The first, about the baptism of Christ, about the gospel on the feast of the appearance of Christ, Matth. 3, 13-17. The other, about the conversion of St. Paul, from the 9th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, against the monks etc. Delivered at Halle in Saxony, shortly before his blessed departure, Anno 1546.
From the editor M. Wankel's letter.
To the honorable and wise lords, mayors and aldermen of the noble city of Hamelburg in Franconia, my generous dear lords, fathers and patrons, grace and peace from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Honorable, wise, great-favored, dear lords, fathers and patrons.
After the venerable in Christ, our most beloved father, Doctor Martinus Lutherus, the right and holy man of God (of blessed memory), no doubt by special providence of God, the last half year before his blessed passing away much and more than
He had previously traveled for several years, and in four episcopates, Brandenburg, Naumburg, Merseburg, and Magdeburg, he had taught with a rich apostolic spirit, and had preached many glorious and comforting sermons, in each of which he had closely examined the whole world.
The most important thing is that he has written and presented the sum total of Christian doctrine, namely, the law, the forgiveness of sins, the right worship of God, and faith in Christ, through which alone one can obtain eternal life etc.Besides this, he also most diligently and assiduously admonished himself against the greatest and worst enemies of God and his holy word, such as the pope, monks, nuns, usurers and Jews, from whom, as from Satan himself, he admonished himself to beware and to flee, and warned with such heartfelt and faithful admonition, not otherwise than as if he had wanted to say: "Take note of this, and keep it from me last and for a testament. Which sermons are truly worthy to be kept as a precious treasure against the aforementioned enemies, to be treasured and kept like a jewel.
Because on the same journey our dear father, D. Mart. Luther, here at Halle in Saxony, among others, also preached two beautiful and comforting sermons: one on the day of Christ's appearing, on the baptism of our dear Lord Jesus Christ etc. 9, against the false sanctuary of the wicked pope and the blasphemous monks and nuns etc.; and I have excerpted the same and written them according to my small fortune: I have been requested by many faithful and Christian people, some of whom have heard them, and have been requested to have them printed, so that they may also be useful and comforting to more people.
Because I would like, as I wish and ask every day, that these, together with all Luther's sermons, should become known to all people, and that everyone should improve from them: I have gladly allowed myself to be persuaded and have put these two sermons into print, and have attributed them to your E. W.. First of all: that just as my dear gentlemen, a He. W. Rath, and we here in Halle still have monks and nuns of the Pabst's outcast basic soup and yeast, and you have many of the desperate Jews, both rightful to God and His holy Word and arch-enemies of all pious Christians, who do great and immeasurable harm among Christ's host; and as our dear lords in Halle are admonished to give the same monks and nuns a good reason for their rebellion.
that you also, warmed up by this faithful and last admonition, become lively and take courage, and that you may also the more confidently resist the blasphemies of your Jews, so that the dear Word of God may freely produce all the more fruit and benefit here and among you. For if this is certainly true, where these two, hardened papists, monks, nuns and Jews are, Christ and His holy, eternal and only blessed Word are not taught with benefit, as well as now that such enemies and blasphemers have been chased away and driven out. Unfortunately, we have so much to do with other sins to sweep out, that it is unnecessary to burden ourselves with such great, blasphemous sins of the Jews and monks.
On the other hand, I have also attributed these two sermons to E. E. W.: that because these sermons, as the last, without four, are to be regarded as a testament of our dear father D. Martini, that I also hereby declare against E. E. W. my dear lords and fathers, and my dear fatherland Hamelburg, I open my mind and heart and declare that it is also my faithful will, heartfelt admonition and humble request that you watch and observe, hold to the word of God with earnestness, promote it in schools and churches, and flee all the erroneous and seductive devilish teachings of the papists, sects and cults. Help and counsel that your poor church may be freed from the great burden it has from the satanic Jews and that the dear church may be purified.
I hereby command E. E. W. and my dear fatherland in the grace of the almighty, eternal God and Father, our dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, an eternal God in three inseparable Persons etc., humbly and humbly asking E. E. W. to favorably please you with such my official diligence. Date on the sixth day of April in the year MDXLVI.
E. E. W. more willing and obedient
M. Matthias Wankel,
Preacher at St. Moritz in Halle.
Sermon on the Feast of the Epiphany of Christ. *)
From the baptism of Christ.
At that time Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. But John rebuked him, saying: I have need that I should be baptized of thee, and thou comest unto me? And Jesus answered and said unto him, Let it be so now: so it behoveth us to fulfill all righteousness. And he suffered him. And when Jesus was baptized, he came up straightway out of the water: and, behold, the heaven was opened upon him. And John saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. And behold, a voice from heaven said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
(1) Three great and glorious miracles or wonders are celebrated today on this feast, which is called the Day of the Magi: the first, by the wise men who came to Jerusalem from the East on this day, and asked for the newborn King of the Jews, pointed to Bethlehem, and there found the newborn Child Jesus, worshipped him, and brought him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The second, that our dear Lord Christ Jesus, after entering upon his ministry, made wine of water at this day in Cana of Galilee, and thereby proved and manifested his glory. The third, which is the greatest and most glorious, which the Evangelist Matthew describes here, is that afterwards, also on this day, the Almighty, Eternal, Divine Majesty, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, revealed Himself to the world and let Himself be heard and seen. These three glorious miracles happened on this day, as the ancient teachers write.
(2) The first two we will leave for this time, and will not speak of them; but the third, namely, the glorious appearance and revelation of the divine Majesty (which is the
(For all creatures, including angels, cannot sufficiently marvel and rejoice), let us take it before us, and speak of it somewhat, as much as God gives grace.
In the ancient and early church, this feast was celebrated and kept in a high and noble manner: first, because of the great, glorious manifestation and revelation of the Holy Trinity, then, because of the baptism of Christ. For Christ, as said, was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan, and by his holy baptism washed and cleansed the world from all sins, and drowned death, and thus reconciled the human race to God. Furthermore, John the Baptist also saw and heard the almighty, eternal, high, great majesty of God, and the difference of three persons of divine majesty. For St. Matthew, as you have read, says: "When Christ Jesus was baptized, he soon came up out of the water. And, behold, the heavens were opened upon him; and John saw the Spirit of God descending from heaven in a visible form, like a dove, and coming upon him." Also Christ Jesus, Son of God, stands there bodily, in His pure tender humanity in the Jordan and lets Himself be walked by John. Item, so he also hears the voice of the Father, the great most high preacher from heaven, sounding like this: "This is my dear Son, in whom I am well pleased.
4. this is indeed a beautiful, glorious, lovely
and comforting manifestation and revelation of the divine majesty, which every Christian should well imagine, also diligently remember and retain, as such a thing has never happened since the beginning of the world, nor is it said or written of any such thing in all the holy Scriptures, nor will any such thing happen hereafter until the last day, as it was above and at the baptism of Christ; on which also all our Christian faith is founded and adheres to. Therefore, this day should be called the baptismal day of our Lord Christ, or the day of the revelation of the holy divine Trinity, which was revealed today above the baptism of Christ and was visibly heard and seen.
Therefore we also believe and confess in our Christian faith three persons of divine majesty, equal omnipotence, power, eternity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit: which persons of divine majesty, as said, are revealed and seen here differently at the baptism of Christ. For here we see clearly from St. Matthew how all three persons reveal themselves differently, each in a peculiar form or image. For the Holy Spirit, who appears in the form of a dove, is a different person and form from the form, figure and image of God and Mary's Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who stands in the water near John in the Jordan and lets himself walk. So the Father shows Himself from heaven also in another special form, and forms Himself into a voice, lets Himself be heard and says: "This is my dear Son" etc. There are clearly and distinctly three different persons of divine omnipotence; and yet there is no more, but only one, eternal God, in three persons, as he has revealed, pictured and formed himself there; nevertheless, so that the Father is another person, than the Son and Holy Spirit, and the Son another, than the Father and Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit also another, than the Father and Son; and yet the Father is not without Son and Holy Spirit. And again, so that the Father is not the Son nor the Holy Spirit; the Son is not the Father, or the
Holy Spirit; nor is the Holy Spirit the Father or the Son. Item, that neither Father nor Holy Spirit, but the Son became man; and yet these three different persons, as they appeared, formed and revealed themselves here, is one, eternal God.
(6) We are to believe this simply and leave it at that; we are not to puzzle over how things are, but to preach and believe in the divine nature of the three persons in the Godhead, as they have appeared, been seen and heard. For here you must not consult woman's reason, but believe the Scriptures as God has revealed Himself in them. As you read in St. Matthew and Luca, where the divine majesty is thus revealed: the Father in the voice, the Son in humanity, and the Holy Spirit in the form of the dove; that there are certainly three distinct persons of divine majesty, and yet no more than one, omnipotent, eternal, divine being.
(7) This is to be held up to the Christian people today from this Gospel, that such an article, concerning the difference of persons in the Godhead, may be known and revealed to the believers in Christ, that they may know, keep and believe such a difference; for which reason also this glorious and wondrous revelation came from heaven and was revealed to the world by God.
(8) This feast may well be called the day of the appearing or revelation of the Holy Trinity, of which we will not dwell on this time, for it is a high article that cannot be explained. It wants to be believed as it is formulated in the Scriptures and presented to us in this Gospel, namely: that there are three distinct Persons in the Godhead, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and yet one, eternal, almighty, divine Being. This is how God wants to be known, and this is our Christian faith, to which we are baptized and called, therefore we are also called Christians. Let us, who earnestly desire to be Christians and hope to be saved, keep and believe this. For without this article of knowledge and confession no one can hope to go to heaven. Therefore well to them,
who believe him; but he who will not, let him not.
(9) But let your love especially this time diligently consider and well observe, that this glorious revelation, when the divine majesty, out of pure goodness and mercy, so kindly and sweetly reveals itself from heaven, and visibly shows itself, may be seen and heard. This was not done for their sake, nor for the sake of the angels, but for the comfort and salvation of us poor sinners, if we believe it, as we shall hear hereafter. Whether the Jews, the Turks and the Papists do not accept this glorious revelation, nor take comfort in it, nothing shall hinder us nor vex us. They may always go; but we, who have been baptized Christians, should accept and believe such comfort as the Scriptures present and present to us.
First of all, we see that at the baptism of Christ, the almighty, eternal, divine majesty is miraculously present. Yes, it is not only present, but it is also represented here in three different persons, very sweetly and comfortingly, in a friendly way. Thus our dear Lord God honors and adorns the baptism of Christ. What could be and happen to us more comforting?
Since our dear Lord God Himself is present and with us, and so beautifully, gloriously and lovingly portrays and represents Himself in three persons, the heavenly hosts of the dear angels must certainly also be present; who, although they are neither heard nor seen, as they were seen and heard with the shepherds in the field when Christ was born in Bethlehem, it is nevertheless certain that they were also present here at this appearance and the glorious baptism of Christ. Yes, why are they not heard? Because they themselves, the dear angels, hear the most high preacher, God, the high majesty himself, who preaches here, as the evangelist says:
And behold, a voice from heaven said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
12. this is ever a joyful, blessed, gracious voice, from the almighty, eternal
God, creator of heaven and earth, who still preserves all things. He is the highest preacher, and preaches from the highest and greatest preaching chair, from heaven. Since this is the highest preacher, this sermon of his is also the highest sermon, and no higher sermon has not come into the world than the one that the almighty, eternal, merciful God does of his equally almighty, dear Son, saying: "This is my dear Son, in whom I am well pleased. For everything depends on the beloved Son, and is only to be done for the beloved Son. Of Him preaches God the Father; therefore there can be no higher preaching than the preaching of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Thus, the greatest disciple and listener of this preaching is the Holy Spirit Himself, the third person of divine majesty. These are each high preachers, preachers and listeners, and cannot be greater. Therefore the dear angels are silent, do not let themselves be heard, but listen even to the highest preacher, God the Almighty Father, what he preaches about his dear Son, in whom he is heartily pleased. Let us now also let this go.
It follows that the baptism of our dear Lord Jesus Christ is highly honored and adorned. For since the divine Majesty Himself, a unique, eternal God in three Persons, is present, along with all the dear angels of God, the highest preacher and disciple, how could it be more gloriously adorned! Yes, the baptism is so gloriously adorned and decorated that we cannot sufficiently comprehend it, much less understand it. We should keep this in mind.
(14) But here you might say, "Yes, I do believe that the baptism of our dear Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God, is so adorned and honored that the divine Majesty Himself is the highest preacher, the Holy Spirit the greatest disciple and listener, and the hosts of God's dear angels. But what does this help me? What use is it to me? Christ is the Son of God, born of the Father in eternity, conceived of the Holy Spirit, without sin, truly born of the Virgin Mary; therefore it was glorious: but I am a poor sinner, conceived in sins.
and born; therefore, because of my sin, it will not happen so gloriously at my baptism?
(15) Thou shalt not think or say in any way, that because thou art a sinner, thou wouldest despise or slight thy baptism, as if it were not as glorious as Christ's baptism, or that thou wouldest not accept Christ's baptism. No, thou shalt not do so, it would not be good; but thou shalt not separate thy baptism from Christ's baptism. You must come with your baptism into Christ's baptism, so that Christ's baptism may be your baptism, and your baptism Christ's baptism, and indeed One baptism.
For baptism is such a bath by which our sins are washed away; as we sing in the Symbola Niceno: I confess some baptism for the remission of sins. Item Rom. 6, 4. St. Paul says: "We are baptized into the death of Christ"; and Gal. 3, 27.: "As many as are baptized of you have put on Christ." And even if baptism did not bring us this, namely forgiveness of sins, baptism would be of no use to us and would be nothing better than another bath. Therefore we are to know and believe that Christ was baptized for our sake, and thus say, His baptism is mine, and my baptism is His baptism; for He is the Lamb of God who bears the sin of the world. And when he is baptized, he is baptized in our person and for our sake, who are of the world and full of sins, which sin he took upon himself and washed away by this baptism of his. For thus John Cap. 1, 29. says: "Behold, this is the Lamb of God, which bareth the sin of the world." Thus John calls his baptism a baptism of repentance, by which sinners who repent and are baptized obtain and receive forgiveness of sins.
Therefore John refuses to baptize Christ, saying, "I," as a sinner, "have need that I should be baptized by you, and that you should come to me. As if John wanted to say: I am a sinner, therefore I need to be baptized by you and thereby washed of my sins.
But you are God's innocent and undefiled lamb, without sin, conceived by the Holy Spirit, and have no right to forgiveness of sins; therefore it is unnecessary for you to be baptized by me.
18. Then Christ says to John, "Let it be so now, for it behooves us to fulfill all righteousness"; as if Christ wanted to say, "I, though I am not a sinner for myself, yet I bring with me the sin of the whole world, so that I alone am a sinner and the greatest sinner in the whole world; therefore I need forgiveness of sins: But not mine (for I am without sin), but the sin of the whole world (in which we also belong, for we also are of the world, and the children of the world are sinners), which lie upon me, which I bear, which are heavy, and press upon me; Therefore it is necessary for me to be baptized and to receive forgiveness of sins, so that afterward my baptism may be blown out into the whole world and preached that I have borne the sins of the world and have been baptized and washed away from them and have received forgiveness of sins; so that whoever believes in me and is baptized according to my command may also be washed away from his sins and be clean, and have a gracious God etc. So now Christ's baptism is our baptism and our baptism is His baptism. "When John heard this, he admitted him."
So our baptism is far different, nobler and better than the baptism of the Turk or the Pope, who also have baptism. For the Turk sprinkles himself with water, as one does in the bath, and ascribes to his baptism such power that it makes pure etc. But this is a baptism where the devil wipes his butt. So who baptized him hot? The devil. So too, the pope consecrates water and salt, teaching that whoever sprinkles himself with the water and licks the salt will also be cleansed of sins. These are blasphemies and blasphemies of the baptism of our dear Lord Christ. But here the monks have a much higher and greater advantage. For thus they teach that if anyone should think that he would repent of having entered a monastery and become a monk, which has happened very often, he should get a
If he takes a new resolution, and that he has entered the monastery and become a monk, let him like it as before, and let the other thoughts go, then the new resolution will be as useful and good for him as if he had been baptized anew, and all his sins would be forgiven. Shut up, in the name of the devil, are you going to talk like that and desecrate the baptism of Christ? O how often have I consoled myself in this way when I was a monk.
(30) Well, they have taught this, their books testify to it, they cannot say no to it; but beware of it, as of Satan himself. But I am to say, I will not have my baptism, nor Turks', Pabst's, nor monks' baptism; but in and with Christ will I be baptized, who is the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. He was baptized for me, and in him I also am baptized, so that his baptism is mine and mine. It says: Christ has taken away all my sin with baptism. How so? What did he do? Nothing else, but that he is the Lamb of God, took upon himself my sin and the sin of the whole world, was baptized by John and washed away sins, which is baptism sanctified by his blood. Now all who are baptized into Christ in this way have their sins washed away and forgiven. For he is not washed from his sins (who has no sin), but from my sins and from all the sins of the world, and is cleansed. If I believe this, I am free from sins, knowing no more sins. For because Christ has taken my sins upon Himself, they are now no longer mine. I may have committed sin, but the man Jesus Christ, who is also the true God, has taken my sin upon Himself, borne it, washed it away in baptism, and taken it away.
21 Christ also means and commands this when he says Marc. 16, 15. 16: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all nations. He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned." This is now the gospel, commanded to be preached into all the world. Whosoever therefore shall receive it, believe, and be baptized, all his sins be forgiven him,
as St. Paul also testifies to the Corinthians, when he says 1 Ep. 6, 11: "You were such before, but now you have been washed away, you have been sanctified, you have been justified by the name of the Lord Jesus. To this the voice of the Father is true and ministers, as it sounds from heaven: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." As if he wanted to say: "Here I have a son who is dear to me and pleases me well, and everything he does pleases me well: that he is born and baptized, suffers and dies for your sake etc. pleases me well; the son can nothing spoil etc. for me. If you accept him and hear him, you also do me hearty good and are dear to me. In whom I believe that he is the Lamb of God, who took your sins upon himself, was born for your sake, suffered for you, and was crucified and died for your sins. If thou therefore receive him, and believe him, thou shalt be loosed from all thy sins. For in this way you are also dear to me, and I am also well pleased with you, as with my beloved Son.
22 O thou shameful unbelief, fieve thyself! Is it not to be pitied that we forget this, and instead of this high, great and unspeakable benefit, which God has shown us in His Son, our Lord JESUS CHRIST, seek forgiveness of sins through our works and actions, as through monastic life, holy water and salt, vigils and masses for the souls, pilgrimage, caps and plates, and what is more of the canker. This is what the devil has called it, and it is not the will and command of God, our heavenly Father; but the will and command of God is that one should accept, hear and believe in the man, Christ Jesus, His dear Son, that He is the Lamb of God who bears my sins; this is what my baptism is all about. From this it follows that baptism must be holy water, yes, the blood of Christ, shed for our sin, which washes away our sin and the sin of the whole world. O who could believe this, he would already be blessed.
23. so that such a sermon is believed, the Holy Spirit must be the supreme disciple, who is here in the form of a dove.
who accepts it, hears it and believes it. For our nature is far too corrupt and weak to accept and believe this. It is much easier for my flesh to believe that my cap and other good works that I do can make me free and clean from all my sins, and make a new baptism (like the monks), by which I am washed away from sins. Yes, so the fools under the pope have taught us.
24 But that I should believe that Christ was born for my sake, that he washed away my sins through baptism, and that he sanctified me etc. is far too high and heavy for the flesh. Here the flesh does not do otherwise than as if it were asleep, slumbering away, what? and is much too lazy for things. What can a slumbering or sleeping person hear? If he hears it already, he barely hears it with half his ears, it does not enter his mind, and it is the same to him as if he had had a dream. Therefore, so that this may be believed, the true disciple, the Holy Spirit, belongs to it, who wakes us up from sleep, makes us awake and kindles such faith in our hearts; for then we hear the voice of the Father, who says: "This is my dear Son" etc. After that I also let go of everything, caps and plates, indulgences and other imaginary works. But I must first believe that Christ was born and baptized for my good, washed away my sins by baptism, yes, by his blood. This then is a right faith, which also receives all things as it believes. Otherwise, if he does not believe it yet, he is like a slumberer and a drunkard who knows nothing.
The pope knows very well that our doctrine is the pure right doctrine, according to the gospel; but he slumbers with his eyes, and says: I do not know how! Methinks etc.; do as Isaias Cap. 6, 10. saith, "The people slumber with their eyes." Acts 28, 27. So also the pope: his eyes and ears slumber. For though he sees and hears that it is right, yet he acts as if he did not hear or see it, indeed, he does not want to see or hear it. But we, who are Christians, and have the Holy Spirit in us, who awakens us and makes us lively, do not say:
Methinks it is thus etc.; but a Christian saith, I know assuredly and truly that it is so, that Christ was born for my sake, and for my good, and became man, and washed me from sins by baptism: therefore I hold my baptism dear, for it is not mine only, but Christ's baptism, and Christ's baptism mine. If then it helps Christ and washes him from sins and makes him completely clean, it also helps me and makes me clean from sins. But if it were holy water, it would not help at all.
(26) Therefore we should hold this text and the glorious history and revelation of Christ's baptism in high esteem and value, and never let it pass from our eyes, much less from our hearts: that heaven opens and the Father's voice is heard, the Son of God stands in the water, and the Holy Spirit descends in the form of a dove, and the dear angels are frequently present. This happens not only here at the baptism of Christ and the person, but also at the baptism of all Christians. Nor should we think that soon after this baptism heaven has closed up again. No, it is not closed again, but is still open daily until the last day; but at that time it was clearly open, so that we should believe and be sure that this still happens daily when we and others are baptized. Even though we do not see it with our physical eyes, which are far too dull and dark for that, we still hear the words: I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Do you think these are small words? Though they are plainly spoken, yet they bring so much with them, that all things are done which were done at the baptism of Christ. There are all three persons of divine majesty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; there are also the hosts of the dear angels, hearing and seeing what takes place. For we are baptized into no other baptism; neither do we baptize otherwise than into the baptism of Christ. Now if it be One baptism, these things are all with it. And though I see it not, yet shall I believe it, that it is heartily pleasing unto the Father; that
the Holy Spirit is also there, listen, and also the Son of God and the dear angels. So beautifully and gloriously is our baptism also adorned, honored and decorated. John saw and heard this once; but we hear it daily, until the last day forever: as in the Jordan, so let the Holy Spirit always be with us and with it, who also makes that we accept and believe such things. So it is also better for us to see and believe with spiritual eyes; then all these things will happen to us. Therefore, let us be diligent to study and keep the text, and to exercise our faith in it, and not to think that once it has happened, it will happen no more, but to be sure that it will happen all the days until the last day.
27 Thus we celebrate this feast not only for the sake of the wise men who came from the east and worshipped the infant Jesus, but primarily and most of all for the sake of this high revelation of divine majesty. For God the Father is heard, the Holy Spirit is seen in the form of a dove, and the Son of God, Jesus Christ, stands in the water. This still happens without interruption in the whole world where Christians are. Blessed are those who believe this. Oh, how wretched are those who do not accept nor believe this, seeking other baptisms, as the Turk, the Pope, the monks and the Jews do, as heard above.
28. In Christ's baptism, yes, in our baptism, since we are baptized in Christ, we have forgiveness of sins without ceasing, so that when you fall and sin out of weakness (as unfortunately happens often and very much without ceasing), that you then run and crawl to the baptism in which all your sins are forgiven and washed away, get comfort, straighten up again, and believe that in baptism you are washed away not from one sin but from all sins. For as the one baptized, Jesus Christ, does not die, but lives and abides forever; so also the forgiveness of sins is eternal, which he has acquired and given to you. Therefore baptism is a glorious bath that washes away sins. But what it does not wash away, what still remains in us, that is forgiven. Therefore, what baptism does not cleanse, the forgiveness of sins still makes.
sins, which is given to us through baptism. The pope knows nothing about this, but thinks that baptism is a transient thing. Therefore he invents many works, by which the remaining sin must be washed away and taken away. No, not so; but though I stumble and fall in sins, yet shall I return, and crawl to the cross, and fetch and take my vesture, which was put on me pure and white in baptism, because all my sins, though not wholly washed away, yet are they all forgiven me, so that the forgiveness nevertheless is wholly pure; there I hold fast.
For this is how our dear God and Father in heaven sees through the fingers, and even though he sees my sins, he will not see them and impute them to me, because they are all washed away and forgiven in baptism. As this is also beautifully illustrated in the gospel of the Samaritan, who took care of the poor man who had fallen among the murderers, bandaged his wounds, poured oil and wine into him and laid him on his animal. Luc. 10, 30. ff. The poor man is accepted and laid on the Samaritan's animal and led to the inn: although the wounds alone are bandaged and not yet healed, nevertheless, nothing is left behind; he is laid on the animal, accepted and in grace. So also we are completely accepted by God and washed from all sins through baptism, so that even though something remains, it is still forgiven and left clean; and we are swept and cleansed daily, until one day we will be completely clean.
(30) Now this is our dear holy baptism, that we know and believe that we have a gracious God and Father over us, who loved and accepted us in his dear Son, who also gave us his only Son, washed us from sins through his baptism, and prepared for us such an eternal bath, in which we are cleansed and washed from sins daily. Let this sermon now penetrate and ring through our ears into our hearts without ceasing. For this alone is our consolation, which we have, and to which we must cleave, and never-
Let us go no more. Even though crosses and temptations from the evil devil and the wicked world follow, this does not have to harm or hinder us; indeed, it helps us to believe it more firmly and to be cleansed by it daily until we become pure.
31 This then is the excellent preaching, when we hear God the Father Himself preaching of His dear Son, our dear Lord Jesus Christ; so the right disciple, the Holy Spirit, is there, writing the sermon, but not into the book, but into the heart; as Paul says in 2 Cor. 3:3, "Ye are our epistle, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God." Therefore
We should also thank God for this great grace, call upon Him and ask Him to write it in our hearts through the right and highest disciple who heard and accepted it, namely the Holy Spirit, so that we may accept it, believe it and rejoice and be comforted by it for eternity, amen. Well, since it is cold, I will leave it here; otherwise you have good and faithful preachers from whom you hear these things daily. Just see to it that, since God has given and provided you with such, you also keep them and, as Paul says, hold them dear and valuable. May God grant us His divine grace, amen.