[24]. Merit
Since those who have mortgaged their hopes to the saints place chief reliance upon their merits, and since in the church of God hitherto the merit not of what I call saints but of most shameless whoremongers has been sold at the highest price they ventured to put upon it, the next thing is for me to speak of merit.
I have said earlier that these four things are related: Providence, Predestination, Free Will, and Merit. Not that the last two are really related to the first two, but that the man who rightly understands the first cannot help understanding the last. Now providence is the mother of predestination, as it were, and having spoken of it to the best of my ability in considering God, I need not repeat my words here. I there represented God as providing for all things; for all things exist through Him. All things, therefore, are maintained and disposed through Him. And the reason our minds fail to reach an understanding of this is because they are so narrow and circumscribed; though there are not a few things the proper consideration of which enables us to fashion for ourselves a sort of image of Divine Providence, of which things I am going to bring forward only the principal one, namely, man himself. He submits to the control of reason, so that all his members wait upon its nod; and by reason I mean the entire power by which man determines and decides to do this or that. I am speaking of external activity, not of the internal government or alteration of the soul. He bids his feet walk, and they move; his hand to grasp the plough, and it obeys. He never moves a finger without the reason. Yet, far stronger and surer is Divine Providence in controlling the whole uni-
[See p. 70.]
verse; for—if one may compare little things with great—God is in the universe what reason is in man. Since, therefore, we see reason presiding over all our activities, whether of movement or rest, so that we see nothing done without its command, how is it that we do not confess that in the same way all things are so done and disposed by the providence of God that nothing takes place without His will or command? We are anxious; for we fear that we shall be forced to confess that God is the author of evils also. This, however, is because we do not observe man carefully enough, for sometimes sickness and diseases come upon him, when, if they did not, he would die altogether. He burns with fever, so he refrains meanwhile from drinking too much, and presently he is restored to his former health. He suffers from gout, a thin and acid humor retires from the vital parts to the extremities; but if this had not taken place the man would have died long before. Thus, as long as certain things take place of which we know not the cause and purpose, we refuse to recognize Divine Providence in them, though it uses us, and, in fact, all things, as it will. Nor is what is base to us base to Providence, for its baseness to us comes from the fact that the Law has been placed over us. And the Law has been so placed because our passions overstepped all bounds. But since God is not subject to such, He is not under the Law, but is Himself that which He demands of us through the Law. Hence that is not base with Him which is base for us. The promiscuous pairing of animals, even in our judgment, is not base, though such pairing of human beings is most base. But what is it that absolves them but condemns us? The Law. For by the divine law we are confined within the barriers of matrimony. So nothing can be base for God which yet cannot help being base for us. Let us, therefore, not be anxious and fearful, and exempt certain things from the Providence of God as not becoming to it. For things that are base for us are not so for it; and things which we think pernicious are on another side profitable. And predestination, which is only another word for foreordination, is born of providence, nay is providence; for even the theologians distinguish providence from wisdom, in that the former proceeds to act and to dispose, while the latter simply sees what should be done and how. For
it would be ineongruous for the Supreme Good to know all things before they took place and not to be able to dispose and to order all things. Again, to control all things, to have all knowledge and all power, and yet not to do it would be ungenerous, nay, mean, and of this it were impious to suspect the supreme deity. By the providence of God, therefore, are taken away together free will and merit; for if it disposes all things, what part have we that permits us to think anything done of ourselves? And since all things are done by His activity, how are we to have any merit? “That all things are done by His aetivity was abundantly told in considering Him. For “in him we live, and move, and have our being,” etc. [Acts 17:28]. Yet, because of the weight of the flesh, it has always happened that some men have failed to attain to this measure of knowledge of God. Hence Paul in writing to the Colossians, 1:9, bears witness that he prays for them unceasingly that they may grow in the knowledge of God. “Those, therefore, who have not attained to this knowledge have had much to say about free will and merit, but their utterances were not made of much account by those who had reached real knowledge of the providence of God. At the same time, however, we see that some who really had come to the knowledge of providence have magnified the merit of works; but this, again, for the benefit of those who did not clearly understand providence, to keep them from committing such great sins as they otherwise would. Such were the prophets, who strongly urge men to good works. But what sort of men? Those poor in faith? Yes, for after faith and (according to Christ’s words [Mt. 24: 12]) love had waxed cold, these holy men were anxious to do their full duty to the glory of God and the peace of the state; and although they strenuously inculcated faith and fear of God before all things, yet, seeing that God had blinded the minds of the people so that οὐδὲν ὑγιές [nothing sound] was to be expected of them, they at the same time did not omit the preaching of works also, although they were well aware of the providence of God. For thus, after many things by which he tries to draw men to God, Isaiah says, 45: 24: “Therefore shall they say, In the Lord have I righteousness and strength.” For some men are so stupid that, however much
you cry to them and insist, they yet measure God only by their own foot-rule; and recognizing that they do all things without generosity, that is, for a return, they cannot be induced to take any other view of God. Hence they think that God ascribes everything to merit, and that where that does not exist it is vain to hope for His favor. God takes advantage of their weakness, or rather want of faith, and invites them to good works by the hope of reward, that meantime His own may lack nothing. But if you say to me, “Since all things are done by the providence of God, why does He not cause those who are so far astray in their knowledge of Him, and who accordingly do all things under compulsion and without generosity, to be better enlightened, that with the clear-sighted they may see the thing that is most to be looked at?” I answer: “Go to Him who created them, and ask the reason of His action from Himself.” For we were not His counsellors [cf. Jer. 23:18], nor did we first give Him anything so that we have a legal right to demand something of Him in return. We know that the potter has the power to make of the same clay one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor [ef. Rom. 9: 21]; and why shall we say to our Lord and God, “Why didst thou make me after this fashion?” Because, therefore, no one denies that in the Holy Seriptures there are almost more utterances that attribute merit to our works than the reverse, we are not on that account to decide that after the manner of referees we are to take something from either side and give it to the other, in order that peace may be made between our merit and God’s grace, between our free will and God’s providence or predestination. God is not as man. But we ought rather to do that which we see those holy men did, as I have just said. Knowledge of God must be strenuously inculcated, and faith aroused. If we are successful here, the most excellent fruit will be put forth spontaneously by the good tree [cf. Mt. 7:17]. At the same time, the sluggish must be stirred up with the hope of reward and the fear of punishment, that the work of God may nowhere halt.
But if you say that thus dissension will arise between the pious and the mercenary, I answer: Nothing whatsoever of the kind. For the pious are not contentious, but teach from love;
and those who in these days, having advanced a step farther than they see generally done, leap up and scorn everyone but themselves are less pious than those who rely upon works. Piety endures all things, does all things, and never fails, ἐκπίπτει [ef. 1 Cor. 13:8]. It puts up with the feeble, therefore, has sympathy for the weaker vessel, is not carried away before smoking flax [ef. Mt. 12: 20]. But, if it were permitted to expose here the hypocrisy of certain persons who do just nothing but make a show of their own learning and who cannot endure to see anyone regarded as more learned than themselves, we should give offence, to be sure, but should safeguard the simple. In order, therefore, not to exasperate all the wrath of this turbulent small fry, I content myself with the kind of teaching that I have given above. Only let us at the same time note that, if we ever see ascribed to us by the very mouth of God what cannot belong to any but God, we are to recognize the grace which He shows towards us so lavishly as to ascribe to us what is His alone, and let us not boast or rush into contentious argument. “For we can do nothing against the truth” [II Cor. 13: 8], and we are placed here to build up, not to destroy. The Christian life is guilelessness, as I have often said already. But no soil will bring forth guilelessness more fruitfully than disregard of self. And disregard of self is more luxuriant the more of the dew of the knowledge of God it has drunk in; for the fuller one is of God, the emptier one is of oneself. Those, therefore, who from piety, and not from puffed-up knowledge, rightly recognize and confess God’s providence, devote themselves to guilelessness and nothing else. But those who do not find this path ought to be goaded on by the law, by hope, and by fear, to doing the same thing the pious do. This will seem to some rather indiscreet doctrine, but I shall not care a snap for their opinion, seeing, as I do, that the Prophets, Christ, and the Apostles walked in this path. But in order fully to meet the expectations raised by the earlier part of this treatise, which ascribed all things to providence and nothing to free will and merit, I have ordered that the brief remarks which I made on merit in answer to Emser be incorporated here. For I am too busy to do otherwise.
[For this quotation from the “Reply to Emser” see below
pp. 388-392.]
But what are we to say of those works which have been invented according to the tradition and teaching of men? They are shams, snares, traps to extort money. All works are the fruit either of piety or of the flesh; for if you are pious you devote yourself from faith to the things that faith dictates. For whosoever hath faith, God is in him and he in God [ef. I John 4:16]. And let no one say: ‘“This that you ascribe to faith belongs to love”; for we must consider that faith is used variously in the Holy Seriptures: first, for belief; then, for unyielding constancy; then, for confidence in God; and of this last only are we to understand the statement that faith saves [cf. Mk. 16:16]. But those who do not understand that faith, hope, and love are the same thing, namely, this confidence in God, will have to pass by many knotty points in Scripture unexplained. But this will be plain from the Scriptures. “By hope were we saved,” Rom. 8:24; and, “To him that believeth, his faith is reckoned for righteousness,” Rom. 4:5. If, then, hope saves, and faith saves, faith and hope must be the same thing. And let no one be troubled if sometimes hope and faith are spoken of differently; for then faith is not used to mean confidence in God, but either for some sort of belief, or for unyielding constancy or genuineness. But “God Himself is love; and he that abideth in love, abideth in God, and God in him,” I Jn. 4:16. And, Jn. 6: 56, “He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, abideth in me, and I in him.” That is: Whosoever trusteth in Christ, as having suffered for us, abideth in Christ and Christ in him. Therefore faith and love must be the same thing. And let no one marvel, and fear that I am confounding these three virtues of the theologians. For my part, I have learned from the Holy Scriptures that, unless any one of these virtues is its companion virtue, it is absolutely nothing, much less a virtue. If you have faith in regard to Christ, but do not put your hope in Him nor love Him, it amounts to nothing, James 1. If you say you have hope in God, and do not love Him, you make yourself a liar; for if you have been so taught about God that you see you ought fairly to put your hope in Him, you cannot fail to recognize that He is the supreme good; if you recognize that He is the
supreme good, you cannot fail to love Him. If you love Him and do not hope, you are a deceiver; for he cannot love God who does not trust in Him. “The union of the human heart with God, therefore, that is, piety, has different names in an ascending scale. We use faith sometimes for belief; this in the order of understanding is followed by hope, and that by love. Furthermore, this whole confidence of the human heart in God is called sometimes faith, sometimes hope and love; yet it is nothing but piety towards God, whether you love, hope, or trust. Hence, since the one thing, piety, embraces these three things, faith is used to mean love and hope to mean faith. The objection that might be raised here from I Cor. 13: 13, But the greatest of these is love,” can easily be met; for love, as I have indicated, is but the consummate form of that which is still nothing else than the heart on fire in the Lord.
I come back, however, to the point from which I digressed. He, then, in whom God is, in turn is in God; hence must fruits worthy of God grow, “for without him we can do nothing” [Jn. 15:5]. Since, therefore, good works are the fruit of faith, they are certainly of God, not ours. What, then, shall we claim in return for them, when they are not ours? How much less will those who solemnly came forth boasting of a vision of angels, which they yet had not seen, Col. 2:18, be able to demand for their works, invented and performed according to the rudiments of this world! We must agree, then, that the pious do not put a value upon their own works, and therefore never wrangle about a reward for them. On the other hand, those that put on a value are impious; for the man is not pious who has not renounced self. They that put a value upon their own works have not renounced self; therefore they are impious. Having above, in considering the law, given a touchstone by which one could find out what part of the law had been abolished and what remained, owing to the stress of my occupations I spoke of that part only which has to do with the second chief commandment, telling, namely, how those things pertaining to love of one’s neighbor will last always, and again how the things demanded under pretence of the law of love towards one’s neighbor and yet not proceeding from the Law-
[See above, p. 138.]
giver have been abolished. Meantime I forgot to speak of, or perhaps thought I had spoken of, the abolition of the law as far as it has to do with the worship of God. We must consider, therefore, that since Christ said, Matt. 22: 40, “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets,” whatever laws are tried by them and maintain their integrity are nowhere abolished and never will be abolished. But, when some men say, “Ceremonies, therefore, are by no means to be abolished, since they are governed by the first commandment, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,’ etc. [Deut. 6:5], for ceremonies are used from love of God,” I answer that ceremonies are no proof that we love God, but the fact that we obey His will. For He says, John 14:21, He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me.” It is, therefore, an indubitable sign of love of God, if we model ourselves upon His precepts. As to ceremonies, we must constantly bear in mind, “In vain do they worship me, teaching the doctrines and precepts of men,” Matt. 15:9. They say, therefore, again: “In this way it will come to pass that we shall cherish those ceremonies which God under the old law wished performed unto Him, even promulgating directions therefor.” 1 answer, that those ceremonies had been scorned and rejected out of the mouth of God even before Christ, as is clear from Isa. 1: 11-17; Jer. 6: 20; Ezek. 20: 25; Amos 5:21. As, therefore, Christ said, John 15:8, Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; and so shall ye be my disciples,” so we all surely ought to devote ourselves to the honor of God. But how do we honor Him if we are only disciples of Christ? All who are disciples of Christ will bear much fruit unto the Father, as also Christ did. We must try, therefore, to be disciples of Christ. Now, it is the part of a disciple to become like his master. If, therefore, we are Christ’s disciples, we will “walk even as he walked,” I John 2:6. Now, Christ honored the Father by doing good to all and by finally giving Himself for all. So, surely, our ceremonies shall be none other than those that Christ used; for by these is God glorified, that is, when we are zealously devoted to truth and guilelessness, and are more ready to expose ourselves for the brethren than to trample upon them in our own interest. This is to worship the Father in spirit
and in truth [ef. Jn. 4: 24].
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