Letter to the Duchess Margarethe of Brunswick.
To the Serene and Highborn Princess and Lady, Mrs. Margarethe, née von Rittberg, Duchess of Brunswick and Lüneburg, my gracious wife, I offer Martinus Luther, Augustinian at Wittenberg, after all my good in God's fortune, God's grace and peace in Christ our Lord.
Some of my good friends, fathers and gentlemen have asked me. Highborn Princess, Madam, some of my good friends, fathers and gentlemen are willing to ascribe something spiritual and Christian to E. F. G., so that E. F. G. may gratefully acknowledge her gracious will and favor, which she bears towards me, the unworthy one, and to show subservience to my services. Thereupon also many times my own
I have been driven by my conscience, but it has been difficult for me that I have not found so much in myself, so that I might be enough for such desire and duty, especially since I certainly consider it that our all Master, Christ, has preceded me by so long and so far in E. F. G.; I have finally let myself be moved to give E. F. G. a few sermons under E. F. G.'s name on the holy, reverend and comforting sacrament of the Holy Scripture, which is highly praised to me. I have finally allowed myself to be induced to omit several sermons under E. F. G.'s name on the holy, reverend and consoling Sacrament of Penance, Baptism, and the Holy Corpus Christi; considering that so many afflicted and distressed consciences have been found, and that I have experienced with myself that I do not recognize the holy and full of grace Sacraments, nor do I recognize the sacraments of the Holy Spirit.
Unfortunately, they are more presumptuous to satisfy themselves with their works than to seek peace in God's grace through the holy sacraments. The sacred sacraments are even covered and withdrawn from us by the teachings of men.
Please, E. F. G. may recognize such my small service in grace and not blame me for my presumption; for I am willing to serve E. F. G. at all times, which God may command him here and there, amen.
A Sermon on the Sacrament of Penance Doctoris Martini L(uther), A(ugustiner), Wittenberg).
(1) First, there are two pardons in the sacrament of penance: the pardon of chastisement and the pardon of guilt. Enough has been said about the first forgiveness, the chastisement or pardon, in the sermon on indulgences that was recently written. This is not so important, and is inordinately less important, than forgiveness of sins, which one might call divine or heavenly indulgence, which no one but God alone can give from heaven.
Secondly: There is this difference between the two pardons, that indulgence or forgiveness of chastisement puts off imposed works and efforts of satisfaction and reconciles man with the Christian church outwardly. But forgiveness of guilt or heavenly indulgence puts away the fear and stupidity of the heart against God and makes the conscience light and joyful inwardly, reconciles man with God; and that actually and correctly means forgiveness of sin, that man's sins no longer bite him nor make him restless, but a joyful confidence has come over him that they are forgiven by God always and forever.
Thirdly: If a person does not have such a conscience and a cheerful heart toward God, no indulgence will help him, even if he has already redeemed all the letters and indulgences that have ever been given. For without indulgences and letters of indulgence, one may be saved, and pay for sin or make atonement by death; but without a happy conscience and a light heart toward God, that is, without forgiveness of sins, no one can be saved. And it would be much better that no indulgence be granted, than that this forgiveness of sins be forgotten, or that it not be practiced first and foremost every day.
(4) Fourth, there are many ways and means to such forgiveness of sins, and to quiet the heart from sins. Some think they can accomplish this by letters and indulgences, running to and fro, to Rome, to St. James, solving indulgences here and there; all this is in vain and a mistake. It becomes much worse because God Himself must forgive sin and give peace to the heart. Some labor with many good works, even too much fasting and labor, so that some have broken their bodies and made great heads, thinking that by force of works they would put away their sin and give peace to the heart. These two are wrong, because they want to do good works before sins are forgiven; but again, sins must be forgiven before good works are done, and it is not works that cast out sin, but the casting out of sin that does good works. For good works must be done with a cheerful heart and a good conscience toward God, that is, in the forgiveness of sins.
Fifth: The right way and the right manner, without which no other can be found, is the reverend, grace-filled, holy Sacrament of Penance, which God gave for the consolation of all sinners, when He gave the keys to St. Peter instead of the whole Christian Church and said, Matth. 16, 19: "Everything that you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and everything that you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven". Every Christian must take these holy, comforting, grace-filled words of God deeply and well to heart and form them in himself with great gratitude. For therein lies the sacrament of repentance, forgiveness of the
1234 IS, S7-3S. B. Of the Christian Faith in Particular - Third Article. W. X, I48V-I48S. 1235
Sin, consolation and peace of conscience, all joy and blessedness of heart against all sin, against all fright of conscience, against despair and temptation of the gates of hell.
6) Sixth: Now there are three things in the holy sacrament of penance. The first is absolution; these are the words of the priest, which indicate, say, and proclaim to you that you are absolved and your sins are forgiven before God, according to the sound and power of the above-mentioned words of Christ to St. Peter. The other is grace, forgiveness of sins, peace and consolation of conscience, as the words read. Therefore it is called a sacrament, a holy sign, that one hears the words outwardly, which mean the spiritual goods inwardly, from which the heart is comforted and pacified. The third is faith, which firmly holds that the absolution and the words of the priest are true in the power of Christ's words: "All that you loose shall be loosed. And it is all due to faith, which alone makes the sacraments work what they mean, and all that the priest says comes true; for as thou believest, so shall it be done unto thee. Without which faith all absolution and all sacraments are in vain, and do more harm than good. Thus a common saying among teachers is: Not the sacrament, but the faith that believes the sacrament, takes away sin; thus St. Augustine says: "The sacrament takes away sin not because it is done, but because it is believed." Therefore, faith is to be perceived with all diligence in the Sacrament, and we want to further eliminate it.
(7) The seventh: From this it follows, first, that the forgiveness of sins and heavenly indulgences are not given to anyone for the worthiness of his repentance for sin, nor for the works of satisfaction; but solely for the sake of faith, upon the promise or promise of God: "All that thou shalt loose shall be loosed etc." Although repentance and good works are not to be slackened, they are not to be relied on in any way, but only on the certain words of Christ, who promises you, "When the priest redeems you, you shall be loosed. Your repentance and works
may deceive you, and the devil will soon overthrow them in death and temptation; but Christ your God will not lie to you nor waver, and the devil will not overthrow his words. And if thou build upon this with a firm faith, thou shalt stand upon the rock, against which the gates of hell shall not prevail, Matt. 16:18.
8. eighthly, the forgiveness of sins does not stand in the office of a pope, bishop, priest, or any man or authority on earth, but only on the word of Christ and your own faith. For he did not want to base our comfort, our salvation, our confidence on the words or deeds of men, but only on himself, on his words and deeds. The priests, bishops, and popes are only servants who hold up the word of Christ to you, on which you should dare and place yourself with firm faith, as on a solid rock, so the word will keep you, and your sins must be forgiven. Therefore, not words for the sake of priests, bishops, and popes, but priests, bishops, and popes for the sake of the word are to be honored, as those who bring the word and message of your God to you, that you may be free from sins.
Ninthly, it follows that in the sacrament of penance and forgiveness of sins, a priest or bishop does no more than the least priest; indeed, where there is no priest, any Christian man does just as much, whether he be a woman or a child. For which Christian man can say to you: God forgives your sin in the name of Christ etc., and you can see the word with a firm faith, as if God were speaking it to you, then you are certainly absolved in the same faith. Thus, all things in faith rest on God's word. For the pope, the bishop, the priest may do nothing for your faith; neither may anyone better guide God's word for the other than the common one that he says to Peter: "What you dissolve shall be loosed." The word must be in all absolution, indeed, all absolution hangs in it. But one should keep the order of the authorities and not despise it; only that one does not go astray in the Sacrament and its work, as if it were better, if it were a
bishop or pope, than if it were a priest or layman. For as the priest's mass and baptism and administration of the Holy Corpus Christi are just as valid as if the pope or bishop did it himself; so also absolution, that is, the sacrament of penance. But that they reserve to them to absolve some casus (cases of sins) does not make their sacrament greater or better, but is the same as if they withheld mass, baptism, or the like from someone for cause; so that baptism and mass neither increase nor decrease.
(10) The tenth: Therefore, if thou believest the word of the priest when he absolvest thee, that is, that in Christ's name and in his words he absolves thee, saying, I absolve thee from thy sins, the sins also are certainly loosed before God, before all angels, and before all creatures; not for thy sake, not for the priest's sake, but for the true word of Christ, who may not lie to thee, saying, "All that thou loosest shall be loosed." And if you do not believe that it is true that your sins are forgiven and loosed, then you are a heathen, an unchristian, and unbelieving of your Lord Christ, which is the most grievous sin against God. And by all means do not go to the priest if you do not want to believe his absolution; you realize your great harm with your unbelief. For with such unbelief you make a liar of your God, who tells you through his priest that you are free from sin; and you say, I do not believe it, or doubt it; just as if you were more certain in your own mind than God is in his words. So you should let go of all thoughts and accept the word of God spoken through the priest with unwavering faith. For what else is it said when you doubt whether your absolution is pleasing to God and you are free from sins, but as if you say: Christ has not spoken true, and I know not whether his own word be acceptable unto him, when he saith unto Peter, All that thou shalt loose shall be loosed"? O, God protect all people from such devilish unbelief.
Eleventh: If you are absolved from sins, yes, if a pious Christian man comforts you in your sin and conscience,
Man, woman, young or old; you should accept this with such faith that you should let yourself be torn apart, killed many times, even deny all creatures, before you doubt that it is so before God. For we are commanded anyway to believe in God's grace and hope that our sins are forgiven us; how much more should you believe this when He gives you a sign of it through a man! There is no greater sin than not believing the article, forgiveness of sin, as we pray in daily faith. And this sin is called the sin in the Holy Spirit, which strengthens all other sin and makes it unforgivable for eternity. Therefore, see how we have a gracious God and Father, who not only promises us forgiveness of sins, but also gives us forgiveness of the most grievous sins, so that we may believe that they are forgiven, and with the same commandment urges us to a happy conscience, and with terrible sin drives us from sins and an evil conscience.
Twelfth, there are some who have taught us that we should and must be uncertain of absolution and doubt whether we have been received into grace and our sins forgiven, because we do not know whether repentance is sufficient or whether enough has been done for the sin, and because of ignorance even the priest may not impose an equivalent penance. Beware of these seductive unchristian chatterers. The priest must be unsure of your repentance and faith, there is nothing in it. It is enough for him that you confess and ask for absolution; he shall give it to you and owes it to you. But how this is to be done, he shall leave to God and to your faith. But you should not first argue whether your repentance is sufficient or not; but be sure that after all your diligence your repentance is insufficient, and therefore flee to God's grace, hear His sufficiently certain word in the sacrament, receive it with free, joyful faith, and not doubt at all that you have come to grace: not by your merits or repentance, but by his gracious divine mercy, which promises, accepts and fulfills the forgiveness of sins for nothing; so that you may not be anxious about yourself, nor your
Do not think that you can do anything, but that you can learn to look up to the grace and mercy of your dear Father in heaven, and to plead against all temptations of sin, conscience and the devils. Thereafter repent as much more and do enough as you can; only let this mere faith of undeserved forgiveness, promised in words of Christ, prevail and remain captain in the field.
Thirteenth: Those who do not want to have peace, because they think they have repented enough and have done enough works, about which they punish Christ with lies and deal with sin in the Holy Spirit, and also act unworthily of the reverend Sacrament of Penance; then they take their deserved reward, namely, that they build on the sand, trusting in themselves more than in God. From this must follow ever greater and greater restlessness of conscience, and laboring after impossible things in vain, seeking reason and comfort and never finding it, until the end of such perversion follows, despair and eternal damnation. For what else do they seek, but that they may become certain by their deeds, as if they wanted to fortify God's word with their works, by which they should be fortified in faith? And to support heaven, to which they should adhere, is not to let God be merciful and to think of Him as a judge, as if He should forgive nothing in vain, unless it were paid to Him in advance. Yet in the whole Gospel we do not read of one from whom he demanded anything else but faith, and showed all his good deeds to the unworthy free of charge and out of pure grace, after which he commanded them to live well and go in peace. etc.
Fourteenth: Let it be the case that a priest is mistaken or bound, or that he is reckless in his absolving, if you only receive and believe the words in a simple way, provided you do not know or despise his error or bond; nevertheless, you are absolved and have the sacrament completely. For, as I said, it is not up to the priest, not up to what you do, but up to your faith: as much as you believe, so much you have. Without which faith, if it were possible for you to have all the repentance in the world, it would be Judas
Repentance that angers God more than it reconciles Him. For nothing reconciles God better than to give Him the honor of being true and merciful. No one does this except those who believe his words. So David praises him: "Lord, you are patient, merciful and true", Ps. 145, 8. 9. And this truth also redeems us from all sins, if we hold on to it with faith.
Fifteenthly, it follows that the keys and authority of St. Peter are not an authority, but a service; and the keys are not given to St. Peter, but to you and me; yours and mine are the keys. For St. Peter has no need of them as he is a pope or bishop; nor are they necessary or useful to him. But all their virtue is that they help sinners to comfort and strengthen their consciences. Thus Christ has ordained that the power of the church should be a servitude, that through the keys the clergy should serve nothing to themselves, but only to us. Therefore, the priest does no more than speak a word, the sacrament is already there, and the word is God's word, as he has promised himself. Also, the priest has enough signs and reason to absolve when he sees that one desires absolution from him. He is not bound to know more. I say this so that the most gracious virtue of the keys may be loved and honored, and not despised for the sake of some abuses, which do no more than banish, afflict, and torment, making mere tyranny out of such sweet, comforting power, as if Christ had only instituted their will and rule with the keys, not knowing at all what they are needed for.
Sixteenth: Lest anyone again blame me for forbidding good works, I say that one should in all seriousness repent and sorrow, confess and do good works. But this I forbid as I can, that one should let the faith of the sacrament be the chief good and the inheritance, by which one obtains God's grace, and after that does much good solely for God's honor and the neighbor's benefit; and not that one should rely on it as sufficient to pay for sin. For God freely gives His grace; so we also ought to freely give our grace.
serve him in turn. All that I have said about this sacrament is also said to those who have troubled, restless, mistaken, frightened consciences, who would like to be rid of sins and be pious and do not know how to begin; for they also have true remorse, yes, too much remorse and faintheartedness. God comforts them through the prophet Isaiah, Cap. 40, 2. "Preach to the fainthearted and tell them a consolamini: be of good cheer, ye fainthearted, behold, this is your God." And Christ, Matt. 11:28: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you. "etc. But the hard-hearted, who do not yet desire the consolation of conscience, who have never experienced this torture, the sacrament is of no use to them; they must first be softened and made timid by the terrible judgment of God, so that they may also seek the consolation of the sacrament and learn to sigh.
Seventeenth: If one wants to ask someone in confession, or to inquire himself whether he has true repentance or not, I will let it happen; but so that no one ever fei so boldly before God's eyes that he says he has enough repentance, for that is presumption and falsehood. No one has enough remorse for his sin. Also that the inquiry is much greater, whether he firmly believes in the sacrament that his sins are forgiven; just as Christ said to the gouty man, Matth. 9, 2: "My son, believe, and your sins are forgiven you"; and to the woman, Matth. 9, 22: "Believe, my daughter, your faith has made you well." Such investigation has become quite strange in this sacrament; one has to deal only with repentance, sin, pardon and indulgence. Thus, one blind man always leads another. Truly, in the sacrament the priest brings God's message of forgiveness of sins and trespasses in his word; therefore, he should, truly, ask and see most of all whether the person would also be capable of receiving the message, who may never be capable of receiving it except through faith and desire for the same message. Sin and repentance and good works are to be dealt with in sermons before the sacrament and confession.
Eighteenth: It happens that God does not grant a person the forgiveness of sins.
The faith of the believer is the only thing that can be felt, and the wriggling and restlessness of the conscience after the sacrament remains as before. Here is to act wisely; for the breach is in the faith. It is not possible that the heart should not be joyful when it believes its sins forgiven, as little as it is possible that it should not be sorrowful and restless when it does not believe that its sins are forgiven. Now, if God allows faith to remain weak, one should not despair, but receive it as a temptation and a challenge, by which God tries, tempts and drives man to call and ask for such faith all the more, and to say with the father of the possessed man in the Gospel: "O Lord, help my unbelief," and with the apostles, Luc. 17, 5: "O Lord, increase our faith. Thus man learns that everything is God's grace, the sacrament, forgiveness and faith, until he lets go of hands and feet, despairs of himself, hopes for God's grace and clings without ceasing.
Nineteenth: There is much another thing, the penance, and sacrament of penance. The sacrament stands in the three things, said above: in the word of God, which is absolution; in faith of the same absolution; and in peace, that is, in forgiveness of sin, which certainly follows faith. But repentance is also divided into three, repentance, confession and satisfaction. Now, as in repentance many abuses are indicated above, so it is also in confession and atonement. There are almost many books full of these things, and unfortunately few books on the Sacrament of Penance. But where the sacrament is right in faith, repentance, contrition, confession, and atonement are easy and without any danger, whether too little or too much. For the faith of the sacrament makes all crookedness simple and fills all reasons, and no one can err, either in repentance, confession, or atonement, who has the faith of the sacrament; and even if he errs, it does him no harm at all. But where there is no faith, no repentance, confession or atonement is sufficient. And therefore so many books and doctrines of repentance, confession, and atonement flow, that many hearts are greatly distressed, often confessing, not knowing whether it is daily or mortal sin.
be. But this time we want to say a little bit about it.
Twentieth: One may confess daily sin not to the priest, but to God alone. But now a new question arises: What are mortal or daily sins? No doctor has ever been so learned, nor will there ever be, who will give a certain rule to recognize daily sins before mortal ones, except the grosser ones against the commandments of God, such as adultery, killing, stealing, lying, slandering, cheating, hating and the like. It is also in God's judgment alone what other sins He mortally reckons, and is not possible for man to know; as then Psalm 19:13 says: "O God, who can know all his sin? make me clean from hidden sins." Therefore, no sins belong to the secret confession, because they are publicly recognized as mortal sins, which at present oppress and distress the conscience. For if one were to confess all sins, one would have to confess them all at once, since we are never without sin in this life, nor are our good works purely without sin. But it is not without correction that one confesses even the minor sins, especially if one knows no other mortal sin. For, as I said, in the sacrament God's word is heard, and faith is strengthened more and more. And even if one did not confess anything, it would still be useful to hear absolution and God's word many times, for the sake of the same faith, so that one would get used to believing in the forgiveness of sins. That is why I said that the faith of the sacrament is all that is needed, and that confession is too much or too little. Everything is better for him who believes God's sacrament and word. Enough about satisfaction: the best is to never sin and to do everything good for one's neighbor, whether he is an enemy or a friend, which is seldom done; one only wants to pay for it all with superimposed prayers.
Twenty-one: This is the authority of Matthew 9 (v. 6) to the unbelieving scribes: "That ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sin, he saith unto the sick of the palsy, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go into thine house. And he went up
and went into his house. When the people saw this, they marveled and praised God, who gave such power to men. For this power to forgive sins is no other than that a priest, or, if need be, any Christian man, may say to another, and when he sees him afflicted and distressed in his sins, cheerfully pronounce a sentence, "Be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee"; and whosoever receives this and believes it as the word of God, they are certainly forgiven. But where there is no faith, it does not help, even if Christ and God Himself would pronounce the judgment; for God cannot give anyone who does not want to have it. But he will not have it who does not believe that it has been given to him, and does great dishonor to the word of God, as said above. So you see that the whole church is full of forgiveness of sin, but there are few of them who receive it, because they do not believe it and want to make themselves sure by their works.
22 Thus it is true that a priest truly forgives sin and guilt, but he cannot give the sinner the faith that receives and accepts forgiveness; that must be given by God. Nevertheless, the forgiveness is as truly true as if God Himself said it was by faith or not. And this power to forgive sin and thus to pass judgment in God's stead was not possessed in the Old Testament by the highest or lowest priest, nor by king, nor by prophet, nor by any of the people, unless he was specially commanded by God, as Nathan was over King David.
23 But in the New Testament every Christian man, where there is no priest, has it by the promise of Christ, when he said unto Peter, "Whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." For if this had been said to Peter alone, he would not have said to all in general, Matt. 18:18, "Whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." There he speaks to the whole Christian community and to each one in particular. It is such a great thing for a Christian man that God cannot be fully loved and praised, if we are not given more than to hear one in
such a word to us. Now the world is full of Christians and no one respects it, nor gives thanks to God.
Of this can also be read in:
II. part, 1. B. Mos., 27. cap., § 163-174, of the repentance in general and especially of Esau.
- Gen. 31, chap. 127-131, difference between the repentance of the hypocrite and that of a truly penitent.
Summa Summarum, to him who believes, everything is better, nothing is harmful. Who does not believe, everything is harmful, nothing is better for him.
Part II, Genesis 42, § 207-228, on the recognition and confession of sins.
IV. Part VIII. Ausleg. der sieben Bußpsalmen, nebst Luther's Vorrede.
V. Theil, XVIII. Interpretation of the 51st Psalm.