# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1851 07 22_S187
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

187

and mindful that the righteousness of Christians consists, indeed, much rather in forgiveness than in their own doing; which those idle babblers overturn, and, without forgiveness, press for our doing alone.

3. Testimony. How faith and love above all belong to the Christian life; of which one should rightly teach and preach.

These two articles are to be taught and preached. First, care must be taken that faith in Christ be rightly preached. Then one should preach that the fruits and good works be rightly practised. To faith it belongs that we know what sin, the law and death are, and what it brings with it. Further, how we come to life again, and abide in it. In this way Paul teaches in all his Epistles, especially in that to the Romans; first of faith in Christ, and plants a good tree; just as one who would lay out a good garden must first have good trees: so also does Paul: at the very outset he plants good trees; and teaches how we become good trees, namely, by becoming believing and saved. This he has described up to the 12th Chapter of the Epistle to the Romans: Here in the 12th Chapter he teaches the fruits of faith to the end of the Epistle; that we should not be false Christians, who have only the name, but true, genuine believers. This is the preaching of good works which God prescribes; that we, who have been redeemed by the death of the Son of God, should live godly, as those who belong not to this, but to the eternal life, if we truly believe that we do not after faith fall back into the world, as he said shortly before: Be ye renewed in the spirit of your mind. — Let it be our care that we be thankful to God, the Father of all mercies and comfort, and henceforth so conduct ourselves that our faith consist not in words, but in power. For Paul says, 1 Cor. 4: The kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. It is not enough that we can talk and write finely about it; but life and deed must bear witness to the truth, that we show our love and our benefits toward friends and enemies.

4. Testimony. Of the false middle way of the world.

The world always remains so that it either boasts falsely of faith; or wants to be over-holy without faith. If one preaches of faith and of grace, then no one will do works: if one presses for works, then no one will have faith; and those are few who keep to the right middle way; yea, it is hard even for pious Christians. For I confess for myself, and without doubt others must also confess, that I lack that diligence and earnestness which I now ought to have much more than before; and that I am much more remiss than under the Papacy; and there is now nowhere such earnestness for the Gospel as was formerly seen among monks and priests; where so much was endowed and built; and where no one was so poor that he would not have given something. But now there is not a city that will support a preacher; and nothing but robbing and stealing prevails among the people, and they let no one restrain them. Whence comes this shameful plague? From the doctrine, say the adversaries, that one teaches that we should not build and trust upon works. But no! it is the wicked devil who falsely imputes to the pure, wholesome doctrine that of which rather his own and the people's wickedness is the cause, who abuse this doctrine; as also the sloth of our old Adam, who always wants to go astray down the wood-path to one side, and thinks there is no need, though we do not do many good works; and we become unawares lazy and heedless, and grow sour therein, until we lose the sap and strength of faith altogether. — On the right middle way no one will remain; namely, that we should deny ourselves quite before God, as those who seek nothing but pure grace; and receive this, which is also offered and promised; but then should go and do what we could, and indeed also freely, for nothing, for the sake of no merit or enjoyment of our own; this is said and preached; it is well heard; but no one can do it, when it is to be done and proved. —

I have, indeed, diligently taught and exhorted hitherto and still, that faith and love be well distinguished from one another, and each be rightly taught and practised. For otherwise we are blamed, because we urge the doctrine of faith so highly, that we preach nothing of good works, nor hold to them; although we can testify before all the world that we have preached much more gloriously and powerfully of good works than they themselves who revile us. But this we rebuke, that they do not distinguish works and faith, but brew and mix them together, so that one does not know what faith or what works do and give; yea, that before we came forward with our doctrine they knew nothing at all of faith, and ascribed to works everything which Christ is to give through faith. But we insist that one have and retain a right instruction and certain understanding of both, how far faith and love, or how far works, extend. For the world will, indeed, rightly take none of the true ways, but always the wood-path: either do nothing at all and work nothing, or not believe; it ever goes aside, in that it lets go either faith or love; the middle way alone it will not hit upon, by exercising faith toward God pure and unimpaired, and love toward the neighbor from an upright heart; as St. John also requires and urges both, who, though he had chiefly set himself to exhort to love, yet does not forget faith either, and refers always to it. — So those, our adversaries, neither will nor can teach, but either want to give everything to works, or, like others, leave love altogether undone, and think it is enough that they can say much of faith. But do thou keep to this right middle way, that thou not only retain the chief boast toward God, on whom we must ultimately and thoroughly place our confidence, on whom we are also baptized, and must both live and die; who is our Lord Jesus Christ, who has washed away our sin by His blood, and now sitteth at the right hand of the Father and giveth us all things; but that thou mayest also withal boast before the world, and defy it with thy love, that it consists not in mere words, but may stand before God's judgment, and there prove that it was a right, unfeigned faith, and an upright, perfect love, which shows its virtue and its nature by right works, so that one can see it and and grasp it. — For true faith is not without love, but is active through it, if it is not to be a feigned, hypocritical, but a right, living faith. For a living faith is that which exercises and and continues in good works through love. That is, then, nothing else than as much as to say: Whoever would be a true Christian and in Christ's kingdom, must truly have a right faith: but now faith is certainly not right where the works of love do not follow. — For when man has become righteous through faith in Christ, and has obtained Him through faith; and now knows that He is his righteousness and his life: then he will surely not remain idle and without works; but he has the Holy Ghost; but where He is, He does not let the man be lazy or idle; but drives him to all manner of good. Therefore we also say that faith without works is worth nothing or useless; that is, that faith which is without works is sheer nothing, that is, a poor, feigned delusion and dream of the heart, which is false and does not make righteous. Nevertheless the works of love do not make faith upright, but my faith makes the works upright. Therefore Paul says that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision availeth any thing, but a new creature, whereby we are made like the image of God; which is not created by works of love, but by the Holy Ghost, who through faith cleanses the hearts, gives us a new understanding and will, that we fear, love and trust God; and who gives us strength to tame the flesh, and to guard us against the righteousness and wisdom of the world." It is called, accordingly, a new creature, the renewal of the mind, which is wrought by the Holy Ghost. From this follows then