Divine and Human Righteousness, July

Divine and Human Righteousness, July

DIVINE AND HUMAN RIGHTEOUSNESS

Translated and edited by H. Wayne Pipkin

DIVINE AND HUMAN RIGHTEOUSNESS

Preface Of Divine and Human Righteousness and How They Relate To One Another.

A Sermon by Huldrych Zwingli preached on St.

John the Baptist Day in the year 1523.

To Nicholaus of Wattenwyl, [1] Dean of the Cathedral at Bern, Switzerland, grace and peace from God, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Just as all Christians everywhere rejoice in the faith of the gospel of Jesus Christ which your fatherland, my dearest brother in Christ Jesus, the pious city of Bern, accepts and daily grows in, so I especially rejoice in your conversion from darkness to light.

For there are many things which could have prevented you from it: your noble ancestry (for your own father has been ennobled with many and frequent offices and mayoral duties), [2] riches, your own virtue, gentleness of character, and graciousness toward everyone; but the most serious is [472] that all these are highly valued by many popes and bishops. All these things undoubtedly could have prevented you from coming to the free knowledge of the gospel of Christ had not God especially drawn you and all your people through you.

Oh, how true the word of Christ is: no one comes to me unless my heavenly Father draw him [John 6:44].

He effects everything in people; him we ought to praise and thank to all eternity for your faith. Amen.

That I, dear brother, am so bold as to address you in an open letter, though I have had no particular friendship with you before this, comes simply from the one Christ who makes us brothers and members of one body.

For as the heathen have it in a proverb, "The good join with the good unsolicited", so also a Christian has every right to seek the friendship of other Christians since they are of one God, one baptism, and one faith in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 4:5) Now though I preached on divine and human righteousness on St.

John the Baptist Day [3] past, and have been asked since then by many honorable people to write

on that matter, yet did I not dare to dedicate this pamphlet to your good city, though I had the urge to do so; for I heard that it has been rumored among you that things are pretty bad with us here in Zurich--which is not the case at all. For a great deal of friendship and love grows daily among the believers; God be praised. And no one undertakes anything except it be at the bidding of the magistrates and on their decision.

But there are quite a few rebellious spirits who probably look to other teachings than the teaching of Christ; these we must tolerate until God himself chastizes them, so that the strength of his word may win more honorably.

It must be resisted in order that its full force may come to the fore.

Now, though I dared not dedicate such thoughts to your church, I nonetheless undertook to send them to you, an earnest, faithful servant of God, confident that they would not seem strange to you, but that you would receive this well--as it happened, of course. [473]

In this [work] you will see that the gospel of Christ is not over against the magistrate and that it does not cause dissension for the sake of temporal goods.

Rather, it strengthens the magistrate [obergheit] teaches it what is right, and maintains it in harmony with the people, as long as it acts in a Christian manner, according to the measure set by God.

Read this [work], therefore, with the believers in your church and should you require my humble services, feel free to request and order them.

May God, who has led us into the wonderful light of his knowledge, confirm in us all that he has begun.

Extend my greeting to Thomas Wyttenbach, [4] to Henry Lupulus, [Woflin] [5] both of whom have been my instructors; to Sebastian Maier, [6] Berchtold Haller, [7] teachers of your church and my associates in the gospel of Christ; and the honorable, firm, etc. gentlemen, your father and my lord, as well as J. Hans Rudolph Hetzel [8] of Lindach, firm protectors of Christian teaching. Greet also Valerian, [9] the city doctor and Leonard

Trempen, [10] my relative [kammet], [11] along with your entire congregation.

Written on the 30th day of July, 1523.

Signed Huldrych Zwingli, Your and all Christians' Servant

Although divine righteousness unfolds through God's word more in our generation than it has for several hundred years now, there are certain people who do not accept it as they ought: some others again, while undoubtedly heeding it, seek to accommodate it to their respective anxieties (suis affectibus). [12] Superiors see in it such beauty that no person may approach it. When, for example, God does not desire that one should swear either by him, or by heaven and earth, or by our own head [cf. Mt. 5:34-36], they see clearly that we cannot fulfill that commandment.

They think, however, that at this point, one should move cautiously in the matter of disallowing oaths until it suits them.

Allegedly there are some who will think that they are not obliged to keep an oath, though they have sworn perfectly legal and honest oaths, since according to Christ's word one should not swear any oath whatever, Mt.

5:34.

On the other hand, there are a few in the community who, when they hear that Christ has bid us part with the coat when someone takes away our jacket [cf.

Mt.

5:40], wish to apply this only to their taking. They do not think at all that such a commandment touches them as much as it does other Christians and that they, too, should rather leave their jacket and coat than fight for them, not to say, take from another what is his. I considered it imperative, therefore, to publish the following

[475] sermon which I gave on divine and human righteousness on St. John the Baptist Day so that those who have much more leisure than I do at the moment may pursue the matter in greater depth.

In order that it might become apparent how divine righteousness and our miserable human righteousness relate to one another, I shall first of all speak of divine righteousness.

God is not righteous simply because he gives to everyone his own, as people have tended to define righteousness. For should we measure him by this yardstick we might conclude that we are something apart from him. What, after all, is ours? Nothing.

Everything we have and are is his.

And he is not obligated to (darff) give us what is ours; for nothing is ours; whatever he gives is all his. But he is righteous in a different manner, or else he would not give anything to anyone; for he does not owe anything to anyone.

He is righteous in that he is the wholesome font of all innocence, goodness, righteousness and of everything good; for he is himself essentially righteousness, goodness and every good itself, so that nothing is godly, righteous or good except what comes from him. Just as he is not merely truthful, but truth

itself, John 14:6, so also is he not merely righteous, but wholesome righteousness itself which is so pure and essentially undefiled that in it there is no mingling with any kind of uncleanness or temptation.

For whatever is mingled cannot be eternal.

But God is the eternal good; therefore, he who is righteousness must be unmingled and freed from any temptation and selfish desire.

We see this pure, undefiled, unalloyed righteousness of God in his own word.

For just as an evil person brings forth evil out of the evil treasure of his heart, Luke 6:45, so God, who alone is good, Mark 10:18, brings forth nothing but good out of his heart.

In this pouring forth of righteousness and goodness we may recognize the original font; for one knows the tree by its fruit [Luke

6:44]. Similarly, one knows God's righteousness by his words. Now since his words are, as David says in Psalm 11 [Ps.

12:6], "The words or sayings of the Lord are pure; they are like silver refined and cleaned of all dirt, indeed, seven [476] times purified, thus well cleansed of all dirt," it must needs follow that nothing may be found in them which resembles earthly temptations. From this it becomes readily apparent that divine righteousness is as far above human righteousness, as far as God is above humankind.

It follows then that we cannot come up to his righteousness; in other words, we may not attain to the measure of his beauty, innocence and purity.

Nonetheless, God demands that we be like him if we desire to dwell with him.

For just as a householder does not tolerate any servant in his employ who is not like him in his habits, so God tolerates even less anyone in his kingdom who is not formed in accordance with his beauty and innocence and who is not as pure as when he created the first being.

Christ illustrates this for us in the person who was invited to the marriage feast, Mt.

22:11-13; since he did not wear a wedding garment he was, therefore, thrown out.

And yet, the lord who had bid people to be invited to the wedding ordered that the poor, sick, blind and lame be called in, Luke 14:21.

They had to be clean, however, in the manner in which he demands it. For God is an eternally consuming fire with whom no one can dwell who has something clinging to him which the fire cannot tame or which resists it; rather, whatever seeks to dwell with him must be holy and godly, pure and undefiled, just as he is. Isaiah points to this in chapter 33 [14-17],

"Who among you is able to dwell with the consuming fire or who among you is able to dwell in eternal heat?"

Answer:

"Whoever walks in righteousness or who is righteous; whoever speaks the truth; whoever disdains greed which harms the community and who keeps his hands off any gifts and bribes; whoever closes his eyes in order not to see evil. Such a one shall dwell in the heights; his elevation shall surpass the fortified rocks; he shall receive food [477] or bread; his waterstreams are pure and clear; they shall see the king in his splendor and their eyes shall see land from afar off."

Isaiah seeks to show by these words how those have to be who desire to dwell with God.

And the sum thereof is that they must be innocent in every way. David speaks in like manner in Psalm 14 [Ps.

15:1ff.] "Lord, who shall dwell in your tent or dwelling place or who shall rest on your holy mountain?" Answer:

"Whoever walks without pretense and does what is right," etc.

Now David speaks almost like Isaiah, though he comes before him; thus we can see by this that all of it derives from the same spirit.

Christ has summed it all up in a few words in Mt.

5:8, "Blessed are those who are pure in heart, for they shall see God."

But what is a pure heart or which of them is pure? On earth there is none; for what is there that is not selfish, impressed by itself or in some way tainted--something that God cannot tolerate at all. I will discuss this a little later.

In the same breath we must point here to the gospel.

We heard expressly that no one may come to God unless he is pious, pure, righteous and innocent, as God requires.

For he says in Leviticus 20:7, "Be godly, [14] pure or righteous; for I am pure."

Just as if he were saying, "I am righteous, pure, godly; therefore, if you wish to be of me, you must be like me" (understand

"pure" not as "to do honest works," but as "clean").

All humans are bound to fall short of this righteousness; for who is so holy that his heart is without temptation and desire? Thus no one is able to dwell with God; for whoever desires to dwell with him must be spotless. God saw this our misery and impotence and took pity, finding means by which his righteousness might be appeased on our behalf so that we might dwell with him; he therefore allowed his son to become human through the pure handmaiden

Mary, conceived without any sin through the Holy Spirit, so that his heart which was without any sinful temptation--since it was not conceived in sin as we are--Psalm 50 [Ps. 51:7] [478] might be altogether pure.

Now since he who was innocent suffered death for us guilty sinners, he paid off for us the beautiful righteousness of God, which otherwise no human being is able to satisfy; thus he earned for us the right to come to God by virtue of his free grace and gift. Whoever hears this and believes it without doubt shall be saved. That is the gospel.

Yet that which God demands still remains, namely, that we are duty bound at all times to live as pure, clean, unspotted and right as God wants it. For Christ says, Mt.

5:48, "You must be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect."

Yet in deed we are never thus; for it is impossible, as long as we live, to be that pure.

Therefore we must at all times come to God through the one, righteous, innocent Jesus Christ; for he alone is the advocate

and recompense for our sin unto eternity, 1 John ZATIc Ihis, in brief, is the relationship of the gospel to our guilt and impotence.

If you desire to see the foundation of Scripture at greater length, please read the first few "Conclusions" and their expositions which we recently published [summer of 1523].

That God demands such great innocence from us--innocence which is untainted by any temptations and desires--we learn from his very own word.

At the same time, though, he has given salvation and grace through Jesus Christ.

However, this was given us for our salvation.

Not on account of our merit, but because of the sheer grace of God. So that after we learn of our powerlessness and despair in ourselves--for we should never be able to attain to divine righteousness--we should nonethless find our salvation in Christ Jesus.

Whereby, though we are always rejected, God's grace and mercy become great and dear to us.

Always look to the same, o believer, and allow nothing to push you away from it. It is sure; of that the son of God is a pledge. And though you should despair because of what God demands of you, because you are unable to attain to it, [479] you, nonetheless, do not despair in the one who has carried all our labor and infirmity and has paid for and reconciled us.

Rather, you learn through the word of the divine will what a great treasure God is. For the goodness which he prescribes for us, he is in himself and he conducts himself as he bids us do; for he is not at all like the tyrants who devise superb laws which they themselves never keep.

For this reason Christ reprimands the Pharisees and scribes of the Jews, Luke 11:46.

And you must unceasingly strive that you might be ever more fully conformed to the divine will to grow unto perfect manhood according to the measure of Christ, Eph.

4:13.

Do not ever think of yourself as having done enough, but placing all your confidence in God, ascribe that which you might have accomplished not to yourself but to God. You will further recognize that your work is nothing and has no value before God and that everything that God shows toward you happens not on account of your merit but because it is a free gift from him.

Here then follows a word on divine righteousness which alone may be properly called righteousness.

Divine righteousness is as pure and beautiful in itself as it challenges us to be.

It bids us forgive, just as we desire God to forgive us [Mt. 6:14]; and it achieves this so richly that it does not forgive as it desires to be forgiven; for there is nothing that has to be forgiven it; rather, if we but require its grace it forgives beyond all measure and without any merit on our part. Yes, even though we should be in disfavor and worthy of his righteous wrath, he forgives us, Rom.

5:6-11.

Christ died for us while we were yet sinners.

God bids us not only not to kill, but even not to become angry, Mt.

5:22. He, too, does not get angry; and wherever anger is attributed to him in Scripture it is none other but deserved wrath.

3. God bids us not to engage in lawsuits and quarrels.

Rather, if the coat should be taken from us, we are asked to leave the overcoat as well, Mt.

5:40, Luke 6:29, which he did.

[480] He allowed his enemies to take him to court without demanding any justice and to kill him, as the prophet prophesied, Is.

23:7:

"He was led to his death like a sheep and did not open his mouth."

And Is.

42:1, "He shall not cry and wrangle."

Mt.

12:49.

Not only does God bid us not to commit adultery, but that we should not even desire a married person, Mt.

5:28.

He keeps that; for he is without any temptation whatever. Indeed, the humanity of Jesus is without any sinful temptation.

And he bids us leave father and mother rather than our marriage partner and not to break asunder what God has joined together, Gen.

2:2 7 N pONTIO e» fle 5.

God forbids any swearing and bids us be so dependable that our yes is yes and our no, no, without any oath at all, Mt.

5:37. He, too, is like that; for heaven and earth shall sooner pass away than that any of his words remain unfulfilled [Mt. 24:35].

We experience that daily.

God bids us give away our possessions to those of whom we can expect nothing in return and who shall not recompense us. Luke 6:35. He himself does the same; for not only does he feed humans but also the birds of the air, Mt.

6:26, without any compensation.

God bids us do good not only to friends and blameless persons, but also to enemies, Mt. 5:44, "I say unto you, you ought to love your enemies, do good to those who hate you and pray for those who persecute and derile you." He himself does so also.

He causes his sun to shine on the just and unjust and the rain to fall on the pious and impious, Mt. 5:45. He provides fruit and food to unbelievers and enemies as much as to believers.

Not only does God bid us not to steal, but also that we not desire the goods of another person, Ex. 20:15, 17. He himself does the same.

It is so far from him to demand something of us or to desire what he wills to our detriment that we may demand everything of him, for he will provide for us and restore all our necessities.

Not only does God will that we refrain from speaking evil or slanderously, but also that we speak no unnecessary word

even, Mt.

12:36, "I say to you [481] that for every unnecessary word which people speak, they will have to give account."

He does so, too. There is nothing false, deceitful or vain to be found in his mouth, | Pet.

2. He taught, not in useless, vain words, as the scribes and Pharisees did, but in power, so that his words were strong and remained in the hearts of his hearers, Mt.

7:29.

10.

God is not content when we do no harm to the neighbor or come to his aid only after we have secured our own position.

Rather, he wills that we love the neighbor as much as ourselves, Mt. 22:39. He himself acted toward him in that manner. He gave himself for us and has taken us unto himself as his friends, kinsfolk and heirs. Jn. 15:13; Mt. 23:8; Gal. 4:5.

Much more might be said about the things that God demands of us in his word and by the example of his deeds, such as, that we should for the sake of his word suffer death and derision on behalf of every brother in Christ. All other commandments are contained in the above-mentioned.

The commandments of God are not just counsels, as the Papists maintain, but actual ordinances of God [precepts] which he demands of us, not allowing us to come to him unless we are so innocent, pure and good as is demanded by his will.

And this, his will, is not known to us other than in his commandment.

And his commandment is nothing other than an unveiling of his own will.

Be mindful always of the gospel in all these commandments of God which is nothing other than (after we despair because we are incapable of doing what God demands of us), that God has given us his son as a perfecter of his will, who was able to keep all his commandments and who paid for all our sin and has become the great pledge on whose account we may come to God.

This consolation saves us from despairing in God; for God bids us not to become subject to desires and temptations, which is impossible for us. Thus [482] we are equally incapable of coming to God.

For, in short, he demands such purity and innocence of us.

But the fact that Christ compensates for our infirmities and becomes our patron causes us not to despair in God but to see how all our salvation. depends on his mercy; we learn from his words what a beautiful God he is--how pure, just and righteous.

And however much we labor to measure up to his word and to fulfill it, we always discover our impotence.

Still, it ought to be the greatest joy of believers to train themselves in keeping with the word and demands of God, though they shall never be able to reach the measure that is worthy of God.

Yet this joy seeks always to please its treasure, comfort and confidence.

That the above-mentioned and similar matters are commandments and not simply advice, is borne out by Christ's own word who calls them commandments in Mt.

5:19, "Whoever does

not keep the least of these my commandments," etc.

Note that there he refers to the commandments which follow immediately; these he calls commandments.

Furthermore, he bids the disciples teach people to keep all that he commanded, Mt. 28:20. Further, all above-mentioned commandments are contained in the two foremost commandments [Mt. 22:37-39], "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind and strength and your neighbor as yourself." That we ought not speak any unnecessary, vain word we discover in the first; for inasmuch as we love God above all things and with all our strength, we are incapable of any vanity.

Yes, if we were to keep that one commandment (which they have to concede is a commandment, since Christ prescribed it in Mt.

22:37-39), we should never act against God; for no creature should ever be able to enter our heart when we love God in our heart with all our strength.

For then nothing ever' is "credited? to^ arcreature; or™else, "not all "our "strength "is directed to loving God; which, of course, is truly our predicament.

Therefore we are never fully without sin.

For the other, the commandment that we should never swear [Mt.

5:34], is contained in the second commandment.

If everyone were to keep the same, and love his neighbor as himself, one would need [483] no oaths. Just as no one likes to be cheated by another, so he himself would not cheat anyone and there would be only yes, yes and no, no.

Thus all other commandments are contained in these two, as anyone who looks at them may readily determine.

For Christ does not lie when he says, Mt.

22:40, "On these two laws hang all the law and the prophets."

And finally, the words of Christ have not been spoken casually in the abovementioned commandments; rather, they bid and command.

I hope it is apparent then that anyone who seeks to come to God through works errs; for he may see from the outset by the very first commandment that he cannot keep it.

Thus God commands what is appropriate to his righteousness; but we are incapable of keeping his commandments.

Yet no one can aid us in this our impotence except God alone.

He has done it through his son Christ Jesus.

Now since there are still many godless people who not only are afflicted by the common imperfection of not loving God above all else, but who also do not believe that there is a God who punishes and requites everything that is good and evil [just and unjust].

As a result, they fall into horrendous vices.

If he were not there ahead of their evil designs, they would destroy everyone with their evil and impiety. Since they do not fear. God-for they do not believe that there is a God--they would take from everyone what belongs to him and if he should be displeased, they would simply kill him.

God foresaw that and provided laws

NZ by which a godless person might be inhibited and subdued. Though he does not care much for God, he must, nonetheless, leave people in peace and cannot intimidate anyone.

Here poor, weak human righteousness becomes apparent.

Laws have been given for the sake of wicked people, as Paul says in 1 Tim.

1:9-11, "The law has not been given for the righteous but for those who lead evil lives, are disobedient, godless, sinners, impious, profane, those who commit patricide and matricide, [484] murderers, the uncouth, sodomites, kidnappers, liars, perjurers and those who have other vices" which are set over against righteous teaching, which according to the gospel is oriented to the honor of the holy God. You may readily see by this riffraff that God gave numerous laws on account of wicked and godless people.

From this it follows that though a person may not be involved in one of these vulgar vices he is yet not righteous; for these are merely laws against the worst of evils.

And anyone who keeps these is, therefore, not yet righteous before God; but he manages to escape punishment.

As Paul says in Gal.

3:12, "Whoever does the things which the law bids him do, shall live by them."

In other words, whoever does what the law commands or who abstains from the things which the law forbids, lives his life so that he is not judged or punished by the content of the law, Deut. 4:40.

Therefore we distinguish two types of law, just as there are two types of righteousness, divine and human.

One type of law looks only to the inward person, such as how one is to love God and neighbor.

These laws no one is able to fulfill.

Just as there is no one who is righteous except for the one God and the one who by grace, of which Christ is the guarantor, is made righteous through faith.

The other type of laws looks only to the outward person.

On their account someone might be outwardly good and righteous while inwardly, nonetheless, impious and condemned in.

God's sight. Take an example:

"You shall not steal" [Ex. 20:15] addresses itself to the outward life and goodness. "You shall not covet another's property" [cf. Ex. 20:17; Rom. 7:7] is directed to the inward divine righteousness.

Yet both refer to one thing alone: thievery.

Now if a person does not steal he is considered good in human eyes (understood here are all those vices publicly condemned by people), but in God's sight he is unjust. He may well have a greater desire and temptation for other peoples' possessions than one who has actually stolen.

Yet a thief is hanged because he is an exposed thief.

[485] But this knave [gotsschelm], who is actually greedier for temporal goods, is reputed to be righteous, simply because he did not follow through in deed; yet in God's sight he is not righteous.

Therefore, the saying is a good one, provided it is used correctly, which states that one is a known knave

[schelm].

It seeks to show that in God's sight we are all knaves.

Although a person may not desire temporal goods in his heart, he may instead desire the marriage partner of another or have other temptations.

For this reason he is a knave in God's sight, though he be considered righteous in human eyes.

His heart is too deep for people to look into. But God alone knows the hearts, while people judge by outward deed only. Known knaves are those only who are profane and ungodly so that their inner temptations break forth and they are recognized by people because of their fruits [cf. Mt. 7:16].

Thus one may discern the boundaries between divine and human righteousness.

Measured by divine righteousness we are all knaves. Since our iniquity is known to God alone, the one God also judges the one or grants the other to us through his grace, if we believe knowingly that he died and made payment for us out of his compassion.

Measured by human righteousness we are often found to be righteous, though we are truly knaves in God's sight. But one who is found by human righteousness to be not only a knave in God's sight but a known sinner is turned over to the one who judges transgressors, namely the magistrate or judge.

Note that I call this human righteousness a poor and feeble righteousness, simply because a person may be found to be righteous in human eyes when he is, nonetheless, not righteous in God's sight; for no one is righteous before God.

Note, too, in the same vein, what sort of a righteousness it is which struts its stuff before [486] people with cassocks, signs, vestments, and you will find that it is nothing other than sheer hypocrisy.

It is impossible that any person be found who is inwardly good, pure and clean, according to divine righteousness.

And since such a one passes himself off as good in outward appearance despite his impotence, impurity and weakness, it becomes an even greater knavery before God.

Therefore Christ rightly says, "They have their reward"

[Mt.

6:5]. For people judge by what they see and assess others by appearances [1 Sam. 16:7] Thus when they appear to be good, they are taken to be good and they receive what they work for, right here and now.

But there are some who fail to detect the pretense; these are to be pitied in that they fail to recognize universal infirmity.

For it does not help when one says, "We wear cassocks that we might atone for our sins." The reason is, if you were really penitent, you would not seek to feign repentance before human eyes.

Therefore, in short, anything is hypocrisy which seeks to appear beautiful in human eyes.

It does not fit with poor, human righteousness, for it is deception and sin.

When compared to the divine, human _ righteousness is not worthy to be called righteousness; nonetheless, God instituted it on account of our disobedience, and commanded us to follow it. For example, a person who commends his son to the teacher says, "Teach him this and that; beat the fellow and do not spare the rod."

The father does not mean by this that his son should be beaten because he learns well.

Rather, the father knows well the boy's disposition and that he does not learn willingly unless he is beaten.

In like manner, the heavenly father assumes that we have no desire for alien things and that all our desire is for him; yet he knows well that we cannot attain to this goodness and righteousness. Whereupon he gives ordinances which are useful to us and serve well to enable us to live happily and well with one another. And he says, "You shall not steal; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not [487] lie, kill, nor utter false witness," etc.

[Ex.

20:13-16] All of these commandments we should not need at all if we would only keep that other commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself"

[Mt. 22:39] But since we do not keep that, God had to issue all these other commandments.

And that in itself was not enough; he had to recommend, in addition, that the transgressor be punished. A thief is to make amends by giving back fivefold or fourfold, the adulterer is to be stoned, etc.

And this has been recommended to the teacher who is the magistrate. To what extent the magistrate is to punish or establish ordinances, we shall discuss later.

At this point let us set the ten enumerated arguments over against human righteousness and see how they relate to one another and how God has commanded human righteousness as well--though only after it was found that we could not keep the former.

1 & 3.

God bids us forgive unconditionally or else he, too, will not forgive us.

But though we do not want to do so at all, a private person is still not entitled to seek vindication. Such would only lead to unrest and discord and destroy all human peace and community.

Therefore he instituted superiors and judges to arbitrate and settle dissension by giving to each his due, Ex. 18:21f.

"Go and look for wise and godfearing men from among the people who are truthful and who are strangers to greed (prick up your ears, you judge and superior) and divide them into thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens who pass judgement on the people at all times and who deal solely with minor conflicts." You see from this that God ordained judgement because many refused to forgive as they desired to be forgiven.

So that human interaction might not turn into bloodshed, authorities were not to permit private individuals to take revenge in any way outside the law.

Rather, they were to ensure that all disagreements be carried out within the law.

[488] For if this poor righteousness should also escape us, as divine righteousness has, human society would be little

better than the existence of dumb animals: the stronger would be right.

Therefore judges and superiors are servants of God.

They are the teachers.

Any person, whether spiritual or carnal, who does not obey their justice, acts against God, as I shall show below. And though such a person may live blamelessly, he is not righteous in God's sight, though he does escape death or punishment.

2. God commands not only that we do not kill, but also that we not be angry [Mt. 5:21-24].

If we avoided anger, there would be no killing afterwards.

But since we transgress God's righteousness in that matter, God has to command that we do not kill. So that we do not deviate from that commandment either, the teacher has to revenge death for death, life for life, eye for eye, burning for burning, wound for wound, blow for blow.

Though a person may live in such a way as not to transgress in this matter, his is nonetheless not righteous, but simply escapes the punishment of the authorities.

This is what is called to live within the law [Gal. 3:10].

God bids us not to covet the marriage partner of another person.

Since we do not keep this (for we are certainly not without that temptation), he bids us not to commit adultery.

Though we may actually not commit adultery in deed, but do so in our desiring, we are clearly righteous in human eyes--yet adulterers in God's eyes.

So that we do not fall into this evil deed and become like animals, he commends us to the teacher; the same is to stone us, Lev.

20:10. We Christians have actuaily allowed this punishment to go by the boards, either because adultery was initially so rare that there was seldom an offense, or else because the superiors are adulterers and do not punish as severely as they ought the vices in which they themselves are involved.

Since we now notice adultery to be quite common and shameless, we ought to intensify justly the punishment once again

[489] in order that we might not be deprived of poor righteousness.

For just as stealing is punished more harshly than God has commanded, Ex.

22:1-12, simply because thieves undoubtedly did not abstain because of the punishment, so one should reintroduce and intensify once again the punishment for adultery.

God bids us speak and act so truthfully that we need not say more than "yes" and "no".

If we fail to do so and deceive one another instead, he bids us enforce it with an oath, Ex. 22:11.

If we should break that, the school master is there with the rod and has us stoned like the two false witnesses who undertook to commit Suzanna unto death.

Cf. the account of Daniel and Suzanna in the apocrypal editions to the Book of Daniel, chapter 1. For perjury is denial of God and God punishes idolatry through stoning, Deut. 17[5].

God bids us give our possessions to the needy without

compensation.

If we should ever fail to do that, he bids us lend out money without profit, Ex. 22:25, Lev. 25:36. And if we should fail to do that, there is the teacher who teaches us how to give and take with gain.

And though the penalty for profit-taking is not clearly stated, it is, however, left to the judges who were established so that they might settle the resulting abuses and quarrels, Ex.

18:25-27. Now one who does not practice usury is considered good in human eyes because of it, for the authorities cannot get at him on account of usury.

In God's sight, however, he is still not good unless he sells all he has and gives it to the poor, Lk. 12:33.

If no one does that, then there is no one who is good according to divine righteousness. May we assume then that you know yourself a sinner?

God bids us do good to our enemies.

If we fail to do so, he bids us, nonetheless, not ever to harm him and to avert any harm from him which he might not even be aware of, Ex.

23:0f. When you come across a stray [490] cow or donkey which belongs to your enemy, you are to lead it back on to the path.

And should you see the donkey of one who hates you or who is your enemy weighted down by its load, you are not to pass by, but help it up again. If you neglect that, the teacher is to punish you, for you have transgressed the simplest law of God which demands that we protect what we can almost not save lest it be all destroyed.

Though you might never transgress this law at all, you are still not righteous in God's sight unless you forgive your enemy in the manner in which you want God to forgive you.

God bids us not to covet the possessions of another.

If we kept this law there would be neither robbery nor theft.

Since this is not so, God gives the simplest commandment which a human society and community can tolerate: you shall not steal.

We see from this commandment (just as we do from "You shall not desire another's marriage partner" and alongside that, "You shall not commit adultery," the latter of which is also the most basic), that God has given certain laws which, though we keep them, still do not make us righteous. They merely help us escape punishment. He has given them so that human friendship and community may not disintegrate. Thus, one who takes another's property secretly or by force is either a thief or a robber. Such a one the teacher or custodian has to punish with the rod.

It is true that since God gives us the earth and all its fruits freely without our having to pay for them, they should remain free.

Indeed, if we do not observe this we are forever indebted to God and in his bad books for having made our own what belongs to God.

Yet God knows that we do not keep such law, but that we are selfish ever since Adam, with everyone appropriating things for himself.

He bridles our greed and commands us not to rob or

steal so that human society be not destroyed because of our greed.

One who stays clear of theft is therefore not righteous, unless, of course, he does not even desire another's property.

You note here that those [491] who give a needy person nothing for his own goods when they have actually taken his capital and who take refuge in the teaching of God are nothing but thieves and scoundrels.

Indeed a wealthy person owes it to the poor to give him his own; God bids him do that. But he does not bid you take it away from him when he does not give it willingly. To assure that no harm befalls anyone, he does bid the authorities to punish you, should you try something like that. Therefore, file and authority tolerates

Jews or other usurers; you are a thief or robber if you undertake by theft or by force to collect interest or profit from one whose capital you have taken from him through careful design; so God has forbidden such arbitary taking of goods.

We shall discuss later how earnestly the magistrate must see to it that practices are removed which harmonize neither with God's nor with this poor righteousness--which God has instituted merely to make living easier.

Anyone who engages in one of these practices sins in a twofold manner: firstly, because of a common human affliction they desire another's goods; secondly, they commit evil deeds on its account, giving rise to unrest and disrespect of the God-ordained authority.

For we poor, righteous people must cling firmly to the thread of righteousness or else life would be sheer murder, robbery, and thieving.

God wills that we do not utter a single vain word [Mt.

12:36ff.].

Thus a person is not righteous, though he may not swear, speak evil or lie, as long as he speaks vainly.

Yet poor human righteousness is satisfied as long as one does not curse, speak evil or lie. But if one should transgress after all and should have spoken, offended, lied or perjured himself, God commands the false person and liar to be treated as he would have had it done to one against whom he lied or perjured himself, Deut. 19:19.

If our speech were yes, yes and no, no, God would not have needed this commandment.

It follows then that God [492] has given certain commandments, which, though we must keep them, still do not make us good and righteous. Look how miserable it is with those who say, I am a good person.

They determine their goodness from the fact alone that they do not transgress in things which the authorities punish. Note further that all human knowledge is actually not able to discern who is a good person; for faith, which alone makes good and which alone is capable of knowing both infirmities and salvation, is known only to God.

Nonetheless, we must maintain the poor, lowly righteousness, too.

10.

That we do not keep the singular commandment,

"You shall love your neighbor as much as yourself"

[Lev.

19:18; Mk.

12:31; Gal.

5:14], is the reason for all other commandments concerning the neighbor.

This is the law of nature, except that Christ has sweetened it with love which is appropriate to him, since he is love, | John 4[16]. The law of nature is:

What you do not want done to you, do not do to anyone else. This law Christ sweetens with love. For if we love God, God is in us. And if God is in us, the love of neighbor is in us, too, for God so loved us that he gave himself for us--and where God is, this disposition is present, too.

Therefore Christ adorns the law of nature with these words, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Everyone fails in this; we all know that well.

And human righteousness is deficient in this in every way, for it has taken on self-concern so much that it cannot bring anyone into community; it was destroyed in Paradise.

Therefore no one is punished who is unable to keep this commandment, though all people are guilty; and while some deeds which transgress from this law are penalized, the entire commandment is not enforced. From this one may conclude that it is with human righteousness very much as it is with the defiled cloth of a menstruating woman, Is. 64:6.

And though we may appear good in the sight of the world, we are, nonetheless, knaves in God's sight, and in need of oversight by the authorities.

Just [493] as a father takes care that his beguiled daughter does not become altogether common, so, in God's place, do the authorities take care that our life does not altogether turn to beastly irrationality.

We have perceived by now, I hope, how carefully divine righteousness must be distinguished from human righteousness.

Though human righteousness is also commanded by God, it is not the perfection which God demands.

It has been commanded merely on account of our broken nature, when God saw that our temptations and desires were unable to keep up with and follow his will. Therefore it is no more than a corrective; and although we may keep it, we shall not be saved thereby or become pleasing to God.

Ex. 20:25.

"I have given them laws which are not good and ordinances by which they do not live," i.e. by which they cannot be saved. Though these words must be understood primarily with reference to ceremonies, the term "statutes" indicates nonetheless that it ought to be understood in relation to human righteousness and the magistrate, too.

The difference between what is written here, namely that we shall not live within those statutes, and Gal.

3:12, "Those who keep the commandments of the law shall live," is this: though we adhere to human righteousness, we shall not thereby achieve eternal salvation, which to Ezekiel means "not to live".

Paul, however, means that if we keep the statutes which are given on account of human infirmity, we shall save the physical life, meaning the authorities shall not kill us.

Deut. 4:40: if we do not kill we shall not be killed either.

How one is to conduct oneself within divine and human righteousness.

Divine righteousness ought to be revealed and preached unceasingly to all people and one should rather risk life and limb than allow anyone to frighten us off such preaching and proclamation, as Christ has often commanded.

In Mt. 6:33 he says, "Seek above all else the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and all necessities will be added unto you." We hear there that everyone is bid to seek divine righteousness which means unceasingly, in keeping with his will, to strive after innocence [494] until we reach the measure of Christ, Eph. 4:13, and that we should never be satisfied with being considered good according to human righteousness.

Now it must be kept in mind at all times that our diligence in matters of divine righteousness is not sufficient.

However our impotence is richly compensated by the one Christ.

The word of God in which his righteousness appears is a light which illumines every person.

Therefore the light must never be hidden under a bushel, just as no one hides physical light, but rather kindles it in order to see by it and to get on with one's work.

In like manner the pure word of God is to be proclaimed unceasingly; for in it one learns what God demands of us and with what grace he comes to our aid. And nothing contained therein ought to be kept hidden; for it is different in nature from human wisdom or words which show themselves other than they really are.

This word of God points up clearly what God wants of us.

It explains at the same time how God is in himself, which delights us above all else. According to the word of David in Psalm

[19:9], "the decrees of the Lord are right and delight the heart.

The commandment of God is clear and enlightens the eyes." For this reason it must be revealed.

It seeks to shine and teach, so one need not walk in darkness.

It contains nothing within it which ought not be revealed; rather, as God is a common good, so too does his word work toward the good of the common human race.

Therefore they are not true believers who think that one ought not continue preaching the word of God beyond what human righteousness or authorities permit. For if it were so, all divine righteousness would fade away and everyone would be content with limp human righteousness.

All righteousness would turn out to be nothing but pretense, for everyone would inwardly disregard God and be intent only on how to behave before people and avoid punishment--as we were unfortunately able to witness with several people some time ago.

For this reason then, as Christ said in Matthew 10 and Luke 8, the proclaimer of God's word ought to keep nothing back; for from his hands or from the hands of those whose silence has caused the little sheep [495] to go astray, their blood will be demanded, Ezekiel 5:5-17.

And again Christ says, Lk.

9:26, "Whoever is ashamed

of me, my teaching or my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his honor and power and in that of the Father and the holy angels."

Therefore all messengers of God ought to preach in the open what has been told them in secret, and from the housetops, what has been spoken into their ears, Lk.

12:3.

For the word of God will always want to be manifested.

For just as snow and rain fall from heaven and moisten the ground to make it green, so also does the word of God work, Is. 55:10f.

It does not remain ineffective.

Therefore let no authority dare oppose the word of God, though it thereby becomes apparent how poor and miserable its own righteousness is. They are human and have the infirmity of human impotence in common with everyone.

Therefore they, too, must hear what God demands of them and all people, so that no one might be condemned by God by limiting himself to human righteousness.

For, in short, we are obliged to keep the commandments, of which we have demonstrated a portion.

For they are not counsels but commandments.

One may glean that from the word of Christ in Mt.

5:17 when he says, "You must not think that I have come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it."

The meaning of that word is this:

I have not come to take away the law which is nothing other than a manifestation of the divine wil, so that no one should have to concern himself diligently with God's will any longer.

Rather, I have come that I might manifest what has hitherto not been manifest in the law.

You have heard it stated in the law that one should not covet or steal another's possession. The one then who does not covet the possessions of another has achieved a great deal of innocence with regard to temporal goods.

However, as long as he has temporal goods, it is not sufficient for him merely not to desire another's goods.

He must distribute his own possessions to the poor.

Lk.

12:33, "Sell what you have and give it as alms." Note how the perfection which God demands shows itself even more clearly at this point.

In addition, in order that no one suffer want in this world, [496] Christ has fulfilled the law, that he might fulfill the will of the father in heaven for us who are impotent.

No one who has been conceived in sin can satisfy him, for such a person is unable to achieve the measure of divine righteousness.

Christ, however, who cannot be accused of or charged with any sin or infirmity, alone is able to meet the requirement which God demands. Therefore he fulfilled the law, in part to say to us clearly what God expected us to keep, that by it we might discover our own helplessness.

Besides that, he gave himself in our stead and fulfilled the law which we ourselves could not keep--for we are capable of nothing.

He thereby satisfied and fulfilled divine righteousness.

But one discovers here that what Christ has fulfilled is law and commandment, as is everything God demands of us.

Ceremonies do nothing whatever either for divine or human righteousness.

Therefore they have been set aside, as Christ indicates in Luke

16:16, "Therefore do not concern yourself with them."

But if you wish to get to the bottom of the matter, you should read the argument in my "Conclusions". Thus the law has been renewed and set aside through Christ. Renewed, in that Christ has stated and commanded more clearly than ever before what God demands of us. Set aside, in that no one can ever condemn us for transgressing the law if we believe knowingly that Christ has fulfilled it and that he has paid our access to God as a warranty for all eternity. This merciful deed of his makes us new beings and consecrates us to God in that we discern our impotence and his grace and henceforth are never again satisfied with ourselves and always do what God demands of us. Further, we shall never fully be able to know and praise God's mercy which he so graciously unfolds toward us.

All this serves to the end that a person might learn to preach divine righteousness and mercy diligently without regard to persons, though he might be concerned that his impotence become apparent.

For thus one must ever be mindful of what God demands of him [Micah 6:8] A believer will always fail in his works, yet cling to God without doubt, thus remaining whole and upright. [497] Again one must recognize that divine righteousness and mercy must be taught unceasingly by the fact that God condemns us if we fail to do so, for Christ says in Mt. 25:41-45, "those who have failed to feed him, give him drink, shelter, clothe, visit and comfort him in sickness and imprisonment in the persons of the poor, shall be consigned unto eternal fire." All these things, of course, are not commanded by human righteousness, for no magistrate forces anyone to give alms, shelter, clothing and such like.

Yet if we fail to do these things we shall be consigned to eternal pain along with the goats.

Much more so shall the one be counted among the damned who was entrusted to proclaim this but failed to do so.

Thus enough has been said and demonstrated concerning divine righteousness, that one is duty bound to teach the same on penalty of condemnation. No magistrate who seeks to be Christian is able to forbid such. For it is not good enough for believers to follow human righteousness alone, which they know to be an imperfect thing.

Rather, they specifically delight, the longer the more, in patterning themselves after divine righteousness.

Though they know themselves incapable of fulfilling it, and that God does not work disparately within us, the desire is nonetheless greater in one than in another, after God has kindled his fire in our hearts.

For he effects all things within us, | Cor.

12:6.

One must also be subject to and obedient to human righteousness according to God's commandment, though it is a poor righteousness and does no more than, protect us from the gravest evils. A person is not righteous in God's sight, even when he does

nothing against it, but when he acts against it he sins against God and humankind. Human righteousness or authority is no more than orderly authority which we call temporal power; for so-called spiritual authority has no basis in Scripture for its rule. For spiritual superiors are not to be considered in any other way than as servants and messengers of God and distributors of [598] the secret things of God, i.e. as proclaimers of the wholesome word of God which was previously hidden from the gentiles and has begun to be proclaimed to everyone only at the time of Christ. Therefore its nature is not power or authority, but an office of serving the gospel, as we have amply stated in the "Exposition of the 67 Articles".

Christ bids us be obedient to this human righteousness or authority in Matthew 22:21, "Give to Caesar what you owe to Caesar and to God what you owe to God." Christ does not intend to order here that all the world must obey Caesar; rather, he commands only that part of humanity which came under the dominion of Caesar to be obedient to Caesar. Had he found the people of Israel under the jurisdiction of the Babylonian king he would have said, "Give to the Babylonian king what you owe him." One ought to apply this to one's respective authority.

If you live under the king of France, then give to him what you owe him. The same applies all the way through [Durch den Bank hinwegl For Christ does not exempt a person from temporal authority just because he has faith in him.

He knows well that our inclination to vice requires a school master. For this reason he paid taxes in Matthew

7:27, though he was not required to pay them, in order not to give rise to unrest and offense.

Peter says in | Peter, chapter 2, "Be subject to all human creatures, for the Lord's sake."

If your authority is a king, then be obedient to him as one who is the highest or unsurpassed, or to the leaders and prefects who have been sent by them to punish evildoers and to praise and laud those who live aright.

You note well here that Peter bids all believers to render obedience unto their kings and superiors. He says nothing at all of his power, but only of the temporal power [the power of the laos] which alone is the power instituted by God.

The papists, however, say, "For this reason then one ought to obey us, too, since Peter says that one ought to obey all human creatures [499] for the Lord's sake.

We do not demand obedience to us, but to God, so that one might obey us, in God's place."

Answer: on this word of Peter look at your breadbasket a bit better; it contains something other than what you think. You ought to obey all human creatures means that you, believers, are to be for all persons.

You ought to serve all or you ought to obey all human order which I have established for you, be they kings or other superiors.

This word applies to every believer; therefore, anyone might say to you just as readily, "O pope or bishop you ought to be obedient to me" as you might say to him that he ought to obey you. For to the extent that these words of Peter refer to the servanthood

and love of Christians among themselves, you are obligated toward me to the same extent as I am toward you. To the extent, however, that this then extends also to obedience which one owes to the authorities you are bid, 3s much ss ! am, to submit to the yoke.

You have no more basis in Scripture to impose leaders on me that they might govern me than I have to impose them on you.

For just as you say, "one ought to obey me, a bishop or pope, since I am a human being; Peter says so," I, too, can say that "you must obey me, for I am a human being; Peter says so." I do not say this because I envy them their government.

I neither desire nor respect it.

Rather, if they desire to govern like the rulers of this world, they should not bear the name of messenger or bishop which means to be a guardian. On the other hand, if they wish to be proclaimers of the gospel, messengers and shepherds of Christ, they should not rule, Luke 22:26.

This opinion does not teach disobedience, as the windbags boast.

Rather, their magistrate and potentates always confuse true human authority. And no one is less obedient to the authority which has been ordered by God than these spirituals.

Of those, every group, order and sect has a special number.

If they live [500] disgracefully, so that many people take offense, a duly instituted magistrate cannot do a thing about it, since they have their own superiors.

These beat them with the pompoms of their caps and tie them to a sausage, as allegedly the dog was tied to one, but the offense is not alleviated.

Those, however, who teach in a Christian manner teach that the magistrate which has been instituted by God must be obeyed.

If everyone were obedient to it who comes under its authority, much greater peace and unity would prevail than is the case when everyone who wishes to be a shepherd and official of God desires, in addition, to have princely pomp and authority.

Paul says, in Romans 13:1-7, as follows:

"Every living human being ought to obey the highest authority or the superiors.

For there is no authority which is not of God. All existing authorities are instituted by God.

Thus, whoever sets himself against the authorities opposes the divine order. Those who oppose them incur their own judgement or condemnation; for superiors do not deter from or infuse fear of good works, but evil ones.

If, then, you do not intend to fear authority, do what is right and the authorities will praise you, for they are servants of God for your own good.

But if you were to do evil, you should be afraid, for they do not bear the sword in vain. They are servants of God who punish all who do evil with severity [Rom.

13:4].

Therefore you ought to obey, not only because of the severity of the punishment, but also because of your conscience.

For this you pay taxes.

They are servants of God and attend to the very thing. Therefore you must give to everyone their just due.

Pay taxes to whom you

owe them, and to whom you owe duty, levies and protection, pay them. To those whom you owe respect and honor, give them."

Though these words of Paul are clear, we shall, nonetheless, deal with them at length, for here we are not [501] only taught obedience, but also what the authorities are to command.

First of all, God commands, through the mouth of Paul, that everyone must be obedient unto the authorities; since all authority is from God. We discover here that even the evil, godless superiors are from God.

Of course God ordains such superiors that he might punish our sin. Isaiah 3:4, "I shall give them children and weaklings for princes," i.e. babes shall rule over them. What shall we make of this in our own day and age? Is it not evident that Christendom is full of young, unknown princes, superiors and prefects? [15] Where else but among young feverish hearts who find nothing too much to start something without ever contemplating the end, do unrest, warfare and uprisings originate? Thus we can also feel that God's hand is present with the rod.

It is there to punish us for our sin. The princes and superiors, though they begin right away to mature in years, are by and large raw.

Many of them are still like babes. Thus it is with all their attire, clothing and deportment: anyone who looks at them might think that he has a host of decked-out women before him.

I shan't mention the beastly excesses, games, cursing and other inhuman trespasses.

These rogues are punishment from God, for Solomon also says in Ecclesiastes 10:16, "Woe to you, land, whose king is a child and whose princes indulge themselves freely."

Thus we may see before us the misery we are in; for children everywhere aim for domination. And those who, in terms of their years, are actually not children at all are, for the greater part of day and night, so full of it that they are worse than children.

If one allows them to get to it, one will also reap fruits from them accordingly. Yet, once they govern we are commanded by God to obey them, for he intends to punish our sin through them.

| Pet.

2: servants are to be [502] obedient to their masters in all fear; not only when these are kind and good, but also when they are otherwise and crooked.

At this point, however, knavish superiors become proud and do not as much as by a hair's breadth improve in any virtue.

Therefore the preachers are forced to teach obedience to them however wicked they are, and undertake to exercise their authority and meddle with God's word and Christian liberty, and forbid the preaching of the word of God other than in the manner in which it suits the Pope.

They refuse to free poor consciences which for such a long time have been tortured and held captive but which lately have been liberated by the word of God. They force the priest who has just learned that the mass is not a sacrifice, and who therefore refuses to sell out the body and blood

of Christ, to take the Pope's side so that without the support of Scripture he has to say it is a sacrifice.

The monk who has been informed that his order is pretense and truly against God and who begins to work for a living and to live a Christian life (and in like manner, the nuns), they force back into cloisters--the prison houses of the conscience.

Yet there is nothing in their oath or obedience which entitles them to rule over the souls and consciences of people; for they are incapable of doing so.

As little as they know what is in the heart of a person, so little are they capable of ruling the human heart, to make it good or evil, believing or unbelieving.

Caesar has no power in such matters, says an ancient heathen poet [Ovid, Tristia III, 7.48].

Caesar has not been able to control my heart or to take away from me the gifts of the heart. Now the teaching of Christ is nothing other than a freeing of the conscience.

Jn.

8 [32,36].

When the truth shall set you free, you will be truly free.

The human heart is known by no one except by the one God.

Hence, no one but God is able to instruct it. For as long as God does not set a person free in his heart he is not free.

As soon as he is liberated though, no one is able to enslave him.

Though one might force him to believe differently, it cannot be done.

Therefore the raging defenders of the Pope will have to become their tyrants--as were Nero and [503] Domitian--before they shall be able to change their minds.

Whenever they do so, however, one ought not obey them.

For Christians have a rule that we ought to endure death rather than depart from or keep silent the truth we know, Luke 12:4.

Therefore, no prince ought or is able to command anything that is against the word of God.

Nor should one preach God's word in order to please people. For as soon as this happens, the messengers of God are to say, "One ought to obey God more than one obeys people,"

Acts 4:19 and 5:29.

But the messengers who fail to speak thus--of whom we have some right now--who undertake to tie together Christ and Belial because they are afraid, are true distorters of the word of God which demands to be preached purely and cannot be mingled with the water of human pretense, Isaiah 1[22].

As soon, then, as princes command anything that is against or denies divine truth, those who believe God's word ought to endure death rather than depart from the truth.

If they fail to do so, they are not followers of Christ.

But this be far from you, superiors, that you should ever undertake to fight against God; it would be sheer presumption and should never succeed in the end, anyhow.

For it should prove easier to a human being to bring down the heavens than to eradicate the comforting word of God.

Heaven and earth shall pass away, but not God's word.

Therefore, no magistrate ought to set itself up against this word or else it will destroy the magistrate. Thus we find here an area in which one is not bound to obey the authorities.

I shall speak later about other commandments.

Secondly, it follows from Paul's words [Rom.

13:3] that superiors are not a deterrent to good works, but to evil ones.

We note here, firstly, that evil hearts which are not manifest cannot be punished by superiors, for they cannot be recognized until they have been revealed through works. Therefore Paul does not say that they ought to deter or punish evil thoughts or hearts, but rather, evil deeds.

And from that it may be concluded [504] that human righteousness is a poor righteousness, though one is in need of it as much as one needs food.

It comes into effect and punishes only after the evil has broken out which long before has been accomplished in the heart but is known to God only.

Those who contemplated murder, betrayal and other such plots without accomplishing them are counted among the culprits.

For that someone should have dared plot with another is as good as if it had become known and is the beginning of the deed.

I have said this for those who are quarrelsome.

The fact that superiors are not a deterrent and threat to good works comes from their knowing which are good works and which are not.

Where else but from the word of God are they to learn this? Therein they find the truth that does not deceive.

Hence, no teaching serves a government and magistrate better than the teaching of Christ.

It teaches what is good and what is evil.

Not only does it teach external piety but it leads superiors and subjects alike to an internal piety and to greater perfection than is required by human righteousness, setting before both of them a common mind so that one does not hold for a good what the other does not consider thus.

Now one may see in this that a great deal of controversy comes solely from the fact that not all of us believe the singular word of God and fail to learn from it alone what is evil and what is good. Take an example: that a nun, monk or priest should enter into matrimony is right and good in God's sight and in human eyes.

God says through Paul, 1 Cor.

7:9, "whoever is unable to live untainted should resort to marriage."

Among all unbelievers marriage is considered to be right, too. The papists do not allow it.

A controversy ensues as a result.

The Pope has his bellies who support him.

They praise chastity so highly (yet engage all the while in such inhuman unchastity that it is shameful to even mention it) This confuses the magistrate and haunts [durchachten] poor, [505] weak persons who would have preferred to live godly and honest rather than detestable lives.

What is one to do in all this? One ought not pay attention to people, but to the word of God.

And when we discover that God has not forbidden marriage to any person, we will not even aggravate innocent people by our power.

Leviticus 19:13, "You shall not inflict upon your neighbor any injustice, disgrace or damage.

Nor shall you oppress him by force."

Yet

Zi what else is it but oppression by force when marriage is prohibited to those who were hitherto considered to be religious? For marriage is right for God's sake and for the sake of people. To the bishops, however, it is intolerable; the payment of concubinage fees is lost to them as a result. This has to be unjust force, since neither divine nor human law forbids anything. You may search your handbooks and you will not find anything. The Pope alone forbids it.

Therefore all magistrates sin who punish what is not considered unlawful in God's sight.

For they ought not undertake to punish good works.

With the aid of this example all other matters about which one quarrels to this day must be understood.

If one can find God's word dealing with the matter, one ought to let it decide.

If no word on the matter can be found, pay no attention to the matter which is the bone of contention; for we ought neither add nor subtract anything from the word of God, Deut.

4:2 and 12:02"

At this point, however, the papists say that Paul states in 1 Cor.

7:20 that everyone ought to remain in the calling to which he has been called.

Hence, those who are in orders ought to remain in them.

If they have promised chastity, they ought by right remain in it. Answer: you violate Scripture at this point, just as you do in all other cases when you interpret it in light of your own inclination.

Paul does not speak there of the calling of the conscience or of the calling to the Christian faith but he speaks of bodily habits and the human condition, as [506] the passages immediately preceding and following clearly indicate.

Bodily habit you should understand as follows: whoever was a Jew had undergone circumcision. When gentiles came to the Christian faith, Jews thought that these had to be circumcised in their physical bodies, too. To that Paul addressed himself: if someone has come to the faith uncircumcised, he ought not first of all be circumcised; rather in whatever form he has come to the faith, in that form he ought to remain.

Regarding physical condition, you should understand it as follows: if someone belonged to a master, he was not freed from this condition on account of the faith. Thus, these words are more likely against you, dear papists, than they are in support of you; for Paul says that the uncircumcised is not to be circumcised. Thus you, too, ought to leave people in the condition of life in which they have come to the faith.

For what else is an order or cassock other than what circumcision was among the Jews, in which sense Paul uses it here?

I have made this aside here since I forgot to make it in developing an objection in my "Exposition". You will find other objections raised there.

Thirdly, it follows that the magistrate is to praise the one who does what is right, just as it punishes the one who does

what is wrong.

In our day and age one might be satisfied if the magistrate did not praise anyone (as, of course, happens), as long as it protects those who do what is right. Thus, in my opinion, to praise here means to promote, advance and protect.

For it is ever the task of the magistrate to protect the innocent, and the helpless throng of widows, orphans and oppressed people, Isaiah 1:17.

Fourthly, that the magistrate is a servant of God serves to your benefit; for it desires that we lead a peaceful life, though we may not fully measure up to its righteousness. Therefore Paul teaches in 1 Tim.

2:lf. that we ought to intercede earnestly [507] for the magistrate that God may grant us to lead a peaceful life, pleasing to God and in all earnest.

Hence, the magistrate serves God when it tames obnoxious goats with whom the weak sheep might otherwise not be able to live; by that I mean they are so irrational and evil in their temptations and desires that they dare inflict harm on their neighbor simply to satisfy their temptations. Thus it is a service to God when evildoers are punished.

Fifthly, should you do evil, you ought to be afraid.

I have said plenty on this earlier, regarding the manner by which the magistrate might know what is good or evil. Now they hear once again that the evildoer alone has been entrusted to their punishment. For this reason, righteous magistrate, stay clear of punishing the little sheep of Christ.

Where they do not act against God, you, too, must not act against God so you do not afflict and distress his innocent little sheep. For all authorities are unmistakably threatened in all of Scripture when they burden or punish the innocent. Read Micah 3 and 7.

Sixthly: for he does not bear the sword in vain; he is a servant of God who judges and punishes in all severity the one who does evil.

Paul here refers to the custom of superiors or judges who--in order to indicate their office--bear the sword so they might be feared by evil persons and loved by the good. They punish with all severity, but they should not punish more harshly and severely than is warranted by the transgression.

Rather, "with severity" here means that since a person has dared by outward evil deeds to assert himself so as to.have harmed his neighbor, the judge then ought to chastise him with outward revenge and not pussyfoot at all where great evil has been committed, as Eli had done [1 Sam.

2:22ff.] One may note in this context that this understanding [508] of the magistrate does not refer to the Pope and his hordes.

He neither does nor should bear the sword.

Christ bid Peter to sheath his sword and he commanded the disciples not to take along a staff with which they might beat others.

He allowed, of course, that they might use a staff to assist them on the journey, Mark 6:8.

But that he draws a sword and fights

with it indicates to me that he shall also die by the sword--God grant it when God wills it. For Christ does not lie.

In the seventh place, God speaks further through Paul [Rom.

13:5], "Therefore it must needs be that you ought to be obedient not only because of order but also because of your conscience."

What can all papists together do against this strong word?

God says, "You ought to be obedient to the power that bears the sword."

Understand by this the things that pertain to this life, society, friends; indeed, everything pertaining to human righteousness.

Don't you hear, pope and popess, it must be thus.

Come down, therefore.

Be obedient to God's word and give heed to the one who bears the sword. Do not worry about human righteouness.

Christ, too, did not worry about it. When someone said to him, "Master, speak to my brother that he might divide the inheritance with me," he replied, "Who set me up to be a judge and divider of your inheritance?"

Luke 12:14.

He further said to Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world.

If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would undoubtedly fight for me," etc.

Note well, O pope, that Christ does not want anyone to fight on his behalf.

Accordingly, what can you papists add to what God says through the mouth of Paul, namely that you ought to be obedient not only from fear of punishment but because of your conscience, simply because God bid it and did it himself.

Christ gave his mother's name at Bethlehem [509] [cf. Mt. 1:21ff.].

He paid to Caesar his tax [cf. Mt.

17:24ff.].

He commanded, in addition, "Give to Caesar what you owe him," etc. Whoever then acts against God hurts his conscience; for one's conscience is not ever afflicted except when it knows that it has acted contrary to God.

It knows that it has acted contrary to God precisely when it fails to follow his word.

It would not know that, if it did not believe in God first of all, that there is a God and that he is its God.

Only after that does it believe his word.

By this you may establish, you papists, that you are unbelievers.

For if you believed in God and that he is your God, you would also believe in his word.

And if you believe his word, your conscience would be hurt if you act contrary to his word. Thus, your desire to rule after human fashion, contrary to God's word, indicates that you have no conscience about God.

For if you had consciences which fear God you would not protect your pomp; for you could readily see that it is contrary to God.

Rather, you would surrender, just as any other sinner does who may very well sin, but he confesses to being a sinner and is not godless.

But since you dare fight against the clear word of God, it is evident that you are godless.

Again, all of you Christian people, be obedient to the magistrate which preserves human righteousness for us so that we might lead a peaceful, quiet life. Superiors, be diligent in what is right and good. Command nothing against God, lest you hurt and turn consciences against you which otherwise are hurt when they do

not obey you who are rightly set to govern.

In summary, it is a sin for you, pope, bishops, priest, monk and nun, not to obey the authority which bears the sword. That word you cannot break with all your might.

In the eighth place, "for this you pay taxes; for they are servants of God and attend to the very thing" [Rom.

13:6] We hear at this point that we owe taxes for their sustenance to those who protect human righteousness.

The magistrate suffers no want there, of course.

They feed so [510] sumptuously on that word everywhere in the world that one should worry that some of them demand too much rather than not enough. There are many superiors whom one might justifiably restrict, since they conduct themselves without moderation toward their poor subjects. These are as godless as the papists. Nonetheless one ought to endure them, until God shows his grace to us.

He will surely be able to bring it about.

"They are entitled to it" means they have been set up to punish evildoers and protect those who do good. To that they look intently. But should you superiors fail to take seriously that evildoers are punished and the good protected and still firmly insist on receiving tax and assessment moneys, the rope may be stretched until it tears.

Then one would have to be concerned that the cat turns out to be the most domesticated beast. [16] There are among many of the superiors excesses which deserve punishment and improvement as much as among certain spirituals.

If they refuse to change their ways at all, relying on their power, God will surely look around for an avenger of his people, even though he may have to bring him from a far country. He always found someone to be over the children of Israel who was able to mete out their reward.

Ninthly, God speaks through Paul, "Give to everyone what you owe them." You note here the irresponsibility of the enemies of Christ who always shout that we teach through [511] the gospel that no one should be paid.

Yet God commands that one ought to give everyone what one owes him.

Now the problem arises from our not obeying the commandment of God which states that you ought to love your neighbor as yourself.

Were we to keep that, a person who has would, of his own free will and accord, help one who suffers want.

But where we fail to keep it, the fruits and possessions of this world have become private property.

People keep for themseives what God has given them freely and without price.

For what do we give him for the fruit we daily receive?

Since all things have become private property, we know that all of us are sinners. Though we may not be evil by nature, that very inclination is sin enough to earn God's condemnation--for that which he gives us freely we turn into our own property.

Even a beggar is not free from this sin.

Everyone, in

3] his own way, is selfish.

To keep this inclination from leading to unrest or evil, God commands against our weakness, "You shall not covet someone else's goods." We note here that the commandment must have arisen after the inclination. Indeed this commandment is too difficult for us. Our flesh is unable to keep it; therefore,

God issues the last commandment pertaining to temporal goods, "You shall not steal."

If we were able to keep "You shall not covet", we would not require "You shall not steal".

Anyone then who transgresses these breaks poor, makeshift human righteousness and divine righteousness, too.

He therefore falls into the hands of the law as well as into God's hands.

Now in order to escape the hands of others and to maintain friendship, God commands that we give to everyone what we owe them.

I should like to speak here of the four kinds of indebtedness: debt which arises from buying and selling, the debt of the tenth, debt of interest, debt of usury.

Regarding debt which arises from legitimate buying and selling [512], I trust, by God, that there is not a single Christian who might think that he does not owe and must repay what he has promised and for which he has received value.

For whoever might think thus is a robber or thief and justifiably falls into the hands of the authorities, on top of being considered a thief in God's sight. Where there is deceit in trade, every magistrate knows well how to order compensation to be made.

It would lead too far to speak here of contracts, i.e. procedures concerning selling, vending and hiring.

Such a debt one owes according to human and divine law.

Concerning Tithes I shan't undertake to talk here of tithes which belong to lay persons because of the land they once owned which they then rented out for eight, nine or ten percent; indeed, some even for five percent.

But I shall concern myself with tithes which belong to the clergy or were purchased from them (as the false popes did in violation of their own rights, allowing tithes to fall into the hands of certain lay persons, 16 q, chapter 1, quoniam [Corpus Juris Canonici c. 68 causa 16 q l] and 16, q 7, decimos quas [C.J.C.

1.XVI 9.7]. And yet, these poor people gave up their capital [513] thinking that what the Pope allows to happen is all right. Therefore the debt owing them is a true debt, for they purchased it.

What a magistrate should do in the matter will be dealt with a little later.) I say that everyone is obliged to pay it as long as a magistrate orders it generally. The magistrate is entitled to punish the defaulter who refused to pay it; for it

was by common consent of the lords and upon such consent all purchases were rnade so that the lands were sold either dirt cheap or else very dearly, according to whether they were free of tithes or not.

Whoever then should not willingly render the tenth, in opposition to this common agreement of the authorities, would thereby go beyond what was granted him in an upright, straightforward purchase--the kind of purchase which the authorities considered to be right and legal. Such a person would then resist the authorities; and whoever resists the authorities opposes God, as we have shown earlier. However, should an entire government, seeking to protect these, decree that the tenth need no longer be paid, such a government would also have to ascertain beforehand that those who hold tithes receive adequate compensation or else that those who possess the land retain what they did not purchase.

As long as this does not happen, everyone ought to render the tenth, as the authorities decree, and no one ought, on his own, to undertake anything by force, [514] lest he be judged like a robber or thief.

But here it is the duty of the authorities to see to it that the tenth is not abused and, where this should be the case, that improvements be sought.

For, in short, if they fail to punish the misdeed, they are judged to be an unjust authority. And no one should be allowed to dissuade them in the matter.

For everyone can readily see that where a thing is seen to be forever abused, there one will also find ways, in the end, by which to overcome the abuse; and this happens with somewhat more tumult and disorder than through timely counsel.

This briefly stated opinion I am willing to substantiate by Scripture.

That no hothead might be able to say here:

"That you bank here on the magistrate who is to control this by protective measures shows that one has to take the mass to be a sacrifice, that one has to run to the priest for forgiveness of one's sins, that one has to preach the gospel in keeping with the Pope's whim, and other such like things, until some magistrate orders it to be done otherwise."

The answer is, "No."

One ought not appeal to the magistrate in such matters; for it has not been set over God's word and Christian freedom as over temporal goods.

This has been sufficiently shown earlier.

On the contrary, even if the magistrate were to say, as the Jews did to Christ's messengers in Acts 5:28, "We have forbidden you to teach these things," the preachers of God's word ought to say, "Our lord Christ prophesied that we would be led before kings, princes, governors and authorities, for his sake [Mt. 10:17; Mk. 13:9; Lk. 21:12]. However, he said at the same time that we need not fear them, though they might take our bodies, for they are incapable of harming the soul [Mt.

10:28; Lk.

12:4].

Therefore we stand here and say with the apostles that we ought to obey God more than people [Acts 5:29). God bids us preach his word truly and not to hide

anything that is contained therein, but it must be an opportune time. Thus, if you superiors want to [515] be Christians, you will have to permit us to preach the clear word of God and allow it to take effect thereafter.

You are not lords over the souls and consciences of people.

If you cannot accede to that, you become like unbelieving Jews and heathen tyrants," etc.

Thus we note well that the power which the magistrate has over temporal goods and the body does not extend to the soul. Now if the paying of tithes comes under temporal goods, it is proper for an authority to order them rightly used or given, or else to find alternate means, as long as this is done without hurting human friendship and justice.

I leave aside, once again, the question of the right by which one is entitled to demand the tenth.

If a sufficiently strong, legitimate magistrate demands it, I shall be only too glad to help probe into the matter and establish it on the basis of Scripture.

One must also pay interest [Zins] according to God's command, "You ought to render to everyone what you owe them"

[Rom.

13:7].

For since private property has been established, a magistrate cannot force anyone to lend out what is his without expecting some return or profit.

And we owe such not any the less on the basis of God's commandments. Based on these Christ calls riches unjust or unlawful, Luke

16:9, since without doubt the earth and the fruits of the earth are God's, Psalm 23 [Ps.

24:1], which he allows us to possess and enjoy without compensation.

We, however, appropriate to ourselves what is God's.

God permits this to the extent that we remain his debtors, nonetheless, and obligated all along to use temporal matters only according to his word and bidding.

This obligation shall never be lifted.

For this reason, everyone who does not use the temporal in keeping with God's will is unjust in God's sight, though he may not contravene human righteousness in using it. Therefore Christ rightly calls [516] riches unjust--in part also because we do not use according to his will that which is God's and over which he has set us as stewards.

Hence all interest is ungodly.

First, regarding all riches being unjust; from this we fathom why Christ said that it would be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven [Mt.

19:24; Mk.

10:25; Lk.

18:25] Let no one despair at this point.

God's grace is greater than our misdeed, but we must recognize absolutely that riches belong to God.

We must always be ready to place them under the will and in the service of God. They must be to us as if we did not have them at all.

Otherwise I fail to understand how a rich person can be a believer if his heart is with the temporal treasure.

His heart is there if he does not always have his treasure ready according to the will

of the Lord, and does not use it in keeping with that will. For from this it happens that he values the treasure more highly than

God.

If he does not believe in this fashion, he cannot be saved.

Secondly, it is ungodly to take interest since God bids us make loans without expecting anything in return, Lk.

6:35, E2022:25

Because human beings did not wish to leave to the needy the things which they appropriated for themselves without his making some kind of return, it led to the relaxing of poor, human righteousness so that a creditor demanded írom the borrower a return on the basis of the amount of fruit harvested, or according to the total number of fruit grown in the following fashion: if the land is worth

guilders and the borrower takes 50 on it, he is obligated to leave half the fruit to the creditor.

If he has 5 on which he then borrowed 20, he owes a quarter of the fruit, etc.

Lawyers will have to understand the matter in this way if they are to defend the taking of interest as if it were a purchase of fruit.

Indeed, according to human righteousness, interest-taking would not be considered a great burden if it were used in this fashion, though in God's sight it is unjust, nonetheless, as I have stated above.

That someone should have to pay interest on land, a field or a vineyard [517] which you lawyers call a purchase of fruit or custom [ususfructus] whether, God willing, there be fruit or no, is a bit too much.

I am totally taken aback by the fact that those who attended the Council of Constance or Basel were so utterly unreasonable even by the standards of human righteousness in allowing such an unworthy thing to get by that it was indeed too much even for unbelieving princes to allow this among their people. [17] Why did they not look to the word of Christ, "you ought to lend and not expect anything in return"?

How dared these false priests speak about it and deal with it when they should have actually frightened off the princes in case they might have brought such forward for themselves?

But the fact that they were not satisfied with the tenth but allowed themselves to take interest on it indicates quite clearly to me that they invented this unwholesome interest.

Look, where are these dishonest babblers now, "Yes, councils are convoked in the Holy Spirit?"

Does the Holy Spirit act against God?

Nonetheless, as long as the general practice favors purchase with interest and sanctions it with letters and seals of the magistrate, let everyone pay interest on the capital which, after careful consideration, he acquired as his property for this purpose; otherwise he would disturb human peace. I say this only about interest which, in keeping with humanly instituted righteousness (which one is tempted to call something else here; for those who set up purchase with interest did not consider God's word nor the law [518] of nature), was purchased

on l. Such a person would sin against God, too; the latter bids us give to everyone what we owe him.

á BD But the magistrate ought to look seriously into this abuse of interest-taking.

This would be my advice--but I advise here as a person, just as Paul had done in the case of the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 7:12; for if I were to teach God's word, I would have to say, "You should lend and hope for nothing in return"

[Lk.

6:35].

But in this case, since I can see that all those who have interest should have all the land assessed on which they have interest and accordingly collect annually a portion of the yield in proportion to the amount of money borrowed. Otherwise, I greatly fear that a lot of people will burden themselves with the taking of interest more than can be credited to human infirmity. Because of their premeditated malice, they will be considered knaves in God's sight.

For this reason--and now I speak God's word--let no one be too careful on how he intends to sustain his life. God feeds the ravens [Ps. 147:9] and other birds who gather ups nothing: and he «clothes the little "flowers "ofthe: field.

"Yet how much more are we in the eyes of the Lord [Lk. 12:24-27]?

Now then, he will also feed us and our children.

All these grave abuses stem from unbelief and lack of the knowledge of God.

May he illumine all people that they might know and love him above everything else and all these shortcomings will fall by the wayside without agrievement. Amen.

Interest, however, which has not been purchased in accordance with magisterial ordinances should be paid in no other way than in proportion to the sum.

Understand this as follows: there are greedy persons who demand as much from a 15% loan [519] as they do from a 20% loan. In addition, there are some superiors who will sanction such purchase of interest with letter and seal.

In such a case superiors act against their own justice and abuse their power.

Therefore they are obligated to help the oppressed even though he might have overreached himself, so that he will not be deprived of more than what their poor righteousness or justice has laid down.

Unfaithfulness and deceit are to fall back upon the deceiver. Though they act in this way, they are, nonetheless, not righteous.

They merely eliminate the worst offense, but a great deal of evil still remains. Thus, anyone who is burdened with unjust purchase of interest should be able to have his complaint heard.

This opinion I hold on the shady business of charging interest, but those who are opposed to me spread the news that I teach that no one ought to be paid interest of any kind. Allegedly

I cry that whoever has accepted interest is a thief if he refuses to give that which he has promised, as long as the purchase of interest was done orderly and in keeping with human decrees and measures.

I often have to speak quite against my own will in order to shut the mouths of those who protect all vices and who undertake to support every injustice. Yet all my work simply achieves that those who purchase interest do not sin against God

three times.

For the one who has been entrusted with guarding the salvation of people ought to prevent any damage done to the soul lest those who perish shall be demanded from his hand [Heb. 13:17]. If he is incapable of preventing such harm he should, nonetheless, not cease trying to do so.

It might perchance be that he can prevent greater harm.

On usury, I think as follows: in cases where a magistrate allows usury, the debtor is obligated to pay what is demanded of him.

[520] But no magistrate ought to be so unjust towards its subjects as to tolerate Jews or other usurers to compound interest on interest on a part or on the total sum.

But in cases where the magistrate does tolerate usury and does not pronounce judgement on it, one is not obligated to pay. Indeed, the magistrate ought to punish both the ones who take and who receive it, whenever it is aware of what is going on, even though the one is obligated to return the capital--unless the magistrate goes by another rule. This prattle one my find among human law-givers (if I remember correctly) whom

I have to use to get through the mire of usury; for to God, such a one is so offensive that he cannot tolerate him.

Nonetheless, the magistrate has been instituted that it might deal as closely to divine righteousness as it is capable of in such matters.

It is duty bound, therefore, to accept all such ungodly burdens, as far as this is possible without further damage.

In short, no one should destroy human friendship for the sake of temporal goods. Rather, when one is concerned with something he does not want to forsake out of respect for the divine word, he should handle it through authority alone, and not tolerate that Christian teaching is charged with causing dissension.

Further, the magistrate is to keep its eyes open so that all abuses which are so crassly against God might be removed; or else, long suffering to which nothing is conceded is twisted into nonsense in the end.

How can an honorable magistrate tolerate the tomfoolery of the so-called spirituals? How can it watch its poor [521] people being consumed by usurers and bailiffs? Therefore God kindles the light of his word once again so that this filth be washed out and cleaned for once.

Regarding the tenth, Paul says [Rom.

13:7] "to whom you owe taxes you ought to pay them; to whom you owe duty, transport or escort service, you ought to give it; to whom you owe respect and honor, render it."

These words are clear and they affect everyone.

Nor am [I particularly worried regarding the freedom of the spirituals, whether one maintains them exempt from tax or duty, provided it is not to the disadvantage of others-which may be hard to do. Let each authority do what seems right to them, but I am happy to have been able to show that they are not free on account of any divine right or commandment.

To sum up:

God's word ought to govern all people.

ought to be prescribed, proclaimed and faithfully interpreted and made known to them, for we are obliged to follow it. Our own impotence is aided by the singular grace of God through our Lord,

Jesus Christ, etc. The more we recognize our own guilt and impotence the more we find the beauty and omnipotence of God, and we discover more and more the love and confidence of his grace which makes us good and God-fearing as nothing else can.

In case there are some who do not listen to or live by the word of God, because they are either godless or unbelieving, God has provided for us the lowest possible commandment--not that in living thereby we should be considered godly--but rather that human society might be preserved and protected and that guardians be set up who see to it earnestly [522] that the last shred of poor, human righteousness be not torn away also. These guardians are the properly ordained magistrate which is none other than the one that carries the sword--in other words, the one we call secular authority, whose office it is to conduct everything in keeping with the divine will; and if that is not possible for us, to guide us by the divine commandment.

Therefore, everything that is neither to be found in God's word and commandment nor given in human righteousness should be set aside by them and held to be false, unlawful and unjust--even by human righteousness.

I will now once again and in brevity recapitulate this opinion and relate divine and human righteousness to each other.

1) God is the highest, most perfect good.

2) He is willing to reveal himself to all creatures and to be of aid to them without any return or retribution.

2) He is not selfish nor subject to affectation.

He requires of us to be like that, too; for he says, "You are to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect,"

Matthew 5:48.

If we intend to come into his presence we must, therefore, 1) be perfect, i.e., pure, upright, beautiful and without any infirmity.

2) We must not think that we are our own masters but know ourselves to be God's; and if we are God's we are the neighbor's also.

3) We cannot be in any way selfish nor afflicted, either by avarice, desire, ambition or lust.

We ought to seek above all else the kingdom of God and its righteousness [Mt.

6:33], which means that we must become righteous as he is righteous.

This, of course, is impossible for us; therefore he assures us by his grace through his son whom he has given up for us unto death. That is the gospel.

Now, if we are incapable of reaching this measure of goodness which God demands of us and yet are bid to be perfect,

[523] it must needs follow that that which God bids us do he will without hesitation reveal unto us so that we might grow with unceasing diligence in all good things without, however, becoming

proud because of our virtue.

For we have not yet reached the measure which God requires.

For this reason God has provided other laws through which we are able to live peaceably one with another, just as Christ says to the Jews, Matthew

19:8, that Moses, on account of the hardness of their hearts, allowed the Jews to divorce, though in the beginning it was not so.

Look at that very passage carefully.

We remain not any the less obligated to live by divine righteousness.

Yet we are unable to do so for 1) we are evil and utter darkness by nature, Genesis 8:21.

2) We do not like to belong to other people but in all things seek to be our own selves; 3) we are selfish ever since the fall of the first Adam and desire carnal things.

But in order that these infirmities might not become so monstrous that we go totally wild and become more evil than irrational beasts, God has provided for us two things which are to direct and govern us: his word and the magistrate who keeps our infirmities in check through punishment.

1) Through the word of God we learn how good or godly we ought to be.

In it we find salvation through grace.

No one is master over this word for it is set over all people. For no one who is born in sin is so righteous or without guilt that he is capable of doing justice to this word. Nor is there anyone who does not lack the grace which is assured us in that word.

2) In order that no violence grow out of our selfishness we have been given the magistrate to control the evildoer so that he may not rob another because of his seltish desire.

3) So that we may not lose all shame, like dogs, this same magistrate is to punish us, for it has laws for this purpose.

[524] 1) That we may not become blasphemers but be obedient to his word.

2) That we might not touch another's property either through bold robbery or theft [clandestinely ].

3) That we might not kill anyone in anger, or abuse another's wife, or debauch ourselves and such like things.

1) But should you defame or blaspheme God, the magistrate will punish you.

2) Similarly you will be hanged by the magistrate should you steal or rob.

3) Should you kill, you will be killed, too.

Similarly, if you do wrong because of other temptations you will be punished.

1) Beyond this the magistrate is not to refer to or take refuge in the word of God for anything else, for it can only punish outward misdeeds but cannot make one either good or bad inwardly;

God alone is able to do that in human hearts.

2) It follows that it should only prevent apparent, open misdeeds by decree and punishment.

3) It should not seek to prohibit whatever is right or not forbidden or permitted by God.

4) For they cannot turn into sin what is no sin.

5) But they ought to promote what contributes to fear of God and Christian piety.

6) They should not hold to be a good what is invented by humans, but only what God has ordained.

7) Should they punish those who have done nothing against God, they, too, will be punished by God.

8) But if they fail to punish those who act against God, they in turn will be punished.

9) Note, God wills in all his words and commandments that we look upon him alone.

10) Therefore no authority should punish anyone because of outward ceremonies, as happens in our day, whose removal! many [525] people bemoan.

Nor should they punish anyone who refuses to allow the Pope to divert him from the word of God.

They should not punish anything that pertains to the conscience of the inner being alone, for to judge that is in God's hand alone.

For example, monks and nuns in cloisters discover that orders, sects and assemblies are against Cod and how they have been misdirected to look for their salvation in cloisters.

After this they then desire to put away such hypocrisy and to lead a sincere Christian life along with ordinary Christian brothers. What authority is there to stop such undertaking?

None is master over human consciences.

Should there be public abuse in such matters of the authority which has been entrusted to them, they may then and ought to use their power. They ought also attempt to stop whatever is against God's word.

Thus they shall bring about peace and a wholesome government.

For if we learn daily through God's word what abuses there are and if they are not stopped by timely counsel, one might fear that the indignation of the oppressed will become

so great in the end that we will have to be in fear of it. For in short, the word of God cannot be captured nor tied down. But if all of us together endeavor to follow the word of God, God will thereafter govern. He will bring about that everything follows in its proper way.

To him be praise and honor in all eternity.

Amen.

NOTES 1.

Wattenwyl had enjoyed a successful clerical career from 1508-1525 at which time he was provost of the Chorherrenstift, Bern.

He must have shown interest in the evangelical cause, hence Zwingli's reference to his "conversion".

However, he did not formally accept Reformed teaching until late in 1525.

Cf.

ADB 41:249f.

Jakob von Wattenwyl was a successful merchant and entrepreneur who was given many social and political responsibilities as member of the Rat, city treasurer, and mayor [Schultheiss] in Thun and Bern, respectively. Cf. Sammlung

Bernischer Biographien, |V:2 or 7ff.

|n the calendar of Christian festivals this day is June 24.

Thomas Wyttenbach, a native of Biel, came to Basel in 1505.

He was one of Zwingli's teachers there. From 1507 on he served in several ecclesiastical offices, among them as Dean of the Cathedral of Bern. Cf. Sammlung Bernischer Biographien, 1l:424ff.

Wolflin was another of Zwingli's teachers. Cf. ADB 19:651.

Sebastian Maier began his reformatory career by refuting a pastoral letter of the Bishop of Constance in 1522. He was forced to leave Bern in 1524 but was recalled in 1536. Cf. Anshelm's Berner Chronik, vol. V.14.

Haller is generally acknowledged to be the chief reformer of the City of Bern. Cf. ADB 10:427ff.

Hetzel, a professional soldier whose military services on the side of the French angered the populace so severely that they lynched and killed his father in 1515.

He was pardoned in 1518 but later served once again with Duke Ulrich of Württemberg and at the papal court.

he nonetheless became a member of the Council of Bern. Cf. ADB 12:322ff.

Anshelm, also known as Rud, worked, as medical doctor and chronicler.

He was closely befriended with Zwingli, Vadian and B. Haller.

Cf. ADB 1:485f.

4] 10.

L. Tremp is a relative of Zwingli and an ardent advocate of the reform cause.

After Zwingli's death he supervised the education of his eldest son, Wilhelm. Cf. S. Scheurer, Bernisches Mausoleum, !l.224f.

11.

The term kammet is translated by Gwalter as affinis.

The actual degree of affinity is not clearly established, but L. Tremp must have been close enough to Zwingli to assume responsibility for part of his family after Zwingli's death in 1551.

12.

Anfechtungen means "temptations, anxieties, tribulations, etc."

A good contemporary term might be "stressful situations".

However, Zwingli may have intended no more than "specific needs".

13.

The Vulgate has in excelsis.

14.

The term fromm, here as elsewhere in Zwingli's works, seems to have many connotations.

We have generally translated it by "godly".

However, "pious, upright, trustworthy" are also implied. For a detailed discussion, cf. Idiotikon, 11295-1296 and Veronika Gunther, "fromm" in der Zurcher Reformation, Aarau 1955; 15.

Charles V became Emperor in

at the age of 19.

Frances | became King of France in 1515, aged 21. Henry VIII ascended to the English throne in 1509 at 18 years of age.

16.

Cf. Wander, Il, p. 1198, or E. Thiele, Luthers Sprichwortersammlung, p. 322ff. The meaning is that the cat will turn out to be so harmless as to allow mice to return to the house.

17.

Cf.

G. D. Mansi, Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, XXVIlz sessions XL, XLII of the Council of Constance and XXIX: session XXI of the Council of Basel.

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