¶ WHETHER CHRIstian faith may be kept secret in the heart, without confession thereof openly to the world as occasion shall serve. Also what hurt cometh by them that hath received the Gospel, to be present at Mass unto the simple and unlearned.  three Regum. xviii. How long halt ye on both the sides? If the Lord be God, them walk after him: but if Baal be he, them follow him. Matthew. vi. chapter. No man can serve two masters: for either he shall hate the one, and love the other, or else he shall lean to the one, and despise the other. Luke. xvi. chapi. That which is high among men is an abomination before god. 
¶ From Roan. Anno. M.D.Liii. the iii of October.   
two. Cor. vi. chap i. 
Deu. seven  ¶ Bear not a strange yoke with the unbelievers. For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? what company hath light with darkness? 
mat viii  How agreeth Christ with Belial? Or what part hath the believer with the infidel? How accordeth the temple of God with images? Ye are the temple of the living god, 
i. Corin iii. & vi. Leniti. xxvi. ezechie xxxvii. esai. lii.  as saith god: I will dwell in them, and walk in them, & will be their God, and they Shallbe my people. wherefore come from among them, and separate yourselves (saith the Lord) and touch no unclean thing, so will I receive you, & be your father, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the almighty Lord. 
SAint Paul in the ten to the Romans annexeth the faith of Christ in the heart with Confession of the mouth, 
Rom. x.  so that the one (it seemeth by him) can be no more without the other, than fire can be without heat, saying these words: the heart believeth to justice, the confession of the mouth is to salvation. wherein he declareth, that even as the cause of our acception, through Christ is the confidence and faith of the heart in the promises of god: so is the confession outwardly of the same faith by mouth, the fruit that all christian faithful hearts bring fourth through the same gift of god, And where as this effect of confession is not: there wanteth also the cause of confession, which is true faith. For as the tree is known by her fruits: so is faith by her effects. And as the want of fruit, is a demonstration that the tree is unprofitable: so the want of true confession of faith, is a token that the faith is dead, the end of the unprofitable tree is cutting down, and casting into the fire. The end of the fruitless faith is death, and casting to eternal damnation. wherefore S. Peter requiteth us, 
Pe. iii  to make answer to every man, that demandeth of us, of such hope as is in us, with gentleness & reverence, which is a very testimony that we sanctify god in our hearts, as it is before in the same chap. For the greatest honour that man can give to god: is to confess and answer in the time of trouble, truly and faithfully to his holy word and faith. wherefore it is the duty of every christian, to prai & study to have a through knowledge of his faith in Christ and that as the glory of god shall require, and his religion attempt: to be ready to make answer for the same. whatsoever the world fear, displeasure, friendship, or other lets should say to the contrary: upon pain saith Christ, that i will deny him before mi father, 
Mark viii Luke. ix·xii.  which is in heaven. But how hard a thing it is to confess Christ in the days of trouble, not only the Scripture but also daily experience in good men & women doth declare. True confession is environed on every side with many dangers on the right hand & on the left hand, now with fair means, then with foul threatenings, fearful & dangerous as it is said by Christ, they shall betray you to the judges, and of them ye shallbe beaten & judged to death. On tother side, shall pull us back the love of wife, children, brother sister, kindred, friends, lands, & the love unto ourselves, but he that is over come by any of these means, 
Mat. x Luke. xiii.  hath this judgement, He is not meet for me saith Christ. These things are unpossible unto men, yet to christian men in Christ possible, & so necessary, that christianity and true religion cannot be in him that is afraid to confess Christ and his gospel in the time of persecution. The wisdom of the world doth say: although i do accomplish the desire of my friends, and to the sight of the world, am present at the mass, and with my body do as other men do: or as i may do, yet my heart is clean contrary to their belief, and I do detest such idolatry, and believe that the thing that i am present at, is mere idolatri and abomination. Here be fair words for an evil purpose, and a pretenced excuse for a just condemnation before god. For if it be true, ye know the thing ye resort unto to be the dishonour of god: why do ye honour it with your presence? If ye know it to be evil, why refrain ye not from it? If your conscience say it is idolatry, why serveth your body such things as your faith abhorreth? If in your heart ye know but one God, why with your external presence serve ye the thing that ye know is not god? If your faith see idolatri, why doth your silence confess & profess the same? Two men in one, god loveth not. If the inward man know the truth, why doth the outward man confess a falsehood? If the spirit be persuaded that the mass is idolatri, 
esay. xxix. ezechi. xxxiii. Mat. xv  why doth the corporal presence use it as god in doing godly honour to it? Do ye not perceive what is written in isaiah and s. Matthew. This people honour me with the mouth, but their hearts be far from me. The cause why God was offended with this people, 
Math. xv. Esay. nineteen. Ease. xx. ●ii.  was that outwardly they confessed him, but their hearts were far from him inwardly. whereof ye may see what it is to bear two. faces in one hood, outwardly to serve god, and inwardly to serve the devil. Now mark of this place. If it be so horrible and damnable a thing to be false in the heart, which none knoweth but God, & is worthy also of damnation, what is to be judged of the outward & manifest use of idolatry? which not only God, but also every good man knoweth and abhorreth. There is no coloured nor clooked hypocrisy that god can away with. If the heart think not as the tongue speaketh, or else the tongue speak otherwise then the heart thinketh, both be abominable before god. Read the iii and vi cha. of the first Epi of s. Paul to the Corin. where as S. Paul saith: 
i. Corint. iii. & vi  know ye not that your bodies be the temples of the holy ghost, if your bodies be the temples of the holy ghost, what agreement hath it with through thy knowledge, shall that weak brother perish for whom Christ died. When ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ. This judgement of s. Paul is more to be followed, than all our own feigned and wrested defences that would seem to do well, when we halt on both sides, which god abhorreth. Paul hath a profound and a deep consideration of that man's fact, that hath knowledge, and perceiveth his dissimulation to be dangerus & perilous to all persons that he dwelleth withal First all such as be of a right & stayed judgement, & will not prostrate their bodies to an idol, doth he condemn. Secondly, by their such dissimulation, the very idolaters themselves have aconfirmation, and defence of their abomination, by the ptesence of him, that the Christian congregation, knoweth to have knowledge. Thirdly, the weak sort, that would gladly take the best way, by a dissemblers halting and playing on both hands: embraceth both in body and in soul the evil that he abhorreth in his heart, that hath knowledge, & yet with presence honoureth it as other do, that have no knowledge. If S. Paul said, that the week brother doth perish for whom Christ died, in him that abused knowledge in meats and drinks, that of themselves be indifferent, how much more in the knowledge of him that useth manifest idolatry, forbidden of god, as a thing not indifferent? Take heed therefore what s. Paul meaneth, & what he would prove against this man that had knowledge, that neither the idol nor the meats dedicated to Idols were any thing. Forsooth this he would prove, that a poor man that wanted knowledge, by the example of him that hath knowledge, doth adventure to do evil, which he would not do, in case he saw not those of whom he hath good opinion go before him as author of the evil. And in deed when the ignorant people or those that be half persuaded in a truth, yea or else thoroughly persuaded, what is evil, yet when they have any notable men or women for an example to follow. They think in following of them, they be excused: yea although peradventure they do it against their conscience, as ye may see by the example of Peter, 
Gala. two.  how many good men began to dissemble: yea, Barnabas himself Thapostle of the Gentiles. But how great offence this is before God, so to make a doubtful and relucting conscience to do any thing that is not godly: let the judgement of men pass, and measure it by gods word. Christ saith: it were better a millstone were hanged about such an offenders neck, 
mat. xviii  and cast into the sea. And doubtless, the pain must be the greater, because we give offence wittingly against our own consciences, and this before God, is a wicked knowledge, that causeth another to perish. woe be to him that is learned, to bring his brother to destruction. Doth a christian man know the truth to bring his brother to a lie? for those weaklings that we make to stumble, Christ died for, as S. Paul saith: God defend that we should confirm any man's conscience in evil. Let every man of God weigh with himself the Doctrine of s. Paul, that commandeth us to fly from idolatry. And mark what s. Paul in that place calleth idolatry. It is to be seen plainly, that he speaketh not of such idolatri, as men that lack knowledge in their hearts what God is, & what is not god. For in the viii chap. before, he saith that men know that the idols were no gods, & that although by name the gentiles had many gods: yet they knew there was but one God. Therefore he meaneth nothing by this commandment, fly idolatry, but to avoid such rites, ceremonies & usages as outwardly were used in the honour & reverence of the idols, that were not god. And weiing the right use of the lords Supper, and the dignity thereof, with the manner & use of the gentiles toward their gods: would bring the church of the Corinthians to understand, how that as the divine and sacred rites, ceremonies and use of the blessed sacrament of Christ's body & blood did sacrate, sanctify and declare him that useth it, to be the servant and child of god: so did the rites and sacraments of the Gentiles define and declare the uses thereof to be the servants & children of the idols, notwithstanding in their heart, they knew well enough the idol was nothing. God by his sacraments doth couple us to himself. Let us pray to him that we pollute not ourselves, with any rites, ceremonies or usages, not instituted by god. In this case a faithful man to be at the Mass, is to be considered with what mind those that there he accompanieth himself withal, cometh thither, and what the end is of the work that the priest doth. The people come to honour the bread and wine for god, and the priest purposeth to consecrated both god and man, and so to offer Christ to the father for remission of sin. Now do those that adjoin themselves unto these people, profess and declare a sosietie and fellowship of the same impiety, as s. Paul laid to the Corinthians charge. S. Paul was not offended with the Corinthians because they lacked knowledge of the true God: 
two. Cor. vi  but because contrary to their knowledge, they associated themselves with idolatores. For this is true▪ that in all rites, sacraments, and honoringes, whether they be of God or of the Devil, there is a profession of the communion: so that any man protesteth to be of the same religion that the rest be of that be partakers with him. I do know there be many invasions made by men, that teach a man with safeguard of his conscience to be at Mass, but forasmuch as Master Calvin, Master Bullenger and others, have thoroughly answered them, such as be in doubt, may read their books.  
This is a true confession, and consonant to god's holy word.