A sermon preached at Leipzig in the castle in 1519, held at the time of the disputation, with apologies for some of the articles that had been attributed to him by his opponents.)
Second Sermon.
(1) Almost everyone is undoubtedly aware of how I, Martin Luther, challenged the abuse of Roman indulgences at that time, and moved to do so out of Christian faithfulness and good opinion, that I saw how the poor common people were misled by so much unmistakable presumption on the part of some preachers, and in their simplicity, under the pretense of indulgences, come into dangerous error, and also to the detriment of their needy nourishment. Out of which my good opinion and common service I have suffered much unpleasantness and peril, had to endure toil and food, besides severe disgrace and blasphemy of my Christian honor by some wise men and saints in the pulpit, in corners, guests and all places, and this now lasts almost two years without cessation.
(2) But in all this I am most grieved that by such preaching and blasphemies so many Christians are moved and caused to hate, envy, slander, iniquity, judgment, and such grievous sins; when, if it were not for damnable avarice, indulgences are not worthy in themselves, nor will they be.
that for its sake a heart should be poisoned or a commandment of God broken; since indulgences have been commanded neither by God nor by men, and without indulgences blessedness exists well and truly. But by God's grace and help, the truth and reason for indulgences have now clearly come to light, so that it is no longer necessary to punish my opponents for their lies. For the light of their dark works punishes them themselves, so that one may see and see how they have driven such bluster and sedition to the detriment of the truth and my condemnation. And although I would like to rightly attack these chief masters of their iniquity and recover my honor from them, I have nevertheless relented, considering that God has so commanded, who has relented much more than a thousand times, and will still (as I hope and believe) relent, since the right indulgence flows here; it was also enough for me that I have experienced how the envious may dispute the truth, but he may never ever succumb.
Now that the weather is almost over, a new game arises, and from the next disputation held in Leipzig, they intend to cover up and decorate all the previous crimes and misdeeds, bring other pieces on the track, and blame me for wanting to advocate heresy against the Bohemians. And in order to seal this properly, as such lies should be sealed, they add many other frivolous, childish punctuations: I do not hold a pope for this one, I have torn off little paternoster grains from him, I have worn gold rings for him, a wreath for this one, and the like, which are not worthy to be mentioned in front of honest people.
tell. So, the wretched, meager Neidhard, because he has no reason, it is much more sour for him to invent lies than to suffer me; as happened earlier in the indulgence business.
4 It is easy for any honest man to judge that it is to be assumed that, as they lied to me before, they will not tell the truth now either; especially if they let themselves be noticed with such childish fables, as much as they would like to if they wanted to. And if I have acted Christianly before and have been found innocent of all their blasphemy, it is to be hoped that I will act no differently now than Christianly, even if I must give way to Neidhard for a time of his will to be brave and cheerfully surrender to bear the blasphemy of my Christian name.
But it behooves me to do my part, and to warn and admonish every pious Christian man to guard his soul against blasphemies, and not to be guilty against God with impudent judgment or slander; therefore, with this writing of mine, I want to proclaim my innocence to everyone. For I know nothing else to say on my conscience than that everything I have kept in Leipzig is Christian, so that I also want to die in it with God's help and grace, I trust, and I also want to bring it to light in its time and keep it well, yes, much better than I can keep the indulgence business. There is also no pious man who may assure me that I have overcome a heretical puncture, be it Bohemian or Welsh, and I would like to see or hear the same, be it learned or unlearned, who may bring this to light and to the plan. Therefore, I want to be excused; if someone wants to accuse me of something else, he will not harm me, but he will find his judge.
In order that I may not only serve myself, but also have a benefit who reads this, I will present the sermon that I did at Leipzig in the castle, from which the fire is almost blown up, but in such a way that I want to alleviate what seems to me to be too close to annoyance, and go further into the thorough understanding.
Exposition of the Gospel Matth. 16. on the day of Peter and Paul.
(7) This gospel comprehends all the matters of the whole disputation, for it speaks of two things in particular: the first, of the grace of God and our free will; the second, of the power of St. Peter and the keys. The first attacks the great, the wise, and the holy, and wants to destroy them, even though they think they can do all things by their art and work. But here the Lord teaches that everything that is or can be flesh and blood is in vain. For no one can recognize Christ, let alone follow him, from flesh and blood, but the Father in heaven must reveal him, as happened here to St. Peter. This is also indicated by the fact that he asks what the people said about him, and no certain consistent answer was given, but rather various and unstable opinions and delusions of the people. This shows that without the grace of God, people stagger back and forth and have unstable delusions about Christ until the Father reveals Him; only then does a person know what Christ is.
It follows that the free will of man, be it praised or exalted as one pleases, is not able to do anything of itself, and is not free to know or do good at its own will, but only in the grace of God, which makes it free, without which it lies imprisoned in sin and error and cannot come out of itself. As Christ also says in John 8:32: "The truth shall make you free." And soon after v. 34-36: "He that committeth sin is the servant of sins: but the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth for ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be justly free." So also St. Paul says to the Romans Cap. 3, 23: "There is no difference, they are all sinners in the first place, and lack the glory which they ought to have in God." And before that he says from the 14th Psalm v. 3 and 53, 4: "There is not one who is justified, not even one; there is not one who understands, there is not one who asks about God; they have all gone astray, and have all become unfit, there is not one who does good,
not even one." Even if we want to do good by ourselves, why does Christ call us to ask for mercy, and teach us in the Lord's Prayer to say: "Thy will be done, as it is in heaven and on earth"? To prove that we cannot do God's will of our own free will.
(9) It follows further that free will is never rightly called or understood, unless it is adorned with God's grace, without which it should be called more of its own will than free; for without grace it does not do God's will, but its own will, which is never good. He may have been free in Adam, but now by his fall he was corrupted and caught in sins: yet he retained the name of free will, because he was free, and by grace he shall be free again.
(10) Now, if one desires to know how to become godly and do well, which is the common question, I have said that the first and foremost thing is for one to know how he cannot become godly or do well of himself; therefore he must despair of himself, let go hands and feet, complain of himself as an unfit man before God's eyes, and there call upon his divine grace, in which he must firmly trust. Whoever teaches or seeks a different beginning than this way errs and deceives himself and others. How then do those who say, "You have a free will, do as much as is in you, God will do His own;" and think that people should not be called to despair. Yes, of course, they should not be made to despair; but the despair should be deleted. No one should despair of God's grace, but rather rely firmly on God's help against all the world and all sin; but one should despair of oneself altogether, and in no way rely on one's free will to do even the smallest of works.
(11) Therefore Jerome speaks of this gospel, that it may be noted how Christ asked his disciples, What men said of him; and afterward: What they said of him, when they were not men. For it is true that a man, helped by grace, is more than a man; indeed, the grace of God makes him godly and deified.
that the Scriptures also call him God and God the Son. Thus, man must be stripped of flesh and blood and become more than man if he is to become pious. This happens at first, when man recognizes that this is impossible for him, and humbly seeks God's grace for it, and even despairs of himself; after that, good works follow. When grace is thus obtained, then you have free will, then do what is in you.
(12) It is not possible for God to deny His grace to a person who so wholeheartedly recognizes his inability and truly despairs of himself. This is the best and next preparation for grace, as the Mother of God teaches in her hymn of praise and says: "He fills the hungry with goods and leaves the rich empty", Luc. 1, 53. This should be preached and people should first be freed from their own false confidence and then filled with good works. Thus they teach us to do many good works, and to do few good works from the beginning, since more is needed than good works; for where the beginning is not good, a good end will seldom follow; but where the grace of God has obtained it, works enough of themselves will follow.
(13) This despairing and seeking of grace should not last an hour or a time and then cease; but all our works, words, thoughts, while we live here, should be directed no other way than to always despair in oneself and remain in God's grace, desire and longing, as the prophet says Psalm 42:2, 3. Such desire for God and being godly increases grace and lasts until death. Therefore, the despairing of oneself must also last, and the false trust in oneself must remain.
The other part, about the power of St. Peter.
(14) It is not necessary for the common man to discuss much about St. Peter's or papal authority; it is more important that one knows how to use it happily. It is true that the keys are given to St. Peter; but not to him as his person, but in the person of the Christian church, and
are just given to me and you for the consolation of our consciences. St. Peter or a priest is a servant of the keys; the church is the wife and bride, whom he should serve with the power of the keys. As we see then in the daily custom that the sacraments are given to all who desire them from the priests.
(15) Now, in order that we may know how we need the key to salvation, I have said above that if we desire to be pious, and if we have been made capable of grace through the forgiveness of our fortune, it is now a matter of knowing whether or not we have obtained God's grace. For one must know how one's turn is with God, if one's conscience is to be cheerful and endure otherwise. For if anyone doubts and does not firmly believe that he has a gracious God, he does not have Him. As he believes, so he has. Therefore, no one can know that he is in grace and that God is favorable to him, except through faith. If he believes, he is blessed; if he does not believe, he is condemned. For such confidence and a good conscience is the right fundamental faith that God's grace works in us.
Behold, this is what the keys are for, this is what the priests are for: when you feel your heart wavering or doubting that you are not in the grace of God's eyes, it is high time that you go to the priest and seek absolution for your sin, and thus seek the power and comfort of the keys. When the priest passes judgment and absolves you, it is said that your sins are forgiven, that you have a merciful God. This is a comforting speech, and
are the words of God, who has joined Himself to let go in heaven whom the priest releases.
(17) See then that you do not ever doubt that this is so, and that you die many times before you doubt the priest's judgment, for it is Christ's and God's judgment.
(18) If you can believe this, your heart must laugh with joy and love the priest's power, and praise and thank God that He comforts your conscience through men. But if you cannot believe, and think that you are not worthy of such forgiveness, then you have not done enough: then ask God for the same faith. For you must have it, or perish eternally; and it is a sure sign that you are too little instructed in faith and too much in works. It matters a thousand times more how you firmly believe the priest's judgment than how you are worthy and do enough. Yes, the same faith makes you worthy and helps you to make a right satisfaction. Thus the power of the keys does not help the priests as priests, but only the sinful and stupid consciences, who receive grace through faith, and their hearts are satisfied and of good confidence toward God. It follows, then, that all life and suffering becomes easy, and man can serve his gracious God with joy, who otherwise never does any right work because of the restlessness of his heart. This is the name of the sweet burden of our Lord Jesus Christ, of which he says in Matthew 11:30: "My yoke is easy and my burden is light. Let this be from this gospel.