Matth. 9, 1-8.
Then he got into the ship and crossed over again and came to his city. And, behold, they brought unto him a sick of the palsy, lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the sick of the palsy, "Be of good cheer, my son; your sins are forgiven you. And behold, some of the scribes said within themselves: This one blasphemes God. And when JE saw their thoughts, he said, Why think ye evil in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say, Arise and walk? But that ye might know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go home. And he arose and went home. When the people saw this, they marveled and praised God, who had given such power to man.
(1) From today's Gospel, we are to especially notice the gracious sermon that God has given to men, so that we can speak among ourselves here on earth: Your sins are forgiven you; so that we, together with the pious people here, may also marvel at this and thank God from the bottom of our hearts that He has given such power to men. For it is truly a great power that one Christian can say to another: My brother, be undaunted, you have a gracious God; only believe the promise that I make to you in the name of Jesus, and it shall be as surely true as if God Himself had said to you, "Your sins are forgiven you.
2 This power began with the Lord Christ, as we have heard, and has remained with us since then, especially with those who are in office and have the command,
*) Held in the house, 1533.
that they should preach the gospel, that is, repentance and forgiveness of sins in the name of Jesus. Other Christians, although they do not have the ministry, nevertheless, in case of need, they also have the command to comfort you when you are despondent because of your sins, and to say to you: "What do you worry about? I, as a Christian, say to you that you do wrong to yourself, God is not ungracious to you. Through Christ you shall have all grace toward him etc. You shall take comfort in these words as surely as if Christ himself spoke them from heaven.
All things therefore depend on your heart accepting this promise, and believe it to be true that God will be gracious to you for Christ's sake. As we see here with the gout-ridden man, the Lord first exhorts him to faith, saying: "Be of good cheer, my son", do not doubt, "your sins are forgiven you"; as soon as the gout-ridden man believed such a word, his sins were truly forgiven.
4 In this way we must come to the forgiveness of sins this very day, that we seek the word and believe it. Therefore, if your pastor, or in case of need any Christian, says to you: God is not angry with you, only you are not angry with Him; for for the sake of His Son Christ JEsu He has forgiven all your sins: then you should believe this promise with all your might, and let yourself be torn apart rather than doubting it. For if you doubt, the absolution will not help you, even though God Himself with all His angels would speak such absolution over you verbally.
For where there is no faith, our Lord God is called a liar, as if what he promises us is not true, and he will not keep it for us. May God graciously protect us from such unbelief and sin. Although the devil is a special master of it and always torments us with the fact that we like to punish our Lord God with lies, that is, that we do not like to believe God's promise.
(6) But where the heart believes, our Lord God is honored with the highest honor, which he holds most dear. For he is regarded as truthful, and thus as a Lord who cannot lie, even if he speaks of impossible things. That is why the Lord Christ is so pleased with these people that they have such a strong confidence in him that he will help the gout-ridden man, and so he says to him kindly: "My son, you are sick, the devil has inflicted the gout on you, and God has let it happen because of your sins; then terror follows and a stupid conscience, so that you think: Oh, God is angry with me, where will I go? For it is natural, when God's punishment is seen, that terror is also found immediately.
7. But, my son, do not let such a thought sink too deeply into your heart; do not think thus: O what does God ask of me? who knows whether He will be gracious to me or not; for what am I against God? Do not look at your sickness, but listen to what I say to you, namely, that your sins are forgiven you. Therefore conclude, "Gout or no gout, my sins are forgiven me.
chem faith, neither gout nor any other disease shall hinder me.
(8) So word and faith should be closely united, for there can be none without the other. He that believeth, and hath not the word, believeth as the Turk and the Jew: they have faith that God is gracious and merciful; but they lack the promise, because God will not be gracious apart from Christ. Therefore, whoever has the word and not faith, the word does not help. So that word and faith are given in marriage, and neither can be separated from the other.
(9) A fanatic believes that the last day will come in four weeks. Such a belief is a loud lie, for there is no word of God in it. The Turk believes that he will enjoy his mahomet for salvation: but it is a vain lie, for there is no word of God in it. So also the pope believes that a Christian must promote himself to heaven by his own works: but it is a false faith; for the word and the promise are lacking. So it may well be that one has faith, that is, one has an idea of something and hopes for something; but because there is a lack of the word, it is not true faith, but a mere unfounded delusion, since nothing will ever come of it.
(10) But we Christians do not lack the word. For we have the word rightly and purely by the grace of God. But we lack faith, because we cannot hold to the word as firmly as we should, even though those without the word can believe firmly and strongly. This is caused by the devil and original sin, which draws us away from the word and the truth to lies. That is why it is difficult to resist unbelief when we already have the word. For our flesh and reason do not want to believe in the word. If it is to believe, it would like to have faith in its hands.
(11) The evil spirit also helps us to do this, so that it does not want to go anywhere with us; otherwise our hearts should be more joyful and more confident. For reckon thou, if I could believe it rightly and perfectly, that Christ saith here to the sick of the palsy, and was said also to me and to thee in baptism, and that the evil spirit is nowhere with us.
in absolution, even in public preaching, it is said daily that I shall not be angry nor displeased with God: do you not think that I would go upside down with joy? Would everything be to me vain sugar, vain gold, vain eternal life? But the fact that this does not happen is a sign that the old Adam and the devil are always pulling us down from faith and the Word.
(12) Therefore learn it, it must be both: you must have the word, and afterward hold to the word with faith, and as much as possible, do not doubt it. Then you shall have all that the word promises you, and that you need for the preservation of body and soul. Now those who do not have the word have very good faith. Without this, it is an inherent vice that we like to believe a lie; without this, the heart is more swayed.
So the pope and his crowd believe very strongly in the mass, in the holy service and intercession, in monastic vows, chanting, fasting etc. But it is a false, lying faith, and are, to speak with breeds, whores and knaves together. The heart is a harlot, the false faith is a knave. But we, who, praise God, have a pure bride (for the Word is ever pure and good), cannot believe so stiffly and firmly; yet we ought to believe firmly. But those should not be able to believe firmly, because they do not have the Word. This is the fault of our old Adam and of the devil, that through original sin we have fallen from the word and the truth into falsehood.
(14) We are to learn from today's gospel that we must first have the word; then we must also firmly believe it. So then it is a divine power for us, through which we obtain forgiveness of sins and blessedness, so that we find help and comfort here and there. But if the word is not there, it may well become a faith, just as the sacrament-obsessed, the Anabaptists, the Turks, the Jews and the Papists have a faith. But it is a faith without a word, which is innate in all of us through Adam's fall, that is, it is a faith in lies, since we can by nature cling more firmly to it than to God's word.
15 When our dear Lord Christ preached to the gout-broken man and forgave him his sins, the scribes began to think that Christ was blaspheming God by forgiving sin. This is also a necessary thing, since much is needed, therefore we should also diligently remember it. For this can be seen in all the fanatics and the spiritualists, that they are all in error, that they do not understand how sins are forgiven. For ask the pope and all his doctors, and they will not be able to tell you what absolution accomplishes. For the whole papacy insists on this doctrine: grace is poured into man by a secret effect; whoever wants to come to it must repent, confess and do enough.
(16) But if it be asked what absolution and the keys do, they say it is an outward ordinance kept in the church. So they do not place the forgiveness of sins on the word and faith, since it must be placed on them, but on our repentance, confession and satisfaction. But this is absolutely a false doctrine, by which people are deceived and led into the wrong way.
(17) So also the Anabaptists say: What should baptism do for the remission of sins? It is only a handful of water! The Spirit must do it, if we are to be truly cleansed of sins; water cannot do it. Therefore, they also take forgiveness of sins away from the word, and do not want to leave it at that, as the pious people here say that such power is given to men.
18 The devotees of the sacraments also say that there is only bread and wine in the sacrament, therefore one cannot find forgiveness of sins there, the spirit must give it, the flesh is of no use. In sum, no pagans, no priests nor monks have been able to see that forgiveness of sins is a power given to men, as it is written here in the Gospel.
(19) Therefore learn here, that you may speak of the matter thus: I know well, I also confess, that God alone forgives sin. But I also need to know this, whereby I can tell...
that my sins are forgiven, or what the means is by which my sins are forgiven. The Holy Scripture teaches me and all Christians that if I want to have my sins forgiven, I must not sit down in the corner and say, "My God, forgive me my sins," and then wait for an angel to come from heaven and tell me, "Your sins are forgiven. For God promises that He will come down to me and promise me forgiveness of sins Himself.
20 First of all, this is done in holy baptism; for there is his command that I should be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. And further, with such a command is this promise: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved."
21 Yes, you say, baptism is only water! True; but such water is not alone, there is God's word with it. So when you go to your pastor, who has such a special command, or else to a Christian, and ask him to comfort you and absolve you of your sins, and he says to you, "I, in the place of God, proclaim to you forgiveness of all your sins through Christ; here you shall be sure that your sins are truly and certainly forgiven by such an outward word; for baptism and the word will not lie to you.
(22) Such things were not preached in the papacy, and even today no papal preacher understands them. Therefore, thank God for such grace, and learn that God will forgive sin. But how? Not otherwise, for it says here: that he has given such power to men. As Christ begins here, and then commands that henceforth in the church, until the end of the world, one should keep it this way, and preach repentance and forgiveness of sins in his name.
(23) That therefore every man may learn to seek forgiveness of sins among men, and nowhere else. For there alone shall it be found; for thus saith the commandment of our Lord Christ, Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven," Matt. 18:18; item: "Whose soever sins ye shall touch, they are forgiven them,
Joh. 20, 23. For God does not want anyone to build a special stairway or staircase to heaven, He wants to be the only master builder.
(24) Therefore, if you want forgiveness of sins, go and be baptized, if you have not been baptized; or if you have been baptized, remember the same promise that God made to you at that time, and do not be faithless. Item, go and be reconciled to your neighbor, then ask for absolution. And as thou hearest that forgiveness of sins is promised thee in the name of JESUS, believe it; then thou hast it truly. Then go to the holy sacrament and receive the body and blood of Christ, so that you may be sure that such a precious treasure is yours to enjoy.
(25) That one should not despise baptism, absolution, preaching and the sacrament, but seek and obtain forgiveness of sins in them. For this is what God has called and ordained your pastor, your father and mother, and your closest Christian, and has put His word in their mouth that you should seek comfort and forgiveness of sins from them. For though men speak it, it is not their word, but the word of God. Therefore believe firmly in it and do not despise it.
(26) Now when a minister baptizes a child according to the command of Christ, you hear a man speaking who is as much a sinner in his own person as you are, but he does it by God's command. Therefore, when he says, "I baptize you in the name of the Father," etc. you must neither hear nor accept the same words as if God himself had spoken them. So when your sin is forgiven in absolution, doubt as little as if God Himself had spoken such words. For God Himself pronounces such a judgment upon you that you shall be free from sin.
(27) To learn and know these things is highly necessary for the sake of the vile and displeasing spirits of the wicked, who can do no more than cry out: Water is water. We know this before, but we do not need them to teach us. But they do not know that with such water the word of God is water,
is. Therefore, it is no longer bad water, but divine water, which the minister does not give of himself, but God has ordered to be given so that one may be born again into the kingdom of God and be freed from sins.
28 As God gives the word, which is His word, not ours, so He also gives faith in the word, for it is both God's work, word and faith. Therefore, the forgiveness of sins must also be God's work, even though God works it through men. Therefore, forgiveness of sins should be sought in the word that is in the mouth of man and in the sacraments that are administered by man, and nowhere else, for it will not be found anywhere else.
29. But who does not see that my works, which I do, are far different from the word and works of God? How then do the unholy papists come to seek forgiveness of sins in their own worth? Therefore, when they shall roll forth on the last day with their works and merit, Christ shall ask them, saying, Where is my word? I have ordained baptism, sacrament, absolution and preaching in my church, so that people may receive forgiveness of sins and be assured of my grace. Why did you not keep to this? You could not have lacked it; with your works you should and must lack it.
(30) Therefore, take heed of this teaching and learn what forgiveness of sins really is, and how one can be sure of it, and where one should seek and find it, namely, that you should run nowhere but to the Christian church, which has the Word and the Sacrament. There you shall certainly find them, and not in heaven; as the Pharisees here think and think: Christ blasphemes God by forgiving sin; sin no one but God can forgive. Beware, then, and say: God has put forgiveness of sins in Holy Baptism, in the Lord's Supper, and in the Word; indeed, He has put it in the mouth of every Christian man; if he comforts you, and assures you of God's grace through the merit of Christ JEsu, you shall find it in heaven.
You must accept it and believe it, not otherwise than if Christ himself had promised it to you with his mouth, as here to the gouty man.
(31) This is why the spirits of the pagans and the falsehoods err very yearly, that they snatch away the word of forgiveness of sins. Such would be done if it were a man's word or a man's water, but here is God's word and God's water. Whoever wants to take it away from people or talk them out of it, takes away their forgiveness of sins; there is no help for it.
For this reason, the Anabaptists and other mobs have lost forgiveness of sins, baptism, the sacrament, the Christian church and all Christian works, because they reject the word they hear from their neighbor and do not consider it to be anything other than the bleating of a cow. Now, even if God spoke through a cow or other animal, as He once spoke through a donkey, one should not despise His word, but accept it; why should one despise it, since men speak it from God's command and order? For though you hear a man's voice, you do not hear a man's word, but God's word, and you will surely find forgiveness of sins if you accept it with faith.
33 This is especially important to remember about this gospel, so that you can prepare yourselves against the mobs and confront them. For in the papacy, as reported before, they know less than nothing of such preaching. For they hold and teach that if a man falls into sin, baptism is no longer of use to him. But if he wants to have forgiveness of sins, he must confess, repent, and repent of sin with good works. Thus they spoke of repentance. The devil does not challenge this teaching, for it does him no harm and is a truthful lie.
(34) It is true that I should repent and be heartily sorry for my sin, but this does not bring me forgiveness of sins. By what then? Only by hearkening to and believing the word and promise, and by giving ear to the Lord Christ, who speaks to me through his ordained servants, even through all Christians in time of need,
I look at my mouth and not at my repentance and atonement.
(35) So they turn back, they leave the word, they do not look at what the minister or a Christian says by the command of our Lord Christ; they look only at their repentance and contrition. But in this way they lose Christ and everything that is Christ. And it is impossible for them to counsel or help a single conscience. For they have lost the word that alone can help, and point people to their own repentance and godliness.
But you learn that you can say and teach others about the forgiveness of sins, that God speaks to us in baptism, in absolution, in the pulpit and in the sacrament through the church ministers and all other Christians; we should believe them, and then we will find forgiveness of sins. In the papacy, they have not taught a word about such faith in God's word, as can be seen in all letters of indulgence and bulls; instead, they have based the forgiveness of sins on repentance and their own satisfaction, that is, on a mere uncertain state of the heart. Let this be said of the words that are here, that God has given power to men to forgive sins. Now let us also take the Historia a little before us.
The gouty man here is a picture of all sinners. For it is the nature of this disease that one can no longer use the limbs; if one wants to pull the foot or the hand toward oneself, one cannot, indeed, one only stretches them out more and more. That is why Aristotle compares such a person in Ethicis to the naughty, impudent youth, which cannot be tamed nor subdued.
But whoever wants to interpret this disease correctly, let him point it to the saints of works. The more they think about how they can come close to God and reconcile with Him, the further away they are from Him. Item, if they think they do it best, they do it worst, because they are without faith.
39 If any man therefore would be saved from such a plague, let him come hither unto Christ, who helpeth marvelously; do not
more than that he says: "Be of good cheer, my son, your sins are forgiven you. From such a word the joints become finely strong and firm again, so that one can carry and lift the other. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is no longer room for wrath and punishment, that is, God is no longer displeased with us and then also accepts our works because of faith in Christ.
(40) The Lord was especially pleased to show this about the gouty man who was lying on the bed in the way of the disease, stretching out all his fours. But when Christ called him to get up, he stood up, fresh and healthy. And since he had been carried from home in the bed, he carries the bed home himself. This is what the Lord wants us to see and consider as a sign, so that we may learn how he has power on earth to forgive sin.
41 The fact that the Lord says "on earth" is especially to be noted, so that one does not look to heaven or, as the Pope taught, hope for forgiveness of sins when one has died in purgatory, through the work and merit of others. For it says here that forgiveness of sins is a power given to men on earth when one baptizes, administers the sacrament, absolves and preaches from the pulpit. For what is absolved on earth is determined to be absolved in heaven. Again, what one binds, that is, excludes from baptism and sacrament and word, that shall also be bound in heaven.
(42) By such power that we men forgive or bind sin among ourselves, God is not deprived of His glory, nor are we made gods, as the unskilful people speak of it. For we have no more than the office; the same is no further, unless thou believest. If you believe, you have it; but if you do not believe, you have nothing. That is why God has bound us together through such a ministry, so that one Christian should always comfort the other, give him a friendly promise, and you should believe in the forgiveness of sins in the name of Christ. This is what it means to be led to God and to the forgiveness of sins. Whoever dies in such faith dies blessed and well.
But he who dies, as is taught in the papacy, out of the intercession of the saints, out of his own merit and that of others, dies wretchedly and evil; for he has not the escorts which our Lord God gave him and appointed for him here on earth, namely, he has neither the right word nor the right absolution. And even though he has baptism, he does not know how to take comfort in it. The devil has caused this misery through the pope and is now starting a new one with the mobs. For he does not like the word, it stings his eyes and blinds him.
44 Therefore the pope, as Satan's dear and faithful servant, has done away with it altogether, and in the meantime has established monastic orders, masses, pilgrimages, indulgences and other things. The devil can well suffer this, for it does him no harm. The Anabaptists also help this by speaking contemptuously of water or baptism; the devotees of the sacraments also, who speak contemptuously of the sacrament, just as if there were nothing but bread and wine.
45 All these have lost the word. Therefore beware of them, and learn that forgiveness of sins is nowhere else but where the word is. But such a word is in the
Baptism, the Lord's Supper, absolution and preaching; therefore forgiveness of sins is also there, and in spite of anyone saying otherwise! Where therefore the word is, faith shall follow; and the elbow, which the sick of the palsy could not draw to himself before, is straight and sure. But where the word is not, one remains gout-ridden; it is therefore impossible for one to take hold properly.
I have said this in so many words, because the pope and the shameful sect do so much harm that everyone should beware of them. The pope points neither to the Word nor to the Sacrament; thus, the mobs cannot speak more contemptuously than of Word and Sacrament, and nothing is valid with them but spirit, spirit. But we know that without Word and Sacrament the Holy Spirit does not want to do his work. Therefore, we cannot despise Word and Sacrament, but we should and must consider them great and the noblest treasure.
47. May God grant His grace that we may remain pure in such teaching and persevere to the end, and be saved, amen.