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Complete Works of Menno Simon, Volume 2

Name: Complete Works of Menno Simon, Volume 2
Author: Menno Simons

by Menno Simons

Church History 1.7 MB

Year: 1871

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REPLY TO A PUBLICATION

GELLIUS FABER,

MINISTER AT EMDEN,

(IF I MISTAKE NOT), TO SLANDER THE PIOUS CHILDREN

OF GOD, AND TO EMBITTER THEIR CROSS; TO ENSNARE AND DECEIVE

THE THOUGHTLESS, AND TO COMFORT AND ENCOURAGE THEM

IN THEIR UNRIGHTEOUSNESS AND CORRUPTION.

MENNO SIMON.

Duo opposita (inquit Philosophus) juxta se posita, magis eluseunt.

(Two facts set opposite to each other, says the philosopher, become the more apparent.)

SECON'D PART.

ELKHART, INDIANA:

PUBLISHED BY JOHN F. FUNK AND BROTHER.

1871. May God, our heavenly Father, through his beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, graciously grant spiritual enlightenment and salutary understanding to all the pious and unprejudiced readers of this work, of whatever class, who sincerely seek the Lord and his saving truth, Amen.

"For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ," 1 Corinthians 8:11.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, by

JOHN F. FUNK & BROTHER,

In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

PREFACE.

PAUL writes to Timothy, and says, "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come; for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trace?breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high?minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such turn away," 2 Timothy 3:1?6.

Further he says, "I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long suffering and doctrine, for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables," 2 Timothy 4:1?4.

Again Daniel says, "There shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation," Daniel 12:1.

Beloved reader, if you will pay close attention to the seeking, teaching and conduct of the preachers of the present day, and to the deplorable condition of the common people, you will be convinced that the teachers of whom' Paul speaks are here, in great numbers and that the abominable time has arrived. O reader, take heed! It is such a time now, that if Sodom was flourishing as of old, it would compare as pious and righteous with the present, miserable world. Yet, through the just punishment and wrath of God, Sodom was turned into ashes and suffered the vengeance of eternal fire.

"Behold," says the prophet, "this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, Pride, fullness of bread, abundance of idleness, was in her, and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy; and they were haughty and committed abomination before me; therefore I took them away as I saw good," Ezek.16:49,50.

But now the world lives as if they were merely born to ungodliness and sensuality; and as if God was a dreamer and his word a fable. Say, beloved, is it not so 8 My kind reader, is it not so a Where is he who sincerely fears God and seeks after the truth I Wherever we tern we see nothing but unrighteonsness, idolatry, deceit and despising of God. And all this is decked with the holy name, word, death and blood of Christ; besides, with human weakness and with false freedom, to avoid offence, O Lord! as if Christ were the Redeemer of all the impenitent and Mediator of all perverse sinners. No, my reader, no; this is not the case. Beware I Paul says, "If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die,"

Inasmuch, then, that the world is so corrupted, on every hand, that it has become a double Sodom, nay a confused Babel or benighted Egypt, under the pretense and name of christian churches; and since the great and merciful God has, in these latter days of unrighteousness, again revealed unto some the precious word of his divine grace in a pure, christian understanding, and placed it as a clear light amidst the darkness, wherewith he yet in everlasting love will assemble unto himself, before the dark day, an obedient and willing church through the revelation of his holy word and the enlightenment of his eternal Spirit; and since he has chosen them as his own peculiar people from the assembly of anti?ohrist, through true repentance and a virtuous walk (although in weakness), under the cross of Christ, together with a salutary use of the sacramental signs according to the ordinance of Christ and his apostles and through a free, unfeigned confession of faith in the precious blood of Christ; therefore all the gates of hell arise and rave, so that, alas, true christians can find but little rest upon earth, as may be seen.

The rulers banish and persecute them; drag them into prisons and dungeons, torture and rob them, and in many places deprive them of their manhood, possessions and even life.

This perverse and reckless people ever call us anabaptists; heap one shameful lie upon another; point at us with the finger of scorn, as if we so behaved that fire and sword were too merciful a punishment for our bodies, and eternal hell?fire too merciful a punishment for our souls.

The preachers and the learned " are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression; they speak loftily," as the prophet says, Psalms 73:8, although we testify by so many tribulations that we, in our poor weakness, sincerely desire to fear and follow the Lord, and that we seek and desire peace with all mankind; yet, we are infamously slandered; we are accused, everywhere, before lords and rulers of cities and countries, that we are ungodly sects and anabaptists; that we are seducing the populace; conspire to raise mutiny and rebellion; and are falsely accused of other criminal intentions; that they may thus obscure and obstruct the precious word of God, the word of true repentance; the joyous gospel of grace; the true and powerful faith in Christ Jesus; the pious, unblamable life, required by the Scriptures; and destroy the glorious kingdom of Christ, and his righteousness; lest their cause and unfaithfulness be made manifest to the world; as may be educed from their fruits; and that on the other hand, the corrupt kingdom of antichrist, the kingdom of this world, may be preserved uninterruptedly and maintained without shame unto the end, in falsehood, impenitance, open idolatry, a carnal, easy life and in unrighteousness, according to the desires of the old serpent.

Behold thus works the "prince of the power of the air, the Spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience," as Paul says, Ephesians 2:2; as may, alas, be plainly seen in the case of Gellius Faber, if we well consider his writings, slanders, bitter, offensive words, his false accusations, his vain boasting and gross garbling, and judge them according to the Spirit and word of the Lord.

Notwithstanding that it is well known to many thousands of honest and reasonable people (as I suppose) that we seek nothing else upon earth but that we may in our weakness, willingly walk in the footsteps of Christ, in obedience to his word; that we may again light the extinguished lamp of truth, may call many unto righteousness, and that we may save our souls by the assistance and grace of the Lord, on which ac, count we, poor ones everywhere, must endure so much tribulation, misery, anxiety, cross and persecution; nevertheless, the above mentioned Gellius, who in this case should be our assistant and fosterer (for he claims to be a servant of the holy word), still increases our anxiety and sore persecution, and the hatred and bitterness against us, by his unscriptural arguments and hostility to our foundation and doctrine, by his covert, malicious complaints to the magistracy, and by his infamous slanders which he publishes, through his writings, to the world, to the dishonor of God and his holy word; to the disgrace of all the pious; to the confirmation of his own condemnation, and to the deceiving of the simple. Therefore, no well?disposed person will think hard of me, that I, by an open reply, in accordance with the Spirit and word of my Lord, defend, .to the best of my ability, the honor of God, the salvation of my brethren, the foundation of my faith and the praise of Christ, my Lord, whose service I entered, unworthily, by his grace and calling, according to his divine will.

I trust, too, with the gracious help of God, that I shall be able to do this so powerfully and clearly, with so many plain reasons and Scriptures, that not only the theologians but also all reasonable and impartial readers and hearers will, by the grace of God, clearly understand that he and the preachers of his class, support deceiving lies; and that we, through the grace of God, support the sure foundation of truth. I, herewith, humbly beseech and faithfully admonish all my readers, friends and enemies, that they will attentively read, assiduously examine and judge according to Scripture this my forced reply and defense, not with partiality, not drowsily and spitefully but with care and impartiality. This matter is of like importance to us all, namely, the praise of God, and of Christ, and the salvation of our poor souls. Let none imagine that he is not accepted.

There is but one road and gate that leads to life, which is a strait road, Matthew 7:13, also, but one doctrine. If we wish to enter with Christ into the kingdom of his glory, we must all walk the strait way and enter in at the narrow gate and be obedient to his word; of this let every one be aware.

Since, then, it is evident that Gellius, and the learned, base their doctrines, sacraments, &c., mainly upon human wisdom, garbled Scriptures, upon ideas and opinions; and that we base ours upon God's word; that he and his followers walk upon the broad road, and that our followers walk upon the strait road; that he is not persecuted, but does persecute by his writings; and, on the other hand, that we are persecuted and do not retaliate; therefore, all right?minded persons must admit that the truth and the true church is not with them, but with us; for it is an infallible?rule as proven by the word of God and the example of all the pious, that where the true church is, there also are and necessarily must be the saving doctrine, true sacraments, unfeigned love, a pious, godly life and the excommunion or separation of the impenitent and perverse, according to the word of God; as may be clearly educed, by the grace of God, from the following replication.

I would, therefore, earnestly pray all the pious, for God's sake, that they would assist me by their ardent prayers to the Most High, that he will bestow upon me, a poor, weak man, together with my beloved brethren and faithful servants in the Lord, the gift of his grace and the power of his wisdom; so that we may silence all opponents, by virtue of true doctrine and an unblamable walk, and thus maintain to the end, the house of our God, in pure, godly zeal and christian love, to the honor and praise of his great name, to whom be praise and the eternal kingdom, Amen.

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REPLY TO A PUBLICATION

GELLIUS FABER.

Pure and clear is wisdom; strong and powerful is truth; simple and desirable is righteousness; happy is he who possesses them, for his heart rejoices in the Lord, his mouth speaks what is right, and his feet are upon the way of peace.

IN THE first place, Gellius adduces the saying of Christ, as a warning to all his readers, where he speaks, "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves," Matt. v:1s.

Answer. If the reader can rightly distinguish, according to the Spirit and word of God, between the nature of the sheep and the wolves, and understands what this sheep's clothing means, with which the ravening wolves are covered, then the saying would, undoubtedly, not be applied to us, but to our opponents; for in what kind of clothing he here appears, with which he keeps the simple in darkness and binds their souls to damnation, will be plainly and clearly shown, through the grace of God, to all the pious and godly readers, in the following reply, if they compare it with his writing.

In the second place he adduces Paul and says, " Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment," 1

Answer. If we well consider this saying, we will find that it admonishes all true christians not to live carnally nor to be sectarian; that the one shall not boast of this and another of that; but points us to the only and true Shepherd and Savior of our souls, Jesus Christ, who was crucified for us and in whose name we were baptized; all of which we, in our weakness, would gladly and earnestly do, by the grace and help of God, as our tribulation, misery, affliction, blood and death abundantly have testified in many different instances.

But Gellius so construes it as to keep his readers from the unity of the Spirit, word, house and body of Christ, and to keep them, through his deceitful doctrine, unscriptural infant?baptism, &c., in the unity of the spirit, word, house and body of anti?christ, and undisturbedly upon the broad way.

In the third place, Gelliushas addressed his writing to a nobleman, as is generally customary with the learned; thinking, perhaps, that by this means, their aim will be the easier attained, through the favor and assistance of such high officials; something which the pious testimonies, prophets and teachers of God's truth and word, especially of the New Testament never desired and much less sought.

In the fourth place Gellius gives his two principal reasons why he has published his writing. The first is, he says, Because I see that these anabaptists are daily coming into this country, secretly, from the imperial dominion, where they do and can do the most damage, and not only sow here anew, their pernicious seed by hedgepreaching, but also by publications, writings and private letters, which we must stop and silence lest the unwary be deceived, and that we may yet redeem some of them who have not yet become slanderers, &o.

Answer. These very offensive words, like anabaptists, secretly coming, hedge?preaching, pernicious seed, &c., alas, plainly show the disposition of the man who penned them. Yes, my readers, Gellius knows as well as I do, what Christ has commanded concerning baptism, and how the holy apostles practiced it. Again, that Paul rebaptized some who were baptized of John (although John's baptism was from Heaven) only, because they were not informed concerning the Holy Ghost; that the worthy martyr Cyprian and the African bishops, together with the council of Nice, did not acknowledge the baptism of heretics, as baptism, on account of their being outside of Christ's church, and without his Spirit and word.

Notwithstanding all this, we must be called anabaptists; never minding that we, in our infancy were baptized, not only without the Spirit, faith, word or divine ordinance, but also without all reason and understanding, with an open, anti?Christian baptism, by such as he and the learned of his class themselves call anti?Christians, apostates, heretics and deceivers who neither rightly understand God nor his word; who practice open idolatry; who bend their knees before wood and stone; who put their trust in idle doctrines and commands of men; who unrestrainedly walk according to the lusts of the flesh, and who worship and honor a creature of God, namely, a piece of bread, as the only and eternal Son of God.

Although we have before us as a pattern, Christ's plain word and the salutary doctrine and open practice of the apostles, besides, Paul and both the councils, as heard; yet, alas, there are no bounds to offensive words, such as anabaptists, &c., which Gellius uses against us.

We may not retaliate, Romans 12:19, else we might call them infant?baptists with more propriety than they call us anabaptists; for we have the whole Scriptures on our side, but they have not one word nor one example. But his saying that we do and can do most damage in the imperial dominion, shows, alas, his stupidity and blindness.

All Scriptures teach us that idolaters and carnally?minded shall die, and he well knows that in these countries, their (the world's), worship is nothing loss than open idolatry and gross abomination and that their life, as a general thing, is nothing but a reckless, impenitent and carnal life, as is the case at Emden and everywhere. Yet he dares to write that there they do most damage. And this he does for no other reason than because they (the pious) storm the kingdom of hell with the Lord's Spirit, word and power; rebuke open idolatry; teach the true worship; rightly confess Christ; and because they point out the true way to this perverse, impenitent and carnal generation. If this is damaging, as Gellius calls it, then the Scriptures which speak so over?much of an unblamable, pious life, have badly deceived us; this you must admit. , what a wrong judgment.

Behold, thus does the god of this world blind such rebellious and contentious spirits, who so recklessly contend against the word of God and who do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, Romans 2:8, that they become so obdurate and perverse that they call the glorious gain in Christ, attained through his grace, Spirit and power, a loss; and call good, evil, and evil, good; woe unto such, Isaiah G:20.

I would further say, that he also says, in other places that we are the only ones who obstruct them in their doctrine of impenitence and offensiveness, by our doctrine (which is not ours but the sound doctrine of Christ), and by our humble and unblamable walk which results from our doctrine through faith; and that we are thus the cause of their not being so highly esteemed as before and that they cannot continue in their ways, as they would like to do; therefore, perhaps, he complains that we do most damage there. But we say, It is because they serve the world under the semblance of the gospel, only from carnal motives; and flatter the rulers that they may aggrandize themselves with the property, church and cloister, which was intended (though wrongfully), as a sacrifice to the honor of God and that they may maintain the gospel of Christ by force of arms; because they flatter the people with the idea that Christ remitted our sins; that faith alone, avails; that they are poor, weak sinners who cannot keep the commandments of God, and other like idle consolations; so that everybody lives according to the lusts of his flesh, singing and crying, " The cord is loosed and we are free," and turn the grace of God into unrighteousness, as Jude says, 1:4; because they live in the old state of sinfulness, without any fear of God, as if they never in their lives heard one syllable of the word of the Lord, and as if God would not punish ungodliness and unrighteousness; therefore the just Lord who righteously judges all things, again takes from them the knowledge which they may have had, because of their ingratitude (for they, only teach and proclaim the gospel of his grace according to the lusts of the flesh) and give it to those who will bring forth fruit, as Christ spoke to the Pharisee, Matthew 21:43.

Again, to the unreasonable and offensive word "secretly enter," I reply: Moses and Christ, the apostles and prophets, as also, natural reason unanimously teach us that we should receive, comfort, help, assist and serve the miserable, afflicted and needy stranger; and it is a fact well known to Gellius that these poor children whom he afflicts, have tied in unfeigned fear of their God to a foreign country for protection, with their weak women and little children, to escape the bloody tyrannical sword; not on account of crime or roguery, but on account of the testimony of God and their consciences; even as the pursued doves flee from the bird of prey; and that we, through the grace of God place ourselves under the protection of this or that merciful and kind?hearted ruler; and although they, for the sake of divine truth, are bereft of their native country, possessions and earthly comforts, yet they can, through God's grace, reasonably support themselves, as is promised in Scripture. If he were, in fact, what he boasts to be, namely, a preacher of the holy word, then his inmost soul would be moved to compassion towards these afflicted orphans and innocent hearts; he would be kind to them and assist them as much as is in his power; .he would intercede for them before the magistracy, since he may observe in them such a moving spirit and ardent zeal, that they stake their possessions and blood to the praise of their God, as may be openly witnessed. But, now, this misery and sore affliction namely, the flight from the gaping lion's mouth and from fire and sword, into more merciful countries, must be called by him "secretly entering." O, Lord!

What kind of a preacher and christian he is; how he acts according to love; and how he walks according to the word of the Lord in this respect, all reasonable persons who are not more than half blind may judge from these, his writings together with his daily cries of the same kind. To the slanderous sentence " sowing pernicious seed," I reply: Every seed bringeth forth fruit after its own kind, Genesis 1:11.

My dear reader take heed to what I write. God's word, on every hand, requires a pure heart, a new mind and a penitent, christian life, dead unto sin. John the Baptist says, "Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance," Jesus says, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," Matthew 3:8; 4:17. Again, I am come to call sinners to repentance, Matthew 9:13, and many other Scriptures of the kind might be adduced.

Inasmuch, then, that the Scriptures, on every hand, require of us true repentance, and that also the sacramental signs, as baptism and Holy Supper signify, represent and teach to all true christian believers a penitent, unblamable life; and since, according to the tenor of the Scriptures, no one can be a true christian without true repentance and that every kind of seed brings forth fruit after its own kind, as already said, namely, lies, children of lies, and truth, children of truth; and since it is a fact well known to many reasonable persons that God has, through us and our fellow?servants, in his great power and infinite grace, turned unto the true and living God, many a proud, avaricious, unchaste, cruel, lying, carnal and idolatrous heart and has so humbled, moved, renewed and changed them that they would rather die than act hypocritically, or willingly speak or countenance any falsehood against the well being of their neighbors, as is testified in our Netherlands by the precious blood of so many pious saints. And since the fruits of Gellius' seed, that is, his followers, remain so entirely impenitent in their lives and unchanged in their hearts that they live in pomp and splendor, go attired in silk and velvet and are decked with gold and silver; live in all manner of unrighteousness, avarice, carousing, hatred and envy; in short, live according to the lusts of the flesh, and would, for the sake of a penny, falsely swear by the Lord or by their soul, &c.; therefore we will let all reasonable and intelligent persons judge who of us bring forth bad fruits, Gellius and his followers, or we and our followers. Whoever sincerely seeks and loves the truth, read and ponder.

O, dear Lord! thus thy holy and precious word, the word of thy grace, the word of thy love, by the power and grace of which we will live eternally with thee, is called by this man and by others also, deceit and pernicious seed; and their open lies, obvious error and unreasonable adulteration of Scripture, of which more will be said hereafter, is called the true doctrine of Christ and the holy word of God. If it be wilful slander and perverseness, then, alas, it is too bad. But if it be ignorant blindness or misconception, then, the gracious Father grant them eyes to see. This is my sincere wish, as the Lord knows.

Again, he writes, " that we sow anew our pernicious seed, not only by hedge?preaching, but also by publications, letters &c. To this I reply with holy David: We believe, therefore we speak, and must suffer tribulation. For since God, the merciful Father, has given us, poor creatures, the Spirit of faith and bestowed upon us the Spirit of his love from on high, through his Son Jesus Christ, and has besprinkled our hearts with the heavenly dew of his love, has opened unto us the seven seals of the book of his knowledge; has disclosed unto us the mystery of his divine word and pleasure; has awakened us from the dead and given us life, a new heart, mind and disposition, and has nourished us with the bread of life, so that we, through his grace, have found the beautiful pearl, the precious treasure and eternal peace, which we could not possibly acquire through the deceiving doctrine, subtle sophistry and false consolations of the learned; therefore we would teach, proclaim and imprint on the hearts of all mankind, to the best of our ability, this manifest grace of his great love toward us, that they may enjoy with us the same joy and renewal of spirit, and know and taste with all saints how sweet, good and kind the Lord is to whom we have turned.