Christ says, in Matthew xxiv, 23 ff.: "Then if any man shall say unto
you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall
arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and
wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the
very elect. Behold, I have told you before, Wherefore if they shall
say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is
in the secret chambers; believe it not."
Tell me, how can a monk be saved? He binds his salvation to a place
and says, "Here I find Christ; if I did not remain here, I should be
lost." But Christ says, "No, I am not here." Who will reconcile these
two? Therefore, it is clear from this word of Christ that all
doctrines which bind the conscience to places are contrary to Christ.
And if He does not allow the conscience to be bound to places, neither
does He allow it to be bound to meats, clothes, postures or anything
that is external. There is no doubt then that this passage speaks of
the pope and his clergy, and that Christ Himself releases and sets
free all priests and monks, in that He condemns all orders and
monasteries and says, "Believe not, go not out," etc.
He says the same thing also in Luke xvii, 20 f.: "The kingdom of God
cometh not with observation, and men shall not say, Lo here! or, Lo
there! For, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." [Luke 17:20 f.]
Is not this also clear enough? The doctrines of men can command
nothing but external things; and since the kingdom of God is not
external, both teachers and disciples must needs miss the kingdom and
go astray. Nor will it help them to say that the holy fathers
instituted the orders. For Christ has already destroyed this argument,
since He says, that the very elect might be misled, that is, they will
err, but not remain in their error. How else would it be an exceeding
great error, if the elect were not misled? Let the teaching and the
practice of the saints be what it will, the words of Christ are
certain and clear. Him we must follow, and not the saints, whose
teaching and works are uncertain. What He says stands firm, "The
kingdom of God is among[6] you, and not at a distance, either here or
there."
X
Solomon, in Proverbs xxx, 5 f., says: "Every word of God is purified:
and is a shield unto all them that put their trust in it. Add thou not
unto His words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar."
[Prov. 30:5 f.]
With this I will end or the present; or there is much more in the
prophets, especially in Jeremiah, of which I have written in the
treatise on Confession. Here then Solomon concludes that he is a liar
who adds aught to the words of God; for the Word of God alone is to
teach us, as Christ says, Matthew xxiii, 8, "Be ye not called masters.
One Master is in you, even Christ." [Matt. 23:8] Amen.