Abel
The pious son Abel sacrificed a fatted lamb; yet he was not saved because of the sacrifice but because of his faith in the promised Christ. It was the promise that did it, the promise that the woman’s Seed would crush the serpents head (Gen. 3:15). Abel believed in this promise, and on the basis of his faith in the future Seed he was graciously accepted by God. Cain, however, came swaggering along with his sacrifice, a sacrifice of good quality, which his field had yielded and which had been God’s gift and present to him. But what was missing? He did not look to the future Seed of the woman; he was an unbeliever and assumed that since he was the first-born and the only prince in the human race, he would prove acceptable to God for the sake of his own person. Therefore he did not look to, and hope for, the woman’s Seed which was to crush the serpents head. Abel, on the other hand, gave ear to the message of the woman’s Seed; he believed it, and as proof of his faith he offered his sacrifice. Cain, however, thought: “Oh, even if I sacrifice but three kernels of wheat and my brother places a hundred lambs on the altar, I am still everything, while Abel is nothing.” But our God has a different system of accounting, and according to it, the one who is nothing must be everything; for he believes in the future Seed, Christ. And Cain, who presumed to be everything, is nothing; for his faith does not rely on the future Seed of the woman. It is Abel who is purified, not Cain.
About this a horrible quarrel ensued, so that in the end he who wanted to be everything slew Abel. This has always been the course of history. Just read the records, and see how all the patriarchs and fathers sacrificed and how the fire consumed their offerings. Then the ungodly Jews remarked: “God regards the gift and the sacrifice!” Now Cain had offered nothing but chaff. However, God is not interested in oxen, sheep, and sacrifices; as is evident from Ps. 50:8–9 and from Is. 1:11. God says: “Who commanded you to sacrifice?”
The trouble is, as we see from the books of all the prophets, that the ungodly assume they are purified because of their generous sacrifices; but God is of a different mind. Because of the assumption of the ungodly all the prophets were tortured and slain, and all the great kings dethroned. But whoever bore in mind during his sacrifice that the true Lamb, Christ, was to be slaughtered for the sins of the world, was saved by and in that faith in the advent of Christ. And whoever failed to do so was not saved. Even if such a person were willing to sacrifice a thousand oxen, it would be regarded by God as little as a fly. In the case of the godly, however, what availed was their reliance on the future Seed for their salvation. Thus from Adam and Abel down to our day there is but one way to salvation, for the promise of Christ and the Christian faith began with the promise that the woman’s Seed should crush the serpent’s head. This promise endured until He Himself appeared. And now faith no longer applies to the future Christ but to the present Christ, the Christ who has come. And what was formerly observed in the Law has validity no longer, whether it be Law or circumcision. Christ Himself is present now, and everything pointed to Him.
It is true indeed that there have always been others who practiced different methods of purifying; but the doctrine has never varied since the beginning of the world, and it will remain as it is until the end of the world. To be sure, it was worded differently. From the beginning of the world until the days of John the Baptist the people were told: “Believe in the Seed that is to come!” From then on it is: “The Messiah has come.” Thus there has always been but one Christ—the Christ of the past, the present, and the future. The Apocalypse refers to Him as the One “who is and who was and who is to come” (Rev. 1:8).
I am saying this that we may understand the doctrine of purifying and of Baptism correctly. John relates it all to Christ. He says: “I was sent to be His forerunner.” And if anyone should interpose: “But were people who died before the advent of Christ also saved?” then we reply: “Of course, they believed that John purified by his Baptism; for by means of it he joined you to Christ.” Thus one is saved according to the way in which Christ instructed Nicodemus (John 3:5). And when Christ Himself appeared and was present, St. John’s Baptism had to cease, just as circumcision also had to come to an end then. Henceforth it is wrong to say: “He will come.” Now we say: “You dare wait for no other. I do not believe in anyone who is still to come, but in Him who was and still is” For we have no other Seed of the woman than the One who lived in John the Baptist’s day, who in ages past was to come and did come at the time of John, who has now appeared and will remain in eternity. Whoever does not believe this, but looks to another, as Jews and Turks do, will be eternally damned. Everyone is intent upon devising his own method of purifying. Cain looks surly because he wants to force God to recognize his deeds.
When nuns and Turks fall into sin, Christ and His purification count for nothing; then a particular kind of purification must be introduced. Therefore the pope is no different from the Turk, if indeed he is not even worse.
There may be, we concede, different ways of baptizing, of purifying, and of sacrificing; still there must remain only this one sacrifice: Christ. Abel’s method was to sacrifice a lamb, to which he related his faith in the coming Christ. If Cain had also done this, then there would have been no difference between his offering and that of Abel. Abraham had a different offering. He sacrificed his son, which was radically different from the offering of Abel; but still this offering of Abraham was also directed to the one Seed of the woman. Moses constructed the tabernacle or ark of the covenant. He trained a people which had its own realm; he also led them through the Red Sea. But the idea of the woman’s Seed was present in all these various and novel methods. Thus since the world’s inception there has been but one purification, since all believed in one God and in His Son, Jesus Christ. Then each one performed good works according to his station in life, whether he was a husband or a scholar. A nun should have done the same thing and said: “I will wear the same veil and crown that other women wear.” But this she did not do. She should have thought: “I will make purification by Christ my crown.” But who would have understood this at that time? The wrath of God cast Mohammed and the pope upon the world to deflect us from the one purification of Christ and lead us into manifold kinds of purification. In the end we became such stupid fools that we even purchased the good works of the monks for money. –Martin Luther
About this a horrible quarrel ensued, so that in the end he who wanted to be everything slew Abel. This has always been the course of history. Just read the records, and see how all the patriarchs and fathers sacrificed and how the fire consumed their offerings. Then the ungodly Jews remarked: “God regards the gift and the sacrifice!” Now Cain had offered nothing but chaff. However, God is not interested in oxen, sheep, and sacrifices; as is evident from Ps. 50:8–9 and from Is. 1:11. God says: “Who commanded you to sacrifice?”
The trouble is, as we see from the books of all the prophets, that the ungodly assume they are purified because of their generous sacrifices; but God is of a different mind. Because of the assumption of the ungodly all the prophets were tortured and slain, and all the great kings dethroned. But whoever bore in mind during his sacrifice that the true Lamb, Christ, was to be slaughtered for the sins of the world, was saved by and in that faith in the advent of Christ. And whoever failed to do so was not saved. Even if such a person were willing to sacrifice a thousand oxen, it would be regarded by God as little as a fly. In the case of the godly, however, what availed was their reliance on the future Seed for their salvation. Thus from Adam and Abel down to our day there is but one way to salvation, for the promise of Christ and the Christian faith began with the promise that the woman’s Seed should crush the serpent’s head. This promise endured until He Himself appeared. And now faith no longer applies to the future Christ but to the present Christ, the Christ who has come. And what was formerly observed in the Law has validity no longer, whether it be Law or circumcision. Christ Himself is present now, and everything pointed to Him.
It is true indeed that there have always been others who practiced different methods of purifying; but the doctrine has never varied since the beginning of the world, and it will remain as it is until the end of the world. To be sure, it was worded differently. From the beginning of the world until the days of John the Baptist the people were told: “Believe in the Seed that is to come!” From then on it is: “The Messiah has come.” Thus there has always been but one Christ—the Christ of the past, the present, and the future. The Apocalypse refers to Him as the One “who is and who was and who is to come” (Rev. 1:8).
I am saying this that we may understand the doctrine of purifying and of Baptism correctly. John relates it all to Christ. He says: “I was sent to be His forerunner.” And if anyone should interpose: “But were people who died before the advent of Christ also saved?” then we reply: “Of course, they believed that John purified by his Baptism; for by means of it he joined you to Christ.” Thus one is saved according to the way in which Christ instructed Nicodemus (John 3:5). And when Christ Himself appeared and was present, St. John’s Baptism had to cease, just as circumcision also had to come to an end then. Henceforth it is wrong to say: “He will come.” Now we say: “You dare wait for no other. I do not believe in anyone who is still to come, but in Him who was and still is” For we have no other Seed of the woman than the One who lived in John the Baptist’s day, who in ages past was to come and did come at the time of John, who has now appeared and will remain in eternity. Whoever does not believe this, but looks to another, as Jews and Turks do, will be eternally damned. Everyone is intent upon devising his own method of purifying. Cain looks surly because he wants to force God to recognize his deeds.
When nuns and Turks fall into sin, Christ and His purification count for nothing; then a particular kind of purification must be introduced. Therefore the pope is no different from the Turk, if indeed he is not even worse.
There may be, we concede, different ways of baptizing, of purifying, and of sacrificing; still there must remain only this one sacrifice: Christ. Abel’s method was to sacrifice a lamb, to which he related his faith in the coming Christ. If Cain had also done this, then there would have been no difference between his offering and that of Abel. Abraham had a different offering. He sacrificed his son, which was radically different from the offering of Abel; but still this offering of Abraham was also directed to the one Seed of the woman. Moses constructed the tabernacle or ark of the covenant. He trained a people which had its own realm; he also led them through the Red Sea. But the idea of the woman’s Seed was present in all these various and novel methods. Thus since the world’s inception there has been but one purification, since all believed in one God and in His Son, Jesus Christ. Then each one performed good works according to his station in life, whether he was a husband or a scholar. A nun should have done the same thing and said: “I will wear the same veil and crown that other women wear.” But this she did not do. She should have thought: “I will make purification by Christ my crown.” But who would have understood this at that time? The wrath of God cast Mohammed and the pope upon the world to deflect us from the one purification of Christ and lead us into manifold kinds of purification. In the end we became such stupid fools that we even purchased the good works of the monks for money. –Martin Luther
posted by Wartburg | Thursday, February 02, 2006
1 Comments:
You made some very good points!
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