Matth. 7, 15-23.
Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. By their fruits you shall know them. Can you also gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? So every good tree brings forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, and a corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore you shall know them by their fruits. Not all who say to me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven, but those who do the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, "Lord, Lord, have we not taught in your name? have we not cast out devils in your name? have we not done many deeds in your name? Then I will confess to them: I have never known you; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity.
1) Since the Lord in these three preceding chapters, in the fifth, sixth, and seventh, interpreted the commandments of God, he finally concluded thus: "All things therefore that ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so unto them. This is a Christian doctrine and summa summarum of the whole Christian being. This is followed by today's Gospel, in which the Lord takes care of the office of a pious shepherd and teacher, and warns us to beware of false teachings. As if to say: You have now received the teaching, so henceforth beware of other teachings. For it is certain that evil teachers and false prophets will arise wherever this word is preached.
(2) We must be clear in our minds that the two doctrines, good and false, will always go together; for it has been so from the beginning and will last until the end of the world. Therefore, it is nothing that we want to crawl into silence and to go into a safe being. The evil doctrine of men, the doctrine of the devil, and all our enemies oppose us without ceasing; therefore we should not think that we have won everything: we are not yet over the brook. Therefore the Lord warns us diligently, saying:
Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inside they are ravening wolves.
(3) We should note here that the Lord Christ commands and gives power to all Christians to be judges of all doctrine, and to judge what is right or wrong. The piece has been crazy to us with the false Christians for probably a thousand years, that we have not had power to judge, but have had to accept without all judgment what the pope and the Concilia have determined.
(4) Now this gospel here overthrows the papacy and all the conciliates, for we are not bound to keep what the pope commands and what men command. Therefore I say again, grasp the gospel well; for there is no command given to the pope, nor to the conciliis, nor to any man, that he should set and conclude what the
Be faith. For Christ says, "Beware of false prophets." Either the gospel must lie, or the pope with the conciliis. Christ says, "We have the right to judge all doctrine, and what we are commanded to hold or not to hold. Now the Lord does not speak to the pope, but to all Christians. And as this doctrine is said to all: "That ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so unto them"; so also these words exclude no man: "Beware of false prophets." From this it clearly follows that I may judge the doctrine.
5 Therefore I should say: Pope, you have decided with the conciliis; now I have a judgment whether to accept it or not. Why? Because thou wilt not stand and answer for me, if I should die; but I must see how I am, that I may be sure of my thing.
(6) For thou must be as sure of the thing, that it is the word of God, as thou art sure of thy life, and more sure still; for thy conscience alone must insist upon it. And even if all men came, yes, even the angels, and all the world concluded something, if thou canst not grasp the judgment nor conclude it, thou art lost; for thou must not place thy judgment on the pope, or on any other; thou must be so skillful thyself that thou canst say, This saith God, this saith not; this is right, this is wrong; otherwise it is not possible to stand.
For if you are dying and you stand on the pope and the conciliis, and you say: The pope has said this, the conciliis have decided this, the holy fathers, Augustine, Ambrose have agreed on this; then the devil can make a hole for you immediately and enter: How, if it were wrong? How, if they had erred? When such a temptation comes to you, you are already lying down. Therefore you must play the game of conscience, so that you may boldly and defiantly say, "This is the word of God; I will lay down my life and limb, and a hundred thousand necks, if I have them. This is also what St. Peter means when he says in his epistle, 1 Pet. 4, 11: "If anyone speaks, he speaks as the word of God." And St. Paul speaks to the Corinthians in this way, 1 Cor. 2, 3. 4. 5: "I was with you with
-With weakness and fear, and with great trembling. And my word and my preaching were not in pleasant words of man's wisdom; but in evidence of the Spirit and of power: that your faith might stand, not in man's wisdom, but in the power of God."
(8) So they lift it up and say: Yes, how can we know what is the word of God, and what is right or wrong? we must learn it from the pope and from the conciliar. Well, let them decide and say what they want; so I say: You cannot put your trust in it, nor satisfy your conscience, you must decide for yourself, it is for your neck, it is for your life. Therefore God must say to your heart: This is God's word; otherwise it is unclosed.
(9) But our bishops, Caiphas, Pilate, Herod, they press and rage so hard that one would think they were nonsensical. Then they bring St. Augustine's saying: I would not believe the Gospel if the church's reputation did not move me; and they think they have already won. So you say: What do I care, God gives, it says Augustine or Jerome, St. Peter or St. Paul, yes, even the archangel Gabriel from heaven, that is much more; so it does not help me, I must have God's word, I want to hear what God says.
10. and that same word God has you speak through men, and especially he has you preach and write it through the apostles; for St. Peter and St. Paul do not speak their words, but God's word; as Paul himself testifies to the Thessalonians, when he speaks thus, 1 Thess. 2:13: "Ye receive the word of God preached by us, not as the word of men, but as the true word of God, which also worketh in you that believe." For the word may well be preached to me, but no one can give it to my heart, for God alone must speak in the heart, otherwise nothing will come of it; for if he is silent, it is unspoken; therefore no one shall bring me from the word that God teaches me. And this I must know as surely as that three and two make five; for this is so certain, though all Concilia said otherwise,
I know that they are lying. It is certain that a cubit is longer than half a cubit; though all the world says otherwise, yet I know that it is not otherwise. Who decides for me? No man, but only the truth, which is so completely certain that no one can deny it.
011 Therefore it must come to pass, that thou shalt say, This is so; let no man put me away. When thou hearest, Thou shalt not kill; or, Thou shalt do unto others as thou wouldest have others do unto thee, thou shalt know before all conciliarities that this is the doctrine of Christ, though all men have said otherwise. So also this doctrine, that thou canst not help thyself, but Christ is thy Savior, which maketh thy sins to be forgiven thee: this thou must know and confess in thine heart, that it is so: and if thou feelest it not, thou hast not faith, but the word hangeth upon thine ears, and floateth upon thy tongue, as the foam is upon the waters, as the prophet Hosea saith, Cap. 10:7, "Samaria hath let her king pass by, as the foam upon the waters." Now you must believe all this, not as words, as if Peter had preached them, but that God has called you to believe. Now I speak all this, that we may come again to the gospel, and know from whence the foundation floweth, that ye must be judges, and have power to judge all things that are proposed unto you: because I cannot, nor shall I trust in any man; for I must answer for myself when it cometh to pass away.
(12) Therefore do not persuade yourselves that you must believe what the pope says or what the Conciliar decree. If thou knowest God, thou hast already the rod, the measure, and the yardstick, that thou mayest judge all the doctrine of the fathers, knowing that Christ is our salvation, and that he reigneth over us, and that we are sinners. If then one comes and says, You must become a monk, you must do thus and thus, if you want to be saved; faith alone is not enough for salvation, you can certainly say, You are lying, your teaching is false; for he who believes in Christ is saved. Who teaches you this? Your faith in your heart, which alone believes this.
Therefore, no one can protect himself from error unless he is a spiritual man. For so Paul says to the Corinthians 1 Ep. 2, 15: "A spiritual man judges everything, and he is judged by no one." Thus false doctrine can judge no one but the spiritual man.
(13) Therefore it is a foolish thing that the Conciliar Churches should decide and establish what is to be believed, when there is often no man who has tasted the divine Spirit a little. When it happened in the Concilio of Nicene, they went about and wanted to make laws about the spiritual state, so that they should not be married; this was already all wrong, because it had no basis in divine Scripture. Then one man alone, named Paphnutius, stood up and put all this down, saying, "Not so, this is not Christian. Then the whole council, which undoubtedly included many excellent, learned people, had to renounce the decision and give way to this simple-minded, yet pious man. For God is hostile to high titles and human wisdom; therefore, at times, he makes them run roughshod over them, disgraces them in their attempts, so that one may see how true the saying is: "The learned are the perverse.
(14) Therefore we must remain free judges, that we may have power to judge and to judge, to accept and to condemn all that the pope sets and the conciliar decree. But if we accept something, we should accept it so that it compares with our conscience and with Scripture; not because they say so. This is what St. Paul says to the Romans, Cap. 12, 7: "If any man have prophecy, let it be like faith"; for all prophecy that leads to works, and not to Christ alone, as to thy only consolation, though it be excellent, is not like faith; as there are the revelations of poltergeists, masses, pilgrimages, fasts, and seeking the merits of the saints. In all this, so many holy fathers have erred, as Gregory, Augustine and others, that they have taken this judgment from us; for this sorrow and heartache began in time, that we should believe the pope and the conciliis. Therefore you must
so find with you that you can say: God said that, God did not say that. As soon as you say: Man has said this, or: The Concilio have decided this, you have built on the sand.
(15) Therefore there is no judge on earth in spiritual matters concerning Christian doctrine, except the man who has the true faith in his heart, whether he be man or woman, young or old, servant or handmaid, learned or unlearned. For God does not look at the person, but all are equally dear to Him who live according to His commandments; for this reason they alone have authority to judge.
(16) But if any man come, and know better than I the opinion, I should shut my mouth, and hold my peace, and take knowledge of him. This is what St. Paul wants when he says in 1 Corinthians 14:29, 30: "Let the prophets speak for themselves or for the third time, and let the others judge. But if a revelation is made to another who sits there, let the first be silent." This is said: If the listener knows and understands more than the preacher, then the preacher should give him the opportunity to speak and he should remain silent. In worldly matters, an old man is wiser than a young man, a scholar knows more than a layman; but in spiritual matters, a child or a servant, a woman or a layman may have more grace from God than an old man or a lord, a layman or the pope. Summa: No scholar shall take away your judgment, for you have it as well as he.
(17) Now I should say, who are the false prophets in our time, which no man can judge nor know, except he that hath the Spirit; but summa summarum, in short, though much be said of it, it is the pope with his regiment; for they have all taught that which is against God. That would be a long time to prove; for you can see it in almost all things, wherever you turn. But we will tell some of them. God commanded in Exodus 20:12 that the child should honor its father and mother and be subject to them; so the pope has raised his opinion that a monk or nun is no longer under its father; but say: The child is now and in the clergy and in the divine.
service; God is more than father and mother: therefore it is no longer guilty to serve father and mother, but the father must call it grace junker.
18. Now, if I say, What is worship? they would say, Dear Lord, it is ringing bells, burning candles, putting on a beautiful chasuble, and such monkey business more. Yes, I say, you have well hit it; but I meant, to honor father and mother and to keep God's commandment, that is to serve God. Therefore, you must say here that the Antichrist taught such things, and you may happily say that he is lying. Do you see here how God's commandment stands freely against the obedience of the prior and abbot? God gave you your father and mother to honor, serve and be submissive to; the pope gives you another, whom you honor more than your father, given by God. If this is God's commandment to keep, I do not know.
19 So also with other commandments of God. One shall not strike to death, not be angry, not attack; this is what God has commanded. Thus the pope teaches: The spiritual goods or the goods of the church are to be defended; and if it does not help, then one should call upon the secular sword to protect the papal see and St. Peter's inheritance. Behold, these commandments are opposed to each other; this, I hope, everyone understands well.
20. so also with the conjugal nature: God commanded in Genesis 2:24 that husband and wife should be one flesh and that they should not be divorced. Now the pope has many commandments against this, such as, if a woman takes a husband who has baptized her, then the marriage is to be broken up.
(21) So also, when the clergy marry, as ye now see, that they rend the marriage according to their spiritual law. If anyone falls into incest and takes a boyfriend or a girlfriend, he commands that they remain with each other, but both live chastely with each other. He lets two naked people lie in bed together, and neither has the power to demand conjugal duty from the other. What else is it said but when I put straw and fire together and forbid it not to burn?
22 Further, God says: You shall not steal. But who steals more than the pope and his crowd? These are the chief thieves, for they take the goods of all the world daily.
Item, let us look at the first commandment. This says: Trust in God alone, call on God alone; so all their teaching is nothing else, but that they lead us to trust in works and holy invocation. Do you see then that such people are the righteous false prophets from whom we should beware? For they nullify the commandment that God has given. Now follows the other piece in the Gospel, where Christ speaks thus:
By their fruits you shall know them. Can you also gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? So every good tree brings forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, and a corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire; therefore you shall know them by their fruit.
(24) As I have said, the knowledge of the fruits hath no man, save he that is spiritually born. Therefore he that hath not the Spirit cannot know. Let no man think that he can know from the fruits, except he be spiritual. There is a fruit by which it is known, which is unbelief; and it may be known from public sins: but the judgment is deceitful; for Christians also fall.
(25) Therefore the right fruit to be known is an inward fruit; I must have the divine Spirit and judge by it; the outward eye and reason cannot. You may see two of them, one is a believer, the other is not, and yet it is an outward work. What separates them? Faith in the heart and unbelief, that one considers it a good work and the other not. In short, you cannot judge from outward works. Taulerus also recognized that believers and unbelievers are often so alike in outward appearances that no one can separate them, nor can any ver-
But one who has the Spirit of God. Yes, the unbelievers seem to be much more beautiful in their works than the believers, as also Job Cap. 39, 13. It is written: "The wings of the ostrich are more beautiful than the wings of the heron or sparrowhawk"; but the sparrowhawk flies and the ostrich cannot fly. So also, the believer and the unbeliever are the same in appearance, but in heart they are different.
(26) Now these are the fruits of the Spirit, by which the true prophets are known, which St. Paul tells the Galatians in Cap. 5:22: "Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, chastity. But these fruits no one can perceive or know except the Spirit; therefore the judgment of spiritual things is not to be found in outward things, as in the work and person, but inwardly in the heart. One is known by the fruits, but in the spirit alone. Even the fruits and good works do not make one pious or good, but he must first be pious and good in the heart. Just as the apples do not make a tree, but the tree must be rather than the fruit.
27 When I understand this, I realize that there is no work so evil as to condemn man, nor so good as to condemn man.
But faith alone makes us blessed, and unbelief condemns us. If a man falls into adultery, the work does not condemn him; but the adultery shows that he has fallen from faith, which condemns him, otherwise it would not be possible. So no one makes one righteous but faith, and nothing makes one wicked but unbelief. Therefore the Lord also says that the tree should be cut down; he does not say that the fruit should be cut down. Therefore, works of love do not make me righteous, but faith alone, in which I do these works and bear these fruits.
028 So we must begin at faith; but the priest begins at works, and is called doing good works to become godly; as if I said to the tree, If thou wilt be a good tree, lift up and bear apples, as if I might bear apples before I am a tree; but I must say, If thou wilt bear apples, lift up and become a tree; so must the tree be before it beareth fruit.
29 From all this it follows that there is no sin on earth except unbelief; as Christ says John 16:8, 9: "When the Holy Spirit comes, he will punish the world for sin, because they have not believed in me.