Luther gives him advice on how to deal with those who have deposed a preacher without authorization.
Handwritten in Cod. Goth. 186. 4. Printed in Litterar. Wochenbl. II, 312; from the Löscher collection in Dresden in Schütze, vol. I, p. 252; in Strobel- Ranner, x. 308 and in De Wette, vol. V, p. 532 f.
To the worthy man, M. Martin Gilbert, the servant of Christ in Marienberg, his brother who is exceedingly dear to the Lord.
Grace and peace! What should I advise you otherwise, my dear Martin, than what the Lord himself taught in Matth. 18, that is, that you first go to those who exercise this tyranny to depose the preacher, and remind them privately that it is not in their power to depose or appoint preachers, but with those who are commanded to do so either by a superior or by God. Now if they want to depose, they may depose those who feed and appoint them from their money. They are servants of the money given to the church or to Christ, not masters, so that they may use it as they please. For none of them would suffer his neighbor to throw out of his house even 1) the servant of another, since it is not his house nor even his property. Therefore they should know that they are thieves, but rather robbers of God, if they throw out a strange servant, namely Christ's, and give strange money to a stranger. They may do what they like with their money, but they should not give money to strangers. If they do not repent in this matter, consider them pagans, who are also not worthy to serve the church treasury, whose masters they want to be. Other things you can consider yourself, and the Spirit will give them to you. Fare well. January 24, 1543, M.L.
Postscript. And [tell them] that they change these words in the church, "Who is the Comforter of all the earth," 2) so I did not set them.
1) e domo sua vel added by us to fill the gap located here.
2) This will go to the words in the third verse of the so-called "great faith": "Who is called the Comforter of all fools."
(Wittenberg.) No. 2989. 2g. January 1543.