gs, and is in want of nothing; is lord
over sin, death, and hell, and at the same time is the obedient and
useful servant of all. But alas! it is at this day unknown throughout
the world; it is neither preached nor sought after, so that we are quite
ignorant about our own name, why we are and are called Christians. We
are certainly called so from Christ, who is not absent, but dwells among
us--provided, that is, that we believe in Him and are reciprocally and
mutually one the Christ of the other, doing to our neighbour as Christ
does to us. But now, in the doctrine of men, we are taught only to seek
after merits, rewards, and things which are already ours, and we have
made of Christ a taskmaster far more severe than Moses.

The Blessed Virgin beyond all others, affords us an example of the same
faith, in that she was purified according to the law of Moses, and like
all other women, though she was bound by no such law and had no need
of purification. Still she submitted to the law voluntarily and of free
love, making herself like the rest of women, that she might not offend
or throw contempt on them. She was not justified by doing this; but,
being already justified, she did it freely and gratuitously. Thus ought
our works too to be done, and not in order to be justified by them; for,
being first justified by faith, we ought to do all our works freely and
cheerfully for the sake of others.

St. Paul circumcised his disciple Timothy, not because he needed
circumcision for his justification, but that he might not offend or
contemn those Jews, weak in the faith, who had not yet been able to
comprehend the liberty of faith. On the other hand, when they contemned
liberty and urged that circumcision was necessary for justification, he
resisted them, and would not allow Titus to be circumcised. For, as he
would not offend or contemn any one's weakness in faith, but yielded
for the time to their will, so, again, he would not have the liberty of
faith offended or contemned by hardened self-justifiers, but walked in
a middle path, sparing the weak for the time, and always resisting the
hardened, that he might convert all to the liberty of faith. On the same
principle we ought to act, receiving those that are weak in the faith,
but boldly resisting these hardened teachers of works, of whom we shall
hereafter speak at more length.

Christ also, when His disciples were asked for the tribute money, asked
of Peter whether the children