The True Way to Christianity

Now, the true way to Christianity is this, that a man above all things do acknowledge himself to be a sinner by the law, and that it is impossible for him to do any good work. For the law says: You are an evil tree, and therefore all that you think, speak, or do, is against God. You cannot therefore deserve grace by your works. Which if you go about to do, you commit yet a more grievous offense: for since you are an evil tree, you cannot but bring forth evil fruits, that is to say, sins: for whatever is not of faith, is sin. Therefore he that would deserve grace by works going before faith, goes about to please God with sins, which is nothing else but to heap sin upon sin, to mock God, and to provoke his wrath. When a man is thus instructed by the law, then is he terrified and humbled, then he sees indeed the greatness of his sin, and cannot find in himself one jot of the love of God: therefore he justifies God in his word, and confesses that he is guilty of death and eternal damnation. The first part then of Christianity is the preaching of repentance, and the knowledge of ourselves.

The second part is: If you will be saved, you may not seek salvation by works, for God has sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. He was crucified and died for you, and offered up your sins in his own body. Here is no congruence or work done before grace, but wrath, sin, terror and death. Therefore the law does nothing else but utter sin, terrify and humble, and by this means prepares us to justification, and drives us to Christ. For God has revealed to us by his word, that he will be to us a merciful father, and without our deserts (seeing we can deserve nothing) will freely give to us remission of sins, righteousness, and life everlasting for Christ his Son's sake. For God gives his gifts freely to all, and it is the praise and glory of his divinity. But the Justiciaries will not receive grace and everlasting life of him freely, but will deserve the same by their works. For this cause they would utterly take from him the glory of his Divinity. To the end therefore that he may maintain and defend the same, he is compelled to send his law before, which as a lightning and thundering from heaven, may bruise and break those hard rocks.

This briefly is our doctrine as touching Christian righteousness, against the abominations and monstrous dreams of the Papists concerning the merit of congruence and worthiness, or works before and after grace. For a sort of idle monks (which never had any regard of God or his glory, nor of the health of their own souls: which were never exercised with any temptations, never had any true feeling of sin, or of the terror of death) have forged these vain trifles and blasphemies of their own brain, and therefore they know not what they say, or what they teach. Moreover, they can show no example of any work done either before or after grace that could justify before God. Therefore these are nothing else but vain fables and lies whereby the Papists deceive both themselves and others. For Paul here plainly affirms, that a man is not justified by the works of the law, either going before grace (of which he here speaks) or coming after. You see then that Christian righteousness is not such an essential quality engrafted in the nature of man, as the Schoolmen do imagine when they say:

The true way to Christianity is this: a person must first acknowledge through the law that he is a sinner, and that it is impossible for him to do any truly good work. For the law says: you are an evil tree, and therefore everything you think, speak, or do is against God. You cannot earn grace by your works. If you try, you commit an even more serious offense — because as an evil tree you can only produce evil fruit, that is, sin. And whatever does not come from faith is sin. Anyone who tries to earn grace by works done before faith is trying to please God with sins, which is nothing other than piling sin upon sin, mocking God, and provoking His anger. When a person is taught this by the law, he is terrified and humbled. He sees the full weight of his sin and finds within himself nothing resembling love for God. He acknowledges God to be right in His word, and confesses that he deserves death and eternal condemnation. The first part of Christianity, then, is the preaching of repentance and the knowledge of ourselves.

The second part is this: if you want to be saved, you cannot seek salvation through works — for God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. He was crucified and died for you, and offered up your sins in His own body. In this there is no merit, no work done before grace — only wrath, sin, terror, and death. The law does nothing but expose sin, terrify, and humble — and in doing so, prepares us for justification and drives us to Christ. For God has revealed through His word that He will be a merciful Father to us, and without any deserving on our part — since we can deserve nothing — will freely give us forgiveness of sins, righteousness, and eternal life for the sake of His Son, Jesus Christ. God gives His gifts freely to all — this is the glory and honor of His majesty. But those who insist on earning righteousness will not receive grace and eternal life as a free gift; they insist on deserving it by their works. In doing so, they would rob God of the glory of His majesty. Therefore, to defend and maintain that glory, God is compelled to send His law ahead — which, like lightning and thunder from heaven, shatters and breaks those hard, unyielding hearts.

This, in brief, is our teaching on Christian righteousness — set against the abominations and monstrous fantasies of the papists concerning merit of fittingness and merit of worthiness, and works before and after grace. A company of idle monks — who never gave any thought to God or His glory, never cared for the salvation of their own souls, were never tested by real temptation, never truly felt the weight of sin or the terror of death — invented these empty trifles and blasphemies out of their own imagination. They do not know what they are saying or teaching. What is more, they cannot produce a single example of any work, done either before or after grace, that could justify a person before God. These are nothing but empty fables and lies by which the papists deceive both themselves and others. Paul states plainly here that a man is not justified by the works of the law — whether those works come before grace (which is his subject here) or after it. It is clear, then, that Christian righteousness is not some inherent quality embedded in human nature — as the Scholastic theologians imagine when they say: