| III. THE DISCUSSION OF THE DOCTRINE OF PERSONAL
FAITH AND THE FAITH OF OTHERS; ALSO, OF FAITH AND THE BAPTISM OF CHILDREN. "Lord,
I am not worthy."
18. Herein is the great faith of this heathen, that he knows salvation does not depend
upon the bodily presence of Christ, for this does not avail, but upon the Word and faith.
But the apostles did not yet know this, neither perhaps did his mother, but they clung to
his bodily presence and were not willing to let it go, John 16:6. they did not
cling to his Word alone. But this heathen is so fully satisfied with his Word, that he
does not even desire his presence nor does he deem himself worthy of it. Moreover, he
proves his strong faith by a comparison and says: "I am a man and can do what I
wish with mine own by a word; should not you be able to do what you wish by a word,
because I am sure, and you also prove, that health and sickness, death and life are
subject to you as my servants are to me? Therefore also his servant was healed in that
hour by the power of his faith."
19. Now since the occasion is offered and this Gospel requires it, we must say a little
about alien faith and its power. For many are interested in this subject, especially on
account of the little children, who are baptized and are save.' not by their own, but by
the faith of others; just as this servant was healed not by his own faith, but by the
faith of his master. We have never yet treated a. this matter; therefore we must treat of
it now in order to anticipate, as much as in us lies, future danger and error.
20. First we must let the foundation stand firm and sure, that nobody will be saved by
the faith or righteousness of another, but only by his own; and on the other hand nobody
will be condemned for the unbelief or sins of another, but for his own unbelief; as the
Gospel says clearly and distinctly in Mark 16:16 "He that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned." And Romans
1:17: "The righteous shall live by faith." And John 3:6-18: "Whosoever
believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. He that believeth on him is not
judged: he that believeth not hath been judged already." These are clear, public
words, that every one must believe for himself, and nobody can help himself by the faith
of others, without his own faith. From these passages we dare not depart and we must not
deny them, let them strike where they may, and we ought rather let the world perish than
change this divine truth. And if any plausible argument is made against it, that you arc
not able to refute, you must confess that you do not understand the matter and commit it
to God, rather than admit anything contrary to these clear statements. Whatever may become
of the heathen, Jews, Turks, little children and everything that exists, these words must
be right and true.
21. Now the question is, what becomes of the young children, seeing that they have not
yet reason and are not able to believe for themselves, because it is written in Romans
10:17: "Belief cometh. of hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ."
Little children neither hear nor understand the Word of God, and therefore they can have
no faith of their own.
22. The sophists in the universities' and the sects of the pope have invented the
following answer to the question: Little children are baptized without their own faith,
and on the, faith of the Church, which the sponsors confess at the baptism; thereupon the
infant receives in baptism the forgiveness of sins by the power and virtue of the baptism,
and faith of its own is infused with grace, so that it becomes a new born child through
the water and the Holy Spirit.
23. But if you ask them for the proof of this answer and where this is found in the
Scriptures, it is found up the dark chimney, or they will point to their doctor's hat and
say: "We are the highly learned doctors and we say so; therefore it is true, and
you must not inquire any farther." For almost all their doctrine has no other
foundation than their own dreams and imaginations. And when they prepare themselves most
carefully, they drag in some quotation from St. Augustine or another holy father. But this
is not enough in the things that concern the salvation of souls; for they themselves are,
and all the holy fathers were, men. Who will be surety and guarantee that they speak the
truth? Who will rely upon it and die by it? For they say so without Scripture and the Word
of God. Saints hither, and saints thither; if my soul is at stake, either to be lost or to
be saved eternally, I cannot depend upon all the angels and saints put together, much less
upon one or two saints, where they show us no Word of God.
24. From this falsehood they have gone farther and have even come to the point, where
they have taught and still teach, that the sacraments have such power, that even if you
have no faith and receive the sacrament (provided you have no intention to sin), you shall
still receive the grace and the forgiveness of sins without faith. This they have inferred
from the former opinion, that little children receive grace in this way without faith,
solely by the virtue and power of the sacrament, as they dream. Therefore they also
ascribe the same thing to adults and to all men, and utter such things from their own
mind, and thereby they have in a masterly way eradicated and made void and unnecessary the
Christian faith, and have set up human works alone by virtue of the power of the
sacraments. On this subject I have said enough in what I wrote concern. the articles of
the bull of Leo.
25. The holy ancient fathers have spoken somewhat better, although not clearly enough.
They say nothing about this imaginary power of the sacraments, but they teach that little
children are baptized in the faith of the Christian church. But since they do not explain
thoroughly, how this Christian faith benefits the children, whether they thereby receive a
faith of their own, or are baptized only upon the Christian faith, without faith of their
own: the sophists rush in and interpret the language of the holy fathers to the effect,
that children are baptized without faith of their own and receive grace solely by reason
of the faith of the church. For they are enemies of faith; if only they can exalt works,
faith must allow them to do so. They do not think for a moment, whether the holy fathers
erred or they themselves understood the fathers aright.
26. Beware of this poison and error, even if it were the expressed opinion of all the
fathers and councils; for it will not stand; it has no Scripture for its foundation, but
only the imaginations and dreams of men. Moreover it is directly and manifestly opposed to
the chief texts already mentioned, where Christ says: "He that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved." The conclusion from this is in short, baptism avails
for nobody and is to be administered to nobody, unless he believes for himself; and
without faith nobody is to be baptized, as St. Augustine himself says: "Non
sacramentum justificat, sed fides sacrament" ("Not the sacrament justifies, but
the faith of the sacrament").
27. Besides these there are others, like the brethren called Waldensians. They teach
that every one must believe for himself, and receive baptism or the Lord's supper with his
own faith; otherwise neither baptism nor the Lord's supper is of any benefit to him. So
far they speak and teach correctly. But it is a mockery of holy baptism, when they go on
and baptize little children, although they teach that they have no faith of their own.
They thus sin against the second commandment, in that they consciously and deliberately
take the name and Word of God in vain. Nor does the excuse help them which they plead,
that children are baptized upon their future faith, when they come to the age of reason.
For the faith must be present before or at least in the baptism; otherwise the child will
not be delivered from the devil and sins.
28. Therefore if their opinion were correct, all that is done with the child in baptism
is necessarily falsehood and mockery. For the baptizer asks whether the child believes,
and the answer for the child is: "Yes." And he asks whether it desires to
be baptized, and the answer for the child is again: "Yes." Now nobody is
baptized for the child, but it is baptized itself. Therefore it must also believe itself,
or the sponsors must speak a falsehood, when for it they say: "I believe."
Furthermore, the baptizer declares that it is born anew, has forgiveness of sins, is freed
from the devil, and as a sign of this he puts on it a white garment, and deals with it in
every way as with a new, holy child of God: all of which would necessarily be untrue, if
the child had not its own faith. Indeed, it would be better never to baptize a child, than
to trifle and juggle with God's Word and sacrament, as if he were an idol or a fool.
29. Nor is it of any use that they make a threefold distinction in the kingdom of God:
first, it is the Christian church; secondly, eternal life; thirdly, the Gospel; and then
say children are baptized for the kingdom of heaven in the third and first sense. That is,
they are baptized, not to be saved thereby and to receive forgiveness of sins; but they
are received into the church and brought to the Gospel. All this amounts to nothing and is
only an invention of their imagination. For it is not entering the kingdom of heaven, if I
get among Christians and hear the Gospel. The heathen can also do that without baptism.
This is not entering the kingdom of heaven, however, you may talk of the first, second,
and third sense of the kingdom of heaven. But being in the kingdom of heaven means to be a
living member of the church, and not only to hear, but also to believe the Gospel.
Otherwise a man would be in the kingdom of heaven, just as if I threw a stick or stone
among Christians, or as the devil is among them. All this is worth nothing.
30. It also follows from this, that the Christian church has two kinds of baptism. and
that children have not the same baptism as adults. Nevertheless St. Paul says there is
only "one baptism, one Lord, one faith." (Ephesians. 4:5): For if
the baptism of children does not effect and bestow, what the baptism of adults effects and
bestows, it is not the same baptism: it is indeed no baptism at all, but a sport and
mockery of baptism, inasmuch as there is no baptism but that which saves. If one knows or
believes that it does not save, he ought not to administer it. But if it is administered,
it is not Christian baptism; for one does not believe, that it effects what baptism is to
effect. Therefore it is another and foreign baptism. For this reason it were almost
necessary, that the Waldensian brethren should have themselves baptized again, as they
baptize our people again; because they not only receive baptism without faith, but even
contrary to faith, and in mockery and dishonor of God administer another, foreign,
unchristian baptism.
31. If now we cannot give a better answer to this question and prove that the little
children themselves believe and have their own faith, my sincere counsel and judgment is,
that we abstain altogether and the sooner the better, and never baptize a child, so that
we may not mock and blaspheme the adorable majesty of God by such trifling and juggling
with nothing in it. Therefore we here conclude and declare that in baptism the children
themselves believe and have their own faith, which God effects in them through the
sponsors, when in the faith of the Christian church they intercede for them and bring them
to baptism. And this is what we call the power of alien faith: not that anybody can be
saved by it, but that through it as an intercession and aid he can obtain from God himself
his own faith, by which he is saved. It may be compared to my natural life and death. If I
am to live, I myself must be born, and nobody can be born for me to enable me to live; but
mother and midwife can by their life aid me in birth and enable me to live. In the same
way I myself must suffer death, if I am to die; but one can help to bring about my death,
if he frightens me, or falls upon me, or chokes, crushes or suffocates me. In like manner,
nobody can go to hell for me; but he can seduce me by false doctrine and life, so that I
go thither by my own error, into which his error has led me. So nobody can go to heaven
for me: but he can assist me, can preach, teach, govern, pray and obtain faith from God,
through which I can go to heaven. This centurion was not healed of the palsy of his
servant; but yet he brought it about that his servant was restored to health.
32. So here we also say, that children are not baptized in the faith of the sponsors or
of the church; but the faith of sponsors and of the church prays and gains faith for them,
in which they are baptized and believe for themselves. For this we have strong and firm
Scripture proof, Matthew 19:13-15; Mark 10:13-16; Luke 18:15-16. When some brought
little children to the Lord Jesus that he should touch them, and the disciples forbade
them, he rebuked the disciples, and embraced the children, and laid his hands upon them
and blessed them, and said: "To such belongeth the kingdom of God" etc.
These passages nobody will take from us, nor refute with good proof. For here is written:
Christ will permit no one to forbid that little children should be brought to him; nay, he
bids them to be brought to him, and blesses them and gives to them the kingdom of heaven.
Let us give due heed to this Scripture.
33. This is undoubtedly written of natural children. The interpretation of Christ's
words, as if he had meant only spiritual children, who are small in humility, will not
stand. For they were small children as to their bodies, which Luke calls infants. His
blessing is placed upon these, and of these he says that the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
Will we say they were without faith of their own? Then the passages quoted above are
untrue: "He that disbelieveth shall be condemned." Then Christ also
speaks falsely or feigns, when he says the kingdom of heaven is theirs, and is not really
speaking of the true kingdom of heaven. Interpret these words of Christ as you please, we
have it that children are to be brought to Christ and not to be forbidden to be brought:
and when they are brought to Christ, he here compels us to believe that he blesses them
and gives to them the kingdom of heaven, as he does with these children. And it is in no
way proper for us to act and believe otherwise as long as the words stand: "Suffer
the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not." Not less is it proper
for us to believe that when they are brought to him he embraces them, blesses them, and
bestows upon them heaven, as long as the text stands that he blessed the children which
were brought to him and gave heaven to them. Who can ignore this text? Who will be so bold
as not to suffer little children to come to baptism, or not to believe that Christ blesses
them when they come?
34. He is just as present in baptism now as he was then: this we Christians know for
certain. Therefore we dare not forbid baptism to children. Nor dare we doubt that he
blesses all who come thither, as he did those children. So then there is nothing left here
but the piety and faith of those who brought the little children to him. By bringing them,
they effect and aid that the little children are blessed and obtain the kingdom of heaven;
which cannot be the case unless they themselves have their own faith, as has been said. So
we also say here, that children are brought to baptism by the faith and work of others;
but when they get there and the pastor or baptizer deals with them in Christ's stead, he
blesses them and grants to them the faith and the kingdom of heaven: for the word and deed
of the pastor are the word and work of Christ himself.
35. With this agrees also what St. John says in his first Epistle, 2:13: "I
write unto you, fathers; I write unto you, young men; I have written unto you, little
children." He is not satisfied to write to the young men; he also writes to the
children, and writes that they may know the Father. From this it follows that the apostles
baptized children also, and held that they believe and know the Father, just as if they
had attained to reason and could read. Although somebody might here interpret the word
"children" as adults, as Christ designates his disciples sometimes: yet it is
certain that here they are meant who are younger than the young men; so that it is evident
he is speaking of young people who are under fifteen or eighteen years of age, and
excludes nobody down to the first year: for these all are called children.
36. But let us examine their reason why they do not think children believe. They say,
because they have not attained to reason they cannot hear God's Word; but where God's Word
is not heard there can be no faith. Romans 10:17: "Belief cometh of
hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." Tell me is this Christian to judge
of God's works by our thinking, and say, Children have not attained to reason, therefore
they cannot believe? How if through this very reason you have already departed from faith,
and the children come to faith through their unreason? Dear friend, what good does reason
do for faith and the Word of God? Is it not reason which resists in the highest degree
faith and the Word of God, so that nobody can come to faith by means of reason? Reason
will not endure God's Word unless it is first blinded and disgraced. Man must first die to
reason and become, as it were, a fool, and even as unreasonable and unintelligent as a
little child, if he is to become a believer and receive the grace of God; as Christ says
in Matthew 18:3: "Except ye turn, and become as little children, ye shall
in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven." How often does Christ hold before
us that we must become children and fools, and condemn reason?
37. Tell me also, what kind of reason had the little children whom Christ embraced and
blessed, and upon whom he bestowed the kingdom of heaven? Were they not still without
reason? Why does he command to bring them to him and then bless them? Where did they get
the faith which makes them children of the kingdom of heaven? Nay, just because they are
without reason and foolish, they are better prepared to believe than adults and those
possessed of reason, because reason is always in the way and with its large head is not
willing to push through the narrow door. One must not look upon reason or its works when
faith and God's work are under consideration. Here God alone works and reason is dead,
blind and, compared to this work, an unreasonable block, in order that the Scripture may
stand, which says: "God is wonderful in his saints;" and: "As the
heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways," Isaiah
55:9.
38. But since they stick so fast in reason, we must assail them with their own wisdom.
Tell me, why do you baptize a man when he has come to the age of reason? You answer: He
hears God's Word and believes. I ask: "How do you know that?" You answer:
"He professes it with his mouth." "What shall I say? How, if he lies and
deceives? You cannot see his heart." "Very well, then you baptize for no other
reason than for what the man shows himself to be externally, and you are uncertain of his
faith, and must believe that if he has not more within in his heart than you perceive
without, neither his hearing, nor his profession, nor his faith will help him; for it may
all be a delusion and no true faith." "Who then are you, that you say external
hearing and profession are necessary to baptism; where these are wanting one must not
baptize? You yourself must confess that such hearing and profession are uncertain, and not
enough for one to receive baptism. Now upon what do you baptize? How will you justify your
actions when you thus bungle baptism and bring it into doubt? Is it not the fact that you
must come and say that it is not becoming for you to know or do more than that he whom you
are to baptize be brought to you and ask baptism from you; and you must believe or commit
the matter to God, whether he inwardly truly believes or not? In this way you are excused
and baptize aright. Why then will you not do the same for the children, whom Christ
commands to be brought to him and promises to bless? But you wish first to have the
outward hearing and profession, which you yourself acknowledge is uncertain and not
sufficient for baptism on the part of the one to be baptized. And you let go the sure word
of Christ in which he bids the little children to be brought unto him, on account of your
uncertain external hearing."
39. Moreover tell me, where is the reason of a Christian while he is asleep, since his
faith and the grace of God never leave him? If faith can thus continue without the aid of
reason, so that the latter is not conscious of it, why should it not also begin in
children before reason knows anything about it? In the same way I would like to say of
every hour in which a Christian lives and is busy and occupied, that he is not conscious
of his faith and reason, and yet his faith does not on that account cease. God's works are
mysterious and wonderful, where and when he wills: and again manifest enough, where and
when he wills. Judgment upon them is too high and too deep for us.
40. Since it is commanded here, not to forbid little children to come unto him in order
to receive his blessing, and it is not demanded of us to know the exact state of faith
within, and the external hearing and profession are not sufficient for the one baptized,
we are to he content that it is enough for us, the baptizers, to hear the profession of
the one to be baptized, who comes to us of himself. And this for the reason that we may
not administer the sacrament against our conscience, as giving it to those in whom no
fruit is to be hoped for. But if they assure our conscience of their desire and
profession, so that we can administer it as a sacrament that imparts grace, we arc
excused. If his faith is not true, let that rest with God; we have not given the sacrament
as a useless thing, but with the consciousness that it is beneficial.
41. All this I say in order that one may not baptize recklessly, as they do who even
administer it with the deliberate knowledge that it will be of no effect or benefit to the
person receiving it. For therein the baptizers sin, because they knowingly use God's
sacrament and Word in vain, or at least have the consciousness that it is neither intended
nor able to effect anything; which is an altogether unworthy use of the sacrament and a
temptation and blasphemy of God. For that is not administering the sacrament, but making a
mockery of it. But if the person baptized denies and does not believe, you have done right
anyhow, and have administered the true sacrament with the good consciousness that it ought
to be beneficial.
42. However, those who do not come of themselves, but are brought, as Christ bids us to
bring little children, the faith of these commit to him who bids them to be brought, and
baptize them by his command, and say: "Lord, thou dost bring them and command to
baptize them." Thou wilt answer for them. On this I rely. I dare not drive them
away nor forbid them. If they have not heard the Word, by which faith comes, as adults
hear it, they nevertheless hear it like little children. Adults take it up with their ears
and reason, often without faith; but they hear it with their ears, without reason and with
faith. And faith is nearer in proportion as reason is less, and he is stronger who brings
them than the will of adults who come of themselves.
43. These inventive spirits stumble mostly because in adults there is reason, which
acts as if it believed the Word it hears. This then they call faith. Again they see that
in children there is as yet no reason; for they act as if they did not believe. But they
do not observe that faith in God's Word is quite a different and deeper thing than what
reason does with the Word of God. For it is the work of God alone above all reason, to
which the child is just as near as the adult, yes, much nearer, and from which the adult
is just as far as the child, yea, much farther.
44. But this that is contrived by reason is a human work. I think, if any baptism is
certain, the baptism of children is most certain, because of the Word of Christ, where he
commands to bring them, whereas the adults come of themselves. In adults there may be
deception because of the reason that is manifest; but in children there can be no
deception, because of their hidden reason in whom Christ works his blessing even as he has
bidden them to be brought to himself. It is a glorious word and not to be treated lightly
that he commands us to bring the children to him and rebukes those who forbid it.
45. But hereby we do not mean to weaken or destroy the office of preaching. For God
indeed does not cause his Word to be preached for the sake of the rational hearing since
no fruit results from that; but for the sake of the spiritual hearing which as I have said
children also have as well and even better than adults; for they also hear the Word. For
what else is baptism but the Gospel to which they are brought? However they hear it only
once but they hear it more effectively because Christ, who has commanded to bring them
receives them. For adults have the advantage that they frequently hear and can think of it
again. Yet even in the case of adults it is a fact that the spiritual hearing is not
effected by many sermons. But it may occur once during one sermon and then he has enough
for ever. What he hears afterwards he hears either to improve the first hearing or to
destroy it again.
46. In short, the baptism and consolation of children lie in the word: "Suffer
the little children to come unto me; forbid them not; for to such belongeth the kingdom of
God." He has spoken this and he does not lie. Therefore it must be right and
Christian to bring little children to him. This can only be done in baptism. So also it
must be certain that he blesses them and bestows the kingdom of heaven upon all who come
to him according to the words: "To such belongeth the kingdom of God."
Let this be enough for this time.
47. Finally it would be in order here to treat of the spiritual meaning of leprosy and
the palsy. But of leprosy much has been said in the Postil of the ten lepers. There it
need not be treated at length here.
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