Christian Baptism

“For no one can lay any other foundation than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ,” First Corinthians 3, verse 11.

Read and consider carefully the words which I speak, you learned men, who appear to be distinguished in mind and doctrine above others. I have added this little German work of mine on the celebration of the rite of baptism. For I am not well able to promote this cause in Latin; and if I were able, I would not want this labor of mine to perish in the hands of a few, but desire that it may become known to every Christian and yield the greater benefit. That there are in this work no interpolations of Scripture, no satires and no falsehoods, judge for yourselves. Moreover, I know that it is not the spirit of a Christian to lead anyone deceitfully in any way, especially in so serious an affair. Indeed, the Christian does not know deceit. It becomes the evangelical teacher to set before himself nothing except these most illustrious precepts of the evangelist, such as faith, charity, patience, life, gentleness, peace, mildness, truth and moderation, and finally to live so that no one can justly charge him with any taint of baseness, so that he may teach not only by word but also by example, following the teaching of Paul, who says, “I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection, lest by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway,” First Corinthians 9, verse 27. And elsewhere, “Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles; that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers,” “they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ,” First Peter 2, verse 12; First Peter 3, verse 16. For in the midst of these things one must restrain such ignorance and stupidity, lest that saying of the Savior be turned against us which says, “First cast out the beam out of your own eye,” Luke 6, verse 42. For how can I persuade others to become Christians when I myself am not a Christian? [Note 1]

Read, therefore; and if anything is found in this work that does not have the flavor of evangelical purity and spirit, I am put to shame, not you. For I have written out of pious affection, not to injure anyone, but for the benefit of all men. Nevertheless, such are the thanks I have from you for this kindness of mine toward you, that I know it is not enough unless I, with my sanctified Leader, having indeed received Christ as my reward, endure all evil, disgrace and torture. No wonder. They certainly do not spare me while I seek the truth and openly declare the sacrifice that has been offered, when almost all the teachers of righteousness who have lived from the beginning have yielded to death in the same way. This is indeed gratitude, when the world displays its subjection to God. Would that those who persuade themselves that they are Christians were Christians in very truth. May grace abound with all the diligent through our Lord Jesus Christ, with sincerity.

Beloved readers, in our first publication of the writings concerning baptism we satisfied, with Christian truth, the desire of every pious Christian. Yet there are some light-minded, rebellious, contentious and carnal persons who, without cause and without Scripture, and in every respect without the fear of God, teach, write, admonish and cry out against us with partial hearts, saying, “It is heresy and deceit; for it is written and taught contrary to the learned, and against the doctrine of the holy Christian church.” I had not intended to reply to such perverse, rebellious, disobedient and contentious persons, according to the word of the Lord, Matthew, chapter 7, but solely to write to the humble, meek, God-fearing and penitent. For the wise will hear wisdom, love it and become wiser; but the fool will hear folly, praise it, persist in it and die in it. Yet to such contenders and gainsayers, who speak so harshly against the word of God, I would put two questions, and ask them to examine and ponder them well and return a discreet and fitting reply to me. In the first place: What, properly speaking, are heretics and deceivers? Secondly: Who are they that admonish and teach against the doctrine of the holy church? If they answer these questions fairly, they must themselves pronounce the sentence that the upright truth of Jesus Christ is found with us and not with them; and on the contrary, that all manner of heresy, deceit and false doctrine is abundantly taught and practiced by them, and not by us. Which of the two parties, then, are heretics and impostors, I will leave to the judgment of the reader. For hereticus means one who sorts out, one who chooses, one who gleans. Quia heresis Grece ab electione vocatur, inquit Beda super acta Apostolorum: one who selects whatever suits his own opinion. If those, then, are truly heretics who form a faith for themselves according to their own opinion, without Scripture, then I truly do not know where to find more miserable and more deplorable heretics than those who constantly combat, reproach, betray and persecute us, poor, scattered and rejected Christians, as damnable heretics. For there is no worse or more abominable heresy under heaven than is found among our gainsayers and contenders, since they so shamefully change and distort the word and the perfect ordinance and institution of our beloved Lord Jesus Christ as to baptize things which God has neither commanded nor ordained to be baptized, namely, the little, unconscious children and bells, and do not baptize those whom God has commanded to be baptized, namely, those who believe; since they worship and honor a mouthful of bread and a drink of wine as the Son of God; since they claim for themselves, without the word of God, power over the living and the dead; and since they put in Christ’s place a sinful man, a child of perdition, whose natural pride, pomp, greed, cruelty, uncleanness and idolatry are beyond description, Second Thessalonians 2, verse 4. [Note 2]

Truly, I do not know how a worse heresy could be invented. Nevertheless these miserable men cruelly cry out against us, “Heretics, heretics! Drown them, kill them and burn them!” And this for no other reason than that we teach, according to the holy gospel of Jesus Christ, the new life, baptism on the confession of faith, and the Supper as representing a holy and blameless church; because we rebuke all false doctrine, idolatry and the accursed carnal life; and because we point to the blessed Christ Jesus alone, and to no other means of salvation in heaven or on earth.

If this is heresy, beloved reader, then indeed the true Being is not in Christ; then he is not the true way, the truth and the life, John 14, verse 6. Do not be frightened by their reproaching and slandering; for from the beginning it has been so that the unbelieving hate, slander and persecute the believing; the wicked, the good; the unrighteous, the righteous; the carnal, the spiritual; the heretics, the Christians. So it was with Cain and Abel, Ishmael and Isaac, Esau and Jacob, and with the false prophets and the true prophets, as Christ Jesus has told us beforehand: “You will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake,” Matthew 24, verse 9. If they were the true disciples of Christ Jesus, as they boast themselves to be, they would persecute, betray or murder nobody for the sake of their faith; but with Christ Jesus they would diligently seek to reclaim what was lost, Matthew 18, verse 11, if we were lost, as they claim. If they were the bride of Christ, they would not be spiteful, cruel and bloodthirsty, but meek, mild and merciful; indeed, they would be of the same mind as the good and faithful Bridegroom, Christ Jesus. But by their works they plainly show that they are not the bride of Jesus Christ, but rather the bride of him who was a murderer from the beginning, that is, the devil, John 8, verse 44.

If they were the body of Christ, they would not crucify and persecute anyone for the sake of the truth of the Lord, but would themselves, with Christ Jesus and his church, be crucified and persecuted for its sake, Matthew 5, verse 11; John 16, verses 1 and 2; Second Timothy 3, verse 12. For the innocent lamb does not kill, but from the beginning it has been killed. See, kind readers, what miserable, bloody, tyrannical and murderous heretics our gainsayers, opponents and persecutors are found to be before God in all their teachings, admonitions, instructions, life and tyranny. But this they do not acknowledge. For it would not do to acknowledge it. If they did, how could they then crucify and persecute the chosen children of God, the children of the kingdom and of the promise, the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, the angels of peace, and the children of the eternal, imperishable life?

But now their minds are so darkened, their eyes so dimmed and their ears so closed that they cannot understand; for their evildoing and wickedness have darkened and blinded them. The table of the divine word has become to them “a snare, and a trap, and a stumbling block, and a recompense,” Romans 11, verse 9. The righteous judgment and fearful wrath have come upon them, because they so industriously seek falsehood, and so obstinately combat and reject the lovely truth of Jesus Christ.

Christ Jesus says, “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled,” Matthew 5, verse 6. But these hunger and thirst after unrighteousness, with which, according to Paul, they are abundantly filled, Second Thessalonians 2, verse 12.

Christ Jesus says, “Everyone that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened,” Luke 11, verse 9. But these seek diligently, night and day, not after the right way but after the wrong, hoping still to find something, either in the word or in our lives, which may be so twisted, bent or applied as to trample upon and nullify the right, evangelical truth, as if the eternal Truth, the blessed Jesus, had spoken and taught with two tongues. And if they can find any faults in our walk, as there often are (for we are all of the sinful, failing flesh of Adam), then the evangelical truth is all deceit, as if we had no help from God but only human aid. Since they so diligently seek after unrighteousness and delight in falsehood, God strikes them with such great blindness that they can neither comprehend nor judge the teachings of God. Yet they want to clothe their cause, however shameful it is, in the garment of the Scriptures, so that under this scriptural, holy appearance they may the better deceive the foolish, ignorant populace that wants to be deceived and led astray. And so they remain, both teacher and disciple, in the service of their perishable flesh, which they have chosen as their god, Philippians 3, verse 18; Romans 16, verse 17.

Again, kind reader, they cry out and foam with rage against us, saying that we write against all the doctors, and also against the teachings of the holy Christian church. I gladly and freely admit and acknowledge that we write against the greater part of the doctors, or learned men. For whenever or wherever they write, admonish and teach contrary to the word, ordinances, statutes and institutions of Jesus Christ, we do not regard their famous names and will have nothing to do with their human philosophy. But if they teach rightly, we neither contradict them nor write against them.

I trust, by the most merciful grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that the oldest, most pious, most upright, truest and most able doctors of the church of Jesus Christ, who were long before all other doctors, are received and believed by me and my beloved brothers in every word and doctrine. These are Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, David, Christ Jesus, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Peter, James and Jude. If anybody can show me a word in all my writing that I have taught or written contrary to the doctrine of these doctors, then I am willing to be put to shame, instructed and taught better; but I trust that this can never truthfully be done. If I were to write and teach against these pious, blameless doctors, then my writing and teaching would be against the teachings and admonitions of the Christian body, community or holy church.

I acknowledge and know well that on some articles I admonish, teach, instruct and write contrary to the instructions and teachings of some communities and churches, such as the papists, the Lutherans and the corrupted sects; but not contrary to the teachings of the holy Christian church. May the merciful Father, whose divine will I diligently seek to obey, keep me from teaching, instructing and writing contrary to the doctrine of the holy church; for otherwise woe would be to my soul forever.

So that you are not ensnared by the words “holy church,” you should learn and know from the word of God that the holy Christian church is no gathering of unbelievers, carnal people or willful sinners, even though they falsely claim to be of Christ Jesus and think themselves to be the true Christian church. No, kind readers, no. Not all who are born of Abraham are Abraham’s seed, “But the children of the promise are counted for the seed,” Romans 9, verse 8. So also the holy Christian church must be a spiritual seed, an assembly of the righteous and a community of the saints; a church which is begotten of God, of the living seed of the divine word, and not of the teachings, institutions and fictions of men. Indeed, they are those who are regenerated, renewed and converted; who hear, believe and fulfill all the commandments and will of God; who “have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts;” who “are all one in Christ Jesus;” “joint heirs with Christ,” and heavenly and spiritually minded with him, Galatians 5, verse 24; Galatians 3, verse 28; Romans 8, verse 17.

These are the holy Christian church, the community of God, the body and the bride of Christ, whom he has trusted, cleansed and sanctified; but “they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” This holy Christian church has over her a spiritual Prince, who rules her with the unbroken rod of his divine word; a Master or Teacher, who teaches the commandments of eternal life; and a Bridegroom whose voice she is always ready to hear, that is, Christ Jesus, First Corinthians 6, verse 11; Romans 8, verse 8; Psalm 2, verse 9; John 6, verse 68; John 3, verse 29.

If now I contend against his scepter, trample upon his commandments, and teach or write anything against his heavenly doctrine, then I teach and write against the doctrine of the holy Christian church. For this holy Christian church has only one doctrine which is fruitful and godly, which is the clear, pure and unmixed word of God, the lovely gospel of the grace of our beloved Lord Jesus Christ, Matthew 28, verse 19; Mark 16, verse 15; First Peter 1, verse 25. All teachings and decrees which do not agree with the doctrine of Christ are only teachings and commandments of men, whether they are teachings and opinions of doctors, decrees of popes or councils, or anything else; they are doctrines of the devil and are accursed, Matthew 15, verse 9; First Timothy 4, verse 1; Galatians 1, verses 8 and 9. Since we write and teach nothing but the pure, heavenly word and the perfect ordinances of the holy gospel of Jesus Christ and of his apostles, we do not teach and write against the teachings of the holy church, but we uphold them.

Beloved readers, let the light-minded run their course to the end, which is certain death. They will never concede the truth, however powerfully they are defeated, but will always delight in hatred, reproaching, discord and disputing and never be satisfied, because they will not enter the narrow way of the Spirit taught by Jesus Christ and his holy apostles, even though they want to be considered the children and the church of God without obedience. Not so, kind readers. Always remember that there is no holy church of Christ other than the assembly of the righteous and the church of the saints, which always acts in harmony with the word and ordinances of the Lord, and with no other doctrine. She neither will nor can ever accept any other doctrine or ordinances in divine matters.

Beloved brothers, the divine ordinance of baptism in water has been destroyed in this way for many centuries, and a strange baptism has been practiced contrary to the true doctrine of the holy Christian church, that is, contrary to the word of God; and from this evil custom so much false doctrine, unbelief and fruitless, carnal life have resulted. Therefore I have again clearly pointed out from the holy gospel how we should practice the true, scriptural, Christian baptism, so that the hearts and faith of the wise may be confirmed and assured, the mouths of the fools may be stopped, and God may have the glory in his holy word. Read and see whether we have not taught and written rightly, according to the meaning of Jesus Christ. And because the whole wide world so shamefully blasphemes and opposes the word of God, and despises his commandments and ceremonies as useless, saying, “What good can water do us?”, never considering that the kingdom of God and the will of God do not consist in outward ceremonies but in willing obedience to the word of God, therefore we have shown so extensively from the holy Scriptures in the following writings who should be baptized according to the word of God, namely, the believing, or the regenerated, Mark 16, verse 16; John 3, verse 5; Titus 3, verse 5.

Besides this, we have also shown how very weak, useless and groundless are all the arguments of the world by which they defend infant baptism, so that the despisers of God mentioned above may know and understand that they are not baptized according to the evangelical commandment of our beloved Lord Jesus Christ. From this it follows that they are not in obedience to the divine word; and if they are not in the obedience which has the promise (I speak of those of understanding minds), then they cannot inherit or obtain the promise so long as they do not believe the word of God and obediently fulfill it in every respect. Let everyone beware and save his own soul; for our God is a consuming fire.

May the merciful Father, through his blessed Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, grant you all a true knowledge and his loving grace for your edification. Amen.

Hear, O illustrious, noble, wise lords and princes! Hear, all judges of the land, to whom the sword of God is given for the destruction of evildoers, for the protection of the good and for the punishment of the wicked! Hear, you wise and intelligent, you who think that you bear the vessels of the Lord! Hear, all people of whatever state, condition, trade or class, who call yourselves Christians and who boast of his bitter death and precious blood! Romans 13, verse 1; Titus 3, verse 4; First Peter 2, verses 13 and 14.

We are so miserably defamed, slandered and persecuted by all mankind for the sake of baptism, and we are always held in suspicion on account of the ungodly sects (who are, as may be plainly seen, very shameful, dangerous and abominable to you). Therefore we say and testify in Christ Jesus, before God, before his holy angels, before you and before the whole world, that we are moved solely by a God-fearing faith which we have in the word of God, to baptize and to be baptized, as the only means; and it will not be found otherwise, either in this life, or in death, or in the last judgment of God. [Note 3]

Beloved, we truly seek nothing in this baptism except to obey our beloved Lord Jesus Christ, who has taught and commanded it to us with his own blessed mouth, Matthew 28, verse 19; Mark 16, verse 16. Consider for once, we pray you, that we cannot possibly seek carnal profit in these actions of ours: neither gold, nor silver, nor honor, nor ease, nor long life on earth. For you may plainly see that we are made a prey to the world because of it. But we are moved solely by the love of God, by an upright, fruitful faith, a faith which diligently examines all the words of Christ, giving ourselves in willing obedience to God, knowing for certain that if we oppose and do not obey what our Lord has commanded, we can never receive or inherit the heavenly blessing and divine promise. For through obedience everything is received, as was mentioned in the preface, Matthew 3, verse 6; Acts 19, verse 18; Acts 2, verse 38; Acts 9, verse 6; Acts 10, verse 48; Acts 16, verse 30.

How could Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, together with all the beloved fathers and patriarchs, have obtained the comforting promise of God if they had not done what God had commanded them through his holy word, however little it was? But they heard the word of God, firmly believed it and obeyed it; and therefore they became joint heirs of righteousness, Hebrews 11, verse 8.

On the contrary, all those who did not obey God undoubtedly had to bear the punishment of the Lord, as did Adam and Eve; Nadab and Abihu; Korah, Dathan and Abiram; Saul; and the man of God who reproved Jeroboam the king for his idolatry and was deceived by the old prophet in Bethel; and other instances which may be read of in Moses and other scriptural writings, Genesis 3, verse 17; Leviticus 10, verse 2; Numbers 16, verse 32; First Samuel 15, verse 23.

We are so pitifully opposed by all mankind in our doctrine and practice of Christian baptism, and they do not realize that their opposition leads to eternal death, for they oppose Christ and his word. Therefore I will again briefly show them, and all persons who shall read, see or hear these writings of mine, from the word of God, how wonderfully, powerfully, indeed, how indisputably this doctrine and practice of ours is contained in and founded on the holy gospel of Jesus Christ, although we have already fully shown and proven this before in our writings on baptism.

Most beloved, there are necessarily three reasons why our faith accepts this baptism under such a heavy cross and anxiety.

First, because of the divine commandment of our beloved Lord Jesus Christ, which can never be broken. Secondly, because of the teaching of the holy apostles. Thirdly, because of the practice of these same apostles. And first, of the commandment. After Christ Jesus had risen from the power of death and was about to ascend to his heavenly Father, he commanded his disciples, saying, “Go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” Matthew 28, verse 19. Again, in another place, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believes and is baptized shall be saved,” Mark 16, verses 15 and 16. Now since Jesus Christ, the eternal Wisdom who cannot err, the eternal Truth who cannot lie, has commanded this, namely, that we shall first preach the gospel, from the hearing of which faith comes, Romans, chapter 10, and that we shall baptize those who believe, who will or who can now explain this divine commandment otherwise, or make it of more value than the eternal, wise, perfect, blessed Christ Jesus has made and commanded it?

Brothers, it was not permitted to apply one single word of the Mosaic ceremonies differently from the way they were set down in the law. For the almighty God does not will that we should follow our own inclinations with regard to the ceremonies which he has commanded us, but desires only that we observe his good will and pleasure; it is for that purpose that he commanded them. God finds no pleasure in the outward ceremonies alone; but he has commanded them because he requires faithful obedience of us. His wrath has often come upon those who practiced his ceremonies differently from the commandment, as in the case of Nadab and Abihu and many others. For he wills, indeed, he wills that we should not follow our own opinion, but that we should hear, believe and obey his holy voice, Jeremiah 7, verses 5 to 7.

God willed that his ceremonies under the law (which were numerous, and in one respect attended with trouble and expense, and which he commanded not through Christ, his Son, but through his servant Moses) should be kept this strictly and unchanged until the time of Christ. How much more, then, will he have the few ceremonies of the New Testament kept strictly and unchanged, which are only two in number, namely baptism and the Supper, which he has commanded not through his servant but through his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, and which are attended with neither trouble nor expense.

Consider how troublesome and expensive it was for the Israelites to travel a long distance over hill and dale to appear before the Lord at Jerusalem two or three times a year, with their offerings of bullocks, rams and goats, and the tenths of all their goods which they were bound to offer to the Lord. But the Christian ceremonies of the New Testament, baptism and the Supper, which God has commanded us, are not attended with any trouble or expense at all; although what these ceremonies mean and represent to true believers is attended with great vexation to the flesh. This, however, is not caused by the ceremonies themselves, but only by the faith which leads us to these ceremonies out of love and obedience to the divine word. Most beloved, since the ordinance of Jesus Christ is unchangeable and the only one that is acceptable to the Father, and since he has commanded that we shall first preach the gospel and then baptize those who believe, it follows that all those who baptize and are baptized without the teaching of the gospel and without faith baptize and are baptized on their own opinion, without the doctrine and ordinance of Jesus Christ; and therefore it is idolatry, useless and vain. For if Israel had circumcised their females because it was not expressly forbidden, they would still have circumcised without the ordinance of God, for he had commanded that the males were to be circumcised, Genesis 17, verse 10. It is the same in this case. If we baptize the unconscious children, although Scripture has not expressly forbidden it, just as it was not forbidden to circumcise the females, we still baptize without the ordinance of Jesus Christ; for he commanded that those should be baptized who would hear and believe his holy gospel, Genesis 17, verse 10; Matthew 28, verse 19; Mark 16, verse 16; Acts 2, verse 38; Acts 9, verse 18; Acts 10, verse 48; Acts 16, verse 33.

It avails nothing that some say that these words of Matthew and Mark extend the holy church to the Gentiles, and that the baptism of infants is therefore not excluded by them. Beloved reader, it is true that by this commandment the holy church is also extended to the Gentiles, in fulfillment of the prophetic Scriptures, which had seen this long before through the Spirit, as Paul proves, Romans, chapter 15. Yet the word stands firm with regard to both Jews and Gentiles, namely, whoever believes and is baptized shall be saved. Faith is before baptism. For faith is the beginning of all righteousness that avails before God, and from this faith baptism follows as a sign and token of obedience. If the children, then, have faith, their baptism is not forbidden by the cited words of Matthew and Mark.

Again, neither does it avail anything that some allege that the resurrection of the dead was not expressly written in the books of Moses, yet it was implied, as Christ Jesus proved to the Sadducees from Exodus 3, verse 6, namely, “I am the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob.” As the resurrection is not expressed in these words of Moses, yet is implied, since God is not the God of the dead but of the living, as Christ teaches, Matthew 22, verse 32; so, they say, infant baptism is not expressed in the gospel, yet it is implied. To this we reply that the resurrection of the dead is no outward ceremony which God has commanded us to perform, but something which God himself will accomplish in us by his almighty power; therefore it is an invisible comfort in the hearts of all believers, which is grasped by faith alone. But the baptism of unconscious children is an outward ceremony. If, then, it is an ordinance and word of God which has the promise, it must be plainly expressed in the Scriptures. If not, it cannot be called a ceremony of Christ.

Thirdly, neither does it avail that some allege, “Although the believing women have no express word inviting them to the Lord’s Supper, and were not present at the celebration of the Lord’s last Supper, yet for good reasons they are admitted to the Supper; and it is the same with unconscious children. Although there is no express command for their baptism, and they were not baptized by the Lord or by his disciples, so far as we can learn from the Scriptures, yet for good reasons they are admitted to baptism, just as the believing women are admitted to the Supper.”

Kind reader, this is a very crafty argument to deceive the simple and ignorant, for it smacks strongly of subtlety, but it is not at all according to the example of Jesus Christ. For the Holy Supper represents the death of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of our neighbors, both of which are known and practiced by the believing women as well as by the believing men. If, then, the unconscious children had what is represented by baptism, namely, death to sin, the new life, Romans 6, verse 4; the new birth, John, chapter 3; the putting on of Christ, Galatians 3, verse 27; the moving, quickening Spirit by which we are baptized into the body of Christ, First Corinthians 12, verse 13; and a good conscience, First Peter 3, verse 16; as the believing women have what is represented in the Holy Supper, then they should be baptized for the same reason that believing women are admitted to the Supper. But this neither will nor can ever be found in unconscious children.

Fourthly, it avails nothing that some cite from Ecclesiasticus 1, verse 14, that “To fear the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and it was created with the faithful in the womb,” and will be with the chosen women. “If, then,” they say, “the fear of the Lord is created with the believing in the mother’s womb, and this fear is a fruit of faith, and as the fruit cannot be before the tree, then the children have a fruitful faith from their mother’s womb; and if they have faith, their baptism cannot be hindered according to the Scriptures.” Not so, beloved reader; but judge everything according to the word of God and his Spirit. For I do not doubt that you will confess that the faith which avails with God, which is a gift of God and from which all righteousness proceeds, comes by the hearing of the divine word. If, now, it comes by hearing the divine word, as Paul teaches, how will it be found in unconscious children? For it is plain that they cannot be taught, admonished or instructed; indeed, at their birth they are more senseless and helpless than the irrational creatures, so unconscious that they cannot be taught anything about carnal things until their hearing, comprehension and understanding have begun to develop. If they cannot be made to understand anything visible, how then can they prematurely, that is, before they can comprehend things, be taught and instructed in the invisible, heavenly matters of the Spirit?

Secondly, you know and acknowledge that where there is a true faith, there is the true knowledge of the difference between good and evil, the fear of God, the love of God and also of our neighbor, obedience to God and the desire for righteousness. It cannot be otherwise than that a good tree brings forth good fruit. Faith works all manner of righteousness, as it is written, “The just shall live by faith,” and, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen,” Matthew 7, verse 18; Romans 1, verse 17; Hebrews 11, verse 1.

Tell me, dear reader: if faith always begets good fruits, and all manner of righteousness, and is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen, what fruits and righteousness do our little children beget which are evidence of faith, and what do they hope for and seek after except eating, drinking, laughing, crying, warmth, play and so on, as has been the nature of children from the beginning? Besides, they often show the growth of the evil, Adamic seed, and as they advance in youth they show it still more; but the fruits of faith or of the new birth they do not show, as may be plainly observed. And if you do not observe it by daily experience, then believe the word of God, which will never deceive you. So Moses says, “Your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil,” and so on, Deuteronomy 1, verse 39. They had no knowledge between good and evil, as appears; where, then, is their faith, which has the knowledge between good and evil?

Thirdly, you will acknowledge that all righteousness comes by faith, as our opponents themselves allege and bring forward in their opposition, Romans 4, verse 5. Without faith there is no godly righteousness; therefore Paul says to the Hebrews (speaking of those of understanding years) that “Without faith it is impossible to please God,” Hebrews 11, verse 6. Since the children, then, have no faith by which they can realize what God is, and that he is a rewarder of both good and evil, as they plainly show by their fruits, they do not have the fear of God; and consequently they have nothing upon which they should be baptized. Yet they have the promise of everlasting life, out of pure grace. This is all that the Scriptures grant them, and all that the word of God says of them, as will be shown below.

Since, then, faith must come first, and afterwards the righteous fruits which come by faith, such as the fear of God, the love of God and so on, which fruits do not appear in unconscious children, as has often been said, we must suppose that Ecclesiasticus does not teach that the fear of God is in little children immediately after conception. Rather, we are taught here that the fear of God is appointed to the believing in the womb, so that it will be given them in due time; because his eyes of fire, those eyes which foresaw all things from the beginning to the end, foresaw while they were still in their mother’s womb that they would in time hear his holy voice, truly believe, and through faith fear God and become righteous before him; for true faith cannot be without its fruits, as has often been proven. [Note 4]

If, then, faith were in the little, unconscious children from conception, as our opponents say, it would be a fruitless faith, for they do not bring forth fruits; and therefore their preaching in this regard is in vain. For if that were the case, faith would come by the creation or conception of the believing, and not by the preaching of the divine word. Not so, beloved reader. This is a sure, eternal, imperishable and enduring rule of the divine truth for fulfilling all righteousness: first, the true preaching of the holy gospel of Jesus Christ; secondly, a desire to hear and understand; thirdly, to believe this gospel heartily and to fulfill it in fruit. This being so, it follows that the little, unconscious children have no faith, for they cannot understand and learn. If they have no faith, they cannot have the fear of God. Therefore our opponents cannot prove the justice of baptizing little, unconscious children from this passage of Ecclesiasticus; but they must wait, according to God’s word, until the children can understand the holy gospel of grace and sincerely confess it. Then it is time, no matter how young or old they are, to receive Christian baptism, as the infallible word of our beloved Lord Jesus Christ has taught and commanded all true believers in his holy gospel, Matthew 28, verse 19; Mark 16, verse 16. If they die before maturity, that is, in childhood, before they have come to years of understanding and before they have faith, then they die under the promise of God, and that by no other means than the precious promise of grace given through Christ Jesus, Luke 18, verse 16. And if they come to understanding minds and have faith, they should then be baptized. But if they do not accept or believe the word when they have arrived at the years of understanding, whether they are baptized or not, they will be damned, as Christ himself teaches, Mark 16, verse 16.

I know that there are a great many who will ask, “Why are you, an unlearned man, not satisfied in this matter with the doctrine of Martin Luther and other renowned doctors, who are versed in the Scriptures and in many tongues and sciences, and who teach, Luther in particular, that faith lies dormant in little children, just as in a sleeping believer?”

To this I answer: in the first place, if there were such a dormant faith in little children (which, however, is nothing but invention), it would still not be proper to baptize such children so long as they did not confess it with their mouths and show it by their fruits. For the holy apostles did not baptize any believers while they were asleep, as we have shown in our former writings.

Secondly, I acknowledge and confess from my inmost heart, before you and the whole world, that they and many others are well gifted with learning, eloquence, subtlety, languages and science, and that I, a poor, ignorant man, am in comparison with them as a fly is to an elephant; therefore I am heartily ashamed to write and speak against them with my dull pen and awkward speech. Yet every reader should know that however learned the philosophers mentioned above are, and however ignorant I am, our opinions avail the same with God and before him; for without the command of the holy Scripture nothing righteous can be done and nothing pleasing to God can be practiced, whoever it may be. The holy Scriptures do not refer us to them or to any other learned person, but to Christ Jesus alone. Whenever such highly renowned men, by their subtle sharpness and artful philosophy, try to take from us and distort the plain ordinances of Jesus Christ and of his apostles, we must surely regard their doctrine in that respect as a doctrine of men and false; for Christ Jesus is not under them, but above them. Nor did he receive his holy doctrine from them, but from his wise Father, John 7, verse 24; John 8, verse 26; John 12, verse 46; John 16, verse 13.

They assert by their philosophy that there is a dormant, unfruitful faith in unconscious children, plainly against all Scripture and truth, and that the children should be baptized upon such a human fantasy. Now judge for yourselves, you who oppose me, which of the two I had better do: hear the holy word and ordinance of Christ Jesus, to whom the Father, together with all the prophets, has pointed me, or hear the learned, who would have me follow, against his holy word and ordinance, their opinion, which they have formed by distorting the Scriptures. Root out all partisanship and contention from your carnal hearts, so that you can judge spiritual matters fairly. God grant that all the learned, and those who are taught by them, may acknowledge and teach the truth and fulfill it in their works. Amen.

Since Christ Jesus has commanded his holy apostles first to teach the holy gospel of grace and then to baptize those who would believe, we are, for the same reasons, moved by the love of God to teach this Christian baptism according to the word of God, and afterwards to receive it obediently, and by the grace of the Lord to keep it, to the honor of God, both in life and in death, even though all the world opposes us.