Treatise of Good Works, Commandment 8
¶ The .viii cōmaūdement / thou ſhalt beare no falſe wytnes agaynſt thy neyghbour.
TRewely this commaūdement ſemeth but lytel / but ī very dede it is ſo great / that he yt wyll kepe it muſte be in ieoperdye of his body and his lyfe, of his goodes and fame of his fryndes and all that he hath. And yet it comprehendeth no more, but the worke of a lytell membre, the tonge / that is to ſaye. The truthe and gayneſay lyenge / yf nede requyre / and ſo here be forbyde many euyll workes of the tonge. Fyrſt ſuche as be commytted by ſpeakynge, than after ſuche as be done by holdyng our peace. By ſpekynge whan he that hath an euyl cauſe in ye lawe / laboreth to proue and defende it by an euyll foundacyon, to take his neyghbour in a tryppe, to laye out all yt he can for to ſet out & promote his owne cauſe / & hydynge & makynge leſſe what ſoeuer ſhulde helpe his neyghbours cauſe / in the which thyng he dothe not to his neyghboure, as he wolde be done to. There be ſome yt do this for ꝓfyte & ſome partly to auoyde loſſe or ſclaūdre / & bothe they ſeke more theyr owne ꝓfyte thā ye cōmaūdemētes of god / & they excuſe thē ſelfes on this facyon. The lawe helpeth hym yt laboureth, as though they were not as well bounde to laboure in theyr neyghbours cauſe, as in theyr owne. So they wyllyngly ſuffre theyr neyghboures cauſe go to nought, all though they know yt it be ryght / ye which euyl is now a dayes ſo cōmon, yt I feare there is no iudgement nor acte / but one ꝑtie ſynneth agaynſt this cō maundement. Yea & be it ſo that they be not able to brynge theyr purpoſe about / yet they hauehave an euyll mynde & wyll to do yll, bycauſe yt they wolde hauehave ye good cauſe of theyr neyghbour decaye & theyr owne euyl cauſe p̄uayle. And this ſynne is chefely cōmytted of the iudges / Iudges.whan the one part is a great man or ennemye to the iudges. For ſo they wyl be auenged of theyr enemye, & not hauehave ye dyſpleaſure of any great man. By this meanes are begon flateryng & adulacyon / and at ye leſte ſuppreſſynge of the truthe / for here no man wyll ſuffre dyſdayne, hurte & ieoperdye for the truthe ſake / and ſo the cōmaundemēt of god muſt nedes be troden vnderunder fete. And this is now for ye moſt parte the rule & ordre of the worlde. He that coueteth or wylleth to contynewe in this cōmaūdemēt may hauehave both his handes full of workes, & be but onelyonly occupyed with his tonge. Moreouer oh good Ieſu / howe many be there, that by gyftes & rewardꝭ be dryuen frō the truth to holde theyr peace? ſo that ſurelye in eueryevery place, it is a hyghe great & rathe worke, a man not to be a falſe wytnes agaynſt his neyghboure.
BEſydes theſe there is yett a greatter wytneſſyng of the truthe, wherby we be cōpelled to ſtryue agaynſt euyll ſpirytes / Euyll ſpirytes be falſe teachers & prechers.but this ſtryfe begynneth not about temporall thynges / but for the goſpell / & the truthe of the fayth which the deuyll can not ſuffre, but ſo goeth about all thynges / that the chefe of ye people (whom it is harde to withſtande) may reſyſte & perſecute the true faythe / of the whiche it is ſayde the .81. pſalme. Take awaye the poore man, and delyuer the nedy from the handꝭ of a ſynner. And that this perſecucyon is ſo ſeldome done and waxen out of vſe / oure prelates of the ſpirytualtie be in the faute / whiche ſuffre not the goſpell to be preched / but to be oppreſſyd / and ſo they hauehave banyſſhed (as moch as in them is) the cauſe for ye whiche ſuch perſecucyon & wytneſſe ſhulde be moued. And for the goſpel they teache vsus theyr owne tradycyons & conſtytucyons, and what ſoeuer pleaſe them / & therfore Satan reſteth. For whan the goſpell is banyſſhed / fayth in Chryſt muſt alſo be banyſſhed, & ſo all thynges come to paſſe after ye deuyls deſyre / but & yf the goſpell ſhuld be rayſed vp agayne, and harde of the people / vndoubted all the worlde ſhulde be troubled, ſturrynge the greatter parte of kynges, prynces, byſſhoppes, doctours & ſpirytuall men to ſtryue agaynſt it as it hath ben alway / ſo oft as the worde of god came forth to lyght. For ye worlde can not ſuffre yt thynge that cōmeth from god / the which thyng was proued by our ſauyour Chryſte, whiche was the greatteſt & beſte beloued and chefe thynge yt god had / & yet he was more cruellye perſecute, than al other thynges that came frō god / ſo farre was it of, that the worlde wolde receyue or take hym. And ſo as in his tyme there be fewe yt ſo fauour the truth of god / that wyll put body & lyfe, ryches & fame / & all that they hauehave in ieoperdye for it. And that is the thyng that Chryſt hathe promyſed to them that folowe hym. Sayeng Mathewe the .x. chapytre. You ſhall be hated of all people for my name. Alſo than many ſhalbe ſclaū dred. But and yf houſbādemen, ſhepardes, horſekepers, & ſuche fylthy men ſhulde perſecute this truthe / who than myght not or wolde not graunt and wytneſſe the truthe? but nowe whan the pope and byſſhoppes, with prynces & kynges perſecute it / eueryevery man flyeth awaye, al men holde theyr peace, all flatter, leſt they ſhulde loſe theyr goodes, theyr honour, theyr fauour / and at the laſt theyr lyfe.
ANd why do they this? truelye bycauſe they hauehave no faythe in god / nor thynke that they hauehave any good of god / for where ſoeuer is this faythe and truſte towarde god, there is a ſtraūge hert bolde, and without feare / whiche graunteth & ſtandeth by ye truthe, whether he loſe bodye or goodes / whether it be agaynſt the byſſhoppes or kynges / as we ſe that the holy martyrs hauehave done, for ſuch an herte is content with the mercy & gentylneſſe of god / & dyſpyſeth honoure, fauour, thankes, and ryches of all worldly thyngꝭ ſufferyng all thyng to go and come, that wyll not laſt & tary. As it is redde in the .14. pſalme. He abhorreth ſuche ſclaunderous and noughty ꝑſones / & ſuch as worſhyppe ye lorde, he ſetteth moche by. That is tyrantes and men of great power, whiche ꝑſecute the truthe and dyſpyce god, thoſe he feareth not, regardeth them not, he diſpyſeth them. And vponupon the other parte / they that ſuffre perſecucyon for the truthe / and feare god, more thā men. Thoſe he foloweth, thoſe he ſtandeth by / thoſe he defendeth, thoſe he honoureth / who ſoeuer be dyſpleaſyd with them. As we rede in the 11. chapytre to the Hebrewes. That Moyſes defended his bretherne ye chyldren of Iſraell / nothyng fearyng ye myghty kynge of Egypte. Lo agayne in this cō maūdement / thou ſeeſt ſhortelye howe that faythe is the mayſter of this worke, for without fayth no man dare worke it / ſo be all workes grounded vponupon faythe / as we hauehave ofte tymes ſayd before. And ſo without faythe all workes be deade, thoughe they appere, ſeme and ſhyne neuer ſo goodlye / and be called neuer ſo good. For as no man dothe the worke of this cōmaundement / but he ye is ſtrōge, ſure, & ſtedfaſt in ye fayth of the fauour of god / ſo can not he do any worke of ye cōmaundementes without this fayth. So yt of this cōmaūdemēt eueryevery man may take a felynge & perſeueraunce, whether he be a chryſten mā or no / & may knowe whether he doth good workꝭ or no. Nowe we ſe yt almighty god hath not onelyonly ſet before vsus, our lorde Ieſu Chryſt / in whome we ſhulde beleue wt ſuche truſte / but alſo yt we ſhulde hauehave hym for an exāple of ſuche truſt, ſettynge before vsus ſuche good workes in hym / yt we ſhuld byleue in hym, folowe hym, & abyde euermore in hym. As he ſayth in ye .17. cha. of Iohn̄. I am the way,Chryſte is ye way, truth, and lyfe. ye truthe & the lyfe / he is ye way, by ye whiche we ſhulde folowe hym / the truth yt we may byleue in hym, ye lyfe yt we maye euermore lyue in hym, vpō theſe thyngꝭ before reherſyd / it is manyfeſt yt all other workes not cōmaūded, be very ꝑylous & eaſy to be knowen / as by buyldynge of churches, deckyng of thē, pylgrimage to ſayntes / & what ſoeuer is wrytten in the popes decrees, which diſceyueth ye world, greueth & dyſtroyeth it / & maketh mans cōſcyence vnquyete, & hath brought fayth to ſylence & made it weake / therfore in aſmoche as a man hathe buſynes ynoughe to do in ye commaūdement of god, all other ſet a parte / ſo yt he can neuer do al ye good workꝭ cōmaūded to hym of god / why thā doth he ſeke other which be nother neceſſary to him nother cōmaūded theſe workꝭ neceſſary & cōmaūded left vndone.
THe two laſt cōmaūdementes forbyddynge euyll deſyres or luſtꝭ of the body / and pleaſures & louelove of temporall thynges be clere in them ſelfe, & without hurt to our neyghbour. And theſe luſtes laſt to the graue / for the ſtryfe agaynſte them contynueth vsus vntounto dethe. Therfore ſaynt Paule wrytynge to ye Romayns the .7. chapytre comprehendeth theſe two cōmaūdementes in one / & they be ſet for one purpoſe, whiche we can not obtayne / but onelyonly we labour and ſtryue to come to it vntounto the honoure of deth. For there was neuer man ſo holy, which hath not felte euyll luſtes in hym / ſpecyally yf he had any cauſe or occaſyon / for orygynall ſynne is naturally borne with vsus, ſufferyng it ſelf to be oppreſſyd / but not to be vtterly plucked awaye but by deth / which deth for the endyng of this orygynall ſynne, is bothe profytable and to be wyſſhed for / and that we may manfully fyght agaynſt this orygynall ſynne. I beſeche god to helpe vsus. Amen.
¶Finis.
¶Imprynted be me Robert wyer / dwellynge in ſaynt martyns paryſſhe beſyde charynge Croſſe.
¶Cum priuilegio.
ROBERT WYER.
End of the text · Martin Luther, Treatise of Good Works (1535)