Humble and Christian Justification: A Humble and Christian Defense, Part 1

We have heard the word of peace, namely, the consoling gospel of peace, from the mouth of his messengers. Therefore, by his grace, we have believed and accepted it in peace, and have committed ourselves to the only, eternal and true Prince of peace, Christ Jesus, in his kingdom of peace and under his reign. And so, by the gift of his Holy Spirit, by means of faith, we are incorporated into his body, and from now on we look, with all the children of his peace, for the promised inheritance and reward of peace, Romans 10, verse 15; Isaiah 52, verse 7; Isaiah 9, verse 6; Luke 2, verse 7.

Such exceeding grace of God has appeared to us poor, miserable sinners, that we, who were formerly no people at all and who knew no peace, are now called to be such a glorious people of God, to be a church, kingdom, inheritance, body and possession of peace. Therefore we do not desire to break this peace, but, by his great power by which he has called us to this grace and portion, to walk in this grace and peace, unchangeably and unwaveringly until death, First Peter 2, verse 9.

Peter was commanded to sheathe his sword. All Christians are commanded to love their enemies, to do good to those who abuse and persecute them: if any man strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other; and if he takes away your coat, let him have your cloak also. Tell me, beloved, how can a Christian, according to Scripture, retaliate, rebel, make war, murder, slay, torture, steal, rob and burn cities and conquer countries? Matthew 26, verse 52; John 18, verse 10; Matthew 5, verses 12, 39 and 40.

The great Lord who has created you and us, who has placed our hearts in the midst of our bodies, knows, and he alone knows, that our hearts and hands are clear of all rebellion and murderous mutiny; and by his grace they will always remain clear. For we truly confess that all rebellion is of the flesh and of the devil, Romans 1, verse 30; First John 3, verse 8; Revelation 21, verse 8; Revelation 22, verse 15.

O beloved reader, our weapons are not swords and spears, but patience, silence and hope, and the word of God. With these we must maintain and defend our cause. Paul says, “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God.” With these we intend and desire to resist the kingdom of the devil, and not with swords, spears, cannons and coats of mail. For “he (God) esteems iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood.” So we may, with our Prince, Teacher and Example, Christ Jesus, raise the father against the son and the son against the father, and cast down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ, Isaiah 30, verse 7; Ephesians 6, verse 17; Hebrews 4, verse 12; Second Corinthians 10, verse 4; Job 41, verse 27; Matthew 10, verse 21; Luke 12, verse 53; Second Corinthians 10, verse 5.

See, reader, such a rebellion we seek and cause, but never a rebellion of the flesh. Not even if we were as numerous as the blades of grass and the sand on the seashore, which, however, will never be the case, since not all men have faith. Oh, that the way is so narrow and the gate so strait! Second Thessalonians 3, verse 3; Matthew 7, verse 13; Luke 13, verse 24.

True Christians do not know vengeance, no matter how they are mistreated. In patience they possess their souls, Luke 21, verse 18, and do not break their peace, even if they should be tried by bondage, torture and poverty, and besides that by the sword and fire. They do not cry for vengeance as the world does, but with Christ they plead and pray: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do,” Luke 23, verse 34; Acts 7, verse 60. [Note 1]

According to the declaration of the prophet, they have beaten their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. They shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, Christ; neither shall they learn war any more, Isaiah 2, verse 4; Micah 4, verse 3.

They do not seek your money, goods, injury or blood, but they seek the honor and praise of God and the salvation of your souls. They are the children of peace; their hearts overflow with it; their mouths speak it, and they walk in the way of peace. They are full of peace; they seek, desire and know nothing but peace; and they are always prepared to forsake country, goods, life and all for its sake. For they are the kingdom, people, church, city, possession and body of peace, as you have heard.

Beloved reader, I, a poor, miserable man (do not think hard of it), have in my weakness been writing these seventeen years. I have feared the word of the Lord and served my neighbors, and I have unwaveringly borne his scorn and cross, with much misery, anxiety, tribulation and peril. And I trust that by his grace I will continue to the end to testify with a good conscience to his holy, worthy word, will and ordinance, by word of mouth, by writing and at the peril of my life, as much as is in me. Should I then still be at heart a restless, rebellious, vengeful and bloody murderer? May the Most High save his poor servant from that!

Again, in Brabant, Flanders, Friesland and Gelderland the God-fearing, pious hearts are daily led to the slaughter as innocent sheep, and are tyrannically and inhumanly martyred! Their hearts are full of spirit and strength; their mouths flow like streams; their fruits are fragrant like holy spices; their doctrine is powerful and their life is blameless. Neither emperor nor king, fire nor sword, life nor death can frighten them or separate them from the word of the Lord! And should their hearts still be ensnared by bitterness, rebellion, vengeance, robbery, hatred and bloodshed? If so, what vain suffering it would be!

Oh no, reader, no. Learn to know what a true Christian is, of whom he is born, how he is minded, and what his real intention and seeking are, and you will find that they are not rebels, murderers and robbers, as the learned accuse them of being, but that they are a God-fearing, pious, peaceable people, as the Scriptures teach.

The other prince is the prince of darkness, antichrist and Satan. This prince is a prince of all evil, such as rebellion, bloodshed, uproar and murder, which agree with his own nature, arts and doings, John 8, verse 44. His commandments and teachings, and his kingdom, body and church, are of the same nature, First John, chapter 3. Here we do not need much Scripture. Seeing, hearing, and daily events and experience prove the truth.

Our opponents charge that we are intent on rebellion, something we never thought of. But we say, and truthfully, that they and their ancestors for more than a thousand years have been what they accuse us of being. If we search history, we will be convinced of this assertion. All those who set themselves against their shamefulness, dishonor and evildoing had to suffer for it. And so it is today.

For what they have done these last few years by their writings, teachings and cries, cities and countries prove. How cunningly they have set potentate against potentate and said to them, Since the sword is placed in your hands, you may maintain the word of the Lord by it; until they prevailed on them; and they have shed human blood like water, torn the hearts out of each other’s bodies and made innumerable fornicators, rogues, widows and orphans; they have eaten up and plundered the innocent citizen, and destroyed and ruined cities and countries. In short, they have acted as if neither prophet nor Christ nor apostle nor the word of God had ever been on earth. Nevertheless, they want to be called the holy, Christian church and body. O dear Lord, how lamentably your holy, worthy word is mocked, and your glorious works derided! As if your divine and powerful doings in your church were nothing but reading, crying, water, bread, wine and a name; and as if all rebellion, warring, robbing, murder and devilish works were allowable. Beloved reader, see, observe and learn, once and for all, to know this kingdom and body. For if they, with such actions and doings, were the kingdom and body of Christ, as the learned pretend, then Christ’s holy, glorious kingdom, church and body would be an inhuman, cruel, rebellious, bloody, robbing, crying, unmerciful and unrighteous people. This cannot be denied. O damnable error! O dark blindness!!

And yet it is not enough for them that by their light-minded, licentious doctrine they lead the whole world into corruption and misery, and rob their own members of their property, welfare, doctrine, life and soul; but besides that, in their madness, they must lay hands on the innocent, peaceable and humble kingdom and body of Christ, which will do no harm to the least person on earth. They continually lie, blaspheme, upbraid, betray and rebel, so that we may well say with holy Peter that they are born to torture and corruption; for their hearts, mouths and hands drip and reek with blood.

Oh, how exactly the Holy Spirit has depicted them, saying, “I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the martyrs of Jesus”; “And in her was found the blood of the prophets, and of the saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth,” Revelation 17, verse 6; Revelation 18, verse 20.

See, kind reader, in this way you will observe that they fall by their own sword which they drew against us, as the prophet says. For we may appear before the world with clear consciences (eternal praise be to the Lord) and truthfully maintain that, from the time of our confession until the present moment, we have harmed no one and have desired none of the property of others, much less laid hands on it; that we have not sought the destruction or blood of anyone, either by word or deed; and, by the grace of God, we never shall. But what they have done by their rebellious upbraiding, lying, slander, crying, writing and treason we will commit to the judgment of the Lord.

May the merciful and gracious Lord grant and give you and them wisdom, so that you may learn to know of what spirit and kingdom you are the children, what you seek, what prince you serve, what doctrine you maintain, what sacraments you have, what fruits you produce, what life you lead, and into what kingdom, body and church you are incorporated. This is our sincere wish.

Kind reader, earnestly reflect on this brief treatise of ours on the two princes and their kingdoms, and by the grace of God it will give you no small insight into the Scriptures.

In the fourth place, some of them charge that we have our property in common.

Answer. This charge is false and without truth. We do not teach and practice the doctrine of having goods in common. But we teach and maintain by the word of the Lord that all truly believing Christians are members of one body and are baptized by one Spirit into one body, First Corinthians 12, verse 13; that they are partakers of one bread, First Corinthians 10, verse 18; that they have one Lord and one God, Ephesians 4, verses 5 and 6.

Since they are one in this way, it is Christian and reasonable that they love one another in a godly way, and that one member be concerned for the welfare of the other; for this is what both Scripture and nature teach. The whole of Scripture speaks of mercy and love, and it is the only sign by which a true Christian may be known, as the Lord says, “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples (that is, that you are Christians), if you have love one to another,” John 13, verse 35.

Beloved reader, it is not usual for a sensible person to clothe and care for one part of his body and leave the rest destitute and naked. Oh no. The sensible person is concerned for all his members. So it should be with those who are the Lord’s church and body. All those who are born of God, who are gifted with the Spirit of the Lord, and who, according to the Scriptures, are called into one body of love in Christ Jesus, are prepared by such love to serve their neighbors, not only with money and goods, but also, after the example of their Lord and Head, Jesus Christ, in an evangelical manner, with life and blood. They show mercy and love as much as they can; they allow no beggars among them; they take to heart the need of the saints; they receive the miserable; they take the stranger into their houses; they console the afflicted; they assist the needy; they clothe the naked; they feed the hungry; they do not turn their face from the poor, and they do not despise their own flesh, Isaiah 58, verses 7 and 8; Romans 12, verse 13.

See, such a community we teach. And not that one should take and possess the land and property of another, as many falsely charge. So Moses says, “If there be among you a poor man, one of your brothers, within any of your gates, in your land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not harden your heart, nor shut your hand from your poor brother.” Tobias says, “Give of your bread to the hungry, and of your garments to them that are naked.” Christ says, “Be therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.” “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” Paul says, “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies,” and so on. “For he shall have judgment without mercy, that has shown no mercy; and mercy rejoices against judgment,” Deuteronomy 15, verse 7; Tobit 4, verse 16; Luke 6, verse 36; Matthew 3, verse 7; Colossians 3, verse 12; James 2, verse 13; Matthew 18, verse 33; Matthew 25, verse 36. [Note 2]

Again, this mercy, love and community we teach and practice, and have taught and practiced for seventeen years. And so, glory be to God, although our property has to a great extent been taken from us and is still taken daily, many a pious father and mother are put to the sword or the fire, we are not allowed the free enjoyment of our homes, as is plain to see, and besides we have had hard times and famine, yet none of the pious, nor any of their children who commit themselves to us, have been forced to beg. If this is not Christianity, then we may as well abandon the whole gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, his holy sacraments and Christian name, and say that the loving, merciful life of all the saints is mere fantasy and dreams. Oh no. “God is love; and he that dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him,” First John 4, verse 16.

This I write to shame our backbiters for their envy. They are so blinded that they are not ashamed to slander us so shamefully and wickedly to turn good into evil. For although we, in accordance with all Scripture, teach mercy and love and serve the God-fearing poor by the sweat of our brow, and would not let them suffer want, yet we must hear that we teach community of goods; that everyone should beware of us, because we would reach into the chests and pockets of others. And this while they know well that it is written, “He shall have judgment without mercy, that has shown no mercy,” James, chapter 2; and, “He that does not love his brother abides in death,” First John 3, verse 14; and while they also plainly see that we daily and freely sacrifice our goods for the testimony of Jesus Christ and for our consciences.

O reader, it would be well for your souls if you would once take notice and learn to know your preachers. For how can they teach you what is good, when they can hear nothing of mercy?

Is it not terrible hypocrisy that these poor people boast of having the word of God and of being the true Christian church, never remembering that they have entirely lost their sign of true Christianity? For although many of them have plenty of everything, go about in silk and velvet, gold and silver, and in all manner of pomp and splendor, decorate their houses with all kinds of costly ornaments, have their coffers filled and live in luxury, yet they allow many of their poor, afflicted members (although they are fellow believers, have received one baptism and partaken of the same bread with them) to ask for alms, and poor, hungry, suffering, old, lame, blind and sore people to beg their bread at their doors.

O teachers, teachers! Yes, beloved teachers, where are the fruits of the gospel you preach? Where is the meaning of the Supper you administer? Where are the fruits of the Spirit you have received? And where is the righteousness of your faith which you so beautifully adorn before the poor, ignorant people? Is it not all hypocrisy that you preach, maintain and assert? Be ashamed of the vain preaching and bread-breaking of your easy gospel, which you have practiced these many years with your doctrine and sacraments, preached to your needy, miserable members in the streets; although the Scripture plainly teaches and says, “Whoever has this world’s good, and sees his brother have need, and shuts up his bowels of compassion from him, how does the love of God dwell in him?” Also Moses: There shall be no beggars among you, First John 3, verse 17; Deuteronomy 15, verse 8.

See, kind reader, so his charge is false and wrong in fact, as are their other charges also. For although we know that the apostolic churches practiced it from the beginning, as may be seen in the Acts of the Apostles, yet we may observe from their epistles that it declined in their own times and (perhaps not without cause) was not practiced. Since we do not find that it was continually practiced by the apostles, as we have said, we also leave it aside and have never taught or practiced community of goods. But we diligently and earnestly teach and urge help, love and mercy, as the apostolic Scriptures abundantly teach us. See, in Christ we tell you the truth and do not lie.

And even if we did teach and practice community of goods, as we are charged, we would only be doing what the holy apostles, full of the Holy Spirit, did in the early church at Jerusalem, although it was afterward abolished, as was said.

But the reason why our opponents charge us with it may easily be imagined. For generally their hearts are filled with greed, as Peter says, and they know that their disciples are intent on the lusts of the flesh, money and goods. They are all covetous, as the prophet says. And therefore they make the charge, so that the precious gospel, the clear truth of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is now springing up in many places, may become a stench and an abomination to all. See the arts and wiles of the serpent!

Reader, beware; do not let such liars deceive you. Adam and Eve believed the deceiver, and thereby sinned so wickedly against their God. Israel was miserably deceived by the false prophets. And what good things they have done in the gospel times, and still do, their deeds and fruits openly show.

In the fifth place, some of them falsely charge that we believe in polygamy; that we have our women in common; that we say to each other, Sister, my spirit desires your flesh.

Answer. As to polygamy we would say this: The Scriptures show that before the law some of the patriarchs had many wives. Yet they did not take the same liberty under the law as before the law. For Abraham, who lived before the law, had his own sister as his wife, as he himself testifies before Abimeleck the king, saying, “And yet she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother,” Genesis 20, verse 12. Jacob had two sisters as wives, Leah and Rachel, the daughters of Laban, his mother’s brother, Genesis, chapter 22. These liberties, to marry one’s own sister and to marry two sisters at once, were afterward strictly forbidden to Israel under the law, Leviticus, chapter 18. [Note 3]

Each period has had its particular liberty and usage according to the Scriptures; and now, under the New Testament, we are not pointed by the Lord to the usage of the patriarchs before the law or under the law in the matter of marriage, but to the beginning of creation, to Adam and Eve (which word we sincerely desire to obey). Therefore we teach, practice and consent to no other marriage than the one which was in the beginning in Adam and Eve, namely, one husband and one wife, as the Lord’s mouth has ordained, Matthew, chapter 19.

We say one husband and one wife, and not one husband and two, three or four wives, and these counted as one, as many, alas, charge us without any truth. These two, one husband and one wife, are one flesh, and cannot be separated from each other to marry again, except for adultery, as the Lord says, Matthew 5, verse 19; Mark, chapter 10; Luke, chapter 16. [Note 4]

See, this is our true foundation, doctrine and practice concerning marriage, as we here confess it by the Holy Scriptures; and by the grace of God it will always remain the foundation of all pious souls, no matter what false charges and slander may be brought against us. For we know and truly confess that it is the express ordinance, command and intent, and the unchangeable, plain word, of Christ.

But as to the charge of the shameful licentiousness of having our wives in common, we reply with Solomon: “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit,” Proverbs 26, verses 4 and 5.

Kind reader, I am heartily ashamed to touch on such accursed charges of licentiousness and roguery before the ears of blushing, pious persons. For they are opposed not only to the Scriptures but also to all reason, intelligence and virtue. But since they charge us by this not only with shameful roguery and knavery but also with the worst of doggery, and so that the pious, virtuous hearts who, if it were possible, would rather die ten deaths than commit such abominations may see how they are spat upon by some indiscreet slanderers, it is only reasonable to do so, in order to defend our reputation in a Christian manner to the praise of the Lord, and to ward off such slander from us as far as possible. [Note 5]

We hereby testify, now and forever, in this place, before God, that we, with the angel of the church of Ephesus, hate the words of the Nicolaitans, which God also hates, Revelation, chapter 2. We teach, as from the mouth of the Lord, “That whoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart,” Matthew 5, verse 28. And with Paul, that adulterers and fornicators cannot inherit the kingdom of God, First Corinthians, chapter 6.

We are so plainly taught by the Scriptures, and by the grace of the Lord we not only believe so but also teach others so by virtue of the divine word; and besides, we are in constant danger of arrest, prison and death; we are tied to the stake by threes and fours, by sixes and sevens; we are tortured, burned or drowned, and so unmercifully murdered. Therefore judge whether we would still practice such terrible abominations and shame, at which every reasonable person should stand astounded, and which, according to many Scriptures, are rewarded with everlasting death and eternal, unquenchable hell fire. Oh, what miserable men we would be! It is shameful slander! No, no. We trust that in our weakness, by the grace of the Lord, we have raised up our bodies and members as a temple and dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, according to the gift we have received. We trust, by the grace and help of the Lord, that we shall never have fellowship with adulterers and fornicators, that is, if they do not repent, Romans, chapter 1; First Corinthians, chapter 6; Galatians, chapter 5; Ephesians, chapter 5; Hebrews, chapter 13; Revelation, chapter 21.

But how our slanderers and backbiters are minded, into what body they have incorporated their bodies and members, and by what kind of spirit they are driven, their intolerable lies and slander plainly show. Christ says, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks,” Matthew 2, verse 34. Every tree bears fruit after its own kind. Seneca says, “As the man, so is his word.” Indeed, if these vain men were Christians, and if they had even a little of the Lord’s word and a spark of his Holy Spirit, as they boast of having, they would never think of such abominable slander against their neighbors, who, as is plain, sincerely seek and fear the Lord; much less would they mock and deride them. [Note 6]

O you indiscreet slanderers (I mean all those who are guilty of this shamefulness), do you think that we are irrational creatures, and that there is no reason left in us? Be ashamed of your inhuman lies and slander. This disgraceful report and bad name is saddled on us, who are innocent, by many who are guilty of this very thing. If what I write is wrong, then I am willing to bear the punishment. It is plain and undeniable that many of your fellow believers miserably defile their own members. For by their deception, smoothness of tongue, promises and gifts they seduce many a young maiden, who by one baptism, faith and Supper is incorporated into one body with them. In your brotherhood many an honorable man’s bed is defiled! Many a shameful adulterer is found! Many an unsuspecting soul is deceived! And many an illegitimate child is born! We will leave it to the judgment of all pious persons whether that is not adultery and a desire to have the women in common.

Beloved reader, judge rightly and know the truth. Is not your church full of such debauchees, defilers, perjurers and adulterers? Are there not others who are keepers of houses of prostitution? Can we not hear and see unchaste women sing and drink, crowd together and behave indecently in alleys and streets? Do they not live in open prostitution in city and country? Your answer must be yes, for it cannot be denied. And all these are your fellows in faith, members of your body, grains of your bread. O vain doctrine and faith! O fruitless baptism and Supper! O unclean body and church!!

See, kind reader, if you are reasonably minded you must admit that our slanderers are guilty of the things with which they charge us. My friend, beware lest you do violence to the God-fearing along with these slanderers. Syrach says, Whoever accustoms himself to evil speaking and whoring will never reform. For since we hate all abominations which are contrary to the word of God, and reprove them not only by our teaching but also at the risk of our lives, how much more, then, this abomination? For it is contrary not only to God’s word but also to reason. O dear Lord, this is how those are slandered who sincerely glorify your name, who walk in your ways, and sacrifice property and life for the sake of your holy word.

In the sixth place, they falsely charge that if someone, after he has made confession and received baptism, falls into his sins again, we refuse such a one all penance and grace.

Answer. This charge, if it were true, would be a fine excuse for the licentious to persecute the truth. But happily it is false and wrong in fact, as are their other charges, and can never be proved.

Since the charge is false, and since there might be some among the pious who are not acquainted with the matter, I will present my foundation and confession, as taken from the word of the Lord, concerning the nature of the different sins: which will be forgiven and which are unpardonable. And so I present it to the pious and godly reader, to ponder it diligently.

In my opinion the Scripture speaks of different kinds of sin. The first kind is the corrupt, sinful nature, namely, the lust or desire of our flesh, contrary to God’s law and contrary to the first righteousness, which is inherited at birth by all the descendants and children of corrupt, sinful Adam; and it is not inaptly called inherent sin. Of this sin David says, “Behold, I was shaped in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” Again, the Lord said to Noah, “The imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth.” Again, Paul says, “We were by nature children of wrath, even as others,” Psalm 51, verse 5; Genesis 8, verse 21; Ephesians 2, verse 3.

Yes, kind reader, since we are all stained by this evil, we would all have remained in death if the righteousness, intercession, death and blood of Christ Jesus had not been given to us as a reconciliation to God our heavenly Father, Romans 5, verse 8. But now, for Christ’s sake, it is not counted as sin, Romans 3, verses 5, 6 and 8.

The second kind are the fruits of the first sin, and they are not inaptly called actual sins by the learned. They are these: adultery, fornication, greed, debauchery, hatred, envy, lying, theft, murder and idolatry. Paul also calls these works of the flesh, Galatians, chapter 5; and that is because they have their origin in the flesh which is born of Adam, corrupt and sinful, Romans, chapter 5; Ephesians, chapter 5.

But where inherent sin, which is the mother, and actual sin, which is the fruit, are joined together, there is no forgiveness or promise of life; there wrath and death remain, unless they are repented of, as the Scriptures teach.

If this inherent sin is to lose its effect, and actual sin is to be forgiven, then we must believe the word of the Lord, be regenerated by faith, and so, by virtue of the new birth, by true repentance, resist the inherent sin, die to actual sin, and be pious.

For as the carnal birth, which is of Adam, is unclean and sinful and brings forth all evil and unrighteousness to death, at the prompting of the devil, so on the other hand the heavenly birth, which is of God, is clean and pure, and brings forth all righteousness and piety to life, according to the will of God, Romans, chapter 5; First John 3, verse 5.

The third kind are human frailties, errors and stumblings which are still found daily among the saints and the regenerated, such as unrestrained thoughts, careless words and rashness in our actions. Although these spring from the sins mentioned, as the sins of the unbelieving and impenitent do, they are yet not of the same kind, and they have this difference: the unbelieving, who are still unchanged in their first birth, commit sin without restraint and without fear; because of the blindness of their corrupt nature they do not realize the wickedness of their sins, and besides, they do not consider their actions sinful. For sin is not made manifest to them by the law, because of their unbelief.

But those who are born from above are fearful of all sin. They know by the law that everything which is contrary to the first righteousness is sin, whether inward or outward, important or trifling; and therefore they fight daily, in spirit and faith, with their weak flesh, and sigh and lament over their errors, which they, with Paul, sincerely abhor. For they know them to be contrary to the first righteousness and God’s law, and therefore to be sins. They daily approach the throne of grace with contrite hearts and pray: Holy Father, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And so they are not rejected by the Lord on account of such transgressions, which are not committed willfully and intentionally, but against their will, out of mere thoughtlessness and frailty. Yes, even as Peter, although he denied the Lord three times; for they are under grace and not under the law, as Paul says. The seed of God, faith in Christ Jesus, the birth which is of God, and the anointing of the Holy Spirit remain in them. They exercise themselves continually in warring against their flesh; they die to their lusts; they watch and pray without ceasing; and although they are such poor, weak children, they rejoice in the sure trust of the merits of Christ, and praise the Father for his grace, Hebrews, chapter 4; Matthew, chapter 6; Luke, chapter 12; Romans, chapter 6; First John 3, verse 5; Job, chapter 7; Ephesians, chapter 6; Second Timothy, chapter 2; Galatians, chapter 5; Second Corinthians, chapter 6; First Peter, chapter 5.

See, all the saints have always lamented this deficient and weak nature; and so John says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us; if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” First John 1, verses 8 and 9.

The fourth kind is this: after a person has been enlightened in his heart by the heavenly luster of the everlasting truth, has received the true knowledge of Christ and his holy word, has tasted the heavenly gifts, the kindness of the Lord and the enjoyment of the world to come, has partaken of the Holy Spirit and is born of God, he again, by stubbornness, malice and willfulness, against his heart, mind and the spirit which is in him, renounces all knowledge and grace; rejects the Spirit and word of God; casts out the sweet new wine; willfully hates and blasphemes all truth with the Pharisees and scribes; ascribes it to the devil, although his conscience convinces him that it is the will, word, power and work of God; returns to the broad way, and says at heart with all the evil-minded, I will not submit. What kind of sin this is, I will leave to the sentence of the word of the Lord, Numbers, chapter 15; Matthew, chapter 12; Mark, chapter 3; Luke, chapter 12; First John, chapter 5; Hebrews, chapter 6.

Kind reader, understand me. I do not speak of such persons as are overtaken in a fault, even though their transgressions were as great as the fall of David (from which the great Lord save all his own), who was so miserably deceived by the lusts of the flesh; but I speak of those who, out of mere insolence, willfully trample on the Son of God, count the blood of the New Testament unclean, and profane the Spirit of grace.

O reader, kind reader, take heed, and remember that it is written, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God,” Hebrews 10, verse 31.

Such willful blasphemy and sin had no offering in Israel, Numbers, chapter 15, and the sin against the Holy Spirit has no forgiveness, as Christ says, Matthew, chapter 12; Mark, chapter 3; Luke, chapter 12. And yet I would advise all the God-fearing, as far as I am able, that if anyone should go back to the works of the flesh and of death after his confession and baptism, they should consider the matter wisely and not make a mistake in such a case by an untimely and undue sentence; for the Lord, from whom nothing is hidden, knows what sin he has committed, whether he has sinned against the Holy Spirit or not. But let them admonish such a person according to the word of the Lord. If he is converted, if he shows true fruits of repentance according to the Scriptures, if he again receives a broken, contrite and penitent heart, and besides that a peaceable, joyful and cheerful mind, then it is plain that he did not sin against the Holy Spirit. But if he remains unrepentant and continues in his perverseness, and this to the end, and willfully despises Christ and his word, then his work shows what sin he has committed, and that his end and reward will be death, Romans 1, verse 8; First Corinthians, chapter 6; Galatians, chapter 5; Ephesians, chapter 5; First John 3, verse 5; Revelation 21, verse 22.

See, kind reader, this is how we believe: that all sins, both outward and inward, have their reconciliation in the merit and power of the blood of the Lord, if they are truly repented of according to the Scriptures.

Let everyone take heed that he walks in the fear of the Lord and accepts the grace, lest he be given over to the wrong spirit, fall into the judgment of the Lord, and the penance which avails before God be refused him. For Christ says, “Whoever commits sin is the servant of sin.” Peter says, “Of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought into bondage.” Therefore let no one be overcome by sin, or he will be the servant of sin. This cannot be denied. John 8, verse 34; Second Peter 2, verse 19.

I think that this confession of ours, and also the ban or separation which the Scripture teaches and which we practice, by which we seek the scriptural shaming of the fallen for their reformation, fully prove that we are vilified by our opponents in this regard. Indeed, we testify before the Lord and before you that we desire nothing on earth more ardently than to bring a poor, erring sinner back to the right way.

But this we say: that the promises of God of eternal salvation, as preached by the gospel, are not made to unrepentant sinners, hypocrites, the greedy, the earthly-minded, mockers or the perverse; but they are made to those who with all their heart hear and truly believe the lovely word of our Lord Jesus Christ, and so become new men born of God, and become dead to this fearful world of ungodly pride, pomp, vanity and lust. For the unrepentant would boast of the Scripture and console themselves with it, while their life is contrary to it and is open blasphemy. Christ says, “If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed,” John 8, verse 31. “You are my friends, if you do whatever I command you,” John 15, verse 14; for the vine bears after its own kind.