The True Christian Faith: The Murderer’s Faith

The evangelists teach that there were two malefactors crucified with Christ, the one on the right hand and the other on the left. “One of the malefactors who were hanged railed at him, saying, If you are Christ, save yourself and us. But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, Do you not fear God, seeing you are in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing amiss. And he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus said to him, Truly I say to you, Today you shall be with me in Paradise,” Luke 23, verses 39 to 43.

Good reader, observe particularly what I write. When we look closely at the confession of this evildoer, we are astonished at the great power, the good nature, the abundance of fruit, the spiritual vision, the energetic love and the free confession of his faith. It is evident that he had been an abandoned, ungodly reprobate, who neither knew nor feared God, but maliciously committed all manner of sins, robbed his neighbor of his goods, and shed his blood. Matthew and Mark call him a murderer, and Luke calls him a malefactor. This appears to be so, as he himself testifies that he had to die for crimes which he had committed.

Notwithstanding all this, as soon as this malefactor, stretched out on the cross between Jerusalem and Mount Calvary, heard the word of God from the mouth of the Lord in his last distress, it worked in him so powerfully that his heart within him was touched and changed. This led him from that moment to seek the salvation of his fellow men, and he rebuked his reviling companion, saying, Do you not fear God? He confessed his own sins and his maliciousness, saying, We are receiving according to our merits and works. And he acknowledged the condemned Jesus (who was cursed by the chief priests, Pharisees and scribes to die on the cross as one of the most abandoned malefactors, and was denied by the people and condemned to death) to be innocent, righteous, pure and without sin, saying, This one has done no evil. Besides this, he also sought grace and mercy from God, although to human understanding it appeared that he was denied all mercy and every favor by both God and man. For he was at this time the most rejected and despised of all men, as the prophet laments, Isaiah 53, verse 6; and the thief appealed to no one else, in heaven or upon earth, than to this poor, innocent, slandered, banished and crucified Jesus, drawing near to him in full confidence, as to the throne of divine grace, so that he might obtain the remission of his sins, saying, “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

I think this may justly be called a true Christian faith, and a truly worthy fruit of penitence and repentance. And to the Lord it was nothing other than a refreshing of his thirsty soul, a soothing of his deep wounds, a consolation in his sore distress, and a comfort in his painful sufferings and cruel death; so that in that same hour he heard from Jesus the consoling, joyful word of divine grace and eternal peace, namely: Do not fear; all your sins which you committed in your ignorance are covered; they shall never again be remembered, either by me or by my Father. I pledge my innocent blood as security; therefore be of good cheer. What you desired you have already obtained: “Today you shall be with me in Paradise.”

See, my reader, here you have in the malefactor mentioned a fair example of a sincere Christian faith, with its properties, disposition, nature, power and fruits. With this same murderer many vain despisers comfort and flatter themselves in their sinful and impenitent lives, and think and say to themselves, God is merciful; he knows that we are the children of Adam; even if we do not live as the Scriptures teach, and as they would have us live, yet we hope by the grace of God to be saved, as the murderer was. These poor creatures do not know that the thief will be a sore condemnation to them, because they hear the word of the Lord so often and do not believe it, nor obey it. Ah, reader, do not mock God in this way! I fear many will be disappointed in their hopes in this matter.

Again I say that all willful despisers who say and think this in their hearts must be eternally convicted by this thief, and shall stand ashamed. For as soon as he heard the gospel of grace, he received it in a pure conscience through faith, and became penitent, regenerated and pious. And these hear it year after year, and see daily so many fair fruits, and see that it is so gloriously testified with possessions and blood; nevertheless they remain unbelievers and are hardened in sin. For they reject the inviting grace, they resist the working Spirit, they despise the preached word, they trample underfoot the offered gift; and they say, Where are the Scriptures by which we may comfort such unreasonable, shameful scorners, or promise and proclaim to them the grace and peace of the Lord?

I fear they are the barren, unfruitful earth of which Paul speaks, which drinks in the rain of the holy, divine word that often comes upon it, and nevertheless bears only thorns and thistles, and is rejected and near to cursing, to be burned. They are those of whom Solomon laments and says, “How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? And the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? Because I have called, and you refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but you have set at nought all my counsel, and would have none of my reproof; I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear comes, and when distress and anguish come upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer,” Proverbs 1, verses 22 to 28. But because they do not look for light, he will turn it into the shadow of death and make it gross darkness.

The murderer believed as soon as he heard. O that they would do the same, and think upon what David said, “Today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the provocation,” Hebrews 3, verse 15.

The murderer heard only once and believed, and these hear it so often, and yet they do not believe. He heard and was changed; but these hear and remain the same, and harden their hearts more and more.

He reproved his reviling companion, and admonished him that he should fear God; but these blaspheme and revile all the faithful who do so, and love those who hate the truth. He confessed his sins and wickedness without reserve and without fear; but these, however greedy, drunken, proud, unchaste, unclean, envious and idolatrous they are, do not confess their transgressions and sins; and when they are called to repent and reform, they say, Why, what have we done?

He acknowledged that Christ’s kingdom was not earthly, for he said, When you come into your kingdom; but these have all their pleasure in gold and silver, in eating and drinking, in splendor and wantonness, and in the perishable, visible riches of the world. They do not regard the invisible, eternal riches which Christ out of grace has bestowed upon all his believers, and merited for them by the shedding of his precious blood.

He confessed the poor, condemned, crucified Jesus before all the rulers, priests and Pharisees and before the people, and acknowledged him as his Savior and Lord; but these, alas, deny his almighty Majesty, his heavenly origin and glory, and do not regard his judgment, Spirit, word, ordinances, commands, sacraments and promises, although he has seated himself as a triumphant and conquering prince at the right hand of the Father, and has received all power, both in heaven and upon earth, in the eternal glory of the Father.

He sought mercy, favor and the forgiveness of his sins from Christ; but these seek it from their preachers, priests and monks, through masses, confessions, absolution, bread and wine, holy water and similar superstitions and abominations.

Because he believed in Christ, he heard the pleasing words, Today you shall be with me in Paradise; but because these do not believe in Christ, they shall hear the dreadful, unbearable and awful sentence, Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire. Their faith was unlike, and so will their reward be. Let all mockers take this to heart.

And so, take notice, in the end this penitent sinner will rise up against those who have comforted themselves with him in their sins, and accuse and condemn them before the face of his Majesty. For they have so often heard the sweet melody of the divine word, and were never grateful, nor ever learned or believed it with open and renewed hearts; but the murderer heard it only once and immediately believed. Ah, dear children, beware, and seek Christ while he may be found, and call on him while he is still near, lest his anger go forth and the fire of his fierce wrath consume you.

Do you think, O perverse scorners, that you can receive or reject faith, repentance, sorrow for sin and the grace of God at your pleasure? O no! Holy Paul says, “Even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind,” Romans 1, verse 28. That sentence shall be passed upon all proud scorners. Children, beware!

Consider this parable. There is a very rich potentate, emperor or king, whom I, through great ignorance, have hated all my days. He had compassion on me, and because I am such a poor man, he offered me through his faithful servants not only his favor and friendship, but also a great sum of gold and many precious stones and gems, and all this out of love and compassion. And I am so ungrateful that, instead of giving food and drink to the faithful servants of this kind prince who loves me dearly, in return for these great favors, I turn them out of doors with shame and disgrace, throw mud and stones at them, put them into prison and bonds, deprive them of property and life, take the offered gifts, put them in a closet and trample them underfoot, and so on; and I inform the prince that I do not want his presents now, but if he will offer them again in the course of one or ten years, then perhaps I will make up my mind, receive them, and give my thanks for the favors. Now I will let you all judge whether it would be right for such a prince to offer his favor again, since I treated him and his servants so treacherously; or whether he should not much rather turn his favor into displeasure and his love into wrath toward me, for my presumptuous tyranny and haughty rejection of his favors, and punish me severely. I think you would award me his punishment and not his grace.

So it is with you, O you scorners! The merciful Lord, whose riches and grace are immense, has graciously pitied us in these abominable last days, and had compassion on our great blindness and deadly poverty, although we have hated his holy will from our infancy. Through his faithful servants he has freely offered us his beloved Son with his holy word, Spirit, merits, ordinances and example; he has offered us his grace, peace and eternal life, kingdom, inheritance, joy and glory, together with the remission of our sins; he has dug about us and tended us, barren trees, for many years. He calls and teaches daily through his chosen, who willingly sacrifice possessions and life as a testimony. He sets the father against the son and the son against the father, the mother against the daughter and the daughter against the mother, the members of the household against one another, and friend against friend, and so on. Some he allows to be driven about in strange countries, in tribulation, in sorrow, in misery, in fear, in want, in vexation, in deserts, in mountains, in dens and in caves of the earth. He gives signs in the sun, moon and stars in heaven; in earthquakes, war, pestilence, new diseases, famine and unheard-of wonders upon the earth. As a hen gathers her chickens, he would gather us under the wings of his love; and as a faithful shepherd of his sheep, he would bring us into the right fold of his grace, bring us into the chamber of his covenant and kiss us with the lips of his peace, wash us from all our uncleanness and make us his bride, redeem us from the dominion of hell and death, and lead us into the kingdom of heaven and of eternal life. In short, he would release us from the power of darkness and the devil, and receive us and make us holy as his chosen children and heirs.

But alas, as far as you are concerned, it is altogether in vain. As already said, you reject his offered grace and word; you persecute and kill his faithful servants and ministers; you slander and blaspheme the blameless, pious life together with the confession of the saints; you scoff at his great signs, wonders and reproofs. Your faces are like those of the lecherous, and your hearts like diamonds; you are neither ashamed, nor will you be converted. You say with the perverse scorners, Depart from us, for we do not desire the knowledge of your ways. What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit should we have if we pray to him? Job 21, verses 14 and 15.

Since, then, you are so ungrateful to your God, indeed, so altogether vain and insulting toward him who has shown us such great mercy from the beginning, that you entirely reject and disregard his fatherly admonitions, chastenings, doctrines, commands, obedience to his holy word, and the innocent blood of his saints, together with all his great powers and miracles; indeed, you consider them mere deception and heresy; you do not regard the day of grace; you thoughtlessly trample underfoot Christ and his Holy Spirit, gospel, regeneration, faith, sacraments, death and blood, together with all his other spiritual riches and heavenly gifts; and you do not fear, seek, love, honor, thank nor serve the almighty, immortal, only and eternal God; and you still hope that you will be saved with the murderer: then I tell and warn you in sincere love, while it is still today, that your hopes will not be realized. For when you think to find him, he will hide himself from you; he will turn his fierce countenance upon you, as the Scriptures say, “Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me,” Proverbs 1, verse 28.

I therefore entreat and exhort my readers in general to hear while you have ears, and see while you have eyes; to understand while you have hearts; to awaken and watch while you have time and room, lest your ears, eyes, hearts and opportunities be taken from you, and you become deaf, blind, impenitent, hardened and perverse.

Friends, beware! Now it is today; yesterday is past; tomorrow is not promised to us. The time is short; see, the judge is at the door. Therefore do not delay to turn to the Lord, and do not put it off from day to day, for his wrath will soon overtake you. Late repentance, says Augustine, is seldom true; but if it is true, it is never too late. Repent while you enjoy health, he says, so that you may be certain.

Therefore do as the thief or murderer did, for as soon as he heard, he believed. You too must hear in this way and believe in this way, for the eyes of the Lord are upon the faithful. The Savior says, Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled; those who seek shall find; those who ask shall receive; to those who knock it shall be opened. But if you refuse when he seeks to bestow his grace upon you, he will also refuse when you seek him and would gladly obtain his grace. “Those who despise me,” says the Lord, “shall be lightly esteemed,” First Samuel 2, verse 30.

Therefore seek while it is day, that you may find; ask, that you may receive; hear, that you may believe; believe, that you may do; and do, that you may live. For from hearing comes faith; out of faith, doctrine; and on obedience the fulfillment of the promise depends.

For this reason all things are attributed to faith in the Scriptures, such as true repentance, regeneration, sanctification of the heart, the righteousness which counts before God, and the blessing of salvation and everlasting life; for faith is the source and cause of all good, as has been fully told.

Seeing, then, that this is the true and proper ground of the Scriptures, as we have briefly explained, you will have to confess that all willful scorners are put to shame in their doings by the thief, and that he will be their accuser in the day of the Lord, as the Lord says of the Ninevites and of the Queen of the South.

All who hear and believe the word of Christ, and are turned by the power of faith with all their hearts to Christ, who acknowledge Christ openly before all the world by a blameless, pious life, and confidently seek his grace and mercy, and so on: to them he is a glorious comforter, a precious balm and ointment in their troubled and wounded consciences. By him they may see and know God’s boundless favor, mercy and love toward all truly penitent sinners, however long and heinously they have sinned, so that by faith they may satisfy their souls with him, and not doubt the grace of God on account of the sinful lives in which they formerly walked. For the Lord did not withhold his grace, nor did he say, No, thief, your sins are too great and numerous, and you have also sinned too long. But as soon as he saw his new heart and heard him confessing, he bestowed his grace upon the poor, distressed sinner, forgave him all his sins, and said, Today you shall be with me in Paradise; for he who believes in me has eternal life. The prophet also says, If the righteous turns from his unrighteousness and does righteously, I will not remember the unrighteousness which he did.

Luke says, “One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and sat down to eat. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, and stood at his feet behind him, weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment,” Luke 7, verses 36 to 38.

Here, in the case of this sinner, we again learn what kind of heart, disposition, fruit and life a sincere, true Christian faith produces. She was possessed by seven devils (if she was the woman called Mary Magdalene, whom the evangelists mention), and, as it appears, lived according to the inclinations of her flesh, for she is called a sinner in the Scriptures, as long as the Lord had not called her out of darkness into light, from lies to truth. As soon as she heard his word, she received it eagerly in a sincere and renewed heart, by which she, who was a great sinner, became a penitent and pious woman. Her unrighteous, carnal heart was so warmed and touched that her eyes streamed with tears, so that she wet the feet of the Savior with them. She used her hair as a towel to wipe his feet; her greed was quelled; she anointed his head and feet with precious ointment, which might have been sold for three hundred pence; her proud heart was humbled. She did not seek the highest seat at the table, but sat mournfully at the feet of the Lord and heard his blessed word.

When the Pharisee saw this, he murmured. Christ said to him, “Simon, do you see this woman? I entered into your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has washed my feet with tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head. You gave me no kiss, but this woman, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil you did not anoint, but this woman has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much; but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little. And he said to her, Your sins are forgiven;*** your faith has saved you; go in peace,” Luke 7, verses 44 to 48, and 50.

Beloved reader, take notice that all the proud, haughty, greedy, carnal and adulterous, who call themselves Christians but are by no means such, and who testify by their disposition, heart, mind and walk that they hate Christ and are hostile to him, are shamed and reproved in all their actions by this regenerated, penitent sinner; for through her faith she changed her proud, haughty and obstinate heart into a humble, contrite and broken one.

They say that they believe, and yet there are no limits nor bounds to their accursed wantonness, foolish pomp, and show of silks, velvet, costly clothes, gold rings, chains, silver belts, pins, buttons, curiously adorned shirts, handkerchiefs, collars, veils, aprons, velvet shoes, slippers and similar foolish finery; never considering that the enlightened apostles Peter and Paul have, in plain and express words, forbidden this to all Christian women. If this is forbidden to women, how much more should men abstain from it, who are the leaders and heads of their women. Notwithstanding all this, they still want to be called the Christian church.

Everyone makes an ostentatious display; indeed, some go beyond their ability to pay. One wants to outdo another in foppery, or at least to be equal with him, and does not reflect that it is written, “Do not love the world, nor the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passes away, and its lust; but he who does the will of God abides forever,” First John 2, verses 15 to 17.

Again I say, this sinful woman believed, and from that moment she was freed from disgraceful sins, for the unclean devil was cast out, as you have heard. But what abominable, disgraceful unchastity, adultery and fornication is practiced among many men and women (who boast that they believe) in many cities and countries is best known to him before whose eyes all things are open; and, alas, it is not wholly hidden from men either. It is plain that the world is full of lewdness, adulterers, fornicators, sodomites, buggerers, bastards and illegitimate children; and, alas, it has come so far that they live in peace and liberty, notwithstanding that God commanded through Moses that both the adulterer and the adulteress should die, Deuteronomy 22, verse 22; that there should be neither whores nor whoremongers in Israel; and that illegitimate children, even to the tenth generation, were not to be admitted into the congregation of the Lord. And further, it was the express command and ordinance of God that if anyone in Israel had intercourse with a virgin who was not betrothed or engaged, he was compelled to marry her, if her father consented, and was not to put her away all his days, because he had humbled her, Exodus 22, verse 16.

Ah, reader, reflect upon what the last command contains. They all boast, however lewd they are, that they are spiritual Israelites, that they have the truth, and are baptized in the name of Christ; and yet they are not ashamed to reduce their poor, weak sisters, who are joined with them in the same faith, baptism, holy Supper and worship, to poor, deluded and degraded harlots, against all Scripture and Christian love; although God’s own word and the quoted command tell them that if they have lain with them, they should marry them and never forsake them. If they would reflect more seriously upon these things, many a disgraced one would be spared her shame; whereas now many a child is so mercilessly disgraced, and many a girl and virgin robbed of her honor and virtue.

I write you the truth in Christ; you may believe it if you will: if you are a Christian or would be one, and have seduced even one poor child with your subtle attempts and pretenses, and if you would not lose your soul, you will have to marry her and not forsake her nor cast her away from you; for you have humbled her, as you have heard. See, this is the Lord’s own word and law. All, therefore, who knowingly despise this law of God, and reject the disgraced one and marry another, will have to confess before God that the first one is his wife, and not the last one. O you violators of female chastity, reflect upon these things and learn wisdom.

If you would say that this command applies only to Israel and not to the Christian, I would then ask you in the first place whether you consider yourself to be a Christian or not. If you say no, then do all you like, and look for the judgment threatened to all who are outside Christ. But if you say yes, then the matter is already decided: she must be your wife. For a Christian must not live with a sister in such a manner as to make her a prostitute. O no! The Scriptures teach that Christians are members of Christ, and not whores and profligates. I hope this blunt language will be understood.

In the second place I ask, Which of the two peoples should be the more holy and virtuous, the literal or the spiritual? If you say the literal, then you have exalted Moses with his people and service above Christ, which is plainly opposed to all Scripture. But if you say the spiritual, then the matter is again decided: she must be your wife. If the literal must not make his sister a prostitute, much less the spiritual, which is the Lord’s own body, brother, sister, family and bride.

In the third place I ask whether the command, You shall love your neighbor as yourself, is not given to the Christians as well as to Israel. If you say no, you have denied the whole New Testament, which teaches and earnestly insists upon the love of our neighbor. But if you say yes, then I say for the third time that she must be your lawful wife. Because you so abominably disgraced and humbled her, contrary to the command of love, the Scriptures teach that you are to restore her to honor and take her to be your wife. Let everyone see to it; the commands of love will always remain. Blessed are those who heed them and observe them in fear.

In the fourth place I ask whether there is anyone who can transgress and break the command of God with a good conscience. If you say yes, then you deny the Scriptures, which teach that we shall walk in the ways of the Lord and keep his commandments. But if you say no, then I tell you for the fourth time that she is, and must be, your wife; for it is the command of God, firmly based upon love, that if you have lain with a virgin, you should marry her and never forsake her, as you have heard.

See, my reader, here you are more than plainly taught what the word of the Lord teaches in this matter. And if you continue so ungodly as to transgress the command of the Lord by disgracing one and marrying another, you may read the consequences in First Corinthians 6, verses 9 and 10, unless you sincerely repent.

I by no means write this to encourage anyone who has ignorantly done so in days gone by to leave the wife whom he afterward married, and take the disgraced one in her place. Not at all; for I do not doubt that the merciful Father will graciously overlook the errors of those who have ignorantly done so, and who will from now on fear and willingly obey his commands. But I write this so that everyone may guard himself against such disgrace, reflect more deeply upon the command of the Lord and of love, and observe how wholly Christ is neglected by the world. For, alas, they are generally driven by their accursed lusts, whether they are lords, princes, priests, monks, noble or common, citizens or peasants; with few exceptions they are so inflamed that they pursue this unbecoming, devilish disgrace of accursed lechery as the dog pursues the hare. They are, says Jeremiah 5, verse 8, like fed horses in the morning; everyone neighed after his neighbor’s wife. There is nothing that can deter or keep them from this accursed abomination: neither natural honor, nor Moses with all his threatenings, neither the prophets, nor Christ Jesus himself, nor the apostles, neither heaven nor the angels; indeed, neither hell nor devil, neither life nor death. If only they can satisfy their unchaste, disgraceful lust, then all is well with them.

They are wholly bent upon this. Some they seduce with fair words, others with false promises and gifts, some by giving them wine to drink, by dancing and frivolous songs, some by courteous flattery, by amorous tenderness and similar artifices; indeed, some deceive with their affected sighs and tears. If only they can accomplish their ungodly designs and gratify their lusts, then all is right and they rejoice. But by this they provoke Almighty God, transgress his holy word, disgrace their neighbor, do violence to the law of love, defile the marriage bed, violate virgins, father illegitimate children, and destroy their poor souls eternally; about all this they care nothing. They say, This is our portion and our lot, and nothing else.

I therefore say with Moses, Cursed by God be those who do works of iniquity; and all the people shall say, Amen. And with Job, that hell will consume them as drought and heat consume the snow waters; with Paul, that God will judge them; and with John, their part is in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the eternal (second) death. Ah, that these poor people would take heed, and believe and observe the words of the Lord!

In the second place, I write this so that everyone might awaken, sincerely repent, and weep before God over his past disgraceful conduct, lest God cast him off eternally, but rather be gracious to him for the sake of the blood of his Son; and so that he may no more defile his neighbor’s bed, nor disgrace virgins, but live in all honor, each with his own wife; that the unmarried keep free from lechery, and if he cannot restrain himself, let him seek a pious wife in the fear of God; and that he who has transgressed, and has not taken another, honor the disgraced one, and, according to Christian love and the word of God, rescue her from her degraded state; and so teach their children and children’s children, from generation to generation, just as Tobias taught his son, saying, Beware of all whoredom, my son, and do not take a strange woman, but keep to your own wife.

“Do you not know,” says Paul, “that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them the members of a harlot? God forbid,” First Corinthians 6, verse 15. Again he says, “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that you should abstain from fornication; that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel (body) in sanctification and honor, not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles who do not know God; for God has not called us to uncleanness, but to holiness,” First Thessalonians 4, verses 3 to 7. Yes, good reader, true believers have to lead an honorable and chaste life, so that adultery, lechery and unchastity are not so much as mentioned among them, privately or openly; if anyone among them even mentions it, it is an abomination, for so it befits the saints to live.

As we find many wicked men who shamefully seduce poor, simple hearts, so on the other hand we find shameless women and girls who are often the first cause that such disgrace is sought, and sometimes practiced, upon them. Although many are not guilty of the deed, they are nevertheless not guiltless, in that they make so free with other men and companions in open trifling, singing, dancing, drinking, kissing, courting, flirting and similar vanity and abominations, by which they kindle the fire of base passions, which burns on until it is consumed, as may be seen.

O how rightly Sirach admonishes us when he says, “Do not meet with a harlot, lest you fall into her snares. Do not keep much company with a woman who is a singer, lest you be taken by her attempts. Do not gaze on a maid, lest you fall by those things that are precious in her. Do not give your soul to harlots, lest you lose your inheritance. Do not look round about you in the streets of the city, nor wander in its solitary places. Turn away your eye from a beautiful woman, and do not look upon another’s beauty; for many have been deceived by the beauty of a woman, for by it love is kindled as a fire. Do not sit at all with another man’s wife, nor sit down with her in your arms, and do not spend your money with her at the wine, lest your heart incline to her, and so through your desire you fall into destruction,” Ecclesiasticus 9, verses 3 to 9.

If the aforementioned married and unmarried women were true believers, as the sinful woman was, they would also fear the Lord; they would abandon all vanity and ungodly actions, lay snares for no one, and give no occasion for evil. Indeed, they would walk honorably and modestly, avoid every kind of pride and excess, and make or desire no other clothes than those necessary and suitable for their daily labor. They would not frequent the idolatrous temple and idle banquets, for which occasions this pompous show is generally put on.

The sinful woman adorned her soul and not her outward appearance, for she believed; but these adorn their bodies and not their souls, for they do not believe.

The sinful woman sighed and wept, and was afraid of the wrath and judgment of the Lord, for she saw that she had done wrong and sinned; but these laugh and sing, dance and prance about, and do not see their enormous misdeeds and great sins, and therefore they do not fear the wrath and judgment of the Lord.

She was compassionate and merciful, anointed the head and the feet of the Lord, and found the true worship; but these are merciless and cruel, and know of no other worship than to go to the chapel to receive holy water; to offer tapers and wax candles to blind blocks and images; to offer masses and vespers; to call upon the departed saints for help; to confess once or twice a year to their idolatrous, drunken, lewd priests; to receive their bread of abomination and absolution; and similar superstitions and delusions.

The sinful woman sought the company of the righteous; but these seek the company of the unrighteous. They visit one another to talk all kinds of foolishness, to injure their neighbor’s reputation, to slander and backbite, to speak disgracefully of one another, and to talk of costly furniture, houses, goods and handsome companions, men and fine clothing. In short, their works openly show that they do not have the faith of the sinful woman, and do not belong to the congregation of the righteous.

The sinful woman sat at the feet of Jesus and heard his holy word; but these hear teachers who can tickle their ears and preach to please them. In short, why need I say much? It is, O God, so corrupted that we find the whole world filled with foolish men and women (I mean spiritually), deaf ears and unenlightened hearts. The blind are leading the blind, and they will all fall into the pit of eternal death unless they are enlightened again, if we believe what the mouth of the Lord has taught us to be true; for their doctrine, sacraments and worship are altogether false, and their unbelief and carnality prevail everywhere.

See, reader, take notice here how vastly this sinful woman, after her conversion, differs in her faith and conduct from the faith and conduct of the world. They are like the sinful woman before her conversion, but not after it. Whether such people are believers, I will let the sensible reader reflect upon with the Spirit and word of the Lord.

I know for certain that a proud, haughty, greedy, selfish, unchaste, lecherous, quarrelsome, envious, disobedient, idolatrous, false, lying, unfaithful, thievish, slandering, backbiting, bloodthirsty, merciless and revengeful man, whoever he may be, is no Christian, even if he were baptized a hundred times and attended the Lord’s Supper daily. For it is not the sacraments, or the signs, such as baptism and the Lord’s Supper, but a sincere Christian faith, with its blameless, pious fruits, represented by the sacraments, that makes a true Christian and has the promise of life.

Here neither masses, holy water, holy days, rosaries, auricular confession nor absolution avail; only a believing, contrite, broken heart, spirit and mind, a penitent, changed, new heart, a pious life, dead to sin, according to the truth, will avail. Such was the confession and repentance of the sinful woman, and she also heard at once, Your sins are forgiven, your faith has saved you, go in peace.

But the abominable auricular confession which is so highly esteemed by the world is nothing but hypocrisy, human righteousness and superstition, an open delusion of unbelievers, a false hope of the impenitent sinner, and a subtle invention for gain by the greedy priests, by which they set aside true confession and repentance, and comfort and encourage the world in its reckless, ungodly life.

But if you would rightly confess and repent, and receive true absolution from God, then approach him with a believing, penitent and regenerated heart, with a sorrowing, broken, distressed mind; stop sinning; do justice to your neighbor; love, help, serve, reprove and comfort him; and if you have sinned against him or deceived him, acknowledge it to him and be reconciled with him. See, this is the only true confession and penance which is taught in the word of God. The Lord grant that you may rightly understand and perform this confession and repentance.

I therefore entreat and urge all women, by the mercy of the Lord, to take this sinful, sorrowing woman as a pattern and follow her faith. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and rebuke your greed, pride, obscenity and every kind of evil. Let all your thoughts be pure, and let your words be careful and seasoned. And whatever you do, do it in the name and fear of the Lord Jesus. Do not adorn yourselves with gold, silver, costly pearls and braided hair, but dress yourselves in such clothing as becomes women professing godliness, and which is serviceable. Be obedient to your husbands in all reasonable things, so that those who do not believe may be won without the word by your upright, pious conduct, as Peter says.

Stay within your houses and gates, unless you have something of importance to do, such as attending to your temporal affairs, ministering to the needy, hearing the word of the Lord, or attending his holy sacraments, and so on. Attend faithfully to your charge, to your children, house and servants, and to all that is commanded you, and walk in all things as the sinful woman did after her conversion, so that you may be true daughters of Sarah, believing women, sisters of Christ, and joint heirs of a future life, First Peter 3, verse 6. Then you shall hear the gracious words, Your sins are forgiven, your faith has saved you, go in peace.