Reply to Gellius Faber: Excommunication, Ban or Separation

Before I begin a reply to Gellius’ excuse for why they do not practice Excommunication, Ban or Separation in their church, I would briefly refer the kind reader to various passages of the Scriptures, to show that Excommunication, Ban or Separation was not always practiced by the Lord’s people in the same manner, nor according to the same ordinance. The ban of Moses was punishment with death, Deuteronomy, chapter 13; Leviticus, chapter 16; Numbers, chapter 31; Joshua, chapter 7. This ban was in force until the Roman rule. At that time a change was made; for under the Roman scepter they were not allowed to carry out the law with regard to capital punishment as before. But they separated those who disobeyed the law; that is, they cast them out of their synagogues and assemblies, avoided daily dealings with them, and neither ate nor drank with them, as may be learned from many of the Scriptures of the apostles, Luke 15, verse 2; Matthew 18, verse 17; First Corinthians 5, verse 11; Second Thessalonians 3, verses 6 to 14.

The doctrine and example of Christ Jesus and of the holy apostles unanimously point us to this shunning, rule and practice; and from them we receive the following two benefits.

In the first place, that we are not deceived by the erroneous doctrine of false spirits, and weakened by their carnal, vain life, Second John 1, verse 10. “Do you not know,” says Paul, “that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Purge out, therefore, the old leaven,” and so on, First Corinthians 5, verses 6 and 7.

Indeed, my reader, wherever this excommunication, ban or separation is zealously and earnestly taught and maintained in the fear of God, without respect of persons, there, without doubt, the church of the Lord will be kept unprofaned, in wholesome, pure doctrine and in an inoffensive life. But where this is neglected, we find nothing but vanity and worldliness, as may be plainly seen in all the churches and sects which are not of us.

Reader, observe: so long as the literal Israel followed the ordinance of the Lord in this respect, and punished those who deserved the ban according to the word of the Lord, they remained upright and pious. But when they neglected it, turned their ears to falsehood and gave way to false prophets, they strayed from the way of life and degenerated into all kinds of wickedness and idolatry, as the prophetic Scriptures complain and testify on every hand.

It was the same with the early church. For so long as the pastors and teachers strictly required a godly, pious life, served baptism and the Supper to the penitent alone, and rightly practiced separation according to the Scriptures, they remained the church and community of Christ. But as soon as they began to seek an easy, careless life and to shun the cross of Christ, they laid aside the rod, preached peace to the people, gradually abandoned the ban, and so established an antichristian church, a Babel or worldly church, as may, alas, be seen if we look back over the last several centuries. Indeed, my reader, if we had not strictly maintained this means ordained by God until now, then we and ours would by this day have been a reproach and a curse to the world; while now, I trust, by the grace of God they will be, in their weakness, an example and a light to many people, although the world will not acknowledge it. In short, a church without ban or separation is like a vineyard without a fence and trenches, or a city without walls; for the enemies have free entry into it, to sow and plant their pernicious tares unhindered.

In the second place, that the wicked, by a reasonable admonition and by separation from the pious, may become ashamed at heart, humble themselves and sincerely repent before God and the church. That is why Paul delivered the Corinthian to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus, First Corinthians 5, verse 5. In the same way he delivered Hymeneus and Alexander, that they might no longer blaspheme, First Timothy 1, verse 20. In another place he writes, “If any man does not obey our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed; yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother,” Second Thessalonians 3, verses 14 and 15.

See, reader, here you have it briefly stated for whom, how and to what purpose the ban or separation is ordained in the house and church of the Lord. Judge now, if you fear God, whether it is not an especially noble and necessary institution of pure love, ordained by the God of love for a service of love, although the unenlightened and the rebellious judge and consider it enmity. For its final purpose and fruit is that the church may remain sound in doctrine and blameless in life, and that those who err, either in doctrine or in life, may be converted and return again to the pasture and flock of the Lord. But how far, indeed, how very far, are all the preachers and churches of the world from this God-pleasing ordinance and very necessary practice.

His first excuse for why separation is not practiced in their church is that the papist abomination has so abominably destroyed the ordinance of the churches and the right use of the ban by its abuse that it cannot be immediately re-established.

Answer. If we diligently search the writings of the historians and compare the actions of the church to which they refer with the Scriptures, then I think we will surely find that among all the German nations there was not a true, apostolic, Christian church which stood right in doctrine, sacraments, ordinances and life; but that they were all founded on the papist foundation and abominations, and have remained so these many years.

The church, then, is not founded by the apostles on the foundation of Christ, but is founded by the Pope on his own foundation, and is in every respect a papist and not a Christian church; and it is plain that at this hour it has neither teachers, communion, life nor sacraments that conform to the ordinance, doctrine and example of Christ. Therefore he cannot practice the ban until he separates himself, because he is a falsifier of the Scriptures and a deceiver of souls, and then the whole church, because they are generally impenitent in life and outside the command, ordinance and word of Christ in doctrine, as may plainly be seen. Cogita quae dico, Qui male facit, non videt Deum, Third John, verse 11. Remember that it is said, “He that does evil has not seen God.” [Note 1]

In the second place he writes, “We admit that negligence is found in many churches, which we cannot commend. In some places it is caused by the magistracy punishing all open transgressions so diligently that the pastors consider it unnecessary to put the ban into force.”

Answer. In my opinion it is high time that the preachers stopped their trifling with the souls of men; that they frankly acknowledged that they are not the church of the Lord, but a poor, erring and worldly flock; and that they then earnestly began to learn to know themselves, and next to preach rightly the word of sincere repentance in the power of the Spirit. All those who accepted it in sincerity of heart and truly repented should be served the sacraments of the Lord according to the ordinance of God; and those who stubbornly rejected it should be excommunicated by virtue of the holy word, without respect of persons. Then they might gather a church to Christ and rightly practice the ordinance of the Lord according to the Scriptures.

But so long as they baptize unconscious children, regard all who are baptized as Christians, give the bread to the impenitent, and admit all the greedy, the extortioners, the pompous, the drinkers and carousers into the communion of their churches, the world will be their church and their church the world. In such a state of affairs they may preach and admonish about separation and the true church ordinances all their lives, but they will never establish them; for it is evident that all their doctrines and sacraments are nothing but a vapor, vain and powerless, since they are not the rightly called preachers, their sacraments are not the true sacraments, and their disciples are not the Lord’s church and people.

Tell me, beloved, how shall a house be built without workmen, timber, iron, stone and mortar? Qui sanicordis est, cogitet quae dico. He who is of sound mind may ponder what I say.

I would further say that if Gellius rightly understood Christ and his word, he would be ashamed all his life, and for these two reasons.

First, because he undertakes to excuse the neglect of the pastors by saying that the magistracy punishes open transgressions, as if the ban were therefore not necessary. I think that hundreds of pastors can be found in Germany who never in their lives knew that the greedy, the drunken, the adulterous and so on should be excommunicated; indeed, what is worse, the greater part of them are themselves guilty of such infamous doings.

In my opinion it is as clear as daylight that his covering up and dressing up this ignorance, indeed, this negligence and disgrace, with the excuse that the magistracy punishes the transgressors is nothing less than willfully defending falsehood and opposing truth.

Second, because he complains that the magistracy does not grant the pastors authority or a hearing. Tell me, kind reader, where in all the days of your life did you read in the apostolic Scriptures that Christ or the apostles requested the authority of the magistracy to punish those who would not hear their doctrine or obey their words? Indeed, reader, I know for certain that wherever the magistracy has to maintain the ban by the force of the sword, there the true knowledge, Spirit, word and church of Christ are not. Whether this is not what the papists rightly call Invocare brachium seculare, that is, invoking the assistance of the world, I will leave to the judgment of the discerning reader.

Notice here also his hypocrisy and his pernicious flattery of those in high standing. For where, alas, do we find more ungodliness than among those in authority? Nevertheless, he wants the ban to be maintained by them, as if they were the true and faithful members of the church of Christ and children of his community; and he never notices that if the pastors would judge rightly according to the holy word, the magistrates, next to the preachers themselves, would be the first who ought, according to the Scriptures, to be separated and excluded from the communion of the pious.

Since in this instance he so openly coaxes and flatters the magistrates and those of high standing, against all the Scriptures, I cannot neglect to admonish all magistrates and those under them, and to warn them in faithful love, to consider how miserably they are deceived by the preachers. Beloved lords, take note. You all boast that you are Christians and have the word of God, while it is plain that so many of the lords and princes daily shed human blood like water by their ungodly warring and tumult; that they rob many innocent people of their homes and property; that they make many afflicted orphans and helpless children; and that many of them drink and carouse day and night, and abuse the creatures of God beyond measure, namely, wine, beer, food, clothes and so on. All of these deserve excommunication and cannot stand the test of the Scriptures, as I presume many of the learned and the preachers themselves know well. Yet they wink at such people, desire their authority and assistance, act hypocritically with them, talk so as to please them, do not separate and punish them however wickedly they behave, and give them the bread and wine as if they were members of the body of the Lord and brothers of his church. By this they so comfort and encourage them in their wickedness that they never stop to inquire into the fear and ways of the Lord; for whatever they preach, it is all peace, peace, as the prophet complains, Jeremiah 8, verse 8; Ezekiel 13, verse 22. Beloved lords, take heed; they lead you straight to the abyss of hell; therefore beware. I tell you the truth in Christ Jesus: they deceive you. Again I say, beware, they deceive you.

On the other hand, they hate and abuse beyond measure all those who seek the Lord sincerely, who strive after his holy word in their infirmity, and who would gladly lead a pious, godly life in the fear of the Lord in their weakness, because they point them to Christ, and in true, godly zeal and brotherly love reprove and admonish them, for their own good, about their false doctrine, false sacraments, hypocrisy and indifferent life, according to the teachings of the Scriptures. Indeed, they call us apostles of the devil, apostates, Anabaptists, conspirators and heretics.

See, this is how they wink at and flatter those of high standing, although these are generally on the broad way; and this is how they shamefully abuse the innocent, who never harmed them and who would gladly lead a pious life. Yet they boast that they are preachers of the gospel and teach the word of God.

In the third place he writes: Through the doings of these devilish conspirators and heretics, disrespect for the servants of the church has become so widespread everywhere that few churches submit themselves to their pastors in unity of spirit, as is necessary.

Answer. That disrespect for the preachers has become so widespread is caused by nothing else but their own exceeding wickedness, deceit, greed, blasphemy and shamelessness, as the prophet says, “Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, and so on.” “You have departed out of the way; you have caused many to stumble at the law; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts. Therefore I have also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as you have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law,” Malachi 2, verses 3, 8 and 9.

Indeed, dear reader, they have become so sinful, and have so trafficked in the souls of men, that the just and great God could no longer endure it. Therefore, in his great love, he graciously inspired some pious hearts with the Spirit of his divine knowledge, and has uncovered to them the decked-out Babylonian woman, the preachers and their churches, with all their fornication, abominations and bloodguilt, and so made their inhuman disgrace manifest. And these, because they all warn in unfeigned love against the deadly, bewitching poison of her cup, by doctrine, life, example, blood and possessions, seeking nothing by it but the praise of God and the salvation of their neighbors, are called devilish conspirators and heretics. O Lord! O unheard-of blasphemy! O disgrace of all disgraces!

Ah, my reader, my faithful reader, if we could reason with them, how soon it would be shown who are the devilish conspirators and heretics! But what good does it do? The Scribes and Pharisees sat on exalted seats, but Christ had nowhere to lay his head. Besides, he had to hear that he was possessed by the devil and worked his miracles in the name of Beelzebub.

Is it not a perverse, lamentable hypocrisy that this man undertakes to blame us for their not practicing the ban, while it is known and evident to the whole world that the greater part of the preachers are such an indifferent, blind and carnal people that they acknowledge neither God nor his word, and seek nothing else than to satisfy their carnal appetites and continue in their careless, easy life? What kind of Christians their churches or disciples are, what knowledge they have and how they fear God, may, alas, be gathered from their words and works, in city and country.

In the fourth place he writes: It is a fact well known to the whole community (he means the community at Emden) that for several years we have labored diligently to establish the Christian ordinance of the ban again.

Answer. The world acknowledges no ban except this: when such a transgression has been committed that the executioner bans the offenders with the sword, the noose or fire for their evildoing. Or else, if someone sincerely repents and returns to God, abandons the wicked, sinful life in true fear and puts on the new life of true repentance, they, along with the papists, often rob such a one of honor, possessions and life, or exile him and so drive him into the mouths of the gaping lions.

But that they should, according to the Scriptures, shun the misers, drunkards, fornicators and so on, and should neither eat nor drink with them, they do not know; for as a general thing they are unchanged at heart, earthly-minded and full of all manner of greed, pomp, extravagance and carnal works.

Therefore I say again, they will admonish about the ban all their lives, but never establish it according to the word of God. For how can one greedy person shun another, one drunkard another, and one deceiver another, according to the Scriptures, and separate him from the communion of the church, while they are all together earthly-minded and without the communion, Spirit and word of the Lord, as we have heard?

In the fifth place he writes, “The example of the Anabaptists frightens us, who practice the ban with such discord, hatred and irreconcilable anger against one another that among them it tends more to the destruction than to the building up and gathering of the church.”

Answer. All that I read and see from him is darkened vision, wrong judgment, coaxing of those of high standing, abuse and slander of the pious, excuses for perverseness, and falsifying of the Scriptures.

O, how little, it seems, does he fear God; for here he undertakes to cover up his flight from the cross and his disobedience by citing the example of others. Reader, remember that the word of God should teach and govern us. That some rebellious persons take offense at us, we cannot prevent. We act as the word of God has commanded us.

All those who once enter into obedience to the word, and afterwards live or teach contrary to it, cannot be permitted to continue with us as brothers and sisters if they will not hear our admonitions. In this case neither greatness nor smallness, riches nor poverty count for anything. With God there is no respect of persons; they must all bow to the Spirit, word and scepter of Jesus, or else they cannot remain our brothers.

It is plain that the Spirit of the Lord dies out in those who seek the broad road and desire the freedom of the flesh, money and possessions, and that they offend the pious by their light-mindedness or self-conceit. Therefore, when there is no hope left of their reformation, they must be separated, though reluctantly, from the company of the godly. If they take offense at this because they hate to bear this shame, which is laid on them in love for no other purpose than their reformation, and therefore slander and abuse us, as the preachers also do because we dare not hear their teaching and partake of their sacraments, we cannot help it. Nor can we prevent some of them from becoming Davidists* and Epicureans† (as Gellius calls them), in spite of all our faithful admonitions, diligence, labor and brotherly service. [* p. 73]

The fact is, the seed did not fall on the right kind of soil, but by the wayside, on rocky ground and among thorns, Matthew 13, verse 5.

I repeat it. We have given them the faithful service of our brotherly love from our inmost hearts, admonished and pleaded with them, and have patiently borne with some for one or two years, still waiting for their reformation; and in truth we have not separated them hastily, as he accuses us without any foundation. Since in this respect we follow and practice the ordinance of the Lord, if he feared the Lord he ought reasonably to commend our action, because we do right and follow the commands of God at the risk of possessions and life, and because we act according to the Scriptures without any respect of persons. And he would acknowledge the truth, and confess that it is not our example that frightens them, but the fear of the cross. For if they were to act and deal justly with kings, dukes, lords and princes, and also with their drunkards, misers, showy people and so on, then it would be quite a different thing with them. This I dare say without reservation, and could prove it by facts.

In the sixth place he writes, “If they think they do much good toward the building up of the church by their banning, then let them point out, from the several hundred whom they have banned, not ten but only five whom they have banned in love and reformed through their brotherly love, or whom they have brought to order and saved by their banning.”

Answer. He looks for all kinds of reasons to blaspheme the word and work of God, so that he may give some appearance of reality to his flight from the cross and his hypocrisy. Since he says that separation tends more to destruction than to building up, the reader should know that among us we find by daily experience that the following benefits come from separation. First, that by it we obey God’s word. Second, that by it we rid the community of false doctrine, discord and offense, as has been said. Third, that by it the disobedient are daily admonished to reflect, repent and return. Fourth, that by it we testify that we do not consent to or unite with the Munsterites and other rebellious sects. Fifth, that by it we admonish all preachers and their churches that in this respect they are without the ordinance and word of God. Sixth, that by it the whole world may learn from us that the counsel, doctrine, ordinance and command of God should be maintained and obeyed.

See, dear reader, these are the fruits which true separation brings forth daily, by the grace of God. But the preachers, alas, pay no attention to these. Even if it were true that few are reformed by it, as he charges, they must still admit that the results mentioned above are obtained by it.

Reader, take notice that however we act, it does no good with the perverse. For if we had disregarded this means and divine ordinance, as the preachers do, and had left everybody to follow his own mind (from which may the great Lord always preserve us), how loudly they would cry that we were rebels and Arians*. But when we separate them from the communion of the church according to the Scriptures, it is called a destructive means and a hasty ban. See, in this way they seek on every hand to destroy truth and uphold falsehood. [* p. 74]

In the seventh place he writes, “It is better not to use the ban than to abuse it to the destruction of the church.”

Answer. Even if it were true, as he asserts, a good thing should still not be abandoned for the sake of some. If the ban is a means of destroying and tearing apart the church of Christ, then Christ and the apostles have greatly deceived us in this regard, by teaching us this ordinance openly, both by word and example, as may be read in the Scriptures. But what good does it do? He might briefly state his point like this: We do not separate and ban, for as a general thing we are all led by an erroneous spirit, and are members of the body of antichrist.

In the eighth place he writes, “No one has been a greater obstacle to us in re-establishing the ban than the Anabaptists, who have disturbed the building up of the church of Christ and its right course, who have brought the servants into disrepute, and who have, under a show of truth, drawn many zealous hearts away from the church (on whom it was to be practiced) and led them into falsehood.”

Answer. If I had not learned to know Gellius from his other writings, this excuse of his about the ban would teach me more than clearly what kind of man he is. O dear Lord! Whatever he says is nothing but hypocrisy, falsehood and deceit! He writes that we obstruct the ban; yet if he would confess the truth, he would be forced to admit that it is not we who obstruct him, but his own unbelief, carnal mind and his cross-fleeing flesh, as said before.

He writes that we have disturbed the building up of the church, while it is evident that by doctrine and life, at the risk of possessions and blood, we point out to all the churches of the world the right way to a true worship and ordinance; and that it is they who, with all their strength, disturb the course of the building up of the church of Christ by their light-minded doctrine, false sacraments and vain life.

He writes that we have brought the servants into disrepute, because we reprove them in unfeigned love and point them by doctrine and life to Christ’s example, Spirit and word; while he admits above that some are more fit to be herders of swine than shepherds of the sheep of Christ.

He writes that under a show of truth we have drawn many zealous hearts away from the church and led them into many errors; while the facts show that we do not separate them from the church but from the world, and that by the hand and help of God we lead them into eternal truth.

I would further say: their doctrine has been preached in Germany for over thirty years, and there are whole kingdoms, principalities and cities where not a single Anabaptist, as he calls them, is to be found. Who is it that obstructs the pastors there in re-establishing the ban? In all the time they have preached and taught their doctrine, they have never yet banned an adulterer, drunkard, miser and so on, and excluded such a one from the communion of their churches; and yet he writes that we obstruct and hinder them. O dear Lord! This is how the pious are everywhere spoken evil of, although they seek God sincerely and would gladly see a Christian church true in doctrine, sacraments, ordinances and life.

In the ninth place he writes, “For two reasons we could not establish it (he means the ban) as quickly as the Anabaptists did. First, because our gatherings are open and consist of many hundreds, whom we cannot all know, while their gatherings are secret and consist of only a few. Second, because we do not establish sects, as they do, which is a work of the flesh and befriended by the devil; but we establish an eternal church for Christ, which is beguiled and robbed by the devil.”

Answer. Above he has partly admitted that many of their hearers are of the world. Here he writes that their gatherings consist of many hundreds, and that they gather an abiding church; yet they have never come to the point of separating their disciples and church from the world and conforming to the divine ordinance. The reason is that they are of the world.

But to his writing that their assembly is large and held in public, and that ours is small, I would reply with the word of the Lord in this way: “Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in by it; because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leads to life, and few there are that find it,” Matthew 7, verses 13 and 14.

Indeed, my reader, if you read the Scriptures attentively, you will find that the number of the chosen ones was always small and the number of the unrighteous was always great. The pure and true gospel of Jesus Christ, the true knowledge of eternal truth, was never so valued by the world that the true believers could be counted by many thousands in any country or city. Christ Jesus and his eternal truth must always dwell with a few, in out-of-the-way places; but antichrist and his falsehood can go about undisturbed and in public, and count his followers by thousands.

Again, by writing that they cannot know everyone because of their great numbers, he testifies that brotherly love is very scarce among them. For where is there a Christian pastor who does not know his sheep? And where is the Christian brother who does not know his neighbor? If the preachers do not know everyone because of their great numbers, still one brother should know another; they should teach, admonish, comfort and reprove each other; they should seek each other’s salvation; for this is what the word and anointing of God teach us.

Reader, take note. He claims “that they cannot possibly know everyone”; and I, who keep myself in out-of-the-way places most of the time, could point them out in great numbers. Let him just once travel through city and country where they boast of the word, and look closely, and he will find out how they dare to heap one falsehood on another and one ungodly act on another; how they dare to swear by the Lord’s sacred flesh, blood, death, wounds and sacrament; and how they are decked out with all sorts of vain ornaments. Let him take a look at the taverns, the fencing schools, the houses of ill repute and so on, of which there is no lack in Germany; let him examine the courts of kings and princes and the ways of the nobility, and I presume he will find thousands doubly deserving of separation. But an earthly mind and a perverse heart, alas, have little regard for the ordinance and word of the Lord.

Again, to his assertion that they do not establish sects, as he says we do, and that this is a carnal work, I would reply as follows: I sincerely wish that Gellius and all the Papists, Lutherans, Zuinglians, Davidists and so on could take this matter to heart, for it is written of heresies and heretics that they shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

It is a small matter to us to be called heretics by the world; for the children of God in the apostolic times were called the same. Nevertheless, in our humility we would say this about the matter: we point to Christ Jesus, God’s eternal Wisdom, Truth and Son, for he is the One to rely on; and we refer without reservation to his doctrine, ordinance and practice. If anyone under the whole canopy of heaven can convince us with the infallible truth that we are wrong and act contrary to his word, then we will gladly hear it and obey the truth.

But if they cannot do so, they must confess that we are the apostolic Christian church, and that they are the deceiving, carnal sects.

But that sectarians rise up among us, and not among them, is also a strong proof that we are the church and that they are not. For Paul says, “There must also be heresies among you, that those who are approved may be made manifest among you,” First Corinthians 11, verse 19. John says, “They went out from us, but they were not of us,” First John 2, verse 19.

Tell me, beloved, why should Satan beguile with heresies those who are already heretics and his followers? But those who turn to the Lord, these he beguiles and seeks to devour, Genesis 3, verse 15; First Peter 5, verse 8.

In the tenth place he writes: If they only said that we do not teach the ban, it might insult us and many teachers and churches, and they might almost be disgraced by it. But they say that we neither have it, hold to it, nor practice it.

Answer. In my opinion it would be well for him not to ridicule these things, but to observe the word of the Lord closely. Before God, teaching according to the letter does not avail; but what avails before him is action in power and truth. If they should say that this would cause a disturbance, then I would ask what kind of protectors and shepherds they are, if they neglect the will and word of God because of the disturbance of the world. Let all the right-minded judge this according to the Scriptures, Matthew, chapter 10.

Last of all he writes: But suppose it were true that this failing exists in all our churches (although the contrary is true of many of them, for in the German church in London, England, one person has been banned, and it is not altogether neglected here in Emden). Would the church on that account lose its name and from then on, as they say, no longer be the church of Christ? Then truly our body, to which the church is likened, would lose the name of body because of some blemish or wound.

Answer. I think this is posuimus mendacium spem nostram, to make lies our refuge. For he says the contrary is true of many churches; yet out of the many kingdoms, principalities, cities and towns he can point to only one person who has been banned, namely, at London, England. Never in all my life have I heard a more ridiculous assertion. How plainly the great Lord turns their wisdom into foolishness and their understanding into nothing, First Corinthians, chapter 1. Yet the blind, ignorant world does not see it.

Reader, reflect, and see whether these are not the mockers of whom Peter and Jude prophesy, Second Peter 3, verse 3; Jude, verse 8. The whole German nation or people, indeed, all countries, are so full of ungodliness, abominations and wickedness that we should stand dumbfounded. Indeed, the righteous who fear the Lord are as scarce as the grapes of a vintage that has been diligently gleaned, in which few are left to pick and use, as the prophet laments, Micah 7, verse 1. And out of so many hundreds of thousands he points to one who was banned at London, so that it may be said that they practice the ban, and so may put a fair face on their disobedience.

I think they act so clumsily that the whole world must see it is nothing but hypocrisy, falsehood and deceit. O Lord, how long will this mockery be endured! But to his writing that if the church should lose her name on account of one error, then our body would also lose its name on account of a blemish or wound, I would reply: if this were the only error in their church, then there would still be hope of reformation; but their failings and shortcomings are so many that they would better be compared to a dead body than to a body that has only one blemish or wound, as he claims.

I think that in this instance the cunning of the fox that destroys God’s vineyard (which he, in his writing, attributes to us) is plainly visible. For how cunningly they flee from one latibulo (hiding-place) to another, so as not to be caught, may, alas, be clearly gathered from this frivolous excuse about the ban.