harity made necessary for shunning of
scandal, Acts xv. 28; and so that which they decreed had force and
strength to bind _a charitate propter scandalum_, saith Sanctius;(1197)
but _suo arbitratu_ they enjoined nothing. Cartwright saith, "It appeareth
by this place that there may be no abridgement of liberty simply decreed,
but in regard of circumstance, according to the rule of
edification."(1198) And if the church's decrees and canons be not
according to the rules of the word; yet, forasmuch as every one of us
shall give account of himself and his own deeds, we must look that
whatsoever the church decree, yet our practice, in the use or omission of
a thing indifferent, be according to the foresaid rules.

We may not, for the commandment of men, transgress the rule of piety, by
doing anything which is not for God's glory, and ordered according to his
will; neither ought any of us to obey men, except "for the Lord's sake," 1
Pet. ii. 13, and "as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God," Eph.
vi. 6; which teacheth us the manner how we ought to obey men, namely,
_propter Christum et sicut Christus praecipit_;(1199) for if we should
know no more but the will of man for that which we do, then we should be
the "servants of men," not the servants of Christ. Neither yet may we for
any human ordinance break the rule of charity; "But whatsoever either
would weaken, or not edify our brother, be it never so lawful, never so
profitable to ourselves, never so powerfully by earthly authority
enjoined, Christians, who are not born unto themselves, but unto Christ,
unto his church, and unto the fellow-members, must not dare to meddle with
it."(1200)

Nor, lastly, may we obey men, so as to break the law of purity, and
"perform any action with a doubtful conscience; that is, whereof either
the world hath not,(1201) nor we out of it have no warrant, in which case
tender consciences must be tendered rather than be racked by authority,
for be the things in themselves never so lawful, &c., they are utterly
unlawful to me without such information." Whereas, therefore, some say,
that in the use of matters indifferent, the laws of those who are set over
us ought to rule us; we still answer that our practice may not be ruled by
any law of man, except it be according to the rules of the word, whereof
one is this, _Tantum oportere esse obedientiae studium in
Christianis,_(_1202_)_ ut nihil agant, quod non existiment vel potius
certi sint pl