od, I say, led Christ to the
place of His battle, where He endured the combat for the whole forty
days and nights. As Luke saith, "He was tempted," but in the end most
vehemently, after His continual fasting, and that He began to be hungry.
Upon this forty days and this fasting of Christ do our Papists found
and build their Lent; for, say they, all the actions of Christ are our
instructions; what He did we ought to follow. But He fasted forty days,
therefore we ought to do the like. I answer, that if we ought to follow
all Christ's actions, then ought we neither to eat nor drink for the
space of forty days, for so fasted Christ; we ought to go upon the
waters with our feet; to cast out devils by our word; to heal and cure
all sorts of maladies; to call again the dead to life; for so did
Christ. This I write only that men may see the vanity of those who,
boasting themselves of wisdom, have become fools.

Did Christ fast those forty days to teach us superstitious fasting? Can
the Papists assure me, or any other man, which were the forty days that
Christ fasted? plain it is he fasted the forty days and nights that
immediately followed His baptism, but which they were, or in what month
was the day of His baptism, Scripture does not express; and altho the
day were exprest, am I or any Christian bound to counterfeit Christ's
actions as the ape counterfeits the act or work of man? He Himself
requires no such obedience of His true followers, but saith to the
apostles, "Go and preach the gospel to all nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; commanding them to
observe and keep all that I have commanded you." Here Christ Jesus
requires the observance of His precepts and commandments, not of His
actions, except in so far as He had also commanded them; and so must the
apostle be understood when he saith, "Be followers of Christ, for Christ
hath suffered for us, that we should follow His footsteps," which can
not be understood of every action of Christ, either in the mystery of
our redemption, or in His actions and marvelous works, but only of those
which He hath commanded us to observe. But where the Papists are so
diligent in establishing their dreams and fantasies, they lose the
profit that here is to be gathered; that is, why Christ fasted those
forty days; which were a doctrine more necessary for Christians than to
corrupt the simple hearts with superstition, as tho the wisdom of God,
Chri