Of sin, righteousness and judgment.
John 16:5-15.
But now I go to him that sent me; and none of you ask me, Whither goest thou? But because I have spoken these things unto you, your heart is filled with sorrow. But I tell you the truth, it is good for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Comforter will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he cometh, he shall punish the world for sin, and for righteousness, and for judgment. For sin, that they believe not on me. But for righteousness, that I go to the Father, and ye believe me not henceforth.
behold. For the judgment that the prince of this world is judged. I still have much to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. For he shall not speak of himself; but what he shall hear, that shall he speak; and what is to come, that shall he declare unto you. The same shall transfigure me: for of mine he shall take, and shall declare unto you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said, He will take it from mine and proclaim it to you.
I go to the one who sent me etc.
(1) In this gospel is nothing else than what you hear every day about Christ and the Christian faith. The words are different, but the same things that are found in other parts of Scripture are also found here. Now we will deal here with three little things, when he says: "When the Spirit comes, he will punish the world for sin, and for righteousness, and for judgment.
2. the first: "because of sin, for they" (he says) "have not believed in me." Here we learn what sin is and what God calls sin, namely, not believing in the Son of God, that he alone is the one who makes blessed. Where this sin of unbelief is not, there is perfect righteousness; and though sin is there, it is not imputed for the sake of faith. Again, where unbelief is, all things are sin.
3. "He will punish the world because of sin. Not that he will punish especially the great sins and vices which the authorities are accustomed to punish, but that the Spirit of God is against those who do not want to sin, against the saints of works, who lead a pious, honorable life according to the outward conduct, as the world and they respect; as they find: Monks, nuns, bishops, priests, who think they are already in heaven because of their life. He will punish them. Why? Because my faith is not among them, but they trust in the outward work they do, not perceiving how sinful their reason and opinion is. The apostles were ruths, as were all evangelical preachers, with whom God punishes the world. The worldly wise, and those who follow reason, cannot stand such scourge, have broken the apostles, the ruths.
Faith is such a great thing that no sin can harm where it is. A
A holy or believing person may feel the excesses of sins, but they are not imputed to him for the sake of faith. This is what Paul means in Romans 8:10 when he says: "The body is dead because of sin, but the spirit lives because of justification. A strange saying, that life and death are in man: before God he lives with the spirit, in the body he still carries the remnant of sin; he kills it from day to day by faith. Christ decides that no works are of use where faith is not present. Here thou shalt beware of the gloss, where they say: Let faith be, keep and believe the twelve articles of the Christian faith. For it is not enough to believe. The Turk, the Jew etc. are also of faith, which is said of Christ: but he helps them nothing; but thou must believe that Christ is thine with all his goods, righteousness, godliness, holiness etc., and hold him for that, who hath borne thy sin upon him, and blotted it out, and hath reconciled thee to the Father, and is wholly devoted unto thee.
(5) Therefore, you must by no means subject yourself to come before God the Father by your own strength and works. For between God and man there is nothing but wrath and enmity; therefore you must have a mediator, on whom the Father has laid his justice and mercy; on him you must cast your sin, so that sins may be swallowed up by justice. Such a mediator is Christ, 1 Tim. 2, 5. 6. and if he does not come and take away our sin, we will never be justified. For God wants His law to be fulfilled and kept by us, and not a hair's breadth will be left behind. But no one fulfills such a law, unless he has Christ in him.
*The Eisleben edition has "Uebertretung. D. Red.
he believes. Therefore, the Holy Spirit will punish the world for sin, which alone is not believing in Christ and seeking another way to become blessed or godly by one's own work, and not giving glory to God etc.
No man has ever written about this sin of unbelief; neither Aristotle nor any astute philosopher has known anything about it. Therefore the Holy Spirit teaches the same and says: These are not the right sins, outward killing, being stingy, unchaste etc.; but not believing in me, says Christ, from which unbelief the gross outward vices flow. Believe in me. With this he rejects all power of the free will, which thinks to turn from itself to the good.
7 Secondly, "He will punish the world from righteousness; for I go to the Father, and henceforth ye shall see me no more." These are wonderful words; who has heard of such righteousness in his life? The wise men of the world, and all who act according to reason, the cleverest and most learned, all say that righteousness is nothing else than giving to each one what belongs to him. It is true, but still I do not know what belongs to each one. Who would want this to be righteousness, that Christ goes to the Father and we see him no more? The worldly righteousness of punishing evildoers is only an appearance against this righteousness that makes us righteous before God, so that God Himself must say: You are righteous; and give you a testimony, as He did to Noah 1 Mos. 6, 9. and Job, when He said how righteous they were, Job 1, 1.
8 Therefore this righteousness is nothing else, but that Christ goes to the Father and we no longer see him; that is, that we believe that Christ, by going to the Father, by his death and suffering, took our sin upon himself, and went to the Father, sitting at his right hand, since we now do not see him, but by faith alone; and thus, by going, became master of all things, death, sin, and hell, and became like God the Father in all things; as the 110th Psalm v. 1. says:
"Sit at my right hand" etc. Now God has spoken Isa. 42, 8. 48, 11. that he does not want to give his honor to a stranger; it is obvious from this that this man Christ, who thus dies and goes to the Father, must be God, because he puts the same honor on him. *) Therefore, when Christ goes to the Father, he has on him the righteousness of God and our sin. They contend with each other, and in the end the sins are suppressed and nullified by the righteousness, so that there is no evil in Christ, nor can there be.
(9) So you have believed that righteousness is Christ dying for us because of sin and being glorified by death, declaring that he is the Son of God who rules over all things, and that my sins are blotted out by his power. This righteousness gives to everyone what is due to him. Then I give God his due if I believe in him, consider him a father who wants to help me in all adversities, and give myself to willingly keep his commandment out of free love, where I believed otherwise before, and whatever other sins remain in me are not imputed to me in Christ for the sake of faith.
10. this righteousness makes children of God; then you are righteous if you believe that Christ has taken away your sin by his death. That I die and be glorified, saith Christ, a true God, the same is your righteousness; as Paul saith Rom. 1:17: "The just liveth by faith." The world bases its righteousness on works. Christ says, "No, but if anyone believes that I have gone to the Father, that is righteousness, and sit at the right hand, and I am not seen. For if he were seen, it would not be faith. Where faith is, there is God. Where there is God, there is no sin. Where there is no sin, there is the Holy Spirit. Now we see with the eyes of the Spirit that Christ in heaven is Lord of sin, death and hell, and believe that He took our sin upon Himself. Now when I see that he has finished the walk, my
Sins are no longer there, for they have disappeared in him. It would not have been enough if he had said, "Righteousness is that I sit at the right hand of the Father," but he shows the way that he went through suffering to glory, Luc. 24:26. And the way is ours.
Thirdly, "He will punish the world because of the judgment; for the prince of this world has already been judged". This is the judgment of God, so that God condemns. This judgment begins here in the saints, 1 Petr. 4, 17, when God lets them be killed, and lets happen to them everything that the world hates, suffering and persecution, and condemns in them everything that the world considers good, as, wealth, health, honor etc. These are only beginnings of God's judgment in outward things; but against the wicked He will execute it there completely. This judgment of the cross
The world does not yet know, saying: "Oh, should this be a holy chosen people of God, who suffer so much misery and adversity? as Isaiah says of Christ Cap. 53, 4: "We have esteemed him as the least of these. The world should therefore think, "If this be done to the green wood," to the pious who are to be saved; "what then will be done to the dry?" Luc. 23, 31. Besides this, they should also consider that the evil spirit that rules this world, Eph. 6, 12, and causes such persecution, he is already condemned; should love the cross, and judge themselves that their works are evil, they would not be condemned because of it. Summa, this gospel is of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Now where there are Christians, there is no sin, there is righteousness and judgment, and we must put life and limb into it, amen. Praise God.
Sermon on the Gospel on the first day of Pentecost. *)
John 14:23-31.
Jesus answered and said unto him, He that loveth me shall keep my word; and my Father shall love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. But he that loveth me not keepeth not my words. And the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's who sent me. These things have I spoken unto you, because I have been with you. But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom my Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. I leave you peace; I give you my peace.
I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled or afraid. You have heard that I said to you, I am going away, and I will come to you again. If you loved me, you would rejoice that I said I was going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I am. And now I have told you before it comes to pass, that, when it shall come to pass, ye may believe. Henceforth I will not speak much unto you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath no part in me. But that the world may know that I love the Father, and that I do even as the Father hath commanded me: arise, and let us depart.