Preface:
I just told Joy that I loved her deeply and because of this love I have for her, I wanted her mind to be as Christian as possible. It is my desire, duty and determination to "make" each of your minds as Christian as possible. If you do not want this gift from me, you do not want me, pure and simple. I will make no apology for my attitude in wanting you to be completely rescued from the doctrines of demons prevalent today.

Everything I do and everything I write is designed for no other purpose than to establish a Christian mind in true children of faith. I can think of no better way to greatly establish this "mindset" than to master this book of Galatians as much as is possible—as much as each can according to his gifts of faith and intellect. I chance making this rendition from Luther's commentary inferior; but my intent is that you will find it easier to be superior in the true and genuine faith. I have prayerfully prepared this offering. Where you find redundancy, it is by choice. If you become bored with repetition, consider your own cold heart and arrogant mind.

I know I "should" be more inviting when it comes to the Word of God, but I am not so inclined. The time is short and I have been patient enough. It is time for each of us to make doubly sure we know what our faith rests upon and to be able to give an answer to every man that looks to us for the hope within us. This whole world, and especially the church, has become nothing more than a den of demons intent on doing nothing other than deceiving the simple, the stupid, and especially the presumptuous. You must study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman who cannot be put to shame on account of the doctrine. Your life may cause you shame and it should; but your lack of understanding concerning the doctrine should not cause you shame. You have me; you have Luther; you have true faith. You have no excuse for not redeeming the time because the days are truly evil.

There is one crucial question which must be continually asked by a Christian, and one which Paul explains over and over: "Do I or do I not seek to be justified by works." You must constantly be proving and disproving this. It is clear to me that, as a Baptist, I was seeking to be justified by my works, even though I condemned the Catholics for expressly stating such. At least they are honest.

As you can see, I have entitled this compilation "Bewitched!" for a good purpose. You must understand how easy it is to be led away from true faith and Christian knowledge. I trust you will take me at my word. I trust you will understand that I am a father like Job who continually offered sacrifices for his children in case they cursed God in their hearts.

You have my blessings and my prayers as you seek to master this book. This mastery will put you in good stead both now and for eternity.

Love,

Dad

Introduction:
Luther said: "The Epistle to the Galatians is my epistle, to which I am betrothed. It is my Katie von Bora."" Galatians is nothing more than an explanation of what justification really is. The subject of theology, or justification, is how to be rid of sin—nothing more and nothing less. It is for this reason that Luther said this doctrine can never be discussed and taught enough. If it is lost and perishes, the whole knowledge of truth, life, and salvation is lost and perishes at the same time. But if it flourishes, everything good flourishes—religion, true worship, the glory of God, and the right knowledge of all things and of all social conditions. To keep from doing nothing, we shall begin again where we broke off, according to the saying, "When a man has finished, he is just beginning." I have "finished" reading Luther on Galatians four times and am truly just beginning. May God open our eyes that we might continually see wondrous things from His Word!

Chapter One

It is appropriate to call the righteousness of faith or Christian righteousness "passive." This is a righteousness hidden in a mystery, which the world does not understand. In fact, Christians themselves do not adequately understand it or grasp it in the midst of their temptations. Therefore it must always be taught and continually exercised. And anyone who does not grasp or take hold of it in afflictions and terrors of conscience cannot stand. For there is no comfort of conscience so solid and certain as is this passive righteousness. Human reason cannot refrain from looking at active righteousness, that is, its own righteousness; nor can it shift its gaze to passive, that is, Christian righteousness, but it simply rests in the active righteousness.

As the earth itself does not produce rain and is unable to acquire it by its own strength, so heavenly or passive righteousness is given to us by God without our work or merit. Therefore the highest art and wisdom of Christians is not to know the Law, to ignore works and all active righteousness, just as outside the people of God the highest wisdom is to know and study the Law, works, and active righteousness. It is a marvelous thing and unknown to the world to teach Christians to ignore the Law and to live before God as though there were no Law whatever. On the other hand, works and the performance of the Law must be demanded in the world as though there were no promise or grace. This is because of the stubborn, proud, and hardhearted, before whose eyes nothing must be set except the Law, in order that they may be terrified and humbled.

John says (I John 3:9): "No one born of God commits sin." If there is any conscience or fear present, this is a sign that righteousness has been withdrawn, that grace has been lost sight of, and that Christ is hidden and out of sight. Where Christ is truly seen, there must be full and perfect joy in the Lord and peace of heart, where the heart declares: "Although I am a sinner according to the Law, judged by the righteousness of the Law, nevertheless I do not despair. I do not die, because Christ lives who is my righteousness and my eternal and heavenly life. In that righteousness and life I have no sin, conscience, and death. I am indeed a sinner according to the present life and its righteousness, as a son of Adam where the Law accuses me, death reigns and devours me. But above this life I have another righteousness, another life, which is Christ, the Son of God, who does not know sin and death but is righteousness and eternal life. For His sake this body of mine will be raised from the dead and delivered from the slavery of the Law and sin, and will be sanctified together with the spirit."

Between these two kinds of righteousness, the active righteousness of the Law and the passive righteousness of Christ, there is no middle ground. He who has strayed away from this Christian righteousness will necessarily relapse into the active righteousness; that is, when he has lost Christ, he must fall into a trust in his own works. We see this today in the fanatical spirits and sectarians, (all non-Lutheran Protestants) who neither teach nor can teach anything correctly about this righteousness of grace. They have taken the words out of our mouth and out of our writings, and these only they speak and write. But the substance itself they cannot discuss, deal with, and urge, because they neither understand it nor can understand it. They cling only to the righteousness of the Law. Therefore they are and remain disciplinarians of works; nor can they rise beyond the active righteousness. Thus they remain exactly what they were under the pope. To be sure, they invent new names and new works, but the content remains the same.

Say to the Law and to all discipline: "Law, you want to ascend into the realm of conscience and rule there. You want to denounce its sin and take away the joy of my heart, which I have through faith in Christ. You want to plunge me into despair, in order that I may perish. You are exceeding your jurisdiction. Stay within your limits, and exercise your dominion over the flesh. You shall not touch my conscience. For I am baptized; and through the Gospel I have been called to a fellowship of righteousness and eternal life, to the kingdom of Christ, in which my conscience is at peace, where there is no Law but only forgiveness of sins, peace, quiet, happiness, salvation, and eternal life. Do not disturb me in these matters. In m conscience not the Law will reign, that hard tyrant and cruel disciplinarian, but Christ, the Son of God, the King of peace and righteousness, the sweet Savior and Mediator. He will preserve my conscience happy and peaceful in the sound doctrine of the Gospel and in the knowledge of this passive righteousness."

Whoever knows for sure that Christ is his passive righteousness not only cheerfully and gladly works in his calling, but also submits himself for the sake of love to rulers, also to their wicked laws, and to everything else in this present life-even, if need be, to burden and danger. For he knows that God wants this and that this obedience pleases Him.

1.        Paul an apostle-not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead—

The Apostle Paul had a sure and definite call from Christ. It is dreadful when the conscience says: "You have done this without a call!" Here a man without a call is shaken by such terror that he wishes he had never heard the Word he preaches. For by his disobedience he sullies all his works, regardless of how good they are, so that even his greatest works and deeds become his greatest sins. Therefore we should not intrude into someone else's harvest, as the devil does through his sectarians. With ardent zeal they claim to be saddened that men are being so miserably led astray, and to want to teach them the truth and rescue them from the devil's clutches. Therefore even when a man seeks, with pious zeal and good intentions, to rescue with his sound doctrine those who have been led astray into error, this is still a bad example, which gives ungodly teachers an excuse to intrude themselves, after which Satan himself occupies the church. This example does a great deal of damage. (All these churches you see littering the sides of our roads-INTRUDERS!. God graciously preserved me from being a part of them. God has not called them, yet they run with zeal to infest people with their errors. The irony is that Luther, the man with the truth, opened the door for these perverts to molest the church.)

2.        And all the brethren with me, to the churches of Galatia.

This was Paul's field which he had planted. The false prophets slithered into his vineyard with their venom. Luther states that these swine did to Paul just what the swine of his day did to him. The non-Lutherans do not come to those places where the enemies of the Gospel have the upper hand but to those where there are Christians and good people, who love the Gospel. These precious martyrs are not willing to take any chances but move into places where the Gospel has already established itself and where they can live without danger and in great tranquility. (You must remember that the Catholic church and the Emperor put many people to death for following Luther and his teaching. The situation was similar to Ireland, where some sections are pure Catholic and some are pure Protestant—though the Protestantism there is purely Satanic.)

Here you should learn that pious preachers have this lot in life. In addition to the persecution that they have to endure from the wicked and ungrateful world and the hard labor that they experience in planting churches, they are forced to see the quick overthrow of what they had taught for so long in its purity, at the hands of the fanatics, who thereupon lord it over them and get the upper hand. This causes more anguish for godly ministers than any persecution by tyrants.

When Paul calls them the "churches of Galatia," he is employing synecdoche, a very common practice in the Scriptures. That is, a part represents the whole. In this sense, one could call the whole world Christian if even one person is a Christian, because God continues everything for the sake of His lone Christian. Luther states, so today we still call the Church of Rome holy and all its sees holy, even though they have been undermined and their ministers are ungodly. For God "rules in the midst of His foes" (Ps. 110:2), Antichrist "takes his seat in the temple of God" (2 Thess. 2:4), and Satan is present among the sons of God (Job 1:6). Even if the church is "in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation," as Paul says to the Philippians (2:15), and even if it is surrounded by wolves and robbers, that is, spiritual tyrants, it is still the church. Although the city of Rome is worse than Sodom and Gomorrah, nevertheless there remain in it Baptism, the Sacrament, the voice and text of the Gospel, the Sacred Scriptures, the ministries, the name of Christ, and the name of God. (An example of God ruling in the midst of His enemies is His implanting faith in my heart despite being surrounded, in church, by men of perverse minds, who said they loved the Word while they really only loved their own opinion and thoughts about the Word.)

The church is universal throughout the world, wherever the Gospel of God and the sacraments are present. The Jews, the Turks, and the fanatics are not the church, because they oppose and deny these things.

3.        Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace and peace—these two words embrace the whole of Christianity. Grace forgives sin, and peace stills the conscience. This is the essence of justification. If we lose the doctrine of justification, we lose simply everything. Hence the most necessary and important thing is that we teach and repeat this doctrine daily. All your relatives have lost the truth about forgiveness and peace because their grace and peace flows from their works—what they do and leave undone. They know the words of justification, but deny the essence. They have the shell, but have lost the meaty kernel of the nut.

The world's peace grants nothing except peace of our property and of our bodies, so that we can live happily and peacefully in the flesh; and the world's grace permits us to enjoy our property and does not deprive us of our possessions.

Paul adds "and our Lord Jesus Christ" to keep us from speculation about the majesty of God, which is too much for the human body, and especially for the human mind, to bear. "Man shall not see Me and live." (Ex. 33:20). The pope, the Turks, and the Jews, and all the sectarians pay no attention to this rule. But true Christian theology, as I often warn you, does not present God to us in His majesty, as Moses and other teachings do, but Christ born of the Virgin as our Mediator and High Priest. Therefore when we are embattled against the Law, sin, and death in the presence of God, nothing is more dangerous than to stray into heaven with our idle speculation, there to investigate God in His incomprehensible power, wisdom, and majesty, to ask how He created the world and how He governs it. Therefore begin where Christ began—in the Virgin's womb, in the manger, and at His mother's breasts.

Therefore whenever you consider the doctrine of justification and wonder how or where or in what condition to find a God who justifies or accepts sinners, then you must know that there is no other God than this Man Jesus Christ. Take hold of Him; cling to Him with all your heart, and spurn all speculation about the Divine Majesty; for whoever investigates the majesty of God will be consumed by His glory. Take note, therefore, in the doctrine of justification or grace that when we all struggle with the Law, sin, death, and the devil, we must look at no other God than this incarnate(in the flesh) and human God.

This is why Paul makes such a frequent practice of linking Jesus Christ with God the Father, to teach us what is the true Christian religion. It does not begin at the top, as all other religions do; it begins at the bottom. It bids us climb up by Jacob's ladder; God Himself leans on it, and its feet touch the earth, right by Jacob's head (Gen. 28:12). Therefore whenever you are concerned to think and act about your salvation, you must put away all speculations about the Majesty, all thoughts of works, traditions, and philosophy—indeed, of the Law of God itself. And you must run directly to the manger and the mother's womb, embrace this Infant and Virgin's Child in your arms, and look at Him—born, being nursed, growing up, going about in human society, teaching, dying, rising again, ascending above all the heavens, and having authority over all things. This vision will keep you on the proper way, so that you may follow where Christ has gone.

4.        Who gave Himself for our sins.

Jesus Christ is our bullet and artillery which must be used to destroy the Protestants, the papacy, all the religions of the heathen, all ceremonies, all works, and all merits. Christ is the only answer for sin. For if our sins can be removed by our own satisfactions, why did the Son of God have to be given for them? But since He was given for them, it follows that we cannot remove them by works of our own. Hypocrites who do not know Christ may feel sorry for sin, yet they still suppose that they can get rid of it easily by their works and merits.

Through Christ you must make thorough preparations not only for the time of temptation but also for the time and struggle of death. Then your conscience will be terrified by the recollection of your past sins. The devil will attack you vigorously and will try to swamp you with piles, floods, and whole oceans of sins, in order to frighten you, draw you away from Christ, and plunge you into despair. On His shoulders alone, lie all your sins. For the 'Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all' and 'for the transgressions of His people He was stricken' (Is. 53:6, 8). Therefore when you say that I am a sinner, you do not frighten me; but you bring me immense consolation.

But to rest in Christ in the midst of struggle is the hardest thing there is. I am speaking from experience, for I am acquainted with the devil's craftiness. Not only does he try to frighten us by inflating the Law and making many logs out of one speck (Matt. 7:3-5), for he is very skillful both at aggravating sin and at inflating the conscience in good works; but he also makes a practice of frightening us by transforming himself into the Person of the Mediator Himself. He cites some passage of Scripture of some saying of Christ and thus strikes our hearts and gives the impression of being Christ Himself. So strong is this impression that our conscience would be ready to swear that this is the same Christ whose saying he has cited. So crafty is this enemy that he does not present the entire Christ to us; he presents only a part of Him, namely, that He is the Son of God and Man, born of the Virgin. Eventually he attaches something else to this, some saying in which Christ terrifies sinners, like Luke 13:3: "Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." By adulterating the genuine definition of Christ with his poison he produces this effect, that although we believe Christ is the Mediator, in fact our troubled conscience feels and judges that He is a tyrant and a tormentor. So Satan and his smooth-talking preachers deceive us, and we easily lose the pleasant sight of Christ, our High Priest and Mediator. Once this happens, we avoid Christ as though He were Satan.

We are not teaching anything novel; we are repeating and confirming old doctrines. Would that we could teach and confirm them in such a way that we would have them not only in our mouth but in the meditations at the very core of our heart and especially that we might be able to use them in the struggle of death!

To deliver us from the present evil world.

He means the whole world that has been, is, and will be, in order to differentiate it from the eternal age to come. And he calls it "evil" because whatever is in this age is subject to the evil of the devil, who rules the entire world. There is nothing in it but ignorance, contempt, blasphemy, hatred of God, and disobedience of all the words and works of God. We exist in this kingdom of the world and under it. The kingdom of the world is the kingdom of sin, death, the devil, blasphemy, despair, and eternal death. But the kingdom of Christ is the kingdom of grace, forgiveness of sins, comfort, salvation, and eternal life, into which we have been transferred (Col. 1:13) by our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

According to the will of our God and Father.

When you grasp this, then all wrath stops, and fear and trembling disappear; and God appears as nothing but the merciful One who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all (Rom. 8:32). It is extremely dangerous to speculate about the majesty of God and His dreadful judgments—how He destroyed the whole world with the Flood, how He destroyed Sodom, etc.; for this brings men to the brink of despair and plunges them into total destruction.

5.        To whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen

The name of the Lord should be held in great reverence and should never be mentioned without praise and thanksgiving, which are a certain kind of worship and divine service.

6.        I am astonished.

He does not attack them with harsh and stern words; he speaks paternally, not only bearing their fall with patience but even excusing it somewhat. He also shows maternal affection toward them; he speaks gently to them, and yet in such a way that he scolds them, though with works that are very appropriate to the purpose. Toward their betrayers, by contrast, he is extremely violent and indignant. Therefore he could not have found gentler or sweeter words than these: "I am astonished," by which he made it clear both that it saddened him and that it displeased him that they had fallen away from him.

That so quickly.

Paul is complaining about how easy it is to fall from faith. In the same vein he warns Christians in another passage: "Let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall" (I Cor. 10:12). By our own experience we are proving daily how difficult it is for the mind to acquire and keep a steadfast faith, and how difficult it is to present a perfect people before the Lord. A man may labor for a decade before he puts some small church into proper order. And once it is in order, along comes some fanatic, like a Pat Robertson or Billy Graham or Bob Jones, who cannot do anything but slander and abuse the sincere preachers of the Word-and in one moment overthrows everything! Who would not be agitated by such outrageous actions? By the grace of God we here in Wittenberg have acquired the form of a Christian church. In our midst the Word is taught purely, the sacraments are used properly, there are exhortations and prayers for all social classes; in short, everything is moving along well. But in one moment some fanatic could overturn everything that we have built up with the hard work of many years.

One must be on constant guard against these fanatics. For when they have heard two sermons or have read a couple of pages in the Sacred Scriptures, they suddenly make themselves masters of all pupils and teachers, contrary to the authority of all men. The ignorant mob, eager to hear something novel, soon attaches itself to them. In fact, even many who think that they understand the doctrine of faith and have been tested by temptation are led astray by them.

You are removed.

"Yes, I embrace you with fatherly feeling. We know that you have fallen, not by your own fault but by the fault of the false apostles. Still I do wish that you had been a little more mature in the strength of sound doctrine. You did not take hold firmly enough of the Word; you did not sink your roots deeply enough in it. This is why such a light breeze can carry you away so quickly." A person takes hold of Christ, not through knowledge, zeal, personal devotion, or any other thing, but by a simple belief in the promises of God. This simple belief persists in the mind of a Christian despite evidence to the contrary.

From Him who called you in the grace of Christ.

So we today complain with Paul that the blindness and perversity of men is so horrible that no one is willing to accept the doctrine of grace and salvation. Or if there are some who accept it, they soon fall away from it. And I complain today that this generation of hypocrites have the wicked luxury of turning to pills, programs, and preachers who will pet you. This world is sheer evil, or otherwise it would turn to the Word instead of so many crutches. They love darkness, error, and the kingdom of the devil more than light, truth, and the kingdom of Christ (John 3:19)

To a different gospel.

"Now you Galatians have different evangelists and a different gospel. You despise my Gospel now, and it has lost your respect." Satan's evangelists say: "To be sure, Paul made a good start. But a good start is not enough, for there are more sublime things to follow." They said the same thing in Acts 15:1: "It is not enough for you to believe in Christ and to be baptized. You must also be circumcised." This is tantamount to saying that Christ is a good workman who has begun a building but has not completed it, and that Moses must complete it.

Nowadays, when the sectarians cannot condemn us overtly, they say instead: "These Lutherans have a cowardly spirit. They do not dare speak the truth frankly and freely and draw the consequences from it. We have to draw these consequences. To be sure, they have laid a foundation, that is, faith in Christ. But the beginning, the middle, and the end must be joined together. God has not assigned to them the task of accomplishing this: He has left it to us." So these perverse and satanic men glorify their wicked proclamation, calling it the Word of God, so that under the guise of the name of God they may work their damage. For in his ministers the devil does not want to be deformed and black but beautiful and white. To put on such an appearance he presents and adorns everything he says and does with the color of truth and with the name of God. This is the source of that familiar German proverb: "All misfortune begins in the name of God."

Therefore let us learn that this is one of the devil's specialties: If he cannot do his damage by persecuting and destroying, he will do it under the guise of correcting and edifying. Thus today he is persecuting us with power and the sword, so that once we are out of the way, he will not only corrupt the Gospel but will obliterate it. So far he has not succeeded. For he has killed many who steadfastly confessed that our doctrine is holy and divine, and by their blood the church was not destroyed but was watered. So since he cannot succeed that way, he is arousing false teachers. At first they accept our teaching and preach it in agreement with us. But later on they say that we have made a good start, but that the more sublime things have been saved until now, etc. In this way the devil impedes the progress of the Gospel, both on the right side and on the left-but more on the right, by edifying and correcting, than on the left, by persecuting and destroying. Therefore we must pray constantly (I Thes. 5:17), read, and hold tightly to Christ and to His Word, so that we may prevail against the tricks with which the devil attacks us on both the right side and the left; "for we are not contending against flesh and blood (Eph. 6:12)

7.        Not that there is another gospel, but there are some who trouble you.

Today the papists and the sectarians hate us violently and condemn us; and we, in turn, detest and condemn their impious and blasphemous doctrine with great hatred. Meanwhile the poor common people are confused. They waver back and forth, wondering and doubting which side to take or whom it is safe to follow. For it is not given to everyone to make Christian judgments about such important issues. The outcome will show which side was right in its teaching and in its condemnation of the other. It is certain that we do not persecute, oppress, or kill anyone; nor does our doctrine trouble consciences, but it delivers them from the endless errors and traps of the devil. In support of this claim we have the testimony of many good men who thank God that our doctrine has given a sure comfort to their consciences. And I, Timothy Vance, boldly proclaim that these Protestant sectarians held my conscience in bondage until I entered the Lutheran Church; then the Lutherans held it in bondage until I studied Luther. I was in the kingdom of Satan even in the church. Note carefully that everyone who teaches works and the righteousness of the Law troubles the church and consciences.

And want to pervert the Gospel of Christ.

That is, they are intent not only on troubling you but also on utterly destroying and extinguishing the Gospel of Christ. Satan is engaged in both of these activities. He is not content to trouble and deceive many people through his false apostles; but through them he is also at work to overthrow and abolish the Gospel completely, and he will not rest until he has accomplished this. Yet such perverters of the Gospel find it intolerable to hear that they are the devil's apostles. In fact, they are prouder than anyone else of the name of Christ, and they claim to be the most sincere preachers of the Gospel. But because they confuse the Law with the Gospel, it is inevitable that they subvert the Gospel. Either Christ must abide, and the Law perish; or the Law must abide and Christ perish. It is impossible for Christ and the Law to agree and to share the reign over a conscience.

It seems to be a trivial matter to teach the Law and affirm works, but this does more damage than human reason can imagine. Not only does it mar and obscure the knowledge of grace, but it also removes Christ and all His blessings, and it completely overthrows the Gospel, as Paul says in this passage. The cause of this great evil is our flesh. Steeped in sins, it sees no way to extricate itself except by works.

8.        But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed.

Here Paul is breathing fire. His zeal is so fervent that he almost begins to curse the angels themselves. This is a passionate zeal, that he has the courage to curse so boldly not only himself and his brethren but even an angel from heaven.

9.        As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed.

The Galatians were saying: Paul, we have not changed the Gospel that you preached to us. We had misunderstood you, but the teachers who came after you have set us straight." Paul's response is: "I will not stand for this. They should neither add anything nor correct anything. What you heard from me was the pure Word of God. Let only this stand. I myself do not want to be a different teacher of the Gospel from what I was, nor do I want you to be different pupils. Therefore if you hear anyone teaching a gospel different from the one you heard from me, or bragging that he will bring you something better than what you received from me, let him and all his disciples be accursed."

In this way the ministers of Satan invade, and insinuate themselves into the minds of men by promising that they will bring something better. They admit that those who taught the Gospel before them made a good start, but they say that this is not enough. Thus today the fanatics do pay us the compliment that we began the work of the Gospel correctly. But because we despise and condemn their blasphemous doctrine, they call us "neopapists," who are twice as bad as the old papists. Thus it is that thieves and robbers invade the Lord's sheepfold "to steal and kill and destroy" (John 10:10). First they confirm our doctrine, but then they correct us and claim to explain more clearly what we have understood incorrectly or only partially. This was how the false apostles gained access to the Galatians. What God did through Luther was a perfect work, needing nothing. What God restored to us through Luther should only have been explored humbly by the generations to come. Instead, it was corrupted by the generations to come, of which ours is the worse.

Please make no mistake about it, I have seen this truth up close and personal. I can and will attest that those even in my family who lay claim to the greatest faith and holiness are the worst kind of thieves, murderers and destructionists. Why? Because they condemn the truth of the very God on High for their own glory. They instinctively know that if they were to receive the truth, their own glory and boasting would be out in the cold—or should I say, cast into the fires of Hell. This they cannot stand. So instead of closing their eyes and believing the truth, "This is My body given to you for the forgiveness of sins," they allow Satan to open their eyes and make an enlightened decision of their holy will. I am, quite frankly, surprised and appalled that they give credit to Luther at all. They quote him and stand with him before the emperor, but why bother? Why? Because the work of God must be extolled if even the rocks have to cry out.

10. Am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God?

"Am I, Paul, so unknown among you after preaching publicly in your churches? Are you still unaware of my bitter controversies and disputes with the Jews? I should think it is evident from my preaching and from the many great afflictions I have endured whether I am serving men or God. Everyone sees that by my preaching I have not only brought persecution upon myself everywhere but have also earned the bitter hatred both of my countrymen and of all others. Thus I make it obvious that by my preaching I am not seeking the favor or praise of men, but that I am seeking the grace and glory of God."

We do not seek the favor of men by our teaching either, if we may be permitted to say this without boasting. For we teach that all men are wicked; we condemn the free will of man, his natural powers, wisdom, righteousness, all self-invented religion, and whatever is best in the world. In other words, we say that there is nothing in us that can deserve grace and the forgiveness of sins. But we proclaim that we receive this grace solely and altogether by the free mercy of God. For thus the heavens show forth the glory of God and His works, universally condemning all men for their works (Ps. 19:1). This is not preaching that gains favor from men and from the world. For the world finds nothing more irritating and intolerable than hearing its wisdom, righteousness, religion, and power condemned. To denounce these mighty and glorious gifts of the world is not to curry the world's favor but to go out looking for, and quickly to find, hatred and misfortune, as it is called. For if we denounce men and all their efforts, it is inevitable that we quickly encounter bitter hatred. persecution, excommunication, condemnation, and execution. So you see why our families will have nothing to do with our religion-that is, the truth religion of God, the Father.

"Or am I trying to please men?

Whoever tries to please God will have men as his bitter enemies. And whoever is occupied with pleasing men, will have Almighty God as a bitter enemy.

"If I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ."

Every minister today is consumed with pleasing men. And the main man they try to please is their own man, or should I say their Old Man. Therefore they cannot be the servants of Christ. Even the Lutheran pastors are afraid of being honest and bold with their people. The only question they ask themselves is: "What is the cost?"

11.        For I would have you know, brethren, that the Gospel which was preached by me is not man's Gospel.

12.        For I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through revelation of Jesus Christ.

The central proposition of this passage is this: "My Gospel is not according to man." This proposition he sets forth: he will stick by it, and he confirms it with an oath. He bears solemn witness to the Galatians, to make them believe that he did not learn his Gospel from any man but received it by a revelation of Jesus Christ. And they should not pay attention to the false apostles, whom he accuses of being liars, just as Luther accuses of being a liar anyone who does not agree with his understanding of the Gospel; for he fully restored what Paul gave the church.

Paul means that he had not learned his Gospel by the ministry of men or received it by any human means, as all of us either learn it by the ministry of men or receive it by some human means—hearing or reading or writing or drawing, etc. Paul was forced to recite this to refute the slander of the false apostles, who endeavored to bring the disfavor of the Galatians upon him. They said that Paul was far inferior to the remaining pupils of the apostles, who had received from the apostles what they taught and kept; that they had observed the behavior of the apostles for a long time; and that Paul himself had received the same instruction from them but was now denying it. Why were they listening to an inferior and despising the authority of the apostles, who were the ancestors and teachers not only of the Galatians but of all the churches throughout the world?

This argument, which the false apostles based on the authority of the apostles, was forceful and compelling enough to overwhelm the Galatians suddenly, especially on this issue. If I had not been taught by the examples of the churches in Galatia, Corinth, and elsewhere, I would certainly never have believed that those who initially accepted the Word with such joy, including many outstanding men, could be overwhelmed so quickly. Good God, what dreadful and endless damage can be caused by just one argument, which so pierces a man's conscience when God withdraws His grace that in one moment he loses everything! And what is the one "simple argument" which ha corrupted so many who claim Christ today? "Is means signifies." With this very simple argument, the Protestant became as wicked as the Catholic church. Then Satan sent John Calvin along to really polish the argument with his mental powers and a good dose of a show of holiness in his utopian city Geneva. But what really impressed his fellow demons was how his systematic theology just flowed out of his head so easily. John Calvin? Satan himself transformed into an angel of light!

By this subtlety the false apostles easily deceived the Galatians, who were not well grounded in faith but were still weak. Besides, the question of justification is an elusive thing—not in itself, for in itself it is firm and sure, but so far as we are concerned. I myself have had considerable experience of this, for I know how I sometimes struggle in the hours of darkness. I know how often I suddenly lose sight of the rays of the Gospel and of grace, which have been obscured for me by thick, dark clouds. In other words, I know how slippery the footing is even for those who are mature and seem to be firmly established in matters of faith. We have an understanding of this, because we are able to teach it; and this is a sure sign that we have it, for no one is able to teach others what he himself does not know. "The sign of the man who knows is his ability to teach." But when in a struggle we should use the Gospel, which is the word of grace, consolation, and life; here the Law, the Word of wrath, sadness, and death, precedes the Gospel and begins to raise a tumult. The terrors it arouses in the conscience are no smaller than was the tremendous and horrible spectacle on Mt. Sinai (Ex. 19:16). Thus even one passage in Scripture that presents some of the threats of the Law overwhelms and swamps any other comfort; it shakes our insides in such a way that it makes us forget justification, grace, Christ, and the Gospel.

Therefore let every faithful person work and strive with all his might to learn this doctrine and keep it, and for this purpose let him employ humble prayer to God with continual study and meditation on the Word. Even when we have done ever so much, there will still be much to keep us busy. For we are involved, not with minor enemies but with strong and powerful ones, who battle against us continually, namely our own flesh, all the dangers of the world, the Law, sin, death, the wrath and judgment of God, and the devil himself, who never stops tempting us inwardly with his flaming darts (Eph. 6:16) and outwardly with his false apostles, so as to overcome some if not all of us.

Therefore this argument of the false apostles makes a good impression and seems to be very cogent. Today, too, it convinces many people to say that the apostles, the holy fathers, and their successors have taught thus and so; that the church thinks and believes this way; and that it is impossible for Christ to permit His church to be in error for so many centuries. They say: "Are you, all by yourself, wiser than so many saints, wiser even than the entire church? Thus the devil, transformed into an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14), craftily attacks us today through certain evil hypocrites, who say: "We hold no brief for the pope or the bishops, those great despisers and persecutors of the Word; and we abhor the hypocrisy of the monks. But we are concerned that the authority of the holy catholic church stand unimpaired. The church has believed and taught this way for so many centuries; so have all the fathers of the primitive church, who were saints, more ancient and more learned than you are. Who are you, then, to take it upon yourself to dissent from all these and to bring us an opposing doctrine?"

When Satan conspires with your flesh and your reason to argue this way, your conscience is terrified and despairs completely, unless you continually recover your sense and say: "Whether it is St. Cyprian, Ambrose, or Augustine, St. Peter, Paul, or John, yes, or even an angel from heaven that teaches otherwise—I still know this for certain, that what I teach is not from men but from God. That is, I attribute everything solely to God and nothing at all to men." (It is for this reason that their can be no clear and clean consciences today, because no one can say this today because they have Luther as a testament against them. They prove themselves to be men of a double mind because they quote Luther despite the fact that he thunders against them. And why does Luther thunder against them? For no other reason than that they want to give man some credit in the process of salvation. No one today can say, "I know for certain," because they have Luther, a proven instrument from God, as a witness against them.)

I recall that when my movement first began, Dr Staupitz, a very worthy man and the vicar of the Augustinian Order, said to me: "It pleases me very much that this doctrine of ours gives glory and everything else solely to God and nothing at all to men; for it is as clear as day that it is impossible to ascribe too much glory, goodness, etc., to God." So it was that he consoled me. And it is true that the doctrine of the Gospel takes away all glory, wisdom, righteousness, etc., from men and gives it solely to the Creator, who makes all things out of nothing. Furthermore, it is far safer to ascribe too much to God than to men. For here I can declare boldly: "All right, let the holy church, Augustine and other fathers, also Peter and Apollos, yes, even an angel from heaven, teach an opposing doctrine! Still my doctrine is one that preaches and worships God alone, and it condemns the righteousness and the wisdom of all men. Here I cannot go wrong, for both to God and to man I ascribe what properly belongs to each." Peter, the prince of the apostles, lived and taught contrary to the Word of God. Therefore he was in error. And because he was at fault, Paul "opposed him to the face" (Gal. 2:11), attacking him because he was not in conformity with the truth of the Gospel. Here you see that Peter, the most holy apostle, erred. Thus I will not listen to the church or the fathers or the apostles unless they bring and teach the pure Word of God.

13.        For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it;

14.        And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people.

"I once defended Pharisaism and Judaism more vigorously and steadfastly than you and your false teachers did. Therefore if the righteousness of the Law were worth anything, I would have remained a Pharisee. For I, too, was a Pharisee, and I pursued the traditions of the fathers with greater zeal than the false apostles do today. And yet I regarded them and all Judaism as of little worth." Thus I, too, suffered greater trouble in vigils and fasts when I was monk than all those who persecute me today. I was superstitious to the point of delirium and insanity, and to the jeopardy of my body and its health. Whatever I did, I did with great zeal and for the sake of God. I adored the pope sincerely, not out of a desire for prebends or riches. And I, too, prayed more, fasted, witnessed, read, memorized, and adored those I truly thought loved the Word from as pure a heart that man can have apart from the Spirit when I was a Baptist. Many commended my zeal and told me never to change. My zeal has not changed but my understanding has. I now know that all those men I thought adored the Word only adored themselves. The Bob Jones', Falwell's, Rice's, Hyles, Billy Graham's, Paisley's and all the other so-called Fundamentalists exist for no other reason than for themselves. We moved across the Protestant spectrum over the years until we entered the Lutheran Church and found the truth. As my wife and I look back now, we realize that we have never met a Christian—one that our minds can be persuaded is truly Christian. We met some nice people who may have true faith; but no one who I could designate: "This person is Christian because I hear their confession of the faith and I see their way of life." Not a one. They are all liars; there is none that believes properly; there is none that does good, no not one.

So extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.

"Let them show me, if they can, a more zealous and earnest defender of the Law of Moses than I was! I was an outstanding zealot for the traditions of the fathers, a devotee of the righteousness of the Law. This in itself, Galatians, should have persuaded you not to believe these deceivers."

15.        But when He who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through His grace,

16.        Was pleased to reveal His Son to me, in order that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with flesh and blood,

17.        Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia; and again I returned to Damascus.

"I did not deserve this; for I was zealous for the Law of God, but without judgment. In fact, my foolish and wicked zeal so blinded me that, with the permission of God, I fell straight into even more abominable and outrageous sins. I persecuted the church of God; I was an enemy of Christ; I blasphemed His Gospel; and finally I was responsible for the shedding of much innocent blood. This was what I had deserved myself. But in the very midst of this cruel rage I was called to such grace. On what grounds? Because of my outrageous cruelty? Of course not! But the abundant grace of God, who calls and shows mercy, pardoned and forgave me all those blasphemies. And in place of these horrible sins of mine, which I then regarded as a service most pleasing to God, He gave me His grace and called me to be an apostle."

Luther says that he crucified Christ daily in "my monastic life, and I blasphemed God through the false trust in which I was constantly living. Outwardly I was not like other men: extortioners, unjust, adulterers (Luke 18:11). I observed chastity, poverty, and obedience. In addition, I was free of the cares of this present life and was devoted only to fasting, vigils, prayers, reading Mass, and things like that. Nevertheless, under the cover of this sanctity and confidence I was nursing incessant mistrust, doubt, fear, hatred, and blasphemy against God. This righteousness of mine was nothing but a cesspool and the delightful kingdom of the devil."

"This is how we were under the papacy, truly no less insulting and blasphemous against Christ and His Gospel than Paul was and perhaps even worse than he. I was especially bad. I had a horror even of the name of John Huss (Huss was condemned by the Catholic Church at the Council of Constance around 1417 for his belief that the laity should be given both the wine and the bread. He predicted someone as mighty as Luther would defend the truth of the Word 100 years after his death); in fact, I regarded it as a grave offense to think of him. And I would have been willing—so zealously did I obey the pope—to have provided fire and sword to burn and destroy that heretic, if not in deed, then in spirit; and I would have thought that thereby I was offering a high service to God (John 16:2).

"This, then, is our righteousness and valuable merit that bring us to the knowledge of grace; that we have murderously and demonically persecuted, blasphemed, abused, and condemned God, Christ, the Gospel, faith, the sacraments, all pious men, and the true worship of God, and have taught and established the very opposite. And the holier we were, the more blinded we were, and the more sincerely we worshiped the devil. Every single one of us was a bloodsucker, if not in fact, then in heart."

Again, the above was my testimony and is the testimony of the whole Christian church today. But they will not believe this about themselves, but feverishly work to prove their sanctity. But God's nostrils are filled with the stench of their self-chosen worship and is about to destroy it and them. They are too arrogant to even consider the possibility that someone as insignificant as myself, who is raising a 500 year old corpse from the grave as a standard for them to follow and a testimony against them, could possibly be doing the work of God. But I am doing the work of God and anyone who wants to be delivered from this adulterous generation would do well to seriously and fearfully consider the Words of Christ: "As in the days of Noah, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be…" Based on these words, certainly no one could tell me positively that the Church could not degenerate to just one family. Surely this must be a possibility. It happened before and Christ seems to indicate it could happen again. I would never have considered this a possibility—until I began to experience it. Nor do I in any way want it to be a possibility. But this I do know: Many, many people are upset about the condition of the church and are working feverishly to correct it, yet my solution is the only one that is absolutely impossible. Why is this? Could it be, truly, that when Christ comes, He will find no faith on the earth? Could the faith in this family and the very few who submit to my ministry, be so insignificant that it could be called "no faith?"

This is pretty much how you should look at history. God shook heaven and earth through the ministry of the Apostle Paul. No person has been so gifted with the knowledge of God as this dear man. The church spent 1,500 years burying and perverting this blessed knowledge of God, until God raised up Martin Luther from an eternal hypocrisy and used him to "dust off" the Word of God. In the process of "dusting off" the Word of God, he managed to explain the Word of God as it had never be explained and exhausted before. God had to put many words into this man's mouth because of the hardness of our hearts. The church had become so stupid regarding the things of God, that He had to raise up this garrulous man to stomp the truth into the church. Humanly speaking, a poet, such as the Apostle Paul, could never have gotten through to the hearts of the men of that time—and our time. This is why Luther still is the spokesman for Paul. There is virtually NO hope of understanding Paul without Luther as our Philip. But we are too proud to say, "How can I understand except some man teach me."

Scripture is clear; the times of the Gentiles have a prescribed time. It seems clear to me that the Gentiles will be cut out of the "olive tree." Whether this means the Jews will have their time in the Son again is not for us to determine, though it is certainly a possibility. What is more than a possibility is the fact that I come to the church with the truth of the Word, with love, zeal, compassion, fervor, sadness, concern, and with the respect of my family; yet, I am summarily dismissed. It is my guess that the age of the Gentiles will end with a whimper—me—and the judgment of God will cause us great surprise and consternation. There will be many in that day who will say, "Lord, Lord." May God have mercy.

When God was pleased.

"It is only the unspeakable kindness of God that He has not only spared me—a good-for-nothing, a criminal, a blasphemer, and a sacrilegious man—but that He has also given me the knowledge of salvation, His Spirit, Christ His Son, the apostolic office, and life eternal." But many among us not only, as 2 Peter 1:9 says, "have forgotten that they were cleansed from their old sins"; but, opening a window to the devil again, they begin to loathe the Word, and many also pervert it and thus become the founders of new sects. The last state of such men is worse than the first (Matt. 12:45)

Who had set me apart before I was born.

"Who had sanctified, ordained, and prepared me. That is, God had ordained, even before I was born, that I should rage against His church this way, and that afterwards He would mercifully call me back from my cruelty and blasphemy, by his sheer grace, into the way of truth and salvation. In brief, when I had not yet been born, I was already an apostle in the sight of God; and when the time had come, I was declared to be an apostle in the sight of the world." Paul abolishes all "deserving"; he gives the glory only to God, but to himself only confusion. God predestined all His gifts to us even before we were born, when we could not think, wish, or do anything good but were a shapeless embryo. Therefore these gifts came to us by mere predestination and merciful grace of God. And then, after we are born, He still supports us, even though we are covered with innumerable and horrible iniquities and evils. To declare the unspeakable and inestimable greatness of His mercy to us even more obviously, He forgives our infinite and horrible sins by His sheer grace.

And had called me through grace.

By His sheer grace alone.

To reveal His Son in me.

The doctrine of the Gospel is the revelation of the Son of God; as Ps. 2:11 says, "Kiss the Son." This is a doctrine different from all others. Any who want to contribute anything to this doctrine does not know the Son, but only the doctrine of Hell. Only the Gospel reveals the Son of God. Oh, if only one could distinguish carefully here and not look for the Law in the Gospel but keep it as separate from the Law as heaven is distant from the earth! In itself the difference is easy and clear, but to us it is difficult and well-nigh incomprehensible. Now if the Gospel is the revelation of the Son of God, as it really is, then it certainly does not demand works, threaten death, or terrify the conscience.

This doctrine, which reveals the Son of God, is not taught, learned, or judged by any human wisdom or by the Law itself it is revealed by God, first by the external Word and then inwardly through the Spirit. Thus, if one does not believe the external Word—"This is My body"—how can he inwardly have the Spirit? Or, if one will not allow the Law to deeply and truly condemn him as a sinner—that is, do the work of the Law—how can he possibly have the Spirit? As it stands, those who will not simply believe the external word and those who will only sometimes agree with the Law's assessment of them, are the mightiest and holiest Christians.

That I might preach Him among the Gentiles.

Here Paul summarizes his whole theology in a few words, as he often does: to preach Christ among the Gentiles. It is as though he were saying: "I refuse to burden the Gentiles with the Law, because I am the apostle and evangelist of the Gentiles, not their lawgiver." Our preachers today are of two kinds: either they burden us with so many "shoulds," or they pacify us with our goodness. Both kinds take us to hell.

I did not confer with flesh and blood.

Immediately upon receiving Baptism from Ananias in Damascus and the laying on of hands—for it was necessary for him to have an outward sign and witness of his calling—he proclaimed Jesus as the Son of God. Luke writes the same thing in the ninth chapter of Acts.

18.         Neither did I go up to Jerusalem, to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia; and again I returned to Damascus.

Paul travels from Damascus, a Gentile city, directly to Arabia, where there were Gentiles also; and there he carries out his ministry with vigor. Paul is saying: "Before my conversion I did not learn my Gospel from the apostles or from any of the other believers; for I violently persecuted not only this doctrine but the church of God, and ravaged it. Nor did I learn it from them after my conversion; for at Damascus I immediately preached and did not confer with anyone. I had not even seen any of the apostles as yet." Luther states: "In the same way we can boast that we did not receive our doctrine from the pope. We do indeed have Sacred Scripture and the external symbols from him, but not the doctrine, which came to us solely by the gift of God, to which our own study, reading, and research have been added."

19.        Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas, and remained with him fifteen days.

20.         But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother.

Why does Paul repeat so often, almost too often, that he did not learn his Gospel from men or even from the apostles themselves? It is his purpose to persuade the churches of Galatia, which had been led astray by the false apostles, and to convince them beyond any doubt that his Gospel was the true Word of God. That is why he repeats it so vigorously. And if he had not made this point, he could never have refuted the false apostles; for they would have raised this objection: "We are jus as good as Paul. We are pupils of the apostles as much as he is. Besides, he is only one person, and we are many. Therefore we surpass him both in authority and in number."

21.        (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!)

Why does Paul add an oath? Because he is narrating a history. He is obliged to swear, in order that the churches may believe him. Here you see that such a great apostle of Christ was held in such contempt among his own Galatians, to whom he had preached Christ, that it was necessary for him to swear that he was telling the truth. If this happened to the apostles-that they had despisers, in fact, big men who dared accuse them of lying-it is no wonder that a similar thing happens to us, who are not worthy of comparison with the apostles in any way. We follow the example of Paul and swear: "God knows that we are not lying!"

22.        Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.

Paul is trying to convince them that before and after he had seen the apostles, he was always a preacher of the Gospel, which he had received by the revelation of Christ, and that he had never been a pupil of any of the apostles.

23.        And I was still not known by sight to the churches of Christ in Judea; 23) they only heard it said: He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy. 24) And they glorified God because of me.

"I appeal to the testimony of all the churches, also of those that are in Judea. For the churches testify—not only those in Damascus, Arabia, Syria, and Cilicia but those in Judea as well—that I preached the same faith I once persecuted and opposed. And they glorified God because of me, not because I taught that circumcision and the Law of Moses were to be observed, but because I preached faith and built up the churches by my ministry of the Gospel. Therefore you have the testimony not only of the people of Damascus and Arabia but also of the whole catholic church in Judea."