid or trobled: that is to say / it is other discouraged or couraged to or frō the imitacyon or folowynge of a thing. ii. maner of sclaū dres. one phariscycall / another called sclaū dre takē. leaf; There is a double kynde of sclaūdre / one is pharisaycall / which comenly they call sclaundre taken: and that is whan that ypocrytes be offēded other with right doctryne / or with necessary doyng / & therupon cometh hatred of the gospell and of godly men: as the pharisyes hated the gospel and the teachers of the same / & pretended gret causes of their grefe & hatered taken of mans Mat. xv [Page]wytte & reason: for what man endued but with a meane wyt wolde not be greued / that the facyon of relygion shulde any thing decay / that comen peace shuld be disquyeted / that sysmes shulde ryse in the church / that hye powers and commen welthes shulde be brought to nought. They sawe that their relygion & maner of worshipping of god was lytle estemed and that the comen welth was hyndred / and the auctoritye of superyoures contempned: But although these be great causes / which worthely doth moue men / yet it is mete to know / that before these causes yea / before all thynges / that the cōmaundement of god be prefarred after this rule: It is [Page]necessary rather to obeye God than men. Actu. v. Therfore this pharisaycall sclaunder or offence is not to be eschewed / for the cōmaūdement of god excuseth vs. But it is necessary y e doctryne be true certayne & profytable to the church. For it is a very greuous syn to troble the church with euyll / vncertayne or vnprofytable disputacions.
leaf; There is another kynde of sclaūdre / which they call sclaū dre gyuen. Sclaundre gyuē And it is vngodly doctryne or euyl exāple which hurteth / other bycause they folowe it / or bycause it scarreth men from the gospell. All wycked doctrynes ar sclaundres & offences of this kynde. Also idolatrers worshippynge and mens inuencyons / which can [Page]not be obserued & kept without synne: as worshippyng of ymages / goyng on pylgrymages / purchasyng of popysshe pardons for remissyon of synnes. Christ threat the auctors of these sclaunders chefely.
leaf; Wo be to the men by whom sclaundre cometh. Mathei. xviii. & ce. Than these sclaundres and offences with great dilygence must be eschewed / lest we be other auctours or alowers of vngodly doctryne & folowers of suche wycked worshippyng. &c.
A rule of the vse of lybertye.leaf; There is also another kynd of sclaundre to be eschewed / that is / whā that a work which is indyfferent / is done out of tyme: as the vntymely vse of christyan lyberte. Of this lyberte / there is often dysputacyons [Page]and reasonyng / whan it is lawfull / and whan it is not lawfull. It is synne to breake mens tradicyons / in case that the brekyng of them shulde be occasyon of sclaūdre or offence to any man. Therfore the rule of Poule is to be holdē as touchyng the vse of lyberte. Rom. xv Poul cōmaundeth the lerned men to bere thinfyrmyte of the vnlerned and weke / & folowe their myndes / and certify them for their good & for their edifyeng that is / that through their gentylnes they may courage them to the Gospell and not skarte them: For not alonly ipocryts and the vngodly sorte / but also godly men / & men of sobre lyuyng / specyally they that be not taught nor suffyciently instructe [Page]whan they se auncyent customes broken / they iudge by that maner of doctryne / men to be gyuen to a wylde lyberte / and become all vngodly and so be skarred frō the knowledge of the gospell. Therfore lybertye is not to be vsed afore them which haue not yet herd this maner of doctryne / as a fore / men not yet suffycyently confyrmed / but the [...] ample of saynt Poule is to be folowed: I haue ben weke to them that are weke: i. Corin. viii. If my meate doth offende my brother / I wyl neuer eate flesshe / lest I offende my brother. But now where as the gospell is clerely preached / and the church meanely confirmed in the same / the greuous obseruacyon of vnprofytable [Page]tradicyons is not gretly to be requyred. yea / Poul for to shew example of lyberte / he wolde not syrcumcyse Tyte. Gala. ii. And Christ excused his Apostles / brekyng the tradicyons of the fathers / and sayth: Mathei. xxb. Let them alone / they be blynd / and gydes of the blynde. &ce. Mat. xb xx .iii. But yet in this thyng it is good to vse sobrenesse and dyscrecyon / for euen amonge enemyes ther be some that rather shulde be reconsyled than styred & prouoked / and it becōmeth christen men to refarre all their doingꝭ not to their owne affectyons & lustes / but vnto the profyte of other / & to the glory of Christ. Apoc. v. But many there be that breke auncyent customes / not to profyte or do seruyce to other / or [Page]to do better thynges / but bycause this lyberte delyteth thē. This is a wycked thynge to dyspyce auncyent customes & lawes / it is no christyan thīge Furthermore / the brekynge of comen customes / redily stores vp gret vprore / and cōmociōs ought not rasshely to be excyted: for it is an harde thynge afterward to haue conscyence that thou hast gyuen occasyon of comen calamytes & myseres
The secōd ruleThe secōd rule. Also in churches ryghtly instructe / there is to be had a consyderacyō of sclaundre / lest our example do hurte other / as these be: Ofte tymes not to force of the comen customes / & to shew any contempte / & to cause other to be forceles / or to gyue occasyon [Page]to dyssencyons / sysmes / sectes or factions without necessary cause. If any man after this maner breketh tradicyons / certaynly he doth synne. Without suche occasyon of sclaundres / we vndrestande tradicyons to be free. This moderacyon & equytye in tradicyons is very good to hold / for it kepeth the auctoryte of tradicyons & conserueth the comen customes & good ordre / and it delyuereth mens conscyences frō that old tyrāny / whan that they knowe that tradicyons be outwarde thynges & indyfferent / & maye be omytted & lefte without syn except it be in case of sclaūdre.
Sclaundre of doctryne.Furthermore / the sclaundres and offences of doctrynes / be moche worse than euyll examples [Page]ī maners. Therfore with great dilygence / a man must be ware / fyrst that he teche no vngodly thynges / vncertayne or vnprofytable. Furthermore whan ye teache true thynges / that ye set theym not forthe so confusely and doutefully / that the herers conceyue any euyll opinyons in suche confused and doutfull doctryne: as we se howe moche it profyteth the people to be monysshed after what maner mens tradicyons may be reproued: and agayne for what purpose / and to what vse tradiciōs ought to be kept and loued. Excepte these thinges be aptly & discretly expressed / they that be vnlerned conceyue a contempte of al lawes and customes. Thus also in [Page]other artycles / excepte they be aptly & clerely expressed / there ryse opinyons very perylous.
Whan that men be iustifyed by fayth / how detestable opynyons doth there ryse / excepte the herers be monysshed what thing is entreated of / and that the persone is reconcyled by fayth / and after that / our obedyence is necessary / & in men reconcyled / is ryghtousnesse. Rom. v. Lyke wyse of free wyll / that god is not the cause of euyll / and many other thynges / that deseruynge is not taken from workes / bycause we can do no thynge that can deserue out of god / but bycause the promyse of god is our forgyuenes / that the remissyon of synne may be certayne. Fre [...]yll Ephe. ii. Actus. ii More ouer in men reconcyled [Page]/ good workes be also merytoryous. [...]ot. x. So in all places dilygence must be gyuen / that without sofestry or craft / they be expressed aptly & distynctly Therfore wolde Paule that a bysshop shuld be apte to teche that he shuld teche aptely and distynctly. Titua. i And Christ wolde that a lerned man / instructe in the kyngdome of god / shulde belyke vnto a good father of houshold / which in his techīg can vse discrecyon in vttryng both newe thynges and olde. For excepte prechers vse this diserecyon & dilygence / many mens conscyences be sore trobled / and euyll opinyons ryse in their myndes / whiche wyll hurte religyon and maners / and than springe vprores and [Page]many other maters of sclaundre and offence. Therfore let vs beware and do oure dilygence that our maners beutyfye the gospell. Moreouer also / that the waye of prechyng and playnesse of the same may conforte mennes conscyences / ryd them of all doutes / and redresse their erroures.
Amen.