Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Trinity 23 - "But what if they would take the Gospel from us or forbid us to preach it? Then you are to say: The Gospel and Word of God I will not give up to you."

 

Luther's Complete Sermon -> 

Luther's Sermons - Matthew 22:15-22.
Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity

23. Although they did not deserve it of the Lord, yet he teaches them the right way. And with these words he also confirms the worldly sword or government. They had hoped he would condemn it and speak against it; he does not do it, however, but praises earthly government and commands to render unto it what is due to it. It is therefore his desire that there should be magistrates, princes and masters, whom we are to obey, be they what they may and what they list; neither should we ask whether they possess and exercise government and authority justly or unjustly. We should only pay heed to that power and authority which is good, for it is ordered and instituted by God, Romans 13:1: You are not allowed to upbraid the government, when at times you are oppressed by princes and tyrants, who abuse the power they have from God: some day they will surely have to answer for it. The abuse of a thing does not make it bad, if it was good in itself. A golden chain is good, and it is not made worse by being worn around a whore’s neck; or if someone were to destroy one of my eyes with it, should I therefore blame the chain? Truly nay.

24. Thus one must also bear the authority of the ruler. If he abuses it, I am not therefore to bear him a grudge, nor take revenge of and punish him with my hands. One must obey him solely for God’s sake, for he stands in God’s stead. Let them impose taxes as intolerable as they may: one must obey them and suffer everything patiently, for God’s sake. Whether they do right or not, that will be taken care of in due time. If therefore your possessions, aye, your life and whatsoever you have, be taken from you by those in power, then you are to say: I give it to you willingly, I acknowledge you as my masters, gladly will I be obedient to you. Whether you use the power given to you by God well or ill, that is your affair.

25. But what if they would take the Gospel from us or forbid us to preach it? Then you are to say: The Gospel and Word of God I will not give up to you. This is not within your power, for your rule is a temporal rule, over worldly matters; but the Gospel is a spiritual, heavenly treasure, and therefore your authority does not extend over the Gospel and God’s Word.

We recognize the emporer as a master of temporal affairs, not of God’s Word; this we shall not suffer to be torn from us, for it is the power of God, Romans 1:16, against which not even the gates of hell shall prevail.

26. Therefore, the Lord beautifully summarizes these two things, and in one saying distinguishes them from each other: “Render unto Caesar the things that ,are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.” This honor is due to God, that we are to hold him as a true, almighty and wise God, and attribute to him all the good things that can be named. And even if I do not render him this honor, he still keeps it; nothing is added to or subtracted from it. But in me he is true, almighty and wise, if I consider him as such, and believe him to be such as he proclaims himself. To the emperor, however, and to all in power, are due reverence, taxes, revenue and obedience. God will have the heart; body and possessions are the government’s, which is to rule over them in God’s stead. This St. Paul says to the Romans in round and clear words, Romans 13:1-7: “Let every soul be in subjection to the higher powers: for there is no power but of God; and the powers that be are ordained of God. Therefore he that resisteth the power, withstandeth the ordinance of God: and they that withstand shall receive to themselves judgment. For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. And wouldest thou have no fear of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise from the same: for he is a minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is a minister of God, an avenger for wrath to him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. Hence for this cause ye pay tribute also; for they are ministers of God’s service, attending continually upon this very thing. Render to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.”

27. And for this reason also has government been ordained by God, that it may uphold general peace, which thing alone cannot be paid for by all the money in the world. We just noticed a few things in the uprising of the peasant, what damage, misery and woe are caused by rebellion and the breaking of peace. God grant that things do not go further and that we experience no more. Enough is said on this Gospel. Of temporal government we have written a special booklet. Whoever desires to read it may do so. There he will find more on this subject.

Martyrs of the Reformation - Alec Satin's Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry

 

May God bless you now and always. From your Lutheran Librarian,

📅 NEW PUBLICATIONS AND UPDATES

Martyrs of the Reformation by Merle D'Aubigne “The personal sketches contained in this volume… constitute a notable gallery of religious portraits. They cannot but be read with the deepest interest. - From the Introduction Of note are Wolsey’s Victim’s, William Tyndale, and Luther: His Triumph in Death Contents Titlepage Index of Names Introduction by C Bulkley 1. William Sawtre, First Martyr to Protestantism in England, A.D. 1401 2. Sir John Oldcastle, Lord Cobham, A.D. 1417 3. Richard Hun, A.D. 1516 4. John Brown, A.D. 1517 5. The ... Read more The Pope, The Kings and The People by William Arthur “A History of the Movement to make the Pope governor of the World by a Universal Reconstruction of Society from the Issue of the Syllabus to the Close of the Vatican Council.” From the Introduction: Contents Epigraph Titlepage Editor’s Preface Preface Postscript to the Preface List of Works Contents Book 1: From the Issue of the Syllabus to its Solemn Confirmation, December 1864 to June 1867 1. The First Command 2. The Encyclical “Quanta Cura”, 1864 3. Foundation of a Literature of ... Read more The Columbus Theological Magazine Vol. 20, Matthias Loy, Editor This issue contains “What is the Motive to Do Right” by Matthias Loy, “The Lafayette of the Reformation” by Pfleuger, and “The Christian’s Consolation In Contemplating Death And The Judgment” by Rev. M. R. Walter. “This Magazine is designed to supply the want, long since felt, of a Lutheran periodical devoted to theological discussion. Its aim will be the exposition and defense of the doctrines of the Church as confessed in the Book of Concord. Theology in all its departments is embraced ... Read more The Columbus Theological Magazine Vol. 19, Matthias Loy, Editor This issue contains The Charge of Narrowness by Matthias Loy, The Point of Emphasis in Preaching Christ to the Unsaved by J Sheatsley, Joseph Rabinowitz by Rev. Paul Janowitz, and many other articles. Enjoy! “This Magazine is designed to supply the want, long since felt, of a Lutheran periodical devoted to theological discussion. Its aim will be the exposition and defense of the doctrines of the Church as confessed in the Book of Concord. Theology in all its departments is embraced within ... Read more The Conservative Reformation by Charles Porterfield Krauth “The history of Christianity… moves under the influence of two generic ideas: the conservative, which desires to secure the present by fidelity to the results of the past; the progressive, which looks out, in hope, to a better future. Reformation is the great harmonizer of the two principles. “Conservatism without Progress produces the Romish and Greek (Orthodox) type. Progress without Conservatism runs into Revolution, Radicalism, and Sectarianism.” - Charles Krauth, from the ... Read more Luther Examined and Reexamined by William Dau “Rome has never acknowledged her errors nor admitted her moral defeat. The lessons of past history are wasted upon her… A recent Catholic writer correctly says: ‘There is no doubt that the religious problem today is still the Luther problem.’ Almost every statement of those religious doctrines which are opposed to (Roman) Catholic moral teaching find their authorization in the theology of Martin Luther.” – William Dau Contents Preface. 1 Luther Worship. 2 Luther Hatred. 3 Luther ... Read more

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ELCA Now Has 36 Women Bishops Out of 66 - A 55% Yield. What Hath Braaten-Jenson Wrought?

 

ELCA's first openly transgender bishop did not last long.

2023 – 36 of 66 ELCA Bishops Are Female (55%)

1. Wilma Kucharek (2002)
2. Elizabeth Eaton (2007)
3. Shelley Wickstrom (2012)
4. Ann Svennungsen (2012)
5. Tracie Bartholomew (2013)
6. Suzanne Darcy Dillahunt (2013)
7. Patricia Lull (2014)
8. Katherine Finnegan (2017)
9. Deborah Hutterer (2018)
10. Patricia Davenport (2018)
11. Idalia Negrón (2018)
12. Laurie Skow-Anderson (2018)
13. Sue Briner (2018)
14. Lorna Halaas (2019)
15. Laurie Larson Caesar (2019)
16. Shelley Bryan Wee (2019)
17. Regina Hassanally (2019)
18. Constanze Hagmaier (2019)
19. Laurie Jungling (2019)
20. Susan Candea (2019)
21. Leila Ortiz (2019)
22. Ginny Aebischer (2020 SC)
23. Amy Current (2020 SE IA)
24. Tessa Moon Leiseth (2020 E ND)
25. Amy Odgren (2020 NE MN)
26. Joy Mortensen-Wiebe (2020 SC WI)
27. Laura Barbins (2020 NE Ohio)
28. Anne Edison-Albright (2020 E Central WI)
29. Brenda Bos (2021, SW CA)
30. Paula Schmitt (2021, Allegheny)
31. Dee Pederson (2021, SW MN)
32. Staci Fidlar (2022, Northern IL)
33. Clair Burkat (2022, Interim Bishop in the Sierra Pacific Synod)
34. Meggan Manlove (2023, NW Intermountain)
35. Becca Midweek-Conlin (2023, Arkansas/Oklahoma)
36. Phyllis Milton (2023, Virginia)

Religious News Service - She Is Loose! 2018

Briner: (Southwestern Texas Synod) has some of the fastest-growing cities in the entire U.S. along the corridor of San Antonio to Austin and beyond. We have people of all ages moving in, but they’re not generally coming to church. So we have an incredible opportunity there, but a lot of it is thinking about how are we different. We’ve become a really settled people who have become very comfortable with the way we’ve always done things. So trying to figure out, how do we be open to the Spirit and be open to the Spirit’s work? Because I’m telling you what, the Spirit is up to something …

Bishops: Amen. Yes, she is.

Briner: … if we would just let her out.

Bishops: Let her out. Get out of her way.

Briner: Open the doors and let her out.

Bishops: She’s out! She is loose!

Briner: I see that in all sorts of little ways. As I sit around the table and listen to this, I think, Wow, God, you are up to something. We’re working with a lot with congregations on, how do we cooperate with one another — not to stay alive, because that’s no good, it really is, how do we cooperate together for the sake of mission, for the sake of the world that Jesus loves so that we can be in the communities working with each other?

 ELCiC in Canada has but one bishop

ELCA Professor Carl Braaten, A Paul Tillich Groupie, Has Died, Age 94 - Co-Author of Notorious Braaten-Jenson Two-Volume Christian Dogmatics

 

Carl Braaten promoted the faith without belief  gibberish that overturned what his missionary father taught. Oddly, Carl thought the Seminex faculty, who joined Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, were the real radicals.

Braaten and his team of professorial apostates put together a massive, two-volume Christian Dogmatics where all the basics of the Christian Faith were denied. I bought the set from Fortress so I could copy the main quotes. Then I sent it back saying it was a pile of rubbish, trying to be polite. Fortress wrote back, "They are using it in all our seminaries." Soon after, Fortress was denying the seminaries were using it as their textbook.

An LCA pastor said at a retreat I attended on my way out, "Everyone should get Braaten-Jenson. They are conservatives. Their colleagues are saying that God-language is useless and meaningless now." 

"Later they quote Braaten again, saying that as ELCA Lutherans we believe as truth, "If Jesus is the Lord and Savior, he is the universal Lord and Savior, not merely my personal Lord and Savior. Because Jesus is the unique and universal Savior, there is a large hope for salvation, not only for me and others with the proper credentials of believing and belonging to the church, but for all people whenever or wherever they might have lived and no matter how religious or irreligious they may have proved to be themselves."

One of the blokes said in their book - The Trinity is nothing more than God, the man Jesus, and the Spirit as the spirit of the believing community. [From memory, more or less] That should make everyone jump up and buy the $80 two-volume set.

AAL/Lutheran Brotherhood/Thrivent kept getting the LCA/ALC/LCMS/WELS/Thrivent professors and leaders together as one giant marketing scheme, though watered down with other non-profits, not just the apostates Lutherans.

I could go on about where Braaten-Jenson took the Lutherans. I even published Liberalism, Its Cause and Cure. The collapse has already begun, but it really started in those early days when they could get away with undermining Lutheran doctrine and the KJV.

The Race Continues with Dustmop, Porchi, and Charlie Sue

 

I should get some photos of Charlie Sue soon. She is the leader along the fence-line. We have a pug on west fence, Doggie Daycare on the north fence, Dustmop and Porchi on the south fence. The south was dug in many places so chicken wire was attached to the fence and along the ground.

A group of children were outside (70+ degrees) with Little White Dustmop and Porchi. Charlie was itching to do more running, so I talked with the kids and yelled "Run, run, run!" at the competing dogs. Charlie got this going, and Porchi joined. Dustmop is around many days, so he learned the chant too. 

Porchi wanted some personal time, so he stood on his hind legs against the fence and enjoyed his huge head being stroked while I praised him. He likes that more than running, but he does both. All three dogs have dug under the fence to some extent. Dustmop could run under it both ways, no trouble. I have added more heavy objects along the part where the chicken wire bends onto the ground to impede their adventures.

I gave Porchi two toys to play with and bring back, on a quieter day. He took each one with glee and looked hurt about bringing them back. He walked as far away as possible to work them over. He has not learned to share.

Charlie loves chasing balls and squeaker toys but does not bring them back. She makes a point of hiding them. She parked three of them along the fence shared by Doggie Day Care. It will be funny to see if she places them back there later. When the grass and weeds were high in a couple of places, balls were hard to find. She fetches them back part of the time, hides them the rest of the time.

St. Narthexius Is Hard To Find These Days

 

St. Narthexius and his coffee beans have been banned from the Contemptible Worship congregations - due to popcorn, soft drinks, and worse. His beans were too stout, just like his doctrine.

Which denomination? They are all the same, go to all the same conferences, and think all the same things about Mammon, the source of their glee...and downfall.

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Therefore we are to put all our trust only in the Lord, and say: "O Lord, thou art my life, my soul and body, my goods and possessions, and all that is mine."

 

Luther's Complete Sermon -> 

Luther's Sermons - Matthew 22:15-22.
Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity

18. Therefore we are to put all our trust only in the Lord, and say: O Lord, thou art my life, my soul and body, my goods and possessions, and all that is mine. Do thou direct and ordain it all according to thy divine will. In thee do I trust, in thee do I believe. Thou wilt surely not desert me in such a perilous undertaking with such and such a man, whom I do not trust. If thou knowest it to be good for me, then see to it that he be true to me; if thou dost not see that it will help me, then do not let him keep his word. I am content, thy will be done.

19. As soon, however, as you think a purchaser to be an honest man who will keep his word, and of whom you are certain that he will not deceive you; so soon you have fallen away from God, have prayed to a specter and put your trust in a liar. Therefore, in dealing with a man, just think in this wise: If he is true, it is good; if not, why then, in God’s name, let him be; he cannot do otherwise than lie and deceive. I will leave it all to God; he will make all well.

20. Out of such false and wicked confidence placed in man there has crept into Christianity the abuse of the worship of saints. By this the Christian church, that is, the true assembly of the faithful, have suffered notable decline and damage. What else has saints’ worship been but solely a devilish thing? For thus have people reasoned: Such and such a man has been holy; such things has he said and done; therefore we will follow after him, and teach and do likewise. St. Jerome, St. Augustine, and Gregory have done this; therefore it is right, and I will believe it. St. Francis, Benedict, Dominicus, and St. Bernard have lived thus, have done such and such a thing; therefore will I also live thus, and do as they have done.

Furthermore, St. Augustine has been saved by such a rule. Alas, what a poor, unstable, miserable thing this is, nought but lies and dreams of man. I should damn St. Augustine and his rule, had he laid it down for the purpose of being saved thereby. So blind and foolish is our reason, that it will accept even a specter and a fiction, whereas only God’s Word is to be accepted in matters of salvation. If, for example, Herod, Pilate, Caiaphas and Hanes preached the Gospel, I should have to accept it. And, on the other hand, if those who are considered saints arose and preached lies, about regulations, hoods and gowns, tonsures, ceremonies and other inventions of man, I ought not to accept them. For in such cases not the persons are to be considered, but that which they preach.

21. Now someone might say: See here, would you be wiser than all church fathers and saints, than all bishops and rulers of the whole world? Far be it from me. I do not claim to be wiser than they. But this is true: It is impossible for that which is wise, prudent, great, handsome, mighty and powerful before the world to agree with the Word of God. For thus it is ordained by God, that such people must always persecute the Gospel; if they were not such the Gospel would not shine and triumph as it does. The Roman emperors Hadrian, Trojan and Diocletian were the wisest of rulers, and reigned so well that all the world praised their government. Yet they persecuted the Gospel and could not tolerate the truth. Likewise do we read of Jewish kings, Ahaz and others, who governed well, that they despised God’s Word and acted contrary to God’s will. In our times there have never been emperors, princes, or other people to compare with those.

But then it had to come to pass that God put all wisdom of this world to shame through the foolishness of preaching, 1 Corinthians 1:21.

22. All this is shown to us in this Gospel, which, though apparently simple and ordinary, is exceedingly rich and comprises many things. How then does the Lord finally deal with the Pharisees after they had shown him the tribute money, and answered that the image and superscription was Caesar’s? The Evangelist tells us that he answered thus: “Render therefore unto Caesar the things that are Caesars; and unto God the things that are Gods.”

 

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No Comment Department

One Small Cone for a Man - One Giant Leap for a Sect

 

The special bags keep food colder than a WELS Friendship Sunday service.

Northwestern Publishing House will use a special grant from the Yelloh! Foundation to enable the inclusion of the 

• Evangelical Heritage Version, 
• The English Standard Version, and 
• The Christian Standard Bible translations 
• The feminista OJ-inventing New NIV
• in the Service Builder software for the new hymnal. 

The new hymnal has been adopted by approximately 75 percent of WELS congregations which are still alive. Seminarians were trained to hate the KJV decades ago, before the NIV was forced on everyone. 

"Two gifts (of approximately $800,000 and $500,000) have been given to the synod by congregations that have decided to close. The purpose of these gifts is to provide support for ongoing and expanded mission work for the shrinking sect."

"A task force has been formed to carry out a synod resolution calling for a wide-ranging effort to address the shortage of called workers." (A task force - aka committee of drones - will gather to find a way to develop a statement that will leave everyone fired up for action in the future.)

Ask not for whom the bell tolls, WELS, it tolls for thee.

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Trinity 23 - For it is written, Jeremiah 17:7: “Cursed be the man that trusteth in man; blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord.”

 

The Lutheran crypto-Catholics should read Luther, but they do not - they loathe Luther's dedication to the efficacious Word of God.

Luther's Complete Sermon -> 

Luther's Sermons - Matthew 22:15-22.
Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity

12. Thus we are here still secure, no one attacks us; as a result we always continue just as we were, yea, we become worse. In that certain enemies attack us with the Scriptures, they gain very little. In that they have taken up their pen against us, they accomplish no more than if they blew into the fire; but if they had eased us into the fire or beat our heads, there would indeed be more Christians for our sake.

13. Consequently we have here a consolation, when we are attacked; that Christ is in us and holds the field of victory through us. Christ is so near us that we triumph at all times through him because we abide in Christ. As long as we do not have opposition taking us by the neck, he does nothing; but when we are attacked and conquered, then he is at hand and puts all our enemies to shame.

14. Here we may also learn the lesson that those who are a little more than other people, brighter, stronger, and endowed with special gifts of reason, nature and fortune, who are more artistic, learned and intelligent than others, who indeed are gifted with speech and are talented to lead other people and are able to rule and arrange everything in the best way, they are the most opposed to God and to faith, and trust more in their own strength and reason than in God. For nature, poisoned as it is, leads them to the point that they cannot and will not use their gifts to the best advantage, for the welfare and edification of their neighbor; for they trust in their gifts, and think they will obtain now this, now that, and never remember that they also need God’s help and strength to that end. As the Pharisees and scribes do here, who are so certain, as they think, if they thus lay hold of Christ, they would take him captive, for it is not possible, they say, for him to escape, we have ensnared him whether he says yes, or no.

15. Behold, how cunning and perverse human nature is! Methinks this is well pictured here. Aye, there is nought in man but evil, lying and deceiving, cunning and all manner of mischief. Indeed, in his very nature man is nothing else than a liar, Psalm 116:11. One may not entrust anything to man. Do not imagine that any one tells you the truth; man lies in whatsoever he speaks. And why? The fountain is evil, that is to say, the heart is not good; therefore also the rivers flowing therefrom cannot be good. Hence does the Lord oftimes call men a generation of vipers and a brood of serpents, Matthew 22:34. Is not that a beautiful title for man?

Just you go and boast of your piety, your strength, or your free will!

Before the world indeed one may be fine and pious, shining with holiness; but at bottom nothing will be found but a generation of vipers and a serpent’s brood, and that most of all in the worthiest, most estimable, intelligent and wise people. If you peruse the history of the Greeks, Jews and Romans, you will find that the best and wisest rulers, who according to the judgment of men, governed well, have not thought of God, but confided in themselves alone; to God’s might they have attributed nothing.

16. From this it follows that the less adroit a person is before the world, the less will he do against God; and those who are ingenious and honored in the world, lie and deceive more than the others, thinking to cover up their deception and malice by deceitful and cunning acts. True it is they may full well conceal it; the Holy Spirit, however, has a keen eye and knows them exceeding well. Therefore Scripture often calls such fellows lions, wolves, bears, swine, and wild beasts, namely, such as rage, eating and devouring everything with their deceit. Hence in the Old Testament the Jews were forbidden to eat some animals, as being unclean — those that are enumerated and others — for no other reason than that it might be thus indicated that there are some people who are strong, mighty, rich, adroit, learned, intelligent and wise, people that must be shunned and fled from as though they were something unclean; such people as mislead and deceive others by their appearance, their power and wisdom. For people will not consider them as such, nor believe that they are men who plan evil things and dare to carry them out. No man whatever, therefore, is to be trusted or believed. Believe no one: he will mislead you wherever he can. Aye, if indeed you trust any one, you will act against God, not trusting in him. For it is written, Jeremiah 17:7: “Cursed be the man that trusteth in man; blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord.”

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Trinity 23 - "Consequently no one should fear even if all the wisdom and power of the world oppose the Gospel, yea, even if they plan to suppress it by the shedding of blood; for the more blood is shed, the more Christians there will be."

 

The legacy ELCA members feared opposing the first female ELCA archbishop, so now they sample the infernal nightmare of her radical romp into oblivion. 

Luther's Complete Sermon -> 

Luther's Sermons - Matthew 22:15-22.
Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity

6. But what does Christ do when the Pharisees so cunningly lay hold of him? He slays them with their own words and catches them by means of their own counsel, by which they thought to catch him, he says neither yes nor no; as the Evangelist writes and says: “But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why make ye trial of me, ye hypocrites? Show me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a denarius. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar’s.”

7. Here you see the master stroke the Lord uses. He asks them to hand him the tribute money and inquires whose image and superscription it bears.

Then they answer him Caesar’s. He then freely concluded that they were subject to Caesar, to whom they were obligated to pay tax and tribute. As if he should say: Have you thus permitted Caesar to come among you, so that he mints your money, and his coin is in circulation and favor among you, then he has triumphed in the game, as if he said: you are to blame that Caesar is your ruler. What should they do now in the face of this answer?

They marveled and went away, they thought they would conquer him in a masterly manner, but their wisdom and shrewdness deceived them.

8. This is written for our consolation, in order that we who believe in Christ should know that we have a wisdom that far surpasses all other wisdom; a strength and righteousness, which are not to be compared with any human strength or righteousness; for against the Holy Spirit no counsel can prevail. We have the power through Christ to trample sin under our feet and to triumph over death, also a wisdom that surpasses the wisdom of the whole world. If Christ live in us by faith then we possess him who establishes this in us; but it is not experienced except in times of temptation and opposition: therefore if I make use of it then he comes and gives me the power vigorously to press through all difficulties to victory.

9. In like manner we should not worry that our doctrine will fail and be put to shame. For let even all the wise and prudent of the world together rise up against the Word of God; they overlook the joke that they opposed it, that it took place for their sake. It may indeed happen that they may howl and bite and snap against it so that the people think the Gospel will fail; but when they set themselves against it and wish to overthrow it, then it is certain that they are weak, and by the same trick they wished to seize and take Christ, they themselves are finally caught. As we see in this Gospel, and here and there in the writings of Paul and especially in the history of St. Stephen we see how they failed to quote the Scriptures aright, yea, that which they did quote is used against them, for the Jews charged Stephen that he spoke against the temple, Acts 6:7, and also against God who told them to build the temple, they brought forth passages of Scripture by which they tried to suppress and conquer him; but Stephen, full of the Holy Ghost, showed unto them by one passage of Scripture after another how God did not live in houses made with hands. David wished to build him a house, but he did not desire it. What was the reason? God had lived a long time before David’s day among his people; he must indeed be a poor God who needs a house for his dwelling place. And thus by many histories he proves that God does not dwell in houses made by man. What should the Jews do? They have the passage clearly before their eyes, which they quoted against Stephen, (that he witnessed against themselves).

10. In like manner must all come to shame and be overthrown who rise up against this divine wisdom and the Word of God. Consequently no one should fear even if all the wisdom and power of the world oppose the Gospel, yea, even if they plan to suppress it by the shedding of blood; for the more blood is shed, the more Christians there will be. The blood of Christians, as Tertulian says, is the seed from which Christians grow. Satan must be drowned in the blood of Christians, consequently there is no art that can suppress the Gospel by force. It is with the Gospel as with the palmtree, which has the nature and character that it flourishes at the top, and one may laden it as heavy as he wishes; and especially if it be used as a beam or support it does not weaken under any burden, but rises in spite of the burden. Such is also the nature of the Gospel, the more one opposes it the greater it lays hold of us and the more one burdens it, the more it grows.

11. Therefore we should not be afraid of powers. But we should fear our prosperity and good days which cause us more harm than our anguish and persecution; and we should not be afraid in the face of the wisdom and the shrewdness of the world, for they can do us no harm. Yes, the more the wisdom of the world opposes the truth, the purer and clearer does the truth become, consequently the Gospel can experience nothing better than that the world rise up against it with all its force and wisdom; yea, the more my conscience, sin and satan attack me, the stronger does my righteousness become. For the sins which worry me, pain me; then I persevere harder and harder in prayer and in my cry to God; then faith and righteousness become stronger and stronger. This is what St. Paul means when he says in Corinthians 12:9: my power is made perfect in weakness. Now since we possess such a treasure that becomes stronger by virtue of trial and opposition we should not fear, but be of good courage and rejoice in tribulation; as St. Paul says to the Romans, Romans 5:3: and as the Apostles did who departed from the presence of the council with great rejoicing, and thanked God that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the Name, Acts 5:41. If satan were only prudent enough to keep quiet and let the Gospel be preached, he would receive less injury from it; for if the Gospel is not attacked it completely rusts and has no occasion or reason to make its power and influence manifest.