The First Letter, which Matthias Servaes Wrote from Prison to H. K.

The saving grace of God and the peace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ be multiplied to all believers, through the ministration and unction of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Further, my most beloved brothers in the Lord, I inform you that I am still very well, both according to the flesh and the spirit, in body and in soul, outwardly and inwardly. For I count it all very good, whether it be joy or sorrow, indeed, life or death; for I do not live to myself, nor do I die to myself; for whether I live, I live to the Lord, and whether I die, I die to the Lord; for I am in His hand, and I am sure that no one will pluck me out of it; indeed, I now look upon death as gain; I have a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, my Lord; for whatever I meet with, it all tends to my comfort. Romans 14, verses 7 and 8; Second Corinthians 5, verse 15; John 10, verse 28; Philippians 1, verses 21 and 23. I am now confined here for the promotion of the Gospel, and my bonds become manifest only to the praise of the Lord, I trust, and not to my own, and to the consolation of all the pious who are under the same chastisement, and to the strengthening of their purpose. So I rejoice in my sufferings, that I am counted worthy by the Lord to suffer reproach for His name (of which I nevertheless count myself unworthy), to fill up what is behind of His afflictions, and laid upon His members. Colossians 1, verse 24. And as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so I find my consolation abounding much more by Christ, who abundantly comforts me in all my sufferings; and by His help I shall succeed, and so shall all those who recognize Him as the supreme good, and are thereby led to love Him above all, so that they gladly hate and depart from everything for His sake, that they may be loved only by the Lover. That we may do all this out of filial love, this I wish you and me, and all those who sincerely desire it, through Jesus Christ, firmly and unwaveringly to the end. Amen.

Further, my L: B. H., and all who are appointed to watch over the souls of men, carry out your office with diligence, so that you may not be found slothful, drowsy or negligent in it; but that you may be faithful watchmen, who truly and honestly lead out and feed the flock of Christ, and this with all humility and meekness; indeed, as a father over his children, who severely reproves the wrongdoing of his children; and though he cannot bring them to the point where he would like to have them, yet his fatherly nature will not allow him to forget them, so that he should not regard them as his children; and though his heart is often grieved by their disobedience and folly, he does not cease to chasten and instruct them, hoping that they will yet become obedient; and though it causes him much sadness and sorrow, he does not regard it, nor does he cease to admonish, chasten and correct them. Do this also; give attention to reading, to exhortation, to reproof, and this with all discretion, in the fear of the Lord, not too severely, lest they become embittered; nor too leniently, lest they grow slothful and negligent. First Timothy 4, verse 13; Colossians 3, verse 21. So apply oil and wine to them, as the true Samaritan did to the wounded man. I think you understand what I mean. Therefore do not be slothful or careless with the gift that has been bestowed upon you; be faithful to Him who has counted you faithful, and accepted you as His ministers, and stewards of His mysteries. But it is required of stewards, that a man be found faithful. So be diligent laborers of the Lord in His vineyard, and faithful builders in His house. And put the pound which you have received from the Lord diligently out to usury, and remember the punishment of the slothful servant, who did not give his money to the bank, but put it into a napkin and hid it in the earth.

Remember it, I say, my dear brothers, and let it be a warning to you, just as Solomon says that the field of the slothful, and the vineyard of the man void of understanding, were a warning to him, when he says: "I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; and, behold, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered its face, and its stone wall was broken down. Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it and received instruction." Proverbs 24, verses 30 to 32. Thus also you, my dear brothers, be careful, and diligently dig through the vineyard of the Lord, with the plow or the hoe which breaks the hard stones in pieces, which is the word of God (Jeremiah 23, verse 29); so that the nettles and thorns may not oppress, destroy or choke the good seed that has been sown. Take also the sharp, two-edged sword (Ephesians 6, verse 17), and cut off clean the unfruitful, evil and dry branches, so that the others may be more healthy and vigorous in bringing forth fruit. Inspect the wall of the vineyard carefully too; if it begins to give way anywhere, prop up that part; if there are any openings in it, go to work and close them; and if it has fallen down in any place, build it up again quickly, so that the little foxes may not run into the Lord's vineyard, and dig it up and spoil it. Song of Songs 2, verse 15. And what more shall I say? Faithfully feed the flock of Christ, and watch with all carefulness over the souls of men. First Peter 5, verse 2. Take heed also that you administer needed reproof, and act and judge without respect of persons, and remember that judgment is God's and not yours. Deuteronomy 1, verse 17. Weigh every matter, therefore, in the balance of the divine Word, so that when you reprove, judge, or forgive anything, it may be truly reproved, judged or forgiven before the judgment of God as well, and thus your reproof agrees with God's reproof, your judgment with God's judgment, and your forgiveness with God's forgiveness. Take heed also that you do not carry avoidance too far, lest it prove a stumbling block to you. For avoidance is good indeed if it is not abused; however, its purpose is solely to avoid offenses (to which end it is instituted); so we must take heed that we do not, while seeking to avoid little offenses by it, cause greater ones. Matthew 18, verses 15 to 17; First Corinthians 5, verse 11; Second Thessalonians 3, verse 14. Give great attention to the first commandment with promise, namely: "Children, obey your parents in the Lord." Ephesians 6, verse 1. This is an express word; so be careful in this. Show a friendly face to all apostates, and admonish them with all kindness to that which they have surrendered and forsaken, and from which they have fallen: I mean such as receive admonition; for blasphemers and mockers are to be left alone. Second Thessalonians 3, verse 15; Titus 3, verse 10.

Dear brothers, I do not write this to you as something new, but to remind you of the old; for I would like to see carefulness exercised, and that one Scripture should not be observed so strictly and rigidly as thereby to violate another. For sometimes some resort to avoidance all at once, without the least discretion, and without pity for the fallen. So I advise carefulness. For if we are to have the mind of our Lord Jesus, indeed, if we are to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect, then let us consider from the heart His longsuffering, and how He has borne with us, and let us also show ourselves the same way toward our fellow servant, so that we give offense to no one, neither to the world, nor to the church of God. Philippians 2, verses 3 and 5; Matthew 5, verse 48; Colossians 3, verse 12; Matthew 18, verse 29; First Corinthians 10, verse 32. And do not be slothful in seeking men's souls either; wherever you have some hope, go there. Do not say: "It will be labor lost." Put your hand to the plow first, in the fear of the Lord, and ask Him to give the blessing; but you do the planting and the watering. Pray the Lord to give the increase. And if your efforts are then unsuccessful, you are free. For I have often felt accused that we have not sought men's souls much more, to the praise of the Lord.

O brother, beware of contentious tongues. Wherever you go, make peace there, if it can be done by the grace of God. O my dear brother, how greatly I am grieved over what was done in the upper country. Not that you should think that I am doubtful; oh, no, my brother; for I am still of the same mind as I indicated in the letter which I wrote to them; but I am simply fearful of the discord, by which many who would like to see it remedied, and are innocent, might perish. I do not know what account can be given for this before God. Oh, that those who are found guilty in this matter might fall down, weeping, before God, and repent of their sins! I am also concerned about the lower country, and would like to see them helped, and put under good order, for I find them still wanting in many things; yet I sincerely love them, but I would still like to see them put off much of their pride, and that they would consider what kind of people they ought to be, and to what they are called, so as to govern themselves accordingly, and that the elders do not stay at home when meeting is held. I do not say that it can be remedied right away. Do you also receive it heartily? O my dear brothers, be little and low in your own eyes, and do not be self-complacent, so as to think: I have done this, and the like. It is nothing; the Lord, and He alone, does all things, and this by man. So give Him alone the praise. And let no one esteem himself better than others; indeed, let each esteem others better than himself. And let all submit to one another, and in lowliness of mind let each serve the other. Philippians 2, verse 3; Ephesians 5, verse 21. And I desire of all brothers and sisters that they beware of all those who leave the church. And if you can, tell L: to take counsel with himself in the time of grace; for how will he be able to give an account in the day of judgment? For his own conscience, if he properly considers the matter, will accuse him. O L., O L., come back; for you are not in the best way. O my brothers, how much I had to suffer because of the many factions! So beware of divisions. Seek peace, if you can, and pursue it. First Peter 3, verse 11.

O my dear brothers, what liars I have had before me! Cassander, a man little and feeble of body, who led Joachim Suycherbacker astray, visited me, and laid many little snares to take my mind captive. He read to me a book printed in Latin, which stated that infant baptism was considered a clear commandment and a unanimous practice throughout the whole world, no one contradicting it, and he declared, though not with the power of divine Scripture, that they had received it from the apostles; and when I denied this with the New Testament, they asked me how, if I denied this and did not believe it, I could believe that the New Testament was true; for, said he, we had the latter from them, who recognized infant baptism as right; and that there had been many other writings that were also called apostolic, but were nevertheless not acknowledged as authentic, but rejected by them, but that they testified that all teachers confessed that this (namely, the New Testament) was the true apostolic doctrine, as also their baptism. They wanted to know how, if we meant to reject the one, we would maintain the other; for, said they, you must believe it from them, or else you could not know it. Thus also with baptism; and he further said that if we were right, it would follow from it that there had been no church for 1,500 years.

Nearly all who conversed with me dealt with this, for many and various persons visited me. There was one there who, as they said, had just come from Egypt; him they also brought to me, and he claimed that in Egypt they had received infant baptism from the eunuch who was baptized by Philip, and that he knew of no other baptism; but that if an adult person who had not been baptized desired baptism, the faith should first be presented to such a one. This, they said, had always been the sole practice there, and that if anyone opposed it, they said to him: "We have this practice from the apostles." But I denied it all with the New Testament, and said that whatever agreed with the same, I would gladly accept, and believe by the help of God; and nothing else. Then I had to hear again that the New Testament had been handed down to us by the teachers; otherwise, if we did not have it from them, we could not tell whether it was true or false. This they said many times. I replied to them: It did not help the King of Assyria at all that God used him for the conversion of his people, since he did not become converted himself. Isaiah 10, verse 5. So also it did not help Pharaoh, in his wickedness, that the power of God was made known and manifest to him. So also Caiaphas was not benefited by his prophecy concerning Christ (though it was true), because he himself was not obedient to the doctrine of Christ. With this I gave God alone the praise, saying that we had His Word from Him. Then they began to try to move me by many entreaties and solicitations; but when they could accomplish nothing by this, they began to threaten me severely; and when they saw that all this was of no avail, but only labor lost, they tortured me and our Brother Herman, which happened on the 17th of July. But thanks be to the good God, who does not forsake His own, but, in the time of suffering and affliction, comforts them at the right time. He kept our lips, so that they did not obtain one word (according to their will) from us, concerning what they asked us. Herman, however, was soon released. The chief reason why we were tortured was that we should tell how many teachers there were, what their names were, where they lived, where in the city I had taught, how many I had baptized, where the ministry was laid upon me, and what teachers were present on that occasion; and that I should acknowledge the magistrates as Christians, and infant baptism as right. Then I pressed my lips together, committed it to God, and suffered patiently, remembering the words of the Lord, where He says: "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends, if you do whatever I command you." John 15, verses 13 and 14. I also remembered that John says that we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. First John 3, verse 16. It seems as though I must suffer much yet; however, the Lord alone holds it in His hand; nor can I pray otherwise than that the will of the Lord be done.

O my brothers, knowledge or talk is of no account here, but a living faith which is adorned with the power of love, patience, hope, and with obedience, and that through the power of faith one can say with the three men Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego: O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer you in this matter. If it be so, our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you (O antichrist) that we will not serve your god, nor worship the image, or the two golden calves which you have set up. Daniel 3, verses 16 to 18. And that, if they should try to instruct one with high-sounding words of human wisdom, indeed, with soft words and entreaties (Colossians 2, verses 4 and 8), we could say through the power of faith: "Begone, I want none of your advice," and should then keep his lips sealed. But if one enters into more discussion with them than necessity requires, he will not escape unharmed. So I wish that all prisoners were instructed in this matter.

Few days pass that we do not talk together; yet I observed as much brevity as possible in confessing and speaking, though frequently three or four hours were spent in this way. I warn all prisoners, whenever you can, that they refuse everything; and remember us day and night, by praying to God. We are also minded the same way toward you, and I desire that you greet all believers much with the kiss of love, in our name.

Oh, how all believers lie at my heart, so that I very seldom forget them; indeed, I remember them with earnest prayers and requests (as much as is possible to me through the grace of God) before the Lord. I cannot write you much, for writing is more precious than gold with me. Do not write to us; as to the reason why, ponder it yourselves. The God of Israel keep you and us. Amen.

Matthias Servaes, your brother and prisoner of the Lord for the truth's sake. As regards the children whose bringing up devolves upon the church, I hold to the opinion you have heard from me. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all. Amen.