Seeing his position in the Wittenberg University endangered, Agricola
was again ready to submit. And when a public retraction was demanded, he
even left it to Luther to formulate the recantation. Luther did so in a
public letter to Caspar Guettel in Eisleben, entitled, _Against the
Antinomians--Wider die Antinomer_, which he published in the beginning
of January, 1539. (St. L. 20, 1610.) In a crushing manner Luther here
denounced "the specter of the new spirits who dare thrust the Law or the
Ten Commandments out of the church and relegate it to the courthouse."
Complaining of "false brethren," Luther here says: "And I fear that, if
I had died at Smalcald [1537], I should forever have been called the
patron of such [antinomian] spirits, because they appeal to my books.
And all this they do behind my back, without my knowledge and against
my will, not even considering it worth while to inform me with as much
as a word or syllable, or at least to ask me regarding the matter. Thus
I am compelled to proceed against Magister John Agricola," etc. (1611.)
"But since he was afraid that he might not express it in a manner such
as would be considered satisfactory, he has fully authorized and also
requested me to do it [write the retraction for Agricola] as well as I
could, which, he being satisfied, I agreed to do, and herewith have
done, especially for the reason that after my death neither Master
Eisleben himself nor anybody else might be able to pretend that I had
done nothing in this matter and simply allowed everything to pass and go
on as fully satisfactory to me." (1612.)
Referring to his former statements appealed to by Agricola, Luther
continues: "I have indeed taught, and still teach, that sinners should
be led to repentance by the preaching of, and meditation upon, the
suffering of Christ, so that they may realize how great God's wrath is
over sin, seeing that there is no other help against it than that God's
Son must die for it.... But how does it follow from this that the Law
must be abandoned? I am unable to discover such an inference in my
logic, and would like to see and hear the master who would be able to
prove it. When Isaiah says, chap. 53, 8: 'For the transgression of My
people was He stricken,' tell me, dear friend, is the Law abandoned
when here the suffering of Christ is preached? What does 'for the
transgression of My people' mean? Does it not mean: because My people
have sinned against, and not kept, My Law? Or can any one imagine that
sin is something where there is no law? Whoever abolishes the Law must
with it also abolish sins. If he would allow sins to remain, he must
much more allow the Law to remain. For Rom. 6, 13 [4, 15] we read:
'Sin is not imputed where there is no law.' If there is no sin Christ
is nothing. For why does He die if there be neither Law nor sin for
which He was to die? From this we see that by this spiritism
[_Geisterei_] the devil does not mean to take away the Law, but Christ,
who fulfilled the Law. [Matt. 5, 17.] For he well knows that Christ may
well and easily be taken away, but not so the Law, which is written in
the heart." (1613f.) "Therefore I request of you, my dear Doctor
[Guettel], that, as you have done heretofore, you would continue in the
pure doctrine and preach that sinners should and must be led to
repentance not only by the sweet grace and suffering of Christ, who has
died for us, but also by the terrors of the Law." (1615.) "For whence
do we know what sin is if there is no Law and conscience? And whence
shall we learn what Christ is, what He has done for us, if we are not
to know what the Law is which He has fulfilled for us, or what sin is,
for which He has atoned? And even if we did not need the Law for us and
were able to tear it out of our hearts (which is impossible), we
nevertheless must preach it for the sake of Christ (as also is done and
must be done), in order that we may know what He has done and suffered
for us. For who could know what and for what purpose Christ has suffered
for us if no one were to know what sin or the Law is? Therefore the Law
must certainly be preached if we would preach Christ." (1616.) "This,
too, is a peculiar blindness and folly, that they imagine the revelation
of wrath to be something else than the Law (which is impossible); for
the revelation of wrath is the Law when realized and felt, as Paul says
[Rom. 4, 15]: '_Lex iram operatur_. The Law worketh wrath.'" (1618.)
By way of conclusion Luther remarked: "Let this suffice at present, for
I hope that since Master Eisleben is converted and retracts, the others,
too, who received it [the antinomian error] from him, will abandon it,
which God may help them to do! Amen." (1619.) At the same time, however
he did not withhold the opinion that Agricola's self humiliation would
hardly be of long duration. "If he continues in such humility," said
Luther, "God certainly can and will exalt him; if he abandons it, then
God is able to hurl him down again." (1612.)