Chapter 11.—Distinction Between the Children of the Old and of the New Testaments.

But there is plainly this great difference, that they who are established under the law, whom the letter killeth, do these things either with the desire of gaining, or with the fear of losing earthly happiness; and that thus they do not truly do them, since fleshly desire, by which sin is rather bartered or increased, is not healed by desire of another kind. These pertain to the old testament, which genders to bondage; because carnal fear and desire make them servants, gospel faith and hope and love do not make them children. But they who are placed under grace, whom the Spirit quickens, do these things of faith which worketh by love in the hope of good things, not carnal but spiritual, not earthly but heavenly, not temporal but eternal; especially believing on the Mediator, by whom they do not doubt but that a Spirit of grace is ministered to them, so that they may do these things well, and that they may be pardoned when they sin. These pertain to the new testament, are the children of promise, and are regenerated by God the Father and a free mother. Of this kind were all the righteous men of old, and Moses himself, the minister of the old testament, the heir of the new,—because of the faith whereby we live, of one and the same they lived, believing the incarnation, passion, and resurrection of Christ as future, which we believe as already accomplished,—even until John the Baptist himself, as it were a certain limit of the old dispensation, who, signifying that the Mediator Himself would come, not with any shadow of the future or allegorical intimation, or with any prophetical announcement, but pointing Him out with his finger, said: “Behold the Lamb of God; behold Him who taketh away the sin of the world.”195    John i. 29. As if saying, Whom many righteous men have desired to see, on whom, as about to come, they have believed from the beginning of the human race itself, concerning whom the promises were spoken to Abraham, of whom Moses wrote, of whom the law and the prophets are witnesses: “Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world.” From this John and afterwards, all those things concerning Christ began to become past or present, which by all the righteous men of the previous time were believed, hoped for, desired, as future. Therefore the faith is the same as well in those who, although not yet in name, were in fact previously Christians, as in those who not only are so but are also called so; and in both there is the same grace by the Holy Spirit. Whence says the apostle: “We having the same Spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak.”196    2 Cor. iv. 13.

11. Verum haec plane magna distantia est, quod faciunt ista sub lege positi, quos littera occidit, terrenam felicitatem vel cupiditate adipiscendi vel timore amittendi: et ideo non vere faciunt; quoniam carnalis cupiditas, qua peccatum commutatur potius vel augetur, cupiditate alia non sanatur. Hi ad vetus pertinent 0595 Testamentum, quod in servitutem generat; quia facit eos carnalis timor et cupiditas servos, non evangelica fides et spes et charitas liberos. Sub gratia vero positi, quos vivificat Spiritus, ex fide ista faciunt, quae per dilectionem operatur, in spe bonorum, non carnalium, sed spiritualium, non terrenorum, sed coelestium, non temporalium, sed aeternorum; praecipue credentes in Mediatorem, per quem sibi non dubitant, et spiritum gratiae subministrari, ut bene ista faciant, et ignosci posse cum peccant. Hi pertinent ad Testamentum novum, filii promissionis, regenerati Deo patre et libera matre. Hujus generis fuerunt antiqui omnes justi, et ipse Moyses Testamenti minister veteris, haeres novi; quia ex fide qua nos vivimus, una eademque vixerunt, incarnationem, passionem, resurrectionemque Christi credentes futuram, quam nos credimus factam: usque ad ipsum Joannem Baptistam quasi praeteritae dispensationis limitem quemdam, qui Mediatorem ipsum non aliqua umbra futuri, vel allegorica significatione, vel ulla prophetica praenuntiatione venturum esse significans; sed digito demonstrans ait, Ecce Agnus Dei, ecce qui tollit peccatum mundi (Joan. I, 29): tanquam dicens, Quem multi justi videre concupierunt, in quem venturum ab ipsius humani generis initio crediderunt, de quo Abrahae dictae sunt promissiones, de quo scripsit Moyses, de quo Lex et Prophetae sunt testes; Ecce Agnus Dei, ecce qui tollit peccatum mundi. Ab hoc Joanne et deinceps coeperunt de Christo fieri praeterita vel praesentia, quae ab illis omnibus anterioris temporis justis credebantur, sperabantur, desiderabantur futura. Eadem igitur fides est, et in illis qui nondum nomine, sed reipsa fuerunt antea christiani, et in istis qui non solum sunt, verum etiam vocantur, et in utrisque eadem gratia per Spiritum sanctum. Unde dicit Apostolus: Habentes autem eumdem spiritum fidei, secundum quod scriptum est, Credidi, propter quod locutus sum; et nos credimus, propter quod et loquimur (II Cor. IV, 13).