1 Paul speaks of the fruit of Christ's resurrection in Romans 10:9, 11: "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth, and shalt believe in thine heart, that Jesus is risen from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For whosoever believeth in him shall not be put to shame." Isa. 28, 16: "Behold, I lay in Zion a foundation stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone; he that believeth on him shall not be put to shame." Now it follows that those who preach that men can be justified by works deceive men. For it is an important doctrine to be godly and to do good works. If the fruit follows the tree, the milk the cow, the egg the hen. Every nature must first be good, if all its works are to be good.
002 But now thou askest me how I may become righteous, and showest me good works: but how to do good works thou showest me not, because I am not good and righteous. For I ask you how one can become righteous and devout, and you do not answer my question, but point me to works, contrary to the thing spoken of. But this is not what the Scripture says, but rather, "If you confess with your mouth," etc. Thus it is said in Gen. 4, 4: "God saw Abel" etc.; item v. 7: "If thou art pious, then thou art" etc. But our adversaries say: Why then says Chri-
*) Held in Altenburg. D. Editor.
stus in Lucas (Cap. 11, 41.): "Give alms from that which is there"? And Jacobus (Cap. 2, 17.): "Faith without works is dead"? Now consider this together with what Paul says: "He who wants to be pious must first believe with his heart and then confess with his mouth. So all this must also be understood. The commandment, "Thou shalt not commit adultery," is to be understood not only from the outward, but from the whole sinful work. So also the commandment: "Thou shalt not kill"; which Christ himself explains by saying (Matth. 5, 22.): "He who is angry with his brother" etc. The Scriptures speak of the whole work in this way. So almsgiving is a good work, if it is done with heart and hand at the same time.
(3) Note, therefore, that to become righteous is by faith without all works. For "if a man believe with all his heart, he is justified. Romans 10:10: He that would be righteous must therefore begin by keeping the word. John preached Christ to us as the Lamb of God who bears the sin of the world. Thus it is written in Isa. 53, 8: "When he was afflicted for the iniquity of my people"; and Ps. 69, 10: "The reproach of them that reproach thee is fallen upon me" etc.; likewise Isa. 43, 24: "Thou hast made me toil in thy sins" etc. So Christ has done enough for you and has taken away your sins; if you only believe, he has also, by taking away the most abominable of sins.
Death suffered, your fear taken away. Thus says Micah Cap. 7, 18: "Where is such a God as thou art, that forgiveth sin, and pardoneth iniquity?" etc.; likewise (1 Cor. 15, 55.): "Death is swallowed up in victory" etc.; item (Hos. 13, 14.): "Death, I will be a poison to you" etc. Similarly, what Job 41 says about the leviathan or whale belongs here. Here you can say that the devil attacked Christ, like the fish the food and appetizers, and is caught with the rod. The line of this fishing rod is the genealogy, from the beginning to Christ; the worm on the rod was Christ when he was despised before the world: when Satan wanted to devour this worm, he hit the rod of the Godhead and was pulled out. Now we are incorporated into Christ through faith, and all that Christ has is ours. Thus it is written in Hos. 2:19: "I will betroth myself to you in faith"; this is explained to us from the communion that is to be found between bride and bridegroom.
(4) For this reason, faith is preferred to works, because it makes common to you all that Christ has, which no works can do. Here take Paul's words to help you: "If you confess with your mouth," etc. For this confession is most necessary in the anguish of conscience, that by such confession we may overcome the devil, and not take refuge in works, or in the poor and miserable.
But we are to say: Christ has done everything for me that I have provided; therefore take hold of yourself from me. Thus Paul writes to the Galatians (Cap. 2, 21.), "If we are justified by the works of the law, Christ died in vain." Consider also in the Old Testament the story of the fiery serpents or dragons that fed fire: as all who looked upon the serpent of brass etc. (Deut. 21.) But this beholding does not mean a bodily, but a spiritual beholding, that one believes that Christ was lifted up for him on the cross and took away his sin.
5 Nevertheless, one must do good works for the benefit of one's neighbor. For as soon as a man believes that Christ suffered this for him, it necessarily follows that such a heart must love God and Christ. Accordingly, faith also brings with it the Holy Spirit, which makes the heart joyful and drives me to willingly do everything for my neighbor that is within my power. For the gospel preaches Christ; Christ, who must be received by faith, also lives in love. Thus Paul says to the Galatians (Cap. 2, 20.): "I live, but now not I" etc. Whoever therefore loves Christ does not break marriage; neither does he steal, because he loves his neighbor. For the gospel says nothing but: Believe; and then everything else will flow and follow of its own accord.