There are many people who, if they do not receive external comfort from God, think that they are finished, that God has completely forgotten them. This is because they seek self-interest and do not rely on the mere goodness of God. Such people do not remain on the right path to salvation, uniform in having and in lacking, in riches and in poverty, with St. Paul, Phil. 4:12, where he says: "I have learned that I can have abundance and lack"; but fall back and forth, no longer praising God with all their works, for as long as He does them good, as St. David says, Ps. 49:19: "They praise you when you do them good." But when God hides Himself, He will try them a little to see if they will also trust Him, praise and serve without outward comfort and pleasure, thus drawing to Himself the splendor of His goodness, so that they will be miserable only at their own pleasure; if they become weary of serving God, then at the same time love, praise and all service of God will cease.
2. these people are very dangerous. Cause, because they serve God for outward comfort, and God does not give the same: which he also does justly, since he is not obligated to anything: the devil comes here, takes away from them the faith, that they doubt, they
will not be saved if they do not find comfort in God's temptation. Where they doubt, the devil has already won, even if they have many seeming works. For St. Jacob says in his epistle on the 1st, v. 7: "One who doubts in faith must not think that he obtains anything from God." And the devil knows this well; therefore he does by his wicked cunning as he can, so that he may destroy faith; he does not ask much, without faith, about the works, be they so great, noble, they always want. Where there is no faith, there is only sin, darkness and lost worship, even if one sings and sounds oneself to death; nor does one want to prefer works to faith, but only the unlearned sophists do it.
The Contradiction.
3. just as married pleasure-seeking people seek themselves and not God, so those who follow seek God and not themselves or self-interest in all their works, deeds and actions. And it is like a contradiction. They let it suffice them that God is good; they stand alone immovably on God, and no created creature; they remain uniform on both sides.
They love and praise God's goodness when they do not receive outward comfort from God, as well as when they do. They do not fall for the goods and works when they are there; neither do they fall from God when they are not there. They have risen up completely so that they may speak with a right heart and truth: O Lord and kind Father, I will neither be nor not be, live or die, know or not know, have or lack, your will be done. I do not want yours, I want to have you myself. You are not dearer to me when I am well, nor unlovelier when I am ill. It is right and just that thou shouldest be against me: for thou hast right over me, and over me; but I have no right over thee.
4 From this it follows that if a man knows himself so deeply that he may not ask nor desire from God, but only everything by grace, and considers everything that he has received from God unworthy; such a man also considers that all his words and works are nothing before God, but only foolishness and sin. These people make the whole world close to the devil, and nothing may harm them; they stand on God alone through a firm faith; what he challenges them with, they overcome by faith; thus all things are overcome, as St. Paul says, Hebr. 11, 33. These are the true devout Christians and children of God, who are led by the Spirit of God, according to St. Paul, Rom. 8, 14. For they do not do their own will, but the eternal will of their Father, who is in heaven; whom they serve for His sake alone, and not for the sake of heaven, nor for any temporal thing. Even though they know that there is no heaven, nor hell, nor reward, they still want to serve God for his sake.
(5) But here again many people lack a right faith; therefore we want to say a little about it here, so that one may be the better informed in this piece mentioned now. Faith teaches two things, which St. Paul expresses in the epistle to the Hebrews on the 11th, v. 6, where he says: "He who wants to please God must believe that there is a God who is able to do all things, and that he is a rewarder of them,
who seek Him with all their heart." In the first, as St. Paul says: "We must believe that there is one God", he takes from man all hope, presumption, iniquity, glory, false confidence in himself and all created creatures, exalts God alone as the one who alone is able to do all things. It is easy to say that God is God, but it is to be drawn high on life. For the whole reason of faith is found in the single word: There is one God. If there were not one God, all effort, work, faith and everything else would be lost, in vain, in vain; there would be no difference between Gentiles, Jews and Christians. But this is completely contrary to Scripture and to St. Paul, who separates us from all unbelief through faith. One who wants to come to God, believe that there is a God who is able to do all things.
Now the Scripture says that everyone should abstain from God's name, not touch it much, much less appropriate it, as the devil, Isa. 14, 12-14, did, who grabbed God's honor and wanted to become like him. If no one should touch the name of God and not appropriate it, Ex. 20, 7, Ps. 50, 16, then one must also not touch or appropriate that which is God's and comes from Him. For God says, Job 14, 2: "All things that are under heaven are mine." If all things are God's, they are not man's, nor anyone else's; and whoever appropriates something to him or takes possession of the very least thing here on earth, which he does not reassign to God, of whom all things are his own, but he also wants to be something, something also belongs to him; he encroaches on God's honor, goods, omnipotence and appropriates such things to him, thereby profaning the name of God.
(7) Therefore, as the Scripture says and St. Paul says. Paul that we should believe that there is one God, the same holy Scripture and faith compels and urges us to confess that there is another and higher above us, without whom we can do no good work, indeed, cannot do the least without his help, and that from him alone we are strong for all good against all evil; and that we are all creatures, sick in our own ability, weak, wretched, full of sin, vice, and all unrighteousness; and that all our works are not unjustified.
but of God, as St. Paul says in Eph. 3, 20: "God alone works all things in all things, and the works of all creatures are the works of God. And the same St. Paul, 2 Cor. 3:5, says: "That we should not be so highly skilled as to think anything of ourselves; but that to which we are skilled is from God, to whom all power, action, wisdom, and the works of all creatures are committed. Therefore, even if we do not want to, we must confess our sickness and poverty with unwillingness, so that we may all be overtaken according to St. Paul, Rom. 8:20, and be content with God's goodness according to His good pleasure, through which we are brought to grace.
(8) Here lies down all the power and glory of men, that they may not boast in any thing but in God alone. As St. Paul says, 2 Cor. 10, 17: "He that will boast of a deed, let him boast of God." From Him no one can boast of anything but sin, even if he does all works. When man recognizes that there is one God, without whom no one can do anything, he despairs of himself and of all creatures, that is, he insists and relies on no one but the one God who is able to do all things. He puts his comfort, hope, faith, trust, confidence in this; he does not look for anything good in anyone, he does not seek grace and help from anyone, but only from this one God; through this he is sustained in good, without all his merit, only in faith.
9. From this it can be seen that faith is nothing other than a foundation of the things that are promised to us by God, through which God and everything that is not subject to human understanding and senses is known; and does not rely on its own actions or the works of creatures, but on Christ's actions; and holds that a person is pious because Christ has done everything for him by which he thinks to be saved, not from his own merit, which is nothing, but through Christ, in whom all things are united with God through the blood of his cross, those on earth and those in heaven, as Paul says, Col. 1, 20.
10. on such faith man shall be so
The Lord must stand firm and deep, so that no devil, no man, no angel, nor his own conscience shall turn him away from it forever; especially in death, man must trust completely in Christ, his holy word and his promise. If he has promised something by grace, he will also keep it by grace, there is no doubt about it, even if the devil rages to death and his mother against the holy gospel and Christ.
(11) Here the sophists have an over-artificial, over-Christian argument, so that they call everyone heretic, and say: Preach nothing now but faith alone, be silent about good works. If faith is enough, the devil will also be blessed, for he also believes that there is a God and a rewarder of those who seek him; he believes that God became man, that he suffered etc. Answer: We pray that you will not be angry in the face of great art, if we say: It is true that the devil believes all this; but tell us one thing, you clever sophists: does the devil also believe that God is a God and Lord to him for his blessedness, that he is a rewarder of his works, that God became man for him, died, was crucified and suffered? Here they cannot pass by and must all say no in one bunch. Against this they have no letter of the Scripture. Therefore, it is not enough for one to believe that there is a God, that Christ suffered, and the like; but he must firmly believe that God is a God for his salvation; that Christ suffered, died, was crucified, and rose again for him, that he bore his sin for him, Isa. 53:4. The devil does not believe this. So their argument is completely defeated.
(12) But that faith is preferred to works, this is the cause: Man, before he does good works, must be righteous, otherwise he does not do good works; for it is written immovably: "Everything that does not come from faith is sin," Rom. 14:23. This righteousness happens through faith alone; for faith is the beginning of this justification. This is how it works: When God promises something to man, or grants something to man, he is justified by faith.
as salvation, - for he who believes and is baptized etc., Marc. 16, 16., - and man expects such a certain promise, he casts his mind and spirit on it, believes strongly that it has happened to him and for his sake, stands so firmly in such a promise of God that he has no doubt about it; for if he doubts, then it is over, as said above. Thus, man dares to trust in God, believing completely that just as God has promised Himself by grace, He will also keep that promise by grace. Thereby man is justified, as St. Paul says to the Romans on the 4th, v. 3, of Abraham: "Abraham believed God and is justified thereby." God does not ask how many and great works we do, but how great faith is. There is no difference among works; they are all equal before God, great and small among us, and counted between or against one another.
(13) The Gentiles judge by works, but Christians judge by faith. If faith is great, so are works; if it is small, so are works. As the faith is, so are the works. For Christ says in the Gospel, Matth. 9, 22: "As you believe, so it will be done to you." Therefore, he who has done much or little is not considered righteous or wicked. All things are judged according to faith. Lord, O Lord," says the prophet, Jer. 5:3, "your eyes are on faith"; faith will do it, not works. Therefore it is a lie that the sophists say that one should reject works, if one prefers faith to works, as is right. For where faith is right, the fruits of faith follow, the love of God and neighbor. For it is impossible, where faith is right, that the fruits or works should not follow. But this is true, man must be righteous before he does good works. Only faith works this righteousness. From this follows how it should be understood when it is said that faith is enough without works. Would to God that the wise sophists would hear it shortly, amen.
14) On the other hand, St. Paul says, Hebr. 11, 6: "We must believe that God is a rewarder of those who seek Him in faith.
ben." Here the children of the kingdom are driven too much to the side by the sophists, making of them hirelings and servants, that they seek God not for His mere goodness, but for the joy of heaven. For these clever masters certainly want to know, through their fictitious, over-artificial question, how great, noble, manifold is the joy that God wants to give to mankind. How deep, wide, long hell is, how terrifying and cruel the devil is, with a long nose, how he beats the soul with hammers, as one sees painted in front of one's eyes, and such much more beautiful questions they do about it. Just as they ask and conclude, so is their preaching, fables before, fables after. And this is what they call preaching the gospel; thus they put fear into the people, so that the children of the kingdom are afraid of hell, purgatory, the devil; they teach them to do their works so that they may escape hell and be saved; they prefer the gift to the giver, heaven to God. For if there were neither hell nor heaven, and if they did not know how to enjoy God's goodness, they would let His goodness go, unloved and unpraised. And this is not God's true desire, but a desire of selfishness.
(15) They have also devised fine figures and say: One should seek God first; then beatitudinem formalem (the formal-essential blessedness)*) the joy, pleasure, sweetness that follows from the knowledge of God; as if it were not enough to seek God alone; one should also, like the servants of their masters, have obligatory wages. But the devout Christians should diligently guard themselves against such old-fashioned sophistical fables, which have no basis in the holy Scriptures, 1 Tim. 4, 7, for they are thereby led away from the true faith; but should know that, just as God by pure grace makes us blessed without all merit of works, Rom. 8, 34, so they should seek God without all reward or enjoyment for the sake of His mere goodness, desiring no more than His good pleasure, Ps. 147, 1.
16. only believe, as St. Paul says here: "He who wants to come to God must believe"; what? "That God is a rewarder"; who? those who seek Him in faith. Not selfishness, joy, sweetness; the reward will find itself, Isa. 40, 10., must not provide for it, and follow without our request. For although it is not possible that the reward should not follow, if we seek God purely out of a pure spirit, without all reward and enjoyment; yet God does not want the same people who seek themselves and not God, nor will He ever give them a reward.
Give wages. Just as a child who serves his father for nothing, as an heir, only for his father's sake; and where a child serves his father only for his inheritance and good, the same is worthy that the father should cast him out of the inheritance. So it is also with God and us in regard to eternal blessedness: God rewards our work, not because of our merit, but because of His own promise that He has promised Himself to reward our work out of pure grace, Gen. 15:1: "I will be your reward." May God grant this forever, amen.
Of this can also be read in:
II. part, 1. B. Mos., 28. cap., § 125-130, of the holiness of faith.
V. Theil, Ausleg. über d. Hohel., 2. Cap., § 27 ff., eine Vermahnung zum Glauben und Gotttseligkeit.
VII. part, interpretation of the Gospel of John; 8. sermon about the saying John 6, 29.
IX. Theil, Appendix; III. sermon on 1 Joh. 5, 4. 5. of the birth from God and the glorious victory of faith.
XI. Theil, Pred. am 1. Sonnt, des Adv, vom Glauben.
- 2. sermon on Sunday after Easter, about faith.
- Preached on the 7th Sunday after Trinity, about faith.
- 2. sermon on the 9th Sunday after Trinity, a salvation of the true doctrine of faith.
- 1. sermon on the 12th Sunday after Trinity, about faith.
- Sermon on the 17th of Sunday, Trinity, on faith.
- 2. sermon on the 21st Sunday after Trinity, about faith in general.
- 1. sermon on Sunday after Easter, about the nature, strength and power of faith.
- Sermon on the day of the Annunciation of Mary, the nature and character of faith.
XII. Theil, Kirchenpost; Pred. am Neujahrstage, § 36 ff, von dem Glauben.
- Sermon on the Sunday after Easter, about faith.
- VI Two sermons; 2. sermon on the 3rd Sunday, n. Epiph. of the faith.
XII. Theil, XXXIV. some more sermons; sermon at the palm day, how to recognize Christ.
- XXVIII. sermon on the 27th of Sunday, A.D., on faith.
- XXXIII Some short sermons; sermon on Sunday Quinquagesimä, about the power of faith.
- XXXI. Sermons; sermon on the 19th Sunday, Tr., on the 3 degrees of faith.
- XXX. Nine sermons; 4th sermon, on the certainty of faith.
XIIIa. Theil, Pred. am Tag Petri und Pauli, von dem Glauben.
XIIIb. Theil, 3. Pred. am 1. Adventssonnt., eine Vermahnung, Christum anzunehmen.
- 2. sermon on the Ascension, about faith.
- 1. sermon on Pentecost Monday, about faith in general and especially.
- 1. sermon on the 16th of Trinity, by faith. XIIIa&b. Part, sermon on the 4th Sunday of Epiphany, on faith.
- Sermon on the 14th Sunday after Trinity on faith. Disputation of the infused and acquired faith is found in the dogmat.-polem. Wider die Papisten (Against the Papists), Sect. II.
Here you can also look up the interpretations of faith in the Small and Large Catechism (§ 140 ff.), as well as the "Short Form to Consider the Faith" under the first main section, The Ten Commandments in General.
Several scriptures of steadfastness of faith are also found below at the seventh petition.
1254 II, 322.323. B. Of the Christian faith in particular - third article. W. X, 1505-1508. 1255
13. from examples" of a right faith.
a. In general.
Part II, 1 B. Mos., 27. Cap., § 91-107, about faith in general and about Rebecca and other saints in particular.
XI. Theil, Pred. am 2. Sonnt. n. Epiph., § 13 ff., eine Lehre und Exempel des Glaubens.
- Sermon on the 3rd Sunday of Epiphany, about two examples of faith.
- 2. sermon on the 24th Sunday after Trinity, about two examples of faith.
XII. Theil, Kirchenpost; Pred. am St. Stephanstage, ein Exempel des Glaubens.
- XXXIII Some short sermons; sermon on the 14th Sunday A.D., examples of faith.
XIIIa. Theil, Pred. am 21. Sonnt. n. Trin., § 8 ff., von dem Glauben des Hauptmanns zu Capernaum.
XI. Theil, Pred. am Sonnt. Quinquages, § 9 ff, On the Faith of the Blind.
XI. Part, Sermon on the 2nd Sunday of Lent. Fast, about the faith of the Cananaean woman.
- Sermon on the 1st Sunday after Trinity, § 10 ff, about the example of faith in Lazarus.
- 1. and 2. sermon on the 21st Sunday after Trinity, an example of faith in the royal one.
XII. Part, VI. Two sermons; 1. sermon, about the faith of the centurion of Capernaum.
XIIIa. Theil, Pred. an Mariä Verkündigung, § 31 ff, von dem Glauben der Jungfrau Maria.
XIIIb. Theil, Pred. am 3. Sund. n. Epiph., von dem Glauben des Hauptmanns zu Capernaum. - 2. Pred. am 21. Sund. n. Trin., von einem Exempl des Glaubens an dem Königischen.
- 1. sermon on the Visitation of Mary, an example of Mary's faith.
In this connection, the seventh petition, about the victory of faith over all temptations and its steadfastness in good, can also be looked up below.