[Sidenote: The Chief Things]
The challenge of death comes to us all, and no one can die for
another. Every one must fight his own battle with death by himself,
alone. We can shout into one another's ears, but every one must be
prepared finally to meet death alone. I will not be with you then, nor
you with me. Therefore every one must know for himself the chief
things in Christianity, and be armed therewith. They are the same
which you, my beloved, have long ago heard from me.
In the first place, We must know that we are the children of wrath,
and all our works, intentions and thoughts are nothing at all. To
prove this point we must have a clear, strong text, and although there
are many such in the Bible I will not overwhelm you with them, but ask
you to note just this one, "We are all the children of wrath." [Eph.
2:3] And pray, do not boast in reply: I have builded an altar, given a
foundation for masses, etc.
Secondly, That God has sent us His only-begotten Son that we may
believe in Him, and whosoever will put his trust in Him, should be
free from sin and a child of God, as John declares in the first
chapter, "He gave them power to become the sons of God, even to them
that believe in his name." [John 1:12] Here we should all be
thoroughly at home in the Bible and be ready with many passages to
confront the devil. In respect to these two points nothing seems to be
lacking or amiss, but they have been rightly preached to you; I should
be very sorry if it were otherwise. Nay, I am well aware and I dare
say, that you are more learned herein than I, and that there are not
only one, two, three, or four, but perhaps ten or more, who have this
wisdom and enlightenment.
[Sidenote: Love]
Thirdly, There must also be love, and through love we must do unto one
another as God has done unto us through faith. For without love faith
is nothing, as St. Paul says, I Cor. ii, "If I could speak with the
tongues of angels, and of the highest things in faith, and have not
love, I am nothing." [1 Cor. 13:1] And here, dear friends, have you
not grievously failed? I see no signs of love among you, and I observe
that you have not been grateful to God for His rich gifts and
treasures.
Let us beware lest Wittenberg become Capernaum. I notice that you have
a great deal to say of the doctrine which is preached to you, of faith
and of love. This is not surprising; an ass can almost intone the
lessons, and why should you not be able to repeat the doctrines and
formulas? Dear friends, the kingdom of God,--and we are that
kingdom,--consists not in speech or in words, but in deeds, in works
and exercises. God does not want hearers and repeaters of words, but
doers and followers who exercise themselves in the faith that worketh
by love. For a faith without love is not enough--rather it is not
faith at all [1 Cor. 13:12], but a counterfeit of faith, just as a
face seen in a mirror is not a real face, but merely the reflection of
a face.
[Sidenote: Patience]
Fourthly, We likewise need patience. For whoever has faith, trusts in
God and shows love to his neighbor, practicing it day by day, must
needs suffer persecution. For the devil never sleeps, and continually
molests. But patience works and produces hope, which freely yields
itself to God and finds solace in Him [Rom. 5:4]. Thus faith, by much
affliction and persecution, ever increases, and is strengthened day by
day. And the heart which by God's grace has received such virtues must
ever be active and freely expend itself for the benefit and service of
the brethren, even as it has received from God.
[Sidenote: Forbearance]
And here, dear friends, one must not insist upon his rights, but must
see what may be useful and helpful to his brother, as St. Paul says,
_Omnia mihi licent, sed non omnia expediunt_, "All things are lawful
for me, but not all things are expedient." [1 Cor. 6:12] We are not
all equally strong in faith; some of you have a stronger faith than I.
Therefore we must not look upon ourselves, or our strength, or our
rank, but upon our neighbor, for God has said through Moses, "I have
borne and nourished thee, even as a mother her child." [Deut. 1:31]
How does a mother nourish her child? First, she feeds it with milk,
then gruel, then eggs and soft food. If she weaned it and at once gave
it the ordinary, coarse food, the child would never thrive. So we
should also deal with our brother, have patience with him for a time,
suffer his weakness and help him bear it; we should give him milk-food
[1 Peter 2:2], too, as was done with us, until he likewise grows
strong, and thus we do not travel heavenward alone, but bring the
brethren, who are not now on our side, with us. If all mothers were to
abandon their children, where would we have been? Dear brother, if you
have suckled long enough, do not at once cut off the breast, but let
thy brother be nourished also. I would not have gone so far as you
have done, if I had been here. What you did was good, but you have
gone too fast. For there are also brothers and sisters on the other
side who belong to us, and must still be won.
Let me illustrate. The sun has two properties, light and heat. No king
has power enough to bend or guide the light of the sun; it remains
straight in the place where it shines. But the heat may be turned and
guided, and yet is ever about the sun. Thus the faith must always
remain pure and immovable in the heart, never wavering; but love moves
and is guided, according as our neighbors may grasp it or follow us.
There are some who can run, others must walk, still others can hardly
creep. Therefore we must not look upon our own, but upon our brother's
powers, so that he who is weak in faith, and attempts to follow the
strong, may not be destroyed of the devil. Therefore, dear brethren,
obey me. I have never been a destroyer, and I was also the very first
whom God called to this work. Neither can I run away, but must remain
as long as it pleases God. I was the first, too, to whom God revealed
it, to preach His Word to you; moreover, I am sure that you have the
pure Word of God.
[Sidenote: Abolishing the Mass]
Let us, therefore, take up this matter with fear and humility, cast
ourselves at one another's feet, join hands with each other, and help
one another. I will do my part, which is no more than my duty, for I
love you even as I love my own soul. For here we battle not against
pope or bishop, but against the devil [Eph. 6:12], and do you imagine
he is asleep? He sleeps not, but sees the true light rising, and to
keep it from shining into his eyes he would make a flank attack--and
he will succeed, if we are not on our guard. I know him well[1], and I
hope, too, that with the help of God I am his master. But if we yield
him but an inch, we must soon look to it how we may be rid of him.
Therefore all those have erred who have consented and helped to
abolish the mass--in itself a good undertaking, but not accomplished
in an orderly way. You say it was right according to the Scriptures.
I agree, but what becomes of order? For it was done in wantonness,
with no regard to proper order and with offence to your neighbor. If,
beforehand, you had called upon God in earnest prayer, and had
obtained the aid of the authorities, one could be certain that it had
come from God. I, too, would have taken steps toward the same end if
it had been a good thing to do; and if the mass were not so evil a
thing, I would introduce it again. For I cannot defend your action, as
I have just said. To the papists and the blockheads I could defend it,
for I could say: How do you know whether it was done with good or bad
intention, since the work in itself was really a good work? But I can
find nothing to reply to the devil. For if on their deathbeds the
devil reminds those who began this affair of texts like these, "Every
plant, which My father hath not planted, shall be rooted up," [Matt.
15:13] or "I have not sent them, yet they ran," [Jer. 23:21] how will
they be able to withstand?[2] He will cast them into hell. But I have
a weapon to brandish in the devil's face, so that the wide world will
become too small for him: I know that in spite of my reluctance I was
regularly called by the Council to preach in this place. And I would
that you should have the same assurance as I. You could so easily have
consulted me about the matter.
[Sidenote: "Must" and "Free"]
I was not so far away that you could not reach me with a letter,
especially since I did not interfere with you in any way. Did you want
to begin something, and then leave me to shoulder the responsibility?
That is more than I can undertake, and I will not do it. Here one can
see that you have not the Spirit, in spite of your deep knowledge of
the Scriptures. Take note of these two things, "must" and "free." The
"must" is that which necessity requires, and which must ever be
unyielding; as, for instance, the faith, which I shall never permit
any one to take away from me, but which I must always keep in my heart
and freely confess before every one. But "free" is that in which I
have choice, and may use or not, yet in such wise that it profit my
brother and not me. Now do not make a "must" out of what is "free," as
you have done, so that you may not be called to account for those who
were led astray by your exercise of liberty without love. For if you
entice any one to eat meat on Friday, and he is troubled about it on
his deathbed, and thinks, Woe is me, for I have eaten meat and I am
lost! God will call you to account for that soul. I would like to
begin many things, in which but few would follow me; but what is the
use? I know that those who have begun this thing, when it comes to the
point, cannot maintain themselves, and will be the first to retreat.
How would it be, if I brought the people to the point of attack, and
though I had been the foremost to exhort others, I would then flee,
and not face death with courage? How the poor people would be
deceived!
Let us, therefore, feed others also with the milk which we received,
until they, too, become strong in the faith. For there are many who
are otherwise in accord with us and who would also gladly accept this
one thing, but they do not yet fully understand it--all such we drive
away. Therefore, let us show love to our neighbors, or our work will
not endure. We must have patience with them for a time, and not cast
out him who is weak in the faith; much more should we regulate our
doing and our not doing according to the demands of love, provided no
injury is done to our faith. If we do not earnestly pray to God, and
act circumspectly in this matter, the thing looks to me as if all the
misery which we have begun to cause the papists will all upon us.
Therefore I could no longer remain away, but was compelled to come and
say these things to you.
This is enough about the mass; tomorrow we shall treat of the images.