Luc. 24:36-48.
While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them: Peace be with you! And they were afraid, and thought that they saw a spirit. And he said unto them: Why are ye thus terrified? and why do such thoughts come into your hearts? Behold my hands, and my feet, it is I myself: feel me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see that I have. And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And when they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he saith unto them: Have you anything to eat here? And they set before him a piece of broiled fish, and honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them. And he said unto them: These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you: for all things must be fulfilled which are written of me in the law of Moses, in the prophets, and in the psalms. Then he opened their understanding, so that they understood the Scriptures. And he said unto them: Thus it is written, and thus Christ must suffer, and rise from the dead the third day, and preach repentance and remission of sins in his name among all nations, and begin at Jerusalem. But you are all witnesses of this.
(1) This history also took place on the day of Easter, just then, when the two disciples came again from Emmaus to Jerusalem, and announced to the disciples what they had encountered and how they had seen the Lord; and is precisely the history which will be preached on the coming Sunday from John; without this being reported there by Thoma in particular, and the history which followed about eight days later also being appended. Now, one could probably make many pieces out of it, since it is a rich material; but since we have done the article on the resurrection, we will leave it at these two pieces, which are the most distinguished.
2) The first, that the disciples, when the Lord comes to them unexpectedly through closed doors, are frightened by him, and think that it is a ghost. From these words we have that it is not new to see spirits. For he himself, the Lord, does not deny it, as if the spirits should not let themselves be seen.
He confirms this by making a distinction between the spirits and himself. For thus he says: "Why are you frightened and think like this? Behold my hands and my feet. A spirit has neither flesh nor bone.
This is useful and necessary, so that it is known that we are not alone, as if the devil were over a hundred miles away from us. He is all around us, and sometimes puts on a larva; as I myself have seen that he lets himself be seen as if he were a sow, a burning straw mop, and the like. This must be known, for it serves us not to make superstition out of it, and not to take such spirits for human souls; as has happened hitherto, and the papal mass has been greatly promoted and exalted by it. For everyone thought that if the devil thus let himself be seen and heard, they were human souls; as one has good testimonies of this, not only from the pope's Scribes.
The first part of the book is not only about the devil, but also about Gregory and other old teachers, who did not consider it to be a ghost of the devil, but rather about believing souls. Unfortunately, we know only too much about the horrible error and idolatry that followed from this.
For with it one has received purgatory. Through purgatory, one then received the merit of one's own and other good works, as if these were to benefit the deceased. But how by such false teaching the death and resurrection of Christ was diminished and honored as the work of men, is easy to see. Thirdly, the abominable abomination of the mass followed from this, by which the sacrifice of Christ was completely obscured and the Lord's supper was turned into an abominable abuse, as if it were to be enjoyed by the dead and not by the living. Such misery all arose from the superstition that where the devil put on a mask and let himself be seen now in one place and now in another, everyone believed that it was not the devil but a human soul. Otherwise, if it had been thought to be the devil, it would have been believed slowly, because it is known that he is a murderer and a liar. For this reason Christ did not want his testimony even then, when he spoke the truth; as can be seen in Marc. 1, 25. and in other places, when Christ forbids him to speak, and does not want his testimony, even though he spoke the truth.
5 It is therefore necessary that we know and believe that it is true that the devil sometimes lets himself be seen, now one way, now another. As the dear holy angels also do. For we always walk and stand between angels and devils. The devils watch and seek how they may choke us, tempt us, and do us harm; but the good angels are around us, if we are pious and God-fearing, so that they may protect us from harm and keep us safe. This serves to teach us to fear God and to bless ourselves more diligently every day, and to call upon God more earnestly for protection against the evil spirits, so that they may not harm us, poison us with pestilence or otherwise, or cause us other misery.
(6) Whoever desires to be safe from such things, the best and most certain thing is to live in the fear of God, to pray diligently, to speak much and gladly of God's word. This is the right cross, so that we may bless ourselves and protect ourselves against the enemy. For he cannot stay there, where God's word is in his heart, he must troll himself. In the church he does not remain now either. For thus says Christ, "Where two or three are in my name, there will I be in the midst of them." But where Christ is, the devil will not be able to stay long. This is certainly true. Therefore, we should gladly hear God's word, remember it often and often, and gladly speak of it. But whoever tells lies, after-talks, lives in sins and an evil conscience, the evil enemy will not tarry long, but Christ and His angels will depart from it. Therefore let no one deny that the devil does not let himself be seen, that he does not frighten or deceive people or harm them secretly. But when he does this, learn and make the holy cross, not only with your hand before you, but seek to have it in your heart, to comfort yourself with God's word and to pray. And let him paw and bang at it as long as he pleases; you shall remain safe from him. Only tell him confidently in your heart, and say, Thou art a devil, and remainest a devil; but I am a Christian, and have a stronger Lord over me than thou art: therefore let me alone.
(7) It has often happened to me that he has caused a disturbance in my house and has wanted to frighten me. But I took my profession before me and said: I know that God has placed me in this house, that I should be master inside. If you have a stronger profession than I have, and if you are master here, stay there. But I know that you belong in another place, namely, in the abyss of hell. So I fell asleep again and let him be angry, for I knew well that he could not do anything to me. Now this is the first part that we cannot omit, since the disciples and the Lord himself speak of spirits that are evil spirits and therefore appear to frighten and make people afraid.
The other part is that Christ says: "Thus it is written, and thus Christ had to suffer, and to rise from the dead on the third day, and to preach repentance and remission of sins in his name among all nations, and to begin at Jerusalem.
(9) At Jerusalem, saith he, let this preaching begin, and afterward let it go forth into all the world, that Christ must die, and rise again from the dead. For what purpose? To preach repentance and forgiveness of sins in his name, and in no other name. So that no penance, no indulgence is valid, neither in St. Peter's nor St. Paul's, much less in my name, that I would become a monk, do this or that work to earn forgiveness of sins with it; but it is said: In his name one should preach the indulgence that he has earned through his suffering and resurrection. Therefore, whoever desires forgiveness of sins should believe that Christ suffered for him and rose again from death. This should be the right sermon.
(10) But that it may be known that such a sermon cannot soon be grasped and learned once it is heard, therefore the evangelist diligently adds these words, saying, "He," the Lord Christ, "opened their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures. Such things belong to it; otherwise the people go in and out of the sermon like cows. There is no understanding there, nor can there be any, unless Christ is there first and opens the understanding.
(11) Now what is the meaning of the Lord's putting repentance and remission of sins together, and saying in plain words, Let such preaching begin at Jerusalem? This is a very annoying command to start preaching repentance and forgiveness of sins in Jerusalem, where the greatest saints, the Levites, the chief priests and the people of God were. Surely everyone would think that there was no need for such preaching of repentance and forgiveness of sins.
012 But the Lord will say this much, Ye Levites and Jews, ye shall be first, and repentance shall be preached unto you, that ye may amend yourselves, or ye shall never be forgiven of sins.
come. For preaching repentance means nothing else than punishing sin and teaching that it is impossible to be saved, so we convert and believe in Christ that God will be merciful to us for his sake.
The Lord wants such a sermon of repentance to go throughout the world. For this reason no man can excuse himself; we must all accuse ourselves of being sinners and give ourselves up. What else would it be to preach repentance to us? Yes, he wants such preaching to begin at Jerusalem, among the people of God and in the most holy place; that the Pharisees should be told to mend their ways. For they do worse than harlots and knaves, since they still consider themselves pious and holy, as if they had no need of such preaching of repentance.
14 In sum, Christ condemns the whole world by this command, and reproves them all sinners; and if we desire otherwise to be sanctified, he wills that every man fall on his knees, lift up his hands, and submit: Lord, I am a sinner; I am in need of correction, but I cannot; therefore, Lord, have mercy on me and help me.
(15) When this happens, that we despair of all our life and deeds, then comes the other part, which is called the forgiveness of sins. This is what the Lord wants to be preached. That it is therefore primarily a matter of recognizing that we are sinners and then asking for mercy. For in this building, where one wants to make a Christian, this must always be the first stone, that one recognizes sin. For otherwise one will not be able to rejoice or be comforted in forgiveness. So the Lord wants to show both here, that all the world is under sin, and that through Christ alone it becomes righteous and holy.
Reason has its own special judgment. One man makes himself believe that he is pious by fasting and praying much; another by giving much alms, and so on. But the gospel makes all these things sins and says, "Repent. Then the quarrel arises. The pope does not want to be a sinner, nor does a monk in a monastery; and we ourselves would also like to live in such a way that we could not be accused of anything. But there is no end to it.
Now, what shall we do to him? Shall we therefore despair? For we are sinners, and know that God is hostile to sin. No, but because forgiveness of sins is commanded to be preached beside repentance: that forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in the name of Christ to all who hear and believe; accept this and be comforted; say, Lord, I am a sinner; but spare me for thy Son's sake. I will live by the mere grace offered me in the name of thy Son. So do thou right unto him, and thou shalt be saved. For there is a promise that all who accept the gospel will have their sins forgiven and remitted. For one shall ever preach forgiveness of sins in the name of Christ. But where Christ is not, there can be no remission of sins.
(18) Therefore the indulgence of the pope is a lie and a fraud, which he sells in the name and merit of the dead saints. For here it is written: In my name it shall be preached, who died for you, and rose again from the dead; otherwise no man died for you.
19 The pope calls this preaching heresy, as you know, and blasphemes us for forbidding good works. But how shall we do to him? We have not invented these words ourselves, nor have we made them, that repentance should be preached to all nations in the name of Jesus. But what need would there be to preach repentance if we had or could do good works? The righteous do not need repentance preached to them, but sinners do. But now such a command goes over the whole world, that repentance should be preached in all the world. It follows that in the whole world there is nothing but sinners and sin, and no good works. Why else would one need repentance and forgiveness of sins?
020 But blind men will not hear, and always blaspheme that good works are forbidden. Therefore it is necessary for God to open our minds, so that we may say: Lord, have mercy on me, I am a poor sinner; but I take comfort in your grace, that you have commanded forgiveness of sins to be preached in your name. He who thus recognizes himself praises God, and gives
praise him for being true in his word, which accuses us all of being sinners and exhorts us to repentance. On the other hand, he also praises God by believing in the forgiveness of sins through the name of Christ. On the other hand, the impenitent and unbelieving blaspheme God, and will finally receive their punishment because of it.
(21) So let our faith be before God, and let Christian conduct follow faith, that we may do good to others, gladly help, be obedient, and wait each one for his profession; thus we shall become righteous saints, holy before God by faith, and afterwards, for the sake of life, also blameless before men. Otherwise, if a person is not first pure and holy by faith, how can he be called to do good works, because the source of the works is evil and impure? For the heart first of all does not believe that God is true, who is called to preach repentance in all the world; and because you do not want to consider yourself a sinner, it follows that you will not desire nor seek forgiveness of sins.
(22) Those who recognize themselves as sinners and hope that God will forgive such sins through Christ are the true Christians, with whom repentance and forgiveness of sins are found. About such teaching we are called heretics and condemned. But we should thank God that we can come to grace, recognize ourselves as sinners, and be comforted by the grace of God; and after that, in such faith, do righteous good works, which therefore proceed in repentance and faith. For where such preaching and teaching is, there Christ will be also; there no devil shall come, yea, neither shall we any more fear the devil, nor death, nor be afraid of him. For there is forgiveness of sins and a joyful, peaceful heart, which gladly does all that it should.
(23) But the rest, who believe not, do no good work. And even if the work itself is not evil, the heart is. These are displeasing and unkind works, since God cannot have any pleasure in them. But the heart does not become pure, because only through faith in Christ do we recognize ourselves as sinners, but through him
Hope forgiveness of sins by pure grace.
(24) From this it follows that a Christian is both a sinner and a saint; he is both wicked and pious. For in our own persons we are in sins, and in our own names we are sinners. But Christ brings us another name, in whom is forgiveness of sins, that for his sake our sins are forgiven and given to us. So it is both true: sins are there; for the old Adam has not yet even died: and yet they are not there; because God does not want to see them for Christ's sake. They are before my eyes, I see and feel them well. But there is Christ, who tells me to repent, that is, to confess myself as a sinner, and then to believe in forgiveness of sins in his name.
(25) For repentance, contrition, and knowledge of sin, though it may be present, is not sufficient; it must come to pass that one believes in the name of Christ for the remission of sins. But where there is such faith, God no longer sees sin. For you stand before God not in your own name, but in Christ's name, who adorns you with grace and righteousness, even though you are a poor sinner in your own eyes and person, and are full of weakness and unbelief. But this should not frighten you to death, for how else would you be able to hear this sermon on repentance? Therefore say, O Lord, I am a poor sinner: but thou sayest it shall not be so with me: for thou hast ever commanded to preach also forgiveness of sins in thy name etc.
26 Now this is the right article that makes a Christian. For even if you want to fast to death and make yourself a beggar by giving alms, this will not help you, you will not become a Christian with it, you will not go to heaven with it, you will not make God gracious to you with it. For here it is: In my name, says Christ, repentance is to be preached, so that people are frightened, and forgiveness of sins, so that they are comforted again. So that our Lord Christ alone may be the robe of grace that is put on us, so that God our Father may not
We ask you to consider us sinners, but to accept us as righteous, holy, pious children and to give us eternal life.
27 This doctrine, you know, before this time, before the coming of the gospel, was very secret in the world and known to few people. It was said that one should preach forgiveness of sins in the name of Christ; but all life and teaching went against this, that whoever wanted to be saved should accomplish this with good works, and pay for his sin himself or do enough. That is, to put away sin in his own name. But this is vain and wrong. For it is the name of Christ alone in which one should preach forgiveness of sins. Monk's name, nun's name, pope's name, fasting name, alms name, yes. St. Peter and Paul, the name of the Virgin Mary should not do it.
28 We can see here what poor people are still in the papacy and how miserably they are deceived. When they go to confession and let themselves think they are the most pious, and believe that they will be absolved of all their sins after confession, such release or absolution is not only in the name of Christ, as it should be, but in the name of the Mother of God, the holy apostles and all the saints. But what kind of absolution is this? It is an abomination, since one should flee from it as from the devil; so one still wants to force and drive people to it as to the highest service of God. But whoever wants to obey the command of Christ, he hears here, forgiveness of sins is to be preached in the name of Christ JEsu alone. Cause, because he alone died for us. None of the other saints died for your sin; what do you need their name for the forgiveness of your sins?
29 This is the teaching of today's gospel, that those who confess their sins, and know that they are sinners, shall have forgiveness of sins in the name of Christ. This seems to be an easy art, how to come to forgiveness of sins. For one must not carry stones, build churches, say mass, but only hear the word of God, give glory to God,
if he lets us preach repentance, that he is true and that we are poor sinners; and then learn to build on God's grace, and to look to the name of Jesus, in which forgiveness of sins is preached. Whoever believes this cannot be harmed by sin, for he has Christ and his name and is righteous. Not because he has not sinned, but because sin is forgiven through Christ, and we are counted holy and righteous by grace because of Christ. As we pray and confess in our faith: I believe indulgence or forgiveness of sins. For such grace we should thank God that we have come to the kingdom of Christ and His Word, which is a kingdom of grace, in which all sins are forgiven through the name of Jesus.
30. and shall yes this teaching actually and
This is to be distinguished from the other doctrine, which teaches about good works. Not because those who desire to be saved should not do good works, as the papists wrongly interpret it, for such obedience is laid down for us long before in the law, but because such good works cannot serve to forgive sins. For Peter and Paul and all the saints, however pious they may be with their lives, it does not help them in the sight of God, who does not want to be paid by works alone; he wants to have a pure heart. But this helps all Christians, that they believe in Christ and hope for forgiveness of sins and eternal life through his death. So that both must be: good works must be done, and yet forgiveness of sins must be believed in the name of Christ alone. May our dear Lord Christ grant us this, amen.
On the first Sunday after Easter, Quasimodogeniti. *)
John 20:10-31.
Now in the evening of the same Sabbath, when the disciples were gathered together, and the doors were shut, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and saith unto them: Peace be unto you! *And when he had said this, he shewed them his hands, and his side. Then the disciples were glad to see the Lord. Then said Jesus unto them again: Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, so I send you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said unto them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Gemini, was not with them when Jesus came. Then said the other disciples unto him, We have seen the Lord. And he said unto them: Unless I see in his hands the marks of the nails, and put my finger into the marks of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will see him. I will not believe it. And again his disciples were there eight days, and Thomas with them. When Jesus came, and the doors were shut, he entered into the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he unto Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and put it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord, and my God. saith Jesus unto him, Because thou hast seen me, Thomas, thou hast believed. Blessed are they that see not, and yet believe. Jesus also did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life in his name.
1. this history your love has heard in the next sermon, that it happened on Easter day, after the disciples of Emmaus
Held publicly in 1533.
came again to Jerusalem, and told the others how they had seen the Lord. Now John has the way before other evangelists, that he not only tells the history, but also the sermon of Christ.
and adds words that are most important and most needed. So he reports the words here, since one does not find anything in the other evangelists, like the Lord at that time, after he wished peace to his disciples and showed hands and feet, he said to them:
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.
2 These are excellent words with which he commands them to preach, and brings the passion and resurrection of Christ into its proper use and practice. For if, apart from the ministry of preaching, history or history alone had remained, history would have been of no use to us at all. As can be seen in the priesthood, history is right and good there, as we have it; but because it is not conducted in the preaching office, as Christ commands here, it remains without any fruit, just as if it were a story by Dieterich of Bern, which one hears and teaches; but one has nothing more from it than knowledge. Therefore it is up to him to bring the story of the passion and resurrection of Christ into its proper use.
3 But this is done in the way that the Lord preaches here, saying: "I send you as my Father has sent me. How the Father sent Christ is taught long before by St. Isaiah, in chapter 61, v. 1, 2: "The Spirit of the Lord is with me; therefore the Lord hath anointed me. He has sent me to preach to the wretched, to bind up the brokenhearted, to preach a release to the captives, an opening to the bound, to preach a pleasant year of the Lord" etc. This is the command, since Christ is sent with. And here he says that he also sends his disciples in the same way as he was sent, and commands them again until the end of the world such ministry as he led, that they should preach just as he preached. So this command and sending here is only about the teaching, that the disciples are to lead the same from Christ, just as he led them in the world.
(4) What then is this doctrine, Isaiah says in fine, glorious, clear words, that Christ is anointed and sent for it,
That he may comfort the affrighted, the foolish, the desponding heart. Which sermon then goes differently, that is not the right sermon of Christ; Christ certainly did not command it, but it is a sermon of Moses. For Moses preaches in such a way that the frightened, stupid hearts become even more frightened and despondent. But this sermon is called Christ's sermon, by which the miserable are comforted. For Christ came with a new command, so that the works he did were new works, such as had never been done before in the world, that the Son of God suffered and rose again from the dead. Just as Isaiah prophesies about the teachings of Christ, so we also hear here about Christ. For thus are the words of the evangelist and his words:
And he breathed on his disciples, and said unto them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven them; but whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
(5) This is the right spiritual government, which is to be distinguished from the temporal government as far as heaven and earth are from each other. Now those who are in this spiritual government are right kings, right princes, right lords, and have to rule. But here see and learn how such rule is limited and how far it goes. Namely, as the words clearly state, as far as the world is; and yet shall have nothing to do with anything else but sins. It shall not deal with money, nor with goods, nor with food, nor with all that pertains to food. This is what secular emperors and kings, princes and lords are to do with, ordering and doing everything as is best for the common good and peace. But this spiritual regiment is based solely on sins. Where sin is concerned, this government should also be concerned, and not otherwise.
(6) For we must beware lest we mix them together, as the pope and his bishops have done, who have so used the spiritual government that they have also become temporal lords, and emperors and kings must bow down to them. Christ did not command his disciples to do this.
He did not send them out for worldly rule, but commanded them to preach and to rule over sin. That therefore the ministry of preaching is its own definition, that one should preach the gospel of Christ, and forgive sin to the broken and fearful consciences, but retain sin and bind the impenitent and secure.
(7) Such binding the pope has also miserably perverted and led far from that which is called "binding" in the Magisterium; for he has interpreted it as if he could make law and order not only in the church, but also in the secular government, as it seemed good to him. But the opinion does not have it at all. I, as a preacher and messenger of Christ, am not to teach you about housekeeping, agriculture, food and other things, for God has given you your reason for such things. But if you are not able to handle many things properly, then you may need worldly people who can advise you. But my command and rule is based only on sin, that I teach you how you should have been eternally lost because of your sins, if Christ had not paid for them and done enough.
(8) Therefore, the whole point of this doctrine is to know what sin really is; that sin is not money, nor goods, nor kingdom, nor food, nor bread, nor wine, nor any other such thing; but it is a burden that weighs down your heart and conscience before God, that you must fear His wrath and await eternal damnation. For we are speaking here of true, right sins, which God considers sin and worthy of eternal death; not of Mr. Simoni's sins, since the jugglers handle pabst and bishop, that one does not juice or eat meat on a forbidden day, that a monk goes without a Scheppler, a nun without a Weihel (veil). Such are papal sins, which are sins before the pope and his consecrators, who have devised them; but before God they are not sins, and condemn no one, for God has nowhere forbidden such things. But here we speak of sins, which are real and true sins, which no man has devised, but
in which we are born and live, which are against God's commandment, and against which God's commandment testifies, and not only man's commandment. With such sins, says the Lord here, the apostles are to deal, that they may forgive, or bind and keep. They are not to deal with money and goods and worldly affairs. That therefore in an apostle's or preacher's mouth there is heaven and hell at the same time: if thou wilt be impenitent, sure and wicked, that they may cast thee down to hell; again, if thou knowest thy sin, and comfortest thyself of the passion and resurrection of Christ, heaven shall be open unto thee, and such a sentence shall be pronounced upon thee by the minister of the church, as the devil himself must fear, and count thee free from all sin, if thou accept it with right faith.
(9) Now this is such authority, against which emperors and kings are nothing, that an apostle, even every disciple of Christ, may pronounce a sentence on the whole world, that sin shall be done away. And such judgment shall be as mighty and sure as if Christ himself had spoken it; as his words here testify, "As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you."
(10) Now this is one thing, that sin is not to be called a worldly thing, but a fear and burden of the conscience, which bewails and makes us guilty before God. This also serves to prevent us from committing the foolish sins of which I have spoken above. For if you wanted to be released from the same foolish and lying sins, it would follow that you would then also have to turn to foolish and lying righteousness. Therefore, notice this definition well, that sin means that which exposes God's law to us and accuses us of it. If it is not such a sin, then it is not a real sin, but an imagined and made-up papal sin, since God knows nothing about it and harms us nothing.
011 But now it is seen that there are many of them in right, great, public sins, such as avarice, adultery, thievery, usury, wrath, envy, gluttony, blasphemy, and the like; and yet they care nothing for them, go on always, and leave roses.
wear. There is no lack of sin, but the fact that one does not recognize it and does not want to let go of it. Such sin cannot be forgiven, but binding belongs to it, and the other force, since Christ says here about: "Whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
(12) Therefore a certain distinction is to be made here, and the proper sins are to be divided in this way: that some sins are sins both before us and before God; but some are sins only before God, and not before us; for we do not want to recognize them, nor to be concerned about them, nor to ask forgiveness. So David says: Tibi peccavi: "Lord, I have sinned against you and done evil in your sight. There it is both together, that David sees that he has done wrong, and knows that it displeases God. As if he wanted to say, "I recognize and feel sin, not only by remembering it, but also by seeing and feeling the power of sin, what it is capable of, that it is an evil devil and a terrible burden that wants to accuse me before God, drag me into hell and eternal death. As Paul also speaks to the Romans in chapter 7, v. 8, 9: "Without the law sin was dead, but I lived without the law." This means that sin is always in us, but because the law does not come, sin is as if it were asleep, for it does not hurt, it does not bite or gnaw. Hence it is that you go and gather one over another; otherwise you would fear God and become more godly.
(13) But when the thunderbolt, the law, comes into the heart and stirs the conscience, then sin comes to life in a moment, so that you see what a mighty thing it is, that it takes away God from you, gives you over to the devil and pushes you into hell. Therefore Paul says: "When the commandment came, sin came to life again. But I died, and it came to pass that the commandment was unto death, which was given unto me for life," v. 9, 10.
014 Now this is the true sin, which is sin before God and me. So also David, when he sinned with Bathsheba, went and cared little for it, because
Sin was asleep and still dead. But when Nathan came and struck thunder into his heart, "You are the man," sin began to live in David's heart. He began to die. But Nathan comforted him, saying, "Nay, thou shalt not die."
(15) This is called the apostles' rule, a rule which is not over life and limb, money and goods, and what belongs to this life, but over real sin, which you and God consider to be sin. That therefore all the sins of the world are subject to the apostles and all church servants, and in case of need to all Christians; that you can be sure in your heart when you hear from your pastor, or if you cannot have him, from another Christian, that in the name of Christ your sins shall be forgiven you, that it is certainly true, and can just as easily be lacking as if Christ himself had promised you, or had had you promised by an angel from heaven.
(16) But such a command and power shall not serve the apostles and ministers of the church for hope or glory, for they have nothing of it: but they shall serve thee thereby, that thou mayest be delivered from the enemy, who is too strong for thee, and shall hold thee captive for ever without this consolation. Therefore it is a great and glorious power that a poor man, who is himself a wretched sinner, may presume to drive out the enemy, to whom otherwise all the world must give way. For thus saith Christ, "Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them"; item, "Whatsoever ye shall loose on earth, the same shall be loosed in heaven." Because now the words are clear: "As my Father sends me, so I send you," so let no one ever doubt that as he hears forgiveness of his sin, so he shall surely have it. But where sin is gone, the devil's power is gone; he must depart.
(17) This is also the reason why your love is often exhorted, because Christ has given such glorious power to his church that you should use it and by no means despise it. For this is why the Lord Christ instituted this ministry, so that all sins may be forgiven, provided they are true sins and are recognized and believed in the words of the Lord Christ. For the other foolish
Sins of man do not belong here; they must be sins that stir the heart and make it anxious.
(18) As Adam also preacheth unto his son Cain, in the first book of Mosiah, saying, "Is it not so? if thou be godly, thou art pleasant; but if thou be not godly, sin resteth at the door." That is, you are standing there now, and you are a sinner; but you do not yet feel it: sin sleeps, but in a very uneasy place. Therefore watch, if it wakes you up once, it will be much different with you. For it sleeps not because it wants to sleep always; but it is to make out, that is, to give you a conscience, to frighten and gnaw you, so that you do not know where to go in or out.
(19) Those, then, who do not accept their sins, have true sin, but not forgivable sin. Therefore their sins are kept and bound for them; for they do not desire to be forgiven, or they would cease from them.
20 In the papacy they preached thus: Whoever desires forgiveness of sins, he should consider his sin and make a repentance or sorrow for himself. The forgiveness of sins was then based on such repentance. Now it can happen that such a way is taken from the example of the ancients, who, just like us, do not want to absolve anyone, saying that he confesses to be a sinner and that it is seen that he is sorry for his sin. This is right and should be so. But to say that such sorrow and repentance deserve that sin should be forgiven is wrong and unjust. For repentance is not merit, but it is sin itself and the regiment of sins. There is no need to build forgiveness of sins and grace on it.
(21) For before such repentance comes, sins are not taken care of. For although sin is there, it is only a sleeping and dead sin, as Adam says of Cain. But when sin comes to life, and no longer sleeps, but attacks and terrifies the heart and conscience, this can never be called a meritorious work, but, as Paul calls it, it is the
real living sin. But who will say that sin can deserve mercy?
(22) Therefore the people of the papacy have been miserably deceived and seduced, that they have been absolved on such repentance as on merit and good works. As in all Pabst's bulls the words are: contritis et confessis, those who have repented and confessed shall have forgiveness of sins. For repentance, if it is right, is nothing else than the kingdom and rule of sins, which can never earn anything. Therefore one has forgiveness of sins, if one believes the command of Christ here, and accepts the word, which is proclaimed to us out of such command and in his name, with hearty trust. Although it is necessary for those who sincerely desire forgiveness of sins to be sorry for their sins, such sorrow and repentance deserve nothing. Indeed, if God did not restore consciences through the comfort of the Gospel, such repentance and sorrow would even tear us away from faith and make us full of fear.
(23) That is, to awaken sin, to make it greater and stronger, and to make it do what sin is supposed to do, so that the longer it goes on, the more it grows, and one sin is added to another. Just as when a thief has stolen and is hanged by the hangman, it does not stop there; other sins add to the stealing, so that one becomes hostile to judgment and justice, to the authorities and to God Himself. Paul speaks of this in Romans 7 with a fine word, and says, v. 13: "Sin becomes exceedingly sinful through the commandment," that is, it then becomes a real sin. Where sin has its effect, and from one sin the world becomes full of sin, so that there is no rest or resting place, this is what they called repentance and sorrow.
(24) When this is right in the heart, then Christ comes and says, "You are full of sins, and the longer you think of falling from me, the more you think of falling from me: should I forgive your sins for this? Oh no. There must be such repentance and sorrow. For otherwise thou canst not be at enmity with sin from the heart, neither wilt thou ever desire from the heart that it should be forgiven thee. But this is
the right way, that you may find yourself where my word is, and hear it, and receive it with faith; and thereby you shall be delivered from sins.
(25) In this way they did not preach in the papacy, but sent the people to St. James, to Rome and to other places, and after that to their own repentance and satisfaction. But they did not say the least thing about the word and command of Christ. But here it is: "Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. Therefore we should not seek forgiveness of sins anywhere else, but only in the words of the Lord Christ. But whoever looks elsewhere, as happened in the papacy, will not find it. For what has it helped that we have toiled so hard with fasting, singing, praying, watching, reading the Mass, and other things, so that we might come to the forgiveness of sins? If my works, repentance and confession can do it, what need is there of Christ's word? And what need is there for him to give the command here? So let us be Turks and Jews, who also believe that they want to be saved, even if they do not have Christ. But the pope is worse than Turks and Jews, since he still misuses the name of Christ for such error.
(26) Therefore, let us be careful to remember that Christ's forgiveness of sins is found here in his word, and not in pilgrimages, masses, almsgiving, or other works, call them what you will. If anyone then desires forgiveness of sins, let him go to his parish priest or to the nearest Christian, where he knows and finds God's word; there he shall certainly find forgiveness of sins. For it is decided that we cannot overcome sin by any work, but everything we can do, even if we torture ourselves to death, is in vain and futile. As we have learned in the papacy: Whoever had a bad conscience and therefore entered a monastery or did other works to help him and make him happy, had to confess that neither orders, prayers, fasting nor other torture could have remedied such suffering.
27 What is the cause? Nothing else, except what is written here: that sins may be retained, or forgiven, by the word. Therefore, whosoever cometh not into this word, where there is remission of sins within, must come into the other, whereby sins are retained; for there is no other way nor means of remission of sins, but by the word. Therefore, do what you will, but those who do not go to the Word and try to help themselves with their own works will keep their sins. For our Lord God did not put the forgiveness of sins in any work that we do, but in the one work that Christ suffered and rose again. But the same work he hath put in the apostles' and his ministers' mouths by the word, yea, in the mouths of all Christians in time of need, that they should shew forth the forgiveness of sins, and preach it to all them that desire it.
028 If then thou wilt seek forgiveness of sins, thou shalt surely find it. For the command is there to forgive sins. But if thou wilt not get it there, thy sins shall be retained, and thou shalt do what thou wilt. For, as has often been said, apart from the word there is no forgiveness of sins. Christ put the same word into the mouths of his apostles, and indeed of all Christians. If anyone will not take it from this and believe the word, let him do and do what he will, and his sins shall be retained for him. For there is a strong command that the Lord take away the forgiveness of sins out of all the world and all works, and put it into the word, and there it shall be found.
Now this is not to be understood of absolution alone, that one may be absolved from sins; but as reported in the beginning, the Lord here summarizes the whole ministry of preaching or church office with this command, that forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed and distributed in preaching and in the holy sacraments. For this is why the gospel is preached, so that people may recognize their sin and become pious and righteous. Baptism is preached for this reason, so that our sins may be forgiven through the death of Christ. Item, the Lord therefore institutes his supper, that we may
believe that his body was given for us and his blood was shed for our sins, and so not to doubt the forgiveness of sins. So that faith may be established that you and I are forgiven of our sins, Christ has decreed that not one should be baptized or go to the sacrament for another, but that each one should do it for himself. So also let each one hear the word for himself, and seek and desire absolution. And let him not doubt when he hears the word of forgiveness of sins in the name of Jesus, so that his sins may be taken away from him and he may be delivered from them in heaven and in the sight of God.
(30) Thus the word and the sacraments are not to be separated. For Christ also put the sacraments into the word. And if it were without the word, one could not take comfort in the sacraments; indeed, one could not know what the sacraments were. Therefore it is not only a great blindness and error, but also a terrible pity that the papists preach forgiveness of sins, and yet forget the word, since it is all about, and point people to a monkey game, that they should seek forgiveness of sins with their own devotion and works.
31 Because our dear Lord Christ has put the forgiveness of sins into the Word, and, as has often been reported, into the mouths of the ministers of the church, and, to some extent, of all Christians, it follows that one must believe in the forgiveness of sins, and that one can come to it through faith alone. As then the reason of our doctrine is this, that we are justified and saved by faith alone in Christ alone.
For you must ever confess that the word of our dear Lord Jesus Christ has been spoken,
which he puts into the mouths of his dear disciples, cannot be grasped with hands, nor with works, whether it be fasting, praying, almsgiving, or whatever works it may be. It is faith alone that can grasp such a word; and the heart alone is the right box for it, into which it can be closed. That it is therefore true and certain that we must be justified by faith alone, since forgiveness of sins is fasted in the word alone, but the word can be accepted by faith alone.
The pope and his crowd do not know this; indeed, they are so stubborn that they do not want to know. Therefore, faith and word have been left behind, one with the other, and the poor people have been directed to their own work, piety and merit. Now preach that God command you to be silent, all of you boys. But it is highly necessary that we always hold such papal doctrine against our true doctrine and do not forget the papal abomination, so that we do not fall into it again, and seek forgiveness of sins apart from the Word, in our own works. For the Lord does not point us here to works, but to his word, which he puts into the mouths of his disciples, and sends them just as he was sent.
(34) Wherefore, when sins are forgiven, and hearts, as Peter saith, are purified by the Holy Ghost, then shall righteous and excellent fruits grow and follow out of an excellent and good heart. For faith does not celebrate, and the Holy Spirit, according to his nature, always drives to obedience, and against the flesh and sin. May God grant us His grace through Christ to believe and experience these things, amen.