Locus 22 — The Mortification of the Flesh
in 1 Tim. 4[:7 ff.], ''Exercise yourself to godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things." This is a very important admonition which distinguishes necessary works that have been com manded by God from exercises of our own choosing.
Furthermore, he commands that the works mandated by God are far more important—works such as repen tance, the fear of God, faith, invocation, confession, endurance, chastity, moderation, and diligence in our calling. These virtues, he says, are useful for all things.
God in this life rewards and adorns these virtues with great blessings: with brighter light and spiritual wisdom, with stronger faith, with counsel, comfort, and success in governing both public and domestic things, with chastity, peace, and physical sustenance; and after this life eternal rewards are bestowed. But the exercise of our bodies is only worth a little.
> He also understands that works that have been chosen by us (as when someone wants to eat only a little food on a certain day)—if they are done without superstition, they need not be entirely rejected, but he places them far below the works commanded by God.
For there was some benefit, in the sense that it is better that sober people have a good intention in their minds for calling upon God, for their studies and for their busi ness. Banquets, social affairs, and worldly conversa tions poison our minds so that the fires of lusts can more easily enter in, as happened to David in his idle ness. And the versicles are well-known: ''Insidious idle ness is harmful to the complacent. They lose their concern, and the wine flows" [Ovid, Ars amatoria
1.238]. And Seneca says in regard to banqueting, "I am not referring to the customs which I praise. Drunken people can neither in mind or body have the proper concern for important matters. They waste time which should be spent in doing good things, and in their lack of good judgment they fall into great crimes." But it is particularly sad that their calling upon God is drowned
We must not spurn the common saying: "To avoid occasions for sins is to avoid sin." Good minds will understand the occasions and the immediate causes for lapses, and with great diligence avoid these dangers so that they do not needlessly expose them selves to orgies. They will prefer moderation and spend their time with definitely useful labors in which they then may include the worship of God.
It is very beneficial for both our health and our morals not to confuse the order of time which has been prescribed by nature. Thus many people devote the whole day partly to sleep and partly to banqueting, and then at night they have no time for either studies or business. Seneca is correct when he says, "This is the definition of excess: to rejoice in what is perverted, and not only to depart from what is upright but to depart as far as possible."
Nor does the devil cease to be active when he sees minds which are devoid of concern, but he himself provides other occasions for falling. We must avoid all of these evils, both by our own diligence and by prayer for divine guidance, as it is written [Luke 11:13], "How much more will He give His Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"
The monks try with their rules to comprehend the exercises of this diligence. But they only add supersti tious and stupid ideas, and this distinction cannot be comprehended from their laws. Therefore they should not defend their traditions regarding the distinctions of food under such a pretext, but good and wise men should instruct the young people regularly regarding this diligent concern. And instructors should be eager to instill it in their teaching and show how important it is, and princes must help us in observing this discipline.
I have made these few instructive remarks regarding mortification and discipline in order that we may learn to understand and love true virtues and reject in their drunkenness. hypocrisy.
Locus 23 Offense but by the clear voice of God and the sure testimonies which had been established by God. There is no doubt that for these reasons all the wise men among the peo ple were motivated most vigorously and were especially caught up in their persuasion concerning the earthly rule of the Messiah.
The Greek word is skandalon, taken from skazo, that is, to limp. For it signifies a stumbling block, that is, something into which a person bumps and falls or becomes confused.
A thing is called a scandal or a scandalous ex ample when a person becomes worse, or because he is confirmed in his error, or because he imitates a bad example, or because he develops even greater feelings of hatred against the Gospel. This explanation of the word should be considered first of all. For the church uses the word "scandal" in this sense, but this usage is unknown to other writers who speak of harmful ex amples and precedents. A correlative word to "scandal" is the word "offense," which refers to ttje object from which the offense is taken.
Although the destruction of the people certainly brought sorrow to the apostles themselves, they re jected this hypocritical offense and strongly opposed these judgments. They clearly confessed that they owed obedience to God rather than to men since they were under the command of Christ, who had com manded them to gather the church by the word of the Gospel. It is necessary to attack errors concerning God and idols, even if the world falls. We must give priority to the First and Second Commandments above all hu man matters—our own life, our fortunes, our family, or the peace of the nation.
There is a two-fold scandal or a two-fold offense.
The first is Pharisaic offense, or, as they say, a scandal which has been received. This is when the ungodly rage against the true doctrine of the Gospel or against hon orable and necessary actions, as when they are un willing to allow the true doctrine to be proclaimed and errors to be attacked, or are unwilling to abolish the worship of idols or to allow a godly priest to live in an honorable marriage. There are many different reasons why the ungodly are angry at the true doctrine or at these necessary changes in conditions. Some are con tending for their bellies—men who are unwilling to give up the great profits which came from masses or the prayers to the dead. Others are contending for their own authority. Some are bewitched by these rituals and are unwilling to see those things attacked which they marvel at and approve. They are fascinated with ad miration of their own righteousness and are unwilling to hear the word that men are not righteous because of their own worthiness and purity. Because civil lead ers see that disagreements among the princes can arise out of these differences of opinions, they are un willing to start wars and disturbances in public order on matters of doctrine.
Hence we must maintain this rule. It is necessary to confess the true doctrine and to flee idols and to carry out the commands of God, even if the ungodly rage and fight back and conceive fierce hatred against the Gospel, regardless Qf the great dissensions which may arise out of the stubbornness of the ungodly. But the ungodly are the enemies of the Gospel and the cause of dissensions themselves, because they must yield to the truth. People do not sin when they teach correctly in keeping with their calling or confessing the Gospel. Pharaoh sinned when he fought against the word and testimonies of God which Moses proclaimed, but Moses did not sin even when he destroyed all Egypt by his dissent.
The godly are comforted by this rule even in the time of controversies in the church. And we have need for this consolation now. For this prospect of divisions and this clamor which these hypocrites inflict upon us brings great sorrow to right-thinking people. It is not easy to endure it when they call us the enemies of God and the church, parricides, seditious men, and finally plagues of the human race.
There have been many examples of such offen ses in all ages of the church; there still are, and there will always be. The priests opposed Jeremiah when he preached about the destruction of Jerusalem, and they had many eloquent arguments against him. Nearly ev eryone who was learned or in a position of authority among the people of Israel opposed Christ and the apostles, and they were motivated by most convincing reasons. They saw the law of Moses being abolished.
And they believed this was the highest crime—that the one and only law which had been given by God to the whole human race was being destroyed. They saw that from this would follow the destruction of that lovely civil order which had been given not by Solon or Augustus,
In the face of these frightful judgments it is nec essary to fortify our minds with clear testimonies from God. Matt. 4[:10], "You shall worship the Lord your
God, and Him only shall you serve." "You shall serve no foreign gods" [Deut. 6:14], He is clearly distinguish ing the true God, who has revealed Himself in the peo ple of Israel, from false deities when he says that this is Yahweh who has given you His Word, and He tes tifies that He is truly God by the performance of the miracles by which He led you out of Egypt. Him you are to invoke, and not false deities who are worshiped without and outside of the Word given you by the proph ets. And 1 Cor. 10[:14], "Flee the worship of idols."