Point 13: Of the State of Perfection and Worship of Saints

Our consent.

Our consent I will set down in two conclusions. Conclusion 1. All true believers have a state of true perfection in this life. Matthew 5:48: Be you perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect. Genesis 6:9: Noah was a just and perfect man in his time, and walked with God. Genesis 17:1: Walk before me and be perfect. And sundry kings of Judah are said to walk uprightly before God with a perfect heart, as David, Josiah, Hezekiah, and others. Paul accounts himself with the rest of the faithful to be perfect, saying: Let us all that are perfect be thus minded (Philippians 3:15). Now this perfection has two parts. The first is the imputation of Christ's perfect obedience, which is the ground and fountain of all our perfection whatsoever. Hebrews 10:14: By one offering — that is, by his obedience in his death and passion — has he consecrated, or made perfect, forever them that believe. The second part of Christian perfection is sincerity or uprightness, standing in two things. The first is to acknowledge our imperfection and unworthiness in respect of ourselves. Hereupon, though Paul had said he was perfect, yet he adds further that he did account of himself not as though he had attained to perfection, but did forget the things behind and endeavored himself toward that which was before. Here it must be remembered that the perfection of which I speak may stand with sundry wants and imperfections. It is said of Asa that his heart was perfect with God all his days, and yet he pulled not down the high places, and being diseased in his feet he put his trust in the physicians and not in the Lord. Secondly, this uprightness stands in a constant purpose, endeavor, and care to keep not some few but all and every commandment of the law of God. As David says in Psalm 119:6: Then should I not be confounded, when I have respect to all your commandments. And this endeavor is a fruit of perfection, in that it proceeds from a man regenerate. For as all men through Adam's fall have in them by nature the seeds of all sin, none excepted, not even the sin against the Holy Spirit, so by grace of regeneration through Christ, all the faithful have in them likewise the seeds of all virtues needful to salvation. Hereupon they both can and do endeavor to yield perfect obedience to God according to the whole law. They may be termed perfect as a child is called a perfect man — though it lacks perfection of age and stature and reason, yet it has perfection of parts, because it has all and every part and faculty both of body and soul that is required to make a perfect man.

Conclusion 2. There are certain works of supererogation — that is, such works as are not only answerable to the law and thereupon deserve life everlasting, but go beyond the law and merit more than the law by itself can make any man to merit. But where may we find these works? Not in the person of any mere man or angel, nor in all men and angels, but only in the person of Christ, God and man. His works are not only answerable to the perfection of the law, but go far beyond the same. For first, the obedience of his life, considered alone by itself, was answerable even to the rigor of the law. Therefore the sufferings of his death and passion were more than the law could require at his hand, since the law requires no punishment of him that is a doer of all things contained therein. Secondly, the very rigor of the law requires obedience only of those that are mere men, but the obedience of Christ was the obedience of a person that was both God and man. Thirdly, the law requires personal obedience — that every man fulfill the law for himself, and it speaks of no more. Now the obedience which Christ performed was not for himself alone but it serves also for all the elect. And considering it was the obedience of God (as Paul signified when he said: Feed the Church of God, which he purchased with his blood), it was sufficient for many thousand worlds. And by reason that the law requires no obedience of him that is God, this obedience therefore may truly be termed a work of supererogation. This one we acknowledge, and beside this we dare acknowledge none. Thus far do we agree with the Church of Rome in the doctrine of the estate of perfection, and further we dare not go.

The difference.

The Papists hold (as the writings of the learned among them teach) that a man being in the state of grace may not only keep all the commandments of the law and thereby deserve his own salvation, but also go beyond the law and do works of supererogation which the law requires not — as to perform the vow of single life and the vow of regular obedience, and the like. By this means (they say) men deserve a greater degree of glory than the law can afford. Of perfection they make two kinds: one they call necessary perfection, which is the fulfilling of the law in every commandment, whereby eternal life is deserved. The second is profitable perfection, when men do not only such things as the law requires, but over and besides make certain vows and perform certain other duties which the law enjoins not, for the doing whereof they shall be rewarded with a greater measure of glory than the law designates. They make this plain by comparison: Two soldiers fight in the field under one and the same captain. The one only keeps his standing and thereby deserves his pay. The other, in keeping his place, also wins the enemy's standard or does some other notable exploit — this man besides his pay deserves some greater reward. And thus (say they) it is with all true Catholics in the state of grace: they that keep the law shall have life eternal, but they that do more than the law, as works of supererogation, shall be crowned with greater glory. This is their doctrine. But we on the contrary teach that although we are to strive toward a perfection as much as we can, yet no man can fulfill the law of God in this life, much less do works of supererogation. For the confirmation of this, these reasons may be used. Reason 1. In the moral law two things are commanded: first, the love of God and man; and secondly, the manner of this love. Now the manner of loving God is to love him with all our heart and strength. Luke 10:27: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your thought. As Bernard said: The measure of loving God is to love him without measure — that is, to love him with the greatest perfection of love that can befall a creature. Hence it follows that in loving God, no man can possibly do more than the law requires. Therefore the performance of all vows whatsoever, and all like duties, comes short of the intention or scope of the law.

Reason 2. The compass of the law is large and comprehends in it more than the mind of man can at first conceive, for every commandment has two parts: the negative and the affirmative. In the negative is forbidden not only the capital sin named — as murder, theft, adultery — but all sins of the same kind, with all occasions and provocations thereto. And in the affirmative is commanded not only the contrary virtues, as the love of God and the love of our neighbor's honor, life, chastity, goods, and good name, but the use of all helps and means whereby the said virtues may be preserved, furthered, and practiced. Thus has our Savior Christ himself expounded the law in Matthew chapters 5 and 6. Upon this plain ground I conclude that all duties pertaining to life and manners come within the scope of some moral commandment. And that the Papists, making their works of supererogation means to further the love of God and man, must needs bring them under the compass of the law. Under which, if they be, they cannot possibly go beyond the same.

Reason 3. Luke 17:10: When you have done all those things that are commanded us, we are unprofitable servants — we have done that which was our duty to do. The Papists answer that we are unprofitable to God but not to ourselves. But this evasion is beside the very intent of the place. For a servant in doing his duty is unprofitable even to himself and does not so much as deserve thanks at his master's hand, as Christ says in verse 9: Does he thank that servant? Secondly they answer that we are unprofitable servants in doing things commanded, yet when we do things prescribed in the way of counsel we may profit ourselves and merit thereby. But this answer does not stand with reason — for things commanded, in that they are commanded, are more excellent than things left to our liberty, because the will and commandment of God gives excellence and goodness to them. Again, counsels are thought to be harder than the commandments of the law. And if men cannot profit themselves by obedience of moral precepts, which are more easy, much less shall they be able to profit themselves by counsels which are of greater difficulty.

Reason 4. If it is not in the ability and power of man to keep the law, then much less is he able to do any work that is beyond and above all that the law requires. But no man is able to fulfill the law, and therefore no man is able to supererrogate. Here the Papists deny the proposition, for (say they) though we keep not the law, yet we may do things of counsel above the law and thereby merit. But by their leave, they speak absurdly — for in common reason, if a man fails in the less, he cannot but fail in the greater. Now as I have said, in Popish doctrine it is easier to obey the moral law than to perform the counsels of perfection.

Objections of Papists.

Objection 1. Isaiah 56:4-5: The Lord says to eunuchs that keep his Sabbath and choose the thing that pleases him, that he will give them a place and a name better than the sons and daughters. Now (say they) a eunuch is one that lives a single life and keeps the vow of chastity, and hereupon he is said to deserve a greater measure of glory. Answer: If the words be well considered, they prove nothing of the sort — for honor is promised to eunuchs not because they make and perform the vow of single life, but because (as the text says) they observe the Lord's Sabbath and choose the thing that pleases God and keep his covenant, which is to believe the word of God and to obey the commandments of the moral law.

Objection 2. Matthew 19:12: Christ says, There are some who have made themselves chaste for the kingdom of heaven. Therefore (say they) the vow of single life is warrantable and is a work of special glory in heaven. Answer: The meaning of this text is that some, having received the gift of continency, do willingly content themselves with the single estate, that they may with more liberty without distraction further the good estate of the Church of God, or the kingdom of grace in themselves and others. This is all that can be gathered out of this place — hence cannot be gathered the merit of everlasting glory by single life.

Objection 3. Matthew 19:21: Christ says to the young man, If you will be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven. Therefore (say they) a man by forsaking all may merit not only heaven but also treasure there — that is, an exceeding measure of glory. Answer: This young man, being in all likelihood a most strict Pharisee, thought to merit eternal life by the works of the law, as his first question implies: Good master, what shall I do to be saved? Therefore Christ goes about to discover to him the secret corruption of his heart. Hereupon the words alleged are a commandment of trial not common to all, but special to him. The like commandment gave the Lord to Abraham, saying: Abraham, take your only son Isaac and offer him upon the mountain which I shall show you (Genesis 22:2).

Objection 4. 1 Corinthians 7:8: Paul says it is good for all to be single as he was, and in verse 38 he says it is better for virgins not to marry, and this he speaks by permission not by commandment (verse 26). Answer: Here single life is not preferred simply, but only in respect of the present necessity, because the Church was then under persecution, and because such as live a single life are freed from the cares and distractions of the world.

Objection 5. They also allege various passages about special rewards. Answer: The saints who excelled in faith in the times of the Old and New Testament are to be honored in three ways. First, by giving thanks to God for them and the benefits that God vouchsafed by them to his Church. Thus Paul says that when the churches heard of his conversion, they glorified God for him, or in him (Galatians 1:24). The like is to be done for the saints departed. Second, they are to be honored by an imitation of their faith, humility, meekness, repentance, the fear of God, and all good virtues in which they excelled. For this cause the examples of godly men in the Old and New Testament are called a cloud of witnesses by allusion — for as the cloud guided the Israelites through the wilderness to the land of Canaan, so the faithful now are to be guided to the heavenly Canaan by the examples of good men who have believed in God before us and have walked the strait way to life everlasting.

Conclusion 2. Again, their true relics — that is, their virtues and good examples left to all posterity to be followed — we keep and respect with due reverence. And if any man can show us the bodily relic of any true saint and prove it so to be, though we will not worship it, yet will we not despise it but keep it as a monument, if it may conveniently be done without offense. Thus far we consent with the Church of Rome — further we must not go.

The dissent.

Our difference stands in the manner of worshipping of saints. The Papists make two degrees of religious worship. The highest they call latria, whereby God himself is worshipped, and that alone. The second, lower than the former, is called dulia, whereby the saints and angels that are in the special favor of God and glorified with everlasting glory in heaven are worshipped. This worship they place in outward adoration, in bending of the knee and bowing of the body to them being in heaven, in invocation whereby they call upon them, in dedication of churches and houses of religion to them, in sabbaths and festival days, and lastly in pilgrimages to their relics and images. We likewise distinguish adoration or worship, for it is either religious or civil. Religious worship is that which is done to him who is Lord of all things, the searcher and trier of the heart, omnipotent, everywhere present, able to hear and help them that call upon him everywhere, the author and first cause of every good thing — and that simply for himself, because he is absolute goodness itself. This worship is due to God alone, being commanded in the first and second commandments of the first table. Civil worship is the honor done to men set above us by God himself, either in respect of their excellent gifts or in respect of their offices and authority whereby they govern others. The right end of this worship is to testify and declare that we reverence the gifts of God and that power which he has placed in those that are his instruments. This kind of worship is commanded only in the second table, in the first commandment thereof: Honor your father and mother. Upon this distinction we may judge what honor is due to everyone. Honor is to be given to God and to whom he commands. He commands that inferiors should honor their betters. Therefore unreasonable creatures and among the rest images are not to be worshipped either with civil or religious worship, being indeed far baser than man himself. Again, unclean spirits the enemies of God must not be worshipped — yes, to honor them at all is to dishonor God. Good angels, because they excel men both in nature and gifts, when they appeared were lawfully honored, yet so that when the least signification of honor was given that was proper to God, they refused it. And because they appear not now as in former times, not so much as civil adoration in any bodily gesture is to be done to them. Lastly, governors and magistrates have civil adoration as their due and it cannot be omitted without offense. Thus Abraham worshipped the Hittites (Genesis 23) and Joseph his brothers (Genesis 50). To come to the very point: upon the former distinction we deny, against the Papists, that any civil worship in the bending of the knee or prostrating of the body is to be given to the saints, they being absent from us, much less any religious worship — as namely invocation signified by any bodily adoration. For it is the very honor of God himself, let them call it latria, or dulia, or by what name they will.

Our reasons.

Reason 1. All true invocation and prayer made according to the will of God must have a double foundation: a commandment and a promise. A commandment to move us to pray, and a promise to assure us that we shall be heard. For all and every prayer must be made in faith, and without a commandment or promise there is no faith. Upon this sure ground I conclude that we may not pray to saints departed, for in Scripture there is no word either commanding us to pray to them or assuring us that we shall be heard when we pray. Nay, we are commanded only to call upon God: Him only shall you serve (Matthew 4:10). And: How shall we call upon him in whom we have not believed? (Romans 10:14). And we have no promise to be heard but for Christ's sake. Therefore prayers made to saints departed are unlawful. Answer is made that invocation of saints is warranted by miracles and revelations, which are answerable to commandments and promises. Answer: Miracles and revelations had an end before this kind of invocation took any place in the Church of God — that was about three hundred years after Christ. Again, to judge of any point of doctrine by miracles is deceitful unless three things concur: first, doctrine of faith and piety to be confirmed; second, prayer to God that something may be done for the ratifying of the said doctrine; third, the manifest edification of the Church by the two former. Where any of these three are wanting, miracles may be suspected — because sometimes false prophets have their miracles to try men whether they will cleave to God or no (Deuteronomy 13:1-3). Again, miracles are not done or to be done for them that believe, but for infidels that believe not, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:22: Tongues are a sign not to them that believe but to unbelievers. And to this agree Chrysostom, Ambrose, and Isidore, who says: Behold, a sign is not necessary to believers who have already believed, but to infidels that they may be converted. Lastly, our faith is to be confirmed not by revelations and apparitions of dead men, but by the writings of the Apostles and prophets (Luke 16:29).

Reason 2. To pray to saints departed, to bow the knee to them while they are in heaven, is to ascribe to them what is proper to God himself — namely, to know the heart with the inward desires and motions thereof, and to know the speeches and behaviors of all men in all places upon earth at all times. The Papists answer that saints in heaven see and hear all things upon earth, not by themselves (for that were to make them gods) but in God and in the glass of the Trinity, in which they see men's prayers revealed to them. I answer first that the saints are still made more than creatures, because they are said to know the thoughts and all the doings of all men at all times, which no created power can well comprehend at once. Second, I answer that this glass in which all things are said to be seen is but a fabrication of man's brain. I prove it thus: The angels themselves, who see further into God than men can do, never knew all things in God. I confirm this manner. In the temple under the law, upon the ark were placed two cherubim signifying the good angels of God, and they looked downward upon the mercy seat covering the ark, which was a figure of Christ. Their looking downward figured their desire to see into the mystery of Christ's incarnation and our redemption by him — as Peter, alluding no doubt to this type in the Old Testament, says in 1 Peter 1:12: Which things the angels desired to behold. And Paul says in Ephesians 3:10: The manifold wisdom of God is revealed by the Church to principalities and powers in heavenly places, that is, to the angels — by the Church as by an example, in which the angels saw the endless wisdom and mercy of God in the calling of the Gentiles, and by the Church as it was founded and honored by the preaching of the Apostles. For it seems that the Apostolic ministry in the New Testament revealed things touching Christ which the angels never knew before that time. Thus Chrysostom upon this text of Paul says that the angels learned some things by the preaching of John the Baptist. Again, Christ says that they do not know the hour of the last judgment (Matthew 24:36) — much less do the saints know all things in God. Hence it is that they are said to be under the altar, where they cry: How long, Lord, holy and true, will you not avenge our blood? — being ignorant of the day of their full deliverance. And the Jews in affliction confess that Abraham was ignorant of them and their estate (Isaiah 63:16).

Reason 3. Matthew 4:10: Christ refused so much as to bow the knee to Satan upon this ground, because it was written: You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve. Hence it was that Peter would not suffer Cornelius so much as to kneel to him, though Cornelius intended not to honor him as God. Therefore neither saint nor angel is to be honored so much as with the bowing of the knee, if it carries but the least signification of divine or religious honor.

Reason 4: The judgment of the ancient Church. Augustine: We honor the saints with charity and not by servitude, neither do we erect churches to them. And: Let it not be religion for us to worship dead men. And: They are to be honored for imitation and not to be adored for religion. Epiphanius: Neither Thecla nor any saint is to be adored, for that ancient error may not overrule us, that we should leave the living God and adore things made by him. Again: Let Mary be in honor; let the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be adored; let none adore Mary. Again: Mary is beautiful and holy and honored, yet not to adoration. When Julian objected to the Christians that they worshipped their martyrs as God, Cyril grants the memory and honor of them but denies their adoration — and of invocation he makes no mention at all. Ambrose on Romans 1: Is any so mad that he will give to the earl the honor of the king? — yet these men do not think themselves guilty who give the honor of God's name to a creature, and leaving the Lord adore their fellow servants, as though there were anything more reserved for God.

Objections of Papists.

Objection 1. Genesis 48:16: Let the angel that kept me bless your children. Here (say they) is a prayer made to angels. Answer: By the angel is meant Christ, who is called the angel of the covenant (Malachi 3:1) and the angel that guided Israel in the wilderness (1 Corinthians 10:9 compared with Exodus 23:20).

Objection 2. Exodus 32:13: Moses prays that God would respect his people for Abraham's sake, and for Isaac and Israel his servants, who were not then living. Answer: Moses prays God to be merciful to the people not for the intercession of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but for his covenant's sake which he had made with them (Psalm 105:8-11). Again, by Popish doctrine the fathers departed did not know the estate of men upon earth, neither did they pray for them, because then they were not in heaven but in Limbus Patrum.

Objection 3. One living man makes intercession to God for another — therefore much more do the saints in glory, who are filled with love, pray to God for us. And we pray to them no otherwise than we desire living men to pray for us. Answer: The reasoning is faulty, for we have a commandment for one living man to pray for another and to desire others to pray for us, but there is no warrant in the word of God for us to desire the prayers of men departed. Secondly, there is great difference between these two: to request our friend either by word of mouth or by letter to pray for us; and by invocation to request those who are absent from us and departed this life to pray for us. For this is indeed a worship in which is given to them a power to hear and help all that call upon them at whatever place or time, even though they be not present in the place in which they are worshipped. Consequently it ascribes to them the seeing of the heart, presence in all places, and an infinite power to help all that pray to them — which things agree to no creature but God alone. Thirdly, when one living man requests another to pray for him, he only makes him his companion and fellow member in his prayer made in the name of one mediator, Christ. But when men invoke saints in heaven, they being then absent, they make them more than fellow members — even mediators between Christ and themselves.

Our consent.

I will set out our agreement in two conclusions. Conclusion 1. All true believers have a state of genuine perfection in this life. Matthew 5:48: 'Be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect.' Genesis 6:9: 'Noah was a righteous and blameless man in his generation, and he walked with God.' Genesis 17:1: 'Walk before Me and be blameless.' Several kings of Judah are also said to walk uprightly before God with a perfect heart — David, Josiah, Hezekiah, and others. Paul includes himself and all believers when he says, 'Let those of us who are mature think this way' (Philippians 3:15). This perfection has two parts. The first is the imputation of Christ's perfect obedience, which is the foundation and source of all our perfection. Hebrews 10:14: 'For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.' The second part of Christian perfection is sincerity, or uprightness, which consists of two things. The first is to acknowledge our own imperfection and unworthiness. So although Paul had said he was mature, he immediately added that he did not consider himself to have already attained perfection — instead he forgot what was behind and pressed on toward what lay ahead. It is important to note that the perfection I am speaking of can coexist with many weaknesses and failures. Of Asa it is said that his heart was perfect with God all his days — yet he did not remove the high places, and when he was ill with a disease of his feet, he turned to physicians rather than to the Lord. Second, this uprightness consists in a consistent purpose, effort, and care to keep not just a few, but every commandment of God's law. As David says in Psalm 119:6: 'Then I will not be ashamed when I look upon all Your commandments.' This effort is a fruit of perfection because it flows from a regenerate person. Just as all people through Adam's fall carry by nature the seeds of every sin — none excluded, not even the sin against the Holy Spirit — so by the grace of regeneration through Christ, all believers likewise carry the seeds of every virtue needed for salvation. Because of this, they both can and do strive to yield perfect obedience to God according to the whole law. They may rightly be called perfect in the same sense that a child is called a complete human being — though lacking the perfection of age, size, and reason, the child still has every part and faculty of body and soul that a human being requires.

Conclusion 2. There are works of supererogation — that is, works that not only meet the law's demands and thus merit eternal life, but go beyond the law and merit more than the law alone could require of anyone. But where do we find such works? Not in any mere human being or angel, nor in all people and angels combined — but only in the person of Christ, who is both God and man. His works not only meet the law's full standard but exceed it. First, the obedience of His life, taken alone, fully satisfied even the strict demands of the law. Therefore the suffering of His death and passion went beyond what the law could require of Him, since the law imposes no punishment on one who has done everything it commands. Second, the law in its strictness requires obedience only of mere human beings — but Christ's obedience was the obedience of a person who was both God and man. Third, the law requires personal obedience — each person must fulfill it for himself, and it requires nothing more. But the obedience Christ performed was not for Himself alone; it serves for all the elect. And since it was the obedience of God — as Paul implies when he says, 'Be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own blood' — it was sufficient for many thousands of worlds. Because the law requires no obedience from one who is God, this obedience may truly be called a work of supererogation. This one work of supererogation we acknowledge — and beside this we dare acknowledge none. This is how far we agree with the Church of Rome on the doctrine of perfection, and no further.

The difference.

The Roman Catholics teach -- as their learned writers make clear -- that a person in a state of grace can not only keep all the commandments of the law and thereby merit their own salvation, but also go beyond the law and perform works of supererogation that the law does not require -- such as taking the vow of celibacy, the vow of regular obedience, and similar acts. By these means, they say, people merit a higher degree of glory than the law alone can provide. They distinguish two kinds of perfection. The first they call necessary perfection -- fulfilling every commandment of the law, which earns eternal life. The second they call profitable perfection -- when people not only do what the law requires but also make certain vows and perform duties the law does not command, for which they will be rewarded with a greater measure of glory. They illustrate this with a comparison: Two soldiers fight on the field under the same commander. One simply holds his position and earns his pay. The other, while holding his position, also captures the enemy's standard or performs some other notable exploit -- and that man, in addition to his pay, deserves a higher reward. They say this is how it is for all true Catholics in a state of grace: those who keep the law will have eternal life, but those who do more than the law -- works of supererogation -- will be crowned with greater glory. This is their teaching. We, on the other hand, teach that although we should strive toward perfection as much as we can, no person can fulfill God's law in this life -- much less perform works of supererogation. These reasons support our position. Reason 1. The moral law commands two things: first, the love of God and neighbor; and second, the manner of that love. The manner of loving God is to love Him with all our heart and strength. Luke 10:27: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind." As Bernard said: The measure of loving God is to love Him without measure -- that is, to love Him with the greatest perfection of love that a creature can offer. It follows that in loving God, no person can possibly do more than the law requires. Therefore all vows and similar duties fall short of the law's full intention.

Reason 2. The law is broad and contains more than the human mind can grasp at first -- because every commandment has two parts: the negative and the positive. In the negative, the law forbids not only the chief sin named -- such as murder, theft, or adultery -- but all sins of the same kind, along with every occasion and provocation leading to them. In the positive, the law commands not only the opposing virtues -- such as love for God and love for our neighbor's honor, life, chastity, property, and reputation -- but also the use of every means by which those virtues may be maintained, promoted, and practiced. Christ Himself expounded the law this way in Matthew chapters 5 and 6. On this clear basis I conclude that all duties belonging to life and conduct fall within the scope of some moral commandment. The Roman Catholics make their works of supererogation means of furthering the love of God and neighbor -- which places them within the scope of the law. And if they fall within the law, they cannot possibly go beyond it.

Reason 3. Luke 17:10: "When you have done all the things that were commanded you, say, 'We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.'" The Roman Catholics answer that we are unprofitable to God but not to ourselves. But this misses the plain meaning of the passage -- for a servant doing his duty is unprofitable even to himself and does not so much as deserve his master's thanks, as Christ says in verse 9: "He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he?" They also answer that while we are unprofitable servants in doing what is commanded, we may profit ourselves and merit by doing things prescribed as counsel rather than command. But this reasoning fails -- because things that are commanded are more excellent than things left to our freedom, since God's will and commandment confer excellence and goodness. Furthermore, counsels are generally considered more demanding than moral commandments. If people cannot profit themselves through obedience to moral precepts -- which are easier -- they will certainly not profit themselves through counsels, which are more difficult.

Reason 4. If it is beyond human ability to keep the law, then it is far beyond human ability to do anything above and beyond what the law requires. No person is able to fulfill the law -- and therefore no person is able to perform works of supererogation. The Roman Catholics deny this premise. They say that even though we do not keep the law, we may still do things above the law -- things of counsel -- and thereby merit. But with respect, this is absurd -- for common sense tells us that if a person fails at something lesser, he certainly cannot succeed at something greater. And as I have said, in Roman Catholic teaching it is easier to obey the moral law than to fulfill the counsels of perfection.

Objections of Papists.

Objection 1. Isaiah 56:4-5: The Lord promises to eunuchs who keep His Sabbath and choose what pleases Him that He will give them a place and a name better than sons and daughters. They argue that a eunuch is one who lives a celibate life and keeps the vow of chastity -- and therefore he is said to deserve a greater measure of glory. Answer: If the text is read carefully, it proves nothing of the kind -- for honor is promised to eunuchs not because they make and keep a vow of celibacy, but because -- as the text says -- they observe the Lord's Sabbath, choose what pleases God, and keep His covenant, which means believing God's word and obeying the commandments of the moral law.

Objection 2. Matthew 19:12: Christ says, 'There are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.' Therefore, they say, the vow of celibacy is warranted and is a work that earns special glory in heaven. Answer: The meaning of this text is that some people, having received the gift of continence, willingly choose the single life so that they may more freely and without distraction advance the good of God's church — the kingdom of grace in themselves and others. This is all the passage teaches. It does not teach that eternal glory is earned by living a celibate life.

Objection 3. Matthew 19:21: Christ says to the young man, 'If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.' Therefore, they say, a person can merit not only heaven but treasure there — that is, a greater measure of glory — by giving up everything. Answer: This young man was almost certainly a very strict Pharisee who thought he could merit eternal life by keeping the law — as his opening question shows: 'Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?' Christ's purpose was to expose the hidden corruption of his heart. With this in mind, the words Christ spoke were a personal command given to test him specifically — not a general command for all. God gave a similar specific command to Abraham: 'Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering' (Genesis 22:2).

Objection 4. 1 Corinthians 7:8: Paul says it is good for all to remain single as he was, and in verse 38 he says it is better for a virgin not to marry — and he says this by permission, not by commandment (verse 26). Answer: Here single life is not recommended as simply superior, but only in light of the present necessity — because the church was then under persecution, and because those who remain single are freed from the cares and distractions of family life.

Objection 5. They also cite various passages about special rewards. Answer: The saints who excelled in faith during the times of the Old and New Testaments are to be honored in three ways. First, by giving thanks to God for them and for the blessings He bestowed through them on His church. So Paul writes that when the churches heard of his conversion, they glorified God because of him (Galatians 1:24). The same should be done for the saints who have died. Second, they are to be honored by imitating their faith, humility, meekness, repentance, the fear of God, and all the other virtues in which they excelled. For this reason the examples of godly people in the Old and New Testaments are called a cloud of witnesses — just as the cloud guided the Israelites through the wilderness to the land of Canaan, so believers today are to be guided to the heavenly Canaan by the examples of those who believed in God before us and walked the narrow way to eternal life.

Conclusion 2. Furthermore, we keep and respect with proper reverence their true relics — that is, their virtues and good examples left to all generations to follow. And if someone can show us a bodily relic of a true saint and prove it to be genuine, we will not worship it, but neither will we despise it. We will treat it as a monument, where this can be done conveniently and without causing offense. This is how far we agree with the Church of Rome — we must not go further.

The dissent.

Our disagreement concerns the manner of worshipping the saints. The Roman Catholics recognize two degrees of religious worship. The highest they call latria, by which God alone is worshipped. The second, lower than the first, is called dulia, by which the saints and angels who are in God's special favor and glorified with everlasting glory in heaven are worshipped. This worship they express through outward adoration — kneeling and bowing before them in heaven, praying to them, dedicating churches and religious houses to them, observing Sabbaths and holy days in their honor, and making pilgrimages to their relics and images. We also distinguish between types of worship: religious and civil. Religious worship is given to the one who is Lord of all things — the searcher and examiner of hearts, omnipotent, present everywhere, able to hear and help those who call on Him from any place, the author and first cause of every good thing — worshipped simply for who He is, because He is absolute goodness itself. This worship is due to God alone, as commanded in the first and second commandments. Civil worship is the honor given to those whom God has placed in authority over us, either because of their excellent gifts or because of the offices and authority by which they govern others. The proper purpose of this honor is to show that we respect the gifts of God and the power He has placed in those who serve as His instruments. This kind of worship is commanded only in the second table, in its first commandment: 'Honor your father and mother.' On this distinction we can judge what honor is due to each. Honor is to be given to God and to those He commands us to honor. He commands that those under authority should honor those above them. Therefore, irrational creatures — and images most of all — are not to be worshipped with either civil or religious worship, being far inferior to human beings. Likewise, evil spirits — the enemies of God — must not be worshipped; even to honor them at all is to dishonor God. Good angels, who exceed human beings in both nature and gifts, were lawfully honored when they appeared — yet whenever any gesture of honor proper to God alone was offered to them, they refused it. And because they do not appear to us now as they did in former times, not even civil adoration in any bodily gesture should be directed to them. Finally, civil honor is properly due to rulers and magistrates and cannot be withheld without offense. Abraham showed this when he bowed to the Hittites (Genesis 23), and Joseph when he bowed to his brothers (Genesis 50). Now to the main point: based on this distinction, we deny — against the Roman Catholics — that any civil worship, such as kneeling or prostrating oneself, should be given to the saints, since they are absent from us. Much less should any religious worship be given to them — such as praying to them, accompanied by any bodily adoration. For that is the very honor due to God alone, whether they call it latria or dulia or any other name.

Our reasons.

Reason 1. Every true prayer and invocation that is offered according to God's will must rest on two foundations: a commandment and a promise — a commandment to move us to pray, and a promise to assure us we will be heard. Every prayer must be made in faith, and without a commandment or promise, there is no faith. On this solid ground I conclude that we may not pray to departed saints — because Scripture gives us no word commanding us to pray to them, nor any promise that we will be heard when we do. On the contrary, we are commanded to call on God alone: 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only' (Matthew 4:10). And: 'How will they call on Him in whom they have not believed?' (Romans 10:14). We have no promise of being heard except for Christ's sake. Therefore, prayers made to departed saints are unlawful. The response is that praying to saints is warranted by miracles and revelations, which function like commandments and promises. Answer: Miracles and revelations had already ceased before this practice of praying to saints entered the church — which was about three hundred years after Christ. Furthermore, using miracles to establish doctrine is unreliable unless three conditions are met: first, the doctrine confirmed must be a matter of faith and godliness; second, there must have been prayer to God asking for a miraculous confirmation of that doctrine; and third, the miracle must clearly build up the church through these two. Where any of these three are missing, miracles are suspect — because God warned that false prophets would sometimes work signs to test whether people would remain faithful to Him (Deuteronomy 13:1-3). Moreover, miracles are not performed for believers, but for unbelievers, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:22: 'Tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers.' Chrysostom, Ambrose, and Isidore agree — Isidore says: 'See, a sign is not needed for believers who have already believed, but for unbelievers so that they may be converted.' Finally, our faith is to be confirmed not by revelations and appearances of the dead, but by the writings of the apostles and prophets (Luke 16:29).

Reason 2. To pray to departed saints, to bow the knee to them in heaven, is to ascribe to them what belongs to God alone — namely, the ability to know every heart with its inward desires and movements, and to know the words and actions of all people in all places on earth at all times. The Roman Catholics respond that the saints in heaven see and hear everything on earth — not by their own power (for that would make them gods), but in God and in the mirror of the Trinity, in which men's prayers are revealed to them. My first reply is that this still makes the saints more than creatures — for they are said to know the thoughts and all the actions of all people at all times, which no created power can adequately comprehend at once. My second reply is that this so-called mirror in which all things are said to be seen is a human invention. Here is my proof: the angels themselves, who see further into God than any human being, have never known all things in God. I confirm this as follows. In the temple under the law, two cherubim were placed on the ark, representing God's holy angels. They looked downward toward the mercy seat covering the ark, which was a figure of Christ. Their downward gaze represented their desire to look into the mystery of Christ's incarnation and our redemption through Him — as Peter, clearly alluding to this Old Testament type, says in 1 Peter 1:12: 'things into which angels long to look.' Paul says in Ephesians 3:10: 'so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places' — that is, to the angels. Through the church as an example, the angels saw God's boundless wisdom and mercy in calling the Gentiles; and through the church as it was founded and honored by apostolic preaching. For it appears that the apostolic ministry in the New Testament revealed things about Christ that the angels had not known before. Chrysostom, commenting on this text of Paul, says that the angels learned some things through the preaching of John the Baptist. Furthermore, Christ says that the angels do not know the hour of the last judgment (Matthew 24:36) — much less, then, do the saints know all things in God. This is why the saints are described as crying from under the altar: 'How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood?' — not knowing the day of their full deliverance. And the Jews in their affliction confess that Abraham was unaware of them and their condition (Isaiah 63:16).

Reason 3. Matthew 4:10: Christ refused even to bow His knee to Satan on this very ground — that it is written: 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.' This is also why Peter would not allow Cornelius to kneel before him, even though Cornelius did not intend to honor him as God. Therefore no saint or angel is to be honored even with a bowing of the knee, if that gesture carries the least suggestion of divine or religious honor.

Reason 4: The testimony of the ancient church. Augustine: 'We honor the saints with love and not with servitude, nor do we build churches to them.' And: 'Let it not be our religion to worship the dead.' And: 'They are to be honored for imitation, not adored in worship.' Epiphanius: 'Neither Thecla nor any saint is to be adored — for that ancient error must not prevail over us, so that we leave the living God and worship what He has made.' And: 'Let Mary be honored; let the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be adored; let no one adore Mary.' And: 'Mary is beautiful and holy and honored, yet not for adoration.' When Julian accused Christians of worshipping their martyrs as gods, Cyril acknowledged honoring their memory but denied that they were adored — and he made no mention of invoking them at all. Ambrose, commenting on Romans 1: 'Is anyone so foolish as to give to a count the honor due a king? Yet these men do not think themselves guilty when they give to a creature the honor that belongs to God's name — and, leaving the Lord, they adore their fellow servants, as if anything greater were reserved for God.'

Objections of Papists.

Objection 1. Genesis 48:16: 'The angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads.' They say this is a prayer addressed to an angel. Answer: By 'the angel' is meant Christ, who is called the angel of the covenant (Malachi 3:1) and the angel who led Israel through the wilderness (1 Corinthians 10:9, compared with Exodus 23:20).

Objection 2. Exodus 32:13: Moses prays that God would remember His people for the sake of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel His servants — who were no longer living. Answer: Moses asks God to be merciful to the people not on the basis of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob's intercession, but for the sake of His covenant with them (Psalm 105:8-11). Furthermore, by Roman Catholic teaching, the departed patriarchs did not know the condition of people on earth, nor did they pray for them — because at that time they were not yet in heaven but in what they call Limbus Patrum.

Objection 3. One living person makes intercession to God for another — therefore, all the more, the saints in glory, who are filled with love, must pray to God for us. And we pray to them no differently than we ask living people to pray for us. Answer: The reasoning is flawed. We have a clear commandment for one living person to pray for another and to ask others to pray for us — but there is no warrant in God's word to ask for the prayers of those who have died. Second, there is a significant difference between two things: asking a friend, by word or letter, to pray for us; and invoking by prayer those who are absent from us and have departed this life. The latter is an act of worship in which we ascribe to them the power to hear and help all who call upon them at any place and any time, even when they are not physically present. This amounts to ascribing to them the knowledge of the heart, presence in all places, and unlimited power to help all who pray — things that belong to God alone, not to any creature. Third, when one living person asks another to pray for him, he simply makes that person a companion and fellow member in his prayer offered to God in the name of the one mediator, Christ. But when people invoke saints in heaven who are absent from them, they are not merely making them fellow members — they are making them mediators between Christ and themselves.