osen, as St. Paul witnesses. Consider,
therefore, I say, these most excellent treasures, and exert yourselves to
obtain the fruition of the same. Continue not, neither abide nor wallow
too long in your sins, like as swine lieth in the mire. Make no delay to
repent of your sin, and to amend your life, for you are not so sure to
have repentance in the end. It is a common saying, "Late repentance is
seldom sincere." Therefore consider this thing with yourself betimes, and
study to amend your life: for what avails it to have all the pleasures of
the world for a while, and after that to have everlasting pain and
infelicity?

Therefore let every one examine his own conscience when he finds himself
unready. For all such as through the goodness of God have received faith,
and then wrestling with sin, consent not unto it, but are sorry for it
when they fall, and do not abide nor dwell in the same, but rise up again
forthwith, and call for forgiveness thereof, through the merits of our
Saviour Jesus Christ--all such are called just: that is to say, all that
die with a repentant heart, and are sorry that they have sinned, and are
minded if God give them longer time to live, to amend all faults, and lead
a new life; then are they just; but not through their own merits or good
works. For if God should enter into judgment with us, none are able to
stand before his face; neither may any of his saints be found just;
neither St. John Baptist, St. Peter, nor St. Paul; no nor is the mother of
our Saviour Christ herself just, if she should be judged after the rigour
of the law. For all are and must be justified by the justification of our
Saviour Christ, and so we must be justified, and not by our own
well-doing, but our justice standeth in this, that our righteousness is
forgiven us through the righteousness of Christ, for if we believe in him,
then are we made righteous. For he fulfilled the law, and afterwards
granted the same to be ours, if we believe that his fulfilling is our
fulfilling; for the apostle Saint Paul saith, "He hath not spared his own
Son, but hath given him up for us; and how then may it be, but that we
should have all things with him?"

Therefore it must needs follow, that when he gave us his only Son, he gave
us also his righteousness, and his fulfilling of the law. So that we are
justified by God's free gift, and not of ourselves, nor by our merits: but
the righteousness of Christ is accounted to be our righteousnes