Original Douay–Rheims AnnotationsRomans 12

A living host.

Lest men should think by the former discourse of God's eternal predestination, that no reward were to be had of good life and works, the Apostle now earnestly recommendeth to them holiness of life.

A living host.

^◦ Man maketh his body a sacrifice to God by giving it to suffer for him, by chastising it with fasting, watching, and such like, and by occupying it in works of charity and virtue to God's honour. Whereby appeareth how acceptable these works are to God and grateful in his sight, being compared to a sacrifice, which is an high service done to him.

• ◦ The body chastised by penance is a grateful sacrifice.

According to the rule of faith.

^[1] By this, and many places of holy Writ, we may gather, that the Apostles by the Holy Ghost, before they were sundered into diverse Nations, set down among themselves a certain Rule and form of faith and doctrine, containing not only the Articles of the Creed, but all other principles, grounds, and the whole platform of all the Christian religion. Which Rule was before any of the books of the new Testament were written, & before the faith was preached among the Gentiles: by which not only every other inferior teacher's doctrine was tried, but all the Apostles', and Evangelists' preaching, writing, interpreting (which is here called prophesying) were of God's Church approved and admitted, or disproved and rejected. This form, by mouth and not by Scripture, every Apostle delivered to the country by them converted. For keeping of this form, the Apostle before praised the Romans ^[2], and afterward earnestly warneth them by no man's plausible speech to be drawn from the same ^[3]. This he commendeth to Timothee ^[4], calling it his Depositum. For not holding this fast and sure, he blameth the Galatians ^[5], further also denouncing to himself or an Angel that should write, teach, or expound against that which they first received, Anathema, and commanding always to beware of them that taught otherwise. ^[6] For fear of missing this line of truth, himself notwithstanding he had the Holy Ghost, yet lest he might have preached in vain and lost his labour, he went to confer with Peter and the rest ^[7]. For the fast keeping of this Rule of truth, the Apostles held Councels, and their successors by their example. For the holding of this Rule, and by the measure thereof, were all the holy Scriptures written. for and by the same, all the glorious doctors have made their sermons, commentaries, and interpretations of God's word: all writings and interpretations no otherwise admitted nor deemed to be of God, but as they be agreeable to this Rule.

^◦

And this is the sure Analogy and measure of faith, set down and commended to us every-where for the Apostles' tradition: and not the phantastical rule or square that every Sect-master pretendeth to gather out of the Scriptures falsely understood and wrested to his purpose, by which they judge of doctor, Scripture, Church, and all. Arius had by that means a rule of his own, Luther had his false weights, and Calvin his own also. According to which several measure of every sect,

• 1 The Apostolical rule or analogy of faith.
• 2 c. 6, 17.
• 3 c. 16, 17.
• 4 1. Tim. 6, 20.
• 5 Gal. 1, 6.
• 6 Gal. 2, 1.
• 7 Act. 15, 6.
• ◦ The Heretics' phantastical rule, or rather rules of faith, many and diverse one from another.