Complete Ascension Sermon Link - Day of Christ’s Ascension Into Heaven. Mark 16:14-20. Christ Commissions his Disciples to Preach the Gospel
9. Now what does such preaching call for? It calls for this, that believe in it, for in no other way can apprehend it. If you write it in a book, it will be of no use to any man, though you indulge in much thinking about it. Again, you may preach and speak about it, or hear it; it will be to no purpose. You must believe it and confidently rely upon it that the thing is as the Gospel says, that not your works but the Lord Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection takes away your sin and death. This you can not attain to except by faith.
10. Again, Christ says: “He that disbelieveth,” even though he be baptized, “shall be damned.” These words, too, you must allow to remain just as they are. For he does not say thus: He that disbelieves and does evil works besides; but, without any varnish he says: If thou hadst the chastity of all virgins, the sufferings of all martyrs, and, to be concise, if thou hadst all the works that ever were done by all the saints — if thou hadst all these in a heap, yet, if faith were lacking, all would be lost.
11. Therefore, this is the passage whereby all cloistery, priest-craft, monkery and nunnery is overthrown; for it is a lost case. Do what you will, the sentence is already passed and the decree is already gone forth: If thou disbelieve thou art condemned already. Thus heavily and mightily do these two sentences butt against all doctrine and doing that are founded upon the works and powers of man.
