love one another." Here
St. Paul lappeth up all things together, signifying unto us that love is
the consummation of the law; for this commandment, "Thou shalt not
commit adultery," is contained in this law of love: for he that loveth
God will not break wedlock, because wedlock-breaking is a dishonoring of
God and a serving of the devil. "Thou shalt not kill"; he that loveth
will not kill, he will do no harm. "Thou shalt not steal"; he that
loveth his neighbor as himself will not take away his goods. I had of
late occasion to speak of picking and stealing, where I showed unto you
the danger wherein they are that steal their neighbor's goods from them,
but I hear nothing yet of restitution. Sirs, I tell you, except
restitution is made, look for no salvation. And it is a miserable and
heinous thing to consider that we are so blinded with this world that,
rather than we would make restitution, we will sell unto the devil our
souls which are bought with the blood of our Savior Christ. What can be
done more to the dishonoring of Christ than to cast our souls away to
the devil for the value of a little money?--the soul which He has bought
with His painful passion and death. But I tell you those that will do
so, and that will not make restitution when they have done wrong, or
taken away their neighbor's goods, they are not in the livery of Christ,
they are not his servants; let them go as they will in this world, yet
for all that they are foul and filthy enough before God; they stink
before His face; and therefore they shall be cast from His presence into
everlasting fire; this shall be all their good cheer that they shall
have, because they have not the livery of Christ, nor His cognizance,
which is love. They remember not that Christ commanded us, saying, "This
I command you, that ye love one another." This is Christ's commandment.
Moses, the great prophet of God, gave many laws, but he gave not the
spirit to fulfil the same laws: but Christ gave this law, and promised
unto us, that when we call upon Him He will give us His Holy Ghost, who
shall make us able to fulfil His laws, tho not so perfectly as the law
requires; but yet to the contention of God, and to the protection of our
faith; for as long as we are in this world, we can do nothing as we
ought to do, because our flesh leadeth us, which is ever bent against
the law of God; yet our works which we do are well taken for Christ's
sake, and God will reward them in heaven.