The Word of the Lord to a starving, malnourished Church.

Condensed from John 6

A Christian soon smells from afar which is God's and which is human teaching. He sees from afar that the schismatic spirits are speaking their own human mind and opinion. They cannot escape me, Dr. Luther. I can soon judge and say whether their doctrine is of God or of man; for I am doing the will of God, who sent Christ. I have given ear to none but God's Word, and I say: "Dear Lord Christ, I want to be Thy pupil, and I believe Thy Word. I will close my eyes and surrender to Thy Word." Thus He makes me a free nobleman, yes, a fine doctor and teacher, who is captive to the Word of God and is able to judge the errors of the faith of pope, Turks, Jews, and Sacramentarians. They must fall, and I tread them all underfoot. I have become a doctor and a judge who judges correctly.

Are You Sure You Are [A] Christian?

The Lord wants to indicate what sort of disciples the teaching of the Gospel attracts. Even today the Gospel finds disciples who imagine that its teaching affords nothing but a gratification of the belly, that it brings all manner of earthly delights, and that it serves solely the wants of this temporal life. (It is easy for us to snicker at the TV money preachers, but what about so called good pastors and Christian workers more concerned about power, peace, honor, buildings and pensions? What about so-called disciples who attend church for a feel-good worship experience, espouse their own social cause and flaunt their individual doctrinal opinions in opposition to their pastor—who, in all likelihood, also has the wrong understanding of Scripture?)Even today this misconception is so prevalent and pronounced that I have almost grown weary of preaching and teaching. The people come to hear the proclamation of the Gospel as though they were its sincere disciples. But they dissemble pursuing no other interest than to fill their bellies and to indulge their selfishness. They regard the Gospel as a teaching that is designed for the belly and teaches gluttony and carousing. The concern of nearly all men, from the lowliest to the most exalted, revolves about that idea. It is quite common to regard the Gospel as a belly sermon.

People will have to learn from experience. A preacher must derive what comfort he can from the fact that sows and dogs will be among the hearers wherever the Gospel is preached; it will not be otherwise. There will come a day of reckoning. It is by no means the purpose of the Gospel to instill greed, a sense of smugness, and a spirit of indolence. (Since becoming Lutheran four years ago, I have not seen such smugness and gross tempermentalness since I taught history to eighth grade girl's twenty years ago. At least the Baptists and sects seem concerned and on fire. This may explain why LCMS churches are filled with so many Baptist-minded people, who impress with their carnal zeal. )But when the people hear that Christ wants to direct them away from bread and from money to the Gospel, from the field and the earth to heaven, they are displeased and they desert him.

If the Gospel and the everlasting food are despised, then God must bring about a famine, withdrawing physical food from us and ushering in pestilence, war, and every type of catastrophe. Thus He teaches us manners. The punishment for our ingratitude and our temerity cannot be slow in coming. Even if it is deferred a year or two, it will appear in the end. For this does not involve only a contempt for God's Word; no, people carry things to such extremes that this virtually implies a denial of the existence of God They accumulate as though God had died. God cannot tolerate abuse of His Gospel by the selfish pursuit of our own interests and our greed, which we disguise in the cloak of the Gospel. God does not have His Gospel proclaimed for the sake of the belly, but for the welfare and the salvation of our souls. (The first thing my wife noticed about the LCMS was their unconcern for the souls of people.)

The Pharisees (in all likelihood your church leaders have a pharisaical attitude) assumed that they knew it all, that they were sufficiently pious, that they had fulfilled all, and that they could easily dispense with Him as their Master and Teacher. The hypocrites say the same today: "Why do you stress faith so much in your sermons?" (Many may not say this today because our leaders have not taught and shown us what faith is.) They imagine that God owes them eternal life for their merits and their holy life. Is it not irritating to observe how one tries to demote teachers to the role of pupils and disciples? People think they know it all in advance and need no instruction. (Any person who cannot see that we believe and act like this should be concerned that he is beyond hope of being restored to salvation.) That is why they are vexed when Christ tries to teach them so many things. They defy Him, saying, "What must we do? We have the scribes on our side, the divine worship, the people of God, the temple, and the priests. Our fathers and ancestors were no fools. And You claim to be the only smart one? Do You come with Your new doctrine to instruct the whole world? What can you tell us that the world has not already learned?

Christ lays low all wisdom and righteousness. Christ, whom the Father sent, is not my fasting, praying, waking, and toiling. No, my fasting is a work which has its source in me. Waking is also a work of my head and my eyes. But where is Christ to be found in this? Christ is not our mouth, head, belly, eyes, hands, body, or soul; nor is He any other part of man. He is a Being entirely different from us, just as the sun is not my eye, my tongue, or my belly, but an altogether different being. My eyes can wake; but for all that, I do not feel or perceive Christ. Furthermore, though I see with my eyes, I still do not behold Christ. He does not want to be grasped by our thoughts and reason. Thus faith is not our work; for I am drawn to Christ, who I neither feel nor see. (The devil has tricked us all in bringing it about that one opinion of Scripture is about as good as another. Try to understand how heretical we have become when even many Lutherans believe that understanding is necessary before one is baptized. Is this not making salvation a work dependent on the self?)

Rather, we are carried far away from ourselves and our heart (Is it not obvious that the self is the center of not only society but also the church? Our church leaders run around frantically trying to make church meaningful.) and are led to Christ, whom we do not see, feel, or hear. We are asked to cleave to the Son and to believe in Him. Whatever else I may do in my body, I can feel and see, so that I can say: "There it lies; there it is." But Christ is not in me. I do not perceive Him with my physical senses as I do my fist and my mouth. He is sealed at the right hand of God, His heavenly Father. And here the text states: "Whoever believes in Him serves Me." Our hearts must cling to Him and turn from fasting, praying, and almsgiving, all of which is in us, and serve Christ alone, aside and apart from our work, so that we may be justified. (If you do not see that Christians are preoccupied with works, there is little hope of your restoration and repentance.)

We love God as lice love a tramp; far from being interested in his welfare, their one concern is to feed on him and suck his blood. Our love for the Gospel is like that. We seek nothing but gluttony and our own selfish interest.

Christ introduces His theme gently and gradually, and then His language become bolder and more direct. It might have been proper for Him to say "He who eats Me" instead of "He who come to Me," but that would have been premature. Christ wants the Jews to understand Him; therefore He says "He who comes to Me" and then interprets this with the words "He who believes in Me." Therefore you come to Christ when you believe in Him. Then He is with you and very close to you. He lies right before us, in front of our eyes and ears, so that we can see and hear Him. Just believe in Him, and then you have eaten Him and come to Him. It is not enough just to put it on your lips and discuss it, although it is indeed worth something to understand it, as I and others like me do. You must also impress it on your conscience and regard it as true, come what may, firmly believing that He who made this promise is trustworthy and does not lie. (There is much truth "on the books" in the LCMS, but it is not being impressed on our conscience. I can tell a child "no" until I'm blue in the face; the child will have the "no" impressed on him when I act. The best of our leaders are only telling us and not acting. They say: "Be careful lest you abuse the Lord's Supper." But in this age of gross wickedness, where are the ones they restrict from going to the Altar? Talk is cheap and safe.)

But all is futile; the world refuses to believe. It is lie a game. The players are no good; the spectators always know better. Thus there are many who claim to be able to do better than I. The more one does to help them, the more stubborn and obstinate they grow. What am I to do? (I identify with Luther here based on my experience in leading a Lutheran Man's group for three years. I wish I could describe to the reader the arrogance, insolence, smugness, rudeness, hatefulness and rebellion I experienced as I tried to teach them the meaning of justification by faith alone.) I must say: "Come here, take my place, and do your best!" and then let them have full play. That Christ rejected the Jews for their arrogant smugness must be preached for the sake of the conceited asses who think they know it all but in reality know nothing.

We are prone to make a Moses or a lawgiver out of Christ. This evil I can overcome and banish from myself no more than from you. (Do you hear this! We must just take it for granted that we are prone to save ourselves, to be our own god! Can you submit to this?) To aggravate the situation, the devil and the schismatic spirits or false teachers will come along and torture a terrified conscience still more. These schismatic spirits, knowing nothing of this article of faith, add straw and wood to feed the fire and to strengthen my natural desires and inclinations. (If you do not see the truth of this, I beg you to cry out for days, weeks, and months if necessary, "God, have mercy on me, a poor, blind, naïve sinner.") I am already addicted to the belief that God must be wrathful; and then these people come along and teach us to appease the anger of God with good works. Thus we make Christ a judge who must be placated and reconciled with good works. The teaching of our nature—that we, too, must do something—finds a good supply of tinder in me. And if the sulfur and the hellish fire of false teachers are added, it works like oil that kindles a blazing fire, so that the heart must needs despair. (The false teachers are virtually all non-Lutheran teachers. But even the Lutherans are becoming false by virtue of their lack of action. De we call a man a father just because he impregnates a woman? What about the whole rearing process?)

From Christ's message we gather the Father's will and learn how to do the will of God. The false church holds that the will of God equals the keeping of His commandments. They confuse everything and relate God's will to good works. Outward order is admittedly also the will of God, such as obeying parents and the government, abstaining from murder, fornication, robbery, and theft, and instead, doing good works and leading an outwardly respectable life according to the Second Table. To be sure, this is also the divine will and a kind of righteousness; but it is not for this reason the righteousness of faith. For if I teach about good works, I do not teach about faith; and, conversely, if I am speaking about faith, I do not have good works in mind. Each has its own province and place in a discussion. Here Christ is heard to say that He has come. Why? For the sake of works and the Law of Moses? That you might be obedient to parents and to government? Were you not familiar with this before? Even the heathen know this. No, Christ did not come into the world for that purpose; He came for the sake of something far more exalted than good works.

Since he who believes and understands what it is to believe and eat the human flesh of Christ will never die, it follows that he who has accepted this doctrine cannot be seduced by any schismatic spirit. (The fact that the church is so divided only proves we have lost the heart of justification by faith alone. Are you listening!) You may preach much about good works, and this is perfectly proper. But this does not produce Christians; it produces Moslems, Jews, and papists, who discourse on nothing but their own righteousness. But if you abandon this chief article, any fool with a new message may come along such as a Baptist or somebody else, and easily deceive you. This is what the Baptists and other sects say: "You must surely do this or that. You must castigate yourself and disdain created things. Take no interest in money or goods, or in wife and child, but make a long face, forsake house and home, and mortify the flesh." And people say approvingly: "These are truly pious and holy people. Their life glitters and glistens."

A Christian should respond to this in this way: "You are a wretched knave. May the devil who brought you also carry you off! You teach that man is made a Christian by good works. No, this calls for something far superior to good works; they cannot accomplish this. It makes no difference whether you refer to love of God or love of neighbor, whether suffering or good works are involved—none of these can make a person a Christian. No, by God, you should speak about faith! You should first instruct a person how to become a Christian and then inform him how to bear the cross and perform good works."

To believe this article of faith is extremely difficult. (If you do not believe this, there is little prospect that you will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.) It is a pity that we are reluctant to hold to Christ. It is the fault of the pope, the sects, and our reason that we do not believe in Christ. Our nature shies away from Christ and does not regard Him as the Man who can and will do it; it flees from Him and says: "You must do this or that to be saved." (Most would not say "saved" today, but it is certain that most are working to be sanctified. Effectively, what is the difference. Degeneration will drag it down to its lowest common denominator—devilish lies about the whole conversion process.)There are very few of us who really understand this article clearly. And I am prompted to stress it so because I fear that after our death it will soon be forgotten and discarded, (This is 500 years ago—do you have any idea how much it has been forgotten by now?) for no Baptist or Sacramentarian is teaching it. Nor can Christ, the eternal Righteousness, be fully presented or exhausted in one sermon or meditation. This involves an eternal skill which can be mastered neither in this life nor in the next.

Believing may indeed seem to be an easy matter, but it is in fact a high and great art. Therefore when you feel your sin, when your bad conscience smites you, or when persecution comes, then ask yourself whether you really believe. At such times one is prone to run to other sources of help (especially bookstores today which are operated by the devil, especially the Christian ones. I could sue Luby's for putting spoiled, rotten food on their food line. I wonder how God will punish bookstore owners?) and make more promises than one can deliver—"I promise to become pious and do many good works." That is how a terrified conscience speaks. But tell me, where is faith? If you believe in the words of Christ, "None of them is lost whom Thou hast given Me," then, as a Christian, you must say: "I acknowledge no other help here—no self help book, no Oprah, no new church program. I am a poor sinner deserving of death; but in defiance of sin and death I cling to Thee, and I will not let Thee go. I have taken hold of Thee, dear Lord Christ. Thou art my Life, and this is the Father's will, that all who adhere to Thee have eternal life and be raised from the dead. In the meantime let my fate be what it will. (This means, let my wife leave me, my teens abuse me, my boss fire me, my pastor misunderstand me, and let drugs devour me—"I deserve this anyway. I will still wait for your salvation, O Lord." ) I may be beheaded or burned at the stake."

The art of faith consist in this, that we apprehend what we do not see. In fact, all that we have from Christ is hidden from view; what we see is its opposite. (If you do not see how your senses take you from faith, that they are five mighty kingdoms seeking to destroy your faith, you are desperately blind and tormented.) Faith sees the intangible, that which is not felt or apprehended. That is the sill of faith. In days of tribulation and temptations we hear the solace which is in Christ Jesus. I challenge him who has tested this to tell me again that faith is a simple art. All other life is hypocrisy. Even though we walk and live in the commandments of God, this is not enough; it is all pretense. And still less will come from the good works of our own choice. No life, no law, no work is enough.

Hearers of the divine Word fall into two groups. The one has the external Word of Christ, but it does not penetrate their hearts. The Word merely sounds and rings before their ears, but it does not enter their hearts. (As much as I love the liturgy, it has become an instrument of Satan to steal the truth from our hearts. We think we know because we recite. The main problem is that our pastors are only reciting along with us instead of impressing it on our conscience.) They aspire to be masters and will not deign to be disciples, because they insist on exploring the reasonableness of the Word. The other group puts the ass of reason in the shed and does not stand in judgment on the Word. They wait for God to press His Word into their heart more and more so that in answer to the question, "What kind of message did you hear?" they can say: "It was indeed a good sermon; I heard God, the heavenly Father!" If you are able to say that it was the Father who delivered the message, then all questioning is needless, and you no longer do much asking. For now, since God spoke the words, you say: "I will surely believe them." Then nothing is wanting. Now you are a believer and a disciple of Christ, and you have come to Him; for the Father has drawn you and has brought you to Christ. This calls for no great skill, nor is it necessary to consult universities and philosophers in this matter. It is easy to do, and we need not withdraw into ourselves for contemplation. Just accept the Gospel, fix your gaze on Christ's lips, and hear Him alone; for it all comes to pass through what Christ says. If you are brought to Christ, taught, and drawn by the Father, then you are a disciple of Christ; then you have been drawn by the Father.

Therefore God must draw a person beyond the mere hearing of the Word. When a man hears the Word, God must put into his heart the conviction that this is surely the Father's Word. (Every preacher today, as always, tries to prove he has the very Word of the Father. How are we to distinguish? Do we decide they do just because they appeal to our own sense of appropriateness. Is there not a Higher Standard? If there is, is it so lost and discarded from our hearts and minds that absolute corruption and perversion seem normal to us?) And when he hears the Word of this Man Christ, he is persuaded that he is hearing the Word of God the Father. When the heart can arrive at the conclusion that God the Father Himself is conversing with us, then the Holy Spirit and the light enter, and man is illumined and become a joyful master who can now test and judge all doctrines (Pray-tell, show me this man e'er I die). For he is imbued with the light and has faith in the divine Word; and in his heart he is convinced that his doctrine is God's Word. These are the righteous, who not only hear the Word, as the vulgar mob does, but also regard it as the Word of God. This is why Christ says: "Why are you wrangling and arguing? Stop your murmuring! It will accomplish nothing. You will never get anywhere with your own ideas. You are pursuing the wrong way when you wrangle about it. The only right method is to hear My Word, to listen to Me, to let yourself be persuaded that My Words are also My Father's Word. For the Father has His Word proclaimed from My lips, and He enlightens your heart that you may realize that it is His Word. Thus the Father draws him whom He wishes to bring to Me."

The foolish want to hear a voice from heaven and ask all kinds of questions. Put all questions away! First of all you hear the Father speaking through the Son. You hear the Word or the voice. But this does not mean that you have already been drawn, for reason says that Christ is only human and that His speech is only human speech. But then, when you delight in occupying yourself with the Word, when you read it, hear it preached, and love it, the time will soon come when you will confess that God Himself uttered these words, and you will exclaim: "This is truly the Word of God!" Thus faith is added. If you can profess this and feel the truth of your profession in your heart, then you can number yourself among the pupils of the Lord Christ. Then, I am sure, you will let Him be your Teacher and submit yourself to Him. Thus you will be saved, for all depends on not withdrawing and departing from the Word of His mouth.

To be sure, both the evil and the good hear the Word from Christ's lips; but the former do not learn from it. If you regard it as God's Word and accept it, however, then you have learned it from God. The others rationalize; or, at best, they convert Baptism, faith, and the Lord's Supper into nothing but Law and commandment, as the Baptist and other sects do. That is not hearing God's Word aright, and is not paying heed to God but to angels, prophets, parents, or emperor. But it is necessary to hear God Himself, namely, through His Son, from the mouth of Christ, and to believe His Word. Then it enters your ears, and He convinces you that it is His Word. If you believe His Word, fully assured that He has spoken it, then you have learned it from Him, and you are a true pupil of Christ, drawn by God. And then this presents an exceedingly sweet message.

I am determined to know nothing of a Son of God who is not also Mary's Son who suffered, the God enveloped in humanity who is one Person. I dare not separate the one from the other. If you can humble yourself, adhere to the Word with your heart, and hold to Christ's humanity—then the divinity will indeed become manifest. (If you do not see that the church is primarily focused on His divinity instead of His humanity, you deserve all the emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual anguish you are causing and bringing on yourself.) Then the Father, the Holy Spirit, and the entire Godhead will draw you and hold you. This article of faith will not let you go astray. (What thinking person in the church does not realize the church has gone astray? Why? I want to say: "Dahhh.") If you believe in Christ, in God's and Mary's Son, you will not remain in error. And would to God that I, Dr. M. Luther, were able to proclaim it as I wold like. It is aptly expressed in the articles of the Christian Creed. The words found there and confessed by the children are not chosen without purpose: "I believe in His only-begotten Son." For one's faith cannot be better than that which is found expressed in the Creed. But those who would toy with these words and miss the point of this article fair badly. (We may not toy with the words, but we let them slip by not reading, especially Luther, on what they should mean to our heart. We need his writings to give heart to the intellect. His writings give heart to the creeds.)

But there are arrogant, vulgar, and impious spirits who are ignorant of the real meaning of faith and say: "Oh, faith is a trivial matter! After all, who does not believe? This is so obvious!" But these are ungodly spirits and impudent people; they have never experienced what faith is. Therefore it is written: "He who believes." This message rings in your ears, and later it enters your heart, so that you both hear and believe it. This takes place without my work and action. With my works I will never induce God to speak to me and enlighten me, but the Father sends the Son and speaks of the Son. He illumines me through this light, so that I recognize Christ. Thus our salvation is to be attributed solely to the Son. Holy Writ must be interpreted in the light of this doctrine. Whoever possesses this doctrine will not err, but whoever errs in this will fail. (It is too late. The church just received an "F" for being foolhardy. Get ready to be spewed.) Consequently, when Matthew and the other evangelists speak of good works, we must first give the floor to John.

"I am the living bread" is our chief doctrine. I constantly dwell on the doctrine of justification that you may thoroughly understand it and differentiate between faith and good works. It is our nature to do works; it is not our nature to feast on the Manna from Heaven. So Christ says, "If you reject the doctrine which I bring and submit to you, if you fail to look to the chief doctrine which I proclaim, namely, faith in Me, then Moses and all your miracles, your manna, your Law, and your ceremonies (No matter which worship style wins, we will not be helped. The battle only serves to take our focus off the devil's work amongst us) will not help you."

Christ is speaking of the chief doctrine, of the true Christian faith, which demands no more and no less than that you believe in His flesh and blood. If you do not cleave to His flesh and blood by faith, you are lost. Christ expressed this in this article: If you wish to be a Christian, you must believe in the flesh and blood of Christ. He will not tolerate another faith. To this we must conform if we want to meet God. Though you may refuse to eat, Christ says, it has nonetheless been ordained that all the world can have God in no other way than by eating. This text is a thunderbolt against the fanatics. These words of Christ, "My, My, My flesh," should be imprinted into man's heart with large and bold letters. (If we are truly eating the flesh of Christ, why are our stomachs so upset? Why is there so much turmoil, unrest, and confusion in the Church?) Man, however, will not look at the word "My," and the schismatic spirits cannot comprehend it. But it serves to separate and to set this flesh apart from all other flesh, no matter what it may be called.

Most hold only the empty shell of faith. Our faith, to be sure, also has a shell; but it contains its kernel. The heart is poured full. For I believe that Jesus Christ and His flesh and blood were given for me, and thus I surely receive Him as my mouth receives food and drink. If the mouth is not filled with food or beer or wine, there is no eating or drinking. Thus faith, too, cannot be a mere thought of our Lord God; for thoughts are not sufficient. The pope, for instance, assumes that it is enough just to think of God; that is his faith. My heart must take hold of and apprehend Christ; I must cleave to His flesh and blood and say: "To this I cling, to this I will remain faithful. I would rather surrender life and limb. May I fare with it as God wills."

Faith dare not be an idle thought. (If you do not sense that this probably describes your faith, pray even if you do not feel like it, that God would destroy your heart of stone.) It is not enough that I recall how Christ was crucified, but beyond these thoughts I have a heart which relies on Christ, whose flesh and blood I admit into my heart, persuaded that they were sacrificed for me. That constitutes and is called true faith. Without such faith all counts for nothing. I, too, would like to resort to my reason, like anyone else, and find a loophole; but all attempts to elude this verse are futile. I cannot get around it. Therefore everyone must be concerned that he eats the body. For this has definitely been ordained: Anything else than this flesh and blood, be it ever so beautiful, great, and holy, is neither instrumental in attaining eternal life nor necessary for it. All else taken together does not help a whit. (Can you not see that the focal point of the church is on so many other things, such as worship, programs, felt needs, rather than the true flesh and blood of Christ, which is the only source of spiritual filling? Do you not wonder why you are so empty even though you "worship" and work yourself to exhaustion?)

It is not enough to consider that the baker baked bread and the brewer brewed beer. This does not bring bread and beer into your home. But when you take bread and beer into your mouth, then baker and brewer are forgotten. Thus the Jews here were baker and brewer; they baked and brewed Christ when He was crucified. Now it is up to you to get Him into your mouth, to eat Him, to lay hold of Him, to take Him into yourself, and to adhere to Him. That is faith; that is what He means.

Remember during your entire lifetime that all depends on this doctrine. I repeat this so often, and it cannot be overdone, so that this doctrine may be preserved and that we may faithfully retain this faith in the forgiveness of sin and in redemption from death and devil through Christ's flesh. (Do we really think we know more than Luther? If you despise this man you are hopelessly stupid. You are a Christian to the degree that you accept and understand what he teaches.) Wherever this doctrine remains in the pulpit, there is no danger from any heretics or errors. This doctrine does not tolerate any error near it. There the Holy Spirit is also present, and those who believe this will tolerate no error. But if people are misled, it is a certain indication that they have misunderstood this doctrine. If they had comprehended it correctly, they would not have been duped. All other doctrines, even if they employ the same words we do, are nothing else than doctrines of good works. Thus if we examine our schismatic spirits closely, we discover that their teachings deal only with good works. They fail to understand that life, grace, and salvation spring solely from our faith and not from good works, that these are ours by our believing and by eating and drinking the body and blood of Christ. (Are you listening? Are you listening! Are you listening!!)

You have eternal life in the very hour in which you begin to believe. It is yours already, and you need not earn it. Eternal life lacks nothing except that it is still concealed. You must first die, and Christ must raise you from the dead. On the Last Day the value of this treasure will be revealed; then we shall see and perceive what we now possess by faith. There is no difference between the hour when you begin to believe and that of the Last Day, except that you do not yet see and hold eternal life. On Judgment Day you will have no more than is yours today. You have Christ's flesh in its entirety. With these words, "For my flesh is food indeed," Christ wants to eliminate and rule out all other doctrine and food.

The words, "abide in Christ" and Christ abides in us," have been interpreted by some as meaning merely to meditate on Christ. When these people contemplated His sufferings and death, they exclaimed that Christ was in them and they in Christ. There are still many among us who suppose that Christ is in them when they ponder Christ and His suffering. They do not construe faith in Christ as the true spiritual indwelling of Christ in us and our indwelling in Christ; but they imagine that this historical faith imparts everlasting life. They think it sufficient to give Christ a fleeting though, to devote themselves to contemplation of Him, and just to indulge in humbug.

The Lord does not say: "Your thought of Me are in Me" or "My thoughts are in you" but rather: "You, you are in Me, and I, I am in you." H does not refer to a mere thought, but He demands that I be in Him with body, life, soul, piety, and righteousness, with sins, folly, and wisdom; and He says that He, Christ, on the other hand, is also in me with His holiness, righteousness, wisdom, and salvation. Contemplation and shadowy and erratic thoughts, which are but an imaginary indwelling and nothing but thoughts, will not do here. It will not suffice if you can do no more than just discourse on Christ or reflect on Christ, for the devil and pope can do as well. They also can converse about Christ's sufferings, but that is nothing; for in spite of it they remain steeped in wickedness, in sins, and in their errors. They give no proof that Christ is dwelling in them; they do nothing that is good.

Now there are those who hold with us and declare that Christ abides in them. But when trials confront them and they are faced with loss of life, honor, or goods, and particularly with death, when it is a question of sacrificing their life, then Christ is not found dwelling in them. (How dare we think we would sacrifice our life for Christ when we won't even sacrifice the devilish opinions we hold in our minds?) Satan is an angry adversary. He does not worry much about thoughts. Something must be found in you which will prove too strong for him. This was apparent in the martyrs. How bold they were, what spirit and courage they displayed when they confronted the judges, fully aware that life and limb, honor and goods were at stake! Such conduct calls for consolation, not for a mere thought. The true presence and greatness of faith are evinced when a person in the midst of life's storms neither speaks nor acts differently from the way Christ who is in him speaks and acts. This is something that transcends human strength and human work.

In Galations 2:20 St. Paul says: It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me." St. Paul does not say: "I or the thoughts which I harbor within me." No, he declares all that he does, sees, and is to be as though God Himself were doing it. We must hold firmly to these words and not add any glosses to them. There are many also among us who are content with merely hearing, reading about, reciting, or thinking of these things. But that is not enough. When trials come, these people follow their head and sulk, are unwilling to endure suffering (Luther does not mention here the importance of being rebuked and how we should love rebuke, cherish it, and highly regard it. I asked a woman, who I later found out was the wife of a leader, to refrain from the commotion she was causing during communion. From the uproar you would assume I leaned toward her ear and said, "Christ is a bastard.") and unable to perform any really good works. They cannot stand the test of adversity; they recoil from it. Christ is not present there, nor does He speak and act there; He has never actually been there.

Outwardly Christians do stumble and fall from time to time. Only weakness and shame appear on the surface, revealing that the Christians are sinners who do that which displeases the world. Then they are regarded as fools, as Cinderellas, as footmats for the world, as damned, impotent, and worthless people. But this does not matter. In their weakness, sin, folly, and frailty there abides inwardly and secretly a force and power unrecognizable by the world and hidden from its view, but one which, for all that, carries off the victory; for Christ resides in them and manifests Himself to them. I have seen many of these who, externally, tottered along very feebly; but when it came to the test and they faced the court, Christ bestirred Himself in them, and they became so staunch that the devil had to flee. (Maybe, the only hope for the church, is for the Lord to raise up us weak Christians via persecution of some sort. It seems obvious our leaders will not lead. The rocks may have to cry out.)

I am directing this against the Jehovah's Witnesses, those who disbelieve the true body and blood are in the Table, and other schismatic spirits and fanatics who do not understand this text. They claim that thoughts will do, and they entertain nothing but thoughts about Christ. Therefore it is impossible for them to stand against the devil. The devil occupies a place of his own among them, and he hisses and whispers into their ears pernicious ideas which they are quick to advertise as God's Word or as words inspired by the Holy Spirit. But the text enjoins us: "You must believe in Christ, eat and drink His flesh and blood, and adhere to Him by faith. Then you will receive a different mind, strength, and heart."

A person who does this will no longer be duped, fooled, or terrified as before; and you yourself will admit that now you are different. Before this you were afraid, you were frightened by any imagined sin, and you trembled before a rustling lead (Lev. 26:36). But now, since you have received forgiveness of sins, you are not worried about the folly of the devil and pope or the wrath of emperor and persecutor. Now you can say: "Even if I still have much filth and sin in me, what does it matter? Let them be angry and defiant if they will! I am in Christ, and I am certain that here is where I shall remain."

Christ always attributes eternal life to this eating and drinking. This accounts for the fact that all who have departed from the true church (Anyone who subscribes to Luther's writings with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength, is part of the true church. One could do this who has never heard of Luther. But you have heard of him and now you are burdened with the responsibility of proving or disproving my statement) can neither know nor determine what faith really is. They cannot progress beyond these words: "When the heart contemplates Christ's commands and the body then executes these, then I am in Him, and He is in me; then His will and mine are one." My dear man, you are quite wrong!

Do you propose to regulate this union with your will, your actions, your deeds, and the Law, and thus lead and bring Christ into your heart? (Believe that you probably do. Don't, and perish in your sin.) That would be to begin with works. Because of their ignorance and their disbelief these people do not get beyond works in opposition to faith. Because of their great blindness they know nothing, and they can do nothing.

How, then, does Christ come? This is the way: "He who eats My flesh." You must hear the Gospel from Him; you must let yourself be taught and instructed; you must not resist the message. Then the Holy Spirit can be effective in you through the Word and implant and impress Christ in your heart, with the result that henceforth you speak differently, believe differently, suffer differently, do good works differently, and declare: "Now I will bear whatever suffering is imposed for the sake of God's Word." Now the tree has become good, and its fruit will also be pleasing and good (Matt. 12:33).

Even now, such contempt for the Gospel, such ingratitude and neglect are beginning to manifest themselves that my heart is about to break. I never thought that we would so soon forget and no longer remember the misery and the wretchedness which afflicted us in the papacy. We live as smugly as though we had always enjoyed this liberty. No one will any longer contribute money toward church, pulpit, and school. People would be only too willing to starve the preachers if they could. They also persecute them. (We are starving our preachers spiritually by resisting them. Even the good, sincere preachers are afraid to oppose you. You are the worst kind of hypocrite if you give your money but keep your heart closed to the Word and those who attempt to instruct you in the Word.) They would be much happier if they could drive them from the country. But this has been the Gospel's fate before, and the same thing will happen again.

All will soon be forgotten. We think only of what serves our comfort and sensual pleasures. All right, all kinds of plagues will follow. Hard times will press heavily upon the poor people, and the rich will perish by pestilence. Yes, blood will also be shed, many tyrants and schismatic spirits will appear, and the Word of God will wane again. But I am determined to study this doctrine and to teach it as long as I live. I shall dwell on it diligently in my sermons, for I can see its effectiveness when it prevails and the harm when it disappears. The schismatic spirits have no understanding of all this. (I am pleading with you from a broken heart to see the truth of this paragraph.)

The sectarians and our fanatics were Christ's disciples in the beginning. They possessed Christ just as we do, and now they have become Sacramentarians, Anabaptists, and other schismatic spirits. Now they object: "How can Christ be baked or melted down so that one can eat and drink Him? That is indeed a hard saying." (Baptists, how can you preach, "Word, Scripture," when you deny the very Word of Christ, not to mention your historic identification with Luther? Christ said and Luther affirmed—"THIS IS MY BODY; THIS IS MY BLOOD.") Yes, it must happen that some disciples who once held to Christ later draw back and desert Him. It would not be surprising if the papists and other coarse jackasses did this; but when those who accept Christ fall away in spite of all, this is distressing. Just see to it that you stand firm!

Therefore it is necessary that we be armed against these foolish and absurd spirits. "The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life." Christ does not want to give you the right to run to and from in search of the Spirit, to lose yourself in reverie and say: "I have this by inspiration of the Holy Spirit." Actually, it may be the devil who inspired you! Whenever you hear anyone boast that he has something by inspiration of the Holy Spirit and it has no basis in God's Word, no matter what it may be, tell him that this is the work of the devil. Christ does not bind you to anything but His mouth and His Word.

These words enjoining us to hear and heed God's Word are worth much gold. Failure to do this has always given rise in the world to great and terrible errors, idolatries, and schisms. Whatever ideas occurred to some fool, whatever he dreamed up, or whatever appealed to his fancy, was called an inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Everyone held his own thoughts to be the Holy Spirit and revelation. Thus the Holy Spirit, of course, also had to have His hand in motivating pilgrimages to Grym Valley! And the pope confirmed such inspirations and errors. All this, however, is devoid of God's Word; therefore it is of the devil.

Examine everything to see whether it is founded on Holy Writ, whether or not God has commanded and ordered it. If it is a mere fancy, a token of particular zeal, or a pious thought, but lacks God's Word, spit on it. (We don't spit because everything sounds holy, pious, and plausible to our ears. Our spit is building up and flying back in our faces as we chase every wind of doctrine.) Unless it happens that God chooses to enlighten you particularly, as He did Moses, beware! Since God has confirmed the ministry of preaching, be on your guard against any such devotion or fancies as the devil may well suggest to you, even though they are sweet enough to induce you to weep large troughs full of tears. (Sincerity wins the day.)

You must be informed with regard to the type of zeal which is evil and that which is good, natural, or spiritual; for on the surface all are almost alike. The books of the monks abounded with spiritual devotion, and many a person was deceived thereby. People could not distinguish between true and false devotion, since they did not have the Word of God. They were told that it was not permissible to resist the Holy Spirit. But I declare that I will resist Him if they do not have the Word of God. For John commands us (I John 4:1) to test all the spirits to ascertain who is preaching and what is being preached.

A man is truly spiritual, a Christian, in proportion to how much he adheres to the Word. (My contention is this: We have been removed so far from the Word that the only hope is for us to be taken back to the Word on the strengthened back of Luther. He is the means of our salvation. Question: Was Noah the means of salvation for the old world that perished? Noah's Ark is Luther's Writings. It isn't my fault God prepared and used a man by the name of Luther, to build this fine refuge against the storms of false doctrine that have swept over the Church.) On the other hand, he is flesh in proportion to his flesh and unbelief. Flesh and spirit contend against each other. I would fain believe with all my heart and be filled with spirit, but I do not succeed. The flesh and that old Sir Adam, who dwells in my skin, come along and frighten the spirit, play me a nasty trick, and intone the old refrain into my ear night and day: "Well, surely good works are worth something too." Such thoughts are obnoxious; they are accursed; they stand condemned and are pernicious. But still they haunt me, and I must constantly war against them and say: "I will not yield and put my trust in works." When reason objects I must reply: "Miss Reason, shut your mouth! You hear Christ say that this is the way it is, that these words must be revered, honored, and believed as true."

This makes a spiritual and truly Christian man. Then the Holy Spirit also comes to your aid and protects you against error. Without Him there is no limit or end to error. But to accept forgiveness of sins by doing nothing more than believing seems very easy to those who have never tried it. They are prone to say: "If I could only do something toward this! Faith seems to be a trivial matter. Though many assume that it is easy to believe, a Christian will say: How difficult it is to master the art of believing these words! When death, sin, devil, and world confront us, and our conscience palpitates, when we face combat, and cold sweat breaks out of our pores, then we are much more tempted to say: "I would rather go to St. Iago in a coat of mail than suffer this anguish!" But the smug and the coarse, those whose conscience is not assailed, regard faith as but a trifle. The Christian, however, declares amid trials and temptations: "Conscience, death, sin, world, and devil, keep still! I do not hear you. I will close my eyes and listen only to these words." Then you will perceive whether faith is such an easy art. The common supposition is that it is difficult to perform good works, but that faith is acquired with ease.

But people say: "Who does not believe this? We are Christians. Go to the Jews and to the Turks, and preach to them about faith!" True Christians will say, on the other hand: "O God in heaven, how true and correct are those words, that he who eats Christ's flesh and believes in Him has everlasting life! Alas, how glad I would be to be relieved of all my sins! O God, if I could only believe this with all my heart as I would like to! How happy I would be to have the eternal life promised in these words!" Indeed, Christians do say that they believe it but they do not claim that their faith is perfect, as it should be.

But those falling away from the faith make it hard for anyone to believe. When a knave who lived in our midst and was trained by us backslides, when he becomes disloyal and opposes us, he does more and greater harm, and alienates more people from us, than our public enemies and adversaries, who assail us daily. It is my belief that the Gospel would soon have taken its course through the entire world had it not been for the factions and sects, the Anabaptists and the Sacramentarians, who obstructed it. Without them the pope and all the princes would not have made such inroads into our ranks, and all the irate papists could not have hurt our cause so. They capitalize on our name and on their association with us, alleging now that their doctrine is based on Holy Writ, and then proceeding to attack us. And when others should be added to our number, these are estranged from us and strengthen the enemy, who are thereby encouraged. It is impossible for us not to be sad over this. (Do you really believe Luther is just crying over "sour grapes" here rather than baring his heart over the plight of the Word. You must chose between Luther and all the others just as the Jews had to chose between Christ and the Pharisees. You must determine, just as the Jews had to about Christ, whether Luther is a devilish, megalomaniac, or in fact a choice servant of God. If you decide he is not the choicest servant of God over the last 1900 years, then stop quoting him, patronizing him, and being called by his name!)

When these deserters get out and mingle with the people, they misinterpret our words as they please and say: "I am as expert at that as they are." They come close to us, not in God's, but in the devil's name. They once conversed with us, ate and drank with us, and associated with us as friends. But when they have the opportunity, they set themselves in opposition to us. This has always been, and still is, the way of the schismatic spirits. I must suffer it and cannot prevent it. But this we know for sure, that if they had not learned from us and read our books, they would be ignorant of it all and would spread but little heresy with their captiousness. They ate with us, as Christ says (Ps. 55:14); but they oppose us because our words and our preaching do not appeal to them, just as Christ's words in our text are too hard for the disciples. They do not want to be pupils; they want to be as wise and learned as Christ. He must not be their Master; He cannot tell them anything they do not want to reason out. But just let them go on in their refusal to be His pupils; He will remain the Master for all that.

Some will hold to us and the Gospel for awhile and will pose as our best friends in order to ape us and deceive us; but after we have given them our full confidence, they go and cause us every heartache. This need not alarm us, nor do we have to heed the outcry of the papists: "The new Lutheran prophets are not agreed on their own doctrine; if they were in agreement among themselves, we might follow them." But we close our eyes and ears to this and say: "May he who stands, stand; and may he who falls, fall. The fact that you stand does not make God's Word correct and true; likewise, the fact that you fall does not make the Word false and untrue; but the Word is true forever and ever." Thus we must rise above every offense and declare that our doctrine is true and not false.

You must learn to realize that it is God's work alone when man despairs of himself (If you do not see the whole current in the church and society is taking us away from a despair of ourselves toward an exaltation of our selves, esteem, and needs, then I beg you to cry out to God for Choice Wisdom. You must search for wisdom as you search for riches. You will find no better mine than Luther's.) and his inborn conceit is stamped out. Only God's work gives the courage for us to say: "Boast all you will, but I will test your sermon and decide whether it agrees with the Word of God—for instance, with the Ten Commandments, the articles of the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the doctrine of the Gospel. If it does, I shall be glad to listen to you, whether you are Peter or Judas, whether you are firmly rooted in the faith or have fallen from the faith. But if it does not, I will not listen to you, even if you were Peter three times over." The person is of no consequence; nor is the person's name important, whether it be Peter or Paul. The person is acceptable so long as he teaches faithfully. Therefore let the Word of God be your guide, and assure yourself that this is presented correctly. If the preacher does that, he is above suspicion. But if he does not follow that guideline, then may he be accursed, even if it were I myself or an angel from heaven.

It is indispensable for us to know that St. Paul, I, all the pastors who preach to you, and also the angels, must present God's Word in its purity. But now those rogues and knaves boast that Christendom has accepted their doctrine. And the superiors, popes, bishops, pastors, and those in ecclesiastical office claim that they must be heard by virtue of their office. Not so fast! You may have the office, just as Judas was an apostle and as the seventy-two were Christ's disciples; but when the seventy-two disciples take offense at the words of Christ and refuse to accept His preaching, we do not listen to them.

Judas was a select rock of Christendom, the same as Peter and the other apostles. Still he fell away, and his office did not keep him constant. They raise a strong argument when they state that I attack the pope, bishops, the learned and great men of the world. In brief, they say that I write, read, preach, speak, and fight against the entire Christian Church, that I claim to be the only smart man. I retort: I am not speaking against the pope and the bishops or against their persons, but against their doctrine. I sincerely wish that they would do their duty and diligently fulfill the obligations of their office. Then I would no longer open my mouth, for I am far from begrudging them their office. But it is intolerable that they claim to be popes, bishops, and doctors and yet do not administer the Word of the Lord Christ. I am glad to grant St. Peter his apostolate, Judas likewise. But when he does not preach the Gospel of Christ but betrays Him and becomes the accomplice of Caiaphas, this is something that cannot be overlooked.

Because of his confession, Peter comes to the fore as a real pope and a true apostle. He employs his apostolic office properly, saying as he looks about him: "To whom shall we go?" As though he were to say: "I can find no other doctrine which might give life, but we have discovered that Thou hast words of life and that Thou art the true Teacher of the people." You, too, must reach the point that you can say: Cast all human doctrine aside. Moses and his Law will not help us. All earthly wisdom is invalid here, and all doctrines which man may project and preach are to be accursed. We refuse to have anything to do with them.

Some will cry: "Desertion!" We must say: Disunity or no disunity, defection or no defection, we must close our ears and go our way unconcernedly, solely intent upon saying: These are words of life.

Therewith this sermon is concluded, and this is its Christian interpretation. May God help us to grasp it. Amen.