← Luther's Little Prayer Book (Ein Betbüchlein)/Book 1 · Betbüchlein (Ein Betbüchlein)

Chapter 8Betbuechlein.1.8

Sermon von dem Sacramente der Tauffe

The Sign and Meaning of Baptism

Baptism is defined as a sacred immersion that signifies the drowning of the old self and the resurrection into God's grace.

First: Baptism is called Baptismus in Greek, and in Latin Mersio—which means when something is plunged completely into water so that the water closes over it. And although in many places the custom is no longer to thrust children all the way into the baptismal water and immerse them, but only to pour water over them with the hand from the font, it still ought to be that way, and it would be right, that according to the sense of the little word Taufe one should sink the child—or anyone who is baptized—completely into the water, or dip them, and draw them out again. For without doubt, in the German tongue the little word Taufe comes from the word Tiefe (depth), so that whatever one baptizes, one sinks deep into the water.¹ The meaning of Baptism also requires this, for it signifies that the old self and the sinful birth of flesh and blood are to be completely drowned through the grace of God, as we will hear.² Therefore one should do full justice to that meaning and give a true, complete sign. Second, baptism is an outward sign or badge that sets us apart from everyone who isn't baptized, so that through it we're recognized as Christ our Captain's people, under whose banner—the holy Cross—we continually fight against sin.^✦^✦³ We must consider three things in the holy Sacrament: the sign, the meaning, and the faith. The sign consists of this: that one places the person in the name of the⁴ Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit—one plunges him into the water; but one does not leave him in it; instead, one lifts him back out again. That’s why people call it being lifted out of baptism.⁵ So both parts must belong to the sign: the immersing and the lifting out. Third, the meaning is a blessed dying to sin and a resurrection into God's grace.^✦ That is, the old self, conceived and born in sin, is drowned there, and a new self emerges and rises up, born in grace.^✦ That’s how St. Paul describes it in Titus.^✦ 3.^✦ Baptism is a washing of new birth, so that in that very washing, a person is born again and renewed.⁶ So too Christ, in John^✦ 3: “Unless you are born again of water and the Spirit (of grace), you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.”^✦⁷ For just as a child is drawn from the mother's body and born—so that through such fleshly birth he is a sinful human being and a child of wrath—so too a person is drawn from baptism and born spiritually, and through that birth becomes a child of grace and a justified human being.⁸ In this way, sins are drowned in baptism, and righteousness rises up to take the place of sin.

A Lifelong Dying to Sin

The spiritual reality of baptism is a lifelong process of dying to sin that is only fully completed in death and the final resurrection.

Fourth: the meaning—the dying or drowning of sin—doesn't happen completely in this life until a person also dies physically and decays entirely into dust.^✦^✦ The Sacrament or sign of baptism is over quickly, as we see with our own eyes. But the meaning—the spiritual baptism, the drowning of sin—lasts as long as we live and is only completed in death; then the person is truly sunk into baptism, and it happens just as baptism signifies.^✦^✦ Therefore this whole life is nothing other than a spiritual baptizing without pause, right up to death. Whoever is baptized is sentenced to death—it is as if the priest were saying during the baptism: 'Look, you are sinful flesh; therefore, I drown you in God's name and sentence you to death in that same name, so that all your sin may die and perish with you.'⁹ So says St. Paul in Romans 6.¹⁰ We have been buried with Christ through baptism into death.^✦ And the sooner a person dies after baptism, the sooner his baptism is completed. For sin does not completely cease as long as this body lives—this body so thoroughly conceived in sins that sin is its nature, as the prophet says.^✦ See, I was conceived in sins, and in iniquities my mother carried me.^✦¹¹ There is no remedy for it in any way, unless it dies and is brought to nothing, along with its sin.¹² So a Christian's life is nothing other than beginning to die blessedly, from baptism all the way to the grave—for God wants to remake that person completely anew on the Last Day. Fifth, in the same way, being lifted out of the baptismal water happens quickly. But the meaning—the spiritual birth, the increase of grace and righteousness—does begin in baptism, yet it also lasts until death, yes, until the Last Day. Only then is what the lifting from baptism signifies finally completed: then we will rise from death, from sins, from all evil, pure in body and soul, and then live forever. Then we will be truly lifted out of baptism, fully born, and clothed in the true white baptismal garment of immortal life in heaven.¹³ It’s as if the godparents say, when they lift the child out of the baptism: See, your sins are now drowned; we receive you in God's name into the eternal, innocent life. For in just this way the angels on the Last Day will lift out all baptized Christian godly people, and will then fulfill what baptism and the godparents signify, as Christ says in Matthew 24.¹⁴ He will send out his angels, and they will gather his elect for him from the four quarters of the winds, from the rising of the sun to its setting.

The Covenant of Grace

Baptism serves as a gracious covenant where God binds himself to the believer, promising not to count remaining sins against them as they fight to put the flesh to death.

Sixth: this Baptism was foreshadowed long ago by Noah's flood, when the entire world was drowned except for Noah, his three sons, and their wives—eight people kept safe in the ark. The drowning of the world's people signifies that in Baptism, sins are drowned. But the fact that those eight were kept safe in the ark along with all kinds of animals means that through Baptism, a person is saved.^✦ As St. Peter explains that in his second epistle.^✦¹⁵ Now Baptism is a far different flood from that earlier one. For that one drowned people for no more than a year; but this Baptism still drowns every kind of person throughout the whole world, from Christ's birth until the Last Day, and it is a flood of grace, as that one was a flood of wrath, as is proclaimed in the 28th¹⁶ Psalm: God will bring about a lasting new flood. Without a doubt, far more people are baptized than were drowned in the flood.¹⁷ Seventh: from this it follows that it is indeed true that a person, when he comes out of baptism, is pure and without sin, entirely innocent—but many don't understand this rightly. They think there is no sin left there at all, and they grow lazy and careless about putting the sinful nature to death. Just as some people also do when they have gone to confession. So, as mentioned above, you should understand this correctly and know that our flesh, as long as it lives here, is by nature evil and sinful.¹⁸ To help with this, God has devised a plan for him: that he will remake it entirely new and different. Just as Jeremiah¹⁹ 17.²⁰ shows: When the pot didn't turn out well for the potter, he smashed it back into a heap of clay, kneaded it, and afterward made another pot as he pleased. So, says God, you are in my hands.^✦ And in our first birth, we didn't turn out well. That is why he dashes us back into the earth through death and remakes us again on the Last Day, so that then we turn out well and are without sin. He begins this plan in Baptism, which signifies death and the resurrection on the Last Day, as has already been said. And so, as far as the meaning or the sign of the Sacrament goes, the sins are already dead with the person, and he has risen, and thus the Sacrament has taken place.²¹ But the work of the Sacrament hasn't been fully carried out yet—that is, death and the resurrection on the Last Day are still ahead. Eighth: a person is entirely pure and innocent sacramentally—which simply means they bear God's sign, Baptism, showing that all their sins are to be dead, and that they, in grace, are to die and rise on the Last Day, pure, sinless, and innocent, to live forever. So, as far as the Sacrament is concerned, it's true that they are sinless and innocent. But since this has not yet been completed, and he still lives in the sinful flesh, he is not without sin, nor pure in every respect; rather, he has begun to become pure and innocent. That is why, when a person comes of age, natural sinful desires stir—anger, unchastity, love, greed, pride, and the like—none of which would exist if all sin had been drowned and put to death in the Sacrament.²² Now they are only signified as things to be drowned through death and the resurrection on the Last Day.²³ So St. Paul complains in Romans, 7,²⁴ and all the saints with him, that they are sinners and have sin in their nature, even though they were baptized and holy—because the natural sinful desires keep stirring as long as we live. Ninth: So you ask, what good is baptism to me, then, if it doesn't completely blot out and remove sin? Here, then, is the true understanding and knowledge of the Sacrament of Baptism. This is how the most worthy Sacrament of Baptism helps you: God binds himself to you there and becomes one with you in a gracious and comforting covenant.²⁵ First, that you surrender yourself to the Sacrament of Baptism and its meaning—that is, that you desire to die with your sins and, on the Last²⁶ Day be made new, according to the meaning of the Sacrament, as has been said.^✦²⁷ God accepts that from you, lets you be baptized, and from that very hour begins to make you new; He pours His grace and Holy Spirit into you, who begins to put nature and sin to death, and to prepare you for dying and for rising again on the Last Day.^✦^✦^✦²⁸ Second, you bind yourself to remain this way, and more and more to put your sin to death as long as you live, right up to death. God accepts that pledge and trains you throughout your life with many good works and all kinds of suffering. Through these, he accomplishes what you desired in baptism—that you want to be free of sin, to die, and to rise anew on the Last Day, thereby fulfilling your baptism.²⁹ That’s why we read about how he allowed his dear saints to be tortured and suffer so much, so that they would quickly be put to death, fulfill the Sacrament of Baptism, die, and be made new. For if that doesn't happen, and we neither suffer nor practice, then the evil nature overcomes a person so that he makes baptism useless to himself, falls into sin, and remains an old man, just as before.^✦³⁰ Tenth: Since this is how your bond with God stands, God in turn shows you grace and binds himself to you: he won't count against you the sins that remain in your nature after Baptism; he won't look on them, nor condemn you for them.³¹ He is content with that, and takes pleasure that you keep in constant practice and desire to put those same sins to death, and by your dying to be free of them. Therefore, even if evil thoughts or desires do stir—yes, even if you sometimes sin and fall—still, if you get back up and enter the covenant again, then by the power of the Sacrament and of that bond they are already gone, as St. Paul says in Romans³² 8.³³ says: The natural sinful evil inclination condemns no one who believes in Christ, so long as they do not follow it and consent to it.³⁴ And St. John the Evangelist says in his epistle: If anyone falls into sin, we have an advocate before God, Jesus Christ, who has become the forgiveness of our sins.³⁵ All of that takes place in baptism; that is where Christ is given to us, as we'll hear in the following sermon. Eleventh: if this covenant didn't exist, and if God didn't mercifully look the other way, no sin would be so small that it wouldn't damn us—for God's judgment can tolerate no sin.³⁶ That's why there's no greater comfort on earth than Baptism, through which we enter the judgment of grace and mercy—which doesn't condemn sin, but drives it out through many practices.³⁷ So St. Augustine has a fine saying: Sin is fully forgiven in Baptism—not so that it is no longer present, but so that it is not counted against us. It's as if he were saying: Sin does remain until death in our flesh, and it also stirs without ceasing; but as long as we do not consent to it or stay in it, Baptism has so ordered things that it neither damns nor harms us, but is wiped out more and more each day until death. So, no one should be frightened if they feel evil desire and love, nor should they despair if they fall; instead, they should remember their baptism and take comfort in it—knowing that God bound himself there to put their sins to death and not count them for damnation, as long as they don't consent to them or remain in them. You should also not take those same raging thoughts or desires—yes, even falling itself—as reason to despair, but as an admonition from God, so that a person would remember their baptism and what they promised there: that they would call on God's grace, practice fighting against sin, and yes, even long to die, so that they might be free of their sins.

Faith and the Life of Baptism

Faith in the baptismal promise is the foundation of all comfort, enabling the believer to stand against sin and despair.

Twelfth. Now we reach the third part of the Sacrament to discuss: faith. This means you firmly believe that the Sacrament doesn't just signify death and the resurrection on the Last Day—through which a person is made new to live forever without sin—but that it also certainly begins and works that very same thing, binding us to God so that we will, until death, put sin to death and fight against it. And that He, for His part, would count us favorably and deal graciously with us, not judging us by the strict severity of the law, since we are not without sin in this life, until we are made pure through death.³⁸³⁹ You can see how a person is made innocent and pure, without sin, in baptism, yet still remains full of many evil inclinations. They aren't called pure in any sense other than that they have begun to become pure, possess a sign and covenant of that purity, and are meant to grow ever purer. For that reason, God won't count the remaining uncleanness against them, so they are pure more through God's gracious reckoning than by the nature of their own being.⁴⁰ As the prophet says in the Psalm. 32. Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven; blessed is the person to whom God does not count their sin.^✦ This faith is the most necessary of all, for it is the foundation of all comfort. Whoever doesn't have it must despair in their sins, because the sin that remains after Baptism makes all good works unclean before God. You must cling to your baptism boldly and freely, holding it up against every sin and every terror of conscience, and say humbly: I know very well that I have no pure work—but I am baptized, and through that baptism God, who cannot lie, has bound himself not to count my sins against me, but to kill them and wipe them out.^✦ Thirteenth. We now understand that our innocence from baptism is called that entirely and wholly for the sake of divine mercy—the mercy that has begun this, patiently bears with sin, and regards us as if we were without sin. You can see why Scripture calls Christians the children of mercy, a people of grace, and a people of God's good will: it's because they've begun to become pure through Baptism, and by God's mercy, they aren't condemned for the sin that still remains until, through death and on the Last Day, they become wholly pure—just as Baptism shows with its sign.^✦ That's why this is a great error: those who think they have become completely pure through baptism. In their ignorance they go along and do not put their sin to death; they also refuse to let it be sin, persist in it, and so make their baptism completely worthless. They hang on only to a few outward works, under which pride, hatred, and other natural wickedness—which they pay no attention to—only grow stronger and greater. No, that's not right. Sin—that evil inclination—must be recognized as real sin. But credit the fact that it is harmless to God's grace, for He won't count it against you—provided you fight it with many practices, works, and sufferings, and finally put it to death by dying.⁴¹ Those who do not do this, He will not remit it to them, because they do not follow baptism and its binding commitment, and they hinder the work of God and of baptism that has been begun.⁴² Fourteenth: This group also includes those who think they can wipe away and remove their sin through satisfaction. They go so far as to disregard baptism, acting as if they no longer need it, beyond the fact that they were once drawn out of it.⁴³ They don't realize that it holds power throughout their entire life until death—yes, even on the Last Day—as mentioned above. That’s why they think they can find something else to wipe out sin—namely works—and in doing so, they create bad, terrified, and uncertain consciences for themselves and everyone else. They fall into despair at death, not knowing where they stand with God, and they view their baptism as lost through sin and no longer of any use. Guard yourself against that for dear life. For as I said: if someone has fallen into sin, let him think most strongly of his baptism—how God bound himself there to him to forgive all sin, if he will fight against it until death. You must joyfully put your trust in that same truth and bond of God; then baptism resumes its work and power.⁴⁴ Then the heart is at peace again and glad—not in its own work or satisfaction, but in God's mercy, which was promised to it in baptism, to be kept forever.⁴⁵ You must hold so firmly to this faith that even if every creature and every sin fell upon you, you would still cling to it. For whoever lets himself be driven from it makes God a liar in the bond He made in the Sacrament of Baptism.^✦⁴⁶ Fifteenth: The devil attacks faith most of all; if he overthrows it, he has won. For the Sacrament of Penance (of which something has been said) also has its foundation in this Sacrament, because sins are forgiven only for those who are baptized—that is, those to whom God has promised to forgive sins—so that the Sacrament of Penance renews and puts on again the Sacrament of Baptism.⁴⁷ It’s as if the priest says in the absolution: See, God has now forgiven your sins, just as He promised you earlier in Baptism, and as He has now commanded me by the power of the keys—and so you return to the work and essence of Baptism.^✦⁴⁸ If you believe, you have it; if you doubt, you are lost. We find that Baptism is indeed hindered in its work by sin—that is, the forgiveness and putting to death of sin—but it is only through unbelief that its work is brought to nothing.⁴⁹ And faith brings those same obstacles to its work back again—so completely does everything rest on faith.⁵⁰ And if I should put it clearly, it's one thing for sin to be forgiven, and another to put sin off or drive it out. Faith obtains the forgiveness of sins, even though they haven't been entirely driven out yet. But driving out sin is practice against sin, and finally dying—then sin is completely done away with.⁵¹ Yet both of these together are the work of baptism. The Apostle writes to the Hebrews—who were, after all, baptized and had their sins forgiven—that they should put off the sin that clings to them.^✦ Because I believe that God won't count my sin against me, baptism is effective, and my sins are forgiven—even though, for the most part, they still remain.⁵² After that comes the driving out of sin through suffering, dying, and so on. This is the article we confess: I believe in the Holy Spirit, the forgiveness of sins, and so on. There baptism is especially touched on—the sacrament in which forgiveness takes place through God's binding himself to us—so you must not doubt that same forgiveness.⁵³

Walking in the Baptismal Vocation

Christians are called to live out their baptismal vow by embracing their specific stations in life as places to practice dying to sin.

Sixteenth: So it follows that baptism makes all suffering, and death especially, useful and helpful, so that they must serve me for the work of baptism—that is, to put sin to death. For it can't be otherwise now: whoever wants to fulfill baptism and be free of sin must die. But sin doesn't die willingly; that's why it makes death so bitter and horrible. God is so gracious and mighty that sin, which brought death, will be driven out again by its own work—death.^✦⁵⁴ You find many people who want to live in a way that makes them godly, and they say they'd gladly be godly. There is no shorter way or path than through baptism and the work of baptism—that is, suffering and dying. Since they don't want that, it's a sign that they neither truly know how to become godly nor truly intend to.^✦⁵⁵ That is why God has ordained various estates in which people are to practice and learn to suffer: for some the married estate, for others the subject estate, for still others the ruling estate. And He has commanded all to take on toil and labor so that they put the flesh to death and grow used to putting it to death. For to all who are baptized, baptism has turned the rest, ease, and comfort of this life into pure poison, as a hindrance to its work. In those things, no one learns to suffer, to die gladly, to be freed from sin, and to follow baptism; instead, only love of this life grows, along with a loathing of eternal life, a fear of death, and a flight from the destruction of sin.⁵⁶⁵⁷ Seventeenth: Look at how people live. Many fast, pray, go on pilgrimages, and perform similar exercises, thinking only that these things will earn them merit and a high place in heaven—yet they never learn to put their evil vices to death. You should fast, and steer every spiritual practice toward this: that it press down the old Adam—our sinful nature—and train it to go without everything that is pleasant to this life, and so make you more and more ready for death each day, so that baptism is truly fulfilled.^✦^✦⁵⁸ You shouldn't measure these practices and efforts by how many or how great they are, but by what baptism requires. Each person should choose the kind of practice, and only as much of it, as is useful and good for suppressing the sinful nature and putting it to death. You should also ease off or increase those same practices depending on whether you find sin decreasing or increasing.^✦⁵⁹ So they go charging ahead and pile this and that on themselves, doing one thing now and another next, only by the mask and outward show of the work; then they quickly drop it again and become so completely unstable that nothing ever comes of them. Some crack their heads over it and ruin their constitution, so that they're useful neither to themselves nor to anyone else.⁶⁰⁶¹ These are all fruits of a teaching that has taken hold of us: that we think we are without sin after repentance or baptism, and that good works aren't for wiping out sin, but for freely heaping up a pile of them for their own sake, or for making satisfaction for sins already committed.⁶² Preachers help this along when they don't wisely preach the legends and works of the dear saints, but instead turn them into common examples for everyone; then the uncomprehending seize on them and work their own ruin out of the saints' examples.⁶³ God has given each saint his own particular way and grace for living out his baptism. But Baptism, with its meaning, is set as a common measure for everyone, so that each person, according to his station, should examine which way best helps him fulfill baptism—that is, to put sin to death and to die.⁶⁴ This is so Christ's burden may become light and easy, rather than something taken up with anxiety and worry. As Solomon says of such people: The works of the unwise only torment them. Because they don't know the way to the city. Just as people are distressed when they want to reach the city but can't find the way, so it is with these people: their whole life and work turns hard and bitter for them, and yet they get nowhere. Eighteenth. So now the common question belongs here: whether baptism and the vows we made there to God are more or greater than the vows of chastity, priesthood, and the religious life—even though baptism is common to all Christians, and people treat it as if the clergy have something special and higher.⁶⁵ The answer is easy based on what was said above, for in baptism we all vow the same thing: to put sin to death and become holy through God's working and grace. We give ourselves over and offer ourselves like clay to the potter, and in that, no one is better than another. But living out that same baptism so that sin is put to death cannot be done in just one way or station of life.⁶⁶ That’s why I’ve said everyone must examine themselves to see in which station of life they can best put sin to death and subdue their nature.⁶⁷ It’s true that no vow is higher, better, or greater than the vow of baptism. What more can anyone vow than to drive out all sin, to die, to hate this life, and to become holy? But beyond that vow, a person may well bind himself to an estate that is fitting and helpful for him in carrying out his baptism. It's just like two people traveling to the same city: one might take a footpath and the other the highway, whichever seems best to them. So whoever binds himself to the married estate walks in that estate's hardship and suffering, in which he loads his nature so that it grows used to joy and sorrow, avoids sin, and prepares itself all the better for death—something he could not manage nearly so well outside that same estate.⁶⁸ Above this estate there is still a higher one: the governing estate in spiritual rule—bishop, parish pastor, and so on. They should at every hour be thoroughly practiced through suffering and works, ready for death—not only for their own sake, but also ready to die for those who are subject to them.⁶⁹ Yet in all these stations of life you must still not forget the proper measure, as was said above: keep the practice so that only sin is driven out, and do not go by the number or greatness of the works. But it’s a sad truth that just as we’ve forgotten baptism—what it means, what we promised in it, and how we are to live it out and reach its end—we’ve also forgotten the paths and stations of life. We barely know what has been established for these roles, or how we should conduct ourselves in them so that our baptism is fulfilled.⁷⁰ It has turned into empty pomp, and scarcely more than a worldly show remains, as Isaiah says.^✦ Your silver has become dross, and your wine has become watery—may God have mercy. Amen.^✦⁷¹

Gratitude and Holy Fear

Believers are called to respond to God's baptismal mercy with constant thanksgiving and a holy fear that avoids the presumption of grace.

Nineteenth. But since the holy Sacrament of Baptism is such a great, gracious, and comforting thing, we must earnestly see to it that we thank God for it always—heartily, joyfully, and without ceasing—and give Him praise and honor. For I fear that our ingratitude has earned this: that we have become blind and have not been worthy to recognize such grace — and the whole world has been and still is full of Baptism and God's grace. But we have been led astray into anxious reliance on particular works, and then into indulgences and similar false consolations; we have imagined that we should not trust God until we were pious and had done enough for our sin — as if we wanted His⁷²⁷³ buy grace from Him, or pay for it.⁷⁴ Truly, anyone who does not regard God's grace this way—that it will bear with him as a sinner and make him blessed—and who only goes out to face His judgment, will never be joyful in God, and can neither love nor praise Him.⁷⁵ But when we hear that in the baptismal covenant he receives us sinners, spares us, and cleanses us day by day, and we firmly believe that, our hearts must become joyful and love and praise God. As he says in the Prophet: "I will spare them as a father spares his child."^✦ That is why it is necessary to give thanks to the most highly praised Majesty, who shows himself so gracious and merciful toward us poor, damned little worms, and to magnify and acknowledge the work for what it truly is.⁷⁶ Twentieth: but in this we should also take care that a false security does not creep in and say to itself, "If baptism is such a gracious and great thing that God will not count our sins against us, and as soon as we return from sin everything is set right by the power of baptism, then for the time being I'll live and do as I please, and later on—or at death—I'll remember my baptism, remind God of his covenant, and then do enough for my baptism."⁷⁷⁷⁸ Yes, of course—baptism is so great that when you turn back from your sins and call upon the covenant of your baptism, your sins are forgiven. But take care, if you sin so wantonly and willfully, presuming on grace, that judgment does not seize you and overtake you before you can return—and even if you then wanted to believe in baptism or put your trust in it, that by God's permission your trial becomes so great that faith cannot stand.^✦⁷⁹⁸⁰ If those who don't sin, or who only fall out of sheer frailty, can barely hold firm, where will your brazen wrongdoing stand—the kind that has tested and mocked grace?^✦ Therefore, let us walk with fear so that we may keep the riches of divine grace with a firm faith, and joyfully thank him for his mercy forever and ever. Amen.^✦^✦

Read the original Latin

ZVm Ersten / die Tauffe heisset auff Griechisch Baptismus, zu Latein Mersio, das ist / wenn man etwas gantz ins Wasser tauchet / daß vber jhm zusammen gehet.

Vnnd wie wol an vielen Orten der brauch nimmer ist / die Kinder in die Tauffe gar zu stossen vnd tauchen / sondern sie allein mit der Hand aus der Tauffe begeust / so solt es doch so seyn / vnnd were recht / daß nach laut des Wörtlin Tauffe / man das Kind oder jglichen der getaufft wird / gantz hinein ins Wasser sencket oder teuffet / vnnd wider heraus zöge / Denn auch ohn zweyffel / in Teutscher Zungen / das Wörtlin Tauffe / her kömpt / von dem Wort Tieffe / daß man tieff ins Wasser sencket / was man teuffet.

Das foddert auch die Bedeutung der Tauffe / Denn sie bedeutet / daß der alte Mensch / vnd sündliche Geburt von Fleisch vnd Blut / sol gantz erseufft werden / durch die Gnade Gottes / wie wir hören werden. Darumb solt man der Bedeutung gnug thun / vnd ein rechts volkommens Zeichen geben.

Zum Andern / die Tauffe ist ein eusserlich Zeichen oder Lösung / die vns absondert von allen vngetaufften Menschen / daß wir dabey erkennet werden / ein Volck Christi vnsers Hertzogen / vnter welches Panir (das ist / das heilig Creutz) wir stetiglich streiten wider die Sünde.

Darumb müssen wir drey ding in dem heiligen Sacrament ansehen / das Zeichen / die Bedeutung / vnnd den Glauben. Das Zeichen stehet darinnen / daß man den Menschen in dem Namen des

Vaters / vnd des Sohns / vnd des heiligen Geistes / stöst ins Wasser / aber man lest jhn nicht darinnen / sondern hebt jhn wider heraus. Darumb heist man es / aus der Tauffe gehaben. Also müssen alle beide Stück in dem seyn Zeichen / das teuffen vnd heraus heben.

Zum Dritten / die Bedeutung ist ein seliglich Sterben der Sünde / vnd Aufferstehung in Gnaden Gottes. Daß der Alte Mensch / der in Sünden empfangen wird vnd geboren / da erseufft wird / vnnd ein newer Mensch heraus gehet vnd auff stehet / in gnaden geboren.

Also nennet S. Paulus / an Tit. 3. die Tauffe / ein Bad der newen Geburt / daß man in demselben Bad new geboren vnd vernewert wird.

Als auch Christus Johan. 3. saget / Es sey denn / daß jhr anderweit geboren werdet / aus dem Wasser vnd dem Geist (der Gnaden) so müget jhr nicht eingehen in das Himmelreich.

Denn gleich wie ein Kind aus Mutter Leibe gehaben vnd geboren wird / daß durch solch Fleischlich geburt / ein sündigs Mensch ist vnd ein Kind des Zorns / Also wird aus der Tauffe gehaben vnd geboren der Mensch geistlich / vnd durch solch geburt ein Kind der Gnaden vnnd rechtfertiger Mensch. Also ersauffen die Sünde in der Tauffe / vnd gehet auff die Gerechtigkeit für die Sünde.

Zum Vierden / die Bedeutung vnnd sterben oder ersauffen der Sünde / geschicht nicht volkommen in diesem Leben / biß der Mensch auch Leiblich sterbe vnd gantz verwese zu Puluer. Das Sacrament oder Zeichen der Tauffe ist bald geschehen / wie wir für Augen sehen. Aber die Bedeutung die Geistliche Tauffe / die erseuffung der Sünde weret dieweil wir leben / vnnd wird allererst im Tode volnbracht / da wird der Mensch recht in die Tauffe gesenckt / vnd geschicht wie die Tauffe bedeut.

Darumb ist diß gantz Leben nicht anders / denn ein geistlich teuffen ohn vnterlas / bis in den Todt. Vnnd wer getaufft wird / der wird zum Tode verurtheilet / Als spreche der Priester wenn er teuffet / Sihe / du bist ein sündiges Fleisch / darumb erseuffe ich dich in Gottes Namen / vnd Vrteil dich zum Tode in dem selben Namen / daß mit dir alle deine Sünde sterben vnnd vnter gehen.

Also sagt S. Paulus Rom. 6. Wir sind mit Christo begraben / durch die Tauffe zum Tode. Vnnd je ehr der Mensch stirbt nach der Tauffe / je ehr seine Tauffe volbracht wird / Denn die Sünde höret nicht gantz auff / dieweil dieser Leib lebet / der so gantz in Sünden empfangen ist / daß Sünde sein Natur ist / als der Prophet sagt. Sihe in Sünden bin ich empfangen / vnd in Vntugenden hat mich meine Mutter getragen. Welcher in keiner weise zu raten ist / sie sterbe denn vnd werde zu nichte / mit jhrer Sünde.

Also ist eines Christen Menschen Leben nicht anders / denn ein anheben seliglich zu sterben / von der Tauffe an bis ins Grab / Denn Gott wil jhn anders machen von new auff / am Jüngsten Tage.

Zum Fünfften / desselbigen gleichen / aus der Tauffe heben geschicht auch behende. Aber die Bedeutung / die Geistlich geburt / die mehrung der Gnaden vnd Gerechtigkeit / hebt wol an in der Tauffe / weret aber auch biß in den Todt / ja biß an Jüngsten Tage / da wird aller erst vollnbracht / das die Tauffe hebung bedeut / da werden wir vom Tode / von Sünden / von allem Vbel / auff stehen / rein an Leib vnd Seele / vnd denn ewiglich leben. Da werden wir recht aus der Tauffe gehaben / volkömlich geborn / anzihen das rechte Wester Hembd / des vnsterblichen Lebens / im Himmel.

Als sprechen die Gefattern / wenn sie das Kind aus der Tauffe heben / Sihe / deine Sünde sind nu erseufft / wir empfangen dich in Gottes Namen / in das Ewig / vnschüldig Leben. Denn also werden die Engel am Jüngsten Tage heraus heben / alle Christen getauffte fromme Menschen / vnnd werden da erfüllen / das die Tauffe vnd die Gefattern bedeuten / als Christus sagt Matth. 24. Er wird außsenden seine Engel / vnd sie werden jhm versamlen seine Außerweleten / von den vier orten der Wind / vom Auffgang biß zum Nidergang.

Zum Sechsten / diese Tauffe ist vor zeiten angezeigt in der Sündflut Noe / da die gantze Welt erseufft ward / außgenommen Noe / mit dreyen Söhnen vnd jhren Weibern / acht Menschen / die in der Archen behalten worden. Daß die Menschen der Welt erseufft worden / bedeut / daß in der Tauffe die Sünde erseufft werden. Daß aber die Achte in der Archen mit allerley Thieren behalten worden / bedeut / daß durch die Tauffe der Mensch selig wird. Als das S. Peter außlegt in seiner andern Epistel. Nu ist die Tauffe weit ein andere Sündflut / denn jene gewesen ist / Denn jhene hat nicht mehr denn eines Jars Menschen erseufft / aber diese Tauffe erseufft noch durch die gantze welt / von Christus Geburt an bis an Jüngsten Tag / allerley Menschen / vnnd ist eine Sündflut der Gnaden / wie jene eine Sündflut des Zorns war / wie im 28. Psalm verkündiget ist / Gott wird machen eine bestendige newe Sündflut / Denn ohn zweyffel viel mehr Menschen getaufft werden / denn in der Sündflut ersoffen sind.

Zum siebenden / daraus folget / daß wol war ist / Ein Mensch / so er aus der Tauffe kömpt / sey rein vnd ohn Sünde gantz vnschüldig / aber es wird von vielen nicht recht verstanden / die meynen / es sey gar keine Sünde mehr da / vnnd werden faul vnd hinlessig / die sündliche Natur zu tödten. Gleich wie auch etliche thun / wenn sie gebeicht haben. Darumb / wie oben gesagt ist / sol man es recht verstehen / vnnd wissen / daß vnser Fleisch / weil es hie lebet / Natürlich böse vnnd sündhafftig ist.

Dem zu helffen / hat jhm Gott einen solchen Rath erdacht / daß er es gantz new anders schaffen wil. Gleich wie Hiere. 17. anzeiget / Der Töpffer / da jhm der Topff nicht wol gerieth / denselben wider in den Thon zu hauffe sties vnd knettet / vnd machet darnach einen andern Topff / wie es jhm gefiel: Also (spricht Gott) seyd jhr in meinen Henden. Vnd in der ersten Geburt / sind wir nicht wol geraten / Darumb so stösset er vns wider in die Erden / durch den Todt / vnd machet vns widerumb am Jüngsten Tage / daß wir denn wol geraten vnd ohn Sünde sind.

Diesen Rath hebt er an in der Tauffe / die den Todt vnd Aufferstehung am Jüngsten Tage bedeut / wie gesagt ist. Vnd darumb als viel die Bedeutung oder das Zeichen des Sacraments ist / so sind die Sünde mit dem Menschen schon todt / vnnd er ist Aufferstanden / vnd ist also das Sacrament geschehen. Aber das Werck des Sacraments ist noch nicht gar geschehen / das ist / der Todt vnd Aufferstehung am Jüngsten Tage / ist noch fürhanden.

Zum Achten / also ist der Mensch gantz rein vnnd vnschüldig Sacramentlich / das ist nicht anders gesagt / denn er hat das Zeichen Gottes / die Tauffe / damit angezeigt wird / seine Sünde sollen alle Todt seyn / vnnd er in Gnaden auch sterben / vnd am Jüngsten Tage Aufferstehen / reine ohn Sünde vnschüldig / ewiglich zu leben. Also ists des Sacrament halben war / daß er ohn Sünde vnschüldig sey. Aber dieweil nu das noch nicht volbracht ist / vnd er noch lebt im sündlichen Fleisch / so ist er nicht ohn Sünde / noch rein aller dinge / sondern angefangen rein vnnd vnschüldig zu werden.

Darumb wenn der Mensch zu seinen Jahren kömpt / so regen sich die natürlichen sündlichen Begirden / Zorns / Vnkeuscheit / Liebe / Geitz / Hoffart vnd der gleichen / der keines nicht were / so die Sünde im Sacrament alle erseufft vnd Todt weren. Nu sind sie nur bedeutet zu erseuffen / durch den Todt vnd Aufferstehung am Jüngsten Tage. Also klagt S. Paul Roma. 7. vnd alle Heiligen mit jhm / daß sie Sünder sind / vnd Sünde in jhrer Natur haben / ob sie wol getaufft / vnnd heilig waren / darumb / daß sich die natürlichen sündlichen Begierden immer regen / dieweil wir leben.

Zum Neunden / So sprichstu / was hilfft mich denn die Tauffe / wenn sie nicht tilget / vnd ableget die Sünde gantz vnnd gar? Hie kömpt nu der rechte Verstand vnnd Erkentnis des Sacraments der Tauffe. Das hilfft dir das Hochwirdige Sacrament der Tauffe / daß sich Gott daselbst mit dir verbindet / vnd mit dir eins wird / eines gnedigen vnnd tröstlichen Bunds.

Zum Ersten / Daß du dich ergibst in das Sacrament der Tauffe / vnnd seiner Bedeutung / das ist / daß du begerest mit den Sünden zu sterben / vnd am Jüngsten

Tage new gemacht werden / nach anzeigung des Sacraments / wie gesagt ist. Das nimpt Gott auff von dir / vnnd lest dich teuffen / vnnd hebt von Stund an dich new zu machen / geust dir ein seine Gnade vnd heiligen Geist / der anfehet die Natur vnd Sünde zu tödten / vnd zu bereiten zum sterben / vnd zum Aufferstehen am Jüngsten Tage.

Zum Andern / Verbindestu dich also zu bleiben / vnd immer mehr vnd mehr zu tödten deine Sünde / dieweil du lebest / biß in den Todt. So nimpt dasselbe Gott auch auff / vnnd vbet dich dein lebenlang / mit vielen guten Wercken vnd mancherley Leyden / damit er thut / das du begeret hast in der Tauffe / das ist / daß du wilt der Sünde los werden / sterben vnnd new Aufferstehen am Jüngsten Tage / vnd also die Tauffe vollbringen.

Darumb lesen wir vnd sehen / wie er seine lieben Heiligen so hat lassen martern vnd viel leiden / daß sie nur bald getödtet / dem Sacrament der Tauffe gnug theten / stürben vnd new würden. Denn wo das nicht geschicht / vnnd wir nicht leyden noch vbung haben / so vberwindet die böse Natur den Menschen / daß er jhm die Tauffe vnnütz machet / vnd fellet in Sünde / bleibt ein alter Mensch / wie vorhin.

Zum Zehenden / Dieweil nu solches dein verbinden mit Gott stehet / thut dir Gott wieder die Gnade / vnnd verbindet sich mit dir / er wolle dir die Sünde nicht zurechnen / die nach der Tauffe in deiner Natur sind / wil sie nicht ansehen noch dich darumb verdammen. Lest jhm dran genügen / vnnd hat ein wolgefallen / daß du in steter Vbung vnnd Begirden seyest / die selben zu tödten / vnnd mit deinem sterben jhr los zu werden.

Derhalben / ob sich wol böse Gedancken oder Begirden regen / Ja ob du auch zu weilen sündigest vnnd fellest / so du doch wieder auffstehest vnd wieder in den Bund trittest / so sind sie in Krafft des Sacraments vnd Verbündnis schon dahin / als S. Paulus Roma. 8. saget / Es verdampt die natürliche sündliche böse Neigung keinen / der in Christum gleubet / so sie nicht folgen vnnd verwilligen denselbigen.

Vnd S. Johannes der Euangelist in seiner Epistel spricht: Vnd ob jemand fiele in Sünde / so haben wir einen Fürsprecher für Gott / Jesum Christum / der eine Vergebung worden ist vnser Sünde. Dasselbe geschicht alles in der Tauffe / da wird vns Christus gegeben / wie wir hören werden im folgenden Sermon.

Zum Eylfften / wenn nu dieser Bund nicht were / vnd Gott nicht Barmhertziglich durch die Finger sehe / so were keine Sünde so klein / sie verdammet vns / denn Gottes Gerichte mag keine Sünde leiden. Darumb ist kein grösser Trost auff Erden denn die Tauffe / durch welche wir in der Gnaden vnnd Barmhertzigkeit Vrtheil treten / welche die Sünde nicht richtet / sondern mit vielen vbungen außtreibt.

Also spricht S. Augustinus einen feinen Spruch / Die Sünde wird in der Tauffe gantz vergeben / nicht also / daß sie nicht mehr da sey / sondern daß sie nicht zugerechnet wird. Als spreche er / die Sünde bleibt wol biß in den Todt / in vnserm Fleische / reget sich auch ohn vnterlas / aber dieweil wir nicht drein willigen / oder bleiben / so ists durch die Tauffe also geordent / daß sie nicht verdammet / noch schedlich ist / sondern außgetilget wird teglich mehr vnd mehr / biß in den Todt.

Derhalben sol niemand erschrecken / ob er fühlet böse Lust vnd Liebe / auch nicht verzagen ob er schon fellet / sondern an seine Tauffe gedencken / vnnd sich derselben frölich trösten / daß Gott sich da verbunden hat / jhm seine Sünden zu tödten / vnd nicht zur Verdamnis rechnen / so er nicht drein williget / oder nicht drinnen bleibt.

Auch sol man dieselben wütende Gedancken oder Begierden / ja auch das fallen / nicht annehmen zum verzagen / sondern als eine Vermanung von Gott / daß der Mensche an seine Tauffe gedencke / was er da gered hat / daß er anruffe Gottes Gnaden / vnd sich vbe zu streiten wider die Sünde / ja auch zu sterben begere / daß er der Sünden müge los werden.

Zum Zwölfften / Hie ist nu das dritte Stück des Sacraments zu handeln / nemlich / der Glaube / das ist / daß man festiglich gleube / wie das Sacrament nicht allein bedeut den Todt / vnd Aufferstehung am Jüngsten Tage / durch welche der Mensche new werde ewiglich ohn Sünde zu leben / sondern daß es auch gewißlich dasselbe anhebe vnd wircke / vnd vns mit GOtt verbindet / daß wir wollen biß in den Todt / die Sünde tödten vnnd wieder sie streiten. Vnd er wiederumb vns wolle zu gut halten / vnnd gnedig mit vns handeln / nicht richten nach der scherffe / daß wir ohn Sünde nicht sind in diesem Leben / biß daß wir rein werden durch den Todt.

Also verstehestu / wie ein Mensch vnschüldig / rein ohn Sünde wird in der Tauffe / vnd doch vol bleibt / viel böser neigung / daß er nicht anders rein heist / denn daß er angefangen ist rein zu werden / vnnd derselben Reinigkeit ein Zeichen vnnd Bund hat / vnnd je mehr rein werden sol / vmb welches willen jhm Gott seine nachstellige Vnreinigkeit nicht rechnen wil / vnnd also mehr durch Gottes gnediges rechnen / denn seines wesens halben rein ist.

Wie der Prophet sagt Psalm. 32. Selig sind die / den jhre Sünde vergeben sind / Selig ist der Mensch / dem Gott seine Sünde nicht zurechnet. Dieser Glaube ist der aller nötigest / denn er der grund ist alles Trostes / Wer den nicht hat / der muß verzweyffelen in Sünden / denn die Sünde die nach der Tauffe bleibt / machet / daß alle gute Werck nicht rein sind für GOtt.

Derhalben muß man gar keck vnnd frey an die Tauffe sich halten / vnnd sie halten gegen alle Sünde vnd erschrecken des Gewissen / vnd sagen demütiglich / ich weis gar wol / daß ich kein rein Werck nicht habe / aber ich bin je getaufft / durch welche mir Gotte / der nicht liegen kan / sich verbunden hat / meine Sünde mir nicht zurechnen / sondern zu tödten vnnd vertilgen.

Zum Dreyzehenden / Also verstehen wir nu / daß vnser Vnschuld von der Tauffe gantz vnnd gar der Göttlichen Barmhertzigkeit halben so heist / die solchs angefangen vnnd mit der Sünde gedult tregt / vnnd vns achtet / als weren wir ohn Sünde.

Daher verstehet man auch / warumb die Christen heissen in der Schrifft die Kinder der Barmhertzigkeit / ein Volck der Gnaden / vnnd Menschen des gütigen willen Gottes / darumb daß sie angefangen haben durch die Tauffe rein zu werden / vnnd durch Gottes Barmhertzigkeit mit der vbrigen Sünde nicht verdammet werden / biß sie durch den Todt vnnd am Jüngsten Tage gantz rein werden / wie die Tauffe mit jhrem Zeichen außweiset.

Darumb ist das ein grosser Irrthumb / die da meynen / sie sind durch die Tauffe gantz rein worden / vnd in jhrem Vnuerstand gehen sie dahin vnd tödten jhre Sünde nicht / wollens auch nicht Sünde lassen seyn / verharren darinne / vnd machen also jhre Tauffe gar zu nichte / bleiben allein in etlichen eusserlichen Wercken hangen / vnter welchen die Hoffart / Haß vnd andere natürliche Bößheit / die sie nicht achten / nur stercker vnd grösser werden.

Nein / es ist nicht also / Es muß die Sünde / böse Neigung für ware Sünde erkant werden. Daß sie aber vnschedlich sey / Gottes Gnaden zuschreibe / der sie nicht rechnen wil / so doch / daß man sie mit vielen Vbungen / Wercken vnnd Leyden bestreite / zu letzt mit sterben tödte. Welche das nicht thun / den wird er sie nicht nachlassen / darumb daß sie der Tauffe vnd jhrem verbinden nicht folge thun / vnd hindern das angefangene Werck Gottes vnd der Tauffe.

Zum Vierzehenden / Der arth sind auch die / die da meynen jhre Sünde mit gnugthuung tilgen vnd ablegen / kommen auch so ferne / daß sie der Tauffe nicht mehr achten / gerade als hetten sie der Tauffe nicht mehr bedurfft / denn daß sie heraus gehaben sind. Wissen nicht / daß sie durchs gantz Leben biß in den Todt / ja an Jüngsten Tag Krafft hat / wie droben gesagt.

Darumb meynen sie etwas anders zu finden / die Sünde zu vertilgen / nemlich / die Werck / vnd machen also jhn selbst vnd allen andern böse / erschrockene / vnsichere Gewissen / verzagung am Tod / vnnd wissen nicht wie sie mit Gott dran sind / achtens / die Tauffe sey nu durch die Sünde verloren vnd nicht mehr nütz.

Da hüt dich für bey leibe / Denn wie gesagt / ist jemand in Sünde gefallen / so gedencke er am stercksten an seine Tauffe / wie sich Gott daselbst mit jhm verbunden hat / alle Sünde zu vergeben / so er wider sie fechten wil biß in den Todt. Auff dieselbige Warheit vnd Verbindung Gottes muß man sich frölich erwegen / so gehet die Tauffe wieder in jhrem Werck vnnd Krafft. So wird das Hertz wider zu frieden vnnd frölich / nicht in seinem Werck oder gnugthuung / sondern in GOttes Barmhertzigkeit / die jhm in der Tauffe zugesagt ist / ewiglich zu halten.

Vnd an dem Glauben muß man also fest halten / daß ob auch alle Creature vnnd alle Sünde einen vberfielen / er dennoch daran hange. Angesehen daß / wer sich dauon lest dringen / der machet Gott zu einem Lügener in seinem verbinden / an dem Sacrament der Tauffe.

Zum Funffzehenden / Den Glauben ficht der Teuffel am meisten an / wenn er den vmbstösset / so hat er gewonnen. Denn auch das Sacrament der Buß (dauon gesagt ist) seinen grund an diesem Sacrament hat / Dieweil allein denen die Sünde vergeben werden / die getaufft sind / das ist / denen Gott zugesagt hat / Sünde vergeben / also daß der Bus Sacrament ernewert vnnd wieder anzeucht der Tauffe Sacrament.

Als spreche der Priester in der Absolution / Sihe / Gott hat dir deine Sünde jtzt vergeben / wie er dir zuuor in der Tauffe zugesagt / vnnd mir jtzt befohlen in Krafft der Schlüssel / vnd kömpst nu wider in der Tauffe Werck vnd Wesen. Gleubstu / so hastu / Zweyffelstu / so bistu verloren. Also finden wir / daß die Tauffe durch Sünde wird wol verhindert an jhrem Werck / das ist / vergebung vnd tödtung der Sünde / aber allein durch den Vnglauben jhres Wercks / wird sie zu nichte. Vnnd der Glaube bringet herwieder dieselben hindernis jhres Werckes / also gar ligt es alles am Glauben.

Vnd wenn ich solt klerlich sagen / so ist es ein ander ding / die Sünde vergeben / vnd die Sünde abzulegen oder aus zu treiben. Die Vergebung der Sünde erlanget der Glaube / ob sie wol nicht gantz auß getrieben sind. Aber die Sünde außtreiben / ist Vbung wieder die Sünde / vnnd zu letzt sterben / da gehet die Sünde gantz vnter. Es ist aber alles beydes der Tauffe Werck.

Also schreibt der Apostel zun Ebreern / die doch getaufft waren vnd jhre Sünde vergeben / sie sollen die Sünde ablegen die jhn anligt. Denn dieweil ich gleube / daß mir Gott die Sünde nicht rechnen wil / so ist die Tauffe krefftig / vnd sind die Sünde vergeben / ob sie wol noch da bleiben eines grossen Theils. Darnach folget das außtreiben durch leyden vnd sterben etc.

Das ist der Artickel den wir bekennen / Ich gleube an den heiligen Geist / Vergebung der Sünde etc. Da wird die Tauffe sonderlich berürt / in welcher die Vergebung geschicht / durch GOttes verbinden mit vns / darumb muß man nicht zweyffeln an derselben vergebung.

Zum Sechzehenden / Also folget / daß die Tauffe alle Leyden / vnd sonderlich den Todt / nützlich vnnd hülfflich machet / daß sie mir dienen müssen der Tauffe Werck / das ist / die Sünde zu tödten / denn es mag nu nicht anders werden / wer der Tauffe gnug thun wil / vnd der Sünde los werden / der muß sterben. Aber die Sünde stirbet nicht gerne / darumb machet sie den Todt so bitter vnd grewlich. Also gnedig ist Gott vnd mechtig / daß die Sünde / die den Todt bracht hat / wird mit jhrem eigen Werck (den Todt) wieder vertreiben.

Man find viel Leute die leben wollen / daß sie from werden / vnd sprechen / sie weren gerne from. Nu ist kein kürtzer Weise oder Weg / denn durch die Tauffe vnnd Tauffen Werck / das ist / Leyden vnd sterben / Dieweil sie des nicht wollen / ist es ein Zeichen / daß sie nicht recht wissen noch meynen from zuwerden.

Darumb hat Gott mancherley stende verordnet / in welchen man sich vben vnnd leyden lernen sol / etlichen den Ehelichen / den andern den vnterthenigen / den andern den regierenden Stand / vnd allen befohlen mühe vnd arbeit zuhaben / daß man das Fleisch tödte vnd gewene zu tödten. Denn alle denen die getaufft sind / den hat die Tauffe dieses Lebens ruge / gemach vnnd genüge zu lauter Gifft gemacht / als eine verhindernis jhres Wercks / Denn darinne lernet niemand leyden / gerne sterben / der Sünde los zu werden / vnd der Tauffe folge thun / sondern wechst nur Liebe dieses Lebens / vnd grewel des ewigen Lebens / Furcht des Todes / vnd flucht der Sünde vertilgung.

Zum Siebenzehenden / Nu sihe / in der Menschen Leben / Es sind jhr viel / die fasten / beten / wallen vnnd dergleichen vbung haben / mit welchen sie nur verdienst zu samlen vermeynen / vnnd hoch zu sitzen im Himmel / lernen aber nimmer mehr jhre böse vntugent tödten.

Man solt fasten / vnnd alle vbung dahin leiten / daß sie den alten Adam die sündliche Natur / druckten vnnd geweneten zu emperen alles des / das diesem Leben lustig ist / vnd also zum Todt täglich mehr vnnd mehr bereit machen / daß der Tauffe gnug geschehe. Vnnd aller derselben vbungen vnd mühe solt man masse nehmen / nicht nach der Zahl vnnd grösse / sondern nach der fodderung der Tauffe / das ist / daß ein jglicher die vbung vnnd so viel an sich nehme / die vnd so viel jhm nütz vnd gut were / die sündliche Natur zu drucken / vnnd zum Todt schicken / dieselbigen auch ablassen vnnd mehren / darnach man befünde / die Sünde abnemen oder zunemen.

So faren sie daher / vnnd laden auff sich diß vnd das / thun jtzt also / jtzt anders / nur nach der Laruen vnnd ansehen des Wercks / darnach schwind wieder fahren lassen / vnd also gantz vnbestendig werden / daß nimmer nichts aus jhn wird / Etlich drüber die Köpff zu brechen vnd die Natur verderben / daß sie noch jhn noch andern nütz sind.

Das sind alles Früchte der Lehre / die vns besessen hat / daß wir meynen nach der Rewe oder Tauffe ohn Sünde sind / vnnd die guten Werck nicht Sünde zu vertilgen / sondern frey für sich selbst der menge samlen / oder den gethanen Sünden gnug thun. Da helffen zu die Prediger / die der lieben Heiligen Legende vnnd Werck nich weißlich predigen / vnd gemein Exempel daraus machen / so fallen denn drauff die Vnuerstendigen / vnd wircken jhr verderben aus der heiligen Exempel.

Gott hat einen jglichen Heiligen seine sondere Weise vnd Gnade gegeben / seiner Tauffe folge zu thun. Die Tauffe aber mit jhrer Bedeutung ist allen ein gemein mas gesetzt / daß ein jglicher seines Standes sich prüfe / welche weise jhm am besten förderlich sey / der Tauffe genug zu thun / das ist / die Sünde zu tödten / vnd sterben. Auff daß also leicht vnnd sanfft werde die bürde Christi / vnd nicht mit engsten vnnd sorgen zugehe. Wie von denselben Salomon sagt / Die Werck der Vnweisen martert sie nur. Darumb daß sie den Weg zur Stadt nicht wissen. Denn eben wie die geengstet sind / die zur Stadt wollen vnd treffen den Weg nicht / Also ists mit diesen auch / daß alle jhr Leben vnd Wircken wird jhn sawr / vnd richten doch nichts aus.

Zum Achtzehenden / Daher gehöret nu die gemeine Frage / ob die Tauffe vnnd Gelübde / die wir da Gott gethan / mehr oder grösser sind denn die Gelübde der Keuschheit / Priesterschafft / Geistligkeit / so doch die Tauffe gemeine ist allen Christen / vnd man es achtet / die Geistlichen ein besonders haben vnd höhers.

Antwort / ist aus dem vorgesagten leichtlich zu antworten / Denn in der Tauffe geloben wir alle gleich ein ding / die Sünde zu tödten vnnd heilig zu werden durch Gottes wircken vnnd Gnade. Denn wir vns dargeben vnnd opffern / wie ein Thon dem Töpffer / vnnd ist da keiner besser denn der ander. Aber derselben Tauffe folge zu thun / daß die Sünde ertödtet werde / mag nicht eine weise oder stand seyn.

Darumb hab ich gesagt / ein jglicher muß sich selbst prüfen / in welchem Stand er am besten die Sünde müge tödten / vnd die Natur dempffen. Also ist es war / daß kein höher / besser / grösser gelübd ist / denn der Tauffe gelübd / Was kan man weiter geloben / denn alle Sünde vertreiben / sterben / diß Leben hassen / vnd heilig werden?

Vber das Gelübd aber mag sich eins wol verbinden in einen Stand / der jhm füglich vnd förderlich sey zu seiner Tauffe vollbringung. Gleich als wenn zween zu einer Stadt wandeln / mag einer den Fußsteig / der ander die Landstraß gehen / wie jhm am besten dünckt. Also wer sich an Ehelichen stand bindet / der wandelt in desselben Standes mühe vnd leyden / darinne er seine Natur beladet / daß sie liebs vnd leids gewone / Sünde meide / vnd sich zum Tode deste bas bereite / das er nicht so wol vermöchte ausser demselben stande.

Vber diesen stand ist nu noch ein höher / der regierende Stand in Geistlichem Regimente / als Bischoff / Pfarrherr etc. Die sollen alle Stunde gantz wol durch vbet mit Leyden vnd Wercken fertig seyn zum Tode / nicht allein vmb jhren willen / sondern auch vmb der willen / die jhn vnterthenig sind zu sterben.

Doch in allen diesen Stenden muß man dennoch die mas nicht vergessen / wie droben gesagt / daß man die Vbung so halte / daß nur die Sünde außgetrieben werde / vnd nicht nach der mennig oder grösse der Werck sich richte.

Aber leider wie wir vergessen haben der Tauffe / vnnd was sie bedeut / was wir drinnen gelobet / vnnd wie wir in jhrem Werck wandeln / vnd zu jhrem ende kommen sollen / also haben wir auch der Wege vnd der stende vergessen / vnd fast nicht wissen / was zu solchen Stenden eingesetzt oder wie man sich darinnen halten sol zur Tauffe erfüllung. Es ist ein Pompa daraus worden / vnnd nur ein Weltlicher schein kaumet vberblieben / wie Jesaias sagt. Dein Silber ist Schaum worden / vnnd dein Wein ist wesserig worden / des erbarme Gott / Amen.

Zum Neunzehenden / So aber das heilige Sacrament der Tauffe so ein gros gnediges vnnd tröstliches ding ist / ist mit ernst darauff zu sehen / daß man GOtt je hertzlich vnnd frölich da für ohn vnterlas dancke / Lob vnnd Ehre sagen. Denn ich besorge / der vndanck hat verdienet / daß wir blind worden / nicht wirdig gewesen sind solche Gnade zu erkennen / vnnd die gantze Welt voll Tauffe vnnd gnade Gottes gewesen vnd noch ist / Wir aber in die engstliche einige Werck / darnach ins Ablas vnd der gleichen falsche Tröste verführet sind / vermeynet / Gott nicht ehe zu trawen wir weren denn from / vnnd gnug geschehen für die Sünde / als wolten wir jhm seine

Gnade abe keuffen / oder bezalen. Fürwar / wer Gottes Gnade nicht also achtet / daß sie jhn als einen Sünder dulden vnd selig machen werde / vnd allein seinem Gerichte entgegen gehet / der wird GOttes nimmer frölich / mag jhn auch weder lieben noch loben.

Aber so wir hören / daß er in der Tauffe Bund vns Sünder auffnimpt / schonet vnd machet vns rein von Tage zu Tage / vnnd das festiglich gleuben / muß das Hertz frölich werden / Gott lieben vnd loben. Also spricht er im Propheten / Ich wil jhr schonen / wie ein Vater seines Kindes. Darumb ist noth / daß man der Hochgelobten Majestet / die sich gegen vns arme / verdampte Würmlein so gnedig vnd barmhertzig erzeiget / dancksage / vnnd das Werck / wie es an jhm selbst ist / gros mache vnd erkennc.

Zum Zwantzigsten / dabey sollen wir vns aber auch fürsehen / daß nicht eine falsche sicherheit bey einreisse / vñ spreche bey jr selbst / Ist es so gnedig vnnd gros ding vmb die Tauffe / daß vns Gott die Sünde nicht rechnen wil / vnd so bald wir wider kommen von der Sünde / alle ding schlecht sind in Krafft der Tauffe / so wil ich dieweil leben vnd thun meines willens / vnnd hernachmals oder am sterben an meine Tauffe gedencken / vnd Gott seines Bunds vermanen / vnd denn meiner Tauffe gnug thun.

Ja freylich ist es also groß vmb die Tauffe / daß wenn du wieder kömmest von Sünden / vnd der Tauffe Bund anrüffest / deine Sünde vergeben sind. Sihe aber zu / wenn du so freuel vnd mutwillig sündigest auff die Gnade / daß dich das Gerichte nicht ergreiffe / vnd deinem Wiederkommen zuuor komme / vnd ob du denn schon woltest gleuben in die Tauffe oder vertrawen / daß durch Gottes verhengen deine Anfechtung so groß werde / daß der Glaube nicht bestehen müge.

Denn so die schwerlich bleiben die nicht sündigen / oder je aus lauter gebrechligkeit fallen / wo wil dein freuel bleiben der die Gnade versucht vnnd verspottet hat? Darumb last vns mit furchten wandeln daß wir die reichthumb Göttlicher gnaden mügen mit einem festen Glauben behalten / vnd seiner Barmhertzigkeit frölichen dancken immer vnd ewiglich / Amen.

Scripture echoes

↩1Pet.2.9;Exod.19.5-Exod.19.6 — But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Exod.19.5 — Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is mine. Exod.19.6 — And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.
↩Heb.2.10 — For it was fitting for him, for whom are all things and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
↩Rom.6.3-Rom.6.4 — Or are you unaware that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Rom.6.4 — Therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so also we might walk in newness of life.
↩Ps.51.5 — For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
↩Titus.3.5 — not by works of righteousness that we ourselves had done, but according to his mercy he saved us, through the washing of renewal and rebirth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit,
↩Titus.3.5 — not by works of righteousness that we ourselves had done, but according to his mercy he saved us, through the washing of renewal and rebirth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit,
↩John.3.5 — Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
↩John.3.3 — Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
↩Gen.3.19 — By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread, until you return to the ground, for from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
↩Rom.6.3-Rom.6.4;Col.2.12 — Or are you unaware that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Rom.6.4 — Therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so also we might walk in newness of life. Col.2.12 — having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
↩Rom.6.3-Rom.6.11 — Or are you unaware that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Rom.6.4 — Therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so also we might walk in newness of life. Rom.6.5 — For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we shall also be united with him in the likeness of his resurrection. Rom.6.6 — We know this: our old self was crucified with him, so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we might no longer be enslaved to sin. Rom.6.7 — For the one who has died has been justified from sin. Rom.6.8 — Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. Rom.6.9 — knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no longer; death no longer has dominion over him. Rom.6.10 — For the death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. Rom.6.11 — So also you, consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
↩Rom.6.4-Rom.6.7;Col.2.12 — Therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so also we might walk in newness of life. Rom.6.5 — For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we shall also be united with him in the likeness of his resurrection. Rom.6.6 — We know this: our old self was crucified with him, so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we might no longer be enslaved to sin. Rom.6.7 — For the one who has died has been justified from sin. Col.2.12 — having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
↩Rom.6.4 — Therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so also we might walk in newness of life.
↩Ps.51.5;Ps.51.7 — For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Ps.51.7 — Behold, in iniquity I was brought forth, and in sin my mother conceived me.
↩Ps.51.5;Ps.51.7 — For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Ps.51.7 — Behold, in iniquity I was brought forth, and in sin my mother conceived me.
↩1Pet.3.20-1Pet.3.21 — who formerly disobeyed, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few—that is, eight souls—were brought safely through the water. 1Pet.3.21 — which also now saves you as an antitype—not a removal of dirt from the flesh, but a pledge of a good conscience toward God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
↩1Pet.3.20-1Pet.3.21 — who formerly disobeyed, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few—that is, eight souls—were brought safely through the water. 1Pet.3.21 — which also now saves you as an antitype—not a removal of dirt from the flesh, but a pledge of a good conscience toward God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
↩Jer.18.1-Jer.18.6 — The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Jer.18.2 — Get up and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause you to hear my words. Jer.18.3 — And I went down to the potter's house, and there he was, working at the wheel. Jer.18.4 — But the vessel he was making of clay in the hand of the potter was marred, so he made it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make it. Jer.18.5 — Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Jer.18.6 — 'Am I not able to do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter does?' declares the LORD. 'Behold, like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.'
↩2Cor.5.17;Rev.21.5 — So if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. Rev.21.5 — And the One seated on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.' And He said, 'Write, for these words are trustworthy and true.'
↩Titus.3.5-Titus.3.6;Acts.2.17-Acts.2.18;John.3.5 — not by works of righteousness that we ourselves had done, but according to his mercy he saved us, through the washing of renewal and rebirth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, Titus.3.6 — which he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, Acts.2.17 — And it shall be in the last days, God says, that I will pour out from my Spirit on all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Acts.2.18 — And even upon my male servants and upon my female servants in those days I will pour out from my Spirit, and they will prophesy. John.3.5 — Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
↩Rom.6.3-Rom.6.11;Col.2.12 — Or are you unaware that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Rom.6.4 — Therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so also we might walk in newness of life. Rom.6.5 — For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we shall also be united with him in the likeness of his resurrection. Rom.6.6 — We know this: our old self was crucified with him, so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we might no longer be enslaved to sin. Rom.6.7 — For the one who has died has been justified from sin. Rom.6.8 — Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. Rom.6.9 — knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no longer; death no longer has dominion over him. Rom.6.10 — For the death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. Rom.6.11 — So also you, consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Col.2.12 — having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
↩John.6.39-John.6.40 — And this is the will of the one who sent me: that everything he has given me I should lose none of it, but should raise it up on the last day. John.6.40 — For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
↩Rom.6.6;Eph.4.22;Col.3.9 — We know this: our old self was crucified with him, so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we might no longer be enslaved to sin. Eph.4.22 — you were taught to put off your former way of life, the old self, which is being corrupted according to the desires of deceit; Col.3.9 — Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices,
↩Ps.32.1-Ps.32.2 — Of David. A Maskil. Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Ps.32.2 — Blessed is the one to whom the LORD does not count iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
↩Titus.1.2;Heb.6.18;Num.23.19 — in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the ages began, Heb.6.18 — so that through two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us Num.23.19 — God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind. Has He spoken, and will He not do it? Has He said, and will He not make it happen?
↩Luke.2.14 — Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.
↩1John.5.10;1John.1.10 — The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony within himself. The one who does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son. 1John.1.10 — If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
↩Matt.16.19;John.20.23 — I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. John.20.23 — If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.
↩Heb.12.1 — Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race set before us.
↩Rom.5.12 — Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and through sin death, and so death spread to all people, because all sinned—
↩Rom.6.3-Rom.6.4 — Or are you unaware that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Rom.6.4 — Therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so also we might walk in newness of life.
↩Rom.6.6;Eph.4.22;Col.3.9 — We know this: our old self was crucified with him, so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we might no longer be enslaved to sin. Eph.4.22 — you were taught to put off your former way of life, the old self, which is being corrupted according to the desires of deceit; Col.3.9 — Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices,
↩Rom.6.3-Rom.6.4;1Cor.15.31 — Or are you unaware that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Rom.6.4 — Therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so also we might walk in newness of life. 1Cor.15.31 — I face death every day—I swear it, brothers, by the boasting I have in you in Christ Jesus our Lord.
↩Rom.6.6;Col.3.5 — We know this: our old self was crucified with him, so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we might no longer be enslaved to sin. Col.3.5 — Put to death, therefore, the parts of you that belong to the earth: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry.
↩Isa.1.22 — Your silver has become dross; your wine is diluted with water.
↩Isa.1.22 — Your silver has become dross; your wine is diluted with water.
↩Mal.3.17;Ps.103.13 — "They shall be mine, says the LORD of Hosts, on the day that I am making a treasured possession, and I will spare them, as a man spares his son who serves him." Ps.103.13 — As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.
↩Rom.6.1 — What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may increase?
↩1Pet.4.18 — And if the righteous one is scarcely saved, the ungodly and sinner—where will they appear?
↩1Pet.1.17;Phil.2.12 — And if you call on him as Father, who judges each one impartially according to his deeds, conduct yourselves with fear during your time of sojourning here. Phil.2.12 — Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
↩Eph.1.7 — In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,

Notes

1 ↩Luther links German Taufe (baptism) to Tiefe (depth) as a pedagogical folk etymology supporting full immersion; historical linguistics does not establish that derivation, but the argument belongs to his pastoral case for the sign matching the name.
2 ↩Early modern German foddert = fordert: 'requires/demands.' The opening 'Das' points back to full immersion argued in the previous section.
3 ↩Early modern Lösung here is the military/devotional Losung: a distinguishing badge, token, or watchword, not 'solution' or 'ransom.' Paired with Zeichen and the banner/Captain metaphor, 'badge' (or 'token') keeps the identifying force.
4 ↩Sentence ends mid-clause at the printed section break; the finite verb and full Trinitarian formula continue in Betbuechlein.1.8.6 (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; thrusting into the water and lifting out again).
5 ↩Early New High German ‘aus der Tauffe gehaben’ is the idiomatic result of ‘heraus heben’: being raised/lifted out of the baptismal water (cf. later ‘aus der Taufe heben’).
6 ↩German Bad is rendered washing (not bath) to match contemporary sacramental English for λουτρόν / Titus 3:5, while newen Geburt is kept as new birth rather than regeneration.
7 ↩Luther's parenthetical "(der Gnaden)" glosses "Geist" as the Spirit of grace; kept in parentheses to preserve his interpretive aside without blending it into the biblical wording.
8 ↩Early NHG gehaben here means 'lifted/drawn out' (of the womb; then, by analogy, of the baptismal water), not modern 'to have'.
9 ↩erseuffe (ersäufen, 'drown') continues Luther's drowning-of-sin baptismal image from the preceding section; rendered 'drown' rather than a milder 'immerse' to keep that force.
10 ↩Bare chapter numeral continuing the Romans citation from s1 (Rom. 6).
11 ↩Vntugenden rendered as 'iniquities' (vices/wrongdoing) to preserve the psalm's sense of inborn moral corruption rather than mere bad habits.
12 ↩Welcher / sie most naturally points back to sinful nature (Natur) or to sin itself: neither can be healed except by dying and being nullified with its sin. Rendered as 'it' to keep the German impersonal force.
13 ↩Wester Hembd (Westerhemd) is the white christening/baptismal garment put on the baptized; rendered as 'white baptismal garment' for modern clarity.
14 ↩Standalone chapter number continuing the citation 'Matth.' from the previous sentence (Matthew 24).
15 ↩The source says 'seiner andern Epistel' (his second/other epistle). The classic Noah–ark–baptism exposition is 1 Peter 3:20–21; 2 Peter treats the flood but not baptism. Translated as written.
16 ↩Sentence ends mid-citation ('wie im 28.'); the book name and rest of the claim continue in s6 ('Psalm…'). Luther’s '28. Psalm' may follow Vulgate numbering (≈ Hebrew/English Psalm 29, flood/waters imagery).
17 ↩Continues s5's 'wie im 28. Psalm'. 'Gott wird machen eine bestendige newe Sündflut' is Luther’s interpretive paraphrase of the psalm’s flood/waters language, not a word-for-word quote.
18 ↩ENHG 'weil es hie lebet' is temporal ('while/as long as it lives here'), not merely causal 'because'.
19 ↩Hiere. is the early German short form for Hieremias (Jeremiah); rendered as Jeremiah.
20 ↩Printed chapter number as given. The potter and clay speech in s4 matches the usual Jeremiah 18 material more closely than Jeremiah 17; left as 17. pending source/citation review.
21 ↩Luther distinguishes Bedeutung/Zeichen (the sacramental sign-meaning, already accomplished) from Werck (s3: the full work still future). 'als viel ... ist' rendered as 'as far as ... goes' to preserve that scope limitation.
22 ↩Liebe in this vice list is worldly/disordered love or attachment, not theological charity; rendered as "love" to stay close to the source surface while the surrounding catalog marks it as a sinful desire.
23 ↩bedeutet carries Luther's sacramental sign-language: baptism marks sin for drowning, but the full drowning is not yet accomplished until death and the Last Day.
24 ↩Bare chapter numeral standing as the completion of 'Roma. 7.'; left as '7.' to preserve the printed sentence split.
25 ↩eines gnedigen vnnd tröstlichen Bunds is genitive after eins wird; rendered as union 'in' a gracious and comforting covenant rather than a freestanding apposition.
26 ↩The printed section ends mid-phrase at am Jüngsten; the thought continues in the next section (…Tage new gemacht werden…).
27 ↩Continues the previous section's hanging clause am Jüngsten (on the Last…). anzeigung here is the sacrament's signification/meaning, not a mere outward show.
28 ↩Natur und Sünde: not created nature in general as evil, but fallen nature bound up with sin that the Spirit begins to put to death.
29 ↩Early New High German übet dich is rendered “trains you”: God disciplines and works the baptized person through good works and sufferings, not mere moral self-improvement.
30 ↩alter Mensch is Pauline 'old man' language (the unrenewed self), not merely 'elderly person'.
31 ↩verbinden / verbindet sich: covenant-bond language of Baptism (cf. Bund in the following section). Sünde ... in deiner Natur: remaining sinful inclination after Baptism (concupiscence), not fresh deliberate acts alone.
32 ↩Bund/Verbündnis: the baptismal covenant/bond of the Sacrament of Baptism in view in this sermon; not a generic promise.
33 ↩Print chapter numeral belonging to the Romans citation begun in s1 and completed in s3 (Roma. 8.).
34 ↩Luther paraphrases rather than quotes Romans 8:1 strictly: condemnation is denied not only for being in Christ, but with the added condition that one not follow or consent to the remaining natural inclination.
35 ↩German 'Vergebung' here stands for the Johannine means of forgiveness/atonement (1 John 2:2's ἱλασμός); rendered as 'forgiveness' to stay close to the supplied source surface rather than importing 'propitiation' or 'atonement' from later English Bibles.
36 ↩"durch die Finger sehen" is an idiom: literally "look through the fingers," meaning mercifully overlook / turn a blind eye. Rendered as "look the other way" to keep the proverbial force without stiff paraphrase.
37 ↩"in der Gnaden und Barmherzigkeit Urteil treten" = step into / come under the verdict (Urteil) of grace and mercy, as opposed to a condemning judgment. "Übungen" means ongoing Christian exercises/practices that gradually expel sin (cf. next section on remaining but non-imputed sin).
38 ↩„zu gut halten“: hold/count in someone’s favor—make allowance and not impute remaining fault; rendered as “count us favorably.”
39 ↩„nach der scherffe“: according to sharpness/strictness; rendered as “by the strict severity of the law,” i.e. not the full rigor of judgment.
40 ↩German 'rechnen' is forensic/imputation language: God does not charge residual uncleanness against the baptized. 'nachstellige Vnreinigkeit' is the leftover impurity (concupiscence) that still remains after baptism.
41 ↩vnschedlich (unschädlich): rendered 'harmless' for the remaining sin/inclination that grace does not impute when it is resisted; not 'innocent' in the sense of no longer being sin.
42 ↩verbinden: the baptismal bond/obligation (binding commitment of baptism), not a vague 'connection'.
43 ↩German gnugthuung (Genugtuung) is the scholastic/penitential term 'satisfaction'—making amends for sin by works—not everyday 'enough' or mere restitution.
44 ↩sich frölich erwegen: Early New High German sense of boldly entrusting/staking oneself upon (not mere mental consideration). Rendered as joyfully putting one's trust in.
45 ↩gnugthuung is the technical term for satisfaction (penitential/works-satisfaction), not generic 'making amends'; retained as 'satisfaction'.
46 ↩German verbinden names God's binding covenant-pledge in Baptism (cf. earlier Verbindung Gottes), not a human vow of obedience.
47 ↩German wieder anzeucht (anziehen) can mean “puts on again” (baptismal-garment image) or “draws upon again.” Rendering follows the “put on baptism again” sense common in this penance-as-return-to-baptism argument; the neighboring section’s return to baptism’s work and essence supports that reading.
48 ↩Wesen is rendered as "essence" (Baptism's lasting nature and standing), paired with Werck as its operative work of forgiveness.
49 ↩Tödtung der Sünde keeps the baptismal sense of mortifying/killing sin, not merely regretting it. Luther contrasts hindrance by sin with nullification only by unbelief.
50 ↩bringet herwieder with object hindernis is compressed Early New High German: faith restores Baptism’s work by reversing those same obstacles (not by reintroducing them). Context from s3: sin hinders; unbelief nullifies; faith restores.
51 ↩Vbung wieder die Sünde: rendered as 'practice against sin' (spiritual exercise/struggle against remaining sin), not mere physical exercise.
52 ↩Early modern 'dieweil' can mean 'because/since' or 'as long as/while'; rendered here as causal 'since' in the dieweil…so construction, which fits Luther's faith-makes-baptism-effective teaching without forcing a durative reading.
53 ↩German 'GOttes verbinden mit vns' is rendered as God's binding himself to us (covenant pledge/bond), not a generic 'connection'.
54 ↩Source uses future active (wird ... vertreiben) with sin as grammatical subject and death as sin's own work. Rendered as passive in English to keep Luther's paradox clear: death, which sin produced, becomes the means of sin's expulsion.
55 ↩"from" (fromm) is rendered "godly" for Luther's early modern sense of genuine Christian piety, not mere outward religiosity.
56 ↩Rendered as flight from the destruction/eradication of sin (people shunning baptism's mortifying work). The genitive chain is dense Early New High German; less likely alternatives would reverse agency.
57 ↩jhres Wercks taken as baptism's work (suffering, dying, killing the flesh), consistent with the chapter's baptismal argument; could also be heard as the baptized person's appointed work.
58 ↩Early New High German «emperen» = entbehren, «go without / renounce»; «lustig» here means pleasant or delightful to this life, not comic. «daß der Tauffe gnug geschehe» means that baptism gets its due—that its demand for daily dying to the old Adam is adequately met.
59 ↩«masse nehmen» = take measure / set a limit; «fodderung der Tauffe» = the demand or requirement of baptism. «ablassen vnnd mehren» means leave off and increase the practices themselves, calibrated by whether sin is waning or growing.
60 ↩Larven = masks/outward shells; ansehen = appearance or reputation. Rendered as 'mask and outward show' to keep Luther's critique of works judged by display rather than by baptism's demand (cf. previous section).
61 ↩Natur here is bodily constitution/temperament under excessive exercises, not theological human nature; 'constitution' preserves the ascetic overstrain sense.
62 ↩Rewe can mean either interior contrition/repentance or the formal practice of penance; rendered here as repentance. gnug thun retains the satisfaction/satisfaction-for-sin sense of genugtun rather than a vague 'do enough'.
63 ↩Source has 'nich' for 'nicht' (not); translated as the clear intended reading.
64 ↩"sterben" continues the baptismal dying-to-sin sense already named with "die Sünde zu tödten"; not natural death.
65 ↩Geistligkeit names the clerical/religious estate (monastic or priestly vocation), not generic spirituality; rendered as "religious life" to match the triad with chastity and priesthood.
66 ↩weise oder stand: 'way/manner' and 'estate/station' (lay, clerical, religious, etc.). Rendered as 'way or station of life' to keep Luther's contrast between the one baptismal vow and the many callings in which it may be kept.
67 ↩Stand is the early modern estate or station of life (married, clerical, religious, etc.), not a social rank for its own sake; the test is which calling best serves mortifying sin.
68 ↩beladet: nature is 'loaded' with the estate's burdens as a discipline, not merely weighed down; keeps Luther's image of training nature through the estate's labor and pain.
69 ↩„zu sterben“ is read as completing readiness to die for those under their care (umb der willen … zu sterben), not merely as a restatement of „fertig seyn zum Tode.“
70 ↩Stende/Ständen here means the callings or stations of life (Luther’s Ständelehre), not political estates alone; Wege are the ordered ways of living within them toward baptism’s fulfillment.
71 ↩Schaum renders the prophetic image of impure metal (dross/scum); kept as 'dross' for the Isaiah cadence while matching Luther’s metallurgical sense rather than mere foam.
72 ↩The printed section ends mid-clause at 'als wolten wir jhm seine'; neighboring section Betbuechlein.1.8.68 continues with 'Gnade abe keuffen / oder bezalen' ('to buy off or pay for [His] grace'). The modern rendering stops at the supplied words and does not import the next section.
73 ↩'engstliche einige Werck' rendered as 'anxious reliance on particular works' (ängstliche einzelne Werke): Luther's critique of anxious trust in isolated good works rather than baptismal grace.
74 ↩Continues the previous section’s unfinished clause (‘als wolten wir jhm seine…’): ‘as if we wanted to buy his grace from him, or pay for it.’ ‘abe keuffen’ = abkaufen (buy off/from someone).
75 ↩‘Gottes frölich werden’ is the older construction ‘to take joy in God / be glad of God,’ not mere cheerfulness about God in general.
76 ↩Surface 'verdampte' read as early-modern 'verdammte' (damned); 'erkennc' read as truncated 'erkenne' (acknowledge/recognize).
77 ↩Early New High German schlecht here means set straight / settled / put right (not modern 'bad'). Rendered as 'set right' in the false-security voice.
78 ↩Lit. 'do enough for / satisfy my baptism'—fulfill what baptism requires or make good on baptism, spoken as the complacent postponement of repentance.
79 ↩sündigest auff die Gnade: Early New High German idiom for sinning while counting on grace (presumptuous reliance), not merely 'sinning against grace' in a general sense.
80 ↩Anfechtung rendered as 'trial' (Lutheran spiritual assault/temptation that can overwhelm faith); verhengen as divine 'permission' rather than active causation.

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