First of all, it must be said what it is about, that is, what Paul is dealing with in this epistle. Paul wants to strengthen the doctrine of faith, grace, forgiveness of sins, or Christian righteousness in such a way that we have complete knowledge and a certain distinction between Christian righteousness and all other righteousnesses. For there are many kinds of righteousness: one is the temporal, with which the emperor, the princes of the world, philosophers and jurists have to do. Another is ceremonial, which is taught by human statutes, as are the statutes of the pope and the like. Household fathers and schoolmasters teach the same without danger, because they do not
They do not give the ceremonies the power to be sufficient for sin, to atone for God, and to merit grace, but they teach the ceremonies only as necessary for outward discipline and for a certain order. In addition, there is another, namely the righteousness of the Law or the Ten Commandments, which Moses teaches. This we also teach, after we have taken the doctrine of faith as a basis.
(2) Further and above all these is the righteousness of faith or Christian righteousness, which must be most carefully distinguished from the foregoing. For the foregoing are wholly opposed to it, partly because they are derived from the laws of the emperors, from the statutes of the Pab-
*) This superscription is set by us. The following is without any caption in the Latin Wittenberg edition. In the German Wittenberg and Erlangen editions, the following is placed above it: "Another short preface by D. Martin Luther. The content, however, proves that it is not a preface to an edition of the Interpretation, but "Luther's address to his audience," as the Jena edition also calls it: Alia et brevis praefatio D. L. M. (sic), cur denuo hanc Pauli epistolam enarrandam susceperit, a preface in which he briefly states the reason why he is interpreting this epistle anew.
The reason for this is that they are not only the result of God's commandments and flow from them, but also because they have to do with our works and can be done by us, be it from purely natural forces (as the school theologians [sophistae] speak of it),
or whether it is also from God's gift (for these righteousnesses of works are also God's gifts, like other goods we have).
But this righteousness, that is, the righteousness of faith, is the most precious, which God imputes to us for Christ's sake without our works; it is also not a worldly righteousness, nor a ceremonial righteousness, nor a righteousness from the divine law; it also has nothing to do with our works, but is completely different, that is, it is only a suffering righteousness (just as the aforementioned righteousnesses are active righteousnesses). For in this we do not work anything, nor do we have anything that we give to God, but only receive, and suffer that another, namely God, may work in us. Therefore, this righteousness of faith or Christian righteousness can be called a suffering righteousness.
4 And this is the righteousness that is hidden in mystery [Col. 1:26], which the world does not understand; indeed, Christians do not grasp it sufficiently, and it is difficult for them to grasp it in temptations. Therefore it must always be inculcated and urged without ceasing. And whoever does not hold on to it or grasp it in tribulations and terrors of conscience cannot stand. For there is no other comfort of conscience so firm and certain as this suffering righteousness.
(5) But the inability and misery of man is such that in distress of conscience and in danger of death we look to nothing but our works, our worthiness and the law. When this shows us our sin, it immediately comes to our mind how badly we have lived our lives. Then the sinner sighs in great sorrow of heart and thinks to himself: Oh, how ungodly I have lived! If God wanted me to live longer, then I would improve my life etc. And human reason (so much is this evil ingrained in us, and so much have we acquired this unfortunate condition) can extricate itself from this delusion of active or own righteousness.
The human being does not wriggle out of the situation and does not rise to look at the suffering or Christian righteousness, but simply remains attached to the active one.
By abusing the weakness of nature, Satan increases and sharpens these thoughts. Therefore, it cannot be otherwise than that the conscience will tremble, be dismayed and frightened all the more. For it is impossible for the human heart to draw comfort from itself and have grace alone in view when it feels sin and is frightened by it, or that it steadfastly throws away the disputation about works etc. For this is beyond the powers, thoughts and comprehension of men, and even beyond the law of God. The law of God is indeed the highest of all that is in the world, but so much is lacking in it that it could make a frightened conscience confident, that it sinks it even more into sorrow and brings it to despair. For "through the law sin becomes exceedingly sinful." Rom. 7, 13.
(7) Therefore, a sorrowful conscience has no help against despair and eternal death unless it grasps the promise of the grace offered in Christ, that is, this suffering or Christian righteousness of faith; when it has grasped this, it can be satisfied and confidently say: I do not seek the active righteousness which I ought to have and do; but if I had it and did it, I could not put my trust in it, nor oppose it to the judgment of God. Therefore I renounce all active righteousness and the righteousness of the divine law, and take hold only of the suffering righteousness, which is the righteousness of grace, mercy, forgiveness of sins, in short, of Christ and the Holy Spirit, which we do not do, but suffer, not have, but receive, in that God the Father gives it to us through Jesus Christ.
8. just as the earth itself does not bring forth rain, nor can it obtain it by any work, labor, or strength of its own, but receives it only by a heavenly gift from above [Heb. 6:7], so this rain is given to us by God, without our work or merit.
Heavenly righteousness. Therefore, as much as the arid earth can do on its own to receive abundant and desirable rain, so much can we human beings do by our own efforts and works to receive that divine heavenly and eternal righteousness, unless we obtain it in vain by reckoning and by the ineffable gift of God. Therefore, the highest art and wisdom of Christians is that they do not know the law, the works and all active righteousness, especially when the conscience wrestles with the judgment of God, just as it is the highest wisdom outside the people of God to know the law, works and active righteousness, to have them before one's eyes and to penetrate them.
(9) Now it is a strange and unheard-of thing in the eyes of the world that Christians should be taught not to know the law, and that they should live before God as if there were no law at all. For if you do not disregard the law, and firmly insist in your heart that there is no law and no wrath of God, but only grace and mercy for the sake of Christ, you cannot be saved. "For through the law comes the knowledge of sin" etc. [Rom. 3, 20.]
(10) Again, the law and works must be insisted upon in the world as if there were no promise or grace at all, for the sake of stiff-necked, proud and hardened people, to whom nothing but the law must be put before their eyes, that they may be terrified and humbled. For this is the purpose for which the law was given, that it might terrify and kill such people and afflict the old man. Both the word of grace and the word of wrath must be rightly divided, as the apostle teaches 2 Timothy 2:15.
(11) What is needed here is a wise and faithful steward of God who will temper the law so that it remains within its bounds. He who teaches that men are justified before God by the law transgresses the limits of the law and mixes these two righteousnesses, the active and the suffering, and is a bad dialecticus, because he does not divide rightly.
(12) Again, he who puts the law and works before the old man, but the promise and grace before the new man, divides rightly. For the flesh, or the old man, the law and works must be joined together; so also the spirit, or the new man, with the promise and grace. Therefore, when I see that a sufficiently broken man is oppressed by the law, frightened by sin, and thirsting for comfort, then it is time for me to put the law and active righteousness out of his sight and present to him through the gospel the suffering righteousness that excludes Moses with his law and offers the promise of Christ, who came for the sake of the afflicted and for the sake of sinners. Then man is raised up and receives hope, and is no longer under the law, but under grace, as the apostle says [Rom. 6:14.], "Ye are therefore no longer under the law, but under grace." How is he not under the law? According to the new man, to whom the law is of no concern. For it has its limits until Christ, as Paul says below [Rom. 10, 4. Gal. 3, 17. 19. 24.]: "The law endures until Christ." When he comes, Moses stops the law, the circumcision, the sacrifices, the Sabbath; all the prophets also stop.
This is our theology, according to which we teach to distinguish clearly between these two righteousnesses, the active and the suffering, so that life and faith, works and grace, world government and worship are not mixed up with one another. Both righteousnesses are necessary, but each must be left within its limits. Christian righteousness is for the new man, but the righteousness of the law is for the old man, born of flesh and blood. This man, like an ass, must have a burden laid upon him, and must not enjoy the freedom of the Spirit or grace, unless he has first put on the new man through faith in Christ (which does not fully happen in this life): then he may enjoy the kingdom and the gift of unspeakable grace.
14 I say this so that no one may think that we reject or prevent good works, as the papists falsely accuse us, not understanding either what they themselves say or what we teach. They know nothing but the righteousness of the law, and yet they want to be judges of doctrine, which is far above the law and transcends it, over which a carnal man cannot possibly judge. Therefore, they must necessarily be angry, because they cannot look higher than the law. Therefore, everything that is higher than the law causes them the greatest annoyance.
(15) We set up, as it were, two worlds, one heavenly and one earthly. In these we assign their place to these two righteousnesses, which are separate and far apart from each other. The righteousness of the law is earthly, has to do with earthly things, through which we do good works. But just as the earth does not bring forth fruit unless it has first been moistened and made fruitful from heaven (for the earth cannot master, renew, and govern heaven, but vice versa, heaven masters, renews, governs, and fertilizes the earth, so that it may do what the Lord has commanded): So we also do nothing if we do many things by the righteousness of the law, and do not fulfill the law if we fulfill the law, unless we are first justified without our work and merit by the Christian righteousness, which has nothing at all to do with the righteousness of the law or the earthly and active righteousness. But this is the heavenly and suffering righteousness, which we do not have, but receive from heaven, not doing, but grasping by faith, by which we rise above all laws and works. "As we have borne the image of the earthly Adam," says Paul [1 Cor. 15:49], "so shall we bear the image of the heavenly," which is a new man in a new world, where is no law, no sin, no conscience, no death, but joy, righteousness, grace, peace, life, blessedness, and glory altogether undisturbed.
(16) Do we then do nothing, work nothing, to obtain this righteousness? I answer: Nothing; for this righteousness is that one
He is not sitting in heaven at the right hand of the Father, not as a judge, but "made for us by God for wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption" [1 Cor. 1:30], in short, that he is our high priest, who represents us and rules over us and in us through grace. There one sees no sin, feels no horror, no biting of the conscience. No sin can enter into this heavenly righteousness, for there is no law. "But where the law is not, 1) there is no transgression" [Rom. 4:15]. Therefore, since sin does not take place here, there is certainly no anguish of conscience, no terror, no sadness. Therefore John says [1 Ep. 3, 9.]: "He who is born of God cannot sin."
(17) But when there is terror in the conscience, it is a sign that this righteousness is gone, that grace is out of sight and lost, and Christ, hidden in darkness, is not seen. But where Christ is seen in truth, there must necessarily be complete and perfect joy in the Lord, and peace of conscience, which firmly insists on it: Although I am a sinner in the law and lack the righteousness of the law, yet I do not despair, therefore I do not have to die, for Christ lives, who is my righteousness and my eternal and heavenly life. In this righteousness and in this life I have no sin, no [evil] conscience, no death. I am indeed a sinner as far as the present life and its righteousness are concerned, as a child of Adam, where the law accuses me, death reigns and will finally devour me; but over this life I have another righteousness, another life, which is Christ, the Son of God, who knows nothing of sin and death, but is righteousness and eternal life, for whose sake also this body of mine, after it has died and turned to ashes, is raised again and freed from the bondage of the law.
1) ubi autem nulla est lex is missing in the Erlanger.
and sin, and at the same time be sanctified with the Spirit.
18 Thus both remain as long as we live here. The flesh is accused, it is afflicted with temptations, it is afflicted and brought to nothing by the active righteousness of the law. But the spirit reigns, rejoices and is blessed by the suffering righteousness, because it knows that it has a Lord who sits in heaven at the right hand of the Father, who has done away with the law, trampled sin and death and all evil under his feet, led them captive and "made a triumph of them by himself" [Col. 2:15].
(19) This, then, is Paul's purpose in this epistle, that he may diligently instruct, strengthen, and sustain us in the perfect knowledge of this most excellent and Christian righteousness. For if this article of justification is lost, then the whole Christian doctrine is lost at the same time. And all people in the world who do not hold it [justification] are either Jews, or Turks, or Papists, or heretics, because between these two righteousnesses, the active one of the law and the suffering one of Christ, there is no middle ground. Therefore, whoever strays from Christian righteousness must fall back into active righteousness, that is, because he has lost Christ, he must fall into placing his trust in his own works.
20 We see this today in the swarm spirits, who cause sects, teach nothing, nor can they teach rightly about this righteousness of grace (the words, of course, they have taken from our mouths and our writings), 1) therefore they speak and write only words. But they cannot present the matter itself, neither can they urge it nor inculcate it, because they do not understand it, nor can they understand it, since they cling only to the righteousness of the law. That is why they are and will remain workmen who cannot rise above the active justice.
21 Therefore they remain the same people they were under the pope, only they bring up new names and new works, but the thing remains the same; as the Turks do different works than the papists, the papists
1) These brackets are set by us.
do other works than the Jews etc. But no matter how much more apparent, greater, and more difficult the works may be than the others, the essence remains the same; only the nature is different, that is, the works differ only in outward appearance, but in fact and truth they are works, and those who do them are not Christians, but are and remain works saints, whether they are called Jews, Mahometists, Papists, or Anabaptists etc.
(22) Therefore, we constantly repeat this doctrine of faith or Christian righteousness, insisting on it so much and pursuing it so earnestly that it may remain in constant use and be clearly distinguished from the active righteousness of the law. In no other way will we be able to preserve true theology (for it is from this and in this teaching alone that the church arises and exists), but we will immediately become lawyers, ceremonialists, teachers of the law, papists: Christ will be obscured, and no one can be properly taught and raised up in the church. Therefore, if we want to be preachers and teachers of others, we must pay attention to these things with the utmost care and keep this difference of the righteousness of the law and the righteousness of Christ well. This is easy to say, but in experience and in application it is the most difficult thing to do, even if it is most carefully sharpened and practiced, because at the hour of death or in other struggles of the conscience these two righteousnesses come closer together than one might wish or want.
(23) Therefore I exhort you, especially you who will be teachers of consciences, and each one in particular, to practice study, reading, meditation and prayer, so that you may be able to instruct and comfort both your own consciences and the consciences of others in tribulation, and lead them from law to grace, from active righteousness to suffering righteousness, in short, from Moses to Christ. For the devil uses the law to frighten us in tribulation and in the battle of conscience, and to reproach us with our evil conscience about sin, our extremely shameful way of life, the wrath and judgment of God, hell, and
eternal death, so that he may plunge us into despair, make us subservient to himself and withdraw us from Christ. He even holds up to us passages from the Gospel in which Christ himself demands works from us and threatens those who have not done them with condemnation in clear words. If we do not know how to distinguish between these two righteousnesses, if we do not take hold of Christ in faith, who sits at the right hand of God, who is our life and our righteousness, who also represents us poor sinners to the Father, then we are under the law, not under grace, and Christ is no longer a savior, but a lawgiver. There can be no blessedness left, but certain despair and eternal death will follow. Therefore, we must most diligently learn this art of distinguishing between these two righteousnesses, so that we may know how far we must obey the law.
(24) We have said above [ยงยง 11, 12] that the law must not exceed its limits in a Christian, but must have its dominion only over the flesh, which is to be subject to it and remain under it. Where this happens, the law remains within its bounds. But if it wants to take over the conscience and rule here, see to it that you then are a good dialecticus, divide rightly, and do not grant the law more than must be granted to it, but say: "Law, you want to climb up into the realm of the conscience and rule there, and accuse it of sin, and cancel the joy of the heart, which I have from faith in Christ, and bring me to despair, that I should despair and perish. This you do, and yet it is not your office. Stay in your place and exercise dominion over the flesh, but do not touch my conscience. For I am baptized and called through the gospel to the fellowship of righteousness and eternal life.
I want to go to the kingdom of Christ, where my conscience has found rest, where there is no law, but only forgiveness of sins, peace, rest, joy, bliss and eternal life. These things thou dost not deceive me, for I will not suffer thee to reign as a harsh tyrant and as a cruel driver in my conscience. For it is the seat and temple of Christ, the Son of God, who is the King of righteousness and peace and an exceedingly loving Savior and my mediator. He will keep my conscience happy and satisfied in the sound and pure doctrine of the gospel and in the knowledge of this suffering righteousness.
(25) When I have this righteousness in my heart, I descend from heaven as rain that fertilizes the earth, that is, I go out into another realm and do good works as much as I can. If I am a minister of the word, I preach, comfort the fainthearted, administer the sacraments; if I am a householder, I govern my house, my servants, educate my children to godliness and respectability; if I am a person in authority, I carry out my office, which God has commanded me to do; if I am a servant, I faithfully let myself be commanded in the affairs of my master. In short, anyone who knows for certain that Christ is his righteousness not only does everything well in his profession from his heart and with joy, but also submits out of love to the authorities, even to their ungodly laws, even to all the burdens and dangers of this life, if circumstances require it, because he knows that this is God's will and that such obedience pleases him.
That is enough about what this epistle is about. Paul takes this before him and sets it forth, prompted by false teachers who had obscured this righteousness of faith from the Galatians. Against these he boasts of his [apostolic] reputation and office.