Humble and Christian Justification

“Blessed are you when men revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven; for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you,” Matthew 5, verses 11 and 12.

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

May blessing and salvation be with the Christian reader.

Christian reader, we poor, despised strangers and pilgrims are rejected and despised by all the world and counted as the offscourings, and that because we diligently seek our salvation; so that the pious and God-fearing heart must tremble and be astounded at the defamation which they unjustly heap upon the righteous, and some who strive after the truth hardly dare join this ardent people. Therefore, Christian reader, this book, the band with which we shall tie up the arrant liars and their slander, has been translated out of pure love, for the profit and use of the reader, from the Eastern tongue, which is not used in this country, into the Holland language, so that every God-fearing person may stop the mouth of the slanderer. For it is said, Jacula previsa minus feriunt. Therefore we pray you to accept in love this labor of ours, which we have performed for your service. For our sincere desire, wish, striving and labor is that many may come to the true knowledge of the truth and be saved. Farewell. [Note 1]

All that we sincerely desire, reasonable reader (see, before God we do not lie), is that by our writing, teaching, living, misery and the confiscation of our goods we may at last obtain so much mercy from the children of men that we shall be allowed a private discussion with our adversaries before any number of pious, intelligent and reasonable men who love and fear the Lord and can distinguish between good and evil, if it cannot be allowed us in public; and that their lies and accusations shall not be believed until teacher is confronted with teacher, and the accuser with the accused, with equal rights and liberty, as the word of God, Christian love and natural reason teach and imply. In this way the ungodly may no longer be protected in their ungodliness, nor the wicked in their evildoing, and the pious and righteous may no longer be condemned and suppressed; God’s holy word, by which our souls must live, may be made manifest; the fearful lying may cease; and the unmerciful and cruel bloodshed may be stopped, which in itself is nothing but the manifest work of the infernal serpent, as Christ himself says, and which is carried on without fear, reflection or mercy, under the appearance of true zeal and love of God, by those who boast of the name, Spirit, word, death and blood of Christ, against those who with Asaph wash their hands in innocence. But we fear that it will not be allowed us. For in both sacred and secular history we read and find that from the beginning of the world the pure, wholesome truth has generally been hated, lied about and persecuted, and that as a general rule it has found shelter only with a few, in obscure nooks and corners, as a hateful, ungodly abomination; and that it cannot be made manifest without tribulation and peril of life.

Because the good, pious Jeremiah reproved the scribes for their false doctrine and wickedness, admonished the ignorant, confused and evil populace to repent, and threatened them with plagues to come, they called him a heretic and deceiver, and the princes called him a rebel and mutineer. He had to suffer much misery, although he was chosen by God as a prophet from his mother’s womb and spoke from the mouth of the Lord; he had to hear that on his account they had to bear such severe plagues. Ahab, the bloodthirsty and idolatrous king, blamed the pious and spiritual man, saying that it was he who led all Israel astray, First Kings 18, verse 18.

Again, King Joram thought that Elisha had brought on the great famine in Samaria, Second Kings, chapter 6.

John, a man sent from God, blessed in his mother’s womb, the greatest born of woman, a burning and shining light, the messenger of the Lord, a voice crying in the wilderness, the second and spiritual Elias, was accused of being possessed by devils, and was at last beheaded for reproving a shameful case of fornication, Luke 1, verse 15; Matthew 11, verse 11; John 5, verse 35; Malachi 3, verse 1; Mark 1, verse 3; Matthew 11, verse 14.

Again, Jesus Christ, the eternal Light and Life himself, was called Beelzebub, a Samaritan and possessed by a devil, a mover of insurrection, a transgressor of the law, a blasphemer, a glutton and winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners; he was counted worse than a murderer; and at last, for all the glorious miracles, kindness and love he had shown them, he was rewarded with a mock robe, a crown of thorns, scourging, the cross and death, after they had mocked and blasphemed him to their heart’s content.

How they treated Stephen, Peter, Paul, James and others, the Scriptures abundantly show, Acts, chapters 5, 6, 7, 12, 17, 18, 19 and 21.

In the time of the primitive church, at its beginning, some called the Christians swine; others called them robbers of God’s glory, murderers, child-killers, abominable, unchaste persons who committed all manner of abominations with their mothers and sisters; they said that in their worship they shed human blood and also offered their children to idols, and that they were rebels; and that because of their separation from the priesthood of Balaam, and their occasional night meetings to partake of the Lord’s Supper.

Again, they were called enemies of the human race, and unfruitful, corrupt people, because they would not keep company with the winebibbers, liars and so on, but led a sober, godly, humble and circumcised life in the love and fear of God.

Again, enemies of God, accursed malefactors and rogues, because they kept aloof from the shameful idolatry and allowed themselves to be exiled, and freely gave their goods and lifeblood for the sake of the testimony of the Lord and the true religion and honor of God.

See, so the blind, ungrateful world has always rewarded and treated those who sought and feared God with all their hearts, with all their souls and with all their strength, as Cyprian, Tertullian and other historians testify. Darkness cannot bear the light, nor falsehood the truth. God’s word is an abomination to the ungodly, for it is a treasure of wisdom hidden from them. Christ says, “That light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil,” John 3, verse 19. The pious and God-fearing are always an offense and a sting in their hearts and a hurt in their sight. And this is the reason why the world, which in all its doings wants always to live unrebuked and unhindered in idolatry, pride, pomp, licentiousness and lust, has from the beginning so enviously hated, so miserably lied about and so tyrannically persecuted the pious and God-fearing.

O kind reader, so it is today, as you can see on every hand. The whole world is saturated with all manner of wickedness. False doctrine, idolatry, unbelief, licentiousness, shame and blasphemy are in the ascendant; the world will not be reproved or admonished. It hates all who would gladly, in pure love and at the cost of their goods and life, deliver people from their wicked and disorderly life, point and lead them in the way of peace, and save their souls if possible.

The wise and learned, who have always plagued and harassed the pious and righteous the most, as was said in our Confessions, heap one abominable lie upon another, lest their unreasonable and shameful gain and false boasting be destroyed. They pretend and cry out that we are Munsterites; that we do not want to be subject to and obey the magistracy; that we mean to take cities and countries by force; that like the irrational creatures we have our goods and women in common; that we say to each other, Sister, my spirit desires you. Again, that we claim to be without sin, and that we mean to be saved by our own merits and works; and similar unfounded lies, so that they may lead all mankind away from the truth, and particularly the lords, princes and magistrates whom they have made drunk with their golden cup, and so embitter them and turn them against all the pious children of God. He is called and considered a fine evangelical preacher and a competent, well-lettered teacher who can merely quarrel, revile, slander and lie enough to move the magistracy to persecution; the magistracy which perhaps would be reasonable, kind and favorable enough if it were not spurred on and provoked by this unreasonable generation of vipers. And so the innocent, slandered sheep, who would not harm a hair of anyone, are led captive without a hearing and mercilessly exiled from country, city and town into misery and want, and are chased by the ravening wolves until they are worn out by overexertion, heat, cold or rain. In this, I think, they fill up the measure of their ancestors, of whom Christ said, Oh Lord! Oh, beloved Lord! How long will these inhuman tyrannies and fearful abominations go on?

They have so embittered all lords, princes, regents, potentates and common people against us by their fearful cry of murder and by their slanderous lying that by all our prayers, pleas and supplications, by all our innocence, tears, patience, misery, cross, goods and blood, we cannot obtain enough mercy to be allowed a public conference and discussion with those who envy us. And according to justice and Christianity it becomes the magistracy to allow us a fair hearing and trial, and not to presume, in the judgment seat of the Most High God, to shed innocent blood. And we are continually slandered by their unfounded lies, and so the truth is smothered. Therefore we are compelled by the urging of the word of God and the love of our neighbors to publish in writing our defense and answer with pure Christian truth; since they are so enraged that we cannot appear publicly to defend ourselves, we do it by our written defense, so that the God-fearing conscience which would not knowingly act contrary to the will of God, whether he is a magistrate or a citizen, learned or unlearned, may know that we are innocently slandered and lied about by our opponents with the abominations mentioned before; or that God would grant that the word and truth of the Lord might in this way become more known and manifest, and that the deceit and feigned holiness of the learned and the priests must be uncovered and made manifest to all the world.

Honorable reader, we humbly beg you for the Lord’s sake to consider impartially why we so often refer to the preachers, and admonish and reprove them for many things which, alas, are not to their honor and reputation. For we see clearly that they are the ones who, for the sake of shameful gain and greed, so falsely console, hold and bind the whole world in its unbelief, idolatry and impenitent, carnal life; who so miserably break the truth and trample it underfoot; who so miserably murder the poor souls which are so dearly bought, not with perishable gold and silver but with the precious blood of Christ; who so enviously and scornfully hate, slander and lie about the pious and God-fearing, and take their goods and even their lives, which is quite different from the Spirit of the Lord, so that they may hold on to their shameful gain and their lustful, vain and fruitless life without reproof. And since they will not let themselves be admonished, taught and warned by the word of God, by love, longsuffering, piety and the blood of the saints, the glory of God and the salvation of your souls require us to do so. The Almighty Lord is our witness that we aim at nothing but this: that those who are reasonably minded and yet do not know the mystery of unrighteousness, as Paul calls it, Second Thessalonians 2, verse 9 (since they are still carnally minded, not born of God, and held back by the preachers), may learn to know the preachers and teachers by such clear and plain disclosures, reflect on it further, and so grow tired of their shameful deceit and seduction; and that all lords and magistrates who dare boast of the name of Christ may know what kind of people and teachers they are who slander us, to whom they give ear, and whom they faithfully protect with their arms.

In the first place, they complain and accuse us of being Munsterites, and warn all people to beware of us and take an example from those of Munster.

Answer. We do not like to reprove and judge those who are already reproved and judged by God and man; yet since we are wrongfully attacked and accused by our opponents, and that without truth, we would say in defense of us all that we regard the Munsterite doctrine and life, regarding king, sword, rebellion, retaliation, revenge, polygamy and the temporal kingdom of Christ, as a new Judaism, and a misleading error, doctrine and abomination which is not at all in keeping with the Spirit, word and example of Christ. See, in Christ we do not lie.

Besides, I can fearlessly challenge anybody: no one under the broad canopy of heaven can show and prove that I ever agreed with the Munsterites on the articles mentioned before. For from the beginning until this present moment, for over seventeen years, ever since I confessed the word of the Lord and knew and sought his holy name according to my weakness, I have opposed them with diligence and earnestness, both privately and publicly, by word of mouth and in writing.

I have also, according to my small talent, faithfully warned everybody against their error and abomination, as I would want done to me. And in the meantime I have pointed and brought back several of them to the true way, by the grace, help and power of the Lord.

I have never seen Munster, nor have I ever been in their communion. And I trust that by the grace of the Lord I shall never eat or drink with such people, if there should still be any, as the Scripture teaches me not to do; unless they sincerely acknowledge their abomination, truly repent, and follow the truth and the gospel in a becoming manner.

See, kind reader, this is my understanding and opinion of the Munsterites, as it is also the opinion of all those who are known and accepted by us as brothers and sisters; that is, those of us who on account of the false doctrine, the unclean infant baptism and the supper of the preachers are visited with an overflowing measure of misery, tribulation and anxiety, and who assert and testify to their pure doctrine of baptism and the Supper unto death, with a humble confession and a pious, blameless life.

But all those who reject the cross of Christ, as the Munsterites did; who turn their backs on the Word of the Lord; who go back again to carnality, idolatry and its communion; who walk in all pomp, pride and drunkenness; in short, all those who are on the broad road, although they may be baptized, we do not know or accept as brothers and companions, since they do not abide in the word of the Lord. See, kind reader, this is the truth, and it will always be found so. The learned may revile and twist to their heart’s content; yet they should know that although they are now honored and respected on earth, as the Psalmist testifies, we shall at last appear before a Judge who has no respect of persons, and who will not judge according to the complaint, nor by favor and partiality, but according to the truth.

But if they should say that we are one church with the Munsterites because they and we are baptized with one baptism, then we would reply: if outward baptism has the power to make all who are baptized with one baptism one church, and causes all who are so baptized to share in the unrighteousness, wickedness and corruption of every individual among them, then our adversaries may well consider what kind of church or body theirs is; for it is evident and well known to everybody that perjurers, murderers, highwaymen, thieves and so on have received the same baptism which they have. If we, then, are Munsterites because of our baptism, they must be perjurers, murderers, highwaymen, thieves and so on because of their baptism. This is incontrovertible.

O no. The Scripture does not teach that we are baptized into one body by any mere sign such as water, but that we are baptized into one body by one Spirit, First Corinthians 12, verse 13. The prophet says, “The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father,” but “The soul that sins, it shall die,” Ezekiel 18, verse 20. Paul says, “Every one shall bear his own burden.” And if they should now say that the transgressors are punished by the magistracy according to the sentence of justice, we would reply that we also judge and punish them in this way with the sword of the Spirit, according to the ordinance and commandment of God, namely, according to the word of the Lord; that is, we separate from us all those who turn away from the truth by any unclean or false doctrine or by any licentious, carnal walk, as was said.

In short, we hereby testify and confess before God, before you and before the whole world that we detest from our inmost hearts the errors and abominations of the Munsterites, as also all evil sectarianism which is contrary to the Spirit, word and ordinance of the Lord; and that before God, in Christ Jesus, we seek and desire nothing more than to turn the whole world from its wickedness to the right way, and by the word, grace and help of the Lord to deliver many souls from the kingdom of the devil and win them for the kingdom of Christ; to lead a pious, humble and godly life in Christ Jesus; and to glorify his great and adorable name forever. For we firmly believe and confess that all false doctrine, idolatry, ungodliness and sin are of the devil, and that the reward of sin is everlasting death. Therefore we labor so diligently and earnestly, and would, the Lord knows, be pious and fear God, although we miserable men are so shamefully lied about, hated and scandalized on that account, and often slain, Romans 1, verse 26; First Corinthians, chapter 6; Galatians, chapter 3; Ephesians, chapter 5; First Peter, chapter 3.

In the second place, they say that we will not obey the magistracy.

Answer. The writings which we have published over several years past abundantly prove that this accusation against us is wrong and untrue. We now publicly confess that the office of the magistrate is ordained by God, as we have always confessed ever since we have served the word of the Lord according to our small talent. And in the meantime we have always obeyed them when it was not contrary to the word of God, and we intend to do so all our lives; for we are not so stupid as not to know what the Lord’s word commands in this respect. We render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, as Christ teaches, Matthew 17, verse 22; we pray for the imperial majesty, kings, lords, princes and all in authority, and honor and obey them, First Timothy 2, verse 2; Romans 13, verse 1. And yet they cry out that we will not be subject to and obey the powers that be, so that they may disturb the hearts of those in authority and stir them up to all unmercifulness, wrath and bitterness against us; and so that by their continual cries the bloody sword may be used against us without mercy and never be sheathed, as may be seen, Romans 13, verse 7; Titus 3, verse 2; First Peter 2, verse 13. [Note 2]

They continually stir up the magistracy with such gross falsehood; besides, they say yes and amen to everything the magistracy does, whether it agrees with the Scripture or not; and so by their tickling doctrine they lead these souls into condemnation, because they do not seek their salvation but their own enjoyment and gain. Therefore love compels us respectfully and humbly to show all those in high authority who would do right if they knew it and had someone to point it out to them (since it was concealed from the preachers) how, according to the word of the Lord, they should be minded, and also how they should rightly carry out their office to the praise and glory of the Lord.

Moses speaks thus: “And it shall be, when he (the king) sits upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write himself a copy of this law in a book, out of that which is before the priests, the Levites. And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them (dear lords, mark, it reads: to do them); that his heart be not lifted up above his brothers, and that he turn not aside from the commandments, to the right hand or to the left.” “He shall not multiply horses to himself”; “Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, nor silver and gold,” Deuteronomy 17, verses 16 to 20. Concerning rulers Jethro speaks thus to Moses: “Provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness, and place such over them to be rulers,” Exodus 18, verse 21.

Moses says, “And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brothers, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger who is with him. You shall not respect persons in judgment, but you shall hear the small as well as the great; you shall not be afraid of the face of man, for the judgment is God’s,” Deuteronomy 1, verses 16 and 17.

Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, said to the judges, “Take heed what you do; for you do not judge for man, but for the Lord, who is with you in judgment.” O, an important and heroic word! “Therefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon you; take heed and do it; for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts,” Second Chronicles 19, verses 6 and 7.

Paul says, “Rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil (mark this, you rulers). Will you then not be afraid of the power? Do what is good, and you shall have praise from it. For he is the minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is the minister of God, an avenger to execute wrath upon him who does evil,” Romans 13, verses 3 and 4.

See, beloved rulers and judges, if you take these Scriptures to heart and diligently reflect on them, you will observe, first, that your office is not your own but God’s office and service, so that you may bend your knees before his Majesty, fear his great and adorable Name, and rightly and reasonably carry out your ordained office; and that you may not so freely usurp the kingdom, dominion and jurisdiction of Christ, and judge and punish with your iron swords what belongs solely to the eternal judgment of the Most High God, as in matters of faith, as Luther and others also wrote in the beginning. But after they were more exalted they seem to have forgotten it all. Dear rulers, observe how very highly Moses, Joshua, David, Ezekiel, Josiah, Zorobabel and others are praised in the Scriptures, because they feared the Lord and faithfully and diligently kept his commandments, counsel and word. [Note 3]

If you lift your hearts above all the mountains and will not hear what the mouth of the Lord commands you, but listen only to the whisperings of your flesh; if you will not confess that you are the officers and servants of the Lord and have received from him land and people to rule, you cannot possibly escape the punishment of him who has called you to be such exalted potentates, commanders, heads and regents.

Beloved, observe and beware. Before him Crœsus and Irus are regarded alike. Therefore sincerely fear and love your God; search the Scriptures, and consider how the great Lord in his wrath has mercilessly overturned and destroyed the thrones of potentates on account of their tyranny, cruelty, pride, blasphemy, disobedience and idolatry, as of Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, Sanherib, Antiochus, Saul, Jeroboam, Ahab and others, as may be clearly and plainly read in the Scriptures. [Note 4]

Secondly, you may understand from these Scriptures that you are called and ordained to your offices to punish the transgressors and protect the good; to judge rightly between a man and his neighbor; to do justice to the widows and orphans, and to the poor, despised stranger and pilgrim; to protect them against violence and tyranny; to rule cities and countries justly by good policy and administration not contrary to God’s word, for the peaceable and quiet enjoyment of life by all; and that you should anxiously seek and love the holy word (by which the soul lives), the name and glory of God, and promote, protect and maintain them as much as possible, without bloodshed and uproar.

See, beloved lords and judges, this is the proper office to which you are called. Whether you fulfill these requirements piously and faithfully I will leave to your own consideration. I think, with holy Jeremiah, that you have all broken the yoke and torn it to pieces. For you reject and detest as a venomous serpent the dear word which you should rightly protect; the false teachers and prophets who deceive the whole world, and whom according to the word of God we should shun, are held by you in high esteem; and the poor, miserable sheep, who in their weakness sincerely fear and obey the Lord, who speak not a harmful word about anyone because they dare not do anything against his word, who lead a penitent, pious life, make right use of his sacraments according to the Scriptures, and abhor all false doctrine, sectarianism and ungodliness, are exiled from city and country and are often sentenced to fire, water or the sword; their goods are confiscated; their children, who according to the words of the prophet are not responsible for the transgressions of their fathers, even if the fathers were guilty, are sent out to wander about naked; and so they must leave the labor and sweat of their parents in the hands of these avaricious, greedy, unmerciful and bloodthirsty robbers.

O, you beloved lords and judges, we will leave it to your own judgment whether this is to protect the good and punish the evil, to judge justly between man and man, and to do justice to the widow, orphan and stranger, as the Scriptures teach and your office implies. O no, beloved rulers, no. Take heed; the matter is turned around. The good are punished, and the evil encouraged and protected. For the events of every day prove that it is as the prophets complained. Perjurers, usurers, blasphemers, liars, deceivers, fornicators and adulterers are in no danger of death, but those who fear and love the Lord are the prey of all the world. The prophet says, “Behold, the princes of Israel, every one, were in you to their power to shed blood. In you they have set light by father and mother; in the midst of you they have dealt by oppression with the stranger; in you they have vexed the fatherless and the widow,” Ezekiel 22, verses 6 and 7. Read and diligently ponder the prophetic Scriptures, and you will find what terrible threats the holy and faithful men of God have always prophesied against such evils and abuses. And even if you despise these admonitions of ours, they are nevertheless the firm truth; this you must acknowledge. For it is manifest and undeniable that in our Netherlands the lascivious, unchaste and vain men whom they call pastors, ministers, masters and teachers, some of whom defile one girl and woman after another, who openly live in all manner of licentiousness, ungodliness, idolatry and drunkenness, and who do not rightly live in obedience to the word of God in any particular, by their shameful treachery rob many God-fearing people, who before God and his angels seek nothing but to lead a righteous, blameless life according to the direction of the word of God, of their country, honor, possessions and even life; while they (the traitors) live in liberty and ease.

The scale of justice is so very much out of balance; and you are chosen and ordained by God to judge without respect of persons and to deliver all the afflicted and oppressed strangers from the hands of the oppressor. Therefore we humbly pray you, most beloved rulers and judges, for the sake of him who has called and chosen you to your offices, not to believe these cruel and envious men, who according to Peter are born for corruption and torment, and who always, publicly and privately, make us so hateful by their cries that we are not allowed a hearing and a face-to-face meeting; not to believe them, so long as they do not prove against us in our presence (which, we are sure, they cannot do) what they so shamefully proclaim to the world every day from their throne of pestilence and mockery, to the shame and injury of great numbers of pious and God-fearing children. Beloved rulers, we beseech you for Christ’s sake to fear and love God sincerely. Believe his true word and act accordingly, Isaiah 1, verse 23; Psalm 73, verse 6.

In the third place, you will also observe from the Scriptures that, although you are the chosen authority on earth, you still dare not act according to your own choice and opinion. Rather, you are to love your Lord and God sincerely as your Creator, Deliverer and Savior, and to fear and obey him as your Head, King, Prince and Judge; always diligently to follow the directions of his word; not to lift yourselves above your subjects and brothers; and never to turn aside from the ways and commandments of the Lord. Henceforth, beloved rulers, diligently see to it that you are Christians in actions, works and truth, since you boast that you are such. Water, bread, wine and name make no one a Christian; but those are Christians who are born of God, are of divine nature, are of the same mind as Christ Jesus, and are led by the Spirit of God; who daily crucify their evil and corrupt flesh; who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit; who love nothing above God’s word; who love their neighbors as themselves; who lead a blameless, humble, pious life; who meekly walk in the footsteps of Christ; and who have become new, changed and converted men and creatures in Christ. These the word of God calls Christians, Second Peter 1, verse 4; Philippians 2, verse 5; Romans 8, verse 14; Galatians 5, verse 24; Romans 8, verse 2; Matthew 10, verse 37; Matthew 7, verse 12; Matthew 16, verse 24.

Beloved lords, observe that we do not read in the biblical Scriptures of proud, carnal, perjured, adulterous, drunken, pompous, unrighteous, idolatrous and bloodthirsty Christians, but that the portion of such shall be eternal weeping and gnashing of teeth, darkness, fire, hell, death and devil. Their portion will be in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, Revelation 21, verse 8; Romans, chapter 1.

Dear lords, take heed, and be deceived no longer. For with God there is no respect of persons. This all the Scriptures teach. It is everlasting life with the angels around the heavenly throne, or everlasting death with the devils in the bottomless pit; for everything must be judged according to the Spirit, example and word of God. “Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature,” First Corinthians 5, verse 17. “He who says he abides in him (Christ) ought himself also to walk just as he walked,” First John 2, verse 6. It does not matter whether one is emperor or king. [Note 5]

Beloved lords, this is God’s word. This is the prize and the measure after which you and we should strive. Whoever does not strive after this measure and conform himself to it cannot be a Christian. Therefore examine your teachers well; earnestly and diligently consider whether or not they point you to this narrow way. I presume that they preach peace to you and make your pillows soft and agreeable, and that they do not severely reprove your court manners and practices, such as dancing, drinking, fornication, gambling and debauchery in general. In short, you build the wall, and they daub it with untempered mortar, Ezekiel 13, verse 10.

Beloved rulers, we do not do so; but we teach and direct you in the right way which you should walk if you wish to be saved. We do not point you to the pope, or Luther, or Augustine, or Hieronymus, but according to Scripture to Christ Jesus, to hear him, believe him and faithfully follow him. For he is the Prophet promised by God, the Teacher sent from God, the Light of the world, the true Shepherd of our souls. Whoever hears, believes and follows him has eternal life, Deuteronomy 18, verse 18; John 3, verse 2; John 8, verse 12; John 3, verse 15. He calls to emperor, king and everyone, “Unless you are converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven”; “If any man will come after me (or, whoever will be a true Christian), let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me”; whoever loves anything more than he loves me cannot be my disciple and is not worthy of me; and many other passages, Matthew 18, verse 3; Matthew 16, verse 24; Luke, chapter 14; Matthew 10, verse 38.

Rulers, awake, and learn to know him. He is the Son of the Most High God, the Lord of lords and the King of kings, the eternal power, word and wisdom of God. What kind of pomp, ease and comfort he enjoyed on earth, the Scriptures abundantly teach us. At his birth there was no room for him in the inn, Luke 2, verse 8. In his preaching he had nowhere to lay his head, Luke 9, verse 58. His entrance into Jerusalem was not accompanied by cavalry, guards and knights, but was upon a donkey. At his death he had neither water nor wine with which to quench his thirst. Why was this? Was it so that we should live a lustful, pleasure-seeking life? O no. But, according to Peter, it was so that we should die to sin and live in righteousness, Matthew 21, verse 7; First Peter 4, verse 3; Romans 6, verse 7; Second Timothy 2, verse 11; Colossians 3, verse 5.

See, beloved rulers, see! This is the court practice which the heavenly Prince, Christ Jesus, has taught all his courtiers on earth, namely, all Christians. O, the narrow way! The strait gate! How few find it, and fewer still walk in it! Matthew 7, verse 14; Luke 13, verse 24.

I write this admonition so that the princes, regents and lords may take heed and observe that they are miserably deceived by the preachers, since these preach such easy and sweet things and point out such a broad way, while the word of God shows us so strait a way. I hereby humbly beseech you, lords, princes, kings and judges, one and all, for the sake of the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ with which we are sprinkled, not to take it hard of me, a poor, miserable and despised man, that I have so faithfully shown my sincere love to you. For I would joyfully see your poor souls saved. My admonition is general, and I do not mention any particular name. Whoever is guilty, let him repent; and whoever is not guilty, let him take heed. God is my witness that I desire nothing but that you all may be such in deed that you may be praised and honored by all, by noble lords and by a Christian magistracy; that you will stand impartially between us and our opponents, the learned, as becomes your office; that the enchanting, deceiving falsehood may at last go down and be destroyed; and that the unadulterated truth, which has been kept back for centuries, may be restored. Beloved rulers, the word of God is truth. Love it, embrace it and kiss it; for its riches are immeasurable, its beauty surpassing, its fruits precious, and its power is eternal life, John, chapter 17.

In the third place, they say that we are rebellious, and that we would take cities and countries if we had the power.

Answer. This prophecy is false and will always remain so; and by the grace of God, time and experience will prove that those who prophesy so are not of God, according to the word of Moses. Faithful reader, understand what I write.

The Scriptures teach that there are two opposing princes and two opposing kingdoms. The one is the Prince of peace; the other the prince of rebellion. Each of these princes has his own kingdom, and as the prince is, so is the kingdom. The Prince of peace is Christ Jesus; his kingdom is the kingdom of peace, which is his church; his messengers are the messengers of peace; his word is the word of peace; his body is the body of peace; his children are the seed of peace; and his inheritance and reward are the inheritance and reward of peace, Hebrews, chapter 7; Isaiah, chapter 9; Daniel 2, verse 7; Luke, chapter 1; Isaiah, chapter 52; Romans, chapter 10; John, chapter 14; Colossians, chapter 3; Zechariah, chapter 8. In short, with this King and in this kingdom and reign there is nothing but peace; everything that is seen, heard and done is peace.